CLARE, DE CLARE, CRISPIN of France, Ireland and Wales

For hundreds of years the name of deClare is intricately woven into ancient English history as the family distinguished themselves in the royal houses of Europe. Before the year of 1000, Geoffrey Crispin, Earl or Count of Eu or Ewe, Normandy, and Brion or Bryomy.

His son, Gisleberi Crispin, b. ca 1000 in Normandy, d. ca 1040 m. In 1020 Constance de Eu, in Roeun, Seine-Maritime, France. They were later divorced. They had two children, viz: Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare b. Ca 1022 Bec-de-Mortague, Seine-Maritime, France, d. 1090,bur. St. Neots, Huntingdon, England m. 1050 Rohese Giffard de Bolebec in Roeun, Seine-Maritime, France, and, Heselia Crispin b. 1025 in Bec-de-Mortagne, Seine-Maritime, France where she m. In 1044 William Malet.

RICHARD DE CLARE was also known as Richard FitzGilbert DeClare and Richard Crispin, m. Rohese Giffard de Bolebec, b. 1034 Longueville, Normandy, the daughter of Walter Giffard de Bolebec, Earl. It is from this match that the de Clares of Tunbridge Castle, Kent, begin. Their children:

I. Roger de Clare b. 1058 Tunbridge Castle, Kent, England.

II. Walter de Clare b. 1060 Tunbridge Castle, Kent, England.

III. Richard de Clare b. 1062 Tunbridge Castle, Kent, England, d. 1107.

IV. Robert de Clare b. 1064 Tunridge Castle, Kent, England, d. 1136 m. Maud St. Liz.

V. Gilbert de Clare, also known as Gilbert de Tunbridge de Clare, was b. ca 1065 at Tunbridge Castle, Kent, England m. Adelize de Clermont, b. ca 1065, the daughter of Hugh de Clermont and his wife, Margaret of Hampton, England. See page 44 for descendants.

VI. Rohese de Clare b. 1067 Tunbridge Castle, Kent, England, d. 1121 m. ca 1088 Eudos le Dapifer.

VII. Adeliza de Clare b. 1069 Tunbridge Castle, Kent, England, d. ca 1138 m. Walter Tirel.

ISSUE OF GILBERT DE CLARE AND WIFE, ADELIZA DE CLERMONT

1. Adeliza de Clare b. ca 1066 Essex, England d. ca 1163 Priory, England m. Alberic de Vere,Chamberlain.

2. Walter de Clare b. ca 1086 Tunbridge Castle, Kent, England d. after 1149.

3. Baldwin Fitz Gilbert de Clare b. 1088/1092 Tunbridge Castle, Kent, England, d. 1171.

4. Richard de Clare b. ca 1090 Tunbridge Castle, Kent, England d. 1139, slain near Abergavenny, Wales. he was known as Richard Fitz Gilbert. He m. Adeliza de Meschines of Cheshire, England, the daughter. of Ranulph de Brosquesart de Meschines, Earl of Chester and his wife, Lady Maud or Margaretta Lupus. See below for his descendants.

5. Rohesia de Clare b. ca 1090 Tunbridge Castle, Kent,England m. Hugh de Lacy.

6. Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Pembroke, Wales, b. 1100 Tunbridge Castle, Kent, England, d. 1148 Kent, England m. Elizabeth Beaumont.

ISSUE OR RICHARD DE CLARE AND WIFE, ADELIZA DE MESCHINES:

(a)Adeliza de Clare b. Tunbridge Castle, Kent, England m. William de Percy.

(b) Roger de Clare b. ca 1110 Tunbridge Castle, Kent, England, d. 1173 Hertford, England m. Maud St. Hilary, the daughter. of James St. Hilary. Maud d. 12/24/1193 Norfolk, England. Roger de Clare was known as the "Good Earl of Hertford". Lived in the Castle at Tunbridge. Issue: (1) Richard de Clare, Earl of Hertford, b. ca 1150 Hertford, England, d. 1217 Hertford, bur. 1218 at Clare, in the Middle of the Choir of Priory, Tunbridge, Kent. He m. 1183 Hertford, England, Countess Amicia FitzRobert of Gloucester, England, who d. 1/1/1224/5 Glouchester, a daughter of William FitzRobert, Earl of Gloucester and his wife, Hawise de Beaumont. For descendants of Richard de Clare, see page 45. (2) Aveline de Clare b. 1156 Tunbridpe Castle, Kent, England, d. ca 6/4/1225 m. Geoffrey Fitz Piers b. 1162 Saffron Walden, Essex, England, d. 10/2/1213, the son of Piers de Saffron Lutegareshale and Maud de Mandeville. They had issue: John Fitz Geoffrey, Chief Justice, b. ca 1210 Shere, Surrey, England, d. 11/23/1238 m. 1231 Isabell Bigod in Norfolk, England. (3) Mabel de Clare b. ca 1157 Tunbridge Castle, Kent, England, m. Helen de Mowbray.
ISSUE OF RICHARD DE CLARE, EARL OF HEREFORT, AND AMICA FITZROBERT

a. Maud de Clare b. Pembroke, Wales m. Roger de Lacie, Constable.

b. Gilbert de Clare b. 1189 Pembroke, Wales, d. 10/25/1230 Penros, Brittany, bur. 11/10/1230 Tewkesbury, before the High Altar, in Pembroke. He m. Isabella Marshall on 10/9/1217, Pembroke. Isabella was a daughter of William Marshall, the Earl of Pembroke and his wife, Eleanor Plantagenet. Their issue:

1. Joan de Clare b. ca 1220 Pembroke, Wales m. Lord Rhysgrdy.

2. Maud de Clare d. 1262 Pembroke, Wales.

3. Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, b. 8/4/1222 Gloucester, England d. 7/15/1262 Eschemerfield, near Canterbury, Kent, England, bur. 7/28/1262 at Tewkesbury, Gloucester, England m. 2/2/1238 Lady Maud de Lacie who d. 1288, the daughter. Of John de Lacie, Earl of Lincoln and his wife, Alice DeAquila (de l'Aigle). .

Richard de Clare was the most powerful English noble of his time, holding estates in more than 20 English counties, including the lordship of Tewkesbury, wealthy manors in Gloucester, and the great marcher lordship of Glamorgan. He himself acquired the Kilkinney estate in Ireland and the lordship of Usk and Caeleon in south Wales, making him the great lord in south Wales. In Glamorgan he was almost an independent prince.

4. Isabel de Clare b. 1226 Gloucester, England, d. After 1264 Gloucester, England m. Robert Bruce, an unnsuccessful contestant to the Throne of Scotland.

DESCENDANTS OF RICHARD DE CLARE, EARL OF GLOUCESTER, AND MAUD DE LACIE, HIS WIFE:

(a) Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, chr. 9/2/1243 Christ Church, Hampshire, England, d. 12/7/1295 Monmouth, Wales m. (1) 5/1290 Princess Alice Angouleme, a niece of King Henry III. Gilbert succeeded his father, Richard de Clare, in July of 1262. Gilbert was succeeded by his son, Gilbert de Clare (1291-1314) who was killed at the Battle of Bannockburn. See below for descendants.

(b) Thomas de Clare, Governor of London, b. ca 1245 Tunbridge, Kent, England, d. 8/29/1287 Clare, Ireland m. Julian or Amy FitzMaurice. Thomas was Governor of London in 1274. He m. (2) Isabella. He was a member of the Order of Runnemeade.

(c) Bozo de Clare b. 7/12/1248 Tunbridge, Kent, England, d. 10/1294. (d) Richard de Clare b. ca 1249 Tunbridge, England, d. Before 7/1262.

(e) Margaret de Clare b. ca 1250 Tunbridge, England.

(f) Maud de Clare b. ca 1252 Tunbridge, England m. Robert Gifford.

(g) Benedict de Clare b. ca 1254 Tunbridge, England d. 1295 m. Princess Joan Plantagenet 5/1290.

(h) Roese (Rose) de Clare b. 1257 Tunbridge, England m. Roger de Mowbray.

DESCENDANTS OF GILBERT DE CLARE, EARL, AND WIFE, ALICE ANGOULEME:

1. Margaret de Clare, chr. 1292 at Monmouth Castle, Monmouth, England m. Piers Gaveston.

2. Eleanor de Clare b. 10/1292 Monmouth, England.

3. Gilbert de Clare, Earl, b. 5/10/1291 Winchcomb, Gloucester, England, d. 1314 Bannockburn, Scotland. Killed at the Battle of Rannockburn.

4. Elizabeth de Clare b. ca 1295 England, d. 11/4/1360 Monmouth, Wales m. (1) John de Burgh. Elizabeth was the founder of Clare College in Cambridge, England in 1359. She m. (2) Lord Theobald Verdon (3) Robert Damory, Baron of Armey.

Gilbert de Clare, Lord of Glamorgan. This image was fashioned in a stained glass window ca 1340 at Tewkesbury Abbey Church.

Tonbridge Castle, also spelled Tunbridge Castle was constructed during the 11th-century. A gate was added in the 13th-century which has survived the ravages of time. The deClare's were the original owners of the castle, and here they lavishly entertained King Edward I. The castle itself is located alongside the River Medway in Kent. The de Clare's were a fighting breed who mostly met untimely deaths in battle. The first Richard de Clare died during a siege in Normandy, and the line died out when the last of the de Clares died in the Battle of Bannockburn. Others heirs met a similar fate. The castle passed to the Stafford family, from whence it frequently passed back and forth between the Crown and the Stafford's. Henry Stafford was executed by King Richard III, and his son was put to death by orders of Henry VIII. So the history of Tonbridge is undeniably bloody. The first castle was destroyed in 1088 and the ruins that we see today are of a later castle which was considered to be one of the finest examples of a Motte and Bailey Castle in Kent.

Caerphilly Castle in Glamorgan in South Wales was built between 1271 and 1280 by Gilbert de Clare (1245-1295), Lord of Glamorgan and one of the most powerful men in realm. The grounds over 30 acres and it is the largest castle in Wales, both in its spendor in its resiential quarters and the grounds. Historians consider this castle one of the most splendid in all of Europe. William the Conqueror gave de Clare the right to build castles without royal license and to wage war on his behalf. At the time that Caerphilly Castle was built King Edward I was abroad on a crusade and de Clare was concerned about a threat of the Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd who had control of middle and northern Wales and was moving southward to capture Glamorgan.

St. Marys Church

St. Mary's Church in Reculver Parish. Reculver is a hamlet and coastal resort situated in southeast England, about 3 miles east of Herne Bay, in Kent, near the City of Caterbury. Afer the Romans left the area, Reculver retained its importance after the Romans left a fort there, a monastery was probably built over the ruins. During the Middle Ages the twin spires of the church became a landmark for mariners known as the "Twin Sisters", supposedly after daughters of Geoffrey St Clare.

Clare College in Cambridge was founded in 1326, and generously endowed a few years later by Lady Elizabeth de Clare (Lady de Burgh), a granddaughter of King Edward I (1272-1307). In 1336 King Edward III (1327-77) granted licence "to his cousin Elizabeth de Burge" to establish a collegium and was known as Clare Hall as early as 1339. In 1359, a year before her death, Lady Elizabeth de Clare promulgated a set of statutes by which the new college was to be governed. In 1521 a fire destroyed most of the colleges' early muniments.

Sources: King Edward III by Michael Packe, page 12; Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 5; Descendants of the Magna Charta by Charles H. Browning; The Magna Charta Barons; Wurts' Magna Charta; New Century of Names by Clarence L. Barnhart; Royal Britain by Charles Phillips.