Walchelin de Ferriers

Walchelin de Ferrieres (or Walkelin de Ferrers) (died 1201) was a Norman baron and principal captain of King Richard I of England.

The Ferriers family hailed from the southern marches of Normandy and had previously protected the duchy from the hostility of the counts of Maine and Anjou. With the union of the domains of Anjou and Normandy in 1144, and the investment of Geoffrey V Plantagenet as duke of Normandy, most of this land lost its strategic importance.

Walchelin was the son of Henry de Ferrieres, a nephew of Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby. His father Henry was son of either Enguenulf or William. Like his father, Walchelin held the castles of Ferrières-Saint-Hilaire and Chambray for the service of 5 knights. He had 42 and 3/4 in his service, enfeoffed in his lands. In England, Walchelin held the manors of Oakham in Rutland and Lechlade in Gloucestershire. He is known to have held this land since at least 1172.

During the Third Crusade, he and his son and heir, Henry, served in the force of Richard I of England. A John de Ferrieres, believed to be a nephew, was also present. Walchelin had stayed with the King in Sicily. It is apparent that Walchelin was close in the counsel of the king. He and his knights arrived at Saint-Jean d'Acre sometime in April or June 1191. Some months previously, his second cousin, William de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby had been killed at the siege.

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