THE MOWBRAY LEGACY
FOREWORD BY ANDREW MILSON
The Mowbray Legacy, initially intended for local interest only, has attracted attention from many parts of the world. Fully revised and reprinted, it begins with the Norman Conquest and ends with the death in 1481 of Lady Anne Mowbray, the last of her line and child-bride of one of the Princes in the Tower.
It offers an overview of the entire Mowbray dynasty, the original Dukes of Norfolk, who figured prominently in English history in the middle ages and were the ancestors of the Howard family, the current Dukes of Norfolk.
Details: 279 pages, 5 maps, 14 charts, 21 genealogical tables (including royalty, US Presidents and Hollywood stars), 45 black and white photographs, directory of places to visit, bibliography.
Garter Stall Plate of John Mowbray 2nd Duke of Norfolk. Image Public Domain.
I first met Marilyn Roberts when I was Curator at Epworth Old Rectory, and during one of her visits there showed her a copy of the Sarum (Salisbury) Magna Carta, which was on display. I was aware that the Mowbray family had at one time lived on the land at the rear of the Old Rectory – we had an ancient floor tile bearing the Mowbray lion on display in one of the rooms – and I was also aware that there was a connection between the Mowbrays and Magna Carta.
This was the start of Marilyn’s extraordinary and enthusiastic research into the Mowbray family, which has resulted in the publication of this magnificent book. She has travelled many miles and spent endless hours researching and confirming the information and I am amazed at her stamina and tenacity that have at last paid off with the revelation of hitherto little-known facts, including references to royalty, and important American connections.
The Mowbrays, who had control of the Isle of Axholme in Lincolnshire for nearly four hundred years, have proved to be one of the most notable and interesting families in the history of this country and I strongly recommend this book, which will add considerably to the fund of local knowledge.
Andrew Milson
Formerly Curator at the Old Rectory, Epworth
COVER STORY
THE LADIES ON THE MOWBRAY COVER
The lady on the left of The Mowbray Legacy cover is Elizabeth Talbot, widow of the last Mowbray Duke of Norfolk and mother of the last of the ducal family line, Lady Anne Mowbray, who died as a child in 1481.
Duchess Elizabeth seems to have been an attractive woman both in appearance and personality, but nevertheless it has been claimed that this stained glass in Long Melford Church, Suffolk, was the inspiration for John Tenniel’s Ugly Duchess drawings in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, although Grotesque Old Woman by Quentin Massys (Matsys) in the National Gallery in London would seem to be a more likely candidate. Elizabeth Talbot appears in The Mowbray Legacy and in some detail in Lady Anne Mowbray: The High and Excellent Princess.
Tenniel’s Duchess has been said to be based on Elizabeth Talbot, the last Mowbray Duchess of Norfolk, but it is more likely he was inspired by the painting by Quentin Massys. (Please note that pictures of the Tenniel and Massys do not appear in The Mowbray Legacy.)
The lady on the right hand side of the Mowbray cover is Elizabeth Tilney, Countess of Surrey. Her father-in-law John Howard, whose mother was of the Mowbray family, was created first Howard Duke of Norfolk in a new creation when the Mowbray line became extinct, but was killed fighting for Richard III at Bosworth in 1485. The dukedom was forfeit and not restored to his son Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, until 1514 so Elizabeth, who died in 1497, never became Duchess of Norfolk. Elizabeth Tilney was the grandmother of both Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, Henry VIII’s second and fifth wives, both executed by him.
Elizabeth Tilney Countess of Surrey and grandmother of both Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard. © Marilyn Roberts
Within a few months of Elizabeth Tilney’s death, her widower, by then in his fifties, married her young first-cousin Agnes Tilney, who was only 20 years old. In her old age Agnes, Dowager Duchess of Norfolk was imprisoned in the Tower for her involvement in the misdemeanours of her step-granddaughter, Queen Katherine Howard.