Margaret Creagh came from a long line of merchants.
Her maternal lineage through Henry Cock (1574 to
1624) can again be traced to influential landowners of the region. Henry Cock a Mayor or Newcastle in 1627,
married Dorcas Shafto. They are the 10th great grandparents.
There is a
lot of information about the various families on the Internet. I have included some facts about different
families.
From Gorm
the Old Gormsson, the first historically recognised King of Denmark, who is 31st
great grandfather to Dorcas Shafto, who was Margaret Creagh’s grandmother, including
stories of the lineages of:
De Crepon
De Vielles
De Beaumont
De Quincy
Comyn
De Umfreville
De Haggerston
Swinburn
Shafto.
Many of the
families came from France, many were involved with or supporters of William the
Conqueror and the invasion of England.
Some were
responsible for writing the Magna Carta (an interesting discovery)
Some became
great grandparents twice over.
I hope you
enjoy another step back in time!
The
de Umfraville Lineage
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Umfraville is the name
of an English baronial family,
derived from Amfreville in Normandy. Members of
this family obtained lands in Northumberland, including Redesdale and Prudhoe, from the Norman
kings, and a later member, Gilbert de Umfraville (died 1245),
married Matilda, daughter of Malcolm,
earl of Angus,
and obtained this Scottish earldom.
Gilbert's
son, Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus (c.
1244-1308), took part in the fighting between Henry
III of England
and his barons, and in the Scottish expeditions of Edward
I of England.
He was governor of Forfar and was given
the right of appointing the wardens of the marches. Gilbert married Elizabeth de Comyn. They are the 20th great
grandparents
His
son Robert, earl of
Angus (1277–1325), was taken prisoner by the Scots at Bannockburn, but was soon
released, though he was deprived of the earldom of Angus and of his Scottish
estates.
Robert
de Umfraville, Earl of Angus, Lord Umfreville. (19th Great grandfather)
m
firstly LUCY de Kyme, daughter of Sir PHILIP de Kyme 1st Lord Kyme & his
wife --- le Bigod. A manuscript genealogy of the Gant family records that
“Roberto de Umphravil comiti de Anguishe” married “Willielmus de Kyma…
Luciæ sorori suæ”[18].
m
secondly as her first husband, Eleanor (Alienor) Lumley, (b.abt 1297 d. 31
March 1368) daughter of Robert de Lumley and Mary FitzMarmaduke. She married
secondly (before 16 August 1327) Sir Roger Mauduit of Eshot, co.
Northumberland.
Earl
Robert & his first wife had one child:
1.
GILBERT de Umfreville (1310-6 January 1381). A manuscript genealogy of the Gant
family names “Gilbertus Umphravil” as son of “Roberto de Umphravil comiti de
Anguishe” and his wife “Willielmus de Kyma…Luciæ sorori suæ”, adding that he
died without heirs and was succeeded by “Waltero Taylboys filio filiæ sororis
suæ”.
He succeeded his father in 1325 as Earl of Angus, Lord Unfreville. He
was disinherited in Scotland in 1329. m firstly JOAN Willoughby, daughter of
Sir ROBERT Willoughby 1st Lord Willoughby & his wife Margaret Deincourt
(-16 July 1350). m secondly (before October 1369) MAUD de Lucy, daughter of
Sir THOMAS Lucy 2nd Lord Lucy & his wife Margaret Multon (-18 December
1398).
She married secondly (before 3 October 1383) as his second wife, Henry
Percy 1st Earl of Northumberland. Earl Gilbert & his first wife had one
child:
a) Sir ROBERT de
Umfreville (-before 25 May 1368). m (licence 20 January 1340) as her first
husband, MARGARET Percy, daughter of Sir HENRY Percy Lord Percy & his wife
Idoine Clifford (-Gyng [Buttsbury], Essex September 1375). She married secondly
(before 25 May 1368) as his second wife, Sir William Ferrers 3rd Lord Ferrers
of Groby.
2. ELIZABETH
de Umfreville . A manuscript genealogy of the Gant family records that
“Gilbertus Umphravil” was succeeded by “Waltero Taylboys filio filiæ sororis
suæ”[20]. m GILBERT de Boroughdon [Burdon].
Earl
Robert & his second wife Eleanor (Alienor) Lumley ..had two children:
3.ROBERT
de Umfreville (-before 10 October 1379).
4.THOMAS
de Umfreville of Hessle, Yorkshire, and Holmside, co. Durham (-21 May 1387). He
inherited the castle of Harbottle and the manor of Otterburn 1375[21] m[22]
JOAN de Roddam, daughter of ADAM de Roddam & his wife ---. Thomas & his
wife had two children:
a) Sir THOMAS de
Umfreville of Harbottle (1360-12 February or 8 March 1391). m AGNES GREY (b.abt
1365 d.25 October 1420), daughter of Thomas de Grey and Margaret de Pressene--.
Sir Thomas & his wife had six children:
i) Sir GILBERT de
Umfreville of Harbottle (Harbottle Castle 18 October 1390-killed in battle
Baugé, Anjou 22 March 1421). m (before 3 February 1413) ANNE Neville, daughter
of RALPH Neville 1st Earl of Westmoreland & his first wife Margaret
Stafford of Stafford.
ii) ELIZABETH de
Umfreville (1391-23 November 1424). m Sir WILLIAM Elmeden of Elmeden
[Embleton], co. Durham.
iii) MAUD de
Umfreville (1393-4 January 1435). m Sir WILLIAM Ryther of Ryther, Yorkshire.
iv) JOAN de Umfreville
(1395-after 1446). m Sir THOMAS Lambert .
v) MARGARET de
Umfreville (1397-23 June 1444). m firstly WILLIAM Lodington of Gunby, co.
Lincoln (-9 January 1420). m secondly (before 26 April 1423) JOHN Constable of
Halsham in Holderness.
vi) AGNES de Umfreville (1399-after 1446). m
THOMAS Haggerston of Haggerston, co. Durham. 16th
Ggrandparents
(From:
Medieval Lands Project-Scottish Nobility)- www.fmg.ac
His
first son and heir by Lucy de Kyme, Gilbert de Umfraville (1310–1381),
claimed the earldom, which he hoped to gain by helping Edward Baliol to win the
Scottish crown, but he failed, and on his death without issue the greater part
of his English estates passed to his niece, Eleanor, the wife of Sir Henry Talboys (died 1370),
while others, including Redesdale, Harbottle, and Otterbourne, came to his
half-brother, Sir Thomas de Umfraville(d.1386) a son by Lady
Eleanor(Alienor) Lumley,. Sir Thomas's son, another Sir Thomas de Umfraville
(1362–1391), left a son, Gilbert de Umfraville (1390–1421), who fought
on the Scottish border and in France under his
warlike uncle, Sir Robert
de Umfraville
(died 1436).
Although
not related in blood he appears to have inherited the estates in Lincolnshire of the Kyme family, and he was
generally known as the Earl of Kyme, though the title was never properly
conferred upon him. In 1415 he fought at the Battle
of Agincourt;
he was afterwards sent as an ambassador to Charles
VI of France,
and arranged an alliance between the English and the Burgundians. He was
killed at the Battle
of Bauge
on 22 March 1421.
The de Haggerston Lineage
The name
of Haggerston is of great antiquity in Scotland, and local from
Halkerston. William and Richard
Haggerston are witnesses to a donation in 1190.
John de Haggerston was once of the Scots barons who swore fealty to King
Edward, 1296. Robert de Haggerston is a
witness in a donation to the abbey of Culture 1468, Sir Thomas Haggerston was
made travelling-governor to Alexander Stuart, son of James IV 1506.
Sir
Thomas de Haggerston was the son of Henry de Haggerston and Mary Selby. He was
born in 1390.
Haggerston
Castle was
first mentioned in sources in 1311, when Edward II visited the
castle, and again in 1345, when it was described as a 'strong tower' and was
granted a licence to crenellate by Edward III in the same
year. This licence is recorded in the Calendar of patent rolls (1343-45),
p. 479. His heir was his uncle Sir Robert, who died on 29 January 1436,
when the male line of the Umfraville family became extinct. The chronicler John Hardyng was for many
years in the service of Sir Robert, and in his Chronicle he eulogizes various
members of the family.
The
inhabitants of the castle, the de Hagardestons, are believed to have been part
of the invading force of William
the Conqueror,
who invaded as far north as Berwick-upon-Tweed. The land at
Haggerston was, at that time, boggy and wet, the remaining lake serving as a
reminder of this.
There are few records of the early part of the history of
Haggerston Castle, as later fires destroyed much of the castle, along with its
documents. It is known that John de Hagardeston inhabited the castle in the
late 12th and early 13th century, his death having been documented circa 1210. He
married into the Manners family, of Cheswick. The name of
de Hagardeston appears to have changed to the anglicized spelling of Haggerston
with Thomas Haggerston, born circa 1458.
In
1642, Sir
Thomas Haggerston
was created the first baronet of
Haggerston, in the Baronetage
of England.
The Haggerstons married into many great families, such as the Cheswick family,
gaining large amounts of land, but Haggerston eventually became a minor estate,
connected to the Maxwell and Constable families, and passed to the Maxwell Lord Herries of Terregles, through
Winifred Maxwell, who married William Haggerston-Constable, second son of the
third Baronet. Their grandson, William Constable-Maxwell, became the 10th Lord
Herries of Terregles when the title was restored in 1858.
Sir Thomas
de Haggerston and Agnes de Umfreville had a daughter Margaret de Haggerston.
The Swinburn Lineage
John Swinburne (1428 – 1488) lived in Nafferton, Northumberland
in England and he married Margaret
Hagerston. They had a son Thomas Swinburne, (1453 – 1509). He married Margaret Mitchelson (1460 Durham d
1485 Eddingham). Margart was the
daughter of Rovert Irving Mitchelson and his wife Janet Henderson Mc Farlane.
John was the son of Sir William Swinburne VII and
Elizabeth Collingwood.
Biography
William
Swinburne’s ancestors had lived for many years at Capheaton, where they owned
extensive estates. They also acquired the manors of Chollerton and Great
Heaton, which were settled upon William’s father and mother during the lifetime
of his grandfather and namesake, Sir William Swinburne. William’s father died
at some point before March 1363, while he was still a minor, leaving his
mother, Joan, the daughter of Sir Robert Ogle, to manage the family affairs. A
quarrel had by then arisen between Joan and her kinswoman, Agnes Swinburne, who
was likewise trying to protect the interests of a young son, although they
managed to reach a compromise over the payment of rents at Chollerton which was
to last until the two boys came of age and could arrange matters for themselves.
William had probably achieved his majority by February 1371, when he attended
the baptism of (Sir)
John Widdrington*
near Morpeth while on his way to serve with the garrison at Roxburgh.
That he
was recognized as capable and trustworthy from an early age is evident from a
lease made to him in 1374 by John, earl of Salisbury, of the castle and barony
of Wark, right on the Scottish border. Yet despite his prowess as a soldier,
which was repeatedly proven in skirmishes and raids over the next 30 years,
Wark fell into the hands of the enemy in June 1386, and he himself was briefly
taken prisoner by the Scots.
Meanwhile,
in May 1378, William was confirmed in possession of unspecified ancestral
estates in Tynedale and Redesdale. He was later able to augment these holdings
when his relative, Sir
Thomas Swinburne*,
the bulk of whose property lay in Essex, sold him his maternal inheritance in
the Northumbrian villages of Stamfordham and Heugh. William agreed to pay 50
marks for the land on the condition that he might be allowed a few weeks in
which to change his mind or alter the terms of the sale. The transaction must
have been completed to his satisfaction, as subsequently, in 1399, he bought
out that other half of these properties which had gone to Sir Thomas’s kinsman,
William, Lord Hilton.
We do not know exactly when he married Mary, the widow of
Sir John Strother, but his connexion with her family evidently dated from 1381,
if not before. In December of that year he and two other of his many relations,
his cousin, Sir Robert Ogle, and Sir
Thomas Blenkinsop*,
had joined with
the influential northern landowner, Sir
Ralph Euer*,
and the earl of Northumberland in pledging securities of £300 that they would
surrender certain goods which had belonged to the late Alan
Strother†. An assignment
of dower in Longframlington, Felton, Thirston, Moneylaws and the surrounding
countryside was made to Mary in January 1386, by which date she and William,
who had recently been knighted, were man and wife. She was, indeed, a valuable
prize, for in addition to the customary third of her husband’s estates, she
also held land in Langton, Newton and Kirknewton which Henry Strother had
settled upon her as a jointure in 1351 when she married his son.
Furthermore,
as one of the three daughters and coheirs of Sir Alan Heton, she stood to
inherit a share of other widespread estates in Northumberland. Her sister,
Joan, was, in fact, married to Sir Robert Ogle, and was the mother of the two
shire knights, John
Bertram*
and Sir
Robert Ogle*.
Not long after Sir Alan’s death, in the spring of 1388, a partition was made
which left Mary and Sir William with holdings in Ingram, Lowick,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Unthank and Tritlington.
Some rents had been lost through
devastation by the Scots, but even after certain re-adjustments were effected,
in 1394, to compensate for this, Mary’s income must still have been quite
considerable. Sir William remained on friendly terms with the Strothers, and in
1389 Margaret Strother (whose husband, the abovementioned Sir Thomas
Blenkinsop, had just died in enemy hands) made him her attorney to take custody
of various ‘treasures and jewels’ with which she had planned to ransom him and
Margaret, the mother of Sir
Thomas Gray*,
from captivity in Scotland.
By now
a figure of some consequence in northern society, Sir William owed his growing
influence not only to his wife, but to other important personal connections as
well. In 1384, John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, retained him at a fee of £20
p.a. as a member of his affinity, and continued to pay the annuity until 1397
if not later. Although far less powerful than the duke at a national level,
Henry, earl of Northumberland, exercised far greater authority in the north by
virtue of his dominant position as a landowner. He, too, demanded Sir William’s
allegiance in terms which brooked no argument, commanding his attendance at ‘march
days’ (when the English and Scots met to discuss their grievances) and other
quasi-military gatherings.
On one
occasion he wrote sharply to Sir William, expressing his surprise and annoyance
at the latter’s failure to appear when summoned to a love-day at Kershope
Bridge. ‘We wish to compel you to do right and justice, so take this to heart’,
he added somewhat ominously; and on another occasion Sir William was tersely
reminded that any further disobedience could well result in forfeiture or
worse. (‘And know indeed, in case you are unwilling, we shall distrain your
body and goods to recompense ourself.’) Although relations between the earl and
Gaunt were often tense and difficult—a fact which may well explain Sir
William’s rather fraught relationship with Northumberland—one or other of the
two magnates could, nevertheless, be relied upon for help in emergencies.
For
example, when Sir Henry Heton threatened to disrupt arrangements for the
partition of the Heton inheritance, Sir William promptly appealed to Gaunt’s
son, the earl of Derby, asking him to use his influence with Northumberland so
that Sir Henry could be restrained. Far more serious problems arose as a result
of violent confrontations between Sir William and certain tenants of Edmund,
duke of York, in the bailiwick of Tynedale. At all events, his ‘raiding,
plundering, oppression and extortion’ incurred the wrath of the duke, who took
from him securities of 500 marks, in February 1390, that he would submit to his
judgement and behave peacably in future. However, Sir William’s energies were
usually directed against the Scots, for despite his frequent (albeit reluctant)
presence at meetings with delegations from across the border, he could not
himself resist the prospect of an illicit raiding party into enemy territory.
At some unknown date, he and his friend, Sir Thomas Gray, planned such an
expedition with some members of the Percy retinue and other local gentlemen,
all of whom were sworn to secrecy.
During
the 1390s, Sir William extended his estates even further by leasing property
from others. In the summer of 1392, for example, he contracted with the
collegiate church of Windsor to farm the lands and tithes of the parish church
of Simonburn (where some of his ancestors were buried) at a rent of 26 marks a
year; and at the same time he agreed to pay (Sir) John Widdrington £5 p.a. for
the use of his demesnes at Haughton. Naturally enough, the electors of
Northumberland chose to return him to Parliament, in 1395, although somewhat
surprisingly this marks his only known appearance in the Lower House.
That he
continued to occupy a leading position in county society is evident from his
acquisition, in 1396, of land in Whittington, and the award to him in the
following year of a royal pardon freely excusing ‘all manner of escapes by
felons, forfeitures, judgements or decrees, transgressions, negligences and
misprisions, etc.’. Further letters of pardon were issued in his name in
November 1398, by which date he had been appointed to audit the accounts of
Robert Waldby, the late archbishop of York.
This commission not only gave him
the opportunity to purchase outright for £36 all the debts still owing to
Waldby in Hexhamshire, but also to take over the stewardship of the
archiepiscopal liberty there. Sir
John Clavering*,
the bailiff, complained to Richard II that Sir William had acted ‘with false
and rashly assumed authority’, and he was promptly ordered either to relinquish
the post or else defend his action before the royal council. Despite this brush
with the authorities, Sir William was named in the autumn of 1398 as one of the
parties to a truce on the west march between the English and the Scots.
He also
had the satisfaction of marrying his daughter, Joan, to John, the son and heir
of the wealthy northern landowner, Sir
Robert Lisle*.
Capheaton is a village
in Northumberland, in England, about 25
miles (40 km) to the northwest of Newcastle
upon Tyne.
It was built as a planned model village in the late eighteenth century. The
name Capheaton is really Caput Heaton, i.e., Heaton Magna, nearby
Kirkheaton being the original Heaton Parva.
The
Capheaton archives are at the Northumberland Record Office.
he Devil's
Causeway
passes the village just over 1 mile (2 km) to the east. The causeway is a Roman road which
starts at Port Gate on Hadrian's Wall, north of Corbridge, and extends
55 miles (89 km) northwards across Northumberland to the mouth of the River Tweed at Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Capheaton Hall, is an English
country house,
the seat of the Swinburne
Baronets
and the childhood home of the poet Algernon Swinburne. It counts
among the principal gentry seats of Northumberland. It is a Grade I listed
building.
The
house, which was built for Sir John Swinburne in 1667-68 by Robert Trollope of Newcastle,
is a provincial essay in Baroque, of local
stone with a giant pilasters on high bases supporting sections of entablature
dividing the main front into a wide central bay and flanking bays, under a
sloping roof with vernacular flat-footed dormers. The estate was improved with
a model farm in Gothic taste, designed by Daniel Garrett for Sir John
Swinburne, ca 1746, one of the earliest examples of the Gothic Revival. The north front was rebuilt
for Sir John in 1789-90 by a local architect, William Newton.
The
house stands in rolling parkland in the manner of Capability Brown. The
naturalistic setting of Sir Edward's Lake south of the house was designated a
Site of Nature Conservation Importance in 1983 for the wintering and breeding
wildfowl it harbours.
Two
miles north-east of the village is East Shaftoe Hall, a mostly 16th century
house, much altered in the 17th and 18th centuries, which incorporates a pele tower dating from
the late 13th or early 14th century.
Edlingham
Castle,Northumberland the Home of the Swinburnes
Edlingham
Castle
is a small castle ruin, having Scheduled
Ancient Monument
and Grade
I listed building
status, in the care of English
Heritage,
in a valley to the west of Alnwick, Northumberland, England. It
has been described as "...one of the most interesting in the county",
by Nikolaus Pevsner, the architectural historian Edlingham itself is
little more than a hamlet with a church alongside the castle.
The
ruins are mostly laid low though much of the solar tower still
stands despite an impressive crack running several stories down to ground
level. The foundations and part of the walls of the hall house, gatehouse, barbican and other
courtyard buildings are still visible, most dating from the 16th century.
The
castle - more properly a fortified manor house typical of
many medieval houses in the North of
England
- guards one of the few approaches to Alnwick through the
hills to its west. Its fortifications were increased in response to the border warfare which raged between England and
Scotland in the period
from about 1300 to 1600.
By
1174, a manor house at the location was in the possession of a John of
Edlingham. In 1294, a descendant, Walter of Edlingham sold it to William de
Felton, who strengthened it by building strong ramparts and a gatehouse,
fortifying the main hall and adding other buildings inside a courtyard. In 1396
Elizabeth de Felton inherited it, marrying Sir Edmund Hastings, who added a
strong solar tower. Their descendants occupied the castle and estate until 1514;
it was then it was purchased by George Swinburne; a constable of Prudhoe, whose
family held it until the 18th century.
During
this time it gradually fell into disrepair, with most of the buildings
dismantled to build nearby farmhouses in the 1660s, but leaving the solar tower
intact. In 1978 the Department for
the Environment
acquired the site and conducted extensive archaeological excavations,
prior to which rubble filled the solar tower to a height of three metres.
The
site is now in the care of English
Heritage
and is easily accessible from the nearby church of St John the Baptist, Edlingham. William de
Felton is buried there. There is an interpretation board on-site, while more
detailed leaflets are available from the church for a small donation.
Sir Thomas Swinburne and Margaret Mitchelson had a daughter
Elizabeth Swinburne b 1481 in
Little Bovington d 1501. She married
into the Shafto family. Her husband was
Edward Shafto. They are the 14th
great grandparents.
Edward’s parents were William Shafto and Miss
Bavington. William’s father was Thomas Folliott of Shafto-Crag, who then styled
his name Thomas Shafto. Again the place
name reflects the surname of many of the ancestors.
Bavington
Hall
is a 17th-century privately owned country house at Little Bavington in Northumberland. It is a Grade II* listed building.
A tower house (Little
Bavington Tower) was recorded on the site in 1415,but this was
replaced in the late 17th century by the Shafto family.
The
Shaftos acquired the estate when William Shafto married the Bavington heiress in
the 15th century. In 1716
William Shafto and his son John were attainted for their
part in the Jacobite
uprising
of 1715 and the estate was forfeited and sold by the Crown to Admiral George Delaval.
On his death
Delaval restored the property to the Shafto family by bequeathing the estate to
his brother-in-law George Delaval Shafto (High Sheriff of Northumberland 1739 and Member
of Parliament
for Northumberland 1757-74).
Significant
alterations and improvements to the three-storeyed, seven-bayed house were
carried out in 1720, 1851 and 1930.
Edward and Elizabeth had a son Ninian Shafto, (1538 d 1581). He married Anne Brandling (1549 – 1596)
The Shafto Lineage
Shafto family
Articles from Wikipedia and others
SHAFTO
a Border Reiver name by David Simpson
Shafto or Shaftoe, the family surname
takes its name from the place Shaftoe found in the upper reaches of the River
Wansbeck near Wallington Hall west of Morpeth. The surname came about in the
twelfth century when a certain Cuthbert Foliot of Shaftoe Crags changed his
name to Cuthbert Shaftoe. Shaftoe the place means 'Shaft-hoh' a shaft shaped
ridge or crag and the nearby crags seem to confirm this origin. In 1304 the
Shaftoes made the nearby Bavington Hall their principal seat. Shaftoes were
actively involved in the Border troubles including the Reidswire
Fray at Carter Bar in 1575 and
were supporters of the Jacobite cause in the eighteenth century.
In 1652 the
Shafto family acquired the Whitworth Estate near Spennymoor in County Durham
and this became their principal place of residence. Robert Shafto, an MP for
the County of Durham from 1760-68 was born at Whitworth and was immortalised in
the famous northern song Bonny Bobby Shafto. The song was used as an election
ditty and is thought to be based on the hopes of Mary Bellasis of Brancepeth
castle who believed that Bobby Shafto would come back and marry her.
He married
someone else and Mary is said to have died of a broken heart. Robert Shafto was
one of a number of Shaftos who became Members of Parliament, his father John
Shafto, uncle Robert Shafto and son Robert Eden Duncombe Shafto of Whitworth
were all MPs for the City
of Durham. Whitworth
Hall remained Shafto property until purchased by local businessman Derek
Parnaby in October 1981. (See also Belasis)
The
Ffolliot family were established by the 14th century at Shafto Crag,
Northumberland and adopted the alternative surname of Shafto.
Shafto
of Little Bavington, Northumberland
In
the 15th century William Shafto married the heiress of Bavington and Bavington
became the family seat. The medieval house was replaced in the 17th century
when Bavington
Hall
was built.
William
Shafto was High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1646 as
was his son John in 1675. In 1716 both were attainted for their
part in the Jacobite
uprising
of 1715 and the Bavington estate was forfeited to the Crown. William's nephew
George Shafto (later George Shafto Delaval) married a daughter of George
Delaval of North
Dissington
and sister of Admiral George Delaval. The latter
bought the sequestered estate and restored it to the Shaftos.
George
Shafto Delaval was High
Sheriff
in 1740 and Member
of Parliament
for Northumberland 1757/74. He
was succeeded by his nephew Sir Cuthbert Shafto, High Sheriff in 1795 and later
by his son Robert.
Robert
Ingram Shafto held Bavington in 1835 but the male line became extinct and the
estate passed to cousins in a junior branch of the family of Beamish Hall, Co Durham.
When Slingsby Duncombe Shafto sold Beamish in 1949 that branch of the family moved
to Bavington. The estate was later sold by the family in 1994.
Shafto
of Newcastle and Whitworth
Mark
Shafto, third son of Edward Shafto of Bavington, married Margaret Riddell of
Newcastle. He became a merchant in that city and served as its Mayor in 1548.
His first son, Edward a merchant adventurer, married Isabel Ogle (see Ogle family). His second
son, Mark was Sheriff of Newcastle in 1575 and Mayor in 1578. A third son
Ninian, married a daughter of Henry Brandling (see Brandling
of Newcastle).
Ninian's
son, Robert Shafto was Sheriff of Newcastle in 1607. He bequeathed Benwell Towers to his eldest
son also Robert (see later). Roberts younger brother Mark Shafto (1601-1659),
was a Grays Inn barrister,
and was appointed Recorder of Newcastle in 1648. In 1652 he purchased the Whitworth Hall estate in Co Durham.
His
son Robert Shafto (1634-1705), was also a barrister and was appointed
Recorder of Newcastle in 1660. He was knighted in 1670 and was appointed Sergeant at
law
in 1674. He married Catherine Widdrington.Their son Mark Shafto was High Sheriff of County Durham in 1709. Two
of their sons represented Durham City in
Parliament. Robert from 1712 until his death in 1729 and
John 1729-1742.
John's
son Robert
Shafto
(1732-1797) was a politician known famously as 'Bobby Shafto'. He married
heiress Anne Duncombe. He was Member of Parliament for County Durham 1760-1768 and
later for Downton, Wiltshire 1780-90. He
was succeeded by his son Robert Eden Duncombe Shafto (1776-1848)
at Whitworth and as Member for County Durham 1804-08. He added the additional
surname of Eden following his marriage to Catherine Eden (see Eden baronets).
Their
son Robert
Duncombe Shafto
(1796-1888), was member for North Durham 1847-68. His
son Robert Charles died in 1909 without a male heir. His daughter Rosa married
her cousin Robert Charles Duncombe Shafto (b1879), second son of Rev Slingsby
Duncombe Shafto of Beamish. The Hall at Whitworth was severely damaged by fire
in 1872 and apart from the library wing, was demolished and replaced with a new
house about 1900. The estate was sold by the family in 1981.
The
song
The
song is said to relate the story of how he broke the heart of Bridget Belasyse of
Brancepeth
Castle,
County Durham, where his brother Thomas was rector, when he
married Anne Duncombe of Duncombe Park in Yorkshire.
Bridget Belasyse is said to have died two weeks after hearing the news,although
other sources claim that she died a fortnight before the wedding of pulmonary
tuberculosis.
Even if the
song was not composed about him, his supporters almost certainly added a verse
for the 1761 elections with the lyrics:
Bobby Shafto's
looking out,
All his ribbons flew
about,
All the ladies gave a
shout,
Hey for Bobby Shafto!
Thomas
and George Allan, in their Tyneside Songs and Readings (1891), argued
that the "Bobby Shafto" of the song was in fact a relative, Robert
Shafto (1760–1781) of Benwell.[7] It is likely
that his grandson, Robert Duncombe Shafto, also used the song for
electioneering in 1861, with several of the later verses being added around
this time.
Shafto
of Benwell
Robert
Shafto, Sheriff of Newcastle in 1607 bequeathed his estate at Benwell Towers to his son
Robert Shafto (died 1670). He was High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1653 and
1668. He was followed by three further Roberts all of whom served as High
Sheriff in 1695, 1717 and 1756 respectively. The last of these was the subject
of an oil by Sir
Joshua Reynolds.
He outlived his only son. His daughter Camilla married William Adair of Newton
Hall but the estate was sold to William
Ord of Fenham
in 1756/63.
The
Mitre
is a building situated in the Benwell area in the
west end of Newcastle
upon Tyne,
England. It is a Grade
II listed
building.
A tower house known as Benwell
Tower was built in
1221. It became home to a branch of the Shafto family of Bavington Hall until the
1770s, when it was sold by Robert Shafto (the son of Bobby Shafto, immortalised
in the song of the same name).
In
1831, the present building (originally known as Benwell Towers) designed
by the Tyneside architect John
Dobson
replaced the old house and has since
provided a number of different functions. It became the residence of the Bishop
of Newcastle
in the 1880s (when Newcastle upon Tyne became a separate see from the
diocese of Durham). During World War II it became a
fire station, and then became a training centre for the National
Coal Board
in 1947.
By the
1970s the building had become The Mitre pub, before
achieving national fame in 1989 as the Byker Grove youth club in the BBC children's television series, Byker Grove. The final
episode of Byker Grove was filmed in August 2006, and its future is
unknown. Benwell Towers was put up for sale by the owners in 2007.
Whitworth
Hall
which stands in Whitworth Hall Country Park, near Spennymoor, County Durham England, is a country
house, formerly the home of the Shafto family and now a hotel. It is a listed building.
Descendants
of the Shafto
family
of Shafto Crag, Northumberland, served as Aldermen, Mayors and Sheriffs of Newcastle
upon Tyne
in the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1652 Mark Shafto, Recorder of Newcastle,
purchased the manor of Whitworth. His son Robert, knighted in 1670 was Recorder
from 1660 and his grandson was High
Sheriff of Durham
in 1709.
Two
sons of Mark Shafto junior represented Durham City in
Parliament: Robert Shafto 1712/3 and 1727/30 and John Shafto 1729-42. John
was the father of Robert
Shafto,
better known as Bobby Shaftoe, who vastly increased the family fortune by
his marriage in 1774 to Anne Duncombe of Duncombe Park.
Their son Robert Eden Duncombe Shafto, (also Member
of Parliament
for Durham City and later High Sheriff in 1842), who
married Catherine Eden, daughter of Sir John Eden
Bt
of Windlestone
Hall,
replaced the old manor house with a new mansion in 1845. The house was
substantially destroyed by fire and all that now remains of the 1845 rebuild is
the detached library wing. The present two-storey seven-bayed house dates from
the rebuild of about 1900.
Branches
of the Shafto family had seats at Bavington Hall, Beamish Hall and Windlestone
Hall.
The Branderling Lineage
The name Brandling occurs at a very early date in
the records of Northumberland.
Robert Brandling 1461 – 1552, married Miss Selbye
of Newcastle 1464 -1492..
They had a
son Sir John Brandling b 1487 – 1578. He
married Elizabeth Helye b 1498 d 1585 in Gosworth. John Brandling married Elizabeth Heyle , he
was sheriff of Newcastle in 1506 and mayor in 4 terms from 1509. Her father was William Heyle
They had a son Henry
Brandling (1515 – 1578) and he married firstly Margaret Midford, then
to Ursula Buckton (b 1526 d
1593). Ursula was the daughter and
heiress of William Buckton of Buckton.
Ursula was the daughter of William Buckton (1500 –
1529) who married Eleanor Newport (b 1506 – 1595)
Sir John Brandling, who was knighted at Blackheath
in 1497 and married Elizabeth Helye of Northumberland, settled in Newcastle
where he served as sheriff in 1505 and as mayor in 1509, 1512, 1516 and 1520.
Another son, Henry Brandling (1515–1578), was
Sheriff of Newcastle in 1566 and mayor of the city in 1568, 1575 1576. His
brother Thomas Brandling (1512–1590) was educated at the newly-established Royal
Grammar School and founded the land and coal owning dynasty.
The Brandlings had Catholic sympathies, and during
the English Civil War Robert
Brandling (1617–1690) served in the king's army in the rank of colonel. With
the king's fortunes waning, he escaped to Scotland where he remained until
after the Restoration. He avoided
sequestration of his
estate and returned to England. His brother Roger, however, was killed in
battle during the war.
Estates
The family acquired by marriage Alnwick Abbey and estates at Gosforth, but by 1605 their seat had been established at
Felling Hall, Felling, County
Durham.
Alnwick
Abbey gatehouse
The family fortunes were largely derived from the
exploitation of coal reserves under their lands. Coal was worked at Felling
from about 1670. The deep mine at Felling Colliery was sunk by the Brandlings
in 1779. Their mines were linked to the River Tyne by wagonways.
A disaster at their Felling Colliery in 1812, when
91 lives were lost, was largely responsible for the pressure to develop a miners safety lamp.
Ironically, Felling Hall fell victim to mining subsidence and had to be
demolished.
He
also built a new mansion, to a design by architect Payne, at Gosforth House between 1755
and 1764, and this house became the family seat.
Gosforth House now known as Brandling
House is a Grade
II listed building
built as a mansion house and now serving as a hospitality and conference centre
at Gosforth
Park Racecourse,
The Gosforth Park
estate of about 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) was owned from about 1509
by the Brandling
family. The house was
built between 1755 and 1764 for Charles Brandling (1733–1802) to a design by
architect James Paine. Brandling also laid out the park and a 50-acre
(200,000 m2) lake.
Charles John Brandling (1797–1856)
suffered financial problems as a result of which he sold the estate in 1852 to
Thomas Smith. In 1880 the house was sold with 807 acres (3.3 km2)
to High Gosforth Park Ltd a company formed to establish a racecourse on the
estate.
Charles John Brandling (1769–1826) of Gosforth was Member of Parliament for Newcastle 1798–1812 and for Northumberland 1820–1826. He
married Henrietta Armitage, heiress of Middleton, near Rothwell, West
Yorkshire. In 1815 he chaired the committee set up to establish the
remuneration to be paid to George Stephenson for the
invention of the Geordie lamp. His mining
interests included Felling, Gosforth (where a deep mine was sunk in 1825),
Heworth, Coxlodge, Kenton and Middleton. At Middleton he employed John Blenkinsop who in 1812 converted the wagonway from
Brandling's collieries into a rack and pinion steam railway, the Middleton Railway. However he
overindulged in coal speculations which led to financial difficulties and the
sale of many of the family's estates: Shotton in 1850, and Gosforth and Felling
in 1852. Thereafter the family seat was Middleton Lodge, Middleton,
West Yorkshire.
Gosforth is an affluent area of Newcastle
upon Tyne,
England, situated to the north of the city centre. Gosforth constituted an urban district from 1895 to
1974, when it became part of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne. It has a
population of 23,620. There are two electoral wards that bear the
Gosforth name, East
Gosforth
and West
Gosforth,
and modern day Gosforth includes other wards such as Parklands.
Ninian
Shafto and Anne Brandling had a son Robert
Shafto. He was born 1569 died
1623. Robert married Jane Eden, daughter
of Robert Eden. Jane was born 1575 and
died 1631.
They had a daughter Dorcas Shafto. She was born 1622
and died 1625. She married Henry Cock
and they are the 11th great grandparents.
The
Lineage of Elizabeth de Comyn
Elizabeth was the daughter of
Alexander “earl of Buchan” Constable of Scotland Comyn
Alexander
Comyn, 2nd Earl
of Buchan
(died 1289) was a Scoto-Norman magnate who
was one of the most important figures in the 13th century Kingdom
of Scotland.
He was the son of William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of
Buchan,
and Marjory,
Countess of Buchan,
the heiress of the last native
Scottish
Mormaer
of Buchan,
Fergus. During his
long career, Alexander was Justiciar
of Scotia
(1258–89), Constable of Scotland (1275–89), Sheriff of Wigtown (1263–66),
Sheriff of Dingwall (1264–66), Ballie of Inverie (in Knoydart) and finally,
Guardian
of Scotland
(1286–89) during the first interregnum following the
death of King Alexander III.
In 1284 he joined with other
Scottish noblemen who acknowledged Margaret of Norway as the heiress to King
Alexander. He died
sometime after 10 July 1289.
Alexander
had at least nine children with his wife, Elisabeth, daughter of Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of
Winchester:
- John Comyn, 3rd Earl of Buchan,
Alexander's successor as Earl of Buchan
- Roger
- Lord
Alexander Comyn, sheriff of Aberdeen, married
Joan, sister of William le Latimer, and had issue. Henry
de Beaumont
would claim the Earldom of Buchan through marriage to their daughter, Alice.
- Lord
William Comyn, Provost of St. Mary's Church, St. Andrews
- Lady
Marjorie Comyn, m. Patrick Dunbar, 8th Earl of
Dunbar
- Lady Emma
Comyn, m. Maol Íosa III, Earl of Strathearn
- Lady
Elisabetha Comyn, m. Gilbert de Umfraville, 1st
Earl of Angus
- Lady
Elena Comyn, m. Sir William de Brechin
- Lady
Annora Comyn, m. Nicholas de Soules
Roger
de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester (1195? – 25 April 1264) was a
medieval nobleman who was prominent on both sides of the Anglo-Scottish
border,
as Earl
of Winchester
and Constable
of Scotland.
He
was the second son of Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester, and Margaret de Beaumont.
He
probably joined his father on the Fifth Crusade in 1219,
where the elder de Quincy fell sick and died. His elder brother having died a
few years earlier, Roger thus inherited his father's titles and properties.
However, he did not take possession of his father's lands until February 1221,
probably because he did not return to England from the crusade until then. He
did not formally become earl until after the death of his mother in 1235.
Roger
married Helen
of Galloway
(b.c1208), eldest daughter and co-heiress of Alan,
Lord of Galloway.
Without legitimate sons to succeed him, Alan's lands and dignities were divided
between the husbands of his three daughters, so Roger acquired Alan's position
as Constable
of Scotland,
and one-third of the lordship of Galloway (although the
actual title of Lord
of Galloway
went
through Helen's half-sister Devorguilla to her husband
John
I de Balliol),
and part of the de Morville lands in Lauderdale.
The
Galwegians rebelled under Gille Ruadh, not wanting
their land divided, but the rebellion was suppressed by Alexander
II of Scotland.
Roger ruled his portion of Galloway strictly, and the Galwegians revolted again
in 1247, forcing Roger to take refuge in a castle. Faced with a siege and
little chance of relief, Roger and a few men fought their way out and rode off
to seek help from Alexander, who raised forces to again suppress the rebellion.
In the
following years Roger was one of the leaders of the baronial opposition to Henry
III of England,
although he fought for Henry against the Welsh in the 1250s and 1260s.
Following
Ellen's death in 1245, Roger married Maud de Bohun, daughter of Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of
Hereford,
around 1250. Maud died only two years later, and Roger married his third wife,
Eleanor de Ferrers, daughter of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby the same year.
Roger
had three daughters by his first wife, but no sons. His subsequent marriages
produced no issue. After his death his estates were divided between the
daughters, and the earldom of Winchester lapsed. The three daughters of Roger
and Helen of Galloway were:
He
bore arms, different from his father's.
At thie point the family tree crosses once
again. Roger III The Earl of Winchester
and Helen of Galloway are the 22nd Great grandparents, twice.
Roger
II Earl of Winchester was the son of Saer De Quincey and his wife Margaret de
Beaumont. They are 23rd great grandparents
Saer
de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester (1155 – 3 November 1219) (or Saieur
di Quinci was one of
the leaders of the baronial rebellion against King John of
England,
and a major figure in both Scotland and England in the
decades around the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Scottish
Upbringing
Saer
de Quincy's immediate background was in the Scottish kingdom: his father, Robert de Quincy, was a knight
in the service of king William
the Lion,
and his mother Orabilis was the heiress of the lordship of Leuchars in Fife (see below). His rise to
prominence in England came through his marriage to Margaret, the younger sister
of Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of
Leicester:
but it is probably no coincidence that her other brother was the de Quincys'
powerful Fife neighbour, Roger de Beaumont, Bishop
of St Andrews.
In 1204, Earl Robert died, leaving Margaret as co-heiress to the vast earldom
along with her elder sister. The estate was split in half, and after the final
division was ratified in 1207, de Quincy was made Earl
of Winchester.
Earl
of Winchester
Following
his marriage, de Quincy became a prominent military and diplomatic figure in
England. There is no evidence of any close alliance with King John, however, and
his rise to importance was probably due to his newly-acquired magnate status
and the family connections that underpinned it.
Seal of Robert
Fitzwalter(d.1235). So close was the alliance between both
men that Robert's seal shows the arms of de Quincy on a separate shield before
his horse
One
man with whom he does seem to have developed a close personal relationship is his
cousin, Robert
Fitzwalter
(d. 1235). They are first found together in 1203, as co-commanders of the
garrison at the major fortress of Vaudreuil in Normandy; they were
responsible for surrendering the castle without a fight to Philip
II of France,
fatally weakening the English position in northern France. Although popular
opinion seems to have blamed them for the capitulation, a royal writ is extant
stating that the castle was surrendered at King John's command, and both Saer
and Fitzwalter had to endure personal humiliation and heavy ransoms at the
hands of the French.
In
Scotland, he was perhaps more successful. In 1211 to 1212, the Earl of Winchester
commanded an imposing retinue of a hundred knights and a hundred sergeants in
William the Lion's campaign against the Mac William rebels, a
force which some historians have suggested may have been the mercenary force
from Brabant lent to the
campaign by John.
Magna
Carta
In
1215, when the baronial rebellion broke out, Robert Fitzwalter became the
military commander, and the Earl of Winchester joined him, acting as one of the
chief negotiators with John; both cousins were among the 25 guarantors of the Magna Carta. De Quincy fought
against John in the troubles that followed the signing of the Charter, and,
again with Fitzwalter, travelled to France to invite Prince
Louis of France
to take the English throne. He and Fitzwalter were subsequently among the most
committed and prominent supporters of Louis' candidature for the kingship,
against both John and the infant Henry
III.
The
Fifth Crusade
When
military defeat cleared the way for Henry III to take the throne, de Quincy
went on crusade, perhaps in fulfillment of an earlier vow. In 1219 he left to
join the Fifth
Crusade,
then besieging Damietta. While in the
east, he fell sick and died. He was buried in Acre, the capital
of the Kingdom
of Jerusalem,
rather than in Egypt, and his heart was brought back and interred at Garendon Abbey near Loughborough, a house
endowed by his wife's family.
Family
The
family of de Quincy had arrived in England after the Norman
Conquest,
and took their name from Cuinchy in the Arrondissement of Béthune; the personal
name "Saer" was used by them over several generations. Both names are
variously spelled in primary sources and older modern works, the first name
being sometimes rendered Saher or Seer, and the surname as Quency
or Quenci.
The
first recorded Saer de Quincy (known to historians as "Saer I") was
lord of the manor of Long
Buckby
in Northamptonshire in the
earlier twelfth century, and second husband of Matilda of St Liz, stepdaughter
of King David
I of Scotland
by Maud of Northumbria. This
marriage produced two sons, Saer II and Robert de Quincy. It was Robert,
the younger son, who was the father of the Saer de Quincy who eventually became
Earl of Winchester. By her first husband Robert
Fitz Richard,
Maud was also the paternal grandmother of Earl Saer's close ally, Robert
Fitzwalter.
Robert
de Quincy seems to have inherited no English lands from his father, and pursued
a knightly career in Scotland, where he is recorded from around 1160 as a close
companion of his cousin, King William the
Lion.
By 1170 he had married Orabilis, heiress of the Scottish lordship of Leuchars and, through
her, he became lord of an extensive complex of estates north of the border
which included lands in Fife, Strathearn and Lothian.
Saer
de Quincy, the son of Robert de Quincy and Orabilis of Leuchars, was raised
largely in Scotland. His absence from English records for the first decades of
his life has led some modern historians and genealogists to confuse him with
his uncle, Saer II, who took part in the rebellion of Henry
the Young King
in 1173, when the future Earl of Winchester can have been no more than a
toddler. Saer II's line ended without direct heirs, and his nephew and namesake
would eventually inherit his estate, uniting his primary Scottish holdings with
the family's Northamptonshire patrimony, and possibly some lands in France.
By
his wife Margaret de Beaumont, Saer de Quincy had three sons and three
daughters:
The
De Beaumont Lineage
Margaret
de Beaumont (1156 to 1236) was the daughter of Robert III (Earl of Keicester)
de Beaumont and his wife Petronilla Pernel de Gransmesnil.
Roger
de Beaumont From Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
Bearded Norman nobleman depicted in the Bayeux
Tapestry (c.1066), possibly representing Roger de
Beaumont (d.1094). The figure is seated at the right hand of Duke William of Normandy,
who himself occupies the place of honour at the ceremony of the blessing of the
food at Hastings by Bishop Odo, well before the time of the battle Robert
is the 27th great grandfather
Roger was the son of Humphrey De
Vielles and Audrey de La Haie. Their lineage is to the Danes.
|
|
ET HIC EPISCOPUS CIBU(M) ET POTU(M) BENEDICIT
("And here the bishop blesses the food and drink"). The feast at
Hastings, after which a castle was ordered to be built, following which battle
was joined. Roger de Beaumont is possibly depicted as the bearded figure, see
detail above. Bayeux Tapestry
Roger
de Beaumont-le-Roger,
feudal lord (Seigneur) of Beaumont-le-Roger and of Pont-Audemer (c. 1015 – 29
November 1094) was a powerful Norman nobleman and close advisor to William
the Conqueror.
Origins
He
was a son of Humphrey
de Vielles
(who was a great-nephew of the Duchess Gunnora of Normandy) by his wife
Albreda de la Haye Auberie. Roger de Beaumont was thus a second cousin once
removed of William
the Conqueror.
His Norman feudal lordship had its caput and castle at
Beaumont-le-Roger, a settlement
situated on the upper reaches of the River Risle, in Normandy,
about 46 km SW of Rouen, the capital
of the Duchy. He was also feudal lord of Pont-Audemer, a settlement
built around the first bridge to cross the River Risle upstream of its estuary,
shared with the River
Seine.
Physical
appearance
Roger
was nicknamed La Barbe (Latinised to Barbatus) (i.e. "The
Bearded") because he wore a moustache and beard while the Normans usually were
clean shaven. This peculiarity is believed to be recognized in the
thirty-second panel of the Bayeux
Tapestry
where he is depicted sitting at a feast near Hastings, well before the battle,
at the right-hand of Duke
William,
who in turn was seated at the right hand of his brother Bishop Odo of Bayeux, who is shown
blessing the food at a feast.
Career
Planché described him
as "the noblest, the wealthiest, and the most valiant seigneur of
Normandy, and the greatest and most trusted friend of the Danish (i.e. Norman)
family". The explanation for his exalted position appears to be that as an
older cousin who had never rebelled against the young Duke, he was part of the
kinship group of noblemen that William relied upon in governing Normandy and
fighting-off frequent rebellion and invasions. The historian Frank McLynn
observed that William relied heavily on relatives on his mother's side, namely
his half-brothers Bishop Odo and Robert, and brothers-in-law, and on relatives
descended from the Duchess Gunnora's sisters, since his own paternal kin had
proved unreliable.
Wace, the 12th
century historian, wrote that: "At the time of the invasion of England,
Roger was summoned to the great council at Lillebonne, on account
of his wisdom; but he did not join in the expedition as he was too far advanced
in years". Although Roger could not fight, he did not hesitate in
contributing a large share of the cost, and provided at his own expense sixty
vessels for the conveyance of the troops across the channel. Furthermore, his
eldest son and heir fought bravely at Hastings as noted in several contemporary
records. As a result, Roger's elder sons were rewarded generously with lands in
England, and both eventually were made English earls by the sons of the Conqueror.
Wace's statement may therefore cast doubt on the possibility of Roger being
depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry feasting at Hastings. However it is possible
that he crossed the Channel so he could continue to act as a valued member of
the Duke's council, perhaps giving advice on military tactics, yet stayed well
behind the line of battle at headquarters.
Marriage
& progeny
He
married circa 1048 or earlier Adeline of Meulan (c. 1014-1020
- 8 April 1081), who was buried at the Abbaye du Bec, the daughter
of Waleran III,
Count de Meulan
by Oda de Conteville, and sister and heiress of a childless Count of Meulan.
Meulan eventually passed to their elder son who became Count of Meulan in 1081.
Their surviving children were:
- Robert de Beaumont, 1st
Earl of Leicester, Count of Meulan (c.1049-1118), the eldest
son and heir. He succeeded his father in the major part of his lands, and
was one of the few proven Companions of William the
Conqueror
who fought at the Battle
of Hastings
in 1066.
- Henry de Beaumont, 1st
Earl of Warwick
(c.1050-1119). He was overshadowed by his elder brother, but was granted
by his father one of his lesser lordships in Normandy, the lordship of Le
Neubourg,
about 12 km NE of Beaumont-le-Roger, from
which his own family adopted the surname Anglicised to "de Newburgh".
He established a more enduring line of Beaumont earls than his elder
brother, Earls of Warwick seated at Warwick Castle.
- William
de Beaumont (not mentioned in most sources).
- Alberée
de Beaumont (died 1112), Abbess of Eton.
Roger
de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick (1102 – 12 June 1153) was the elder
son of Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick and
Marguerite, daughter of Geoffrey II of Perche and Beatrix of Montdidier. He was also
known as Roger de Newburg.
He
was generally considered to have been a devout and pious man; a chronicle of
the period, the Gesta Regis Stephani, speaks of
him as a "man of gentle disposition". The borough of Warwick remembers him
as the founder of the Hospital of S. Michael for lepers which he
endowed with the tithes of Wedgnock, and other
property; he also endowed the House of the Templars beyond the
bridge. In the reign of Stephen he founded a
priory dedicated to S. Kenned at Llangennilth, Co. Glamorgan and he
attached it as a cell to the Abbey of S. Taurinus at Evreux in Normandy.
Family
and children
He
married 1130 Gundred de Warenne, daughter of William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey and Elizabeth
de Vermandois
and had children:
- William de Beaumont, 3rd
Earl of Warwick.
- Waleran de Beaumont, 4th
Earl of Warwick
(1153 – 12 December 1204).
- Henry de
Beaumont, was Dean of Salisbury in 1205.
- Agnes de
Beaumont, married Geoffrey de Clinton, Chamberlain to the King and son of Geoffrey de Clinton, the
founder of Kenilworth
Castle
and Priory.
- Margaret
de Beaumont.
- Gundred
de Beaumont (c.1135–1200), married:
- Hugh Bigod, 1st Earl of Norfolk;
- Roger de
Glanville.
Robert
de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester (1104 – 5 April 1168) was Justiciar of England
1155–1168.
The
surname "de Beaumont" is given him by genealogists. The only known
contemporary surname applied to him is "Robert son of Count Robert".
Henry Knighton, the fourteenth-century chronicler notes him as Robert
"Le Bossu" (meaning "Robert the Hunchback" in French).
Early
life and education
Robert
was an English nobleman of Norman-French ancestry. He
was the son of Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan
and 1st Earl of Leicester and Elizabeth de Vermandois, and the twin
brother of Waleran de Beaumont. It is not
known whether they were identical or fraternal twins, but the fact that they
are remarked on by contemporaries as twins indicates that they were probably
identical.
The
two brothers, Robert and Waleran, were adopted into the royal household shortly
after their father's death in June 1118 (upon which Robert inherited his
father's second titles of Earl of Leicester). Their lands on either side of the
Channel were committed to a group of guardians, led by their stepfather, William earl of Warenne or Surrey. They
accompanied King Henry
I
to Normandy, to meet with
Pope
Callixtus II
in 1119, when the king incited them to debate philosophy with the cardinals.
Both twins
were literate, and Abingdon
Abbey
later claimed to have been Robert's school, but though this is possible, its
account is not entirely trustworthy. A surviving treatise on astronomy (British
Library ms Royal E xxv) carries a dedication "to Earl Robert of Leicester,
that man of affairs and profound learning, most accomplished in matters of
law" who can only be this Robert. On his death he left his own psalter to the abbey
he founded at Leicester, which was still in its library in the late fifteenth
century. The existence of this indicates that like many noblemen of his day,
Robert followed the canonical hours in his chapel.
Career
at the Norman court
In
1120 Robert was declared of age and inherited most of his father's lands in
England, while his twin brother took the French lands. However in 1121, royal
favour brought Robert the great Norman honors of Breteuil and Pacy-sur-Eure, with his
marriage to Amice de Gael, daughter of
a Breton intruder the
king had forced on the honor after the forfeiture of the Breteuil family in
1119. Robert spent a good deal of his time and resources over the next decade
integrating the troublesome and independent barons of Breteuil into the greater
complex of his estates. He did not join in his brother's great Norman rebellion
against King Henry I in 1123–24. He appears fitfully at the royal court despite
his brother's imprisonment until 1129. Thereafter the twins were frequently to
be found together at Henry I's court.
Robert
held lands throughout the country. In the 1120s and 1130s he tried to
rationalise his estates in Leicestershire. Leicestershire estates of the See of Lincoln and the Earl of
Chester
were seized by force. This enhanced the integrity of Robert's block of estates
in the central midlands, bounded by Nuneaton, Loughborough, Melton Mowbray and Market
Harborough.
In
1135, the twins were present at King Henry's deathbed. Robert's actions in the
succession period are unknown, but he clearly supported his brother's decision
to join the court of the new king Stephen before Easter
1136. During the first two years of the reign Robert is found in Normandy
fighting rival claimants for his honor of Breteuil. Military action allowed him
to add the castle of Pont St-Pierre to his Norman
estates in June 1136 at the expense of one of his rivals. From the end of 1137
Robert and his brother were increasingly caught up in the politics of the court
of King Stephen in England, where Waleran secured an ascendancy which lasted
till the beginning of 1141. Robert participated in his brother's political coup
against the king's justiciar, Roger
of Salisbury
(the Bishop
of Salisbury).
Civil
war in England
The
outbreak of civil
war
in England in September 1139 brought Robert into conflict with Earl Robert of Gloucester, the bastard
son of Henry I and principal sponsor of the Empress
Matilda.
His port of Wareham and estates
in Dorset were seized
by Gloucester in the first campaign of the war. In that campaign the king
awarded Robert the city and castle of Hereford
as a bid to establish the earl as his lieutenant in Herefordshire, which was in
revolt. It is disputed by scholars whether this was an award of a second county
to Earl Robert. Probably in late 1139, Earl Robert refounded his father's
collegiate church of St Mary de Castro in Leicester
as a major Augustinian abbey on the
meadows outside the town's north gate, annexing the college's considerable
endowment to the abbey.
The battle of Lincoln on 2 February
1141 saw the capture and imprisonment of King Stephen. Although Count Waleran
valiantly continued the royalist fight in England into the summer, he
eventually capitulated to the Empress and crossed back to Normandy to make his
peace with the Empress's husband, Geoffrey of
Anjou.
Earl Robert had been in Normandy since 1140 attempting to stem the Angevin
invasion, and negotiated the terms of his brother's surrender. He quit Normandy
soon after and his Norman estates were confiscated and used to reward Norman
followers of the Empress. Earl Robert remained on his estates in England for
the remainder of King Stephen's reign.
Although he was a nominal supporter of the
king, there seems to have been little contact between him and Stephen, who did
not confirm the foundation of Leicester
Abbey
till 1153. Earl Robert's principal activity between 1141 and 1149 was his
private war with Ranulf II, Earl of Chester. Though
details are obscure it seems clear enough that he waged a dogged war with his
rival that in the end secured him control of northern Leicestershire and the
strategic Chester castle of Mountsorrel. When Earl
Robert of Gloucester died in 1147, Robert of Leicester led the movement among
the greater earls of England to negotiate private treaties to establish peace
in their areas, a process hastened by the Empress's departure to Normandy, and
complete by 1149. During this time the earl also exercised supervision over his
twin brother's earldom
of Worcester,
and in 1151 he intervened to frustrate the king's attempts to seize the city.
Earl
Robert and Henry Plantagenet
The
arrival in England of Duke
Henry,
son of the Empress Mathilda, in January 1153 was a great opportunity for Earl
Robert. He was probably in negotiation with Henry in that spring and reached an
agreement by which he would defect to him by May 1153, when the duke restored
his Norman estates to the earl. The duke celebrated his Pentecost court at Leicester in June 1153,
and he and the earl were constantly in company till the peace settlement
between the duke and the king at Winchester in November 1153. Earl Robert
crossed with the duke to Normandy in January 1154 and resumed his Norman
castles and honors. As part of the settlement his claim to be chief steward of
England and Normandy was recognised by Henry.
Earl
Robert began his career as chief
justiciar
of England probably as soon as Duke Henry succeeded as King Henry II in October
1154. The office
gave the earl supervision of the administration and legal process in England
whether the king was present or absent in the realm.
He appears in that
capacity in numerous administrative acts, and had a junior colleague in the post
in Richard
de Luci,
another former servant of King Stephen. The earl filled the office for nearly
fourteen years until his death, and earned
the respect of the emerging Angevin bureaucracy in England. His opinion was
quoted by learned clerics, and his own learning was highly commended.
He
died on 5 April 1168, probably at
his Northamptonshire castle of Brackley, for his
entrails were buried at the hospital in the town. He was
received as a canon of Leicester
on his deathbed, and buried to the north of the high altar of the great abbey
he had founded and built. He left a written testament of which his son the
third earl was an executor, as we learn in a reference dating to 1174.
Church
patronage
In
addition to the abbey of St. Mary de Pré, in Leicester, the earl founded in
England the Cistercian abbey of Garendon in 1133, the Fontevraldine priory at Nuneaton between 1155
and 1160, the priory of Luffield, and the
hospital of Brackley. He refounded
the collegiate church of St Mary de Castro as a dependency of Leicester abbey
around 1164, after suppressing it in 1139.
Around 1139 he refounded the
collegiate church of Wareham as a priory
of his abbey of Lyre, in Normandy.
His principal Norman foundations were the priory of Le Désert in the forest of
Breteuil and a major hospital in Breteuil itself. He was a generous benefactor
of the Benedictine abbey of Lyre, the oldest monastic house in the honor of
Breteuil.
Family
and children
He
married after 1120 Amice de Gael, daughter of
Raoul II de Gael, seigneur (Lord) of Gael and Montfort (himself a
son of Ralph
de Gael,
1st Earl of Norfolk, and grandson maternally of William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of
Hereford,
a cousin and companion of the Conqueror). She brought to him part of
Fitzosbern's inheritance at Breteuil; both families had lost their English
inheritances through rebellion in 1075. They had four children:
- Hawise de Beaumont, who
married William
Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester;
- Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl
of Leicester;
- Isabel,
who married:
- Simon II
of St Liz, 4th Earl of Huntingdon and Northampton;
- Gervase
Paynel of Dudley.
- Margaret,
who married Ralph V de Toeni
Roger’s father was Tourude De Harcourt and his
mother Audrey (Aubreye) de La Haie. They came from France.
Tourade’s father was Seigneur de Torville Torf and
his mother Ertemberge de Brioquibec.
Her father was Anflec Lancelot de Brioquibec
Her mother was Gerlotte De Blois
Gerlotte was the daughter of Roll Thurstand Bigod
born in Norway and her father Hrollager Ragnvaldsson. He was born in Norway and
died in Orkney Scotland.
Tourude de Harcourt married Wevia De Crepon.
Her parents were Harald (Buetooth) Gormsson, King
of Denmark and Norway. He died in
Denmark. He was the son of Gorm (The
Old) Gormsson, the first historically recognised King of Denmark.
Harald married Gynrithe Olafsdatter from Denmark.
Gorm married Thyra Dannebod from Denmark.
Bernard
the Dane
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bernard
the Dane
(French: Bernard le Danois) (c. 880 – before 960) was a Viking jarl (earl) of Danish origins. He
put himself in the service of another jarl installed at the mouth of the Seine, Rollo (before 911).
After the accords of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte that
officially gave birth to the duchy of
Normandy
(911), Bernard converted to the Christianity at Rouen the following
year (912) and shortly afterwards received from Rollo the county of Pont-Audemer in Roumois (today in the
Eure
département)
then, later, the city of Harcourt.
Under
Rollo's son and successor Duke William, Bernard was charged at the
beginning of the 930s with putting down the serious uprising led by a certain Riouf (a Norman from the
west, who had besieged the Duke in Rouen). Around 935
he put down a revolt in Bessin and Cotentin by Viking
communities completely independent from the young and fragile power of the
dukedom, unlike the east of the duchy of Normandy where its ducal power was
affirmed a little later.
Later,
on William's premature death by assassination, Bernard became regent of the
duchy of Normandy in December 942, beside Anslech
de Bricquebec,
Osmond de Conteville and Raoul Taisson.
In
945-946, he appealed to Harald
Bluetooth
and his Danes to defend the duchy when it was attacked by the Carolingian king Louis
of Outremer
and Hugh
the Great,
duke of the Franks. Louis was
attempting to retake the lands of the west in Normandy that had been granted to
the Viking bands thirty years earlier.
Bernard
died a few years later (before 960). He is supposed to have been the ancestor
of two great Anglo-Norman baronial
families, the Beaumonts and the Harcourts.
.
 King Gorm,
favoring his son Canute, made an oath to execute the messenger who brought
news of Canute's death. Quenn Tyra hung black cloth in the palace, and when
the king asked for whom they were mourning, she replied, "Lord King,
you had two falcons, one white and the other gray. The white one flew far
afield and was set upon by other birds which tore off his beautiful feathers
and is now useless to you. Meanwhile, the gray falcon continues to catch
fowl for the king's table." The king immediately understood her
metaphor.
|
|
Margaret
de Beaumont’s mother was Petronilla Pemel de Granmesnil
The
Lineage of de Grandmesnil
Throughout the lives of our ancestors, many become
entwined with the lives of King William the Conqueror. This involvement often resulted in them
becoming the owners of vast tracts of lands in England. The ancestry of the 24th great
grandmother Petronilla reveals that link.
Their decendants probably had no idea of how they
were all related to the families of Europe through their English heritage.
Often when researching a particular line, I am
amazed at just how much information is available.
One of such family who were in volved in the
invasion of England was that of Hugh De Grandmesnil. Hugh was born in 1032 in Normandy, France,
and is my 27th great grandfather.
His story is quite interesting.
Hugh’s parents were Robert de Grentmesnil and
Hawise De Eschauffon who were both from Grentemesnil, in France. 28th great grandparents
Robert’s parents were Gervase De Grentmesnil and
Advise de Escalfoy from Normandy region.
Hawise De Eschauffon was the daughter of Giroie De
Eschauffo and Gisella de Montfort from Bayeux in France.
Hugh
de Grandmesnil
(1032 – 22 February 1094),also known as Hugh
or Hugo de Grentmesnil or Grentemesnil, is one of the very few
proven Companions of William the Conqueror known to have
fought at the Battle
of Hastings
in 1066. Subsequently he became a great landowner in England.
He was
the elder son of Robert of Grandmesnil and Hawise d'Echaffour. Robert
of Grandmesnil
was his younger brother.
Following
the conquest William
I of England
gave Hugh 100 manors for his services, sixty-five of them in Leicestershire. He was
appointed Sheriff of the county of Leicester and
Governor of Hampshire. Hugh's
possessions are listed in some detail in the Domesday book p 652-6).
Hugh's
family
The
story of the Grandmesnils begins in the mid-eleventh century, in central
Normandy, where the family were famous for the breeding and training of war
horses. The De Grandmesnils had made a fortune from a string of stud farms
which they owned on the plains of Ouch, but during the minority of Duke William
the stability of Normandy began to break down. Old scores were settled as the
barons made a grab for each other’s territories.
Roger
de Beaumont
brought savage warfare to the lands of Roger de Tosny, as he tried
to grasp control of the Risle valley, in 1041. De
Tosny was joined by his ally Robert
de Grandmesnil,
but in June their forces were shattered in a surprise attack by the Beaumont
clan. In the savage fight, de Tosny and two of his sons were killed. Robert de
Grandmesnil fared little better. He was carried from the field mortally wounded
only to die of his wounds three weeks later. His two sons, Robert and Hugh,
divided his property between them; Robert joined the church, while Hugh took on
his father’s mantle of warrior politician.
Hugh de
Grandmesnil wielded power at the court of William Duke of Normandy, but the
paranoid Duke banished Hugh in 1058. For five years Hugh was out of favour at
court. In 1063 he was reinstated as Captain of the castle of Neufmarche-en-Lions. The
Grandmesnil star continued to rise and Hugh was made a cavalry commander for
the invasion of England in 1066.
There
is a popular story that Hugh de Grandmesnil almost came to a sticky end at the battle
of Hastings.
As fierce battle raged, Hugh’s horse leapt a bush, during a cavalry charge and
his bridle broke. Barely able to keep upright in the saddle, and with no
control over his horse, Hugh saw to his dismay that he was all alone, and
careering towards a band of Englishmen. Just as Hugh was preparing to die and
his enemies leaped in for the kill, the Saxons gave out a great shout in
triumph. Hugh's horse immediately shied in fear and bolted in the opposite
direction. The stallion carried its helpless master away from the English and
back to the safety of his own lines.
The
battle for Leicester
Hugh
had become one of William the Conqueror's main men in England. In 1067 he
joined with William Fitz Osbern and Bishop Odo in the
government of England, during the King's absence in Normandy. He also was one
of the Norman nobles who interceded with the Conqueror in favour of William's
son Robert
Curthose,
and effected a temporary reconciliation.
Following
the conquest William I assailed Leicester, and took the
city by storm in 1068. In the assault a large portion of the city was
destroyed, along with St. Mary's Church. William handed the Government of
Leicester over to Hugh de Grandmesnil.
He
also gave De Grandmesnil 100 manors for his services, sixty-five of them in Leicestershire, including Earl Shilton. He was
appointed High Sheriff of Leicestershire and Governor
of Hampshire. He married the beautiful Adeliza, daughter of Ivo, Count of
Beaumont-sur-l'Oise,
from whom he gained estates in Herefordshire, and three
lordships in Warwickshire.
Death
of Adelize
Adelize
the wife of Hugh de Grandmesnil died at Rouen in 1087, and
was buried in the Chapter House of St. Evroult. They had five sons and as many
daughters together - namely, Robert, William, Hugh, Ivo
de Grandmesnil,
and Aubrey; and daughters Adeline, Hawise, Rohais, Matilda, and Agnes.
On the
death of William the Conqueror, also in 1087, the Grandmesnils, like most of
the Norman barons, were caught up in the civil war raging between his three
surviving sons. Now lands in Normandy and England had two different masters, as
Robert Curthose became Duke of Normandy and William Rufus became king of
England. Royal family squabbles put fortunes at risk if Barons took the wrong
side, and ultimately this was the fate of the Grandmesnil family for they
tended to support the fickle Duke of Normandy against the English king,
although allegiances changed continually. Duke Robert did not always support
his barons loyalty, which is illustrated in Hugh’s later struggles.
Old
age
By
1090 Hugh de Grandmesnil was still defending his lands in Normandy. Hugh made a
stand along with his friend Richard de
Courci
at the Castle of Curçay-sur-Dive, as Robert de
Belesme
laid siege to them. Belesme had driven his army into the lands along the river Orne. Other barons
had joined the fight. This led to an extended siege at Courcy,
Calvados
in 1091 of three weeks
.
Robert
de Belesme did not have enough troops to surround the castle of Courci. He set
about building a wooden siege engine, the Belfry. This was a great tower, and
could be rolled up to the castle walls. Every time the Belfry was rolled
forward, Grandmesnil sallied from the castle and attacked a different part of
the line. Soldiers manning the Belfry were urgently needed elsewhere to beat
back Grandmesnil's attack. These skirmishes were frequent savage and bloody. On
one occasion William, son of Henry de
Ferrers
(another Leicestershire landowner, whose family would become Earls of Derby),
and William de Rupiere were captured
by de Grandmesnil and ransomed for a small fortune.
But the boot was on the other foot when Ivo de
Grandmesnil, Hugh’s son, and Fitz
Gilbert de Clare
were seized by the attackers. Ivo was later released, but de Clare did not
survive Belesme's dungeon (Planche).
As the
siege continued a deadly ritual was played out. The inhabitants of Courci had
built their oven outside the castle's fortifications, and it now lay midway
between the main gate and the enemy's Belfry. The men of Courci therefore, would
stand to arms and rush from the castle to surround the oven, so that the baker
could go to work. Here they would defend their bread, as the attackers would
attempt to carry it off.
This
would often lead to a general engagement as each side poured more troops into
the fray. On one occasion Grandmesnil’s charge was so ferocious that De
Belesme’s men were scattered. The men of Courci overran the great siege engine
and burned it. But this success was short lived, as Duke Robert of Normandy
took sides with De Belesme. It now looked all over for De Grandmesnil and De
Courci. Then William Rufus arrived with a fleet in arms against his brother,
and so Duke Robert and De Belesme simply packed up and went home.
Hugh's
death
In
1094, Hugh de Grandmesnil was again in England, worn out with age and
infirmity. Feeling his end approaching, in accordance with the common practice
of the period, he took the habit of a monk, and expired six days after he had
taken to his bed on 22 February 1094 at Leicester. His body, preserved in salt
and sewn up in the hide of an ox, was conveyed to the valley of the Ouche in
Normandy by two monks. He was laid to rest at the Abbey
of St. Evroult,
and buried by the Abbot Roger on the south side of the Chapter House, near the
tomb of Abbot Mainer.
Issue
Hugh’s
eldest son, Robert de Grandmesnil, inherited his Norman lands in the Ouch
valley, while Ivo de Grandmesnil became Sheriff of Leicester, and master of
Earl Shilton manor.
William's
brother Odo and many others, who had rebelled against William Rufus in 1088,
felt that the First
Crusade
was a good way to avoid the English kings wrath. All of these men showed
bravery in the field, a fact which contradicts later rumours that they were
deserters at Antioch.
On the
third day of the siege
of Antioch,
after a terrible battle on the walls, William Grandmesnil, his brother Aubrey
and Ivo of Grandmesnil, banded together with Count Stephen of Blois, father of the
future king of England, and several other knights, to let themselves down from
the wall on ropes under the cover of darkness. They fled on foot to the coast
and the port of St. Simeon where they were transported away by ships belonging
to the Knights Hospitalier.
The papacy referred to this retreat as an act of
cowardice, but evidence emerging from recent research on Blois and his family
holdings, as well as Thebaudian revealations from the annals of Champagne,
refer to the escape as a strategic move to protect certain treasures. Count
Stephen, who was married to Adella, daughter of William the Conqueror, returned
to Chartres with maps and strategic building plans that contributed to the
formation of the Norman Gothic architectural revolution both in England
(Winchester, Glastonbury, Salisbury) and in France (Amiens and Chartres.)
In
1102 Stephen Blois returned to Jerusalem under a cloud of undeserved shame, and
died in a battle charge. His cousin Hugh de Payans, formed the
first group of Knights Templars the following year.
Henry
I of England
had moved swiftly to take the English throne, in Robert Curthose's absence. It
appears that Ivo de Grandmesnil was influenced by his brother Robert, who held
the family lands in Normandy, and joined the faction fighting against Henry of
England. War quickly followed.
Duke
Robert set sail for England in 1101 and his army caught up with Henry at Alton,
on the Winchester road. A peace was quickly negotiated and Robert went back to
Normandy with promises of English gold.
Unfortunately, this left the Duke’s
supporters high and dry and king Henry, ‘a famously unpleasant individual’ took
note of his enemies, including the Grandmesnils (Morris).
King
Henry bestowed the manors of Barwell, Burbage, Aston, Sketchley and Dadlington
on Hugh de Hastings, as he set
about getting rid of any baronial opposition. Thus, Ivo, Sheriff of Leicester,
found that he was in disgrace at court, and also swamped with lawsuits and
delayed judgements by the king. The cronies of the king’s court treated Ivo
like a standing joke, and courtiers openly called him ‘ropedancer’, a reference
to his escape from Antioch. His star was definitely on the wane, and when he
overreacted to the jibes, Ivo was fined for turbulent conduct at court. To
escape his situation, Ivo had little choice but to finance another trip to the
Holy Land, where he could regain his honour fighting for god.
Ivo
approached Robert Beaumont, Count Meulan, to procure a
reconciliation with the king, and to advance him five hundred silver marks for
his expedition. For this service the whole of Ivo's domains were pledged to
Beaumont as a security for fifteen years. Beaumont was also to give the
daughter of his brother Henry,
Earl of Warwick,
in marriage to Ivo's son, Baron Hinckley, who was still
in his infancy, and to restore him his father's inheritance. This contract was
confirmed by oath, and ratified by the King. But Ivo died on his crusade to
Jerusalem, and when he did not return Robert Beaumont broke his oaths and took
control of the whole of Leicester.
He
dispossessed Ivo's children, forgot about the marriage, and added all the
Grandmesnil estates to his own. By sleight of hand, Earl Shilton manor was now
held by Robert Beaumont, who was created the first Earl of
Leicester
by the king.
Ivo’s
nephew and heir, Hugh de Grandmesnil, Baron Hinckley, never recovered the
honour of Leicester. The eventual heiress, Petronella, married Robert de Beaumont, 3rd Earl of
Leicester.
Hugh's
daughter Adeline or Adelina was married to Roger d'Ivry, who was the
sworn brother-in-arms of Robert D'Oyly.
Hugh
and Adeliza's holdings in England (looks like they owned half the country)
The
Domesday book lists Hugh's lands in Leicestershire in the
following order Wigston
Magna,
Sapcote, Frolesworth, Sharnford, Earl Shilton, Ratby, Bromkinsthorpe, Desford, Glenfield, Braunstone, Groby, Kirkby Mallory, Stapleton, Newbold Verdon, Brascote, Peckleton, Illston on the Hill, Thorpe Langton, Stockerston, Burton Overy, Carlton Curlieu, Noseley, Thurcaston, Belgrave, Birstall, Anstey, Thurmaston, Humberstone, Swinford, Bruntingthorpe, Smeeton Westerby, Lestone, Twyford, Oadby, Peatling Parva, Shearsby, Sapcote, Willoughby Waterless, Croft, Broughton Astley, Enderby, Glenfield, Sutton Cheney, Barlestone, Sheepy Magna, Cotesbach, Evington, Ingarsby, Stoughton, Gaulby, Frisby, Shangton, Stonton Wyville, East Langton, Great Glen, Syston, Wymeswold, Sileby, Ashby de la Zouche, Alton, Staunton Harold, Whitwick, Waltham on the Wolds, Thorpe Arnold, Market Bosworth and Barton in the Beans.
In Northamptonshire his lands include pieces in West Farndon, Marston Trussell, Thorpe Lubenham, Weedon Bec, Ashby St Ledgers, Osbern, Welton, Staverton and Thrupp Grounds
Additionally in Nottinghamshire he had interests in Edwalton and Thrumpton.
And in Warwickshire his lands included p. 663) Hillmorton, Willoughby and Butlers Marston.
He also had interests in Gloucestershire including Quinton (Upper & Lower), Weston-on-Avon and Broad Marston.
Aleliza's lands in Bedfordshire included Lower and Upper Shelton, Houghton Conquest and Chalton.
Hugh and Adelize had a son Robert de Grandmesnil.
He was born 1054 and died 1136 in Leicester. He married Emma de Stuteville, born 1078 d
1125. Emma was the daughter of
Robert I de Stutevil, and Adeliza De Beaumont.
They had a son William De Grandemesnil. William married Mabillia Guiscard of Apulia.
Her parents were Robert (Duke of Apulia) Guiscard
and Silelgaita of Salemo
(Its should be noted that while there is a great
deal of evidence that William married Mabillia, the daughter of Robert and
Silelgaita, the dates seem quite incorrect.
However William was living in Europe at the time.
Robert was the son of Tancreed de Gauteville and
Fredesende de Normandie.
William had a daughter Petronilla Permel de Grandmesnil. She was born in 1134 and died in 1212. She inherited her parent’s lands.
Petronilla
de Grandmesnil,
Countess of Leicester (c. 1145—1212) was the daughter of one of three
Grandmesnil brothers, William, and wife of Robert de Beaumont III, earl of
Leicester,
known as “Blanchmains” (d. 1190). She was buried in Leicester Abbey following
her death on April 1, 1212.
The
chronicler Jordan
Fantosme
wrote that Earl Robert and his wife Petronilla were participants in the
1173-1174 rebellion of Henry
"the Young King" against King
Henry II,
his father. Jordan claimed that Earl Robert participated because of grievances
against King Henry and credits dismissive remarks about the English who were
fighting on the king's side to the countess: "The English are great
boasters, but poor fighters; they are better at quaffing great tankards and
guzzling.
Countess
Petronilla accompanied her husband on his military campaign against English
troops under the command of the earl of Arundel and Humphrey de Bohun. During
the final showdown, she is said to have fled from the battle, only to be found
in a ditch. "The earl’s wife wanted to drown herself, when Simon of Odell
saw to pulling her out: ‛My lady, come away from this place, and abandon your design!
War is all a question of losing and winning."
She was noted
as wearing male armour when captured. Earl Robert
was also captured and his holdings were confiscated. Countess Petronilla was
released and during the earl's continued imprisonment he wrote to her asking
that she discharge the bequests stated in his father's will.
Countess
Petronilla claimed to be the heiress of the Grandmesnil barony but the
records do not record the names of her parents. The countess,
married in the mid-1150s, bore at least seven children:
- William
(d. before 1190)
- Robert IV, 3rd earl of
Leicester,
“fitz Parnel/Petronilla” (d. 1204) married Loretta
de Braose
- Roger, bishop of St. Andrews (d. 1202)
- Amice
married (1) Simon de Montfort III (d. 18 July before 1188), (2) William de
Barres (d. 3 Sept. 1215)
- Margaret
married Saher de Quincy, later earl
of Winchester
- Hawise,
who became a nun at Nuneaton Priory
- Pernel/Petronilla
- Two
additional children are possible: Geoffrey and Mabel
She married
Robert III de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester
William de Grandmesnil’s mother was Emma de
Stuteville. She was the daughter of
Rober I de Stuteville and Adeliza (Alice) de Beaumont. (b 1040 d 1091) Her parents were Yves II Count de Beaumont
and Judith de Beaumont.
Her mother Adeliza was the daughter of Yves Ivo De
Beaumont and Judith Adelaide de Gournay.
Her father was the son of Robert de Estouteville
and Jeanne de Talleboit. Their home was
France.
Petronilla De Grandmesnils married Robert III Earl
of Leicester de Beaumont.
His mother was Arnice De Gael. Arnice was the daughter of Emma Fitzosborne
and Ralph (Seigneur of Gael) de Gael.
Robert II Earl of Leicester de Beaumont was the
son of Robert I (Earl of Leicester) Count Meulan de Beaumont. He married Countess Elizabeth Isabel (of
Leicester) de Vermandois.
Isabel
(or Elizabeth) de Vermandois (c. 1081 - February 13, 1131) is a fascinating
figure about whose descendants and ancestry much is known and about whose
character and life relatively little is known. She was twice married to
influential Anglo-Norman magnates, and had several children (among whose
descedants are numberd many kings and some queens of England and
Scotland. Her Capetian and Carolingian ancestry was a source of much
pride for some of these descendants (who included these arms as quarterings in
their coats-of-arms). However, the lady herself led a comewhat
controversial life.
 |
| Elizabeth de Vermandois |
Elizabeth
de Vermandois was the third daughter of Hugh Magnus and Adel of
Vermandois.
Her
paternal grandparents were King Henry I of France and Anne of
Kiev.
 |
| Anne of Kiev |
 |
| King Henry I |
King
Henry I was the son of King Robert (The Pious) of France and Constance de
Taillefer
 |
| King Robert |
 |
| Queen Constance |
This
makes King Robert and Queen Constance great grandparents twice over. 29th
and 34th.
Her maternal grandparents were Herbert IV of
Vermandois and Adele of Vexin.
 |
| Adele of Vexin |
 |
| Herbert IV of Vermandois |
Her
mother was the heiress of the county of Vermandois and descendant of a junior
patrilineal line of descent from Charlemagne.
The first Count of
Vermandois was Pepin of Vermandois.
He was a son of Bernard of Italy,
grandson of Pepin of Italy and great-grandson of Charlemagne and
Hildegard.
As
such, Elizabeth had distinguished ancestry and connections. Her father
was a younger brother of Philip I of France and her mother was among the
last Carolingians. She was also distantly related to the Kings of
England, Dukes of Normandy, Counts of Flanders and, through her Carolingian
ancestors, to practically every major nobleman in Western Europe.
In
1096, while under age (probably aged 9-11) Elizabeth married Robert de
Beaumont, lst Earl of Leicester. Meulan was over 35 years her senior
which was an unusual age difference even for this time period. He was a
nobleman of some significance in France, having inherited lands from his
maternal uncle Henry, Count of Meulan, and had fought bravely and with
distinction at his first battle, The battle of Hastings in 1066, then aged only
16.
His parents, Roger de Beaumont, Lord of Beaumont-le-Roger and
Pont-Audemar and Adeline of Meulan, heiress of Meulan had died long before;
Roger was a kinsman and close associate of William the Conqueror. de
Beaumont had inherited lands in Normandy after his father died circa 1089 and
had also been given land in England after his participation in the Norman
conquest. However, at the time of the marriage, he held no Earldom in
England while his younger brother was already styled Henry de Beaumont, lst
Earl of Warwick.
Planche
states that the bride (Elizabeth) agreed willingly to the marriage although
this means little in the context. Despite the immense age difference,
this was a good marriage for its times. de Beaumont was a respected
advisor to three reigning monarchs: William II of England, Robert
Curthose of Normandy and Philip I of France.
According
to Middle Age custom, brides were often betrothed young - 8 being the legal age
for betrothal and 12 for marriage (for women). The young betrothed wife
would often go to her husband's castle to be raised by his parents or other
relatives and to learn the customs and ways of her husband's family. The
actual wedding would not take place until much later. Some genealogists
speculate that the usual age at which a noble bride could expect the marriage
to be consummated would be 14. This is consistent with the date of birth
of Elizabeth's first child, Emma, in 1102 when she would have been between 15
and 17.
The
marriage produced several children, including most notable two sons who were
twins (born1104) and thus remarkable in both surviving and both becoming
important noblemen. They are better known to historians of this period as
the Beaumont twins, or as Waleran de Beaumont, Count of Meulan and his younger
twin, Robert Bossu(the Humpback) or Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of
Leicester.(Readers of Ellis Peters' Cadfael historical mystery series will find
both twins mentioned frequently). Another notable child of this marriage
was Elisabeth or Isabel de Beaumont, one of the youngest mistresses of Henry I
of England and later mother (by her first marriage) of Richard Strongbow.
Some
contemporaries were surprised that the aging Count of Meulan (b circa 1049/50)
was able to father so many children, given how busy he was with turmoil in England
and Normandy from 1102 to 1110 (or later) and acting as Henry I's unofficial
minister. One explanation is offered below; another might simply be an
indication of his good health and energy (expended mostly in dashing from one
trouble spot in Normandy to England and back to Normandy).
William
II died suddenly in a purported hunting accident and was hastily succeeded not
by the expected heir but by the youngest brother, Henry. This seizure of
the throne led to an abortive invasion by the older brother, Duke Robert of
Normandy, followed by an uneasy truce between the brothers, followed by trouble
in both England and Normandy for some time (stirred up by Duke Robert and by an
exiled nobleman, Robert of Bell'eme, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury). Finally, Henry
invaded Normandy and in the Battle of Tinchebray (September 28, 1106) destroyed
organised opposition to his takeover of Normandy and imprisoned his ineffectual
older brother for his lifetime. de Beaumont and his brother,
Warwick, were apparently supporters of Henry during this entire period
and de Beaumont was rewarded with the Earldom of Leicester in 1103. By
1107, he was in possession of substantial lands in three domains. In 111,
he was able to revenge himself on the attack on his seat Meulan by Louis VI of
France. He avenged himself by harrying Paris.
Elizabeth,
Countess of Meulan, apparently tired of her aging husband at some point during
the marriage. The historian, Planche, says (1874) that the Countess was
seduced by or fell in love with a younger nobleman, William de Warenne (c.
1071- May 11, 1138) himself the thwarted suitor of Edith of Scotland, Queen
consort of Henry I of England. Warenne, whose mother was Gundred,
has been alleged (in modern times) to be the Conqueror's daughter and stepdaughter
by some genealogists, was said to want a royal bride and Elizabeth fitted his
requirements, even though she was also another man's wife.
In
1115, the Countess was apparently carried off or abducted by Warenne, which
abduction apparently concealed a long-standing affair. There was some
kind of separation or divorce between de Beaumont and his wife which, however,
did not permit her to marry her lover. The elderly Leicester died,
supposedly of chagrin and mortification in being thus publicly humiliated, in
the Abbey of Preaux, Normandy on 5 June 1118, leaving his properties to his two
elder sons whom he had carefully educated.
Elizabeth
married, secondly, William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey, sometime after the
death of her first husband. By him, it is alleged, she already had
several children (all born during her marriage to Leicester). She also
had at least one daughter born while she was living out of wedlock with Warenne
(1115-1118). It is unclear whether this daughter was Ada de Warenne, wife
of Henry of Scotland, or Gundred de Warenne, wife of Roger de Beaumont, 2nd
Earl of Warwick (her half-brothers' first cousin).
The
later life of Elizabeth de Vermandois is not known. Her sons by her first
marriage appear to have a good relationship with their half-brother William de
Warenne, 3rd Earl of Surrey, Although on opposing sides for much of the
wars between Stephen and Matilda. Her eldest son, Waleran, Count of
Meulan, was active in supporting the disinherited heir , William Clito, son of
Robert Curthose, until captured by Henry. He was not released until
Clito's death without issue in 1128.
Her second son, Robert, inherited
his father's English estates and the Earldom of Leicester and married the
heiress of the FitzOzborne Counts of Breteuil. Her daughter, Isabel,
However, became a king's concubine or mistress at a young age; it is
unclear whether her mother's own life or her eldest brother's political and
personal treavails in this period played any part in the decision. Before
her mother died, Isabel had become wife of Gilbert de Blare, later (1147) Earl
of Pembroke, so had adopted a more conventional life like her mother.
There
are no known biographies of Elizabeth de Vermandois, nor any known fictional
treatments of her life.
Her parents were Sir Hugh (Great) de Magnus de
Vermandois (Leader Crusade), and her mother was Countess Adelaide de Vermandois
de Cleremont.
Hugh Count of Vermandois 27th Great grandfather.
free
encyclopedia
Hugh
I of Vermandois
(1057 – October 18, 1101), called Magnus
or the Great, was a younger son of Henry I of
France
and Anne
of Kiev
and younger brother of Philip
I.
He was in his own right Count
of Vermandois,
but an ineffectual leader and soldier, great only in his boasting. Indeed, Steven
Runciman
is certain that his nickname Magnus (greater or elder), applied to him
by William
of Tyre,
is a copyist's error, and should be Minus (younger), referring to Hugh
as younger brother of the King of France.
In
early 1096 Hugh and Philip began discussing the First Crusade after news of
the Council
of Clermont
reached them in Paris. Although
Philip could not participate, as he had been excommunicated, Hugh was
said to have been influenced to join the Crusade after an eclipse of the
moon
on February 11, 1096.
That
summer Hugh's army left France for Italy, where they
would cross the Adriatic
Sea
into territory of the Byzantine
Empire,
unlike the other Crusader armies who were travelling by land. On the way, many
of the soldiers led by fellow Crusader Emicho joined Hugh's
army after Emicho was defeated by the Hungarians, whose land
he had been pillaging. Hugh crossed the Adriatic from Bari in Southern Italy, but many of
his ships were destroyed in a storm off the Byzantine port of Dyrrhachium.
Hugh
and most of his army were rescued and escorted to Constantinople, where they
arrived in November 1096. Prior to his arrival, Hugh allegedly sent an
arrogant, insulting letter to Eastern
Roman Emperor
Alexius
I Comnenus.
According to the Emperor's biography written by his daughter Anna Comnena (the Alexiad), he demanded
that Alexius meet with him:
"Know, O King,
that I am King of Kings, and superior to all, who are under the sky. You are
now permitted to greet me, on my arrival, and to receive me with magnificence,
as befits my nobility."
Alexius
was already wary of the armies about to arrive, after the unruly mob led by Peter the
Hermit
had passed through earlier in the year. Alexius kept Hugh in custody in a
monastery until Hugh swore an oath of vassalage to him.
After
the Crusaders had successfully made their way across Seljuk territory
and, in 1098, captured
Antioch,
Hugh was sent back to Constantinople to appeal for reinforcements from Alexius.
Alexius was uninterested, however, and
Hugh, instead of returning to Antioch to help plan the siege of Jerusalem, went back to
France.
There
he was scorned for not having fulfilled his vow as a Crusader to complete a
pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and Pope Paschal
II
threatened to excommunicate him. He joined the minor Crusade of
1101,
but was wounded in battle with the Turks in September, and died of his wounds
in October in Tarsus.
Family
and children
He
married Adelaide of Vermandois, the daughter
of Herbert IV, Count of Vermandois and Alice, Countess of Valois. They had
nine children:
- Mathilde
(1080–1130), married Raoul I of Beaugency
- Elizabeth
of Vermandois, Countess of Leicester (1081–1131)
- Beatrice
(1082 – after 1144), married Hugh III of Gournay
- Ralph I
(1085–1152)
- Constance
(born 1086, date of death unknown), married Godfrey de la Ferté-Gaucher
- Agnes
(1090–1125), married Boniface
del Vasto
- Henry
(1091–1130), seigneur of Chaumont en Vexin
- Simon
(1093–1148)
- William
(c. 1094 – c. 1096)
Elizabeth
of Vermandois,
or Elisabeth or Isabel de Vermandois (c. 1085–c. 1148), was the
third daughter of Hugh Magnus and Adelaide of Vermandois,and as such
represented both the Capetian line of her
paternal grandfather Henry I of
France,
and the Carolingian ancestry of
her maternal grandfather Herbert IV of Vermandois As the wife
of two Anglo-Norman magnates, Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of
Leicester
and William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey, she is the
ancestress of hundreds of well-known families down to the present time.
She is the cousin of William the
Conqueror
Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, KG, FRS (27 July 1625 – 28 May 1672) was an English landowner, infantry officer, and later naval officer and politician, who sat in the House of Commons at various points between 1645 and 1660. He served Oliver Cromwell loyally in the 1650s, but went on to play a considerable part in the Restoration of King Charles II, and was subsequently rewarded with several court offices. Sandwich served as the English ambassador to Portugal from 1661 to 1662, and the ambassador to Spain from 1666 to 1668. He later became an admiral, serving in the two Anglo-Dutch Wars during the reign of Charles II; he was killed at the Battle of Solebay. A detailed primary source for Sandwich's career in the 1660s is the diary of Samuel Pepys, who was his cousin and protégé.
Born Jemima Crew, she married Edward Mountagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich,
and Pepys’ patron, in 1642. They had ten children.
