Sir William Stanley 
Sir William was born about 1438 in Wirrel Forest, Staffordshire, England. Sir William's father was Sir Thomas Stanley and his mother was Joan Goushill. His paternal grandparents were Sir John Stanley and Isabel Harrington; his maternal grandparents were Sir Robert Goushill and Elizabeth Fitz-Alan. He had three brothers and three sisters, named Thomas, Sir John, James, Margaret, Elizabeth and Katherine. He was the third youngest of the seven children.General Notes
To follow the story of Aldford in the turbulent times of the Wars of the Roses, we look next at Sir William Stanley of Holt who purchased Aldford, Nether Alderley and Etchells from Sir John Stanley of Elford. This is covered in Chapter XVIII of "The House of Stanley". Holt is on the river Dee and just over the bridge from Farndon in Cheshire.
Sir William Stanley of Holt in Denbighshire was the second son of Thomas the 1st Baron Stanley (1405-59). His elder brother was Thomas (1432-1504) who became the 2nd Baron Stanley and then the 1st Earl of Derby in 1485. Sir William supported the house of York in the Battle of Blore Heath in 1459. In 1461, Edward IV made Sir William Stanley the Chamberlain of Chester and Sheriff of Flintshire. He fought for the Yorkists at Hexham in 1466 and was given the Lordship and Castle of Skipton in Yorkshire which he subsequently exchanged for Chirk. He obtained additional land following the battle of Towton. After the battle of Tewkesbury in 1471 he took the news to Queen Margaret of her son's death and then took her to Coventry.
Edward IV's successor, Richard III, courted Sir William's support by various grants of manors and by appointing him Chief Justice for North Wales and Chief Commissioner for Shropshire. Sir William was suspicious of Richard because of the disappearance of the two princes and changed his allegiance to Henry Tudor. At the Battle of Bosworth Field, Sir William Stanley rescued Henry Tudor at a critical moment in the battle, struck down the King and is said to have found his crown in a thorn bush. He handed the crown to his elder brother Thomas who put it on the head of Henry Tudor. Henry VII appointed Sir William Stanley the Lord Chamberlain and Knight of the Garter and granted him additional lands that made him the richest commoner in England. Sir William's wealth and power inevitably attracted enemies and he was disappointed that his services had not led to a peerage. In 1489 he became Constable of Caernarvon and Beaumaris, and in 1490 Henry VII gave him the Lordships of Bromfield, Chirk and the castles of Dinas Bran, Holt and Chirk in confirmation of earlier grants of the latter two by Richard III.
Sir William as Lord Chancellor was arbitrator in the dispute between Sir John Stanley of Elford and his half-brother Sir Humphrey, mentioned above. He then bought the manors of Aldford and Nether Alderley in Cheshire from Sir John. Sir William was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1494, on suspicion of being involved in the rebellion of Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be the younger of the "princes in the tower" and therefore heir to Edward IV. At that time it was not known that the sons of Edward IV had both been murdered. Although Sir William had helped put Henry VII on the throne he was known to have been a strong supporter of Edward IV. He was quoted as saying that if Perkin Warbeck was the son of Edward IV he would not fight against him. This, and his unwillingness to confirm or deny his guilt, was sufficient to see him executed at the Tower on 16 February 1495.
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Ancestor Pedigree Chart
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*There are earlier generations for the ancestor(s) indicated. See their page(s) for details (click name)
- b.~ 1292 in Hooton, Cheshire, England d.1361
- b.~ 1330 in Storeton, Cheshire, England d.1398
- b.~ 1290 in Storeton, Cheshire, England
- b.~ 1356 in Wirrel Forest, Stafford, England d.6 JAN 1412/13 in Ardee, Dublin, Ireland
- b.~ 1307 in Dunham Massey, Cheshire, England d.1349
- b.~ 1339 in Timperley, Cheshire, England
- b.~ 1301 in Timperley, Cheshire, England d.> 1349
- b.1385 in Wirrel Forest, Stafford, England d.27 Nov 1437 in Anselesey, Wales
- b.1300 in Lathom, England d.17 Sep 1370
- b.~ 1325 in Lathom, England d.20 MAR 1380/81
- b.~ 1305 in Chartley Castle, Stafford, England
- b.~ 1364 in Knowsley, Lancaster, England d.26 Oct 1414
- b.~ 1296 in Kinderton, Cheshire, England d.1368
- b.~ 1334 in Kinderton, Cheshire, England
- b.1310 in Lea Hall, Preston, Lancashire, England
- b.1406 in Wirrel Forest, Stafford, England d.20 FEB 1458/59 in Knowsley, Lancashire, England
- b.~ 1281 in Harrington, Cumberland, England d.02 Jul 1347
- b.~ 1307 in Farleton, Lancaster, England d.1359
- b.~ 1281
- b.1345 in Hornby Castle, Lancashire, England d.> 1397
- b.~ 1277 in Farleton, Lancaster, England d.1314 in Beheaded
- b.~ 1307 in Aldingham, Lancaster, England d.1359
- b.~ 1283 in Holland, Lancastershire, England d.> 1329 in Farleton, Lancaster, England
- b.~ 1374 in Hornby, Lancashire, England d. in Anselesey, Wales
- b.~ 1295 in Inglewood, Cumberland, England
- b.~ 1321 in Cumberland, England
- b.~ 1300 in Warcop, Cumberland, England
- b.~ 1351 in Lancaster, England d.< 1397
- b.~ 1300 in Bownwys, Cumberland, England d.> 1342
- b.1318 in Bownwys, Cumberland, England
- b.~ 1438 in Wirrel Forest, Staffordshire, England d.16 FEB 1494/95
- b.~ 1350 in Hoveringham, Nottingham, England d.21 Jul 1403 in Battle of Shrewsbury, England
- b.~ 1402 in Hoveringham, Nottingham, England d.FEB 1457/58
- b.01 May 1290 in Arundel, Sussex, England d.17 Nov 1326 in Beheaded without trial in Hereford, England
- b.1313 in Arundel, Sussex, England d.24 JAN 1375/76 in Arundel, Sussex, England
- b.~ 1287 in Warren, Sussex, England d.23 May 1338
- b.1350 in Arundel, Sussex, England d.21 Sep 1397 in Beheaded at Cheapside, England
- b.1281 in London, England d.22 Sep 1345
- b.~ 1311 in Grismond Castle, England d.11 JAN 1370/71
- b.1282 in Kidwelly, Carmarthen, Wales d.1322
- b.~ 1374 in Arundel, Sussex, England d.08 Jul 1425
- b.~ 1276 in Pleshey Castle, Essex, England d.16 MAR 1320/21 in Slain at Boroughbridge, York, England
- b.Nov 1310 in Pleshey Castle, Essex, England d.Sep 1360 in Northampton, England
- b.05 Aug 1282 in Rhudlan Castle, Carnarvon, Wales d.05 May 1316 in Quendon, Essex, England
- b.~ 1350 in Arundel, Sussex, England d.1385
- b.1274 in Chilham Castle Kent, England d.14 Apr 1322 in Hanged in Canterbury, Kent, England
- b.1313 in Chilham Castle, Kent, England d.08 Jun 1355 in Richmond Palace, Surrey
- b.~ 1286 in Tonebridge, Suffolk, England d.1333
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Sir William and Elizabeth were married in a religious ceremony in 1471. They had a son and two daughters, named William, Jane and Catherine.
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