Percy family explained
The Percy family is an ancient English noble family. They were among the oldest and most powerful noble families in Northern England for much of the Middle Ages. The noble family is known for its long rivalry with the House of Neville, another family powerful in northern England during the 15th century. The feud between the two families, known as the Percy-Neville feud led to the Wars of the Roses, at the time known as the Civil Wars, in England.
The House of Percy descends from William de Percy (d. 1096), a Norman who crossed to England after William the Conqueror in early December 1067. William de Percy was created as the 1st feudal baron of Topcliffe in Yorkshire.[1] He was rebuilding York Castle in 1070.
The Percy surname derives from the manor of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy, the home of the Percy family at the time of the Norman Conquest.[2] Family members have held the titles of Earl of Northumberland or Duke of Northumberland to this day, in addition to Baron Percy and others.
The Percy surname twice died out in the male line only to be re-adopted later by the husband or son of a Percy heiress. In the 12th century, the original Percy line was represented by Agnes de Percy, whose son by her husband Joscelin of Louvain adopted the surname. Again in the 18th century, the heiress Elizabeth Seymour married Sir Hugh Smithson, who adopted the surname Percy and was created Duke of Northumberland.[3]
Recurring names
Recurring names in the Percy genealogy include:
- Henry (first borne by the 7th feudal baron of Topcliffe and his 10 immediate successors, including the 1st Earl and Harry Hotspur)
- Hugh (first borne by the 1st Duke)
- Joscelin/Josceline (first borne by Joscelin of Louvain)
- Algernon (first borne by the 1st Baron as a nickname: Aux Gernons or "with moustaches").
Prominent members
Prominent members of the family include:
- (d. 1096), 1st feudal baron of Topcliffe, Yorkshire,[1] nicknamed "Aux Gernons" ("with moustaches"), a Norman who emigrated to England at the time of the Conquest
- Alan de Percy, 2nd feudal baron of Topcliffe (d. circa 1130–5)[1]
- William II de Percy, 3rd feudal baron of Topcliffe (d. 1174–5), who left two daughters Maud and Agnes as co-heiresses.[4]
- Agnes de Percy (1134-1205), married Joscelin of Louvain (d.1180).[4] He was a son of Godfrey I, Count of Louvain of the House of Louvain, ancestor of the Dukes of Brabant, House of Hesse, and so the Mountbattens) either by his second wife, Clementia of Burgundy, or by a mistress (see Dukes of Brabant family tree). He was also brother-in-law to King Henry I, whose second wife was Joscelin's step-sister Adeliza of Louvain.
- Richard de Percy (d. 1244),[4] 5th feudal baron of Topcliffe, signatory to Magna Carta. Died childless. Succeeded his elder brother Henry de Percy (d.1198), the 4th Baron Topcliffe, whose son William III de Percy (1197-1245) became Richard's heir.[4]
- William de Percy, (1197–1245), 6th feudal baron of Topcliffe
- Henry de Percy, 7th feudal baron of Topcliffe (1228–1272)
- Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy of Alnwick (1273–1314), 7th feudal baron of Topcliffe and 1st baron by writ.
- Henry de Percy, 2nd Baron Percy of Alnwick (1299–1352)
- Henry de Percy, 3rd Baron Percy of Alnwick (see below)
- Thomas Percy (d. 1369), Bishop of Norwich
- Henry de Percy, 3rd Baron Percy of Alnwick (1320–1368)
- Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland (1341–1408) (forfeit 1405), helped Henry IV seize the throne, later rebelled against him
- Henry Percy (1364/1366–1403), also called Harry Hotspur, helped Henry IV seize the throne but later rebelled against him, killed at the Battle of Shrewsbury
- Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland (see below)
- Lady Elizabeth Percy (c. 1390 – 1437)
- Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland (1394–1455), supporter of King Henry VI, killed at the beginning of the Wars of the Roses
- Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland (1421–1461) (forfeit 1461), Lancastrian leader in the Wars of the Roses, killed at the Battle of Towton
- Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland (see below)
- Margaret Percy (b. c. 1447)
- Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland (1449–1489) (restored 1470), aligned with Yorkists, present but inactive at the Battle of Bosworth Field
- Henry Algernon Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland (1478–1527)
- Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland (1532–1585)
- Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland (see below)
- George Percy (1580–1632), explorer, author, early governor of Virginia
- Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland (1564–1632), known as "The Wizard Earl" for his intellectual pursuits, imprisoned after the Gunpowder Plot
- Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland (1602–1668), Lord High Admiral of England, later a Parliamentarian in the English Civil War
- Joceline Percy, 11th Earl of Northumberland (1644–1670), no male heirs, becomes the last male of direct Percy lineage to inherit the Earldom.
- Elizabeth Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (1667–1722), only daughter and heiress of the 11th Earl
- Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Northumberland (1684–1750), son of Elizabeth Seymour
- Elizabeth Percy (née Seymour), Duchess of Northumberland, 2nd Baroness Percy (1716–1776), daughter and heiress of the 7th Duke of Somerset, married Sir Hugh Smithson (who adopted the name Percy)
- Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1714–1786), né Smithson
- George Percy, 2nd Earl of Beverley, 5th Duke of Northumberland (1778–1867), politician
- Algernon George Percy, 6th Duke of Northumberland (1810–1899), politician
- Henry George Percy, 7th Duke of Northumberland (see below)
- Lord Algernon Percy (1851–1933), politician
- Henry George Percy, 7th Duke of Northumberland (1846–1918), politician
- Alan Ian Percy, 8th Duke of Northumberland (1880–1930)
- Hugh Algernon Percy, 10th Duke of Northumberland (1914–1988)
Family tree
part of this is taken from the article on the Duke of Northumberland
This summary genealogical tree shows how the current house of Percy is related:
This shows the descent of the present Percy family from the current creation of the 1st Duke of Northumberland:
Coats of arms
Paternal arms of Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy (1273–1314): Azure, five fusils in fess or,[5] ("Percy ancient") which he abandoned in favour of right: Or, a lion rampant azure ("Percy modern"/Brabant)[6] Both arms were quartered by the Percy Earls of Northumberland and remain quartered by the present Duke of Northumberland
Buildings associated with the Percy family
- Topcliffe Castle, Yorkshire, recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as held by William I de Percy (d.1096), whom it served as the caput of the feudal barony of Topcliffe. The Percy family's most ancient English seat.
- Petworth, Sussex, acquired by Joscelin of Louvain (d.1180), husband of Agnes de Percy, one of the two daughters and co-heiresses of William II de Percy (d.1174–5), feudal baron of Topcliffe in Yorkshire (grandson of William I de Percy (d.1096)). Jocelin's younger son Richard "de Percy" (d.1244) adopted the surname "de Percy" and inherited his father's estate of Petworth and a moiety of his maternal barony of Topcliffe. Richard died without progeny when his estates descended to his nephew William III "de Percy" (1197-1245), grandson of Jocelin de Louvain, who had inherited the other moiety of Topcliffe from his great-aunt Maud de Percy.[7]
- Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, purchased in 1309 by Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy (1273–1314) from Anthony Bek, Prince Bishop of Durham.[8]
- Warkworth Castle, Northumberland
- Cockermouth Castle, Cumbria, inherited by Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland (1341-1408) and his heirs male, from his 2nd wife Maud de Lucy, sister and heiress of Anthony de Lucy, 3rd Baron Lucy (d.1368), on condition that they should bear the arms of Lucy (Gules, three lucies hauriant argent) quarterly with their own.[9]
- Egremont Castle, Cumbria, purchased in 1529 by Henry Percy, 15th Earl of Northumberland from Robert Radclyffe, 1st Earl of Sussex (1483–1542).[10]
- Leconfield Castle, Yorkshire.
- Syon House, Isleworth, Middlesex, the former Syon Monastery, acquired in 1594 by Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland (1564-1632).
Following the death of his grandson Algernon Seymour, 7th Duke of Somerset in 1750, the former Percy estates were split between the Smithson ("Percy", Duke of Northumberland) and Wyndham (Earl of Egremont) families
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Sanders, I.J., English Baronies, Oxford, 1960, p.148
- Book: Rose, Alexander . Kings in the North. The House of Percy in British History . 2003 . Phoenix . London . 1-84212-485-4 . 26–7 . 2011-05-21.
- Book: Rose, Alexander . Kings in the North. The House of Percy in British History . 2003 . Phoenix . London . 1-84212-485-4 . 86–9 . 2011-05-21.
- Sanders
- Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.849, Duke of Northumberland
- Howard de Walden, Lord, Some Feudal Lords and their Seals 1301, published 1904, p.43
- Sanders, I.J., English Baronies, Oxford, 1960, p.148, Topcliffe, Yorkshire
- Sanders, I.J., English Baronies, Oxford, 1960, p.103, Alnwick, Northumberland
- Daniel Lysons and Samuel Lysons, 'Cockermouth', in Magna Britannia: Volume 4, Cumberland (London, 1816), pp. 40-45 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/magna-britannia/vol4/pp40-45
- Web site: Egremont Castle, Cumbria and the Lake District.
