William Paynel

William Paynel (sometimes William Paganel; died around 1146) was an Anglo-Norman nobleman and baron. Son of a Domesday landholder, William inherited his father's lands in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Normandy after the death of an older brother during their father's lifetime. After the death of King Henry I of England, Paynel supported Henry's daughter Matilda in her attempts to take the throne from her cousin Stephen, who had seized it. Matilda entrusted Nottingham Castle to Paynel's custody, although he lost it within two years when it was captured by a supporter of Stephen's. Paynel also founded two religious houses - one in England and one in Normandy. After Paynel's death around 1146, his lands were split between two sons. Early life Paynel was the son of Ralph Paynel, who was a tenant-in-chief listed in Domesday Book with lands in Yorkshire. Ralph also held Middle Rasen in Lincolnshire as well as lands in Normandy – Les Moutiers-Hubert in the Calvados region and Hambye in the Manche region. Besides William, Ralph was the father of Jordan and Alexander. Jordan died before their father and without heirs. Ralph died by 1124, at which time William Paynel, the eldest surviving son, inherited his father's lands including those at Drax in Yorkshire. Other lands held by Ralph and William were Hooton Pagnell also in Yorkshire. The lands at Drax, combined with those at Hooton Pagnell, are considered a barony under the name of Hooton Pagnell, and passed to William from his father. Sometime around 1126 to 1135, William Paynel confirmed his father's benefactions to Selby Abbey. He also appears in the 1130 Pipe Roll as owing 40 marks to the king that had been imposed by royal justices previously, although the exact nature of the infraction is not known. He may also be the William Paynel that gave the ecclesiastical tithe of Fontenay-le-Pesnel to Saint-Étienne Abbey in Caen in the late 1120s, but this is not certain.