Origin of the Pierrepont Family

The Pierpont Family Association is an association of the members of the New England Pierponts. The PFA began nearly 100 years ago (they have been meeting annually since 1923). Their website (http://thepierpontfamilya.wixsite.com) begins

“With roots dating back to 1905, the Pierpont Family Association has maintained a wealth of knowledge and records of our ancestral past. … Our family has descended from Normandy in France, Nottingham in England and throughout the United States. While the Pierpont Family Association is most prevalent in the USA, we are keenly aware of our great connections the world over.”

The introduction in their genealogy chart (http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/rak//gen/pier/piergen.htm) states the following about Sir Hugh de Pierrepont, generation 1 in their family tree:

“Sir Hugh de Pierrepont, A. D. 980, lord of the ‘Castle of Pierrepont in the south confines of Picardy, and diocese of Laon,’ a branch of the Pierreponts who were lords of Castle Pierrepont, two leagues from S.Saveur, Normandy, whence they derived their name.”

It further notes:

“supposedly from a nearby stone bridge substituting for a ferry, built by Charlemagne or during his time. Chronicle of Flodoard refers to Castrum Petraepontis as an important place in 938.

“Laon/Picardy has a town of Pierrepont but there did not seem to be any “castle” or manor house in 1988; S.Saveur is in Normandy below Cherbourg, with Pierrepont sites nearby. The two locations are clearly considered one in [Moffat’s book on Pierrepont Genealogies].

This genealogy later documents that a grandson of Hugh de Pierrepont, Sir Robert de Pierrepont, accompanied William the Conqueror to England in 1066 and he was initially granted lands at Hurst Pierrepont which lay near Lewes, north of Brighton, in Sussex. Later the family moved north and established Holme-Pierrepont, the ancient seat and burial-place of the family, 3 miles SE from Nottingham, and 98 miles north from London.

The purpose of this paper is not to dispute the facts from 1066 onward, but to look at the origins in France.

 

Source Documents

The wording in the Pierpont genealogies is taken verbatim from a book, “A Genealogical Abstract of Descent of the Family Pierrepont from Sir Hugh de Pierrepont, of Picardy, France, A. D. 980.” This book was compiled by Edward J. Marks and published in New Haven, CT, in 1881. The text is identical to the above quotation. It then adds a second paragraph which reads:

“The place derived its name from a stone bridge, with which Charlemagne supplied the place of a ferry.”

Except for the comment from 1988 about the then absence of a castle, the PFA has been using this wording unchanged since its beginnings. But let’s look at some of the words used in this quotation and then some more current research to see if we can get any better information.

For some of this, I’d like to thank the keepers of the history page of the de Pierrepont Institute in France (see http://www.depierrepont.net/histoire) [a rough translation provided by Google Translate is below in the appendix].

 

Did Charlemagne build the Bridge?

Both the PFA genealogy and the book by Marks note that the family name comes from a bridge, “Pierre” in French is “stone” and “Pont” is “bridge”. In Latin, the language most in use at the time, the word is “Petrus Pons”. But when would such a bridge have been built, and why?

Marks words are “The place derived its name from a stone bridge, with which Charlemagne supplied the place of a ferry.” This is slightly modified to be less certain in the PFA genealogy to read “supposedly from a nearby stone bridge substituting for a ferry, built by Charlemagne or during his time. [emphasis mine]” But what is the most likely timing/rationale?

Charlemagne is the French translation of Charles the Great (or in Latin Carolus Magnus) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlemagne). He lived from 747 to 814 and was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and Emperor of the Romans from 800. But did he order the building of stone bridges?

The grandson of Charlemagne was Charles the Bald (823-877) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_the_Bald) who ruled the western third of the Holy Roman Empire. At the time the Vikings were annually ravaging not only the Frankish coastlands but, with the aid of Europe’s numerous navigable rivers, much of the interior. To prevent this, Charles the Bald issued the Edict of Pîtres (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edict_of_P%C3%AEtres), which declared that fortified bridges should be built at all towns on rivers to prevent the dreaded longships from sailing into the interior. This is potentially the cause of the stone bridge being built which eventually gave the Pierrepont family their name. But we will revisit this again below.

 

Was Hugh the First Pierrepont?

Despite his being numbered as generation 1 in both the PFA genealogy and the book from which that genealogy is derived, the answer is “no”!

Note very carefully the wording about Hugh:

“Sir Hugh de Pierrepont, A. D. 980, lord of the ‘Castle of Pierrepont in the south confines of Picardy, and diocese of Laon,’ a branch of the Pierreponts who were lords of Castle Pierrepont, two leagues from S.Saveur, Normandy, whence they derived their name.” [emphasis mine]

If you look closely, there are actually two castles mentioned. The one occupied by Hugh was said to be “in the south confines of Picardy, and diocese of Laon”. The other is “two leagues from S.Saveur, Normandy”.

Also, Hugh is clearly noted as being from “a branch of the Pierreponts”. This is a clear admission that there were others of this name before Hugh. As the Institute de Pierrepont webpage [below] notes, the use of Pierrepont as a family name likely occurred in the year 925 after the siege of Eu by King Raoul. It is not known what the name of this first individual was, but he was quite possibly the grandfather of Hugh, given the 55 years between 925 and 980.

 

The Pierrepont Places

One of the interesting features of the depierrepont.net website is the inclusion of a map showing all the places carrying the family name. In addition to Holme Pierrepont and Hurst Pierrepont in England, there are 11 such places in France. Let me list them here in west-to-east order with a few facts about each:

[Pierrepont places]

 

1.     Saint Sauveur de Pierrepont – this is the church mentioned in the PFA genealogies to which they attribute the origin of the family name. It is on the Normandy peninsula. The community there has a current population of 138.

2.     Saint Nicholas de Pierrepont – a few miles from Saint Saveur, this is another small community with a population of about 300. This is the “Pierrepont sites nearby” noted in the PFA genealogies.

3.     Pierrepont en Littry – a small community in Molay Littry.

4.     Pierrepont en Lantheuil – a holiday home to the east of Caen. Includes the Church of the Sainte-Trinite de Pierrepont, Chateau de Pierrepont (a bed and breakfast), and Ferme de Pierrepont (a small farm with rentable cabins). It was built in the eighteenth century and was the home of the family of St. John de Crevecoeur, a Norman nationalized American, consul of France in NY, who is famous for his “Letters from an American farmer” (1792).

5.     Pierrepont pres Falaise – a small community with population about 90. See notes below for more information.

6.     Pierrepont en bray – a street on the outskirts of Grandcourt, France

7.     Pierrepont en Beauvaisis – a street near the village of Ponchon

8.     Pierrepont sur Avre – a former community in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Population was 475. In 2019, it was merged into the new community of Trois-Rivieres (Three Rivers)

9.     Pierrepont en Laonnois – a communie in Aisne in Northern France near the city of Laon. Population about 400. This is the location referred to in the write-up on Hugh.

10.  Pierrepont pres Longuyon – a small town near Longuyon on the France-Belgium border.

11.  Han devant Pierrepont – a small community near Longuyon

Notes on location 5

James Pierpont, former president of the PFA, wrote me a few weeks ago about this location and said the following:

“[W]e have a different location in France from which we can refer to as our named original homestead. My wife, two sons and I made the ‘pilgrimage’ to Pierrepont in Normandy during our time living in Edinburgh in the late 1970's. That Pierrepont represents it is the place where Charlemagne directed the construction of the stone bridge from which we were ‘named’. In Google Earth if you look for ‘37 Le Bourg, Pierrepont, France’ you will see the (rebuilt) church which represents it was the center of the town when the bridge was in existence. We were fascinated to walk around and see the still remaining obvious age of the surroundings. The location is nearby and almost directly south of Caen, France which was William the Conqueror's headquarters and it is represented that Hugh De Pierrepont as one of Williams key henchmen during the 1066 invasion was known as a ‘local’ leader with military experience having fought with William in an altercation with the powers in what was at the time Eastern France. How much of this is possible to fact check is quite limited but the local community south of Caen, thinks it is correct.”

The website of the town (www.paysdefalaise-fr) says: “The name of the village could refer to a stone bridge spanning the La Fontaine stream in the Gallo-Roman period. Pierrepont is crossed by the “Grand Chemin” connecting Brittany to Paris, passing by Mont Saint-Michael… Pierrepont’s past is linked to that of a lord of the same name who accompanied William the Conqueror in his conquest of England.”

Note that William the Conqueror was born and grew up in Falaise, just a few miles from the village of Pierrepont (https://www.tripsavvy.com/castle-of-william-the-conqueror-1517425). In 1060, he built a new castle in Caen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Caen).

 

So, notwithstanding the self-promotion of location 5 above, which other of these eleven locations might be of most interest to the Pierrepont family? For the answer to that, let’s revisit Hugh and the bridge.

 

Hugh and the Bridge – Revisited

The writeup about Hugh includes the following: “Castle of Pierrepont in the south confines of Picardy, and diocese of Laon,” This clearly matches location 9 above, i.e., Pierrepont en Laonnois. It also says that “Castrum Petraepontis [was] an important place in 938.” There is an interesting Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_medieval_bridges_in_France) which lists medieval bridges in France. There are four bridges in this list with the name Pierrepont attached to them. Each of these has a location and a “first attested” date associated with it. There are also comments regarding some of them.

·       Pierrepont, cant. Marle – in Aisne, dates of 938 and 1165, and the comment “Castrum Petraepontis” (again, this is clearly the location referred to in the description of Hugh, i.e., location 9)

·       Pierrepont – in Calvados, date of 1145, and the comment Petrepons (the district of Calvados includes Falais, i.e., location 5)

·       Pierrepont – in Olse, date of 1198 (close to location 7 above)

·       Pierrepont-sur-l’Arentele – in Vosges, date of 1302 (not near any of the above Pierrepont locations)

 

The Normans

Hugh must have been a Norman (i.e., a “northman” from Scandinavia) who was a friend of William the Conqueror. Two of Hugh’s grandsons accompanied William during the Norman invasion of England in 1066. France was invaded by the Normans in two phases (790-930, then 980-1030). But the extent of their land holdings was limited to a section of the northern coast of France.

[Normandy limits]

 

But since Normandy did not occupy all of France, then the homes of the Normans would necessarily be limited to those locations that are part of it. In the list of Pierrepont places above, this would include (1)-(6), but not (7)-(11) as these were too far east. Most significantly, that means that Castrum Petraepontis in Laon is NOT anywhere near Normandy and would certainly not be the home of someone who was close to the headquarters of William the Conqueror in Caen.

 

Bringing it all together

A major issue in all of this is that the name Pierrepont is a word that (1) can be used to describe a place, i.e., a stone bridge, (2) can be used to indicate a nearby feature such as a castle or a small town, or (3) can be the surname of an individual. All three of these uses can be seen in the preceding sections, and it’s one of the reasons why there are so many places with the Pierrepont designation today. And, thus, it can be a great source of confusion.

Resolving the “bridge issue”

If Charlemagne was associated with building a bridge that replaced a ferry, the river involved would have to be wide enough to support the use of a ferry. Of all the places named, the river Aisne in Laon is the only one that is large enough to require a ferry. Thus, if Charlemagne were to request the building of a bridge to support the movement of his army, it makes sense that this would be a location for such a bridge.

While Charlemagne’s grandson Charles the Bald did request the building of bridges to stymie the Viking longboats, history only records two such fortified bridges being built (one on the Seine and one on the Loire). But the one in Laon on the river Aisne was on a tributary of the Seine and over 100 miles from Paris, so such an inland location would not have needed this type of fortified bridge.

Most of the other Pierrepont locations are only located near “rivers” that are not much more than glorified drainage ditches. Certainly, those would not have attracted the attention of such men as Charlemagne or Charles the Bald.

Resolving the “Normandy issue”

As noted above, since the Pierrepont ancestors were Norman, any locations involved would have been in Normandy. Thus, while there are Pierrepont locations scattered throughout France, any that are not in Normandy are either (a) ones where the name was assigned in later centuries as the French de Pierrepont family spread throughout the country, or (b) ones which were named after other stone bridges and not the ones associated with the Pierrepont surname. Thus, only a few of the above-named places should be considered as the home of the early Pierrepont family members.

[Normandy detailed map]

 

Saint Seveur and Saint Nicholas in upper left, Pierrepont pres Falais about 6 miles west of Falais

Even though the location in Laon has been named in literature as far back as 938, it is still just another stone bridge (and nearby castle? – although no such structure existed there in 1988) from that time period, and not one where the Pierrepont family likely lived at the time. Just to put it in perspective, it’s 225 miles from Laon to Caen where William the Conqueror had his headquarters. But it’s only 25 miles from Pierrepont (near Falais) to Caen.

Resolving the “timing issue”

As the depierrepont.net website notes, the use of the surname Pierrepont first occurs after the siege of Eu in the year 925 (Eu is a city on the River Somme, about two miles from the coast in the NE corner of Normandy). This timing makes sense in that it was associated with an individual who was a Norman, and who would have had offspring who then lived elsewhere in Normandy in 980 (e.g., Hugh), and who would have been included as officers in William the Conqueror’s army in 1066 (e.g., Robert).

While one cannot always believe local “legend” such as that posted by the town officials in Pierrepont pres Falais, this local information seems to be consistent with all the aspects above, i.e., there is a local bridge which dates from 1145 or before (albeit a very small one), and it is in the expected location in Normandy.

 

My Conclusions

I believe that some of the research into this subject in the past was confused because of the use of the word Pierrepont to mean a stone bridge, a nearby location, or a surname. And without the modern Internet tools and mapping software, the above kind of research would have been impossible to do.

Going back to the current wording in the PFA genealogies where it said:

“Sir Hugh de Pierrepont, A. D. 980, lord of the ‘Castle of Pierrepont in the south confines of Picardy, and diocese of Laon,’ a branch of the Pierreponts who were lords of Castle Pierrepont, two leagues from S.Saveur, Normandy, whence they derived their name.

“supposedly from a nearby stone bridge substituting for a ferry, built by Charlemagne or during his time. Chronicle of Flodoard refers to Castrum Petraepontis as an important place in 938.

“Laon/Picardy has a town of Pierrepont but there did not seem to be any “castle” or manor house in 1988; S.Saveur is in Normandy below Cherbourg, with Pierrepont sites nearby. The two locations are clearly considered one in [Moffat’s book on Pierrepont Genealogies].”

I would suggest that it read:

“Sir Hugh de Pierrepont, A. D. 980, lived in Normandy. While the family name dates from around 925, he is the first of that name that we have been able to trace. There are three Pierrepont sites in relatively close proximity in Normandy, two churches and a town: Saint Saveur de Pierrepont, Saint Nicholas de Pierrepont, and Pierrepont pres Falais. It is not known for certain which site may have been the home of Sir Hugh, but the latter claims him as their own.

“The family name is derived from the French/Latin name for ‘stone bridge,’ of which there are many in France. So, while this name is given to many other locations in that country, it is these three locations in Normandy which are associated with the surname rather than a bridge.”

 

Appendix – Translation of de Pierrepont Institute webpage

History – a few points of reference on 12 centuries of the history of a patronymic

The surname PIERREPONT (Petrus Pons) comes from the Edict of Pîtres (864) by which the Carolingian king Charles II the Bald ordered the fortification of bridges to prevent the Norman longships from going up the rivers of the kingdom.

 

The old family tradition dates the rise of the Pierreponts to chivalry by King Raoul (923-936) because of their distinction during the siege of Eu in 925. This tradition reported many times by notaries, historians, and genealogists makes "the house of Pierrepont one of the noblest and oldest in this province". However, the house of Pierrepont was born in history under this name a century later through its contribution to the monastic renewal of the Duchy of Normandy as attested by the founding act of the abbey of Saint-Michel du Tréport (1059), in the same county of Eu.

 

Related on the outskirts of the year 1000 to the house of Abbeville and Ponthieu itself from the Carolingian counts of Ostrevent of the previous century, this first dynasty was then installed on the borders of Normandy and Picardy (Vimeu and Ponthieu), and in County Laon.she becomes related to the Counts of Eu, the Sires of Coucy, the Montaigu. After the conquest of England alongside Duke William, she held land mainly in Sussex and Notthinghamshire and Suffolk and considerably increased her fortune.

 

After the second crusade, Michel Bur established the extinction of the first dynasty under this name, and the house is only continued in direct line in England under the name of Fitzraynald de Poynings. Hugues de Montfelix, whom Professor Bur considers to be a bastard of the Count of Champagne Thibaut the Great (1090-1152) married in 1138 the heiress Aélis de Pierrepont. It is he who notes the name of this house in its French and English possessions as evidenced by the cartularies of the abbey of Foucarmont and of several charters of the abbey of Lewes for acts of the half of the 12th century.

Also at this period, the advent of the Plantagenets to the thrones of England and Normandy to the detriment of Etienne de Blois, grandson of the conqueror and uncle of Hugues de Montflelix led to the loss of the upper Norman lands of Pierrepont en Bray. 

Their children settle their descendants:

·       in Champagne (eldest branch of the Counts of Roucy, until its extinction in Azincourt in 1415)

·       in present-day Belgium where Hugues was elected duke bishop of Lièges in 1200

·       in England (younger branch installed in Hurst in Sussex then in Nottinghamshire in Holme Pierrepont and continued until the 18th century)

·       in Lower Normandy (Branch of Pierrepont en Lantheuil bearing gules to the chief denché d'or, and branch of Cotentin bearing Azure to the chief gules with three pals d'or) in the wake of the commission of the duchy by Philippe Auguste in 1204 and the victory of Bouvines

Let us note that a branch of the branch of Lantheuil will give such virulent leaders to the Protestant party in Normandy in the XVIth and XVIIth centuries that a part of its descendants will emigrate to London then the United States (Roxbury Massachussetts, 1643). One of the descendants of this branch will found two centuries later the famous Protestant bank Pierpont Morgan (JP Morgan)

The Champagne, English and Cotentin branches will die out before the Revolution, the latter has seen its name continued to this day by the Garaby de Pierreponts. These events and the Napoleonic wars will get the better of the branch of the Marquis de Pierrepont des Biards, whose name is noted by the David du Mutel de Pierrepont who emigrated to Argentina under the Restoration.

In Europe, the Pierrepont de Feugères, cadets of the Pierrepont de Saint-Marcouf branch, perpetuate the titles and names of this house in direct line today.