William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny, KG (c. 1343 – 8 May 1411) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

peer. Beauchamp was the fourth son of Thomas Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick, and

Katherine Mortimer Katherine Mortimer, Countess of Warwick (1314 – 4 August 1369) was the wife of Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick KG, an English peer, and military commander during the Hundred Years War. She was a daughter and co-heiress of Roger Mort ...

. He served under Sir

John Chandos Sir John Chandos, Viscount of Saint-Sauveur in the Cotentin, Constable of Aquitaine, Seneschal of Poitou, (c. 1320 – 31 December 1369) was a medieval English knight who hailed from Radbourne Hall, Derbyshire. Chandos was a close friend of ...

during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

, and was created a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...

in 1376. He served as

Captain of Calais The town of Calais, now part of France, was in English hands from 1347 to 1558, and this page lists the commanders of Calais, holding office from the English Crown, called at different times Captain of Calais, King's Lieutenant of Calais (Castle ...

in 1383. Upon the death of his first cousin once removed,

John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (October 137230 December 1389) was the son of John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and Anne Manny, 2nd Baroness Manny. He was also Baron Abergavenny. Infant Inheritance He succeeded his father as an infan ...

, on 30 December 1389, William inherited the lordship of

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wi ...

, including

Abergavenny Castle Abergavenny Castle ( cy, Castell y Fenni) is a ruined castle in the market town of Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales, established by the Norman lord Hamelin de Balun . It was the site of a massacre of Welsh noblemen in 1175, and was attacked d ...

. He was summoned to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

on 23 July 1392 as "Willilmo Beauchamp de Bergavenny", by which he is held to have become Baron Bergavenny, a

barony by writ The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsidi ...

. In 1399, he was appointed

Justiciar of South Wales The Justiciar of South Wales, sometimes referred to as the Justiciar of West Wales was a royal official of the Principality of Wales during the medieval period. He controlled the southern half of the principality. Background Justiciar was a title ...

and Governor of Pembroke. He entailed the castle and Honour of Abergavenny on the issue male of his body, with remainder to his brother Thomas Beauchamp, 12th Earl of Warwick and his heirs male; his wife enjoyed it in

dower Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride (being gifted into trust) by agreement at the time of the wedding, or as provided by law. ...

until her death in 1435. Bergavenny died in 1411 and was buried at Black Friars,

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

Marriage and offspring

Bergavenny married

Lady Joan FitzAlan Joan de Beauchamp, Baroness Bergavenny ( FitzAlan; 1375 – 14 November 1435) was an English noblewoman, and the wife of William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny of the Welsh Marches. Family and lineage Lady Joan FitzAlan was born in 1375, ...

, daughter of

Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel Richard Fitzalan, 4th Earl of Arundel, 9th Earl of Surrey, KG (1346 – 21 September 1397) was an English medieval nobleman and military commander. Lineage Born in 1346, he was the son of Richard Fitzalan, 3rd Earl of Arundel and Eleanor of L ...

, and

Elizabeth de Bohun Elizabeth Fitzalan, Countess of Arundel, Countess of Surrey ( de Bohun; c. 1350 – 3 April 1385), was a member of the Anglo-Norman Bohun family, which wielded much power in the Welsh Marches and the English government. She was the first wife ...

, and they had the following children: *

Richard de Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester Richard de Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester, KB (c. 1394 – c. 18 March 1421/1422) was an English peer. The only son of William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny and Joan de Beauchamp, Baroness Bergavenny. William Beauchamp was the fourth son ...

, 2nd Baron Bergavenny (bef. 1397 – 1422), married Isabel le Despenser, daughter of

Thomas Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester Thomas le Despenser, 2nd Baron Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester KG (22 September 137313 January 1400) was the son of Edward le Despenser, 1st Baron le Despencer, whom he succeeded in 1375. Royal intrigues A supporter of Richard II against Th ...

and

Constance of York Constance of York, Countess of Gloucester ( – 28 November 1416) was the only daughter of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, and his wife Isabella of Castile, daughter of King Peter of Castile and his favourite mistress, María de Padilla. F ...

, by whom he had one daughter

Elizabeth de Beauchamp, Baroness Bergavenny Elizabeth Beauchamp, Baroness (A)Bergavenny (16 September 1415 – 18 June 1448)Cokayne, and others, ''The Complete Peerage'', volume I, page 27, 29. was a medieval English noblewoman and heiress. She was the only child of Richard de Beauchamp, ...

. * Joan de Beauchamp (1396 – 3 August 1430), married 28 August 1413

James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond (23 May 1393 – 23 August 1452) was the son of James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond. He was called 'The White Earl', and was esteemed for his learning. He was the patron of the Irish literary work, 'The Book of the ...

, son of

James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond (c. 1359 – 7 September 1405), was a noble in the Peerage of Ireland. He acceded to the title in 1382, and built Gowran Castle three years later in 1385 close to the centre of Gowran, making it his usual residence, ...

and Anne Welles, by whom she had five children, including

Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond Thomas Butler, 7th Earl of Ormond PC (1426 – 3 August 1515) was the youngest son of James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond. He was attainted, but restored by Henry VII's first Parliament in November 1485, and the statutes made at Westminster, by ...

Ancestry

Notes

References

* * 14th-century births 1411 deaths Knights of the Garter

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Peers created by Richard II Barons Bergavenny (Peerage of England) Younger sons of earls {{England-baron-stub