Biography of Margaret Stafford Baroness Neville Raby 1364-1396

Before 1st March 1350 [her father] Hugh Stafford 2nd Earl Stafford [aged 14] and [her mother] Philippa Beauchamp Countess Stafford [aged 16] were married. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Thomas Beauchamp 11th Earl Warwick [aged 37] and [her grandmother] Katherine Mortimer Countess Warwick [aged 36]. He the son of Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford [aged 48] and Margaret Audley Countess Stafford. They were second cousin once removed. He a great x 2 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King John of England.

Around 1364 Margaret Stafford Baroness Neville Raby was born to Hugh Stafford 2nd Earl Stafford [aged 28] and Philippa Beauchamp Countess Stafford [aged 30]. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.

On 31st August 1372 [her grandfather] Ralph Stafford 1st Earl Stafford [aged 70] died. His son [her father] Hugh [aged 36] succeeded 2nd Earl Stafford, 3rd Baron Stafford. [her mother] Philippa Beauchamp Countess Stafford [aged 38] by marriage Countess Stafford.

In or before 1383 Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland [aged 18] and Margaret Stafford Baroness Neville Raby [aged 18] were married. She the daughter of Hugh Stafford 2nd Earl Stafford [aged 46] and Philippa Beauchamp Countess Stafford [aged 48]. They were second cousin once removed. He a great x 5 grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.

Around 1383 [her daughter] Maud Neville Baroness Haversham was born to [her husband] Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland [aged 19] and Margaret Stafford Baroness Neville Raby [aged 19]. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Edward I of England. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.59%. She married before 6th September 1415 her third cousin Piers Mauley 5th Baron de Mauley, son of Piers Mauley and Margery Sutton Baroness Ferrers Harewood Baroness Haversham.

In 1386 [her daughter] Philippa Neville Baroness Dacre of Gilsland was born to [her husband] Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland [aged 22] and Margaret Stafford Baroness Neville Raby [aged 22] at Raby Castle, County Durham [Map]. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Edward I of England. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.59%. She married before 20th July 1399 Thomas Dacre 6th Baron Dacre Gilsland, son of William Dacre 5th Baron Dacre Gilsland, Baron Multon of Gilsand and Joan Douglas Baroness Dacre Gilsland, and had issue.

On 16th October 1386 [her father] Hugh Stafford 2nd Earl Stafford [aged 50] died returning from his Pilgrimage to Jerusalem. His son [her brother] Thomas [aged 18] succeeded 3rd Earl Stafford, 4th Baron Stafford.

Around 1387 [her son] John Neville was born to [her husband] Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland [aged 23] and Margaret Stafford Baroness Neville Raby [aged 23] at Raby Castle, County Durham [Map]. He a great x 4 grandson of King Edward I of England. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.59%. He married before 4th April 1406 his third cousin once removed Elizabeth Holland, daughter of Thomas Holland 2nd Earl Kent and Alice Fitzalan Countess Kent, and had issue.

On 17th October 1388 [her father-in-law] John Neville 3rd Baron Neville of Raby [aged 51] died. His son [her husband] Ralph [aged 24] succeeded 4th Baron Neville Raby. Margaret Stafford Baroness Neville Raby [aged 24] by marriage Baroness Neville Raby.

Around 1390 Thomas Stafford 3rd Earl Stafford [aged 22] and Anne of Gloucester Plantagenet Countess Eu and Stafford [aged 7] were married. She by marriage Countess Stafford. She would, eight years later marry his younger brother Edmund Stafford 5th Earl Stafford [aged 11]; an example of a Married to Two Siblings. She the daughter of Thomas of Woodstock 1st Duke of Gloucester [aged 34] and Eleanor Bohun Duchess Gloucester [aged 24]. He the son of Hugh Stafford 2nd Earl Stafford and Philippa Beauchamp Countess Stafford [aged 56]. They were third cousin once removed. He a great x 3 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a granddaughter of King Edward III of England.

Around 1392 [her son] Ralph Neville was born to [her husband] Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland [aged 28] and Margaret Stafford Baroness Neville Raby [aged 28] at Raby Castle, County Durham [Map]. He a great x 4 grandson of King Edward I of England. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.59%. He married in or before 1416 his fourth cousin Mary or Margery Ferrers, daughter of Robert Ferrers and Joan Beaufort Countess of Westmoreland, and had issue.

On 4th July 1392 Thomas Stafford 3rd Earl Stafford [aged 24] died at Westminster [Map]. His brother William [aged 16] succeeded 4th Earl Stafford, 5th Baron Stafford.

Before 20th October 1392 [her brother-in-law] Thomas Holland 1st Duke Surrey [aged 18] and [her sister] Joan Stafford Countess Kent [aged 14] were married. She the daughter of [her father] Hugh Stafford 2nd Earl Stafford and [her mother] Philippa Beauchamp Countess Stafford [aged 58]. He the son of Thomas Holland 2nd Earl Kent [aged 42] and Alice Fitzalan Countess Kent [aged 42]. They were third cousin once removed. He a great x 2 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Edward I of England.

Before 1394 [her brother-in-law] Michael de la Pole 2nd Earl Suffolk [aged 32] and [her sister] Katherine Stafford Countess Suffolk [aged 17] were married. She by marriage Countess Suffolk. She the daughter of [her father] Hugh Stafford 2nd Earl Stafford and [her mother] Philippa Beauchamp Countess Stafford [aged 59]. He the son of Michael de la Pole 1st Earl Suffolk and Katherine Wingfield Countess Suffolk.

On 6th April 1395 William Stafford 4th Earl Stafford [aged 19] died at Pleshey Castle [Map]. He was buried at Tonbridge, Kent [Map]. His brother Edmund [aged 17] succeeded 5th Earl Stafford, 6th Baron Stafford.

On 9th June 1396 Margaret Stafford Baroness Neville Raby [aged 32] died. She was buried at St Brandon's Church, Brancepeth.

Before 29th November 1396 [her former husband] Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland [aged 32] and Joan Beaufort Countess of Westmoreland [aged 17] were married. She by marriage Baroness Neville Raby. She the illegitmate daughter of John of Gaunt 1st Duke Lancaster [aged 56] and Katherine Swynford aka Roet Duchess Lancaster [aged 46]. They were half fifth cousins. He a great x 5 grandson of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England. She a granddaughter of King Edward III of England.

On 21st October 1425 [her former husband] Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland [aged 61] died. He was buried at St Mary's Church, Staindrop [Map]. His grandson Ralph [aged 19] succeeded 2nd Earl of Westmoreland. Elizabeth Percy Countess of Westmoreland [aged 30] by marriage Countess of Westmoreland.

Monument to Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland and his wives Margaret Stafford Baroness Neville Raby and Joan Beaufort Countess of Westmoreland [aged 46]. Early Plate Bascinet Period. Orle. Man with Two Wives.

Elizabeth Percy Countess of Westmoreland: Around 1395 she was born to Henry "Hotspur" Percy and Elizabeth Mortimer Baroness Camoys at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland [Map]. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward III of England. Around 1404 John Clifford 7th Baron Clifford and she were married. She by marriage Baroness de Clifford. They were third cousin once removed. He a great x 4 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward III of England. In 1426 Ralph Neville 2nd Earl of Westmoreland and she were married. They were second cousin once removed. He a great x 3 grandson of King Edward I of England. She a great x 2 granddaughter of King Edward III of England. On 26th October 1436 Elizabeth Percy Countess of Westmoreland died.

Effigy of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmoreland and his Wives. The Earl of Westmorland lived until the reign of Henry the Sixth [aged 8], and was buried at Staindrop [Map], where he had founded and amply endowed a collegiate church. In the chancel of this edifice was erected an altar-tomb, bearing his effigy and those of his two wives, but which has since been removed, with reckless ignorance and barbarous feeling, to an obscure corner in the south-west quarter. His first wife, whose figure reposes on the left hand of that of the Earl himself, was Margaret, eldest daughter of Hugh Earl of Stafford, by Philippa [aged 96], daughter of Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick. Joan de Beaufort [aged 51], his second wife, was the only daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, by his concubine Catherine Swinford, whom he afterwards espoused. Joan was the widow of Robert Ferrers. She died A. D. 1340, and, although she is commemorated by an effigy at Staindrop (the monument most probably being prepared during the life-time of herself and her husband), she was buried in Lincoln cathedral [Map], near her mother, under an altar-tomb, with the following epitaph:

Filia Lancastrise Ducis, inclita sponsa Johanna [Daughter of the Duke of Lancaster, the famous wife Johanna]

Westmorland primi subjacet hic comitis. [Westmorland the first earl is subject here]

Desine, scriba, suas virtutes promere, nulla [Cease, scribe, to earn your virtues, no]

Vox valeat merita vix reboare sua. [A voice worthy of its merits can scarcely be restored]

Stirpe, decore, fide, fama, spe, prece, prole, [Stock, adornment, faith, reputation, hope, prayer, offspring]

Actubus et vita polluit ymmo sua. [He pollutes?? his own life and activity]

Natio tota dolet pro morte, Deus tulit ipsam [The whole nation mourns for death, God has taken it]

In Bricii festo C. quater M. quater X. [On the feast of Bricius, 1425]

[her daughter] Margaret Neville Baroness Scrope Bolton was born to Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland and Margaret Stafford Baroness Neville Raby. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Edward I of England. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.59%. She married 4th June 1418 her fourth cousin Richard Scrope 3rd Baron Scrope of Bolton, son of Roger Scrope 2nd Baron Scrope of Bolton and Margaret Tiptoft Baroness Scrope Bolton, and had issue.

[her daughter] Anne Neville was born to Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland and Margaret Stafford Baroness Neville Raby. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Edward I of England. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.59%. She married her fifth cousin once removed Gilbert V Umfraville.

[her daughter] Elizabeth Neville was born to Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland and Margaret Stafford Baroness Neville Raby. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Edward I of England. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.59%.

[her daughter] Alice Neville was born to Ralph Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland and Margaret Stafford Baroness Neville Raby. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Edward I of England. Coefficient of inbreeding 1.59%. She married before 1404 her fourth cousin Thomas Grey of Werke and Heaton and had issue.