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Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford
Miles FitzWalter of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford (died 24 December 1143) (alias Miles of Gloucester) was a great magnate based in the west of England. He was hereditary Constable of England and Sheriff of Gloucestershire.
He inherited vast landholdings in Wales from his wife Sibyl de Neufmarché (whose father had conquered the independent kingdom of Brycheiniog (Brecknockshire, modern: Breconshire) in South Wales, which became the Lordship of Brecknock, and other lands in Gloucestershire from his father (the nucleus of which were the Domesday Book holdings of his great-uncle Durand of Gloucester) and acquired other large landholdings himself, including the extensive Lordship of Abergavennny in South Wales, and St Briavel's Castle and the Forest of Dean in the west of Gloucestershire. These combined lands became a feudal barony, now known as the "Barony of Miles of Gloucester".
By his three daughters and eventual co-heiresses his barony was split between the families of de Bohun, which inherited the fiefdom of Durand of Gloucester (Miles's great-uncle), the hereditary Constabulary of England and was re-created Earl of Hereford in 1200; de Braose, which inherited the Lordships of Brecon and Abergavenny; and FitzHerbert, which inherited Blaen Llyfni.
In 1136 he founded Llanthony Secunda Priory half a mile south of Gloucester Castle, in the chapter house of which he and many of his de Bohun descendants were buried. John of Salisbury classed him with Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex and others as non tam comites regni quam hostes publici ("not so much earls of the kingdom as public enemies"). The charge is justified by his public policy, but the materials for appraising his personal character do not exist.
He was the son and heir of Walter of Gloucester (d. 1129), hereditary Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1097 and in 1105–1106, and Castellan of Gloucester Castle. Walter was also seemingly Constable of England under King Henry I (1100-1135), as he is described in an annal of Llanthony Secunda Priory (transcribed by Dugdale) as Constabularius, princeps militiae domus regiae, vir magnus et potens et inter primos regni praecipue honoratus ("Constable, chief of the royal military household, a great and powerful man and amongst the first of the kingdom especially honoured"). Some sources, however, suggest that Walter was merely the Constable of Gloucester Castle. Walter's wife (and Miles's mother) was a certain Berta. Walter was in favour with King Henry I (1100-1135), three of whose charters to him are extant.
Walter's father was Roger de Pitres, Sheriff of Gloucestershire from about 1071, who at some time before 1083 was succeeded by his brother Durand of Gloucester (d. circa 1096), Sheriff of Gloucestershire at the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, who made Walter his heir.
Early in 1121 Miles married Sibyl de Neufmarché, daughter and heiress of Bernard de Neufmarché, the conqueror of Brycheiniog, which brought him her father's possessions (such as the new Lordship of Brecknock). In the Pipe Roll of 1130 Walter is found to have been succeeded by his son, having died in or around 1126.
Miles was (from 1128 at least) sheriff of Gloucestershire, a justice itinerant, and a justice of the forest, and by 1130 was sheriff of Staffordshire. He had also (though the fact has been doubted) been granted his father's office of constable by a special charter. In conjunction with Pain fitzJohn, sheriff of Herefordshire and Shropshire, he ruled the whole Welsh border "from the Severn to the sea".
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Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford
Miles FitzWalter of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford (died 24 December 1143) (alias Miles of Gloucester) was a great magnate based in the west of England. He was hereditary Constable of England and Sheriff of Gloucestershire.
He inherited vast landholdings in Wales from his wife Sibyl de Neufmarché (whose father had conquered the independent kingdom of Brycheiniog (Brecknockshire, modern: Breconshire) in South Wales, which became the Lordship of Brecknock, and other lands in Gloucestershire from his father (the nucleus of which were the Domesday Book holdings of his great-uncle Durand of Gloucester) and acquired other large landholdings himself, including the extensive Lordship of Abergavennny in South Wales, and St Briavel's Castle and the Forest of Dean in the west of Gloucestershire. These combined lands became a feudal barony, now known as the "Barony of Miles of Gloucester".
By his three daughters and eventual co-heiresses his barony was split between the families of de Bohun, which inherited the fiefdom of Durand of Gloucester (Miles's great-uncle), the hereditary Constabulary of England and was re-created Earl of Hereford in 1200; de Braose, which inherited the Lordships of Brecon and Abergavenny; and FitzHerbert, which inherited Blaen Llyfni.
In 1136 he founded Llanthony Secunda Priory half a mile south of Gloucester Castle, in the chapter house of which he and many of his de Bohun descendants were buried. John of Salisbury classed him with Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex and others as non tam comites regni quam hostes publici ("not so much earls of the kingdom as public enemies"). The charge is justified by his public policy, but the materials for appraising his personal character do not exist.
He was the son and heir of Walter of Gloucester (d. 1129), hereditary Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1097 and in 1105–1106, and Castellan of Gloucester Castle. Walter was also seemingly Constable of England under King Henry I (1100-1135), as he is described in an annal of Llanthony Secunda Priory (transcribed by Dugdale) as Constabularius, princeps militiae domus regiae, vir magnus et potens et inter primos regni praecipue honoratus ("Constable, chief of the royal military household, a great and powerful man and amongst the first of the kingdom especially honoured"). Some sources, however, suggest that Walter was merely the Constable of Gloucester Castle. Walter's wife (and Miles's mother) was a certain Berta. Walter was in favour with King Henry I (1100-1135), three of whose charters to him are extant.
Walter's father was Roger de Pitres, Sheriff of Gloucestershire from about 1071, who at some time before 1083 was succeeded by his brother Durand of Gloucester (d. circa 1096), Sheriff of Gloucestershire at the time of the Domesday Book of 1086, who made Walter his heir.
Early in 1121 Miles married Sibyl de Neufmarché, daughter and heiress of Bernard de Neufmarché, the conqueror of Brycheiniog, which brought him her father's possessions (such as the new Lordship of Brecknock). In the Pipe Roll of 1130 Walter is found to have been succeeded by his son, having died in or around 1126.
Miles was (from 1128 at least) sheriff of Gloucestershire, a justice itinerant, and a justice of the forest, and by 1130 was sheriff of Staffordshire. He had also (though the fact has been doubted) been granted his father's office of constable by a special charter. In conjunction with Pain fitzJohn, sheriff of Herefordshire and Shropshire, he ruled the whole Welsh border "from the Severn to the sea".