March
CAMPDEN IN 1265
Sir Roger de Somery, Baron Dudley, was lord of the manor of Campden. He held the manor by right of his wife, Nichola, who was sole heiress of its previous holder, Earl Hugh d’Aubigny. Sir Roger had no male heirs, so on his death his four daughters would inherit – their status as heiresses was no doubt the reason that each had married well.
But it was not his lands nor his daughters’ inheritance that concerned him in 1265. England’s lords were divided – some supporting the king and others Earl Simon de Montfort. Which side should he choose? Like his father, King John, Henry III had been pressed to agree to demands from his nobles for rights and to heed the views of a council. Matters had simmered for years and in 1264 had descended into armed conflict. Earl Simon had defeated the royalist army at the battle of Lewes in 1264 and had taken prisoner both the king and Prince Edward. Now the prince had escaped and raised a royalist army. One of Simon’s strongest supporters, Earl Gilbert de Clare of Gloucester defected and joined Edward with all his men.
The two armies marched and on the night of 3rd August 1265 Simon and his troops were in Evesham. Simon woke the next morning in the Abbey to the news that Gilbert de Clare and his men were blocking the only bridge, which led to Bengeworth. Prince Edward and his army held the ground to the north. Simon and his army were trapped in the bend of the River Avon. Battle commenced, de Montfort was killed, Edward was victorious.
But the questions remains; was Sir Roger de Somery there and, if so, on whose side? CADHAS has as yet found no evidence – but it is thought very likely that at least at the crucial moment he was for the king. He continued to hold the manor until his death in 1273 and there is no indication or folk-tale of any trouble here.