This John de Clinton was one of the great barons of his time, and he accompanied Edward I. on his invasion of Scotland in 1296, and for his assistance had conferred on him some of the possessions of Malcolm Drummond. Thus it is seen Maxstoke in very early times became identified with the doings of men who played a conspicuous part in the affairs of their country. The mother of Ida, the wife of John de Clinton, was Elizabeth, daughter of the famous William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury. John de Clinton left two sons, the second of whom was the builder of the castle in its present form, although there undoubtedly was an older house standing on the site, of which some fragments have been discovered incorporated into the base of the existing building. William de Clinton was a man of note, for he held the office of Justice of Chester, Constable of Dover Castle, Warden of the Cinque Ports, and Admiral of the Western Seas. He also had the custody of the King’s forests from the Trent southward; and in 1337 was made Earl of Huntingdon. By his will, dated 1354, the Castle was left to his nephew, a Sir John de Clinton, for whom he appears to have designed it. This John de Clinton was the son of his elder brother John, and was, therefore, the grandson of the first possessor of Maxstoke of the Clinton line. The family were barons by writ, and the new owner was a soldier, who had fought through the French war, and was present at Poitiers and other battles, and was also at one time Constable of Windsor Castle. His grandson, who succeeded him, was known as Lord Say, his mother, the first wife of Sir John de Clinton, having been Idonia, the sister and heiress of William de Say. Lord Say was, like his grandfather, a soldier, and proved a great benefactor to Maxstoke Priory. He was succeeded by his son, another John, who in 1437 exchanged the castle with Humphrey, Earl of Stafford, for other manors in Northamptonshire, the reason for which exchange is not known.