Hugh de Neville

Hugh de Neville
The church at Waltham Abbey, where Hugh de Neville was buried
Chief Forester
In office 1198–1216
Sheriff of Oxfordshire
In office 1196–1199
Sheriff of Essex and Sheriff of Hertfordshire
In office 1197–1200
Sheriff of Hampshire
In office 1209 – c. 1213
Chief Forester
In office 1224–1229 or 1234
Sheriff of Lincolnshire
In office 1227–1227
Personal details
Died	1234
Spouse(s)	(1) Joan de Cornhill (2) Beatrice
Children	John de Neville Henry de Neville Herbert de Neville Joan

Hugh de Neville (died 1234; sometimes Hugh Neville) was the Chief Forester under the kings Richard I, John, and Henry III of England. He was also the sheriff for a number of counties over his lifetime. Related to a number of other royal officials as well as a bishop, Neville was a member of Prince Richard's household. After Richard became king in 1189, Neville continued in his service and he accompanied him on the Third Crusade. Neville remained in the royal service following Richard's death in 1199 and the accession of King John to the throne, becoming one of the new king's favourites and often gambling with him. He was named in Magna Carta as one of John's principal advisors, considered by a medieval chronicler to be one of King John's "evil councillors". He deserted John after the French invasion of England in 1216, but returned to pledge his loyalty to John's son Henry III after the latter's accession to the throne later that year. Neville's royal service continued until his death in 1234, though by then he was a less significant figure than he had been at the height of his powers.

Neville was the son of Ralph de Neville, a son of Alan de Neville, who was also Chief Forester. Hugh had a brother, Roger de Neville, who was part of Hugh's household from 1202 to 1213, when Roger was given custody of Rockingham Castle by King John. Another brother was William, who was given some of Hugh's lands in 1217. Hugh, Roger, and William were related to a number of other royal officials and churchmen, most notable among them Geoffrey de Neville, who was a royal chamberlain, and Ralph Neville, who became Bishop of Chichester. Hugh de Neville employed Ralph de Neville at the start of Ralph's career, and the two appear to have remained on good terms throughout the rest of Hugh's life.

Hugh de Neville was a member of the household of Prince Richard, later Richard I, and also served Richard's father, King Henry II at the end of Henry's reign, administering two baronies for the king. Neville accompanied Richard on the Third Crusade; he was one of the few knights who fought with the king on 5 August 1192 outside the walls of Jaffa, when the king and a small force of knights and crossbowmen fought off a surprise attack by Saladin's forces. It was famously reported that during the engagement Saladin sent Richard two remounts in the thick of battle, so that Richard would not be forced to fight on foot. Neville's account of events was a source for the chronicler Ralph of Coggeshall's entries on Richard's activities in the Third Crusade.