Description: Eldest son of Lord Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby. More commonly known as Lord Strange. Married Joan le Strange, 9th Baroness Strange, in 1482.
Their children were:
John Stanley (d. 1503); Thomas Stanley, 2nd Earl of Derby (1485-1521); James Stanley, Knight (1486-1562), who founded the branch of the family known as the 'Stanleys of Bickerstaffe', from which the 11th Earl of Derby and all subsequent Earls descend; George Stanley; Jane Stanley, married Sir Robert Sheffield (died 15 November 1531, son of Robert Sheffield and Helen Delves) and had a son, Edmund Sheffield, 1st Baron Sheffield; Elizabeth Stanley and Margaret Stanley.
He was invested as a Knight of the Order of the Bath in 1475 by King Edward IV. He held the offices of Constable of Pontefract Castle and Constable of Knaresborough Castle in 1485. He was present at the battle of Bosworth Field, but was held captive by Richard III because of his father's actions. He held the office of Constable of Wicklow Castle in 1486 and became Chief Justice of the Duchy of Lancaster in 1486. In 1487 he was invested with the Order of the Garter and made a Privy Counsellor.
(Information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Stanley,_9th_Baron_Strange)
The Stanley family was descended from Ligulf of Aldithley, who was also the ancestor of the Audleys (see Audley-Stanley family - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audley-Stanley_family). Alison Plowde writes in 'Lords of the Land' (pp69-101) that the earliest Stanley ancestor is Liulf or Lydulph of Aldithley, Aldelegh or Audley who lived in the mid 12th century and this is confirmed by BurkeÆs Peerage which says Adam de Stanley brother of Lydulph had a son William who was granted Stanley and half of Balterley in Staffordshire by LydulphÆs son Adam de Audley. It is likely that he took the name Stanley from that place. (With thanks to Sue Hulse for the information and clarification on the Stanley family).
They were the third creation of Earls of Derby in 1485.
The senior line of the descendants of Thomas Stanley and Eleanor (or Alainor) Neville continued to hold the Earldom of Derby until the 1736 death of James Stanley, 10th Earl of Derby, and the title passed to a junior branch, the Baronets Stanley of Bickerstaffe, which still holds the title (from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Stanley,_1st_Earl_of_Derby).
There is no connection to Derbyshire with this line of the Earls of Derby and it is wrongly reported that Stoneleigh is in Derbyshire. The Stoneleigh mentioned is most likely in Staffordshire and the Stanley family's seat, at least from the 8th Earl of Derby onwards, is actually Knowsley in West Derby, near Liverpool.
This image is one of a collection by the famous local antiquarian, Thomas Bateman, of Middleton by Youlgreave. (1821-1861). Bateman organized his collection by inserting them into a 4 volume copy of Lysons Magna Britannia, Derbyshire, creating a fascinating and unique illustrated record of the county. The purchase of the collection for Derbyshire Libraries was made possible by the generous bequest of Miss Frances Webb of Whaley Bridge, well known local historian, who died in December 2006.