Margaret of Hereford

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Bef Oct 1198

Notes:

Also called Margery; Margaret of Gloucester; Margaret de Bohun.

"At the time that she became an heiress Margaret was recently widowed and in her forties. She outlived her husband by thirty years or more, never remarrying, and during her lengthy widowhood proved herself an ambitious matriarch, a conscientious donor to the church (clauses in some of her charters suggest that she had a keen and vigorous religious faith), a tough legal adversary, and a striking figure in the history of her family. Not only do certain statements in her charters articulate an intimate concern for the spiritual wellbeing of her immediate family, but Margaret was evidently also determined to see the Gloucester family's material interest, their extensive lands and honours, united in her own descendants. By 1173, if not earlier, her son and heir Humphrey had succeeded to the royal constableship first granted to her grandfather about 1114. After her son's death in 1181, Margaret took custody of her grandson Henry de Bohun and his lands, and shortly after her own death Henry was made earl of Hereford and constable of England by King John. In widowhood Margaret was also actively involved in the religious affairs of her family and, like many long-lived women of the medieval period, appears to have taken her commemorative, spiritual duties seriously--a concern perhaps enhanced by the deaths of a great number of her closest kin during her lifetime. She appears as grantor, confirmer, or witness on no less than thirty-three of her family's charters, most of them issued to her father's Augustinian foundation of Llanthony Secunda, just outside Gloucester, the mausoleum of her natal family and ultimately her own final resting place. Her charters to the Llanthony canons speak of an anxiety to make good on the unfulfilled eleemosynary promises of her brothers and to rescue their souls from the danger of hell (a periculo Inferni). She was also an occasional benefactor to Gloucester Abbey and to Monkton Farleigh Priory in Wiltshire, to which her late husband had been a donor, and on at least one occasion she confirmed the religious gifts of her Gloucestershire tenants. Seigneurial obligations in widowhood also compelled her to issue a series of grants to individuals within the purview of her lordship and connection." [Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]

Family/Spouse: Humphrey de Bohun. Humphrey (son of Humphrey de Bohun and Maud of Salisbury) was born before 1114 in of Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England; died before 29 Sep 1165. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Humphrey de Bohun was born before 1144 in of Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England; died in 1181; was buried in Llanthony Priory, outside Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England.

Notes:

Constable and hereditary sheriff of Gloucester. Constable of the Court to the Empress Maud. Created Earl of Hereford 25 Jul 1141. Killed in a hunting accident.

Also called Milo; Miles Fitz Walter.

Miles married Sibyl de Neufmarché in 1121. Sibyl (daughter of Bernard de Neufmarché and Nest ferch Osbern) was born in of Brecon, Breconshire, Wales; was buried in Llanthony Priory, outside Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Walter of Gloucester. In Domesday as a tenant-in-chief. Hereditary sheriff, and probably constable, of Gloucestershire.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Between 1121 and 1125

Notes:

Lord of Brecon, according to CP, which cites Round, Ancient Charters, no. 6. Henry James Young (citation details below) calls him “lord of Brecknock.”

From the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography:

He was in England by 1086-7, witnessing William’s ‘foundation charter’ to Battle Abbey. He does not appear in Domesday Book. Between 1086 and 1088 he was granted lands in Herefordshire (including Burghill, Brinsop, and Much Cowarne) by either William I or William II. At about the same time, Bernard married Nest (also known as Agnes), daughter and heir of the Herefordshire lord Osbern fitz Richard, and granddaughter of the north Welsh king Gruffudd ap Llywelyn. [...]

In 1088, Bernard de Neufmarché participated in the rebellion against William II, joining the force which attacked Worcester. He may have been drawn into the rebellion by his father-in-law, and was apparently not punished for his actions. Also in 1088, he seems to have embarked upon his conquest of the minor Welsh kingdom of Brycheiniog, for late in 1088 he made a grant of Glasbury in Brycheiniog, together with Much Cowarne church, to St Peter’s, Gloucester. This may have been a ‘first fruits’ offering. By 1093, Bernard was probably in possession of the Welsh capital of Brycheiniog, Talgarth, and in that year, the south Welsh king Rhys ap Tewdwr was killed near Aberhonddu by the Norman invaders of Brycheiniog. His death cleared the way for Bernard to annex the whole region, establishing himself and his feudal vassals in new castles and fiefs there.

Bernard married Nest ferch Osbern between 1086 and 1088. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Agnes.

Notes:

Sheriff of Gloucestershire; castellan of Gloucester Castle. A protege of William fitz Osbern.

Geoffrey married Ada de Hugleville. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Aft 1088

Notes:

Sheriff of Hereford.

Osbern married Nest ferch Gruffydd. Nest (daughter of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Wales and Ealdgyth of Mercia, Queen Consort of England) was born between 1055 and 1057. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]