BARONS HAYE-DU-PUITS.

When occupying Normandy, between 920 and 930, powerful families built a series
of mottes circulaires, circular wooden forts. These were places of original
abode, held before families moved to other estates. Some of these mottes
circulaires were at Barneville-la-Bertran, held by the Briquebec family of
Heriolfr Turstain, La Haye-du-Puits, and Varenquebec, from where, according to
Sir Francis Palgrave, the Harcourt family originated. These families were
obviously closely connected by kinship; connections confirmed by future
alliances: Hrolf's son was Ansfrid I.; his sons were Osmund de Gois and Ansfrid
II. de Gois, father of Wymond de Gois and Toustain de Gois; father of Richard,
Vicomte d'Avranches, who married married Emma de Conteville, the Conqueror's
half-sister. There is some speculation that Osmund de Gois was synonomous with
Osmond de Conteville, Viscomte de Vernon [Collectanea Archæologica, p. 283,
1862; cit. Recherches sur la Domesday]. This Osmond may have been the father of
Herluin de Conteville, often given as the son of the totally obscure Jean de
Conteville. Certainly, par Prevost, Osmond de Conteville married a niece of the
Duchess Gonnor, and their daughter married Baldwin FitzGilbert de Brionne;
their daughter marrying a nephew of Richard, Vicomte d'Avranches [see anon]; a
typical example of marriage within the same elitist kinship network. Such a
scenario would explain the marriage of Richard d'Avranches to and his close
kinswoman, Emma de Conteville. We know that Arletta, the mother of the
Conqueror, married secondly Herluin de Conteville, by whom she had issue Odo,
Bishop of Bayeux, Robert, Comte de Mortain, married to Maud de Montgomery, and
the said Emma de Conteville.

Wymond de Gois d'Avranches, the uncle of Richard d'Avranches, lord of Creully,

was the father of William d'Avranches, Lord of Okehampton, stated to be a
cousin of Richard d'Avranches by Orderic Vitalis, who married Emma FitzGilbert
de Brionne, daughter of Baldwin FitzGilbert de Brionne de Meules and Albreda le
Gois d'Avranches, daughter of the above mentioned Osmond de Conteville. [Emma's
brother was Richard FitzBaldwin de Redvers, who married Adelise de Peverel].
Their children were: 1. Lesceline d'Avranches, who married William Paynel, lord
of Moutiers, near Lisieux. Their son Raoul Paynel, Sheriff of Yorkshire, was a
man of Ilbert de Lacey, and held Fresne, near Sourdreval, under Richard de
Sourdeval, of the Count of Mortain. 2. Robert d' Avranches, who married,
firstly, a daughter of Gelduin de Dol, and, secondly, Maud de Monville,
daughter of William d'Arques and Beatrix Malet, daughter of of William Malet
and Hesilia Crispin. By the lady of Dol, Robert d'Avranches was the father of
Maude d'Avranches, who married William de Courci. By Maud de Monville, Richard
was the father of William d'Avranches, who held of William d'Arques in Kent. By
either lady, Richard was the father of Denise d'Avranches, who married
Hasculphe de Subligny, who held under the Count of Mortain. Subligny is near
Saint-Jean-le-Thomas, from where the family of St. John originated. The
families of St. John, de la Haye, and Paynel were three of a dozen or so ruling
families, mostly related to him, that William the Conqueror empowered to govern
England [John Le Patourel, Michael Jones, Fedal Empires, p. 28, 1984]. It would
seem to reasonably follow that the St. Johns shared some common ancestry with
the family of de la Haye, as evidenced by the marriage of Cecily de la Haye and
Roger St. John; another example of marriage within the same elitist kinship
network. Shared ancestry is suggested in the following text: 'Ce Guillaume
avait épousé Olive, fille de Raoul de Fougères, n.b. origine Bretagne, [who
lived] près d'Orval, dans le château d'un la Haie. [Aureavalle par Orville, nom
qui appartient au diocèse de Lisieux]. Il en eut un fils, Thomas de Saint-Jean,
qui posséda en Angleterre des biens dont le chef-lieu était à Stanton Saint-
John dans le comté d'Oxford. Il eut deux fils, Roger et Thomas. Roger de Saint-
Jean épousa Cecile, fille et héritière de Robert de la Haie' [MSAN, pp. 95-6,
1828]. These families witnessed acts of Lessay: 'Nous avons vu ces trois
familles, de la Haie, Saint-Jean et Orval, figurer ensemble dans un acte
confirmatif de la fondation de Lessay [ibid.].

DA LA HAYE: 1. Robert de la Haye m. Muriel of Lincoln. 2. Cecily de la Haye m.

Roger St. John. 3. Muriel St. John m. Reginald d'Orval. 4. Mabel de Orval m.
Adam de Porte.* 5. William de Porte** alias St. John m. Godchelda de Paynel
[Mon. Ang. i., pp. 594-596]. *He was closely connected to the family of Braose:
Adam de Porte married, firstly, Sybilla de Newmarche, daughter of Bernard de
Newmarche, and relict of Milo, Earl of Hereford. By this wife, he was the
father of Bertha de Newmarche, who married William de Braose II., as shown in a
charter charter of Sele [Mon. i. 589]. His second wife was Maud d'Orval, as
stated, and his third wife was a sister of the same William de Braose [Gesta
regis Henrici Secundi Benedicti abbatis]. The family of Porte witnessed
charters of the Fraxineto family, see anon, who were also closely connected to
the family of Braose: Osborn de Crepon, married Emma, daughter of Rodulf, Count
of Ivry, half-brother of Duke Richard. The son of Rodulf was Hugh, Bishop of
Bayeux. His daughter was Gunnora d'Ivry. She was the mother of William de
Braose I. [Depoin, Cart. St. Martin]. On taking the veil, she gifted lands to
Sanct. Trin., with the permission of Hugh "Pincerna" d'Ivry, fl. 1066/7, who
was obviously a close relative. Hugh "Pincerna" d'Ivry came from Ivry-la-
Bataille, Evreux, canton Saint-Andre. This was also the domain of Odo Radulphus
de Fraxineto. Whatever the relationship between the families of Braose and
Fraxineto, it was evidently a very close and familial one. Odo Radulphus de
Fraxineto witnessed numerous Braose charters, often as principal witness. He
witnessed a charter of William II. de Braose, most probably his nephew, as
'Radulphus de St. Andre' [Cart. Blanc, f. xix.]. This clearly identifies him
with the family of Fresnay [Fraxineto par Le Prevost] of canton St. Andre, near
Briouze, arr. Evreux. Other charters determine his origin; Cart. Sanct.
Vincentii - he made a gift for the souls of his father and ancestors 'whether
in Normandie or Maine.' Odo Rufus de Fraxineto also went under the name Odo
Rufus de Fraxinivilla, who also held in Fresne-Camilly, canton Creully. Odo was
a possible ancestor of the Freigne family of Kilkenny: 'The Freigne family
originally came from Fresnay near Briouze. The first time Fulk de Freigne is
mentioned in the Ormond Deeds, c. 1305, is as a witness to a grant of Richard
de Fraxineto' [Fr. John Clyn,The Annals of Ireland, p'58, 2007]. ** His
donations to Boxgrove were witnessed by Geoffrey de Peverel.

RICHARD TURSTIN: He was also known as Halduc ou Haldup. He founded Lessay:

'L'abbaye de Lessay est fondée en 1056 (ou 1064) par Richard Turstin Haldup et
sa femme Anna [Charte de fondation [Arch. dép. Manche, H 4601]. Their son,
Raoul de la Haye, alias Radulph or Ranulph ['Radus de Haia 2 mil. et dim. de
honore de Plessis, et 1 mil. de honore de Mort. de feodo de Criensiis, et ad
servit. suum 6 mil. et dim. in Constant' - RBE], sénéchal du comte de Mortain,
married Olive de Rye, daughter of Hubert de Rie and Agnes de Tosni. 'Agnes de
Toteneio' confirmed the gift of her mother and father of a bovate of land in
'Asclakheby' to Belvoir priory [Mon. Angl. III: 290, Num. VII., 3]. As Agnes de
Beaupre, she gave the church and manor of Aldeby to the monks of Norwich
[William Page, ed., "Victoria County History of Norfolk, Vol. II, p. 328,
1906].'Hubert de Ria assigned the tithe of his estates at Hockering, Swanton,
Deopham, Buxton and Markshall, and Agnes de Bellofago, his wife, gave the
church and manor of Aldeby' [Dodwell, Charters of Norwich Cathedral Priory,
vol. i, no. xx.]. She had married, firstly, Ralph de Beaufou. Her father was
'Robertus de Belvedeir', founder of Belvoir priory with his wife, ca. 1085
[Mon. Angl. III: 288-9, vol. i., no. iii.]. Her mother was Adelaise [K.S.B.
Keats-Rohan, 'Belvoir: The Heirs of Robert and Berengar de Tosny,' Prosopon,
no. xix., July 1998]. Agnes had two sisters: Alberada (<1129), m. Robert de
Insula, and Adeliza (>1135), m. Roger le Bigod, who possessed Framlingham as a
result [Regesta, ii, no. 1495; Rutland MSS, iv, p. 144].

Raoul de la Haye and Olive de Rie were the parents of Robert, baron de la Haye-
du-Puits [Éric Van Torhoudt, L’écrit et la justice au Mont Saint-Michel: les
notices narratives, vers 1060-1150, 2007], who married Muriel de Lincoln. Their
son was Richard, baron de la Haye-du-Puits et de Varenquebec. The barony was to
later pass to the descendant of the Crispin family of Neaufles, direct
decendants of Herolfr Turstain. Richard Turstin: Baron de La Haye du Puits et
le Plessis [Fresne] et Appeville: A clue to his origins is given in the latter
holding: The family of Appeville were the family of Montfort-sur-Rille; 'La
famille d'Appeville doit tirer son origine de l'une des trois paroisses de ce
nom, situées en Normandie, 1° Appeville [depuis Annebaut], canton de Montfort-
sur-Rille, arrondissement de Pont-Audemer(Eure); — 2° Appeville* [Seine-
Inférieure], arrondissement de Dieppe, canton d'Offranville; — 3° Appeville-la-
Haye [Manche], arrondissement de Coutances, canton de la Haye-du-Puits' ['Liber
censualis', p. 191, 1842]. Ansrid I., as above, was the father of Hugh de
Montfort-sur-Risle, brother of Anceline Bertrande; his son was Hugh II. de
Montfort-sur-Risle, who married, as said, Alice de Beaufou. Richard Turstin was
contemporary to him, and inherited Appeville-la-Haye: 'Seigneurs de la paroisse
d'Appeville, canton de la Haye-du-Puits, dans la Manche, la charte de fondation
de l'abbaye de Lessay, nous apprend que Turstin Hadulp, ainsi que son fils
Eudes, donnèrent à ce monastère, tout ce qu'ils possédaient tant en églises
qu'en terres, bois, prairies , etc. en Apavilla et en Osulfivilla' [ibid.]. The
latter holding can be assumed to have been that of Osulf, father of Grimoult du
Plessis, strongly suggesting a connection between Richard Turstin's wife, Emma,
and the family of Plessis - see ch. xiv. b. *A tenant there was William
d'Arques.

BRANCHE CADET D'ORVAL: 'The fief of Ollonde extended into the parish of
Ourville, and had with it been comprised in the Honour of Plessis, of which
Richard who was called Turstin and surnamed Haldup, with Emma his wife, and
Eudo their son, appear as owners in acts of date antecedent to the conquest of
England; and when they founded the abbey of L'Essay, that part which they had
in Ourville and Averville and in the other mesnils, which belonged to Ourville,
was made parcel of the endowment. The same Abbey had also of their gift in the
vill called La Fevrerie [Favilleria], the part which Adelais de Balte [Baupte]
had held; and this lady, probably sister of Turstin, may have been identical
with Adelaidis, wife of Geoffrey de Magneville [Mandeville], tenant of an
extensive fief in England at the time of the Survey made by William the
Conqueror' [Magni rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae sub regibus clxxxviii].

copywrite Michael Stanhope 2009

contact: michaelstanhope1@hotmail.com