Charles Greenwood (1748-1832). Mezzotint of the portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence (1828).
It was while on a visit at the Pavillion (The Royal Pavillion, Brighton) in January 1832, while playing a rubber of whist with the King, that he was suddenly taken ill, and died within a few hours in his eighty-fourth year.
The following letter from the Earl of Munster to Mr. Charles Hammersley is but one of the very gratifying tributes to Charles Greenwood's memory:
"My dear Sir,
I came home from the House of Lords being quite unable to sit out the debate after receiving the distressing intelligence Lord Erroll had brought from Brighton, and which I only learned just now. I have double reason to regret my excellent, lamented kind friend, not only for his qualities as a man, but from the circumstance of his being at Brighton on my account, being engaged in a most delicate discussion between the King and myself, and God only knows where I shall (I am sure the King will feel the like difficulty) find another in whom we shall both place the like confidence. But I would keep all these regrets to a later and more proper moment if it were not necessary that I should entreat you to secure for me some of my letters, and copies of others, and some unopened letters addressed to the King, which will be found, having been sent to Brighton within the last week. They consist of a rough copy of a letter to the King, three letters from myself, and two sealed letters addressed to the King, but which my kind and excellent friend had not presented. These two last (those unopened and addressed to the King) I wish you kindly to retain for the present, as I shall probably refer the King to you for one which Mr. Greenwood had approved (having found fault with the first) and which I hoped he would have presented if a fit opportunity offered. Hereafter I will open them both in your presence, and leave that corrected according to his wishes for you to keep. I want no answer as you must be truly miserable, but you must allow me to say that I owe more to poor Mr. Greenwood than I do to anyone else in existence, that I entreat besides my carriage being permitted to attend the outward pageant (sic) of the funeral, that I may be allowed personally to follow his remains to their last home, as no one does, or can, feel more unfeigned or heartfelt sorrow than myself.
Most truly yours,
Munster"
Thursday evening, 8 o'clock.
The Greenwood family of Stapleton
The arms of Greenwood of Stapleton from Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire:
Sable, a chevron ermine between three saltires or, a mullet for difference.These arms confirm that the Greenwoods of Stapleton were a branch of a branch of the Greenwoods of Greenwood Lee, since the arms of the latter family (being the original undifferenced arms) are sable a chevron ermine between three saltires argent (as opposed to or). So a younger son of the family of Greenwood of Greenwood Lee clearly differenced his arms by changing the saltires from argent (silver) to or (gold), then a younger son of that branch subsequently differenced his arms by adding the mullet (star).
It would appear that the man who differenced the arms of Greenwood of Greenwood Lee by changing the tincture of the saltires from argent to or was James Greenwood, see below, apparently a younger brother of the Greenwoods of Greenwood Lee, who married Elizabeth, daughter of unknown of Chape(l)lholme. It would presumably have been his second son, John Greenwood of Wrenthorp (d 1635), see below, who added the mullet.
From Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire:
James Greenwood, a younger brother of the Greenwoods of Greenwood Lee (descended from Wyomarus de Greenwode of Greenwode Lee, living 1154, provisioner to the Empress Maud), m Elizabeth, daughter of unknown of Chape(l)lholme, and had issue;
John Greenwood of Wrenthorp juxta Wakefield (bur. Wakefield 13 Nov 1635) m Anne Marsh(e) of Thornhill and had issue;
James Greenwood (aged 9 in 1612) of Stapleton, Darrington m (1) Sarah Burdet of Mor(e)grange (Moor Grange) and (2) Mary Bellhouse, daughter of Francis Bellhouse of Newsome, Town Clerk of Leeds, and had issue by (2);
James Greenwood of Stapleton (which estate he sold), afterwards of York, ob. 1712, m Frances, daughter of William Farrar of Ewood (d 1684 and buried in Darrington Church), and had issue;
Rev. William Greenwood (d 1727), Rector of Darfield, m Sarah, daughter of Robert Wainwright of Middlewood Hall.According to 'Northamptonshire and Rutland Clergy' (H. I. Longden, 'Northamptonshire and Rutland Clergy from 1500', 15 vols., Northampton, 1938-43) they had issue Rev. Francis Greenwood (d 15 June 1761), Rector of Higham Ferrers, who (according to my family records) m Ann(e) Harrington (b 1717 d 1813) of Lavenham, Suffolk, (who m, secondly, the Hon. and Rev. Charles Graham) who had issue;
Charles Greenwood (1748-1832), whose sister, Anne, married Thomas Hammersley.Anne Greenwood was the heir of her brother, who did not marry, and she therefore became the heraldic heiress of her father and entitled to pass the arms of Greenwood of Stapleton to her descendants as a quartering. These arms are sable, a chevron ermine between three saltires or, a mullet for difference (for Greenwood of Stapleton); an escutcheon of pretence azure, on a chevron or between three church bells argent, as many eagles displayed [gules? - see Burkes 'General Armory' under 'Belhouse'] (for Bellhouse), per Dugdales Visitation of Yorkshire under 'Greenwood of Stapleton'). Thoresby's history of Leeds, Eng., published 1715, gives the date of the arms of Wyomarus de Greenwode as 1154 (this is taken from Thoresby's 'Ducatus Leodensis'), so the arms are very ancient, indeed, amongst the earliest in the country.
Stapleton Park, Darrington, nr. Pontefract, Yorkshire. Seat of James Greenwood, great-grandfather of Charles Greenwood (1748-1832). This picture is of the building at a later date and it had probably been substantially re-built since James Greenwood's time. James Greenwood sold the property in 1702 to a Samuel Walker of York.
Greenwood Lee
Greenwood Lee is about a mile NW of Heptonstall and was owned by the family from the mid-1100s until 1642.
Greenwood Lee, Heptonstall, Yorkshire.
Greenwood Lee - a modern photo.
Middlewood Hall
According to my family notes this is Middlewood Hall, Hereford, which presumably corresponds with Middlewood House, Clifford, nr. Hay-on-Wye, Hereford. But I think this may be an error since there is a Middlewood Hall in Darfield (Middlewood Hall, Doncaster Rd, Darfield, Barnsley).
Farrar of Ewood Hall
See here and here for more on the family.
Descent of Frances Farrar from Charlemagne:
Charlemagne (b. 2 Apr 747 d. 28 Jan 813), Holy Roman Emperor m Hildegarde of Vinzgau (b. 758 d. 30 Apr 783) and had issue;
Pepin (d. 8 Jul 810), King of Italy, m Bertha of Toulouse and had issue;
Bernard (b. 799 d. 818), King of Italy m Cunigunde (b. 797) and had issue;
Pepin (b. 817 d. after 840), Count of Peronne, m unknown and had issue;
Herbert I de Vermandois (b. 840 d. 902) m Bertha de Morvois and had issue;
Beatrix de Vermandois (d. after Mar 931) m Robert I (b. 866 d. 15 Jun 923), King of France, and had issue;
Hugh 'Magnus' (b. about 895 d. 16 Jun 956) m Hedwig (d. after 965) and had issue;
Hugh Capet (b. 941 d. 24 Oct 996), King of France m Adelaide of Aquitaine (b. 950) and had issue;
Robert II (b. 27 Mar 972 d. 20 Jul 1031), King of France, m Constance of Arles (b. about 986 d. 25 Jul 1032) and had issue;
Henry I (b. 1006 d. 4 Aug 1060), King of France, m Anne of Kiev (b. about 1023 d. After 1075) and had issue;
Hugh (b. 1057 d. 18 Oct 1101/2), Count of Vermandois, m Adelaide de Vermandois (b. about 1062 d. 1120/1124) and had issue;
Isabel de Vermandois (d. 1131) m William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, and had issue;
Ada de Warenne m Henry (d. 1152), Earl of Huntingdon, son of David I, (d. 1153), King of Scots, and had issue;
David (d. 1219), Earl of Huntingdon, m Matilda (d. 1233), daughter of Hugh de Kevelioc (d. 1181), Earl of Chester (by Bertrade, daughter of Simon, Count of Evreux), son of Ranulph de Gernon (d. 1153), Earl of Chester (by Maud, daughter of Robert Fitzroy of Caen (d. 1189), Earl of Gloucester, natural son of Henry I), and had issue;
Ada m Sir Henry de Hastings (d. 1250) and had issue;
Sir Henry de Hastings (d. 1268/9) m Joan, daughter of Sir William de Cantelou (by Eve, daughter and co-heir of William de Braose, Lord of Abergavenny), and had issue;
Sir John de Hastings (b. 1262 d. about 1312/3), 1st Lord Hastings, Competitor for the Crown of Scotland in 1290, m, secondly, Isabel, daughter of Hugh Le Despencer, Earl of Winchester (by Isabel, daughter of William de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick), and had issue;
Sir Hugh de Hastings (d. 1369) m Margaret, daughter of Adam de Everingham and had issue;
Hugh de Hastings (d. 1386) m Anne (d. 1426), daughter of Edward Le Despencer, Lord Le Despencer and had issue;
Sir Edward Hastings (bap. 21 May 1382), de jure 8th Lord Hastings, m Muriel de Dinham of Hartland, Devon and had issue;
John Hastings (b. before 6 Jan 1411 d. 9 Apr 1477) of Gressenhall m Anne Morley (d. 1471), daughter of Thomas Morley, Lord Morley (b. bef. 1393 d. 1435) and Isabel de la Pole (d. 1466), daughter of Michael de la Pole (d. 1415), Earl of Suffolk (by Catherine, daughter of Hugh de Stafford, Earl of Stafford), and had issue;
Isabel Hastings (d. after 10 Jun 1490) m Thomas Bosvile of Ardsley and Newhall, co. Yorks. (d. before 10 Jun 1490), son of William Bosvile (b. about 1401) and Matilda FitzWilliam and had issue;
Margaret Bosvile m William Symmes (d. before 7 Oct 1483), son of Richard Symmes of Barnsley, co. Yorks. and had issue;
Alice Symmes m Gerard Lacy of Brearley Hall*, co. Yorks (d. after 2 Jul 1503) and had issue;
Hugh Lacy (d. before 31 Jul 1573) m Agnes Savile, daughter of Nicholas Savile of New Hall in Elland, nr. Huddersfield, co. Yorks and Margery Wilkinson and had issue;
Margaret Lacy m William Farrar of Ewood in Midgely, co. Yorks. (d. before 3 Apr 1573) and had issue;
John Farrar of Ewood (d. 1627/8) m (Aug 1574) Cecily Kelke (b. 1552), daughter of William Kelke, and had issue;
John Farrar of Ewood** (b. 1578) (whose elder brother Henry was murdered in 1610) m Susan Hanson and had issue;
William Farrar of Ewood (d. Oct 1684) m Frances, daughter of Richard James of Portsmouth, and had issue;
Frances Farrar m James Greenwood of Stapleton (d. 1712).*The Lacy family of Brearley were a branch of the de Laci family, Earls of Lincoln.
Brearley Hall, Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire.
**In 1609 he was confirmed arms of argent on a bend engrailed sable three horse-shoes of the field and for the crest on a wreath of the colours a horse-shoe argent between two wings or ('The Descent of Dr. Lillian K. Farrar, M.D.,' Chester Herald, College of Arms, London, in Library of Congress).
Descent from Edward I:
Edward I, King of England (d. 1307) m Eleanor of Castile and had issue;
Joan Plantagenet m Gilbert de Clare, 3rd Earl of Gloucester, 7th Earl of Hertford and had issue;
Margaret de Clare m Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester, and had issue;
Margaret de Audley m Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford, and had issue;
Hugh Stafford, 2nd Earl of Stafford m Philippa Beauchamp and had issue;
Catherine Stafford m Michael de la Pole, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, and had issue;
Isabel de la Pole m Thomas Morley, 5th Baron Morley, and had issue;
Anne Morley (d. 1471) - see above.Ewood Hall
Ewood Hall, Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire.
The property was formerly owned by the Okes family, but in 1471 Ewood and its lands were conveyed by the owner Edmund Pylkington to Henry Ferror, or Farrar. It was he, with his brothers John and Hugh, who gave two acres of land at Skircoat for the building of Heath Grammar School, and he obtained at his own expense the charter for the foundation of the school. He was murdered at Westminster in 1610. In 1798 Dr John Fawcett and his two sons came to Ewood from Upper Brearley Hall to open their academy for Baptist ministers which continued until 1835. Near the front door is a stone bearing the date 1656 and the initials J.M.L. (presumably John Lockwood.) The building was demolished in the early 1970s. Ewood Hall Barn, the former stables to the Hall, is still standing and has been partly converted to residential use. It is a Grade II Listed Building.
Mytholmroyd - birthplace of Ted Hughes (1930-1998), Poet Laureate.
Harrington of Lavenham
The arms of Harrington of Essex per Burke's 'General Armory' - sable a fret or.
Ann(e) Harrington of Lavenham (b 1717) (above) was the daughter of Joseph Harrington (b 1694 d 1758), presumably of Lavenham, and Ann Jowers (d 1762). Joseph Harrington was the son of unknown Harrington of Lavenham (d 1720), grocer, by his wife, Mary (d 1711). Ann(e) Harrington appears to have been the niece of a Martha Harrington of Lavenham, who in her will dated 21 Oct 1755 (proved 28 Mar 1760) directed that she be buried at Cockfield, Suffolk, near her deceased parents. The will also refers to copyhold land held in Cockfield.
Arthur Young’s 'Travels in France during the Years 1787, 1788, 1789' (ed. Miss Betham-Edwards, London, George Bell and Sons, 1909) states "What commanded more of my attention," he writes, "was a branch of learning very different from Greek: it was the lessons I received from a dancing-master, who came over once a week from Colchester to teach the boys, and also some young ladies. Two of these in succession made terrible havoc with my heart. The first was a Miss Betsey Harrington, a Lavenham grocer's daughter, who was admitted by all who saw her to be truly beautiful." This is probably Elizabeth Harrington (b 1737), sister of Ann(e) (above), but she must have been a close relation in any event, possibly niece.
Lavenham, Suffolk.
The Harrington family appear to have been landowners in Essex, according to Morant's 'Essex', which, among other entries, records (vol. II, p. 279-280) that at Great Maplested (Hinckford Hundred), the 'farm of some note here' called Walasses or Waleis’s was in the possession of Edmund Harrington in 1578 (Is this Wallace's Farm, about a mile South-West of Great Maplestead, near Dyne's Hall?) and that 'this person was descended from a younger branch of the noble family of Harrington, Barons of Exton, in the county of Rutland'. In addition, Burke's 'General Armory' records that Harrington of Essex bore arms of sable a fret or, a differenced version of the arms of Harrington (correctly or originally Harington I think), Barons of Exton (extinct 1614), namely sable a fret argent. Great Maplestead, Essex, is about 11 miles from Lavenham, Suffolk.
The Haringtons of Exton were descended from Robert de Harington and his wife, Elizabeth de Multon, daughter and co-heir of John de Multon (d 1334), 2nd Baron Multon of Egremont, descended from Lambert de Multon (d 1247) and his wife, Annabel de Lucy, daughter and co-heir of Richard de Lucy, descended from Reginald de Lucy (ancestor of the Barons Lucy), who married Annabel, daughter and co-heir of William FitzDuncan, Earl of Murray, son of Duncan II (b about 1060 d 1094), King of Scots. William FitzDuncan was the grandson of Gospatric I, Earl of Northumberland (b. About 1040 d. 1074), whose mother, Ealdgyth, was the grand-daughter of Ethelred the Unready (978-1016), King of England. Elizabeth de Multon was also descended from Charlemagne (b. 2 Apr 747 d. 28 Jan 813), Holy Roman Emperor, via the wife of William FitzDuncan, that is Alice de Meschines, daughter of Ranulf de Meschines, Earl of Chester (b. About 1070 d. 1129). Assuming that the Suffolk Harringtons were a branch of the Essex Harringtons, it would appear that the beautiful 'Lavenham grocer's daughter' was in fact 'the daughter of a hundred belted earls', as the saying goes, including the following:
Descent of Elizabeth de Multon from Hamelin Plantagenet, Earl of Surrey, natural son of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou (b. 24 Aug 1113 d. 7 Sep 1151):
Hamelin Plantagenet, Earl of Surrey (d. 7 May 1202) m Isabel de Warenne (d. 13 Jul 1199), daughter of William de Warenne, Earl of Surrey (b. About 1110 d. 19 Jan 1148), and had issue;
Isabel de Warenne (b. About 1152) m Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk (b. About 1148 d. Before 6 Mar 1176), and had issue;
Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk (b. About 1175 d. About 1224/1225) m Maud Marshall (b. About 1192 d. 27 Mar 1248), daughter of William Marshall, Earl of Pembroke (b. 1146 d. 14 May 1219), and had issue;
Isabel Bigod (b. About 1210) m Sir John FitzGeoffrey (d. 23 Nov 1258) and had issue;
Avelina FitzJohn (d. About 20 May 1274) m Walter de Burgh, Earl of Ulster (b. About 1230 d. 28 Jul 1271) and had issue;
Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster (d. 29 Jul 1326) m Margaret (d. 1304) and had issue;
Eleanor de Burgh m Thomas de Multon, 1st Baron Multon of Egremont (b. 21 Feb 1276 d. Before 8 Feb 1321) and had issue;
Elizabeth de Multon (b. 1306)Note that 'A Dictionary of Suffolk Crests', Suffolk Record Society, (p. 274) records that a crest on a floor slab memorial in the church at Lavenham to Joseph Harrington (d. 1758), presumably father of Ann(e) Harrington (see above), consists of a leopard's head. The Visitation of Essex (1634) records that the crest of the Harringtons of Great Maplestead was a lion's head (erased or, gorged gules, charged with two fleur de lys of the second). Perhaps the leopard's head was misinterpreted by the writer.
New Laithes
The following is from 'Greenwood Genealogies' 1154-1914 by Frederick Greenwood, East Templeton, MA (1914):
'Ralph Thoresby in his history of Leeds, Eng., and the West Outriding of Yorkshire, published 1715, and Whitaker in an edition of Leeds, published 1816, both refer to a place known as New Laithes as famous for its long Greenwood occupancy. Thoresby says of New Laithes: "Here for many years resided the very ancient family of Greenwood descended from Wyomarus, who flourished ano. 1154, cater to Mawd the Empress." This New Laithes is the small village 5 miles north-west of Leeds [now a suburb of Leeds], near the river Aire in the township of Newlay. New Laithes hall, or manor house, is yet standing, but no Greenwoods or their descendants are now living there. New Laithes hall came into possession of the Greenwoods as early as 1180 and was occupied by a Charles Greenwood as late as 1816*. On Apr. 13, 1670, the estate was sold by a James Greenwood to Thomas Lord Viscount Savile, Earl of Sussex, but the estate was repurchased by a Joseph Greenwood, who died there in 1728.'
*This is presumably Charles Greenwood (1748-1832), who, according to my family notes, purchased the estate in 1824 from Mr. Spencer Stanhope. It was sold on his death in 1832. He seems to have been the last Greenwood to have owned the estate.
New Laithes on an old map. Click here for a modern location map. The river shown is the Aire. The railway can also be seen. As far as I can see from aerial photos, the building (or part of it) still exists.
The Auberies
'Mr. and Mrs. Andrews' by Gainsborough (1748-9). The landscape shown is that of Robert Andrews' estate, The Auberies, Bulmer, nr. Sudbury, Essex, (now with a postcode of CO10 7DY), later the home of Charles Greenwood. Robert Andrews died in 1806 (monument in St. Andrew's Church, Bulmer) and the house (see below) was then rebuilt. In 1835 a three-storey addition was built for a Col. Augustus Meyrick. On this basis it seems likely that Charles Greenwood owned the property from 1806 to 1832, when he died, and that the property was bought by Col. Meyrick in that year or shortly afterwards.
The Auberies in the time of Robert Andrews from an 18th century print. The house is between Bulmer and the A131 leading into Sudbury.
Under the Greenwood Tree
'Under the Greenwood Tree' - The view from Greenwood Lee looking towards Hardcastle Crags and High Greenwood. This must be the original greenwood from which the family took their name.
Another view of the valley - near Hardcastle Crags.
Under the greenwood tree - in the valley.
In the greenwood.
In the greenwood.
As You Like It, Act II, Scene 5
Scene: The Forest of Arden
Under the Greenwood Tree - an interpretation by Julius Kronberg (1850-1921)
Jagdnymphe mit Faunen, 1875, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.For some reason I quite like this interpretation.
