Nicholas (Radcliffe) de Radcliffe (abt. 1105 - aft. 1122)

Born about 1105 in Radcliffe, Lancashire, England

Descendants

Died after 1122 after about age 17 in Bury, Lancashire, England

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Maryann Hurt [send private message]

Biography

Nicholas has been asserted to be an ancestor of the Talbots who descend from the Norman Conquest. Nicholas de Tailbois was looking to choose a name in the style of an Englishman and chose a surname derived from his Radcliffes estate.^[1]

Family

While his wife is unknown, three sons are attributed to him by Hampson (1940):^[1]

• Matthew, married and had a son, Richard, who was gave lands to Burscough Priory in 1124. Richard's son, William, died without heirs. leaving, leaving Henry as the heir of his holdings.^[1] Other sources indicate the priory was established in 1190.^[2]
• Henry^[1]
• Simon^[1]

Research Notes

Some old books, including Hampson (1940), start the Ratcliffe (Lancashire) family tree with a Nicholas who is said to be a brother of William de Lancaster, also known as William Fitz Gilbert. Examples:

• James Butterworth (1823) ^[3]
• John Debrett (1819)^[4]

So it can be seen that Debrett thinks Nicholas might be the same as Henry Radcliffe, previously listed as the son of Nicholas. They key point is that all these sources are trying to find ancestors for William de Radcliffe who is the first really clearly known person the tree.

Here is what a modern and respected source says about the origins of the family:

"The parentage of William de Radcliffe is not known. One Henry de Radcliffe attested a charter in 1189; Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 350. Alexander son of Uvieth received 2 oxgangs in Little Lever from Albert Grelley the younger (1162 to 1180), and as Adam de Radcliffe was in possession in 1227, it is possible that Alexander was the father of William; Lancs. Inq. and Extents, i, 57, 130. It will be seen that an Adam son of Alexander occurs in 1246. William de Radcliffe and Hugh his son attested a Withington charter about 1200; Hulme D. no. 1."^[5]

So the father of William is currently unknown. Henry is a possible name, because someone of that name appears in an early charter, but so is Alexander.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Charles P. Hampson, "The Book of the Radclyffes", (Edinburgh: Priv. print. by T. and A. Constable at the University Press, 1940), p 2-4, https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/22070/dvm_GenMono005252-00013-1?backurl=&ssrc=&backlabel=Return#?imageId=dvm_GenMono005252-00014-1
2. ↑ "Burscough Priory", WIkipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burscough_Priory
3. ↑ https://books.google.be/books?id=6c0HAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA51
4. ↑ https://books.google.be/books?id=FPFRAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1236
5. ↑ 'The parish of Radcliffe', in A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 5, ed. William Farrer and J Brownbill (London, 1911), pp. 56-67. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol5/pp56-67 [accessed 3 April 2017].

Acknowledgments

• Thanks to Ang Saxberg for starting this profile.