Braose and Tregoz

An early Braose marriage seems not to be documented by any of the genealogies I have seen. It is between a daughter of Philip de Braose, the second Lord of Bramber, and a Tregoz, father of both Philip de Tregoz, sheriff of Sussex in 1190, and Robert de Tregoz, keeper of the castle of Sarum, 1190-1199.

The evidence comes from a charter of another of his sons, John, who granted lands in Dorset to Christchurch Priory (Christchurch Cartulary 654). The charter describes the lands as having been of William de Braose’s fee, the dowry of John’s mother, William’s sister.

This John was also a witness to a charter of William de Braose in about 1140 (Chartulary of Sele Priory) and disputes between this John, his son John and the Abbey of Fécamp are settled at Steyning in 1194. (Cal. Doc. France 142) So the close connection between the Tregoz family and the Braose interests seems to have continued.

This then is evidence for a previously unknown daughter of Philip de Braose and makes the Sussex branch of the Tregoz family another set of Braose descendants.

The arms shown here are those used by Henry de Tregoz, one of the barons who set their seals to the 1301 letter to the Pope. All the notable members of the Tregoz family used the same design in varying colour combinations.