Richard Waterton

Family/Spouse: Juliana. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Master of the Horse, Master of the Hounds, Keeper of Pontefract Castle, Bailiff of Hatfield.

He was an important aide of Henry Bolingbroke, later Henry IV. Beginning as an esquire in the early 1390s, he accompanied Henry to the Baltic in 1392. (Also present on that expedition: TNH ancestor John Waterton, his brother.) He was one of the custodians of Richard II, he played a major role in the defense of the North against the Percys, and he was an executor of Henry’s will. Under Henry V he received fewer offices and appointments but was still entrusted with major tasks, including charge of certain Scottish hostages including James I. He is mentioned in Shakespeare’s Richard II, act 2, scene 1, as one of those who sailed with Bolingbroke from the continent in 1399, although in fact he was already in England and was one of the first to join Henry at Ravenspur.

Both his parentage and his marital history have been subject to considerable confusion. J. W. Walker’s “The Burghs of Cambridgeshire and Yorkshire and the Watertons of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire” (The Yorkshire Archaeological Journal 30:314, 1931) claimed that he was married only once, to Cecily Fleming, and assigned his first and third wives to his son, also Robert Waterton. This has been thoroughly refuted by subsequent research; Robert Waterton was married first to Joan Everingham, then to Cecily Fleming, then to Margaret Clarell. His namesake son Robert Waterton married Beatrice Clifford. This is what we read in the (most recently updated in 2006) Robert Waterton entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and in other recent scholarship. Of course (at least as of today, 7 Sep 2020), the Robert Waterton Wikipedia article promulgates Walker’s 89-year-old mistake, because Wikipedia. (While at the same time extensively referencing Douglas Richardson’s 2011 Magna Carta Ancestry, which gets it right!)

Brice Clagett, 4 Jan 2005, post to soc.genealogy.medieval:

This message reviews various versions of the parentage of Robert Waterton (d. 1425), the father of Joan, Lady Welles.

Walker’s article in Yorkshire Arch. Journal vol. 30 says that Robert was the third son of William Waterton, of Waterton, and his wife, Elizabeth Newmarch. (To compound the confusion, the article at p. 368 says that Robert was third son of JOHN Waterton, but the pedigree at the end shows that the statement on p. 368 was a careless error.) If the pedigree is accurate, Robert Waterton had royal ancestry through his mother, daughter of Roger Mewmarch of Womersley, Yorkshire, who was son of Adam Newmarch and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Roger de Mowbray, 5th feudal Baron of Mowbray.

Hall’s article in Thoresby Soc. Publications vol. 15 expresses doubt as to where Robert fits into the family, but leans towards the view that he was son of John Waterton, son of William Waterton (who according to the Walker article married Elizabeth Newmarch). This seems more comfortable chronologically, because according to the Walker article William Waterton was alive though not yet of full age in 1316, and Robert was not born until the 1360s.

Roskell’s History of Parliament sub John Waterton says that it is “demonstrably untrue” that Robert Waterton was son of William, citing a royal pardon of 1398 which says Robert was son of Richard Waterton of Waterton. Walker’s article shows a Richard Waterton (who may have lived at Waterton though he was not the owner of the manor), fl. 1379, dead in 1392, who was a second cousin once removed of William Waterton who (allegedly) married Elizabeth Newmarch.

ODNB sub Robert Waterton says that Robert was a son of William Waterton and Elizabeth Newmarch, and was “apparently the cousin of Sir Hugh Waterton.” But the same oracle, sub Sir Hugh Waterton, says that Hugh was the second son of William Waterton and Elizabeth Newmarch -- and was a cousin of Robert! Obviously both entries cannot be right.

What a mess. As far as we can see at the moment, the most likely version is that of the 1398 pardon cited by Roskell. Perhaps Roskell is a bit dogmatic concluding that it is “demonstrably untrue” that Robert was son of William -- surely this would not be the only time that a 14th-century pardon was mistaken as to the name of the pardonee’s father -- but it seems to be the most concrete evidence that we have.

Robert married Joan Everingham before Aug 1398. Joan (daughter of William de Everingham and Alice de Grey) died after 15 Sep 1399. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Robert married Cecily Fleming between 1399 and 1408. Cecily died before 1422. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Robert married Margaret Clarell in 1422. Margaret (daughter of Thomas Clarell and Maud Montgomery) died after 1465. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

From "The Two John Watertons - Part 2", by John Watson, a post to soc.medieval.genealogy dated 2 Nov 2014:

John Waterton, esquire was the son of Richard, son of William, son of Ingram de Waterton and was the brother of the king’s esquire Robert Waterton. He was probably born between 1360 and 1370.

The first notice we have of him and his brother Robert is that they were with Henry Bolingbroke, earl of Derby, on his expedition, firstly to Calais, then to Prussia and Lithuania in 1390-91, together with their cousin Sir Hugh Waterton, who was Bolingbroke’s chamberlain. John Waterton received pay as an esquire during the expedition until 30 April 1391. John and his brother Robert, master of Henry’s horses, sailed with Henry to Danzig in July-August 1392, at the start of his journey to Jerusalem, but returned from Danzig to England in September 1392.

John Waterton appears to have taken up residence firstly in Yorkshire and later in Lincolnshire, but exactly where is difficult to say. [...] He was sheriff of Lincoln between 29 November 1410 and 10 December 1411, when his brother Robert replaced him as sheriff. [...]

After Henry V came to the throne in 1413, John Waterton appears to have been given two positions by the new king; as master of his horse, taking over from his brother Robert who had served as master of the horse to Henry Bolingbroke; and secondly as steward of the royal soke of Kirton in Lindsey in Lincolnshire. [...]

John Waterton was in Henry V’s retinue as Master of the King’s Horse in the expedition to France in August 1415. On 25 October 1415, he was at the battle of Agincourt with six men at arms. John Waterton survived the battle and returned to England. On 4 February 1417, he was on a commission of walliis et fossatis in Lincolnshire and on 16 March 1417, he was a surety for Nicholas Tourney as sheriff of Lincoln.

This is the last notice that I can find for John Waterton. On 5 November 1417, Sir Gerard Usflete was appointed to the office of steward of the royal soke of Kirton in Lindsey in place of John Waterton, deceased.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Cecily, probably inaccurately.

Joan married Lionel Welles on 15 Aug 1417 in St. Oswald's, Methley, Yorkshire, England. Lionel (son of Eudes Welles and Maud Greystoke) was born about 1406 in of Belleau, Lincolnshire, England; died on 29 Mar 1461 in Towton, Yorkshire, England; was buried in Methley, Yorkshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

“Early in 1421, Richard Waterton, son and heir of John Waterton, Nicholas Harewood and William Withornwick, executors of John Waterton’s will, petitioned Henry V for letters discharging them from the custody of some gold cups and other plate which had been pledged to John Waterton as a security for his wages during the Agincourt campaign. On 2 May 1421, Richard son and heir of John Waterton, esquire, and his executors had a pardon from the king of “all debts, accounts, prests, receipts, liveries, wastes, stripments, dilapidations, exiles, trespasses, impeachments, misprisions, losses, actions, complaints, demands, farms, arrears, concealments, fines, issues and amercements” which seems to have covered just about everything except murder. [...] Richard Waterton later married Constance Asshenhul and was the ancestor of the Waterton family of Burn (in Brayton), Walton, Cawthorne, and Minsthorpe (in South Kirkby), Yorkshire and Corringham, Lincolnshire.” [John Watson, “The Two John Watertons - Part 2”, 2 Nov 2014, post to soc.medieval.genealogy.]

Probably died in the Battle of Towton, according to John Watson.

Feet of Fines: CP 25/1/280/159, number 24 [via John Watson on SGM]:

1 July 1436, County: Yorkshire. Place: Westminster. Date: One week from St John the Baptist, 14 Henry VI. Parties: William Asenhill’, knight, querent, and Richard Waterton’ and Constance, his wife, deforciants. Property: The manors of Byrne, Walton’, Calthorn’ and Mansthorp’. Action: Plea of covenant. Agreement: William has acknowledged the manors to be the right of Constance, as those which Richard and Constance have of his gift. For this: Richard and Constance have granted to William the manors and have rendered them to him in the court, to hold to William, without impeachment of waste, for the life of William, of Richard and Constance and the heirs of Constance, rendering yearly 1 rose at the feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, and doing to the chief lords all other services. And after the decease of William the manors shall revert to Richard and Constance and the heirs of Constance, quit of the heirs of William, to hold of the chief lords for ever.

Richard married Constance Assenhall about 1435. Constance (daughter of William Assenhall and Joan Burgh) died after Jun 1444. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Robert Willoughby. Robert (son of Thomas Willoughby and Joan Arundel) was born in of Parham, Suffolk, England; died on 30 May 1465; was buried in Campsey Priory, Suffolk, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Eleanor married Thomas Hoo before 1445. Thomas (son of Thomas Hoo and Eleanor Felton) was born before 1399 in of Hoo, Luton, Bedfordshire, England; died on 13 Feb 1455. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Thomas Dymoke. Thomas (son of Philip Dymoke and Joan Conyers) was born about 1428 in of Scrivelsby, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England; died on 12 Mar 1470. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Robert Tyrwhit. Robert (son of Adam Tyrwhit and Elizabeth Lumley) was born in of Kettleby, Lincolnshire, England; died in 1457. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]