General Notes

Richard de Clare

Richard Fitz-Gilbert, a lawyer, was the founder of the House of Clare in
England.  He accompanied William the Conqueror into england and
participated in the spoils of the Conquest, obtaining extensive
possessions in the old and new dominions of his royal leader and
kinsman.  (He and William the Conqueror were both great grandsons of
Richard I, Duke of Normandy.)  In the 6th year of William I, Richard was
joined, under the designation of Richardus de Benefactor, with William de
Warren, Earl of Surrey, in the great office of Justiciary of England.  He
was also called richard de Tonebruge or tonbridge from his seat at
Tunbridge in Kent.  He had 38 lordships in Surrey, 35 in Essex, 95 in
Suffolk and many others.  One of these lordships was that of Clare, on
the border and in the County of Suffolk, which subsequently becoming his
chief seat he came to be styled Richard de Clare, and his descendants
known as the Earls of clare.  He married Rohese, daughter of Walter
Gifford de Bolbec, Earl of Buckingham, who had been count de Longueville
in Normandy.  In 1066 he was distinguisehd for gallant action at the
Battle of Hastings, assisted in making the General Survey and owned 107
lordships.  They had five sons and two daughters



pg 128 & 155, "Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists etc"  by Frederick Lewis Weiss, 6th Edition

pg 1018, Burke's "Extant Peerage and Baronetage etc", 1970 Edition

pg 118, Burke's " A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire" published 1883

Lord of Bienfaite & Orbec in Normandy, Lord of Clare & Tonbridge England,  Richard tried to consolidate gains made by his father in Cardigan but was killed in an ambush in 1136. Soon after his lordship was recovered by the Welsh.
Richard was kinsman and companion of William the Conqueror. He founded the house of Clare during the conquest and played a major role in suppressing the revolt of 1075.  Richard was a knight who served in the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Richard was regent of England jointly with William de Warenne during the Conqueror's absence in 1075 and served in other capacities for the King.  King William granted him one of the largest fiefs in the territorial settlement. The lordship centered on Clare and Suffolk. William arranged for Richard's marriage to Rohese, sister of Walter Giffard, and her dowry consisting of lands in Huntingdon and Hertford became absorbed in family inheritance.

Richard Fitz Gilbert; also known as "de Bienfaite" (from the quantity ofhis fiefs), "de Clare" or "de Tonbridge" (from actual fiefs); went withhis cousin William I the Conqueror to England and was granted 176Lordships, 95 of them associated with the Honour (feudal unit ofadministration) of Clare, Suffolk, and others with Tonbridge, Kent.[Burke's Peerage]

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Richard FitzGilbert, having accompanied the Conqueror into England,participated in the spoils of conquest and obtained extensive possessionsin the new and old dominions of his royal leader and kinsman. In 1073 wefind him joined under the designation of Ricardus de Benefacta, withWilliam de Warren, in the great office of Justiciary of England, withwhom, in three years afterwards, he was in arms against the rebelliouslords Robert de Britolio, Earl of Hereford, and Ralph Waher, or Guarder,Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk, and behaved with great gallantry. Butafterwards, at the time of the General Survey, which was towards theclose of William's reign, he is called Ricardus de Tonebruge, from hisseat at Tonebruge (now Tunbridge) in Kent, which town and castle heobtained from the archbishop of Canterbury in lieu of the castle ofBrion, at which time he enjoyed thirty-eight lordships in Surrey,thirty-five in Essex, three in Cambridgeshire, with some others in Wiltsand Devon, and ninety-five in Suffolk, amongst those was Clare, whence hewas occasionally styled Richard de Clare, and that place in a few yearsafterwards becoming the chief seat of the family, his descendants aresaid to have assumed thereupon the title of Earls of Clare. This greatfeudal lord m. Rohese, dau. of Walter Giffard, Earl of Buckingham, andhad issue, Gilbert, his successor, Roger, Walter, Richard, Robert, a dau.m. to Ralph de Telgers, and a dau. mo. to Eudo Dapifer. Richard deTonebruge, or de Clare, whose is said to have fallen in a skirmish withthe Welsh, was s. by his eldest son, Gilbert de Tonebruge. [Sir BernardBurke, Dormant and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, London, 1883, p.118, Clare, Lords of Clare, Earls of Hertford, Earls of Gloucester]

Richard Fitz-gilbert, a lawyer, was the founder of the House of Claire inEngland. He accompanied William the Conqueror into England andparticipated in the spoils of conquest, obtaining extensive possessionsin the old and new dominion of his royal leader and kinsman. William theConqueror, being the grandson of Richard, 4th Duke of Normandy, brotherof Godfrey.  At the time of Domesday survey he was called Richard deTonebruge, now Tunbridge, in Kent, which town he had obtained from theArchbishop of Canterbury in lieu of the Castle of Brione. At this time hehad nearly 200 lordships in various counties. One of these lordships wasthat of Clare, in County Suffolk, which subsequently becoming his chiefseat, he became styled Richard de Clare. He married Rohese, or Rohais,daughter of Walter Giffard de Bolbec, who assisted in making the "GeneralSurvey." He is said to have fallen in a skirmish with the Welsh and wassucceeded by his eldest son, Gilbert. Aka: First Earl,  Richard Tonebridge FitzGilbert DeClare

Richard Fitz-gilbert, a lawyer, was the founder of the House of Claire inEngland. He accompanied William the Conqueror into England andparticipated in the spoils of conquest, obtaining extensive possessionsin the old and new dominion of his royal leader and kinsman. William theConqueror, being the grandson of Richard, 4th Duke of Normandy, brotherof Godfrey.  At the time of Domesday survey he was called Richard deTonebruge, now Tunbridge, in Kent, which town he had obtained from theArchbishop of Canterbury in lieu of the Castle of Brione. At this time hehad nearly 200 lordships in various counties. One of these lordships wasthat of Clare, in County Suffolk, which subsequently becoming his chiefseat, he became styled Richard de Clare. He married Rohese, or Rohais,daughter of Walter Giffard de Bolbec, who assisted in making the "GeneralSurvey." He is said to have fallen in a skirmish with the Welsh and wassucceeded by his eldest son, Gilbert.