1178 Richard de Lucy "founded a house of Augustinian canons on his land at Lessness, or Westwood, in Kent, not far from Ongar. The foundation was dedicated to the Virgin and St Thomas of Canterbury—the latter an unexpected dedication, in the light of Lucy's difficult relations with the archbishop. He retired from the justiciarship in 1178 or 1179, and entered this house as a canon." [1]
1179 Richard de Lucy "died at Lessness on 14 July 1179, and was buried in the abbey there." [2]
Research Notes:
The Oxford DNB (2004) states, [3]
Lucy, Richard de (d. 1179), soldier and administrator, was born early in the twelfth century, of a family with lands in both Normandy and England. His mother, Aveline, is mentioned in association with the young Richard in several records; his father's name is unknown. The family originated in Normandy, at Lucé, near Domfront; Richard's brother Walter, later abbot of Battle in Sussex, was at first a monk at Lonlay-l'Abbaye, near Lucé. Other brothers were Robert and possibly Herbert. Richard married a woman named Roysia, whose origins are unknown, and they had sons named Geoffrey and Godfrey, and daughters Matilda, Aveline, and Alice who married Odinel de Umfraville (d. 1182)
Douglas Richardson states, [4]
For evidence that Rohese, wife of Sr. Richard de Lucy, was the sister of Pharamus (or Faramus) of Boulogne, see Cheney and John, English Episc Ada III: Canterbury 1193-1205 (1986):201-202 (charter of Sr Richard de Lucy's son, Godfrey de Lucy, Bishop of Winchester, dated 1198-1204 which names Pharamus of Boulogne as Godfrey's "uncle" [avuncuolo]). Pharamus of Boulogne was near "kinsman" [nepos] of Queen Maud of Boulogne, wife of King Stephen of England [see Arnold symeonis Monachi Opera Omnia 2 (Rolls Ser.) (1885):310]. For Pharamus of Boulogne's descent from the Counts of Boulogne, see Tanner Families, Friends, & Allies: Boulogne & Politics in Northern France & England (2004):291 (chart).
A biography of Richard de Lucy was published in the Dictionary of National Biography, 1893. [5]
[1] Emilie Amt, "Lucy, Richard de (d. 1179)," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004), [Oxford_Dictionary_National_Biography], [OxfordDNB(UM)].
[2] Emilie Amt, "Lucy, Richard de (d. 1179)," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004), [Oxford_Dictionary_National_Biography], [OxfordDNB(UM)].
[3] Emilie Amt, "Lucy, Richard de (d. 1179)," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004), [Oxford_Dictionary_National_Biography], [OxfordDNB(UM)].
[4] Douglas Richardson and Kimball G. Everingham, Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 2nd editon, 4 vols. (Douglas Richardson, 2011), 1:69, [GoogleBooks].
[5] Sidney Lee, ed., Dictionary of National Biography, Llwyd-MacCartney, Vol. 34 (London: Smith Elder & Co, 1893), 246, [HathiTrust].