William Eure, 1st Baron Eure (c.1483–1548) of Witton was an English knight and soldier active on the Anglo-Scottish border. King Henry VIII made him Baron Eure by patent in 1544. The surname is often written as "Evers". William was Governor of Berwick upon Tweed in 1539, Commander in the North in 1542, Warden of the Eastern March, and High Sheriff of Durham. During the Anglo-Scottish war called the Rough Wooing, Eure and his sons Henry and Ralph made numerous raids against towns and farms in the Scottish Borders.
Family William was the son of Ralph Eure and Muriel Hastings. He married Elizabeth Willoughby, a daughter of Christopher Willoughby, 10th Baron Willoughby de Eresby. Their children included Sir Ralph, Henry, who was Master of the Ordnance at Berwick, Margery, Muriel, and Anne. Sir Ralph Eure, who was also Warden of the Middle March, married Margery Bowes, daughter of Ralph Bowes of Streatlam Castle and was killed at the Battle of Ancrum Moor in 1545. Their son William Eure later inherited the title as 2nd Baron Eure.Lodge, Edmund, ed., Illustrations of British History, vol.1 (1791), pp.35-36 note, pp.267-268 note Ralph's daughter Frances married Robert Lambton of Lambton.
Quiet on the border Ralph Eure defended Scarborough Castle against the Pilgrimage of Grace for 20 days in 1536 with a garrison comprising only his household servants. After the rebellion was crushed, Henry VIII assumed for himself the Wardenship of the Scottish Marches: William Eure was deputy Warden of the Eastern March. The Wardens were charged with keeping order on the border, dealing with encroachments from both sides and liaising with their opposite numbers.
At first, the border was quiet because James V of Scotland was in France seeking a bride. The situation did not deteriorate until at end of 1538, when James V was settled with Mary of Guise. In November 1538, James V came to Jedburgh and replaced his wardens of the East and Middle March. In December, Pope Paul III proclaimed his Bull of Excommunication against Henry VIII. William Eure and Thomas Wharton, deputy Warden of the West March had to complain to James V about the circulation of ballads against Henry which they said came from Scotland.Thomas I. Rae, The Administration of the Scottish Frontier(Edinburgh, 1966), 173-177. Sir Christopher Morris, Master of the Ordnance, invested William as Keeper and Captain of the Castle and town of Berwick upon Tweed in January 1539, as the successor of Sir Thomas Clifford. Morris noted a great multitude of arms and munitions, all 'sore decayed'.State Papers Henry VIII, vol. 5 part IV, cont., (London, 1836), pp. 146-8, 150
Interlude at Linlithgow One of William's letters gives the earliest description of the play A Satire of the Three Estates by David Lindsay of the Mount. William spoke to Sir Thomas Bellenden, who described a performance at Linlithgow Palace before James, Mary of Guise and his bishops and council on the feast of the Epiphany. As the play turned on the Reformation of the church, William obtained a more detailed description from a Scottish contact for Thomas Cromwell. Eure enclosed in his letter of 26 January 1540 the synopsis of the performance compiled by his spy, which corresponds with the later text of Lindsay's play.
Eure said he had talked with Bellenden, a member of the council of James V about the possibility of a Reformation of the 'spirituality' in Scotland. The play at Linlithgow had shown the 'naughtiness' of the church. Bellenden said after the play the King spoke to the churchmen in the audience asking them to reform their factions and manner of living, otherwise, he would send six of them into England to his uncle, King Henry VIII.Pinkerton, John, The History Of Scotland From The Accession Of The House Of Stuart To That Of Mary, vol.2, (1791), pp.494-497
Survey of Northumberland, 1541 Beyond the regular duties of a border Warden, in 1541 William Eure was one of the commissioners appointed by Henry VIII to expel Scottish people from Northumberland following an Act of Parliament. In June he wrote to James V complaining that his border subjects had begun to pasture sheep and sow grain in England.Hamilton Papers, vol.1 (1890), 80-81 In October they viewed the border along the river Tweed to the Ryden Burn's mouth and destroyed corn sown by Scots on English ground. The Scots drew away from the border thinking Eure's men were invaders. During this business, Eure held meetings at Alnwick and Etal. He hoped to induce men from Tynedale and Redesdale to avenge the murders of the Fenwick family by attacking the Scots in Liddesdale.Letters & Papers, Henry VIII, vol.16 (1898), nos. 1263, 1264. By 4 November, he had found that there were a great number of Scottish householders, occupied as herdsmen, labourers or artisans, mostly without land, and they were evicted. Those too who held land or mills were replaced by English tenants. Many of the empty housing was not adequate for new English settlers, even if two houses were joined together. Other Scots were servants or apprenticed to English craftsmen, these were allowed to stay. Nevertheless, the use of Scottish apprentices would be discouraged in future.
William noted the valued service of a Scottish armourer called Troilus Taylor and a mountain guide, Gilbert Cocklands, who had been employed leading raids into Scotland. He requested that these useful people be made denizens of England and pointed out their repatriation would have an unhappy result. William's commission also included a survey of the border fortresses east to Harbottle Castle and the river Coquet. Many of the old Pele towers were in decay, and the owners lived in more convenient unfortified places ("that was a great pity to see"). He had commanded the owners to put the fortified houses in good order. He next planned to survey the strongholds of the Middle March. Generally, he found the border peaceful enough. Trouble came from the "traitorous Scottish thieves of Liddesdale" or Henry's "evil subjects of Tynedale and Redesdale" who seemed to combine together rather than respect the peace of Henry VIII or James V.
After showing an armed presence at Hexham, Willam planned to meet up with his colleagues at Newcastle upon Tyne on 17 November 1541 to finalise the survey. The historian Maureen Meikle finds that Eure had encouraged Scottish artisans to settle in the Middle March.Bain, Joseph, ed., Hamilton Papers, vol. 1 (1890), 120-3, 7 Nov. 1541: Meikle, Maureen M., A British Frontier?, Tuckwell (2004), 265 & n.71 additionally citing Mss. PRO SP59/20 fos. 196-7, WARD7/8/42.
Rough Wooing Sir William and his sons Henry and Ralph were active during the war of the Rough Wooing and were stationed at Berwick upon Tweed. William Eure sent Lord Hertford news of rumours he had heard from Scotsmen that the Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, Regent Arran and Mary of Guise had held a meeting at Stirling Castle and would reconcile their differences. If their factions were united the Scots would be able to resist English ambitions to force the marriage of Mary, Queen of Scots and Prince Edward.
The burning of Edinburgh Hertford organised a major assault by sea on Edinburgh for May 1544. William and Ralph Eure were to bring a diversionary force of March men to Haddington. Ralph asked Hertford for a reinforcement of 1000 Yorkshire archers so that they could press forward from Haddington to be in sight of the landing place at Granton. In the event, it was agreed that Hertford would summon Eure when he had disembarked his troops in Edinburgh. (When Eure's men arrived in Edinburgh they would get their pay).HMC; Longleat, Seymour Papers vol.4 (1967), pp.64-5, Eure to Hertford, Alnwick Castle, 28 April 1544. Hertford landed on Sunday 4 May 1544 and sent for Eure. His letter reached Berwick on Monday at 2pm, and Eure's reply was received at Leith on Tuesday at 5pm.Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, vol.19 part 1 (1903), no. 464, 467. 4000 border horsemen arrived in Edinburgh on Wednesday 7 May.The Late Expedicion into Scotland, 1544, Reynold Wolf (1554) reprinted in Tudor Tracts (1903) p.43 & pp.48-51: Haynes (1740), see next ref. While the army was camped near Seton Palace, Lord Maxwell requested to speak to Ralph Eure but Hertford would not allow it. Instead, Maxwell was brought back to England.Letters and Papers, Henry VIII, vol.19 part 1 (1903), no.531.
Assurances On 7 June 1544, a number of Scottish borderers gave their oath to be "full part takers" with England, known "Assured Scots". Ralph Eure, as Warden of the Middle March, was given three "pledges" or hostages for the fulfilment of the oath by 24 members of the Oliver family and their kinsmen. These were Dandy Oliver, Rinyan (Ninian) Oliver and Patty Oliver who were kept at Warkworth Castle. On the same day Ralph took four Nixon hostages for the loyalty of 35 Nixons, and four Crosiers for 50 of their family, and 3 hostages for the Hall family.Hamilton Papers, vol.2 (1890) appendix pp. 741-3.
In October 1544, Ralph Eure gained the allegiance of Andrew Kerr of Ferniehurst and 40 followers of various names and the town of Jedburgh. Eure took 21 hostages, including a man for each family name. If the Scots failed to fulfil their contract of assurance the hostages could be executed.State Papers Henry VIII, vol. 5 part IV cont., (London, 1836), pp. 399-400.
Jedburgh On 9 June 1544, Sir William and his colleagues met at Milfield near Wooler and decided to march on Jedburgh. The final plan had been proposed by Lord Hertford on 27 May 1544 and endorsed by the English Privy Council and Henry VIII, after Hertford had discussed the pros and cons of a more modest attack in March with Ralph Eure. An assault on Jedburgh had also been proposed as part of the major raid in May.Haynes, Samuel, ed., A Collection of State Papers, vol. 1, London (1740) pp. 12–13, 22, 26–27, 31, 37, 39 Two days before the meeting at Milfield, Ralph Eure had written to Lord Hertford from Warkworth Castle, explaining that his father was ill ("somewhat crossed") and reassuring Hertford that he could lead his father's East March men. Ralph asked Hertford to send his trumpeter for the Jedburgh raid.Haynes, Samuel, ed., A Collection of State Papers, vol. 1, London (1740), p. 41
However, William seems to have led the raid. At Jedburgh, where he had heard there were seven cannons at the marketplace, he divided his force into three. The Scottish defenders fled without engaging. Sir William burnt the Abbey, the Greyfriars and various bastle and fortified houses in the town. They captured 500 horses and seven cannons. On their way back to England, they burnt the Tower of Cailing Craig, Cessford Castle, Morebattle church, Otterburn, Cowboge and other places. Near to the English border, at Kirk Yetholm, they observed fires raised by a Scottish raiding party. Ralph Eure with Richard Bowes, Captain of Norham, and 500 men rode forward and captured or killed a number of Scots.The Late Expedicion into Scotland, 1544 Reynold Wolf (1544), epilogue; 'Other new and prosperous adventures of late against the Scots.'
Coldingham