Feudal barony of Clifford
The feudal barony of Clifford, also called the Honour of Clifford, was centered at Clifford Castle in Herefordshire, England. In 1086 the Domesday Book records Clifford Castle as held by Ralph de Tosny, a powerful baron who had built the castle through his connections with William FitzOsbern, the 1st Earl of Hereford. Before 1127 the barony passed to Richard FitzPons, who was the brother and heir of Drogo FitzPons, and Richard married Maud de Gloucester, sister of Miles of Gloucester, the Earl of Hereford.
Their son took the surname de Clifford, probably Walter de Clifford (died 1190). He was followed by Richard de Clifford (died 1199), who died childless, and then by Walter de Clifford (died 1221), likely his brother. Walter’s eldest son, also named Walter de Clifford (died 1263), inherited the barony but had no surviving male heirs, so the barony descended through his daughter. Walter’s younger son, Roger de Clifford (died 1231) of Tenbury, started a long Clifford line that would later hold Appleby and Skipton and bear titles such as Baron de Clifford (1299), Earl of Cumberland (1525), Baron Clifford (1628), and Baron Clifford of Chudleigh (1672), the last of which survives in 2015 in the male line at Ugbrooke Park, Devon.
Walter de Clifford’s daughter Maud de Clifford (died 1282/85) married first William Longespée and then John Giffard. Maud’s daughter and heiress, Margaret Longespée, regained the barony after Giffard’s death in 1299 and married Henry de Lacy, the 3rd Earl of Lincoln and feudal baron of Skipton. In 1310 the barony of Skipton was granted to Robert de Clifford, creating a junior Clifford line as the Barons de Clifford of Appleby.
Margaret Longespée’s daughter Alice de Lacy (died 1348) was the heiress who died childless after three marriages: to Thomas, Earl of Lancaster; then Ebulo Lestrange; and then Hugh de Frene. Clifford Castle itself was destroyed in 1402 by Welsh forces during Owain Glyndŵr’s rebellion.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 07:32 (CET).