Sunday, August 31, 2014

3.a Back to King Henry I's children this time Robert 1st Earl of Gloucester m Mabel FitzHamon

Among King Henry I's concubines was Lady Sybilla Corbet.   With her he had three children

Robert  1st Earl of Gloucester
Maud         Princess of England
Sybilla of Normanby


Robert de Caen,  also known as
Robert FitzEoy, Robert of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Gloucester. Chief military supporter of his half sister, Matilda.

Illegitimate son of King Henry I Beauclerc and Sybilla Corbet, born about 1090 at Caen, Normandy. Grandson of William the Conqueror and Mathilda of Flanders.

He married Mabel FitzHamon, daughter of Robert FitzHamon, Earl of Gloucester and Sybil de Montgomery. They married in 1122, their marriage contract written before 1119 and had the following children:

* William FitzRobert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester
* Roger FitzRobert, Bishop of Worcester
* Hamon FitzRobert, killed at the siege of Toulouse
* Philip FitzRobert, Lord of Cricklade
* Richard FitzRobert, Lord of Creully
* Matilda FitzRobert, wife of Ranulf de Gernon, 4th Earl of Chester
* Mabel FitzRobert, wife of Aubrey de Vere
* Richard FitzRobert, Sire of Creully

Robert had four illegitimate children:

* Richard FitzRobert, Bishop of Bayeux, his mother was Isabel de Dourves
* Robert FitzRobert, Castellan of Gloucester
* Mabel FitzRobert, wife of Gruffud, Lord Senghenydd, ancestors of President Franklin Pierce
* Son who had a son, Thomas

After the disaster of the White Ship, he was made Earl of Gloucester. Robert supported his sister against King Stephen, and when the King and Robert were captured and then exchanged for each other, destroying any chances of Matilda becoming Queen of England.

He died on 31 October 1147 at Bristol Castle, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, from a fever.

Some sources says he was buried at Tewkesbury Abbey, another says St James Priory, which he founded.

Relationship with King Stephen


There is evidence in the contemporary source, the Gesta Stephani, that Robert was proposed by some as a candidate for the throne, but his illegitimacy ruled him out:
"Among others came Robert, Earl of Gloucester, son of King Henry, but a bastard, a man of proved talent and admirable wisdom. When he was advised, as the story went, to claim the throne on his father's death, deterred by sounder advice he by no means assented, saying it was fairer to yield it to his sister's son (the future Henry II of England), than presumptuously to arrogate it to himself."
This suggestion cannot have led to any idea that he and Stephen were rivals for the Crown, as Geoffrey of Monmouth in 1136 referred to Robert as one of the 'pillars' of the new King's rule.

The capture of King Stephen at the Battle of Lincoln on 2 February 1141 gave the Empress Matilda the upper hand in her battle for the throne, but by alienating the citizens of London she failed to be crowned Queen. Her forces were defeated at the Rout of Winchester on 14 September 1141, and Robert of Gloucester was captured nearby at Stockbridge.

The two prisoners, King Stephen and Robert of Gloucester, were then exchanged, but by freeing Stephen, the Empress Matilda had given up her best chance of becoming queen. She later returned to France, where she died in 1167, though her son succeeded Stephen as King Henry II in 1154.

Robert of Gloucester died in 1147 at Bristol Castle, where he had previously imprisoned King Stephen, and 
was buried at St James' Priory, Bristol, which he had founded.

Robert of Gloucester is a figure in many of the novels by Ellis Peters in the Cadfael Chronicles. The series of twenty novels is set in the years of the competition between King Stephen and Empress Maud, also called the Anarchy. He is seen in the novels as a strong moderating force to his half-sister, and crucial to building support for her in England to begin her quest for the crown in earnest (see Saint Peter's Fair). 

His efforts to gain the crown for his sister by capturing King Stephen and her own actions in London are part of the plot in The Pilgrim of Hate. His capture by Stephen's wife Queen Mathilda is in the background of the plot of An Excellent Mystery. The exchange of the imprisoned Robert for the imprisoned Stephen is in the background of the plot of The Raven in the Foregate

Robert's travels to persuade his brother-in-law to aid his wife Empress Maud militarily in England is in the background of the novel The Rose Rent. His return to England when Empress Maud is trapped in Oxford Castle figures in The Hermit of Eyton Forest

Robert's return to England with his young nephew Henry, years later the king succeeding Stephen, is in the background of the plot of The Confession of Brother Haluin, as the battles begin anew with Robert's military guidance. Robert's success in the Battle of Wilton (1143) leads to the death of a fictional character, part of the plot of The Potter's Field

The In the last novel, he is a father who can disagree with then forgive his son Philip (see the last novel, Brother Cadfael's Penance). In that last novel, Brother Cadfael, the Welsh monk who fought under English lords and ends his life in a Benedictine monastery in England, speculates on the possibly different path for England if the first son of old King Henry, the illegitimate Robert of Gloucester, had been recognised and accepted. 

In Wales of that era, a son was not illegitimate if recognized by his father, and to many in the novels, Robert of Gloucester seemed the best of the contenders to succeed his father. Instead, he used his strength to fight for his half-sister.

Robert's mother


Lady Sibyl Corbert was the daughter and coheir of Robert Corbet, lady of Alcester, Warwickshire, Pontesbury and Woodcote, Shropshire.

 She was born c. 1077 Alcester, Warwickshire County, England and died c. 1160 in Wales

She was one of the many mistresses of Henry I of England

Their children were:
Robert de Caen 1090  1147  m  Lady Sybl Fitzhamon
Sybilla of Normandy (c.1092-July 12, 1122) she married King Alexander I of Scotland (c.1078-April 23, 1124)
Reginald de Dunstanville
 (c.1105-July 01, 1175), he married Beatrice FitzWilliam (1114-1162)


Sybilla married Herbert FitzHerbert in 1108, Warwickshire County, England.

They were the parents of:
Thomas FitzHerbert (c.1110-1190)
Herbert FitzHerbert (c. 1115-1204) who married Lucy of Hereford

Herbert FitzHerbert was said to have been Lord Chamberlain to his half-uncle King Stephen, married Sybil Corbet, Lady of Alcaston (Salop) & Pontesbury (Salop)..., former concubine of King Henry I, and daughter & coheir of Burgess Robert Corbet.... There was a Grant by Herbert son of Herbert (dated some time around 1114-21), of the church at Weaverthorpe to the canons of Nostell Priory Church of St. Oswald, for the support of their guest house "which church William, treasurer of York, the grantee's brother, first gave to the canons in alms, with the consent of Archbishop Thurstan".

This grant was later confirmed (1153) by William, Archbishop of York (who was of course the grantee's brother). Herbert FitzHerbert is said to have been Lord of Weaverthorpe (Yorks), so this may have been his principal holding at one time. Herbert died c.1155.'          


Mabel's parents:

Robert Fitzhamon and Lady Sybil de Montgomery

Robert Fitzhamon (died March 1107), or Robert FitzHamon, Seigneur de Creully in the Calvados region and Torigny in the Manche region of Normandy, was feudal baron of Gloucester and the Norman conqueror of Glamorgan, southern Wales. He became Lord of Glamorgan in 1075.

As a kinsman of the Conqueror and one of the few Anglo-Norman barons to remain loyal to the two successive kings William Rufus and Henry I of England, he was a prominent figure in England and Normandy.

Not much is known about his earlier life, or his precise relationship to William I of England.


Robert FitzHamon (born c. 1045-1055, d. March 1107 Falaise, Normandy) was, as the prefix Fitz (fils de, "son of") suggests, the son of Hamo Dapifer the Sheriff of Kent and grandson of Hamon Dentatus ('The Betoothed or Toothy', i.e., probably buck-toothed). His grandfather held the lordships of Torigny, Creully, Mézy, and Evrecy in Normandy, but following his death at the Battle of Val-ès-Dunes in 1047, the family might have lost these lordships.

Few details of Robert's career prior to 1087 are available. Robert probably did not fight at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, and does not appear in the Domesday Book of 1086, although some of his relatives are listed therein.

 He first comes to prominence in surviving records as a supporter of King William Rufus (1087-1100) during the Rebellion of 1088. After the revolt was defeated he was granted as a reward by King William Rufus the feudal barony of Gloucester consisting of over two hundred manors in Gloucestershire and other counties. 

Some of these had belonged to the late Queen Matilda, consort of William the Conqueror and mother of William Rufus, and had been seized by her from the great Saxon thane Brictric son of Algar, apparently as a punishment for his having refused her romantic advances in his youth.

They had been destined as the inheritance of Rufus's younger brother Henry (the future King Henry I); nevertheless Fitzhamon remained on good terms with Henry.

The Twelve Knights of Glamorgan

One explanation is the legend of the Twelve Knights of Glamorgan, which dates from the 16th century, in which the Welsh Prince Iestyn ap Gwrgan (Jestin), prince or Lord of Glamorgan, supposedly called in the assistance of Robert Fitzhamon.

Fitzhamon defeated the prince of South Wales Rhys ap Tewdwr in battle in 1090. With his Norman knights as reward he then took possession of Glamorgan, and "the French came into Dyfed and Ceredigion, which they have still retained, and fortified the castles, and seized upon all the land of the Britons." Iestyn did not profit long by his involvement with the Normans.

He was soon defeated and his lands taken in 1091.

Cardiff Castle
Whether there is any truth in the legend or not Robert Fitzhamon seems to have seized control of the lowlands of Glamorgan and Gwynllwg sometime from around 1089 to 1094. His key strongholds were Cardiff Castle, which already may have been built, on the site of an old Roman fort, new castles at Newport, and at Kenfig. His descendants would inherit these castles and lands.

Rhys's daughter Nest became the mistress of King Henry I of England and allegedly was mother of Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester who married Mabel, Fitzhamon's daughter and heiress and thus had legitimacy both among the Welsh and the Norman barons.

He also refounded Tewkesbury Abbey in 1092. The abbey's dimensions are almost the same as Westminster Abbey. The first abbot was Giraldus, Abbot of Cranborne (d. 1110) who died before the abbey was consecrated in October 1121. The abbey was apparently built under the influence of his wife Sybil de Montgomery. said to be a beautiful and religious woman like her sisters.

Fitzhamon and His Kings

Legend has it that Robert had ominous dreams in the days before Rufus' fatal hunting expedition, which postponed but did not prevent the outing. He was one of the first to gather in tears around Rufus' corpse, and he used his cloak to cover the late king's body on its journey to be buried in Winchester. How much of these stories are the invention of later days is unknown.

In any case Fitzhamon proved as loyal to Henry I as he had been to his predecessor, remaining on Henry's side in the several open conflicts with Henry's brother Robert Curthose. He was one of the three barons who negotiated the 1101 truce between Henry I and Robert Curthose.

In 1105 he went to Normandy and was captured while fighting near his ancestral estates near Bayeux. This was one of the reasons Henry crossed the channel with a substantial force later that year. Fitzhamon was freed, and joined Henry's campaign, which proceeded to besiege Falaise. There Fitzhamon was severely injured in the head; although he lived two more years he was never the same mentally. He was buried in the Chapter House at Tewkesbury Abbey, which he had founded and considerably enriched during his lifetime.
Church of St James the Great, Kilkhampton, Cornwall


Fitzhamon married Sybil de Montgomery around 1087 to 1090, apparently the youngest daughter of Roger of Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury by his first wife Mabel Talvas, daughter of William I Talvas

 She survived her husband and is said to have entered a convent with two of her daughters. 


By his wife he is said to have had four daughters including:

  • Mabel FitzHamon, eldest daughter, who inherited his great estates and in about 1107 married Robert de Caen, 1st Earl of Gloucester, a natural son of King Henry I (1100-1135). Fitzhamon's huge land-holdings in several counties formed the feudal barony of Gloucester which was inherited by his son-in-law Robert de Caen, who in 1122 was created 1st Earl of Gloucester. Fitzhamon is sometimes called Earl of Gloucester, but was never so created formally. Robert Fitzhamon's great-granddaughter Isabel of Gloucester married King John (1199-1216).
  • Isabella (or Hawisa) FitzHamon, said to have married a count from Brittany, but no further details exist.

Mabel de Belleme (Talvas)


Mabel was the daughter of William I Talvas and his first wife Hildeburg. She was the heiress of her father’s estates, her half-brother Oliver apparently being excluded.

She also inherited the remainder of the Belleme honor in 1070 at the death of her uncle Yves, Bishop of Séez and Lord of Bellême. When their father was exiled by her brother Arnulf in 1048 she accompanied him until both were taken in by the Montgomery family

Between 1050-1054 she married Roger II de Montgomery, later 1st Earl of Shrewsbury.

Roger II de Montgomery was already a favorite of Duke William and by being given the marriage to Mabel it increased his fortunes even further.

Her husband Roger had not participated in the Norman conquest of England but had remained behind in Normandy as co-regent along with Queen Matilda. He had also contributed 60 ships to Duke William's invasion force.He joined the king in England in 1067 and was rewarded with the earldom of Shropshire and a number of estates to the point that he was one of the largest landholders in the Domesday Book.


She and her husband Roger transferred the church of Saint-Martin of Séez to Evroul and petitioned her uncle, Yves, Bishop of Séez to build a monastery there on lands from her estates. The consecration was in 1061 at which time Mabel made additional gifts.

Roger de Montgomery


Roger de Montgomerie (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great de Montgomery, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, and was a relative, probably a grandnephew, of the Duchess Gunnor, wife of Duke Richard I of Normandy. The elder Roger had large holdings in central Normandy, chiefly in the valley of the Dives, which the younger Roger inherited.


Roger was one of William the Conqueror's principal counsellors. He may not have fought in the initial invasion of England in 1066, instead staying behind to help govern Normandy. According to Wace’s Roman de Rou, however, he commanded the Norman right flank at Hastings, returning to Normandy with King William in 1067.

Shrewsbury Abbey
Shrewsbury Cathedral
 Afterwards he was entrusted with land in two places critical for the defense of England, receiving the rape of Arundel at the end of 1067 (or in early 1068), and in November 1071 he was created Earl of Shrewsbury; a few historians believe that while he received the Shropshire territories in 1071 he was not created Earl until a few years later.

Roger was thus one of the half dozen greatest magnates in England during William the Conqueror's reign. William gave Earl Roger nearly all of what is now the county of West Sussex, which at the time of the Domesday Survey was the Rape of Arundel. The Rape of Arundel was eventually split into two rapes, one continuing with the name Rape of Arundel and the other became the Rape of Chichester.

 Besides the 83 manors in Sussex, his possessions also included seven-eighths of Shropshire which was associated with the earldom of Shrewsbury, he had estates in Surrey (4 manors), Hampshire (9 manors), Wiltshire (3 manors), Middlesex (8 manors), Gloucestershire (1 manor), Worcestershire (2 manors), Cambridgeshire (8 manors), Warwickshire (11 manors) and Staffordshire (30 manors).

The income from Roger’s estates would amount to about £2000 per year, in 1086 the landed wealth for England was around £72,000, so it would have represented almost 3% of the nation’s GDP.

After William I's death in 1087, Roger joined with other rebels to overthrow the newly crowned King William II in the Rebellion of 1088. However, William was able to convince Roger to abandon the rebellion and side with him. This worked out favourably for Roger, as the rebels were beaten and lost their land holdings in England.

Roger first married Mabel de Bellême, who was heiress to a large territory on both sides of the border between Normandy and Maine. The medieval chronicler Orderic Vitalis paints a picture of Mabel of Bellême being a scheming and cruel woman. She was murdered by Hugh Bunel and his brothers, who in December 1077? rode into her castle of Bures-sur-Dive and cut off her head as she lay in bed.Their motive for the murder was that Mabel had deprived them of their paternal inheritance!

Roger and Mabel had 10 children:
Roger then married Adelaide de Le Puiset, by whom he had one son, Everard, who entered the Church.

After his death, Roger's estates were divided.

 The eldest surviving son, Robert, received the bulk of the Norman estates (as well as his mother's estates); the next son, Hugh, received the bulk of the English estates and the Earldom of Shrewsbury. After Hugh's death the elder son Robert inherited the earldom.

What an interesting set of great grandparents!!!!

Robert's sister and their marriages

Maud         Princess of England married Conan III

Conan III, also known as Conan of Cornouaille and Conan the Fat (Breton: Konan III a Vreizh, and Konan Kerne; c. 1093–1096 – September 17, 1148) was duke of Brittany, from 1112 to his death. He was the son of Duke Alan IV and Ermengarde of Anjou Alan IV Fergant "Alan the Strong", Duke of Brittany, Count of Nantes and Rennes, from the Cornwall dynasty.

Son of Hoel de Cornuaille V, Count of Kernev and Duke of Brittany and Hawise de Bretagne, Duchess of Brittany. Grandson of Alain Cagniart Count de Cornuaille and Judith de Nantes, Alan III Duke of Brittany m Bertha of Chartres.

Alan married Constance, the favorite daughter of William the Conqueror in 1087, but they had no children by the time she died in 1090, supposedly poisoned.

Secondly, Alan married Ermengarde of Anjou, 
the only daughter of Count Fulk IV of Anjou and Hildegarde of Beaugency and previous wife of William of Aquitaine.

 They married in 1093 and had three children:
* Geoffrey, died young
* Conan, Duke of Brittany
* Hawise, wife of Count Baldwin VII of Flanders
                                        (some sources say Geoffrey de Porhoet Vicomte de Porhoet)            
                                   
  *(They the parents of Hawise Fergant who married Geoffrey la Zouche the parents 
of Alan La Zouche)

This great grandfather Alan IV  was born into the war between William the Conqueror and his mother's brother, Conan II. To soothe the path for his invasion of England, William I married his favorite but unpopular in France (due to her "severe attitude" yet beloved by the Britons) daughter Constance to the Alan in 1087. William of Malmesbury believed Alan VI had Constance poisoned but nothing could be proven.

 Richmond Castle is exceptionally impressive, towering at over 300 ft, it is also one of Britain’s oldest stone keeps.  There has been one on this site since 1088 . Richmond was granted to Alan the Red, Count of Brittany in 1071.  Alan was a relation of William the Conqueror, a second cousin.  His father was Count Odo of Brittany. He was part of Duke William of Normandy’s household and was at the Battle of Hastings commanding the Breton contingent.
The Tour de France riders visited the grounds of Richmond Castle 

As a consequence, Alan was an extremely rich and powerful man – a position that he improved upon when he helped to quell the rebellion in the North in 1069.   He founded St Mary’s Abbey in York.

  (The building is in the grounds of the Museum grounds at York a beautiful place)

His power base was the north and his building work demonstrates how important it was for him to make his mark upon the landscape.  He also built the first castle at Middleham which was in the hands of his brother.  By the time of his death he was the fourth largest landowner in England.

Conan III

Conan III allied himself with Stephen of England in Stephen's war against the dispossessed Empress Matilda

He married Maud, an illegitimate daughter of King Henry I of England before 1113.

Conan and Maude had three children:

  • Hoel – disinherited from the Ducal crown; Count of Nantes;
  • Bertha (b.c. 1114) – married Alan of Penthièvre; upon Alan's death in 1146, she returned to Brittany; and
  • Constance  who married Alan La Zouche. 
                                      Their son Geoffrey La Zouche married Hawise Fergant*  

On his death-bed in 1148, Conan III disinherited Hoel from succession to the Duchy, stating that he was illegitimate and no son of his. By this surprise move Bertha became his heiress and successor. However, Hoel was to retain the county of Nantes

Sybilla of Normandy Beauclerc


Sybilla of Normandy (1092 – 12 or 13 July 1122) was Queen consort of Scotland, wife to Alexander I.
Sybilla was the first child of Henry I of England and his mistress, Lady Sybilla Corbet of Alcester (b. 1077 in Alcester, Warwickshire, d. after 1157). Her maternal grandfather was Robert, Count of Mortain, Earl of Cornwall. She was born circa 1092 in Domfront, Normandy.

Around 1107, she married Alexander I, King of Scots. The marriage was childless. The marriage ceremony may have occurred as early as 1107, or as at late as 1114.[1]
William of Malmesbury's account attacks Sybilla, but the evidence argues that Alexander and Sybilla were a devoted but childless couple and Sybilla was of noteworthy piety.[2] Sybilla died in unrecorded circumstances at Eilean nam Ban (Kenmore on Loch Tay) in July 1122 and was buried at Dunfermline Abbey. Alexander did not remarry and Walter Bower wrote that he planned an Augustinian Priory at the Eilean nam Ban dedicated to Sybilla's memory, and he may have taken steps to have her venerated.[3]

She died on 12 or 13 July 1122, on the tiny island of Eilean nam Ban (Eilean nan Bannoamh: "Isle of the female saints") in Loch Tay, and Alexander founded a priory on the island in her memory.
She was buried in Dunfermline Abbey, Fife.Dunfermline Abbey Geograph.jpg

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Saturday, August 30, 2014

2a.1.2 Amabilis Fitz Henry m Lord Walter de Riddelisford their dtr Emmeline de Ridelsford or was she?

We followed the lives of our great grandparents from Stephen de Longspee and Emmeline de Riddlesford, but who was Emmeline de Burgh apart from being the 22nd great grandmother?

There are numerous answers to that question.  The trouble is that in those times it was the tradition to name a son after the father, and then the daughter after the mother. Trying to unravel the de Riddlesfords has been quite difficult.

Emmaline appears to be the daughter of Walter de Riddlesford and his wife Amabilis Fitz Henry the daughter Henry Fitz Henry, son of King Henry I

But why would she have the name Emmeline?  Like mother like daughter, I thought it was more likely that her mother was also named Emmaline.

 But so many researchers insisted that her monther was Amabilis.  But after trawling the internet for hours, I found some reference to a Emmeline de Burg being married to Walter de Riddelsford.  And  there are umpteen Walter de Riddlesfords as well!

So I have followed that path, and while Amabilis is the daughter of King Henry I's son, Emmeline has a vast family history and her royal links are through both King William and the Kings of France.

For starters all the different families were involved in the Salisbury area, all with different titles and the like. Some very important citizens of the day!  And all part of the Royal inner circle.

Emmeline was the daughter of Hugh De Burgh and Beatrix de Warrene

Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent (c. 1160 – before 5 May 1243) was Justiciar of England and Ireland and one of the most influential men in England during the reigns of King John (1199-1216) and of his infant son and successor King Henry III .

De Burgh was the son of Walter de Burgh. He was the younger brother of William de Burgh (d. 1206).[1]
Dover Castle
He was a minor official in the household of Prince John, and became John's chamberlain around 1201 and continued to rise and fall in importance throughout his life.

He was also appointed Constable of Dover Castle, and also given charge of Falaise, in Normandy. He is cited as having been appointed a Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports by 1215, and although the co-joint position of this office to that of the constableship of Dover Castle was not fully established until after the Baron's War, a rather long period seems to have elapsed between the two appointments.





In 1204 de Burgh was given charge of the great castle of ChinonPoitou had fallen, de Burgh held the castle for an entire year before relinquishing it to the French.



In 1206, he bought the parish of Tunstall from Robert de Arsic.

De Burgh remained loyal to the king during the barons' rebellions at the end of John's reign. On 24 August 1217, at the start of the reign of the infant King Henry III (1216-1272), a French fleet arrived off the coast of Sandwich, bringing to the French King Louis, then ravaging England, soldiers, siege engines and fresh supplies. Hubert, set sail to intercept it, resulting in the Battle of Sandwich.

 De Burgh's fleet scattered the French and captured their flagship (The Great Ship of Bayonne), commanded by Eustace the Monk, who was promptly executed.
When the news reached Louis, he entered into fresh peace negotiations.

The Magna Carta mentions him as one of those who advised the king to sign the charter, and he was one of the twenty-five sureties of its execution. John named him Chief Justiciar in June 1215.

Regent to Henry III

When Henry III came of age in 1227 de Burgh was made lord of Montgomery Castle in the Welsh Marches and Earl of Kent. He remained one of the most influential people at court. On 27 April 1228 he was named Justiciar for life.

But in 1232 the plots of his enemies finally succeeded and he was removed from office and soon was in prison. He escaped from Devizes Castle and joined the rebellion of Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke in 1233.

In 1234, Edmund Rich, Archbishop of Canterbury effected a reconciliation. He officially resigned the Justiciarship about 28 May 1234, but had not exercised the power of the office after September 1232.

 The judgment was reversed by William Raleigh also known as William de Raley in 1234, which for a time, restored the earldom.

The marriage of Hubert de Burgh's daughter Margaret (or Megotta as she was also known) to Richard of Clare, the young Earl of Gloucester, brought de Burgh into some trouble in 1236, for the earl was as yet a minor and in the king's wardship, and the marriage had been celebrated without the royal license.

Hubert, however, protested that the match was not of his making, and promised to pay the king some money, so the matter passed by for the time. Eventually the marriage came to an end, via annulment. She then died in 1260. Her eldest son 'John de Burgo' then inherited the parish of Tunstall.

He was rather a busy man he married 4 times!

  1. Joan, daughter of William, Earl of Devon
  2. Beatrice de Warrenne, daughter of William de Warrenne.
  3. Isabella, daughter and heiress of William, 2nd Earl of Gloucester.
  4. Margaret, sister of Alexander II of Scotland.

Hubert de Burgh died in 1243 in Banstead in Surrey, and was buried in the Church of the Friars Preachers (commonly called Black Friars) in Holborn, London

Not bad credentials for our great grandfather to have!

It was from his marriage to Beatrice de Warrenne that Emmeline was born.

Beatrice de Warrenne was the daughter of Reginald de Warrenne, the family certainly left their mark in history!

Her great grandfather was one of King William's Knights at Battle of Hastings!  I guess he had to do what he had to do, cause he married the King's daughter!



William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, Seigneur de Varennes ( 1088), was a Norman nobleman who was created Earl of Surrey under William II 'Rufus'. He was one of the few who was documented to have been with William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. At the Domesday Survey he held extensive lands in thirteen counties including the Rape of Lewes in Sussex (now East Sussex).


William was a younger son of Ranulf I de Warenne and his 1st wife Beatrice (whose mother was probably a sister of duchess Gunnor, wife of duke Richard I).

William was from Varenne, Seine Maritime, cant. Bellencombre. At the beginning of Duke William’s reign, Ranulf II was not a major landholder and, as a second son, William de Warenne did not stand to inherit the family’s small estates. During the rebellions of 1052-1054, the young William de Warenne proved himself a loyal adherent to the Duke and played a significant part in the Battle of Mortemer for which he was rewarded with lands confiscated from his uncle, Roger of Mortemer, including the Castle of Mortimer and most of the surrounding lands.At about the same time he acquired lands at Bellencombre including the castle which became the center of William de Warenne’s holdings in Normandy

William was among the Norman barons summoned to a council by Duke William when the decision was made to oppose king Harold II's accession to the throne of England. He fought at the Battle of Hastings and was well rewarded with numerous holdings. The Domesday book records his lands stretched over thirteen counties and included the important Rape of Sussex, several manors in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, the significant manor of Conisbrough in Yorkshire and Castle Acre in Norfolk, which became his caput 

 He is one of the very few proven Companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He fought against rebels at the Isle of Ely in 1071 where he showed a special desire to hunt down Hereward the Wake who had killed his brother-in-law Frederick the year before. 

Hereward is supposed to have unhorsed him with an arrow shot.

Later career

Sometime between 1078 and 1082,William and his wife Gundred traveled to Rome visiting monasteries along the way. In Burgundy they were unable to go any further due to a war between Emperor Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII.

 They visited Cluny Abbey and were impressed with the monks and their dedication. William and Gundred decided to found a Cluniac priory on their own lands in England. William restored buildings for an abbey.

 They sent to Hugh the abbot of Cluny for monks to come to England at their monastery. At first Hugh was reluctant but he finally sent several monks including Lazlo who was to be the first abbot. The house they founded was Lewes Priory dedicated to St. Pancras, the first Cluniac priory in England

William was loyal to William II, and it was probably in early 1088 that he was created Earl of Surrey. He was mortally wounded at the First Siege of Pevensey Castle and died 24 June 1088 at Lewes, Sussex, and was buried next to his wife Gundred at the Chapterhouse of Lewes Priory. At his death William's vast landholdings were estimated to be worth over an adjusted $143 Billion today. 

 I wonder where all the money went?

Family

He married first, before 1070, Gunred, the daughter of King William the Conqueror and Queen Mathilda.

With Gunred he had:
William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey (d. 1138) married Elisabeth (Isabelle) de Vermandois,

widow of Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester.  



  Now from this marriage both Robert and Elizabeth are our great grandparents, so she is a great grandmother twice!  She was the daughter of the King of France.

  • Edith de Warenne who married 1stly Gerard de Gournay, lord of Gournay-en-Bray, 2ndly and Drew de Monchy.
  • Reynold de Warenne, who inherited lands from his mother in Flanders and died c.1106-08
  • an unnamed daughter who married Ernise de Coulonces 

William married secondly a sister of Richard Gouet who survived him.They had no children.

His son William de Warenne and Elizabeth had several children"

Reginald Earl of Downham and Surrey
William de Warenne who was the 3rd Earl of Surrey
Lady Ada de Warrene who became the Queen of Scotland, as she married King Henry I

Their mother Lady Isabel (Elizabeth) de Vermandois was the daughter of Herbert IV Count of Vermandois.
and their father was Hugh I Count of Vermandois son of King Henry I of France.
Adelaide Countess of Vermandois

Hugh was one of the Knightly leaders of the first Crusades.
















Reginald de Warenne, who inherited his father's property in upper Normandy, including the castles of Bellencombre and Mortemer. He married Adeline, daughter of William, lord of Wormgay in Norfolk, by whom he had a son William (founder of the priory of Wormegay), whose daughter and sole heir Beatrice married first Dodo, lord Bardolf, and secondly Hubert de Burgh; Reginald was one of the persecutors of Archbishop Thomas in 1170.

Reginald de Warenne (sometimes Rainald de Warenne; between 1121 and 1126 – 1179) was a medieval Anglo-Norman nobleman and royal official in late 12th century England. The third son of an earl, Reginald began his career as an administrator of his brother's estates but married an heiress to a barony.

When his father-in-law died he became Baron of Wormegay in Norfolk. By the reign of King Henry II of England, Reginald was a royal justice and played a minor role in the Becket controversy in 1170. He died in 1179 and left as his heir a son as well as daughters.

Reginald de Warenne was the third son of William de Warenne, the second Earl of Surrey, who died in 1138. Reginald's mother was Isabel de Vermandois.Reginald was likely born between 1121 and 1126.

Reginald's brothers were William de Warenne, the third Earl of Surrey, and Ralph de Warenne. Reginald's two sisters were Gundrada de Warenne who married first Roger, Earl of Warwick and William of Lancaster, and Ada de Warenne who married Henry, Earl of Huntingdon.

Ada's husband was the only son of King David I of Scotland, and she was the mother of two kings of Scotland – Malcolm IV and William I. From their mother's first marriage to Robert de Beaumont, Reginald and his siblings were half-siblings of the twins Robert de Beaumont the Earl of Leicester and Waleran de Beaumont, the Count of Meulan and Earl of Worcester.

There was another Reginald de Warenne alive during Reginald's lifetime – this may have been an illegitimate half-brother.

Early career

Reginald first appears in the historical record around 1138 when he was a witness on some of his father's charters. Reginald was one of the main administrators of his elder brother's estates up until 1147. Reginald also had his own lands that he was granted from his brother's honour in Norfolk and Sussex.

While his brother was on crusade, Reginald granted the right to form a merchant guild to the inhabitants of the town of Lewes, as long as his brother agreed after his return from crusade.

William, the third earl, died in early 1148 while on crusade and the earldom and estates passed to William's daughter Isabel, whom King Stephen of England married to the king's second son, William.

Reginald continued to serve the new earl and also began to serve the king, witnessing a number of royal charters. Reginald eventually became the main advisor to the new earl.

Reginald was granted the castles of Bellencombre and Mortemer in the charter of Westminster in 1153 which settled the rights that William, the surviving son of King Stephen, received for not contesting the crown of England going to Henry of Anjou after Stephen's death,and was also a witness to the charter. Reginald continued to serve as a royal official, witnessing a number of the new king's charters.

Royal service

In 1157 Reginald was one of the justices present when King Henry II decided a case between Hilary of Chichester, the Bishop of Chichester and Walter de Luci, the Abbot of Battle Abbey.

 In 1164 he was present at the Council of Clarendon, which was part of the long struggle between King Henry II and the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, over the control of the English church.

Reginald also accompanied the king's daughter Matilda to Germany for her marriage to Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony.

Reginald was one of the four main justices involved with the general eyre in 1168 through 1170, along with Richard of Ilchester, Guy the Dean of Waltham Holy Cross, and William Basset.

In 1168, Henry II summoned Reginald as a Serjeant-at-law, one of the first identifiable members of that order in the historical record.Besides these administrative and judicial roles, Reginald was a baron of the exchequer in 1169 and held the office of Sheriff of Sussex from 1170 to 1176

In 1170, Reginald was involved with attempts to keep Thomas Becket, who had been in exile, from returning to England. Working with Reginald were Roger de Pont L'Évêque – the Archbishop of York, Gilbert Foliot – the Bishop of London, Josceline de Bohon – the Bishop of Salisbury, Gervase de Cornhill – the Sheriff of Kent, and Ranulf de Broc. At that time, Reginald was a royal justiciar.

Reginald was part of the party that met Becket at Sandwich on 1 December 1070 when the archbishop returned to England. Reginald's group, led by Gervase of Cornhill, complained that the archbishop was sowing dissension in the land by his excommunication of the three ecclesiastics, but Becket managed to calm the officials by stating he would consider the matter and reply to them the next day.

The next day the group was accompanied by some clergy sent by the ecclesiastics who had been excommunicated by Becket. Nothing further was accomplished by this meeting except further offers from Becket to consider other options.

Reginald was involved in a further attempt at resolving the differences between the king and Becket later in December 1170, which again came to nothing.

In 1173 Reginald worked for the king, along with Richard fitz Nigel and Nicholas de Sigillo, when all three men assessed a land tax on parts of the royal demesne. These three men assessed the tax in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire, Kent and Sussex.

Death and legacy

Reginald married Alice, the daughter and heiress of William de Wormegay, Baron of Wormegay in Norfolk. William de Wormegay died in 1166 and Reginald was fined a bit over 466 pounds by the king for the right to inherit his father-in-law's lands.

 With his father-in-law's death he became Lord of Wormegay, or Baron Wormegay.This lordship was assessed at 14 and a quarter knight's fees and was located mostly in Norfolk and Suffolk. The centre of the honour was at Lynn, Norfolk.

Sometime between Michaelmas 1178 and the start of 1179, Reginald retired from public life and became a monk at Lewes Priory, which had been founded by his family.

Reginald died in 1179, and his heir was his son William de Warenne. Besides his son, Reginald also had several daughters. One was Gundrada who married three times – first to Peter de Valognes, son of Roger de Valognes, second to William de Courcy, son of William de Courcy and Avice de Rumilly the daughter of William Meschin, and third to Geoffrey Hose, the son of Henry Hose.

Another daughter was Alice who married Peter, constable of Mealton. A possible third daughter was Muriel, who was a nun at Carrow Abbey. Another possible daughter was Ela, who married Duncan the Earl of Fife.

At his death, Reginald still owed a large portion of the fine he'd been assessed for the inheritance of his father-in-law's estates.[1]

Image result for lewes priory
Lewes Prory
The historian Edmund King has called Reginald "the fixer in that formidable family". Reginald gave lands and gifts to a number of monasteries. Among these were the Warenne family foundations of Lewes and Castle Acre Priory, with further gifts to Carrow, Clerkenwell Priory, and Binham Priory.




De Riddlesfords



Walter died in 1226 and was succeeded by his son (another) Walter de Ridelsford (born 1204 in SalisburyWiltshire, England).  This Walter married Annora de Vitrie (1206) whose ancestors crossed with those of Stephen Longspee's



 Old Walter's granddaughter, Emmeline, married Hugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster (as his second wife) and, then, Stephen Longespee, grandson of Henry II of England

Walter de Ridleford, Lord of Bray, co. Dublin, , whose only daughter and heir, Emelina, was m. 1st, to Hugh de Laci, the younger Earl of Ulster, who d. in 1243; and  secondly, to Stephen de Longue Espée, who d. lord justice of Ireland, in 1260, whose daughter., Emelina, was m. to Gerald, Lord Offaley


Walter was again the son of another Walter, and this is a little about his lands in Ireland he received them from Earl Strongbow of Pembroke.


(Also the builder of a mott and baillie castle now known as Kilkea Castle)

Then Walter's son and heir, another Walter de Riddlesford, sought to have his inheritance confirmed. Now John refused to confirm the de Riddlesford inheritance. His reason was explicit: ' because the king suspects Walter's charter'. Indeed, as the 1200s progressed, it was to become royal policy to extend the landed interests of the crown. 

Thus, royal agents were encouraged to be utterly unscrupulous in their querying of title, placing the de Riddlesfords and others in an invidious position. The situation in the district now known as Powerscourt yields an insight to the complexities of the tenurial position. Here the crown, the de Riddlesfords and the archbishop of Dublin all asserted title to lands there. 

To the east of the de Riddlesford lands there, the possessions of the royal manor of Obrun had been gradually expanded into the district. Indeed, the crown may established the administrative centre of the royal manor within sight of the de Riddlesford possessions - accounting for the unusual situation there of two large contemporary mottes located within 900m of each other.

This most probably is the remaining physical evidence in the landscape of the competing interests of the crown and the de Riddlesfords.
In spite of crown intentions, the de Riddlesfords continued to develop their lands. In 1213 Walter de Riddlesford II was granted a licence for a weekly market at Bray, leading him probably to endow Bray with borough status.

 Indeed, the 1260 extent of the arable land held by the de Riddlesfords valued them at 10d. per acre. For all the crown pressure, the extinguishment of the de Riddlesford title to these lands was to be due to the failure of the de Riddlesfords to continue in the male line. Consequently, the de Riddlesford inheritance fell to be divided among a number of heiresses. 

At a time when the Irish of Leinster were becoming increasingly dangerous, Christina de Mariscis (one of the co-heiresses of the de Riddlesfords) in 1281 surrendered her estates in Connacht, Kildare and Dublin (incorporating Wicklow) to the Crown in exchange for lands in England. Thus, the crown (after almost a century of wrangling) had possession of the manor of Bray and its outlying lands.