Ela Longespee, Lady of Ashby (1244 – c. 19 July 1276) was a wealthy heiress and daughter of Stephen Longespée,

Justiciar of Ireland The chief governor was the senior official in the Dublin Castle administration, which maintained English and British rule in Ireland from the 1170s to 1922. The chief governor was the viceroy of the English monarch (and later the British monar ...

, and Emmeline de Riddlesford, granddaughter of Walter de Riddlesford. She was the wife of Sir Roger La Zouche, Lord of Ashby.

Family

Ela was born in 1244 at

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

and was the eldest daughter and co-heiress of Stephen Longespée,

, Seneschal of

Gascony Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...

, and son of William Longespee, the illegitimate son of

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

. Her paternal grandmother was Ela, Countess of Salisbury, who had founded

Lacock Abbey Lacock Abbey in the village of Lacock, Wiltshire, England, was founded in the early 13th century by Ela, Countess of Salisbury, as a nunnery of the Augustinian order. The abbey remained a nunnery until the Dissolution of the monasteries in ...

, and after whom she was named. Her maternal grandmother was the daughter of Henry FitzRoy (d. 1158). Ela had a younger sister, Emmeline, who became the second wife of

Maurice FitzGerald, 3rd Lord of Offaly Maurice may refer to: *Maurice (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name Places * or Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean * Maurice, Iowa, a city * Maurice, Louisiana, a village * Maurice River, a t ...

in 1273.

Marriage and issue

In about 1266 in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, she married Sir Roger La Zouche, Lord of Ashby, the son of Sir Alan La Zouche and Helen de Quincy. Their marriage produced one son: *

Alan la Zouche, 1st Baron la Zouche of Ashby Alan la Zouche, 1st Baron la Zouche of Ashby (9 October 1267 – shortly before 25 March 1314) was born at North Molton, Devonshire, the only son of Roger La Zouche and his wife, Ela Longespée, daughter of Stephen Longespée and Emmeline ...

(19 October 1267 – 25 March 1314), married Eleanor de Segrave, by whom he had three daughters. Ela died on about 19 July 1276 at the age of 32. Her younger sister Emmeline, was co-heiress to their father and the wife of Maurice fitz Maurice. She had one daughter, Juliana, who married

Thomas de Clare, lord of Thomond Thomas de Clare, Lord of Thomond ( 1245Robin Frame (2005)"Clare, Thomas de (1244x7–1287), magnate and administrator" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Retrieved 11 November 2018.29 August 1287) was an Anglo-Norman peer and soldie ...

. Emeline battled her daughter, Juliana, and her step-daughter Amabilia (Maurice's daughter from a previous marriage) for many years for her dower. Juliana had been granted in frankmarriage to Thomas de Clare, and Maurice had given

Inchiquin Inchiquin () is a Barony (Ireland), barony in County Clare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of 11 baronies in the county. Its chief town is Corofin, County Clare, Corofin. It is administered by Clare County C ...

and

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long ...

, both in co. Cork, to the newly-wed couple. Amabilia and John fitz Thomas (later the first

earl of Kildare Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

) spent many years trying to recover the marriage lands from Juliana and dower lands from Emmeline.G.H. Orpen, Normans, iv, p. 654; Black Book of Limerick, pp 31, 102, 105; R. Frame, 'King Henry III and Ireland, n. 151.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longespee, Ela 1244 births 1276 deaths 13th-century English people 13th-century English women Ela