William FitzGilbert (Lancaster) de Lancaster (abt. 1100 - aft. 1166)

Born about 1100 in England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after 1166 after about age 66 in England

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Biography

William's father Gilbert appears to have been a member of the "French" community holding offices for the Norman dynasty in the far northwest of England, bordering Scotland. Gilbert seems to have been associated with the area of Furness, which came to be part of Lancashire and was probably already administered together with northern Lancashire.^[1]

Other members of his close family, such as his mother Godith and his uncle Ketel fitz Eldred appear to have been Anglo Saxon nobles.^[2][3][1] Ketel was described in charters close to the period as William's avunculus, meaning uncle, and strictly meaning "maternal uncle".^[4]

During the 12th century "we possess distinct and clear evidence that Stephen, as king, enfeoffed a knight of the lands of Warton in Kentdale and the wide territory of Garstang, in Lancashire, to hold for the service of one knight. This was William de Lancaster, son of Gilbert by Godith his wife, described in the Inquest of service made in 1212 as "Willelmus filius Gilberti primus," that is, the first to be enfeoffed of that fee."^[5]

During the period when the Scots controlled Cumbria, it appears William stayed in the area holding lands and offices.^[1] However according to the Cumberland antiquarian Denton, William was a great commander for Henry II during the reestablishment of English power in the area.^[6]

"1145-1154, a major enfeoffment by Roger de Mowbray put William in control, or perhaps just confirmed his control, of what would become the Barony of Kendal, plus Warton, Garstang, and Wyresdale in Lancashire, as well as Horton in Ribblesdale and "Londsdale"."^[1]

He died about 1170, or not too long before then.^[5][7]

Name

In his own lifetime, and in later generations, William was often referred to as "William fitz Gilbert" (son of Gilbert).

Because his son was also named William, he also came to be known as "William de Lancaster I".

One questionable record posted at a monastery in a later generation says that says that when young, William was also called William de Taillebois.^[8]

Family

The Victoria History of the County of Lancaster proposes two sons (one died young) and 3 daughters have been proposed.^[9] It names William, stated by Charter of King Henry II to be a son of his wife Gundred, who was a countess of Warwick. There was also a son, Jordan, that died in the lifetime of his father; Avice, or Hawise; Agnes; and Siegrid.

Mother unknown:^[10]

• Hawise (Avice) (d. aft 1188/89)

m.1 (unproven, maybe another woman) William Peveril^[11] Charles Cawley of MEDLANDS suggests her mother was an earlier wife, before Gundreda.

m.2 (or 1) Richard de Moreville;^[9][7]

• Jordan (d. before 1156/60, before his father)^[12]

m. aft. Jun 1153/1156 Gundred de Warenne^[13] They are stated to have had one child:

• William II de Lancaster (1154/6 - 1184)^[14] m. Helwise de Stuteville^[15] They had one legitimate daughter, also named Helwise, who married Gilbert fitz Roger fitz Reinfrid and was the mother of William III de Lancaster and his sisters.

She may also be the mother of the other two children:

• Agnes; ^[9] Not noticed in MedLands, married to Alexander de Windsore, who had with her in frank marriage the manors of Heversham, Grayrigg, and Morland, co. Westmorland ;

• Siegrid; ^[9] Not noticed in MedLands, married to William the clerk of Garstang, who had with her lands and a mill in Garstang in frank marriage, and was father of Paulin de Garstang, named with his father in an agreement made between 1194 and 1199 by the abbot and monks of Wyresdale.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Wikipedia biography of William de Lancaster I
2. ↑ Keats-Rohan, Domesday Descendants. See the pedigree of Taillebois, p.42 and the entry for Willelm filius Gilberti de Lancastria on p.339.
3. ↑ George Washington, (1962) "The parentage of William de Lancaster, lord of Kendal," in Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiq. & Arch. Soc. n.s. 62, pages 95-97. [1]
4. ↑ F. W. Ragg (1910) "De Lancaster", Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, pages 395–493. [2]
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} 'Introduction', in Records Relating To the Barony of Kendale: Volume 1, ed. William Farrer and John F Curwen (Kendal, 1923), pp. vii-xvii. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/kendale-barony/vol1/vii-xvii [accessed 18 March 2016].
6. ↑ Denton, Accompt p.29
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} In the 16th of Henry II (1169/70) the Pipe Rolls under Lancaster show that " Morevill promised Henry II 200 marks for a writ of right of the lands which he claimed in marriage with his said wife" , the daughter of William de Lancaster. See Pipe Rolls p.53 and 'Introduction', in Records Relating To the Barony of Kendale: Volume 1, ed. William Farrer and John F Curwen (Kendal, 1923), pp. vii-xvii. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/kendale-barony/vol1/vii-xvii [accessed 16 August 2016].
8. ↑ Dugdale Monasticon V, Furness Abbey, Lancashire, X p. 249.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3} Farrer, William & Brownbill, J. The Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (Archibald Constable and Co. Limited, London, 1906) Vol. 1, Page 360
10. ↑ Medieval Lands: No direct proof for other marriages than Gundred. But if Hawise (possibly m. William Peverel and/or possibly m. Richard de Moreville) was dau., and if William's wife Gundred the countess was Gundred de Warenne, then another wife is likely.
11. ↑ “Avisia de Lancastria, uxor Willielmi Peverel” donated property to Derley Priory - undated charter. Dugdale Monasticon VI, Derley Priory, Derbyshire, XIX, p. 361. No source links the wife of Peverel with any member of the family of William de Lancaster. Complete Peerage believes she was a daughter of Roger de Montgomery, Lord of Lancaster. See discussion by Douglas Richardson.
12. ↑ Farrer (1902), Lancashire Chartulary, p. 394
13. ↑ Her 2nd husband. Her first was Roger de Beaumont Earl of Warwick (d. Jun 1153). Primary sources: Dugdale Monasticon V, Furness Abbey, Lancashire, X, p. 249, names “Gundredam comitissam Warwic” as wife of William and mother of his son William. Another charter concerning Lonsdale mentions Margaret, the daughter of the Countess ("filia Comitesse") as a deceased close relative (along with his parents and his own deceased son Jordan). (Farrer (1902), Lancashire Chartulary, Notes, p. 394.) One of the witnesses is "Gundr fil Comitisse" (daughter of the Countess) and William Farrer suggested this might be the wife of William de Lancaster - a daughter of Countess Gundred rather than the countess herself - as the latter must have been "well advanced in years" at time of the marriage and past child-bearing.
14. ↑ Named as a son of Gundred in much later charter: Dugdale Monasticon V, Furness Abbey, Lancashire, X p. 249.
15. ↑ Helewise (Hawise, Avice etc) de Stuteville, daughter of Robert de Stuteville and Helwise.

• Royal Ancestry by Douglas Richardson Vol. V page 274
• Royal Ancestry by Douglas Richardson Vol. V. p. 319
• Farrer, William & Brownbill, J. The Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (Archibald Constable and Co. Limited, London, 1906) Vol. 1, Page 360
• Wikipedia: William de Lancaster I
• [MEDLANDS]

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Catherine Rivera for creating WikiTree profile De Talebois-2 through the import of Duckett Family.ged on Apr 4, 2013.