Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford

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Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Brecknock (1100–24 December 1143), was the son of Walter de Gloucester, who appears as sheriff of that county between 1104 and 1121.

Milo or Miles succeeded his father about the latter year.

He was high in the service of Henry I between 1130 and 1135, he was Constable of England and combined the hereditary office of Sheriff of Gloucester with that of local justiciar for Gloucestershire.

Contents 1 Civil war allegiances 2 Earldom 3 Family and children 4 External links 5 Sources 6 References

[edit] Civil war allegiances

After the death of King Henry he declared for Stephen, at whose court he appears as constable in 1136. King Stephen garnted him the honour of Gloucester and Brecknock. However, in 1139, when the empress Matilda appeared in England, he declared for her, and placed the city of Gloucester at her disposal; he was further distinguished by sacking the nearby royalist city of Worcester, attacking Stephen's siege works at Wallingford Castle and reducing the county of Hereford. He was retained as her Constable.

[edit] Earldom

In 1141, he was rewarded with the earldom of Hereford when Matilda ruled the country. He remained loyal to the Empress after her defeat at Winchester the same year. John of Salisbury classes him with Geoffrey de Mandeville and others who were non tam comites regni quam hostes publici. The charge is justified by his public policy; but the materials for appraising his personal character do not exist.

[edit] Family and children

He married Sybil de Neufmarche, daughter of Bernard de Neufmarche, Lord of Brecon and Nest, granddaughter of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, in 1121. Their children were:

1. Bertha of Hereford, married William de Braose before 1150.
2. Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford.
3. Walter of Hereford died after 1159 in the Holy Land. He was Sheriff of Gloucester in 1155-1157 and Sheriff of Hereford in 1155-1159.
4. Henry Fitzmiles Henry of Hereford, died 12 April 1165. He succeeded to the title of Baron Abergavenny in 1141/42.
5. William of Hereford. He died before 1160 without issue.
6. Mahel of Hereford, died October 1165 at Bronllys Castle, Breconshire, Wales, mortally hurt when a stone dropped from the tower during a fire; died without issue. Buried at Llanthony Priory.
7. Margaret de Gloucester, married Humphrey de Bohun.
8. Lucy of Gloucester, married Herbert FitzHerbert of Winchester, Lord Chamberlain. Buried at Llanthony Priory.

[edit] External links

• Impression of the Seal of Miles Fitzwalter of Gloucester, Earl of Hereford, Lord of Abergavenny & Caldicot

[edit] Sources

• Continuation of Florence of Worcester (ed. B Thorpe, 1848-1849); the Cartulary of Gloucester Abbey (Rolls series); and John Horace Round's Geoffrey de Mandeville (1892).

Peerage of England
Preceded by Second Creation	Earl of Hereford 1141–1143	Succeeded by Roger Fitzmiles

[edit] References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.