Geoffrey FitzPiers, Earl of Essex

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Fitz_Peter,_1st_Earl_of_Essex

He was a prominent member of the government of England during the reigns of Kings Richard I [the Lionheart] and John. The surname is sometimes rendered FitzPeter, for he was the son of Piers (Peter) de Lutegareshale, forester of Ludgershall.

He was from a modest landowning family that had a tradition of service in mid-ranking posts under Henry II. Geoffrey's elder brother Simon Fitz Peter was at various times High Sheriff of Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, and Bedfordshire. Geoffrey, too, got his start in this way, as High Sheriff of Northamptonshire for the last five years of Henry II's reign.

Around this time Geoffrey married Beatrice de Say, daughter and eventual co-heiress of William de Say II. This William was the elder son of William de Say I and Beatrice, sister of Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex. This connection with the Mandeville family was later to prove unexpectedly important. In 1184 Geoffrey's father-in-law died, and he received a share of the de Say inheritance by right of his wife, co-heiress to her father. He also eventually gained the title of earl of Essex by right of his wife, becoming the 4th earl.

When King Richard I [the Lionheart] left on crusade, he appointed Geoffrey one of the five judges of the king's court, and thus a principal advisor to Hugh de Puiset, Bishop of Durham, who, as Chief Justiciar, was one of the regents during the king's absence. Late in 1189, Geoffrey's wife's cousin William de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex died, leaving no direct heirs. His wife's inheritance was disputed between Geoffrey and Beatrice's uncle, Geoffrey de Say, but Geoffrey Fitz Peter used his political influence to eventually obtain the Mandeville lands (although not the earldom, which was left open) for himself.

He served as Constable of the Tower of London from 1198 to 1205. He also served as High Sheriff of Yorkshire from 1198 to 1201 and again in 1203 and as High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire from 1200 to 1205. On 11 July 1198, King Richard I [the Lionheart] appointed Geoffrey Chief Justiciar, which at that time effectively made him the king's principal minister. On his coronation day the new king ennobled Geoffrey as Earl of Essex.

King John granted Berkhamsted Castle to Geoffrey; the castle had previously been granted as a jointure palace to Queen Isabel prior to the annulment of the royal marriage. Geoffrey founded two hospitals in Berkhamsted, one dedicated to St John the Baptist and one to St John the Evangelist; the latter is still commemorated in the town with the name St John's Well Lane.

After the accession of King John, Geoffrey continued in his capacity as the king's principal minister until his death on 14 October 1213.

By his first wife, Beatrice de Say, daughter of William de Say and heiress of the Mandeville Earls of Essex, he had the following children:

1. Geoffrey FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 2nd Earl of Essex.

2. William FitzGeoffrey de Mandeville, 3rd Earl of Essex.

3. Henry, Dean of Wolverhampton.

4. Maud Fitzgeoffrey, who married Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford.

With his second wife, Aveline, daughter of Roger de Clare, 2nd Earl of Hertford, he had the following children:

1. John Fitzgeoffrey, Lord of Shere and Justiciar of Ireland.

2. Cecily Fitzgeoffrey.

3. Hawise Fitzgeoffrey.

Geoffrey's first two sons died without children. The earldom had been associated with their mother's Mandeville heritage, and the earldom was next granted to the son of their sister Maud and her husband Henry De Bohun instead of their half-brother John.


Buried:
Grave location, biography, and tomb effigy:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=63276113

Geoffrey married Aveline de Clare, Countess of Essex. Aveline (daughter of Roger de Clare, 2nd Earl of Hertford and Maude (Matilda) de St. Hilaire) was born ca 1178; died 1225, Norfolk, England; was buried , Shouldham Priory Shouldham, Norfolk, England. [Group Sheet]

1. John FitzGeoffrey, Lord of Shere was born ca 1205, Surrey, England; died 23 Nov 1258, Norfolk, England; was buried , Shouldham Priory Shouldham, Norfolk, England.

Notes:

Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Fitz_Peter,_1st_Earl_of_Essex

Piers de Lutegareshale, was the forester of Ludgershall. This area is northeast of Salisbury, in Wiltshire, England.
His job would have been to prevent poaching in the forest by the peasants in the land around Ludgershall Castle. The castle was probably first built in the late 11th century by Edward of Salisbury, Sheriff of Wiltshire. By about 1100 it had come into the possession of the Crown, and John the Marshal (died 1165) is recorded as the king's castellan.
Piers may have been present when in 1141 the Empress Maud took refuge in Ludgershall Castle as she fled from King Stephen's army.

Piers was a modest landowning family that had a tradition of service in mid-ranking posts under Henry II. His son Simon Fitz Peter was at various times High Sheriff of Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, and Bedfordshire. His other son, Geoffrey, too, got his start in this way, as High Sheriff of Northamptonshire for the last five years of Henry II's reign.

Geoffrey married Beatrice de Say, an heiress and the sister of Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st Earl of Essex. This connection with the Mandeville family was to prove important as Geoffrey eventually become the Earl of Essex.