Osbern fitz Richard

Osbern fitzRichard (sometimes Osbern fitz Richard Scrob; died after 1088) was a Frenchman, perhaps Norman, who was a landowner and tenant-in-chief in England. Osbern served as a royal judge and sided with the baronial rebels at the start of King William II's reign, although he later returned to the king's service. Background Osbern was the son of Richard Scrob, who arrived in England before the Norman Conquest of England. Richard's origins are not known for certain, except that he from France, and may have been a Norman. Richard was the builder of Richard's Castle in Herefordshire, one of the few castles in England that predates the Norman Conquest. Career Osbern held Richard's Castle at the time of Domesday Book in 1086. His holding of Richard's Castle as a tenant-in-chief is considered to have made him a feudal baron. Domesday Book records Osbern as owning lands adjacent to his father's lands in 1066, while his father was still alive. Osbern added to the lands he had held in 1066 not only by inheritance from his father, but also from his marriage, from royal gifts, and by enfeoffment from other landholders such as the bishop of Worcester and Roger de Montgomery, the earl of Shrewsbury. His lands in 1086 were situated in Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire, and Bedfordshire. They were worth over 100 pounds a year.