Familypedia
Advertisement
in: De Berkeley (surname), Born in 1250, Died in 1321,
and 13 more

Thomas de Berkeley (c1250-1321)

Edit with form

  • 1st Lord Berkeley

Biography

Thomas "The Wise" de Berkeley was born circa 1250 in Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire, England to Maurice De Berkeley, Lord of Berkeley (1218-1281) and Isabel de Dover (c1225-1276) and died 23 July 1321 Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire, England of unspecified causes. He married Joan Margaret de Ferrers (c1248-1310) 1267 JL .

Berkeley arms

Arms of Berkeley: Gules, a chevron between ten crosses pattée six in chief and four in base argent

Thomas de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley (c. 1245– 23 July 1321),[1] The Wise,[2] feudal baron of Berkeley, of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, England, was a peer, soldier and diplomat.[3] His epithet, and that of each previous and subsequent head of his family, was coined by John Smyth of Nibley (d.1641), steward of the Berkeley estates, the biographer of the family and author of "Lives of the Berkeleys".

Origins

Thomas de Berkeley was born around 1245[4] at Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, the son of Sir Maurice de Berkeley, feudal baron of Berkeley, by his wife Isabel FitzRoy,[5] a paternal granddaughter of King John (1199-1216) through his bastard son Richard FitzRoy.

Career

He fought in the Battle of Evesham in 1265.[5] He inherited the feudal baron of Berkeley in 1281 following the death of his father and on 28 June 1283 was created 1st Baron Berkeley by writ of summons to Parliament by King Edward I (1272-1307). In June 1292 he was a commissioner to examine the claims to the crown of Scotland.[5] He was on an embassy to France in January 1296 and held the office of Vice-Constable of England in 1297.[5] He fought in the Battle of Falkirk on 22 July 1298 and was present at the Siege of Caerlaverock, Scotland, in July 1300.[5] He was on an embassy to Pope Clement V in July 1307.[5] He fought in the Battle of Bannockburn on 24 June 1314, where he was taken prisoner, and obliged to pay a large sum for his ransom.[5]

Death and succession

He died at Berkeley Castle on 23 July 1321 and was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley.[5]

Marriage and descendants

In 1267 Thomas de Berkeley married Joan de Ferrers, a daughter of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby, by his wife Margaret de Quincy,[5] a daughter of Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester. By his wife he had the following children:

  • Maurice de Berkeley (1280-1326), 2nd Baron Berkeley (April 1271 - 31 May 1326), eldest son and heir.
  • Thomas Berkeley of Coston, Leicestershire, ancestor of the Berkeleys of Wymondham, Leicestershire.[6]
  • John Berkeley (d. circa 1317).
  • James Berkeley (d. 1327), Bishop of Exeter.
  • Alice Berkeley, married Sir Ralph Stourton.
  • Isabel Berkeley.
  • Margaret de Berkeley (c1272-1320), She married, firstly, Thomas fitz Maurice, son of Maurice fitz John and Mathilda de Barry, before 7 February 1283/84.3 She died after 1320.3 She married, secondly, Reynald Russel.2 Her married name became Russel.


Children


Offspring of Thomas "The Wise" de Berkeley and Joan Margaret de Ferrers (c1248-1310)
Name Birth Death Joined with
Margaret de Berkeley (c1272-1320) 1272 Ireland 1320 Ireland Thomas FitzGerald (c1250-1296)
Maurice de Berkeley (1280-1326) April 1280 Berkeley, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom 31 May 1326 Wallingford Castle, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom Eva la Zouche (-1314)
Isabel de Clare (1263-1333)
Thomas Barkeley
John Berkeley (c1283-1317)
James Berkeley (c1284-1327)
Alice Berkeley (c1285-)
Isabel Berkeley (c1286-)



Siblings


Offspring of Maurice De Berkeley, Lord of Berkeley (1218-1281) and Isabel de Dover (c1225-1276)
Name Birth Death Joined with
Thomas de Berkeley (c1250-1321) 1250 Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire, England 23 July 1321 Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire, England Joan Margaret de Ferrers (c1248-1310)
Maurice de Berkeley (c1250-1279)
Robert de Berkeley (c1252-)
Lora de Berkeley (c1254-)


See Also

References

  1. ^ Smyth, John (1883). The Berkeley manuscripts. The lives of the Berkeleys, lords of the honour, castle and manor of Berkeley, in the county of Gloucester, from 1066 to 1618;. Robarts - University of Toronto. Gloucester, Printed by J. Bellows. https://archive.org/details/berkeleymanuscri01smyt. 
  2. ^ Cokayne
  3. ^ "Person Page". http://thepeerage.com/p4177.htm#i41765. 
  4. ^ Smyth, John (1883). The Berkeley manuscripts. The lives of the Berkeleys, lords of the honour, castle and manor of Berkeley, in the county of Gloucester, from 1066 to 1618; p. 154. Robarts - University of Toronto. Gloucester, Printed by J. Bellows. https://archive.org/details/berkeleymanuscri01smyt. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i G. E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, pages 127 & 128
  6. ^ John Burke & John Bernard Burke (1844), Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland and Scotland, London: John Russell Smith 
  • [S6] G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, page 127. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Peerage.
  • [S6] Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume II, page 128.
  • [S37] BP2003 See link for full details for this source. Hereinafter cited as. [S37]
  • [S7976] Andrew Stourton, "re: St. Barbe Family," e-mail message to Darryl Roger LUNDY (101053), 25 April 2016. Hereinafter cited as "re: St Barbe Family."



Residences

Footnotes (including sources)

‡ General
  • Thomas de Berkeley, feudal Lord of Berkeley and 1st Baron Berkeley so created by writ of summons to Parliament 24 June 1295; V-Constable England 1297, present at the victory over the Scots of Falkirk 22 July 1298 and at Siege of Carlaverock July 1300, taken prisoner at Scottish victory of Bannockburn 24 June 1314, Commissioner to examine claims to the crown of Scotland June 1292. [Burke's Peerage] --------------------------------------------------------- Sir Thomas de Berkeley, b. 1245, d. 23 July 1321, son of Maurice de Berkeley, b. 1218, d. 1281, and Isabel, daughter of Richard Fitz Roy, bastard son of King John of England. [Magna Charta Sureties] --------------------------------------------------------- BARONY of BERKELEY (I) THOMAS DE BERKELEY, feudal LORD OF BERKELEY, 2nd, but 1st surviving son and heir (c), who "may bee called Thomas the Wise." He was born at Berkeley 1245, was at the battle of Evesham when under age, and was for nearly every year for the last 50 years of his life "employed either against the Welsh., the Scots, or the French." He was summoned to attend the King at Shrewsbury 28 June 1283 by writ directed 'Thome de Berkel', which writ was actually treated in the Mowbray case (1877) as one which created an hereditary Peerage. On 24 June 1295, he was summoned to Parliament by writ directed Thome de Berkelegh', whereby he may be held to have become LORD BERKELEY. He continued to be so summoned till 15 May 1321. He was made Vice-Constable of England in 1297, was at the bloody battle and defeat of the Scots at Falkirk 22 July 1298, the siege of Carlaverock in July 1300, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Bannockburn, 24 June 1314, paying a large sum for his ransom. He was likewise on the Commission to examine the claims to the Crown of Scotland, June 1292; was on an Embassy to France, January 1296, and to Pope Clement V, in July 1307. He married, in 1267, Joan, da. of William (DE FERRERS), EARL OF DERBY, by his 2nd wife, Margaret, daughter and coheir of Roger (DE QUINCI), EARL OF WINCHESTER. She died in March 1309/10, and was buried at St. Augustine's, Bristol. He died 23 July 1321, at Berkeley, aged about 76. [Complete Peerage II:127-8, (transcribed by Dave Utzinger)] (c) Maurice, his elder brother, was killed in a tournament at Kenilworth, vp in 1279. --------------------------------------------------------- Thomas de Berkeley, b. at Berkeley in 1245, was summoned to parliament by writ as a baron from 23 June 1295 to 15 May 1321. This nobleman was of great eminence in the reigns of Edward I and and Edward II, being in the French, Welsh, and Scottish wars of those periods, particularly at the celebrated siege of Caerlaverock. He was involved, however, at the close of his life in the treason of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster. His lordship m. circa 1267 Jane, dau. of William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, and dying July 23, 1321 (his wife d. 19 Mar 1309], left issue, I. Maurice, 2nd baron II. Thomas, ancestor of the Berkeleys of Wymondham, co. Leicester, extinct in Sir Henry Berkeley, living 1622. III. John, d. s. p. 10th Edward II [c. 1317] IV. James, a bishop I. Isabel, d. unm. II. Margaret, d. unm. [Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p. 44, Berkeley, Viscount Berkeley, Earl of Nottingham, and Marquess of Berkeley] Sources: Title: Magna Charta Sureties 1215, Frederick Lewis Weis, additions by Walter Lee Sheppard Jr, 5th Edition, 1999 Page: 88-4 Title: Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom, by G. E Cokayne, Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2000 Page: II:127-8 Title: Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom, by G. E Cokayne, Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2000 Page: II:128 King Edward II (1284-1327) The brutal murder of King Edward II in 1327 took place at Berkeley Castle. The life and death of this unfortunate king is the subject of a play by Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593). This formed the text for the excellent film on the subject by Derek Jarman. The owner of the castle at that time, Lord Thomas Berkeley, was later acquitted of any involvement, but a few pertinent facts are often neglected. The turning point in Edward's fortune was the battle of Bannockburn in 1314 where the Scottish under Robert de Bruce defeated the much larger English army led by Edward. Many noblemen died or were captured, including Thomas' father Maurice (ransomed), his sister's husband's father, Lord Clifford, (killed) and brother (ransomed). Edward was widely held responsible for this disaster. Edward II's wife, Isabel (the She Wolf of France), was the lover and accomplice of Roger de Mortimer, Earl of March, who deposed Edward. Thomas Berkeley's 1st wife was Roger's daughter, Margaret. Thomas's father, Maurice, was imprisoned at Wallingford by Edward II where he died in 1326. In short Thomas had a motive and every opportunity to kill the King. There is even evidence that he was paid afterwards by the Queen. Edward is buried in the fabulous Gloucester Cathedral - worth visiting just to see the Crecy window - partly 'sponsored' by the Berkeley family; the largest stained glass window in England - a whole 2 foot wider than the great east window in York. The vaulting of the cloisters is also remarkable.
¶ Death
  • Buried St. Augustine's Abbey, Bristol, England
Peerage of England
New creation Baron Berkeley
1295–1321 		Succeeded by
Maurice de Berkeley
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement