Wynebald de Ballon

Wynebald de Ballon (variously spelt Baalun, Baalan, Balun, Balodun, Balon etc.), (c.1058–c.1126), was an early Norman magnate. He was a son of Drogo (or Dru) de Ballon and appeared in England accompanied by his brothers, Hamelin de Ballon, later created 1st Baron of Abergavenny, and Wynoc de Ballon, about whom little is recorded. Whether any of the family fought at Hastings is unknown, but the two well-known brothers certainly assisted in the process of subjugating the English and Welsh which followed the Norman Invasion, as their many grants of land, given in gratitude for their services, attest.

Wynebald was born in France, probably as his brother Hamelin was known to have been, in the ancient castle of Ballon, 12 miles north of Le Mans, capital of the ancient province of Maine. From its strength the castle was known as "The Gateway to Maine". Ballon is today a French commune, in the department of Sarthe (72), in the modern region of Pays-de-la-Loire. Maine was invaded and conquered by William Duke of Normandy in the early 1060s, just prior to his invasion of England.

In about 1088 he received a lordship at Caerleon, in the southern Welsh marches, from King William II (1087–1100). Davies, R.R., in The Age of Conquest: Wales 1063-1415, states that the two brothers Hamelin and Wynebald were put in charge respectively of securing Abergavenny and Caerleon.

Bermondsey Abbey was founded in 1082 by a wealthy citizen of the City of London, Alwin Child. It was of the Cluniac order, held in much affection by the first Norman kings, as witnessed by William II (1087–1100) having donated his royal manor of Bermondsey, Surrey as its site. It was directly across the River Thames from the Tower of London, recently built by William I (1066–1087) as his principal seat.

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