Walter de Clare
| Walter de Clare | |
|---|---|
| Died | c. 1138 |
| Nationality | Anglo-Norman |
| Other names | Walter fitzRichard |
| Occupation | baron |
| Years active | 1119–1136 |
| Known for | founding Tintern Abbey |
| Parent(s) |
Richard de Clare Rohese |
Walter de Clare or Walter fitzRichard (died probably 1137 or 1138) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and founder of Tintern Abbey. A member of a powerful family, Walter was a younger son who was given lands around Chepstow Castle by King Henry I of England sometime before 1119. Walter continued to appear in Henry's charters for the rest of the reign, and was an early supporter of King Stephen of England, Henry's successor as king. Walter last appears in the historical record in 1136 and died without children. His lands went to his nephew.
Walter was a younger son of Richard de Clare, a Norman lord and landholder who also held Clare and Tonbridge in England. Walter's mother was Rohese, the daughter of Walter Giffard. Rohese and Richard had at least six sons and two daughters. Besides Walter, they were Roger, Gilbert, Richard, Robert and Godfrey. The daughters were Alice and Rohese. Walter's family of de Clare was a powerful one, with members of it having participated in rebellions and conspiracies against Henry's older brother King William II of England (d. 1100) in 1088 and 1095.
Little is known of Walter's life, most of it deriving from the Gesta Normannorum Ducum written by William of Jumieges. The first mention of Walter in the historical record is when he was granted the lordship of Netherwent, including Chepstow Castle beside the River Wye, by King Henry I of England. This occurred sometime before 1119. Walter's lordship of Netherwent or Chepstow was generally considered a feudal barony, and Walter is considered a baron by most historians. Walter's land grant was part of a larger series of grants by Henry in southern Wales, including some given to Walter's brother Gilbert de Clare. Henry also granted lands to another brother of Gilbert and Walter: Robert, who received Little Dunmow. These grants from the king to the Clare family helped bring them over to the royal side during the conflict between the king and his nephew William Clito over the control of Normandy in the late 1110s.
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