Roger (Abitot) d'Abitot (abt. 1068 - aft. 1135)

Born about 1068 in Salwarpe, Droitwich, Worcestershire, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Died after 1135 after about age 67 in Worcestershire, England

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Rev Daniel Washburn Jones [send private message]

ROGER d'ABITOT - BARON of SALWARPE and ELMLEY - HEREDITARY VISCOUNT of WORCESTERSHIRE - CASTELIAN of WORCESTER CASTLE

Biography

Sir Roger was born about 1068 as Roger d'Abitot ... Also known in his time and recorded as "Roger of Worcester" and "Vicecomes de Worcestria" ... He was the son of "Urse the Sheriff" and inherited the lands and titles of his father, Viscount of Worcestershire (Sheriff), Constable of Worcester Castle, along with all of the vast possessions* Urse had accumulated after the Conquest, during the reorganization of England by king William I.

* As well as the lands held directly of the king in Worcester, Gloucester, Hereford & Warwickshire's, Urse also held properties of other lords, nobles & clergymen in these same shires and including (at least), lands in Dorset, Oxford, and Wiltshire's ... "Urse had manors in many parts of England".

After the death of Urse, probably very soon after, King Henry I addresses a writ to Roger as "Vicecomes de Worcestria".

This likely coincided with the recording of him being Sheriff, beginng in about 1108.

Banishment

About 1114, Roger was stripped of the enormous inheritance Urse had accumulated. Roger was accused of having caused the death of one of the Kings servants and even though he was later pardoned by the same King (in or bef. 1135), his lands and titles were not returned. The details of this "event" are conveniently minimal/missing*.

* One interesting bit of information that has come to light only recently, is that Worcester Castle was "burned to the ground" in 1113 ... apparently just prior to the mysterious usurping of Rogers' land and titles!

According to Mabel Washburn, it does help to explain the Crest and Motto of the Washburn's ... The Crest: "A Gules coil of flax surmounted with an Argent and Gules Wreath, above which are flames of fire proper", and the Motto: "Purificatus Non Consumptus" (Purified not Consumed),

Roger is asserted to have been Iillustrating a line from Isaiah 42:3:

"a bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench".

The Washbourne family that afterward held the Manor Washbourne* at Little Washbourne, Worcestershire, did so feudally, as under-tenants to Rogers' brother-in-law, Walter de Beauchamp of Elmley Castle.

* We know that Roger held other lands, as did his father, not as of the King directly, but as under-tenant to other nobles & lords, some of which undoubtedly were still tied to him and/or his close family, many, many years after.

Mabel Thacher Rosemary Washburn, in her book; "WASHBURN FAMILY FOUNDATIONS in Normandy, England and America", based on her lifelong research of the Washburn linage, states about Roger:

"There seems a pall of silence after his ruin by the King, Henry I, following his unexplained offence in killing or causing the killing of a servant or officer of the King. Was this savage, guilty murder? Was it in defence of himself or another? Was it a wild, lawless endeavor to do private justice against a criminal? We can not answer these questions. We can hope Roger was guiltless."

Sir Rogers' Crest and Motto

The Crest and Motto of the Washbourne Arms, have most likely been placed thereon, being for that of Sir Roger d'Abitot, son and heir to Urse.

• The Crest:

Is specifically that of a fire, above a smoldering coil of flax, representing that of a bruised, but not broken reed, stronger for the purification of, but not consumed by the fire.

• The Motto:

"Purificatus Non Consumptus" ("Purified, Not Consumed") -- Illustrating a line from Isaiah 42:3:

"a bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench"

Starting Over

Roger and his heirs had to start again. We know about the small fife of Orleton in Estham and how later it is recorded as a fee of Stanford Manor, the Washbourne Estate and the namesake Washbourne Manor in southern Worcestershire, both being brought to honor by this family, becoming known as Knights Washbourne and Stanford Washbourne .... Rogers possible heirs becoming Lords of Washbourne, of Stanford, Orleton and Little Comberton, recorded also with properties in Dufford, Bosbury, Aldington, Bretforton and Bengeworth. The main branch becoming the Lords of Wichenford, and eventually reclaiming Roger's hereditary title, as Sheriff's of Worcestershire.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ Entered by Rev. Daniel Washburn Jones

• WASHBURN FAMILY FOUNDATIONS in Normandy, England and America by Mabel Thacher Rosemary Washburn http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89062009634;view=1up;seq=7

• Charter of Herefordshire Land Transfer - Feudal Court of Rolf de Toeni

• Victoria County History, English History Online (VCH)

• The Will of Sir John "The Old Sheriff" de Wassheborne of Wichenford 1517

• Medieval Lands - Norman nobility -

ABITOT