Pembroke Castle: The Time of the Tudors and The Forming of the Current Earldom.

Prior to Henry Tudor’s invasion of England in 1485, Richard III was clearly rather twitchy upon his shiny three-legged throne (*note: a three legged throne is unlikely, although his regal seat was certainly somewhat unstable.) and so, knowing, as we have seen also, that Pembroke was vulnerable to attack, he took the precaution of furnishing the castle with a garrison as is detailed in the accounts of the victualing of the property from1483. Interestingly, in 1484 the firewood for the castle was ordered from the forest of Narberth, a forest now considerably lessened from what it once was, not surprisingly, and divided into scatterings of small woods. At this time the constable and stewardship of Pembroke, alongside many other jolly castley whatnots, were granted by R.R.III to one Richard Williams, an ushers of the King’s chamber, for life, providing he personally execute the office of constable at Pembroke castle.

           This did not deter Henry Tudor (although he did avoid landing at Milford Haven (the estuary near Pembroke)), he landed near Haverfordwest, and within the month was King. He restored his beloved uncle, Jasper, to the Earldom of Pembroke, which he held until his death in 1495. As the inimitable Cathcart-King says “He was the last earl of Pembroke of the old style, a great Lord Marcher, ruling his March with jura regalia, independent of the crown for local purposes.” After Jasper’s death nothing was the same again. With him ended both the creation of the Earldom and the Earldom itself as it fell to the crown.

          For some time King Henry VII held onto the Pembroke lands, for it was an important stronghold still, even at this period in its history, however it became parts of the lands granted to his son Henry (later VIII) when he was made prince of Wales in 1502. The lands remained with Henry VIII when he became King until 1532, when, filled with passion for his mistress (later wife) Anne Boleyn, he created her Marquess of Pembroke, the English male title, equivalent to Marquis, existing from before the Norman conquest. This of course lasted for only a few years, ending with her execution in 1536. There was never again the same control held at Pembroke by an Earl, for at the time of giving the castle to Boleyn, H.R.VIII abolished the county palatinate which had existed since the time of the very first earl of the very first creation there and created the county of Pembroke.

         It is around now that Mr Leland pops up, dear reader, his fine antiquarian’s hat set jauntily upon his head. (There is a short poem, not included in my collection, concerning John Leland’s Pembrokian wanderings, from his birthday last year [13th September] http://georgielorimer.wordpress.com/2011/09/13/its-john-lelands-bally-birthday/ ).

          Mr Leland was a very important fellow for Britain, and undoubtedly a delightful chap of most excellent and interesting conversation, perfect for inviting to dinner parties to make up for the unfortunate habit required by English etiquette of allowing dullards to come to soirees, however (and I will try not to say this too frequently for fear of being killed for declaiming it:) He made mistakes. Yes, even Leland, the great Mr Stephen Fry of the 16th century got things wrong occasionally. Leland describes the castle from his visit, making note of the room in which Henry Tudor was born in the Henry VII Tower, claiming that there was a tapestry of the ex-monarch himself hanging upon the walls and that this building was described as containing the bally baby king by a cheerful chappie Leland happened to meet whilst wandering. It is from this detail that we now (as in right now) have assigned one of the rooms as the H.R.VII birthplace and it is here that one finds a waxwork tableau, however, this is a moderately recent addition to the room, and your humble servant/narrator remembers the pre-tableau time when there hung upon the wall a tapestry of the monarch to represent that which was mentioned by Leland. Indeed, this room was originally settled upon as being the king’s birthplace, it is said, because marks were found upon the stone work which suggested that there may have been a hanging there. Historians are a fickle bunch and being ever ready to grab a detail, they clung to this one like barnacles at the beach. This was not the only article referenced by Mr Leland, he also makes mention, among other things to a millstone being the roof of the Keep to which there is no evidence whatsoever, and which also seems somewhat unlikely if we go by what can be seen now, and that the entrance to the Wogan (or Hogan as he calls it) is directly below said Donjon, which is not strictly true although you may now shout me down as a pedant for it is within the inner ward and thus fairly close. It seems likely that Leland (not an eland as my spell check seems to insist upon) either did not get a chance to see the inner ward or merely adjusted the details to suit his readers.

          Gentles, you must accept my most sincere apologies for wombling on (as it were); I shall now return to the Earldom as conclusion:

          Henry VIII died in 1547 and the throne is passed to his only living son, Edward VI. The Earldom of Pembroke was recreated by the young king in 1551 for Sir William Herbert (First Earl of Pembroke, Ninth Creation), the illegitimate grandson of the previous Earl William Herbert of Pembroke (2nd Earl, 8th Creation). This was the final creation of the Earls of Pembroke, and the title still exists to this day, being held by Earl William Alexander Sidney Herbert, eighteenth earl of Pembroke, ninth creation, since 2003. I shall not say much on the Lords Herbert for although their family history is an exciting and gripping series of sagas, it treats little upon Pembroke castle for, as we remember, Henry VIII took the power away from Pembroke castle when he made Pembroke and the surrounding area into a county. This being said, as we are treating upon the Tudors it seems only sensible to fill in a few remaining details to bring us to the end of the era.

          After Earl William Herbert’s (1st Earl, 9th creation) death in 1570, his son, Henry Herbert (2nd Earl), inherits the Earldom. Earl Henry married the sixteen year old Mary Sidney, sister to the famous English poet Sir Philip Sidney in 1577, and herself a woman of learning, letters, and, most importantly , of poetry. Together they had a son, William Herbert, who became third Earl upon his father’s death in 1601. It was this William Herbert that was involved with Shakespeare’s play ‘The Tempest’ when it was published, and it is known that, like his mother, he was a great supporter of music, writing, art, and indeed, the arts in general. Indeed it is often argued that it was he to whom the Shakespeare sonnets of 1597 are addressed, or at least it is upon him that they treat. If this is the case, it is likely that they were commissioned to be written, possibly by the boy’s mother or his lover, or some such person. I hate to be the bore at the party for not joining with the theories that this is a suggestion of homosexuality in our bally national bard, but it is not. But yes, sorry for becoming side-tracked yet again: that is it. The Tudors over and done with. Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603. Earl William, continued to be quick for a further 27 years before a distinct breeze of lateness set in in 1630.

         So there we have it: The Tudors have died out and the final creation of the Earldom is in place. We near the end of our historical narrative, but fear ye not for there are a few more events to occur before Now is reached. I have thought on this one rather, for I have a choice of a few different articles for here, but have concluded to leave you with a poem on Mary Sidney (take time to pause with this one for it seems a touch strange but it is made up of a mixture of her own letters and my words and so may take a while to work through):

 

Mary Sidney

(Countess of Pembroke)

 

‘I will that the said Lady Countess of Pembroke my wife shall have for term of her life, if she so long live sole and unmarried the use and occupation of my… lands & tenements… the remainder of the said lease after her death or marriage to go to my next heir.’

 (Young, Frances Berkeley, Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke)

 

 

the vehement working desire of a thankfull harte

so hygh & pretious a fauor

hath guided my trembling hand

to take up a whetted blade

the Wedding day carving knife

and blunt it on the granite slab

heel chipped

beneath the door

flaked red paint

bronzed with a yale

ringed

for he bears a very young man’s

ardour for war

 

my son who was hitherto

w^th held in the prison of my hart

is of the same sprite

as many a man may be

when young

foolish and arrogant yet

fitt to liue in y^r sight

his sole care & desire

and undoubtedly you shall

frame him selfe wholy to please & serue

 

motherhood is a duty

thrust upon you

these worthless wordes

y^r exelent eies

feete

are not love or happiness

or sorrow

that is not your task

he wore a woolly lilac bobble hat

knitted

and slipped on ice

I picked grit from his knee

salted blood and gunged road dust

I do as gladly leue him

& give him

as euer I was made mother of him and yet

 

the miracle hath brought a strange

intelligence to mee

for there is something more

a yearning

a mounted octopus

in a glass cased museum

sniffing floor polish

and moth balls

watching the vinegar and sea salt crisp packet

in the corner

 

before I was

the sister of Sir Ph: Sidney

or the wife of Pembroke

the mother of Pembroke

M. Pembroke Countesse Dowager

why not M. Sidney

Mary

lett me craue your thorow frendly

lett me craue your touch if I want it

 

giue me leue to please & serue you

as I grant it to you

myne honor heerin

it is my right to give it and no other’s

he has been dead for too long

a cheese and pickle sandwich

brown bread

one pound and sixty five pence

Bath Abbey entrance fee

six pounds each

fifty pence

for a cigarette at GCSE

money or love

even the Queen hasn’t the choice

 

this fowl abuce of womanhood

tuching

my skin pimpled with shivers

as unappetising as a plucked

uncooked goose but

delicious to the taste

not just a mother

a wife

a woman and a poet

let this bee in yr: guift

if all-redy hee bee not there

soe as nowe

for I am owed as much

as any man

 

I wait for you to give me leue I

the humblest of yr: creturs

give me leue to leave now

there is much to be done in

this troublesome busines of myne

and little time in which to do it

even with my neuer ending praiers

which never end but

must also give way to life

I will not nor cannott forgett

 

too my honorable Sir Matthew Lister

knight

geue these

 

 

…the old countesse of pembroke dies here

some ten days since

of the small pockes

 she died without will and I heare

Dr. Lister hath sixe or

sevenscore

pound a yeare

during his life

w^ch is well worne

in her service

for they say

 

he lookes old

 

555 years since the birth of Henry Tudor!

What-ho, what-ho, what-ho and Dydd da and all that,

Today is the birthday of jolly old H.R.VII (and intriguingly the 465th year since the day of the death of H.R.VIII) so Huzzah! and all that for Henry Tudor, Margaret Beaufort, Jasper, Edmund, Pembroke Castle and for anyone bothering to read this also. I fear that I have already sold out on the poetry front for Henry Tudor with the last post in this series, however I have one upon the Tudor Mansion in which some of the bally characters are mentioned, so onwards and upwards as they say:

 

The Tudor Mansion

 

 the outer ward swept

and weeded

 

stone by stone by

 

a magpie stabs into

the turf and drags

a worm

 

away from the stodgy

Pembroke soil

 

stone by stone by

 

the castle cleared of

rot and redecorated

for new

 

Earls

building works commence

 

stone by stone by

 

the strong smell of clean white paint fresh

rolled like thick whipped cream

over grubby

 

finger prints on the walls

in the hallway

 

stone by stone by

 

Lady Margaret Beaufort nests

house martens flicker

to the tower

 

the Earl in his mansion

beside

 

stone by stone by

 

lines in the sun burned lawn

Pembroke Castle: During The Wars of the Roses: The Tudors Cometh

Pembroke was four years without an Earl following the piratical demise of W. de la Pole, but in 1454 the Earldom was again bestowed upon a fellow, this time upon one Jasper Tudor, half-brother to the King. “What?” I hear you cry, “but H.R.V only had one child and he’s the King.” And you are quite right, he did only have the one child, but his wife did not (think thee back to the last chapter and to the French princess Katherine de Valois). Let me take you back in time to just after the death of Henry V:

        The King is dead, long live the king and all that is the cry about London for Henry VI is now bethroned, but his father died young and his mother was left widowed at a mere twenty one years old. I’m sure that nobody here would hold a grudge against the poor girl for wishing to remarry, however, the possession of a person with the potential to have as much power as she was a dangerous business within politics and thus her first attempts at remarriage were thwarted by Duke Humphrey Plantagenet and the conception of a new parliamentary bill outlining the laws regarding the remarriage of a Dowager Queen. It stated that anyone who married her without the King’s consent would lose all lands, titles and privileges, although any children would remain as members of the royal family and would not be persecuted because of their father. Unfortunately at this time Henry VI was a mere child of six, and thus he would have no true power to agree or disagree to any marriages for quite some time, all power lying in effect with the regent and justiciars.

         However, Katherine de Valois was not to be stopped, as strong women go she had a fairly hefty share on the power front, and rather than be restrained by these laws, she instead chose to secretly marry a person without title, a Welshman in her service, one Owen ap Maredudd ap Tudor. They had several children before the relationship was discovered, including Jasper and Edmund Tudor, but Katherine’s power as the King’s mother protected him and the children during her lifetime. However, following her death in 1437, Owen Tudor was arrested and the children were taken to live with the sister of William de la Pole (he who was made Earl of Pembroke in 1447), who was Abbess of Barking. Owen was placed in Newgate gaol, but was later released as Henry VI gained more power, being granted positions within the royal household and being legitimised as an Englishman.

         As for the two children, H.R.VI took a great interest in them from around 1442, around the time when he came into his majority. It is unlikely that the King actually knew of his half-brothers until his mother’s untimely demise, as their existence would have been closely guarded within political circles for their own protection. In 1452, King Henry made the elder of the two brothers, Edmund, Earl of Richmond, and then in 1453 Jasper was made the First Earl of Pembroke (7^th Creation) when each respectively reached their twenty second year. It may seem surprising that for the moment we are going to step away from the Earl of Pembroke and look instead to his brother, Richmond, but bear with me for we have our reasons:

         In 1455 the Earl of Richmond married the 12 year old Margaret de Beaufort and within a year she was pregnant with his son. However, England was in trouble, for the beginning of the skirmishes which made up the most violent years of the Wars of the Roses began in this same year, and Richmond, as brother to the King, was involved in these fightings. He was captured by one William Herbert, later the Earl of Pembroke, and died of the plague, whilst imprisoned, the following year. For her own safety, Margaret de Beaufort (now somewhat pregnant) was removed to the keeping of her brother in law, Jasper Tudor, at Pembroke Castle. A few months later she gave birth to a son whom she named Henry. This was Henry Tudor, later King Henry VII of England. It is said (initially by John Leeland, writing after H.R.VII’s death) that he was born in the south facing tower set in the curtain wall of the outer ward, between the Westgate Tower and the main gatehouse of the castle, now known as the Henry VII Tower. This in itself seems something of a curiosity, the use of a draughty tower to house a baby, for we know that at some point during this period there was built within the grounds of the castle a mansion in which the Earl lived. Unfortunately, as there are now no remains to this building left within the castle precinct we are unsure of quite when it stood. The foundations can still be seen from time to time as lines in the lawn with seasonal changes. Anyway, whatever the case was, the young Henry grew up under the close supervision of his uncle, Jasper, until 1461 when, with the madness and removal of Henry VI as King, Jasper’s titles became forfeit and his lands taken. This was in the main part due to his having fought so vehemently for his half-brother and the Queen, Margaret of Anjou, against the Yorkists who were now practically in control of the kingdom. Jasper and Henry became fugitives against the Yorkist powers, holding out for many years into the new governmental reign.

         In 1468, Sir William Herbert (I), alongside his brother Richard, laid siege to the castle in which the Tudors were residing, and they were finally captured. Following this Herbert was made First Earl of Pembroke (8^th Creation) by Edward IV, but he died the following year during the Lancastrian rebellion, and although the title passed to his son, William Herbert (II) [2^nd Earl of Pembroke (8^th Creation)], it was surrendered to the crown in exchange for the Earldom of Huntingdon in 1479. The Pembroke lands were at this point bestowed upon the King’s son Edward, prince of Wales, later King Edward V of England.

         It is at this point that I am sure you are wondering what became of Jasper Tudor and how it was that his nephew Henry came to power. Well, my dear fellows, following the battles of 1469, which led to the execution of William Herbert (I) and his brother, the throne of England is retaken by Henry VI, now returned to sanity in 1470. The Tudors were released from their captivity, but Henry VI’s second reign was short-lived for he was killed by the Yorkists just six months later and the throne was retaken by Edward the IV whereupon Jasper, knowing that they were in severe danger, fled with his nephew to France.

         Many years passed. Edward IV died in 1483 and his 13year old son became Edward V became King under the close supervision of his father’s brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester. For his own protection the young King resided for about two months within the tower of London with his younger brother, Richard the Duke of York (aged only 10 at this time). The two boys vanished and the Duke of Gloucester claimed the throne in June of that year becoming Richard III (that’s right, Shakespeare’s evil hunchback: (“Now is the winter of our discontent” and all that.)).

         Meanwhile, in France the Tudors had not been idle. Margaret de Beaufort (now married to Lord Stanley of Cheshire) had been plotting with Jasper Tudor in an epistlery manner across the seas, and thus it was that in 1485, Henry Tudor, self-proclaiming Earl of Richmond crossed the seas, marched through Wales gathering support and met with the King deep in the heart of Leicestershire [at last! Fame has reached the bally home county!] at a place named Bosworth. Fighting commenced and for some time the parties were evenly matched, but the young Henry’s stepfather had not yet joined the fray, and despite being allied to R.R.III, he made a dangerous choice (for if he made a mistake he would lose everything and his family would be executed) and rode out at a late hour in aid of his wife’s son. Richard fell and Henry claimed the crown which, despite dangerous oppositions over the subsequent years, he maintained, and the Wars of the Roses were finally ended with his marriage to Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV. Pembroke had bred a King.

          Well Crikey! I hear you cry, and Crikey! indeed for this has been a saga and a half and I have cut all down to but the barest of forms. Really you should all go out to the shops immediately and buy Ralph A. Griffiths’ and Roger S. Thomas’ book, ‘The Making of the Tudor Dynasty’ for this tells it in a much better way than I can and also has far more information on Margaret Beaufort, for she is a marvellous woman. Hooray! and all that.

 

Henry Tudor

(Earl of Richmond; King of England)

 

[Upon his victory at Bosworth Field, Leicestershire, 22^nd August 1485, he made history.]

 

 

God and your arms be praised my friends for

the day is ours

the bloody boar is dead

his virulent form cut down

 

cold raw air

his villainy’s exposed

for all to see

and he rides bridled

halting

having found at last a horse

that can bear his

coiled body

a tower of strength

 

our mother ever

building her king

a castle in cut stones

of honour seeking friends

Richard loved Richard

Harry has love

 

the crown rose from thorns

as though Nimue

called us to be King

 

and thus I clothe my naked villainy

and seem a saint

Pembroke Castle: That Woolly Bit before the Tudors Pop Up

After 1389, the Earldom reverted to the crown, (to Richard II) with the end of a 250 year family line of Earls. The castle was not a profitable, nor lucrative article in which to be involved during the following years; it had fallen somewhat into disrepair as we saw in the last (rather overly meaty) chapter and it was given out to an assortment of different persons over the next few years, starting with the Knight, John Golafre in 1390 and then to William de Beauchamp (yes indeed, delightful reader, he of the lead stripping during John’s (II) time as Earl) in 1399, the year of Richard II’s death. The castle eventually was given, along with assorted lordships, by King Henry IV to Sir Francis Court and his wife and heirs for suitable remunerations from 1403.

            It was during this period, following Richard’s death, that the Welsh began another national revolt, led by the notorious Owain Glyndwr. This reached Pembroke around 1400. Pembroke would probably have fallen at this point as the castle was barely defendable following the years of neglect, but F. Court shrewdly bought Glyndwr’s favour by providing him with the Welsh equivalent of a Danegeld (a taxation on land, supposedly from the time of the Danish invaders). This appeased Glyndwr’s wrath for in effect Court was paying him (as a figure head for Wales) for the privilege of holding Welsh lands. There was also a French scare shortly after this period, in 1405 when French troops landed in Milford Haven, just down the river from the castle. The land was defended, Court’s troops stood firm and the French were repelled.

            In 1413 Sir Francis died without issue and so the new king, Henry V (famous for his Agincourt-ian triumphs (cue dauphin avec tennis balls and princess Katherine (remember this woman!) with French to English translations)) gave the Pembroke lands along with other strategic fortresses in the area to his younger brother, Humphrey Plantagenet (or Humphrey of Lancaster as he is more commonly now known). Humphrey was soon after made both First Duke of Gloucester and First Earl of Pembroke (5^th Creation) which he held until his death in 1447. Humphrey, as brother to the king and a magnate within Britain was frequently absent from the country, fighting in France, or withheld in the political movements at court and thus little of his time was spent at Pembroke, particularly after the death of his brother when he became Lord Protector to his Nephew, the young H.R.VI, and later, with the death of another brother, John, he tried to claim the regency for England as Henry V had requested in his will.

                Despite being a well loved patron of the arts, Earl Humphrey, as all politicians do, made a number of blunders and when in a position of power enemies are always fairly close at hand, thus, at the time of his death Humphrey’s wife had been tried for sorcery and he had been arrested for treason (the latter occurring three days before his demise). Humphrey’s son had predeceased his father and leaving only a single daughter, the titles once again folded to the crown.

               But not for long! Oh no, faithful follower of the Pembroke-ian saga for in that same year the Earldom was once again granted to a  fine figure of a man, this time to the First Duke of Suffolk (the title was raised from mere Earl just for him), William de la Pole who became First Earl of Pembroke (6^th Creation), are you still with me on this one, for it now becomes frantic: He was Lord Chamberlain of England briefly, however he did a bally awful job over in France towards the end of his career (gained the title Jackanapes due to his rise from the lower classes) and was exiled from Britain in 1450. He gathered together his demesne and was just partaking of the old Exeunt Omnes, when he had his head loped off by pirates.

                Crikey! I hear you cry, and Crikey! indeed for nobody likes such a messy end, and messy it truly was for although technically the titles had not been taken from him during his life time and despite the presence of assorted offspring, the Earldom was treated as extinct.

               So what now? Well what? indeed for the Earldom has reverted again to the hands of the crown, and, as far as Kings go, there is a rather hearty murmur of discontent throughout England and even Pembroke does not remain unaffected. But I fear you will have to wait, for I have a presentation to give on Feminism and Structuralism in a poem by Owen Sheers upon the morrow (by which I now mean later today) and there is yet some reading to be done. Fare ye well for the time being…

Pembroke Castle: The three Lords Hastings: Children Earls.

Aymer de Valence is dead and heirless and the creation has once more reached an end, but despair not oh valiant historian for hope has not yet faded on the Earldom front: Aymer de Valence’s sister Isabel has a son (admittedly he is never an official earl and he is fairly insignificant in the scheme of things, but there is hope). This son, John, Lord Hastings, second Baron of the name, styled himself Earl of Pembroke during his lifetime, which although it was never technically true, kept the claim upon the Earldom alive for his family, even after his death in 1325, just a year after his uncle Aymer de Valence. Thus, upon his majority, John’s son, Laurence, Third Baron Hastings, began to pursue his claims to the Pembroke Earldom and on the 13^th of February, 1339, King Edward III officially confirmed that as the eldest male descendant of Aymer de Valence, the rights to the earldom were his, and created him first Earl of Pembroke (now of the fourth creation).

            Crikey! what a spot of luck I hear you cry, and indeed it was really for in the year 1339 Laurence Hastings was merely nineteen years old, and within times of strife such as this (England was again battling the bally French) peerages went to the highest bidder and only technical legalities held them in place [for proof of this merely cast your eyes upon the creation and abolishment of titles surrounding the Stephen/Matilda wars of the 1100s]. However, Hastings was a staunch supporter of E.R.III, fighting in several high profile battles following this recognition by the king including the triumphal sea based battle of Sluys in 1340 and it is known that he was also involved in both the Siege of Tournai and then in 1346 in the Siege of Calais, and although he was not always entirely successful in his military endeavours, Edward, a formidable fighting force himself, was making military commanders to lead his armies.

Earl Laurence was in the unfortunate position of finding his career as an Earl cut relatively short however, with the rather unpleasant onset of death which struck upon him in 1348 and so at only twenty years of age he expired and was buried at the priory church in Abergavenny. Fortunately Laurence Hastings had taken the trouble to marry to Agnes de Mortimer (seven years his senior) when eight (1328) and in 1347 had fathered a son by her, thus, upon the aforementioned cessation of his enterprises, the Earldom arrived with his son John (I), who became Second Earl of Pembroke and fourth baron Hastings as an infant of one year. John (I) followed a similar career path to his father upon reaching his majority, serving under Edward III as his father has done before him.

At the age of twelve Earl John (I) was married to the thirteen year old Margaret Plantagenet de England, eighth child of the King, E.R.III, himself. She predeceased him, dying in 13 61 and he married a second time, this time to one Anne, daughter of Sir Walter Manny. John (I) died, serving the King, in Picardy in France in 1375 at the age of twenty eight. His untimely demise placed his three year old son John (II) as the fifth Baron Hastings and new Earl of Pembroke.

“What has any of this to do with Pembroke Castle though?” I hear you crying in fortress-less anguish, “I want to know about the building itself.” Believe me, dear reader, when I proclaim that I too feel thy pain but in truth very little is happening at the castle itself. All fighting is focussed in France and the lords are absent and so the castle is merely falling into disrepair. The lords have not been resident at the castle since William de Valence (who, as we recall, died in 1296) and so the fabrics of which the castle is constructed are in need of replacement and repair. Indeed, as we are informed by Mr D. J. Cathcart King, it was as early as 1331 that the crown had to intercede and repair the roofs of the Prison Tower, Chapel and County Court House alongside several other buildings alongside occasional other bits and bobbins. Later in the century, following the attempted French invasion in 1377, surveys were carried out on essential castles and fortresses in case of repetition and Pembroke is reported, in summary, to be rather shoddy on the defences front and liable to be pretty useless should an hostile attack occur. This being the case, the new garrison, under the control of Sir Degary Seys, a welsh knight, of 19 ‘men-at-arms and 20 archers’ was dramatically increased, leaving Degary with a fairly handsome force, all told, of two knights, ’67 serjeants-at-arms and 70 archers.’ During the time in which the second Earl John owned Pembroke, the castle was placed under the care of William de Beauchamp who acted as constable, and once the threat by the French had dissipated, Pembroke Castle once more fell into disrepair, not aided by the cannibalism of the buildings by Beauchamp who stripped vast quantities of lead from the roofs.

John (II) had little input into any form of governmental life. He was married at the age of eight to the seventeen year old Elizabeth of Lancaster, legitimate daughter of John of Gaunt. She promptly had an affair with one John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon (remember this title, it does not go away), and the marriage was annulled, whereupon she married her lover, leaving the Earl of Pembroke cuckolded before he had reached maturity. He was remarried in 1385 to Phillippa de Mortimer, daughter of the third Earl of March. We know very little of John (II) other than that the management of his estates were with his grandmother and mother during his lifetime, for, like the other Earls of this creation he really did not manage to last long, dying at just seventeen years old. This occurred whilst jousting against one of his close friends, Sir Thomas of Basing Poynings, Lord St John*, in a Christmas tournament at Woodstock on December 30th. The lance pierced him through the groin and he swiftly expired. The Earldom became property of the crown and Pembroke Castle was placed under the ‘Care’ of William de Beauchamp and continued to crumble.

 

*The truth of this statement is in some doubt in my mind for the ages of the two men do not relate terribly well, Sir Thomas having been born in 1350, twenty two years before John Hastings, and so their friendship seems somewhat surprising, however, this does not mean to say that it is false, I merely cannot find much evidence off hand.

 

- After the death of Earl John (II), Sir Thomas married his widow, Phillippa, countess of Pembroke.

- At the age of five, the third earl of this creation bore a sword at the coronation of the infant King Richard II.

 

 

John Hastings II

(3^rd Earl of Pembroke, 4^th Creation)

 

John Hastings II was thrown into a position of power at a young age and married when only 8 years old to the 17 year old Elizabeth of Lancaster who later had an affair with John Holland leading to an annulment.

 

 ‘Three years old at the time of his father’s death, … he was still in his eighteenth year when he was killed at a tournament at Woodstock on December 30, 1389.’

(Phillips, James, The History of Pembrokeshire)

 

 

Woodstock Palace jewelled with blood dripped berries

And filled with the thoughts of festivities

Glisten with the bally old British rain

This New Year’s Eve morning, not Christmas snow.

Water drops not quite tinsel but somehow

The yew tree lances from which they drip glow

Brighter than ice. Last night the ‘Waes Hael’ and

‘Drinc Hael’ were forgotten or abandoned.

I blame that damned harlot Lady Holland;

Who cuckolds boys? He had to be a man

Ever after that didn’t he and can

You blame him. People loved him. Lord St John

His greatest friend caught his groin with his lance.

I can smell cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves.

It’s John Leland’s Bally Birthday!

As today would be the fabulous Mr Leland’s five hundred and fourth birthday had he not died, somewhat insane, at the age of forty eight, I thought it would be rather jolly to pop a bit of a poem on here in recognition of his lovely works. lso, it does have some relevance for it was Leland that jotted which room H.R. VII had supposedly been born in, amongst other points of interest at Pembroke Castle. So yes, a few words to be scribbled in memoriam and all of that bally whatnot:

 

Only Books

 

maybe nothing but an archivist

against the edge

of history changing

and a foreign stranger’s

wild contempt

 

but you still proved

an English heart

when on the castle’s leaning keep

and in the eye of that stone rose

a king could hold you close

 

and all the songs die lamenting

to one maddened melody

sinking beneath the sounds

of le cygne

echoing deeper

into the sea

Pembroke Castle: de Valence: Children of Melusine.

As you may recall, my lovely reader, with the last of the Marshal lords, the great accumulated lands and Earldoms of the Marshal family were divided amongst Earl William I’s daughters. It so happened that in the divisions Pembroke Castle was placed within the portion granted to Joan Marshal. She was married to Warin de Munchensi who then had command over the Earldom of Pembroke, although he was never pronounced Earl, for the inheritance lay through his wife. When both had died, but a couple of years after it came into their possession, the lands were passed down to their single surviving child, their daughter Joan de Munchensi. As had been the case with her grandmother Isabel de Clare, the king carefully considered which nobleman he wished to have holding power in one of the most important Earldoms in Wales.

            The year was 1247 and three half-brothers of Henry III were having trouble in France. These were the sons of Hugh X of Lusignan. “Lusignan?” I hear your mind beginning to chirrup. “I’ve heard that name before.” And yes indeed, as ever my dear fellow, you are quite correct for as I am sure you are now beginning to recall, it was the Lusignans that had murdered the first Earl Marshal’s uncle, Patrick of Salisbury. Thus it was a particularly cruel twist of fate for the name of Marshal that those which William had throughout his life seen as his enemies now took the great Earldom which he had spent his life accumulating for his sons, for it was to William de Valence, the youngest of the Lusignan sons that King Henry married Joan de Munchensi.

            William de Valence, whilst in France, had been ridiculed for his youthful lightness and effeminacy. Determined to fight against these mockeries as he moved further into adulthood he became a violent and boastful bully. He was never officially formed Earl of Pembroke as the line lay with his wife, the Countess, but the control that he had over the Earldom placed him in a very powerful position politically. Also, being a half-brother and favourite of the king, he was in a very strong position within the English feudal hierarchy.

            There is much to say on the life of William de Valence however as this is supposed to be a document focussing purely upon Pembroke Castle I feel that I probably ought to crack on with the main whatnots. At the castle de Valence made major improvements. Pembroke was de Valence’s main seat in Britain and so it was to here that he always returned. Owing to this he put particular work into improving the Inner Ward’s domestic buildings, including the construction of the Northern Hall and the rest of the Great Hall Block and the Chancery as well as dramatic improvements to the Outwards with the increase of defences and towers. Finally he improved the defences of the town of Pembroke also, creating a ring of walls about the town with three main gates and posterns also.

            William died in 1296 and his lands went to his only surviving son, Aymer de Valence. However, once again the titles that accompanied the lands did not initially find themselves presented to Aymer. He was not granted the title of Earl of Pembroke (Second Earl of Pembroke, third creation) officially until the death of his mother in 1307. He married twice although neither marriage produced an heir and upon his death in 1324 this creation of the Earldom ended.

            Within the castle, Aymer continued with some of the work of his father, particularly the improvements to the outer ward. Also within the outer ward, Earl Aymer had built a new fortification: a bastion on the North Eastern face of the castle. After his death, Aymer’s second wife, Marie de Saint-pol remained faithful to her husband’s memory, never remarrying during the 53 years she outlived him, and instead funding education and religion including Pembroke College in Cambridge to her husband’s memory. Rather touchingly she also had one of the finest tombs in Westminster created for him.

 

[Melusine- although there are many myths about Melusine, most agree that she was in some form a beautiful woman/sea serpent. She is said to be the mother of the Lusignian family who watches over her descendants, wailing lie the wind through the chimneys, weeping for her lost children. Or something along those lines.]

 

William de Valence

(almost 1^st Earl of Pembroke, 3^rd Creation)

 

A descendant of the Lusignan family who were said to be children of the creature Melusine, de Valence made Pembroke his home and although never formally named Earl, it was he that improved Pembroke Castle as no other Earl since Marshal I had. His wife was Countess of Pembroke, a descendant of Marshal, and it was through her that he came to own the Castle. His third son, Aymer, was formally created Earl upon the death of the Countess.

 

 

A dragon flies over

tears appear beneath the

floors

the walls

the window seats wet with salt

a sea-serpent

twin tails writhing anguished

in the sky

 

Blasted children of Melusine

wailed in the chimneys

of the Great Hall

down into the very rock

below

and echoes

through the ashlar

and echoes

in the cavern

 

Renovations

rebuilding and living

not the effeminate weed

they would have me be

but Earl

and King’s favourite

and I have lived and worked

for these towers

these people

this earldom

 

My kingdom kept from me

by crown

my royal brother

but who cares when

my name is

married to the Countess

always living from women

we are beholden

sons die too easily

 

 

they echo

in the halls

echo

in singing sand

 

a slow worm

echo