1268 Richard Mountfitchet died before the Octave of St. Hilary, the date of his Inquisition Post Mortem which states, [1]
689. Richard de Munfichet.
Writ (missing). Extent, Sunday after the Octave of St. Hilary, 52 Hen. III. (defective).
He had 3 sisters, Margery, Avelina, and Philippa; from Margery issued Hugh de Bolebek, who had 4 daughters, married to Roger de Lacastre, Nicholas Corbet, Hugh de Laval, and Walter de Huntercumbe; from Avelina issued William de Fortibus, earl of Albemarle, whose heirs are under age and in the king's wardship; and from Philippa issued Richard de Playz; so that the said Richard's inheritance is to be divided into 3 parts, the first pertaining to the 4 daughters of Hugh de Bolebek, the second to the heirs of William de Portibus, and the third to Richard de Playz, who is 40 years of age.
[Essex.] Esthamme manor and advowson (extent given), tenure unspecified.
Westhamme (extent given), tenure unspecified.
c. Hen. III. File 36. (3.)
Research Notes:
Sanders states, [2]
Stansted Mountfitchet
Essex
Robert Gernon, Domesday lord of Stansted Mountfitchet, seems to have been living in 1118. His lands came to William de Mountfitchet d. 1135-56.[ftn. 1] Gilbert, s. and h., d. 1186-87 leaving Richard I d. 1204. Richard II, s. and h., came of age 1212-14 and d.s.p. 1267, when his heires were the descendants of his sisters Margery, Aveline, Philippa. [ftn. 2]
Margery, whose inheritance of one-third of the barony increased to one-half, m. Hugh I de Bolbec d. circa 1194. Her share of the barony remained with the lords of Styford, q.v. [ftn. 3]
Aveline, sho inherited one-third of the barony, d. 1239. She m. William de Forz d. 1241. This share of the barony was held by the lords of Burstwick, q.v., until 1274 when Aveline, granddaughter of Aveline d. 1239, died childless. Her heirs were Ralph de Playz, grandson of Philippa, and the coheiresses of the barony of Styford, q.v. [ftn. 4]
Philippa, whose inhertance of one-third of the barony increased to one-half, d. circa 1232. She m. Hugh I de Playz d. 1244. Hugh II, s. and h., was possibly living in 1252. Richard I, br. and h., d. 1269 leaving Ralph d.s.p. 1283 a minor. Giles I, br. and h., came of age circa 1290 and d. 1302. Richard II, s. and h., came of age in 1317 and d. 1327 leaving Giles II d.s.p. still a minor. [ftn. 5]
Footnotes:
1. V.C.H. Essex i, p. 516; Hist. Mon St. Peter, Clouc. ii, p. 173. William founded the abbey of Stratford, Essex, in 1135. In 1156 Gilbert his son is mentioned in the pipe roll (Monasticon), v, p. 587; Pipe Roll, 2 Hen. II, p. 18). The 1166 charter, which is mistakenly in WIlliam's name, records 47½ knights' fees in veteri and ½+1/5 de novo. The document also says pater meus deserviebat per xl milites. This is obvioulu a statement by Gilbert about the service recognized by his father William. Later scutage was charged on 47¼-47½ knights' fees (Red Book, pp. 349-51; Pipe Roll, 14 Hen. II), p. 38; idem, 2 2 Rich. I, p. 109, idem, 5 John, p. 134; idem 13 John, p. 123; Pipe Roll, E. 372/68, Essex; idem, E. 372/123, Essex). There is no evidence of a family link between the houses of Gernon and Mountfitchet
2. … Richard II was ward of Roger, constable of Chester and lord of Pontefract, who paid £1,000 for this privilege. A document with the seal of Richard II is in Hatton, Seals, no. 97.
3. Hugh de la Val, second husband of Maud de Bolbec, granted his lands in Stansted Mountfitchet to Robert Burnel (C.I.P.M. iii, nos. 64, 194; F.A. ii, p. 149).
4. M. Paris, Chron. Majora, iii, p. 624. The lands were divided in 1276 (C.C.R. 1272-9, pp. 420, 422). Aveline m. Edmund, Earl of Lancaster.
5. C.I.P.M. i, nos. 689, 711; idem, iv, no. 121; idem, vii, no. 49; idem, viii, no. 499; … Richard I was charged 50 m. relief for one-third of the barony …
The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography states, [3]
Montfichet, Richard de (b. after 1190, d. 1267), baron and forest administrator, was the eldest son of Richard de Montfichet (d. 1203), an important servant of Richard I, and his wife, Millicent. He was a descendant of William de Montfichet (d. before 1156), whose barony of Stansted Montfichet comprised nearly fifty knights' fees, and from whom he inherited a claim to the custody of the royal forests in Essex, forfeited by his grandfather Gilbert de Montfichet (d. 1186/7) … The younger Richard de Montfichet was about ten years old at the death of his father and was sold in wardship to Roger de Lacy, constable of Chester … In 1210 his wardship was resold to his mother … Montfichet had come of age by 1214 … he joined the rebel barons perhaps … perhaps also because of his close kinship to the baronial leaders Robert Fitzwalter and Richard, earl of Clare. His grandfather Gilbert had married Avelina de Lucy, Robert Fitzwalter's aunt, while William de Montfichet, the first baron, had been married to Margaret, daughter of Gilbert de Clare, first earl of Hertford (d. 1152).
On 21 June 1215, at the field of Runnymede, Montfichet was restored to custody of the forests of Essex once held by his ancestors. At the same time he was one of the twenty-five barons appointed to enforce the observance of Magna Carta, promising the service of thirty knights. …
Although Montfichet had been married at least twice, to Alice (fl. 1217), and later to a woman named Jousa or Joyce who outlived him, he left no issue, so that his estates were partitioned among the children and grandchildren of his three sisters. … Richard de Montfichet's coat of arms, or, three chevrons gules, a label of five points azure, derived from the Clare arms, is recorded by Matthew Paris and on Richard's seal.
[1] Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, Vol. 1, Henry III (London: HMSO, 1904), 217-218, [GoogleBooks], [HathiTrust].
[2] Ivor John Sanders, English Baronies: A Study of their Origin and Descent, 1086-1327, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1960), 83, [WorldCat].
[3] Nicholas Vincent, "Montfichet, Richard de (b. after 1190, d. 1267)," Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition), [Oxford_Dictionary_National_Biography], [OxfordDNB(UM)].