Alnwick

Canaletto, Alnwick Castle

Canaletto, Alnwick Castle

Henry Percy 8th Baron de Percy and 1st Lord Percy of Alnwick (1309 – 1315)


Henry became the owner of Alnwick in 1309 and was the head of a family which was directly descended from William de Percy, who had arrived in England in 1067 and had been granted extensive domains in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and later in Sussex by William the Conquer.

When the Percy’s acquired the Barony of Alnwick, from the Bishopric of Durham they became one of the most powerful families in England. Henry de Percy had already greatly distinguished himself in the Scottish wars, and had been rewarded with further lands by Edward I and Edward II. But he nevertheless joined the revolt of the barons against the latter, and was one of those chiefly concerned in the capture and execution of the King’s favourite, Piers Gaveston. For this conduct his estates were confiscated by the King, but subsequently restored to him. He took part in Edward’s invasion of Scotland in 1314, was taken prisoner at Bannockburn and ransomed shortly afterwards.

On becoming the owner and Baron of Alnwick, he immediately set about the restoration of the Castle, with a view to converting it into a stronghold provided with all the improvements required by the warfare of the Edwardian period.

Without interfering with the general form and design of the Castle, the 1st Lord Percy of Alnwick proceeded to rebuild the greater part of it. He reconstructed the Keep in the form of seven semi-circular towers round an irregular-sided court, with the great hall and kitchens on the East Side, and he also rebuilt most of the towers along the curtain wall. Those portions of his work, which still remain, are the semi-circular tower on the north-east side of the Keep. This now forms part of the dining-room, the draw-well, the Middle Gateway between the Outer and Second Baileys, the Abbot’s Tower, Western Garret, Auditor’s Tower, Eastern Garret, the lower part of the Record Tower, the Constable’s Tower and Postern Tower, as well as the greater part of the curtain walls.

He died at Alnwick in 1314 and was buried at Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire, and was succeeded by his son Henry.

Henry Percy, 9th Baron de Percy and 2nd Lord Percy of Alnwick K.B., (1315 – 1353)


In 1318 while still a minor Henry was given custody of Alnwick castle. In 1321 he was given the custody of Scarborough castle and a day later did homage and had order for livery of his inheritance and in 1322 was Knighted by the King at York. He spent practically the whole of his life in the Scottish wars and was a member of the Regency appointed to govern the kingdom during the minority of Edward III.

Perpetual warfare had reduced the inhabitants of the Border lands to a condition of misery, which induced Edward III in 1326 to resume hostilities, and Henry de Percy was ordered to fortify and provision Alnwick Castle and to guard the north-eastern march. In 1327 Edward III led a large army into the North to drive back a Scottish incursion, but the Scots evaded him, and he was compelled to disband his army. Henry de Percy was keeper of Bamburgh castle in 1330 and overseer of an array in the Northern counties. In spite of Percy’s almost continuous service on the Borders, he had found time to fight on the Continent. In 1340 he was engaged in the naval Battle of Sluys in Flanders, in 1342 he served in the Siege of Nantes and was fighting under the Black Prince in France in 1347. He continued the restoration of the Castle, which his father had begun. The two octagonal towers on either side of the entrance to the Keep are his work, and date from about 1350. It is said that he built these towers with the money obtained by the ransoms of the Scottish prisoners captured at Neville’s Cross.

He married Idonea de Clifford and they had 4 sons and 4 daughters.
Henry.
Richard Percy, Baron of Semar d.s.p.
Thomas Percy, Bishop of Norwich.
William Percy, Lord of Kirk Levingston.
Margaret.
Eleanor.
Isabel.

Henry Percy died and was buried at Alnwick in 1353. His widow, a dowager died in 1365 and was buried in Beverly Minster under the Percy shrine.
Henry was succeeded by his son Henry.

Henry, 10th Baron de Percy and 3rd Lord Percy of Alnwick
(1320 – 1368).


Had before he succeeded, Henry had taken part in the French wars, and had been at the Battle of Crecy in 1346, after which he returned in time to fight at Neville’s Cross in the same Year. He was commissioned to arrange the terms upon which David of Scotland, who had been taken prisoner at Neville’s Cross, should be allowed to return to his dominions, and in 1354 he signed the treaty which set the Scottish King at liberty. In 1356 he took part in Edward Ill’s invasion of Scotland. That monarch after burning several towns, including Edinburgh, and laying waste all the country which he traversed, was compelled for want of provisions to beat a retreat which had disastrous consequences. The Scots, inflamed with the desire to avenge their miseries, followed the retiring army and in their turn devastated Northumberland. Edward’s raid into Scotland became famous as the ‘Burnt Candle mas‘. For several years after this the Earl was continuously employed in warfare either on the Borders or in France. He married 1stly Mary Plantagenet daughter of Henry Earl of Lancaster and granddaughter of Henry III. They had 2 sons and one daughter.
Henry.
Sir Thomas Percy, K.G., 1st Earl of Worcester.
Isabel.
Married secondly to Joan de Ormsby without issue. He died in 1368, and was buried at Alnwick and was succeeded by his son Henry.

Henry, 11th Baron, 4th Lord Percy KG. and 1st Earl of Northumberland (1368 – 1409)


Was twenty-six years of age when he succeeded and was created Earl of Northumberland on the 16th of July 1377. He had already seen service in the French wars in 1359 and 1363. In 1368 he was at Calais with King Edward, and also commanded an army in Poitu. In 1369 he returned to England sick, but again served for a period until a truce was concluded in 1376. In 1377 he was Commander-in-Chief of the forces sent to garrison the French towns in English occupation. In 1377 he led an army of 10,000 men into Scotland to revenge the burning of Roxburgh by the Scots, and ravaged the lands of the Earl of March. In 1378 he besieged Berwick with a large force. Though defended by only forty-eight men Berwick Castle held out for eight days, when it was captured and the whole garrison put to the sword. Here the Earl’s son, Henry, a lad of only twelve years of age greatly distinguished himself and earned his sobriquet of ‘Hotspur’.

Hostilities with the Scots continued intermittently, in which the Earl displayed remarkable ability and resource. In 1388 occurred the famous Battle of Otterbum. Hotspur, while engaged in personal combat in front of Newcastle, had been unhorsed and his pennon had been captured. The Scottish army thereupon retired up Redesdale, pursued by Hotspur and his brother Ralph, with an army of 600 knights and squires and 8,000 infantry. Hotspur insisted on making a night attack, the most hazardous of all military operations, without giving his men any rest after a march of thirty two miles, and in consequence was totally defeated and taken prisoner. He was ransomed soon afterwards.

In 1399 the Earl and his son were suspected of harbouring treasonable designs against Richard II, and he was summoned to appear before the King. As he refused to do so, he was proclaimed a traitor, whereupon he and other powerful barons raised the standard of revolt, deposed Richard and placed Henry IV on the throne.

Border warfare continued Hotspur and Douglas being the principal protagonists on either side, until the signal defeat of the Scots under Douglas at Homildon Hill in 1402. Differences with the new King concerning the ransom of prisoners taken in this battle and the concerning claims for certain payments due from the Crown led Northumberland and his son ‘Hotspur’, to the famous Rising of the Percy’s in 1403. This event was immortalised by Shakespeare in his Henry IV, which terminated in the fatal Battle of Shrewsbury on July 21st 1403, where Hotspur was killed. His father thereupon surrendered to the King at York and was pardoned, though he remained a prisoner for some time. In the meantime a rumour had spread that the King was dead and the Earl at liberty, and his northern retainers assembled in force and tried to hold Alnwick and his other castles against the King’s forces, but on the threat to use cannon against them they surrendered.

HOTSPUR

In 1404 Northumberland was liberated, and in the following year he again raised the standard of rebellion. He was to join the Archbishop of York who was defeated before the Earl could do so. Northumberland fled to Berwick, and the King advanced northward with a large army to reduce his strongholds. Prudhoe and Warkworth both fell, but Alnwick refused to surrender. The King passed on to Berwick, which yielded at the first discharge from a gun of large calibre and on his return Alnwick surrendered to him. he was attainted in Parliament in 1406.

The Earl had sought refuge in Scotland, where he continued to conspire with Owen Glendower against Henry. In 1409 he made his last effort, leading a force of his own retainers and a few Scots into Yorkshire. This forlorn hope met with a crushing defeat at Bramham Moor, where the Earl was killed.
The 1st Earl married 1stly Margaret daughter of Lord Raby and 2ndly Maude de Lucy heir of Baron Lucy (see Hotspur). They had 4 sons and one daughter. They are,
Sir Harry Percy KG.,
Sir Thomas Percy Kt., of Athol had issue.
Sir Ralph Percy Kt.,
Alan Percy.
Margaret Percy.
His grandson Henry, Hotspur’s only son succeeded him.

Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland (1414 1455)


Was seventeen years of age when his grandfather died. At the age of twelve he and James, the young son of the King of Scotland, were in a ship travelling to France to be educated there, when the vessel was captured by English privateers near Flamborough Head. Both were made prisoners and sent to Windsor, where the Prince of Wales, afterwards Henry V, struck up a close friendship with Percy, which led to the restoration of his honours including the Percy Earldom , the Baronies and estates in 1414. When Henry V set out on his French expedition, he made Northumberland General Warden of the Marches, a post, which he held throughout the reign, and also during the early years of Henry VI. In about 1424 the unwalled town of Alnwick, was burnt by the Scots.

In 1436 the Earl led a force up the Breamish River towards Scotland, but was met and defeated, by Douglas at Piperden, where his cousin Sir Richard Percy was killed. This fight is interesting, as it probably forms the source of the legendary battle of Chevy Chase. Northumberland retired to Alnwick, where he rallied his forces and marched to the relief of Roxburgh, which was holding out gallantly against the Scots. Under the walls of that town he defeated and dispersed the Scottish army. This Scottish expedition became known as ‘the Dirtin Raid’.

In 1448 Northumberland invaded Scotland and burnt Dumfries, in revenge for which Douglas burnt the town of Alnwick. The Earl in his turn invaded Scotland again with a large army, but was defeated at the river Sark in Annandale, where his life was saved by his son Henry, who however, fell into the enemy’s hands.

Earl Henry married Eleanor Neville and had 7 sons and 3 daughters.

They were –
John Percy b 1419.
Henry.
Sir Thomas Percy Kt., had issue.
George Percy a priest.
Sir Ralph Percy Kt., the Gledd of Dunstanburgh had issue.
Sir Richard Percy Kt.,.
William Percy Bishop of Carlisle.
Ann.
Katherine.
Johanne.
In 1452 began the long struggle known as the Wars of the Roses. The Earl took the Lancastrian side, and was killed in the first battle of the war, at St. Albans, in 1455, and was succeeded by his son Henry.

Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland (1455 1461)


Spent his whole life in warfare either against the Scots or the Yorkists. He took part in a raid, assisted by Earl Douglas, in 1456, into Berwickshire, which ended disastrously.

In 1460 he fought at the Battle of Northampton, where the Lancastrians were defeated and the King, Henry VI, was taken prisoner. The forces of the North rallied round Queen Margaret, and in 1461 she was victorious at Wakefield and St. Albans, but was defeated at Mortimer’s Cross. In the same year Edward IV proclaimed himself King and both sides made supreme efforts to obtain a decision.

On March 28th the great Battle of Towton, the bloodiest battle ever fought on British soil, resulted in the decisive defeat of the Lancastrians. The Earl of Northumberland commanded the vanguard, which, harassed by a blinding snowstorm and the enemy’s arrows, received orders from him to charge, whereupon a fierce hand-to-hand conflict ensued, which ended in the complete rout of the attacking force. The Earl was among the 38,000 who are said to have fallen on that ‘Evil Palm Sunday’.

After his death he was attainted and his estates were confiscated and the Earldom bestowed on Lord Montagu, brother of Warwick the Kingmaker. In July 1461 Alnwick Castle capitulated to Lord Hastings. The extreme north of England now became the principal seat of war, as Henry had taken refuge in Scotland and the Lancastrians relied on the help of the Scots.
Henry married Elizabeth heir of Baron Poynings and Fitz-Payn and they had 2 sons and 3 daughters. They were.
Sir Henry Percy KG.,
Ralph b 1440.
Elizabeth.
Eleanor.
Margaret.

In 1462 Queen Margaret entered Northumberland from Scotland and laid siege to Alnwick Castle, which was defended by Sir Ralph Grey of Wilton. It surrendered, either through treachery or want of provisions, and she proceeded to garrison it as well as Bamburgh, Dunstanboro’ and Warkworth with Englishmen, Scotsmen and Frenchmen who had been sent to her aid by the French King.

In December 1462 King Edward’s forces under the Earl of Warwick besieged these castles. An army of 20,000 Scots marched to the relief of Alnwick but on nearing one another both armies, equally anxious to avoid an encounter, withdrew. The garrison at Alnwick decided to accompany the retiring Scots, and abandoned the Castle to Warwick, who took possession in January 1463. In May, however, the commander of the Yorkist garrison treacherously surrendered it to Henry VI.

In 1464 Queen Margaret again invaded Northumberland, and was joined by many of the northern leaders, including Sir Ralph Percy, brother of the late Earl. Their forces were, however, defeated at Hedgeley Moor on April 25th, where Ralph Percy was killed. This was followed in May by the complete defeat of the Lancastrians at Hexham, and on June 23rd Alnwick Castle again surrendered to Warwick. A few years of peace now ensued but the increasing power and treasonable designs of Warwick and his faction rendered Edward IV uneasy. As a counterpoise to the Warwick influence in the North, he decided to restore the young son of the 3rd Earl of Northumberland to his father’s honours and estates. He had been seized and imprisoned in the Tower, where he resided until 1469, when he was liberated and restored to his estates. His formal restoration to the Earldom took place in 1473.

Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland K.G.,(1469 – 1489)


Was a devoted adherent of Edward IV, by whose side he fought at the Battle of Barnet in 1471, where Warwick the Kingmaker and his brother Montagu were both killed. His influence and popularity in the North appear to have been greater even than that of his predecessors. In 1471 and 1473 he presided over important conferences with the Scots at Alnwick to regulate Border affairs and to restore some order in that distracted country. In 1482 he led the van of a large army, which was assembled at Alnwick and sent, into Scotland to avenge Scottish depredations, and succeeded in forcing Scotland to accept highly unfavourable terms.

Henry married Maude of Pembroke and they had 4 sons and 2 daughters. They were –

Henry Percy K.G.,
Sir William Percy K.B., had issue.
Alan Percy warden of Trinity college.
Josceline Percy of Newlands had issue.
Eleanor.
Ann.

The 4th Earl was murdered by a Mob in 1489 at Thirsk for helping to raise an unpopular tax.

His son Henry succeeded him.

Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland. K.G., (1489 – 1527),


Known as ‘The Magnificent’ on account of the splendour of his establishment and his love of display, Henry was eleven years of age when he succeeded. In 1503 he escorted Queen Margaret of Scotland, daughter of Henry VII, to Berwick, after her marriage to James IV. She stayed two days at Alnwick Castle. It is recorded that on her way through Cawledge Park, the Earl’s Deer Park south of Alnwick, she killed a buck with her bow.

In 1513 he took part in Henry VIII’s expedition to France and was present at the sieges of Therouenne and Tournay and the Battle of the Spurs. In this year hostilities with Scotland were resumed, and Alnwick was the headquarters and place of assembly of the English forces. The Earl of Surrey, in command of an army of 26,000 men, marched north and halted at Alnwick on September 4th, where his son Thomas joined him with reinforcements. From Woolerhaugh he sent a herald challenging the Scottish King to join battle with him in five days’ time and on 9th September 1513 the English gained a decisive victory at Flodden. The Earl of Northumberland was absent in France, but his two brothers, William and Lionel, took part in the battle. In 1520 he was one of the ten earls appointed to wait on Francis I, the King of France, on the Field of the Cloth of Gold. He was a typical nobleman of the Renaissance, extremely cultured for his time, and, unlike his predecessors, preferred the life of the Court to that of Border warfare. He declined the appointment of Warden of the Marches, but this was probably on account of the expenses entailed by that office, which his own extravagance had rendered him unable to meet. In 1523 Surrey was Lord Warden, and Alnwick again formed the place of assembly for a large army. The Earl joined Surrey at Alnwick with a force of 876 men, but as the Scottish army, which threatened invasion did not advance, the English forces were disbanded.
He married Katherrine Spencer co heir of Sir Robert Spencer K.t.,. They had 3 sons and 2 daughters. They were,
Henry Percy.
Sir Thomas Percy K.t., had issue (see 7th Earl).
Sir Ingelgram K.t.,
Margaret.
Maude.
He died in 1527, and was succeeded by his son Henry.

Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland (1527 1537)


known as ‘The Unthrifty’, was dogged with misfortune all his life. At an early age he fell in love with Anne Boleyn, but was forced to renounce her by Henry VIII. In 1530 he was ordered by the King to arrest Cardinal Wolsey. The meeting between him and Wolsey is faithfully recorded in Shakespeare’s “Henry VIII”. When Anne Boleyn’s trial took place the Earl was appointed a member of the Commission to try her-a typical instance of Henry VIII’s brutality. He avoided the office on the plea of sickness. In 1536 the dissolution of the monasteries led to the Catholic rising known as the ‘Pilgrimage of Grace’. The Earl, in spite of threats and persuasions, remained loyal, and resolutely refused to join it, but his two brothers, Thomas and Ingleram, were leaders in this revolt. Sir Ingleram summoned the gentlemen of the county to a meeting at Alnwick Castle on October 15th, at which all present were required to swear to the articles of the Pilgrimage; in spite of protests, “being enclosed in the Castle of Alnwick, will they or not, sworn they were”. Sir Thomas was executed at Tyburn and Sir Ingleram was imprisoned in the Tower, where his name may still be seen inscribed on the wall of the Beauchainp Tower. As the Earl had no son and his brother’s family could not succeed owing to their father’s attainder for high treason, he left his estates to the Crown, hoping thereby to placate the King and to induce him eventually to restore them to his brother’s family.
He died in 1537 in dire poverty, encumbered with debt and stricken with grief at the ruin of his family.

It was twenty years before the restoration of the estates took place. In the meantime Alnwick was occupied by successive Wardens of the Marches, and continued to fill its historic role of the principal centre and base for the defence of the Eastern Marches and for expeditions into Scotland by the eastern route.

In 1557 Queen Mary restored the Earldom of Northumberland to the nephew of the 6th Earl, Thomas Percy, son of the Thomas who had perished at Tyburn.
Thomas Percy had married Eleanor Harbottle and they had 4 sons and 3 daughters. They were,
Thomas Percy K.G.,
Henry Percy (see 8th Earl).
Guiscard Percy.
John Percy.
Katherine.
Mary.
Johanna.

Thomas Percy, K.G., 7th Earl of Northumberland (1557 – 1572)


A devoted Roman Catholic, Thomas was appointed Warden of the East and Middle Marches by Mary, and General Warden by Queen Elizabeth. He and his brother Henry were for some years constantly engaged in Scottish expeditions. His Catholic sympathies, however, rendered him an object of suspicion to Elizabeth, and the treatment he received compelled him in 1560 to resign the office of Lord Warden. In 1561 Lord Grey of Wilton was appointed to that office. He complained that the Earl would not allow him to occupy Alnwick Castle, and had, in order to prevent him doing so, removed “most part of the stuff there”. In 1562 the Earl writes that he cannot entertain the Scottish Queen at Alnwick because the Castle is “utterly unfurnished and not so much as one bed in it”, and he states that he is in such need of money that he has not £40 in the world. It is probable that he had deliberately dismantled the Castle to some extent in order that it should not be used as a residence for the Government’s officials. Having gained this object he would seem to have refurbished it, for a survey of 1567 shows that it was provided with everything required for his own residence at that date. At length the slights put upon him, and his co-religionists desire to restore the Catholic faith and to place Mary Queen of Scots on the throne, led him into the disastrous Rising of the North. In 1568 while the Earl was mustering his forces in Yorkshire his retainers at his order garrisoned Alnwick Castle, but Sir John Forster, Warden of the Middle Marches, promptly advanced against it, and resistance being hopeless, the garrison surrendered.

The Earl kept the field till December 1568, while his forces dwindled away from desertion. At length the approach of the royal army compelled him to seek refuge in Liddesdale, then regarded as a sanctuary for outlawed men. He was, however, betrayed to the Earl of Moray, Regent of Scotland, and remained a prisoner in that country until 1572, when he was sold for a large sum to Queen Elizabeth and handed over to Hunsdon, Governor of Berwick. He was taken to Alnwick, where he was placed in charge of Sir John Forster, who conveyed him to York, guarded by a large escort throughout the journey, as, owing to his great popularity in the North, an attempt at rescue was feared. He was beheaded at York on August 22nd, 1572, declaring the realm to be in schism and his own adherence to the Church of Rome, which has numbered him among her martyrs and has beatified him.

He carried out considerable restorations at the Castle, which was evidently in a bad state of repair at this date.
He married Ann Somerset and they had 2 sons and 5 daughters. They were,
Thomas Percy d 1560 s.p.
Elizabeth.
Mary.
Lucy.
Jane.
Maria.
Ferdinand
It is said that Ann Somerset escaped to France with her children. Records in existence show that her son Ferdinand did have issue there. Ann Somerset died in Belgium.

Henry, 8th Earl of Northumberland (1572 -1585).


On the death of the 7th Earl in 1572, his brother, Henry the 8th Earl, succeeded. He had gained the reputation of an able soldier, diplomatist and administrator in Border warfare. He was professedly a Protestant, and had taken the side of the Government against his brother in the Rising of the North. This prejudiced him in the eyes of the Catholic North; but his conduct in general appears to justify the charges brought against him by contemporaries of being ruthless, crafty and unscrupulous. He soon fell under suspicion of attachment to the Church of Rome, was kept under close surveillance by the Government, and served two terms in the Tower.
In 1584 he was arrested on false charges of complicity with Mary Queen of Scots and sent to the Tower for the third time. In the following year he was found in his cell shot through the heart. The Government tried to prove that he had died by his own hand, but there were circumstances pointing to murder, ie. there were 3 bullet holes in him.

Queen Elizabeth I writ against Henry Percy 8th Earl

He married Katherine daughter of John Neville Baron Latimer. They had 9 sons and 2 daughters. They were,
Henry Percy K.G.,
Thomas Percy d.y.
William Percy d.s.p.
Sir Charles Percy K.t., d.s.p.
Sir Richard Percy K.t.,
Sir Alan Percy K.t.,
Sir Josceline K.t., d.s.p.
George Percy went to the USA. d.s.p.
Ralph Percy b 1575 of Newburn had issue.
Lucy.
Eleanor.
The Earl was succeeded by his son Henry.

Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland (1585 1632)


To be known later as the ‘Wizard Earl’ he was twenty-one years of age when he succeeded in 1585. He soon afterwards joined the army in the Netherlands and took part in the famous siege of Ostend. In 1588 he hired a ship and participated in the victory over the Spanish Armada. He used all his influence to support the claims of James I to the throne of England, and was treated with great favour by that monarch after his accession in 1603. Unfortunately, Northumberland had in 1594 appointed his cousin, Thomas Percy, to be Constable of Alnwick Castle and his Commissioner and Auditor, and his family resided in the Castle. This man, a bigoted Catholic, was neither a faithful servant to his master nor a loyal subject to the King. Many complaints as to his unjust, harsh and dishonest conduct were made to the Earl by the tenants, who, in order to extort money from them, were frequently thrown into prison in the Castle by Percy. In spite of these complaints the Earl continued to trust him, with disastrous results to himself. In 1605 Percy was one of the principal conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot, on the discovery of which he fled, but was hunted down and shot at Holbeach in Staffordshire. Suspicion naturally fell upon the Earl, who, although nothing could be proved against him, was confined in the Tower for fifteen years, and only released on payment of a hefty fine.

He was known as the ‘Wizard Earl’ on account of his devotion to the study of chemistry and astronomy. He was a man of great ability and learning, the close friend of Raleigh and other learned men, but his pride and ungovernable temper made him many enemies. He married Dorothy Deveraux daughter of the 1st earl of essex and they had 4 sons and 2 daughters. They were,
Henry Percy d.y. 1596
Henry Percy d.y. 1597
Algernon Percy.
Henry Percy b 1605, Baron Percy of Alnwick.
Dorothy.
Lucy.
He died in 1632, and was succeeded by his son Algernon.

The Earl of Northumberland now ceased to reside in Northumberland, (leaving relatives in Alnwick) and from this time onwards the influence of the family in the north waned until its revival in the eighteenth century.

Algernon, 10th Earl of Northumberland (1632 1668)


Was thirty years of age when he succeeded. In 1637 he was made Lord High Admiral of England. In 1641 he took the side of the Parliament against the King, and throughout the Civil War supported what he conceived to be the constitutional cause, an attitude of independence, which brought him into frequent conflict with both parties. Nevertheless the influence which he wielded and the integrity of his character were such that he retained the confidence and respect of both, and was entrusted on several occasions with the conduct of negotiations between the two sides. He vigorously opposed the execution of the King, refused to take any part in public affairs under the Commonwealth, and was one of the leaders in the movement to restore Charles II to the throne.
He married 1stly Lady Ann Cecil they had daughters,
Ann Percy.
Elizabeth Percy
Others d.y.
Algernon married 2ndly Elizabeth He died in 1668 and was succeeded by his son Josceline.

Josceline 11th Earl of Northumberland (1668 – 1670).


Josceline succeeded to the Earldom in 1668, but only survived two years. He died in 1670 at Turin while travelling, leaving an only daughter. Apparently no connected Percy males were alive or they were not found or were not wanting! So Josceline’s daughter Elizabeth, succeeded to the Barony. ###

Apparently the existing Percy Earldom etc then became extinct.