http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_of_LensCountess Judith , was a niece of
William the Conqueror. She was a daughter of his sister
Adelaide of Normandy, Countess of Aumale and
Lambert II, Count of Lens.
In 1070, Judith married Earl
Waltheof of Huntingdon and Northumbria. They had three daughters, the eldest of whom,
Maud, brought the earldom of Huntingdon to her second husband,
David I of Scotland.
In 1075, Waltheof joined the
Revolt of the Earls against William. It was the last serious act of resistance against the
Norman conquest of England. Judith betrayed Waltheof to her uncle. Waltheof was executed by decapitation on
31 May 1076.
After the execution of her Waltheof, Judith was betrothed by William to
Simon I of St. Liz, 1st Earl of Northampton. Judith refused to marry Simon and she fled the country to avoid William's anger. He then confiscated all of Judith's English estates.
Judith founded the
Abbey at
Elstow Bedfordshire in about 1078. She also founded churches at
Kempston and
Hitchin.
She had land-holdings in 10 counties in the
Midlands and
East Anglia. Her holdings included land at:
▪ Earls Barton ▪ Great Doddington ▪ Grendon ▪ PottonSawtry Judith is named after the Countess.