William de Vesci († 1184)

St Peter's Church in Chillingham, Northumberland, donated by William de Vesci

William de Vesci , also William de Vescy , (* before 1157, † 1184 in Alnwick ) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman.

He was the eldest son of Eustace FitzJohn and his first wife Beatrice de Vescy , the heiress of Ivo de Vescy . His mother died giving birth. After the death of his father in 1157, he inherited his extensive estates in northern England and became Lord of Alnwick . Since most of the estates came from his mother's inheritance, he took the name de Vesci .

William served as Sheriff of Northumberland from 1157 to 1170 and Sheriff of Lancashire from 1166 to 1170 . In 1172 and 1174 his castle Alnwick Castle was the target of raids by the Scottish King William I. During the second raid in 1174, the Scottish king besieged Alnwick Castle with 500 men, while the rest of his army looted the area. William belonged to the English relief army from Newcastle , along with the barons Ranulf de Glanville , Bernard de Balliol and Robert de Stuteville , which surprisingly attacked the besiegers' camp that morning. The Scots were put to flight, their King Wilhelm I was taken prisoner.

He founded three churches in Chatton , Chillingham and Alnham . Shortly before his death he entered Alnwick Abbey, which his father had donated as a monk , where he was buried.

He married Burga de Stuteville , a sister of Robert de Stuteville. He had two sons, Eustace and Warine . His son Eustace, who was his main heir, was a leader in the rebellion against King John Ohneland that led to the conclusion of the Magna Carta and the First War of the Barons .

literature

• John Burke: A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerages of England, Ireland, and Scotland, extinct, dormant, and in abeyance . Colburn & Bentley, London 1831. p. 543

Individual evidence

1. ^ George Tate: The history of the borough, castle, and barony of Alnwick . Blair, Alnwick, 1866, p. 4
2. ^ Haunted Castles and Hotels: Alnwick Castle. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 8, 2015 ; accessed on January 7, 2015 .