John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire

John Stafford
Earl of Wiltshire

Arms of Sir John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, KG
Spouse(s) Constance Green

Issue

Father Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham
Mother Anne Neville
Born 24 November 1427
Died 8 May 1473

John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire (24 November 1427[1] – 8 May 1473) was an English nobleman, the youngest son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham. In 1461 he was made a Knight of the Bath.

He fought on the Yorkist side at the Battle of Hexham in 1464. In 1469 he was made Steward of the Duchy of Cornwall for life. He was made Earl of Wiltshire on 5 January 1470[2] by King Edward IV, and was briefly arrested under Warwick's government and prevented from attending the Parliament of November 1471 (he was one of six Yorkist nobles not to receive a summons).[3] In return for his loyalty he was made Chief Butler of England, and was empowered, with Lord Mountjoy to pardon rebels who surrendered by 7 June that year.[4] He was made a Knight of the Garter in 1472.

Not much is known, but he did act for some time as a diplomat, working with the Earl of Northumberland to deal with ambassadors of James III of Scotland about national grievances[5]

He married Constance Green, daughter of Sir Henry Green of Drayton House Northamptonshire [5] and Margaret de Ros. They only had one child, Edward, who succeeded him as Earl of Wiltshire, although during the latter's minority he was kept as a ward of the King, meaning revenues from his estates were paid to the Crown.[6]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/STAFFORD1.htm#John%20STAFFORD%20%281%C2%B0%20E.%20Wiltshire%29[]
  2. ↑ The historic peerage of England: exhibiting, under alphabetical arrangement, the origin, descent, and present state of every title of peerage which has existed in this country since the Conquest; being a new edition of the "Synopsis of the Peerage of England" by Sir Nicholas Harris Nicolas and William Courthope, published 1857. On Google Books, accessed 6 February 2010
  3. ↑ Ross, C., Edward IV, Trowbridge 1975, p.155
  4. ↑ Ross, C., Edward IV, Trowbridge 1975, p.150
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 A general and heraldic dictionary of the peerages of England, Ireland, and Scotland, extinct, dormant, and in abeyance.by John Burke Publisher Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley, 1831
  6. ↑ Ross, C., Edward IV, Trowbridge 1975, p.380; this 'provided up to £1,400 a year towards the rebuilding of St George's Chapel at Windsor'.
Political offices
Preceded by
The Lord Wenlock		 Chief Butler of England
1471–1473 		Succeeded by
Earl Rivers
Peerage of England
New creation Earl of Wiltshire
1470–1473 		Succeeded by
Edward Stafford