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Weston Rise & Fall
Loses his Son but not his Job


Weeping Richard Weston - © Nash Ford Publishing

 

  • Richard Weston was the son of the Governor of Guernsey. When he was young, he managed to get a job working for Henry VII's queen, Elizabeth of York.
  • The King liked him and made him keeper of several parks and manors around Windsor. He lived at Cranbourne Lodge where he looked after the deer for the King to hunt.
  • Richard became a great hero fighting for Henry VIII's father-in-law in Spain. The King knighted him and gave him Ufton Pole Manor in Berkshire to live in with his family.
  • Richard usually needed to be in London. His family probably spent more time at Ufton than he did: His wife, two daughters and a son, Francis.
  • Sir Richard became one of the King's closest friends. He built himself a new mansion called Sutton Place, near Guildford in Surrey, in the new 'Renaissance' style.
  • When Sir Richard was old, his son, Sir Francis Weston, also tried to become important. He was friends with Queen Anne Boleyn. He hoped she would help him.
  • When the King wanted to get rid of Anne because she could not give him a baby son, he asked his friends to make up stories about her.
  • People said Sir Francis and other men were her secret boyfriends. Sir Richard begged the King to forgive him. He offered him lots of money; but Sir Francis had his head chopped off all the same.
  • Poor Sir Richard was very sad. The King did not blame him for what his son did. He was allowed to keep his jobs and his lands.
  • He no longer visited the little manor at Ufton Pole. It held too many sad memories. He rented it to a local man called Wiliam Perkins. 

       What happened next at Ufton Court?

 

    © Nash Ford Publishing 2013. All Rights Reserved.