Sir Robert Goushill, of Hoveringham

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Sir Robert Goushill

Also Known As: "Robert Gausell", "Robert Goushell"
Birthdate:
Birthplace: Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England (United Kingdom)
Death: July 21, 1403 (36-45)
Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England (United Kingdom) (killed in the Battle of Shrewsbury)
Place of Burial: Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
Immediate Family:

Son of Sir Nicholas Goushill of Hoveringham and Joan de Goushill
Husband of Joan Bracebrugge and Elizabeth FitzAlan, Duchess of Norfolk
Father of Joan Goushill, Baroness of Stanley; Elizabeth Goushill, Lady Wingfield; Joyce Goushill; Margaret Howard and Isabel Goushilll
Brother of Sir Nicholas Goushill, MP

Occupation: Knight, Lord of Hoveringham, Lord of Haveringham, England, knight
Managed by: Noah Tutak
Last Updated:

About Sir Robert Goushill, of Hoveringham

  • 'Sir Robert Goushill1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
  • 'M, #11119, b. circa 1355, d. 21 July 1403
  • Father Sir Nicholas de Goushill2,3 b. c 1316, d. 18 Jan 1393
  • ' Sir Robert Goushill was born circa 1355 at of Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England.2 He married Elizabeth FitzAlan, daughter of Sir Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl Arundel, 10th Earl of Surrey, Chief Butler of England, Admiral of the West and Elizabeth de Bohun, before 19 August 1401; Without the King's license. They had 3 daughters (Joan, wife of Sir Thomas, Lord Stanley; Elizabeth, wife of Sir Robert Wingfield; & Joyce).2,10,3,5,8,9 Sir Robert Goushill died on 21 July 1403 at Battle of Shrewsbury, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England; Buried at Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire.2,3,5
  • 'Family Elizabeth FitzAlan b. c 1371, d. 8 Jul 1425
  • Children
    • Joan Goushill+2,11,3,4,7,8 b. c 1401, d. c 27 Apr 1466
    • Elizabeth Goushill+12,3,6,9 b. c 1402, d. a 6 Oct 1453
  • Citations
  • 1.[S2909] Unknown author, The Complete Peerage, by Cokayne, Vol. IV, p. 205; Wallop Family, p. 370; Lineage and Ancestry of HRH Prince Charles by Gerald Paget, Vol. II, p. 406; Burke's Peerage, 1938, p. 784; The Ancestry of Dorothea Poyntz, by Ronny O. Bodine, p. 41.
  • 2.[S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 323.
  • 3.[S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. II, p. 195-196.
  • 4.[S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. III, p. 213.
  • 5.[S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. III, p. 208-209.
  • 6.[S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. III, p. 459-460.
  • 7.[S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. IV, p. 15-16.
  • 8.[S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. IV, p. 90.
  • 9.[S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. IV, p. 354.
  • 10.[S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 532-534.
  • 11.[S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 679.
  • 12.[S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 323-324.
  • From: http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p370.htm#i...
  • ______
  • 'Sir Robert Goushill1
  • M, #13848
  • Last Edited=13 Dec 2008
  • ' Sir Robert Goushill married Elizabeth Fitzalan, daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel and Elizabeth de Bohun, before 18 August 1401.
  • ' He lived at Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England.1
  • 'Children of Sir Robert Goushill and Elizabeth Fitzalan
    • 1.Joan Goushill+1
    • 2.Elizabeth Goushill+
  • Citations
  • 1.[S37] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 1101. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.
  • From: http://www.thepeerage.com/p1385.htm#i13848
  • ________________
  • 'Elizabeth FITZALAN (B. Mowbray)
  • Born: 1366, Arundel, Sussex, England
  • Died: 8 Jul 1425, Haveringham, Nottingham, England
  • Father: Richard FITZALAN (6º E. Arundel)
  • Mother: Elizabeth De BOHUN (C. Arundel)
  • Married 1: William MONTAGUE (Sir)
  • Married 2: Thomas De MOWBRAY (6° B. Mowbray Earl Marshal of England E. Nottingham) (b. 22 Mar 1365/6) (son of John De Mowbray and his wife Elizabeth Seagrave, and a grandson of Joan Plantaganet) Jul 1384
  • Children:
    • 1. Thomas De MOWBRAY (E. Marshal)
    • 2. John De MOWBRAY (D. Norfolk)
    • 3. Isabel MOWBRAY (m.1 Henry Ferrers, 6º B. Ferrers of Groby - m.2 James Berkeley, 1º B. Berkeley)
    • 4. Margaret De MOWBRAY (m. Sir Robert Howard of Stoke Neyland)
  • Married 3: Gerard UFFLETE (Sir Knight)
  • 'Married 4: Robert GOUSHILL of Haveringham (Sir Knight) (b. 1350) BEF 19 Aug 1401 / 1 Sep 1401, Haveringham, Nottingham, England
  • Children:
    • 5. Elizabeth GOUSHILL (b. 1401/14) (m. Sir Robert Wingfield of Letheringham)
    • 6. Joan GOUSHILL (b. ABT 1401 - d. AFT 1460) (m. Thomas Stanley of Lathom)
    • 7. Robert GOUSHILL
  • From: http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/FITZALAN.htm#Elizabeth FITZALAN (B. Mowbray)
  • ______________________

http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/fellows1907/hoveringham.htm

Death Date 7/21/1403 or 7/3/1414

  • --------------------

ID: I192166

Name: Sir Robert de Goushill

Sex: M

Birth: 1353 in Hoveringhom, Nottingham, England

Death: 21 JUL 1404

Father: Nicholas de Goushill b: 1326 in Hoveringhom, Nottingham, England

Marriage 1 Duchess Elizabeth [@ <^] FitzAlan b: 1366 in Arundel, Sussex, England

Married: 19 AUG 1401

Children

Elizabeth [@] de Goushill b: 1402 in Hoveringham, Nottinghampshire, England

Jane\Joan [@ <] de Goushill b: 1409 in Hoveringham, Nottinghampshire, England
Source:

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db...


Killed in the battle of Shrewsbury.


Death Date 7/21/1403 or 7/3/1414


ID: I192166

Name: Sir Robert de Goushill

Sex: M

Birth: 1353 in Hoveringhom, Nottingham, England

Death: 21 JUL 1404

Father: Nicholas de Goushill b: 1326 in Hoveringhom, Nottingham, England

Marriage 1 Duchess Elizabeth [@ <^] FitzAlan b: 1366 in Arundel, Sussex, England

Married: 19 AUG 1401

Children

Elizabeth [@] de Goushill b: 1402 in Hoveringham, Nottinghampshire, England

Jane\Joan [@ <] de Goushill b: 1409 in Hoveringham, Nottinghampshire, England
Source:

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db...


Killed in the battle of Shrewsbury.


Death Date 7/21/1403 or 7/3/1414


ID: I192166

Name: Sir Robert de Goushill

Sex: M

Birth: 1353 in Hoveringhom, Nottingham, England

Death: 21 JUL 1404

Father: Nicholas de Goushill b: 1326 in Hoveringhom, Nottingham, England

Marriage 1 Duchess Elizabeth [@ <^] FitzAlan b: 1366 in Arundel, Sussex, England

Married: 19 AUG 1401

Children

Elizabeth [@] de Goushill b: 1402 in Hoveringham, Nottinghampshire, England

Jane\Joan [@ <] de Goushill b: 1409 in Hoveringham, Nottinghampshire, England
Source:

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db...


Killed in the battle of Shrewsbury.


Death Date 7/21/1403 or 7/3/1414


ID: I192166

Name: Sir Robert de Goushill

Sex: M

Birth: 1353 in Hoveringhom, Nottingham, England

Death: 21 JUL 1404

Father: Nicholas de Goushill b: 1326 in Hoveringhom, Nottingham, England

Marriage 1 Duchess Elizabeth [@ <^] FitzAlan b: 1366 in Arundel, Sussex, England

Married: 19 AUG 1401

Children

Elizabeth [@] de Goushill b: 1402 in Hoveringham, Nottinghampshire, England

Jane\Joan [@ <] de Goushill b: 1409 in Hoveringham, Nottinghampshire, England
Source:

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db...


Killed in the battle of Shrewsbury.


Family Group Record FamilySearch™ Ancestral File v4.19

Search Results | Download GEDCOM | Print

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Husband's Name

Robert GOUSHILL (AFN:FJH1-Z7)  Pedigree  

Born: 1350 Place: Of, Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England
Died: 2/21 Jul 1403/1404 Place: , Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England
Buried: Place: , Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England
Married: 1 Sep 1401 Place: Of, Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England
Father: Nicholas De GOUSHILL (AFN:PBHS-SD) Family
Mother: Mrs-Nicholas GOUSHILL (AFN:18GQ-PQ7)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wife's Name

Elizabeth FITZALAN (AFN:8J5B-TK)  Pedigree  

Born: 1366 Place: Of Arundel, Sussex, England
Died: 8 Jul 1425 Place: , Heveringham, Nottingham, England
Buried: Place: , Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England
Married: 1 Sep 1401 Place: Of, Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England
Father: Richard FITZALAN (AFN:8JDQ-LQ) Family
Mother: Elizabeth De BOHUN (AFN:8J5J-L6)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Children

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.  Sex  Name    

M Robert GOUSHILL (AFN:18GQ-MJM) Pedigree
Born: Abt 1401 Place: Of, , Nottinghamshire, England
Died: Abt 1415 Place:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.  Sex  Name    

F Elizabeth GOUSHILL (AFN:8J58-NF) Pedigree
Born: Abt 1402 Place: Of, , Derbyshire, England
Died: 1431 Place:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.  Sex  Name    

F Joan GOUSHILL (AFN:9L81-6J) Pedigree
Born: Abt 1409 Place: Of, Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England
Died: Abt 1459 Place:


Sir Robert Goushill


SIR ROBERT GOUSHILL: Sir Robet Goushill was knighted by King Henry IV at the battle of Shrewsbury on July 21,1403. At the Battle of Shrewsbury the loyalist forces of Henry IV were opposed by the rebel army of Henry Percy (Hotspur). The army of King Henry IV won the day with the killing of Hotspur during the conflict. Casulties on both sides were high with estimates of 3000 killed or wounded on each side. Sir Robert Goushill was knighted the day of the battle for his gallantry, but was badly wounded in the side. Found lying wounded by his servant on the eve of the battle, Goushill asked that his armor be removed and a note sent to his wife Elizabeth in case of his death. The servant then stabbed and murdered Sir Robert Goushill and made off with his purse and ring. Another wounded man lying nearby recognized the servant, and he was later caught and hanged for the crime. The arms of Sir Robert Goushill would be placed in the Shrewsbury Battlefield Church erected as a memorial by King Henry IV.

Robert Goushill was the son and heir of Sir Nicholas Goushill of Hoveringham. The date of his birth is unknown, but can be estimated to be circa 1360-1365. Likewise, the name of his mother also remains unknown. The Goushill family had held extensive lands in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire since the 13th century. Walter Goushill, an early ancestor in the direct line, gained a number of these considerable holdings for the Goushills through his marriage to Maud (Matilda) Hathersage, the co-heiress of Mathew Hathersage in Derbyshire. (The early pedigree of the Goushill family of Hoveringham can be found in the History of Nottinghamshire by Dr. Robert Thoroton). In the calendar of patent rolls of Richard II on March 12, 1386, the King orders the arrest of Sir Nicholas Goushill the elder and his son Robert Goushill to answer the suit brought by William Birkes accusing the Goushills of threatning him with the loss of life and limb that he dare go about his business. On July 16, 1385, Sir Nicholas Goushill received the King's pardon. During 1387, Nicholas Goushill knight of Hoveringham and his son Robert Goushill are found in the chancery records to owe a debt of 22 pounds to Robert Wells of London. The next mention of Robert Goushill occurs in 1390 when he receives the King's pardon for alleged outlawry and other felonies through the supplication of Thomas Mowbray. Thomas Mowbray was at that time Earl of Nottingham and later would become the Duke of Norfolk. This evidences that Robert Goushill was already a supporter of Thomas Mowbray of whom he would be an employee of for the next decade. It is interesting to note that Elizabeth Fitz-Alan, the future wife of Robert Goushill, had been the wife of Mowbray since 1384.

During the 1390's, Robert Goushill would be in the retinue of Thomas Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham, Marshal of England, and Duke of Norfolk, serving as Mowbray's esquire and attorney. When Thomas Mowbray received his ducal elevation in 1397, he gave to his esquire Robert Goushill a 20 pound annuity for life from his manor at Willington. This grant was confirmed by Henry IV in November of 1399. In 1398, after the Duke of Norfolk was banished by Richard II, Robert Goushill was appointed one of the attorneys for Mowbray. At the coronation of King Edward IV on October 13, 1399, Robert Goushill would make a plea for the return of the banished Duke of Norfolk as Earl Marshall, not knowing Mowbray had already died of the plague in Venice, Italy on September 22, 1399. In the mid 1390's, Robert Goushill had married as a first wife Joan Bracebrugge, who was the widow of Sir Ralph Bracebrugge of Kingsbury, Warwickshire. Joan (maiden name unknown) had married Ralph Bracebrugge in 1380 and his death occured in August, 1395. The marriage of Robert Goushill and Joan Bracebrugge likely was in 1396, and Joan would die early in the year 1400. (IPM Henry IV, 1-6). In 1397 Richard II appointed Sir William Bagot and Robert Goushill to seize into his hands the goods and chattels of Thomas the late Earl of Warwick. (Goushill served as Warwickshire sheriff in 1396/97). After Richard II was deposed, the new King Henry IV made a grant on Feb. 23, 1400 to his kinswoman Elizabeth, the wife of the late Duke of Norfolk, of the remaining goods of the late Duke as well as clearing the debts that the Duke had owed to the deposed Richard II. Others stated to share in the remaining goods of the deceased Duke of Norfolk included Robert Goushill.

Robert Goushill would marry the widowed Elizabeth Fitz-Alan, Duchess of Norfolk, in the latter part of 1400 or early 1401 without license. On August 19, 1401, King Henry IV seized the lands of Elizabeth, late widow of Thomas Mowbray, for marrying Robert Goushill without license. On September 28, 1401, Henry IV would pardon Robert Goushill esquire and Elizabeth, late wife of Thomas, duke of Norfolk, for their trespass for inter-marrying without license and that they shall have restitution of all lands assigned to her in dower with the issues from the time of their marriage. Joan Goushill, the 1st daughter of Robert and Elizabeth, would be born in 1401, and a 2nd daughter Elizabeth Goushill would be born in 1402. Many present day descendants of these two daughters trace their ancestry to the Plantagenet Kings of England through Joan Goushill who married Sir Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley, and Elizabeth Goushill who married Sir Robert Wingfield of Letheringham, Suffolk. (My own descent is through the Goushill-Wingfield marriage). A 3rd daughter named Joyce is now credited to Robert and Elizabeth. She was found in a 1407 lawsuit being named after older daughters Joan and Elizabeth. As she is not named in Robert Goushill's Inq. Post Mortum of 1403, she would certainly seem to have been born after Robert Goushill's death. No futher trace of Joyce Goushill has been found. After the tragic death of Sir Robert Goushill at the battle of Shrewsbury on July 21, 1403, his Inquisition Post Mortum was held August 6, 1403. His heirs are given as his daughters Joan and Elizabeth, aged two years and one year respectively. A final thought regarding the pedigree of the Goushill family of Hoveringham as given by Thoroton: the pedigree lists the Sir Nicholas Goushill dying in 1393 as the grandfather of Robert Goushill and Robert's father as another Nicholas Goushill. This 2nd Nicholas Goushill listed in the pedigree was very likely confused with the Sir Nicholas Goushill of Barlborough, Derbyshire who was also at the battle of Shrewsbury. He was certainly a relative and contemporary of Robert Goushill and either brother or first cousin, but not his father. The first 1380's records that mention Robert Goushill appear with Sir Nicholas Goushill the ELDER given as the father of Robert Goushill. I believe the evidence stongly suggests that the father of Robert Goushill was the Sir Nicholas Goushill who died in 1393 and was buried at St. Michael's church at Hoveringham.


Knighted at Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403

Died of wounds received in that battle

Mentioned in Shakespear's "Henry IV"



Sir Robert Goushill was born circa 1355 at of Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England


Alternate Spellings of Family Name:

  • Goushill
  • Gowsell
  • Goxell
  • Gousel
  • Gousle
  • Gouxhill

http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/fellows1907/hoveringham.htm

Death Date 7/21/1403 or 7/3/1414


ID: I192166

Name: Sir Robert de Goushill

Sex: M

Birth: 1353 in Hoveringhom, Nottingham, England

Death: 21 JUL 1404

Father: Nicholas de Goushill b: 1326 in Hoveringhom, Nottingham, England

Marriage 1 Duchess Elizabeth [@ <^] FitzAlan b: 1366 in Arundel, Sussex, England

Married: 19 AUG 1401

Children

Elizabeth [@] de Goushill b: 1402 in Hoveringham, Nottinghampshire, England

Jane\Joan [@ <] de Goushill b: 1409 in Hoveringham, Nottinghampshire, England
Source:

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db...


Killed in the battle of Shrewsbury.


Death Date 7/21/1403 or 7/3/1414


ID: I192166

Name: Sir Robert de Goushill

Sex: M

Birth: 1353 in Hoveringhom, Nottingham, England

Death: 21 JUL 1404

Father: Nicholas de Goushill b: 1326 in Hoveringhom, Nottingham, England

Marriage 1 Duchess Elizabeth [@ <^] FitzAlan b: 1366 in Arundel, Sussex, England

Married: 19 AUG 1401

Children

Elizabeth [@] de Goushill b: 1402 in Hoveringham, Nottinghampshire, England

Jane\Joan [@ <] de Goushill b: 1409 in Hoveringham, Nottinghampshire, England
Source:

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db...


Killed in the battle of Shrewsbury.


Death Date 7/21/1403 or 7/3/1414


ID: I192166

Name: Sir Robert de Goushill

Sex: M

Birth: 1353 in Hoveringhom, Nottingham, England

Death: 21 JUL 1404

Father: Nicholas de Goushill b: 1326 in Hoveringhom, Nottingham, England

Marriage 1 Duchess Elizabeth [@ <^] FitzAlan b: 1366 in Arundel, Sussex, England

Married: 19 AUG 1401

Children

Elizabeth [@] de Goushill b: 1402 in Hoveringham, Nottinghampshire, England

Jane\Joan [@ <] de Goushill b: 1409 in Hoveringham, Nottinghampshire, England
Source:

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db...


Killed in the battle of Shrewsbury.


Death Date 7/21/1403 or 7/3/1414


ID: I192166

Name: Sir Robert de Goushill

Sex: M

Birth: 1353 in Hoveringhom, Nottingham, England

Death: 21 JUL 1404

Father: Nicholas de Goushill b: 1326 in Hoveringhom, Nottingham, England

Marriage 1 Duchess Elizabeth [@ <^] FitzAlan b: 1366 in Arundel, Sussex, England

Married: 19 AUG 1401

Children

Elizabeth [@] de Goushill b: 1402 in Hoveringham, Nottinghampshire, England

Jane\Joan [@ <] de Goushill b: 1409 in Hoveringham, Nottinghampshire, England
Source:

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db...


Killed in the battle of Shrewsbury.


Family Group Record FamilySearch™ Ancestral File v4.19

Search Results | Download GEDCOM | Print

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Husband's Name

Robert GOUSHILL (AFN:FJH1-Z7)  Pedigree  

Born: 1350 Place: Of, Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England
Died: 2/21 Jul 1403/1404 Place: , Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England
Buried: Place: , Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England
Married: 1 Sep 1401 Place: Of, Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England
Father: Nicholas De GOUSHILL (AFN:PBHS-SD) Family
Mother: Mrs-Nicholas GOUSHILL (AFN:18GQ-PQ7)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wife's Name

Elizabeth FITZALAN (AFN:8J5B-TK)  Pedigree  

Born: 1366 Place: Of Arundel, Sussex, England
Died: 8 Jul 1425 Place: , Heveringham, Nottingham, England
Buried: Place: , Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England
Married: 1 Sep 1401 Place: Of, Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England
Father: Richard FITZALAN (AFN:8JDQ-LQ) Family
Mother: Elizabeth De BOHUN (AFN:8J5J-L6)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Children

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.  Sex  Name    

M Robert GOUSHILL (AFN:18GQ-MJM) Pedigree
Born: Abt 1401 Place: Of, , Nottinghamshire, England
Died: Abt 1415 Place:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.  Sex  Name    

F Elizabeth GOUSHILL (AFN:8J58-NF) Pedigree
Born: Abt 1402 Place: Of, , Derbyshire, England
Died: 1431 Place:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.  Sex  Name    

F Joan GOUSHILL (AFN:9L81-6J) Pedigree
Born: Abt 1409 Place: Of, Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England
Died: Abt 1459 Place:


Sir Robert Goushill


SIR ROBERT GOUSHILL: Sir Robet Goushill was knighted by King Henry IV at the battle of Shrewsbury on July 21,1403. At the Battle of Shrewsbury the loyalist forces of Henry IV were opposed by the rebel army of Henry Percy (Hotspur). The army of King Henry IV won the day with the killing of Hotspur during the conflict. Casulties on both sides were high with estimates of 3000 killed or wounded on each side. Sir Robert Goushill was knighted the day of the battle for his gallantry, but was badly wounded in the side. Found lying wounded by his servant on the eve of the battle, Goushill asked that his armor be removed and a note sent to his wife Elizabeth in case of his death. The servant then stabbed and murdered Sir Robert Goushill and made off with his purse and ring. Another wounded man lying nearby recognized the servant, and he was later caught and hanged for the crime. The arms of Sir Robert Goushill would be placed in the Shrewsbury Battlefield Church erected as a memorial by King Henry IV.

Robert Goushill was the son and heir of Sir Nicholas Goushill of Hoveringham. The date of his birth is unknown, but can be estimated to be circa 1360-1365. Likewise, the name of his mother also remains unknown. The Goushill family had held extensive lands in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire since the 13th century. Walter Goushill, an early ancestor in the direct line, gained a number of these considerable holdings for the Goushills through his marriage to Maud (Matilda) Hathersage, the co-heiress of Mathew Hathersage in Derbyshire. (The early pedigree of the Goushill family of Hoveringham can be found in the History of Nottinghamshire by Dr. Robert Thoroton). In the calendar of patent rolls of Richard II on March 12, 1386, the King orders the arrest of Sir Nicholas Goushill the elder and his son Robert Goushill to answer the suit brought by William Birkes accusing the Goushills of threatning him with the loss of life and limb that he dare go about his business. On July 16, 1385, Sir Nicholas Goushill received the King's pardon. During 1387, Nicholas Goushill knight of Hoveringham and his son Robert Goushill are found in the chancery records to owe a debt of 22 pounds to Robert Wells of London. The next mention of Robert Goushill occurs in 1390 when he receives the King's pardon for alleged outlawry and other felonies through the supplication of Thomas Mowbray. Thomas Mowbray was at that time Earl of Nottingham and later would become the Duke of Norfolk. This evidences that Robert Goushill was already a supporter of Thomas Mowbray of whom he would be an employee of for the next decade. It is interesting to note that Elizabeth Fitz-Alan, the future wife of Robert Goushill, had been the wife of Mowbray since 1384.

During the 1390's, Robert Goushill would be in the retinue of Thomas Mowbray, Earl of Nottingham, Marshal of England, and Duke of Norfolk, serving as Mowbray's esquire and attorney. When Thomas Mowbray received his ducal elevation in 1397, he gave to his esquire Robert Goushill a 20 pound annuity for life from his manor at Willington. This grant was confirmed by Henry IV in November of 1399. In 1398, after the Duke of Norfolk was banished by Richard II, Robert Goushill was appointed one of the attorneys for Mowbray. At the coronation of King Edward IV on October 13, 1399, Robert Goushill would make a plea for the return of the banished Duke of Norfolk as Earl Marshall, not knowing Mowbray had already died of the plague in Venice, Italy on September 22, 1399. In the mid 1390's, Robert Goushill had married as a first wife Joan Bracebrugge, who was the widow of Sir Ralph Bracebrugge of Kingsbury, Warwickshire. Joan (maiden name unknown) had married Ralph Bracebrugge in 1380 and his death occured in August, 1395. The marriage of Robert Goushill and Joan Bracebrugge likely was in 1396, and Joan would die early in the year 1400. (IPM Henry IV, 1-6). In 1397 Richard II appointed Sir William Bagot and Robert Goushill to seize into his hands the goods and chattels of Thomas the late Earl of Warwick. (Goushill served as Warwickshire sheriff in 1396/97). After Richard II was deposed, the new King Henry IV made a grant on Feb. 23, 1400 to his kinswoman Elizabeth, the wife of the late Duke of Norfolk, of the remaining goods of the late Duke as well as clearing the debts that the Duke had owed to the deposed Richard II. Others stated to share in the remaining goods of the deceased Duke of Norfolk included Robert Goushill.

Robert Goushill would marry the widowed Elizabeth Fitz-Alan, Duchess of Norfolk, in the latter part of 1400 or early 1401 without license. On August 19, 1401, King Henry IV seized the lands of Elizabeth, late widow of Thomas Mowbray, for marrying Robert Goushill without license. On September 28, 1401, Henry IV would pardon Robert Goushill esquire and Elizabeth, late wife of Thomas, duke of Norfolk, for their trespass for inter-marrying without license and that they shall have restitution of all lands assigned to her in dower with the issues from the time of their marriage. Joan Goushill, the 1st daughter of Robert and Elizabeth, would be born in 1401, and a 2nd daughter Elizabeth Goushill would be born in 1402. Many present day descendants of these two daughters trace their ancestry to the Plantagenet Kings of England through Joan Goushill who married Sir Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley, and Elizabeth Goushill who married Sir Robert Wingfield of Letheringham, Suffolk. (My own descent is through the Goushill-Wingfield marriage). A 3rd daughter named Joyce is now credited to Robert and Elizabeth. She was found in a 1407 lawsuit being named after older daughters Joan and Elizabeth. As she is not named in Robert Goushill's Inq. Post Mortum of 1403, she would certainly seem to have been born after Robert Goushill's death. No futher trace of Joyce Goushill has been found. After the tragic death of Sir Robert Goushill at the battle of Shrewsbury on July 21, 1403, his Inquisition Post Mortum was held August 6, 1403. His heirs are given as his daughters Joan and Elizabeth, aged two years and one year respectively. A final thought regarding the pedigree of the Goushill family of Hoveringham as given by Thoroton: the pedigree lists the Sir Nicholas Goushill dying in 1393 as the grandfather of Robert Goushill and Robert's father as another Nicholas Goushill. This 2nd Nicholas Goushill listed in the pedigree was very likely confused with the Sir Nicholas Goushill of Barlborough, Derbyshire who was also at the battle of Shrewsbury. He was certainly a relative and contemporary of Robert Goushill and either brother or first cousin, but not his father. The first 1380's records that mention Robert Goushill appear with Sir Nicholas Goushill the ELDER given as the father of Robert Goushill. I believe the evidence stongly suggests that the father of Robert Goushill was the Sir Nicholas Goushill who died in 1393 and was buried at St. Michael's church at Hoveringham.


Knighted at Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403

Died of wounds received in that battle

Mentioned in Shakespear's "Henry IV"



Sir Robert Goushill was born circa 1355 at of Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England


Alternate Spellings of Family Name:

  • Goushill
  • Gowsell
  • Goxell
  • Gousel
  • Gousle
  • Gouxhill

Robert Goushill was the son and heir of Sir Nicholas Goushill of Hoveringham.

Robert Goushill would marry the widowed Elizabeth Fitz-Alan, Duchess of Norfolk, in the latter part of 1400 or early 1401 without license. On August 19, 1401, King Henry IV seized the lands of Elizabeth, late widow of Thomas Mowbray, for marrying Robert Goushill without license. On September 28, 1401, Henry IV would pardon Robert Goushill esquire and Elizabeth, late wife of Thomas, duke of Norfolk, for their trespass for inter-marrying without license and that they shall have restitution of all lands assigned to her in dower with the issues from the time of their marriage. Joan Goushill, the 1st daughter of Robert and Elizabeth, would be born in 1401, and a 2nd daughter Elizabeth Goushill would be born in 1402. Many present day descendants of these two daughters trace their ancestry to the Plantagenet Kings of England through Joan Goushill who married Sir Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley, and Elizabeth Goushill who married Sir Robert Wingfield of Letheringham, Suffolk.

Sir Robet Goushill was knighted by King Henry IV at the battle of Shrewsbury on July 21,1403. Wounded, he was murdered by his servant on the Shrewsbury battlefield for his valuables. The servant was later identified and hanged for his crime.

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Sir Robert Goushill, of Hoveringham's Timeline

1362
1362
Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England (United Kingdom)
1401
1401
Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England (United Kingdom)
1402
1402
Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England
1403
July 21, 1403
Age 41
Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England (United Kingdom)
1403
Age 41
Hoveringham, Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
1939
November 4, 1939
Age 41
November 4, 1939
Age 41
November 4, 1939
Age 41