Roger Mortimer, the subject of the previous article in this series, had five sons. The heir apparent was Ralph, an impressive young man, displaying all the knightly arts. In 1273 he was sheriff of Shropshire and Staffordshire. From an early age the next son, Edmund, was destined for the church. He was sent to Oxford to study and, at the age of 15, he was appointed as the nominal Treasurer of York by Henry III. Living in the house of the Archbishop of York in Oxford, he had his head down studying theology while his older brother was enjoying himself at tournaments. Promised promotion within the church, Edmund had a glittering career awaiting him. The next son after Edmund was Roger, who was to become a great soldier, destined to play a significant role on the national stage; he is known to us as Roger Mortimer of Chirk.

So, in the evening of his life, Roger Mortimer could feel content that, on his death, the lordship of Wigmore would be safe in Ralph’s capable hands. But everything changed in 1274 when Ralph died. Edmund had his sights set on his career in the church and he had not been groomed or prepared in any way for managing the Mortimer estates or, indeed, fighting the Welsh. His reluctance to accept his new position is obvious from the fact that he remained in Oxford after his brother’s death, rather than immediately moving home to Wigmore. When his father died in 1282, Edmund had no option but to give up the church and take up the reins.

Edmund Mortimer (d1304) was around 30 when his father died and he was Lord of Wigmore for about 22 years. He wasted no time in turning from religion to more violent activities. Less than two months after his father’s death, he hatched a plot with his brothers and some other knights to entrap the Welsh prince Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. Through trickery and astute tactics they separated Llywelyn from his main force which was then defeated. While attempting to rejoin his troops, Llywelyn was stopped by the English forces and run through with a sword. It was only later that the corpse was recognised as Llywelyn’s. So died the great Welshman who had been such a thorn in the flesh of the English, just a few weeks after his Mortimer cousin. Roger of Chirk took Llywelyn’s head to Rhuddlan castle to show King Edward I. His death effectively drew to a close that period of the Welsh struggle against the English.

Although never a lord of Wigmore, Roger Mortimer of Chirk (d1326) thoroughly deserves to be included in this catalogue of important Mortimers. The third son of Roger Mortimer, lord of Wigmore, (d1282) he was everything his cerebral, theologically-trained older brother Edmund wasn’t. Knighted in the lifetime of his father, he was a great soldier with a well-earned reputation for severity and intransigence. You would certainly rather have him with you than against you.

As a young man he obviously impressed Edward I. Soon after Roger’s father died, the king wrote to him expressing the hope that he would recover in the son something of what he had lost by the death of the father. He urged him to continue his father’s work by strenuously combating the Welsh uprising.

For his support he was granted lands in the area around Chirk, part of the estates forfeited by the rebellious Welsh, thus creating a new Marcher lordship dominated by the impressive castle he then built at Chirk. As noted above, Roger of Chirk was with his brother near Builth when Llywelyn ap Gruffudd met his end. Also killed on that day was Llywelyn ap Gruffudd ap Madog, the man who had previously owned the lands round Chirk that had been granted to Roger.

Roger was summoned by the king to a parliament in 1299, thereafter being termed Baron Mortimer of Chirk. Unfortunately his relationship with Edward I ended on a sour note. In 1306 he went with his nephew, Roger Mortimer, the future 1st earl of March, on a new campaign against the Scots. They incurred the king’s wrath by leaving without his permission and both had their lands confiscated for a time.

Things improved for Roger of Chirk following the accession of Edward II. In 1308 he was appointed as Justiciar of both North Wales and South Wales, posts that he held, on and off, until 1322. As the chief representative of the monarch in Wales he became extremely powerful. Active in sorting out problems and putting down rebellion, he made many enemies due to the severity of his ‘rule’.

The growing significance and power of the Despensers and their high-handed acquisitiveness brought them into direct conflict with the the Mortimers and other Marcher lords including Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford. As the king’s favourite, Hugh Despenser the Younger literally got away with murder. Edward II’s failure to control him eventually led Roger of Chirk and his nephew Roger, now lord of Wigmore, to join a baronial alliance against the Despensers led by Thomas of Lancaster. The barons were successful in forcing the Despensers into exile for a short time, in 1321, but a lack of unity among them encouraged the king to go on the offensive.