Nicholas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Heleigh

Nicholas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Heleigh (also Nicholas of Aldithley ) (* before 1258 - † August 28, 1299 ) was an English magnate .

Nicholas Audley came from the English noble Audley family . He was the fourth son of James Audley and his wife Ela Longespée . During the Second War of the Barons , his father, who was on the king's side, had to hold young Nicholas hostage to the government of the barons in August 1264. During this time Nicholas lived in the household of his aunt Alice, who had married Peter de Montfort , one of the leaders of the barons. After his two eldest brothers James and Henry died shortly after his father's death in 1272 without male heirs, his brother William inherited the family estates. However, he fell in the Battle of Menai Strait in November 1282 and also left no surviving descendants. Nicholas then inherited his father's estates, which were mainly in Staffordshire and Shropshire and centered on Heighley Castle . Due to the fees that his brothers each had to pay to the king for the assumption of the inheritance, his inheritance was highly indebted. Since his mother and the widows of his brothers also had the right to a lifelong widow , his inheritance was greatly reduced. In addition, his mother bequeathed the Stratton estate in Oxfordshire , which she had brought into the marriage as a dowry, to her youngest son, Hugh .

Nicholas himself had taken part in King Edward I's campaign against Wales in 1282 and 1283 . In 1296 he took part in the campaigns of the Scottish War of Independence with the Battle of Dunbar and in 1297 in the campaign in Gascony during the Franco-English War . In 1298 he fought again in Scotland at the Battle of Falkirk . In 1297 he was called to Salisbury as Baron Audley of Heleigh to participate in parliament .

He married Catherine Giffard (1272 – after 1322), a daughter of John Giffard, 1st Baron Giffard of Brimpsfield and his wife Maud de Clifford . His wife brought property in South Wales as a dowry into the marriage. He had several children with her, including:

Thomas Audley (1288-1307) ⚭ Eve de Clavering
Nicholas Audley, 2nd Baron Audley of Heleigh (1289-1316)

Since his eldest son was still a minor when he died, the king gave the guardianship to Hugh le Despenser . Audley's widow died after 1322 as a nun in Ledbury Priory in Herefordshire .

Web links

Philip Morgan: Audley, Nicholas, first Lord Audley (c.1258-1299). 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
Cracroft's Peerage: Audley of Heleigh, Baron (E, 1313 - abeyant 1997)
Nicholas of Aldithley on thepeerage.com , accessed April 17, 2016.

Individual evidence

^ Thelma W. Lancaster: The barons Audley of Heley Castle and Hulton Abbey . In: Transactions of the North Staffordshire Field Club, new ser., 19 (1993/1994), p. 17.

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Baron Audley of Heleigh 1297-1299	Nicholas Audley

personal data
SURNAME	Audley, Nicholas, 1st Baron Audley of Heleigh
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Nicholas of Aldithley; Audley of Heleigh, Nicholas Audley, 1st Baron of
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	English magnate
DATE OF BIRTH	before 1258
DATE OF DEATH	August 28, 1299

[1] Thelma W. Lancaster: The barons Audley of Heley Castle and Hulton Abbey . In: Transactions of the North Staffordshire Field Club, new ser., 19 (1993/1994), p. 17.