Henry de Ferrers (died by 1100), magnate and administrator, was a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

who after the 1066

Norman conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...

was awarded extensive lands in England.

Origins

He was the eldest son of Vauquelin de Ferrers and in about 1040 inherited his father's lands centred on the village of

Ferrières-Saint-Hilaire Ferrières-Saint-Hilaire () is a commune in the Eure department in the Normandy region in northern France. Population Personalities * Henry de Ferrers's family came from here before he joined William the conqueror to invade England. Henry wa ...

Career

In England he progressively acquired landholdings, which he had to manage. As one of the leading magnates, he also served King

William I of England William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 108 ...

and his successor William II in administrative capacities and is said to have been

castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...

Stafford Castle Stafford Castle is an ancient Grade II listed castle situated two miles west of the town of Stafford in Staffordshire, England. From the time of the Norman Conquest and as recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 it was the seat of the powerful Ang ...

. In about 1080, he and his wife founded

Tutbury Priory Tutbury Priory was a Benedictine monastery in Tutbury, Staffordshire, England, founded in 1080 by Henry de Ferrers as a dependency of the abbey of Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives in Normandy and completed in 1089, in memory of King William the Conqueror an ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, and in 1086 he was one of the royal commissioners in charge of the

Domesday survey Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

, which records his 210 manors.''Domesday Book: A Complete Translation''. London: Penguin, 2003. p. 656-7 744-9 He died between September 1093 and September 1100 and was buried in Tutbury Priory. West front of Tutbury Parish Church - geograph

West front of Tutbury Parish Church - geograph

Landholdings

His first three tranches of land came to him from dispossessed English holders. First, in about 1066 or 1067, he was granted the lands of Goderic, the former

sheriff of Berkshire The High Sheriff of Berkshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff#United King ...

, in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

and

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. Then, by about the end of 1068, he obtained lands in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

, Buttsbury in Essex and

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, as well as more in Berkshire, that had belonged to Bondi the Staller. Finally, after the 1071 revolt, he was awarded the lands of

Siward Barn Siward Barn ( ang, Sigeweard Bearn) was an 11th-century English thegn and landowner-warrior. He appears in the extant sources in the period following the Norman Conquest of England, joining the northern resistance to William the Conqueror by th ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

and

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

as well as further lands in Berkshire and Essex. Also after the revolt, he became holder of the

Wapentake A hundred is an administrative division that is geographically part of a larger region. It was formerly used in England, Wales, some parts of the United States, Denmark, Southern Schleswig, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, C ...

of Appletree centred on

Tutbury Castle Tutbury Castle is a largely ruined medieval castle at Tutbury, Staffordshire, England, in the ownership of the Duchy of Lancaster and hence currently of King Charles III. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. People who have stayed in the castle ...

, which had been in the hands of

Hugh d'Avranches Hugh d'Avranches ( 1047 – 27 July 1101), nicknamed ''le Gros'' (the Large) or ''Lupus'' (the Wolf), was from 1071 the second Norman Earl of Chester and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. Early life and career Hugh d'Avra ...

and stretched across Derbyshire,

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

and

. Among his under-tenants were members of families believed to have come from villages near his original home at Ferrières-Saint-Hilaire, such as the

Curzon Curzon may refer to: People Americans * Aria Curzon (born 1987), American actress * Walter de Curzon Poultney (1845–1929), one of Baltimore, Maryland's most colorful and flamboyant high-society members Britons * Christopher Curzon (born 1958), ...

s from

Notre-Dame-de-Courson Notre-Dame-de-Courson () is a former commune in the department of Calvados in the Normandy region in northwestern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Livarot-Pays-d'Auge. History Notre-Dame-de-Courson fell in medie ...

, the Baskervilles from

Saint-Martin-de-Boscherville Saint-Martin-de-Boscherville is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A residential village situated by the banks of the river Seine, some west of Rouen at the junction of the D67, D2 ...

and the

Levett Levett is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from eLivet, which is held particularly by families and individuals resident in England and British Commonwealth territories. Origins This surname comes from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, no ...

s from

Jonquerets-de-Livet Jonquerets-de-Livet (), also ''Les Jonquerets-de-Livet'' (), is a former commune in the Eure department in Normandy, France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Mesnil-en-Ouche. It incorporates the village of ''Livet-en-Ouch ...

Family

With his wife Bertha he had four known children: # William, probably the eldest, who inherited the estates in Normandy and was a supporter of Duke

Robert Curthose Robert Curthose, or Robert II of Normandy ( 1051 – 3 February 1134, french: Robert Courteheuse / Robert II de Normandie), was the eldest son of William the Conqueror and succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in 1087, reigning until 1106. ...

. # Enguenulph, keeper of Duffield Castle in

,Turbutt, G., (1999) ''A History of Derbyshire. Volume 2: Medieval Derbyshire,'' Cardiff: Merton Priory Press who did not long outlive his father. #

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, who inherited the estates in England and was made Earl of Derby. # Amice, who married Nigel d'Aubigny of Cainhoe, probable builder of

Cainhoe Castle Cainhoe Castle was an 11th-century Norman castle, located near the village of Clophill, in the county of Bedfordshire, England. Cainhoe Castle was a motte and triple bailey castle, built by Nigel d'Aubigny, a Norman Knight, sometime after the Nor ...

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferrers, Henry de Anglo-Normans People from Tutbury 11th-century Normans