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Birth:          18 Aug 1275 Chilham, Kent, England
Death:          14 Apr 1322 Blean, near Canterbury, Kent, England
Cause of Death: executed
Burial:         White Friars, Canterbury, England

Notes
of Castle, Badlesmere, Kent, England
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_de_Badlesmere,_1st_Baron_Badlesmere
Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere (18 August 1275 – 14 April 1322), 
English soldier, diplomat, Member of Parliament, landowner and nobleman, was the 
son and heir of Sir Gunselin de Badlesmere (died ca. 1301) and Joan FitzBernard. He 
fought in the English army both in France and Scotland during the later years of the 
reign of Edward I of England[2] and the earlier part of the reign of Edward II of 
England. He was executed after participating in an unsuccessful rebellion led by the 
Earl of Lancaster.
Career[edit]

The earliest records of Bartholomew's life relate to his service in royal armies, which 
included campaigns in Gascony (1294), Flanders (about 1297) and Scotland (1298, 
1300, 1301–04, 1306–08, 1310–11, 1314–19).[3] However, even at a relatively young 
age his activities were not limited to soldiering. In October 1300, was one of the 
household of Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln who were permitted by the King to 
accompany the Earl when he set out for Rome during the following month in order to 
complain to Pope Boniface VIII of injury done by the Scots.[4][5]

A writ issued on 13 April 1301, presumably soon after the death of Jocelin, Sir 
Guncelin de Badlesmere, initiated inquests into the identity of the next heir of lands 
that he held direct from the King. This led to a hearing on 30 April of that year in 
relation to property in Kent at Badlesmere and Donewelleshethe, where it was 
confirmed that the heir was his son Bartholomew, then aged 26.[6]

Bartholomew de Badlesmere and Fulk Payfrer were the knights who represented the 
county of Kent at the Parliament that sat at Carlisle from January 1306/7 until 27 
March 1307.[7] Also in 1307 Bartholomew was appointed governor of Bristol Castle.[2] 
In that role he took charge of the subjugation of the city when it defied royal authority 
in 1316.[8]

In 1310, Bartholomew acted as deputy Constable of England on behalf of the Earl of 
Hereford.[9] Bartholomew served as his lieutenant when Hereford refused to perform 
his duties in the Scottish campaign of 1310-11.[10] He was one of the retinue of the 
Earl of Gloucester at the Battle of Bannockburn on 24 June 1314, Bartholomew's own 
sub-retinue consisting of at least 50 men.[10] He was criticised for not coming to his 
aid when Gloucester lost his life in an impetuous attack on the Scottish sheltron on 
that occasion.[11]

In the following January, Bartholomew was one of the many notables who attended the 
funeral of Piers Gaveston.[12]

On 28 April 1316, Bartholomew was one of four men who were authorised to grant safe 
conducts in the King's name to Robert Bruce and other Scots so that they could come 
to England to negotiate a truce. In December of that year, he was commissioned, 
along with the Bishop of Ely and the Bishop of Norwich to go on an embassy to Pope 
John XXII at Avignon to seek his help against the Scots and request a Bull to release 
the King from his oath to the Ordinances.[13] In June of the same year, Bartholomew's 
daughter Elizabeth married Edward, the son and heir of Roger Mortimer. Elizabeth's 
father was sufficiently wealthy to pay £2,000 for the marriage, in exchange for which 
extensive property was settled on the bride.[14]

On 1 November 1317, the King appointed Bartholomew as custodian of Leeds Castle 
in Kent [15] This was followed by a transaction on 20 March 1317/18 by which the 
King granted the castle and manor of Leeds along with the advowson of the priory of 
Leeds to Bartholomew and his heirs in exchange for the manor and advowson of 
Adderley, Shropshire, which Bartholomew surrendered to the King [16]

By late November 1317, Bartholomew made a compact with a number of noblemen and 
prelates, including the Earl of Pembroke, the Earl of Hereford and the Archbishop of 
Canterbury with the aim of reducing the influence on the King of advisors of whom 
they disapproved.[17] Bartholomew and his associates formed a loose grouping which 
has been referred to by modern historians as the "Middle Party", who detested alike 
Edward's minions, like the Despensers, and his violent enemies like Lancaster. 
However, although he was very hostile to Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, Bartholomew 
helped to make peace between the king and the earl in 1318.[2]

On 1 October 1318, Bartholomew was with the King at York, setting out to repel an 
invasion by the Scots.[18] Nineteen days later, he was appointed as the King's 
household steward in place of William Montagu. This position was of major 
importance, as it provided continual access to the King's presence and considerable 
influence over who else could obtain access to him.[19] Bartholomew was still holding 
this appointment in June 1321. Financial grants that he received during this period 
included £500 on appointment as steward and over £1,300 in October 1319.[20]

In 1319, Bartholomew obtained the king's licence to found a priory on his manor of 
Badlesmere, but the proposed priory was never established.[21] In June of the 
following year, he hosted a splendid reception at Chilham Castle for Edward II and his 
entourage when they were travelling to Dover en route for France.[22] Also in 1320, 
he was granted control of Dover Castle and Wardenship of the Cinque Ports and in 
1321 was appointed governor of Tunbridge Castle.[citation needed]

During the earlier part of 1321, Bartholomew, along with the Bishop of Worcester and 
the Bishop of Carlisle and others represented the King in unsuccessful negotiations 
with the Scots for either a permanent peace or an extended truce.[23]

Rebellion[edit]

By the summer of 1321, Bartholomew defied the King by associating with their mutual 
enemy the Earl of Lancaster and his allies in their active opposition to Edward's "evil 
councillors" such as the Despensers. The Lancastrian forces moved from the North to 
London, reaching the capital by the end of July.

In the autumn, the King started to apply pressure targeted on Bartholomew, probably 
partly because many of his manors were closer to London than those of magnates 
such as Lancaster and partly because of anger at the disloyalty of his own household 
steward. Edward took control of Dover Castle and forbade Bartholomew entrance to 
the county of Kent, an injunction that he promptly breached. Bartholomew then 
returned to Witney, Oxfordshire, where a tournament attended by many of his new 
allies was being held. When returning to London from a pilgrimage to Canterbury, the 
Queen did not take the most direct route but detoured to Leeds Castle, where she and 
her armed retinue demanded access, precipitating the siege and its aftermath that is 
described in detail in the article about Bartholomew's wife. Although Bartholomew 
assembled an armed force and marched from Witney towards Kent, by the time he 
reached Kingston upon Thames it was clear that he would not receive help from 
Lancaster and his followers and so he was not able to take effective action to relieve 
the siege.[24] During the following months, civil war broke out.

On 26 December 1321, the King ordered the Sheriff of Gloucester to arrest 
Bartholomew.[25] Shortly afterwards, the King offered safe conducts to the rebels who 
would come over to him, with the specific exception of Bartholomew de Badlesmere.
[26]

Details contained in arrest warrants signpost the progress of Bartholomew and his 
companions across England. By 15 January 1321/2, they had occupied and burned 
the town of Bridgnorth and sacked the castles at Elmley and Hanley.[27] By 23 
February, the rebels had been sighted in Northamptonshire.[28] On 1 March, 
Bartholomew was reported as one of a number of prominent rebels who had reached 
Pontefract.[29] On 11 March the sheriff of Nottingham and Derby was ordered to 
arrest the same group, who had taken Burton upon Trent but they departed from that 
town when the royal army approached.[30]

On 16 March 1321/2, the Earl of Lancaster and his allies were defeated at the Battle 
of Boroughbridge.

Death[edit]

Bartholomew fled south from Boroughbridge and, according to the "Livere de Reis", 
was captured in a small wood near Brickden and taken by the Earl of Mar to 
Canterbury.[31] Alternative details appear in John Leland's "Collectanea", which 
states that "Syr Barptolemew Badelesmere was taken at Stow Parke yn the Manoyr of 
the Bishop of Lincoln that was his nephew."[32] Stow Park is about 10 miles north-
west of the centre of Lincoln, where the bishop was Henry Burghersh. Stow Park was 
one of the principal residences of the Bishop in that era but none of the medieval 
buildings still survive above ground.[33] The identity of "Brickden" is uncertain but 
may well refer to Buckden, Huntingdonshire, another place where the Bishop of 
Lincoln had a manor house (Buckden Towers). If so, that may be the reason for the 
differing accounts of the place that Bartholomew had reached when he was arrested, 
as they both featured residences of his nephew.

Bartholomew was tried at Canterbury on 14 April 1322 and sentenced to death. On the 
same day he was drawn for three miles behind a horse to Blean, where he held 
property.[34] There he was hanged and beheaded. His head was displayed on the 
Burgh Gate at Canterbury and the rest of his body left hanging at Blean. There it 
probably remained for quite some time, as it was not until the Lent Parliament of 1324 
that the prelates successfully petitioned for the bodies of the nobles still hanging on 
the gallows to be given ecclesiastical burial.[35] In a book that was first published in 
1631, the antiquary John Weever stated that Bartholomew was buried at White Friars, 
Canterbury;[36] this was a community of the Order of St Augustine.[37]

Property[edit]

By the latter part of his life, Bartholomew possessed a vast portfolio of properties, 
either in his own right or jointly with his wife Margaret. These assets were forfeited 
because of Bartholomew’s rebellion. During the first four years of reign of Edward III, 
a series of inquisitions post mortem established the properties to which Margaret was 
entitled and also those of which her son Giles would be the right heir. Much of the 
property was restored to Bartholomew’s widow or assigned to Giles, who at that 
juncture was still a minor in the King’s wardship.[38]

Some of the properties that Bartholomew held are listed below; the list is not 
exhaustive and he did not necessarily hold all of them at the same time.
Bedfordshire: The manor of Sondyington (i.e. Sundon).
Buckinghamshire: The manor of Hambleden. Also the manors of Cowley and Preston, 
both of which were in the parish of Preston Bissett.
Essex: The manors of Chingford, Latchley (i.e. Dagworth Manor at Pebmarsh), Little 
Stambridge and Thaxted.
Gloucestershire: The manor of Oxenton.
Herefordshire: The manor of Lenhales and Lenhales Castle at Lyonshall.
Hertfordshire: The manors of Buckland, Mardleybury (at Welwyn) and Plashes (at 
Standon).
Kent: The manors of Badlesmere, Bockingfold (north of Goudhurst), Chilham, 
Hothfield, Kingsdown, Lesnes, Rydelyngwelde (i.e. Ringwould), Tonge and Whitstable. 
Bartholomew’s possessions in this county included Chilham Castle and Leeds Castle.
Oxfordshire: The manor of Finmere.
Shropshire: The manors of Adderley and Ideshale (at Shifnal).
Suffolk: The manors of Barrow and Brendebradefeld (i.e. Bradfield Combust).
Sussex: The manors of Eastbourne and Laughton. Also reversions of the manors of 
Drayton, Etchingham and West Dean.
Wiltshire: The manors of Castle Combe, Knook, Orcheston and West Heytesbury

The relevant inquisitions post mortem also contain details of numerous advowsons and 
other property rights that Bartholomew owned.

Family[edit]

Bartholomew married Margaret, the widow of Gilbert de Umfraville. The marriage had 
taken place by 30 June 1308, when the couple were jointly granted the manor of 
Bourne, Sussex.[39] Margaret was a daughter of Thomas de Clare and his wife Juliana 
FitzGerald.[40] A comprehensive overview of their children can be seen in the records 
of numerous inquisitions post mortem that were held after the death of their son Giles 
on 7 June 1338.[41] The evidence given at each hearing rested on local knowledge 
and there were some inconsistencies about the names of Giles' sisters and their 
precise ages. However, taken as a whole, it is clear from the inquisition records that 
the names of Bartholomew's children were as follows, listed in descending order of 
age:
Margery de Badlesmere, married William de Ros, 2nd Baron de Ros of Hamlake
Maud de Badlesmere, married Robert FitzPayn, then John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford
Elizabeth de Badlesmere, married Sir Edmund Mortimer, then William de Bohun, 1st 
Earl of Northampton
Giles de Badlesmere, 2nd Baron Badlesmere, married Elizabeth Montagu, and died 
without issue[42]
Margaret de Badlesmere, married John Tiptoft, 2nd Baron Tibetot

Parents
DE BADLESMERE Guncelin (Gunselm) (ABT 1232 - 1301)
FITZ BERNARD Joan (ABT 1234 - 1310)

Siblings
DE BADLESMERE Margaret (ABT 1265 - 1306)
DE BADLESMERE Bartholomew (18 Aug 1275 - 14 Apr 1322)

Marriage To DE CLARE Margaret (ABT 1 Apr 1287 - 22 Oct 1333)
    m. BEF 30 Jun 1308 

Notes

Parents
DE CLARE Thomas (ABT 1245 - Feb 1288)
FITZ GERALD Juliana (12 Apr 1266 - 29 Sep 1300)

Children by DE CLARE Margaret ABT 1 Apr 1287 - 22 Oct 1333
DE BADLESMERE Margery (1308 - 18 Oct 1363)
DE BADLESMERE Maud (1310 - May 1366)
DE BADLESMERE Elizabeth (1313 - 8 Jun 1356)
DE BADLESMERE Margaret (1315 - )

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