Walter de Lacy (died 1085)

Walter de Lacy (died 27 March 1085) was a Norman nobleman who went to England after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. He received lands in Herefordshire and Shropshire, and served King William I of England by leading military forces during 1075. He died in 1085 and one son inherited his lands. Another son became an abbot.

Walter was originally from Lassy, in Normandy. He had a brother, Ilbert de Lacy. Ilbert was the ancestor of the de Lacy family of Pontefract. Both Walter and Ilbert jointly held the Norman lands that were held of the Bishop of Bayeux.

Walter was given the lordship of Weobley in Herefordshire after the Conquest. He is already attested in the Welsh Marches by 1069, when he is recorded stopping a Welsh attack and then raiding into Wales in retribution. Walter and Ilbert may have come to England in the household of Odo of Bayeux, the Bishop of Bayeux and half-brother of King William the Conqueror. Although some historians, such as W. E. Wightman, have argued that Walter was a follower of William fitzOsbern, others, including C. P. Lewis and K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, have argued that Walter was an independent agent in England. By the time of Walter's death, he held a block of lands in Herefordshire along the border with Wales. Another group of lands was centered on Ludlow in Shropshire. These two groupings of lands allowed Walter to help defend the border of England against Welsh raids. Walter also had other lands in Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Oxfordshire. Walter kept a large number of his manors in demesne, managing them directly rather than giving them as fiefs to his knightly followers. Some of these lands in Hereford, including Holme Lacy, were held of the Bishop of Hereford through feudal tenure. In total, Domesday Book records Walter's lands as being worth £423 in income per year and as comprising 163 manors in 7 different counties. He was one of 21 individuals with land valued at more than £400 at the time of the survey.

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