367 



&c., as ordered by William the Conqueror, " et mandat ut quantum possumus 

 curam habeamus castellis suis, ne, quod Deus avertat, inimicis suis tradantur." 



At the time of the Domesday Survey, Ralf de Totenie, said to have married 

 one of Roger's daughters, was in possession of the Castle. Then it went with 

 Margaret, Ealf's daughter, to Richard Fitz-Pontz in marriage. 



Simon Fitz-Walter, son of Richard Fitz-Pontz, founded the Priory of 

 Cluniac Monks at Clifford, and he and his brother Richard are said by Dugdale 

 to have adopted the surname of Clifford. 



It is related that " In the reign cf Henry II. Sir Ralph Baskerville, of 

 Aberedw, married a daughter of Lord Clifford, of Clifford Castle. A violent 

 quarrel respecting some property arose between the father and the son-in-law, of 

 which the former rudely and unjustly dispossessed the latter. 



" A challenge ensued, and they fought at a place near Hereford, where 

 afterwards a white cross was erected, which stood in Queen Elizabeth's time, and 

 then was pulled down by one Gernons. The event of this battle was fatal to Lord 

 Clifford, and Sir Ralf purchased from the Pope a pardon for killing his father-in- 

 law." 



Walter de Clifford, ancestor of the noble house of Clifford, son of Richard, 

 a powerful Marcher* Baron, was, as far as can be made out, the father of Fair 

 Rosamund. Walter, his son, was a man of still more power and influence ; he 

 married Margaret, daughter of Llewelyn, Prince of Wales, and was father of 

 another Walter, who died in 12G3, closing the male line. 



Maud, his heiress, married first her cousin, William de Long^ae-dp^e or 

 Longue-epe^ (Longsword) great-grandson of Fair Rosainond, who was killed in a 

 tournament at Blythe ; secondly, John Giflfard, of Brimsfield, who forcibly 

 carried her off, and obtained the King's permission to marry her. 



Giffard was a man of considerable parts. His possessions were large, he 

 being at his death, 27th Edward I., seized of Brunles Castle, the Manor of 

 Glasbury, and the Manor and Castle of Clifford. He opposed Simon de Montfort, 

 and assisted Prince Edward to escape from Hereford. He also, with the help of 

 Edmund Mortimer and Sir Ely Walwyn, defeated and killed Llewelyn, Prince of 

 Wales, near Builth. 



Maud's daughter Margery (by Longuep^e) married the Earl of Lincoln, 

 Henry de Lacy, and in the inquisition held upon de Lacy and his wife, 4th 

 Edward II., the Manor and Castle of Clifford are included. 



Afterwards, the Castle was granted by the Crown to the Mortimers, and 

 gave shelter to Richard II. and his uncle, John of Gaunt. From this time it 



*The Norman Knights who settled on the Welsh border acquired the name " Lords 

 Marchers." " Marchiones Wallia?"— the title Marquis was not introduced till Richard II. These 

 Lords Marchers, of whom were the Cliffords and other families in Hereford, had each a law for his 

 own Barony, and themselves determined all suits between their tenants. In case of a tenant 

 dying intestate his goods and chattels went to his Lord. This despotic power prompted the 

 " Marchers " to resist the Engli.sh laws and customs, and their territory w.as the constant scene of 

 anarchy and confusion ; so much so, that a Court of Judicature was instituted for their district 

 alone. This Court continued until the first William and Mary, when it was dissolved by Act of 

 Parliament, as being grievous to the subject. In the time of Henry VIII. the "Marches" were 

 united to England, and Clifford and other places, formerly a debatable land of bloodshed and 

 lawlessness, were joined to Herefordshire. 



