Ranalphus de Praers Lord of Stoke

Sources: "Stokes--1,000 Years" by W.E.D. Stokes; "Falaise Roll."

WED: Ranulphus de Praers, the first ancestor of the Stokes family in England.

Lord of the vil of Stoke near Liverpool. Also known as the Baron of Griche in

Derbyshire. Accompanied (in one place says probably) William the

Conqueror in 1066 and was granted lands in Derbyshire, Lincolnshire,

Leicestershire, Staffordshire and Cheshire. He married a daughter of

William de la Ferte, Lord of Weston and Stokes, near Bath, by barony from

conquest of England. Ranulphus probably came from around there. His

grandchildren settled in the Manor of Clevering, Essex, about 1165 , but

Clavering passed out of the family when a daughter became sole heiress.

Roll: "Le Sire de Praeres. This family came from Presles, near Vire, and Wace

(l. 13661) mentions 'sire de Praeres' as having been present at the conquest,

but this personal has not been identified." (G. Andrews Moriarty, an

outstanding genealogist, says the "Falaise Roll" is weak re its England

genealogy but much stronger on the French side, so haven't included English

speculation--other than de Praers settled in Stoke, among other places.)

In exchange for helping William the Conqueror take over England, Ranulphus was awarded 15 lordships in Cheshire. One of his titles was "Lord of the Vil of Stok" - Stoke being a little village near Chester.

"Ranulphus De Praers, b. abt 1038 in Castle Rye, Near Bayeux, Normandy. He married (1) De La Ferte abt. 1087 in Falaise, Normandy, France, daughter of Lord Of The Weston & Stok William De La Ferte. She was born abt. 1052 in Falaise, Normandy, France. He married (2) Alice De Newhall abt. 1100 in Chester, Cheshire, England."

Hmmmm. I've seen that birthdate of 1038 before -- anyone know where it's coming from?

Born at Castle Rye

Lord of the Village of Stokes

Notes for RANULPHUS DE PRAERS, LORD VIL OF STOKES:

Castley Rye- near Bayeux, Normandy, France. 

Children of RANULPHUS DE PRAERS and UNKNOWN DE LA FERTE are:

2. i. WILLIAM2 DE STOKES, b. Abt. 1088, Castle Rye, Normandy, France.

 ii.   RICHARD DE PRAERS, LORD VIL OF STOKES, b. Abt. 1090, Chester, Chesire, England. 

 iii.   GILBERT DE STOKES, b. Abt. 1092, Manor of Brulee, Cheshire, England; d. Aft. 1180. 

 iv.   GEOFFREN DE STOKES, CHIEF JUSTICE OF HI, b. Abt. 1094, Chesire, England. 

 v.   ROGER DE STOKES, ABBOT OF SHERBORN, b. Abt. 1096, Manor Stoke, Chesire, England. 

 vi.   MATTHIAS DE STOKES, ABBOT OF PETERSBORO, b. Abt. 1098, Petersborough, Northampton, England.  http://wirrelwind.net/SFR/randestokesindex.htm http://www.ffish.com/family_tree/descendants_william_de_la_ferte_ma...