Margaret Astley of Coton and Nordley Regis

Margaret Astley was the daughter of one Thomas Astley and the sister of another who died underage in 1376. Her paternal grandfather was Roger Astley of Kingsnordley.(IPM1361, indicates that son Thomas dvp).

She was possibly a distant relative of the baronial Astleys, but not a direct descendant.

Margaret Astleys husband was NOT the son of Sir John de la Lee, but the son of his brother, Sir Thomas de Lee of Okehirst, and his name was ROGER, not Robert. He is referred to in documents during the time of Henry V as Roger Lee of Coton, Gentleman, and Roger is referred to as the second son of Sir Thomas Lee, Knight.

Margaret's IPM or 1424 mentions no holdings but Nordley and no son but John. See Nicholls, A.J., "Lee Families of 17th Century England", p. 13 (privately printed, 2011).

supporting data

William Dugdale, Norrey King-of-Arms, certified the pedigree of this family through the testimony of Sir Humphrey Lee of Langley in 1623 and Thomas Lee of Coton in 1663. Their testimony traces the family back to Hugo de Lega, a contemporary of Reyner de Lea, whose son Reginald de la Lee received a grant of land from William, son of William FitzAlan, ad petitionem Fuconis fillii Warini [by petition of Fulk, the son of Warine, or Fulk FitzWarine]. What follows is the lineage certified in the College of Arms.

• Hugo de Lega received land grants from William, son of William FitzAlan, that established this family as landed gentry. William FitzAlan was given the shrievalty of Shropshire by King Henry in c.1160, which gives us a baseline for the lives of Hugo and Reginald. Hugo would have lived in the latter half of the 12th century and Reginald™s lifespan would have extended into first half of the 13th century. Hugo was succeeded by his son Reginald.
• Reginald de la Lee had a son Sir John de la Lee who was known to be living in 1298, when he received a land grant from Hugo de Hinton. Sir John was succeeded by his son Thomas.
• Sir Thomas de la Lee married Petronilla, the daughter of Sir Thomas Corbet. He gave the estate known as Lee Pevenhull to his eldest son Reginald, his successor. Sir Thomas had a younger son, as well, Thomas de la Lee.
• Sir Reginald de la Lee was succeeded by his son John.
• Sir John de la Lee, Knight (i), Lord of Roden, married (1) Alicia and (2) Matilda, the daughter of Henry de Erdington. He was survived by his son John.
• Sir John de la Lee, Knight (ii), was succeeded by his son Robert.
• Robert de la Lee, who lived in the time of King Richard II, married Margaret, the sister and heir of Thomas Astley of Nordley. Through this marriage, the de la Lees came into ownership of Coton Hall. The Astley family was also ancient, with records back to 1100. According to the pedigree, there were two sons of this marriage, Roger and John.
• Roger de la Lee married Joan, the daughter and heiress of Edward Burnell of Langley, bringing that estate into the de la Lee lands. He was survived by his son Robert.
• Robert de la Lee married Petronilla.

Since the time this pedigree was certified by the College of Arms, some of the statements have been disputed. Sir William Hardy, Keeper of the Records in the Duchy of Lancaster, (1807-1887) devoted much time to the history of Shropshire and the Lees. It was his finding that Margaret Astleys husband Robert was NOT the son of Sir John de la Lee, but the son of his brother, Sir Thomas de Lee of Okehirst, and that his name was ROGER, not Robert. He is referred to in documents during the time of Henry V as Roger Lee of Coton, Gentleman, and Roger is referred to as the second son of Sir Thomas Lee, Knight.

It has become certain that Roger, the husband of Joan Burnell, was not the son of Robert, and that Petronilla was the daughter, and not the daughter-in-law of Roger Lee and Joan Burnell. Petronilla married her kinsman, Robert de Lee of Rodene, who was survived by his son, Ralph de Lee of Lea Hall.

Source: A genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry of Great Britain & Ireland, 8th ed. , by Sir Bernard Burke ; Edited by his sons. Published 1894 by Harrison in London. [available as free e-Book]

From the Lee Chronicles by Casanove Gardner Lee, Jr., pub. 1957, New York University Press, NY, NY; on page10:

"In 1385 Roger Lee of Roden and Stanton married Margaret Astley of Coton and Nordley Regis. About the same time, another Roger Lee, of Pimhill and Lea Hall, married Johanna Burnell of Acton Burnell and Langley. Their daughter Petronilla's marriage to Robert Lee, eldest son of the above Roger Lee and Margaret Astley, united all these estates except that of Coton and Nordley Regis, which went to Robert's younger brother, John."

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• Lee of Virginia, 1642-1892: Biographical and Genealogical Sketches of the ... By Edmund Jennings Lee
• Lee of Virginia, 1642-1892: Biographical and Genealogical Sketches of the ... By Edmund Jennings Lee
• Pg. 28
• . . the first Sir Thomas married to Petronilla Corbet; two of his sons, John and Thomas, married to Petronilla de Drayton and Petronilla de Stanton; and each of his three sons, Sir John, Sir Thomas, and Reyner, having a son John, two of these last three Johns being knighted. The one who married Matilda de Erdington seems to have been son of Thomas and of course nephew to Reyner, not son, as given in the pedigree. He again had an eldest son John, who was knighted, and a daughter Matilda, besides a second son, Sir Thomas de Lee of Okehirst, married (according to Hardy) to Sibilla. This last Sir John is shown in the pedigree as having a son Robert who married Margaret Astley, the heiress of another very ancient family (showing an unbroken descent from 1100-1135) and was the first Lee of Coton. It is quite certain from documentary evidence, including the Inquisition Post Mortem of Margaret herself, that her husband's name was Roger, not Robert, and Sir W. Hardy thought it most probable that he was younger son of Sir John Lee's brother, Sir Thomas of Okehirst, whose eldest son was according to
• Pg. 29
• Hardy, Sir Thomas Lee, Sheriff in 1395. One of the Harleian MSS. of about 1593 supports this view as follows: "Sir Thomas Lee Knight, temp. E. 3, had issue Roger Lee, Esq., a secound sonne whoe mar. Margaret daughter and heir of Thomas Aveley (Astley) sonne to Roger sonne to John (J'n the 2 had another John to his sone) and had issue John Lee, Esq., whoe mar. J . . . so . . . e (Jacosa or Joyce) Packington, etc., etc., etc." (MS. Harl. 2163 fo. 40 B.) . . . .
• . . Roger Lee's descent is established by the Herald's allowance of arms at the first Visitation and their confirmation of the same at subsequent ones. Whether he was son, nephew, or cousin to Sir John Lee is not of vital importance. The statement in the Harl. MS. that he was son of Sir Thomas, though probable enough, is not supported by direct evidence, and the registered statement as to his immediate parentage is good evidence till disproved. There is indirect evidence showing that he was probably (as stated in the Harl. MS.) a younger son in any case; certainly he must have been so if he was son of Sir John.
• We now come to a point where two important errors occur in the pedigree. The first Lee of Coton is there shown as having two sons by Margaret Astley, Roger the elder married to Joanna, heiress of Edward Burnell (of Acton Burnell and Langley), and John, the younger of Nordley Regis (and Coton). It is certain, from documentary evidence (including the Inq. P. M. on the death of Margaret and livery of lands to John Lee), that the latter was son and heir to Roger and Margaret; while the evidence adduced by Eyton and Hardy shows that the first Lee of Langley was Roger, son of John de Lee of Pimhill and Lea Hall, descended from Reyner, younger son of Sir Thomas de Lee and Petronilla Corbert. Further, in the pedigree, Robert de Lee of Roden, married to Petronilla, is given as son of the above Roger and his wife Johanna Burnell, whereas the documentary evidence shows that Petronilla was daughter and heir to Roger and Johanna, while her husband, Robert, was son of John de Lee of Roden, Stanton, etc.
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• The Magna Charta sureties, 1215: the barons named in the Magna Charta, 1215 ... By Frederick Lewis Weis, Walter Lee Sheppard, William
• The Magna Charta sureties, 1215: the barons named in the Magna Charta, 1215 ... By Frederick Lewis Weis, Walter Lee Sheppard, William
• Pg. 164
• 9. ELIZABETH de HARCOURT; m. Sir Thomas de Astley, Knt., d. 1362, of Astley of Patshull, co. Salob (2nd son of Thomas, Lord Astley, of Astley, and his wife Elizabeth, dau. of GUY de BEAUCHAMP (g5-5), and a descendant of Sir Thomas Astley, slain oat Evesham, 4 Aug. 1265). (Generations 9 to 17: G.H. Thompson, The King's Ley, Pedigree of Lee; Harl Soc. Publ., vols. XIII and XIV: Visitations of Essex, I 128; II 542).
  • 10. MARGARET de ASTLEY, d. 1423 (heir to her brother Thomas Astley, of Nordley Regis, co. Salop): m. Roger de Lee (Alias Robert de Lee), son of John de Lee of Roden and Stanton; inherited Coton and Nordley Regis, 1376. (The Astley identification is questionable.)
    • Pg. 165
    • 11. JOHN de LEE, b. 1398, resided at Coton, 1405, fl. 1424; m. Jacosa, dau. of Sir John Packington.

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