William Ferrers, 3rd Baron Ferrers of Groby

William Ferrers, 3rd Baron Ferrers of Groby (also William de Ferrers or William Ferrers III ) (born February 28, 1333 in Newbold Verdon , Leicestershire , † January 8, 1371 in Stebbing , Essex ) was an English nobleman.

Origin and youth

William Ferrers came from the old Anglo-Norman Ferrers family . He was the eldest son of Henry Ferrers, 2nd Baron Ferrers of Groby and his wife Isabel de Verdon . His father was a courtier in the service of King Edward III. , however, died in September 1343. William became his father's heir at the age of ten. However, since he was still a minor, his possessions, which were mainly in the Midlands and Ireland, were placed under the administration of Queen Philippa and the heir to the throne Edward . William contrast, was up to his majority only an annual pension of £ 50. The Black Death in 1349 his possessions were hit hard. At his estate, Hethe, in Oxfordshire , twenty-one of the 27 residents died and at Bradford , Shropshire , more than half of the residents died. Presumably William's mother also died of the plague. As a result, numerous agricultural areas were left untilled.

Reconstruction of his goods and services in the Hundred Years War

When Ferrers was declared of legal age in 1354 and took over the management of his estates, he had to reorganize their management in order to overcome the consequences of the plague. Presumably, therefore, he exchanged possessions in Shropshire for possessions in Buckinghamshire in 1358 with Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March . In 1364 he sold most of his Irish holdings. After the death of his grandmother Elizabeth de Clare in 1360, he inherited four estates in the Midlands from her. As Baron Ferrers of Groby , he was called to Parliament several times . During the Hundred Years War he served in France from 1355 and took part in the Battle of Poitiers in 1356 . Under Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster , he took part in his campaign in France from 1359 to 1360. In 1369 he served again in France.

Family and offspring

In his first marriage, Ferrers married Margaret Ufford († before 1368), a sister of William de Ufford, 2nd Earl of Suffolk . With her he had a son and two daughters:

• Henry Ferrers, 4th Baron Ferrers of Groby (1356-1388)
• Ann de Ferrers
• Margaret de Ferrers († 1407) ⚭ Thomas de Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick

In his second marriage, before May 25, 1368, he married Margaret († 1375), the widow of Sir Robert de Umfraville and a daughter of Henry Percy, 2nd Baron Percy . This marriage remained childless.

In his will of June 1, 1368, he had wished to be buried in Ulverscroft Priory . His heir became his eldest son, Henry.

Web links

• Eric Acheson: William Ferrers [iii], third Lord Ferrers (1333-1371). 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
• Sir William Ferrers, 3rd Lord Ferrers (of Groby) on thepeerage.com , accessed June 7, 2016.
• Cracroft's Peerage Ferrers of Groby, Baron (E, 1299 - forfeited 1554)

predecessor	Office	successor
Henry Percy	Baron Ferrers of Groby 1343-1371	Henry Ferrers