Sir John de St. John Knight

  General Notes:

From Weis's Ancestral Roots, 262:31, for Alice St. John:

Sir John de St. John, d. 20-29 Sep 1302, of Basing, Hampshire, Constable of Porcestre Castle, Seneschal of Gascony, Seneschal of Aquitaine, son & heir of Sir Robert de St. John, d. c 1269, of Basing, Hampshire, Constable of Porcestre Castle & Agnes, daughter of William de Cauntelo, d. 1251, of Calne, co. Wilts, and Eaton Bray, co. Bedford, & Millicent de Gournay. ¹⁶⁰

  Information about this person:

• Background Information. ¹⁴¹
Sir John de St. John, 1^st or 1^st surviving son and heir, received the custody of Porchester castle upon his father's death, and his relief was forgiven on account of his and his father's notable services. He was one of the Council who notified Prince Edward in Palestine of the death of Henry III and their proclamation of his successor. In 1276 he was one of the magnates de consilio Regis, who declared Llewelyn a rebel, and initiated a campaign against him. In 1283, summoned to the Assembly at Shrewsbury. He was one of the magnates whom Edward took with him (May 1286) on his prolonged political tour in France and Spain; and, after their return, a commissioner (Oct 1289) to hear complaints against the King's officials during his absence. In November he was "now staying continually with the King." He participated in the "parliament " after Easter 1290. From October that year he was engaged on foreign political missions.

In 1292 Sir John St. John was one of the Auditors on behalf of the King at the trial of the claims to the crown of Scotland. Appointed Lieutenant of Aquitaine, 12 July 1293, Sire Jon de Seyn John, ke conust les countrez, went out to organize the campaign. He went out again in 1294, as seneschal of Aquitaine and a plenipotentiary to deal with Castile and was on the staff of the Earls of Richmond, Lancaster and Lincoln, successively Lieutenants. He was captured by the French, 1296 or 1297. On his return, 1297, he was summoned to a military council at Rochester and for service in Flanders. From 1298 till his death he was engaged in military operations in Scotland, chiefly in Galloway, and in the Western Marches. His seal is attached to the Barons' letter to the Pope, February 1300/1.

Sir John de St. John married, before 29 June 1256, Alice, daughter of Sir Reynold Fitz Piers, by his 1^st wife, Alice. He presumably died between 20 and 29 Sep 1302. His widow was living in 1305.

Footnote (j) The William de St. John, who d. 9 Mar 1253/4 at St. Macaire, with 92 days' pay due him, may have been the elder son of Robert de St. John, who in Nov 1253, was to have a reasonable aid for the knighting of his eldest son. This son can hardly have been Robert's successor John, who in 1256 was not yet of marriageable age.

~Cokayne's The Complet Peerage, Vol. XI p. 323-325

John married Alice Fitz Piers, daughter of Sir Reginald Fitz Piers Lord of Brecknock and Alice de Stanford.¹⁴¹ (Alice Fitz Piers was born in Blaen Llyfni, Brecknockshire, Wales and died after 1305 in Sherborne St. John, Basingstoke, Hamphire, England ¹⁴¹.)