William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings

William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings KG (c. 1431 – 13 June 1483) was an English nobleman. A follower of the House of York, he became a close friend and one of the most important courtiers of King Edward IV, whom he served as Lord Chamberlain. He was executed on charges of treason by Edward's brother and ultimate successor, Richard III.

William Hastings, born about 1431, was the eldest son of Sir Leonard Hastings (c.1396 – 20 October 1455),and his wife Alice Camoys, daughter of Thomas de Camoys, 1st Baron Camoys. Hastings succeeded his father in service to the House of York and through this service became close to his distant cousin the future Edward IV, whom he was to serve loyally all his life. He was High Sheriff of Warwickshire and High Sheriff of Leicestershire in 1455.

He fought alongside Edward at the Battle of Mortimer's Cross and was present at the proclamation of Edward as king in London on 4 March 1461 and then when the new king secured his crown at the Battle of Towton shortly thereafter. He was knighted on the field of battle. With the establishment of the Yorkist regime, Hastings became one of the key figures in the realm, most importantly as Master of the Mint and Lord Chamberlain, an office he held for the duration of the reign and which made him one of the most important means of access to the king. He was also created Baron Hastings, a title reinforced by grants of land and office, primarily in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. In 1462 he was invested as a Knight of the Garter. In 1474, he was awarded royal licence to crenellate at three of his landholdings in Leicestershire; at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Kirby, and at Bagworth. He built extensively at Ashby, mostly making additions to the pre-existing manor house built by the de la Zouch family in the thirteenth century. His greatest achievement at Ashby was, of course, the Hastings Tower – an imposing and thoroughly impressive creation. At Kirby Muxloe he began an intricate and beautiful fortified house of red brick, one of the first of its kind in the county. Thanks to English Heritage, the castles at Ashby and Kirby can still be seen, but regrettably nothing survives to indicate any construction at Bagworth.

His importance in these years is recorded in a number of sources and was recognised by the greatest peer in the realm, Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. In 1462, Warwick arranged for Hastings to marry his widowed sister, Katherine Neville. (Katherine's first husband, Lord Bonville, had been killed at Wakefield in 1460; their infant daughter, Cecily, succeeded to the Bonville titles and estates.)

Despite this matrimonial relationship with the Nevilles, when Warwick drove Edward IV into exile in 1470, Hastings went with Edward and accompanied the king back the following spring. Hastings raised troops for Edward in the English Midlands and served as one of the captains of the Yorkist forces at both Barnet and Tewkesbury.

His service, loyalty, and ability, along with the fall of his Neville in-laws, made Hastings even more important during the second half of Edward IV's reign. He continued to serve as Chamberlain and was also appointed Lieutenant of Calais, which made him an important player in foreign affairs, and he was given authority over an increasingly large section of the English Midlands. At court, he was involved in two lengthy feuds with members of Queen Elizabeth Woodville's family, most notably with her son Thomas Grey, first Marquess of Dorset.

After the death of Edward IV on 9 April 1483, the dowager queen sought to monopolise political power for her family by appointing family members to key positions and rushing the coronation of her young son Edward V as king, thereby circumventing Richard, Duke of Gloucester, whom the late king had appointed Lord Protector. Hastings was a key figure in checking these maneuvers. While keeping the Woodvilles in check in London, Hastings informed Richard of their proceedings and asked him to hasten to London. Richard intercepted the young king, who also was on his way to London, with his Woodville relatives. Hastings then supported Richard's formal installation as Lord Protector and collaborated with him in the royal council.

Affairs changed dramatically on 13 June 1483 during a council meeting at the Tower of London: Richard, supported by the Duke of Buckingham, accused Hastings and other council members of having conspired against his life with the Woodvilles, with Hastings's mistress Jane Shore (formerly also mistress to Edward IV and Dorset), acting as a go-between. While other alleged conspirators were imprisoned, Hastings was immediately beheaded in the courtyard.

The execution of the popular Hastings was controversial among contemporaries and has been interpreted differently by historians and other authors: while the traditional account, harking back to authors of the Tudor period including William Shakespeare, considered the conspiracy charge invented and merely a ploy to remove Hastings, who was too formidable an obstacle to Richard's royal ambitions,[15] others have been more open to the possibility of such a conspiracy and that Richard merely reacted to secure his position.[16] Some authors have conceded the possibility of a conspiracy, but think it was a response to Richard's grasp for the throne.

Richard did not issue an attainder against Hastings and his family. Hence his wife and sons were allowed to inherit his lands and properties. Hastings himself was buried in the north aisle of St George's Chapel, Windsor, next to Edward IV.[17]

He is portrayed in Shakespeare's Richard III.

Hastings married, before 6 February 1462,[17] Katherine Neville, sister of Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick--known as "Warwick the Kingmaker"--and widow of William Bonville, 6th Baron Harington, slain at the Battle of Wakefield on 30 December 1460, by whom he had had four sons and two daughters:[12][13][14]

• Edward Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings, who married Mary Hungerford.[18][19]
• Sir William Hastings.[13]
• Sir Richard Hastings, who married, and had two daughters and coheirs, Elizabeth Hastings, who married John Beaumont of Gracedieu, Leicestershire, Master of the Rolls, and Mary Hastings, who married Thomas Saunders of Harringworth, Northamptonshire.[13][20]
• George Hastings.[13]
• Anne Hastings, who married her father's ward, George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury.[13]
• Elizabeth Hastings.[13]

From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hastings,_1st_Baron_Hastings

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• Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 25
• Hastings, William by James Gainsborough Fotheringham ?
• HASTINGS, WILLIAM, Lord Hastings (1430?–1483), was son of Sir Leonard Hastings, who was descended from a younger son of William Hastings, steward to Henry II, and was a retainer of Richard, duke of York; his mother was Alice, daughter of Lord Camoys. He was born about 1430, and on the death of his father succeeded to the family estates in Leicestershire and Warwickshire, and was named sheriff of both counties. He received an annuity from the Duke of York on condition that he should serve him before all others, and at all times, his allegiance to the king alone excepted. He was highly recommended by the duke to his son, afterwards Edward IV. Edward, on his accession to the throne, rewarded Hastings's services in the civil war by appointing him receiver of the revenues of the duchy of Cornwall (1463), master of the mint (1461), grand chamberlain of the royal household (1461–1483), chamberlain of North Wales (1461–1469), and lieutenant of Calais (1471). In the last capacity he is several times alluded to in the ‘Paston Letters,’ about the years 1474 and 1477. He was made a baron in 1461, and received large grants of the forfeited estates of the Lancastrians. In right of his wife Katherine, daughter of Richard Neville, earl of Salisbury, and widow of Lord Bonville, he obtained additional gifts of estates in Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, and Suffolk. He was present at the king's coronation at Westminster in 1461; next year he accompanied Edward in his expedition to the north, and was one of the lords sent to Carlisle in July to receive the Queen of Scots (Paston Letters, ii. 110). He undertook the siege of Dunstanburgh with a force of ten thousand men. On 21 March 1462 he was installed knight of the Garter, and in 1464 was joined in a commission with the Earl of Warwick and the Earl of Northumberland to treat with James III of Scotland for a truce between the two countries. While master of the mint he introduced the coinage of gold nobles worth 100d., and two other gold pieces worth 50d. and 25d. respectively. On 28 March 1465 he was deputed, together with Richard Neville, earl of Warwick, to treat with the representatives of Charles the Bold for an alliance, and in May Warwick, Hastings, and five others were directed to treat with the ambassadors of Philip, duke of Burgundy, for mercantile intercourse, and also to treat with Francis of Brittany, Lewis of France, and Charles the Bold (Fœdera, xi. 541–3). In 1466 he was one of the ambassadors to treat with Burgundy as to commercial relations, and to negotiate marriages between Margaret, sister of Edward IV and Charles the Bold, and between George, duke of Clarence, and Mary, daughter of Charles; and in this year he was again directed to conduct negotiations with the French king (ib. xi. 562–6). In 1467 he was once more negotiating for the marriage between Charles and Margaret (ib. xi. 590). Upon Edward's escape from Middleham Castle to London in 1469, Hastings aided him in raising new forces. He was at this time reappointed chamberlain of North Wales. Upon Warwick's invasion in 1470 Hastings informed the king of the danger, urged him to escape, and accompanied him on horseback to Lynn in Norfolk, whence Edward sailed to Holland. During Edward's absence Hastings was active in stirring up the zeal of the Yorkists. A bond (preserved in Dugdale's Baronage, although dated four years later) was probably first entered into at this juncture. It is signed by two lords, nine knights, and forty-eight esquires, who engage to aid Hastings against all persons within the kingdom, and to raise as many men as they can, to be armed at the expense of Hastings. Upon Edward's return in March 1471 Hastings was instrumental in bringing over Clarence to his side, and was present at their first interview thereupon at Banbury. At the battle of Barnet Hastings commanded the third division, which was opposed to that of Montague, and included three thousand mounted horsemen. He is said to have taken part in the death of the Lancastrian Prince Edward after the battle of Tewkesbury. In 1475 Hastings was sent to France with an invading force. A treaty of peace followed. The French and English kings met at Picquigny, near Amiens, and Hastings received from Louis a yearly annuity of two thousand crowns. He was apparently the only English noble present, who made some difficulty about receiving the money, and he formally refused to grant any receipt for it, alleging as a reason that he did not wish it to be said that the chamberlain of England was a pensioner of the king of France. He was less scrupulous with the Duke of Burgundy, from whom he received a yearly annuity of a thousand crowns. Comines, who says that he first introduced Hastings to Charles and afterwards to Louis, knew Hastings well, and describes him as a person of singular wisdom and virtue, in great authority with his master, whom he had served faithfully. Comines states that Louis XI gave Hastings on one occasion a service of plate of the value of ten thousand marks. Hastings was one of the lords who swore fealty to King Edward's eldest son. Hastings was on bad terms with the queen, who had been offended by his appointment to the governorship of Calais, which post she desired for her brother Earl Rivers. But he had been able to maintain a high position, on account of his well-known tried fidelity to the king. The king on his deathbed entreated him to be reconciled to the queen. When she afterwards proposed to the council that her son, Edward V, should be escorted to London with a strong army, Hastings passionately demanded whether the army was intended ‘against the people of England or against the good Duke of Gloucester.’ He threatened to retire to Calais if Rivers approached with an army. When, however, Gloucester tried by means of William Catesby [q. v.] to bring Hastings into his designs, Hastings seemed disposed to join the queen's party. He attended the council in the Tower (14 June 1483) in spite of a warning from Stanley. The scene which followed is described by Sir Thomas More, who heard of it from Cardinal Morton, then bishop of Ely, an eye-witness (Gairdner, Richard III, p. 81). More's account is dramatised by Shakespeare. Gloucester charged Hastings with treason, and he was immediately taken out and beheaded on a block of timber at the Tower. His body was buried in the north aisle of the chapel of St. George's in Windsor Castle, near the tomb of Edward IV. Edward, his son and heir, who was seventeen years of age at this time, was father of George Hastings, first earl of Huntingdon [q. v.] Hastings also left two younger sons, Richard and William, and a daughter Anne, married to George, earl of Shrewsbury. There are many slight references to Hastings in the ‘Paston Letters,’ including two letters by Hastings to John Paston (iii. 96, 107).
• [Stow's Annals; Holinshed; Dugdale's Baronage, i. 580; Rymer's Fœdera, orig. ed.; De Comines' Mémoires; Paston Letters, ed. Gairdner; Doyle's Official Baronage.]
• From: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Hastings,_William_(DNB00) ___________________
• Sir William Hastings, 1st Lord Hastings, Sheriff of Warwickshire & Leicestershire, Master of the Mint & Exchange in the Tower & Calais, Chamberlain of the Exchequer1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
• M, #27432, b. circa 1431, d. 13 June 1483
• Father Sir Leonard Hastings, Sheriff of Warwickshire & Leicestershire, Justice of the Peace for Leicestershire3,10,11 b. c 1396, d. 20 Oct 1455
• Mother Alice Camoys3,10,11 b. c 1400, d. a 1 Feb 1456
• Sir William Hastings, 1st Lord Hastings, Sheriff of Warwickshire & Leicestershire, Master of the Mint & Exchange in the Tower & Calais, Chamberlain of the Exchequer was born circa 1431 at of Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire, England; Age 24 in 1455.3,8 He Lord Chamberlain of the Household. between 1455 and 1456.5 He Master of the Mint. in 1461.5 He Chamberlain of North Wales. in 1461.5 He Receiver-General of the Duchy of Cornwall. between 1461 and 1469.5 He married Katherine Neville, daughter of Sir Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, Lord Monthermer, Constable of Pontefract Castle & Portchester Castle, Great Chamberlain of England, Joint Chamberlain of the Exchequer, Lord Chancellor and Alice Montagu, before 6 February 1462; They had 4 sons (Sir Edward, 2nd Lord Hastings & Hungerford; Sir William; Sir Richard; & George) and 2 daughters (Anne, wife of Sir George Talbot, 4th Earl Shrewsbury; & Elizabeth).2,3,12,4,5,6,7,8,9 Sir William Hastings, 1st Lord Hastings, Sheriff of Warwickshire & Leicestershire, Master of the Mint & Exchange in the Tower & Calais, Chamberlain of the Exchequer Master of the Mint & Exchange in the Tower & Calais. in 1463.5 He Lt. of Calais. in 1465.5 He Lt. of Guisnes. in 1471.5 He Chamberlain of the Exchequer. in 1472.5 He left a will on 27 June 1481.5,8 He died on 13 June 1483 at Tower of London, London, Middlesex, England; Beheaded for high treason without trial. Buried at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, Berkshire.2,3,4,5,7,8 His estate was probated on 12 August 1483.5,8
• Family Katherine Neville b. c 1435
• Children
  • Elizabeth Hastings13 b. c 1464
  • Sir Edward Hastings, 2nd Lord Hastings, Constable of Leicester Castle, High Forester of Southwood+3,5,8 b. 26 Nov 1466, d. 8 Nov 1506
  • Richard Hastings b. c 1468
  • Sir William Hastings+ b. c 1470
  • Anne Hastings+ b. c 1472, d. a 4 Jan 1507
  • George Hastings b. c 1474
• Citations
• [S8502] Unknown author, The Complete Peerage, by Cokayne, Vol. VI, p. 370-374; Burke's Peerage, 1938, p. 1357, 1599; Wallop Family, p. 413.
• [S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 127.
• [S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 385-386.
• [S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. I, p. 257.
• [S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. II, p. 370-372.
• [S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. III, p. 163.
• [S4] Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry, Vol. I, p. 435.
• [S4] Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry, Vol. III, p. 367-368.
• [S4] Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry, Vol. IV, p. 125.
• [S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. II, p. 369.
• [S4] Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry, Vol. III, p. 365-366.
• [S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 510-511.
• [S61] Unknown author, Family Group Sheets, Family History Archives, SLC.
• From: http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p913.htm#i... ________________________
• Sir William Hastinges, 1st Lord Hastings1
• M, #14516, b. circa 1431, d. 13 June 1483
• Last Edited=25 Apr 2011
• Sir William Hastinges, 1st Lord Hastings was born circa 1431.1 He was the son of Sir Leonard Hastinges and Alice de Camoys.1 He married Katherine Neville, daughter of Richard de Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury and Alice Montagu, Countess of Salisbury, before 6 February 1461/62.2 He died on 13 June 1483 at Tower of London, The City, London, England, beheaded.1
• He held the office of Sheriff of Warwickshire from 1455 to 1456.1 He held the office of Sheriff of Leicestershire from 1455 to 1456.1 He fought in the Battle of Towton on 29 March 1461, as a Yorkist.1 He was invested as a Knight circa 30 March 1461.1 He held the office of Chamberlain of the North Wales in 1461.1 He was Master and Worker of the King's Mints in 1461.1 He held the office of Receiver-General of the Duchy of Cornwall in 1461.1 He was created 1st Lord Hastings, of Hastings [England by writ] on 26 July 1461, although it is not clear if this creation was by writ, or by patent.1 He held the office of Steward Honour of Leicester.1 He held the office of Constable of Higham Ferrers Castle.1 He held the office of Constable of Donington Castle.1 He held the office of Chief Justice and Chamberlain of Merionethshire in 1462.1 He held the office of Constable of Harlech Castle in 1462.1 He and Sir Ralph Hastinges were Joint Constable of Rockingham and Northampton Castles in 1462.1 He was invested as a Knight, Order of the Garter (K.G.) in March 1461/62.1 In 1464 he was granted the castle and honour of Huntingdon.1 He was an envoy to negotiate peaces with Burgundy and Brittany in 1466.1 He held the office of Chamberlain Receipt of the Exchequer in 1471.1 He held the office of Lieutenant-General of Calais in 1471.1 He fought in the Battle of Barnet on 14 April 1471.1 He was charged with treason, and his estates confiscated (but he was not attainted).1
• Children of Sir William Hastinges, 1st Lord Hastings and Katherine Neville
  • Anne Hastings+1
  • Richard Hastings1 b. 1464, d. 1465
  • William Hastings1 b. 1466, d. 1466
  • Sir Edward Hastings, 2nd Lord Hastings+3 b. c 1467, d. bt 4 Nov 1506 - 15 Nov 1506
  • Richard Hastings+4 b. 1468
  • Sir William Hastings+4 b. 1470, d. a 1541
• Citations
• [S37] BP2003 volume 2, page 2004. See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S37]
• [S8] BP1999 volume 1, page 17. See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S8]
• [S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, page 243. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
• [S3470] Marian Hastings, "re: Hastings Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger Lundy, 31 Deember 2008. Hereinafter cited as "re: Hastings Family."
• From: http://www.thepeerage.com/p1452.htm#i14516 ____________________
• William HASTINGS (1º B. Ashby Zouche)
• Born: 1429/31, Leicestershire, England
• Died: 13/16 Jun 1483, Tower of London, England
• Notes: Knight of the Garter. Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, arranged a marriage between his siter Catherine and William Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, a powerful noble, and a close friend and Lord Chamberlain of Edward IV who had replaced Henry VI as king of England on 4 Mar 1461 when he was proclaimed king in London. The proclamation was followed by the decisive Yorkist victory on 29 Mar at the Battle of Towton in which Edward had served as commander of the Yorkist army and crushingly defeated the Lancastrians. On 9 Apr 1483, King Edward died; his son Edward V and kingdom were placed under the guardianship of his youngest brother Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who was made Lord Protector of England. It was William Hastings who advised Richard to take the young King Edward V into protective custody immediately following the death of Edward IV.
• About this time that Hastings became the lover of Jane Shore, a former mistress of both the late King Edward and Thomas Grey, Marquess of Dorset. Jane encouraged him to enter into a conspiracy with the Woodville family against the Lord Protector. Richard, upon discovering Hastings' treachery ordered his immediate execution, which took place on 13 Jun 1483 at the Tower of London. Several weeks later, Richard sealed an indenture, swearing to take Hatings' wife Catherine directly under his protection and to "secure for her the enjoyment of her husband's lands, goods, privileges, and the custody not only of their heir until the boy came of age but also the wardship of the young Earl of Shrewsbury who was married to their daughter, Anne". Richard assured Catherine that Hastings would never be attainted, and that she would be defended against any attempt by intimidation or fraud to deprive her of her rights.
• Shortly after Hastings' death, on 22 Jun, Richard proclaimed himself King of England which was supported by an Act of Parliament known as Titulus Regius that declared his nephew King Edward V and his siblings illegitimate. He was crowned king on 6 Jul.
• Father: Leonard HASTINGS
• Mother: Alice CAMOYS
• Married 1: Elizabeth WALDEN
• Married 2: Catherine NEVILLE (B. Ashby-Zouche) 6 Feb 1461, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
• Children:
  • 1. Ralph HASTINGS (b. ABT 1463)
  • 2. Elizabeth HASTINGS
  • 3. Edward HASTINGS (2º B. Asby-Zouche)
  • 4. Richard HASTINGS (b. ABT 1468)
  • 5. William HASTINGS
  • 6. Anne HASTINGS (C. Shrewsbury)
  • 7. George HASTINGS (b. ABT 1472)
• Associated with: Jane SHORE
• From: http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/HASTINGS2.htm#William HASTINGS (1º B. Ashby Zouche) ___________________
• Sir William Hastings
• Birth: Apr., 1431, England
• Death: Jun. 14, 1483 London, England
• Sir William Hastings son of Lord Leonard de and Alice Phillipa (Camoys) Hastings married Catherine Neville 06Feb1461. Father of seven children (Edward of Hungerford, Ralph, Elizabeth, Richard, George, William and Mary De).
• Military service: Served on Yorkist side in the Battle of Mortimer's Cross in the War of the Roses.
• William was the first to be beheaded in the Tower of London by Richard of Gloucester.
• The following information provided by: Find A Grave contributor Anne Shurtleff Stevens.
• 1st Lord Hastings, Knight of the Garter, of Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire of Allerston, Yorkshire, of Gissing, Norfolk and of Burton Hastings, Warwickshire. Sheriff of Warwickshire and leicestershire, Receiver General of the Duchy of Cornwall, Chamberlain of the Household for King Edward IV, Chamberlain of North Wales, Master of the King's Mints in the Tower of London, Steward of the Honors of Leicester and Tutbury, Constable of Donnington, Harlech, Higham Ferrers, Nottingham and Peak Castles, Joint Chief of Rockingham and Northampton Castle,, Chief Justice and Chamberlain of Merionethshire, Steward of Fotheringhay Castle, Lieutenant of Calais.
• Eldest son and heir to Sir Leonard Hastings of Kirby and Alice Camoys. Grandson of Sir Ralph Hastings and Maud St John, Sir Thomas Camoys and Elizabeth de Mortimer. William was born about 1431.
• Family links:
• Parents:
• Leonard Hastings (1396 - 1455)
• Alice Phillippa Camoys Hastings (____ - 1455)
• Spouse:
• Katherine de Neville Hastings (1442 - 1504)*
• Children:
  • Edward Hastings (1466 - 1506)*
  • Anne Hastings Talbot (1471 - 1520)*
• Burial: St George's Chapel, Windsor, Windsor and Maidenhead Royal Borough, Berkshire, England
• Find A Grave Memorial# 39251111
• From: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=39251111 _________________________