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Stephen le Fleming, 3rd palatine baron of Slane

b. circa 1156, d. 1213

Person Exhibits

Effigy of Stephen le Fleming, Knight, in St Mary's Church Botus Fleming

Birth

Stephen le Fleming, 3rd palatine baron of Slane, was born circa 1156. Gerald of Wales, in his "Journey Through Wales and the Description of Wales (1194), relates a tradition concerning Stephen Flandrensis. His father Erchenbald, whose wife was pregnant with her first child, accused her of infidelity. But when the child was born, it had a mark on its upper lip in exactly the place where Erchenbald had been scarred in battle. In consequence, Erchenbald recognised the child as his offspring. The child, who was named Stephen. Gerald of Wales says that he saw both father and son in England, so this must have been before 1165 (when Gerald went to Paris until 1174).¹

Parents

Father

Erchenbald le Fleming (b. circa 1100, d. circa 1173)

Children

Son	Sir Erchenbald ("Archibald") le Fleming (b. circa 1200)
Son	Baldwin le Fleming, 4th palatine baron of Slane+ (b. circa 1205, d. after 1264)

Working life

²
From 1189 to 1192 Stephen le Fleming, 3rd palatine baron of Slane, was occupied as a knight who may have fought in the Third Crusade. There is an effigy in St Mary's Church at Botus Fleming in Cornwall. (This is near Stoke-Fleming.) The effigy is of a crusader knight and is popularly believed to be Stephen Fleming.²

Property

Stephen le Fleming, 3rd palatine baron of Slane, possessed inherited the fees in Devonshire, Cornwall, Slane, Newcastle, Astmayn and Eskertenen from his older brother Richard in 1176.³ He possessed inherited the fees in Botus (Cornwall) and Chymwell (in Bratton Fleming) from his older brother Richard in 1176.⁴ He possessed inherited the fees of the Irish lands previously granted to his late cousin Richard le Fleming in 1186.⁵ He possessed and built castles at Slane and Newcastle de Eskertenen in County Meath in 1187.⁵ He possessed brought a writ of mort d'ancestor against Adam Rudypac and Reginald le Poer in defence of land in Meath and Tipperary in 1199.¹ He possessed held 7 knight's fees in Devon and Cornwall in 1200 in Devon and Cornwall.⁶

Death

Stephen le Fleming, 3rd palatine baron of Slane, died in 1213 at age ~57. ‘‘In the north aisle of the church of Botus-fleming, under a low obtuse arch, is the recumbent figure of a crusader, said to be Stephen le Fleming, who founded the church, temp. Richard I.”⁶ He died after 1230. Stephen probably had other sons in addition to his heir Baldwin and Sir Erchenbald (Archibald) who may have inherited his Cornish estates. There are numerous "le Flemings" in the Irish records who must have been his unrecorded sons, or possibly cousins or nephews.⁷

Citations

[S10] Richard Bligh, The Slane Peerage Case, p 78
[S8] F Lawrence Fleming, A Genealogical History of the Barons Slane, p100
[S1] F Lawrence Fleming, Exploring the True Heritage of the Fleming family name, p52-3
[S1] F Lawrence Fleming, Exploring the True Heritage of the Fleming family name, p52-4
[S1] F Lawrence Fleming, Exploring the True Heritage of the Fleming family name, p53
[S99] William Sincock, Cornish Landholders circa 1200, number 13, Stephen Flandrensis, p 172
[S1] F Lawrence Fleming, Exploring the True Heritage of the Fleming family name, p53 & p55

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Last Edited

16 April 2025