| Administrative History | There are introductions to the individual sections of the catalogue and only an overview of the descent of the estates is given here.
Descent of the Stafford estates
As indicated in the description of the collection above the discontinuity of the collection as a whole reflects a discontinuity in the make-up of the estates which produced them owing to:
1 The widespread loss of property following the fall of the 3rd Duke of Buckingham in 1521
2 The failure of male heirs on three occasions (c.1640, c.1762, c.1913), combined as this was with descent of the barony of Stafford through the female line (by heirs general - see below).
These circumstances have meant that the estate has had in the end only one thread of continuity, the ownership by the then head of the family of the Stafford/Castle Church/Bradley estate. The accession of new owners to this property combined with their "loss" of it when the barony of Stafford went to heirs general, at a time when the property of the family itself and any of their titles went to heirs male, has led to the Castle Church etc. property being attached temporarily to a wide variety of estates.
The main periods of family ownership are as follows:
11th cent. - c.1200
Toeni, de Stafford; the heiress married Harvey Bagot but the de Stafford name continued in use (as might be expected at this period).
c.1200 - c.1640
The Stafford family, later Earls of Stafford, Dukes of Buckingham (until 1521), descendants of Harvey Bagot and Millicent Stafford.
c.1640 - 1762
(Stafford - ) Howard; the Stafford heiress married William Howard, son of the Earl of Arundel.
1762 - 1913
(Stafford - ) Jerningham; Sir George Jerningham married Mary Plowden, whose mother, also Mary, had been sister of John Paul, 4th Earl of Stafford.
1913 - to date
Emily Stafford Jerningham, only surviving sister of the 4th and 5th Stafford- Jerninghams, Barons Stafford, married Basil Fitzherbert and their son Admiral Edward Fitzherbert succeeded to the title on the death of the 5th Baron.
Note on the descent of the title
The barony of Stafford is grounded in title by "summons" (technically in 1299) to Parliament and not by creation as is normal with English titles. The descent of the title itself is further complicated by the various attainders which led to the forfeiture of it together with lands belonging to the family, particularly those associated with the execution of the 3rd Duke of Buckingham in 1521 and of William Viscount Stafford in 1680. The revival and the terms of revival of the various titles held by the family, complicated as these are by the descent through heirs general, are best studied in the appropriate article in Complete Peerage. In addition the "rightful" heir male in 1637 was "deemed insufficient" by the Crown and the heir general, married to Sir William Howard, son of the Earl of Arundel, was deemed to be the heir of the title and estate. However the slighted last member of the medieval Stafford family died in 1640 before the issue came to a head. |
| Description | This is a major family and estate collection with substantial medieval content, forming the major part of the largest and most comprehensive archive of a 15th and early 16th century noble family. The archives of the Earls of Stafford and Dukes of Buckingham have been termed, 'the most important single source of information for the English baronage after 1400'. The surviving manuscripts offer 'a unique opportunity to study the organization of a great estate' especially given 'the paucity of similar evidence about other noble families of this period' (1). Although the medieval content is clearly the cream of the collection the records continue into the 20th century.
Background (see also administrative history below)
The Stafford collection is unusual in that there is a discontinuity to the records, not so much due to poor record keeping or a poor survival rate, but because of the discontinuity in the composition of the family's estates from the Middle Ages through to the 20th century. The early medieval Staffords began as provincial landowners with estates largely in Staffordshire. From the mid 14th century a series of judicious marriages brought great wealth to the family, particularly through the Clare and Bohun inheritances. In 1444 Humphrey Stafford was created Duke of Buckingham and by the end of the 15th century the Staffords were the wealthiest magnates in England, second only to the crown, with vast estates in the Welsh marches and property in most English counties. After the fall of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, in 1521, his estates fell to the crown, his son being granted only a small estate in Staffordshire and Shropshire, and Gloucestershire. The family kept the title Baron Stafford and reverted to the status of minor provincial nobility.
Thereafter the failure of male heirs took the estates to distant male relations on three occasions: the Stafford-Howards in 1640, the Jerninghams of Costessy, Norfolk, in 1762 and the Fitzherberts in 1913. The Barony of Stafford, however, descended through the female line (heirs general), although in each case the Barony returned to the family holding the Stafford estates, in the case of the Jerninghams after a protracted legal battle and Act of Parliament. Each of these families brought to the estate its own ancestral properties, but these did not necessarily form part of the core estates that descended to their successors. As a result of these disruptions to the normal course of inheritance, there has been only one thread of continuity: the estates around Stafford, including Castle Church and Bradley. The changes in the estates, due to failure of heirs on the one hand and the forfeitures consequent on political misfortunes on the other, are detailed in the relevant sections of the catalogue.
The records
The resulting records fall into six sections. Four relate to the four families who inherited the Stafford lands:
D641/1: the medieval Staffords (c1200-c1640)
D641/2: the Stafford-Howards (c1640-1762)
D641/3: the Jerninghams (1762-1913)
D641/5: the Fitzherberts (1913- ).
In addition there are three further sections:
D641/4: records of the Sulyard family, who through marriage brought Suffolk property to the Stafford-Jerningham estate
D641/6: maps and plans not attributable to a particular section
D641/7: miscellaneous unattributed items.
Each section is described in detail at the appropriate place in the catalogue and the overall strengths and weaknesses of the collection are summarized below.
Records of estates and estate administration
There are excellent records for the medieval Staffords, especially (and unusually) administrative records for their vast estates, owing largely to the personal supervision of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham. On the other hand the original medieval deeds are lost, certainly before the Jerninghams inherited the estates in 1762. The survival of the great and little cartularies, into which the medieval deeds were copied around 1550-1575 (part of the efforts of Henry Lord Stafford to rebuild the family archive following his father's fall), compensates for this to some extent. In addition there is a great quantity of manorial records, which are excellent for the Staffordshire and Gloucestershire manors, which formed the core of the estate and a good series of household accounts.
By contrast, records for the Stafford Howard period are discontinuous and fragmentary for the Staffordshire estate, although there are some good series of manorial records for the Gloucestershire estate. In addition there is an interesting set of legal papers relating to the sequestration of the estates during the Interregnum.
The Jerninghams brought estates in Norfolk and Suffolk to the core Stafford-Howard estates, and these are well represented in the collection. It is with the Jerninghams in 1762 that the administration of the estate is again well documented, with detailed surveys, rentals and agents' correspondence, 18th-19th centuries. For the original Jerningham estates, there is a fine series of court rolls for the manor of Costessey from 1274 and account rolls from 1591.
With the marriage of Frances Sulyard, one of the co-heiresses of Edward Sulyard, to Sir George Jerningham in 1800, property in Suffolk came to the estate, and along with it the Sulyard family and estate papers. Although this is a much smaller estate, with a nucleus around Haughley and Wetherden in Suffolk, this part of the collection is one of the most comprehensive, especially in terms of medieval title deeds and manorial records.
As well as inheriting the core Stafford estates, the Fitzherberts already owned estates in Staffordshire and Derbyshire, and this section of the collection comprises the earlier records of the Fitzherbert family. Although Fitzherbert section does not have the coherence of the Jerningham and Sulyard papers, it is nevertheless much more substantial than the papers relating to the Stafford-Howards. Among the estate papers is an interesting set of documents showing the impact of private and parliamentary enclosure on the administration of the estate. A key feature of the estate records is the papers of the important 19th century agent R. S. Ford (1828 - 54), who had something of a national reputation.
Throughout the estate accounts are records relating to key buildings, 14th-19th centuries, including: building expenses on a new hall at Thornbury, 1330-1331; references to Stafford Castle and mills in Stafford, 14th-16th centuries; the sea walls in Gloucestershire late 14th century and near Arundel, 17th century. In addition early examples of building contracts include that for Stafford Castle, 1347/8, and a contract for building a room with solar at Wetherden, 1419.
Family papers
As in any collection, personal papers are idiosyncratic and reflect the interests of the family and of its individual members. Particular strengths of this collection are highlighted below.
Roman Catholicism
As we have seen this collection is comprehensive for some periods but fragmentary for the Stafford-Howard period. The fact that the Stafford-Howards, as Catholic recusants, were largely domiciled in France for the period they held the Stafford estates may well be to blame. However, the Roman Catholic faith of the families has left its mark on this collection in other ways. There are papers relating to sequestration of estates for recusancy; correspondence relating to recusancy of the Sulyards, 16th-17th centuries; and papers relating to the Roman Catholic interests of the Fitzherberts, 18th-19th centuries.
Legal papers
Owing to the complicated pattern of inheritance and consequent legal action there are numerous legal papers in the collection, including: papers re the Clare and Bohun Inheritances, 14th-15th centuries; volumes of papers and evidence collected by the son and grandson of Edward, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, in the attempt to reclaim some of the Stafford estates after 1521; papers re disputes between Viscount Stafford (exe. 1680) and his relatives; and papers re Sir William Jerningham's appeal for a restitution of the Stafford barony, 1800-1825, including pedigrees.
Family correspondence and related papers
On the domestic front there is much family correspondence, including that for the Sulyards, 17th and 18th centuries (around 700 letters), documenting sometimes difficult family relationships and social relationships. The Jerningham collection includes some 1,800 family letters for the 18th and 19th centuries. Amongst these are a number of letters from Edward Jerningham, the eighteenth-century poet and dramatist and some of his verse; and a letter from the Prince of Wales (the future George IV) to Mrs Fitzherbert. Personal correspondence is lacking for the medieval period although a 16th century copy of a roll concerning the concealment of Lord Stafford after his father's capture, 1483 is of interest. The letter book of Henry, Lord Stafford, mid-16th century, includes personal correspondence with family members and other members of the nobility alongside estate correspondence and letters to his servants.
Household
The workings of the household are well documented with a combination of accounts, inventories and bills over a period from the early 14th to the 19th centuries. Of particular note is the wardrobe account of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, early 14th century, which details the money he borrowed from Italian bankers including the Frescobaldi. Although the medieval material is more fragmentary, there are some detailed accounts of the 3rd Duke of Buckingham, late 15th-early 16th cent. There is an excellent series of detailed household accounts for the Sulyards, 17th century, augmented by a huge number of household and personal bills and vouchers, 17th-18th centuries. The Fitzherbert household accounts survive well for the later 18th and early 19th century.
Music
One of the gems of the collection is a small collection of manuscript and printed music, 1590-mid-16th cent.
Business
The business of the medieval Staffords was land management and the records of their administration of the estates are described above. Records relating to other business interests include: correspondence (c.1,200 letters) emanating from the Sulyards' legal practice as lawyers in the 18th century; and records of the Lilleshall Company, which exploited minerals on the Shifnal estate.19th century.
International affairs
Of the more significant papers relating to affairs outside the immediate interests of the family are: an account roll for the expedition to Calais in 1416 which contains a detailed record of the payment and provisioning of the expeditionary force; and the diplomatic correspondence, despatches and journals of George Sulyard Stafford Jerningham, 3rd son of Sir George Jerningham, 1833-1868.
Notes
(1) Carole Rawcliffe The Staffords, Earls of Stafford, Dukes of Buckingham 1394 - 1521 (CUP 1978) and Carole Rawcliffe, 'A Tudor nobleman as archivist: The papers of Edward, 3rd Duke of Buckingham' in Journal of the Society of Archivists 5:5 (1976)
Before deposit, the documents were kept in the estate office in five or six large wooden chests in an empty room on the first floor of the estate office; few items came from the files of the estate office proper.
Early work on the documents
The Anglican vicar of Swynnerton for much of the period 1920 - 1940 was the Reverend J. B. Frith. His extensive work on and sorting of documents produced a large group of antiquarian papers now in the William Salt Library (D1850). He identified, "classified", listed, numbered, but did not sort into any coherent order, a large proportion of the documents in the collection. The documents remained more or less as he left them in 1938 or so until their deposit in the County Record Office some twenty years later.
It is curious that in all his notes that he made on the documents, he does not seem to have written anything about how they were arranged when he found them nor anything about the earlier history of the documents themselves. |