The Verney family purchased the manor of Middle Claydon in Buckinghamshire, England, in the 1460s and still resides there today at the manor house known as Claydon House. This family had been seated previously at Fleetmarston in Buckinghamshire then at Pendley in Hertfordshire. It is not to be confused with the unrelated but also ancient and prominent Verney family of Compton Verney in Warwickshire.
The pedigree of Verney of Middle Claydon commences with Ralph de Verney (fl. 1216–1223), but the fortunes of the family were made by Sir Ralph Verney (c. 1410–1478). After settling in Buckinghamshire in the 13th century, the family had purchased Middle Claydon by the 1460s and it was during this period that Sir Ralph Verney became Lord Mayor of London in 1465 and M.P. for the city in 1472. [1] Sir Ralph Verney's eldest son, Sir John Verney, married Margaret, heiress of Sir Robert Whittingham of Pendley. In 1525, Sir Ralph Verney's fourth son, of the same name, married Elizabeth, one of the six co-heiresses of John, Lord Braye. [2]
The Lord Mayor's second son was also called Sir Ralph Verney. He married Eleanor Pole, an aunt of Cardinal Pole. He was a servant of Elizabeth of York and joined the household of Margaret Tudor in Scotland as chamberlain, and subsequently Ralph Verney was chamberlain to Princess Mary. Lady Verney paid the painters Robert Fyll and John Reynolds for making heraldic beasts for the garden at Windsor Castle. [3] At the Scottish court Lady Verney's two maiden attendants were given 11 gold coins strung as necklaces for a New Year's day gift in 1506. Sir Ralph died in 1528 and is buried at Kings Langley in Hertfordshire; [4] his chest tomb with effigies of the couple survive in All Saints' Church. [5]
The other contemporary and younger Ralph Verney, according to some sources, was his nephew, the son of John Verney. [6]
Sir Edmund Verney of Pendley (died 1600) left two sons, half-brothers, Sir Francis Verney (1584–1615), who became a soldier of fortune and a buccaneer, converted to Islam and died at Messina in hospital in extreme poverty, and Sir Edmund Verney (1590–1642) of Middle Claydon. Sir Edmund accompanied Prince Charles and Buckingham on the abortive mission to Madrid in 1623, and was knight-marshal to King Charles I. When the English Civil War broke out the royal standard was entrusted to him at Nottingham, and while defending it he was slain at Edgehill in 1642. His eldest son, Sir Ralph Verney (1613–1696), 1st baronet, sat for Aylesbury in both the Short and the Long Parliaments. He took the side of the parliament at the outset of the Civil War, but went abroad in 1643 rather than sign the Covenant, and his estates were sequestrated in 1646. He returned to England in 1653, and, though he refused to act against Oliver Cromwell, was subsequently reconciled to the Restoration government. His brother, Sir Edmund (1616–1649), had taken the king's side, and commanded the troops of the Royalist infantry at the Siege of Drogheda and was slain during the final assault. [2]
Sir Ralph Verney's estates and honours descended to his son, Sir John (c. 1640–1717), who was created Viscount Fermanagh in the Irish peerage in 1703 and was father of Sir Ralph Verney, created Earl Verney in 1743. Earl Verney's sister, Lady Margaret Verney , by her marriage with Sir Sir Thomas Cave, 3rd Baronet, linked the Verney family a second time with the barony of Braye, and Braye family adopted the surname of Verney-Cave. Earl Verney's eldest son, John Verney, predeceased him in 1737, leaving a posthumous daughter, Lady Mary Verney (1737–1810), who was created Baroness Fermanagh in 1792. His second son, Ralph, 2nd Earl Verney (c. 1712–1791), was a friend of Edmund Burke, who entered parliament as Verney's nominee for Wendover. Earl Verney was an ardent supporter of the Whig interest, but received no reward from the party leaders. He rebuilt Claydon House with great splendour from the plans of John Adam, but, with his financial ventures, this brought him to bankruptcy. He died with no children of his own. [2]
The present Verney family, of Claydon Hall, Buckinghamshire, is descended in the male line from Felix Calvert (1596–1674) of Little Hadham, Hertfordshire. The Right Hon. Sir Harry Verney, 2nd baronet (1801–1894), was the son of General Sir Harry Calvert , G.C.B., created a baronet in 1818. He assumed the name of Verney in compliance with the will of Mary Verney, 1st Baroness Fermanagh, mentioned above. This lady died unmarried, leaving the paternal estates and the Verney portraits to her half-sister, Catherine Calvert (Mrs Wright), known thenceforward as Mrs Verney, on whose death in 1827 they came into the possession of her cousin, Sir Harry Calvert, who assumed the Verney surname. Sir Harry Verney entered the British House of Commons for Buckingham in 1832, and remained a member of the House with two short intervals for fifty-two years. He married in 1835 Eliza, daughter of Admiral Sir George Johnstone Hope, K.C.B., M.P., and secondly Frances Parthenope Nightingale, sister of Florence Nightingale. Frances, Lady Verney, collected from the mass of papers preserved at Claydon House the Memoirs of the Verney Family during the Seventeenth Century, which contain a charming picture of the life and manners of the country gentlemen of that day. A second edition, abridged and corrected by Margaret Verney, appeared in 1904. [lower-alpha 1] An all-girls grammar school was named after her in the 1960s, the Lady Verney High School in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.
The Verneys who hold the barony of Willoughby de Broke descend from Richard Verney (1683–1711), who was granted the title 11th Baron Willoughby de Broke by the House of Lords in 1696. These Verneys had inherited the Verney estates at Compton Verney in Warwickshire through the marriage of Sir Richard Verney (died 1630) to Margaret Greville (died 1631), sister and heiress of Fulke Greville , 1st Baron Brooke. The male line was interrupted in 1853 when Robert John Barnard (1809–1862), nephew of the 16th baron, inherited the title. Robert took the title 17th Baron Willoughby de Broke, adopted the surname Verney and was the grandfather of Richard Greville Verney who sat in the House of Commons from 1895 to 1900 for SE Warwickshire and succeeded to the title in 1902. [2] The family had left Compton Verney House by 1887 and it was finally sold in 1921.[ citation needed ]
For the final quarter of the 20th century the 1818 baronetcy was held by Major Sir Ralph Verney. As of 2018 [update] , it is held by Sir Edmund Verney (born 1950). The family still has its home in Claydon House.
A second and separate Verney baronetcy (of Eaton Square) was created in 1946. As of 2018 [update] the third baronet of this creation does not use the title; officially it has been dormant since the death of the second baronet in 1993.
The family's local history is reflected in placenames such as Verney Avenue and Lady Verney Close in High Wycombe.
Claydon House is a country house in the Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, England, near the village of Middle Claydon. It was built between 1757 and 1771 and is now owned by the National Trust.
Baron Willoughby de Broke is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by writ in 1491 for Sir Robert Willoughby, of the manor of Broke, part of Westbury, Wiltshire, who according to modern doctrine was de jure 9th Baron Latimer. On the death of his son, the two baronies fell into abeyance. Around 1535, the abeyance was naturally terminated when the second Baron's granddaughter Elizabeth, who had married Sir Fulke Greville, became the only surviving co-heir, passing her claim to her son Sir Fulke Greville, father of the poet of the same name. The title stayed in the Greville family until after the death of the 5th Baron, when it passed to his sister, Margaret Greville, the wife of a Verney. Thereafter it remained in the Verney family. The Barons Willoughby de Broke remain heirs to the ancient Barony of Latimer.
Baron Braye, of Eaton Bray in the County of Bedford, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1529 for Edmund Braye, 1st Baron Braye. However, the family originally originate from Normandy, they are direct descendants of Chevalier Baudry de Bray who came over to England in the Battle of Hastings of 1066. The family's local area in Leicestershire played host to two battles in England of note, the Battle of Bosworth Field where the current family's ancestor's were on opposing sides, and also Battle of Naseby during the First English Civil War, where the old manor house hosted King Charles I. The barony was created by writ, which means that it can descend through both male and female lines. He was succeeded by his son, the second Baron. He died from wounds received at the Battle of St Quentin in 1557. Lord Braye was childless and on his death the title fell into abeyance between his sisters.
Sir Edmund Verney was an English politician, soldier and favourite of King Charles I. At the outbreak of the English Civil War he supported the Royalist cause and was killed at the Battle of Edgehill.
Compton Verney is a parish and historic manor in the county of Warwickshire, England. The population taken at the 2011 census was 119. The surviving manor house is the Georgian mansion Compton Verney House.
Earl Verney, in the Province of Leinster, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. Sir Ralph Verney sat as a member of parliament for Aylesbury, for Great Bedwyn and for Buckingham. In 1661 he was created a Baronet, of Middle Claydon in the County of Buckingham, in the Baronetage of England. His son Sir John Verney, Bt, was a member of parliament for Buckinghamshire and for Amersham. In 1703, he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland as Baron Verney of Belturbet, in the County of Cavan, and Viscount Fermanagh. His son, the second Viscount, represented Amersham and Wendover in Parliament. In 1742 he was created Earl Verney, in the Province of Leinster, in the Peerage of Ireland. However, all titles became extinct on the death of his son, the second Earl, in 1791.
There have been three baronetcies held by persons with the surname Verney, one in the Baronetage of England and two in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. Two of the creations are extant as of 2016.
Sir Ralph Verney, 1st Baronet DL, JP was an English baronet and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1690.
John Verney, 1st Viscount Fermanagh, known as Sir John Verney, 2nd Baronet, between 1696 and 1703, was an English peer, merchant and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1710 to 1717.
Edmund Braye, 1st Baron Braye, of Eaton Bray in Bedfordshire, was an English peer.
Sir Harry Verney, 2nd Baronet PC, DL, JP was an English soldier and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons variously between 1832 and 1885.
Henry Peyto-Verney, 16th Baron Willoughby de Broke and de jure 24th Baron Latimer was a peer in the peerage of England.
John Peyto-Verney, 14th Baron Willoughby de Broke and de jure 22nd Baron Latimer was a peer in the peerage of England.
Richard Verney, 11th Baron Willoughby de Broke and de jure 19th Baron Latimer was a peer in the peerage of England, High Sheriff and Member of Parliament.
Greville Verney, 7th Baron Willoughby de Broke and de jure 15th Baron Latimer of Compton Verney in Warwickshire, England, served twice as a Member of Parliament for Warwick, in 1614 and 1621.
Sir Fulke Greville of Beauchamp Court near Alcester in Warwickshire, was an English gentleman.
Frederick William Verney was a younger son of the long-established Verney family of Middle Claydon, Buckinghamshire. He became a Church of England clergyman, a barrister, a Siamese diplomat, and a Liberal Party politician, serving as a member of both the Buckinghamshire and London County Councils, and from 1906 to 1910 as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Buckingham.
Sir Richard Verney of Compton Verney in Warwickshire, England, was a landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1589 and 1614.
Mary Verney was the wife of Sir Ralph Verney, 1st Baronet, of Middle Claydon DL, JP (1613–1696), an English baronet and politician who sat in the House of Commons.
John Braye, 2nd Baron Braye was an English nobleman, courtier, and soldier of the Tudor period.
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