General Notes

[Direct Linage1.FTW]

Note:
[Marshall.FTW]
He was also Seigneur De Orbec et Bienfaite, Normandy; Lord of Clare & Tonbridge j.u. When his father was assassinated in 1040, Richard and his brother and Baldwin, were forced to flee Normandy, finding safety at the court of Baldwin V, count of Flanders. When cousin William the Conqueror married Count Baldwin's daughter, he restored Gilbert's sons to Normandy, although he did not invest them with either Brionne or Eu or a comital title. William granted the lordships of Bienfaite and Orbec to Richard fitz Gilbert, and Le Sap and Meules to Baldwin. Richard and Baldwin fitz Gilbert took part in the Norman conquest of England, and both assumed important positions in the Conqueror's reign.Richard was regent of England jointly with William De Warenne during the Conqueror's absence in 1075, and he served in various other important capacities for the King. King William rewarded his cousin well, granting him one of the largest fiefs in the territorial settlement. The lordship centered on Clare (obviously the origin of the Clare family name), Suffolk, which had been an important stronghold in Anglo-Saxon times.The bulk of Richard fitz Gilbert's estates lay in Suffolk, Essex, Surrey, and Kent, but comprised holdings in various other counties in the southern and eastern parts of the kingdom as well. In addition, King William arranged for Richard's marriage to Rohese, sister of Walter Giffard, later earl of Buckingham, and her dowry, consisting of lands in Huntingdon and Hertford, became absorbed in the family inheritance. After Richard's death, his extensive properties in Normandy and England were
divided between his two eldest sons.
Source: Alabama Myers