Marmaduke Constable

Marmaduke Constable (ca. 1455-November 20, 1518) English soldier, was descended from a certain Robert (d. 1216), lord of Flamborough, who was related to the Lacys, hereditary constables of Chester, hence the surname of the family. A son of Sir Robert Constable (d. 1488), Marmaduke was in France with Edward IV **in 14-5** and with Henry VII in 1492. He was sheriff of Staffordshire and Yorkshire, was in high favor with Henry VII and Henry VIII, and led his kinsmen and retainers to the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513. He was twice married, and left several sons when he died on the 20th of November 1518. In Flamborough church one may still read a rhyming epitaph describing Constable's life and prowess.

Related Topics:
1455 - November 20 - 1518 - English - Soldier - 1216 - Flamborough - Chester - Robert Constable - 1488 - Edward IV - Henry VII - 1492 - Sheriff - Staffordshire - Yorkshire - Henry VIII - Battle of Flodden Field - 1513

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Sir Marmaduke's eldest son, Sir Robert Constable (ca. 1478-1537), helped Henry VII to defeat the Cornish rebels at Blackheath in 1497. In 1536, when the rising known as the Pilgrimage of Grace broke out in the north of England, Constable was one of the insurgent leaders, but towards the close of the year he submitted at Doncaster and was pardoned. He did not share in the renewal of the rising which took place in January 1537; but he refused the king's invitation to proceed to London, and was arrested. Tried for treason, he was hanged at Hull in the following June.

Related Topics:
1478 - 1537 - Cornish - Blackheath - 1497 - 1536 - Pilgrimage of Grace - Doncaster - Treason - Hull

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Sir Marmaduke's second son, Sir Marmaduke Constable (ca. 1480-1545), was knighted after the battle of Flooded, and was at the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520. He was a knight of the shire for Yorkshire and then for Warwickshire, and was a member of the Council of the North from 1537 until his death.

Related Topics:
1480 - 1545 - Knighted - Field of the Cloth of Gold - 1520 - Shire - Warwickshire - Council of the North - 1537

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Another noteworthy member of this family was the regicide, Sir William Constable (d. 1655), who was created a baronet in 1611. A member of the Long Parliament, he fought with distinction among the parliamentarians at Edgehill; in 1644 his military enterprises in north Yorkshire were very successful, and later he guarded the king at Carisbrooke, and was governor of Gloucester. He was one of the king's judges, was a member of the council of state under Oliver Cromwell, and died in London on the 15th of June 1655.

Related Topics:
Regicide - 1655 - Baronet - 1611 - Long Parliament - Edgehill - 1644 - Carisbrooke - Gloucester - Oliver Cromwell

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