de Lacy

Until 1361, the northern branch of the family held the great Lordship of Bowland before it passed through marriage to the Duchy of Lancaster.

Brothers Ilbert and Walter de Lacy jointly held the Norman lands of the Bishop of Bayeux.

The Honour of Pontefract, which included the manor of Stanbury, was maintained by Ilbert's direct male descendants for the next three generations until 1192.

[4][5] In 1102, King Henry I of England granted the fee of the ancient wapentake of Blackburnshire and further holdings in Hornby,[6] and the vills of Chipping, Aighton and Dutton in Amounderness to de Lacy while confirming his possession of the Lordship of Bowland.

Walter was second in the region only to William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford and his son, Roger de Breteuil although he was not subordinate to them.

Following his participation in the Norman invasion of Ireland, he was granted the lands of a Gaelic medieval kingdom by the Anglo-Norman King Henry II of England in 1172 by the service of fifty knights.

The design of the central three-storey keep (also known as a donjon or great tower) is unique for a Norman keep being of cruciform shape, with twenty corners.

Castles, by virtue of their defensive and offensive capabilities as well as their symbolic status, were indispensable for dominating the area of the lordship.

By letters patent from John, King of England,[17] the prescriptive barony was granted to Walter de Lacy and his heirs in perpetuity in 1208.