Hugh de Grandmesnil

Hugh de Grandmesnil (1032 – 22 February 1098),[1] (known in French as Hugues and Latinised as Hugo de Grentmesnil, aliter Grentemesnil, etc.), is one of the proven companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Subsequently, he became a great landowner in England.

He was the elder son of Robert I of Grandmesnil by his wife Hawise d'Echaffour, a daughter of Giroie, Lord of Échauffour. His younger brother was Robert II of Grandmesnil.

Following the Norman Conquest King William the Conqueror gave Hugh 100 manors in recompense for his service, sixty-five of them in Leicestershire, in the Midlands. He was appointed Sheriff of Leicestershire and Governor of Hampshire. Hugh's landholdings are listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 ([2] p 652-6).

  1. ^ Dictionary of National Biography ("DNB"), 1885–1900, Volume 28 states Hugh de Grandmesnil died in 1094, although the earlier Orderic Vitalis ("OV"), Tome III, p. 400 states that he died in 1098. The OV 1098 date is internally consistent with its twenty-eight-year span to the death of his three-times-married son Richard (III), which is recorded elsewhere[citation needed] as 1126. Orderic Vitalis was witness to the interment of the remains of Richard III at his abbey. The 1094 date may be purposeful pre-publication edit (to avoid compilation confusion with the DNB entry for Hugh, Earl of Shrewsbury (d.1098)) that was not reversed prior to publication of the DNB.
  2. ^ Domesday Book: A Complete Transliteration. London: Penguin, 2003. ISBN 0-14-143994-7