SIR JOHN CLAY (d. 1464)
By: Paul Clay
Sir John Clay, soldier, MP and Sheriff of Essex, died on 8 September 1464. His story is set against the backdrop of the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years War, 1415-1453 and the turmoil of the rule of Henry VI and the Wars of the Roses 1455-1487. We think it would be fair to say that John's time in Normandy secured him, both financially and politically.
We have no knowledge of the early life of John Clay. He has been described as ‘a man-at-arms with very little status’. (1) He is also referred to as ‘rising from the ranks to his own independent command’. (2) He could not have come from the meanest of backgrounds, however, because he would have required the means to furnish himself with the equipment of a man-at-arms. For example, a suit of armour would cost somewhere between £6 and £8 in 1420 and that equates to £5,144 in 2017 (source: National Archives).
In Wedgwood’s History of Parliament, 1439-1509 John's year of birth is given as 1415. Given as most scholars believe John was in France by 1421 (3,4,5) then this date of birth must be wrong. Indeed, the new History of Parliament, 1422-1461, edited by Linda Clark, tells us that John Clay was in France in 1417, under the captaincy of Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland (d. 1455). (6) There is speculation in this new History of Parliament that John Clay could have come from the northern counties of England as he was serving with Henry Percy. (7)
Our own research into the Clays of Hertfordshire shows that there was a prominent Clay family already in Hertfordshire, that of Sir John Clay, who had been the receiver of Prince Edward, the Black Prince, at his castle in Berkhamstead. There are many other references to Clays in Hertfordshire. A Sir Walter atte Clay had an inscription in the church of Furneux Pelham in Hertfordshire. In his will, dated 1 July 1364, Sir John is recorded as the brother of Peter Clay of Fadmoor, North Riding of Yorkshire. (8). The Clays had been lords of the manor at Fadmoor since at least 1310. (9)
We can only speculate on his birth year but given that he is recorded as a man-at-arms in 1417, we can perhaps look at 1400 plus or minus 5 years, giving him an age at death of 64-69.
John Clay married Joan Astley, we do not know when, and as far as we know they only had three children, Joan who died in 1453, John who was born c1445 (10) and Cecily, who appears to have outlived them all. Both John’s father and son were knighted, John the elder, just after the coronation of Edward IV, presumably July 1461, (11) and the younger John after the battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. (12) There have been various spelling of his surname Clay, Claye, Cley, Claie, Claix and also his forename whilst in France, John, Jehan and Jean, sometimes with a de and sometimes not.
On the website https://www.thesocietyofanglo-frenchclays.eu/ we look into the possible origins of the Clays in England and the various spellings of the name.
In 1417, when we first hear of John, the Hundred Years War had been underway for 80 years. From the Medieval Soldier database (medievalsoldier.org) we have reference to John Clay, man-at-arms on the 1417 expedition to France under Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland, overall commander Henry V, and again from the medieval soldier database, we can see that John had spent seven years in France by 1424, from 1422 as part of the garrison of Rouen. During his early years at the garrison, Clay served under Sir John Harpelay, Thomas Beaufort, duke of Exeter and John Salvayn.
The town of Louviers had been taken by the English in 1418. However in 1424 the garrison commander, Godfrey Halton and all his men were taken prisoner: the garrison troops were on a looting raid and they were ambushed by the French. John Clay, amongst others, volunteered to come to their aid from Rouen, taking with him 6 men-at-arms and 18 archers, all mounted. (13) John and a certain Pierre Poolin received 100 livres with which to pay their retinue for this adventure. (14)
Later in the same year, 17 August 1424, the battle of Verneuil was fought. We know that John Clay was there because he received a small land grant as a reward for his good service there. (15) In a letter from Henry VI concerning a truce in July 1428, John Clay and William de Wormington are mentioned as attorneys of Richard de Wideville (Woodville), the grandfather of Edward IV’s future wife. (16)
As part of his probable household retinue we know that John Clay had a valet and a page. We know that because in 1429, the valet, clearly French, Jacquet le Saige killed the page, but was pardoned after petition. (17)
By 18 December 1429, John was the captain of the garrison of the abbey of St Catherine, near Rouen. He was now also recorded as John de Clay, esquire. On 26 April 1430, John and his retinue of archers and men-at-arms were deployed at the siege of the castle known as Château-Gaillard. He and his men were paid for a month’s service. (18)
By 1430 John Clay had purchased a modest house in Rouen and later rented a mansion house. (19) On 30 May 1431, the Maid of Orleans, Jeanne d’Arc was burnt at the stake in the market place of Rouen. John Clay, as captain of the St Catherine’s garrison, may well have been witness to this terrible event.
On 4 October 1432, under the certificate of John de Salvayn, bailli of Rouen, Henry VI appointed John Clay as an élu for the collection of the aide (taxation). (20) He also appears in the register of obligations 1430-1431 of the vicomté of Rouen on 16 April 1430, where he is listed as a lieutenant under the noble man John Salvayn. (21)
We have several references for John Clay in 1435, including 31 July and 4 August, where his overall commander in Rouen is the duke of Bedford. John, described as esquire, would now appear to be his lieutenant, captain of the garrison of the bridge at Rouen. When the above musters were taken, the duke of Bedford had just a few months left to live; he died on 14 September 1435.
For the period from April to 30 June 1434 we know that control of the men of arms and archers in the garrison on the bridge at Rouen (Pont de Seine) was under John Clay. The relevant document is signed by John Geney, controller of the garrison at the bridge. (22) John Clay, John Clifton, and John Harforte were appointed as the representatives of the widow of William Bolton, Jeanne, on 16 November 1435. (23)
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd duke of York arrived in France on 7 June 1436 as lieutenant general. It was presumably in this period that the paths of York and John Clay crossed. From the Medieval Soldier database on 26 October 1437, we have John Clay serving as a man-at-arms at Rouen Castle, with Richard duke of York as overall commander, and John Lord Talbot as captain. John Clay was appointed as lieutenant to Talbot at Rouen castle in 1437. By then John Clay had been in France for 16 years and had already served as captain of St Catherine’s garrison, Rouen. (24)
John Clay accompanied his captain William Mountford from Harfleur to Rouen for a meeting with Lord Willoughby and thence to England, Feb-March 1438. (25) At the start of the 1440s we have John Clay in familiar territory, the garrison at Rouen, where in 1441 he is recorded as a lieutenant of the garrison. (26)
York was reappointed to the lieutenancy of France again in 1440 but he did not arrive in France until early 1441. On 14 July 1441, Clay was ordered to the siege of Pontoise by the duke of York in the company of 16 mounted lances and 22 archers. (27)
John Clay purchased the manor of Darcies, Hertfordshire from the heirs of Lord Darcy around 1441. (28) He may well have returned to England in the company of John Talbot later in 1441 or early 1442 but he then returned to France in the company of Talbot, 9 other men-at-arms and 100 archers on 25 March 1442. (29) We know that by 1443, John Clay was well established in York’s household, where held the position of treasurer. (30)
On 22 April 1444 there was a mandate from Henry VI attaching Master Michiel Piot, one of his secretaries, to three commissioners, Master Philippe de la Rose, John de Clay and Griffith Donn, and they were responsible for carrying out an investigation into the abuses committed by the captains and officials in the bailliage of Caen. (31)
As previously noted. John Clay married Joan Astley, daughter of Sir Thomas Astley and brother of Sir Thomas Astley. (32) Joan's other brother Sir John Astley KG was regarded as one of the finest warriors around at this time, his skill at jousting being legendary. (33) We believe that Joan's mother had been a nurse to Henry VI. We have reference to this because in 1424 she asked for an increase in her wages. (34)
John Clay's son was born c. 1444/5 and we know this as he was, to use a euphemism, ‘regarded as a good catch’ in letters written by the Paston family, where his age is given as 18 in 1463. (35) We do not as yet know where John II was born. Had Joan joined John senior in Rouen? Or was he spending more time in England? Joan and John had a daughter, also named Joan. Again she could have been born in France as on her inscription in Cheshunt church, it mentions ‘Sainte Melun, Evesque’. The other mystery to this daughter is that the inscription appears to show a fully grown woman but she died in 1453.Could she have been born c. 1435? That would place John and Joan’s wedding before that date. They also had another daughter, Cecily, no doubt named after the wife of the Duke of York, Cecily. Cecily married firstly Robert Grene and after he died of the flux in 1472, she married John Acton. (36)
In 1444, the English were pressing the French for a truce and York's five-year appointment was coming to an end. York, seeking a diplomatic way out of the war or possibly for his own intentions, proposed that his eldest son Edward marry a daughter of Charles VII. On 10 June 1445, John Clay was part of that diplomatic mission. (37)
Coming from accounts recorded in 1446, we know that John de Clay was then the bailli of Evreux, and was responsible for receiving the income from the benefices belonging to church people absent and disobedient to the king in the vicomté of Orbec. (38)
Again, in the registers of the town of Lisieux, John is listed as bailli of Evreux. (39) In addition to being bailli of Evreux, John is listed as lieutenants of both the Orbec and Lisieux garrisons on 16 November 1446. (40)
However, John Clay must have been in England at this time as we have a document dated 26 August 1447, where he was a witness to a deed signed at Broxbourne concerning manors settled on John Say. Other witnesses were Andrew Ogard, Phillip Botelier and the Cheyne brothers. (41)
In 1447 York was appointed lieutenant of Ireland. However, he did not cross to Ireland until 1449. John Clay remained in France. Two of his colleagues, Sir William Oldhall and Sir Andrew Ogard, went to England with the duke. We do not know exactly when John Clay joined York as he is not listed on the muster roll of Orbec until 29 December 1447. (42) John is recorded on 26 February 1448 as esquire and bailli of Evreux (43)
The duke of Somerset replaced York as lieutenant general in 1448.
In 1455 John Clay and his neighbour John Say were both elected as MPs for Hertfordshire. Presumably this was after the victory of the duke of York at the first battle of St Albans. We have no record of Clay being present at this battle but given it was his home territory and that he was probably in attendance to York, it is likely. (44)
In June 1455, the duke of Alençon started a process of treasonable negotiations through intermediaries of the duke of York. Alençon who had been a loyal supporter of Charles VII, had lost almost everything during the Anglo-French wars. He proposed that York persuade Henry VI to send an army back to France. York entered into negotiations that also involved his son Edward marrying a daughter of Alencon's. Involved in these discussions in November were John Clay, Richard Woodville and John Wenlok. (45)
In 1459, John Clay was appointed victualler of Calais. (46) After the battle of Ludford bridge, Ludlow, in December 1459, Clay was attainted and on 23 December 1459, his property was granted to Elizabeth Say. (47)
On 19 September 1460 (this may indicate that John Clay had been in Ireland with York), Edward, earl of March, the future Edward IV, wrote to the servant of John Paston, Christopher Hanson, requesting lodgings for his mother Cecily and his three youngest siblings. Clay was described as the harbynger of the Earl of March, i.e. the official responsible for arranging accommodation. (48)
John Clay was listed amongst the Yorkist knights who fought at the battle of Towton. (49) Around the June of 1461, John Clay was appointed, great steward to Cecily, duchess of York, the new ling’s mother. (50) John Clay was knighted either at the coronation of Edward IV or shortly after, either June or July. (51)
On 8 August Sir John Clay and John Wenlok were sent on a diplomatic mission to the duke of Burgundy, nominally for trade talks but also to discuss a potential marriage between Edward VI and the duke of Burgundy’s niece. The talks were not particularly successful but the men were entertained in fine style and a banquet was held in their honour on the night before their departure. Sir John Clay was reportedly wearing the Yorkist collar of splendour and roses. (See note 53) The men were delayed at Calais for three weeks and it may have been the siege of Hammes which they may have participated in that delayed their return. The Yorkist garrison of Calais had besieged the nearby Lancastrian fortress of Hammes. Sir John writes giving details of gun powder used. (52) A payment of £82 was received by Sir John for his time spent in Calais. (53)
In December 1461, we see that Sir John Clay is now being rewarded by Edward IV for his loyal service. From the Calendar of the French Rolls, we see that on 2 December 1461, Sir John Clay was appointed as the Purveyor of Calais. (54) From the Calendar of Patent Rolls on 11 December 1461, we find Clay and others, including the earl of Warwick were granted lands in Lincoln. (55) Later in the year we find the King granting for life to Sir John Clay and his heirs the reversion of the manor of Cheshunt. (56) It would seem that in reality that the above never happened. But for his loyal service, Sir John was rewarded with the lands of the attainted, Thomas Ormond. (57) Thomas Ormond, was Thomas Butler, son of the 4th earl of Ormond. He later became himself the 7th earl of Ormond. He and his brothers were attainted by Edward VI.
Sir John Clay would now appear to be in a good position. He was a trusted counsellor and diplomat, he held several lordships, he was chamberlain to Cecily, the dowager duchess of York and he was also a counsellor to her sister Anne, the dowager duchess of Buckingham.
It was proposed in 1462 that Sir John would form part of a diplomatic mission to the pope and the duke of Milan, but it would appear that it never happened. (58) Lancastrian rebels were still causing problems for Edward VI in the northern part of his kingdom, in 1463, Sir John Clay was remunerated for his costs in serving the King in the north in 1462-3. (59)
On 5 November 1463, Clay was appointed sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire and in the same year he was also appointed to assess certain individuals in the county of Hertfordshire for taxation. We find entries for him in the Fine Rolls in January 1464 and in the Patent Rolls on 10 February of the same year. (60)
In the spring of 1464, Edward IV tried to prevent further rebellion in the north. It would seem that Sir John was in the north at this time as he was the beneficiary of a warrant for £40 for his attendance on the king's person, at his great charge and expense. (61) Wedgwood’s History of Parliament 1439-1509 claims that Sir John was paid as a knight of the body in 1464. He may well have been a knight of the body since 1461.
Sir John Clay passed away on 8 September 1464. (62) In the Bede Roll entry number 96 we know that his will was written on that day and was proven on 18 September, 1464. (63) Sir John requested that he be buried next to his daughter, Joan, in the parish church at Cheshunt. However, for some unknown reason he was buried at the church of St Benet Paul's in London. When his wife, Joan died in 1477, she was buried next to him. The church has been used by the members of the College of Arms since 1556. The original church on this site was burnt to the ground in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and rebuilt to a design by Sir Christopher Wren. Sadly we know of no surviving inscription to Sir John from this church. However, we have an inscription in St Peter’s church, Westminster (Westminster Abbey), which does mention him in 1518. ‘Here lies William Bedel Esquire and Cecily his wife, the daughter and heir of Lord Robert Grene the soldier, and also the heir of Lord John Cley the soldier’ (3 July 1518. (64) Had Joan Clay, followed her husband’s wishes and his burial had taken place in Cheshunt, we would probably have a likeness of him on his tombstone.
We have a description of the seal of John Clay around the time he was treasurer to the duke of York.
A round seal, 30 mill, a quartered shield: at 1 and 4, two ravishing wolves confronted in chief and a wolf passing in point; at a and 3, a fess accompanied by three birds, two in chief and one in point; leaning, stamped with a helm crowned with a wolfs head in flight, supported by two damsels. (65)
For a fuller History of Sir John Clay visit www. sirjohnclayofcheshunt. eu
1.S. Payling, ‘War and Peace: Military and Administrative Service Among the English Gentry in the Reign of Henry VI’, in Soldiers, Nobles and Gentlemen. Essays in Honour of Maurice Keen, ed. P. Coss and C. Tyerman (Woodbridge, 2009), pp. 243-5, 253, 255, 257.
(2) A. J. Pollard, John Talbot and the War in France 1427-1453 (London, 1983, reprinted 2005), p. 81.
(3) TNA E101/50/28, from medievalsoldier.org.
(4) Pollard, John Talbot, p. 81.
(5) R. A. Griffiths, The Reign of King Henry VI. The Exercise of Royal Authority (Tonbridge, 1981, reprinted 2022), p. 702.
(6) The History of Parliament. The House of Commons 1422-146, ed. Linda Clark (Cambridge 2020), vol. I, p. 887.
(7) Ibid.
(8) M. C. B. Dawes, The Register of the Black Prince (1933), vol. 4, folio 274d.
(9) York, The Borthwick Institute, Reg 7, folio 181 (verso) entry 6.
(10) The Paston Letters 1422-1509, ed. James Gairdner (1904), vol. 4, p. 83.
(11), The History of Parliament 1439-1509, ed. J. C. Wedgwood (1936), vol. 2, p. 187.
(12) The Paston Letters 1422-1509, vol 5 p. 105.
(13) Memoires de la Societe des Antiquares de Normandie, January 1861, p. 213.
(14) Societe d’études diverses de Louviers et de sa region, 1894, p. 193.
(15) R.A. Massey, ‘Lancastrian Rouen: Military Service and Property Holding 1419-49’, in England and Normandy in the Middle Ages, ed D. Bates and A. Curry (London, 1994), p. 280.
(16) Charles de Robillard de Beaurepaire, Archives Saine-Maritime Inventaire sommaire serie G, 1874, vol 2, p. 255.
(17) Le Pays de Loire Moyen dans le Trésor de Chartes: Berry, Blésois, Chartrain (Archives Nationales de France, 1923), p. 267.
(18) M. Leroux, Histoire de Ville de Soissons (1839), Vol. 2, p. 304.
(19) Massey, ‘Lancastrian Rouen: Military Service and Property Holding 1419-49’, p. 280.
(20) Société libre d’emulation de la Seine Maritime, Bulletin de la Societe Libre de Emulation du commerce, 1 Jan. 1933, p. 126.
(21) Bulletin Philologique et Historique Jusqu'a 1610 (1967), vol. 2, p.798.
(22) C. P. Cooper, Appendix to report on Thomas Rymer’s Foedera (1869), p. 412.
(23) J. Dylon, Capitaines et Governers (St-Germain-en-Laye, 1899), p. 39.
(24) A. Bell, A. Curry, A. King and D Simpkin, The Soldier in Later Medieval England (Oxford, 2013), p. 39.
(25) A. Curry, ‘Isolated or Integrated? The English soldier in Lancastrian Normandy’, in Courts and Regions of Medieval Europe, ed. S. Rees Jones, R. Marks and A.J. Minnis (York Medieval Press, 2000), p. 202.
(26) Jules Tardif, Monuments Historiques, 1866, p. 467, item 2256
(27) Appendix to report on Thomas Rymer’s Foedera, p. 471.
(28) The History of Parliament 1439-1509, vol 2, p. 187.
(29) Pollard, John Talbot, p. 81.
(30) Griffiths, Reign of King Henry V1, p. 702.
(31) Bibliothèque nationale de France. MS Lat. .5696 ; Chronique du Saint-Mont-Michel 1343-1468, ed. S Luce (1879), p. 180.
(32) Treswell & Vincent, The Visitation of Shropshire 1623, p. 18.
(33) Dugdale, The Antiquities of Warwickshire, 1656, The combats of Sir John Astley, p. 110.
(34) TNA SC8/28/1383.
(35) The Paston letters1422-1509, vol 4, p. 83.
(36) History of Parliament 1439-1509, p. 187.
(37) Thomas Basin, History of the Reigns of Charles VII and Louis XI 1412-1491 (1859), vol. 4, pp. 151-2.
(38) Bulletin Monumental, 1834, vol 20, p. 433.
(39) Henri de Formeville, Histoire de l'Ancienne evéché Comté de Lisieux, vol 1 (1873), p. DVLI.
(40 A E M Marshall, The role of English war captains 1436-1461, 1975, unpublished MA thesis, University of Swansea 1975, pp. 55-97 esp. 57-58.
(41) J. A. Tregelles, A History of Hoddesdon in the county of Hertfordshire (1908), p. 38.
(42) Marshall, The role of English war captains, pp. 55-97 esp. 57-58.
(43) Ibid.
(44) William Prynne, Brevia Parliamentaria Rediviva (1662), p. 45
(45) Gaston de Fresne de Beaucourt, Revues de Questions Historique, 1 jan. 1891, p. 423.
(46) List of Foreign accounts, enrolled of the great rolls of the exchequer (PRO, 1963), p. 45.
(47) Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Henry VI, 1459, p.537.
(48) The Paston Letters, vol 11, p. 233.
(49) J Sadler, Towton, The battle of Palm Sunday Field 1461 (2014), Appendix II, The Combatants.
(50) J. L. Laynesmith, Cecily, Duchess of York (2017), p. 87.
(51) The history of Parliament 1439-1509, p.187.
(52) A. R. Williams, The Knight and the Blast Furnace (2003) p. 861.
(53) Cora L Schofield, The Life and Reign of Edward the Fourth, King of England of France and Lord of Ireland (1923), pp. 212, 213.
(54) Calendar of the French Rolls, Henry VI, 1460-61, p. 446 (Annual Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records vol. 48).
(55) Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward IV, 1461, p. 416.
(56) Calendar of the Patent rolls, Edward IV, 1461, p. 92.
(57) William Palin, Stifford and its Neighbours (1871), p. 51.
(58) Chroniques, ed. Kervyn de Lettenhove 1867-1877), vol. 4, p. 155.
(59) A. Goodman, The Wars of the Roses (2010), p. 130.
(60) Calendar of Patent Rolls, Edward IV, 1464, p. 294.
(61) TNA E404/72/4/21.
(62) List of Sheriffs for England and Wales from the earliest times to A.D. 1831 (1963), p. 45.
(63) TNA PROB 11/5, f. 41r (Bede Roll, ref 96).
(64) J. Dart, Westmonstarium, The History and Antiquities of St Peters, Westminster (1723), p. 77.
(65) Germain Demay, Inventaire de Sceaux de la Collection Clairambault, V1, entry 2563, 1885, p. 271.
