Adam de Aldithley of Stanlegh ¹

   Another name for Adam was Adam de Audley.

  Research Notes:

From http://cybergata.com/roots/8089.htm :

~Cokayne's Complete Peerage, 2nd Edition, (Stanley), Vol. XIIA, p. 246, Adam de Stanley, of Stanley, in Leek Staffordshire, which he held from Liulf de Audley, and was living during the reign of Stephen.

Background Information.
The Stanleys who succeeded to Hooton are known to be a younger branch of the houseof Audley, descended from Adam de Stanlegh, brother of Lydulph (or Lyulph) de Audley, who assumed the local name of a township in Staffordshire, afterwards granted to his son William.
~Ormerod's History of Cheshire, Vol. II, pg. 411 713

~Cokayne's Complete Peerage says it is possible, but that there is no evidence to support any blood relationship between the the Audley or Stanley families. Most likely the Stanleys were tenants of the Audleys.
~Cokayne's Complete Peerage, 2nd Edition, (Stanley), Vol. XIIA, pp. 244-245 141

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

"Adam de Aldithley played a prominent part in the retinue of Bertram de Verdun and acted as his Deputy when Bertram was Sheriff of Warwickshire and Leicestershire from 1168 to 1183. He succeeded Bertram as Sheriff of these two counties in 1184 and 1185, and acted as his Deputy in Cheshire in 1186. 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 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.

"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.

"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."

Adam de Aldithley was probably given the name Adam Stanleigh posthumously after his son William acquired the Manor of Stanley.

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Excerpted from The House of Stanley from the 12th Century
by Peter Stanley at
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ourpage/history.htm :
Debunks this story:
"Two of Adam de Aldithley's grandsons were said to have married Saxon heiresses. His elder son, Lydulph, had a son, Adam, to whom a Saxon thane gave his only daughter and heir, Mabella, in marriage, and it was thus that he acquired in his wife's right, the Manors of Stanleigh and Balterley in Staffordshire.... Later, Adam, the son of Lydulph, exchanged his Manor of Stanleigh and half the Manor of Balterley, with his cousin, William (the son of his uncle, Adam), for the Manor of Talk on the Hill. William, then being possessed of the Manor of Stanleigh, adopted the surname 'de Stanleigh', and became the ancestor of the Stanleys, while his cousin, Adam de Aldithley, was the ancestor of the Audleys of Heleigh in Staffordshire.

"In fact, however, Lydulph (or Liulf), styled 'de Aldithley', was born circa 1115 - some years after the Conquest. His younger brother Adam was born circa 1125. The Manor of Aldithley (Audley) is not situated in Normandy, but is near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire (as are the Manors of Balterley and Talk on the Hill). These three Manors did not come into the possession of the Audleys until early in the 12th century when they were held by socage, i.e. military service, from the De Verdun family. There is no evidence to support the story that these Manors were acquired through marriage to Saxon heiresses, and the Manor of Stanleigh did not come into the possession of the Audleys until late in the 12th century when it was the gift of their Overlord, Bertram de Verdun, before he left England for the Crusades in 1190."

  Birth Notes:

Source:
The House of Stanley from the 12th Century
by Peter Stanley at
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ourpage/history.htm :
"In fact, however, Lydulph (or Liulf), styled 'de Aldithley', was born circa 1115 - some years after the Conquest. His younger brother Adam was born circa 1125. The Manor of Aldithley (Audley) is not situated in Normandy, but is near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire (as are the Manors of Balterley and Talk on the Hill). These three Manors did not come into the possession of the Audleys until early in the 12th century when they were held by socage, i.e. military service, from the De Verdun family. There is no evidence to support the story that these Manors were acquired through marriage to Saxon heiresses, and the Manor of Stanleigh did not come into the possession of the Audleys until late in the 12th century when it was the gift of their Overlord, Bertram de Verdun, before he left England for the Crusades in 1190."

Glenda Turcks http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=DESC&db=nanatea&id=I33919 gives b. abt 1125, d. abt 1200

  Death Notes:

Glenda Turcks http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=DESC&db=nanatea&id=I33919 gives d. abt 1200.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Deputy of Bertram de Verdun: as Sheriff of Warwickshire and Leicestershire, 1168-1183.

• Sheriff: of Warwickshire and Leicestershire, 1184-1185.

• Deputy of Bertram de Verdun: as Sheriff of Cheshire, 1186.

• Manor of Stanleigh: in Staffordshire granted by Bertram de Verdun, 1190. as a mark of his special favour.
Source:
The House of Stanley from the 12th Century
by Peter Stanley at
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~ourpage/history.htm :

• Exchanged Manor of Stanleigh: and half of Manor of Balterley with cousin William, Abt 1192. for William's Manor of Talk on the Hill (which adjoined Aldithley).

Adam married Mabella?.