Sir Gilbert Aton (died after 10 April 1350), of

West Ayton West Ayton is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. Located upon the west bank of the River Derwent adjacent to East Ayton. According to the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 UK census, West Ayton parish had a po ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, was an English landowner, soldier and administrator.

Origins

Born before 1289, he was the son and heir of William Aton (died before 1308), of West Ayton, and his wife Isabel, daughter of Sir Simon Vere, of

Goxhill __NOTOC__ Goxhill is a village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 2,290. It is situated east from Barton-upon-Humber and north-west from Immingham. Goxhill was par ...

and

Sproatley Sproatley is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately north-east of Hull city centre and north of Hedon at the junction of the B1238 and B1240 roads. The village church, dedicated t ...

, and his wife Ada Bertram.

Career

Involved from an early age in the wars of King

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...

against the Scots, he was knighted in 1306, on the same day as the future King

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

, who in 1308 granted him

free warren A free warren—often simply warren—is a type of Exclusive franchise or Privilege (legal ethics), privilege conveyed by a sovereign in medieval England to an English subject, promising to hold them harmless for killing game (hunting), g ...

in his inherited lands at Barlby, South Holme and North Holme, Welham in Malton, and

Knapton Knapton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Knapton is located south-east of Cromer and north-east of Norwich, along the B1145. History Knapton's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for ...

. When the last Baron Vescy, was killed at the battle of Bannockburn in 1314, he was recognised as heir to his lands at Langton,

Wintringham Wintringham is a new community forming part of St Neots, in the civil parish of St Neots, in the Huntingdonshire administrative district, of the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. Wintringham is a phase 2 of Love's Farm, on the ...

and Malton. The relationship was remote, Vescy being his second cousin twice removed. Part of Vescy's lands went to Antony Bek, the bishop of Durham, including

Alnwick Castle Alnwick Castle () is a castle and country house in Alnwick in the English county of Northumberland. It is the seat of the Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland, 12th Duke of Northumberland, built following the Norman Conquest and renovated an ...

which he obtained from the bishop and sold to

Henry Percy, 2nd Baron Percy Henry Percy, 9th Baron Percy of Topcliffe, 2nd Baron Percy of Alnwick (6 February 1301 – 26 February 1352) was the son of Henry de Percy, 1st Baron Percy of Alnwick, and Eleanor Fitzalan, daughter of Sir Richard FitzAlan, 8th Earl of Arundel, a ...

, whose daughter Isabel was married to his son. As a warrior and landowner on the fringes of the aristocracy, he was summoned three times to the King's

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

, in 1324, 1325 and in 1342. He made his will on 10 April 1350, naming as heir his son, to whom he had already transferred some if not all of his property, and asking to be buried at

Watton Priory Watton Priory was a priory of the Gilbertine Order at Watton in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The double monastery was founded in 1150 by Eustace fitz John. The present building dates mainly from the fourteenth and fifteenth ce ...

Family

The name of his wife has not survived and his only known child was his son

William Aton Sir William Aton (died before March 1389), sometimes called Baron Aton, of West Ayton, Barlby, South Holme, South Holme and North Holme, Welham, Malton, Welham, Langton, North Yorkshire, Langton, Wintringham, North Yorkshire, Wintringham, Malto ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aton, Sir Gilbert 1280s births 1350 deaths People from the East Riding of Yorkshire Medieval English knights Members of the Privy Council of England