de Lacy Marcher Lords
Marcher Lords
In 1086, the name "March of Wales" appeared in the doomsday book to define the Welsh-English border. The Marches were a frontier border long used to territorial battles between Britons ruling the Welsh mountains and the Anglo-Saxons of Mercia. The Anglo-Norman Marcher Baron's role was to rule this troubled border, with strength to protect England and also add what parts of Wales they could.
They combined the authority of a feudal lord, owing allegiance only to the King with privileges denied to other Anglo-Norman lordships elsewhere in England. The Royal rule was almost non-existent in the Marches: the region soon contained Britain's densest concentration of motte-and-bailey castles.
Marcher lords could create laws, wage war, grant markets to towns, and maintain their own law courts. Marcher lords could build castles and had the right to develop forests. Their lands were exempt from royal taxation. Walter de Lacy, 1st Baron of Weobley
In the summer of 1067, the King returned to Normandy; before leaving, he added to the FitzOsbern titles the Earl of Wessex with control of the whole of the South West of England,, leaving FitzOsbern and the King's half-brother, Bishop Odo, in charge of England. As Earl of Hereford, he would have no time to attend his territories in the Welsh Marches so the King approved that he appointed his liegeman Walter de Lacy to the role of Marcher lord. Creating the title of Baron Walter de Lacy, Lord of Weobley, for Walter.
Baron Walter de Lacy,
Lord of Weobley.
To finance this elevation, King William bestowed many Manors in recognition of his significant part in the conquest of England; King William awarded Walter de Lacy and his firstborn son Roger estates throughout what is now Berkshire, Gloucester. Worcester, Shropshire and Chester.
In further recognition of his part in the conquest of England, King William elevated Walter to Baron Walter de Lacy, Lord of Weobley, becoming a Marsher lord in his own right based in Herefordshire. King William realised that to contain or even conquer the Welsh, he would have to follow the pattern used by the Saxons to keep the Welsh from Marching on Mercia.
Walter knew his son Roger de Lacy was the better soldier, giving Roger control of all the fighting. Now Walter concentrated on developing the estates awarded to him by the King. Walter de Lacy kept a large number of his manors in demesne, managing them directly rather than giving them as fiefs to his knightly followers. Some of these lands in Hereford, including Holme Lacy, were held of the Bishop of Hereford as a tenant.
Walter died March 1084, having fallen from scaffolding while inspecting the St Guthlac’s Priory building. He was laid to rest at Gloucester Abbey (now Cathedral). In total, Domesday Book records show Walter's lands as worth £423 in income per year comprising of 163 manors in 7 different counties, and his estates in Normandy. He was one of the wealthiest men in England.
Baron Roger de Lacy
2nd Marcher Lord of Weobley.
Walter knowing his son Roger de Lacy was the better soldier put Roger in charge of their fighting forces. Roger masterminded the de Lacy tactics of control of the Welsh border. He led his Knights and soldiers in skirmishes with Welsh princes and bandits. As a true leader, he had become a skilled negotiator, convincing parts of Wales that they were safer under de Lacy's protection. Roger achieved Norman, Saxon and Welsh soldiers all working together.
Baron Roger de Lacy,maintained Weobley, adding Mott and Bailey castles throughout the Welsh Marches area. Notably Longtown and Ludlow. Roger masterminded the de Lacy tactics of Welsh border control, leading his Knights and soldiers and even adding Welsh soldiers to his ranks in skirmishes and minor battles. King William left his third-born son,, William Rufu,s as King of England on his death. Baron Roger de Lacy rebelled and tried to overthrow William Rufus and install William's firstborn Robert Duke of Normandy as King of England. The rebellion failed, and Baron Roger was exiled to his Normandy estates, and Roger de Lacy died there in 1106. Roger's lands, some 96 lordships, were given by the King to Roger's brother, Hugh de Lacy.
Include in any personal tour a visit to
St Mary's Church at Kempley
The smallest de Lacy site to which we will pay tribute too; but possibly the most atmospheric stop on any de Lacy tour. Built in the very early 12th century by Hugh de Lacy the 3rd Baron of Weobley in memory of his father, Baron Walter. If unable to make a personal visit, then by using this Youtube video will take you to a quieter contemplation of the Norman world by the still visible wall paintings commissioned by Hugh de Lacy.
Baron Hugh de Lacy
3rd Lord of Weobley
After Roger de Lacy was banished, King William II granted all the de Lacy Welsh Marcher lands, which included around 96 Lordships, to Roger's younger brother Hugh. Hugh established his base of operations at Ludlow Castle and continued to acquire land on the western fringes of the Welsh Marches. Around 1155, Hugh II de Lacy provided land and support to restore Llanthony Priory in the Vale of Ewyes. In 1118, Hugh allowed the rebuilding of Llanthony Priory in Monmouthshire to begin. The 4th Lord of Weobley, Baron Hugh de Lacy, was married to Adeline, but they both died without any children in 1121. The next in line for the Baron of Weobley should have been Walter II, the youngest son of Baron Walter de Lacy. However, he had joined the priesthood and was now at Gloucester Cathedral.
Since the days when Rollo signed an oath with King Phillip of France pledging he and his followers would renounce all Pagan faiths and convert to Christianity. The families of Normandy including the de Lacy's became devout Christian followers. Their religion based on a mix of fear and favour. Christian support to the church was given as much on expectations of reward not only in heaven but also here on earth. The fear of hell (and the incumbent Pope) was never far away. Christianity in the middle ages was not a faith of compassion.
The first Walter de Lacy had been no exception. He and his descendants devoted much time and money to show God and the world their devotion by building or financing the building of many churches along the Welsh border; On this page, we share with you just two here within the Welsh Marches. One the largest, the other the small church of St Mary's shown below, each with its own merits.
Llanthony Priory
In 1108, Walter de Lacy, the third son of Baron Walter de Lacy, conducted a patrol in the Honddu valley, which was far from his home castle in Longtown and situated on the opposite side of the Black Mountain. Walter, a devout young man, was inspired by the peaceful and remote location of the derelict Anglo-Saxon Church, where St David was said to have lived as a hermit. He requested his father's permission to renounce his life as a soldier and become a hermit there himself. Later, he was joined by Ernisius, a former chaplain to Queen Matilda, the wife of Henry I. Together, they established an Augustinian Priory. However, the isolated location of the site made the growing monastery vulnerable to frequent attacks by Welsh bandits. As a result, the monks reluctantly left the valley and sought safety in Gloucester Priory. Around 1155, the 4th Lord of Weobley, Baron Hugh (II) de Lacy, provided men, land, and support to restore Llanthony Priory, which was located in the Vale of Ewyas, as it was now named. Hugh continued the restoration work for many years, and after his death in 1186, his son, Baron Walter (II) de Lacy, continued the work with support and funds often coming from Ireland.
Baron Gilbert de Lacy
4th Lord of Weobley
The inheritance passed but not without controversy in 1131 to Hugh’s nephew, Gilbert, the son of exiled Baron Roger de Lacy. He had returned from Normandy to win back the Lordship and Estates of Weobley. To further his campaign, Gilbert had been a regular attendant at the court of King Stephen, but in about 1137, he changed his allegiance from Stephen to his rival for the throne of England, Empress Matilda. With his cousin Geoffrey Talbot Gilbert, he led his forces to Hereford in 1138, and there, following a short battle with the supporters of King Stephen, he took control of the town in the name of Empress Matilda. King Stephen retaliated and sent a superior force to take it back. Only by besieging Hereford for several months was the army of King Stephen eventually able to take Hereford Castle. Geoffrey Talbot and Gilbert de Lacy escaped to safety from King Stephen's army and had to undergo a prolonged siege before finally taking Hereford Castle. This led to the escape of Geoffrey Talbot and Gilbert de Lacy, who fled to safety at Weobley Castle. After dethroning King Stephen, Matilda declared herself the rightful Queen of England. However, her reign was short-lived, lasting only until November 1141 when she failed to convince the Church to conduct a coronation and was forced to return to Normandy.
In a show of gratitude, Gilbert de Lacy donated land to the Knights Templar to build a cathedral chapter house for Hereford Cathedral. Additionally, he provided funds for the construction of a church at Weobley. Despite recovering most of the de Lacy Estates that had passed from his father to his Uncle Hugh de Lacy, Gilbert was still unable to regain the coveted title of Lord of Weobley, which had been stripped from his father. Despite being a Baron and playing a crucial role in deposing three kings, Gilbert remained disillusioned by his inability to regain his father's title.Weobley Castle. But despite carrying the title of Baron, he had yet to regain the full title he coveted of Lord of Weobley. Gilbert remained disillusioned that having partitioned three Kings, he could not recover the title of Lord of Weobley, stripped from his Father.
In 1158, Gilbert de Lacy resigned his lands to his eldest son Robert and joined the Knights Templar, travelling first to France and then to Jerusalem, which he reached in 1161 or 1162. He became preceptor of the Templars in ‘the county of Tripoli’, and in 1163 he is said to have been among the leaders of a Crusader army resisting Nur-ad-Din. The year of his death is not known. His son Robert had already died without children sometime before 1162, so Gilbert de Lacy’s younger son Hugh de Lacy now inherited the lands.
Tap or Click to visit the English Heritage Longtown Castle Page
Baron Hugh de Lacy
5th Marcher Lord of Weobley, Lord of Ludlow
5th Marcher Lord of Weobley, Lord of Ludlow
Without holding the title, Hugh took complete control of the estates until the death of his Crusader father, Gilbert de Lacy. He restored land lost to local Welsh chiefs and other Marcher Lords. Then commenced the rebuilding of Longtown and Ludlow Castles. He improved the yields and wealth of the manors. King Henry II returned Hugh the long-suppressed title of Lord Weobley. He additionally appointed Hugh de Lacy as Lord of Ludlow. Hugh became one of the most powerful Marcher War Lords. Not since the days of his Grandfather, Roger de Lacy, had the name of de Lacy held more fear or respect in the West of England from Anglo-Normans and Welsh alike. Later, Hugh was summoned by the King to accompany him on an expedition to Ireland. On the expected success of the invasion, Hugh would take up residence as the King's Viceroy in Ireland. Hugh, always ambitious, was delighted to accept. The history continues......
Tap or click on the Ludlow Castle website for more history, Visiting times and Events.
Later, Hugh was summoned by the King to accompany him on an expedition to Ireland. On the expected success of the invasion, Hugh would take up residence as the King's Viceroy in Ireland. Hugh, always ambitious, was delighted to accept. The history continues......
Tap or click for invasion of Ireland by the English
In 1155, Pope Adrian IV granted English King Henry II lordship of Ireland. With other state problems, the King was in no hurry to comply. During 1167, Dermot MacMurragh, the ousted Irish King of Leinster, sought help from Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, known as "Strongbow", to regain his crown. In May 1171, MacMurragh died, and Richard de Clare (Strongbow) was crowned King Richard of Leinster. Click or tap Irish sea map for full story
Early in 1171, King Henry realised he must now exercise the symbol of investiture from Pope Adrian IV and subject Ireland to English rule. In October 1171, King Henry, accompanied by Hugh de Lacy, landed a large army at Waterford in Southern Ireland to establish control over the Mercenary-Normans and the Irish. all the towns taken were now to be considered Crown land. Strongbow gratefully accepted and submitted to the authority of the King of England. In 1172, King Henry II granted the unconquered kingdom of Meath and fifty of his knights to Hugh de Lacy. On his inauguration as the First Viceroy of Ireland, Hugh became the custodian of Dublin Castle, which is now declared the official residence of the Viceroy.
Hugh now rarely returned to his Marcher estates. Weobley or Longtown Castle, even the newer Ludlow Castle, Hugh considered his Welsh-English borders well protected and supervised by his stewards. Trim castle became the centre of his administration of his Lordship of Meath. As governor of Ireland, Hugh ensured the security of both Meath and Leinster. He had carved out a solid foundation for the Lacy family in Ireland.
The Meath manors became highly productive, filling many of Hugh de Lacy's cargo ships, which could sail from alongside Trim Castle down the River Boyne with grain to sell throughout England and Europe.
Hugh introduced the Norman feudal manorial system into Meath. The income was vast, primarily going to Hugh's coffers or those with a Meath Manor or farm tenancy. The Irish peasants saw little of it!
Hughe’s first wife, Rohese, mother of sons Walter and Hugh, died before 1180. In 1181, Hugh re-married without gaining the King's permission. Princess Rose was the daughter of Ruaidri Ua Conchobair , the King of Connacht, the deposed High King of Ireland. King Henry II never recognised the marriage, but the significance of the wedding caused concern. King Henry had not forgotten the marriage by Strongbow in 1171 without his permission. Hugh de Lacy and Rose had two children, a son and a daughter. Henry II declared William Gorm and Ysota illegitimate, but not by the church.
Of all the de Lacy Barons, only one has been pictured: Hugh de Lacy. He was drawn in the margins of a manuscript by the monk Giraldus Cambrensis; Hugh de Lacy was an able and resolute governor but physically unprepossessing, swarthy, short, and ill-proportioned. In 1186 Hugh de Lacy was killed by Gilla-Gan-Mathiar O'Maidhaigh, while he was supervising the construction of a Motte castle at Durrow Prince John was promptly sent over to Ireland to take possession of his lands.[
Baron Walter (II) de Lacy
6th Marcher Lord of Weobley,
Lord of Ludlow and Lord of Meath
Still a minor, Walter did not succeed to his father's estates until 1188. Taking possession as Lord of Ludlow and Meath, after considerable political and personal argument and cost with not one, but two Kings. Walter married Margaret, the daughter of William de Braose, the 4th Lord of Bramber. Who had significant estates and power on the Welsh border and Ireland, The downside of the relationship was the King’s suspicions of powerful Marcher Lords allying with their holdings in Ireland and the Welsh-England border. The families merging their interests further reinforced the King's fear of losing control. Again, in 1197, Walter had to make further payments to King Richard. This time, he tries to re-recover his Normandy and English lands. The King had sequestrated both. Because the de Lacy, de Braose connection appeared to King Richard to be too strong. Walter is possibly seen as the weaker of the two lords. By 1215, King John desperately sought support from Ireland against the growing rebellion of Barons throughout England, ending with King John signing the Magna Carta. Walter was trying to improve the dwindling incomes from the Ewyas Lacy estates that had fallen desperately low due to his poor stewardship, and the King's fines had reduced Walter's overall income.
By 1215, King John desperately sought support from Ireland against the growing rebellion of Barons throughout England, ending with King John signing the Magna Carta. Having first exacted a further hefty financial penalty from Walter de Lacy, King John promised Walter the return of all his lands for Walter's support. Walter was trying to improve the dwindling incomes from the Ewyas Lacy estates that had fallen desperately low due to his poor stewardship, and the King's fines had reduced Walter's overall revenue. Walter had become an absent landlord at the Marcher estates as he was now expected to attend King John's depleted court more frequently.
His debts finally caught up with him, and on 19th November 1240, the Crown issued orders to restrain his estates to recover those debts. By now Walter de Lacy was blind, feeble and bankrupt the Crown issued orders for the restraint of his estates to recover those debts.
Hugh de Lacy
Born Weobley Castle Ewyas Lacy, Hertfordshire.
The Second son of Hugh de Lacy Lord of Meath.
Hugh was appointed by King Richard as a coadjutor (Principal aide) to Baron John de Courcy in Leinster and Munster. The post proved to be a disaster as bitter rivalry had broken out between them. Hugh disagreed with de Courcy's ambitions. John de Courcy assembled a personal army and swept through Northern Ireland, invading and taking Irish Kingdoms. Without the permission of Prince John, the Lord of Ireland. Prince. Upon being crowned, King John was enraged to discover that John de Courcy had authorised the issue of new coins into Ulster. One side depicts St Patrick and, and the other, the head of de Courcy. King John saw this act as treason. In 1199, King John gave Hugh de Lacy the authority and resources to raise an army and wage war on John de Courcy. Hugh de Lacy led a raiding force into Lecale and attacked, de Courcy in Downpatrick. Hugh had proved himself a capable leader and by 1204 had defeated John de Courcy, taking occupation of all his lands in Northern Ireland. King John had de Courcy sent into exile.
Elevating Hugh de Lacy to Earl of Ulster.
Over the following 20 years, Hugh's attitude to the crown hardened, and he allied himself with the powerful Irish O’Neill family, past Kings of Northern Ireland, who were still antagonistic towards English rule. In 1230, Hugh de Lacy joined with Richard Mór de Burgh to subdue Aedh mac Ruaidri Ó Conchobair, the Irish King of Connacht. Richard de Burgh later became the 1st Baron of Connacht. At court in May 1205, King John rewarded Hugh de Lacy with a charter granting him land in Ulster and Connaught. With the grant of this land, he was raised to the peerage as the Earl of Ulster. On his return later in 1205 to Ireland, King John appointed him Viceroy of Ireland. Hugh held this position until 1210. He was following in his father's footsteps, who had previously held the same office.
Now, Hugh de Lacy, on his return to Ireland in 1221, attempted to re-establish his position in Ulster by force of arms. Walter could not restrain his half-brother William Gorm nor stop many of his Meath knights from rising in support of Hugh de Lacy. Hugh had realised that he had much to gain and little to lose with the backing of his old Irish adversaries, the O’Neill’s, including the knights and foot soldiers who had joined him from his brothers Meath Estates. Hugh de Lacy had raised an army. Once Hugh de Lacy’s army assembled, they marched in 1223 on a frail Dublin City.
Only agreeing to stop following concessions from the King. With the death of his estranged first wife. Hugh de Lacy then remarried Emmeline de Riddlesford, the daughter of Walter de Riddlesford, in about 1242. Hugh de Lacy died one year later, in 1243, with still no heir from either marriage. The earldom became extinct, and the Hugh de Lacy estates reverted to the crown.
The de Lacy shied of Hugh de Lacy
William Gorm de Lacy
Half Brother to Walter & Huge 1180 - c.1234
Longtown Castle, Ewyas Lacy Hertfordshire
During his absence in 1215, Walter de Lacy installed his younger half-brother William Gorm as custodian of Trim Castle and the de Lacy Irish estates. By 1216, Ireland was in turbulence. William Gorm de Lacy built a formidable army of Meath Knights, feared all over Southern Ireland; they were involved in fighting a succession of small Irish wars. William added more land to the de Lacy estates by taking the castles of Dundrum and Carlingford, which, before his absence in 1210, belonged to his half-brother Hugh de Lacy. Later, the King commanded William to return the castles to the crown.
Later, the King commanded William to return the castles to the crown. Newly crowned King Henry III decreed that as the Lord of Meath, in July 1217, Walter de Lacy should be made to stand surety and make amends for William's excesses towards the King. In 1224, the Earl of Pembroke, William Marshall, besieged Trim Castle under the command of William Gorm de Lacy. Marshall stormed and, with some difficulty, took the castle. Only to find William Gorm de Lacy had escaped. By 1227, William Gorm was reconciled with King Henry III and, to get him out of Ireland, agreed to enter the King's service on a grant of £20 per year. His role was to fight in the King's name in Europe. By 1233, William Gorm de Lacy had returned from serving the King in his European struggles. The armies of King Henry III regarded him as the “chiefest champion in all of Europe”. William Gorm was immediately involved again in Irish affairs. While leading his forces in a skirmish, he was injured and died some days later sheltering in his lake castle in the Brenie (Breifne) deep in Ireland’s hills. William Gorms' wife, Gwenllian, was a younger daughter of Llywelyn the Great, the Prince of Gwynedd, Wales. There is speculation that William Gorm and Gwenllian de Lacy had at least two sons, Thomas de Lacy and Henry de Lacy, who lived on beyond the fall of the House of de Lacy.
The de Lacy Marcher Lords were in Ireland for only 69 years Baron Hugh de Lacy's 1172 arrival as the Lord of Meath led to the death of his son Walter, the second Lord of Meath, in 1241. Even so, Father and Son, despite continually being involved in fighting and English court intrigue, still managed to be benefactors to the restoration of some Irish Religious houses ruined
