Anne of Gloucester, Countess of Stafford (30 April 1383 – 16 October 1438) was the eldest daughter and eventually sole heiress of
Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester
Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (7 January 13558 or 9 September 1397) was the fifth surviving son and youngest child of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault.
Early life
Thomas was born on 7 January 1355 at Woodsto ...
(the fifth surviving son and youngest child of King
Edward III), by his wife
Eleanor de Bohun
Eleanor de Bohun ( – 3 October 1399) was the elder daughter and co-heiress (with her sister, Mary de Bohun), of Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford (1341–1373) and Joan Fitzalan, a daughter of Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel a ...
, one of the two daughters and co-heiresses of
Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex (1341–1373) of
Pleshy Castle in Essex.
Family
Anne was born on 30 April 1383 and was baptised at
Pleshey
Pleshey is a historic village and civil parish in the Chelmsford district, in the county of Essex, England, north-west of Chelmsford. The Normans built a motte and bailey in the late 11th century; the motte is one of the largest of its kind in ...
,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
, sometime before 6 May. Her uncle,
John of Gaunt (third son of King Edward III), ordered several payments to be made in regards to the event.
Her father was the youngest son of
Edward III of England
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...
and
Philippa of Hainault
Philippa of Hainault (sometimes spelled Hainaut; Middle French: ''Philippe de Hainaut''; 24 June 1310 (or 1315) – 15 August 1369) was Queen of England as the wife and political adviser of King Edward III. She acted as regent in 1346,Stricklan ...
. Her mother was Eleanor de Bohun, the daughter of
Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford
Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex, 2nd Earl of Northampton, KG (March 25, 1342–January 16, 1373) was the son of William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton, and Elizabeth de Badlesmere, and grandson of Humphrey de Bohun, ...
, and
Joan Fitzalan
Joan FitzAlan, Countess of Hereford, Countess of Essex and Countess of Northampton (1347 – 7 April 1419) was the wife of the 7th Earl of Hereford, 6th Earl of Essex and 2nd Earl of Northampton. She was the mother of Mary de Bohun, the first w ...
. Her mother was also a great-great-granddaughter of
Edward I.
Sole heiress and Countess of Buckingham
At the death of her brother
Humphrey, 2nd Earl of Buckingham
Humphrey, 2nd Earl of Buckingham (1381 – September 2, 1399) was an English peer and member of the House of Lords.
He was Lord High Constable of England. His father, Thomas of Woodstock, was the youngest son of King Edward III and 1st cousin ...
, in 1399, Anne was the co-heiress together with her two sisters Joan and Isabel, to his estates and titles. Anne became the sole heiress of the family's estate and titles in
1400
Year 1400 (Roman numerals, MCD) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The year 1400 was not a leap year in the Proleptic Gregorian calendar.
Events
January–December
* Henry ...
, as one of her sisters, Joan, having died on 16 August 1400, and the other, Isabel, having become a
nun
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
.
She was subsequently recognized (and thereafter succeeded) as ''
suo jure
''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...
'' Countess of Buckingham, Hereford and Northampton as well as succeeding to the titles of Lady of Brecknock and Holderness.
Anne did, however, not use these titles, and instead styled herself as Countess of Stafford.
On Anne's death, in 1438, the title of Buckingham (as well as her other titles) passed to her son
Humphrey Stafford, Earl of Stafford
Humphrey Stafford ( – 22 May 1458), generally known by his courtesy title of Earl of Stafford, was the eldest son of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Lady Anne Neville (d. 1480).
Biography
His maternal grandparents were Ralph ...
, who in 1444 was created Duke of Buckingham. This title remained in the Stafford family until the
attainder
In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...
and
execution
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...
of
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, in 1521.
Marriage with Thomas Stafford, 3rd Earl of Stafford
Anne married three times. Her first marriage was to
Thomas Stafford, 3rd Earl of Stafford
Thomas Stafford, 3rd Earl of Stafford (c. 1368–4 July 1392) was the second son—but the senior surviving heir—of Hugh Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford and Philippa de Beauchamp, daughter of Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick. His elder br ...
(1368 – 4 July 1392), and took place around 1390. The couple had no children. After her husband's death, Anne married his younger brother Edmund.
Issue of Anne and Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford
On 28 June 1398, Anne married
Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford
Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford and 1st Baron Audley, KG, KB (2 March 1377 – 21 July 1403) was the son of Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford, and his wife Philippa de Beauchamp.
He inherited the earldom at the age of 18, the third ...
(2 March 1378 – 21 July 1403). They had three children together:
*
Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham
Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 6th Earl of Stafford, 7th Baron Stafford, (December 1402 – 10 July 1460) of Stafford Castle in Staffordshire, was an English nobleman and a military commander in the Hundred Years' War and t ...
, who married his second cousin,
Anne
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
, daughter of
Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland
Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland Earl Marshal (c. 136421 October 1425), was an English nobleman of the House of Neville.
Origins
Ralph Neville was born about 1364, the son of John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville by his wife Maud Percy (d. ...
, and
Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland
Joan Beaufort ( – 13 November 1440) was the youngest of the four legitimised children and only daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (third surviving son of King Edward III), by his mistress, later wife, Katherine Swynford. S ...
. Joan was a daughter of
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...
, and his third wife
Katherine Swynford.
*Anne Stafford,
Countess of March, who married
Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March
Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, 7th Earl of Ulster (6 November 139118 January 1425), was an English nobleman and a potential claimant to the throne of England. A great-great-grandson of King Edward III of England, he was heir presumptive to ...
. Edmund was a great-grandson of
Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence
Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, (; 29 November 133817 October 1368) was the third son, but the second son to survive infancy, of the English king Edward III and Philippa of Hainault. He was named after his birthplace, at Antwerp in the Duc ...
.
Edmund
Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector".
Persons named Edmund include:
People Kings and ...
and Anne had no children. She married secondly
John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter
John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter, 2nd Earl of Huntingdon, (29 March 1395 – 5 August 1447) was an English nobleman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War. His father, the 1st Duke of Exeter, was a maternal half-brother to Ri ...
(d. 1447), and had one son,
Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter
Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter, 3rd Earl of Huntington (27 June 1430 – September 1475) was a Lancastrian leader during the English Wars of the Roses. He was the only son of John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter, and his first wife, Anne Staff ...
(d. 1475), and a daughter Anne, who married
John Neville, 1st Baron Neville de Raby.
*Philippa Stafford, died young
Issue of Anne and William Bourchier, Count of Eu
In about 1405, Anne married
William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu
William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu (137428 May 1420), was an English knight created by King Henry V 1st Count of Eu, in Normandy.
Origins
He was born in 1374, the son of Sir William Bourchier (d.1375), (the younger son of Robert Bourchier, 1st ...
(d. 1420), son of Sir William Bourchier and Eleanor of Louvain, by whom she had the following children:
*
Henry Bourchier,
Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...
. He married
Isabel of Cambridge, daughter of
Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge
Richard of Conisbrough, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (20 July 1385 – 5 August 1415) was the second son of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, and Isabella of Castile, Duchess of York. He was beheaded for his part in the Southampton Plot, a conspiracy ...
, and
Anne de Mortimer
Anne de Mortimer, also known as Anne Mortimer (27 December 1388 – 22 September 1411), was a medieval English noblewoman who became an ancestor to the royal House of York, one of the parties in the fifteenth-century dynastic Wars of the Roses. ...
. Isabel was also an older sister of
Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York.
*Eleanor Bourchier,
Duchess of Norfolk
Duchess of Norfolk is a title held by the wife of the Duke of Norfolk in the Peerage of England. The Duke of Norfolk is the premier duke in the peerage of England, and also, as Earl of Arundel, the premier earl. The first creation was in 1397.
Du ...
, married
John Mowbray, 3rd Duke of Norfolk
*
William Bourchier, 9th Baron FitzWarin
William Bourchier (1407–1470) '' jure uxoris'' 9th Baron FitzWarin, was an English nobleman. He was summoned to Parliament in 1448 as Baron FitzWarin in right of his wife Thomasine Hankford.
He was the second son of William Bourchier, 1st Co ...
*
Cardinal Thomas Bourchier
Thomas Bourchier (140430 March 1486) was a medieval English cardinal, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Lord Chancellor of England.
Origins
Bourchier was a younger son of William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu (died 1420) by his wife Anne of Glouce ...
*
John Bourchier,
Baron Berners
Baron Berners is a barony created by writ in the Peerage of England.
From creation to first abeyance (1455–1693)
The barony was created in 1455 for Sir John Bourchier, youngest son of William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu, and younger brothe ...
. John was the grandfather of
John, Lord Berners, the translator of
Froissart
Jean Froissart ( Old and Middle French: '' Jehan'', – ) (also John Froissart) was a French-speaking medieval author and court historian from the Low Countries who wrote several works, including ''Chronicles'' and ''Meliador'', a long Arthuria ...
Anne died on 16 October 1438 and was buried in
Llanthony Secunda Priory
Llanthony Secunda Priory was a house of Augustinian canons in the parish of Hempsted, Gloucestershire, England, situated about 1/2 a mile south-west of Gloucester Castle in the City of Gloucester. It was founded in 1136 by Miles de Gloucester, 1st ...
,
Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
.
[ Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, 2nd Edition, p.35]
The de Bohun family were patrons of Llanthony Secunda Priory, near Gloucester Castle, founded by their ancestor Miles of Gloucester
Miles FitzWalter of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford (died 24 December 1143) (''alias'' Miles of GloucesterSanders, I.J. English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086-1327, Oxford, 1960, p.7) was a great magnate based in the west of ...
in 1136 as a secondary house to Llanthony Priory
Llanthony Priory ( cy, Priordy Llanddewi Nant Hodni) is a partly ruined former Augustinian priory in the secluded Vale of Ewyas, a steep-sided once-glaciated valley within the Black Mountains area of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Mo ...
in Monmouthshire.
Ancestry
Footnotes
References
*
External links
The Plantagenet FamilyRoyal Ancestors of Lady Shirley
The Stafford Family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stafford, Anne, Countess Of
1383 births
1438 deaths
Anne of Gloucester
Daughters of English dukes
English countesses
Anne of Gloucester
Anne of Gloucester
15th-century English women
15th-century English people
14th-century English women
14th-century English people