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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]
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]
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:
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]
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]
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]
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]
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edited by Michael Cayley
As quite often on WikiTree, what is really a role (one of a number) he filled for a (short) period has erroneously been used in the other last name field. Incidentally, Cokayne's entry for him (under "Martin" in Vol VIII of the revised edition) gives more information than Richardson. It is the revised edition of Cokayne that should be used, not the 1887 one currently cited.
edited by Michael Cayley
edit - fixed typo
edited by Liz (Noland) Shifflett
It looks as if the multitude of footnotes are the result of a finesse on a copy/paste from Marlyn Lewis's database. Any objection if I redo the bio/footnotes based on my hardcopy of Richardson's works?