14th Century Maud de Grey – Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire, England, c. 1394.

Lady Maud de Harcourt, formerly Grey, aka Botetourt Born about 1347 in Rotherfield Greys, Oxfordshire, England 

This is a beautifully preserved effigy believed to be Maud, daughter of Lord Grey of Rotherfield, who married Sir Thomas Harcourt in 1394. Remarkably much of the original colouring has survived. I have shown the whitewashed paint and the actual brown colour in the main image. Maud is laid to rest inside St Michael’s family church at Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire, England. The family was connected to royalty and owned plenty of land.  

• Ancestors: Daughter of John Grey KG and Avice (Marmion) Grey
• Sister of John Grey [half], Robert (Grey) de Grey and John (Grey) Marmion
• Wife of John Botetourt — married about 28 November 1358 [location unknown]
• Wife of Thomas (Harcourt) de Harcourt — married before 13 June 1374 in Rotherfield, Oxfordshire, England

Descendants: Mother of John Botetourt, Joyce (Botetourt) Burnell, Anne (Harcourt) Erdington, Catherine (Harcourt) Mainwaring and Thomas Harcourt Died 30 January 1394 at about age 47 in Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire, England

Marriages and Children

Maud married twice. Her first husband was John Botetourt.[1] They married on 28 November 1358. John was the son of Sir John Botetourt, 2nd Lord Botetourt, and Joyce la Zouche. Maud and John had one son and one daughter:

• John
• Joyce, wife of Sir Hugh Burnell, 2nd Lord Burnell.

Maud remarried Sir Thomas Harcourt [1] before 13 June 1374. He served as the Sheriff of Oxfordshire and was the son of Sir William Harcourt and Jane de Grey. Maud and Thomas had three sons and four daughters:

• John[1]
• Sir Thomas, born about 1377, died on 6 July 1420, married Jane (or Joan) Fraunceys and had eight children[1]
• Richard, of Saredon[1]
• Anne, wife of Thomas, Esq., 4th Lord Erdington[1]
• Katherine[1]
• Isabel[1]
• Maud died before Sep 1414, wife of Walter Cooksey (or Cooksey), Esq., and of Sir John Philip (or Philip)[1]

Maud Grey died on 29 January 1394. She was buried in an altar tomb at Stanton Harcourt, Oxfordshire. The village is named after the noble family. [3]

Church:

St Michael’s at Stanton Harcourt is one of Oxfordshire’s most rewarding churches, a real gem of interest. The building is of largely 13th-century dates (with alterations/additions in the following centuries) and retains its original cruciform plan.

The latest addition is the Harcourt Chapel on the south side in the 15th century Perpendicular. It is one of the outstanding features of the church with its fine collection of tombs and monuments of the Harcourt family. Its most noticeable feature is the detached 15th-century tower opposite the church’s west end, and thus almost appears as if it belongs to it. The adjoining manor is visible from the churchyard. The church has several important medieval features, from elements of ancient glass, a substantial part of the former shrine of St Eadburgha, other fine monuments and likely the earliest complete medieval rood screen. There is much to enjoy here, and a visit is highly recommended. Source Images Aidan McRae Thomson

Research Notes

Marriages

Maud Grey, daughter of John Grey, Baron Grey of Rotherfield, is shown in Lipscombe’s (1847) ‘pedigree of Bottetourt’ as a wife of John Botetourt (husband of Joyce le Zouche),[4] but Magna Carta Ancestry (2011), states that she married his son.

Lipscombe’s (1847) pedigree for ‘Grey of Rotherfield’ shows that Maud had two husbands:[5] John Botetourt and Thomas de Harcourt (d. 1386).

Sources

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. (Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2011), vol. II, pages 344-345, HARCOURT 7.
2. ↑ Grey of Rotherfield, (Lipscomb, 1847). Wikitree.com: pedigree.
3. ↑ See images of the tomb on Flickr taken by Aidan McRae Thomson [1]
4. ↑ Lipscombe, G. (1847). “Pedigree of Botetourt, Barons of Newport Pagnell & c.,” in The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham, 4, p. 276. Google Books.
5. ↑ Grey of Rotherfield, (Lipscomb, 1847). Wikitree.com. Pedigree.

• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2011. See also WikiTree’s source page for Magna Carta Ancestry.
• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2013. See also WikiTree’s source page for Royal Ancestry.
• Gates CLOSED with the monuments facing the window and hidden from view. Why??? St Michaels Stanton Harcourt Oxfordshire Eric Hardy.

See also:

• Lewis, Marlyn. Maud Grey #13872 entry in Our Royal, Titled, Noble, and Commoner Ancestors, citing various works by Douglas Richardson.
  • Richardson, D. (2011). Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd ed., I, p. 269.
  • Richardson, D. (2011). Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd ed, II, p. 344.
  • Richardson, D. (2011). Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd ed., III, p. 270-272.
  • Richardson, D. (2013). Royal Ancestry, I, p. 459.
  • Richardson, D. (2013). Royal Ancestry, II, p. 37-8.
  • Richardson, D. (2013). Royal Ancestry, III, p. 208.
  • Richardson, D. (2013). Royal Ancestry, IV, p. 273-276.
• Weis, Frederick Lewis, Th.D., The Magna Carta Sureties, 1215. 5th Edition. (Baltimore MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1999). Available at Amazon.com.