Hugh Le Despencer

• Preferred Name: Hugh Le Despencer^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]}
  
• Gender: M
  
• FSID: 9CQ1-X4J
  
• Birth: ABT 1290
  
• Burial: 1330 in Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucestershire at LATI: N1.9903 LONG: E2.1604 with note: GEDCOM data
  
• knighted: MAY 1306 with note: Description: At the Feast of the Swans alongside Prince Edward Wikipedia.
  
• 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
  
• Execution: 24 NOV 1326 in Hereford, Herfordshire, England at LATI: N2.0558 LONG: E2.7172 with note: Description: Hanged, drawn and quartered Wikipedia (same day as his father but different location).
  
• Death: 24 NOV 1326 with note: Description: The younger Despenser was hung, drawn and quartered at Hereford the following month, November 1326, after his father was hung, beheaded and quartered.
  
• Notes:

  === Life Sketch ===
  Hugh le Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser (c. 1287/9 - 24 November 1326), also referred to as "the Younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the Elder Despenser) by his wife Isabella de Beauchamp, daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick.
  ...
  In May 1306 Despenser was knighted at the Feast of the Swans alongside Prince Edward, and in that summer he married Eleanor de Clare, daughter of powerful noble Gilbert de Clare, and Joan of Acre. Eleanor's grandfather, Edward I, had owed the elder Despenser 2,000 marks, a debt which the marriage settled. When Eleanor's brother, Gilbert, was killed in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn, she unexpectedly became one of the three co-heiresses to the rich Gloucester earldom, and in her right, Hugh inherited Glamorgan and other properties. In just a few years Hugh went from a landless knight to one of the wealthiest magnates in the kingdom.
  Eleanor was also the niece of the new king, Edward II of England, and this connection brought Despenser closer to the English royal court. He joined the baronial opposition to Piers Gaveston, the king's favourite (and Despenser's brother-in-law, through Gaveston's marriage to Eleanor's sister Margaret). Eager for power and wealth, Despenser seized Tonbridge Castle in 1315, after his brother-in-law's death under the misapprehension that it belonged to his mother-in-law; he relinquished it on discovering that the rightful owner was in fact the Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1318 he murdered Llywelyn Bren, a Welsh hostage in his custody.
  
  Eleanor and Hugh had nine children who survived infancy:
  1. Hugh le Despencer (1308-1349), Baron Le Despencer, who was summoned to Parliament in 1338. At his death without issue, his nephew Edward, son of his brother Edward, was created Baron Le Despencer in 1357.
  2. Gilbert le Despenser (1309-1381).
  3. Edward le Despenser (1310-1342), soldier, killed at the siege of Vannes; father of Edward II le Despenser, Knight of the Garter, who became Baron Le Despencer in a new creation of 1357.
  4. Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Arundel (1312-1356), married, as his 1st wife, Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel. The marriage was annulled and their child, Edmund, was disinherited.
  5. John le Despenser (1311 - June 1366).
  6. Eleanor le Despenser (c. 1315-1351), nun at Sempringham Priory
  7. Joan le Despenser (c. 1317-1384), nun at Shaftesbury Abbey
  8. Margaret le Despenser (c. 1319-1337), nun at Whatton Priory
  9. Elizabeth le Despenser (1325-13 July 1389), married Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley.
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Despenser_the_Younger
  
  .................................................................................
  
  “Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial & Medieval Families,” Douglas Richardson (2013):
  “HUGH LE DESPENSER, Knt., styled "the younger," of Hanley Castle, Worcestershire, 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, town and barton of Bristol, Keeper of the Castles, manor, and lands of Brecknock, Hay, Cantref Selyf, etc., Breconshire, and Huntington, Herefordshire, son and heir. He married at Westminster shortly after 14 June 1306 ELEANOR DE CLARE, daughter of Gilbert de Clare, Knt., Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, by his 2nd wife, Joan of Acre, daughter of Edward I, King of England [see CLARE 8 for her ancestry]. She was born at Caerphilly, Glamorgan shortly before 23 Nov. 1292 (date of her mother's churching). They had five sons, Hugh, Knt. [3rd Lord le Despenser], Edward, Knt., Gilbert, Knt., John, and Philip, and five daughters, Isabel, Joan (nun at Shaftesbury Abbey), Eleanor (nun at Sempringham Priory), Margaret (nun at Whatton Priory), and Elizabeth. In 1310 he purchased the manor of Winstone, Gloucestershire from Geoffrey de Pulham. He presented to the church of Winstone, Gloucestershire in 1311. He accompanied the King to Pontoise in 1313. His wife, Eleanor, was co-heiress in 1314 to her brother, Gilbert de Clare, Knt., Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, by which she inherited the lordship of Glamorgan in Wales, including the castles of Llanblethian, Kenfeg, Neath, Llantrisant, Caerphilly, and Whitchurch, and the manor of Stanford in the Vale, Berkshire. He was summoned to Parliament from 29 July 1314 to 10 October 1325, by writs directed Hugoni le Deipenser juniori. From Nov. 1317 his influence at court rapidly increased, and, by the end of the following year, he won a lasting ascendancy over the king's mind. In 1320-1 John de Cromwell, Knt., Lord Cromwell, and his wife, Idoine, settled the manors of Amersham, Buckland, and Singleborough (in Great Horwood), Buckinghamshire, Moulton, Potterspury, and Yardley, Northamptonshire, Perlethorpe, Nottinghamshire, Winderton (in Brailes), Warwickshire, West Winterslow, Wiltshire, etc. on themselves for the life of Idoine, with successive remainders to Hugh le Despenser, Knt., the younger and Hugh le Despenser, Knt. the elder for life, and to Edward son of Hugh le Despenser, Knt the younger and his heirs. In 1320 the king seized the lordship of Gower in Wales, as a means of conferring it on him. The dispute over this seizure united a powerful group of Welsh marcher lords in a coalition against Hugh; moreover, his rule in Glamorgan was intensely unpopular with the Welsh. Civil war broke out May 4, 1321, and the lordship of Glamorgan was quickly overrun and devastated. Hugh and his father were subsequently banished by Parliament 14 August 1321. The royalist counter-offensive against the baronial opposition began in October 1321. Following the royalist victory at the Battle of Boroughbridge 16 March 1321/2, Parliament in May 1322 reversed the sentences on the Despensers, who were allowed to return from exile. Hugh recovered the lordships of Glamorgan and Gower. From 1322 to 1326 he directed England's internal and foreign policy. By fraud and violence, he accumulated enormous possessions in both England and Wales. The revolution of 1326 was the inevitable result of the misgovernment of the Despensers. In Sept. 1326 Queen Isabel (wife of King Edward II) and Roger de Mortimer landed at Orwell, Suffolk, with a force of 700 mercenaries hired from the Count of Hainault. In a matter of weeks, the government of the Despensers collapsed. On October 2, King Edward II left London and fled to south Wales, accompanied by Hugh the younger. They were captured near Llantrisant, Glamorgan 16 Nov. 1326. SIR HUGH LE DESPENSER, 2nd Lord le Despenser, was taken to Hereford, and executed there 24 Nov. 1326. In 1330 his bones were collected and buried at Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucestershire. His widow, Eleanor, was treated with remarkable leniency and her inheritance was restored to her 22 April 1328. Shortly before 26 Jan. 1328/9, she was abducted from Hanley Castle, Worcestershire and married without royal license WILLIAM LA ZOUCHE MORTIMER,* Knt., 1st Lord Zouche of Richard's Castle, of Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, Fulboum and Swavesey, Cambridgeshire, and Nutboum (in Pulborough) and Treve (or River) (in Tillington), Sussex, Justice in Eyre for forest pleas in Essex, Joint Keeper of Caerphilly Castle, Keeper of Glamorgan and Morganno, Chamberlain of Cardiff, Keeper of the Tower of London, Justice of the Forest south of Trent, 1328, and, in right of his 1st wife, of Walthamstow, Essex, Flamstead, Hertfordshire, Wyke or Rumboldswyke (in Rurnboldswyke), Sussex, Cherhill, Newton Tony, and Stratford Tony, Wiltshire, Elmley Lovett, Worcestershire, etc., younger son of Robert de Mortimer, of Richard's Castle and Puddlestone, Herefordshire, Burford, Milson, and Tilsop (in Burford), Shropshire, by Joyce, daughter of William la Zouche [see RICHARD'S CASTLE 3 for his ancestry] [see BEAUCHAMP 10 for the details of the remaining portion of their lives]. They had two sons, Hugh, Knt., and William (clerk). Sir William la Zouche Mortimer, 1st Lord Zouche of Richard's Castle, died 28 Feb. 1336/7, and was buried at Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucestershire. His widow, Eleanor, died testate 30 June 1337.
  Hugh Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser , also referred to as "the younger Despenser" was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the elder Despenser), and Isabella daughter of William, 9th Earl of Warwick.
  
  In May 1306 Hugh Despenser the younger was knighted, and that summer he married Eleanor de Clare.
  Eleanor's grandfather, Edward I, owed the elder Despenser 2,000 marks, and the marriage settled this debt, and was a reward for the elder Hugh's loyal service.
  When Eleanor's brother, Gilbert, was killed in 1314, she unexpectedly became one of the three co-heiresses to the rich of his, and in her right Hugh inherited Glamorgan and other properties. In just a few short years Hugh went from a landless knight to one of the wealthiest magnates in the kingdom.
  
  Eleanor and Hugh had nine children:
  * Hugh le Despencer 1308-1349
  * Gilbert le Despenser 1309-1381
  * Edward le Despenser 1310-1342
  * Isabel le Despenser 1312-1356
  * John le Despenser 1311 - June 1366
  
  Warwick Castle
  During the Second Barons' War of 1264-67, William Maudit, 8th Earl of Warwick, was a supporter of King Henry III. The castle was taken in a surprise attack by the forces of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl
  
  Hugh Despencer (d 1326) Bio Sketch
  BIO: from http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLISH%20NOBILITY%20MEDIEVAL2.htm#IsabelDespencerdied1334
  Sir HUGH (-executed Hereford 24 Nov 1326, bur Tewkesbury Abbey). Lord le Despencer 1314. The Ch
  
  History of Hugh Le Strange (1286-1326)
  Hugh le Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser (c. 1286[1] - 24 November 1326), also referred to as "the younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the elder Despenser)
  
  BIO
  BIO: from http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLISH%20NOBILITY%20MEDIEVAL2.htm#HughDespencerYgrdied1326 as of 6/15/2016
  
  HUGH (-executed Hereford 24 Nov 1326, bur Tewkesbury Abbey). Lord le Despencer
  
  Hugh le Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser (c. 1286-24 November 1326)
  Hugh le Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser (c. 1286-24 November 1326), also referred to as "the younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the elder Despenser) by hi
  
  === !Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists Who ===
  !Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists Who Came to New England between 1623 and 1650, Sixth Edition by Frederick Lewis Weis Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore 1988 line 57-31, 72-31; Webster's Biographical Dictionary, 1962 p 412 He was hanged, drawn and quartered at Hereford. King's chamberlain 1313, banished with his father in 1321 by barons, they hated him for his wealth and rapacity; recalled by the king in 1322; negotiator of truce with Scotland in 1323; taken with king in 1326 by barons under Queen Isabella and hanged. Some sources from Paula Evans 1992; !Our Noble & Gentle Families of Royal Descent Together with Their Paternal Ancestry by Joseph Foster p 126 1883 Edition.
  
  === 1a. Source: "Ancestry of Roger Ludlow" ===
  1a. Source: "Ancestry of Roger Ludlow" by Seversmith, p. (before) 2,393.
  
  === Biographical Details ===
  Hugh le Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser (c. 1286 - 24 November 1326), also referred to as "the younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the elder Despenser) by his wife Isabella de Beauchamp, daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick. He rose to national prominence as royal chamberlain and a favourite of Edward II of England. Despenser made many enemies across the nobility of England which, after the overthrow of Edward, eventually led to him being charged with high treason and ultimately hanged, drawn and quartered.
  ...
  In May 1306 Despenser was knighted at the Feast of the Swans alongside Prince Edward, and in that summer he married Eleanor de Clare, daughter of powerful noble Gilbert de Clare, and Joan of Acre. Eleanor's grandfather, Edward I, had owed the elder Despenser 2,000 marks, a debt which the marriage settled. When Eleanor's brother, Gilbert, was killed in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn, she unexpectedly became one of the three co-heiresses to the rich Gloucester earldom, and in her right, Hugh inherited Glamorgan and other properties. In just a few years Hugh went from a landless knight to one of the wealthiest magnates in the kingdom.
  
  Eleanor was also the niece of the new king, Edward II of England, and this connection brought Despenser closer to the English royal court. He joined the baronial opposition to Piers Gaveston, the king's favourite (and Despenser's brother-in-law, through Gaveston's marriage to Eleanor's sister Margaret). Eager for power and wealth, Despenser seized Tonbridge Castle in 1315, after his brother-in-law's death under the misapprehension that it belonged to his mother-in-law; he relinquished it on discovering that the rightful owner was in fact the Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1318 he murdered Llywelyn Bren, a Welsh hostage in his custody.
  
  Eleanor and Hugh had nine children who survived infancy:
  1. Hugh le Despencer (1308-1349), Baron Le Despencer, who was summoned to Parliament in 1338. At his death without issue, his nephew Edward, son of his brother Edward, was created Baron Le Despencer in 1357.
  2. Gilbert le Despenser (1309-1381).
  3. Edward le Despenser (1310-1342), soldier, killed at the siege of Vannes; father of Edward II le Despenser, Knight of the Garter, who became Baron Le Despencer in a new creation of 1357.
  4. Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Arundel (1312-1356), married, as his 1st wife, Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel. The marriage was annulled and their child, Edmund, was disinherited.
  5. John le Despenser (1311 - June 1366).
  6. Eleanor le Despenser (c. 1315-1351), nun at Sempringham Priory
  7. Joan le Despenser (c. 1317-1384), nun at Shaftesbury Abbey
  8. Margaret le Despenser (c. 1319-1337), nun at Whatton Priory
  9. Elizabeth le Despenser (1325-13 July 1389), married Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley.
  ...
  Despenser tried to starve himself before his trial, but he was unsuccessful. He did face trial on 24 November 1326, in Hereford, before Mortimer and the Queen, and was found guilty on many charges. He was sentenced to death, with Isabella, Mortimer and their followers presiding over the protracted execution.
  Despenser was dragged naked through the streets, for the crowd's mistreatment. He was made a spectacle, which included writing on his body biblical verses against the capital sins he was accused of. Then he was hanged as a mere commoner, yet released before full asphyxiation could happen.
  In Froissart's account of his execution, Despenser was then tied firmly to a ladder and his genitals sliced off and burned while he was still conscious. His entrails were slowly pulled out; finally, his heart was cut out and thrown into a fire. Froissart (or rather Jean le Bel's chronicle, on which he relied) is the only source to mention castration; other contemporary accounts have Despenser hanged, drawn and quartered, which usually did not involve castration.
  Despenser's body was beheaded and cut into four pieces. His head was mounted on the gates of London.
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Despenser_the_younger
  
  ..................................................................
  
  Hugh Le Despenser
  
  Strongly rumoured to have been the bisexual lover of Edward II, Hugh Le Despenser the Younger was strung up today in an execution fraught with animosity.
  Leading the way, was the woman scorned by the monarch’s adulterous affair - the Queen of England: Isabella of France.
  
  There is even conjecture that Despenser dispensed with all social nicety by forcing himself upon her as well.
  
  So it came as no surprise that she was at the front of the queue to exact her revenge with her lover Roger Mortimer right by her side.
  
  Sacked
  
  Le Despenser had been busy amassing enemies throughout his Medieval life. He’d done well out of his kingly sexual conquest for Edward had proven to be a lucrative cash cow.
  
  He’d made sure he had been on hand whenever Edward fancied going to war, such as the ill-fated run-in with Scotland led by Robert the Bruce or the clash with the Welsh barons, which was more lucrative. Hence, Le Despenser was always up for scooping up the spoils of their victories.
  
  Back
  
  This favouritism really got the other nobles’ goats and Le Despenser became pretty unpopular, so much so that the pair really had to watch their backs.
  
  Cracked
  
  Finally, the queen could take no more and she put a sharp end to the halcyon days for the king and his alleged lover.
  
  She teamed up with her own bit of stuff, Justice of Wales Baron Roger Mortimer, who jumped the pair at Llantrinsaint and they were apprehended on 16 November 1326.
  
  Of course, the king was unpopular but the real object of the exercise was to get a collar Le Despenser. That done, the disaffected nobles wasted no time in dispensing Le Despenser at Hereford where they set about exacting their inimitable brand of revenge.
  
  Dispensed
  
  Following a ropey trial-less set of accusations branding him a traitor, Le Despenser was given an equally ropey sentence, all headed up by the mistress of ceremonies: Isabella.
  
  He was to be drawn and quartered as was to be expected if the crime was against crown or country.
  
  But this was no ordinary hanging. According to a bizarrely over-zealous account on a Welsh government website, he was suspended between the prongs of a pitchfork 50 feet up and literally bounced until dead, but there is no evidence of this seeming embellishment.
  
  Then he was relieved of his nether regions before being quartered and shipped off to be displayed round the country and his head festooned on London Bridge for all to see.
  
  Head case
  
  While his skull disappeared, Le Despenser’s headless corpse made a reappearance. It was apparently unearthed at Hulton Abbey in the 1970s.
  
  According to ‘The Daily Telegraph’, carbon dating helped provide evidence that the remains could well have been his.
  
  Sadly the same certainty does not surround the date of his execution. We’ve gone with the peerage date of 29 November 1326. But others state anything from 16 November onwards.
  
  ‘Wikpedia’ unfortunately bucks all the other sources by stating it took place in 1325. But seeing as Edward was officially deposed in favour of his own son ‘a couple of months later’ in January 1327, that date is completely wrong. And yes, you’ve guessed it, that act was the final humiliation and was instigated by none other than Isabella.
  
  If you have come across any compelling evidence around his execution date, please drop us a line below.
  
  Also on this day
  
  29 November 1603 - William Clark
  29 November 1920 - James Riley
  
  Related
  Execution of the Day - 2009 (part 48)
  In "Death penalty"
  21 March 1556 - Thomas Cranmer
  In "Burned at the stake"
  23 August 1305 - William Wallace
  In "Death penalty"
  
  Source: Execution On This Day, https://eotd.wordpress.com/2008/11/29/29-november-1326-hugh-despensers/. Last accessed Nov 24, 2016
  
  === Baron Despencer hanged and quartered at ===
  Baron Despencer hanged and quartered at Hereford.
  
  === Source: Weis, Sheppard, Beal, The Magna ===
  Source: Weis, Sheppard, Beal, The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215, 5th Ed., Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, [1999], 34-5 p. 44, [2] Weis, Frederick Lewis, Ancestral Roots, Seventh Edition, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, [1992], 74-32. From Microsoft Encarta: Despenser, Hugh le (1262-1326), 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 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. Both father and son were captured and hanged.
  
  === 1st s. of Hugh the Elder. Knighted by t ===
  1st s. of Hugh the Elder. Knighted by the Prince of Wales atWestminster, 22 May 1306.
  
  === Chamberlain to Edward II ===
  Chamberlain to Edward II
  
  === Endotes: David Faris, Plantagenet Ance ===
  Endotes: David Faris, Plantagenet Ancestry of the 17th CenturyColonists, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD, 1996, 1st ed pp235-289 Wyatt. World Family Tree Volumes 4,& 5 (Broderbund BannerBlue Division),CD-ROM Ed Mann, Mann Database, Electronic Ren Neville, Neville GEDCOM, (beschultzer@@earthlink.net), Electronic Spousal bithday estimation, (ae based on Spouce®s known birth); incase of wife = 4 yrs, -4 yrs for husband, unless marr. Date or birthof issue indicates same age as spouse is more likely).
  
  === GEN: SOURCE: Dict. Nat. Bio. 863-5; Ligo ===
  GEN: SOURCE: Dict. Nat. Bio. 863-5; Ligon Book p.196-859; Amer. RoyalDesc. p.449; GEN: Fosters p. 121; The Royal Line (Adamic Genealogy) March 1980,Albert F. Schmuhl DEATH: alt. date 28 Nov 1326
  
  === Hugh le Despenser, the younger (d 1326), ===
  Hugh le Despenser, the younger (d 1326), baron, son of Hugh le Despenser the elder, received knighthood with the Prince of Wales at Easter 1306, and about 1309 married Eleanor, daughter of Gilbert of Clare, earl of Gloucester, and sister and coheiress of the next Earl Gilbert. During the early years of the reign of Edward II he evidently belonged to Lancaster's party, for in 1313, with the consent of the prelates and others, he was made the king's chamberlain in the place of Gaveston, because the barons knew that Edward hated him. He was ordered to march with his father to Scotland, and on his return the next year was summoned to Parliament as 'Hugo le Despencer, junior.' He served in Scotland in 1317, and in 1319 was one of the commissioners appointed to treat with the Scots. Gilbert, earl of Gloucester, his brother-in-law, was slain at Bannockburn in 1314 , and in 1317 his inheritance was divided between the husbands of his three sisters: Despenser, who had married the eldest, and who, was accordingly sometimes called Earl of Gloucester; Hugh of Audley, and Roger d'Amory, It was probably the ill-feeling that arose about this division that caused Despenser to desert the baronal party and attach himself to the king, for as late as 1318, when the barons were all powerful, he was continued in office, and was appointed by parliament a member of the perminant council. At all events soon after the date of the partition of the Gloucester inheritance he appears to have taken the place of Gaveston in the king's favour, and to have begun to wrik with his father. He obtained nearly the whole of Glamorgan as his share, and set himself to add to his possessions at the cost of his neighbours. He surprised and held Newport, which belonged to Audley, and it was known that he was begging the king to resume certain grants made to Roger of Mortimer, hoping to get hold of them also. As the Mortimers at Wigmore and Chirk 'ruled the northern marches almost as independent princes,' Despenser, by his own greediness, laid the foundation of a confederacy that was strong enough to crush him should opportunity offer. The grudge against him broke out into open quarrel in 1320. John Mowbray entered on certain lands in Gower, which came to him in right of his wife, the daughter and heiress of William of Braose, without obtaining the license of the king, of whom he held in chief. On this, Edward commanded a suit against him at the instance of Despenser, who wished to see the lands forfeited and transferred to himself. Mowbray pleaded that he was acting within his right according to the custom of the marches, and in this he was upheld by Humphrey Bohun, earl of Hereford, while Despenser contended that the king's prerogative in such a case was the same in Wales as in England. Hereford, the chief of the marchers, regarded the advance of Despenser's power with anger, and formed a confederacy against him of the various lords he had offended. Private leagues of this kind were common during the reign of Edward II, and Despenser himself had lately entered into a bond with John Birmingham to stand together in any quarrel except against the king. Hereford's confederacy included Mowbray, the Mortimers, Audley, D'Amory, Clifford, and the rest of the marchers; it was upheld by the good-will of Lancaster, and messages were sent throughout the whole of England calling on other lords to array themselves against the favourites. Edward in vain ordered the nobles to abstain from unlawful assemblies, held for the disturbance of the peace of the realm. War began in the marches, and during the early part of 1321 the lands of the Despensers were ravaged both in England and Wales. All joined against them. The charges brought specially against the younger Despenser in parliament were that he had formed a league to constrain the will of the king, that he had asserted that the allegiance of the subject was due to the crown and not to the person of the sovereign, and that therefore a king who acted wrongly might lawfully be compelled to do right, and that he had been guilty of certain definite acts of violence and fraud.
  
  When sentence of banishment was pronounced against Despenser and his father, he put to sea, and about Michaelmas attacked two large ships that were carrying merchandise to England and robbed them of their cargoes. He was recalled early in 1322, and marched with the king against Lancaster. When, however, the royal army had crossed the Trent, he is said to have prevented Edward from unfurling his standard by representing to him the terrible consequences of such a formal declaration of war. The king's cause was successful. Later in the year he was with Edward when the Scots invaded the kingdom, and nearly fell into their hands at the surprise of Byland. In 1323 he was employed to negotiate a thirteen's years' truce with Scotland. It is evident from the charge brought against him with reference to his doctrine of allegiance that he had very clear constitutional ideas, and he may at least, equally with his father, be credited with the spirit manifested in the parliament that was held at York after the overthrow of the king's enemies. It was then declared that nothing could be established as law for the estate of the king and for the estate of the realm and of the people unless it had first been treated and established in parliament by the three estates. While the ordinances of 1311 were repealed, the action of the crown was not left without restraint. Despenser and his father alike seem to have recognised the importances of agreement between the king and the people as a means of checking the turbulent agressiveness of the barons. Despenser, however, allowed nothing to stand in the way of his own avarice. He received an enormous number of grants of lands and offices, and among them the custody of Bristol Castle and the isle of Lundy. He acted with insolent violence and utter disregard of law, forcing, for example, Elizabeth, wife of Richard, lord Talbot, to give him up the manor of Painswick, Gloucestershire, and other lands. When Edward left London on 2 Oct 1326, Despenser accompanied him to Gloucester and the other places whither he fled, arriving at Cardiff on the 27th. While there the fugitives made an attempt to reach Lundy; it failed, and they sought refuge in the Depensers' castles at Caerphilly and Neath. The queen made her quarters at Hereford and sent William de la Zouche and Rhys ap Howel to take them. They surrendered, perhaps were surprised, at Llatrissaint on 16 Nov and were brought to Hereford by Henry of Lancaster. There on 24 Nov Despenser was brought to trial, before William Trussel, the earl of Lancaster, and other nobles, men who hated him bitterly. Among the various charges brought against him were his piracy during his exile, and his share in the death of Thomas, earl of Lancaster. He was condemned and was forthwith put to death as a traitor. He suffered with great patience, asking forgiveness of the bystanders. His head was sent to London and fixed on London Bridge; his quarters were distributed among four other towns. He left, besides other children, his eldest son Hugh, who was summoned to parliament in 1338, and died in 1342, leaving a son, Edward le Despenser, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Bartholomew, lord Burghersh. This Edward le Despenser was present at the battle of Poitiers, and took part in other campaigns in France. He accompanied the Duke of Clarence to Italy and distinguished himself in the service of Urban V. He was summoned to parliament in 1357, leaving a son, Thomas le Despenser, created Earl of Gloucester, and daughters. [Dictionary of National Biography V:865-7]
  
  _______________
  
  SIR HUGH LE DESPENSER, 1st son. He was knighted by the Prince of Wales, 22 May 1306, at Westminster. Having gone to parts beyond seas without licence, contrary to the King's inhibition, in January 1309/10 his lands and goods were taken into the King's hand for a time. He accompanied the King to Pontoise, 23 May 1313, and was appointed Chamberlain towards the end of this year, he being then an adherent of the Earl of Lancaster. Appointed Constable of Odiham Castle, 1 November 1317: this he had to resign next year. Appointed Keeper of the castle and town of Dryslwyn, and Cantref Mawr, co. Carmarthen, 18 November 1317: this he had to resign, 14 September 1318, but it was regranted to him, with the assent of the Parliament of York, 21 November following. At this Parliament he was re-appointed Chamberlain. He was appointed a commissioner to treat with the Scots concerning peace, 1 December 1319, Constable of Odiham Castle, 22 February 1319/20 to 21 June (or 9 July 1321. He accompanied the King to France in June 1320. Keeper of the castle and town of Porchester, 22 August 1320 to 17 July 1324. Keeper of the castle, town, and barton or Bristol, 1 October 1320 to 10 May 1321. On 19 August 1321 he was disinherited and exiled, as mentioned above his lands being taken into the King's hand, 15 September 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 December 1321, and of protection, 9 January 1321/2. In March following accompanied the King against the contrariants, and is said to have urged him, when at Burton-on-Trent (10 March), not to prosecute the war. After the battle of Boroughbridge, he received large grants of the 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 Keeper 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 accompanied the King in his expedition against the Scots in August 1322, and with him fled from Rievaulx to Bridlington after t
  === Life Sketch ===
  Hugh le Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser (c. 1287/9 – 24 November 1326), also referred to as "the Younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the Elder Despenser) by his wife Isabella de Beauchamp, daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick.
  ...
  In May 1306 Despenser was knighted at the Feast of the Swans alongside Prince Edward, and in that summer he married Eleanor de Clare, daughter of powerful noble Gilbert de Clare, and Joan of Acre. Eleanor's grandfather, Edward I, had owed the elder Despenser 2,000 marks, a debt which the marriage settled. When Eleanor's brother, Gilbert, was killed in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn, she unexpectedly became one of the three co-heiresses to the rich Gloucester earldom, and in her right, Hugh inherited Glamorgan and other properties. In just a few years Hugh went from a landless knight to one of the wealthiest magnates in the kingdom.
  Eleanor was also the niece of the new king, Edward II of England, and this connection brought Despenser closer to the English royal court. He joined the baronial opposition to Piers Gaveston, the king's favourite (and Despenser's brother-in-law, through Gaveston's marriage to Eleanor's sister Margaret). Eager for power and wealth, Despenser seized Tonbridge Castle in 1315, after his brother-in-law's death under the misapprehension that it belonged to his mother-in-law; he relinquished it on discovering that the rightful owner was in fact the Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1318 he murdered Llywelyn Bren, a Welsh hostage in his custody.
  
  Eleanor and Hugh had nine children who survived infancy:
  1. Hugh le Despencer (1308–1349), Baron Le Despencer, who was summoned to Parliament in 1338. At his death without issue, his nephew Edward, son of his brother Edward, was created Baron Le Despencer in 1357.
  2. Gilbert le Despenser (1309–1381).
  3. Edward le Despenser (1310–1342), soldier, killed at the siege of Vannes; father of Edward II le Despenser, Knight of the Garter, who became Baron Le Despencer in a new creation of 1357.
  4. Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Arundel (1312–1356), married, as his 1st wife, Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel. The marriage was annulled and their child, Edmund, was disinherited.
  5. John le Despenser (1311 – June 1366).
  6. Eleanor le Despenser (c. 1315–1351), nun at Sempringham Priory
  7. Joan le Despenser (c. 1317–1384), nun at Shaftesbury Abbey
  8. Margaret le Despenser (c. 1319–1337), nun at Whatton Priory
  9. Elizabeth le Despenser (1325–13 July 1389), married Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley.
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Despenser_the_Younger
  
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  “Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial & Medieval Families,” Douglas Richardson (2013):
  “HUGH LE DESPENSER, Knt., styled "the younger," of Hanley Castle, Worcestershire, 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, town and barton of Bristol, Keeper of the Castles, manor, and lands of Brecknock, Hay, Cantref Selyf, etc., Breconshire, and Huntington, Herefordshire, son and heir. He married at Westminster shortly after 14 June 1306 ELEANOR DE CLARE, daughter of Gilbert de Clare, Knt., Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, by his 2nd wife, Joan of Acre, daughter of Edward I, King of England [see CLARE 8 for her ancestry]. She was born at Caerphilly, Glamorgan shortly before 23 Nov. 1292 (date of her mother's churching). They had five sons, Hugh, Knt. [3rd Lord le Despenser], Edward, Knt., Gilbert, Knt., John, and Philip, and five daughters, Isabel, Joan (nun at Shaftesbury Abbey), Eleanor (nun at Sempringham Priory), Margaret (nun at Whatton Priory), and Elizabeth. In 1310 he purchased the manor of Winstone, Gloucestershire from Geoffrey de Pulham. He presented to the church of Winstone, Gloucestershire in 1311. He accompanied the King to Pontoise in 1313. His wife, Eleanor, was co-heiress in 1314 to her brother, Gilbert de Clare, Knt., Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, by which she inherited the lordship of Glamorgan in Wales, including the castles of Llanblethian, Kenfeg, Neath, Llantrisant, Caerphilly, and Whitchurch, and the manor of Stanford in the Vale, Berkshire. He was summoned to Parliament from 29 July 1314 to 10 October 1325, by writs directed Hugoni le Deipenser juniori. From Nov. 1317 his influence at court rapidly increased, and, by the end of the following year, he won a lasting ascendancy over the king's mind. In 1320-1 John de Cromwell, Knt., Lord Cromwell, and his wife, Idoine, settled the manors of Amersham, Buckland, and Singleborough (in Great Horwood), Buckinghamshire, Moulton, Potterspury, and Yardley, Northamptonshire, Perlethorpe, Nottinghamshire, Winderton (in Brailes), Warwickshire, West Winterslow, Wiltshire, etc. on themselves for the life of Idoine, with successive remainders to Hugh le Despenser, Knt., the younger and Hugh le Despenser, Knt. the elder for life, and to Edward son of Hugh le Despenser, Knt the younger and his heirs. In 1320 the king seized the lordship of Gower in Wales, as a means of conferring it on him. The dispute over this seizure united a powerful group of Welsh marcher lords in a coalition against Hugh; moreover, his rule in Glamorgan was intensely unpopular with the Welsh. Civil war broke out May 4, 1321, and the lordship of Glamorgan was quickly overrun and devastated. Hugh and his father were subsequently banished by Parliament 14 August 1321. The royalist counter-offensive against the baronial opposition began in October 1321. Following the royalist victory at the Battle of Boroughbridge 16 March 1321/2, Parliament in May 1322 reversed the sentences on the Despensers, who were allowed to return from exile. Hugh recovered the lordships of Glamorgan and Gower. From 1322 to 1326 he directed England's internal and foreign policy. By fraud and violence, he accumulated enormous possessions in both England and Wales. The revolution of 1326 was the inevitable result of the misgovernment of the Despensers. In Sept. 1326 Queen Isabel (wife of King Edward II) and Roger de Mortimer landed at Orwell, Suffolk, with a force of 700 mercenaries hired from the Count of Hainault. In a matter of weeks, the government of the Despensers collapsed. On October 2, King Edward II left London and fled to south Wales, accompanied by Hugh the younger. They were captured near Llantrisant, Glamorgan 16 Nov. 1326. SIR HUGH LE DESPENSER, 2nd Lord le Despenser, was taken to Hereford, and executed there 24 Nov. 1326. In 1330 his bones were collected and buried at Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucestershire. His widow, Eleanor, was treated with remarkable leniency and her inheritance was restored to her 22 April 1328. Shortly before 26 Jan. 1328/9, she was abducted from Hanley Castle, Worcestershire and married without royal license WILLIAM LA ZOUCHE MORTIMER,* Knt., 1st Lord Zouche of Richard's Castle, of Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, Fulboum and Swavesey, Cambridgeshire, and Nutboum (in Pulborough) and Treve (or River) (in Tillington), Sussex, Justice in Eyre for forest pleas in Essex, Joint Keeper of Caerphilly Castle, Keeper of Glamorgan and Morganno, Chamberlain of Cardiff, Keeper of the Tower of London, Justice of the Forest south of Trent, 1328, and, in right of his 1st wife, of Walthamstow, Essex, Flamstead, Hertfordshire, Wyke or Rumboldswyke (in Rurnboldswyke), Sussex, Cherhill, Newton Tony, and Stratford Tony, Wiltshire, Elmley Lovett, Worcestershire, etc., younger son of Robert de Mortimer, of Richard's Castle and Puddlestone, Herefordshire, Burford, Milson, and Tilsop (in Burford), Shropshire, by Joyce, daughter of William la Zouche [see RICHARD'S CASTLE 3 for his ancestry] [see BEAUCHAMP 10 for the details of the remaining portion of their lives]. They had two sons, Hugh, Knt., and William (clerk). Sir William la Zouche Mortimer, 1st Lord Zouche of Richard's Castle, died 28 Feb. 1336/7, and was buried at Tewkesbury Abbey, Gloucestershire. His widow, Eleanor, died testate 30 June 1337.
  Hugh Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser , also referred to as "the younger Despenser" was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the elder Despenser), and Isabella daughter of William, 9th Earl of Warwick.
  
  In May 1306 Hugh Despenser the younger was knighted, and that summer he married Eleanor de Clare.
  Eleanor's grandfather, Edward I, owed the elder Despenser 2,000 marks, and the marriage settled this debt, and was a reward for the elder Hugh's loyal service.
  When Eleanor's brother, Gilbert, was killed in 1314, she unexpectedly became one of the three co-heiresses to the rich of his, and in her right Hugh inherited Glamorgan and other properties. In just a few short years Hugh went from a landless knight to one of the wealthiest magnates in the kingdom.
  
  Eleanor and Hugh had nine children:
  * Hugh le Despencer 1308–1349
  * Gilbert le Despenser 1309–1381
  * Edward le Despenser 1310–1342
  * Isabel le Despenser 1312–1356
  * John le Despenser 1311 – June 1366
  
  Warwick Castle
  During the Second Barons' War of 1264–67, William Maudit, 8th Earl of Warwick, was a supporter of King Henry III. The castle was taken in a surprise attack by the forces of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl
  
  Hugh Despencer (d 1326) Bio Sketch
  BIO: from http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLISH%20NOBILITY%20MEDIEVAL2.htm#IsabelDespencerdied1334
  Sir HUGH (-executed Hereford 24 Nov 1326, bur Tewkesbury Abbey). Lord le Despencer 1314. The Ch
  
  History of Hugh Le Strange (1286-1326)
  Hugh le Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser (c. 1286[1] – 24 November 1326), also referred to as "the younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the elder Despenser)
  
  BIO
  BIO: from http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLISH%20NOBILITY%20MEDIEVAL2.htm#HughDespencerYgrdied1326 as of 6/15/2016
  
  HUGH (-executed Hereford 24 Nov 1326, bur Tewkesbury Abbey). Lord le Despencer
  
  Hugh le Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser (c. 1286-24 November 1326)
  Hugh le Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser (c. 1286-24 November 1326), also referred to as "the younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the elder Despenser) by hi
  
  === Hugh le Despenser, the younger (d 1326), ===
  Hugh le Despenser, the younger (d 1326), baron, son of Hugh le Despenser the elder, received knighthood with the Prince of Wales at Easter 1306, and about 1309 married Eleanor, daughter of Gilbert of Clare, earl of Gloucester, and sister and coheiress of the next Earl Gilbert. During the early years of the reign of Edward II he evidently belonged to Lancaster's party, for in 1313, with the consent of the prelates and others, he was made the king's chamberlain in the place of Gaveston, because the barons knew that Edward hated him. He was ordered to march with his father to Scotland, and on his return the next year was summoned to Parliament as 'Hugo le Despencer, junior.' He served in Scotland in 1317, and in 1319 was one of the commissioners appointed to treat with the Scots. Gilbert, earl of Gloucester, his brother-in-law, was slain at Bannockburn in 1314 , and in 1317 his inheritance was divided between the husbands of his three sisters: Despenser, who had married the eldest, and who, was accordingly sometimes called Earl of Gloucester; Hugh of Audley, and Roger d'Amory, It was probably the ill-feeling that arose about this division that caused Despenser to desert the baronal party and attach himself to the king, for as late as 1318, when the barons were all powerful, he was continued in office, and was appointed by parliament a member of the perminant council. At all events soon after the date of the partition of the Gloucester inheritance he appears to have taken the place of Gaveston in the king's favour, and to have begun to wrik with his father. He obtained nearly the whole of Glamorgan as his share, and set himself to add to his possessions at the cost of his neighbours. He surprised and held Newport, which belonged to Audley, and it was known that he was begging the king to resume certain grants made to Roger of Mortimer, hoping to get hold of them also. As the Mortimers at Wigmore and Chirk 'ruled the northern marches almost as independent princes,' Despenser, by his own greediness, laid the foundation of a confederacy that was strong enough to crush him should opportunity offer. The grudge against him broke out into open quarrel in 1320. John Mowbray entered on certain lands in Gower, which came to him in right of his wife, the daughter and heiress of William of Braose, without obtaining the license of the king, of whom he held in chief. On this, Edward commanded a suit against him at the instance of Despenser, who wished to see the lands forfeited and transferred to himself. Mowbray pleaded that he was acting within his right according to the custom of the marches, and in this he was upheld by Humphrey Bohun, earl of Hereford, while Despenser contended that the king's prerogative in such a case was the same in Wales as in England. Hereford, the chief of the marchers, regarded the advance of Despenser's power with anger, and formed a confederacy against him of the various lords he had offended. Private leagues of this kind were common during the reign of Edward II, and Despenser himself had lately entered into a bond with John Birmingham to stand together in any quarrel except against the king. Hereford's confederacy included Mowbray, the Mortimers, Audley, D'Amory, Clifford, and the rest of the marchers; it was upheld by the good-will of Lancaster, and messages were sent throughout the whole of England calling on other lords to array themselves against the favourites. Edward in vain ordered the nobles to abstain from unlawful assemblies, held for the disturbance of the peace of the realm. War began in the marches, and during the early part of 1321 the lands of the Despensers were ravaged both in England and Wales. All joined against them. The charges brought specially against the younger Despenser in parliament were that he had formed a league to constrain the will of the king, that he had asserted that the allegiance of the subject was due to the crown and not to the person of the sovereign, and that therefore a king who acted wrongly might lawfully be compelled to do right, and that he had been guilty of certain definite acts of violence and fraud.
  
  When sentence of banishment was pronounced against Despenser and his father, he put to sea, and about Michaelmas attacked two large ships that were carrying merchandise to England and robbed them of their cargoes. He was recalled early in 1322, and marched with the king against Lancaster. When, however, the royal army had crossed the Trent, he is said to have prevented Edward from unfurling his standard by representing to him the terrible consequences of such a formal declaration of war. The king's cause was successful. Later in the year he was with Edward when the Scots invaded the kingdom, and nearly fell into their hands at the surprise of Byland. In 1323 he was employed to negotiate a thirteen's years' truce with Scotland. It is evident from the charge brought against him with reference to his doctrine of allegiance that he had very clear constitutional ideas, and he may at least, equally with his father, be credited with the spirit manifested in the parliament that was held at York after the overthrow of the king's enemies. It was then declared that nothing could be established as law for the estate of the king and for the estate of the realm and of the people unless it had first been treated and established in parliament by the three estates. While the ordinances of 1311 were repealed, the action of the crown was not left without restraint. Despenser and his father alike seem to have recognised the importances of agreement between the king and the people as a means of checking the turbulent agressiveness of the barons. Despenser, however, allowed nothing to stand in the way of his own avarice. He received an enormous number of grants of lands and offices, and among them the custody of Bristol Castle and the isle of Lundy. He acted with insolent violence and utter disregard of law, forcing, for example, Elizabeth, wife of Richard, lord Talbot, to give him up the manor of Painswick, Gloucestershire, and other lands. When Edward left London on 2 Oct 1326, Despenser accompanied him to Gloucester and the other places whither he fled, arriving at Cardiff on the 27th. While there the fugitives made an attempt to reach Lundy; it failed, and they sought refuge in the Depensers' castles at Caerphilly and Neath. The queen made her quarters at Hereford and sent William de la Zouche and Rhys ap Howel to take them. They surrendered, perhaps were surprised, at Llatrissaint on 16 Nov and were brought to Hereford by Henry of Lancaster. There on 24 Nov Despenser was brought to trial, before William Trussel, the earl of Lancaster, and other nobles, men who hated him bitterly. Among the various charges brought against him were his piracy during his exile, and his share in the death of Thomas, earl of Lancaster. He was condemned and was forthwith put to death as a traitor. He suffered with great patience, asking forgiveness of the bystanders. His head was sent to London and fixed on London Bridge; his quarters were distributed among four other towns. He left, besides other children, his eldest son Hugh, who was summoned to parliament in 1338, and died in 1342, leaving a son, Edward le Despenser, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Bartholomew, lord Burghersh. This Edward le Despenser was present at the battle of Poitiers, and took part in other campaigns in France. He accompanied the Duke of Clarence to Italy and distinguished himself in the service of Urban V. He was summoned to parliament in 1357, leaving a son, Thomas le Despenser, created Earl of Gloucester, and daughters. [Dictionary of National Biography V:865-7]
  
  _______________
  
  SIR HUGH LE DESPENSER, 1st son. He was knighted by the Prince of Wales, 22 May 1306, at Westminster. Having gone to parts beyond seas without licence, contrary to the King's inhibition, in January 1309/10 his lands and goods were taken into the King's hand for a time. He accompanied the King to Pontoise, 23 May 1313, and was appointed Chamberlain towards the end of this year, he being then an adherent of the Earl of Lancaster. Appointed Constable of Odiham Castle, 1 November 1317: this he had to resign next year. Appointed Keeper of the castle and town of Dryslwyn, and Cantref Mawr, co. Carmarthen, 18 November 1317: this he had to resign, 14 September 1318, but it was regranted to him, with the assent of the Parliament of York, 21 November following. At this Parliament he was re-appointed Chamberlain. He was appointed a commissioner to treat with the Scots concerning peace, 1 December 1319, Constable of Odiham Castle, 22 February 1319/20 to 21 June (or 9 July 1321. He accompanied the King to France in June 1320. Keeper of the castle and town of Porchester, 22 August 1320 to 17 July 1324. Keeper of the castle, town, and barton or Bristol, 1 October 1320 to 10 May 1321. On 19 August 1321 he was disinherited and exiled, as mentioned above his lands being taken into the King's hand, 15 September 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 December 1321, and of protection, 9 January 1321/2. In March following accompanied the King against the contrariants, and is said to have urged him, when at Burton-on-Trent (10 March), not to prosecute the war. After the battle of Boroughbridge, he received large grants of the 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 Keeper 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 accompanied the King in his expedition against the Scots in August 1322, and with him fled from Rievaulx to Bridlington after t
  
  === Baron Despencer hanged and quartered at ===
  Baron Despencer hanged and quartered at Hereford.
  
  === GEN: SOURCE: Dict. Nat. Bio. 863-5; Ligo ===
  GEN: SOURCE: Dict. Nat. Bio. 863-5; Ligon Book p.196-859; Amer. RoyalDesc. p.449; GEN: Fosters p. 121; The Royal Line (Adamic Genealogy) March 1980,Albert F. Schmuhl DEATH: alt. date 28 Nov 1326
  
  === Chamberlain to Edward II ===
  Chamberlain to Edward II
  
  === Source: Weis, Sheppard, Beal, The Magna ===
  Source: Weis, Sheppard, Beal, The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215, 5th Ed., Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, [1999], 34-5 p. 44, [2] Weis, Frederick Lewis, Ancestral Roots, Seventh Edition, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, [1992], 74-32. From Microsoft Encarta: Despenser, Hugh le (1262-1326), 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 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. Both father and son were captured and hanged.
  
  === Biographical Details ===
  Hugh le Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser (c. 1286 – 24 November 1326), also referred to as "the younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester (the elder Despenser) by his wife Isabella de Beauchamp, daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick. He rose to national prominence as royal chamberlain and a favourite of Edward II of England. Despenser made many enemies across the nobility of England which, after the overthrow of Edward, eventually led to him being charged with high treason and ultimately hanged, drawn and quartered.
  ...
  In May 1306 Despenser was knighted at the Feast of the Swans alongside Prince Edward, and in that summer he married Eleanor de Clare, daughter of powerful noble Gilbert de Clare, and Joan of Acre. Eleanor's grandfather, Edward I, had owed the elder Despenser 2,000 marks, a debt which the marriage settled. When Eleanor's brother, Gilbert, was killed in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn, she unexpectedly became one of the three co-heiresses to the rich Gloucester earldom, and in her right, Hugh inherited Glamorgan and other properties. In just a few years Hugh went from a landless knight to one of the wealthiest magnates in the kingdom.
  
  Eleanor was also the niece of the new king, Edward II of England, and this connection brought Despenser closer to the English royal court. He joined the baronial opposition to Piers Gaveston, the king's favourite (and Despenser's brother-in-law, through Gaveston's marriage to Eleanor's sister Margaret). Eager for power and wealth, Despenser seized Tonbridge Castle in 1315, after his brother-in-law's death under the misapprehension that it belonged to his mother-in-law; he relinquished it on discovering that the rightful owner was in fact the Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1318 he murdered Llywelyn Bren, a Welsh hostage in his custody.
  
  Eleanor and Hugh had nine children who survived infancy:
  1. Hugh le Despencer (1308–1349), Baron Le Despencer, who was summoned to Parliament in 1338. At his death without issue, his nephew Edward, son of his brother Edward, was created Baron Le Despencer in 1357.
  2. Gilbert le Despenser (1309–1381).
  3. Edward le Despenser (1310–1342), soldier, killed at the siege of Vannes; father of Edward II le Despenser, Knight of the Garter, who became Baron Le Despencer in a new creation of 1357.
  4. Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Arundel (1312–1356), married, as his 1st wife, Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel. The marriage was annulled and their child, Edmund, was disinherited.
  5. John le Despenser (1311 – June 1366).
  6. Eleanor le Despenser (c. 1315–1351), nun at Sempringham Priory
  7. Joan le Despenser (c. 1317–1384), nun at Shaftesbury Abbey
  8. Margaret le Despenser (c. 1319–1337), nun at Whatton Priory
  9. Elizabeth le Despenser (1325–13 July 1389), married Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley.
  ...
  Despenser tried to starve himself before his trial, but he was unsuccessful. He did face trial on 24 November 1326, in Hereford, before Mortimer and the Queen, and was found guilty on many charges. He was sentenced to death, with Isabella, Mortimer and their followers presiding over the protracted execution.
  Despenser was dragged naked through the streets, for the crowd's mistreatment. He was made a spectacle, which included writing on his body biblical verses against the capital sins he was accused of. Then he was hanged as a mere commoner, yet released before full asphyxiation could happen.
  In Froissart's account of his execution, Despenser was then tied firmly to a ladder and his genitals sliced off and burned while he was still conscious. His entrails were slowly pulled out; finally, his heart was cut out and thrown into a fire. Froissart (or rather Jean le Bel's chronicle, on which he relied) is the only source to mention castration; other contemporary accounts have Despenser hanged, drawn and quartered, which usually did not involve castration.
  Despenser's body was beheaded and cut into four pieces. His head was mounted on the gates of London.
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Despenser_the_younger
  
  ..................................................................
  
  Hugh Le Despenser
  
  Strongly rumoured to have been the bisexual lover of Edward II, Hugh Le Despenser the Younger was strung up today in an execution fraught with animosity.
  Leading the way, was the woman scorned by the monarch’s adulterous affair – the Queen of England: Isabella of France.
  
  There is even conjecture that Despenser dispensed with all social nicety by forcing himself upon her as well.
  
  So it came as no surprise that she was at the front of the queue to exact her revenge with her lover Roger Mortimer right by her side.
  
  Sacked
  
  Le Despenser had been busy amassing enemies throughout his Medieval life. He’d done well out of his kingly sexual conquest for Edward had proven to be a lucrative cash cow.
  
  He’d made sure he had been on hand whenever Edward fancied going to war, such as the ill-fated run-in with Scotland led by Robert the Bruce or the clash with the Welsh barons, which was more lucrative. Hence, Le Despenser was always up for scooping up the spoils of their victories.
  
  Back
  
  This favouritism really got the other nobles’ goats and Le Despenser became pretty unpopular, so much so that the pair really had to watch their backs.
  
  Cracked
  
  Finally, the queen could take no more and she put a sharp end to the halcyon days for the king and his alleged lover.
  
  She teamed up with her own bit of stuff, Justice of Wales Baron Roger Mortimer, who jumped the pair at Llantrinsaint and they were apprehended on 16 November 1326.
  
  Of course, the king was unpopular but the real object of the exercise was to get a collar Le Despenser. That done, the disaffected nobles wasted no time in dispensing Le Despenser at Hereford where they set about exacting their inimitable brand of revenge.
  
  Dispensed
  
  Following a ropey trial-less set of accusations branding him a traitor, Le Despenser was given an equally ropey sentence, all headed up by the mistress of ceremonies: Isabella.
  
  He was to be drawn and quartered as was to be expected if the crime was against crown or country.
  
  But this was no ordinary hanging. According to a bizarrely over-zealous account on a Welsh government website, he was suspended between the prongs of a pitchfork 50 feet up and literally bounced until dead, but there is no evidence of this seeming embellishment.
  
  Then he was relieved of his nether regions before being quartered and shipped off to be displayed round the country and his head festooned on London Bridge for all to see.
  
  Head case
  
  While his skull disappeared, Le Despenser’s headless corpse made a reappearance. It was apparently unearthed at Hulton Abbey in the 1970s.
  
  According to ‘The Daily Telegraph’, carbon dating helped provide evidence that the remains could well have been his.
  
  Sadly the same certainty does not surround the date of his execution. We’ve gone with the peerage date of 29 November 1326. But others state anything from 16 November onwards.
  
  ‘Wikpedia’ unfortunately bucks all the other sources by stating it took place in 1325. But seeing as Edward was officially deposed in favour of his own son ‘a couple of months later’ in January 1327, that date is completely wrong. And yes, you’ve guessed it, that act was the final humiliation and was instigated by none other than Isabella.
  
  If you have come across any compelling evidence around his execution date, please drop us a line below.
  
  Also on this day
  
  29 November 1603 – William Clark
  29 November 1920 – James Riley
  
  Related
  Execution of the Day – 2009 (part 48)
  In "Death penalty"
  21 March 1556 – Thomas Cranmer
  In "Burned at the stake"
  23 August 1305 – William Wallace
  In "Death penalty"
  
  Source: Execution On This Day, https://eotd.wordpress.com/2008/11/29/29-november-1326-hugh-despensers/. Last accessed Nov 24, 2016
  
  === 1a. Source: "Ancestry of Roger Ludlow" ===
  1a. Source: "Ancestry of Roger Ludlow" by Seversmith, p. (before) 2,393.
  
  === !Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists Who ===
  !Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists Who Came to New England between 1623 and 1650, Sixth Edition by Frederick Lewis Weis Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore 1988 line 57-31, 72-31; Webster's Biographical Dictionary, 1962 p 412 He was hanged, drawn and quartered at Hereford. King's chamberlain 1313, banished with his father in 1321 by barons, they hated him for his wealth and rapacity; recalled by the king in 1322; negotiator of truce with Scotland in 1323; taken with king in 1326 by barons under Queen Isabella and hanged. Some sources from Paula Evans 1992; !Our Noble & Gentle Families of Royal Descent Together with Their Paternal Ancestry by Joseph Foster p 126 1883 Edition.
  
  === Endotes: David Faris, Plantagenet Ance ===
  Endotes: David Faris, Plantagenet Ancestry of the 17th CenturyColonists, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD, 1996, 1st ed pp235-289 Wyatt. World Family Tree Volumes 4,& 5 (Broderbund BannerBlue Division),CD-ROM Ed Mann, Mann Database, Electronic Ren Neville, Neville GEDCOM, (beschultzer@earthlink.net), Electronic Spousal bithday estimation, (ae based on Spouce®s known birth); incase of wife = 4 yrs, -4 yrs for husband, unless marr. Date or birthof issue indicates same age as spouse is more likely).
  
  === 1st s. of Hugh the Elder. Knighted by t ===
  1st s. of Hugh the Elder. Knighted by the Prince of Wales atWestminster, 22 May 1306.

• m. 1306 in Westminster, London, England

1. Edward le Despenser I, b. 1310 in Buckinghamshire, England     d. 30 SEP 1342 in Morlaix, Brittany, France
2. Isabel Le Despencer, b. ABT 1312 in Gloucestershire, England     d. ABT 1374 in Arundel, Sussex, England
3. Elizabeth le Despenser, b. 1327 in Tower of London, Middlesex, England     d. 13 JUL 1389 in Thornbury, Gloucestershire, England

1. Title: Dictionary of National Biography, Volumes 1-20, 22
   Publication: Name: https://search.ancestry.com/collections/1981/records/18716;
   
2. Title: "A Traitor's Death? The Identity of a Drawn, Hanged and Quartered Man from Hulton Abbey, Staffordshire"
   Author: A downloadable .pdf [image] document. Scroll down, and the .pdf is there., on the left side of the page.
   Publication: Name: http://www.academia.edu/215486/A_Traitors_Death_The_identity_of_a_drawn_hanged_and_quartered_man_from_Hulton_Abbey_Staffordshire;
   Note: A book written by: Mary Lewis (2008) A downloadable .pdf [image] document. Premise - Pure Conjecture - interesting none-the-less.
   
3. Title: Hugh Le Despenser, "Ireland Marriages, 1619-1898"
   Author: "Ireland Marriages, 1619-1898", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HPTY-2Z3Z : 6 February 2020), Hugh Le Despenser, .
   Publication: Name: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HPTY-2Z3Z;
   
4. Title: Hugh le Despenser, "Find A Grave Index"
   Author: "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV2Y-TL1W : 16 December 2020), Hugh le Despenser, ; Burial, Tewkesbury, Tewkesbury Borough, Gloucestershire, England, Tewkesbury Abbey; citing record ID 84236536, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
   Publication: Name: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV2Y-TL1W;
   
5. Title: The Medieval Lands Project, "HUGH Le Despencer
   Author: fmg.ac
   Publication: Name: http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLISH%20NOBILITY%20MEDIEVAL2.htm#HughDespencerYgrdied1326;
   Note: HUGH (-executed Hereford 24 Nov 1326, bur Tewkesbury Abbey). Lord le Despencer 1314. The Chronica de Fundatoribus et Fundatione of Tewkesbury Abbey records that “Hugo secundus, camerarius Regis Edwardi de Karnarvan et maritus dominæ Elianoræ de Clare” was killed “1326 in vigilia sanctæ Andreæ apostolic apud Herefordiam”, hanged, drawn and quartered without trial, and buried “in nostra ecclesia”[168]. m (Westminster 1306 after 14 Jun) as her first husband, ELEANOR de Clare, daughter of GILBERT de Clare Earl of Gloucester & his second wife Joan of England ([1292]-30 Jun 1337). The Chronica de Fundatoribus et Fundatione of Tewkesbury Abbey names “Elianoram, Elizabetham, et Margaretam” as the three daughters of “Gilbertus secundus” and his wife “Johanna de Acres, filia regis Edwardi primi”, adding that Eleanor married “Hugoni le Despenser, filio domini Hugonis le Despenser comitis Wintoniæ”[169]. King Edward II, for “affectionem quam ad promotionem...nepotis regis Gilberti filii Hugonis le Despencer junioris”, granted “manerium de Melton Moubray...in comitatu Leycestriæ quod fuit Johannis de Moubray...et manerium de Sonyngdon...in comitatu Bedfordiæ quod fuit de Bartholomæi de Badelsmere” to “nepti suæ Alianoræ uxori eiusdem Hugonis” by charter dated 7 Jul 1322[170]. She married secondly as his second wife, William la Zouche Lord Zouche. The Chronica de Fundatoribus et Fundatione of Tewkesbury Abbey records that “Eleonora uxor eiusdem” (referring to “Hugo secundus, camerarius Regis Edwardi de Karnarvan et maritus dominæ Elianoræ de Clare”) died “II Kal Jul 1337”, and also refers to her second marriage to “domino Willielmo le Sowch” by whom she was mother of “Hugonem Souch”[171]. Hugh & his wife had five children: (Hugh, Isabel, Edward, Elizabeth and Gilbert).
   
6. Title: Pedigree Charts in "The Genealogie or Pedegree" by Sir William Segar, Garter
   Author: Book: Coles Of Devon, 1867 (25.html) by James Edwin-Cole Source 7:www Genealogy or pedegree of the .... Sir William Cole... written in 1630 by Segar, William, Sir, -1633
   Publication: Name: http://ephotocaption.com/a/25/1391150.pdf;
   Note: There are 33 pages of Charts of the Cole Family and the collateral lines drawn from the original Cole Pedigree dated 1585. This is copied from the original Roll, in the possession of the Right Honourable the Earl of Enniskillen. This information was compiled by Sir William Segar, Garter in 1630, referencing the family of Thomas Cole who compiled the Escheats. William Segar, Garter was the Principall King of Armes. Wikipedia: Sir William Segar (c. 1554–1633) was a portrait painter and officer of arms to the court of Elizabeth I of England; he became Garter King of Arms under James I. He had the responsibility of granting coats of arms to noble families. THE PEDIGREE AS IT RELATES TO THE BODRUGAN FAMILY CONTAINS ERRORS. Firstly, it incorrectly shows that Henry Bodrugan the son of Otto, and his wife Isabelle Whalesborough, had 3 sons: William, Otto & Nicholas. This is wrong. the 3 sons were in fact his brothers. Henry died, aged 20, leaving no issue, his next heir being his brother William. This is evident from Henry's IPM. Secondly, the pedigree conflates William the bastard son of Otto Bodrugan with William Bodrugan the son of Ralph Treneweth. This is an unreliable source in so far at it relates to the Bodrugan family.
   
7. Title: Execution of Hugh Le Despencer
   Author: Online source Execution of the Day
   Publication: Name: https://eotd.wordpress.com/2008/11/29/29-november-1326-hugh-despensers/;
   Note: Nov 29, 1326 Hugh Le Despenser Strongly rumoured to have been the bisexual lover of Edward II, Hugh Le Despenser the Younger was strung up today in an execution fraught with animosity. Leading the way, was the woman scorned by the monarch’s adulterous affair – the Queen of England: Isabella of France. There is even conjecture that Despenser dispensed with all social nicety by forcing himself upon her as well. So it came as no surprise that she was at the front of the queue to exact her revenge with her lover Roger Mortimer right by her side. Sacked Le Despenser had been busy amassing enemies throughout his Medieval life. He’d done well out of his kingly sexual conquest for Edward had proven to be a lucrative cash cow. He’d made sure he had been on hand whenever Edward fancied going to war, such as the ill-fated run-in with Scotland led by Robert the Bruce or the clash with the Welsh barons, which was more lucrative. Hence, Le Despenser was always up for scooping up the spoils of their victories. Back This favouritism really got the other nobles’ goats and Le Despenser became pretty unpopular, so much so that the pair really had to watch their backs. Cracked Finally, the queen could take no more and she put a sharp end to the halcyon days for the king and his alleged lover. She teamed up with her own bit of stuff, Justice of Wales Baron Roger Mortimer, who jumped the pair at Llantrinsaint and they were apprehended on 16 November 1326. Of course, the king was unpopular but the real object of the exercise was to get a collar Le Despenser. That done, the disaffected nobles wasted no time in dispensing Le Despenser at Hereford where they set about exacting their inimitable brand of revenge. Dispensed Following a ropey trial-less set of accusations branding him a traitor, Le Despenser was given an equally ropey sentence, all headed up by the mistress of ceremonies: Isabella. He was to be drawn and quartered as was to be expected if the crime was against crown or country. But this was no ordinary hanging. According to a bizarrely over-zealous account on a Welsh government website, he was suspended between the prongs of a pitchfork 50 feet up and literally bounced until dead, but there is no evidence of this seeming embellishment. Then he was relieved of his nether regions before being quartered and shipped off to be displayed round the country and his head festooned on London Bridge for all to see. Head case While his skull disappeared, Le Despenser’s headless corpse made a reappearance. It was apparently unearthed at Hulton Abbey in the 1970s. According to ‘The Daily Telegraph’, carbon dating helped provide evidence that the remains could well have been his. Sadly the same certainty does not surround the date of his execution. We’ve gone with the peerage date of 29 November 1326. But others state anything from 16 November onwards. ‘Wikpedia’ unfortunately bucks all the other sources by stating it took place in 1325. But seeing as Edward was officially deposed in favour of his own son ‘a couple of months later’ in January 1327, that date is completely wrong. And yes, you’ve guessed it, that act was the final humiliation and was instigated by none other than Isabella. If you have come across any compelling evidence around his execution date, please drop us a line below. Also on this day 29 November 1603 – William Clark 29 November 1920 – James Riley Bookmark this site del.icio.us | digg | facebook | reddit | StumbleUpon About these ads Related Execution of the Day – 2009 (part 48) In "Death penalty" 21 March 1556 – Thomas Cranmer In "Burned at the stake" 23 August 1305 – William Wallace In "Death penalty"
   Page: Source backgrounder of Hugh Le Despencer
   
8. Title: "The Peerage" database: Hugh le Despenser, 1st Lord le Despenser
   Author: Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. volume 1, page 1385
   Publication: Name: http://thepeerage.com/p195.htm#i1943;
   Note: M, #1943, b. circa 1290, d. 29 November 1326 Hugh le Despenser, 1st Lord le Despenser was born circa 1290. He was the son of Hugh le Despenser, 1st and last Earl of Winchester and Isabella de Beauchamp.1 He married Lady Eleanor de Clare, daughter of Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester and Joan of Acre, in 1306.1 He died on 29 November 1326, by hanging as a traitor. He was buried at Tewkesbury Abbey, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. Hugh le Despenser, 1st Lord le Despenser also went by the nick-name of Hugh 'the Younger'. He was created 1st Lord le Despenser [England by writ] on 29 July 1314.1 He was invested as a Knight, Order of the Bath (K.B.) In August 1321 he was disinherited and exiled in perpetuity for his alleged misgovernment and malign influence of King Edward II. He was attainted. He has an extensive biographical entry in the Dictionary of National Biography.
   
9. Title: The Magna Charta Sureties 1215
   Author: The Magna Charta Sureties 1215, Frederick Lewis Weis, additions by WalterLee Sheppard Jr, 5th Edition, 1999, Page number: 14-6
   Note: death: 24 November 1326; Andorra ABBR The Magna Charta Sureties 1215, Frederick Lewis Weis, additions by Walter Lee Sheppard Jr, 5th Edition, 1999 ABBR The Magna Charta Sureties 1215, Frederick Lewis Weis, additions by Walter Lee Sheppard Jr, 5th Edition, 1999
   Page: Migrated from user-supplied source citation: urn:familysearch:source:3244726613
   
10. Title: Magna Charta Sureties, 1215
    Author: Frederick Lewis Weis Th.D., editor, The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215 - The Barons Named in the Magna Charta, 1215 and Some of Their Descendants Who Settled in America Durung the Early Colonial Years, Fifth Edition, Third Printing (Balrimore, Maryland: Benealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 2006), page 15, [Line 14]. Cit. Date: 29 Nov 2020.
    Page: This is correct
    
11. Title: Hugh Despenser the Younger - Wikipedia
    Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Despenser_the_Younger;