The de Montfitchet (de Montfichet, de Mountfitchet) family were of Norman origin, probably from the town of Montfiquet. Robert Gernon (Robert of the Moustache) received manorial lands in Essex in reward for his service prior to publication of the Domesday Book in 1086,[1] and his family were subsequently based there, initially in the castle at Stansted Mountfitchet. They lasted for five generations before becoming extinct when Richard de Montfichet died without issue in 1258. Other early attested spellings include Munfichet, Muntfichet, Montefixo, and Mufchet;[2] while later variants include Mountfiquit[3] and Montfiket.[4]

Amongst their accomplishments, the family founded Stratford Langthorne Abbey, which became the fifth largest in England. The links with the area were preserved even after the family disappeared, and the de Montfitchet coat of arms figured in the insignia of the County Borough of West Ham. Monfichet Road in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park at Stratford is named after the family. So are Montfichet's Tower in London, and the Essex town of Stansted Mountfitchet, with its partially reconstructed Castle Mountfitchet. The nearby district of Plaistow in London may have acquired its name when Phillipa de Monfitchet married Sir Hugh de Plaiz.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Open Domesday: Robert Gernon. Accessed 18 June 2023.
  2. ↑ See, e.g.: Innes, Cosmo, ed. (1837) [c. 1177–1178]. "Charter of King William granting a tenth of his returns in Moray to the Bishop of Moray". Registrum Episcopatus Moraviensis. Edinburgh: Bannatyne Club. p. 7. Ricardo de Munfichet Walmsley, John, ed. (2006) [1185]. Widows, Heirs, and Heiresses in the Late Twelfth Century: The Rotuli de Dominabus et Pueris et Puellis. Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies series. Vol. 308. Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies / State University of New York at Binghamton. p. 126, no. 2197. Margareta de Muntfichet ... Gilebertus de Muntfichet .... VCH Northampton 3:227-23129, fn. 21 (cites Buccleuch Deeds, ca. 1280s): "Divorgilla daughter of Sir Walter Montfichet (Montefixo)". Ragman Rolls 34 (28 August 1296): "Mufchet, Dauid (del counte de Anegos)".
  3. ↑ Stow, John (1908) [1598–1903]. "Of Towers and Castels". In Kingsford, C. L. (ed.). A Survey of London. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 67–68. Retrieved 16 July 2010. Stow is an important source for the medieval history of London, but wrote in an era before standardisation of spelling; he spells Montfichet as Mountfiquit.
  4. ↑ "Cavendish". The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States of America. London: Henry S. King & Co. 1875. pp. 191–193 – via Google Books. Additional related information is found on pp. 165, 187, 341.
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