Paston Letters
Encyclopedia
The Paston Letters are a collection of letters and papers from England
, consisting of the correspondence of members of the gentry
Paston family, and others connected with them, between the years 1422 and 1509, and also including some state papers and other important documents.
, the last representative of the family, by the antiquary Francis Blomefield
in 1735. On Blomefield's death in 1752 they came into the possession of Thomas Martin of Palgrave, and upon Martin's death in 1771 many were purchased by John Worth, a chemist at Diss
, whose executors sold them three years later to Sir John Fenn
of East Dereham. Some others passed into the hands of John Ives after Martin's death. In 1787 Fenn published a selection of the letters in two volumes, and general interest was aroused by this publication. In 1789 Fenn published two other volumes of letters, and when he died in 1794 he had prepared for the press a fifth volume, which was published in 1823 by his nephew, William Frere. In 1787 Fenn presented the originals of his first two volumes to King George III, and shortly afterwards received a knighthood, on 23 May.
These manuscripts soon disappeared, and the same fate attended the originals of the three other volumes. In these circumstances it is not surprising that some doubt should have been cast upon the authenticity of the letters. In 1865 their genuineness was impugned by Herman Merivale
in the Fortnightly Review; but it was vindicated on grounds of internal evidence by James Gairdner
in the same periodical; and within a year Gairdner's contention was established by the discovery of the originals of Fenn's fifth volume, together with other letters and papers, by William Frere's son, Philip Frere, in his house at Dungate, near Balsham
, Cambridgeshire
. Ten years later the originals of Fenn's third and fourth volumes, with ninety-five unpublished letters, were found at Roydon Hall, Norfolk
, the seat of George Frere, the head of the Frere family; and finally in 1889 the originals of the two remaining volumes were discovered at Orwell Park, Ipswich
, the residence of Captain EG Pretyman. This latter batch of papers are the letters which were presented to George III, and which possibly reached Orwell through Sir George Pretyman Tomline
(1750-1827), the tutor and friend of William Pitt
.
The bulk of the Paston letters and associated documents are now in the British Library
; but a few others are in the Bodleian Library
, Oxford; at Magdalen College, Oxford
; and a few at Pembroke College, Cambridge
.
Fenn's edition of the Paston Letters held the field until 1872, when James Gairdner published the first volume of a new edition. Taking Fenn's work as a basis, the aim of the new editor was to include all the letters which had come to light since this publication, and in his careful and accurate work in three volumes (London
, 1872-1875) he printed over four hundred letters for the first time. Gairdner's edition, with notes and index, also contained a valuable introduction to each volume, including a survey of the reign of Henry VI
; and he was just completing his task when the discovery of 1875 was made at Roydon
. An appendix gave particulars of this discovery, and the unpublished letters were printed as a supplement to subsequent editions. In 1904 a new and complete edition of the Paston Letters was edited by Gairdner, and these six volumes, containing 1,088 letters and papers, possess a very valuable introduction.
In 1971, Norman Davis published a new edition, which was further revised and expanded by Richard Beadle and Colin Richmond in 2004.
Two recent books have presented the story of the fifteenth-century Pastons for a wide audience, Blood and Roses by Helen Castor (2004) and A Medieval Family by Frances and Joseph Gies (1998).
village about twenty miles (32 km) north of Norwich
, and the first member of the family about whom anything is known was living in this village early in the 15th century. This was one Clement Paston (d. 1419), a peasant, holding and cultivating about one hundred acres (40 hectares) of land, who gave an excellent education to his son William, and enabled him to study law. Making good use of his opportunities, William Paston (1378-1444), who is described as a "right cunning man" in the law, attained an influential position in his profession, and in 1429 became a justice of the common pleas. He bought a good deal of land in Norfolk
, including property in Paston and Gresham Castle
, and improved his position by his marriage with Agnes (d. 1479), daughter and heiress of Sir Edmund Berry of Harlingbury, Hertfordshire
.
Consequently when he died he left a large and valuable inheritance to John Paston (1421-1466), the eldest of his five sons, who was already married to Margaret (d. 1484), daughter of John Mauteby of Mauteby. At this time England was in a very distracted condition. A weak king surrounded by turbulent nobles was incapable of discharging the duties of government, and only the strong man armed could hope to keep his goods in peace. A lawyer like his father, Paston spent much time in London, leaving his wife to look after his business in Norfolk; and many of the Letters were written by Margaret to her husband. It is during the lifetimes of John Paston and his eldest son that the Letters are most numerous and valuable, not only for family matters, but also for the history of England.
In 1448 Paston's manor of Gresham was seized by Robert Hungerford, Lord Moleyns (1431-1464), and, although it was afterwards recovered, the owner could obtain no redress for the loss and injury he had sustained. More serious troubles, however, were at hand. Paston had become very intimate with the wealthy knight Sir John Fastolf
, who was probably related to his wife, and who had employed him on several matters of business. Sir John Fastolf was a prominent soldier in the Hundred Years' War
who gave his name to Shakespeare's character Falstaff
.
In 1459 Fastolf died without children, leaving his affairs in rather a tangled condition. In accordance with the custom of the time, he had conveyed many of his estates in Norfolk and Suffolk
to trustees such as Sir William Yelverton, John Paston and his brother William, retaining the revenues for himself, and probably intending his trustees after his death to devote the property to the foundation of a college. However, it was found that, a few days before Fastolf's death, Paston had executed a fresh will in which Fastolf had named ten executors, of whom two only, John Paston and another, were to act; and, moreover, that Fastolf had bequeathed all his lands in Norfolk and Suffolk to Paston, subject only to the duty of founding the college at Caister
, and paying 4,000 marks
to the other executors.
At once taking possession of the lands, Paston soon found his rights challenged. Various estates were claimed by different noblemen; the excluded executors were angry and aggressive; and Paston soon found himself in a whirlwind of litigation, and exposed also to more violent methods of attack. Something like a regular warfare was waged around Drayton
and Hellesdon
between John de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk
, and the Pastons under Margaret and her eldest son, John; Caister Castle was seized by John Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk (d. 1461); and similar occurrences took place elsewhere. Some compensation, doubtless, was found in the fact that in 1460, and again in 1461, Paston had been returned to parliament as a knight of the shire for Norfolk, and, enjoying the favour of Edward IV
, had regained his castle at Caister. But the royal favour was only temporary, and, having been imprisoned on three occasions, Paston died in May 1466, leaving the suit concerning Paston's will still proceeding in the church courts.
. Meanwhile the struggle over Paston's estates continued, although in 1461 the king and council had decided that Paston's ancestors were not bondmen, and consequently that his title to his father's lands was good. Caister Castle was taken after a regular siege by John Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk
(1444-1476), and then recovered by the Pastons, and retaken by the duke. But in 1474 an arrangement was made with William Waynflete
, bishop of Winchester
, the representative of the excluded executors, by which some of the estates were surrendered to the bishop for charitable purposes, while Paston was secured in the possession of others. Two years later the opportune death of the duke of Norfolk paved the way for the restoration of Caister Castle; but in 1478 a fresh quarrel broke out with the duke of Suffolk
.
Sir John, who was a cultured man, had shown great anxiety to recover Caister; but in general he had left the conduct of the struggle to his mother and to the younger John. Owing to his carelessness and extravagance the family lands were also diminished by sales; but nevertheless when he died unmarried in November 1479 he left a goodly inheritance to his brother John. About this time the Letters begin to be scanty and less interesting, but the family continued to flourish. The younger John Paston (d. 1504), after quarrelling with his uncle William over the manors of Oxnead
and Marlingford, was knighted at the battle of Stoke in 1487. He married Margery, daughter of Sir Thomas Brews, and left a son, William Paston (c. 1479-1554), who was also knighted, and who was a prominent figure at the court of Henry VIII
. Sir William's second son John Paston (1510-1575) was the father-in-law of Sir Edward Coke
; Sir William's third son, Clement (c. 1515-1597), served his country with distinction on the sea, and was wounded at the battle of Pinkie.
The family was continued by Sir William's eldest son, Erasmus (b. 1502-d. 1540), whose son William succeeded to his grandfather's estates in 1554, and to those of his uncle Clement in 1597. This William (1528-1610) was knighted ~fl 1578. He was the founder of the Paston grammar-school at North Walsham
, and made Oxnead Hall, near Norwich, his principal residence. Christopher Paston was Sir William's son and heir, and Christopher's grandson, William (d. 1663), was created a baronet in 1642; being succeeded in the title by his son Robert (1631-1683), who was a member of parliament from 1661 to 1673, and was created earl of Yarmouth
in 1679. Robert's son William (1652-1732), who married a natural daughter of Charles II
, was the second earl, and, like his father, was in high favour with the Stuarts
. When he died in 1732 he left no son, and his titles became extinct, his estates being sold to discharge his debts.
The perturbed state of affairs revealed by the Paston Letters reflects the general condition of England during the period. It was a time of trouble. The weakness of the government had disorganized every branch of the administration; the succession to the crown itself was contested; the great nobles lived in a state of civil war; and the prevailing discontent found expression in the rising of Jack Cade
and in the Wars of the Roses
. The correspondence reveals the Pastons in a great variety of relations to their neighbours, friendly or hostile; and abounds with illustrations of the course of public events, as well as of the manners and morals of the time. Nothing is more remarkable than the habitual acquaintance of educated persons, both men and women, with the law, which was evidently indispensable to persons of substance.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, consisting of the correspondence of members of the gentry
Gentry
Gentry denotes "well-born and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past....
Paston family, and others connected with them, between the years 1422 and 1509, and also including some state papers and other important documents.
History of the collection
The huge collection of letters and papers was acquired from the executors of William Paston, 2nd Earl of YarmouthWilliam Paston, 2nd Earl of Yarmouth
William Paston, 2nd Earl of Yarmouth was a British peer and politician.Born in 1654, he was the son of Robert Paston, 1st Earl of Yarmouth and his wife, Rebecca, née Clayton. In 1671, he married the widowed Charlotte Howard, née FitzRoy , the illegitimate daughter of Charles II and Elizabeth...
, the last representative of the family, by the antiquary Francis Blomefield
Francis Blomefield
Francis Blomefield was an English antiquary, who projected a county history of Norfolk. During his lifetime, he compiled and published detailed accounts of the city of Norwich, Borough of Thetford and the southern hundreds of the county, but died before the whole work could be completed.-Biography...
in 1735. On Blomefield's death in 1752 they came into the possession of Thomas Martin of Palgrave, and upon Martin's death in 1771 many were purchased by John Worth, a chemist at Diss
Diss
Diss is a town in Norfolk, England close to the border with the neighbouring East Anglian county of Suffolk.The town lies in the valley of the River Waveney, around a mere that covers . The mere is up to deep, although there is another of mud, making it one of the deepest natural inland lakes...
, whose executors sold them three years later to Sir John Fenn
John Fenn (antiquarian)
Sir John Fenn was an English antiquary. He is best remembered for collecting, editing, and publishing the Paston Letters, describing the life and political scheming of the gentry in Medieval England...
of East Dereham. Some others passed into the hands of John Ives after Martin's death. In 1787 Fenn published a selection of the letters in two volumes, and general interest was aroused by this publication. In 1789 Fenn published two other volumes of letters, and when he died in 1794 he had prepared for the press a fifth volume, which was published in 1823 by his nephew, William Frere. In 1787 Fenn presented the originals of his first two volumes to King George III, and shortly afterwards received a knighthood, on 23 May.
These manuscripts soon disappeared, and the same fate attended the originals of the three other volumes. In these circumstances it is not surprising that some doubt should have been cast upon the authenticity of the letters. In 1865 their genuineness was impugned by Herman Merivale
Herman Merivale
Herman Merivale CB was an English civil servant and historian. He was the elder brother of Charles Merivale, and father of the poet Herman Charles Merivale....
in the Fortnightly Review; but it was vindicated on grounds of internal evidence by James Gairdner
James Gairdner
James Gairdner was a British historian. Specializing in 15th century and Early Tudor history, he among other tasks edited the Letters and Papers, foreign and domestic, of the reign of Henry VIII series....
in the same periodical; and within a year Gairdner's contention was established by the discovery of the originals of Fenn's fifth volume, together with other letters and papers, by William Frere's son, Philip Frere, in his house at Dungate, near Balsham
Balsham
Balsham is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom which has much expanded since the 1960s and is now one of several dormitory settlements of Cambridge...
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
. Ten years later the originals of Fenn's third and fourth volumes, with ninety-five unpublished letters, were found at Roydon Hall, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, the seat of George Frere, the head of the Frere family; and finally in 1889 the originals of the two remaining volumes were discovered at Orwell Park, Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, the residence of Captain EG Pretyman. This latter batch of papers are the letters which were presented to George III, and which possibly reached Orwell through Sir George Pretyman Tomline
George Pretyman Tomline
Sir George Pretyman Tomline, 5th Baronet FRS was an English clergyman, theologian, Bishop of Lincoln and then Bishop of Winchester, and confidant of William Pitt the Younger...
(1750-1827), the tutor and friend of William Pitt
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
.
The bulk of the Paston letters and associated documents are now in the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
; but a few others are in the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
, Oxford; at Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
; and a few at Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
.
Fenn's edition of the Paston Letters held the field until 1872, when James Gairdner published the first volume of a new edition. Taking Fenn's work as a basis, the aim of the new editor was to include all the letters which had come to light since this publication, and in his careful and accurate work in three volumes (London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 1872-1875) he printed over four hundred letters for the first time. Gairdner's edition, with notes and index, also contained a valuable introduction to each volume, including a survey of the reign of Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
; and he was just completing his task when the discovery of 1875 was made at Roydon
Roydon, South Norfolk
Roydon is a small village and parish in the county of Norfolk, England, about a mile west of Diss. It covers an area of and had a population of 2,358 in 981 households as of the 2001 census....
. An appendix gave particulars of this discovery, and the unpublished letters were printed as a supplement to subsequent editions. In 1904 a new and complete edition of the Paston Letters was edited by Gairdner, and these six volumes, containing 1,088 letters and papers, possess a very valuable introduction.
In 1971, Norman Davis published a new edition, which was further revised and expanded by Richard Beadle and Colin Richmond in 2004.
Two recent books have presented the story of the fifteenth-century Pastons for a wide audience, Blood and Roses by Helen Castor (2004) and A Medieval Family by Frances and Joseph Gies (1998).
The early Pastons
The family of Paston takes its name from a NorfolkNorfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
village about twenty miles (32 km) north of Norwich
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
, and the first member of the family about whom anything is known was living in this village early in the 15th century. This was one Clement Paston (d. 1419), a peasant, holding and cultivating about one hundred acres (40 hectares) of land, who gave an excellent education to his son William, and enabled him to study law. Making good use of his opportunities, William Paston (1378-1444), who is described as a "right cunning man" in the law, attained an influential position in his profession, and in 1429 became a justice of the common pleas. He bought a good deal of land in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, including property in Paston and Gresham Castle
Gresham Castle
Gresham Castle is located south of the village of Gresham in the north of the English county of Norfolk. The medieval castle was actually a fortified manor house.Permission by license to crenellate his manor house was gained by Sir Edmund Bacon in 1318...
, and improved his position by his marriage with Agnes (d. 1479), daughter and heiress of Sir Edmund Berry of Harlingbury, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
.
Consequently when he died he left a large and valuable inheritance to John Paston (1421-1466), the eldest of his five sons, who was already married to Margaret (d. 1484), daughter of John Mauteby of Mauteby. At this time England was in a very distracted condition. A weak king surrounded by turbulent nobles was incapable of discharging the duties of government, and only the strong man armed could hope to keep his goods in peace. A lawyer like his father, Paston spent much time in London, leaving his wife to look after his business in Norfolk; and many of the Letters were written by Margaret to her husband. It is during the lifetimes of John Paston and his eldest son that the Letters are most numerous and valuable, not only for family matters, but also for the history of England.
In 1448 Paston's manor of Gresham was seized by Robert Hungerford, Lord Moleyns (1431-1464), and, although it was afterwards recovered, the owner could obtain no redress for the loss and injury he had sustained. More serious troubles, however, were at hand. Paston had become very intimate with the wealthy knight Sir John Fastolf
John Fastolf
Sir John Fastolf KG was an English knight during the Hundred Years War, who has enjoyed a more lasting reputation as in some part being the prototype of Shakespeare's Sir John Falstaff...
, who was probably related to his wife, and who had employed him on several matters of business. Sir John Fastolf was a prominent soldier in the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
who gave his name to Shakespeare's character Falstaff
Falstaff
Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare. In the two Henry IV plays, he is a companion to Prince Hal, the future King Henry V. A fat, vain, boastful, and cowardly knight, Falstaff leads the apparently wayward Prince Hal into trouble, and is...
.
In 1459 Fastolf died without children, leaving his affairs in rather a tangled condition. In accordance with the custom of the time, he had conveyed many of his estates in Norfolk and Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
to trustees such as Sir William Yelverton, John Paston and his brother William, retaining the revenues for himself, and probably intending his trustees after his death to devote the property to the foundation of a college. However, it was found that, a few days before Fastolf's death, Paston had executed a fresh will in which Fastolf had named ten executors, of whom two only, John Paston and another, were to act; and, moreover, that Fastolf had bequeathed all his lands in Norfolk and Suffolk to Paston, subject only to the duty of founding the college at Caister
Caister-on-Sea
Caister-on-Sea, also known colloquially as Caister, is a settlement in Norfolk in the United Kingdom, close to the large town of Great Yarmouth. It is a seaside resort and busy holiday destination on the "Golden Mile", with its main attraction being its sandy "Georgian Beach". It is home to Great...
, and paying 4,000 marks
Mark (money)
Mark was a measure of weight mainly for gold and silver, commonly used throughout western Europe and often equivalent to 8 ounces. Considerable variations, however, occurred throughout the Middle Ages Mark (from a merging of three Teutonic/Germanic languages words, Latinized in 9th century...
to the other executors.
At once taking possession of the lands, Paston soon found his rights challenged. Various estates were claimed by different noblemen; the excluded executors were angry and aggressive; and Paston soon found himself in a whirlwind of litigation, and exposed also to more violent methods of attack. Something like a regular warfare was waged around Drayton
Drayton, Norfolk
Drayton, Norfolk, is a suburban village in the county of Norfolk and district of Broadland north west of Norwich. It is situated on the A1067 road between Hellesdon and Taverham.- History :...
and Hellesdon
Hellesdon
Hellesdon is a thriving suburb of Norwich in the District of Broadland in Norfolk, England. It lies approximately 4 miles north-west of Norwich and has 11,177 inhabitants.- History :...
between John de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk
John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk
John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, KG , known as "the Trimming Duke". He was the son of William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Alice Chaucer, daughter of Thomas Chaucer.-Life:...
, and the Pastons under Margaret and her eldest son, John; Caister Castle was seized by John Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk (d. 1461); and similar occurrences took place elsewhere. Some compensation, doubtless, was found in the fact that in 1460, and again in 1461, Paston had been returned to parliament as a knight of the shire for Norfolk, and, enjoying the favour of Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
, had regained his castle at Caister. But the royal favour was only temporary, and, having been imprisoned on three occasions, Paston died in May 1466, leaving the suit concerning Paston's will still proceeding in the church courts.
John Paston's sons, and descendants
John Paston left at least five sons, the two eldest of whom were, curiously enough, both named John, and the eldest of whom had been knighted during his father's lifetime. Sir John Paston (1442-1479) was frequently at the court of King Edward IV, but afterwards he favoured the Lancastrian party, and, with his brother John, fought for Henry VI at the battle of BarnetBattle of Barnet
The Battle of Barnet was a decisive engagement in the Wars of the Roses, a dynastic conflict of 15th-century England. The military action, along with the subsequent Battle of Tewkesbury, secured the throne for Edward IV...
. Meanwhile the struggle over Paston's estates continued, although in 1461 the king and council had decided that Paston's ancestors were not bondmen, and consequently that his title to his father's lands was good. Caister Castle was taken after a regular siege by John Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk
John de Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk
John de Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk, KG , known as 1st Earl of Surrey between 1451 and 1461, was the only son of John de Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk and Eleanor Bourchier. His maternal grandparents were William Bourchier, Count of Eu and Anne of Gloucester.In 1451 the earldom of Surrey was...
(1444-1476), and then recovered by the Pastons, and retaken by the duke. But in 1474 an arrangement was made with William Waynflete
William Waynflete
William Waynflete , born William Patten, was Bishop of Winchester from 1447 to 1486, and Lord Chancellor of England from 1456 to 1460. He is best remembered as the founder of Magdalen College and Magdalen College School in Oxford....
, bishop of Winchester
Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...
, the representative of the excluded executors, by which some of the estates were surrendered to the bishop for charitable purposes, while Paston was secured in the possession of others. Two years later the opportune death of the duke of Norfolk paved the way for the restoration of Caister Castle; but in 1478 a fresh quarrel broke out with the duke of Suffolk
John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk
John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, KG , known as "the Trimming Duke". He was the son of William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk and Alice Chaucer, daughter of Thomas Chaucer.-Life:...
.
Sir John, who was a cultured man, had shown great anxiety to recover Caister; but in general he had left the conduct of the struggle to his mother and to the younger John. Owing to his carelessness and extravagance the family lands were also diminished by sales; but nevertheless when he died unmarried in November 1479 he left a goodly inheritance to his brother John. About this time the Letters begin to be scanty and less interesting, but the family continued to flourish. The younger John Paston (d. 1504), after quarrelling with his uncle William over the manors of Oxnead
Oxnead
Oxnead is a lost settlement in Norfolk, England, roughly three miles south-east of Aylsham. It now consists mostly of St Michael’s Church and Oxnead Hall. It was the principal residence of the Paston family from 1597 until the death of William Paston, 2nd Earl of Yarmouth in 1732...
and Marlingford, was knighted at the battle of Stoke in 1487. He married Margery, daughter of Sir Thomas Brews, and left a son, William Paston (c. 1479-1554), who was also knighted, and who was a prominent figure at the court of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. Sir William's second son John Paston (1510-1575) was the father-in-law of Sir Edward Coke
Edward Coke
Sir Edward Coke SL PC was an English barrister, judge and politician considered to be the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Born into a middle class family, Coke was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge before leaving to study at the Inner Temple, where he was called to the...
; Sir William's third son, Clement (c. 1515-1597), served his country with distinction on the sea, and was wounded at the battle of Pinkie.
The family was continued by Sir William's eldest son, Erasmus (b. 1502-d. 1540), whose son William succeeded to his grandfather's estates in 1554, and to those of his uncle Clement in 1597. This William (1528-1610) was knighted ~fl 1578. He was the founder of the Paston grammar-school at North Walsham
North Walsham
North Walsham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England in the North Norfolk district.-Demographics:The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 11,998. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of North...
, and made Oxnead Hall, near Norwich, his principal residence. Christopher Paston was Sir William's son and heir, and Christopher's grandson, William (d. 1663), was created a baronet in 1642; being succeeded in the title by his son Robert (1631-1683), who was a member of parliament from 1661 to 1673, and was created earl of Yarmouth
Earl of Yarmouth
Earl of Yarmouth is a title that has been created three time in British history, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1679 in favour of the politician and scientist Robert Paston, 1st Viscount Yarmouth...
in 1679. Robert's son William (1652-1732), who married a natural daughter of Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, was the second earl, and, like his father, was in high favour with the Stuarts
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
. When he died in 1732 he left no son, and his titles became extinct, his estates being sold to discharge his debts.
The perturbed state of affairs revealed by the Paston Letters reflects the general condition of England during the period. It was a time of trouble. The weakness of the government had disorganized every branch of the administration; the succession to the crown itself was contested; the great nobles lived in a state of civil war; and the prevailing discontent found expression in the rising of Jack Cade
Jack Cade
Jack Cade was the leader of a popular revolt in the 1450 Kent rebellion during the reign of King Henry VI in England. He died on the 12th July 1450 near Lewes. In response to grievances, Cade led an army of as many as 5,000 against London, causing the King to flee to Warwickshire. After taking and...
and in the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
. The correspondence reveals the Pastons in a great variety of relations to their neighbours, friendly or hostile; and abounds with illustrations of the course of public events, as well as of the manners and morals of the time. Nothing is more remarkable than the habitual acquaintance of educated persons, both men and women, with the law, which was evidently indispensable to persons of substance.