{96} Ruvigny Addition: Henry IV & Essex Descents for Lawrence Rawstorne (1842-1938)

Rawstorne coat of arms
[Per fesse, azure and gules, a castle,
triple-towered, or]

In August 1863 a celebration took place "of considerable interest to the inhabitants of the neighbouring townships of Penwortham, Howick, Hutton, and Longton...the attainment of his majority by the young squire of Penwortham. In the morning the bells of the ancient church rang merry peals; flags floated from the church tower, from Penwortham Priory, from The Oaks...and at other mansions in the various townships in which the estates of the young gentleman are situated; and there were other tokens of rejoicing in the district...the day was anticipated with much enthusiastic feeling by many in Preston, by all in Penwortham, and by large numbers resident in the adjoining districts. For weeks the 'coming of age of the young squire' was the main topic of conversation amongst many of the villagers" [Preston Chronicle and Lancashire Advertiser, August 8, 1863].

The young squire who came of age was Lawrence Rawstorne, and though his family had been gentry in Lancashire since the reign of Henry VIII, it was only fairly recently that Penwortham Priory had become their chief seat. Lt-Col. Rawstorne, Lawrence's father, was descended from the Fleetwoods, the family who had owned Penwortham for two centuries, from the mid-1500s to the mid-1700s. Though Rawstorne was not the Fleetwood family's senior representative, he did nevertheless own the nearby Hutton Hall, in the same parish, and had the financial means and the respect of the local tenantry, so his purchase of the manor in 1810 was smooth and natural. He embarked on an ambitious re-model of Penwortham Priory, completed in 1832.

Penwortham Priory, Lancashire. It was demolished in 1925.

Eight years after his coming of age celebration, the young squire would make a brilliant match, to Miss Edith Ethel Hesketh, the eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 5th Baronet, Preston's Member of Parliament since 1862. Lawrence Rawstorne, the squire of Penwortham Priory who came of age so joyously in 1863, lived to a great age but endured much sorrow. He outlived both his sons, each of whom died as a result of active service - the elder from fever contracted while returning home from South Africa, and the younger killed in action on the front in World War I. Neither left children, and any hope of descendants continuing the Rawstorne line through Lawrence was extinguished. He sold Hutton Hall to his nearest male cousin, an Anglican bishop, and allowed Penwortham Priory to be demolished in 1925 to make way for expanded housing projects. He and his wife spent their last years at Lyncote, a house on Constitution Hill in the Dorset coastal town of Parkstone. It was modest,   respectable, and a far cry from his 1863 coming-of-age celebration at Penwortham. Lawrence outlived his wife nine years, and died in 1938 at age 96, with Lyncote house inherited and inhabited by his only surviving child, his widowed daughter Marjory Marson.

Lawrence and Edith (née Hesketh) Rawstorne & children 
in Ruvigny's 1903 Tudor volume, p. 312

It is due to his marriage to Edith Hesketh that Lawrence Rawstorne, and his three children, appear in Ruvigny's 1903 Tudor volume. Following is an elaboration, and continuation into the next generation, of Ruvigny's account.

LAWRENCE RAWSTORNE of Penwortham Priory, Lancashire, b. 6 Aug. 1842 Penwortham Priory; d. 11 Nov. 1938 Lyncote, Parkstone, Dorset, only son of Lt-Col. Lawrence Rawstorne of Penwortham Priory (c.1775-1850, descended from Henry IV - see Generation A15 below) and his 2nd wife Margaret Elizabeth Ledward (1817-1886); m. 10 Aug. 1871 St Paul Church, Knightsbridge, London, EDITH ELIZABETH HESKETH, b. Oct. 1851 Rufford Hall, Lancashire, bap. 9 Nov. 1851 St Mary Church, Rufford; d. 27 Dec. 1931 Lyncote, est dau. of Sir Thomas George Fermor-Hesketh, 5th Baronet of Ruffed (1825-1872, descended from Henry IV) and Lady Arabella Fermor (1828-1870, descended from Henry VII), and had issue, two sons and one daughter.

St Mary Church, Penwortham

Issue of Lawrence and Edith (Hesketh) Rawstorne:

1) MARJORY RAWSTORNE, b. 17 July 1872 Westminster, London, bap. 22 Sept. 1872 St Mary Church, Penwortham; d. 28 Dec. 1966 Bournemouth, Hampshire, bur. Hastings Cemetery, Hastings, Sussex; m. 6 June 1895 St Mary Church, Penwortham, Lt-Col. CHARLES MARSON of Hill Cliffe House, Warrington, Cheshire, b. 1859 Northfield House, Warrington; d. 20 Oct. 1934 Spring Mount, St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex, bur. 23 Oct. 1934 Hastings Cemetery, only son of James Marson of Hill Cliffe House (1819-1892) and Matilda May (1826-1909), and had issue, two sons.

Issue of Marjory (Rawstorne) and Lt-Col. Charles Marson:

1A) Maj. LAWRENCE CHARLES MARSON of Spring Mount, Royal Artillery, b. 12 Dec. 1911 Marylebone, London; d. (while on active service in World War II) 28 Nov. 1944 Italy, bur. Caserta War Cemetery, Campania, Italy; m. 25 May 1940 Hampshire, as her 1st husband, (ALICE) PAMELA HARTLEY, b. 4 Dec. 1915 Hastings, Sussex; d. 16 May 2011, yr dau. of Thomas Milham Hartley of Armathwaite Hall, Cumberland (1878-1966) and Cecily Joan Berkeley-Portman (1889-1965, descended from Edward III), and had issue, one daughter (with two grandchildren).

1B) MICHAEL JAMES MARSON of Crawley Hill, Camberley, Surrey, senior lecturer at RMA Sandhurst 1956-86, b. 24 Mar. 1913 Westminster, London; d. 13 Apr. 1986 Surrey; m. 20 Jan. 1955 Surrey, ELIZABETH NORA COWTAN, b. 1916 Chertsey, Surrey; d. [?], dau. of Frank Cuninghame Cowtan of Sandford House (1888-1950) and Nora Alice Kennedy (1888-1967), and had issue, one son and one daughter (with two grandchildren).

2) Capt. LAWRENCE RAWSTORNE, 7th Hussars, b. 22 Apr. 1874 Westminster, bap. 21 June 1874 St Mary Church, Penwortham; d. unm. (of enteric fever while homeward bound from South Africa) 4 Dec. 1905 Gibraltar, bur. 15 Dec. 1905 St Mary Churchyard, Penwortham.

Maj. Geoffrey Rawstorne
(1879-1917)

3) Maj. (THOMAS) GEOFFREY RAWSTORNE of Wyvern, land agent, b. 29 Sept. 1879 Westminster, d.s.p. (killed in action) 31 July 1917 Ypres, Flanders, Belgium, bur. Bard Cottage Cemetery, Ypres; m. 24 July 1907 St Mary Church, Laverstoke, Hampshire, as her 1st husband, MARGERY PORTAL, b. 11 Apr. 1881 Chelsea, London; d.s.p. 12 Dec. 1962 Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester, er dau. of Sir William Wyndham Portal, 2nd Baronet of Malshanger (1850-1931, descended from James V) and Florence Elizabeth Mary Glyn (1858-1931, descended from Edward III).

Lawrence Rawstorne (as well as his father and sisters) should have appeared in Ruvigny's 1908 Essex volume, but the Marquis was apparently unaware of their line of descent from Isabel (née Plantagenet), countess of Essex. It is given below, as is his line from Henry IV's illegitimate granddaughter Antigone, countess of Tancarville.

1st Duke of Gloucester -
see Generation A1

Henry IV had a son:
A1) Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester (1390-1447), who had
A2) Antigone of Gloucester, illegit. (b. c.1420) m. 1) Henry Gray, 2nd Count of Tancarville (1420-1450, descended from Edward I), and had
A3) Richard, 1st Lord Gray of Powis (1436-1466) m. Margaret Audley (c.1441-1481, descended from Edward III), and had
A4) Elizabeth Gray[*1] (c.1462-bef.1493) m. John Ludlow, Heir of Stokesay Castle (1459-by 1493), and had
A5) Alice Ludlow (1483-1531) m. Humphrey Vernon of Hodnet Hall (c.1485-1542, descended from Edward I), and had
A6) George Vernon of Hodnet Hall (c.1503-1553) m. 1) Elizabeth Pigott (d. c.1546), and had
A7) JOHN VERNON of Hodnet Hall, Shropshire, b. there, bap. 20 Feb. 1546 St Luke Church, Hodnet; bur. there 2 May 1591; m. 9 Dec. 1564 St Luke Church, Hodnet, ELIZABETH DEVEREUX (see B10 below), and had

Vernon of Hodnet coat of arms
[Image from European Heraldry]

A8) Sir ROBERT VERNON of Hodnet Hall, M.P. Shropshire 1621, b. 1576; d. by 1642 ("omitted from the subsidy commissions of 1640-2, which suggests that he was dead by then" [HOP]); m. by 1605, MARY (NEEDHAM) ONSLOW, widow of Thomas Onslow of Boreatton (d. 1604), and dau. of Robert Needham of Shavington Hall (1535-1603, descended from Edward I) and Frances Aston (d. 1601), and had
A9) Sir HENRY VERNON, 1st Baronet of Hodnet, M.P. Andover 1641-42, Shropshire 1660, West Looe 1661-76, bap. 16 Dec. 1606 St Luke Church, Hodnet; bur. there 11 Apr. 1676; m. 1636, ELIZABETH WHYTE, b. c.1615; d. 8 May 1675 Bloomsbury, London, bur. 15 May 1675 St Luke Church, Hodnet, dau. of Sir Richard Whyte of Llanvaes, Anglesey, Wales and Katherine Davenport (descended from Edward I), and had[*2]
A10) ELIZABETH VERNON, b. c.1650; d. 1685 (per Burke's Peerage - I haven't been able to verify with a burial entry); m. 6 Apr. 1675 St Luke Church, Hodnet, ROBERT CHOLMONDELEY, Heir of Vale Royal Abbey, Whitegate, Cheshire, bap. 22 Oct. 1651 St Mary Church, Whitegate; bur. 15 Dec. 1679 St Bartholomew Church, Church Minshull, Cheshire, son of Thomas Cholmondeley of Vale Royal Abbey (1627-1702, descended from Edward III) and his 1st wife Jane Tollemache (1629-1666, descended from Edward III), and had
A11) ELIZABETH CHOLMONDELEY, bap. 3 July 1676 St Mary Church, Whitegate; d. after 1708[*3]; m. 4 Apr. 1700 St Mary Church, Whitegate, JOHN ATHERTON of Atherton Hall, Leigh, Lancashire, b. 29 Jan. 1678 Bewsey Hall, Warrington, Lancashire, bap. 12 Feb. 1678 St Elphin Church, Warrington; bur. there 20 Jan. 1708, son of Sir Richard Atherton of Atherton Hall (1656-1687, descended from Edward III) and his 1st wife Isobel Holt (c.1658-by 1686), and had

Elizabeth (née Atherton) Gwillym
- see Generation A13

A12) RICHARD ATHERTON of Atherton Hall, b. 21 May 1701 Bewsey Hall, bap. 29 May 1701 St Elphin Church, Warrington; bur. 29 Nov. 1726 St Mary Church, Leigh; m. 16 June 1719 St Andrew Church, Leyland, Lancashire, as her 1st husband, ELIZABETH FARRINGTON, b. Worden Hall, Leyland, Lancashire, bap. 25 Aug. 1702 St Andrew Church, Leyland; bur. 10 Apr. 1742 St Mary Church, Leigh, dau. of William Farrington of Worden Hall (1675-1717, descended from Edward III) and Elizabeth Rufine (1679-1747), and had
A13) ELIZABETH ATHERTON, bap. 29 May 1721 St John Minster, Preston, Lancashire; bur. 30 May 1763 St Mary Church, Leigh; m. 1738, as his 1st wife, ROBERT GWILLYM of Langstone Court, Herefordshire, bap. 18 Dec. 1713 St Nicholas Church, Hereford; bur. 21 Aug. 1778 St Elphin Church, Warrington, son of Robert Gwillym of Langstone Court (b. 1692, descended from Edward I) and Jane Symonds, and had

Elizabeth (née Gwillym) Rawstorne
- see Generation A14

A14) ELIZABETH GOLDSMITH ATHERTON GWILLYM, bap. 3 Sept. 1742 St Mary Church, Leigh; bur. 18 Nov. 1823 St Mary Church, Penwortham; m. 10 Dec. 1767 St Elphin Church, Warrington, LAWRENCE RAWSTORNE of Hutton Hall, Penwortham, b. 1742; bur. 13 Dec. 1803 St Mary Church, Penwortham, son of Lawrence Rawstorne of Preston (d. 1763, descended from Edward III) and his 2nd wife Agnes Dent (d. 1748), and had
A15) Lt-Col. LAWRENCE RAWSTORNE of Penwortham Priory, b. c.1775; d. 26 Aug. 1850 Penwortham Priory, bur. 2 Sept. 1850 St Mary Church, Penwortham; m. 2nd[*4] 16 Nov. 1839 St Michael-in-the-Hamlet Church, Liverpool, Lancashire, as her 1st husband, MARGARET ELIZABETH LEDWARD, bap. 4 June 1817 St Nicholas Church, Liverpool; bur. 12 June 1886 St Michael Church, Aldbourne, Wiltshire, dau. of Edward Ledward of Everton, hat manufacturer (1777-1835) and Margaret Ortt (1787-1857), and had
A16) Lawrence Rawstorne of Penwortham Priory (1842-1938 - see details above)

An error in Table XI (p. 13) in Ruvigny's Essex volume -
see footnote [*2]

[*1] For the detailed argument as to why Elizabeth Ludlow was without doubt the daughter of the 1st Lord Gray of Powis, see the 2015 post Henry IV Descent for Susan (née Inge) Moore (1804-1836).

[*2] In Table XI (p. 13) of his 1908 Essex volume, Ruvigny mistakenly makes Elizabeth (née Vernon) Cholmondeley the sister of Sir Henry Vernon, 1st Baronet, when in actuality she was his daughter. And Ruvigny corrects his own error in the volume's Appendix: "Elizabeth Vernon, wife of Thomas Cholmondeley, was the da. not sister of Sir Henry Vernon, 1st Bart." (p. 381).

[*3] Nick Kingsley gives a thorough account of the Athertons in his article 'Atherton of Atherton Hall and Bewsey Hall'. He was unable to uncover the death date or burial entry for Elizabeth (née Cholmondeley) Atherton, and I've had no better luck. She was only age 31 at her husband's death, and so was certainly young enough to re-marry, but if she did so, the peerage works make no mention of it.

[*4] Lt-Col. Rawstorne m. 1st 18 July 1824 St Mary Church, Eccles, Lancashire, Elizabeth Murray, whom I've been unable to further identify. He does not appear to have had any issue (or at least surviving issue) by her. His second wife Margaret (Ledward) Rawstorne m. 2nd 9 Oct. 1852 St Mary Church, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Rev. Frederic William Harris, Vicar of Medmenham 1855-72 (1813-1872), and m. 3rd 16 Oct. 1878 St Matthew Church, Redhill, Surrey, George Lee of Aldbourne, Wiltshire (1807-1891).

Descendants of Elizabeth (née Atherton) Gwillym on p. 152 of Ruvigny's Essex volume

On p. 152 of his Essex volume, Ruvigny details Elizabeth (née Atherton) Gwillym, and lists as her issue two sons only. In actuality, she had four sons and three daughters: 1) Richard Atherton Gwillym, bap. 2 Mar. 1740 St Mary Church, Leigh; bur. there 21 June 1740; 2) Robert Vernon Atherton Gwillym [later Atherton], bap. 28 Aug. 1741 St Mary Church, Leigh; bur. there 9 July 1783; 3) Elizabeth Goldsmith Atherton Gwillym (1742-1823 - see Generation A14 above); 4) Jane Atherton Gwillym, bap. 22 Aug. 1743 St Mary Church, Leigh; bur. 4 Sept. 1757 St Mary Church, Leigh; 5) William Atherton Gwillym of Langstone Court, bap. 1 Jan. 1745 St Mary Church, Leigh; d. unm. 9 July 1783; 6) Alice Charlotte Gwillym, bap. 25 Mar. 1748 St Mary Church, Leigh; bur. there 27 Apr. 1751; 7) Thomas Symonds Atherton Gwillym, bap. 7 Apr. 1753 St Mary Church, Leigh; bur. there 5 June 1758; 8) Frances Atherton Gwillym, bur. 10 Oct. 1757 St Mary Church, Leigh. Of these, only two left issue: Robert Vernon Atherton Gwillym [later Atherton], whose descendants Ruvigny traces, and Elizabeth Goldsmith Atherton (née Gwillym) Rawstorne.

Isabel (née Plantagenet), Countess of
Essex - see Generation B5

Following is the line of descent from Edward III thru Isabel, countess of Essex, which merges into the line of descent from Henry IV above.

Edward III had a second surviving son,

B1) Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence (1338-1368) m. 1) Lady Elizabeth de Burgh (1332-1363, descended from Edward I), and had
B2) Lady Philippa Plantagenet of Clarence (1355-1377) m. Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March (1352-1381), and had
B3) Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March (1374-1398) m. Lady Alianore Holland (1370-1405, descended from Edward I), and had
B4) Lady Anne Mortimer (1388-1411) m. Richard of York, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (1385-1415, descended from Edward III), and had
B5) Lady Isabel Plantagenet (1409-1484) m. 2) Henry Bourchier, 1st Earl of Essex (1404-1483, descended from Edward III), and had

1st Viscount Hereford - see
Generation B8

B6) William, Lord Bourchier (c.1428-1477) m. 2) Lady Anne Woodville (c.1448-1489), and had
B7) Cecily Bourchier (c.1473-1493) m. John Devereux, 2nd Lord Ferrers of Chartley (1464-1501, descended from Edward I), and had
B8) Walter Devereux, 1st Viscount Hereford (c.1491-1558) m. 1) Lady Mary Grey (c.1492-1538, descended from Edward III), and had
B9) Sir Richard Devereux of Lamprey (by 1513-1547) m. Lady Dorothy Hastings (c.1520-1566, descended from Edward III), and had
B10) ELIZABETH DEVEREUX, b. c.1545; d. 20 Apr. 1583 Hodnet Hall, bur. same day St Luke Church, Hodnet; m. 9 Dec. 1564 St Luke Church, Hodnet, JOHN VERNON of Hodnet Hall (see A7 above).

The next blogpost will examine the remaining Edward III lines for Lawrence Rawstorne.

Cheers,                            ----Brad