Barons of Halton Post

The Barons of Halton

The records of Anglo-Norman families are often confusing with conflicting names and dates. I looked for more than one source to verify the following information.

Nigel of Cotentin, 1st Baron of Halton (held ca.1070-1080), Constable of Chester

Hugh D’Avranches, 1st Earl of Chester, created his cousin Nigel of Cotentin the first Baron of Halton, which was a small village in Cheshire, now part of Runcorn on the Wirral Peninsula. It was an important position in the Norman military hierarchy, as he was then in charge of any military engagement involving Chester, under his cousin Hugh. Nigel almost certainly built a wooden motte and bailey castle on Halton Hill. The site was chosen because it overlooked the Cheshire Plain, a strategic position from which to defend the border with Wales. Nigel fought the Welsh under his cousin Hugh D’Avranches, including the Battle of Rhuddlan in 1077.

William FitzNigel, 2^nd Baron of Halton (held 1080-1134), Constable of Chester, Baron of Widnes

Nigel’s son William inherited the Barony. He also held the position of the Marshal of the Earl’s Host, another important position in Norman military hierarchy. He inherited the barony of Widnes and other manors in Lancashire through his wife, the daughter and heiress of Yarfrid, Baron of Widnes. He started the family tradition of marrying an heiress who always brought considerable property and sometimes a title to the marriage, in addition to their land in Normandy. He established an Augustinian priory at Runcorn, close to Halton in 1115, granting 3 ploughlands in Staining to the priory. The Manor of Staining therefore must have been a gift from Roger of Poitou before his exile in 1102. Married Agnes de Gant, daughter of Gilbert and Alice de Gant of Montfort. They had 3 daughters and one son William.

William FitzWilliam, 3^rd Baron of Halton (held 1134-1150), Constable of Chester, Baron of Widnes

He moved the priory his father had founded to the east of Halton, now renamed Norton Priory. At this time William re-granted some land in Staining (three ploughlands) to his new priory. He rebuilt Halton Castle of stone and today its ruins are open to the public. William died childless in Normandy, presumably visiting his holdings there, but little is known about his life. He died childless.

Eustace FitzJohn, b. 1100, 4^th Baron of Halton (held 1150-1157), Baron of Widnes, Constable of Chester, Baron of Knaresborough, Lord of Alnwick and Malton

Eustace had an illustrious career serving Henry I, Stephen and Henry II. He rose to become one of the most important figures in northern England and was given property scattered all over the north for his services to the Crown. He served jointly with Walter Espec as Judiciar of the North including the counties of Cumberland, Durham, Northumberland and Yorkshire. Eustace was the High Sheriff of Yorkshire He was one of three advisors in Henry I’s new regime in the north. Stephen of Blois was married to William’s daughter Adela. After the death of Henry I in 1135 he supported Stephen of Blois instead of his cousin the Empress Matilda, Henry I’s daughter, both William’s grandchildren , who contested the succession with the support of her father King David of Scotland. He switched sides several times, always managing to keep most of his holdings. Eustace obtained from the Ranulf, Earl of Chester, an Honor with lands in Cheshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire in 1144-45. Eustace supported Henry II, Stephen’s successor and in fact he died in an ambush fighting the Welsh with Henry II. Eustace was a great monastic patron: he supported Gloucester Abbey and founded Alnwick Abbey, Malton Priory and Watton Priory.

 Through the patronage of Henry I he married two heiresses:

1. Beatrix de Vesci, who brought him the large Barony of Alnick and Malton. Their son was William de Vesci, who was the High Sheriff of Northumberland between 1157-1170.
2. Agnes FitzNigel, the sister of William FitzWilliam, his brother-in-law, who brought him the Barony of Halton. Their son was Richard FitzEustace, 5^th Baron Halton

Richard FitzEustace, b. about 1128, 5^th Baron of Halton (held 1157-1171, Constable of Chester, Baron of Widnes, Baron of Knaresborough, Lord of Alnwick and Malton

He inherited Barony of Halton and the position of Constable of Chester through his mother.

Richard married:

1. Jane Bigod

Their son was Roger FitzRichard, 1st Earl of Warkworth m. Alice de Vere b. 1124

2. Albreda/Aubrey de Lisours, daughter of Robert de Lisours and Aubrey de Lacy.

Children:

• John FitzRichard, 6th Baron of Halton
• Robert
• Mary
•  Aubrey m. Henry Bisset

Richard’s second marriage brought him considerable wealth and additional titles. Albreda/Aubrey was the only child and heiress of her father Robert de Lisours and also the sole heiress of her grandfather, Robert de Lacy, who had no male heirs.

John FitzRichard de Lacy, b. 1139, 6^th Baron of Halton (held 1171-1190), Constable of Chester, Baron of Widnes, Baron of Knaresborough, Lord of Alnwick and Malton, Baron of Pontefract

Richard’s son John was appointed a Governor of Ireland for Henry II. He was unusual in that he was interested in science and maintained an astronomer at Halton. In 1178, he founded a Cistercian monastery at Stanlaw on the banks of the River Mersey, to which he gave the whole of the Manor of Staining. It was just 63 years and 3 generations after Norton Priory was established. John and his son, Roger FitzJohn de Lacy served with Richard I, “The Lionheart”, in the Third Crusade, where John died at the Siege of Tyre in 1190 at aged 50.

John FitzRichard de Lacy married Alice de Warkworth, (sister of William de Mandeville) (also known as Alice of Essex through her first marriage to Robert of Essex, son of Lord Raleigh?). She was the daughter of Roger FitzRichard, 1^st Earl of Warkworth, situated in Northumberland and Alice/Adeliza de Vere (Alice of Essex?). Alice was the daughter of his older half-brother and therefore his half-niece. I was surprised that he was allowed to marry such a close blood relative, as that is illegal in England today. However, avunculate marriages were once quite common in the royal houses of Europe. In Catholic countries one could always get a papal dispensation to marry.

Children of John and Alice:

• Roger b. 1171
• Robert b. 1174
• Johanna b. 1177

It is not clear what happened to the Manor of Staining between the 3^rd and 6^th Baron Halton. A footnote in A History of the County of Lancaster vol. 7 states that “William the Monk” and Thomas de Beaumont his heir gave the manor of Staining to John, Constable of Chester, probably the grandfather of John de Lacy, the whole vill of Staining. This grant was attested to by Henry, Prior of Norton (Prior between about 1170-1194). This must have been John FitzRichard, who was 6^th Baron Halton, He must have received the gift of Staining between 1171 and 1178 at which time he endowed his newly founded Stanlow Abbey with the whole vill or manor of Staining. However, I have not found the connection between Thomas de Beaumont and John de Lacy.

Roger FitzJohn de Lacy, b. 1171, 7^th Baron of Halton (held 1190-1211), Constable of Chester, 7^th Lord of Bowland, 6th Baron Pontefract. Lord of Blackburnshire,

Roger, known as ‘Hell’ Lacy, and Richard I were friends as well as renowned soldiers so it was not surprising that Roger (with his father) accompanied Richard I on the Third Crusade. Roger assisted Richard at the siege of Acre in 1191 and shared the success with Richard I. He survived the Third Crusade and later served King John, the younger brother who succeeded Richard I, in an unsuccessful attempt to thwart the French conquest of Normandy. Roger defended the Chateau Gaillard for more than a year against Philip II of France and was made the High Sheriff of Cumberland (1204-1206) in recognition of that military effort. In 1209 Roger took the de Lacy surname at the request of his de Lacy grandmother, from whom he inherited considerable estates. Roger married Maud (Matilda) de Clere b. 1180 Lincoln d. 1213 (not the de Clare family) and had a son John. Roger is buried at Stanlow Abbey, as was his father.

King Richard reconquered Normandy from King Phillip II of France in 1198, where de Lacy was likely in his retinue. In 1204, de Lacy was the commander of the great English fortress in Normandy, Château Gaillard, when it was retaken by Phillip, marking the loss of mainland English possessions in Normandy. Under de Lacy’s command the defence of the castle was lengthy, and it fell only after an eight-month siege on 8 March 1204. After the siege, de Lacy returned to England to begin work reinforcing Pontefract Castle.

John FitzRoger de Lacy, b. 1192, 8^th Baron of Halton (held 1211-1240), 2^st Earl of Lincoln, Constable of Chester, 8^th Lord of Bowland

John, the son of Roger and Maud, was one of the first Barons to oppose King John. He was appointed to the Magna Carta Surety, to ensure that King John kept the agreement. He was excommunicated by the Pope for being a member of the Surety, part of politics of King John to avoid keeping to the Charter. Thereafter he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land upon the succession of Henry III and assisted at the Siege of Damietta. John married twice. He first married Alice de Aquila in 1214, who had a daughter Joan but died in 1216. He married Margaret de Quincy b. 1208 in Lincoln, after his exploits in the Holy Land. She brought him considerable lands and was the daughter and heiress of Robert de Quincy and his wife, Hawise of Chester and Lincoln. Margaret was 2^nd Countess of Lincoln, suo jure, through her mother who was the 1^st Countess of Lincoln suo jure. John became Earl of Lincoln in 1232, now a hereditary title confirmed by the King They had a daughter Maud who married Richard de Clare, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester, and a son Edmund. He was appointed High Sheriff of Cheshire and the Governor of the Castle of Chester in 1237. John was buried at Stanlow with his father and grandfather.

Edmund de Lacy, 9^th Baron of Halton (held 1240-1258) Constable of Chester, 8^th Baron of Pontefract, 9^th Lord of Bowland

Edmund was brought up at the Court of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence and married a relative of the Queen, Alazia (Alice) of Saluzzo, a town in Savoy, south-west France and had one son Henry. He never became Earl of Lincoln as he died before his mother and his sister Maud, at a relatively young age. He was buried at Stanlow.

Henry de Lacy, b. about 1251, 10^th Baron of Halton (held 1258-1310) Constable of Chester, 9^th Baron of Pontefract, 3^rd Earl of Lincoln, 10^th Lord of Bowland, Lord of Denbigh

He was the last member of his family to hold the title Baron of Halton

Henry was the heir to his grandmother Margaret de Quincy since his father had died. He was educated at court and his inheritance held in wardship by his mother Alice. He became the Chief Counselor to Edward I. While the King was engaged in military conflicts in Scotland Henry was appointed Protector of the Realm. He transferred the Abbey from Stanlow to Whalley in 1296 with permission from Edward I and so the Manor of Staining continued to be part of the holdings of the new Whalley Abbey. The land Henry gave for the new Abbey was part of his holdings in west Yorkshire inherited from his de Lacy ancestors. Its new location promised to be more sheltered, located on the banks of the River Calder in the lush Ribble Valley, offering more opportunities for prosperity. The Prior of Norton was not happy about this turn of events. However, the Prior of Norton and the Abbot of Whalley were able to reach a suitable financial solution. In 1282 Henry took part in the English Conquest of Wales (known in Wales as the Norman Conquest) and was rewarded with the Lordship of Denbigh. He died in London and was buried in old St. Paul’s Cathedral, a well-earned resting place for a great statesman. Henry married Margaret Longespee and had a daughter, Alice, (1281-1348) 4^th Countess of Lincoln suo jure.

There were no further de Lacy male heirs in this line.

Thomas Plantagenet, b. about 1278, 2^nd Earl of Lancaster, 11^th Baron of Halton (held 1311-1322), 11^th Lord of Bowland, Earl of Derby, Salisbury, Lincoln and Leicester

In 1294 Alice de Lacy, Henry’s daughter and heiress, aged 13, was married to Thomas Plantagenet, aged about 16. Thomas became the master of five earldoms and the Barony of Halton, one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in England on his marriage to Alice. The lands he held stretched from the west to the east coast (Lancashire, Yorkshire, Northumberland) and south to Lincolnshire. However, it was an unhappy, childless marriage and they were divorced in 1318, after her conviction of adultery with Sir Ebulo Le Strange, a Shropshire baron. Thomas continued to hold the title of Earl of Lincoln jure uxoris, by right of his wife and Alice was kept in custody at Lancaster. Shortly thereafter Alice was (happily) seized by the Earl of Suffolk to prevent her title being claimed by her brother-in-law, Henry Wryneck of Lancaster. She married Ebulo in 1324. Her third marriage to Sir Hugh Freyne took place sometime before 1336 and she died in 1348 aged 67, at which time her title of the Countess of Lincoln became extinct.

Thomas was the eldest son of Edmund (Crouchback), 1^st Earl of Lancaster, and grandson to Henry III. He was heir presumptive to the throne of his cousin Edward II until the birth of Edward’s son, who became Edward III. Thomas became the hereditary Sheriff of Lancashire on reaching his majority and spent the next 10 years fighting for his uncle Edward I in Scotland. Thomas supported his cousin Edward II at the beginning of his reign but became increasingly hostile to the King’s favourite, Piers Gaveston, calling for his banishment. Thomas was one of the judges who saw Gaveston’s conviction and execution. Edward II submitted to Thomas after the disaster of Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 after which Thomas effectively ruled England. In 1318 a new faction of nobles arose and Thomas was deposed from his position of power. This new faction was equally unpopular and Thomas headed an unsuccessful rebellion in 1321. He was convicted of treason and beheaded in 1322 at Pontefract Castle, his home, upon which his titles and estates were forfeited to the Crown. His younger brother Henry Wryneck petitioned the king for the earldom of Leicester. Parliament reversed Thomas’ conviction posthumously in 1327 and Henry was further permitted the earldoms of Lancaster, Derby, Lincoln and Salisbury.

Sir William Glinton or Henry Wryneck, 12^th Baron of Halton (held 1322-1351), 3^rd Earl of Lancaster, 12^th Lord of Bowland , Earl of derby

It is not known exactly who held the title of 12^th Baron of Halton. Sir William Glinton, a distinguished knight, may have held the Barony in a non-hereditary arrangement during the lifetime of Alice, the widow of Thomas Plantagenet. Alternatively it may also have been Thomas’ younger brother Henry Wryneck. Various sources quote Henry as the 12^th Baron of Halton.

Henry Grosmont 13^th Baron of Halton (held 1351-1361), 4^th Earl, then 1st Duke of Lancaster (first creation), 13^th Lord of Bowland Earl of Derby, b. 1310 d. 1361

Henry Grosmont was the son of Henry Wryneck by his wife, Maud Chaworth. He became, on his father’s death, the wealthiest and most powerful peer in England. Henry was prominent diplomat, politician and soldier, one of Edward III’s most trusted commanders in the Hundred Years War. Henry was a founding member of the Knights of the Order of the Garter in 1348. He was promoted to the rank of Duke (of Lancaster) in 1351 plus given the palatinate status for the county of Lancashire, which entailed a separate administration independent of the Crown. Henry had no male heir so the title became extinct on his death. Henry and Edward II were the same age and second cousins. He served the King in France. Henry married Isabel de Beaumont daughter of Henry, Earl of Buchan in 1330 and had two daughters, Maud and Blanche, the latter received Lancaster as her inheritance. Both Henry and Isabel died of the plague just a few months apart in the epidemic of 1361.

John of Gaunt, 1^st Duke of Lancaster (second creation), 14^th Baron of Halton (held 1361-1399), 14^th Lord of Bowland, Earl of Derby, b. 1340 d. 1399

John of Gaunt, named for the Belgium town of Ghent where he was born, was the 3^rd surviving son of Edward III, created Duke of Lancaster in 1362 by his father. He was the Regent to the young Richard II, the son of his older brother, the Black Prince. Prince Edward died before his father so his young son Richard II succeeded his grandfather in 1377. During the years of his regency John had great influence in English politics and his policies were unpopular and so was he, although he never attempted to claim the throne for himself. His unwise decision to increase taxes led to the Peasants Revolt in 1381. He was heavily involved in the battles of the Hundred Years War without much success in the 1370’s and 1380’s. He concluded the war was unwinnable and advocated peace although the attempts made him unpopular in England. When his father and older brother became ill he effectively governed England from 1374-1377. In 1386 John left England for Spain and did not return until 1389. He became a trusted counselor of Richard II and negotiated the peace in 1396, marking the end of the Hundred Years War. Richard II became very increasingly uneasy over the possibility of a claim on the throne by his cousin Henry and in 1398 he banished Henry. When John of Gaunt died in 1399 Richard went even further and disinherited Henry seizing his vast estates for the Crown.

John of Gaunt married three times. His first wife Blanche was the daughter and heiress of Henry Grosmont, 13^th Baron of Halton, inheriting the barony through his marriage. By that time the Barony would have been an insignificant part of Blanche’s inheritance. John regained the Palatinate rights of Lancashire before the death of his father Edward III. This gave the Duke royal powers in the county and practically anything that would otherwise be the King’s privilege. John of Gaunt chose to be buried with Blanche in an elaborate tomb he designed in old St. Paul’s Cathedral despite having two further wives.

His wives were:

1. Blanche of Lancaster (1345-1368) m. 1345. In nine years of marriage they had seven children, three surviving to adulthood. She was married at the age of 14 and died of the plague at the age of 23. They are widely believed to have had a happy marriage and contemporary accounts describe her as being very pretty.

Children:

• Philippa (1360-1415) m. John I of Portugal
• John b. c.1362 d. in infancy
• Elizabeth (1364-1426) m. 3^rd Earl of Pembroke, 1st Duke of Exeter, 1st Baron Fanhope
• Edward b.1365 died in infancy
• John b. 1366 died in infancy
• Henry IV (1367-1413) m. 1. Mary de Bohun, 2. Joanna of Navarre
• Isabella b. 1368 d. young

2. Infanta Constance of Castile (1354-1394) m. 1371

This marriage was generally seen as a way for John to gain a kingdom, as he would never be King of England, but his attempts to gain the crown of Spain were unsuccessful.

Children:

• Catherine (1372-1418) m. Henry III of Castile
• John (1374-1375) died in infancy

3. Katherine Swynford (1350-1403) m. 1396

Children:

• John Beaufort (1373-1419) Earl of Somerset
• Henry Beaufort 1374-1447) Cardinal Bishop of Winchester
• Thomas Beaufort (1377-1426) Duke of Exeter
• Joan (1379-1440) m. 1. Baron Boteler of Wem, 2. Earl of Westmorland

In medieval England a wealthy man in John of Gaunt’s position, a member of the Royal family, rarely married a woman who had been his mistress: it was not socially acceptable. Mistresses tended to be from a lower social rank. Marriages were arranged to a suitable heiress, as was John’s marriage to Blanche. How did John and Katherine meet? Theirs was obviously “an affair of the heart”.

Katherine de Roelt was married to Hugh de Swynford, (1333-1371) knight, in about 1362. One of John of Gaunt’s titles was the Earl of Lincoln with large estates in that county and Hugh was one of his tenants, holding the Manor at Kettlethorpe. Hugh accompanied John on two military campaigns in the 1366 and 1370 in the war with France, while Katherine was a part of Blanche’s personal household. Katherine produced Thomas b. 1368 and Blanche b. about 1375, but the date may be wrong as Hugh died in 1371. They may have had a third child Margaret who became a nun. Katherine became the governess to Blanche and John’s children Philippa and Elizabeth after Blanche died of the plague in 1361. Katherine’s status in the household increased after Hugh’s death in 1271 and presumably they were lovers. Their four children were born from 1373 to 1379. John however had married Constance of Castile in 1371 and their two children were born in 1372 and 1374. John formally renounced his relationship with Katherine in 1381 and made peace with his wife. Historians believe he did that to retain his popularity. Katherine moved back to her late husband’s home at Kettlethorpe and then to a house in Lincoln. However, there are records of discreet meetings during the 1380’s. Constance died in 1394 and, John married Katherine in 1396 quite suddenly, apparently without informing his royal relatives. Their children were legitimized through a papal bull and a royal patent, but were excluded from the royal succession. John died in 1399 with Katherine at his side. She returned to Lincoln, where she died in 1403 and was buried in the Cathedral, where her tomb can still be seen.

Henry Bolingbroke, King Henry IV, 15^th Baron of Halton (held 1399-1413), b. 1367 d. 1413

Henry was the eldest son of John of Gaunt and was in France at the time of his father’s death. When he returned to England to claim his inherited estates the people rallied around him. Parliament deposed Richard II (1367-1400) whose death occurred the following year under suspicious circumstances. He probably died at Pontefract Castle, his main residence, and may have starved to death, possibly voluntarily, but Henry appears to have had nothing to do with Richard’s death. Henry Bolingbroke was appointed Henry IV in 1399 and procured an Act of Parliament that the Duchy of Lancaster would remain in the personal possession of the reigning monarch and so the Barony of Halton is vested in the Duchy holdings. The Lordship of Bowland was then incorporated into the Duchy of Lancaster and also descended with the Crown. The Duchy estate at Whitewell is all that is left of the great Lordship of Bowland. When a toast is made in Lancashire it is always “The Queen, the Duke of Lancaster”, a fitting toast to recognise the historical importance of Lancashire to the Crown.

Henry IV married:

1. Mary de Bohun 1368-1394 in 1380, aged about 12 years

Children:

• Edward b 1382 died in infancy
• Henry V of England 1386-1422
• Thomas of Lancaster 1^st Duke of Clarence 1388-1421
• John of Lancaster 1st Duke of Bedford 1389-1435
• Humphrey of Lancaster 1st Duke of Gloucester 1390-1447
• Blanche of England 1392-1409
• Philippa of England 1394-1430

2. Joanna of Navarre (1370-1437) in 1403

Note: Mary de Bohun never became Queen as she died before Henry came to the throne.