The Tower, and Rooms occupied by Mary Stuart: Wingfield.

With the early history of the manor we have no concern, save in so far as it affects that of the manor house. In the year 1440, the manorial rights were vested in Ralph, Lord Cromwell, but his undoubted rights to its possession were not absolutely proved till this date owing to a prolonged law suit with Sir Henry Pierpoint over the finding of an inquisition taken at Derby as long before as 1429. It was then found that Ralph, Lord Cromwell—a man of immense wealth—was heir, inter alia, to the estates, owing to his relationship with Margaret de Swillington, heiress of John and Robert, her brothers. Briefly, Lord Cromwell traced his descent from the family of De Heriz, who, in the person of one Mathilda de Heriz, was connected by marriage ties to a certain Thomas Beler, or Bellers. This man’s sister married Sir Ralph Cromwell, and owing to these marriage ties Lord Cromwell laid claim to the property, as being a descendant of a de Heriz, whilst Sir Henry Pierpoint, on his side, claimed an equal right to possession as being a descendant of Sarah de Heriz and Robert Pierpoint; Sarah being aunt to the member of the same family from whom Lord Cromwell proved his descent, i.e., Mathilda, who married Thomas Beler. Why the family of de Swillington was introduced it is hard to understand; but perhaps it was in the nature of a red herring, used to draw the scent from a good point in the adversary’s case, or to cover a weak spot in the claim of the opposite side.

However, it is with the fortunes of Lord Cromwell that we are concerned, and we find that, three years after his possession was assured to him, he was taken under the wing of King Henry VI., and was enriched by appointment to the lucrative posts of Treasurer of the Exchequer,[39] Constable of Nottingham Castle, and Steward and Keeper of Sherwood Forest. Within the next two or three years he was further advanced in royal favour and finances by being appointed Master of the Royal Hounds and Falcons. From these appointments it may be fairly deduced that he was a good financier and even better sportsman.

Shortly after his lawsuit was satisfactorily settled, he proceeded to erect the beautiful manor house. He did not, however, live to enjoy his new possession for very long, as he died January 4th, 1455, being buried in a church which his enormous wealth had enriched, i.e., Tatteshall, Lincolnshire. Ralph, Lord Cromwell, sold the reversion of this manor during his lifetime to John Talbot, second Earl of Shrewsbury, who was to occupy it after his (Cromwell’s) death. The new owner had much to do in the way of roofing and plastering his new possession, so we may safely conclude that it was far from finished by Lord Cromwell. Owing to the condition of the fabric, its new owner was unable to inhabit it for some time; but after spending large sums of money in roofing, etc., he finally occupied it in 1458, coming into residence with a numerous retinue. After his death at Northampton, in 1460, the manor and manor house descended in his family for many years, being apparently a much favoured country seat. The death of his grandson, the fourth earl, here was apparently quite unexpected, for, on July 6th—only twenty days before his death—he humbly prayed, through the Earl of Southampton, that King Henry VIII. would deign to visit his “pore house at Wynfeld and hunt in Duffelde Frithe” on his approaching visit to Nottingham.

The following account of his funeral is quoted from Holmes’ MSS. (Harl. Lib.):—

“The xxvi of July Anno Regis Hen. viii tricesimo, departed out of this world the right noble & puissant George, Earl of Shrewsbury & Lord Talbot, Furnival, Verdon & Strange of Blackmoor, & High Steward of the King’s most honble. household etc. on the 27th of March (?) this noble earl was removed from Wynefield to Sheffield with women and tall yeomen, & the same night his dirige done & his body honourably buried.

“The morrow after his masses solempnely sung—,first one of the Trenitie, another of Or. Lady, and the third of Requiem.”

The fifth earl, Francis, was born in 1500. At the age of forty-four he was made Lieut.-General of the North; a year later he was installed Knight of the Garter, and was later made Justice in Eyre of the forests north of the Trent. He was a commissioner in the trial of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, a leading light in Wyatt’s insurrection, who was tried and found “not guilty” by the jury; but the judges, in their wrath at this finding, compelled the jury to enter into recognizances of £500 each for their appearance in the famous Star Chamber when called upon. On their appearance, as desired, the unfortunate men were thrown into prison for daring to give judgment according to their consciences.

The fifth earl died on September 21st, 1560, and was followed by his son George in the possession of Wingfield.

It is to this sixth Earl of Shrewsbury, and to his times, that we owe much of the glamour and interest of Wingfield’s history, owing to the fact that for well nigh sixteen years he was the custodian of that unhappy lady, Mary Queen of Scots. For various lengthy periods the poor harassed Queen was a close prisoner within the all-too-hospitable walls of this manor house. The Earl’s charge of Queen Mary was no sinecure it seems, as according to Blore:—