Warenne Family

Ada de Warenne

• Malcolm IV of Scotland (1141(2) - 1165)
• William I of Scotland (1143 - 1214)
• David Dunkeld (1144 - 1219)
• Margaret Dunkeld (1145 - 1201)
• Ada Dunkeld
• Matilda Dunkeld ( ? - 1152)

• Parents: Gesta Normannorum ducum (Guillaume de Jumièges - Torigny) book VIII p332; Chronica de Mailros p71 (ed. Joseph Stevenson, 1835); John of Fordun’s Chronicle of the Scottish nation pp223-4 (ed. William F. Skene, 1872); The Complete Peerage vol 6 p642 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Vicary Gibbs, 1926)
• Marriage: A history of Northumberland part 2 vol 3 pp17-8 (John Hodgson, 1820); Holinshed’s Chronicle of England, Scotland and Ireland vol 5 p289 (ed. Raphaell Hollindshead, 1808); John of Fordun’s Chronicle of the Scottish nation p224 (ed. William F. Skene, 1872)
• Children: Holinshed’s Chronicle of England, Scotland and Ireland vol 5 p289 (ed. Raphaell Hollindshead, 1808); John of Fordun’s Chronicle of the Scottish nation p224 (ed. William F. Skene, 1872); People of Medieval Scotland (Ada de Warenne (d.1178), countess of Northumberland)
• Notes: A history of Northumberland part 2 vol 3 pp17-8 (John Hodgson, 1820); Liber Cartarum Prioratus Sancti Andree in Scotia pp207-9 (1841); Chronica de Mailros p71 (ed. Joseph Stevenson, 1835); John of Fordun’s Chronicle of the Scottish nation pp223-4 (ed. William F. Skene, 1872); Joannis de Fordun Scotichronicon; cum supplementis et continuatione Walteri Boweri vol 1 p347 (1759); The Complete Peerage vol 6 p642 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Vicary Gibbs, 1926); People of Medieval Scotland (Ada de Warenne (d.1178), countess of Northumberland); Medieval Lands (ADA de Warenne); wikipedia (Ada de Warenne)
• Death: Joannis de Fordun Scotichronicon; cum supplementis et continuatione Walteri Boweri vol 1 p475 (1759); Chronica de Mailros p89 (ed. Joseph Stevenson, 1835); The Complete Peerage vol 6 p642 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Vicary Gibbs, 1926)

Beatrice

• Rodulf de Warenne II
• William de Warenne ( ? - 1088)
• daughter m. Erneis de Coulances

• Mother: ‘The Origin of the Family of Warenne’ (L. C. Loyd) in Yorkshire Archæological Journal vol 31 p 100; Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 pp1-2 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 p492 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Marriage: ‘The Origin of the Family of Warenne’ (L. C. Loyd) in Yorkshire Archæological Journal vol 31 p 100; Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 pp1-2 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 p492 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Children: Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 pp52-4 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949); Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 p2 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949); Dictionary of national biography vol 59 p372 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 pp491-2 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Notes: ‘Observations in disproof of the pretended marriage of William de Warren’ (Thomas Stapleton, 1834) printed in Archaeological Journal vol 3 pp1-26; ‘The Origin of the Family of Warenne’ (L. C. Loyd, 1934) in Yorkshire Archæological Journal vol 31 pp98-103; Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 pp1-2 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 pp491-2 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)

Gundrada

• William de Warenne ( ? - 1138)
• Rainald de Warenne
• Edith de Warenne

Charter of William de Warenne, 1st Earl, to found Lewes priory. The charter is also signed by his wife, Gundrada. image from Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 p55 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949)

  About seven years after the foundation of the Priory, Gundred, the wife of the Earl of Warren, died in childbirth, the 27th of May, 1085, at Castle Acre, in Norfolk, where the earl had not only erected a castle, but also founded a Cluniac monastery, as a cell to the Priory of Lewes. She was interred in the chapter house of the Priory of Lewes.
  The sculptured slab of black marble, which once covered her remains in the monastery, was discovered about the year 1775, by Dr. Clarke, of Buxted, in the Shirley chancel of Isfield church. It formed the table part of a mural monument of Edward Shirley, Esq., by whose father, probably, it was preserved at the demolition of the Priory, and conveyed by his directions to Isfield, of which manor he was lord. Dr. Clarke communicated his discovery to William Burrell, Esq. LL.D. and F.S.A., (afterwards Sir William Burrell,) who employed Mr. James Lambert, jun. to copy the inscription. Dr. Burrell obtained permission of Sir Robert Smyth, Bart. and John Ratcliffe, Esq. the representatives of the Shirley family, to remove the stone from the chancel where it had been so long preserved from the undistinguishing violence of fanaticism, and the destructive, though well intended, measures of the reformers, of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries². It was the intention of Dr. Burrell, to replace the stone over the spot where the body of Gundred had originally been deposited, but as the very scite of the Chapter house of the once magnificent monastery, could not with certainty be ascertained, the stone, together with a suitable shrine, provided at Dr. Burrell’s expense, was placed in the vestry pew of Southover church, that being the nearest ascertainable scite of its original station. A marble tablet, placed against the wall of the south aisle of the church, bearing the following inscription, directs the eye of the stranger to the spot beneath it, where this interesting relic is deposited:—
  “Within this pew stands the tomb stone of Gundred, daughter of William the Conqueror, and wife of William, the first Earl of Warren, which having been deposited over her remains, in the Chapter house of Lewes Priory, and lately discovered in Isfield church, was removed to this place at the expence of William Burrell, Esq. A.D. 1775.”
  The stone is of black marble: the lower end was probably broken off to fit the place where it was found in Isfield church. This fracture renders the inscription imperfect³. The stone is five feet five inches long, two feet broad at the head, and twenty inches broad at the feet. The annexed drawing (Pl. VII.)

Illustration of Gundrada's tombstone located in the Gundrada chapel of the Southover church in Lewes, Kent. image from The History and Antiquities of Lewes and Its Vicinity vol 1 p1156 (Thomas Walker Horsfield, 1824)

will give the stranger a tolerably correct idea of this piece of antiquity. It is sculptured in very high relief, and displays in the workmanship the hand of a master. The form of the letters, according to Gough, answers to those on the tombs of Bishop Roger, at Salisbury, and William Deincourt, at Lincoln, between 1087 and 1100.
  With the exception of the words in italics that have been supplied, the following is what remains of the inscription. The points are omitted, as there are evident mistakes in the pointing of the original:—
    “Stirps Gundrada ducum decus evi nobile germen
      Intulit ecclesiis Anglorum balsama morum
      Martir  *  *  *  *  *
      Martha fuit miseris fuit ex pietate Maria
      Pars obiit Marthe superest pars magna Marie
      O pie Pancrati testis pietatis et equi
      Te facit heredem tu clemens suscipe matrem
      Sexta kalendarum Junii lux obvia carnis
      Ifregit alabastrum¹.”
  ² The following Epitaph on Gundred, written by the Lady of Sir William Burrell, previous to the removal of the tomb stone from Isfield to Southover church, in 1775, is amongst the MSS. in the possession of Sir C. M. Burrell, Bart.:—

The excavation of a railway cutting at Lewes Priory in 1845, during which cists containing the remains of William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, and his wife, Gundrada, were found. image from Illustrated London News 8 November 1845 p296

Cists containing the remains of William de Warenne and Gundrada, drawn in 1845 image from Illustrated London News 8 November 1845 p296

Remains of Gundrada, drawn in 1845, at the time of the discovery of the cist containing his remains image from Illustrated London News 8 November 1845 p296

Illustrated London News 8 November 1845 p295
    ANTIQUARIAN DISCOVERIES AT LEWES.
  In our Journal of last week, we briefly noticed the discovery amongst the ruins of the ancient Priory of Lewes, of the remains of Gundrada, fifth daughter of William the Conqueror, and of William de Warren, her husband, who, according to the best authorities, were interred in the Chapter House of the above religious house. Thence, at the Dissolution of the Priory, the tomb of the pious lady was removed to the church of Isfield; but, it was brought back near its original locality, in 1775, and placed in the neighbouring Church of Southover, where it remains to this day. The entire discovery is of so interesting a character, that we were induced to commission an artist of Brighton, Mr. R. H. Hibbs, to proceed to Lewes, and sketch the remains and their locality. We have ourselves since journeyed to the spot, and have been much gratified with our visit of inspection.
  Strange, indeed, are the changes wrought by time and man’s ingenuity; for these relics of nearly eight centuries since have been upturned in a work peculiar to our own times—the construction of a railway; and this by a circumstance purely accidental, and but for which the Relics might have rested for many more centuries. The projected line of railway from Brighton to Hastings, it may be necessary to state, runs through a portion of the town of Lewes, or rather through the grounds of the ancient Priory of St. Pancras; and, although it will not materially disturb the walls, there will yet be a cutting 40 feet wide by about 12 feet deep, traversing in a north-eastern direction from the western boundary to the north-eastern wall adjoining the Mount Field. One of our illustrations shows the precise locality, with “The Mount,” an artificial elevation, the origin and uses of which are involved in much doubt.
  Nearly upon this spot, workmen had, for some time, been removing the earth from the side banks of the western ruins of the Priory, without discovering any thing of interest; but, on Monday week, they commenced clearing a driftway on the bank of the west side of the remains of the Priory chapel, on the high ground. During the day, the workmen found a leaden coffin, 5 ft., 4 in. long, containing the remains of a female skeleton, and portions of cere-cloth: the coffin was surrounded by thin slabs of Caen stone, and the lead was much decayed. Still, there was nothing to aid the identifying of these remains; and their discovery was chiefly interesting as a good presage of what might be expected. Accordingly, on Tuesday morning, the workmen exposed a leaden Cist, or coffer, surrounded by a few square Caen stones. After clearing away the soil, the Cist was carefully removed, and, on being opened, was found to contain human bones, proved to be the remains of Gundreda, daughter of William the Conqueror, the name “GVNDRADA,” as it is spelt, being cut upon the lid. The size of the Cist is about 3 feet in length, a foot in width, and 9 inches in depth: the lid, sides, and ends, are in excellent preservation, but the bottom is much corroded. The lead is ornamentally cast in beaded compartments of the lozenge form, 5 inches by 3; and the lid fits on, or rather laps over the sides. Soon after the finding of this Cist, and at a short distance from it, the workmen found a second cist, precisely similar in form, character, and material; being, however, slightly longer: the bottom is much decayed, and on the lid is inscribed WILLMs, an old but usual way of writing Gulielmus. This has been readily interpreted into the name of William of Warren; by this means establishing the fact that these Cists contain the remains of Gundreda, the founder of the Priory, and of her lord, the first Earl of Warren and Surrey. Ancient records prove that Gundreda died in 1085, and William of Warren in 1088, and that both were interred in the Chapter House of Lewes Priory; the latter being, as it is stated, “buried in the Chapter House, in a tomb adjoining that in which his Countess was laid.” We have engraved the pair of Cist in an adjoining column: they were found lying about 2½ feet below the surface in two square compartments, formed, apparently, by the foundation-walls, or under the floor of what is presumed to have been the Chapter House.
  There has also been found another male skeleton, with the skull and teeth very perfect. The skull is well formed; one of the femora (thigh bones) is still in the socket of the hip; and the tibiæ are very long. It is stated that the second Earl of Warren and Surrey, William, who died in 1138, was buried at the feet of the first Earl; and it is reasonably asked, in the Brighton Herald report, whether the above may not be the remains of this Earl?
   About a foot to eastward of the first-named remains were, also, discovered those of some great ecclesiastical personage, probably, one of the Priors. We find the following details in the Sussex Express:—
  “The skeleton was enveloped in a cowl of thin woollen cloth, having underneath it a finer linen garment. The cowl covered the head; the hands were resting across the breast, and the shoes were on. The body had, evidently, been buried, without a wooden or leaden coffin, upon a layer of fine sea beach, and inclosed within a stone Cist, which was very perfect. Portions of hair, of dark red, were still to be seen. To the south of this were two other skeletons, separated by a thin chalk wall, of eight inches in thickness. The bodies were evidently simply buried without coffins, and the earth thrown in upon them. These three bodies lay parallel with each other, at the back of which were the foundations of a wall, a foot thick, running in a slanting direction; immediately behind which was exposed another stone Cist, with a skeleton, and two others, side by side; and a foot southerly, yet parallel, the skeleton of a female child, of about ten or twelve years old, in a stone Cist, with a space carved out to receive the head. In excavating these, the remains of two iron corner hinges were discovered.”
  On Thursday morning, another interesting relic was discovered among the Priory ruins. This is a rudely-formed earthenware urn, inclosed in a leaden vessel, the space between them being filled with clay. The urn contained the lungs, stomach, and intestines of a human being. It is recorded that the third Earl of Warren, grandson of the first, went to the Holy Land in 1147, with the King of France, and was slain in an attack made on the French army by the Turks: his remains were brought home, and are presumed to have been, in part, the contents of the urn.
  There have, likewise, been found on the Priory site, several fragments of ancient art, such as pieces of Roman tile, coins, tokens, and other works in metal.
  The annexed summary of the anatomical appearances of the remains has been communicated to the Brighton Herald, by Mr. Pickford, surgeon, of Brighton. Mr. Pickford, in company with Mr. Murrell, a medical gentleman of Lewes, found the remains in the leaden coffins described above. Of course, there was no order in their arrangement, as the Cists were but three feet long, and so worn, that the bottom of the one in which the Earl’s bones lay had fallen out, and that of the Countess, was full of holes. To this is, doubtless, owing the fact, that a great many of the Earl’s bones were missing, whilst those of the Countess were nearly perfect, even to the bone of the tongue (os hyoides), though her skull was much fractured. The bones themselves were in a perfect state of preservation; they were strong, heavy, and, where broken by the pick-axe, white. On measuring them, it was found that both the Earl and Countess must have been persons of large frame and tall stature. We give the admeasurements:—
  Gundreda—Femur or thigh bone, 18¼ inches; tibia, or leg bone, 15 inches; humerus, or upper arm bone, 12 inches; probable height, about five feet eight inches.
  William—Femur, 19¼ inches; tibia, 15¼ inches; humerus, 13½ inches; circumference of the shaft of the femur at its middle, 4¼ inches. Probable height, about six feet one or two inches.
  These proportions, in the lady, equal those of a moderate-sized man, and in the Earl exceed them. In a moderate-sized man, the femur, or thigh bone, is 18 inches; the tibia, or leg bone, 15 inches; the humerus, or upper arm bone, 12 inches; and the circumference of the femur, or thigh bone, 3¼ inches.
  There was, however, the thigh bone of another skeleton dug up on this occasion which measured 20¾ inches, which would give a height of 6 feet 6¾ inches.
  There was an appearance of hair on some of the remains; but only slight. The body of the monk, however, had a complete crop, of a deep red colour.
  Thus far the circumstances of the discovery of the relics. The ground is the site of the great Cluniac Priory of St. Pancras, in Southover; the origin of which is traceable to the piety of the Earl of Warren and his lady Gundreda, who, in the year 1076, set out on a pilgrimage to Rome; and, receiving great kindness from the prior and monks of St. Per, at Cluny, they were induced to entertain a greater regard for that order and house than any other which they had seen. Being already determined, by the persuasion of Archbishop Lanfranc, to erect a religious house for the pardon of their sins and the saving of their souls, they requested of the abbot at Cluny three or four monks for the intended monastery. The abbot consented, and the grateful baron returned home to carry into effect his holy project. In about six years, the work was completed; the brethren then took possession of their magnificent residence; and grants and benefactions, to an almost incredible extent, enriched the increasing fraternity. Some idea of the extensive scale of the monastery may be formed from the well-ascertained fact, that its walls embraced an area of more than thirty-two acres. The great church was rebuilt in the reign of Henry II. Its length was 150 feet; its height, 60 feet; it was supported by thirty-two pillars, eight of which were not less than 42 feet high, 18 feet thick, and 45 feet in circumference; the remaining twenty-four were 10 feet thick, 25 feet in circumference, and 18 feet in height. The roof before the great altar had an elevation of 93 feet. The Chapter House and the Church were by far the most splendid parts of this stately pile: in the former were interred the remains of the Founder of the Monastery and his Countess (as we have explained), several of his successors in the barony, and some distinguished nobles; the latter was richly adorned by the painter and sculptor, and was distinguished by the magnificence of the funereal monuments, with which it appears to have been crowded. We quote these details from Mr. Baxter’s forth-coming “Guide to Lewes”.
  William of Warren, the first Earl of Surrey, and husband of Gundreda, had accompanied the Conqueror from Normandy, in his expedition to England, and greatly aided by his conduct and bravery in obtaining the battle of Hastings. He was more richly rewarded than any other nobleman in the Conqueror’s suite: his possessions included the borough and rape of Lewes: he rebuilt the Castle and founded the Monastery, as we have described. This was the first convent of the Cluniac order established in England; to which, therefore, all other Cluniac Monasteries were subordinate, including the Priory of Castle Acre, in Norfolk, another foundation of this Earl of Surrey. He is also supposed to have built the Castle of Holmesdale, or Reigate, in Surrey; and Dugdale states him to have died seised of two hundred Lordships, on June 24, 1088. He was buried, according to the Register of Lewes Priory, in the Chapter House of that foundation, near his Countess Gundreda, who died in childbirth, at Castle Acre, in 1085.
  The Priory at Lewes proved a rich prize at the dissolution by Henry VIII., when it was seized on by Thomas Cromwell. By his orders it was levelled, and so completely was the work of its demolition performed by his agents, (one of whom, Portmarus, describes it in a letter preserved in the Cottonian Library, at the British Museum,) that the Church and Chapter House were entirely swept away; and the ruins which remain, are those of the Hall and Refectory, which were converted into a malt-house. Near these remains, till lately, stood a large elliptical oven, measuring in its longest diameter, 17 feet, curiously built with tiles.
  Thus, although the burial-place of the founders of the Priory was plainly recorded, all trace of the Chapter House was lost. In the meantime, about the year 1775, a sculptured slab of black marble, which once covered Gundreda's remains, was discovered by Dr. Clarke, of Buxted, in the Shirley Chancel of Isfield Church, where it formed part of the tomb of Edward Shirley, Esq., whose father is traditionally said to have preserved the memorial at the Dissolution. Dr. Clarke obtained permission of the representatives of the Shirley family to remove the stone; and it was placed in Southover Church, as the site of the Chapter House could not be precisely ascertained.
  The ruins, until lately, were a scene of melancholy decay, visited with interest by many a lover of antiquities, but little heeded by the people of the neighbourhood. How forcibly has its desolation reminded us of Bowles’s beautiful lines:—
    All is silent now!—silent the bell
      That, heard from yonder ivy’d turret high,
    Warn’d the cowl’d brother from his midnight cell—
      Silent the vesper chaunt—the Litany
      Responsive to the organ—scatter’d lie
    The wrecks of the proud pile, mid arches grey,
      Whilst hollow winds through mantling ivy sigh;
    And e’en the mouldering shrine is sent away,
    Where, in his warrior weeds, the Norman founder lay.”
  We should add, from the Sussex Express, that, in 1828 and 1829, workmen were employed to level the ground about the standing walls, when the turf was taken off from a great portion of the land, and the foundations of many walls were exposed. A plan of them was made at the time by Mr. W. E. Baxter, the publisher, in whose possession it now is. In 1836, the frontage to the north of the Priory grounds was laid out for building a crescent and row of houses. To the south-west of the ruins stood, till lately, a portion of the immense pigeon-house belonging to the fraternity; it was built in the form of a cross, and contained recesses for more than 3,000 pair of doves. A mansion of the Dorset family, which was destroyed by fire about 150 years ago, stood adjoining the churchyard, and has given the name of Lord’s place to the site.
  On our late visit, the spot was crowded with wonder-struck inquirers. We there learned that, on the discovery of the relics, they were carefully preserved by Mr. Acton, the chief officer of the Lewes and Hastings Railway Police, who had them removed to his own house, and the greater part of them from thence to the Church of St. John the Baptist, at Southover. The urn, with its leaden case, and a few small relics, were left at Mr. Acton’s: the case, in form, resembles a kitchen boiler, and has a projection from the lower part resembling a tap.
  The Cists, and their contents, may be inspected at Southover Church on any day, except Sunday, from ten till one, and from two till four. Every visitor, not being an inhabitant of Southover, is expected to contribute to the fund for reimbursing the expenses incident to the discovery and preservation of these highly-interesting relics. We learned from the Clerk, that they are inspected by a great number of visitors, daily, except on Sundays. The Cists are placed side by side, inclosed with railing, beneath a window on the north side of the nave of the church, as shown in our illustration.
  Nearly in the centre of the west end of the nave is the memorial, or coffin-lid, of Gundreda. It is a slab of black Norman marble, sculptured with foliage in a fine early style, and bearing around its edge, and up the middle, the following inscription, with slight conjectural supplements, in Anglo-Norman characters:—
   “Stirps Gundreda Ducum, decus evi, nobile germen,
    Intulit Ecclesiis Anglorum balsama morum,
    Martha fuit miseris, fuit ex pietate Maria;
    Pars obiit Marthe, superest pars magna Marie.
    O pie Pancrati, testis pietatis et equi,
    Te fecit heredem, tu clemens suscipe matr
    Sexta kalendarum Junii lux obvia carni
    Ifregit alabastrum.”
          TRANSLATION.
   “Gundred, of Ducal race, the ornament of her age, a noble bud,
    Brought into the Churches of England the balsam of morals;
    She was a Martha to the wretched; she was, for piety, a Mary:
    The part of Martha has died, the mighty part of Mary survives.
    O holy Pancras! witness of her piety and righteousness,
    She made thee her heir; do thou, benign, receive a mother.
    The hostile dawn of the sixth calend of June
    Broke the alabaster of flesh.”
  The slab is raised on a neatly-designed altar-tomb, which bears an inscription stating the removal thither, in 1775, by William Burrell, Esq. We believe it to be the intention of a Committee hereafter to deposit the remains in the above or some other fitting receptacle in the church: a fund is being raised for this purpose, subject to the control of the Committee, consisting of the Rev. John Scoble, Rector; the Churchwardens; the Earl of Chichester; the Rev. W. H. Cooper; J. Hoper, Esq.; W. H. Blaauw, Esq.; and Mr. Figg, to whom the public are mainly indebted for the suggestion which preserved the Relics.
  We need scarcely observe that the Cists in which the bones were found deposited, are not the coffins in which the bodies were originally buried: this is evident, from their length. It is, therefore, inferred by some, that, on the re-building of the church in the reign of Henry II, the bodies of the founders of the Priory were disinterred, and the bones deposited in these leaden coffers, and thus re-buried. We are, however, rather inclined to refer this re-interment to the date of the Dissolution, or soon after, especially as the spot is too elevated to form any portion of the site of the Priory. Probably, this was the work of some devotee, who thus sought to protect the bones of the pious founders from being scattered to the winds. If such, however, be the case, the spot where the Cists were found, cannot be considered as part of the Chapter House site. By their recent discovery, the remains of Gundreda will once more rest beneath the original slab or lid of her coffin, or the greater portion of it. The lid of the Earl’s coffin was, probably, similar; but, of this, no trace has been found.
  The following observations on the discovery, communicated to the Sussex Express, by Mr. Blaauw, one of the Committee, are entitled to special attention:—
  “It is obvious, from the length of these receptacles, that the bones of the Earl and Countess have been transferred to them from some previous tombs; and, it is not difficult to suppose that the Chapter House, not being built at the time of their deaths, the founders were buried elsewhere until its completion; and that the bodies were then found so decayed, that their bones only remained for removal to a more distinguished situation, and were, on that occasion, placed in these very leaden chests. A rebuilding of the Priory Church was begun on the anniversary of William the founder’s death, in 1243, and from the antique form of the letters G and M, the inscriptions cannot be fixed at a later period. The characters, indeed, more resemble the form used in the 12th century. Of the genuine antiquity of these relics there cannot be the slightest doubt.”
…
  The Relics have been preserved by these means. The land on which the Priory stood, and through which the railway passes, belongs to a lady named Jackson, and who stipulated with the contractor for the railway works, Mr. Wythes, through her solicitor, Mr. Hoper, of Lewes, that all relics which might be discovered should be reserved for her. Accordingly, they have been saved from falling into the hands of persons who might have been unable to appreciate their real interest, but who might have caused them to minister to their cupidity.
  On returning to the site of the discoveries, our mind’s eye carried us through a vista of eight centuries, as we gazed by turns on the crumbling and ivy-clad ruins, and the railway works hard by. Then, too, we felt the true spirit of Mr. Blaauw’s concluding reflexions:—“Many a hymn and mass have been chaunted on behalf of the souls of the pious founders of the Priory on the spot where noisy steam-engines will soon rush across; and, though we by no means wish the masses back, yet it almost requires the iron conscience of a railway to be proof against the curses denounced in his charter by William de Warenne on any who should disturb his foundation. ‘May those who oppose or destroy these things meet with God’s sword of anger, fury, vengeance, and eternal malediction; but may God welcome in peace with grace, mercy, and eternal salvation those who preserve and defend them.’”

The remains of William and Gundrada are now located in the Gundrada chapel of the Southover church in Lewes, Kent. Gundrada's original tombstone of black Tournai marble is in the foreground. image from Sussex Parish Churches

• Parents:  ‘Observations in disproof of the pretended marriage of William de Warren’ (Thomas Stapleton, 1834) printed in Archaeological Journal vol 3 pp1-26; ‘Gundrada de Warrenne’ (E. Chester Waters, 1886) printed in Archaeological Journal vol 43 pp306-11; ‘The Parentage of Gundrada, wife of William of Warren’ (Edward A. Freeman, 1888) in The English Historical Review vol 3 pp680-701; ‘The Origin of the Family of Warenne’ (L. C. Loyd, 1934) in Yorkshire Archæological Journal vol 31 pp106-13; Appendix A ‘Gundrada wife of William de Warenne the First’ in Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 pp40-6 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949)
• Marriage: Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 pp54-5 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949); Dictionary of national biography vol 23 pp338-9 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); Dictionary of national biography vol 59 p373 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 p494 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Children: Dictionary of national biography vol 23 pp338-9 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); Dictionary of national biography vol 59 pp374-5 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 p495n (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Notes: The ecclesiastical history of England and Normandy by Ordericus Vitalis vol 2 pp47-9 (trans. Thomas Forester, 1853); ‘Observations in disproof of the pretended marriage of William de Warren’ (Thomas Stapleton, 1834) printed in Archaeological Journal vol 3 pp1-26; ‘The Origin of the Family of Warenne’ (L. C. Loyd, 1934) in Yorkshire Archæological Journal vol 31 pp106-13; Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8; Illustrated London News 8 November 1845 p295; Dictionary of national biography vol 23 pp338-9 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 p494 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953); Medieval Lands (GUNDRED); wikipedia (Gundred, Countess of Surrey)
• Death: The ecclesiastical history of England and Normandy by Ordericus Vitalis vol 2 p473n (trans. Thomas Forester, 1853); Dictionary of national biography vol 23 p338 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 p494 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Burial: The ecclesiastical history of England and Normandy by Ordericus Vitalis vol 2 pp472n-3n (trans. Thomas Forester, 1853); Sepulchral monuments in Great Britain vol 1 part 1 pp8-10 (Richard Gough, 1786);  The History and Antiquities of Lewes and Its Vicinity vol 1 pp115-7 (Thomas Walker Horsfield, 1824); Illustrated London News 8 November 1845 p295; Dictionary of national biography vol 23 pp338-9 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 p494 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953); Notes on the churches in the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey, mentioned in Domesday book p290 (Arthur Hussey, 1852)

Rodolf de Warenne

• Rodulf de Warenne II
• William de Warenne ( ? - 1088)
• daughter m. Erneis de Coulances

• Marriage (1st): ‘The Origin of the Family of Warenne’ (L. C. Loyd) in Yorkshire Archæological Journal vol 31 p 100; Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 pp1-2 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 p492 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Children: Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 pp52-4 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949); Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 p2 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949); Dictionary of national biography vol 59 p372 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 pp491-2 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Marriage (2nd): Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 pp52-3 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949); ‘The Origin of the Family of Warenne’ (L. C. Loyd) in Yorkshire Archæological Journal vol 31 p 100; Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 pp1-2 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949); Dictionary of national biography vol 59 p372 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 p492 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Occupation: Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 p1 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949)
• Notes: ‘Observations in disproof of the pretended marriage of William de Warren’ (Thomas Stapleton, 1834) printed in Archaeological Journal vol 3 pp1-26; ‘The Origin of the Family of Warenne’ (L. C. Loyd, 1934) in Yorkshire Archæological Journal vol 31 pp98-103; Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 pp1-2 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949); Dictionary of national biography vol 59 p372 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 pp491-2 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)

William de Warenne

• William de Warenne ( ? - 1138)
• Rainald de Warenne
• Edith de Warenne

Charter of William de Warenne, 1st Earl, to found Lewes priory. image from Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 p55 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949)

The excavation of a railway cutting at Lewes Priory in 1845, during which cists containing the remains of William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, and his wife, Gundrada, were found. image from Illustrated London News 8 November 1845 p296

Cists containing the remains of William de Warenne and Gundrada, drawn in 1845 image from Illustrated London News 8 November 1845 p296

Remains of William de Warenne, drawn in 1845, at the time of the discovery of the cist containing his remains image from Illustrated London News 8 November 1845 p296

Illustrated London News 8 November 1845 p295
    ANTIQUARIAN DISCOVERIES AT LEWES.
  In our Journal of last week, we briefly noticed the discovery amongst the ruins of the ancient Priory of Lewes, of the remains of Gundrada, fifth daughter of William the Conqueror, and of William de Warren, her husband, who, according to the best authorities, were interred in the Chapter House of the above religious house. Thence, at the Dissolution of the Priory, the tomb of the pious lady was removed to the church of Isfield; but, it was brought back near its original locality, in 1775, and placed in the neighbouring Church of Southover, where it remains to this day. The entire discovery is of so interesting a character, that we were induced to commission an artist of Brighton, Mr. R. H. Hibbs, to proceed to Lewes, and sketch the remains and their locality. We have ourselves since journeyed to the spot, and have been much gratified with our visit of inspection.
  Strange, indeed, are the changes wrought by time and man’s ingenuity; for these relics of nearly eight centuries since have been upturned in a work peculiar to our own times—the construction of a railway; and this by a circumstance purely accidental, and but for which the Relics might have rested for many more centuries. The projected line of railway from Brighton to Hastings, it may be necessary to state, runs through a portion of the town of Lewes, or rather through the grounds of the ancient Priory of St. Pancras; and, although it will not materially disturb the walls, there will yet be a cutting 40 feet wide by about 12 feet deep, traversing in a north-eastern direction from the western boundary to the north-eastern wall adjoining the Mount Field. One of our illustrations shows the precise locality, with “The Mount,” an artificial elevation, the origin and uses of which are involved in much doubt.
  Nearly upon this spot, workmen had, for some time, been removing the earth from the side banks of the western ruins of the Priory, without discovering any thing of interest; but, on Monday week, they commenced clearing a driftway on the bank of the west side of the remains of the Priory chapel, on the high ground. During the day, the workmen found a leaden coffin, 5 ft., 4 in. long, containing the remains of a female skeleton, and portions of cere-cloth: the coffin was surrounded by thin slabs of Caen stone, and the lead was much decayed. Still, there was nothing to aid the identifying of these remains; and their discovery was chiefly interesting as a good presage of what might be expected. Accordingly, on Tuesday morning, the workmen exposed a leaden Cist, or coffer, surrounded by a few square Caen stones. After clearing away the soil, the Cist was carefully removed, and, on being opened, was found to contain human bones, proved to be the remains of Gundreda, daughter of William the Conqueror, the name “GVNDRADA,” as it is spelt, being cut upon the lid. The size of the Cist is about 3 feet in length, a foot in width, and 9 inches in depth: the lid, sides, and ends, are in excellent preservation, but the bottom is much corroded. The lead is ornamentally cast in beaded compartments of the lozenge form, 5 inches by 3; and the lid fits on, or rather laps over the sides. Soon after the finding of this Cist, and at a short distance from it, the workmen found a second cist, precisely similar in form, character, and material; being, however, slightly longer: the bottom is much decayed, and on the lid is inscribed WILLMs, an old but usual way of writing Gulielmus. This has been readily interpreted into the name of William of Warren; by this means establishing the fact that these Cists contain the remains of Gundreda, the founder of the Priory, and of her lord, the first Earl of Warren and Surrey. Ancient records prove that Gundreda died in 1085, and William of Warren in 1088, and that both were interred in the Chapter House of Lewes Priory; the latter being, as it is stated, “buried in the Chapter House, in a tomb adjoining that in which his Countess was laid.” We have engraved the pair of Cist in an adjoining column: they were found lying about 2½ feet below the surface in two square compartments, formed, apparently, by the foundation-walls, or under the floor of what is presumed to have been the Chapter House.
  There has also been found another male skeleton, with the skull and teeth very perfect. The skull is well formed; one of the femora (thigh bones) is still in the socket of the hip; and the tibiæ are very long. It is stated that the second Earl of Warren and Surrey, William, who died in 1138, was buried at the feet of the first Earl; and it is reasonably asked, in the Brighton Herald report, whether the above may not be the remains of this Earl?
   About a foot to eastward of the first-named remains were, also, discovered those of some great ecclesiastical personage, probably, one of the Priors. We find the following details in the Sussex Express:—
  “The skeleton was enveloped in a cowl of thin woollen cloth, having underneath it a finer linen garment. The cowl covered the head; the hands were resting across the breast, and the shoes were on. The body had, evidently, been buried, without a wooden or leaden coffin, upon a layer of fine sea beach, and inclosed within a stone Cist, which was very perfect. Portions of hair, of dark red, were still to be seen. To the south of this were two other skeletons, separated by a thin chalk wall, of eight inches in thickness. The bodies were evidently simply buried without coffins, and the earth thrown in upon them. These three bodies lay parallel with each other, at the back of which were the foundations of a wall, a foot thick, running in a slanting direction; immediately behind which was exposed another stone Cist, with a skeleton, and two others, side by side; and a foot southerly, yet parallel, the skeleton of a female child, of about ten or twelve years old, in a stone Cist, with a space carved out to receive the head. In excavating these, the remains of two iron corner hinges were discovered.”
  On Thursday morning, another interesting relic was discovered among the Priory ruins. This is a rudely-formed earthenware urn, inclosed in a leaden vessel, the space between them being filled with clay. The urn contained the lungs, stomach, and intestines of a human being. It is recorded that the third Earl of Warren, grandson of the first, went to the Holy Land in 1147, with the King of France, and was slain in an attack made on the French army by the Turks: his remains were brought home, and are presumed to have been, in part, the contents of the urn.
  There have, likewise, been found on the Priory site, several fragments of ancient art, such as pieces of Roman tile, coins, tokens, and other works in metal.
  The annexed summary of the anatomical appearances of the remains has been communicated to the Brighton Herald, by Mr. Pickford, surgeon, of Brighton. Mr. Pickford, in company with Mr. Murrell, a medical gentleman of Lewes, found the remains in the leaden coffins described above. Of course, there was no order in their arrangement, as the Cists were but three feet long, and so worn, that the bottom of the one in which the Earl’s bones lay had fallen out, and that of the Countess, was full of holes. To this is, doubtless, owing the fact, that a great many of the Earl’s bones were missing, whilst those of the Countess were nearly perfect, even to the bone of the tongue (os hyoides), though her skull was much fractured. The bones themselves were in a perfect state of preservation; they were strong, heavy, and, where broken by the pick-axe, white. On measuring them, it was found that both the Earl and Countess must have been persons of large frame and tall stature. We give the admeasurements:—
  Gundreda—Femur or thigh bone, 18¼ inches; tibia, or leg bone, 15 inches; humerus, or upper arm bone, 12 inches; probable height, about five feet eight inches.
  William—Femur, 19¼ inches; tibia, 15¼ inches; humerus, 13½ inches; circumference of the shaft of the femur at its middle, 4¼ inches. Probable height, about six feet one or two inches.
  These proportions, in the lady, equal those of a moderate-sized man, and in the Earl exceed them. In a moderate-sized man, the femur, or thigh bone, is 18 inches; the tibia, or leg bone, 15 inches; the humerus, or upper arm bone, 12 inches; and the circumference of the femur, or thigh bone, 3¼ inches.
  There was, however, the thigh bone of another skeleton dug up on this occasion which measured 20¾ inches, which would give a height of 6 feet 6¾ inches.
  There was an appearance of hair on some of the remains; but only slight. The body of the monk, however, had a complete crop, of a deep red colour.
  Thus far the circumstances of the discovery of the relics. The ground is the site of the great Cluniac Priory of St. Pancras, in Southover; the origin of which is traceable to the piety of the Earl of Warren and his lady Gundreda, who, in the year 1076, set out on a pilgrimage to Rome; and, receiving great kindness from the prior and monks of St. Per, at Cluny, they were induced to entertain a greater regard for that order and house than any other which they had seen. Being already determined, by the persuasion of Archbishop Lanfranc, to erect a religious house for the pardon of their sins and the saving of their souls, they requested of the abbot at Cluny three or four monks for the intended monastery. The abbot consented, and the grateful baron returned home to carry into effect his holy project. In about six years, the work was completed; the brethren then took possession of their magnificent residence; and grants and benefactions, to an almost incredible extent, enriched the increasing fraternity. Some idea of the extensive scale of the monastery may be formed from the well-ascertained fact, that its walls embraced an area of more than thirty-two acres. The great church was rebuilt in the reign of Henry II. Its length was 150 feet; its height, 60 feet; it was supported by thirty-two pillars, eight of which were not less than 42 feet high, 18 feet thick, and 45 feet in circumference; the remaining twenty-four were 10 feet thick, 25 feet in circumference, and 18 feet in height. The roof before the great altar had an elevation of 93 feet. The Chapter House and the Church were by far the most splendid parts of this stately pile: in the former were interred the remains of the Founder of the Monastery and his Countess (as we have explained), several of his successors in the barony, and some distinguished nobles; the latter was richly adorned by the painter and sculptor, and was distinguished by the magnificence of the funereal monuments, with which it appears to have been crowded. We quote these details from Mr. Baxter’s forth-coming “Guide to Lewes”.
  William of Warren, the first Earl of Surrey, and husband of Gundreda, had accompanied the Conqueror from Normandy, in his expedition to England, and greatly aided by his conduct and bravery in obtaining the battle of Hastings. He was more richly rewarded than any other nobleman in the Conqueror’s suite: his possessions included the borough and rape of Lewes: he rebuilt the Castle and founded the Monastery, as we have described. This was the first convent of the Cluniac order established in England; to which, therefore, all other Cluniac Monasteries were subordinate, including the Priory of Castle Acre, in Norfolk, another foundation of this Earl of Surrey. He is also supposed to have built the Castle of Holmesdale, or Reigate, in Surrey; and Dugdale states him to have died seised of two hundred Lordships, on June 24, 1088. He was buried, according to the Register of Lewes Priory, in the Chapter House of that foundation, near his Countess Gundreda, who died in childbirth, at Castle Acre, in 1085.
  The Priory at Lewes proved a rich prize at the dissolution by Henry VIII., when it was seized on by Thomas Cromwell. By his orders it was levelled, and so completely was the work of its demolition performed by his agents, (one of whom, Portmarus, describes it in a letter preserved in the Cottonian Library, at the British Museum,) that the Church and Chapter House were entirely swept away; and the ruins which remain, are those of the Hall and Refectory, which were converted into a malt-house. Near these remains, till lately, stood a large elliptical oven, measuring in its longest diameter, 17 feet, curiously built with tiles.
  Thus, although the burial-place of the founders of the Priory was plainly recorded, all trace of the Chapter House was lost. In the meantime, about the year 1775, a sculptured slab of black marble, which once covered Gundreda's remains, was discovered by Dr. Clarke, of Buxted, in the Shirley Chancel of Isfield Church, where it formed part of the tomb of Edward Shirley, Esq., whose father is traditionally said to have preserved the memorial at the Dissolution. Dr. Clarke obtained permission of the representatives of the Shirley family to remove the stone; and it was placed in Southover Church, as the site of the Chapter House could not be precisely ascertained.
  The ruins, until lately, were a scene of melancholy decay, visited with interest by many a lover of antiquities, but little heeded by the people of the neighbourhood. How forcibly has its desolation reminded us of Bowles’s beautiful lines:—
    All is silent now!—silent the bell
      That, heard from yonder ivy’d turret high,
    Warn’d the cowl’d brother from his midnight cell—
      Silent the vesper chaunt—the Litany
      Responsive to the organ—scatter’d lie
    The wrecks of the proud pile, mid arches grey,
      Whilst hollow winds through mantling ivy sigh;
    And e’en the mouldering shrine is sent away,
    Where, in his warrior weeds, the Norman founder lay.”
  We should add, from the Sussex Express, that, in 1828 and 1829, workmen were employed to level the ground about the standing walls, when the turf was taken off from a great portion of the land, and the foundations of many walls were exposed. A plan of them was made at the time by Mr. W. E. Baxter, the publisher, in whose possession it now is. In 1836, the frontage to the north of the Priory grounds was laid out for building a crescent and row of houses. To the south-west of the ruins stood, till lately, a portion of the immense pigeon-house belonging to the fraternity; it was built in the form of a cross, and contained recesses for more than 3,000 pair of doves. A mansion of the Dorset family, which was destroyed by fire about 150 years ago, stood adjoining the churchyard, and has given the name of Lord’s place to the site.
  On our late visit, the spot was crowded with wonder-struck inquirers. We there learned that, on the discovery of the relics, they were carefully preserved by Mr. Acton, the chief officer of the Lewes and Hastings Railway Police, who had them removed to his own house, and the greater part of them from thence to the Church of St. John the Baptist, at Southover. The urn, with its leaden case, and a few small relics, were left at Mr. Acton’s: the case, in form, resembles a kitchen boiler, and has a projection from the lower part resembling a tap.
  The Cists, and their contents, may be inspected at Southover Church on any day, except Sunday, from ten till one, and from two till four. Every visitor, not being an inhabitant of Southover, is expected to contribute to the fund for reimbursing the expenses incident to the discovery and preservation of these highly-interesting relics. We learned from the Clerk, that they are inspected by a great number of visitors, daily, except on Sundays. The Cists are placed side by side, inclosed with railing, beneath a window on the north side of the nave of the church, as shown in our illustration.
  Nearly in the centre of the west end of the nave is the memorial, or coffin-lid, of Gundreda. It is a slab of black Norman marble, sculptured with foliage in a fine early style, and bearing around its edge, and up the middle, the following inscription, with slight conjectural supplements, in Anglo-Norman characters:—
   “Stirps Gundreda Ducum, decus evi, nobile germen,
    Intulit Ecclesiis Anglorum balsama morum,
    Martha fuit miseris, fuit ex pietate Maria;
    Pars obiit Marthe, superest pars magna Marie.
    O pie Pancrati, testis pietatis et equi,
    Te fecit heredem, tu clemens suscipe matr
    Sexta kalendarum Junii lux obvia carni
    Ifregit alabastrum.”
          TRANSLATION.
   “Gundred, of Ducal race, the ornament of her age, a noble bud,
    Brought into the Churches of England the balsam of morals;
    She was a Martha to the wretched; she was, for piety, a Mary:
    The part of Martha has died, the mighty part of Mary survives.
    O holy Pancras! witness of her piety and righteousness,
    She made thee her heir; do thou, benign, receive a mother.
    The hostile dawn of the sixth calend of June
    Broke the alabaster of flesh.”
  The slab is raised on a neatly-designed altar-tomb, which bears an inscription stating the removal thither, in 1775, by William Burrell, Esq. We believe it to be the intention of a Committee hereafter to deposit the remains in the above or some other fitting receptacle in the church: a fund is being raised for this purpose, subject to the control of the Committee, consisting of the Rev. John Scoble, Rector; the Churchwardens; the Earl of Chichester; the Rev. W. H. Cooper; J. Hoper, Esq.; W. H. Blaauw, Esq.; and Mr. Figg, to whom the public are mainly indebted for the suggestion which preserved the Relics.
  We need scarcely observe that the Cists in which the bones were found deposited, are not the coffins in which the bodies were originally buried: this is evident, from their length. It is, therefore, inferred by some, that, on the re-building of the church in the reign of Henry II, the bodies of the founders of the Priory were disinterred, and the bones deposited in these leaden coffers, and thus re-buried. We are, however, rather inclined to refer this re-interment to the date of the Dissolution, or soon after, especially as the spot is too elevated to form any portion of the site of the Priory. Probably, this was the work of some devotee, who thus sought to protect the bones of the pious founders from being scattered to the winds. If such, however, be the case, the spot where the Cists were found, cannot be considered as part of the Chapter House site. By their recent discovery, the remains of Gundreda will once more rest beneath the original slab or lid of her coffin, or the greater portion of it. The lid of the Earl’s coffin was, probably, similar; but, of this, no trace has been found.
  The following observations on the discovery, communicated to the Sussex Express, by Mr. Blaauw, one of the Committee, are entitled to special attention:—
  “It is obvious, from the length of these receptacles, that the bones of the Earl and Countess have been transferred to them from some previous tombs; and, it is not difficult to suppose that the Chapter House, not being built at the time of their deaths, the founders were buried elsewhere until its completion; and that the bodies were then found so decayed, that their bones only remained for removal to a more distinguished situation, and were, on that occasion, placed in these very leaden chests. A rebuilding of the Priory Church was begun on the anniversary of William the founder’s death, in 1243, and from the antique form of the letters G and M, the inscriptions cannot be fixed at a later period. The characters, indeed, more resemble the form used in the 12th century. Of the genuine antiquity of these relics there cannot be the slightest doubt.”
…
  The Relics have been preserved by these means. The land on which the Priory stood, and through which the railway passes, belongs to a lady named Jackson, and who stipulated with the contractor for the railway works, Mr. Wythes, through her solicitor, Mr. Hoper, of Lewes, that all relics which might be discovered should be reserved for her. Accordingly, they have been saved from falling into the hands of persons who might have been unable to appreciate their real interest, but who might have caused them to minister to their cupidity.
  On returning to the site of the discoveries, our mind’s eye carried us through a vista of eight centuries, as we gazed by turns on the crumbling and ivy-clad ruins, and the railway works hard by. Then, too, we felt the true spirit of Mr. Blaauw’s concluding reflexions:—“Many a hymn and mass have been chaunted on behalf of the souls of the pious founders of the Priory on the spot where noisy steam-engines will soon rush across; and, though we by no means wish the masses back, yet it almost requires the iron conscience of a railway to be proof against the curses denounced in his charter by William de Warenne on any who should disturb his foundation. ‘May those who oppose or destroy these things meet with God’s sword of anger, fury, vengeance, and eternal malediction; but may God welcome in peace with grace, mercy, and eternal salvation those who preserve and defend them.’”

The remains of William and Gundrada are now located in the Gundrada chapel of the Southover church in Lewes, Kent image from Sussex Parish Churches

• Parents: Dictionary of national biography vol 59 p374 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 p493 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953); Medieval Lands (WILLIAM [I] de Warenne)
• Marriage (1st): Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 pp54-5 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949); Dictionary of national biography vol 59 p373 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 p494 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Children: Dictionary of national biography vol 59 pp374-5 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 p495n (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Marriage (2nd): Dictionary of national biography vol 59 p373 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899) citing Bermondsey Annals, iii. 420; The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 p494 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Occupation: Dictionary of national biography vol 59 p374 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 pp493-5 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953); Medieval Lands (WILLIAM [I] de Warenne)
• Notes: ‘Observations in disproof of the pretended marriage of William de Warren’ (Thomas Stapleton, 1834) printed in Archaeological Journal vol 3 pp1-26; ‘The Origin of the Family of Warenne’ (L. C. Loyd, 1934) in Yorkshire Archæological Journal vol 31 pp106-13; Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8; Illustrated London News 8 November 1845 p295; The ecclesiastical history of England and Normandy by Ordericus Vitalis vol 2 p408 (trans. Thomas Forester, 1853); Dictionary of national biography vol 59 pp372-4 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th edition vol 28 p324 (ed. Hugh Chisholm, 1911); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 pp493-5 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953); Medieval Lands (WILLIAM [I] de Warenne); wikipedia (William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey)
• Death: Dictionary of national biography vol 59 p373 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899), citing the manuscript register of Lewes priory; The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 p495 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Burial: The ecclesiastical history of England and Normandy by Ordericus Vitalis vol 2 pp472-3 (trans. Thomas Forester, 1853); Illustrated London News 8 November 1845 p295; Dictionary of national biography vol 59 pp373-4 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 p495 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953); Notes on the churches in the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey, mentioned in Domesday book p290 (Arthur Hussey, 1852)

William de Warenne

• William de Warenne ( ? - 1148)
• Gundrada de Warenne
• Ralph de Warenne
• Ada de Warenne ( ? - 1178)
• Reginald de Warenne

Charter of William de Warenne, 2nd Earl, gifting land to Lewes priory image from Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8 p70 (Charles Travis Clay, 1949)

• Parents: Dictionary of national biography vol 59 p374 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 p495 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Marriage: Dictionary of national biography vol 59 p374 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 pp495-6 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Children: Chronica de Mailros p71 (ed. Joseph Stevenson, 1835); Dictionary of national biography vol 59 pp374-5 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 pp495-6 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953); wikipedia (William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey)
• Occupation: Dictionary of national biography vol 59 p374 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 pp495-6 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Notes: Early Yorkshire Charters vol 8; Dictionary of national biography vol 59 pp374-5 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th edition vol 28 p324 (ed. Hugh Chisholm, 1911); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 pp495-6 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953); Chronica de Mailros p71 (ed. Joseph Stevenson, 1835); Medieval Lands (WILLIAM [II] de Warenne); wikipedia (William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey)
• Death: Dictionary of national biography vol 59 p374 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899), citing the manuscript register of Lewes priory; The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 pp495-6 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)
• Burial: Dictionary of national biography vol 59 p374 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1899); The Complete Peerage vol 12 part 1 pp495-6 (George Edward Cokayne, enlarged by Geoffrey H. White, 1953)