Hugh (Despenser) le Despenser (abt. 1290 - 1326)

Born about 1290 in Hanley Castle, Worcestershire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Eleanor (Clare) la Zouche — married after 14 Jun 1306 in Westminster, London, England

Descendants

Died 24 Nov 1326 at about age 36 in Hereford, Herefordshire, England

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Magna Carta Surety Baron Descendant (see text). Join: Magna Carta Project Discuss: magna_carta

Hugh is a descendant of the Bigods (see text, below).

Biography

Hugh le Despenser, Knt., 'styled "the younger," of Hanley Castle, Worcestershire,' 2nd Lord le Despenser^[1]

“Hugh was the notorious favourite of Edward II, king of England 1307-1327. He used the king’s infatuation with him to make himself the de facto ruler of England for much of the 1320s, and the richest man in the country, until his execution at Hereford in November 1326....Nothing in Hugh’s early life gives a hint of his later notoriety. He was born sometime between 1286 and 1290 (by way of comparison, Edward II was born in 1284)...."^[2]

Hugh le Despenser was husband of Eleanor de Clare, son of Hugh le Despenser, Knt., Earl of Winchester, by his wife Isabel de Beauchamp, and father of Hugh le Despenser, Knt., 3rd Lord le Despenser.^[3]

His son Hugh survived the 1326 defeat (and executions) of Hugh and his father, who had stood with Edward II against an uprising led by Edward's wife Queen Isabel and her consort, Roger Mortimer. The 1326 invasion of England by Isabel and Mortimer "led to the capture of Hugh Despenser the Younger and the abdication of Isabella's husband, Edward II".^[4] Edward III, Edward II's eldest son, was crowned King of England in January 1327 and "is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after the disastrous and unorthodox reign of his father".^[5]

Hugh was executed at Hereford on 24 November 1326; his father was executed at Bristol on 27 October 1326.^[3][6]

Titles^[1]

King's Chamberlain

Constable of Odiham Castle

Keeper of the Castle and town of Dryslwyn, and Cantref Mawr, Carmarthenshire

Keeper of the Castle and town of Portchester

Keeper of the Castle, town and barton of Bristol

Keeper of the Castles, manor, and lands of Brecknock, Hay, Cantref Selyf, etc., Breconshire, and Huntington, Herefordshire

For information about his military and political life, see the biography that Wikipedia maintains for him.^[7]

Birth

between 1286 and 1290:^[8] 1286,^[9] circa 1290^[10]

Hanley Castle, Worcestershire, England^[10]

Family

Parents Hugh le Despenser and Isabel de Beauchamp^[11]

Father: Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester (1262-1326),^[9] Constable of Devizes, Marlborough, Odiham, St. Briavel's, & Striguil Castles. He was born March 1, 1260/1 and married Isabel de Beauchamp "between 10 Sept. 1285 (record of Highworth Hundred Rolls) and 27 Jan. 1287 (date of fine for marrying without license)".^[11]

Mother: Isabel (Isabella^[12]) de Beauchamp,^[11] daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl Warwick, 6th Baron Beauchamp and Maud FitzJohn.^[13] Isabel had previously been married to "Patrick de Chaworth, Knt., of Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, Wales.... He died testate shortly before 7 July 1283."^[11]

Siblings

Isabel and her first husband, Patrick de Chaworth, had one daughter:^[3]

• Maud de Chaworth (half-sister of Hugh), married Henry of Lancaster, Knt.^[3]

Hugh and Isabel had 2 sons and 4 daughters:^[11]

• Hugh le Despenser, Knt., 2nd Lord Despenser^[3]
• Philip le Despenser, Knt., married Margaret de Goushill^[3]
• Aline le Despenser, married Edward Burnell, Knt., Lord Burnell^[3]
• Isabel le Despenser, married (1) Gilbert de Clare, (2) John de Hastings, Knt., (3) Ralph de Monthermer, Knt.^[3]
• Margaret le Despenser, married John de St. Amand, Knt.^[3]
• Elizabeth le Despenser, married Ralph de Camoys, Knt.^[3]

Wife

Hugh le Despenser, Knt., married Eleanor (or Alianore) de Clare^[14] shortly after 14 June 1306 at Westminster.^[1]

Eleanor, born in Caerphilly, Glamorgan "shortly before 23 Nov. 1292 (date of her mother's churching)", was the daughter of Gilbert de Clare, Knt., Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, by his wife Joan of Acre, daughter of Edward I, King of England.^[1]

Children

Hugh and his wife Eleanor had five sons and five daughters:^[1][15]

• Hugh le Despenser, son and heir born about 1308, married Elizabeth de Montagu, widow of Giles de Badlesmere, Knt.^[11][16]
• Edward le Despenser, Knt., married Anne de Ferrers, daughter of William de Ferrers, Knt., by his first wife, daughter of John de Segrave, Knt.^[3][16]
• Gilbert le Despenser, Knt.^[11][16]
• John le Despenser^[11]
• Philip le Despenser^[11][17][16]
• Isabel le Despenser, married Richard de Arundel, Knt., 10th Earl of Arundel, 9th Earl of Surrey^[11]
• Joan le Despenser, a nun at Shaftesbury Abbey^[11]
• Eleanor le Despenser, a nun at Sempringham Priory^[1]
• Margaret le Despenser, a nun at Whatton Priory^[1]
• Elizabeth le Despenser, married (1) Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Lord Berkeley and (2) Maurice Wythe, Knt. of Portbury, Somerset^[11]

Aside from Hugh being eldest son and Gilbert the second, the order of their children's birth is not known.^[18]

Death

On 24 November 1326 at Hereford, Herefordshire,^[11] Hugh was executed as a traitor:

"Hanged; then, his head was set up on London Bridge, his quarters were hung up at Dover, Bristol, York, and Newcastle. His parts were eventually collected and buried at Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucestershire."^[10][19]

"The execution of Hugh Despenser the Younger can be seen in the background." (from the caption for the illustration on Wikipedia's "The Aftermath of the Despenser War")

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), volume II, pages 443-448 DESPENSER 11.
2. ↑ Brief excerpt from a biography by Alianore, © 2006, posted by Susan Higginbotham (a writer of historical fiction). The post is still available online courtesy of archive.org. See also Kathryn Warner's site about Edward II and her article, "Edward II's other great favourite, Hugh Despenser the Younger" (posted 5 February 2006; accessed 7 January 2020).
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10} Richardson, Royal Ancestry, II:440-455 DESPENSER.
4. ↑ Wikipedia: Invasion of England (1326), accessed 6 January 2020.
5. ↑ Wikipedia: Edward III of England (accessed 7 January 2020).
6. ↑ See also "The Death of a Traitor".
7. ↑ In addition to the Wikipedia article on him, "Hugh Despenser the Younger", see also:
   • Wikipedia's synopsis of the invasion
   • Wikipedia's Despenser and Baron le Despencer pages
8. ↑ The younger Despenser's exact birth date is unknown ("le Despencer, Baron (E, 1295 with precedency from 1264)". Cracroft's Peerage. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011.) but was likely between 1286 and 1290; for example, the BBC gives "c. 1287" ("The Sceptred Isle".); Alison Weir (2005) writes that he was "at least three years younger" than Edward II (page 115), which indicates a birth no later than 1287. (posted Feb 08, 2019 by Robin Wood)
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Wikipedia: Despenser
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2} Marlyn Lewis. Sir Hugh le Despenser, 2nd Lord le Despenser (married Alianore de Clare), entry in "Our Royal, Titled, Noble, and Commoner Ancestors and Cousins" database (accessed 27 April 2015).
11. ↑ ^{11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12} Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), volume II, pages 64-78 DESPENSER; II:67 DESPENSER 6; II:175, FISHER 10.
12. ↑ Wikipedia: Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester
13. ↑ Marlyn Lewis. Sir Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (married Isabel de Beauchamp), entry in "Our Royal, Titled, Noble, and Commoner Ancestors and Cousins" database (accessed 27 April 2015).
14. ↑ Wikipedia: Hugh le Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser
15. ↑ Eleanor de Clare married (1st) Hugh Le Despenser, 2nd Lord Despenser; (2nd) William la Zouche Mortimer, 1st Lord Zouche of Richard's Castle (Richardson, Royal Ancestry, II:203-204 CLARE 8.ii). Eleanor had two sons by William: Hugh and William (Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, I:138 BEAUCHAMP 5).
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3} Children listed as Hugh, Edward, Gilbert and Philip in 1619 Visitations of the county of Warwick, taken by William Camden (see p 283, p 284 - note that the scanned pages are out of order)
17. ↑ Gentleman's Magazine, 8 (1860), p. 373 (cited by Richardson for son Philip).
18. ↑ See a discussion of birth order by Kathryn Warner's "The Despenser Brothers" (posted 30 April 2019, accessed 8 January 2020).
19. ↑ See also Lady Despensers Scribery republication of "Hugh Despenser’s Execution at Hereford 24th November 1326".

• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City: the author, 2011. See also WikiTree's source page for Magna Carta Ancestry.
• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. Salt Lake City: the author, 2013. See also WikiTree's source page for Royal Ancestry.
• Lewis, Marlyn. "Our Royal, Titled, Noble, and Commoner Ancestors" (free database online). Useful for leads; see cautions about use on the Magna Carta Project Reliable Sources page.
• Leslie Stephen, Sir Sidney Lee (eds), Dictionary of National Biography, Volume 1, Hugh le Despenser, p 337
• Weis, Frederick Lewis. The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215, 4th ed. (Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD, 1991)
• Wikipedia: Hugh Despenser the Younger (accessed April 27, 2015)
• Battle Abbey Roll
• Carney & Wehofer Family Genealogy Pages, "Lord Hugh "The Younger" LE DESPENCER"
• Britannica: Despenser Family
• The Descendants of King Edward I, King of England, and Eleanora of Castile: [dead link for Edward] ("Server Not Found" 7 January 2020; page captured by archive.org in 2015, accessed 7 January 2020).
• Castles of interest:
  • Hanley (see also Hanley Castle Parish)
  • Cardiff Castle (Wikipedia)
  • Caerphilly Castle (Wikipedia)
  • Kenilworth Castle (Wikipedia)
• The Greatest Traitor - The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer Ruler of England 1327-1330, by Ian Mortimer (pub. 2005) - details the lives and executions of Hugh le Despenser, Elder and Younger, as cronies of the despotic King Edward II.
• Cawley, Charles. Entry for Hugh Despencer (has incorrect death date for father). "Medieval Lands": A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families © by Charles Cawley, hosted by Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG). See also WikiTree's source page for MedLands.

Acknowledgements

Click the Changes tab to see edits to this profile; from that list, click WikiTree IDs other than Despenser-6 to see changes to those profiles prior to being merged. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this profile.

Magna Carta Project

This profile was re-reviewed & updated to current Magna Carta Project standards on 7 January 2020. ~ Noland-165 It was reviewed/approved for the Magna Carta Project by Michael Cayley on 11 January 2020.

Hugh le Despenser is a descendant of Magna Carta Surety Barons Hugh le Bigod and Roger le Bigod (Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, volume II, pages 64-78 DESPENSER) and appears in trails badged by the Magna Carta Project to the following Gateway Ancestors:

• Saint Leger Codd (MCA III:481-484 SAINT LEGER): trail badged 2019. See trail HERE.
• Edward Digges: badged in 2020. See the trails HERE.
• John Fisher
• Warham Horsmanden: badged May 2020. See the trails HERE.

For other Gateways documented as descendants of Hugh le Despenser in Richardson's Magna Carta Ancestry, see footnotes 35 and 36 for DESPENSER 6.vi. and 6.viii., II:71.

See Base Camp for more information about Magna Carta trails. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".