
James Stanley, 7th
Earl of Derby
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 en ...
(31 January 160715 October 1651) was an English nobleman, politician, and supporter of the
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
cause in the
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
. Before inheriting the title in 1642 he was known as Lord Strange. He was
feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
Lord of the
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
("Lord of Man"), where he was known as "Yn Stanlagh Mooar" ("the Great Stanley").
Origins

He was born at
Knowsley Hall
Knowsley Hall is a stately home near Liverpool in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. It is the ancestral home of the Stanley family, the Earls of Derby. The hall is surrounded by of parkland, which contains the Knowsley S ...
, near
Lathom House, on 31 January 1607, the eldest son of
William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby (1561–1642),
KG, by his wife
Elizabeth de Vere, a daughter of
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford
Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (; 12 April 155024 June 1604), was an English peerage, peer and courtier of the Elizabethan era. Oxford was heir to the second oldest earldom in the kingdom, a court favourite for a time, a sought-after ...
. Through his paternal grandmother, he was a great-great-grandson of
Mary Tudor, Queen of France
Mary Tudor ( ; 18 March 1496 – 25 June 1533) was an English princess who was briefly Queen of France as the third wife of King Louis XII. Louis was more than 30 years her senior. Mary was the fifth child of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth ...
and
Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, thereby making him a direct descendant of
Henry VII.
Early life
After travelling abroad he was elected as a
Member of Parliament for
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in 1625. On 2 February 1626 he was created a
Knight of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
on the coronation of King
Charles I. 1626 he served jointly with his father as
Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire. The Lord Lieutenant is the King's personal representative in each county of the United Kingdom. Historically the Lord Lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's ...
,
Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire and Chamberlain of the City of
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
. He assisted in the administration of the
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
and in 1627 was appointed
Lord of Mann
The Lord of Mann () is the lord proprietor and head of state of the Isle of Man, currently King Charles III. Before 1504, the title was King of Mann.
Relationship with the Crown
Since 1399, the King of Mann, kings and lords of Mann were ...
, a position first awarded in 1405 by King
Henry IV to his ancestor
John Stanley (–1414),
KG. Subsequently, he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of
North Wales
North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...
.
Created Baron Strange

The ancient title
Baron Strange of Knockyn, created in 1299, as it had been created by writ, was capable of being inherited by females. It had become abeyant in 1594 following the death leaving no sons of
Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby, 13th Baron Strange (1559–1594), who however left three daughters and co-heiresses legally capable of inheriting that ancient title, whereupon it became abeyant between all three. They were not, however, as females, legally capable of inheriting the earldom, which went to his younger brother
William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby (1561–1642). By modern reckoning, the abeyance of the barony of Strange of Knockyn was not terminated until 1921.
However, in 1594 the status of this barony was not apparent to the family nor to the authorities in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
, and all parties assumed that the 6th Earl had also become 14th Baron Strange of Knockyn. On 7 March 1628 his son and heir apparent, James Stanley (later 7th Earl of Derby), was summoned to the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
through a
writ of acceleration
A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, is a type of writ of summons that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with more than one peerage to attend the British or Irish House of Lords, using one of his fathe ...
as ''Lord Strange'', the supposed subsidiary title of his father. When it was discovered that his father's assumption of the barony was erroneous, it was deemed that there were two baronies of Strange, one created in 1299 then in abeyance, and another created "accidentally" in 1628.
Civil War

He took no part in the political disputes between King and Parliament and preferred country pursuits and the care of his estates to the royal court or public life. Nevertheless, when the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
broke out in 1642, Lord Strange devoted himself to the king's cause. With the death of his father on 29 September 1642 he succeeded as 7th Earl of Derby.
His plan of securing Lancashire at the beginning and raising troops there, which promised success, was however discouraged by Charles, said to be jealous of his power and royal lineage, who commanded his presence at Nottingham.
His subsequent attempts to recover the county were unsuccessful. He was unable to get possession of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, was defeated at the battles of Chowbent and at Lowton Moor, and, in 1643, after gaining
Preston he failed to take
Bolton
Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...
and
Lancaster Castle. Finally, after successfully beating off the attack by
Sir William Brereton on
Warrington
Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...
, he was defeated at the
Battle of Whalley and withdrew to
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
, whereupon Warrington surrendered to the Parliamentarian forces.
In June 1643 he left for the
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
to attend to affairs there. In the summer of 1644, he took part in
Prince Rupert's successful campaign in the north. The
Siege of Lathom House was relieved (the defence of which had been led by his wife
Charlotte de la Tremoille), and the town of Bolton was taken with much bloodshed, in what became known as the
Bolton Massacre
The Storming of Bolton, sometimes referred to as the "Bolton massacre", was an event in the First English Civil War which happened on 28 May 1644. The strongly Parliamentarian town was stormed and captured by Royalist forces under Prince Ru ...
.
He followed Rupert to the
Battle of Marston Moor
The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639–1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters unde ...
, and after the complete defeat of Charles's cause in the North, withdrew to the
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
, where he held out for the king and offered asylum to royalist fugitives. His administration of the Isle imitated that of
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (13 April 1593 (New Style, N.S.)12 May 1641), was an English people, English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament of England, Parliament ...
in Ireland. It was strong rather than just. He maintained order, encouraged trade, remedied some abuses, and defended the people from the exactions of the church; but he crushed opposition by imprisoning his antagonists, and aroused a prolonged agitation by abolishing the
tenant-right
Tenant-right is a term in the common law system expressing the right to compensation which a tenant has, either by custom or by law, against his landlord for increment at the termination of his tenancy.
In England, it was governed for most part b ...
and introducing leaseholds.

In July 1649, following the
execution of Charles I
Charles_I_of_England, Charles I, King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, was executed on Tuesday, 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House on Whitehall, London. The execution was ...
, he refused with scorn the terms offered him by
Henry Ireton
Henry Ireton (baptised 3 November 1611; died 26 November 1651) was an English general in the Parliamentarian army during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, and a son-in-law of Oliver Cromwell. He died of disease outside Limerick in November 165 ...
. On 12 January 1650, he was made a
Knight of the Garter
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...
by the late king's exiled son the future Charles II. He was chosen by the future
Charles II to command the troops of Lancashire and Cheshire, and on 15 August 1651, he landed at
Wyre Water in Lancashire in support of
Charles II's invasion, and met Charles on 17 August 1651. He proceeded to Warrington but failed to obtain the support of the Presbyterians due to his refusal to take the
Covenant, and on 25 August was totally defeated at the
Battle of Wigan Lane, being severely wounded and escaping with difficulty.
Capture, execution and burial
He was with Charles at the
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...
, after which on 3 September 1651 he accompanied him to
Boscobel House. While on his way north alone he was captured near
Nantwich
Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture ...
and was tried by court-martial at
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
on 29 September and was found guilty of
treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...
under the terms of the
Act of Parliament passed in the preceding month (which declared those who corresponded with Charles II guilty of treason), and he was condemned to death. His appeal to Parliament for pardon, although supported by
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
, was rejected. He endeavoured to escape but was recaptured by Captain Hector Schofield. He was taken to
Bolton
Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...
for his execution because of his part in the
Bolton massacre
The Storming of Bolton, sometimes referred to as the "Bolton massacre", was an event in the First English Civil War which happened on 28 May 1644. The strongly Parliamentarian town was stormed and captured by Royalist forces under Prince Ru ...
.
He was beheaded on 15 October 1651 at the
market cross
A market cross, or in Scots, a mercat cross, is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron.
History
Market crosses ...
in Churchgate, Bolton, near the
Man and Scythe Inn, owned at the time by the Earl of Derby's family. Today the market cross bears an inscribed tablet commemorating the execution. In the Inn survives a chair inscribed "15 October 1651: In this chair James, 7th Earl of Derby sat at the Man and Scythe Inn, Churchgate, Bolton, immediately prior to his execution".
He was buried in the ''Derby Chapel'', built in about 1572 in accordance with the will of the 3rd Earl of Derby, in the
Church of St Peter and St Paul, Ormskirk
The Church of St Peter and St Paul is in the market town of Ormskirk, Lancashire, England. Dating from no later than the 12th century, it is one of only three churches in England to have both a tower and spire, and the only one to have them both ...
.
Marriage and children
On 26 June 1626 he married
Charlotte de La Trémoille (1599–1664), a daughter of
Claude de La Trémoille, duc de Thouars by his wife
Countess Charlotte Brabantina of Nassau. Her maternal grandparents were
William I, Prince of Orange
William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...
(1533–1584), founder of the
House of Orange-Nassau
The House of Orange-Nassau (, ), also known as the House of Orange because of the prestige of the princely title of Orange, also referred to as the Fourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held the Principality of Or ...
and ancestor of the
monarchy of the Netherlands
The monarchy of the Netherlands is governed by the country's charter and constitution, roughly a third of which explains the mechanics of succession, accession, and abdication; the roles and duties of the monarch; the formalities of communica ...
, whose wife was
Charlotte de Bourbon, a daughter of
Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier. Lady Strange was naturalised by Act of Parliament in 1629.
They had six sons and four daughters, three of whom died young and two of whom died unmarried:
Sons
*
Charles Stanley, 8th Earl of Derby, 2nd Baron Strange (1628–1672), eldest son and heir, who had two sons:
**
William Stanley, 9th Earl of Derby, 3rd Baron Strange (c. 1655–1702), eldest son, who left only female children who inherited the barony of Strange;
**
James Stanley, 10th Earl of Derby, 6th Baron Strange (1664–1736), who having inherited the earldom from his brother and the barony of Strange from his brother's descendant Henrietta Ashburnham, 5th Baroness Strange (d. 1732), died childless, when the barony of Strange passed to
James Murray, 2nd Duke of Atholl, 7th Baron Strange (1690–1764), the grandson of his sister Amelia Stanley, and the earldom of Derby passed to his cousin
Edward Stanley, 11th Earl of Derby (1689–1776), a descendant of
Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby
Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, KG (1435 – 29 July 1504) was an English nobleman. He was the stepfather of King Henry VII of England. He was the eldest son of Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley and Joan Goushill.
A landed magnate of im ...
. The present
Earl of Derby
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 en ...
is his descendant.
*Edward Stanley (7 January 1639October 1664), died unmarried;
*
William Stanley (18 October 164025 October 1670), died unmarried;
*John Stanley (4 November 164110 September 1719), married a commoner Alice Biddle;
*two sons (died young)
Daughters

*Charlotte Stanley (died young)
*Henriette Stanley (17 November 163027 December 1685), who married
William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford, but died childless;
*Amelia Stanley (163322 February 1702/3), who married
John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. She was, in her issue, heiress of her father's
Barony of Strange, which as it was deemed (like that created in 1299) to have been created by writ, was able to pass to females. In 1736 the title passed to her grandson
James Murray, 2nd Duke of Atholl
James Murray, 2nd Duke of Atholl, (28 September 16908 January 1764), styled Marquess of Tullibardine between 1715 and 1746, was the Lord of Mann, a Scottish peer, and Lord Privy Seal.
Life
Atholl was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and was the ...
.
Today the Dukes of Atholl still quarter the arms of Stanley, Strange of Knockyn and the arms of the Lord of Man.
*Catherine Stanley, who married
Henry Pierrepont, 1st Marquess of Dorchester, but died childless
Character
Lord Derby was a man of deep religious feeling and of great nobility of character, who though unsuccessful in battle, served the king's cause with single-minded purpose and without expectation of reward. His political usefulness was handicapped in the later stages of the struggle by his dislike of the Scots, whom he regarded as guilty of the death of Charles I and as unfit instruments of the
Restoration. According to
Clarendon he was "a man of great honour and clear courage", and his defects "the result of too little knowledge of the world".
Literary works
Lord Derby left in manuscript ''A Discourse Concerning the Government of the Isle of Man'' (later printed in the ''Stanley Papers'' and in
Francis Peck's ''Desiderata Curiosa'', vol. ii.) and several volumes of historical collections, observations and devotions (''Stanley Papers'') and a
commonplace book
Commonplace books (or commonplaces) are a way to compile knowledge, usually by writing information into blank books. They have been kept from antiquity, and were kept particularly during the Renaissance and in the nineteenth century. Such book ...
.
Notes
References
*
Attribution:
*
*
External links
*
Book 2 chap 2 – History of Isle of Man, 1900Stanley's patronage of theatre and/or music: ''Patrons and Performances Web Site''
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Derby, James Stanley, 7th Earl Of
1607 births
1651 deaths
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