William Dacre, 5th Baron Dacre

William Dacre, 5th Baron Dacre (1357–20 July 1398)[1] was an English nobleman and soldier. He was born in 1357, son of Hugh Dacre, 4th Baron Dacre and his wife Ela Maxwell, daughter of Alexander Maxwell of Caerlaverock. He succeeded his father as Baron Dacre upon the latter's death in 1383.

Biography

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Dacre,_5th_Baron_Dacre

Dacre's military career began in 1382 in Scotland, where he was knighted while serving under the banner of Richard le Scrope.[2] He was part of Richard II's invading army during the 1385 punitive expedition into Scotland.

Dacre was called to give a deposition in the celebrated case of Scrope v Grosvenor.[2] He testified in favor of Scrope, and against Sir Robert Grosvenor.

Dacre married Joan Douglas, said to be an illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Douglas.[a][3] Their son, Thomas succeeded to the barony upon William Dacre's death in 1398.

Family

William Dacre, 5th Baron Dacre is said to have married Joan Douglas, illegitimate daughter of James Douglas, 2d Earl Douglas of Scotland. However the evidence is not clear. He did marry a “Mary” who was his widow:

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Douglas-405

Note (i) cites a writ assigning Mary, widow of William de Dacre (knight, deceased), her dower. The text dates it 3 October 1399 (he died 20 July 1399) Most social histories of that time period will tell you that such a writ was usually issued within 90 days or so of the death of the husband, as this was. But it identifies his widow as Mary. We have no evidentiary reason to suppose or speculate that Mary was also called Joan or that she was a Douglas.

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Conflicting references

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Dacre-13

There is some uncertainty about his marriage. Previous versions of this profile mentioned his marriage to Joan Douglas in about 1392, but his son Thomas was born in 1387. The various possibilities are discussed on Joan's Profile, but one possibility is that the marriage was organised as part of a settlement to end a long standing feud between the Douglases and the Dacres, and took place around 1385.

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https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/family/LZX8-HMF

“There is no proof that she was the daughter of William Douglas--illegitimate or otherwise.”

http://www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk/online/content/dacre1321.htm

William [de Dacre], 5th Baron Dacre

• born c. 1357
• mar. Joan Douglas, illegit. dau. of James [Douglas], 1st Earl of Douglas
  • children
    • 1. Thomas de Dacre, later 6th Baron Dacre
    • 1. Joan de Dacre (b. 1374; d. 1456), mar. c 1397 Thomas Musgrave, of Hartley Castle (b. 1378; d. 3 Jan 1447), and had issue
• died 20 Jul 1399 (bur. in Lanercost Priory)
• suc. by son

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http://www.thepeerage.com/p1743.htm#i17421

William de Dacre, 5th Lord Dacre was born circa 1357.1 He was the son of Hugh de Dacre, 4th Lord Dacre and Elizabeth Maxwell.1 He married Mary (?)2 He died on 20 July 1399.1.

He succeeded as the 5th Lord Dacre [E., 1321] on 24 December 1383.1

Child of William de Dacre, 5th Lord Dacre

• Joan de Dacre+3 b. 1374, d. 1456

http://www.thepeerage.com/p1743.htm#i17422

Mary (?) married William de Dacre, 5th Lord Dacre, son of Hugh de Dacre, 4th Lord Dacre and Elizabeth Maxwell.1 She was also known as Joan Douglas.2

Child of William de Dacre, 5th Lord Dacre and Mary (?)

• Thomas Dacre, 6th Lord Dacre+1 b. 27 Oct 1387, d. 15 Jan 1457/58

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Notes

Randolf, who died in 1339, was succeeded in turn by three of his sons. First there was William, who having fought at the battle of Neville's Cross in 1346 and served as sheriff of Dumfries in 1467, died without issue on the 18th July 1361. Second there was Randolf who having served as Warden of the West Marches on a number of occasions was murdered in his bed at Halston on the 17th or 18th August 1375. Finally there was Hugh, prime suspect in his brother's murder, on which charge he was held in the Tower of London. Despite the widely held belief that Hugh was indeed responsible for his brother's death, he was released from the Tower on the 2nd July 1376 and allowed to enter into possession of the Dacre estates. He died on the 24th December 1383 and was succeeded by his son William the 5th Baron, who is said to have married a Joan Douglas, daughter of James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas, although many doubt this. The 5th Baron died on the 20th July 1399 and was succeeded by his son Thomas, born 27th October 1387 at Naworth Castle.

The division of the Dacre Barony

http://gen.cookancestry.com/getperson.php?personID=I17557&tree=1

Thomas de Dacre, the 6th of his line, married Philippa Neville one of the many offspring of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland who bore him two sons Thomas and Randolf. However when 6th Baron died on the 5th January 1458, his eldest son Thomas had predeceased him some years previously leaving only a daughter named Joan. Thus whilst the 6th Baron's nearest heir male was his second son Randolf, his heir general was his grand-daughter Joan. The 6th Baron had anticipated these events by entailing the majority of his estates in favour of his surviving son Randolf, who thus inherited Irthington, the caput of his barony, and much else besides and in 1459 a writ of summons was despatched to Randolf as a matter of course to attend the House of Lords as the Baron Dacre.

However Joan had married a Richard Fiennes or Fenys, the eldest son of Roger Fiennes of Herstmonceaux, and on the 7th November 1458 this Richard Fiennes was issued a patent confirming his position as "Lord Dacre and one of the barons of our realm", and thus Richard Fiennes also received a writ of summons to attend the parliament of 1459 as the Baron Dacre. Richard's father Roger Fiennes was a veteran of the battle of Agincourt and former member of parliament for Sussex who was sufficiently wealthy to spend £3,800 transforming his manor house at Herstmonceaux into "one of the splendours of fifteenth century architecture". What was more to the point was that the Fiennes were amongst the leading supporters of Margaret of Anjou and the Duke of Somerset who were keen to build up their party in their struggle with Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York. (cf War of the Roses).

Although by this time in the fifteenth century, the idea that baronies could be inherited was well established, the precise rules governing their inheritance had yet to be decided. The fact that it was felt necessary to issue a patent to Fiennes, and that Randolph de Dacre was issued a summons notwithstanding said patent probably indicates that the expectation was that the title would pass to the heir male. It was probably the intention that the Fiennes patent should supersede and overrule this expectation, but that nevertheless a writ was issued to Randolph (perhaps by some clueless clerk) that frustrated that intention. Thus we have "the curious result that a single peerage in effect become two".

As it happens Randolph de Dacre was as keen a Lancastrian as his rival and he fought and died at the battle of Towton on 29th March 1461 and was subsequently attainted at the Yorkist parliament of 1461, thus bringing his claim on the title to an abrupt end. This however was not the end of the story as Randolph's younger brother and heir, Humphrey (who was also attainted in 1461) succeeded in obtaining a pardon from Edward IV in 1468. On the 8th February 1473 he petitioned parliament for a reversal of the attainder, proclaiming that "the seid Humfrey is as repentaunt and sorowful as eny creature may be of all which the seid Randolf or he have doon or comitted." His petition was duly granted, but there remained the question of what to do about the problem of having two Lords Dacre.

On the 8th April 1473 Edward IV issued his determination that Richard Fiennes should, by the right of his wife, "be reputed, held, named and called the Lord Dacre" and to "keep, have and use the same seat and place in every one of our parliaments as Thomas Dacre, knight, late Lord Dacre, had, used and kept". The king also decreed that "Humphrey Dacre and the heirs male of the body of Thomas Lord Dacre coming, be reputed, had and named and called Lord Dacre of Gilsland and have, use and keep the place in parliaments next adjoining beneath the said place that the said Richard Fenys, knight, Lord Dacre, now hath and occupieth". It might well be argued that Edward whose claim to the English throne was based on the descent from the heir-general, was predisposed to favour the merits of the Fiennes case, but his decision at least had the virtue of satisfying the various parties concerned.

As it happens the technical distinction between the 'Baron Dacre' and the 'Baron Dacre of Gisland' that Edward established was largely ignored by everybody who continued to refer to the holders of the Fiennes version of the title as the Barons Dacre of the South and the holders of the Dacre version as the Barons Dacre of the North.

From https://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p1122.htm...

• Sir William de Dacre, 5th Lord Dacre of Gilsland1,2,3,4
• Last Edited 4 Apr 2020
• M, #33679, b. 1357, d. before 1388
• Father Hugh de Dacre, 4th Lord Dacre b. c 1335, d. 24 Dec 1383
• Mother Elizabeth Maxwell d. b 1 Jan 1370

Sir William de Dacre, 5th Lord Dacre of Gilsland married Mary. Sir William de Dacre, 5th Lord Dacre of Gilsland was born in 1357 at of Gillesland, Cumberland, England. He married Joan de Douglas, daughter of Sir William Douglas, 1st Earl Douglas & Mar, circa 1386.3,4 Sir William de Dacre, 5th Lord Dacre of Gilsland died before 1388.5

Family 1

• Mary d. a 3 Oct 1399

Family 2

• Joan de Douglas b. c 1365

Children

1. Joan Dacre+ d. a 1456
2. Sir Thomas Dacre, 6th Baron Dacre of Gillesland+3 b. 27 Oct 1387, d. 5 Jan 1458

Citations

1. [S10478] Unknown author, The Complete Peerage, by Cokayne, Vol. IV, p. 6; Plantagenet Ancestry of 17th Century Colonists, by David Faris, p. 76.
2. [S5] Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry, p. 250-251.
3. [S4] Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry, Vol. II, p. 372.
4. [S4] Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry, Vol. III, p. 150.
5. [S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. III, p. 543.

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From http://www.thepeerage.com/p1743.htm#i17421

• William de Dacre, 5th Lord Dacre1
• M, #17421, b. circa 1357, d. 20 July 1399
• Last Edited=29 Dec 2009

William de Dacre, 5th Lord Dacre was born circa 1357.1 He was the son of Hugh de Dacre, 4th Lord Dacre and Elizabeth Maxwell.1 He married Mary (?).2 He died on 20 July 1399.1 William de Dacre, 5th Lord Dacre succeeded to the title of 5th Lord Dacre [E., 1321] on 24 December 1383.1

Child of William de Dacre, 5th Lord Dacre

• Joan de Dacre+3 b. 1374, d. 1456

Child of William de Dacre, 5th Lord Dacre and Mary (?)

• Thomas Dacre, 6th Lord Dacre+1 b. 27 Oct 1387, d. 15 Jan 1457/58

Citations

• [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 1013. Hereinafter cited as Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 107th edition.
• [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 IV, page 6. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
• [S4053] Christopher Davis, "re: Barton Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger LUNDY (101053), 30 October 2009. Hereinafter cited as "re: Barton Family."

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References

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Dacre,_5th_Baron_Dacre cites
  • 1. Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and ..., Volume 3. edited by George Edward Cokayne. Page 2. < GoogleBooks >; < Archive.Org>
  • Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage. Page 939. < GoogleBooks >
• Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, 2nd Edition ... page 612. < GoogleBooks > Joan, allegedly an illegitimate daughter of William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, mother of Thomas Dacre, Knt., born 27 Oct. 1387.