Sir Robert de Ferrers, II, Knight, 2nd Earl of Derby

Male 1100 - 1162  (~ 61 years)


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  • Name Robert de Ferrers 
    Title Sir 
    Suffix II, Knight, 2nd Earl of Derby 
    Birth ~1100  Staffordshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Gender Male 
    Alt Birth ~1118  Staffordshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [2, 3
    Alt Death Bef 1160  Derbyshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    Death 1162  [1
    Burial Merevale Abbey, Merevale, Warwickshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location  [3
    • Merevale is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire in England. Located about one and a half miles west of Atherstone, it is the site of a medieval Cistercian Abbey (founded in 1148) and Merevale Hall (built in 1840 and home to the Dugdale family).

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merevale#Merevale_Abbey
    Person ID I47834  The Hennessee Family
    Last Modified 18 Jun 2019 

    Family Lady Margaret Peverel, Countess of Derby,   b. ~1114, (Peveril Castle, Derbyshire) England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 1154, (Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire, England) Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 39 years) 
    Marriage ~1135  [1, 2, 4
    Children 
     1. Sir William de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby,   b. 1140, Tutbury, Staffordshire, England Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 21 Oct 1191, The Siege of Acre, Israel Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 51 years)
    Family ID F17598  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 30 Apr 2023 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - ~1100 - Staffordshire, England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsAlt Birth - ~1118 - Staffordshire, England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsAlt Death - Bef 1160 - Derbyshire, England Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - - Merevale Abbey, Merevale, Warwickshire, England Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Notes 
    • Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Derby
      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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      Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Derby
      Born c. 1100
      Died 1162
      Noble family de Ferrers
      Spouse(s) Margaret Peverel
      Issue
      William de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby
      Walkelin de Ferrers
      Petronilla
      Father Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby
      Mother Hawise
      Robert II de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Derby (c. 1100 – 1162) was a younger, but eldest surviving son of Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby and his wife Hawise. He succeeded his father as Earl of Derby in 1139 (William, his elder brother, having been murdered in London some time before). He was head of a family which controlled a large part of Derbyshire including an area later known as Duffield Frith.

      Life

      Little is known of Robert's life, other than his generosity to the church. In 1148, he established Merevale Abbey in Warwickshire, England, where he requested to be buried in an ox hide.

      He founded the Priory of Derby, which later moved to Darley Abbey, and its Abbot was granted many privileges in Duffield Forest and Chase.[1]

      He continued his father's attempts to play a role in the civil war commonly called The Anarchy that arose because of the contesting claims of Empress Matilda and Stephen of England. The family's support for Stephen led to him being awarded the revenues of the Borough of Derby in 1139, though in 1149 Stephen then granted the Borough to the Earl of Chester[2]

      He finally threw in his lot with the future Henry II after Tutbury Castle was besieged in 1153.[3] However, when Henry came to the throne in 1154, he withdrew de Ferrers' right to use the title of Earl or to receive the "third penny" on the profits of the county.

      Family and death

      Margaret Peverel and Robert de Ferrers' effigy in Merevale Abbey
      Around 1135, he married Margaret Peverell, and had at least one son and one daughter.

      He died in 1162 and was succeeded by his son William de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby. The stone effigies of Robert and his wife, Margaret Peverel, lie in the gatehouse chapel of Merevale Abbey, near the village of Atherstone.[4]


      References
      Bland, W., 1887 Duffield Castle: A lecture at the Temperance Hall, Wirksworth Derbyshire Advertiser
      Turbutt, G., (1999) A History of Derbyshire. Volume 2: Medieval Derbyshire, Cardiff: Merton Priory Press
      Michael Jones, 'Ferrers, Robert de, first Earl Ferrers (d. 1139)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 [ accessed 28 Oct 2007]
      http://cistercians.shef.ac.uk/abbeys/merevale.php

      end of this biography [1]
    • Biography
      1118 Birth
      He was born about 1118.[citation needed]

      1139 Earl of Derby
      He succeeded his father in 1139 as Earl [of Derby]. [1]

      1139 Marriage to Margaret Peveril
      Before 1139 he married Margaret, daughter of William Peveril of Nottingham & his first wife Oddona, who was born between 1123 and 1126.[1]

      Her parentage is suggested by the charter of John King of England which names “Willelmo de Ferrariis comiti” as heir to territories of “Willelmi Peverell”. If this parentage is correct, Margaret is unlikely to have been born outside the narrow date range estimated above, which would also indicate that her marriage took place only shortly before the date of this charter.[1]

      He married Margaret, daughter and heir of William Peverel, of Nottingham. He died before 1160, and was buried in Merevale Abbey, wrapped in an oxhide. "[2]
      Marriage Notes
      Regarding The history and antiquities of the county of Buckingham, pg 252-253 pedigree chart:

      It is Robert II, 2nd Earl of Derby, son of Robert I and Hawise, who marries Margaret Peverel. They have sons William and Walcheline.

      It is that William, 3rd Earl of Derby, who marries Sybil de Braose. They have children William, 4th Earl of Derby, Robert, Milisent, and Agatha.

      Supporting charters:

      Calendar of documents preserved in France [3]
      Abbey of St Pierre-Sur-Dive
      581 (1140-1150): Robert the younger earl of Nottingham, grandfather Henry, uncle Engenulf, father Robert
      582 (1141): Robert the younger earl of Nottingham, mother Hatwis
      1140 Charter
      1140-1150, "Robert the younger earl of Nottingham" drafts a charter "addressed to the bishop of Chester, all the faithful [sons] of the church, and all his barons, knights, and men, and all his friends, clerk and lay". 1141, Robert drafts a charter which mentions the death of "Hatwis", the earl's mother, as well as "Robert son of Walchelin de Raborna". [4]

      Merevale Abbey
      He founded the abbey of Merevale, Warwickshire, where he was buried. [1]

      "During the reign of King Stephen, he founded the Abbeys of Merevale, co. Warwick, and Darley near Derby, and was the virtual founder of the Priory of Bredon, co. Leicester. He went, or proposed to go, on pilgrimage to Santiago.
      "Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Derby, in the 12th Henry II, upon levying the aid for marrying the king's daughter, certified the knights' fees then in his possession to be in number seventy-nine for which he paid the sum of 68 marks. This nobleman was also a liberal benefactor to the church. His lordship was buried at the Abbey of Meervale, co. Warwick, one of the religious houses which he had founded, wrapped in an ox's hide according to his desire. His lordship m. Margaret, dau. and heiress of William Peverel, of Nottingham, by whom he had issue. He was s. by his son, William de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby." [5]
      "The second earl, another Robert, used as well the titles: Comes junior de Ferrariis and Comes junior de Notingham. He was outstanding, in an age when the endowment of monasteries seemed to be the privilege of every nobleman, in the number and generosity of his foundations : Breedon in Leicestershire; Darley near Derby; and Merevale in Warwickshire where he was buried, wrapped in an oxhide. To Garendon Abbey he gave the land at Heathcote confirmed in the Museum deed. He married Margaret, daughter and eventual heiress of William Peveril of Nottingham. In 1199, their grandson William, the 4th earl, claimed successfully his great-grandfather's lands, in right of his grandmother, and acquired thereby extensive properties including the lands between Mersey and Ribble which were later to become part of the Earldom of Lancaster."[6]
      "Robert de Ferrers, earl of Ferrers and Derby, he stiled himself according to Dugdale, Robertus Comes Junior de Ferrariis, and likewise Comes Junior de Nottingham, (fn. 1) as appears among others by an ancient charter of his bearing date A. D. 1141, in which he confirmed to the church of St. Oswald of Notle, whatsoever Henry de Ferrers his grandfather, Eugenulph de Ferrers his uncle, Robert his father or any of their wives or barons had given before-time to that church: He was a benefactor to the monks of Tutbury in com. Stafford, to the canons of Notle, as has been said, in com. Ebor, to the monks of Geronden, in com. Leicester, and Cumbermere, in com. Chester; moreover he founded the priory of Derby, (which was afterwards translated to Derley in that county) and the abbey of Mereval or Murval in com. Warwick. He died the 12th of Henry II, 1165, and was succeeded by his only son William de Ferrers, earl of Ferrers and Derby." (1165 is the year son William inherited, not the year of death) [7]
      Robert de Ferrers 2nd Earl of Derby, and his wife Margaret were buried in Merevale Abbey near Atherstone in North Warwickshire. Merevale Abbey was founded by his father, the 1st Earl. Their tomb and effigies can be seen today in the Church of Our Lady, formerly the Gate Chapel, the only building left of the Merevale Abbey complex which is in ruins. [8]

      The second shield has—Ferrers (ancient), sable, six horse shoes, argent 3.2.1., impaling some arms which have perished with age. The inscription is: “Robert of Ferrers, Earle of Ferrers in Normandy, and Hawis his wife." [9]
      1157 Higham Ferrers
      "In 1157 it was granted, probably for life, to Robert de Ferrers, second Earl of Derby, who had married Margaret, daughter and heir of William Peverel, her brother Henry being then apparently dead. (fn. 80) After the death of Robert in or about 1159, Higham Ferrers was granted in 1161 to William, the King's brother, who died in 1164. (fn. 81)" [10]
      Tutbury Priory
      NUM II: "Robertus comes junior de Ferrariis", "avus meus Henricus" [my grandfather], "Berta uxore sua" [his wife - Henry's], "Egennlfus patruus meus" [my uncle], "Robertus pater meus" [my father], "Amica filia avi mei" (daughter of grandfather, or aunt) [11][12]
      NUM VII: "Robertus junior, comes de Notingham", "post mortem" [after the death of] "Hauwisiae" "matris meae" [my mother].
      "Robert de Ferrars, the last Earl of Derby, confirmed all the benefactions of his ancestors by charter, but by him the priory was pulled down in the year 1260, and was not rebuilt till theyear 1307, no doubt by the Earl of Lancaster." [13]
      "I find also a confirmation made, per Rob'tum de Ferrariis, filium et haeredem [son and heir] nobilis viri Will'i de Ferrariis, comit. Derbies, Deo, et beatee Mariae, et ecclesie de Tutburie, et monachis ibidem Deo servientibus, de omnibus queecunque Hen. de Ferrariis fundator ejusdem ecclesiae, seu Engenulf de Ferrariis, vel Rob. de Ferrariis, vel al. Rob. de Ferrariis, vel Will'us de Ferrariis, vel al. Will'us de Ferrariis, avus suus, vel Will'us de Ferrariis, pater suus, sive aliquis antecessorum suorum dederunt." [14]
      1160 Death
      Robert died before 1160 and was buried at Merevale Abbey. [1]

      Issue

      Earl Robert & his wife had [three] children: [1]

      William, killed in battle at Acre in 1190.[1]
      Matilda de Ferrers. The primary source which confirms her parentage and marriage has not yet been identified. She married Bertram de Verdun, son of Norman de Verdun & his wife Lesceline de Clinton (-[1191]). [1]
      Isolde de Ferrers (-after 1185). The Rotuli de Dominabus of 1185 records property “in Bernewelle…de feodo comitis” held by “Ysowda, que fuit uxor Stephani de Bello-Campo, et filia comitis de Ferrariis”, adding that she has “i filium et v filias”[338]. It is assumed that Isolde was the daughter of Robert Earl of Derby (died before 1160) but it is not impossible that she was the daughter of Robert’s father. m as his second wife, STEPHEN de Beauchamp, son of RICHARD de Beauchamp & his wife --- (-before 1185).] [1]

      Sources

      ? 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Charles Cawley, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, Medieval Lands Database. English Nobility Medieval Robert Ferrers Accessed July 9, 2017. jhd
      ? Complete Peerage IV:191-2, XIV:230, (transcribed by Dave Utzinger) [1]
      ? Calendar of documents preserved in France, illustrative of the history of Great Britain and Ireland. Vol.1. A.D. 918-1206 [2]
      ? Calendar of documents preserved in France, illustrative of the history of Great Britain and Ireland. Vol.1. A.D. 918-1206, p 203 [3]
      ? Sir Bernard Burke, Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages, Burke's Peerage, Ltd., London, 1883, p. 196, Ferrers, Earl of Derby [4]
      ? A Ferrers Document of the Twelfth Century, By Eleanor Swift, M.A. [5]
      ? Robert Thoroton. "Section V: A brief History of the Noblemen ," in Thoroton's History of Nottinghamshire: Volume 2, Republished With Large Additions By John Throsby, ed. John Throsby (Nottingham: J Throsby, 1790), 113-120. British History Online, accessed March 16, 2017, [6].
      ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_de_Ferrers,_2nd_Earl_of_Derby
      ? Transactions and Proceedings, Volumes 14-17, By Birmingham Archaeological Society, p 90 [7]
      ? "The borough of Higham Ferrers," in A History of the County of Northampton: Volume 3, ed. William Page (London: Victoria County History, 1930), 263-279. British History Online, accessed March 16, 2017, [8].
      ? Monasticon Anglicanum: Vol 3 [9]
      ? Monasticon Anglicanum: Vol 5 [10]
      ? An historical description of Tutbury Castle and Priory, with some account of the town and neighbourhood, p 69 [11]
      ? A Survey of Staffordshire: Containing the Antiquities of that County, p 525 [12]
      http://www.thepeerage.com/p15854.htm#i158537 1090-1162 A.D.
      Honors and Knights' Fees: An Attempt to Identify the Component Parts of Certain Honors and to Trace the Descent of the Tenants of the Same who Held by Knight's Service Or Serjeanty from the Eleventh to the Fourteenth Century, Volume 1, p 202 [13]
      The Journal of the British Archaeological Association, Volume 7, p 220 [14]
      History of the Castle, Priory, and Town of Tutbury, in the County of Stafford, p 8 [15]
      Deering, Charles. Nottinghamia Vetus et Nova (George Ayscough & Thomas Willington, Nottingham, 1751) Page 200

      end of biography [3]

  • Sources 
    1. [S14229] "Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Derby", Biography, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_de_Ferrers,_2nd_Earl_of_Derby, A.

    2. [S10547] "Sir William De Ferrers (1140-1190)" profile, which was abstracted, downloaded and published Thursday, March 2nd, 2017 b.

    3. [S13094] "Robert "2nd Earl of Derby" de Ferrers formerly Ferrers aka de Ferrieres", Biography, Pedigree & Issue, https://www.wiki.

    4. [S10553] "Margaret Peverell, Countess of Derby (b. circa 1114, Nottinghamshire, England)" profile, which was abstracted, download.