Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere (18 August 1275 – 14 April 1322) was an English soldier, diplomat, member of parliament, landowner and nobleman. He was the son and heir of Sir Gunselm de Badlesmere (died ca. 1301) and Joan FitzBernard. He fought in the English army both in France and Scotland during the later years of the reign of Edward I of England and the earlier part of the reign of Edward II of England. He was executed after participating in an unsuccessful rebellion led by Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster.
The earliest records of Bartholomew's life relate to his service in royal armies, which included campaigns in Gascony (1294), Flanders (about 1297) and Scotland (1298, 1300, 1301–04, 1306–08, 1310–11, 1314–19). However, even at a relatively young age his activities were not limited to soldiering.
In October 1300, he was one of the household of Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln who were permitted by the King to accompany the Earl when he set out for Rome during the following month in order to complain to Pope Boniface VIII of injury done by the Scots.
A writ issued on 13 April 1301, presumably soon after the death of Jocelin, Sir Gunselm de Badlesmere, initiated inquests into the identity of the next heir of lands that he held direct from the King. This led to a hearing on 30 April of that year in relation to property in Kent at Badlesmere and Donewelleshethe, where it was confirmed that the heir was his son Bartholomew, then aged 26.
Bartholomew de Badlesmere and Fulk Payfrer were the knights who represented the county of Kent at the Parliament that sat at Carlisle from January 1306/7 until 27 March 1307. Also in 1307 Bartholomew was appointed governor of Bristol Castle. In that role he took charge of the subjugation of the city when it defied royal authority in 1316.
In 1310, Bartholomew acted as deputy Constable of England on behalf of the Earl of Hereford. Bartholomew served as his lieutenant when Hereford refused to perform his duties in the Scottish campaign of 1310–11. He was one of the retinue of the Earl of Gloucester at the Battle of Bannockburn on 24 June 1314, Bartholomew's own sub-retinue consisting of at least 50 men. He was criticised for not coming to his aid when Gloucester lost his life in an impetuous attack on the Scottish schiltron on that occasion.
In the following January, Bartholomew was one of the many notables who attended the funeral of Piers Gaveston.
On 28 April 1316, Bartholomew was one of four men who were authorised to grant safe conducts in the King's name to Robert Bruce and other Scots so that they could come to England to negotiate a truce. In December of that year, he was commissioned, along with the Bishop of Ely and the Bishop of Norwich to go on an embassy to Pope John XXII at Avignon to seek his help against the Scots and request a Bull to release the King from his oath to the Ordinances. In June of the same year, Bartholomew's daughter Elizabeth married Edward, the son and heir of Roger Mortimer. Bartholomew was sufficiently wealthy to pay £2,000 for the marriage, in exchange for which extensive property was settled on the bride.
On 1 November 1317, the King appointed Bartholomew as custodian of Leeds Castle in Kent This was followed by a transaction on 20 March 1318 by which the King granted the castle and manor of Leeds along with the advowson of the priory of Leeds to Bartholomew and his heirs in exchange for the manor and advowson of Adderley, Shropshire, which Bartholomew surrendered to the King
By late November 1317, Bartholomew made a compact with a number of noblemen and prelates, including Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and the Archbishop of Canterbury with the aim of reducing the influence on the King of advisors of whom they disapproved. Bartholomew and his associates formed a loose grouping which has been referred to by modern historians as the "Middle Party", who detested alike Edward's minions, such as the Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester, and his violent enemies such as Lancaster. Although he was hostile to Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, Bartholomew helped to make peace between the king and Lancaster in 1318.
On 1 October 1318, Bartholomew was with the King at York, setting out to repel an invasion by the Scots. Nineteen days later, he was appointed as the King's household steward in place of William Montagu. This position was of major importance, as it provided continual access to the King's presence and considerable influence over who could obtain access to the king. Bartholomew was still holding this appointment in June 1321. Financial grants that he received during this period included £500 on appointment as steward and over £1,300 in October 1319.
In 1319, Bartholomew obtained the king's licence to found a priory on his manor of Badlesmere, but the proposed priory was never established. In June of the following year, he hosted a splendid reception at Chilham Castle for Edward II and his entourage when they were travelling to Dover en route for France. Also in 1320, he was granted control of Dover Castle and Wardenship of the Cinque Ports and in 1321 was appointed governor of Tunbridge Castle.
During the earlier part of 1321, Bartholomew, along with the Bishop of Worcester and the Bishop of Carlisle and others represented the King in unsuccessful negotiations with the Scots for either a permanent peace or an extended truce.
By the summer of 1321, Bartholomew defied the King by associating with their mutual enemy the Earl of Lancaster and his allies in their active opposition to Edward's "evil councillors" such as the Despensers. The Lancastrian forces moved from the North to London, reaching the capital by the end of July.
In the autumn, the King started to apply pressure targeted on Bartholomew, probably partly because many of his manors were closer to London than those of magnates such as Lancaster and partly because of anger at the disloyalty of his own household steward. Edward took control of Dover Castle and forbade Bartholomew entrance to the county of Kent, an injunction that he promptly breached. Bartholomew then returned to Witney, Oxfordshire, where a tournament attended by many of his new allies was being held. When returning to London from a pilgrimage to Canterbury, the Queen did not take the most direct route but detoured to Leeds Castle, where she and her armed retinue demanded access, precipitating the siege and its aftermath that is described in detail in the article about Bartholomew's wife Margaret de Clare, Baroness Badlesmere.
Although Bartholomew assembled an armed force and marched from Witney towards Kent, by the time he reached Kingston upon Thames it was clear that he would not receive help from Lancaster and his followers and so he was not able to take effective action to relieve the siege. During the following months, civil war broke out.
On 26 December 1321, the King ordered the Sheriff of Gloucester to arrest Bartholomew. Shortly afterwards, the King offered safe conducts to the rebels who would come over to him, with the specific exception of Bartholomew de Badlesmere.
Details contained in arrest warrants signpost the progress of Bartholomew and his companions across England. By 15 January 1321/2, they had occupied and burned the town of Bridgnorth and sacked the castles at Elmley and Hanley. By 23 February, the rebels had been sighted in Northamptonshire. On 1 March, Bartholomew was reported as one of a number of prominent rebels who had reached Pontefract.