Background
He was an illegitimate son of Geoffrey of Anjou, and thus a half-brother of King Henry II, and an uncle of King Richard I and of King John.
He was an illegitimate son of Geoffrey of Anjou, and thus a half-brother of King Henry II, and an uncle of King Richard I and of King John.
Warenne"s lands in England centred on Conisbrough Castle in Yorkshire, which powerful castle he built. He also possessed the "third penny" (an entitlement to one third of the fines levied in the county courts) of his County of Surrey and held the castles of Mortemer and Bellencombre in Normandy. Hamelin joined in the denunciations of Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket in 1164, although after Becket"s death he became a great believer in Becket"s sainthood, having reportedly been cured of blindness by the saint"s intervention.
Hamelin was present at the second coronation of King Richard in 1194 and at King John"s coronation in 1199.
He died in 1202 and was buried in the Chapter House of Lewes Priory in Sussex.
