On April 30th 1464 Edward IV slipped away from his lodgings at Stony Stratford to pursue the beautiful widow, Elizabeth Woodville, who was living at the manor of Grafton four miles away.
On the same day in 1483, Richard, duke of Gloucester arrested Earl Rivers at Northampton and secured the person of the designate king at Stony Stratford.
These two events (and there is a discussion to be had about the accuracy of the first date) are markers for the Yorkist Age, and certainly mark the startling rise of the Woodville clan and their eventual downfall. The fact that Stony Stratford was at the centre of the two events is pure coincidence; nonetheless, the events cam be used as bookends for the Woodville era at the core of English politics.
I grew up two miles away from Stony Stratford. In the mid twentieth century it was still a small town ranged out along the Watling Street, the road which was the town’s reason for being and its source of prosperity. It had grown some redbrick extensions in the 19th century as a consequence of the neighbouring railway town of Wolverton, but its core was, and remains, an impressive frontage of 18th century and early 19th century buildings.
On the same day in 1483, Richard, duke of Gloucester arrested Earl Rivers at Northampton and secured the person of the designate king at Stony Stratford.
These two events (and there is a discussion to be had about the accuracy of the first date) are markers for the Yorkist Age, and certainly mark the startling rise of the Woodville clan and their eventual downfall. The fact that Stony Stratford was at the centre of the two events is pure coincidence; nonetheless, the events cam be used as bookends for the Woodville era at the core of English politics.
I grew up two miles away from Stony Stratford. In the mid twentieth century it was still a small town ranged out along the Watling Street, the road which was the town’s reason for being and its source of prosperity. It had grown some redbrick extensions in the 19th century as a consequence of the neighbouring railway town of Wolverton, but its core was, and remains, an impressive frontage of 18th century and early 19th century buildings.
Stony Stratford was at one time full of medieval buildings, but two disastrous fires, one in 1736 and an even bigger one in 1742, destroyed almost all of the medieval town.
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| Stony Stratford High Street today. This was once a major thoroughfare but through traffic now bypasses the town. Even so it is clogged with local traffic. |
Medieval Stony Stratford has long since disappeared. A few buildings retain elements of 15th and 16th century construction, such as roof timbers, and there are one or two early 17th century buildings. One 13th century church is still in use and the ruin of another 13th century church still occupies its place on the eastern side of the Watling Street. Any sites that may have been associated with the time of Edward IV and Richard III are difficult to ascertain. I will discuss these in future posts.
This blog is intended to record what I can and what I know of the Woodville family and perhaps provide some reassessment of their place in history.
The Woodville family of this story lived four miles to the north west of Stony Stratford at the manor of Grafton. They belonged to the gentry. They were far from being impoverished and owned several manors in South Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and even in Kent. They did military service. They were not obscure in their own time, and they rubbed shoulders with and served some of the prominent men and women of their time. Sir Richard Woodville, the first Baron Rivers, was a rising star and held several significant offices during the reign of Henry VI, although it is fair to say that he was not quite at the top rank of 15th century English society.
The Woodville story is an interesting one. They were not especially popular during this period and they have generally received harsh treatment from historians. Do they deserve their reputation, or is there a more balanced view? I hope to explore some of these questions in future posts.
To start with we can take the two events in Stony Stratford as the bookends for the volumes that lie between.
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| Stony Stratford's High Street circa 1907. The railways dramatically reduced traffic in the 19th century and it was only after 1945 that this street became a busy highway. |
The Woodville family of this story lived four miles to the north west of Stony Stratford at the manor of Grafton. They belonged to the gentry. They were far from being impoverished and owned several manors in South Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and even in Kent. They did military service. They were not obscure in their own time, and they rubbed shoulders with and served some of the prominent men and women of their time. Sir Richard Woodville, the first Baron Rivers, was a rising star and held several significant offices during the reign of Henry VI, although it is fair to say that he was not quite at the top rank of 15th century English society.
The Woodville story is an interesting one. They were not especially popular during this period and they have generally received harsh treatment from historians. Do they deserve their reputation, or is there a more balanced view? I hope to explore some of these questions in future posts.
To start with we can take the two events in Stony Stratford as the bookends for the volumes that lie between.
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