Ansley History

BEGINNINGS: The ANNESLEY (original spelling) surname began in a small village 10 miles NW of the city of Nottingham in the English county of Nottingham. The village ANNESLEY was named for a Celtic chieftain named "Anna" who owned a meadow ("lea" in old English); thus, "Anna's- lea". Levinot was the last SAXON Lord to hold Annesley. As a reward for their part in the Battle of Hastings in 1066, one Norman family, Ralph Fitz-Hubert was given the village and surrounding lands. Indeed, he acquired several villages/lands in NOTTS. Ralpe Brito de Annesley managed the property at ANNESLEY for Ralph Fitz-Hubert. It has been reported that Ralpe Brito de Annesley had traveled to England with Fitz-Hubert, who had accompanied William, the Conqueror, in the Battle of Hastings. Eventually, this family took up the name de ANNESLEY, which was eventually anglicized to ANNESLEY. Over time, a fine English manor house was built. called ANNESLEY HALL. This property served as the seat of the Annesley family from about 1068 until about 1442 when Alice de Annesley married Sir George Chaworth (from another old Norman family). Thus, the Chaworths occupied the property until about 1805 when Mary Ann Chaworth married John "Jack" Musters and the family took on the name Chaworth-Musters (Mary Ann brought considerable wealth into the marriage). Descendants of this family occupied the Hall until 1974 when Major Robert P. Chaworth-Musters moved 1 mile west to Felley Priory (built by Ralpe Brito de Annesley in 1156). Annesley Hall & the surrounding acreage have been sold several times without any significant change in the use of the property (attended only by a caretaker). More recently, a pending sale would renew the manor house & stables and build a resort hotel and championship golf course. This outcome remains in doubt. Immediately adjacent to the manor house is Old Annesley Church with graveyard. It is owned and protected by a local historical society. NEW Annesley (all-saints) Church lies about a mile NE and was built in 1874. Many artifacts from the old church are now displayed in "new" Annesley church, including an 11th century Norman font. No Annesley family members are known to reside in this area today. When the female heir married the Chaworth, male descendants moved to other parts of England. Eventually, Francis Annesley moved to County Armagh in Northern Ireland and gained considerable prestige and wealth. He became Sir Francis Annesley. This family gained several peerages including Earl of Annesley and Earl of Anglesey. The former is an Irish peerage (lowest rank in the system with England first, Scotland second, Ireland third). Castlewellen, in County Down, was built by a descendant of Sir Francis, above. Descendants maintain a significant presence in County Cork (and other parts of Ireland and Northern Ireland) in the present day. Another village named ANSLEY lies in Warwickshire, being named for Princess Ann ("Ann's Lea"). No Ansley families live in this area today, if ever they did. Ainslie Castle can be found in Scotland but any connection to the above family is unproven.

[1]In New Jersey (USA) the church records of 1735 spell the name William Annesley. His son Thomas wrote it Ansly while daughter Mary signed Ansley. Those in eastern North Carolina have a dictated will where the recorder herd Ainsley, the way some will pronounce the name Ansley.

The name has many spellings and it must be remembered that it was recorded as the writers herd it as well as their way of spelling a less than familiar name.

Authorities consulted - both English and Scot - point to Annesley, name of a village on the edge of Sherwood forest in Nottinghamshire as the source of the name. Ancient documents have Annesleya, the Norman (they were the census takers in England - Domesday Book, 1086) attempt at recording "Anna's Lea", that is, the 'clearing or meadow' belonging to Anna, a Saxon chieftain. In later times the family was called Andesley, Andeslowe, Anneslowe, Anslow or Andestly as members moved out from the family Hall in Nottinghamshire. In Scotland the more accepted spelling today is Ainslie. But it too went through many changes - Ainsley, Ansly, Anysle, Aynysley, Aynesleye, and even Enslie.

There was a village Ansley in Warwickshire but no family had the name. The village and Hall of Annesley do have a family decent bearing that as a family name. There the spellings varied over the years to Ansley (1435) both as to family names as well as for the beautiful Hall. A map of 1590 spells it Ansley, while one of 1610 has Aunsley. A funeral brass in the old church reads "William Breton of Ansley", 31 January 1595". The beautiful tapestry map of that county spells Ansley (1632). A 1674 survey of the boundaries if Sherwood Forest records Ansley, both for location and Family name. Later the name seems to be spelled Ansley more frequently in central and southern England (Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire) as family members moved around.

Charles Francis Annesley Voysey, {voy'-zee}

The English architect Charles Francis Annesley Voysey, b. May 28, 1857, d. Feb. 12, 1941, was noted for his domestic architecture and his designs of furniture, chintzes, and wallpapers. Between 1888 and 1900 he built a number of houses in a simple, primitive style reminiscent of Gothic forms, which he felt to be especially English. His works include Perrycroft (1893-94; Cornwall); Greyfriars (1896; the Hog's Back, Surrey); Norney (1897; Shackleford, Surrey); and the Orchard (1900-01; Chorley, Hertfordshire). Voysey's influence in both England and the United States was considerable.

Wesley (family) Wes'-lee}

The Wesley family was made famous by the two brothers, John and Charles, who worked together in the rise of METHODISM in the British Isles during the 18th century. They were among the ten children surviving infancy born to Samuel Wesley (1662-1735), Anglican rector of Epworth, Lincolnshire, and Susanna Annesley Wesley, daughter of Samuel Annesley, a dissenting minister.

John Wesley, b. June 28, 1703, d. Mar. 2, 1791, was the principal founder of the Methodist movement. His mother (Susanna Annesley Wesley) was important in his emotional and educational development. The rescue of little "Jackie" from the burning rectory ("a brand plucked from the burning") has become legendary. John's education continued at Charterhouse School and at Oxford, where he studied at Christ Church and was elected (1726) fellow of Lincoln College. He was ordained in 1728.

After a brief absence (1727-29) to help his father at Epworth, John returned to Oxford to discover that his brother Charles had founded a Holy Club composed of young men interested in spiritual growth. John quickly became a leading participant of this group, which was dubbed the Methodists. His Oxford days introduced him not only to the rich tradition of classical literature and philosophy but also to spiritual classics like Thomas a Kempis's Imitation of Christ, Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living and Dying, and William Law's Serious Call.

In 1735 both Wesley's accompanied James OGLETHORPE to the new colony of Georgia, where John's attempts to apply his then high-church views aroused hostility. Discouraged, he returned (1737) to England; he was rescued from this discouragement by the influence of the Moravian preacher Peter BOEHLER. At a small religious meeting in Aldersgate Street, London, on May 24, 1738, John Wesley had an experience in which his "heart was strangely warmed."

After this spiritual conversion, which centered on the realization of salvation by faith in Christ alone, he devoted his life to evangelism. Beginning in 1739 he established Methodist societies throughout the country. He traveled and preached constantly, especially in the London-Bristol-Newcastle triangle, with frequent forays into Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. He encountered much opposition and persecution, which later subsided.

Late in life Wesley married Mary Vazeille, a widow. He continued throughout his life a regimen of personal discipline and ordered living. He died at 88, still preaching, still traveling, and still a clergyman of the Church of England. In 1784, however, he had given the Methodist societies a legal constitution, and in the same year he ordained Thomas COKE for ministry in the United States; this action signaled an independent course for Methodism.

Charles Wesley, b. Dec. 18, 1707, d. Mar. 29, 1788, was perhaps England's greatest hymn writer. Educated at Oxford, he was ordained in 1735 and went to Georgia as Oglethorpe's secretary. He returned a year earlier than John. After a religious experience similar to John's, he continued for many years in close association with the Methodist movement. After 1756, however, he left the itinerant ministry and settled first in Bristol and later in London. He wrote more than 5,000 hymns, among them "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" and "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling."

Ronald Firbank, {fur'-bank}

Ronald Firbank, whose full name was Arthur Annesley Ronald Firbank, b. Jan. 17, 1886, d. May 21, 1926, was an English writer whose novels combine witty dialogue and artificially contrived plots. The possessor of a highly individual talent and temperament, Firbank was a convert to Catholicism, a homosexual, and an aesthete; he also traveled widely. Among his novels are Vainglory (1915), Caprice (1917), Valmouth (1919), and Concerning the Eccentricities of Cardinal Pirelli (1926).Their mixture of fantasy, decadence, wit, Catholic ritual, and mannered style has made Firbank a cult figure of some note.

[1]Rev. Charley C. Ansley Black Mountain, North Carolina

Ansley History

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