Following the stabilization of the primary Devonshire manors and the construction of the early stone keep at Berry POMEROY Castle, the family line was permanently elevated through an elite royal matrimonial alliance that injected the direct bloodline of King Henry I (Beauclerc) into the tree. This strategic transition was executed through the marriage of Henry de la POMEROY I to Lady Rohesia (Rohese) FitzRoy. Rohesia was a recognized illegitimate daughter of King Henry I, making her a granddaughter of William the Conqueror and a direct sister to Reginald de Dunstanville, the powerful Earl of Cornwall.

In twelfth-century Anglo-Norman feudal law, a marriage of this exceptional political caliber was accompanied by a massive maritagium—a royal wedding dowry consisting of landed estates that were legally settled directly on the bride and her heirs. Under the strict legal definitions of the era, a maritagium was explicitly designed to create an independent inheritance pool for the children of the marriage, completely insulating these properties from standard crown confiscations, feudal asset forfeitures, or territorial boundary disputes that might plague the husband’s primary patrilineal barony. Through Rohesia’s royal status, the POMEROY family acquired absolute legal title to the massive and lucrative Manor of Roseworthy (historically recorded as Ritterth) located near Camborne in West Cornwall.

This sprawling, high-yield territory shifted the family’s administrative footprint deep into the western maritime frontier, establishing an immense secondary source of revenue fueled by active tin mining extraction and coastal trade access. The manor of Roseworthy was a prized asset; it gave the POMEROYS a highly secure stronghold outside of Devon, commanding a vast layout of sub-manors, agricultural fields, and local tenant populations.

Rohesia utilized her direct personal access to the royal court of her brother, Earl Reginald of Cornwall, to shield the wider POMEROY estates from aggressive regional border rivals and predatory royal officials. Her unique legal position established an enduring historical precedent where the maternal line acted as the ultimate protector of the family’s physical sovereignty. When successive patrilineal POMEROY barons faced severe political isolation, mounting crown debts, or allegations of treason under subsequent regimes—most notably during the volatile transition of power under King Richard I and Prince John—it was the legal shield of Rohesia’s royal maritagium at Roseworthy that prevented the total financial ruin of the house. The Cornish estates remained securely in the family’s hands, providing the vital capital and collateral needed to repeatedly buy back and redeem their forfeited Devonshire lands, cementing her legacy as a foundational anchor of the dynasty.

📚 Primary Academic Bibliography