Audley Family History -

Idonea Audley Abbess of Burnham Abbey, Buckinghamshire

Idonea Audley was the fourth Abbess of Burnham Abbey in Buckinghamshire. She was appointed by the bishop of Lincoln on 18th October 1314 after the election for the Abbess was quashed. She died shortly before 6th June 1324 and the 5th Abbess was appointed on 8th June 1324. Her parentage has not been established. One other member of the “Audley Family” has been recorded as being a Nun around this time namely; Katherine the widow of Nicholas Baron Audley of Heleigh, in Staffordshire. She was the daughter of John Giffard, Baron of Brimsfield by Matilda de Clifford the widow of William Longespee, the Earl of Salisbury. She was born in 1272 and became a Nun in Ledbury in 1322. Whilst Katherine and Idonea were almost certainly alive at the same time the dates indicate that they cannot be the same person. Burnham Abbey; the Abbey of St Mary was founded in 1266 by Richard (brother to King Edward III) King of the Romans and Earl of Cornwall. The first Abbess was a Nun from Goring under the rule of St Augustine. The abbey may have been for about 20 nuns and the income in 1291 was over £63. In 1530-6 there were 9 nuns besides the Abbess, with 2 priests and 35 servants. The Abbey was surrendered 19th September 1539 by the Abbess and 9 nuns, as part of the dissolution of religious housed instigated by King Henry VIII.
Idonea's Grave in Mid 1600s
Idonea was buried in the Chancel of Saint John the Baptist’s Church, Windsor, Berkshire. A drawing of the grave, was recorded by Elias Ashmole, in the mid 1600’s, in his Manuscript 850. (see image right) It is not known why Idonea was buried in Windsor. It is possible she could have been buried at Burnham Abbey and her grave relocated to Windsor, approximately 6 miles from Burnham Abbey, at a later date, such as after the surrender of the Abbey in 1539. The inscription around the grave reads in English. “Ideyna of Audele Abbess of Burnham lies here. May God have mercy on her soul.” and at the head of the grave “Whoever prays for her soul will have 60 days of pardon”.
Idonea's Grave 1800 to 2025
In 1820 to 1822 the church of St John the Baptist, Windsor, was rebuilt. Approximately 50 graves in the floor of the old church were buried under the new floor and are no longer visible. One grave, that of Idonea ,was relocated from the Chancel to outside the main doors to the church. At this time, the brass matrice on the grave was replaced and a new inscription was added.	In 2025 the inscription around 3 sides of the grave reads in English “Idonea Audley Abbess of Burnham buried June 24th, 1334 in Church of St John the Baptist New Windsor. On the top 4th side is the 3 line inscription (in smaller letter size). “This Gravestone of the Abbess Audley lay formerly in the Chancel The Rare Fleur De Lys cross has been restored”. It is not clear whether these two inscriptions were inscribed at the same time. The 3 line inscription was clearly inserted when the grave was relocated, but the other inscription that replaced the inscription recorded by Ashmole could have been inserted prior to the relocation of the grave.

There is conflicting information in various documents about Idonea Audley. A more detailed discussion of this conflicting information is given in the pdf file below Discussion of Conflicting Information About Idonea Audley
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Katherina L Audley

Biography of Katherina L Audley

Katherina L Audley is the Founder and Director of Whales of Guerrero, Mexico, which facilitates community driven conservation in the fishing village of Barra del Potosí and throughout the South West Pacific State of Guerrero, Mexico. She is also a ‘National Geographic Explorer’. Her National Geographic biography can be found by selecting the link below

Biography of Katherina L Audley

Whales of Guerrero

Information about Katherina’s Role in the ‘Whales of Guerrero’ and the Project’s Website and Facebook Page can be found by selecting the appropriate link below:

Katherina's Role in Whales of Guerrero

Whales of Guerrero Website

Whales of Guerrero Facebook Page

This page was created with the approval of Katherina L Audley

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{IR3} Frank (Francis) H Audley

Obituary New York Times Thursday 11th May 1916

Frank H Audley, who conducted a police supply shop at 8 Centre Market, opposite police Headquarters, died yesterday in St Vincent’s Hospital, where he was taken Monday night after being stricken with a complication of disease. Mr Audley, who was 67 years old, had been in the police supply business for ten years. Formerly he was a harness maker, but the development of automobiles made his trade unprofitable. Mr Audley was the inventor of many appliances used by the police, including a safety holster. He lived in Stamford Conn where a wife, three sons and a daughter survive him

Letter

Envelope from letter sent by {IR3} Frank H Audley to his sister {IR4} Mary Ann Fitzgerald (formerly Audley) in 1887

Frank H Audley registered patents as follows :

1st July 1884 – Hand Loop for Driving Reins (in conjunction with a C.E. Rand)
30th September 1902 – Holder for Policemen’s Clubs
26th December 1905 – Stirrup
18th September 1906 – Saddle Stirrup
3rd March 1908 Revolver Holster
18th June 1907 – Whip

Details of the patents registered by Francis (Frank) Audley

Links to Associated Infomation

The History of Audley Family IR

To Photographs of Members of Audley Family IR

To Newspaper Articles about Audley Family IR

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{ZA27} Sir James De Audley K.G.

{ZA27} Sir James de Audley ( c1322 - 1369) was the hero of the Battle of Poitiers (19th September 1356) and a founder Knight of the Garter. Early published documents confuse him with {ZA13} Lord James Audley the 2nd Baron Audley (1212 -1385) The aim of this webpage is to demonstrate that they are two different people. They were related in that they shared a common great grandfather. Their relationship is shown in the following family tree
The first person to conclude that {ZA27} Sir James Audley and {ZA13} Baron James Audley were two separate people was George Frederick Beltz KH, and Lancaster Herald, who in 1841 published his ' Memorials of the order of the Garter'. There is a fixed number of Members of the Order of the Garter and the individuals are only replaced when they died. Beltz realised that the stall (seat) held by {Z27} Sir James Audley had been reallocated to Sir Thomas Granson by 1375; and as {ZA13} Baron James Audley did not die until 1383 he concluded that {ZA13} Baron James Audley could not be the founder knight of the garter or the hero of the Battle of Poitiers. Memorials of the Order of the Garter The most informative document giving the family trees of both these people was published in 1906 by Josiah Wedgwood MP (The great-great grandson of the founder of the Wedgwood pottery company) The article titled 'The parentage of James De Audley K.G.' was published in Historical Collection of Staffordshire (Staff Cols) Vol IX New series pages 245- 68. The Parentage of James de Audley K.G.
The two images below are of the seals used by both {ZA27} Sir James Audley (left) and {ZA13} Baron James Audley (right). The most important point shown by these seals is how {ZA27} Sir James Audley differentiated his Coat of Arms from that of the Baron by the addition of a label of 3 vertical bars and one horizontal bar; again demonstrating two different people

The seal of {ZA27} Sir James Audley. This seal is attached to a Manuscript in the National Library of France dated 1360 which records that he received money from the French, for the English forces to leave the Fortress of 'La Ferté Sous Jauarre'	The Seal of {ZA13} Baron James Audley This seal is the British Library as seal 7026 (ref Harley C54 E38) and dated temp Edw III (1312-1377) and is attributed to James de Audeleye "Seigneur de Rouge Chastell et de Heleye, Shropshire.
The exploits of {ZA27} Sir James Audley and his brother {ZA28} Peter Audley in the 'One Hundred Years War' is covered in Jonathan Sumption's Book published in 3 volumes and titled 'The hundred years war'. Extracts from that book age given in the link below The Hundred Years War by Jonathan Sumption
Further information about the Manuscript and seal in the National Library of France and a more detailed explanation can be found in the link below. Further information
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{ZC15} Bishop Edmund Audley

Whilst no image of Bishop Edmund Audley (c1439 - 1524) appears to exist his legacy can be seen from the following photographs

Hereford Cathedral

The list of Bishops Edmund Audley 1492	The Audley Chapel	The Edmund Audley Monogram on chapel door
The 3 images above have been published with the kind permission of the Dean & Chapter of Hereford Cathedral who retain copyright and ownership

Salisbury Cathedral

The Audley Chapel		Ceiling Boss showing Audley Coat of Arms
The above photographs of Salisbury Cathedral are published by permission of Julie Wilson

Edmund Audley (c1439 - 1524) was the second son of James Tuchet, fifth Baron Audley and his second wife Eleanor Holland. He took the surname Audley. The key points in his life are summarised below:

	1463		Probably resident at Lincoln College Oxford
	1467		Graduated Bachelor of Arts (BA)
	1471		Awarded Master of Arts (MA)
	1480		Became Bishop of Rochester
	1482/3		Awarded Doctorate of Theology (DTh)
	1464		Admitted to prebend of Colwall in Hereford Cathedral
	1475		Became archdeacon of the East Riding of Yorkshire
	1474		Admitted canon and prebendary of St George's Chapel Windsor
	1479		Also became archdeacon of Essex
	1492		Transferred to become Bishop of Hereford
	1502		Transferred to become Bishop of Salisbury
	1502		Also appointed as chancellor of the Order of the Garter
	1524		Died at Ramsbury and buried in the Audley Chapel Salisbury Cathedral

The above information summarised from the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'

More information about Bishop Edmund Audley can be found in the following documents on this website

Audley Pedigrees Chapter 11 titled 'Audley of Wiltshire, and of Swaffham, Co. Norfolk'

Family ZC - The Barons Audley

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