De Lacy


de Lacy is the surname of an old Norman family which originated from Lassy, Calvados. The family took part in the Norman Conquest of England and the later Norman invasion of Ireland. The name is first recorded for Hugh de Lacy. His sons, Walter and Ilbert, left Normandy and travelled to England with William the Conqueror. The awards of land by the Conqueror to the de Lacy sons led to two distinct branches of the family: the northern branch, centred on Blackburnshire and West Yorkshire was held by Ilbert's descendants; the southern branch of Marcher Lords, centred on Herefordshire and Shropshire, was held by Walter's descendants.
Until 1361, the northern branch of the family held the great Lordship of Bowland before it passed through marriage to the Duchy of Lancaster. They were also Barons of Pontefract and later Earls of Lincoln.
The southern branch of the family became substantial landholders in the Lordship of Ireland and was linked to the Scottish royal family; Elizabeth de Burgh, great-granddaughter of Walter de Lacy, married Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland.

Lords of Pontefract, Bowland and Clitheroe

Brothers Ilbert and Walter de Lacy jointly held the Norman lands of the Bishop of Bayeux. They participated in the Norman conquest of England. While there is evidence that Ilbert fought at William's side at Hastings, there is no record of Walter fighting at Hastings. Ilbert was a major participant in the Harrying of the North which effectively ended the quasi-independence of the region through large-scale destruction that resulted in the relative "pacification" of the local population and the replacement of local Anglo-Danish lords with Normans. In return, he received vast grants of land in West Yorkshire, where he built Pontefract Castle.
The Honour of Pontefract, which included the manor of Stanbury, was maintained by Ilbert's direct male descendants for the next three generations until 1192. It continued in the female line until 1348.
Some of the English holdings lost by Roger the Poitevin due to his rebellion were awarded to Robert de Lacy, the son of Ilbert de Lacy. In 1102, King Henry I of England granted the fee of the ancient wapentake of Blackburnshire and further holdings in Hornby, and the vills of Chipping, Aighton and Dutton in Amounderness to de Lacy while confirming his possession of the Lordship of Bowland. These lands formed the basis of what became known as the Honour of Clitheroe.
John de Lacy, a descendant via a female line whose father, Roger Fitz John, Constable of Chester, adopted the surname "de Lacy", gained more titles, including that of the Earldom of Lincoln in 1221.

Notable family members

, Lord of Lassy
Walter de Lacy, the son of Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Lassy, was granted the lordship of Weobley in Herefordshire after the Conquest. He is already attested in the Welsh Marches by 1069. By the time of Walter's death, he held blocks of land in Herefordshire along the border with Wales with another group of lands centered on Ludlow in Shropshire. These groupings allowed Walter to help defend the England–Wales border against Welsh raids. He also had smaller holdings in Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Oxfordshire. Walter was second in the region only to William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford and his son, Roger de Breteuil although he was not subordinate to them. After the latter's rebellion against the king in 1075 Walter became the leading baron in the region.

Notable family members

  • Walter de Lacy, son of Hugh de Lacy, who received lands in Herefordshire and Shropshire
  • * Roger de Lacy, eldest son of Walter, who built Ludlow Castle. Following his banishment from England, his English estates were confiscated.
  • ** Gilbert de Lacy, son of Roger, who inherited his father's estates in Normandy only. He succeeded in recovering his father's lands about Longtown, Weobley and Ludlow. He became a Templar in the 1150s and granted the Templars Guiting in Gloucestershire.
  • *** Robert de Lacy, eldest son of Gilbert, who predeceased his father
  • *** Hugh de Lacy, younger son of Gilbert, who inherited his father's estates. He was later awarded the Lordship of Meath in Ireland.
  • * Hugh de Lacy, younger son of Walter, who received the English lands upon his brother's banishment. The de Lacy lands then passed to Pain fitzJohn and others.
  • * Walter de Lacy, Abbot of Gloucester Abbey, son of Walter

    Lordship of Meath

In addition to his substantial land holdings in Herefordshire and Shropshire, England as 4th Baron de Lacy, Hugh de Lacy was also a substantial land holder in Ireland. Following his participation in the Norman invasion of Ireland, he was granted the lands of a Gaelic medieval kingdom by the Anglo-Norman King Henry II of England in 1172 by the service of fifty knights. The Lordship of Meath was an extensive seigniorial liberty in medieval Ireland with almost royal authority. The Lordship was roughly co-extensive with the Kingdom of Meath. At its greatest extent, it included all of the modern counties of Fingal, Meath, Westmeath as well as parts of counties Cavan, Kildare, Longford, Louth and Offaly. The Lordship's caput was Trim Castle. With an area of 30,000 m2, it is the largest castle in Ireland. The design of the central three-storey keep is unique for a Norman keep being of cruciform shape, with twenty corners.
These lords were reliant on their own aggression for laying claim to their lands and for securing them. Castles, by virtue of their defensive and offensive capabilities as well as their symbolic status, were indispensable for dominating the area of the lordship. Known as a great builder of castles, by c. 1200, de Lacy had settlements all over the lordship, either in his own hands or the hands of his barons. With his son Walter he built Trim Castle and Kilkea Castle. Some time after 1196, Walter granted "the whole land of Rathtowth" to his younger brother, Hugh. This sub-division, named the Barony of Ratoath, was perhaps the first instance of the use of the term barony in Ireland for a division of a county. By letters patent from John, King of England, the prescriptive barony was granted to Walter de Lacy and his heirs in perpetuity in 1208.

Notable family members

was the great-grandson of Walter de Lacy of the Norman Conquest.
  • Walter, 2nd Lord of Meath, 5th Baron de Lacy of Longtown, Weobley and Ludlow, eldest son of Hugh, married Margaret de Braose.
  • *Egidia de Lacy, Lady of Connacht, daughter of 2nd Lord, married Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Baron of Connaught and Strathearn. Her descendants include the Earls of Ulster and Lady Elizabeth de Burgh, the wife of Robert the Bruce.
  • *Gilbert de Lacy, son of Walter, married Isabel Bigod, daughter of Sir Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk. He predeceased his father before 25 December 1230.
  • **Walter de Lacy son of Gilbert, married Rohese le Botiller but had no issue.
  • **Margery de Lacy, daughter of Gilbert, married Sir John de Verdun, the son of Theobald le Botiller, 2nd Chief Butler of Ireland and Rohese de Verdun. As co-heir with her sister to her grandfather's estates, she received Westmeath as her inheritance.
  • **Maud de Lacy, daughter of Gilbert, married Lord Geoffrey de Geneville, Justiciar of Ireland, the son of Simon de Joinville, Seneschal of Champagne, and Beatrix of Burgundy. As co-heir with her sister to her grandfather's estates, she received the eastern part of the lordship as her inheritance.
  • *** Geoffrey de Geneville, son of Maud.
  • *** Joan de Geneville, daughter of Maud, who married Gerald FitzMaurice FitzGerald.
  • *** Sir Piers de Geneville, son of Maud, married in 1283 Jeanne of Lusignan.
  • **** Joan de Geneville, 2nd Baroness Geneville, daughter of Sir Piers de Geneville, who married Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March. Mortimer, by his vigorous action in Ireland, succeeded in re-uniting the two halves of the Lordship of Meath.
  • Hugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster, younger son of Hugh de Lacy, was created Earl of Ulster in 1205.
  • *Rose de Lacy, married Alan, Lord of Galloway.