General Notes

Richard FitzGilbert (de Clare), son and heir , Lord of Clare, Suffolk,slain by Welsh near Abergavenny 15 Apr 1136, buried Gloucester; m. Adeliz(or Alice), daughter of Ranulph le Meschin, Earl of Chester, by Lucy,widow (1) of Ivo Taillebois and (2) Roger FitzGerold.  She m (2) Robertde Condet (or Cundy), d. c 1141, lord of Thorngate Castle, Lincoln, etc.,son of Osbert de Condet. [Ancestral Roots, Line 246b-25]

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Richard de Clare first bore the title of Earl of Hertford and being oneof those who, by power of the sword, entered Wales, there planted himselfand became lord of vast territories as also of divers castles in thoseparts, but requiring other matters of moment from the king, in which hewas unsuccessful, he reared the standard of revolt and soon after feel inan engagement with the Welsh.  His lordship in 1124 removed the monks outof his castle at Clare into the church of St. Augustine at Stoke, andbestowed upon them a little wood, called Stoke-Ho, with a doe every yearout of his part at Hunedene.  He m. Alice, sister of Ranulph, 2nd Earl ofChester, and had issue, Gilbert, his successor, with two other sons, anda dau. Alice who m. Cadwalader ap Griffith, Prince of North Wales.  Hislordhipw d. 1139 and was s. by his eldest son, Gilbert de Clare, 2nd Earlof Hetford. [Sir Bernard Burke, "Dormant and Extinct Peerages", Burk'sPeerage, London, 1883, p 119, Clare, Lords of Clare, Earls of Hertford,Earls of Gloucester]

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RICHARD FITZGILBERT, styled also DE CLARE, Lord of Clare, &c., son andheir. He is often supposed to have been created EARL OF HERTFORD by KingStephen, if not by Henry I. There appears, however, to be no ground forthis belief. In 1130, he is styled on the Pipe Roll (not "Earl," eitheras Earl of Hertford or Earl Richard, but simply) Ric.' fil.' Gisl as ishe also when his death is recorded. He married Adeliz, sister of Ranulph"des Gernons," EARLOF CHESTER. He was founder of the priory of Tonbridge.He died, beitig surprised and slain by the Welsh, near Abergavenny 15April 1136, and was buried at Gloucester. His widow was rescued from theWelsh by Miles of Gloucester. [Complete Peerage III:243]

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Richard de Clare (d 1136?), was son and heir of Gilbert FitzRichard, andwas probably the first of his family who adopted the surname of Clare.He is generally believed to have been also the first earl of Hertford,and to have been so created by Stephen, if not by Henry I.  It may bedoubtful, however, whether there is ground for this belief.  It is asRichard FitzGilbert that he figures in 1130, when the Pipe Roll revealshim in debt to the Jews, and under the same that he appears whensurprised and killed by the Welsh near Abergavenny on his way toGardigan, either in 1135 or more probably 1136, on 15 April.  His deathwas the signal for a general rising, and his castles were besieged by therebels.  His widow was rescued by Miles of Gloucester, gut his brotherBaldwin, whom Stephen despatched to suppress the rising and avenge hisdeath, failed discreditably.  Richard, who was buried at Gloucester, wasfounder of Tunbridge Priory, and about 1124 removed the religious housewhich his father had founded at Clare to the adjucent hill of Stoke.  Hemarried a sister of Randulf, earl of Chester, whose name is said byBrooke to have been Alice.  By her he left, with other issue, Gilbert,earl of Hertford (d 1152), and Roger, fifth earl. [Dictionary of NationalBiography IV:389-90]