Margaret de Bereford was a substantial English property owner whose husbands were notable as merchants, soldiers or courtiers in the service of King Edward III.
Background
There has been considerable confusion as to Margaret's parentage, a number of publications having stated that her father was John de St John or Roger St John. The evidence on the subject has been explored in depth by Walter Lee Sheppard Jr. who, on the basis of letters of indulgence from Avignon dated 5 January 1361, concludes that she was the daughter of John de Bereford, a citizen of London, by his wife Roesia and sister of Sir John de Bereford, Keeper of Eltham Park.
First Marriage and family
Margaret's first husband was Sir John de Pulteney, Citizen and draper of London who held the office of Mayor for a total of four years. The marriage evidently took place by 13 December 1330, when they arranged for perpetual masses for themselves and “for the souls of John de Bureford late citizen of London and Roesia his wife” to take place at St Nicholas Shambles, London. Sir John's association with the de Bereford family went back significantly before 1330, as in July 1318 he was recorded as executor of the will of Roesia de Bureford, late the executrix of John de Bureford, citizen of London. The couple had one known child:
Sir John de Pulteney died 8 June 1349. She presented to the church of Cheveley, Cambridgeshire in 1349, as the widow of John de Pulteney. Margaret married before 1 September 1350 Sir Nicholas de Loveyne. On 12 October of the same year Nicholas obtained custody of the lands and marriage of William de Pulteney, the son and heir of Margaret’s first husband. There is no definite evidence of any children from Nicholas’ first marriage. However, it is possible that one “Guy de Loveyne” who on 22 April 1365 was included in an indenture that entailed much of the de Pulteney estates and who does not appear to be recorded subsequently may have been a child of that marriage and presumably died young.
Property
On the death of her first husband, Margaret received some of the extensive property that was held by her husband, details of which can be found in the article about him. In April 1349, Richard, Earl of Arundel had sued Sir John de Pulteney for the sum of £500. The case was protracted and in 1366 enquiries were made by the Court of Chancery about the extent of lands formerly held by Sir John that were by that stage held by his widow Margaret, her son William and her second husband. The results of inquisitions held by the Sheriffs of Kent and Cambridgeshire include evidence of Margaret's landholdings. However, the details are probably not exhaustive, as they relate only to land in Kent, Cambridgeshire and the London area.
Death
Margaret's son, William de Pulteney, died on 20 January 1366/7. The evidence given at an inquisition post mortem held on 2 July 1367 indicates that his mother was still alive on the latter day. Her death must have taken place during the following few years, as it is probable that Nicholas' marriage to his second wife, Margaret de Vere, took place in 1369 or 1370. Margaret was buried at St Mary of Graces. A visitation of that abbey in 1533 records "on the south syde the quier Sir Nicholas Loveyn, sume tyme lord of East Smithfield, and besyde him on the flore his wyfe, doughter of Sir William Poultney". This record is not fully accurate as Sir John Pulteney was Margaret's first husband and Sir William Poultney was not her father. A large-scale excavation of the site of the abbey took place in 1983-8. An analysis of the archaeological and documentary evidence uncovered has been published by the Museum of London.
