I watched a show on Public Television called “Lucy Worsley investigates Bloody Mary” which the noted British historian reviewed the reign of England’s ruling 1st Queen Mary I. At one point, Lucy
I soon realized that tracing the castle through various ancestral families over several generations and hundreds of years was more of a daunting task than I thought. I am breaking up the ownership of the castle by the different families that resided there through the centuries. As most of my cousins are also descendants of these ancestors, I will include where we diverge from ownership at various times in history. Direct ancestors will be in bold type. The information on the history of the castle came from Wikipedia. My ancestors biuographies came from Royal Ancestry by Douglas Richardson, [2013] 5 vols.
Wiliam the
Conqueror
Ancestor of
my grandparents
Donald
Smith, Ethelyn Skinner, Harold Strout & Myrtle Multon
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I will begin with my ancestor, William the Conquer of England. William invaded England in 1066 and seized the crown to become King of England. After his conquest, William granted his Norman supporters titles and vast lands in England. Richard le Goz, Viscount of Avranches, a Norman noble (and my direct ancestor of my grandfather Donald Smith) provided 60 ships to William to sail his army to England. Richard is said to have married Emma de Conteville, a half-sister to William the Conqueror. He was father to Margaret le Goz (where my Smith ancestral line diverges). Richard le Goz died in 1082. His son Hugh d”Avranches, Earl of Chester (b. 1047) inherited estates and property of his father. Hugh was the half-nephew to William the Conqueror.
The Bigod
Family
Ancestors of
all four of my grandparents
In 1086, William the Conqueror granted 117 out of 629 manors in Suffolk County that his half-nephew Hugh, controlled to Roger le Bigod, who became the 1st Earl of Norfolk in 1074. Roger was born in 1047 and arrived with William during his conquest.
William’s brother, Hugh le Bigod, born in 1095, became the 3rd Earl of Norfolk as he inherited the family estates and titles. Between 1123-1154, Hugh le Bigod was one of a group of dissenting barons during the Anarchy in the reign of King Stephen (1135-1154). In 1148 is the first mention of a castle at Framlingham completed by Hugh le Bigod. In 1157, after coming to power King Henry II of England (reigned 1154-1189) attempted to re-establish royal influence across the region. As part of this effort, Henry confiscated the four Bigod castles from Hugh. During this time, the crown-controlled Framlingham Castle.
In 1165, King Henry II returned both Framlingham and Bungay Castles
to Hugh le Bigod, on payment of a large fine of £666. During the 1160s, the first set of stone
buildings, including the first hall, were built within the castle. In 1173, Hugh le Bigod joined the revolt by
King Henry II’s sons to overthrow him but failed. As punishment the King ordered several Bigod
castles, including Framlingham, to be destroyed or slighted (the deliberate act
of damaging high-status structures to reduce their value). The King's engineer,
Alnoth, destroyed the fortifications and filled the moat at Framlingham between
1174 and 1176 at a total cost of £16 11s 12d, although he probably shored up,
rather than destroyed, the internal stone buildings. It was one of at least twenty castles
belonging to the rebels to be slighted in the aftermath of the war.
In 1177, Hugh le Bigod died, his son, Roger le Bigod (born 1144), became 4th Earl of Norfolk, as his heir. Roger was out of favor with King Henry II, who initially denied him the family earldom and estates such as Framlingham because of his father’s support of his sons who sought to overthrow him. Between 1189-1213, Roger finally regained royal favor when King Richard I succeeded to the throne in 1189 to 1199. Roger then set about building a new castle on the Framlingham site – the work was conducted relatively quickly, and the castle was completed by 1213.
 |
| The plan for Framlingham Castle |
The new castle comprised the Inner
Court, defended with 13 mural towers: an adjacent Lower Court with smaller
stone walls and towers, and a larger Bailey with timber defenses. By this time, a castle-guard system
was in place at Framlingham, in which lands were granted to local lords in
return for their providing knights or soldiers to guard the castle. In 1199, King John I inherited the
throne from his brother, King Richard I.
During his reign, he lost most of his ancestral lands in France to King
Philip II. The money King John needed
was raised by taxing the nobles which Roger le Bigod opposed. In “The First Baron’s war” began between King John
I and rebel barons who opposed to his rule including Roger le Bigod in 1215. On 12 March 1216, King John’s army arrives
and surrounded the land of Roger. King
John arrived the next day. Messages were
sent on the 14th and Roger, knowing the outcome of other castles
being besieged, agreed to surrender without a fight and King John moved on to
other rebel nobles. On 19 October 1216,
King John died, and his son became King Henry III of England.
In 1221, Roger le Bigod died, and his estates and title
passed to his son, Hugh le Bigod (born 1182) and became the 5th
Earl of Norfolk. He is father of Isabel
le Bigod (b. 1211) and where my ancestral line ends with this family. In 1225, Hugh le Bigod died, and the castle
passed to his son, Roger.
 |
| Framlingham Castle, The Bigods main seat |
Roger le Bigod (b. 1209), was now the 6th Earl of
Norfolk. A large park, called The Great
Park, was created around the castle; this park is first noted in 1270, although
it may have been constructed somewhat earlier. The Great Park is enclosed
600 acres, stretching 1.9 miles to the north of the castle and was
characterized by possessing bank-and-ditch boundaries, common elsewhere in
England but very unusual in Suffolk. The park had a lodge built in it, which
later had a recreational garden built around it. Like other parks of the
period, the Great Park was not just used for hunting but was exploited for its
wider resources. In 1270, Roger le Bigod died without children and the
castle passed to his nephew, Roger le Bigod.
Roger le Bigod, (b. 1245), 7th Earl of Norfolk, was the son of Hugh le Bigod (b.1211-d.1266). In 1270, Roger undertook extensive renovations there whilst living in considerable luxury and style. Although still extremely wealthy, Roger was now having to borrow increasing sums from first the Jewish Community at Bungay, England. In 1272, King Henry III died and his son, King Edward I inherited the throne of England. King Edward I in 1290 issued an edict of the expulsion of the Jews and Italian merchants by the end of the century. Roger then became heavily in debt to King Edward I. As a result, Roger led the baronial opposition to Edward's request for additional taxes and support for his French Wars.
Roger is considered the hero of an disagreement between King Edward I and himself when the King commanded him to serve against the King of France in 1297. Roger asserted he was only compelled to serve over seas in the company of the King himself. Upon King Edward responded "By God, Earl, you shall either go or hang!" Roger replied "By the same oath, O King, I will neither go or hang."
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| King Edward I threatening Bigod to go to France |
Edward responded by seizing Roger's lands and only releasing them on the condition that Roger granted them to the Crown after his death. Roger agreed. In 1306, Roger le Bigod died without heirs and Framlingham Castle passed to the Crown of England. This ended the Bigod's family connection to the castle.
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