Duke Henry Grosmont LANCASTER

   Other names for Henry were DERBY Earl, GARTER Knight, LANCASTER Duke and LANCASTER Earl.

   General Notes:

Earl of DERBY, 4th Earl of LANCASTER, 1st Duke of LANCASTER, Knight of the
GARTER, Governor of BRITTANY.

BOOKS
Kings and Queens of Great Britain, Genealogical Chart, Anne Taute and Romilly Squire, Taute, 1990: "Henry of Grosment, Earl of Derby, 4th Earl of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Lancaster, Knight of the Garter, Mar Isabel Beaumont, Died 1361."

A History of the Plantagenets, Vol III, The Three Edwards, Thomas B Costain, 1958, Doubleday & Co
p316: "In 1335 Philip of France openly declared his intention of helping the Scots...Edward [III] sent a fleet under the command of Henry of Lancaster (the son of blind Henry Wryneck)..."
p358: "The original Companions of the Order [of the Garter] were: two princes of the blood, Edward [III] and the Earl of Lancaster..."

The Political History of England 1216-1377, Vol III, T F Tout, AMS Press, 1905,
p314: "...[1333] The internal history of the first few years of Edward's reign was uneventful...The country was growing rich and prosperous. The annal- ists tell usof little save tournaments and mummings, and the setting up of seven new earldoms to remedy the gaps which death and forfeiture had made in the higher circle of the baronage. The earldom of Devon was revived for the house of Courtenay...William Bohun, a younger son of the Humphrey slain at Borough- bridge, became Earl of Northampton,...and Henry of Grosmont, the Earl of Lancaster's first born, Earl of Derby..."
p357: "...In June, 1345, Henry of Grosmont, Earl of Derby, the eldest son of Henry of Lancaster, landed at Bayonne with a sufficient English force to encourage the lords of Gascony to rally round the ducal banner. Soon after his landing, the death of his blind father made Derby Earl of Lancaster. During the next eighteen monts, the earl successfully led three raids into the heart of the enemies' territory. The first, begun very soon after his landing, occupied the summer of 1345. Advancing from Libourne, the limit of the Anglo-Gascon power, Henry made his way up the Dordogne, a fleet of boats co-operating with his land forces. He took the important town of Bergerac, and thence, mounting the stream as far as Lalinde, he crossed the hills separating the Dordogne from the Isle, and unsuccessfully assaulted Perigueux. Thence he advanced still further, and captured the stronghold of Auberoche, dominating the rocky valley of the Auverzere. Leaving a garrison at Auberoche, Henry returned to his base, but upon his withdrawal the Frenchclosely besieged his conquest, and the earl made a sudden move to its relief. On October 21 he won a brisk battle outside the walls of Auberoche before the more sluggish part of his army had time to reach the scene of action. This famous exploit again established the Gascon duke in Perigord."
p383: "...In revenge, the English devastated the neighbouring country by raids like that led by the Duke of Lancaster in 1351, which spread desolation from Therouanne to Etaples..."
p384: "The most famous episode of these years was a naval battle fought off Winchelsea on August 19, 1350, against a strong fleet of Spanish privateers commanded by Charles of La Cerda. The Spaniards having plundered English wine ships, Edward summoned a fleet to meet them, and himself went on board, along with the Prince of Wales, Lancaster, and many of his chief nobles. The fight that ensued was remarkable not more for the reckless valour of the king and his nobles than for the desterity of the English tactics...The glory of the victory of the Spaniards on the sea' kept up the fame first won at Sluys."
p385: "Two expeditions were organised to invade France in the summer of 1355, one for Aquitaine under the Prince ofWales, and the other for Normandy under Lancaster..."
p386: "...[1355] Unluckily, while the west winds kept the English fleet beyond the Straits of Dover, John made terms with his son-in-law. Lancaster was compensated for his disappointment by the governorship of Brittany..."
p387: "...[1356] The English were once more invited to Normandy, and on June 18 Lancaster landed at La Hougue with the double mission of aiding the Norman rebels and establishing John of Montfort, thenarrived at man's estate, in his Breton duchy...Lancaster, immediately after his landing, marched into the heart of Normandy, and soon reached Verneuil..."
p388: "...[1356] In the autumn Lancaster at last made his way to the land of whichhe had had nominal charge since the previous year...Lancaster attacked the strongholds of the Blois party, which had hitherto been exempt from the war. In October he laid siege to Rennes and was detained before its walls until July, 1357, whenhe agreed to desist from the attack in return for a huge ransom. Lancaster then established young Montfort as duke..."

The Later Middle Ages 1272-1485, George Holmes, 1962, Norton Library of England p258: "Appendix B Genealogical Table I The Plantagenets: Henry of Grosmont Duke of Lancaster (died 1361)..."

The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England, Antonia Fraser, 1975, Alfred Knopf, p71: "Henry 1st Duke of Lancaster, Mar Isabel de Beaumont, Died 1361"

   Marriage Information:

Henry married Isabel De BEAUMONT, daughter of Lord Henry BEAUMONT. (Isabel De BEAUMONT died in 1361.)