TO HOLD BY THE SWORD

THE 8TH NORMAN EARL OF CHESTER - JOHN THE SCOT

BY PHILLIP E JONES

Because of his uncle’s lack of a legitimate heir, the Earldom of Chester was automatically granted to John, the son of Blundeville’s oldest sister Maud and her husband David of Huntington. Although he inherited much of the late Ranulph’s estates in and around Cheshire itself, large parts of the late Earl’s holdings outside of the county were thought to have been divided up between his surviving relatives. Initially content with their individual legacies, unfortunately it wasn’t too long before certain beneficiaries and their agents began to challenge their level of entitlement, causing the matter to become embroiled in a mass of legal wrangling and extensive litigation.

As for Earl John himself, there appears to be little to singularly identify him as being either notable or remarkable during his tenure at Chester, but rather he seems to have been a fairly insignificant figure, when compared to his better known and often nationally renowned ancestors. It has been said that John was the last Norman Earl to carry the “Curtana” or “Sword of Mercy” at the marriage of King Henry III to his future Queen, Eleanor. He also benefited from the earlier peace agreements that had been made between the English king, Henry III and the Welsh ruler Llewellyn ap Iorwerth which saw the turbulent border region settled and peaceful. It was only in the same year that Scot died, that the Welsh ruler himself was reported to have suffered a stroke and then been succeeded by his two sons Dafydd and Gruffudd who would later reignite the conflict between the two countries, leading to further destruction and bloodshed.

His marriage to Helen, the daughter of the Welsh ruler Llewellyn which had been arranged by his uncle Ranulph in 1222, is thought to have been purely political and as a result was not a happy relationship for either. It has even been suggested that Earl John’s death in 1237 was as a direct result of him being poisoned by his unhappy spouse, although there is no definitive evidence to substantiate these allegations.

Shortly before his unexpected death in 1237, Scot was reported to have been summoned to appear at court in Northampton in order to settle a further dispute over property which had been brought by another member of the family. When he died, it brought to an end over 160 years of his extended family’s tenure at Chester and heralded the beginning of royal rule in the city, which since 1253 has seen the eldest son of the English monarch granted the Earldom of the city.

In the years following John’s death at Chester, the Earldom was reported to have been administered by a number of royal officials, headed by Stephen de Segrave, who controlled the estate until such time as a final decision was made regarding its future. The monarch’s intentions for the city seemed to be implicit though, given that in 1246 he was thought to have instructed his Chief Justice, John de Grey to replace Chester Castle’s wooden palisade with a stone and lime mortar wall, substantially strengthening the structure for future use. Finally, in 1247 Henry III began to make preparations to officially take Chester into royal hands and by 1253 had announced that the whole of Cheshire, its lands and castles would be granted to his first born son and heir, the Prince Edward, later to be King Edward I. Although it was some time before the new Earl would visit his new estates, on 17^th July 1256 the Prince Edward was reported to have visited Chester to receive the fealty and homage of his new subjects, including the men of North Wales who in later years would oppose him militarily.  

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