TheLeghs of Lymewere agentryfamilyseatedatLyme ParkinCheshire,England,from 1398 until 1946, when thestately homeand its surroundingparklandwere donated by the3rd Lord NewtontoThe National Trust.
 Lyme Park, the former seat of the Legh family | |
| Language(s) | English |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Region of origin | Cheshire,North West England |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Lee, Legh, Leigh |
| Burke's Peerage & BaronetageandBurke's Landed Gentry | |
Since theMiddle Agesvarious spellings of this ancient surname have been used:Legh,a Lee,Leghe,LeighandLeyghe;there were also variations on Peter,eg.Piers and Peers, the family's most oft-used given name.[1]The first Sir Piers Legh, ofLyme,wasknightedin 1397 and assumed as acoat of armsthose of his mother, Matilda de Norley, in lieu of his ancient patrilinealLeigharms.[2]
For ease of distinguishing between the earliergenerations,it became customary to append aRoman numeralto the variousLeghs' names; in this case the numbering system is as used inThe National Trust HandbookforLyme Park.
List of the Leghs of Lyme
edit- Sir Piers Legh (beheaded 1399) was the second son of Robert Legh ofAdlingtonby his second wife, Matilda, daughter and heiress of Sir Thurstan de Norley ofNorleyinLancashire.In 1388, Piers married Margaret d'Anyers, the granddaughter of Sir Thomas d'Anyers, who fought with theBlack Princeat theBattle of Crécy(Sir Thomas had recovered the Black Prince's Standard and was rewarded with an annuity of 40 Marks a year drawn on the Black Prince'sCheshire estates,hisRoyal Manor of Frodsham,which could be redeemed for land of an equivalent value). Sir Thomas's son (also Sir Thomas DanyersakaDaniell) died in 1353, a year before his father, so his young daughter, Margaret d'Anyers, became sole heiress of theCheadle Hulmemanor;as an orphan heiress she was married first to Sir John Radclyffe (who died without issue), then to Sir John Savage ofCliftonwith whom she had a son, John, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Blanche. After being widowed in 1386 for a second time, she married Piers de Legh on 4 January 1388; he was 28 years of age whilst his bride Dame Margaret Savage (néed'Anyers) was almost 40 as she was said to be 80 at her death in 1428. Dame Margaret Legh and her husband eventually claimed her grandfather's reward fromRichard IIin 1398 receiving about 1,400 acres atLyme HandleynearDisleyinCheshire;Sir Piers Legh, having beenknightedin 1397 by Richard II, was executed atChesterin 1399 afterHenry Bolingbroke's coup,[2]later being buried atSt Michael's Church, Macclesfield.[1][3]
- SirPiers Legh(died 16 June 1422 atMeaux),[1]injured atAgincourtin 1415, died from wounds sustained in a later conflict;[2]he too was buried atMacclesfield Church,where theLegh Chapelwas consecrated in his memory.[4]
- Sir Piers Legh (4 June 1415 – November 1478) was knighted in 1460 by theDuke of Yorkfollowing theBattle of Wakefield.[1]
- Piers Legh (died 1468 – before his father).[1]
- Sir Piers Legh (1455–1527) was knighted between theBattles of Hutton Fieldin 1481 andBosworthin 1485 and was further rewarded by appointment asSeneschalforBlackburnshire.He endowed aChantry ChapelatDisley,having been ordained as apriestin 1512.[2]The memorial brass to him and his wife Ellen (or Eleanor) inSt Oswald's Church, Winwick,is unique in combining the military and the sacred.[5]
- Sir Piers Legh (died 11 August 1527) was wounded at theBattle of Flodden.[2]He was buried at St Oswald's Church, Winwick.[1]
- Sir Piers Legh (died 6 December 1589), the builder ofLyme Hall,was knighted atLeithin 1544.[2]High Sheriff of Lancashirein 1550, he was buried atWinwick.[1]
- Piers Legh (died 10 August 1570 – before his father).[1]
- Sir Piers Legh (1563–1636),MPforWigan,knighted atGreenwichin 1598 and was buried at Winwick.[1]
- Peter Legh (1588–1624), lived atBradley Hallin Lancashire. He married in 1620 Anne Savile, 2nd daughter ofSir John Savile (cr.Lord Savile, 1627)and died before his father.[6]
- Peter Legh(1623–1642), elected MP forNewton1640 and was killed in a duel in 1642.[1][2]
- Francis Legh (died 2 February 1643), married in 1630 Anne Fenner before succeeding his nephew toLyme Parkin 1642, but died without issue the following year[2]and was buried at Winwick.[1]
- Richard Legh(1634–1687) was aminorwhen he succeeded to the family estate during theCivil Warperiod. Under theEnglish Commonwealthhe was electedMember of ParliamentforCheshireand after theRestorationwas appointedLord Lieutenant of Cheshireas well as aDeputyLieutenant of Lancashire.[2]Richard Legh planted the first avenues of trees in theparkatLyme,[7]and was buried at Winwick.[1]
- Peter Legh(died 1744) was imprisoned in theTower of Londonin 1694 and charged withhigh treasontwice but acquitted on both occasions.[2]He then employed the Italian architectGiacomo Leonito carry out a major restoration of thehall.[8]He was buried at Winwick.[1]
- Peter Legh(1706 – 20 May 1792) was a nephew of the above. He was born atBank Hall, Brethertonand married Martha Bennet ofSalthrop House,Wiltshire. They lived at Lyme. They had two sons (both died young) and two daughters, who were unable to inherit the Lyme estates. Peter and Martha are both buried atSt Mary's Church, Disley.[1]
- ColonelThomas Peter Legh(1754 – 7 August 1797), MP forNewton1780, Colonel of theLancashire Light Dragoons1794,[9]succeeded his uncle aslord of the manorsof Newton-in-Makerfield, Haydock, Dalton and Bradley inLancashireand of Cheadle and Lyme Handley inCheshire.Colonel Legh, who was appointed aKJjust before his death atLeith FortnearEdinburgh,died unmarried 1797, leaving three sons and four daughters by seven different ladies, and was buried at St Oswald's Church, Winwick.[1]
- Thomas Legh(died 8 May 1857), son of the above, was aFellow of the Royal Societyand travelled widely.[1]He carried out the first survey ofPetraand wrote about theslave tradeinEgypt.At Lyme he commissionedLewis Wyattto carry out extensive alterations to the house.[2]He was buried atDisley.[1]
- William Legh(19 December 1828 – 15 December 1898) was aMember of Parliamentbefore being elevated as the1st Baron Newtonfor political services in 1892.[2]He created the sunkenDutch gardenand addedstablesand other buildings to the estate.[10]
- Thomas Legh, 2nd Baron Newton(18 March 1857 – 21 March 1942) was also aMember of Parliament,thenPaymaster GeneralandAssistant Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairsduring theFirst World War.[2]Lady Newton (néeEvelyn Bromley-Davenport) and her husband were responsible for many alterations to the gardens atLyme.[7]
- Richard Legh,3rd Baron Newton(1888–1960) donatedLyme ParktoThe National Trustin 1946.[2]
- Peter Legh, 4th Baron Newton(1915–1992) was also apolitician.
- Richard Thomas Legh,5th Baron Newton(born 11 January 1950) lives atLaughton ParkinSussex.[11]
- Hon. Piers Richard Legh (born 25 October 1979) isheir apparentto theNewtontitle.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abcdefghijklmnopqOrmerod, George(1882), Thomas Helsby (ed.),The History of the County Palatine and City of Chester(2nd ed.), London: George Routledge and Sons, pp. iii:676–678
- ^abcdefghijklmnWaterson, Merlin (1975),Lyme Park,National Trust,pp. 5–8
- ^East Cheshire Past and Presentby J.P. Earwaker, London, 1877
- ^A History of the Church,St Michael's Church, Macclesfield,archived fromthe originalon 25 July 2008,retrieved2 November2008
- ^Cambridge Camden Society (1846).Illustrations of monumental brasses.Cambridge: J.T. Walters. p. 95.
- ^"Lyme Park Cheshire".
- ^abGroves, Linden (2004),Historic Parks & Gardens of Cheshire,Ashbourne: Landmark, pp. 50–57,ISBN1-84306-124-4
- ^Pevsner, Nikolaus;Edward Hubbard (2003) [1971],The Buildings of England: Cheshire,New Haven & London:Yale University Press,pp. 259–263,ISBN0-300-09588-0
- ^Harrington, Peter, "Colonel Thomas Peter Legh, Lancashire Light Dragoons, c. 1795,"Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research,Vol. LXV, No. 261, Spring 1987, pp. 1–4
- ^Lyme Park,The Heritage Trail, archived fromthe originalon 28 August 2008,retrieved2 November2008
- ^NEWTON, Baron,Burke's Peerage & Gentry,retrieved2 November2008