Living amid medieval Mortimers….!

 

According to this link: “The Herefordshire home of the late John Challis – famous for playing Boycie in [the] iconic sitcom Only Fools and Horses – has been put up for sale.”

Much as I love Boycie (I’m delighted when Only Fools and Horses and Green Green Grass of Home are repeated on TV), it’s the abbey itself that seizes my interest. Why? Because it has huge connections to the Mortimers, among whom was the infamous Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, who may or may not have been the lover of Isabella of France, queen of Edward II. Roger was buried at Wigmore Abbey.

Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer

Another Mortimer was Anne. Read more about her here. She married Richard of Conisbrough, who was the second son of the 1st Duke of York. The first son (and 2nd duke) died at Agincourt, childless, and Richard of Conisbrough died before he could ascend to the ducal title. But he and Anne had a son, Richard, who became 3rd Duke of York.

As we all know well, the 3rd Duke of York was the father of Edward IV and Richard III, But he didn’t make his claim for the throne simply because he was Duke of York. Oh no, he also did it because Anne’s descent was through Lionel, Duke of Clarence, the second eldest son of Edward III. Richard, 3rd Duke of York therefore had a double claim, through York and Mortimer.

Found on Pinterest

But I digress, because many of Anne’s illustrious Mortimer forebears had a lot to do with Wigmore Abbey. Anne herself wasn’t laid to rest at Wigmore, but in King’s Langley.

For a much  more informative article about the abbey, go to this link. And to see many more photographs of the abbey, go to this site https://www.markwiggin.co.uk/property-list/wigmoreabbey.

The asking price for Wigmore Abbey is £1.5 million. To me it’s worth far, far more. Ahem, if my sense of humour weren’t so excruciating, I’d mention hearing the galloping Trotters of my piggybank as he legs it for the coast! 🙄 Yes, yes, I hear you groaning….