Sir William de Warenne

John de Warenne had two sons named William. This William was prior of Horton in Kent and of Castle Acre in Norfolk, and was named in numerous papal letters, warrants, writs etc as the illegitimate son of John de Warenne.

. I don't know the identity of his mother, but according to a declaration of 1338 that he was a true-born Englishman and not a foreigner, he was born at his father's Yorkshire castle of Conisbrough. [14] In his will, John left "Master [daunz] William de Warenne, my son, a Bible which I had made in French." In October 1348 and again in February 1351, Edward III appointed several sergeants-at-arms to arrest William and a fellow monk of Castle Acre on the grounds that they "have spurned the habit of their order and are vagabonds in England in secular habit" who were "to be chastised according to the rule of their order." William was, according to a papal letter, still alive in early 1364.

Horton Priory, Kent was run by Cluniac monks of the Hospitallers. Founded by Williams's ancestor Robert de Vere. alien house: cell dependent on Lewes, Sussex; founded c.1142 by Robert de Vere;

became denizen: independent from 1351-74; dissolved 1536; granted to Richard Tate 1338-9;

Castle Acre,Norfolk, (pictured) Castle Acre Priory, in the village of Castle Acre, Norfolk, England, is thought to have been founded in 1089 by William de Warenne the son the 1st Earl of Surrey who had founded England's first Cluniac priory at Lewes in 1077. The order originated from Burgundy. Originally the priory was sited within the walls of Castle Acre Castle, but this proved too small and inconvenient for the monks, hence the priory was relocated to the present site in the castle grounds about one year later.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ REF: Kathryn Warner, holds a BA and an MA with Distinction in Medieval History and Literature:

When one examines Earl John de Warenne's will dated 1347, one

discovers that Earl John had two illegitimate sons named William, one

of whom was a prior. The actual bequest in question reads as follows:

"Jeo devys a Daunz William de Warenne mon filz ma bible que j'ai fait

faire en Fraunceys et qele demoerge en la meson ou il serrra priour

apres son decesse en perpetuel memoire de moy."

The will may be viewed at Testamenta Eboracensia 1 (Surtees Soc. 4)

(1836): 41–47, and may be viewed at the following weblink:

pg. 43: http://books.google.com/books?id=c_TCZG2oqdkC&printsec=frontcover&d...
So was William de Warenne the Prior the Earl's son or his brother? Or

both? Fortunately there is a new resource available in print which

addresses this matter. This reference work is entitled Heads of

Religious Houses, England & Wales, by Smith & London. In Volume 2,

published in 2001, pages 224–225, 237 pertinent information is

provided regarding William de Warenne, Earl John's son, who served

first as Prior of Monks Horton, Kent, 1335–42, and second as Prior of

Castleacre, Norfolk, 1342/3–8, and later as papal chaplain. He was

living as late as 1361.

The Smith and London book may be viewed at the following weblink:
http://books.google.com/books?id=Tb-a-E1oCOkC&printsec=frontcover&d...

It would appear that there was only one William de Warenne who was a

prior in this time period and he was definitely the Earl John's son.

Thus, Christobel Hood had it wrong that William de Warenne, Prior of

Castleacre, was Earl John's brother.

Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah

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THERE IS NO SUCH PERSON AS DON WILLAIM DE WARENNE. SHOW AN ORIGINAL SOURCE. THERE IS ONLY PRIOR WILLIAM DE WARENNE. THERE IS NO PERSON CALLED THE 8TH EARL OF SURREY.

Don William De Warren was born to Sir John De Warren, 8th Earl of Surrey and Maud de Nerford. Don William became Prior of Horton in Kent in 1338.

Don William De Warren is my 23rd great uncle.

Sources: 1. [http://www.warrenfamilyhistory.com/Docs/Our%20Warrens%20in%20Englan...]

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Sources:

• 1. [http://www.warrenfamilyhistory.com/Docs/Our%20Warrens%20in%20Englan...]

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The sons mentioned in the will are: (1) Sir William de Warenne (the first of two Williams mentioned), the largest legatee, to whom his father had in January 1340 granted 122 acres of waste from the manor of Hatfield, Yorkshire, at a rent of 10l. a year (Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1338–40, p. 411).

John de Warenne had two sons called William, one a prior and the other a knight, by an unknown mother or mothers. William was the name of John's father, Sir William de Warenne, son of the earl of Surrey who died in 1304 and killed in a jousting tournament in 1286 when John was a baby, so it's not at all surprising that John would use the name for his sons. One of them, probably the knight, had been born by 24 August 1310, when John (then aged twenty-four) granted "his son William de Warenna and the heirs of his body" the manor of Beeston in Norfolk. Although John gave the manor of Beeston to Earl Thomas of Lancaster in 1318, Sir William de Warenne was holding it in January 1333. [12] It is strange, therefore, that William was not mentioned in John's land settlements of 1316, when John named his sons John and Thomas as his heirs. Perhaps this means that William was not Maud Nerford's son and she persuaded Earl John to make her own sons his heirs? Or perhaps John had envisaged a career in the Church for William, then changed his mind? I can only speculate. On the other hand, Sir William witnessed a grant of land from his father to his (Earl John's) lardener Henry de Kelsterne in January 1332 with Thomas Nerford, Maud Nerford's brother - which may imply a relationship between William and Nerford, or may only mean that John de Warenne held onto his connections to the Nerfords even after his relationship with Maud ended. [13]

John's other son William was prior of Horton in Kent and of Castle Acre in Norfolk, and was named in numerous papal letters, warrants, writs etc as the illegitimate son of John de Warenne. I don't know the identity of his mother, but according to a declaration of 1338 that he was a true-born Englishman and not a foreigner, he was born at his father's Yorkshire castle of Conisbrough. [14] In his will, John left "Master [daunz] William de Warenne, my son, a Bible which I had made in French." In October 1348 and again in February 1351, Edward III appointed several sergeants-at-arms to arrest William and a fellow monk of Castle Acre on the grounds that they "have spurned the habit of their order and are vagabonds in England in secular habit" who were "to be chastised according to the rule of their order." William was, according to a papal letter, still alive in early 1364. [15]

John's son William the knight seems to have been a great favourite of his father, judging by the number of things John bequeathed to "Sir William de Warenne, my son" in his will, which included 100 marks (sixty-six pounds), a silver-gilt helmet and coronet and all his armour for jousting. John also left a gold brooch to William's wife, and although his will didn't give her name, it appears in a papal grant of April 1344: Margaret. [16] Sir William was one of the three leaders of a company of archers and men-at-arms raised by his father in November 1339, and accompanied his (half-?) brother Edward de Warenne on campaign abroad in April 1346. [17] Like his (half-?) brothers Edward and William the prior, he was openly and frequently acknowledged as the earl of Surrey's illegitimate offspring and sometimes witnessed John's charters as "the grantor's son," and also received grants of his own from John on occasion. In June 1364, Edward III granted him an annuity of forty marks "for long service," and William was still active in November 1368, when he and other men were accused of hunting without permission in the lands of Hugh Hastings in Yorkshire. [18]

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John's son William the knight seems to have been a great favourite of his father, judging by the number of things John bequeathed to "Sir William de Warenne, my son" in his will, which included 100 marks (sixty-six pounds), a silver-gilt helmet and coronet and all his armour for jousting. John also left a gold brooch to William's wife, and although his will didn't give her name, it appears in a papal grant of April 1344: Margaret. [16] Sir William was one of the three leaders of a company of archers and men-at-arms raised by his father in November 1339, and accompanied his (half-?) brother Edward de Warenne on campaign abroad in April 1346. [17] Like his (half-?) brothers Edward and William the prior, he was openly and frequently acknowledged as the earl of Surrey's illegitimate offspring and sometimes witnessed John's charters as "the grantor's son," and also received grants of his own from John on occasion. In June 1364, Edward III granted him an annuity of forty marks "for long service," and William was still active in November 1368, when he and other men were accused of hunting without permission in the lands of Hugh Hastings in Yorkshire. [18] Source: http://edwardthesecond.blogspot.com/2009/09/illegitimate-children-o...