William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire 1350-1399

Paternal Family Tree: Scrope

Maternal Family Tree: Katherine Norwich 1306-1381

1399 Execution of Richard II's Favourites

In 1350 William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire was born to Richard Scrope 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton [aged 23] and Blanche Pole Baroness Scrope Bolton [aged 22].

In or before 1369 [his father] Richard Scrope 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton [aged 41] and [his mother] Blanche Pole Baroness Scrope Bolton [aged 40] were married. She by marriage Baroness Scrope of Bolton.

In 1371 [his father] Richard Scrope 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton [aged 44] was created 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton.

Around 1378 [his mother] Blanche Pole Baroness Scrope Bolton [aged 50] died at Bolton, North Yorkshire.

Annals of Kings Richard II and Henry IV. About the present time, Sir William Scrope [aged 42], a prudent and very wealthy knight, bought from Sir William Montagu [aged 63], Earl of Salisbury, the island of Eubonia, together with the crown. It is the right of that island that whoever is its chief lord should be called "King", and it is also lawful for him to be crowned with a golden crown. This island is commonly called the "Isle of Man".

Circa tempus præsens, Dominus Willelmus Scrop, miles providus et prædives, emit de Domino Willelmo de Monte Acuto, Comite Saresbiriæ, insulam Euboniæ, cum corona. Est autem jus illius insulæ, ut quisquis illius fuerit dominus capitalis "Rex" vocetur; cui etiam fas est corona aurea coronari. Hæc insula vulgari vocabulo "Insula Man" vocatur.

In or before 1393 [his brother] Roger Scrope 2nd Baron Scrope of Bolton [aged 24] and [his sister-in-law] Margaret Tiptoft Baroness Scrope Bolton [aged 27] were married. She by marriage Baroness Scrope of Bolton.

Annals of Kings Richard II and Henry IV. In that year, on the feast of the Chair of Saint Peter¹ [22nd February 1393], Sir John Devereux [aged 56], knight, the King’s Steward and Constable of Dover, died suddenly, while he was preparing himself for the sea crossing with the Dukes of Lancaster and Gloucester, for the treaty of peace mentioned above. Sir Thomas Percy [aged 50] succeeded him in the office of Steward, having previously been the King’s Sub-Chamberlain. Sir Beaumont [aged 32] succeeded him as Constable of Dover, and William Scrope [aged 43] was made the King’s Sub-Chamberlain.

Isto anno, in festo Cathedræ Sancti Petri, obiit repente Dominus Johannes Devros, miles, Regis Senescallus et Doveriæ Constabularius, dum parasset se ad maris transitum cum Ducibus Lancastriæ et Gloverniæ, pro tractatu pacis prælocutæ. Cui successit, in officio Senescalli, Dominus Thomas Percy, qui fuerat prius Subcamberlanus regius: in Constabulariam Doveriæ Dominus de Bemond successit eidem, et Willelmus Scrop Regis Subcamerarius est effectus.

Note 1. The 'chair' to which this feast refers is the cathedra, or office, of the Apostle Peter. Given by Christ to St. Peter (Matthew 16:13-18). A cathedral is the church that contains the bishop’s cathedra.

In 1394 William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 44] was appointed 85th Knight of the Garter by King Richard II of England [aged 26].

In 1396 William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 46] and Isabel Russell Countess Wiltshire were married.

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This volume brings together two of the most important contemporary chronicles for the reign of Edward III and the opening phases of the Hundred Years’ War. Written in Latin by English clerical observers, these texts provide a vivid and authoritative window into the political, diplomatic, and military history of fourteenth-century England and its continental ambitions. Adam Murimuth Continuatio's Chronicarum continues an earlier chronicle into the mid-fourteenth century, offering concise but valuable notices on royal policy, foreign relations, and ecclesiastical affairs. Its annalistic structure makes it especially useful for establishing chronology and tracing the development of events year by year. Complementing it, Robert of Avesbury’s De gestis mirabilibus regis Edwardi tertii is a rich documentary chronicle preserving letters, treaties, and official records alongside narrative passages. It is an indispensable source for understanding Edward III’s claim to the French crown, the conduct of war, and the mechanisms of medieval diplomacy. Together, these works offer scholars, students, and enthusiasts a reliable and unembellished account of a transformative period in English and European history. Essential for anyone interested in medieval chronicles, the Hundred Years’ War, or the reign of Edward III.

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In 1397 William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 47] was created 1st Earl Wiltshire. [his wife] Isabel Russell Countess Wiltshire by marriage Countess Wiltshire.

In 1398 William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 48] was appointed Lord High Treasurer.

Richard II's Last Will

On 16th April 1399 King Richard II of England [aged 32] wrote his Last Will from which the following extracts are taken … Also we bequeath to our beloved nephew Thomas Holland 1st Duke Surrey [aged 25] ten thousand marks and to our beloved brother Edward 2nd Duke of York 1st Duke Albemarle [aged 26] two thousand marks and to our beloved brother John Holland 1st Duke Exeter [aged 47] three thousand marks and to our faithful and beloved William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 49] two thousand marks... we ordain and set aside for the fulfilment of all and singular the premises the sum of ninety-one thousand marks, of which sixty-five thousand marks are in the keeping of Sir John Ikelyngton and twenty-four thousand marks in the hands and keeping of our dear nephew Thomas Holland 1st Duke Surrey.

Of this our royal testament we nominate make and depute executors the venerable fathers in Christ Bishop Richard Mitford, Bishop Edmund Stafford [aged 55], Bishop Robert Tideman of Winchcombe, Bishop Thomas Merke and Bishop Guy Mone Aka Mohun; our beloved brother Edward 2nd Duke of York 1st Duke Albemarle, our nephew Thomas Holland 1st Duke Surrey, our brother John Holland 1st Duke Exeter and William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire to each of whom we bequeath a gold cup of the value of twenty pounds and our beloved and faithful clerks Master Bishop Richard Clifford Keeper of our Privy Seal, Master Richard Maudeleyn, Master William Fereby and Master John Painter Ikelyngton clerks and John Lufwyk and William Serle laymen, to each of whom we will shall be paid their expenses and necessary costs while it shall happen that they or any of them are employed about the execution of our present last will, but according to the discretion of their said co-executors...

Whom all and singular we have charged and charge that they shall do as much as in them is for the due execution and fulfilment of this our last will as they shall wish to answer before God. We create ordain depute and make overseers of this our will the reverend fathers in Christ Archbishop Roger Walden and Archbishop Richard Scrope [aged 49], William bishop of Winchester and William abbot of the monastery of Westminster Edward 2nd Duke of York 1st Duke Albemarle our uncle and Henry Percy 1st Earl of Northumberland [aged 57] our cousin.

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Henry IV lands at Ravenspur

On 7th July 1399 Edmund of Langley 1st Duke of York [aged 58] appointed William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 49], Henry Green of Drayton, Northamptonshire [aged 52] and John Bussy [aged 49] to protect Kent against invasion by Henry Bolingbroke Earl of Derby [aged 32].

Execution of Richard II's Favourites

On 28th July 1399 William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 49], Henry Green of Drayton, Northamptonshire [aged 52] and John Bussy [aged 49] were captured at Bristol Castle, Gloucestershire [Map].

On 29th July 1399 William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire [aged 49], Henry Green of Drayton, Northamptonshire [aged 52] and John Bussy [aged 49] were beheaded at Bristol Castle, Gloucestershire [Map]. Earl Wiltshire forfeit.

Annals of Kings Richard II and Henry IV. When the Duke of Lancaster came to Bristol with his uncle, the Duke of York, the Earl of Northumberland, Henry, the son of the said Earl, and almost countless other lords and commoners, he sent to the keeper of the castle, Lord Peter Courtenay, whom the Duke of York had some time before appointed keeper there, ordering him to surrender the castle together with the aforementioned persons. He, however, resisted as much as he could, until the Duke of York, by the authority of his commission, ordered him to surrender the castle. The castle was surrendered, and permission was given for everyone to depart freely, except for three persons, namely William le Scrope [aged 49], John Bussy [aged 49], and Henry Green [aged 52]. These men were seized and committed to close custody in the evening, and in the morning [of 29th July 1399] were beheaded. For the lords were urged to pass such a sudden sentence upon them by the persistent clamour of the commons, who would have torn them to pieces if they could have done so in any way, and also by the news which came that day of the King’s landing in Wales, he having come from Ireland with a large army. They did not think it safe to carry these men about alive while such pressing anxiety remained. And therefore, as has been said, at the insistent demand of the people, they received the sorrowful sentence, while all the middling people of the realm rejoiced that so quickly, and so graciously, as it seemed to them, they were being freed from their most bitter enemies.

Cum enim Dux Lancastriæ, cum patruo suo, Duce Eboraci, Comiteque Northumbriæ, et Henrico, filio dicti Comitis, aliisque velut innumeris dominis et communibus, Bristolliam venisset, misit ad custodem Castri, Dominum Petrum Courtenay, quem ibi dudum [Dux]: Eboraci custodem constituerat, ut Castrum [cum] personis redderet prænotatis. Ille vero, quantum poterat, renitebatur; donee Dux Eboraci, auctoritate suæ commissionis, ut Castrum redderet demandasset. Redditum est Castrum, et facultas data cuilibet recedendi libere, exceptis personis tribus, videlicet, Willelmi Le Scrop, Johannis Bussy, et Thomæ Grene; hii namque capti sunt, et custodiæ forti commissi vespere, et mane decapitati. Urgebat nempe dominos ad ferendum in eos tam repentinam sententiam clamor importunus communitatis, quæ voluisset eos in frusta decerpsisse, si quomodolibet potuisset; et nova quæ eo die venerunt de Regis applicatione in Walliam, qui cum exercitu de Hibernia venerat numeroso; quos non reputabant tutum vivos cireumducere, dum instaret tanta sollicitudo; et idcirco, ut præfertur, ad plebis importunam instantiam, tristem exceperunt sententiam, lætantibus cunetis regni mediocribus, quod tam cito, tam gratiose, prout eis videbatur, de infestissimis liberabantur hostibus.

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William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire 1350-1399

Royal Ancestors of William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire 1350-1399

Ancestors of William Scrope 1st Earl Wiltshire 1350-1399