Compiled from documentary sources (Domesday Book, Wikipedia's "List of lords of Wallingford Castle," the Victoria County History via British History Online, and the Wallingford Museum/TWHAS histories). Where sources disagree on exact handover dates, this is flagged rather than smoothed over. Several names have no firmly attached dates in the sources found — these are placed in their most probable chronological slot based on their known biographies.
Colour key: each shade marks a distinct historical period, purely to help the eye group entries — it is not a severity or reliability rating.
| Period | Lord / Holder | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1067–71 to c. 1091 | Robert D'Oyly | Built the castle for William the Conqueror; held as constable/tenant-in-chief. Married Ealdgytha, daughter of the previous Saxon lord, Wigod. |
| c. 1091–1107 | Miles Crispin | Married Maud, D'Oyly's daughter and heiress, becoming Lord of Wallingford. |
| c. 1107–1120s | Maud Crispin (widowed, as heiress) | Her son Robert Crispin briefly succeeded but died childless c. 1126/27. |
| c. 1120 | Nigel D'Oyly | Robert D'Oyly's brother (Maud's uncle, not a husband) held the lordship of Wallingford briefly, alongside his existing title as Lord of Oxford Castle. No source suggests any marriage between Maud and Nigel. |
| 1120s–1153 | Brian FitzCount | Became lord via marriage to Maud (as her second husband) and/or via cousinage once her direct line died out — sources disagree which. Traditionally credited with converting the original timber castle to stone in the 1130s (shell keep and curtain wall) — though specialists argue this may overstate a single rebuild versus a longer process of incremental masonry upgrades. Defended the castle for Empress Matilda through the Anarchy; built the notorious "Cloere Brian" prison. |
| 1153 | Passed to Henry II | FitzCount retired to a monastery following the settlement of the Anarchy; Matilda retired to Bec. |
| 1154–1158 | Henry fitzGerold, Constable | Later became Chamberlain to Henry II (c. 1158–1170). |
| 1154–1189 | Held directly by the Crown under Henry II | Castle repaired and strengthened in the last quarter of the 12th century. |
| (undated, general period) | Walter de Coutances | Listed as a lord of the castle; Archbishop of Rouen and prominent royal administrator. |
| (undated, general period) | Eleanor of Aquitaine | Listed as a lord/holder, possibly reflecting association with queen's dower lands. |
| 1189–1199 | Held under Richard I | No major recorded change in status. |
| 1199–1216 | Held under King John | Seized/reclaimed the castle and heavily fortified it; extensive works recorded on castle and town ditches. |
| (undated, John/Henry III period) | Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent | Listed as a lord; John and Henry III's powerful chief minister. |
| (undated, John/Henry III period) | Richard Fitz Roy | Illegitimate son of King John, listed among the castle's lords. |
| (undated, pre-1231) | Ranulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester | Listed as a lord prior to the Cornwall grant. |
| 1231–1272 | Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall | Henry III's brother; castle, honour and town bestowed on him in 1231; rebuilt it lavishly as his principal residence. |
| 1264 (temporary seizure) | Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester | Captured the castle after victory at Lewes; briefly imprisoned the royal family there, including Prince Edward (future Edward I). |
| 1272–1300 | Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall | Richard's son; inherited on his father's death. |
| 1300 | Reverted to the Crown | Edmund died without heirs. |
| 1307–1312 | Piers Gaveston | Edward II's favourite; held a huge tournament at the castle in 1307; later executed by rebellious barons. |
| (undated, 1320s) | Hugh the Younger Despenser | Listed as a lord/holder; Edward II's later favourite, executed 1326. |
| 1320s–1326 | Isabella of France | Plotted against Edward II (in France, not at Wallingford); issued her reward for Despenser's head from Wallingford Castle, November 1326. |
| 1327–1330 | Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March | De facto ruler of England; granted custody of Wallingford Castle in 1328 as part of his earldom; executed 1330. |
| 1330s | John of Eltham, Earl of Cornwall | Edward III's younger brother; listed as a lord of the castle. |
| (undated, 14th c.) | Sir John Stonor | Prominent judge, listed as a holder — likely constable/custodian rather than titular lord. |
| Mid–late 14th c. | Edward, the Black Prince | Edward III's eldest son; kept Wallingford as his principal residence; castle permanently attached to the Duchy of Cornwall title around this time. |
| 1381 | Richard of Wallingford, Constable | Helped organise Wat Tyler's Peasants' Revolt campaign; presented rebels' petition to Richard II. |
| Late 14th c. | Aubrey de Vere, 10th Earl of Oxford | Listed as a lord of the castle. |
| 1399 | (no single named lord) | Castle well-fortified; briefly hosted the royal government fleeing London during Richard II's deposition — called "a formidable obstacle" by historian Douglas Biggs. |
| (undated, c. 1399) | John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset | Half-brother of Henry IV; listed as a lord. |
| (undated, to 1399) | William le Scrope, 1st Earl of Wiltshire | Listed as a lord; executed 1399 during Henry IV's takeover. |
| 1399 onward | Henry IV of England | Held the castle directly as king. |
| Early–mid 15th c. | Thomas Chaucer, Constable | Son of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer. |
| Mid 15th c. | William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, Constable | Married Alice, granddaughter of Geoffrey Chaucer; benefactor of Ewelme's school and almshouses. |
| (undated, alongside William) | Alice de la Pole | Listed as a lord in her own right. |
| (undated, mid-late 15th c.) | John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk | Their son; also listed as a lord of the castle. |
| 1420s–1440s | Owen Tudor, Guardian | Charged with protecting young Henry VI, tutored at Wallingford; formed his liaison with Katherine of Valois here — origin of the Tudor dynasty. Owen Tudor was himself later held as a prisoner at the castle. |
| (undated, Wars of Roses era) | Roger Dent, Baron of Wallingford | Listed as a lord. |
| (undated, Wars of Roses era) | Richard Grey | Listed as a lord; likely Elizabeth Woodville's son by her first marriage, executed 1483. |
| 1487–88 | Francis Lovell, Viscount Lovell | Held the office of constable until its surrender following the Battle of Stoke. |
| 1487/88 | Sir William Stonore and Sir Thomas Lovel | Jointly granted the constableship on Lovell's surrender. |
| 1488 (prisoner) | Sir Thomas Scrope of Upsall | Held on parole at the castle, implicated in a rebellion against Henry VII. |
| To 1506 | Sir Thomas Lovel | Still recorded as constable. |
| December 1490 | Arthur, Prince of Wales | Castle, town and honour of Wallingford (with the honour of St. Valery) granted to him as part of the Duchy of Cornwall. |
| After 1502 | Prince Henry (later Henry VIII) | Inherited the grant on his elder brother Arthur's death. |
| 1518 | Henry VIII | Court in residence at Wallingford; one of the last recorded uses of the castle as an active royal residence. |
| (undated, Tudor era) | Sir Henry Norreys | Listed as a lord; later executed 1536 in connection with the Anne Boleyn affair. |
| (undated, Tudor era) | Francis Knollys (the elder) and William Knollys, 1st Earl of Banbury | Listed as later Tudor-era lords/holders. |
| June 1535 (prisoner) | (unnamed woman) | Imprisoned for allegedly calling the king "an extortioner." |
| Mid-16th c. | (administrative change) | Castle formally separated from the Duchy of Cornwall. |
| 1553–1558 | Crown ownership under Mary I | Lead and other building materials stripped for reuse at Windsor Castle. |
| 1642–1646 | Thomas Blagge, Governor | Held the castle as a Royalist stronghold defending Charles I's Oxford headquarters. |
| (undated, Civil War era) | Edmund Dunch, Baron Burnell of East Wittenham | Listed as a lord in this final period — a Parliamentarian, suggesting a contested or transitional claim. |
| (undated, final entry) | Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Berkshire | The final named lord on record, closing out the castle's ownership history. |
| 27 July 1646 | Surrender to Parliament | Blagge surrendered to Sir Thomas Fairfax's forces; garrison marched out with full honours. |
| 1652 | Demolition ordered | Oliver Cromwell's Council of State ordered the castle slighted, ending nearly 600 years of continuous occupation and ownership. |
Colour Key — Periods
- 🟧 Norman Foundation (1067–1120s) — D'Oyly, Crispin, Nigel D'Oyly
- 🟦 The Anarchy (1120s–1153) — Brian FitzCount
- 🟩 Angevin Crown Control (1153–1231) — Henry II through John
- 🟪 Earldom of Cornwall (pre-1231–1300) — Richard & Edmund of Cornwall, de Montfort's seizure
- 🟥 Duchy of Cornwall, 14th c. (1307–late 1300s) — Gaveston, Isabella, Mortimer, the Black Prince
- ⬜ Lancastrian Era (1399–1440s) — Henry IV, Chaucer, Suffolk, Owen Tudor
- 🟨 Wars of the Roses / Tudor Consolidation (1461–1509) — Lovell, Lovel, Arthur/Henry VIII's inheritance
- 🟩 (teal) Final Tudor Decades (1509–1558) — Henry VIII's last visit, Mary I's stripping
- 🟪 (mauve) Civil War & Demolition (1642–1652) — Blagge, Fairfax, Cromwell
Honest Caveats on This Record
- Many rows marked "undated" have no firmly attached tenure dates in the sources found (Walter de Coutances, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard Fitz Roy, Ranulph de Blondeville, Hugh the Younger Despenser, John of Eltham, Sir John Stonor, Aubrey de Vere, John Beaufort, William le Scrope, Roger Dent, Richard Grey, Sir Henry Norreys, the Knollys family, Edmund Dunch, Thomas Howard). They're placed in their most probable chronological slot based on their broader biographies, but exact sequencing and overlap between some of these figures isn't fully resolved in what's publicly available. Some names may represent the constableship (day-to-day custodian) rather than true lordship.
- The 1091–1153 succession has genuine date disagreements between sources, as flagged earlier — particularly whether Brian FitzCount inherited via marriage to Maud or via cousinage after her line died out.
- This traces legal/titular lordship and occupation, not a complete record of every prisoner, visitor, or servant. Notable prisoners not already listed above include Ealdred of Abingdon, Richard (1st Earl of Cornwall, as a prisoner earlier in his life), the Berkeley family (Maurice, 2nd Lord Berkeley, and another Maurice de Berkeley), Waleran de Beaumont, Henry of Almain, Walter Langton, Robert de Ferrers, Henry Holland (3rd Duke of Exeter), Margaret of Anjou, Charles I, Duke of Orléans, and Sir Richard Browne.