Richard de Redvers - Under Henry I

Under Henry I

When William Rufus died suddenly in 1100 and Henry became king, Richard de Redvers quickly became one of his most trusted advisers. He witnessed more than 20 of Henry's charters & royal writs, in several different places, and sometimes as the only witness. After Richard's death his loyalty was remarked upon by Anselm of Canterbury.

His continued allegiance resulted in Henry awarding him several large grants of land: these included the honours of Plympton in Devon, Carisbrooke on the Isle of Wight and Christchurch in Hampshire (now in Dorset). In addition to these he still held his estates in Normandy in the Cotentin (at Néhou) and Vexin (at Vernon) and he had also acquired the manors of Crowell in Oxfordshire and Woolley in Berkshire on his marriage.

After the grants from the king, Richard's Devon estates probably consisted of around 180 Domesday manors, including Tiverton and Honiton, as well as the boroughs of Exeter and Plympton. The honour of Christchurch consisted of many widely-scattered manors in several counties. He held virtually all of the Isle of Wight (the exceptions being two manors held by the bishop of Winchester), and the island remained in his family until King Edward I bought it from a dying Isabella de Fortibus in 1293.

According to Robert Bearman, Richard de Redvers can confidently be rated among the twelve wealthiest barons of the time, with estates worth well over £750. It is notable, however, that less than one third of the value of the estates that the king bestowed on him were from ancient demesne (and hence deprived the king of income); the majority were from escheats, including the Isle of Wight which the king had confiscated after Roger de Breteul's failed Revolt of the Earls in 1075. It was probably in the king's interest to have the Isle of Wight under control of someone trustworthy as it was a prime target for further attack from abroad.