| Queen's Oak | |
|---|---|
 The blackened stump of the tree photographed in 2006 | |
| Location | Near Potterspury, Northamptonshire |
| Date felled | August 1997 |
The Queen's Oak was a tree located near Potterspury in Northamptonshire. It is traditionally the site of the first meeting between Elizabeth Woodville and her future husband, Edward IV. The tree was badly burnt in 1994 and died in 1997.
The tree is traditionally regarded as the spot of the first meeting between Edward IV, king of England and leader of the Yorkist faction in the War of the Roses, and Elizabeth Woodville, the widow of John Grey of Groby, a Lancastrian commander. [1] The meeting is said to have taken place on 13 April 1464 and the couple were married in secret just 18 days later. [2] The marriage was controversial at the time as Woodville was a Lancastrian, a commoner, brought no dowry and already had children. In spite of the legend, the couple may have met earlier when Woodville's parents served Edward's father in Normandy or when Edward stayed in Groby in 1461; however, the first recorded meeting is certainly 13 April 1464. Woodville is said to have waited under the oak for Edward to pass by, to seek to plead for her sons' confiscated inheritances to be restored. [3] The tree at this time stood in Whittlebury/Whittlewood Forest, a royal hunting ground. [4] The fabled meeting under the tree was featured in the first episode of the 2013 BBC Series The White Queen. [5]
The tree became known as the Queen's Oak for its association with the legend. [2] It stood around half a mile to the north-east of Watling Street, between Potterspury and Paulerspury in Northamptonshire. [6] At one point it formed part of the boundary of Potterspury Park. [7] The tree stood to the rear of the Pottersbury Lodge and several acorns from it were recovered and planted on the estate by Henry Newton in the mid-19th century. [8] [2] By 1879 it measured 8.83 metres (29.0 ft) ingirth and its hollow trunk could accommodate 18 people. [2] By 1937 an avenue of lime trees had been planted leading up to the Queen's Oak. [9]
The lodge came into the ownership of the Northamptonshire County Council in the 1950s. The lodge was sold in 1958 and became Potterspury Lodge School but much of the estate was retained as two farms which were let out. The Queen's Oak farm was sold to a tenant in 1996. [10]
The Queen's Oak caught fire in 1994; it was badly damaged, though a solitary branch survived until August 1997. [2] Tests carried out at this time suggested an age of just 340 years for the oak, meaning it was planted around 1650. [4]
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England fought between the Yorkist and Lancastrian factions between 1455 and 1487.
Elizabeth Woodville was Queen of England as the wife of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483.
The Battle of Tewkesbury, which took place on 4 May 1471, was one of the decisive battles of the Wars of the Roses in England. The forces loyal to the House of Lancaster were completely defeated by those of the rival House of York under their monarch, King Edward IV. The Lancastrian heir to the throne, Edward, Prince of Wales, and many prominent Lancastrian nobles were killed during the battle or executed. The Lancastrian king, Henry VI of England, who was a prisoner in the Tower of London, died or was murdered shortly after the battle. Tewkesbury restored political stability to England until the death of Edward IV in 1483.
Cecily Neville was an English noblewoman, the wife of Richard, Duke of York (1411–1460), and the mother of two kings of England—Edward IV and Richard III. Cecily Neville was known as "the Rose of Raby", because she was born at Raby Castle in Durham, and "Proud Cis", because of her pride and a temper that went with it, although she was also known for her piety. She herself signed her name "Cecylle".
Jacquetta of Luxembourg, Countess Rivers was the eldest daughter of Peter I of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, Conversano and Brienne, and his wife Margaret of Baux. She was a prominent, though often overlooked, figure in the Wars of the Roses. Through her short-lived first marriage to the Duke of Bedford, brother of King Henry V, she was firmly allied to the House of Lancaster. However, following the emphatic Lancastrian defeat at the Battle of Towton, she and her second husband Richard Woodville sided closely with the House of York. Three years after the battle and the accession of Edward IV of England, Jacquetta's eldest daughter Elizabeth Woodville married him and became Queen consort of England. Jacquetta bore Woodville 14 children and stood trial on charges of witchcraft, of which she was exonerated.
Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers, also Wydeville, was the father of Elizabeth Woodville and father-in-law of Edward IV.
Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, 1st Earl of Huntingdon, 7th Baron Ferrers of Groby, was an English nobleman, courtier and the eldest son of Elizabeth Woodville and her first husband Sir John Grey of Groby. Her second marriage to King Edward IV made her Queen of England, thus elevating Grey's status at court and in the realm as the stepson of the King. Through his mother's assiduous endeavours, he made two materially advantageous marriages to wealthy heiresses, the King's niece Anne Holland and Cecily Bonville, 7th Baroness Harington. By the latter he had 14 children.
Richard Woodville, 3rd Earl Rivers succeeded his brother, Anthony Woodville, as the third Earl Rivers. He was the son of Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers, and Jacquetta of Luxembourg. Richard was the brother of the English queen Elizabeth Woodville.
Sir Richard Grey was an English knight and the half-brother of King Edward V of England.
Grafton Regis is a village and civil parish in the south of the English county of Northamptonshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2001 census was 152. This increased to 253 at the 2011 census. The village is east of the A508 road, on which it has a short frontage and two bus stops. It is ca. 8 miles (13 km) south of Northampton and 9 miles (14 km) north of Milton Keynes.
Potterspury is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire. The nearest main town is Milton Keynes, the centre of which is about 7 miles south-east. At the time of the 2011 census, the parish's population was 1,453 people.
Sir John Grey, of Groby, Leicestershire was a Lancastrian knight, the first husband of Elizabeth Woodville who later married King Edward IV of England, and great-great-grandfather of Lady Jane Grey.
Groby Old Hall is partly a 15th-century brick-built manor house and grade II* listed building located very near the site of Groby Castle in the village of Groby in Leicestershire.
Events from the 1460s in England.
The Elizabeth Woodville School, Northamptonshire, was formed by the merger of Roade Sports College and Kingsbrook Specialist Business and Enterprise College in 2011. It is a secondary school with academy status, run by the Tove Learning Trust, and is located at two sites in the villages of Deanshanger, and Roade, both in South Northamptonshire. The merged school was named after Elizabeth Woodville, who was born in Grafton Regis, halfway between the two sites, and was Queen consort of King Edward IV.
Anne Woodville, Viscountess Bourchier was an English noblewoman. She was a younger sister of Queen Consort Elizabeth Woodville to whom she served as a lady-in-waiting. Anne was married twice; first to William Bourchier, Viscount Bourchier, and secondly to George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent. Anne was the grandmother of the disinherited adulteress Anne Bourchier, 7th Baroness Bourchier, and an ancestress of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex.
The Second Battle of St Albans was fought on 17 February 1461 during the Wars of the Roses in England. It took place at St Albans in Hertfordshire, the first battle having been fought in 1455. The army of the Yorkist faction under the Earl of Warwick attempted to bar the road to London north of the town. The rival Lancastrian army used a wide outflanking manoeuvre to take Warwick by surprise, cut him off from London, and drive his army from the field. The victors also released the feeble King Henry VI, who had been Warwick's prisoner, from his captivity. However, they ultimately failed to take advantage of their victory.
Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Lisle was an English nobleman who was created Viscount Lisle in 1483, in recognition of his wife's descent.
Bradgate House is a 16th-century ruin in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire, England.
Queen Elizabeth's Oak may refer to: