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| William, Sixth Earl of Derby, 1610-1627 Born c.1561, died 1642 but transferred estates and Lordship of Man to his son James in 1627, though it would appear that he had passed control of the Island at least to his wife c.1610 as she is associated with reforms in household officers at that period - she died in 1626. According to Seacombe : |
| William, the 6th Earl of Derby |
This earl married the Lady Elizabeth, daughter to Edward Earl of Oxford, [see arms] by whom he had
issue two sons, James and Robert; also three daughters : first, Elizabeth, who died young; second,
Ann, who married Sir Henry Portman, of Orchard in the county of Somerset, and after his death Sir
Robert Carr, Knight and Earl of Ancram, in Scotland ; the third daughter, another Elizabeth, who died
young. James, eldest son and successor, we shall take notice of in another place. Robert, his second
son, married a daughter of Lord Witherington, by whom he had issue, which are all long since extinct;
as hereafter appears. This noble lord died in his retirement, at his house near Chester, on the
twenty-ninth of September, 1642 ; from thence was conveyed to Ormskirk, and there deposited with
his noble ancestors."
The following short biography, taken from Aspen's Historical Sketches of the House of Stanley (1877)
is included for its enjoyment rather than guaranteed accuracy...
William was a well educated and well travelled man. His love of exploration led him to many places
and involved him in many adventures around the world. He remained three years in France, where he
took laurels in many of the chief tournaments, and subsequently proceeded to Spain, where he was
challenged by a Spanish nobleman to single combat. In the first encounter the Spaniard succeeded in
wounding Sir William on his right arm, and causing him to fall to the ground, but he was soon upon his
feet again. In the second round the Spaniard aimed three deadly blows at the wounded Englishman,
inflicting a severe wound, and causing him to reel to the ground. Blood flowed freely, and the friends
of the Spanish nobleman counselled his withdrawal from the contest, but he was too enraged to heed
their advice, and in the third encounter rushed at Sir William with the force of desperation, but the
blows were successfully parried, and the representative of the house of Stanley once more secured
the crown of victory by inflicting a second wound on the breast of the Spaniard, and thus effectually
disabling him.
Sir William next visited Italy, where he assumed the garb of a mendicant friar for the purpose of
gaining information and the more readily getting through the country. Afterwards he proceeded to
Egypt, and with the assistance of a native guide, went to reconnoitre the River Nile. Whilst on their
journey, a large male tiger suddenly appeared from behind a thicket, and with a hideous howl came
rushing towards them. Sir William had two pistols, and discharged one as the tiger was making a
spring at them. Unfortunately he missed his aim, and it was only by dexterously stepping aside that
he eluded the grasp of the ferocious brute. Before the animal had time to take another spring, Sir
William drew a second pistol, discharged the contents into the tiger's breast, and as it reeled drew his
sword and killed it.
After paying a visit to Palestine, he journeyed to Turkey, and had a narrow escape of becoming a
victim to the bigotry of the followers of Mahommed. In a discussion with one of the Paschas he
defended Christianity and the Bible, and denounced the religion propounded in the Koran as false and
deceptive. He was arrested for "blasphemy against the religion of Mahommed," and after being kept a
long time in a filthy and dismal prison, a date was fixed for his execution, but a lady interceded on his
behalf, and three days before the appointed time he was liberated. Having remained some time at
Constantinople, he visited Russia, and it is said that whilst at Moscow he was informed by an English
physician of the death of his father and brother, and that he thereupon returned to his native land
with all speed.
On Sir William reaching England, he found that all the estates of the earldom had been settled upon
his brother's daughters, under the guardianship of four bishops and four temporal lords, who
possessed every branch of it to their ward's uses, and refused to admit his right to any share of it.
Having few friends and less money, and having powerful adversaries to contend against, his case was
somewhat distressing ; but some of the old tenants in and about Latham, Dalton, Newburgh, who
knew him from a child to be their natural and rightful lord, supplied him with money to recover his title
and so much of the estates as properly belonged to him. A law suit, therefore followed, in reference to
all the late earl's estates in England and also in the Isle of Man. During the dispute the real title of the
Stanley family to the Isle of Man was called in question, on the ground that when Henry IV. granted it
for life to Sir John Stanley, the Earl of Northumberland (the former possessor) had not been attainted
by Parliament nor his possessions adjudged to be confiscated, and that the subsequent gift of it to Sir
John, being founded upon the grant for life, was invalidated. Ultimately it was decided by the law lords
that the right to the Isle of Man belonged solely to Queen Elizabeth ; but Her Majesty, in
consideration of the "many eminent services performed to herself and to her royal predecessors by
the honourable and noble House of Stanley," withdrew her right and referred the contending
claimants to the decision of the courts. The law proceedings were continued with vigour on both sides
for six or seven years, and would have extended over a still longer period, but the Queen proposed a
reference, and this being accepted, the whole matter was considered by Lord Burleigh, Lord
Buckhurst, the Earl of Dorset,, the Earl of Cumberland, Lord Hunsdon, and the Earl of Salisbury, who
appointed and yielded to the Right Honourable William, Earl of Derby, the ancient seats of Lathom and
Knowsley, with all the houses, lands, castles, and appurtenances in Lancashire, Cumberland,
Yorkshire, Cheshire, and many in Wales ; also the manor of Meriden, in the County of Warwick, with
the old seat in Cannon Row, Westminster (afterwards called Derby Court), and also the advowson of
the Parish Church of the Holy Trinity, in the city of Chester. To the daughter of Earl Ferdinando, the
arbitrators granted the Baronies of Strange of Knocking, Mohun, Barnwell, Basset and Lacy ; with all
the houses, castles, manors, and lands thereto belonging, with several other manors and large
estates lying in most counties of England, and many in Wales.
With regard to the Isle of Man, Ferdinando's daughters claimed possession of it as heirs general to
their father, and the judges in the law courts decided in their favour ; whereupon Earl William agreed
to purchase their several shares and interests, and afterwards got a new grant of the island from
James 1st. In 1594, Earl William was married at Greenwich to Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of
Edward Vere, the seventh Earl of Oxford, by whom he had three sons and three daughters. Queen
Elizabeth conferred upon him the noble Order of the Garter, and James I. appointed him Lord
Chamberlain of Chester for life, and on the christening of his first son ("James, Lord Strange,")
presented him with a costly piece of plate. The Countess died in 1626, and a few years afterwards
the Earl, being " old and infirm, and desirous of withdrawing himself from the hurry and fatigue of life,
in which he had been very largely engaged and greatly encumbered, " assigned and surrendered all
his estates to James, Lords Stanley and Strange, his eldest son, reserving to himself only £1,000 per
annum during his life. The Earl purchased a convenient house on the side of the River Dee, near
Chester, whither we are told he retired and passed the evening of his life in quiet, peace, and
pleasing enjoyment of ease, rest, and freedom of body as well as mind. He died on the 29th
September, 1642.
Association with Shakespeare:
One of the more interesting claims associated with William was that he either singly or in conjunction
with others, wrote the plays commonly ascribed to William Shakespeare (other contenders for this are
Frances Bacon and Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.) No plays acknowledged to by William exist,
though there is a 1599 report by the Jesuit spy, George Fenners that he was 'busyed only in penning
commodyes for the commoun players'. The theory that William was the bard was, according to Michell,
most strongly proposed by Professor Abel Lefranc in 1918, though J.H. Greenstreet had made the
same suggestioni n the 1890's. William is supposed to be Aetion ('Eagle Man') in Spenser's poem Colin
Clouts come home again of 1594 in which all the major dramatists of the period make their entry
under disguised names (the'eagle' both from the Stanley crest of Eagle and Child as well as Lathom's
Eagle tower).
issue two sons, James and Robert; also three daughters : first, Elizabeth, who died young; second,
Ann, who married Sir Henry Portman, of Orchard in the county of Somerset, and after his death Sir
Robert Carr, Knight and Earl of Ancram, in Scotland ; the third daughter, another Elizabeth, who died
young. James, eldest son and successor, we shall take notice of in another place. Robert, his second
son, married a daughter of Lord Witherington, by whom he had issue, which are all long since extinct;
as hereafter appears. This noble lord died in his retirement, at his house near Chester, on the
twenty-ninth of September, 1642 ; from thence was conveyed to Ormskirk, and there deposited with
his noble ancestors."
The following short biography, taken from Aspen's Historical Sketches of the House of Stanley (1877)
is included for its enjoyment rather than guaranteed accuracy...
William was a well educated and well travelled man. His love of exploration led him to many places
and involved him in many adventures around the world. He remained three years in France, where he
took laurels in many of the chief tournaments, and subsequently proceeded to Spain, where he was
challenged by a Spanish nobleman to single combat. In the first encounter the Spaniard succeeded in
wounding Sir William on his right arm, and causing him to fall to the ground, but he was soon upon his
feet again. In the second round the Spaniard aimed three deadly blows at the wounded Englishman,
inflicting a severe wound, and causing him to reel to the ground. Blood flowed freely, and the friends
of the Spanish nobleman counselled his withdrawal from the contest, but he was too enraged to heed
their advice, and in the third encounter rushed at Sir William with the force of desperation, but the
blows were successfully parried, and the representative of the house of Stanley once more secured
the crown of victory by inflicting a second wound on the breast of the Spaniard, and thus effectually
disabling him.
Sir William next visited Italy, where he assumed the garb of a mendicant friar for the purpose of
gaining information and the more readily getting through the country. Afterwards he proceeded to
Egypt, and with the assistance of a native guide, went to reconnoitre the River Nile. Whilst on their
journey, a large male tiger suddenly appeared from behind a thicket, and with a hideous howl came
rushing towards them. Sir William had two pistols, and discharged one as the tiger was making a
spring at them. Unfortunately he missed his aim, and it was only by dexterously stepping aside that
he eluded the grasp of the ferocious brute. Before the animal had time to take another spring, Sir
William drew a second pistol, discharged the contents into the tiger's breast, and as it reeled drew his
sword and killed it.
After paying a visit to Palestine, he journeyed to Turkey, and had a narrow escape of becoming a
victim to the bigotry of the followers of Mahommed. In a discussion with one of the Paschas he
defended Christianity and the Bible, and denounced the religion propounded in the Koran as false and
deceptive. He was arrested for "blasphemy against the religion of Mahommed," and after being kept a
long time in a filthy and dismal prison, a date was fixed for his execution, but a lady interceded on his
behalf, and three days before the appointed time he was liberated. Having remained some time at
Constantinople, he visited Russia, and it is said that whilst at Moscow he was informed by an English
physician of the death of his father and brother, and that he thereupon returned to his native land
with all speed.
On Sir William reaching England, he found that all the estates of the earldom had been settled upon
his brother's daughters, under the guardianship of four bishops and four temporal lords, who
possessed every branch of it to their ward's uses, and refused to admit his right to any share of it.
Having few friends and less money, and having powerful adversaries to contend against, his case was
somewhat distressing ; but some of the old tenants in and about Latham, Dalton, Newburgh, who
knew him from a child to be their natural and rightful lord, supplied him with money to recover his title
and so much of the estates as properly belonged to him. A law suit, therefore followed, in reference to
all the late earl's estates in England and also in the Isle of Man. During the dispute the real title of the
Stanley family to the Isle of Man was called in question, on the ground that when Henry IV. granted it
for life to Sir John Stanley, the Earl of Northumberland (the former possessor) had not been attainted
by Parliament nor his possessions adjudged to be confiscated, and that the subsequent gift of it to Sir
John, being founded upon the grant for life, was invalidated. Ultimately it was decided by the law lords
that the right to the Isle of Man belonged solely to Queen Elizabeth ; but Her Majesty, in
consideration of the "many eminent services performed to herself and to her royal predecessors by
the honourable and noble House of Stanley," withdrew her right and referred the contending
claimants to the decision of the courts. The law proceedings were continued with vigour on both sides
for six or seven years, and would have extended over a still longer period, but the Queen proposed a
reference, and this being accepted, the whole matter was considered by Lord Burleigh, Lord
Buckhurst, the Earl of Dorset,, the Earl of Cumberland, Lord Hunsdon, and the Earl of Salisbury, who
appointed and yielded to the Right Honourable William, Earl of Derby, the ancient seats of Lathom and
Knowsley, with all the houses, lands, castles, and appurtenances in Lancashire, Cumberland,
Yorkshire, Cheshire, and many in Wales ; also the manor of Meriden, in the County of Warwick, with
the old seat in Cannon Row, Westminster (afterwards called Derby Court), and also the advowson of
the Parish Church of the Holy Trinity, in the city of Chester. To the daughter of Earl Ferdinando, the
arbitrators granted the Baronies of Strange of Knocking, Mohun, Barnwell, Basset and Lacy ; with all
the houses, castles, manors, and lands thereto belonging, with several other manors and large
estates lying in most counties of England, and many in Wales.
With regard to the Isle of Man, Ferdinando's daughters claimed possession of it as heirs general to
their father, and the judges in the law courts decided in their favour ; whereupon Earl William agreed
to purchase their several shares and interests, and afterwards got a new grant of the island from
James 1st. In 1594, Earl William was married at Greenwich to Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of
Edward Vere, the seventh Earl of Oxford, by whom he had three sons and three daughters. Queen
Elizabeth conferred upon him the noble Order of the Garter, and James I. appointed him Lord
Chamberlain of Chester for life, and on the christening of his first son ("James, Lord Strange,")
presented him with a costly piece of plate. The Countess died in 1626, and a few years afterwards
the Earl, being " old and infirm, and desirous of withdrawing himself from the hurry and fatigue of life,
in which he had been very largely engaged and greatly encumbered, " assigned and surrendered all
his estates to James, Lords Stanley and Strange, his eldest son, reserving to himself only £1,000 per
annum during his life. The Earl purchased a convenient house on the side of the River Dee, near
Chester, whither we are told he retired and passed the evening of his life in quiet, peace, and
pleasing enjoyment of ease, rest, and freedom of body as well as mind. He died on the 29th
September, 1642.
Association with Shakespeare:
One of the more interesting claims associated with William was that he either singly or in conjunction
with others, wrote the plays commonly ascribed to William Shakespeare (other contenders for this are
Frances Bacon and Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.) No plays acknowledged to by William exist,
though there is a 1599 report by the Jesuit spy, George Fenners that he was 'busyed only in penning
commodyes for the commoun players'. The theory that William was the bard was, according to Michell,
most strongly proposed by Professor Abel Lefranc in 1918, though J.H. Greenstreet had made the
same suggestioni n the 1890's. William is supposed to be Aetion ('Eagle Man') in Spenser's poem Colin
Clouts come home again of 1594 in which all the major dramatists of the period make their entry
under disguised names (the'eagle' both from the Stanley crest of Eagle and Child as well as Lathom's
Eagle tower).
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