14 May 2026 Bristol England
Today was all about Bristol, England. I had three main locations within Bristol that I wanted to check out, unfortunately, I came up a little short on my goal. The three I did see was Bristol Castle, Bristol Cathedral, and The Lord Mayor's Chapel, which housed the Gaunt Chapel, burial place to Sir Thomas (Ap Dafydd) Mathew. More on this strikeout later.
Bristol Castle was a Norman castle established in the late 11th century on the north bank of the River Avon in Bristol. Remains can be seen today in Castle Park near the Broadmead Shopping Centre, including the sally port. There isn't much that I would call remains, as the castle was virtually destroyed and torn down by Oliver Cromwell in 1656 during the English Civil War. Mr. Cromwell had a habit of doing that to many English Castles in England during the Civil War, which is a real shame, since many beautiful works of architecture were lost to us.
Three of my ancestors met their death at Bristol Castle back when it was worthy of the name. My first ancestor who died there was Robert FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Gloucester. If you have ever seen the miniseries or read the Ken Follett book, "The Pillars of the Earth" you will have known him as being portrayed by Donald Sutherland. He died during the time of the Anarchy (1138-1153). Robert was the illegitimate child of King Henry I, and half sibling to Henry's legitimate daughter Empress Matilda, who become the mother to Henry II. When King Stephen died in 1153, he made Henry II his heir, since he did not have any, and order was restored to the English Monarchy. Robert of Gloucester died in 1147 at Bristol Castle,
where he had previously imprisoned King Stephen, and was buried at St
James' Priory, Bristol, which he had founded in 1129.
The Second was Hugh "The Elder" Le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester, in 1326. Despenser was the son of Hugh le
Despenser (1223–1265), briefly Justiciar of England) and Aline
Basset, only daughter and heiress of Philip Basset. His father was killed
at the Battle of Evesham (I am visiting this Battlefield on 16 May 2026) when Hugh was a boy, but Hugh's patrimony
was saved through the influence of his maternal grandfather, who had been loyal
to the king.
Despenser served Edward I on numerous occasions
both in battle and as a diplomat, and was created a baron by writ of summons to
Parliament in 1295. His son, Hugh Despenser the Younger, became a favorite
of Edward II, in what was rumored to be a homosexual relationship. Hugh
the Elder was loyal to his son and the King, which worried the barons. Until
that time, the highest office he had held was justice of the forests.
He was one of the few barons to remain loyal to Edward
during the controversy regarding Piers Gaveston (remember the guy Longshanks threw from the Tower while discussing Military Strategy with in Braveheart?). Despenser became Edward's
loyal servant and chief administrator after Gaveston was executed in 1312, but
the jealousy of other barons—and, more importantly, his own corruption and
unjust behavior—led to his being exiled along with his son in 1321, when Edmund
of Woodstock, Earl of Kent replaced him as Lord Warden of the Cinque
Ports.
Edward found it difficult to manage without them, and
recalled them to England a year later, an action which enraged Queen
Isabella, the more so when Despenser was created Earl of
Winchester in 1322. Although his reputation was not as unsavory as his
son's, Despenser the Elder was accused by a significant number of people of
widespread criminality during the next few years, often involving false
accusations of trespass or theft and the extortion of money or land.
When Isabella, Queen of England, and Sir Roger
Mortimer led a rebellion against her husband Edward, they
captured both Despensers—first the elder, later the younger. Following Hugh the
Elder's capture at the Siege of Bristol, Isabella interceded for him, but
his enemies, notably Mortimer and Henry, Earl of Lancaster, insisted that
both father and son should face trial and execution.
One day after being captured, the elder Despenser was hanged
in his armor at Bristol on 27 October 1326. He was then beheaded,
after which his body was cut into pieces and fed to dogs. His head was sent to
be displayed in Winchester, which had supported the king. Despenser's
Winchester title was forfeit, not to be revived until 1472. The younger
Despenser was hanged, drawn and quartered at Hereford the
following month.
Thirdly was Sir Henry De Grene (Green) of Drayton. Sir Henry died at Bristol Castle at the age of 47, although I can't find much regarding his life and legacy.
The pictures listed below are all that is left of Bristol Castle:
Nothing like having a Green Trash Can where you were executed, huh?
The next stop was Bristol Cathedral. Founded in 1140 and dedicated to St. Augustine, this was one of the few Cathedrals that wasn't destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
Nine of my ancestors are associated with Bristol Cathedral, 4 of which are Berkeleys. The Berkeleys also have a chapel within Bristol Cathedral for silent meditation and contemplation.
Sir Thomas Berkeley, 4th Earl of Gloucester, and most of the Berkeley family, have a castle just North of Bristol, called, shockingly, Berkeley Castle. I'll be visiting it on Sunday, but it has an infamous rumor about King Edward II, and what happened to him there. The Berkeley family is an old English noble
family. It is one of few families in Britain that can trace its patrilineal
descent back to a pre-Norman era Anglo-Saxon ancestor. The Berkeley
family retains possession of much of the lands it held from the 11th and 12th
centuries, centered on Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, which
still belongs to the family.
Sir Thomas de Berkeley, who died in 1243, is pictured below. It is important to clarify the death year when talking about the Berkeleys. For a while, the Berkeleys named their heirs the same first name as their Father. so there are a lot of Maurice and Thomas Berkeleys in the family. Sir Maurice, the other one buried in Bristol Cathedral, died in 1326, was a Great-Grandson of the aforementioned Thomas Berkeley. Many other English noble families also did this, making it somewhat confusing at times when researching them.
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Other ancestors supposedly buried in Bristol Cathedral include: Joan de Somery 1276, Maurice FitzRobert 1190, and Alice de Berkeley 1200. They must be resting peacefully, because I never saw them.
The last place I was going to visit was St Mark's Church in Bristol. Inside that Church is the Gaunt Chapel, housing the remains of one of my Welsh ancestors, Thomas ap Dafydd Mathew. I am still a bit confused by Welsh surnames and the language, but ap Dafydd really means son of David (If I am wrong, someone correct me). Anyway, it was a moot point. The first church named St Mark's in Bristol had been turned into a bunch of apartments, but I found out that there was another one, whose name had been changed to the Lord Mayors Chapel right across the street from Bristol Cathedral. I tried to visit it after visiting the Cathedral, but it was locked up tight, so there was no way to see if this was the correct one or not. Oh well, that was about enough fun for the day. Tomorrow will be a visit to Gloucester, and the final resting place of an English King I am related to.
Here's some final pictures of Bristol Cathedral.
