John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu
John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu (c. 1431 – April 14,
1471) was a Yorkist leader in the Wars of the Roses,
best-known for eliminating Lancastrian resistance in the north of England during the early part of the reign of Edward IV of England.
Montagu was a younger son of Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury and Alice Montagu, Countess of Salisbury, and a brother of Warwick the Kingmaker.
He fought at the Battle of Blore Heath and was captured and imprisoned by the Lancastrians. After the Yorkist victory at Northampton he was released, but was captured again at the Second Battle of St Albans.
Following his second release from imprisonment, he led the Yorkist forces in the north of England, defeating the Lancastrians at Hedgeley Moor and again at Hexham (both 1465).
In reward for driving out the Lancastrians, Montagu was created Earl of Northumberland. This title had long been held by the Percy family, but they were in disgrace. However, when Henry Percy was rehabilitated in 1470, Montagu was forced to give up the earldom and many important offices in favor of his former foe.
He was in compensation created Marquess of Montagu, but without suitable estates to support such a dignity. Now set against Edward IV, he joined his brother Warwick the Kingmaker in the restoration of Henry VI. Montagu returned to high office in the north, but was killed at the Battle of Barnet.
He married Isabel Ingoldsthorpe (1441-1476) and had seven children:
- George Nevill, Duke of Bedford (c. 1457–1483), died sp
- John Neville, died sp bef. 1483
- Isabella Neville, married Sir William Huddleston, then Sir William Smythe
- Elizabeth Neville, married Sir Henry Wentworth
- Lucy Neville, married Sir Anthony Browne
- Ann Neville, married Sir William Stonor
- Margaret Neville, married Sir John Mortimer, then Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
His widow remarried, a year after his death, to Sir William Norreys.
Fiction
A rich and highly praised account of John Neville, Marquess of Montagu appears in a recently published award-winning novel, The Rose of York: Love & War by Sandra Worth. The book has been noted for its meticulous research by the Richard III Society.
John Neville, and his relationship to the House of York, is also recounted in The Sunne in Splendour, a novel by Sharon Kay Penman.
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