William I de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby (died 31 December 1189) was a 12th-century

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 ...

Earl Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant " chieftain", particu ...

who resided in

Tutbury Castle Tutbury Castle is a largely ruined medieval castle at Tutbury, Staffordshire, England, in the ownership of the Duchy of Lancaster and hence currently of King Charles III. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. People who have stayed in the castle ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

and was head of a family which controlled a large part of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

known as Duffield Frith. He was also a Knight Templar. William was the son of

Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Derby Robert II de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Derby (c. 1100 – 1162) was a younger, but eldest surviving son of Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby and his wife Hawise. He succeeded his father as Earl of Derby in 1139 (William, his elder brother, havin ...

, and his wife, Margaret Peverel. He succeeded his father as

Earl of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

in 1162. He was married to Sybil, the daughter of

William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber 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 ...

, and

Bertha of Hereford Bertha of Hereford, also known as Bertha de Pitres (born c. 1130), was the daughter of Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, and a wealthy heiress, Sibyl de Neufmarché. She was the wife of William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber to whom she ...

Life

William de Ferrers was one of the Earls who joined the rebellion against King

Henry II of England Henry II (5 March 1133 – 6 July 1189), also known as Henry Curtmantle (french: link=no, Court-manteau), Henry FitzEmpress, or Henry Plantagenet, was King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189, and as such, was the first Angevin kin ...

led by Henry's eldest son, Henry the Younger, in the Revolt of 1173–1174, sacking the town of

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

. Robert de Ferrers II, his father, had supported

Stephen of England Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne '' jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 ...

and, although Henry II had accepted him at court, he had denied the title of earl of Derby to him and his son. In addition, William had a grudge against Henry because he believed he should have inherited the lands of Peveril Castle through his mother. These, King Henry had previously confiscated in 1155 when William Peverel fell into disfavour. With the failure of the revolt, de Ferrers was taken prisoner by King Henry, at Northampton on 31 July 1174, along with the King of Scots and the earls of Chester and Lincoln, along with a number of his Derbyshire underlings and was held at

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Duffield and both were put out of commission (and possibly Pilsbury.) In addition to defraying the costs of the war, Henry levied a so-called "Forest Fine" of 200 marks. He seems to have afterwards regained the confidence of Henry II., and he showed his fidelity to the next Sovereign, (King Richard I.), by accompanying him in his expedition to the Holy Land, and joining the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity ( Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...

and died at the Siege of Acre in 1190.Bland, W., 1887 ''Duffield Castle: A lecture at the Temperance Hall, Wirksworth'' Derbyshire Advertiser He was succeeded by his son William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby. William de Ferrars Preceptory No.530 is a Knight Templar preceptory named after William de Ferrars. This preceptory is stationed in Burton upon Trent.

References

* Warren, W.L. 1973. ''Henry II''. Eyre Methuen. {{DEFAULTSORT:Derby, William de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of 1190 deaths Anglo-Normans Norman warriors People from Tutbury Christians of the Third Crusade Knights Templar Year of birth unknown 3