Title:

Knight

First Name:

Robert

Last Name:

Whittingham

Memorial Type:

Burial site

Does the monument still exist?

No

Installation Date:

Not applicable

Allegiance:

Lancastrian

Memorial Notes:

Sir Robert was born in 1420 and had served in France in 1450 under Henry VI as captain of Caen when it fell to the French. By 1455 he was an esquire of the household and mmeber of the king's household, and by 1458 he was Keeper of the Queen's Wardrobe. He was knighted in the field by Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, following the Second Battle of St Albans and went on to fight at Towton. Following the Lancastrian defeat, he fled to Scotland with Margaret. He remained in the north fighting sporadic campaigns at Carlisle and Alnwick before retreating to France and Queen Margaret’s court in 1463 and remained there her return in April 1471. He stayed with Margaret on her march to Tewkesbury and was killed in battle. He was buried under the north aisle of the abbey at the foot of the chancel arch. Sir Robert's son, Sir William had fought with his father at St Albans where he was knighted by Edward, Prince of Wales and Towton when only 17 yrs old. William escaped the Yorkist reign of Edward IV and re-joined his father in France in 1463 at Margaret’s court. He returned with his father in 1471 and again fought together at Tewkesbury where he too was killed in the battle. Sir Robert was initially buried in the abbey, although he was soon re-interred at Ashridge College, and in 1575, following the College's suppression in 1539, finally moved to the family tomb at Aldbury, Hertfordshire.