Richard III
by William Shakespeare
"The Cat, the rat and Lovell our dog, Ruleth all England under a
Hog."
William "The Cat" Catesby
William, son and heir of Sir William, was born about 1440 and was a keen supporter of the Yorkshire cause while his father was equally committed to the other side, so there were grounds for friction between them. Character differences did not help. The father and son were both ambitious, but the father was orthodox in his outlook, the son more ruthless and a born gambler, indeed, and unpleasant opportunist. William was a lawyer and land agent by profession. The relationship with Sir John Catesby of Arthingworth, Justice of the Common Please, was that of cousin and perhaps had to do with his training. In 1473 the City and Prior Kenhelm Dicas took action against William Bristowe. John Catesby, then a Sergeant of Law, acted for the defendant. In 1480 John was assisted by William for Bristowe. In 1481 Sir John was appointed one of the Justices of Common Pleas, and in the same year William acted alone. It is reasonable to suggest that William was Apprentice-at-Law to his relative.
William married Margaret Zouche and in December 1471, Margaret's mother and her second husband, John Scrope of Bolton, granted William for his wife's lifetime all their lands in Houghton-on-the-Hill in Leicestershire. The young couple at least had somewhere to live independent of William's father. William's mother-in-law was the half-sister to Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, and godmother to the heir to the throne. Had Catesby later on not so hopelessly compromised himself as a supporter of Richard III, his marriage might conceivably have proved of great assistance to him in other directions.
William possessed extensive family estates in 1479 but was not content to spend his time managing his inheritance. He concentrated on the openings available to him as an apprentice-at-law and his ability as a land agent. It is likely that William Catesby sat as Knight of Northamptonshire in the last short Parliament of Edward II, 20 January to 18 February 1483.
On the fifth day of Richard III's reign Catesby was confirmed by Royal Patent for life in his new office of Chancellor of the Earldom of March and by separate patents of the same date, Chancellor of the Exchequer and of the lower Exchequer office of Chamberlain of the Receipt which his late master, Lord Hastings, had held to his death. Catesby was also made a Justice of the Peace in his own county of Northamptonshire. Catesby's appetite for local offices was further promoted by his membership of Richard III's Council and by a proximity to the King's person that was even further assured by his new office in the Royal Household of Esquire for the body. By now he was entirely committed to stand or fall with the new regime whose future was in doubt until it was settled at the Battle of Bosworth. Catesby had arrived, forging a link with Viscount Lovell and they feathered their nests with the pickings of deposed owners and executed grandees. They with Radcliffe became chief advisors of the King. In July 1484 William Collingbourne lampooned the triumvirate of chief counsellors in the well-known couplet affixed to the door of St. Paul's Cathedral: "The Cat, the rat and Lovell our dog, Ruleth all England under a Hog." Collingbourne was hanged for his impertinence.
In June Richard III was standing by at Nottingham to meet alarms as they
arose because the country was in an uproar. On 7 August, Henry Tudor, Earl of
Richmond, landed at Milford Haven in Wales, and eight days later was in
Shrewsbury gathering forces. Richard and Henry's followers faced each other on
Bosworth Field on 22 August, Henry's forces numbering about 5000 and Richard's
twice that number but with low morale. With Richard's army were Viscount Lovell,
Lord Zouche (Catesby's brother-in-law), Sir Richard Radcliffe (Catesby's wife's
kinsmen by marriage), and Catesby himself. Soon the battle was over and Richard
was killed with the Crown of England rolling into a thorn bush. Radcliffe fell,
Zouche escaped, Lovell escaped to the sanctuary at Colchester, but Catesby was
taken prisoner. He alone of important men was beheaded three days after the
battle, having made his will dated 25 August 1485. Of all the Catesbys, William
rose to the highest eminence and met with the most ignoble end.