Richard Knightley
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Richard Knightley (abt. 1395 - abt. 1442)

Richard Knightley
Born about in Gnosall, Staffordshire, Englandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married about 1415 in Drayton, Leicestershire, Englandmap
Descendants descendants
Died about at about age 47 in Fawsley, Northamptonshire, Englandmap
Problems/Questions
Profile last modified | Created 23 May 2014
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Contents

Biography

"His second son John Knightley seems to have been the only man of the line hitherto of any real distinction. A lawyer of some eminence he is made justiciary of Chester after the death of Hotspur at Shrewsbury fight in 1403, and although by reason of his humble rank he is soon to cede this high office to the Lord Talbot, he goes on with the exercise of jurisdiction as deputy to that lord. He married a knight's daughter, Joan Thornbury, widow of William Peyto of Chesterton in Warwick, of whose lands he enjoyed the custody, and after the justiciary's death she marries for a third husband Sir Robert Corbet of Hadley. But his only son by this lady dies young, and for the line of Knightley we turn to his elder brother Richard of Gnosall, who prospers as we may imagine beside his brother's prosperity and leaves by his wife Joan Giffard a son Richard Knightley of Gnosall, who adds Fawsley to his Staffordshire manors of Burgh Hall and Cowley and dies in 1443, first founder of the long line of Knightley of Fawsley."[1]

Family and Education

s. and h. of Richard Knightley of Gnosall by his w. Joan, da. of Sir John Giffard of Chillington, Staffs.; nephew of John*. m. by Jan. 1416, Elizabeth (d.1474), da. of Thomas Purefoy of Drayton, Leics., at least 2s.[2][3]

Property

Fawsley Manor
"The year 1416 was a marked epoch in the history of the Knightley family, since it was at that date that they acquired the manor of Fawsley, which from that day to this has been their home. In the picturesque little church, which lies at a short distance east of the manor house, generation after generation have found their resting-place, and a careful study of the monuments it contains reveals much family history. But, as is the case in most families, one or two only in each century are sufficiently remarkable to deserve a record in the pages of the county history.
The purchaser of Fawsley was Richard Knightley of Burgh Hall, in the county of Stafford, and the first of the family to represent the county of Northampton in Parliament. He died in 1443, leaving his wife Elizabeth Purefoy in possession of the property, so that their son, also Richard Knightley, only succeeded to the estate on her death in 1474. He married Eleanor daughter of John Throgmorton of Coughton, having been knighted in 1494, when Henry VII. 's second son, afterwards Henry VIIL, was made Duke of York. He was three times sheriff. They had nine children, of whom the eldest, Richard Knightley, married Joan Skenard or Skimerton, daughter and heir of Henry Skenard of Alderton. She brought in a great number of the quarterings which are still included in the Knightley shield. The fine altar tomb in Fawsley Church is erected to the memory of this lady and her husband. He died in 1534, but apparently the monument was erected in her lifetime, as no one has ever taken the trouble to fill in the date of her death. Her only daughter Susan married Sir William Spencer of Althorp"[4]

Sources

  1. The Ancestor; a quarterly review of county and family history, heraldry and antiquities, pg 5 [1]
  2. L. G. Pine, The New Extinct Peerage 1884-1971: Containing Extinct, Abeyant, Dormant and Suspended Peerages With Genealogies and Arms (London, U.K.: Heraldry Today, 1972), page 167. [2]
  3. The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1386-1421, ed. J.S. Roskell, L. Clark, C. Rawcliffe., 1993 [3]
  4. The Ancestor; a quarterly review of county and family history, heraldry and antiquities, pg 6 [4]




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Comments: 1

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This appears to be an avunculate marriage. Elizabeth and Richard II are partners and uncle and niece. Elizabeth (Purefoy-61) was the daughter of her husband's (Knightley-68) sister (De_Knightley-17) or there's been a mix-up in marriages. Their common ancestors are Richard I (Knightley-5) and Joan Giffard (Giffard-80).
posted by Craig Wilson