http://philmorris.my-expressions.com/archi...111104791/95623 1. Elizabeth Woodville
The castle was first built by Philip de Astley (b. c.1122) in 1170. License to crenellate was granted in 1266, probably to Walter de Astley. The castle subsequently passed into the Grey family (of Groby) upon the marriage of Joane de Astley to Reginald de Grey in about 1406. Their son was Sir Edward Grey, First Lord of Groby. Their grandson was Sir John Grey the Second Lord and in about 1452, Sir John married one Elizabeth Woodville (b. 1431). They had two sons, Richard (b. 1457) and Thomas (b. 1458) (later 1st Marquess of Dorset). Sir John Grey was killed at the second battle of St Albans in 1461 fighting for King Henry VI in consequence of which Elizabeth was divested of her husband's estate at Groby, and retired to spend the early years of her widowhood at Astley. Upon the defeat of Henry VI the kingdom was seized by Edward IV and according to legend 'Hearing that the new king often hunted in Grafton Forest, Elizabeth went to stay with her mother (Jacquette of Luxembourg). One day, taking her two infant sons by the hand, she awaited the King beneath an oak tree. When he rode near, she cast herself at his feet and begged him to restore their father's lands to her two sons.'
In fine Hollywood fashion, Elizabeth, a courtly beauty,(who would dare argue?), and the King with lustful brains sunk to his balls, the pair were married. Their own sons, Edward and Richard, were the fabled Princes in the Tower.
2. Elizabeth of York
Ordinarily, upon the death of Edward IV the Kingdom of England might have passed to Edward and Elizabeth's son the young Edward aged 12. And so it did; but for about 10 weeks only and during which though King, Edward V was never crowned, Both Edward and Richard met their deaths in the Tower of London during the summer of 1483. The Kingdom passed into the hands of their father's brother, Richard III.
Richard III met his end at The Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 and the crown passed to his victor Henry Tudor, Henry VII of England.
For fear of enraging the membership of the Richard III Society (a cracking good site incidentally), let's say that for reasons best known to Henry VII, with cement in mind, he married Elizabeth Woodville's eldest daughter, Richard III's niece, Elizabeth, of York and ultimately Queen. Everyone has heard of their second son, Henry VIII. Elizabeth Woodville died at Whitsuntide 1492, and is buried with King Edward IV at Windsor.
3. Lady Jane
Henry VIII was survived by his only son Edwad VI in 1547, a weakling, probably owing to a bad dose of congenital clap. Meantime, over at Astley, the castle had passed to Henry Grey, full title 3rd Marquess of Dorset and Baron Ferrers of Groby, Harrington, Bonville and Astley. He had been some grand fromage at Henry's court. In 1551 the title of Duke of Suffolk expired for want of an heir for Charles Brandon, 3rd Duke, and so the title was renewed by being offered to Henry Grey on account of his marriage in 1533 to Lady Frances Brandon. On the accession of Edward VI, and the unconstitutional will of Henry VIII which ignored his eldest sister, Frances found herself third in line to the throne after Mary (Mary I) and Elizabeth (Elizabeth I) on account of her maternal grand parents Edward IV and Elizabeth of York. Frances was something of a schemer. She arranged for her eldest daughter Jane to follow the Queen Dowager, Catherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of Henry VIII after her retirement from court, and thereafter to include Parr's subsequent marriage to Thomas Seymour. Frances spoke carefully to Seymour about the possibility of arranging a marriage between Edward VI and Jane. Seymour seems to have been ridiculously excited about the suggestion and pursued it with such vigour that he lost his head, literally, in 1549. The loss of Seymour's head cost the union of Jane with Edward.
Marriage aspirations turned to the Lord Protector, the office of the governor of the kingdom during the minority of a sovereign. First it was the son of Edward Seymour, Lord Protector and First Duke of Somerset, and upon his replacement with John Dudley, First Duke of Northumberland, attention fell on Dudley's son. On 15 May 1553, Jane married Lord Guildford Dudley.
As Lord Protector, Northumberland had long considered the succession. Ordinarily the crown would pass to Mary, Henry VIII's eldest surviving daughter whose mother had been the RC Catherine of Aragon. But that would end the Anglican Reformation and herald a return to Roman Catholicism in England. Thus Northumberland as Lord Protector persuaded dying Edward VI to amend his will so as to exclude both Mary and Elizabeth, largely on grounds of their illegitimacy since Henry VIII's marriages to their mothers had both been annulled. The effect of the written will was to advance Frances Brandon to heiress presumptive. Frances renounced the throne and thus it came to pass that the kingdom should be inherited by Jane. In truth, the will was without legal effect, being the instrument of a minor and unlawfully overreaching the provisions of the Act of Succession of 1544.
Edward VI died on 6 July 1553 and Jane was pronounced Queen four days later. She was just 16. Meantime Mary's popularity swelled, largely on account of the public dislike for the treatment her father had shown to her mother. The pronouncement was declared void on 19 July 1553. Jane had been Queen for nine days.
Shortly after her accession, Mary turned her attention to procuring a husband from whom an heir might be wrought. That way, her half-sister, the Protestant Elizabeth would be overreached. Contrary to the preferences of the English public and parliament, she alighted on Prince Philip of Spain, son of (her cousin) Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. On news of this, Suffolk, the prat, repeated that his daughter was indeed Queen, notwithstanding that she was imprisoned in the Tower of London. A rebellion ensued, but was crushed. Elizabeth herself was imprisoned in the Tower.
Jane, Guildford, Northumberland and a whole bunch of middle rankers (though not Frances) got the chop. Jane and Guildford were beheaded on Tower Hill on 12 February 1554. Frances was an old school pal of Mary which evidently paid dividends. Suffolk fled for Astley and legend has it that he took refuge there, hidden in an old oak tree, fed by one of his housekeepers named Underwood. Underwood, for a fee, disclosed Suffolk's whereabouts, and so it was that Suffolk himself followed his daughter to the scaffold on 23 February 1554. One might chuckle to learn that before the end of March 1554, Frances Brandon was married to one Adrian Stokes.
Astley has Suffolk for its ghost, headlessly wandering in search of his oak. Betty Smith in her 'Hidden Warwickshire' of 1990 records the oak was blown down in a gale in 1891.
4. Modern times
After the demise of Suffolk the castle was largely dismantled and then extensively rebuilt in the 16th century style. During WWII, like so many ancestral properties, the castle was occupied by the British military. In 1963 it became a hotel. Pevsner had little to say in 1966 confessing 'Not much can now be made out of the architectural history of this castle of the Greys, Lady Jane Grey's family.' Fifteen years on the premises were gutted by fire, mysteriously on the last day of a tenancy which was not to be renewed.
For at least the last ten years there has been discussion and proposals for the partial restoration of the castle. Notwithstanding parliamentary recognition of the historical importance of the property, nothing has so far been done and it continues to fall into delapidation as private interests compete and negotiate.
Today, the sojourner crossing the moat is met with a vibrant red 'Keep Out, Danger' and is obliged to view the edifice from a safe distance, as closer, sheep munch in ignorance. This is what the castle looks like now, complete with scaffolding. Unimaginably, the one time home of three Queens of England.