FITZORM, Emma b. 1153 Walsall, Staffordshire, England d. 1200 Aldithley, Stafford, England

1153 - 1200 (47 years)

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Name	FITZORM, Emma
Birth	1153	Walsall, Staffordshire, England
Gender	Female
Death	1200	Aldithley, Stafford, England
WAC	21 Jul 1933	MANTI
_TAG	Reviewed on FS
Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
Person ID	I49540	Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith
Last Modified	19 Aug 2021

Family ID F25254 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Family AUDLEY, Adam de , b. 1149, England Englandd. 1212, Aldithley, Stafford, England (Age 63 years)

Children

+	1. AUDLEY, Henry de , b. 1 Jun 1175, Heighley Castle, Madeley, Shropshire, England Heighley Castle, Madeley, Shropshire, Englandd. 19 Nov 1246, Mainwaring, Bersted, Sussex, England (Age 71 years)

Family ID F24006 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Last Modified 24 Jan 2022

Notes

By Mark H. Welchley, Nov 24, 2009

Adam de Aldithley: born about 1145-1149 at Aldithley, Staffordshire, England and died 1203-1211 at Aldithley, Staffordshire, England. He married, about 1170, Emma Fitz Orm (Emma de Darlaston). She was born about 1153 in England and died 1200 in Staffordshire, England. She was the daughter of Ralph Fitz Orm and Lettice de Montgomery.
Children:

1. Adam de Aldithley: born about 1173 and died about 1212. He became Lord of the Manor during the reign of King Henry II. He is known to have served in Ireland with the De Laceys.

2. Henry de Aldithley (Audley): born about 1175 in Audley (Aldithley), Staffordshire, England and died before 19 Nov 1246 at Heleigh Castle, Staffordshire, England. He married Bertred Mainwaring (Meisnilwarin) about 1217 in Edgmond, Cheshire, England. She was born about 1196 in Mainwaring, Sussex, England, the daughter of Sir Ralph de Mainwaring and Amica of Chester (Amicia de Meschines). Bertred died about 1249.   (See his story under his profile.)
3. William de Aldithley (Audley): born about 1177 in Aldithley, Staffordshire, England and died after 1248. He may be the Sir William de Audley, knight, taken prisoner in the Castle of Carrickfergus, Ireland and ordered released by the king 9 May1212. He is probably the William de Aldithele who married before 1227, Clemence (Clementia), daughter and coheiress of William de Blore of Blore and Grendon. Clemence’s marriage rights had been purchased by Henry de Audley (Aldithley), the older brother of William.
    Some published sources say William was Henry’s Younger son, rather than his brother, but no such son is listed for Henry, son of Adam de Audley (Aldithley).
    In any case Henry de Audley gave Clemence in marriage to William de Audley, and William thus acquired the manors of Blore and Grendon in Staffordshire. His son John de Audley of Blore was living in 1265. He married Petronella, who was surviving as his widow in 1279. John’s heir was William de Audley of Blore (adult in 1284, 1294) married the Constance, widow of Roger de Peulesdon and had a son Alan who lived about 1301. Alan married a Joan in 1306 and died without issue in 1311. The next heir of William was Hugh de Audley, clerk of Blore. He sold Blore and Grindon in 1314 to Joan, widow of John le Strange. She later married Sir Henry Brailsford.

4. James de Aldithley (Audley): born about 1179 in Aldithley (Audley), Staffordshire, England.

5. Lucas de Aldithley (Audley): born about 1180 in Aldithley (Audley), Staffordshire, England and died after 1210.

6. Isabella de Aldithley (Audley): born about 1184 in Aldithley (Audley), Staffordshire, England.
    Adam de Aldithley (Audley) was the first to use the name of his manor as a surname. In official documents his father had called himself simply Liulf fitz Liulf and his brothers were known as Liulf fitz Liulf and Roger fitz Liulf. The change of the name of the town and the family seemed to have gradually changed from Aldithley to Audley. As late as the 1600’s “Audley” was considered by some to be a vulgar spelling of the name.

    [Research Note] A number of family trees show members of the Aldithley family born in Heleigh Castle prior to its construction. Heleigh Castle was not built until 1226. These genealogies should be corrected. Audley Castle would be more appropriate prior to 1226. Though there are no birth records to confirm the exact date and site of any birth of this era Audley Castle was the chief residence of the family before 1226. I have listed all the children found in a number of on-line pedigrees of the family, but there is sparce information about William and Adam de Audley, and so far, no original source information about James, Lucas and Isabella de Audley]

   Based on Henry III’s confirmation to Adam’s son Henry de Audley, the Audley family had long held the manors of Audley and Cheddleton, but during the time of Adam, Nicholas de Verdon granted the Audley family the mesne-lordship of these manors so that they were now held only of the King. Cheddleton is a large village in the Staffordshire Moorlands, near to the town of Leek. William de Chetelton held a knight’s fee at Cheddleton under the Audleys, and was living in 1227.
   Adam also had as a “gift of Eugenulf de Gresley and of Alina his wife” the manors of Tunstall, Chatterley (Chaddersley), Chell (Chelle or Great Chell) and Normsoot (Normancote), all part of the old parish of Wolstanton. The reason for this gift is not clear. The historian Erdeswick implies that Adam’s first wife Petronella was the daughter of William de Gresley, but this cannot be confirmed. It appears, rather, that Adam’s wife Emma was a first cousin of Alina, the wife of Eugenulf de Gresley. This grant is confirmed in the charter granted by Henry III to Adam’s son Henry de Aldithlege of his estates in 1227. It reads in Latin: “Ex dono Eugenulfi de Greslia et Alinae, ux ejus Tunstall, Chaddersley, Chelle, et Normancote.” Later documents during the time of Adam’s son Henry would show that these manors were originally held as tenants of the Earl of Chester and were transferred with that overlordship in place. The land at Great Chell consisted of the chief rents and the seignory of that place. The manors of Tunstall, Chatterley and Chell are adjacent to Talk, which was previously acquired by Adam.
    The manor of Tunstall actually embraces thirteen or fourteen contiguous villages or hamlets that are not confined within the parish of Wolstanton but included parts of the adjoining parishes of Burslem and Norton in the Moors. Since Tunstall was the center of the lands of the Aldithley Family, it is speculated that they may have had a manor house there. The places within the jurisdiction of Tunstall Court are Tunstall, Burslem, Sneyd, Chell, Bemersley, Wedgwood, Thursfield, Stadmoreslow, Brierehurst, Ranscliff, Oldcott (Olocote), Chatterley and Bradwell.   Most of these are named in a 1253 grant of Free Warren to Adam de Aldithley’s grandson James. In Adam de Aldithley’s time they were often treated as separate manors. By the time of Edward the first, all had been consolidated into one manor called Tunstall. Sneyd is a township in the parish of Burslem, modern borough of Stoke-upon-Trent, Staffordshire. It is adjacent to Burslem on the east.
    The manor of Burslem, before it came into possession of the Audleys and was united with Tunstall, was a possession of the Barons Stafford. In 1086 it was called Burewardeslime and contained two carucates of land and was inhabited by one husbandman and four cottagers. There were two acres of alder and the property was valued at 10 shillings. At the time most of the land was probably waste. How it came to the Adam de Aldithley or his son Henry is not clear but he held it of Robert de Stafford. Burslem is one of the six towns that amalgamated to form the current city of Stoke-on-Trent. It is sited on the eastern ridge of the Fowlea Valley, a tributary of the River Trent and is adjacent to Newcastle-under-Lyme. As far back as 1100 it was the site of a thriving pottery industry based on the fine and abundant clays. This manor continued in possession of the Audley’s until the 16th century.
   There is no mention of a church at Audley until it is mentioned in documents concerning the foundation of the Hulton Abbey in 1223, but it is likely that the church did exist at an earlier date, perhaps as early as the establishment of the Audley family there. The current Church of St. James the Great was built in the fourteenth century and restored in the period of 1846-56. The tower and chancel both are of a Decorated style of the early fourteenth century. The nave and aisles were rebuilt about 1365 and have features of the Perpendicular style.
   A castle motte survives north of the church across the modern highway A 52. This was probably the original fortification and residence of the early members of the Audley family prior to the building of Heighley Castle in 1226. This old fortification is known as Audley Castle. The surviving ruins consist of earthworks 55 meters in diameter at the base, 40 meters across at the summit and from 2 to 4 meters high. On the north side there was a moat 5-10 meters wide. Excavations have produced some stonework and uncovered coins from the time of Edward I and Edward II. Most of Audley Castle was probably made of wood. Audley Castle was last mentioned in 1272, at the death of James de Audley, and probably fell into total disuse after that.
   Adam was appointed custodian of Chester Castle during the minority of Earl Ranulph de Blondeville, an assignment commonly given to a person considered responsible and loyal.
   Adam de Aldithley played a prominent part in the retinue of his overlord Bertram de Verdun and acted as his deputy when Bertram was Sheriff of Warwickshire and Leicestershire from 1168 to 1183. He succeeded Bertram as Sheriff of both of these counties from 1184-1185. He also acted as Bertram’s deputy in Cheshire in 1186.
    The Manor of Stanleigh (Stonleigh) was given as a gift to the Adam de Aldithley from Bertrund de Verdun in 1190 when Bertrund left England for the Third Crusade. Bertram never returned to England since he died in Juppa in 1192 and was succeeded in England by his son, Nicholas de Verdun. The manor of Stanleigh (Stanley) is about 5 miles from Leek, Staffordshire. In 1086 it was part of the manor of Endor (Endon?) that was acquired by the De Verdun family. The name is an Anglo-Saxon name that means a meadow or clearing which was craggy or stony.
    The book “The House of Stanley from the 12th Century,” has another story in which Adam, son of Lidulph (Lydulph) Aldithley acquired this Stanleigh and Balterley Manors by marriage to Mabella, the daughter of a Saxon Thane. This story, however, has a number of conflicts and lack of documentation that show it not to be credible.

    During the Reign of King Stephen (1135-1154) Adam de Aldithley exchanged his new manor of Stanleigh, and half of his manor of Balterley for the manor of Talk-on-the-Hill, adjoining his manor of Aldithley. Talk-on-the-Hill was then the possession of a William, son of Adam who was Adam de Aldithley’s “avunculus” or uncle. The exchange was also beneficial to William since Stanleigh was close to William’s manor of Bagnall. All of the manors concerned were under the lordship of the De Verduns and any exchange had to have their consent. Since Stanleigh was an additional tenancy held by special favor, Adam de Aldithley proposed that if that manor could not be warranted, he and his heirs would give as much in value to William and his heirs. Stanleigh would be held by William from Adam de Aldithley for a yearly rent of 12 pence.
    This William then adopted the surname ‘de Stanleigh,’ which later became Stanley. There is speculation that the Audleys and the Stanleys were related, but the existence of and the exact degree of relationship is open to question. If the Norman scribe was using the term “avunculus” literally it meant that Adam de Aldithley’s mother was the sister of Adam the father of William. This would make Adam and William brothers-in-law.
    Talk-on-the-Hill is at the top of Black Combe, the termination of a mountain range has an extensive view and can be seen from a distance of 100 miles. It is also called Talke-on-the Hill or Talk-o’-the Hill. In the Domesday Survey of 1086 it was simply called Talc. The name may be derived from “tulach”, an Irish word for hill, or from the Welsh word, “twich” that has the same meaning.
There is also a record of a deed that shows Ivo Pantulf granting to Adam de Audley and his heirs land at Baggenhall. Another deed shows Adam, son of Lydulphus de Audleigh, passing half of the Manor of Magnali to Adam de Stanley (Staff. Hist. Col. Vol 1, p. 236.)
    The exact date of Adam de Aldithley’s death is not known, but is presumed to be between 1203 and 1211.
Bibliography

Anderson, John Corbet, Shropshire: Its Early History and Antiquities, Willis and Sotheran, 1864, p. 372.

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Burke, Sir Bernard, “Audley—Barons Audley, of Heleigh, A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire, Harrison, 1866, pp. 15-16

Cawley, Charles “England, Earls Created 1138-1143,” English Nobility 2”, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, *************. 2008

Daltry, Rev. Thomas W., “Notes on Heleigh Castle”, Journal of the British Archaeological Association, New Series, Vol. IL, 1896, pp. 224-227

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