![John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/John_Hastings%2C_1st_Baron_Hastings.jpg)
John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings (6 May 1262 – 28 February 1313), feudal
Lord of Abergavenny, was an English
peer and soldier. He was one of the
Competitors for the Crown of Scotland
When the crown of Scotland became vacant in September 1290 on the death of the seven-year-old Queen Margaret, 13 claimants to the throne came forward. Those with the most credible claims were John Balliol, Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale, ...
in 1290/92 in the
Great Cause
When the crown of Scotland became vacant in September 1290 on the death of the seven-year-old Queen Margaret, 13 claimants to the throne came forward. Those with the most credible claims were John Balliol, Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale, ...
and signed and sealed the
Barons' Letter of 1301
The Barons' Letter of 1301 was written by seven English earls and 96 English barons to Pope Boniface VIII as a repudiation of his claim of feudal overlordship of Scotland (expressed in the Bull Scimus Fili), and as a defence of the rights of Ki ...
. He was Lord of the
Manor of Hunningham
Hunningham is a medieval manor located in the West Midlands (region) of Warwickshire, England. Its location is just over three miles northeast of Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. The River Leam – located on Hellidon Hill in Northamptonshire, ...
.
Origins
He was born in 1262 at
Allesley
Allesley is an English suburban village and civil parish in the City of Coventry metropolitan borough, West Midlands, about 3¼ miles (5.25 km) west-northwest of Coventry city centre and 4 miles (6.5 km) east-south-east of Meriden. ...
, near
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
in Warwickshire, the eldest son of
Henry de Hastings
Henry de Hastings (c. 1235–c. 1268) of Ashill, Norfolk,G. E. Cokayne, ''The Complete Peerage'', n.s., vol.VI, p.345 was a supporter of Simon de Montfort in his rebellion against King Henry III. He led the Londoners at the Battle of Lewes in 1264 ...
(c. 1235 – c. 1268) who was summoned to Parliament by
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...
as Lord Hastings in 1263. Although following the defeat of de Montfort this peerage creation was not recognized by King
Henry III, John Hastings is sometimes referred to as the second Baron Hastings. His mother (whose father
William III de Cantilupe
William III de Cantilupe (died 25 September 1254) (anciently Cantelow, Cantelou, Canteloupe, Latinised to de Cantilupo) was the 3rd feudal baron of Eaton Bray in Bedfordshire, and '' jure uxoris'' (in right of his wife Eva de Braose, heiress of ...
(d. 1254) had purchased the wardship and marriage of Henry de Hastings) was the heiress Joanna de Cantilupe (d. 1271), one of the two sisters and co-heiresses of Sir
George de Cantilupe
George de Cantilupe (1252–1273) (anciently ''Cantelow, Cantelou, Canteloupe, etc'', Latinised to ''de Cantilupo'') The spelling used by modern historians is "de Cantilupe", which is followed in this article was Lord of Abergavenny from the Mar ...
(1251-1273), 4th
feudal baron of Eaton Bray in
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 ...
and
feudal Lord of Abergavenny.
Career
In 1273, he became the 13th Lord of Abergavenny on the death of his childless uncle, Sir George de Cantilupe, and thereby acquired
Abergavenny Castle
Abergavenny Castle ( cy, Castell y Fenni) is a ruined castle in the market town of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales, established by the Norman lord Hamelin de Balun . It was the site of a massacre of Welsh noblemen in 1175, and was attacked ...
and the vast lands of the
honour of Abergavenny. He also inherited many Cantilupe estates including
Aston Cantlow
Aston Cantlow is a village in Warwickshire, England, on the River Alne north-west of Stratford-upon-Avon and north-west of Wilmcote, close to Little Alnoe, Shelfield, and Newnham.'Aston Cantlow', A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 3: ...
in Warwickshire, one of that family's seats.
He fought from the 1290s in the Scottish, Irish and French 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, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal ...
and held the offices of
Seneschal of Gascony The Seneschal of Gascony was an officer carrying out and managing the domestic affairs of the lord of the Duchy of Gascony. During the course of the twelfth century, the seneschalship, also became an office of military command. After 1360, the off ...
and
Lieutenant of Aquitaine
The Lieutenant of the Duchy of Aquitaine was an officer charged with governing the Duchy of Aquitaine on behalf of the King of England. Unlike the seneschalcy of Gascony, the lieutenancy was not a permanent office. Lieutenants were appointed in ti ...
simultaneously. In 1290 he had unsuccessfully contested the crown of the
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland (; , ) was a sovereign state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a l ...
as a grandson of Ada, third daughter of
David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon
David of Scotland ( Medieval Gaelic: ''Dabíd'') (1152 – 17 June 1219) was a Scottish prince and 8th Earl of Huntingdon. He was, until 1198, heir to the Scottish throne.
Life
He was the youngest surviving son of Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl ...
, who was a grandson of
King David I
David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim ( Modern: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th-century ruler who was Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 1124 and later King of Scotland from 1124 to 1153. The youngest son of Mal ...
of Scotland. Also in 1290 he was summoned to the English Parliament as
Lord Hastings
Baron Hastings is a title that has been created three times. The first creation was in the Peerage of England in 1290, and is extant. The second creation was in the Peerage of England in 1299, and became extinct on the death of the first holder in ...
, which created him a peer. In February 1300/1 he had
licence to crenellate
In medieval England, Wales and the Channel Islands a licence to crenellate (or licence to fortify) granted the holder permission to fortify his property. Such licences were granted by the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within th ...
his manor and town of
Fillongley
Fillongley is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of Warwickshire in England. The village is centred on the crossroads of the B4102 (which connects Solihull and Nuneaton) and the B4098 (connecting Coventry and Tamwor ...
in Warwickshire.
He signed and sealed the
Barons' Letter of 1301
The Barons' Letter of 1301 was written by seven English earls and 96 English barons to Pope Boniface VIII as a repudiation of his claim of feudal overlordship of Scotland (expressed in the Bull Scimus Fili), and as a defence of the rights of Ki ...
to
Pope Boniface VIII, protesting against papal interference in Scottish affairs.
Marriage and children
He married twice:
*Firstly to Isabel de Valence, a daughter of
William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembroke
{{Infobox noble, name=William de Valence, christening_date=, noble family=, house-type=, father= Hugh X of Lusignan, mother=Isabella of Angoulême, birth_name=, birth_date=, birth_place=, christening_place=, styles=, death_date=13 June 1296, death ...
by whom he had children:
**William Hastings (1282–1311), eldest son and
heir apparent
An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
, who predeceased his father;
**
John Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings
John Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings (29 September 1287 – 20 January 1325) was a medieval English Baron. He was Lord of the Manor of Hunningham.
Descent
Hastings was the son of John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, also inheriting the title Ba ...
(1286-1325), eldest surviving son and heir, who married Juliane de Leybourne (d.1367) by whom he was the father of
Lawrence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke
Laurence de Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke (20 March 131920 August 1348) was a Norman English nobleman and held the titles 1st Earl of Pembroke (4th creation), Baron Abergavenny and Baron Hastings under Edward II of England and Edward III of Engl ...
.
**Joan Hastings (d.1307), who married William de Huntingfield (c.1280-1313) of
Huntingfield, Suffolk
Huntingfield is a village near the B1117 road, in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The village is close to the source of the River Blyth and the parish is 12 miles from the seaside town of Southwold. Nearby settleme ...
. Like her parents and paternal grandparents
[Dugdale, William, ''Antiquities of Warwickshire'', 1666 edition, p.115](_blank)
/ref> she was buried in the ''Hastings Chapel'' of the Greyfriars, Coventry
Greyfriars was a medieval Franciscan priory in Coventry, England. The original monastic buildings were lost in the English Reformation, Reformation; the spire standing on the site today was most recently part of a 19th-century church that was de ...
. Her grandson was William de Huntingfield, 1st Baron Huntingfield (1329–1376);
**Elizabeth Hastings, who married Roger Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Ruthyn.
*Secondly he married Isabel le Despenser, a daughter of Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester
Hugh le Despenser (1 March 126127 October 1326), sometimes referred to as "the Elder Despenser", was for a time the chief adviser to King Edward II of England. He was created a baron in 1295 and Earl of Winchester in 1322. One day after being ...
and Isabella de Beauchamp
Isabella de Beauchamp, Lady Kidwelly, Baroness Despenser (c. 1263 – before 30 May 1306), was an English noblewoman and wealthy heiress.
Family
Lady Isabella, or Isabel de Beauchamp,Hamilton, J. S"Despenser, Hugh, the elder, earl of Winchester" ...
, by whom he had further children:
**Thomas de Hastings
**Margaret de Hastings
**Sir Hugh Hastings (died 1347), of Sutton, who married Margery Foliot (grand-daughter of Jordan Foliot and of William de Braose, 2nd Baron Braose
William de Braose (–1326) was the second Baron Braose, as well as Lord of Gower and Lord of Bramber. He was held as a hostage after being captured in 1264 during the Second Barons' War and records of some of his childhood expenses survive f ...
), and left children.
Death and burial
He died in February 1313, aged 50, and was succeeded in the barony by his eldest son John Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings
John Hastings, 2nd Baron Hastings (29 September 1287 – 20 January 1325) was a medieval English Baron. He was Lord of the Manor of Hunningham.
Descent
Hastings was the son of John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings, also inheriting the title Ba ...
. He and his first wife Isabel de Valence were buried (together with his parents) in the ''Hastings Chapel'' of the Greyfriars Monastery in Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...
, 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-Av ...
(founded circa 1234), commemorated by effigies. According to Dugdale (1666) quoting from an inscription in ancient French, the stained glass windows of this chapel displayed coats of arms including: Hastings, Cumyn (wife of brother Edmund Hastings), Cantilupe, Valence, de Spenser and Huntingfield (husband of daughter Joan Hastings).[Dugdale]
Notes
References
*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990,
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, John Hastings, 1st Baron
1262 births
1313 deaths
Anglo-Normans in Wales
Norman warriors
John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings
Competitors for the Crown of Scotland
13th-century English people
14th-century English people
Barons Hastings
Seneschals of Gascony
De Cantilupe family