Descendants of Lydulph (Liulf) de Aldithley Generation No. 1 1. LYDULPH (LIULF)1 DE ALDITHLEY was born Bef. 1066 in Aldithley, Normandy, and died Aft. 1130 in Staffordshire, England. Notes for LYDULPH (LIULF) DE ALDITHLEY: Was the first member of the Audley family to appear in official records. He was the freehold tenant of the Manors of Aldithley and Balterley in Staffordshire. Children of LYDULPH (LIULF) DE ALDITHLEY are: 2. i. LYDULPH FITZ LIULF2 DE ALDITHLEY, b. 1115. 3. ii. ADAM DE STANLEIGH, b. 1125, Staffordshire, England; d. 1200, Staffordshire, England. iii. RALF FITZ LIULF DE ALDITHLEY. Generation No. 2 2. LYDULPH FITZ LIULF2 DE ALDITHLEY (LYDULPH (LIULF)1) was born 1115. Children of LYDULPH FITZ LIULF DE ALDITHLEY are: 4. i. ADAM3 DE ALDITHLEY, b. 1135, Staffordshire, England; d. 1211, Staffordshire, England. ii. LIULF DE ALDITHLEY. iii. ROGER DE ALDITHLEY. iv. MARGERY DE ALDITHLEY. 3. ADAM2 DE STANLEIGH (LYDULPH (LIULF)1 DE ALDITHLEY) was born 1125 in Staffordshire, England, and died 1200 in Staffordshire, England. Notes for ADAM DE STANLEIGH: Adam de Stanleigh was born circa 1125, and was the brother (or brother in law) of Lydulph de Aldithley, who was born circa 1115. They were both thanes (the early equivalent to knights) and they held the freehold tenancies of their respective estates in Staffordshire from the Norman De Verdun family by socage, i.e. military service, which required them to defend their Overlord and his possessions. Lydulph held Aldithley and Balterley, whereas Adam held Talk on the Hill. It is unlikely that either held a surname during their actual lifetime. Surnames were introduced into England by the Normans, but they were still rare at the time of the Great Survey in 1086, when only the more important barons used them. These surnames were generally derived from their Normandy estates. The minor barons and knightly families began adopting surnames during the 12th century and these were generally derived from their new English estates. 1 Children of ADAM DE STANLEIGH are: 5. i. WILLIAM3 DE STANLEIGH, b. 1170, Staffordshire, England; d. 1236, Staffordshire, England. ii. ADAM DE STANLEIGH, b. 1171. iii. THOMAS DE STANLEIGH, b. 1172. iv. RICHARD DE STANLEIGH, b. 1173. Generation No. 3 4. ADAM3 DE ALDITHLEY (LYDULPH FITZ LIULF2, LYDULPH (LIULF)1) was born 1135 in Staffordshire, England, and died 1211 in Staffordshire, England. He married EMMA. Notes for ADAM DE ALDITHLEY: He appears to have been the first member of his family to have used the surname 'de Aldithley' in official documents, when in 1155 and again in 1160 he witnessed Charters of his Overlord, Bertram de Verdun. His two brothers, Liulf and Roger, still continued to sign themselves as 'Liulf fitz Liulf' and 'Roger fitz Liulf' respectively, when they witnessed Charters in 1160-1202. In 1184 and 1185, Adam de Aldithley succeeded Bertram de Verdun as Sheriff of Warwickshire and Leiscestershire. When Bertram de Verdun departed for the Crusades in 1190 with Richard I, as special evidence of his favor, granted the Manor of Stanleigh to Adam de Aldithley. During the latter part of his life, Adam decided to rearrange his estates by granting to his cousin, William (the son of his uncle, Adam de Stanleigh), all the Manor of Stanleigh and half of the Manor of Balterley in exchange for his cousin's tenancy of the Manor on Talk of the Hill. Thus it was that the two separate lines began, with the Audleys at Aldithley and the Stanleys at Stanleigh. Children of ADAM DE ALDITHLEY and EMMA are: i. ADAM4 DE ALDITHLEY. ii. HENRY DE ALDITHLEY. iii. WILLIAM DE ALDITHLEY. iv. LUCAS DE ALDITHLEY. v. ISABEL DE ALDITHLEY. 5. WILLIAM3 DE STANLEIGH (ADAM2, LYDULPH (LIULF)1 DE ALDITHLEY) was born 1170 in Staffordshire, England, and died 1236 in Staffordshire, England. Notes for WILLIAM DE STANLEIGH: The eldest son, succeeded to his father's Manor of Talk on the Hill, and to the manor of Bagnall, near Leek, which had been passed to his father by Adam de Aldithley. (Talk on the Hill was one of three manors held by Gamel, a Saxon Thane at the time of the Domesday Book of 1086.) After the death of his father, his cousin, Adam de Aldithley, wished to rearrange his estates by exchanging his Manor of Stanleigh (which was near William's Manor of Bagnall), and half of the Manor of Balterley, for William's Manor on Talk on the Hill, (which adjoined Adam's Manor of Aldithley). The Manors concerned were all held from the De Verduns, and their exchange had to 2 have the Overlord's consent. Since Stanleigh was an additional tenancy held by special favor, Adam de Aldithley proposed that if that Manor could not be warranted, he an his heirs would give as much in value to William and his heirs. Stanleigh would be held by William from Adam de Aldithley for a yearly rent of 12 pence. A Charter was arranged and the Manor of Stanleigh passed to William. He now being in possession, he adopted the surname "de Stanleigh" and thus became the ancestor of the House of Stanley. He used the surname when he witnessed the Charter in 1203 as "William de Stanle". Adam de Aldithley and William de Stanleigh were the first members of their respective families to use surnames in official documents. It is highly unlikely that their respective fathers, Lydulph de Aldithley and Adam de Stanleigh, possessed surnames during their actual lifetimes. Children of WILLIAM DE STANLEIGH are: 6. i. WALTER4 DE STANLEIGH, b. 1215, Staffordshire, England; d. 1285, Staffordshire, England. ii. JOHN DE STANLEIGH, b. 1220, Staffordshire, England; d. 1288, Cheshire, England. Notes for JOHN DE STANLEIGH: He took Holy Orders and rose to the distinction of Magister. Nothing is known of his early clerical career, but between 1265 and 1267, he was presented to the important and valuable living of Astbury in Cheshire, by the Abbot of Chester. He was said to have been a special friend of Simon, the Abbot of St. Werburgh, and he occurs frequently in the Abbey Records until his death in 1288. It was John who conducted the marriage of his nephew William to Joan de Bamville in 1282 at Astbury Church. Generation No. 4 6. WALTER4 DE STANLEIGH (WILLIAM3, ADAM2, LYDULPH (LIULF)1 DE ALDITHLEY) was born 1215 in Staffordshire, England, and died 1285 in Staffordshire, England. Notes for WALTER DE STANLEIGH: Succeeded to his fathers estates. He first appeared in official records in 1256. In 1270 he is shown as the tenant of the Manor of Stanleigh, paying a rent of 12 pence per year to the Audleys. Children of WALTER DE STANLEIGH are: 7. i. WILLIAM5 DE STANLEIGH, b. 1250, Staffordshire, England; d. 1324, Staffordshire, England. ii. BENEDICT DE STANLEIGH, b. 1255. Generation No. 5 7. WILLIAM5 DE STANLEIGH (WALTER4, WILLIAM3, ADAM2, LYDULPH (LIULF)1 DE ALDITHLEY) was born 1250 in Staffordshire, England, and died 1324 in Staffordshire, England. He married JOAN DE BAMVILLE. Notes for WILLIAM DE STANLEIGH: The marriage of William to Joan has become one of Cheshire's legends. The story relates that Sir Phillip and his wife Lettice, 3 were being entertained at a banquet given at Stourton in Cheshire. A marriage had been arranged for Joan (who was her father's heir) with the son of his wife (who was Joan's stepmother). She had no liking for that marriage, and while the festivities were at their height, she slipped out of the Hall to where William de Stanleigh was waiting with saddled horses. Together they galloped to Astbury where they were wed in the Church by William's uncle, John de Stanleigh, William saying: "Joan, I plight thee my troth to take and hold thee as my lawful wife until my life's end," and she replying, "I, Joan, take thee William, as my lawful husband." In 1284, on the death of his wife's father, William de Stanleigh acquired the hereditary office of Master Forester of Wirral together with the Manor of Stourton and the bailiwick of Wirral. In 1306 and 1307, he is mentioned as Hereditary Forester of Wirral. In the year 1316, by grant of Edward II, he assumed the Armorial Bearings, viz. 'Arg, on a bend asure, three Stags Head, cabossed, Or', in place of those previously borne by his ancestors. These arms are carried by his descendants to this day. Children of WILLIAM DE STANLEIGH and JOAN DE BAMVILLE are: 8. i. JOHN6 DE STANLEIGH, b. 1285, Staffordshire, England; d. 1346, Staffordshire, England. ii. ADAM DE STANLEIGH, b. 1286, Staffordshire, England; d. 1349, Stourton, England. iii. THOMAS DE STANLEIGH, d. 1346. iv. SARAH DE STANLEIGH. Generation No. 6 8. JOHN6 DE STANLEIGH (WILLIAM5, WALTER4, WILLIAM3, ADAM2, LYDULPH (LIULF)1 DE ALDITHLEY) was born 1285 in Staffordshire, England, and died 1346 in Staffordshire, England. He married EMMA (? LATHOM) 1310. Notes for JOHN DE STANLEIGH: Succeeded to his father's estate in 1324. He served in the French Wars with distinction, and was the favorite of Edward III. In 1310, John's father had granted him the Manor of Stanleigh and Over Elkston in Staffordshire as part of a marriage settlement. Children of JOHN DE STANLEIGH and EMMA LATHOM) are: 9. i. WILLIAM7 DE STANLEIGH, b. 1311, Staffordshire, England; d. 1360, Staffordshire, England. ii. JOHN DE STANLEIGH, b. 1312. Notes for JOHN DE STANLEIGH: Ancestor to the Stanleys of Dalegarth and Ponsby Hall. Generation No. 7 4 9. WILLIAM7 DE STANLEIGH (JOHN6, WILLIAM5, WALTER4, WILLIAM3, ADAM2, LYDULPH (LIULF)1 DE ALDITHLEY) was born 1311 in Staffordshire, England, and died 1360 in Staffordshire, England. He married CECILY CONGLETON.