born:  1 March 1281/82 in Barton, Gloucestershire
died: 24 November 1326 in Herefordshire
The undisputed favorite of Edward II after the death of Piers Gaveston, he was captured with the King at the abbey at Neath by the Queen's army. "Then Hugh Despenser the son was brought forth in chains, his eyes blazing terribly at this indignity, for he held no hope of being tried fairly according to the proper procedure. And indeed, here, at Hereford, he was drawn, hanged, beheaded and cut into quarters." (Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker, which omits the goriest aspects of the mutilation of Despenser.) Despenser was accused of heresy and sodomy; "the venom of his executioners and their vilification of his crimes put them into a category of brutality exceptional even by the often inhumane standards of the Middle Ages". (Elizabeth Hallam)

Father: Sir Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester
Mother:  Isabel de Beauchamp

Spouse:  Alianore de Clare

Children:
1. Sir Phillip le Despencer
2. Edward le Despenser