A Stump Descendant
A fascinating story, of hard work, opportunism, murder, and the rise to power of the successful family of a weaver from North Nibley. This was the story that the Stinchcombe History Society was told by Historian Tony McAleavy last Friday 8th in the Village Hall. The story was of a man called William Stumpe who was a just poor weaver in North Nibley but set off to make his fortune in the 1500’s.
The King is a direct descendant of a man from North Nibley!
In around the year 1500 William Stumpe moved to Malmesbury where he became extremely wealthy as a result, first, of his successful business making wool cloth and, second, by the way he obtained control of much of the property of Malmesbury Abbey after the Dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in 1539. Tony McAleavy, a local historian from Malmesbury, has investigated William Stumpe’s family tree and discovered that King Charles III is a direct lineal descendant of the man from North Nibley. Some seventeen generations separated the King from his North Nibley ancestor. The following chart supplied by Tony shows the direct line of descent from Stumpe to our King today.
| Generation | Decendant |
|---|---|
| 1st | William Stumpe of North Nibley (died 1552) married Joyce Berkeley |
| 2nd | Sir James Stumpe (died 1562) married Bridget Baynton |
| 3rd | Elizabeth Stumpe later Lady Elizabeth Knyvett (died 1587) married Sir Henry Knyvett |
| 4th | Katherine Knyvett later Countess of Suffolk (died 1633) married Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk |
| 5th | Lady Katherine Howard later Countess of Salisbury (died 1673) married William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury |
| 6th | Lady Elizabeth Cecil later Countess of Devonshire (died 1689) married William Cavendish 3rd Earl of Devonshire |
| 7th | William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire (died 1707) married Lady Mary Butler |
| 8th | William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire (died 1729) married Lady Rachel Russell |
| 9th | William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire (died 1755) married Catherine Hoskins |
| 10th | William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire (died 1764) married Lady Charlotte Boyle |
| 11th | Lady Dorothy Cavendish, later Duchess of Portland (died 1794) married William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland |
| 12th | Lord Charles Bentinck (died 1826) married |
| 13th | Rev. Charles Cavendish-Bentinck (died 1865) married Caroline Burnaby |
| 14th | Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck later Countess of Strathmore (died 1938) married Claude Bowes-Lyon, Earl of Strathmore |
| 15th | Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon later Queen Elizabeth (died 2002) married King George VI |
| 16th | Queen Elizabeth II (died 2022) married Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh |
| 17th | King Charles III |
