Eve
"Eva"
de Benhale
formerly Clavering
Born about in England
Ancestors 
[sibling(s) unknown]
Wife of
Thomas Audley
— married
about 1305 in England
Wife of
Thomas (Ufford) de Ufford
— married
before 2 Dec 1308 (to 24 Jun 1314) in England
Wife of
James Audley
— married
before 1 Nov 1319 in England
Wife of
Robert Benhale
— married
before 1342 in England
Descendants 
Mother of
John (Ufford) de Ufford, Robert (Ufford) de Ufford, Edmund (Ufford) de Ufford and James (Audley) d'Audley KG
Died
at about age 69
in England
Profile last modified
| Created 27 Apr 2015
This page has been accessed 3,396 times.
| Magna Carta Surety Baron Descendant (see text). Join: Magna Carta Project Discuss: magna_carta |
Contents |
Biography
Origins
Eve (or Eva) de Clavering was born between 1295 and 1305, daughter of Sir John FitzRobert de Clavering, 2nd Baron Clavering and Hawise de Tiptoft (or Tiptot).[1] She was age 40 and more in 1345.[2]
Marriage and Children
Eve married (1) about 1305 Thomas de Audley, 7th Lord Audley, son of Sir Nicholas de Audley and Katherine Giffard, no issue.[2]
Eve married (2) before 2 December 1308 Sir Thomas de Ufford, son of Sir Robert (Peyton) de Ufford, Justiciar of Ireland and Joan,[2]
- They had children:
Eve married (3) before 1 November 1319 Sir James de Audley[3], son of Sir Hugh de Audley, Lord Audley and Iseult le Rous.[2]
- They had children:
- Sir James de Audley, K.G.[2]
- Sir Peter de Audley[2]
- Katherine de Audley[2]
- Anne de Audley[2]
- Hawise de Audley[2]
Eve married (4) in 1335 Sir Robert de Benhale, no issue.[2]
Death and Legacy
She died September 20, 1369[4] and was buried at Langley Abbey, Norfolk, with her four husbands.[2]
The distribution of Eve's property was ordered in a writ of precipmus on 10 July 1371 and an inquisition was taken at Stafford on 6 August 1371, which included "Audelegh. The manor and Endon. A third part of the manor" and "both the above she held for life in dower of James de Audelegh, lord of Heeleye, as of the castle and manor of Alveton, by service of a pair of gilt spurs at Michaelmas, by endowment of Thomas de Audelegh, her late husband, the reversion after her death belonging to the said James as kinsman and heir of Thomas. The castle and manor of Alveton are assigned in dower to Joan late the wife of Thomas de Fournyvall ... the said James has had possession of the manor and third part ever since her death as heir of the said Thomas."[4]
Seal
1334 seal of Eve:[5]
- "Red: originally fine, very imperfect. About 1 1/8" in. when perfect. Per pale, dexter, a cross lozengy, dimidiated, over all a bend for her husband Ufford; sin. fretty of six pieces her husband Audley. Within a carved gothic panel of three points and five semicircular, ornamented with ball-flowers along the inner edge. Outside this the carving and tracery, which is very elaborate, contains three cusped countersunk panels in triangle, in each of which is a lozenge-shaped shield of arms: quarterly a bendlet, Clavering."
Research Notes
Did Eve marry Sir James de Audley?
Cokayne's Complete Peerage suggests that Eve lived with, but did not marry, James de Audley, "possibly owing to some difficulty in obtaining a dispensation, or to avoid the fine which she would have had to pay on marriage".[6]
In a discussion in soc.genealogy.medieval, started in April 2007, Douglas Richardson gave evidence for his conclusion that they did in fact marry.[7] Among the sources which he gave as evidence for this marriage were:
- Dugdale's Monasticon Anglicanum which twice states that she married James de Audley: this derives from the Genealogia Fundatoris of the Priory of Horsham[8]
- Beltz's Memorials of the Most Noble Order of the Garter[9]
- an Ufford pedigree in the 1853 issue of The Topographer and Genealogist[10]
- a 1904 article by Thomas Barret-Lennard on Horsford, Norfolk[11]
- evidence that James and Eve's son James inherited lands at Eastington, Gloucestershire from James's mother Iseult in 1338, which would be unlikely if their son was illegitimate[12]
- a document of 1335 held by Shropshire Archives in which Richard de Venables describes himself as "steward of Eva who was the wife of James de Audeley"[13]
- an entry in the Fine Rolls for 30 October 1369 which refers to "Eva late the wife of James de Audeleye, the elder"[3]
There is also a settlement of the manor of Stratton, Oxfordshire in 1330 by James de Audley and his wife Eve. The Victoria County History for Oxfordshire, which refers to this, goes on to say that Eve was James's mistress rather than his wife, and that James died without legitimate issue, but the only source given for this statement is Cokayne's Complete Peerage. The manor of Stratton did, though, pass not to James's sons by Eve but to his younger brother Hugh Audley, and that might appear to cast doubt on whether the sons were legitimate.[14]
In the soc.medieval.genealogy discussion, Rosie Bevan referred to two documents which might also cast doubt on the legality of Eve's marriage to James de Audeley.[15] By a deed of 1 November 1319 James de Audley leased a third of the manor of Cold Norton, Staffordshire, which he "ad du donn dame Eve Doufford a terme de la vie la dite dame Eve" ["acquired by the gift of lady Eve Doufford for the term of life of the said lady Eve"], with Eve confirming the deed on 11 November 1319.[16] Rosie Bevan stated that this demonstrates that James had acquired this property by gift of Eve, not by his rights as her husband: she suggested that if they were legally married there would have been no need for Eve to give separate confirmation. Eve is referred to as "Doufford" (de Ufford) not "de Audley".
In a 1909 article, Josiah Wedgwood referred to the 11 November 1319 document and commented, "It will be noticed that Sir James and Eve do not speak of each other as husband and wife, but that they have some mutual interests in each others' lives." He went on, "Eve de Clavering was a wealthy heiress and could not marry without paying a large fine. She possibly preferred an illegitimate match." But the document is sealed by Eve with a seal containing the arms of both Ufford and Audley, which may point to her being formally married to James de Audley.[17]
Rosie Bevan also said that, because of Eve's previous marriage to Thomas de Audley, Eve and James would have needed a papal dispensation for their marriage and suggested that they lacked the resources and influence to have gone to the trouble and expense of seeking one, with no guarantee of success. But, given that Eve was a wealthy heiress, as mentioned by Josiah Wedgwood, this surmise may be questionable. There is also a question about whether a dispensation would have been needed. Eve appears to have been married to Thomas in fairly early childhood; he died in 1307, when she was probably under 12, and possibly some years younger than that, so the marriage was almost certainly not consummated: the Church may well not have regarded it as confirmed in canon law, thus leaving her free to marry James.
The Dictionary of National Biography entry for Eve's son James de Audley describes him as son of Eve and James. It does not say explicitly that Eve and James were married - but it does not normally spell out that parents were married.[18] The same is true of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry for Eve's son James de Audley.[19] Neither suggests that her son James was illegitimate.
Sources
- ↑ Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society. Norfolk Archaeology: Or, Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to the County of Norfolk, vol. 15 (Norwich: Agas H. Goose, 1904), p. 274.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families', 2nd edition, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2011), Vol. I, p. 494, CLAVERING 5, Google Books
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 M. C. B. Dawes, ed. Calendar of the Fine Rolls, Vol. VIII, Edward I, A.D. 1368-1377, HMSO, 1924, Hathi Trust
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 A. E. Stamp, J. B. W. Chapman, M. C. B. Dawes and D. B. Wardle. Inquisitions Post Mortem, Edward III, File 220, in Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: Volume 13, Edward III, (London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1954), pp. 71-82, British History Online, accessed December 23, 2021
- ↑ Walter de Gray Birch. Catalogue of Seals in the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, Volume II, British Museum, 1892, p. 645, Internet Archive
- ↑ G E Cokayne. Complete Peerage, revised edition, Vol. III, St Catherine Press, 1910, pp. 275-276, Internet Archive
- ↑ Douglas Richardson. "Another C.P. Correction: Eve de Clavering, wife of Sir James de Audley", April, 2007, Google Group soc.genealogy.medieval
- ↑ William Dugdale. Monasticon Anglicanum, Vol. III, James Bohn, 1846, pp. 636-637, 636-637 Internet Archive and Vol. V, James Bohn, 1846, p. 560, Internet Archive
- ↑ George Frederick Beltz. Memorials of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, William Pickering, 1841, p. 83, Internet Archive
- ↑ James Gough Nichols. The Topographer & Genealogist, Vol. II, 1853, p. 272, Internet Archive
- ↑ Thomas Barrett-Lennard. Some Account of the Manor or Castle of Horsford, in 'Norfolk Archaeology', Vol. XV, Norfolk Archaeological Society, 1904, pp. 274-275, Internet Archive
- ↑ Kathleen Morgan and Brian S Smith, 'Eastington: Manors and other estates', in A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 10, Westbury and Whitstone Hundreds, ed. C R Elrington, N M Herbert and R B Pugh (London, 1972), pp. 127-131 British History Online, accessed 24 December 2021
- ↑ Shropshire Archives, ref. 52/32, catalogue entry
- ↑ 'Parishes: Stratton Audley', in A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 6, ed. Mary D Lobel (London, 1959), pp. 324-333, British History Online, accessed 24 December 2021
- ↑ Rosie Bevan, in "Another C.P. Correction: Eve de Clavering, wife of Sir James de Audley", 26 April 2007, Google Group soc.genealogy.medieval
- ↑ Wrottesley, George. Giffards from the Conquest to the Present Times, 'Collections for a History of Staffordshire', vol. 5, (London: William Salt Archaeological Society, 1902), p. 224, Internet Archive
- ↑ Josiah Wedgwood. 'The Parentage of James de Audley, K.G.' in Collections for a History of Staffordshire, vol. 9, (London: Harrison and Sons, 1906), pp. 254-255
- ↑ Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Vol. 2, pp. 250-251, entry for 'AUDLEY, or AUDELEY, JAMES de (1316?–1369)', Wikisource
- ↑ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by Michael Jones for 'Audley, Sir James (c. 1318–1369)', print and online 2004, revised online 2005
Acknowledgements
Magna Carta Project
- This profile was developed for the Magna Carta Project by Darrell Larocque in December 2021, and reviewed for the Project by Michael Cayley on 24 December 2021.
- Eve appears in badged trails from Gateway Ancestors
- Charles Barnes to Magna Carta Surety Baron John FitzRobert. This trail was badged in December 2021 and can be viewed in the Magna Carta Trails section of the Gateway's profile.
- Elizabeth Haynes to Magna Carta Surety Barons John FitzRobert and Saher de Quincy. See all the Haynes trails in the Magna Carta Trails section of the Gateway's profile.
- Eve appears in unbadged trails from the Kempe Gateway Ancestors (Richard Kempe, Edward Kemp, Edmund Kempe and Matthew Kempe) to one or more Magna Carta Surety Barons. The trail(s) have not yet been developed on WikiTree and can be viewed HERE.
- 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".
- WikiTree's Relationship Finder shows Eve is the 10th great grandmother of the Gateway Ancestor William Clopton, but that part of the trail still needs to be developed. ~ Noland-165 01:53, 4 January 2018 (EST)
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C > Clavering | D > de Benhale > Eve (Clavering) de Benhale
Categories: Quincy-226 Descendants | Clavering-13 Descendants | Magna Carta
NOTE: This profile has been the most challenging one yet, mainly due to the controversy surrounding her third "relationship" which may or may not have been a marriage. It may require some edits to make it all read better for whoever reviews the profile.
After reviewing every single source, I would lean that they were not married as the Wedgwood observations combined with the IPM not mentioning James as her late husband and instead mentioning Thomas are convincing to me. Whatever decision is made regarding that I'm fine with, married or no.
Darrell
I do not regard her IPM as evidence one way or the other as to whether she married James de Audley. It relates solely to specific property which she received in dower from her first marriage. In my view, it does not indicate that she was not married to James de Audley (just as the absence of a reference in the IPM to her marriage to Thomas de Ufford does not give evidence that she did not marry Thomas de Ufford).
edited by Michael Cayley
Edward was her third son with Sir Thomas de Ufford, who was slain at the Battle of Bannockburn, 24 June 1314.
She died in 1369.
I could not determine why Richardson set 1295 as the earliest birth year of the range. Although I changed her birth year to about 1300 (the center point of Richardson's range), it is likely she was born 1297 or earlier (keeping in mind that she died 1369).