Page 15 - Illustrated Reditch History

War Breaks Out Between the

Empress and Waleran

When Henry I died in 1135, his nephew, Stephen,
ignored the fact that he had promised to support the
Empress as queen. He rushed across the English channel
and was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.
The Empress, living in Anjou, France and was ill, so
there was little she could do at the time. To make
matters worse, her army was already involved in
protecting her lands in France.

There were several skirmishes. People had to decide
which side they were on, either the Empress or the
nephew, King Stephen. The Empress was the rightful
queen but she was not a likeable person. She was proud
and haughty, said to be ‘stuffed with intolerable pride’.
She had a deep man’s voice and she terrified her
courtiers by shouting at them. King Stephen, however,
was kind, easy-going and friendly. He would sit down
Waleran would have and have a chat with anybody.
trained to fight from
While he was in England, King Stephen sent Hugh
when he was a toddler.
Waleran across to France to protect his property. The
King was so grateful that he gave Waleran many gifts
including pieces of land, salt works in Droitwich, the
Forest of Feckenham and a castle at Inkberrow. He also
made him ‘Earl of Worcester’. An Earl is more important than a Count.
With all these events, work on the new abbey appears to have been set aside for
two years. Then in 1138 Hugh Waleran issued another charter. This time he was an
Earl and important enough to found the abbey in his own name, without the Empress.

Waleran copied from a
medieval token.

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