Vol 1: The Bluets - Lackham Countryside Centre

The Bluets 59
Gilbert Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, [assigned] to his
sister lady Eleanor, countess of Pembroke, of all the
issues of the manors of Creadon, Stokholt, Kingewud
Inteberg, and Clafford
It is noteworthy that William and his co-witness Ralph, son of Richard
are given as knights of the Countess , not the earl. The other witnesses
indicate that William was associating with the great and the (not
necessarily very) good of the country 233.
There appears to be a wide spread believe, especially among some
transatlantic Bluet descendants, that the Bluets were the early Earls
of Salisbury. A careful reading of the evidence makes it quite clear
that this is not, never was, and never will be, the case.
It is surprising that the confusion arises at all; the Earldom of Salisbury
has been extensively investigated by medieval genealogists and it is
accepted that the very first Earl of Salisbury was Patrick, 2nd son of
Walter FitzEdward of Salisbury. Patrick was created Earl of Wiltshire,
and styled Earl of Salisbury. He was attesting charters as Earl of
Salisbury by 1142-1147, so we may assume he was also created earl by
1142, by Queen Maud / Matilda. The original creation continued through
the last female of this line, Ela, the daughter of Earl William who had
equal rights in the avowson of St. Cyriac‘s church in Lacock, see above.
After her father‘s death in 1196 she was given in marriage to the bastard
brother of Richard I, one William de Longespee 234. The earldom was part
of Ela's inheritance, and William became Earl of Salisbury, (and also Earl
of Wiltshire). His line is also well documented; it ended with the last
heiress Margaret marrying Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln. Their line
ended with a single heiress named Alice who passed it to the Audley
family. Neither the Lacys nor the Audleys used the title and, because of
this, the king 235 assumed that the title had reverted back to the crown,
and he granted it to his friend William de Montagu on 16th March 1337.
It stayed with the Montagu family until it passed to the Nevilles, then
233
Calendar Patent Rolls Henry III vol 3 1232 – 1247 p125 The other witnesses
were : Sir R. Earl of Poitou and Cornwall, Sir Hubert de Burgo, Earl of Kent, Roger
le Bigod, Earl of Norfolk and Suffolk ―Sir R, Earl of Poitou and Cornwall,‖ is
Richard, brother of Henry III, but he was only styled Count of Poitou at this time.
However the French rank of Compte equates to an English Earl (My thanks to Leo
van de Plas for his assistance with this
234
see the discussion on Ela, Lacock Abbey and William, below, for more details
235
Edward III