♂Walter of Gloucester

Walter of Gloucester^W was an Anglo-Norman landholder and constable at Gloucester under King Henry I, and the father of Miles of Gloucester, who became Earl of Hereford. He was the twenty-sixth great-grandfather of Nancy Jane Blanchard (1929–2006), through his son Miles of Gloucester (died 1143).

Constable under Henry I

Walter held land of the crown in Gloucestershire and was remembered at Llanthony as constable. Henry I made him several grants: the land of the canons of St. Oswald’s before Gloucester Castle, on condition that he compensate the canons; the land of Edric, son of Chetell; and all of Walter’s own land together with the king’s demesne of Gloucestershire as a warren, a private hunting preserve. He is thought to be the Walter son of Roger (de Pitres) who appears as a tenant-in-chief in Domesday Book, and his wife is said to have been Berthe, perhaps a kinswoman of Hamelin de Ballon, lord of Abergavenny.

Last years

He seems to have died, or withdrawn to the earlier priory of Llanthony in Monmouthshire, before 1129. By then his son Miles had the family lands: Henry I confirmed Miles in all his father’s holdings from the crown, with the office of constable.

Lines of descent

Miles’s daughter Margaret married Humphrey de Bohun, and the line runs through the Bohuns, Tonys, la Zouches, Botetourts and Peshales to Joan Mitton. The last step, to John Washburn (died 1547), is probably correct; the Notes give the reason.

Notes

Sources

Walter is known from the Complete Peerage (2nd ed., vol. 6, 1926, p. 451 and notes, under Hereford), which cites Henry I’s grants to him in the Duchy of Lancaster royal charters (nos. 2, 4, 5 and 12) and the confirmation of the Edric land by King Stephen to Miles in 1136. The same work says Walter appears to have died, or retired to the earlier Llanthony, before 1129.

Identification and wife

The Complete Peerage says it seems to be fairly well established that Walter son of Roger (de Pitres), the Domesday tenant-in-chief, was constable under Henry I, and quotes a Llanthony writer who calls Walter “Constabularius”. It also records that it has been suggested Miles was only constable of Gloucester Castle, though Miles was certainly an actual constable. Walter’s wife Berthe is only “stated”, with a suggested tie to Hamelin de Ballon from the Abergavenny charters and a genealogy of the founder that, “quantum valeat” (for what it is worth), calls Walter a kinsman of Brien FitzCount. A compiled peerage is the only source for any of this, and no record naming Walter’s parents is known.

The descent to Nancy Jane Blanchard

The last step, to John Washburn (died 1547), rests on the identification made by the Washbournes’ historian, not on a record, so the descent is probable.