{104a} Sir John Neville, commonly called John Lord Neville, was the brother and heir presumptive to Ralph, second Earl of Westmoreland. Many years ago, when I wrote the paper on the battle of Stoke, I, on the authority of Hall and Holinshed, mentioned the Earl of Westmoreland, as having been slain at Towton; Fabyan also says that the earl was slain there. I am now satisfied, that those writers have erroneously mentioned the death of the Earl of Westmoreland, who did not die until the second year of Richard III.; and that, instead of him, they meant Sir John Neville, commonly called John Lord Neville, who was the second Earl of Westmoreland’s brother and heir presumptive. See Dugdale’s _Baronage_, vol. i. pp. 290, 299, 300; Leland’s _Coll._ vol. ii. p. 715 [498], in which is the following statement, ‘Syr John Nevel the Erle of Westmerlandes brother and Andrew Trollop were killid at this tyme.’; see also the act of attainder against the Lancastrian leaders, _Rot. Parl._ 1st Edward IV. vol. v. p. 476, which does not name the Earl of Westmoreland, but it does include, “John, late Lord Nevill”; besides which, Ralph, second Earl of Westmoreland, was summoned to the very Parliament which passed this act of attainder; consequently, it cannot be supposed that he had taken a part in the battle. See also the act of reversal of the attainder, _Rot. Parl._ 12th and 13th Edward IV. vol. vi. p. 24, of “Rauf Nevyll, first begoten son of John Nevyll Knyght, late Lord Nevyll,” attainted by the name of “John, late Lord Nevyll,” who was afterwards third Earl of Westmoreland. {104b} According to Dugdale, in his _Baronage_, vol. ii. pp. 85 and 86, Robert Lord Willoughby of Eresby, a valiant and celebrated commander, distinguished in the French wars, died in the thirtieth year of Henry VI., leaving Joan, the wife of Sir Richard Welles, his daughter and heir; and, the issue male of the principal branch being thus extinct, Sir Robert Willoughby, son of Thomas, a younger brother of the last Robert Lord Willoughby, became the next heir male, and is stated to have died on the 30th of May, in the fifth year of Edward IV. (_Quære_—Could it have been Thomas, the younger brother, who was called Lord Willoughby, and slain at the battle of Towton?) The death of Lord Willoughby is mentioned in Fenn’s _Collection of Original Letters_, vol. i. p. 219; and in note 12 at the foot, it is stated that “Richard Welles, a son of Lord Welles, in 1455, was summoned as Lord Willoughby, in right of his wife Joanna, heir of the great warrior, Robert Lord Willoughby.” See note respecting Leo Lord Welles, _infra_, note 3. Dugdale, however, does not mention Sir Richard Welles or Lord Willoughby, as having been engaged at Towton Field.