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CHARACTERS FROM CHESTER - STARTING "E" BY PHILLIP E JONES [Ealdgyth], [Edgar], [Edwin], [Edward I], [Edward Dutton], [Edward Langtry], [Edward Stanley], [Edward Whitby], [E A Ould], [Eleanor Cobham], [Elizabeth Morgan], [Elizabeth Mottershead], [Elizabeth Powell], [Ellen Beech], [Enoch Gerard], [Evan Jones]
Ealdgyth She was the Queen and widow of King Harold Godwinsson who was defeated by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Legend suggests that she was brought to Chester by her two brothers, Edwin the Earl of Mercia and Morcar, the Earl of Northumbria in order to guarantee her safety. Prior to her marriage to the then Earl Harold in 1064, she had been married to the Welsh ruler of Gwynedd Gruffudd ap Llewellyn ap Seisyll who was reported to have had a highly fractious relationship with the Anglo Saxon kings generally. In around 1063 Gruffudd came into direct military conflict with Harold Godwinsson, who attacked the Welsh ruler’s stronghold at Rhuddlan. Later in the conflict the Saxon Earl was thought to have turned Gruffudd’s own men against him, which resulted in the assassination of the Welsh Lord in 1064. Edgar Edwin was the grandson of Leofric of Mercia, who had been appointed by the Danish born King Cnut to control the Mercia region of his English kingdom. Along with his brother Morcar, the earl of the Northumbrians, they remained in control of these lands throughout the period leading to the Norman conquest of England and were instrumental in leading and coordinating Saxon opposition to William’s invasion of the country. The brothers were also said to have offered their protection to King Harold’s widow, Ealdgyth, who was their sister. Following William’s Harrying of the North, which saw the northern regions subjugated by the French invaders, Earl Edwin was reported to have been assassinated by his own men and his brother Morcar was captured and imprisoned by William the Conqueror. A member of one of Chester’s leading landed family’s, he was recorded as the Mayor of Chester in 1604. His wealth and position didn’t protect him or his family from misfortune and it was reported that he lost a number of his children during an outbreak of plague which occurred in the city. He was the husband of the “Jersey Lily” Lily Langtry who was mistress to the future king and in 1897 he was found wandering bruised and confused at Crewe railway station. He was committed to Chester’s Lunatic Asylum, but died shortly afterwards. He was interred at the Overleigh cemetery in the city, his funeral attended mainly by those who hoped to catch a glimpse of his infamous wife. They were to be disappointed however, as Lily was unable or unwilling to attend her estranged husband’s interment, settling for a floral tribute and monies to cover the cost of his funeral. Edward Stanley (Lord Monteagle) The son of Sir Thomas Stanley, the 1st Lord Derby, Edward was said to have married the daughter of Sir John Harrington and through this became the owner of Hornby Castle in Lancashire. He was reported to have been entrusted with escorting Margaret, the daughter of Henry VII to Scotland, when she was married to King James IV of Scotland, a move designed to cement relations between the two countries. Unfortunately, the union between the two nations was ultimately unsuccessful and Stanley was thought to have been involved in the later Battle of Flodden. He was reported to have played a pivotal role, by coming to the rescue of the English commander, the Earl of Surrey. By way of thanks for his actions, he was awarded a peerage and given the title of Lord Monteagle, a title held by the family for many years to come. He was reported to have been appointed as Chamberlain of Chester in 1563. Whitby was Member of Parliament for Chester; a former Recorder of the city during the 1640’s and was the final owner of the original Bache Hall which was demolished during the siege of Chester. Whitby was thought to have owned the hall from 1606. The building which currently stands on the site is much later and is thought to date from around 1829. As Recorder of Chester in 1617, he was thought to have given a speech before the king when he visited the city. At the same event, the city’s Mayor, Charles Fitton, presented the monarch with a Silver Guilt cup filled with 100 Jacobin’s of Gold. William Stanley, the Earl of Derby, was also in attendance, as Chamberlain of the County. Ould was a pupil of John Douglas, the renowned local architect who was largely employed on building projects within the city. Ould designed the Queens School building which lies alongside the city’s walls and was the site of the city’s former gaol. The school was completed in 1882 and Ould then moved on to design Uffington House for Thomas Hughes at Dee Hills Park in 1885 Eleanor was the wife of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, who was arrested under a Royal Warrant in 1446 and subsequently held at Chester castle on “trumped up” charges of having practiced against the King’s life, presumably by employing the Black Arts against him. The man charged with executing the warrant was thought to be Sir Thomas Stanley who had been instructed by Henry VI to arrest Eleanor on what was generally fairly spurious evidence. Two other people were charged along with the Duchess, Roger Bolingbroke and Marjorie Jourdemain, who was also known as the “Witch of Eye”. Both were subsequently tried and convicted for their part in the attempt on the king’s life and were sentenced to death. The unfortunate Duchess was said to have been forced to walk through the streets of London carrying a lighted candle, as some form of penance. She was later transported through Chester, on her way to the Isle of Man where she was held in virtual isolation from around 1447. One of the leading Quakers within the city of Chester that conducted a campaign of civil disobedience and disturbance, including haranguing citizens, disrupting church services and deliberately ignoring the city authorities. A number of these Quaker leaders were subsequently arrested and then fined or jailed. She was the landlady of the “Blue Posts” Inn at Chester, which was located in the Bridge Street area of the city. During the reign of Queen Mary, a staunch Roman Catholic, the Protestant faithful in Ireland were suppressed by the monarch. In a bid to further reduce and undermine the influence of the Protestant church, the Queen ordered Dr Henry Cole, the Dean of St Paul’s, to carry her Royal commission to her ruling council in Dublin. Unfortunately for the Queen, Cole stayed at the “Blue Post” as he passed through Chester and elaborated on his mission to the city’s mayor, a conversation obviously overheard by Elizabeth Mottershead, who had a brother living in Dublin who was a Protestant. As Cole bid the Mayor farewell, she stole into his rooms and replaced the written commission with a deck of cards. Completely unaware of her actions, the Dean then continued his journey to Dublin and called upon the Lord Lieutenant and his council to deliver the Queens new instructions. Needless to say, Cole was shocked to discover that the commission had been “magically” replaced by a pack of cards and could not explain the exchange. The Lord Lieutenant ordered the Dean to return to England for a new commission and in the meantime, he and the Council would amuse themselves with a game of cards. Before Cole could reach England however, the Catholic Mary had died and been succeeded by the Protestant queen, Elizabeth and the threat removed. On hearing of the Chester landlady’s actions, the new Queen ordered that she be awarded a £40 a year pension for life for her zeal and ingenuity. Powell was thought to be a widow from Cheshire who had been accused by Thomas Annion, a blacksmith, of employing witchcraft against him until he was in fear of his life. In reality, the charges levied by Annion were no doubt the result of a property dispute he was known to be having with the widow Powell and saw the spurious witchcraft charges as a means to resolve that particular dispute. Unfortunately for Elizabeth, the charges brought by her neighbour resulted in her being held at Chester’s infamous Northgate Jail for an extended period and in fairly dire conditions. Perhaps, unsurprisingly she was thought to have succumbed to the treacherous conditions before her case was even brought before the courts. The wife of John Beech, Ellen was accused of employing Witchcraft He was reported to be the owner of lands in the Queens Park suburb of Chester, who arranged for the construction of the first suspension bridge, linking the area with the city. This bridge was designed by James Dredge. In 1693, Jones was reported to have put forward plans to reinvigorate Chester’s dwindling medieval port. As with other plans and proposals that were submitted on other occasions, these plans received little backing from the city authorities and were not adopted |
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DOES YOUR LAND OR PROPERTY CONTAIN HIDDEN, LOST OR UNDISCOVERED TREASURES? CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION Produced and maintained by Phillip E Jones @ Mobile 07756 693258 Text: 07914 189032 Mail Contact: 3 Riverside Park, Sealand, Deeside, Flintshire, CH5 2JR |
