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The Parish of
Astley |
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Astley Family
The
lands of Astley were granted by William the Conqueror to the Earl of
Leicester whose successors held it for about 100 years. Eventually the lands
passed to the Earls of Warwick who were descended from the Earls of
Leicester. In
the latter part of the 12th Century the
manor was granted to Philip de Estley who held
it, on the feudal
principle, from the Earl of Warwick. Philip
was succeeded by his son Thomas who was in turn succeeded by his son Walter ,
and then by a second Thomas Astley. This Thomas forfeited
the estate after opposing the king at the battle of Evesham
in 1265 where he was killed. The estate was restored
to his son, Andrew, after his participation in a crusade in
1270. The widow of Thomas was Edith Astley and she was
allowed to remain at Astley,
she was the second wife of Thomas, one of her sons
being Stephen Astley. Andrew
Astley died in 1301 and was followed by his son Nicholas. Eventually
Nicholas was succeeded by his nephew Sir Thomas Astley. Sir
Thomas was
probably born about 1300 and was the son of Giles Astley who died sometime
before 1316. When Thomas' uncle,
Nicholas Astley, died in 1325 without any children, Thomas succeeded him as
Lord of the Manor of Astley. Thomas was the seventh generation of the family
which had taken their name from the place in which they lived. During
the 1950's, whilst the foundations of the church were being strengthened by
the Coal Board, a vault was rediscovered. Amongst the remains that were
discovered were two skeletons that were presumed to be those of Sir Thomas
Astley and his wife, Elizabeth Beauchamp. Eventually,
in the first half of the 14th Century the property passed to Joanna Astley,
the heiress of Sir William Astley. Initially Joanna married Thomas
Raleigh, but after his death, about 1450, she married Reginald, Lord Grey. |
