Wales Lordship of Ireland The House of Clare was a prominent Anglo-Norman noble house that ruled the Earldoms of Pembroke, Hertford and Gloucester in England and Wales throughout its history, playing a prominent role in the Norman invasion of Ireland.

After the conquest of England, Richard fitz Gilbert received extensive estates, notably including Clare and Tonbridge.

[4] His brother Baldwin de Meules was left in charge of Exeter on its submission (1068) and made sheriff of Devonshire.

His only son died while still a minor, and Strongbow's many Irish and Welsh possessions passed with his daughter Isabel, to her husband, William Marshal.

The early Clares appear to have used a coat of arms that was chevronny, as seen in the seals of Gilbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, and of his niece, Rohese, Countess of Lincoln.