A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE
he took advantage of the anarchy to possess himself of 'a third part of the realm,'[1] the regions held for a time beneath his sway extending from sea to sea and forming a great triangle with Chester at its apex and Lincoln and Coventry at the extremities of its base.[2] We may briefly note the recorded facts which probably led to the honour passing out of Stephen's hands. In February, 1136, Stephen ceded Doncaster and Carlisle to Henry, son of David of Scotland, and David then restored to Stephen the strongholds and lands which he had seized. Three years later, by the treaty of Durham, Henry was recognized by Stephen as earl of Northumberland.[3] It is not improbable that David acquired the honour of Lancaster north of the Ribble by this treaty, as between 1141 and 1143 David issued charters confirming to the monks of Shrewsbury their possessions in Amounderness. Although the charters are addressed to his justices, barons, etc., of the whole honour of Lancaster,[4] it is most improbable that David was at this time in possession of the remainder of the honour. In 1141 the earl of Chester made claim to Carlisle and Cumberland as part of his rightful patrimony.[5] David however continued to hold Carlisle and some portion of the honour of Lancaster until May, 1149, when the treaty of Carlisle was arranged between David, young Henry of Anjou, and the earl of Chester, one of the conditions of which included the grant to the earl by David of 'Lancaster' north of the Ribble in exchange for the withdrawal of the earl's claim to Carlisle.[6] There is no evidence that David ever held any other part of the honour than that which lay to the north of the Ribble. None of his charters to Shrewsbury Abbey relate to that abbey's possessions between Ribble and Mersey, and the earl of Chester was clearly in possession of Lancashire south of the Ribble in 1147 when he confirmed to the monks of Shrewsbury all the possessions which they had received from Roger of Poitou and his sheriff.[7] The treaty at Carlisle in May, 1149, was aimed against Stephen, who had regained much of his lost position since 1146, and the earl's desire to again humble the king explains why he was willing to accept 'Lancaster' from David and sacrifice his cherished desire for Carlisle. But this triple alliance came to nothing, for within a few weeks of the meeting at Carlisle, Stephen, who had led his forces into Yorkshire to oppose the dangerous confederacy, won over the crafty earl by the grant of numerous castles and lordships in the Northern Midlands, including Tickhill and the honour of Blyth, the land between Ribble and Mersey, the land of Roger of Poitou from Northampton to Scotland, except the land of Roger de Montbegon in Lincolnshire, and the whole honour of Lancaster. On 27 July, 1149, about two months after the abortive treaty of Carlisle, and doubtless after the agreement made with Stephen, the earl at Lancaster confirmed to the priory of Lancaster all the possessions and liberties which they had received from Roger of Poitou.[8]
Again, in 1153 the honour was the subject of barter in the conflict between Stephen and Henry of Anjou, for just as in 1149 Stephen had won over the earl of Chester by vast concessions, so four years later, when Henry
- ↑ Gesia Stephani (Rolls Ser.), iii. 117.
- ↑ Round, Engl. Hist. Rev. x. 87, 91.
- ↑ Sym. of Durham (Rolls Ser.), ii. 287, 300.
- ↑ Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 274-5.
- ↑ John of Hexham (Twysden), 268.
- ↑ John of Hexham, Surtees Soc. vol. 44, p. 159.
- ↑ Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 277.
- ↑ Farrer, Lancs. Pipe R. 396. Amongst the witnesses were William FitzGilbert (de Lancaster), Richard the Butler, Michael le Flemyng, and Roger Gernet, all tenants of fees lying to the north of the Ribble.
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