Margaret lived from 1287 until 1333 or 1334. She was styled as Baroness Badlesmere on 26 October 1309. She had two husbands:
She married firstly before the year 1303, Gilbert de Umfraville, son of Gilbert de Umphraville, Earl of Angus, and Elizabeth Comyn. Upon their marriage, the Earl of Angus granted Gilbert and Margaret the manors of Hambleton and Market Overton; however, when Gilbert died childless prior to 1307, the manors passed to Margaret.
On an unrecorded date earlier than 30 June 1308,[3] she married secondly, Bartholomew de Badlesmere, an English soldier and court official who was afterwards created 1st Baron Badlesmere by writ of summons. He had held the post of Governor of Bristol Castle since 1307, and from then onwards proceeded to accumulate many renumerative grants and offices. Margaret's marriage to Badlesmere had been arranged by her brother-in-law, Baron Clifford; Badlesmere having been one of Clifford's retainers during the Scottish Wars in the early 1300s. Clifford was later killed at the Battle of Bannockburn, where Badlesmere also fought.
She was a granddaughter of Richard de Clare and she had two stepfathers:
Her father died on 29 August 1287, when she was almost five months of age. Her mother married her second husband, Nicholas Avenel sometime afterwards, but the exact date of this marriage is not known. Between 11 December 1291 and 16 February 1292, Margaret acquired another stepfather when her mother married her third husband, Adam de Cretynges.
(Same source as above)
She lived in Chilham Castle (see photo)
Also, from Wikipedia:
She was arrested and subsequently imprisoned in the Tower of London for the duration of a year from November 1321 to November 1322, making her the first female prisoner in the Tower's history. She was jailed on account of having ordered an armed assault onIsabella of France, Queen consort of King Edward II of England. Before Margaret had instructed her archers to fire upon Isabella and her escort, she had refused the Queen admittance to Leeds Castle where her husband, Baron Badlesmere held the post of governor, but which was legally the property of Queen Isabella as part of the latter's dowry. Margaret surrendered the castle on 31 October 1321 after it was besieged by the King's forces using ballistas. Edward's capture of Leeds Castle was the catalyst which led to theDespenser War in the Welsh Marches and the north of England. Margaret was visiting Cheshunt Manor in Hertfordshire in 1319, when she was taken hostage by a group of sixty people, both men and women.[6] Her captors demanded a ransom of £100 for her release. She was held prisoner for one night before her prompt rescue the following day by the King's favourite, Hugh Despenser the Younger.[6] Hugh was married to Margaret's first cousin, Eleanor de Clare, eldest daughter of Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester and Joan of Acre (this also made Eleanor a first cousin of Edward II). The King ordered the arrest and imprisonment of 20 of Margaret's kidnappers; they all, however, were eventually pardoned.
Upon her release, she entered a convent house and apparently behaved herself...Her husband, however,...
Badlesmere was attainted and hanged, drawn and quartered at Blean in the vicinity of Canterbury. His severed head was then attached to a pole placed on Burgate, one of the principal Roman gates into Canterbury's city walls....oh dear! Another ancestor who was drawn and quartered (I have quite a few!)
And, from Geni:
| Nicknames: | "Margaret de clare baroness Badlesmere" |
| Birthdate: | |
| Birthplace: | Bunratty Castle , Connaught, County Clare, Thurmond, Ireland |
| Death: | Died in London, Aldgate, England |
| Occupation: | Baroness of Badlesmere, a Norman-Irish noblewoman and the wife of Bartholomew de Badlesmere |
