I HAVE already alluded to the statement, that
Robert Eyre "fought at the battle of Agincourt under the banner of his father
Nicholas Eyre of Hope." In the Sheffield Reference Library is a copy of
Heylin's 'Cosmographia', published in 1665, which was probably once in the
possession of a member of the Eyre family, for there are several MS. pedigrees
of branches of that family written on its leaves. In one, dealing with the
parent stock at Hope, which bears evidence of having been written at the close
of the 17th century, certainly not later than 1706, the following reference to
the battle of Agincourt occurs:-
"Nicholas Eyre of Hope esqre. and Justice of Peace under K. Henry ye sixth.
He was a considerable officer under K. Henry ye 5th at ye battle of Agincourt
in France 1415; where he behaved himself right valiantly." There is no
statement in this pedigree however, connecting his son Robert with the battle.
The tradition that a Company of Archers from the Hope neighbourhood fought at
the battle, under the command of one of these members of the Eyre family, has
been very persistent; and it is usually coupled with the assertion that a Roll
is in existence containing the names of those who constituted the Company, and
that many of these names are borne by the inhabitants of the parish to this
day.
he Revd. Joseph Hunter, the historian of Hallamshire, as keeper of the
National Records possessed special facilities for ascertaining the existence
of an Agincourt Roll, and in 1850 was engaged in a search for documents
bearing upon that battle. The result has been published, under the head of
"The Agincourt Roll", amongst his 'Critical and Historical Tracts'. He found
certain documents or "Indentures", but these were clearly only it few
fragments which had survived centuries of neglect and indifference to the
preservation of such records. He established the fact, however, that a
complete Roll had once existed. He came across several references to this
Roll, and in one of them Sir Robert Babthorpe, the Comptroller of the King's
Household who had himself prepared the Roll, specifically referred to it as
containing the name of every person present at the battle of Agincourt.
Hunter's discoveries are of great interest and value, and furnish the names of
many of the Commanders of high rank, and of some of their subordinates who
were present in the campaign: but he writes that "all hope must, I fear, now
be abandoned of ever recovering this Roll, though it is certain that such a
Roll was prepared, was delivered into the Exchequer, and was committed to the
charge of the King's Remembrancer to be for ever preserved by him."
The names given in Hunter's list, extracted from the Indentures he
discovered, are as I have said mostly those of Commanders with the number of
their retinue. In no case is any place of residence mentioned, and there is no
mention of any individual bearing the name of Eyre. Hunter himself admits that
"though this tract may be safely appealed to as an authority for the fact that
the person named was in the expedition, or at least covenanted to go, it
cannot be accepted as
containing proof of the negative, or that a person affirmed to have been in
the expedition was not actually in it".
Amongst the names which appear it, the list the only ones which would seem
to suggest connection with Derbyshire and the Derbyshire borders are:
Sir Thomas Chaworth 7 lancers and 24 archers: Sir John Gresley 1
man at arms and 6 archers; Sir Ralph Shirley 5 men at arms and 18 archers;
Sir William Talbot -- 3 men at arms and 12 archers; William Bradshaw -- 3
archers (the latter died at Harfleur, and his account for service was
presented by Joan, his widow, and Elizabeth, his daughter, wife of Richard
Harrington); Stephen Hatfield -- 1 man at arms and 6 archers. Ten Knights
and Esquires of Lancashire covenanted to bring each 50 archers, amongst them
Sir Ralph Stanley, John Stanley, and Sir Thomas Tunstall.
Hunter, referring to the Indentures upon which his tract is based, writes:
"As to lists in manuscript at the Museum or the Herald's College, I take the
liberty to pass them over, as being evidence of a class inferior to that on
which I proceed. And as to other National Records of that period, I have made
but little use of them, but I have looked into them so far as to become
persuaded that there is for this purpose nothing at all comparable to the
particular documents from which this list is compiled."
The late Mr. Benjamin Bagshawe of Sheffield, who was a well-known local
authority on matters pertaining to the history of Derbyshire, his native
county, left amongst his papers a notebook containing notes made by him from
the Add. MSS. at the British Museum. This notebook has been very kindly placed
at my disposal by his son, Mr. E. G. Bagshawe. Under the heading "Add. MSS.
24707 -- Copy of the Muster Roll called the Agincourt Roll" is the
following list of names, which the late
Mr. Bagshawe had no doubt selected as names borne by Derbyshire families,
though in few instances identified with names borne by families connected with
the parish the of Hope in recent times. I have substituted the English
equivalent for the Latin form in which the Christian names appear. The
'Monstratio' (or Roll) is stated to have been taken at Lymington and Beaulieu
(ports in the New Forest near Southampton from which the expedition set out)
in the presence of Henry de Houghton and Ralph Bostok:
"[1]S.S. Dominus de Grey de Codenore" (Lord Grey of
Codnor. ob:
1428.)
(among others): John Grey, Edward Foljambe, John Cokayn, Robert
Strelley, Alured Longford, Robert Wennesley, Richard Foljambe, William
Gloshoppe, John Martyn, Richard Taillour, William Martyn, Thomas Staunton,
William Dekyn (these were Lancers).
(The Archers were, amongst others):
Richard Coup, John Dekyn, Ralph Bradshawe, Laurence Repyndon. (Repynden was
an ancient form for Repton, a village in South Derbyshire.)
Peter Leche "miles."Peter Leche "miles" (? of Chatsworth),
Ralph Leche, George de la Poole (Pole), Roger Barlee (Barlow). (These names
are bracketed Lancers.)
(The following were probably Archers): John de
Grendon, Robert de Lee, Roger Halgethorpe, William Halgethorpe, Adam
Wylughby (Willoughby), Roger Thornhill, Richard Coke, Wilfred de Lee, John
de Marpole (Marple), Roger Clough, Richard Abney, Hugh Bagshawe, John
Staveley, John Halley, Thomas Ward, Thomas Wybbersley, Thurstan Halley, John
Hide, Richard Botham, John Calton, Thomas
Mellar, Richard Tailioure, Roger Tailhoure, Robert Wright,
Oliver Bradshawe, Thurstan Godbehere, Dionisius Rylee, John Gretrakes (Greatorex), James
Redyman, John Harper, John Halley, Fulke de Sutton, John Daukyn, Edmund
Tailour, John de Hethecote, William de Glossop, Richard Heyre
(Eyre), William de Hallows, Nicholas de Walton.
S.S. Shirley.Ralph Shirley "miles", Ralph Fowne, John Peche, Ralph Barlowe, Nicholas Fowne (Archers).
Earl of Warwick.Thomas Harthall, Richard Coterell.
Sire John Blount.Richard Danyell, Richard Stafford (both
men-at-arms).
(Amongst the Archers are): John Furnyvale, Thomas Furnyvale, Henry
Wardelowe,
In the absence of any indication as to the locality from which these
soldiers came, and particularly the fact that neither Nicholas nor Robert Eyre
figure in these lists (the solitary occurrence of the name of Eyre being that
of Richard Heyre, an archer), the Hope tradition must remain a tradition and
nothing more. It cannot be said to be disproved, when we consider that the
documents from which these names were obtained represent but a fraction of the
original roll, and that the rest has disappeared entirely. The antiquity of
the tradition is a point in its favour, and if a company of archers was raised
within the forest area some member of the Eyre family, which had for
generations held in important official position in connexion with the Royal
Forest of the Peak, would have been a most likely choice for the position of
its Commander or Captain.
Notes on Chapter IX
| [1]
| S.S. a prefix of honour. Probably an abbreviation of
Sire, French Sieur. |