Richard fitz Gilbert

[4] In 1066, Richard came into England with his kinsman William the Conqueror, and received from him great advancement in honour and possessions.

[3] The Dictionary of National Biography and other sources are vague and sometimes contradictory about when the name de Clare came into common usage, but what we do know is that Richard fitz Gilbert (of Tonbridge), the earliest identifiable progenitor of the family, is once referred to as Richard of Clare in the Suffolk return of the Domesday Book.

[5] He was rewarded with 176 manors in England, including the right to build castles at Clare in Suffolk, caput of his feudal barony, and at Tonbridge in Kent.

He served as Joint Chief Justiciar in William's absence, and played a major part in suppressing the revolt of 1075.

On the Conqueror's death, Richard and other great Norman barons, including Odo of Bayeux, Robert, Count of Mortain, and Geoffrey of Coutances, led a rebellion against the rule of William Rufus in order to place Robert Curthose on the throne.