John de Lisle, born about 1318, was the eldest son of
Robert de Lisle, 1st Baron Lisle, and Margaret de Beauchamp, daughter of
Sir Walter de Beauchamp (d. 16 February 1303) of
Alcester,
Warwickshire, by Alice
de Tony, daughter of Roger de Tony. At his marriage in 1332, his father gave him the manor of
Campton in
Bedfordshire. In 1336, during a period of illness, his father proposed to give him lands worth 400
marks a year, including the manor of
Harewood in
Yorkshire, to enable him to serve
Edward III with six men-at-arms. In 1338 he saw service in the
Scottish marches, and was present at the
siege of Dunbar. In 1342 his father became a
Franciscan friar, and is thought to have been ordained a priest; in consequence, on 23 March 1342, the Lisle lands were taken into the King's hands. Much of Lisle's career was spent in France, serving in
Edward III's wars. In October 1339, he was at
Buironfosse with the King; however,
Philip VI of France declined battle. In 1341 he was in
Aquitaine, and in 1342 was in
Brittany, where he was taken prisoner, but later exchanged for one William d'Ansenis, and where he commanded a force at the siege of
Nantes. He returned to England, but on 20 January 1345, he was preparing to depart for
Gascony with
Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, then
Earl of Derby. He took part with
Walter de Mauny in the defence of the English fortress at
Aiguillon, and was Captain and Warden of
St Sauveur. On 10 May 1346, he was granted an annuity of £40 for the duration of the wars in France, to be paid from the revenues of
St Neots Priory. He was with the King in the campaign which began with the landing of English forces at
La Hogue in the
Cotentin on 12 July 1346, and culminated with the English victory at the
Battle of Crecy on 26 August 1346. With his retinue of six knights, eleven esquires and twenty-three archers, Lisle fought at Crecy in the second battalion under
William de Bohun, 1st Earl of Northampton. After the battle, he was created a
knight banneret by the King, with an annuity of £200 in support of the dignity. He was also with the King at the
siege of Calais, which capitulated on 4 August 1347. In December 1346 and in April 1347, he received general pardons 'on account of his good services in France'. On 9 April 1347, he was with the King at a
tournament at
Lichfield, at which he was among eleven knights described as 'Knights of the King's Chamber', and in the same year took part in another tournament at
Eltham Palace. He was made a
Knight of the Garter at the foundation of the Order circa 1348. In June 1348, his lands were seized as he had gone abroad 'contrary to the proclamation'; he was pardoned in January 1349. In August 1349 and October 1350, the arrangements for his £200 annuity were altered, with the king granting him custody of the lands and heir of Gilbert Pecche as part payment. In August 1350 he was with the King's forces which defeated a Spanish fleet. Between 1347 and 1350, he was among those given 'capes and hoods of white long-cloth, wrought with men in blue, dancing, and buttoned in front with large pearls'. In January 1351 he was granted the indulgence occasioned by the
papal Jubilee. In October 1351, he had licence to found a
chantry at
Harewood, and on 30 October 1351 was named
Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and
Huntingdonshire, and was given a lifetime appointment as Governor of
Cambridge Castle. From 25 November 1350 to 15 March 1354 he was summoned to
Parliament by writs directed
Iohanni de Insula de Rubeo Monte. In January 1353, he was again preparing for foreign service, and obtained a papal
indult to take priests with him to hear the confessions of himself and members of his household. In the same month his wife, Maud, had licence to enter the
Minoress convent at
Aldgate,
London. On 8 July 1355, he was pardoned for the death of Sir John de Goys, and sailed for Gascony with the King's eldest son,
Edward the Black Prince. On 14 October 1355 he was slain in the course of a raid conducted by the Black Prince from
Bordeaux to
Narbonne. On 6 April 1356, his widow was assigned her
dower at Harewood. She was still living on 3 January 1377. The east window of Harewood church had an image of John de Lisle until its restoration in 1793. ==Marriage and issue==