The Suffolk Estates

[Oznerol]

John de la Pole is one of the greatest landholders in all Britain, being the sole heir to William de la Pole, Sir Thomas Chaucer and Sir John de Wingfield, all of whom were wealthy noblemen. However, for many years after his father's attainder his income was meager, almost unable to sustain his title: only through his mother's strenous efforts the fortune of de la Poles could be restored. Duke of Suffolk now holds lands all over the realm, including those of his mother, Alice Chaucer, who is said to own land in twenty two different counties, including the honor of Wallingford, one of the greatest castles in England. Such a large demesne comprises several manors, castles and palaces like Wingfield, Donnington, Ewelve, Wallingford, Eastworldham and Westworldham. In 1462 John de la Pole was created Baron de Clifford, after the former holder of the title had his title forfeited. More recently, Suffolk's heir got created Earl of Lincoln and through a stroke of fortune his wife, Lady Isabel Neville, became one of the largest heiresses in all England.

DEMESNE

WINGFIELD CASTLE A castellated manor house, heavily fortified by Michael de la Pole, 1st Earl of Suffolk. The south facing battlement wall rises to a height of 42 feet (13 m) above the moat, and is 45 – 50 inches thick. The entrance gateway is approached over a drawbridge, protected by a portcullis. The walls are built of flint cobbles with stone for the coigns and windows. The plan of the site is quadrilateral, almost square, the west side being a little longer than the east, an enclosure of about an acre and a half; on every corner stands a strong octagonal tower. Besides the almost perfect front, on the north and east walls two more towers were erected by the 1st Earl. The gatehouse has a fine depressed pointed archway, deeply recessed and moulded. On either side of the archway are sculptured stone panels depicting the coat of arms of de Wingfield and de la Pole. Wingfield is the favored residence of the duke on Suffolk itself. EWELVE PALACE Once property of Thomas Chaucer, it was enlarged after the marriage of Alice Chaucer to William de la Pole in 1430. The base court of it is fair and is builded with brick and timber. The inner part of the house is set within a fair moat and is builded richly of brick and stone. The hall of it is fair and hath great bars of iron over thwart it instead of gross-beads. Independent from the palace itself Suffolk built a self-contained range for the accommodation of guests or retainers. DONNINGTON CASTLE The manor of Donnington was held by the Abberbury family from 1287, and in 1386 Sir Richard Abberbury was granted a licence ‘to crenellate and fortify a castle at Donyngton, Berks’ by Richard II. Sir Richard had been a companion of Richard II’s father, Edward the Black Prince, at the battles of Crécy and Poitiers. The castle consisted originally of a curtain wall with four round corner towers, two square wall towers and a substantial gatehouse, constructed around a courtyard in the style typical of the fortified residences of the period. Accommodation was provided in the towers or in buildings within the courtyard, set against the castle walls. The courtyard buildings are likely to have been of timber construction and include a hall, a kitchen and lodgings for guests. In 1398, the castle was sold to Thomas Chaucer, son of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, as a residence for his daughter Alice. The Duke of Suffolk William De La Pole made Donnington his occasional residence, and considerably enlarged the buildings.

INCOME

Suffolk Suffolk demesne: Berkshire: 4. Reading/Bradfield/Donnington - Average Income. SUFFOLK Suffolk: 4. Lavenham/Melford - Prosperous Income. SUFFOLK. 5. Ipswich/Cosford - Prosperous Income. SUFFOLK. 7. Hartismere/Wingfield - Prosperous Income. SUFFOLK. 9. Samford - Rich Income Income. SUFFOLK. 11. Blyth/Framlingham - Rich Income. SUFFOLK. 12. Wainford/Mettingham - Rich Income. SUFFOLK. 13. Lothingland - Rich Income. SUFFOLK. Yorkshire: 4. Skipton - Poor Income. SUFFOLK Westmorland: 1. Lakes - Poor Income. SUFFOLK 3. Appleby/Smardale/Pendragon/Brough - Poor Income. SUFFOLK. TOTAL INCOME: Rich income: 4x400=1,600 Prosperous income: 3x350=1,050 Average income: 1x300=300 Sparse income: 0 Poor income: 3x200=600 ---------------------- 3,550 pounds. +10% ---------------------- 3,905 pounds/year. Centre of the Wool Trade: This area is one of the centres of the English wool trade, and thus those who have their primary estates within these lands will be able to invest in the industry by constructing sheep enclosures. Lincoln Lincoln demesne: Lincolnshire: 5. Sleaford - Average Income. LINCOLN 6. Boston - Average Income. LINCOLN 8. Horncastle - Prosperous Income. LINCOLN Lancashire: 1. Ulverston/Piel/Gleaston - Poor Income. LINCOLN Kent: 6. East Ashford - Rich Income. LINCOLN 9. West Ashford - Prosperous Income. LINCOLN Yorkshire: 27. Stokesley/Whorlton - Average Income. LINCOLN 28. Skelton - Average Income - Average Income. LINCOLN TOTAL INCOME: Rich income: 1x400=400 Prosperous income: 2x350=700 Average income: 4x300=1,200 Sparse income: 0 Poor income: 1x200=200 ---------------------- 2,500 +10% (Wealth) +10% (Kent) ---------------------- 3,000 pounds/year Breadbasket of England: Perhaps one of the most fertile regions in all of England, Kent is renowned for its prosperity, wealth, and manpower. Those with their estates located here will certainly reap the riches of this famously prosperous region. +10% estate income. Improvements WIP

LORD AND HOUSEHOLD

House de la Pole SIR JOHN DE LA POLE, 2nd DUKE OF SUFFOLK Portrait by me, Oznerol-1516. Born 1442. Status: Married, to Elisabeth of York (born 1444). Children: John de la Pole (born 1461) 1st Earl of Lincoln, Edmund de la Pole (born 1464), Elizabeth de la Pole (born 1468), Anne de la Pole (born 1471), Catherine de la Pole (born 1473), Dorothy de la Pole (born 1475, died 1480), William de la Pole (born 1477). Titles: 2nd Duke of Suffolk, 1st Baron de Clifford, 1st Baron Skipton, 1st Baron Appleby. Seat: Wingfield Castle, Donnington Castle, Ewelme Palace, Eastworldham, Westworldham, Cotton, Nuneham. Distinctions: Knight of the Golden Fleece. Traits and temperaments: +2 Wealth. +1 Charisma. +1 Battles. +2 Survival. Sanguine: - Confident: This character is very self-assured, brimming with confidence and difficult to shake even under pressure. However, taken to an extreme, they can show a suicidal disregard for their life and the lives of others, and fail to take...well, failure into account when planning. +1 battle rolls, +1 to rout rolls against this character. - Sociable: This character is an extroverted social butterfly, capable of making friends left and right. However, they have little time for 'boring' matters like finances, and are more interested in buying flashy things to show off to their friends than managing their wealth. +1 Charisma, -2% income. Melancholic: - Haggler: This character is obsessed with getting the best possible deal for themselves, and ever watchful (even paranoid) for anyone trying to rip them off. This sort of fellow is rarely the sort others like, but none can deny their ability to sniff for gold. +2% income and improves loot from raids, -2 Charisma. If there is a nouveau riche on England's soil, is certainly de la Pole. His great-great-grandfather, William de la Pole, was a mere merchant, albeit a famously wealthy one who became Chief Baron of the Exchequer and was thereby ennobled. His enormous wealth allowed him to fund the elderly Edward III’s campaigns, something that earned him the royal favor and appraise. Michael de la Pole, William’s son and heir, had King Richard’s trust, being one of his most trustworthy (and voracious) servants, serving him for a long time; devious, ambitious and scheming, he planted the seeds of distrust between Lancaster and the King. He managed to be created Earl of Suffolk, after William de Ufford’s death, being allotted a sizable part of the late earl’s lands and possessions. Fleeing execution and attainment, Michael died in France in 1389. His son, also named Michael, shrewdly consented Richard II’s deposition and supported Bolingbroke, such a prudent move earned him a restoration of all lands and titles that he hadn’t managed to recover since his father’s demise. Restored to all honors once held by the 1st Earl, he actively served Henry IV and Henry V, finally dying at Harfleur in 1415. He had married Katherine de Stafford, great-granddaughter of Joan of Acre and Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester and granddaughter of Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick, marriage which brought great fortunes to the family. Michael’s son and heir only enjoyed the earldom briefly, dying at Agincourt barely a month after his father’s death. The second-born son, William, was the infamous Jackanapes, probably the most hated man in the realm: Suffolk was the king’s favourite after Gloucester’s death and was responsible of brokering the marriage between Margaret of Anjou and Henry VI. Conceited, but ineffectual, he is to blame for the loss of most England to the French, which lead to his eventual exile and beheading at the hand of some rogues in the middle of the sea. William de la Pole (3rd Earl) had been created Marquess of Suffolk in 1444, Earl of Pembroke in 1447 and 1st Duke of Suffolk in 1448. He had married another exceptionally wealthy lady, Alice Chaucer (a landholder on her own right), by whom he had a son, John; only child born from their union and sole heir to their honors and possessions. A son whose inheritance was preserved solely by Lady Alice’s doing, as she savagely fought to do so during the long minority of her son. John de la Pole himself is an extraordinarily handsome young man, having inherited the golden locks of his mother and the watery eyes of Jackanapes. Slender of frame, with a slim waist and long limbs, he is quite fond of himself and is known to be largely vain and arrogant. Under his mother’s shadow, he does little on his own, save expending enormous sums on a princely lifestyle; fashionable, he has as many jewels as the King himself and a wardrobe to put to shame his wife’s. However, he isn’t as dull as some may think, for Suffolk is cautious, prudent and even rather intelligent. Surprisingly cultured, John de la Pole is a connoisseur and a patron of the arts like none other since Humphrey of Gloucester’s death. Extremely proud, he hates to be reminded of his commoner’s ancestry, the sole exception being his kindred with Geoffrey Chaucer himself, the laureate poet. De la Pole joined his brother-in-law after Wakefield, fighting at the Second Battle of Saint Albans on the Yorkist side, expecting a restoration of his dukedom after an eventual victory over Lancaster. A wound prevented him joining the march north and fighting at Towton. An largely ambitious man, he plotted his way into an impromptu triumvirate with Norfolk and Exeter. A coalition that almost ended overthrowing Edward IV. However, the King finally managed to regain the reins of kingship and restore his badly contested authority. The duke was restored to the king's graces soon afterwards, owing much to his support of Elizabeth Woodville's claim; his eldest son and heir, John de la Pole, was created Earl of Lincoln soon after the Queen was crowned. In 1471 he was charged with leading an embassy to Burgundy, alongside Henry Stafford, duke of Buckingham, in order to fetch a bride, Mary of Burgundy, to marry Richard of Gloucester after a long-winded betrothal. Charles of Burgundy named him Knight of the Golden Fleece during a chapter of the order in Brussels that year, after the 'Trimming Duke' had famously won a tourney unhorsing Anthony, Bastard of Burgundy. The duke of Suffolk, thanks to his close relations with Burgundy, served in Gloucester's host in the Burgundian theater of war, both being unable to beat any reason into the head of the rash duke Charles, whose boldness and folly led to his untimely death at the hands of the Swiss. After Charles the Bold’s death in battle, both dukes fruitlessly tried to hold the ground against the massed forces of France and Lorraine who invaded both Burgundies, which were under a unstable regency led by Margaret of York. The war changed Suffolk’s behavior little, but since his mother died he has lacked the moderating and calm influence of Lady Alice Chaucer: deprived of her advice Suffolk relies on his wife Elizabeth more than even, with unforeseen consequences. SIR JOHN DE LA POLE, 1st EARL OF LINCOLN. Born 1461 (20) Main title: Earl of Lincoln. Secondary: Baron Fauconberg, de jure uxoris. Status: Married, to Lady Isabel Neville, de suo jure Baroness Fauconberg (born 1462). Children: Richard de la Pole (born 1480), Cecily de la Pole (born 1484). Traits and temperaments: +1 Charisma +2 Survival +2 Wealth +1 Battles Sanguine: - Confident: This character is very self-assured, brimming with confidence and difficult to shake even under pressure. However, taken to an extreme, they can show a suicidal disregard for their life and the lives of others, and fail to take...well, failure into account when planning. +1 battle rolls, +1 to rout rolls against this character. - Upbeat: Nothing seems to get this character down. They're perpetually smiling and looking on the bright side of even the darkest developments, truly the kind of optimism that can be infectious...or delusional, if the situation is bad enough. +1 to surviving non-battle death rolls, -1 to post-battle rolls (captivity, death, wounding). Phlegmatic: - Reserved: This character is a stoic who generally keeps to him/herself and exercises strict control over their emotions. While this means they're not likely to make reckless moves in court or on the battlefield, they can come across as unfeeling robots to others. +1 battle rolls, -1 Charisma. Biography: The eldest son of John de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk, and Elizabeth of York; his maternal grandparents are Richard Plantagenet, duke of York, and Cecily Neville, the paternal being William de la Pole and Alice Chaucer. Nephew to Edward IV, the young heir of de la Pole was created Earl of Lincoln shortly after Elizabeth Woodville had been crowned as Queen of England, in lieu of the now displaced Margaret Percy. While still a child, he was betrothed to the eldest daughter of the Marquess of Somerset, Earl of Kent and Lord Fauconberg, Anthony Neville. Lincoln has inherited the coloring of his mother Elizabeth, he is a long-limbed, slim and red-haired lad. In 1475 he finally married his intended, Lady Isabel. Most unexpectedly, her father met his end in France and her brother died without any offspring soon thereafter, Lady Isabel thus became a co-heiress of the whole Neville of Kent inheritance, and a rich peeress on her own right. Her wealth would potentially increase the already important de la Pole’s demesne. The Earl of Lincoln is quite irrelevant in the realm’s politics, for his father is still a heavy-weight on his own, being the king’s uncle and a duke. The younger John, however, features heavily in courtly pageantries, as one of the most prominent landed nobles in the realm and because his close relations to the ruling dynasty. Lincoln is, remarkably, very much unlike his father in demeanor, being more calm, composed and less disposed to outlandish acts of prideful ostentation. Apparently more naïve and, seemingly, way less ambitious than both his parents: the Plantagenet fire seems to be dulled in the young man (a kind of disappointment for both the duke and duchess), perhaps taking more after the reflexive and pensive nature of his grandmother, Alice Chaucer. He's quite reserved and stoic, and few can really guess what the earl thinks, ambitions or what truly his heart desires. He is often adherent of higher causes and can willingly sacrifice anything for a goal. However, as said, his secretive nature makes hard to read his intentions, and the earl very much likes to use his inferiors as tools to disguise his own plans and conceal his true aspirations.

[Lucius Malfoy]

Having ridden from his manor in Norfolk, Sir George Neville, along with some riders as an escort, came to see his father-in-law, the Duke of Suffolk. His wound had healed and, after returning to England, the young man of twenty years was feeling a streak of ambition within his veins. In truth, the purpose of his visit should quite please Suffolk, or George hoped it would at least. He approaches Wallingford and asks one of the guards, on-duty, to speak with His Grace.

[Oznerol]

(I lost Wallingford when Alice Chaucer died. You're visiting me at Wingfield, then)

Wingfield was a quite splendid seat, part of the Chaucer inheritance. De la Pole welcomed his son in law on the steps to the great hall, surrounded by greyhounds, attendants and several retainers of note. He wears tall boots and what could be described as a fanciful hunting attire.

"My son, what has brought you here, to my doorstep?"

[Lucius Malfoy]

George was a rather plain individual, neither handsome nor ugly. Possibly why people viewed him as his uncle's reincarnation. George notices the attire of his father-in-law, perhaps he had just caught the Duke on the verge of a hunt.

Your Grace. I was just on my way back from London to Burrough Green when I felt the need to come here.

Of course, there was to that, thought George.

Your Grace should know that, with the death of my mother, that some claims have fallen into my hands. Claims over the Earldom of Worcester.

Neville looks at his father.

And I want to take it away from the peasants who occupy it.

[Oznerol]

"There is nothing more lovely than settling old affairs"

One of the greyhounds barked.

"I'm no expert in how are you related to the earl of Worcester, neither in common law. However, I do expect you have a solid ground base your claim on. What do you need, son of mine?"

[Lucius Malfoy]

I believe my mother dared not pursue them for reason unknown. She is descended from the middle of three sisters related to the 1st Earl of Worcester, the eldest went to de Ros, a Lancastrian. The youngest to a Sir Sutton.

George glances down at one of his sleeves, adjusting it slightly.

I can only suspect that the present holder, Lord Mercer, fabricated his claims and my mother, submissive as she was, did not dare block it.

He looks up once more to the Duke of Suffolk.

I only ask for your support, Your Grace, when I take this to court. The peasant has sat upon my proper inheritance long enough. Wouldn't you agree?

[Oznerol]

"The whole realm mourned the untimely death of Lord Tiptopf. But how could that man rule over the whole earldom for so many years without anyone disputing his claims?"

Said Suffolk.

"I don't even know how he came to be created and acknowledged as earl in the first place. All this is quite irregular"

His attendants tried to lash the greyhounds, which were growing bored of the prolonged conversation.

"Your mother was a gentle soul indeed. And I will wholeheartedly support your claims, for my wife is worth an earl's hand and I wish so, my son. In no time you will be acknowledged as Tiptotf's sole and rightful heir, with my support"

[Lucius Malfoy]

Noticing how eager the greyhounds were getting, George decided to wrap things up quickly.

I thank Your Grace for the support. I plan to retire to Norfolk for a bit, before heading back to London to press my claims. I hope your friend, my Lord Buckingham, will be overseeing the trial. Certainly... it will ensure a more favorable conclusion.

He bows to his father before leaving the estate.

[Oznerol]

Suffolk could then happily start a hunt, spending the night at one of his hunting lodges. Over those days of cinegetic activity he would remember the Worcester inheritance: certainly, Tiptotf hadn't been the wealthiest peer, but such lands would boost his son-in-law's income. Maybe there was hope for him to join the ranks of the dukes, something that would please Suffolk the most.

[Barry Goldwater]

While his army marched along the road north, the Duke of Gloucester took a brief detour to visit his brother-in-law Suffolk.

[Oznerol]

Suffolk was practicing archery on the courtyard. His arm was covered with leathern straps, in order to ease the drawing of the bow and prevent the Burgundian sleeves to get in the way of the string as it was pulled and released. A bundle of arrows rested nearby, on the grass. He pulled an arrow as Gloucester approached. He was acompanied by the usual retainers, part of his affinity in times of war and peace.

[Barry Goldwater]

"Well, Suffolk," Gloucester said gloomily as he approached the Trimming Duke, "I believe I owe you an apology. I failed to take your advice into account quickly enough, and now the Protectorate's lost to us while the Woodvilles are in ascendancy. I stood down for the good of the realm, yet I hear little good's come out of that...in fact, I've hear Buckingham was thrown into the Tower, possibly before I even began the march north. And now Aumale's apparently joined him?" The thought of their mutual friend now rotting in the Tower Richard had made him Constable of rankled Gloucester.

[Oznerol]

Suffolk draws the bow and releases the arrow. He missed the center, but he was very close.

"I told you, Gloucester"

He said.

"You should have seized the helm when I told you. Now, everything is complicated and have been further muddled by all those... rascals"

The duke pulls another arrow from the grass.

"Now, it might be too late to do anything meaningful my Lord. We are divided and weakened, we had the chance and we lost it"

Draws the bow again. His golden hair shimmers under the sun.

[Barry Goldwater]

"I'm of the belief that it is never too late to do the right thing." Gloucester said, his tone and expression both ambiguous. "The Queen's recent actions are sure to agitate and unite more and more of the realm's peers against her, more-so if she continues down the path she's walking now. We may get another chance by the time I return from Berwick, if not even before that."

[Oznerol]

"I'm of the belief that it is never too late to do the right thing." Gloucester said, his tone and expression both ambiguous. "The Queen's recent actions are sure to agitate and unite more and more of the realm's peers against her, more-so if she continues down the path she's walking now. We may get another chance by the time I return from Berwick, if not even before that."

The arrow doesn't miss the target this time.

"Are you sure you won't return from Berwick to find the realm ablaze, my Lord?"

Another arrow is pulled from the ground, Suffolk grunts drawing the bow, his wide back tense with the effort. The arrow hits the hay few inches from the second one, not a bad shot.

"To say the realm is agitated is an euphemism, Gloucester"

He removes a sweaty, golden lock from his forehead.

"I had no time to make amends with Buckingham and now he rots in the Tower"

He looked slightly remorseful. But he then cracked his tongue.

"He doomed himself, definetely. But it also mean whatever support we had it's dimished. The lords of the realm would sooner rally around that brother of yours, Clarence"

[Barry Goldwater]

"So they would. And it makes sense, given that Clarence is the elder brother of us two." Gloucester admitted. "Still. If that comes to pass, we should also rally to him. He is, at the least, amenable to my suggestions: it was I who first suggested to him the idea of moving troops into the capital, after all, not the other way around. We can regain influence through him, and all at the Queen's expense once she overreaches - if she hasn't already. And if a dual Protectorate were to be reinstated at the end of all this...well, one of us still needs to tend to Ireland." It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility to realize the plan they discussed at the start of that earlier Protectorate, ironically.

[Oznerol]

Suffolk pulled another arrow.

"You haven't learned"

The bow is drawn and released, the arrow flying with a hiss.

"Gloucester, you still relly on Clarence. You want to use him, control the realm through him. But you are mistaken"

Suffolk leans on the bow, that bends slightly under his weight.

"Take the reins yourself, or don't, because your brother would lose us both. He almost did in London, two years ago"

[Barry Goldwater]

"...you've a fair point, Suffolk." Gloucester replied after some thought. "If Clarence manages to gather allies faster than I, he will still be useful in knocking the Queen's faction out of play. He remains my brother, and so long as the Queen has not been dealt with, we do have a common enemy to unite against. But in the aftermath - well, perhaps you are right, and it is best if the realm has a sole Protector. One who hasn't spent a decade in Ireland, growing disconnected from affairs here." His waiting for Clarence's arrival had cost him opportunities, like one to intercept the King and bring him into his possession ahead of the Queen's own kin. If Suffolk was trying to plant the seeds of resentment in his head, he was definitely starting to succeed now, in a way the elder duke hadn't when they first discussed this matter back in London. Your brother's holding you back, some angry part of him echoed, You alone could have done what needed to be done at London if you hadn't waited so long for him. You can't rule through him, he's too strong-willed and at the same time too lax, even if he listens to you - do you still remember how bitter he was at you in London? - there's a good chance he could let things slip out of his, out of our fingers again.

"For now, I must return to the march north, to defeat the Scots and take Berwick back from their claws. There is no doubt that I will have to work - and form connections with - the northern lords as I do that." Richard continued, now thinking out loud. "With any luck, they will become some of the allies I need, both to regain the reins of state from the Queen's hands and to buttress mine own position against Clarence if...when the time to act comes. I will also seek out great lords such as Norfolk and Hastings, ardent partisans of York who have no love for the Queen and do not know Clarence all that well. And all this in addition to you, of course." Gloucester inclined his head. "Whether the opportunity comes tomorrow or in ten years, will I still have your aid, my friend?"

[Oznerol]

Suffolk used his hand to cover his eyes from the sun, high on the sky somewhere behind Richard. He smiled.

"What can I say my Lord. Loyalty binds me"

[Barry Goldwater]

At having his motto turned around on him by Suffolk, Richard had to chuckle slightly. "I appreciate it, my friend." He said, his normally stoic expression cracking to make way for a small smile of his own. "As I said, I don't know when an opportunity to act will arise - whether it comes tomorrow or in ten years - but when it does, and when I achieve the first results, I will be sure to let you know. You deserve no less, and together, I am fully confident we can do great things for England." After the hash they'd made of the initial Protectorate, Gloucester felt it would be more reassuring for Suffolk to see some fruit be borne from his future hypothetical plotting first this time, rather than simply being approached with untested ideas and then dragged along for the (potentially disastrous, considering what they were talking about) ride. Again.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I must continue on the march to Berwick. With any luck, it will not be long before you hear from me again." He turned his gaze north, and prepared to depart his brother-in-law's company.