The Neville–Neville feud was an inheritance dispute in the north of England during the early fifteenth century between two branches of the noble Neville family.
The inheritance in question was that of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland, a prominent northern nobleman who had issue from two marriages.
The senior branch disputed their disinheritance — both legally and by force of arms — but Joan Beaufort's eldest son, Richard Neville, prevailed due to his family's greater political connections.
Margaret Stafford's grandsons gave Salisbury no support during the conflict and he was captured fighting for Richard of York at the Battle of Wakefield.
[2] Shortly after her death, Ralph Neville married Joan Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt and cousin of King Richard II.
[4][2] Historian Anthony Tuck writes that this marriage "was to have major consequences both for the Neville family and for the English nobility" throughout the 15th century.
[5] Neville's new proximity to the royal family through his marriage to the Richard II's cousin, and his loyalty to the Crown during the crisis of July 1397, led to his elevation to the peerage as earl of Westmorland in 1397.
This might reflect an interest of the crown in retaining the Neville lands with Beaufort descendants, who would be closely related to the royal family due to their shared Lancastrian ancestry.
"[18] Only some estates in Brancepeth, Northumberland, Lincolnshire, two inns in London and Newcastle upon Tyne, Bywell Castle and property in Ripon were left for the senior Neville inheritance.
[22] Langley withheld the patronage of the county palatine from the second earl, and denied him any available official offices or positions under the bishop's grant.
[29] Pollard writes that the "settlement" signified a "crushing defeat" for Ralph II[22] and that the "odds had been heavily stacked" against him from the start.
[22] Westmorland had to renounce all claims to the Neville lands in County Durham, and had to pay annual rents to Salisbury for various Northumberland manors.