Thomas Shirley

Thomas Shirley

Sir Thomas Shirley (1564 – c. 1634) was an English soldier, adventurer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1584 and 1622. His financial difficulties drove him into privateering which culminated in his capture by the Turks and later imprisonment in the Tower of London.

Thomas Shirley was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Shirley of Wiston, Sussex, and Anne Kempe, the daughter of Sir Thomas Kempe (d. 7 March 1591) of Olantigh in Wye, Kent.[1][2] Sir Anthony Shirley[3] and Sir Robert Shirley[4] were his younger brothers.

Shirley matriculated at Hart Hall, Oxford in 1579, but left the university without taking a degree.[5] In 1584 he was elected Member of Parliament for Steyning.[6] He went on military service with his father and brother in the Low Countries in 1585, and later saw some in Ireland. He was knighted at Kilkenny in Ireland by the lord deputy, Sir William Fitz-William, on 26 October 1589.[7] Shirley later came to the court. In the summer of 1591 he made a secret marriage to one of Queen Elizabeth's maids of honour and when the queen heard of it, she promptly committed him to the Marshalsea Prison. He remained in prison till the spring of 1592.[5] In 1593 he was elected MP for Steyning again.[6] In the same year he saw service with the rank of captain in the Low Countries again.

Shirley was beginning to suffer from hopeless embarrassment because of his father's increasing financial difficulties. To secure a livelihood, he decided to fit out a privateering expedition to attack Spanish merchandise. He handed over his company at Flushing to Sir Thomas Vavasour, a relation of his wife, and in the summer of 1598 sailed into the English Channel, and seized four 'hulks' of Lübeck which were reputed to be carrying Spanish goods.[5] He may have made some of his attacks with the Queen's ship Foresight, which he commanded in 1599. The costs and returns were high. A ship that Shirley captured while returning from San Domingo laden with sugar, was valued at £4,700. In April 1600, Shirley offered the Earl of Nottingham £600 for his tenth share in two ships which he brought into Plymouth and said he had already paid £2,000 for 'the company's thirds'. In October 1600 Shirley was brought before the Admiralty court for seizing a ship from Hamburg which had a cargo belonging to some Dutch merchants and Lord Cobham had to intervene on his behalf. He was also coming under attack from his creditors for in July 1600 some supporters of Sir Richard Weston broke into his father's house at Blackfriars and threatened the Shirleys, father and son, demanding payment. In 1601 his father required the borough seat of Steyning. Shirley was elected MP for both Bramber and Hastings and chose to sit for Hastings.[6] In 1602 he renewed his privateering adventures, and pillaged 'two poor hamlets of two dozen houses in Portugal.'[5]

At the end of 1602 Shirley equipped two ships for a more ambitious adventure in the Levant where he aimed to strike a blow against the Ottoman Empire of Mehmed III. He was given encouragement by the Duke of Tuscany at Florence, who supported Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor in this respect. However, he made an imprudent descent on the island of Kea on 15 Jan 1603 and was captured by the Turks. He was transferred to Negropont on 20 March, and on 25 July 1603 he was carried a close prisoner to Constantinople. When news of his misfortunes reached England, James I appealed to the government of the sultan to release him. The English ambassador to the Porte, Henry Lello, used every effort on his behalf, and finally he was released on 6 December 1605, after eleven hundred dollars had been paid to his gaolers. He immediately went to Naples, where he was described by Toby Mathew, on 8 August 1606, as living there 'like a gallant.' At the end of 1606 he returned to England.[5]

Shirley was imprisoned in the Tower of London in September 1607 on a charge of illegal interference with the operations of the Levant Company. It was said that he had "overbusied himself with the traffic of Constantinople, to have brought it to Venice and to the Florentine territories." In August 1611 he was confined in the king's bench as an insolvent debtor. The death of his father next year, and his second marriage greatly increased his difficulties. Wiston, which had fallen into ruins, was sold, but he was elected MP for Steyning in 1614, and 1621.[6]

Shirley is said to have retired subsequently to the Isle of Wight, and to have died there about 1630.[5]

Shirley married firstly Frances Vavasour, daughter of Henry Vavasour of Copmanthorpe, by whom he had three sons and four daughters.[2] His second son, Henry Shirley (fr), was the dramatist who was murdered in London on 31 October 1627.[8] His only surviving son by his first marriage, Thomas Shirley, was baptised at West Clandon, Surrey, on 30 June 1597, was knighted in 1645 by Charles I at Oxford, was alive in 1664, and was father of Thomas Sherley [q. v.], the physician.[5]

Shirley married secondly at Deptford on 2 December 1617, a widow, Judith Taylor, daughter of William Bennet of London, by whom he had five sons and six daughters.[5][2]

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Shirley

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• SHIRLEY, Thomas II (1564-c.1630), of Wiston, Suss.; later of the I.o.W.
• b. 1564, 1st s. of Thomas Shirley I of Wiston by Ann, da. of Sir Thomas Kempe of Olantigh, Kent. educ. Hart Hall, Oxf. 1579; I. Temple 1581. m. (1) 1591, Frances, da. of Henry Vavasour of Copmanthorpe and Hazlewood, Yorks., 3s. 4da.; (2) Dec. 1617, Judith, da. of William Bennett of London, wid. of one Taylor, 6s. 6da. Kntd. 1589; suc. fa. 1612.1
• Offices Held
  • Capt. in the Netherlands 1593; commanded the Foresight 1599.
• At the age of 21, after an orthodox education, Shirley accompanied his father and brother Anthony to the Low Countries, later serving in Ireland where he was knighted by the lord deputy, Sir William Fitzwilliam II. On his return to England, he went to court and began an affair with Frances Vavasour (sister of Thomas Vavasour), one of the Queen’s maids of honour. When the Queen learned that they had married, Shirley was put in the Marshalsea, where he remained from September 1591 until the following spring. In 1593 he was again serving in the Low Countries, now with the rank of captain, and while there became entangled in his father’s deteriorating financial situation. In debt, he relinquished his company at Flushing to his brother-in-law Thomas Vavasour, and started privateering. His ventures, which included the capture of four Lübeck ‘hulks’ in the Channel in 1598, with cargoes said to be Spanish, and the pillaging of a township in Portugal in 1602, were evidently financed by such men as Thomas Ridgeway, Dr. Thomas Crompton I and Sir Henry Carey, who received money from him at different times on his return from sea. Sir Robert Cecil, too, may have been involved, for in March 1602 he was reminded by Shirley of a promise to venture £100 with him. Large sums of money were at stake. One ship captured by Shirley on her way from San Domingo with a cargo of sugar, was valued at £4,700: and in April 1600, after bringing two prizes into Plymouth, Shirley offered the Earl of Nottingham, as lord high admiral, £600 for his tenth share in them, saying he had already paid £2,000 for ‘the company’s thirds’.
• The official attitude to his exploits seems to have been tolerant at first; some of his attacks may even have been made with the Queen’s ship Foresight, which he commanded in 1599. However, in October 1600 Shirley was in trouble with the Admiralty court for seizing a Hamburg ship whose cargo belonged to certain Dutch merchants, and Lord Cobham, a connexion of the Careys, had to intervene on his behalf. His creditors, too, became impatient; among them was Sir Richard Weston, whose supporters were arraigned by Shirley’s father in the Star Chamber for breaking into his house at Blackfriars in July 1600 and threatening him and his son, from whom they demanded payment.2
• The climax of his career as a privateer was reached when, after sailing with two ships late in 1602 to the Mediterranean and being entertained by the Duke of Tuscany in Florence, he attacked the Turkish-held island of Zea in the Cyclades in January 1603. He was captured and taken prisoner to Constantinople, where he remained until being ransomed in December 1605. He wrote an unpublished ‘Discourse of the Turks’. His return to England by way of Naples, whence he sent intelligence to Cecil, took him a year, and was followed by proceedings of the Levant Company against him for infringement of trading rights. In September 1607 he was imprisoned in the Tower on this charge. Four years later, he was declared insolvent in the King’s bench, and the death of his bankrupt father in October 1612 increased his problems. His second marriage may have been to relieve his debts, but it also brought him more children. In or about 1624, he sold his house at Wiston, now in poor repair, and retired to the Isle of Wight where he died some six years later. He was succeeded in his estates by his son Thomas, a Royalist, who was last but one of his line; another son, Henry, a dramatist, had predeceased him.
• Shirley’s representation of Steyning, close to Wiston, in four Parliaments, was natural. Only in 1601 when his father required a borough seat, and Robert Bowyer II, secretary to Lord Buckhurst, had the other, did Shirley seek election elsewhere. He secured it at Bramber, nearby, but on being returned for Hastings, presumably through the influence of the lord warden of the Cinque Ports, Lord Cobham, who may have made the seat available to Lord Buckhurst, he chose the Cinque Port. As his father was also a member of all Shirley’s Elizabethan Parliaments it is possible, but unlikely, that some of the committees attributed to the father could have belonged to the son. As MP for Hastings in 1601, Shirley could have attended committees concerned with the business of the House (3 Nov.) and the Severn harbour project (21 Nov.).3
• From: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/sh... _______________________________
• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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.
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• 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
• Ralph Shirley of Westneston (Wiston) - continued above
• Visitation shows this Ralph as married also to Elizabeth, dau of Thomas Blount, with a note (apparently provided The Harleian's Society's editor) saying that she was "added, but in a like hand". On the basis that this looks like a repetition of his mother (whose marriage to his father is mentioned in BP1934) we ignore this.
• m. Jane Belingham (dau of Thomas Belingham of Lemyster)
  • 1. Sir Richard Shirley of Westneston or Wiston (d 1543-4)
  • m1. Ann Shelley (dau of John Shelley of Michelgrove)
    • A. William Shirley of Westneston or Wiston
    • m. Mary Isley (dau of Thomas Isley or Issley of Kent)
      • i. Sir Thomas Shirley of Westneston or Wiston (a 1585)
      • A web site gives Sir Thomas's dates as 1542-10.1612 and reports that he also married a Frances Vernon (probably of the family of Hodnet) who was mother of Sir Anthony. Visitation reports only one wife ...
      • m. Anne Kempe (dau of Sir Thomas Kempe of Wye by Catherine Chenye)
        • a. Sir Thomas Shirley of Wiston (b 1564, d c1620)
        • m. Frances Vavasor (dau of Sir Thomas Vavasor)
        • Visitation merely names Thomas and his wife. A web site confirms he inherited Wiston, gives his dates, and reports that he was father of ...
          • (1) Henry Shirley (dramatist, younger son)
        • b. Sir Anthony Shirley ## note probable duplication below
        • m. Barbara Walsingham (dau of Sir Thomas Walsingham)
        • c. Robert Shirley
        • d. Mary Shirley
        • m. Sir John Croftes of Suffolk
        • e. Elizabeth Shirley
        • m. Edward Onslow
        • f. Margery Shirley
        • m. Pexsall Brocas
        • g. Jane Shirley
        • m. John Shirley of Isefeild (b 1569, d 1631)
        • h. Anne Shirley (b 23.12.1573)
        • m. (c1590) Sir John Tracy of Toddington, Sheriff of Gloucestershire, 1st Viscount of Rathcoole (d before 14.02.1648)
        • i. Cecily Shirley (bur 31.07.1662)
        • m. (25.11.1596) Thomas West, 3rd Lord De La Warr (b 09.07.1557, d 07.06.1618)
      • ii. Anthony Shirley ## note probable duplication above
      • m. Barbara Walsingham (dau of Sir Thomas Walsingham)
        • a. Thomas Shirley of Preston, Sussex (d 02.1636-7)
        • The folllowing is supported by Visitation (Susse, 1662, Shirley of Preston) with input also from BEB1841 (Shirley of Preston).
        • m1. (13.06.1598) Jane Essex (bur 03.11.1599, dau of Thomas Essex of Lamburne, sister of Sir William)
          • (1) Thomas Shirley of Preston (bpt 31.03.1599, bur 20.05.1654)
          • m. Elizabeth Stapley (dau of Drew Stapley of London)
            • (A) Sir Anthony Shirley, 1st Bart of Preston (b 05.07.1624, bur 22.06.1683)
            • m. Anne Onslow (dau of Sir Richard Onslow of West Clandon)
              • (i) Sir Richard Shirley, 2nd Bart of Preston (b c1654, bur 30.03.1692)
              • m. (13.03.1676-7) Judith Bateman (bur 04.06.1729, dau of Joas Bateman of London, sister of Sir James, m2. Sir Henry Hatsell)
                • (a) Sir Richard Shirley, 3rd Bart of Preston (d unm 1705)
                • (b) Anne Shirley
                • m. Thomas Western of Rivenhall
                • (c)+ other issue - Anthony (dsp?), Judith, Mary
              • (ii) Elizabeth Shirley (bpt 17.11.1651)
              • m. (c03.1676-7) William Boys of Hawkhurst
            • (B)+ other issue - Elisabeth, Mary, Abbigale, Jane, Francis(es?)
        • m2. (1606) Grace Stapley (bpt 06.12.1586) dau of Anthony Stapley of Framfield)
          • (2) Anthony Shirley
        • m3.(02.02.1614-5) Elizabeth Stoner (bur 25.01.1630, dau of John Stoner, widow of Thomas Stephens)
          • (3) Abbigale Shirley
        • b. Judith Shirley
        • m. Sir Henry Mallory
        • c. Elizabeth Shirley
        • m. Sir Samwell Smyth
        • d. Sarah Shirley
        • m. Edward Godman of Etehale
        • e.+ other issue - Anthony (dsp), Richard, Walsingham, Edward, Henry
    • B. Ciseley Shirley
    • m. John Ledys
    • C. Ann Shirley
    • m. Richard Fernwold
    • D. Elizabeth Shirley
    • m. John Mychell of Stammerham
    • E. Alys Shirley
    • m. Thomas Chaunceler of Lyndford
    • F.+ other issue - John, Edward (dsp)
  • m2. Elizabeth Gifford (dau of Sir Richard Gifford)
  • 2. Thomas Shirley of West Grinstead
  • m. Elizabeth Gorges (dau/coheir of Marmaduke Gorges alias Russell of Gloucestershire)
    • A. Francis Shirley of West Grinstead reported by a web site to have been Sheriff of Surrey and Sussex (a 1574)
    • m. _ Blount (dau of Richard Blount)
      • i. Thomas Shirley of West Grinstead (b c1555, a 1577)
      • m. _ Carell
        • a. Scissely Shirley
        • m. Sir George Snelling of West Grinsted or Grinstead
        • b. Barbara Shirley
        • m1. Sir Thomas Thornhurst
        • m2. Anthony St. Leger
    • B.+ other issue - Isabel, Eleanor, Elizabeth, Joan
  • 3. Jane Shirley
  • m1. John Daney (sb Dawtrey) of Petworth
  • m2. Sir Richard Lister (d 14.03.1553)
  • 4. Elizabeth Shirley
  • m. John Lee of Little Worth
  • 5. Beatrix Shirley
  • m. Edward Eldrington of Hogston
  • 6. Isabel Shirley
  • m. John Dawney of Hampton
• 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 ___________________________
• Links
• http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/ke...
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Shirley

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