The Battle Abbey Roll. Vol. II.
by
The Duchess of Cleveland.

Prepared by Michael A. Linton
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Fitz Hugh : "These great Yorkshire barons descended from Bardolph, Lord of Ravenswath and other manors in Richmondshire at the time of the Conquest; but they certainly did not assume this surname till temp. Edward III."—Sir Egerton Brydges. (See Bodin.) As here given, it must refer to Robert Fitz Hugh, Baron of Malpas, one of the barons of Hugh Lupus, Earl Palatine of Chester, and generally believed to be his illegitimate son. He was among the most powerful of "the cruel potentates that spilt the Welshmen's blood" with the never-sheathed swords of Lords-Marcher, in the ruthless battles of the Border. His castle of Malpas commanded the important and difficult pass that formed one of the gates of Wales: and two other frontier-fortresses, Oldcastle and Shocklack, were included within his great domain. In his descendants, and probably in him, was vested the office of Serjeant of the Peace for all Cheshire, except the hundreds of Wirrall and Macclesfield. "Some would have the Baron of Malpas to be the prime baron, forasmuch as Robert Fitz Hugh hath f°r the most part the pre-eminence in the subscription of old charts in those ancient times, as also in the record of Domesday Book, where among all the rest °f the barons he is put down first next after the Earl, and by which it appears also that he held more land in the county than any one of the rest except William Malbedenge."—Ormerod's Cheshire. But this point of precedence is admitted to be exceedingly dubious; and it is certain that when the Baron of Halton was constituted Hereditary High Constable of Chester, he ranked in right of his office as Premier Baron.

"It is agreed by all parties that Robert Fitz Hugh died without male issue; and by the best authorities he had two daughters, Letitia, the wife of Richard Patric" (see De La Laund), and Mabilia, the wife of William Belward (see Belevers). "The representation of the Patrics passed through the Suttons and Dudleys to the Wards, and that of the latter through the Egertons and Breretons to the Holts."—Ibid. William Belward is the Cheshire knight mentioned by Camden, "each of whose sons took different surnames, while their sons, in turn, also took different names from their fathers. They altered their names in respect to habitation, to Egerton, Cotgrave, and Overton: in respect to colour, to Gough, which is red: in respect to learning, to Ken-clarke (a knowing clerk or learned man): in respect to quality, to Goodman; in respect to stature, to Little: and in respect to the Christian name of one of them, to Richardson, though all were descended from William Belward."—Remaines, p. 141. "Who would conceive, without good proof," asks Sir Edward Dering, "that Malpas, Gough, Golborne, Egerton, Goodman, Cotgrave, Weston, Little, Kenclerke, and Richardson, were all in short time the issue of William Belward?"—Lower's Curiosities of Heraldry, App. p. 305. And yet one name—Cholmondeley—is omitted from the list.