William de Braose,, 4th Lord of Bramber, court favourite of King John of England, at the peak of his power, was also Lord of Gower, Abergavenny, Brecknock, Builth, Radnor, Kington, Limerick, Glamorgan, Skenfrith, Briouze in Normandy, Grosmont, and White Castle.
Dudley Castle is a ruined fortification in the town of Dudley, West Midlands, England. Originally a wooden motte and bailey castle built soon after the Norman Conquest, it was rebuilt as a stone fortification during the twelfth century but subsequently demolished on the orders of King Henry II. Rebuilding of the castle took place from the second half of the thirteenth century and culminated in the construction of a range of buildings within the fortifications by John Dudley. The fortifications were sleighted by order of Parliament during the English Civil War and the residential buildings destroyed by fire in 1750. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century the site was used for fêtes and pageants. Today Dudley Zoo is located in its grounds.
Brierley Hill is a small town and electoral ward of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough in the West Midlands of England, and is situated approximately 2.5 miles south of central Dudley and 2 miles north of Stourbridge. Part of the Black Country and in a heavily industrialised area, it has a population of 13,935 at the 2011 census. It is best known for glass and steel manufacturing, although industry has declined considerably since the 1970s. One of the largest factories in the area was the Round Oak Steelworks, which was closed down and redeveloped in the 1980s to become the Merry Hill Shopping Centre. Brierley Hill was originally in Staffordshire.
Baron Dudley is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in circa 1440 for John Sutton, a soldier who served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The title descended in the Sutton family until the 17th century when Frances Sutton, the heir apparent to the title, married Humble Ward, who, himself, was granted the title Baron Ward in 1644. Their heirs inherited both titles until 1740 when the differing rules of inheritance meant that the Barony of Dudley descended on Ferdinando Dudley Lea, who became the 11th Baron whilst the Barony of Ward went to John Ward, who later became 1st Viscount Dudley and Ward. On Ferdinando's death in 1757, the title fell into abeyance. The title was revived in 1916.
Earl of Dudley, of Dudley Castle in the County of Stafford,, is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, both times for members of the Ward family.
Kingswinford is a suburban town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands, England. In 2001, its population was 25,808, falling to 25,191 at the 2011 Census. It is situated 4 miles north-northwest of Stourbridge, 5 miles west-southwest of Dudley and 8 miles south-southwest of Wolverhampton, the closest city, and forms part of the border with the South Staffordshire District.
William d'Aubigny, 3rd Earl of Arundel, also called William de Albini IV, was an English nobleman, a favourite of King John, and a participant in the Fifth Crusade.
Swindon is a village and civil parish located in Staffordshire, just outside the West Midlands conurbation. The nearest major town is Dudley, approximately five miles eastwards. It stands halfway between the small town of Kingswinford and village of Wombourne.
The de Birmingham family held the lordship of Birmingham in England for four hundred years and managed its growth from a small village into a thriving market town. They also helped invade Ireland and were rewarded with the Barony of Athenry. They were stripped of most of their lands in England by the notorious John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, who held sway over Edward VI during the early 16th century.
William de Chesney was a medieval Anglo-Norman nobleman and sheriff. The son of a landholder in Norfolk, William inherited after the death of his two elder brothers. He was the founder of Sibton Abbey, as well as a benefactor of other monasteries in England. In 1157, Chesney acquired the honour of Blythburgh, and was sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk during the 1150s and 1160s. On Chesney's death in 1174, he left three unmarried daughters as his heirs.
Prestwood is a hamlet now in the parish of Kinver, but in the Kingswinford until the creation of Brierley Hill Urban District in the 1930s.
Kinver Forest was a Royal Forest, mainly in Staffordshire.
Sir Ralph Basset the 1st Baron Basset of Drayton was an English nobleman of the 13th century who fought in both the Anglo-French War and in the First War of Scottish Independence. He was the son of one of Simon de Montfort's baronial lords, Ralph Basset, and Margaret de Somery. In 1291, he was granted the governorship of Edinburgh Castle. He was created 1st Baron Basset of Drayton in 1295.
The feudal barony of Plympton was a large feudal barony in the county of Devon, England, whose caput was Plympton Castle and manor, Plympton. It was one of eight feudal baronies in Devonshire which existed during the medieval era. It included the so-called Honour of Christchurch in Hampshire, which was not however technically a barony. The de Redvers family, first holders of the barony, were also Lords of the Isle of Wight, which lordship was not inherited by the Courtenays, as was the barony of Plympton, as it had been sold to the king by the last in the line Isabel de Redvers, 8th Countess of Devon (1237–1293).
The Earl of Dudley’s Railway or Pensnett Railway, was a 4 ft 8 1⁄2 instandard gauge railway that developed from a single 3-mile (4.8 km) line opened in 1829 to, at its maximum extent, a 40-mile (64 km) long network around the Earl of Dudley’s Iron Works at Round Oak near Brierley Hill.
Roger de Somery inherited the feudal barony of Dudley in 1235. In 1262, Roger started the re-fortification of Dudley Castle, which had been slighted by order of King Henry II after a rebellion in 1173-1174. Roger married twice and died in 1272.
Ferdinando Dudley Lea, 11th Baron Dudley (1710-1757) succeeded his uncle, William Ward, 10th Baron Dudley in the Barony of Dudley in 1740. However, he did not inherit the ancestral estates of the Barony, including Dudley Castle, which descended on a relative, John Ward. On Ferdinando's death in 1757 the barony fell into abeyance between his sisters.
