View source for Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset

{{short description|15th-century English noble}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox noble
| name            = The Duke of Somerset 
| title           = 
| image           = Beaufort Arms (France modern).svg
| image_size      = 150px
| caption         = Coat of arms of Beaufort
| spouse          =
| issue           = [[Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester]] <small>(legitimised){{cn|date=March 2025}}</small>
| full name       =
| noble family    = [[House of Beaufort]]
| father          = [[Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset]]
| mother          = [[Lady Eleanor Beauchamp]]
| birth_date      = 26 January 1436
| death_date      = {{death date and age|1464|5|15|1436|1|26|df=y}}
}}

'''Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset''' (26 January 1436{{cn|date=April 2022|reason=Sources appear to differ; Pollard says about April 1436, while Baumgaertner says "c.26JA/AP 1436", which presumably indicates uncertainty about whether it was January or April}}{{snd}}15 May 1464) was an important [[House of Lancaster|Lancastrian]] military commander during the English [[Wars of the Roses]]. He is sometimes numbered the 2nd [[Duke of Somerset]], because the title was re-created for his father after his uncle died. He also held the subsidiary titles of '''5th Earl of Somerset''', '''2nd Marquess of Dorset''' and '''2nd Earl of Dorset'''.

==Biography==
Somerset, born about January 1436, was the son of [[Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset]], and [[Lady Eleanor Beauchamp|Eleanor]], daughter of [[Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick]] and widow of Thomas, fourteenth baron Roos of Hamlake.{{sfn|Pollard|1901|p=157}}{{efn|Thus Somerset was a maternal nephew of [[Anne Neville, 16th Countess of Warwick|Lady Anne Beauchamp, Countess of Warwick]]. He was a paternal second cousin to [[Lady Margaret Beaufort]] and [[Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick|Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick]] (the "Kingmaker"). Somerset was also an uncle to [[Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham]].{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}<!--for all of the facts in this note-->}} From 1443 to 1448 Henry was styled Count of Mortain or Morteign, and from 1448 to 1455 Earl of Dorset. While still a youth he fought at the [[First Battle of St Albans]] (1455), where he was wounded and his father was killed; thereby he inherited the title of [[Duke of Somerset|3rd Duke of Somerset]].{{sfn|Pollard|1901|p=157}}{{sfn|Baumgaertner|2010|p=360}}

He was regarded as "the hope of the [Lancastrian] party",<ref>{{harvnb|Pollard|1901|p=157}} cites Ramsay.</ref> but he also inherited the "enmities entailed upon him by his father's name".<ref>{{harvnb|Pollard|1901|p=157}} cites Stubbs, iii. 171.</ref> He was brought to the council at Coventry, where in October 1456 an effort was made to reconcile the two parties; but the meeting was disturbed by quarrels between Somerset and Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, and by a brawl between Somerset's men and the town watch of Coventry. In 1457 Queen [[Margaret of Anjou]] suggested a marriage between Somerset and his cousin [[Joan Stewart, Countess of Morton|Joan]], sister of [[James II of Scotland]], but the proposal came to nothing. On 14 October of that year Somerset was made lieutenant of the [[Isle of Wight]] and warden of [[Carisbrooke Castle]]. Early in 1458 he took part in the council at London which again endeavoured to effect a political reconciliation, and it was agreed that [[Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York|Richard, Duke of York]] should pay the widowed Duchess of Somerset and her children an annual pension of five thousand marks as compensation for the death of the 2nd Duke.{{sfn|Pollard|1901|p=157}} He then participated in [[The Love Day]] with the King, Queen and other leading nobles.

The truce, however, was hollow; Margaret continued to intrigue against York, and in October 1458 proposed that Somerset should be appointed [[captain of Calais]] in place of Warwick. War broke out in 1459, and Somerset nearly encountered Warwick at Coleshill just before the [[Battle of Blore Heath]]. After the defeat of Lancastrians at Blore Heath and before the Lancastrian victory at Ludford Bridge,  he was on 9 October nominated captain of Calais. He crossed the Channel and was refused admittance to Calais by Warwick's adherents, but made himself master of the outlying fortress of [[Guisnes]] (appointing [[Andrew Trollope]] its bailiff). Somerset fought several skirmishes with the Yorkists between Calais and Guisnes until on 23 April 1460 he suffered a decisive reverse at the Battle of Newnham Bridge (called ''Pont de Neullay'' by the French).<ref>{{harvnb|Pollard|1901|p=157}} cites W. Worcester, p. 479; ''Chron''. ed. Davies, p. 84; Hall, p. 206.</ref>

During his absence the Yorkists had won the [[Battle of Northampton (1460)|Battle of Northampton]], but Somerset joined the Lancastrians at Pontefract in December 1460, captured a portion of the Yorkist forces at Worksop on 21 December, and won the Lancastrian victory at the [[Battle of Wakefield]] on 30 December. He marched south with Margaret and fought at the [[Second Battle of St Albans]] (17 February 1461). This second victory was not followed up; the Lancastrians retired north, and on 29 March [[Edward IV of England|Edward IV]] won the [[Battle of Towton]] (29 March 1461). Somerset escaped from the battlefield, and in the following July was sent by Margaret to seek aid from [[Charles VII of France]]. Charles died before their arrival, but [[Louis XI of France|Louis XI]] summoned Somerset to [[Tours]] and sent him back in March 1462 laden with promises of support, but with very little else.{{sfn|Pollard|1901|p=157}}

Somerset now began to consider making his peace with Edward IV. He had been [[attainder|attainted]] by parliament on 4 November 1461, and most of his lands had been granted to Edward's brother [[Richard III of England|Richard, Duke of Gloucester]] and other Yorkists.<ref>{{harvnb|Pollard|1901|p=157}} cites ''Cal. Patent Rolls'', 1461-5, pp. 29, 32; Stubbs, iii. 1960.</ref> On his return from France he took command of the Lancastrian forces in Scotland while Margaret went to France, and in the autumn of 1462 he was holding [[Bamburgh Castle]] for the Lancastrians. On 24 December, however, he and Sir Ralph Percy, the Governor of Bamburgh Castle, surrendered the castle and submitted to King Edward. The king took him to London, and treated him with marked favour. He received a general pardon on 10 March 1462/1463,<ref>{{harvnb|Pollard|1901|p=157}} cites ''Cal. Patent Rolls''. 1461-5, p. 261.</ref> and was restored to his dignities by act of the parliament which met on 29 April following.<ref>{{harvnb|Pollard|1901|p=157}} cites ''Rot. Parl.'' v. 511.</ref>

Somerset, however, soon returned to his old allegiance. Early in 1464 he escaped from [[Holt Castle]] in North Wales, where he seems to have been kept in some sort of confinement, and after nearly being recaptured made his way to Margaret on the borders. The Lancastrians now made one more effort to recover the crown, but at the [[Battle of Hexham]] on 15 May 1464 they were utterly defeated by [[John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu]].{{sfn|Pollard|1901|p=157}} Somerset was captured in a barn at the site of what is now known as Dukes House, and beheaded shortly afterwards that same day. He was buried at [[Hexham Abbey]].{{sfn|btilley|2007}}{{efn|Traditionally his helmet from the battle was kept within Hexham Abbey from which it was taken by Colonel [[John Fenwick (MP for Morpeth)|John Fenwick]] for use in the [[English Civil War]]. After Fenwick's death at battle of [[Marston Moor]] the helmet was retrieved along with his skull, both were returned to the Abbey. The helmet is currently on display in [[Hexham Old Gaol]] museum.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} }} Parliament annulled the act restoring him to his dignities, which again became forfeit and were never restored.{{sfn|Pollard|1901|p=157}} Somerset was unmarried, and his younger brother, [[Edmund Beaufort (died 1471)|Edmund Beaufort]], was styled 4th Duke of Somerset by the Lancastrians.{{sfn|Pollard|1901|pp=157–158}}

In 1485, some twenty-one years after his death, Somerset, along with [[Jasper Tudor]], had all acts of attainder against him annulled in the first Parliament of Henry VII, "for their true and faithfull Allegeaunces and Services doune to the said blessed King Herrie [VI]."<ref>{{cite web|title=Rotuli Parliamentorum A.D. 1485 1 Henry VII|url=http://partyparcel.co.uk/information/price-guarantee.html#restitution_henryvi|access-date=10 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902193242/http://www.partyparcel.co.uk/information/price-guarantee.html#restitution_henryvi|archive-date=2 September 2013|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

==Character==
Somerset was described by Chastellain as "''un très grand seigneur et un des plus beaulx josnes chevaliers qui fust au royaume anglais''" ("A very great lord and one of the most handsome knights in the English kingdom").{{sfn|Pollard|1901|p=157}} 

==Illegitimate progeny==
By his mistress Joan Hill he had an illegitimate son:
*[[Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester|Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, 1st Baron Herbert]] (c.1460-1526), KG, who was given the surname "Somerset" and was created [[Baron Herbert]] in 1506 and [[Earl of Worcester]] in 1513. From him descend the Earls and Marquesses of Worcester and the [[Duke of Beaufort|Dukes of Beaufort]],{{sfn|Pollard|1901|p=158}} who are the last known surviving  male-line descendants{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} of King Henry II (1154-1189) of England, Count of Anjou, founder of the  [[Plantagenets|Plantagenet dynasty]], of which King Richard III (1483-1485) was the last ruling member in the male line.

==Ancestry==
{{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. '''Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset'''
|2= 2. [[Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset]]
|3= 3. [[Eleanor Beauchamp, Duchess of Somerset|Eleanor Beauchamp]]
|4= 4. [[John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset]]
|5= 5. [[Margaret Holland]]
|6= 6. [[Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick]]
|7= 7. [[Elizabeth de Berkeley, Countess of Warwick|Elizabeth de Berkeley]]
|8= 8. [[John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster]]
|9= 9. [[Katherine Swynford]]
|10= 10. [[Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent]]
|11= 11. [[Alice FitzAlan, Countess of Kent|Alice FitzAlan]]
|12= 12. [[Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick]]
|13= 13. Margaret Ferrers
|14= 14. [[Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley]]
|15= 15. Margaret de Lisle, 3rd Baroness Lisle
}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Baumgaertner |first=Wm. E. |year=2010 |chapter=Henry Beaufort, third Duke of Somerset, Lancastrian Military Commander |title=Squires, Knights, Barons, Kings: War and Politics in Fifteenth Century England  |publisher=Trafford Publishing |isbn=9781426907692 |pages=360–361|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=skfZcdOXGp8C&pg=PT377}}
* {{cite news|author=btilley |date=26 October 2007 |url=http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk/tourism/arts-leisure/debunking-myths-about-the-real-battle-of-hexham-1.184434?referrerPath=home/2.3307 |title=Debunking myths about the real Battle of Hexham |newspaper=[[Hexham Courant]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229231627/http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk/tourism/arts-leisure/debunking-myths-about-the-real-battle-of-hexham-1.184434?referrerPath=home%2F2.3307 |archive-date=29 February 2012 }}

'''Attribution'''
* {{DNBSupp  |last=Pollard |first=Albert Frederick   |wstitle=Beaufort, Henry (1436-1464) | volume=I | pages=157–158 }} Endnotes:
** ''Cal. Rot. Pat.''
** Rymer's ''Fœdera''
** ''Rotuli Parl.''
** William of Worcester and Stevenson's ''Letters'' (Rolls Ser.)
** ''English Chron.,'' ed. Davies, Gregory's Collections, Three English Chron., and Warkworth's Chron. (Camden Soc)
** ''Polydore Vergil''
** Hall's ''Chronicle''
** Paston ''Letters'', ed. Gairdner
** Fortcseue's ''Governance of England'', ed. Plummer
** ''Arthur de Richemont, Matthieu D'Eseouchy and Chastellain's Chroniques'' (Soc. de l'Hist. de France)
** Beaucourt's ''Charles VII''
** Stubbs's ''Const. Hist.'' vol. iii. passim
** Ramsay's ''Lancaster and York''
** Doyle's ''Official Baronage''
** G. E. Cokayne's ''Complete Peerage''

{{s-start}}
{{s-reg|en}}
{{s-bef |before=[[Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset|Edmund Beaufort]]}}
{{s-ttl |title=[[Duke of Somerset]] |creation=2nd creation |years=1455–1464}}
{{s-vac |forfeit |next=[[Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset|Edmund Beaufort]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Dukes of Somerset}}
{{Wars of the Roses}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerset, Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke Of}}
[[Category:1436 births]]
[[Category:1464 deaths]]
[[Category:Beaufort family|Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset]]
[[Category:Dukes of Somerset|202]]
[[Category:Marquesses of Dorset]]
[[Category:People of the Wars of the Roses]]
[[Category:People executed by the House of York]]
[[Category:Executed English nobility]]
[[Category:People executed by the House of Plantagenet by decapitation]]
[[Category:Burials at Hexham Abbey]]
[[Category:Earls of Somerset]]