| Year | Day/Month | Title |
| Henry I (1100 - 1135) |
|
1124 | |  Furness Abbey founded
|
| | Founded by Stephen, the future King of England, this abbey is situated near Barrow in Furness. Initially the order was Savigniac but were later converted to Cistercians in 1147 when the orders were merged. |
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| Stephen (1135 - 1154) |
|
1135 | | Stephen at Hereford
|
| | Stephen visits Hereford Cathedral for his royal proclamation on Whit-Sunday. The chair reputed to have been used by Stephen still exists at Hereford. |
|
| Dec 1 | Henry I dies
|
| | Death of Henry I. |
|
| Dec 22 | Stephen succeeds Henry I
|
| | Stephen becomes king of England. (Builds a chapel at Westminster, now the House of Commons. Finished under the direction of Gilbert De Clare, Marquis of Pembrokeshire) |
|
| Dec 26 | Coronation of Stephen of Blois
|
| | Stephen of Blois was crowned King Stephen of England at Westminster Abbey. |
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|
1136 | | Baldwin de Redvers flees to Carisbrooke
|
| | The Earl of Devon, Baldwin de Redvers takes refuge in Carisbrooke castle on the Isle of Wight after a defeat at the hands of King Stephen. |
|
| | Buckfast Abbey founded
|
| | The site of an early Benedictine abbey was taken over by the Cistercians with the permission of King Stephen. Monks from Savigny colonised the abbey. |
|
| | King Stephen captures Bampton
|
| | Bampton Castle in Devon captured by King Stephen. |
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|
1138 | | Arundel Castle siege
|
| | Matilda was given refuge by William de Albini at Arundel Castle. Stephen built siege works around the castle in response. |
|
| | Start of Civil War
|
| | Robert, the Earl of Gloucester and half brother to Matilda (daughter of Henry I) rebels against King Stephen, supporting Matilda's claim to the throne of England. |
|
| | Shrewsbury Castle captured by Stephen
|
| | Stephen captured the castle at Shrewsbury. Henry (II) would capture back the castle before the end of Stephen's reign. |
|
| | Dudley castle attacked by Stephen
|
| | The Castle and lands around Dudley were attacked by King Stephen during the early part of his war against Matilda. |
|
| | Ludlow castle siege
|
| | Ludlow Castle was captured on behalf of Matilda in 1138 and King Stephen besieged the castle in an attempt to regain it. During the siege the King bravely saved Prince Henry of Scotland from being injured by a grappling hook thrown from the castle. |
|
| | Cressing Temple Site
|
| | This wealthy manor was given to the Knights Templar by Matilda, wife of King Stephen for their help getting Stephen to the throne. Later, the site was given to the Hospitallers when the Templars were suppressed. |
|
| Qtr 2 | The Scots invade Northumberland
|
| | Led by their king, David I, the Scots invade and destroy Northumberland. The Scots moved south into Lancashire and North Yorkshire. This prompted Steven to mobilize an army to counter the invasion. |
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|
1139 | | Robert, Bishop of Salisbury is arrested
|
| | Stephen arrested Robert, the Bishop of Salisbury. Robert was powerful and could not be trusted. Stephen took control of Robert's castles including Sherborne. |
|
| | Wallingford Castle siege
|
| | After Brian fitz Count the owner of the castle at Wallingford sided with Matilda, king Stephen built two siege castles to force him out. |
|
| | Corfe Castle siege
|
| | In 1139 Baldwin de Redvers took the castle for Matilda. King Stephen besieged the castle but was unable to take it back. |
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|
1140 | | Coggeshall Abbey founded
|
| | King Stephen and Matilda his wife founded Coggeshall Abbey. This was to be the last of the Savigny abbeys to be founded before the order merged with the Cistercians in 1147. |
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|
1141 | Feb 2 | Battle of Lincoln
|
| | Matilda's forces defeated and captured King Stephen at the battle of Lincoln. Stephen was held captive until September when Matilda's forces were defeated at Winchester. |
|
| Apr | Matilda is elected Queen
|
| | After Stephen had been captured at Lincoln, Matilda was elected as Queen of England at Winchester. Her new position as ruler of England was not to last for long |
|
| Sep 14 | Rout of Winchester
|
| | Matilda's forces were besieging a royalist held castle at Wolvesey near Winchester and were attacked and defeated by a royalist relief army. King Stephen who was being held captive at the time was exchanged for Robert, earl of Gloucester one of Matilda's supporters who was captured in the defeat. |
|
| Nov | Exchange of King Stephen and Gloucester
|
| | Robert, Earl of Gloucester was held captive at Rochester Castle before being exchanged for King Stephen who had been captured earlier in the year at Lincoln. |
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|
1143 | Sep | Mandeville is arrested
|
| | King Stephen arrested Geoffrey de Mandeville at a meeting of the Royal Court. Mandeville had tried Stephen's patience with his disloyalty and the king did not want the Tower of London (which Mandeville controlled) fall into the hands of Matilda. Mandevilles castles and title of Earl of Essex were taken from him, and he became an outlaw. |
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|
1144 | | Construction of Faringdon Castle
|
| | Built by Robert, Earl of Gloucester. The castle soon came under siege by King Stephen who after four days took the castle and destroyed it. |
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|
1145 | | Stephen takes Farringdon Castle
|
| | King Stephen captures the castle at Farringdon from Matilda. |
|
| | Construction of Brightwell Castle
|
| | Built by King Stephen (or the Earl of Chester). The castle had a moat and was situated on the site of current manor house. |
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1146 | Dec 97 | Stephen's Crown Wearing
|
| | King Stephen's 'crown wearing' ceremony was held in Lincoln at Christmas. |
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|
1147 | | Pevensey Castle siege
|
| | King Stephen leys siege to Pevensey castle and has to wait for the castle's reserves to run out before the castle falls. |
|
| | Henry arrives in England
|
| | Henry landed in England with a small army intent on attacking Stephen. Unfortunately, Henry's army of mercenaries was small and they were not being paid enough. Stephen gave Henry money to pay the mercenaries and for Henry to return to Normandy. Henry left England. |
|
| Oct 31 | Robert, Earl of Gloucester dies
|
| | The death of Robert was a blow to Matilda's attempts to fight for the English throne. Matilda was to leave England shortly afterwards. |
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|
1152 | | William Marshal as hostage
|
| | At the age of five or six, William Marshal was handed over to King Stephen as a hostage. Instead of being killed, which was possible, William began a new life that would make him a knight. |
|
| | Newbury Castle Siege
|
| | Besieged and captured by King Stephen in 1152 (or 1153). |
|
| Apr 6 | Theobald refuses to crown Eustace
|
| | King Stephen had several lords swear to have Eustace, his son, as the next king of England. Theobald the Archbishop of Canterbury, who had to accept as well, refused to crown Eustace favouring Henry II's claim to the throne instead. |
|
| Qtr 3 | Henry defends his position
|
| | After marrying Eleanor Henry came under attack by Louis, Eleanor's previous husband, who did not recognise Henry as the new Duke of Aquitaine. Stephen sent troops and his son Eustace to help Louis against Henry. Henry's younger brother, Geoffrey, was also not happy with the situation and joined the quarrels. Henry moved quickly attacking Louis and capturing Geoffrey to secure his position as Duke. |
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|
1153 | | Richard de Lucy becomes Constable of the Tower
|
| | Richard de Lucy was appointed the title of Constable at the Tower of London, an extremely important position, by King Stephen. |
|
| Jan | Henry invades England
|
| | Henry and a fleet of 30 to 40 ships landed on the south coast of England. Henry chose to attack Malmesbury, one of Stephen's out posts. The Winter weather took its toll on Stephen's troops and a truce was agreed. In the Midlands, the Earl of Leicester took Henry's side and this gave Henry control of large number of castles in the area. |
|
| Nov 6 | Treaty of Wallingford
|
| | Henry had besieged a fort that Stephen had built at Crowmarsh on the banks of the Thames opposite Wallingford Castle. An agreement of succession of Henry II after Stephen was concluded and witnessed by the English Knights Templars. King Stephen accepted Henry of Normandy, Anjou and Aquitaine as heir to the throne and in turn Henry recognised Stephen as king. Stephen made his barons do homage to Henry (Jan.1154). |
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| Henry II (1154 - 1189) |
|
1154 | Oct 25 | Stephen dies
|
| | Stephen had agreed that Henry should become King on his death. Henry was in Normandy at the time. |
