Ralph Neville KG (abt. 1364 - 1425)

Born about 1364 in Durham, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Margaret (Stafford) Neville — married after 19 Jun 1382 in England

Husband of Joan (Beaufort) de Neville LG — married before 29 Nov 1396 in Anjou, France [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 21 Oct 1425 at about age 61 in Raby Castle, Durham, England

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Biography

Ralph Neville (nicknamed Dawraby after Raby in County Durham, which he held), K.G., 4th Lord Neville of Raby, son and heir of John de Neville, K.G., 3rd Lord Neville of Raby, and Maud de Percy, was born about 1364-1367 (aged 21 or 24 in 1388,^[1][2] according to his father's Inquisition Post Mortem).^[3][4]

Ralph married twice and had 23 children that included four peers, three duchesses and four more were peeresses, by modern standards. Of the duchesses, his daughter Cecily, Duchess of York, was the mother of two kings, Edward IV and Richard III.^[3] From 1404 to 1407, Ralph and his two brothers, Thomas, Lord Furnival and John, Lord Latimer, sat together in the House of Lords.^[3] Between 1450 and 1455 at least 13 members of the family (sons, sons-in-law and grandsons) sat together in the House of Lords.^[3]

Titles and Timeline

1380: Took part in the Earl of Buckingham's expedition to Brittany,^[2] where he was knighted at St. Omer, July 1380^[3][4]

26 October 1385: Joint Keeper of the Castle and city of Carlisle,^[3] along with Thomas, son of Lord Clifford^[4]

27 March 1385/6: Joint Warden of the West March toward Scotland^[3][4]

1386: Ralph was a legatee in his father's will^[2]

October 1388: 4th Lord Neville of Raby,^[2] succeeding his father, the escheators giving him seisin of his lands on 17 Oct 1388, the King taking his homage and fealty on 9 November 1388^[3]

25 October 1388: Joint Surveyor of Fortifications in the Marches^[3]

May 1389: Joint Warden of the West March toward Scotland on 8 May,^[3][4] Keeper of the Forest beyond Trent for life, on 24 May^[3]

6 December 1389: Ralph was summoned to Parliament by writs directed Radulpho de Nevyll de Raby (to 30 November 1396)^[2][3]

1389-1424: Ralph was continually employed on the border, negotiating truces and peace with Scotland^[2][3]

3 June 1391: He obtained the lands of Gilbert de Umfreville, titular Earl of Angus, including Harbottle Castle, Northumberland, holding them until January 1409/10.^[3] Gilbert married his daughter Anne, by his first wife^[2]

1393/4: Justice of the Peace in the North and West ridings of Yorkshire and at that same time, he took part in the negotiations for peace with the Scots following the negotiations at Leulinghem in the early 1390's for a final settlement with France^[4]

May 1395: Ralph was retained as a king's knight by Richard II^[4]

February 1396/7 - September 1398: Held Wark Castle, Northumberland,^[3] a temporary acquisition^[4]

21 September 1397: Constable of the Tower of London until 30 October 1397^[3]

29 September 1397: created 1st Earl of Westmorland,^[2][5] for his support in the King that year against the Duke of Gloucester and the Lords Appellant^[3][4]

28 November 1398: Guardian of the truce in the East March^[3]

July - September 1399: Ralph played a key role in Richard II's abdication and the elevation of his exiled brother-in-law, the Duke of Hereford, to the throne as King Henry IV^[2][3][4]

30 September 1399: On the day of Henry IV's accession, Ralph was made Marshall of England for life, a position he resigned in or before 1412/3^[3][4] in favor of his son-in-law, John, Earl of Norfolk^[6]

13 October 1399: Carried a Sceptre at the Coronation of Henry IV and the next week, Ralph was given a grant for life of the Honor of Richmond,^[4] but was not given the title of Earl of Richmond, which was created during Ralph's lifetime and given to Henry IV's son, John, Duke of Bedford^[3] in 1414^[4]

4 December 1399: Made Privy Councillor, approved by Parliament on 1 March 1403/4^[3][4]

13 February 1400/1: Commissioner to treat with the King of the Romans for the marriage of the Princess Blanche^[3]

16 March 1401/2: Keeper of Roxborough Castle^[4] until 12 November 1408, when his son John was appointed^[3]

14 September 1402: Ralph was with the King in Wales when the Scots were defeated by the Percys: for this service he later (ca. May 1405) received their forfeited lands, known as "Lucylandes", for life^[3]

ca. 1403: Knight of the Garter,^[3][7] filling the vacancy created by the Duke of York's death the previous year^[4] (see Order of the Garter)

July - August 1403: After the King defeated Hotspur and his uncle Worcester at Shrewsbury, Ralph was in the field against Northumberland in the North,^[3] driving Northumberland back to Warkworth Castle.^[4] On 29 July 1403 he was made Warden of Berwick and the East March until 6 August 1403,^[3] when he was made Warden of Carlisle and the West March, serving until 15 May 1414^[3][4]

29 May 1405: He intercepted the Archbishop Scrope and Lord Mowbray at Shipton Moor, York and arrested them;^[3] five days later, they were executed. Ralph was granted the Percy Lordships in Cumberland and their barony of Langley in Northumberland, for life.^[4]

1410: Founder of the collegiate church at Staindrop, Durham^[4]

17 April 1415: Ralph was appointed one of the Council of Regency under the Duke of Bedford, with a special responsibility for the Scottish Marches, and took no part in the invasion of France at the Battle of Agincourt that year^[3] (see Research Note below)

1417: Ralph played a part in the negotiations that led to the restoration of the Percy family's honours and lands to Henry Percy, grandson of the first earl of Northumberland, who married Ralph's daughter, Eleanor^[4]

December 1422: Served as a member under Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester of the Council of Regency;^[2][3][6] established for the infant King Henry VI.^[4] Ralph was also one of the executors of King Henry V's will,^[3] in which Ralph and his wife were each left a gold goblet^[4]

First Marriage and Children

Ralph first married Margaret Stafford, daughter of Hugh de Stafford, K.G., 2nd Earl of Stafford and Phillippe de Beauchamp.^[2][3] They were married by papal dispensation dated 19 June 1382.^[1][2] They had two sons and six daughters:

• John, Knt.,^[1] born before 1387, died in France before 20 May 1420, married Elizabeth Holand and had issue,^[2][3][4] including Ralph, who succeeded as 2nd Earl Westmorland^[6]
• Ralph, Knt.^[1] of Oversley, Warwickshire, married Mary Ferrers^[2] (his step-sister). Ralph died in 1458.^[4]
• Maud, (or Matilda) married Peter de Mauley, 5th Lord Mauley.^[2][4] Maud died in 1438.^[8]
• Alice, married Sir Thomas Grey of Heaton, Northumberland^[2] and second, Sir Gilbert Lancaster^[4] (this second marriage is not found in Richardson's works)
• Philippe, married Thomas Dacre, Knt., 6th Baron Dacre of Gilsland^[2][4]
• Elizabeth, Minoress nun^[1][2][4]
• Anne, married Sir Gilbert Umfraville^[4] of Harbottle, Northumberland^[2]
• Margaret, married first Sir Richard le Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Bolton, and second to William Cressener, Esq. of Sudbury, Suffolk^[2][4]

Another possible child, not named by Richardson:

• Anastasia, Complete Peerage, citing "Genealogist" N.S. vol. iii, pages 109-110, states that Anastasia, who probably died in infancy, was Ralph's 9th child, being the youngest by his first wife, was omitted from the "Genealogist" list of children. ODNB states that Ralph "may have had another daughter, Anastasia, who died in infancy or childhood".^[4]

Margaret was a legatee in the 1385 will of her father, Hugh de Stafford, K.G., 2nd Earl of Stafford.^[2][6] She died 9 June 1396 and was buried at Brancepeth, County Durham.^[2][3]

Second Marriage and Children

Ralph married his second wife Joan Beaufort^[4] some time before 29 November 1396,^[1][2][3][9] possibly at Château de Beaufort, Maine-et-Loire, Anjou,^[10] but the place needs further verification. Joan, born about 1379, was the widow of Robert Ferrers, 2nd Lord Ferrers of Wem, and legitimized daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Aquitaine and Lancaster, Earl of Derby, Lincoln and Leicester (younger son of King Edward II) and his third wife, Katherine de Roet,^[2] widow of Sir Hugh Swynford.^[3] They had nine sons and five daughters:^[1][4]

• Richard, K.G.,^[1] 5th Earl of Salisbury, married Alice Montagu.^[2] He lived from 1400-1460.^[4]
• Henry,^[2] died in infancy^[4]
• Thomas,^[2] died in infancy^[4]
• Cuthbert,^[2] died in infancy^[4]
• Robert, clerk, born 1404, died testate in 1457, Bishop of Salisbury and Durham,^[2] Salisbury from 1427-1438 and Durham from 1438--1457^[4]
• William, Knt., Earl of Kent, 6th Lord Fauconberge, married Joan Fauconberge.^[1][2] He lived from 1401-1463.^[4]
• John,^[2] died in infancy^[4]
• George, Knt., 1st Lord Latimer, married Elizabeth Beauchamp.^[1][2][6] (NOTE: ODNB has different information on George - see Research Note).
• Edward, Knt., Lord Bergavenny, married first to Elizabeth Beauchamp^[4] and second to Katherine Howard^[1][2]
• Katherine, married first John Mowbray, K.G., Earl of Norfolk and Nottingham; second, Thomas Strangways, Esq.; third, John Beaumont, K.G., K.B., 1st Viscount Beaumont; and fourth, Sir John Wydeville;^[1][2] she was their eldest daughter^[4]
• Eleanor, married first to Richard le Despencer, second to Sir Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland^[2][4]
• Anne, married first to Humphrey Stafford, K.G., 1st Duke of Buckingham, and second to Walter Blount, K.G., K.B., 1st Lord Mountjoy^[2][4]
• Cecily, married Richard Plantagenet, K.G., 3rd Duke of York,^[2] mother of Kings of England Edward IV and Richard III^[3][4]
• Joan, nun^[2][4]

Joan and Ralph were legatees in the 1397 will of Joan's father, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. Joan was a legatee in the 1421 will of her nephew, King Henry V of England.^[2]

Death and Burial

Ralph died testate at Raby Castle on 21 October 1425 and was buried at Staindrop, Durham,^[9] at the collegiate church.^{[2][3][4][11]} His widow, Joan, Countess of Westmorland, died at Howden, Yorkshire on 13 November 1440 and was buried at Lincoln Cathedral with her mother.^[2][3][9] Her will was dated 10 May 1440.^[3]

Ralph's will, dated 18 October 1424, was signed at Raby Castle and proved at Durham.^[3] Apparently, Ralph's first will, made 8 August 1400, did not reduce the inheritances of the children of his first marriage, however the 1424 will did. In the 1430's, Ralph's grandson Ralph Neville, 2nd Earl of Westmorland, had a dispute with Joan and her children over the inheritance as his grandfather had virtually disinherited the children of his first marriage.^[4]

Research Notes

Two Daughters-in-Law named Elizabeth Beauchamp

Sons George and Edward both married women named Elizabeth Beauchamp, which often causes confusion as they are different women. The wife of George was the daughter of Richard Beauchamp KG, Earl of Warwick (son of Thomas) and Elizabeth Berkeley. The wife of Edward was the daughter of Richard Beauchamp KB, Earl of Worcester, Lord Bergavenny (son of William) and Isabel Despenser.

Son George

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography has different information on Ralph's son George (with Joan Beaufort): "the third son, George (d. 1469), inherited the estates of his uncle of the half-blood John Neville, Lord Latimer, but he became insane c.1450 and the custody of his lands passed to his brother Richard. George married Jane Welby."^[4] More research needed.

Fictional Character

Ralph was not in the Agincourt campaign, notwithstanding Shakespeare in Henry V ,^[3][10][12] Instead, he remained in England, protecting the northern marches.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11} Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2013), vol. IV, pages 233-237, NEVILLE #13.
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 2.34 2.35 2.36 2.37 2.38 2.39 2.40} Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 2nd edition, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2011), vol. III, pages 246-249 NEVILLE 8, Ralph Neville
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 3.28 3.29 3.30 3.31 3.32 3.33 3.34 3.35 3.36 3.37 3.38 3.39 3.40 3.41 3.42 3.43} Cokayne, George Edward and Geoffrey White ed. Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Vol. XII part 2: Tracton to Zouche, 2nd edition. (1916). Online at FamilySearch.org, pages 544-548: WESTMORLAND.
4. ↑ ^{4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 4.29 4.30 4.31 4.32 4.33 4.34 4.35 4.36 4.37 4.38 4.39 4.40 4.41 4.42 4.43 4.44 4.45 4.46 4.47 4.48 4.49 4.50} Tuck, Anthony. "Neville, Ralph, first earl of Westmorland (c. 1364–1425), magnate" in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 3 Jan 2008, Oxford University Press. Accessed 7 Apr 2020, with subscription, at ODNB.
5. ↑ Cokayne, George Edward and H.A. Doubleday et. al eds. Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Vol. IX: Moels to Nuneham, 2nd edition. (London, 1936). Online at FamilySearch, page 503: NEVILLE.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4} Charles Cawley. Ralph Neville entry in Medieval Lands database (accessed 9 Apr 2020).
7. ↑ Heraldica.org: List of the Knights of the Garter, 1348-present
8. ↑ James Raine, ed. Testamenta Eboracensia; or, Wills Registered at York. London: J. B. Nichols, 1836. Online at Archive.org, pages 66-68: Maud's will.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd edition, vol. IV, pages 313-314 WEM #8, Robert Ferrers.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Wikipedia: Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland.
11. ↑ St. Mary's Church, Staindrop.
12. ↑ Brittanica.com: Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland.

• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. (Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2011). See also WikiTree's source page for Magna Carta Ancestry.
• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. (Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2013). See also WikiTree's source page for Royal Ancestry and vol. IV, pages 233-237 (effigy/monument pictures pages 234-235); vol. III, page 500; vol. V, page 340.
• Cawley, Charles. "Medieval Lands": A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families © by Charles Cawley, hosted by Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG). See also WikiTree's source page for MedLands.

See also:

• Lewis, Marlyn. Sir Ralph Neville, 1st Earl Westmorland, 4th Baron Neville entry in "Our Royal, Titled, Noble, and Commoner Ancestors & Cousins" website, accessed 7 Apr 2020
• Luminarium: Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland (1364-1425).
• Weis, F. Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists. 7th ed, 1999, pages 10-33.

Acknowledgements

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Magna Carta Project

This profile was re-reviewed and approved for the Magna Carta Project on 9 Apr 2020 by Thiessen-117.

Ralph Neville KG is a descendant of Magna Carta Surety Barons Roger le Bigod, Hugh le Bigod, Richard de Clare, Gilbert de Clare, John Fitz Robert, John de Lacy, and Saher de Quincy in trails badged by the Magna Carta project to the following Gateway Ancestors:

• Bernard Gateways (Richard and William: badged in 2015. See the trails HERE and HERE.
• Saint Leger Codd: connected in 2019 to existing trail badged in 2015. See the trails HERE.
• Edward Digges: badged after Jun 2015. See the trail HERE.
• John Fisher: badged in/about 2015, re-reviewed in April 2020. See the trail HERE.
• Warham Horsmanden: badged May 2020. See the trail HERE.
• Levis Gateways (Samuel, Hannah, Sarah): badged in February 2020. The trail can be seen HERE (see Need).
• Nelson Gateways (John and Margaret): badged in 2015 and 2016 and needs re-review. See the trail HERE.
• Robert Peyton, through his mother: trail was badged in 2015 and can be seen HERE.
• Torrey Gateways (William and Samuel): badged May 2022. See this trail HERE.

Ralph Neville KG is also in unbadged trails (needing work) to the following Gateways:

• Need Gateways (Mary and Joseph) (MCA II:221-223 NEED): Levis trail badged in February 2020. The trails can be seen HERE (see Levis). 3 profiles need development.

See Base Camp for more information about Magna Carta trails. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".