Nat Gould

Margaret Eld 1647-

Burton Manor in the 1930s

Margaret Eld was born in 1647, the daughter of Francis Eld 1623-1687 and his wife nee Margaret Crompton. She was baptised on 25 July 1647 at Seighford church in Staffordshire.

She was married to Thomas Whitgreve of Burton juxta Stafford in Staffordshire. He was the son of Walter Whitgreve and his wife nee Elizabeth Cox. Walter Whitgreve may have been a son of Thomas Whitgreve 1526-1590 of Bridgeford in Seighford (1) who married Dorothy Noel of Hilcote in Chebsey in 1559 (2).

The Whitgreve family had a long and distinguished pedigree (3) and included Robert Whitgreve 1380-1453 (4). The family lived at Moseley (now part of Birmingham) and at Burton Manor near Stafford (5). After the break with Rome under Henry VIII the Moseley branch of the family remained Roman Catholic, but the Whitgreve family of Burton became Anglican.

Thomas and Margaret Whitgreve had the following children:

Thomas Whitgreve.

Walter Whitgreve.

Richard Whitgreve.

Hester Whitgreve.

Mary Whitgreve.

Margaret Whitgreve.

Elizabeth Whitgreve.

The date of the death of their mother is unknown.

Their father Thomas Whitgreve died in 1679.

(1) Thomas Whitgreave of Bridgeford in Seighford (1526-90) married Dorothy Noel of Hilcote in Chebsey in 1559. They had five sons and two daughters: Edward born in 1560, Henry born in 1562, Humphrey born in 1564, Thomas born in 1568, Walter born in 1573, Lucretia and Bridget. Most of this generation appear to have been Protestant. Walter graduated as Master of Arts at Cambridge and was Vicar of Trumpington in Cambridgeshire from 1612 to 1615. He died in 1616.

(2) The father or grandfather of Thomas Whitgreve who married Margaret Eld was perhaps Walter Whitgreve 1573-1616, the son of Thomas Whitgreve 1526-1590 of Burton Manor near Stafford and his wife nee Dorothy Noel of Hilcote in Chebsey. Dorothy Noel was perhaps the aunt or some other close relative of Walter Noel of Hilcote of Chebsey in Staffordshire (born in 1622) who married Elizabeth Gaywood, the daughter of Thomas Gaywood 1595-1646 and his wife nee Margaret Eld born in 1616.

(3) For an excellent and comprehensive account of the history of the Whitgreve family see The Whitgreaves of Moseley and Roman Catholicism in the Parish : Wolverhampton History & Heritage Website - Articles: http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/bushbury/families/whitgreaves.htm

(4) For a detailed account of Robert Whitgreve 1380-1453 and his service in great offices of state see The History of Parliament http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/whitgreve-robert His state offices included Teller of the Exchequer, Commissioner to take Musters, Escheator for Staffordshire, Bailiff of Stafford, Justice Itinerant (appointed to hold the Great Sessions at Newport 1432), Receiver of the Duchy of Lancaster for the Honour of Tutbury in Staffordshire, Duchy Steward, Constable of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Parker of Stafford for the Earl of Stafford, Custodian of the Estates of the Abbey of Burton-upon-Trent, Tax Assessor of Shropshire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire, and Justice of the Peace for Staffordshire.

During his long years of parliamentary service he commanded great influence under the Crown, while attending to local government and the affairs of the Earl of Stafford (later Duke of Buckingham). Robert Whitgreve maintained a strong personal tie with his Stafford birthplace. He was a friend and parliamentary colleague of John Harper, and witnessed property transactions in the borough. He was frequently re-elected to the House of Commons, waiving his claim for expenses, which may have disposed the electorate even more in his favour. His legal and financial expertise was recognized and rewarded. In 1423 he was made a Royal Serjeant-at-Arms, and attended the coronation of Queen Margaret of Anjou in 1445. His royal duties included paying English soldiers serving in France under Henry V, escorting prisoners, and standing surety for government borrowing.

The Earl of Stafford made him a unique personal grant of arms for his services to his estates. Robert Whitgreve was equally assiduous in discharging his duties to the Duchy of Lancaster, and became a prominent figure in the north Midlands, where he was appointed to numerous commissions. Although his association with the Crown and the Earl of Stafford enhanced his social standing, he was himself a major landowner in Staffordshire. He held the Manor of Burton-juxta-Stafford (where he lived), together with land in nearby villages and in Worcestershire, and also the Manors of Great Bridgeford in Staffordshire and Longford in Shropshire.

When aged 68 years Robert Whitgreve obtained royal exemption from further holding Crown office or serving on commissions, but remained a Member of Parliament and retained his Duchy of Lancaster and Exchequer posts until his death in 1453. He died intestate, and his property was administered by his sons, Thomas and Humphrey Whitgreve. The latter became yeoman to Henry VI, and his attachment to the House of Lancaster took him into exile in Scotland with Queen Margaret of Anjou in 1460.

(5) The present Burton Manor was built in 1855 by Francis Whitgreave, and incorporates stonework from Grey Friars in Stafford discovered during excavations. By 1931 it had passed out of family ownership and was a social club of the British Reinforced Concrete Company, having been enlarged with the addition of a ballroom, stage, billiard room and gymnasium. The house became part of Stafford Independent Grammar School in 1982.