Sir William Venables of Bradwell

  General Notes:

~Boyer's, Medieval English Ancestors of John Abell, pp. 152, 153, Sir William de Venables, of Bradwell, was the second son of the 5th Baron of Kynderton. ⁷²¹

  Noted events in his life were:

• Background Information. ⁶⁸⁵
The Leghs derive their descent from Eudo, or Eules, the second of that name, earl of Blois, Byre and Charttes, who was slain in 1037 by Gozeled, duke of Lorraine, whose territory he had invaded. He left issue Theobald, eldest son, Gilbert of le Galliard, the younger son, and Alexia, a dauther.

Theobald succeeded to the honours and possessions of his father, but, losing Tours to Geoffrey Martell, he died of grieg in 1047. His son, Stephen, subsequently recovered Tours; and his grandson, Stephen was king of England.

Gilbert, the younger son, assumed the name Venables, (venator abilis), and was the common ancestor of the Leghs. He engaged with William duke of Normandy in his expedition against England, and was knighted by the Conqueror on the battlefield of Hastings. For his serviced there, and for many others afterwards against the forces of Edgar Atheling, and against the Welsh, he had large possessions bestowed on him in Cheshire and elsewhere. In 20 William I, he appears to have been one of the eight barons of Chester, under Hugh Lupus, the earl.

Gilbert was married before coming to England and had a son who succeed to his lands in Tourrainse; but his first wife dying, he married again after coming into England, Margery, daughter of Waltheof, son of Wolfric, lord of Hatton, by whome he had issue William de Venables, who succeeded to the barony of Kinderton, and Amabilla, who married Richard de Davenport.

To William de Venables, Gilbert succeeded, and to Gilbert Sir William. To Sir William, Sir Hugh suceeded; and to Sir Hugh, Sir Roger. To Sir Roger, Sir William succeeded. He had two sons, Sir Hugh de Venables, who suceeded him in the barony of Kinderton, and William to whom his father gave Bradwell, near Sanbach, and with whom the present pedigree of Legh is directly concerned.

William de Venables of Bradwell married, for his first wife, Catherine daughter of Piers Thorton, knight, by whom he had issue one son, William de Venables, afterwards of Bradwell. He next married Agnes, daughter and heiress of Richard de Legh of the West Hall, (then widow of Richard de Lymme) by whome he had issue John, who became John de Legh, and became the first of Norbury Booths.

Agnes was entitled to a moiety of the manor of High Legh, by descent of her father Richard de Legh, and to several other estates, all of which, with the exception of a farm in High Legh, she gave to Thomas, her son by her first marriage, from whom the Leghs of High Legh are descended, as well as those of West Hall.

~Contributions Towards a History of the Ancient Parish of Prestbury in Cheshire,Remains, Historical and Literary, Adlington, and Legh of Adlington, pp. 81-82

• Background Information. ⁷⁶³
Sir William Venables, baron of Kinderton, died in 1292, and endowed his second son, also named William with lands in Bradwell. This William, besides having son and successor with his own name, he had a son by his first wife, Agnes, by the name of John. Agnes was the daughter and heir of Richard de Legh of West Hall, in High Leigh.

~Visitation of Lancashire and a Part of Cheshire: Made in the Twenty-Fourth Year of the Reign of King Henry the Eighth, A.D. 1533, Part II, p. 152

William married Agnes de Legh, daughter of Richard de Legh Lord High Legh and West Hall and Unknown. (Agnes de Legh was born in High Legh, Cheshire, England.)

William next married Katherine Dutton, daughter of Sir Thomas de Dutton Lord of Dutton and Philippa de Sandon.⁷¹³ (Katherine Dutton was born about 1242 in Dutton, Cheshire, England.)