Blount of Worcestershire and Derbyshire
Sir William le Blount [a] b abt 1242, of Rock, Worcestershire, England, d 1315-1316, prob Worcestershire, England. He md Isabel de Beauchamp [b] abt 1265, daughter of Sir William de Beauchamp and Isabel Mauduit.
Children of Sir William le Blount and Isabel de Beauchamp were:
  • Piers le Blount b abt 1270.
  • William le Blount b abt 1272.
  • Sir Walter le Blount b abt 1275.
Sir Walter le Blount [c] b abt 1275, Rock, Worcestershire, England, d bef May 1324. He md Joan de Sodington bef Feb 1294, daughter of Ralph de Sodington. She was b abt 1280, d aft 1331.
Children of Walter le Blount and Joan de Sodington were:
  • Sir William le Blount b abt 1300, d 1337, s.p.; md Margery de Verdon.
  • Sir John le Blount b abt 1308.
  • Walter le Blount b abt 1310.
Sir John le Blount [d], Knight, b abt 1312, prob Worcestershire, England, d 1358. He md Isolde de Mountjoy [e] abt 1332. She was b abt 1316.
Children of John le Blount and Isolde de Mountjoy were:
  • Richard le Blount b 1345.
  • Sir Walter le Blount b abt 1348.
Sir Walter le Blount [f] b abt 1348, of Worcestershire, and Barton Blount, Derbyshire, England, d 22 Jun 1403, Battle of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. He md Sancha de Ayala [g] abt 1373, daughter of Diego Gomez de Toledo and Inez de Ayala. She was b abt 1355, of Toledo, Spain, d 1418, prob Derbyshire, England.
Children of Walter le Blount and Sancha de Ayala were:
  • Sir John Blount, Knight of the Garter, b abt 1378, d bef 1 Sep 1418, siege of Rouen.
  • Sir Thomas Blount b abt 1383.
  • Constance Blount b abt 1386, Barton Blount, Derbyshire, England, d 23 Sep 1423. She md John V Sutton 10 Dec 1400, son of Sir John IV de Sutton, Lord of Dudley Castle, and Joan.
Sir Thomas Blount [h] b abt 1383, of Elvaston, Derbyshire, England, d 1456. He md [1] Margaret Gresley aft 1418, daughter of Sir Thomas de Gresley and Margaret Walsh. He md [2] Elizabeth.
Children of Thomas Blount and Margaret Gresley were:
  • Sir Walter Blount, 1st Lord Mountjoy b abt 1420, d 1474; md Ellen Byron.
  • Thomas Blount b abt 1426.
Thomas Blount [i] b abt 1426, d 1467. He md [1] Agnes Hawley abt 1456, daughter of John Hawley. She was b abt 1432, of Girsby, Burgh-on-Bain, Lincolnshire, England, d 14 Oct 1462, Burgh on Bain, Lincolnshire, England. He md [2] Isabel.
Children of Thomas Blount and Agnes Hawley were:
  • Robert Blount b abt 1458, prob Lincolnshire, England.
  • Anne Blount b abt 1460.

Ann Blount b abt 1460, prob Lincolnshire, England. She md William Marbury abt 1485, prob Lincolnshire, England.

NOTES:
The earlier lineage of this Blount (or Blund) family remains obscure. There is evidently no evidence to support a connection as proposed by Burke or Croke to the Blounts of Norfolk/Suffolk. Additionally, the original progenitor of Blount as Raoul, Count of Guisnes, as claimed by these and other early sources, is equally fictitious and not substantiated by any actual evidence.

Complete Peerage offers tentative evidence that the first William le Blount depicted here was one and the same William le Blund who, as son and heir of John le Blund, son and heir of Walter le Blund, was found to be heir to lands in Doverdale (adjoining Hampton Lovet) which had belonged to Amice, daughter of the last-named Walter.

Additionally, there seems to have been a close connection between this family and the family of the same name in Hanslope, Buckinghamshire. Several records support this. In the 1200s, Sir Piers and Sir William le Blund, Knights, witnessed undated deeds at Hanslope. In 1242/43, Piers le Blund held 1/4 fee in Hanslope of the new feoffment, which was held in 1279 by William le Blount, by Piers le Blount in 1302, and by William le Blount in 1316, the last three named appearing in sequence and time as they do in the family of Worcester and Rutland. Isabel le Blounde (wife of William le Blount) herself held land in Hanslope before 1296. Piers le Blount, son of William and Isabel, was rector of Hanslope.


a. William "le Blund" (from blundus, "fair-haired"). He and his brother, Walter, were accused in Aug 1265, under terms of the Dictum of Kenilworth, of unlawful violence at Quinton in Northants, to which they claimed that they were "out" with John Giffard, who had obtained the King's pardon for all offences in connection with the disturbances until 9 Oct 1265. In addition to their Worcester property, William and wife Isabel held the manor of Belton in Rutland, and there appears to have been a close connection between this family and the family of the same name in Hanslope, Buckinghamshire. William le Blund appears to have died in spring of 1280.

b. Tradition says that she was a Beauchamp. As the widow of William, she was living in Feb 1322/23, when John and Walter le Blund, sons of her son, Walter, reconveyed to the Lady Isabel le Blount her life interest in the manor of Timberlake, which she had granted to her son Piers, then dead. Their deed is witnessed by Sir William le Blount and Sir Thomas le Blount, Knights.

c. Third son, Walter le Blount was, in 1313, of the Lancastrian party against Piers de Gaveston. In 1318 and 1321 he was Knight of the Shire for Worcester, and in 1322 was summoned for personal service against the Scots. Joan was possibly his second wife, and sister and coheir to William de Sodington, heir of their brother, Ralph.

d. Second son, John le Blount was knighted before 1337, when he was found heir to his elder brother, William, Lord Blount. He served as joint commissioner in Worcestershire in 1344, and served in Gascony under Henry, Earl of Lancaster, and afterwards, 1347, under the King at the siege of Calais. In Oct 1350 he was undertaking a pilgrimage to Santiago.

e. According to tradition, "Isoude" as she is referred to in records, was Isoude (Isolde) de Mountjoy. Her parentage remains a mystery.

f. Walter le Blount became a noted soldier, and appears to have attained great wealth. He was knighted before Mar 1371/72, and in Jan 1372/73, John of Gaunt appointed him constable of Tutbury Castle for life. The following May he entered into a contract to serve the Duke, in peace and in war, for the term of his life. Soon after his marriage he acquired lands from his brother, John, which appear to have been part of the Mountjoy property. He was Justice of the Peace for Staffordshire, 1380, and for Derbyshire in 1388, and in 1386 he was setting out for Spain with his patron. He was chosen a Knight of the Shire for Derby in 1399, after the accession of Henry IV, who continued him in favor. In Feb 1399/1400, he was receiving instructions for an embassy to Portugal, Spain, and Aragon. In 1401 the King sent him to Ireland in attendance on his son Thomas of Lancaster, whom he made Lieutenant. When Percy revolted in 1403, Walter le Blount fought for the King at Shrewsbury 21 Jul, and was slain.

g. Sancha came to England in Dec 1371 in the service of Constance of Castile, wife of John of Gaunt. After Walter's death, she founded a chantry in the hospital of St. Leonard at Alkmonton in Derbyshire (1406).

h. Third son, Thomas Blount was under the age of 14 in 1397, and heir to his elder brother, John, in 1418. He was originally intended to be a clerk, but upon acceding to his brother's estates, he renounced that career. He was a Knight of the Shire for Derby in 1420, and Justice of the Peace from 1422 onward. He was engaged in the French war from 1423 in the retinue of the Duke of Bedford. In 1429 and 1431, he served as Treasurer of Normandy, as well as Sheriff of Derbyshire, 1446-47.

i. Various early sources tended to place this Thomas Blount as the son of Sir Walter, the first Lord Mountjoy. But contemporary sources, which offer more specific date information, make it almost certain that Thomas was Lord Mountjoy's brother, not his son. Thomas was MP for Derbyshire in 1453, and had a son who was born in 1455, clearly placing his birthdate no later than 1430, and Sir Walter could not have been born before around 1420, as his father, Thomas, did not renounce his clerical career until 1418 and thus could not have married Margaret Gresley until or after that date. Thus, Sir Walter could not have been Thomas' father.
SOURCES:
CP Vol IX[329-334]; AR: Line 81[35]; MCS: Line 78A[10-12], Line 88[12], SGM: Nat Taylor[Wedgwood's History of Parliament].
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