Margaret was a daughter of Sir Nicholas de Loveyne and his second wife, Margaret de Vere who had previously been married to Henry de Beaumont and, after Sir Nicholas’ death, took Sir John Devereux as her third husband. Henry de Beaumont had died on 25 July 1369, leaving extensive property in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire. Both the first and second wives of Sir Nicholas were named Margaret. This has led to confusion about the identity of the mother of the subject of this article. The relevant evidence is comprehensively discussed with extensive reference to original sources in two articles by Walter Lee Sheppard Jr. Margaret was described as aged about 26 at the time of the inquisitions post mortem for Margaret de Vere, which took place in response to writs issued on 20 June 1398. This indicates that Margaret junior was born about 1372 and leads Sheppard to conclude that, as Margaret junior was born significantly after the death of Nicholas' first wife, her mother was Margaret de Vere.
First marriage and family
Margaret’s first marriage was to Richard Chamberlain, by whom she had two sons:
Margaret’s second marriage was to Sir Philip St Clere. Margaret was described as the wife of Sir Philip Seyntcler on 17 December 1398, so their marriage must have taken place before that date. As the couple’s son John was born in 1397, they appear to have married fairly soon after the death of Richard Chamberlain. Margaret and Philip had two sons:
Margaret was the only child of her parents’ marriage who was still alive in 1398, as after her mother’s death she was identified as the heir of her parents and so entitled to inherit the manors of Barton St John and Stanton St John, Oxfordshire, in which her mother had held a life interest. Her brother Nicholas was aged “5 years and more” in 1375 but presumably died young. She also inherited, directly or indirectly from her parents, a considerable range of other properties, including the manor of Penshurst, Kent with its substantial house known as Penshurst Place that had been built in 1341 for her mother’s first husband Sir John de Pulteney.
Death
According to inquisitions post mortem that were held at Godstone on 26 May 1408 and at Penshurst on 21 November 1409, Margaret St Clere died on either 10 May or 7 May 1408. As these dates were only a few days before her husband died on 16 May 1408, they suggest that the couple may have succumbed to the same sickness. In 1413, further hearings were held about Margaret’s property rights and who should inherit them.
