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Timeline
1449: England lost the “Battle of Brittany”. 1450: England lost the Battle of Normandy. 1453: England lost the Battle of Gascony which led to the conclusion of the 100 Years’ War. Also at this time Henry became ill, suffered from a breakdown, and was unable to perform his regular duties for over a year. 1454: Richard of York was appointed Protector of England in February as Henry VI declared temporarily insane. Parliament gave him the right to rule on the king's behalf. 1455: Henry recovered briefly from his illness and led his forces into battle with Richard at the Battle of St. Albans on 22nd May. This was the beginning of the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485) – the English Civil War between the Houses of York (White Rose) and Lancaster (Red Rose). King Henry VI came from the Lancaster family but was defeated by Richard, captured and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Also at this time the handgun replaced the steel bow and more castles were built as means of fortification after the introduction of gunpowder. |
Robert Bayntun was born in 1439, at Faulston House, in the County of Wiltshire. At the inquest of this father in 1465 his age was recorded as 26. He was known as Robert Baynton, however we see the spelling of the surname changing to Bayntun from the beginning of the 17th century. He married Elizabeth Haute, the daughter of William Haute, of Bishops Bourne, Kent, Knight of the Shire for Kent and his wife, Joan, who was the daughter of Richard Wydeville of Grafton, Northamptonshire. Elizabeth was a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth Wydeville, the wife of King Edward IV of England. The Bayntun family had long been supporters of the House of Lancaster and as a Partisan, in the Wars of the Roses, Sir Robert fought for King Henry VI against the forces of King Edward IV at the Battle of Tewkesbury on May 4, 1471. He was one of many heraldic knights on the battlefield, including fellow Lancastrians: Sir John Arundell; Edmund Beaufort the Duke of Somerset; John Courtney the Earl of Devonshire and Edward of Lancaster the Prince of Wales. Some famous Yorkists also included: Sir Richard Beauchamp; John Butler, the Earl of Ormond; John Mowbray, the Duke of Norfolk and Richard Plantagenet, the Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III. King Henry was defeated and Sir Robert Bayntun was immediately declared a traitor, thereby losing all his property. The Manor of Faulston, the Manor of Horton, the Manor of Tollard Lucy and the Manor of Lower Wroughton were forfeited by him and in 1475 were granted by the crown to Sir John Cheyne, one of the King's Esquires of the Body. The Manor of Chilton Candover was another escheated to Edward IV, who also granted it in tail-male to John Cheyne the same year. After the battle Sir Robert Bayntun was made prisoner but was spared, however he died on the 6th October 1472. From the time he was attained, Faulston House and manor ceased to be the home of the Bayntun family for 33 years. It is not known exactly where his family lived during this time, but most likely in one of the smaller houses attached to one of the above manors. In 1483 John Cheyne was himself attained, following the rebellion against Richard III and the Manor of Faulston, the Manor of Horton and the Manor of Chilton Candover were granted to George Nevill for good service against the rebels. After the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, both these manors were again restored to Cheyne and after he died in 1487, it was passed onto one of his heirs. Sir Robert's widow, Elizabeth, was living in May 1476. In 1496 Sir Robert's brother, William Bayntun, then living in Alton, Westbroke, Hampshire purchased a property in the Market Place at Alton from Edward Brocas, chaplain, the son and heir of Sir Thomas Brocas. The corner property was situated in the Borough of Alton, commonly called Ladyplace, together with it's adjacent gate, two gardens, grange and stable. When Sir Robert Bayntun died he was succeeded by his eldest son and heir John Bayntun |
