Ralph Fitzherbert facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sir Ralph Fitzherbert
Alabaster memorial
Died	2 March 1483 Norbury, Derbyshire
Resting place	St Mary and St Barlock's Church, Norbury, Derbyshire
Nationality	English
Title	Lord of Norbury
Successor	John Fitzherbert
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Marshall
Children	six sons including Anthony Fitzherbert
Parent(s)	Nicholas Fitzherbert and Alice Booth

Sir Ralph Fitzherbert (died 1483) was an important English nobleman. He was the Lord of the manor of Norbury, Derbyshire. His statue, showing him in his armor, can be seen in Norbury church. Copies of this armor are even displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Sir Ralph's Life

Ralph Fitzherbert was born to Nicholas Fitzherbert and his wife Alice. Ralph had a brother named John FitzHerbert. John worked for the King as a "King's Remembrancer of the Exchequer." This job involved keeping important financial records for the king.

In 1442, Ralph and his father, Nicholas, traded some of their lands. They exchanged lands in Osmaston, Foston, and Church Broughton for the manor of Norbury. The Fitzherbert family owned Norbury until 1872. Before that, Ralph's family had rented Norbury since 1125. They paid 100 shillings each year.

His Family and Children

Ralph Fitzherbert married Elizabeth Marshall. She was an heiress, meaning she inherited land, including Upton in Leicestershire. Ralph and Elizabeth had many children. They had daughters named Margaret and Dorothy. Margaret married Reginald Rowe, and Dorothy married Thomas Comberford.

They also had seven sons:

• John (who died in 1531)
• Henry (who died before 1532)
• Thomas (who died in 1532)
• Richard
• William
• Anthony

Many of Ralph's older sons died young. Because of this, his sixth son, Anthony, became the next Lord of the manor of Norbury.

The Sons on the Memorial

The seven sons are shown as small figures on the side of Ralph's memorial. They are not placed in the order they were born.

• The first figure is Richard, who became a knight.
• Next is Thomas, who was a church leader in Norbury and at Lichfield Cathedral.
• The third figure is thought to be John. He was the son who inherited the estate. He likely paid for the memorials for his parents and grandfather. These memorials were made from a special stone called Nottingham Alabaster.
• The fourth figure is Henry, shown with a purse. He was a "mercer," which means he sold cloth and textiles in London.
• The last three figures are thought to include William and Anthony. William was also a church leader at several cathedrals.
• Anthony was the most famous of the sons. He and William were still boys when their mother's will was read in 1490. Their brother John had to pay five pounds a year to help Anthony with his studies. This money helped Anthony become a very important English judge.

Wills and Burial

Both Ralph's and Elizabeth's wills (their last wishes) still exist today. Elizabeth's will says she wanted to be buried in the church of Saint Barloke. She wished to be placed in front of the image of Saint Nicholas and next to her husband, Ralph Fitzherbert.

Ralph's Memorial Statue

The memorial for Ralph Fitzherbert is in St Mary and St Barlock's Church, Norbury. It is considered very well-made. It was likely created at the same time as a similar memorial for Nicholas Fitzherbert. Both were made from a stone called Chellaston alabaster.

On Ralph's memorial, his feet rest on a lion. Next to the lion, a small figure of a "bedesman" crouches under Ralph's shoe. A bedesman was a person who prayed for others. This bedesman has a beard and is holding his rosary beads. He is praying for the souls of Ralph and Elizabeth.

Ralph's statue wears a special collar called the Yorkist livery collar. This collar has alternating suns and roses. It also has a White Boar livery badge hanging from it. This boar was the symbol of Richard III. Ralph Fitzherbert died two years before King Richard III lost his crown and his life in the nearby Battle of Bosworth.

This memorial is very important. After a similar wooden statue was destroyed in 1998, Ralph's memorial became the only one showing a boar pendant from that time. Real boar pendants have been found by archaeologists.

The armor shown on Ralph Fitzherbert's statue has been copied. A full suit of working armor was made based on the statue. In the 1800s, plaster copies of the statues themselves were made. These copies are now kept at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Family Faith

The bedesman on the memorial shows Ralph Fitzherbert's strong religious beliefs. These beliefs continued in his family through his descendants. One famous descendant was his great-grandson, Nicholas Fitzherbert, who lived at Padley in Derbyshire.

Images for kids

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  Elizabeth died October 1490.

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  Richard, Thomas and John Fitzherbert on the tomb

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  The bedesman

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  The White Boar livery badge