William de Lancaster I
Encyclopedia
William de Lancaster I, or William Fitz Gilbert, was a nobleman of the 12th century in Northwest England. According to a document some generations later, he was possibly also referred to as William de Tailboys (de Taillebois) when younger. He is the first person of whom there is any record to bear the name of Lancaster
and pass it on to his descendants as a family name
. He died in about 1170.
, especially Copeland in western Cumberland
, Furness
in the Lake District
, The Barony of Kendal
, which became part of Westmorland
, and various areas such as Barton
between Kendal and Ullswater
, also in Westmorland.
Although only part of this area was within the later English county of Lancaster or Lancashire
, this entity had not yet come to be clearly defined. So the title of "de Lancaster", by which William is remembered, could have referred not only to the church city of Lancaster
, to the south of this area, but to an area under its control. In 1900, William Farrer claimed that "all of the southern half of Westmorland
, not only the Kirkby Lonsdale Ward of Westmorland, but also the Kendal Ward, were linked with Northern Lancashire from a very early time" and formed a single district for fiscal administrative purposes.
The following are areas associated with him ...
Muncaster
in Cumberland. According to William Farrer, in his 1902 edition of Lancashire Pipe Rolls
and early charters,wrote:
According to Farrer, this title would have been one of those granted by Roger de Mowbray, son of Nigel de Albini, having come into his hands after the decease without male heirs of Ivo de Taillebois
. He also believed that this grant to William de Lancaster came to be annulled.
Workington
, Lamplugh
and Middleton
. The manors of Workington and Lamplugh in Cumberland were given by William de Lancaster, in exchange for Middleton in Westmorland
, to a relative, Gospatric
, son of Orme, brother-in-law of Waldeve, Lord of Allerdale
.
Hensingham
. The Register of St Bees
shows that both William son of Gilbert de Lancastre, and William's son William had land in this area. William's was at a place called Swartof or Suarthow, "probably the rising ground between Whitehaven
and Hensingham, known locally as Swartha Brow". The appears to have come from his father Gilbert. His brother Roger apparently held land at Walton, just outside of modern Hensingham, and had a son named Robert. Roger and William also named a brother called Robert.
Ulverston
. Farrer argued that this may have been held by William and perhaps his father Gilbert, before it was granted by Stephen, Count of Boulogne and Mortain, to Furness Abbey
in 1127. The possible connection of William's father Gilbert to Furness will be discussed further below.
, plus Warton
, Garstang
, and Wyresdale
in Lancashire, as well as Horton in Ribblesdale
and "Londsdale
" - the latter two sometimes apparently being interpreted as indicating possession of at least part of what would become the Wapentake of Ewcross
in the West Riding of Yorkshire
.
William de Lancaster is often described as having been a Baron of Kendal
. In fact this is not so clear. William Farrer wrote, in the Introduction to his Records of Kendal:
Part of the problem comes from the time he lived in:
What became the Barony of Kendal is generally accepted as having come together under Ivo de Taillebois
(d. 1094) in the time of William Rufus. And, as will be discussed below, at least in later generations William was depicted by his family as having been a Taillebois. A continuity is therefore often asserted between what Ivo held, and what William later held, despite the fact that William had no known hereditary claim on Kendal. (This is apparently also the reason for the frequent assertion that William held the entire wapentake of Ewcross, even though it seems that the family of Roger de Mowbray kept hold of at least Burton in Kendal. William held two parts of it, mentioned above, while Ivo had held another, Clapham. The rest is speculation.)
According to Farrer, the Barony of Kendal became a real barony only in the time of William's grand daughter Hawise, who married Gilbert son of Roger fitz Reinfrid. Both he and his son William de Lancaster III, both successors of William de Lancaster I (and possibly of Ivo de Taillebois) were certainly Barons of Kendal.
under William fitz Duncan
. Others have suggested that his later enfeoffments and good marriage perhaps suggest that he played a role in leading the fight back against Scotland.
Note that, if it be accepted that William ever held Ewcross
in Yorkshire
, then it is probably during this period William seems to have lost control of some of them, which were later not in his possession.
and the Forests. According to a later grant to Gilbert Fitz Reinfrid, William must have held some position over the whole forest of Westmarieland (the Northern or Appleby Barony of Westmorland), Kendal and Furness. His claims in Furness may have gone beyond just the forest, but this appears to have put him in conflict with the claims of the Furness Abbey, and this conflict continued over many generations. His family may have had links there before him. Some websites report that his father Gilbert was known as "Gilbert of Furness". (This apparently comes from a 17th century note by Benjamin Ayloffe, mentioned below.)
Lancaster Castle. According to Dugdale, the eminent English antiquarian, he was governor of Lancaster Castle
in the reign of Henry II
, about 1180. Little is known about how William came to hold the honour of Lancaster and use the surname, but it is sometimes suggested that it implies connections to royalty, perhaps coming from his apparent marriage to Gundred de Warrenne (or was this just yet another reward for some forgotten service, perhaps against the Scots?).
Seneschal. According to a note written by the 17th century antiquarian Benjamin Ayloffe, which is reproduced in the introduction of Walford Selby's collection of Lancashire and Cheshire Records, p.xxix, William was Seneschallus Hospitii Regis, or steward of the king's household. The same note also states that William's father was the kings "Receiver for the County of Lancaster".
William was also said to have descended from both Ivo de Taillebois
and Eldred of Workington, contemporaries of William Rufus, but the exact nature of the relationship is unclear and indeed controversial. Most likely, the connection is through daughters or illegitimate sons of these two men. Some sources exist, of which a discussion follows:-
1. Taillebois and Workington both? Once the most widespread account, that Ivo was simply the father Eldred, and Eldred the father (or grandfather) of Gilbert, now seems to be wrong, or at least has gone out of favor. The two authorities for a direct line of father-son descent from Ivo to Eldred to Ketel to Gilbert to William de Lancaster were records made much later in Cockersand Abbey and St Mary's Abbey in Yorkshire.
2. Taillebois through his father. A connection to the Taillebois family, if it was indeed one family, is mainly based upon a record in the Coucher Book of Furness Abbey
, concord number CCVI, wherein Helewise, granddaughter and heir of William is party. In the genealogical notice it is claimed that William had been known as William de Tailboys, before receiving the right to be called "Willelmum de Lancastre, Baronem de Kendale". This is the only relatively contemporary evidence for this assertion however, and the facts in this document are also questioned by Farrer and Curwen, as discussed above, because they say that William was probably not Baron of Kendal, but rather an under-lord there.
There was a Tailboys family present in Westmorland during the 12th century, for example in Cliburn
, and these were presumably relatives of William de Lancaster. This family used the personal name Ivo at least once.
3. Workington through his mother. Concerning the connection to Eldred, in a Curia Regis Roll item dated 1212, R., 55, m. 6, Helewise and her husband Gilbert Fitz Reinfrid make claims based upon the fact that "Ketel filius Eutret" was an "antecessor" of Helewise. This could mean he was an ancestor, but it could also perhaps merely mean he was a predecessor more generally.
More definitively one charter to St Leonard's York William refers to Ketel, the son of Elred, as his avunculus, which would literally mean "maternal uncle" (but the word was not always used precisely, the more general meaning of uncle might have been intended). A 1357 charter printed by Reverend F. W. Ragg in 1910 repeats the claim that Ketel son of Aldred was the avunculus of William son of Gilbert.
Therefore Godith may have been a daughter of Elred of Workington, while Gilbert may have been a relative of Ivo de Taillebois, either through illegitimate sons, or perhaps one of his seeming brothers.
and Elizabeth of Vermandois. She was the widow of Roger, the Earl of Warwick
. Note that King Stephen's son, William, married Gundred's niece, Isabel de Warenne. This implies a very close relationship with the King's party.
William had issue:
Gilbert fitz Reinfrid and Helewise's son William also took up the name de Lancaster, becoming William de Lancaster III. He died without male heirs, heavily indebted, apparently due to payments demanded after he was captured at Rochester during the First Barons' War
, and ransomed off by his father.
William de Lancaster III's half brother Roger de Lancaster of Rydal inherited some of the Lancaster importance. It is thought that Roger was a son of Gilbert Fitz Reinfrid, but not of Helewise de Lancaster. Roger is widely thought to be the ancestor of the Lancasters of Howgill and Rydal in Westmorland
. (In fact the line starts with one John de Lancaster of Howgill, whose connection to Roger de Lancaster and his son, John de Lancaster of Grisedale and Stanstead
, is unclear except for the fact that he took over Rydal
and Grasmere
from the latter John.)
The Lancasters of Sockbridge, Crake Trees, Brampton
, Dacre
, and several other manors in Westmorland
and Cumberland
, were apparently descended from William de Lancaster II's illegitimate son Gilbert de Lancaster. Many or perhaps all of the old Lancaster families found throughout Cumbria
seem to descend from Gilbert and his brother Jordan.
The de Lea family eventually lost power in the time of Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, a member of the Plantagenet royal family, with whom they had become allied during his rebellion.
Another Lancaster family, in Rainhill
in Lancashire
, also seems to have claimed descent, given that they used the same coat of arms
as Gilbert Fitz Reinfrid and his sons (argent, two bars gules, with a canton of the second, and a "lion of England", either white or gold, in the canton). However the exact nature of the link, if any, is unknown.
Lancaster (surname)
Lancaster is a surname. People with the surname include:* Alan Lancaster, bass guitar player* Amber Lancaster* Bill Lancaster , British aviator* Bill Lancaster , American screenwriter* Brett Lancaster, professional cyclist...
and pass it on to his descendants as a family name
Family name
A family name is a type of surname and part of a person's name indicating the family to which the person belongs. The use of family names is widespread in cultures around the world...
. He died in about 1170.
Earliest holdings
William and his relatives appear in contemporary documents relating mainly to the modern county of CumbriaCumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, especially Copeland in western Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
, Furness
Furness
Furness is a peninsula in south Cumbria, England. At its widest extent, it is considered to cover the whole of North Lonsdale, that part of the Lonsdale hundred that is an exclave of the historic county of Lancashire, lying to the north of Morecambe Bay....
in the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
, The Barony of Kendal
Kendal
Kendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...
, which became part of Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
, and various areas such as Barton
Barton, Cumbria
Barton is a hamlet and civil parish in the Eden district of Cumbria, England. The parish is on the edge of the Lake District National Park, and had a population of 232 according to the 2001 census. It includes the small hamlet of Barton and the village of Pooley Bridge...
between Kendal and Ullswater
Ullswater
Ullswater is the second largest lake in the English Lake District, being approximately nine miles long and 0.75 miles wide with a maximum depth of slightly more than ....
, also in Westmorland.
Although only part of this area was within the later English county of Lancaster or Lancashire
History of Lancashire
The History of Lancashire begins with its establishment as a county of England in 1182, making it one of the youngest of the historic counties of England.-Early history:In the Domesday Book, some of its lands had been treated as part of Yorkshire...
, this entity had not yet come to be clearly defined. So the title of "de Lancaster", by which William is remembered, could have referred not only to the church city of Lancaster
Lancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
, to the south of this area, but to an area under its control. In 1900, William Farrer claimed that "all of the southern half of Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
, not only the Kirkby Lonsdale Ward of Westmorland, but also the Kendal Ward, were linked with Northern Lancashire from a very early time" and formed a single district for fiscal administrative purposes.
The following are areas associated with him ...
Muncaster
Muncaster Castle
Muncaster Castle is a privately owned castle overlooking the Esk river, about a mile south of the west-coastal town of Ravenglass in Cumbria, England.-History:...
in Cumberland. According to William Farrer, in his 1902 edition of Lancashire Pipe Rolls
Pipe Rolls
The Pipe rolls, sometimes called the Great rolls, are a collection of financial records maintained by the English Exchequer, or Treasury. The earliest date from the 12th century, and the series extends, mostly complete, from then until 1833. They form the oldest continuous series of records kept by...
and early charters,wrote:
It appears that he was possessed of the lordship of Mulcaster (now Muncaster), over the Penningtons of Pennington in Furness, and under Robert de Romilly, lord of Egremont and SkiptonSkiptonSkipton is a market town and civil parish within the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is located along the course of both the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and the River Aire, on the south side of the Yorkshire Dales, northwest of Bradford and west of York...
, who held it in right of his wife, Cecilia, daughter and heiress of William de Meschines.
According to Farrer, this title would have been one of those granted by Roger de Mowbray, son of Nigel de Albini, having come into his hands after the decease without male heirs of Ivo de Taillebois
Ivo de Taillebois
Ivo Taillebois was a powerful Norman nobleman in 11th century England.The name Taillebose or Taillebois, means "cut bush" in French, but the reasons for using this name are not known. There is a town named Taillebois in Lower Normandy for example, with which people using this surname may have been...
. He also believed that this grant to William de Lancaster came to be annulled.
Workington
Workington
Workington is a town, civil parish and port on the west coast of Cumbria, England, at the mouth of the River Derwent. Lying within the Borough of Allerdale, Workington is southwest of Carlisle, west of Cockermouth, and southwest of Maryport...
, Lamplugh
Lamplugh
Lamplugh is a scattered community and civil parish located in west Cumbria on the edge of the English Lake District. It is the starting point for a number of walks, and is on the Sea to Sea / C2C / Coast to Coast Cycle Route....
and Middleton
Middleton, Cumbria
Middleton is a village and a civil parish on the A683 road, in the South Lakeland district, in the county of Cumbria, England. Middleton has a church called Holy Ghost Church and a pub called The Head at Middleton....
. The manors of Workington and Lamplugh in Cumberland were given by William de Lancaster, in exchange for Middleton in Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
, to a relative, Gospatric
Gospatric
Gospatric is a Brythonic name meaning "Devotee of Saint Patrick" and may refer to:-People:* The family name of the Earls of Dunbar * Gospatric , Earl of Northumbria* Gospatric II, Earl of Lothian or Dunbar...
, son of Orme, brother-in-law of Waldeve, Lord of Allerdale
Allerdale
Allerdale is a non-metropolitan district of Cumbria, England, with borough status. Its council is based in Workington and the borough has a population of 93,492 according to the 2001 census....
.
Hensingham
Hensingham
Hensingham is a suburb of the Cumbrian town of Whitehaven.The village is located to the south-east of Whitehaven on the A595 road, close to the Mirehouse housing estate and Moresby Parks. It has a Spar convenience store and several pubs – including The Distressed Sailors, The Lowther Arms,...
. The Register of St Bees
St Bees
St Bees is a village and civil parish in the Copeland district of Cumbria, in the North of England, about five miles west southwest of Whitehaven. The parish had a population of 1,717 according to the 2001 census. Within the parish is St...
shows that both William son of Gilbert de Lancastre, and William's son William had land in this area. William's was at a place called Swartof or Suarthow, "probably the rising ground between Whitehaven
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...
and Hensingham, known locally as Swartha Brow". The appears to have come from his father Gilbert. His brother Roger apparently held land at Walton, just outside of modern Hensingham, and had a son named Robert. Roger and William also named a brother called Robert.
Ulverston
Ulverston
Ulverston is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria in north-west England. Historically part of Lancashire, the town is located in the Furness area, close to the Lake District, and just north of Morecambe Bay....
. Farrer argued that this may have been held by William and perhaps his father Gilbert, before it was granted by Stephen, Count of Boulogne and Mortain, to Furness Abbey
Furness Abbey
Furness Abbey, or St. Mary of Furness is a former monastery situated on the outskirts of the English town of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. The abbey dates back to 1123 and was once the second wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the country, behind only Fountains Abbey in North...
in 1127. The possible connection of William's father Gilbert to Furness will be discussed further below.
Enfeoffment from Roger de Mowbray
Around 1150, a major enfeoffment by Roger de Mowbray put William in control, or perhaps just confirmed his control, of what would become the Barony of KendalKendal
Kendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...
, plus Warton
Warton, Lancaster
Warton is a village and civil parish in north Lancashire in the north-west of England, close to the boundary with Cumbria, with a population of around 2,000. It is a village steeped in history; its earliest recording as a settlement is made in Domesday Book written in 1086. The nearest town to...
, Garstang
Garstang
Garstang is a town and civil parish within the Wyre borough of Lancashire, England. It is ten miles north-northwest of the city of Preston and eleven miles south of Lancaster, and had a total resident population of 4,074 in 2001....
, and Wyresdale
Wyresdale
Wyresdale is the valley of the River Wyre in Lancashire, England.It may refer to one of two civil parishes:* Nether Wyresdale, Wyre* Over Wyresdale, City of Lancaster...
in Lancashire, as well as Horton in Ribblesdale
Horton in Ribblesdale
Horton in Ribblesdale is a small village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated in Ribblesdale on the Settle–Carlisle Railway to the west of Pen-y-ghent....
and "Londsdale
Lonsdale (hundred)
Lonsdale was a hundred of Lancashire, England. For many decades, it covered most of the northwestern part of Lancashire around Morecambe Bay, including the detached part around Furness, and the city of Lancaster....
" - the latter two sometimes apparently being interpreted as indicating possession of at least part of what would become the Wapentake of Ewcross
Ewcross
Ewcross was a wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It included the parishes of Bentham, Clapham, Horton in Ribblesdale and Sedburgh and parts of Thornton in Lonsdale....
in the West Riding of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
.
William de Lancaster is often described as having been a Baron of Kendal
Barony of Kendal
The Barony of Kendal is a subdivision of the English county of Westmorland. It is one of two baronies in the county, the other being the Barony of Westmorland, and contains within it the wards of Kendal and Lonsdale...
. In fact this is not so clear. William Farrer wrote, in the Introduction to his Records of Kendal:
After a careful review of the evidence which has been sketched above, the author is of opinion that no barony or reputed barony of Kentdale existed prior to the grants of 1189–90; and that neither William de LANCASTER, son of Gilbert, nor William de LANCASTER II, his son and successor, can be rightly described as "baron" of Kentdale.
Part of the problem comes from the time he lived in:
- Fewer records were kept than later times.
- InheritanceInheritanceInheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
rules and other regularities which help us guess what happened in the later Middle AgesMiddle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
were not yet fixed and predictable in their workings. - William lived in a time of turmoil, with two rival claims to the throne of England (Stephen of EnglandStephen of EnglandStephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
and Empress MatildaEmpress MatildaEmpress Matilda , also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood...
) and a major period of Scottish rule under David I of ScotlandDavid I of ScotlandDavid I or Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians and later King of the Scots...
in the Northwest of England where William's holdings were.
What became the Barony of Kendal is generally accepted as having come together under Ivo de Taillebois
Ivo de Taillebois
Ivo Taillebois was a powerful Norman nobleman in 11th century England.The name Taillebose or Taillebois, means "cut bush" in French, but the reasons for using this name are not known. There is a town named Taillebois in Lower Normandy for example, with which people using this surname may have been...
(d. 1094) in the time of William Rufus. And, as will be discussed below, at least in later generations William was depicted by his family as having been a Taillebois. A continuity is therefore often asserted between what Ivo held, and what William later held, despite the fact that William had no known hereditary claim on Kendal. (This is apparently also the reason for the frequent assertion that William held the entire wapentake of Ewcross, even though it seems that the family of Roger de Mowbray kept hold of at least Burton in Kendal. William held two parts of it, mentioned above, while Ivo had held another, Clapham. The rest is speculation.)
According to Farrer, the Barony of Kendal became a real barony only in the time of William's grand daughter Hawise, who married Gilbert son of Roger fitz Reinfrid. Both he and his son William de Lancaster III, both successors of William de Lancaster I (and possibly of Ivo de Taillebois) were certainly Barons of Kendal.
The Scottish period
Egremont Castle. During the Scottish occupation, according to several websites, William was castellan in the castle of EgremontEgremont, Cumbria
Egremont is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Copeland in Cumbria, England, south of Whitehaven and on the River Ehen. The town, which lies at the foot of Uldale Valley and Dent Fell, was historically within Cumberland and has a long industrial heritage including dyeing, weaving and...
under William fitz Duncan
William fitz Duncan
William fitz Duncan was a Scottish prince, a territorial magnate in northern Scotland and northern England, a general and the legitimate son of king Donnchad II of Scotland by Athelreda of Dunbar.In 1094, his father Donnchad II was killed by Mormaer Máel Petair of...
. Others have suggested that his later enfeoffments and good marriage perhaps suggest that he played a role in leading the fight back against Scotland.
Note that, if it be accepted that William ever held Ewcross
Ewcross
Ewcross was a wapentake of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. It included the parishes of Bentham, Clapham, Horton in Ribblesdale and Sedburgh and parts of Thornton in Lonsdale....
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, then it is probably during this period William seems to have lost control of some of them, which were later not in his possession.
Concerning other specific holdings and ranks
FurnessFurness
Furness is a peninsula in south Cumbria, England. At its widest extent, it is considered to cover the whole of North Lonsdale, that part of the Lonsdale hundred that is an exclave of the historic county of Lancashire, lying to the north of Morecambe Bay....
and the Forests. According to a later grant to Gilbert Fitz Reinfrid, William must have held some position over the whole forest of Westmarieland (the Northern or Appleby Barony of Westmorland), Kendal and Furness. His claims in Furness may have gone beyond just the forest, but this appears to have put him in conflict with the claims of the Furness Abbey, and this conflict continued over many generations. His family may have had links there before him. Some websites report that his father Gilbert was known as "Gilbert of Furness". (This apparently comes from a 17th century note by Benjamin Ayloffe, mentioned below.)
Lancaster Castle. According to Dugdale, the eminent English antiquarian, he was governor of Lancaster Castle
Lancaster Castle
Lancaster Castle is a medieval castle located in Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire. Its early history is unclear, but may have been founded in the 11th century on the site of a Roman fort overlooking a crossing of the River Lune. In 1164, the Honour of Lancaster, including the...
in the reign of Henry II
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
, about 1180. Little is known about how William came to hold the honour of Lancaster and use the surname, but it is sometimes suggested that it implies connections to royalty, perhaps coming from his apparent marriage to Gundred de Warrenne (or was this just yet another reward for some forgotten service, perhaps against the Scots?).
Seneschal. According to a note written by the 17th century antiquarian Benjamin Ayloffe, which is reproduced in the introduction of Walford Selby's collection of Lancashire and Cheshire Records, p.xxix, William was Seneschallus Hospitii Regis, or steward of the king's household. The same note also states that William's father was the kings "Receiver for the County of Lancaster".
Ancestry
It appears relatively sure that William's father was named Gilbert, and his mother was Godith. They are both mentioned clearly in a benefaction of William to St Mary de Pré and William was often referred to as William the son of Gilbert (fitz Gilbert).William was also said to have descended from both Ivo de Taillebois
Ivo de Taillebois
Ivo Taillebois was a powerful Norman nobleman in 11th century England.The name Taillebose or Taillebois, means "cut bush" in French, but the reasons for using this name are not known. There is a town named Taillebois in Lower Normandy for example, with which people using this surname may have been...
and Eldred of Workington, contemporaries of William Rufus, but the exact nature of the relationship is unclear and indeed controversial. Most likely, the connection is through daughters or illegitimate sons of these two men. Some sources exist, of which a discussion follows:-
1. Taillebois and Workington both? Once the most widespread account, that Ivo was simply the father Eldred, and Eldred the father (or grandfather) of Gilbert, now seems to be wrong, or at least has gone out of favor. The two authorities for a direct line of father-son descent from Ivo to Eldred to Ketel to Gilbert to William de Lancaster were records made much later in Cockersand Abbey and St Mary's Abbey in Yorkshire.
2. Taillebois through his father. A connection to the Taillebois family, if it was indeed one family, is mainly based upon a record in the Coucher Book of Furness Abbey
Furness Abbey
Furness Abbey, or St. Mary of Furness is a former monastery situated on the outskirts of the English town of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. The abbey dates back to 1123 and was once the second wealthiest and most powerful Cistercian monastery in the country, behind only Fountains Abbey in North...
, concord number CCVI, wherein Helewise, granddaughter and heir of William is party. In the genealogical notice it is claimed that William had been known as William de Tailboys, before receiving the right to be called "Willelmum de Lancastre, Baronem de Kendale". This is the only relatively contemporary evidence for this assertion however, and the facts in this document are also questioned by Farrer and Curwen, as discussed above, because they say that William was probably not Baron of Kendal, but rather an under-lord there.
There was a Tailboys family present in Westmorland during the 12th century, for example in Cliburn
Cliburn
Cliburn is a village and civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England. The civil parish includes the hamlet of Town Head. In 2001 the population was 204.-History:...
, and these were presumably relatives of William de Lancaster. This family used the personal name Ivo at least once.
3. Workington through his mother. Concerning the connection to Eldred, in a Curia Regis Roll item dated 1212, R., 55, m. 6, Helewise and her husband Gilbert Fitz Reinfrid make claims based upon the fact that "Ketel filius Eutret" was an "antecessor" of Helewise. This could mean he was an ancestor, but it could also perhaps merely mean he was a predecessor more generally.
More definitively one charter to St Leonard's York William refers to Ketel, the son of Elred, as his avunculus, which would literally mean "maternal uncle" (but the word was not always used precisely, the more general meaning of uncle might have been intended). A 1357 charter printed by Reverend F. W. Ragg in 1910 repeats the claim that Ketel son of Aldred was the avunculus of William son of Gilbert.
Therefore Godith may have been a daughter of Elred of Workington, while Gilbert may have been a relative of Ivo de Taillebois, either through illegitimate sons, or perhaps one of his seeming brothers.
Descendants and relatives
William married Gundreda, perhaps his second wife, who was said to be the daughter of William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of SurreyWilliam de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey
William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey was the son of William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey and his first wife Gundred. He is more often referred to as Earl Warenne or Earl of Warenne than as Earl of Surrey....
and Elizabeth of Vermandois. She was the widow of Roger, the Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is a title that has been created four times in British history and is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the British Isles.-1088 creation:...
. Note that King Stephen's son, William, married Gundred's niece, Isabel de Warenne. This implies a very close relationship with the King's party.
William had issue:
- Avicia, who married first to William de Peveral, and secondly to Richard de MorvilleRichard de MorvilleRichard de Morville , succeeded his father Hugh de Morville as Constable of Scotland and in his Scottish estates and English lands at Bozeat in Northamptonshire, and Rutland, as well as a number of feus of the Honour of Huntingdon....
, constable of Scotland. - William, who became William de Lancaster II, and whose legitimate heir Helewise de Lancaster married Gilbert son of Roger Fitz Reinfrid. Many modern Lancasters, especially in Cumbria, appear to descend from his two illegitimate sons, Gilbert and Jordan.
- Jordan, who died young, and is mentioned in a benefaction to St Mary de Pré in Leicester. In the same benefaction, William II is also mentioned, apparently an adult.
- Agnes who married Alexander de Windsore
- Sigrid, married to William the clerk of Garstang.
- Perhaps Warine de Lancaster, royal falconer, and ancestor of a family known as "de Lea". The charters concerning Forton in the Cockersand Chartulary say, firstly that William de Lancaster II confirmed a grant made by his father to Warine, father of Henry de Lea, and secondly, in Hugh de Morville's confirmation that this William de Lancaster I was "his uncle" (awnculi sui). The record appears to allow that William might have been either Henry's uncle or Warine's. If he was Warine's uncle then the theory is that Warine was the son of an otherwise unknown brother of William de Lancaster I named Gilbert.
Gilbert fitz Reinfrid and Helewise's son William also took up the name de Lancaster, becoming William de Lancaster III. He died without male heirs, heavily indebted, apparently due to payments demanded after he was captured at Rochester during the First Barons' War
First Barons' War
The First Barons' War was a civil war in the Kingdom of England, between a group of rebellious barons—led by Robert Fitzwalter and supported by a French army under the future Louis VIII of France—and King John of England...
, and ransomed off by his father.
William de Lancaster III's half brother Roger de Lancaster of Rydal inherited some of the Lancaster importance. It is thought that Roger was a son of Gilbert Fitz Reinfrid, but not of Helewise de Lancaster. Roger is widely thought to be the ancestor of the Lancasters of Howgill and Rydal in Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
. (In fact the line starts with one John de Lancaster of Howgill, whose connection to Roger de Lancaster and his son, John de Lancaster of Grisedale and Stanstead
Stanstead, Suffolk
Stanstead is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. The name Stanstead comes from the Old English for "Stony place". Located off the B1066, it is around from Sudbury, and is part of Babergh district. It is about from the of Glemsford, from Hadleigh, and from...
, is unclear except for the fact that he took over Rydal
Rydal, Cumbria
Rydal is an English village located in the shire county of Cumbria, which is in North West England. Historically within Westmorland, the village of Rydal is situated on the A591 road....
and Grasmere
Grasmere
Grasmere is a village, and popular tourist destination, in the centre of the English Lake District. It takes its name from the adjacent lake, and is associated with the Lake Poets...
from the latter John.)
The Lancasters of Sockbridge, Crake Trees, Brampton
Brampton, Carlisle, Cumbria
Brampton is a small market town and civil parish within the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England about 9 miles east of Carlisle and 2 miles south of Hadrian's Wall. It is situated off the A69 road which bypasses it...
, Dacre
Dacre, Cumbria
Dacre is a small village and civil parish in the Lake District National Park in the Eden District of Cumbria, England, and was historically in Cumberland...
, and several other manors in Westmorland
Westmorland
Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...
and Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
, were apparently descended from William de Lancaster II's illegitimate son Gilbert de Lancaster. Many or perhaps all of the old Lancaster families found throughout Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
seem to descend from Gilbert and his brother Jordan.
The de Lea family eventually lost power in the time of Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, a member of the Plantagenet royal family, with whom they had become allied during his rebellion.
Another Lancaster family, in Rainhill
Rainhill
Rainhill is a large village and civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England.Historically a part of Lancashire, Rainhill was formerly a township within the ecclesiastical parish of Prescot, and hundred of West Derby...
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, also seems to have claimed descent, given that they used the same coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
as Gilbert Fitz Reinfrid and his sons (argent, two bars gules, with a canton of the second, and a "lion of England", either white or gold, in the canton). However the exact nature of the link, if any, is unknown.
Further reading
- "The Lancaster Family" H.F. Lancaster 1902 Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
Call CS71.L245 1902 - Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700 by Frederick Lewis Weis, Lines 34-24, 38-25, 88-25.
- Keats-Rohan Domesday Descendants
- William DugdaleWilliam DugdaleSir William Dugdale was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject.-Life:...
's Monasticon. Cockersand Abbey, St Mary's Abbey in Yorkshire, and St Leonard's in Yorkshire.
External links
- Notes on the Westmorland de Lancasters, Barons of Kendal, and their origins
- Notes by Andrew Lancaster on the Lancaster Surname
- Steve Hissem's De Lancaster Webpage
- The Lancaster webpage on the Stirnet Website
- A Debate on the GEN-MEDIEVAL Rootsweb List
- Paul Lawrence's webpage concerning the Lawrence family of Ashton who descend from the de Lancasters