| Name | William "II" de WARENNE "2nd Earl of Surrey" |
| Birth | abt 1075, Sussex County, ENGLAND |
| Death | 11 May 1138, ENGLAND Age: 63 |
| Burial | Chapter House, Lewis Priory, Castle Acre, Norfolk, ENGLAND |
| Occupation | Royalty |
| Father | William de WARREN "Count de Warenne of Normandy" "1st Earl of Surrey" (~1055-1088) |
| Mother | Gundred (~1053-1085) |
| 1 | Elizabeth 'Isabel' de CREPI "de Vermandois" "Countess of Leicester" |
| Birth | 1081, Valois, Bretagne, FRANCE |
| Death | 13 Feb 1130, St. Nicaise, Meulan, D-Sens, FRANCE Age: 49 |
| Occupation | Royalty |
| Father | Hugh de CREPI "the Great" "Prince of France" "Count of Vermandois" (1057-1102) |
| Mother | Adelaide "Countess of Vermandois" (~1055-1123) |
| Marriage | bef 1117, FRANCE |
| Children | Gundred (~1117-1166) |
| Ada/Adelaide (~1120-~1178) | |
| 'William III' (-1148) |
1088 William II succeeded his father as Earl of Surrey following his father's death. William immediately set about consolidating his land and carried out his father's dieing wishes. He continued with the vast building programmes his father had set up, especially at Castle Acre Priory, which had by now had its foundations built and had been accepted by Cluny as a dependent of Lewis Priory. - [2]
William de Warenne was a bit of an upwardly mobile knight in his day. In 1091 he was helping Hugh of Grantmesnil to defend Courcy against Robert de Belleme, son of Hugh de Montgomery, the conqueror's great friend and Earl of Arundel. Between 1093 - 1094 he sought to marry Matilda, daughter of Henry I and then Edith, daughter of Malcom III, King of the Scots. Edith then married Henry I and this must have been at the bottom of his hatred for Henry. He often mocked the King's love of hunting and called him 'Hart's foot'. This hatred spilled over with his open support of Robert, the Conqueror's other son, whom he met on landing in England. He was immediatly disinherited by Henry I, and accompanied Robert back to Normandy. He returned to England to make his peace with King Henry in 1103, he was pardoned by Henry and from then on became the King's most faithful and trusted friend.
He fought with the King at Tinchebray in 1106 and commanded the 3rd Division of the King's Army. He also fought with Henry again at the Battle of Bremule or Brenneville on 20th August 1119 and was said to have encouraged the King to take a more personal role in the combat. He remained loyal to the end and was beside King Henry at his death at the Castle of Lions in 1135. After, he was appointed govenor of Rouen and the district of Caux but in 1138 he died and was buried alongside his father in the Chapter House at Lewis Priory - [2]
[NOTE] If you go, also visit nearby Castle Acre, where the NORRIS tribe also lived and also their ancestors the DE WARENNE, who built the castle there (now in ruins). The nearest city is King's Lynn, which was just LYNN when Thomas left for America. I will send you some more stuff on the English Norrisses. - [1]
[NOTE] Information and photographs of William and the Castle Acre are at website [2]
[1] - email, Dr. Edward J. Neugaard
[2] - http://www.castles-abbeys.co.uk/Castle-Acre-Castle-Priory.html