Work in Progress

Beginnings

Hubert was born around 1170 in the small Norfolk village of Burgh-next -Aylsham, 10 miles west of the then second largest city in England, Norwich. There were about 100 people living there, some, no doubt like Hubert’s family, yeoman farmers paying service or rent to the Lord of the Manor, and tithes to a Church which existed there, according to the Domesday Book.

Hubert had three brothers, William, the oldest by 15 years, and two younger, Thomas and Geoffrey. We know a lot about William as he went with the army of King Henry II to fight in Ireland and stayed on to consolidate Plantagenet control and was rewarded with lands of his own in Ireland.

With Hubert having an older brother, who had very successfully broken the mould of yeoman farmer, there was a change in the de Burgh family fortunes with new opportunities for advancement and a chance of a better education for Hubert and his younger brothers. As they grew up they may have come to the notice of the Warenne family, a junior branch of the Earls of Surrey, who resided close by at Wormegay Castle, south of Kings Lynn.

It is likely that by the age of 20, Hubert, with brother William’s recommendation, was in Prince John’s household. Henry II had died and Richard Coeur de Lion (the Lion Heart) was on the throne. Prince John, as likely heir to the English throne, would have been building up his household and entoourage.  Richard had only one thought on becoming king and that was to join the Third Crusade to the Holy Land. Prince John by his very nature was going to be a danger while Richard was away but Eleanor of Aquitaine, their mother, managed to thwart John’s ambitions to take the English throne from his brother. Richard was away for four years and during this period Hubert consolidated his position within John’s household.

On Richard’s return the royal brothers united to recover the lands lost to the king of France whilst Richard had been absent. Hubert went with Richard and John to campaign for five years until peace and borders were restored. During this period Hubert was exposed to the military campaigns taking place and he soaked up much knowledge of contemporary techniques of attacking and defending castles.

John Becomes King

We also know where Hubert was on a regular basis as he witnessed charters issued by John. Through these we can monitor Hubert’s promotion from a fairly lowly position in the household to John’s chamberlain – a very prestigious role.

The unexpected death of King Richard in April 1199 prompted Prince John to take action to secure his position as king. On his deathbed Richard had formally made John his heir and before his body was cold John was travelling to Rouen to secure the royal treasury. He also feared that his nephew, the 12 year old Arthur of Brittany, the son of Geoffrey, his deceased older brother, had a valid claim which some said was superior to Johns. William Marshal and Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury and Justiciar of England, were instrumental in persuading the English barons to accept John as King. John took the initiative by crossing the Channel and having himself crowned and consecrated at Westminster on 27 May 1199.

With John’s accession Hubert was now elevated from being chamberlain to the prince, wielding limited local power and authority, to becoming chamberlain to the new Plantagenet king, the most powerful ruler in Western Europe who controlled the huge Angevin empire from the Scottish border south and also the western half of France to the Spanish border. From country squire to confidante to a king !!

For King John, Hubert was a person he could turn to and trust, someone with family no pedigree and no powerful friends to make King John’s life difficult. He was the loyal servant who owed his position entirely to the goodwill of the king and therefore could be relied upon to carry out the king’s orders absolutely.

Hubert, as chamberlain, would also learn the logistics of keeping the king on the road. Even at a leisurely pace, dispensing justice of all kind and at all levels as they travelled around, it required huge daily effort involving at least 50 wagons setting out at daybreak to arrive before the king at his chosen night’s lodgings. If the king changed his mind as to his destination then it would be pandemonium with messengers and teamsters dashing around the countryside hastily re organising the journey. Thiese travels were carried out mprobably a dozen times a year, so no small part of de Burgh’s time.

In early 1200 King John sent Hubert to the Portuguese Court to open negotiations for the hand of the Princess. John was in the process of ending his 10 year childless marriage to Isabella of Gloucester on the grounds of consanguinity, as an heir was vital. However to his amazement when he arrived at the Portuguese court Hubert received instructions from John to return without opening negotiations. The king had fallen in love with Isabelle of Angouleme and rushing through his divorce with some amenable bishops John suddenly had a new 12 year old bride.

Upon his return Hubert was greatly rewarded with honours which included the custodies of the two most important castles in England, Dover and Windsor, and soon after he was granted the sheriffdoms of Dorset and Somerset. Hubert, who had not been knighted and was a lowly born commoner, was now trusted with the custody of Dover Castle, ‘the key of England’, the castle that any French invading army would need to take to secure a foothold, and also of Windsor Castle, historically the favourite large castle of monarchs, with its 13 acres of walled lands.


King John and France

As 1201 dawned with King Philip of France stirring up trouble in France at Normandy, John sent 200 English knights to counter the French attacks under William Marshal, the Earl of Pembroke. Hubert was sent with 100 men-at-arms to reinforce the Earl of Pembroke’s estates on the Welsh Marches, bolstering existing forces just in case the Welsh took advantage of Marshal’s absence to invade Engish lands. Hubert was in effect the warden of the Welsh Marches as he was given the custody of the three castles at Llantillo, Skenfrith, and Grosmont in today’s Monmouthshire which guarded the approaches from south Wales.

Hubert stayed for the next year in England and Wales on defensive duties and then early in 1202 he was made Warden of the Cinque Ports and told to prepare Dover and the Straits against French attack. He was then to head for France where he was to take custody of Falaise Castle – one of the strong ring of castles built to withstand any French expansion into Normandy.

Suddenly in 1202 John woke up to the dangers of lack of attention in France and in a military feat worthy of Richard, his brother, he led a large force marching 80 miles in 48 hours to rescue his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, as she was being besieged in the Loire by a force led by the young Arthur. They were caught unawares and John and his varied allied forces swept in and captured over 200 knights, their men-at-arms and all of their equipment. The prisoners included King John’s nephew Prince Arthur, the 15 year old son of his deceased older brother Geoffrey, and other rebel leaders, who were incarcerated in various castles, including Falaise which Hubert took charge of as castellan in October, 1202.

The Death of Prince Arthur

Now follows a tale which, if the elements are at all true, paints Hubert as a soldier with a fine conscience and John as a brutal psychopath.

Arthur ‘the Flower of the Breton’

The story relates that Hubert held Prince Arthur prisoner deep inside Falaise Castle on strict commands from King John. On John’s orders two men arrived at the castle intending to blind and castrate the 15 year old boy, the potential rival to King John’s throne. Hubert refused them entry reasoning that John in the cold light of day would regret giving such an order. However, fearful of John, de Burgh leaked news that Arthur had died of natural causes thinking that would defuse any lasting rebellion in Brittany. This news infuriated the Bretton nobles, who suspected that Arthur had been murdered causing renewed Breton unrest for King John. Hubert then gave out the information that the Prince was still alive and had not been harmed. Unfortunately this caused King John to have Prince Arthur taken to his castle at Rouen where a few months later he was murdered, possibly by John himself.

King John loses French Territory

Within eight months, with further rebellions now succeeding, King John fled France back to England at the end of 1203 as his enemies closed in from all sides.

Meanwhile early in 1203 Hubert was moved further south from Falaise to oversee the defence of the strategically important castle of Chinon in the Touraine. He was ordered to hold the castle at all costs so that John could counter-attack and regain Touraine and Anjou. John vowed to return and Hubert settled down to withstand the siege.

As the months went by and all the castles and cities in Anjou and Normandy surrendered to the French, including the great city of Rouen, Hubert would have realised that he would receive no help from King John. Through 1204 and into the summer of  1205 he inspired his garrison to endure the hardships of the siege as steadily the castle walls were breached. Eventually Hubert’s remaining pitiable small force of knight, sergeants and men-at-arms tried to break through the French lines. Hopelessly outnumbered they were engulfed and overwhelmed but only surrendered when Hubert himself was badly wounded. He remained a prisoner for two years recovering from his wounds and it was not until spring 1207 that King John paid 300 marks for his return.

On his return to the English Court he found that he had lost his castles and sheriffdoms and indeed he needed a loan from the king to set himself up. He was no longer the chamberlain but stayed at court, no doubt using his noteworthy defence of Chinon to maintain his standing.

He decided that he could increase his prospects by marrying well and he looked no further than the recently widowed daughter of the Earl de Warenne, Beatrice, of Wormegay castle. She had inherited the castle and estates and needed help running them and additionally Beatrice’s young son, William, needed a stepfather.

Their marriage lasted at best five years as a letter dated in 1214 referred to Beatrice’s death, leaving Hubert to care for their own son, John, as well as taking on the guardianship of William.

Hubert was very keen to further his career and was appointed in due course as the seneschal of Poitou,in France , effectively governor of an area 100 by 180 miles, and reporting directly to the King and his Council. This was no sinecure as there was always a lack of funds from England and the constant danger that the French King Philip would attack the extensive Poitevin borders. By all accounts he managed to keep the independent local nobles under control and indeed won their respect in the manner in which he brought about a just and effective administration to the area.


King John vs the Barons

Back in England King John’s burning desire was to regain his lost French possessions. He had alienated the barons by meddling in their affairs and inflicting ever growing tax burdens to fill his war chests. He became so unpopular at home that to relieve his isolation in 1213 he even surrendered England to be a vassal state to Pope to the Pope in Rome allowing John to defuse the likelihood of the French invading England to enforce the Pope’s wishes to have his choice of candidate as Archbishop of Canterbury.This did little though to still the baron’s opposition at home but now they would have to go against the king and the new papal sovereignty.

Innocent III as the opposition at home built up.

Luckily Hubert was out of the country at this time as the King and rebellious Barons took up entrenched positions and we will see how this affected his career later.

King John had one last chance to recover his lost possessions (?) in France. In February 1214 as the royal galley departed from the Isle of Wight he left England with internal discontent neither appeased nor crushed. Very few nobles accompanied John in his grand plan to defeat the French with the king relying on mercenary forces. Hubert joined the king when he landed at La Rochelle but at the battle of Bouvines the Earl of Salisbury was defeated and King John’s allies left leaving John no option except to retreat to La Rochelle and an ignominious end to the campaign. As the royal galley returned to Dartmouth John was in no mood to be conciliatory and the circle of those he could trust was shrinking.

Hubert’s duties kept him in France until May 1215 and on his return he found England a very different place compared to that which he had left. The vast majority of the barons were determined to force the king to change his tyrannical ways to one where the king ruled respecting the laws of the land.

Hubert on his return reported to the king and was ordered to secure London for him as both sides knew the value of holding this economic powerhouse, the hub of trade and political power.

However by the time Hubert and his force arrived to claim London it was too late as the barons had already secured the City which stood firm against the king. John realised he couldn’t attack his own capital city and a stalemate developed which resulted in a meeting at the fields at Runnymede and the great Council of the king and barons. This was Magna Carta. Hubert attended the King at the Council and was a witness in the preamble to Magna Carta and termed the King’s seneschal of Poitou, perhaps suggesting that he would return once civil disorder had been reduced.

Part of the Charter attacked the presence of certain named foreign mercenaries who were unpopular with the Barons and who wanted them deported. One of the main targets was Peter des Roches, the Bishop of Winchester and Justiciar of England. John, to appease the barons, sought a replacement and within a few days of the sealing of the Charter Hubert was elevated to the most senior administrative post in the land, that of Chief Justiciar of England, in charge of the treasury, the exchequer and the judiciary. The Justiciar was effectively the king’s deputy and when the king was away from his seat of power the Justiciar was authorised to act in his place. This enabled government to proceed in an orderly fashion despite the king’s absence. However as England soon descended into a civil war there was no opportunity for Hubert to take on his new role.

France invades England

King John and his commanders soon started to get the better of the rebels as the civil war raged. After six months of losing ground the barons invited the King of France to come to their aid and offered the throne to his son, Prince Louis.

Subsequently French forces sailed for England landing in Sandwich in May 1216 where Hubert had readied the castle and garrison of nearby Dover, already mentioned as ’the key of England’. The French first captured Winchester and made their way to London to unite with the rebel English forces. Where English estates were overrun by the French invaders the English barons defected to the French and paid homage to Louis. With his support ebbing away King John’s cause seemed hopeless however he was not beaten yet.

The Siege of Dover Castle

Hubert sat tight in Dover Castle with his volunteer garrison of 140 knights and a larger number of men-at-arms. Knowing the importance of Dover Prince Louis took charge of the siege himself and drew up his lines of encirclement along with his siege engines of ‘perriers’ and ‘mangonels’. Louis brought up a covered gallery which was placed across the castle ditch to protect the French sappers as they started tunnelling under the outer palisade of the castle. When this fell they started work on the main castle walls which fell in places but at each breach Hubert drove his men to shore up the defences and push the attackers back. The shuddering impact of boulders hurled against the castle walls went on relentlessly. Every morning as dawn broke the siege equipment came into view and Hubert called them the bad and unwelcome neighbours.

King John’s death

Prince Louis was furious as the siege moved into October but then news arrived of King John’s death. The Earl of Salisbury and Hubert’s brother, Thomas, were sent to negotiate with Hubert and give him the news. The French thought this would sway Hubert’s steadfastness. They all met at the small postern gate of the castle with Hubert looking down on the peace envoys backed by five crossbowmen at the ready. There were threats from Salisbury and pleading from Thomas and then Hubert cut off their entreaties with a nod to his crossbowmen to kill the traitors to England – even his brother, if they said another word. When Prince Louis heard about the response he was violently angry but also praised the constancy of Hubert.

Wearying of the delay Dover was causing Louis offered Hubert a truce until April 1217 when he would return with reinforcements. As soon as the main French and the English rebel forces had dispersed Hubert sallied out – drove the guards away from the siege equipment and then burnt the French camp and equipment. Leaving instructions to reprovision the castle Hubert went to join the Royalist forces in Bristol.

At Bristol he joined the loyal throng of castellans, bishops and sheriffs gathering to swear fealty to King John’s son, the nine year old, Henry III. He had been quickly crowned and William Marshal, the Earl of Pembroke had been made guardian. Alongside Marshal was Gualo, the papal legate. The young king was to be tutored by Hubert’s old adversary, the Bishop of Winchester, Peter des Roches.

Marshal’s first act had been to reissue the Magna Carta sealed at Runnymede, with a few changes, but now in the new INNOCENT king’s name – all of this happened before Hubert’s arrival..

Hubert, the hero of Dover, reminded Marshal that he, Hubert, was Justiciar of England but was assured that until there was peace he had no duties other than to return to Dover to continue its defence when the French returned in April. To Hubert’s credit he accepted the command from a man he greatly respected, (perhaps the greatest knight who ever lived). In reality there was already much work to do. The English rebels had to be brought back as supporters of the young English king and there was also the immediate priority of defeating the French invaders. Early in the new year Hubert returned to make repairs to Dover Castle. William Marshal knew, as the young king’s military leader, that he didn’t have the strength in numbers to be certain of defeating the French and that one defeat, be it in open battle or with the loss of a major fortress such as Dover, would be fatal for the royal cause, so he was content to wait.


Prince Louis’ setback

Prince Louis was now set to return with the intention of capturing Dover Castle. As the weeks passed French troops massed at Sandwich and rebel forces came south from London to ensure Louis had the overwhelming numbers needed to capture Dover quickly.

New siege equipment was in place by the time Louis arrived to take charge in mid-May 2017 and in confident mood and to get his new campaign under way Louis decided to send a large force of 500 rebel English knights and 70 French knights with several thousand infantry north to capture Lincoln prior to the assault on Dover castle. However by splitting his forces it gave William Marshall the opportunity to attack. Instead of the French capturing Lincoln, the royalists with inferior numbers routed the rebels, captured 300 knights and pursued the remaining forces south to London.

Hubert, held up in Dover knew nothing of this important event. As an aside one of the knights captured at Lincoln was William de Mowbray who forfeited his estates as ransom. In due course as Justiciar, Hubert returned them all, once peace was restored, except for the Manor of Banstead which he kept for himself. Hubert was amazed to see the French forces striking camp and retreating towards London as Prince Louis concentrated his forces around the capital.

Louis was expecting reinforcements over the summer that his wife Blanche was readying in the Normandy ports. The French had bought the services of a fearsome mercenary and pirate, Eustace the Monk, who was providing naval cover as supplies were ferried over the channel. He was causing a great loss of shipping as the English tried to disrupt the landings.


The Naval Battle of Sandwich

With Hubert now released from holding Dover he started to collect and overhaul ships at Rye in order to intercept the large French fleet expected over the summer. On the English side the 70 year old William Marshal was all for taking charge of the English fleet but he was persuaded to stand aside and with no other leader with naval experience, Hubert stepped forward to take command, assisted by Philip d’Albini.

The weather finally turned fair enough to allow the French to be able to sail northwest around Dover towards the Thames and London. Eustace the Monk was on the largest ship ‘the Bayonne’, which was heavily laden with knights, horses, supplies and a siege engine, accompanied by another dozen ships similarly laden  and a further 70 smaller ships with men-at-arms and vital supplies and equipment, all intended to reinforce the French and barons’ forces at London.

Hubert led his small fleet to sea, reportedly 16 well-fitted out ships with another 20 small coastal craft and galleys. The advantage was initially with the French, they were sailing with the wind, a larger fleet with at least 5000 soldiers and sailors and were being led by the charismatic Eustace.  However the English ships were lighter, not carrying heavy supplies.

The two forces met off Sandwich. The English tactics were to attack and scatter the enemy fleet. Hubert was in the largest ship, a “cog” all of 100 tons with high fore and aft castles (See column on right). When he got close he veered away as though refusing combat and with French insults of “ La harte! La harte!” ringing in his ears he sailed on, apparently heading for Calais. The French fleet were ordered to turn into the wind to engage the English, a fatal move as it turned out. De Burgh swung his ships around to the west. He now led them towards the French fleet with the wind and the sun behind. The rest of the English fleet attacked  the larger enemy ships which were heavily laden and not very manoeuvrable. As Hubert’s ship came close to the Bayonne, overloaded and slowed down by its cargo, his crew using sling shots and arrows landed bags of lime powder onto the enemy decks, blinding everyone downwind and allowing the English soldiers to board and overwhelm the French crew. Eustace was discovered hiding in the bilges of the Bayonne, and despite offering a huge ransom, was summarily beheaded.  His head was later paraded around Canterbury and the Cinque ports for many days.

Only 15 small ships made it back to Calais and over reportedly 4000 soldiers and sailors were killed. It was a resounding victory but anything less would have invited more reinforcements on another day with maybe a different result.

Hubert landed his prisoners at Dover Castle to await the outcome of peace talks between William Marshal and Prince Louis. Crowds met Hubert and his naval heroes as they landed and William Marshal shared the booty captured with the Cinque Port sailors, leaving some aside to found a hospital at Sandwich for ‘God’s Poor’. This still exists and every 24th August there are celebrations for the victory at the Battle of Sandwich.

The sea battle off Sandwich is seen in retrospect as a watershed in England’s naval history, both tactically and historically. More importantly it prevented the French from consolidating their allied forces in England and and carrying out a potentially successful invasion.

Within three weeks peace terms were agreed at Kingston on Thames. The French forces were escorted to the coast to return to France and England was free from this foreign invasion threat.  Now the royalists had to win the peace at home in England. However before Hubert’s struggle to regain power began he had personal matters to attend to.

Note: The bishops, absolving ‘those about to die for the liberty of England’; Peter des Roches of Winchester, Richard Poer of Salisbury, & Jocelin of Wells of Bath;the use of slings and archers to project bags of lime onto the french ships’ decks; and the beheading of Eustace the Monk.

The Cog

The most significant type of craft was the great ship or nef, from the Latin navis. Sometimes known as cogs, they were Europe’s standard ocean-going vessel, capable of transporting horses and even a royal elephant. Possessing a deep hull and high freeboard, such vessels were stable enough to mount castellated fighting platforms fore and aft. F.W. Brooks, in his study of Angevin naval forces, reckoned that English examples ran to 47 feet (14m) long and 15 feet (4.5m) abeam, with a master, twenty men, and a boy or two to send aloft. They stood high out of the water with several decks and a three-storey after castle, a great advantage in a sea fight, allowing their crew to shoot or leap down onto the decks of lower craft. Flat-bottomed and driven by a large square sail on a single mast stepped well forward, nefs steered with difficulty and went rapidly to leeward, i.e. downwind. Masts were massive structures, 100 feet (30m) high, stout enough to carry the heavy sail and its supporting yard, as well as a round fighting top for several men armed with rocks and other projectiles. The 1217 Channel fighting suggests such that vessels could tack, but had little capacity for beating into the wind. Foul winds were ridden out at anchor, of which a dozen might be carried.


Hubert remarries

Somehow he had had time to woo Isabella of Gloucester. She had been King John’s first wife and held the Gloucester estates.  After dashing back from seeing off the French army Hubert and Isabella married in late September 1217 and at last Hubert had the social status matching his office of Justiciar. Unfortunately whilst Isabella was touring round her estates with Hubert she suddenly died three weeks later. Hubert lost his love, his new estates and his prestige as the estates passed to Isabella’s heir. England’s gain was that Hubert could now turn his full attention to affairs of state.

Hubert becomes Regent

William Marshal enjoyed another year of power, before his death, as Regent after the French defeat and slowly central government started to function but there was little force in the law. The full restoration of government was Hubert’s achievement which was implemented with the help of the archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton, who had returned on the Marshal’s death, from Rome to support the evolving aims of the Magna Carta. This included, as mentioned, displacing the foreign influences of those who held important posts to the disadvantage of Englishmen.

The young Henry III was crowned again in 1221 but at the age of 14 was still too young to assume his full role. As he travelled with the king dispensing justice around the country (repeat phrase) Hubert gradually took the king in hand and away from the influence of his tutor, Peter des Roches, the Bishop of Winchester.

Hubert had to try and restore the king’s castles and other possessions, much of which were in the hands of the foreign mercenaries that King John had relied upon for his survival. They stubbornly refused to relinquish their castles, which had been given in return for loyal service to John, but Hubert, on behalf of the king, could not enforce fair and efficient government without control of the kingdom’s major centres of power.

Hubert marries again

In 1221 Hubert married again, this time to the older sister of the king of Scotland, Margaret, a match only made possible as the young King Henry, now 14, was keen to avoid a marriage bargain made ten years earlier. So instead Hubert married the Princess Margaret and the young King of Scotland, Alexander III, married Henry’s sister.

Hubert consolidates his position

The 1220’s for Hubert were spent getting total control of the King’s Council and following  through policies which strengthened the Royal authority, replacing the foreign influence in government with a renewed feeling of Englishness, and maintaining French possessions in south west France at the minimum cost to the English Treasury. This led to growing resentment by the young King Henry because as he came of age he wanted to be seen as a great military leader in recovering territory in the north of France lost by his father. He also wanted to leave a legacy of fine buildings and be a patron of the arts – he struggled throughout his life to shake off an impression of being inept. Unfortunately the king’s expensive grand schemes (?) involved Hubert having to raise taxes and creating other income sources (?) that eventually made Hubert unpopular with the barons.

Hubert led successful military campaigns against the Welsh and also in southern France which kept the peace but England was close to bankruptcy in 1220 and needed a generation to recover. However careful economic policy was not what King Henry wanted.

The London Incident

An incident in 1222 was to cause repercussions for Hubert ten years later. It all started when on a public holiday a team of wrestlers from the City of London fought a regular set of bouts with a team from the village of Westminster outside the city walls. The result went against the City team who were then beaten up. The next day they returned as a mob – doing much damage to Westminster property. At the time Hubert was in his castle in Skenfrith on the Welsh border and was told that the riot that had taken place had been instigated by French sympathisers from the City. Hubert gathered up troops as he rode back to London with the mercenary captain Falkes de Breaute.

When Hubert reached London he promptly heard the opposing versions of events. He subsequently arrested the Lord Mayor of London with two others and they were hanged the next day with the minimum of judicial process. Falkes de Breaute then went into the City, and where he met resistance he ordered the hands and feet of protesters to be cut off.

At the time this action was seen as proportionate by chroniclers of the day but was clearly against the spirit of Magna Carta and 10 years later the citizens of London were to get revenge.


Hubert loses power

When King Henry finally came of age in 1227 he showered those around him with honors, castles and titles. Hubert was made Earl of Kent and was at the height of his power but became suddenly isolated. Archbishop Stephen Langton was soon to die and Hubert through his advancement and ambition had ruffled too many feathers, thus there was always someone complaining to the young king. As Hubert began to lose his influence he was in danger of losing the young king’s goodwill.

The return to Court in 1231 of the king’s old foreign tutor, the Bishop of Winchester, Peter des Roche, Hubert’s old adversary, was the beginning of the end for Hubert. Whilst they were of a similar age the Bishop had been on a Crusade, met kings and emperors, and had stories of magnificent courts and lavish lifestyles.

King Henry compared his well-run but mundane administration and yearned for the trappings of a great monarch. The bishop cunningly played on the King’s frustration and it was not long before certain of Hubert’s key personnel were replaced by the bishop’s foreign replacements. The King was careful to continue to honour Hubert with gifts which would seem to have been a ploy to give Hubert a false sense of security.

It was a year later that the King felt strong enough and found a pretence to replace Hubert. Hubert and the King with a small group travelled to the king’s favourite shrine at Bromholm in Norfolk where he swore to Hubert in front of the Holy Rood, that he would hold his offices of state for life. However within a month Hubert was accused that he had allowed the Pope’s Italian clerics, who held English benefices, to be attacked and replaced.

Hubert was incredulous that his king that he had served tirelessly for 15 years could trump up all manner of charges against him which were patently false and were obviously the work of the foreign advisers now closest to the King. He was given a few weeks to prepare his defence and meanwhile lost his great office of Justiciar and earldom of Kent. He found he had little support amongst his peers as the king had continued to make gifts to his Justiciar which had fuelled resentment. Suddenly Hubert was fearful for his life as the foreigners at Court attempted to remove the de Burgh influence for good.

Hubert had retired to Merton Priory to compose his defence but with the king finding new charges for him to answer, when the day arrived for Hubert to appear before the King, he refused as he feared the King’s wrath. When the King heard of this he showed his famous Plantagenet anger  and raised a ’hue and cry’ of ordinary citizens to find Hubert and drag him to the King at Lambeth. This was music to the ears of London citizens remembering the tough justice Hubert had handed out during the riots ten years earlier. With flags flying and drums beating a huge mob left the City for Merton Priory. Meanwhile at the royal court, the Earl of Chester, not a natural ally of Huberts, but seeing the mobs reaction which may have led to public unrest, prevailed upon the King to call off the mob. This was just as well for Hubert as at over 60 years of age he may not have survived the mob’s anger.

To demonstrate his authority the king took away all the estates he had given Hubert but allowed the Countess Margaret, his wife, to join him and also further time to prepare his defence. A relieved Hubert, thinking that indeed the King’s heart was softening, went to stay with relatives in the village of Brentwood. Soon after though the King found out that Margaret had written to her brother, the King of Scotland, and the Pope to intercede on Hubert’s behalf.

Fearing his authority was being challenged, and no doubt with foreigners whispering in his ear, the King sent an armed force to capture Hubert and take him to the Tower. During the night the soldiers arrived and Hubert had but a few minutes to escape to the local church where he sought sanctuary. Finding him the soldiers dragged him out of the church and woke the local blacksmith to chain and fetter Hubert for his trip to the Tower. However when the smithy realised who the victim was he refused to help, leading one to assume that for Hubert’s exploits against the French he was still held in high regard by ordinary people, at least outside London.

Undeterred the soldiers bundled Hubert onto a horse with his legs tied underneath and he was taken to the Tower. The next morning the Bishop of London, hearing how Hubert had been dragged out of sanctuary from a church, harangued the king who relented. Hubert was returned to Brentwood Church where he was guarded for 40 days. When the period of grace was over he was then taken to the Tower to await the King’s pleasure.

The King now held the whip-hand, especially as he was told that recently Hubert had deposited a hoard of valuables in the London Temple Church administered by the Templars. When it was suggested to Hubert that the King’s peace might be bought if he handed over his treasure, he agreed. A vast array of silver and jewellery was transferred to the Treasury and Hubert was called in front of his peers for final sentencing.

Here the Earls of Pembroke, Surrey, Lincoln and Cornwall guaranteed Hubert’s custody in open arrest in Devizes Castle, part of the Earl of Pembroke’s estates. The king agreed to return lands that Hubert had bought himself and allowed safe travel to Countess Margaret to any of those estates.

Hubert was suddenly full of hope, surrounded by the Pembroke mantle of security. The Earl of Pembroke, while not particularly sympathetic to Hubert personally, was very concerned at the treatment of an English earl due to the growing influence of the King’s foreign advisers. Suddenly the king and the foreigners were again the enemy, so much so that Pembroke vassals started attacking the foreigners’ estates.

Unrelenting the king let it be known that any party that had a claim against the de Burghs could now press it. The Templars, ever the businessmen, visited Hubert who duly guaranteed income from the Manor of Banstead, and the costs of their storing and delivering his treasure to the king.

As the months went by Hubert heard that his enemies were gaining ground at Court – he was not certain that the four earls would stand in defiance of the King in his defence and he knew he couldn’t again fall into his enemies’ hands which would mean certain death. He felt he had no choice but to try and escape. So as best they could his two faithful servants, who had refused to leave him, carried him out at night, but only as far as Devizes Church where this by now skeleton of a man was laid gently by the altar He was was found the next day, dragged out and this time chained in Devizes Castle dungeons. At this dark time the Bishop of Salisbury arrived. He admonished the castle guards for breaking Hubert’s sanctuary, and with threats of excommunicating everyone involved, the Bishop then hurried directly to the King.

Hubert reinstated

The brow-beaten King again bowed to the demands of the clergy and Hubert was returned to the church (which church) to serve his 40 day sanctuary. By now Hubert it is said was past caring, but ten days into sanctuary some well armed Pembroke vassals surprised Hubert’s guards and rescued him. Evading pursuit they arrived at the Pembroke Castle of Strigeuil in South Wales. The Earl of Pembroke had committed himself and Hubert now had allies who wanted to see the back of the King’s foreign advisers. The King didn’t have the military force to challenge Pembroke and in fact Pembroke’s vassals continued to raid at will.(where)

Six months later the Pope intervened and with the aid of Edmund Rich, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, the King’s foreign advisers were dismissed and Hubert and the Earl of Pembroke were invited to receive the King’s kiss of peace. Hubert received his Earl’s belt for Kent and once again in correspondence he became ‘the King’s faithful and beloved servant’. He now had no office at Court but did have the satisfaction of seeing his foreign enemies defeated.

Hubert we believe resumed his life of privilege and contentment after his ordeals. The Countess Margaret was 25 years younger than Hubert and their daughter Megotta was 12 in 1234 and they must have been shocked by the shell of a man who came home.  Hubert could never reconcile how he had been treated and went through periods of melancholy as he rebuilt his business interests. He had a mansion in Westminster and he developed manor houses in his favourite parts of the country, such as Banstead.

Richard and Megotta’s marriage

Hubert was not to be left in peace as the King’s fury descended on him again in 1236. Back in 1230 while Hubert was still in the king’s favour he had granted to the de Burghs the wardship of the orphaned Richard de Clare, heir to the Gloucester estates.

Young Richard, the same age as Megotta, lived with their family and was not taken in by the King on Hubert’s fall from grace until many months into Hubert’s imprisonment.

The young children were constant companions and eventually fell in love. The Countess Margaret allowed them to secretly marry whilst they were at the Abbey at Bury St Edmunds.

They were under close watch by the king and not allowed to travel.

This secret marriage was to be announced when they came of age. The families’ future was so uncertain at this time that this gave the Countess and the children hope for the future. However somehow the secret got out. This was a total shock to Hubert as he was now accused of engineering the plan to get hold of the Gloucester estates, even though he had been imprisoned and out of touch with his family. This appeared to put Hubert in a bad light and claims of treason were levelled. Countess Margaret told Hubert the full story but the King ignored Hubert’s claim that he was not aware of the union and thus the King and Council announced that if Hubert was not able to back up the Countess’s story then the marriage was to be voided.

Hubert could not know how his wife and daughter would react to him not totally backing them up. The Countess, Megotta and Richard had stood fast, but Hubert had been persuaded into staying neutral. He could not see his king lose respect due to his actions.

Within a year Megotta had wasted away, not eating, not caring and having lost the love of her life and the love and respect for her father, her hero. It was only on news of her death that the young Richard bowed to the King’s wishes to be married off to someone else. On payment of a large fine Hubert retreated again to his estates.

Finale

Three years later the King tried again to dishonour his loyal servant and this time Hubert left it to Lawrence of St Albans, his faithful chaplain to answer the charges raised against him. Hubert in front of his peers was found innocent of all the King’s claims On leaving the King’s presence for the last time Hubert said ’never was I a traitor to you or to your father and this is now evident by God’s grace in you being King.

Hubert, it is said, stayed at his Manor of Banstead until he died in 1243, close to the king in case just one more time he could render service. He extended the parish church, added a tower and made himself comfortable 100 yards away in his Manor House. The Countess survived him a further 16 years leaving as her heir John, the son Hubert and Beatrice de Warenne produced. By 1280 the truly English de Burgh line had died out, leaving only the Irish line from his brother William.

In Banstead Hubert’s name is resurrected now and again for a school, a road – a passing reference to the area’s most important former resident However on the national stage he was a major player, plucked out of obscurity by Kipling, and also by Shakespeare in his play, King John. Hubert was the last of the chief Justiciars with powers over all the departments of government. When England needed a tough, resolute and ruthless leader to safe-guard the throne, she found him in Hubert de Burgh.