Catalogue description The Medieval Stafford family, records to c.1580

It is evident that although the documents in D641/1 form a massive series of estate records, there has been a substantial dispersal of the documents.

The make-up of the collection

The complete lack of original deeds in this group of documents has already been remarked on in the general introduction to Lord Stafford's papers as a whole. This combined with the massive survival of estate administration papers is the opposite of what occurs so much more frequently.

These deeds had disappeared by 1762, as their absence is referred to in correspondence just prior to the Jerninghams succession to the remains of the medieval Stafford estates (D641/3/E/6/10). The whereabouts of only one large group of the medieval deeds of this estate is known and these relate to Madeley a property which the Crewe family acquired in the 16th century from the Staffords. Their archives are now in the Cheshire Record Office (they were not available at the time Miss Rawcliffe carried out her research). Some of the deeds relating to properties in various parts of the country, but mostly affecting or mentioning members of the family, were copied c.1550 - 1600 into the "Great and Little Cartularies" (S.R.O. 1721/1/1,2); reference to the collection of Madeley deeds at the Cheshire Record Office indicates that only a small proportion of the documents were copied into these "cartularies" and that where copied the document itself was suitably endorsed.

Briefly the documents in the collection, which although received with numbers given them by the Reverend Frith, were in no coherent order have been organised as follows:

Receiver General and similar accounts, local receivers accounts with the relevant local ministers accounts attached

Ministers accounts for properties directly under the control of the Receiver General

Household and personal accounts

Court rolls; there seemed to be no evidence that the non-financial administration of the manors was directly affected (other than accounting for the profits of jurisdiction) by the financial hierarchy of Receiver General and local receiver. The manor court records have therefore been arranged by county and by manor within the county as far as this is practicable.

In the 1930s it is said that the then Lord Stafford gave a certain number of the documents examined by the Reverend Frith to Sir Algar Howard, the then owner of the manor of Thornbury. Other documents are in the P.R.O., the B.L., Westminster Abbey and at Longleat House. Others, also in the Staffordshire Record Office form part of the "Bagot collection" (S.R.O. 1721/1). A marriage in 1195 between the Stafford heiress, Millicent and Harvey Bagot was the excuse over 600 years later, for a Staffordshire antiquary to present those documents to the then Lord Bagot. In 1930/40 some Thorbury Ms. was given by Lord Stafford to Sir Algar Howard (Glos. R.O.).

Stafford family of Swynnerton, Staffordshire, Earls of Stafford, Dukes of Buckingham

The history and descent of the family and its estates (with pedigrees) from the 11th century can be followed in "The Staffords, Earls of Stafford, Dukes of Buckingham 1394 - 1521" by Carole Rawcliffe, CUP 1978.