Some Stanley family history
I do not claim any armorial bearings for myself or my relatives

Photo copyrighted & courtesy of   Valentine Armouries,  art & motto added

The use of arms to identify individuals, families, clans, and places is primarily European circa the 1200s on.

Tradition says that the Stanley name is of Saxon origin and derived from an area of stone meadows in Staffordshire:
Steinleigh - Stoneley - Stanley and variants.   On a mount there, a manor of the name was their home for years.
This is in the vicinity of Leek, Stoke-on-Trent and Audley in Staffordshire.

The Stanley arms   "Argent on a bend azure, three bucks' heads cabossed or."
  were in 1306 used by Sir William Stanley from his marriage to Joan de Baumville, descended of Alan de Sylvestre,
whose arms these were.   This Alan was granted Storeton & Picton of the Wirral by the Earl of Chester in 1120.
William moved to the Wirral and was appointed  Chief Ranger of the Forest of the Wirral  by Edward II in 1316.
His descendants were of  Stourton (Storeton) and Hooton, Cheshire, England on the Wirral for many years.
Burke's General Armoury lists 35 Stanley coats of arms.  Twenty nine of these show bucks (stag) heads.
Others show mural crowns.  Some crests show an eagle and child.
Family tradition is that a male child was found in an eagle's nest and adopted by the Lathoms.
The family motto "Sans Changer" translates "without change" implying steadfast.
Mottos are not part of a coat-of-arms, they are associated with them.

  Through marriages and actions, this family became one of the most influential families of England.
Several military and political leaders have come from this family and its related branches.
Sir Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby and relatives who placed the crown on Henry VII at Bosworth.
One of the highest land holding families of England for centuries, especially in Cheshire & Lancashire.
Some feel that Sir William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby, was the real William Shakespeare ?
The Stanley Cup of hockey was donated in 1892 by Lord Stanley of Preston in Canada.
Some were styled Kings of Lancashire, Kings of Man, Earls of Derby and more.

Some sources: Peter Draper,  Randolph Churchill,  Barry Coward,  John Seacome,  Alvin L. Anderson,  Wm Salt Library, J J Bagley
Chetham Society, Cheryl Manlove, AGRI, William Pollard, Sir Bernard Burke, C. N. Elvin, Henry B. Guppy,  Peter E. Stanley
who authored or compiled works on the Stanley family.

The National Stanley Family Association is always open to new membership.
Sue Stanley Chang,  Secretary-Treasurer
10236 Luman Lane
Twinsburg, OH 44087-1475
Although the majority of their members are of the VA line, their books and such cover a wide range.

If I have offended anyone, I apologize.    If you notice errors or omissions, please let me know.

Valentine Armouries      Isle of Man      The College of Arms     U of KS History     Britannia History

Compiled by Werner Stanley © 1999 all rights reserved.    We can be reached at stanlord@usinternet.com
More will follow