William [I] de Stanleigh

   Other names for William were William Audley and William [I] de Stanley.

  Research Notes:

www.familysearch.org (AFN: 8XKQ-61)


Excerpted from The House of Stanley from the 12th Century
by Peter Stanley at
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ourpage/history.htm :

"In 1190 Bertram de Verdun accompanied King Richard I to the Crusades in the Holy Land. Before leaving England, he granted to Adam de Aldithley the additional Manor of Stanleigh in Staffordshire, as a mark of his special favour. Bertram did not return to England, dying in Juppa in 1192. He was succeeded to his estates in England by his son, Nicholas de Verdun. Some time later, Adam de Aldithley took the opportunity to rearrange his estates by exchanging his new Manor of Stanleigh, and half of the Manor of Balterley, with his cousin William, the son of his uncle, Adam (later styled 'de Stanleigh') for William's Manor of Talk [Thalk] on the Hill (which adjoined Aldithley). His cousin, William, being possessed of the Manor of Stanleigh then adopted the surname of 'de Stanleigh', being the first member of the family appearing in records using a surname when he witnessed a Charter in 1203, and again in 1217 and 1223 as 'William de Stanle'. Thus William was the first Ancestor of the Stanley family.

"In 1230, William de Stanleigh, together with his Kinsman, Henry de Aldithley (the son of Adam de Aldithley), accompanied their Overlord, Nicholas de Verdun when he attended Henry III in his invasion of Brittany. Thereafter, many of William's descendants distinguished themselves as soldiers, playing a prominent part in the various French, Irish and Scottish Wars."

"Both Aldithley and Stanleigh were Saxon place names - the former meaning a meadow belonging to And (a Saxon female name), and the latter meaning a meadow or clearing which was craggy or stony. Because of this, Sir Anthony Wagner, Garter King of Arms, suggested in his book English Ancestry, that the Audleys and Stanleys were probably of Saxon stock. Mr L. G. Pine, former editor of Burke's Peerage, held a similar view. Surnames, however, first appeared in Europe in the 11th century and were not introduced into England until the arrival of the Normans. They were still rare at the time of the Conquest and only the more important barons possessed them at the time of the Great Survey in 1086. These surnames were generally derived from their estates in Normandy. It was not until the 12th century that the minor barons and knights adopted surnames and it is therefore unlikely that the early Aldithleys or Stanleys possessed a surname during their actual lifetime. These were probably added later by their descendants as a means of identification of an ancestor...

"The Manor of Stanleigh (Stanley) is situated about five miles from Leek in Staffordshire. At the time of the Great Survey in 1086, it was part of the larger Manor of Endor (which later became part of the De Verdun estates). It did not come into the possession of the De Aldithley family until late in the 12th century, when it was gift to Adam de Aldithley from his Overlord, Bertram de Verdun before the latter left with Richard 1 for the Crusades in 1190. ...

  Birth Notes:

Glenda Turcks http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=DESC&db=nanatea&id=I33919 gives b. abt 1170, d. abt 1236, as does stanleyroots.co.uk. Another source has b. 1166.

  Death Notes:

Glenda Turcks http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=DESC&db=nanatea&id=I33919 gives d. abt 1236.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Manor or Stanleigh: granted to Adam de Aldithley by Bertram de Verdun, 1190. Gift of their overlord, Bertram de Verdun, before he left England for the Crusades in 1190.

• Manor of Stanleigh: exchanged for William's Manor of Talk [Thalk] on the Hill, After 1192. by William's cousin Adam de Aldithley. Half of the Manor of Balterley also granted to William.

• Witnessed a charter: as William de Stanleigh, 1203.

• Witnessed a charter: as William de Stanle', 1217.

• Witnessed a charter: as William de Stanle', 1223.

• Participated: in Invasion of Brittany, 1230.

• Attended Henry III: in his invasion of Brittany, 1230, Brittany. Excerpted from The House of Stanley from the 12th Century
by Peter Stanley at
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ourpage/history.htm :
"In 1230, William de Stanleigh, together with his Kinsman, Henry de Aldithley (the son of Adam de Aldithley), accompanied their Overlord, Nicholas de Verdun when he attended Henry III in his invasion of Brittany. Thereafter, many of William's descendants distinguished themselves as soldiers, playing a prominent part in the various French, Irish and Scottish Wars."

William married.