John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester

John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester (Eversden, May 8, 1427– October 18, 1470, English nobleman and scholar, was the son of John Tiptoft, 1st Baron Tiptoft and Joyce Cherleton. He was also known as "the Butcher of England". [http://manybooks.net/support/b/brewere/brewere1143111431-8.exp.html]

He was notable for his education, studying at Oxford University.

He married [1] Cecily Neville, daughter of Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, in 1449, by whom he had no issue. She died 28 July 1450, and he married [2] Elizabeth, née Greyndour. They had one son, John, who died the year of his birth, 1452.
He married [3] Elizabeth, née Hopton, by whom he had a son, Edward, who died unmarried in 1485.

He enjoyed a brilliant early career. After being created Earl of Worcester on 16 July 1449, he was employed in a number of official posts, first as Lord High Treasurer and then as Lord Deputy of Ireland (1456–1457). He then departed on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and returned by way of Italy, where he stayed for two years, studying in Padua. There he gained a considerable reputation as a scholar of Latin.

He returned to England in 1461 and was received with favor by Edward IV, receiving the Order of the Garter and being appointed to a number of posts. Most notably, as Lord High Constable, he presided over the attainders and executions of Lancastrians, an office which he carried out with exceptional cruelty, having them beheaded, quartered, and impaled. In 1467, he again became Lord Deputy of Ireland, and brought about the execution of the Earl of Desmond.

Upon the Readeption of Henry VI in 1470, Tiptoft was unable to escape with Edward IV and his supporters. Captured by the Lancastrians, he was beheaded at Tower Hill, London but, contrary to some accounts, was not attainted and his son Edward succeeded to his titles. His last act was to ask the executioner to chop off his head with three blows, for the sake of the Trinity.

His son died in 1485, while still a minor, and without issue. The titles thus became extinct on his death, [M. C. Jones, 'Feudal lords of Powys' "Montgomeryshire Collections" I (1868), 357. ] or in abeyance between his aunts as coheiresses.

References

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* [http://www.thepeerage.com/p1422.htm#i14215 thePeerage.com]