William fils Maldred
was the father of WILLIAM MEDECALFE DE DENT, and thus also a forefather of David Walker's paternal grandmother, JANE METCALFE.
In literature and early documents William fils Maldred is described as Lord of Middelton (Tyas) and Carlton near Aldbrough St John in the Honour of Richmond and later also as Lord of Middleton and Dent in Lonsdale, after he married an offspring of the House DE TAILLEBOIS.
With regard to the term Lord, it is necessary though to distinguish between overlord and mesne lord. An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The highest overlord of all was the monarch, whose immediate tenants were the tenants-in-chief, usually military magnates who held the highest status in feudal society below the monarch. The tenants-in-chief usually held multiple manors or other estates from the monarch who owed their royal overlord an enhanced and onerous form of military service. Thus the tenants-in-chief subinfeudated most to tenants (mesne lords), generally their own knights or military followers, keeping only a few in demesne. The knights in turn subinfeudated to their own tenants, creating a further subsidiary mesne lord - tenant relationship. Over the centuries for any single estate the process was in practice repeated numerous times.
In the years immediatley following the Battle of Hastings, William the Conquerer dispossed the native English of their lands, which he then divided up between his French followers, whether they had been with him at Hastings or had arrived in England soon after. Middelton (Tyas) and Carlton near Aldbrough St John belonged to the lands of Alan Rufus and Lonsdale to Roger of Poitou after the Norman Conquest. Later it was united as one unit with the "Kentdale" area under the Barony of Kendal, when it came into the hands of Ivo DE TAILLEBOIS.
William fils Maldred was born in the first half of the 12th century. His family background is controversial, because the MEDECALFE DESCENT is weaved in the tight network of ancient Northumbrian families, who determined history of that time. However, the name addition fils Maldred indicates that he was a son of a man called Maldred.
So who was this William fils Maldred exactly?
First of all, it should be mentioned that many ancestry researchers and, last but not least, also the Metcalfe Society doubt that William fils Maldred was actually a son of Maldred, but rather think that he was a son of Dolfin, even if they do not agree on his origin.
This basic assumption seems to be due to the work of Sir William Dugdale, who obtained the office of Norroy King of Arms and undertook in this office heraldic visitations of the counties north of the Trent in the 17th century. Even if he has certainly made his recordings to the best of his knowledge, it does not mean that they are free of mistakes, especially as families have traced their family histories back partly over many generations and centuries and have sometimes tried on this occasion as well to decorate their familiy trees with names known in history. It was common in all generations, when a family knew that one was related to the one or the other family, but could not say anymore exactly how. Consequently it does not mean of course that there was no kindred between William fils Maldred and someone named Dolfin, but it remains rather questionable whether he instead of someone named Maldred was actually William's father.
>>> For instance, some believe that William fils Maldred was the son of Dolfin of Thoresby, who was a son of Gospatric fitz Arkil. But according to Early Yorkshire Families, a lost Cottonian Roll, which was compiled in the 15th century and printed by the antiquary Roger Gale (1672-1744) in the 18th century, states that Dolfin of Thoresby had only three sons: namely Torfin, Uctred and Swain who were ancestors of the Thoresby, Hebden and Staveley families. If this is true, William can not have been a son of Dolfin of Thoresby.
NOTE: The Cotton or Cottonian library is a collection of manuscripts once owned by Sir Robert Bruce Cotton MP (1571–1631), an antiquarian and bibliophile. It later became the basis of what is now the British Library, which still holds the collection.
>>> Others, on the other hand, believe that William fils Maldred was a son of Dolfin of Dolphenby and Langrigg. But even this assumption does not seem to be plausible, because Dolfin of Dolphenby and Langrigg can be identfied as Dolfin fitzAylward, who was married to Maud (or Mathilda), a daughter of GOSPATRIC OF ALLERDALE, EARL OF NORTHUMRIA. Their children are enumerated in Canon Wilson's Register of St. Bees: namely Walter, Prior of Carlisle, Orm, Gospatric, Ailward and Waldeve. A son called William is not mentioned.
>>> The Metcalfe Society has derived William fils Maldred from DOLFIN OF CARLISLE, LORD OF CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND, who was a decendant of both, the royal Scottish HOUSE OF ALPIN, and the royal English HOUSE OF WESSEX, but does not verify this father-son relationship with any historical documents though. The society suggests instead that William got confusingly called fils Maldred presumbly to honour his great-grandfather, MALDRED OF ALLERDALE, REGENT OF STRATHCLYDE. This hypothesis does not seem to be convincing though, but it is rather misleading, in particular because Dolfin of Carlisle was most likely expropriated by all his English possessions when he was expelled from Carlisle in 1092 and had no known connection to Middleton (Tyas) or other English lands any more. Latest from then on he, like his brothers, had his sphere of influence mainly in Scotland and the Scottish borderland, where he was one of the main border chieftains, “dangerous to the English king", and owed allegiances to the Scottish crown. Although it explains, why Dolfin does not turn up in King William's Domesday Survey of 1086, it, of course, does not disprove the hypothesis of the Metcalfe Society, but at least it is very unlikely that William fils Maldred was his son.
Concerning the work of the Metcalfe Society one must know that their research results are based mainly on the work of Reverend Thomas Metcalfe (1856-1937) and records of the Metcalfe family, formerly of Nappa in Wensleydale, collected and arranged by Walter C. Metcalfe & Gilbert Metcalfe, London 1891. However, also their results can only be regarded as reliable as as they had access to historical documents, partly hidden in private libraries and archives all over the country. Thus, documents that were not found or lost were also not included in their work. However, it is to be assumed that otherwise the family history of the Metcalfes, presented by them in their book, is generally correct.
However, if one looks at historical documents, concerning Middleton (Tyas), one quickly encounters a person who might be, and most likely is, identical with William fils Maldred, namely William son of MALDRED DE MIDDLETON, LORD OF RABY and JOAN DE STUTEVILLE, whose eldest son, Robert, became the progenitor of the Neville family and who is actually listed by the Metcalfe Society as one of William fils Maldred's brothers, too. In that case he would not be a son, but a grandson of a man named Dolfin, DOLFIN OF STAINDROP, Lord of Raby.
William fils Maldred was one of the younger sons of MALDRED DE MIDDLETON, LORD OF RABY and JOAN DE STUTEVILLE, born in the early 12th century.
He was married to a LADY out of the House DE TAILLEBOIS, who was
> either a daughter of RIBALD DE MIDDLEHAM and BEATRIX DE TAILLEBOIS
> or perhaps their granddaughter by their son, Ralph, who used occasionally the name Taillebois, and daughter-in-law, Agatha 'de BRUS'.
NOTE: About 1121 Ribald made a gift to St. Mary's, York, for the souls of his brother count Alan and his own wife Beatrice, with the consent of his son and heir Ralph Taillebois [EYC 5: no. 358]
Probably in the context of his marriage William fils Maldred received his lands at Middleton in Lonsdale as dowry.
Note: Middleton (Tyas), on the other hand, belonged to appendages of Staindrop and Staindropshire granted originally by the prior of Durham, 1131 to his grandfather, DOLFIN OF STAINDROP, Lord of Raby.
Being one of the younger sons of the Lord of Raby William fils Maldred had no prospect to his father's title and main lands. But he was still an eligible bachelor, because his descent was not denyable and would tie once more these influential Norman families and their kin to the offspring of the "old regents" pre-Conquest.
WILLIAM fils MALDRED had at least two sons:
(1) Thomas de Midelton
(2) William de Midelton, later known as WILLIAM MEDECALFE DE DENT
According to the Metcalfe Society WILLIAM fils MALDRED was a large landholder, whose holdings were concentrated in the area of Carlton near Raby in the Honour of Richmond, Deepdale and Dent in Lonsdale, where his family was activley engaged in farming and a very profitable breeding of sheep, cattle and horses.
In 1160 William moved the community of Cistercian monks from the Abbey of Charity in Abbotside, where they were being persecuted by some of the local inhabitants of Askrigg, to Jervaulx. Jervaulx Abbey was founded 1146 by the Cistercian monk, Peter Quintain, who got granted the land by Alan of Penthièvre of Brittany, 1st Earl of Richmond. These monks became the finest horse breeders in the north and Metcalfe archers or men-at-arms were exceptionally well mounted, a matter of consequence of their usefulness in the forces raised in feudal wars.
The Metcalfe Society refers in their book (2nd Edition, p. 28) to "a generous grant of land" William shall have made to Easby Abbey, at the Swale near Richmond most likely to establish additionally a strong ecclesiastical link.
This grant is recorded in the Easby Chartulary, 1168-1184: "Confirmation by William son of Meldred [de Middleton] to Easby Abbey of all the land which his father had given in the moor of Middleton [Tyas], where the canons' grange was, and of pasture for 100 sheep and other animals."
This charter is followed by a confirmation [1172-1181] of King Henry II, who confirmed to Easby Abbey all the gifts of churches, lands and other possessions made by different benefactors, among others William son of Meldred (de Middleton). On a later date also Thomas son of William de Midelton confirmed the gift "of the above land which had been given by Meldred his grandfather and confirmed by William his father". Besides there is also existing a confirmation by Richard son of Thomas de Midelton, grandson of William, son of Meldred.
According to the Early Yorkshire Charters William son of Maldred was due £10 to have his land restored in 1175, because "he had doubtless participated in the recent rebellion." However he was latest dead presumbly by 1184, when his eldest son, Thomas, paid 12d for wapentake fine.