Peter de Maulay

Peter de Maulay or Peter de Mauley (Another name was Peter de Malo Lacu.) after the overlordship of the lands passed from King John of England to King Philip II of France. Peter's first appearance in the historical record was in 1202, Under John, he was appointed an usher in the king's household, where he soon became a close advisor of the king. He was considered one of the "evil counsellors" of John by the chronicler Roger of Wendover.

After John's loss of Normandy, Maulay went to England and was given the manor of Upavon in Wiltshire. Maulay paid the king 7000 marks as a fine for the right to marry Isabella, one of the highest fines paid for the right to marry under John. (A higher one was the 20,000 marks offered by Geoffrey de Mandeville to marry Isabella of Gloucester, John's ex-wife, which also occurred in 1214.) Isabella was heiress to the earldom of Gloucester.

When the barons of England revolted against John in 1215, Maulay was given command of Corfe Castle by John. Along with Corfe, Maulay was given custody of John's younger son, Richard of Cornwall. had a strong claim to the English throne and had been held captive since 1202. At times, he was also responsible for keeping John's wife, Isabella of Angouleme and his heir, Prince Henry, safe from rebels, as long as they were at Corfe.

Under Henry III

Maulay remained in office under the new king, Henry III, who succeeded to the throne in late 1216. In early 1217 Maulay was ordered by the regent, William Marshal, to surrender control of Sherborne Castle and Somerset to William Longespee, the Earl of Salisbury, to help secure the return of Longespee to the royal cause. But Maulay refused to do so. In October 1217, Maulay was summoned to the royal court to answer charges that he had waged a private war against the earl over control of Somerset and that he had broken a truce that had held between the two men. The dispute was finally solved in February 1218 when Maulay was confirmed by the regent as custodian of Sherborne Castle and in the office of Sheriff of Somerset. Maulay compensated Longespee for his loss with a payment of 500 pounds, and a further payment of 1000 pounds by the government and custody of a royal ward.

Maulay received a total of 6561 marks by 1221 from ransoms paid by 16 prisoners he held at Corfe. He also paid nothing into the Exchequer from Somerset or Dorset for the period from 1218 to 1220, with the total owed to the government amounting to a bit over 1500 pounds. Maulay's extortions, however, led to him losing custody of Richard of Cornwall in 1220. which occurred on 17 May 1220.

Treason accusations

On 20 May 1221 Maulay was accused of treason by Richard Mucegros and Hubert de Burgh before the king. The specific crime was alleged to be a plot to hand over Eleanor of Brittany, still held at Corfe Castle, to King Louis IX of France. Maulay was imprisoned for a short time, but on 4 June was released after surrendering Corfe to the king. He was allowed to retain his sheriffdom. The accusation may have owed more to the fact that Maulay had recently taken Mucegros' lands into custody because Mucegros had failed to make a payment due for a royal fine. The event may also have been used by de Burgh as an opportunity to weaken Peter des Roches, Maulay's patron and de Burgh's rival, while des Roches was out of England, by taking Corfe from one of des Roches' primary supporters. In July Peter des Roches returned to England and in late July was instrumental in clearing Maulay of the charges. Maulay was not given back custody of Corfe, but on 29 July the royal government discharged the 7000 marks that Maulay still owed for his marriage fine. The stated reason for the release of this debt was to compensate Maulay for his expenses while controlling Corfe, but the real reason appears to have been to compensate for its loss. In late 1221 Maulay agreed to go on crusade with Peter des Roches and Falkes de Breauté, another of des Roches supporters. The loss of the city of Damietta in Egypt in September meant that the three men postponed their departure, and in November 1221 Maulay was replaced as sheriff. In return for Maulay's agreement to the ouster, the Exchequer wrote off more debts that Maulay owed the government, this time over 8800 marks. Maulay retired to his lands in Yorkshire. Around this time Maulay began work on Mulgrave Castle, in Yorkshire, which was part of his wife's inheritance. (The castle surrendered on 15 August 1224.) Maulay lost Upavon to the king again in 1229, with the king regranting Upavon to Gilbert Basset. This grant to Basset was by charter, with the lands to be held in fee. Maulay claimed that he only gave up his tenure because of threats by de Burgh.

Maulay returned to royal service in 1230 when he joined the royal expedition to Brittany and was once more at the royal court in 1232 as a follower of Peter des Roches. Maulay regained Upavon in 1233, It was also an attempt to turn back grants made by the king to de Burgh's supporters, now that de Burgh had fallen from power. He was granted the office of Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1236, Maulay was present at the baptism of Prince Edward, and was one of the nobles who raised the infant from the baptismal font. (Hilary's brother Peter married Joan, a daughter of Piers de Brus the elder.) and to Nostell Priory.