William Oldhall
Encyclopedia
Sir William Oldhall was an English soldier and Yorkist supporter, who served as Speaker of the House of Commons of England
between 1450-51.
, Bodney
, and East Dereham, Norfolk
, by Alice, daughter of Geoffrey de Fransham of the same county, he was born about 1390. As an esquire
in the retinue of Thomas Beaufort, 1st Earl of Dorset
, he was present at the siege of Rouen
in 1418–19. He also served under Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury
in the expedition for the relief of Crevant
, July 1423, and won his spurs at the battle of Verneuil
on 17 August 1424. About this date he was made seneschal of Normandy
. In the subsequent invasion of Maine
and Anjou
he further distinguished himself, and was appointed constable of Montsoreau
and governor of St. Laurent des Mortiers.
In the summer of 1426 Oldhall was employed in Flanders
on a mission to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy
concerning Jacqueline, Duchess of Gloucester, then a prisoner in the duke's hands. In October 1428 he was detached by the council of Normandy to strengthen the garrison of Argentan
, then in danger of falling by treachery into the hands of Jean II, Duke of Alençon. He was present at the great council held at Westminster
, 24 April–8 May 1434, on the conduct of the war in France, and also at the council of 24 February 1438–9. In 1440 he was chamberlain to Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, and a member of his council, and the following year was made feoffee to his use and that of his duchess Cecilia of certain royal manors. In the struggle for the retention of Normandy he commanded the castle of La Ferté Bernard, which fell into the hands of the French on 16 August 1449.
Oldhall was with the Duke of York in Wales in September 1450; was returned to parliament for Hertfordshire
on 15 October of the same year, and on 9 November following was chosen Speaker of the House of Commons. Indicted in 1452 for complicity in the insurrection of Jack Cade
and the subsequent rebellion of the Duke of York, he was found guilty, outlaw
ed, and attainted on 22 June. He took sanctuary
in the chapel royal of St. Martins-le-Grand, where he remained in custody of the king's valet until after the First Battle of St Albans
on 22 May 1455, but obtained his release and the reversal of his outlawry and attainder on 9 July. He was again attainted in November 1459 as a fautor and abettor of the recent Yorkist insurrection; but on the accession of Edward IV of England
the attainder was treated as null and void. He died in London in November 1460, and was buried in St Michael Paternoster Royal.
Besides his Norfolk estates Oldhall held (by purchase) the manors of Eastwich and Hunsdon
, Hertfordshire
. On the latter estate he built, at the cost of seven thousand marks, a castellated brick mansion. It remained in the Crown, notwithstanding the avoidance of his second attainder, and was converted by Henry VIII into a royal residence. In 1558 it was granted by Elizabeth I to Sir Henry Cary. It was later transformed into the existing Hunsdon House
.
. By her he had issue an only daughter Mary, whose husband, Walter Gorges of Wraxall, Somerset
(ancestor of Sir Ferdinando Gorges), succeeded to Oldhall's Norfolk estates, and died in September 1466. Edmund Oldhall
, Bishop of Meath ( died 1459 ) was his brother.
House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...
between 1450-51.
Life
The son and heir of Sir Edmund Oldhall of NarfordNarford
Narford is situated in the Breckland District of Norfolk and covers an area of 970 hectares .Narford village has all but disappeared, with a population of only 41, except for the large 18th century Narford Hall built by Andrew Fountaine, art collector and amateur architect. To the rear of the hall...
, Bodney
Bodney
Bodney is a village in Norfolk, England.Bodney is recorded in the Domesday Book as Bredenaia. After the Norman Conquest it was held by the de Montfort family. In the fourteenth century Edmund Oldhall , father of the statesman Sir William Oldhall, was lord of the manor of Bodney and it passed in...
, and East Dereham, 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...
, by Alice, daughter of Geoffrey de Fransham of the same county, he was born about 1390. As an esquire
Esquire
Esquire is a term of West European origin . Depending on the country, the term has different meanings...
in the retinue of Thomas Beaufort, 1st Earl of Dorset
Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter
Thomas Beaufort, 1st Duke of Exeter, KG was an English military commander during the Hundred Years' War, and briefly Chancellor of England. He was the third of four children; the son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and his mistress Katherine Swynford...
, he was present at the siege of Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
in 1418–19. He also served under Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury
Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury
Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury, 6th and 3rd Baron Montacute, 5th Baron Monthermer, and Count of Perche, KG was an English nobleman...
in the expedition for the relief of Crevant
Crevant
Crevant is a commune in the Indre department in central France.-References:*...
, July 1423, and won his spurs at the battle of Verneuil
Battle of Verneuil
The Battle of Verneuil was a battle of the Hundred Years' War, fought on 17 August 1424 near Verneuil in Normandy and was a significant English victory.-The black time:...
on 17 August 1424. About this date he was made seneschal of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. In the subsequent invasion of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and Anjou
Anjou
Anjou is a former county , duchy and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day département of Maine-et-Loire...
he further distinguished himself, and was appointed constable of Montsoreau
Montsoreau
Montsoreau is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.The Château de Montsoreau is located in the commune.-See also:*Communes of the Maine-et-Loire department...
and governor of St. Laurent des Mortiers.
In the summer of 1426 Oldhall was employed in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
on a mission to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...
concerning Jacqueline, Duchess of Gloucester, then a prisoner in the duke's hands. In October 1428 he was detached by the council of Normandy to strengthen the garrison of Argentan
Argentan
Argentan is a commune, and the seat of two cantons and of an arrondissement in the Orne department in north-western France.Argentan is located NE of Rennes, ENE of the Mont Saint-Michel, SE of Cherbourg, SSE of Caen, SW of Rouen and N of Le Mans....
, then in danger of falling by treachery into the hands of Jean II, Duke of Alençon. He was present at the great council held at Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
, 24 April–8 May 1434, on the conduct of the war in France, and also at the council of 24 February 1438–9. In 1440 he was chamberlain to Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, and a member of his council, and the following year was made feoffee to his use and that of his duchess Cecilia of certain royal manors. In the struggle for the retention of Normandy he commanded the castle of La Ferté Bernard, which fell into the hands of the French on 16 August 1449.
Oldhall was with the Duke of York in Wales in September 1450; was returned to parliament for Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Hertfordshire was a county constituency covering the county of Hertfordshire in England. It returned two Knights of the Shire to the House of Commons of England until 1707, then to the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
on 15 October of the same year, and on 9 November following was chosen Speaker of the House of Commons. Indicted in 1452 for complicity in the insurrection 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 the subsequent rebellion of the Duke of York, he was found guilty, outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
ed, and attainted on 22 June. He took sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
in the chapel royal of St. Martins-le-Grand, where he remained in custody of the king's valet until after the First Battle of St Albans
First Battle of St Albans
The First Battle of St Albans, fought on 22 May 1455 at St Albans, 22 miles north of London, traditionally marks the beginning of the Wars of the Roses. Richard, Duke of York and his ally, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, defeated the Lancastrians under Edmund, Duke of Somerset, who was killed...
on 22 May 1455, but obtained his release and the reversal of his outlawry and attainder on 9 July. He was again attainted in November 1459 as a fautor and abettor of the recent Yorkist insurrection; but on the accession of Edward IV of England
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...
the attainder was treated as null and void. He died in London in November 1460, and was buried in St Michael Paternoster Royal.
Besides his Norfolk estates Oldhall held (by purchase) the manors of Eastwich and Hunsdon
Hunsdon
Hunsdon is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England.Hunsdon village centre contains many old houses, some known to date back to at least the 15th century...
, 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...
. On the latter estate he built, at the cost of seven thousand marks, a castellated brick mansion. It remained in the Crown, notwithstanding the avoidance of his second attainder, and was converted by Henry VIII into a royal residence. In 1558 it was granted by Elizabeth I to Sir Henry Cary. It was later transformed into the existing Hunsdon House
Hunsdon House
Hunsdon House is a historic house in Hunsdon, Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Harlow.It was originally constructed of brick in 1447 by Sir William Oldhall in the shape of a tower...
.
Family
Oldhall married Margaret, daughter of William Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, who was buried in the church of the Grey Friars, LondonChrist Church Greyfriars
Christ Church Greyfriars, also known as Christ Church Newgate, was an Anglican church located on Newgate Street, opposite St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. Built first in the gothic style, then in the English Baroque style by Sir Christopher Wren, it ranked among the City's most notable...
. By her he had issue an only daughter Mary, whose husband, Walter Gorges of Wraxall, Somerset
Wraxall, Somerset
Wraxall is a village in North Somerset in England. The parish of the same name also included Nailsea and Flax Bourton until 1811. It is now within the parish of Wraxall and Failand.-History:...
(ancestor of Sir Ferdinando Gorges), succeeded to Oldhall's Norfolk estates, and died in September 1466. Edmund Oldhall
Edmund Oldhall
Edmund Oldhall was an English-born cleric and judge in fifteenth- century Ireland; he was Bishop of Meath and acting Lord Chancellor of Ireland .He was a brother of the leading Yorkist statesman Sir William Oldhall....
, Bishop of Meath ( died 1459 ) was his brother.