John Lestrange


John III Lestrange, of Knockin in Shropshire, was a marcher lord, landowner, administrator and soldier. He was also the Constable and Justice of Chester from 1240 to 1245, and fought the Second Barons' War with king Henry III of England.

Origins

The surname of this family indicates that they were "foreign" and therefore originally not from Normandy. Various proposals have been made about their origins, including Brittany, Lorraine, and Anjou. They first appear in Norfolk where Rolland, Roald or Rivallon Lestrange was a tenant there of Alan fitz Flaald and married Mathilde the heiress of one part of the two parts of Hunstanton.
Roland's son John I Lestrange, twice sheriff of Shropshire, held the castles of Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth for King Henry II in 1174.
John I's son John II Lestrange and his three other sons all acquired lands in Shropshire and over the Welsh border in Powys, with John II making his headquarters at Knockin where he and his successors built a castle, church and village. He served as sheriff of Shropshire and of Staffordshire. He also joined his neighbour, Robert Corbet, on the Third Crusade.

Career

John III was the son of John II and served in 1214 in King John's failed campaign in Poitou, taking part in the
Battle of Roche-au-Moine.
In 1231 he was granted by King Henry III the fiefdom of Wrockwardine, and between 1233 and 1240 was in turn constable of the royal castles at Montgomery, Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth and Chester.
In 1245 he served as the king's negotiator in the military campaign against Dafydd ap Llywelyn, Prince of Gwynedd. During the rebellion of Simon de Montfort in 1264, he backed the king in the Second Barons' War.
After serving like his father as Sheriff of both Shropshire and Staffordshire, he died in 1269.

Family

He married Lucy, daughter of Robert Tregoz. They had four sons and two daughters: