William Clinton (abt. 1304 - abt. 1354)

Born about 1304 in England

Ancestors

Husband of Juliana (Leybourne) Clinton — married before 17 Oct 1328 in England

Descendants

Died about 24 Aug 1354 at about age 50 in England

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Biography

Birth and Parents

William was the son of John de Clinton and Ida de Odingseles.^[1][2][3] His birth date and place are not known: Cokayne guesstimates that he may have been born in about 1304 on the grounds that his older brother John was born in 1303.^[3] According to Douglas Richardson, in 1311-2 he and John were squires in the household of the Queen of England:^[1][2] they would have on the young side for this if the birth dates are right, but not too young to be pages.

Marriage and Child

Before 17 October 1328 (when a Close Rolls entry refers to them as married^[4]) William married Juliana de Leybourbe, daughter of Thomas de Leybourne and Alice de Tony and widow of John de Hastings (2nd Lord Hastings) and Thomas le Blount. William and Juiana had no surviving children.^[1][2][5] Through his marriage William acquired a life interest in Juliane's extensive estates in Kent.^[6]

William had an illegitimate daughter, Elizabeth, who married John Fitzwilliam.^{[1][2][3][7][8][9]}

Life

William was knighted by 1324.^[3] In 1327 he was one of two knights appointed to escort Philippa of Hainault, who was to become Edward III's wife, and her father to the royal court.^[10]

In October 1330, when Edward III assumed full power as king, William was one of the knights who seized Roger de Mortimer, who had been acting as regent: William was pardoned for the killing of two knights who resisted.^[3] William was clearly very closely associated with the king at this point: the following year Edward III fought in a tournament under William's banner.^[6]

William was summoned to Parliament from 1330 to 1337, making him Lord Clinton.^[1][2] He was made Earl of Huntingdon on 10 March 1336/7^[1][2] and awarded 1000 marks in land to support his rank.^[6]

William fought in Scotland and France.^[1][2] In 1333 Parliament named William as one of those asked to advise on an invasion of Scotland, and William took part in the ensuing campaigns.^[6] In 1340 he fought in the naval battle of Sluys, commanding the ships supplied by the Cinque Ports.^[6] In 1346 he took part in the expedition which led to the Battle of Crécy but his involvement appears to have been naval so he probably did not take part in the battle itself.^[3] In 1347 he participated in the siege of Calais.^[6]

William also took part in diplomatic missions^[6] to Flanders,^[11] France,^[12][13] and Italy.^[3]

In 1337 William founded a priory at Maxstoke, Warwickshire.^[1][2]

In 1342 an investigation was ordered into complaints by William that Sir Warin Trussell and others had taken game from his park at Shelfhull (now spelt Shelfield), Warwickshire and badly injured his servants.^[14]

Among the many positions held by William were:

• 1311-2: in the household of Edward II's queen, Isabella^[1][2]
• 1327-48: Constable of Halton Castle, Cheshire, awarded for services to Richard II's queen Isabella,^[3][15] with the rank of knight banneret^[6]
• 1330-1343: Constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports^[3]
• 1330-3: Chief Justice of Cheshire^[1][2][3]
• from 1332: Justice of Kent^[3]
• 1332-7: a knight banneret of the royal household^[3]
• 1333: member of the Privy Council
• 1333-5 and 1341-2: Admiral of the the West^[1][2][3]
• late 1330s: member of the regency council appointed for England while Edward III was in France^[6]
• 1340: Admiral from the Thames to Portsmouth^[1][2]
• 1342: one of the Wardens of the Marches with Scotland - helped to negotiate a truce with Scotland^[1][2]
• 1343-5: Justice of the Royal Forests south of the River Trent^[1][2][6]
• 1352: one of the Wardens of Kent^[1][2]

Death

William died on 24 or 25 August 1354. He was buried at Maxstoke, Warwickshire,^[1][2] in accordance with his will, which was dated 23 August 1354.^[16] The earldom of Huntingdon became extinct at his death.^[6]

Inquisitions Post Mortem were held in 1354-5. They show him holding extensive properties in many counties. His brother John was found to be his heir.^[17]

His wife survived him, dying in 1367.^[1][2][5]

Research Notes

Daughter Elizabeth

The main evidence for William having a daughter Elizabeth comes from a number of Visitations. Cokayne expresses hesitation about whether she was William's daughter because she did not inherit his lands or become Countess of Huntingdon, but, as Cokayne recognises, this would be explained by illegitimacy.^[18][19]

It is just possible that the earldom of Huntingdon was created in tail male (that is, the title could pass only to male descendants) - if so, Elizabeth could conceivably have been a legitimate daughter by an unknown first wife.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16} Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), Vol. I, pp. 516-517, CLINTON 4.ii, Google Books
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol. II, pp. 261-262, CLINTON 9.ii
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12} G E Cokayne. Complete Peerage, Vol. VI, St Catherine Press, 1926, pp. 648-650, viewable on Familysearch
4. ↑ Calendar of the Close Rolls, Edward III, A.D. 1327-1330, HMSO, 1896, p. 326, Internet Archive
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} G E Cokayne. Complete Peerage, revised edition, Vol. VII, St Catherine Press, 1929, pp. 638-639, Internet Archive
6. ↑ ^{6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10} Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, entry by W M Ormrod for 'Clinton, William, earl of Huntingdon', print and online 2004, revised online 2018
7. ↑ Fitzwilliam pedigree in the 1612 Essex Visitation, in The Visitations of Essex, Part I, Harleian Society, 1878, p. 198, Internet Archive
8. ↑ H Sydney Grazebrook (ed.). The Visitation of Staffordshire 1583, Mitchell and Hughes, 1883, p. 76, Internet Archive
9. ↑ Visitations of the North, Vol. III, A Visitation of the North circa 1480-1500, Surtees Society, 1930, p. 74, Familysearch (image page 90)
10. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward III, A.D. 1327-1330, HMSO, 1891, p. 190, Internet Archive
11. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward III, A.D. 1334-1338, HMSO, 1895, p. 420, Hathi Trust
12. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward IV, A.D. 1330-1334, HMSO, 1893, pp. 532 and 534, Internet Archive
13. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward III, A.D. 1334-1338, p. 423, Hathi Trust
14. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward III, A.D. 1340-1343, HMSO, 1900, p. 588, Internet Archive
15. ↑ Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Edward III, A.D. 1327-1330, p. 170, Internet Archive
16. ↑ Nichols Harris Nicolas. Testamenta Vetusta, Vol. I, Nichols and Son, 1826, p. 55, Internet Archive
17. ↑ A. E. Stamp, E. Salisbury, E. G. Atkinson and J. J. O'Reilly, 'Inquisitions Post Mortem, Edward III, File 129', in Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem: Volume 10, Edward III (London, 1921), pp. 171-194, British History Online (entry 193), accessed 16 September 2022
18. ↑ G E Cokayne. Complete Peerage, Vol. III, St Catherine Press, 1913, p. 324, footnote b, Internet Archive
19. ↑ G E Cokayne. Complete Peerage, revised edition, Vol. V, St Catherine Press, 1926, p. 519 (in long footnote), Internet Archive

• Brydges, Egerton. Collins's Peerage of England, greatly augmented and continued to the present time, 1812, pp. 184-185, Internet Archive

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

This profile was developed for the Magna Carta Project by Michael Cayley on 16 September 2022 and was reviewed by Thiessen-117 18 September 2022.

William Clinton appears in trails badged by the Magna Carta Project from Magna Carta surety baron Robert FitzWalter to the following Gateway Ancestors:

• William Asfordby (MCA I:46-47 ASFORDBY): badged September 2022. See the trail HERE.
• Anne Skipwith: badged September 2022. See the trail HERE.

William Clinton also appears in unbadged trails from surety Robert FitzWalter to the following Gateway Ancestors:

• Richard Saltonstall (MCA III:484-488 SALTONSTALL): needs development. See the trail HERE.
• Skipwith Gateways (siblings Diana and Grey Skipwith: trails needs further development and can be seen HERE (see 3rd cousin, Anne, above).
• Margaret Toutville (MCA I:215-224 FITZ WILLIAM): not yet developed. See the trail HERE.

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".