Two Aldebrough Families of Yorkshire
Phil Albro, 2008
Family A: In 1281, the time of the start of the Aldbrough Fair, the lord of the manor of Aldbrough in North Yorkshire was Sir Hasculph de Cleasby, a descendant of Emsant Musard (Emsant the Sluggish) who had received land in Aldbrough at the time of the Conquest. Hasculph's son Ivo became Constable of Barnard Castle in Durham County and inherited the Aldbrough Manor, becoming known as Ivo de Aldbrough. [Early Aldbrough by Col. George R. Barnley, RA MBE, on www.aldbrough-st-john.co.uk/website/index2.php.]
Ivo de Aldeburgh (an alternate spelling) was first recorded in the garrison of Roxburgh Castle in Scotland in 1298. Edward I in 1305 appointed Sir Ivo de Aldeburgh to the office of Sheriff of the Three Lothians in Scotland. Under Edward II he was Warden of Roxburgh. For his long and good service in Scotland, Edward Balliol, in 1332, gave him the lands of Broxmouth. On 3 October 1341 Edward III confirmed these lands to Ivo's son and heir, William. William is recorded in Edinburgh Castle in 1335 under Sir John de Strivelyn. Edward Balliol, between 1348 and 1352, gave William the baronies of Kirklanders, Balmaghie, Kells and others in Galloway. William, known as Sir William de Aldeburgh, was the close friend and messenger of Edward Balliol about Knaresburgh in Yorkshire in 1357-8. Sir William married Elizabeth de l'Isle before 1364. Their three children were William, born abt. 1358; Elizabeth, born abt. 1363; and Sibyl, born abt. 1367. In 1364 William Sr. and Elizabeth were enfeoffed of the manor of Harewood, Yorkshire, by Elizabeth's father Sir Robert de l'Isle.
William Sr. was created first Baron Aldeburgh by writ on 8 January 1370/71, and called to Parliament, House of Lords, from 1370 to 1386. He is stated to have lived at Aldbrough, Yorkshire East Riding, England [Cokayne et al. cf.] but more commonly at Aldborough-St.John in Richmondshire. His arms, found in Harewood Castle, were Gu. a lion rampant ar., charged on the shoulder with a fleur-de-lis az. William Sr. died on or before 1 April 1388. [From two sources: (1) G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed. 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959); reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2001, Volume I, pages 101-102. (2) Joseph Bain, F.S.A.Scot., Some Notes on Sir William de Aldeburgh, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquities, Scotland, Dec. 9, 1895.]
William de Aldeburgh, 2rd Baron Aldeburgh, married Marjery Sutton, but died without issue 20 Aug 1391, and the barony fell into abeyance. He was never called to Parliament. His sister Elizabeth married first Sir Brian Stapleton, who died bef.1392. She then married Sir Richard Redmayn (Redman). They proceeded to create a more durable family who lived at Harewood for many generations. The Aldebrough arms are shown quartered with those of Redmayn in the great room of Harewood Castle. Sibyl married Sir William Ryther, and this family stayed close friends with the Redmayns. These two William de Aldeburghs and their wives are buried in the church of the Dominican Friars in York. [Bain, loc.cit.] Again, the arms of Aldeburgh, this family, were given by Dodsworth in 1620, from the window of the Swillington Church, as “G. a lion rampant arg. on his breast a fleur-de-lis az.” [The Yorkshire Archelogical and Topographical Journal, Harewood Evidences, Sir George Duckett, Bart. FSA., London, Bradbury, Agnew & Co., Whitefriars E.C., 1935, pp.85-96.]
Family B: The village of Aldborough lies near the south bank of the River Ure, about 17 miles west-north-west of York. It is only 3/4th mile from Boroughbridge. This was the site of the Isuria Brigantum, the capitol of the Brigantes, the main tribe of Celts (Britons) in northern England. It became Isurium under the Romans. After it was burned by the Danes in the 8th century, it was not rebuilt but continued as Burc, the head of Burghshire under the Saxons. The Domesday Wapentake of Borgeshire took its name from Burc, with Aldborough the chief Manor therein. Aldborough was considered a “Manor of Ancient Demesne”, so paid no tolls and did not contribute to the expenses of the Knights of the Shire. This village and Manor became associated with an extensive family of Aldburghs. [Sir Thomas Lawson-Tancred, Bt., Records of a Yorkshire Manor, London, Edward Arnold & Co., 1937.]
A major confusion among historians, we find Sir Richard de Aldburgh as an attendant on Edward Balliol in 1363. He died before 1379. His brother William also appears in records as William de Aldeburgh. It is this William's memorial brass that appears in Aldborough Church since about 1360, and is often mistakenly assigned to Sir William de Aldeburgh, first Baron Aldeburgh above. Richard also had a brother Humphrey, a clerk, whose descendants may still be identified today. The entire pedigree of this Aldburgh family can be found in the reference by Sir Thomas Lawson-Tancred (cf.)
Other noteworthy Aldburghs in this family include Sir Richard de Aldburgh, Knighted at Wakefield 1460; William Aldburgh d.1475, memorial in Aldburgh (Aldborough) Church; Sir Richard Aldburgh, fought at Flodden Field in 1513, had a lease of Aldborough from Henry VII, d.1514; Arthur Aldburgh, bought the family estates in 1629 and went bankrupt, finally having to sell everything and died in debtor's prison; Richard Aldburgh, b.1606, thought to be father of a John Aldburgh b.abt.1623, apparently out of wedlock, who is said to have gone to the colonies. [Sir Thomas Lawson-Tancred, loc.cit. pp.136ff]
There appear to be at least two variations of the arms of this family, found on the memorial brass in Aldborough Church, and on the stained glass window at Gilling Castle. The first is blazoned as Ar. a fesse betw. three crosses crosslet fitche'e az., while the second is given as Az. a fess ar. betw. three cross crosslets or. Burke assigns the former to “Alborough or Albrough” and the latter to “Aldborough or Aldeburgh.” There is contradiction in the literature as Burke gives the arms of Aldborough from the great chamber at Harewood Castle as “Gu. A lion ramp. ar charged on the shoulder with a fleur-de-lis az.” while www.yorkshirehistory.com has the arms of de Aldeborough in Harewood Castle as “Az. A fess ar. betw, three cross crosslets or.” (The photographs I have seen from Harewood clearly show the lion rampant – PWA) The web site at www.nyrond.org/university/heraldry/www.demon.co.uk/apl385/gilling/her-ae.htm states that the lion-charged arms above are found in Gilling Castle. Most companies that sell representations of arms by surname show the fess/cross blazon as derived from Gilling Castle. Finally, The Hall of Names, Inc. declares that the family name Aldburgh occurred first in Surrey where they were Lords of Aldborough (presently Aldeburgh.) As yet I have seen no documentation for this claim.
Thus because of the wide range of spellings used by different authors for the same town or family, these two de Aldborough / de Aldeburgh / de Aldburgh families became confused, even though there is no evidence that they are related and it is thought that they are not [see Sir Thomas Lawson-Tancred above.] The Aldeburgh name associated with Aldborough-St.John and Harewood Castle seems to have died out long since, although we can not rule out the possibility that the coat of arms survives in multiple quarterings with others. The Aldburgh name associated with Gilling Castle and Aldborough near Boroughbridge may well not have died out, especially in the minor lines. Members of this family may have carried the name into Norfolk. [Sir Thomas Lawson-Tancred, loc.cit. pp.136ff]
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