William Martin (abt. 1257 - bef. 1324)

Born about 1257 in England

Ancestors

Husband of Eleanor (FitzReynold) Martin — married before 1 Jan 1282 in England

Husband of Amicia (Camville) Martin — married after Mar 1306 in England

Descendants

Died before 8 Oct 1324 before about age 67 in England

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Biography

Birth

William Martin was the son of Nicholas Martin and Maud de Brienne. He was said to be 25 when his paternal grandfather Nicholas Martin died in early 1282, pointing to a birth date of about 1257.^[1][2][3]

Lands

In 1282 William inherited the Barony of Blagdon, Somerset on the death of his paternal grandfather Nicholas Martin. In 1308 he inherited the barony of Barnstaple, Devon on the death of Geoffrey de Camville, his mother's second husband.^[4] These baronies gave him extensive lands in Somerset and Devon, and he also held lands in Pembrokeshire.^[1][2]

Marriage

William married twice. Before 1 January 1282 he married Eleanor FitzReynold, daughter of Sir Reginald FitzPeter, Sheriff of Hampshire, Constable of Winchester Castle and Alice, and widow of John de Mohun.^[1][2][3] They had the following children:

• Edmund, who died without issue in his father's lifetime^[1][2]
• William, 2nd Lord Martin^[1][2][3]
• Eleanor, who married William de Hastings and Philip de Columbers^[1][2]
• Joan, who married Henry de Lacy and Nicholas de Audley^[1][2]

For March 1306 there is a record of a debt to William and his first wife, so Eleanor presumably died after that.^[1][2]

William's second wife was Amicia de Camville, widow of Henry de Pomeroy and daughter of his mother's second husband Geoffrey de Camville by his first wife.^[1][2] No children of this marriage are known. On 16 August 1305 William had been granted custody of the lands and marriages of the heirs of Henry de Pomeroy during their minority.^[5]

Life

William served often in military campaigns, against the Welsh and Scots and in Gascony and elsewhere in France.^[1][2][3] Among the battles he took part in was the 1298 Battle of Falkirk.^[1][2]

In April 1298 he was given wardships and marriages to the value of over £500 to compensate him for his losses in a sea storm on his way back from Flanders: horses, armour and other articles had been lost off Sandwich, Kent.^[3][6] On 7 June 1298 orders were given to investigate a complaint by William that his armour and goods had fallen into the hands of others (a long list of names is given) and to have them restored to William.^[7]

He was summoned by name to Parliament from June 1295 to 1324, and is therefore held to have become Lord Martin. He was summoned to attend the coronation of Edward II in February 1308.^[1][2][3]

William's positions included:^[3]

• from 1298: commissioner of oyer and terminer for Devon
• 1304: one of the commissioners to negotiate with the Scots
• 1305: one of the justices of trailbaston, an itinerant judicial commission
• December 1307 and again in 1314: keeper of the peace in Devon
• 1310: one of the 15 Lords Ordainer chosen to draw up ordinances for the reform of the household and governance of Edward II
• 1315: Justice of West and South Wales
• 1315-1316: keeper of Carmarthen Castle and other royal castles in Wales
• 1318: member of the royal council
• 1321: keeper of the peace in Gower

In 1321 William was ordered, along with Hugh de Courtenay, to counter any uprising against Edward II in Devon and Cornwall. He was clearly regarded as on the king's side during the rebellion of Thomas of Lancaster: in February 1322 he was ordered to lead troops to Coventry to resist Thomas.^[3]

Death

William died before 8 October 1324,^[1][2] when a writ was issued to the escheator.^[3][8] His second wife survived him: her will was dated 5 February 1338/9 and proved in 16 February 1339/40.^[1][2][9]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13} Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2011, Vol. I, pp. 79-81, AUDLEY 6, Google Books
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), volume IV, p. 59-61, MARTIN 10
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8} G E Cokayne. The Complete Peerage, revised edition, Vol. VIII, St Catherine Press, 1932, pp. 535-537, viewable on Familysearch
4. ↑ I J Sanders. English Baronies, a Study of their Origin and Descent 1086-1327, Oxford University Press, 1960, pp. 15 (including note 5) and 104-105
5. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward I, A.D. 1301-1307, HMSO, 1898, p. 376, Internet Archive
6. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward I, A.D. 1292-1301, HMSO, 1895, p. 340, Internet Archive
7. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward I, A.D. 1292-1301, pp. 380-381, Internet Archive
8. ↑ J E E S Sharp and A E Stamp, 'Inquisitions Post Mortem, Edward II, File 88', in Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: Volume 6, Edward II (London, 1910), pp. 353-361, British History Online, accessed 31 July 2021
9. ↑ F C Hingeston-Randolph (ed.). The Register of John de Grandisson, Part II, George Bell and Sons, 1897, pp. 921-923, Internet Archive

• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City, UT: 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, UT: the author, 2013. See also WikiTree's source page for Royal Ancestry.
• The Stirling Roll of Arms, c. 1304

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

This profile was developed for the Magna Carta Project by Pendleton-1947 and Michael Cayley, finishing on 31 July 2021, and was reviewed/approved the same day by Thiessen-117.

William Martin is descendant of Magna Carta Surety Baron Richard de Clare in trails badged by the Magna Carta Project to the following Gateway Ancestors:

• Nathaniel Browne (MCA IV:22-30 SHIRLEY): badged July 2021. See the trail HERE.
• Thomas Dudley (MCA II:95-98 DUDLEY): trail badged 10 March 2024. See it HERE.
• Edmund Hawes (MCA II: 380-383 HAWES): badged July 2021. See the trail HERE.
• Lowe Gateways (Vincent, Jane, Henry and Nicholas) (MCA III:57-59 LOWE). See the trail HERE.

William Martin appears in unbadged trails (needing work) to the following Gateways:

• John Bevan (MCA I:190-192 BEVAN): trail needs development. See it HERE.

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