Philip De Carteret, 8th of St Ouen

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Philip De Carteret, Seigneur of St Ouen, (1450–1500), son of Philip.

Philip married Margaret Harliston at St Ouens Church in 1470. Margaret was daughter of the Governor Sir Richard Harliston, an ally of his grandfather Philip De Carteret, 5th of St Ouen. Margaret was to play a crucial part in the escapade that followed...

After Harliston, a new governor, Matthew Baker, was appointed, whose rule was one long injustice and tyranny, and to whom Philip was strongly opposed. One day, when Philip de Carteret was riding with his followers to attend the Cohue Royale, (the Norman name for the Royal Court House), he passed Matthew Baker and his servant and satellite Roger Le Boutillier. The latter called out that de Carteret had dropped a paper, and when a servant was sent to collect it, Matthew Baker, to whom it had been handed, said it contained a serious matter and de Carteret would hear more about it.

Philip de Carteret arrived at the Court, and had taken his accustomed seat when Matthew Baker entered and accused the Seigneur of St. Ouen of high treason. Le Boutillier, who was a man whom de Carteret had saved from the gallows, threw down his gage against Philip, "who is guilty of the act of which he is accused."

The Seigneur of St. Ouen denied the accusation, and further objected that Le Boutillier was a man of low degree and a criminal from whom he could not accept battle. The Bailiff was placed in a quandary, yet, not daring to oppose the Governor by whom he was appointed to the post he held, he ordered both the combatants to Mont Orgueil to await the trial by battle, which was accordingly arranged.

All this we glean from the anonymous Chronicler, who states that Le Boutillier was well fed and looked after, while de Carteret was badly used and half starved.

Meanwhile Margaret, his wife, Harliston's daughter, hearing of the plight of her husband and guessing Baker's evil and obvious intent to ruin and slay him, acted like a true heroine in this old romance. She arose, leaving her baby of a few days old, ordered a boat, and set sail for Guernsey. Here she called upon a Jurat of Guernsey named Guillaume Beauvoir and asked him to get her a boat, although Baker who had already gone on to England to put his version of the case at Court — had asked the Guernsey captain to forbid that any boat should leave Guernsey.

Nevertheless a boat was procured, and Guillaume, like a brave knight to a lady in distress, accompanied the Dame de St. Ouen on her perilous undertaking. When they arrived at Poole they saw, to their dismay, that Baker was on the shore keeping a watchful eye on the incoming boats. But, says the Chronicler, God willed that a heavy hailstorm should come on at that moment, and Baker and his companions took shelter in a house, giving time for the lady and her cavalier to land.

A friend of Beauvoir's called Havilland provided horses, and at dawn the next day they started for London, the lady riding hard and fast for Salisbury, where she sought out her friend the Bishop of Winchester, a member of the Privy Council, who procured for the distraught lady an audience of the King (Henry VII). She pleaded her case so eloquently and successfully that she obtained an order for the deliverance of her husband under the Great Seal of England. So great had been the speed with which she had accomplished her journey that she was coming away from the Court as the astonished Matthew Baker reached it — and all he got was grave censure from King and Council for his conduct in the affair.

The lady of St. Ouen sped back to the port of Southampton and found a boat bound for Jersey, where she arrived only on the eve of the day fixed for the combat. She went before the Court of Justice and presented the King's command to set her lord free immediately, which was done to her own joy and the satisfaction of everyone. It was found that the scene of battle had been so arranged with hidden pits and traps that the Seigneur of St. Ouen had no hope of success — and his downfall would have meant a confiscation of his property and ruin of his family.

Margaret's act had the further benefit of drawing attention to the existing arbitrary powers enjoyed by the Governors and ultimately causing them to be curtailed.

Matthew Baker was later removed from office, in 1494, and under Thomas Auvray, one of the best Governors the island ever had, there was peace for a short time and an end to party quarrels.

Philip and Margaret survived to have some 21 children.