Geoffrey de Cornwall, 3rd Baron of Burford

GEOFFREY DE CORNWALL, THIRD BARON OF BURFORD / 1335 - 1365

    Geoffrey was born in Stapleton Castle (Herefordshire) on 8th September 1335, the son of Sir Richard Cornwall and Sybil de Botringham, and baptised the same day at Saint Andrews Church in Presteinde (Powys, Wales).  His first nurse / nanny was called Joan le Wodeward.  Nothing is known of any siblings he may have had.......His father died soon after his eighth birthday, in October 1343, and he was made a ward of William de Cusancia.  His paternal grandmother, Margaret de Mortimer, died around the end of 1345, adding further to his pending inheritance.  Three years after this, in May 1349, with Richard aged thirteen, his mother also died.  By then he was a ward of the Earl of Warwick (Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl -- Marshall of England at the time), who it seems was at least as interested in the profit to be made from the arrangements as he was with Geoffrey's welfare!!.......Geoffrey married a woman called Cecily (Seymour) and he was granted two of the manors from his future inheritance, while still only nineteen, likely due to the responsibilities arising from the birth of his first son, Brian.  He proved his age a couple of days after his twenty - first birthday and came into his inheritance of the Barony of Burford soon afterwards.  Geoffrey and Cecily also had a son Richard, possibly another son Geoffrey, and daughter Ellen.......In 1358 he was accused, along with his uncle Geoffrey and others, of attacking Reynold de la Mare over some old disagreement.  It seems he was closely allied with his uncle Geoffrey, as he also temporarily granted lands in Northamptonshire and Devon to him at some stage.......He was styled 'Sir Geoffrey' in an entry in the Close Rolls, thirty - five years after his death, in 1390.  He may have been called a knight in his inquisitions post mortem, as this title only appears in the heading to his inquisitions in the calendars.  Burke's also claim he was a knight, but I can find no documentation from when he was alive to confirm this.  However, he may well have been on military service when he "died in parts beyond the seas" in 1365.......Cecily survived him by about four years, dying in July 1369, having remarried in the meantime.......Brief details of his children:  1.) Brian, the eldest son and heir, was born in 1355, probably in Stapleton.  He succeeded his father as the 4th Baron of Burford, and was knighted.  He died, without any surviving children, in 1400.  2.) Richard, who succeeded his older brother as the 5th Baron of Burford in 1400 and continuing until his death in 1443.  3.)  Geoffrey, who may or may not have existed.  But if so, nothing is known of him.  4.) Ellen probably existed, but nothing is known of her other than that she was still alive in 1390.

Commentary -- This thoughtful and infomative biography is well documented from primary source documents of the period. To review --genealogy.mallen.org.uk/3182740GeoffreyDeCornwall.html.......It is of interest that both Baron Geoffrey and his uncle, Geoffrey, were essentially sued in 1358, as the Geni profile for "Uncle Geoffrey" has him dying in 1344!! Of greater interest is that there is no reference whatsoever to a daughter named "Alice Cornwall" who, per Geni profile, was married to Lord Mayor of London, Henry Frowyk. The Geni profile for "Alice Cornwall" is notably unsourced.......That Geoffrey de Cornwall "died in parts beyond the seas" in 1365 is eminently plausible, as Geoffrey came of age in the early years of 'The 100 Years War'. Additionally, Edward "The Black Prince" Plantagenet was both 1st Earl of Cornwall, from 1337, and Prince of Aquitaine from 1362 - 1372, highly suggestive that Geoffrey owed more than a little bit of fealty to "The Black Prince".......Geoffrey de Cornwall is interred in Saint Mary's Churchyard in Burford, Shropshire. Immediate family interred in Saint Mary's Churchyard are -- 1.) wife Cecily (Seymour) Cornwall / 1337 - 1370, 2.) elder son Sir Brian Cornwall / 1355 - 1400, and 3.) younger son Richard Cornwall / ???? - 1443. Various grandchildren and great grandchildren of Geoffrey and Cecily de Cornwall are also interred at Saint Mary's Churchyard. Interment data is per Find A Grave Memorial #131598771 / Created June 20, 2014 by "InSearchOf".

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Geoffrey De Cornwall b: 1335 in Burford, England, m: 1354 in Burford, England, d: 18 May 1365 in Stropshire, England

src: http://thepeerage.com/p32838.htm#i328378

wife Cecily Seymour. her parents not given. Documentation needed for Cecily de Guines

Please see Darrell Wolcott: The Shropshire Walcot Family - Chart VII: The Cornwall Family; http://www.ancientwalesstudies.org/id101.html. (Steven Ferry, December 28, 2017.)