Aguillon family
The Aguillon family were French landowners who held properties in southern England from before 1135 until about 1312. Their estates covered several counties, but in most places the male line died out and the lands passed to daughters or their husbands. Because of this, the Aguillon name often survived only through heiresses, while the male lines faded.
The English branch probably began with William Aguillon, a noble who lived near the Norman frontier and died on the Second Crusade. He was married to Margaret of Gisors, and their heir was Enguerrand.
In England there appear to have been four main branches, though linking them with certainty is difficult. One line is the Manser branch, which held lands in Arundel and Nutbourne and likely had a son named Robert I. Another line comes from William I, who also held Nutbourne and Offham and had a son Reginald I; his lands were later divided among four daughters.
A third line starts with Richard I, who married Margery Thorney and left sons who held Warblington, Emsworth, Nutbourne, Up Marden and Burpham. His descendant Richard II passed the lands to Eleanor, who in 1312 left them to her granddaughter Juliana when she died.
A fourth line includes William III, who became Sheriff of Surrey, and the later Perching/Fulking line built by Sir Robert II, who also served as sheriff and attended the king’s coronation.
By around 1312 the Aguillon estates had largely passed into new hands through heiresses, and the direct Aguillon male line in England had disappeared. The story shows how medieval landholding depended as much on marriage and inheritance as on a surviving male lineage.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 16:31 (CET).