A Short History of Maxstoke Castle

CHAPTER 2:    THE DUKES OF BUCKINGHAM

Humphrey, Earl of Stafford, was after the Royal Dukes, one of the greatest and richest landowners in England. He found Maxstoke to be a comfortable home and a convenient head quarters for his activities in the Midlands and he used it frequently. There is no evidence that he made significant alterations to the main structure of the Castle, though it was he who plated over the main doors with iron, decorating the northern leaf with the Stafford Knot (which can still be seen) and the southern leaf with the arms of his wife, Anne Neville, daughter of the Earl of Westmoreland.

In 1430 Stafford was appointed Constable of France and governor of Paris and, in 1414, was created Duke of Buckingham. A great family occasion took place at Maxstoke in 1458 when there was a double wedding in the Chapel. The Duke's daughter, Catherine, married John Talbot, eldest son of the Earl of Shrewsbury, and John, a younger son of the Duke, married Constance, daughter of Henry Greene of Drayton, Northamptonshire.

Two years later the Duke was killed at the Battle of Northampton. His son and heir having died of wounds after the Battle of St Albans in 1455, the title - though not possession of the Castle - passed to his grandson, Henry, who was still a child. Henry's grandmother remained in possession and often used Maxstoke as her residence until her death in 1480.

Henry, the 2nd Duke, married Catherine Woodville, thereby becoming a brother-in-law of Edward IV, but he did not live long to enjoy Maxstoke. He became involved in a plot to overthrow Richard III and, after a hasty trial at Salisbury, was executed in 1483. The Castle was then forfeited to the Crown. According to Dugdale (8) Richard III visited Maxstoke in 1485 on his way north to Nottingham and ordered that certain parts of the building be taken down and carried there; he was undertaking major works at Nottingham Castle at the time. Luckily for Maxstoke, this order could not be fully executed before Richard III was killed at Bosworth and the Castle was not irreparably slighted.

The new King, Henry VII, restored Maxstoke to Edward, Duke of Buckingham (son of the 2nd Duke), who was still a minor. Until he attained his majority in 1499, custody of the Castle and estate was entrusted to Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and mother of the king. Edward, the 3rd Duke, took little interest in Maxstoke and devoted his attention to Thornbury. The end of the Buckingham connection with Maxstoke came in 1521 when Edward was charged with high treason by Henry VIII and executed on Tower Hill. Thus, for a second time, Maxstoke was forfeited to the Crown.

It is convenient at this stage to consider the state of the Castle and the alterations which were made during the period of ownership by the Dukes of Buckingham. Maxstoke was doubtless in excellent condition until the death of Anne, Duchess of Buckingham, in 1480. There was then, it seems, a period of neglect, aggravated by the depredations of Richard III. It certainly required some expenditure by the Countess of Richmond to repair the dilapidations and, in 1487-88 and again in 1495-96, she undertook considerable work (9). It was shortly after this period of restoration that, in 1502, certain of the buildings in the courtyard were demolished. It is uncertain whether this was the east or the north range, but it is apparent from the survey (10) carried out in 1521 that it was the Countess of Richmond who rebuilt the north range - or part of it - though it was not until some eighty years later that it was competed and decorated by Sir Thomas Dilke.