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 Bef 1100 -
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| Name |
William DE GORRAM |
| Born |
Bef 1100 |
| Gender |
Male |
| Person ID |
I14556 |
Young Kent Ancestors |
| Last Modified |
6 Nov 2016 |
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| Notes |
- Built castle at la Tanniere circa 1128
Collectanea topographica et genealogica
By Collectanea topographica et genealogica, Chapter XVII. pp 182-
[https://books.google.ca/books?id=YScAAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA182&lpg=PA182&dq=on+the+descent+of+the+manor+of+gorham&source=bl&ots=MK3WuEBGiz&sig=IHH0D7lGsLbRMegoUPOOmtq-jn4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi1yqqAs5PQAhULwYMKHZjvBLkQ6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=on%20the%20descent%20of%20the%20manor%20of%20gorham&f=false]
On the descent of the manor of Gorhambury in Hertfordshire, and of the Anglo-Breton family from whom that estate derived its name.
The manor of which it is proposed to give an account in the course of the following pages, was known by the name of Westwick from the earliest record till Century xiv, by that of Westwick-Gorham during Century xv, and by that of Gorhambury from about the period of the dissolution of monasteries to the present day. The family from whom its existing name was derived, became its possessors about the close of the reign of Henry I.; they came into England, from Britanny, shortly before that period, being descended from distinguished ancestors settled in the province of Maine, France.
De Gorram, of la Tanniere, in the Maine
The de Gorrams can be traced, in Britanny, to the beginning of Century xii. Their castle was situated on a small rivulet called the Futaye, at la Tanniere, seven miles west from the town of Gorram[5] (from which place doubtless the family name originated) and twenty miles n.w. from Mayenne. The name is variously spelt Gorram (the most ancient mode), Goram, Gorran, Goran, Gorren and Goron; its English orthography has, almost without exception, been Gorham from the earliest records. Many original grants by the de Gorrams of la Tanniere to the neighbouring Abbey of the Holy Trinity at Savigny still exist, and were examined by the writer of this article, on a tour in Normandy, in the autumn of 1836; of these, and of other ancient records (which will be referred to in tracing the descent and personal history of this family), a short abstract is given in the note below. [I have abstracted only those relating to William de Gorram]
William de Gorram is the first of this name who occurs in Britanny. His castle at la Tanniere, being on the frontiers of Normandy, appears to have been destroyed, or at least to have been greatly dilapidated, in the early part of the 12th Century, by the ravages attendant on the contests between Henry I and Fulk County of Anjou, during the successful attempt of the English monarch to wrest that Duchy from his nephew William Fitz-Robert. Peace having been restored, a new castle was built at la Tanniere, the chapel of which was given by William de Gorram, in 1128, to the monastery of Mount St. Michael near Avranches; together with a plot of ground for the cells of the monks, an adjoining orchard, the tithe of the men of his castle, the tithe of his market, of his mills, of his ovens, and of his fish. This grant, which is preserved in the College Library at Avranches in the beautifulcartulary of Mont St. Michael, is subjoined (A):
"Ego Guido, scae Caenomanensis Ecclesiae Episcopus, notum facio tam presentibus quem futuris, quod Ecclesia beati Archangeli Michaelis de Normannia sita in Periculo Maris, tempore nostro et praefatae ecclesiae Ricardi Abbatis, recuperavit in diocesi nostra ecclesiam beati Bertivini, in pago Erneiae videlicet. quae tempore longo deserta fuerat per desolationem malorum ipsius patriae, cum cemeterio, et demimis ipsius parochiae, et aliis beneficiis ad ipsum pertinentibus. Capellam quoque cujusdam Castri novi quod Taonaria vacatur, in praefatae ecclesiae parochia, a Gulielmo de Gorram instaurati, (jam dicto Gulielmo coram me apud Coenobium Savigniense annuente et donante, cum terra ad faciendas domus Monachorum, et cum viridario...
[5] The castle of Gorram (now called Goron) was granted in 1135 by Geoffrey Plantagenet to Juhel II. Lord of Mayenne, on condition that he would assist him in obtaining possession of the dower of his wife Matilda (Robert de Monte, Append. in Sigebert. Chronic. in Op. Guiberti Abbatis, p. 758. Parish 1651); Gorren Castle was regranted to Juhel III. de Mayenne in 1199 by Arthur, Duke of Britanny. (Menage, Hist. de Sable, p. 186). The earliest notice of it in English Records is in 1202, when King John issued a writ for seizing the castle of Gorham (Pat. Rolls, 3 John. m. 9). We may observe here the variations in the spelling of this name.
pedigree attached to the chapter
William de Gorram built a castle at la Tanniere about 1128, wife named Matilda
had a brother Henry living 1128
had a presumed brother Geoffrey abbot of St. Albans 1120, died 1146
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