| Stratford | |
|---|---|
| Noble House | |
 Stratford coat of arms | |
| Parent house | possibly theHouse of Tosny |
| Country | United Kingdom and Ireland |
| Founded | 1245; 780 years ago (1245) |
| Founder | Robert de Stratford |
| Titles | |
| Motto | Virtuti Nihil Obstat Et Armis (Nothing Withstands Valour and Arms) |
| Cadet branches |
|
TheHouse of Stratford (/strætfərd/) is a British aristocratic family, originating inStratford-on-Avon between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. The family has produced multiple titles, includingEarl of Aldborough,Viscount Amiens,Baron Baltinglass,Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe and theDugdale Baronets. TheViscount Powerscourt andBaron Wrottesley both claim descent from this House. Historic seats have includedFarmcote Manor andStratford Park inGloucester,Merevale Hall inWarwickshire, Baltinglass Castle, Belan and Aldborough House inIreland, andStratford House in London, amongst many others. The house was at its most powerful in the fourteenth, sixteenth, and eighteenth centuries.
Though an 18th-century pedigree names the founder of the house as oneEdvardus Stratford from an "illustriousAnglo-Saxon family" in the 9th century,[1] and some researchers theorise the house descends from a cadet branch of theNormanHouse of Tosny which came to England withWilliam the Conqueror, indisputable descent begins withRobert de Stratford, an originalburgess ofStratford-on-Avon in the 1200s. His children and nephews rose to positions of significant power and influence in the political and religious landscape of England in the fourteenth century, and originated all other branches of the family.[2][3]
The children and nephews of Robert de Stratford include:
Acadet branch of Stratfords, founded byStephen de Stratford, were granted Lordship of the Manors of Farmcote, Hawling and Temple Guiting in 1314. His son, John Stratford, in 1320 became a member of parliament for Gloucestershire, and his son was raised to the knighthood as Sir Stephen Stratford.[4] Sir Stephen married Elizabeth Monthault, descendant ofEustace de Montaut, and all later cadet branches stem from this union. Following the dissolution ofHailes Abbey in 1539 this branch took Farmcote Manor House as their seat. This line were cousins toRobert Dover, and involved in the establishment of theCotswold Olimpick Games in 1612.[5]
The Farmcote and Hawling estates were sold in 1756, by sons of Walter Stratford, though part of Farmcote Manor still stands, and Stratford tombs, arms and effigies can be found in the estate chapel there.[6]
Descendants of the Farmcote Stratfords were still recorded living in the area during the time from 1841 to 1900 census.[6]
Notable members of this line include:
Andrew de Stratford, a nephew of John de Stratford and friend of William of Wykeham, moved to the Wessex area as part of his uncle'sfamilia when he became Bishop of Winchester.[7] Acquiring land in the New Forest, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Berkshire, Andrew married a certain Christine and founded a cadet branch of Stratfords, descendants of which remain in Hampshire, Wiltshire, and Berkshire to this day.[8][9]
The Manor ofMerevale in north Warwickshire (including the originalMerevale Hall and estate) was purchased in the mid-seventeenth century byEdward Stratford (died 1665), 9x great grandson of Sir Stephen de Stratford of Farmcote.[10] In 1749 the property was inherited by Penelope Bate Stratford (the daughter and co-heiress of Francis Stratford of Merevale) who married into the (now)Dugdale baronets, who still possess the estate.[11]
In 1749Merevale Hall was inherited by Edward's eventual descendantPenelope Bate Stratford (the daughter and co-heiress of Francis Stratford of Merevale) who married William Geast. William Geast took the surname of his Uncle, John Dugdale, and their child was Dugdale Stratford Dugdale who married the honourable Charlotte Curzon, daughter ofAssheton Curzon, 1st Viscount Curzon of the (now)Earls Howe.[12] Their son William Stratford Dugdale had a son also named William Stratford Dugdale who had a son named William Francis Stratford Dugdale, who came to be the 1st Baronet.[13] TheMerevale estate has descended to the present incumbent, his grandsonSir William Matthew Stratford Dugdale, 3rd Bt of theDugdale baronets thus:[11]
Edward Stratford of Merevale Hall settled the sum of £500 on his younger brotherRobert Stratford to establish a line in Ireland.[14] Robert settled at Baltinglass Castle, and his grandson entered thepeerage asEarls of Aldborough, of the Palatinate of Upper Ormond. The title was created on 9 February 1777, along with the subsidiary titleViscount Amiens, forJohn Stratford, 1st Viscount Aldborough.[15] He had already been createdBaron Baltinglass, of Baltinglass, in the County of Wicklow,[16] on 21 May 1763, andViscount Aldborough, of the Palatinate of Upper Ormond,[17] on 22 July 1776. These titles were also in the Peerage of Ireland. Three of his sons, the second, third and fourth Earls, all succeeded in the titles. They became extinct on the death of the latter's grandson, the sixth Earl, in 1875. Their seats were Belan House, Aldborough House, Baltinglass Castle andStratford House. and went on to sire theEarls of Aldborough.[18]
Notable Stratfords of Baltinglass include:
Abigail Stratford was the daughter ofRobert Stratford, progenitor of the Irish Stratfords. In 1697 she married George Canning,[22] and in 1703 they had a son, named Stratford Canning. He had a son sometime after 1734, also named Stratford Canning, who had a son in 1786, also named Stratford Canning, who was created 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe on 24 April 1852.[23]
LadyAmelia Stratford was the daughter ofJohn Stratford, 1st Earl of Aldborough. On 7 September 1760 she married Richard Wingfield, 3rdViscount Powerscourt, and took his name; it is from this maternal Stratford lineage that the currentViscount Powerscourt descends.[24]
The Stratford descendant Viscounts Powerscourt are as follows:
WhenEdward Stratford, 2nd Earl of Aldborough (Amelia's brother) died in 1801 he bequeathed the bulk of his estate to Amelia's grandson (his nephew, too junior to inherit the Powerscourt Viscountcy) on the proviso that he took back the Stratford name, thus becoming John Wingfield-Stratford in 1802.[11] This line inheritedStratford House in London, and Amelia lived there until her death in 1831. It was sold in 1832.[25]
Notable Wingfield-Stratfords include:
Esmé Cecil's daughter (Roshnara) marriedRichard John Wrottesley, 5th Baron Wrottesley, and though they later divorced it was through issue of their marriage that the Barony descended:
There are two main variant coats of arms associated with the Stratford family, Type A (or "trinity") and Type B (or "lion"). Type A can be further divided into the "Trestle" and "Roundel" subtypes.[27]
The Type A (or "trinity") Stratford Coat of Arms is the oldest of the two, first associated withJohn de Stratford and his familia in the early 1300s. It can be divided into two broad subtypes;Trestle, andRoundel.[28]
The Trestle type is most closely associated with the original Warwickshire Bishops, the Hampshire Stratfords descended fromAndrew Stratford, and withNicholas Stratford. The design is consistently based around gules, a fess humette, surrounded by three trestles argent (sometimes or). Variants include colour of fess and trestles, and number of trestles.[28]
In heraldry the trestle (alsotressle, tressel andthrestle) as acharge is extremely rare, and known for symbolisinghospitality (as historically the trestle was a tripod used both as a stool and a table support). The fess humette is apparently intended to represent a banqueting table, with the trestles gathered around.[29]
The Roundel type is associated solely with the medieval Bishops, and appears to be an archaic, simplified or corrupted version of the Trestle type. The design is consistently based around a fess, surrounded by three roundels. Variants include colour of fess, field and rondel.[28]
A single example of a variant Roundel type surviving is in the later Irish recording of a shield in the name of Stratford: argent, a fess between three hawks heads erased, gules.[30]
The arms of theStreatfield (or Streatfeild) family, recorded in the sixteenth century, bear a striking resemblance to an attributed form of Stratford arms. This could be seen as evidence that the Streatfields, though their line cannot be traced beyond the 1500s, are in fact a branch of the Stratford family, the name having been corrupted at some point prior to the sixteenth century.[29]
The Type B Stratford Coat of Arms was first recorded by the Heralds Visitations to Gloucester of 1543, and since has been consistently based around a lion rampant, gules, on a barruly of ten, Argent and Azure. It is associated with the Gloucester, Merevale and Irish branches. Variations have included the addition of a crescent to denote a younger son, a change in the barruly number, change in langue colour, and in lion colour.[31]
The Earls of Aldborough took supporters of human figures, a winged woman and armoured man, representing Fame and War. Officially: Dexter a Female figure, representing Fame, vested Ar, winged Or, in her right hand a trumpet gold, and in her left hand an olive branch vert, the sword belt Gules. Sinister, a man in complete armour Proper, garnished Or, spurs, sword, shield and spear of the last, sword belt Gules, holding in his right hand the spear, and upon his left arm the shield.
They also adopted the motto "Virtuti Nihil Obstat Et Armis"(Nothing Resists Valour and Arms).[31]
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The Stratford Type B Coat of Arms is remarkably similar to two other prominent Coats of Arms, an extremely unorthodox occurrence. The exact relationship to the arms ofLuxembourg and ofLusignan are unknown, if indeed any exists at all. Both bear (with some variation in number) a barruly of ten Argent and Azure, and both have a lion rampant gules - though often on these royal arms it is granted a crown (or), and the lion of Luxembourg bears a forked tail as difference. The similarity is too close to be dismissed satisfactorily as independent coincidence, and historians have generated various theories as to the connection between the houses and the arms, none conclusive.[32]
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