Poems

Appendix

 

Piel Castle

 

There are 40 pele towers still extant eg Arnside, Broughton Dalton, Millom, Muncaster, and Piel. Only a few years after the Great Raid, the Abbot of Furness was granted a licence in 1327  to “”crenellate his dwelling house on the Isle of Fotheray”. (Piel Island).

 

Smuggling

 

Evidence of smuggling is well documented. In 1347 the merchants of Calais complained to Edward 11 about wool being smuggled from Piel Island into Zealand (Holland), where there was a central depot, a great Cistercian wool house. The abbot’s ship, the “Marie Cogge”, made regular journeys to Zealand. In 1423 Abbot John Bolton was accused of using the castle for smuggling wool out of the country, and importing wine without paying taxes. In the reign of Henry V1 Flemish merchants used Piel in order to avoid paying the tax on wool.

 

In 1487 a ten year old boy was crowned King Edward V1 of England in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin. This Pretender to the throne, the son of an Oxford tradesman, was called Lambert Simnel (born 1476 / 7, died after 1534), was declared to be the Earl of Warwick and rightful heir to the English throne. An invasion of England began In June 1487;  when Simnel, John de La Pole, Earl of Lincoln, ( a nephew of Edward 1V), with a mixed force of Yorkshiremen, 1500 German mercenaries, and about 4000 poorly armed Irish kernes (light infantry), sailed up the west coast of England and landed  on Piel Island.   

 

Lambert’s forces were joined by a party from Broughton Tower led by Sir Thomas Broughton.  From this safe beach head, the army moved eastwards The rebels finally reached Newark 16 June where they were defeated. Lincoln –the real leader of the rebellion was slain, but Lovell fled to Scotland. According to the historian Vergil, Henry V11 spared Simnel’s life, employing him first as a scullion and later as a falconer.

 

Sources

 

“Almost all that is known about Simnel derives from sources close to the Tudor regime”  (Michael Bennet).

“Simnel Lambert” by Michael Bennet.

“The Anglica historia of Polydore Vergil”. AD 1485 –1537.

“Dublinia, the story of Medieval Dublin”, by Howard Clarke, Sarah Dent and Ruth Johnson, first published 2002 –see p.17