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45 PART III EARLY HISTORY OF HADDON HALL BY S. RAYNER
By his marriage with the heiress of Tong Castle, Sir Richard Vernon had two sons.
Fulk Vernon, probably the elder, apparently named after his maternal grandfather, was
chosen member for the county of Derby, in the parliament which met at Westminster,
Oct. 10, 1435. Pilkington in his “View of the Present State of Derbyshire, &c.” has given
a list of the representatives of the County, in which the name of Fulk Vernon appears as
M.P. 13th Henry VI [1434]; but that year of the King’s reign no parliament was
summoned: Mr. Vernon must therefore have sat in the house in 1435, 14th Henry VI. He
died, without issue, probably between that year and 1442, when his place in parliament
was filled by his nephew, who will be subsequently noticed.
Richard Vernon, who must have been the younger brother of the preceding, is
characterized in a pedigree in the Harleian Library, as “Captain de Roan,” or Captain of
Rouen, having doubtless been a military officer, and held the command of the garrison of
that city, which had fallen into the hands of the English during the invasion of France by
Henry V [reigned 1413-1422], and was retained till November 1449, when it was
surrendered to the French by the Duke of Somerset. But some years previously to that
occurrence, Captain Vernon had obtained a more secure office, namely the Treasurership
of Calais, which he held under a patent from the Crown, dated May 4, 1444. This he
resigned in 1450 or 1451, in favour of his son; and he died in 1452. He appears to have
married a lady whose christian name was Benedicta, or Benetta, but her family name is
uncertain; possibly she may have been a native of France; and if, as may be concluded,
she was not an heiress, the insertion of the name of her family in the Vernon archives
would be thought unimportant.
Sir Richard Vernon, Treasurer of Calais, had by his wife two sons and two daughters.
His elder son, William, was chosen representative of the County of Derby, in the
parliament summoned to meet at Westminster, on the festival of St. Paul, (January 25)
1442, 20th Henry VI. He was again elected to represent the same constituency, in the
parliaments which assembled at Westminster, 28th Henry VI [1449] and 29th Henry VI
[1450]. In the latter year, his father having resigned to him the Treasurership of Calais,
he probably went thither and spent several ensuing years; though we are unable to
ascertain when he returned to his native country. However he had a grant of the high
office of Constable of England, for life, being, it is said, the last who held that great
dignity in that manner, it being looked upon as too important for a subject to be this
entrusted with it; and in future it was only granted on some particular occasion pro vice.