Simon de Beauchamp (nobleman, around 1145–1206 / 7)

St Paul's Church in what is now Bedford, converted into an Augustinian priory by Simon de Beauchamp

Simon de Beauchamp (also Simon II de Beauchamp ) (* around 1145; † 1206 or 1207) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman.

Origin and heritage

Simon de Beauchamp came from the Beauchamp family , a noble family from Bedfordshire . He was the eldest son of Payn de Beauchamp and his wife Rohese . His father died before 1155. After Simon had come of age by 1165 at the latest, he took over the management of the family estates that King Henry II had reassigned to the family after the war of succession to the throne ended . The family claimed the hereditary office of Constable of Bedford Castle . Still, Simon had to pay the new King Richard I £ 100 in 1189 or 1190 to keep the castle in possession. From 1194 to 1197 he held the office of sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire , for which he had to pay a fee of 200 marks to the crown.

Support for churches and monasteries

Around 1166, Simon had converted St Paul's collegiate monastery in Newnham near Bedford into an Augustinian priory. The reason for this is said to have been a murder of canon Philip de Broy , who was only inadequately punished by the church. King Heinrich II blamed Archbishop Thomas Becket for the inadequate clarification of the case , which led to the break between the king and his former chancellor. In addition to the Newnham Priory, Simon de Beauchamp also sponsored Warden Abbey , Chicksands Priory , founded by his mother, and the Hospital of St John in Bedford.

Marriage and offspring

The origin of Beauchamp's wife Isabella is unknown, with her he had at least two sons:

William de Beauchamp (around 1185-1260)
Geoffrey de Beauchamp († after 1257)

Simon was buried in St Paul's Church in Newnham. His heir became his eldest son, William de Beauchamp.

Web links

Simon de Beauchamp on thepeerage.com , accessed August 21, 2018.
Kathryn Faulkner: Simon [ii] de Beauchamp (c. 1145-1206 / 7). 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

Individual evidence

↑ C. Gore Chambers, GH Fowler: The Beauchamps, barons of Bedford . In: The Publications of the Bedfordshire Historical Record Society , 1 (1913), p. 9
↑ The Church of St Paul Bedford: A Brief History of St Paul's. Retrieved August 25, 2018 .

personal data
SURNAME	Beauchamp, Simon de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Beauchamp, Simon II de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Anglo-Norman nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH	around 1145
DATE OF DEATH	1206 or 1207

[1] C. Gore Chambers, GH Fowler: The Beauchamps, barons of Bedford . In: The Publications of the Bedfordshire Historical Record Society , 1 (1913), p. 9

[2] The Church of St Paul Bedford: A Brief History of St Paul's. Retrieved August 25, 2018 .