C.P. Addition: Dowsabel Tempest, wife of Sir Thomas Darcy, Lord Darcy
Douglas Richardson
A poster on soc.genealogy.medieval last week asked about the two
marriages of Sir Thomas Darcy (c.1467-1537), Lord Darcy of Darcy (or
Temple Hurst). The authoritative Complete Peerage, 4 (1916): 71, 73–
74 (sub Darcy) states correctly that Sir Thomas Darcy married (1st)
Dowsabel Tempest, and (2nd) before 1520 Edith Sandys, widow of Ralph
Neville, styled Lord Neville.
Yet the 2nd marriage to Edith Sandys is badly placed by Complete
Peerage. Sir Thomas Darcy married Edith Sandys far earlier than
stated, that is, before 7 December 1499, as indicated by Catalogue of
Ancient Deeds, volume 3, page 227, Deed A.5808, which document is
available at the following weblink:
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=64337.
Likewise, In Trinity term 1501, Sir Thomas Darcy and his wife, Edith,
conveyed the manors of Mautholme, Witton, Cottingham, and
Buttercrambe, Yorkshire to various feoffees, including Reginald Bray,
Knt. [Reference: Collins Feet of Fines of the Tudor period [Yorks]:
part 1 (1887): 14-20, available at the following weblink:
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=49620&strquery=Thomas%20Darcy
One person has publicly indicated that "the statement that Thomas
Darcy's first wife, Dowsabel, was still living in 1503 seems to be
incorrect." However, since Complete Peerage fails to give the
source for the 1503 date, it is unclear if the date as stated is
unreliable or is derived from the possible misunderstanding of a
contemporary text.
Whatever the case, Dowsabel Tempest, the first wife of Sir Thomas
Darcy, was surely dead sometime before 1515, as indicated by the
following Chancery suit between Dowsabel's son and heir, George Darcy,
and Dowsabel's widowed mother, Lady Mabel Tempest.
C 1/302/22
George Darcy, son and heir of Dowsabell, lady Darcy, daughter and heir
of Richard Tempest, knight. v. Dame Mabel Tempest, late the wife of
the said Sir Richard.: Detention of deeds relating to land in
Stainforth, Little Lever, and Austwick.: York.
Date: 1504-1515
See the following weblink for the above item in the National Archives
catalogue:
Curiously, there is another document concerning Dowsabel (Tempest)
Darcy published in Ancient Deeds—DD Series (List & Index Soc. 200)
(1983): 316. An abstract of this same document may be viewed
elsewhere online at the National Archives catalogue:
E 211/706
Enfeoffment to uses
Parties: Thomas, Lord Darcy, and Sir George Darcy kt., his son; Edward
[Stanley] Earl of Derby and others, feoffees for Dowsabell Darcy, wife
of Thomas.
Places or Subjects: Stainforth, Garforth and Austwick, County Yorks.;
Ellington, County Northumb.
Covering dates 22 Hen.VIII [1530-1531]
The following is the weblink to the above Chancery record:
The above document implies that Dowsabel Tempest was living as late as
1521, if not as late as 1530-31, as Edward Stanley did not become Earl
of Derby until 1521. However, I believe that the intended wording of
the document is that Edward Stanley was merely the feoffee of Dowsabel
Tempest's inheritance, part of which were long held in dower by her
mother, Lady Mabel Tempest, who survived Dowsabel. Likewise, had
Thomas Darcy been divorced from Dowsabel Tempest, he would have surely
had no claim to her lands. Thus, it would seem that Thomas Darcy was
almost certainly Dowsabel Tempest's lawful husband at the time of her
death.
While I'm unable to confirm or refute Complete Peerage's statement
that Dowsabel Tempest was living in 1503, Dowsabel was surely dead
before 1515, if not in or before 1499. And, as stated above, she was
presumably Thomas Darcy's lawful wife at the time of her death.
Lastly, regarding the maternity of Sir Thomas Darcy's son, Arthur
Darcy, he was doubtless the son of Sir Thomas Darcy's first marriage
to Dowsabel Tempest, just as stated in published visitations. We can
be certain of this as sometime before 1530, Arthur Darcy had the manor
of Darcy Lever, Lancashire settled on him by his older brother, Sir
George Darcy. This information is found in VCH Lancaster, 5 (1911):
262-266, which is available at the following weblink:
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=53041&strquery=Dowsabel].
As indicated by VCH Lancaster, the manor of Darcy Lever was part of
Dowsabel Tempest's inheritance. Had Arthur Darcy been the son of
Edith Sandys, he would have had no interest in this property.
When replying, please kindly cite your sources and provide weblinks if
you have them. Thank you.
Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah
wjhonson
> be certain of this as sometime before 1530, Arthur Darcy had the manor
> of Darcy Lever, Lancashire settled on him by his older brother, Sir
> George Darcy. This information is found in VCH Lancaster, 5 (1911):
> 262-266, which is available at the following weblink:
>
>
> As indicated by VCH Lancaster, the manor of Darcy Lever was part of
> Dowsabel Tempest's inheritance. Had Arthur Darcy been the son of
> Edith Sandys, he would have had no interest in this property.
>
But you do not need previous interest to have a Manor settled upon
you. It just has to be in the hand of whoever is doing the settling.
So George could here be settling his one of his own inherited manors
upon his half-brother. It's a possibility that shouldn't be
discounted too quickly.
Will Johnson
John Schuerman
I have at hand photocopies of some folios from Elizabeth Blanche
Tempest's (EBT) manuscript Tempest Pedigrees, British Library Add. MS.
40670, which has an entry for Dowsabel Tempest. EBT cites Plumpton
Correspondance, p. cxvi. This volume is online through Persi-
Heritagequest at
http://persi.heritagequestonline.com/hqoweb/library/do/books/results/image?urn=urn%3Aproquest%3AUS%3Bglhbooks%3BGenealogy-glh26202773%3B-1%3Ba_r130%3B&polarity=&scale=&jumptophysicalpage=a_r116
(this may be available only through subscribing libraries). A
footnote on p. cxvi says that Thomas Darcy's second wife, Lady
Neville, was entertained by Darcy's first wife, Dowsabel, at the
castle in Berwick in 1503, citing De rebus Anglicanis opuscula varia,
apud Lel. Coll. vol. iv, p. 279. I have not tried to track that
citation down. EBT gives two other references that might be of help
but which I have not consulted: Surtees Soc. v. 6, p. 75 concerning a
plea of Sir Arthur Darcy for a lease of Gigglesworth Rectory and a
reference that I take to be to Letters and Papers, foreign and
domestic, of the reign of Henry VIII, vol. 12, No. 186(40). EBT says
that the latter concerns an exchange between the sons of Thomas Darcy,
George and Arthur, in which George exchanged the manor of Lever for
that of Gatford, co. York.
John Schuerman
Douglas Richardson
Thank you for your good post. Great detective work.
Yes, it would appear that Plumpton Correspondence is very likely the
source for Complete Peerage's statement that Dowsabel Tempest, the
first wife of Thomas Darcy, was living in 1503. Besides the weblink
you cited, the book, Plumpton Correspondence, is also available
through Google Books at the following weblink:
http://books.google.com/books?id=Lh8IAAAAIAAJ&pg=PR116&dq=De+rebus+Anglicanis+opuscula+varia&lr=
It would seem that Thomas Stapleton, the editor of the Plumpton
Correspondence, was not aware that Thomas Darcy and Edith Sandys were
already married in 1503, when "Lady Darcy" entertained "Lady Neville"
at Berwick. Stapleton presumed that the Lady Darcy living in 1503
was Thomas Darcy's first wife, Dowsabel Tempest. Complete Peerage
evidently made the same error. Thomas Darcy's wife in 1503 was
actually his second wife, Edith Sandys, as I have shown from two
contemporary pieces of evidence.
It is unclear from Stapleton's account whether or not the given name
of the Lady Neville entertained by the Lady Darcy in 1503 was given in
the original source he used. If not, it seems entirely possible that
the Lady Neville who was entertained was actually Edith Sandys' own
daughter, Isabel Neville, who Stapleton showed was married about Sept.
1505 (date of her jointure).
As for additional evidence that Arthur Darcy was the son of Thomas
Darcy's first wife, Dowsabel Tempest, I note that Arthur purchased
from his brother, George Darcy, Knt., the custody and marriage of
Arthur son and heir apparent of Thomas Burton in 1520-21. As the son
of Dowsabel Tempest, he would necessarily have to have been born
before 1499. If so, he was clearly of age when he made this purchase
from his brother. An abstract of this record is presented below.
E 210/4798
Record Summary
Scope and content
Sir George Darcy, knight to Arthur Darcy his brother, gentleman: Sale,
indented, of the custody and marriage of Arthur son and heir apparent
of Thomas Burton, esquire: ?Berks.
Covering dates 12 Hen. VIII.
The above record may be viewed at the following weblink at the online
National Archives Catalogue:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=7033220&CATLN=6&Highlight=%2CARTHUR%2CDARCY&accessmethod=0&Summary=True:
As for additional evidence that Arthur Darcy was the son of Dowsabel
Tempest, I note that in 1530 Arthur conveyed the manor of Gateforth
(in Brayton), Yorkshire to his brother, George Darcy, Knt., in
exchange for the manor of Darcy Lever, Lancashire. Both of these
properties were part of their mother, Dowsabel Tempest’s
inheritance. You noted the same exchange without date in your post.
I've also determined that in 1558 Arthur Darcy and his wife, Mary,
sued John Swynburne, Esq., regarding the manor of Ellington,
Northumberland [Reference: Arch. Aeliana, 3rd Ser. 6 (1910): 88].
This property was also part of Arthur's mother's inheritance.
In summary, the evidence shows that Dowsabel Tempest was the lawful
wife of Thomas Darcy at the time of her death, she being his first
wife. Thomas Darcy then married (2nd) before 7 Dec. 1499 Edith
Sandys, widow of Ralph Neville, she being a near kinswoman of King
Henry VII of England. There is sufficient evidence to conclude that
Dowsabel Tempest was the mother of Sir Arthur Darcy.
Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah
.
On Jul 13, 5:42 pm, John Schuerman <j-schuer...@uchicago.edu> wrote:
> Douglas—
>
> I have at hand photocopies of some folios from Elizabeth Blanche
> Tempest's (EBT) manuscript Tempest Pedigrees, British Library Add. MS.
> 40670, which has an entry for Dowsabel Tempest. EBT cites Plumpton
> Correspondance, p. cxvi. This volume is online through Persi-
> Heritagequest athttp://persi.heritagequestonline.com/hqoweb/library/do/books/results/...
Douglas Richardson
catalogue which is not accessible to the public.
The following alternative weblink should work much better:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/search.asp