These extracts from Cecily Neville's final will - made on 31 May 1495 and proved on 27 August 1495 at Lambeth - show the great range of social contacts and responsibilities that formed part of the life of an independent noblewoman in the late Middle Ages. Her beneficiaries range from King Henry VII to lowly pages of her household, from major religious houses to local priests. As the mother of former kings, Cecily could move within the royal circles of the new dynasty, but she played a prominent part in a more local society too. Her will also reflects the complexities of her role in the Wars of the Roses.
Catalogue reference: PROB 11/10, q. 25 (1495)