The New Murrey and Blue blog

Sir John Stanley was a grandson of Thomas Stanley, Earl of Derby and Eleanor Neville. His father was James Stanley (c 1465-1525) a cleric who eventually became Bishop of Ely. (He retained multiple benefices and seems to have been as often in Lancashire as in Ely. He is buried in what is now Manchester Cathedral.)

Churchmen, of course, were not allowed to marry in those days, so those he had with Anne Benger (and possibly another woman) were naturally illegitimate.

Sir John was born about 1480. He fought with particular distinction at the Battle of Flodden (1513) leading his father’s tenants. His father-in-law (as it turned out) was killed there. He was William Hanford (or Honford), a man with quite considerable property in Cheshire, and he left behind a daughter, Margaret, as his sole heiress. Did he know Stanley, and entrust his daughter to him as he lay dying? It’s not impossible, but the young lady was only twelve.

Anyway, John Stanley married her, and of course, he was not all that much older himself. (One source claims that combined ages were less than thirty, but this cannot be confirmed.) They had one son, also John, who died without heirs, and a daughter, Anne.

Unfortunately for Stanley, he fell into a dispute over property with George Legh of Adlington. Legh happened to have recently taken to wife Joan Larke, the discarded mistress of Cardinal Wolsey and mother of his children. In these circumstances, it will not surprise you to learn that Stanley came off worse. He was actually thrown into the Fleet prison until he relinquished his claim. Tudor ‘justice’ at its best!

(It is worth mentioning that when Wolsey fell out of favour, George Legh also lost his influence, and died in the Fleet Prison in 1529.)

Did John Stanley become disillusioned with this sinful world? In 1527 he made a complicated will; but then in 1528, he obtained a divorce from his wife so he could enter religion. He became a monk at Westminster. He is said to have died in 1530.

Margaret now married Sir Urian Brereton, and they had eight children together. It is not known when she died, but Urian survived her and remarried. Sir Urian was one of several brothers of that William Brereton executed for his alleged (and very dubious) involvement with Queen Anne Boleyn.

‘Honford’ is what is now known as Handforth, just north of Wilmslow, Cheshire.