Robert Fossard (abt. 1078 - 1135)

Born about 1078 in Yorkshire, England

Descendants

Died 1135 at about age 57 in Mulgrave Castle, Yorkshire, England

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Biography

At some point before 1129, Robert was having difficulties with his inheritance. Shortly before 1129 the Fossard estate was in the king's hands and Robert is recorded as making a fine to gain their recovery. It was in that year that the Fossard lands at Doncaster were leased to the crown for twenty years, although neither Robert nor any of his immediate successors was able to redeem the property. Among the recipients of Robert's patronage was Nostell Priory, which received churches in Bramham, Wharram-le-Street, and Lythe and 3½ carucates of land in the same villages. Robert's gift of Bramham church was made at the expense of his father's gift of the same church to Ramsey Abbey and in a writ issued between 1126 and 1129 Henry I commanded Robert to do right to the abbot of Ramsey while confirming the church to Nostell in a separate charter. Robert's support of Nostell was, however, uncertain, as in 1130 another charter of Henry I referred to the fact that Robert and another man had unjustly seized land in Bramham given by Anschetill of Bulmer to the priory.

When Norstal Priory was founded in 1121, Robert donated the church, together with 14 bovates (210 acres).

Sources

• http://www.rotherhamweb.co.uk/h/fossard.htm

• Cokayne, George E. The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, extant, extinct, or dormant. London: St Catherine Press (1910), vol. 8, pp. 619-635