Notes:

John de Lacy (1192 - 22 July 1240), son of Roger, became 1st Earl of Lincoln, 8th Baron of Halton and 5th Lord of Bowland. He and his cousin Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, chosen surety to enforce the King's adherence to Magna Carta. John de Lacy was buried in Stanlow Abbey.

John de Lacy (c. 1192 - 1240) was the 2nd Earl of Lincoln, of the fourth creation.

Background

He was the eldest son and heir of Roger de Lacy and his wife, Maud or Matilda de Clere (not of the de Clare family).

Public life

He was hereditary constable of Chester and, in the 15th year of King John, undertook the payment of 7,000 marks to the crown, in the space of four years, for livery of the lands of his inheritance, and to be discharged of all his father's debts due to the exchequer, further obligating himself by oath, that in case he should ever swerve from his allegiance, and adhere to the king's enemies, all of his possessions should devolve upon the crown, promising also, that he would not marry without the king's license. By this agreement it was arranged that the king should retain the castles of Pontefract and Dunnington, still in his own hands; and that he, the said John, should allow 40 pounds per year, for the custody of those fortresses. But the next year he had Dunnington restored to him, upon hostages.

John de Lacy, 7th Baron of Halton Castle, 5th Lord of Bowland and hereditary constable of Chester, was one of the earliest who took up arms at the time of the Magna Charta, and was appointed to see that the new statutes were properly carried into effect and observed in the counties of York and Nottingham. He was one of twenty-five barons charged with overseeing the observance of Magna Carta in 1215.

He was excommunicated by the Pope. Upon the accession of King Henry III. he joined a party of noblemen and made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and did good service at the siege of Damietta. In 1232 he was made Earl of Lincoln and in 1240, governor of Chester and Beeston Castles. In 1237, his lordship was one of those appointed to prohibit Oto, the pope's prelate, from establishing anything derogatory to the king's crown and dignity, in the council of prelates then assembled; and the same year he was appointed High Sheriff of Cheshire, being likewise constituted Governor of the castle of Chester.

Private life

He married firstly Alice in 1214 in Pontefract, daughter of Gilbert de Aquila, who gave him one daughter Joan. Alice died in 1216 in Pontefract and, after his marked gallantry at the siege of Damietta, he married secondly in 1221 Margaret de Quincy, only daughter and heiress of Robert de Quincy, Earl of Winchester, by Hawyse, 4th sister and co-heir of Ranulph de Mechines, Earl of Chester and Lincoln, which Ranulph, by a formal charter under his seal, granted the Earldom of Lincoln, that is, so much as he could grant thereof, to the said Hawyse, "to the end that she might be countess, and that her heirs might also enjoy the earldom;" which grant was confirmed by the king, and at the especial request of the countess, this John de Lacy, constable of Chester, through his marriage was allowed to succeed de Blondeville and was created by charter, dated Northampton, 23 November 1232, Earl of Lincoln, with remainder to the heirs of his body, by his wife, the above-mentioned Margaret.[1] In the contest which occurred during the same year, between the king and Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, Earl Marshal, Matthew Paris states that the Earl of Lincoln was brought over to the king's party, with John of Scotland, 7th Earl of Chester, by Peter de Rupibus, Bishop of Winchester, for a bribe of 1,000 marks.

Later life

He died on 22 July 1240 and was buried at the Cisterian Abbey of Stanlaw, in County Chester. The monk Matthew Paris, records: "On the 22nd day of July, in the year 1240, which was St. Magdalen's Day, John, Earl of Lincoln, after suffering from a long illness went the way of all flesh". Margaret, his wife, survived him and remarried Walter Marshal, 5th Earl of Pembroke.

John married Margaret de Quincy Bef 21 Jun 1221. Margaret (daughter of Robert de Quincey and Hawise of Chester, Countess of Lincoln) was born Abt 1206; died Abt Mar 1265/66, Hampstead, London, England; was buried Clerkenwell, London, England. [Group Sheet]

1. Maud de Lacy, Countess of Gloucester was born 25 Jan 1222/23, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England; died Between 1287 and 10 Mar 1288/89.

Notes:

Roger de Lacy (1170-1211), 6th Baron of Pontefract, 7th Lord of Bowland, Lord of Blackburnshire, 7th Baron of Halton and Constable of Chester was formerly Roger le Constable. He was also known as Roger FitzJohn (son of John) and during the time that he was hoping to inherit his grandmother's de Lisours lands as Roger de Lisours. He was the son of John FitzRichard (son of Richard), Baron of Halton, Lord of Bowland, Lord of Flamborough and Constable of Chester. Roger became Baron of Pontefract on the death of his paternal grandmother Albreda de Lisours (-aft.1194) who had inherited the Barony in her own right as 1st-cousin and heir to Robert de Lacy (-1193), 4th Baron of Pontefract. In agreements with his grandmother Roger adopted the name of de Lacy, received the right to inherit the Barony of Pontefract and its lands, and the lands of Bowland, and Blackburnshire. He gave up all claims to his grandmother's de Lisours lands. He also gave his younger brother Robert le Constable the Flamborough lands that he had inherited from his father. He married Maud or Matilda de Clere (not of the de Clare family).

Military service

Siege of Acon

Roger was the Constable of Chester. Under the banner of Richard the Lionheart, Roger assisted at the siege of Acon, in 1192 and shared in the subsequent triumphs of that chivalrous monarch.
Accession of King John

At the accession of John, Roger was a person of great eminence, for we find him shortly after the coronation of that prince, deputed with the Sheriff of Northumberland, and other great men, to conduct William, King of Scotland, to Lincoln, where the English king had fixed to give him an interview; and the next year he was one of the barons present at Lincoln, when Davis, of Scotland, did homage and fealty to King John.

Siege of Rothelan

In the time of this Roger, Ranulph, Earl of Chester, having entered Wales at the head of some forces, was compelled, by superior numbers, to shut himself up in the castle of Rothelan (Rhuddlan Castle), where, being closely besieged by the Welsh, he sent for aid to the Constable of Chester. Hugh Lupus, the 1st Earl of Chester, in his charter of foundation of the Abbey of St. Werberg, at Chester, had given a privilege to the frequenters of Chester fair, "That they should not be apprehended for theft, or any other offense during the time of the fair, unless the crime was committed therein." This privilege made the fair, of course, the resort of thieves and vagabonds from all parts of the kingdom. Accordingly, the Constable, Roger de Lacy, forthwith marched to his relief, at the head of a concourse of people, then collected at the fair of Chester, consisting of minstrels, and loose characters of all description, forming altogether so numerous a body, that the besiegers, at their approach, mistaking them for soldiers, immediately raised the siege. For this timely service, the Earl of Chester conferred upon De Lacy and his heirs, the patronage of all the minstrels in those parts, which patronage the Constable transferred to his steward; and was enjoyed for many years afterwards.

High Sheriff

He was appointed High Sheriff of Cumberland for the years 1204 to 1209.

Death and succession

Roger died in 1211. Roger was succeeded by his son, John de Lacy, 2nd Earl of Lincoln.

Notes:

The son of Richard FitzEustace. He was a Governor in Ireland for Henry II. Being a patron of science, he maintained an astronomer at Halton Castle. He founded a Cistercian monastery at Stanlow. In 1190 he granted the second known charter for a ferry at Runcorn Gap. He served with Richard I in the Third Crusade and died at the siege of Tyre

Notes:

The son of Eustace FitzJohn. He married into the de Lacy family of Yorkshire.

Richard — Aubrey de Lisours. [Group Sheet]