Conflict in Gascony in 1325

In this post we are highlighting a conflict from 700 years ago in which two owners of Middleton Hall were involved and that ultimately led to the overthrowing of the English king.

In 1325, Middleton was in its period of divided ownership in which the entire manor and even the Hall itself had been divided equally between the heirs. One third was in the inherited possession of Joan, the youngest daughter of Philip de Marmion and at that time the wife of Sir Henry Hillary. Another third had been inherited by Joan de Cromwell, granddaughter of Philip de Marmion, and had recently been legally converted into a joint possession with her husband Sir Alexander de Freville. The final third had been inherited by Ralph le Boteler, the grandson of Philip de Marmion, and he had also converted his share into a joint possession with his wife, Hawise de Gobion.

In England, King Edward II was on the English throne and The Despenser War (1321-1322) had recently concluded. In France, King Charles IV had ascended to the throne in 1322. The new French king was described as having an aggressive determination to control all of French territory, which created tensions with his brother-in-law King Edward. These tensions were further exacerbated after King Edward failed to pay homage in person to the French King for the Duchy of Gascony after a dispute in 1324. In July 1324, King Charles invaded Gascony and this was known as the War of Saint-Sacerdos, which was a humiliating defeat for the English in which the French seized the Duchy of Aquitaine.

On the following 9th March, King Edward sent his wife, Queen Isabella of France, to negotiate terms. Queen Isabella negotiated a truce in Gascony and also that her son Prince Edward, the future King Edward III, would perform homage on behalf of his father. Prince Edward performed his homage on the 24th September 1325 and the Duchy was returned to the English.

This situation connects to the history of Middleton’s owners because a document records that on the 15th April 1325 Ralph le Boteler was on the king’s military service in Gascony for the term of at least a year. Furthermore, on 21st August 1325, a document stated that Baldwin I de Freville, who was the son and heir of Joan and Alexander de Freville, was going overseas for a period of at least four months in the service of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster and Leicester, who was accompanying Prince Edward to France. In the preceding Despenser War, Ralph had been on the side of King Edward. However, Baldwin had been on the side of the rebels. This has relevance because of the different stages they were involved in and the consequences.

Tomb effigy of Ralph le Boteler in Norbury Parish Church, Staffordshire, 2024. Photograph taken by Liz Bates.

Queen Isabella and her entourage and her son and his entourage refused to return to England after negotiations had concluded and remained in France, protected by her brother. She remained because she was angry with her husband and angry and afraid of his favourites, particularly because they had seized her lands and taken her children away from her after the English defeat in the War of Saint-Sacerdos. During her negotiations in France, she had become a beacon to those rebels who had been exiled during The Despenser War and she had also begun an affair with the exiled Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, who had been a leader of the rebels in that War. In September 1326, Isabella and Mortimer successfully invaded England and on the following 21st January King Edward II was deposed.

Further Reading: Calendar of the Patent Rolls of King Edward II, vol. 5, 1904, pp.167, 171.

"Plea Rolls for Staffordshire: 18 Edward II", Staffordshire Historical Collections, vol. 10, part 1, G. Wrottesley (ed.), 1889, via British History Online, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/staffs-hist-collection/vol10/pt1/pp57-62

Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.

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