Sir Knight Hugh LE DESPENCER

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• Death: ; Slain by Roger Mortimer the 1st Baron Wigmore at the Battle Evesham.
• FamilySearch ID: GNYM-NH4
• TitleOfNobility: ; Baron le Despencer, Justiciar of England
• Occupation: Of Ryhall, Rutlands. Kt: 1244. Justiciar Of England.
• Occupation: ; Knight, Justicar of England, 1st Baron le Despencer, Earl
• _UID: EE6400D187B44152A0D4FC212E6290C466F0
• Alt. Burial: Aft 4 Aug 1265, Evesham Abbey, Wychavon, Worcestershire, England

Notes:

BIOGRAPHY: Hugh, one of the English barons who participated in the so-called Mad parliament, which in 1258 formulated the Provisions of Oxford, a plan of government reform. During the period of truce (1258-63) between the barons and King Hernry III, Le Despenser became (1260) chief justiciar of England. Upon the ourbreak of the Barons' War, however, he sided with the barons' leader, Simon de Montfort, serving as Montfort's justiciar in 1264. Le Despenser was killed in the Battle of Evesham; in that battle the barons were defeated by Henry's son, Prince Edward, who later became King as Edward I. Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia, (Despenser)

Died:
Slain at battle of Evesham.

Hugh married Aline (Aliva) (Alice) BASSETT, Countess Of Norfolk about 1260 in Of Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Aline (daughter of Sir Philip BASSETT and Hawise DE LOVAINE) was born in 1241 in Wooten Basset, Wiltshire, England; died before 11 Apr 1281; was buried before 11 Apr 1281. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• FamilySearch ID: LBF7-6KV
• _UID: 0ED5F498FF1F4455A0C38AA292C42D124A14

Family/Spouse: William DE FERRERS. William and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• _UID: 595E641121E54809A67B4C608229960697D5

Family/Spouse: Sir Hugh DE COURTENAY. Hugh (son of Sir John DE COURTENAY and Isabel DE VERE) was born on 25 Mar 1248 in Okehampton, Devonshire, England; died on 28 Feb 1291-1292 in Cullicomb, Devonshire, England; was buried in 1291-1292 in Cowick, Exeter, Devonshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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Anne married about 1262 in Wooten Basset, Wiltshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• FamilySearch ID: LBF7-6KV
• _UID: 621EBD0A19274B74BE8A4026E6418308A6F2

Family/Spouse: Thomas DE FURNICAL. Thomas and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Joan married before Jan 1272. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Cause of Death: ; hung, beheaded and dismembered
• Death: ; He was hanged in his armour and then beheaded. His body was cut into pieces for the dogs, his head sent to Winchester and put on display there.
• FamilySearch ID: LB55-134
• Name: Earl OF WINCHESTER
• Name: Hugh DESPENSER
• Name: The Elder
• _UID: 70BF73754B6048E793411E243CC48BA335BB
• Knighted: 1306, with Edward II
• Owned: 1314, Cardiff, Wales

Notes:

DEATH: CAUS Executed via hanging, drawn & quartered.

Hugh Dispenser, senior, so called to distinguish him from his son, who bore the designation of Hugh Despencer, junior, both so well known in history as the favourites of the unfortunate Edward II. Of Hugh, senior, we shall first treat, although as father and son ran almost the same course at the same time and shared a similar fate, it is not easy to sever their deeds. Hugh Despencer paid a fine of 2,000 marks to the king, in the 15th of Edward I, for marrying without license Isabel, dau. of William de Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and widow of Patrick Chaworth; by this lady he had an only son, the too celebrated Hugh Dispenser, jun.

In the 22nd of the same reign, he was made governor of Odiham Castle, co. Southampton, and the same year had summons to attend the king at Portsmouth prepared with horse and arms for an expedition into Gascony. In two years afterwards he was at the battle of Dunbar in Scotland, where the English triumphed, and the next year he was one of the commissioners accredited to treat of peace between the English monarch and the kings of the Romans and of France. In the 26th and 28th years of Edward, he was again engaged in the wars of Scotland and was sent by his sovereign, with the Earl of Lincoln, to the papal court to complain of the Scots, and to entreat that his holiness would no longer favour them as they had abused his confidence by falsehoods. To the very close of King Edward I's reign, his lordship seems to have enjoyed the favour of that great prince, and had summons to parliament from him from 23 June, 1295, to 14 March, 13222, but it was after the accession of Edward's unhappy son, the second of that name, that the Spencers attained that extraordinary eminence from which, with their feeble-minded master, they were eventually hurled into the gulf of irretrievable ruin.

In the first years of Edward II's reign, we find the father and son still engaged in the Scottish wars. In the 14th year, the king hearing of great animosities between the younger Spencer and Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex, and learning that they were collecting their followers in order to come to open combat, interfered and strictly commanded Lord Hereford to forebear. About the same time a dispute arising between the Earl of Hereford and John de Mowbray regarding some lands in Wales, young Spencer seized possession of the estate and kept it from both the litigants. This conduct and similar proceedings on the part of the elder Spencer exciting the indignation of the barons, they formed a league against the favourites and, placing the king's cousin, Thomas Plantagenet, Earl of Lancaster, at their head, they marched with banners flying from Sherburne to St. Alban's, whence they despatched the bishops of Salisbury, Hereford, and Chichester to the king with a demand that they Spencers should be banish, to which mission the king, however, giving an imperious reply in the negative, the irritated nobles continued their route to London when Edward, at the instance of the queen, acquiesced, whereupon the barons summoned a parliament in which the Spencers were banished from England and the sentence was proclaimed in Westminster Hall. To this decision, Hugh the elder submitted and retired, but Hugh the younger lurked in divers places, sometimes on land, and sometimes at sea, and was fortunate enough to capture, during his exile, two vessels near Sandwich, laden with merchandise to the value of D40,000, after which, being recalled by the king, an army was raise which encountered and defeated the baronial forces at Boroughbridge, in Yorkshire. In this action, wherein numbers were slain, the Earl of Lancaster was taken prisoner, was carried to his own castle at Pontefract, and there, after a summary trial (the elder Spencer being one of his judges), beheaded.

The Spencers now became more powerful than ever and the elder was created Earl of Winchester, the king loading him with grants of forfeited estates. He was about the same time constituted warden of the king's forests on the south of Trent. Young Spencer obtained, like his father, immense grants from the lands forfeited after the battle of Boroughbridge, but not satisfied with those, and they were incredibly numerous, he extorted by force whatsoever he please. Amongst other acts of lawless oppression, it is related that he seized upon the person of Elizabeth Comyn, a great heiress, the wife of Richard Talbot, in her house at Kennington, in Surrey, and detained her for twelve months in prison until her compelled her to assign to him the manor of Painswike, in Gloucestershire, and the castle and manor of Goderich, in the marches of Wales, but this ill-obtained and ill-exercised power was not formed for permanent endurance and a brief space only was necessary to bring to to a termination.

The queen and the young prince, who had fled to France and had been proclaimed traitors through the influence of the Spencers, ascertaining the feelings of the people, ventured to return and landed at Harwich with the noblemen and persons of eminence who had been exiled after the defeat at Boroughbridge, raised the royal standard and soon found themselves at the head of a considerable force, when, marching upon Bristol where the king and his favourites then were, they were received in that city with acclamation, and the elder Spencer being seized (although in his ninetieth year), was brought in chains before the prince and the barons, and received judgment of death, which was accordingly executed by hanging the culprit upon a gallows in the sight of the king and of his son upon St. Dennis's day, in October, 1326. It is said by some writers that the body was then cut to pieces and given to the dogs. Young Spencer, with the king, effected his escape, but they were both soon afterwards taken and delivered to the queen, when the unfortunate monarch was consigned to Berkeley Castle where he was basely murdered in 1327. Hugh Spencer, the younger, it appears, was impeached before parliament and received sentence "to be drawn upon a hurdle with trumps and trumpets throughout all the city of Hereford," and there to be hanged and quartered, which sentence was executed on a gallows 50 feet high, upon St. Andrew's eve anno 1326 (20 Edward II), Thus terminated the career of two of the most celebrated royal favourites in the annals of England. The younger Hugh, as well as his father, was a peer of the realm, having been summoned to parliament as a baron from 29 July, 1314, to 10 October, 1325, but the Baronies of Spencer and the Earldom of Winchester expired under the attainders of the father and son. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p. 166, Despencer, Earl of Winchester]

*******

Hugh le Despenser ("The Elder Despenser"), 1st Lord (Baron) le Despenser of the 1295 Creation and 1st and last Earl of Winchester, so created 10 May 1322; called to Parliament by writ 24 June 1295, thus being deemed to have been created a baron; sole person of rank to take Edward II's part in the quarrel with his nobles over the notorious royal favourite Piers Gaveston, whom Edward was eventually induced to banish; later represented Edward in negotiating a treaty with his nobles at the time of Gaveston's murder by them in 1312; at Battle of Bannockburn 1314; banished from court by the machinations of his enemies Feb 1314/15; disinherited and exiled in perpetuity Aug 1321, through malign influence over Edward; this judgement reversed Jan 1321/2 and May 1322; and after Edward II had fled to Wales was convicted as a traitor and hanged 27 Oct 1326, when all his honours were forfeited. [Burke's Peerage]
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Hugh and his son were favorites of King Edward II (a weak king) and helped him throw off the mastery of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster. Edward's reliance on the Despencer's drew the ire of his wife Isabel. She had become the mistress of Roger de Mortimer while on a diplomatic mission to France. In September 1326 the couple invaded England, executed the Despencers, and deposed Edward II in favor of his son, Edward III. See Encyclopedia Britannica, Edward II.

*********

Hugh married Isabel De BEAUCHAMP before 1286. Isabel (daughter of Earl William DE BEAUCHAMP, of Warwick and Maud FITZJOHN) was born in 1255 in Warwick, Warwickshire, England; died on 30 May 1306 in Elmley Castle, Worcestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Title (Nobility): 22 May 1306; Sir Knight (by the Prince of Wales)
• Title (Nobility): 1333; 1st / 9th Earl of Devon
• Title (Nobility): Between 1335 and 1340; 1st / 9th Earl of Devon

Notes:

On February 22, 1335 he was created as Earl of Devon. Baron of Okehampton; High Admiral of the West Seas.

He was the 2nd Earl of Devon.

Hugh de Courtenay, 1st/9th Earl of Devon (14 September 1276 ? 23 December 1340) of Tiverton Castle, Okehampton Castle, Plympton Castle and Colcombe Castle, all in Devon, feudal baron of Okehampton and feudal baron of Plympton, was an English nobleman. In 1335, forty-one years after the death of his second-cousin once removed Isabel de Redvers, suo jure 8th Countess of Devon (died 1293) he was officially declared Earl of Devon, although whether as a new creation or in succession to her is unknown, thus alternative ordinal numbers exist for this Courtenay earldom.
Hugh de Courtenay was born 14 September 1276, the son and heir of Sir Hugh de Courtenay (died 1292) of Okehampton Castle in Devon, feudal baron of Okehampton, by his wife, Eleanor le Despenser (died 1328), a daughter of Hugh le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer and sister of Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester, an important adviser to King Edward II. His father was the son of John de Courtenay (died c. 3 May 1274), feudal baron of Okehampton by his wife Lady Isabel de Vere, a daughter of Hugh de Vere, 4th Earl of Oxford. John's father, Robert de Courtenay (died 1242), son of Renaud de Courtenay (died 1190) and Hawise de Curcy (heiress of the feudal barony of Okehampton), had married Lady Mary de Redvers (sometimes called "de Vernon"), the daughter of William de Redvers, 5th Earl of Devon (died 1217) of Tiverton Castle and of Plympton Castle in Devon, feudal baron of Plympton.

Paternal inheritance
On 28 February 1292, at about the time of his marriage, Hugh succeeded to the Okehampton estates and to the de Redvers estates that had not yet been alienated to the Crown. He may then have been styled Earl of Devon, the first of the Courtenay family, although was not recognised in the de facto of the Earldom until 1335. He built the original Colcombe Castle situated near the village of Colyton in Devon. With his father, he also rebuilt Okehampton Castle, expanding its facilities and accommodation to form a hunting lodge, retreat and luxurious residence. His main seat was at Tiverton Castle.

Career
Campaign against Scotland, 1297? 1300
He did homage to King Edward I of England on 20 June 1297, and was granted his own livery. At the time, the King was with his army crossing the River Tweed into Scotland. It is probable that the honour was in acknowledgement of Hugh's military achievements. That July, the English defeated and humiliated the Scots at Irvine. However, the following year, the tables were turned on the advent of the remarkable campaign of William Wallace.

From 6 February 1298, he was summoned by writ to Parliament as Lord Courtenay, and would sit throughout the reign of King Edward II and into the Mortimer Regency for the King's son. He would remained an important noble at Parliaments, into the reign of King Edward III.

Courtenay joined King Edward I at the long siege of Caerlaverock Castle, just over the Solway Firth, for a fortnight in July 1300. He proved himself a fine soldier and loyal adherent to the English crown. He had not been present at the Battle of Stirling Bridge outside Stirling Castle in 1298, during which half the English contingent were killed, including commander Hugh Cressingham. But the King was determined to march into Ayrshire, to devastate the properties of King Robert I of Scotland. However, the English army melted away into the forests as the army moved further northwards. Courtenay may have been with the English King when he sat down in Sweetheart Abbey to receive Robert Winchelsey, Archbishop of Canterbury, who had travelled north with a demanding missive from Pope Boniface to cease hostilities. The King could not ignore this order. In September, he disbanded troops and withdrew over the Solway Firth to Carlisle. The campaign had failed due to a shortage of money, so Parliament was recalled for January 1301. Before returning to London, the English then drew up a six months truce.

Parliament of 1301
Parliament met at Lincoln. The agenda included redrafting the Royal Forest Charter, which had no precedent since it was first introduced in the reign of Henry II, 150 years earlier. Local juries were expected to "perambulate the forests" to gather evidence. But the King needed money and was required by Parliament to surrender his absolute authority and ownership of what became community forests.

Campaigns against Scotland, 1301? 1308
In 1306, the Prince of Wales was despatched into Scotland; the vanguard was led by Aymer de Valence, the King's half-uncle. On 22 May, Courtenay was knighted by the Prince, presumably for his efforts against the Scots. In June, the English occupied Perth. On 19 June, Valence, who had cut a swathe through the Lowlands, fell on the Scots army at Methven in the early dawn. The Scottish king, Robert Bruce, fled into the hills. King Edward I was merciless, as many prisoners were punished. That autumn, the army returned to Hexham. The war was all but over: there were however sieges at Mull of Kintyre and Kildrummy Castle, Aberdeenshire. The English king committed many atrocities, rounding up the Scots aristocracy and their women.
Then as King Robert returned from exile in Ireland, the English army started losing battles. King Edward I, now ailing, had one last campaign in which Courtenay played a major part. Struggling into the saddle towards the Solway Firth, King Edward died at Burgh by Sands, awaiting a crossing. In 1308, a new campaign was sent to quell King Robert, and Courtenay was made a knight banneret, one of the King's elite household.
During the reign of King Edward II, he was made a Lord Ordainer, one of the ruling council in the Lords. He was appointed to the King's Council on 9 Augustus 1318. He was appointed the Warden of the coast of Devon and Cornwall in 1324, and then again in 1336, because his estates stretched across what is now Exmoor and Dartmoor. But he took the honours reluctantly, and played a guarded game with King and Parliament.
As a veteran campaigner, he later aimed to ingratiate himself with young King Edward III, and so refused the Third Penny from the Exchequer. He was investigated, and on 22 February 1335, created as Earl of Devon, being restored to his ancestral line.

Declared Earl of Devon
In 1335, forty-one years after the death of his second-cousin once removed Isabel de Redvers, suo jure 8th Countess of Devon (died 1293) (eldest daughter of Baldwin de Redvers, 6th Earl of Devon), letters patent were granted by King Edward III of England, dated 22 February 1335, declaring him Earl of Devon, and stating that he 'should assume such title and style as his ancestors, Earls of Devon, had wont to do so'. This thus made him 1st Earl of Devon, if the letters patent are deemed to have created a new peerage, otherwise 9th Earl of Devon, if it is deemed a restitution of the old dignity of the de Redvers family, and he is deemed to have succeeded the suo jure 8th Countess of Devon. Authorities differ in their opinions, and thus alternative ordinal numbers exist for this Courtenay earldom.

Marriage and children

He married Agnes de Saint John (d.1340), a daughter of John Saint John (d. 1302) of Basing in Hampshire (by his wife Alice FitzPiers, daughter of Sir Reynold FitzPiers.) and a sister of John St John, 1st Baron St John (d. 1329) of Basing.

By his wife he had five sons and two daughters:
1. John de Courtenay (1300? 1349), first son, Prior of Lewes and Abbot of Tavistock.
2. Hugh de Courtenay, 2nd/10th Earl of Devon (1303-1377), second son, who married Lady Margaret de Bohun, daughter of Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford by Princess Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, daughter of King Edward I and Eleanor of Castile.
3. Lady Eleanor de Courtenay (c.1305? 1330), who married John Grey, 3rd Baron Grey of Codnor (died 1392).
4. Robert de Courtenay (1309? 1334) of Moreton Hampstead in Devon, third son.
5. Sir Thomas de Courtenay (c.1311-1362) of Wootton Courtenay, Somerset, and of Woodhuish, Brixham, Devon, fourth son, a military commander against the French, who died in 1356, the year of the Battle of Poitiers. He married a great Somerset heiress, Muriel de Moels, the eldest of the two daughters and co-heiresses of John Moels, 4th Baron Moels, feudal baron of North Cadbury in Somerset. His wife's share of her paternal inheritance included the manors of Kings Carswell and Dunterton in Devon, and Blackford, Holton, and Lattiford in Somerset.
6. Baldwin de Courtenay (c.1313-1340), fifth son.
7. Lady Elizabeth de Courtenay (c.1313-c.1364), who married Bartholomew de Lisle, Lord Lisle (1311-1345).

Death and burial
Courtenay died at Tiverton Castle on 23 December 1340, and was buried at Cowick Priory, near Exeter, on 5 February 1341.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_de_Courtenay,_1st/9th_Earl_of_Devon

Hugh married Agnes ST. JOHN in 1292. Agnes (daughter of John DE ST JOHN and Alice FITZPIERS) was born about 1279 in Basing, Hamptonshire, England; died on 11 Jun 1345 in Exeter, Devonshire, England; was buried on 27 Jun 1345 in Cowick, Exeter, Devonshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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Source: Carney

Isabell married on 22 Jun 1333. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• _UID: 73071A8208024A56AB29A3408166FDD32E8B

Isabel married after 3 Oct 1305 in (His 2ND Marr.). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• Death: ; The younger Despenser was hung, drawn and quartered at Hereford the following month, November 1326, after his father was hung, beheaded and quartered.
• FamilySearch ID: 9CQ1-X4J
• Name: The Younger
• Occupation: ; 2nd Lord Despenser (29 Jul 1314-10 Oct 1325); King's Chamberlain; Constable of Odiham Castle; Keeper of the castle and town of Dryslwyn and Cantref Mawr, Carmarthenshire; Keeper of the Castle and town of Portchester; Keeper of the Castle, won and barton
• _UID: 09DC8F794CEF4A62A5549114FED7F1B1E9E4
• TitleOfNobility: Between 1314 and 1326; Lord of Glamorgan
• Execution: 24 Nov 1326, Hereford, Herfordshire, England; Hanged, drawn and quartered

Notes:

He and his father were banished in 1321 but returned in 1322 after barons were defeated at Boroughbridge; he and his father were the real rulers of England until they were executed in 1326 after the invasion of Queen Isabella. See J.C. Davies,
"Baronial Opposition to Edward II" (1918, repr. 1967). COLUMBIA ENCYCLOPAEDIA. from materials provided by Debrett's: "Having gone to parts beyond seas without licence, contrary to the King's inhibition, in Jan. 1309/10, his lands and goods were
taken into the King's hand for a time. Chamberlain towards the end of this year, he being then an adherent of the Earl of Lancaster. Appointed Constable of Odiham Castlel, 1 Nov. 1317: this he had to resign next year. Appointed Keeper of the
castle and town of Dryslwyn, and Cantref Mawr, co. Carmarthen, 18 Nov. 1317; this he had to resign, 14 Sept 1318, but it was regranted to him with the assent of the Par. of York, 21 Nov. following. At this Parl. he was re-appointed Chamberlain.
He was appointed a Constable of Odiham Castle, 22 Feb. 1319/20 to 21 June (or July 9) 1321. He accompanied the King to France in June 1320. Keeper of the castle, town, and barton of Bristol, 1 Oct 1320 to 10 May 1321. On 19 Augl. 1321 he was disinherited and exiled, as mentioned above, his lands being taken into the King's hand, 15 Sep. 1321. He took refuge in the Cinque Ports, and, engaging in piracy, with the King's connivance, did considerable damage. He had letters of safe
conduct for a year, 8 Dec. 1321, and of protection, 9 Jan. 1321/2. In Mar. following he accompanied the King against the contrariants, and is said to have urged him, when at Burton-on-Trent (10 Mar.), not to prosecute war. After the battle of
Boroughbridge, he received large grants of lands forfeited by the rebels. He was appointed Keeper of the castle, town, and barton of Bristol during the King's pleasure, 3 May 1322, and for life, 1 June 1325. Appointed Keepr of the castles,
manors, and lands of Brecknock, Hay, Cantref Selyf, Talgarth, Blaen Llyfni, and Pencelly, co. Brecon, and Huntington, co. Hereford, 10 July 1322. He received a pardon for all his debts at the Exchequer and in the Wardrobe, 5 June 1323. In
1324 he complained to the Pope that he was threatened by magical and secret dealings: but the Pope could only advise him to tur to God with his whole heart and to make a good confession. He was appoitned a commissioner to make peace with the Scots, 8 Nov. 1324. On 1 June 1325 he received a pardon for the acts of piracy which he had committed in 1321. He was sum. for Military Service from 30 June (1314) 7 Edw. II to 1 May (1325) 18 Edw. II, and to Parl. from 29 July (1314) 8 Edw.
II to 10 Oct (1325) 19 Edw. II, by writes directed Hugoni le Despenser juniori, whereby he is held to have become LORD LE DESPENSER. He was taken to Hereford, tried -- without being allowed to speak in his own defence -- condemned to death as a traitor, and hanged on a gallows 50 feet high, 24 Nov. 1326. His head was set up on London Bridge, 4 Dec, and his quarters in four different places. Some years afterwards, his bones were collected, and bur. in Tewkesbury Abbey. On his death all his honors were forfeited, the sentence of "Exile" passed on him in 1321 being re-affirmed in Parl. I Edw. III. The Queen obtained his movables, plate, and jeweles, 8 Jan. 1326/7.SOURCE: Dict. Nat. Bio. 863-5; Ligon Book p.196-859; Amer. Royal Desc. p.449;
Fosters p. 121; The Royal Line (Adamic Genealogy) March 1980, Albert F. Schmuhl


Despenser, Hugh le, English nobleman, son of Hugh le Despenser. A supporter of the king against the barons, he fought under Edward I, for whom he secured a papal release from an oath to refrain from excessive taxation. When the barons forced Edward's son and successor, Edward II, to banish his favorite, Piers Gaveston, le Despenser supported Gaveston and in 1312 succeeded him as the royal favorite. Edward II made him earl of Winchester in 1322, and le Despenser, together with his son, Hugh, acquired vast wealth. The barons established a coalition to challenge Edward II and le Despenser, and open warfare broke out between the king and the barons. At the battle of Boroughbridge in 1322, the king's forces defeated the coalition. The elder le Despenser became virtual ruler of England, instituted several important administrative reforms, and concluded peace with Scotland in 1323. In 1326 Isabella, queen consort of England, formed an alliance with the barons against Edward and the le Despensers in favor of Edward's and Isabella's son, young Prince Edward. In a general uprising, the forces of Edward II were defeated and both father and son le Despenser were hanged.

Hugh married Eleanore (Alianore) De CLARE on 1 May 1306 in Westminister, London, Middlesex, England. Eleanore (daughter of Gilbert I "The Red Earl" De CLARE, Sir Knight/9Th Earl/Gloucester and Princess Joan PLANTAGENET, of Acre) was born on 3 Oct 1292 in Caerphilly Castle, Caerphilly, Glamorganshire, Wales; died on 30 Jun 1337 in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• FamilySearch ID: L179-LQK
• _UID: E33069B546A74BE0B42EFCACEDC6D8207E2E

Notes:

Source: Weis, Sheppard, Beal, The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215, 5th Ed., Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, [1999],
Sir Philip le Despenser [k] b abt 1289, Stoke, Gloucestershire, England, d 24 Sep 1313; md Margaret Goushill abt 1311, daughter of Sir Ralph de Goushill and Hawise Fitz Warin.
Child of Philip le Despenser and Margaret de Goushill was:

Sir Philip le Depenser [l] b 6 Apr 1313, of Lincolnshire, England, d Aug 1349, Lincolnshire, England. He md Joan de Cobham 1339/40, daughter of Sir John de Cobham. She was b abt 1323, prob Cobham, Kent, England, d bef 15 May 1357.
Children of Philip le Despenser and Joan de Cobham were:

Sir Philip le Despenser b 18 Oct 1342, d 4 Aug 1401, Goxhill, Lincolnshire, England; md Elizabeth.



SOURCES:
CP: Vol IV[259-278, 288-291], Vol XI[601]; AR: Line 8[30-31], Line 50[30], Line 58[30], Line 70[35-36], Line 74[31-34], Line 74A[31-34], Line 148A[31], Line 200[35-36]; SGM: Brad Verity
PHILIP LE DESPENCER 1290-1313 BIO
Sir Philip Le Despencer, Knt., of Goxhill, Lincolnshire was the son of Hugh Le Despencer, 1st Earl of Winchester and his wife, Lady Isabella Beauchamp, daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick and Maud FitzJohn. He was born ca. 1290 in Stoke, Gloucester, England. He married Margaret de Goushill, daughter of Ralph De Gousille and his wife Hawise Fitzwarine. Philip was brother to Hugh Despenser, the Younger, a favorite of King Edward II.
According to Douglas Richardson's Magna Carta Ancestry, Philip and Margaret were parents to Sir Philip le Despenser of Goxhill, Lincolnshire (6 Apr 1313-Aug 1349) who married Hon. Joan de Cobham, daughter of John, 2nd Baron Cobham of Kent.
They were parents to:
Philip Le Despencer 1st Baron Le Despencer
Hawise Le Despenser (c.1345-10 April 1414), was the 2nd wife of Sir Andrew Luttrell, Lord Luttrell of Irnham by whom she had issue.

Philip married Margaret DE GOUSHILL about 1312. Margaret (daughter of Ralph DE GOUSILLE and Hawise FITZWARIN) was born on 12 May 1294 in Whittington, Oswestry, Shropshire, England; died on 29 Jul 1349. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• _UID: 1F5D161B21A846BEBA1494871C2A7E1D44A2

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• _UID: 8983AD984AD645A486F38B362B909DDCC822

Notes:

He was the 2nd Earl of Devon.

Hugh married Margaret DE BOHUN on 11 Aug 1325 in France. Margaret (daughter of Lord Humphrey DE BOHUN, VIII and Princess Elizabeth PLANTAGENET) was born on 3 Apr 1311 in Caldecote, Northamptonshire, England; died on 16 Dec 1391 in Exeter, Devonshire, England; was buried in 1391 in Cathedral, Exeter, Devon, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• _UID: 081AC10FE87E4C4DB4079F52BF386B0504F2

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• _UID: 939534FAD6AD4745B0A2ABCA4293B1590B7D

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• FamilySearch ID: MB49-XVM
• TitleOfNobility: ; Sir Knight
• _UID: 122E8F18AC184274840BF6C0724F9DF8FC74

Notes:

Sir Thomas Courtenay (1315-1356) of Wootton Courtenay in Somerset, was a knight and an English military commander against the French during the Hundred Years' War, who died in the year of the Battle of Poitiers.

Family
He was the fourth son of Hugh de Courtenay, 9th Earl of Devon (1276-1340), of Tiverton Castle in Devon, by his wife Agnes de Saint John, daughter of John Saint John of Basing, Hampshire.

At some time before 27 August 1337 he married a great heiress, Muriel de Moels (1322-1369), the elder of the two daughters and co-heiresses of John Moels, 4th Baron Moels, feudal baron of North Cadbury in Somerset, by his wife Joan Lovel, daughter of Richard Lovel of Castle Cary. Having married this daughter and heiress of a tenant-in-chief without royal licence, he received a royal pardon on 27 August 1337.

His wife's share of her paternal inheritance included the manors of King's Carswell and Dunterton in Devon, and Blackford, Holton and Lattiford in Somerset.

Courtenay had one son and two daughters by his wife. Their only son and heir was Hugh, who died childless in 1369, leaving his two sisters, Muriel and Margaret, as co-heiresses. Muriel married Sir John Dynham (1318-1383), of Hartland and of Nutwell in Devon, feudal baron of Cardinham in Cornwall. Her son was Sir John Dinham (1359-1428), ancestor of John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham (1433-1501), KG. Muriel brought King's Carswell into the Dynham family and it became one of their seats. The other sister, Margaret, married Sir Thomas Peverell, from a cadet branch of Peverell of Sampford Peverell in Devon, whose only daughter and sole heiress was Eleanor Peverell, wife of Walter Hungerford, 1st Baron Hungerford.

Courtenay died in 1356, the date of the Battle of Poitiers, having 10 years earlier in 1346 petitioned the Pope for an indult for plenary remission at the hour of death.

Landholdings
His landholdings increased greatly after inheritances from his marriage of many lands of the feudal barony of North Cadbury. His landholdings included, in Devon: Woodhuish, in the parish of Brixham; Kings Carswell; Dunterton; Plymtree, which he purchased and was recorded as lord of the manor in 1345; and Sutton Lucy and Lucyhays, in Colyton hundred.

In Somerset he held Wootton Courtenay, Blackford, Holton, Lattiford, Maperton (to which church he presented in 1343 and 1351), South Cadbury (to which church he presented in 1351), and Cricket Malherbie (to which church he presented in 1340 and 1349).

He also held Over Wallop, Hampshire and Over Worton, Oxfordshire.

Thomas married Muriel De MOELS about 1343 in Of Cadbury, Mapperton, Somersetshire, England. Muriel (daughter of Sir John MOELS and Joan LOVEL) was born in 1322 in Of Cadbury, Mapperton, Somersetshire, England; died on 12 Aug 1369 in Dunterton, Devon, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• _UID: FCA3D92C61DB46159D06999FE065564BFC3E

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• FamilySearch ID: LZP5-SXH

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• FamilySearch ID: MB2D-KLM
• _UID: B9492A252A444DC69B5D61915F46A9C2CCC0

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AFN:84ZR-22

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• FamilySearch ID: LY9N-JV6
• _UID: 86F8DF5D5E484D7489B3924B16E7D41E294C

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AFN:84ZQ-ZK

Family/Spouse: Anne FERRERS. Anne was born in 1337 in Groby, Leicestershire, England; died on 8 Aug 1367 in Yoxall, Staffordshire, England; was buried on 1 Sep 1367 in Yoxall, Staffordshire, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• FamilySearch ID: L857-99H
• _UID: 195CE92AC1AD47B8B8D43E606D83548CEFDE
• TitleOfNobility: Between 1331 and 1344; Countess of Arundel
• Divorced: 4 Dec 1344

Notes:

She was the Countess of Arundel.

Isabel, daughter of 1st Lord (Baron) le Despenser of the 29 July 1314 creation, and had issue (bastardised by the papal annulment of 1344, [Burke's Peerage]

Isabel le Despenser (1312? 1356) was the eldest daughter of Hugh Despenser the Younger and Eleanor de Clare. She was descended from Edward I of England through her mother, while her father is famous for being the favorite of Edward II of England.

Though he had stood against Edward II in the past, Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel had loyally supported him since the 1320s. Thus it must have seemed to be politically prudent to Edmund to marry his heir Richard to the eldest daughter of the King's closest friend and adviser Hugh le Despenser. For Hugh's part, a large incentive for him must have been that he could expect his daughter Isabel would one day become Countess of Arundel.

On 9 February 1321 at the royal manor Havering-atte-Bower, Isabel was duly married to Richard FitzAlan, the heir to the earldom of Arundel. Isabel was only eight at the time, while Richard was fifteen (not seven as has been claimed). Their respective ages would come up later when Richard would try to seek an annulment.

Annulment
Richard and Isabel had one son, Edmund Fitzalan, born in 1327, and in 1331 Isabel's husband became earl of Arundel. However, in December 1344 Richard Fitzalan had their marriage annulled on the grounds that he had never freely consented to marry Isabel and that they both had renounced their vows at puberty but had been "forced by blows to cohabit, so that a son was born". Isabel retired to several manors in Essex that were given to her by her ex-husband. After receiving a papal dispensation, Richard married Isabel's first cousin Eleanor of Lancaster, with whom he had apparently been living.

Richard and Isabel's only child, Edmund Fitzalan, was rendered illegitimate by this annulment and so was unable to inherit his father's earldom. When his father died in 1376 Edmund quarreled with his half-siblings, the children of his father's second marriage, over inheritance rights. Edmund was imprisoned in the Tower of London until he was released in 1377 by request of his brothers-in-law.

Father's execution
After their father was executed for treason in 1326, Isabel and her youngest sister Elizabeth were the only daughters of Hugh the Younger to escape being confined in nunneries, Isabel because she was already married and Elizabeth because of her youth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_le_Despenser,_Countess_of_Arundel. Also see Source: The complete peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom : extant, extinct, or dormant by G. E. Cokayne, 1910, Volume 1, with an account of the papal mandate.

Isabel married Richard "Copped Hat" FITZALAN on 9 Feb 1320 in Kings Chapel, Havering-Atte-Bower, Essex, England. Richard (son of Edmund FITZALAN and Alice DE WARREN) was born about 1313 in Of Arundel, Sussex, England; died on 24 Jan 1376 in Arundel, Sussex, England; was buried after 24 Jan 1376 in Lewes Priory, Lewes, Sussex, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• FamilySearch ID: GMXH-J3D
• _UID: B48F6C3D5E034672AEE7F3E023C4DDFA2B48

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AFN: 84ZR-1V

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• FamilySearch ID: L1DG-T33

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• FamilySearch ID: G9ZT-5RZ
• _UID: 290B8FEE0BC746858CF1CEE2017D6E62C985

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AFN: 9FWW-5K

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• FamilySearch ID: LBJM-JNJ
• _UID: 3F0A372E63184009B9AB3754C64E0967E539

Notes:

MARRIAGE: Very young as husband was age 8 years old.

Family/Spouse: Maurice "The Valiant" DE BERKELEY. Maurice and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Elizabeth married Maurice De BERKELEY, Lord in Aug 1338. Maurice (son of Thomas "The Rich" De BERKELEY, 3rd Lord and Margaret De MORTIMER) was born in in Berkeley, Glouchester, England; died in Aug 1368 in (Or 3 Jun). [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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• FamilySearch ID: GW6R-JYM
• _UID: 642FEBD290414BFB853970F2B1B77762C81B

Notes:

AFN: 84ZQ-W7

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• _UID: F3A7CDD8E10F4872A0136920E66F6315F285

Notes:

Sir Philip le Depenser [l] b 6 Apr 1313, of Lincolnshire, England, d Aug 1349, Lincolnshire, England. He md Joan de Cobham 1339/40, daughter of Sir John de Cobham. She was b abt 1323, prob Cobham, Kent, England, d bef 15 May 1357.
Children of Philip le Despenser and Joan de Cobham were:

Sir Philip le Despenser b 18 Oct 1342, d 4 Aug 1401, Goxhill, Lincolnshire, England; md Elizabeth.



SOURCES:
CP: Vol IV[259-278, 288-291], Vol XI[601]; AR: Line 8[30-31], Line 50[30], Line 58[30], Line 70[35-36], Line 74[31-34], Line 74A[31-34], Line 148A[31], Line 200[35-36]; SGM: Brad Verity

Philip married Joan Margaret DE COBHAM about 1340 in Goxhill, Lincolnshire, England. Joan (daughter of Baron John DE COBHAM and Joan BEAUCHAMP) was born about 1316 in Cobham, Strood, Kent, England; died on 20 Jan 1350. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]