A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE The family first had its origin as small landowners within the barony of Coup- land, where they probably received a grant of lands from William Meschin when the latter received this fief from Henry I.* Within this barony they held the vills of Muncaster," Hensingham, Preston, Lamplugh, and Work- ington, and within the barony of Westmorland a great part of the parishes of Barton and Morland,' where their lands, although lying within the limits of that barony, were actually members of the barony of Kendal, a fact pointing to the early date of the original feoffment of these lands.* In Yorkshire the greater part of the vills of Middleton and Kneeton were held by this family of the honour of Richmond at least as early as 1235,' and the wapentake of Ewcross with some half dozen manors or more was held of the barony of Mowbray from about the middle of the twelfth century, if not earlier.' Of the first recorded member of this family there is little to mention beyond the bare fact that his name was Gilbert and his wife's name Godith.^ To this the monkish chroniclers have added the fiction that he was the son of Ketel, son of Eldred, son of Ivo Taillebois,* whereas he was almost, if not quite contemporary with Ivo, by whom Gilbert or his predecessor was probably enfeoffed of those manors within the barony of Westmorland of which his descendants, the barons of Kendal, were chief lords.' The connexion which existed between the heirs of Ketel son of Eldred, namely the Curwens of Workington, and the Lancasters, of whom the former held several manors in Cumberland and Westmorland, was probably of tenure rather than of consanguinity. Intimately connected with this subject is a charter, of which an ancient transcript is preserved at Levens Hall, by which Roger de Mowbray grants to William, son of Gilbert de Lancaster, in fee and inheritance, ' all my land of Lonsdale, and of Kendal, and Horton in Ribblesdale,' to hold by the service of four knights.^" It would be interesting to discuss the question as to whether this charter represents an original grant or merely a confirmation of a much older infeudation, but this belongs to the history of Westmorland, and cannot with propriety be dealt with here. William son of Gilbert was the first to be enfeoffed of lands in Lancashire. This seems evident from the inquest of service taken in 1 2 1 2, where, in the enumeration of feoffments made by him,*^ he is described as ' Willelmus filius Gilberti, primus.' He is not always described as ' de Lancaster,' from which it may be inferred that he was the first of his line to be associated with the county and its lords. The monastic chronicle to which allusion has already been made tells us that he caused himself to be called ' de Lancaster ' by the king's licence, and to be styled before the king in Parliament (sic) ' William de Lancaster, baron of Kendal.' The same chronicle states that he married Gundreda, formerly countess of Warwick, whose husband, Roger de Newburgh, died in 1 1 53. She was the eldest daughter of William, second earl Warenne, 1 r. C. H. Cumb. i. 421. 2 Coucher efFumess, Chetham Soc. (New Ser.), ii. 125.
- Lanes. Fines, Rec. Soc. xxzix. 213-4.
- Hackthorpe and Melkanthorpe, in the parish of Lowther, and a great part of the parish of Morland,
were all members of the barony of Kendal, although by situation falling within the barony of Westmor- land. Nicholson and Bum, Hist, of Cumb. and Westmld. i. 441-53. ' Lanes. Fines, Rec. Soc. xzxiz. 61 ; Kirkby's S^uest, Surtces Soc. xlii. 170. « Farrer, Lanes. Pipe R. 389. 7 Farrer, Lanes. Pipe R. 392.
- Mon. jfng/. iii. 553 ; Cockersand Chartul. Chetham Soc. (New Ser.), xixix. 305.
' Gilbert fitz Reinfred and Helewise his wife confirmed some of Ivo's grants to the abbey of St. Mar)', York. Mon. Angl. iii. 566 ; Prescott, Reg. of Wetherhal, 338. 10 Reg. of Deeds at Levens Hall, i. 79 ; Lanes. Pipe R. 389. U Exch. K.R. Kts. fees, J, m. la. 358
