William Yelverton

Abt 1400 - 1477  (~ 77 years)

• Name	William Yelverton
  Birth	Abt 1400	of Rougham, Norfolk, England   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Alternate death	Abt 1472  [2]
  Alternate death	27 Mar 1476  [1]
  Alternate death	Aft 16 Nov 1476  [3]
  Death	27 Mar 1477  [4]
  Burial	Rougham, Norfolk, England   [1]
  Person ID	I13609	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of DGH, Ancestor of TSW, Ancestor of TWK
  Last Modified	5 Sep 2018

  
  

  Father	John Yelverton,   b. of Rackheath, Norfolk, England
  Mother	Elizabeth Reade   d. Aft 1410
  Family ID	F8546	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Ela Brewes   d. Between 3 Nov and 9 Dec 1489
  Children	+ 1. Margaret Yelverton   d. Aft 11 Sep 1513 + 2. Margaret Yelverton + 3. John Yelverton,   b. Bef 1429   bur. Austin Friars, Norwich, Norfolk, England
  Family ID	F8525	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	14 Sep 2021

  
  

• Notes

  Judge of the King's Bench. Recorder of Norwich 1433-50. Burgess (MP) for Great Yarmouth, Norfolk in 1435 and 1436. From the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: The judge is [...] best known for his involvement in the dispute over Sir John Fastolf's will, the central preoccupation of the Paston letters. Sir William had initially been a colleague and friend of John (I) Paston, both on the duke of Norfolk's council and as an adviser, feoffee, and executor to Sir John Fastolf. The two fell out when a will made by the dying Fastolf hugely benefited Paston, and cut out Yelverton and other former trustees and executors. William Yelverton suspected foul play -- he had not, unlike Paston, reached Sir John's bedside -- and he challenged the will in the Canterbury court of audience. Although in 1467 probate was awarded to the Pastons, litigation in chancery (which again Yelverton lost) only reached judgment in 1470–71. Thereafter the families were quickly reconciled, and in 1472 began negotiating a marriage between Yelverton's grandson and John Paston's younger daughter. What Yelverton's motives were in the Fastolf affair is not obvious. William Worcester, an erstwhile ally, described him as 'the cursed Norfolk justice' (Itineraries, 190–91). He certainly had his fair share of acquisitiveness, and if he had been offered 'a frendelyhood' by Paston he might initially have compromised. However, it is also very probable that he felt morally obliged to protest against the subversion of Fastolf's wishes and the placing in jeopardy of the health of Sir John's soul. Sir William's genuine religious sympathy is seen elsewhere. He was especially devoted to the Virgin Mary, shown by his promoting the interests of Walsingham Priory, and he was buried before her image in the chancel of Rougham church. He was also a member of the Guild of St. George in Norwich, and was promised an individual mention among the obits in recognition of his role in arbitrating between the guild and the Norwich city authorities. 'Yelverton's mediation' ended fifty years of dispute, by effectively integrating the Guild of St George and a second prominent guild, the Batchery, with the city oligarchy.

  
  

• Sources

  [S142] Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families by Douglas Richardson. Salt Lake City, 2013. [S2164] The Paston Letters: A Selection in Modern Spelling ed. Norman Davis. 2nd edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983. [S1587] The Visitation of Norfolk in the Year 1563 ed. Rev. G. H. Dashwood. Norwich, Norfolk: Miller and Leavins, 1878. [S76] The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2004-ongoing.