Edward Charleton, 5th Baron Cherleton
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Edward Charleton, 5th Baron Cherleton, KG
(1370 - 1421), 5th and last Lord Charlton of Powys, was the younger son of John Charlton
, the third baron, and his wife, Joan, daughter of Lord Stafford
.
During the lifetime of his elder brother John, the fourth lord
, Edward married, very soon after her husband's death in Ireland
(20 July 1398), the widowed Countess of March. Her lordships and castles of Usk and Caerleon thus fell into his hands. This brought him into relations with the chronicler Adam of Usk
, who speaks of him as juvenis elegantissimus and is loud in his praises.
Charlton's relationship to the Mortimers
involved him, however, in hostility to Henry of Bolingbroke
, who, in July 1399, was about to proceed from Bristol
to ravage his lands; but the chronicler Adam, who combined Lancastrian politics with attachment to the house of Mortimer, claims to have negotiated peace, and to have persuaded Henry to take Charlton among his followers. Charlton then accompanied Henry to Chester
in his march against Richard II
, and was afterwards in high favour with him. About this time Charlton showed his personal severity and the extent of the franchises of a lord marcher by condemning to death the seneschal
of Usk for an intrigue with his natural sister, probably prioress of that town.
On 19 October 1401 the death of John Charleton, 4th Baron Cherleton
without issue involved Edward's succession to the peerage and estates of Powys. It was a critical period in the historv of the Welsh marches. Owain Glyndŵr
had already risen in revolt, and had ravaged the neighbourhood of Welshpool
, the centre of the Charltons' power, whence he had been driven by John Charlton just before his death. Edward Charlton was possessed of inadequate resources to contend with so dangerous a neighbour; yet no border lord took a more prominent part in the Welsh war than he. In 1402 Owen overthrew his castles of Usk
and Caerleon
, though next year Charlton seems to have again got possession of them. In 1403 he urgently besought the council to reinforce the scanty garrisons of the border fortresses. In 1404 he was reduced to such straits that the council very unwillingly allowed him to make a private truce with the Welsh. In 1406 his new charter to Welshpool shows in its minute and curious provisions the extreme care taken to preserve that town as a centre of English influence, and exclude the foreign Welsh' from its government, its courts, and even its soil. Some time before 1408 Charlton was made a knight of the Garter
. In 1409 he procured a royal pardon for those of his vassals who had submitted to Owen, but in 1409 Owen and John, the claimant to the bishopric of St. Asaph, renewed their attack on his territories. Strict orders were sent from London that Charlton was not to leave the district, but keep all his fortresses well garrisoned against the invader. The growing preponderance of the English side may be marked in the injunction of the council not in any case to renew his old private truce with the Welsh. Finally Charlton succeeded in maintaining himself against the waning influence of Owen.
In January 1414 Sir John Oldcastle
, after his great failure, escaped to those Welsh marches, where he had first won fame as a warrior, and ultimately took refuge in the Powys estates of Charlton. There he lurked for some time until the promise of a great reward and the exhortations of the bishops to capture the common enemy of religion and society induced Charlton to take active steps for his apprehension. At last, in 1417, the heretic was tracked to a remote farm at Broniarth, and, after a severe struggle, was captured by the servants of the lord of Powys. He was first imprisoned in Powys Castle, and thence sent to London. For this service Charlton received the special thanks of parliament. The charters are still extant in which he rewarded the brothers Ieuan and Gruffudd Vychan, sons of Gruffudd ap Ieuan, for their share in Oldcastle's capture (1419).
In 1420 Charlton conferred a new charter on the Cistercian abbey of Strata Marcella
, of which his house was patron. He died on 14 March 1421.
, daughter of Thomas
and sister and co-heiress of Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent
, and widow of the Earl of March
.
He left no sons, but two daughters by his first wife, of which the elder, Joan, married Sir John Grey of Heton
, Northumberland (c. 1385-1421), and the younger, Joyce, Sir John Tiptoft
, both powerful marcher chieftains. The estates were divided between the co-heiresses, and the peerage fell into an abeyance from which it has probably never emerged, the later creation in favour of the Greys
being more probably a new peerage than a revival of the old one.
His second wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir J. Berkley of Beverstone.
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
(1370 - 1421), 5th and last Lord Charlton of Powys, was the younger son of John Charlton
John Charleton, 3rd Baron Cherleton
John Charleton , 3rd Baron Cherleton, 4th Lord Charlton of Powys . His marriage with a daughter of Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford had been arranged by his grandfather in 1343...
, the third baron, and his wife, Joan, daughter of Lord Stafford
Baron Stafford
The title Baron Stafford, referring to Stafford, has been created several times in the Peerage of England. In the 14th century, the barons of the 1st creation were made earls. Those of the fifth creation, in the century became first viscounts and then earls....
.
During the lifetime of his elder brother John, the fourth lord
John Charleton, 4th Baron Cherleton
John Charleton , 4th Baron Cherleton, 4th Lord Charlton of Powys...
, Edward married, very soon after her husband's death in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
(20 July 1398), the widowed Countess of March. Her lordships and castles of Usk and Caerleon thus fell into his hands. This brought him into relations with the chronicler Adam of Usk
Adam of Usk
Adam of Usk was a Welsh priest, canonist, and late medieval historian and chronicler.- Patronage :Born at Usk in what is now Monmouthshire, southeast Wales, Adam received the patronage of Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, who inherited the Lordship of Usk through his wife Philippa...
, who speaks of him as juvenis elegantissimus and is loud in his praises.
Charlton's relationship to the Mortimers
Edmund Mortimer
-Members of the Marcher family of Mortimer:*Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Wigmore*Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, and his second son*Edmund Mortimer, son of the 3rd Earl*Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March...
involved him, however, in hostility to Henry of Bolingbroke
Henry IV of England
Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . He was the ninth King of England of the House of Plantagenet and also asserted his grandfather's claim to the title King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence his other name, Henry Bolingbroke...
, who, in July 1399, was about to proceed from Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
to ravage his lands; but the chronicler Adam, who combined Lancastrian politics with attachment to the house of Mortimer, claims to have negotiated peace, and to have persuaded Henry to take Charlton among his followers. Charlton then accompanied Henry to Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
in his march against Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
, and was afterwards in high favour with him. About this time Charlton showed his personal severity and the extent of the franchises of a lord marcher by condemning to death the seneschal
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
of Usk for an intrigue with his natural sister, probably prioress of that town.
On 19 October 1401 the death of John Charleton, 4th Baron Cherleton
John Charleton, 4th Baron Cherleton
John Charleton , 4th Baron Cherleton, 4th Lord Charlton of Powys...
without issue involved Edward's succession to the peerage and estates of Powys. It was a critical period in the historv of the Welsh marches. Owain Glyndŵr
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndŵr , or Owain Glyn Dŵr, anglicised by William Shakespeare as Owen Glendower , was a Welsh ruler and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales...
had already risen in revolt, and had ravaged the neighbourhood of Welshpool
Welshpool
Welshpool is a town in Powys, Wales, or ancient county Montgomeryshire, from the Wales-England border. The town is low-lying on the River Severn; the Welsh language name Y Trallwng literally meaning 'the marshy or sinking land'...
, the centre of the Charltons' power, whence he had been driven by John Charlton just before his death. Edward Charlton was possessed of inadequate resources to contend with so dangerous a neighbour; yet no border lord took a more prominent part in the Welsh war than he. In 1402 Owen overthrew his castles of Usk
Usk
Usk is a small town in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated 10 miles northeast of Newport.The River Usk flows through the town and is spanned by an ancient, arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. A castle above the town overlooks the ancient Anglo-Welsh border crossing - the river can...
and Caerleon
Caerleon
Caerleon is a suburban village and community, situated on the River Usk in the northern outskirts of the city of Newport, South Wales. Caerleon is a site of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman legionary fortress, Isca Augusta, and an Iron Age hill fort...
, though next year Charlton seems to have again got possession of them. In 1403 he urgently besought the council to reinforce the scanty garrisons of the border fortresses. In 1404 he was reduced to such straits that the council very unwillingly allowed him to make a private truce with the Welsh. In 1406 his new charter to Welshpool shows in its minute and curious provisions the extreme care taken to preserve that town as a centre of English influence, and exclude the foreign Welsh' from its government, its courts, and even its soil. Some time before 1408 Charlton was made a knight of the Garter
Order of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry, or knighthood, existing in England. The order is dedicated to the image and arms of St...
. In 1409 he procured a royal pardon for those of his vassals who had submitted to Owen, but in 1409 Owen and John, the claimant to the bishopric of St. Asaph, renewed their attack on his territories. Strict orders were sent from London that Charlton was not to leave the district, but keep all his fortresses well garrisoned against the invader. The growing preponderance of the English side may be marked in the injunction of the council not in any case to renew his old private truce with the Welsh. Finally Charlton succeeded in maintaining himself against the waning influence of Owen.
In January 1414 Sir John Oldcastle
John Oldcastle
Sir John Oldcastle , English Lollard leader, was son of Sir Richard Oldcastle of Almeley in northwest Herefordshire and grandson of another Sir John Oldcastle....
, after his great failure, escaped to those Welsh marches, where he had first won fame as a warrior, and ultimately took refuge in the Powys estates of Charlton. There he lurked for some time until the promise of a great reward and the exhortations of the bishops to capture the common enemy of religion and society induced Charlton to take active steps for his apprehension. At last, in 1417, the heretic was tracked to a remote farm at Broniarth, and, after a severe struggle, was captured by the servants of the lord of Powys. He was first imprisoned in Powys Castle, and thence sent to London. For this service Charlton received the special thanks of parliament. The charters are still extant in which he rewarded the brothers Ieuan and Gruffudd Vychan, sons of Gruffudd ap Ieuan, for their share in Oldcastle's capture (1419).
In 1420 Charlton conferred a new charter on the Cistercian abbey of Strata Marcella
Strata Marcella
The Abbey of Strata Marcella , was a medieval Cistercian monastery situated at Ystrad Marchell on the west bank of the River Severn near Welshpool, Powys, Wales.- Founding :...
, of which his house was patron. He died on 14 March 1421.
Marriage and Issue
He first married Alianore HollandAlianore Holland
Alianore Holland, Countess of March was an English noblewoman, and the wife of Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March the heir presumptive of her half-uncle King Richard II of England, and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. She was the mother of Anne Mortimer, and Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March...
, daughter of Thomas
Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent
Thomas Holland , 2nd Earl of Kent, 3rd Baron Holand KG was an English nobleman and a councillor of his half-brother, King Richard II of England.-Family and early Life:...
and sister and co-heiress of Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent
Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent
Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent, 5th Baron Holand, KG was the Earl of Kent in ca. 1400 – ca. 1407. He was the 106th Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1403....
, and widow of the Earl of March
Earl of March
The title The Earl of March has been created several times in the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of England. The title derived from the "marches" or boundaries between England and either Wales or Scotland , and was held by several great feudal families which owned lands in those border...
.
He left no sons, but two daughters by his first wife, of which the elder, Joan, married Sir John Grey of Heton
John Grey, 1st Earl of Tankerville
John Grey, 1st Earl of Tankerville, 6th Lord of Powys jure uxoris, KG was an English peer and eminent soldier in the Hundred Years' War between England and France under Henry V of England.-Family:...
, Northumberland (c. 1385-1421), and the younger, Joyce, Sir John Tiptoft
John Tiptoft, 1st Baron Tiptoft
Sir John Tiptoft, 1st Baron Tiptoft was a Knight of the Shire for Huntingdonshire and Somerset, Speaker of the House of Commons, Treasurer of the Household, Chief Butler of England, Treasurer of the Exchequer and Seneschal of Landes and Aquitaine.-Early life:This English nobleman was the eldest...
, both powerful marcher chieftains. The estates were divided between the co-heiresses, and the peerage fell into an abeyance from which it has probably never emerged, the later creation in favour of the Greys
Baron Grey of Powis
This article is about Baron Grey of Powis. For the title Baron Powis, see Earl of Powis.thumbThe Baron Grey of Powis title was created for the great-grandson of Joan Charleton , co-heiress and 6th Lady of Powis and her husband, Sir John Grey, 1st Earl of Tankerville after the death of Joan's...
being more probably a new peerage than a revival of the old one.
His second wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir J. Berkley of Beverstone.