Biography of Joan Burghesh Baroness Dunster 1319-1404

Paternal Family Tree: Burghesh

Maternal Family Tree: Clemence Roches Countess Blois

Before 1314 [her father] Bartholomew "The Elder" Burghesh 1st Baron Burghesh (age 26) and [her mother] Elizabeth Verdun Baroness Burghesh (age 13) were married.

Around 1319 Joan Burghesh Baroness Dunster was born to [her father] Bartholomew "The Elder" Burghesh 1st Baron Burghesh (age 32) and [her mother] Elizabeth Verdun Baroness Burghesh (age 19) at Burwash.

On 25th January 1330 [her father] Bartholomew "The Elder" Burghesh 1st Baron Burghesh (age 43) was created 1st Baron Burghesh. [her mother] Elizabeth Verdun Baroness Burghesh (age 30) by marriage Baroness Burghesh.

On 31st August 1330 John Mohun 1st Baron Dunster (age 61) died. His grandson [her future husband] John (age 10) succeeded 2nd Baron Mohun of Dunster. Given his young age he became a ward of the King who sold his wardship and marriage to [her uncle] Bishop Henry Burghesh (age 38) who then married him to his niece Joan Burghesh Baroness Dunster (age 11), daugher of his brother [her father] Bartholomew "The Elder" Burghesh 1st Baron Burghesh (age 43).

Before 10th May 1335 [her brother] Bartholomew "The Younger" Burghesh 2nd Baron Burghesh (age 7) and [her sister-in-law] Cecily Weyland (age 21) were married. They were fourth cousin once removed. He a great x 5 grandson of King John of England. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King John of England.

After October 1336 [her father] Bartholomew "The Elder" Burghesh 1st Baron Burghesh (age 49) was appointed Warden of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle which offices he held, with occassional interruption, to his death.

In or before 1347 [her brother-in-law] John Grey 2nd Baron Grey (age 30) and [her sister] Maud Burghesh Baroness Grey Rotherfield (age 31) were married. She by marriage Baroness Grey of Rotherfield. They were half fifth cousin once removed. He a great x 4 grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King John of England.

/_PHOTOS/20230516-Lincoln/20230516-140117.jpg

On 3rd August 1355 [her father] Bartholomew "The Elder" Burghesh 1st Baron Burghesh (age 68) died at Dover, Kent [Map]. He was buried in the St Catherine Chantry at Lincoln Cathedral [Map] with his father and brother. His son [her brother] Bartholomew (age 27) succeeded 2nd Baron Burghesh.

In or before 1357 John Mohun 2nd Baron Mohun of Dunster (age 36) and Joan Burghesh Baroness Dunster (age 37) were married. She by marriage Baroness Mohun of Dunster. They were fifth cousins. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King John of England.

The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy

The Gesta Normannorum Ducum [The Deeds of the Dukes of Normandy] is a landmark medieval chronicle tracing the rise and fall of the Norman dynasty from its early roots through the pivotal events surrounding the Norman Conquest of England. Originally penned in Latin by the monk William of Jumièges shortly before 1060 and later expanded at the behest of William the Conqueror, the work chronicles the deeds, politics, battles, and leadership of the Norman dukes, especially William’s own claim to the English throne. The narrative combines earlier historical sources with firsthand information and oral testimony to present an authoritative account of Normandy’s transformation from a Viking settlement into one of medieval Europe’s most powerful realms. William’s history emphasizes the legitimacy, military prowess, and governance of the Norman line, framing their expansion, including the conquest of England, as both divinely sanctioned and noble in purpose. Later chroniclers such as Orderic Vitalis and Robert of Torigni continued the history, extending the coverage into the 12th century, providing broader context on ducal rule and its impact. Today this classic work remains a foundational source for understanding Norman identity, medieval statesmanship, and the historical forces that reshaped England and Western Europe between 800AD and 1100AD.

Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.

Around 1357 [her daughter] Maud Mohun Baroness Strange Knockin was born to [her husband] John Mohun 2nd Baron Mohun of Dunster (age 37) and Joan Burghesh Baroness Dunster (age 38). She married in or before 1381 her fourth cousin John Strange 6th Baron Strange Knockin, son of Roger Strange 5th Baron Strange Knockin and Aline Fitzalan Baroness Strange Knockin, and had issue.

On 1st May 1360 [her mother] Elizabeth Verdun Baroness Burghesh (age 60) died. She was buried at Croxden Abbey, Staffordshire [Map].

Around 1367 [her daughter] Philippa Mohun Duchess York was born to [her husband] John Mohun 2nd Baron Mohun of Dunster (age 47) and Joan Burghesh Baroness Dunster (age 48) in Dunster, Somerset. She married before 7th October 1398 Edward 2nd Duke of York 1st Duke Albemarle, son of Edmund of Langley 1st Duke of York and Isabella of Castile Duchess York.

On 5th April 1369 [her brother] Bartholomew "The Younger" Burghesh 2nd Baron Burghesh (age 41) died. He was buried at Lady Chapel Walsingham Priory. His daughter [her niece] Elizabeth (age 27) succeeded 3rd Baroness Burghesh.

On 15th September 1375 [her husband] John Mohun 2nd Baron Mohun of Dunster (age 55) died. Since he had no male issue the title Baron Mohun of Dunster went into abeyance between his three daughters. [her daughter] Elizabeth Mohun Countess of Salisbury had one child who died in 1397. [her daughter] Philippa Mohun Duchess York (age 8) didn't have issue. [her daughter] Maud Mohun Baroness Strange Knockin (age 18) had one son [her grandson] Richard Strange 3rd Baron Dunster 7th Baron Strange Knockin who succeeded as 3rd Baron Mohun of Dunster on the death of his aunt Philippa Mohun Duchess York.

In 1376 Joan Burghesh Baroness Dunster (age 57) sold Dunster Castle [Map] and its associated estates including the manors of Minehead and Kilton, and the hundred of Carhampton for £5000 to Elizabeth Courtenay. She retained a life interest.

In or before 1381 1369 [her son-in-law] John Strange 6th Baron Strange Knockin (age 29) and [her daughter] Maud Mohun Baroness Strange Knockin (age 23) were married. She by marriage Baroness Strange Knockin. They were fourth cousins.

After 7th August 1385 [her son-in-law] William Montagu 2nd Earl Salisbury (age 57) and [her daughter] Elizabeth Mohun Countess of Salisbury were married. She by marriage Countess Salisbury. He the son of William Montagu 1st Earl Salisbury and Catherine Grandison Countess of Salisbury. They were half fifth cousin once removed.

On 23rd January 1387 [her sister] Maud Burghesh Baroness Grey Rotherfield (age 72) died at Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire [Map].

Before 7th October 1398 [her son-in-law] Edward 2nd Duke of York 1st Duke Albemarle (age 25) and [her daughter] Philippa Mohun Duchess York (age 31) were married. He the son of Edmund of Langley 1st Duke of York (age 57) and Isabella of Castile Duchess York.

Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans

Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.

Available at Amazon in eBook and Paperback format.

On 20th September 1400 [her daughter] Maud Mohun Baroness Strange Knockin (age 43) died.

On 3rd October 1404 Joan Burghesh Baroness Dunster (age 85) died at Guest House Canterbury Cathedral. She was buried at Canterbury, Kent [Map].

Effigy of Joam Burwaschs, Lady Mohun. JOAN BURWASCHs, or de Burghersh, was the daughter of [her father] Bartholomew de Burghersh, and wife of [her former husband] John de Mohun, Lord of Dunster, in Somersetshire, who had during his nonage been in the wardship of her father. She founded a chantry in 1395, by indenture between herself and the Prior and Monks of Christchurch, Canterbury. In consideration of the payment of 350 marks, and the gift of certain appendages necessary for her chantry, and of the manor of Selgrave being amortized to them by royal licence, they covenanted that when she died her body should be laid in the tomb which she had already, at her own cost, erected in the Lady Chapel of the undercroft of Canterbury cathedral [Map], and that her remains should never be removed from the monument, which was to be honourably kept up. Hasted says, that the Dean and Chapter possess the manor, but that the tomb was in his day sadly neglected. The effigy of Lady Mohun lies on an altar-tomb under a gothic canopy, adorned with pinnacles and arches terminating in corbelled points. The inscription on the verge of the tomb is here copied from Dart:

"Pour Dieu priez por l'ame Johane Burwaschs, qe feut Dame de Mohun [For God pray for the soul Johane Burwaschs, who was Lady of Mohun]."

                
                    After 18th November 1434. St Mary's Church, Ewelme [Map]. Monument to Thomas Chaucer (deceased) and Maud Burghesh (age 55).
                
                    The Arms in two rows left to right ...
                
                    Top Row:
                
                    1 Beaufort Arms                

                    2 York Arms. Possibly Cecily "Rose of Raby" Neville Duchess York impaled Neville Arms                

                    3 Thomas Beaufort 1st Duke Exeter 1377 1426 Arms                

                    4 Thomas of Brotherton 1st Earl Norfolk 1300 1338 Arms impaled Neville Arms                

                    5 Thomas Beaufort 1st Duke Exeter 1377 1426 Arms (again?)
                
                    6 Stafford Arms impaled Neville Arms                

                    7 Montacute and Monthermer Arms impaled Chaucer Modern Arms.
                
                    Bottom Row:
                
                    1 Beauchamp Arms quartered with Beaumont Arms; Earl Warwick reflecting the Beauchamp family having inherited the Earldom of Warwick through marriage to Isabel Maudit who was the sister of William Maudit 8th Earl Warwick who died without issue. Isabel Maudit and William Maudit 8th Earl Warwick were the children of William Maudit and Alice Beaumont. Alice Beaumont inherited the Earldom of Warwick when her half-niece Margaret Beaumont 7th Countess Warwick died.
                
                    2 Courtenay Arms impaled Beaufort Arms                

                    3 Montacute and Monthermer Arms impaled Mohun Arms                

                    4 Montacute and Monthermer Arms quartered Neville Arms                

                    5 De La Pole Arms quartered Chaucer Modern Arms                

                    6 Despencer Arms impaled Chaucer Modern Arms                

                    7 Mohun Arms impaled Chaucer Modern Arms. [her former husband] John Mohun 2nd Baron Mohun of Dunster and Joan Burghesh Baroness Dunster.