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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_de_Ferrers,_3rd_Earl_of_DerbyWilliam I de Ferrers, 3rd Earl of Derby was a 12th century
English Earl who resided in
Tutbury Castle in
Staffordshire and was head of a family which controlled a large part of
Derbyshire known as
Duffield Frith. He was also a
Knight Templar.
[1]William was the son of
Robert de Ferrers, 2nd Earl of Derby and his wife,
Margaret Peverel. He succeeded his father as
Earl of Derby in 1162. He was married to Sybil, the daughter of
William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber and
Bertha of Hereford.
William de Ferrers was one of the earls who joined the rebellion against King
Henry II of England led by Henry's eldest son,
Henry the Younger, in the
Revolt of 1173–1174, sacking the town of
Nottingham. Robert de Ferrers II, his father, had supported
Stephen of England and, although Henry II had accepted him at court, he had denied the title of earl of Derby to him and his son.
[2] In addition, William had a grudge against Henry because he believed he should have inherited the lands of
Peveril Castle through his mother. These, King Henry had previously confiscated in 1155 when William Peverel fell into disfavour.
With the failure of the revolt, de Ferrers was taken prisoner by King Henry, at Northampton on the
31 July 1174, along with the King of Scots and the earls of Chester and Lincoln, along with a number of his Derbyshire underlings and was held at
Caen. He was deprived of his castles at Tutbury and Duffield and both were put out of commission In addition to defray the costs of the war Henry levied a so called "Forest Fine" of 200 marks.
He seems to have afterwards regained the confidence of Henry II., and he showed his fidelity to the next Sovereign, , by accompanying him in his expedition to the Holy Land, and joined the
Third Crusade and died at the
Siege of Acre in 1190.
[3]