James "The Just" 1St Baron De BERKELEY, Sir

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• FamilySearch ID: LVDT-5X5
• Name: The Just
• _UID: 0887CA56671540C394D4AB07FCF27807B537

Notes:

James de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of the 1421 creation; inherited the Castle of Berkeley and other estates under the entail executed by his great grandfather but was hindered in obtaining posession by his cousin the Countess of Warwick who was heir general of the 5th Lord (Baron) Berkeley; nevertheless called by writ to Parliament 20 Oct 1421 thus being created Lord Berkeley (this Barony, being writ, is by later doctrine held to be heritable by heirs general, which can include females, so that the + against each living female and her issue indicates that she is/they are in remainder to this peerage), knighted 1426; contracted to marry (and perhaps actually did so) 19 April 1410, daughter of Sir John St John; married 2nd? 1415 (dsp) daughter of Sir Humphrey Stafford, of Hooke, Dorset; married 3rd? 1423/4 Isabel Mowbray (died 27 Sep 1452), eldest daughter of 1st Duke of Norfolk of the 1396 creation and widow of Henry Ferrers (dvp 1394), son and heir of 5th Lord (Baron) Ferrers (of Groby); married 4th? c25 July 1457 Joan Talbot (married 2nd 1487 Edmund Hungerford), daughter of 1st Earl of Shrewsbury and Waterford, and died Nov 1463, having had [William 2nd Lord (dsps 14 Feb 1491/2), Maurice de jure 3rd Lord, James killed in France, Thomas of Dursley, Glos, died 1484] by his 3rd wife, with three daughters. [Burke's Peerage]

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James Berkeley, Lord Berkeley, born c1394 at Raglan, co Monmouth, Knight 19 May 1426, died Berkeley Castle Nov 1463; at age 16 married (1) or contract to marry N. daughter of John St John, who died very young, s.p.; married (2) N. daughter of Sir Humphrey Stafford of Hook; died very young, s.p.; married (3) 1423/4 Isabel, widow of Henry Ferrers, son and heir of William, Lord Ferrers of Groby, and 1st daughter and in issue coheir of Thomas de Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. She died a prisoner of Margaret, Countess of Shrewsbury, 2nd wife of John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and step-mother of James Berkeley's 4th wife. She was granddaughter and coheir of Thomas Berkeley, Lord Berkeley, uncle of James, from whom the title had passed to James. James married (4) Joan, daughter of John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, by Maud, daughter of Thomas Nevill, Lord Furnivale. Joan married (2) 26 May 1474 Edmund Hungerford. [Magna Charta Sureties]

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BARONY of BERKELEY (I) 1421

JAMES (DE BERKELEY), LORD BERKELEY, nephew and heir male, being son and heir of Sir James de Berkeley, by Elizabeth, daughter and heir of Sir John BLUET, of Raglan, co. Monmouth, which Sir James, being next brother to Thomas, the last Lord Berkeley, died v.f., 13 June 1405. He was born about 1394, at Raglan, and "may bee called James the Just." He succeeded to the Castle of Berkeley (to which the Barony of Berkeley was then very generally considered as appendant) and other estates under an entail of his great-grandfather, but was much hindered in getting possession thereof by the Countess of Warwick (daughter and heir of the last Lord), the heir general. By writ directed Jacobo de Berkeley, he was summoned to Parliament 20 Oct ober 1421 to 23 May 1461, and was knighted by Henry VI, in May 1426.

In April 1410, being then aged 16, he m., 1stly, or perhaps was only contracted to, a daughter of Sir John ST. JOHN (contract dated 19 April 1410. He married, 2ndly, 1415), a daughter, of Sir Humphrey STAFFORD, of Hook, Dorset, but she died very young and s.p. He married, 3rdly, 1423-24, Isabel, widow of Henry FERRERS, son and heir apparent of William, Lord FERRERS (of Groby), and 1st daughter (whose issue became coheirs) of Thomas (DE MOWBRAY), DUKE OF NORFOLK, by Elizabeth, da. of RICHARD (FITZ ALAN), EARL OF ARUNDEL. She was, while about to appeal to the King in Council on behalf of her husband, arrested by order of Margaret, Countess of Shrewsbury (granddaughter and coheir of the last Lord Berkeley), and imprisoned at Gloucester, where she died 27 September 1452, and was buried in the church of the Greyfriars there. He married, 4thly, (Settlment 25 July 1457) Joan, daughter of John (TALBOT), 1st EARL OF SHREWSBURY, by his 1st wife, Maud, elder daughter and heir of Thomas (NEVILL), LORD FURNIVAL, which Joan was consequently stepdaughter of Margaret, Countess of Shrewsbury abovenamed. He died at Berkeley Castle, Nov 1463, within 36 days of having (22 Oct.) executed a deed of reconciliation with the said Countess and was buried at Berkeley. His widow married, before 26 May 1474, Edmund Hungerford. [Complete Peerage II:132-3, XIV:87, (transcribed by Dave Utzinger)]

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Following copied from Berkeley Family page, www.rotwang.freeserve.co.uk/Family.html:
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James Lord Berkeley (1394-1463)

James Lord Berkeley, was married to Isabel Mowbray (see The Mowbray family). James was in dispute with his uncle's heirs for most of his life. His uncle, Thomas the Magnificent, 10th Lord Berkeley (there is a fabulous brass of him and his wife at Wooton-under-edge in Gloucestershire), left a solitary daughter, Elizabeth, who married the powerful Richard Beauchamp (1382-1439), Earl of Warwick, and guardian of Henry VI. They had three daughters. The eldest, Margaret, married the feared John Talbot (1388-1453), Earl of Shrewsbury, the youngest married Richard Neville, later Earl of Warwick (1428-1471).

During the long dispute over ownership of the Berkeley estate, Isabel was captured by the Countess of Shrewsbury and died in 1452 in prison in Gloucester. James promptly remarried the daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury.

The family dispute is claimed to be the longest dispute in English legal history. During this period the village of Berkeley was burned down twice - once by each side - for 'supporting the enemy', i.e. paying them rent. The life of ordinary people during this time must have been hard indeed. The dispute was eventually resolved by open battle (see Battle of Nibley Green).

James and Isabel's third son James was killed in battle in France (Castillon 1453) along with John Talbot in the closing battle of the Hundred Years War. Father and son are buried at St. Mary's Berkeley, and there is a splendid stone effigy of them both in full armour in a small chapel to the side of the chancel. Isabel was buried at Greyfriars in Gloucester in 1452. The abbey was destroyed in the dissolution, and is now partly ruined, where now stands a fine Georgian building, the County music library, contained within the ribs of the medieval building.

James married on 19 Apr 1410 in 1st Wife - Contract Date. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

James married Daughter Of Sir Humphrey STAFFORD in 1415 in 2ND Wife. Daughter (daughter of Humphrey STAFFORD, Of Hook & Southwick, Sir and Elizabeth MALTRAVERS, Heiress Of Hook) was born about 1405 in Hooke, Beaminster, Doresetshire, England; died before 1423. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

James married Isabel De MOWBRAY between 1423 and 1424 in 2ND Husband 3Rd Wife. Isabel (daughter of Thomas De MOWBRAY, Kg, 1St Duke Of Norfolk and Elizabeth FITZALAN) was born about 1396 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England; died on 27 Sep 1452 in Gloucester Castle (As A Prisoner Of Margaret DE Beauchamp); was buried in Greyfriars, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Elizabeth de BERKELEY was born in 1425 in Berkeley Castle, Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England; died in 1482 in England; was buried in Gloucestershire, England.
2. Lord William BERKELEY was born in 1426 in Berkeley Castle, Thornbury, Gloucestershire, England; died on 14 Feb 1492 in Westminster, England; was buried in 1492 in Church Of The Augustine Friars, London, England.
3. James BERKELEY, III was born in 1428 in Gloucestershire, England; died in Feb 1452 in Castillon, France; was buried in Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom.
4. Maurice BERKELEY OF THORNBURY, Esq. was born about 1435 in Berkeley Castle, Thornbury, Gloucestershire, England; died in Sep 1506 in Mangotsfield, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England; was buried in Austin Friar's, London, England.
5. Thomas de BERKELEY was born in 1437 in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England; died on 2 Jul 1484 in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England; was buried in 1484 in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England.
6. Elizabeth BARKHOUSE was born about 1442 in England; died on 30 Jul 1477 in England; was buried in Aug 1477 in England.

James married Joan TALBOT on 25 Jul 1457 in <, Axholme, Lincoln, England>. Joan (daughter of Sir John TALBOT, Knight and Maude De NEVILLE, 6th Baroness Furnival) was born before 1423 in Waterford, Waterford, Munster, Ireland; died in in , Grafton, Worcester, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]