St. Leger family of Lt. Col. (later Major-General) Anthony St. Leger, and ran for the first time over a two-mile course on Cantley Common in Doncaster. The classic race, The St. Leger, has been run at Doncaster ever since. Most St. Legers in the UK today descend from Sir Anthony St. Leger, KG of Ulcombe, Kent. The Viscounts Doneraile, whose seat was at Doneraile, Co. Cork, in Ireland, descend from Sir Anthony's first son, William, and the Heywards Hill branch of the family, also originally of Co. Cork, descend from his second son, Warham. (The account given in the "Peerage of Ireland" by
St. Leger family Anthony de Saint Leger, Knight of the Order of the Garter who brought Ireland under the Crown. He served as Viceroy of Ireland for five terms. A plaque dedicated to Sir Anthony Saint Leger can be found in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. William Ledger and Elizabeth May were married at St. Margarets, Westminster, London, on April 25, 1595. The first recorded spelling of the family name is possibly that of Adam Leger, which was dated 1279, in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire, during the reign of Edward I of England. Several generations of St. Legers fought in the Crusades.