Sir Daniel Fleming claims, in his memoirs, descent from Baldwin, the first Earl of Flanders, in 864. A Le Fleming pedigree claims that the Le Flemings can be traced back even earlier, to the time of Charlemagne of France.
Post Norman Conquest, the Flemish family established themselves in Cumberland, probably with the role of watching the coast in this north-western corner of England, frequently plundered and raided by the Scots.
Sir Daniel Fleming, ca. 1665
The influence of the Flemings spread as they acquired land in Furness, formerly in Lancashire, and became lord of manors there. They acquired property in Coniston as a marriage settlement and later gained Rydal manor, in Westmorland, also through marriage.
The sphere of influence of the Fleming dynasty continued to expand over the ensuing generations. Various members of the family were MPs and many were eminent in the political and social life of the north west of England. Many took Holy Orders and one became Bishop of Carlisle. There are strong links with Oxford University, particularly Queen’s College, and there are connections with James Boswell, Sir Walter Scott, William Wordsworth, John Constable and many more well-known literary and artists’s names.
William & Mary (née Wilson) Le Fleming, of the New Zealand branch of the family (Photograph courtesy of Sir David Le Fleming)
In 1851, Michael Le Fleming, heir to Sir Richard Le Fleming, emigrated to New Zealand, and he interited the baronetcy on the death of his father some six years later. His descendents remain in New Zealand today.
Meanwhile, a descendent of Sir Daniel Fleming’s youngest son is presently heir to the Rydal estates.