Sir John STANLEY of Knowsley and Lathom (1386?-1437)

Individual Events and Attributes

Marriage

Individual Note 1

Sir John II Stanley (c. 1386 – 1437) was Knight, Sheriff of Anglesey, Constable of Carnarvon, Justice of Chester, Steward of Macclesfield and titular King of Mann, the second of that name.

Biography

His father Sir John Stanley, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, had been granted the tenure of the Isle of Man, to him and his heirs, by Henry IV, and the younger Sir John succeeded to the Kingdom in 1414. He also held the office of Steward of Macclesfield, Cheshire.

He twice visited the Island to put down rebellions (1417 and 1422) and was also responsible for putting the laws of the Island into writing. A brief description is given in Manx Notebook (vol iii p1-4).

A. W. Moore, a Manx antiquary and Speaker of the House of Keys,[1] appraised him as follows:

“ He may justly be considered an enlightened and upright ruler, much in advance of his time. He caused the ancient laws and constitutions of his little kingdom to be reduced to writing, he humbled the overbearing ecclesiastical authorities, and, after he had practically concentrated all power into his own hands, he wisely conceded a representative form of government.[citation needed] ”

He purchased the Advowson of Rectory of Winwick, Cheshire from the Nostell Priory, Wakefield in 1433 - from this time onwards, this church, adjacent to his property, was to have close links with the Stanley family.

Family

He married Isabell Harington, daughter of Robert de Harington. One of his sons was Sir Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley, and a grandson was Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby.

NOTES:

1 A.W. Moore²

Individual Note 2

Knight of the Garter. Constable of Carnarvon, Justice of Chester. Steward of Macclesfield; Lord of Man. The house of Stanley came into possession of the Island in 1406, and as it appears to us essential to give a summary account of this little kingdom from the period of their accession, we shall proceed to do so in as concise a manner as the subject demands. In the year 1493, the Earl of Salisbury, then King of the Island, sold it, with his crown and title of King, to Sir William Le Scrope. rfhe deed of sale runs thus :— "Sir William Le Scroop bought of William Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, the Isle of Man, with the title of King, and the right of being crowned with a golden crown" Sir Wm. Le Scrope, afterwards Earl of Wiltshire, was found guilty of high treason and beheaded, when Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland, was granted the Island by King Henry IV, and he also having been attainted, was deprived of it by act of Parliament, and the Island was ordered to be seized for the King’s use; but seven years afterwards it was granted by the King to Sir John Stanley, his heirs and successors, under the title of King.³

Sources