And other nine thou bearest in the outer walls,
Within ther may be lodged kings three.”
From the time of its foundation, Lathom was associated with royal memories and noble deeds. Among its heroes was Sir Thomas Stanley, Chief Governor of Ireland, the father of the first Earl of Derby, Sir Edward Stanley—
“There is Sir Edward Stanley stout,
For martial skill clear without make;
Of Lathom House by line came out,
Whose blood will never turn their back”[[6]]—
and of Sir William Stanley, the brother of the first Earl. Those days of endless Yorkist and Lancastrian fighting for the crown, causing such bitterness and division between father and son, brother and brother, brought about the death upon the scaffold of Sir William Stanley. He was executed for his brave adherence to the cause of Perkin Warbeck, whom he, with so many more, believed to be the Duke of York, said to have been murdered in the Tower by Richard of Gloucester. Sir William met his fate February 1495; and in the summer following, King Henry VII. made a royal progress northward, to spend a few days with his mother, the Countess of Derby, at Lathom. After showing his house to his royal guest, the Earl conducted him on to the leads for a prospect of the country which the roof commanded. The Earl’s fool was among the company in attendance, and observing the King draw very near the edge, which had no parapet or defence of any kind, Master Yorick stepped up to the Earl, and, pointing to the perilous verge, said: “Tom, remember Will.” The King not only caught the words, but their meaning; “and,” concludes the chronicler, “made all haste down stairs and out of the house; and the fool, for long after, seemed mightily concerned that his lord had not had the courage to take the opportunity of avenging himself for the death of his brother”[[7]]: thus exemplifying the vast difference that exists between a fool and a wise man.
[6]. Harl. MSS.
[7]. Burke.