There seem to be many grumblings on various fb pages as to why the villages if Newbold Verdon and Desford have been chosen to recieve Richard on his way back to Leicester.Many have never come across Newbold Verdon or Desford in connection with Richard, and have looked on GoogleEarth for any clues as to why theyd been so blessed, are they particularly historic villages chosen for the cameras and tourists? I have spoken to an ex Desford resident who grew up there and he told me that if you go to the old manor house, you can see on the walls sword marks where Richards army sharpened their swords. Village myth? I dont know. Just down the road from Desford you have Kirby Muxloe, where lord William Hastings started to build his castle but unfortunately wasnt finnished as Richard had his head chopped off!!!!!...then just down the road from Kirby is Groby where Elizabeth Woodville once lived and just down the road is Bradgate Park, home of Lady Jane Grey, a great great niece of Richard, but hey we can go on forever interconnecting places, people and myths. It might just be that its an easy route from Bosworth back to Leicester. You could go through Stapleford to Earl Shilton and to Elmstorpe where Richards generals stayed the night before the battle, but that is a real bitty bobby route. No, the Desford route is a good choice i think. You cant take him through every pretty village in Leicestershire, there are too many. But what of the history of Desford and Newbold......... In the medieval period the Manor House of Desford belonged to the Earls of Leicester, who in the 14th. century became also Dukes of Lancaster, and in 1399 were united with the Crown. The present Queen, is the Patron of St. Martins Church. The other great influence on the village during these times was the proximity of Leicester Forest, a Royal Hunting Forest, in which the villages had important rights of common until it was disafforested in 1628. 1086, Newbold Verdon belonged to Hugh de Grandmesnil. By the time of King Stephen (1135 - 54), Newbold Verdon belonged to Robert de Ferrars, Earl of Derby, who gave it to Bertram de Verdon whe he married Maud, Roberts daughter. In 1273, the manor of Newbold verdon belonged to John, lord of Verdon, at the time of his death and it passed to his 26 year old son Theobald. Now Hugh had become one of William the Conquerors main men in England. In 1067 he joined with William Fitz Osbern andBishop Odo in the government of England, during the Kings absence in Normandy. He also was one of the Norman nobles who interceded with the Conqueror in favour of Williams son Robert Curthose, and effected a temporary reconciliation. Following the conquest, William I assailed Leicester, and took the city by storm in 1068. In the assault a large portion of the city was destroyed, along with St. Marys Church. William handed the Government of Leicester over to Hugh de Grandmesnil. He also gave De Grandmesnil 100 manors for his services, sixty-five of them in Leicestershire, including Earl Shilton which is not far from Newbold.He was appointed High Sheriff of Leicestershire and Governor of Hampshire. He married the beautiful Adeliza, daughter of Ivo, Count of Beaumont-sur-lOise, from whom he gained estates in Herefordshire, and three lordships in Warwickshire. Now after reading this I can imagine a few pro-yorkist saying...huh, paraded through Lancastrian villages to a Lancastrian town, appalling, bad taste ect.... well Richard did chose to leave Leicester to fight for his crown and as the title Duke of Lancaster and all the peerages merged into the crown, Richard became the Earl of Leicester too.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 08:30:29 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015