Nigel (Stafford) de Stafford (bef. 1065 - bef. 1124)

Born before 1065 in Tosni, Normandy, France [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died before 1124 at about age 59 in Derbyshire, England [uncertain]

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Biography

This profile is for Nigel de Stafford, the Domesday landholder.

Records

The most thorough analysis of Nigel de Stafford was made by Falconer Madan in his 1899 "The Gresleys of Drakelowe."^[1] According to Madan, the following are the only records that relate directly to Nigel (as opposed to records relating to his descendants which reference Nigel):

• Entries in the Domesday Survey (completed in 1086), which show that "Nigellus de Statford" held 9 manors and 2 sokes in Derbyshire and that "Nigellus" held two more manors in Derbyshire, 13 holdings in Staffordshire, 4 holdings in Leicestershire, and 1 holding in Warwickshire.^[2][1] [There were other holdings in the name of "Nigellus" (e.g., in Yorkshire) that probably belonged to a different Nigel, but Madan believed that the ones in Staffordshire and Leicestershire belonged to Nigellus de Statford or Stafford because they form a group within about 6 miles of each other and at least 12 of the 31 holdings were subsequently held by the Gresleys.^[1]]
• A charter of Henry I (made sometime in 1124-35), confirming the landholdings of the Church of St. Mary of Helenstow (which was in Elstow, Bedfordshire), including grants previously made by various persons, which includes an entry for "the gift of Nigell of Staford, ten and a half virgates of land in Erendesby (Arnesby, Leicestershire), together with his daughter."^[3][1] [Curiously, the gifted landholding is not listed as one of Nigel's holdings in the Domesday Survey.^[2][1] Wigram asserts, without explanation, that the gift by Nigel and certain others were "doubtless" made in the reign of Henry I (1100-1135).^[3] It is likely, in any event, that the gifts were made after 1086 since many of the properties gifted, in what were probably gifts prior to Nigel's, were still held by the donor at the time of the Domesday Survey.^[3] The church itself was founded during the reign of William I (ie, 1066-1089).^[3] The reference to "together with his daughter" has been interpreted to mean that the gift was probably made by Nigel in connection with the church agreeing to take his daughter to be educated or perhaps to become a nun.^[3][1]]
• A list of the benefactors of the Abbey of St. Albans, which includes an entry showing that Nigel de Stafford donated the church of Norton, one carucate, and the tithes of his demesne in Norton.^[4][1] [There is nothing regarding the list to suggest when Nigel made his donation.]
• An unpublished list of "barones," probably of 1086, mentions a Nigellus de Torp, whom J. Horace Round asserted (and Open Domesday seems to agree)^[5] was no doubt Nigel de Stafford.^[1] (However, either Madan was incorrect about Round's assertion about Nigellus de Torp being the same person as Nigel de Stafford or Round changed his mind, because in Round's review of "The Gresleys of Drakelowe", Round stated "On the other hand, we have our doubts about Thorpe Constantine. The fact that Nigel, its Domesday holder, occurs as Nigel 'de Torp' suggests that he was not identical with Nigel 'de Stafford.'"^[6])

Parentage

The parentage of Nigel de Stafford is uncertain. Older sources (and newer ones that rely on them) say that Nigel was the brother of Robert de Toeni/Stafford.^[7][8][9] Madan, however, concluded that, while Nigel was most likely connected to the de Toeni's, the evidence suggested that it was more likely that he was the son of Robert de Toeni/Stafford rather than his brother.^[1] Madan's position has been adopted by many subsequent to him.^[10][11]

The evidence suggested by Madan for the connection between Nigel de Stafford to Robert de Stafford or the de Toeni's (all rather circumstantial) is:

• The fact that Robert de Stafford/de Toeni and Nigel de Stafford were both called "de Stafford." (Eyton also found this a strong fact in favour of a relationship.)^[8]
• The fact that the Countess Judith was the founder of the Church of St. Mary of Helenstow (to which Nigel made a grant and to which he sent his daughter) and was also a benefactor of the Abbey of St. Albans (to which Nigel also made a grant), and Judith was the mother-in-law of Ralph de Toeni III (Robert de Stafford's nephew).^[1]
• The name Nicholas (which, according to Madan, was then rather rare) was used in both Robert de Stafford and Nigel de Stafford's families^[1]
• Nigel de Stafford never appears in Domesday as a tenant of Robert de Stafford (which would have suggested a non-familial relationship).^[1]

Madan gives two reasons for believing that it is more likely that Nigel was Robert de Stafford's son rather than his brother:

• Madan argues that, if Nigel was Robert's brother, Nigel must have been born not later 1041 and yet had sons (including his eldest son and heir) who were alive in 1165 (and thus likely to have been born no earlier than 1085-1090).^[1]This would mean that Nigel's eldest surviving son would not have been born until Nigel was at least 44, which, while not impossible, is unlikely.
• Madan argues that it would be almost unparalleled if two landholders and founders of families (Robert and Nigel) were given, at about the same time, the same territorial name.^[1]

The argument based on chronology turns out not to be very persuasive. First, more recent research has concluded that there were two Roger de Toeni's and that the one who died in 1040 was not the one who was Robert de Stafford's father.^[12]This is only slightly helpful, however, unless one assumes an age gap of 15 years or more between the births of Robert and Nigel, which may be more than reasonable. Second, as Eyton suggested, it is possible that Nigel de Stafford could have had a son named Nigel and that it was the younger Nigel who was the father of William and Nicholas de Gresley.^[13]

The argument based on the "de Stafford" territorial name is somewhat more persuasive. Robert de Toeni became called Robert de Stafford because, after the Conquest, he became the holder of 54 manses in Stafford (as well as 81 manors in Staffordshire) and probably became the governor of Stafford castle.^[14] In the case of Nigel, however, it is far less clear why he would have been called de Stafford unless he was Robert's son, since (at least based on Domesday) he had no holdings in Stafford itself and, while he was a subtenant of a significant number of holdings in Staffordshire,^[15] most of his holdings as tenant-in-chief were in Derbyshire.^[16]

It should be noted that one minority proposition asserted in 1903 by JP Yeatman is that (i) Nigel de Stafford's father was a de Albini, while his mother was Godehildis, (iii) his father died and his mother (Godehildis) married, second, Roger de Toeni, (iv) his mother and Roger de Toeni had sons Ralph and Robert de Toeni (and thus Nigel was an older half brother of Robert de Toeni), (v) after the Conquest, Nigel, Roger and their mother all lived in the castle at Stafford for a time, as a result of which Nigel was sometimes called Nigel de Stafford, and (vi) thus Nigel de Albini (of Cainho) and Nigel de Stafford are the same person.^[17] This proposition was forcefully rebutted by J. Horace Round^[18]and does not appear to have been widely adopted.

On balance, while far from certain, it is reasonably plausible and perhaps likely that Nigel de Stafford was the son of Robert de Stafford. Based on that assumption, Nigel's mother was presumably Avice de Clare.

Operative Life Story

Based the assumption that Robert de Toeni/Stafford was Nigel de Stafford's father, the facts of Nigel's life would be as follows: (i) Robert de Toeni, born about 1035-40, had a son Nicholas about 1060 and a son Nigel about 1062, (ii) Robert de Toeni fought alongside the Conqueror and was richly reward with many landholdings, including Stafford castle, and became known as Robert de Stafford, (iii) Robert's sons became known as Nicholas and Nigel de Stafford after their father and their home, (iv) sometime about 1083-85 Robert de Toeni/Stafford engaged in some estate planning and transferred some of his lesser holdings to his younger son Nigel (who would otherwise have gotten nothing upon Robert's death) or, alternatively, Nigel provided some service to the King, who rewarded him directly with lands, (v) as an adult, despite no longer living at Stafford castle, Nigel kept the de Stafford name for name for recognition/prestige purposes, (vi) in Domesday in 1086 Nigel was recorded as owning the properties granted to him under the name Nigel de Stafford, (vii) Nigel had at least three children (William, Nicholas, and a daughter) sometime in 1083-1100, (viii) Nigel made the donations to the Church of St. Mary of Helenstow and the Abbey of St. Albans sometime in 1090-1120, (viii) sometime in 1100-1120 Nigel arranged for his younger son, Nicholas, to marry co-heiress Margaret fitz Ercald to ensure that Nicholas has property, and (ix) Nigel died sometime about 1120, leaving son William as his heir and holder of his remaining properties.

Date and Place of Birth

Based on Nigel's operative life story above, he was probably born sometime in 1058-1065. Based on his father's estimated date of birth (1035-1040) and the fact that he was younger than his brother Nicholas, it is unlikely that Nigel would have been born before 1058. Based on the fact that he was a landholder in Domesday in 1086, he probably could not have been born after 1065.

Assuming that his father was Robert de Toeni/Stafford and that Nigel was born sometime in 1058-1065, he would probably have been born in his father's home of Tosny, Normandy.

Founder of the Gresley and Longford Families

While there is doubt as to whether Nigel was the son or brother of Robert de Toeni/Stafford or perhaps even related to him at all, sources seem much more confident and consistent that Nigel de Stafford was the primogenitor of the Gresley and Longford families.^{[7][9][19][20][18]} The evidence consists primarily of (i) a good number of original sources that refer to William de Gresley or Nicholas de Gresley as the son of Nigel (although it should be noted that no original sources expressly refer to either as the son of "Nigel de Stafford") together with (ii) the fact that a large portion of Nigel de Stafford's Domesday holdings continued on in the family of his eldest son, William.^[19][20]

Nigel's descendants appear to have quickly dropped the "de Stafford" name and adopted "de Gresley." Gresley is not mentioned in Domesday. One source says that "it is clear that Heathcote was the Domesday name for the vill [of Gresley]."^[21] There is no current town of Gresley, but the adjacent towns of Castle Gresley and Church Gresley are located in the area where Nigel de Stafford's Domesday holdings of Drakelowe, Linton, Heathcote and Swadlincote were all located.^[19]

Marriage and Children

The identity of Nigel de Stafford's spouse in unknown.

Nigel had the following children (although, per Eyton's theory discussed above of an intervening generation of another Nigel,^[13] it is possible that the following were actually Nigel de Stafford's grandchildren) :

• William, b. probably sometime in 1075-1094, m. possibly Elena ______, d. probably 1166
• Nicholas, b. probably sometime in 1077-1096, m. probably sometime in 1090-1120 Margaret fitz Ercald, d. probably sometime in 1150-1170
• a daughter, b. probably sometime in 1080-1110, educated at or became a nun at Church of S. Mary of Helenstow^[3][1]

Death

Based on his entries in the Domesday Survey, it is certain that Nigel de Stafford died after 1086. Based on his operative life story discussed above, under which Nigel was the father of the children listed above, Nigel probably did not die until sometime after 1100. According to Madan, the earliest record of his son William as a landholder is dated 1124,^[19] which probably indicates that Nigel died sometime before that date.

^{[6] [7] [1] [2] [3] [4] [8] [5] [10] [11] [9] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]}

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} Falconer Madan, "The Gresleys of Drakelowe," Collections for a History of Staffordshire, Volume XIX, New Series, 1898, pp 18-21
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Names index page, opendomesday.org
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6} Rev. S.R. Wigram, "Chronicles of the Abbey of Elsow," Parker and Co., 1885, pp 14-22
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Rev. Peter Newcome, "The History of the Ancient and Royal Foundation called the Abbey of St. Alban in the County of Hertford," 1795, p 415
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} "Place: Thorpe (Constantine)," opendomesday.org
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Round, J. Horace. "Review: The Gresleys of Drakelowe." The Ancestor. No. 1 (1902). p. 201. Link to issue at wikisource.org.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} William Dugdale, "The baronage of England, or, An historical account of the lives and most memorable actions of our English nobility in the Saxons time to the Norman conquest, and from thence, of those who had their rise before the end of King Henry the Third's reign deduced from publick records, antient historians, and other authorities," Tho. Newcomb, for Abel Roper, John Martin, and Henry Herringman, London, 1675-1676.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} Rev. Robert W. Eyton, "Domesday Studies: An Analysis and Digest of the Staffordshire Survey," Trubner & Co., London, 1881, p 51
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} Daniel Lysons and Samuel Lysons, 'General history: Baronets', in Magna Britannia: Volume 5, Derbyshire (London, 1817), pp. lxiii-lxxv. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/magna-britannia/vol5/lxiii-lxxv (accessed 22 February 2017).
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} "ID: I12805, Name: Nigel de Stafford, of Drakelow, Sir," Phillips, Weber, Kirk and Staggs Families of the Pacific Northwest, by Jim Weber, rootsweb.com
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} "Gresley baronets," wikipedia.org
12. ↑ See discussion of Roger [I] and Roger [II] de Tosny at Normandy Nobility, Chapter 9. Evreux. E. Seignors de Tosny, Medieval Lands Project, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy.
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2} Rev. R.W. Eyton, "The Staffordshire Pipe Rolls, of the reigns of King Richard I and King John, AD 1189 to AD 1216," Collections for a History of Staffordshire, Vol II, The William Salt Archaelogical Society, 1881, p 70
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} Falconer Madan, "The Gresleys of Drakelowe," Oxford, 1899, p 16
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} "NAME: NIGEL (OF STAFFORD)," opendomesday.org
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} "NAME: NIGEL OF STAFFORD," opendomesday.org
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1} John Pym Yeatman, "The Brownes of Bechworth Castle," 1903, p 123
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1 18.2} J. Horace Round, "The Origin of the Shirleys and the Gresleys," Journal of the Derbyshire Archaelogical and Natural History Society, Vol. XXVI, 1904, pp 159-184
19. ↑ ^{19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4} Falconer Madan, "The Gresleys of Drakelowe," Oxford, 1899, pp 24-27
20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1 20.2} Falconer Madan, "The Gresleys of Drakelowe," Oxford, 1899, p 21
21. ↑ ^{21.0 21.1} "Castle Knob, Castle Gresley," gatehouse-gazetteer.info