Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick
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Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick
(died 20 June 1119) was a Norman nobleman. Henry was the younger son of Roger de Beaumont
and Adeline of Meulan, daughter of Waleran I, Count of Meulan. He was given by his father the modest lordship of Le Neubourg, in central Normandy. In due course he acquired a much greater holding in England, when, in reward for help in suppressing the Rebellion of 1088
, William II of England
made him Earl of Warwick
. The lands of the earldom were put together from several sources. The bulk was provided by the majority of the lands in Warwickshire and elsewhere recorded as those of his elder brother Robert, Count of Meulan
in the Domesday Survey of 1086. He also received large royal estates in Rutland and the royal forest
of Sutton, which became Sutton Chase
. The complicated arrangement to endow his earldom is unprecedented, and must have been the result of a three way arrangement between his father, his brother and the king.
Henry was said by Orderic Vitalis
, the Norman monk historian, to have been with the Conqueror on his 1068 campaign in the Midlands, when he was supposedly given charge of Warwick Castle
, but there is no supporting evidence for this late source. Little is in fact known of his career before 1088. However he took a leading role in reconciling the Conqueror with his eldest son Robert Curthose in 1081 and he stood high in the Conqueror's favour. In 1088 he was a royal agent in the arrest and trial of the traitorous bishop of Durham William de Saint-Calais. Henry became the companion and friend of Henry I
, and when in 1100 a division took place amongst the barons who had gathered together in the aftermath of the king's sudden death to choose a successor to William II, it was mainly owing to his advice that Henry was selected and when in the following year most of the barons were openly or secretly disloyal and favoured the attempt of Duke Robert to gain the Crown, he and his brother were amongst the few that remained faithful to the King.
He acquired the lordship of Gower
in Wales
around 1107 from the favour of King Henry and built a castle at Swansea
, which was unsuccessfully attacked by the Welsh in 1113; he also captured the Gower Peninsula
in south west Glamorgan
. He or his barons built other castles at Penrhys
, Llanrhidian and Swansea in 1120, together with the others at Oystermouth
and Loughor
, the only remains of the latter are a mound and a keep.
He entered the abbey of St Peter of Les Preaux
before his death and died as a monk there on 20 June 1119. An eighteenth-century woodcut of his tomb in the chapter house, with those of his brother and father beside him, survives, though the abbey is long ruined
Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is a title that has been created four times in British history and is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the British Isles.-1088 creation:...
(died 20 June 1119) was a Norman nobleman. Henry was the younger son of Roger de Beaumont
Roger de Beaumont
Roger de Beaumont-le-Roger, Seigneur de Beaumont-le-Roger et de Pont-Audemer was son of Humphrey de Vielles and his wife Albreda de la Haye Auberie...
and Adeline of Meulan, daughter of Waleran I, Count of Meulan. He was given by his father the modest lordship of Le Neubourg, in central Normandy. In due course he acquired a much greater holding in England, when, in reward for help in suppressing the Rebellion of 1088
Rebellion of 1088
The Rebellion of 1088 occurred after the death of William the Conqueror and concerned the division of lands in the Kingdom of England and the Duchy of Normandy between his two sons William Rufus and Robert Curthose...
, William II of England
William II of England
William II , the third son of William I of England, was King of England from 1087 until 1100, with powers over Normandy, and influence in Scotland. He was less successful in extending control into Wales...
made him Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is a title that has been created four times in British history and is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the British Isles.-1088 creation:...
. The lands of the earldom were put together from several sources. The bulk was provided by the majority of the lands in Warwickshire and elsewhere recorded as those of his elder brother Robert, Count of Meulan
Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leicester, Count of Meulan was a powerful English and French nobleman, revered as one of the wisest men of his age...
in the Domesday Survey of 1086. He also received large royal estates in Rutland and the royal forest
Royal forest
A royal forest is an area of land with different meanings in England, Wales and Scotland; the term forest does not mean forest as it is understood today, as an area of densely wooded land...
of Sutton, which became Sutton Chase
Sutton Coldfield
Sutton Coldfield is a suburb of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Sutton is located about from central Birmingham but has borders with Erdington and Kingstanding. Sutton is in the northeast of Birmingham, with a population of 105,000 recorded in the 2001 census...
. The complicated arrangement to endow his earldom is unprecedented, and must have been the result of a three way arrangement between his father, his brother and the king.
Henry was said by Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis
Orderic Vitalis was an English chronicler of Norman ancestry who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th and 12th century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. The modern biographer of Henry I of England, C...
, the Norman monk historian, to have been with the Conqueror on his 1068 campaign in the Midlands, when he was supposedly given charge of Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle is a medieval castle in Warwick, the county town of Warwickshire, England. It sits on a bend on the River Avon. The castle was built by William the Conqueror in 1068 within or adjacent to the Anglo-Saxon burh of Warwick. It was used as a fortification until the early 17th century,...
, but there is no supporting evidence for this late source. Little is in fact known of his career before 1088. However he took a leading role in reconciling the Conqueror with his eldest son Robert Curthose in 1081 and he stood high in the Conqueror's favour. In 1088 he was a royal agent in the arrest and trial of the traitorous bishop of Durham William de Saint-Calais. Henry became the companion and friend of Henry I
Henry I of England
Henry I was the fourth son of William I of England. He succeeded his elder brother William II as King of England in 1100 and defeated his eldest brother, Robert Curthose, to become Duke of Normandy in 1106...
, and when in 1100 a division took place amongst the barons who had gathered together in the aftermath of the king's sudden death to choose a successor to William II, it was mainly owing to his advice that Henry was selected and when in the following year most of the barons were openly or secretly disloyal and favoured the attempt of Duke Robert to gain the Crown, he and his brother were amongst the few that remained faithful to the King.
He acquired the lordship of Gower
Gower (Lordship)
thumb|350px|right|Map of the Lordship, showing the area detached , the area added and the Town and Franchise of Swansea. The language boundary is shown as a dotted line....
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
around 1107 from the favour of King Henry and built a castle at Swansea
Swansea Castle
Swansea Castle was founded by Henry de Beaumont in 1106 as the caput of the lordship of Gower, in Swansea, Wales.-History:The original castle seems to have been a sub-rectangular/oval enclosure overlooking the River Tawe on the east, surrounded on the north, west and south sides by a larger...
, which was unsuccessfully attacked by the Welsh in 1113; he also captured the Gower Peninsula
Gower Peninsula
Gower or the Gower Peninsula is a peninsula in south Wales, jutting from the coast into the Bristol Channel, and administratively part of the City and County of Swansea. Locally it is known as "Gower"...
in south west Glamorgan
Glamorgan
Glamorgan or Glamorganshire is one of the thirteen historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It was originally an early medieval kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing until taken over by the Normans as a lordship. Glamorgan is latterly represented by the three...
. He or his barons built other castles at Penrhys
Penrhys
Penrhys is a village in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, situated on a hillside overlooking both valleys of Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach. It is situated around 1,100 ft above sea level and is a district of Tylorstown...
, Llanrhidian and Swansea in 1120, together with the others at Oystermouth
Oystermouth
Oystermouth is an electoral ward and a village in the Mumbles community and also the City and County of Swansea, Wales...
and Loughor
Loughor
Loughor is a town in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Loughor. The town has a community council called Llwchwr....
, the only remains of the latter are a mound and a keep.
He entered the abbey of St Peter of Les Preaux
Préaux
Préaux may refer to the following places in France:* Préaux, Ardèche, a commune in the department of Ardèche* Préaux, Indre, a commune in the department of Indre* Préaux, Mayenne, a commune in the department of Mayenne...
before his death and died as a monk there on 20 June 1119. An eighteenth-century woodcut of his tomb in the chapter house, with those of his brother and father beside him, survives, though the abbey is long ruined
Family and children
He married before 1100 Margaret, daughter of Geoffrey II of Perche and Beatrix of Montdidier, and had children:- Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of WarwickRoger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of WarwickRoger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick was the elder son of Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick and Marguerite, daughter of Geoffrey II of Perche and Beatrix of Montdidier...
, who succeeded him as earl; - Robert de NeubourgRobert de NeubourgRobert I de Neubourg was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat.He was the fourth son of Henry de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Warwick, and inherited his father's Normandy lands, holding Neubourg from Waleran de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Worcester, a Beaumont family cousin, as Comte de Meulan. He was Sire du...
, who inherited Henry's Norman lands, and was Steward of Normandy, dying in 1159. - Rotrou (died 27 November 1183), who was Bishop of Évreux and then Archbishop of RouenArchbishop of RouenThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen is an Archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the ecclesiastical province of the archdiocese comprises the majority of Normandy....
, and who was Chief Justiciar and Steward of Normandy. - Geoffrey de Neubourg.
- Henry de Neubourg, otherwise known as Henry of Gower, who reconquered the family's Welsh estates in around 1136, holding the lordship of Gower throughout the reign of King StephenKing StephenKing Stephen can refer to a number of individuals. Note that medieval rulers in Serbia and Bosnia used Stephen as an honorific as well as a personal name.Kings named Stephen include:...
.