The Lordship of Glamorgan was one of the most powerful and wealthy of the Welsh Marcher Lordships. The seat was

Cardiff Castle Cardiff Castle ( cy, Castell Caerdydd) is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top ...

. It was established by the conquest of

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Mot ...

from its native Welsh ruler, by the Anglo-Norman nobleman

Robert FitzHamon Robert Fitzhamon (died March 1107), or Robert FitzHamon (literally, 'Robert, son of Hamon'), Seigneur de Creully in the Calvados region and Torigny in the Manche region of Normandy, was the first Norman feudal baron of Gloucester and the Nor ...

, feudal baron of Gloucester, and his legendary followers the Twelve Knights of Glamorgan. The

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 *Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature *Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...

Lord of Glamorgan, like all Marcher lords, ruled his lands directly by his own law: thus he could, amongst other things, declare war, raise taxes, establish courts and markets and build castles as he wished, without reference to the Crown. These privileges were only lost under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542. Though possessing many castles, the main seat of the Lordship was

First Creation

Robert Fitzhamon Robert Fitzhamon (died March 1107), or Robert FitzHamon (literally, 'Robert, son of Hamon'), Seigneur de Creully in the Calvados region and Torigny in the Manche region of Normandy, was the first Norman feudal baron of Gloucester and the Nor ...

, the conqueror of

(1093–1107) *

Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester Robert FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Gloucester (c. 1090 – 31 October 1147David Crouch, 'Robert, first earl of Gloucester (b. c. 1090, d. 1147)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 200Retrieved ...

(1118–1147) *

William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester William FitzRobert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester (23 November 1116 – 23 November 1183) was the son and heir of Sir Robert de Caen, 1st Earl of Gloucester, and Mabel FitzRobert of Gloucester, daughter of Robert Fitzhamon, and nephew of Empress M ...

(1147–1183) * Isabel, Countess of Gloucester (d. 1217) with: **

John of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin ...

(1189–1214), however marriage annulled **

Geoffrey FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex Geoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex and 4th Earl of Gloucester (c. 1191 – 23 February 1216) was an English peer. He was an opponent of King John and one of the ''Magna Carta'' sureties. Geoffrey and his brother took the surname Mande ...

(after 1214–1217)

Second Creation

* Gilbert de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford, 5th Earl of Gloucester (1217–1230) * Richard de Clare, 5th Earl of Hertford, 6th Earl of Gloucester (1230–1262) * Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, 7th Earl of Gloucester (1262–1295) *

Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer, Earl of Gloucester, Hertford, and Atholl (c. 1270 – 5 April 1325) was an English nobleman, who was the son-in-law of King Edward I. His clandestine marriage to the King's widowed daughter Joan great ...

(1297–1307) through marriage to Joan, the widow of the 6th Earl. Ceased on her death in 1307. * Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Hertford, 8th Earl of Gloucester (1307–1314) *

Eleanor de Clare Eleanor de Clare, suo jure 6th Lady of Glamorgan (3 October 1292 – 30 June 1337) was a Anglo-Welsh noblewoman who married Hugh Despenser the Younger and was a granddaughter of Edward I of England.Lewis, M. E. (2008). A traitor's death? The id ...

, ''

suo jure ''Suo jure'' is a Latin phrase, used in English to mean 'in his own right' or 'in her own right'. In most nobility-related contexts, it means 'in her own right', since in those situations the phrase is normally used of women; in practice, especi ...

'' 6th Lady of Glamorgan, 2nd Baroness le Despenser (1314–1337) ** Sir Hugh "the younger" le Despenser, 2nd Baron le Despenser and Eleanor his wife (1314–1326) ** William la Zouche, 1st Baron Zouche and Eleanor his wife (1329–1337)

Third Creation

* Sir Hugh le Despencer, 3rd Baron le Despencer (1338–1349) * Edward le Despenser, 4th Baron le Despenser (1349–1375) *

Thomas le Despencer, 1st Earl of Gloucester Thomas le Despenser, 2nd Baron Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester KG (22 September 137313 January 1400) was the son of Edward le Despenser, 1st Baron le Despencer, whom he succeeded in 1375. Royal intrigues A supporter of Richard II against Tho ...

(1375–1400) *

Richard le Despenser, 4th Baron Burghersh Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

(c. 1400–1411) * Isabel le Despenser (1422–1423) **

Richard Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Worcester Richard de Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester, KB (c. 1394 – c. 18 March 1421/1422) was an English peer. The only son of William de Beauchamp, 1st Baron Bergavenny and Joan de Beauchamp, Baroness Bergavenny. William Beauchamp was the fourth son o ...

(1411–1422) and Isabel le Despenser **

Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick (25 or 28 January 138230 April 1439) was an English medieval nobleman and military commander. Early life Beauchamp was born at Salwarpe Court Richard Gough, ''Description of the Beauchamp chapel, adjoi ...

(1423–1439) and Isabel le Despenser

Fourth Creation

* Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick (1439–1445)

Fifth Creation

Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

(1449–1471) and

Anne Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick Anne Beauchamp, 16th Countess of Warwick (13 July 1426 – 20 September 1492) was an important late medieval English noblewoman. She was the daughter of Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, and his second wife Isabel le Despenser, a daught ...

* Isabella Neville and

George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (21 October 144918 February 1478), was the 6th son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the brother of English kings Edward IV and Richard III. He played an important role in the ...

(1471–1478) *

Richard III of England Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Ba ...

(1478–1485) and

Anne Neville Anne Neville (11 June 1456 – 16 March 1485) was Queen of England as the wife of King Richard III. She was the younger of the two daughters and co-heiresses of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (the "Kingmaker"). Before her marriage to Ri ...

Sixth Creation

* Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford (1485–1495)

Merged with English Crown

Henry VII of England Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beauf ...

(1495–1509) *

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

(1509–1547)

Sources

*R. R. Davies, ''The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063–1415'' (Oxford History of Wales, 2) *T. B. Pugh, ''Glamorgan County History:The Middle Ages: The Marcher Lordships of Glamorgan and Morgannwg and Gower and Kilvey from the Norman Conquest to the Act of Union of England and Wales'' {{coord missing, Glamorgan States and territories established in 1091 States and territories disestablished in 1536 History of Glamorgan Marcher lordships