LOCAL HISTORY King John (1166-1216)

Before I have another dip into my rogues’ gallery of historical figures with some tenuous link to Christchurch, I must thank those who got in touch after my previous column on Lord Bute. I’m so pleased my witticisms afforded you some guffaws. As my delightful editor, Julie, said to me: ‘Sometimes toilet humour works best’ (or words to that effect).

So, King John (1166-1216), the panto villain of all those Robin Hood movies, a baddie par excellence who got nobbled by his barons, lost his jewels in the Wash (that’s ‘the Wash’ as in the sea not the Hotpoint) and died after gorging on a surfeit of peaches. If you plan on opening a tin anytime soon please do share them around.

I include John in my round-up of Christchurch bods because he visited our place more times than any other monarch, ten times to be precise. There’s a stone next to the Constable’s House telling us as much. He liked hunting in the New Forest, established of course by his Norman ancestors as a royal hunting ground, so was up the road. He also visited Corfe quite a bit as he had the builders in at the castle. There, his visits have been explained, Christchurch betwixt the stag and the site foreman.

John was dubbed ‘Lackland’ as he was Henry II’s youngest son and therefore had minimal prospects. He was appointed Governor in Ireland in 1185 but an early example of his misconduct saw him brought home. His elder Bruv and King, Richard I (the Lionheart) was forever away on Crusade and it was on one of these expeditions he managed to get himself incarcerated in Austria. John did what any disloyal younger sibling would do and tried to seize the throne for himself. Boo, hiss. Richard did actually forgive John and nominated him his successor on his deathbed.

John wangled a divorce in 1200 so he could marry the rather attractive Isabella of Angoulême and by Easter 1203 he’d disposed of a rival to the throne, his nephew Arthur. John’s quarrels with the French King, Philip, saw most of England’s continental possessions lost, whilst his disagreement with the Pope saw him excommunicated in 1209. John’s next struggle was with his barons leading ultimately to his sealing of Magna Carta in June 1215 at Runnymede, the original basis of our constitution. John tried to wriggle out of the provisions, however, resulting in the First Barons’ War with the French Dauphin, Louis, putting himself up as an alternative English king.

John’s situation was already desperate when he died at Newark on 19th October 1216 aged 49. His reign was not all bad. He had some victories such as obtaining the homage of the Scots’ king and putting down rebellions in Ireland and Wales, plus there were administrative improvements, however, he will always be remembered as one of our monarchical rotters.

By Stephen Roberts www.steveroberts.org.uk Twitter: @SRChristchurch eMail: littleval@talktalk.net