Richard FitzRobert (Lathom) de Lathom (1145 - 1220)

Born 31 Mar 1145 in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 23 Apr 1220 at age 75 in Chelsea, Yorkshire, England

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Biography

Richard's name appears, together with his father's, as a witness to the foundation charter of Lytham Priory, between 1189 and 1194.

Richard son of Robert succeeded to his father in early 1201, having livery of his father's lands when he gave ten marks and two palfreys to the king, as Lord of West Derby, for his relief (paying five marks and a palfrey at Pentecost and the same at Michaelmas).

He was confirmed Earl Of Lathom on 31 Mar 1184. Made Lord of Dalton later in his life. He held the manor of Dalton, and 1/4 of the manor of Wrightington.

He was one of the knights who made the survey of 1212. he survey of 1212 shows that of the three plough-lands which he held de antiquitate in thegnage by a service of 20s., one ploughland, granted to Gospatrick as stated, was then held by Roger son of Gospatrick, his undertenants being Richard and John (1 oxgang for 12d.) and William de Stainford (3 oxgangs for 3s.); one plough-land had been given to Burscough, and half a plough-land was held by Richard de Elsintree for 4s. It would thus appear that only half a plough-land was left in Richard's own hands; probably the demesne of Lathom.

Richard confirmed his father's gifts to the canons of Burscough.

Aspull is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, in Greater Manchester, England but historically in Lancashire. The earliest notice of Aspull is that contained in the survey of 1212, when, as one plough-land, it formed part of the Childwall fee held by Richard son of Robert de Lathom, under the lord of Manchester. The fee was a composite one of 6½ plough-lands (of which Aspull formed one), held chiefly by Richard de Lathom, and partly by Roger de Samlesbury and Alexander de Harwood.

In 1211, Richard, son of Robert de Lathom, held 5-1/2 carves of land of Robert de Grelle, fifth baron of Manchester. Albert Gresley (juvenis, fourth baron), had given to Robert, son of Henry de Lathom, two oxgangs of land in Anzelark by 3s. and "his heir has that land."

In the Knights' fees of the Testa de Nevill, under the fees of Thomas de Gretley (Greslet), sixth baron, (whose baronial life may be limited by the years 1231-1262), Robert de Lathum was shown as holding one knight's fee in Childewale (Childewelle) and a fourth part of a knight's fee in Parbold (Probold), and three parts of a knight's fee in Wrothinton (Wrottingeton) of the said fee.

Death and Burial

Sir Richard was travelling with his wife, Lady Alice Nelson to visit her family in York, England. Thet were caught in a flash flood while trying to ford a creek just a few miles from York and drowned. It was several days before their bodies were found and returned to the Chapelry of Lathom, Lancaster, England for burial.

Research Notes

Disputed Mother

While his father's identity is secure, his mother is "said to be" a daughter of one "Orm Magnus" and if this is so, she likely, but not absolutely certainly, was the person listed here. No obvious contemporary sources exist, and the attribution is apparently based on land ownership trails.

Manor of Dalton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lathom is a village and civil parish in Lancashire, England, about 5 km northeast of Ormskirk. It is in the district of West Lancashire, and with the parish of Newburgh forms part of Newburgh ward. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal passes through Lathom.

Lathom Hall gives a hint to the previous importance of Lathom and the Stanley family, which has now become the Earls of Derby. The village of Lathom actually grew due to the building of the first "Lathom House" which took place shortly after William the Conqueror had his success in the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The first "Lathom" (now spelled Latham) was a man named William who, along with his followers, was a supporter of William the Conqueror. In 1066, all faithful supporters were given just recompense. In the case of this other William, it took the form of vast lands in what is now Lancashire. On this land, William's followers built him a brick house. All though brick houses are the norm in Lancashire nowadays, in 1066 they were a rarity due to the difficulty in making and baking the bricks.

Also at this time, due to so many men having the same given name (e.g."William"), surnames were beginning to appear. Thus it was that William became William de Lothe Hom, or William of the brick house. De Lothe Hom has, over the centuries, finally evolved into the form most commonly seen today; Latham.

Lathom House itself has also changed over the years. It was rebuilt during the Middle Ages and again after the famous Siege of Lathom House which took place when the Roundheads, under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell, had surrounded the house (then being used as a fortification for Cavalier troops).

The village of Lathom, which remains a small, quiet, rural hamlet, consisted in the past of local farmers and others who worked at Lathom House or farther afield in Ormskirk. As mentioned earlier, The Stanley family play a role here, too. It was in 1385 that Isabella de Lathom, being the oldest daughter of parents who had no male heir, married Sir John Stanley and the Latham and Stanley families became forever linked. The Earl of Derby, since that time, has of course, always come from that particular Latham-Stanley line. The coat of arms of the Latham family had traditionally been an eagle carrying a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes in its talons. In 1385 this coat of arms also became that of the Stanley family. One can still find many pubs throughout the area and, indeed, in much of England, named The Eagle and Child. In fact, the Inklings (members included C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams and other notable thinkers and authors active in the mid 20th century) met regularly at a pub so-named in Oxford.

A final note of interest regarding Lathom House or Hall is that recently, the Historical Council of Northern Lancashire, in their efforts to reconstruct the buildings of the 1700s came across the medieval foundations and have tried to salvage them. While the main buildings became uninhabitable several decades ago, there are still almshouse cottages neighboring the Lathom Hall chapel. Senior citizens reside in the cottages and the chapel, named for St. John, still holds regular Anglican services.

He was one of the knights who held the great Inquisition for Lancashire in 1212. The inquisition names Richard fitz Robert as grantee from Albert de Gredle of what is written as Milafeshar (perhaps Aulasar, held by the Lathoms from Gredle's heirs), then vested in his heirs, and also mentions his grant of lands to the nuns of Chester, who had land in Lathom at the dissolution. It also shows that of the three plough-lands which he held de antiquitate in thegnage by a service of 20s., one ploughland, granted to Gospatrick as stated, was then held by Roger son of Gospatrick, his undertenants being Richard and John (1 oxgang for 12d.) and William de Stainford (3 oxgangs for 3s.); one plough-land had been given to Burscough, and half a plough-land was held by Richard de Elsintree for 4s. It would thus appear that only half a plough-land was left in Richard's own hands; probably the demesne of Lathom.

Sources

• 'Townships: Lathom', A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 3 (1907), pp. 247-258. URL: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/lancs/vol3/pp247-258#p14 Date accessed: 12 August 2023
• Remains, historical and literary, connected with the palatine counties of Lancaster and Chester, Volume 53, publ. 1861 by the Chetham Society
• Parentallia Genealogical Memoirs, Part II, by George Ormerod, publ. MDCCCLI