Dab solver - William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent

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|22= 22. [[Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford]]
|23= 23. Maud de Clare
|24= 24. [[Edward II of England]]
|25= 25. [[Isabella of France]]
|26= 26. [[William I, Count of Hainault]]
|27= 27. 
|28= 28.
|29= 29.
|30= 30.
|31= 31.
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== References ==

{{Reflist|2}}

== Bibliography ==

*Barker, J Conquest: The English Kingdom of France 1417-1450Little, Brown, 2009.  ISBN 978-1-4087-0083-9
*Hicks, J Warwick the Kingmaker	ISBN 0-631-23593-0
*Ross, Charles Edward IV	ISBN 0-413-54100-2
*Goodman, J Wars of the Roses	ISBN 0-7100-0728-0
*Kendall, M.J Warwick the Kingmaker	ISBN 1-84212-575-3
*Griffiths, R.J Henry VI	ISBN 0-7509-3777-7
*Gillingham, J Wars of the Roses	ISBN 1-84212-274-6
*Wolffe, B Henry VI	ISBN 0-300-08926-0
*Storey, R.L End of the House of Lancaster	ISBN 0-86299-290-7
*Johnson Richard Duke of York	ISBN 0-19-820268-7

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{{Infobox nobility|
| name                 = William Neville
| title                = [[Earl of Kent]]
| image                =
| imgw                 = 200px
| caption              = 
| spouse               = Joan Fauconberge, Baroness Fauconberge
| issue                = [[Thomas Neville|Sir Thomas Fauconberg]] <br> Anthony Neville, Lord Grey <br> Lady Alice Neville <br> Lady Elizabeth Neville <br> Lady Joan Neville
| full name            =
| noble family         = [[House of Neville]]
| father               = [[Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland]]
| mother               = [[Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland|Joan Beaufort]]
| birth_date           = c. 1405
| death_date           = 9 January 1463
|}}
'''William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent''' [[Knight of the Garter|KG]] (c. 1405 &ndash; 9 January 1463) and ''[[jure uxoris]]'' 6th [[Baron Fauconberg]], was an English nobleman and soldier.<ref>{{cite DNB|wstitle=Neville, William (d.1463)}}</ref>

==Early life==

Born circa 1405, he was the second son of [[Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland]], and his second wife, [[Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmoreland|Joan Beaufort]].

His mother was the legitimised daughter of [[John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster]] and [[Katherine Swynford]]. John of Gaunt was the third surviving son of King [[Edward III of England]] and [[Philippa of Hainault]]. William was therefore a great-grandson of Edward III. However, the terms of the legitimisation of the [[Beaufort family]] specifically excluded them and their descendants from succession to the throne.

William was one of a number of the Neville sons to make a good match, marrying the Fauconberg heiress Joan Beaufort and taking the title Lord Fauconberg &mdash; just as his nephew [[Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick|Richard Neville]] married the Warwick heiress and became [[Earl of Warwick]]. William's marriage took place at some point before 1422. His wife was four years older than he was and was described as an idiot from birth. The Fauconberg estates were in North [[Yorkshire]], a centre of power for other members of the Neville family.

==The Lancastrian allegiance==
He seemingly had a conventional military career during the earlier part of [[Henry VI of England|Henry VI]]'s reign. Knighted in May 1426, he was serving on the Scottish Borders in 1435. In 1436 he was serving with [[Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York|Richard, Duke of York]], in France &mdash; his first contact with a man who was later to receive his allegiance.  By 1439 he was a field commander in France, with Lords Talbot and Scales.  At the siege of [[Harfleur]] in 1440 he was made a [[Knight of the Garter]] for his part in the campaigns of 1438-39, in particular the capture and garrisoning of [[Meaux]].  The town where Henry V had died was a crucial marches town for English [[Normandy]].  They had re-supplied the town, also retaking [[Montargis]] and [[Gerberoy]].  Fauconberg fought with the relief at Meaux when Richemont seized the stronghold by storm on 12 August 1439.  The English lords forced a confrontation, but the French fled leaving twenty barges laden with supplies.<ref>J Barker, "Conquest: the English kingdom of France", 275</ref> As one of the three field commanders, Neville had been put on the royal council since 30 April, on Warwick's death, before a new Regent could emerge.<ref>Barker, 282.</ref> In October, Fauconberg helped recapture Harfleur, expelling the French garrison; only [[Dieppe, Seine-Maritime|Dieppe]] remained intransigent.<ref>Barker, 286.</ref> The field commander's pre-eminence was supplanted in March 1442 by the appointment of William, Lord Bourgchier, as governor-general of Normandy.<ref>Barker, 290-1.</ref>

In 1443 while back in England, on he took custody of [[Roxburgh]] castle on 7 March. He was granted £1,000 per annum (around £1,000,000 at 2005 prices) during peace, twice this if at war with Scotland, and until 1448, satisfactory payment was made. However in 1449 he returned to France as part of a diplomatic mission, and in May 1449 he spent the night that the French chose to capture Pont de l'Arche in Normandy. 120 men were taken in all.  Neville was reluctant to surrender to a lowly archer, who almost killed him.  While in captivity in France, he spent 2 years of his own income supporting the upkeep of the castle. In spite of a grant from Parliament in 1449, by 1451 he was owed £4,109. He was forced to settle for less. The loss of such an experienced captain was a blow to English administration.<ref>Barker, 375-6.</ref> The English had already lost the Bretons for taking their salt fleet, and then in July 1449, Somerset refused Fauconberg's return in a deal for Fougeres.<ref>Barker, 379.</ref>

In 1453 he was ransomed (for 8,000 [[French ecu]]s) and freed from captivity. He still had the custody of Roxburgh castle, but was impoverished by maintaining this and by his captivity in France. By now he was owed £1,000 by the government. He settled this by accepting a grant of 1,000 marks from the customs at [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]]. Not only was this only worth about two-thirds of the original amount, there was no guarantee that he would ever get the money. As Griffths says

"What is so remarkable about his tale is that the Lancastrian crown could command [his] loyalty"

==Changing sides==
Until this point, he can be seen as a loyal member of the supporters of the [[House of Lancaster]]. However, at some time during the next two years, his allegiance began to change. He was a member of the council of Richard, Duke of York, during Henry VI's second period of madness. Although he was with the Lancastrian nobility at the [[First Battle of St Albans]] (1455), he was appointed by York to be joint Constable of [[Windsor Castle]] after the battle.

We cannot know why he changed sides. Perhaps York (short of support among the nobility) tried to gain Fauconberg's allegiance. As a member of the Neville clan, Fauconberg had good family reasons for siding with York, who was after all, his brother-in-law. [[Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick|Warwick]] (Fauconberg's nephew) begins his rise to fame after 1455, and Fauconberg would be associated with Warwick for the next five years. His treatment over the custody of Roxburgh Castle must have rankled.

In the years 1455&ndash;1460, Fauconberg consolidated his position as a member of the [[Yorkist]] camp and strengthened his position as an ally of Warwick. In 1457 he joined Warwick (appointed [[Captain of Calais]]) as his deputy. Warwick used Calais as a base for what was essentially piracy, and Fauconberg seems to have been happy to assist. He was in England in 1458, and in May he was briefly imprisoned in London &mdash; but he was bailed by Warwick and returned to Calais.

==The spoils of victory==
The rewards of victory followed. He was made a member of the King's Council and appointed Lieutenant of the North. On 1 November he was created [[Earl of Kent]] and appointed Steward of the Royal Household. In July 1462 he was appointed [[Lord Admiral]], and in August that year he was granted 46 manors in the west country.

Edward IV relied on him for both land and naval warfare. Following the victory at [[Battle of Towton|Towton]], he took part in the gradual establishment of royal control in [[Northumberland]], heading a garrison of 120 men at [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]] in the summer of 1461, and taking part in the siege of [[Alnwick]] in November 1462. Between these dates he was back in Calais, raiding the Breton coast in August 1462, then burning Le Conquet near [[Brest, France|Brest]], and raiding the [[Ile de Re]].

He died on 9 January 1463, and was buried at [[Gisborough Priory|Guisborough Priory]] in the heart of his Fauconberg lands.  He was survived by his wife, who died in 1490 at the age of 84 (thus living through the reigns of all the English kings of the fifteenth century).  He had 3 daughters and one son from his marriage, and one acknowledged illegitimate son, Thomas Neville.  Known as the [[Bastard of Fauconberg]], he was to lead a revolt later in Edward IV's reign.

William Neville is an under-rated figure in the rise to power of the Yorkist regime. More successful as a military leader than the more famous [[Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick]], his reputation is summed up in Goodman's words: "No other veteran of the Anglo-French Wars won such distinction in the [[Wars of the Roses]]"

==Ancestry==
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|1= 1. '''William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent'''
|2= 2. [[Ralph de Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland]]
|3= 3. [[Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland|Joan Beaufort]]
|4= 4. [[John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby]]
|5= 5. Maud Percy
|6= 6. [[John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster]]
|7= 7. [[Katherine Swynford]]
|8= 8. [[Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville de Raby]]
|9= 9. Alice Audley
|10= 10. [[Henry de Percy, 2nd Baron Percy]]
|11= 11. Idoine de Clifford
|12= 12. [[Edward III of England|Edward III, King of England]]
|13= 13. [[Philippa of Hainault]]
|14= 14. Payne de Roet
|15= 15. 
|16= 16. [[Ralph Neville, 1st Baron Neville de Raby]]
|17= 17. Euphemia de Clavering
|18= 18. Hugh de Audley
|19= 19. Iseude Mortimer
|20= 20. [[Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy]]
|21= 21. [[Eleanor Fitzalan]]
|22= 22. [[Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford]]
|23= 23. Maud de Clare
|24= 24. [[Edward II of England]]
|25= 25. [[Isabella of France]]
|26= 26. [[William I, Count of Hainault]]
|27= 27. <<link:0>>
|28= 28.
|29= 29.
|30= 30.
|31= 31.
}}</center>
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==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
*Barker, J ''Conquest: The English Kingdom of France 1417-1450''Little, Brown, 2009.  ISBN 978-1-4087-0083-9
*Hicks, J ''Warwick the Kingmaker''	ISBN 0-631-23593-0
*Ross, Charles ''Edward IV''	ISBN 0-413-54100-2
*Goodman, J ''Wars of the Roses''	ISBN 0-7100-0728-0
*Kendall, M.J ''Warwick the Kingmaker''	ISBN 1-84212-575-3
*Griffiths, R.J ''Henry VI''	ISBN 0-7509-3777-7
*Gillingham, J ''Wars of the Roses''	ISBN 1-84212-274-6
*Wolffe, B ''Henry VI''	ISBN 0-300-08926-0
*Storey, R.L ''End of the House of Lancaster''	ISBN 0-86299-290-7
*Johnson ''Richard Duke of York''	ISBN 0-19-820268-7

==External links==
* [http://www.yorkshirehistory.com/towton/William%20Neville%20Lord%20Fauconberg.htm Lord Fauconberg's coat of arms]
* [http://www.stirnet.com/HTML/genie/british/nn/nevill02.htm Neville Family Tree] There are several Neville genealogy sites - this is one of the easiest to navigate

{{s-start}}
{{S-mil}}
{{succession box | title=[[Admiralty|Lord High Admiral]] | before=[[Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter|The Duke of Exeter]] | years=1462-1463 | after=[[Richard III of England|The Duke of Gloucester]]}}
{{S-reg|en}}
{{S-new|creation}}
{{S-ttl|title=[[Earl of Kent]]|creation=7th creation|years=1461-1463}}
{{s-non|reason=Extinct}}
{{s-end}}
{{Wars of the Roses}}

{{Persondata 
| NAME              = Kent, William Neville, 1st Earl of
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = English noble
| DATE OF BIRTH     = 1410
| PLACE OF BIRTH    =
| DATE OF DEATH     = 9 January 1463
| PLACE OF DEATH    =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, William Neville, 1st Earl Of}}
[[Category:1463 deaths]]
[[Category:15th-century English people]]
[[Category:People of the Hundred Years' War]]
[[Category:People of the Wars of the Roses]]
[[Category:Lord High Admirals of England]]
[[Category:Earls in the Peerage of England]]
[[Category:Knights of the Garter]]
[[Category:Younger sons of earls]]
[[Category:Neville family]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:1410 births]]

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Dab solver - William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent

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