CASTLE AND BARONY
As has been seen from the early historyof the borough, Bedford was fortifiedduring Saxon times, traces of such fortifications still remaining in the carefullypreserved King's Ditch on the south sideof the river. It has also been stated that an earlierstronghold preceded the Norman castle, which some timeduring the 11th centurybecame the caput of the greatlocal barony of Beauchampof Bedford. It was probablygranted to Hugh de Beauchamp by William II, whosucceeded his father the year following the Survey, for thebarony and castle were later found held by service ofacting as almoner at the king'scoronation. Hugh deBeauchamp has been identified as the successorof Ralph Taillebosc, and in 1086 was alreadyone of the largest landowners in the county;entries of his property occur under forty-fiveparishes and hamlets, embracing some 160 hides,whilst he also owned smaller properties in theneighbouring counties of Buckingham and Hertford.) Little else is known of him, but he attested the foundation charter of Lessay Abbey at Caen on 14 July1080 and was still living c. 1091–7, about whichtime he appears as a witness to a charter grantedto Ramsey Abbey. His successor was Simon deBeauchamp, in all probability his son, who hadsucceeded some time before 1114, about which datehe was overlord of Robert de Brienne and others inBedfordshire. His death took place c. 1137, whenhe left a daughter as heir. The following year thecastle is found in the possession of Miles de Beauchamp,described as one of the sons of Robert de Beauchamp, who is presumed to be a younger brother of Simon deBeauchamp. Miles appears to have held in trust only,for the king having arranged a marriage betweenSimon's daughter and Hugh the Pauper, Earl ofBedford, sent to Miles commanding him to render upBedfordCastle to Hugh. On Miles' refusal tocomply, Stephen advanced against him with a largearmy, and Miles, provisioning the castle with forcedsupplies from a neighbourhood which he had hithertotreated with consideration so unusual as to call forremark, prepared for the long blockade which formedthe usual military tactics of the period. Stephen atfirst attempted an assault, but so great was the strengthof the entrenchments and ramparts that he determinedto starve the garrison into surrender. He wasstrengthened in this resolution by the raids of KingDavid of Scotland in Northumberland, which madehis presence in the north imperative, and so hedeparted, leaving Hugh le Pauper with the greater partof his army encircling the castle. Miles and his menwere eventually obliged to surrender, but the triumphof Hugh, “vir laxus et effeminatus,” was short-lived, forMiles, erstwhile humiliated and depressed, to use theexpression of the chronicler, returned elated and keen,recovered the castle and drove out the intruders. Miles de Beauchamp, who appears to have retainedthe castle, was an adherent of the Empress Maud, forhis signature is found attesting her charters in 1141and again in 1142. In 1146 the Earl of Chesterjoined the king's party and took Bedford “civitatem,” and apparently proceeded to the siege ofthe castle as well, for the earliest Pipe Rolls ofHenry II have an entry of 20 marks levied on theburgesses of Bedford for being in the castle against theking. No further opposition is found to theclaims of Miles de Beauchamp to the castle andbarony, which he continued to hold till his death—of which the date is uncertain. His heir was Paynde Beauchamp, who is expressly so described in agrant made by Miles of Bedford Mill to BermondseyPriory, and who was probably the brother who in1138 assisted in the defence of BedfordCastle. By1155–6 both Miles and Payn were dead and Simonde Beauchamp, son of the latter by Rohese widow ofthe notorious Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, was under age, and his lands valued at £40 farmedby the sheriff of the county.
Beauchamp of Bedford. Quarterly or and gules a bend sable.
In 1160–1 Simon was still under the guardianshipof his mother Rohese; he is mentioned as one ofthe knights of Ramsey Abbey in 1184, and between1194 and 1199 his name appears in various suitsagainst the Abbot of Ramsey, the Prior of Leightonand others. By 1210 he had been succeeded byhis son William, who was then declared to holdforty-five knights' fees. In 1215 after the siege ofNorthamptonCastle was raised the barons, representing the progressive party against John, marchedto BedfordCastle, where they were received withrespect by William de Beauchamp, who thus alliedhimself with their cause. On hearing of thisFalkes de Breauté, a foreign mercenary and favouriteof King John, descended on the castle during thetemporary absence of William and demanded itssurrender. The garrison held out for seven days,when, help failing to arrive, they were obliged toyield the castle to Falkes, to whom it was granted bythe king, together with the hand of the noble ladyMargaret Rivers in marriage. During his nineyears' occupation of Bedford Castle Falkes pursued adefinite policy of rapine and plunder, and used it asa rallying point for raids on the surrounding country.In January 1217 he made a night attack on thetown of St. Albans, and returned to the castle withmany prisoners, men and children. For this he wasexcommunicated, but, inspired by a vision andexhorted by his wife, he professed repentance. Heobtained absolution, but characteristically enough isstated to have returned none of his spoil. Hisabuse of the abbot's property at Luton and histreatment of the thirty-two freemen there have alreadybeen dealt with. These depredations with manyothers culminated in very heavy charges, more thanthirty in number, brought against him at the Assizeof the Justices Itinerant at Dunstable in June 1224.The justices, among whom was Henry de Braybrook,behaved with great impartiality, and, ignoring Falkes'formidable reputation, amerced him at the rate of£100 for each charge. Falkes, who was absent atthe time, was exceedingly angry on hearing of thissentence, and sent a message to his brother Williamde Breauté, whom he had left in charge of the castle,that he should straightway seize the justices andcarry them in chains to Bedford. News of thiscommand coming to the justices' ears, they hastilyretired and with the exception of Henry de Braybrook succeeded in escaping. His capture arousedgreat indignation, and his wife begged an audienceof the king, then at Northampton, to whom she recounted her wrongs with tears. Henry III tookcounsel of those with him, and it was declared withone accord that this seizure of a king's justice in theexecution of his office must be avenged, and that thecastle must, if necessary, be attacked.
Pacific measures were first resorted to, and messengers sent to William de Breauté demanding theinstant release of Henry de Braybrook and the surrender of the castle. William refused to yieldto any but his brother, and the king, exceedinglywroth, prepared for hostilities by levying a specialaid. The king caused unavailing search to bemade for Falkes, who meanwhile had taken refuge inthe lands of the Earl of Chester, thus arousingmomentary suspicion as to that noble's loyalty.From thence he fled to North Wales, whereLlewellyn received him for one day, and justified hisaction in the matter by claiming equally with theKing of Scots the right of receiving outlaws. Falkes subsequently returned to Northampton, butdoes not reappear till after the capture of the castle.Preparations meanwhile were carried forward withgreat thoroughness, help of varying nature beingcommandeered throughout the country. The Sheriffof London was commanded to send among otherthings fusees for mangonels and catapults, also a clerkto write letters. From Cambridge, Lincoln andWindsor carpenters were to be sent with all speedtravelling by night and by day, whilst the Sheriff ofBedfordshire was commanded to supply as many'quarreatores' and cutters of stone as possible, withhammers, mallets, wedges and other utensils necessaryfor making catapults. Northampton was orderedto send fifty good picks and two loads of goodGloucester iron, and all the smiths there were towork day and night till 4,000 quarell bolts were dispatched. Cords were supplied from many places asfar afield as Dorset, which sent £10 worth, whilstat the later and more critical stage of the siege ageneral summons was sent to Cumberland orderingall who held there of the king in chief to come to hisarmy at Bedford. Almonds, spice and ginger were ordered for the royal still-room, greyhounds weresent for sport, whilst large quantities of wine wererequisitioned from the royal stores at London,Northampton and from St. Ives.
The siege, which was destined to last nearly twomonths, began about 22 June. The attacking partyhad a petrary and two mangonels constantly battering the tower on the eastern side, two mangonelsattacked the ancient tower on the west, whilst twomore, one on the north and one on the south, continually made breaches in the walls. In addition tothese ordnance the besiegers constructed two woodentowers, rising higher than and commanding thewhole castle and its interior, from which the bowmenand archers let fall a constant shower of arrows. Inaddition the besiegers were busy undermining thewalls, being protected in their operations by the useof the timber-covered way known as the Cattus.The besieged party appear to have shown as greatdetermination as their opponents, and early in thesiege refused to parley, whereat the king swore inanger, by the soul of his father, that if the defenderswere taken by force they should all be hanged ongibbets, an oath to be fulfilled later with grimprecision. Four stages mark the eventual capture ofthe castle. The barbican was first taken, when fouror five were slain. Entrance was next effected by themen of Dunstable to the outer ward of the castle.The loss of life was now very severe, and the munitions of the castle, which was kept here, fell into thehands of the besiegers, who burned the outhouses inwhich the corn and hay were stored, but retainedthe horses with their harness, the arms and the livestock which they found. Meanwhile the miners hadbeen working to some effect, and the wall near theancient tower on the west now fell down, and anentry was forced into the inner bailey; the resistancehere was very desperate, so much so that ten men ofDunstable were carried prisoners into the castle.Finally on the Vigil of the Assumption (14 August)at the hour of vespers, the miners having undermined the old tower, fired the props. The besiegedseeing smoke issue forth and cracks appear in thewalls, at last realized that their position was untenable.Margaret, Falkes' wife, together with all the women,Henry Braybrook and other imprisoned knights weresent out of the castle and the royal flag hoisted intoken of submission. The defeated garrison remainedthe night in the tower, but the following day werebrought before the king and his justices, and afterhaving received absolution from sentence of excommunication pronounced early in the siege, werealmost without exception hanged. Eighty, includingWilliam de Breauté, suffered this fate; three werespared at the request of the Templars to fight in theHoly Land; whilst the chaplain of the castle, whosefate has not been traced, was handed over to thespiritual power. Falkes, who had been deceived bythe belief that his castle could stand a year's siege,hearing of this unexpected disaster, threw himself onthe mercy of the king, by whom he was treated withsome clemency. Having been deprived of his lands,he was exiled to the Continent, where he died ayear later on his way to Rome. Five days after thesurrender the king issued orders for the destructionof the castle: the sheriff was ordered to fill up thetrenches and level the surface of the outer ward,whilst the walls of the inner ward were to be reduced to one-half their former height, and three ofthe four ancient towers were to be laid low. Thestones resulting from such destruction were to beassigned for building purposes to William de Beauchamp, to whom the site of the castle was nowrestored, to Caldwell Priory and to Newnham Priory,to the latter being assigned the larger share inconsequence of having supplied stones for shot duringthe siege. A few days later this order was enforcedby another directing Henry de Braybrook (who musthave taken peculiar pleasure in his duty) to see to itsprompt execution. William de Beauchamp was tobe allowed to build a dwelling-house on the site ofthe castle, but it was not to be crenellated.
William de Beauchamp did not submit to theseconditions without a protest, and even attempted toevade the king's orders, but in vain, and the work of destruction was accomplished. With the closeof this memorable siege the history of BedfordCastleceases to be important, and it might be well to conclude it here before passing on to the later history ofthe barony. On the partition of the Beauchampproperty amongst female co-heirs, the site of thecastle descended with that portion of the baronywhich passed to the Moubrays. A three-weeklycourt baron was held here from the 13th to the15th century, and a fishery in the Ouse and amill were also attached. In 1361 it is described asa void plot ' of old in closed with walls,' whilst afew years later the castle, including the courtsand 5s. rent, amounted in value to 14s onlyyearly. In 1383 the value with appurtenanceshad risen to 40s. The site was worth 10s. in1399, because it was neither built on nor in closed. In 1457–58 the steward of the castle returned 53s. 4d.from profits of herbage from the castle mound; thefishery, then on lease, brought in 26s. yearly, whilstthe profits of fifteen courts baron amounted to33s. 9d. By Leland's time (fl. 1506–62) thecastle mill still remained, but there were no buildings;he mentions, however, the 'great round hill' as aburrow for foxes, and notes 'a place called Falxherbaragainst the castle,' an interesting relic of Falkes deBreauté's occupation. Camden, writing a generationor so later, speaks of the ruins of the castle as stilloverhanging the river on the east side of the town.The site appears to have been used as a fortificationduring the Civil War. In 1645 the Bedford Parliamentary Committee is found writing to the LordGeneral, ' The mount is still defended with violenceby Captain Hudson and his soldiers who use it as arefuge and a prison.' It at this date belonged toThomas Snagge, of Marston Moretaine, and already there was built on part ofthe site the original Swan Inn, which has sincegiven place to a building erected in 1794 by theDuke of Bedford. In 1658 the site was purchasedfrom Thomas Snagge by John Hutchinson, the proprietor of the 'Swan Inn,' and after divers intermediate purchases and descents became the propertyof Captain John Staines (orStands), from whom it waspurchased in 1787 by theDuke of Bedford, fromwhose family it has recentlypassed by sale to Mr. Higgins.The foundations of the keepcan still be traced; the flatsummit of the mound was formore than 200 years used asa bowling-green, and withinthe last year, after twenty-fiveyears' cessation, has again beenused as a bowling-club. Themound stands about 25 ft. high, and is about 180 ft.across the summit; the slopes are planted with trees,and the middle has been excavated out to form a domedbrick ice-chamber. About 100 yards to the north, in the garden of a private residence adjoining, is asmaller mound partly built over.
Snagge of Marston Moretaine Argent three pheons sable
Returning to the history of the barony after thedestruction of the castle in 1224, William de Beauchamp is found restored to his former dignities, andin 1236 claimed to act as almoner at the coronationsof the sovereigns of England as Baron of Bedford.His claims are set forth with much detail as follows:The cloth which was spread under the king's feet,from the room where he assumes the regalia to thepulpitum in Westminster Abbey, was laid down bythe almoner, who, after the ceremony, gave thatpart which was in the church to the sacristan, theremainder going to the poor. He also claimed allright of jurisdiction over beggars in case of disputesarising; further, he claimed the silver almsdish whichwas used on this occasion, and a tun of wine. William de Beauchamp was summoned to performmilitary service in Wales as knight of Ramsey Abbeyin 1245, but sent in his place Godfrey de Drivval. He and his second wife Ida appear in the Annals ofDunstable as great oppressors of the religious houses.In 1247 Newnham Priory suffered much damage fromthe extortions of his steward. Seven years later, onthe death of Prior Walter, Stephen the Canon wasinstalled as his successor, with the consent of thebishop. William, to whom the advowson of thepriory belonged, marked his protest at the non-recognition of his right by driving him out of St. Paul'sChurch with threats, then took him by the hand, and, leading him to the choir, installed him as prior. The same year the Abbot of Warden brought seventeen suits against him, and, on his refusal to appear,his barony was temporarily seized by the Crown. At this date he conveyed his castle and barony to hisson William by fine,which conveyance was recognized by the king on payment of 500 marks. Hedied in 1260, when the barony would appear tohave passed to his eldest son Simon, who must havedied very shortly after, leaving a daughter Joan. She does not appear to have survived her father long,and the barony next passed to his brother Williamde Beauchamp. He died in 1262, and his brotherJohn de Beauchamp, the last feudal Baron of Bedford,died in 1265 fighting against the king at Evesham. The barony was now subdivided between the threesisters and co-heirs of the two last barons—Maudwife of Roger de Moubray, Beatrice wife of ThomasFitz Otho and Ela wife of Baldwin Wake.
To Maud the eldest sister passed the site of thecastle, the manors of Hawnes, Stotfold and Willingtonwith lands in Wotton, Bromham and Barford inBedfordshire and Lincelade Manor in Buckinghamshire. Roger de Moubray,her first husband, died in1266, when she married RogerLestrange, who survived herand held this portion of theBedford barony until his owndeath in 1311. John deMoubray, grandson ofMaud, then succeeded. He,who married Aliva daughter ofWilliam de Braose, joinedthe insurrection of ThomasEarl of Lancaster, and washanged after the battle of Boroughbridge in 1321–2.He left a son and heir John, who was restored tohis father's estates in 1327, and died in 1361,when he is described as holding ' a certain lordship inBedford.' His son, John de Moubray, died seisedof a third of Bedford barony in 1368. John deMoubray, his son, was little more than three years oldat the time of his father's death; nine years later, atthe coronation of Richard II, he was created Earl ofNottingham, and on the same occasion his claim,together with that of Lord Latimer, to exercise theoffice of almoner was admitted. He died in1382 without having attained his majority, and wassucceeded by his brother Thomas de Moubray, ayouth of sixteen, who in 1397 was raised to thetitle of Duke of Norfolk, and in 1399–1400, on thedeath of his maternal grandmother, became Earl ofNorfolk. He died in the same year, leaving a sonThomas, aged fourteen, whose death took place in1405, when his brother John, aged seventeen, succeeded him. His widow Constance married Johnson of Reginald Grey, Lord Ruthin, and in 1414,together with her husband, she recognized the rightof John de Moubray to this part of the barony. John de Moubray died in 1461, leaving a son andheir John, who died without male heirs in 1475–6, when his daughter Anne, aged three, succeeded him. When only five years of age a marriage was arrangedbetween herself and Richard Duke of York, youngerson of Edward IV, who obtained a grant of thedignities and estates of his wife's father. She diedwhilst still an infant, and after the murder of the dukein the Tower, in 1483, this part of the barony ofBedford, together with the castle site, reverted toWilliam Viscount Berkely, a direct descendant ofthe Moubrays in the female line. In 1487–8 hereceived licence to alienate them to Sir Reginald Bray,Minister of State to Henry VII. Edmund LordBray succeeded his uncle, andheld this barony in 1538, inwhich year he made a settlement of it by fine on SirThomas Audley and others. He died in 1539, when thisinterest passed to Sir EdwardBray, kt., who in 1569 alienated the barony and castleby fine to Thomas Snagge,eldest son and heir of ThomasSnagge of Letchworth, co.Herts., and Thomas Snaggethe younger his son. Theformer, who subsequently became a serjeant-atlaw and Speaker of the House of Commons, held the castle site and the barony till his death in 1594, when Thomas his son, who wasknighted in 1603, succeeded him. He claimed toact as almoner at the coronation of James I, whenLord Burghley was appointed to serve the officewith a salvo jure to Sir Thomas Snagge and WilliamGostwick. In 1620, together with his wife Agnesdaughter of George Rotherham, he made a settlement preparatory to proving his title to the castleand one-third of the barony. He died in 1626, and in 1634 his son, also Thomas, appears to havemade a settlement of this, among other property, onhis wife Anne daughter of Edmund Mordaunt, grandson of John Lord Mordaunt of Turvey. Thislast-named Thomas Snagge died in 1642, and itwas his son Thomas who alienated the site only ofthe castle by sale in 1658 as related above. Thisfamily have, however, from time to time assertedtheir claim to act as almoner. At the coronation ofJames II, when the Earl of Exeter served the office,his claim was declared to be recognized pro hac vicewith a salvo jure to Thomas Snagge and Sir GeorgeBlundell. Again at the coronation of Williamand Mary in 1689 the office of almoner wasclaimed by Sir Francis Blundell, bart., and byThomas Snagge of Marston-Moretaine (then aminor); when Sir Francis Blundell was appointedto perform the duties of the office with a salvo jureto Thomas Snagge. Sir Thomas Snagge, kt.,judge of county courts for Bedfordshire and adeputy lieutenant for Oxfordshire, tenth in maleline of descent from Serjeant Snagge the Speaker,now represents the Snagge interest.