View source for George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny

{{Short description|English courtier (1469–1535)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix  = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name              = The Lord Bergavenny
| honorific-suffix  = [[Order of the Garter|KG]] [[Privy Council of England|PC]]
| image             = Portrait George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny – Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg
| image_size              = 200px
| caption           = George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny, by [[Hans Holbein the Younger]] (collection of the [[Earls of Pembroke]])
| office            = [[Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports]]
| term_start        = 1534
| term_end          = 1534
| predecessor       = [[Edward Poyning|Sir Edward Poyning]]
| successor         = [[Edward Guilford|Sir Edward Guilford]]
| spouse            = Joan FitzAlan<br>Margaret Brent<br>Mary Stafford<br>Mary Brooke
| children          = [[Henry Nevill, 6th Baron Bergavenny]]<br>John Nevill<br>Thomas Nevill<br>Elizabeth Nevill<br>Jane Nevill<br>[[Mary Fiennes, Baroness Dacre|Mary Nevill]]<br>Katherine Nevill<br>Margaret Nevill<br>Dorothy Nevill<br>Ursula Nevill<br>daughter whose name is unknown
| father            = [[George Nevill, 4th Baron Bergavenny]]
| mother            = Margaret Fenn
| birth_date        = c.1469
| death_date        = June 1535<ref name = ODNB>{{cite ODNB|title = Oxford Dictionary of National Biography|access-date = 16 March 2017|first = Alasdair|last = Hawkyard|article = Nevill, George, third Baron Bergavenny (c.1469–1535)|date =  January 2008|doi = 10.1093/ref:odnb/19935|url = http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/19935}} Subscription or UK public library membership needed</ref> (about 66)
| resting_place     = [[Birling, Kent|Birling]], [[Kent]]
}}
[[File:George Neville, Lord Abergavenny (miniature) by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg|thumb|right|Miniature by Hans Holbein the Younger ([[Duke of Buccleuch collection]])]]

'''George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny''' (c.1469 – 1535), the family name often written '''Neville''', was an English nobleman and courtier who held the office of [[Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports]].

==Origins==
He was the son of [[George Nevill, 4th Baron Bergavenny]] (died 20 September 1492) and his first wife, Margaret (died 28 September 1485), daughter of [[Hugh Fenn (died 1476)|Hugh Fenn]], Under-Treasurer of England.{{sfn|Burke|1832|pp=8–9}}

His younger brother Sir [[Thomas Nevill]] was a trusted councillor of [[Henry VIII of England|King Henry VIII]] and [[List of Speakers of the House of Commons of England|Speaker of the House of Commons]]. His youngest brother, the courtier Sir [[Edward Neville (courtier)|Edward Nevill]], was executed by Henry in 1538 for treason.

==Career==
As a second cousin of the new Queen, [[Anne Neville|Anne Nevill]], he attended the coronation of King [[Richard III of England|Richard III]] in 1483 when, despite his young age, he was knighted. Having succeeded to his father's peerage and estates in 1492,<ref name = ODNB/> he achieved prominence fighting against the Cornish rebels in 1497 at the [[Battle of Blackheath]].{{sfn|Cokayne|1910|p=31}} In 1497 he took his place in the [[House of Lords]] and became involved in national affairs, being appointed to the privy council and in regular attendance at court. However, in 1506 he fell into serious trouble for keeping an illegal private army, being fined the immense amount of £100,000 and subjected to a travel ban. When Henry VIII became king in 1509, the fine was cancelled and a pardon granted. By 1512, he was back on the council and in 1513 was elected to the [[Order of the Garter]]. In that year he served in the expedition to capture [[Tournai]] and then to relieve [[Guînes]].<ref name = ODNB/>

At the coronation of Henry VIII, he held the office of Chief Larderer<ref name="mosley">Charles Mosley, editor, ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage'', 106th edition, 2 volumes (Crans, Switzerland: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 1999), volume 1, page 17.</ref> and in 1512 he was granted the castle and lands of [[Abergavenny]].{{sfn|Cokayne|1910|p=32}} He was a keen jouster and accompanied both King Henry VII and King Henry VIII on state occasions, including the meetings in 1520 with King [[Francis I of France]] at the [[Field of Cloth of Gold]] and with [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor]], at [[Gravelines]].<ref name = ODNB/>

The trial and execution in 1521 of his father-in-law [[Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham]], led to his own imprisonment for a year in the [[Tower of London]]. After admitting he had concealed the duke's treason, he was stripped of all his offices, fined 10,000 marks and had to sell his house to the king. He was then pardoned, being allowed to continue serving at court, in Parliament and in war, but regarded with suspicion. In 1530 he signed the petition asking [[Pope Clement VII]] to dissolve Henry VIII's marriage to [[Katherine of Aragon]] and was allowed to buy back his house.<ref name = ODNB/> At the coronation of [[Anne Boleyn]] in 1533, he once again was Chief Larderer and was allowed to officiate.{{sfn|Cokayne|1910|p=31}}

On 4 June 1535, he made his will at [[Eridge]] in Sussex and died on 13 or 14 June.<ref name = ODNB/> He was buried at [[Birling, Kent|Birling]], [[Kent]],{{sfn|Cokayne|1910|p=33}} with his heart interred at [[Mereworth]].{{sfn|Cokayne|1910|p=33}}

==Marriages and children==
He first married Joan (died 14 November 1508), the daughter of [[Thomas FitzAlan, 17th Earl of Arundel]], and his wife Margaret, the second daughter of [[Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers]] and younger sister of Queen [[Elizabeth Woodville|Elizabeth]], wife of King [[Edward IV of England|Edward IV]]. According to Hawkyard, the marriage was childless; however according to Cokayne, Richardson and Cracroft, there were one or two daughters:{{sfn|Hawkyard|2004}}{{sfn|Cokayne|1910|p=33}}{{sfn|Cokayne|1916|p=105}}{{sfn|Richardson I|2011|pp=37-8, 170}}<ref name="Cracroft">{{citation|url = http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/abergavenny1450.htm|title = Cracroft|access-date = 16 March 2017|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120506184119/http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/online/content/Abergavenny1450.htm|archive-date = 6 May 2012}}</ref>

*Elizabeth Nevill, who married [[Henry Daubeney, 1st Earl of Bridgewater]].{{sfn|Cokayne|1916|p=105}}
*Jane Nevill, who married [[Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu]], elder brother of Cardinal [[Reginald Pole]], executed for treason on 9 January 1539.{{sfn|Richardson III|2011|pp=377}}

He married secondly, before 5 September 1513, Margaret, daughter of William Brent of [[Charing]] in [[Kent]], without any children.{{sfn|Cokayne|1916|p=105}}<ref name="Cracroft"/>

He married thirdly, about June 1519, Mary, youngest daughter of [[Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham]], and his wife [[Eleanor Percy, Duchess of Buckingham|Eleanor Percy]], with whom he had three sons and five daughters:{{sfn|Richardson I|2011|pp=170–1}}

*[[Henry Nevill, 6th Baron Bergavenny]].
*John Nevill.
*Thomas Nevill.
*[[Mary Fiennes, Baroness Dacre|Mary Nevill]], who married first [[Thomas Fiennes, 9th Baron Dacre]]; secondly John Wootton (the brother of Henry Wotton), of [[Tuddenham]]; and thirdly Francis Thursby (the son of [[Thomas Thursby (d. 1543)|Thomas Thursby]]), of [[Congham]].
*Katherine Nevill, who married Sir [[John St. Leger (died 1596)|John St. Leger]].
*Margaret Nevill, who married first John Cheyne (died 1544), eldest son of Sir [[Thomas Cheney|Thomas Cheyne]], and secondly [[Henry Poole (died 1580)|Henry Poole]], of [[Ditchling]].
*Dorothy Nevill (died 1559), who married, as his first wife, [[William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham]], with whom she had a daughter, Frances Brooke, who married first Thomas Coppinger (1546–1580), and secondly Edward Becher.{{sfn|McKeen|1986|p=700}}
*Ursula Nevill, who married [[Warham St Leger|Sir Warham St. Leger]], second cousin once removed of her brother-in-law Sir John St. Leger.

Mary, Katherine, Margaret and Dorothy were married to heirs, whose [[ward (law)|wardships]] their father had acquired.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/e321d185-5efa-44ab-8b0e-0cba71280f9a|title=East Sussex Archive ABE/20T/1|access-date=15 January 2024}}</ref>

He married fourthly his mistress Mary Brooke, the aunt of his son-in-law William Brooke, who was pregnant at his death.<ref name = ODNB/> with a daughter whose name is unknown.{{sfn|Richardson I|2011|p=170}} Mary was the daughter of [[Thomas Brooke, 8th Baron Cobham]], and his first wife Dorothy, daughter of Sir [[Henry Heydon]], of [[Baconsthorpe]], and his wife Anne, daughter of Sir [[Geoffrey Boleyn]], of Hever. This made her a second cousin of Queen Anne Boleyn.<ref name="Cracroft"/>

==Arms==
{{gallery
|width=400
|File:Coat of arms of Sir George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny, KG.png|Quartered arms of Sir George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny, KG, PC, as displayed on his stall plate in St. George's chapel - 1st, Nevill; 2nd, Warren; 3rd, quarterly Clare and Despencer; 4th, Beauchamp
|File:Arms of Neville, Marquess of Abergavenny.svg|Arms of Nevill, Barons Bergavenny: ''Gules, a saltire argent charged with a rose of the field (barbed and seeded proper)''.<ref>Blazon per Debrett's Peerage, 1968, "Marquess of Abergavenny", with extra details of rose as stated for the Nevill Barons Braybrooke</ref> These are the ancient arms of [[House of Neville|Nevill]] [[Difference (heraldry)|differenced]] by a rose, the symbol of a 7th son, in reference to Sir [[Edward Nevill, 3rd Baron Bergavenny|Edward Nevill, 1st Baron Bergavenny]] (d.1476), husband of Elizabeth Beauchamp & 7th son of [[Ralph Nevill, 1st Earl of Westmorland]]. These arms have descended to the Nevill [[Marquess of Abergavenny|Marquesses of Abergavenny]]
}}

==Ancestry==
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2014 }}
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|1= 1. '''George Nevill, 5th Baron Bergavenny'''
|2= 2. [[George Nevill, 4th Baron Bergavenny]]
|3= 3. Margaret Fenn 
|4= 4. [[Edward Nevill, 3rd Baron Bergavenny]] 
|5= 5. [[Elizabeth de Beauchamp, Lady of Abergavenny|Elizabeth Beauchamp]] 
|6= 6. [[Hugh Fenn (died 1476)|Hugh Fenn]]
|7= 7. Eleanor
|8= 8. [[Ralph Nevill, 1st Earl of Westmorland]] 
|9= 9. [[Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland|Joan Beaufort]] 
|10= 10. [[Richard de Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester]] 
|11= 11. [[Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester and Warwick|Isabel Despenser]] 
|12= 12. Thomas Fenn
}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*{{Cite book |last=Burke |first=John |year=1832 |title=A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire |location=London |publisher=Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley |volume=I |pages=8–9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cq8KAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA8 |access-date=23 May 2013 }}
*{{Cite book |last=Cokayne |first=George Edward |year=1910 |title=The Complete Peerage, edited by Vicary Gibbs |location=London |publisher=St. Catherine Press |volume=I }}
*{{Cite book |last=Cokayne |first=George Edward |year=1916 |title=The Complete Peerage, edited by the Honourable Vicary Gibbs |publisher=St. Catherine Press |location=London |volume=IV }}
*{{cite ODNB |last=Hawkyard |first=Alasdair |year=2004 |title=Neville, George, third Baron Bergavenny (c.1469–1535) |id=19935}} 
*{{Cite book |last=McKeen |first=David |year=1986 |title=A Memory of Honour; The Life of William Brooke, Lord Cobham |location=Salzburg |publisher=Universitat Salzburg |volume=I |page=700 }}
*{{Cite book |last=Richardson |first=Douglas |year=2011 |title=Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families |editor-first=Kimball G. |editor-last=Everingham |location=Salt Lake City |edition=2nd |volume=I |ref={{sfnref |Richardson I |2011}} |isbn=978-1449966379 }}
*{{Cite book |last=Richardson |first=Douglas |year=2011 |title=Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families |editor-first=Kimball G. |editor-last=Everingham |location=Salt Lake City |edition=2nd |volume=III |ref={{sfnref |Richardson III |2011}} |isbn=978-1449966393 }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hon}}
{{succession box |
  before=[[Edward Poyning|Sir Edward Poyning]] |
  title=[[Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports]] |
  years=1534 |
  after=[[Edward Guilford|Sir Edward Guilford]]
}}
{{s-reg|en}}
{{succession box | before=[[George Nevill, 4th Baron Bergavenny|George Nevill]] | title=[[Baron Bergavenny]] | years=1492–1535 | after=[[Henry Nevill, 6th Baron Bergavenny|Henry Nevill]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergavenny, George Nevill, 5th Baron}}
[[Category:1460s births]]
[[Category:1535 deaths]]
[[Category:Knights of the Garter]]
[[Category:Lords Warden of the Cinque Ports]]
[[Category:15th-century English nobility]]
[[Category:Neville family|George]]
[[Category:Barons Bergavenny (Peerage of England)]]
[[Category:People from Birling, Kent]]
[[Category:16th-century English knights]]