Lancashire - From the 1st Earl to the 1st Duke.

I often feel that Lancashire is overlooked when it comes to the importance of knowledge. If you take a scan over the bookshelves you will find plenty of books about the Pendle Witches, the odd one about the cotton industry and couple containing a few ghost stories. But surely Lancashire has so much more to offer than this. As an avid enthusiast of royal history I wanted to delve deeper into the stories behind The County Palatine of Lancaster, as one of only two Duchies in the country, the other being Cornwall for the benefit of the Prince of Wales, Lancaster is held in trust for the sovereign and provides a private income for the use of the monarch solely. The revenue that is generated from the lands of Lancashire goes straight into the Privy Purse and not into the Crown Estate where the income is then distributed by the Treasury.

After the conquest of 1066, William the Conquer granted lands in Lancashire to some of his most ardent supporters. One such supporter was Harvey de Walter whose descendants became the de Hoghtons of Hoghton Tower near Preston. He built a fortified manor house a top a hill, this house was to become the setting where King James I would knight a loin of beef, creating the 'Sirloin'. Other guests of Hoghton Tower have included William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens. I will be touching more on Hoghton Tower in later posts.

So, William installed his men in the wild and unmanageable parts of northern England in an attempt to keep the Scots under control and out of his realm. It wasn't until 1182 that Lancashire became a county in it's own right.

The royal connection with Lancaster started in June 1267 when the second son of King Henry III, Edmund Crouchback, became the 1st Earl of Lancaster. He also held the titles of Earl of Leicester and had a claim to be King of Sicily and Apulia as well as the Earl of Chester. He was also part of the 9th Crusade to the Holy Land in 1271, which is where he earned the nickname of Crouchback, basically it meant that he was privileged enough to be allowed to wear a cross upon his back. Edmund died in France aged 51 and his body was brought home to England where it was buried in Westminster Abbey.

On his death, Edmund's son Thomas became the 2nd Earl of Lancaster, as a holder of five different Earldoms, Thomas was one of the most powerful and wealthiest men in the kingdom. Thomas was cousin to Edward II and was also a member of the faction that plotted to rid the King and the country of Piers Gaveston, the 'King's favourite'. Along with other barons, they succeeded in separating Piers from the King and a trial was held were it was decreed that Gaveston should be executed, Thomas was one of the men who decided the fate of the King's former friend.

Thomas supported his King and went to Scotland to fight in his name, however, after the disaster that was Bannokburn Thomas attempted to govern the country after Edward submitted to him his power, this was only to last for four years and the Scots returned to Northern England and Thomas was removed from his duties.

In 1321, Thomas attempted to lead yet another rebellion in which the barons of England were to be in direct conflict with the King, Edward. It did not go to plan and Thomas was captured at the battle of Boroughbridge in Yorkshire, he was later tried and executed at Pontefract Castle. He was however to be later to be cleared of any wrong doing by the government of Edward the III which then paved the way for his younger brother Henry to claim his rightful inheritance. Along with the title of 3rd Earl of Lancaster, Henry also became the Lord of Bowland.

Henry was openly opposed to Edward II and was a member of the Queen's plot to overturn his power. Henry was put in charge of the imprisonment of Edward II at Kenilworth Castle. Henry was to be one of Edward III's strongest supporters, becoming his chief advisor. On his death in September 1345 the title of Earl of Lancaster passed to that of his son, Henry of Grosmont.

Henry of Grosmont was a distinguished person, he spent much of his time in France fighting in the Hundred Years War, it was while in France that he became Earl of Lancaster, and with it the most powerful man in the land. He also became a founder member of the Order of the Garter but most importantly, he became the 1st Duke of Lancaster. It was now that Palatine status was bestowed on Lancashire. It meant that the county could be run separately from the rest of the country, they could appoint their own sheriffs and judges. As Henry had no male heirs, the title and privileges were for his lifetime only. Henry died at Leicester Castle in March 1360.

Whilst Henry had no male heirs, he did have two daughters, the youngest Blanche married Edward III's youngest son John of Gaunt. Gaunt inherited the lands and titles through his marriage and was to become the 1st Duke of Lancaster (2nd creation). It is Gaunt's descendants that were to dominate the throne for years to come.

In my next post I shall be looking at John of Gaunt's life and the foundations he laid down for his sons and how this led to the Wars of the Roses, a series of bloody battles between the House of Lancaster and the House of York.