George Darell (abt. 1419 - 1474)

Born about 1419 in Littlecote, Wiltshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Joan (Haute) Darell — married 1465 in Of Shelvingborne, Kent, England

Descendants

Died Mar 1474 at about age 55 in Littlecote Park, Wiltshire, England

Sir George Darell was a member of the aristocracy in British Isles.

Biography

Sheriff of Wiltshire, 1454-5, 1461, 1465, 1469. ^[1]

"The issue of this union was a son George, who only survived his mother ten years, dying in 1474. He was twice married, and was by his first wife great-grandfather of Jane Seymour, mother of Edward VI. By his second marriage he had an heir, Edward, who made the fortunes of his family at the Court, and whose official history will enable us readily to comprehend the formation of great landed estates during the early Tudor period. … In the year before his death Sir George Darrell of Littlecote had, according to the usual practice of those unsettled times, devised his estates in trust to several distinguished friends or partizans, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Abbot of Malmesbury, and others. His son Edward was eight years old at his decease. ” ^[2]

"The Darell Chapel, a "perpendicular" addition, extending eastward from the north aisle, contains three tombs, two of which were once adorned with brasses. The chapel, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, was erected apparently about the middle of the 15th century by a lord of the adjoining Manor of Littlecote, and contained a chantry altar, the steps and other appendages of which are still remaining. In the centre is a large Purbeck tomb, the upper slab of which (represented in the annexed woodcut) once contained the effigies of a knight and his lady, the latter wearing the mitred head-dress. Immediately above were three small figures, the central one evidently a representation of the Holy Trinity. Over these were three shields placed lozengewise, and each surmounted by a helmet, that in the centre bearing apparently the crest of Darell -- a Saracen's head in profile -- whilst those on the dexter and sinister bore, the one a hand holding a short sword, or dagger; the other a bird. Around the effigies were six other shields of arms, and the edge of the slab contained a chamfer inscription, now wholly lost. This tomb may be attributed to William, a younger son of Sir William Darell, of Sesay, co. York, who, by marriage with Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Thomas Calston, of Littlecote, by Joan, daughter and co-heir of Thomas Chelrey, of Chelrey (or Childrey), co. Berks, became the ancestor of the Darells of Littlecote and of West Woodhay. He filled the office of Sub-Treasurer of England, 14th Richard II., and was four times Sheriff of Wilts in the reigns of Henry V. and VI.

Against the north wall of this chapel, and on a level with the floor of the altar, is a tomb somewhat similar to that in the chancel above described, but in a sadly mutilated condition. On a mural slab enclosed within the canopy were the kneeling effigies of a knight and his two wives, each with a label issuing from the mouth. Behind one of the female effigies were two, and behind the other three, figures of children. On either side was a plain shield; and above them a representation of the Holy Trinity, between two other shields bearing crests -- one the Saracen's head, the other the hand and dagger as before.(1) This memorial may be assigned to Sir George Darell, of Littlecote, Knight (son of William above mentioned), and his two wives; Margaret, daughter of John, first Lord Stourton, and Jane, daughter of Sir William Hawte, of Shelvingborne, co. Kent. By the former he had issue three daughters, one of whom married John Seymour, of Wolfhall, and another Sir Thomas Longe, Knight, of Wraxhall and Draycote. By his second wife Sir George left issue a son, Sir Edward Darell, Knight, who was thrice married, and great-grandfather of William Darell, of Littlecote, the hero of the well-known tragedy recorded by Aubrey.

(1)The Darell aisle seems unfortunately to have escaped the notice of Captain Symonds; but there is little doubt that the brasses here had, like those in the chancel, already been stolen when he visited the church." ^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ The Wiltshire Archæological and Natural History Magazine, Volume 3
2. ↑ Society in the Elizabethan Age By Hubert Hall, p. 186, 187
3. ↑ Monumental Brasses of Wiltshire, Edward Kite, p. 11

• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry (2013) Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2013), Vol IV, page 618, Elizabeth Darell.

Acknowledgements

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