Marcher Lords
Encyclopedia
A Marcher Lord was a strong and trusted noble appointed by the King of England to guard the border (known as the Welsh Marches
) between England and Wales.
A Marcher Lord is the English equivalent of a margrave
(in the Holy Roman empire). In this context the word march means a border region or frontier, and is cognate with the verb "to march," both ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European
*mereg-, "edge" or "boundary".
The greatest Marcher Lords included the earls of Chester
, Gloucester
, Hereford
, Pembroke
and Shrewsbury
(see also English Earls of March).
shortly after the Norman Conquest, but only that based on Chester
survived for a long period.
The term particularly applies to Anglo-Norman
lords in Wales, who had complete jurisdiction over their subjects, without recourse to the king of England. The king only had jurisdiction in treason
cases, though the lords each bore personal allegiance to the king as feudal subjects.
castle
s. After the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror set out to subdue
the Welsh
, a process that took a century and was never permanently effective. During those generations the Marches were a frontier society in every sense, and a stamp was set on the region that lasted into the time of the Industrial Revolution. Amid violence and dangers, a chronic lack of manpower afforded opportunities for the intrepid, and the Marcher Lords encouraged immigration from all the Norman-Angevin realms
, and encouraged trade from their "fair haven" ports like Cardiff
. At the top of this culturally diverse, intensely feudalised
and local society, the Marcher barons combined the authority of feudal baron and vassal of the King among their Normans, and of supplanting the traditional tywysog
among their conquered Welsh.
lordships in this area were distinct in several ways: they were geographically compact and jurisdictionally separate one from another, and they had special privileges which separated them from the usual English lordships. Royal writ did not obtain in the Marches: Marcher lords ruled their lands by their own law—sicut regale ("like unto a king") as Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester, stated (Nelson 1966), whereas in England fief-holders were directly accountable to the king. Marcher lords could build castles, a jealously guarded and easily-revoked Royal privilege in England. Marcher lords administered laws, waged war, established markets in towns
, and maintained their own chanceries
that kept their records, which have been completely lost. They had their own deputies, or sheriff
s. Sitting in their own courts they had jurisdiction over all cases at law save high treason. "They could establish forests and forest laws declare and wage war, establish boroughs, and grant extensive charters of liberties
. They could confiscate the estates of traitors and felons, and regrant these at will. They could establish and preside over their own petty parliaments and county courts. Finally, they could claim any and every feudal due, aid, grant, and relief" (Nelson 1966, ch. 8), although they did not mint coins. Their one insecurity, if they did not take up arms against the king, was of dying without a legitimate heir, whereupon the title reverted to the Crown in escheat
. Welsh law
was frequently used in the Marches in preference to English law, and there would sometimes be a dispute as to which code should be used to decide a particular case.
Feudal social structures, which were never fully established in England, took root in the Marches, which was not legally part of the realm of England. The traditional view has been that the Norman monarchy granted these outright. A revisionist view is that such rights were more common in the 11th century throughout the Conquest, but were largely suppressed in England, and survived in the Marches. Settlement was encouraged, as if the lands were desert: Knights were granted their own lands, which they held in feudal service to the Norman lords. Settlement was also encouraged in towns that were given market privileges, under the protection of a Norman keep
. Peasants came to Wales in large numbers: Henry I
encouraged Bretons
, Flemings, Normans
, and English settlers to move into the south of Wales.
The tendencies of innovations in the Plantagenet monarchy were towards a centralised bureaucracy and judiciary, with the gradual elimination of localisms. In the Marches of Wales these processes towards a "high mediæval" authority were staunchly resisted. Protests of the border lords surviving in the Royal records throw some light upon the nature and extent of the privileges whose normal operation has left no record.
On the local side, the able-bodied population was more directly essential to the local Lord and was able to extract from him carefully defined and highly local liberties. A point of friction was in the Lords' funded churches where they appointed churchmen to living
s held tightly under hierarchic control in the manner that had developed in Normandy
, where a highly organised church structure was well in the hands of the Duke. The Welsh church, on the Celtic plan, closely connected with clan loyalties, brooked little authoritarian influence.
The Marcher Lords were progressively tied to the English kings by the grants of lands and lordships in England, where control was stricter, and where many marcher lords spent most of their time, and through the English kings' dynastic alliances with the great magnates. It was less easy to work in the opposite way, and establish a position among the hereditary marcher families, as Hugh Le Despenser
discovered. He began by exchanging estates he held in England and by obtaining grants in the Welsh Marches from the King. He even obtained the Isle of Lundy
. When the last male heir of the de Braose family died, Despenser was able to obtain the de Braose lands around Swansea. In 1321 the Marcher Lords threatened to start a civil war and it was agreed that a Parliament should be called to settle the matter.
s, de Lacy
s, Grey de Ruthyn
s, Talbot
s, and the Le Strange
families eventually acquired much Welsh blood through politically advantageous marriages with the Welsh nobility. Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer (1231–1282) was a son of Gwladys Ddu, daughter of Llewelyn the Great of Gwynedd
. Matilda de Braose
, a granddaughter of William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber
, married a Welsh prince. He was Rhyl Mechyll, Prince of Deheubarth. Their daughter Gwenllian married Gilbert Talbot, progenitor of the Earls of Shrewsbury
. William de Braose was himself a descendant of Nesta verch Osborne of Wales through his mother Bertha of Hereford
. Another member of the de Braose family, Isabella, daughter of Gwilym Ddu or Black William and Eva Marshal married Prince Dafydd ap Llywelyn
, whose mother Joan
was an illegitimate daughter of King John of England
. Queen consort Anne Boleyn
descended directly from Gruffydd II ap Madog, Lord of Dinas Bran
through his daughter, Angharad who married William Le Boteler of Wem
, Shropshire.
, which had its own institutions and was (like England) divided into counties. The jurisdiction of the remaining marcher lords was thus an anomaly. This was abolished by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 (also known as the Acts of Union), which organised the Marches of Wales into counties, adding some lordships to adjoining English counties. It also created a Council of Wales and the Marches (based at Ludlow
), responsible for oversight of the area.
styled himself Lord Marcher of Trellick
and purported to acquire the title of Lord Marcher of St. David's from the University of Wales
, seeking to assert various associated economic rights including title in half the coastline of Pembrokeshire
. Roberts contended that the Bishops of St David's
were never themselves conquered and retained their ancient temporal possessions. The last Welsh bishop had died in 1115 but the ensuing Norman
bishops acquired the ancient jurisdictional rights by use and eventually by a distinct royal charter
. Roberts claimed to be a corporation sole
in succession to the bishops and to have the status of a rajah and effective state immunity
. However, in May 2008, the High Court
held that the Laws in Wales Act 1535 had abolished the jurisdiction
al franchise
of Marcher Lord entirely and that Roberts had no such status.
Welsh Marches
The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...
) between England and Wales.
A Marcher Lord is the English equivalent of a margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
(in the Holy Roman empire). In this context the word march means a border region or frontier, and is cognate with the verb "to march," both ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
*mereg-, "edge" or "boundary".
The greatest Marcher Lords included the earls of Chester
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs-apparent to the English throne, and from the late 14th century it has been given only in conjunction with that of Prince of Wales.- Honour of Chester :The...
, Gloucester
Earl of Gloucester
The title of Earl of Gloucester was created several times in the Peerage of England. A fictional earl is also a character in William Shakespeare's play King Lear. See also Duke of Gloucester.-Earls of Gloucester, 1st Creation :...
, Hereford
Earl of Hereford
The title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. See also Duke of Hereford, Viscount Hereford. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for.-Earls of Hereford, First Creation :*Swegen Godwinson...
, Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke
Earl of Pembroke is a title created ten times, all in the Peerage of England. It was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title is associated with Pembroke, Pembrokeshire in West Wales, which is the site of Earldom's original seat Pembroke Castle...
and Shrewsbury
Earl of Shrewsbury
Earl of Shrewsbury is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the peerage of England.-First creation, 1074:The first creation occurred in 1074 for Roger de Montgomerie, one of William the Conqueror's principal counselors...
(see also English Earls of March).
County palatine
Some strong earldoms along the Welsh border were granted the privileged status of county palatineCounty palatine
A county palatine or palatinate is an area ruled by an hereditary nobleman possessing special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom or empire. The name derives from the Latin adjective palatinus, "relating to the palace", from the noun palatium, "palace"...
shortly after the Norman Conquest, but only that based on Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
survived for a long period.
The term particularly applies to Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...
lords in Wales, who had complete jurisdiction over their subjects, without recourse to the king of England. The king only had jurisdiction in treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
cases, though the lords each bore personal allegiance to the king as feudal subjects.
Formation of the Welsh March
The Welsh Marches contain Britain's densest concentration of motte-and-baileyMotte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
s. After the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror set out to subdue
Norman invasion of Wales
The Norman invasion of Wales began shortly after the Norman conquest of England under William the Conqueror, who believed England to be his birthright...
the Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
, a process that took a century and was never permanently effective. During those generations the Marches were a frontier society in every sense, and a stamp was set on the region that lasted into the time of the Industrial Revolution. Amid violence and dangers, a chronic lack of manpower afforded opportunities for the intrepid, and the Marcher Lords encouraged immigration from all the Norman-Angevin realms
Angevin Empire
The term Angevin Empire is a modern term describing the collection of states once ruled by the Angevin Plantagenet dynasty.The Plantagenets ruled over an area stretching from the Pyrenees to Ireland during the 12th and early 13th centuries, located north of Moorish Iberia. This "empire" extended...
, and encouraged trade from their "fair haven" ports like Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. At the top of this culturally diverse, intensely feudalised
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
and local society, the Marcher barons combined the authority of feudal baron and vassal of the King among their Normans, and of supplanting the traditional tywysog
Tywysog
Tywysog , in modern Welsh, means "Prince", although historically it referred to a broader category of rulers. The feminine form is Tywysoges. The work Brut y Tywysogion is the Annals of the Princes of Wales and is a historical narrative of the deeds of the various rulers of the kingdoms, large and...
among their conquered Welsh.
Marcher powers
The Anglo-NormanAnglo-Norman
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...
lordships in this area were distinct in several ways: they were geographically compact and jurisdictionally separate one from another, and they had special privileges which separated them from the usual English lordships. Royal writ did not obtain in the Marches: Marcher lords ruled their lands by their own law—sicut regale ("like unto a king") as Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester, stated (Nelson 1966), whereas in England fief-holders were directly accountable to the king. Marcher lords could build castles, a jealously guarded and easily-revoked Royal privilege in England. Marcher lords administered laws, waged war, established markets in towns
Market town
Market town or market right is a legal term, originating in the medieval period, for a European settlement that has the right to host markets, distinguishing it from a village and city...
, and maintained their own chanceries
Court of equity
A chancery court, equity court or court of equity is a court that is authorized to apply principles of equity, as opposed to law, to cases brought before it.These courts began with petitions to the Lord Chancellor of England...
that kept their records, which have been completely lost. They had their own deputies, or sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
s. Sitting in their own courts they had jurisdiction over all cases at law save high treason. "They could establish forests and forest laws declare and wage war, establish boroughs, and grant extensive charters of liberties
Liberty (division)
Originating in the Middle Ages, a liberty was traditionally defined as an area in which regalian rights were revoked and where land was held by a mesne lord...
. They could confiscate the estates of traitors and felons, and regrant these at will. They could establish and preside over their own petty parliaments and county courts. Finally, they could claim any and every feudal due, aid, grant, and relief" (Nelson 1966, ch. 8), although they did not mint coins. Their one insecurity, if they did not take up arms against the king, was of dying without a legitimate heir, whereupon the title reverted to the Crown in escheat
Escheat
Escheat is a common law doctrine which transfers the property of a person who dies without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in limbo without recognised ownership...
. Welsh law
Welsh law
Welsh law was the system of law practised in Wales before the 16th century. According to tradition it was first codified by Hywel Dda during the period between 942 and 950 when he was king of most of Wales; as such it is usually called Cyfraith Hywel, the Law of Hywel, in Welsh...
was frequently used in the Marches in preference to English law, and there would sometimes be a dispute as to which code should be used to decide a particular case.
Feudal social structures, which were never fully established in England, took root in the Marches, which was not legally part of the realm of England. The traditional view has been that the Norman monarchy granted these outright. A revisionist view is that such rights were more common in the 11th century throughout the Conquest, but were largely suppressed in England, and survived in the Marches. Settlement was encouraged, as if the lands were desert: Knights were granted their own lands, which they held in feudal service to the Norman lords. Settlement was also encouraged in towns that were given market privileges, under the protection of a Norman keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
. Peasants came to Wales in large numbers: Henry I
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
encouraged Bretons
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, Flemings, Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
, and English settlers to move into the south of Wales.
The tendencies of innovations in the Plantagenet monarchy were towards a centralised bureaucracy and judiciary, with the gradual elimination of localisms. In the Marches of Wales these processes towards a "high mediæval" authority were staunchly resisted. Protests of the border lords surviving in the Royal records throw some light upon the nature and extent of the privileges whose normal operation has left no record.
On the local side, the able-bodied population was more directly essential to the local Lord and was able to extract from him carefully defined and highly local liberties. A point of friction was in the Lords' funded churches where they appointed churchmen to living
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
s held tightly under hierarchic control in the manner that had developed in Normandy
Duchy of Normandy
The Duchy of Normandy stems from various Danish, Norwegian, Hiberno-Norse, Orkney Viking and Anglo-Danish invasions of France in the 9th century...
, where a highly organised church structure was well in the hands of the Duke. The Welsh church, on the Celtic plan, closely connected with clan loyalties, brooked little authoritarian influence.
The Marcher Lords were progressively tied to the English kings by the grants of lands and lordships in England, where control was stricter, and where many marcher lords spent most of their time, and through the English kings' dynastic alliances with the great magnates. It was less easy to work in the opposite way, and establish a position among the hereditary marcher families, as Hugh Le Despenser
Hugh the younger Despenser
Hugh Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser , also referred to as "the younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester , and Isabella daughter of William, 9th Earl of Warwick.-Titles and possessions:Hugh Despenser the younger was knight of Hanley Castle, Worcestershire,...
discovered. He began by exchanging estates he held in England and by obtaining grants in the Welsh Marches from the King. He even obtained the Isle of Lundy
Lundy
Lundy is the largest island in the Bristol Channel, lying off the coast of Devon, England, approximately one third of the distance across the channel between England and Wales. It measures about at its widest. Lundy gives its name to a British sea area and is one of the islands of England.As of...
. When the last male heir of the de Braose family died, Despenser was able to obtain the de Braose lands around Swansea. In 1321 the Marcher Lords threatened to start a civil war and it was agreed that a Parliament should be called to settle the matter.
Intermarriage with the Welsh
While fierce hostility between the Marcher lords and the Welsh was a fact of life, nevertheless, much intermarriage occurred between the Norman-descended barons and princely Welsh families, (often as a means of cementing a local agreement or alliance). The Mortimers, de BraoseBraose family
The Braose family was a prominent family of Anglo-Norman nobles originating in Briouze, near Argentan, Orne. Members of this family played a significant part in the Norman Conquest of England and subsequent power struggles in England, Wales and Ireland in the 11th to 14th centuries.Several of the...
s, de Lacy
De Lacy
de Lacy is the surname of an old Norman noble family originating from Lassy . The first records are about Hugh de Lacy . Descendent of Hugh de Lacy left Normandy and travelled to England along with William the Conqueror. Walter and Ilbert de Lacy fought in the battle of Hastings...
s, Grey de Ruthyn
Baron Grey de Ruthyn
The title of Baron Grey de Ruthyn was created in the Peerage of England by writ of summons in 1324 for Roger Grey, a son of John Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Wilton. It has been abeyant since 1963...
s, Talbot
Earl of Shrewsbury
Earl of Shrewsbury is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the peerage of England.-First creation, 1074:The first creation occurred in 1074 for Roger de Montgomerie, one of William the Conqueror's principal counselors...
s, and the Le Strange
Baron Strange
Baron Strange is a title that has been created several times in the Peerage of England. Two creations, one in 1295 and another in 1325, had only one holder each, upon the death of whom they became extinct. Two of the creations are still extant, however...
families eventually acquired much Welsh blood through politically advantageous marriages with the Welsh nobility. Roger Mortimer, 1st Baron Mortimer (1231–1282) was a son of Gwladys Ddu, daughter of Llewelyn the Great of Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
. Matilda de Braose
Matilda de Braose (Deheubarth)
Matilda de Braose was the wife of Rhys Mechyll, son of Rhys Gryg and grandson of the Lord Rhys, Prince of Deheubarth.Rhys Mechyll died in 1244 and some time after this Matilda placed the castle of Carreg Cennen in the hands of the Normans....
, a granddaughter of William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber
William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber
William de Braose, , 4th Lord of Bramber , court favourite of King John of England, at the peak of his power, was also Lord of Gower, Abergavenny, Brecknock, Builth, Radnor, Kington, Limerick, Glamorgan, Skenfrith, Briouze in Normandy, Grosmont, and White Castle.-Lineage:William was the most...
, married a Welsh prince. He was Rhyl Mechyll, Prince of Deheubarth. Their daughter Gwenllian married Gilbert Talbot, progenitor of the Earls of Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury is the county town of Shropshire, in the West Midlands region of England. Lying on the River Severn, it is a civil parish home to some 70,000 inhabitants, and is the primary settlement and headquarters of Shropshire Council...
. William de Braose was himself a descendant of Nesta verch Osborne of Wales through his mother Bertha of Hereford
Bertha of Hereford
Bertha of Hereford, also known as Bertha de Pitres , was the daughter of Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, and a wealthy heiress. She was the wife of William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber to whom she brought many castles and Lordships, including Brecknock, Abergavenny, and...
. Another member of the de Braose family, Isabella, daughter of Gwilym Ddu or Black William and Eva Marshal married Prince Dafydd ap Llywelyn
Dafydd ap Llywelyn
Dafydd ap Llywelyn was Prince of Gwynedd from 1240 to 1246. He was for a time recognised as Prince of Wales.- Descent :...
, whose mother Joan
Joan, Lady of Wales
Joan, Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon was the wife of Llywelyn the Great, Prince of Wales and Gwynedd and effective ruler of most of Wales.-Early life:...
was an illegitimate daughter of King John of England
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
. Queen consort Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
descended directly from Gruffydd II ap Madog, Lord of Dinas Bran
Gruffydd II ap Madog, Lord of Dinas Bran
- Lineage :He was the eldest son of Madog ap Gruffydd Maelor and inherited his father's lands and title in partible succession along with his four brothers Gruffydd Ial, Maredudd, Hywel and Madog Fychan....
through his daughter, Angharad who married William Le Boteler of Wem
Wem
Wem is a small market town in Shropshire, England. It is the administrative centre for the northern area committee of Shropshire Council, which has its headquarters at Edinburgh House in the centre of Wem. Wem railway station is on the Shrewsbury to Crewe railway line...
, Shropshire.
End of Marcher powers
By the 16th century, many lordships had passed into the hands of the crown, which governed its lordships through the traditional institutions. The crown was also directly responsible for the government of the Principality of WalesPrincipality of Wales
The Principality of Wales existed between 1216 and 1542, encompassing two-thirds of modern Wales.It was formally founded in 1216 at the Council of Aberdyfi, and later recognised by the 1218 Treaty of Worcester between Llywelyn the Great of Wales and Henry III of England...
, which had its own institutions and was (like England) divided into counties. The jurisdiction of the remaining marcher lords was thus an anomaly. This was abolished by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 (also known as the Acts of Union), which organised the Marches of Wales into counties, adding some lordships to adjoining English counties. It also created a Council of Wales and the Marches (based at Ludlow
Ludlow
Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire, England close to the Welsh border and in the Welsh Marches. It lies within a bend of the River Teme, on its eastern bank, forming an area of and centred on a small hill. Atop this hill is the site of Ludlow Castle and the market place...
), responsible for oversight of the area.
Later claims
Early in the 21st century, businessman Mark RobertsMark Roberts (businessman)
Mark Roberts is a Welsh businessman notable for the purchase of approximately sixty United Kingdom titles as Lord of the Manor or Marcher Lord and his legal claims to historical rights associated with them...
styled himself Lord Marcher of Trellick
Trellech
Trellech is a village in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales, near Monmouth and the location of an archaeological site. The village is designated as a Conservation Area....
and purported to acquire the title of Lord Marcher of St. David's from the University of Wales
University of Wales
The University of Wales was a confederal university founded in 1893. It had accredited institutions throughout Wales, and formerly accredited courses in Britain and abroad, with over 100,000 students, but in October 2011, after a number of scandals, it withdrew all accreditation, and it was...
, seeking to assert various associated economic rights including title in half the coastline of Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
. Roberts contended that the Bishops of St David's
Bishop of St David's
The Bishop of St David's is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St David's.The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St David's in Pembrokeshire, founding St David's Cathedral. The current Bishop of St...
were never themselves conquered and retained their ancient temporal possessions. The last Welsh bishop had died in 1115 but the ensuing Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
bishops acquired the ancient jurisdictional rights by use and eventually by a distinct royal charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
. Roberts claimed to be a corporation sole
Corporation sole
A corporation sole is a legal entity consisting of a single incorporated office, occupied by a single man or woman. This allows a corporation to pass vertically in time from one office holder to the next successor-in-office, giving the position legal continuity with each subsequent office...
in succession to the bishops and to have the status of a rajah and effective state immunity
State immunity
The doctrine and rules of state immunity concern the protection which a state is given from being sued in the courts of other states. The rules relate to legal proceedings in the courts of another state, not in a state's own courts...
. However, in May 2008, the High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
held that the Laws in Wales Act 1535 had abolished the jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
al franchise
Government-granted monopoly
In economics, a government-granted monopoly is a form of coercive monopoly by which a government grants exclusive privilege to a private individual or firm to be the sole provider of a good or service; potential competitors are excluded from the market by law, regulation, or other mechanisms of...
of Marcher Lord entirely and that Roberts had no such status.