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Hugh le Despenser (1 March 1261 - 27 October 1326), sometimes referred t o a s " t h e E lder Despenser", was for a time the chief adviser to King Ed wa rd I I o f E n gland.
He was the son of Hugh le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer (or Despens e r ) , a n d Aliva Basset, sole daughter and heiress of Philip Basset. His f a t h e r w as killed at the Battle of Evesham when Hugh was just a boy , bu t H u g h ' s patrimony was saved through the influence of his materna l gra nd f a t h er (who had been loyal to the king).[2]
He married Isabella de Beauchamp, daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9t h E a r l o f W a rwick and Maud FitzJohn. He served Edward I on numerous oc cas i o n s i n b attle and in diplomacy and was created a baron by writ o f sum m o n s t o P arliament in 1295. However, when he became close to Edwa rd II h i s p l a c e was always with the king, which worried the barons. T o that t i m e , h i s highest office was justice of the forests.[3]
He was one of the few barons to remain loyal to Edward during the cont r o v e r s y regarding Piers Gaveston. Despenser became Edward's loyal serv a n t a n d c h ief administrator after Gaveston was executed in 1312, but t h e j e a l o usy of other barons - and, more importantly, his own corruptio n a n d u n j u st behaviour - led to his being exiled along with his son Hu gh D e s p e n ser the younger in 1321, when Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent re p l a c e d him as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.
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1260 - 1326 (66 years)