John du Plessis, 7th Earl of Warwick

John du Plessis or Plessetis, Earl of Warwick (died 26 February 1263) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman in the service of King Henry III of England.

Life

He was of Norman origin, and was probably a son of the Hugh de Plessis who occurs as one of the royal knights from 1222 to 1227; he was possibly a grandson of the John de Plesseto who witnessed a charter of John, King of England in 1204, and was in the royal service in 1207. Amauricius and William de Plessis, who were provided with benefices by the king's order in 1243, may have been his brothers.

Du Plessis is first mentioned in 1227, when he was one of four knights to whom £60 was given for their support. He served in Wales in 1231, and, on 2 March 1232, witnessed a royal charter to Stephen de Segrave. On 30 May 1234, he was appointed warden of Devizes Castle and of Chippenham Forest. In 1239, and 1240, he was sheriff of Oxfordshire, and, on 9 December 1241, had the wardship of the heiresses of John Biset of Combe Biset, Wiltshire.

In May 1242, du Plessis accompanied Henry III to Poitou. On 2 November, he was granted a charger worth £30, on 23 November, freedom of bequest, and, on 25 December, the marriage of Margaret de Neubourg, countess of Warwick, and widow of John Marshal, son of John Marshal (1170?-1235). He returned to England with the king in October 1243. Through the royal influence his suit with Margaret de Neubourg was successful, but he did not assume the title of Earl of Warwick until his tenure of it for life was assured by the consent of the next heir, William Mauduit, father of William Mauduit; he is first styled earl in April 1245. On 18 October 1250, he had a grant of his wife's lands for life.

Surname The surname du Plessis also had other spellings in England, including de Plescy, de Plessis, and the Latinized forms de Plessitis and de Placetis. The descendants of John du Plessis generally adopted the Latinized form but dropped the preposition, and over the centuries the surname was corrupted into various spellings, including Pleisted, Plaisted, Playsteed, Pleastid and Plestead.