Brian Fitzcount

Brian fitz Count (also Brian of Wallingford) was descended from the Breton ducal house, and became an Anglo-Norman noble, holding the lordships of Wallingford and Abergavenny. He was a loyal adherent of Henry I, King of England, and a staunch supporter of his daughter, the Empress Matilda, during the Anarchy (1135–1153).

Brian fitz Count was an illegitimate son of Alan IV, Duke of Brittany and Lucie de Ballon (see also Hamelin de Ballon), and thus the half-brother of Conan III, Duke of Brittany. Brian's maternal uncles were Hamelin de Ballon and Wynebald de Ballon. He was sent to be raised at the court of King Henry I of England. He served Henry well at the Battle of Tinchebray in 1106 and elsewhere, winning the king's favor. Brian became a close friend of Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester, Henry I's illegitimate son, and the two remained longstanding allies. In 1127 Brian and Robert were chosen by Henry to accompany his daughter, Empress Matilda, to Anjou during the negotiations for her marriage to Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou.

Brian married an English heiress, Matilda D'Oyly, widow of Miles Crispin, and through her obtained the Honour of Wallingford c. 1127. Brian also inherited the castle and Barony of Abergavenny in the Welsh Marches from his uncle, Hamelin de Balun. He held the honour of Grosmont Castle, but by what right is uncertain. He gave this to Walter de Hereford, the son of Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford about 1141. Brian held the honour of Wallingford by marriage, and his extensive estates in the counties of Berkshire and Wiltshire ran from the Chilterns to the Thames.

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