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LEWIS JOHN

There are many references to Lewis [ap] John, many of which are (apparently) not relevant, for example:

Sir Lewis John was killed in battle at Blore Heath (Staffordshire) (23rd September 1459). He is very likely to have been the Sir Lewis ap Ieuan ap Llywelyn mentioned in a document (dated 29th November 1451), relating to the Scudamore family, and lodged at the Herefordshire Record Office (ref. AL40/1027).

The only Lewis ap John even vaguely mentioned by P.C. Bartrum, the expert on Welsh personages, seems to be Lewys ap John ap Dafydd ap Philip ap Iorwerth of Baglan near Port Talbot. Bartrum was quoting from "The Book of Baglan" (John Williams, 1600-07). Elsewhere in the Baglan book, there is a reference to Jane Beaufort (born c.1402, illegitimate daughter of Henry (later Cardinal) Beaufort) marrying (c.1423) Sir Edward Stradling of St. Donat's, Vale of Glamorgan, (1389-1452), and to Cardinal Henry's daughter Bride marrying Lleisan ap Lewis John of Baglan. However, it has been suggested that the Bride and Lleisan reference is a hundred years later.

Main sources of reliable and relevant information are:

"Sir Lewis John, a Medieval London Welshman" by Anthony D. Carr (in "The Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies", Vol. 22, 1967-68, pp. 260-70). Copies are held at National Library of Wales (Aberystwyth) and Cardiff Central Library.

"The Petre Documents" by J. L. Fisher (in "Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society", Vol. NS 23, 1940-42, pp. 66-97). J. L. Fisher's notebook is also deposited at the Essex Record Office (ERO T/P145/5), wherein he recorded all he could find about Lewis John in the various available sources.

Various original documents at Essex Record Office, in the D/DP series, thanks to the FitzLewis family papers being passed on to the Mordaunt family after the FitzLewis heiress married John Mordaunt (1526), and thence to Sir William Petre who purchased West Horndon Manor (1572-76).

No relevant reference has been seen referring to a "Lewis ap John", only references to "Lewis John". On the assumption that Lewis had an Anglicised surname, it would seem likely his father too would have had the surname John. The following therefore seems most relevant.

A Lewis Johan was administrator of the goods of "Stephen Johan, late citizen and vintner of London, who died intestate", (Cal. Pat. Rolls, 12 February 1406). Earlier, there had been a will of Stephen John, citizen and wine merchant, dated October 1393, proved in the Archdeaconry Court of London 1394 [copy on Guildhall microfilm 9051/1, barely readable]. (However a person leaving a will does not die intestate.) The will showed Stephen had a son Lewis (Lodewyco filio meo), who could have been the relevant Lewis John, and for the present this connection is assumed.

[FLEW531] Stephen John married Julian, both being from Wales. He was a citizen and vintner in London, and died probably towards the end of 1393. He had a son Lewis, the problem being where he was born. Stephen may have returned to Wales after his apprenticeship and married there, in which case his son could have been born in Wales.

[FLEW541] Lewis John (born c.1380, assumed son of Stephen). It is assumed that he was apprenticed as a vintner, and would have served his 7-year apprenticeship from age 12 to 19, possibly say 1392-99, as he claimed to have been made a freeman of the City of London before 1401. It is likely that he was initially apprenticed to his father, but after Stephen's death (around October 1393) he probably completed his apprenticeship with Thomas Chaucer, as he was afterwards referred to as being his prot�g�. Lewis was certainly a freeman, as in his petition to Parliament (Rot. Parl. 1414, pp. 44/5) he said he was a "frank Homme de v're Citee de Loundres" and "suit engendre de Piere & Miere Galoises" (i.e. both his parents were Welsh). This is around the time of the great Welsh revolt under Owain Glyndwr, one effect having been the edict of King Henry IV (1401) prohibiting Welshmen from holding property in England, and Lewis claimed he had been made a freeman before that date. Regardless of where Lewis was born, being of Welsh parents he was probably subject to King Henry IV's edict.

Lewis John surrounded himself with a circle of friends, including John Shirley (1366-1456, scribe and bibliophile), Thomas Chaucer (1367-1434), Henry Scogan (poet, 1361-1407), Cardinal Henry Beaufort (1375-1447), Prince Hal (later King Henry V from 1413, the dowager Queen Joan (step-mother of Prince Hal) and probably Francis Court (-1413, trusted friend of Prince Hal). First, a mention of some of these close acquaintances.

John Shirley, one time Controller of subsidy and tunnage & poundage at the Port of London, then Controller of petty customs there. Shirley records that Prince Hal, among others, used to attend functions at Lewis John's house in the Vintry [near present-day Southwark Bridge]. This was confirmed in "A Morale Balade" by Henry Scogan (died 1407), which was said to have been dedicated to:

... my lord the Prince, to my lord of Clarence, to my lord of Bedford, and to my lord of Gloucestre, by Henry Scogan; at a souper of feorthe merchande in the Vyntre in London, at the hous of Lowys Johan.

However, the dedications to the "lords" of Clarence, Bedford and Gloucester were somewhat anachronistic. They were Prince Hal's three brothers, Thomas, John and Humphrey, who were elevated to their respective Dukedoms in 1412, 1414 and 1414 respectively, which was some time after Henry Scogan's death. Also when Hal ceased to be a "Prince" (1413), John and Humphrey were still untitled. It has been suggested that John Shirley added this dedication to the poem some time after 1415, i.e. some 10 years or so after its reading, suggesting Shirley could have embroidered the dedication to include teenage Princes who may not even have been present.

Thomas Chaucer (1367-1434, allegedly eldest son of Geoffrey Chaucer the author, 1343-1400), married (1395) Matilda (2nd daughter and co-heiress of Henry de Burghersh, Bishop of Lincoln, and Treasurer and Chancellor of England). Thomas was appointed Chief Butler to King Richard II (1399). Lewis is said to have been the prot�g� of Thomas. Thomas was appointed Chief Butler for life (1402), but this was revised under the new king to be "at the king's pleasure" (1413). Thomas was Sheriff of Berkshire & Oxfordshire [a joint shrievalty] (1400-02), five times Speaker of the House of Commons (1407, 1410, 1411, 1414 and 1421) and a Trustee of the Vintners' Company (by 1428). There was a reference to the Release (dated 11th June 1428) of the estate of Thomas Croften (as mortgage for tenements in Fleet Street) to Thomas Chawsere and his 12 co-Trustees. In the Release, co-Trustees Thomas Chawsere and Lewis John were called esquires, the remaining eleven were citizens and vintners. The fact that Thomas Chaucer and his associate John Lewis were not described as being vintners is perhaps significant; they were probably Trustees through position and wealth. Thomas was also steward to dowager Queen Joan up to her death in 1437. Thomas Chaucer's only child Alice (born c.1404) married 1. (when she was age 11) John Philip (died the same year); then 2. (1424) Thomas Montagu, 9th Earl of Salisbury (son of John Montagu, 8th Earl of Salisbury, see SALISBURY (MONTAGU) EARLDOM), died 1428; then 3. (1430) William de a Pole, 3rd Earl of Suffolk, later 1st DUKE OF SUFFOLK. Thomas Montagu's sister Anne subsequently married (c.1433) Lewis John, which meant that Thomas Chaucer's daughter Alice then became Lewis John's sister-in-law.

Bishop (afterwards Cardinal) Henry Beaufort, was the son of John of Gaunt by his third wife, a first-cousin of King Richard II and the half-brother of King Henry IV.  He was Bishop of Winchester, and helped finance the necessary repairs to St. Mary Overie Church, Southwark, after fire damage in the 1390s. About 1420 he assisted with the completion of the tower and the rebuilding of the south transept. The church was used for important ceremonies, such as the marriage (in 1424) of King James I of Scotland to Joan Beaufort, the Cardinal's niece.  The Cardinal's coat of arms is displayed on the east wall of the south transept.  The church became Southwark Cathedral (1905).

 

 

Cardinal Beaufort's Coat of Arms
Southwark Cathedral

(17 September 2014)

Cardinal Beaufort had married Alice FitzAlan, whose sister Elizabeth was the mother of Sir John Wingfield who in due course married Lewis John's daughter Elizabeth (see later).

Dowager Queen Joan, was the 2nd wife of King Henry IV and thus step-mother of Prince Hal. Joan held the palace at Havering (Essex), which traditionally belonged to the queen consort or dowager between 1262 and 1537. In March 1424, Joan granted to Lewis John for the duration of her life the office of steward of the manor and lordship of the lands at Havering. After her death, at Havering Palace in July 1437, the grant to Lewis John was confirmed for his life, (Cal. Pat. Rolls, 21 July 1438).

Francis Court, who married Alice de Vere (daughter of Aubrey de Vere, 10th Earl of Oxford) and will be mentioned later.

Lewis John's first appointment seems to have been deputy butler (under the chief butler, Thomas Chaucer) to the royal household (1402-07). Then he was appointed Thomas' deputy in the port of London (Cal. Pat. Rolls, 13 November 1402). Then he was commissioned to levy and collect subsidies in the Port of London, (Cal. Fine Rolls, 11 December 1404), confirmed in subsequent years to (at least) April 1413.

Louis Johan was granted for life 12d. daily from 20th September 1408, from the issues of the county of Oxford, in lieu of the previous grant to Berart de Montferaunt, (Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1 November 1408). The reason is not given, but this amount was the usual payment to sergeants at arms. Earlier a similar grant had been made to Berart de Mountferrant, successor to Roger de Lange. Much earlier it was recorded that "Roger de Longe had lately been appointed serjeant at arms", (Cal. Close Rolls, 29 September 1386). The choice of Oxford sounds as if Thomas Chaucer (of Ewelme, Oxon), one time High Sheriff of Oxford & Berks, had something to do with the appointment. The grant was confirmed in 1423, this time specifically referring to "Lewis Johan, king's serjeant", (Cal. Pat. Rolls, 14 January 1423). These Letters Patent were important documents, to be kept safely, and when Lewis mislaid the one issued in 1408, he had to swear upon oath he had lost it, (Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1 July 1440). Lewis' successor (just four weeks after his death) was the King's Chaplain, Master Richard Chestre, "for good service to the king in the Roman Court, and about the king's person", (Cal. Pat. Rolls, 21 November 1442). As Richard was also Master of Milton Hospital, Kent, (1442-61), this suggests the office was simply a honorary post given out by the king.

Louis Johan was granted "the keeping or office of the change in London and the town of Calais and the keeping and governance of the mistery of the mint within the Tower of London and the town of Calais", (Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1 April 1413).

 

 

Tower of London
(17 September 2014)

The lengthy indenture is set out in the corresponding Calendar of Fine Rolls, which shows that one of the five bondsmen (for 1000 marks each) was Thomas Chaucer, who probably made the arrangements through his cousin Bishop Beaufort of Winchester, who was Chancellor of England. In February 1422 Lewis John sought for release from his position as Master of the Mints. Apparently as compensation, he was granted for life during King Henry VI's first year in office the Receivership of the Duchy of Cornwall, the Stewardship of all the king's castles, lordships. manors, lands and other possessions belonging to the said duchy in the county of Devon, plus the Wardenship of the Stannaries in Devon [a tin-mining district, under the jurisdiction of special courts], for a combined annual fee of �40. He later lost the Receivership of the Duchy (1433), but retained the Stewardship.

Lewis John sat in Parliament: first as Member for Wallingford and Taunton (May 1413), thanks to Thomas Chaucer who was Constable of both Wallingford and Taunton castles; then as Member for Hampshire (November 1414), in which county Thomas Chaucer was Sheriff; and finally as Member for Essex (1420/26/31/37/39).

Lewis John was also collector of taxes for Essex (1414-37), Sheriff of Essex and Hertford (1416/17/20 at least). Another post he held (for 3 years) was the issuing of letters of exchange to persons wishing to go abroad, (Cal. Pat. Rolls, 26 May 1414), renewed for a further 3 years (Cal. Pat. Rolls, 18 February 1418).

Lewis John completed an indenture (29th April 1415) to serve abroad, with two men-at-arms and six archers, (TNA Refce: E101/44/30/no2). Although some of the men fought at Agincourt (but under Lewis' friend Sir John Montgomery), he himself had been invalided home after the earlier Siege of Harfleur.

John Montgomery (knight) and Lewis John (esquire) were sent on a mission (1st April 1430) to Pluvers in Gatenesia where Thomas Montgomery was in prison, to procure his release, "Calendar of Plea and Memoranda Rolls of the City of London" (ed. A. H. Thomas, 1943).

 In "Essex County Society and the French War in the Fifteenth Century" (Dr. James Ross), the author states Lewis John and Sir John Montgomery were two of the wealthiest gentry in the 1436 Assessment for Essex.

J. L. Fisher's rough notebook (deposited at the Essex County Record Office) records that "Lewis John, age 49, of W. Horndon, J.P., Steward of the Duchy, ex-Sheriff, sat [in Parliament] for County of Essex, 1439-40, and was member in the previous Parliament (1437)". Fisher postulates that this makes Lewis born 1390, too early for his appointment as deputy butler in 1406, so there could have been father and son involved here. But we know that the county of Oxford reference cited above (1408) is for the correct Lewis John, as the daily allowance is mentioned several times later, so a more likely answer is that his age of 49 at 1439/40 has been mis-recorded, deliberately or otherwise. Similarly his eldest son Lewis was said to be age 40 when he entered Parliament (1459), giving a date of birth in 1419 which seems rather late for a 1413 marriage.

Lewis John married twice, Alice then Anne, though surprisingly some sources, e.g. peerage.com (citing Burke's Peerage) quote "Sir John Fitz Lewis and Elizabeth Neville" as being the parents of his 10 children. Similarly, Elizabeth Neville is then shown as being the daughter of Robert Neville (with no citation). But at no time was Lewis John ever known as John FitzLewis. There is no evidence that Lewis John was ever married before marrying Alice in 1413, though a man marrying a widow usually suggests the man was himself a widower. But in this case it seems more likely an example of a shrewd Welshman marrying the widow of his late friend, not applying for a marriage licence (which anyway would not have been granted to a Welshman following the 1401 edict, mentioned earlier), marrying her and paying the fine (a mere 5 marks). A small price to pay to get on the property ladder.

1.  Lewis John married (December 1413, without the king's licence, for which offence a fine of 5 marks was duly paid 1st January 1414) Alice de Vere (widow of Sir Francis Court, and daughter of Aubrey de Vere, 10th Earl of Oxford, by Alice Fitz Walter). Lewis & Alice's children could have been Margaret, Lewis, Edmond, Philip, Harry [Henry] and John. In addition, Lewis now had two step-sons from Alice's previous marriage (c.1408) to Francis Court, viz. Thomas and Henry Court.

Alice's first husband Sir Francis Court had been a trusted friend of Prince Hal, who in 1399 had granted Sir Francis the Manor of Byfleet (Surrey). However Francis entered the premises without the king's licence, for which offence he was later pardoned (1401) and granted the manor for life. Sir Francis "and his wife Joan" were then granted (1402) East Tytherley (Hants). He was granted the lordship of Pembroke (1405) and that year successfully defended Pembroke Castle against Owain Glyndwr's attack. When Francis died (11th September 1413) he held the manor of East Tytherley and part of Lockerley (Hants), whilst his eldest son and heir, Thomas Court, was only age 9. His widow Alicia (presumably Sir Francis' second wife, and therefore not necessarily the mother of his heir) married Lewis John in a very short time, most likely on 7th December that same year.

Lewis John thus acquired property, and soon afterwards petitioned Parliament (1414) for exemption from the law prohibiting Welshmen from holding lands in England. His petition was advanced by the Speaker (none other than Thomas Chaucer!) and was duly accepted, so that Lewis John was made a denizen, thus enabling him to "purchase lands, &c, in England". The timing of his petition will be noted. It was one year after the death of King Henry IV (who had made the restriction) and the new king was Lewis' old close acquaintance Prince Hal, (Rot. Parl. 1414, p. 45).

As the result of this marriage, Lewis acquired some of the de Vere estates in Essex and Court estates in Hampshire. In July 1414 Lewis John was permitted to enclose 300 acres of land and wood at West Horndon (Essex), and hold the lodge and park there. In October 1414 Lewis John was granted the keeping of Tytherley and Lockerley [i.e. during the minority of his step-son Thomas Court], backdated to apply as from 7th December 1413. Now that Lewis John had acquired estates in Hampshire, he became a knight of this Shire (1414), said to be thanks to the manipulation of his friend Thomas Chaucer (mentioned above). In 1428 Lewis was still holding a third of knight's fee in Lockerley, by which time Thomas Court had died under age (in 1424) and been succeeded by his younger brother Henry (who subsequently died), and the estate apparently reverted to the Crown by 1432.

The bulk of Lewis' property was in Essex, with manors and advowsons of Dunton Waylets, West Horndon, Ingrave and Cranham; the manor of Bromfords in Nevendon, with the advowson of that parish. He held over 1,200 acres in adjacent parishes. He also had income from the ferry between West Thurrock (Essex) and Greenhithe (Kent). In 1425 Lewis bought Cranham Hall Manor, his arms being recorded as: sable, a chevron between three trefoyles argent.

Unfortunately, King Henry V's reign was short, for he died in 1422. Presumably it was not long before rumours began circulating that Lewis John was effectively a fraud, and had been shielded from detection by his close friendship with the late king. This prompted Lewis to obtain documentary proof from Welsh sources of his impeccable background. These Certificates of Free Birth have survived and are deposited at the Essex Record Office. They were all written in Latin in similar wording, suggesting a professional scribe visited these locations in turn, with the wording already prepared, and with additional comments added in one or two cases.

Tenby (10th May 1424), from the Mayor, John White, (Essex Record Office, D/DP/1493);

Pembroke (11th May 1424), from the Mayor, Thomas Geoffrey, (ERO, D/DP/1494);

Newborough [most likely the borough of Newtown at Dinefwr Castle, near present-day Llandeilo which was the "old town"] (12th May 1424), from the Reeve, John Coll, (ERO, D/DP/1495);

Kidwelly (14th May 1424), from the Reeve named as "Ludovicus ap Ieuan fychan" [i.e. Lewis son of John son of John], (ERO, D/DP/1496). Further back, a certain John ap Holden was a Reeve at Kidwelly, mentioned in 43.Edw.III (1368) according to "A History of Kidwelly" (David Daven Jones, 1908), which suggests a hereditary position. There were two Reeves at Kidwelly, one for the castle and one for the town;

Carmarthen (15th May 1424), from the Mayor, John Bernarde, stating Lewis was not only free-born, but was "a gentleman of our country" and from "the best family in this part of Wales", (ERO, D/DP/1497);

Cardigan (20th May 1424), from the Mayor, William Blakeney, (ERO, D/DP/1498);

Carmarthen Augustinian Priory, St. John the Evangelist, (20th December 1426), from the Prior, John Mathew, refuting allegations that Lewis was a serf, (ERO, D/DP/1499). [John Mathewe was deprived of his office in 1427 by the Bishop of St. David's.];

St. Dogmaels, Pembs, Monastery of the Blessed Mary and St. Dogmaels, (8th February 1427), from the Abbot, John, (ERO, D/DP/1867);

Whitland, Monastery of St. Mary, Pembs, (4th January 1428), from the Provost, Truffinns, stating Lewis was descended from the ancient lords of Wales, (ERO, D/DP/1500).

All the persons providing these certificates had English sounding names, apart from Lewis ap Ieuan fychan at Kidwelly, which does suggest he could have been a relative. Unfortunately there is nothing here to pin-down Lewis John's pedigree, which may have been his objective; as presenting a full pedigree may not have stood up to close scrutiny.

When Lewis John was about to travel to France in the company of Cardinal Beaufort in 1430, he petitioned Parliament for a legal distinction to be made between him and yet another Lewis John (a shipman of Fowey, Cornwall, in debt, who had been sentenced to outlawry), thus ensuring he could return afterwards to England without being arrested at the port, (Cal. Pat. Rolls, 12 January 1431). Lewis John again went to France with Cardinal Beaufort, to attend the coronation of King Henry, at Paris Notre Dame Cathedral  on 16th December 1431. Henry had previously been crowned King Henry VI of England at Westminster Abbey (6th November 1429). Whilst Lewis John was absent in France, his wife Alice died. In "Essex County Society and the French War in the Fifteenth Century", its author Dr. James Ross states that Lewis John had certainly fallen out with the de Vere family by 1430.

2.  Afterwards, Lewis John married (1433) [SAL2542] Anne Montagu (widow of Sir Richard Hankeford, and daughter of Earl John, see SALISBURY (MONTAGU) EARLDOM). Their children were [FLEW552] Elizabeth (see later), Alice and Margaret (these were the only daughters Anne claimed were her's). In addition he now had a step-daughter from Anne's previous marriage to Sir Richard Hankeford, viz. Anne Hankeford. Also, Richard Hankeford had previously married Elizabeth FitzWarin (died c.1427) so Anne Montagu also had two step-daughters, viz. Thomasine and Elizabeth FitzWarin.

Sir Richard Hankeford (born July 1397, son of Richard & Thomasine) was of Huish (Devon), Kelynack (Cornwall), Eastbury (Berks), etc. Anne Montagu was his 2nd wife, Richard having previously married 1. Elizabeth FitzWarin, who died c.1427. The coheirs of Richard Hankeford by his 1st wife Elizabeth were two surviving daughters, both minors, Thomasine (born February 1422-23, at Tawstock, Devon) and Elizabeth (born c.1424). Richard married his 2nd wife Anne Montagu some time after 1427, by whom he had at least one daughter, Anne. Richard died February 1430-31. Very shortly afterwards Anne Montagu obtained possession of his manors at Rolastone, Combe in Teignhead, Cookbury, Huish, Broad Harford, Yarnscombe, West Down, and nine others (all in Devon), and Norton and Nonnington [?] (Somerset), together with tenancies in Wiltshire, Berks, London (including a messuage and four shops etc in Holborn) and Middlesex.

Lewis John was committed to keep the moiety of a messuage, a water-mill, a caracute of land and 20 acres of wood in Milton Damarle, also a moiety of 2 messuages and 2 gardens in the city of Exeter, also a moiety of a messuage and certain lands in Brendesworthy [Braundsworthy] in the parish of Blaketoritum [Black Torrington], and also a moiety of a messuage and certain lands in Stottesdon in the parish of Bradeford [Bradford, near Cookbury], to hold the same which were in the king's hand by the death of Richard Hankeford, by reason of the minority of Anne Hankeford one of his daughters and heirs, until her full age, (Cal. Fine Rolls, 8 December 1438). Anne Hankeford afterwards married (as his first wife) Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond.

In May 1436 Lewis John and his wife Anne were granted estates in the manors of West Horndon, Ingrave, Wickham Bishops, and elsewhere in Essex.

In 1437 Anne's step-daughter Thomasine Hankeford was granted the FitzWarin lands her father had held by courtesy of his 1st wife, Elizabeth FitzWarin. These would have been Richard's vast holdings in the West Country, held (since mid-1431) by Thomasine's step-mother Anne Montagu, by then married to Lewis John.

Also in 1437, the grant was noted that Lewis still received 12d. per day for life of the issues of the county of Oxford, and still held the office of steward of Havering, (Cal. Pat. Rolls, 22 November 1437).

Lewis John was knighted in May 1439.

Lewis John died 22nd [elsewhere 27th] October 1442 (possibly overseas), leaving property in Essex, Hertford, Somerset and Dorset.

His will (dated at Catherington, Hants, 2 June 1440) refers to his wife "Anne Mountagew", his sons "Lowes (eldest, see footnote), Edmond, Philip, Harry [possibly Sir Henry] and John", and his daughters "Margaret (the eldest), Elizabeth, Alice, and Margaret (the youngest)". [The eldest Margaret presumably resulted from his first marriage.] Afterwards, Lewis John's widow Anne married 3. John, Earl of Huntingdon, later becoming DUKE OF EXETER (see EXETER (HOLAND) DUKEDOM). DUKE JOHN died 5th August 1447, and DUCHESS ANNE died 28th November 1457. Anne's will mentions her three daughters: Anne (born by her first marriage to Richard Hankeford, became 1st wife of Thomas, 7th Earl Ormond); Elizabeth (wife of John Wynkefeld, see below); and Margaret (3rd wife of Sir William Lucy).

[FLEW552] Elizabeth (daughter of Sir Lewis John & Anne) married [WING551] Sir John (see WINGFIELD).

 

[FLEW551] Lewis FitzJohn (eldest son of Sir Lewis John) held the manors of West Horndon, Porter's in Stebbing, Ingrave, Shenfield, Cranham, East Tilbury, West Tilbury and Ames [?] (all in Essex). Lewis supported the Lancastrian King Henry VI, but after his defeat at Tewkesbury (4th May 1471), and the subsequent restoration to the throne of the Yorkist King Edward IV, Lewis FitzJohn had his lands forfeit to the king, and they were afterwards (December 1471) given to the King's brother DUKE RICHARD OF GLOUCESTER, later becoming King Richard III. West Horndon either remained with or reverted to the family, as it later passed to the Mordaunt family by the marriage of Ella/Ellen FitzLewis, granddaughter of this Lewis.