At the age of fifty Michael de la Pole could look back in
pride at his achievements. His father
William had been a wealthy merchant and moneylender to the king but his career
had ended in disgrace. Lacking a family
fortune, Michael joined the military and served in France alongside the sons of
King Edward III to earn himself a knighthood. Through a good marriage he acquired a grand
rural estate in Suffolk and social connections.
Later he became a member of the House of Lords.
Now as the 1380s dawned, Michael had time to return to his
boyhood home of Hull. There he established
a monastery and began rebuilding the family home on Lowgate. The house was to boast twenty rooms, a tower,
two halls, and a chapel. Later additions
would include a pantry, buttery, bathhouse and wine cellars. He had little opportunity to enjoy these
luxurious surroundings however as in 1383 he was appointed to the prestigious
post of Lord Chancellor. Working closely
with the new king Richard II, he had responsibility for drawing up charters and
writs, and monitoring payments made to the Exchequer.
After joining the teenage king on campaign to Scotland,
Michael was further honoured with the title Earl of Suffolk. Parliament though was not pleased with either
him or the king. The country was a under
threat of invasion from both Scotland and France, yet Michael had failed to
spend money as promised on defensive measures.
Despite this he wished to set new high levels of taxation to collect
even more money. Relations between the
two parties worsened until in 1387 Michael was forced to flee abroad.
Michael headed for Calais where his brother
Edmund was Captain of the castle. Shaving off his hair
and beard, Michael sneaked into the fortress disguised as a Flemish poultryman. The deception was so successful, it took
Edmund a while to realise that his visitor wanted sanctuary rather then to sell
his basket of chickens. Refusing to
admire this act of daring and help his brother, Edmund sent him back to
England.
As a final favour to his former advisor, the king allowed
Michael to escape once more. He headed
to the reliable sanctuary of Hull then onto Europe, although this time avoiding Calais. King Richard though couldn’t stop
parliament putting Michael on trial for treason and he was sentenced to death
in his absence. His land and goods were
also to be forfeited, including silver plate kept at Hull worth a
handsome £40 13s 10d. Michael died still
in exile in 1389 and his body was brought back to Hull to be buried in the
monastery he had founded.
Photo: The
former site of the de la Pole Manor house on Lowgate, Hull.
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