William le Scrope, 1st Earl of Wiltshire
Encyclopedia
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
(1350–1399) was a close supporter of King Richard II of England
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
. He was a second son of Richard le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton.
Life
He was a soldier-adventurer in LithuaniaLithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where he served with John of Gaunt. Gaunt made him seneschal
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
of Aquitaine
Aquitaine
Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...
in 1383.
He was made vice-chamberlain of the household of King Richard II in 1393 and granted the castle and manor of Marlborough in Wiltshire. In the same year his father purchased for him the Isle of Man from the earl of Salisbury giving him the official title 'Dominus de Man' or King of Mann
King of Mann
The King of Mann was the title taken between 1237 and 1504 by the various rulers, both sovereign and suzerain, over the Kingdom of Mann – the Isle of Man which is located in the Irish Sea, at the centre of the British Isles....
. In 1394 he became a Knight of the Garter.
He was made Earl of Wiltshire
Earl of Wiltshire
The title Earl of Wiltshire is one of the oldest in the Peerage of England, going back to the 12th century. It is currently held by the Marquess of Winchester, and is used as a courtesy title for the eldest son of the marquess....
in 1397 and became Lord High Treasurer
Lord High Treasurer
The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Act of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third highest ranked Great Officer of State, below the Lord High Chancellor and above the Lord President...
in 1398. He became effective head of the government in Richard's absence. He benefitted from the confiscated estates of Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick
Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick
Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick, KG was an English medieval nobleman, and one of the primary opponents of Richard II.- Birth and Marriage:...
, kept for a time under his hand in the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, and of John of Gaunt; he also accumulated control of a number of strategic castles. He was left 2,000 Marks in King Richard's will in April 1399.
He had been closely involved in Richard's second marriage to the 6-year-old Isabella of Valois in 1396 and was made Isabella's guardian at Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle was a major medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire , adjacent to the River Thames...
, of which he was castellan
Castellan
A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...
, when the King went to Ireland in 1399.
Together with Sir John Bussy
John Bussy
Sir John Bussy of Hougham in Lincolnshire was a Member of Parliament representing Lincolnshire or Rutland eleven times from 1383 to 1398 as a Knight of the Shire and was also Speaker of the House of Commons at the three Parliaments between 1393 and 1398...
, Sir William Bagot
William Bagot (politician)
Sir William Bagot was a politician and administrator under Richard II.William Bagot was a Warwickshire man who began his career in politics in Warwickshire under the Earl of Warwick. In addition, he also served both John of Gaunt and his son Henry Bolingbroke, as well as Thomas de Mowbray, 1st...
and Sir Henry Green
Henry Green (politician)
Sir Henry Green was a courtier and councillor of Richard II.He was born in Greene's Norton, Northamptonshire to Sir Henry Green, a lawyer and Chief Justice...
he had been made responsible for assisting the Duke of York in the defence of the realm during Richard's absence, when the exiled Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford
Duke of Hereford
There has only been one Duke of Hereford: The title was created in the Peerage of England for Richard II's cousin, Henry Bolingbroke, due to his support for the King in his struggle against their uncle Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester...
seized his chance to invade. Scrope was captured with Bussy and Green when Bristol Castle surrendered to Henry on July 28, 1399. He was summarily executed without trial in Bristol Castle
Bristol Castle
Bristol Castle was a Norman castle built for the defence of Bristol. Remains can be seen today in Castle Park near the Broadmead Shopping Centre, including the sally port.-History:...
, together with Bussy and Green, and his head carried to London in a white basket to be displayed on London Bridge. After Hereford's ascendance to the throne as Henry IV
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
, Parliament confirmed the sentence and determined that all his estates and title were to be forfeit to the crown.
Family
He married in 1396 Isabel Russell(d.1437), 2nd. daughter of Sir Maurice RussellMaurice Russell, knight
Sir Maurice Russell of Kingston Russell, Dorset and Dyrham, Glos. was a prominent member of the Gloucestershire gentry, the 3rd son, but eventual heir of Ralph Russell and his wife Alice. He was knighted between June and December 1385 and served twice as Knight of the Shire for Gloucestershire in...
(1356–1416) of Dyrham
Dyrham
Dyrham is a village and parish in South Gloucestershire, England.-Location and communications:Dyrham is at lat. 51° 29' north, long. 2° 22' west . It lies at an altitude of 100 metres above sea level. It is near the A46 trunk road, about north of Bath and a little south of the M4 motorway...
, Glos. and Kingston Russell
Kingston Russell
Kingston Russell is a large mansion house and manor near Long Bredy in Dorset, England, west of Dorchester. The present house dates from the late 17th century but in 1730 was clad in a white Georgian stone facade. The house was restored in 1913, and at the same time the gardens were laid out...
, Dorset.
Earldom
An attempt was made to reclaim the Earldom by a collateral descendant, over 500 years later. Although he was proven to be the senior heir male general, the claim failed on other grounds.In 1869, the Committee for Privileges of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, after a series of hearings beginning in 1862 under the title of Wiltes Claim of Peerage 4 HL 126, rejected the claim of Simon Thomas Scrope, of Danby, to the Earldom of Wiltes (Wiltshire) granted to William le Scrope, above. It was proved that Simon Thomas Scrope was the senior heir male of the Earl of Wiltes, but the Committee for Privileges decided that as a matter of law an English peerage could not descend to heirs male general who were not directly descended from the original grantee; they also rejected arguments based on the irregularity of the original sentence by Henry IV before he had become King. The Committee declined to follows its own earlier decision in the Devon Peerage Claim (1831) 5 English Reports 293, in which a grant to "heirs male" had been allowed to pass to heirs male collateral.