Maurice Berkeley (abt. 1435 - abt. 1506)

Born about 1435 in Berkeley Castle, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about Sep 1506 at about age 71 in Berkeley Castle, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England

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Biography

Maurice Berkeley was born in Gloucestershire, England.

Maurice de Berkeley was born about 1435 (aged 56 in 1492)^[1][2][3] and married in 1465 Isabel Meade (or Mede),^[2] a person of humble birth, daughter of Philip Meade, Esq., an alderman of Bristol (by some accounts the mayor of Bristol) and descended from the Meades of Wraxall in Somersetshire. Maurice obtained his share of an estate devolved upon him in right of his mother, Isabel Mowbray, but was denied any share of his brother's estate, because he had deemed to marry a "commoner, a person of mean blood." He died in September, 1506.^[4]

Maurice Berkeley, Knight,^[1] was the younger brother of William de Berkeley, 1st Marquess of Berkeley.^[5] Maurice was the second son by his father's third marriage: James Berkeley, Knt., 6th Lord Berkeley, and Lady Isabel Mowbray.^[1]

"He [William de Berkeley] had no surviving male issue, thus the marquesate and his other non-inherited titles became extinct on his death, but he had a younger brother, Maurice Berkeley.... He disinherited Maurice, as having brought shame on the noble House of Berkeley by marrying beneath his status Isabel [Meade], daughter of Philip [Meade] of Wraxall an Alderman and Mayor of Bristol in 1459, 1462 and 1469.^[6] In order to achieve this, the castle, lands and lordships composing the Barony of Berkeley he settled on King Henry VII and his heirs male, failing which to descend to his own rightful heirs. Thus, in 1553 on the death of King Edward VI, the unmarried grandson of Henry VII, the Berkeley inheritance returned to the family. Therefore on the death of the 1st Marquis, only the [Lord Berkeley de jure] title was passed on to his younger brother Maurice, that is to say he was [Lord] Berkeley by right if not actually in possession of the [family] property... "On 20 March 1469/70, [William de Berkeley] was challenged by Thomas Talbot, 2nd Viscount Lisle to settle the claims to his great-uncle Thomas's estates, by combat. Thomas was killed in the combat.^[7] The battle, known as the Battle of Nibley Green, is notable for being the last battle fought in England entirely between the private armies of feudal magnates.^[8] William and Maurice were assisted at Nibley Green by a private army raised by Philip [Meade], Maurice's father-in-law. It was surely a mark of ingratitude that William disinherited [Meade]'s grandchildren." ^[5]

Family

Parents and Siblings

James^[9] and Isabel (Isabelle^[9]) Mowbray married in England

Sir James Berkeley m (3rd) Isabel Mowbray, widow of Sir Henry Ferrers (living c. 1419), daughter of Thomas Mowbray, K.G., by Elizabeth, daughter of Richard de Arundel, K.G. They had four sons and four daughters:^[1]

• William Berkeley, K.B. [Marquess of Berkeley...Viscount Berkeley]
• Maurice Berkeley, Knt. [Lord Berkeley], born about 1435
• James Berkeley, Esq.
• Thomas Berkeley, Esq.
• Isabel
• Margaret
• Elizabeth, wife of William Burdet, Esq.
• Alice, wife of Richard Arthur, Esq.

Wife and Children

Maurice Berkeley and Isabel (Isabelle^[9]) Meade (or Mede) married in 1465. She was born about or after 1444, daughter of Philip Meade, Esq., of Bristol and London, merchant, Mayor of Bristol... by his wife Isabel.^[1] Maurice and Isabel had three sons and one daughter:^[1][2]

• Maurice, K.B., Lord Berkeley
• Thomas, Knt., Lord Berkeley
• James
• Anne

Son and heir Maurice de Berkeley (by right, Lord Berkeley), born 1467, was made a Knight of the Bath at the coronation of King Henry VIII. He married in 1484 Catherine Berkeley, daughter of William de Berkeley, Knight, of Stokes-Gifford. co. Gloucester; died September 12, 1523, but d.s.p., was succeeded by his brother, Thomas Berkeley.^[10]

Heir of his brother Maurice in 1523, Thomas de Berkeley (by right, Lord Berkeley), born 1472, held a command in the celebrated battle of Flodden, September 9, 1513, and for his signal services there, received the honor of knighthood from Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey. He was summoned to parliament August 9, 1529. He married in 1504-05 (1) Eleanor, widow of William Ingleby, and daughter of Marmaduke Constable, of Flamborough, co. York, leaving a son, Thomas. Thomas (by right, Baron Berkeley), was born in 1505, summoned to parliament as a Baron, January 5, 1533, in the 25th year of the King Henry VIII.^[10]

Death

Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire^[9] England

"In 1474, Philip Meade, Burgess of Bristol, and Richard his son and heir conveyed to Maurice and his wife Isabel (daughter of the said Philip), a tenement in Thornbury, Gloucestershire called Marshallis place with close and garden attached."^[1]

Sir Maurice Berkeley, de jure Lord Berkeley, was never summoned to Parliament.^[11] He died in September 1506. His widow Isabel died at Coventry, Warwickshire after May 29, 1514. They were buried at Austin Friars, London.^[1]

Burial

Austin Friars, London^[1]

Christchurch, Hants^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8} Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry ([[Source: below)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Richardson, Royal Ancestry (citation below), Volume I, page 340
3. ↑ Maurice was "heir in 1492 to his older brother William Berkeley, K.B., Marquess of Berkeley, who had totally disinherited him." (Richardson)
4. ↑ Ancestry of the BERKELEY Family, citing The Paternal Ancestry of Homer Beers James, by Homer Beers James (published 1993)
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} William de Berkeley, 1st Marquess of Berkeley. (2014, March 20). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:03, May 11, 2014
6. ↑ [Wikipedia footnote [12]: "Mayors of Bristol since 1216". Bristol City Council. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
7. ↑ Wikipedia footnote [5]: Lundy 2011, p. 2795 cites Cokayne 2000, p. 133.
8. ↑ Wikipedia footnote [14]: Cooke, Chapter V.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3} https://www.genealogieonline.nl/en/zoeken/?q=Berkeley&vn=Maurice&pn= GenealogieOnline trees Index, 1000-Current]
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Family Search: "Pedigree Resource File" (accessed March 26, 2015), entry for Baron Marurice III of Berkeley. (note: no sources attached that I could find) 21 Jan. 2019: File not found.
11. ↑ see this G2G discussion about his title
12. ↑ Complete Peerage, G E C et al, St Catharine press, London, 1910 on.

• Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, Royal Ancestry series, 2nd edition, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2011), Volume I, page 181 #9. James Berkeley, Knt., 6th Lord Berkeley; p 184 #10. Maurice Berkeley, Knt.
• Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: 2013)
• The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant, Cokayne, George Edward (main author) and Vicary Gibbs (added author), (New edition. 13 volumes in 14. London: St. Catherine Press,1910-), vol. 2 p. 135.
• The Paternal Ancestry of Homer Beers James, by Homer Beers James (published 1993). A personal family tree, well-researched, citing Plantagenet Ancestry of Seventeenth-century Colonists: the Descent from the Later Plantagenet Kings of England, Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, and Edward III, of Emigrants from England and Wales to the North American Colonies Before 1701 (2nd ed., 1999), Faris, David, (2nd edition. Boston)
• Maurice Berkeley, "Our Royal, Titled, Noble, and Commoner Ancestors & Cousins" (website, compiler Mr. Marlyn Lewis, Portland, OR; accessed April 17, 2015)
• Wikipedia (links accessed March 25, 2015):
  • Berkeley Castle
  • Baron Berkeley
• The Peerage, Sir Maurice Berkeley (accessed April 30, 2015)

Acknowledgements

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Magna Carta Project

Maurice Berkeley is on trails identified by the Magna Carta Project from Gateway Ancestor Barbara (Aubrey) Bevan to Magna Carta Surety Barons Hugh le Bigod, Roger Bigod, Gilbert de Clare, Richard de Clare, John de Lacy, William de Mowbray and Saher de Quincy. Those trails are set forth in the Magna Carta Trails section of the Gateway's profile and need further development against the project's checklist.

Maurice Berkeley is a descendant of several surety barons, and Gateway Ancestor Thomas Ligon is a descendant. Douglas Richardson's Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd ed., chapter "BERKELEY" (volume I, pages 171-185) documents trails from Saher de Quincy to many Gateway Ancestors (including Thomas Ligon); Maurice's entry in that trail is BERKELEY 10 on page 184. ~ Noland-165 15:48, 9 July 2020 (UTC)

• Needs Re-review: This profile needs re-review against the project's checklist to bring it up to current project standards. ~ Thiessen-117 17:00, 14 July 2020 (UTC)

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".