Baron FitzWarin

Arms of FitzWarin: Quarterly per fess indented argent and gules, as given for Fulk V FitzWarin in the St George's Roll, 1285^[1]

Differenced arms of Wiliam FitzWarin, per the Gelre Armorial, c. 1370 – 1414: Quarterly per fess indented ermine and gules

Baron FitzWarin (alias FitzWaryn, FitzWarine, FitzWarren, etc.) is an abeyant title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Writ of summons for Fulk V FitzWarin in 1295. His family had been magnates for nearly a century, at least since his grandfather Fulk III FitzWarin had recovered Whittington Castle in 1205. This castle near Oswestry was their main residence and the seat of a marcher lordship. It was regarded as situated in the county of Shropshire since 1536 and also in the Domesday Book of 1086, but for much of the intervening period was regarded as part of Wales.

All the male heirs were given the first name Fulk, and the barony with the castle and lordship of Whittington descended from father to son until the death of the 7th Baron in 1420. It then passed to Elizabeth FitzWarin and into the Bourchier family. The 11th Baron FitzWarin was created Earl of Bath in 1536. The barony has been abeyant since the death of Edward Bourchier, 4th Earl of Bath, 14th Baron FitzWarin, in 1636.

Predecessors of barons

• Fulk I FitzWarin (d.1170/1), a supporter of King Henry II (1154–1189), of Whittington in Shropshire and Alveston in Gloucestershire, son of the "shadowy or mythical" Warin of Metz, Lorraine.^[2]
• Fulk II FitzWarin (fl.1194), married Hawise de Dinan, daughter and co-heiress of Joceas de Dinan.^[3] His younger son was William FitzWarin who on being granted the Devon manor of Brightley for his seat, adopted the surname "de Brightley".^[4]
• Fulk III FitzWarin (died 1258), obtained Whittington Castle in 1204, and was the subject of the famous legend^[5] Romance of Fouke le Fitz Waryn
• Sir Fulk IV FitzWarin (d.1264), drowned in the River Ouse while fleeing from the Battle of Lewes in 1264.^[6]

Barons FitzWarin (1295)

• Fulk FitzWarin, 1st Baron FitzWarin (1251–1315), summoned to Parliament as Lord Fitzwarine 23 June 1295.
• Fulk FitzWarin, 2nd Baron FitzWarin (c.1285–1337), son
• Fulk FitzWarin, 3rd Baron FitzWarin (c.1315–1349), son
• Fulk FitzWarin, 4th Baron FitzWarin (1340–1374), son
• Fulk FitzWarin, 5th Baron FitzWarin (1362–1391), son
• Fulk FitzWarin, 6th Baron FitzWarin (1389–1407), son
• Fulk FitzWarin, 7th Baron FitzWarin (1406–1420), son
• Elizabeth FitzWarin, 8th Baroness FitzWarin (c.1404–c.1427), sister, married Richard Hankford (c. 1397 – 1431), son and heir of Richard I Hankford (dvp 1419), MP, son of Sir William Hankford (c.1350 – 1423),^[7] of Annery, Devon, Chief Justice of the King's Bench. Upon her death the barony must have been in abeyance between her daughters Thomasine Hankford (1423–1453) and Elizabeth Hankford (c. 1424 – 1433) until the death of the latter in 1433.
• Thomasine Hankeford, 9th Baroness FitzWarin (1423–1453), married Sir William Bourchier (1407–1470), 2nd son of William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu (1386–1420). He was summoned to Parliament as Lord FitzWarin in her right and is thus deemed:^[8]
  • William Bourchier, 9th Baron FitzWarin jure uxoris
• Fulk Bourchier, 10th Baron FitzWarin (1445–1479)
• John Bourchier, 11th Baron FitzWarin (1470–1539) created Earl of Bath in 1536
• John Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Bath (1499–1561), 12th Baron FitzWarin
• William Bourchier, 3rd Earl of Bath (bef. 1557–1623), 13th Baron FitzWarin
• Edward Bourchier, 4th Earl of Bath (baptised 1 March 1590 – 31 March 1636), 14th Baron FitzWarin, upon whose death the barony fell into abeyance between his daughters Anne, Elizabeth and Dorothy, whereas the earldom of Bath and its subsidiaries went to a male heir, the 5th Earl and, on his death in 1654, became extinct.

Barons FitzWarin (1342)

• William FitzWarin, 1st Baron FitzWarin (c. 1311 – 1361) 'le Frere' (brother of 3rd Baron from 1295 creation)
• Ivo FitzWarin, 2nd Baron FitzWarin (1343–1414), son, upon whose death in 1414 the barony is deemed to have become abeyant.

See also

• Whittington Castle

References

1. briantimms.com, St George's Roll, part 1, no. E69
2. GEC Complete Peerage, vol. V, pp495-512, Baron FitzWarin, p.495, note c
3. GEC Complete Peerage, vol. V, pp495-512, Baron FitzWarin, p.495, note c
4. Pole, Sir William (d.1635), Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon, Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791, pp.420-1
5. GEC Complete Peerage, vol. V, pp495-512, Baron FitzWarin, p.495, note c
6. GEC Complete Peerage, vol. V, pp495-512, Baron FitzWarin, p.495
7. GEC Complete Peerage, vol. V, pp495-512, Baron FitzWarin, pp.504-5
8. GEC Complete Peerage, vol. V, pp497-8, Baron FitzWarin, pp.504-5

• P. Brown, P. King, and P. Remfrey, 'Whittington Castle: The marcher fortress of the Fitz Warin family', Shropshire Archaeology and History LXXIX (2004), 106–127.
• thepeerage.com
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages (but not wholly satisfactory)

Note: some older accounts of the family were written before it was known that a Fulk died in 1336, and accordingly miss out a generation.