Walter de Huntercombe, 1st Baron Huntercombe (1247–1313) was an English military commander during the

Wars of Scottish Independence The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of military campaigns fought between the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England in the late 13th and early 14th centuries. The First War (1296–1328) began with the English invasion of ...

and a Governor of Edinburgh Castle. Around 1283 Huntercombe took part in a military expedition into Wales which was part of the wider

Conquest of Wales by Edward I The conquest of Wales by Edward I took place between 1277 and 1283. It is sometimes referred to as the Edwardian Conquest of Wales,Examples of historians using the term include Professor J. E. Lloyd, regarded as the founder of the modern academi ...

. He was appointed constable at the newly taken

Castell y Bere Castell y Bere is a Welsh castle near Llanfihangel-y-pennant in Gwynedd, Wales. Constructed by Llywelyn the Great in the 1220s, the stone castle was intended to maintain his authority over the local people and to defend the south-west part of ...

, building a new chamber at the castle during his residence. “The king has committed in like manner to Walter de Huntercomb the castle of Bere, and has granted to him 200 marks yearly for the custody, to be received as above, on condition that he shall have continuously there in garrison at the castle at his cost forty fencible men, of whom fifteen shall be crossbowmen, one chaplain, one artiller, a carpenter, a mason and a smith, and of the others shall be made janitors, watchmen and other ministers of the castle. Order is given to all bailiffs etc (as in preceding).” On 4 June 1290, Huntercombe took possession of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

for

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 vassa ...

; the island had previously been under the control of the Scots. In early 1293 Edward I ordered Huntercombe to relinquish the island to

John Balliol John Balliol ( – late 1314), known derisively as ''Toom Tabard'' (meaning "empty coat" – coat of arms), was King of Scots from 1292 to 1296. Little is known of his early life. After the death of Margaret, Maid of Norway, Scotland entered an ...

, the

King of Scots The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the sovereign state, state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thoug ...

. and Edward's vassal. In 1294, Edward summoned Huntercombe to

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

because of the French occupation of the

Duchy of Gascony The Duchy of Gascony or Duchy of Vasconia ( eu, Baskoniako dukerria; oc, ducat de Gasconha; french: duché de Gascogne, duché de Vasconie) was a duchy located in present-day southwestern France and northeastern Spain, an area encompassing the m ...

. In June 1295, he was rewarded for his service by being created Baron Huntercombe. His arms were ermine, two bars gemells

gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...

The Wars of Scottish Independence

In 1296 and 1297 Huntercombe took part in the

. By his own testimony, he was at the Capture of Berwick with 20 mailed horses, and at the

Battle of Stirling Bridge The Battle of Stirling Bridge ( gd, Blàr Drochaid Shruighlea) was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne ...

with 32 horses. In 1298 he was appointed Governor of Edinburgh Castle. Huntercombe was also appointed Sheriff of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Linlithgow Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...

and Haddington. In 1307 he successfully petitioned the King to be released from the duty to pay

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 the two Scottish wars, in addition to being granted permission to levy scutage from his tenants. Huntercombe argued for these privileges on the basis that he had served in both wars. Huntercombe died in 1313 without issue, and his barony became extinct.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Huntercombe, Walter de Huntercombe, 1st Baron English people of the Wars of Scottish Independence Barons in the Peerage of England 1247 births 1313 deaths 13th-century English people 14th-century English people