John de Wingfield

Sir John de Wingfield of Wingfield Castle in Wingfield, Suffolk was born to John and Elizabeth de Wingfield. Sir John was educated as an attorney, later becoming chief administrator to Edward the Black Prince. He was also Attorney general and Chief of staff of Joan of Bar, Countess of Surrey, granddaughter of Edward I of England. This post was taken over by Sir John's brother, Sir Thomas, in 1357.

Biography

The family took their name after Wingfield in Suffolk and both the village and family are historically intertwined. Sir John Wingfield was married to Alianore de Glanville and their one surviving child, a daughter and sole heir, was Catherine who married Michael de la Pole, later 1st Earl of Suffolk. He was part of the de la Pole family, who took over as main moneylenders to the English Crown after the collapse of the Bardi and Peruzzi families, Florentine bankers who were bankrupted, in part, by loans taken out by Edward III. On becoming married, Catherine's marital surname, de la Pole, became synonymous with Wingfield Castle. It was Sir John's younger brothers who, despite not inheriting Wingfield Castle or the land that went with it, kept the Wingfield lines going down the generations. Unusually, the Dukedom of Suffolk was given to 2 family lines. The de la Poles obtained the dukedom firstly with William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk but it ended when Edmund de la Pole, 3rd Duke of Suffolk had to forfeit the title, later to be executed. The dukedom was then recreated for Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk who was descended from Sir John’s brother, Sir Thomas Wingfield. Its third creation was for Charles Brandon's son-in-law Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk.
Sir John and both his brothers fought at Crécy in 1346. Sir John fought in the Normandy campaign from 1347-48 and was appointed 'governor of the prince's business' to Edward the Black Prince round about 1351. In 1356 Wingfield and his brothers fought at Poitiers capturing the head of the French King John II's bodyguard, Sire D'Aubigny. Edward III of England purchased this captive from Wingfield for £833.

Death and Biography

Wingfield died in about 1361, possibly of the second outbreak of the Black Death. The Black Prince attended his funeral at Wingfield Church. His wife and brother, Sir Thomas Wingfield, were executors of his will which provided for upgrading Wingfield Church and the founding of Wingfield College in 1362. The college was endowed by the Black Prince.

Family Factions

The descent lines from Sir John and his siblings, including Sir Thomas, have interesting parallels. The de la Pole family line from Sir John and the Wingfield line from Sir Thomas were both invested with the Dukedom of Suffolk and both lines made attempts on the English Crown. Both lines made some interesting marriages, some of which affected the political standing of the Wingfields and de la Poles.
Within the de la Pole line, there was a marriage to Alice Chaucer, granddaughter of poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, a childhood marriage to Lady Margaret Beaufort that was dissolved, as well as a much more important marriage to Elizabeth of York. It was from this marriage that the de la Poles became Yorkist heirs, with Richard III, brother of Elizabeth of York, naming the de la Poles as his heirs. This created enmity between the de la Poles and the House of Tudor who had won at the Battle of Bosworth Field. The last de la Pole heir to die was Richard de la Pole who was killed at the Battle of Pavia. He had been encouraged by his maternal aunt, Margaret of Burgundy, to avenge the deaths of his older brothers.
Many in the Wingfield family line, in contrast to their de la Pole cousins, were relied upon by the House of Tudor which created friction between the family lines. Two favourites of Henry VIII were Sir Richard Wingfield and Charles Brandon who, not only was the King's brother-in-law, but was made Duke of Suffolk after the execution of his cousin, Edmund de la Pole. Another favourite, until his downfall, was Thomas Wolsey, who was part of the Wingfield family. Some interesting marriages in this family line were to Mary Tudor, several members of the Fitzalan family and several of the Woodville sisters. After the de la Pole line failing to claim the English throne, the Wingfield line tried to ascend to the throne of England, after the death of Henry's son, Edward VI, with the granddaughter of Charles Brandon, Lady Jane Grey.