MORTIMER
,
ROGER de
(
1256?
-
1326
),
lord of Chirk
;
third son of
Roger de Mortimer
,
sixth baron of Wigmore
(
see preceding article
), and
Matilda
, daughter of
William de
Braose
. His first connection with
Chirkland
came in
1282
, when he was granted the lands of
Llywelyn Fychan
(q.v.)
, comprising the area around
Chirk
, the practical effect of the grant being to set up in his favour a
new marcher lordship
of
Chirk
. He was called upon to play a conspicuous part in the attempts to suppress the rebellion of
Rhys ap Maredudd
(q.v. in App.),
lord of Ystrad Tywi
,
1287-8
. In
July 1287
he was requested to provide 400 footmen, and in
Nov. 1287 and 1288
was again directed to take various measures against the rebellious lord. Towards the end of
Edward
I
's reign he incurred the
king
's displeasure and fell into disfavour for a while. The accession of
Edward
II
, however, witnessed a return to favour, characterised by territorial grants and elevation to high official status. In
Feb. 1309/10
the castles of
Blaenllyfni
and
Bwlch-y-ddinas
in
Brecknock
were conferred upon him during the
king
's pleasure, and, in
Nov. 1310
, for life. On
15 Jan. 1307/8
he was appointed
justice of the whole of Wales
during the king's pleasure, a position which he seems to have held until
19 Feb. 1314/5
, when he was succeeded by
John de
Gray
in
North Wales
, and
William
Martyn
in
West and South Wales
. On
23 Nov. 1316
, however, he was regranted
the office of
justice of North Wales
during the king's pleasure, and on
7 Oct.
of the following year he became
justice of North and South Wales
for life. During this period he also held intermittently, the office of
justice of the diocese of S. Davids
, on most occasions in his own hands, but once in conjunction with
Robert de
Malleye
.
Between 1307 and 1320
his own strength, allied to that of his nephew
Roger
of
Wigmore
, made the family one of the strongest in the country. In
1321
, uncle and nephew sided with the
earl of Hereford
in his quarrel with
Hugh le
Despenser
concerning the acquisitions of
Gower
. They conducted a victorious campaign in
South Wales
but, taking up arms against the
king
, were defeated at
Shrewsbury
,
22 Jan. 1321/2
.
Roger
of
Chirk
had been deprived of his office of
justice of Wales
5 Jan. 1321/2
, and he was now confined to the
Tower of London
where he d.
Aug. 1326
.
Bibliography:
-
Calendar of Patent Rolls
. Record
Publication, 1891 ff
;
-
. Record
Publication
;
-
Calendar of Chancery RollsWelsh Rolls
—(ii) . Record Publication,
1912
;
-
Rotuli Parliamentorum
. Record
Publication, 1771–1832
;
-
G. P. Jones
,
Extent of Chirkland (1391-1393) [attributed
to Robert Eggerley]
, Liverpool, 1933
;
-
Oxford Dictionary of National
Biography
;
-
The Complete Peerage
, 1910–40
;
-
M. Mahler
,
A History of Chirk Castle and Chirkland with
a chapter on Offa's Dyke
, London, 1912
;
-
Transactions of the Royal Historical
Society
, 1875 ff
,
1915
;
-
W. H. Waters
,
Edwardian Settlement of N. Wales in its
Administrative and Legal Aspects (1284-1343)
, Cardiff,
1935
;
-
J. E. Morris
,
The Welsh Wars of Edward I a contribution to
mediaeval military history, based on original
documents
, Oxford, 1901
;
-
T. F. Tout
,
The place of the reign of Edward II in
English history ; Based upon the ford lectures delivered in
the University of Oxford in 1913
, Manchester,
1914
;
-
B. P. Evans
, ‘The Mortimer Family’ (Ph.D. thesis, University of Wales, in N.L.W.).
Author:
Griffith Milwyn Griffiths, M.A., Aberystwyth
