in the 33rd of the same monarch he attended the king in his expedition into Gascoigne, and in the next year he obtained, in right of his wife, the manor of BLETNESHO, or BLETSHO, in the eo. Bedford, which he made the chief place of his residence. In the 46th of EDWARD III., being still captain of Calais, his lordship had license to transport his household goods and other necessaries thither without the payment of any custom upon the same, and in the next year he had a special commission to take care that the peace then made between King EDWARD and the Earl of Flanders should be preserved within the marches of Calais. In the 5th of EDWARD, being then CHAMBERLAIN OF THE HOUSEHOLD, Lord Beauchamp had a pension for life of 100 marks per annum, in consideration of his eminent services, out of the farm of the castle and town of Devizes, in Wiltshire. His lordship d. in 1379, and was s. by his son, ROGER DE BEAUCHAMP, as second BARON BEAUCHAMP, of Bletsho; but this nobleman was never summoned to parliament. His lordship proving his age in the 7th of RICHARD II., had livery of all his lands. In the 18th (1394-5) of the same reign, we find this nobleman attending the king into Ireland; but of his lordship, who m. Johanna Clopton, nothing more is known than that he was succeeded by his son, JOHN DE BEAUCHAMP, 3rd baron, but never summoned to parliament. This nobleman doing homage in the 8th of HENRY IV. (1406-7), had livery of his lands; but he d. in six years afterwards. He m. Edith, dau. of Sir John Stourton, and left by her (who m. 2ndly Sir Robert Shottesbrook) a son and beir, JOHN DE BEAUCHAMP, 4th baron, then only two years old, at whose decease the title and estates passed to his only sister and heiress, MARGARET DE BEAUCHAMP, who m. 1st, Sir Oliver St. John, Knt, and conveyed the BARONY OF BEAUCHAMP, OF BLETSHO, into that family, from which it was carried by Anne St. John, of Bletsho-(see BURKE's Peerage and Baronetage, article ST. JOHN-into the family of William, Lord Howard, son and heir of Charles, 1st Earl of Nottingham, whose dau. and heiress, Elizabeth, m. John Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Peterborough, and the barony of Beauchamp of Bletsho, with that of Mordaunt, is now vested in the co-representatives of the Dukes of Gordon (see that title); Margaret de Beauchamp m. 2ndly, John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset, and by him was mother of Margaret, Countess of Richmond, whose son ascended the British throne as King HENRY VII. BEAUCHAMP-BARONS BEAUCHAMP, OF HACHE, IN THE CO. SOMERSET. By Writ, dated 29 December, 1299. Lineage. The first of this Somersetshire family of whom mention is made by Dugdale, is ROBERT DE BEAUCHAMP, who, in the 3rd of HENRY II. (1156-7), accounted the king £6 for a mark of gold, and, in the 9th of the same monarch, was sheriff of the cos. Somerset and Dorset. In three years afterwards, this Robert, upon the assessment of the aid for marrying the king's dau., then levied, certified his knight's fees, veteri feoffamento, to amount in number to seventeen, for which, in the 14th of HENRY II., he paid £7 18. 8d., that is 88. 4. for each knight's fee. In the 22nd of the same HENRY, he again enjoyed the sheriffalty for the same cos., and continued in office for five years, and one half of the sixth year following. This feudal lord d. in 1228, leaving in minority, and in ward to Hubert de Burgh, his son and heir, ROBERT DE BEAUCHAMP, who d. before 1251, and was s. by his son, ROBERT DE BEAUCHAMP. Of this feudal baron nothing is known beyond his being engaged against the Welsh with HENRY III., and his founding the priory of Frithelstoke, in the co. Devon. He was yet living in 1257, and was s. by his son, JOHN DE BEAUCHAMP, who, in the 5th of EDWARD I. (1276-7), was made governor of the castles of Kaermerdin and Cardigan. He m. Cicely, dau, and heiress of Maud de Kyme, dau. of William Ferrers, Earl of Derby, by her second husband, William de Vivonia, which William was son of Hugh de Vivonia, by Mabel, one of the co-heirs of William Mallet, a great baron, who d. temp. HENRY III. This John de Beauchamp, who d. 1283, was s. by his son, JOHN DE BEAUCHAMP, who was summoned to parliament as a baron by the style of "lo de Bello Campo (de Somerset)," the same reign was one of the distinguished persons who received the honour of knighthood with Prince Edward, the king's eldest son, being in the expedition made into Scotland in that year. In the 8th of EDWARD II. his lordship was again in the Scottish wars; and in the 14th of the same king he succeeded to the very extensive landed possessions of his mother, comprising the manor of Sturminster-Marshal, in the co. Dorset, a moiety of the manor of West Kington, in the co. Wilts, of the whole manor of Wadmersh, in the co. Surrey, of the manor of Bullingham, in the co. Cambridge, also the hamlets of Watweton and Widecombe. In two years afterwards Lord Beauchamp was made governor of the castle of Bridgewater. In the 7th of EDWARD III. (1333-4), he obtained license to fortify his manor houses at Hacche, Estokes, and South Hainedon, and to embattle their walls. His lordship d. in 1336, up to which period he had regular summonses, and was s. by his son, JOHN DE BEAUCHAMP, 2nd Lord Beauchamp, of Haeche, summoned to parliament from 24 August, 1336, to 24 February, 1343. This nobleman participated in the glories of EDWARD III.'s reign, being constantly engaged in the French wars of that monarch. His lordship d. in 1343, and was 8. by his son (then twelve years of age, and under the guardianship of Robert de Ferrers, and Reginald de Cobham), JOHN DE BEAUCHAMP, 3rd baron, summoned to parliament from 15 November, 1351, to 20 November, 1360. This nobleman was in the expedition made into Gascoigne, in the 33rd of EDWARD III., and of the retinue of Thomas de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, whose dau. Alice he had married. His lordship d. in 1360 without issue, when the BARONY OF BEAUCHAMP OF HACCHE fell into ABEYANCE between his three sisters and coheiresses, and in that state it still continues amongst their descendants, Those ladies were 1. Cecily, m. 1st, to St. Roger Seymour, by whom she had a son, William, from whom the Duke of Somerset, and Marquess of Hertford, derive; and 2ndly, to Richard Turberville, of Bere Regis, in Dorset, by whom she left a dau, Juliana Turberville. II. Margaret, wife of Thos Challons. Upon the division of the estates, Cecily had for her share the manors of Hacche, Shipton, Beauchamp, Murifield, and onethird of the manor of Shipton Mallet, in the co. Somerset, with certain lands in Sturminster Marshal, in the co. Dorset; the manors of Boultberry and Harberton, in Devonshire; the manor of Dourton, in Buckinghamshire; of Little Hawes, in Suffolk, and two parts of the manor of Selling, in Kent. Arms.-Vaire az. and arg. BEAUCHAMP-BARONS BEAUCHAMP, OF KYDDERMINSTER. By Letters Patent (the 1st Barony so created), dated 10 October, 1387. Lineage. SIR JOHN DE BEAUCHAMP, Knt., of Holt, in co. Worcester, (great grandson of William de Beauchamp, Lord of Elmley, and his wife, Isabel, dau. and heiress of William Mauduit, of Hanslope, see Beauchamp, Earls of Warwick), having participated in the high achievements of his distinguished family, during the martial reign of EDWARD III., obtained a grant, in the 11th of RICHARD II. (1387-8), of the manors and lands belonging to the priory of Deerhurst, in the co. Gloucester, being then steward of the king's household, and was elevated to the peerage by letters patent, dated 10 October, 1387, (the 1st barony* so conferred), as LORD BEAUCHAMP, OF KYDDERMINSTER. This honour, however, he did not long enjoy, for, in the same year, he was attainted of high treason along with Sir John Tresilian, chief justice of the King's Bench, That the solemn investure of this John, and all other barons who were thenceforth created by patent, was performed by the king himself, by putting on a robe of scarlet, as also a mantle (with two gards on the left shoulder) and a hood, and all furred with minever, there is no doubt; which form of creation continued until the 13th year of King JAMES, that Sir James Hay (a Scotchman) was advanced to the dignity of a baron of this realm by letters patent, date Junii, by the title of Lord Hay, of Sauley, the lawyers then declaring that the delivery of the letters-patent was sufficient without any un 29 December, 1229, 28th of EDWARD I., and in the 34th of ceremony.-DUGDALE and several others, by the parliament which the nobles forced ⚫ the king to assemble, and beheaded upon Tower-hill, his sentence being so commuted from hanging and quartering, which latter punishment the chief justice underwent. Lord Beauchamp m. Joane, dau. and heiress of Robert le Fitzwith, and was 8. by his only son (then but ten years of age, the lordship of Holt being committed, during his minority to Thomas, Earl of Warwick), JOHN DE BEAUCHAMP, 2nd baron (the attainder being, we presume, repealed). This nobleman attended King RICHARD II. into Ireland, in the 22nd year of that monarch's reign (1398-9), and executed the office of escheator of the co. Worcester, in the 8th of HENRY IV. (1406-7). His lordship d. in 1420, leaving an only dau. and heiress, Margaret, who m. 1st, John Pauncefort, and 2ndly, John Wysham, when the BARONY OF BEAUCHAMP, OF KYDDERMINSTER, EXPIRED. BEAUCHAMP-BARONS BEAUCHAMP, OF POWYKE. By Letters Patent, dated 2 May, 1447. Lineage. WALTER DE BEAUCHAMP, a younger son of William de Beauchamp, Lord of Elmley, and his wife, Isabel, sister and heiress of William Mauduit, Earl of Warwick (see Beauchamp, Earls of Warwick), having purchased from Reginald Fitzherbert a moiety of the manor of Alcester, co. Warwick, made that one of his principal seats, calling it Beauchamp Court; the other being at Powyke, co. Worcester. This Walter, who was a very eminent person at the period in which he lived, being signed with the cross for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, had a legacy of 200 marks bequeathed to him by his father, for his better performance of that voyage. He was steward of the household to King EDWARD I., and attended that monarch to Flanders, and into Scotland, where he shared in the honours of Falkirk on 22 July, 1298. In the 29th of the same reign he was one of the lords in the parliament of Lincoln, being then styled Dominus de Alcester, who signified to the pope, under their seals, the superiority of King EDWARD over the kingdom of Scotland. His lordship m. Alice de Tony, and had issue, 1. WALTER, Successor to his father, II. William, a military man of celebrity, who succeeded to part of the estates of his elder brother. III. Giles, who inherited the lordship of Alcester, by the settlement of his eldest brother. The eldest son, WALTER DE BEAUCHAMP, succeeded his father in 1306, and was the next year in the expedition against the Scots. In 1317, soon after the death of Guy, Earl of Warwick, his kinsman, he had custody of all the lands belonging to Warwick Castle, together with the castle itself, during the minority of the young earl. In 1327 he had a special commission to execute the office of constable of England in a particular case; and dying in the following year, s. p., was s. by his brother, WILLIAM DE BEAUCHAMP, a military officer of high reputation, who had attended EDWARD I. in several of his expeditions into Flanders and Scotland. In the 10th of that monarch he acted as sheriff of Worcestershire, which office was granted to him during the minority of the heir of his kinsman, Guy, Earl of Warwick. In the 14th of EDWARD II. he was appointed governor of St. Briavel Castle, co. Gloucester, and of the Forest of Dean, and was constituted, in the year following, one of the king's commissioners for the safe custody of the city of Worcester. Dying, however, without issue, his estates devolved upon his brother, GILES DE BEAUCHAMP, who had already inherited, by the settlement of his eldest brother, the lordship of Alcester, the manor-house of which, called Beauchamp's Court, he had license to fortify in the 14th of EDWARD III. with a wall of stone and lime, and to embattle it; and he obtained similar permission regarding his house at Fresh-Water, in the Isle of Wight, in the 16th year of the same reign, 1342-3. This Giles was s. by his son, JOHN DE BEAUCHAMP, of whom little is mentioned save his founding a chantry in the parish church of Alcester, temp. EDWARD III., for one priest to celebrate divine service daily at the altar of All Saints, and his being in the expedition against France in the 3rd of RICHARD II. This John de Beauchamp left two sons, I. WILLIAM (Sir), his successor. 11. Walter (Sir), from whom the Beauchamps. Barons of St. Amand, derived (see that dignity), and was s. by the elder, SIR WILLIAM DE BEAUCHAMP. Knt., who, in the 16th of RICHARD II., was made constable of the castle of Gloucester. In the 3rd of HENRY IV. (1401-2). was appointed sheriff of Worcestershire, and upon the accession of HENRY V.. sheriff of Gloucestershire. He m. Catharine. dau.. and eventually coheir, of Sir Gerard de Ufflete, and was s. by his son. SIR JOHN DE BEAUCHAMP. Knt., who purchased from Thomas de Botreaux the other moiety of the manor of Alcester, which han continued in that family for divers descents. In the 17th of HENRY VI., this Sir John de Beauchamp (2 May, 1447) was elevated to the peerage, in consequence of the many good and acceptable services performed by him to that king, and to HENRY V. his father, by the title of Lord Beauchamp, Baron of Powyke. He was also constituted justice of South Wales, with power to exercise that office personally or by deputy: and ere long (28th HENRY VI.) was raised to the office of lord treasurer of England, and honoured with the Garter. His lordship d. in 1475 (says Sir H. Nicholas), and by his last testament, dated 9 April, 1475, bequeathed his body to sepulture in the church of the Dominican Friars, at Worcester, in a new chapel to be made on the north side of the choir. Lord Beauchamp was s by his only son, then forty years of age, SIR RICHARD BEAUCHAMP, 2nd Lord Beauchamp, of Powyke, whom. Elizabeth, dau. of Sir Humphrey Stafford, Knt, and had issue, 1. Elizabeth, m. to Sir Robert Willoughby, Lord Willoughby de Broke, and had an only son, Edward, who predeceased his father, leaving by his wife Elizabeth, dau. of Richard Nevil, Lord Latimer, three daus.. of whom the eldest. Elizabeth, alone left issue; which Elizabeth m. Sir Fulke Greville, 2nd son of Sir Fulke Greville. of Milcote, co. Warwick, and from that union descend the extant EARLS of BROOKE AND WARWICK, the BARONS WILLOUGHBY de BROKE, FULKESOUTHWELL GREVILLE, Esq., of North Mymms Place, Herts, M.P. for co. Longford, &c., &c. II. Anne, m. to Richard Lygon, Esq., of Worcestershire, and from this marriage the present EARL BEAUCHAMP derives. (See BURKE's Peerage and Baronetage.) III. Margaret, m. to Richard Rede, Esq., of co. Gloucester. His lordship d. in 1496, and thus leaving no male issue. the Barony of Beauchamp of Powyke EXPIRED, while the estates of the deceased lord devolved upon the above ladies as co-heiresses. Elizabeth, Lady Willoughby de Broke, having the manor of Alcester, and her sisters Powyke and the other lands in the co. of Worcester. BEAUCHAMP-EARL OF ALBEMARLE. By Letters Patent, dated 1417. (See Beauchamp, 5th Earl of Warwick.) BEAUFORT-EARL OF DORSET, AND By Letters Patent, dated-18 November, 1416. This was a branch of the royal house of Plantagenet, springing from the celebrated JOHN OF GAUNT (4th son of King EDWARD III., and so denominated from the place of his birth, Gant, or, as we spell it, Ghent, anno 1340), Earl of Richmond, Duke of Lancaster, and Duke of Aquitane, K.G., who m., for his 3rd wife, Katherine, dau. of Sir Payn Roet, a knight of Hainault and Guienne King of Arms, and widow of Sir Hugh (or Otes) Swinford, but had the following issue by her before his marriage, who were legitimated by parliament, in the 15th RICHARD II., for all purposes, save accession to the crown, viz., JOHN, EARL OF SOMERSET. HENRY, bishop of Lincoln, 1397, and of Winchester, 1405; CARDINAL, 1426. This was the celebrated CARDINAL BEAUFORT, Lord Chancellor of England, who crowned Henry VI. in Paris as king of France in 1431, and d. at Winchester in 1447. THOMAS, of whom presently. Joane, m. 1st, to Sir Robert Ferrers, 2nd Lord Ferrers, of Wemme; and 2ndly, to Ralph Nevill, Earl of Westmoreland. The youngest son (surnamed Beaufort, from the castle of Beaufort in France, part of the marriage portion of Blanch of Artois, upon her marriage with Edward Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster), BEA SIB THOMAS BEAUFORT. having attained some eminence in the reign of RICHARD II.. was appointed admiral of the whole fleet to the northwards, in the 5th of HENRY IV., and retained to serve the king in that command with 300 men at-arms, himself and one banneret being part of the number. In the 10th of the same monarch he was made captain of Calais, and in the next year had another grant of the office of admiral, both of the northern and western seas. for life. In which employments Sir Thomas deported himself with so much discretion that he was soon afterwards (2nd HENRY IV.) appointed lord chancellor of England, with a pension of 800 marks per annum, over and above the ordinary fees and wages of that high office, to enjoy from 31 January preceding, so long as he should hold the same. He obtained likewise a grant of some of the forfeited lands of Sir Robert Belknap, and in addition to the command of the northern and western seas, the admiralship of Ireland, Aquitaine, and Picardy, with six tuns of wine yearly from the port of Kingston-upon-Hull. In the 13th of HENRY IV. he was elevated to the peerage as EARL OF DORSET, and upon the accession of HENRY V.. being then lieutenant of Aquitaine, he was retained to serve the king in that capacity for one halfyear, with 240 men-at-arms and 1.200 archers. In the 2nd year of the new monarch his lordship was one of the ambassadors te negotiate a marriage between his royal master and Catherine, dau. of the king of France: and in the next year he had the honour of commanding the rear-guard at the celebrated battle of Agincourt. "consisting of archers. and such as were armed with spears halberds, and bills," and was constituted lieutenant of Normandy. In the 4th of HENRY V. (1416-17), his lordship was created DUKE OF EXETER, for life only, in the parliament then held at London. having therewith a grant of £1,000 per annum out of the exchequer, and £40 per annum more payable from the city of Exeter. During the remainder of the martial reign of the gallant HENRY V., at whose solemn funeral he assisted as a mourner, his grace continued constantly engaged upon the plains of Normandy, and reaped fresh laurels in each succeeding campaign. Upon the accession of the new monarch (HENRY VI.) the duke's services in France were retained. with three bannerets, three knights, 182 men-at-arms, and 600 archers, and he obtained in the same year the office of justice of North Wales. His grace m. Margaret, dau. and co-heiress of Sir Thomas Nevil, of Horneby, co. Lincoln, Knt, but had no issue. He d. 27 December, 1417, when the earldom of Dorset and dukedom of Exeter EXPIRED, but his great landed possessions devolved upon his nephew, John, Duke of Somerset. In the last testament of this eminent person, dated 29 December, in the 5th of HENRY VI., he ordains that as soon after his decease (viz., the first day, if possible, or the second or third at the furthest), a thousand masses should be solemnly sung for his soul, &c., that no great cost should be incurred at his funeral and that five tapers only, in so many candlesticks, should be placed round his remains. That as many poor men as he should be years of age at the time of his death should carry a torch at his funeral, each of them having a gown or hood of white cloth, and as many pence as he himFurthermore, he self had lived years; likewise the same number of poor women to be similarly attired and remunerated. bequeathed to each poor body coming to his funeral a penny; and he appoints that at every anniversary of himself, and Margaret his wife, that the abbot of St. Edmundsbury, if present, should have 68. 8d.; the prior, if present, 38. 4d.; and every monk there at that time 20d.; giving to the monastery for the support of these anniversaries 400 marks. To Joane, his sister, Countess of Westmorland, he gives a book, called Tristram, and to Thomas Swineford, a cup of silver gilt, with a cover. To the use of poor scholars in Queen's College, Oxon, he bequeaths £100, to be deposited in a chest, to the end that they might have some relief thereby, in loan, desiring that the borrowers should in charity pray for his soul, &c., and upon the like terms he bequeaths £100 more, to be similarly placed to Trinity Hall, Cambridge. The deceased duke was a knight of the Garter. Earldom, by Letters Patent, anno 1397. In the 20th year of RICHARD II., the Lord Chancellor having SIR JOHN BEAUFORT, Knt., eldest son of John of Gaunt, by Catharine Swineford (eee Beaufort, Duke of Exeter), Earl of 35 SOMERSET. His lordship was advanced in the next year (also HENRY, who s. as 2nd Earl of Somerset. Edmund, who, in the 9th of HENRY VI., was appointed, under Jane, m. to JAMES I. King of Scotland, who has celebrated Margaret, m. to Thomas Courtenay, Earl of Devon. His lordship, who, among other honours, was a knight of the HENRY BEAUFORT, 2nd Earl of Somerset, god-son to King JOHN BEAUFORT, 3rd Earl of Somerset, K.G., a distinguished military commander in the reigns of HENRY V. and HENRY VI., by the latter of whom he was created, in 1443, Earl of Kendal and Duke of Somerset, by which title he was made lieutenantgeneral of Aquitaine, and of the whole realm of France, and Duchy of Normandy. His grace m. Margaret, dau. of Sir John Beanchamp, of Blesto, Knt., and heiress of John, her brother (which lady m. after the duke's decease, Sir Leode Welles), by whom he left an only dau. and heiress, Margaret, who m. Edmund Tudor, surnamed of Hadham, Earl HENRY, EARL OF RICHMOND, who ascended the throne as Her ladyship m. 2ndly, Sir Henry Stafford, Knt., and 3rdly, same.' John, Duke of Somerset, d. in 1444, when that dignity and the Earldom of Kendal EXPIRED; but the Earldom of Somerset devolved upon his brother, EDMUND BEAUFORT, Marquess of Dorset, as 4th Earl of Somerset. This nobleman commanded, in the 10th of HENRY VI., one of the divisions of the Duke of Bedford's army in appointed joint commander, with Richard, Duke of York, of all the English forces in the duchy. He subsequently (15th HENRY Normandy, and upon the death of that eminent general, was VI.) laid successful siege to Harfleur; and afterwards crossing the Somme, invested, with equal fortune, the Fort of Fulleville, when he formed a junction with Lord Talbot. In a few years following, he acquired an accession of renown by his relief of Calais, then invested by the Duke of Burgundy, and for his good services upon that occasion, was created (24 August, His lordship continuing to distinguish 1441) Earl of Dorset. himself in arms, was advanced, on 24 June, 1442, to the Marquisate of Dorset, by which title he inherited the Earldom of Somerset at the decease of his brother in 1444, and the next year was constituted Regent of France. In three years afterwards (31 March, 1448) he was created Duke of Somerset. His grace was also knight of the Garter, and lord high constable. But the fortune of war veering soon after, and Caen falling into the hands of the French, the Duke had to encounter a storm of unpopularity in England, to which he was recalled, with the hostility of Richard, Duke of York, and Roses, which about that period broke out, he fell in the first D 2 espousing the Lancastrian cause, in the lamentable war of the battle of St. Alban's in 1455. His grace had m. Allanore, one of the daus. and co-heiresses of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and had issue, HENRY, Earl of Morteign, his successor. John, slain at the battle of Tewkesbury. Alianore, m. 1st, to James Boteler, Earl of Wiltshire, and 2ndly, to Sir Robert Spencer, Knt. Joane, m. to the Lord Howth, of Ireland, and afterwards to Sir Richard Fry, Knt. Anne, m. to Sir William Paston, Knt. had a further grant of the Isle of Man, to hold for life, by the services which the lords thereof had usually performed to the kings of Scotland. In the preceding year he had been constituted governor of Roxburgh Castle, and deputed, with Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, and Robert de Clifford, to guard the marches. About this period he espoused Alice, dau. and eventually heiress of Alexander Cumyn, Earl of Boghan, constable of Scotland, and, doing his homage, in the 6th of EDWARD II. (1312-13), had livery of her lands. In the 10th of the same monarch, Lord Beaumont (he had been previously Margaret, m. to Humphrey, Earl of Stafford, and afterwards styled "consanguineous regis,' says Nicolas, and summoned to Sir Richard Darell, Knt. Elizabeth, m. to Sir Henry Lewes, Knt. The duke was 8. by his eldest son, HENRY BEAUFORT, 2nd Duke of Somerset, K.G., a very distinguished personage in the York and Lancaster contest. His lordship, like his father, being a staunch Lancastrian, was constituted, in the 36th of HENRY VI., governor of the Isle of Wight, with the castle of Carisbroke, and in the following year appointed captain of Calais. He subsequently continued high in the confidence of his royal master, until the defeat sustained by the Lancastrians at Towton, on 12 March, 1461, when flying from the field with the unfortunate HENRY, he is accused of abandoning the fallen monarch at Berwick, and of making his peace with the new king (EDWARD IV.) by the surrender of Bamburgh Castle. Certain it is that he was taken into favour by that prince, and obtained a grant from him of 1,000 marks per annum. In the next year, however, upon the appearance of Margaret of Anjou in the north, at the head of a considerable force, his grace resumed "the Red Rose," but falling into the hands of the Yorkists at Hexham, in 1463, he was beheaded the day after the battle, and attainted by parliament in the 5th of EDWARD IV. The duke had no legitimate issue, but left by Joane Hill an illegitimate son, Sir Charles Somerset, K.G., Knight Banneret, from whom the SOMERSETS, DUKES OF BEAUFORT, directly descend. His grace was 8. by his brother, EDMUND BEAUFORT, who after enduring a miserable exile with his brother John in France, is said to have been restored to the honours of his family (49th HENRY VI.) upon the temporary re-establishment of the Lancastrian power, and the 10th of EDWARD IV., when he is said to have been summoned to parliament as Duke of Somerset, though he is absent from the list of summonses for that year, as observes Sir H. Nicolas. His grace commanded the archers at the battle of Barnetfield, in the next year, and upon the loss of that battle fled into Wales, to the Earl of Pembroke. He was subsequently in command at Tewkesbury, where the ill-fortune of the day was attributed to his defection. His grace fled the field, but he was soon overtaken, and paid the forfeit of his head (anno 1471). As he died without issue, all his honours EXPIRED, leaving attainders out of the question, while his sisters or their representatives became his heirs. to parliament as a BARON on 4 March, 1309), being then the king's lieutenant in the north, accompanying thither two cardinals who had come from Rome, partly to reconcile the king to the Earl of Lancaster, and partly to inthronize his lordship's brother, Lewis de Beaumont, in the bishopric of Durham, was attacked, near Darlington, by a band of robbers, headed by Gilbert de Middleton, and despoiled of all his treasure, horses, and everything else of value, as were likewise his companions. His lordship and his brother were also made prisoners, the former being conveyed to the castle of Mitford, and the latter to that of Durham, there to remain until ransomed. From this period the baron continued to bask in the sunshine of royal favour, and to receive from the crown further augmentations to his territorial possessions, until the 16th of EDWARD II., when, being required to give his advice in council, regarding a truce then meditated with the Scots, he declined, contemptuously observing, "that he would give nong therein," which so irritated the king, that his lordship was ordered to depart the council, and he retired, saying, "he had rather begone than stay." He was in consequence committed, with the consent of the lords present, to prison, but soon after released upon the bail of Henry de Perci, and Ralph de Nevile. He seems within a short time, however, again to enjoy the king's favour, for we find him in two years constituted one of the plenipotentiaries to treat of peace with France, and in two years subsequently nominated guardian to David, son and heir of David de Strabolgi, Earl of Athol, deceased, in consideration of the sum of £1,000. His lordship after this time, entirely deserting his royal master, sided with the queen consort Isabella, and was the very person to deliver up the unhappy monarch to his enemies, upon his abortive attempt to fly beyond the sea. The king thereupon was committed close prisoner to Berkeley Castle, where he was inhumanly mur. dered in 1327. For this act of treachery Lord Beaumont received a grant of the manor of Loughborough, part of the possessions of Hugh le Despenser, the attainted Earl of Winchester, and was summoned to parliament on 22 January, 1334, 7th EDWARD III., as EARL OF BOGHAN. His lordship, during the reign of EDWARD III., had many high and confidential employments, and took a prominent part in the affairs of Scotland being at one time sent as constable of the king's army into that country for defence of the realm. The earl d. in 1340, leaving Arms.-Quarterly, France and England, a border gobony, by Alice Cumvn, of Buchan, his wife, four sons and six daus, arg. and az. BEAUMONT-EARLS OF LEICESTER. See BELLOMONT. BEAUMONT-VISCOUNTS BEAUMONT. By Letters Patent, dated 12 February, 1440. Lineage. The original descent of this noble family does not appear to have been clearly ascertained. Some authorities deduce it from Lewis, son of Charles, Earl of Anjou, a younger son of LEWIS VIII., king of France; some from Lewis de Brienne, 2nd son of John de Brienne, the last king of Jerusalem; and some from the Viscounts Beaumont, of Normandy. Certain it is, however, that in the reign of EDWARD I., mention is made of Isabel de Beaumont, wife of John de Vesci; of Lewis, who, in 1294, was treasurer of the church of Salisbury, and afterwards Bishop of Durham; and of HENRY DE BEAUMONT, who attending the king, 30th EDWARD I. (1301-2), in his expedition against the Scots, obtained a precept to the collectors of the fifteenth in Yorkshire for 200 marks towards his support in those wars. In the 1st year of King EDWARD II. this Henry had a grant in fee of the manors of Folkynham, Edenham, and Barton-upon-Humber, and of all the knight's fees belonging to Gilbert de Gant, which Laura de Gant, his widow, held in dower, and in three years afterwards 36 viz., JOHN, his heir; Richard; John; Thomas, of Bolton Percy; Alice; Elizabeth, m. to Nicholas de Audley; Joan, m. to Fulk. Lord FitzWarine; Isabel, m. to Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Lancaster; Beatrice, m. to the Count de Dammartin; and Catherine, m. to David, Earl of Athole. His lordship inherited, upon the decease of his sister, Isabel, wife of John de Vesci, of Alnwick, in Northumberland (one of the most powerful barons of the North), a lady of great eminence in her time, without issue, large possessions in the co. Lincoln, which, added to his own acquirements, placed him amongst the most wealthy nobles in the kingdom at the period of his death. He was s. by his son, JOHN DE BEAUMONT, 2nd BARON BEAUMONT, styled in the summons to parliament, 25 February, 1342, "Johannes de Bello-monte," but never entitled Earl of Boghan. His lordship m. Lady Alianore Plantagenet, 5th dau. of Henry, Earl of Lancaster, and great grand-dau. of King HENRY III., by whom he had an only child, Henry, born in Brabant, during her ladyship's attendance upon Phillippa, Queen Consort of EDWARD III. This nobleman, like his father, was much engaged Lady Alianore Plantagenet his wife (who m. 2ndly Richard in the Scottish wars. His lordship d. in 1342, leaving by the Earl of Arundel) an only son, to his being born beyond the sea) was ratified by act of par JOHN DE BEAUMONT, 4th baron, K.G., attaining maturity in the 6th RICHARD II. (1382-3), had livery of his lands, and in the same year with Henry de Spencer, bishop of Norwich, was in the English army sent to oppose the adherents of Pope CLEMENT VII. In four years afterwards his lordship accompanied JOHN OF GAUNT, then called King of Castile and Leon, into Spain, but before the close of that year, he was expelled the court, as one of the king's evil advisers, by the great lords assembled at Haringey Park. Soon afterwards, however, he made his peace, and had license to repair to Calais, in order to engage in a tournament, and he had then the honour of tilting with the Lord Chamberlain of the King of France. In the 12th RICHARD II., he was made admiral of the king's fleets to the northwards, and one of the wardens of the marches towards Scotland; "whereupon he entered that country forty miles, spoyled the Market at FowKE, and brought many prisoners back." In the next year he had the castle of Cherburgh in France committed to his custody, and about that time was specially enjoined to abstain from exercising any feats of arms with the French, without permission from Henry de Perci, Earl of Northumberland. In the 16th of the same reign, his lordship received a pension of £100 per annum for his services, and was constituted constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports; and in the 19th, he was appointed one of the commissioners to negotiate marriage between the King of England and Isabell, dau. of the King of France. His lordship m. Katherine, dau. of Thomas de Everingham of Laxton, in the co. Nottingham, and had issue, HENRY, his successor. THOMAS, Lord of Basquerville and Captain of Galliarde, ancestor of the BEAUMONTS, of Cole Orton, co. Leicester, Barts. (of England, and Viscounts Beaumont, of Ireland), and of the BEAUMONTS of Stoughton Grange, also in Leicestershire, now represented by SIR GEORGE HOWLAND BEAUMONT, Bart. Richard. Elizabeth, m. to William, 3rd Lord Botreaux. The baron, who had been summoned to parliament from 20 August, 1383, to 13 November, 1393, and had the honour of being a KNIGHT OF THE GARTER, d. in 1396, and was 8. by his eldest son, HENRY DE BEAUMONT, 5th baron, who received the honour of knighthood at the coronation of King HENRY IV.; and in the 11th of the same monarch's reign, was constituted one of the commissioners to treat of peace with France. His lordship Elizabeth, dau. of William Lord Willoughby de Eresby, and had issue, JOHN, his heir. Henry, from whom the Beaumonts of Wednesbury, in the co. Stafford, descended. Lord Beaumont, who had been summoned to parliament from 25 August, 1404, to 22 March, 1413, d. in the latter year, and was 2. by his eldest son, JOHN DE BEAUMONT, 6th baron, a very distinguished personage in the reign of HENRY VI., and high in that monarch's favour, under whom he enjoyed the most lucrative and honourable employments, and in whose service he eventually laid down his life. In the 14th of King HENRY (1435-6) his lordship obtained by letters patent, to himself and his heirs male, the Earldom of Boloine, being at that time upon his march for the relief of Calais, and in four years afterwards, 12 February, 1440, he was created VISCOUNT BEAUMONT (being the first person dignified with such a title), with precedency above all barons of the realm, and with a yearly fee of 20 marks out of the revenues of the co. Lincoln. His lordship received, subsequently, a patent of precedency (23rd HENRY VI.) above all viscounts thenceforth to be created; and in five years afterwards was constituted Lord High Chamberlain of England. The viscount finally lost his life at the battle of Northampton, fighting under the Lancastrian banner, on 10 July, 1459. His lordship was a knight of the Garter, and had been summoned to arliament, in the BARONY OF BEAUMONT, from 26 February 1432, to 26 September, 1439. He had m. Elizabeth, only dau. and heiress of Sir William Phelip, Lord Bardolf, by whom he left, WILLIAM, his successor. Joane, m. to John, Lord Lovel, of Tichmersh, and dying before her brother, left a son (who succeeded as Lord Lovel, but d. without issue,) and two daus., viz., 1 Joane, m. to Sir Brian Stapleton, of Carlton, Knt., from which marriage lineally descended Miles Thomas Stapleton, Esq., of Carleton, who established his co-heirship to the Barony of Beaumont, and was summoned by writ to the House of Peers 16 October, 1840. He was b. 4 June, 1805, and d. 1854, having m. 9 September, 1844, the Hon. Isabella Browne, dau. of Lord Kilmaine, by whom he had issue, HENRY, now Baron Beaumont, b. 11 August, 1848. 2 Fridiswide, m. to Sir Edward Norris, of Yattenden, Knight, whose eldest son, John, d. 8. p. and whose second, Henry, having been attainted, 1536, his portion of inheri tance in the barony was confiscated to the crown. The son of Henry, Sir Henry Norris, was summoned to parliament, 14th ELIZABETH, 1572, as Baron Norris, of Rycote, a barony now merged in the Earldom of Abingdon. John, Viscount Beaumont, was s. by his only son, WILLIAM DE BEAUMONT, 2nd viscount and 7th baron, who inherited likewise large possessions from his mother, the heiress of the Bardolfs. This nobleman adhering faithfully to the Lancastrian interest, was made prisoner by the Yorkists at Towton Field, in the 1st year of Edward IV. (1461-2), when he was attainted, and his large possessions bestowed upon Lord Hastings. From this period until the accession of King HENRY VII., his lordship shared the fallen fortunes of his party, but rising with that event, he was restored to his honours and estates by act of Parliament, passed on 7 November, 1485, in the 1st year of the new monarch's reign. The viscount m. 1st, Elizabeth, dau. of Richard Scrope, and niece of Lord Scrope, of Bolton; and 2ndly, Joane, dau. of Humphrey Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, but d. without issue in 1507, when the viscountcy EXPIRED, while the Barony of Beaumont fell into ABEYANCE, and so continued, according to the decision upon the claim of Mr. Stapleton in 1798, "between the co-heirs of William, Viscount Beaumont (in whom it was vested by descent from his father, John, Lord Beaumont, who was summoned to and sat in parliament, 2nd HENRY VI. (1423-4), as a baron in fee), descended from his sister Joane, and that the petitioner Thomas Stapleton, Esq., was one of those coheirs." The barony, however, as already stated, was revived and assigned forty-two years subsequently to Mr. Stapleton's grand-nephew, Miles-Thomas Stapleton, Esq. Arms.-Az., semée de lis, a lion rampant, or. BEAUMONT-VISCOUNT BEAUMONT. By Letters Patent, dated 1622. NICHOLAS BEAUMONT, Esq., M.P. for the co. Leicester, te up. ELIZABETH, lineally descended from Thomas, 2nd son of John Beaumont, 4th Lord Beaumont, in the peerage of England, m. Anne, dau. of Wm. Saunders, Esq., of Welford, in Northamptonshire, and had, with other issue, two sons, HENRY, his heir; and Thomas, ancestor of the present SIR GEORGEHOWLAND BEAUMONT, Bart., of Stoughton Grange, co. Leicester. The eldest son, SIR HENRY BEAUMONT, Knt., petitioned JAMES I. ineffectually to revive in his person the Viscounty of Beaumont, forfeited by John, Viscount Beaumont, who fell at the battle of Northampton, on the side of the Lancastrians. Sir Henry m. Elizabeth, dau. and heir of Thomas Lewis, Esq., and was 8. by his only son, SIR THOMAS BEAUMONT, of Cole Orton, M.P., who was created a Baronet of England in 1619, and raised to the peerage of Ireland, as VISCOUNT BEAUMONT, of Swords, in 1622. His lordship was a staunch supporter of the royal cause and had to compound for his estates. He m. Elizabeth, dau. and heir of Henry Sapcote, Esq., of Elton, co. Huntingdon, and left a son and successor, SIB SAPCOTE BEAUMONT, Bart., 2nd Viscount Beaumont, who, like his father, suffered deeply for his adherence to the royal cause, and died before the Restoration. He m. Elizabeth, dau of Sir Thomas Monson, Knt., and had issue, 1. THOMAS, his heir. II. John, governor of Dover Castle, d. s. p., 3 July, 1701. 1. Elizabeth, m. Sir John Hotham, Bart., and left a son and heir, Sir John Hotham, Bart., who died without male issue in 1691. The son and heir, SIR THOMAS BEAUMONT, 3rd Viscount Beaumont, m. Mary, dau. of Sir Erasmus Fountain, Knt., but d. without issue, 11 June, 1702, when the peerage became EXTINCT. The estates his lordship bequeathed to Sir George Beaumont, 4th bart of Stoughton Grange, and they are now possessed by Sir George's descendant, the present Bart. of Stoughton Grange. Arms.-Az., semée de-lis, a lion rampant, or. |