Godfrey Greene to Sir William Plumpton

16 Godfrey Greene to Sir William Plumpton, 9 December [1468] (No. 25,
      p. 170; CB 622)

Right reuerend & my most especiall gude maister,^a I recomend me
vnto your good mastership, and as touching your nisi prius¹ against
Fulbaron, it were well doon that ye appointed with Mr Danby² at what
place and what day in his comeing home after the next tearme ye
would haue it serued, so that I might haue word the beginning of the
next tearme to take out the writt according to your appointment. Also
as for þe writt [p. 171] against Geffray Maliuera, John Cockle, Richard
Croft, Hanson and other, I stand in doubt whether Mr Midleton³ &
Mr Ros greed you and Sir John Maliuera thereof,⁴ or no, because they
are all his men. Notwithstanding, if they aggreed you nott, and ye send
me word, I trust to haue an exigent the next tearme.

     My lord of Oxford⁵ is committ to the Tower, and, it is said, kept in
irons, and that he has confessed myche thinges; and on Munday afore
St Andrew Day one Alford and one Poiner,⁶ gentlemen to my [lord]
of Northfolk, and one Sir Peirs Skinner⁷ of London were beheaded,
and on the morne after was Sir Thomas Tresham⁸ arest and is comitt
to the Tower, and it is said he was arrested upon the confession of my
lo: of Oxford; and they say his liuelhood, and Sir John Marneys⁹
liuelhood, and diuers other liuelhuds is giuen [. . .]^a away by the king.
Also there is arest Mr Hungerford the heir vnto the Lord Hungerford¹⁰ &
one Courtney¹¹ heir vnto the earl of Devonshire and many other whose
names I know nott, & it is said that Sir Edmund Hungerford is send
for, and also the yeomen of þe crowne bene riden into diuerse countries
to arrest men that be appeched. Also it was told me that Sir Robert
Ughtred¹² was send for but I trust to God it is not so, who haue you
euermore in his blessed proteccion. Written at London 9 December.^b

Your servant Godfrey Greene

Endorsed (p. 170): To my right reuerend and most especiall gud maister
Sir William Plompton kt

     ^a Marginal note: 25 letter.

     ^b Marginal note: Copied Feb. 1612, Munday.

     ¹ The assize justices hearing a case at nisi prius were empowered only to proceed on
issues referred to them for convenience out of one of the benches, and had to send the
results back to the relevant court for judgement, Baker, 19–20.

     ² Robert Danby, of Thorpe Perrow (d.1474), CJCP.

     ³ Thomas Middleton, 14.

     ⁴ See 10.

     ⁵ John de Vere, 13th earl of Oxford (d.1513) turned king’s evidence, James Gairdner
(ed.), Three Fifteenth-Century Chronicles (Camden Society, 2nd ser., xxviii, 1880), 78–9.

     ⁶ John Poynings and William Alford, Ross, Edward IV, 122–3.

     ⁷ Richard Stairs, a London skinner, ibid.

     ⁸ Sir Thomas Tresham was eventually freed, but beheaded after Tewkesbury, 1471,
Roskell, Commons, 368–9; M.A. Hicks, ‘Edward IV, the Duke of Somerset and Lancastrian
Loyalism in the North’, NH, xx (1984), 34.

     ⁹ Sir John Marney, of Layer Marney, Essex (d. by 1472), CPR, 1467–77, 151, 155, 329,
344–5; J. Wedgwood and A. Holt, History of Parliament: Biographies of Members of the Commons
House 1439–1509 (1930), 575.

     ¹⁰ Thomas Hungerford, executed 1469 at Salisbury in the king’s presence, M.A. Hicks,
’Piety and Lineage in the Wars of the Roses: the Hungerford Experience’, in R.A.
Griffiths and James Sherborne (eds), Kings and Nobles in the Later Middle Ages: A Tribute to
Charles Ross (Gloucester, 1986), 94–5.

     ¹¹ Henry Courtenay, brother and heir of Thomas, earl of Devon (exec. 1461), whose
lands and honours were still forfeit, J.A.F. Thomson, ‘The Courtenay Family in the
Yorkist Period’, BIHR, lv (1972), 31–2; GEC.

     ¹² Of Kexby, near York (d.1472), 161.

LETTER XIII.

To my right reverend and most especiall good maistre Sir William
Plompton, kniht.^a

    Right reverend and my moste speciall gude maistre, I recomend
me unto your good mastership, and as touching your nisi prius
against Fulbaron, it were well doon that ye appointed with Mr.
Danby^b at what place and what day in his comeing home after
the next tearme ye would have it served; soe that I might have
word the begining of the next tearme, to take out the writt, ac-
cording to your appointment. Also as for the writt against Gef-
fray Malivera, John Cockle, Rich. Croft, Hanson and other, I
stand in doubt whether Mr. Midleton and Mr. Ros greed you and
Sir John Malivera^c thereof, or no, because they are his men; not-
withstanding if they agreed you nott, and ye send me word, I trust
to have an exigent the next tearme. My Lord of Oxford is comitt
to the tower, and it is said kept in irons, and that he had con-
fessed myche thinge; and on Munday afore St. Andrew day one
Alford and Poiner, gentlemen to my Lord of Northfolk, and one
Sr peirs, Skinner of London, were beheaded; and on the morne
after was Sir Thomas Tresham^d arest and is comitt to the tower:
and it is said he was arested upon the confession of my Lo. of
Oxford, and they say his livelhood, and Sir John Marneys^e live-
lhood, and divers other livelhuds is given away by the king. Also
there is arest Mr. Hungerford, the heir unto the Lord Hungerford,
and one Courtney, heir unto the Earle of Devonshire, and many
other, whose, names I know nott; and it is said that Sir Edmund
Hungerford^f is send for. And also the yeomen of the Crowne
bene riden into diverse countries to arrest men that be apeched.
Also it was told me that Sir Robt. Ughtred^g was send for, but
I trust to God it is not so, who have you evermore in his blessed
proteccion. Written at London, 9 of December.

                                                      Your servant GODFREY GREENE.

(9 Dec. 8 Edw. IV. 1468.)

    ^a The news communicated by Godfrey Grene in this letter furnishes some additional
historical information to fill up the meagre outline of the events of the time, as
given in the chronicles. To begin with the "remarkable fragment" printed by
Hearne in the same volume with "Sprotti chronica," p. 296; it is there narrated,
"this vii^th (lege viii^th) yere Margarete sustir unto King E. bifore saide departid
frome the King, and rode thurgh oute London behynde the Erle of Warwicke, and rode
that night to Stratforde Abbay, and from thens to the se syde, and went into Flaundres
to Brugis, where she was maryid with grete solempnite. And within short space
aftir, thois astates, as the duchess of Northfolke with othir, retournid in to Englond,
in whois Company were ii. young gentilmen, that one namid John Poyntz, and that
othir William Alsford, the which were arestid bicause in the tyme of the forsaide ma-
riage they hadde familiar communication with the duke of Somersett and his com-
plicis there, in the which they were bothe detectid of treason: whereuppon one Richard
Steris skinnar of London with thois ii. Were behedid att the toure-hill the xxi. day
of Novembre." This extract is from a contemporary and well-informed writer,
and accords with the news in the letter, save that the day of execution is spoken of
in the latter as being Monday before St. Andrew day, i. e. 28 November (instead of
Monday se'nnight, 21 November) and the name Steris (or Staires. Rot. Parl. vi. 292b)
is written "S^r peis," an error no doubt of our copyist in 1612. In Fabyan in this
notice of the events of the year 1468, 8th Edward IV. "This yere, and xxi. day of
Novembre, a servaunte of the Duks of Exceter, named Richard Sterys, after his Juge-
ment, was drawen thorughe the cytie unto the Tower Hylle, and there parted in ii.
pesys, that is, the hede frome the body. And upon the daye followynge, two persones
beyng named (the one) Poynys and that other Alforde, were drawen westwarde to
Tyborne, and there whan they shulde have been hanged, there chartours were shewyd,
and so preservyd.

    " And about this season or soon after, was the Erle of Oxenforde, which before
tyme was taken by a surmyse in ielosy of treason, awaytyd for and arrestid, and after
delyvered."    (Feb. Chron. London, 1811, 4 to. p. 657.)

The surmise of treason against the Earl of Oxford was not without cause; for, on
the 18th July, nine days after the marriage of Margaret to the Duke of Burgundy,
we find him writing to Sir John Paston, knight, from Canterbury, to order him three
horse harness, as though it were for himself, together with two standard-staves, and
concluding his letter in these words, "I trust to God we shalle do right well." But
the Earl's fortitude appears to have failed him upon being committed to the Tower;
"it is said he had confessed myche thinge," writes Sir William Plumpton's corre-
spondent. Of his accomplices, Hungerforde and Courtenay were executed; "and this
yere," to use the words of a contemporary writer, * "was Syr Thomas Hungreford,
Knight, sunne to the Lorde Hungreforde, and Henry Curteney of right Erle of Deven-
shere, behedid at Salisbyre;" the others here named were, with the Earl, restored to
grace.

    ^b Robert Danby, Chief Justice C.P. in 8 Edward IV. 1468, a Knight in 1471,

    ^c Sir John Maulevere of Allerton-Mauleverer, com. Ebor. kt.

    * Chron. ap. Lel. Coll. vol. i. part 2, p. 500. It is stated by Dugdale that Sir
Thomas Hungerford was seized and tried for his life at Salisbury on Monday pre-
ceding the feast of St. Hilary, 8 Edward IV. when he had judgment as a traitor, and
suffered next day. But according to the record he was arraigned with Courtenay on
Monday next after the feast of St. Hilary, i. e. 16 January 1468-9, for treason charged
to have been committed on the 21 May, 8 Edw. IV.; and it was on the next day that,
after a trial and conviction by jury, both were sentenced to execution. (Vide Rot.
Parl. vi. 306 b.) Henry Sotehill was attorney for the King on the occasion.

 ^d Sir Thomas Tresham, of Rushton, com. Northn, kt. a zealous Lancastrian, be-
headed at Tewkesbury in 1471.

    ^e Sir John Marney, of Layer Marney, com. Essex, kt. ancestor of the Lords Marney.

    ^f Sir Edmund Hungerford, kt. was great-uncle to Sir Thomas Hungerford, Knight.

    ^g Sir Robert Ughtred of Kexby, com. Ebor. kt.