Baron Audley

Baron Audley is a title in the Peerage of England first created in 1313, by writ to the Parliament of England, for Sir Nicholas Audley of Heighley Castle, a member of the Anglo-Norman Audley family of Staffordshire.

Barony of Audley
Arms borne by the Tuchet Barons Audley: Quarterly: 1st and 4th: Ermine, a chevron gules (Tuchet); 2nd and 3rd: Gules, a fret or (Audley)[1]
Creation date	8 January 1313
Created by	Edward II
Peerage	Peerage of England
First holder	Nicholas Audley, 1st Baron Audley
Last holder	Richard Michael Thomas Souter, 25th Baron Audley
Heir apparent	Abeyant since 1997
Remainder to	Heirs general
Motto	Je le tiens ("I hold it")

The third Baron, the last of the senior Audley line, died without issue in 1391, when the barony fell into abeyance; it was revived in 1408 for the descendants of his sister Joanne Audley, and her husband, Sir John Tuchet, KG (b. 1327); the 11th Baron Audley was created Earl of Castlehaven and his son, the 2nd Earl, was attainted of felony and executed, forfeiting the ancient English barony but not the Irish earldom. (The Castlehavens also held two other different baronies Audley of Orier (1616) and Audley of Hely (1633).) The titles were revived by Act of Parliament in 1678 for his son, James Tuchet, 3rd Earl of Castlehaven, devolving in the same line until the death of John Tuchet, 8th Earl of Castlehaven in 1777, when the earldom became extinct, and the Audley title passed to George Thicknesse-Tuchet as the 19th Baron Audley. The title has been abeyant since the death of Richard Souter, 25th Baron Audley in 1997, leaving three daughters.[2]

The title of Baron Audley was created a second time on 20 November 1317, again by writ of summons, in favour of Sir Hugh Audley of Stratton Audley, grandson of James Audley of Audley (1220–1272). He married Lady Margaret de Clare, daughter of the Gilbert, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester (of 1218 creation, extinct 1314)). Audley was created Earl of Gloucester in 1337, but upon his death in 1347, the earldom became extinct and the barony fell dormant. His only daughter and heir married Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford, thus de jure the barony devolved with the earldom of Stafford until 1521 when Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham was attainted of his noble titles.