De Bailleul, Rainald

There are several places named Bailleul in France: 1) in Flanders, near the Belgian border (14 miles NW of Lille); 2) Bailleul sur Berthoult (north of Arras); and 3) Bailleul- Orne (between Caen and Alençon). The first location is the recorded point of origin of the family which was to play such an important role in English and Scottish history (1). The founder of the family in England was a Norman baron, Guy, or Guido de Bailleul who held the fiefs of Bailleul, Dampierre, Harcourt, and Vinoy in Normandy. At this time, (about 1066) William the Conqueror was preparing for a conquest of England, and had promised a share of the land gained to any of the Norman barons who would follow him. Guy de Bailleul was one of these, and must have remained in England after the fighting ceased. Around 1093, he was granted the Barony of Biwell in Northumberland (which included the forests of Teesdale and Marwood, and the lordships of Middleton in Teesdale and Gainford, part of the wapentake of Sadberge) by William Rufus, notoriously cruel "Red King", the son of William the Conqueror. This area, which later became the vast parish of Gainford, had been ecclesiastical land before the Conquest, although leased or mortgaged to laymen. In the Boldon Book of 1133, the Baliol fees were not included in the Bishopric. This was the prelude to a long dispute over whether the lands were held of the Bishops of Durham and could be taxed by them (2).

Another family member, Renard de Bailleul, may have been mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. This Rainald de Baliol (also Renaud, or Renard), was Sheriff of Shropshire under Earl Roger (Roger de Montgomery II), and had accompanied the Conqueror across the channel in 1066. Renard was married to Amiera, Earl Roger''s niece. He may be one and the same as Pierre, Knight of Balliol and Fecamp who contributed one ship and twenty men-at-arms at Hastings, or he may be the brother or son of Pierre. Renard''s descendents also included several Bishops of Lincoln