Sir Roger la Zouch was the instigator of the murder of

Roger de Beler Roger Beler was a Baron of the Exchequer and right-hand man of Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester, Hugh le Despencer and King Edward II of England, Edward II. Beler was killed by the Folville gang in 1326. Ancestry Beler was the son of Wi ...

and also MP for Leicestershire in 1324, 1331 and 1337 and Sheriff of Warwickshire and Leicestershire during the 1330s.

Ancestry

Roger was the son of Roger la Zouch, Lord of

Lubbesthorpe Lubbesthorpe is a hamlet and parish in the district of Blaby within Enderby on the outskirts of Leicester, on the west side of the M1 motorway and the River Soar.

(d.1303), the younger brother of

William la Zouche, 1st Baron Zouche William la Zouche, 1st Baron Zouche (1276/86–1352), lord of the manor of Harringworth in Northamptonshire, was an English baron and soldier who fought in the Wars of Scottish Independence. He is referred to in history as "of Harringworth" to d ...

Harringworth Harringworth is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located close to the border with Rutland, on the southern bank of the River Welland, and around north of Corby. At the 2001 Census, the population of the pa ...

. He was the grandson of Eudo la Zouch and Millicent, daughter of

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 th ...

, a close friend of

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 ...

. Roger's aunt, Eva, was married to the rebel

Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley (April 1271 – 31 May 1326), ''The Magnanimous'', feudal baron of Berkeley, of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, England, was a peer. He rebelled against King Edward II and the Despencers. His epit ...

who was imprisoned by the Despencers in

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 ...

and died there in 1326. Eva's son,

Thomas de Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley Thomas de Berkeley (c. 1293 or 1296 – 27 October 1361), known as ''The Rich'', feudal baron of Berkeley, of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, England, was a peer. His epithet, and that of each previous and subsequent head of his family, wa ...

was entrusted with guarding the deposed

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

in his castle but was relieved of his duty when others decided Edward was to be treated "less gentley" and died in suspicious circumstances.

Career

Roger was a supporter of

Thomas, Earl of Lancaster Thomas of Lancaster, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl of Derby, ''jure uxoris'' 4th Earl of Lincoln and ''jure uxoris'' 5th Earl of Salisbury (c. 1278 – 22 March 1322) was an English nobleman. A member of the House of Pl ...

for which he received a pardon from the king in August 1318. Zouch fought at the

Battle of Boroughbridge The Battle of Boroughbridge was fought on 16 March 1322 in England between a group of rebellious barons and the forces of King Edward II, near Boroughbridge, north-west of York. The culmination of a long period of antagonism between the King a ...

in March 1322. In January 1324 Roger was accused of raiding Hugh Despencer the Elder's lands at

Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...

and elsewhere in Leicestershire, although in a warrant issued the previous year it had been his son Roger, jnr who had been named. The

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was a ...

, who was viewed as a traitor by the Contrariants, was one of those appointed to arrest la Zouch. In 1325 Sir Roger was appointed as a Commissioner of Warwickshire and Leicestershire but was replaced in November after claiming he was detained through sickness. On 24 March 1326 the Sheriff of Leicestershire was ordered to seize the lands of Sir Roger la Zouch, Lord of Lubbesthorpe as he had been indicted for "assenting to and counselling" the death of the Baron of the Exchequer, Roger de Beler, which had been carried out by the

Folville Gang The Folville gang were an armed band operating in Leicestershire in the early 14th century, led by Eustace Folville. Criminal career The Slaying of Roger Beler 1326 In January 1326 Eustace led a band of fifty men to a valley near Rearsby and ...

. Roger fled from Leicestershire first to Wales and then probably Paris where Mortimer and the Queen were in court and his cousin Eudo la Zouch died a month later.

Death

Following Isabella and Mortimer's successful invasion of England in 1326, Edward and the Despencers were killed and pardons were issued to the men that had been accused of killing Beler. Roger la Zouch did not immediately reappear, and in 1328 his manor of Lubbesthorp was granted to his uncle William la Zouch, Lord of Harringworth who was Roger's

overlord An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or serje ...

. By 1330 a Roger la Zouch had been appointed as Sheriff of Warwickshire and Leicestershire, represented Leceistershire in Parliament in 1331 and 1337 and was again holding the manor of Lubbesthorp. Whether this was the Roger la Zouch who was exiled and returned, his son or the son of William la Zouche of Harringworth is debatable.

Family

Roger had the following issue: * Ralph la Zouch * Roger la Zouch Both Ralph and Roger were

Contrariants The Contrariants were an aristocratic faction in England in the early 14th century. They favoured the policies of the Lords Ordainers (1311) and opposed the Despensers, Hugh the Elder and Hugh the Younger. They were most prominent in the Welsh ...

that were accused of raiding Despencer's lands at

in 1323 and of helping to murder Beler.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zouch, Roger la Year of birth unknown English MPs 1324 Members of the Parliament of England for Leicestershire English MPs 1331 1292 births Year of death unknown English MPs 1337–38