Shire · Kingdom of England · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Westmorland

A shire with its own sheriff since at least 1130, made of two baronies: Appleby (the north, the upper Eden valley with Appleby and Brough castles), in the king's hand since the 1170s and kept by the sheriff; and Kendal (the south), held by Gilbert FitzReinfrid.

The Morvilles had held Appleby under Henry II. In 1203 John will grant Appleby, Brough and the shrievalty to Robert de Vieuxpont, making the sheriffdom hereditary: not yet.

Who holds it

Name
Not pinned between Geoffrey FitzPeter (named for 1199) and William de Stuteville (named for 1200); Hugh Bardolf held it 1191-99
Title
Sheriff of Westmorland
Since
1199
Confidence
low

Overlord

King John

How things stand that morning

Appleby and Brough in the king's hand, kept by the sheriff. Both castles fell to William the Lion in 1174; they are ready again.

Sheriff in 1200

Not pinned between Geoffrey FitzPeter (named for 1199) and William de Stuteville (named for 1200); Hugh Bardolf held it 1191-99. 1199

Answers for

The farm of the barony of Appleby and the county; cornage; custody of Appleby and Brough castles.

Hundreds

  • The barony of Appleby (East and West wards, later)
  • The barony of Kendal (Kendal and Lonsdale wards)

Forests

  • Royal: the forests of the barony of Appleby (Whinfell, Stainmore), not pinned in detail
  • Private: the forests of the barony of Kendal

Castles

  • Royal: Appleby, Brough
  • Baronial: Kendal

Liberties

The barony of Kendal; Shap Abbey (Premonstratensian).

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. 1203 (after 1200)John grants Appleby, Brough and the bailiwick of Westmorland to Robert de Vieuxpont, hereditary from 1203.Depends on: Vieuxpont's service Stopped by: Nothing likely

Places of note

  • Shire town and castle: Seat of the sheriff and the county court

Where the sources disagree

  • The county list for Westmorland names Geoffrey FitzPeter for 1199 and William de Stuteville for 1200; Hugh Bardolf's article gives him Westmorland 1191-99.
  • Wikipedia's article on Hugh de Morville, lord of Westmorland (the Becket murderer), says the lordship passed to his sister (or niece) Maud in 1174. The sheriffs' accounts for Westmorland in the 1190s and John's grants of 1202-03 to Robert de Vieuxpont, whose mother was a Morville, point to the castles being in the king's hand by then. Treated here as royal; not resolved.

Evidence: Sheriff uncertain.

On the map: Historic county, rough outline.

Primary sources for England

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

  • Chronicle of Jocelin of Brakelond, Jocelin of Brakelond (about 1198 to 1203). An inside account of Bury St Edmunds under Abbot Samson, written while the events were fresh. Read online
  • Chronicle of Melrose, Anonymous (monks of Melrose abbey) (about 1173 to 1270, in many hands; the 1200 entries are near contemporary). The main Scottish annal for the year, kept at a Cistercian house on the Tweed. Read online
  • Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
  • Chronicle of the Princes, Anonymous (Welsh translation of a lost Latin chronicle kept at Strata Florida) (Latin original to about 1282, compiled from contemporary annals; Welsh versions about 1300 and later). The native Welsh record of the year. Read online
  • Chronicle; Deeds of the Kings, Gervase of Canterbury (Chronica about 1188 to 1199; Gesta Regum about 1199 to 1210). The Chronica stops in 1199, so for 1200 the witness is the briefer Gesta Regum, which notes John's peace with Philip, the coronation of Isabella at Westminster on 8 October 1200, and matters touching Canterbury: the archbishop Hubert Walter as chancellor, the cathedral priory's quarrel with him, and the Lambeth college dispute lately settled by the pope. Read online
  • English Chronicle of Ralph of Coggeshall, Ralph of Coggeshall (about 1200 to 1224, in stages). Short but independent entries for 1200 from a Cistercian house in Essex: John's levy on the Cistercians and the carucage, the peace with Philip, the king's new marriage and the queen's coronation, and the death of Hugh of Lincoln. Read online
  • Flowers of History, Roger of Wendover (about 1220 to 1235 at St Albans). For 1200 Wendover is mostly Howden rewritten, so he is a second witness only where he adds St Albans material: a long account of Hugh of Lincoln's last months, death and funeral, and anecdotes about John's conduct toward the Cistercians and his new queen. Read online
  • Images of History, Ralph de Diceto (about 1188 to 1202). A London view of the year from the dean of St Paul's, who knew the justiciar and the bishops personally. Read online

22 more in the sources library for The British Isles.

Sources and studies

  1. Wikipedia: High Sheriff of Westmorland
  2. Wikipedia: Robert de Vieuxpont
  3. Wikipedia: Barony of Kendal

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.