Title:

Baron/Lord

First Name:

Francis

Last Name:

Lovell

Memorial Type:

Information Board

Does the monument still exist?

Yes

Installation Date:

Modern (1899 - present day)

Inscription:

The rise and fall of Lovell the dog - Francis Lovell (d.1488) was a favouritie of the Yorkist king, Richard III (1483-1485). He was made a viscount and attended the new king at his coronation. Resentment at his escalating powers led a contemporary to compose a couplet about Lovell and two other henchmen, William Catesby and Richard Ratcliffe: 'The cat, the rat, and Lovell our dog Rule all England under the Hog.' After the defeat and death of the king at the battle of Bosworth, Lovell forfeited his estate. His fate after 1488 is obscure, despite an 18th-century story of a body discovered locked in the tower of Minister Lovell.

Allegiance:

Yorkist

Condition:

Good

Condition Description:

Well maintained by English Heritage

Memorial Notes:

According to Bramley (Peter Bramley, 'The Wars of the Roses: A field guide and companion (Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2007), p.92) Lovell fought at Bosworth on the Yorkist side and was one of the commanders at Stoke Field in 1487. A hand written notice in the adjacent St Kenelm's church says Lovell was Chamberlain to Richard III's household, constable of Wallingford castle and fought at the battles of Bosworth and Stoke field. It adds he was attainted in 1487.