George Neville KG KB (abt. 1469 - abt. 1535)

Born about 1469 in England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Joan (FitzAlan) Neville — married 1493 in England

Husband of Margaret (Brent) Neville — married before Sep 1513 in England

Husband of Mary (Stafford) Neville — married about Jun 1519 in England

Husband of Mary (Brooke) Neville — married before 24 Jan 1530 in England

Descendants

Died about Jun 1535 at about age 66 in Eridge, Sussex, England [uncertain]

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Biography

Origins

George Neville, K.G., K.B., son and heir of George Neville, Knt., Lord Bergavenney, and his first wife Margaret at(te) Fenne, was born around 1469^[1][2] (he was aged about 16 at the death of his mother).^[3][4][5] His birthplace is unknown.

Life

George was knighted (K.B.) on 4 July 1483^[3] before the coronation of Richard III. George was likely knighted at such a young age (14) due to his kinship with Anne Neville, the queen consort.^[4]

George was his father's main heir in 1492,^[3][6] and he received livery of his inherited lands soon after.^[4] He was also admitted as a member of Gray's Inn in 1492.^[7] George was summoned to parliament from 16 January 1496/7 to 5 January 1533/4^[1][3] and served as a trier of petitions in the House of Lords.^[4]

He served in the wars in France and fought at the Battle of Blackheath in 1497 against the Cornish rebels.^[1][3][4] George was Keeper of Southfrith Park, Kent 1499-1508.^[1]

George was a jouster in the courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII until he was middle aged. He also attended important state events regularly, including the reception of Katherine of Aragon at Richmond in 1501, and meetings with the French King and emperor.^[4]

In 1507, under Henry VII, George was indicted for keeping unlawful retainers (a private army) for which he was fined the huge amount of £100,000 and was forbidden to travel without royal consent.^[4] However, at Henry VIII's coronation in 1509, George was Chief Larderer (he served in the same role at the coronation of Anne Boleyn in 1533)^[1][3] and, soon after the coronation, the king cancelled George's debt and allowed him to lawfully keep retainers for the king's service.^[1] Within three years, George was restored to the royal council.^[4]

George was elected to the Order of the Garter on 23 April and installed 7 May 1513.^[3]

George also served as Constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports^[3] from about 1512-1515; Keeper of Ashdown Forest, Kent 1515; and Privy Councillor 1515-1521.^[1]

George's father-in-law, Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham was tried and executed for treason in 1521.^[8] George was imprisoned about 5 May 1521^[1] and, after being imprisoned in the Tower for almost a year, he admitted that he had concealed the Duke's treason. George was removed from all of his offices, fined 10,000 marks and had to sell his house at Birling to the king before receiving a royal pardon^[4] on 29 March 1522.^[1] After receiving his pardon, George was allowed to continue serving at court, in Parliament and in war, but he was not reinstated to the royal council and was treated with suspicion.^[4] He served as the captain of the Army in France in 1523.^[1]

In 1530, George signed the petition to Pope Clement VII in support of dissolving Henry VIII's marriage to Katherine of Aragon. Later that year, the king allowed him to buy back the manor of Birling.^[4]

Lands

King Henry VIII granted the lands and castle of Abergavenny, Wales to George in 1512,^[1] on 18 December.^[3][4] Abergavenny had been inherited from the Beauchamp family in 1392 through George's grandmother, as were most of his vast estates.^[3][4] George's father and grandfather never held these estates as they had passed by marriage to other members of the Neville family and eventually went back to the king.^[4]

In addition, George inherited lands at Birling, West Peckham, Mereworth, etc., Kent from his father.^[1][9]

Marriages and Children

George married first Joan Arundel, daughter of Thomas Arundel, K.G., K.B., 17th Earl of Arundel,^[4][10] and Margaret Wydeville.^[1][3] The date and place of their marriage is unknown. They had two daughters:

• Elizabeth, wife of Henry Daubeney,^[10] K.G., Earl of Bridgwater^[1]
• Jane, wife of Henry (or Harry) Pole, K.B., Lord Montagu^[1][10]

Joan died 14 November 1508,^[1] without male issue.^[3]

George married second to Margaret Brent,^[4] daughter of John Brent, Gent. of Charring, Kent,^[3][10] before 5 September 1513 (date of fine), when they sold the manor of Speenhamland, Berkshire. Margaret was living in 1517.^[1] They had no issue.^[1][3] See research note.

George married third to Mary Stafford, youngest daughter of Edward Stafford, K.G., K.B., 3rd Duke of Buckingham,^[4][10] and Eleanor Percy, about June 1519.^[1][3] They had three sons and five daughters:

• Henry (or Harry),^[10] K.B., Lord Bergavenny,^[1][4] born after 1527, died 10 February 1586/7, married first to Frances Manners and second to Elizabeth Darrell leaving no male issue^[3]
• John^[1]
• Thomas^[1]
• Mary, wife of Thomas Fiennes (9th Lord Dacre),^[10][11] John Wotton and Francis Thursby, Esq.^[1]
• Katherine, wife of John St. Leger, Knt.^[1][10]
• Margaret, wife of John Cheney and of Henry Poole, Esq.^[1][10]
• Dorothy, wife of William Brooke, 10th Lord Cobham^[1][10]
• Ursula, wife of Warham St. Leger, Knt.^[1][10]

Together George and Mary attended the king at the Field of Cloth and Gold in 1520.^[1] Mary's date of death is unknown.

George married for a fourth time to his former servant and/or mistress, Mary Brooke,^[1] or Cobham,^[3] sister of the 9th Lord Cobham. They were married shortly before 24 January 1530, when he settled estates on her.^[4] They had one daughter:

• name unknown^[1]

Death

George died on 13 or 14 June 1535 and was buried at Birling, Kent,^[4] and his heart was buried at Mereworth, Kent.^[3] His widow Mary survived him.^[3]

George made his will at his home at Eridge, Sussex on 4 June 1535.^[4][12][13] The will was proved 24 January 1535/6.^[1][3] His son Henry was his main heir.^[3] The entailment of his estates included in his will was confirmed by an Act of Parliament^[4] made 31 January 1555/6.^[3]

Research Notes

Children

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states that George had no children by his first two marriages. However, Complete Peerage says that he had no male children with his first wife and Richardson goes on to name two daughters from that marriage.

Disambiguation: 2nd Wife

George's second wife is not Margaret Brent-21, daughter of John Brent (Jr.) of Charing, Kent. That Margaret is of a younger generation, and was married to John Dering and then to John Moore. The Margaret Brent who married George Neville would likely be the aunt of Brent-21. Margaret's father, John Brent (Jr.) of Charing, Kent, is the son of John Brent (Sr.) of Charing, Kent, and George's wife Margaret is described as "sister and heiress of Thomas Brent, son of John Brent senior of Charing, Kent".^{[citation needed]} Her father probably had a sister named Margaret who married George Neville. Dellinger-332

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, Vol. 1. Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2013, pp. 323-325, BERGAVENNY 16, George Neville.
2. ↑ Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 2nd ed., vol. I. Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2011, pp. 170-171, BERGAVENNY 11. Google Books.
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21} George Edward Cokayne, ed. Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Vol. I: Ab Adam - Basing, 2nd edition. London, 1910, pp. 31-33. Archive.org
4. ↑ ^{4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21} Alasdair Hawkyard. "Neville, George, third Baron Bergavenny (c. 1469–1535), nobleman and courtier" in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 23 Sep 2004. ODNB($).
5. ↑ Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem. H.M. Stationery Office, 1898, p. 1. Google Books: Henry VII, Vol. I. Mentioned in the IPM of his mother, Margaret as "George Nevill, knt, aged 16 and more, is their son and heir."
6. ↑ Testamenta Vetusta. Vol. I. London: Nichols & Son, 1826, pp. 406-407. Archive.org: Will of his father.
7. ↑ Joseph Foster. The Register of Admissions to Gray's Inn, 1521-1889. London: The Hansard Publishing Union, Ltd., 1889, p. 29. Google Books: "1492. (George Neville), Lord Abergavenny."
8. ↑ C. S. L. Davies. "Stafford, Edward, third duke of Buckingham (1478–1521), magnate." in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 23 Sep. 2004. ODNB($).
9. ↑ Edward Hasted, 'Parishes: Birling', in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent. Volume 4. Canterbury, 1798, pp. 474-488. British History Online.
10. ↑ ^{10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10} The Visitations of Kent. Harleian Society Vol. 74, 1923, p. 15. Google Books.
11. ↑ Thomas Benolte, et al. The Visitations of the County of Sussex: 1530 and 1633-4. Vol LIII. London: The Harleian Society, 1905, p. 12. Archive.org: Fynes.
12. ↑ National Archives ABE/20T - Probate (PCC) of testament and will (4 Jun 1535) of George Nevill, kt, Lord Bergavenny. ABE - Archive of the Nevill Family of Eridge Castle in Frant, Marquesses of Abergavenny.
13. ↑ "England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858". Prerogative Court of Canterbury: Wills of Selected Famous Persons. Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Series PROB 1. The National Archives, Kew, England. PROB 11; Piece: 25. Ancestry Record 5111 #874482

• Will of Sir George Neville 5th Baron Bergavenny KG KB
• Wikipedia: George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny.

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

This profile was re-reviewed for the Magna Carta Project on 31 January 2023 by Thiessen-117.

George Neville KG KB is a descendant of Magna Carta Surety Barons Hugh le Bigod, Roger le Bigod, Gilbert de Clare, Richard de Clare, John de Lacy, John FitzRobert and Saher de Quincy in trails badged by the Magna Carta Project to Gateway Ancestors Saint Leger Codd (badged 2019) and Warham Horsmanden (badged May 2020). See the trails HERE (Horsmanden) and HERE (Codd).

George Neville KG KB also appears in badged trails from the surety barons named above to Gateway Ancestor Edward Digges. These trails are outlined in the Magna Carta Trails section of the Gateway's profile.

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".