Isabel (Verdun) de Ferrers (1317 - 1349)

Born 12 Jan 1317 in Amesbury, Wiltshire, England

Ancestors

Wife of Henry (Ferrers) de Ferrers — married before 20 Feb 1331 in England [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 25 Jul 1349 at age 32 in Groby, Leicestershire, England

Biography

Origins

Isabel was born 12 January 1317 during the feast of St. Benet at Amesbury, Wiltshire, England^[1][2], the eldest daughter of Thebaud de Verdun, 2nd Lord Verdun, Justiciar of Ireland (posthumously) and Elizabeth de Clare.^[3] She was baptized in the church at Amesbury by the Bishop of Salisbury in the presence of her godmother Queen Isabella who lifted her from the baptismal font as witnessed by Sir John le Duyn.'^[1] King Edward II did not attend the baptism, but he sent a gift, a silver-gilt cup with a value of £1 10s., to the royal nun Mary’s valet and was notified of the birth as Sister Mary was named Isabel's godmother along with Queen Isabella.^[2]

Life

When Isabel was a child, she was taken from Usk Castle along with her mother and half-sister and imprisoned in Barking Abbey after her stepfather, Sir Roger Damory, had joined the Earl of Lancaster's ill-fated rebellion against King Edward II.^[4]

In 1331, Isabel's husband Henry complained to King Edward III that Roger Mortimer, earl of March, had arranged for the inheritance of Theobald de Verdun to favor Mortimer's three nieces (Joan, Elizabeth and Margery) to the detriment of his wife.^[5] The king declined to intervene until Isabel proved her age, and she did on 20 February 1331. The king then subsequently divided the inheritance into 4 equal parts.^[1][6]

01 Mar 1343/1344: "Order to assign to Isabel late the wife of Henry de Ferrariis, fourth daughter and heir of Theobald de Verdon, the knights' fees in that bailiwick of the following ... ".

1 March 1343/44:

"To William de Radenore, escheator in co. Hereford. Order to assign to Westminster. Isabel late the wife of Henry de Ferrariis, fourth daughter and heir of Theobald de Verdon, the knights' fees in that bailiwick of the following, which the king has assigned to her of those which belonged to Theobald, with the assent of Thomas son and heir of Joan late the wife of Thomas de Fournyval, Bartholomew de Burgherssh and Elizabeth his wife and Mark Husee and Margery his wife, to wit: three fees and a moiety of a fee in Erdesleye, Letton, Brokebury, Swannesour, Stretton, Butterle and Kemple in that county, which Richard de Baskervill holds of the honour of Webbele, to the value of 171. Os. 100. yearly; a moiety of a fee in Weston in the same county, which Robert de Weston holds, to the value of 50s. yearly; a fee in Dersyngton, co. Gloucester, which Henry de Prayers holds, to the value of 100s. yearly; a fee and a moiety of a fee in Blakeden and Wridefen, co. Warwick, to the value of 71. 108. yearly; a moiety of a fee in Bodbrok, in co. Warwick, which the heir of Philip de Gatton holds to the value of 50s. yearly; a moiety of a fee in Bodbrok, which the heir of Robert de Hastang holds, to the value of 50s. yearly; a moiety of a fee in Frone- werk, co. Stafford, which John de Verdon holds, to the value of 50s. yearly; a moiety of a fee in Henneleye, co. Salop, which Roger de Wellyngton holds, to the value of 50s. yearly; a moiety of a fee in Wildredhope, co. Salop, which Burga late the wife of Richard de Harleye holds, to the value of 50s. yearly; and a fourth part of a fee in Wyggele, co. Salop, which Robert son of Robert de Douill holds, to the value of 25s. yearly, to hold as Isabel's purparty. To John Waleys, escheator in co. Warwick. Like order to deliver to Isabel the said fee and moiety in Blakedon and Wrydefen, the moiety in Bodbrok and the other moiety there, to hold as aforesaid. The like to the following to deliver the following fees to Isabel, to wit: Simon Basset, escheator in co. Gloucester, for the fee in Dersyngton. Jo de Aston, escheators in cos. Salop and Stafford for the moiety in Fronewyk, the moiety in Henneleye, the moiety in Wildredhope and the fourth part in Wyggelei. To John Waleys, escheator in co. Leicester. Order to deliver to Isabel the advowsons in that bailiwick of those following, which the king has assigned to her of those which belonged to Theobald, to wit: the advowson of Boseworth church in that county, to wit the first time of presenting, and after that every fourth time, to the value of 200 marks yearly; the advowson of the hospital of St. John, Lutterworth, in that county, to hold as her purparty. To Elizabeth de Burgo, late the wife of Theobald de Verdon. Order to attorn herself to the said Isabel for what pertains to her by reason of the manors of Fleckenbo and Lutterworth, except the manors of Cotesbech and Bitlesby and the others in the manor of Lutterworth, as of the lands held in dower of the inheritance of Theobald de Verdon, which are held in dower or for life, the king has assigned to Isabella with the assent of Thomas son of Joan late the wife of Thomas de Fournyvall, of Bartholo- mew de Burgherssh and Elizabeth his wife and of Mark Husee and Jar- gery his wife, the said manor of Fleckenho, co. Warwick, and the manor of Lutterworth with all its members except the aforesaid manors, in co. Leicester, which Elizabeth holds in dower of the said inheritance, to hold after Elizabeth's death."^[7] 343

Marriage and Children

Isabel married before 20 February 1331 Henry de Ferrers, 2nd Lord Ferrers of Groby, the son of William de Ferrers, 1st Lord Ferrers of Groby and Margaret de Segrave.^[3] They were probably married in 1328 when Henry de Ferrers acknowledged a debt of 500 marks to Isabel's mother, a debt which likely pertained to their marriage. They had children:

1. Unknown Ferrers, born about February 1331, died in infancy.^[8] See Research Notes for further details.
2. William de Ferrers, born 28 February 1333 in Newbold Verdon, Leicestershire, England, married (1) before 25 April 1344 Margaret de Ufford, daughter of Sir Robert de Ufford KG and Margaret de Norwich; (2) before 25 May 1368 Margaret de Percy, daughter of Henry de Percy and Idoine de Clifford.
3. Elizabeth de Ferrers, born about 1336 in Groby, Leicestershire, England, married (1) before 18 July 1356 David Strathbogie, 12th Earl Atholl, 3rd Lord Strabolgie, son of David Strathbogie, 11th Earl Atholl, 2nd Lord Strabolgie and Katharine Beaumont; married (2) before 21 September 1373 John Malewayn, Esq., son of John Malewayn and Margery Waleys.
4. Philippa de Ferrers, born about 1337 in Groby, Leicestershire, England, married before 1353 Sir Guy de Beauchamp, son of Sir Thomas de Beauchamp KG, 11th Earl of Warwick, Marshal of England and Katherine de Mortimer.

Death

Isabel died on the feast of St. James on 25 July 1349.^[9] She died of the black plague and was buried in Ulverscroft Priory, Ulverscroft, Leicestershire, England.

Research Notes

First child

An unknown child was born to Henry de Ferrers and Isabel de Verdun about February 1331 in England. The unknown child was born near that date as its mother Isabel was visited by Elizabeth, Lady of Clare, its grandmother, in February and April of 1331 to check on her condition.^[8]

In Chapter 3 of For Her Good Estate: The Life of Elizabeth de Burgh, page 95 reads: "Isabella’s husband, Henry Ferrers, claimed his marital rights around 1330. She conceived quickly, for Elizabeth sent her a book costing £36 for her purification in March 1331, and showed maternal concern by checking on Isabella’s condition in February and April. Another pregnancy followed quickly, with son William born in February 1333." Based upon the chronology for the purification reference, an unknown child was born sometime in February of 1331 and must have died in infancy as no name for the child exists.

In the footnotes for this section, it states that "GEC, 5:348 and CIPM, 9: no. 379 disagree over the date of William’s birth, but he seems to be the second child of the marriage."

Confusion over Ralph de Ferrers

Supposed son of Isabel, Ralph de Ferrers, is actually Ralph de Ferrers, son of William de Ferrers, 1st Lord Ferrers of Groby and Ellen (possibly Segrave), who was the brother of her husband Henry de Ferrers. He married Joan de Grey of Codnor.^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Public Record Office. Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, vol. 7, Edward III, 1327-1336. (London: 1909), pp. 296-297.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Frances Underhill. For Her Good Estate: The Life of Elizabeth de Burgh, (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999), p. 18.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Douglas Richardson. Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, 2nd Edition, Royal Ancestry series, 2nd edition, 3 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2011), Vol. 1, pp. 527-528, CLARKE 9.
4. ↑ For Her Good Estate: The Life of Elizabeth de Burgh, p. 30.
5. ↑ Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, vol. 7, pp. 281-284.
6. ↑ Public Record Office. Calendar of the Close Rolls, vol. 2, Edward III, 1330-1333, (London: 1898), pp. 450-451.
7. ↑ Public Record Office. Calendar of the Close Rolls. vol. 3, Edward III. 1343-1346, (London: 1896), pp. 276-277.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} For Her Good Estate: The Life of Elizabeth de Burgh, p. 95.
9. ↑ Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, vol. 9, Edward III, 1347-1352, (London: 1916), pp. 299-300.
10. ↑ George Edward Cokayne and Vicary Gibbs, ed. Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Vol. V: Eardley of Spalding to Goojerat, 2nd ed.. (London, 1926). p. 352.

See also:

• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry. Vol. 3, p. 153.
• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry. Vol. 2, p. 296.
• Cokayne, George Edward, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant. 2nd Ed., 14 volumes. (London, England: St. Catherine Press), 1910-1998. Search online at FamilySearch.org.
• Collections for a History of Staffordshire (Staffordshire Record Society, 1906) New Series Vol. 9, Page 249
• Great Britain. Calendar of the Fine Rolls, vol. 4, Edward III, A.D. 1327-1337. (1913; reprint 1971): pages 285, 301.