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John de Lacy, the constable of Chester, was a member of one of the olde s t , w e a lthiest and most important baronial families of twelfth- and thi r t e e n th-century England, with territorial interests distributed widely a c r o s s t he counties of the north Midlands and north.
He wa s a minor at the time of his father's death and did not enter int o p o s s e ssion of his lands until September 1213. Like a number of the re be l s , h e w as a young man at the time that he became involved in the rev o l t . A l t hough a natural royalism is suggested by his decision to join J o h n o n h i s expedition to Poitou in 1214, he nurtured a sense of grievan c e a g a i nst the king owing to the terms on which he was granted possessi o n o f h i s f ather's estates. The de Lacy inheritance was a highly valuab l e o n e , c omprising more than a hundred knights' fees, together with the b a r o n i es of Pontefract (Yorks.), and Clitheroe, Penwortham, Widnes and H a l t o n ( Lancs.). John, when he permitted the young heir to enter, theref o r e e x a cted his price. He insisted that the latter offer a massive fine o f 7 0 0 0 m a rks repayable over three years, in the meantime handing over t o a r o y a l k eeper his chief castles of Pontefract (Yorks. ) and Castle D onin g t o n ( Leics.), to be garrisoned by the king at Lacy' s expense on p ain o f c o n f iscation should the latter rebel.
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1192 - 1240 (48 years)