Family of Ralph *of STAFFORD and Margaret * of AUDLEY

Husband:	Ralph *of STAFFORD (1301-1372)
Wife:	Margaret * of AUDLEY (c. 1300-1347)
Children:	Ralph of STAFFORD (c. 1322- )
	Elizabeth of STAFFORD (c. 1326- )
	Hugh * of STAFFORD (1334-1386)
	Beatrice of STAFFORD (1341- )
	Joan of STAFFORD (1344- )
	Katherine of STAFFORD (1348- )
Marriage	bef 6 Jul 1335	Stafford, Staffordshire, England1

Husband: Ralph *of STAFFORD

Name:	Ralph *of STAFFORD
Sex:	Male
Father:	Edmund * of STAFFORD (1272-1308)
Mother:	Margaret * of BASSETT (1280-1337)
Birth	24 Sep 1301	Tunbridge Castle, Staffordshire, England
Occupation		1st Earl of Stafford
Death	31 Aug 1372 (age 70)	Tunbridge Castle, Staffordshire, England

Wife: Margaret * of AUDLEY

Child 1: Ralph of STAFFORD

Name:	Ralph of STAFFORD
Sex:	Male
Birth	1322 (est)

Child 2: Elizabeth of STAFFORD

Name:	Elizabeth of STAFFORD
Sex:	Female
Birth	1326 (est)

Child 3: Hugh * of STAFFORD

Child 4: Beatrice of STAFFORD

Name:	Beatrice of STAFFORD
Sex:	Female
Birth	1341

Child 5: Joan of STAFFORD

Name:	Joan of STAFFORD
Sex:	Female
Birth	1344

Child 6: Katherine of STAFFORD

Name:	Katherine of STAFFORD
Sex:	Female
Birth	1348

Note on Husband: Ralph *of STAFFORD

The history of Stafford Castle dates from the period following the Norman Conquest in 1066. Lands held by the defeated Saxons were shared among the followers of William the Conqueror. As a result, the estates to the west of Stafford, formerly held by Earl Edwin were awarded to Robert de Tosny, a member of a powerful Norman family.

On the east side of his large estate Robert built a castle overlooking the town of Stafford -the castle which we know today as Stafford Castle. In the traditions of the time, it would have been a 'motte and bailey' castle, constructed of earth and timber. There would have been a mound (or motte) with a ditch around it, and a courtyard (or bailey) also surrounded by a bank and ditch. In some instances a castle might have two baileys; this happened at Stafford. Earth from the ditches was used to make the motte and the bank around the outside of the bailey. Palisades of timber would have defended the castle.

Over the next two hundred years Stafford Castle suffered a gradual period of decline, but all was to be changed by the career of Ralph Stafford who succeeded to his father's estates in 1323. Ralph's friendship with Edward III, his leading role as a soldier during the Hundred Years' War, and the inheritances gained through two marriages brought him great wealth and influence. In 1348 he was chosen as one of the founder members of the Order of the Garter, and in 1351 he was created the first Earl of Stafford.

It was in 1348 that Ralph contracted with John of Bicester to build a stone castle “on the motte in the manor of Stafford". The castle was to have “towers, halls, chambers, spiral staircases, windows, doors and gates". The resulting castle was rectangular in shape, with octagonal towers on each corner, and survived, with the addition of a fifth tower, until the Civil War nearly three hundred years later.

By the seventeenth century, however, the structure of the castle was, in the words of a contemporary diarist, “somewhat ruined”. But it was still occupied by Lady Isabel Stafford, who supported the Royalist cause in the Civil War. The town of Stafford fell to the Parliamentarians in 1643, and after a brief period of resistance the castle also fell. The local Parliamentary Committee shortly afterwards ordered that “Stafford Castle be forthwith demolished”.

In 1783 the Stafford Estate was inherited by Sir William Jerningham, a Norfolk gentleman. He uncovered the foundations of the medieval keep, and following his death his son, Edward Jerningham, was instrumental in 1813 in rebuilding the keep in a Gothic manner on the original medieval foundations "after the style of Edward III”.

During the twentieth century the keep fell into decay, and was donated to Stafford Borough Council by Lord Stafford in 1961. Subsequently a programme of archaeological and historic research has been carried out, and in May 1991 the Visitor Centre was opened.

Note on Wife: Margaret * of AUDLEY

Margaret de Audley, suo jure 2nd Baroness Audley and Countess of Stafford (1318[citation needed] – between 1347 and 1351[1]) was an English noblewoman. She was the only daughter of Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester by his wife Lady Margaret de Clare.[2] Her mother was the daughter of Joan of Acre, Princess of England; thus making Margaret a great-granddaughter of King Edward I by his first consort, Eleanor of Castile. As the only daughter and heiress of her father, she succeeded to the title of 2nd Baroness Audley [E., 1317] on 10 November 1347.[1]

Marriage and issue

 

Margaret was abducted by Ralph, Lord Stafford, who had helped Edward III take the throne. At the time, her worth was at least £2314 a year, which was more than ten times Stafford's own estates. (However, he eventually rose to Earl of Stafford in 1350.) After the abduction, her parents filed a complaint with the king, but Edward supported Stafford. In compensation, the king appeased Hugh and Margaret by creating Hugh the 1st Earl of Gloucester.

 

Margaret de Audley and Stafford married before 6 July 1336. They subsequently had two sons and four daughters:

 

Sir Ralph de Stafford (d. 1347), married Maud of Lancaster, daughter of Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster and Isabel de Beaumont in 1344.[3]

Hugh de Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford, born circa 1336 in Staffordshire, England, married Philippa de Beauchamp; they were the ancestors of the Dukes of Buckingham (1444 creation).[3]

Elizabeth de Stafford, born circa 1340 in Staffordshire, England, died 7 August 1376, married firstly Fulk le Strange;[3] married secondly, John de Ferrers, 3rd Baron Ferrers of Chartley; married thirdly Reginald de Cobham, 2nd Baron Cobham.[4]

Beatrice de Stafford, born circa 1341 in Staffordshire, England, died 1415, married firstly, in 1350, Maurice FitzGerald, 2nd Earl of Desmond (d. June 1358); married secondly, Thomas de Ros, 5th Baron de Ros, of Helmsley; married thirdly Sir Richard Burley, Knt.[3]

Joan de Stafford, born in 1344 in Staffordshire, England, died 1397, married firstly, John Charleton, 3rd Baron Cherleton;[3] married secondly Gilbert Talbot, 3rd Baron Talbot.[5]

Katherine de Stafford, born circa 1348 in Staffordshire, England and died in December 1361. Married on 25 December 1357 Sir John de Sutton III (1339 – c. 1370 or 1376), Knight, Master of Dudley Castle, Staffordshire. They were parents of Sir John de Sutton IV, hence grandparents of Sir John de Sutton V.[6] They were ancestors of Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President of the USA.

Sources

1	"US and International Marriage Records, 1550-1900" (on-line, Yates Publishing, Provo, UT).