Friday, 21 September, 2007
Dear John (Brandon),
Thanks for that interesting post (evidently accessible via
Rootsweb only...?) from the Warwickshire Antiquarian Magazine.
I was hopeful there might be a connection in the Wyllys
pedigree mentioned for the Wyllys families of Georgia & c.
(descended from an emigrant from Ireland as I have it), but
this is not apparent (if present).
In browsing about, I found an interesting pedigree of the
Despensers (pp. 170-171). Certainly to be used with care, the
first 8 generations were cobbled together and have nothing to
do with the ancestry of the notorious Earl of Winchester and
his less-well-thought-of son Hugh: accuracy is found starting
only with the Earl of Winchester's parents and later.
I did noted on p. 171 that Hugh le Despenser 'the younger'
(fl. 1309-1357) and his siblings are properly placed [with the
exception of Philip le Despenser, who was actually their
uncle], and are also assigned their correct spouses, with an
interesting twist: for his younger brother we have
" Edw. Dns' Spencer 2. fil. = Anna fil.
Hugonis le Despensor. I Hen. Dni'
_______I Ferrers "
Edward's wife Anne is (typically) assigned as a daughter
of Sir William de Ferrers of Groby, co. Leics. by his wife
Ellen ("said to be" dau. of Sir John de Segrave) - thus in
Complete Peerage (IV:275), Doug Richardson's Plantagenet
Ancestry (2004), p. 268, Leo van de Pas' Genealogics
(ID #I00113941). Other than the fact that this assignment
has been made, I have yet to find any direct evidence for
the same.
What is known of Henry de Ferrers, elder son and heir of
Sir William de Ferrers, indicates that he could in fact be the
father of Anne, wife of Edward le Despenser. Henry de Ferrers
was born in 1303 or before (he was aged 22 'and more' at his
father's IPM in 1325). His known wife, Isabel de Verdun, was
born 21 March 1316/17, and they were married before 20 Feb
1330/1. This marriage probably occurred only shortly before
that date, given she was only 13 at the time. Their eldest
son William was born 28 Feb 1332/33, when Isabel was still
15, so it is reasonable to state he was their oldest child.
It is a very good possibility that Henry de Ferrers had
a previous marriage, hitherto unknown. I have seen it stated
that he had an illegitimate son Henry, but have seen no other
evidence of issue other than that by Isabel de Verdun. The
chronology of the Ferrers and Despenser families dictates
that Anne (wife of Edward le Despenser) could not be the
daughter of Isabel de Verdun. Given that Henry de Ferrers
was aged about 26 or 27 when he married Isabel de Verdun, it
would actually be most unusual if he in fact had not been
previously married.
We can be reasonably certain that Anne was of the Groby
branch of the Ferrers family, as Edward le Despenser and Anne
were married at Groby on 20 April 1335 (CP IV:275). The
apparent reason for Anne's assignment as William's daughter
is set forth in the notes to CP IV:275 (footnote <c>), where
it was stated,
' Dugdale and other genealogists say that Anne was
da. of (her br.) Henry de Ferrers of Groby, whose
wife, Isabel de Verdun, was b. 21 Mar. 1316/7, and
is thus represented to have been a grandmother at
the age of 19.'
While this is patently absurd, the issue of Henry's age,
and the difference between his and the age of his known wife
Isabel de Verdun, was apparently not noted as indicating the
likelihood of a prior union between Henry and an unknown
woman. Add to this what onomastic evidence we have: Edward
le Despenser and Anne de Ferrers are not known to have had a
son named William; however, they did have a son named Henry,
the well-known Bishop of Norwich (d. 1406).
[NOTE: the following is conjectural, and is
presented for discussion purposes only.
conjectured relationship indicated: _ _ _ _]
William de Ferrers = Ellen de Segrave
__________________I
I
1) NN = Henry de Ferrers = 2) Isabel de Verdun
I fl. ca 1303-1343 I m. bef 20 Feb 1330/31
_ _ _ _ I I_________________________
I I I I
Anne = Edward le Despenser Elizabeth William Philippa
I m. 20 Apr 1335
_____I___________________________________
I I I I I
Edward Hugh Thomas Henry Gilbert
b. March b. ca. b. ca.
1335/6 1339 1343
The possibility exists that certain land tenures
(re: Yardley Gobion, co. Northants and others) may provide
further evidence either supporting or disproving this
suggested relationship. Should anyone have further
documentation or suggestions concerning the above, that
would be welcome as always.
Cheers,
John
parentage of Anne de Ferrers, wife of Edward le Despenser
Moderator: MOD_nyhetsgrupper
-
Douglas Richardson
Conclusive evidence re. the parentage of Anne de Ferrers (di
Dear John B., John R., etc. ~
With regard to the correct parentage of Anne de Ferrers, died 1367,
wife of Sir Edward le Despenser, Knt., there is indisputable evidence
that Anne was a member of the Ferrers family of Groby. This evidence
consists of Anne's own armorial seal which is discussed in the book,
Catalogue of Seals in the P.R.O., by Ellis, 1 (1978), page 21 as
follows:
Seal of Anne, widow of Edward le Despenser, knight, dated 1363- A
shield of arms: quarterly, in the second and third quarters a fret,
over all a bend [DESPENSER] impaling four mascles [FERRERS]. Within a
cusped circle, surrounded by a band of pointed tracery broken by four
roundels of arms containing (above) a sleeping lion (below) a pierced
cinquefoil [QUINCY], (L) three chevrons [CLARE], (R) a lion rampant
crowned [SEGRAVE]).
As indicated above, the arms of this seal include those of Anne's
husband, Sir Edward le Despenser, impaled with those of Anne's own
family [Ferrers]. There are also roundels of arms on this same seal
which are the arms of Edward's mother, Eleanor de Clare (an heiress),
those of Anne's mother, Ellen de Segrave, and those of Anne's
paternal grandmother, Margaret de Quincy (also an heiress).
Anne de Ferrers is further identified as the "daughter of Lord
Ferrers" in an ancient pedigree of the Despenser ffamily found in
William Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum, 2 (1819): 59-65 (sub
Tewkesbury Cartulary):
"Edwardus [le Despenser] igitur primus, frater Hugonis tertii, ex Anna
filia domini de Ferrers, genuit Edwardum secundum, Thomas, Henricum,
et Gilbertum secundum, et fortunio belli ante fratrem suum
decessit."). END OF QUOTE.
As for Anne's placement in the Ferrers family tree, her seal gives
good evidence that she was the daughter of Sir William de Ferrers, 1st
Lord Ferrers of Groby, and his wife, Ellen de Segrave. As for further
evidence that Sir William de Ferrers's wife, Ellen, was a Segrave, the
reader may wish to consult Legge, Anglo-Norman Letters & Petitions
(Anglo-Norman Text Soc. 3) (1941): 78-79, which include the transcript
of a letter dated 1399/1406 in which Thomas la Warre, 5th Lord Warre,
refers to Anne de Ferrers's son, Henry le Despenser, Bishop of
Norwich, as his "mon tesentierment amé cousin." Bishop Despenser and
Lord la Warre were kin by common descent from the Segrave family,
Bishop Despenser being a grandson of Ellen (de Segrave) de Ferrers
named above; and Lord la Warre being a descendant of Ellen de
Segrave's aunt, Eleanor (de Segrave) la Zouche.
Anne de Ferrers's son, Bishop Henry le Despenser, was likewise called
cousin by Margaret Ferrers, Countess of Warwick [Reference: Legge,
Anglo-Norman Letters & Petitions (Anglo-Norman Text Soc. 3) (1941):
90, 98, 100-101, 106-108]. Countess Margaret's grandfather, Henry de
Ferrers, was the brother of Bishop Despenser's mother, Anne de
Ferrers.
As for further evidence, I find that in her widowhood, Anne de
Ferrers, was associated in the records with her brother, Sir Thomas de
Ferrers, Knt. (died 1353), which Thomas is known to have been a
younger son of Anne's parents, William de Ferrers, 1st Lord Ferrers of
Groby, and Ellen de Segrave [Reference: Complete Peerage, 5 (1926):
345 footnote d, 348 footnote d (sub Ferrers)]. In 1352, for example,
John de Hotham granted Anne and her brother, Thomas de Ferrers, Knt.,
the castle of Kilkenny and other estates in Ireland for life, with
remainder to her son, Hugh le Despenser.
It is true that Anne de Ferrers is called the daughter of Henry de
Ferrers, 2nd Lord Ferrers of Groby, in the 1619 Visitation of
Warwickshire [Reference: Lennard & Vincent, Vis. of Warwick 1619
(H.S.P. 12) (1877): 282-285 (Spencer pedigree)]. If correct, this
would place Anne de Ferrers one generation further down the Ferrers
family tree. My first comment on this is that the 1619 Visitation of
Warwickshire is not one of the better visitations in print and should
be used with caution (see, for example, my previous posts in the
newsgroup archives regarding the faulty Grey family pedigree found in
this same visitation). Second, reviewing the history of Henry de
Ferrers, I find that his only known marriage took place in 1331,
whereas Anne de Ferrers herself married in 1335. If I had no other
evidence to go on but chronology alone, I would conclude that Henry
and Anne were siblings. However, with the added evidence of Anne's
seal and Anne's known association with Sir Thomas de Ferrers, it seems
rather clear that Anne was the sister of Henry de Ferrers, not his
daughter.
Next, there is a full length modern biography of Anne de Ferrers' son,
Bishop Henry le Despenser, entitled Henry Despenser: The Fighting
Bishop, by Richard Allington-Smith, published in 2003. On page 2, the
author identifies Anne de Ferrers, wife of Edward le Despenser, as the
daughter of William, Lord Ferrers of Groby. On page 53, the author
also provides a picture of the seal of Bishop Despenser, which he
implies displays the arms of the bishop's see, together with the arms
of his mother.
See the weblinks below for these two pages:
http://books.google.com/books?id=dCJJDH ... EY#PPA2,M1
As far as I can tell, however, the seal of Bishop Despenser shown on
page 53 of the Allington-Smith book only displays the arms of the
bishop's see (Azure, three mitres or) and those of the Despenser
family. The arms of the bishop's mother are, however, elsewhere
displayed on the bishop's secretum (or private seal), a picture of
which is found in another book, English Heraldry (1867), by Charles
Boutell, pages 189-190, which pages can be found at the following
weblink:
http://books.google.com/books?id=47Qtu3 ... #PPA189,M1
Boutell gives this description of the Bishop's private seal:
"His Secretum displays his Shield of Despencer, differenced with his
bordure of mitres, couché from a large mantled helm, surmounted by a
mitre, in place of a crest-coronet, with supports the Despencer crest,
a silver griffin's head of ample size; on either side are the Shields
of the see of Norwich, and of Ferrers (the Bishop's mother was Anne,
daughter of William Lord Ferrers of Groby) - Or, seven mascles, three
three and one, gules; the legend is, S . HENRICI . DESPENCER .
NOWWICENSIS . EPISCOPI.").
Lastly, there are two conclusive pieces of evidence of Anne de
Ferrers' parentage, both involving records of Anne's son and heir,
Edward le Despenser [the younger], K.G., 4th Lord Despenser. First,
in the younger Edward's proof of age dated 17 and 18 July 30 Edward
[i.e., 1356], it is specifically stated that Edward le Despenser,
father of the said Edward, married "Anne daughter of William de
Ferrers knight at Groby in county Leicester" on 20 April 1335, "de qua
quedam Anna idem Edwardus procreavit prefatum Edwardum filium
Edwardi.") [Reference: Complete Peerage, 4 (1916): 275, footnote e
(sub Despenser)].
The second piece of conclusive evidence is the 1375 will of Edward le
Despenser, 4th Lord Despenser, in which he leaves a bequest to his
uncle, Sir Ralph de Ferrers. Sir Ralph de Ferrers is known to have
been yet another son of William de Ferrers, Knt., 1st Lord Ferrers of
Groby, by his wife, Ellen de Segrave [see, for example, Nicolas,
Controversy between Scrope and Grosvenor 2 (1832): 361-366 (biog. of
Ralph de Ferrers)]. This piece of evidence was not mentioned by
Complete Peerage.
An abstract of the will of Edward le Despenser can be found in
Nicolas, Testamenta Vetusta 1 (1826): 99-100, a copy of which may be
viewed at the following weblink:
http://books.google.com/books?id=7_wmAA ... A1-PA99,M1
As for Sir Ralph de Ferrers, I find that he was of Bilton,
Warwickshire, and was born about 1313-1318 (he being aged 72 in 1385-
1390). He married Joan de Grey, widow of William de Harcourt, Knt.,
of Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire (died 1349), and daughter of Richard
de Grey, Knt., 2nd Lord Grey of Codnor. He served as Captain of
Calais, 1358-1361, Admiral of the King's Fleet towards the north,
Warden of the Western Marches of Scotland, Trier of Petitions in
Parliament. He was one of the founders of the Corpus Christ Guild in
Leicester, Leicestershire in 1343. He was present at the Siege of
Calais in 1346. In 1350 Ralph and his wife, Joan, settled the manor
of Ellenhall, Staffordshire on themselves for life. The same year he
was sent by the king with some lords and 40 other knights to Bordeaux
for the relief of the town of St. John de Angely, which was then
besieged by the French. He returned to England in August 1351. He
was present at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. His wife, Joan, died
at Ellenhall, Staffordshire 22 July 1369. In 1370 he served as
admiral of the fleet which conducted Robert de Knolles, Knt. and his
army to France. In 1371 he was appointed Admiral of the King's Fleet
towards the north. In 1376 he was one of the mainpernors in
Parliament of William le Latimer, K.G., 4th Lord Latimer. He gave
evidence in the Scrope-Grosvenor controvery in 1385-1390. Sir Ralph
de Ferrers died between 24 Sept. 1391 and 7 July 1392.
For interest's sake, the following is a list of the 17th Century
colonial immigrants who descend from Anne de Ferrers, wife of Sir
Edward le Despenser, Knt.:
Robert Abell, William Asfordby, William Bladen, George & Nehemiah
Blakiston, Thomas Booth, Elizabeth Bosvile, George, Giles & Robert
Brent, Kenelm Cheseldine, Grace Chetwode, St.Leger Codd, Frances, Jane
& Katherine Deighton, Edward Digges, William Farrer, John Fisher,
Henry Fleete, Edward Foliot, Warham Horsmanden, Matthew Kempe, Thomas
Ligon, Thomas Lunsford, Anne, Elizabeth & John Mansfield, Anne &
Katherine Marbury, John Nelson, Thomas Owsley, John Oxenbridge,
Katherine Saint Leger, Anthony Savage, William Skepper, Diana & Grey
Skipwith, Mary Johanna Somerset, Amy Wyllys.
Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah
With regard to the correct parentage of Anne de Ferrers, died 1367,
wife of Sir Edward le Despenser, Knt., there is indisputable evidence
that Anne was a member of the Ferrers family of Groby. This evidence
consists of Anne's own armorial seal which is discussed in the book,
Catalogue of Seals in the P.R.O., by Ellis, 1 (1978), page 21 as
follows:
Seal of Anne, widow of Edward le Despenser, knight, dated 1363- A
shield of arms: quarterly, in the second and third quarters a fret,
over all a bend [DESPENSER] impaling four mascles [FERRERS]. Within a
cusped circle, surrounded by a band of pointed tracery broken by four
roundels of arms containing (above) a sleeping lion (below) a pierced
cinquefoil [QUINCY], (L) three chevrons [CLARE], (R) a lion rampant
crowned [SEGRAVE]).
As indicated above, the arms of this seal include those of Anne's
husband, Sir Edward le Despenser, impaled with those of Anne's own
family [Ferrers]. There are also roundels of arms on this same seal
which are the arms of Edward's mother, Eleanor de Clare (an heiress),
those of Anne's mother, Ellen de Segrave, and those of Anne's
paternal grandmother, Margaret de Quincy (also an heiress).
Anne de Ferrers is further identified as the "daughter of Lord
Ferrers" in an ancient pedigree of the Despenser ffamily found in
William Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum, 2 (1819): 59-65 (sub
Tewkesbury Cartulary):
"Edwardus [le Despenser] igitur primus, frater Hugonis tertii, ex Anna
filia domini de Ferrers, genuit Edwardum secundum, Thomas, Henricum,
et Gilbertum secundum, et fortunio belli ante fratrem suum
decessit."). END OF QUOTE.
As for Anne's placement in the Ferrers family tree, her seal gives
good evidence that she was the daughter of Sir William de Ferrers, 1st
Lord Ferrers of Groby, and his wife, Ellen de Segrave. As for further
evidence that Sir William de Ferrers's wife, Ellen, was a Segrave, the
reader may wish to consult Legge, Anglo-Norman Letters & Petitions
(Anglo-Norman Text Soc. 3) (1941): 78-79, which include the transcript
of a letter dated 1399/1406 in which Thomas la Warre, 5th Lord Warre,
refers to Anne de Ferrers's son, Henry le Despenser, Bishop of
Norwich, as his "mon tesentierment amé cousin." Bishop Despenser and
Lord la Warre were kin by common descent from the Segrave family,
Bishop Despenser being a grandson of Ellen (de Segrave) de Ferrers
named above; and Lord la Warre being a descendant of Ellen de
Segrave's aunt, Eleanor (de Segrave) la Zouche.
Anne de Ferrers's son, Bishop Henry le Despenser, was likewise called
cousin by Margaret Ferrers, Countess of Warwick [Reference: Legge,
Anglo-Norman Letters & Petitions (Anglo-Norman Text Soc. 3) (1941):
90, 98, 100-101, 106-108]. Countess Margaret's grandfather, Henry de
Ferrers, was the brother of Bishop Despenser's mother, Anne de
Ferrers.
As for further evidence, I find that in her widowhood, Anne de
Ferrers, was associated in the records with her brother, Sir Thomas de
Ferrers, Knt. (died 1353), which Thomas is known to have been a
younger son of Anne's parents, William de Ferrers, 1st Lord Ferrers of
Groby, and Ellen de Segrave [Reference: Complete Peerage, 5 (1926):
345 footnote d, 348 footnote d (sub Ferrers)]. In 1352, for example,
John de Hotham granted Anne and her brother, Thomas de Ferrers, Knt.,
the castle of Kilkenny and other estates in Ireland for life, with
remainder to her son, Hugh le Despenser.
It is true that Anne de Ferrers is called the daughter of Henry de
Ferrers, 2nd Lord Ferrers of Groby, in the 1619 Visitation of
Warwickshire [Reference: Lennard & Vincent, Vis. of Warwick 1619
(H.S.P. 12) (1877): 282-285 (Spencer pedigree)]. If correct, this
would place Anne de Ferrers one generation further down the Ferrers
family tree. My first comment on this is that the 1619 Visitation of
Warwickshire is not one of the better visitations in print and should
be used with caution (see, for example, my previous posts in the
newsgroup archives regarding the faulty Grey family pedigree found in
this same visitation). Second, reviewing the history of Henry de
Ferrers, I find that his only known marriage took place in 1331,
whereas Anne de Ferrers herself married in 1335. If I had no other
evidence to go on but chronology alone, I would conclude that Henry
and Anne were siblings. However, with the added evidence of Anne's
seal and Anne's known association with Sir Thomas de Ferrers, it seems
rather clear that Anne was the sister of Henry de Ferrers, not his
daughter.
Next, there is a full length modern biography of Anne de Ferrers' son,
Bishop Henry le Despenser, entitled Henry Despenser: The Fighting
Bishop, by Richard Allington-Smith, published in 2003. On page 2, the
author identifies Anne de Ferrers, wife of Edward le Despenser, as the
daughter of William, Lord Ferrers of Groby. On page 53, the author
also provides a picture of the seal of Bishop Despenser, which he
implies displays the arms of the bishop's see, together with the arms
of his mother.
See the weblinks below for these two pages:
http://books.google.com/books?id=dCJJDH ... EY#PPA2,M1
As far as I can tell, however, the seal of Bishop Despenser shown on
page 53 of the Allington-Smith book only displays the arms of the
bishop's see (Azure, three mitres or) and those of the Despenser
family. The arms of the bishop's mother are, however, elsewhere
displayed on the bishop's secretum (or private seal), a picture of
which is found in another book, English Heraldry (1867), by Charles
Boutell, pages 189-190, which pages can be found at the following
weblink:
http://books.google.com/books?id=47Qtu3 ... #PPA189,M1
Boutell gives this description of the Bishop's private seal:
"His Secretum displays his Shield of Despencer, differenced with his
bordure of mitres, couché from a large mantled helm, surmounted by a
mitre, in place of a crest-coronet, with supports the Despencer crest,
a silver griffin's head of ample size; on either side are the Shields
of the see of Norwich, and of Ferrers (the Bishop's mother was Anne,
daughter of William Lord Ferrers of Groby) - Or, seven mascles, three
three and one, gules; the legend is, S . HENRICI . DESPENCER .
NOWWICENSIS . EPISCOPI.").
Lastly, there are two conclusive pieces of evidence of Anne de
Ferrers' parentage, both involving records of Anne's son and heir,
Edward le Despenser [the younger], K.G., 4th Lord Despenser. First,
in the younger Edward's proof of age dated 17 and 18 July 30 Edward
[i.e., 1356], it is specifically stated that Edward le Despenser,
father of the said Edward, married "Anne daughter of William de
Ferrers knight at Groby in county Leicester" on 20 April 1335, "de qua
quedam Anna idem Edwardus procreavit prefatum Edwardum filium
Edwardi.") [Reference: Complete Peerage, 4 (1916): 275, footnote e
(sub Despenser)].
The second piece of conclusive evidence is the 1375 will of Edward le
Despenser, 4th Lord Despenser, in which he leaves a bequest to his
uncle, Sir Ralph de Ferrers. Sir Ralph de Ferrers is known to have
been yet another son of William de Ferrers, Knt., 1st Lord Ferrers of
Groby, by his wife, Ellen de Segrave [see, for example, Nicolas,
Controversy between Scrope and Grosvenor 2 (1832): 361-366 (biog. of
Ralph de Ferrers)]. This piece of evidence was not mentioned by
Complete Peerage.
An abstract of the will of Edward le Despenser can be found in
Nicolas, Testamenta Vetusta 1 (1826): 99-100, a copy of which may be
viewed at the following weblink:
http://books.google.com/books?id=7_wmAA ... A1-PA99,M1
As for Sir Ralph de Ferrers, I find that he was of Bilton,
Warwickshire, and was born about 1313-1318 (he being aged 72 in 1385-
1390). He married Joan de Grey, widow of William de Harcourt, Knt.,
of Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire (died 1349), and daughter of Richard
de Grey, Knt., 2nd Lord Grey of Codnor. He served as Captain of
Calais, 1358-1361, Admiral of the King's Fleet towards the north,
Warden of the Western Marches of Scotland, Trier of Petitions in
Parliament. He was one of the founders of the Corpus Christ Guild in
Leicester, Leicestershire in 1343. He was present at the Siege of
Calais in 1346. In 1350 Ralph and his wife, Joan, settled the manor
of Ellenhall, Staffordshire on themselves for life. The same year he
was sent by the king with some lords and 40 other knights to Bordeaux
for the relief of the town of St. John de Angely, which was then
besieged by the French. He returned to England in August 1351. He
was present at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. His wife, Joan, died
at Ellenhall, Staffordshire 22 July 1369. In 1370 he served as
admiral of the fleet which conducted Robert de Knolles, Knt. and his
army to France. In 1371 he was appointed Admiral of the King's Fleet
towards the north. In 1376 he was one of the mainpernors in
Parliament of William le Latimer, K.G., 4th Lord Latimer. He gave
evidence in the Scrope-Grosvenor controvery in 1385-1390. Sir Ralph
de Ferrers died between 24 Sept. 1391 and 7 July 1392.
For interest's sake, the following is a list of the 17th Century
colonial immigrants who descend from Anne de Ferrers, wife of Sir
Edward le Despenser, Knt.:
Robert Abell, William Asfordby, William Bladen, George & Nehemiah
Blakiston, Thomas Booth, Elizabeth Bosvile, George, Giles & Robert
Brent, Kenelm Cheseldine, Grace Chetwode, St.Leger Codd, Frances, Jane
& Katherine Deighton, Edward Digges, William Farrer, John Fisher,
Henry Fleete, Edward Foliot, Warham Horsmanden, Matthew Kempe, Thomas
Ligon, Thomas Lunsford, Anne, Elizabeth & John Mansfield, Anne &
Katherine Marbury, John Nelson, Thomas Owsley, John Oxenbridge,
Katherine Saint Leger, Anthony Savage, William Skepper, Diana & Grey
Skipwith, Mary Johanna Somerset, Amy Wyllys.
Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah
-
John P. Ravilious
Re: Conclusive evidence re. the parentage of Anne de Ferrers
Dear Doug,
Many thanks for that extremely detailed post. I liked my theory,
but document trumps ponderment every time......
Cheers,
John
On Sep 23, 9:05 pm, Douglas Richardson <royalances...@msn.com> wrote:
Many thanks for that extremely detailed post. I liked my theory,
but document trumps ponderment every time......
Cheers,
John
On Sep 23, 9:05 pm, Douglas Richardson <royalances...@msn.com> wrote:
Dear John B., John R., etc. ~
With regard to the correct parentage of Anne de Ferrers, died 1367,
wife of Sir Edward le Despenser, Knt., there is indisputable evidence
that Anne was a member of the Ferrers family of Groby. This evidence
consists of Anne's own armorial seal which is discussed in the book,
Catalogue of Seals in the P.R.O., by Ellis, 1 (1978), page 21 as
follows:
Seal of Anne, widow of Edward le Despenser, knight, dated 1363- A
shield of arms: quarterly, in the second and third quarters a fret,
over all a bend [DESPENSER] impaling four mascles [FERRERS]. Within a
cusped circle, surrounded by a band of pointed tracery broken by four
roundels of arms containing (above) a sleeping lion (below) a pierced
cinquefoil [QUINCY], (L) three chevrons [CLARE], (R) a lion rampant
crowned [SEGRAVE]).
As indicated above, the arms of this seal include those of Anne's
husband, Sir Edward le Despenser, impaled with those of Anne's own
family [Ferrers]. There are also roundels of arms on this same seal
which are the arms of Edward's mother, Eleanor de Clare (an heiress),
those of Anne's mother, Ellen de Segrave, and those of Anne's
paternal grandmother, Margaret de Quincy (also an heiress).
Anne de Ferrers is further identified as the "daughter of Lord
Ferrers" in an ancient pedigree of the Despenser ffamily found in
William Dugdale, Monasticon Anglicanum, 2 (1819): 59-65 (sub
Tewkesbury Cartulary):
"Edwardus [le Despenser] igitur primus, frater Hugonis tertii, ex Anna
filia domini de Ferrers, genuit Edwardum secundum, Thomas, Henricum,
et Gilbertum secundum, et fortunio belli ante fratrem suum
decessit."). END OF QUOTE.
As for Anne's placement in the Ferrers family tree, her seal gives
good evidence that she was the daughter of Sir William de Ferrers, 1st
Lord Ferrers of Groby, and his wife, Ellen de Segrave. As for further
evidence that Sir William de Ferrers's wife, Ellen, was a Segrave, the
reader may wish to consult Legge, Anglo-Norman Letters & Petitions
(Anglo-Norman Text Soc. 3) (1941): 78-79, which include the transcript
of a letter dated 1399/1406 in which Thomas la Warre, 5th Lord Warre,
refers to Anne de Ferrers's son, Henry le Despenser, Bishop of
Norwich, as his "mon tesentierment amé cousin." Bishop Despenser and
Lord la Warre were kin by common descent from the Segrave family,
Bishop Despenser being a grandson of Ellen (de Segrave) de Ferrers
named above; and Lord la Warre being a descendant of Ellen de
Segrave's aunt, Eleanor (de Segrave) la Zouche.
Anne de Ferrers's son, Bishop Henry le Despenser, was likewise called
cousin by Margaret Ferrers, Countess of Warwick [Reference: Legge,
Anglo-Norman Letters & Petitions (Anglo-Norman Text Soc. 3) (1941):
90, 98, 100-101, 106-108]. Countess Margaret's grandfather, Henry de
Ferrers, was the brother of Bishop Despenser's mother, Anne de
Ferrers.
As for further evidence, I find that in her widowhood, Anne de
Ferrers, was associated in the records with her brother, Sir Thomas de
Ferrers, Knt. (died 1353), which Thomas is known to have been a
younger son of Anne's parents, William de Ferrers, 1st Lord Ferrers of
Groby, and Ellen de Segrave [Reference: Complete Peerage, 5 (1926):
345 footnote d, 348 footnote d (sub Ferrers)]. In 1352, for example,
John de Hotham granted Anne and her brother, Thomas de Ferrers, Knt.,
the castle of Kilkenny and other estates in Ireland for life, with
remainder to her son, Hugh le Despenser.
It is true that Anne de Ferrers is called the daughter of Henry de
Ferrers, 2nd Lord Ferrers of Groby, in the 1619 Visitation of
Warwickshire [Reference: Lennard & Vincent, Vis. of Warwick 1619
(H.S.P. 12) (1877): 282-285 (Spencer pedigree)]. If correct, this
would place Anne de Ferrers one generation further down the Ferrers
family tree. My first comment on this is that the 1619 Visitation of
Warwickshire is not one of the better visitations in print and should
be used with caution (see, for example, my previous posts in the
newsgroup archives regarding the faulty Grey family pedigree found in
this same visitation). Second, reviewing the history of Henry de
Ferrers, I find that his only known marriage took place in 1331,
whereas Anne de Ferrers herself married in 1335. If I had no other
evidence to go on but chronology alone, I would conclude that Henry
and Anne were siblings. However, with the added evidence of Anne's
seal and Anne's known association with Sir Thomas de Ferrers, it seems
rather clear that Anne was the sister of Henry de Ferrers, not his
daughter.
Next, there is a full length modern biography of Anne de Ferrers' son,
Bishop Henry le Despenser, entitled Henry Despenser: The Fighting
Bishop, by Richard Allington-Smith, published in 2003. On page 2, the
author identifies Anne de Ferrers, wife of Edward le Despenser, as the
daughter of William, Lord Ferrers of Groby. On page 53, the author
also provides a picture of the seal of Bishop Despenser, which he
implies displays the arms of the bishop's see, together with the arms
of his mother.
See the weblinks below for these two pages:
http://books.google.com/books?id=dCJJDH ... Ferrers+...
As far as I can tell, however, the seal of Bishop Despenser shown on
page 53 of the Allington-Smith book only displays the arms of the
bishop's see (Azure, three mitres or) and those of the Despenser
family. The arms of the bishop's mother are, however, elsewhere
displayed on the bishop's secretum (or private seal), a picture of
which is found in another book, English Heraldry (1867), by Charles
Boutell, pages 189-190, which pages can be found at the following
weblink:
http://books.google.com/books?id=47Qtu3 ... l+Despen...
Boutell gives this description of the Bishop's private seal:
"His Secretum displays his Shield of Despencer, differenced with his
bordure of mitres, couché from a large mantled helm, surmounted by a
mitre, in place of a crest-coronet, with supports the Despencer crest,
a silver griffin's head of ample size; on either side are the Shields
of the see of Norwich, and of Ferrers (the Bishop's mother was Anne,
daughter of William Lord Ferrers of Groby) - Or, seven mascles, three
three and one, gules; the legend is, S . HENRICI . DESPENCER .
NOWWICENSIS . EPISCOPI.").
Lastly, there are two conclusive pieces of evidence of Anne de
Ferrers' parentage, both involving records of Anne's son and heir,
Edward le Despenser [the younger], K.G., 4th Lord Despenser. First,
in the younger Edward's proof of age dated 17 and 18 July 30 Edward
[i.e., 1356], it is specifically stated that Edward le Despenser,
father of the said Edward, married "Anne daughter of William de
Ferrers knight at Groby in county Leicester" on 20 April 1335, "de qua
quedam Anna idem Edwardus procreavit prefatum Edwardum filium
Edwardi.") [Reference: Complete Peerage, 4 (1916): 275, footnote e
(sub Despenser)].
The second piece of conclusive evidence is the 1375 will of Edward le
Despenser, 4th Lord Despenser, in which he leaves a bequest to his
uncle, Sir Ralph de Ferrers. Sir Ralph de Ferrers is known to have
been yet another son of William de Ferrers, Knt., 1st Lord Ferrers of
Groby, by his wife, Ellen de Segrave [see, for example, Nicolas,
Controversy between Scrope and Grosvenor 2 (1832): 361-366 (biog. of
Ralph de Ferrers)]. This piece of evidence was not mentioned by
Complete Peerage.
An abstract of the will of Edward le Despenser can be found in
Nicolas, Testamenta Vetusta 1 (1826): 99-100, a copy of which may be
viewed at the following weblink:
http://books.google.com/books?id=7_wmAA ... Anne+Fer...
As for Sir Ralph de Ferrers, I find that he was of Bilton,
Warwickshire, and was born about 1313-1318 (he being aged 72 in 1385-
1390). He married Joan de Grey, widow of William de Harcourt, Knt.,
of Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire (died 1349), and daughter of Richard
de Grey, Knt., 2nd Lord Grey of Codnor. He served as Captain of
Calais, 1358-1361, Admiral of the King's Fleet towards the north,
Warden of the Western Marches of Scotland, Trier of Petitions in
Parliament. He was one of the founders of the Corpus Christ Guild in
Leicester, Leicestershire in 1343. He was present at the Siege of
Calais in 1346. In 1350 Ralph and his wife, Joan, settled the manor
of Ellenhall, Staffordshire on themselves for life. The same year he
was sent by the king with some lords and 40 other knights to Bordeaux
for the relief of the town of St. John de Angely, which was then
besieged by the French. He returned to England in August 1351. He
was present at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. His wife, Joan, died
at Ellenhall, Staffordshire 22 July 1369. In 1370 he served as
admiral of the fleet which conducted Robert de Knolles, Knt. and his
army to France. In 1371 he was appointed Admiral of the King's Fleet
towards the north. In 1376 he was one of the mainpernors in
Parliament of William le Latimer, K.G., 4th Lord Latimer. He gave
evidence in the Scrope-Grosvenor controvery in 1385-1390. Sir Ralph
de Ferrers died between 24 Sept. 1391 and 7 July 1392.
For interest's sake, the following is a list of the 17th Century
colonial immigrants who descend from Anne de Ferrers, wife of Sir
Edward le Despenser, Knt.:
Robert Abell, William Asfordby, William Bladen, George & Nehemiah
Blakiston, Thomas Booth, Elizabeth Bosvile, George, Giles & Robert
Brent, Kenelm Cheseldine, Grace Chetwode, St.Leger Codd, Frances, Jane
& Katherine Deighton, Edward Digges, William Farrer, John Fisher,
Henry Fleete, Edward Foliot, Warham Horsmanden, Matthew Kempe, Thomas
Ligon, Thomas Lunsford, Anne, Elizabeth & John Mansfield, Anne &
Katherine Marbury, John Nelson, Thomas Owsley, John Oxenbridge,
Katherine Saint Leger, Anthony Savage, William Skepper, Diana & Grey
Skipwith, Mary Johanna Somerset, Amy Wyllys.
Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah