Patrick Comerford
I was writing at the weekend about William Stanley (1474-1552) of Comberford Hall, between Lichfield and Tamworth, and how I came across his will in the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford, where it is part of the Weld Family Papers, including papers of the Stanley, Heveningham, Simeon, Weld and Eyre families, dating from 1293 to 1809.
William Stanley was the second son of Sir Humphrey Stanley of Pipe Hall and Dame Ellen Lee. He came to live at Comberford Hall when he married the much younger Margaret Comberford (1494-1568), daughter of Thomas Comberford of Comberford and Dorothy FitzHerbert. She was a sister of Humphrey Comberford, of Comberford Hall and Master of the Guild of Saint Mary and Saint John the Baptist in 1530; Richard Comberford, the putative ancestor of the Comerfords of Kilkenny and Wexford; Henry Comberford, Precentor of Lichfield Cathedral; and John Comberford of Wednesbury.
William and Margaret had probably married late in life, when he was in his late 50s and she was in her 30s, and they were the parents of an only daughter Dorothy Stanley (1530-1587), who married her cousin Christopher Heveningham (1540-1574) of Pipe Hall. Yet, despite this late marriage and having only one child, the descendants of William Stanley and Margaret Comberford continued to live in the Lichfield area for many generations and for centuries long after they died.
The lines of descent from William and Margaret are tangled, confusing and difficult to unravel. But they tell tales of a failed court battles to recover family estates at Pipe, near Lichfield; the intrigues of a schemer who had his wife’s cousins locked up in the Bethlehem Asylum, the original Bedlam in London; illegitimate children written out of their aunt’s will; and the spiralling decline into poverty of descendants of a oncle landed family who became leather workers and tailors in Lichfield, and fell into oblivion in subsequent generations, eventually employed as low-paid housemaids in the Cathedral Close.
These are stories of recusancy in the Elizabethan and Jacobean era, of royalists who lost their estates, of soldier’s lost children brought from Ireland to live in Lichfield, and of young men who went into exile in the West Indies, Jamaica and Virginia. These are stories of downward social mobility, but they also show how the descendants of the Comberford family in the Stanley, Heveningham and Wakelin families, persisted in living in the Lichfield area for 350 years or more after the death of William Stanley of Comberford Hall.
William Stanley and Margaret Comberford had probably married late in life, when he was in his late 50s and she was in her 30s, and they were the parents of an only daughter Dorothy.
Dorothy Stanley (1530-1587), who married her cousin Christopher Heveningham (1540-1574), daughter of Mary Moyle and Erasmus Heveningham. Dorothy and Christopher were the parents of Dorothy Heveningham and Sir Walter Heveningham, of Aston and Pipe, and the descendants of these lines of the Stanley and Comberford families continued to live in the Lichfield area for many generations.
The Heveningham family in Staffordshire is traced back to Erasmus Heveningham of the manor of Aston in Staffordshire and his wife Mary Moyle. Erasmus came to Staffordshire from Ketteringham in Norfolk and he inherited by marriage the Staffordshire estates of Sir John Stanley of Pipe, her maternal grandfather.
Their only child was:
Christopher Heveningham, acquired in 1565 from John Stanley and Jane his wife, a 300-acre estate at Clifton Camvile. He died in 1574, but made no will. He married Dororthy, daughter and only child of William Stanley of Comberford Hall. William Stanley was a brother of John Stanley, father of Isabel, whose daughter Mary Moyle married Erasmus Heveningham – meaning Christopher married his grandmother's first cousin.
Dorothy’s mother, Margaret Comberford , wife of William Stanley, was a daughter of Thomas Comberford of Comberford and his wife Dorothy, daughter of Ralph Fitzherbert of Norbury, Derbyshire.
Dorothy was named in 1581 as one of ‘the most obstinate and dangerous recusants’ in Staffordshire. She paid a fine of £10 a year for herself and her ‘servant’ Katherine Comberford in 1586, when they faced legal penalties for their recusancy. Katherine Comberford was a close family relation, for Dorothy’s mother (Margaret, wife of William Stanley) was a daughter of Thomas Comberford of Comberford and Dorothy (Fitzherbert) of Norbury.
John Comberford of Wednesbury, in his will dated 23 April 1559, left to ‘Cristall Hennyngham’ a black damask gown and left monetary bequests to his sister Margaret Stanley and his niece Dorothy Heveningham.
Dorothy and Christopher Heveningham were the parents of:
1, Walter Heveningham, of whom next.
2, William Heveningham.
3, Erasmus Heveningham.
4, Mary, married Anthony Fitzherbert, strengthening the links with the Comberford family.
5, Dorothy married (as his second wife) Sir Henry Townsend of Count, Shropshire.
The eldest son of Dorothy and Christopher Heveningham:
Sir Walter Heveningham (ca 1552-1636), of Pipe, was about 11 when his father died. He was the High Sheriff of Staffordshire (1609). He married Anne Fitzherbert of Norbury, strengthening the ties of kinship with the Comberford family. He died in 1636. They were the parents of an only son and three daughters:
1, Nicholas Heveningham, only son, of whom next.
2, Mary, who married (1) Richard Brereton of Malpas, Cheshire; and (2) Sylvester Plunket.
3, Margaret, born 1591, married Christopher Horton of Catton, Derbyshire, in Lichfield Cathedral in 1610.
4, Elizabeth.
The only son of Sir Walter Heveningham and Anne Fitzherbert was:
Nicholas Heveningham (ca 1583-1627). He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and died 20 December 1627. He married Elizabeth Bowes, a descendant of the Stanley family of Elford, and they were the parents of three sons:
1, Walter Heveningham (1609-1691), born at Pipe Hall near Lichfield in 1609. He was a Roman Catholic, and was a royalist during the Civil War. He died in Aston, November 1691. He married Mary Middlemore of Edgbaston, also from a Royalist and Recusant family. They had no sons as male heirs, but had two daughters:
• 1a, Mary (1646-1694) married Walter Fowler, and had no children.
• 2a, Bridget, the eventual sole heiress, married Sir James Simeon, who retained Pipe Hall and the Heveningham estates near Lichfield in the face of bitter legal disputes that eventually brought about the financial and social ruin of the Heveningham family. Bridget and James Simeon had three children: Sir Edward Simeon, 2nd Baronet; Sir James Simeon, 3rd Baronet; and Margaret, who married Humphrey Weld of Lulworth Castle, Dorset. The estates of Aston and Pipe Hall then passed to the Weld family.
2, Simon Heveningham (ca 1617-1699), of whom next.
3, Christopher Heveningham, of Pipe, educated went to Trinity College, Oxford (BA 1632, MA 1635). He fought as a royalist during the civil war, and died unmarried.
The second son of Elizabeth (Bowes) and Nicholas Heveningham:
Simon Heveningham (ca 1617-1699). He was born ca 1617. Unlike the Puritan and Whig Heveninghams of Suffolk, the Staffordshire branch were Cavaliers, and mostly ‘Recusants’. Pipe Hall was plundered by Roundhead soldiers about the time that Heveningham Church was desecrated by Puritan fanatics. Simon married Katherine Alport and they were the parents of three sons and a daughter:
1, John Heveningham, born after 1658; died 1689-1691 in the Bethlehem Asylum (Bedlam), London.
2, Henry Heveningham, born after 1658; died 25 November 1701 in the Bethlehem Asylum (Bedlam), London.
3, Christopher Heveningham (1658-1737), of whom next.
4, Dorothy, living unmarried in 1691.
The three brothers, John, Henry and Christopher, were educated abroad as Roman Catholics. When they returned to England, Sir James Simeon, who had married their first cousin Bridget, had John and Henry committed to the Bethlehem Asylum or Bedlam, London, to prevent them claiming the Heveningham estate that his wife had inherited. John died within a few weeks and Henry died 10 or 12 years later. Simeon also sent the third brother Christopher to the West Indies, where he remained many years and was said to be dead.
However, Christopher returned to England and conformed to the Church of England. This third son of Simon Heveningham was:
Christopher Heveningham (1658-1737). He was born in Lichfield ca 1658, and along with his two older brothers, was educated abroad as a Roman Catholic. After returning to England, he settled in Lichfield and his name is found in the poll-books of Lichfield down to 1718.
He married Mary Brooke, only daughter and heir of William Brooke of Elford in Meryvale Church, near Atherstone, on 28 November 1692. She too was descended from the Stanley family of Elford.
Christopher Heveningham dissipated his wife’s fortune in his legal attempts to recover the Heveningham estates from the Simeon family. Shortly before their marriage, on 11 and 12 November 1692, Mary Brooke mortgaged The Holms and other lands attached to Elford Mills, to Samuel White of Middleton, Warwickshire, as security for repaying £63 on 13 November 1694.
Within five years, in a deed dated 15 April 1699, Samuel White’s interest was transferred to William Lovelace of Clifton Campville. In this deed, Christopher Heveningham is described as late of Elford, now of Burton upon Trent, and Mary his wife as daughter and heir of the late William Brooke, late of Haselour, Staffordshire, 'nephew and heir of John Brooke of Harleston, Staffordshire.
In a final deed, dated 10 May 1700, Isaac Hawkins of Burton upon Trent and William Lovelace assign their interest in the property mortgaged by Christopher and Mary Heveningham, including the Holms, Elford Mills and other lands in Elford, to John Goldsmith of Lichfield, milliner, and Ellinor his wife. By then, Christopher Heveningham was living in Lichfield.
Christopher and his son Henry were on the panel from which the jury was selected in 1718 for the trial in Lichfield of Michael Johnson, father of Samuel Johnson, although only Christopher was selected.
He has been described as ‘a rolling stone’ who wasted his wife’s inheritance in unprofitable litigation, and as consequence his children and their descendants lived in more humble circumstances. He seems to be the ancestor of many Heveningham, Henningham and Wakelin families who continued to live for generations in Lichfield, Wolverhampton and the South Staffordshire and Birmingham areas.
Towards the end of his life, Christopher Heveningham moved to Tenford, near Cheadle, Staffordshire, where he bought a house from Edward Hale. He made his will on 23 November 1737 and it was proved in the Lichfield Diocesan Court on 3 March 1738. The inventory totals £25 6s 11d. His wife Mary had died in 1721 was buried from Saint Mary’s Church, Lichfield, on 4 April 1721.
Mary and Christopher Heveningham were the parents of five sons and a daughter:
1, Ann Heveningham (1692-1692), born in Elford, and died in infancy in Elford.
2, Henry Heveningham (1693-1748), of Spade Green on Abnall’s Lane, Lichfield, of whom next.
3, Walter Heveningham (1694-1734), fellmonger (leather trade), of Lichfield, born 1695, baptised in Elford 11 January 1695. He died in 1734 and was buried at Saint Michael’s, Lichfield, on 19 June 1734. His will is dated 7 April 1734 and was proved in Lichfield on 7 February 1735.
4, Christopher Heveningham (1698-1748), of whom after his brother Henry.
5, Brooke Heveningham (1700-1703), baptised at Saint Mary’s, Lichfield, on 11 January 1700, buried in June 1703. 6, Henrietta Maria, born Lichfield 170, baptised in Saint Chad’s 11 January 1701. She married (1) John Rumbold of Eccleshall, near Stafford,12 April 1722; (2) William Picken of Eccleshall, 2 July 1732.
7, Brooke Heveningham (1703-1773), of Lichfield and Tenford, near Cheadle. He was born in Lichfield in 1703, and baptised on 1 June 1703 in Saint Mary’s. He was left his father’s personal estate, including the messuage at Tenford. He died in 1773 and was buried on 25 April 1773 at Saint Mary’s.
The eldest son of Mary and Christopher Heveningham:
Henry Heveningham (1693-1748) was baptised at Elford on 8 February 1693. He was married three times: (1), Mary Ledward, married in Saint Mary’s, Lichfield, on 13 February 1715, died 1716, buried 23 June 1716 at Saint Michael’s, Lichfield; (2), Dorothy (‘Dorillio’) Walters in Saint Michael’s, Lichfield, on 16 February 1717, died 1734, buried at Saint Michael’s, 20 June 1734; (3), Mary Perry (1693-1768), ca 1730.
At the end of his days, Henry Heveningham was living in Woodhouses, west of Lichfield. Woodhouses, with neighbouring Burntwood and Ediall, was part of Saint Michael’s Parish Lichfield, and Pipe Hall manor house is in Woodhouses. Henry died in 1748 and was buried at Hammerwich on 4 February 1748.
His widow later moved to Highgate, near London, and in her will, dated 7 January 1763, she left all her property to her daughter Mary Heveningham, including seven acres in Saint Michael’s Parish, Lichfield.
Henry’s children seem to have included:
1, John Heveningham.
2, Charles Heveningham (1737-1782), mercer and draper, of Dam Street, Lichfield, of whom later.
3, Thomas Heveningham (ca 1743-1823), mercer and draper, of North Street, Wolverhampton. He was twice married: (1) Elizabeth Reeve in Saint Michael’s, Lichfield, on 11 April 1774; (2) Sara Fleeming in Kingswinford, Staffordshire, on 31 March 1791. He died in Wolverhampton on 23 April 1823, and his widow Sara died in 1833. In all, he was the father 19 children, and their descendants are scattered widely.
Other sources say Henry was also the father of:
1, Edward Heveningham, who died in 1758 and was buried in Saint Chad’s, Lichfield, 26 August 1758; his only son, also Edward Heveningham, had no children; his daughter Mary was buried at Saint Chad’s on 2 May 1753.
2, John Heveningham, living in 1764, and identified with the father of John Heveingham of Chesterfield County, Virginia, who made his will on 18 December 1809.
The second named son of Mary and Henry Heveningham was:
Charles Heveningham (1737-1782), mercer and draper, of Dam Street, Lichfield. He was born in Lichfield in 1737, and it is said he spent part of his childhood in Pipe Hall. He was a Roman Catholic. He married Mary Robinson in Appleby, Leicestershire, on 6 June 1771. He died in Lichfield and was buried at Saint Michael’s on 6 May 1782; his wife Mary died in 1820, and was buried at Saint Michael’s on 25 October 1820.
Mary (Robinson) and Charles Heveningham were the parents of:
1, Charles Heveningham (1772-1800), born in Lichfield 9 July 1772, died in Jamaica 1800, in the same year as his mother.
2, Elizabeth Heveningham (1774-1823), born in Lichfield 18 August 1774, died 1823. She married in Saint Philip’s Church, Birmingham, ca 1800 to William Warner of Kitwell Hall, Worcestershire. Their daughter Margaret (born 6 June, 1827) married as her third husband Sir John Judkin-Fitzgerald (1787-1860), 2nd Baronet, of Lisheen, Co Tipperary.
3, Henry Heveningham (1776-1807), born Lichfield 7 June 1776, died unmarried in Manchester 1807, buried at Bridgewater Street Wesleyan Chapel on 5 July 1807.
4, Mary Heveningham (1777-1849).
5, John Heveningham ( 1778-1785), buried 10 April 1785 at Saint Michael’s, Lichfield. 6, George Heveningham (1782-1782), died an infant, buried 29 September 1782 in the same grave as his father.
The third son of Mary and Christopher Heveningham was:
Christopher Heveningham (1698-1748), currier in the leather trade, of Lichfield. He was born in Elford and was baptised on 6 December. 1698. He married Mary Saxelby (1694-1744) of Abbot’s Bromley. He lived in Lichfield and his name appears in the poll books in Lichfield in 1721 and 1727.
Mary died in Lichfield in 1744 and was buried at Saint Michael’s on 22 April 1744; Christopher Heveningham died in Lichfield in 1748 and was buried on 28 February 1748 at Saint Michael’s. They seem to have been the parents of three sons and two daughters:
1, Edward Heveningham (1721-1760), born in Lichfield in 1721, and baptised in Saint Mary’s 21 April 1721. He joined the army and some accounts say he moved to America in 1747 and may have descendants living in the US. Other accounts say he married Mary …, and settled with her and their sons Edward and John in the hamlet of Woodhouses west of Lichfield in 1759, a daughter Anne having died in Lichfield in 1758. Edward died in 1760, and was buried at Saint Chad’s on 30 June 1760.
2, Thomas Heveningham, apprenticed to his father Christopher, a currier, and was living after 1754.
3, Joseph Heveningham (1729-1765) of Lichfield, possibly Joseph Henningham who married Mrs Mary Harris in Saint Martin’s Church, Birmingham, on 7 June 1789.
4, Mary (1727-1806), born in Lichfield in 1727 and baptised on 1 March 1727 in Saint Mary’s. She and her sister Arabella later went to live with the Weld family at Lulworth Castle, Dorset. She married the Revd Daniel William Remington, later a canon of Lichfield Cathedral, in Hall Green Chapel, Yardley, Birmingham, on 15 March 1754. She died in Lichfield on 21 February 1806. Her husband was the Vicar of Saint Mary’s, Lichfield, and Sub-Chanter of Lichfield Cathedral.
5, Arabella Heveningham (d 1820) of the Cathedral Close, Lichfield. In her will dated 7 September 1814, she mentions her niece Mary White, and Mary White’s son, Thomas Henry White.
The third child and second son of Mary and Christopher Heveningham was:
Joseph Heveningham (1729-1765), born in Lichfield 1729 and baptised in Saint Mary’s 20 December 1729. Joseph may have followed his elder brother, Edward into the army. He died in Lichfield in 1765. A pencilled note or marginal entry in a Heveningham pedigree in the William Salt Library, Stafford, says he was the father of Arabella Heveningham. Her mother’s name is unknown, no marriage has been found for Joseph, and the 1851 census shows that Arabella was born in Ireland.
Arabella Heveningham (1765-1854), of The Close, Lichfield. She was born in Ireland ca 1764/1765. Both Arabella Heveningham (d 1820) and Canon Edward Remington (d 1832) of Lichfield left legacies to Arabella and her children.
In her will, the elder Arabella Heveningham, who died in 1820, left an annuity for life of £20 16s 0d, paying an income of 8 shillings a week, to Arabella Wakelin (formerly Arabella Heveningham) of Lichfield, widow, and left legacies to her three daughters Mary, Ann and Susanna, and bequests to her sons by Thomas Wakelin.
The younger Arabella Heveningham married Thomas Wakelin (1770-1802) in 1788, when the Revd Edward Remington officiated at their wedding. Thomas was the son of George Wakelin of Wolverhampton and Susanna White of Stowe, Lichfield. He was a tailor, breeches maker and glover and lived in Bore Street, Lichfield.
Arabella and Thomas Wakelin were the parents of seven children, three sons who received bequests of £5 each and four daughters, of whom three received bequests of £10 each in the will of her aunt Arabella Heveningham:
1, Mary Wakelin, born in Lichfield 1789, baptised Saint Mary’s, 25 October 1789; she married John Burgess in Saint Mary’s, Lichfield, on 18 January 1809.
2, Elizabeth Wakelin, born Lichfield 1791, baptised Saint Mary’s, 3 October 1791, believed to have died young.
3, Francis Thomas Wakelin (1793-1853) of Lichfield, of whom next.
4, Ann Wakelin, born Lichfield 1795, baptised Saint Mary’s, 11 November 1795, she married Philip Thompson in Saint Mary’s, Lichfield, on 24 July 1814.
5,Thomas Wakelin (1798-post 1861), tailor, of Lichfield. Born in Lichfield in 1798, baptised Saint Mary’s 8 April 1798. He was admitted a freeman of Lichfield before William Morgan, Senior Bailiff, Thomas Bown, Master, and John Larkin, Warden, on 13 July 1826. He later lived in Birmingham. He married Sarah Hughes of Tamworth in Saint Martin’s, Birmingham, in 1822, and they were the parents of five daughters and five sons.
6, Susanna Wakelin, born Lichfield 1800, baptised Saint Mary’s, 27 July 1800.
7, Samuel Wakelin born Lichfield 1802, baptised Saint Mary’s, 16 May 1802.
After her husband Thomas Wakelin died in 1802, Arabella (Heveningham) Wakelin was the mother of three further children born between 1806 and 1811. Although their father’s name is not known, she gave them the Wakelin name when they were baptised:
8, Charles Augustus Wakelin, born Lichfield 1806, baptised Saint Michael’s, 18 February, 1806. He may have married Sara Wright.
9, Caroline Wakelin, born Lichfield ca 1808-1811, baptised, Saint Michael’s, 29 August 1811, with her brother Louis.
10, Louis Wakelin (1811-1863) born Lichfield 1811, baptised Saint Michael’s, 29 August 1811, with his sister Caroline. He was married twice: (1) Ann Smith, in Saint George’s, Birmingham, 29 July 1832; (2) Mary Smith, in Birmingham, 27 December 1847. He was living on Stowe Street, Lichfield, in 1851, with his mother.
When Arabella was about 70, she married Sampson Robinson (1776-1850) of the Swan (now Swan Cottage), Blithbury, as his second wife in Mavesyn Ridware, Staffordshire, on 30 June 1835. After he died, she was living with her son Louis and his family in Stowe Street, Lichfield, at the time of the 1851 census, when she says she was born in Ireland. When Arabella died on 4 March 1854, she is described as an Inn Keeper, although it is not known at which inn Arabella was the inn keeper.
The eldest son of Arabella (Heveningham) and Thomas Wakelin was:
Francis Thomas Wakelin (1793-1853), tailor, of Lichfield. He was born in Lichfield in 1793 and was baptised in Saint Mary’s, Lichfield, on 29 April 1793. Francis inherited £5 from his great aunt, Arabella Heveningham, in 1820, and he inherited £50 from the Revd Edward Remington in 1832.
He an apprentice to Thomas Worrall of Lichfield, a tailor and a freeman of the Company of Tailors, for seven years. He was admitted to the Taylor’s Company, Lichfield, on 24 July 1817, before George Dodson and Dr Francis Sachaverell Darwin, Bailliffs of Lichfield, and Stephen Simpson, Town Clerk. He was a journeyman tailor and lodging at 89 Stowe Street, Lichfield, in 1851. He died in 1853. He married Ann Taylor (1795-1844) in Aston Juxta, Birmingham, on 26 December 1815, and they were the parents of three sons eight daughters, including:
1, Susanna Wakelin (1820-1854), a lady’s maid with the Mott family in the Close, Lichfield. John Mott (1787-1869), who rebuilt No 20 on the Cathedral Close, was Sheriff of Lichfield in 1836 and Mayor of Lichfield in 1850.
2, Francis Wakelin (1822-1889), baptised in Lichfield 6 January 1822, died in Walsall 1889. He married Jane Withnall and they were the parents of Elizabeth (Whitehead), Bertha (Pople) and Herbert Wakelin.
3, Arthur Wakelin (1824-1895), born in Lichfield, 23 September 1824, died 22 August 1895 aged 70 in West Bromwich. He married Mary Ann Wheelwright in Lichfield on 23 September 1848, and they were the parents of Evangeline Maria (Wakelin) Bowerman.
4, Sarah Wakelin (born Lichfield 1831), was a housemaid with the Mott family in the Close, Lichfield.
I am quite sure that through these families there are descendants of the Comberford family who continue to live in the Lichfield area.
Sources and references include:
The Visitations of Staffordshire and Warwickshire.
Michael Greenslade, Catholic Staffordshire 1500-1850 (Gracewing, 2006).
The Heveningham family tree on Geni (last accessed 21 July 2025).
‘The Heveningham Family of Staffordshire’ (last accessed 21 July 2025).
The St. Leger-May Family Home Page (last accessed 21 July 2025).
‘Townships: Wall with Pipehill’, in A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 14, Lichfield, ed MW Greenslade (London, 1990), pp 283-294. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/staffs/vol14/pp283-294 (last accessed 21 July 2025).
‘Burntwood: Manors, local government and public services’, in A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 14, Lichfield, ed MW Greenslade (London, 1990), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/staffs/vol14/pp205-220 (last accessed 21 July 2025).
