Sir Hugh Shirley, Kt., of Ettington

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Hugh Shirley

Also Known As: "Sir Hugh Shirley", "Knight of Ettington"
Birthdate:
Birthplace: Shirley, Derbyshire, England
Death: July 22, 1403 (47-56)
Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England (Battle of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England - being one of four who were dressed as the King and mistaken for him by the enemy.)
Immediate Family:

Son of Sir Thomas Shirley, M.P. and Isabella Basset
Husband of Beatrix Shirley
Father of Isabel Bate; Sir Ralph Shirley, Kt.; Joan Compton; Nicholaia Shirley; Elizabeth Shirley and 1 other

Occupation: Knight
Managed by: Private User
Last Updated:

About Sir Hugh Shirley, Kt., of Ettington

  • Sir Hugh Shirley1
  • M, #116988, d. 1403
  • Last Edited=10 May 2008
  • Sir Hugh Shirley was the son of Sir Thomas Shirley and Isabel Basset.2 He married Beatrix de Braose, daughter of unknown de Braose.1 He died in 1403, killed in action.1
  • He inherited the Basset estates.1 He was Grand Falconer to King Henry IV in 1400.1 He fought in the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403, being one of those who were dressed as the King and mistaken for him by the enemy.1
  • Child of Sir Hugh Shirley and Beatrix de Braose
    • 1.Sir Ralph Shirley+3
  • Citations
  • 1.[S37] Charles Mosley, editor, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes (Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003), volume 1, page 1416. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.
  • 2.[S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, page 4. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
  • 3.[S37] Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.
  • From: http://thepeerage.com/p11699.htm#i116988 ______________________
  • ACCORDING TO OTHER SOURCES WHICH SITE DOCUMENTS ISABEL BASSET WAS THE LEGITIMATE DAU. OF RALPH BASSET
  • Sir Hugh Shirley, Constable of High Ferrers Park & Donington Castle, Grand Falconer of Ireland1,2
  • M, b. circa 1362, d. 22 July 1403
  • Father Sir Thomas Shirley3 d. 1362
  • Mother Isabel de Meinhill3 b. a 1340, d. 25 Apr 1393
  • Sir Hugh Shirley, Constable of High Ferrers Park & Donington Castle, Grand Falconer of Ireland was born circa 1362 at of Shirley, Hollington, Hone, & Hope, Derbyshire, England; Of age in 1383.2 He married Beatrix Brewes, daughter of Sir Peter de Brewes and Joan Howard, circa 1387; They had 1 son (Ralph) and 4 daughters (Isabel, Elizabeth, Nichole, & Joan).2 Sir Hugh Shirley, Constable of High Ferrers Park & Donington Castle, Grand Falconer of Ireland died on 22 July 1403 at Battle of Shrewsbury, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England.2
  • Family Beatrix Brewes b. c 1366, d. 1440
  • Children
    • Joan Shirley+4,2 b. c 1390
    • Isabel Shirley+5,2 b. c 1391, d. a 1459
    • Sir Ralph Shirley, Sheriff of Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire+2 b. 23 Apr 1391, d. c 1443
  • Citations
  • 1.[S9532] Unknown author, Burke's Peerage, 1938, p. 998.
  • 2.[S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 651.
  • 3.[S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 650-651.
  • 4.[S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 546.
  • 5.[S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 224.
  • From: http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p1032.htm#... _________________________
  • SHIRLEY, Sir Hugh (c.1362-1403), of Lower Ettington, Warws. and Shirley, Derbys.
  • b.c.1362, s. and h. of Sir Thomas Shirley of Shirley by Isabel, uterine or bastard sis. of Ralph, 3rd Lord Basset of Drayton; nephew and h. of Lord Basset. m. bef. 1390, Beatrice (c.1366-20 Apr. 1440), da. of Sir Peter Brewes (d.1377) of Wiston, Suss., sis. and event. h. of Sir John Brewes (d.1426), 1s. Sir Ralph*, 5da. Kntd. bef. June 1392.
  • Offices Held
    • Commr. of weirs, Leics., Notts. June 1398; array, Notts. Dec. 1399; oyer and terminer, Derbys. Mar., July 1401; to make proclamation of Henry IV’s intention to govern well, Derbys., Leics., Warws. May 1402; of inquiry, Notts. June 1403 (Sir Hugh Annesley’s estates).
  • J.p. Notts. 28 Nov. 1399-d., Derbys., Warws. 16 May 1401-d.
  • Constable of Castle Donington, Leics. 15 Mar. 1400-d.1
  • Master of the King’s hawks 27 Mar. 1400-d.
  • Master forester of Duffield Frith, Derbys. 23 Feb. 1402-d.
  • Chief warder of Higham Ferrers park, Northants.2
  • The Shirley family had held the manor of Lower Ettington in the male line since the Conquest, but derived its name from another of its manors, acquired subsequently in the 12th century. To these holdings the Shirleys added ‘Houne’ and other properties also in Derbyshire, and Barnham, far away in Suffolk. Sir Thomas Shirley, reputed to have fought at Crécy and Poitiers and noted for his benefactions to the college in the Newarke, Leicester, where he was buried ‘in a large and stately monument’, left his son and heir, Hugh, still an infant at his death, which occurred shortly before April 1362. Hugh’s mother, either an illegitimate daughter of Ralph, Lord Basset (d.1343), or more likely that lord’s stepdaughter, then made a widow for the fourth time, took as her fifth and sixth husbands Sir John Woodhill (d.1367) and Sir Gerard Braybrooke I* (d.1403). It was to Braybrooke that in 1372 John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, sold the wardship of the Shirley estates for a single payment of 100 marks. Hugh would appear to have come of age shortly before March 1383, when he confirmed his mother in her life tenancy of the lands of his inheritance, his own full possession being thus deferred for about ten years. The Shirley estates were to provide him with an annual income of at least £40 a year.3 But he and his son were to acquire holdings of much greater value (at least six manors in Leicestershire, two more in Sheldon, Warwickshire, and Ratcliffe-upon-Soar and Colston Basset in Nottinghamshire) through the generosity of his uncle, Lord Basset, who had no children of his own. Hugh clearly rose in his uncle’s estimation as he grew older, for although in 1376 he had been mentioned no higher than fourth in succession in an entail of certain of these manors and would only have inherited them if Basset himself and three others had died without male issue, by January 1390, when Basset came to make his will, he had decided that his nephew should inherit all of the estates he held in fee simple, provided that he and his heirs adopted the surname of Basset and bore his arms. Not all of the manors so demised passed to the Shirleys in Sir Hugh’s lifetime, for some were held in dower by Lord Ralph’s widow until her death in 1402, and others were retained by Basset’s trustees for the effective implementation of the many bequests specified in his will. Nevertheless, it was this bounty which made Shirley a landowner of considerable substance in Leicestershire, the county he was to represent in Parliament.4
  • Throughout his career Shirley served the house of Lancaster, linked by the ties of lordship forged in his youth while under the guardianship of John of Gaunt. Having been contracted on 14 Mar. 1386 as the duke’s esquire to serve in his army overseas, he probably stayed with Lancaster, engaged in his wars in Spain and France, until the duke returned to England late in 1389. Duke John’s high regard for him was expressed in the award of two annuities for life: the first of £20 charged on the issues of the honour of Leicester; the other, which he shared with his wife, Beatrice, of as much as 100 marks derived from the honour of Tutbury. In the 1390s Shirley was among the duke’s chamber knights, while his wife also had a place in the household, as one of the Duchess Constance’s closest companions. Furthermore, he also enjoyed the esteem of Gaunt’s son and heir, Henry of Bolingbroke, who in 1391-2 gave him a present of some jewellery. Shirley established strong ties with other leading Lancastrian retainers, such as Sir Walter Blount*, for whom he provided securities at the Exchequer in 1392, Sir John Bussy* and Sir John Dabrichecourt*. These three all came forward on his behalf in August 1394 to offer guarantees under pain of £200 that he would keep the peace in future towards Sir Thomas Erdington†. His dispute with Erdington concerned property at Barrow-upon-Soar from which Sir Thomas had long sought to oust Lord Basset; Shirley had kept up the feud with a midnight raid on Erdington’s own manor-house there at the head of a band of 200 armed men. In the spring of 1397 Sir Hugh was in London making preparations for a voyage to Bayonne, probably on Lancaster’s business, and in the will John of Gaunt made on 3 Feb. 1398 he was left a bequest of 100 marks. Richard II evidently considered it worthwhile to procure Shirley’s compliance following the seizure of the ducal estates by the Crown a year later: on the point of departure for Ireland on 24 May 1399 he issued orders to the duchy officials for the continued payment of his annuities.5 Yet there could be no question but that on Henry of Bolingbroke’s return from exile two months later Shirley would go to his side; indeed, he was soon made a bachelor to the new King, Henry IV. In January 1400 he assisted in putting down the earls’ rebellion in support of the deposed monarch; and royal commissioners sent to Castle Donington (previously held by the rebel earl of Kent) made him keeper of the castle for its safe governance, an appointment formally ratified by the King on 15 Mar. On the same day Shirley was granted an annuity of 40 marks for life from the issues of the lordship of Donington, and although this was subsequently reduced to 25 marks when the full amount of his other annuities was revealed, henceforth he could still expect to receive £103 6s.8d. a year from the revenues of the duchy of Lancaster, a sum not including fees paid for his official posts as master of the King’s hawks (dating from that same month) and master forester of Duffield. Loyalty to the house of Lancaster had made him a wealthy man. The King could confidently rely on him to perform functions of local government in the Midlands, as a j.p. and commissioner, and sent him a personal summons to attend the great council of August 1401 as one of six commoners selected from Nottinghamshire.6
  • It was at this stage in Shirley’s career that his title to the Basset estates received a serious challenge from Edmund, earl of Stafford, Lord Basset’s coheir in right of blood, who having succeeded to a number of Lord Ralph’s manors under the terms of entails made in the early 14th century, nevertheless considered Shirley to have usurped his interest in the rest; and Sir Hugh’s failure to change his name to Basset as required by his late uncle no doubt gave him a pretext. However, in an agreement apparently made on 20 July 1403, Earl Edmund formally ‘granted’ Shirley the estates Lord Basset had willed to him, with reversion in default of male issue to the Staffords, which concord the earl was bound to honour under pain of £12,000. The indenture was never sealed, for on the following day both men were slain at the battle of Shrewsbury. A tradition, well established by Shakespeare’s day, has it that they were two of the three knights (the other being Shirley’s colleague, Blount) who, clad in royal armour in order to impersonate the King, successively encountered and fell in single combat under the victorious arm of the earl of Douglas, their deaths being avenged by a fourth champion, Prince Henry.7
  • Shirley left a widow, Beatrice, a son, Ralph (still a minor) and five unmarried daughters. Henry IV showed concern for their welfare: on 10 Sept. following he granted Beatrice custody of the Shirley estates to the value of £44 10s. a year, and on Oct. he gave her Ralph’s wardship and marriage. Furthermore, when When shown the unsealed agreement made between Sir Hugh and the earl of Stafford, he commanded that the accord be kept as if formally ratified by law. From 1406 Beatrice possessed a lease of four of the Basset manors (as granted her by Lord Ralph’s feoffees) to hold until her son attained his majority; and following that event she formally conveyed to him the family estates in return for a regular pension.8 She became heir to her brother Sir John Brewes’s lands (six manors in Sussex and another in Buckinghamshire) at his death in 1426, but never took possession, for Sir John’s widow retained them as her jointure until she died in 1449 (whereupon they passed to Beatrice’s grandson, another Ralph). Left a wealthy widow with an income of at least £92 a year, and probably much more, Beatrice outlived her husband by 37 years, dying in 1440.9
  • From: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/sh... ________________________
  • SHIRLEY, Sir Ralph (1391-c.1443), of Lower Ettington, Warws., Shirley, Derbys. and Ratcliffe-upon-Soar, Notts.
  • b. 23 Apr. 1391, s. and h. of Sir Hugh Shirley*, m. (1) Joan (d. bef. Aug. 1408), da. and h. of Thomas Basset of Brailsford, Derbys, by Margery da. of William Mering, 1s. 1da; (2) between 1412 and May 1419, Alice (d. 28 May 1466), da of Sir John Cockayne* by his 1st w., 1s. Kntd. 8 Apr. 1413.1
  • Offices Held
    • Master forester of the duchy of Lancaster honour of Leicester 22 Jan. 1414-d.2
    • J.p. Leics. 18 Feb. 1415-June 1418, 3 July 1420-3.
    • Commr. of array, Leics. Mar. 1419; to raise royal loans Nov. 1419; of inquiry, Derbys., Notts. Dec. 1422 (illegal salmon fishing).
    • Sheriff, Notts. and Derbys. 16 Dec. 1420-1 May 1422.
  • Ralph was 12 years old when his father fell at Shrewsbury and the custody of the family estates as well as his own wardship and marriage was granted by the King to his mother, Beatrice. When he attained his majority Beatrice conveyed to him the manors of Shirley, Hope, ‘Houne’ and Hollington (Derbyshire), Ettington (Warwickshire) and Barnham (Suffolk), on condition that he would pay her 100 marks a year for the rest of her life. She also held a lease from Lord Basset’s feoffees of four of the Basset manors in Leicestershire, on the expiry of which, in 1414, these too passed to her son.3 A valor of Ralph’s combined Shirley and Basset holdings (at least 14 manors) made that same year showed a yield of £385 15s.6¼d. gross, from which after £104 8s.10¼d. had been deducted for repairs, the expenses of collection and fees for his officials and council, he had £281 6s.8d. clear. To this he added shortly afterwards revenues from manors at Thrumpton (Nottinghamshire) and Swepstone (Leicestershire). The tax assessments of 1436 were to estimate his clear annual income as much less than earlier (£150), but then his mother still enjoyed £92 a year and his son, Ralph, £40 p.a., charged on the family estates.4 .... etc.
  • From: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/sh... _____________________________
  • Stemmata Shirleiana
  • http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924029787250#page/n51/mode/2up
  • . . "Of Sir Thomas Shirley I find nothing memorable but his death, which happened before the 36th of Edward III. and that by Isabel, his wife, he had issue Hugh." '"* This Isabel was the daughter of Ralph Basset of Drayton, and sister, and at length heiress, of Ralph the last Baron. She afterwards married John de Wodhull, son of John de Wodhull, knt. Baron of Wodhull, by whom she had two daughters. She remarried Sir Gerard III. de Braybroke, knt. . . . .
  • http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924029787250#page/n52/mode/1up
  • The circumstance of Sir Hugh Shirley, only son of Sir Thomas, not being mentioned in the Inquistitions taken on the death of the last Ralph Lord Basset has appeared to some genealogist to cast a doubt on the legitimacy of Isabel Basset, Sir Hugh's mother.(*) The lands, however, referred to in the Inquisitions were, as Dugdale observes, otherwise settled by an old entail, Sir Hugh merely succeeding to the property whereof his uncle was seised in fee. See the curious socuments in the Appendix, which appear to set this matter at res.(T) (App. LXXXIII. LXXXIV.)
    • (*) For the legitimacy of Isabel Basset, see Collectanea Topog. and Genealog. vol. vii. pp. 256, 392. See also Nicolas's Synopsis of the Peerage, vol. i. p. 43, and Beltz's Memorials of the Order of the Garter, p. 162 note.
    • (T) See also Sir Egerton Brydges' edition of Collins's Peerage, article, "Earl Ferrers," where Isabel Basset's legitimacy is ably vindicated.
  • http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924029787250#page/n59/mode/1up
  • Sir Hugh Shirley had with Beatrix Braose his wife the manors of Wistneston or Wiston, Ashurst, Chiltington, Sloghton, Hion, and Iringtham in Sussex, and Wedonhill, in the parish of Amersham, in Buckinghamshire.
  • He had issue, besides Ralph, his son and heir, Elizabeth, his eldest daughter, Joan, married to Robert Newmarch, and Isabella, who wedded Sir John Cockayne of Ashbourne, in Derbyshire, knt. . . . The youngest daughter of Sir Hugh Shirley was Nicholaia, who, with Elizabeth, died unmarried. ____________________________
  • A gentry community: Leicestershire in the fifteenth century, c.1422- c.1485 By Eric Acheson
  • http://books.google.com/books?id=0HhSjk4yZ6YC&pg=PA248&lpg=PA248&dq...
  • Pg. 161
  • To prevent his estate from being divided between the descendants of his grandfather's sisters, namely, Thomas, lord Stafford, and Alice Chaworth, Ralph Basset devised all his lands on his nephew, Hugh Shirley, son of Basset's uterine, or possibly illegitimate, sister, Isabel, with remainder to William Stafford, younger brother of Thomas. As Hugh Shirley had no rights by inheritance to the property and as William Stafford's claim was secondary to that of his elder brother, it is clear that lord Basset's device was intended to preserve the estate intact. . . . . The integrity of the Walsh family caput at Wanlif was similarly preserved, in its case by agreement between the husbands of the coheirs. Ralph Shirley III, husband of Elizabeth Walsh, received Wanlip, while William Littleton, husband of Elizabeth's sister, Ellen, was compensated by grants of other lands of equal value. . . . .
  • Pg. 248
  • When Hugh Shirley died in 1403 his estate included manors in Warwickshire, Suffolk, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire (Stemmata Shirleiana, p. 37). Under the terms of the will of Hugh's maternal uncle, the third and last Ralph, lord Basset of Drayton, Hugh was to receive the basset inheritance provided he assumed the name and arms of Basset (Stemmata Shirleiana, pp. 34, 376). As this bequest was made at the expense of lord Basset's true heirs, Thomas earl of Stafford and Alice Chaworth, Hugh and his son, Sir Ralph I, did not have immediate and peaceful seisin of the property in question (G.E.C., II, pp. 3-4, n.f.). On 8 August 1424, however, Basset's last surviving feoffee, John Brown, released to Sir Ralph I numerous manors including the manors of Ragdale, Dunton Basset, Willow and Radcliff-on-Wreake in Leicestershire (C.A.D., v, A11388). Sir Ralph nust have had de facto tenure of these manors before 1424 for he was appointed to Leicestershire's bench of JPs between 1514 and 1422, and . . . . Nevertheless, Sir Ralph Shirley expanded the estate he inherited by a judicious marriage to Joan, daughter and heir of Thomas Bassett, thereby adding the manor of Brailsford to the family holdings in Derbyshire (Dugdale, I, p. 622). Joan Bassett was dead before 1419, by which date Sir Ralph had taken Alice Cockayne as his second wife (H.M.C. Rut., IV, p. 52). Alice died in 1466 (E149/219/9). The removal of the family's caput to Leicestershire was achieved through the marriage in 1423 of Sir Ralph's son and heir, Ralph II, to Margaret, daughter of John, and sister and heir of Thomas Staunton of Staunton Harold (L.R.O. 26D53/254: E149/127/12). At the time of their marriage, Ralph II was about fifteen years old while his wife was barely eighteen years. Margaret bore a son, John, who was born before 1426 but she must have died soon after this date. Ralph II's second wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Blount, was dead by 1457, but she had borne him five daughters and a son (L.R.O. 72'30/1/37; L.R.O. 26D53/192-3; Village Notes, IV, pp. 296-7). By 1458, Ralph II was married for the third time, to Lucy Ashton, widow of Sir Bertram Entwistle (L.R.O. 26D53/195; Stemmata Shirleiana, p. 49). Ralph Shirley II was an esquire of the chamber during the 1440s (E101/409/9, fos. 36v-7; E101/409/11, fo. 39; E101/409/16, fo. 35), but his career seems to have been otherwise undistinguished. He died in 1466, a few months after the death of his step-mother, Alice Cockayne (C140/19/18 MS 3). He was succeeded by his son John who, of all the fifteenth-century Shirleys, managed to made do with only one wife. John had married Eleanor Willoughby of Nottinghamshire by 1456 and she presented him with a large family of twelve children (L.R.O. 26D53/1947; Stemmata Shirleina, p. 51). In his will, dated 26 March 1485, he made provision for eleven of these children (L.R.O. 26D53/1947). John's son and heir, Ralph III, had already married around 1474, when he was about fourteen years old, to Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of Thomas Walsh (q.v.) (L.R.O. 26D53/543). Their only child, a daughter Anne, married Sir Thomas Pulteney (q.v.) (L.R.O. 5D53/86, fo. 1). In 1496 Ralph, III married Anne Vernon of Derbyshire but by 1507 he had a third wife, Anne Warner (L.R.O. 26D53/2552; Stemmata Shirleiana, p.39). By his fourth and final wife, Joan Sheffield, Ralph III eventually sired a son, Francis (Dugdale, II, p. 622). Ralph III died in 1513 (L.R.O. 26D53/1948). The Shirley family was undoubtedly one of Leicestershire's most wealthy knightly families. Nevertheless, after the death of Sir Ralph I in or aroung 1443, no member of the family assumed the dignity of knighthood, preferring instead to accept distraint for failing to do so (Stemmata Shirleiana, p. 43; E159/234). In 1436, Sir Ralph had been assessed in Derbyshire on an income of L100 per year but his mother, Beatrice, wife of Hugh had an income of L92 while another Ralph Shirley probably Sir Ralph's son, was assessed n L40 (E179/240/266). Beatrice lived until 1440 while Ralph II's step-mother almost outlived him (C139/101/65 MS 2; E149/219/9). John Shirley had a step-mother and a large family to provide for, too. Shirley resources, therefore, were thinly spread during the fifteenth century. In the 1470's, both John and Ralph III were members of lord Hantings' retinue (Durnham, 'Lord Hastings' indentured retainers 1461-1483', pp. 119, 120), but during the period considered for office bearing, neither man performed administrative service in the county. Ralph III did, however, become sheriff of Leicestershire in 1493 (Lists and Indexes, IX, p. 146). There was, nevertheless, a family tradition of activity on behalf ot the duchy of Lancaster. Hugh Shirley had been constable of Castle Donington from 1400 and master-forester at Duffield in 1402 (Somerville, I, pp. 573, 556); Sir Ralph I was appointed master-forester in the honor of Leicester for life in 1414 (Somerville, I, p. 568); Ralph III was master-forester at Duffield in 1493, steward and then constable at Melbourne, steward of Appletree hundred and steward of Castle Donington (Somerville, I, pp. 557, 558, 559, 573). ________________________
  • The Sherley brothers, an historical memoir of the lives of Sir Thomas Sherley, Sir Anthony Sherley, and Sir Robert Sherley, knights (1848)
  • http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924029881475#page/n13/mode/2up
  • From the family of Bavent it passed by marriage to a younger branch of the great Norman House of Braose (Lords of the neighbouring Castle of Bramber,) under whose ancestors the manor had been formely held, and in the year 1423, by the death of Sir John de Braose, without surviving issue, it descended to his sister Beatrice, at that time the widow of Sir Hugh Shirley of Nether Eatington, in the County of Warwick, and of Shirley in Derbyshire, who fell at the Battle of Shrewsbury, on the 20th of July 1403.
  • For two generations, the manor of Wiston, remained appendant to the House of Eatington, but on the death of Ralph Shirley, Esq., in 1466, it was settled on his son of the same name, by his second wife Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir John Blount, and sister of Walter Lord Mountjoy. This Ralph Sherley, (the name was always thus written by this younger branch of the family,) was the first of his Race who resided at Wiston, and was Sheriff of Surrey and Sussex in 1504, he was buried in 1510, and was succeeded by his eldest son Richard, who died in 1540, leaving a son and heir William, who survived his father but eleven years, dying in 1551; this William was the father of Thomas Sherley, afterwards well known as Sir Thomas Sherley the elder, of Wiston, Knight, who was born in 1542, and by his marriage about 1559, with Anne daughter of Sir Thomas Kempe of Ollantighe in Wye in Kent, Knight, was the father of THOMAS, ANTHONY, AND ROBERT, the subjects of the following memoirs. -- ___________________________
  • A Topographical History of the County of Leicester: the ancient part ... By John Curtis
  • http://books.google.com/books?id=5pk9AAAAcAAJ&pg=PR24&lpg=PR24&dq=R...
  • Pg. 145
  • Rakedale. Ragendale. Hund. of East Goscote, 6 miles W. from Melton, and 110 from London; including Willoughes, contains 1450 acres, 98 inhabitants, 20 houses; its expenditure in poor-rates 84l.19s. The soil is chiefly clay, and the ground diversified and well wooded. The Foss road bounds it . . . . .
  • . . . . . In 1261 Ralph Basset of Drayton claimed the advowson from Beatrix Colville and Canwell Priory, which claim was allowed to Ralph.3 In 1300 Ralph Basset had a grant of free warren.4 In 1376 Ralph Basset held the manor,5 and in 1390 also.6 In 1403 Joan wife of Ralph Basset, held 1/3 of the manor.7 In 1439 Beatrice, wife of Hugh Shirley, held the manor.6 In 1466 Ralph Shirley and Alice, his wife, held the manor.9 By descent from Isabella, sister of Ralph Basset, married in the reign of Richard II. to Sir Thomas Shirley, it came to Earl Ferrers;10 and by marriage with a daughter of the late Earl Ferrers to Hilton Jolliffe, Esq.
  • Pg. 146
  • Ratcliff-on-the-Wreke. Radeclive. Redeclive. Hund. of East Goscote, 7 miles N.N.E. from Leicester, and 105 from London; contains about 1500 acres, 124 inhabitants, 22 houses; its expenditure in poor-rates 109l. 14s. The soil is partly a cold clay, but near the river sand and red marl. The river Wreke, the Melton Canal, and the Foss road pass . . . .
  • . . . . In 1403 Joan, wife of Ralph Basset, held 1/8 of the manor,16 and on her death it was entailed upon Ralph's nephew, Sir Hugh Shirley.17 In 1439 Beatrice, wife of Hugh Shirley, held the manor.18 In 1461 . . . .
  • Pg. 158
  • Sileby. Sylebi. Siglebi. Cilebi. Hund. of East Gascot, 5 miles S.E. from Loughborough, and 105 from London. contains 2139 acres, 1328 inhabitants, . . . . .
  • . . . .. In 1596 Henry, Lord Berkeley, gave the manor in marriage with his daughter Frances, to George Shirley, Esq.10
  • Pg. 164
  • Staunton Harold. Staunton Herald. Township of Breedon, including Lount, contains 1800 acres, 329 inhabitants, 57 houses; its expenditure in poor-rates 176l. 14s. The ground is diversified and well wooded. Lime stone, iron stone, sand and coal, are found here, and some veins of lead are partially worked. The sole . . . .
  • On the verge of the lake, within a short distance of the hall, is a most beautiful Gothic Chapel, with a well-proportioned tower, built in 1653 by the celebrated Sir Robert Shirley, "who did the best of things in the worst of times, and hoped them in the most calamitous." The body of the chapel . . .
  • Pg. 165
  • In 1086 it was a member of Tonge and belonged to Henry Ferrers, who enfeoffed Harold in it, whose family afterwards took the name of Staunton.1 In 1303 Edmund de Mortuo Mari and Margaret, his wife, held a fee.2 In 1316 Theobald Verdun held 1/4 of a fee,3 and in 1336 also.4 In 1360 Elizabeth de Burgh, wife of Theobald Verdun, held a fee.5 In 1405 John Staunton held the manor.6 In 1422 John Staunton held the manor extent,7 and Thomas Staunton afterwards, in the same year, held it.8 By marriage with Margaret Staunton in 1423 it came to Ralph Shirley.1
  • Pg. 187
  • Willoughes. Wilges. Hamlet of Rakedale, is depopulated and incorporated with Rakedale. -- At the conquest Henry held under Robert de Buci 2 caruates of waste.9 The subsequent owners have been the same as those of Rakedale. In 1379 Ralph Basset, for the chaplains of the chantry of Bartholomew Burghersh, held the manor as of the honor of Winton.10 In 1439 Beatrice, wife of Hugh Shirley, held the manor.11 In 1466 Ralph Shirley and Alice, his wife, held the manor.12
  • Pg. 195
  • Barrow-upon-Sour. In 1423 Elizabeth, wife of John Clinton, had a messuage, 81. In 1433 Thomas Erdington held the manor extent, 153; and in the same year Sibilla, his wife, held 1/3 of the manor, 158. In 1439 Beatrice, wife of Hugh Shirley, held the manor, 201. In 1463 William, Viscount Beaumont, Lord Bardolf, (attainted) held 24 acres, 322. . . . . _______________________
  • The visitation of the county of Leicester in the year 1619 (1870)
  • https://archive.org/details/visitationofcoun02camd
  • https://archive.org/stream/visitationofcoun02camd#page/25/mode/1up
    • Shirley. - Pg.25-27
  • Sewall son of Fulcher originall auncest'r of this family of Shirley. = ; ch: Henry, Fulcher
    • Fulcher 2 son of Sewall.
    • Henry son of Sewall held 5 knights fees in Darbish. of Rob't Ferrers Lord of Titburye. ; ch: Sewall
      • Sewall son of Henry held 9 knights fees of Wm. Erle Ferrers in the dayes of K. H. 2. = ch: Henry
        • Henry son of Sewall surnamed of Etingdon wher he first founded a Chauntrye in K. Johns tyme. ; ch: Sewall, Henry
          • Henry 2 sonne of Henry.
          • Sewall son of Henry of Etingdo' confirmed the Donation of his father made to the Chauntry of Etingdon' 27 H. 3. ; ch: Jeames (m. Agnes of Walton) Shirley
            • Jeames sonne of Sewall surnamed Shirley, lived Ao. 15. E. 1. = Agnes Da. of Symon of Walton after Bishop of Norwich. ; ch: Sr Raphe (m. Margt. Waldeshef) Shirley.
              • Sr Raphe Shirley Kt. Lo. of the manner of Shirley. = Margt. Da. & coh. of Will'm Waldeshef of Boyleston. ; ch: Sr Tho. (m. Isabel Basset) Shirley
                • Sr Tho. Shirley Kt. son of Sir Raphe. = Isabell sisster to Rafe Lo. Basset of Drayton. ; ch: Sr Hugh (m. Beatrix Brewes) Shirley.
                • Sr Hugh Shirley of Shirley Kt. he was M'r of the Falcons to K. H. 4 & was slayne in his parte at ye battell of Shrewberie Ao 4 H. 4. = Beatrix sister & sole hey. to Sir John Brewes Kt. ; ch: Isabella (m. John Cockaine), Elizab., Nicholas, Sr Raphe (m. Johanna Basset & Alice _ ) Shirley
                  • Sr Raphe Shirley kt. high Shreife of the County of Nott' & Derby Ao 9 H. 5 ob. ultra mare. = Johanna first wife Da. & sole hey. of Tho. Basset of Brailesford. ; ch: Beatrix (m. John Brome), Raphe (m. Margt. Staunton & Elizab. Blount) Shirley; = Alice uxor 2.
                    • Raphe Shirley Esq. whose 3 wife was Lucy Da. of John Ashton & wydow of Sir Ric. Biroml. = Margt. first wife sist'r & hey. to Tho. Staunton of Stanton Harald in Lesto'sh.; ch: (Pg.26 John (m. Elinor Willoughby) Shirley.) ; = Elizab. 2 wife Da. of Sir Tho. Blount and sister to Walter Lord Montioy. ; ch: (Pg.26 Raphe (m. Jane Bellingham), Elizab., Alice, Sanche, Anne, Marg't Shirley) ________________________________
  • Peerage of England, genealogical, biographical, and historical (1812) Vol. IV.
  • https://archive.org/details/peerageofengland04colluoft
  • https://archive.org/stream/peerageofengland04colluoft#page/87/mode/1up
  • .... They derive their descent from SASUALLO or SEWALLUS de Etingdon, whose name (says Dugdale, in his Antiquities of Warwickshire), argues him to be of the old English stock ; which Se-
  • https://archive.org/stream/peerageofengland04colluoft#page/88/mode/1up
  • wallis resided at Nether-Etingdon, in com. Warwick, about the reign of king Edward the Confessor : which place had been the seat of his ancestors, as there is reason to believe, for many generations before. After the Conquest, the lordship of Etingdon was given to Henry Earl of Ferrars, in Normandy, who was one of the principal adventurers with the Norman Duke William, and was held under him by this Sewallus ; to whose posterity, .... etc. He died about 1085. It appears by Kenilworth Register, that he built and endowed the church of Etingdon.
  • FULCHER, his only child, succeeded him; and died about 1105, leaving issue, 1. Sewallus. 2. Henry, from whom the Shirleys of Ireton, Co. Derby, who took the name of Ireton. 3. Fulcher, twice married, but died S. P. 4. Nicholas. 5. Robert.
  • SEWALLUS died about 1129 ; leaving by his first wife, Matilda, daughter of Ridel, of Halaughton, Co. Derb. 1. Henry. 2. Ful-
  • https://archive.org/stream/peerageofengland04colluoft#page/89/mode/1up
  • cher,(d) who held four Knights fees ; but died S. P. 3. Hugh, a priest. 4. Ralph. 5. Richard. Having translated his seat from Etingdon to Shirley, in Derbyshire, he was the first of that family that called himself de Shirley.
  • HENRY, eldest son, held five Knights fees in Derbyshire, of Robert de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, and died about 1165. He gave the lordship of Ivanbrook to the Monks of Bildewas ; and was a witness to the foundation Charter of Merevalle Abbey. He left issue by Joanna, daughter and heir of John de Clinton,(e) of Effex,
  • SEWALLIS, his son and heir, who, in 1167, acknowledged himself to hold of William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, those nine Knights fees which Henry, his father, and his uncle, some time held of Earl Robert, grandfather to the said Earl. (f)He married Isabel, daughter and coheir of Robert Meynell, of Langley Meynell, Co. Derb. by whom he had a daughter, Elizabeth, wife of John de Walton, son of Simon Bishop of Norwich : and a son and heir,
  • Sir JAMES DE SHIRLEY, who was a Knight, and had freewarren granted to him in all his demesnes at Shirley in 1247, and at Etingdon in 1255. He married Agnes de Walton, daughter of Simon de Walton, Bishop of Norwich, and had issue by her Sir Ralph, his successor.(g) He died about 1278.
  • Which Sir RALPH de Shirley, in 7 Edw. I. held the manor of Eatendon(h) aforesaid, in com. Warwick, of Edmund Earl of Lancaster, the King's brother, by the service of two Knights fees. In 9 Edw. I. he was of full age. In 28 Edw. I he had the custody of the counties of Salop and Stafford, with the castle of Shrewsbury, committed to his charge ; and was Sheriff of the counties of Derby and Nottingham, in the 27th, 28th, and 30th of Edw. I. In 1301, he was summoned to attend the King at Berwick upon Tweed, on Midsummer-day, well-appointed with horse and arms, to march against the Scots. In 3 Edward II. he was constituted
    • (d) Of Ednesour, co. Derb.
    • (c) Ever since the marriage with the heiress of Clinton, the family have taken her arms ; viz. Paly of six, Or, and Arg. a quarter of Bretaigny ; the family of Clinton, being allied to the Dukes of Bretaigny.
    • (f) See Lib. Nig. Scacc. under Derbyshire,
    • (g) Nichols gives also three younger sons ; James, Simon, and Henry, a priest, parson of St. George, co. Norf.
    • (h) He held also the manor of Barnham, co. Suff. near Thetford, by gift of his grandfather, Bishop Simon Walton.
  • https://archive.org/stream/peerageofengland04colluoft#page/90/mode/1up
  • one of the Justices in the county of Warwick for the gaol-delivery ; .... etc.
  • He married (i)Margaret, daughter, and one of the coheirs of Walter de Waldeshief, of Fairfield, co. Derby, cupbearer to Edward II. and dying in 1327, 20 Edward II. left issue
  • THOMAS,(k) his son and heir, said to be "the great founder of the family of the Shirleys, famous in his time for his valour, and for the many services, &c. rendered to the Kings of England against the French." A Commissioner for assessing and collecting a fifteenth and tenth, granted in 11 Edw. III. and in the 12th, appointed to collect the scutage due to the king for the Scotch expedition. In 14 Edw. III. he served as one of the Knights in parliament for the county of Warwick. This Sir Thomas Shirley died(l) in 36 Edw. II. 1362.
  • He married Isabel, daughter of Ralph, son and heir of Ralph Lord Basset, of Drayton, and sister and sole heir to her brother Ralph, the last Lord Basset of that line, who died 13 Richard II. without issue ; having by deed, dated Jan. 26th, 13 Richard II. named Sir Hugh Shirley, son of this Sir Thomas, by his sister Isabel, to be his nephew and right heir: thereby leaving him heir to his whole inheritance, on condition that he assumed his surname of Basset, and his arms, leaving his own ; but should he refuse to comply with that condition, then the whole estate to go to the earl of Stafford, on the same terms, who was descended from Margaret Basset, great aunt to the said Lord Basset ; and should that Earl refuse to comply with the above condition, then the estates to go to the other relations mentioned in the will ; but expressly on condition that they assumed the name and arms of
    • (i) Dugdale's Antiq. of Warwicksh. p. 466.
    • (k) Nichols mentions an elder brother, Ralph de Shirley, by a former wife, who died S. P.
    • (l) He was noted also for the liberal donations of lands and rents by himself and his wife, to the College of St. Mary, at the Newark, in Leicester, &c.
    • (m) He and his Lady were interred in the Chapel of the Duke of Lancaster's College, called Newark. See Nichols, I, 399. III. 708.
  • https://archive.org/stream/peerageofengland04colluoft#page/91/mode/1up
  • Basset.(n) But neither Sir Hugh Shirley, nor the Earl of Stafford, complied with the conditions of the will, but contended for the estate ; which dispute was not finally settled till the reign of Henry VI. when the estates of the Barons Basset of Drayton, were divided between them. Colston Basset, in com. Nott. &c.
    • (n) This marriage with the heiress of Lord Basset, of Drayton, deserves some remarks. The Lady's legitimacy has latterly been doubted, in defiance of what seems decisive proof, for reasons which appear extremely weak, or rather no reasons at all. .... etc.
  • https://archive.org/stream/peerageofengland04colluoft#page/92/mode/1up
  • being allotted to Shirley ; and Drayton Basset, com. Staff. &c. to Stafford. His widow remarried Sir Gerard Braybroke, Knt.
  • But to return : HUGH Shirley, son and heir of Sir Thomas, by Isabel Basset, succeeded his father ; and was, as before mentioned, by the will of the late Lord Basset his uncle, acknowledged by him to be his nephew and right heir ; in 7 Rich II. he confirmed the manors of Shirley and Hoone, in com. Derby, and that of Etingdon, in com. Warwick, to his mother Isabel, then the wife of Sir Gerard Braybroke, Knt. these manors having been assigned to be for her dower by Sir Thomas Shirley, his father. This Sir Hugh was made Chief Warden of Higham Ferrers Park, by John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster ; and in 22 Rich. II. constituted Constable of Donnington-Castle, by Henry of Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, afterward King Henry IV. On March 27th, 1400, being then a Knight, he was made Grand Falconer to King Henry IV. for the Kingdom of Ireland. He was killed at the battle of Shrewsbury,(o) on the part of King Henry IV. being one of those who was habited as the King, and taken for him by the opposite party. By Beatrix his wife, sister and heir to John de Braose, or de Breus, of West-Neston (now called Wiston), in Sussex, heir male of the ancient family of that name, Barons of Brember, in Sussex, and of Brecknock, Abergavenny, and Gower, in Wales, he had issue three daughters ; Isabel, wife of Sir John Cokayne, of Ashbourne ; Elizabeth ; and Nichola ; also
  • RALPH, his son and heir, then twelve years of age ; who, in 5 Henry V. was retained to serve that King in person in his army in Guyen, with six men at arms, and eighteen archers ; and the next year, with eight men at arms, and sixteen archers, and was about that time knighted ; for in 8 Henry V. being then Sheriff of the counties of Nottingham and Derby, he was then styled a Knight. He was one of the chief Commanders under King Henry V. at the battle of Agincourt, as appears by an ancient Roll in the office of Arms ; and was often a great actor in the subsequent Wars of the said King Henry V. in France ; as is evidently proved by diverse instruments of accord made between the said King and Sir Ralph Shirley ; in one of which, dated 1416, after agreement had for the number and pay of his soldiers, &c. the King granted to him all the prisoners that he or his soldiers should take, only reserving to himself, the French King, his
    • (o) The Spirits of valiant Shirley, Stafford, Blount, are in my arms." Prince of Wales's Speech in Shakespeare's Henry IV.
  • https://archive.org/stream/peerageofengland04colluoft#page/93/mode/1up
  • adversary; the Dauphin, his son ; and all other Kings, his adversary's assistants, giving to him only the third part of the ransom of the captive Kings, by him or his soldiers taken. To this Sir Ralph, the feoffees of Ralph Lord Basset, released all their right to the estates he claimed as heir to that Barony. In 1432, he resided at Radcliffe upon Soar ; and died at his government and charge in France, about 1443. His body was brought to England, and buried in the Collegiate Church of the Newark, at Leicester. His second wife was Alice, daughter of Sir John Cokayne, Knt. who died 1466, without issue.
  • By his first wife, Joan, daughter and heir of Thomas Basset, of Brailsford, co. Derb. he had a daughter, Beatrix, wife of John Brome, of Badesley Clinton, co. Warw. and
  • RALPH, who was Constable of Melbourn Castle, and of the castle in the Peak of Derbyshire : and died in 1466, "seised of many goodly manors, fair possessions, and large territories in the several counties of Leicester, Derby, Warwick, and Nottingham." He was buried in the church of Brailesford, where his tomb still remains.
  • His first wife was Margaret, daughter and sole heir of John de Staunton, of Staunton Harald, in Leicestershire (whereby he obtained that estate, still the chief seat of the family), by Joan, daughter and coheir of Sir Ralph Meynell, of Langley Meynell (with which family a former match of Shirley has been already, mentioned). By this marriage he had issue John, his son and heir, hereafter mentioned.
  • His second wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Blount, Knt. and sister to Walter Blount, Lord Montjoy ; by whom he had Ralph Shirley, Esquire of the Body to King Henry VII. ancestor to the Shirleys of Wiston, of Sussex ; of whom an account will be given in an accompanying note, this branch having been of considerable eminence.(p)
  • His third wife was Lucia, daughter of Sir John Aston, of
    • (p) Ralph Shirley, by his second wife, Elizabeth Blount, sister to Walter Lord Mountjoy, had issue Sir Ralph Shirley, of Wiston, who, by Jane, daughter of Thomas Bellingham, of Lymster, in Sussex, Esq. had four daughters ; Jane, wife of John Dawtrey, of Petworth, in Sussex ; Elizabeth, wife of John Lee, of Fitleworth, co. Sussex ; Beatrix, wife of Edward Eldrington, of Hoggeston, and afterwards of Sir Edward Bray, of Vachery, Surrey, died 1582 ; and Isabel, wife of John Dawtrey, of Hampton ; also, 1. Sir Richard, 2. Thomas Shirley, of West Grinsted, who died 1606; leaving by Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of Marmaduke Gorges, of Gloucestershire, Cecilie, daughter and coheir, aet. 19, 1606, wife of Sir George Snelling, of Postlade, Sussex.
  • https://archive.org/stream/peerageofengland04colluoft#page/94/mode/1up
  • Atherton, Knt, widow, first, of Sir John Byron, of Clayton and Colwich ; and, secondly, of Sir Barton Entwissel, Knt. Viscount of Brykbeke, in Normandy. She died in Feb. 1481 ; and lies buried at Braylesford.
  • John, son and heir, married Eleanor, daughter of Sir Hugh Willoughby of Wollaton, co. Notts, and dying 1485, left issue,
  • RALPH, twenty-six years old, who, for his valour in the battle of Stoke, in com. Nott. June 16th, 1487, was made a Banneret ; to which battle (q)he brought forces to the King's aid, when the Earl of Lincoln was slain. In 7 Henry VII. he was retained to serve the King in his wars beyond sea for one year ; and died on Jan. 6th, 1516-7, at his manor house of Staunton-Harold ; and was interred in Geronden Abbey. By his last will and testament,(r) which bears date four days before his death, writing himself Sir Rauf Shirley, of Staunton-Harold, in com. Leic. Knt. he orders his body to be buried at the discretion of his executors. He bequeaths to Jane his wife, his manors of Shirley and Brailesford, with the lands, rents, and services, as also other lands, in full of her jointure and dower, for term of her life ; and his manor of Barnham, to the monastery of Geronden, for the term of fifty years.
    • Sir Ralph, the eldest son by his second wife, daughter of Sir Richard Guildeforde, had four daughters ; but by his first wife, Anne, daughter of John Shelley, of Michelgrove, he had Elizabeth, wife of John Michell, of Staunton ; Anne, wife of Richard Fernwold ; Cecely, married to John Leedes ; Alice, married to Thomas Chandler, of Lyndfield. John ; Edward ; and
    • William Shirly, of Wiston, son and heir, who died May 29th, 1551 ; leaving by Mary, daughter of Thomas Isley, Esq. of Sundridge, Kent, Anthony Shirley, a younger son, of Preston, in Sussex ; whose great grandson, Sir Anthony, was created a Baronet, 1665 (and left a granddaughter, Anne, married to Robert Western, of London, merchant), and
    • Sir Thomas Shirley, of Wiston, son and heir, Treasurer for the Wars in the Low Countries, from which he was removed 1597. (See Birch's Elizabeth, I. 455, and Sydney Papers, II.28, 31, 33.) By Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Kempe, he left issue several daughters, and three sons ;
      • 1. Sir Thomas.
      • 2. Sir Anthony, born 1563 ; a great traveller, died in Spain about 1636. See Fuller's Worthies, Sussex, 107. Hakluyt, Purchas, &c.
      • 3. Sir Robert, equally famous with his brother. See a whole-length print of him in Harding's Cabinet, &c. &c. He married Teresia, a relation of the great Sophy.
    • Sir Thomas married Frances, sister of Sir Thomas Vavasor, Knt. and left issue
    • Sir Thomas Shirley, M. D. who suffered much for his loyalty, and had the estate at Wiston torn from him by Sir John Fagg, Bart. See Topogr, IV. 335, 336.
    • .... etc.
  • https://archive.org/stream/peerageofengland04colluoft#page/95/mode/1up
  • It also appears by his will, that he had five brothers; and that he was possessed of the manors of Staunton-Harold, Rakedale, and Willowes, Burton, Long-Whatton, Ratclyff, Dunton, Esterleyke, Sutton-Bonyngton, and Newton-Regis ; he bequeaths all his household furniture, plate, &c. to his wife and his son Francis, to be divided equally between them; and ordains executors, his cousin, Sir Richard Sackvil (to whom he bequeaths a cross of gold, hanging at his chain) : his brother, Robert Hasylryg (husband to Elizabeth, his sister) ; Sir James Smith, his priest ; and Thomas Herbert.
  • He married four wives,(s) but had no issue by his first and third; and by his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter and coheir to Thomas Walsh, of Wanlip, in Leicestershire, had only a daughter, Anne, heir to her mother, married to Sir Thomas Pultney, of Misterton, in com. Leic. Knt. ancestor to the late Earl of Bath. By his last wife, Jane, daughter to Sir Robert Sheffield, Knt. ancestor to the late Duke of Buckingham, he had Francis, his son and heir, before mentioned.
  • Which FRANCIS was (t)Sheriff of the counties of Warwick and Leicester, in 4 Philip and Mary; and having lived(u) to an advanced age, famous for his charity and hospitality, died on July 27th, 1571 , and was buried in the church of Breedon on the Hill, in Leicestershire, where a monument was erected to the memory of him, and Dorothy his wife, who survived him but a short time; as appears by her last will and testament,(x) bearing date August 9th, 1571, and the probate thereof May 16th following. She was daughter of Sir John Gifford, of Chillington, in Staffordshire, Knt. and married to her first husband, John Congreve, Esq; but had issue by the said Francis Shirley, three sons ; John Shirley, Esq. hereafter mentioned; Edward, who died young; and Ralph : also three daughters ; Cassandra, married to Walter Powtrell, of West-Hallum, in com. Derb. Esq. ; Elizabeth, to Thomas Cotton, of Conington, in Huntingdonshire, Esq. father by her to the famous Sir Robert Cotton, Knt. and Bart, the great collector of the records now reposited in the British Museum; and Anne, to John Brook, of Madeley, in Shropshire, esq.
  • JOHN Shirley, eldest son and heir apparent, died A. D. 1570, in
    • (s) His second wife was Anne, daughter of Sir Henry Vernon, of Haddon, whom he married 1496 ; and his third, Anne, daughter of Thomas Warner, Esq.
    • (t) Fuller's Worthies. (u) Ex inscript. tumul.
    • (x) Ex Regist. Daper. qu. 16. Collect, T. Meller, Gent. ___________________________________________________
  • 'Shirley1'
  • Sasuallo or Sewallus of Ettington, etc. (d c1085)
    • 1. Fulcher of Ettington, etc. (d c1105)
      • A. Henry ancestor of Shirley of Ireton and families named Ireton
      • B. Sewallis of Shirley (d c1129)
      • Sewallis and the next few generations may well have been known as 'de Ettington' rather than 'de Shirley'.
      • m. Matilda (dau of Ridel of Halaughton)
        • i. Henry de Shirley (d c1165)
        • m. Joanna (dau of John de Clinton of Essex)
          • a. Sewallis de Shirley (a 1167)
          • m. Isabel Meynell (dau of Robert Meynell of Langley Meynell)
          • Visitation adds 2 intervening generations here: Henry then Sewall, apparently younger son of Henry (the other son being another Henry) and father of ...
            • (1) Sir James de Shirley and Ettington (d c1278)
            • m. Agnes de Walton (dau of Simon de Walton, Bishop of Norwich)
              • (A) Sir Ralph de Shirley, Sheriff of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire (d 1327)
              • m. Margaret (dau of Walter de Waldeshief of Fairfield)
                • (i) Sir Thomas Shirley
                • m. Isabel Basset (sister of Ralph Basset, Lord of Drayton)
                  • (a) Sir Hugh Shirley (d Shrewsbury 1403, grand falconer)
                  • m. Beatrix de Braose (sister of John de Braose of West Neston)
                    • ((1)) Sir Ralph Shirley, Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire (a 1422)
                    • m1. Joan Basset (dau of Thomas Basset of Braylesford)
                      • ((A)) Ralph Shirley of Ettington, Shirley and Staunton (constable of Melbourne Castle)
                      • m1. Margaret Staunton (dau of John de Staunton of Staunton Harold)
                        • ((i)) John Shirley of Ettington, etc. (d 1485)
                        • m. Eleanor Willoughby (dau of Sir Hugh Willoughby of Wollaton)
                          • ((a)) Sir Ralph Shirley of Ettington, Shirley and Staunton (d 1517)
                          • m1. Elizabeth Walsh (dau of Thomas Walsh of Wanlep)
                          • m2. Jane Sheffield (dau of Sir Robert Sheffield)
                      • m2. Elizabeth Blount (dau of Sir Thomas (not John) Blount)
                        • ((ii)) Ralph Shirley of Westneston (Wiston) - continued below
                        • m. Jane Belingham (dau of Thomas Belingham of Lemyster)
                        • ((iii))+ other issue - Elizabeth, Alice, Sauch. (sic), Ann, Margaret
                      • m3. Lucia Aston or Assheton (dau of Sir John Assheton of Atherton)
                      • ((B)) Beatrix Shirley
                      • m. John Brome of Bedesley Clynton
                    • m2. Alis Blunt
                    • ((2)) Isabel Shirley
                    • m. Sir Gey Cockend (John Cokayne) of Ashburne
                    • ((3))+ other issue - Elizabeth, Nichola
                • (ii) Isabel Shirley
                • m. Geffrey Lee Burgylond of Weston (sic)
            • (2) Elizabeth de Shirley
            • m. John de Walton (son of Simon, Bishop of Norwich)
        • ii.+ other issue - Fulcher (dsp), Hugh (priest), Ralph, Richard
      • C.+ other issue - Fulcher (dsp), Nicholas, Robert
  • Main source(s):
  • (1) For upper section : BP1934 (Ferrers), Visitation (Sussex, 1530+1633-4, Shirley)
  • (2) For lower section : Visitation (Sussex, 1530+1633-4, Shirley)
  • From: Stirnet.com
  • http://www.stirnet.com/genie/data/british/ss4as/shirley1.php#con2 ___________________________

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/LVCV-JD1/details?spouse=L8...

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=130650835

Birth: ABT 1355 in Eatington, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England

Death: 22 JUL 1403 in Battle of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England 1 Note:

Sir Hugh Shirley, inherited Basset estates; Grand Falconer to Henry IV 1400; killed 1403 at Battle of Shrewsbury, being one of four who were dressed as the King and mistaken for him by the enemy. [Burke's Peerage]

The encounter is immortalised by Shakespeare in his play "Henry IV".

However, in the play Shakespeare uses dramatic licence and he has Sir Hugh killed instead by Douglas.

Quote: King Henry: "Hold up thy head, vile Scot, or thou art like never to hold it up again ! The spirits of valiant Shirley, Stafford and Blunt are in my arms."

1400-1403 Master of King's Hawks.

children:

Joan Shirley m. Robert Newmarch

Elizabeth Shirley died unmarried mentioned in 1415 deposition of brother Ralph

Isabella Shirley m. Sir John Cokayne of Ashbourne mentioned in 1415 deposition of brother Ralph

Nicholaia Shirley (Fem.) died unmarried mentioned in 1415 deposition of brother Ralph

Ralph Shirley b 1392

Sir James de Shirley #130650263 is g-grandfather to Hugh Sir Ralph de Shirley #109168221 is grandfather

Family links:

Parents:
 Thomas de Shirley (____ - 1362)
 Isabel de Meynell Braybrook (____ - 1393)
Spouse:
 Beatrix de Braose Shirley (1355 - 1440)*
Children:
 Ralph Shirley (1391 - 1443)*

Burial: Body lost or destroyed

Created by: Debbie Shirley Record added: May 31, 2014 Find A Grave Memorial# 130650835

view all

Sir Hugh Shirley, Kt., of Ettington's Timeline

1351
1351
Shirley, Derbyshire, England
1375
1375
1378
1378
Probably Wiston, Sussex, England
1386
1386
Probably Wiston, Sussex, England
1391
1391
Probably Shirley, Derbyshire, England
1392
April 23, 1392
Ashbourne, Derbyshire, England
1398
1398
Eatington, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England (United Kingdom)
1403
July 22, 1403
Age 52
Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England