William ap Thomas

Grave of William ap Thomas in the Church of St. Mary in Abergavenny

Sir William ap Thomas († 1445 in London), also called Sir William Herbert of Raglan or in Welsh Margoah glass or Gumrhi, was a Welsh nobleman. He was the builder of Raglan Castle .

origin

William ap Thomas came from the Herbert family , who belonged to the lower Welsh nobility but were of Norman descent. The family owned extensive estates in southeast Wales, his father was Thomas Gwillim ap Jenkin.

Raglan Castle, on the left the ruins of the Great Tower built by William ap Thomas

Life

Shortly after 1406, William married Elizabeth Bloet, widow of James Berkeley. Elizabeth's widow's seat was Raglan Castle. In 1415 he took part in King Henry V's campaign to France, fought in the Battle of Agincourt and was promoted to Knight Banneret . When his wife died in 1420, William ap Thomas kept Raglan Castle as the tenant of his stepson James Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley . In 1425 his stepson gave the castle to him for life. In 1421 he became administrator of the Abergavenny estate for the Duke of York .

In his second marriage, William ap Thomas married another wealthy heiress, Gwladus, daughter of Dafydd Gam and widow of Roger Vaughan, who had both died at Agincourt, around 1422 . 1426 was William ap Thomas by Heinrich VI. to Knight Bachelor beaten and when Y marchog glass o Went known (dt .: Blue Knight of Gwent). By 1432 he had become wealthy enough to buy Raglan Castle for £ 667 . He probably had most of the old mansion demolished and began building the grand new castle. After he had already become steward of Usk Castle in 1431 , he was sheriff of Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire in 1435 , and in 1440 he was sheriff of Glamorgan . He was the leading supporter of the Duke of York in Wales and was appointed chief administrator of the Welsh possessions of the Duke of York in 1442 or 1443.

He was buried in the Benedictine priory of St. Mary in Abergavenny.

progeny

From his marriage to Gwladus he had two sons:

William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke
Richard Herbert of Coldbrook

Web links

Castles of Wales: William ap Thomas

Individual evidence

↑ Sidney Lee: Herbert, Sir William, Earl of Pembroke. In: Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. 26, London 1891, pp. 218f. Retrieved March 19, 2014 .

personal data
SURNAME	William ap Thomas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	William Herbert of Raglan; Margoah glass; Margoah Gumrhi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Welsh nobleman, builder of Raglan Castle
DATE OF BIRTH	14th Century
DATE OF DEATH	1445
Place of death	London

[1] Sidney Lee: Herbert, Sir William, Earl of Pembroke. In: Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. 26, London 1891, pp. 218f. Retrieved March 19, 2014 .