Earl of Derby is a title in the
Peerage of England. The title was first
adopted by
Robert
de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby under a creation of 1139. It
continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his
property toward the end of the reign of Henry III and died in 1279.
Most of the Ferrers property and, by a creation in 1337, the Derby
title, were then held by the family of Henry III. The title became
extinct upon
Henry IV's
accession to the throne. It was created again for the Stanley
family in 1485.
Lord Derby's subsidiary titles are
Baron Stanley,
of Bickerstaffe in the
County
Palatine of Lancaster (created 1832), and
Baron Stanley
of Preston, in the County Palatine of Lancaster (1886).
The 1st to 5th Earls also held an earlier
Barony of Stanley, created for the 1st Earl's
father in 1456 and currently abeyant; the 2nd to 5th Earls held the
Barony of Strange created in 1299,
currently held by the
Viscounts St
Davids; and the 7th to 9th Earls held another Barony of
Strange, created in error in 1628 and currently held independently
of other peerages.
The
courtesy title of the Heir
Apparent is
Lord Stanley.
Several successive generations of the Stanley Earls, along with
other members of the family, have been prominent members of the
Conservative Party, and at
least one historian has suggested that this family rivals the
Cecils as the single most
important family in the party's history. They were at times one of
the richest landowning families in England.
The famous
Stanley Cup, the championship
trophy of the
National Hockey
League of North American
ice hockey,
was presented to the Dominion of Canada by Frederick Stanley, 16th
Earl of Derby, — a member of the Stanley family — in 1892. Lord
Stanley was Governor General of Canada from 1888 to 1893.
The family
seat is Knowsley
Hall
, in Merseyside.
The Ferrers Creation
"Ferrer" is
Norman French and means
"to bind with iron" or " to shoe a horse" (cf.
farrier). Ferrières in
Normandy, the hometown of the de Ferrers family,
was an important centre for ironwork. The Ferrers coat of arms
shows six black
horseshoes on a silver
background.
They were descended from Henry de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Ferrières,
Lord of Longueville, Normandy, and a Domesday Commissioner; he built Tutbury Castle
and Duffield Castle
and had large holdings in Derbyshire as well as 17
other counties. The Ferrers, lords of the barony of
Ferrieres in Normandy, were accompanied to England by three other
families who were their underlords in France: the Curzons (Notre
Dame-de-Courson), the Baskervilles (Boscherville) and the
Levetts (Livet-en-Ouche).
Robert de Ferrers,
1st Earl of Derby, 2nd Earl of Ferrières (1062–1139) was
created Earl of Derby by King Stephen in 1138 for his valiant
conduct at the Battle of Northallerton. He was married to Hawise de
Vitre and died in 1139.
His son
Robert de
Ferrers (?–bef.1160) became the next earl and was married to
Margaret Peverel.
He founded Darley Abbey
and Merivale
Abbey.
His son
William de
Ferrers (?–1190) was married to Sybil de Braose.
He rebelled against
King Henry II and was imprisoned
at Caen
, Normandy. He died
in the
Crusades at the
Siege of Acre.
He was succeeded by his son
William de Ferrers
(?–1247) who married Agnes de Kevelioc (also known as Agnes of
Chester), daughter of
Hugh de Kevelioc, 3rd Earl
of Chester.
He was succeeded by his son
William de Ferrers
(?–1254) who married Sibyl Marshall and then Margaret De Quincy
with whom he had his son and heir
Robert de Ferrers
(1239–1279), who became the next Earl.
He
rebelled against King Henry III
and was arrested and imprisoned first in the Tower of London
, then in Windsor Castle
and Wallingford Castle
, and his lands and earldom were forfeited,
including Tutbury Castle which still belongs to the Duchy of Lancaster. Through one
line the descent of the Earls of Derby eventually gave rise to the
Earls Ferrers.
Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl
Ferrers, was the only
peer of the
realm to be
hanged for murder. Another
familial line takes in the
Baron Ferrers of Chartley
descent.
Creation of Edward III
The large estates which were taken from Robert in 1266 were given
by Henry III to his son,
Edmund
Crouchback; and his son,
Thomas, Earl of Lancaster also
called himself Earl Ferrers. In 1337 Edmund’s grandson,
Henry of Grosmont (c. 1299–1361),
afterwards
Duke of Lancaster, was
created Earl of Derby, and this title was taken by Edward III's
son,
John of Gaunt, who had married
Henry’s daughter, Blanche. John of Gaunt’s son and successor was
Henry Bolingbroke, who acceded
to the throne as Henry IV in 1399. The title Earl of Derby fell
into disuse.
The Stanley Creation
The Stanley family was descended from Ligulf of Aldithley, who was
also the ancestor of the Audleys (see
Audley-Stanley family).
One of his descendants
married an heiress whose marriage portion included Stoneley, Derbyshire
- hence the name Stanley. Sir Thomas Stanley served
as Lord Lieutenant of
Ireland and represented Lancashire in the
House of
Commons
. In 1456 he was summoned to the House of Lords
as Lord Stanley. His eldest
son
Thomas Stanley,
2nd Baron Stanley, married
Lady Margaret Beaufort, the mother of
King
Henry VII, and also
Eleanor Nevill.
The title of Earl of Derby
was conferred on him in 1485 by his stepson Henry VII after the
Battle of
Bosworth Field
where Thomas decided not to support King Richard III.
His
eldest son and heir apparent George Stanley, Lord Stanley (commonly called Lord Strange),
married Joan Strange, 9th Baroness Strange and 5th Baroness Mohun,
and was summoned to the House of Lords as Lord Strange in right of his wife.Lord
Derby was succeeded by his grandson
Thomas, the eldest son of
Lord Strange. He had already succeeded his mother as tenth Baron
Strange and sixth Baron Mohun. He married Anne Hastings, daughter
of Lord Hungerford and Hastings. The second Earl's son
Edward became the 3rd
Earl. He notably served as
Lord High
Steward at the coronation of
Queen
Mary in 1553 and was
Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire and
Lancashire.
Lord Derby was married four times. His second wife Dorothy Howard,
daughter of
Thomas
Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, supplied his heir
Henry, the fourth Earl.
He served
as Ambassador to France
and was one
of the peers at the trial of Mary,
Queen of Scots, in 1586. Lord Derby married Margaret
Clifford, daughter of
Henry Clifford, 2nd Earl
of Cumberland, and his wife Eleanor, younger daughter of
Charles Brandon, Duke
of Suffolk, and his wife
Mary Tudor, daughter of
King Henry VII. Both Lord Derby's sons succeeded to the earldom.
The eldest son
Ferdinando, the fifth
Earl, was summoned to the House of Lords through a
writ of acceleration in his father's
junior title of Baron Strange in 1589.
He also built
Leasowe
Castle
, probably as an observation platform for watching
horse races on the nearby sands. Lord Derby married Alice
Spencer, but was without male issue. He died under mysterious
circumstances and some have claimed that he was poisoned in order
to prevent him from staking a claim to the throne of England
through his maternal grandmother. On his death the baronies of
Stanley, Strange and Mohun fell into
abeyance between his three daughters.
He was succeeded in the earldom by his younger brother
William, the sixth Earl.
He was
Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire and Cheshire and purchased from his
nieces their claims on the Isle of Man
. William married Elizabeth de Vere daughter of
Edward de Vere, 17th
Earl of Oxford. Their son
James succeeded to the
earldom on his father's death. In 1628, during his father's
lifetime, he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of
acceleration as Lord Strange, as it was believed that his father
held this title. When it was discovered that this was a mistake,
the House of Lords decided that there were two baronies of Strange,
the original 1299 creation and the new, 1628 creation. James was a
staunch Royalist.
In 1643 he moved to the Isle of Man and established it as a Royalist stronghold.
He was beheaded by the Parliament forces.
His wife was Charlotte de la
Trémouille, daughter of Claude de la Trémoille, Duc de
Thouars, is known as the heroine who defended Lathom House
in 1644 and the Isle of Man in 1651.
Their son
Charles
became the 8th Earl. He served as Lord Lieutenant of both Cheshire
and Lancashire. Lord Derby married Dorothea Helena Kirkhoven,
daughter of Baron Rupa of the Netherlands. They had two sons who
both succeeded to the earldom. The 8th Earl's eldest son
William
Richard George became the 9th Earl. He was also Lord Lieutenant
of Cheshire and Lancashire. He married Elizabeth Butler, daughter
of
Thomas Butler, Earl of
Ossory, and sister of
James Butler, 2nd Duke of
Ormonde. He had two daughters and one son. He outlived his son
and on his death in 1702 the barony of Strange fell into abeyance
between his daughters. He was succeeded in the earldom by his
younger brother,
James, the tenth Earl. He
was a politician and served as
Chancellor of the Duchy of
Lancaster and as
Captain of the Yeomen of the
Guard. Like many of his predecessors he was also Lord
Lieutenant of Cheshire and Lancashire. In 1732 he succeeded his
great-niece as 6th Baron Strange. Lord Derby was childless and on
his death in 1736 the male line of the second Earl died out. He was
succeeded in the barony of Strange, which could be passed on
through female lines, by his first cousin once removed,
James Murray, 2nd Duke of
Atholl.
The earldom was inherited by his distant relative
Sir Edward Stanley, 5th
Baronet, of Bickerstaffe, a descendant of a younger brother of
the second Earl, who became the 11th Earl of Derby (see below for
earlier history of the Baronetcy). He had previously represented
Lancashire and Parliament and after he succeeded in the earldom he
served as Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire. Lord Derby married
Elizabeth Hesketh.
His residence was Bickerstaffe Hall near Ormskirk
, Lancashire
. The 11th Earl's younger brother was the
Hon. and Rev.
John Stanley, Rector of Bury
Parish
Church 1743–1778. Edward's eldest son, James, Lord Stanley,
was commonly called Lord Strange. Edward outlived James (who died
in 1771) and was succeeded by James' son
Edward, the 12th
Earl. He held political office as Chancellor of the Duchy of
Lancaster and also founded the
Epsom
Derby horse-race. Lord Derby married
Lady Elizabeth Hamilton, daughter of
James Hamilton, 6th Duke of
Hamilton. His second marriage was to a Drury Lane actress,
Elizabeth Farren.
The 12th Earl's first marriage produced his heir
Edward, the thirteenth
Earl. He represented
Preston and Lancashire
in the House of Commons and in 1832, two years before he succeeded
his father, he was raised to the peerage in his own right as
Baron Stanley, of Bickerstaffe in the County
Palatine of Lancaster.
Lord Derby was also a natural historian and
his zoological collections founded Liverpool Museum
. He was also a patron of the arts,
especially of the poet
Edward Lear who
wrote
The Owl and the Pussycat for the Earl's children. He
was married to Charlotte Hornby. In 1844, he had a church built on
the Knowsley Estate, St. Mary the Virgin, where several Stanleys
found their final resting place.
His son,
Edward, succeeded
him to become the 14th Earl. He is the most famous of the Earls of
Derby. Known as a great parliamentary orator, he sat as
Member of Parliament for
Stockbridge, a seat
bought by his father,
Windsor and
Lancashire
North. In 1844 he was summoned to the House of Lords through a
writ of acceleration in his father's junior title of Baron Stanley.
Although at first a
Whig, he
later became a
Tory and served three times
Prime Minister of
the United Kingdom. Lord Derby was married to Emma Wilbraham
daughter of
Edward
Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Baron Skelmersdale. They had a daughter
and two sons, both of whom succeeded to the earldom. The eldest son
Edward
Henry, was a prominent politician and served under his father
as
Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and
Foreign Secretary. He became Foreign
Secretary again under
Benjamin
Disraeli. In 1880 he joined the
Liberal Party and was Colonial Secretary
under
William Gladstone between
1882 and 1885.
His younger brother and successor,
Frederick Arthur
Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, was a
Conservative politician and held
office as
Secretary of State
for War, as Colonial Secretary and as
President of the Board of
Trade. In 1886, seven years before succeeding his brother, he
was raised to the peerage in his own right as
Baron Stanley
of Preston, in the County Palatine of Lancaster. He was
also
Governor-General of
Canada between 1888 and 1893. In 1892, he purchased and donated
the
Stanley Cup, to be awarded to the
"championship hockey club of the Dominion of Canada" each year.
Lord Derby was married to Lady Constance Villiers, daughter of
George
William Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon.
He was succeeded by his son
Edward,
the seventeenth Earl. Like many of his ancestors he was a
politician and notably served as
Secretary of State for War. He
was also
Ambassador to
France. Lord Derby married Alice Montagu daughter of
William Drogo
Montagu, 7th Duke of Manchester. A pair of Memorial Gates were
erected in 1958 on Knowsley Lane on the Knowsley Estate in his
memory. His two sons,
Edward Stanley, Lord Stanley,
and the Hon.
Oliver Stanley both
became Conservative politicians and served together in the same
cabinet in 1938. Lord Derby outlived his eldest son and was
succeeded by his grandson
Edward, the eldest
son of Lord Stanley, who became the 18th Earl.
He was Lord
Lieutenant of Lancashire and also established Knowsley
Safari Park
in 1971. He married to Isabel Miles-Lade,
but died childless. He was succeeded by his nephew
Edward
Richard William Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby, the (as of 2007)
present holder of the titles. He is the son of Hugh Henry Montagu
Stanley, younger brother of the 18th Earl.
The
Stanley Baronetcy, of Bickerstaffe in the
County Palatine of Lancaster, was created in the
Baronetage of England in 1627 for
Edward Stanley. He was the great-grandson of the
Hon.
Sir
James Stanley, of Cross Hall, Lathom
, younger
brother of the second Earl of Derby. This branch of the
family is known as the "Stanleys of Bickerstaffe". Sir Edward
Stanley's great-grandson, the fourth Baronet, represented Preston
in Parliament. His son, the aforementioned fifth Baronet, succeeded
as eleventh Earl of Derby in 1736. For further history of the
baronetcy, see above.
James Stanley, son of the
first Earl became
Bishop of Ely in
1506.
He
sent a small army into the Battle of Flodden Field
, commanded by his alleged son, Sir John Stanley who
later entered the monastery of Westminster
Abbey
.
Edward Stanley, a
descendant of Peter Stanley, younger son of the second Baronet, sat
as Member of Parliament for
Somerset West and
Bridgwater.
The Earl
of Derby owns Knowsley
Hall and Greenhalgh Castle
; they were the Lords of
Mann, i.e. the Isle of
Man.
Several Earls of Derby are buried in St. Mary's Church, Knowsley.
Others
are buried in the Derby Chapel at Ormskirk Parish Church.
The
Barons Stanley of
Alderley are members of another branch of the Stanley family.
They are descended from the Hon. Sir John Stanley, third son of the
first Baron Stanley. Also, Edward Stanley, 1st Baron Monteagle, was
the younger son of the first Earl of Derby.
Earls of Derby, first Creation (1138)
Earls of Derby, second Creation (1337)
Barons Stanley (1456)
Earls of Derby, third Creation (1485)
- Thomas Stanley,
1st Earl of Derby (c. 1435–1504)
- Thomas Stanley,
2nd Earl of Derby (1477–1521)
- Edward Stanley,
3rd Earl of Derby (c. 1508–1572)
- Henry Stanley, 4th
Earl of Derby (1531–1593)
- Ferdinando
Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby (1559–1594)
- William Stanley,
6th Earl of Derby (bef. 1584–1642)
- James Stanley, 7th
Earl of Derby (1607–1651)
- Charles Stanley,
8th Earl of Derby (1628–1672)
- William Richard
George Stanley, 9th Earl of Derby (1655–1702)
- James Stanley,
10th Earl of Derby (1664–1736)
- Edward Stanley,
11th Earl of Derby (1689–1776) of the Stanley Baronets, of
Bickerstaffe (1627)
- Edward
Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby (1752–1834)
- Edward
Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby (1775–1851)
- Edward
Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (1799–1869)
- Edward Henry
Stanley, 15th Earl of Derby (1826–1893)
- Frederick
Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby (1841–1908)
- Edward George
Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby (1865–1948)
- Edward John
Stanley, 18th Earl of Derby (1918–1994)
- Edward Richard
William Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby (b. 1962)
The
Heir Apparent is the present
holder's son Edward John Robin Stanley, Lord Stanley (b.
1998)
Stanley Baronets, of Bickerstaffe (1627)
For further Baronets, see above
See also
References
- Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's
Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's
Press, 1990.
- www.thepeerage.com
External links
Further reading
http://www.knowsley.com/?p=71
- Coward, Barry. The Stanleys, Lords Stanley, and Earls of
Derby, 1385–1672: The Origins, Wealth, and Power of a Landowning
Family. (Remains Historical and Literary Connected with the
Palatine Counties of Lancaster and Chester, 3d series, vol. 30)
Manchester University Press (for the Chetham Society), 1983.
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