John (Lancaster) de Lancaster (abt. 1263 - abt. 1333)

Born about 1263 in England

Ancestors

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Biography

Complete Peerage considers him the 1st and only Lord Lancaster not including those connected to the "House of Lancaster" in the royal family who were also Earls or Dukes.^[1]

Apart from his father's possessions he also eventually inherited 3/4 of his mother's family inheritance, after two of his aunts died and made him their heir.

John's power-base firmly in Westmorland, not Lancashire. To some extent, the various families of Westmorland Lancasters seem to have continued to have consciousness of a family heritage for generations to come.

Here are his likely holdings, in the Cumbrian lake district: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grisedale_Pike https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helvellyn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizedale https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizedale_Forest

He was one of the Barons who wrote a letter to the Pope in about 1301. On that letter and in other places he is referred to as being "of Grisedale", which appears to refer to the dale in the parish of Barton, close to Hellvellyn.

Here is a link to a picture of his seal, from that letter: http://perso.modulonet.fr/briantimms1/images%20seals/lancasterjo.gif

Here is a link to a picture of his (or his father's) effigy, in Essex: https://web.archive.org/web/20210102194750/https://www.themcs.org/churches/Stansted%20Mountfitchet%20St%20Marys.html

Lord John inherited a complex web of claims coming from his mother's side of the family, involving him in some disputes. By the end of his wife's life he had given up many properties (most of which came to him via his mother and were not traditionally Lancaster holdings). These included Barrington in Cambridgeshire, and Stanstead and East Ham in Essex. In one Northern English document quite some time after his death, John is however described as John de Lancaster, knight, of Stanstedes. So this was obviously seen as one of his most important possessions. It was also where the above-mentioned tomb is.

He also seems to have sold off all or part of the family's holdings in Furness according to document DL 27/129: "one moiety of the vill of Ulverston and the lands within Funess Fell".^[2]

The Westmorland part of his inquisition post mortem is as follows:^[3]

Writ, 18 April, 8 Edw. III. Westmorland. Inq. Thursday before St. Lawrence, 8 Edward III.

Rydale. The manor, held by the said John and Annora his wife who still survives, of the king in chief, by service of a quarter of a knight's fee, for their lives, of the grant of John son of Robert de Lane [astria] by the king's licence, with reversion to the said John son of Robert, and his heirs for ever.

Barton. A messuage called the site of the manor of Barton, held by the said John and Annora of the king in chief, by service of a twentieth part of a knight's fee, for their lives, of the grant of Ranulph de Dacre, by the king's licence, with reversion to the said Ranulph and his heirs for ever ; the whole manor, except the said messuage, and except 67a. land, 23a. meadow, 500a. pasture, and 500a. moor, held by the said John and Annora of Ranulph de Dacre of the grant of the said Ranulph, rendering to him and his heirs a rose yearly and doing all other services due to the chief lords, &c., with remainder to Roger de Lancast[ria] for his life, in form aforesaid, and reversion to the said Ranulph and his heirs; and 67a. land, 23a. meadow, 500a. pasture, and 500a. moor, held by the said John and Annora for their lives, of Robert Parvyng, by the grant of the said Robert, rendering him a rose yearly, and doing all other services due to the chief lords ; with remainder to Roger de Lanc[astria] for his life, to hold of the said Robert Parvyng in form aforesaid, with reversion to the said Robert Parvyng and his heirs.

Wytherslake. The manor, held by the said John and Annora, for their lives, of Christiana, late the wife of Ingelram de Gynes, in chief, by service of hi. yearly, by the grant of John de Cauncefelde, with remainders to Roger de Lancast [riaj , for his life, and after his decease to Michael son of Robert de Haverington, and his heirs.

Research Notes

Ragg expressed surprise at the lack of clarity about who was the heir (after his wife). In effect there does not seem to be one simple heir. Notes on this by Andrew Lancaster:

• Annora's inquisition (12 Edward III) shows the messuage worth 1/20th of a knight's fee, held direct of the king, plus 67a land, 23a meadow, 500a pasture and 500a moor, where the overlords are William de Thweng and William de Councy. She names both Parvyng and Dacre as the recipients after her death.^[4]
• Ranulf de Dacre's inquisition (13 Edward III) shows the messuage worth 1/20th of a knight's fee, held direct of the king (but rights never claimed from him), plus 1000a of pasture and moor, held of the William de Thweng and William de Councy.^[5]
• Parvyng was a Knight of the shire of Cumberland and Chancellor of England, and his own inquisition post mortem (17 Edward III) shows that he still had 3 messuages, 5a land, 5a meadow, 500a pasture and 500a moor, in Barton.^[6]
• William de Dacre, son of Ranulf and Margaret, had his inquisition 35 Edward III, which shows that he only received the messuage, concerning which rights by the way no one in his family had yet sought to claim them.^[7]
• Margaret de Dacre's inquisition (36 Edward III) says that the capital messuage held of the king is called Trestermot, and is within an old moat. And: "The rest of the manor is held of Sir Thomas de Thwenge by homage and the service of a tenth part of a knight's fee, as the jurors believe, and by rendering a sore sparrowhawk yearly at St. Peter's Chains or 12d. The extent includes 80a. at 'le Aldelathes,' a several fishery, a small park without deer, a water-mill, rents at Martendale in the forest, a several pasture called "Martendaleheved,' [the head of Martindale] and a fulling-mill there, a ruined water-mill at Sandwyk by Martendale, rents at Patredale, rents and a several pasture at Grisdale, and a ruined water-mill there."^[8]
• The heir to both Margaret and William, was another Ranulf, a parson in Prestcotes. I believe Barton stayed in Dacre hands for a long time.

Authors unaware of the information explained by Ragg sometimes considered John de Lancaster of Howgill the son of Robert de Lancaster, mentioned above, to be his heir and nephew. Despite the surname however, John of Howgill's Lancaster family was treated like the several other local families who would have all been distant kin and allies. Robert's own father appears to have been Walter, a tenant of Lord John's father Roger, and probably descended from one of Roger's father's wife's illegitimate half brothers. (Roger himself being the illegitimate son of a man who became a Lancaster through his marriage, was not a Lancaster "by blood".)^[9]

But John de Lancaster of Grisedale may perhaps have had a son John who pre-deceased him (or entered the church?). See DL 25/565 wherin "John de Lancastre, son and heir of Sir John de Lancastre", grants his right of land in Torver (Ulverston) to Conishead Priory. This is dated by the PRO as being from 1290-1320. The prior is however named as William, which might be William Fleming who is referred to by an article on British History Online as being known from 1308 and 1318.) On the other hand there could be an error whereby this was John himself, the son of Roger. (See the following which seems to refer to the same document: http://books.google.com/books?id=yf8qAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA193.)

Sources

1. ↑ Complete Peerage 2nd ed. Vol.7 pp.371-419, with John himself at pp.374-377. Other Baron Lancasters by writ were Henry of Lancaster, who is considered to have become Baron Lancaster in 1299 before he took over his father Edmund's Earldom in 1326 (pp.397 and 377). By coincidence John's barony is also said to have begun in 1299. CP treats Henry's son Henry II de Lancaster "of Grosmont" as also being a Lord Lancaster by writ, although he became the first Duke of Lancaster. It is only when their descendant Henry of Bolingbroke becomes king Henry IV that CP ends this barony.
2. ↑ 'Witherslack, Meathop and Ulpha', in Records Relating To the Barony of Kendale: Volume 2, ed. William Farrer and John F Curwen (Kendal, 1924), pp. 247-265. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/kendale-barony/vol2/pp247-265 [accessed 2 June 2016].
3. ↑ http://archive.org/stream/cu31924011387853#page/n471/mode/2up
4. ↑ http://archive.org/stream/cu31924011387861#page/n153/mode/2up
5. ↑ http://archive.org/stream/cu31924011387861#page/n213/mode/2up
6. ↑ http://archive.org/stream/cu31924011387861#page/n351/mode/2up
7. ↑ http://archive.org/stream/cu31924011387895#page/n79/mode/2up
8. ↑ http://archive.org/stream/cu31924011387895#page/n287/mode/2up
9. ↑ Lancaster, Andrew (2007), "The de Lancasters of Westmorland: Lesser-Known Branches, and the Origin of the de Lancasters of Howgill" (PDF), Foundations: Journal of the Foundation of Medieval Genealogy 2 (4)

See also:

• https://archive.org/details/somefeudallordst00howauoft/page/n283/mode/2up
• 'Parishes: Matching', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 8 (1983), pp. 196-206. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=63853&strquery=%22de lancaster" Date accessed: 18 December 2011.
• 'East Ham: Manors and estates', A History of the County of Essex: Volume 6 (1973), pp. 8-14. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42741&strquery=%22de lancaster" Date accessed: 18 December 2011.
• Farrer, William & Brownbill, J. The Victoria History of the County of Lancaster (Archibald Constable and Co. Limited, London, 1906) Vol. 1, Page 365-6
• Webpage about this family by Andrew Lancaster

Wikidata: Item Q86009165