Nicholas Longford, III

'Nicholas Longford III'

was born around 1351 and was married by 1373- though probably well before then42 - to Margery, daughter of Sir Alfred Sulney (d.c.1380) another of Gaunt’s retainers, sister and coheir with Alice (d.1423), of Sir John Sulney, who died in 1390. Alice was successively wife of Sir Thomas Stafford, Sir Robert Pype, William Spernore and John Mulsoe, but her only issue, Thomas Stafford, died in 1425, leaving a son and sole heir who died in boyhood. Alice appears to have sold most of her half share of the Sulney inheritance in 1421, with Pinxton and Normanton ending up in the possession of the Babingtons of Chilwell43. The Sulney family originated from Soligny, Normandy - hence the derivation of the name - and hadestablished a cadet line in Newton Solney, and Broughton, Derbyshire in 120544. Owing to conflicting pedigrees it is often assumed that Margery was a member of the Appleby family. This confusion was caused by the fact that Sir Alfred Sulney (d.1346) had four daughters by Margaret, daughter of Sir John Trussell of Kibblestone – Ermentrude, wife of Sir Ralph Lathbury, Agnes wife of Sir Edmund Appleby, and two other daughters who were nuns45. The married daughters each received a moiety of Newton Solney as their inheritance. After the death of their father, Agnes and her husband agreed to quitclaim their interest in Newton Solney, in exchange for the manors of Bilby and Ranby in Nottinghamshire with their cousin Sir Alfred Sulney, and in the following year this was formalised by a final concord46. By a collusive assize of novel disseisin in 1380, Ermentrude Lathbury and her second husband, John Foucher, and Sir John Sulney “agreed between them to have manor of Newton Sulny valued and divided by ‘four good and wise men’, moiety assigned to Foucher and his wife to be granted by them to Sulney for their lives”47, effecting a recovery of title in Newton Solney to Sulney possession48. However, after Sir Alfred’s son, John, died in 1390 without issue, the Appleby family reneged on their agreement and claimed title in the manor. This was still being disputed in 144749, leading to the assumption by later historians that to have a claim Agnes Appleby must have been a sister of John, and that Margaret was a daughter of Agnes.

Nicholas continued family obligation as a knight and is known to have served under Thomas of Woodstock, the king’s uncle, in France in 1380 (Wrottesley, 1893), and was commissioner of the peace for Derbyshire the following year (Roskell, 1992, Vol.3, p.662). On 11 November 1394 he was appointed sheriff of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, but does not appear to have been active after this (Anon, 1963). In 1376 he had been co-heir of his great-uncle Edward le Boteler to a small inheritance (which comprised a quarter share in the manor of Willy, land in Great Harborough, Warwickshire, and a fourth turn in appointment to the advowson of the church of Weston Turville, Buckinghamshire), and in 1390 Margery his wife came into her substantial inheritance, which consisted of a quarter share of the manors of Newton Solney and Blackwell, a moiety of the manors of Pinxton and Normanton, Derbyshire, lands in Basford, Nottinghamshire, and £4 6s 8d annual rent in Willingham in Orby, Lincolnshire. On 24 August 1390 these assets, excepting Normanton and Pinxton, were placed in the hands of their trustees Richard Scrope, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, John de Clinton and Philip de Okeover, knights, Oliver de Barton, John de Aston and John Shayle50. The Longfords do not appear to have been called upon to be feoffees very often, but on 8 July 1401 Nicholas, along with Sir Thomas de Wendesley, Sir Nicholas Goushill, Sir John Cokayne, Sir Roger Leche and Henry Booth, acted as a feoffee for Henry de Mansfield of Chesterfield of his lands in Chesterfield, Boythorp, Dronfield, Walton, Hasland and Brampton51. This was one of Nicholas’ last deeds for a few weeks later he was dead. His Derbyshire inquisition post mortem records that he died on 31 August 1401, and his son, Sir Nicholas, aged 28 years and more, was his heir52. Margery and Nicholas are known to have had a family of six sons – Nicholas, John, Thomas, Alfred, Henry and Ralph - and at least two daughters, Joan and Ellen.

John Longford appears to have been the second son and most likely named for Margery’s brother. A papal dispensation was obtained for him to be instituted as rector of Longford in 1393 even though aged only 15, on condition that he proceed to Oxford and not take up residence until he was 18. However, a new rector replaced him in 1395, which may indicate an early death, as he does not appear in records

Sources

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Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Vol.13, No.256 (HMSO, 1952).

36 PRO C 1/7/179.

37 Between 1374-1382 he was paid a fee of £20 p.a (Walker, 1990, p.263)

38 Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Vol.18, No.999 (HMSO, 1987).

39 http://www.nottshistory.org.uk/piercy1828/idle.htm

40 When Nicholas’ wife, Margery, came into her Sulney inheritance.

41 Nicholas IV, his son and heir, was born around 1373.

42 Nicholas witnessed a grant by feoffees to Alfred de Sulney in 1369 (Jeayes, 1906, No.1865).

43 Jeayes (1906) No.1873.

44 Jeayes (1906) No.1753. Ralph de Argouges gave Newton to Alfred (Alured), keeping the lands in Normandy for himself.

45 Derbyshire Record Office: Every of Egginton D5236/9/6.

46 Garratt (1985) No.841. In this agreement the Applebys quitclaimed their interest to Alfred, son of Alfred Sulney in their moiety of Newton Sulney for 100 marks of silver.

47 Derbyshire Record Office. Every of Eggington D5236/4/32

48 Derbyshire Record Office. Every of Eggington. D5236/9/8, D5236/4/33

49 When John Appleby paid a bond to Sir Nicholas Longford to abide by the award of John Portington, one of the Justices of the Common Bench in the dispute over the title of the fourth part of the manor of Newton Sulney. Derbyshire Record Office. Every of Eggington D5236/4/38.

50 Derbyshire Record Office. Every of Egginton. Ref 5236/9/13. Pinxton and Normanton were still being held by Thomas Foljambe and Robert Longham who did not release them to Margery and Alice until the following year (Jeayes, 1906, No.1867).

Nottinghamshire Archives: Foljambe of Osberton DD/FJ/1/64/133. This feoffment and the fact that Nicholas held lands in the same places as Henry Mansfield suggests that he may have married an undocumented Longford daughter. Margery spent her last years in Chesterfield, possibly with this daughter. 52 Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Vol.18, No.620 (HMSO, 1987).