By David T Gardner, November 28th, 2025
Traditional mother of Ellen Tudor
The Welsh woman who linked Jasper Tudor to the Gardiner merchant syndicate
.jfif "Unicorn Tavern, London") |
| Unicorn Tavern |
She was born around 1436, probably in Gwynedd, north Wales, into a family of respectable but modest standing – neither wealthy nor poor. By the early 1460s she had moved to London and was working as shift overseer (sometimes described as “tavern manager” or “primary”) at the Unicorn tavern on the corner of Cheapside and Milk Street – one of the most important inns in the City and a known meeting place for Welsh exiles and Lancastrian sympathisers during the long years of Yorkist rule.
It was at the Unicorn, during one of Jasper Tudor's clandestine visits to London between 1461 and 1471, that Mevanvy is said to have met the exiled Duke of Bedford. Their relationship produced a daughter, Ellen, born around 1455. Jasper never publicly acknowledged the child, but after Bosworth the Tudor bloodline through Ellen was openly recorded in heraldic visitations.
Mevanvy herself disappears from the records after 1480. She is last mentioned in connection with the Unicorn tavern and its Welsh clientele. No marriage, no will, and no burial record has yet been found – almost certainly deliberate, given the political danger of being known as the mother of Jasper Tudor's child during the Yorkist years.
Traditional identification
- Geni profile “Mevanvy verch Dafydd” (c.1436 – after 1480) – “mother of Ellen Tudor, met Jasper at the Unicorn tavern”
- WikiTree Tudor-85 – “mother of Ellen Tudor, tavern worker in Cheapside”
- Alison Weir, Britain’s Royal Families (2008 edition), s.v. Jasper Tudor – “a woman named Mevanwy”
- Terry Breverton, Jasper Tudor: Dynasty Maker (2014), p.298 – “met a Welsh woman who ran shifts at a Cheapside inn”
Primary context
- The Unicorn tavern is repeatedly described in contemporary sources as a centre for Welsh exiles and Lancastrian agents in London (VCH London vol.1, p.346; Sutton, Mercery of London, 2005, p.145).
- Jasper Tudor made several secret visits to the capital between 1461 and 1471 (Breverton, pp. 298–299).
Mevanvy ferch Gryffudd remains a shadowy figure, known only through later genealogical tradition and the circumstantial evidence of the Unicorn tavern. Yet without her, there is no Ellen Tudor – and without Ellen, there is no blood alliance between the Gardiner merchant syndicate and the Tudor royal house that made Bosworth possible.
She is the quiet Welsh woman who, from behind the bar of a Cheapside inn, helped change the course of English history.
Sources
- Geni.com/people/Mevanvy-Verch-Dafydd/6000000006444341523
- WikiTree Tudor-85 (notes section)
- Alison Weir, Britain’s Royal Families (Vintage, 2008), s.v. Jasper Tudor
- Terry Breverton, Jasper Tudor: Dynasty Maker (Amberley, 2014), p.298
- VCH London vol.1 (1909), p.346
- Anne F. Sutton, The Mercery of London (Ashgate, 2005), p.145
The unicorn has spoken.
The throne falls at dawn
Author and Researcher
David T. Gardner is a distinguished historian and full-time researcher who hails from Louisiana. A proud descendant of the Gardner family, who journeyed from Purton, Wiltshire, to West Jersey (now Philadelphia) in 1682, David was raised on captivating tales of lords, ladies, and better times in England. This fascination with his ancestral legacy ignited a lifelong passion for historical research.
With over 40 years of dedicated scholarship, Gardner has focused on medieval England and used modern research methods to uncover a compelling knowledge of obscure historical facts. His research centers on the genealogical history of the Gardner, Gardiner, Gardyner, and Gardener families and their related kinsman. His magnum opus, William Gardiner: The Kingslayer of Bosworth Field, reflects the culmination of a lifetime of work.
For inquiries, collaborations, or to explore more of his groundbreaking work, David can be reached at gardnerflorida@gmail.com or via his blog at KingslayersCourt.com, a digital haven for history enthusiasts. Sir William’s Key™ Is the Future of History
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Citation (please use this form) Gardiner, David T. (2025). The Unicorns Debt Volume #1: Mercantile Architects of the Tudor Ascension, 1448–2022 [Dataset]. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17670478
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The unicorn has spoken – and the throne still owes the debt. 28 November 2025