The
NORCLIFFEs
of
LANGTON HALL

Langton Hall, Yorkshire and the Norcliffe family are mentioned here because they might hold the key to finding Richard Townshend's origins.

Langton Hall, being tied to the Wrays & Daltons and being close to Malton, is so far the only fact which suggests the 1762 baptismal record of William Townshend (father Richard) at Malton was indeed that of Hon William Townshend of Prince Edward Island.

(Current family research in Halifax possibly shows a direct tie to Langton. Please visit this page again for updates in this regard.)

The Hesketh family is also worth noting. 1) Lt.Col. Fairfax Norcliffe married Mary Hesketh. 2) The first Richard Howard-Vyse, of Stoke Place (near Wexham), married Frances Hesketh. The next generation, Edward Howard-Vyse, married Mary Norcliffe which resulted in the Howard-Vyses eventually owning Langton Hall. The Heskeths, Norcliffes and Howard-Vyses illustrate a clear "cross-pollination" of families situated at Langton and Wexham/Stoke Poges. This is relevant because it is speculated that Richard Townshend was from Wexham (or simply lived there).

Was it simply coincidence that Sir Cecil Wray's cousin (William Ullithorne Wray) was the rector of St Mary's, Wexham in 1755?

IN SUMMATION, FACTS RELEVANT TO MALTON, YORKSHIRE

• There is a William, son of a Richard Townshend, baptised at St Michaels, Malton - 4th April 1762
  
• Langton Hall, the ancestral home of Sir Cecil Wray's mother, Frances Norcliffe, is 3 miles South of Malton.
• Captain Lord James Townshend died at Hattun Lodge near Malton. (Probably should be spelled "Hutton" which is a village 3 miles Southwest of Malton. Alternatively Hatton Lodge near Malton might be connected to Lady Hatton (d.abt.1646), wife of Sir Edward Coke (d.1635) who owned Stoke Poges Manor near Wexham)
  
• Edmund Burke was at one point MP for Malton. We also know that Hon William Townshend knew Burke because he purchased his PEI property (Lot 43) from Burke's widow in 1799.