Earl of Northampton

“ They could not look for unqualified success in any campaign, but must take the evil with the good, not being over-elated by the one, nor unduly cast down by the other.
But the news brought by his son changed the tactics of the Earl. To march upon Northampton would now be useless. He was in some ways glad to be spared that task, and to carry out his former plans of securing Rochester, which had fallen into the hands of the Earl of Warenne and some other nobles, and was now holding out for the King. ”

“ In 1642, Elizabeth, daughter of Theophilus, second Earl of Suffolk, married Algernon Percy, tenth Earl of Northumberland, and the new master gave his name to the old mansion. The above-named Lord Northampton was the man who has been described as foolish when young, infamous when old, an encourager, at threescore years and ten, of his niece, the infamous Countess of Essex ”

“ Similarly, in September 1619, when the king was being meanly entertained by the Earl of Northampton, who had recently been promoted in the peerage, Armstrong openly called James's attention to the small account the earl 'made of him' now that 'he had got what he wanted.' But in spite of his unruly speeches, the king treated Archie with increasing favour, and he not only gained great social distinction, but amassed a large fortune. ”

“ The French cavalry was close upon the Black Prince. He and his men were in great danger. He was young and inexperienced. The Earl of Northampton hastily sent a messenger to the king, begging him to come down to his son's aid.
King Edward, who had been watching the prince's manœuvres with breathless interest, and had determined on his course in regard to the lad, answered the messenger with a question. ”

“ In November 1642, after the king's return to Oxford, he gave Banbury and that part of the country to the Earl of Northampton, who was commanded to raise a regiment of horse, which was given to the Lord Compton, his eldest son, and Sir Charles, his second son, was made lieutenant-colonel of it; to Sir William Compton, his third son, was given the castle of Banbury (ib. 93) . On 22 Dec. the parliament forces from Northampton occupied the town, and assaulted the castle, but Rupert's approach the next day relieved the earl from danger (Twyne, Musterings, apud Hearne, Dunstable, 760) . ”

“ Northampton himself was seized by Goodwin's troops in the rear (A True Relation of the Manner of Taking of the Earl of Northampton, &c. 1642) . On 6 Dec. of the same year the Earl of Essex gave instructions to Colonels Goodwin and Hurry, then in camp near Newbury, Berkshire, to march with all speed to the relief of Marlborough, Wiltshire. ”

“ In 1338, shortly before John’s death, Edward III. gave the reversion of part of the tenement to William de Bohun, Earl of Northampton, [51] after whose death (1360) his son Humphrey was allowed to hold it. In 1363, the castle and town were granted to Edmund of Langley. [52] The manor was possibly retained by the young Earl of Northampton, and the grant of castle and town seems not to have included the soke. In 1399, the manor reverted to the Crown, by the attainder of its holder, the Earl of Northumberland, and was granted to Edmund of Langley. ”

“ In 1613 Northampton, in accordance with his character, gave his support to his grandniece, Lady Frances, daughter of Thomas Howard, earl of Suffolk, in her endeavours to obtain a divorce from her husband, the Earl of Essex. The lady was desirous of marrying the king's favourite, Robert Car, earl of Somerset, and Northampton doubtless thought, by promoting that union, to obtain increased influence at court. Northampton and Lady Frances's father represented the wife in an interview with Essex held at Whitehall in May 1613, in the hope of obtaining his assent to a divorce. ”

“ About 1080 Simon de Senlis (d. 1109) , a Norman noble, and the builder of Northampton Castle, was created earl of Northampton as well as earl of Huntingdon by William the Conqueror; his son Simon (d. 1153) was also recognized in the title about 1141, though his stepfather, David, king of Scotland (1084—1153) , had meanwhile obtained the earldom in right of his wife. The second Simon died childless. In 1337 William de Bohun (c. 1310—1360) , a distinguished soldier, son of Humphrey de Bohun, 4th earl of Hereford and 3rd earl of Essex, was created earl of Northampton ”

“ In like manner, Ulrick Duke of Holstein, and Henry Earl of Northampton, immediately after their Election, (the last Day of St. George’s Feast, Ann. 3. Jac. I.) and before they receiv’d the Ensigns of the Order, had the Dignity of Knighthood conferr’d on them by the Sovereign; and in like manner the Earl of Sussex, Ann. 3 C. I. which the Red-Book of the Order recites, That as soon as it was understood that the Earl had not receiv’d the Order of Knighthood before, the Sovereign immediately drawing his Sword, Knighted him ”

“ By the whole order of nobility the protector, who affected the love of the commons, was envied and hated; but his brother, on the contrary, had cultivated their friendship with assiduity and success; and he now took opportunities of emphatically recommending it to his principal adherents, the marquis of Northampton (late earl of Essex) , the marquis of Dorset, the earl of Rutland, and others, to go into their counties and "make all the strength" there which they could. He boasted of the command of men which he derived from his office of high-admiral ”

“ The Earl of Essex appeared in the field on September 9, and advanced to Northampton, with an army of twenty regiments of infantry and seventy-five squadrons of cavalry, which were not all of the full complement, but still numbered from 12,000 to 14,000 men. The formation of this army and its advance secured the Parliamentary interest in all the neighbouring counties. The King, who had only 500 horse and a couple of weak regiments of foot with him, could not possibly await its approach: he gave up entirely his first plan of holding Nottingham, as well as of conquering Coventry and Hull. ”

“ Nearly forty thousand men were now pressing round the little body, and the Earls of Northampton and Arundel moved forward with their divisions to his support, while the Earl of Warwick, who was with the prince, dispatched Sir Thomas of Norwich to the king, who still remained with his powerful reserve, to ask for aid. ”

“ In spite of considerable traffic in abbey lands and of grants made to him at his sister's marriage and later, he did not die rich.
Northampton had a most unfortunate matrimonial history. He married, first, in 1541, Anne, daughter of Henry Bourchier, second earl of Essex. In 1547 he divorced her, and, apparently before the proceedings were properly completed, he married Elizabeth Brook, daughter of Lord Cobham. ”

“ Thus saying, she left the room, and Rochester placed the letter of Sir Thomas Overbury in the hands of the Lord Northampton, who had by this time become his chief friend and adviser at the Court. The Earl read it twice, and then returning it, said, in a marked tone, "Death!--A man," he added, "who can betray the secrets confided to him is the worst sort of traitor; but he who can use them to intimidate another, is lower than the common cut-purse upon the highway. Were this man out of prison, I should say--call him into some quiet corner of the Park, and draw your sword. ”

“ His nearest relations profited by their influence at Court to obtain grants of his chief ancestral estates. The Earls of Nottingham, Northampton, [30] and Suffolk had each of them a share in the spoil;—salving their consciences, probably, by the reflection that, despite his poverty, their young kinsman had made a great marriage. For his alliance, in 1606, with Lady Aletheia Talbot, daughter and co-heir of Gilbert, Earl of Shrewsbury, had already brought to him considerable means in hand, and a vast estate in prospect. The marriage, in higher respects, was also a happy one. ”

“ On August 18 the great conspirator, with his son, the Earl of Warwick, and the Marquis of Northampton, were arraigned at Westminster Hall, the Duke of Norfolk, lately himself a prisoner, presiding, as High Steward of England, at the trial.
Its issue was a foregone conclusion. If ever man deserved to suffer the penalty for high treason, that man was Northumberland. His brain had devised the plot intended to keep the Queen out of the heritage hers by birth and right ”

“ Northampton retreated ignominiously to town, where the Protector now saw that the affair was of a character that demanded vigorous suppression. An army of 8,000 men, 2,000 of whom [213] were Germans, under the Earl of Warwick, about to proceed against Scotland, was directed to march to Norwich and disperse the rebels. Warwick arriving, made an entrance, after some resistance, into the city. But there he was assailed on every side with such impetuosity, that he found it all that he could do to defend himself, being deficient in ammunition. ”

“ And the aforesaid Earl of Northumberland shall have for himself and his heirs the counties below written, namely, Northumberland, Westmoreland, Lancashire, York, Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby, Stafford, Leicester, Northampton, Warwick, and Norfolk. And the Lord Edmund shall have all the rest of the whole of England entirely to him and his heirs. Also, should any battle, riot, or discord fall out between two of the said Lords, (may it never be!) then the third of the said Lords, calling to himself good and faithful counsel, shall duly rectify such discord, riot, and battle ”

“ They made a fresh attempt in 1460, and, thanks partly to treason in the Lancastrian camp, partly to the generalship of Warwick, won an important success and for the second time seized the king at Northampton (July 10, 1460) . Shortly afterwards, after a period of negotiation and threats, there was a fresh conflict. Richard duke of York went north to fight the hostile army which gathered at York and consisted of Lancashire and Midland Royalists, while his son Edward, earl of March, went into the west. ”

“ On reaching Northampton, where the duke of Buckingham joined him, there came thither for the purpose of paying their respects to him, Antony, earl of Rivers, the King's uncle, and Richard Grey, a 103most noble knight, and uterine brother to the King, together with several others who had been sent by the King, his nephew, to submit the conduct of everything to the will and discretion of his uncle, the duke of Gloucester. ”

“ But the discontented nobles openly appeared before the King; and Peter des Roches formally charged Hubert with treason, and demanded his dismissal. Led by the Earl of Chester, they retired, and kept Christmas with great pomp at Leicester. The Justiciary and the King determined to hold a rival meeting at Northampton. The royal [145] appeal for help was warmly answered. The force collected at Northampton was too strong for the malcontents. Excommunication issued against them by Stephen Langton completed their discomfiture. ”

“ Ten months later the young King’s uncle, Earl William of Salisbury, was forbidden to hold a tournament for which he was making preparations at Northampton, “till by God’s help and the counsel of our faithful men, and of yourself” (Salisbury) , “the state of peace in our realm shall be made firmer and more secure.” ”

“ Part of Lord Northampton’s large estates came eventually to Lord Arundel by bequest. He also inherited Northampton’s house at Greenwich, and occasionally resided there, until its destruction by fire in January, 1616. Chamberlain’s account of the incident, given to Sir Dudley Carleton, is worth quotation for the comment with which it ends: ‘There fell a great mischance to the Earl of Arundel by the burning of his house ... at Greenwich, where he lost a great deal of household stuff and rich furniture; the fury of the fire being such that nothing could be saved. ”

“ Northampton went with the earl, and was, it is said, accompanied by four hundred men. The lord mayor met him, and asked why he went so attended. On his answering that the men came with him because it pleased them, Brembre arrested him, and he was sent down to Corfe Castle, and there imprisoned on a charge of sedition. One of his most active adherents, a member of the Shoemakers' Company, was beheaded for insurrection. ”

“ John and Langton at, 340; Essex musters the Parliamentary army at, vi. 2; Assize of, i. 255; battle of, iii. 75; councils at, i. 237; ii. 120; treaty of, ii. 205 Northampton, William Bohun, Earl of, ii. 237 Northampton, George Compton, fourth Earl of, vii. 23 Northampton, Henry Howard, Earl of, v. 191 Northampton, William Parr, first Marquis of, iv. 47 North folk, i. 42 North Foreland, battles off the, vi. 238, 239 Northmen, their temper, i. 100; attack Britain, 101; settle in Ireland, 103; victorious at Charmouth, ib.; defeated at Aclea, ib.; conquer Northumbria and East Anglia, 104 ”

“ By all historic precedents Northampton should have been the scene of a contest in the long struggle between King Charles and his Parliament; but, fortunately for the burgesses, who were commercial folk and not greatly interested, the castle was too far gone in decay to be useful to either side, and the great Northamptonshire battle of Naseby was fought twelve miles away. ”

“ Northampton's work was at once undone, the fishmongers regained their privileges, and the greater companies triumphed.
He did not submit quietly to his defeat; the party that he led was numerous and excited, there was talk of making him mayor in spite of his enemies, and the supporters of Brembre believed that the new lord mayor's life was threatened. Northampton was joined by a large number of men when he walked the streets, and seems to have allied himself to the anti-court party among the nobles; for the dispute in the city had a strong bearing on the affairs of the kingdom. ”