Margaret Beauchamp, Countess of Shrewsbury (1404 – 14 June, 1468), was the eldest daughter of
Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of WarwickRichard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick was an English medieval nobleman and military commander.- Birth :...
and Elizabeth de Berkeley.
She was the granddaughter and heir-general of
Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron BerkeleyThomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley the Magnificent was an English peer born in the Berkeley Castle, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England to Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Lord Berkeley and Elizabeth le Despencer. In 1367 Lord Thomas married Margaret de Lisle, Baroness Lisle, daughter of Warin de...
; however, the Barony and
castle of BerkeleyBerkeley Castle is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK .It was constructed from 1154 A.D., on the orders of Henry II, with the aim of defending the Bristol - Gloucester Road, the Severn estuary and the Welsh border...
had passed to his nephew
James Berkeley, 1st Baron BerkeleyJames Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley , also known as "James the Just", was an English peer.Berkeley was the son of Sir James de Berkeley and his wife Elizabeth . He was made heir to his uncle Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley. He was married four times...
on his death in 1417. These lands were also claimed by her mother, to whom she and her two sisters were coheirs.
On September 6, 1425, she had married
John Talbot, 1st Earl of ShrewsburyJohn Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury was an important English military commander during the Hundred Years' War, as well as the only Lancastrian Constable of France.-Family:...
; he and her two brothers-in-law, the
Duke of SomersetEdmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset , sometimes styled 1st Duke of Somerset, was an English nobleman and an important figure in the Wars of the Roses and in the Hundred Years' War.-Life:...
and the Baron Latimer, vigorously maintained the claim to the Berkeley lands.
Margaret Beauchamp, Countess of Shrewsbury (1404 – 14 June, 1468), was the eldest daughter of
Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of WarwickRichard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick was an English medieval nobleman and military commander.- Birth :...
and Elizabeth de Berkeley.
Ancestry
She was the granddaughter and heir-general of
Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron BerkeleyThomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley the Magnificent was an English peer born in the Berkeley Castle, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England to Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Lord Berkeley and Elizabeth le Despencer. In 1367 Lord Thomas married Margaret de Lisle, Baroness Lisle, daughter of Warin de...
; however, the Barony and
castle of BerkeleyBerkeley Castle is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK .It was constructed from 1154 A.D., on the orders of Henry II, with the aim of defending the Bristol - Gloucester Road, the Severn estuary and the Welsh border...
had passed to his nephew
James Berkeley, 1st Baron BerkeleyJames Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley , also known as "James the Just", was an English peer.Berkeley was the son of Sir James de Berkeley and his wife Elizabeth . He was made heir to his uncle Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley. He was married four times...
on his death in 1417. These lands were also claimed by her mother, to whom she and her two sisters were coheirs.
Marriage
On September 6, 1425, she had married
John Talbot, 1st Earl of ShrewsburyJohn Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury was an important English military commander during the Hundred Years' War, as well as the only Lancastrian Constable of France.-Family:...
; he and her two brothers-in-law, the
Duke of SomersetEdmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset , sometimes styled 1st Duke of Somerset, was an English nobleman and an important figure in the Wars of the Roses and in the Hundred Years' War.-Life:...
and the Baron Latimer, vigorously maintained the claim to the Berkeley lands. By Talbot, she had four children:
- Sir Lewis Talbot
- John Talbot, 1st Viscount Lisle
John Talbot, 1st Viscount Lisle , English nobleman and medieval soldier, was the son of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, and his second wife Margaret Beauchamp.- Titles :...
(d. 1453)
- Sir Humphrey Talbot (d. c. 1492)
- Elizabeth Talbot
Elizabeth Talbot may refer to:*Elizabeth Grey, Countess of Kent, born Elizabeth Talbot*Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury, known as Bess of Hardwick...
(d. bef. 1453), married John de Mowbray, 4th Duke of NorfolkJohn Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk , 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....
.
Wars of the Roses
During the troubled years of the
Wars of the RosesThe Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars between supporters of the rival houses of Lancaster and York, for the throne of England. They are generally accepted to have been fought in several spasmodic episodes between 1455 and 1487...
, the dispute frequently passed from litigation to actual violence.
Lord Berkeley sacked Margaret's manor at
Wotton-under-EdgeWotton under Edge is a market town within the Stroud district of Gloucestershire, England. Located near the southern end of the Cotswolds the Cotswold Way long-distance footpath passes through the town...
in
GloucestershireGloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, in return for which her son, the Viscount Lisle, stormed
Berkeley CastleBerkeley Castle is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, UK .It was constructed from 1154 A.D., on the orders of Henry II, with the aim of defending the Bristol - Gloucester Road, the Severn estuary and the Welsh border...
(1452) and took him prisoner.
Margaret also succeeded in having Lord Berkeley's wife, Isabel Mowbray, committed to prison, where she died that year.
Litigation from her Deathbed
Lord Berkeley married Joan Talbot, Margaret's stepdaughter, in 1457, temporarily quelling the feud. It broke out again in 1463, when William Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley, acceded. Litigation continued, and on her death in 1468, she left her claims to her grandson
Thomas Talbot, 2nd Viscount LisleThomas Talbot, 2nd Viscount Lisle , English nobleman, was the son of John Talbot, 1st Viscount Lisle and Joan Cheddar.He married Margaret Herbert, the daughter of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke....
.