Sir Ralph de Brereton

According to older sources, husband of Ada de Huntingdon. However, he seems to have married her daughter of the same name.

A Cautionary Tale for Historians

Heraldry

She (Ada de Huntingdon) is said, according to the pedigree of the Brereton family as given by Ormerod (the greatest authority on the Cheshire families of renown), to have afterwards married Sir Ranulphus, or Radulphus Brereton, of Brereton, who, according to family tradition, was one of the knights of the Crusades with King Richard I., and was the Sir Kenneth of the Leopard, in Sir Walter Scott's "Talisman."

See attached sources for marriage. The Brereton arms have always been impaled with the arms of Ada de Huntingdon. Welsh Medeival records also recognize their marriage. Their arms have been accepted by the College of Heralds since 1564, when the Visitation of the Breretons and their quarterings are registered (meaning accepted by the heralds). See attached source Harleian MSS 1174 item 250.

Heraldic visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms (or more often by junior officers of arms, acting as the Kings' deputies) in England, Wales and Ireland. Their purpose was to regulate and register the coats of arms of nobility and gentry and boroughs, and to record pedigrees. They took place from 1530 to 1688, and their records provide important source material for genealogists.

If the officers of arms were not presented with sufficient proof of the right to use a coat of arms, they were also empowered to deface monuments which bore these arms and to force persons bearing such arms to sign a disclaimer that they would cease using them. The visitations were not always popular with members of the landed gentry, who were required to present proof of their gentility.

The Effigies in the Churchyard

From http://www.thornber.net/cheshire/htmlfiles/astbury.html

"There are old tombs said to be of the Brereton family in the churchyard.  The one with a canopy shows the effigy of a knight with his lady.  It is rare to see a monument of such age outside and these are badly weathered. Raymond Richards in his book on Cheshire Churches notes that it is the tomb of Sir Ralph Brereton but the brochure in the church mentions that it could be the tomb of a Brereton or a Venables. My photograph below, taken with flash and enhanced digitally allows one to pick out most of the following incripiton, but the beginning of the last word was provided from Ormerod's History of Cheshire, Volume 3 page 33. Note that the letter N is written back-to-front throughout. It translates as "Here lie Radulphus Brereton, knight, and lady Ada his wife one of the daughters of David Earl of Huntingdon. Ormerod gives a family tree of the Breretons of Brereton in which he states "Sir Ralph de Brereton, knight, said in some pedigrees to marry Ada, daughter of David Earl of Huntingdon, relict (widow) of Henry Hastings, and living in 1275"."
"However, it appears that this inscription is much later than the tomb itself. Moreover the claim that Ralph was married to Ada, daughter of David Earl of Huntingdon, while being picked up and repeated by various historians over the centuries, cannot be validated. Indeed detailed contemporary accounts in the Curia Regis Rolls, supplied to me by Douglas Richardson, show that Ada, the daughter of David Earl of Huntingdon married Henry de Hastings. However, she died before Trinity Term 1242 and in 1247 her widower Henry de Hastings was holding her lands. Consequently, she died before her husband and was not free to marry Ralph Brereton."
"Who erected the inscription and for what purpose remains a mystery."

_________________________________________________________________________________

data

• Sir Ralph Brereton1
• M, #11222, d. after 1275
• Father Sir William Brereton d. a 1215
• Mother Margery Thornton
• Sir Ralph Brereton was born at of Brereton, Cheshire, England. He died after 1275; He did not marry Ada of Huntingdon, wife of Sir Henry de Hastings.2
• Family
• Children
  • Sir William Brereton+
  • Gilbert de Brereton+
• Citations
• 1.[S2977] Unknown author, The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester, by George Ormerod, 1819, p. 51; Wallop Family, p. 136.
• 2.[S16] Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. III, p. 321-323.
• From: http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p374.htm#i... ______________________
• There are old tombs of the Brereton family in the churchyard. The one with a canopy shows the effigy of a knight with his lady. It is rare to see a monument of such age outside and these are badly weathered. Raymond Richards notes that it is the tomb of Sir Ralph Brereton but the brochure in the church mentions that is could be the tomb of a Brereton or a Ventables. My photograph below, taken with flash and enhanced digitally allows one to pick out most of the following incripiton, but the beginning of the last work was provided from Ormerod's History of Cheshire, Volume 3 page 33. Note that the letter N is written back-to-front throughout. It translates as "Here lie Radulphus Brereton, knight, and lady Ada his wife one of the daughters of David Earl of Huntingdon. Ormerod gives a family tree of the Breretons of Brereton in which he states "Sir Ralph de Brereton, knight, said in some pedigrees to marry Ada, daughter of David Earl of Huntingdon, relict of Henry Hastings, and living in 1275".
• From: http://www.thornber.net/cheshire/htmlfiles/astbury.html _____________________
• Brereton; a family history (1919)
• https://archive.org/details/breretonfamilyhi00brerrich
• https://archive.org/stream/breretonfamilyhi00brerrich#page/9/mode/1up
• About 1176, Ralph de Brereton, a grand-son of the first Ralph, is witness in a grant of Marton to Richard de Davenport.
• About 1194, William de Brereton, son of this last Ralph, received a deed at the time of his marriage to Margery, daughter of Randle de Torhaunt, eight witnesses signing the contract. This William was knighted by Henry III in 1208, the beginning of honors held in the Brereton family for over five hundred years.
• In 1216, Sir Ralph de Brereton, son of William, granted land to "Brereton" church, as shown by parish records still in existence.
• About 1232, this Sir Ralph received payment of "half a salt works" for some public services done in Cheshire.
• During the year 1250, Sir William Brere-
• https://archive.org/stream/breretonfamilyhi00brerrich#page/10/mode/1up
• ton was witness to legal documents in Chester. In 1307, another William Brereton was witness to four deeds still on file there. The same year, William le Brereton, Kt, was witness to deeds of sale in Chester.
• Sir William Brereton, Kt., son and heir of Ralph, married a daughter of Sir Richard de Sandbach, in fulfillment of a contract made with William de Venables.
• About 1275, Sir William Brereton married Roesia, daughter of Ralph de Vernon. This wedding united the Breretons with the Vernons of "Haddon Hall," so well described by Majors in the novel "Dorothy Vernon." This Sir William later gave one hundred marks for the marriage of their daughter Margery to Thomas de Davenport in 1301. He was knighted by Edward III in 1321.
• In 1342, Sir William and his wife, Roesia, united in a deed of lands in Brereton parish. Roesia must have believed in "woman's rights" and had her name put in the deeds. This Sir William received indulgences from the Pope for services rendered in
• https://archive.org/stream/breretonfamilyhi00brerrich#page/11/mode/1up
• the Crusades to the Holy Sepulchre, about 1350. ______________________________
• The history of the county palatine and city of Chester: compiled from original evidences in public offices, the Harleian and Cottonian mss., parochial registers, private muniments, unpublished ms. collections of successive Cheshire antiquaries, and a personal survey of every township in the county; incorporated with a republication of King's Vale royal, and Leycester's Cheshire antiquities. By George Ormerod (1819) Vol. 3
• https://archive.org/details/historyofcountyp03orme
• https://archive.org/stream/historyofcountyp03orme#page/19/mode/1up
• Pg.19
• Near the north-east angle of the church-yard are four recumbent figures carved in red stone. The figure to the north is that of an ecclesiastic resting on a slab, which forms the lid of a stone coffin, wholly above ground : that on the south is the figure of an armed knight placed on an altar-tomb, the feet resting on an animal, the helmet conical, and the shield emblazoned two barrs, in chief three leopards' heads, of which the centre and sinister head alone are remaining. The two middle figures, an armed knight and his lady, rest on a tomb higher than the last, over which is a raised pointed arch, with a pediment and pinnacles ornamented with crockets. The following inscription has been cut in capitals within the arch at the west end :
  • Hie jacent Radulphus Br-
  • ereton miles et domina
  • Ada uxor sua, una fi-
  • liarum Davidis comi-
  • tis Huntingdonis.
• This inscription is mentioned in Church Notes taken 1576, but is noticed as being in characters more modern than the rest of the monument, which in Camden's time was claimed by the families of Venables, Mainwaring, and Brereton. It is, however, presumed that the question is settled by the seal mentioned in the account of the family of Venables of Astbury, which accords precisely with the arms on the shield of one of the figures already described (P).
• https://archive.org/stream/historyofcountyp03orme#page/47/mode/1up
• Pg.47
• Ralph de Brereton joins with Orme de Davenport in witnessing a deed of Gilbert de Venables in the time of Will. II. or Hen. I. ; and another Ralph de Brereton witnesses the grant of Marton to Richard Davenport about 1176. These are omitted in the family pedigree, which begins with a William Brereton, a second William, and a Ralph, of whom no other notice has occurred. The first William was probably brother of the second Ralph.
• V. William de Brereton, son and heir of Ralph, by deed without date receives from Randle "de Torhaunt," in frank marriage with Margery his daughter, all the rents which Thomas de Wariul held from Peter, father of the said Randle, in Middlewich hundred(b).
• VI. Ralph de Brereton (son and heir of William) in the reign of Hen. III. grants to the chapel of Brereton the land of Smethwick, to be held therefrom by his nephew Orme de Smethwick.
• VII. Sir William Brereton, kt. son and heir of Ralph, married a daughter of sir Richard de Sandbach, who had grant of the wardship of the said William from William de Venables baron of Kinderton, to marry him, or his younger brother Gilbert Brereton (if William died under age), to one of the legitimate daughters of the said Richard(c).
• VIII. Sir William Brereton, knight, and Hamo (rector of Brereton, 1344), were issue of this marriage. Sir William Brereton married Roesia, daughter of Ralph Vernon of Shipbrook, who was living 15 Edw. II. in which year she joins with her husband in constituting their son, Richard Brereton, their attorney, to receive seizin of lands in Brereton.
• https://archive.org/stream/historyofcountyp03orme#page/51/mode/1up
• Pg.51
  • BRERETON AND HOLT OF BRERETON. - Chart Pg.51-52
• RALPH DE BRERETON, witnes to a charter by Gilbert Venables, temp. Will. II or Hen. I. = ch: Ralph, William Brereton.
• WILLIAM DE BRERETON, with whom the Brereton pedigree commences. = ch: William de Brereton.
• WILLIAM DE BRERETON. = ch: Ralph de Brereton.
• RALPH DE BRERETON. = ch: Sir William (m. Margery Thornton), Gilbert, Isolda (m. Gilbert de Stoke) Brereton.
• SIR WILLIAM BRERETON, of Brereton, kt. living temp. Johan. and Hen. III. = Margery, dau. of Randle de Thornton.: ch: Sir Ralph (m. said in some pedigrees to marry Ada Huntingdon wid. of Henry Hastings), a dau. (m. Thurstan de Smethwith) Brereton.
• SIR RALPH BRERETON, of Brereton, kt. said in some pedigrees to marry Ada, daughter of David earl of Huntingdon, relict of Henry Hastings.= ch: Sir William (m. _ Sonback), Gilbert Brereton.
  • SIR WILLIAM BRERETON, of Brereton, of Brereton, ward of sir R. de Sandbach. = . . . . daughter of Richard de Sonbach, kt.; ch: Sir William (m. Roesisa de Vernon), Hamo Brereton.
  • GILBERT, younger son, father of Henry, and of Sibilla, wife of William, son of Adam de Bouths, who had lands in Withenshaw. __________________________________
• The history of the princes, the lords marcher, and the ancient nobility of Powys Fadog, and the ancient lords of Arwystli, Cedewen, and Meirionydd (1881) Vol. III
• https://archive.org/details/historyofprinces03lloy
• https://archive.org/stream/historyofprinces03lloy#page/92/mode/1up
• Pg.92
  • MANOR OF IS Y COED.--BRERETON OF BORASHAM.
  • Ormerod's Hist. of Cheshire: Cae Cyriog MS.
• William de Brereton, Lord of Brereton, in the County Palatine of Chester, 1125. Argent, two bars sable. = ch: William de Brereton.
• William de Brereton, Lord of Brereton. = ch: Sir Ralph (m. Cicilie St George) de Brereton.
• Sir Ralph de Brereton, Knt., Lord of Brereton. = Cicilie, d. of Sir George St. George, Knt.; ch: Sir William (m. Margaret de Thornton) de Brereton.
• Sir William de Brereton Knt, Lord of Brereton. = Margaret, d. of Randle de Thornton, son of Peter de Thornton.; ch: Sir Ralph or Randolphus (m. Ada dau. of David, Earl of Huntingdon & Margaret Groes) de Brereton.
• Sir Ralph or Randolphus de Brereton, Knt. He married, secondly, Margaret, daughter and co-heiress of Sir Rhydderch Groes, Knt. = The Lady Ada, fourth daughter and co-heiress of David, Earl of Huntingdon in England, son of Henry,(1) Crown Prince of Scotland, son of David, First King of Scotland, and relict of Henry de Hastings. Her mother was Maud, d. of Hugh Cyfeiliog, Earl of Chester. It was in the suite of the Princess Maude that Sir Randolph de Brereton went to Scotland.; ch: Sir William (m. Cicilie Sandbach) de Brereton.
• Sir William de Brereton, Knt., Lord of Brereton. = Cicilie, d. of Sir Richard de Sandbach, Knt.; ch: Pg.93 .... etc.
  • (1) Henry, Crown Prince of Scotland, married Aleline, daughter of William de Warrenne, Earl of Warrenne and Surrey, by whom he had issue three sons; 1, Malcolm, King of Scotland, who died s. p. in 1165; 2, William, surnamed the Lion, King of Scotland, and father of Alexander II, King of Scotland; and 3, David, Earl of Huntingdon, who married Maud, daughter of Hugh Cyfeliog, Count Palatine of Chester, by whom he had four daughters, co-heirs; 1, Margaret, who married Adam, Lord of Galloway, by whom she had two daughters, co-heirs, Devorgila, ux. John de Baliol, and Marjory, us. John the Black Comyn, Lord of Badenoch; 2, Isabel, ux. Robert Bruce; 3, Maud; and 4, Ada. ________________________________
• The history of the princes, the lords marcher, and the ancient nobility of Powys Fadog, and the ancient lords of Arwystli, Cedewen, and Meirionydd (1881) Vol. V
• https://archive.org/details/historyofprinces05lloy
• https://archive.org/stream/historyofprinces05lloy#page/413/mode/1up
• Pg.413
  • DESCENDANTS OF DAVID I, KING OF SCOTLAND.
• David the First, King of Scotland. = Maude, d. of Waldeoff, Earl of Northumberland, and Judith his wife, niece of William the Conqueror.; ch: Henry (m. Adeline de Warren) Prince of Scotland.
• Henry, Prince of Scotland, ob. vita patris. = Adeline de Warren, d. of William, Earl of Warren and Surrey.; ch: Malcolm (King of Scotland), William the Lion (King of Scotland), David (m. Maud Cyfeiliog) Earl of Huntingdon.
• David, Earl of Huntingdon. = Maud, d. of Hugh Cyfeiliog, Count Palatine of Chester.; ch: Margaret (m. Adam, Lord of Galloway), Isabel (m. Robert Bruce), Maude (a Nun), Ada (m. Henry de Hastings & Sir Ralph de Brereton)
• Ada. = Henri de Hastings. = Sir Ralph de Brereton, Kt. see Vol. iii, p. 92. _________________________________________
• Breretons of Cheshire, 1100 to 1904 A. D (1904)
• https://archive.org/details/breretonsofchesh00brer
• https://archive.org/stream/breretonsofchesh00brer#page/14/mode/1up
  • LADY ADA.
• Lady Ada, the alleged wife of Sir Ranulphus, or Radulphus de Brerton, of Brereton, was the third married daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon, third son of Henry, Prince of Scotland, only son of King David I., of Scotland. Lady Ada's mother was Maud, daughter of Hugh de Keveilioc, Count Palatine, and fifth Earl Royal of Chester, and sister and heiress of Randulph de Blundevill, sixth Earl Royal of Chester, who was fifth in descent from
• https://archive.org/stream/breretonsofchesh00brer#page/15/mode/1up
• Margaret, sister to the Conqueror, and mother of Hugh Lupus, the first Earl Royal of Chester, or Count Palatine, of Cheshire. Her only brother was John the Scot, seventh and last Earl Royal of Chester, who died without issue, said to have been murdered by his wife. Her paternal uncles were Malcolm IV., and William II. (the lion), kings of Scotland. Her eldest sister was Izabel, mother of Robert Bruce, of Annandale, the great grandfather of Robert Bruce, King of Scotland. Her second sister, Margaret, was mother of John Baliol, the founder of Baliol College, Oxford, and the grandmother of John de Baliol, King of Scotland. Her great grandmother Maud, wife of David I., was the daughter and heiress of Waltheof, Earl of Huntingdon by his wife Judith, niece of the Conqueror ; and her great great grandfather was Malcolm III. (Caenmore), who married Margaret, daughter of the Saxon King Edmund Ironsides. Thus she inherited the Norman, Saxon and Celtic royal blood mixture, and hence descent from Egbert the first Saxon King of all England, who died A. D. 837, and from Kenneth, the first Celtic King of Scotland, who died A. D. 850. Her first husband was Sir Henry de Hastings, afterwards Baron Hastings, by whom she had issue, one of which, John Hastings, was among the claimants for the crown of Scotland on the death of Margaret, the maid of Norway, in 1291. She is said, according to the pedigree of the Brereton family as given by Ormerod (the greatest authority on the Cheshire families of re-nown), to have afterwards married Sir Ranulphus, or Radulphus Brereton, of Brereton, who, according to family tradition, was one of the knights of the Crusades with King Richard I., and was the Sir Kenneth of the Leopard, in Sir Walter Scott's "Talisman." Lady Ada's father died A. D. 1219, and as her first husband, the first Baron Hastings, died in 1268, she must have been nearly fifty years old when she married Sir Radulphus Brereton, who, according to the Brereton pedigree, was living in 1275, time of Edward I. The canopied tomb, above mentioned as disputed, of Sir Ranulphus and his wife Ada, is still existing in the church yard of Astbury. I have seen it. This was the burial spot of the family at that period of the thirteenth century. .... etc.
• https://archive.org/stream/breretonsofchesh00brer#page/70/mode/1up
• Pg.70
• Sir William de Brerton I., of Brereton, 1175. Name of wife not found.
• Sir William de Brerton II., second Lord of Brereton. Name of wife not found.
• Sir Ralph de Brerton I., third Lord of Brereton. Name of wife not found.
• Sir William de Brerton III., fourth Lord of Brereton, died in 1216. Married Margery, daughter of Sir Randle de Thornton, of Thornton, Cheshire.
• Sir Ranulphus de Brerton II., fifth Lord of Brereton, living in 1272. Married Princess Ada, fourth daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon, widow of Sir Henry de Hastings. They had two sons, William, the heir, and Gilbert, who was Rector of Astbury ; he had one son, Henry, and one daughter, Sibilla, wife of William, son of Sir Adam de Booths, who had lands in Withershaw, which in the sixteenth century were owned by Robert Tatton, who married Anne Brereton, of the Ashley branch. Their canopied tomb is to be seen in Astbury church yard.
• Sir William de Brerton IV., sixth Lord of Brereton, married a daughter of Sir Richard de Sonbach, of Sandbach.
• Sir William de Brerton V., seventh Lord of Brereton, 1342, married Rose, daughter of Sir Ralph de Vernon, Baron of Shipbrook, Cheshire.
• William de Brerton, Esq., eldest son, died during his father's life. Married Margery, daughter of Sir Richard de Bosley.
• Sir William de Brerton VI., eighth Lord of Brereton, 1300, heir to his grandfather. His first wife was Ellen, daughter of Philip de Egerton, of Egerton, sister and heiress of David de Egerton, joint baron with the Cholmondeleys, of Malpas. Through her he became joint Baron of Malpas. His second wife was Margaret, daughter of Henry Done, of Utkington, widow of Sir John Davenport ; by her he had Randle, the founder of the .... etc. _______________________________________
• A genealogical history of the dormant, abeyant, forfeited, and extinct peerages of the British empire (1978)
• https://archive.org/details/agenealogicalhi00burkgoog
• https://archive.org/stream/agenealogicalhi00burkgoog#page/n94/mode/1up
• Pg.74
  • BRERETON--BARON BRERETON.
• RALPH DE BRERETON (son of William de Brereton, and grandson of William de Brereton,) was father (besides a 2nd son, Gilbert, and a dau., Isolda, wife of Gilbert de Stoke,) of an elder son and heir.
• SIR WILLIAM BRERETON, of Brereton, Knt, living temp. JOHN and HENRY III., who m. Margery, dau. of Randle de Thornton, and had a son, RALPH, and a dau., wife of Thurstan de Smethwick. The former
• SIR RALPH BRERETON, of Brereton, Knt, had two sons, WILLIAM (SIR), and Gilbert, father of Henry and Sibella, wife of William de Bouths. The elder son,
• SIR WILLIAM BRERETON, of Brereton, Knt., m. the dau. of his guardian. Sir Richard de Sandbach, Knt., and was father of
• SIR WILLIAM BRERETON, of Brereton, Knt., who m. Roesia, dau. of Ralph de Vernon, and had issue, .... etc. ______________________________
• The Wallop family and their ancestry, Vol. 1
• https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE523013
• Pg.136.
  • BRERETON
  • (SCOTLAND.)
• Sir Ralph Brereton, of Brereton, Cheshire; 1275. = Ada (widow of Henry de Hastings), da. of David, Earl of Huntingdon.; ch: Sir William (m. _ Sandbach), Sibel (m. William de Booths) Brereton.
• Sir William Brereton, of Brereton. = _, da. of Sir Richard de Sandbach.; ch: Sir William (m. Roesia de Vernon) Brereton.; ch: .... etc.
• _________________________________
• Sir Ralph de Brereton, Knight[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
• Born of, Brereton cum Smethwick, Cheshire, England
• Father Sir William de Brereton, Knight, of, Brereton cum Smethwick, Cheshire, England
• Mother Margery [de Thornton], of, Middlewich, Cheshire, England
• Family Ada of Huntingdon, of, , , England Find all individuals with events at this location, d. Aft 2 Nov 1241
• Married STATUS: Widow of Henry de Hastings.
• Children
  • 1. Sir William de Brereton, Knight, of, Brereton cum Smethwick, Cheshire, England
  • 2. Gilbert de Brereton, of, Brereton cum Smethwick, Cheshire, England
• Sources
• [S116] Peerages Extinct (Burke), Burke, John , 1787-1848, (London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1831), FHL 942 D22bg 1831., p. 74;.
• [S1506] #560 [1882] The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester (1882), Ormerod, George, (2nd edition. 3 volumes. London: G. Routledge, 1882), FHL microfilms 496,910, 547,521 and 824,313-824,31., vol. 3 p. 47, 52;.
• [S1800] #771 The History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher and the Ancient Nobility of Powys Fodog and the Ancient Lords of Arwystli, Cedewen and Meirionydd (1881-1887), Lloyd, Jacob Youde William, (6 volumes. London: T. Richards, 1881-1887), FHL book 942.9 D2L; FHL microfilms 990,213-990,214., vol. 3 p. 92; vol. 5 p. 413.
• [S1096] #798 The Wallop Family and Their Ancestry (1928), Watney, Vernon James, (4 volumes. Oxford: John Johnson, 1928), FHL book Q 929.242 W159w; FHL microfilm 1,696,491 ., p. 136;.
• [S2619] #11050 The English Ancestry of Peter Bulkeley, Grace Chetwood, and Sarah Chauncy (1988), Ayers, Frank Wayne, (Walnut Creek, California: F.W. Ayers, 1988), 88;.
• [S1137] #772 Archaeologia Cambrensis: a Record of the Antiquities of Wales and its Marches, and the Journal of the Cambrian Archaeological Association (1846-), Cambrian Archaeological Association (London), (London: W. Pickering, 1846-), FHL book 942.9 B2c., H.J.F. Vaughan, "Tribe of Ednowain Bendew", 4th series (1878) vol. 9 p. 40.
• [S1800] #771 The History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher and the Ancient Nobility of Powys Fodog and the Ancient Lords of Arwystli, Cedewen and Meirionydd (1881-1887), Lloyd, Jacob Youde William, (6 volumes. London: T. Richards, 1881-1887), FHL book 942.9 D2L; FHL microfilms 990,213-990,214., vol. 3 p. 92.
• From: https://histfam.familysearch.org//getperson.php?personID=I93400&tre... _______________________
• Regarding below: Applies if you are descended from Sir Ralph's wife Ada, whose sons were Henry de Hastings, 1st Earl Hastings, William de Brereton and Gilbert de Brereton. David of Scotland was a Prince, not a king and was Ada's father. Ada's parentage from David is on her tombstone at St. Mary's churchyard Ashbury, Cheshire where she is buried with Ralph de Brereton.

Text from Jim Weber's site:-

Sir Ralph Brereton of Brereton, Knight, through marriage to Ada de Hastings, gives the Breretons Royal Descent because she was descended of David, King of Scotland, and maternally the Earls of Chester were Royal Earls, who possessed jura regalis in the Palatinate of Chester. They also laid claim to royal descent from the Venables, who was a relation of Stephen of Blois and William the Conqueror. At first the descent of the Breretons from the royal blood of Scotland was mentioned as a mere claim,which was found in Collins' Peerage and in Dugdale's British Peers, but a copy of the patent or grant of creation to Sir William Brereton, of the Barony of Brereton, has since been procured and in that instrument such royal descent in Scotland is expressly recited and recognized in the following terms: "We, considering with mature deliberation the free and true services of Sir William Brereton, and that he is sprung from an ancient, noble and most renowned family, inasmuch as he is descended,through many illustrious ancestors, from Ada, sister of John, surnamed leScot, 7th Earl of Chester, and daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon ,Lord of Galloway, within our kingdom of Scotland." (This quotation is found in Archaeologia, or Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity,Vol. 33, p. 59.)

_______________________________

Ralph's Profile: https://histfam.familysearch.org//getperson.php?personID=I93400&tre...

Ada de Warenne (or Adeline de Varenne) (c. 1120 – 1178) was NOT his wife.

◦Ralph Brereton: LIVING: Living Henry III (1275/1276).

Born of, Brereton cum Smethwick, Cheshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location Gender Male Name AKA Ralph de Brereton

Sir Suffix Knight Born of, Brereton cum Smethwick, Cheshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location Gender Male Name AKA Ralph de Brereton Name AKA Randolphus de Brereton [7] _UID 8DDECFB6010811DA9E6E0060089E376996BD Died Yes, date unknown Notes ◦LIVING: Living Henry III (1275/1276).

RESIDENCE: Brereton. (Lloyd, History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher and the Ancient Nobility of Powys Fadog, vol. 3 p. 93)

Ralph, his marriage and descendants:

http://books.google.com/books?id=jz0LAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA92&lpg=PA92&dq=A...

Re: St. Mary's Church, Astbury, Chesire There are old tombs of the Brereton family in the churchyard. The one with a canopy shows the effigy of a knight with his lady. It is rare to see a monument of such age outside and these are badly weathered. Raymond Richards notes that it is the tomb of Sir Ralph Brereton but the brochure in the church mentions that is could be the tomb of a Brereton or a Ventables. My photograph below, taken with flash and enhanced digitally allows one to pick out most of the following incripiton, but the beginning of the last work was provided from Ormerod's History of Cheshire, Volume 3 page 33. Note that the letter N is written back-to-front throughout. It translates as "Here lie Radulphus Brereton, knight, and lady Ada his wife one of the daughters of David Earl of Huntingdon." Ormerod gives a family tree of the Breretons of Brereton in which he states "Sir Ralph de Brereton, knight, said in some pedigrees to marry Ada, daughter of David Earl of Huntingdon, (relict of Henry Hastings,) and living in 1275".

Tomb inscription from Ralph De Brereton's tomb at St. Mary's Churchyard, Astbury, Cheshire:

HIC IACENT RADULPHUS BR ERETON MILES ET DOMINA ADA UXOR SUA UNA FI LIARUM DAVIDIS COMI TIS HUNTINGDONIS

REMARKS: It was in the suite of Princess Maude that Ralph de Brereton went to Scotland. (Lloyd, History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher and the Ancient Nobility of Powys Fadog, vol. 3 p. 92) ◦(Research):MARRIAGE: Investigate> Lloyd's 'History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher and the Ancient Nobility of Powys Fadog' volume 3 page 92 states he married secondly, Margred ferch Sir Rhydderch "Groes", Knight.

Person ID I93400 Wales. Welsh Medieval Database Primarily of Nobility and Gentry. Last Modified 26 Mar 2013

George Ormerod shows that Sir Ralph Brereton, husband of Ada of

Huntingdon, had two sons, William, and Gilbert. He further shows that

the son, William, was a ward of Sir R. Sondbach, which suggests that

William was a minor at his father's death. If so, it should be

relatively easy to find out when William was born and whether or not

he might have been a son of Ada of Huntingdon. http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GEN-MEDIEVAL/2002-02/...

Father Sir William de Brereton, Knight, of, Brereton cum Smethwick, Cheshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location, d. Yes, date unknown Mother Margery [de Thornton], of, Middlewich, Cheshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location, d. Yes, date unknown Family ID F56184 Group Sheet

Family Ada of Huntingdon, of, , , England Find all individuals with events at this location, d. Aft 2 Nov 1241 Married ◦STATUS: Widow of Henry de Hastings.

Children

 1. Sir William de Brereton, Knight, of, Brereton cum Smethwick, Cheshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown 

 2. Gilbert de Brereton, of, Brereton cum Smethwick, Cheshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown 

Last Modified 13 Feb 2005 Family ID F56186 Group Sheet

Sources

1.[S116] Peerages Extinct (Burke), Burke, John , 1787-1848, (London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1831), FHL 942 D22bg 1831., p. 74;.

2.[S1506] #560 [1882] The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester (1882), Ormerod, George, (2nd edition. 3 volumes. London: G. Routledge, 1882), FHL microfilms 496,910, 547,521 and 824,313-824,31., vol. 3 p. 47, 52;.

3.[S1800] #771 The History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher and the Ancient Nobility of Powys Fodog and the Ancient Lords of Arwystli, Cedewen and Meirionydd (1881-1887), Lloyd, Jacob Youde William, (6 volumes. London: T. Richards, 1881-1887), FHL book 942.9 D2L; FHL microfilms 990,213-990,214., vol. 3 p. 92; vol. 5 p. 413.

4.[S1096] #798 The Wallop Family and Their Ancestry (1928), Watney, Vernon James, (4 volumes. Oxford: John Johnson, 1928), FHL book Q 929.242 W159w; FHL microfilm 1,696,491 ., p. 136;.

5.[S2619] #11050 The English Ancestry of Peter Bulkeley, Grace Chetwood, and Sarah Chauncy (1988), Ayers, Frank Wayne, (Walnut Creek, California: F.W. Ayers, 1988), 88;.

6.[S1137] #772 Archaeologia Cambrensis: a Record of the Antiquities of Wales and its Marches, and the Journal of the Cambrian Archaeological Association (1846-), Cambrian Archaeological Association (London), (London: W. Pickering, 1846-), FHL book 942.9 B2c., H.J.F. Vaughan, "Tribe of Ednowain Bendew", 4th series (1878) vol. 9 p. 40.

7.[S1800] #771 The History of the Princes, the Lords Marcher and the Ancient Nobility of Powys Fodog and the Ancient Lords of Arwystli, Cedewen and Meirionydd (1881-1887), Lloyd, Jacob Youde William, (6 volumes. London: T. Richards, 1881-1887), FHL book 942.9 D2L; FHL microfilms 990,213-990,214., vol. 3 p. 92.

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LIVING: witness to a charter by Gilbert de Venables.(died ca 1154-1189). AKA Gislebert Venatour.

I93378 Wales. Welsh Medieval Database Primarily of Nobility and Gentry.

Brereton Lineage: http://www.thornber.net/cheshire/htmlfiles/brereton.html

http://www.thornber.net/cheshire/htmlfiles/venables.html

1st Baron Venables of Kinderton, Cheshire was Gilbert: First, by the way of introduction, we will quote below two articles entire: one, from Vol. IV, Publications of the Huguenot Society of America, pp. 64-65; the other from the William and Mary College Quarterly, Vol. XV, pp. 21-24:

I. VENABLES, a baronial name from Venables, near Evreux, Normandy. The family does not appear under this name in Normandy, its proper name being le Venour, or Venator. Arnulph, Gislebert, Gaufridus, Hugh, Richard Venator, Normandy, 1180-95 (M. R. S.). Richard Venator, 1198 (ibid). Gislebert Venator, or De Venables, held the barony of Kinderton, Cheshire, 1086, from whom descended the Venables, Barons of Kinderton, and many other families.

Venator (huntsman), of the Dukes of Normandy, borne by this family. Walter de Veneur was eminently distinguished, 960, at the battle of the Fords, between Lothaire, King of France, and the Normans, where he was rescued by Duke Richard I., and remounted by him on his best horse (Palgrave, Hist. Normandy, ii., 738). The name occurs about the same time in the Charters of the Gallia Christiana. The ancient seat of the Le Venours appears to have been Venables, near Evreux, and they bore, or, or argent, a bend azure (La Roque, Hist. Harcourt, ii., 1181), which was also borne by several of their English descendants, especially by the family under consideration. '''Three brothers of this family came to England with Hugh Lupus: I. Gislebert Venator, or De Venables, ancestor of the Barons of Kinderton, of whom Gislebert Venables of Cheshire is mentioned in Normandy, 1180, as "Gislebert Venator" (M. R. S.). The French line of Le Venour, descended from him, bore argent, a bend azure, fretty or, for difference (Anseleme, viii., 256). From another brother probably derived the Butlers (Botteliers) of Chester, Barons of Warrington, who also bore, or, a bend azure, differenced by the wheat sheaves of Chester. Radulph, or Ranulph.

Gislebertus de Venables, the ancestor of the Venables of England and of Virginia, accompanied William the Conqueror to England. His name (derived, by the way, from "Venabulum" a hunting spear or more properly boor spear, reflects his origin, "Hereditary Huntsmen" or Veneurs of the Norman Dukes) is found on the Roll of Battle Abbey. His family in Normandy does not appear under this name, the proper name being Le Venour (Veneur) or Venator, the latter evidently the Latin form of the name. As if there should be no doubt of this, Gislebertus de Venables, on the division of the spoils, received part of his share under the name of Venator, and many other English references to him are under this name.

Gilbert Venables, using the English form, received extensive estates, and was one of the English Barons attached to the Earldom of Cheshire, under Hugh Lupus, with the title Baron of Kinderton. (The ancient Castle of Kinderton stood near the banks of the Dane, two fields' breadth from the old Roman works of Condate-a part of the moat is all that is left of it. The Castle has been taken down as well as the later "Hall" which succeeded it. A brick mansion called "Kinderton Lodge" lies in another part of the Manor.) He is referred to as the younger brother of Stephen, Earl of Blois, the father of Stephen, King of England, which would make him a descendant of Charlemagne; and he is also referred to as cousin-german to the Conqueror.

The title and much of the estates, remained in the Venables family for nearly 700 years, or until the death of the last Baron, Sir Peter, when, by virtue of a will, the Venables title and arms were assumed by George Vernon, making the hyphenated Venables-Vernon, or Lord Vernon of the present day.

http://www.lincolnshire-wolds.org/all-lincolnshire/2/51573.htm

Rafe de Brereton is found mentioned in old deeds as witness to two grants of lands in Marston, which were made by the grandson of the second mentioned Venables :(I) to his sister Amabilia, in 1156; (2) to his brother Hugh, Rector of Astbury, in 1188. This Hugh was also Rector of Eccleston, near Chester, which, in the sixteenth century, belonged to Randle Brereton, son of Sir Randle de Brereton H., of Ipstone, also Rector of Rostherne, Cheshire. Rafe de Brereton was probably esquire to the Baron of Kinderton, and the younger brother of Sir William, de Brereton L, of Brereton, with whom the pedigree of the family commences about 1175.

Venables became a prominent Cheshire and Lancashire surname, but Hunter had already achieved a large foothold in Cheshire with Gilbert Hunter holding Brereton, Davenport, Kinderton and Witton (Northwich) and Ralph Hunter holding Stapleford in Cheshire and Soughton in Wales. "

Descendants: ID: I61808 •Name: Ralph de Brereton •Sex: M •Name: Ralph De Brereton •Birth: ABT 1224 •Death: 1280 •Event: 1 Source See Stirnet Genealogy at http://www.stirnet.com/HTML/genie/british/bb4fz/brereton01.htm Their Main sources: BE1883 (Brereton) •Note: This may be the same person showm here as his grandson, different sources show this differently.

Ralph de Brereton http://smithanddunbar.familytreeguide.com/getperson.php?personID=I5...

Home Search Individual Pedigree Descendancy Relationship Timeline Login Birth Abt 1224 Sex Male Died 1280 Person ID I518 Default Tree Last Modified 15 Dec 2005

Family 1 Ada Huntington, b. Abt 1225, Huntington, Engl. Married Bef 1250 Notes Married:

Several sources interpose an additional generation to the line I've chosen, showing Ralph de Brereton married to a "Miss Hastings", who they show in turn to be the daughter of Ada de Huntington and a "Henry de Hastings" (b. abt. 1198):

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Miss Hastings, b. abt. 1234 in Ashill, Swaffham, Norfolk, England

Father: Henry De Hastings b: Abt 1198 in Fillongley, Meridon, Warwickshire, England Mother: Ada De Huntingdon b: Abt 1198 in Huntingdon, Huntingdonshire, England.

Marriage 1: Ralph De Brereton b: Abt 1224 in Barton, Preston, Lancashire, Engl. Children: 1. Richard Brereton b: Abt 1260 2. Sybil De Brereton b: 1263 in Brereton, Cheshire, England 3. William De Brereton b: Abt 1250 in Brereton, Cheshire, England

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However, there appears to be official contradiction of this "additional generation" in the following note found in Archaeologia, or Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity, stating (apparently) that Ada de Huntington was married to Ralph de Brereton:

"Sir Ralph Brereton of Brereton, Knight, through marriage to Ada de Huntington, gives the Breretons Royal Descent because she was decended of David, King of Scotland, and maternally the Earls of Chester were Royal Earls, who possessed jura regalis in the Palatinate of Chester. They also laid claim to royal descent from the Venables, who was a relation of Stephen of Blois and William, the Conqueror. At first the descent of the Breretons from the royal blood of Scotland was mentioned as a mere claim, which was found in Collins' Peerage and in Dugdale's British Peers, but a copy of the patent or grant of creation to Sir William Brereton, of the Barony of Brereton, has since been procured and in that instrument such royal descent in Scotland is expressly recited and recognized in the following terms: "We, considering with mature deliberation the free and true services of Sir William Brereton, and that he is sprung from an ancient, noble and most renowned family, inasmuch as he is descended, through many illustrious ancestors, from Ada, sister of John, surnamed le Scot, 7th Earl of Chester, and daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon, Lord of Galloway, within our kingdom of Scotland." (This quotation is found in Archaeologia, or Miscellaneous Tracts Relating to Antiquity, Vol. 33, p. 59.)

Father: William De Brereton b: Abt 1180 in Barton, Preston, Lancashire, England Mother: Margery Roter De Thornton b: Abt 1190 in Thornton, Cheshire, England

Marriage 1 Miss Hastings b: Abt 1234 in Ashill, Swaffham, Norfolk, England Children: 1. Richard Brereton b: Abt 1260 2. Sybil De Brereton b: 1263 in Brereton, Cheshire, England 3. William De Brereton b: Abt 1250 in Brereton, Cheshire, England"

Either way, the line appears intact through to Henry I and William the Congueror.

Children 1. William Brereton, b. Abt 1250

http://smithanddunbar.familytreeguide.com/getperson.php?personID=I5...

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Father: William de Brereton b: ABT 1180 Mother: Margery Roter De Thornton

Marriage 1 Ana (Ada?) de Huntington b: ABT 1225 in Ashill, Swaffham, Norfolk, EnglandChildren1.Has Children William (Sir) Brereton , of Brereton 2.Has Children Margery de Brereton 3.Has No Children Richard Brereton 4.Has No Children Sybil De Brereton b: 1263 in Brereton, Cheshire, England

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• 'Brereton01'
• William de Brereton, Cheshire
  • 1. William de Brereton
    • A. Ralph de Brereton
      • i. Sir William Brereton of Brereton (a 1216)
      • m. Margery de Thornton (dau of Randle de Thornton)
        • a. Sir Ralph Brereton of Brereton
          • (1) Sir William Brereton of Brereton
          • m. Margaret (?) de Sandbach (dau of Sir Richard de Sandbach)
            • (A) Sir William Brereton of Brereton
            • m. Roesia de Vernon (dau of Ralph de Vernon of Shipbroke)
• .... etc.
• From: Stirnet.com
• http://www.stirnet.com/genie/data/british/bb4fz/brereton01.php
• ____________________________
• Links
• https://histfam.familysearch.org//getperson.php?personID=I93191&tre...
• http://www.brereton.org/Cheshire%20January%202013.pdf - SOME DATES ARE NOT CORRECT IN THIS LISTING & CONNECTIONS VERY CONFUSING

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