Adam de Welles, 1st Baron Welles

Coat of arms of Adam de Welles, 1st Baron Welles

Adam de Welles, 1st Baron Welles (also Adam de Welle ) († September 1, 1311 ) was an English nobleman, military man and diplomat.

origin

Adam de Welles was a younger son of William de Welle and his wife Isabel Periton († 1315). The family was named after Well near Alford in Lincolnshire . After Adam's father died in 1264, his older brother William inherited the family's property, but after Adam's death around 1286, Adam inherited the property.

Service as a knight in the royal household

At an unknown point in time, Welles entered the service of King Edward I as a knight . In 1294 he accompanied Hugh Despenser the Elder when he traveled to Germany as an envoy to King Adolf of Nassau . Between 1297 and 1306 Welles is mentioned as a banneret of the royal household. In 1297 he was one of the knights of the household who were allowed to accept penalties from clergymen in the conflict between the king and Archbishop Winchelsey , with which they could buy the king's favor again. In the same year he took part in the war with France with an entourage of a knight and twelve squires in the unsuccessful campaign of the king to Flanders. During the campaign two of the squires were knighted. In the war in Scotland he accompanied the king during the campaign of 1298 and took part in the Battle of Falkirk . In 1300 Welles took part in the siege of Caerlaverock Castle in Scotland with three knights and nine squires . In 1301 and from 1303 to 1304 he took part in further campaigns to Scotland, as well as in the campaign led by Edward II from 1309 to 1310 .

Ascent to the baron

King Edward I rewarded Welles' services by handing him over the administration of Rockingham Castle and the lucrative position of administrator of the royal forests between Oxford and Stamford in 1299 . In 1299 Welles was first invited to a parliament , with which he is considered Baron Welles and was regularly invited to other parliaments. As early as 1297 Welles had acquired further properties in Lincolnshire from William II of Wyleby , and later he bought the Wyberton estate from John Holland . Edward II gave him further property in Lincolnshire which gave him an annual income of £ 42. After his death, Welles was buried in Greenfield Priory near Aby in Lincolnshire.

Marriage and offspring

Welles had married Joan († 1315) before 1296 , the widow of Walter Fitzrobert , the eldest son of Robert Fitzwalter, 1st Baron Fitzwalter . She was a daughter of Sir John Engaine . With her, Welles had at least three sons and a daughter:

• Robert Welles, 2nd Baron Welles (1297-1320) ⚭ Maud de Clare
• Adam Welles, 3rd Baron Welles (1304–1345) ⚭ Margaret Bardolf († before 1334)
• John de Welles
• Margaret de Welles, Prioress of Greenfield

Welles' estates, which included shares in seventeen estates and five beneficiaries in Lincolnshire, was first inherited by his eldest son Robert. After his untimely death, the younger son Adam inherited the property.

Web links

• Cracroft's Peerage: Welles, Baron (E, 1299 - abeyant 1499)
• Michael Prestwich: Welles [wave], Adam de, first Lord Welles (d. 1311). In: Henry Colin Gray Matthew, Brian Harrison (Eds.): Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , from the earliest times to the year 2000 (ODNB). Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-861411-X , ( oxforddnb.com license required ), as of 2004

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Baron Welles 1295-1311	Robert de Welles