John Neville, born about 1520, was the only son of John Neville, 3rd Baron Latimer, by his first wife, Dorothy de Vere, daughter of Sir George Vere by Margaret, daughter and heiress of Sir William Stafford of Bishop's Frome, Herefordshire. Dorothy de Vere was the sister and co-heiress of John de Vere, 14th Earl of Oxford. She died 7 February 1527, and was buried at Well, North Yorkshire. After her death the 3rd Baron married secondly, on 20 July 1528, Elizabeth Musgrave, the daughter of Sir Edward Musgrave, by whom he had no issue. After his second wife's death, he contracted a marriage, in 1533, with Catherine, Lady Borough, the widow of Sir Edward Borough, by whom he also had no issue. Catherine is said to have been a kind stepmother to the 3rd Baron's two children, John and Margaret. In her will, dated 23 March 1545, Margaret stated that she was unable to render Catherine sufficient thanks 'for the godly education and tender love and bountiful goodness which I have evermore found in her Highness'. There is some indication that Margaret was the 3rd Baron's father's favourite child, which, if true, might explain the turbulence which followed as John got older. As a teenager, John proved to be a confident sulking, lying, and over-sensitive boy. The 3rd Baron did not name his son as heir to his properties, and ensured that his son could not meddle with his inheritance or father's legacy. In the 3rd Baron's will, his wife Catherine was named guardian of his daughter, and was put in charge of the 4th Baron's affairs, which were to be given over to his daughter when she reached the age of majority. In January 1537, Neville, his sister Margaret, and step-mother Catherine were held hostage at Snape Castle during the Pilgrimage of Grace. The rebels ransacked the house and sent word to the 3rd Baron, who was returning from London, that if he did not return immediately they would kill his family. When they returned to the castle he somehow talked the rebels into releasing his family and leaving, but the aftermath to follow with Latimer would prove to be taxing on the whole family.
Later life
John Neville became 4th Baron Latimer at his father's death on 2 March 1543. Catherine remained close to her former stepchildren, and made the 4th Baron's wife, Lucy Somerset, a lady-in-waiting when she became queen consort to King Henry VIII. In May 1544, the 4th Baron was involved with the siege of Edinburgh in Scotland and he was there knighted at Butterdean near Coldingham. He then went to war in France where he took part in the siege of Abbeville. The 4th baron was emotionally unstable in later life. In the summer of 1553, he was sent to Fleet Prison on charges of violence done to a servant. He was arrested for attempted rape and assault in 1557, and in 1563 he killed a man. Of the situation in 1553, Thomas Edwards wrote to the Earl of Rutland describing the violence which had taken place with the servant quoting "too great a villainy for a noble man, my thought." That this public violence occurred after the death of his step-mother, Catherine, might suggest that at least she had some sort of control over Neville while she was alive. The 4th Baron died without male issue in 1577, at which time the title was wrongfully assumed by Richard Neville of Penwyn and Wyke Sapie, Worcestershire, only son of William Neville, second son of Richard Neville, 2nd Baron Latimer. However, according to modern doctrine, the barony fell into abeyance among the 4th Baron's four daughters until 1913, when it was determined in favour of Francis Money-Coutts, 5th Baron Latymer, a descendant of the 4th Baron's daughter Lucy.
