Henry de Essex

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Who was Henry d'Essex?

Henry of Essex or Henry d'Essex (died c. 1170) was a Norman noble who held the honours of Rayleigh, Essex, Haughley (by right of his 2nd wife Alice de Montfort), and the office of Constable of England during the reigns of Kings Stephen and Henry II. That office included the duty of holding the royal standard to indicate the location of the king.

Henry was the son and heir of Robert fitz Swein of Essex, who was favoured by King Edward the Confessor and who built Rayleigh Castle after 1066, and grandson of Swein fitz Wimarca.

Henry is mentioned in several chronicles, including the Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond. His influence at court was greatest during the reign of King Stephen, but continued into the first years of Henry II's reign. After he dropped the royal standard in a Welsh ambush during Henry II's 1157 campaign into Wales, however, his political importance waned. At the Easter court of 1163, Henry was accused of treason for that act by a claimant to the Montfort estate. The two men fought a judicial duel. Jocelin details Henry's trial by battle with Robert de Montfort in 1163 on Fry's Island in the River Thames at Reading. Henry's body was carried senseless from the site of the duel by monks of nearby Reading Abbey, but he revived and there took the Benedictine cowl. As a convicted traitor, however, his estates and offices were forfeit and his family disgraced.

Henry of Essex is thought to have died the same year as Becket, in 1170, at Reading Abbey. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Henry of Essex, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, was Baron of Raleigh.

He married Adeliza de Vere, daughter of Aubrey de Vere II and Adeliza de Clare, before 1141.

Henry was a Norman noble who held the manor of Raleigh in Essex and the offices of Constable of England and Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports during the reign of King Henry II of England.

Henry was "disgraced on the battlefield", and fell from grace. The reason is unknown, but it seems probable Essex was implicated in Thomas Becket's argument with King Henry II, since he enjoyed his rule at Saltwood as a tenant of the Becket, archbishop of Canterbury. King Henry II transferred the castle to Henry de Broc as a "reprisal for the treason of Henry de Essex," which further aggravated Becket's quarrel with the King. "When Henry of Essex was deposed and forced into a monastery by the king, the archbishop's claim to the castle was not acknowledged."

Henry died in 1170, the same year as Becket.

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Henry de Essex BIRTH 1121 Rayleigh, Rochford District, Essex, England DEATH 1170 (aged 48–49) Reading, Reading Borough, Berkshire, England BURIAL Reading Abbey Ruins Reading, Reading Borough, Berkshire, England MEMORIAL ID 148705489

Lord High Constable of England (1150–1154)

Henry was the son and heir of Robert fitz Swein of Essex. He was a grandson of Swein, son of Robert FitzWimarc.

After inheriting Rayleigh, he received a royal grant of Haughley Castle from King Stephen.

Henry is mentioned in several chronicles, including that of Jocelin of Brakelond. His influence at the royal court was greatest during the reign of Stephen, but it continued into the early years of Henry II's. He served Henry as Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire from 1156 to 1159 and as a justiciar, as well as being his constable. Henry participated in the king's Toulouse campaign in the spring and summer of 1159.

After he dropped the royal standard in a Welsh ambush during Henry II's campaign into Wales of 1157, however, his political importance waned. as royal constable, his office required that he hold the standard to indicate the king's position during any military engagement. Dropping the standard seemed to signal the king's death. At the royal court held at Easter, 1163, Henry was accused of treason for that act by a claimant to the Montfort estate. The two men fought a judicial duel a few months later. Jocelin details Henry's judicial dual with Robert de Montfort (a rival for Henry's wife's inheritance) on Fry's Island in the River Thames at Reading. Henry's body was carried senseless from the site of the duel by monks of the nearby Reading Abbey, but he survived and took the Benedictine cowl. As a convicted traitor, however, his estates and offices were forfeit, and his family was disgraced. He was allowed to remain as a monk at Reading Abbey, where he remained for the rest of his life

Henry married firstly a woman named Cecily, by whom he seems to have had two sons, Henry and Hugh. Henry's second wife was Alice de Montfort (possible daughter of Hugh de Montfort of Haughley Castle), by whom he had at least one daughter, Agnes, who married Aubrey de Vere, first Earl of Oxford.

Family Members Children Agnes de Essex de Vere

from Compiler: R. B. Stewart, Evans, GA

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Gunnor de Essex was the daughter of Henry de Essex by Cecilia de Valognes.