William de Lancaster

Notes:

Also called William Fitz Gilbert. Castellan of William fitz Duncan's castle of Egremont 1138; Governor of the castle of Lancaster.

Andrew Lancaster (citation details below):

William de Lancaster I, Gilbert's son (and nephew, possibly through a sister, of Ketel) was said to have taken the "de Lancaster" name by royal licence and is probably the first person to have ever passed the name on to his children as a family name. On the other hand his grand daughter seems to have claimed that he used the name "de Tailboys" before being granted the new name. He was an important man, and married (probably as a second wife) Gundred, who is normally said, though this is doubted by William Farrer, to be Gundred de Warrene, an important member of one of the most powerful families in England. He lived in troubled times, including a major Scottish invasion and must have served under three competing claims to the monarchy above him during the anarchy in Britain (King David of Scotland, King Stephen of England and Mathilda his competitor in England).

The earliest records of his adult life seem to centre around Western Cumberland. Several websites even claim that he served as castellan of Egremont in Cumberland 1138 to William Fitz Duncan, a member of the Scottish royal family. In one article it is claimed that the De Lancaster arms are derived from this Scottish William. Others claim he helped command forces against the Scots in this area. A charter refers to him as if he were lord of Muncaster, which is also in Cumberland and apparently a lordship which would have come under Egremont. He also seems to have been lord of Lamplugh and Hensington before he was enfeoffed by Roger de Mowbray of the future Barony of Kendal, Lonsdale and Horton in Ribblesdale (these latter often suggested to imply lordship of the entire Wapentake of Ewcross), as well as parishes of Garstang and Warton in northern Lancashire. This happened about 1150. Farrer believes he died before Michaelmas 1170.

Family/Spouse: (Unknown first wife of William de Lancaster). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. William de Lancaster was born about 1110; died after 1176.

Family/Spouse: (Unknown mistress of William de Lancaster). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Gilbert de Lancaster was born in of Stainton, Yorkshire, England; died before 1220.

William married Gundred de Warenne after 1153. Gundred (daughter of William II de Warenne and Isabel de Vermandois) died after 1156. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Avice de Lancaster was born in 1155; died in 1191.

Notes:

"A Norman knight." [Ancestral Roots]

"Gilbert. The name of the father of the first De Lancaster is known, as is his apparent wife’s name Godith (mentioned in a benefaction of her son to St Mary de Pré in Leicester), but almost nothing else is known about either of them with any security. He is often referred to by genealogists with second names such as 'de Taillebois', 'de Lancaster', 'Fitz Ketel', or 'de Furness' (de Furnesio). However I can find no contemporary references like this. So like Eldred he is apparently mainly (or perhaps only) known from references to progeny, William de Lancaster I, and his brothers." [Andrew Lancaster, citation details below.]

Gilbert married Godith. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Sister of Ketel, 3rd Baron Kendal.

"If we accept the evidence that Ketel was uncle of William de Lancaster, was Ketel then the brother of Gilbert, or the brother of Godith? I think the slightly more popular theory is that he is the brother of Gilbert. However, I believe the evidence points at least softly in the other direction." [Andrew Lancaster, citation details below.]

Notes:

"[P]oss. a scion of the great house of Dunbar." [Ancestral Roots]

"Eldred must have been a close contemporary of Ivo de Taillebois (perhaps even a little older) and like him he is said to be an ancestor of the de Lancasters of Kendal. In two much later monastic accounts he is said to be the son of Ivo de Taillebois, which seems impossible. The families seem to have been equated or combined in monastic pedigrees explaining inheritances, because Ketel, Eldred's son, held several possessions which had been held by Ivo, and confirmed grants made by Ivo. But more recently it became more common to suggest that Eldred is Ivo's son-in-law, married to his daughter Beatrice or Beatrix, either after or before her more well-known husband Ribald of Middleham, who is mentioned above. This also presents difficulties. But there are other possibilities. For example could he be a step son, or an illegitimate son, or the husband of an illegitimate daughter, or might his son Ketel and/or a daughter, have married a member of the de Taillebois family? It is perhaps best to assume that the common jurisdictions of Ivo and Ketel did not pass on by inheritance. Ivo may even have been Ketel's overlord." [Andrew Lancaster, citation details below.]