Roger de Poitou |
Roger de Poitou was born in Normandy around 1058. He was the third son of Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, who was a principal advisor to and also the cousin of William I, or William the Conqueror as he was more widely known.
After the Norman Conquest in 1066, William confiscated estates belonging to English landowners and allocated them to his followers as a way of keeping the rebellious locals under control. Lancashire in particular was thoroughly devastated by William who was enraged by rebellious Barons. In the Domesday Book of 1086 Amounderness is described as mainly waste ground and although attributed to Earl Tostig an entry at the end states ‘Roger de Poitou had them'.
There are contradictory dates as to when he was granted the land ranging from 1069 to 1075 and it is believed they were forfeited before 1086 possibly because he had given support to William’s rebellious other son Robert. His estates were reinstated shortly after 1087 after the death of William I by the King’s son and heir William II. At this time he held lands covering most of what is now Lancashire.Lancaster Castle
Lancaster Priory
St Chads Church
The first record of a Church at Poulton is in 1094 when Roger de Poitou bestowed it upon the new Priory at Lancaster. Although it is strongly believed though that a Church has stood on the site from Anglo-Saxon times.
In 1102 Roger de Poitou
was exiled and once more had all his English estates confiscated by the
crown after a failed rebellion against King Henry I who was the
surviving brother of William II, and son of William the Conqueror. He
returned to Normandy where he stayed until 1109 when he was allowed to return to England but he never regained his lost estates.