General Notes

[janet skelton.FTW]

Titles 2nd Baron Mowbray
Cause of Death Hanged at York

Born in September 1286, John was called upon to perform the duties of anorthern baron in the Scottish wars in his fourteenth year. On thisoccasion his duty was to attend the King only as far north as Carlisle,but five years later he served throughout the last Scottish campaigns ofEdward I. Before setting off, John, who was still a minor, was givenlivery of his lands, presumably in consideration of these services.
He was knighted together with the Prince of Wales and 300 other youngnoblemen on 22 May 1306 and "all given splendid robes and WestminsterAbbey rang with the clamour of trumpets and shouts of joy". In 1308 heattended the coronation of Edward II and for several years provedfaithful to this oft-despised monarch, serving against the Scots eachsummer up to 1319.
In 1312 he was appointed keeper of the city and county of York. At thistime Piers de Gaveston, Earl of Cornwall, was supported by Henry dePercy, a great baron and John was commanded to sieze Henry who hadallowed Gaveston to escape siege in Scarborough Castle. Gaveston waskilled by the Earl of Warwick. In 1313 John was made Warden of theMarches (the 'middle ground' on the Scottish/English border). The year1315 saw famine in the land and John appointed captain and keeper of ofNewcastle-upon-Tyne and Northumberland.
In 1318, a year when the Scots regained Berwick, John was made governorof Scarborough and Malton castles in Yorkshire. The following year he wasonce more in Scotland with the authority to receive into protection allwho should sumit to Edward II.
The year 1320 brought John into dispute with the King's powerfulfavourites, the Despencers. John's father-in-law, the Lord de Braose, hadmade a special grant of his lordship of Gower (in the Welsh marches) toJohn and his wife who was an only child. The greedy Hugh le Despencerwanted to annex Gower to neighbouring lordship of Glamorgan. As John hadentered into possession without the formality of a royal license,Despencer insisted the property be forfeited to the crown and inducedEdward II to order legal proceedings against John. Consternation amongstother lords of the Welsh marches, who felt threatened, led to aconfederation headed by the Earl of Hereford, the Mortimers, LordClifford and John de Mowbray, against the Despencers, as they argued theKing's licence had never been necessary in that region.They were backedby Thomas, Earl of Lancaster.
Scoffing at the law and custom of the marches, Hugh le Despencer hintedthat those invoking them were guilty of treason. This led to a strainedsituation at the October Parliament of 1320, and became acute in early1321. As the barons withdrew to the marches, the King issued writs to 29lords including John, forbidding them to assemble for political purposes.To calm matters, the Earl of Hereford persuaded the King to contract withLord de Braose to possess the disputed land 'for the benefit of thePrince of Wales'. The Despencers were banished and John received a formalpardon from Edward II, but the damage had been done!
Within six months John threw in his lot with the Earl of Lancaster whowas busy firing, looting and besieging the King's lands around Doncasterand Tickhill in Yorkshire. They retreated before the King's forces andmade a final stand at Boroughbridge where John and other prominent lordswere captured. On 23 March 1322, the day after the trial and beheading ofLancaster in Pontefract, John and Lord Clifford were condemned to bedrawn by three horses and hung at York. His body was left hanging inchains for three years, after which the King allowed it to be taken downand buried in the church of the Friars Preachers at York.
Edward took all John's lands into his own hands, imprisoning the widowAlice and son John in the Tower of London. Under pressure Alicedisclaimed her inheritance in Sussex, regranted to the Despencers nowback in favour. Her husband had not lived to see Edward II come