{90} Ruvigny Addition: Exeter Descent for Elizabeth (née Crowley), Countess of Ashburnham (1727-1781)

Elizabeth (née Crowley), Countess of Ashburnham
(1727-1781)

John Ashburnham lost his mother in 1731 when he was only six years old. Six years later when his father died, the 12-year-old John succeeded to the earldom of Ashburnham and several estates, chief of which was Ashburnham Place in Sussex, the seat of the family for six hundred years, since the early 12th-century. The young earl still had his maternal grandfather Henry Grey, Duke of Kent, to help guide his adolescence, until that peer's death in 1740 when John was sixteen. In 1743, John's uncle--his father's only surviving brother--Hon. Bertram Ashburnham, died unmarried, making the 19-year-old earl literally the last surviving male of the Ashburnham line. The 1st Earl of Ashburnham had been a successful courtier, a Lord of the Bedchamber to Frederick, Prince of Wales, and the young second earl followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a Lord of the Bedchamber to King George II in 1748 at age 24. Though the entire future of the Ashburnham line and title depended on John producing a legitimate male heir, he took his time to find a wife. It wasn't until 1756, when he was age 31, that he finally did marry. Undoubtedly the young second earl of Ashburnham could have chosen a wife from among dozens of ladies at court, so it's interesting that the lady he settled on wasn't even from among the peerage. She was Elizabeth Crowley, the younger daughter of a deceased politician, and she was rich ... very rich. Through his bride, the earl of Ashburnham gained a fortune of £200,000, as well as a formidable mother-in-law, Theodosia (née Gascoigne) Crowley, arguably the most remarkable businesswoman of the mid-eighteenth century, who, for the nearly three decades since her husband's 1728 death, had been overseeing, as his widow, the administration of his family business, the largest ironworks in Europe.

Crowley of Stourbridge Coat of Arms
[Vert, on a chevron or, a star of sixteen points
between two roses gules]

When Ambrose Crowley, a nailmaker in a small village near Stourbridge, in Worcestershire, died in 1680, he possessed a six-room house, workshop and barn. His namesake son, Ambrose Crowley II, moved to the town proper, became a Quaker, and prospered as an ironmonger (i.e., a wholesaler of iron). His business in Stourbridge gained an international reputation, and he expanded beyond the Midlands to include enterprises in Wales and urban waterworks in Devon. Under the tenure of his eldest son, a third Ambrose Crowley (1658-1713), the family developed a vast nationwide organization, with a massive ironworks located in the Valley of the Derwent in county Durham, near Newcastle, offices in London, and a warehouse and transportation network all over Britain. This was enough to earn Ambrose Crowley III fame, a seat in the House of Commons, and a knighthood [Anthony F.C. Wallace, The Social Context of Innovation: Bureaucrats, Families, and Heroes in the Early Industrial Revolution, As Foreseen in Bacon's New Atlantis, 2003, pp. 72-75]. When Sir Ambrose died in 1713, his 24-year-old only son John Crowley took over the Crowley Iron Works, worth well over £100,000. Two years later, he married Theodosia, the only surviving daughter of Rev. Joseph Gascoigne, vicar of Enfield, a London suburb. When her mother died in 1726, it was arranged between Theodosia Crowley and her wealthy only surviving brother Joseph Gascoigne Nightingale, for her to inherit Barking Hall in Suffolk, the seat of their mother's family the Theobalds. John Crowley died twelve years after his marriage, leaving the 34-year-old Theodosia with six children, aged nine to less than a year. For the next five decades, Theodosia took over the administration of Crowley Iron Works. She was joined by her two sons when they reached maturity, though both died unmarried at age 35. Indeed, Theodosia would outlive all six of her children, as the monument to her and her children in Barking Church sadly points out: "Mrs. Theodosia Crowley, widow of the said John Crowley, Esq., who survived all her children, and lived to a great age, an exemplary pattern of virtue and goodness, blest with a most amiable disposition, her constant wish was to make others happy, being generous to private distress, and very charitable to the Poor, no one was more esteemed while living, or more lamented at her death." 

Ruvigny's 1907 account of the Descendants of Anne (Nightingale) Theobald

Ruvigny, on p. 434 of his Exeter volume, makes it clear that he wasn't certain if there were any descendants of Sir Francis and Anne (Nightingale) Theobald living at the beginning of the 20th century. It is only through that couple's great-granddaughter Elizabeth (née Crowley), Countess of Ashburnham, that there were descendants living in Ruvigny's lifetime, and indeed continuing to the present day, including the famous Mitford sisters of the 20th century. For an excellent account of the Ahburnham family, see Nick Kingsley's article 'Ashburnham of Ashburnham Place, Earls of Ashburnham' on his Landed Families of Britain and Ireland site. Following is an elaboration and continuation of Ruvigny's account, along with the descent of Elizabeth, countess of Ashburnham, from Edward III through Anne, Duchess of Exeter.

ANNE NIGHTINGALE, b. 1625; d. 25 Oct. 1668, bur. St Mary Church, Barking, Suffolk, only dau. of Robert Nightingale, Heir of Newport Pond (c.1605-1639, descended from Edward I) and Theodosia Chester (c.1605-1683, descended from Edward III - see Generation 11 below); m. 7 Aug. 1649 St Mary Colechurch, London, her stepbrother, Sir FRANCIS THEOBALD of Barking Hall, Suffolk, bap. 13 Mar. 1621 St Mary Aldermanbury, London; bur. 1 Feb. 1679 St Mary Church, Barking, son of Francis Theobald of Barking Hall (d. 1652) and his 1st wife Sarah Crompton (d. 1631), and had issue, two sons and three daughters.

Theobald of Barking Coat of Arms

Issue of Anne (Nightingale) and Sir Francis Theobald:

1) THEODOSIA THEOBALD, bap. 12 Aug. 1651 St Mary Church, Barking; d. unknown; (?)m. 1676 All Saints Church, Colchester, Essex, WILLIAM CLENCH - further history not known[*1]

2) FRANCIS THEOBALD, Heir of Barking Hall, b. 28 Aug. 1654 Barking Hall, bap. 7 Sept. 1654 St Mary Church, Barking; d. unm., bur. there 19 Sept. 1676.

3) ANNE THEOBALD, b. 16 Feb. 1655 Barking Hall, bap. 21 Feb. 1655 St Mary Church, Barking; d. 9 Oct. 1726, bur. 18 Oct. 1726 St Andrew Church, Enfield, Middlesex; m. 19 June 1687 St Mildred Bread Street, London, Dr. JOSEPH GASCOIGNE, Vicar of Enfield 1681-1721, b. Cambridge, bap. 19 Feb. 1643 Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge; d. 11 July 1721 Rectory House, Enfield, bur. 18 July 1721 St Andrew Church, Enfield, son of Joseph Gascoigne of Cambridge, cordwainer (d. 1666) and Jane --- (d. 1666)[*2], and had issue, four sons and three daughters.

St Andrew Church, Enfield, Middlesex

Issue of Anne (Theobald) and Dr. Joseph Gascoigne:

3A) ANNE GASCOIGNE, bap. 19 June 1688 St Andrew Church, Enfield; bur. there 14 July 1691.

3B) THEOBALD GASCOIGNE of Barking Hall, bap. 25 Sept. 1689 St Andrew Church, Enfield; d. unm. 16 Oct. 1714, bur. 21 Oct. 1714 St Mary Church, Barking.

3C) SARAH GASCOIGNE, bap. 2 Oct. 1690 St Andrew Church, Enfield; bur. there 24 Apr. 1693.

3D) JOSEPH GASCOIGNE, bap. 14 June 1692 St Andrew Church, Enfield; bur. there 9 Feb. 1694.

3E) THEODOSIA GASCOIGNE, bap. 28 Sept. 1693 St Andrew Church, Enfield; d. 7 May 1782 Grosvenor Square, London, bur. 15 May 1782 St Mary Church, Barking; m. 15 Dec. 1715 St Andrew Church, Enfield, JOHN CROWLEY of Barking Hall, M.P. Okehampton 1722-27, Queensborough 1727-28, b. 27 June 1689 Chadwick, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire; d. 2 Jan. 1728, bur. 14 Jan. 1728 St Mary Church, Barking, only son of Sir Ambrose Crowley of Greenwich (1658-1713) and Mary Owen (d. 1727), and had issue, two sons and four daughters.

Issue of Theodosia (Gascoigne) and John Crowley:

3E1) AMBROSE CROWLEY of Barking Hall, b. 15 Aug. 1718 Greenwich, Kent, bap. 29 Sept. 1718 St Alfege Church, Greenwich; d. unm. 22 May 1754, bur. 1 June 1754 St Mary Church, Barking.

3E2) JOHN CROWLEY of Barking Hall, bap. 3 Mar. 1720 All Hallows the Less, London; d. unm., bur. 13 July 1755 St Mary Church, Barking.

3E3) MARY CROWLEY, bap. 2 Apr. 1721 All Hallows the Less, London; d.s.p. 27 Feb. 1746, bur. St Peter & St Paul Church, Shelford, Nottinghamshire; m. 29 May 1745, as his 2nd wife, Hon. Sir WILLIAM STANHOPE of Eythrope, Buckinghamshire, M.P. Buckinghamshire 1727-68, b. 20 June 1702 London, bap. 29 July 1702 St Clement Danes, London; d. 7 May 1772 Dijon, Burgundy, France, 2nd son of Philip Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Chesterfield (1673-1726, descended from Edward III) and Lady Elizabeth Savile (c.1673-1708, descended from Edward III).

Boone of Lee Place Coat of Arms

3E4) ANNE CROWLEY, bap. 5 Aug. 1722 St Alfege Church, Greenwich; d. young 17 Nov. 1734.

3E5) THEODOSIA CROWLEY, bap. 27 Dec. 1723 All Hallows the Less, London; d. 9 Jan. 1765 Bath, Somersetshire, bur. St Mary Church, Barking; m. 8 Dec. 1762 St George Hanover Square, London, as his 1st wife, CHARLES BOONE of Lee Place, Kent, M.P. Castle Rising 1757-68, 1784-96, Ashburton 1768-84, b. c.1729; d. 3 Mar. 1819, son of Charles Boone of Rook's Nest, Surrey, M.P. Ludgershall 1727-34 (d. 1735) and his 2nd wife Mary Garth, and had issue, one daughter.

Issue of Theodosia (Crowley) and Charles Boone:

3E5A) THEODOSIA BOONE, bap. 11 July 1764 St George Hanover Square; d. unm., bur. 9 June 1781 St Mary Church, Barking.

2nd Earl of Ashburnham
(1724-1812)

3E6) ELIZABETH CROWLEY, bap. 17 Mar. 1727 All Hallows the Less, London; d. 5 Feb. 1781 Bath, bur. 17 Feb. 1781 St James Church, Ashburnham, Sussex; m. 28 June 1756 St George Hanover Square, JOHN ASHBURNHAM, 2nd Earl of Ashburnham, b. 30 Oct. 1724; d. 8 Apr. 1812 Ashburnham House, Hay Hill, Mayfair, London, bur. 18 Apr. 1812 St James Church, Ashburnham, only son of John Ashburnham, 1st Earl of Ashburnham (1687-1737, descended from Edward III) and his 3rd wife Lady Jemima Grey (1699-1731, descended from Edward III0, and had issue, two sons and four daughters.

3F) JOSEPH GASCOIGNE [later NIGHTINGALE] of Enfield, Middlesex, M.P. Stafford 1727-34, b. Rectory House, Enfield, bap. 19 Dec. 1695 St Andrew Church, Enfield; d. 16 July 1752 Rectory House, Enfield, bur. 25 July 1752 Westminster Abbey; m. 24 June 1725 St George Hanover Square, London, Lady ELIZABETH SHIRLEY, bap. 26 Oct. 1703 St Mary Church, Nantwich, Cheshire; d. 17 Aug. 1731 London, bur. 26 Aug. 1731 Westminster Abbey, est dau. of Washington Shirley, 2nd Earl Ferrers (1677-1729, descended from Edward III) and Mary Levinge (1684-1740), and had issue, three sons and one daughter.

3G) ROBERT GASCOIGNE [later NIGHTINGALE] of Enfield, designated heir of his mother's first cousin Sir Robert Nightingale, 5th Baronet of Newport Pond July 1722, b. 27 Feb. 1698 Rectory House, Enfield, bap. 24 Mar. 1698 St Andrew Church, Enfield, d. unm. (of smallpox) 2 Nov. 1722, bur. 8 Nov. 1722 St Andrew Church, Enfield.

4) ROBERT THEOBALD of Barking Hall, b. 21 Jan. 1658 Barking Hall, bap. 22 Jan. 1658 St Mary Church, Barking; d. unm., bur. 28 Oct. 1690 St Mary Church, Barking.

5) SARAH THEOBALD, b. 20 Aug. 1660 Barking Hall, bap. same day; d. unm., bur. 29 Mar. 1688 St Mary Church, Barking.

St Mary Church, Barking, Suffolk

[*1] All that William C. Pearson, in his 1892 'Pedigree of Theobald of Barking Hall, &c.' in East Anglian Volume 4, says of Theodosia Theobald is that she "Prob[ably] died young." In the Boyd's Marriage Indexes, 1538-1850 (accessed through Find My Past), there is a marriage of Theodosia Theobald to William Clench in 1676 at All Saints Colchester, Essex. This would have to refer to the Theodosia Theobald baptized in 1651, as we know her twice-widowed grandmother Theodosia (Chester) (Nightingale) Theobald did not remarry after the death of her second husband. I can find nothing further online regarding William Clench or his wife Theodosia, though hopefully the entry in the original parish register would shed further light. It's very likely, even if she did marry William Clench, that Theodosia (née Theobald) died without surviving issue.

[*2] Dr. Joseph Gascoigne's father Joseph Gascoigne was a cordwainer (maker of high-quality leather boots and shoes), churchwarden and parish councillor who had a house with yard and gardens in Shoemakers Row, Holy Trinity Parish, Cambridge, and a booth at Stourbridge Fair. A burgess of the city, Joseph Sr. died of the plague in September 1666, followed by his wife Joan two weeks later [Evelyn Lord, The Great Plague: A People's History, 2014, pp. 120-21]. These Gascoignes bore the same arms as the Yorkshire gentry family seated at Gawthorpe Hall, but exactly how Joseph Gascoigne the Cambridge cordwainer descended from that family is not clear.

Edward III had a second surviving son,

Anne, Duchess of Exeter -
see Generation 6

1) Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence (1338-1368) m. 1) Lady Elizabeth de Burgh (1332-1363, descended from Edward I), and had
2) Lady Philippa Plantagenet of Clarence (1355-1377) m. Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March (1352-1381), and had
3) Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March (1374-1398) m. Lady Alianore Holland (1370-1405, descended from Edward I), and had
4) Lady Anne Mortimer (1388-1411) m. Richard of York, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (1385-1415, descended from Edward III), and had
5) Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York (1411-1460) m. Lady Cecily Neville (1415-1495, descended from Edward III), and had
6) Anne Plantagenet, Duchess of Exeter (1439-1476) m. 2) Sir Thomas St Leger (by 1438-1483), and had
7) Lady Anne St Leger (1475-1526) m. George Manners, 11th Lord Ros (1470-1513, descended from Edward I), and had
8) Thomas Manners, 1st Earl of Rutland (c.1497-1543) m. 2) Eleanor Paston (c.1505-1551, descended from Edward I), and had
9) Lady Katherine Manners (c.1540-1573) m. Henry Capell of Hadham Hall (c.1533-1588, descended from Edward I), and had
10) ANNE CAPELL, b. 8 June 1566 Rayne Hall, Essex, bap. 13 June 1566 All Saints Church, Rayne; d. Mar. 1642 (will dated 12 Mar., proved 26 Mar. 1642); m. 30 July 1587 St Cecilia Church, Little Hadham, Essex, Sir ROBERT CHESTER of Royston Priory, Hertfordshire, b. 30 June 1566; d. 3 May 1640, son of Edward Chester of Royston Priory and Katherine Granado, and had
11) THEODOSIA CHESTER, b. c.1605; bur. 1 Oct. 1683 St Mary Church, Barking, Suffolk; m. 1st [*3], ROBERT NIGHTINGALE, Heir of Newport Pond, Essex, b. c.1605; d. 30 Apr. 1639, son of Sir Thomas Nightingale, 1st Baronet of Newport Pond (d. 1645) and his 1st wife Millicent Clerke (d. by 1614, descended from Edward I), and had

Gascoigne Coat of Arms

12) Anne Nightingale (1625-1668-see details above) m. Sir Francis Theobald of Barking Hall (1621-1679), and had
13) Anne Theobald (1655-1726-see details above) m. Dr. Joseph Gascoigne of Enfield (1643-1721), and had
14) Theodosia Gascoigne (1693-1782-see details above) m. John Crowley of Barking Hall (1689-1728), and had
15) Elizabeth Crowley (1727-1781-see details above) m. John, 2nd Earl of Ashburnham

[*3] Theodosia (Chester) Nightingale m. 2nd 1 July 1640 St Margaret Church, Westminster, as his 2nd wife, Francis Theobald of Barking Hall, bur. 3 Feb. 1653 St Mary Church, Barking, who, by his first wife, was the father of Sir Francis Theobald of Barking Hall (see Generation 12 above).

The next blogpost will examine the Edward III descents behind Dorothy (née Shafto), Countess of Lisburne.

Cheers,                      ----Brad