This Day in History: 1247-04-16
In April 1247, John de Warenne, son of William de Warenne, (who had succeeded to his father’s estates in 1240), married Alice de Lusignan, King Henry III‘s half sister. This marriage created resentment among the English nobility who did not like seeing a rich earl married to a penniless foreigner. John was the most warlike of all the Warenne earls and was largely responsible for the design of Sandal Castle in it’s finished state.