John ap Adam

The arms of John ap Adam, 1st Baron Ap-Adam. The first is from the Falkirk Roll, the second from the window of the south aisle of St Mary's church at Tidenham in Gloucestershire.

John Morris, in his Welsh Wars of Edward I, describes John as 'one of the very few Welsh adherents of England of whom we have knowledge'. The statement is dubious, since there were plenty of well-known Welsh adherents of the English crown and John was born in Charlton Adam, Gloucestershire.

That said, John must have had some Welsh connections. The form of his name - ap Adam instead of the Norman fitz - implies as much, and the parish of Tidenham used to be part of the Bigod lordship of Striguil based on Chepstow. John was unique among English nobles of this era in taking a Welsh form of his surname. At Falkirk he fought in the king's bataille, and was afterwards frequently summoned to the Scottish wars.