Isabel de Forz, 8th Countess of Devon
After the early death of her husband and her brother, before she was thirty years old, she inherited their estates and became one of the richest women in England, living mainly in Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, which she held from the king as tenant-in-chief.At the age of 11 or 12 she became the second wife of William de Forz, 4th Earl of Albemarle (died 1260), who held land in Yorkshire and Cumberland and was Count of Aumale in Normandy.She used titles including "Countess of Aumale and of Devon" and "Lady of the Isle", and in her surviving charters she is regularly referred to in the Latinized form Isabella de Fortibus.[a][5] In her mid-twenties, widowed for two years, then left with a rich dower, she was one of the richest heiresses in England, and a much-sought-after wife for several powerful and ambitious men.One of Edward's favourite servants, Walter Langton, who was a clerk in chancery, rushed to her and drafted a charter to confirm the sale of the Isle of Wight to the king.[3][9] In 1315 he petitioned Parliament, unsuccessfully, claiming his right as Isabel's heir, to the Lordship of the Isle of Wight and to the adjacent manor of Christchurch, part of the Feudal barony of Plympton.[10][11] Countess Wear, now a suburb of Exeter, takes its name from a fish weir on the River Exe, about two miles downstream of the ancient walled city, which Isabel de Forz is said to have built in the late 13th century.
lion rampantquarteredWilliam de ForzAvelineBaldwin de RedversAmice de ClareGilbert de ClareLatinizedBaldwin de Redvers, 6th Earl of DevonBaldwin de Redvers, 7th Earl of Devonsuo jurefeudal barony of Plymptonlordship of the Isle of WightCarisbrooke CastleIsle of Wighttenant-in-chiefKing Edward IHugh de Courtenay, 1st/9th Earl of Devonfeudal baron of OkehamptonEarl of DevonCountess WearRiver ExeTiverton CastleGilbert de Clare, 4th Earl of Hertford, 5th Earl of Gloucester, 1st Lord of GlamorganWilliam de Forz, 4th Earl of AlbemarleCount of AumaleNormandyminorswardshipHenry IIIfeudal baronyHoldernessCockermouthSkiptonheir apparentAveline de ForzEdmund CrouchbackSimon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicestertenants-in-chiefBreamore PrioryEdmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of LancasterKing Henry IIIimpaleddimidiatedBurstwickHampshireHarewoodchartersAdam de StrattonTuscanChamberlain of the ExchequerStatutes of the RealmlitigiousEdward Iinquisition post mortemquit-claimedCanterburyLambethPalace of WestminsterWalter Langtonclerk in chanceryLady of the BedchamberStockwellWilliam de Redvers, 5th Earl of DevonHugh de Courtenay, 9th Earl of DevonChristchurchExeterfish weircorbelChristchurch PrioryDorsetCountessTiverton, DevonPerambulation of the Town LeatWistman's WoodDartmoorrolls of armsWayback MachinePeerage of EnglandCountess of DevonHugh Courtenay