The Genealogy of the House Brus and the Lords of Skelton and Annandale

 

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The Family Tree of the de Brus family in Yorkshire which also traces the Lords of Skelton and Annandale and the relationship of the Royal Family to the Brus of Skelton

 

Home Page

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Return to the Home Page of the Farndale Family Website

The Farndale Story

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The story of one family’s journey through two thousand years of British History

The Farndale Lineages

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The 83 family lines into which the family is divided. Meet the whole family and how the wider family is related

The Farndale Directory

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Members of the historical family ordered by date of birth

Themes

Links to other pages with historical research and related material

Related Family Stories

The story of the Bakers of Highfields, the Chapmans, and other related families

 

 

Headlines are in brown.

Dates are in red.

Hyperlinks to other pages are in dark blue.

References and citations are in turquoise.

Context and local history are in purple.

Geographical context is in green.

 

The history of the de Brus Family is told separately.

 

 

 

 

 

Robert de Brus I

 

c 1078 to 11 May 1141

 

1st Lord of Skelton and Cleveland, c 1107 to 1141

 

1st Lord of Annandale, 1124 to 1138

 

Founded Gisborough Priory in 1119

 

Married Agnes de Pagnall

 

Brix, Normandy, Skelton

 

 

William de Brus

 

Forester of Bruis

 

Later the first prior of Gisborough Abbey

 

Normandy, Guisborough

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter de Bruis

 

Associated with the abbey of Saint Saviour le Vicomte

 

Normandy

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Senior Line of the Brus of Skelton

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Junior or Cadet Line of the Brus of Annandale

 

 

 

 

 

Adam I de Brus

 

1105 to 1143

 

Lord of Skelton and Cleveland, 1141 to 1143 (he only survived his father by 22 months)

 

Married Agnes de Albermarle

 

 

 

Robert II de Brus, le Meschin (the Cadet)

 

c 1120 to c 1194

 

2nd Lord of Annandale 1138 to 1194

 

Married Euphemia de Croseby

 

 

Agatha de Brus

 

c 1120

 

Married Ralph Fitz Ribald, Lord of Middleham

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adam II de Brus

 

1127 to 1196

 

Lord of Skelton and Cleveland, 1143 to 1196

 

Married Ivetta d’Arches

 

Agatha de Brus

Robert III de Brus

 

Died 1191

 

Married Isabella MacWilliam, illegitimate daughter of King William I the Lion of Scotland.

 

There were no children.

 

 

William de Brus

 

Died 16 July 1212

 

3rd Lord of Annandale, 1194 to 1212

 

Married Christina, daughter of Uhtred of Galloway

Bernard de Brus

 

Robert Fitz Ranulph, Lord of Middleham

 

Married Heloise de Glenville

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter I de Brus

 

1170 to 17 January 1211

 

Lord of Skelton and Cleveland, 1196 to 1211

 

Married Joan

 

 

Isabel de Brus

 

Married Henry de Percy

Robert IV de Brus

 

c 1195 to 1232

 

4th Lord of Annandale, 1212 to 1232

 

Married Isabel of Huntingdon, the second daughter of David, 8th Earl of Huntingdon

 

John de Brus

 

William de Brus

 

 

Ranulph Fitz Robert, Lord of Middleham

 

d 1251

 

Married Mary Bigod

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sir Robert de Neville

 

c 1223 to 1282

 

Married Isabel de Byron

 

Ralph Fitz Ranulph, Lord of Middleham

 

d 1270

 

Married Anastasia Percy

 

 

Peter II de Brus

 

c 1185 to 13 September 1241

 

Lord of Skelton and Cleveland, 1211 to 1241

 

Married Helewise, sister of William de Lancaster, Baron of Kendall

 

Amongst the northern barons who forced the Magna Carta on John in 1215

 

 

 

Robert V de Brus

 

c 1220 to 31 March 1295

 

5th Lord of Annandale, 1232 to 1292

 

Justice and constable of Scotland and England, a regent of Scotland, and a claimant to the Scottish throne in 1290 to 1292 in the Great Cause

 

Commonly known as "Robert the Competitor"

 

Married Isabella, daughter of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester

 

Married Christina de Ireby, the widow of Adam Jesmond, the Sheriff of Northumberland

Bernard de Brus of Exton

 

Beatrice de Brus

 

Married Hugo de Neville

 

Robert Neville

 

d 1271

Mary Fitz Ranulph, The Lady of Middleham

 

 1320

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter III de Brus

 

d 18 September 1272

 

Lord of Skelton and Cleveland, 1241 to 1272, Lord of Danby, Kirkby and Constable of Scarborough Castle

 

Married Hilaria de Mauley

 

Died without issue

 

 

Agnes de Brus

 

Took, as her share, the manors of Skelton, Marske, Upleatham and Kirkleatham

 

Married Walter de Fauconberg (c 1220 to 1304) who became the New Lord of Skelton, Marske, Upleatham and Kirkleatham, 1272 to 1304

 

 

Lucia de Brus

 

Married Marmaduke de Thweng

 

Took the manors of Yarm, Danby and Brotton.

 

Married Marmaduke de Thweng of Kilton Castle in about 1247

 

Margaret de Brus

 

Married Robert de Ross of Wark

 

Took the barony of Kendall

Laderina de Brus

 

Married John de Bellew

 

Took the lordship of Carlton amongst other holdings

Robert VI de Brus

 

1243 to 1304

 

Earl of Carrick

 

6th Lord of Annandale 1292 to 1304

 

Annandale was seized, by King John Balliol, and given to John "The Red" Comyn, Lord of Badenoch, but regained in 1296

 

Married Marjorie, daughter of Neil, Earl of Carrick

 

Died in the Holy Land

 

 

Sir Richard de Brus

 

d 1287

 

Lord of Writtle

 

Part of Edward I’s household

Ranulph de Neville, First Baron Neville

 

18 October 1262 to 18 April 1331

 

Married Euphemia de Clavering

 

 

 

 

The Neville Family

 

Ancestors of Richard Neville, the Kingmaker, Edward IV, Richard III and later members of the Royal Family

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walter de Fauconberg, Second Baron Fauconberg

 

1260 to 1318

 

Lord of Skelton, Marske, Upleatham and Kirkleatham, 1304 to 1318

 

 

Isabel Bruce

 

1272 to 1358

 

Married King Eric II of Norway

Robert VII de Brus

 

Robert the Bruce

 

Robert I, King of Scotland, 1306 to 1329

 

11 July 1274 to 7 June 1329

 

7th Lord of Annandale, 1304 to 1329

 

King of Scotland 1306 to 1329

 

Resounding defeat of the English at the Battle of Bannockburn on 24 June 1314

 

Declaration of Arbroath

 

Married Isabel, daughter of Donald, Earl of Mar

 

Married Elizabeth, daughter of Atmer de Burgh, Earl of Ulster

 

 

Edward Bruce

 

High King of Ireland, 1315 to 1318

 

c 1280 to 14 October 1318

 

Earl of Carrick

 

 

Sir Thomas Bruce

 

d 1307

 

Beheaded in Carlisle

 

Married Marjory Charteris

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John de Fauconberg

 

1290 to 1349

 

Lord of Skelton, Marske, Upleatham and Kirkleatham, 1318 to 1349

 

 

 

Marjorie Bruce

 

1296 to 1317

 

Married Walter Stewart, 3rd High Steward of Scotland

 

Ancestor of the Stuarts, Kings of Scotland and the English/British Royal Families

 

Died aged 21

 

David II of Scotland

 

5 March 1324 to 22 February 1371

 

Married Joan of the Tower, daughter of Edward II

 

Married Margaret Logie

 

Robert Bruce, Lord of Liddersdale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walter de Fauconberg

 

Died 1361

 

Lord of Skelton, Marske, Upleatham and Kirkleatham, 1349 to 1361

 

 

 

 

Robert II of Scotland (Blear Eyed)

 

2 March 1316 to 19 April 1390

 

Robert Stewart, the first monarch of the House of Stuart (reigned 22 February 1371 to 19 April 1390

 

Married Elizabeth Mure

 

Married Euphemia de Ross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sir Thomas de Fauconberg

 

1345 to 1407

 

Lord of Skelton, Marske, Upleatham and Kirkleatham, 1361 to 1403

 

He inherited two-thirds of the estate, whilst his mother, Isobel, received the other third.

 

In 1403 the estate, by reason of Sir Thomas’s insanity, was put into the custody of King Henry IV who, later, placed it in the custody of Robert and John Conyers.

 

 

Sir Roger de Fauconberg

 

Robert III of Scotland

 

5 March 1337 to 4 April 1406

 

John Stewart, Earl of Carrick before his Coronation

 

Married Annabella Drummond of Stobhall

 

Reigned 19 April 1390 to 4 April 1406

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walter de Fauconberg

 

d 1407

 

In 1407 the estate settled on Walter de Fauconberg.

 

He was the son of Sir Roger de Fauconberg, who was a brother of Sir Thomas. Walter died in the same year that he inherited the estate, which then passed to his daughter, Joan

 

Margaret Stewart, Elizabeth Stewart, David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, Mary Stewart

 

James I of Scotland

 

25 July 1394 to 21 February 1437

 

Married Joanna Beaufort, daughter of the Earl of Somerset

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joan Fauconberg

 

c1406 to 1490

 

Joan married Sir William Neville (died 1462)

 

She inherited the estate as an infant. She was described as an ‘idiot’ from birth. The castle passed, via her marriage, to her husband, Sir William Neville, who was made Earl of Kent by Edward IV in 1461. They made alterations to the castle in 1428

 

 

 

James II of Scotland

 

16 October 1430 to 3 August 1460

 

Married Mary of Guelders

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alicia Neville

 

1437 to 1490

 

Alicia married Sir John Conyers (1435 to 1469), later Lord Conyers.

 

John Conyers was Lord of Skelton, 1407 to 1469

 

Alicia was Lady of Skelton from 1469 to 1490

 

 

 

 

James III of Scotland

 

10 July 1451 to 11 June 1488

 

Married Margaret of Denmark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sir William Conyers

 

1468 to 1524

 

Lord of Skelton, 1490 to 1524

 

He inherited the castle in 1490.

 

He married Lady Anne Neville (1475 to 1550)

 

 

 

James IV of Scotland

 

17 March 1473 to 9 September 1513

 

Married Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII of England

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sir Christopher Conyers

 

c1491 to 14 June 1538

 

Lord of Skelton, 1524 to 1538

 

He married Anne Dacre (1501 to 1548)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jane Conyers

 

1522 to 1558

Leonard Conyers

 

1524 to 1577

John, Lord Conyers

 

1525 to 1557

 

Lord of Skelton 1538 to 1557

 

Married Maud Clifford

 

Died intestate and no provision had been made by him for an equitable division of his possessions and lands which included areas beyond Skelton.

 

There is a record of friction between the husbands of the 3 daughters regarding their shares and it is said that they deliberately allowed the Castle to fall into disrepair.

 

Elizabeth Conyers

 

1531 to 1558

 

 

James V of Scotland

 

10 April 1512 to 14 December 1542

 

Married Madeleine of France

 

Married Mary of Guise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ann Conyers

 

1540 to 1567

 

Married Anthony Kempe

 

Sold part of the Skelton estate to Robert Trotter

 

Elizabeth Conyers

 

1545 to 1572

 

Married Thomas D’Arcy

Catharine Conyers

 

1554 to 1622

 

Married John Atherton, Sheriff of Lancashire

 

John Atherton opened Springbank alum works at Slapewath c 1603, perhaps with the D’Arcys, probably the first alum works in north-east Yorkshire

 

Margaret Conyers

 

b 1556

Mary, Queen of Scots

 

8 December 1542 to 24 July 1567

 

Married the Dauphin (later Francis II) of France

 

Married Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley

 

Married James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell

 

Reigned 1542 to 1567

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Trotter

 

d 1611

 

Lord of Skelton, 1577 to 1611

 

 

 

 

 

James VI of Scotland and I of England

 

19 June 1566 to 27 March 1625

 

Married Anne of Denmark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Henry Trotter

 

d 1623

 

Lord of Skelton, 1611 to 1623

 

 

 

 

Charles I of England, Ireland and Scotland

 

19 November 1600 to 30 January 1649

 

Married Henrietta Maria of France

 

Elizabeth Stuart

 

19 August 1596 to 13 February 1662

 

Married Frederick V, Elector of Palatine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

George Trotter

 

Lord of Skelton, 1623 to ?

 

Charles II

 

29 May 1630 to 6 February 1685

 

Reigned from 29 May 1660 after the Commonwealth

 

Mary, Princess of Orange

 

4 November 1631 to 24 December 1660

 

Mary Henrietta Stuart

 

Married William II, Prince of Orange

 

 

 

James VII and II

 

14 October 1633 to 16 September 1701

 

Reigned 6 February 1685 to 23 December 1688

 

Married Anne Hyde

 

Married Mary of Modena

 

Sophia of Hanover

 

14 October 1630 to 8 June 1714

 

Married Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover

 

 

 

 

Go under

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edward Trotter

 

d 1708

 

Lord of Skelton, ? to 1708

 

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Married Mary Lowther

 

From 1668 to 1671 he was involved in opening Selby Hagg alum works, near present day Hagg Farm, and Saltburn Alum House, behind Cat Nab, on behalf of his father-in-law, Sir John Lowther

 

 

William III (William of Orange)

 

4 November 1650 to 8 March 1702

 

Married Mary II of England

 

William and Mary reigned 1689 to 8 March 1702

 

Mary II of England

 

30 April 1662 to 28 December 1694

 

Married William of Orange

 

William and Mary reigned 1689 to 8 March 1702

 

 

Queen Anne

 

6 February 1665 to 1 August 1714

 

Reigned as Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1702 and as Queen of Great Britain and Ireland from 1707

 

Married Prince George of Denmark

 

James Francis Edward Stuart

 

10 June 1688 to 1 January 1766

 

Married Maria Clementina Sobieska

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Humphrey Wharton

 

1568 to 1 January 1635

 

Bought Gilling Manor from Ralph Bowes of Barnes in November 1607 and built Gillingwood Hall, a fine Jacobean mansion later inherited by his grandson

John Trotter

 

Lord of Skelton, 1708 to ?

 

 

 

 

Charles Edward Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie

 

31 December 1720 to 30 January 1788

 

Married Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedem

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Sophia of Hanover

 

 

Thomas Wharton

 

c 1594 to c 1640

Lawson Trotter

 

Lord of Skelton, ? to 1727

 

Died without issue

Catherine Trotter

 

Married Joseph Hall (d 1733), Lord of Skelton 1727 to 1733

 

 

 

 

George I

 

28 May 1660 to 11 June 1727

 

Reigned from 1714 to 1727

 

Married Sophia Dorothea of Celle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Humphrey Wharton of Gillingwood

 

1626 to 1694

 

Practising barrister

 

Matriculated Queen’s College, Oxford in 1641

 

John Hall Stevenson

 

 

1718 to 1785

 

Lord of Skelton, 1733 to 1785

 

Married Anne Stevenson and added Stevenson to his surname

 

John was an author and friend of Laurence Sterne, who wrote The Life and Times of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

 

He had a reputation for throwing wild parties for his friends (including Lawrence Sterne, Zachary Moore and Panty Lascelles) who were known collectively as the Demoniacs

 

He was something of a hypochondriac and wouldn’t get out of bed if there was an east wind blowing. The story goes that Sterne paid a youth to fix the weathervane, so it never showed an east wind. The castle at this time was in a state of disrepair, earning for itself the nickname Crazy Castle

 

 

 

 

George II

 

30 October 1683 to 25 October 1760

 

Married Caroline of Ansbach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frederick, Prince of Wales

 

31 January 1707 to 31 March 1751

 

Married Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha

 

 

 

Margaret Hicks

 

Married Anthony Wharton of Gillingwood

 

Joseph William Hall Stevenson

 

1742 to 1786

 

Lord of Skelton, 1785 to 1786

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

George III

 

4 June 1738 to 29 January 1820

 

Married Charlotte of Meckelenburg-Strelitz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Thomas Wharton

Anne (Wharton) Stevenson

 

10 August 1695 to 19 July 1724

John Wharton (born Hall Stevenson)

 

 

21 June 1765 to 29 May 1843

 

Lord of Skelton, 1786 to 1843

 

On 3 May 1788, he took the surname of Wharton only by sign manual on succeeding to the fortune and estates of his aunt, Mrs Margaret Wharton.

 

He then demolished the old Skelton Castle and between 1788 and 1817 built a similarly named Gothic country house in its place

 

He acquired the Kilton estate, probably in about 1790

 

There was a sale at Skelton Castle to raise funds in 1818

 

Ran up large debts and on 6 December 1827, he was confined in Fleet Debtors Prison, London

 

Landowner and MP

 

Rev William Hall Wharton, MA, Vicar of Gilling

 

Married Charlotte, daughter of Thomas, first Lord Dundas

 

George IV

 

12 August 1762 to 26 June 1830

 

Married Caroline of Brunswick

William IV

 

21 August 1765 to 20 June 1837

 

Married Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn

 

2 November 1767 to 23 January 1820

 

Married Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Thomas Wharton

 

 

9 March 1809 to 1 March 1900

 

Lord of Skelton, 1843 to 1900

 

James Charles Wharton

Queen Victoria

 

20 June 1837 to 22 January 1901

 

Married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

William Henry Anthony Wharton

 

 

14 November 1859 to 12 December 1938

 

Lord of Skelton, 1900 to 1938

 

Married Harriot Emily Yeoman

 

Commanding Officer of the 4th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, the Green Howards, prior to the outbreak of the First World War

 

Philip Thomas Wharton

Edward VII

 

9 November 1841 to 6 May 1910

 

Married Alexandra of Denmark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Margaret Winsome Ringrose-Wharton

 

 

3 October 1894 to 4 February 1991

 

Lady of Skelton, 1938 to 1991

 

Married Captain Christopher Hilyard Ringrose.

 

Mrs Ringrose Wharton took an active part in running the estate and supported many activities in the local community.

 

There were no children from this marriage and so the estate passed to Anthony

 

 

Lawrence Humphrey Wharton

George V

 

3 June 1865 to 20 January 1936

 

Married Mary of Teck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Major Anthony Charles Philip Wharton DL

 

 

10 August 1946 to 9 January 2026

 

Lord of Skelton, 1991 to 2026

 

 

 

 

Following the death of Major Anthony Charles Philip Wharton DL on 9 January 2026, the individual expected to inherit the family's ultimate lineage of the Skelton and Gilling Estates remains publicly unannounced

 

Edward VIII

 

23 June 1894 to 28 May 1972

 

Married Wallis Simpson

 

Reigned 20 January to 11 December 1936 then abdicated

 

 

 

George VI

 

29 January 1936 to 11 December 1936

 

Married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elizabeth II

 

21 April 1926 to 8 September 2022

 

Married Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charles III

 

b 14 November 1948

 

Married Diana Spencer

 

 

Married Camilla Parker Bowles (nee Shand)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

William, Prince of Wales

 

b 21 June 1982

 

Married Catherine Middleton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prince George of Wales

 

b 22 July 2013