Margaret Wife of Sir John Conyers of Hornby

Some time ago, I discovered the identity of Margaret, wife of the first Sir John Conyers of Hornby, Yorkshire who died in 1412. I thought that I would put down all the evidence here for anyone researching the family.

In Flower’s visitation of Yorkshire of 1563-4, John Conyers is said to have married “Margaret filia et heres Antony Saint Quyntyn.”  The editor of the volume says that she was “Margaret, daughter and heiress of Sir Anthony St. Quintin (by Margaret, daughter and heiress of Swynho, widow of Sir Thomas Mountford of Hackforth).” [1] There is some truth in this identification, her father was from the family of Saint Quintin and her mother was from the family of Swinhoe, but the details are incorrect.

The Saint Quintin Family

So, who was the wife of John Conyers? The first clue is a fine of May 1378, whereby Sir Thomas de Saint Quintin and Margaret his wife conveyed the manor of East Brompton, Yorkshire to John, son of Thomas de Saint Quintin, knight and Elizabeth, his wife. [2] This family of Saint Quintin occur nowhere in the pedigrees of the family, so it’s difficult to say exactly who they were, but my guess is that Sir Thomas de Saint Quintin was a younger son of Sir Geoffrey de Saint Quintin of Harpham Yorkshire (died in 1330) and his first wife Alice de Ros who died in September 1314. [3] Sir Thomas de Saint Quintin married before October 1330, Margaret de Hornby, only daughter and heiress of Robert de Hornby, of Hornby Yorkshire, and his wife Christiana. [4] In November 1332, Thomas de Saint Quintin, Margaret his wife, and Christiana late the wife of Robert de Hornby had licence for the alienation in mortmain of a messuage, three tofts, six bovates of land and 3 acres of meadow, in Hornby and North Otterington, to a chaplain to celebrate divine service daily in the church of St. Mary, Hornby, for the souls of the grantors and of their ancestors. [5] Sir Thomas de Saint Quintin died in or before 1381, when bishop Hatfield of Durham granted to William Playce, his esquire, the wardship and marriage of successive heirs of Thomas de Saint Quintin, knight until one shall attain full age. [6] Since we know from the fine of May 1378, that Sir Thomas de Saint Quintin had a son named John, it must be assumed that John died between May 1378 and 1381, probably before his father. The heir of Sir Thomas de Saint Quintin was Margaret, daughter of his son John who was under age in 1381 and to whom we will return shortly.

The Swinhoe Family

The editor of Flower’s pedigree of The Conyers of Hornby family states that Margaret’s mother was “daughter and heiress of Swynho.” It took me some time to work out that she was from the family of Swinhoe of Northumberland, for whom there are no satisfactory pedigrees in print. The pedigree given by Surtees is defective. [7] Elizabeth was the daughter of William de Swinhoe of Scremerston, Northumberland and his wife Elizabeth. Her brother William de Swinhoe was born about 1364 [8] and as Elizabeth was married to John de Saint Quintin before May 1378, she was probably born a year or two earlier.

After the death of John de Saint Quintin, Elizabeth de Swinhoe married secondly, about 1380, Sir Thomas de Mountforth son and heir of Lawrence de Mountford of Hackforth in Hornby, Yorkshire. Sir Thomas de Mountford died before 4 February 1392, when a commission was ordered to enquire what evildoers had abducted Alexander, son and heir of Thomas de Mountford, knight, a minor, the custody of whose lands and whose marriage belong to queen Anne, because the said Thomas held of her as of the honor of Richmond by knight service; the said queen having by her letters patent granted the marriage to Richard le Scrope. [9] Elizabeth married thirdly, on 1 May 1392, William Bishopdale, formerly mayor of Newcastle, who in his will dated in February 1398 mentions her surviving sons Thomas and John Mountforth and William and Robert Swinhoe; her brother William and cousin Robert. [10] Elizabeth married fourthly before March 1399, Richard Clitheroe of Lincolnshire, king's esquire. In Easter Term, 1399, Richard Clitheroe and Elizabeth, his wife, sued Richard Tempest, knight, for a messuage in Newcastle, which John de Holy Island, vicar of the church of Berwick on Tweed, John de Hasylrigge and John de Werk gave to William de Swinhoe and Elizabeth his wife, and their heirs. William son and heir of William de Swinhoe and Elizabeth died without heirs of his body. Elizabeth, sister, and heir of William, married to Richard Clitheroe was the plaintiff in this case. [11] Elizabeth died before 2 February 1412, when Richard Clitheroe was married to Margery Sulney, widow of Sir Nicholas Longford of Derbyshire. [12] Richard Clitheroe died before 11 June 1431. [13]

Margaret de Saint Quintin

Margaret, only daughter and heiress of John de Saint Quintin by Elizabeth de Swinhoe was probably born about 1379. In 1381, Bishop Hatfield of Durham granted her wardship and marriage to William Playce his esquire. [14] As we have seen from the fine of 1378, her father John de Saint Quintin was holding the manor of East Brompton which was part of the bishop’s liberty of Northallertonshire. Whether William Playce sold the wardship we don’t know, but in 1391, Margaret’s wardship was in the hands of Sir Richard le Scrope of Bolton. By an indenture dated 13 August 1391, Sir Richard le Scrope of Bolton sold to John Conyers the wardship of the person and lands of Margaret, cousin and heir to Thomas Saint Quintin, knight, of Hornby, in Richmondshire, which pertains to him because of the minority of Margaret. John paid 200 marks to Richard for the wardship, so that he could hold her lands during her minority. He agreed that when she comes of age at fourteen years old he will do homage to Richard for the lands according to the right of the lord of Thornton Steward and if Margaret has issue with John or fails to have issue, John will do fealty to Richard. John will perform scutage for the lands and forinsec service. [15]

John Conyers and Margaret were married some time before 22 January 1398, when John Conyers, nobleman, and Margaret his wife, noble woman, of the diocese of York had a papal indulgence to have a portable altar. [16] John Conyers died before 25 April 1412, the date of his inquisition post mortem for Durham. [17] In 1412, Margaret, relict of John Conyers, was holding diverse lands in the liberty of Richmond. [18] Margaret was still living on 4 May 1435 when Thomas de Keleby, parson of the church of Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire was pardoned for not appearing before the justices to answer Margaret Conyers, lady of Hornby, Richmondshire, and Christopher Conyers, esquire, of Hornby, touching a plea of debt of £17 14s. 10d. [19]

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[1] Charles Best Norcliffe, ed., The Visitation of Yorkshire in the Years 1563 and 1564 Made by William Flower Esquire, Norroy King of Arms, Harleian Society 16 (London, 1881), 74.

[2] Feet of Fines: CP 25/1/277/140, number 7.
http://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/fines/abstracts/CP_25_1_277_140.shtml#7

[3] Thomas Duffus Hardy, ed., Registrum Palatinum Dunelmense. The Register of Richard de Kellawe, Lord Palatinate and Bishop of Durham, 1311-1316, vol. 1, Rolls Series (London, 1873), 605.

[4] Feet of Fines: CP 25/1/272/105, number 49. (YASRS, xlii, 30).

[5] Calendar of Patent Rolls, Edward III, vol. 2: 1330-1334 (London, 1893), 370.

[6] Thirty-Second Annual Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records (London, 1871), Appendix I, 294.

[7] James Raine, The History and Antiquities of North Durham (London, 1852), 237.

[8] Forty-Fifth Annual Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records (1885), Appendix 2, 263.

[9] Calendar of Patent Rolls, Richard II, vol 5: 1391-1396 (London, 1905), 82.

[10] Richard Welford, History of Newcastle and Gateshead, vol. 1, (Newcastle, 1884), 222.

[11] Court of Common Pleas, Easter, 22 Richard II, CP 40/553, m. 419d.

http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT4/R2/CP40no553/bCP40no553dorses/IMG_1794.htm.

[12] Isaac Herbert Jeayes, Descriptive Catalogue of Derbyshire Charters (London, 1906), 234, No. 1870.

[13] Durham University Library Special Collections, Durham Cathedral Muniments: Specialia, 1.1.Spec.71

[14] Thirty-Second Annual Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records (London, 1871), Appendix I, 294.

[15] Brigette Vale, The Scropes of Bolton and Masham, c.1300-c.1450: A Study of a Northern Noble Family with a Calendar of the Scrope of Bolton Cartulary. PhD Thesis, vol. 2 (University of York: 1987), 105, No. 229.

[16] Calendar of Papal Registers Relating to Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 5: 1398-1404 (London, 1904), 137.

[17] Forty-Fifth Annual Report of the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records (London, 1885), 177.

[18] H. C. Maxwell Lyte, ed., Inquisitions and Assessments Relating to Feudal Aids, vol. 6 (London, 1920), 551.

[19] Calendar of Patent Rolls, Henry VI, vol. 2: 1429-1436 (London, 1907), 436.