Sir Ralph DeStafford KG, 1st Earl and 2nd Baron of Stafford
b. 24 Sep 1301 Stafford, Staffordshire, England
d. 31 Aug 1372 age 70, Bur Tunbridge, Kent, England
m. 1326 — age: 25 Stafford Castle, Staffordshire, England
to: Lady Margaret de Audley, Baroness
Parents 
b. 24 Sep 1301 Stafford, Staffordshire, England
d. 31 Aug 1372 age 70, Bur Tunbridge, Kent, England
m. 1326 — age: 25 Stafford Castle, Staffordshire, England
to: Lady Margaret de Audley, Baroness
Sir E De Stafford, Earl and Baron of Stfford 1272 – 1308
Lady Margaret de Bassett, Baroness de Stafford 1273 – 1337
Spouse
Lady Margaret de Audley, Baroness 1318 – 1347
Children:
Margaret Stafford 1327 – 1373
Elizabeth Stafford 1334 – 1375
Sir H De Stafford, Earl and Baron of Stafford 1334 – 1386
Joan de Stafford 1336 – 1397
Beatrice Stafford 1337 – 1365
John De Stafford 1337 – 1398
Ralph STAFFORD 1337 – 1374
Lady Beatrice De Stafford Baroness Ros 1338 – 1415
Catherine Stafford 1338 – 1361
Ralph STAFFORD 1338 – 1347
Lady Beatrice Stafford, Countess 1340 – 1361
Margaret DeStafford 1341 – 1361
Eleanor Stafford 1342 –
Jane de Stafford 1343 – 1396
Ralph Stafford 1344 – 1347
Margaret De Stafford, Baroness 1345 – 1418
Thomas Stafford 1347 – 1398
from ancestry.com
Sir Ralph 1st Earl de Stafford
(from an alternate source)
b. 9 Oct 1299 Tonbridge, Kent, England
d. 31 Aug 1372 Tonbridge, Kent, England
Emaciated and worn out with old age and constant military service. Died in his castle. He had a will, but its date and its probate are unknown
Parents:
Edmund 1st Baron de Stafford 1272 – 1308
Margaret de Basset, Baroness de Stafford 1280 – 1337
Spouses:
m1. 1326— Age: 27 Stafford, Staffordshire, England
to Katherine de Hastang 1301-1336
m2. 1335 6 Jul— Age: 35 Stafford, Staffordshire, England
to Lady Margaret Countess and Baroness de Audley 1318-1347
Wife (Lady Margaret) was an heiress. Groom abducted and eloped with the bride. The family complained to Edward III, but he supported Stafford. He appeased the bride's father by making him the Earl of Gloucester.
Children (w/ Lady Margaret):
Ralph de Stafford 1338 – 1358
Lady Beatrice of Stafford 1340 – 1415
Lady Catherine Baroness de Stafford 1340 – 1361
Eleanor de Stafford 1342 –
Hugh Earl of Stafford 1342 – 1386
from ancestry.com
Ralph Earl of Stafford
Was an English soldier and nobleman, and became a founding Knight of the Garter in 1348.
Stafford was summoned to Parliament as the 2nd Baron Stafford from 1337 to 1350. He was created 1st Earl of Stafford in 1351. He served as a military leader under King Edward II, fighting in campaigns in Scotland, then in Brittany, France, where he was captured during the Siege of Nantes. He died in 1372 at Tunbridge, Kent.
from ancestry.com
Wikipedia: Ralph Stafford
Sir Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford, 2nd Baron Stafford (24 September 1301 – 31 August 1372) was an English nobleman and notable soldier during the Hundred Years War against France.
He was the son of Edmund de Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford, by his spouse Margaret Bassett.
Stafford was appointed Steward of the Royal Household in 1327. He became a founding Knight of the Garter on August 26, 1348, and was summoned to Parliament by Writ as the 2nd Baron Stafford from 1337 to 1350. In 1345 he became Seneschal of Aquitaine, an English possession in France and he participated in the English victory at the Battle of Crecy, on August 26, 1346.
He was created the 1st Earl of Stafford, March 5, 1350. He subsequently served as a military leader under King Edward III, fighting in campaigns in Scotland, then in Brittany, France, where he was captured during the Siege of Nantes.
Lord Stafford married firstly, before 1326, Katherine, daughter of Sir John de Hastang, Knt., of Chebsey, Staffordshire, and they had two daughters:
Margaret, married Sir John of Bramshall (or Wickham) de Stafford, Knt.
Joan, married Sir Nicholas de Beke, Knt.
He later sensationally abducted Margaret de Audley (1318-1347), daughter of Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester and Margaret de Clare. They filed a complaint to the King, but King Edward III of England supported Stafford. He appeased Hugh and Margaret by creating Hugh Earl of Gloucester. Margaret de Audley and Stafford married before July 6, 1336 and they subsequently had three sons and four daughters, of whom:
Hugh, born circa 1336 in Staffordshire, England
Katherine, (1348 - 1361), married Sir John de Sutton, Knt., Baron of Dudley, Staffs.
Elizabeth, (d. 1375), married, secondly, John de Ferrers, 4th Lord Ferrers of Chartley.
Beatrice, (d. 1415), married, secondly, Thomas de Ros, 4th Lord Ros of Helmsley.
Joan, (d. 1397), married, firstly, John de Cherleton, 3rd Lord Cherleton.
He died August 31, 1372 at Tonbridge Castle, Kent, England, where he was buried.
from ancestry.com
Ralph's Story
The Earl of Stafford
Spouse(s) Katherine de Hastang
Margaret de Audley (1336–1347)
Issue
1. Margaret Stafford, Joan Stafford
2.Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford, Katherine Stafford, Elizabeth Stafford, Beatrice Stafford, Joan Stafford Noble family Stafford Father Edmund de Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford
Mother Margaret Bassett Born 24 Sept 1301 Died 31 Aug 1372 (aged 70-71) Burial Tonbridge Priory, Kent
Ralph de Stafford, 2nd Baron Stafford and 1st Earl of Stafford, KG (24 September 1301 – 31 August 1372) was an English nobleman and notable soldier during the Hundred Years War against France.
He was the son of Edmund de Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford, by his spouse Margaret Bassett.
Life
Having lost his father at the age of seven, Ralph grew up in the midlands with his mother's relatives, including her second husband Thomas Pipe. He had his first experience of royal service, along with his brothers and stepfather, when he joined the retinue of Ralph, 2nd Lord Bassett.[1]
Stafford was made a Knight banneret in 1327 and was fighting the Scots shortly afterwards. He supported the plot to free Edward III from the control of Roger Mortimer, which earned the king's gratitude. By the summer of 1332, he was a commissioner of the peace in Staffordshire and had served abroad on royal business, accompanying Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester. He was also still fighting the Scots, commanding archers at the Battle of Dupplin Moor on 11 Aug 1332 and on three further Scottish campaigns[1].
He was first summoned to Parliament by writ as Lord Stafford on 29 November 1336 and continued to attend until 1350.
His military career continued, accompanying King Edward to France in 1338 as an advisor and being present at the naval battle of Sluys on 24 June 1340. He also fought at the relief of Brest and the siege of Morlaix. He was captured at Vannes but was exchanged in time to negotiate a truce at Malestroit.
On 6 January 1341, he was made Steward of the Royal Household but resigned that post on 29 March 1345 having assumed the office of Seneschal of Aquitaine, an English possession in France, where he stayed for about a year. Further battles included the battle of Auberoche, the siege of Aiguillon, from where he escaped prior to its lifting, a raid on Barfleur and the English victory at the Battle of Crecy, on 26 August 1346. He became one of the twenty-six founding members and the fifth Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1348[1].
In November 1347, his wife's father died; they were able to take possession of his estates without paying the king's homage, an indication of the relationship between them. Ralph was now a very wealthily man, from his estates and from the many prizes from the French war[1].
Edward III created a number of new peerage titles to honour his war captains and to mark his jubilee year. Ralph was created the 1st Earl of Stafford on 5 March 1350, with an annuity of 1000 marks. He now replaced Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster as the king's lieutenant in Gascony, he committed to serve with 200 men at his expense with the expectation of this being doubled in March 1353 at the king's expense. The campaigns provided several captives that were ransomed, but were ultimately unsuccessful, leading to the appointment of Edward, Prince of Wales to command[1].
Even at the age of sixty, Stafford continued to command troops and act as a royal envoy, both in France and in Ireland in 1361, accompanying Lionel of Antwerp to try and restore English control.
Marriages and children
Lord Stafford married firstly, before 1326, Katherine, daughter of Sir John de Hastang, Knt., of Chebsey, Staffordshire, and they had two daughters:
Margaret, married Sir John of Bramshall (or Wickham) de Stafford, Knt.
Joan, married Sir Nicholas de Beke, Knt.
He later sensationally abducted Margaret de Audley, 2nd Baroness Audley (1318-1347), daughter of Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester and Margaret de Clare, who was worth at least £2314/year, more than ten times his own estates. Her parents filed a complaint to the King, but King Edward III of England supported Stafford. He appeased Hugh and Margaret by creating Hugh Earl of Gloucester. Margaret de Audley and Stafford married before 6 July 1336 and they subsequently had three sons and four daughters, of whom[2]:
Ralph de Stafford, married Maud Grosmont, daughter of Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster and Isabel de Beaumont in 1344. Died 1347[1]
Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford, born circa 1336 in Staffordshire, England
Margaret de Stafford, born circa 1338 in Staffordshire, England
Katherine de Stafford, born circa 1340 or 1348 in Staffordshire, England and died in December 1361. Married on 25 December 1357 Sir John de Sutton III (1339 – c. 1370 or 1376), Knight, Master of Dudley Castle, Staffordshire, Mother of Sir John de Sutton IV, Grandmother of Sir John de Sutton V
Elizabeth de Stafford, born circa 1340 in Staffordshire, England, died 7 August 1375, married firstly Fulk le Strange; married secondly, John de Ferrers, 3rd Baron Ferrers of Chartley; married thirdly Reginald de Cobham, 2nd Baron Cobham
Beatrice de Stafford, born circa 1341 in Staffordshire, England, died 1415, married firstly, in 1350, Maurice FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Desmond (d. June 1358); married secondly, Thomas de Ros, 5th Baron de Ros, of Helmsley; married thirdly Sir Richard Burley, Knt.
Joan de Stafford, born in 1344 in Staffordshire, England, died 1397, married firstly, John Charleton, 3rd Baron Cherleton; married secondly Gilbert Talbot, 3rd Baron Talbot
He died on 31 August 1372 at Tonbridge Castle, Kent, England.[1] He was buried at Tonbridge Priory,[3] next to his second wife and her parents.[1]
Ancestry Ancestors of Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford
(edit below into a family tree)
Henry de Stafford
Robert de Stafford
Petronell de Ferrers
Nicholas de Stafford
Thomas de Corbet
Alice Corbet
Isable de Valletort
Edmund de Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford
Thomas de Clinton
Thomas de Clinton
Mazera de Bisey
Eleanor de Clinton
Sir Ralph Bracebridge
Maud Bracebridge
??
Ralph Stafford
Baron Ralph Basset
Sir Ralph Basset
Margeret de Somery
Lord Ralph Bassett of Drayton
??
Hawise of Drayton
??
Margaret Bassett
Reynold de Grey, Baron Grey
John de Grey, Baron Grey
Maud de Longchamp
Joan de Grey
William de Ferrers, Lord of Groby
Anne de Ferrers
Lady Anne le Despencer
(end of family tree)
References
^ a b c d e f g h Ralph Stafford, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
^ A general and heraldic dictionary of the peerages of England, Ireland and Scotland, extinct, dormant and in abeyance by John Burke. Publisher Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1831. p491. From Google books, checked 30 Jan 2010
^ "Houses of Austin canons, The priory of Tonbridge". British History Online. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=38209. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
The Peerage, p1414
Audley genealogy
Peerage of EnglandNew creationEarl of Stafford
1350–1372 Succeeded by
Hugh Stafford Preceded by
Edmund de Stafford Baron Stafford
1308–1372
Retrieved from: "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_de_Stafford,_1st_Earl_of_Stafford
from ancestry.com
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| Earl de Stafford |
Sir Ralph Stafford: Sir Knight
Stafford was made a Knight banneret in 1327 and was fighting the Scots shortly afterwards. He supported the plot to free Edward III from the control of Roger Mortimer, which earned the king's gratitude. By the summer of 1332, he was a commissioner of the peace in Staffordshire and had served abroad on royal business, accompanying Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester. He was also still fighting the Scots, commanding archers at the Battle of Dupplin Moor on 11 Aug 1332 and on three further Scottish campaigns
His military career continued, accompanying King Edward to France in 1338 as an advisor and being present at the naval battle of Sluys on 24 June 1340. He also fought at the relief of Brest and the siege of Morlaix. He was captured at Vannes but was exchanged in time to negotiate a truce at Malestroit.
On 6 January 1341, he was made Steward of the Royal Household but resigned that post on 29 March 1345 having assumed the office of Seneschal of Aquitaine, an English possession in France, where he stayed for about a year. Further battles included the battle of Auberoche, the siege of Aiguillon, from where he escaped prior to its lifting, a raid on Barfleur and the English victory at the Battle of Crecy, on 26 August 1346. He became one of the twenty-six founding members and the fifth Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1348[1].
In November 1347, his wife's father died; they were able to take possession of his estates without paying the king's homage, an indication of the relationship between them. Ralph was now a very wealthily man, from his estates and from the many prizes from the French war[1].
Edward III created a number of new peerage titles to honour his war captains and to mark his jubilee year. Ralph was created the 1st Earl of Stafford on 5 March 1350, with an annuity of 1000 marks. He now replaced Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster as the king's lieutenant in Gascony, he committed to serve with 200 men at his expense with the expectation of this being doubled in March 1353 at the king's expense. The campaigns provided several captives that were ransomed, but were ultimately unsuccessful, leading to the appointment of Edward, Prince of Wales to command[1].
Even at the age of sixty, Stafford continued to command troops and act as a royal envoy, both in France and in Ireland in 1361, accompanying Lionel of Antwerp to try and restore English control.
from ancestry.com
His military career continued, accompanying King Edward to France in 1338 as an advisor and being present at the naval battle of Sluys on 24 June 1340. He also fought at the relief of Brest and the siege of Morlaix. He was captured at Vannes but was exchanged in time to negotiate a truce at Malestroit.
On 6 January 1341, he was made Steward of the Royal Household but resigned that post on 29 March 1345 having assumed the office of Seneschal of Aquitaine, an English possession in France, where he stayed for about a year. Further battles included the battle of Auberoche, the siege of Aiguillon, from where he escaped prior to its lifting, a raid on Barfleur and the English victory at the Battle of Crecy, on 26 August 1346. He became one of the twenty-six founding members and the fifth Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1348[1].
In November 1347, his wife's father died; they were able to take possession of his estates without paying the king's homage, an indication of the relationship between them. Ralph was now a very wealthily man, from his estates and from the many prizes from the French war[1].
Edward III created a number of new peerage titles to honour his war captains and to mark his jubilee year. Ralph was created the 1st Earl of Stafford on 5 March 1350, with an annuity of 1000 marks. He now replaced Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster as the king's lieutenant in Gascony, he committed to serve with 200 men at his expense with the expectation of this being doubled in March 1353 at the king's expense. The campaigns provided several captives that were ransomed, but were ultimately unsuccessful, leading to the appointment of Edward, Prince of Wales to command[1].
Even at the age of sixty, Stafford continued to command troops and act as a royal envoy, both in France and in Ireland in 1361, accompanying Lionel of Antwerp to try and restore English control.
from ancestry.com
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| Battle of Duplin Moor |
In 1329 Robert the Bruce died and was succeeded by his young son. Now was the opportunity for the dispossessed and for Edward Balliol, who claimed the crown of Scotland by the right of his father King John Balliol, who had reigned in Scotland until 1296. They gained the tacit support of Edward III of England for a ‘private’ invasion of Scotland. Henry Beaumont was the driving force behind the campaign, together with various other lords who had lost their Scottish astates as a result of Bruce's victory in the War of Independence. In 1332 Balliol’s army sailed for Scotland with an expeditionary force comprising largely English troops and some mercenaries. After a skirmish at Kinghorn, where they landed, the dispossessed soon marched for Perth, to engage the smaller of two armies that were being mustered against them. A few miles to the south west of the town, on Dupplin Moor, a heavily outnumbered, mainly English force, destroyed a far larger Scottish army, using tactics that would make English armies a dominant force in Europe for the next hundred years. Dupplin was the battle which first demonstrated the legendary battle winning power of the English longbow.
from ancestry.com
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| Battle of Crecy |
English troops waiting to go into action at the Battle of Crecy, August 1346 (painting circa 1860). One of the defining battles of the Hundred Years War between England and France, Crecy was a victory for the English over a much larger French army, brought about largely by the impact of the English longbowmen.
from ancestry.com
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| Battle of Crécy |
Edward III accompanied with his bodyguard of mounted Knights cheers the detachment of Man-at-arms who fought with his son, Edward, the Black Prince at the Battle of Crécy. From right to left: Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent (mounted to the right of the King), Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel (mounted to the rear of the king and carrying the pennant of St George), Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford (on foot to the left of the King), Bartholomew de Burghersh, 2nd Baron Burghersh (on foot to the left of the king and furthest forward)
Edward III accompanied with his bodyguard of mounted Knights cheers the detachment of Man-at-arms who fought with his son, Edward, the Black Prince at the Battle of Crécy. From right to left: Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent (mounted to the right of the King), Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel (mounted to the rear of the king and carrying the pennant of St George), Ralph de Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford (on foot to the left of the King), Bartholomew de Burghersh, 2nd Baron Burghersh (on foot to the left of the king and furthest forward)
from ancestry.com
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| Battle of Sluys |
† The Battle of Sluys: the style of warfare is clearly shown in this illustration from Froissart’s chronicles. Archers discharge arrows from the crow’s nests, forecastles and aftercastles while knights and men-at-arms board the enemy vessels. The fate of the vanquished is to be thrown over the side. It seems likely that neither England nor France had a dedicated fleet of warships in the mid-14th Century. In times of war each king called upon the merchant vessels of his subjects and manned them, in addition to their crews, with archers and men-at-arms; converting the ships for war by building forecastles, after castles and crows nests, fortifications from which archers directed their fire onto enemy vessels. These merchant vessels were called Cogs; square rigged and single masted with sharp prows and sterns and steered by an oar or a rudder. The nearest to a formal English navy was the arrangement King Edward III had with the Kentish towns known as the Cinque Ports. In return for trading privileges the Cinque Ports provided a number of vessels for a period each year for royal military purposes. French ships were shallow drafted and small, highly manoeuvrable particularly in shallows, while the English ocean-going Cogs, larger and with a deeper draught, were slower to manoeuvre. The Genoese and Castilian fleets comprised galleys, powered by sail and oars, specifically constructed for war. The English armed one or two of their vessels with guns, some of the larger ships at Sluys having 2 or 3 pieces of ordinance on board. In battle a ship would lay alongside an enemy, decimate her crew with discharges of arrows and showers of heavy stones, leaving the way clear for men-at-arms to board, overcome the survivors and take the ship and its crew. It seems to have been the practice of the time to throw captured enemy soldiers over the side unless they seemed sufficiently well equipped to be worth a ransom. -- The description is from britishbattles.com. The image is a miniature of the battle from Jean Froissart's Chronicles, 14th century. See Wikipedia, File:BattleofSluys.jpeg
from ancestry.com
Historically Significant Battle
The decisive naval Battle of Sluys was fought on 24 June 1340 as one of the opening conflicts of the Hundred Years' War. It is historically important in that it resulted in the destruction of most of France's fleet, making a French invasion of England impossible, and ensuring that the remainder of the war would be fought mostly in France. The battle, which was fought with exceptional ferocity, concluded with the almost total destruction of the French fleet.
The decisive naval Battle of Sluys was fought on 24 June 1340 as one of the opening conflicts of the Hundred Years' War. It is historically important in that it resulted in the destruction of most of France's fleet, making a French invasion of England impossible, and ensuring that the remainder of the war would be fought mostly in France. The battle, which was fought with exceptional ferocity, concluded with the almost total destruction of the French fleet.
from ancesstry.com
Tonbridge Castle
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| Tonbridge Castle Burial Place of Sir Ralph |
Sir Ralph died on 31 August 1372 at Tonbridge Castle, Kent, England, where he was buried next to his second wife and her parents.
from ancestry.com
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| Tonbridge Castle |
Following the Norman Conquest, Richard Fitz Gilbert was granted land in Kent to guard the crossing of the River Medway. He erected a simple Motte-and-bailey castle on the site. To dig the moat and erect the motte 50,000 tonnes of earth were moved. In 1088, the de Clare family (descendents of Fitz Gilbert) rebelled against King William II. His army besieged the castle. After holding for two days the castle fell and as punishment the king had both the castle and the town of Tonbridge burnt to the ground. Before 1100, the de Clares replaced the wooden castle with a stone shell keep. This was reinforced during the thirteenth century, and in 1295 a stone wall was built around the town. The twin towered gatehouse was built by Richard de Clare, sixth Earl of Hertford or his son Gilbert. Construction of the gatehouse took 30 years, being completed in 1260. The gatehouse shares many similarities with the ones at Caerphilly Castle built by Gilbert in 1268-1271. The great seal of England was temporarily kept here during one of Edward's visits to France.
from ancestry.com
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| Stafford Castle |
from ancestry.com
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| Ralph de Stafford |
from ancestry.com
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| Order of the Garter Knight Insignia |
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| Bronze Statue of Ralph de Stafford from ancestry.com |
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