Hugh de Grandmesnil [a] b bef 1014, of Grandmesnil, Normandy, d 22 Feb 1094. He md Adelize de Beaumont abt 1046, daughter of Ivo de Beaumont. She was b 1033.
Child of Hugh de Grandmesnil and Adelize de Beaumont was:
Robert de Grandmesnil b abt 1054, of Grandmesnil, Normandy, d abt 1136. He md [1] Agnes of Bayeux, and [2] Emma de Stuteville abt 1092, daughter of Robert de Stuteville and Beatrice.
Child of Robert de Grandmesnil and Emma de Stuteville was:
Child of William de Grandmesnil was:
Petronilla de Grandmesnil b abt 1139, of Hinckley, Leicestershire, England, d 1 Apr 1212, England. She md Sir Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, abt 1153, son of Sir Robert de Beaumont, Earl of Leicester, Justiciar of England, and Amice de Montfort.
NOTES:
a. Recognized companion of the Conqueror, and Domesday tenant who also held the Norman honour of Grandmesnil, Hugh had five sons, Robert, William, Hugh, Ives, and Aubrey. The eldest son, Robert, inherited the honour of Grandmesnil. Of the other sons, William went to Apulia, where he married Mabel, daughter of Robert Guiscard; Hugh died young, probably around 1087; Ives succeeded to his father's lands in England, which he mortgaged and lost to Robert, Count of Meulan, and it is stated that two of Ives' sons died in the wreck of the White Ship; Aubrey, the youngest son, was brought up a clerk, later becoming a knight. Of these sons of Hugh, only eldest son, Robert, is known to have lived to an old age.
In tracing out the descendants of the sons of Hugh, the Domesday tenant, it appears obvious that it was through the eldest son, Robert, that the honour of Grandmesnil passed to said Robert's granddaughter, Petronilla, then to her husband, Robert de Beaumont, who was holding it in 1167. One source which has long been followed states that Petronilla was the daughter of one Hugh de Grandmesnil, but even Complete Peerage states that this descendancy is by no means proven, and only speculates that Robert may have had a son named Hugh. Recent findings by Keat-Rohan in Domesday People, points to William de Grandmesnil as the link between Robert and Petronilla, and Chris Phillips, posting on SGM includes two charters which he believes are among those used by Keat-Rohan in her conclusion that William was the son of Robert who succeeded to Grandmesnil, passing it to his daughter, Petronilla. In one of these charters, one Beatrix de Rye mentions "my mother Emma and my brother, William de Grentmesnil", and as Robert de Grandmesnil is known to have secondly married Emma de Stuteville, this would appear to be one of the pieces of evidence used by Keats-Rohan. Mr. Phillips also discusses other known descendants of Hugh the Domesday tenant, specifically of the name William, but which chronologically and geographically, do not appear to be likely candidates.
CP: Vol VII[532-533]; AR: Line 53[26]; SGM: Chris Phillips.
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