Philip Darcy (1352 - 1399)

Born 21 May 1352 in York, Yorkshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Grey) Darcy — married about 1376 in England

Descendants

Died 24 Apr 1399 at age 46 in England

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Biography

Family and Early Life

Philip Darcy was born 21 May 1352 at the House of the Friars Preachers at York, a younger son of John Darcy, 2nd Lord Darcy of Knaith, King's Councillor and Constable of the Tower of London, and his (second) wife, Elizabeth de Meinell, daughter and heiress of Nicholas de Meinell, Lord of Whorlton.^[1][2][3][4]

Phillip was heir to his older brother in 1362, when he was still a minor, and had livery of his inheritance 31 January 1373/4.^[1] When his mother died in 1368 he also succeeded to the barony of Meinell, which had been held by her in her own right.^[5]

Marriage and Children

Philip married Elizabeth Gray, daughter of Thomas Gray and Margaret Presfen.^[1][6][7] The exact date of their marriage is unknown, but is presumed to have occurred by 1376, based upon the birth of their eldest son the following year. There were at least eight children from this marriage:

• John Darcy, 5th Lord Darcy of Knaith and 4th Lord Meinell; born about 1377;^[3][8] married before 9 July 1397 Margaret Grey;^[9][10][11] died 9 December 1411^{[2] [3][12]}
• Philip Darcy^[1][13]
• Thomas Darcy^[1][2][13]
• William Darcy^[1][2][13]
• Agnes Darcy^[1][13]
• Elizabeth Darcy^[1][2][13]
• Joan Darcy^[1][2][13]
• Eleanor Darcy^[1][2][13]

Public Life

From July through November 1369 Darcy served under John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, participating in raids into Picardy and Caux.^[1] During this time he became a familar face in the royal household, and was described in 1372 as 'de familia regis.'^[14]

On 16 July 1377 he paid homage to Richard III when the king was coronated, and in August of that year he was summoned to Parliament where he served until 5 November 1397.^[1][15]

From 1377-1385 he held a number of terms as a justice of the peace in Lindsey, Lincolnshire and sometimes also filled that office in the West Riding of Yorkshire and Northumberland.^[14]

From July 1380 until April 1381 Darcy served under the Earl of Buckingham, assisting in raids into Brittany.^[1][14]

He served on a commission to take the homage of the count of Flanders on 20 June 1383.^[14]

In April 1384 Darcy joined an expedition to Scotland led by the Duke of Lancaster, and in August of the following year he once again returned to Scotland with the king.^[1][14]

From 1386-1387 he served as Admiral of the Fleet from the Thames northward.^[1][14][16]

In 1389 he was recorded as being one of the king's knights in the royal household, and was pledged to accompany the king on his intended expedition to Scotland.^[14][17]

In 1392 he was sent to Ireland to recover the king's lordships and his own inheritance, and to mount a defense against the Irish rebels.^[1][18]

By September, 1397, Darcy's name appears less frequently in any written records as he apparently retired from public life.^[14]

Death

Philip Darcy, 4th Lord Darcy of Knaith, died 24 April 1399,^[1] and was buried at Guisborough Priory in Yorkshire.^[2][19][20] (see Research Notes) His will, dated 16 April 1399, was proved 3 May 1399.^[1][19] His eldest son, John, succeeded him as Lord Darcy of Knaith and Lord Meinell.^[8][21]

Darcy's will provided his younger son, William, with an annual sum of five marks of silver for his living expenses until he married or "was otherwise promoted," when the annual sum was to be increased to four hundred marks.^[22] To his son, Thomas, he bequeathed a "cup with a cover gilded with crowns" which had been given to him by King Edward.^[22] His daughters Elizabeth, Joan, and "Elena" (Eleanor) were to each receive forty marks of silver for their support.^[22] The remainder of his possessions, after all debts had been paid, were to be divided half to his wife, Elizabeth,^[23] and their children and half to his executors to dispose of as they thought best "for my soul."^[22]

Research Notes

Douglas Richardson places Darcy's burial at Henes Priory (at Henes in Lincolnshire) but does not provide a source for this.^[1] According to the Victoria County History of Lincolnshire, it is doubtful whether there was a priory there.^[24]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18} Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol.2, p. 389, DARCY 13. Philip Darcy.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7} Hodgson, John C. A History of Northumberland. Newcastle-upon-Tyne: A. Reid, Sons, and Co. (1893), vol 5, p. 411.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Ord, J.W. The History and Antiquities of Cleveland... London: Simpkin and Marshall (1846), pp. 445-446.
4. ↑ National Archives, ref. C 135/235/9.Discovery Centre catalog entry, "Philip, brother and heir of John, son and heir of John Darcy of Knaith: Yorkshire (North Riding), proof of age."
5. ↑ Cokayne, George E. Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant. London: St Catherine Press (1910), vol. 8, pp. 634-635.
6. ↑ Liddy, Christian D. (ed). North-East England in the Later Middle Ages. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press (2005), p. 68.
7. ↑ Jacobus, Donald L. The Darcy Ancestry of Mrs. John Sherman. The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society (2009), vol. 21 (1944), p. 172, available here by subscription.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol.2, pp. 389-391 DARCY 14. John Darcy.
9. ↑ Cokayne, George Edward. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom..., new edition, London: St Catherine's Press (1910), vol. 4, pp. 63-65.
10. ↑ Verity, Brad. Descendants to the Third Generation of Eleanor, Countess of Ormond (c.1310-1363). Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (2016) 8: pp 75-89, PDF available here.
11. ↑ Poulson, George. History and Antiquities of the seigniory of Holderness. London: W. Pickering (1840), vol. 2, pp. 200-201
12. ↑ Kirby, J.L. Inquisitions Post Mortem, Henry IV, Entries 952-999' in Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: Volume 19, Henry IV. London: British History Online (1992), pp 339-362, no. 973.
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6} Clay, John William. Extinct and Dormant Peerages of the Northern Counties of England. London: J Nisbet & Co. (1913), pp. 41-42.
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7} Verduyn, Anthony. Darcy Family. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition (23 Sep 2004), available here by subscription.
15. ↑ Banks, Thomas C. Baronies in Fee. Ripon: Wm. Harrison (1844), vol. 1, p. 178.
16. ↑ Admirals of the North; Philip Darcy 1386-1387.
17. ↑ Calendar of Patent Rolls. Richard II, A.D. 1388-1392. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode (1948), vol. 4, p. 14, 22 Feb 1389.
18. ↑ Calendar of Patent Rolls. Richard II, A.D. 1391-1396. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode (1948), vol. 5, p.231, p. 195, p. 188.
19. ↑ ^{19.0 19.1} York Medieval Probate Index, 1267-1500. Philip Darcey, Knt. Year: 1399; Place: buried Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire; Court: York Perogative & Exchequer Courts; Document 1: memorandum; language Latin, probate date 14 Jun 1399, comment - re grant of admin to another exec named in will, reference code Reg. 16 (Scrope), folio 135r; Document 2: will, language Latin, will dated 16 Apr 1399, probate date 3 May 1399, reference code Reg. 16 (Scrope), folio 134v, available here by subscription.
20. ↑ Nicolas, Nicholas H. Testamenta Vetusta. London: Nichols and Son 1826), vol. 1, p. 146.
21. ↑ Wrottesley, George. Pedigrees from the Plea Rolls. Great Britain: Public Record Office (1905), pp. 377-38.
22. ↑ ^{22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3} Raines, James. Testamenta Eboracensia. (Surtees Soc 30) Durham: by the Society (1836), vol. 1, pp. 254-255.
23. ↑ National Archives, ref. c 136/102/14. Discovery Centre catalogue entry, includes assignment of dower to his widow Elizabeth.
24. ↑ 'Houses of Benedictine monks: The cell of Sandtoft', in A History of the County of Lincoln: Volume 2, ed. William Page (London, 1906), p. 130, British History Online, accessed 15 June 2023]

See Also:

• Calendar of Close Rolls. Edward III, A.D. 1374-1377. London: H.M. Stationery Office (1913), vol. 14, p. 238.

• Flower, William. Visitation of Yorkshire 1563-1564. London: Mitchell and Hughes (1881), pp. 91- 92.

• National Archives, ref. E 326/8621. Discovery Centre catalogue entry, see also Calendar of Close Rolls, Edw III, 1374-1377, p. 238.

• National Archives, list of records where Philip Darcy's name appears.

• Page, William. Victorian County History of Hertford. London (1912), vol. 3, pp. 441-458.

• Page, William. Victorian County History of Yorkshire." London (1923), vol. 2, pp. 309-319.

• Repingdon, Philip. Register of Bishop Philip Repingdon. Lincoln: Lincoln Rec. Soc. #52 (1963), vol. 2, pp. 264-267. (Will of Elizabeth Darcy)

• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), vol. 2, p. 26, DARCY 7. Philip Darcy,Google Books

• Weis, F.L. Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists who Came to America Before 1700: Lineages from Alfred the Great, Charlemagne, Malcolm of Scotland, Robert the Strong, and Other Historical Individuals. Genealogical Publishing Co. (8th ed, 2004), p. 95.

• Wikipedia: Thomas Grey (chronicler)

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

This profile was developed for the Magna Carta Project on 14 June 2023 by Jen Hutton and reviewed for the Project on 15 June 2023 by Michael Cayley.

Philip Darcy is in a Richardson-documented trail from Gateway Ancestor Mary Launce to Magna Carta Surety Baron Robert de Ros (Magna Carta Ancestry, vol. III, pages 4-10 LAUNCE). This trail, set out HERE, was badged in July 2023.

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".