68 Essay on Caerphilly Castle. 



Here he was joined by Despencer, who having surrendered Caerphilly 

 to the queen and prince Edward, upon assurance of life, limb, and the 

 oblivion of all things wherefore he was besieged in that castle, had been 

 permitted to make his escape. 



As Edward is only certainly known to have been at Caerphilly on the 

 30th, and at Margam on the "^th, there remains an interval of not more 

 than four whole days, and possibly a portion of two others, during which 

 his wanderings are unrecorded. If we suppose that he employed the in- 

 terval in proceeding by sea to Margaui, taking water at Cardiff or some 

 neighbouring port, we shall be able to reconcile the narrative of VValsingham 

 with that given above. Walsingham, whose information, though generally 

 correct, is not always minute, makes him take water from Striguil. It 

 seems, however, more probable that he went first to Caerphilly. 



Froissart says that the king and Despencer, jun., held the castle, and 

 Despencer, sen., and the earl of Arundel, the town, of Bristol, against the 

 queen's forces j and that the two latter were executed under the walls of 

 that castle, within sight of the king and all within it. He also relates that 

 the king and Despencer, jun., were taken on the seas while escaping from 

 Bristol, and brought back thither : points in which he is not borne out by 

 any other contemporary writer, (within the circle of my reading). Froissart 

 was clearly never in that part of England, and seems to have been mis- 

 informed. Fabyan merely gives a very general statement, agreeing, as far 

 as it goes, with Froissart. 



The king, Despencer, and Baldock, remained at Neath until the 10th, 

 when Henry earl of Lancaster, Master ap Howell, (afterwards justiciary of 

 Wales) and William La Zouch, having lands and power in the neighbour- 

 hood, were sent to watch the king, who finally, with his two minions, was 

 seized near the castle of Llautursan.* The next writ is dated Ledbury, 

 13th of November, and finally the king was conveyed to Kenilworth, on 

 the 14th of December. 



Baldock, being an ecclesiastic, was confined to Newgate, where he died 

 within the year ; and Despencer, being hanged at Hereford, as his father 

 before him had been at Bristol, his honours became extinct, and his estates 

 reverted to the crown. He left, however, a widow, Eleanor, who stood in 

 the relationship of cousin to the king. 



At the coronation of the new monarch, we find mentioned 



I. E. III. among the nobles present, Hugh Le Despencer, who seems to 



Knyghton. have been the eldest son of Le Despencer, and who died finally 



without issue. " He delivered up," says Knyghton, "the castle 



of Caerphilly, which he had from his father, to the king, and placed himself 



at his disposal, who in return granted unto him safety of life and limb." 



In addition to this, the monarch seems to have regranted to him a 



* Llantrissent. 



I 



