22. Robert de Harley to the Lacons
The death of Robert de Harley in 1349, brought to an end around 250 years when a Lord was resident in Harley village. They played multiple roles as judge and jury, protector and semi-royal presence.
Robert, the last resident Lord of Harley, who held the Manor from 1316 to his death 1349, was married to Margaret (nee Brampton) as reported above.
They both died in 1349, Margaret on the 25 June. This means that it is highly probable that they both died of the Plague.
However, they had a son who they named Robert. This Robert Harley also held the Harley Manor, after the death of his father, but did not live in Harley. He probably went to live in Brampton Bryan castle which had been in the family estate since 1309. He had married Joan or Joanne Corbet around 1360, when she was then 28. Joan was born in 1332 and died Ist December 1403.The Corbets owned large areas of Shropshire.
Robert died intestate in 1370.
In 1370 the manor was settled jointly on Peter Cornwall and Robert’s widow, Joan, but by 1376, 26 years after Robert died it was held by Joan alone.
In 1395, 46 years after Robert died, Joan married John Darras. By 1400 her estates were settled on herself for life, with the remainder to Henry de Grendon and his wife Elizabeth (Peshall) (b.1380)
Henry de Grendon was a Rector of Grendon, a village in north-west Warwickshire. Elizabeth was the only grand- daughter of Robert de Harley and his wife Joan.
After the death of Henry, Elizabeth subsequently married (Sir) Richard Lacon between February 1406 and May 1411. Most of Richard’s landed property came to him through his marriage to Elizabeth, who brought six manors into the marriage. These included Willey, Harley and Peshall.
(Sir) Richard Lacon was born in c1378 and died in 1446 aged 68. Elizabeth Lacon was born about 1379 and was 27 when she married Richard Lacon. He was c 28. She died in 1438 aged 57.
Sir Richard Lacon was Lord of Harley Manor by 1428 aged 50. Richard and Elizabeth had two children Anne and William. William was born about 1436 and had a son who was named Richard (b.1445)
This (Sir) Richard Lacon was born in 1445, died in 1503, aged 68 and was born at Willey, Barrow, Salop. He was from a junior branch of the Lacon family who were from Lacon near Wem, Salop.
Richard was married twice. His first marriage was to (Lady) Alice Hoord who was born in 1443 in Bridgnorth. Her father Thomas Hoord was a Sheriff of Shropshire. She married Richard at Willey in 1462 when she was 19, Alice died the same year. The cause of her death is not recorded but she may possibly have died giving birth. They had one child who they named Joan. Another source claims they had three children.If this is true, then having triplets, when two died, could be the cause of her death.
Quickly, after the death of Alice, Richard married a woman recorded as N.N.Lygon. The marriage appears to have produced four boys and three girls.
For more detailed information see the entry for the Monumental Brass in the Research Appendix
The son of Sir Richard Lacon William Lacon inherited all the landed property.
By the late 14th century Shropshire landowners had almost entirely withdrawn from actual cultivation of the land. They rented out their demesne to tenants. Turbulent and uncertain times, due to the lingering effect of the Black Death, labour scarcities and rising wages, made direct farming hard to manage. Landed families judged that they were better off with a predictable rental income rather than trying to farm themselves.