Richard FitzRoy (c. 1190 – June 1246) (''alias'' Richard de Chilham and Richard de Dover
[Sanders, I.J. ''English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086–1327'', Oxford, 1960, p. 111, note 5]) was the illegitimate son of King
John of England
John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Emp ...
and was
feudal baron of
Chilham,
[ in ]Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. His mother was Adela, his father's first cousin and a daughter of Hamelin de Warenne
Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey ( 1130 – 7 May 1202) (''alias'' Hamelin of Anjou and, anachronistically,"It is much to be wished that the surname "Plantagenet," which since the time of Charles II, has been freely given to all descendants of ...
by his wife Isabel de Warenne, 4th Countess of Surrey.
Richard served in his father's army as a captain during the baronial revolt. In 1216 he was made constable of Wallingford Castle
Wallingford Castle was a major medieval castle situated in Wallingford in the English county of Oxfordshire (historically Berkshire), adjacent to the River Thames. Established in the 11th century as a motte-and-bailey design within an Anglo-Sa ...
. The following year he took a prominent part in a naval battle off the Kent coast.
Richard had scutage
Scutage is a medieval English tax levied on holders of a knight's fee under the feudal land tenure of knight-service. Under feudalism the king, through his vassals, provided land to knights for their support. The knights owed the king military s ...
for Poitou
Poitou (, , ; ; Poitevin: ''Poetou'') was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers. Both Poitou and Poitiers are named after the Pictones Gallic tribe.
Geography
The main historical cities are Poitiers (historical c ...
in 1214. By right of his wife he became Lord of Chingford
Chingford is a town in east London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. The town is approximately north-east of Charing Cross, with Waltham Abbey to the north, Woodford Green and Buckhurst Hill to the east, Walthamstow t ...
, Little Wyham and Great Wenden, all in Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
, and Lesnes, Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, and Lutton, 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 ...
.[https://archive.org/stream/victoriahistoryo02adki#page/584/mode/2up Victoria County History of Northamptonshire: Lutton] However, in 1229 their manor of Chingford Earls was temporarily in the hands of a creditor, Robert de Winchester. In 1242 they leased the advowson
Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living ...
of Chingford to William of York, Provost of Beverley.
Before 11 May 1214, Richard married Rohese de Dover, daughter and heiress of Fulbert de Dover by his spouse Isabel, daughter of William Briwere. Their children were:
# Richard de Dover, feudal baron of Chilham, married Matilda, 6th Countess of Angus
# Isabella, married 1247 Sir Maurice de Berkeley of Berkeley, Gloucestershire.
# Lorette (d.bef.1265), married 1248 Sir William Marmion, 2nd Baron Marmion of Winteringham and of Tanfield, Yorkshire.
Richard's widow remarried, between 1250 and 1253, William de Wilton (killed at the Battle of Lewes
The Battle of Lewes was one of two main battles of the conflict known as the Second Barons' War. It took place at Lewes in Sussex, on 14 May 1264. It marked the high point of the career of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, and made h ...
), a prominent justice. She died shortly before 11 February 1261, when there was a grant of her lands and heirs to the Queen, Eleanor of Provence. Rohese's heart was buried at Lesnes Abbey
Lesnes Abbey is a former abbey, now ruined, in Abbey Wood, in the London Borough of Bexley, southeast London, England. It is a scheduled monument, and the abbey's ruins are listed at Grade II by Historic England. The adjacent Lesnes Abbey W ...
.
References
Bibliography
*
* Given-Wilson & Curteis. ''The Royal Bastards of Medieval England'', 1995
* Oxford University Press, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', 2004
* Richardson, Douglas, ''Plantagenet Ancestry'', Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, 2004, p. 48,
*
1190s births
1246 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Richard FitzRoy
Illegitimate children of English monarchs
Children of John, King of England
Christians of the Fifth Crusade
Sons of kings
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