Alice of Essex
In my research of the history of Belchamp Walter the connection between
Geofrey de_Mandeville and
Rohse de Vere I came across Alice of Essex.
The proceedings of the Essex Archaeological & History Society have a study by
Horace Round about Alice who was either the sister of Aubrey de Vere and/or the daughter
of Aubrey de Vere and Alice de Clare.
My initial research centered around the statement made by Thomas Wright that the lands of
Belchamp Walter
were given to Geofrey de Mandeville as a dowry on his marriage to Rohse de Vere.
At that time I had nothing
to refute that the de Veres were given the land by William for services at the Conquest. Subsequent to
that I have found that there are many questions relating to the de Veres at the time of the Battle of
Hastings and the exact identity of Aubrey de Vere, there seem to be more than one, were called into
question.
On this page I have two references to Alice of Essex, the first is p 348 of
ESAH Volume VIII, 1900 Ship Money
and the second again from EASH - Transcations of the Essex Archaeological Society, Vol III, p 249, 1889.
Both of these references discuss the de Veres from the perspective of Alice or Alizia de Vere.
ESAH Volume VIII, 1900 - Ship Mpney in Essex
These are supplemental notes by Horace Round
ARCHEOLOGICAL NOTES.
A Charter of Alice of Essex.
In a paper of mine entitled
'Who was Alice of Essex?' I showed that this great lady was a sister
of Aubrey de Vere and wife, firstly, of Robert of Essex, the lord of
Rayleigh, and secondly, of Roger Fitz Richard, founder of the house
of Clavering. 1
I have now found a charter of hers, hitherto, it seems,
unknown, in the great cartulary of the Order of the Hospital, which
I have spoken of as "quite a treasure-house of Essex genealogy and
topography." 2
In this charter she grants "to God and St. Mary and St. John the
Baptist and the blessed poor of the holy Hospital of Jerusalem"
certain land in her manor of U gley. The Latin text is as follows:-
Ego Adeliz de Essex concessi Deo et Sancte Marie et Sancto Johanni Baptiste
et beatis pauperibus sancti Hospitalis Jerusalem quandam terram in manerio
meo de Vggeleia que vocatur Stanheye scilicet meum sartum quantum habui in
ilia die ibi quum Turgis amisit castellum de Walendena ad meam mensem pro
salute anime mee pro anima Domini mei Roberti de Essex et pro anima patris
(sic 3 ) de Ver et fratris mei Roberti de Ver et pro salute omnium amicorum
meorum tarn vivorum quam defunctorum quatenus participes nos faciat Deus
bonorum. . in sancta domo hospitalis Jerusalem
Testibus: Matre mea domina Aliz de Ver; Albino Sacerdote; Alexandra filio
Gaufridi; Reginaldo filio Petri.''
It will be observed that the first witness is her mother, "the
lady Aliz de Ver," whose own charter to Earls Colne Priory has
her daughter " Alice of Essex " among the witnesses, 5 together
with "Albinus (i.e . Aubin) the chaplain," who witnesses the charter
printed above as "Albin us the priest." It will further be observed
that Alice of Essex refers to her husband (domini) Robert of Essex
in accordance with the pedigree established in my previous paper.
The land granted was called 'Stanheye,' and was a forest clearing
(sartum). I have explained in my Geoffrey de Mandeville (p. 376) that
the date at which such a clearing had been in existence was carefully
specified as of importance. In this case the clearing is defined as
being of the extent which she held "on that day when Turgis lost
the castle of (Saffron) Walden." This, at first sight, mysterious
phrase refers to a stirring event in the local history. When Geoffrey
de Mandeville was forced, by the threat of being sent to the gallows
to surrender to Stephen his castle of ' \i\T aledene,' the king entrusted its
charge, wit h that of th e surrounding district, to Turgis d' Avrancbes,'
an officer whom he trusted and had raised from the ranks. The uptart's head was soon turned,
and he" inhibited " the king from paying
his "wonted visits" to the castle. But, one clay, as he went forth
to hunt, the king followed by a strong troop had the good fortune to
come upon him, with his bounds in full cry and his horn sounding.
Stephen's men clashed after him, seized him, and placed him in fetters.
The usual th reat of the gallows produced its usual effect, and Turgis,
to save his life, surrendered Walden castle.
2 Such was the great local event of the year l 145 for U gley and all around.
The charter of Alice is further of interest for the light it throws on
the descent of Ugley Hall. Belonging, at the time of Domesday, to
the fief of Aubrey de Vere, it was clearly given to Alice as a marriage
portion by her father, and inh erited from her by her descendants, the
house of Clavering, who held it, however, of De Vere, earl of Oxford.
J. H. ROUND.
Top
EASH - Tranascations of the Essex Archaeological Society, Vol III, p 249, 1889
- Who Was Alice Of Essex? - By J. Horace Round, M.A
The text here is from Transactions 10 (link below - also referenced by me as Ship Money)
JH Round speculates on the origin of the name "Alice of Essex".
WHO WAS ALICE OF ESSEX?
By J. Horace Round, M.A.
In a most painstaking article on "Suene of Essex, his family, and estates,"* Miss Fry has traced with great
ability the history of that short-lived family
which bore our county's name. The mere fact that it could claim for its founder a noble,
Eobert Fitz Wimarc, living in the time of the Confessor, is enough to confer on it exceptional distinction ;
but the further fact that both Eobert and his son acted as sheriffs of Essex, and held " almost a
principality in the south-eastern part of the county, spreading for miles round the capital seat at
Ealeigh,"t where their park and castle are mentioned in Domesday, invests them for Essex folk with
peculiar interest.
In this paper I propose to discuss the parentage and marriage of the lady known as "Alice of Essex,"
and incidentally to introduce some of her relatives among the great Essex families of the time.
Miss Fry arrives at the following conclusion on the question of her parentage and her marriage : —
Alizia or Alice de Ver is the best known wife of Henry de Essex, and is generally supposed to have been a
daughter of Alberic de Vere, second of the name, this is, however, an error. The Eev. Thomas Streatfield
in his manuscript notes to " Hasted's History of Kent," states that Adeliza or Alice de Montford, widow of
Gilbert de Q-ant, married Eobert de Vere for her second husband, and had is&ue Alice,
wife of Henry de Essex.
}
As Cicily, however, is the only wife that Miss Fry has found assigned in charters, to Henry of Essex,
she has to make Alice his second wife. Here then is the pedigree.
It is not clear in the article who Miss Fry is. I am presuming that that she was another member of
EASH.
About the references
As I say at the top of this page, my starting point for the history of the region of Belchamp Walter
started with what I found on the information found in the parish church and that on
the Historic England webite.
The Historic England website is the most likely place that anyone interested in a
history of a particular location will find when making a search. The profiles found on the site are
very much what the owners of the buildings that they were listing had told them with regards to the
heritage of their buildings.
In the case of Belchamp Walter the information from the church and that can now be found on the
Historic England website the source of the information is the same. In addition, when Thomas Wright
was compiling his history of the whole county of Essex, the source of his informaion was the owner
of Belchamp Hall in 1831/1836. It is my opinion that the owner at that time was unaware of the
history of the region before this family became resident of the Hall. The statement that can be
found stating that the manor was held by the de Veres by a number of families until 1539 when it
"came" to Sir Roger Wentworth, a little unsatifactory.