Ferrers family

The Ferrers family was a noble Anglo-Norman dynasty whose documented origins lay at Ferrières-Saint-Hilaire in Normandy. The family name developed from the Norman place-name and appeared in forms including de Ferrières, de Ferrers, and the Latinized de Ferrariis. Ferrières was associated with ironworking, which may explain the place-name and the family’s early connection with the locality. The family’s English prominence began with Henry de Ferrers, Lord of Longueville, who accompanied William, Duke of Normandy, during the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Henry was rewarded by William the Conqueror with a substantial group of estates—traditionally counted as approximately 210 manors—concentrated especially in Derbyshire and Leicestershire, as well as holdings elsewhere in England and Wales. He served the new regime as governor of Stafford Castle, received former Anglo-Saxon lands in Berkshire and Wiltshire, participated as a commissioner in the compilation of the Domesday Book, and became the first Norman sheriff of Berkshire. Tutbury Castle became the principal seat, and Henry and his wife Bertha were associated with the foundation of Tutbury Priory. He also established or developed fortified sites at Duffield and Pilsbury. Henry’s younger son Robert de Ferrers entered the service of King Stephen and was rewarded for his role at the Battle of the Standard in 1138 with the Earldom of Derby. The earldom remained with the Ferrers line for six generations. Its tenure ended when Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby, joined the opposition to Henry III during the Second Barons’ War. He was attainted in 1267, lost the earldom and most of his estates, and recovered only a limited property, including Chartley, under severe conditions in 1275. The family nevertheless continued through several aristocratic branches. Robert’s son John was summoned to Parliament in 1299 as Baron Ferrers of Chartley. That barony lasted in the direct male line until William de Ferrers, 7th Baron Ferrers of Chartley, died without male issue in 1450; the dignity subsequently passed through female descendants and eventually entered abeyance in 1855. A collateral branch produced the Barons Ferrers of Groby, whose title continued through the male line until 1445 and later passed through female descent before becoming forfeit in 1554. The Ferrers of Wem designation is historically more complicated: it may have represented recognition of a claim through marriage rather than the creation of a wholly new barony. Other branches retained Norman and English estates. A line associated with Ferriers and Chambrais survived in Normandy until 1504, while the French family continued into the sixteenth century. English holdings connected with Oakham and Lechlade passed through Isabel de Ferrers to the Mortimer family of Wigmore. The family is also associated with heraldic traditions and Oakham Castle’s ceremonial horseshoes. Although horseshoes have often been attributed to the Ferrers arms because of the family name’s presumed association with ironworking or farriery, heraldic scholarship disputes whether the earliest horseshoe arms belonged to the Ferrers or to the Marshal family. The Ferrers arms used during the early heraldic period were described as vair, gold and red. A later Earl of Derby added a bordure bearing silver horseshoes, probably as a distinguishing mark. The ceremonial presentation and display of horseshoes at Oakham Castle remains a notable cultural association with the family’s medieval lordship.

The earliest documented ancestor is Walkelin de Ferrières, who was killed during the civil conflicts involving William II, Duke of Normandy. His son Henry de Ferrers became the principal founder of the family’s English fortunes. As a Norman lord of Longueville, Henry joined William the Conqueror’s invasion of England. Following the conquest, he received extensive lands and administrative responsibilities. His estates were concentrated in the Midlands, particularly Derbyshire and Leicestershire, and included the territories from which later Ferrers power developed. Henry’s offices included the governorship of Stafford Castle and the shrievalty of Berkshire, and he worked on the Domesday survey commissioned by William I. Tutbury became his principal caput, and his building activity included Tutbury Castle, Duffield, and Pilsbury. Together with his wife Bertha, he supported Tutbury Priory, where he was buried in 1100. Henry’s sons divided the family inheritance. Robert de Ferrers, the youngest, advanced under Stephen during the civil war known as the Anarchy. After the Battle of the Standard in 1138, he received the Earldom of Derby. The title descended through successive Ferrers earls until the political upheavals of the thirteenth century. Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby, opposed Henry III in the Second Barons’ War. Following the royal victory, he was attainted in 1267. His lands were confiscated, and the conditions imposed for partial restoration were exceptionally restrictive. The family’s comital status effectively ended, although Chartley was restored in 1275. The descendants of the sixth earl developed new aristocratic branches. John de Ferrers was summoned to Parliament in 1299 as Baron Ferrers of Chartley. His descendants retained the title until the death of William de Ferrers, 7th Baron, in 1450 without a male heir. The inheritance then moved through female descendants and ultimately entered abeyance. Another branch descended from William de Ferrers of Groby, a younger son of the fifth earl. William was summoned to Parliament in 1299 as Baron Ferrers of Groby. The title remained in the direct male line until the death of William Ferrers, 5th Baron, in 1445, after which it continued through female descent and was later forfeited. The title associated with Ferrers of Wem has generated a historiographical qualification. Robert Ferrers, a younger son of the Chartley line, was summoned in 1375. Some modern presentations treat this as the creation of a separate barony, while the peerage historian Vicary Gibbs argued that the summons reflected a claim through his wife, an heiress connected with the Boteler barony of Wem. The distinction affects how the succeeding generations are numbered and whether the designation is treated as a new peerage. The family’s estates also produced lines outside the main English peerages. A younger Henry de Ferrers held lands at Lechlade in Gloucestershire and Oakham in Rutland, together with Norman property. His son Walchelin inherited these possessions, but the French crown’s conquest of Normandy divided the family’s territorial base. The Norman branch continued through lords of Ferriers and Chambrais until 1504. The English estates at Oakham and Lechlade passed through Isabel de Ferrers to the Mortimers of Wigmore. A separate French line survived into the sixteenth century. Ferrers heraldry reflects both family identity and later alliances. The arms most securely associated with the dynasty in the early heraldic period were vair, gold and red. Horseshoes became strongly linked with the family, but the attribution of an early design of six black horseshoes on a silver field has been challenged because similar arms belonged to the Marshal family. William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby, used a bordure carrying silver horseshoes as a mark of difference. At Oakham Castle, ceremonial horseshoes presented by visiting peers preserve a later cultural memory of the Ferrers lordship and the castle’s medieval associations.

• 1504

  The Ferriers and Chambrais line becomes extinct

  [1]Ferrers familyen.wikipedia.org

  The Norman line associated with Ferriers and Chambrais ended in the male line.

• 1450

  The male line of the Chartley barony ends

  [1]Ferrers familyen.wikipedia.org

  William de Ferrers, 7th Baron Ferrers of Chartley, died without male issue, after which the dignity passed through female descent.

• Henry de Ferrers joins the Norman Conquest

  [1]Ferrers familyen.wikipedia.org

  Henry de Ferrers accompanied William the Conqueror to England and subsequently became the principal founder of the family’s English landed power.

• Henry participates in the Domesday survey

  [1]Ferrers familyen.wikipedia.org

  Henry de Ferrers served as a commissioner associated with the compilation of the Domesday Book.

• Robert de Ferrers receives the Earldom of Derby

  [1]Ferrers familyen.wikipedia.org

  After serving King Stephen and fighting at the Battle of the Standard, Robert de Ferrers was granted the Derby earldom.

• The Derby earldom is forfeited

  [1]Ferrers familyen.wikipedia.org

  Robert de Ferrers, 6th Earl of Derby, was attainted after taking part in the Second Barons’ War against Henry III.

• The Chartley and Groby baronial lines emerge

  [1]Ferrers familyen.wikipedia.org

  John de Ferrers and William de Ferrers of Groby were summoned to Parliament in the same year, establishing the family’s two principal later baronial branches.

A historical noble lineage rather than a commercial brand; its significance derives from landholding, feudal office, aristocratic titles, heraldry, castles, and genealogical descent.

1. 1Ferrers familyen.wikipedia.org