Nicholas Radford


Nicholas Radford of Upcott in the parish of Cheriton Fitzpaine, and of Poughill, Devon, was a prominent lawyer in the Westcountry who served as Member of Parliament for Lyme Regis, Dorset and Devon. During the anarchic times of the Wars of the Roses he was caught up in the dynastic Westcountry rivalry between Thomas de Courtenay, 5th Earl of Devon, of Tiverton Castle, for whom during his minority he had acted as steward, and William Bonville, 1st Baron Bonville, of Shute. His murder in 1455 by the Earl's faction "ranks among the most notorious crimes of the century", and was the precursor of the Battle of Clyst Heath fought shortly thereafter near Exeter by the private armies of the two magnates. He served as a Justice of the Peace for Devon, as Escheator for Devon and Cornwall, Recorder of Exeter and as Tax Collector for Devon in 1450 and as Apprentice-at-law for the Duchy of Lancaster.

Origins

He was the son of Robert Radford of Oakford, Devon. According to Risdon, he was a descendant of the de Radford family of the estate of Radford, in the parish of Winkleigh, Devon, who had changed their name from de Bickly, after Robert de Bickly, son of Ralph Borne, had during the reign of King Richard I been granted the estate of Radford by Oliver de Tracy, feudal baron of Barnstaple. According to Pole the arms of Radford of Radford were: Sable, three lampagoes passant in pale coward argent.

Steward of Earl of Devon

In 1423 he was appointed by the royal council as joint steward of the vast estates of the infant Thomas de Courtenay, 5th/13th Earl of Devon, ward of the king and son and heir of the magnate Hugh de Courtenay, 4th/12th Earl of Devon. The 5th/13th Earl reached his majority of 21 in 1435, after which Radford still remained friends with him and was chosen by the earl to be a godfather to his second son Henry Courtenay.

Marriage

At some time before 1431, he married a certain Thomasina, by whom he had a son, Nicholas Jnr, born in 1437 in Poughill, Devon. Nicholas Jnr married Ursula Sufcote and they had a son, William.

Murder by Courtenay faction

The facts surrounding Radford's murder are recorded in the petition for justice made by his executor John Radford to King Henry VI, preserved in the National Archives at Kew and summarised contemporaneously as follows:
The petition is endorsed by the king in the standard form of acceptance: "Let it be done as he requests".

Paston Letters narrative

Several contemporary accounts record in tones of shock and horror, unusual during the times of blunted sensitivities of the fifteenth century, this murder and the following mock-funeral and coroner's inquest accompanied by the singing of highly inappropriate songs. The Paston Letters include a letter dated 28 October 1455 from James Gresham to John Paston as follows:

Succession

His heir to Poughill was Roger Prouz of Prouz, Devon, apparently his nephew, who inherited his estates. His sister Jone Radford had married Prouse of Prouse, whose later heir general was Guy. His seat of Upcott was however later the seat of James Courtenay, a younger son of Sir William II Courtenay of Powderham, and brother of Sir William III Courtenay "The Great", which family during the Wars of the Roses and at the Battle of Clyst Heath were members of the Bonville faction and were thus enemies of their distant cousins the Courtenay Earls of Devon of Tiverton Castle.

Landholdings

His landholdings included: