Bigod of Suffolk and Henry I

Henry I caused great trouble for his successors - and possibly even triggered a civil war - by giving Roger Bigod the land on which to build two Suffolk fortresses (Framlingham and Bungay castles); even more troublesome was that he made him Steward to the King's Household.

Thirty years or so later, Roger Bigod's son and heir, Hugh Bigod, had succeeded as Steward to the Royal Household and was therefore in Normandy with King Henry I when Henry died in 1135. Hugh Bigod decided that he preferred to have Henry I's nephew (Stephen) as king rather than Henry I's daughter (Matilda) as queen.

He therefore came back from Normandy and testified, under oath, that Henry I had made a deathbed proclamation that he wished his nephew Stephen, rather than his daughter Matilda, to succeed him. He also testified that Henry I had said that he released all the barons from their previous oaths of loyalty to Matilda.

This gave Stephen the credence that he needed to seize the treasury and the crown; as a reward, Bigod became Earl of Norfolk.

Civil War followed between Stephen and Matilda. To begin with, Bigod stayed loyal to King Stephen, but then he got greedy. In 1136 he decided that he was no longer content just to have Framlingham and Bungay castles in Suffolk and he captured Norwich castle. When King Stephen made him hand it back, Bigod waited until Matilda looked like she was winning the civil war and then changed his allegiance to the woman his sworn testimony had preventing from being crowned queen: Henry I's daughter, Matilda.

A period of conflict between Stephen and Bigod followed this turncoat decision. To start with, Stephen got the better of Bigod by capturing two Suffolk strongholds - he captured Walton Castle from Bigod in 1139 and then captured Bungay Castle. When Bigod tried to retaliate by making an alliance in 1143 with two local rebels (the Earl of Essex and the Bishop of Ely), Stephen wasted Bigod's Suffolk lands

Bigod gradually began to exact his revenge. Although Matilda gave up the battle and went to Normandy in 1148, Bigod supported her son Henry (later to become Henry II) against Stephen. In 1149 and 1153, Henry sailed to England to campaign against Stephen and Bigod created diversions in Suffolk - for example, he captured Ipswich Castle in 1153.

When Stephen's only legitimate son died, Bigod's castle at Framlingham, Suffolk, became a meeting place for the Archbishop of Canterbury, bishops and noblemen. It was in this Suffolk stronghold that it was agreed that, whilst Stephen would be allowed to remain as King of England for his own lifetime, Matilda's son, Henry, would succeed him. This came to pass in 1154, when Stephen finally died and Matilda's son became King Henry II.

About the Author: As well as being a keen local historian about all things Suffolk, I also am involved in a Suffolk property company offering fast property sale Suffolk and fast home sale Suffolk.