The Lowey of Tonbridge is the name of a large tract of land given to

Richard Fitz Gilbert Richard fitz Gilbert (before 1035–), 1st feudal baron of Clare in Suffolk, was a Norman lord who participated in the Norman conquest of England in 1066, and was styled "de Bienfaite", "de Clare", and of "Tonbridge" from his holdings.G. E. Cok ...

(1024–1090) in West

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

after the

Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...

. Richard was a cousin of William's, both being descended from Richard "The Fearless" the first

Duke of Normandy In the Middle Ages, the duke of Normandy was the ruler of the Duchy of Normandy in north-western Kingdom of France, France. The duchy arose out of a grant of land to the Viking leader Rollo by the French king Charles the Simple, Charles III in ...

. The Lowey (also known as Lowry), which simply means "Freedom" or "Liberty", gave Richard huge powers over the region and he used this power to extract taxes from the local population to finance the building of

Tonbridge Castle Tonbridge Castle is a 13th century castle situated in Tonbridge, Kent, England. Early history Following the Norman Conquest, Richard Fitz Gilbert was granted land in Kent to guard the crossing of the River Medway. He erected a simple Motte-and ...

, which became the main

de Clare The House of Clare was a prominent Anglo-Norman noble house that held at various times the earldoms of Pembroke, Hertford and Gloucester in England and Wales, as well as playing a prominent role in the Norman invasion of Ireland. They were de ...

family residence for the next 250 years. Richard used his influence and power to expand the Lowey so by the time of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

it included much of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

as well as Kent. This continuous expansion of the estate put the de Clare family into dispute with the

Archbishops In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

and the king was asked to intervene twice to decide how large it should actually be. When the de Clare family got on the wrong side of the crown, the castle and its Lowey was the first thing the king seized back from them often by force and this happened in the reigns of kings William II,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and Henry III. The castle and Lowey were returned to the family once the dispute had been resolved. After the death of

Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester, 7th Earl of Hertford (c. 10 May 1291 – 24 June 1314) was an English nobleman and military commander in the Scottish Wars. In contrast to most English earls at the time, his main focus lay in ...

at the

Battle of Bannockburn The Battle of Bannockburn ( gd, Blàr Allt nam Bànag or ) fought on June 23–24, 1314, was a victory of the army of King of Scots Robert the Bruce over the army of King Edward II of England in the First War of Scottish Independence. It was ...

in 1314 aged only 23 without an heir, Hugh the younger de Spencer, who had married the earl's oldest sister could not wait for

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

to decide how his estate should be divided, and seized the Lowey and castle without permission. His tenure was quite short-lived as he was executed by Queen Isabella, the wife of Edward II. The Lowey had two large deer parks, North Frith and South Frith, whose names still survive today. The Lowey survived well into the 19th century; in fact Tonbridge was one of England's largest parishes.

References

{{Tonbridge Tonbridge Medieval Kent