Peter de Montfort

Peter de Montfort (c. 1215 – 4 August 1265) is said to have presided over a meeting of the Parliament of England at a Parliament held in Oxford in 1258. This was dubbed by the supporters of Henry III as the "Mad Parliament"). He is the earliest person recorded as the presiding officer of the Commons, an office today held by the Speaker of the House of Commons but known then as parlour or prolocutor. He was the son of Thurstan de Montfort.

He was closely associated with Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and died with him at the Battle of Evesham on 4 August 1265. They were related through their shared Norman ancestry¹.

Peter de Montfort married Alice de Audley. Their grandson John was created 1st Lord Montfort.

The family home was Beaudesert Castle, built by Thurstan de Montfort on land granted by Henry de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick. A charter for a market alongside the castle was obtained from the Empress Maud in 1140. It was probably his grandson Peter who walled the inner bailey in stone, which was completed in January 1216.

References

*1. [http://www.geneajourney.com/mntfrtp.html Montfort of Montfort-sur-Risle, Eure, Normandy, and Beaudesert, Worcestershire, England]

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/978265.stm The role of the Speaker]
* [http://www.courts.fsnet.co.uk/beaudesert.htm Beaudesert Castle]