500 years since Duke left Thornbury Castle, never to return

Stafford left his castle at Thornbury, on 8th April 1521, never to return. On that day he set off for London to meet Henry VIII. But He did not meet the king, instead it was the king’s axe that he met.

Stafford was first cousin once removed of Henry VIII. But blood was not thicker than water.

It was a positive disadvantage to be related to a king in the turbulent times of the early Tudors. Stafford had royal blood – his great, great, great grandfather was King Edward III.

His claim to the throne was as good, if not better than the Tudors and Stafford was talked about as future king if either Henry VII or later Henry VIII had died prematurely.

The Tudor’s did not tolerate rivals. They gained the throne on the battlefield, winning the last battles in the War of the Roses (known at the time as The Cousin’s War) and had executed potential rivals after the wars were over.

So, Edward Stafford, a first cousin once removed, was in danger from the outset. A danger that his haughty character compounded.

Stafford was, after the king, the richest man in the country and, coupled with his royal heritage, he let everyone know about his self-perceived status.

Thanks to Thornbury Castle for providing this photo of a portrait of Edward Stafford which is normally displayed in their restaurant

He was a king in waiting and that is how he behaved: he showed disdain for all and sundry and was barely able to give he king the deference that his position commanded. Public displays of his arrogance abounded.

On one occasion Stafford held a bowl of water for the king to wash his hands.

After the king had finished, Cardinal Wolsey also washed his hands in the bowl. Stafford immediately poured the water over the cardinal.

Wolsey may have been the king’s right-hand man with the greatest power and influence over the king, but Stafford was not going to act as his servant.

What made the situation even more intolerable was that Wolsey was the son of a butcher, appointed to his post on merit.

In previous generations the appointment would have been made on rank and, as the highest-ranking peer in the country, it would have been Stafford who would have been in Wolsey’s position.

Stafford was coming to the king’s attention for all the wrong reasons.

What made things worse was the Stafford had a son.

The only son that the king could show at the time was an illegitimate son, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset.

The nobility was always more supportive of a king who had legitimate sons and where the dynasty would continue in the event of the sudden death of a king.

Pressure was building on the king and one of the ways to of telling the nobility to watch their step was to take down the most senior in the group.

Stafford was arrested on a barge as he was travelling up the Thames.

He was taken to the Tower of London and subsequently tried for treason.

It was a show trial with a foregone conclusion. Henry VIII had interviewed the trial witnesses before hand which left them in no doubt about what their evidence should be. Stafford was well aware at the time of his arrest that things were going to end badly.

Sure enough, the outcome was that he was sentenced to death. As a nobleman he was spared the traitor’s death of hanging, drawing and quartering.

He was dispatched with the quicker and less painful death of beheading.

Following Stafford’s death Henry VIII took ownership of all his property. The king sold much of it off but retained the jewel that was Thornbury Castle.

He visited Thornbury with Anne Boleyn in 1535. Less than a year later she was beheaded.

The castle was later inherited by Henry’s children. Queen Mary I returned the castle to the Stafford family in 1554 as reward for their loyalty to her mother, Catherine of Aragon.

Thornbury Castle Revisited is available to buy through Thornbury & District Museum

The full history of the castle is available in a book sold exclusively through Thornbury & District Museum. Copies can be obtained by emailing enquiries@thornburymuseum.org.uk (£25 including p&p or £20 if collected).