Vipont (''alias'' Vieuxpont) is the name of a prominent family in the history of

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

. According to Thomas the name originated in France before 1066 as Vieuxpont ("Old Bridge"), Latinized to ''de Vetere Ponte'' ("from the Old Bridge"), with alternative spellings ''Vezpont, Veepon, Vexpont, Vypont, Vispont, Vypunt, Vespont, Vipond, Vypond, Voypond, Veepond, Vippond, Vipon, Vipan, Vipen'', etc. The Vipont family bore arms: ''Gules, six annulets or 3:2:1'', later quartered by

Baron Clifford Baron Clifford is a title in the Peerage of England created by writ of summons on 17 February 1628 for Henry Clifford, the heir of Francis Clifford, 4th Earl of Cumberland. Francis was believed to hold the Barony de Clifford, created in 1299, ...

Related family

The French family Vieuxpont de Courville shares a similar coat of arm, because they are probably relatives. Courville is a parish located in the traditional

county of Perche The county of Perche was a medieval county lying between Normandy and Maine. It was held by a continuous line of counts until 1226. One of these, Geoffroy III, would have been a leader of the Fourth Crusade had he not died before the assembled forc ...

. The Vieuxpont name may be inherited from the parish of

Vieux-Pont Vieux-Pont () is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France. Geography The commune is made up of the following collection of villages and hamlets, La Courcière, La Harlière, Troussel, Le Bois au Brun and Vieux-Pont. Parts of ...

(Orne, ''Viez Pont'' 1155), situated in the south of Normandy.

Notable family members

* William de Vieuxpont (d.1203), Lord of Westmorland married Maud de Morville (d.1210), daughter of

Richard de Morville Richard de Morville (died 1189), Lord of Cunninghame succeeded his father, Hugh de Morville (died 1162), as Constable of Scotland and in his Scottish estates and English lands at Bozeat in Northamptonshire, and Rutland, as well as a number ...

, Constable of Scotland. * Robert I de Vipont (d.1227/8), the younger son of William de Vieuxpont and Maud de Morville. He was granted by King

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 * Second E ...

in 1203/4 custody of Appleby and Brough in Westmorland with the hereditary office of Sheriff of Westmorland, to be held from the king under military tenure of 4

knight's fee In feudal Anglo-Norman England and Ireland, a knight's fee was a unit measure of land deemed sufficient to support a knight. It would not only provide sustenance for himself, his family, and servants, but also the means to furnish himself and h ...

s. This grant is deemed to have created the

feudal barony of Appleby The feudal barony of Appleby (or Honour of Appleby) was a English feudal barony, feudal barony with its ''caput baroniae, caput'' at Appleby Castle in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Appleby, Westmorland, England. Descent Barons of Burgh-by-Sands The bar ...

. He built

Brougham Castle Brougham Castle (pronounced ) is a medieval building about south-east of Penrith, Cumbria, England. The castle was founded by Robert I de Vieuxpont in the early 13th century. The site, near the confluence of the rivers Eamont and Lowther, ha ...

. He married Idonea de Builli, daughter of John de Builli * John de Vipont of Appleby married Sibyl, sister of

William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby William III de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby (c. 1193 – 28 March 1254) of Chartley Castle in Staffordshire, was an English nobleman and major landowner, unable through illness to take much part in national affairs. From his two marriages, he lef ...

(1193–1254). *

Thomas Vipont Thomas Vipont (died 1256) was a medieval Bishop of Carlisle. Life Vipont was a member of the family of the lords of Westmoreland but attained a ''magister'' degree from the schools.Summerson "Chaury, Robert and Thomas Vipont" ''Oxford Dictiona ...

was a medieval

Bishop of Carlisle The Bishop of Carlisle is the Ordinary (officer), Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Carlisle in the Province of York. The diocese covers the county of Cumbria except for Alston Moor and the former Sedbergh Rural District. The Episcop ...

from 1254 to 1256. *Isabella Vieuxpont (d. 1291) married Roger de Clifford the younger (d.1282) *In the 14th century, Lady Idonea de Veteripont, owner of Pendragon Castle and wife of Roger de Lilburne (married in 1264), founded St Mary's

Outhgill Outhgill is a hamlet in Mallerstang, Cumbria, England. It lies about south of Kirkby Stephen. It is the main hamlet in the dale of Mallerstang (a civil parish) which retains the Norsemen, Norse pattern of its original settlement: a series of ...

Mallerstang Mallerstang is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the extreme east of Cumbria, and, geographically, a wikt:dale, dale at the head of the upper River Eden, Cumbria, Eden Valley. Originally part of Westmorland, it lies about south of t ...

. *

Elfrida Vipont Elfrida Vipont Brown (3 July 1902 – 14 March 1992) was an English writer of children's literature. She was born in Manchester into a family of Quakers. As a children's writer, she initially published under a man's name, Charles Vipont, which wa ...

was the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

of Elfrida Vipont Foulds (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Brown) (1902–1992)

Robert de Vieuxpont

Robert's biography is given in Summerson. He was the younger son of William de Vieuxpont and Maud de Morville (daughter of

Hugh de Morville, Lord of Westmorland Sir Hugh de Morville (died c. 1173) was an Anglo-Norman knight who served King Henry II of England in the late 12th century. He is chiefly famous as one of the assassins of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury in 1170. He held the title Lor ...

). He served

King Richard I Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

, King John and King Henry III.

Appleby Castle Appleby Castle is in the town of Appleby-in-Westmorland overlooking the River Eden (). It consists of a 12th-century castle keep which is known as Caesar's Tower, and a mansion house. These, together with their associated buildings, are set ...

Brough Castle Brough Castle is a ruined castle in the village of Brough, Cumbria, Brough, Cumbria, England. The castle was built by William Rufus around 1092 within the old Roman Empire, Roman fort of ''Verterae'' to protect a key route through the Pennines ...

and Whinfell Forest were granted to him by King John in 1203, together with the title of hereditary High Sheriff of Westmorland. He also built

. In the early 13th century, he was also

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests The Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests is a position established by the Normans in England. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in t ...

, and had custody of the Sees of

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

. Later he moved on to other duties. In 1216, he took responsibility for

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

and

Carlisle Castle Carlisle Castle is a stone keep medieval fortress located in the city of Carlisle near the ruins of Hadrian's Wall. First built during the reign of William II in 1092 and rebuilt in stone under Henry I in 1122, the castle is over 930 yea ...

. He died in early 1228, leaving his body and Wycombe estates to the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

. He married Idonea de Busli, a descendant of

Roger de Busli Roger de Busli (c. 1038 – c. 1099) was a Anglo-Normans, Norman baron who participated in the Norman conquest of England, conquest of England in 1066. Life Roger de Busli was born in or around 1038. His surname comes from the town now known as B ...

, in 1213. His children were son John (died 1241) and daughter Christian, who married Thomas of Greystoke. When John's son Robert died in 1264, his possessions passed to his daughters and eventually to

Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford (1 April 1274 – 24 June 1314), of Appleby Castle, Westmorland, feudal baron of Appleby and feudal baron of Skipton in Yorkshire, was an English soldier who became 1st Lord Warden of the Marches, ...

High Sheriffs of Westmorland

In 1204 King John granted the "Sheriffwick and rent of the county of Westmorland", together with the custody of the castles of Appleby and Brough, to Robert de Vieuxpont in perpetuity. He was succeeded in 1228 by his son John de Vieuxpont, who died ''circa'' 1242, leaving his infant son Robert de Veteripont a ward of the king and of the Prior of Carlisle. Robert later died of wounds received in rebellion against King Henry III circa 1264, during the

Battle of Lewes The Battle of Lewes was one of two main battles of the conflict known as the Second Barons' War. It took place at Lewes in Sussex, on 14 May 1264. It marked the high point of the career of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, and made ...

, leaving two daughters Isabella and Idonea. Isabella married Roger de Clifford, father of

and on the death of Idonea the hereditary shrievalty passed via Isabella to Robert and the de Clifford family.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * {{refend Norman families History of Westmorland