Sir John Wenlock, as portrayed in stained glass window in the Wenlock chapel at St. Mary's Church, Luton.
The Wenlock chapel
Sir John Wenlock (later, the 1st Baron Wenlock) lived in the 15th century, and is remembered as a soldier who fought on the side of both the Yorkists and the Lancastrians in the War of the Roses. One historian has gone so far as to call him "Prince of Turncoats."[1]
In his youth Wenlock had participated in Henry V's invasion of France, and he later entered the service of Margaret of Anjou, eventually becoming her chamberlain.
He later became involved in politics, representing Bedfordshire in five parliaments between 1433 and 1455, serving a term as escheator of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, and later on as sheriff of the Buckinghamshire. Wenlock's seat was at Luton, in Bedfordshire, his property there, Someries castle, coming through inheritance. In 1462 he acquired Hertfordshire property forfeited by the former Chief Justice, Sir John Fortescue.
His service to the Crown is also reflected in his employment as a member of some 18 embassies in the '40s and '50s. He was knighted in 1449. It appears to have been at one such embassy that he came into contact with the Duke of York and the Earl of Warwick, and he became a supporter of the latter.
He continued to undertake diplomatic missions for Edward IV, and had command of Calais for him (possibly as deputy of Warwick). When Warwick defected to the Lancastrian camp, Wenlock did not immediately follow him back, however his sympathies clearly remained with his friend, and by 1471 he too had switched sides, accompanying Margaret of Anjou back to England.
At the Battle of Tewkesbury on 4 May1471, he commanded the middle of the Lancastrian line. However, the Lancastrians suffered a crushing defeat, and Wenlock died on the battlefield. He was allegedly killed by his own commander, the Duke of Somerset, who blamed Wenlock's indecisiveness for the defeat.[2] The Duke of Sommerset had led the right flank of the Lancastrian line forward, and expected Wenlock to support him, but Wenlock held back (some suggest deliberately) and the Duke's men were slaughtered. After the Duke's flank retreated he summoned Wenlock and supposedly killed him with a single blow of his mace to the head.[1]
It has been argued that Wenlock did not actually die on the field at Tewkesbury, but together with his second wife, Agnes (widow of Sir John Fray), perpetuated a clever hoax by burying another body, and he then lived on for several more years.[3] However, Agnes remarried (for the third time) at some point between September 1473 and October 1474 (to Sir John Say), which casts some doubt on the assertion that Wenlock survived six or seven years after Tewkesbury.[4].
Wenlock died without issue, and his title died with him.
