Walter de Lacy (died 27 March 1085) was a Norman nobleman who went to England after theNorman Conquest of England in 1066. He received lands in Herefordshire and Shropshire, and served KingWilliam I of England by leading military forces during 1075. He died in 1085 and one son inherited his lands. Another son became anabbot.
Walter was originally fromLassy, in Normandy. He had a brother,Ilbert de Lacy.[1] Ilbert was the ancestor of thede Lacy family ofPontefract. Both Walter and Ilbert jointly held the Norman lands that were held of theBishop of Bayeux.[2]
Walter was given the lordship ofWeobley in Herefordshire after the Conquest.[1] He is already attested in theWelsh Marches by 1069,[3] when he is recorded stopping a Welsh attack and then raiding into Wales in retribution.[4] Walter and Ilbert may have come to England in the household ofOdo of Bayeux, the Bishop of Bayeux and half-brother of KingWilliam the Conqueror.[5] Although some historians, such as W. E. Wightman, have argued that Walter was a follower ofWilliam fitzOsbern,[4] others, including C. P. Lewis and K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, have argued that Walter was an independent agent in England.[1][2]
By the time of Walter's death, he held a block of lands in Herefordshire along the border with Wales. Another group of lands was centered onLudlow in Shropshire. These two groupings of lands allowed Walter to help defend the border of England against Welsh raids. Walter also had other lands in Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Oxfordshire. Walter kept a large number of his manors indemesne, managing them directly rather than giving them as fiefs to his knightly followers.[6] Some of these lands in Hereford, includingHolme Lacy, were held of theBishop of Hereford throughfeudal tenure.[7] In total,Domesday Book records Walter's lands as being worth £423 in income per year and as comprising 163 manors in 7 different counties.[8] He was one of 21 individuals with land valued at more than £400 at the time of the survey.[9]
In 1075, Walter was one of the leaders of the force that preventedRoger de Breteuil from joining up with the other rebels during theRevolt of the Earls. Walter had joined forces withWulfstan theBishop of Worcester,Æthelwig theAbbot of Evesham Abbey, andUrse d'Abetot theSheriff of Worcester.[10]
Walter married Emma or Emmelina[1] – though some sources report these as successive wives, they probably are alternative renderings of the same wife's name.[11] They had three sons,Roger, Hugh and Walter. Roger was the heir to Weobley and Walter becameAbbot ofGloucester Abbey.[1] Walter and Emma also had a daughter who became a nun atSt Mary's Abbey, Winchester. A niece was married to Ansfrid de Cormeilles.[11] Considerable confusion exists aboutSybil, the wife ofPain fitzJohn. C. P. Lewis names her as the daughter of Walter,[2] but W. E. Wightman calls her the daughter of Hugh, Walter's son.[12] Yet another reconstruction, favoured by Bruce Coplestone-Crow, sees her as child ofGeoffrey Talbot and his wife Agnes, whom he sees as daughter of Walter de Lacy.[13]
The elder Walter died on 27 March 1085,[2] falling off scaffolding atSaint Guthlac's Priory when he was inspecting the progress of the building at that monastery.[14] He was buried in thechapter house at Gloucester Abbey.[2] He was a benefactor to Gloucester Abbey,[15] as well as Saint Guthlac's.[2]