Derby (Ferrers)

Who he is

Name

William de Ferrers (William II de Ferrers)

Title

Earl of Derby (girded by John)

Since

Heir to the Ferrers honour since his father's death at Acre in 1190; girded as earl by John on 7 June 1199, with the third penny of Derbyshire

Born

About 1168

Family

Son of William de Ferrers, third earl (died at Acre, 1190), and Sibyl de Braose. Married (1192) Agnes of Chester, sister of Earl Ranulf (the Wikipedia article calls her Alice). Their eldest son William was born about 1193.

Confidence

high

He helped Richard besiege Nottingham on 28 March 1194 and was sheriff of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire for seven weeks that year. John made him a favourite on his accession.

Overlord

King John

What it holds

• Tutbury castle and borough, caput of the honour, with Needwood chase
• Duffield castle and the chase of Duffield Frith
• Higham Ferrers in Northamptonshire (with the Ferrers by 1166)
• The third penny of Derbyshire (from 7 June 1199)
• Ashbourne and Wirksworth with the wapentake of Wirksworth, granted by John at fee farm soon after the girding (whether before 1 January 1200 is not pinned)
• Manors in Staffordshire (Uttoxeter, Rolleston, Marchington), Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and beyond
• The claim to the honour of Peverel through Margaret Peverel, wife of Earl Robert II

How it was acquired

The Ferrers honour since the Conquest; the earldom (lost by his grandfather's rebellion) restored by John in 1199.

Allies and rivals

Brother-in-law of Ranulf of Chester, whose sister he married; David of Huntingdon married another sister, Matilda, so the earls of Derby, Chester and Huntingdon are one family group. Close to John. At odds with the crown over Peverel.

How things stand that morning

Newly girded and in favour; holds his castles in peace.

Wealth

The lead of Wirksworth (if granted), the pastures and forests of Needwood and Duffield, Tutbury's market and the third penny.

Military

Tutbury and Duffield, both surrendered after his grandfather's rebellion of 1173-74 and slighted to some degree; how far each had been rebuilt by 1200 is not pinned.

Threats

• The fee farm owed for Ashbourne and Wirksworth
• Royal reluctance to give up Peverel

Places of note

• Tutbury castle: Caput above the Dove
• Duffield castle: Great Ferrers keep
• Higham Ferrers: Ferrers manor in Northamptonshire

Where the sources disagree

• The Wikipedia article names his wife Alice; most genealogies (and the 1192 marriage record) give Agnes of Chester. Not material to the map.

Evidence: Girding date from the brief and the restoration of the third penny from the Wikipedia article; the date of the Ashbourne and Wirksworth grant is not pinned.

On the map: Needwood and Duffield chases drawn by their main villages.

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.