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Despencer 1

: Despenser of Camoys Manor, Despencer of Gloucester, Despenser of Goxhill, Despenser of King's Stanley, Despenser of Loughborough, Despencer Despenser of Winchester
There is confusion concerning the various families called Despencer, a name taken from the position of a dispensator or steward. BE1883 appears to mix up, or at least makes it easy for people to view as closely connected, two of the most important. We show them both on this page to help clear the position with regard to what various sources report. On the second of these families, in Volume IV page 259 note c, TCP reports as follows: "Their pedigree has been distorted by the unscrupulous efforts of many heralds and genealogists to derive the Spencers of Althorpe from an illustrious origin: with the result that 1 these Despensers, who appear to have been dispensatores of the Earls of Chester, 2 the Despensers of King's Stanley, co. Gloucester, who were dispensatores Regi, and 3 the above-named now ducal family of Spencer, who emerge from obscurity, as wealthy graziers, towards the end of the 15th century, have been associated in a single pedigree in which "fact and fiction are cunningly intertwined." "

For the first of these families, BE1883 starts with the following Robert, younger brother of Urso de Abitot, Sheriff of Worcestershire:

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Robert 'le Despencer' steward to William the Conqueror BE1883 then reports that in the reign of Henry I 1100-1135 was ...
1. William le Despencer steward to King Henry I who r. 1100-1135 BE1883 then reports that the next person holding this office "and in the same reign" was ...
A. Thurstan Dispenser steward to King Henry I
i. Almaric de Spencer, Sheriff of Rutland a 1188, 1205
m Amabil dau of Walter de Chesnei
a. Thurstan de Spencer, Sheriff of Gloucestershire d 1248
b. Almaric de Spencer
c.? Muriel Despenser b about 1180 possibly of this family and generation or in the following section.
m Hugh de Dutton b about 1175
d after 1234, 4th son
Hereafter TCP is shown. BE1883 seems to confuse the families for it says that a contemporary of Thurstan just above "and doubtless of the same family" was the Hugh d 1238 shown in the second family below as of Loughborough.
TCP says for this family of Despensers vol IV, pages 287-8.
Thurstan le Despenser steward to King William II who reigned 1087-1100
1. Hugh le Despenser steward to King Henry I in 1105
m. Hawise
Whether or not by Hawise is not known but TCP says it is "highly probable" that Hugh was father or grandfather of ...
A. Thurstan le Despenser
i. Walter le Despenser of Worthy and Stanley
ii. Aymer le Despenser of Worthy and Stanley a 1204
m1. before 15.07.1186 Amabel dau of Walter de Chesney
a. Julian le Despenser
m1. William Bardolf
m2. Piers de Stokes dsp
m3. Geoffrey de Lucy
m2. Alda Bloet
b. Sir Thurstan le Despenser of Stanley, Leckhampton, etc d before 03.09.1249
m. Lucy
1 Sir Adam le Despenser of King's Stanley, Leckhampton, etc d before 18.06.1295
m1. Lucy
m2. Joan d before 25.06.1309
The second family is the one that obtained some notoriety through the actions of the two Hughs: the elder and the younger.
De25 =26 =27 =33 =35. Thomas le Despenser b c 1160
De24-1. Thomas le Despenser dsp 1218
De24 =25 =26 =32 =34 Hugh le Despenser of Loughborough, etc b c 1190 Loughborough Leicestershire d c 23.02.1238 1222shreiff of Staffordshire and Shropshire 1226 sheriff of Berkshire
m x de Quincy b 1190
BE1883 suggests that this Hugh was grandfather rather than father of ...
De23 =24 =25 =31 =33 Sir Hugh le Despenser of Loughborough, etc b by 1223, d Evesham 04.08.1265, Justiciar
m. by 1260 Aline or Aliva Basset dau of
+1 Sir Philip Basset of Wycombe
De22 =23 =24 =30 =32 Sir Hugh le Despenser or Despencer of Loughborough, 'the Elder', Earl of Winchester b 01.03.1260/1, d 27.10.1326 Hugh and his son were great favourites of King Edward II but abused their position and earned the enmity of many other barons which ended in their downfall and that of King Edward. For the main line, we move here from identifying the family name as le Despenser to Despencer to make it consistent with most other sources and cross-references. However, TCP continues to use the name "le Despenser".
m by 1286 Isabel de Beauchamp dau of
+1 William de Beauchamp, 1st Earl of Warwick
m Maud FitzJohn
De22 =23 =24 Sir Hugh Despencer, 'the younger', Lord Despencer b 1 Mar 1287 Winchester d 24 Nov 1326
m after 14.06.1306 Alianore de Clare b 1292, d 30.06.1337, dau of Gilbert 'the Red' de Clare, Earl of Hertford & Gloucester Eleanor's grandfather, Edward I, owed Hugh's father vast sums of money, and the marriage was intended as a payment of these debts. When Eleanor's brother was killed at the Battle of Bannockburn, she unexpectedly became one of the three co-heiresses to the rich Gloucester earldom, and in her right Hugh inherited Glamorgan and other properties. In just a few short years Hugh went from a landless knight to one of the wealthiest magnates in the kingdom.
De21-1 Hugh Despencer, Lord Despencer b c 1308, dsp 1349
m Elizabeth de Montacute dau of William de Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury She married 2nd before 10.07.1350 Guy de Brian or Briene or Bryan, Lord Bryan/Briene/de Bryen d 17.08.1390 VII
De21 Edward Despencer of Buckland b 1310 k 30.09.1342 at the siege of Vannes[1]; father of Edward II le Despenser, Knight of the Garter
m. 20.04.1335 Anne Ferrers d 08.08.1367, dau of William Ferrers, 1st Lord of Groby
De20 Sir Edward Despencer, 1st Lord b 24 Mar 1336, d 11.11.1375
m. before 02.08.1354 Elizabeth Burghersh d 26.07.1409, dau of Bartholomew de Burghersh, 4th Lord
De19-1 Thomas Despencer, Earl of Gloucester b 22.09.1373, d 17.01.1400 Thomas supported King Richard II. When that king fell, Thomas was captured, attainted and beheaded.
m. 1386 Constance Plantagenet d 28.11.1416, Edmund Plantagenet of Langley, 1st Duke of York
-1 Richard Despencer b 30.11.1396, dsp 07.10.1414
m. Elizabeth or Eleanor Nevill dau of Ralph Nevill, 1st Earl of Westmorland
-2 Elizabeth Despencer d young
-3 Isabel Despencer b 26.07.1400, d 27.12.1439
m1. Richard de Beauchamp, 2nd Lord of Abergavenny, Earl of Worcester b c1397, d 18.03.1421/2
m2 Richard de Beauchamp, 5th Earl of Warwick, Earl of Albemarle b 28.01.1381, d 30.04.1439
De19-2 Hugh Despencer d 1424
De19-3 Cicely Despencer d young
De19-4 Elizabeth Despencer d 10/1.04.1408
m1 John FitzAlan, Lord Maltravers b 1365, d 1391
m2 after 28.04.1393, sp William la Zouche, 3rd Lord b by 1342, d 13.05.1396
>De19-5 Anne Despencer d 30/1.10.1426
m1. Sir Hugh Hastings d 1386
m2Sir Thomas Morley, 4th Lord d 24.09.1416/7
De19 Margaret Despencer b 1365 Ewyas Lacy Herefordshire d 3 Nov 1415
m Robert de Ferrers, 5th Lord of Chartley d 13.03.1412-3
De21-3 Gilbert Despencer of Melton Mowbray 1309- 1381
De21-4 Elizabeth Despencer d 13.07.1389
m. 1338 Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Lord b 1330, d 08.06.1368
De21 =20 =22 Isabel Despencer b c 1314
m div 1345 Richard FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel b 1306 d 1376
-1 Edmund FitzAlan b c1327 m Sibyl Montagu b c1327, dau of William Montagu, 1sr Earl of Salisbury
-2 Philippa FitzAlan b c 1325 the Peerage shows her as daughter of Edmund FitzAlan
-3 Mary FitzAlan b c 1326 d 29.08.1396 BE1883 shows only Philippa as by Richard's first marriage, showing Mary as 3rd daughter of the 2nd marriage ie 4th overall, but TCP Strange specifically identifies Mary as being by Richard's marriage to Isabel Despencer whilst TCP Arundel confirms that there were 1 son and 2 daughters by the first marriage.
-1-1Phillipa FitzAlan b c 1345
m Sir Richard Sergeaux of Erwan Cornwall b c 1345 son of Richard Sergeaux b 1328 d 1393 and Margaret Senescchal b 1326 d 1355
-1-1-1 Jane Sergeaux b 1370
-1-1-2 Elizabeth Sergeaux b 1378 m William Marney b 1370 d 1414
-1-1-3 Richard Sergeaux b 1380 d 1406
-1-1-4 Alice Sergeaux b 1381 d 1452
-1-1-5 Phillipa Sergeaux b 1381 m Sir Robert Pashley
-1-1-6 Johanna Sergeaux b 1392
-1
-1-1-2-1 Sir Thomas Marney d 1417 m Margaret Knyvett Kn17
-1-1-2-2 William Marney d unm
-1-1-2-3 Sir John Marney m by 27 Apr 1447 Agnes Throckmorton dau of John Throckmorton of Gloucestershire
-1-1-2-4 Jean de Marney of Layer Marney, probably of this generation m Sir Robert de Peyton
-1-1-5-1 John Pashley b 1406 d 1453 m Elizabeth Woodville b 1410 Mote Maidston Kent d 1453
-1-1-5-2 Anne Pashley
-1
-1-1-2-1-1 dau d unm
-1-1-2-3-1 Sir Henry Marney, 1st Lord of Layer Marney b 1457, d 24.05.1523 m1 Thomasine Arundell dau of Sir John Arundell of Lanherne
-1-1-2-3-2 Thomas Marney b 1393 d 1430
-1-1-2-3-3 Anna Marney b 1402/14 d 1475 m Thomas Tyrell b 1405 d 1476
-1-1-2-3-4 Ellen Marney b 1404
-1-1-5-1-1 John Pashley b 1431 d 1468 m Lowys Gower b 1431 d 1450

-1-1-2-3-1-1 John Marney, 2nd Lord b c1493, d 27.04.1525 m1 Christian Newburgh d 06.08.1517 + 2 ch dau of Sir Roger Newburgh m2 Bridget Waldegrave bur 20.09.1549, dau of Sir William Waldegrave
-1-1-2-3-1-2
-1-1-2-3-1-3
-1-1-2-3-3-1 Sir William Tyrrell m. Eleanor d'Arcy, dau of Robert d'Arcy of Walda by Ales Langley
-1-1-2-3-3-2 Te17 Thomas Tyrrell of South Okenden, b 1460 d 1490 m Elizabeth Le Brun dau of Sir Humphrey le Bruin of South Okenden
-1-1-2-3-3-3 Humphrey Tyrell of Warley, m Elizabeth Helion.
-1-1-2-3-3-4 Sir Robert Tyrrell of Torndon, m. Christian Harteshorn
-1-1-2-3-3-5 Anne Tyrell, m. Edmond Audeley
-1-1-2-3-3-6 Anne Tyrell (2nd) m. John d'Arcy of Tolehunt
-1-1-2-3-3-7 Elizabeth Tyrell, m1 Robert d'Arcy of Danbury, m2 Richard Hawte
-1-1-5-1-1-1 Elizabeth Pashley m Reginald Pympe b 1448 d 1531

-1-1-2-3-1-1-1 Katherine Marney b c 1515 m1 c 1528 George Ratcliffe dsp before 11.1542, of Sussex family m2 Sir Thomas Poynings, Sheriff of Kent, Baron dsp 17/8.08.1545
-1-1-2-3-1-1-2 Elizabeth Marney b c 1517 m Thomas Howard, 1st Viscount of Bindon d 28.01.1581/2
-1-1-5-1-1-1-1 Anne Pympe b 1455 d 1535 m John Sheriff b 1480 d 1633
De29 =31 Philip le Despenser of Parlington, etc d 24.09.1313 shown by BE1883 as a generation later
m Margaret Gousell b 12.05.1294, d 29.07.1349, dau of Ralph de Gousille of Goxhill
De28 =30 Sir Philip le Despenser of Camoys Manor b 06.04.1313, d 22/3.08.1349>
m Joan Cobham dau of Sir John de Cobham, 2nd Lord
De27 =29 Sir Philip le Despenser of Goxhill and Camoys Manor, 1st Lord b 18.10.1342, d 04.08.1401
m Elizabeth
De26 =28 Sir Philip le Despenser of Nettlestead, Goxhill and Camoys Manor, 2nd Lord d 20.06.1424
m Elizabeth de Tiptoft b 1371, dau of Robert de Tibetot, 3rd Lord
De25 =27 Margery le Despenser d 20.04.1478
m1 John de Ros, 8th Lord dsp Beauge 1421
m2. Roger Wentworth of Nettlestead d 24.10.1445
De22-3. Isabel Despencer d 04.12.1334
m John de Hastings, Lord d 10.02.1313
De22-4 Aline Despencer d before 28.11.1353
m. after 03.05.1302 Edward Burnell of Acton Burnell, Lord dsp before 01.09.1315
eDe22-5 Margaret Despencer
m c Dec 1313 John de St. Amand, 1st Lord d before 25.01.1329/30
De22 Alianore Despencer
m
Sir Hugh de Courtenay, Lord of Okehampton d 28.02.1291
De22-3 Joan Despencer
m by 1272 Sir Thomas de Furnivalle, 1st Lord d 1332
-1 Thomas de Furnivall, 2nd Lord d 10.1339
m 24.02.1317-8 Joan de Verdon b 08.1303, d 02.10.1334, dau of Theobald de Verdon, Lord, by Maud Mortemer
-2 William de Furnivalle presumed of this marriage
-3 Catherine de Furnivall d 1349 shown by TCP Thweng as "possibly" of this marriage m William de Thweng, 2nd Lord dsp 25.02.1340
-4 Eleanor de Furnivall probably of this generation, of this marriage
m before 1309 Piers de Mauley of Mulgrave, 2nd Lord b 10.03.1280/1, d after 23.05.1348
-1-1 Thomas de Furnivall, 3rd Lord b 22.06.1322, dsp 21.04.1365 m1 by 1336 Margaret a 06.1344 m2 Joan Mounteney b 29.09.1321, d 24.02.1395/6, dau/heir of Sir Thomas Mounteney of Cowley & Shirecliffe, m1 Sir John Bret
-1-2 William de Furnivall, 4th Lord b 23.08.1326, d 12.04.1383 m c1365 Thomasine d 20.07.1409, widow of Sir John de Dagworth of Dagworth
-1-3 Maud de Furnivall probably of this generation m1 John Marmion of Tanfield etc, 2nd Lord b c1292, d 30.04.1335 This may have the Maud who also married ... m2 Walter Montgomery of Cubley & Ecton b c1314, d 09.1374
-1-4 Margaret de Furnivall b 1320 probably of this generation m Peter de Montfort, 3rd Lord d 1367

-1-2-1 Joane de Furnivall, Baroness Furnivall b 1368, d 01.06.1413 m c1379 Thomas Nevill, Lord Furnivall d 14.03.1406-7
De22-4 Anne Despencer b c 1240
m. William de Ferrers of Groby b c 1240, d before 20.12.1287
De23-2. Pernell/Petronilla le Despenser b1208 Loughborough leicester
m Geoffrey le Sauvage/Savage of Hintes b 1190 Tamworth Stafford d by 4 Nov 1230
De23-3. Probably also of this family and of this generation was ...
x Despencer
m Sir Roger de St. John d Evesham 04.08.1265
De24-3. Geoffrey/Galfridus le Despenser of Mart b 1185 d 1251
m Emma d'Harcourt b 1206 Defford Pershore, Worcestershire, d c 11.1265 Berkshire, Wokingham, Swallowfield dau of
+1 Richard d'Harcourt
De24-3-1 Sir John le Despencer b 1235 Leicestershire, Loughborough d 1274 Berkshire, Swallowfield (stirnet shows dsp 1275)
m?1 ANNE LOU b 1240 Defford Worcestershired 1275 Defford Worcestershire ?=
m?2 Joan d 1266, dau of Robert le Lou of Castle Carlton
De24-3-1-1 WILLIAM SPENCER b 1263 Worcestershire d 1328 Worcestershire
m ANNE le LOU b 1270 England d 1350 England
De24-3-1-1-1 John Spencer b 1300 Defford Worcestershire d 1386 Worcestershire
m1 ALICE DEVERELL b 1305 Worcestershire, Defford dau of JOHN SPENCER
De24-3-1-1-1-1 NICHOLAS SPENCER b 1340 Defford Worcestershire
m JOAN Pollard b 1344 Kent dau of SIR RICHARD POLARD of Kent
De24-3-1-1-1-1-1-1 THOMAS SPENCER of Defford b 1366 Badby Northamptonshire d 1435
De24-3-1-1-1-2 ALICE DEVERELL b 1305 Defford Worcestershire
De24-4. Rohese Despenser probably also of this family
m. Stephen of Segrave, Sheriff d 1241
Hugh Despencer was knight of Hanley Castle, Worcestershire, King's Chamberlain, Constable of Odiham Castle, Keeper of the castle and town of Portchester, Keeper of the castle, town and barton of Bristol and, in Wales, Keeper of the castle and town of Dryslwyn, and the region of Cantref Mawr, Carmarthenshire. Also in Wales, he was Lord of Glamorgan which gave him possession of Cardiff Castle. He was also Keeper of the castles, manor, and lands of Brecknock, Hay, Cantref Selyf, etc., in County Brecon, and, in England of Huntington, Herefordshire. He was given Wallingford Castle although this had previously been given to Queen Isabella for life.In May 1306 Hugh was knighted. His wife Eleanor was also the niece of the new king, Edward II of England, and this connection brought Hugh closer to the English royal court. He joined the baronial opposition to Piers Gaveston, the king's favourite, and Hugh's brother-in-law, as Gaveston was married to Eleanor's sister. Eager for power and wealth, Hugh seized Tonbridge Castle in 1315. In 1318 he murdered Llywelyn Bren, a Welsh hostage in his custody.Hugh became royal chamberlain in 1318. As a royal courtier, Hugh manoeuvred into the affections of King Edward, displacing the previous favourite, Roger d'Amory. This was much to the dismay of the baronage as they saw him both taking their rightful places at court and being a worse version of Gaveston. By 1320 his greed was running free. Hugh seized the Welsh lands of his wife's inheritance, ignoring the claims of his two brothers-in-law. He forced Alice de Lacy, Countess of Lincoln, to give up her lands, cheated his sister-in-law Elizabeth de Clare out of Gower and Usk, and allegedly had Lady Baret's arms and legs broken until she went insane. He also supposedly vowed to be revenged on Roger Mortimer because Mortimer's grandfather had murdered Hugh's grandfather, and once stated though probably in jest that he regretted he could not control the wind. By 1321 he had earned many enemies in every stratum of society, from Queen Isabella to the barons to the common people. There was even a bizarre plot to kill Hugh by sticking pins in a wax likeness of him. Finally the barons prevailed upon King Edward and forced Hugh and his father into exile in 1321. His father fled to Bordeaux, and Hugh became a pirate in the English Channel, "a sea monster, lying in wait for merchants as they crossed his path". Following the exile of the Despensers, the barons who opposed them fell out among themselves. The following year, King Edward took advantage of these divisions to secure the defeat and execution of the Earl of Lancaster, and the surrender of Roger Mortimer, the Despensers' chief opponents. The pair returned and King Edward quickly reinstated Hugh as royal favourite. His time in exile had done nothing to quell his greed, his rashness, or his ruthlessness. The time from the Despensers' return from exile until the end of Edward II's reign was a time of uncertainty in England. With the main baronial opposition leaderless and weak, having been defeated at the Battle of Boroughbridge, and Edward willing to let them do as they pleased, the Despensers were left unchecked. They grew rich from their administration and corruption. This period is sometimes referred to as the "Tyranny". This maladministration caused hostile feeling for them and, by proxy, Edward II. Hugh repeatedly pressed King Edward to execute Mortimer, who had been held prisoner in the Tower of London, following his surrender. However, Mortimer escaped from the Tower and fled to France. Queen Isabella had a special dislike for the man. Various historians have suggested, and it is commonly believed, that he and Edward had an ongoing sexual relationship. Froissart states "he was a sodomite, even it is said, with the King." Some speculate it was this relationship that caused the Queen's dislike of him. Others, noting that her hatred for him was far greater than for any other favourite of her husband, suggest that his behaviour towards herself and the nation served to excite her particular disgust. Alison Weir, in her 2005 book, Queen Isabella: Treachery, Adultery, and Murder in Medieval England, speculates that he had raped Isabella and that was the source of her hatred. While Isabella was in France to negotiate between her husband and the French king, she formed a liaison with Roger Mortimer and began planning an invasion. Hugh supposedly tried to bribe French courtiers to assassinate Isabella, sending barrels of silver as payment. Roger Mortimer and the Queen invaded England in October 1326. Their forces only numbered about 1,500 mercenaries to begin with, but the majority of the nobility rallied to them throughout October and November. By contrast, very few people were prepared to fight for Edward II, mainly because of the hatred which the Despensers had aroused. The Despensers fled West with the King, with a sizable sum from the treasury. The escape was unsuccessful. Separated from the elder Despenser, the King and the younger Hugh were deserted by most of their followers, and were captured near Neath in mid-November. King Edward was placed in captivity and later deposed. Hugh the father the elder Despenser was hanged at Bristol on 27 October 1326, and Hugh the son was brought to trial.Hugh tried to starve himself before his trial, but face trial he did on 24 November 1326, in Hereford, before Mortimer and the Queen. He was judged a traitor and a thief, and sentenced to public execution by hanging, as a thief, and drawing and quartering, as a traitor. Additionally, he was sentenced to be disembowelled for having procured discord between the King and Queen, and to be beheaded, for returning to England after having been banished. Treason had also been the grounds for Gaveston's execution; the belief was that these men had misled the King rather than the King himself being guilty of folly. Immediately after the trial, he was dragged behind four horses to his place of execution, where a great fire was lit. He was stripped naked, and biblical verses denouncing arrogance and evil were written on his skin. He was then hanged from a gallows 50 ft 15 m high, but cut down before he could choke to death, and was tied to a ladder, in full view of the crowd. The executioner climbed up beside him, and sliced off his penis and testicles which were burnt before him, while he was still alive and conscious; although castration was not formally part of the sentence imposed on Despenser, it was typically practised on convicted traitors. Subsequently, the executioner slit open his abdomen, and slowly pulled out, and cut out, his entrails and, finally, his heart, which were likewise thrown into the fire. The executioner would have sought to keep him alive as long as possible, while disembowelling him. The burning of his entrails would, in all likelihood, have been the last sight that he witnessed. Just before he died, it is recorded that he let out a "ghastly inhuman howl," much to the delight and merriment of the spectators. Finally, his corpse was beheaded, his body cut into four pieces, and his head was mounted on the gates of London. Mortimer and Isabella feasted with their chief supporters, as they watched the execution.
As well as satisfying Mortimer's and Isabella's desire for revenge, the manner of Despenser's death was rich in symbolism. As Despenser was dragged to his place of execution, the crowd was able to jeer at him, proving that he had lost his power. Hanging was a shameful death, the punishment for a common thief. Castration showed to the crowd that he had ceased to be a man; his evil desires were thought to reside in his heart and entrails. Thus, his disembowellment, and the burning of his innards showed that the land was being purged of evil. Finally, the quartering and beheading of his corpse was considered to jeopardise his chances of Salvation after death. The man once known as Sir Hugh Le Despenser, Lord of Glamorgan, was thus physically and spiritually obliterated.
After his death, his widow asked to be given the body so she could bury it at the family's Gloucestershire estate, but only the head, a thigh bone and a few vertebrae were returned to her.[2]
What may be the body of Despenser was identified in February 2008, at Hulton Abbey in Staffordshire. The skeleton, which was first uncovered during archaeological work in the 1970s, appeared to be the victim of a drawing and quartering as it had been beheaded and chopped into several pieces with a sharp blade, suggesting a ritual killing. Furthermore, it lacked several body parts, including the ones given to Despenser's wife. Radiocarbon analysis dated the body to between 1050 and 1385, and later tests suggested it to be that of a man over 34 years old. Despenser was 40 at the time of his death. In addition, the Abbey is located on lands that belonged to Hugh Audley, Despenser's brother-in-law, at the time.[2]
No book-length biographical study of Hugh Despenser exists, although The Tyranny and Fall of Edward II: 1321–1326 by historian Natalie Fryde is a study of Edward's reign during the years that the Despensers' power was at its peak. Fryde pays particular attention to the subject of the Despensers' ill-gotten landholdings.[3] The numerous accusations against the younger Despenser at the time of his execution have never been the subject of close critical scrutiny, although Roy Martin Haines called them "ingenuous" and noted their propagandistic nature.[4]
Despite the crucial and disastrous role he played in the reign of Edward II, Despenser is almost a minor character in Christopher Marlowe's play Edward II 1592, where, as "Spencer", he is little more than a substitute for the dead Gaveston. In 2006, he was selected by BBC History Magazine as the 14th century's worst Briton.[5]
His image on the stained glass window of the Banqueting Hall of Cardiff Castle, shows his coat of arms inverted - a symbol of disgrace.

Sources:
1 TCP Despenser which is in three different sections: one for the line that produced the Earls of Winchester and Gloucester, one for the family of King's Stanley, and one for the branch of Goxhill.
2 BE1883 Despencer of Winchester, BE1883 Despencer of Gloucester
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