John fitz Richard | |
|---|---|
 Arms of John fitz Richard: Quarterly or and gules overall bend sable a label of five points argent for difference [1] | |
| Successor | Roger de Lacy |
| Died | 11 October 1190 |
| Spouse(s) | Alice de Essex |
| Parents | Richard fitz Eustace Albreda de Lisours |
John fitz Richard (died 11 October 1190) was an Anglo-Norman soldier, Baron of Halton and hereditary Constable of Chester. Historical records refer to him as "John, Constable of Chester". [2] He died at Acre in the Holy Land.
He was the eldest son and heir of Richard fitz Eustace (d. 1163), hereditary Constable of Chester, by his wife Albreda de Lisours (d. 1194), daughter of Robert de Lissours by his wife Albreda de Lacy, daughter and heiress of Robert de Lacy (d.1193), Baron of Pontefract. His younger brother Roger fitz Richard was Lord of Warkworth Castle [3] and another brother, Robert fitz Richard, was the Prior of the Knights Hospitaller in England.
After the death of his father in 1163 John inherited his Barony of Halton and the Office of Constable of Chester, whereupon he became the chief official of Hugh de Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester. After the death of Hugh in 1181 he served in the same capacity for his heir Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester. In 1166 he paid a fee of 1,000 marks to obtain his mother's possessions, including the former de Lacy estates. After 1172 he founded Stanlow Abbey in Cheshire, of the Cistercian order, and a hospital in Castle Donington. [4] Earl Hugh granted him lands in Antrobus, Cheshire and in 1178 confirmed John's donation of Little Stanney to Stanlow Abbey, and a little later he gave the monks the duty to pay in Chester.[ clarification needed ]
During the rebellion against King Henry II in 1173, John was a loyal supporter of the king. In early May 1181, when Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath lost the King's favour and was removed from office as Justiciar of Ireland, John was sent to Ireland together with Richard Peche, Bishop of Coventry to take control of Dublin. Nevertheless, they supported Hugh before he left Ireland in the construction of many castles in Leinster. The following winter John and Bishop Peche were recalled to England, while Hugh de Lacy returned to Ireland. On 3 September 1189, John took part in the coronation of King Richard I. In March 1190, he left England to participate in the Third Crusade, during which he died in the Holy Land during the Siege of Acre. [2]
He married Alice of Essex, a daughter of Robert of Essex by his wife Alice, by whom he had several children, including:
de Lacy is the surname of an old Norman family which originated from Lassy, Calvados. The family took part in the Norman Conquest of England and the later Norman invasion of Ireland. The name is first recorded for Hugh de Lacy (1020–1085). His sons, Walter and Ilbert, left Normandy and travelled to England with William the Conqueror. The awards of land by the Conqueror to the de Lacy sons led to two distinct branches of the family: the northern branch, centred on Blackburnshire and west Yorkshire was held by Ilbert's descendants; the southern branch of Marcher Lords, centred on Herefordshire and Shropshire, was held by Walter's descendants.
The Abbey of St. Mary at Stanlaw, was a Cistercian foundation situated on Stanlaw - now Stanlow - Point, on the banks of the River Mersey in the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, England, near today's Ellesmere Port, 11 km north of Chester Castle and 12 km south-west of Halton Castle.
The Barony of Halton, in Cheshire, England, comprised a succession of 15 barons and hereditary Constables of Chester under the overlordship of the Earl of Chester. It was not an English feudal barony granted by the king but a separate class of barony within the County Palatine of Chester.
Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, Baron of Pontefract, Lord of Bowland, Baron of Halton and hereditary Constable of Chester, was an English nobleman and confidant of King Edward I. He served Edward in Wales, France, and Scotland, both as a soldier and a diplomat. Through his mother he was a great-grandson of Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy. He is the addressee, or joint composer, of a poem by Walter of Bibbesworth about crusading, La pleinte par entre missire Henry de Lacy et sire Wauter de Bybelesworthe pur la croiserie en la terre seinte.
Hugh de Balliol, Lord of Bywell, Barnard Castle and Gainford, was an English nobleman. He was the son of Eustace de Balliol and Petronilla FitzPiers. Balliol was a supporter of King John of England during the Barons Wars of 1215–17.
Roger de Lacy (1170–1211), Baron of Pontefract, Lord of Bowland, Lord of Blackburnshire, Baron of Halton, Constable of Chester, Sheriff of Yorkshire and Sheriff of Cumberland, also known as Roger le Constable, was a notable Anglo-Norman soldier, crusader and baron.
Eustace fitz John, Constable of Chester, was a powerful magnate in northern England during the reigns of Henry I, Stephen and Henry II. From a relatively humble background in South East England, Eustace made his career serving Henry I, and was elevated by the king through marriage and office into one of the most important figures in the north of England. Eustace acquired a great deal of property in the region, controlled Bamburgh Castle, and served jointly with Walter Espec as justiciar of the North.
In the kingdom of England, a feudal barony or barony by tenure was the highest degree of feudal land tenure, namely per baroniam, under which the land-holder owed the service of being one of the king's barons. The duties owed by and the privileges granted to feudal barons are not exactly defined, but they involved the duty of providing soldiers to the royal feudal army on demand by the king, and the privilege of attendance at the king's feudal court, the precursor of parliament.
Edmund de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln (c.1230–1258) was an important landholder in Northern England, with a strategic manor at Stanbury which was important for east–west communication, and as Lord of the Honour of Pontefract he possessed Pontefract Castle.
John de Lacy, 2nd Earl of Lincoln was hereditary Constable of Chester, 7th Baron of Pontefract, 8th Baron of Halton and 8th Lord of Bowland.
Pain fitzJohn was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and administrator, one of King Henry I of England's "new men", who owed their positions and wealth to the king.
William fitz Nigel, of Halton Castle in Cheshire, England, was Constable of Chester and Baron of Halton within the county palatine of Chester ruled by the Earl of Chester.
Richard fitz Eustace was Constable of Chester and Baron of Halton within the County Palatine of Chester ruled by the Earl of Chester.
The Lordship of Meath was an extensive seigneurial liberty in medieval Ireland that was awarded to Hugh de Lacy by King Henry II of England by the service of fifty knights and with almost royal authority. The Lordship was roughly co-extensive with the medieval kingdom of Meath. At its greatest extent, it included all of the modern counties of Fingal, Meath, Westmeath as well as parts of counties Cavan, Kildare, Longford, Louth and Offaly. The Lordship or fiefdom was imbued with privileges enjoyed in no other Irish liberty, including the four royal pleas of arson, forestalling, rape, and treasure trove.
The honour of Pontefract, also known as the feudal barony of Pontefract, was an English feudal barony. Its origins lie in the grant of a large, compact set of landholdings in Yorkshire, made between the Norman conquest of England in 1066 and the completion of the Domesday Survey in 1086. An expansive set of landholdings spanning sixty parishes and six wapentakes in Yorkshire, the honour was created primarily to serve a strategic, defensive function in a potentially hostile frontier zone. The first lord was Ilbert de Lacy, who built a castle at Pontefract which became the caput of the honour. Alongside the Yorkshire holdings, a smaller number of dispersed possessions elsewhere in England belonged to the honour.
Robert fitzRoger was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk and Northumberland. He was a son of Roger fitzRichard and Adelisa de Vere. FitzRoger owed some of his early offices to William Longchamp, but continued in royal service even after the fall of Longchamp. His marriage to an heiress brought him more lands, which were extensive enough for him to be ranked as a baron. FitzRoger founded Langley Abbey in Norfolk in 1195.
There have been four different baronies held by the Marmion family, two feudal baronies, one purported barony created by Simon de Montfort and one barony by writ.
Roger fitz Richard, Lord of Warkworth and Clavering, was a prominent 12th-century English noble. He was a son of Richard fitz Eustace and Albreda de Lisours.
The Constable of Chester was a mediaeval hereditary office held by the Barons of Halton. The functions of the Constable are unclear, possibly they related to the custody of Chester Castle, as was the main function of most mediaeval constables, but Sanders (1960) says the office-holder was constable for the entire County Palatine.
Robert fitz Richard, also known as Roberto di Riccardi and Robert the Hospitaller, was a 12th–century Grand Prior of the Knights Hospitaller in England. He was the son of Richard fitz Eustace and Albreda de Lacy.