Ranulph Neville, 1st Baron Neville (18 October 1262 – c. 18 April 1331) of
Raby Castle
Raby Castle () is a medieval castle located near Staindrop in County Durham, England, among of deer park. It was built by John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby, between approximately 1367 and 1390. Cecily Neville, the mother of the Kings Ed ...
,
County Durham
County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...
, was an English nobleman and head of the powerful
Neville family
The House of Neville or Nevill family (originally FitzMaldred) is a noble house of early medieval origin, which was a leading force in English politics in the Late Middle Ages. The family became one of the two major powers in northern England and ...
.
Origins
He was the eldest son of Robert de Neville (who predeceased his
own father) by his wife Mary FitzRanulf, one of the three daughters and co-heiresses of Ralph FitzRanulf (d.1270) of
Middleham Castle
Middleham Castle is a ruined castle in Middleham in Wensleydale, in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It was built by Robert Fitzrandolph, 3rd Lord of Middleham and Spennithorne, commencing in 1190. The castle was the childhood home of ...
in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
. Ranulph was heir to his grandfather Sir
Robert de Neville
Robert de Neville, 2nd Baron Neville of Raby (c. 1223–1282), was a medieval English nobleman.
Background
The Neville family in England go back to at least the 11th century, and the historian Horace Round speculated that they were part of the ...
(d.1282) of Raby.
Marriages and children
Neville married twice:
*Firstly to
Euphemia de Clavering, daughter and heiress of
John de Clavering or of his father
Robert fitzRoger
Robert fitzRoger (died 1214) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk and Northumberland. He was a son of Roger fitzRichard and Adelisa de Vere. FitzRoger owed some of his early offices to William Longchamp, but cont ...
de Clavering of
Warkworth Castle
Warkworth Castle is a ruined medieval castle in Warkworth, Northumberland, Warkworth in the English county of Northumberland. The village and castle occupy a loop of the River Coquet, less than a mile from England's north-east coast. When the ...
in Northumberland. By his wife he had fourteen children including:

**Robert Neville (''c.'' 1287 – June 1319), the "Peacock of the North", eldest son and
heir apparent
An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...
who predeceased his father, having been slain in a border fray outside the walls of
Berwick by
James 'The Good', Lord of Douglas (c.1290–1330). His cross-legged crusader-style effigy survives in St Brandon's Church,
Brancepeth;
**
Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville
Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville of Raby ( – 5 August 1367) was an English aristocrat, the son of Ralph Neville, 1st Baron Neville de Raby by Eupheme de Clavering.
Neville led the English forces to victory against King David II of Scotlan ...
(''c.'' 1291 – 5 August 1367), eldest surviving son and heir;
**Sir Alexander Neville (''d.'' 15 March 1367);
**John Neville (d. 19 July 1333) who died at the
Battle of Halidon Hill
The Battle of Halidon Hill took place on 19 July 1333 when a Scottish army under Sir Archibald Douglas attacked an English army commanded by King Edward III of England () and was heavily defeated. The year before, Edward Balliol had seized ...
;
**Thomas Neville (''c.'' 1306 - before June 1349),
Archdeacon of Durham
The Archdeacon of Durham is a senior ecclesiastical officer of the diocese of Durham (Church of England). They have, within the geographical area the ''archdeaconry of Durham'', pastoral oversight of clergy and care of church buildings (among othe ...
.
**Anastasia Neville (c.1285), wife of Sir Walter Fauconberg (d. 24 June 1314) who died at the
Battle of Bannockburn
The Battle of Bannockburn ( or ) was fought on 23–24 June 1314, between the army of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, and the army of King Edward II of England, during the First War of Scottish Independence. It was a decisive victory for Ro ...
);
**Mary Neville;
**Ida Neville;
**Eupheme Neville.
*Secondly he married Margery de Thwenge, daughter of John de Thwenge and Joan de Mauley. Her effigy survives in St Mary's Church,
Staindrop
Staindrop is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated approximately north east of Barnard Castle, on the A688 road. According to the 2011 UK census the population was 1,310, this includes the hamlets of Cleatlam ...
.
Death and burial
Ranulph died shortly after 18 April 1331 and was buried in the choir of
Coverham Abbey
Coverham Abbey, North Yorkshire, England, was a Premonstratensian monastery that was founded at Swainby in 1190 by Helewisia, daughter of the Chief Justiciar Ranulf de Glanville. It was refounded at Coverham in about 1212 by her son Ranulf f ...
, the patronage of which had been inherited from his mother.
[Tait, DNB]
Footnotes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Neville De Raby, Ralph Neville, 1st Baron Of
1262 births
1331 deaths
13th-century English nobility
14th-century English nobility
Barons Neville of Raby
People from Staindrop