Dear Newsgroup ~
This is the first part of a two part post. The first part below concerns the identification of Joan Bittlesgate (living 1450), wife of Richard Wydeville, Esq. (died 1442). The second part will concern her parentage and ancestry.
Complete Peerage 11 (1949): 17-19 includes an account of Richard Wydeville, Esq. (died 1442), which individual was the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth Wydeville, wife of Sir John Grey and King Edward IV of England. Regarding his marriage, the following
information is provided by Complete Peerage:
"He married _____, said to have been daughter and heiress of John Bedlesgate by _____, daughter and heiress of William Beauchamp of Wellington. Somerset." END OF QUOTE.
The source for this information is given in footnote d on page 19:
"Arch. Cantiana, vol. i, p. 178, where their armorial brass in Maidstone church is reproduced from the Church Notes of Sir Edward Dering (circa 1630)." END OF QUOTE
Complete Peerage 14 (1998): 549 amends the identification of Richard Wydville's wife as follows:
"[Richard Wydeville] married Joan, daughter of Thomas Bittelsgate of Knighteston, co. Devon, by Joan, daughter of Sir John Beauchamp of Lillesdon." END OF QUOTE.
The information in footnote d, page 19, in the earlier version of Complete Peerage, Volume 11, is replaced by the following documentation in Volume 14 identifying Richard Wydeville's wife as Joan Bittlesgate:
"Arch. Cantiana, vol. 64, pp. 120-124, reproducing their memorial brass from the Church Notes of Sir Edward Dering (circa 1630) and an extract from a petition of 1475 of Anthony, Earl Rivers, naming Joan's father as Thomas Bittlesgate (see also Coat of
Arms, N.S. vol. 9, 1992, p. 182." END OF QUOTE
An abstract of the original Chancery petition of Anthony Wydeville, 2nd Lord Rivers, cited by Complete Peerage, Volume 14, is available on the online Discovery catalogue. The petition in the catalogue is dated as being 1475-1480, or 1483-1485, not 1475
as claimed by Complete Peerage. The abstract reads as follows:
Reference: C 1/54/3
Short title: Earl Rivers v Knolle.
Plaintiffs: Anthony, earl Rivers, son of Richard, son of Jane, daughter of Thomas Bittellesgate, esquire, late of Knyghsteton.
Defendants: John, son and heir of John Knolle, feoffee to uses.
Subject: Manors of Knyghsteton, Sperkeheys, Lytelcombe, Ovir Gabriell, and Haydencombe. Devon. END OF QUOTE.
The original Chancery petition of Anthony Wydeville, 2nd Lord Rivers, cited above can be viewed online on the Anglo-American Legal Tradition website. It reads in part as follows:
"Antoni Erle Ryvers cosyn & heire to Thomas Bitellesgate Esquier late of Knyghsteton that is to say sone of Richard sone to Jane doughter to the said Thomas that where the said Thomas was seased of the manor of Knyghsteton aforesaid Sperkeheys Lytelcombe
Ovir Gabriell & Maydencombe with th'appurtenances in the countie of Devon in his demene as of fee ... " END OF QUOTE.
Reference: Early Chancery Proceedings, C l/54/3 (available at
http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT4/ChP/C1no54/IMG_0006.htm).
Interestingly, there is another record related to the above mentioned petition found in the Discovery Catalogue. This record is dated 1478, and supports the statement of Anthony Wydeville, 2nd Lord Rivers, that he was the “cousin and heir” of Thomas
Bittlesgate. This record reads as follows:
“Devon Records Office: Petre, 123M/TB472
Description: Knyghsteton, 25 September 18 Edward IV [1478]
Feoffment in trust
John Knollys of Taunton, Somerset, gent. son and heir of John Knollys recently of Uskombe, Devon, gent. deceased to Anthony Wilevile Earl Rivers, kinsman and heir of Thomas Bitellesgate esq. recently lord of Knygsteton [in Ottery St Mary] deceased and
Humfrey Courteney esq.
Manors of Knyghsteton, Sperkeheys, Litelcombe, Overgabriell, Maidencombe and Charlton (which descended to Knollys on his father's death, and which his father had by the gift of Thomas Bittellesgate for the use of Thomas), to hold to the Earl and
Courteney to the use of the Earl. (Knyghsteton is in Ottery St Mary, Sparkeheys in Colyton, Litelcombe in Branscombe, Maidencombe in Stokeinteignhead. Overgabriell has not been identified. Charlton may be in the parish of Charleton or may be in Upottery).
Witnesses: John Crokker knight, Walter Courteney, Richard Eggecombe. END OF QUOTE.
Reference:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/ca26c71d-aded-46d1-93f8-9e4e51a2bb58
So we have three versions of the identity of Joan, wife of Richard Wydeville, Esq.
1. Complete Peerage 11 (1949): 17-19: Joan, wife of Richard Wydeville, is “_____, said to have been daughter and heiress of John Bedlesgate by _____, daughter and heiress of William Beauchamp of Wellington. Somerset."
2. Complete Peerage 14 (1998): 549: Joan wife of Richard Wydeville, is “Joan, daughter of Thomas Bittelsgate of Knighteston, co. Devon, by Joan, daughter of Sir John Beauchamp of Lillesdon."
3. Early Chancery Proceedings, C l/54/3 identifies Joan wife of Richard Wydeville as “Jane, daughter of Thomas Bitellesgate Esquier late of Knyghsteton, Devon.
So what is a truth? Inasmuch as Anthony Wydeville, Esq., was surely in a position to know his grandmother’s name and parentage, the third version above is obviously the correct answer. As for further evidence of Joan Bittlesgate being the wife of
Richard Wydeville, the following seven records confirm that her given name was Joan. In all of these records below, she is called Joan, whereas Anthony Wydeville her grandson referred to her as Jane. It should be noted that the given names Joan and
Jane were fully interchangeable in this time period.
1. In 1415 Richard Wodevile, donsel, nobleman, and Joan his wife, noblewoman, of the diocese of Lincoln, were granted a papal indult for a portable altar. Reference: Papal Regs.: Letters 6 (1904): 363.
2. In 1428 Richard Wydeville and Joan his wife leased a manor adjoining LaMote, Kent from Archbishop Chichele for a term of 50 years.
3. On 25 Feb. 1442 Joan, widow of Richard Wydeville, granted a release of the manor of Salford, Bedfordshire to Archbishop Chichele.
4. On 4 July 1442 Joan, widow of Richard Wydeville, was granted license to hold the manor and advowson of the church of Wick Hamon (in Wicken), Northamptonshire for life.
5. On 3 August 1442 Joan, widow of Richard Wydeville, presented to the church of Wick Hamon (in Wicken), Northamptonshire.
6. In Hilary term 1444 Thomas Davy, Citizen and tailor of London, sued Joan Wydevylles, of Mote, Kent, widow, and John Manning, of the same, yeoman in the Court of Common Pleas regarding a debt of £24. Reference: Court of Common Pleas, CP40/732, image
1031f (available at
http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no732/aCP40no732fronts/IMG_1031.htm).
7. In Trinity term 1450 Alexander Haysand, Citizen and draper of London, sued Joan widow of Richard Wodevyle, Esq., of Mote in Maidstone, Kent in the Court of Common Pleas regarding a debt of £11 20d. [Reference: Court of Common Pleas, CP40/758, image
680d (available at
http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no758/bCP40no758dorses/IMG_0680.htm)].
In summary, we see contemporary evidence proves that Richard Wydeville’s wife was Joan (or Jane), daughter of Thomas Bittlesgate, Esq. We learn that Joan Bittlesgate was living as late as Trinity term 1450. In the next post, the parentage and
ancestry of Joan Bittlesgate will be more fully examine.
For interest’s sake, I have copied below my current file account of Richard Wydeville, Esq. (died 1442) and his wife, Joan Bittlesgate (living Trinity term 1450).
Douglas Richardson, Historian and Genealogist
+ + + + + + + + +
RICHARD WYDEVILLE (or WYDEVYLL, WYDEVILL, WIDEVYLLE, WODEVYLE), Esq., of Mote (in Maidstone), Kent, Salford, Bedfordshire, Grafton Regis and Wick Hamon (in Wicken), Northamptonshire, etc., and of Calais, seigneur of Préaux and Dangu (both in Normandy),
King’s esquire, Seneschal of Normandy, Treasurer-General of Normandy, Captain of Caen and Guînes, Captain of Gisors and la Tour de Chaumont, 1421–2, Lieutenant of Calais, 1427–32, 1435–6, Sheriff of Northamptonshire, 1437–38, Chamberlain of
John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford, Constable of the Tower of London and Rochester Castle. In 1404 he granted William Fortho and two othes all the underwood in Wykepark with all trees growing in that wood in the parish of Wyke Hamon (in Wicken),
Northamptonshire, except the “fryth” under a certain size. He married before 1408–10 (date of account) JOAN (or JANE) BITTLESGATE (or BITTLISGATE, BITTELISGATE), daughter of Thomas Bittlesgate, Esq., of Knightstone (in Ottery St. Mary),
Maidencombe (in Stoke-in-Teignhead), Sparkhayes (in Colyton), and Upper Gabwell (in Stoke-in-Teignhead), Devon, by Joan, daughter and co-heiress of William Beauchamp, of Wellington, Somerset. They had one son, Richard, K.G. [1st Earl Rivers], and two
daughters, Elizabeth (wife of John Pashley, Knt.) and Joan (wife of William Haute, Esq.). In 1404 he made a grant of all the underwood in Wick Park (in Wicken), Northamponshire to William Furtho and two others, who were to make a fence round the park at
their expense. In 1411 he was in the service of Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence. In 1415 he and Joan his wife were granted a papal indult for a portable altar. By the early 1420’s he became chamberlain to John, Duke of Bedford, remaining in
his employ until Bedford’s death in 1435. In 1421 Richard Wydevill sued John Brigge, of Salford, Bedfordshire, milner and John Colet, of Hulcote, Bedfordshire, husbandman in the Court of Common Pleas regarding a debt of 100s. In 1422 Margaret, widow
of Peter Salford, gave a receipt to Richard Wydevyle of 11 marks for rent of her portion of the manor of Salford, Bedfordshire. In the period, 1425–27, he and three others were appointed to make a journey to the Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of
Burgundy. In 1428 Oliver Groos and others conveyed the manor of Salford, Bedfordshire, together with lands in Hulcote, Aspley, and Segenhoe, Bedfordshire to various trustees for Richard Wydeville, they including his half-brother, Thomas Widevylle, Esq.,
of Grafton, Northamptonshire. The same year he and Joan his wife leased a manor adjoining LaMote, Kent from Archbishop Chichele for a term of 50 years. In 1430 he sued Richard Pesshon, of Salford, Bedfordshire, husbandman, in the Court of Common Pleas
regarding a trespass [vi et armis] at Salford, Bedfordshire. In 1433–34 he was indentured to serve in France. He was a legatee in the 1434 will of his half-brother, Thomas Wydeville, Esq., who bequeathed him all his lands and tenements in Grafton,
Northamptonshire. In 1437 Richard Wydevill, Esq., Richard Wydevill, Knt., his son, William Garnets, Esq., and Edward Clayton, clerk, sued John Swerdere, senior, of Great Leighs, Essex, husbandman, and two others in the Court of Common Pleas in a Kent
plea regarding a debt of 200 marks. The same year Elizabeth, widow of Reginald Ragoun, sister and heir of Thomas Wydevylle, and John Heldwell, son of Agnes, sister of the said Elizabeth, granted the manor of Salford, Bedfordshire to Richard Wydevylle.
In 1437 Richard granted the manor of Salford, Bedfordshire to Cardinal Beaufort, Archbishop Chichele, and Sir Walter Hungerford. In 1440 John Fastall [Fastolf], Knt. sued Richard Wydeville, Esq., of Mote (in Maidstone), Kent, in the Court of Common
Pleas regarding a debt of £20. The same year Thomas Barnewell, Citizen and fishmonger of London, and another sued Richard Wydevyll, Esq., of Motte [Mote in Maidstone], Kent, in the Court of Common Pleas regarding a debt of 103s. 4d. He presented to
the church of Wyke-Hamon, Northamptonshire 19 August 1440. RICHARD WYDEVILLE, Esq., died shortly before 25 Feb. 1442, on which date his widow, Joan, granted a release of the manor of Salford, Bedfordshire to Archbishop Chichele. He left a will dated 29
Nov. 1441, requesting burial in the church of Maidstone, Kent. On 4 July 1442 his widow, Joan, was granted license to hold the manor and advowson of the church of Wick Hamon (in Wicken), Northamptonshire for life. His feoffees presented to the church
of Grafton Regis, Northamptonshire 15 July 1442. His widow, Joan, presented to the church of Wick Hamon (in Wicken), Northamptonshire 3 August 1442. In Hilary term 1444 Thomas Davy, Citizen and tailor of London, sued Joan Wydevylles, of Mote, Kent,
widow, and John Manning, of the same, yeoman in the Court of Common Pleas regarding a debt of £24. In Trinity term 1450 Alexander Haysand, Citizen and draper of London, sued Joan widow of Richard Wodevyle, Esq., of Mote in Maidstone, Kent in the Court
of Common Pleas regarding a debt of £11 20d.
References:
Collins, Peerage of England 1 (1714): 304–307 (sub Earls Rivers, Widville). Bridges, Hist. & Antiqs. of Northamptonshire 1 (1791): 299–301 (Wydvill ped.: “Richard Wydville = Joan d. and h. of …. Beauchamp in Somersetshire.”), 333. Bentley,
Excerpta Historica (1831): 249–250 (marriage settlement of William Haute, Esq., and Joan daughter of Richard Wydevill, Esq., dated 1429). Baker, Hist. & Antiqs. of Northampton 2 (1836–41): 160–167 (Wideville/Wydeville ped.: “Richard de Wideville,
of Grafton, & of the Mote near Maidstone, co. Kent, esq. esquire of the body to Hen. 5, & seneschal of Normandy 8 Hen. 5, constable of the Tower 3 Hen. 6, lieutenant of Calais 5 Hen. 6, sheriff co. Northt. 16 Hen. 6, living 18 Hen. 6 (1440), dead 20
Hen. 6 (1442). = Joan, d. & h. of … Beauchamp, co. Somerset, living 20 Hen. 6 (1442).”), 177. Top. & Gen. 1 (1846): 159–160. Arch. Cantiana 5 (1863): 121 (Fam. Chronicle of Richard Fogge: “Sr John Fogge married Alice ye Daur of Sr Wm Haute of
Elmsted in Kent by his Wife Margt daur of Richard Woodville Esqr wch Sr Wm was Son to Sr Nicholas by his Wife Elianor daur of Sr Robt Rosse Knt; Joane Sister to Alice Haute was married to Sr George Darell of Littlecote.”). Monro, Letters of Queen
Margaret of Anjou & Bishop Beckington (Camden Soc. 86) (1863): 16, 21–24, 38–41, 42–43 (instances of Richard Wydville styled “cousin” by Richard Bokeland [Buckland], Treasurer of Calais). Bonnin, Cartulaire de Louviers 2(1) (1871): 115–116 (
Richard Wydeville [Senior] [died 1442] styled “seigneur of Préaux” in 1431). Martin, Catalogue of the Archives in the Muniment Rooms of All Souls’ College (1877): 188. Benolte et al., Vis. of Somerset 1531, 1573 & 1591 (1885): 4 (Beauchamp ped.:
“Eliz. [Beauchamp] = R. Woodville.”), 136 (Woodvile ped.: “Elizabeth [Beauchamp] ux. Richard Woodvile.”). Genealogist n.s. 6 (1889): 196, 199; n.s. 12 (1895): 244, 247–248. Hunter, Familiæ Minorum Gentium 4 (H.S.P. 40) (1896): 1301–1303 (
Scott ped.: “Sir Richard Widvile of Maidstone. = Mary, dau. of .... Bedelsgate, Esq.”). List of Sheriffs for England & Wales (PRO Lists and Indexes 9) (1898): 93. Papal Regs.: Letters 6 (1904): 363. D.N.B. 21 (1909): 885–888 (biog. of Richard
Woodville or Wydeville, 1st Earl Rivers: “[He] was son of Richard Woodville of the Mote, near Maidstone in Kent, and (after the death of his elder brother Thomas) of Grafton, Northamptonshire. The Woodvilles had been settled at Grafton as early as the
reign of Henry II, but the manorial rights were first acquired by Woodville’s uncle Thomas. His mother was Joan Beauchamp, heiress of a Somersetshire family (BAKER, ii. 166; Hist. MSS. Comm. 9th Rep. p. 113; but cf. Genealogist, vi. 199)”). Trans.
Hist. Soc. of Lancashire & Cheshire 62 (1911): 58–66 (painting of the quarterings of Hesketh fam. include the arms of Woodville, Scales, Gobion, Bedelsgate, and Beauchamp). C.C.R. 1422–1429 (1933): 472. Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries 24 (1951):
126–127 (“The closely-documented biography, Elizabeth Woodville (1437–1492) Her Life & Times, by David MacGibbon (London, 1938), gives many details of the Queen’s ancestry; her father, Sir Richard Woodville, first Earl Rivers, was the son of
Richard Woodville of The Mote near Maidstone by ‘Mary daughter and heiress of John Bedleygate by Mary, daughter and co-heir of William Beauchamp of Wellington, Somerset’ (MacGibbon, p. 9, quoting Cokayne, Complete Peerage, Old Series, VI, 371, and
Genealogist, New Series, VI, 199). The biographer adds, however, that according to some accounts (Baker, Northamptonshire, II, 166; J. Bridges, Northamptonshire, I, 300; Hist. MSS. Comm., 9th Report, p. 113; Dict. Nat. Biog., XXI, 885) the first Earl
Rivers’ mother was ‘Joan Beauchamp, heiress of a Somersetshire family’. My attention was drawn to this matter when I noted that a Maidstone newspaper, in an article on Mote Park, described the Queen’s grandmother as “Mary Bodulgate.’ Is
this the correct solution of the question, and was the Queen in fact partly of Cornish descent?”). Arch. Cantiana 64 (1952): 121–124 (“On the north side of the sanctuary [Maidstone, Kent] lies the top slab … of what was once the table tomb of
Richard Wydvil who died between 1441 and 1442. The brass consisted of an armoured figure, a female, scrolls, the Annunciation, the Trinity, and a shield at each corner. The shields bore I. Quarterly 1 and 4 argent a fess and a quarter gules, Wydvil; 2
and 3 gules, an eagle displayed or, Prewes or Prowes. II. Quarterly 1 and 4 or on a bend sable 3 bedles argent, Bedlesgate; 2 and 3 vair, Beauchamp.). III as I; and IV, I impaling II. It would seem, therefore, that Richard Wydvil’s mother was a
Prowes.) [Author’s note: The Prewes arms were doubtless included at Richard Wydeville’s tomb because he was seigneur of Préaux in Normandy which seigneury evidently entitled him to use those arms]. Ross, Patronage Ped. & Power in Later Medieval
England (1979): 62 (author states that “the heiress whom he [Richard Wydeville] is supposed to have married has not been satisfactorily identified.”). Coat of Arms n.s. 9 (1992): 178–187. NEHGR 147 (1993): 3–10. Bowers, English Church
Polyphony (1999): (author identifies Thomas Ragoun as nephew of Sir Richard Wydeville, a prominent figure in the English administration). VCH Northampton 5 (2002): 413–438. Grummitt, Calais Garrison (2008): 21, 23, 26, 95n., 99, 100, 106 (“Richard
Wydeville was the younger son of a Northamptonshire landowner, whose career in the garrisons of Lancastrian Normandy qualified him to serve as lieutenant of Calais in the 1420s and 1430s.”). Northamptonshire Past & Present 62 (2009): 19–30.
Higginbotham, Woodvilles: The Wars of the Roses & England’s Most Infamous Fam. (2013). MSS Comm., 9th Annual Rpt., p 113a. Court of Common Pleas, CP40/640, image 1002d (available at
http://aalt.law.uh.edu/H5/CP40no640/bCP40no640dorses/IMG_1002.htm).
Court of Common Pleas, CP40/677, image 351f (available at
http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no677/aCP40no677fronts/IMG_0351.htm). Court of Common Pleas, CP40/705, image 176f (available at
http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no705/aCP40no705fronts/IMG_
0176.htm). Court of Common Pleas, CP40/717, image 167f (available at
http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no717/aCP40no717fronts/IMG_0167.htm). Court of Common Pleas, CP40/717, image 1929d (available at
http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no717/
bCP40no717dorses/IMG_1929.htm). Court of Common Pleas, CP40/732, image 64f (available at
http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no732/aCP40no732fronts/IMG_0064.htm). Court of Common Pleas, CP40/732, image 1031f (available at
http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/
H6/CP40no732/aCP40no732fronts/IMG_1031.htm). Court of Common Pleas, CP40/758, image 680d (available at
http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no758/bCP40no758dorses/IMG_0680.htm). Furtho – Cat. of recs. of Arnold Charity c.1250–1484, #FIX/1 (available
at www.cosgrovehistory.co.uk/doc/furtho/1250.html). Medieval & Tudor Kent Wills at Lambeth (will of Richard Wydevyle the elder dated 1441) (available at
https://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/Wills/Lbth/Bk23/page%20240.htm). National Archives,
C 1/54/3; E 101/71/3/876; E 101/49/38; E 101/50/7; E 101/184/16 (account dated 1408–10 of Richard Wydevile and Joan his wife of certain tenements in Calais); E 101/322/14; E 101/322/15 (available at
http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk). National
Archives, CP 25/1/114/302, #206; CP 25/1/292/66, #53; E 101/51/9; E 101/49/38; E 101/51/21 [see abstract of fines at
http://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/index.html].
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