John Beauchamp, 1st Baron Beauchamp of Kidderminster

He was the son of Richard de Beauchamp, of Holt (d. 1327), the son of John de Beauchamp, of Holt (d. after 1297), the son of William (III) de Beauchamp (d. 1269), and brother of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick (c.1238-1298).Cokayne Complete Peerage, 2nd ed., vol. 2, p. 45

He served under John of Gaunt in the Spanish campaign of 1372 and in 1373 obtained a grant of a yearly fair at a place called 'le Rode' in the parish of Holt, on the day of St. Mary Magdalene."Parishes: Holt". In A History of the County of Worcester, Volume 3 (London, 1913), pp. 401–408. A favourite of the ailing King Edward III, in the years 1370 to 1375 he received several grants of offices, including the constableship of Bridgnorth Castle. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for Worcestershire to Edward III's last parliament (January 1377) and Richard II's first (October 1377).

Richard II regarded him warmly, and acted as godfather to his son. Retained in the household, Beauchamp soon received substantial further patronage, and by 1384 he had been made Receiver of the Chamber and Keeper of the King's Jewels. He received the Order of Knighthood on Richard II's entry into Scotland in 1385. That December he was granted for life the office of Justiciar of North Wales, to which was added in August 1386 a charter of liberties within his recently purchased estate at Kidderminster. Even though the Commons demanded in October that a new Steward of the Household be appointed only in parliament, Richard II refused to comply, and in January 1387 he promoted Beauchamp to the stewardship. Even more provocative was Sir John's creation on 10 October following as 'Lord of Beauchamp and Baron of Kidderminster', a new dignity to be maintained from the estates of Deerhurst Priory. This was the first creation of a peerage by letters patent.[https://debretts.com/peerage/the-peerage/ranks-and-privileges-of-the-peerage/#:~:text=The%20first%20baron%20to%20be,King%20Richard%20II%20in%201387. "Ranks and Privileges of The Peerage"]. Debrett's. He was probably the builder of Holt Castle."Parishes: Holt". In A History of the County of Worcester, Volume 3 (London, 1913), pp. 401–408.

Beauchamp's rapid rise from esquire to baron could not be borne by the Lords Appellant, who included his kinsman, Thomas Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick. The latter probably saw the rise of his cousin as a threat to his dominance of the Midlands.Saul 179 Arrested and imprisoned along with three other household knights, Lord BeauchampThe Lords Appellant disregarded his peerage and addressed him simply as a knight (Ross 564). was impeached in the Merciless Parliament and condemned by the lords for treason. He was beheaded on Tower Hill on 12 May 1388 and was buried in Worcester Cathedral. Fortunately for his heir, John, then aged eleven, he had entailed certain of his manors, so these were exempt from forfeiture.Ross 563–564

In about 1370 he married Joan FitzWith, daughter and heiress of Robert FitzWith, then a minor in the king's wardship."Parishes: Holt". In A History of the County of Worcester, Volume 3 (London, 1913), pp. 401–408 By Joan he has issue including:

• John Beauchamp, 2nd Baron Beauchamp of Kidderminster (1378–1420) (attainder reversed 1398; forfeit in 1400 by renewal of attainder).

{{Reflist}}

{{more footnotes|date=May 2014}}

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• {{cite book | author=anon. | editor=Page, W. | year=1913 | title= Victoria County History: A History of the County of Worcester, Vol. III | pages=403–4 | chapter=Holt | chapter-url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43144}}
• {{cite journal | first=C. D. | last=Ross | title=Forfeiture for Treason in the Reign of Richard II | journal=English Historical Review | volume=71 | issue=281 | pages=560–575 | year=1956 | doi=10.1093/ehr/LXXI.281.560}}
• {{cite encyclopedia | first=J. H. | last=Round | author-link=John Horace Round | encyclopedia=Dictionary of National Biography | article=John de Beauchamp, Baron Beauchamp | volume=2 | year=1908 | pages=29}}
• {{cite book | first=Nigel | last=Saul | title=Richard II | year=1987 | isbn=0-300-07875-7 | publisher=Yale University Press | location=New Haven}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beauchamp, John de Beauchamp, 1st Baron}}

Category:People from Malvern Hills District

Category:1388 deaths

Category:Year of birth unknown

Category:English MPs January 1377

Category:Barons in the Peerage of England

John

Category:Peers created by Richard II

Category:Masters of the Jewel Office

Category:1339 births

Category:English MPs October 1377