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France than the French King. However, the disastrous reign of King John lost them most of their French domain, leaving them with just a few small provinces in Gascony – just enough to cause a lot of trouble.
    King Edward I of England retained the title ‘Duke of Normandy’, but as a Duke he was required to swear fealty to the French King, Philippe IV. The English King refused to bow to the French King. The French King reclaimed Gascony in retaliation. Edward I immediately stopped all passage of ships to the Continent, raising a vicious invading army of felons and criminals, asked to volunteer for paid service in Gascony.
    After some false starts due to bad weather, King Edward I assembled a great fleet of 325 ships at Plymouth in January 1296, under the leadership of his brother Edmund. But Edmund sickened and was dead by June, leaving the Earl of Lincoln to lead the attack on French forces mobilising in Gascony. As the fleet sailed, the King and his entourage stayed at Plympton Priory. It was a costly war, ended only by a truce negotiated by the Pope himself, which was then strengthened by a marriage between King Edward’s son and King Philippe’s fourth child, Isabella.
    Battles over the treaty raged on and on, claims and counter-claims going on for years, until the worst possible outcome for the French throne: Philippe IV’s eldest sons died, leaving the throne of France in dispute, and Isabella, wife of the now King Edward II, with a rightful claim. (Although the French later passed a law that women could not accede to the French throne, Isabella’s son retained a claim, sowing the seeds for the Hundred Years’ War between England and France.)
    In 1324 Edward II and a younger son of Philippe IV fought a brutal short war in Gascony, and the English forces were decimated. Some say this defeat alone led to King Edward II being deposed by his own wife, Isabella – behind every failed man is a bitter woman! Their son was then crowned King Edward III. In 1328 the last son of Philippe IV died and the French throne passed to a cousin, proclaimed King Philippe VI (with number V already dead!). The English King Edward III retained the stronger claim on the French throne and an overwhelming desire for payback against the French.

    Edward I, who stayed at Plympton Priory whilst his troops were attacking France.
    However, Gascony was worth a fortune to the English: its wine and salt were exceedingly profitable. King Edward III therefore did a deal that he would forfeit his claim to the French throne in return for Gascony alone. Philippe VI reneged on the deal and invaded Gascony anyway, and war was declared (again) with open hostilities.
    Suddenly French ships were raiding settlements along the Devon and Somerset coasts, and in 1337 all available English forces were put on alert. A series of beacons, fuelled by pitch and manned constantly by five-man crews, were established on all high grounds and headlands to announce the sight of any invading French ships. All coastal cities were frantically fortified, their defences reviewed and strengthened, and all available men conscripted into a militia called the ‘Garde de la Mer’.
    In 1339 Plymouth was attacked by eighteen French ships and the population fled inland in fear of the French ‘pirates’. The invasion was successfully repulsed by forces led by the Earl of Devon, Hugh Courtenay. His forces for the entire Devon coastline consisted of just 175 armed men and 140 archers, but they managed to stave off the French attack. The historian Stowe described the fighting (with spelling amended for clarity):

    At length they entered Plymouth Haven, where they burnt certain great ships and a great part of the town... There they were met by Hugh Courtenay, Earl of Devon, a knight of four-score years. A hand to hand fight followed; many of the pirates were killed, and the residue fled back to their galleys. Not being able to come upon them by wading, many were drowned in the sea to