Richard I FitzGilbert of Clare and Tonbridge 1 2 3
- Born: 1030, <Bienfaite (Saint-Martin-de-Bienfaite-la-Cressonière), (Calvados)>, Normandy, France
- Christened: Brionne, (Eure), Normandy, France
- Marriage (1): Rohese Giffard about 1054
- Died: Bef Apr 1088, <Huntingdonshire, England>
- Buried: St. Neots, Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, England
Other names for Richard were Richard FitzGilbert de Bienfaite, Richard de Clare, Richard FitzGilbert de Clare of Clare and Tonbridge, Richard I Fitz Gilbert of Clare and Tonbridge and Richard de Tonbridge.
Research Notes:
From Wikipedia - Richard Fitz Gilbert :
Richard FitzGilbert (c. 1030 - 1090), was a Norman lord who participated in the Norman conquest of England in 1066. He was the founder of the English noble family, the de Clares .
Victor at Hastings
Known as "de Bienfaite", "de Clare", and "de Tonbridge", he accompanied his reputed kinsman William, Duke of Normandy into England . He served at the Battle of Hastings , and assisted William in subduing the Anglo-Saxons .
Rewards
He was rewarded with 176 lordships and large grants of land in England, including the right to build the castles of Clare and of Tonbridge . Richard Fitz Gilbert took the name Earl of Clare from one of his lordships in Suffolk , where parts of the wall of Clare Castle still stand.
He served as Joint Chief Justiciar in William's absence, and played a major part in suppressing the revolt of 1075.
Rebel Baron
On William 's death, Richard and other great Norman barons, including Odo of Bayeux , Robert, Count of Mortain , William fitzOsbern and Geoffrey of Coutances, led a rebellion against the rule of William Rufus in order to place Robert Curthose on the throne. However, most Normans in England remained loyal. William Rufus and his army successfully attacked the rebel strongholds at Tonbridge , Pevensey and Rochester .
Death and succession
He died in St. Neot's Priory in 1090. His land was inherited by his son, Gilbert Fitz Richard .
Family
He was the son of Gilbert "Crispin", Count of Brionne .
The reference listed below states that Richard's great grandfather was Richard I of Normandy . Richard's father is also sometimes listed as Robert I "the Devil" , father of William the Conqueror . Sources as far back as the Annals of the Four Masters claim that Richard's great-grandson, Richard "Strongbow", was the direct descendant of Robert "the Devil". Gilbert "Crispin" was a descendant of Robert's cousin, but not Robert himself.
The modern Irish county of County Clare was historically part of the North Munster Gaelic kingdom of Thomond , dominated by the O'Briens, Kings of Thomond. The region was granted to the De Clare family in 1275 and they became Lords of Thomond. When the boundaries of the modern County Clare were fixed by Sir Henry Sidney in 1565, it was named after the De Clares .
Surrey
Richard's Surrey lands had a value of £241: 30% of the value of his English lands. Within Surrey, Richard Fitz Gilbert owned manors in the following places: Albury , Beddington , Bletchingley , Buckland , Chelsham , Chessington , Chipstead , Chivington, Effingham , Apps in Elmbridge , Farleigh , Immerworth (Kingston upon Thames ), Long Ditton , Mickleham , Molesey , Ockley , Old Malden , Shalford , Streatham , Tandridge , Tolworth , Tooting , Walton-on-Thames , Warlingham , Tillingdon, and Woldingham .
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Birth Notes:
FamilySearch has b. abt 1024, Bienfaite, Normandy, France.
Death Notes:
Ancestral Roots, line 130-27 (Maud de St. Liz) has d. abt. 1090; line 184-2 has d. bef Apr 1088.
http://www.smokykin.com/ged/f001/f95/a0019582.htm has d. 1090 in Huntingdon, England.
Noted events in his life were:
• Seigneur of Bienfaite & Orbec, Normandy.
• Lord of Clare, Suffolk.
Richard married Rohese Giffard, daughter of Walter II Giffard 1st Earl of Buckingham and Agnes Ribemont, about 1054. (Rohese Giffard was born about 1034 in Longueville, (Calvados), Normandy, France and died after 1113.)
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