The Mordaunt family are buried in the Church at Turvey. They held the title 'Baron of Turvey' and later became Viscounts and then the Earls of Peterborough. Here is more information on the Mordaunts of Turvey....
The family was believed to have been founded by Osbert le Mordaunt who was a knight with William the Conqueror and came to this country immediately after the Norman Conquest (1066). Of course many noble families claimed just such a descent so this may not really be the case at all! However, William I did indeed hold possession on 'the lordship of Turvey in the county of Bedford' so it is not impossible.
Sir John Mordaunt 30 Dec 1465 - 11 Sep 1504
Sir John's effigy is in the church. His parents were William Mordaunt and Margaret, the daughter of John Pecke of Cople, Beds. John Mordaunt inherited the estate on his father's death in 1481. He was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for life in the reign of Henry VII. He claimed he was eleventh in descent from the above mentioned Osbert. He fought, and was wounded, at the battle of Barnet with the Earl of Warwick and also saw action at Bosworth Field and was a commander at the battle of Stoke (1487) - on King Henry's side of course (the Lancastrian king). He was speaker of the House of Commons from 1487. His armour was kept in Turvey Church for many years. He became a sergeant-at-law on 10 September 1495, a Kings Sergeant on 25 November 1496 and was MP for Bedford county. Around 1499 he was attorney to Prince Arthur and the Chief Justice of Chester. He was knighted in 1502/3 and appointed High Steward of the University of Cambridge in 1504. He was also a member of the Privy Council and granted special privileges by the Pope. In 1520 he went with King Henry VII to the Field of the Cloth of Gold and was knighted.
He was created Baron Mordaunt of Turvey in 1533.
Sir John's wife was Lady Edith, the daughter and heiress of Sir Nicholas Latimer of Duntish in Dorset. She was the widow of John Greene of Stotfold.
John Baron Mordaunt of Turvey Abt 1483 - 1561
Sir John and Lady Edith's eldest child was another John and he was made the first Baron Mordaunt of Turvey by King Henry VIII. His wife was Lady Elizabeth Vere of Addinton and they are both buried in the Chancel. As well as a wife, the baron acquired the lordships of Drayton and Thrapston as a dowry. He died in the 1500's and was quite elderly. He was succeeded by his son whose details follow.
The second Lord Mordaunt, was yet another John. His first wife was Lady Eleanor FitzLewis of West Thorndon, Essex and his second wife was called Lady Joanna. When they met, during the rising in behalf of Lady Jane Grey (1553), Joanna was in attendance upon Queen Mary at Framligham Castle in Suffolk. Joanna was young and beautiful and a widow. Both wives share their husband's tomb and have effigies in the church.
Henry, 4th Baron Mordaunt of Turvey 1564 - 1608
The fourth Baron, Lord Henry, was suspected of being a party to the famous Gunpowder Plot, when Guy Fawkes and his accomplices attempted to blow up the King in Parliament. Lord Henry was sent to the Tower of London but managed to escape with his life after paying a steep fine to the Star Chamber. The fact that he was a Roman Catholic, I am sure, didn't help his cause. He had a son, also called Henry, who was buried at Turvey Church on 2 October1610. The baron died in 1608, his long spell in captivity almost certainly hastening his end, but it is not known where he was buried.
Mordaunt Entries in the Turvey Parish Registers - 1602 - 1812
Please note that spelling is as in the transcription I got this from!
1610 Dec 4 - Henry son of Rt Hon Hen, Lord Mordant buried
1622 Jan 23 - Elizabeth, sister of Lord Henry Mordant buried
1676 May 18 - burial of Mrs Elixabeth Mordaunte
1697 Jun 29 - Henry, Earl of Peterborough, died Jun 19, interred
1702 24 Apr - burial of The Rt Hon. Penelope, Countess of Peterborough, 'No Affidavit brought'
1709 28 May - burial of The Rt Hon. Cary, Countess of Peterborough 'No Affidaveit brought'
1709 March 1 - The Hon Capt Henry Mordaunt, 2nd son to the Rt Hon Charles Earl of Peteroro' was interred, no affidavit brought
1710 Apr 13 - John, Lord Mordaunt, eldest son to Rt Hon Charles Earl of Peterboro', interred, no affadavit brought
1715 Aug 5 - burial of Hon. Frances Lady Mordaunt Relicit of Hon John Lord Mordaunt affidavit same day
1735 Nov 21 - burial of Rt Hon Carles, Earl of Peterborough & Monmouth "no affidavit brought"
John, Earl of Peterborough 18 Jan 1599 - 1642
Lord Henry's eldest living son, John was born in Lowick, Northants was raised to the dignity of Earl of Peterborough. He was kept in the Tower of London for a year for suspected connections to the Gunpowder Plot. Despite his enhanced aristocratic status he was on the side of Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentarians in the early days of the Civil War. He died of consumption.
John is my 11x Great Grandafather, his second son, John was my father's ancestor.
Lewis, 3rd Baron Mordaunt of Turvey 21 Sep 1538 - 16 Jun 1601
The second Lord John and his first wife, Eleanor, had an eldest son called Lewis. He was made the third Baron of Turvey. His is the plain black marble tomb in the church. Lewis was one of the judges at the trial of Mary, Queen of Scots and it is said that with her death sentence 'he did mose unwillingly concur'. He had served in Parliament before inheriting his father's peerage. He commanded troops when it was thought that the Spanish Armada would invade. He died at his manor house in Drayton, Northants and was buried in Turvey in 1601. The title and property passed to his son, Henry.
One of the earliest mentions of Mordaunts as Lords of the Manor in Turvey is Edmund "of whom it is stated in an inquisition taken in 1372 that on the Sunday before the Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude in that year, being seized with homicidal mania, he killed his wife Ellen and drowned himself on the same day in a pool in Turvey" :-(
Edmund's son, Robert died before 1397 and was followed by another Robert who died in 1448
William Mordaunt 19 Feb 1432 - 19 Jul 1487
William married Margaret Peake, she died in 1496. They had three children.
Peteroro' was interred, no affidavit brought
