Carney & Wehofer Family
Genealogy Pages
Margaret DE CLARE
1293 - 1342 (48 years)-
Name Margaret DE CLARE [1] Birth 12 Oct 1293 Tonbridge Castle, Tonbridge, Kent, England 
[1] Gender Female FamilySearch ID KN8D-HH9 TitleOfNobility Between 1307 and 1342 [2] Countess of Cornwall Order to live at Sempringham Priory 1322 Sempringham Abbey, Sempringham, Lincolnshire, England [2] Death 9 Apr 1342 Chebsey, Staffordshire, England [1] Burial 13 Apr 1342 Tonbridge Priory, Tonbridge, Kent, England [1] Person ID I594766614 Carney Wehofer 2024 Genealogy Last Modified 30 Dec 2022
Father Gilbert I "The Red Earl" De CLARE, Sir Knight/9Th Earl/Gloucester, b. 2 Sep 1243, Christchurch, Hampshire, England d. 7 Dec 1295, Monmouth Castle, Monmouthshire, Wales (Age 52 years) Mother Princess Joan PLANTAGENET, of Acre, b. Apr 1272, Acre/Akko, Hazafon, Kingdom of Jerusalem d. 23 Apr 1307, Clare Castle, Clare, Suffolk, England (Age ~ 35 years) Marriage 9 May 1290 Westminster, Middlesex, England [3, 4, 5] Family ID F536728730 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family 1 Piers GAVESTON, 1st Earl of Cornwall, b. Abt 1284, Hill, Warwickshire, England d. 19 Jun 1312, Hill, Warwickshire, England (Age ~ 28 years) Marriage 1 Nov 1307 Tonbridge, Kent, England [2] Children 1. Amie GAVESTON, b. Aft 6 Jan 1312, Tonbridge, Kent, England d. 30 Nov 1357, Stratfield Mortimer, Berkshire, England (Age ~ 45 years)2. Joan GAVESTON, b. 12 Jan 1312, York, Yorkshire, England d. 13 Jan 1325, Amesburg, , England (Age 13 years)Family ID F536728731 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 30 Dec 2022
Family 2 Hugh DE AUDLEY, b. 1289, Stratton Audley, Oxfordshire, England d. 10 Nov 1347, Tonbridge, Kent, England (Age 58 years) Marriage 28 Apr 1317 Windsor, Berkshire, England [6] Children 1. Margaret AUDLEY, b. 1318, Stafford, Staffordshire, England d. 7 Sep 1349, Tonbridge, Kent, England (Age 31 years)Family ID F536728728 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 30 Dec 2022
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Notes - Margaret de Clare, Countess of Gloucester, Countess of Cornwall (12 October 1293-9 April 1342), was an English noblewoman, heiress, and the second eldest of the three daughters of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford and his wife, Joan of Acre, making her a granddaughter of King Edward I of England. Her two husbands were Piers Gaveston and Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester.
Marriage to Piers Gaveston
She was married to Piers Gaveston, the favourite of her uncle Edward II on 7 November 1307. At the time of her marriage she was 14 years of age. According to the Vita Edwardi Secundi, this marriage was arranged by the King "to strengthen Piers and surround him with friends". Lord Gaveston celebrated the marriage with a lavish tournament at Wallingford Castle. The marriage of such a high-born heiress to a foreigner did not please the English nobility and engendered a great deal of unpopularity. Their daughter, Amy de Gaveston, was born on 6 January 1312 in Tonbridge Castle, Kent, England. It is alleged that they had another child named Joan de Gaveston born around 1310, but there is little evidence outside of hearsay to validate this claim. There are also claims that Amy was born to a mistress of Piers Gaveston. However, the evidence is circumstantial and the official records list Amy de Gaveston as born to Lord de Gaveston and Lady de Clare.
King Edward arranged a lavish celebration after the birth of this little girl, complete with minstrels. However, Piers Gaveston was executed only six months later, leaving Margaret a widow with a small child. Her dower rights as Countess of Cornwall were disputed, and so King Edward instead assigned her Oakham Castle and other lands. She joined the Royal household and in 1316 accompanied the King in his journey from London to York.
Inheritance and second marriage
Following the death of their brother, Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford, at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, Margaret and her sisters, Elizabeth and Eleanor de Clare received a share of the inheritance. Margaret was now one of the co-heiresses to the vast Gloucester estate, and King Edward arranged a second marriage for her to another favourite, Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester. She was High Sheriff of Rutland from 1313 to 1319. On 28 April 1317 Margaret de Clare wed Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester at Windsor Castle. They had one daughter: Margaret de Audley, born between January 1318 and November 1320.
Despenser War
Hugh and Margaret were among the victims of their brother-in-law, Hugh the younger Despenser. In his rashness and greed for the Clare lands, he robbed Margaret of much of her rightful inheritance. In 1321, Hugh de Audley joined the other Marcher Barons in looting, burning, and causing general devastation to Despenser's lands which subsequently became the Despenser War. Hugh was captured at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322, and was saved from a hanging thanks to the pleas of his wife. He was imprisoned, and two months later Margaret was sent to Sempringham Priory in Lincolnshire. She remained there until 1326, when Hugh escaped prison and she was released from Sempringham.
Countess of Gloucester
Hugh and Margaret were reunited sometime in 1326. In summer 1336, their only daughter, Margaret Audley, was abducted by Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford. Her parents filed a complaint, but King Edward III of England supported Stafford. He appeased Hugh and Margaret by creating Hugh Earl of Gloucester. Margaret was henceforth styled Countess of Gloucester.
Death
Margaret died on 9 April 1342 and her sister Lady Elizabeth de Clare paid for prayers to be said for her soul at Tonbridge Priory located in Kent, England, where she was buried.
- Margaret de Clare, Countess of Gloucester, Countess of Cornwall (12 October 1293-9 April 1342), was an English noblewoman, heiress, and the second eldest of the three daughters of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford and his wife, Joan of Acre, making her a granddaughter of King Edward I of England. Her two husbands were Piers Gaveston and Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester.
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Sources - [S1160] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 30 Dec 2022), entry for Margaret Audley, person ID LHDG-NGQ. (Reliability: 3).
- [S1160] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 30 Dec 2022), entry for Margaret de Clare, person ID KN8D-HH9. (Reliability: 3).
- [S10] Mark Willis Ballard 6928 N. Lakewood Avenue 773-743-6663 mwballard52@yahoo.com, GEDCOM File : mwballard.ged.
- [S1160] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 30 Dec 2022), entry for Joan, person ID 9MK6-P6Z. (Reliability: 3).
- [S232] Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists, 7th Edition, by Frederick Lewis Weis, additio ns by Walter Lee Shippard J, 11-30 (Reliability: 3).
- [S1160] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 30 Dec 2022), entry for Hugh de Audley, person ID GJJ9-DYL. (Reliability: 3).
- [S1160] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, FamilySearch Family Tree (http://www.familysearch.org), ((http://www.familysearch.org)), accessed 30 Dec 2022), entry for Margaret Audley, person ID LHDG-NGQ. (Reliability: 3).