Urse d'Abitot le Despencer Sheriff of Worcestershire ¹

  General Notes:

Urse d'Abetot[a] (c. 1040 \endash 1108), first feudal baron of Salwarpe[6] in Worcestershire, was a Norman who followed King William the Conqueror to England, and served as Sheriff of Worcestershire in about 1069. Little is known of his origins. Although Urse's feudal overlord in Normandy was present at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, there is no evidence that Urse himself took part in the invasion.

Urse built the earliest form of Worcester Castle in Worcester, which encroached on the cathedral cemetery there, earning him a curse from the Archbishop of York. Urse helped to put down a rebellion against King William I in 1075, and quarrelled with the Church in his county over the jurisdiction of the sheriffs. He continued in the service of William's sons after the king's death, and was appointed constable under William II and marshal under Henry I. Urse was known for his acquisitiveness, and during William II's reign was considered second only to Ranulf Flambard, another royal official, in his rapacity. Urse's son succeeded him as sheriff but was subsequently exiled, thus forfeiting the office. Through his daughter, Urse is an ancestor of the Beauchamp family, who eventually became Earls of Warwick. ²

Urse married Adeliza de Ponthieu. (Adeliza de Ponthieu was born about 1046 in Ponthieu, Somme, Picardie, France and died about 1120 in Worcestershire, England.)