Dr Peter Burley explores the life of Margaret Hungerford (1410-1478) and her account of a family's experience in the Wars of the Roses

Men in the Lancastrian Hungerford dynasty fought and died in the Wars of the Roses - one of them being killed here in St Albans. The wife of the second Baron Hungerford (Margaret), though, played a role in the Wars in her own right and also wrote a personal account of her experience. One son was exiled, then attainted and executed. Another died in battle. One grandson was attainted and executed and the other was imprisoned in Luton but later became a hero of Bosworth. She was imprisoned on the orders of Warwick the Kingmaker's brother and briefly made destitute. During the Wars she had to take on the roles herself of managing the family's affairs and of being mother to her great-grand-daughter, the last surviving member of the family in the senior line. Her story has been overlooked, and this talk is designed to do her justice.

Dr Peter Burley read (modern) history at the University of York and then did research at University College London. He followed a career in local government and then the regulation of health professions but remained an active historian. He had work published in several media at the bicentenary of the French Revolution in 1989 but then switched his attention to the Wars of the Roses – partly because he lives on the battlefield of the Second Battle of St Albans (1461). He co-authored a book on the battles of St Albans in 2007 (still in print!). He is a Council member, Trustee and Newsletter Editor for the Society. He is Chair of the University of York London Alumni Group and a member of the Committee of the Beds, Herts and Middx Region of the Battlefields Trust. He writes, researches and presents on a range of local history topics.

This lecture will be available in person at Dagnall Street Baptist Church and also online via Zoom. Attendance is free to SAHAAS members; £5 for non-members.

Please click on the button above right to register. You will then receive confirmation of your registration by email return. Registration closes at 3.30pm on Tuesday 8 September.

All those registered will be emailed the Zoom joining instructions by 4pm on the day of the lecture. If you have not received this by 5pm, please contact us using the email address below. NB. If you are registering two or more members to attend via Zoom, and want each of them to receive the link in their own email inbox, these details need to be entered at registration.

It is important to note that SAHAAS operates hybrid talks relying on two volunteers who work very hard behind-the-scenes on the technology to ensure we can offer this service to those unable to attend at the church. Occasionally despite our best efforts technology works against us. There may be a delay in acknowledging an issue but this is only because we are working out how to resolve it.

If you have any questions, please email Imogen de la Bere via lectures.sahaas@gmail.com

Image above: Second Battle of St Albans in 1461, by Graham Turner

Description supplied by the event organiser.