Robert (Calmundelei) de Cholmondeley (abt. 1175)

Born about 1175 in Malpas, Cheshire, England

Ancestors

Descendants

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Biography

1175 Birth and Parents

Peter Cotgreave focuses his detailed analysis of William le Belward, father of David le clerk de Malpas and Richard FitzWilliam. ^[1] He does, however, mention a third brother of David and Richard: Robert FitzWilliam. ^[2]

George Ormerod in his 1819 work and its 1882 Helsby revision, who shows Robert de Chelmundelegh as the second son of William le Belward, lord of a Moiety of Malpas, and brother of "David de Malpas, als. le clerk." ^[3]

Robert is omitted by other writers. In his Treatise on Surnames, Camden ^[4] states "Not long after the conquest, William Belward, Lord of the moeity of Malpas, had two sons, Dan David, of Malpas, surnamed le Clerke, and Richard.

Sir Edward Dering in his writing also reports that William Belward, lord of the moiety of Malpas in Cheshire, had issue David and Richard. ^[5] Dering's omission is not for lack of appreciation for diversity -- Dering adds, "Who would conceive, without good proof, that Malpas, Gough, Golborne, Egerton, Goodman, Colgrave, Weston, Little, Kenclerk, and Richardson, were all in short time the issue of William Belward?" ^[5]

Mother Uncertain

The identity of Robert's mother is uncertain. Various sources have given different wives to William le Belward. Ormerod's pedigree of Cholmondeley of Cholmondeley, gives the wife of William le Belward, and mother of Robert, as Tanglust, natural daughter of Hugh Kevelioc, palatine earl of Chester. ^[6] Cotgreave's analysis of Tanglust, however, leads to the conclusion that there is no evidence of her existence and her profile now notes her disproven existence. ^[7]

Birth Year Estimation

Howard shows William le Belward of Malpass living "in tyme of King Stephen (1135-1154) he was lord of ye Moity of Malpass." ^[8]

Based on documents, Cotgreave estimates William's sons David and Richard were active in the time period 1190-1230. ^[9] Their births have been estimated in the 1170's, with the implication that William le Belward's own birth might be, say, 1140. Given this, the birth of Robert, second son, has been estimated as, say, 1175. Such dates are highly speculative and useful primarily for placing a person in the correct time period.

Siblings: The Three Brothers

Ormerod shows three brothers -- David de Malpas, Robert de Cholmondeley, and Richard, as the sons of William Belward. Each of these brothers founded different families with different surnames. ^[3]

1. David de Malpas is shown by Ormerod as the father of Philip Goch, William de Malpas, whose mistress was Beatrix de Montalt, and David de Golborne.^[3]
2. Robert de Cholmondeley is shown by Ormerod as the father of Hugh De Cholmondely and Simon de Christelton.^[3]
3. Richard is shown by Ormerod as the father of Thomas de Congreve, William de Overton, Richard le Lyttele, unknown de Codynton, as well as Margaret, wife of Unknown de Hampton. ^[3]

Cholmondeley

As reported by Collins, Robert, who settled on the manor of Cholmondeley, of which he became possessed by the gift of his father, and hence assumed the surname of Cholmondeley. ^[10]

Marriage

Robert's marriage is unknown.

Issue

Ormerod shows Robert de Cholmondeley with two sons:

1. Sir Hugh de Cholmondeleigh, kt, Lord of Chelmundelegh, son ahd heir per cert. without date, of Robert, son of Ladolph de Twenlowe, living in the time of Philip de Orresby. ^[6]
2. Simon de Christelton ^[3]

Research Notes

Did Robert marry Mabel FizNigel?

John Sharpe shows a Richard, not Robert, son of William le Belward, married to Mabel, daughter of Robert Fitz-Nigel, Baron of Halton. ^[11]

Charles Mosley shows Mabel FitzNigel, who married Robert de Cholmondeley, Lord of Cholmondeley and son of William de Malpas and Beatrix of Kevelioc, as the daughter of Robert FitzNigel, Baron of Halton.^[12] Darryl Lundy follows suit on his site. ^[13]

The identification by Cotgreave of Nigel de Puis as a relative in the Belward family gives some credibility to the existence of a Mabel FitzNigel. In fact, Cotgreave suggests that William le Belward may have been a brother to Robert FitzNigel. ^[14]

However, there is not enough evidence to connect Mabel FitzNigel as Robert Calmundelei's wife.

Sharpe's Line of Descent for Hugh Cholmondeley, 1614

Sharpe gives a line of descent which includes a Richard de Calmundelei as son of Robert and father of Hugh.

1. William de Belward, Baron of Malpas under the Norman Earls Palatine of Chester, and Lord of Calmundelei, had three sons (see the Wilton Pedigree) (a) David, ancestor of the Earl of Wilton; (b) Robert, (c) Richard. ^[11]
2. Richard de Calmundelei, second son, having from his father the gift of that lordship, thence assumed the family name; he married Mabel, daughter of Robert Fitz-Nigel, Baron of Halton ^[11]
3. Sir Hugh de Chelmundeleigh, son and heir, married Felice, a natural daughter of Ranulph de Blundeville ^[11]
4. Robert de Chomondeley, son and heir, married Margerie, daughter of Sir Richard de Kingsley ^[11]
5. Hugh de Cholmondeley, son and heir, temp Edw. I and II, married Katherine, daughter of William de Spurslow ^[11]
6. William de Cholmondeley, second son, married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William de Brereton; he died cira 1375. ^[11]
7. Richard de Cholmondeley, son and heir, married twie; Alice, daughter and coheir of Richard de Henhull, his second wife, was the mother of his heir; living 1387. ^[11]:
8. William de Cholmondeley, son and heir, married Maud, daughter of Sir John Cheney, of Willaston, co. Chester; he died vita patris 1400. ^[11]
9. Richard de Cholmondeley, son and heir, married Ellen, daughter of John Davenport, of Davenport, Esq. he died 1488. ^[11]
10. Richard de Cholmondeley, son and heir, married Eleanor, daughter of Sir Thomas Dutton, of Dutton ^[11]
11. Richard Cholmondeley, Esq, son and heir, married twice; Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Randle Brereton, of Malpas, his second wife, was the mother of his heir ^[11]
12. Sir Hugh Cholmondeley, son and heir, was five times sheriff, co. Chester, and was knighted by the Duke of Norfolk, during the expedition into Scotland, at Leith, 1544; he married twice; Anne, daughter and coheir of George Dorman of Malpas, his first wife, was the mother of his heir. Sir Hugh was Vice President of the Marches in Wales, in the absence of Sir Henry Sidney, K. G. Lord Deputy of Ireland, and died, aet 83, 6 January 1597. ^[11] .

Cholmondeley

The Cholmondeley family descends from [[Malpas-133|William le Belward (or de Belward), (or William ap Richard), the feudal lord of the barony of Malpas in Cheshire who acquired the lordship of "Calmundelai" (as it was spelt in the Domesday Book) through his wife Beatrix, born 1170, daughter of Hugh de Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester, born 1141. ^[15]

Their eldest son David le Belward inherited the feudal barony of Malpas and was the ancestor of the Egerton family. The second son, Robert le Belward, became feudal lord of the barony of Cholmondeley, which he passed to his son Sir Hugh de Cholmondeley (or "Chelmundeleih"), who adopted the new surname.^[15][16][17]

Different Theories of Descent

Calmundelei was held at Domesday by Robert, son of Hugh, Baron of Malpas. Dying without male issue, lordship of Calmundelei and other lands devolved on "his only daughter and heir, Lettice", married to Richard de Belward, whose son (or grandson) William de Belward, was married to Beatrix, daughte of Hugh Kiviliock, the fifth earl of Cheser, and coheir to her brothe Randal, Earl of Chester. Collins Peerage. ^[18]

He was, in right of his mother, Baron of Malpas, though it is said by soe, that he had only half of the barony; bt it is agreed by Sir William Dugdale...that he left issue three sons, David, Robert, herafter mentioned, and Richard. ^[18]

David, who from being Clerk (or Secretary) to the Earl of Chester, was sometimes wote le Clerk, as also de Malpas, succeeded his father at Malpas, and after the Earldom of Chester was annexed to the crown, was Sheriff of the county of Chester, in 36 Henry III (1216+36=1252), bearing the name of David de Malpas. He left issue Sir William de Malpas, who died wikthout lawful issue. ^[18]

Philip, second son, who seating himself at Egerton, left that surname to his posterity, from whom the family of Egerton is descended...^[18]

Peter, another of the sons of the said David, took the name of Clerk.^[18]

Robert, second son of William, Baron of malpas, was the diredct ancestor to this family of Cholmondeley...for having, by the gift of his father, the lodship of Cholmondeley, and fixing his residence there, he assumed that surname, which his posterity hath ever since retained. He married Mabel, daughter of Robert Fiz-Nigel, Baron of Halton, with whom he had the lordship of Christleton, and a relase of the hospital of Cholmondeley.^[18]

Their son and heir was Sir Hugh de Chelmundeleigh, as the name was then wrote in a chater, without date, of Robert, son of Liulph, and Mabilla his wife, whereunto the said Sir Hugh de Chelmundeligh, and Robert, his son, were witnesses. ^[18]

The said Sir Hugh is also mentioned in a fine, in 14 Henry III, (1216+14=1230) between Sibil, daughter of William de Goldburne, and William Clerk, of Handley, levied before William de Vernon, then Justice of Chester. ^[18]

He married Felice, natural daughter of Arnulph de Blundeville, Earl of Chester and Lincoln, by whom he had the before mentioned Robert, his son and heir; Richard, second son, and a dahghter, Felice. ^[18]

The Cholmondeleys and Egertons are descended from the same stock; Robert, ancestor of the Cholmondeleys, being th younger brother of Philip, ancestor of the Egertons, a younger son of David, Baron of Malpas, who, in or about the reign of Henry III, took their family names from the places of their respective residences. ^[19]

The township of Cholmondeley, which lies about eight miles west from Nantwich, gave name to the noble family of Cholmondeley, descended from Robert, a younger brother of David de Malpas, who settled at Cholmondeley about the reign of King John, on becoming possessed of that estate by gift of his father; his son, Sir Hugh Chomondley, had a grant of manorial rights and privileges in Cholmondeley, from Randal de Blundeville Earl of Chester. ^[20]

We find mention in Collins's Peerage of an ancient hospital at Cholmondeley, released by Robert Fitz-Nigel Baron of Halton to Robert de Cholmondeley, the first of the name; but it seems to rest on no authority, and to be wholly erroneous. (There was no Robert Fitz-Nigel, Baron of Halton, unless, as some suppose, the first baron, who lived in the reign of William the Conqueror, bore that name. His grandson, who assumed the name of Lacy, continued by his posterity, died about the middle of the twelfth century; Robert de Cholmondeley must have lived in or about the reign of King John. ^[20]

Sources

1. ↑ Cotgreave, Figure 1, page 14
2. ↑ Cotgreave, page 29
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} Ormerod, Helsby, Volume 2, page 651
4. ↑ Camden. Treatise on Surnames. Cited by John Burke. "The Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Females.""The Right Honourable Lady William-Henry Cholmondeley, page 73 Accessed December 7, 2018 jhd
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Sir Edward Dering, knt and baronet. Variations in the Arms in the family of Dering. Printed as an Appendix to Lower's Curiosities of Heralrry, Svo, 1845, p. 305, cited by John Gough Nichols, The Herald and Genealogist, Volume 1, page 347 Accessed December 7, 2018 jhd
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Ormerod, Helsby, Volume II, page 637
7. ↑ Cotgreave, page 15
8. ↑ Joseph J. Howard. Miscellanea Genealogical Et Heraldica, Volume 1. P. 293. Egerton of Ridley, The Genealogie or Pedigree of ye Right Worshipfull Familey of Egerton of Ridley in ye County Palatyne of Chester, Being Extracted out of ye Ancient Records, Deeds and other Authentick Testimonies Pertaining to those Famileys of egertons, and drawne down to these tymes by Randle Holme of ye Citty of Chester, Herauld Painter, Ano Dmi 1690. Copied from the original roll in the possession of Sir Philip de Malpas Grey Egerton, Bart., M. P., of Oulton Park, Tarporley London: Hamilton, Adams and Company, Paternoster Row, 1868. Accessed November 14, 2017 jhd
9. ↑ Cotgreave, page 17
10. ↑ Collins 5528
11. ↑ ^{11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12} John Sharpe, Publisher. Sharpe's Peerage of the British Empire exhibiting its present state and deducing the existing descents from the Ancient Nobility of England, Scotland , and Ireland. London, 1830. Volume 1 Marquess Cholmondeley Accessed 3/28/2019 jhd
12. ↑ Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. Volume 1, page 784. Cited by Darryl Lundy. The Peerage Mabel FitzNigel Last edited 13 March 2007. Accessed 3/28/2019 jhd
13. ↑ Darryl Lundy. The Peerage Mabel FitzNigel Last edited 13 March 2007. Accessed 3/28/2019 jhd
14. ↑ Cotgreave, page 32, Figure 5
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. pp. 783–785. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1. Cited by Wikipedia: Marquess_of_Cholmondeley Accessed November 29, 2018 jhd
16. ↑ Burke, John (1832). A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the British Empire. H. Colburn and R. Bentley. p. 243. Retrieved 25 December 2016. Cited by Wikipedia: Marquess_of_Cholmondeley Accessed November 29, 2018 jhd
17. ↑ Cleveland, Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Powlett Duchess of (1889). The Battle Abbey Roll: With Some Account of the Norman Lineages. J. Murray. p. 247. Retrieved 25 December 2016. Cited by Wikipedia: Marquess_of_Cholmondeley Accessed November 29, 2018 jhd
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 18.7 18.8} Sir Egerton Brydges, K. J. Collins's Peerage of England, augmented and continued to the present time. London, 1812. Volume IV. Cholmondeley, Earl Cholmondeley, page 16 and following Accessed 3/28/2019 jhd
19. ↑ Daniel and Samuel Lysons. Magna Britannia: Being a Concise Topographical Account of the Several Counties of Great Britain. Volume The Second Containing Cambridgeshire and the County Palatine of Chester. London: Cadell and Davies, 1810 page 364 Accessed 3/28/2019 jhd
20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1} Daniel and Samuel Lysons. Magna Britannia: Being a Concise Topographical Account of the Several Counties of Great Britain. Volume The Second Containing Cambridgeshire and the County Palatine of Chester. London: Cadell and Davies, 1810 pages 681-683 Accessed 3/28/2019 jhd

Bibliography of Frequently Cited Sources

• Barraclough, Geoffrey. The Charters of the Anglo-Norman Earls of Chester c. 1071-1237 Volume 126. Record Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 1988.
• Burke, Bernard. A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct, Peerages of the British Empire (Harrison, 59, Pall Mall, London, 1866)
• Cotgreave, Peter. The barony of Malpas in the twelfth century. Transactions, Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, 2008, 157.2. pp. 1-32.
• Harleian Society. The Visitation of Cheshire in the Year 1580, The Publicatons of The Harleian Society (London: The Society, 1882) Vol. 18, Page 159: "Dauid le Clerk." Married "Margareta filia(daughter) et(and) haeres(heir)" of "Radulphus Baro' de Mallpas." and "Beatrix soror(sister) Hugonis Keveliock Co. Cestriae."
• Ormerod, George. (1819) The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester compiled from Evidences in Public Offices, the Harleian and Cottonian Mss, Parochial Registers, private Muniments, Unpublished Ms. Collections of Successive Cheshire Antiquaries, and a personal survey of every township in the county...Second edition, revised and enlarged by Thomas Helsby, Esq. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1882. Volume II, Containing the Hundreds of Edisbury, Wirral, and Broxton. Compiled from Evidences in the Exchequer of Chester. Accessed November 20, 2017 jhd
  • Malpas of Hampdon and Bickley page 641
  • Cholmondeley of Cholmondeley
• Ormerod, George (1882) Thomas Helsby's revision of George Ormerod's The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester compiled from Evidences in Public Offices, the Harleian and Cottonian Mss, Parochial Registers, private Muniments, Unpublished Ms. Collections of Successive Cheshire Antiquaries, and a personal survey of every township in the county...Second edition, revised and enlarged by Thomas Helsby, Esq. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1882. Volume II, Containing the Hundreds of Edisbury, Wirral, and Broxton. Compiled from Evidences in the Exchequer of Chester.
  • Malpas of Hampdon and Bickley Accessed November 20, 2017 jhd
  • Malpas
  • Cholmondeley of Cholmondeley
  • Egerton of Egerton, page 628
• Tait, James. The Chartulary or Register of the Abbey of St. Werburgh, Chester, Printed for the Chester Society, 1926. page xviii, Digital Image Internet Archive (https://archive.org/stream/chartularyorregi791manc#page/n13 : accessed 17 August, 2018). Note for page 92 line 9.
• Wolcott, Darrell. Ancient Wales Studies. The Malpas Family in Cheshire. Wolcott's special contribution is review of older genealogies from the perspective of chronological plausibility and to propose revisions when necessary. Regrettably, Wolcott sometimes creates persons who never existed in order to fill in the perceived gaps.
• Wrottesley Space:Pedigrees_from_the_Plea_Rolls_1200_to_1500