31st July 1981 SN

Gentleman’s journey

The family who brought terror to Staffordshire

SANDON, in the late 13th century belonged to Sir William de Stafford – several times M.P. for Staffordshire. In 1322 in the Battle of Boroughbridge (in Yorkshire) between King Edward II and Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, Sir William chose the losing side, supporting Lancaster.

After surrendering Lancaster was executed at Pontefract and many of his supporters were imprisoned, Sir William in Alton in Alton Castle. His grandsons James and John tried vainly to release him. He was pardoned a year later.

Perhaps anxious for battle, the de Staffords had got involved in a complicated argument between two brothers, sons of the Lord of Church Eaton, over the Church there. Each brother gathered armed and mounted supporters who rode around Stafford and Church Eaton ‘to the terror of the people’.

James, in spite of representing the County in Parliament, committed two murders.

In 1338, Sandon passed to the Erdeswick family when Sir James’s daughter and heiress married Thomas Erdeswick of Cheshire. The terror from Sandon did not stop.

Battling

In the next 300 years, eight generations of Erdeswicks lived at Sandon. The two most well known members were Hugh in the 15th century and Sampson in the 16th.

Hugh’s mother was the daughter of the Baron of Kinderton in Cheshire in the days of the battling barons along the Cheshire Marches.

Hugh was the eldest of four brothers who together with their maternal uncles terrorised Staffordshire, returning to the safety of Cheshire when the pursuit for them got too close.

Hugh managed to attract a sizeable army of followers, many wearing his arms - which he had taken from his grandmother’s family – the Staffords. The shields were silver with a red inverted V (chevron) on which were five gold circles (bezants).

With his army, Hugh intimidated the gentry families of the county, many of whom at this time had young boys at the head of the family, and were not able to fight back.

Only the Constable of the Duchy of Lancaster and Lord Ferrars of Chartley dated oppose the Erdeswicks. The Constable was soon conquered and with 1,000 men from hshire the Erdeswicks set out for Chartley.

Lord Ferrars fortunately escaped and managed to gain some revenge on behalf of the county by savagely destroying Sampson, the third Erdeswick brother.

Over the years Hugh always escaped imprisonment, and, almost too incredible, he later became not only an M.P. for the County, but a Commissioner of the Peace, and even County Sheriff for one year. He became a firm supporter of King Henry V, son of the first Lancastrian King, Henry IV.

Fortunately five generations later in the 16th century, Sampson Erdeswick, a descendant of Hugh’s youngest brother Henry, left a peaceful memory in the County.

Origins

Sampson’s father, another Hugh, was a catholic and suffered persecution in the reign of Elizabeth. In fact he had been bound over for £200 for striking a Justice of the Peace in Sandon Churchyard.

Sampson studied at Oxford and then returned to Sandon and began to collect material relating to Staffordshire, but didn’t begin to write his history of the county until 30 years later. Having Cheshire origins, Erdeswick also collected materiala for a history of that county.

There were several manuscripts by Erdeswick but nothing was published while he was alive.

Perhaps not trusting his descendants to commemorate his memory satisfactorily, Erdeswick erected his own grand monument in Sandon Church. Sampson is portrayed lying down while his two wives are portrayed above him in kneeling positions. In spite of this magnificent monument (or perhaps because of it?) Erdeswick probably died insolvent during the summer of 1603.

Erdeswick’s second wife Mary was the widow of Everard Digby, whose elder son Everard was involved in the Gunpowder Plot.

Erdeswick’s son by Mary later sold the Sandon estate to George Digbyl, younger brother to Everard and his own half brother, who had married Mary Chetwynd of Ingestre.

The Digby arms were a silver fleur-de-lys on a blue shield.

George and Mary Digby had one son and four daughters, the youngest of whom, Jane, married Charles, Lord Gerard and their son married Lady Elizabeth Gerard, daughter of the first Earl fo Macclesfield.

The Sandon estates passed to the Duke of Hamiltona when the daughter of his last marriage (a niece of the second Earl of Macclesfield) married James Earl of Arran who later became the Duke of Hamilton.

Murder

The Duke had lived a colourful life including being a gentleman of the bed-chamber to King Charles II, duelling, and imprisonment in the Tower of London. He was a prominent and active member of the Scottish Parliament and fought for the right of a Scottish peer to sit in the Parliament in London after the Union of England and Scotland.

The Duke was awarded the Order of the Thistle by King James II and later was honoured by Queen Anne with the Order of the Garter. He was appointed as Ambassador to France but didn’t live to take up the position.

Charles, Lord Mohun, a notorious duellist, having on occasion been tried for murder in connection with his duels, had also married a niece of the second Earl of Macclesfield.

Lord Mohun had attended Lord Macclesfield when he carried details of the Act of Succession to Sophia, Electress of Hanover. There they were treated magnificently but Sophia never became Queen of England as she died a few weeks before Queen Anne.

It was her son George Elector of Hanover who became King George I of England.

When Lord Macclesfield died he let the whole of his estate to Lord Mohun. The Duke of Hamilton contested this will and it led to a long drawn out case. During the proceedings, in 1712, Lord Mohun challenged the Duke of Hamilton to a duel over some insignificant remark.

Lord Mohun was killed and so was the Duke of Hamilton, or rather it was alleged that the Duke was murdered by Mohun’s second. Four years later the man was in fact tried and found guilty of manslaughter.

The Duke of Hamilton was succeeded by his son James who became the fifth Duke. He in turn was succeeded by his son James of his first marriage whose son and grandson became seventh and eighth Dukes successively.

Mansion

The ninth Duke was Archibald, the son of the fifth Duke’s third marriage. He built a new mansion at Sandon estate which replaced the Erdeswicks’ half-timbered, moated house.

Archibald, ninth Duke of Hamilton sold his Sandon estate to Nathanial Ryder and a more law-abiding dynasty at Sandon began.

The Hamilton shield was red on which were three five leaved herbs (cinquefoils) coloured ermine, i.e. white fur with black spots.

Reach PLC. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD