STANLEY, Thomas (1530-91), of Weaver and Alderley, Cheshire.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558-1603, ed. P.W. Hasler, 1981
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

Family and Education

b. 1530, 1st s. of Thomas Stanley by Joan, da. of Thomas Davenport of Henbury. educ. ?G. Inn 1552. m. Ursula, da. of Richard Cholmondeley of Cholmondeley, 3s. 3da. suc. fa. 1556.1

Offices Held

J.p. Cheshire prob. soon aft. 1564, q. by 1583, sheriff 1571-2.

Biography

Stanley had extensive lands in Cheshire, mainly in the Macclesfield area: some of his property, at Little Meols, involved him in an expensive lawsuit before the Exchequer court of Chester. In November 1556 his father, who was in bad health, conveyed to him land in Alderley, Weaver and elsewhere, in return for a £30 annuity. By the end of the year Stanley had succeeded to the whole estate, and was soon appointed to the customary local offices for one of his social position. In 1564 the bishop of Chester recommended him as a suitable justice of the peace; and he was no doubt added to the commission before November 1571, when he became sheriff. Earlier in 1571 he had represented Cheshire in Parliament.2

Apart from a reference to ‘Mr. Stanley of Alderley’ as a guest of his distant relative Henry, 4th Earl of Derby at Lathom in July 1587, no references to Stanley’s private life have been found. There is an inquisition post mortem, but no will. He died 1 Aug. 1591 and was buried at Alderley. During the renovation of the church in 1878 an alabaster slab was found, with a recumbent figure in armour and an inscription giving his name and details of his family, together with a statement that he built the houses of Alderley and Weaver.3

Ref Volumes: 1558-1603

Author: N. M. Fuidge

Notes

  • 1. Ormerod, Cheshire, iii. 577-8; Vis. Cheshire (Harl. Soc. xviii), 216; C142/109/9; PRO Chester 3/72/8.
  • 2. PRO Chester 3/82/24, 72/8; C142/109/9; J. Brownbill, West Kirby and Hilbre, 246; Cam. Misc. ix(3), p. 751; APC, viii. 235; xii. 159.
  • 3. Stanley Pprs. (Chetham Soc. xxxi), 30; PRO Chester 3/82/24; Ormerod, iii. 570-1.