Ralph de Pomeroy (died pre-1100) (''alias'' de la Pomeroy, Pomeraie, Pomerei, etc.) was one of the 52

Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief The Domesday Book of 1086 lists in the following order the tenants-in-chief in Devonshire of King William the Conqueror: * Osbern FitzOsbern (died 1103), Bishop of Exeter *Geoffrey de Montbray (died 1093), Bishop of Coutances * Glastonbury Church, ...

of King

William the Conqueror 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 House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

and was the first feudal baron of Berry Pomeroy in Devon. He held 58 landholdings in Devon.

Origins

He was from La Pommeraye,

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Nor ...

in Normandy. His brother was

William Cheever William Cheever ( 1086) (''alias'' Chievre) ( Latinised to ''Capra'', "she-goat",Thorn & Thorn, part 2 (notes) chap.19 from French ''chèvre'') was one of the 52 Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief of King William the Conqueror. He held 46 landho ...

({{Floruit 1086), whose 46

Domesday Book 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 manus ...

holdings later formed the

feudal barony of Bradninch {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 The feudal barony of Bradninch was one of eight8 per Sanders, 1960; Pole, pp.1-31, listed 12 feudal baronies in Devonshire which existed during the mediaeval era, and had its '' caput'' at the manor of Bradninch. O ...

, Devon. Many of the holdings of the two brothers had been split from single manors into two parts, one for each brother. His sister was Beatrix, who held from her other brother William Cheever the manor of Southleigh.

Career

He participated in the

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 Con ...

of England in 1066, for which services he was rewarded by the grant of 58 manors or other holdings in Devon and 2 manors in Somerset. He is said by historian John Lambrick Vivian (1895) to have been a benefactor to the Hospital of St John the Baptist at

Falaise Falaise may refer to: Places * Falaise, Ardennes, France * Falaise, Calvados, France ** The Falaise pocket was the site of a battle in the Second World War * La Falaise, in the Yvelines ''département'', France * The Falaise escarpment in Quebe ...

in Normandy, which was not, however, founded until 1127, therefore after his supposed date of death of 1100. He was one of the two commissioners appointed to carry to the royal treasury at Winchester the tax collected in Devon resulting from the assessment made upon the Domesday Book survey.Vivian, p.605

Death and succession

He died before 1100, leaving several sons, of whom the eldest and his heir was William de la Pomeroy (died before 1114).

Sources

*Thorn, Caroline & Frank, (eds.) Domesday Book, (Morris, John, gen.ed.) Vol. 9, Devon, Parts 1 & 2, Phillimore Press, Chichester, 1985. (Parts 1 & 2 chapter 34, holdings of Ralph of Pomeroy) *Sanders, I.J. English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086-1327, Oxford, 1960 (Pages 106-7, Barony of Berry Pomeroy) * Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, pp. 605–9, pedigree of ''Pomeroy of Berry Pomeroy''

References

Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief 11th-century English people Anglo-Normans