Walter FitzRobert de Clare, Lord of Little Dunmow

son of Robert FitzWalter (Magna Carta Surety) and Rohese

married Ida (Idonea) de Longespee de Salisbury (daughter of Ela de Salisbury and William Longespee son of Henry II - they apparently had *two* daughters named Ida. [He married the younger one.]

Daughter:

Ela Fitz Walter b abt 1245, of Maxstoke and Solihull, Warwickshire, England. She md Sir William de Odingsells, Justiciar of Ireland, abt 1258, son of William de Odingsells and Joan.

The instability of surnames at this early period is shown by his being known as both "FitzWalter" (a genuine surname) and "FitzRobert" (a Norman patronymic).

In her speech before the triptych’s unveiling, Mrs Atherton, who worked on it with her two daughters, Sophie and Isabel, said: “Robert FitzWalter, as the largest landowner after the King had plenty of disagreements with the monarch. John pursued Robert’s daughter Matilda and may have poisoned her after she spurned him. John also forced Geoffrey de Mandeville of Pleshey to marry his disguarded wife, Queen Isabel for a hefty price.

“John’s refusal to discuss the baron’s grievances led them in May 1215 to repudiate their homage to the King and march into London. They were welcomed through open gates and the balance of power shifted in their favour.

“The Mayor of London accompanied the barons to Runnymede and the merchants’ concerns were incorporated into Magna Carta, such as the principle of habeas corpus and the regulation of weights and measures.”

However, as Mrs Atherton described, although it became the foundation of English Common Law, within seven weeks, the peace treaty was dead. In his paranoia at having let go some of his power, the King appealed to the Pope and the document was declared unlawful.

A civil war devastated Dunmow, Pleshey, Coggeshall and Colchester. On Christmas Day, 1215, Tilty Priory was attacked by King John’s forces. The conflict ended only with King John’s death.

Meanwhile, 23 of the Barons were killed. The only one to survive John’s rage was Richard Montfichet, aged 14. His seat was at Stansted Mountfichet