Marcher lord

Some strong earldoms along the Welsh border were granted the privileged status of county palatine shortly after the Norman Conquest, but only that based on Chester survived for a long period.

The term particularly applies to Anglo-Norman lords in Wales, who had complete jurisdiction over their subjects, without recourse to the king of England.

During those generations the Marches were a frontier society in every sense, and a stamp was set on the region that lasted into the time of the Industrial Revolution.

Marcher lords could build castles, a jealously guarded and easily revoked Royal privilege in England.

Marcher lords administered laws, waged war, established market towns, and maintained their own chanceries that kept their records (which have been completely lost[citation needed]).

A revisionist view is that such rights were more common in the 11th century throughout the Conquest, but were largely suppressed in England, and survived in the Marches.

The Welsh church, on the Celtic plan, closely connected with clan loyalties, brooked little authoritarian influence.

It was less easy to work in the opposite way, and establish a position among the hereditary marcher families, as Hugh Le Despenser discovered.

In 1321 the Marcher lords threatened to start a civil war and it was agreed that a parliament should be called to settle the matter.

[citation needed] Queen Anne Boleyn descended directly from Gruffydd II ap Madog, Lord of Dinas Bran through his daughter, Angharad who married William Le Boteler of Wem, Shropshire.

It also gave statutory recognition to the Council of Wales and the Marches (based at Ludlow), responsible for oversight of the area.

However, in May 2008, the High Court held that the Laws in Wales Act 1535 had abolished the jurisdictional franchise of Marcher Lord entirely and that Roberts had no such status.