The Lumley family are descended from Ligulf of Lumley, an Anglo-Saxon noble who fled from the Normans in the south of England and found shelter in the dominions of Saint Cuthbert. He married Ealdgyth (or Algitha), granddaughter of Uhtred the Bold, Earl of Northumbria. One of Uhtred's wives was Ælfgifu, the youngest daughter of King Æthelred the Unready.[3]