Walter of Hereford was a holder of the

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

title

Baron Bergavenny The title Baron Bergavenny (or Abergavenny) was created several times in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain, all but the first being baronies created by error. Abergavenny is a market town in South East Wales with a ...

or Lord Abergavenny in the

Welsh Marches The Welsh Marches () is an imprecisely defined area along the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods. The English term Welsh March (in Medieval Latin ''Marchia W ...

in the mid twelfth century.

Lineage

Walter of Hereford was a son of

Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford Miles FitzWalter of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford (died 24 December 1143) (''alias'' Miles of GloucesterSanders, I.J. English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent 1086-1327, Oxford, 1960, p.7) was a great magnate based in the west of ...

, and

Sibyl of Neufmarche The sibyls were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece. The sibyls prophesied at holy sites. A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he described local traditions in his w ...

, and the brother of Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford and

Mahel of Hereford Mahel of Hereford was a holder of the feudal lordships of Brecon and Abergavenny in the Welsh Marches in the mid 12th century. Lineage Mahel of Hereford was a younger son of Miles of Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford and his wife Sibyl of Neufm ...

and William de Hereford.

Offices

Walter of Hereford held the post of King's Constable in the region under King

Henry I of England Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...

and became lord of Brecon and Abergavenny from circa 1155. In 1155 he was also made hereditary

Sheriff of Gloucestershire This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Gloucestershire, who should not be confused with the Sheriffs of the City of Gloucester. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (in England and Wales the office previously kno ...

, a post he held for two years, and Sheriff of Herefordshire, a post he held until 1159. He departed for the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

about Michaelmas 1159, and died there not long after. On his death the shrievalty of Gloucestershire was no longer hereditary. No children are known.

Notes

References

* * Anglo-Normans in Wales 12th-century deaths High sheriffs of Gloucestershire High sheriffs of Herefordshire Year of birth unknown Feudal barons of Abergavenny Younger sons of earls {{Normandy-stub