Ferrers (noble family)

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The Ferrers family was an Anglo-Norman noble family that belonged to the leading noble families in England from the 11th to the 15th centuries .

Coat of arms of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby

The Earls of Derby

The family was started by Henry de Ferrers , who came to England during the Norman Conquest . As an important vassal of William the Conqueror , Ferrers was able to acquire extensive possessions, especially in Derbyshire and Leicestershire . His son Robert was King Stephen of Blois to Earl collected. Although Robert de Ferrers , the second earl, lost the favor of King Henry II as a follower of Stephen , his successors rose to become the richest landowners in England through inheritances in the 13th century. In addition to other lands, a compact area in northern Staffordshire , southern Derbyshire and western Nottinghamshire with the center of Tutbury Castle formed the family's holdings. During the Second War of the Barons , Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby, made enemies of the royal family as a rebel. He was expropriated after the king's victory in 1266 and lost his title. At his death in 1279 he was only able to hand over small goods to his son John de Ferrers .

Barons Ferrers of Chartley

John de Ferrers , the son of the last Earl of Derby, inherited only the estate of Chartley in Staffordshire from his father and possessions in Nottinghamshire from his maternal grandmother. From 1299 he took over as Baron Ferrers of Chartley to the parliaments in part, but his attempts to recover the possessions of his ancestors failed. The direct line of the family died out in 1450 with the death of William Ferrers, 7th Baron Ferrers of Chartley . His heiress was his daughter Anne Ferrers , who had been married to the knight Walter Devereux before 1446 . As one of the most important supporters of Edward IV, he was elevated to Baron Ferrers of Chartley in 1462 in his own right.

Coat of arms of the Barons Ferrers of Chartley

Baron Ferrers of Wemme

Robert de Ferrers , a younger son of Robert de Ferrers, 3rd Baron Ferrers of Chartley , was raised to Baron Ferrers of Wemme in 1375 . When his son of the same name Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Baron Ferrers of Wemme died in 1396 without male descendants, this line became extinct again, the title Baron Ferrers of Wemme fell between his daughters and their descendants in Abeyance .

Baron Ferrers of Groby

Coat of arms of William Ferrers, Lord of Groby (around 1240–1287)

William Ferrers (around 1240–1287), a younger son of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby , inherited several estates in Essex , Lancashire and other parts of England. His eldest son and heir, William Ferrers , was appointed to Parliament in 1299 and has held the title of Baron Ferrers of Groby ever since . The family was able to expand the property over the next few decades, but as the only one of the Barons Ferrers of Groby, the 2nd baron was of legal age when his father died. The early deaths of the heads of families and costly minority administrations prevented the family from further advancing. When William Ferrers, 5th Baron Ferrers of Groby, died in 1445 , his eldest son had already died. His daughter Elizabeth inherited most of the estates and the title of Baron Ferrers of Groby. She had married Edward Gray , so the title fell to a branch of the Gray family.

Ferrers of Tamworth

Thomas Ferrers , a younger son of William Ferrers, 5th Baron Ferrers of Groby, acquired Tamworth Castle in Warwickshire by marriage in 1423 . His descendants belonged to the gentry of Staffordshire. Sir John Ferrers was the first member of the family to represent Staffordshire in the House of Commons as Knight of the Shire in 1478 . As a result, several other members of the family were elected as MPs. Tamworth Castle remained the main seat of the family and the family held the inheritance of Tamworth's steward until 1578 . Sir Humphrey Ferrers then moved to Walton-on-Trent in Derbyshire at the end of the 16th century . With John Ferrers , the family died out in 1680 in the direct male line.

Master list (extract)

  1. Vauquelin de Ferrières († around 1040)
    1. Henry de Ferrers († between 1093 and 1100)
      1. Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby † (1139)
        1. Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Derby († 1159)
          1. William de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby († 1190)
            1. William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby (around 1162-1247)
              1. William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby (around 1200–1254)
                1. Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby (c. 1239–1279), title forfeited 1266
                  1. John de Ferrers, 1st Baron Ferrers of Chartley (1271-1312)
                    1. John de Ferrers, 2nd Baron Ferrers of Chartley († 1324)
                    2. Robert de Ferrers, 3rd Baron Ferrers of Chartley (1309-1350)
                      1. John de Ferrers, 4th Baron Ferrers of Chartley (1331-1367)
                        1. Robert Ferrers, 5th Baron Ferrers of Chartley (1357 or 1359-1413)
                          1. Edmund Ferrers, 6th Baron Ferrers of Chartley (around 1386-1435)
                            1. William Ferrers, 7th Baron Ferrers of Chartley (1412-1450)
                              1. Anne Ferrers (1438–1469) ∞ Walter Devereux, 1st Baron Ferrers of Chartley
                      2. Robert de Ferrers, 1st Baron Ferrers of Wemme (around 1341-1380 or 1381)
                        1. Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Baron Ferrers of Wemme (around 1376-1395 or 1396)
                2. William Ferrers (around 1240–1287)
                  1. William Ferrers, 1st Baron Ferrers of Groby (1272-1325)
                    1. Henry Ferrers, 2nd Baron Ferrers of Groby (around 1303-1343)
                      1. William Ferrers, 3rd Baron Ferrers of Groby (1333-1371)
                        1. Henry Ferrers, 4th Baron Ferrers of Groby (1356-1388)
                          1. William Ferrers, 5th Baron Ferrers of Groby (1372–1445)
                            1. Henry Ferrers († 1425)
                              1. Elizabeth Ferrers, 6th Baroness Ferrers of Groby (around 1419–1483) ∞ Edward Gray († 1457)
                            2. Thomas Ferrers († 1459), Lord of Tamworth
                              1. Thomas Ferrers , Lord of Tamworth († 1498), descendants of Ferrers of Tamworth
                              2. Henry Ferrers , Lord of Hambleton, (1440-1499)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cracroft's Peerage: Derby, Earl of (E, c. 1138 - forfeited 1266). Retrieved August 4, 2016 .
  2. ^ Ferrers of Chartley, Baron (E, 1299 - abeyant 1855). Retrieved August 4, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Cracroft's Peerage: Ferrers of Wemme, Baron (E, 1375 - abeyant 1410). Retrieved August 4, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Eric Acheson: Ferrers family (per. C.1240-1445). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004
  5. ↑ History of Parliament online: FERRERS, Sir John (1565/6 or 1569 / 70-1633), of Walton-on-Trent, Derbys. and Tamworth Castle, Warws. Retrieved August 4, 2016 .
  6. ↑ History of Parliament online: FERRERS, John (1629-80), of Walton-on-Trent, Derbys. and Tamworth Castle, Staffs. Retrieved August 4, 2016 .