Individual Details
Sir Humphrey Stafford
(1427 - 8 Jul 1486)
According to Wikipedia:
Sir Humphrey Stafford (c. 1427 - 8 July 1486) of Grafton in Worcestershire, was an English nobleman who took part in the War of the Roses on the Yorkist side. He was executed by Henry VII following his fighting for Richard III and his role in the Stafford and Lovell rebellion.
Origins
Effigies to Sir Humphrey Stafford (1400-post 1450/67) of Grafton, Worcestershire, Governor of Calais, and his wife Eleanor Aylesbury (1407-post1467). Church of St John, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire[1]
Humphrey Stafford was born in about 1427 in Grafton, Worcestershire, the son of Sir Humphrey Stafford (1400-1450), slain in 1450 in Jack Cade's Rebellion[2] (son of Sir Humphrey Stafford of Grafton by his wife Elizabeth Burdett), Governor of Calais, by his wife Eleanor Aylesbury (1407-c.1467) (heiress of the manors of Blatherwyke[3] and Milton Keynes,[4] a daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Aylesbury by his wife Catherine Pabenham), whose effigies survive in Saint John the Baptist's Church, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.
Career
Humphrey Stafford inherited Grafton and Upton Warren in 1449-50.[5] He fought at the Battle of Bosworth with Richard III.
Stafford and Lovell Rebellion
Main article: Stafford and Lovell Rebellion
Sir Humphrey Stafford, and his brother Thomas Stafford, joined by Francis Lovell, 1st Viscount Lovell, led the inauspicious Stafford and Lovell Rebellion in 1486.[6]
The conspirators hoped to restore the Yorkist monarchy. While Lord Lovell went to Yorkshire, the brothers Stafford went to the Midlands. On 23 April 1486, after a failed attempt to seize Henry VII in York, Lord Lovell escaped to Burgundy. In the meantime, the Stafford brothers's rebellion in Worcester had failed, in part due to lack of planning and in part due to the fact that King Henry had some support in that area.
During this time Henry was on a nationwide tour of the country. As soon as he advanced towards Worcester in order to eliminate Yorkist support, on 11 May 1486 the Stafford brothers again fled to sanctuary, this time at Culham.[7]
Arrest and execution
Despite the fact that Stafford had sought sanctuary at the church in Culham, King Henry VII decided to force Stafford to kiss his feet. Stafford was forcibly removed from his sanctuary on the night of 13 May by John Barrowman and one follower.[8] Henry then ordered the execution of Humphrey Stafford of Grafton, but pardoned the younger Thomas Stafford.
The arrest prompted a series of protests to Pope Innocent VIII over the breaking of sanctuary; these resulted in a Papal bull in August which severely limited the rights of sanctuary, excluding it completely in cases of treason, thereby vindicating the King's actions.
Humphrey was executed at Tyburn on 8 July 1486.
Marriage and family
Humphrey Stafford married Catherine Fray (1437-1482), the daughter of Sir John Fray, Chief Baron of the Exchequer, by Agnes Danvers (d. June 1478), the daughter of Sir John Danvers (died c.1448) in 1452, in Grafton, Worcestershire.
Humphrey and Catherine had eight children:
Anne Stafford, married Richard Neville, 2nd Baron Latimer
Joyce Stafford
Margarita Stafford (1456-1530)
Elizabeth Stafford (b. circa 1465)
William Stafford (d. 1556)
Thomas Stafford (b. circa 1450)
Henry Stafford (b. 1455)
Humphrey Stafford (died 1545) of Blatherwick, Northumberland
In popular culture
A fictionalised version of Stafford appeared as a character in the two opening episodes of the 1972 BBC 2 drama series about the reign of Henry VII, The Shadow of the Tower which covered the aftermath of the Battle of Bosworth and the failure of the Stafford and Lovell Rebellion. He was played by Maurice Roëves.[9]
References
Cotton, William, Bromsgrove Church : its history & antiquities ; with an account of the Sunday schools, churchyard, and cemetery", p.61 [1]
Lipscomb, p.243
http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/STAFFORD2.htm#Humphrey%20STAFFORD%20of%20Grafton%20(Sir%20Knight)1
The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham, Volume 4 By George Lipscomb, p.243 [2]
Parishes: Grafton Manor, A History of the County of Worcester: volume 3 (1913), pp. 123-127.
Richardson, Douglas (2011). Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, ed. Kimball G. Everingham I (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. ISBN 1449966373
Williams 1928, p. 186 ; Stanley Bertram Chrimes, Henry VII. -, Berkeley, ISBN 0-520-02266-1, 0520022661 p71
Williams 1928, p. 186 .
"The Shadow of the Tower (1972) Full Cast & Crew". IMDB. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
Sir Humphrey Stafford (c. 1427 - 8 July 1486) of Grafton in Worcestershire, was an English nobleman who took part in the War of the Roses on the Yorkist side. He was executed by Henry VII following his fighting for Richard III and his role in the Stafford and Lovell rebellion.
Origins
Effigies to Sir Humphrey Stafford (1400-post 1450/67) of Grafton, Worcestershire, Governor of Calais, and his wife Eleanor Aylesbury (1407-post1467). Church of St John, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire[1]
Humphrey Stafford was born in about 1427 in Grafton, Worcestershire, the son of Sir Humphrey Stafford (1400-1450), slain in 1450 in Jack Cade's Rebellion[2] (son of Sir Humphrey Stafford of Grafton by his wife Elizabeth Burdett), Governor of Calais, by his wife Eleanor Aylesbury (1407-c.1467) (heiress of the manors of Blatherwyke[3] and Milton Keynes,[4] a daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Aylesbury by his wife Catherine Pabenham), whose effigies survive in Saint John the Baptist's Church, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.
Career
Humphrey Stafford inherited Grafton and Upton Warren in 1449-50.[5] He fought at the Battle of Bosworth with Richard III.
Stafford and Lovell Rebellion
Main article: Stafford and Lovell Rebellion
Sir Humphrey Stafford, and his brother Thomas Stafford, joined by Francis Lovell, 1st Viscount Lovell, led the inauspicious Stafford and Lovell Rebellion in 1486.[6]
The conspirators hoped to restore the Yorkist monarchy. While Lord Lovell went to Yorkshire, the brothers Stafford went to the Midlands. On 23 April 1486, after a failed attempt to seize Henry VII in York, Lord Lovell escaped to Burgundy. In the meantime, the Stafford brothers's rebellion in Worcester had failed, in part due to lack of planning and in part due to the fact that King Henry had some support in that area.
During this time Henry was on a nationwide tour of the country. As soon as he advanced towards Worcester in order to eliminate Yorkist support, on 11 May 1486 the Stafford brothers again fled to sanctuary, this time at Culham.[7]
Arrest and execution
Despite the fact that Stafford had sought sanctuary at the church in Culham, King Henry VII decided to force Stafford to kiss his feet. Stafford was forcibly removed from his sanctuary on the night of 13 May by John Barrowman and one follower.[8] Henry then ordered the execution of Humphrey Stafford of Grafton, but pardoned the younger Thomas Stafford.
The arrest prompted a series of protests to Pope Innocent VIII over the breaking of sanctuary; these resulted in a Papal bull in August which severely limited the rights of sanctuary, excluding it completely in cases of treason, thereby vindicating the King's actions.
Humphrey was executed at Tyburn on 8 July 1486.
Marriage and family
Humphrey Stafford married Catherine Fray (1437-1482), the daughter of Sir John Fray, Chief Baron of the Exchequer, by Agnes Danvers (d. June 1478), the daughter of Sir John Danvers (died c.1448) in 1452, in Grafton, Worcestershire.
Humphrey and Catherine had eight children:
Anne Stafford, married Richard Neville, 2nd Baron Latimer
Joyce Stafford
Margarita Stafford (1456-1530)
Elizabeth Stafford (b. circa 1465)
William Stafford (d. 1556)
Thomas Stafford (b. circa 1450)
Henry Stafford (b. 1455)
Humphrey Stafford (died 1545) of Blatherwick, Northumberland
In popular culture
A fictionalised version of Stafford appeared as a character in the two opening episodes of the 1972 BBC 2 drama series about the reign of Henry VII, The Shadow of the Tower which covered the aftermath of the Battle of Bosworth and the failure of the Stafford and Lovell Rebellion. He was played by Maurice Roëves.[9]
References
Cotton, William, Bromsgrove Church : its history & antiquities ; with an account of the Sunday schools, churchyard, and cemetery", p.61 [1]
Lipscomb, p.243
http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/STAFFORD2.htm#Humphrey%20STAFFORD%20of%20Grafton%20(Sir%20Knight)1
The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham, Volume 4 By George Lipscomb, p.243 [2]
Parishes: Grafton Manor, A History of the County of Worcester: volume 3 (1913), pp. 123-127.
Richardson, Douglas (2011). Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, ed. Kimball G. Everingham I (2nd ed.). Salt Lake City. ISBN 1449966373
Williams 1928, p. 186 ; Stanley Bertram Chrimes, Henry VII. -, Berkeley, ISBN 0-520-02266-1, 0520022661 p71
Williams 1928, p. 186 .
"The Shadow of the Tower (1972) Full Cast & Crew". IMDB. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
Events
| Birth | 1427 | Grafton Flyford, Worcestershire, , England | |||
| Death | 8 Jul 1486 | Tyburn, Warwickshire, , England | |||
| Death cause | Executed |
Families
| Spouse | Katherine Fray (1437 - 1482) |
| Child | Anne Stafford ( - ) |
| Father | Sir Humphrey Stafford ( - 1450) |
| Mother | Eleanor Aylesbury ( - 1478) |