Robert D'Oyly was a 12th-century
English
English usually refers to:
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nobleman, son of
Nigel D'Oyly, and nephew of
Robert D'Oyly, founder of
Oxford Castle.
Robert married
Edith Forne
Edith Forne (d. after 1129), was an English people, English noblewoman who was the concubine of King Henry I of England and the foundress of Osney Abbey near Oxford.
She was the daughter of Forn Sigulfson, Lord of Greystoke, Cumbria, Greystoke, Cu ...
, daughter of Lord Greystoke, who had been King
Henry I of England
Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in ...
's concubine, in 1120. The marriage also meant Robert became Lord of the Manor of
Cleydon.
[''Victoria County History of Oxford Volume IV'' by Alan Crossley, 1969]
In 1129, he was persuaded by his wife to build the Church of
St Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
, in the Isle of
Osney
Osney or Osney Island (; an earlier spelling of the name is ''Oseney'') is a riverside community in the west of the city of Oxford, England. In modern times the name is applied to a community also known as Osney Town astride Botley Road, just we ...
, near
Oxford Castle, for the use of
Augustine Monks—this was to become
Osney Abbey.
By 1141 Robert had inherited his father's position of Lord of
Oxford Castle and Baron Hocknorton and it was he that declared his support for
Empress Matilda
Empress Matilda ( 7 February 110210 September 1167), also known as the Empress Maude, was one of the claimants to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as ...
against
King Stephen, giving her protection in Oxford between 1141 and the winter of 1142.
It is because of this action that Stephen came to Oxford and
besieged the castle for three months, burning the city down in the process. Matilda supposedly escaped by dressing in white as a form of camouflage against the snow-covered ground, and fleeing across the frozen
Castle Mill Stream. It is likely that Robert died shortly after this as governorship of the castle changed hands, though whether his death was at the hands of the King is not known.
Robert and Edith had at least two children—Henry, buried at Osney in 1163,
and Gilbert. Henry became 4th Baron Hocknorton and Kings Constable and married Margery, daughter of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford.
Robert was buried at
Eynsham
Eynsham is an English village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire, about north-west of Oxford and east of Witney. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 4,648. It was estimated at 5,0 ...
, Oxfordshire.
References
The baronetage of England
11th-century births
Anglo-Normans
Norman warriors
People from Eynsham
People from Oxford
Year of death unknown
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