THE following imperfect attempt to compile a few notes about the ancient aristocracy of England focuses mainly on families currently existing and regularly established as knightly or gentle houses before the start of the sixteenth century; secondly, it does not include families that may have taken on the name and arms of their ancestors through the female line: because, as has been aptly stated,* "unless we use the male line as the general standard for genealogical rank, we will find ourselves in a hopeless state of confusion;" thirdly, illegitimate descent is excluded; and fourthly, if families have sold their original estates, they will be noted in the counties where they currently reside; however, if they still own their family's ancient estate, even if they live in a different county, they will mostly be mentioned under the county from which they originally came.

In cases where the family has completely lost its land, even though the male line still exists, they are no longer recognized, as such families no longer have any claim to be identified in any county. "Ancient dignity was more about the land than the individuals; the entire system was based on the land. Even today, although the land might have changed hands frequently, it still carries some of the respect associated with its ownership, just like the soil gives off a fresh smell when turned over by the farmer."

This list also, it should be noted, doesn’t claim to cover all the families whose ancestry can possibly be traced back before 1500. It only includes those who were what we now call county families before that time. In fact, the division between the families that emerged from the downfall of the monastic system and the older aristocracy of England is often hard to define. This is largely because it relies on documentary evidence that is often hard to access and is complicated by the fanciful and overly generous interpretations of the heralds from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Regarding the sources from which the following notes were taken, I have tried as much as possible to rely on the best county histories and authoritative manuscript collections, and to carefully avoid those modern accounts of family history that, by attributing ridiculous claims of ancient lineage to families without any real justification, have done a lot to undermine genealogy itself among the many readers who are only a little familiar with the topic.

I can’t wrap up without acknowledging the kindness of several gentlemen who have generously made their genealogical collections available to me. Their contributions have improved these accounts of the noble and gentle families of England. I especially want to highlight the late Mr. Joseph Morris of Shrewsbury and Mr. Joseph Hunter, one of the Assistant Keepers of the Records, who is a knowledgeable and precise historian of South Yorkshire.
E.P.S.

Lower Eatington, July 1, 1860.

ANOTHER edition of this little work has been requested, so I have carefully revised and corrected what has already been written; I have also added some new information based on further research and the insights of many friends and correspondents, whose generosity and kindness I would like to acknowledge with deep gratitude.

Since the book was published in 1859, the male lines of three families originally included in it have died out: Cotton of Landwade in Cambridge, Hornyold of Blackmore Park, and Hanford of Wollashill, both in Worcestershire. On the other hand, you will find mentions of eight "new peers?" in this volume, four of which were also included in the second edition. I refer to Lovett of Liscombe in Buckinghamshire and Basset of Tehidy in Cornwall—very old families whose land was held by women until recently, preventing their inclusion in the first edition according to the rules I established. I've also added Huyshe of Sand in Devon, Patten of Bank Hall in Lincolnshire, Bertie of Uffington, Anderson of Brocklesby, and Massingberd of Wrangle, all in Lincolnshire, plus Upton of Ashton Court in Somerset. I must remind the reader that the purpose of this work is not to document every family whose lineage can be traced through the male line beyond the early sixteenth century, but only those recognized as county families, "inheriting arms from their ancestors," at that time. It is undoubtedly difficult to accurately determine the claims of many families that might well deserve this acknowledgment; however, because of reasons I've mentioned before, it is not easy to establish them. I can only say that as far as my information goes, I have tried my best to draw the right line, but whether I have succeeded is up to others to judge.
E.P.S.

Lower Eatington, January 22, 1866.

THIS great and ancient family, although not tied to this county before the reign of Henry VIII, has been based at Melchbourne for a considerable time, so it can rightly be included among the Bedfordshire families and stands out as the only one of knightly rank.* Descended directly in the male line from Hugh de Port mentioned in Domesday, in the twelfth century, William, son of Adam de Port, adopted the name St. John from the heiress of that prominent Norman family. Basing in Hampshire, Stanton St. John in Oxfordshire, Bletshoe in Northamptonshire, and Lydiard Tregoze in Wiltshire, all derived from the heiress of Beauchamp during the reign of Henry VI, have been the homes of the St. Johns, who became notable for their loyalty and disloyalty during the reign of Charles I, not to mention the ambition and misdirected talents of the great Lord Bolingbroke in the time of Anne.

Younger Branch. St. John of Lydiard Tregoze, Viscount Bolingbroke 1712. Baronet 1611. Descended from Oliver, the second son of Sir Oliver St. John and the heiress of Beauchamp.

See Leland's Itinerary, edition 1769, vol. vi. folio 27, p. 26. Brydges's Collins, vi. 42 and 741. For information about Bletshoe and the monuments there, check Gent. Mag. 1799, p. 745. For Lydiard Tregoze and other monuments of the St. Johns, whose family tree, created by Sir R. St. George, is illustrated on folding doors on the north side of the chancel, refer to the Topographer, i. 508.

Coat of Arms.—Silver, on a red chief two gold stars with holes. William de St. John added a red diagonal stripe to his coat of arms in the thirteenth century, and his descendants used it until the reign of Elizabeth. (Gent. Mag. 1787, 681.) The current coat was used by Sir John de St. John during the reign of Edward II; meanwhile, other family members modified their arms as follows: Sir Roger had Ermine, on a red chief two gold stars; Sir Eymis had Silver, with black crosses, on a red chief two gold stars; Sir John de Layneham had Silver, on a red chief two gold stars, with a black indented border. John, the heir of John de St. John, marked his arms with a blue label, according to the roll of Carlaverock. The roll of arms from the reign of Richard II shows six-pointed stars pierced blue. At this time, Edward St. John bore Silver, on a jagged red chief two six-pointed gold stars, pierced green. Rolls of the dates.

Present Representative, St. Andrew Beauchamp St. John, 14th Baron St. John.

This family has ancient roots in Kent and is a branch of the Polhills or Polleys of Preston, in Shoreham, Kent. They are descended from John Polhill, the eldest son of John Polhill and Alice de Buckland, the heiress of Preston, during the reign of Henry VI. The Rev. Richard Polwhele, the historian of Cornwall, believed that the Polhills of Kent were a branch of the Cornish Polwheles, who moved from the western to the eastern counties at a very early time. They definitely lived in Detling in Hollingbourne, Kent, during or before the reign of Edward III. By the time of Elizabeth, the Polhills were associated with Frenches, in the parish of Burwash, Sussex. The direct ancestor of the current family was Nathaniel Polhill, from Burwash and Howbury, a prominent merchant who passed away in 1782.

See a detailed report of all the branches of this ancient family in the Topographer and Genealogist, i. pp. 180 and 577. Also check Hasted's History of Kent, vol. i, p. 365, and vol. iii. p. 4.

Coat of Arms.—Gold, with a red diagonal stripe featuring three small crosses in the same color. According to the Roll of Arms from the reign of Richard II, Monsr. Rauff Poley had a coat that was quite similar, specifically, Silver, with a red diagonal stripe and three gold cross pattée.

Present Representative, Frederick Polhill, Esq.

It has been noted by the old Fuller, "The lands of Berkshire are quite unpredictable and tend to discard their owners;" and again, "Of names that were prominent in the past—few remain here from a once vast number." The ancient Eyston family and the later Clarke family are indeed the only exceptions to this today. The Eystons have been established in East Hendred since the reign of Henry VI; their ancestor, John Eiston, married "Isabel, daughter and heir of John Stow, of Burford, co. Oxford, whose wife was Maud, daughter and heir of Rawlin Arches, of East Henreth, whose great-grandmother was Amy, daughter and heir of Richard Turbervill, of East Henreth, Esq."

See the Visitation of Berks, 1566. Harl. MS. 1822, 26 b, and Harl. 1532, 19 b. See also Lysons's Berkshire, pp. 186, 292, and Clarke's Hundred of Wanting, 4to. 1824, p. 130.

Coat of Arms.—(Confirmed in 1566.) Black, featuring three lions standing on their hind legs in gold.

Present Representative, Charles John Eyston, Esq.

The family tree starts with John Clarke from Basledon in this county, who lived there during the latter part of the 15th century. The family later moved to Ardington, where they were reportedly established, according to Lysons, during the reign of Henry VII. The Visitations of 1566 and 1623 document five generations of the Clarkes before the year 1600.

See the Visitation of Berks, 1566. Harl. MS. 5822, 22 b, and Harl. 1532. See also Lysons's Berkshire, pp. 180, 186, and Clarke's Hundred of Wanting, p. 56.

Arms.—(Confirmed Oct. 22, 1600.) Silver, on a black band with three roundels flanked by three black crosses. Sometimes the band is shown between six black crosses.

Present Representative, William Nelson Clarke, Esq.

This very old family is directly descended from Robert de Thain, who held Chetwode under the Bishop of Baieux during the time of William the Conqueror, as shown in the Domesday Book.

John de Chetwode, during the reign of Edward III, married the heiress of Oakeley in Staffordshire. Since then, the family has mainly lived there, as well as at Ansley Hall in Warwickshire, which they acquired from the heiress of Ludford in 1821.

Willis, writing in 1755, says—"This manor of Chetwode, as it seems to me, has been owned and inherited by the Chetwodes longer than any estate or manor in Buckingham County has remained the property of any other family currently existing there."

See Willis's Buckingham, p. 172; Erdeswicke's Staffordshire, ed. 1844, p. 119; Wotton's Baronetage, iv. p. 82; and Lysons's Buckinghamshire, p. 172.

Coat of Arms.—Split into four sections, silver and red, with four cross shapes alternating in color.

Present Representative, Sir John Newdigate-Ludford-Chetwode, 5th Baronet.

A very old and respected family of Norman descent, who arrived with the Conqueror and settled at Lillingstone before the year 1200, with Richard, son of Elias Dayrell, holding a property and half a knight's fee there during King Richard the First's time or the start of King John's reign. By 1306, the Dayrell family acquired the ownership of the manor, which has remained in the family ever since.

The Dayrell family of Shudy Camps, in Cambridgeshire, is a younger branch of this family, descended from Francis, the second son of Paul Dayrell of Lillingstone, who was the sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1579.*

See Willis's Buckingham, p. 213; Lysons, p. 595.

Coat of Arms.—Blue background, a lion standing on one hind leg in gold, wearing a silver crown.

Present Representative, Edmund Francis Dayrell, Esq.

There is good reason to believe that this family, seated at Wotton since the reign of Henry I, is a collateral branch of the Grenvilles of the West. The manor of Wotton, along with many others, was given by William I to Walter Giffard, Earl of Buckingham. Isabel, the daughter and coheir of Walter the second Earl, is said to have brought it in marriage, around the year 1097, to Richard de Grenville.

The result of this family today is due to marriages with the heiresses of the prominent houses of Temple, Nugent, and Chandos.

See Brydges's Collins's Peerage, ii. p. 390, and Lysons, p. 673. See also Moule's Bibliotheca Herald, p. 563, for an account of the manuscript, formerly at Stowe, specifically The original Evidences of the Grenville Family, collected by Richard Grenville, of Wotton, Esq. during the civil wars of the seventeenth century.

Coat of Arms.—Green background with a silver cross featuring five red circles.

Present Representative, Richard Plantagenet Campbell Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham.

Upon the death of the last Earl Harcourt in 1830, the representation of the male line of the prestigious House of Harcourt passed to this family, which descends from a younger brother of Simon, the first Viscount Harcourt, and the heiress of Lee. Stanton Harcourt, in Oxfordshire, was owned by the ancestors of this prominent House since 1166 and remained in the family until the elder line ended in 1830. The family lineage can be traced back to Robert de Harcourt, who married Joan, the daughter of Robert Beaumont, Earl of Mellent, and was the grandson of Robert who served William the Conqueror during his campaign in England in 1066.

See Brydges's Collins's Peerage, iv. p. 428; and Nichols's Leicestershire, iv. pt. 2. p. 519.*

Coat of Arms.—Red with two gold bars. This coat was used by Sir John de Harcourt during the reign of Edward II. Thomas Harecourt had the reverse during the reign of Richard II. Records from that time.

Present Representative, George Simon Harcourt, Esq.

Vitalis Lovett of Rushton, in Northamptonshire, who lived during the reign of Henry II, is believed to be the first confirmed ancestor of this distinguished family, which is said to have Norman roots. William Lovett of Rushton, the son of Vitalis, held lands in Henwick, also in Northamptonshire, from Richard Engaine and his heirs in exchange for providing two horsemen to accompany Richard in hunting wolves anywhere in England. This obligation was eased for John Lovet, the son or grandson of William, during the reign of Edward I, and instead, he was required to pay an annual rent of ten shillings. Shortly after this, in 1304 (33 Edw. I), Liscombe in the parish of Soulbury came into the family when it was owned by Robert Lovett and his wife Sarah, the daughter and heir of Sir Roger Turvile. From the second marriage of their son Thomas came the Lovetts of Astwell in Northamptonshire, who have been represented in the female line by the Shirleys, Earls Ferrers, since the reign of Elizabeth. Since the beginning of the fourteenth century, Liscombe has remained the estate of the elder branch of the Lovetts, although direct descent has often been broken. In 1781, Jonathan Lovett, the family's representative, was made a baronet by King George III. His Majesty's comment on the occasion is documented in Betham's Baronetage: "In the summer of 1781, the Earl of Chesterfield, having been absent from court for a while, was asked by the King where he had been so long? 'On a visit to Mr. Lovett of Buckinghamshire,' the Earl replied. 'Ah,' said the King, 'is that Lovett of Liscombe? They are of the genuine old Norman breed. Why aren't they baronets? Would they accept the title? Go tell him,' the King continued, 'that the title is very much at his service; they have always supported the Crown in tough times.'" The same source also provides a fascinating yet frustrating account of the ancient armor and documents once kept at Liscombe and describes their unfortunate fate. Sir Jonathan Lovett died without surviving male heirs in 1812, which led to the extinction of the Baronet title, with the property passing to his daughters. Upon the death of the surviving daughter, Miss Eliza Lovett, in 1861, the historic estate of this esteemed family was transferred through her will to the next male heir, the current representative of the family, who descends from a younger brother of Sir Jonathan Lovett, baronet.

See Baker's Northamptonshire, i. p. 732; Lipscombe's Buckinghamshire, iii. p. 457; Stemmata Shirleiana, pr. pr., 1841, p. 58; Collectanea Topog. et Genealog. vi. p. 300, and Betham's Baronetage.

Arms.—Clearly referencing the name and purpose of hunting the wolf, Silver, three wolves walking in a line, black, with red claws and tongues.

Present Representative, Jonathan Vaughan Lovett, Esq.

The name is local, from Bendish, in the parish of Radwinter, in Essex, where Peter Westley settled quite early on. His grandson was named Ralf of Westley, also known as Bendishe, and from him the ancient family descends, one branch of which was long established at Steeple Bumstead, in Essex. A manor in Barrington came from the heiress of Bradfield in the early fifteenth century and was referred to as "The Manor of Bendyshe" as early as 1493; it has since remained the inheritance of this oldest line of the Bendyshe family, from which a younger branch was at Topfield Hall in Hadley, Suffolk. This branch's heiress married Doyley of Overbury, also from Steeple Bumstead mentioned earlier, who was made a Baronet in 1611 and became extinct in 1717. Other branches were located in Hadley and Turvey in Bedfordshire.

See Lysons's Cambridgeshire, p. 86, and the Visitation of Essex 1612, Harl. MS. 6095, fol. 16, where there is a good family tree of Bendyshe, descending to William Bendyshe, Esq., who is the tenth generation from Peter Westley.

Arms.—Silver, with a black chevron between three blue ram's heads severed at the neck.

Present Rep, John Bendyshe, Esq.

The Davenports claim precedence among the noble families of Cheshire, often referred to as "the birthplace of gentry," "the mother and nurturer of the gentility of England," and can be traced directly to the Conquest. The elder line, which Leland calls "the best and first house of the Davenports at Devonport; a grand old house covered with lead on the River of Daven, three miles above Congleton," became extinct in 1674. The coheiresses married into the Davies and Davenport families of Woodford. Ormus de Daumporte, who lived during the time of William I, is the earliest recorded ancestor of this family. His son, Richard de Dauneporte, was appointed chief forest steward of the forests of Leek and Macclesfield by Hugh, Earl of Chester, around 1166, a feudal role still held by this house.

The current family descends from Nicholas, the third son of Sir John or Jenkin Davenport, from Wheltrough and Henbury, who was a younger son of Thomas, the second son of Sir Thomas Davenport of Davenport, during the reign of Edward II. Woodford was granted by John Stafford and his wife Isabella, around the time of Edward III, to John, the third son of Thomas Davenport of Wheltrough (an earlier line not traced beyond 1677), while the Davenports of Henbury had died out before 1664. The Davenport family from Calveley, established by Arthur, the sixth son of Sir John Davenport of Davenport, who was killed at Shrewsbury in 1403, became extinct in 1771. The coheiresses married into the Bromley family and Davenport of Woodford. The Davenport family from Bramhall, founded by the second son of Thomas Davenport of Wheltrough and the heiress of Bramhall, during the time of Edward III, survived until 1838. The Davenports of Davenport House, located in the parish of Worfield in Shropshire, are the only remaining younger branch; they trace their lineage back to the Davenports of Chorley and the heiress of Bromley of Hallon or Hawn, in the parish of Worfield. See Blakeway's Sheriffs of Salop, pp. 85, 143, 228.

For Davenport of Davenport and Woodford, see Ormerod's Cheshire, iii. 39, 346, 357; for those of Calveley, ib. ii. 153; Henbury, iii. 352; Bramhall, iii. 401; Chorley, iii. 312. Also, refer to Leland's Itin., vii. fol. 42, and Harl. MSS. 2119, for a solid family tree based on original records.

Arms.—Silver, a chevron between three black cross-crosslets. The crest of this family, a felon's head, shown naturally, with a golden halter, symbolizes the power over life and death in the Forests of Leek and Macclesfield, granted by Hugh, Earl of Chester.

Present Representative, Arthur Henry Davenport, Esq.

Descended from Gilbert le Grosvenor, the nephew of Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester, the lineage of this ancient family is well-documented, thanks to the famous dispute with the Scropes. The main line of the Grosvenors was based in Hulme, in this county, within the hundred of Northwich, and it ended in the 22nd year of Henry VI. The Grosvenors of Eaton trace their roots back to Ralph, the second son of Sir Thomas Grosvenor of Hulme, who married Joan, the only daughter and heir of John Eaton, of Eton or Eaton, Esq., in the early fifteenth century. The union of Sir Thomas Grosvenor, Bart., in 1676, with Mary, the only daughter and heir of Alexander Davies, of Ebury, in Middlesex, Esq., established the substantial wealth and resulting honors of this family.

Younger branches: the Earl of Wilton 1801; the Baron Ebury 1857.

See Ormerod, ii. 454, and iii. 87; Brydges's Collins, v. 239; and the Scrope and Grosvenor Roll passim.

Arms.—Blue, a wheat sheaf in gold, used since the ruling of the Court in the case of Sir Richard le Scrope and Sir Robert le Grosvenor in 1389, instead of Blue, a diagonal stripe in gold, and signifies his descent from the ancient Earls of Chester.

Present Representative, Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster, K.G.

This is the main male line of the great House of Egerton, which used to be Earls and Dukes of Bridgewater and the Earl of Wilton. The family tree starts with Philip Goch, the second son of David de Malpas, also known as le Clerk, who was the lord of half of the Barony of Malpas. The current family is descended from Sir Philip Egerton, the third son of Sir Rowland Egerton of Egerton and Oulton, Baronet, who passed away in 1698. The Baronetcy passed to Sir John Egerton, the uncle of the current Baronet, following the death of the Earl of Wilton and the end of the elder line in 1814. Oulton came from the heiress of Hugh Done in the year 1498. Leland's Itinerary mentions it like this: "The oldest of the Egertons now lives at Oldeton, and Egerton is building there now." (Itin. vii. fol. 42.) A younger branch, Egerton-Warburton, resides in Warburton and Arley, in this county.

See Wotton's Baronetage, i. 271; Brydges's Collins, iii. 170, v. 528; Ormerod, ii. 118, 350; and for many interesting details about the Bridgewater Egertons, see the Topographer, ii. 136, &c.

Arms.—Silver, a red lion standing upright between three black arrowheads. The arrowheads were the historical arms of Malpas; the lion was added by Uryan Egerton around the mid-fourteenth century. According to tradition, this addition was granted as a reward for his contributions in the Scottish wars.

Present Representative, Sir Philip de Malpas Grey-Egerton, 10th Baronet, Member of Parliament for South Cheshire.

Descended from the Egertons, who were originally from the Barons of Malpas, and directly from Robert de Cholmondelegh, the second son of William Belward, who was the lord of half of the Barony of Malpas and the younger brother of David, the ancestor of the Egertons; this Robert settled at Cholmondeley during the reign of King John.

Younger branches. Cholmeley of Whitby, in Yorkshire, Baronet 1641, extinct 1688; descended from Robert, the younger son of Hugh Cholmondeley, during the reign of Edward III. See the Memoirs of Sir Hugh Cholmeley, Knight and Baronet, an interesting book privately printed in 1787.—Cholmeley of Brandsby, since the Whitby family died out, the only representative of the Cholmondeleys of Yorkshire.—Cholmeley of Easton, co. Lincoln, Baronet 1806, descended from Sir Henry Cholmeley, of Burton Coggles, co. Lincoln, who died in 1620.

Cholmondeley of Vale Royal in this county, Baron Delamere 1821, descended from Thomas, the younger son of Sir Hugh Cholmondeley of Cholmondeley, who passed away in 1501.

See Ormerod, ii. 356, and for Cholmondeley of Vale Royal, ii. 78. Brydges's Collins, iv. 16.

Coat of Arms.—Red, with two silver helmets at the top, edged in gold, and at the bottom, a sheaf of yellow wheat.

Present Representative, George Horatio Cholmondeley, 2nd Marquess of Cholmondeley.

Robert Tatton of Kenworthy, in Northenden, who married the heiress of William de Withenshaw, also known as Massey, toward the end of Edward III's reign, is the first proved ancestor of this family. However, there's reason to believe he was descended from a much older house of the same name that was established at Tatton in the twelfth century. Withenshaw, now the home of the younger branch of this family, remained the property and residence of the Tattons from the time mentioned until the death of Samuel Egerton, Esq. in 1780. After his passing, the estate of Tatton, which is thought to have given the family its name, was passed on by his will to William Tatton of Withenshaw, Esq., who had married Hester, sister of Mr. Egerton. Tatton had come to the Egertons through the families of Tatton, Massey, Stanley, and Brereton.

Younger branch, Tatton of Withenshaw, in this county. See Ormerod, iii. 315, and Gentleman's Magazine 1798, 930.

Coat of Arms.—Divided into four sections: silver and red, featuring four crescent shapes in alternating colors. These arms are probably inspired by the coat of Massey.

Present Representative, William Tatton Egerton, Baron Egerton of Tatton.

A family with a long history, descended from Henry de Boneberi during the time of Stephen, who was a younger brother of the House of St. Pierre in Normandy. William de Boneberi, Henry's son, was Lord of Boneberi during Richard I's reign. However, the direct ancestor was David, Henry's brother, whose great-grandson Alexander de Bunbury was alive in the fifteenth year of Henry III. Stanney, still the property but not the home of the Bunburys, came from the heiress of the same name in the seventeenth year of Edward III.

See Ormerod, ii. 216, and Wotton's Baronetage, iii. 687.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background with a black diagonal stripe that has three chess rooks in their natural colors.

Present Representative, Sir Charles James Fox Bunbury, 8th Baronet.

Descended from Sir Nicholas Leycester, who gained the manor of Nether-Tabley through marriage and passed away in 1295. The male line of the oldest branch of this family, established at Nether-Tabley, became extinct in 1742. The current and younger branch originates from Ralph, the younger brother of John Leycester of Tabley, who married Joan, the daughter and heir of Robert Toft of Toft; she was a widow in 1390. The antiquarian Sir Peter was part of the Tabley line.

Younger branch, Leycester of Whiteplace, Berks County.

See Ormerod, i. 385, 456; iii. 190.

Coat of Arms.—Blue background with a gold stripe crossed with red between two gold fleurs-de-lis. Another coat was granted by Dethick to Sir Ralph Leycester of Toft in the second year of Edward VI., specifically, Black background with an indented gold stripe between three flying silver falcons, which have gold beaks and feet, and a blue lion's head facing forward between two red covered cups. However, this rather complicated and elaborate coat doesn’t appear to have been used.

Present Representative, Ralph Oswald Leycester, Esq.

The family history in Ormerod starts with Hugh Massie, who married Agnes, the daughter and heir of Nicholas Bold from Coddington. Their son William bought the manor of Coddington in the 18th year of Henry VI. There's some debate about Hugh Massie's parentage, but he was likely a younger son of Sir John Massie of Tatton, who died in the 8th year of Henry. Some believe he was also descended from the Massies of Podington, a younger branch of the Barons of Dunham Massey. This family might be the only remaining direct male line of any of the Cheshire Barons. General Massie, a younger son from this family, was a notable officer during the Civil Wars, serving both the Commonwealth and Charles II.

Younger branches: Massey of Pool-Hall, in this county, came from the second son of Massie of Coddington, who was born in 1604. The third son, Edward, is the ancestor of the Massies of Rosthorne, also in Cheshire, which is now extinct. For the extinct branches of Broxton and Podington, see Ormerod, ii. 372 and 308; for Massie of Coddington, ii. 399; for Massie of Pool-Hall, iii. 188.

Coat of Arms.—Divided quarterly in red and gold, with three silver fleurs-de-lis in the first and fourth sections, and one third of the same color. There was a dispute regarding the arms of Massey between the Tatton and Podington families (for details, see "The Scrope and Grosvenor Roll," vol. ii. p. 262), which was resolved in 1378 by the arbitration of Sir Hugh Calveley and others. The current coat, except that the first and second quarters were gold and the canton was omitted, was awarded to Massey of Podington. Massey of Tatton used the same arms but with three silver scallops instead of the fleurs-de-lis. The earlier line of Dunham displayed Quarterly gold and red, featuring a silver lion in the second quarter.

Presenting Representative, Richard Massie, Esq.

This family represents the oldest branch of the Wilbrahams from Cheshire, descended from Richard de Wilburgkam, who was the sheriff of this county in the forty-third year of Henry III. In the third year of Edward IV, the Wilbrahams settled at Woodhay, in Cheshire, through a marriage with the heiress of Golborne. This elder line was created Baronet in 1620-21 and became extinct in 1692. The current family descends from the second son of Thomas Wilbraham of Woodhay and settled at Townsend in Nantwich during the reign of Elizabeth; they moved to Delamere in the late eighteenth century.

Younger branches: Wilbraham Baron Skelmersdale 1828; and Wilbraham of Rode, in this county, both descended from Randle, the younger brother of Roger Wilbraham, of Nantwich, who died in 1754. Wilbraham of Dorfold, sold in 1754 but still existing at Falmouth in 1818, came from the youngest son of Richard Wilbraham, of Nantwich, who died in 1612. See Ormerod, ii. 65; iii. 31, 184, 199.

Coat of Arms.—Silver, three wavy blue stripes. The Dorfold branch added a red square for distinction. An additional coat was granted by Flower during the reign of Elizabeth; Blue, two silver bars, with a red square featuring a silver wolf's head.

Present Representative, George Fortescue Wilbraham, Esq.

Efward de Lega, who seems to have been of Saxon descent based on his name and who lived around the time of the Conquest, was the patriarch of this old family, whose main male line ended during the time of Edward IV. Thomas Legh, from Northwood in the same parish of High-Legh, became the next male heir after a lengthy legal battle during the reign of Henry VIII. See Ormerod, i. 358.

Coat of Arms.—Granted in 1566. Silver, featuring a red lion standing on one hind leg, with blue claws and tongue.

Present Representative, George Cornwall Legh, Esq. M.P. for North Cheshire.

Descended from Richard de Lymme, the younger son of Hugh de Lymme, Richard married Agnes, the daughter and sole heir of Richard de Legh, in the late thirteenth century. Richard de Legh was the great-grandson of Hamon de Legh, the first person mentioned in the family tree. Richard de Lymme had a son, Thomas de Legh, of West Hall, who was alive in 1305.

Younger branches: Leigh (known as Trafford) from Oughtrington in this county, are descended from John, the second son of Richard Leigh of West Hall, who passed away in 1486; for more information, see Ormerod, i. 439.

Leigh of Leatherlake House in Surrey is a descendant of Thomas, the second son of Rev. Peter Leigh of West Hall, who passed away in 1719; and Leigh of South Carolina, Baronet 1773, is a descendant of Peter, the third son of the same Rev. Peter Leigh. See Ormerod, i. 350.

Arms.—Granted in 1563. A red lion standing on its hind legs, with blue claws and tongue. For four generations after the alliance with Agnes de Legh, her descendants used the coat of Lymme, Red, with a silver striped vertical band, clearly showing this family's descent from Richard de Lymme, and not from William de Venables, another husband of Agnes de Legh. In fact, during the Visitation of 1566, this coat of Lymme was acknowledged for Leigh of West Hall; however, in 1584 both the East and West Hall families claimed the red lion. In 1663, the arms were confirmed as they are today.

Present Rep, Egerton Leigh, Esq.

The family lineage goes back to Hugh de Aldersey during the reign of Henry III. Shortly after, the family split into two branches, with the Aldersey estate and manor being held in separate shares by the two family representatives. One share eventually went to an heir-general who became Hatton of Hatton, and has since been combined into one estate through a purchase from Dutton of Hatton. A younger branch of this family established itself in Chester, where William Aldersey, the antiquary, served as mayor in 1614.

See Ormerod, vol. 2, p. 404.

Arms.—Red, with a wavy silver stripe, flanked by two gold cinquefoil flowers, and three green leopard faces. The previous coat, mentioned in King's Vale Royal, appears to have been Black, with three golden dishes.

Present Representative, Thomas Aldersey, Esq.

Ormerod traces this family back to Sir John Baskervyle, who received half of Old Withington from Robert de Camvyle in 1266, and that estate has stayed in the family ever since. In 1758, John Baskervyle, Esq., the representative of the Old Withington house, married the heiress of Glegg of Gayton, in this county, and took that name instead of his own.

See Ormerod, iii. 355; and for Glegg, ib. ii. 285.

Arms.—Silver, a red chevron between three blue circles. This coat, the chevron having three golden fleurs-de-lis, was used by "Lord Baskerville;" refer to Sir Harris Nicolas's Roll of Arms from the time of Edward III.

Present Representative, John Baskervyle Glegg, Esq.

Adam, Lord of Leighton, during the reign of Henry III, is the first recorded ancestor of this family. They lived at Leighton, the primary home of the Brookes, until the main male line ended around 1632. Richard Brooke, the younger son of Thomas Brooke of Leighton, bought Norton from King Henry VIII in 1545, and it has stayed the home of his male descendants.

Younger branches: Brooke of Nacton in Suffolk, Baronet 1813; descended from Sir Richard Brooke, Knight, Chief Baron of the Exchequer, during the reign of Henry VIII, and the youngest son of Thomas Brooke of Leighton, the ancestor of the Norton family. There was a previous baronetcy in this family, established in 1661, which became extinct in 1693. Brooke of Mere in this county originated from Sir Peter Brooke, the third son of Thomas Brooke of Norton, who was established at Mere by purchase in 1632.

See Ormerod, i. 360, 500; and iii. 241; Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica, i. 22; and Wotton's Baronetage, iii. 392.

Coat of Arms.—Gold, featuring a notched cross split vertically in red and black.

Present Representative, Sir Richard Brooke, 7th Baronet.

Ormerod doesn’t provide a detailed family history but mentions that the Cluttons were established in Clutton, in the parish of Farndon, in this county as early as the 21st year of Edward I's reign. He notes that the manor of the same place was held by this family during the time of Henry VI. In the reign of Henry VIII, Roger, the third son of Owen Clutton of Courthyn, married an heiress from the Aldersey family of Chorlton, settled there, and became the ancestor of the current family. Henry, the older brother of Roger, was the ancestor of the Clutton Brocks, who were settled at Pensax in Worcestershire, where they were established in the seventeenth century.

See Ormerod, ii. 366, 410, and a family tree of this family in Harleian MS. 2119.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background, featuring a black chevron with ermine borders, flanked by three red rings.

Present Representative, Thomas Charlton Clutton, Esq.

The family history starts during the reign of Henry IV with John Leche, who is said to be a younger brother of the Leche family from Chatsworth in Derbyshire. He married the heiress of Cawarthyn, or Carden, and settled there around 1475. However, some family trees place the Leches in Carden as far back as the 20th year of Edward III. There is also a tradition that the family descends from the leche, or surgeon, of that king himself. Interestingly, the name Nolan has been the given name for the family, with one exception, for thirteen generations.

Younger branch, extinct in 1694, Leche of Mollington, in this county.

See Harl. MS. 2119, 50, quoted by Ormerod, ii. 385.

Arms.—Ermine, with a red indented chief featuring three gold crowns.

Present Representative, John Hurleston Leche, Esq.

The history of this family can only be traced back to Robert Barnston of Churton, during the third year of Richard II. However, Hugh de Barnston was the lord of half of Barnston in the twenty-first year of Edward I. The family tree was validated during the Visitations of 1613 and 1663-4.

See Ormerod, vol. 2, p. 408.

Coat of Arms.—Blue with a wavy band featuring fur, flanked by six gold cross-crosslets. Thomas de Bernaston had this coat, but the crosses were silver. Refer to the Roll of Arms from the reign of Edward III.

Present Rep, Roger Barnston, Esq.

This is an example of an old family that, after experiencing hardship, has rebuilt its status through business ventures after many years of relative obscurity. Henry Antrobus sold Antrobus during the reign of Henry IV, and it was bought back by Edmund Antrobus in 1808; he was able to prove that he was a descendant of Henry, the youngest son of the previously mentioned Henry Antrobus. Antrobus of Eaton Hall, in this county, is another younger branch of this family.

See Ormerod, i. 487; Lysons's Cheshire, p. 532; Debrett's Baronetage, ed. 1836, p. 383.

Coat of Arms.—Gold and blue checkered pattern, with a red vertical stripe featuring three bright stars of the same color.

Present Representative, Sir Edmund William Romer Antrobus, 2nd Baronet.

It’s likely that this family descends from Robert, a younger son of Vivian de Davenport, who settled in Lawton during the 50th year of Henry III and took on the local name. This claim is supported by their coat of arms, which clearly draws from those of Davenport. However, the family tree isn’t traced further back than Hugh Lawton, who married Isabella, the daughter of John Madoc, during the reign of Henry VI. William Lawton, Esq. bought the manor of Lawton from King Henry VIII. It had previously been held by the Abbey of Chester, to which the Lawtons seem to have been tenants for a long time. There is a younger branch, Lawton of Lake Marsh, in County Cork.

See Ormerod, iii. 11, and Lysons's Cheshire, p. 673.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background, with a band featuring three black cross-crosslets and a five-leaf flower in the same color.

Present Representative, John Lawton, Esq.

There are several places named Cotton, and historians have debated which one the current family is linked to. The house most commonly identified is the one in Cotton, near Wem, in Shropshire, where Sir Hugh Cotton lived during the reign of Edward I. His descendant, Roger Cotton, gained the estate of Alkington in the same county by marrying the heiress in the reign of Richard II. He was the ancestor of Sir George Cotton, who received Combermere after the Dissolution in 1540, and from him, the current family directly descends. A younger branch went extinct in the male line but is represented in the female line by R. H. Cotton of Etwall, co. Derby, Esq.

MSS. of the late Mr. Joseph Morris of Shrewsbury. See a different account of this family in Ormerod, iii. 212; Blakeway's Sheriffs of Shropshire, p. 104; and Wotton's Baronetage, iii. 611.

Arms.—Blue, with a chevron placed between three hawk's lures or cotton hanks in silver.

Present Representative, Wellington Henry Cotton, 2nd Viscount Combermere.

"The most Cornish gentlemen can boast about their lineage more than their livelihoods," wrote Richard Carew, of Antonie, Esq. in 1602,—"for they come from great antiquity; and I wonder if any county in England, of similar size, can show as many beautiful coat-of-arms:" and again,

There are two manors named Trelawny in Cornwall, one in the parish of Alternon and the other in Pelynt. The first was the original home of the Trelawnys, likely before the Conquest, and they lived there until the cider branch died out during the reign of Henry VI. The second manor was bought from Queen Elizabeth by "Sir Jonathan Trelawny, a well-regarded knight, composed in his behavior, and of prudent foresight," the head of a younger branch of this family, in 1600; it has since been the home of this distinguished house. Hamelin, who held Treloen, i.e., Trelawny, under the Earl of Moreton during the Domesday Survey, is the first documented ancestor.

See Leland's Itin., iii. fol. 20; Carew's Survey of Cornwall, ed. 1602, p. 63 b; Gilbert's Survey of Cornwall, i. 546; Lysons's Cornwall, pp. 14 and 257; Wotton's Baronetage, ii. 87.

Coat of Arms.—Silver with a black chevron. During the rule of Henry V, an addition was made, namely three green oak leaves, carried by Sir John Trelawny along with the original coat, in recognition of his notable accomplishments in the French wars under that king.

Present Representative, Sir John Salusbury-Trelawny, 9th Baronet, former M.P. for Tavistock.

This is the oldest surviving branch of the ancient Prideaux family, which traces its lineage back to Paganus, the lord of Prideaux Castle in Luxulion, in this county, during the time of William I. The family remained there until the late 14th century when Prideaux passed to the Herles of West Herle in Northumberland through an heiress. The current family, which established itself at "Place" in the 16th century, descends from the Prideauxes of Solden in Holsworthy, Devonshire, a branch of the Prideaux of Thuborough in Sutcombe in the same county, who themselves were descended from the Prideaux of Orcherton in Modbury, also in Devonshire, where the family was founded through marriage with the heiress of Orcherton during the reign of Henry III.

Younger branch, Prideaux of Netherton, co. Devon, Baronet 1622, founded by Edmund Prideaux, a notable lawyer, second son of Roger Prideaux of Solden.

See Carew, 143 b; Gilbert's Survey of Cornwall, i. 542; Lysons, 252, cxii.; Wotton's Baronetage, i. 515; Westcote's Devonshire Pedigrees, p. 470; Prince's Worthies of Devon, ed. 1, p. 307.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background, a black chevron, and a red label with three points. This was the coat of Orcherton.

Present Representative, Charles Prideaux-Brune, Esq.

The immediate ancestor of the Cornish Bassets was William Basset, who married Cecilia in 1150. She was the daughter and co-heiress of Alan de Dunstanville and the daughter of Reginald Fitzhenry, Earl of Cornwall, a natural son of Henry I. He acquired the manor of Tehidy, which has since remained the home of his descendants from the Basset line. In the early 1500s, John Basset was the head of this ancient family; he married Frances, the daughter and co-heir of Arthur Plantagenet, Viscount Lisle, who was a natural son of King Edward IV. From Arthur, his eldest son, came the Bassets of Heanton Court in Devonshire, which became extinct in the early part of this century; and from George, the second son, came the house of Tehidy, whose elder branch was made Barons de Dunstanville in 1797, becoming extinct in 1855.

Leland talks about "the really impressive lordship of Tehidy, and the castle or fort of Bassets on Carnbray Hill."

See Gilbert's Survey of Cornwall, vol. 1, page 486.

Arms.—Or, three wavy red bars.

Present Representative, John Francis Basset, Esq.

The first recorded ancestor is Sir Vyel Vyvyan, a knight who lived in the 13th century. His descendant, John, married an heiress of Ferrers and took over the lordship of Trelowarren during Edward IV's reign, which has since been the home of this family. King Charles I awarded the baronetcy to Sir Richard Vyvyan in recognition of his services during the civil wars of that time.

See Leland's Itin. iii. fol. 3; Gilbert's Survey, i. 557; Lysons, pp. xc. and 218; Polwhele's Cornwall, 1803, vol. i. p. 42; Wotton's Baronetage, ii. 411.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background, featuring a red lion standing upright, with black claws.

Present Representative, Sir Richard Rawlinson Vyvyan, 8th Baronet, former Member of Parliament for Helstone.

This is a younger branch of the Molesworths of Ireland, Viscount Molesworth of Swords, in Dublin County, 1716. They can be traced back to the reign of Edward I as a knightly family, but they never stayed in one county for very long: they have lived in Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Northamptonshire. Sir Walter de Molesworth, the first recorded ancestor, is said to have accompanied Edward I on his expedition to the Holy Land. The family estate is believed to have been significantly weakened by the lavish entertainment of Queen Elizabeth at Fotheringay, hosted by Antony, the elder brother of John Molesworth, who settled at Pencarrow during the same Queen's reign.

See Gilbert's Cornwall, i. 571; Lysons, xcii. 82; Wotton's Baronetage, iv. 25; Archdall's Lodge, v. 127.

Coat of Arms.—Vairy, with a red border that has golden cross-crosslets.

This coat, except that the crosses were silver, was used by Sir Walter de Molesworth of Huntingdonshire, as shown in the Roll of Arms from the reign of Edward II. Sir Gilbert Lyndesey (?) from the same county carried the current coat.

Present Representative, the Rev. Sir Paul William Molesworth, 10th Baronet.

This esteemed family, believed to have Saxon roots, traces its lineage back to Drogo or Drew, who served as Chamberlain to Empress Maude and was granted the Manor of Polwhele in 1140. The family is said to have lived there even before the Conquest; however, there is no evidence that Drogo was a descendant of Winus de Polhill, who owned this land during the reign of Edward the Confessor. The Rev. Richard Polwhele, the historian of this county, was a representative of the family.

See Polwhele's Cornwall, i. 42; Gilbert's Survey, ii. 239; and Lysons, pp. cxi. 60.

Arms.—Black, a wavy ermine outline.

Present Representative, T. R. Polwhele, Esq.

This ancient family has been established at Trefusis for as long as anyone can remember, which is where their name comes from. Their lineage can be traced back four generations before 1292. The historic Barony of Clinton passed to this family (through the Bolles) when George, the third Earl of Orford, died in 1791.

See Carew, 150 b; Leland's Itin. iii. 26; Polwhele's Cornwall, i. 42; Gilbert's Cornwall, i. 468.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background with a chevron between three black wharrow spindles, which Randle Holmes describes in his Academy, p. 288, as a "type of spindle that women used, carried under their girdle so they could often spin while walking."

Present Representative, Charles Rodolph Trefusis, 18th Baron Clinton.

Descended from Henry, who lived during the reign of King John and took the name Boscawen from the estate of Boscawen-Rose, still owned by the family. During the reign of Edward III, the Boscawens moved to Tregothnan, their current residence, due to the marriage of John de Boscawen with Joan, daughter and heir of John de Tregothnan from that location, in the parish of St. Michael-Penkevil.

See Gilbert's Survey, i. 452; Lysons, pp. 74. 50; Brydges's Collins, vi. 62.

Coat of Arms.—Ermine, a red rose with thorns and seeds. According to Lysons, the family's original coat of arms was green, showcasing a silver bulldog, with the upper section displaying the arms currently in use.

Present Representative, Evelyn Boscawen, 6th Viscount Falmouth.

Tremayne is located in the parish of St. Martin, where the family's ancestor, Perys, lived during the reign of Edward III and took on the local name. This estate passed through the heiress of the elder branch of the family to the Trethurfes, and then to the Reskymers, who owned it during Leland's time. A grandson of the first Tremayne, who married the heiress of Trenchard from Collacomb in Devonshire, moved here, and his descendants lived on until that line ended in 1808. The founder of the current family was Richard Tremayne, whose son bought Helligan during Queen Elizabeth’s reign, and he is mentioned by Carew in his Survey of this county. "At the nearby St. Ive lives Master Richard Tremayne, descended from a younger brother of Colocome House in Devon, who, being knowledgeable in the law, still needs to learn, or at least to practice, how to make a profit from it, other than stockpiling treasure of gratitude in the grateful hearts of both the poor and the rich, to whom he freely shares the benefits of his efforts and knowledge."

See Leland's Itin. iii. 25, fol. 9; Carew, 104 b; Gilbert's Survey, ii. 292; Lysons, pp. cxv. 96, 214; Prince's Worthies of Devon, 1st ed. 569.

Arms.—Red background, three right arms joined at the shoulders and arranged in a triangle, with gold fists.

Present Representative, John Tremayne, Esq.

A younger branch of an ancient Cornish family, whose main line died out in the early seventeenth century. They used to live at Treworgy in Duloe and can be traced back to Richard Kendall of Treworgy, who was a Burgess for Launceston in the forty-third year of Edward III. Pelyn has been the family seat for many generations, descended from Walter, the third son of John Kendall of Treworgy, who married a daughter and co-heir of Robert Holland, an illegitimate son of a Duke of Exeter. It's been noted that this family may have sent more members to the British Senate than any other family in the United Kingdom.

See Carew, 132 c.; Gilbert's Survey, ii. 176; Lysons, pp. cviii. 178.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background, with a chevron between three black dolphins swimming.

Present Representative, Nicholas Kendall, Esq. M.P. for East Cornwall.

An old family from Devonshire, descended from Robert le Wrey, who lived during the reign of Stephen (1136-7), and whose son settled at Wrey, in the parish of Moreton-Hamstead, in that county. A marriage with the heiress of Killigrew moved the Wreys to Cornwall, and Trebigh became their main residence until, through the marriage of Sir Chichester Wrey, the second Baronet, to one of the co-heiresses of Edward Bourchier, fourth Earl of Bath, they acquired the noble estate of Tawstock, in Devonshire, which is now the family's usual home.

See Carew, 117 a; Gilbert's Survey, i. 555; Lysons, lxxxix. 146; Wotton's Baronetage, ii. 84; Westcote's Devonshire Pedigrees, 567.

Coat of Arms.—Black, with a stripe across featuring three silver pole-axes with red handles.

Present Representative, Sir Bourchier Palk Wrey, 8th Baronet.

Rashleigh in the parish of Wemworthy, in Devonshire, named this ancient family, whose elder line became extinct during the reign of Henry VII.

John Rashleigh, a merchant from Fowey, was the first to settle in Cornwall and is really the founder of the current family. Carew mentioned him in 1602, saying, "I can't go without acknowledging the noteworthy achievements of Master Rashleigh the elder, who came from a younger brother of an ancient family in Devon. His hardworking judgment and boldness in trade opened a path for the townspeople to thrive and left his son a significant wealth and property. His son, by continually improving his fortune, uses his resources for hospitality and other activities fitting for a gentleman who is devoted to his God, Prince, and Country."

See Carew, p. 136 a; Gilbert's Survey, ii. 244; Lysons, pp. cxiii. 316.

Coat of Arms.—Black, featuring a cross or, with a silver Cornish chough in the first quarter, which has a red beak and legs; a text T in the second quarter; and silver crescents in the third and fourth quarters. The Cornish chough and crescents were added when relocating to Cornwall; the earlier version only included two text T's at the top along with the black cross.

Present Representative, William Rashleigh, Esq.

Descended from the Glanvilles of Halwell, in the parish of Whitchurch, in Devon, where they settled around the year 1400. This branch comes from a younger son of Serjeant Glanville, the son of Sir John Glanville, who was one of the Justices of the Common Pleas during Elizabeth's reign. Catchfrench became the family's home in 1728.

See Prince's Worthies of Devon, pp. 326 and 339; Gilbert's Survey, ii. 121; Lysons, pp. civ. 116.

Coat of Arms.—Blue, with three diagonal crosses in gold. Current Representative: Francis Glanville, Esq.

Originally based at Musgrave in Westmerland, and dating back to the time of King John, around the year 1204. After Sir Thomas Musgrave married the coheiress of Stapleton of Edenhall, who passed away in 1469-70, he moved to that manor, where the famous glass vessel known as the Luck of Edenhall is kept, which is well known from the Duke of Wharton's ballad:

See Lysons, ccix. where it is engraved.

Younger branches. The Musgraves of Hayton Castle, in this county, Baronet of Nova Scotia 1638; and the Musgraves of Tourin, in the county of Waterford, Baronet 1782.

See Lysons, lxiv. 100; Wotton's Baronetage, i. 74, iv. 354; and St. George's Visitation of Westmerland, printed 1853, p. 5, &c.

Arms.—Blue, six golden rings.

Monsieur de Musgrave wore this coat, as shown in the Roll from the reign of Edward III, and Thomas Musgrave did the same in the time of Richard II. (Rolls from those dates.)

Present Representative, Sir George Musgrave, 10th Baronet.

An old Northern family, believed to be of Saxon origin, originally from Huddleston in Yorkshire, and later from Millom Castle in this county through an heiress of that name, where the main branch thrived until it ended in 1745. Andrew, a younger son of John Huddleston of Millom, who lived during the reign of Henry VIII, married the heiress of Hutton of Hutton-John, and became the ancestor of the current family.

A younger branch of the Huddlestons settled in Cambridge County through a marriage with the famous House of Neville. Sir William Huddleston married Isabel, the fifth daughter of John, Marquess of Montecute, and upon the division of the Neville estates in 1496, he acquired the manor of Sawston, which remains the inheritance of this branch of the family.

For Sir John Huddleston, who was greatly trusted by Queen Mary, see Fuller's Worthies, 1st ed. p. 168.

John Huddleston, the priest who played a key role in saving Charles II's life and who was also by his side on his deathbed, was the second son of Andrew Huddleston from Hutton-John. This family later converted to Protestantism and became active supporters of the Revolution.

For an interesting overview of Sawston and the Huddlestons, check out Gent. Mag. for 1815, pt. 2. pp. 25 and 120; Lysons's Cambridgeshire, p. 248, and Cumberland, p. lxxiv. and 107; also Banks's Stemmata Anglicana, "Barones Rejecti," and the Visitation of Cambridgeshire 1619, fol. 1840, p. 19.

Coat of Arms.—Red, with silver frets. This coat was owned by Sir John de Hodelestone during the reign of Edward II, Sir Adam had the same coat with a notched gold border, Sir Richard had a blue label, and Sir Richard, the nephew, had a gold label. (Roll from the reign of Edw. II, co. York.)

Present Rep, W. Huddleston, Esq.

A family with a long history, living in Irton by the river Irt, which is where the name comes from, since at least the time of Henry I. The Manor of Irton has also been in the family of Mr. Irton nearly since the Conquest.

See Lysons, lxxv. 119.

Arms.—Silver background with a black stripe in the middle and three red stars above it.

Present Representative, Samuel Irton, Esq., former Member of Parliament for the Western Division of Cumberland.

Originally from Briscoe near Carlisle, where the family had settled three generations before Edward I's reign. Crofton, which was inherited through an heiress of that name, has been the home of the Briscoe family since 1390.

See Lysons, lxvi. 159.

Arms.—Silver, three black greyhounds.

In Clutterbuck's Hertfordshire, i. 158, there is a family tree of a younger branch of this family, who lived at Aldenham in that county before 1736.

Present Representative, Sir Robert Briscoe, 3rd Baronet.

The name, originally "Del Dykes," comes from the two lines of Roman wall in "Burgh," where the family originally came from a long time ago; Ramerus de Dikes, who lived before Henry II.'s reign, is considered the first ancestor. The family lineage is regularly traced back three generations before the 50th year of Edward III. to the present day. During the Wars of the Roses, the Dykes family, like many others in the Northern counties, supported the Lancastrians; and in the Civil Wars of the seventeenth century, they were loyal Royalists who suffered for their loyalty to the Crown. Dovenby, which was formerly the seat of the Lamplughs, came into the family by marriage in this century. The Manor of Warthole or Wardhill, purchased during Henry VI.'s reign, is still in the family and was their previous home. Waverton, acquired in the 10th year of Edward II., was exchanged in 1619, and Distington, acquired in the 7th year of Richard II., was later sold, were older possessions.

See Lysons, lxxii. 36; Hutchinson's Cumberland, ii. 98 and note; Burn's Cumberland, ii. 49, and i. 157. I am grateful to the current Representative for the additional information in this account.

Coat of Arms.—Gold, featuring three black cinquefoils. Mr. William de Dyks had, Silver, a checkered band of gold and red, between three black water buckets, as indicated in the Roll from the reign of Richard II.

Present Representative, Frecheville-Lawson Ballantine-Dykes, Esq.

"In terms of history, hardly any families in the kingdom can compare to the Gresleys," wrote the Topographer in 1789. In this county, none can claim precedence over the house of Drakelow; descended from Nigel, mentioned in the Domesday Book, called de Stafford, and believed to be a younger son of Roger de Toni, who was a standard-bearer in Normandy. Soon after the Conquest, it was established in Derbyshire, first at Gresley, and then immediately afterwards at Drakelow, in the same parish. The current branch is seated at Nether Seale, in Leicestershire, since the beginning of the eighteenth century.

See Leland's Itinerary in Coll. Topog. et Genealog. iii. 339; Nichols's History of Leicestershire, iii. pt. 2, p. 1009*; the Topographer, i. 432, 455, 474; Lysons, lxiii.; Wotton's Baronetage, i. 121; and Erdeswick's Staffordshire, ed 1844, p. 208.

Coat of Arms.—Vaire, ermine and gules. This probably refers to the Ferrers, who held Drakelow in 1200, depicted with a bow, quiver, and 12 arrows. The same coat was used by Sir Geffray de Greseley during Edward I's reign, and by Sir Peres de Gresle during Edward II's reign. (Rolls.) John de Greseley used Vair, argent and gules. (Roll Ric. II.)

Present Representative, Sir Thomas Gresley, 10th Baronet.

This old Norman house was located in Norbury, granted by the Prior of Tutbury in 1125, during the reign of Henry I. The main male line died out in 1649, and the succession passed to a younger branch descended from William, the third son of the famous Sir Anthony Fitzherbert the judge, who established themselves in Swinnerton, Staffordshire, which is still the home of this family.

Younger branch. Fitzherbert of Tissington, Baronet 1783, is descended from Nicholas, the younger son of John Fitzherbert of Somersall. See Topographer for an interesting account of the family lineage and monuments, ii. 225, and Lysons, 217; for Fitzherbert of Tissington, Topographer and Genealogist, i. 362; Gent. Mag. lxvii. p. 645; Topographer, iii. 57; and Brydges's Collins, ix. 156.

Coat of Arms.—Silver, with a chief of alternating blue and red, and a black diagonal stripe across it. This coat also matches that of Ferrers. The Tissington Fitzherberts have taken on a different coat, namely Red, featuring three golden lions standing on their hind legs, based on an imaginative belief in their descent from Henry Fitzherbert, Lord Chamberlain to the 5th Stephen, who is an ancestor of the Herberts of Dean. The lions were adopted as early as 1569. See the Visitation of Derbyshire.

Present Rep, Basil Fitzherbert, Esq.

This old family settled at Kedleston as early as the rule of Henry I. They are believed to be of Breton origin and descended from Geraline, a major supporter of the Abbey of Abingdon in Berkshire, where the Curzons owned land shortly after the Conquest.

Younger branches: Curzon Earl Howe 1821; Curzon of Parham, Sussex.

Extinct branches: Curzon of Croxall and Water-Perry, Oxfordshire, and of Letheringset, Norfolk.

See Lysons, lii.; Brydges's Collins, vii. 294; Wotton's Baronetage, ii. 243.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background with a black diagonal stripe, featuring three gold parrots with red collars, carried by Monsr. Roger Curson during the reign of Richard II. Sir John Cursoun displayed Silver background with a red diagonal stripe decorated with gold coins, during the era of Edward II. (Rolls.) According to Burton's Collections cited by Wotton, the older coat was Vair, gold and red, with a black border featuring silver parrots: this was in honor of William Earl Ferrers and Derby, who had granted Stephen Curson the manor of Fauld, county Stafford.

Present Representative, the Rev. Alfred Nathaniel Holden Curzon, 4th Baron Scarsdale.

The Vernons originally came from Cheshire and were Barons of Shipbrooke, but they became linked to Derbyshire through the marriage of the heiress Avenell to Richard Vernon in the 12th century. Their son died without a male heir, leaving a daughter and heiress who married Gilbert le Francis. Their son Richard adopted the name Vernon, moved to Haddon Hall in this county, and became the ancestor of the various branches of the House of Vernon. The Sudbury Vernons established themselves there during the reign of Henry VIII, and with the other lines dying out, they eventually became the leading branch of the family. Few families have been more intertwined through intermarriage than the Vernons.

Younger branches. The Vernon-Harcourts, now from Nuneham Courteney, Oxon; the Vernons from Hilton, Staffordshire; and the Vernon-Wentworths, from Wentworth Castle, Yorkshire.

See Lysons, liii.; Brydges's Collins, vii. 396; Topographer, ii. 217, for inscriptions to the Vernons at Sudbury, which came from the heiress of Montgomery: for Vernon of Houndhill, in the parish of Henbury, and of Harleston in Clifton Camville, see Shaw's Staffordshire, i. 87, 399, and the Topographer, ii. 11: and for Vernon of Tonge, Topographer, iii. 109, and Eyton's Antiquities of Shropshire, vol. ii. p. 191.

Coat of Arms.—Silver, interlaced black. This coat, featuring a red quarter, was held by Mr. Richard Vernon during the reign of Richard II. (Roll.)

Present Representative, George John Warren, 5th Baron Vernon.

Originally from Newborough in Staffordshire, but since the fourteenth century established, through female lineage, first at Hartington, and later at Wakebridge, in this county. Radborne was passed down from the Chandos family through the Lawtons, also in the fourteenth century. It came to the Chandos family from an heiress of Ferrers or "Fitz-Walkelin."

See Leland's Itinerary, vol. viii. fol. 70 a, and vol. iv. fol. 6; the Topographer, i. 280; Topographer and Genealogist, i. 176; and Lysons, xciv.

Arms.—Silver background with a chevron and three red crescents.

Present Representative, Edward Sacheverell Chandos Pole, Esq.

This family originated from from Cavendish Overhall, near Clare, in Suffolk, and is descended from Sir John Cavendish, who was the Chief Justice of the King's Bench during the reign of Edward III. It was John, a younger son of the Judge, who killed Wat Tyler, and the family descends from him. However, it was Sir William Cavendish, the younger brother of George Cavendish, who had been the Gentleman Usher to Wolsey, who can be considered the real founder of the Cavendishes due to the significant amount of abbey lands he acquired during the Dissolution of Monasteries, “and afterwards,” adds Brydges, “by the skills, greed, and good fortune of Elizabeth, his widow,” the famous Countess of Shrewsbury. The Cavendishes first settled in Derbyshire when this Sir William married "Bess of Hardwick" in 1544.

See Topographer, iii. 306; Brydges's Collins, i. 302; Collins's Noble Families.

Arms.—Black, featuring three silver buck's heads facing forward, with gold antlers. Mr. Andrew Cavendysh from this family had, Black, with three gold crosses with fitché ends, arranged 2 and 1. (Roll Ric. II.)

Present Representative, William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire, and 2nd Earl of Burlington.

This family originally came from Chesterton in Warwickshire, where its history can be traced back to the reigns of Henry I and II.

In the right of Elianor, the daughter and heir of William Grober, who was a descendant of Richard de Rushall from Rushall in Staffordshire, the Harpurs later settled there, but they had no ties to Derbyshire until the reign of Elizabeth. Calke was bought by Henry Harpur, Esq. in 1621.

See Dugdale's Warwickshire, 2nd ed, vol. i. 478; Shaw's History of Staffordshire, ii. 69; Wotton's Baronetage, ii. 1; Lysons, lxiii.

Coat of Arms.—Silver, a lion standing on one hind leg inside a wavy black border. This was the coat of Rushall; the arms of Harpur featured a plain cross.

Present Representative, Sir John Harpur Crewe, 9th Baronet.

The family tree starts with Hugo de Burdet, who came to England with William I and was the lord of the manor of Loseby in Leicestershire in 1066. Arrow, located in Warwickshire, which passed down from the heiress of Camvile during the reign of Edward II, was the main home of the Burdetts. However, as Dugdale points out, they had long been linked to properties in that county, with William Burdett establishing the cell of Ancote, near Sekindon, during the fifth year of Henry II's reign. The manor of Arrow and several other estates belonging to this family were inherited by the Conways during the reign of Henry VII, leading to numerous lawsuits that weren’t resolved until the end of Henry VIII's reign. For more intriguing details, see Dugdale. Foremark was inherited from the heiress of Francis in 1602.

See Dugdale's Warwickshire, 2nd ed. ii. 847; Erdeswick's Staffordshire, ed. 1844, 462; Nichols's Leicestershire, iii. pt. 1. 351; Wotton's Baronetage, i. 327; and Lysons.

Arms.—Blue, with two gold bars. Sir William Burdett used this coat during the reign of Edward II. Sir Robert had the same, with three red martlets on the upper bar. (Roll Edw. II. under Leicestershire.) Sir Richard used the same design, with an outline of red martlets. (Roll E. III.) Mr. John Burdet also had the same, each bar featuring three red martlets. (Roll Richard II.)

Present Representative, Sir Robert Burdett, 6th Baronet.

A family with a long history, tracing back to the Conquest; originally from South and North Cave in Yorkshire. In the 15th century, they moved to Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, and were long associated with Stanford in the former county. The older branch of the Caves became extinct in 1810, and the Baronetcy passed to a younger branch, which descended through the female line from the Brownes of Stretton, linking them to Derbyshire.

See Nichols's History of Leicestershire, vol. iv. part i. 350, for an interesting account of this family and their monuments in Stanford Church, (the earliest of which is for John Cave, who died in 1471); Pedigree at p. 371; Wotton's Baronetage, ii. 164; Lysons, xviii.

Coat of Arms.—Blue, with silver netting. This coat was worn by "Monsire de Cave;" refer to the Roll of Arms from the reign of Edward III.

Present Representative, Sir Mylles Cave-Browne-Cave, 11th Baronet.

This is an old family from Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, dating back to the time of Henry I. The Colviles, Barons of Culross in Scotland, are descendants of a younger brother of the family's second ancestor.

The manor of Newton-Colvile was acquired when Sir Roger Colvile of Carleton Colvile in Suffolk, known as "The Rapacious Knight," married the heiress of De Marisco. It was held under the Bishop of Ely and remained with the Colvile family from the time of the Conquest until 1792, when it was sold. The family representative, Sir Charles Colvile, moved to Derbyshire after marrying Miss Bonnel of Duffield. The head of the family supported the Royalist cause during Charles I's reign and was one of the intended Knights of the Royal Oak.

See Lysons's Cambridgeshire, 242; Blomefield's Norfolk; and Watson's History of Wisbeach.

Coat of Arms.—Blue, featuring a gold lion standing on one hind leg, with a red label of five points. This shield, displaying the silver lion, was used by Sir Geoffry de Colville during the reign of Edward II, and without the label by Monsr. John Colvyle in the time of Richard II. (Rolls of Arms from those periods.) Sir Roger de Colvile used the current shield with only a three-point label in 1240, as indicated by his seal on a document from that year.

Present Representative, Charles R. Colvile, Esq. M.P. for South Derbyshire.

This is a younger branch of the old Cokes family from Trusley, which has a long history. The older line died out in 1718. The current family comes from the Cokes of Suckley in Worcestershire. The Cokes originally hailed from Staffordshire but moved to Derbyshire due to a marriage with one of the coheiresses of the Odingsells family of Trusley in the mid-fifteenth century.

There is a younger branch of this family in Lower Moor, Herefordshire. The Cokes of Melbourn were also a younger branch, from which the Lambs, Viscounts Melbourne, are descended.

See Lysons, 81.

Coat of Arms.—Red background with three crescents and a gold rectangle in the corner.

Present Representative, Edward Thomas Coke, Esq.

Descended from the Thornhills of Thornhill in the Peak, where they had been established as early as the reign of Edward I in the 7th century. Stanton was passed down from an heiress of Bache in 1697.

See Lysons, 97.

ARMS, confirmed in 1734.—Red, two horizontal bars and a silver chief, with a black mascle on it. This coat, without the mascle, was used by M. Bryan de Thornhill during the reign of Edward III. (Roll.)

Present Representative, William Pole Thornhill, Esq., former M.P. for North Derbyshire.

This is a younger branch of a family that settled at Willersley after a marriage with the heiress of Ingwardby in the early fifteenth century. Willersley was owned by the late Sir Charles Abney Hastings through female lineage. Measham is a property they acquired around a century ago.

See Lysons, cxii.

Coat of Arms.—Gold background with a red upper portion that has a silver lion walking. However, Lysons notes Silver background with a black cross and five bezants.

Current Representative, William Wotton-Abney, Esq.

There’s every reason to think that the ancestors of this respected family have lived at Fulford since the time of the Conquest. Three knights from this family made their mark in the wars of the Holy Land. William de Fulford, who held Fulford during the reign of Richard I, is the first confirmed ancestor. Sir Baldwin Fulford, a prominent Lancastrian, was executed in Bristol in 1461.

See Prince's Worthies of Devon, ed. 1701, p. 298, for description of Fulford; Westcote's Devonshire Pedigrees, p. 612; Lysons, cxlv. 171.

Arms.—Red, a silver chevron.

Presenting Rep, Baldwin Fulford, Esq.

This prominent family descends from Reginald de Courtenay, who came to England with Henry II in 1151. After marrying the daughter and heiress of the hereditary sheriff of Devonshire, he became closely linked to this county. The Earldom of Devon was first granted to the Courtenays in 1335, due to their lineage from William de Redvers, Earl of Devon. The Powderham branch originates from Sir Philip, the sixth son of Hugh, the second Earl of Devon.

See Brydges's Collins, vi. 214; Lysons, lxxxvii.; Westcote's Devonshire Pedigrees, 570, &c.; Journal of Arch. Institute, x. 52; and Sir Harris Nicolas's Earldom of Devon.

Arms.—Or, three red circles.

This coat, with a blue stripe, was carried by Sir Philip de Courtenay during the reign of Edward II. (Roll.) The same coat, with a blue label, was used by Hugh de Courtenay in 1300. Refer to the Roll of Carlaverock and Sir Harris Nicolas's notes, p. 193. He notes that this label was marked by different branches of the family with mitres, crescents, lozenges, rings, fleurs-de-lis, drops, and plates, along with a stripe across everything. See also Willement's Heraldic Notices in Canterbury Cathedral.

Present Representative, William Reginald Courtenay, 11th Earl of Devon.

Richard Edgcumbe was Lord of Edgcumbe in 1292 and was the direct ancestor of this respected family, with the current representative being the twentieth in line of descent from this first Richard.

In the time of Edward III, William Edgcumbe, the second son of the Edgcumbe family, married the heiress of Cotehele in the parish of Calstock. He moved to Cornwall and became the ancestor of the Edgcumbes of Cotehele and Mount Edgcumbe, Earls of Mount Edgcumbe (1789).

Another younger branch was of Brompton, or Brampton, in Kent.

See Prince's Worthies of Devon, ed. 1701, p. 281; Gilbert's Survey of Cornwall, 4to. 1820, vol. i. p. 444; Carew's Cornwall, 1st ed., p. 99 b and 114 a; Brydges's Collins, v. 306; and Lysons's Cornwall, lxxiii. 212, 53.

Coat of Arms.—Red background with a black diagonal stripe edged in gold, featuring three silver boar's heads cut off.

Present Representative, Richard D. Edgcumbe, Attorney.

This ancient family is believed to have taken its name from Cirencester in Gloucestershire, where its distant ancestors lived. The Chichesters were, however, already in Devon during the reign of Henry III, although Ralegh joined them later through an heiress of that name; Youlston, the current seat, came from an heiress of Beaumont during the time of Henry VII. John de Cirencester, who lived in the 20th year of Henry I, is considered the first recorded ancestor.

Younger branches. Chichester of Hall, in Bishop's-Towton; established at Hall by marrying an heiress of that name in the 15th century, Chichester of Arlington, since the reign of Henry VII.; and Chichester, Marquis of Donegal, descended from Edward, the 3rd son of Sir John Chichester, during the reign of Elizabeth, etc.

See Prince's Worthies of Devon, ed. 1701, pp. 135, 199; Westcote's Devonshire, 303, and Pedigrees, 604, etc., Wotton's Baronetage, ii. 226; Brydges's Collins, viii. 177; Shaw's Staffordshire, i. 374; Lysons, cxi. 440; and Archdall's Lodge's Peerage, ii. 314.

Coat of Arms.—Red and gold, with a blue fur chief.

Present Representative, Sir Arthur Chichester, 8th Baronet.

Like the Chichesters, an old and widespread family, settled at Wymodeston, now known as Winston, in the parish of Modbury, in 1209. "This was," writes Sir William Pole, "the most ancient home of the Fortescues, which remained in their possession from the days of King John to the reign of Queen Elizabeth."

There are many younger branches of this family in both England and Ireland, and figuring out their seniority and mapping the lineage to give each person their rightful place is more than I can handle right now. (Westcote's MSS. quoted by The Topographer, i. 178.) The notable figure from this family is Sir John Fortescue, who was the Lord Chief Justice of England during the reign of Henry VI and wrote the work "Of Absolute and Limited Monarchy."

Among the main younger branches were the Fortescues of Buckland Filleigh and Fortescue of Fallopit in this county, both now extinct in the male line, and the Fortescues from County Louth in Ireland, represented by the Barons Clermont.

See Westcote's Devonshire Pedigrees, 498, 625, &c. Prince's Worthies, ed. 1701, 304; Brydges's Collins, v. 335; Lysons, lxxxv.

Arms.—Blue, with a jagged edge outlined in silver and bordered in gold.

Present Representative, Hugh Fortescue, 3rd Earl Fortescue.

An old family, the history of which is quite unclear, is thought by some to have originated from Castle Cary in Somerset, and by others from Cary in the parish of St. Giles's in the Heath, near Launceston. It definitely came from the latter place during the reign of Edward I.

Cockington in this county was, before the Civil Wars of the seventeenth century, the main residence of the family. Torr-Abbey was bought by Sir George Cary, Knt. in 1662.

Younger branches: Cary of Follaton, in this county. In the counties of Donegal and Cork, and in Guernsey, there are families that say they are branches of the House of Cary. The current Viscounts Falkland, and the now-extinct Barons Hunsdon, are descended from the second marriage of Sir William Cary of Cockington during the time of Henry VII.

See Prince's Worthies, p. 196; Westcote's Devonshire Families, 507, &c. Lysons, cxxxviii. 524; and Clutterbuck's Hertfordshire, i. 129. For Cary Viscount Falkland, see The Herald and Genealogist, vol. iii.; and for Cary Baron Hunsdon, the same work, vol. iv.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background, with a black diagonal stripe that has three roses in their natural colors, believed to have belonged to a knight from Aragon, who was defeated by Sir Robert Cary in a duel during the reign of Henry V.

Present Representative, Robert Shedden Sulyarde Cary, Esq.

About the year 1300, when Sir John de Carru married a coheiress of Mohun, this ancient family first became linked to the county of Devon. The Carews are descendants of Gerald, the son of Walter de Windsor, who lived during the reign of Henry I. Walter was the son of Otho, from the time of William the Conqueror. Haccombe was inherited from a Courtenay heiress and was settled on this second branch of the family in the fifteenth century.

The extinct families of Carew of Bickleigh and Carew Earl of Totnes were descended from Sir Thomas Carew, the older brother of Nicholas, the first of the Haccombe line. The current Lord Carew from Ireland actually represents the older line of this family, being a descendant of a nephew of the Earl of Totnes. Carew of Antony, Baronet (1641), which is now extinct, was a younger branch of the Haccombe family.

See Leland's Itin., iii. fol. 40; Prince's Worthies of Devon, 148, 176, 204; Westcote's Devonshire, 440; Pedigrees, 528; Wotton's Baronetage, iii. 323; Lysons, cxiv. For information about a branch of this family that was previously based in County Cork, see Coll. Topog. and Genealog. v. 95; also refer to Nicolas's Roll of Carlaverock, p. 154, and Maclean's Life of Sir Peter Carew, London, 8vo. 1857.

Arms.—Gold, three black lions walking. This coat was used by Sir Nicholas Carru in 1300. (Roll of Carlaverock.) Sir John de Carru, the same, with a red label, during the reign of Edward II; and by M. de Carrew in the time of Edward III. (Rolls.)

Present Representative, Sir Walter Palk Carew, 8th Baronet.

Kelly is a manor in the hundred of Lifton and the deanery of Tavistock, located on the border of Cornwall, about six miles from Tavistock. The manor and the right to appoint clergy have been in the Kelly family since at least the time of Henry II, and they have continuously lived here since that early period.

See Westcote's Pedigrees, p. 540; Lysons, cl. 296.

Arms.—Silver with a chevron between three red rectangles.

Present Rep, Arthur Kelly, Esq.

This is an old Cheshire family that moved to Devon during the reign of Richard II. Their ancestor, Arthur Pole, married the heiress of the Pole family from Honiton. The current representative of the family, the knowledgeable historian Sir William Pole, lived in Chute in the early 1600s, even though the ownership of that manor, which was once part of the noble Bonvile family's estate, didn't actually belong to the Poles until it was bought by Sir John Pole, Baronet, in 1787.

See Prince's Worthies of Devon, p. 504; Wotton's Baronetage, ii. 124; Lysons, cix. 442.

Coat of Arms.—Blue, scattered with gold lilies, a silver lion in an upright position.

Present Representative, Sir John George Reeve De-la-Pole Pole, 8th Baronet.

An impressive Norman family, linked to the Conquest, whose former Earls of Cumberland were the leaders, first connected with Devonshire through the marriage of Thomas, the fourth grandson of Sir Louis Clifford, who died in 1404, to a daughter of John Thorpe of King's Teignton.

Ugbrooke came from an heir of Courtenay during Elizabeth's reign. The title was granted by Charles II to Lord Treasurer Clifford, one of the famous CABAL.

Sir Thomas Clifford-Constable, Baronet (1815), represents a younger branch of this family, descended from Thomas, the fourth son of the fourth Lord Clifford.

See "Cliffordiana," by Rev. G. Oliver, Exeter, 8vo, and "Collectanea Cliffordiana," Paris, 1817, 8vo; Erdeswick's Staffordshire, edit. 1844, 73; and for the Earls of Cumberland and their ancestors, the Lords Clifford, check out Whitaker's excellent account in his "Craven," ed. 1812, 240, etc. Also, see Queen's Coll. Ox. MS. cv. for "Evidences of the Cliffords"; Brydges's Collins, vii. 117, and Lysons, xci.; and for the early history of this family, refer to Eyton's Antiquities of Shropshire, vol. v. p. 146.

Arms.—Checkered gold and blue with a red stripe. Used by Roger de Clifford during the reign of Henry III, and by Walter de Clifford at the same time, instead of a stripe, a diagonal red line. Sir Robert de Clifford, during the reigns of Edward II and III, used the current coat. Sir Lewis de Clifford, in the time of Richard II, added a red border to his coat. (Rolls.) See also the Roll of Carlaverock, p. 195.

Present Representative, Hugh Charles Clifford, 8th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh.

This is a younger branch of the ancient and noble family of Harington, formerly from Ridlington in Rutland, which was made a Baronet in 1611 and is still represented by Sir John Edward Harington, the tenth Baronet. The name is derived from Harington in Cumberland, from which Robert Harington was called during the reign of Henry III.

A younger branch of the Haringtons settled in Ridlington after buying land in the first year of Philip and Mary, but they had been based in Exton in the same county since the reign of Henry VII. Sir James Harington, the third Baronet, was declared a traitor in the 13th year of Charles II, having been named as one of the judges for his sovereign Charles I. He only served for one day and refused to sign the deadly warrant. Dartington, the historic home of the Champernowne family, was passed on to Jane, the only daughter of Arthur Champernowne, Esq., the last male heir of the family, who married the Rev. Richard Harington, the second son of Sir James Harington, Baronet, and grandfather of the current representative, who took on her name.

See Wright's History of the County of Rutland, pp. 48, 108; Blore's Rutlandshire; and Courthope's Debrett's Baronetage, p. 10. Limbs.—Black with silver fretting.

Present Rep, Arthur Champernowne, Esq.

Descended from Robert Bastard, who owned several estates in this county during the reign of William I. For many generations, Efford in the parish of Egg-Buckland was the home of this family, but in the early seventeenth century, the family sold their hereditary estates, which included Wolston and Garston in West Allington. Around the beginning of the eighteenth century, Kitley, the current residence, was inherited from the heiress of Pollexfen.

In 1779, William Bastard, Esq., the representative of this family, was announced as a Baronet: the honor, which Mr. Bastard declined, was meant as recognition of his efforts in recruiting men to defend Plymouth in 1779.

See Lysons, cxxxi, and 577.

Arms.—Or, a blue chevron.

Present Representative, Baldwin John Pollexfen Bastard, Esq.

Acland, which gave its name to this old family, is now a farm in the parish of Landkey. It is described in Westcote's Devonshire, (p. 290): "Then Landkey, or Londkey; and there Acland, or rather Aukeland, named after a grove of oaks, as the house is located near one, and has provided the name and long residence to the notable family of the Aclands, who have thrived here for many generations in a respected position." Hugh de Accalen is the first recorded ancestor; he was alive in 1155, and from him, the current Sir Thomas Dyke Acland is the twenty-second in direct descent. Killerton, in the parish of Broad-Clist, purchased at the start of the seventeenth century, is the current home of the family. Columb-John, an old Elizabethan mansion in the same parish, now demolished, was the earlier residence of the Aclands, who were known for their royal connections during the Civil Wars.

Younger branch. Acland of Fairfield, Baronet 1818.

See Gilbert's Survey of Cornwall, i. 559; Prince's Worthies of Devon, p. 18; Wotton's Baronetage, ii. 407; and Lysons, cxiii.

Coat of Arms.—Silver and black checkered pattern, with a red band. This coat was used by M. John Acland, as recorded in the Roll of Arms from the reign of Richard II. According to Prince, three oak leaves on a diagonal stripe between two standing lions were also used by this family during that time.

Present Representative, Sir Thomas Dyke-Acland, 10th Baronet.

John Baumfield, the ancestor of this family, acquired Poltimore during the reign of Edward I; however, the family lineage can be tracked back three generations before that time.

A younger branch was of Hardington in Somerset, which went extinct around the beginning of the eighteenth century.

For the story of the Bamfylde heir who was taken and then found again, check out Prince's Worthies of Devon, p. 121; also look at Westcote's Devonshire Pedigrees, p. 492; Wotton's Baronetage, ii. 188; and Lysons, cx.

Coat of Arms.—Gold background with a red diagonal stripe featuring three silver stars.

Present Representative, Augustus Frederick George Warwick Bampfylde, 2nd Baron Poltimore.

Descended from Galfridus, who was from Northcote, in the parish of East-Downe, in the twelfth century. Hayne, in the parish of Newton St. Cyres, was later acquired through marriage with the heiress of Drew. Pynes was inherited from the heiress of Stafford, originally Stowford, early in the last century.

See Lysons, pp. cx. 361, 545, and Wotton's Baronetage; ii. 206.

Arms.—Silver, featuring three black cross-crosslets in a diagonal line. This was used on seals during Henry VI's reign. The earliest coat, used until Edward III's time, was Gold, with a red chief and a mesh pattern of the same. After that, it changed to Silver, with a band between three black cross molines. In 1571, Robert Cooke, Clarencieux, supposedly granted, following the silly custom of the time, another coat to Walter Northcote of Crediton, who was the grandfather or uncle of the 1st Baronet, described as: Gold, on a silver pale three black bends. Sir William Pole mentions another coat, Gold, with three red spread eaglets, on a black chief three scallops of the first. However, this appears to be an error.—Based on information from the current Baronet.

Present Representative, Sir Stafford Henry Northcote, 8th Baronet, M.P. for Stamford.

From the days of Henry III, if not even earlier, this old family has lived in the place that the name comes from.

See the Visitation of Devon, 1620, Harl. MS. 1080. fo. 4; Lysons, cxlv. and 92.

Arms.—Silver, with a blue chevron between three natural fireballs.

Present Representative, George Fursdon, Esq.

Originally from Strode, in the parish of Ermington, where Adam de Strode, the first recorded ancestor, lived during the reign of Henry III. In the time of Henry IV, through the marriage of the coheiress of Newenham, they acquired that estate, which has since been the family seat. "A very old and honorable family," says Prince; it could also be described as a historical one, as William Strode from this family was one of the Five Members of the House of Commons sought by Charles I in 1641.

See Prince's Worthies, p. 563; Westcote's Pedigrees, p. 542; Lysons, clv.

Coat of Arms.—Silver, with a chevron between three black rabbits.

Present Rep, George Strode, Esq.

This is a younger branch of an ancient family based in Bradfield, Uffculm, since the reign of Henry III. For many years, the Walronds, living in their historic mansion of Bradfield, were a powerful family in Devon. The main male line of this branch has died out since Lysons' time, and the representation was passed down to the current family, who are descended from Colonel Humphry Walrond, a notable Loyalist during the Civil Wars of the seventeenth century. After the Royal Cause fell, he moved to Barbados, where, with the help of other Royalists, he became Governor of the island. Philip IV of Spain granted him the title of Marques de Vallado and other Spanish honors for, as noted in the still-existing patent, "services rendered to the Spanish Marine."

See Lysons, clviii. and 540; Westcote's Devonshire Pedigrees, p. 484.

Arms.—Silver, featuring three black bull's heads looking straight ahead.

Present Representative, Bethell Walrond, Esq.

This is a more recent branch of the prominent Anglo-Irish family of Bellew from Barmeath, in County Meath, who settled in Devonshire during the reign of Edward IV, due to a marriage with one of the co-heiresses of Fleming from Bratton-Fleming.

See the Visitations of Devon in 1564 and 1620: Lysons, cxxxiv. and 455.

Coat of Arms.—Black with a pattern of gold frets, featuring a crescent for distinction.

Present Representative, John Prestwood Bellew, Esq.

The name comes from Drogo or Dru and is believed to be Norman. The first confirmed ancestor of the family is William Drewe, who married an heiress from the Prideaux family of Orcheston in this county and is thought to have lived around the early fourteenth century. His son was from Sharpham, also in Devonshire. The current residence was built by Sir Thomas Drewe in 1610.

Younger branches of this family were from Drew's Cliffe and High Hayne in Newton St. Cyres.

See Lysons, cxliii. and 266; Westcote's Pedigrees, 582-3; and the Topographer and Genealogist, ii. 209, for the Drews of Ireland, descended from a second son of the house of Drew's Cliffe, who came to Ireland and settled at Meanus in County Kerry in 1633; see also Prince's Worthies, 1st ed. p. 249.

Arms.—White with a red lion walking.

Present Representative, Edward Simcoe Drewe, Esq.

This is the head of the widespread Buller family, which has several branches in the Western counties. The first recorded ancestor seems to be Ralph Buller, who in the fourteenth century lived at Woode, in the hundred of South Petherton, Somerset, through a marriage with a Beauchamp heiress. They acquired Lillesdon in the same county, and later, through a Trethurffe heiress, we find them at Tregarrick in Cornwall. However, they were not associated with Downes until the eighteenth century, which came from the coheiress of Gould.

Younger branches. Buller of Morval and Lanreath, both in Cornwall. Buller of Lupton, in this county, Baronet 1790, Baron Churston 1858.

See Lysons, cxxxvi.; Carew's Cornwall, 1st ed., p. 133 b; and Gilbert's Survey of Cornwall, ii. 38.

Coat of Arms.—Black, with a plain silver cross that is quarter pierced, showing four eagles in the background.

Present Representative, James Wentworth Buller, Esq.

Originally from Doniford in Somerset, where John de Hywish is believed to have lived in the early 1200s. Sand, located in the parish of Sidbury, was bought by an ancestor of the family during the reign of Elizabeth; and, although it appears in Lysons's List of the Decayed Mansions of the County of Devon, it is still part of the inheritance of this ancient family.

See Lysons, cxlix. v. 144, and Burke's History of the Commoners, 1st ed. vol. iv. p. 409.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background with a black diagonal stripe that has three lutes in silver.

Present Representative, the Rev. John Huyshe.

Sir John de Bingham, Knight, who lived during the reign of Henry I, is the first documented ancestor of this ancient family; he came from Sutton in Somerset. Melcombe was passed down from an heiress of the Turberville family during the time of Henry III and has since been the home of the Binghams. The most notable among them was Sir Richard, a younger son of the family leader during Queen Elizabeth's reign, who made a significant name for himself in Ireland.

Younger branch. The Earls of Lucan in the Peerage of Ireland (1795) descended from George, the fourth son of Robert Bingham and Alice Coker, and the younger brother of Sir Richard.

See Hutchins's History of Dorset, vol. iv. 202; and Archdall's Lodge's Peerage of Ireland, vii. 104.

Coat of Arms.—Blue background with a diagonal stripe edged by six gold crosses.

Present Representative, Richard Hippisley Bingham, Esq.

Although this family can be said to have made their fortune during the reign of Henry VII—first through Mr. John Russell's chance encounter with Philip, Archduke of Austria, which led to his introduction to the King, and second by the significant portion of church wealth acquired by John during the Dissolution of the Monasteries—there's no doubt that the Russells come from a younger branch of an ancient baronial family, whose older line was known as Gorges and were Barons of Parliament during the time of Edward III.

The Russells had been living at Kingston since the time of Henry III.

See Wiffen's House of Russell, and Brydges's Collins, i. 266, &c.

Coat of Arms.—Silver field with a red lion standing on its hind legs, over a black upper section featuring three silver shells.

Present Representative, William Russell, 8th Duke of Bedford, K.G.

An ancient family from Leicestershire can be traced back nearly to the Conquest and is believed to have Saxon roots. The name comes from Digby in Lincolnshire, but Tilton in Leicester County, where AElmar, the first recorded ancestor of the Digbys, owned land in 1086, also contributed to the family's earlier name. These historic lands no longer belong to the Digbys; and according to the will of the last Earl Digby, who passed away in 1856, the manor of Coleshill in Warwickshire, granted by Henry VII to Simon Digby, and the Castle of Sherborne in Dorsetshire have also been separated from the male line of the family.

There have been several branches of the Digbys in both England and Ireland, in addition to the now-extinct Earls of Bristol. During the seventeenth century, the family's history, as shown through the lives of the famous Sir Kenelm Digby and the Earl of Bristol, is quite notable.

See Leland's Itin., iv. fo. 19; Dugdale's Warwickshire, 2nd ed., vol. ii. 1012; and the Pedigree of Digby of Tilton, Eye, Kettleby, Sisonby, North Luffenham, and Welby, in Nichols's Leicestershire, ii. pt. i. p. *261; for a more detailed Pedigree, see vol. iii. pt. i. p. 473, under Tilton; Brydges's Collins, v. 348; Hutchins's Dorset, iv. 133; and for an account of the famous Digby Pedigree, compiled by order of Sir Kenelm in 1634, at a reported cost of £1200, see Pennant's Journey from Chester to London, 8vo. 1811, p. 441; and for portraits of the Digbys at Gothurst, ib. p. 449.

Arms.—Blue, a silver fleur-de-lis.

Present Representative, Edward St. Vincent Digby, 9th Baron Digby of Geashill.

John de Frampton, M.P. for Dorset in 1373 and 1380, is the first recorded ancestor. His son Walter married Margaret, the heiress of the Manor of Moreton, and gained ownership of that estate as early as 1365, which has since remained the family home.

See Hutchins's History of Dorset, vol. i. 238, where the family tree is provided from the Heralds' Office, CC. 22, 155, continued from 1623 to 1753 by James Lane, Richmond Herald, and the new edition of Hutchins, vol. i. p. 398.

Coat of Arms.—Silver, featuring a dark diagonal stripe outlined in black. This design is believed to have been used by the original ancestor, John Frampton.

Present Representative, Henry James Frampton, Esq.

Originally from Cornwall and claimed to have a long history, this family didn’t connect with Dorset until the mid-fifteenth century. In 1431 (9th Henry VI), Robert Bond of Beauchamp's Hache in Somerset was established at Lutton, as his mother was the heiress of that name and family. Nathaniel Bond, Esq., bought Grange in 1686.

There were other branches of this family living in Blackmanston, Swanwick, and Wareham.

See Hutchins's History of Dorset, vol. i. 326, and the new edition, vol. i. p. 602.

Coat of Arms.—Black, with a gold band. The earlier coat, recognized in the Visitation of Dorset in 1623, was Silver, featuring a black chevron with three round gold coins.

Present Representative, The Rev. Nathaniel Bond.

The name comes from Tregonwell, in the parish of Cranstock and county of Cornwall, where the early ancestors of this family likely lived, though the family history isn't confirmed beyond the late 1400s. During the reign of Henry VIII, Sir John Tregonwell was assigned by the king to handle his marriage matters and was sent to France, Germany, and Italy. His work was rewarded with grants of monastic lands, including the abbey of Milton in this county. Milton was sold to the Damers in the 1700s, and Anderson bought it in 1622.

See Gilbert's Cornwall, ii. 313; Hutchins's Dorset, iv. 210, and the new edition, i. p. 161.

Coat of Arms.—Silver, with a black band bordered on either side, featuring three Cornish choughs in their natural colors and three discs in between.

Present Rep, John Tregonwell, Esq.

Founded by William Weld, Sheriff of London in 1352, who married Anne Wettenhall; his descendants lived in Eaton, Cheshire, until the reign of Charles II. The current family is descended from Sir Humphry, Lord Mayor of London in 1609, who was the fourth son of John Weld of Eaton and Joan Fitzhugh. Lulworth was bought in 1641.

Younger branch, Weld-Blundell of Ince-Blundell, Lancashire.

See Ormerod's Cheshire, ii. 131; Hutchins's Dorset, i. 226; and the new edition, i. p. 372; Blakeway's Sheriffs of Salop, p. 120,

Arms.—Blue with a wavy band between three white crescents. Confirmed by Camden in 1606. See Morgan's Sphere of Gentry, book 2, p. 112.

Present Representative, Edward Weld, Esq.

This is a Devonshire family with a long history, based at Floyers-Hayes in the parish of St. Thomas in that county, shortly after the Norman Conquest. It seems that the estate stayed in the family until the late seventeenth century. The Floyers later moved to Dorset, where Anthony Floyer, Esq. was a justice of the peace in 1701.

See Prince's Worthies of Devonshire, ed. 1701, p. 308; Westcote's Devonshire Pedigrees, p. 556.

Coat of Arms.—Black with a chevron between three silver broad arrows.

Present Representative, John Floyer, Esq. M.P. for Dorset.

This very distinguished family is of Anglo-Saxon descent and has been established in this county since the time of the Conquest; Liulph, who lived before 1080, is the first recorded ancestor. Through the female line, the Lumleys descend from the Barons Thweng of Kilton, which is where the arms used by this ancient house come from. They were summoned as Barons from the 8th year of Richard II to the 1st year of Henry IV. The elder line of the family became extinct with the death of John Lord Lumley in 1609. It was during this Lord's time that the following anecdote is told. "Oh, man, don't go any further; let me digest the knowledge I've gained, for I did not know Adam's name was Lumley," exclaimed King James I when he was tired of Bishop James's lengthy account of the Lumley Pedigree during His Majesty's first visit to Lumley Castle in 1603. For the interesting story of the lucky leap of Richard Lumley, the direct ancestor of the current family, see Nichols's Leicestershire, iii. pt. i. 363; and Surtees's Durham, ii. 162.

See also Leland's Itin., vi. fol. 62; Brydges's Collins, iii. 693; the Roll of Carlaverock by Sir H. Nicolas, p.313; and the Surrey Archaeological collections, vol. iii. pp. 324-348, for a valuable overview of the Lumley monuments in Cheam church, along with notes on the family tree and coat of arms.

Arms.—Silver, a red stripe between three properly depicted parrots, each with a red collar. This coat was used by Marmaduke de Twenge during Henry III's reign, and by M. de Thwenge and Monsieur Rauf Lumleye during the reigns of Edward III and Richard II. (Rolls.) John le Fitz Marmaduke bore Red, a stripe and three silver parrots. (Roll of Carlaverock, 1300.) Sir Robert de Lumley had the same, but on the stripe were three black stars. (Roll of the reign of Edward II.) See the seal of John Lord Lumley, who died in 1421, in Bysshe's Notes on Upton, p. 58.

Present Representative, Richard George Lumley, 9th Earl of Scarborough.

Sir Osbert Silvayne, Knight, of Norton Woodhouse, in the Forest of Sherwood, living during the reign of Henry III in 1244, is the first confirmed ancestor of this family: he is believed to be the son of Ralph Silvayne. Some people with this name, which we assume is derived from this wood or forest, were already established in Norton before the year 1140. Croxdale was inherited from the heiress of Whalton in 1402.

Younger branch, Salvin of Sunderland Bridge, in this county.

See Surtees's Durham iv. 117, and the Scrope and Grosvenor Roll, ii. p. 340. For the extinct family of Salvin of Newbiggen, see Graves's Cleveland.

Coat of Arms.—Silver, with a black chief featuring two gold pierced stars. This coat was used by Sir Gerard Salveyn during the reign of Edward II, and I believe by the same Sir Gerard during the reign of Edward III, but here the stars are empty green. Additionally, during the reign of Richard II, Monsieur Gerard Salvayn displayed his gold six-pointed stars, pierced red.

Presenting Representative, Gerard Salvin, Esq.

According to Surtees, this can be traced back to Robert de Lambton, Lord of Lambton in 1314. 'There was, indeed, a John de Lambton, who lived between 1180 and 1200, but the family lineage cannot be proved beyond this Robert. The Lambtons were among the first families in the North to adopt the Reformed Religion and remained loyal during the Civil Wars of the seventeenth century.

See Surtees's Durham, vol. II, p. 174.

Coat of Arms.—Black background with a horizontal band between three upright silver lambs.

Present Representative, George Frederick D'Arcy Lambton, 2nd Earl of Durham.

"This is," says Morant, "one of the oldest knightly families that has survived to this day;" descended from Walter Tyrell, who owned the manor of Langham in this county back in the Domesday period; it's uncertain whether he was the one who shot William Rufus. In fact, while the ancient lineage of the Terells or Tyrells is widely accepted, the family tree seems to need the expertise of a skilled genealogist. There have been many branches of the Tyrells in this and other counties; the current branch is a junior offshoot of the original family, and Boreham is a very recent acquisition.

Elder branches are now extinct:—

Tyrell of Thornton, Buckinghamshire, Baronet 1627 to 1749. Tyrell of Springfield, Essex, Baronet 1666 to 1766.

See Morant's History of Essex, i. 208; Wotton's Baronetage, ii. 85, iii. 610.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background, with two blue chevrons inside a red wavy border

Present Representative, Sir John Tyssen Tyrell, 2nd Baronet, former M.P. for Essex.

An old family that has lived in many counties, originally from Waldegrave in Northamptonshire, later settled in Suffolk. By the end of the fifteenth century, they owned land in this county, and we also find them in Norfolk and Somerset. Naverstock was granted by Queen Mary in 1553, as the Waldegraves had suffered for their loyalty to the old faith during the Reformation. Leland mentions the family like this: "From what I could gather about young Walgreve of the Court, the oldest branch of the Walgreves comes from the town of Northampton or nearby, and there is still a landowner by that name in Northamptonshire."

See Leland's Itinerary, iv. fol. 19; Morant's Essex, i. 181; Brydges's Collins, iv. 232; and the Scrope and Grosvenor Roll, ii. p. 374, for an interesting biography of Sir Richard Waldegrave, who died in 1401 after being elected Speaker of the House of Commons in 1381.

Younger branch, Baron Radstock, of Ireland, 1800, descended from the younger brother of the fourth Earl Waldegrave.

Coat of Arms.—Divided in white and red. This coat was used by M. Richard Waldeg've, as indicated in the Roll from the reign of Richard II.

Present Representative, William Frederick Waldegrave, 9th Earl Waldegrave.

A younger branch of an ancient Norman knightly family settled for many years in Norton D'Isney, Lincolnshire, where the main line became extinct in 1722. The current family descends from the eldest son of Sir Henry Disney of Norton Disney's second marriage, who died in 1641. For detailed family pedigrees, see the College of Arms, Norfolk 1, p. 38, and Norfolk 7, p. 76; also, refer to Hutchins's Dorset, iv. p. 389, for the Disney family from Swinderby, Lincolnshire, and Corscomb, Dorset, as well as for the present family.

See also the Topographer and Genealogist, iii. 393; and Leland's Itinerary, i. p. 28, "Disney, also known as De Iseney. He lives in Diseney, and from his name and lineage, he is a gentleman in France."

Coat of Arms.—Silver, with a red band featuring three golden fleurs-de-lis. During the reign of Richard II, Monsieur William Dysney showed Silver, three red lions walking in a vertical line. (Roll.)

Present Representative, Edgar Disney, Esq.

The Gent family settled in Wymbish in this county in 1328. William Gent, who was alive in 1468, married Joan, the daughter and heir of William Moyne of Moyne or Moyns. His widow bought that manor in 1494, and it has remained the family's home since then. The family was significantly elevated by Sir Thomas Gent, the Judge, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth.

See Morant's History of Essex, vol. 2, p. 353.

Coat of Arms.—Ermine, with a black indented chief. Occasionally, a black chevron may be seen on the field. The Judge had two spread eagles on the chief, as indicated by his seal.

Present Representative, George Gent, Esq.

The family of Vincent descends from Miles Vincent, who owned land in Swinford, Leicestershire, during the reign of Edward II. In the early fifteenth century, the family moved to Bernack in Northamptonshire after marrying the heiress of Sir John Bernack from that area. They lived there until David Vincent, Esq., the seventh generation from that marriage, settled in Long-Ditton, Surrey, during the reign of Henry VIII. His son, Sir Thomas Vincent, married the heiress of Lyfield and moved to Stoke d'Abernon during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The property was sold shortly after 1809, and the family relocated to their current residence in this county.

See Wotton's Baronetage, vol. i. p. 418; and Manning and Bray's Surrey, vol. ii. p. 723.

Arms.—Blue, three urgent quatrefoils.

Present Representative, Sir Francis Vincent, 10th Baronet.

The leading family among the Norman aristocracy is the house of Berkeley, notable for being the only family in England that still lives in their ancient feudal castle in the male line. This prominent family is descended from Hardinge, who fought alongside William at the Battle of Hastings; his son, Robert Fitzhardinge, was granted the lordship and castle of Berkeley by Henry II in recognition of his loyalty to Empress Maude and her son. Maurice, his son and successor, married Alice, the daughter of Roger de Berkeley, the previous and dispossessed owner of Berkeley.

Younger branches. The Berkeleys of Cotheridge and Spetchley, both in Worcestershire, are both descendants of Thomas, the fourth son of James, the fifth Lord Berkeley, and Isabel, the daughter of Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. (Nash's Worcestershire, i. 258.)

For Berkeley of Stoke-Gifford in this county and of Bruton, Somerset (Lords Berkeley of Stratton), both extinct, see Blore's Rutlandshire, p. 210; for Berkeley of Wymondham, also extinct, see Nichols's Leicestershire, ii. pt. 1. p. 413; for Berkeley-Portman of Bryanston, Dorset, see Hutchins's Dorset, i. 154.

For Berkeley Genealogy, check Leland's Itinerary, vi. fo. 49, etc.; for Charters of the Berkeleys, with their seals copied from the originals at Berkeley Castle, see MSS. Reg. Coll. Oxon. cxlix., and, most importantly, Fosbroke's "Abstracts and Extracts of Smyth's Lives of the Berkeleys," which wonderfully illustrates the ancient customs of our historical landed families.

Arms.—Red, a chevron between ten silver crosses. The original arms were Red, a silver chevron, used by Moris de Barkele during Henry III's reign. The current coat was used by Sir Moris during the reigns of Edward II, Edward III, and Richard II. His son, while his father was still living, marked his arms with a blue label; Sir Thomas de Berkeley used "rosettes" instead of crosses; Sir John de Berkeley had Red, a silver chevron between three gold crosses. (Roll of Edw. II. &c.)

See for the differences in the Berkeley coat, Camden's Remains, ed. 1657, p. 226.

Present Representative, Thomas Morton Fitz-Hardinge Berkeley, 6th Earl of Berkeley.

Ansgerus, or Arthur, who owns land in Combe, in the parish of Wotton under Edge in this county, a gift from Empress Maude, is the head of this respected family. The manor of Kingscote, which was given by William I to Roger de Berkeley, was inherited from Aldeva, the daughter of Robert Fitz-Hardinge and the wife of Nigel de Kingscote, shortly after the reign of Henry II.

The Kingscotes were part of the victories at both Poictiers and Agincourt, and even though they've been a long-established family in this county, they never seemed to go beyond the modest scope of their current family estate.

See Atkyns's Gloucestershire, 2nd ed. 1768, p. 258; Rudder's Gloucestershire, p. 512; and Fosbroke's Smyth's Lives of the Berkeleys, p. 218.

Coat of Arms.—Silver, nine black scallops, on a red square a gold star with a hole in it.

Present Representative, Thomas Henry Kingscote, Esq.

This family can be traced back to Rawlin Try during the reign of Richard II. He married an heiress from Berkeley, with whom he acquired the manor of Alkington in Berkeley. His great-grandson served as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1447 and married an heiress from the Boteler family, which led to the manor of Hardwicke, sold to the Yorkes in the last century. Leckhampton was obtained from the Norwood family more recently.

See Atkyns's Gloucestershire, p. 238; and Rudder, p. 471, etc.

Limbs.—Gold, with a blue diagonal stripe. In the Roll of Arms of the Thirteenth Century, published by the Society of Antiquaries in 1864 [numbers 69 and 70], the following coats appear:

Present Representative, Rev. Charles Brandon Trye.

The written records of this old family are rather scarce, but original documents held by the current Mr. Estcourt show that his ancestors were lords of the manor from which the name comes, and that John Estcourt passed away owning it in the fourteenth year of Edward IV's reign. The estate has stayed in his descendants' hands since then.

Walter de la Estcourt is the first recorded ancestor. He owned land in Shipton in 1317 and died around 1325. See Atkyns's Gloucestershire, 2nd ed. p. 340; Rudder, p. 654 and Lee's History of the Parish of Tetbury, p. 196.

Coat of Arms.—Ermine, with a notched red chief featuring three gold estoiles, as displayed by William Estcourt, Warden of New College, Oxford, in 1426, as indicated by his silver seal owned by Mr. Estcourt.

Present Representative, The Right Hon. Thomas H. S. Sotheron-Estcourt, former M.P. for North Wilts.

Descended from Agnes, the daughter and heir of Richard de Legh, and her second husband William Venables, she is the common ancestor of the Leigh family from West-Hall in High-Leigh. (See p. 22.) They had a son who adopted the name Legh and settled at Booths in Cheshire. From this lineage came the Leighs of Adlington, and from them, the Leighs of Lyme, both in Cheshire and now both extinct. John Leigh, Escheator of Cheshire during the 12th year of Henry VI's reign, was a younger son of Sir Peter Leigh of Lyme and the ancestor of the Leighs of Ridge in the same county. Ridge was sold in the fourth year of George II, and the family (still believed to be existing) moved to Kent.

The current family is descended from Sir Thomas Leigh, Knight, who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1558, and was also the ancestor of the now-extinct house of Stoneleigh. Sir Thomas was the great-grandson of Sir Peter Leigh, Knight Banneret, who died at Agincourt.

Younger Branches. Leigh of Middleton in Yorkshire, and Egginton in Derbyshire. See also Townley of Townley.

Extinct Branches. Leigh of Rushall, in Staffordshire; see Shaw's Staffordshire, ii. 69; of Brownsover, Warwickshire, Baronet; of Baguly, Cheshire; of Annesley, Nottinghamshire; of Birch, Lancashire; of Stockwell, Surrey; and of Isall, Cumberland, &c.

So many branches of this large family exist that the saying "as many Leighs as fleas" has become a proverb in Cheshire.

See Ormerod's Cheshire, i. 350; iii. 333, 338, 374.

Coat of Arms.—Red with a notched cross, and a silver diamond shape in the top right corner.

Present Representative, William Henry Leigh, 2nd Baron Leigh.

Hugh de Bodenham, Lord of Bodenham in this county, was the grandfather of Roger, who lived during the reign of Henry III. He is the ancestor of this family, which later settled in Monington and Rotherwas around the middle of the fifteenth century.

See Blore's Rutlandshire for Bodenham of Ryhall, in that county, now extinct, (p. 49,) and Duncomb's Herefordshire, i. 91, 104.

Coat of Arms.—Blue background, with a horizontal band featuring three gold chess rooks.

Present Representative, Charles De la Barre Bodenham, Esq.

This is the only surviving branch of an ancient Norman family that used to be based in Upton and Norton near Warminster, in Wiltshire. Walter de Scudamore was the lord of the former manor during the reign of Stephen. In the time of Edward III, Thomas, the younger son of Sir Peter Scudamore from Upton-Scudamore, married the heiress of Ewias and moved to Herefordshire. He became the ancestor of the family that was long established at Holme-Lacy, which was made Viscounts Scudamore in 1628 and became extinct in 1716. From him also descended the house of Kentchurch, which is said to have been established there during the reign of Edward IV.

See Gibson's Views of the Churches of Door, Holme-Lacy, and Hemsted, &c. 4to. 1727; and Guillim's Heraldry, ed. 1724, p. 549.

Coat of Arms.—Red, with three leather-covered and buckled gold stirrups. Ancient coat, Gold, featuring a red cross with a pointed end.

Present Representative, John Lucy Scudamore, Esq.

Luttley is in the parish of Enfield, in Staffordshire, and Philip de Luttley was the lord there in the 20th year of Edward I's reign. He was the ancestor of a family whose direct line ended with an heiress during the reign of Henry VI. However, Adam de Luttley, the younger brother of Philip mentioned above, was the grandfather of Sir William Luttley, Knight, of Munslow Hall, Shropshire, whose direct descendant, John Luttley, Esq., lived at Bromcroft Castle in the same county in 1623. Philip Luttley, Esq. of Lawton Hall, Shropshire, the great-grandson of the last John named, married Penelope, the only daughter of Richard Barneby, Esq. of Brockhampton. Their son, Bartholomew, inherited the Barneby estates and took on that name; he was the grandfather of the late John Barneby, Esq., Member of Parliament for Worcestershire.

From the manuscripts of Mr. Joseph Morris of Shrewsbury.

Coat of Arms.—Quarterly, gold and blue, featuring four lions standing on their hind legs, alternating in color.

Present Representative, John Habington Barneby, Esq.

The name comes from Berington, in the hundred of Condover, and county of Shropshire, where Thomas and Roger de Berington lived during the reigns of Edward I and II. Another Thomas, living in the time of Edward III, married Alice, the daughter of Sir John Draycot, Knight, and was the ancestor of John Berington from Stoke-Lacy in this county, who, around the time of Henry VII, married Eleanor, the daughter and heir of Rowland Winsley, Esq. The current Mr. Berington is the tenth in descent from this marriage.

From Roger de Berington, brother of Thomas, the Beringtons of Shrewsbury and Moat Hall, co. Salop, traced their lineage. Thomas Berington, of Moat Hall, Esq., who passed away in 1719, married Anne, the daughter of John Berington, of Winsley, Esq.; and the last male heir of their line, Philip Berington, Esq., died without children in 1803, leaving his Shropshire estates to his relative, Mr. Berington, of Winsley.

From the manuscripts of Mr. Joseph Morris from Shrewsbury, and Eyton's Shropshire, vi. p. 42.

Coat of Arms.—Black background, featuring three greyhounds running in a vertical line, silver-colored, with red collars, enclosed by a red border.

Present Representative, John Berington, Esq.

A family of Norman descent, believed to have arrived in England with William the Conqueror, established themselves at Sempringham in Lincolnshire through the king’s grant. In 1249, Thomas Jocelyn, son of John, married Maud, daughter and co-heir of Sir John Hyde of Hyde, and brought that manor and lordship into the family, which has owned it ever since. The peerage was first given to Robert Jocelyn, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland in 1739, who was made Baron Newport in 1743. His son, the first Earl, married the heiress of the Hamiltons, Earls of Clanbrassil, in 1752.

See "Historical Anecdotes of the Families of the Boleyns, Careys, Mordaunts, Hamiltons, and Jocelyns, arranged as a Clarification of the Genealogical Chart at Tollymore Park," Newry, 1839, privately printed. Also, check Archdall's Lodge's Peerage of Ireland, iii. 258, and Chauncy's Hertfordshire, 1st ed. p. 182.

Coat of Arms.—Blue, featuring a circular wreath in silver and black, with four hawk's bells arranged in a square pattern of gold.

Present Representative, Robert Jocelyn, third Earl of Roden, K.P.

This is a very old Shropshire family, descended from Sir Adam Wolryche, Knight, of Wenlock, who lived during the reign of Henry III. Before being knighted, he was listed as a member of the Guild Merchants of the town of Shrewsbury in 1231 under the old Saxon name "Adam Wulfric." His descendant Andrew Wolryche was the Member of Parliament for Bridgnorth in 1435, at that time residing in Dudmaston, where the older branch of this family was established for a significant period and was created Baronet in 1641, becoming extinct in 1723. The current family descends from Edward, the third son of Humphry Wolryche, Esq., who was a grandson of Andrew Wolryche. Humphry is noted as one of the "Gentlemen" of Shropshire in the seventeenth year of Henry VII, 1501. There were branches of the family, now extinct, at Cowling and Wickhambroke in Suffolk, and Alconbury in Huntingdonshire.

From the manuscripts of Mr. Joseph Morris, of Shrewsbury.

Coat of Arms.—Blue background with a chevron and three white swans.

Present Representative, Humphry William Wolryche, Esq.

The family lineage doesn't seem to be confirmed beyond William Sherard, who passed away in 1304. However, it's said that his ancestors were from Thornton in Cheshire during the thirteenth century. In 1402, the family settled in Stapleford, Leicestershire, through a marriage with the heiress of Hawberk.

On the death of Robert Sherard, sixth Earl of Harborough, in 1859, the representation of the family passed to the current lord, who is a descendant of George, the third son of the first Baron.

See Nichols's Leicestershire, vol. ii. pt. i. 343; and Brydges's Collins, iv. 180,

An extinct younger branch was of Lopthorne, in the county of Leicester.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background, with a red chevron between three red circles.

Present Representative, Philip Castell Sherard, 9th Baron Sherard.

The Dering family descends from Norman de Morinis, whose ancestor, Vitalis FitzOsbert, lived during the reign of Henry II. Norman de Morinis married the daughter of Deringus, who was a descendant of Norman Fitz-Dering, the Sheriff of this county in King Stephen's reign. Richard Dering passed away in possession of Surenden, acquired from the heiress of Haute, in 1480. The loyalty of Sir Edward Dering during the Civil Wars in the time of Charles I is noteworthy: see his character in Peck's Desiderata Curiosa, II. B. 14, 19, 20, and the intriguing memoir about him by John Bruce, Esq. F.S.A. in "Proceedings in the County of Kent," published for the Camden Society in 1861.

For information about the old seats of this family in the parish of Lidd, known as Dengemarsh Place and Westbrooke, check out Hasted's History of Kent, iii. 515, and for details about the family, see iii. 228; also refer to Wotton's Baronetage, ii. 13,

Coat of Arms.—Silver with a blue horizontal stripe and three red roundels above, used by "Richard, son of Dering of Haut," in the 19th year of Henry IV, as shown by his seal. The same coat appears on the roof of the cloisters at Canterbury Cathedral. The son of this Sir Richard Dering displayed Gold with a black saltire, the ancient arms of De Morinis, which is now commonly combined with Dering. See Willement's Heraldic Notices of Canterbury Cathedral, pp. 90, 106.

Present Representative, Sir Edward C. Dering, 8th Baronet, M.P. for East Kent.

"In terms of age and past feudal power, probably the most notable house in the peerage," says Brydges. They descended from Gospatric, the Saxon Earl of Northumberland, whose great-grandson married the heiress of Neville, passing that name to his descendants. For many years, the Nevilles were Barons of Raby and Earls of Westmorland. The last Earl was stripped of his title in the 13th year of Elizabeth's reign. A younger branch of the Nevilles, represented by Sir Edward Neville, acquired the castle and barony of Abergavenny, along with the estate of Birling, by marrying the heiress of Beauchamp during the reign of Henry VI.; the current family is descended from this union, having been Barons of Abergavenny before the Earldom was created. Birling was long abandoned by the family, whose main residence later became Sheffield and Eridge, in Sussex; but it is now the home of Lord Abergavenny.

See Hasted, vol. 2, page 200; Brydges's Collins, vol. 5, page 151; and Surtees's Durham, vol. 4, page 158, for family trees of the Nevilles, Earls of Westmorland, and the Nevilles of Weardale and Thornton-Bridge. Also, check out Rowland's "Account of the Noble Family of Neville," privately published in 1830, folio; Surtees's "Sketch of the Stock of Nevill," 8vo, 1843.

Coat of Arms.—Red, with a silver diagonal cross, over which is a rose of the same color, naturally grown.

This coat, without the rose, was worn by Robert de Neville during the reign of Henry III. In the reign of Edward III, M. de Neville de Hornby displayed the coat in reverse, Argent, a saltier gules. M. Alexander de Neville, around the same time, added a difference of a martlet sable. M. William Neville and N. Thomas Neville used respective differences of a fleur-de-lis azure and a martlet gules during the reign of Richard II. (Rolls.) The rose refers to the House of Lancaster, as Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmerland, married his second wife Joan, the daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. The earlier coat was Or, fretty gules, on a canton sable an ancient ship.

Present Representative, the Rev. William Neville, 4th Earl of Abergavenny.

The name comes from Henewood, near Postling, in this county, where this family's ancestors lived as early as the reign of Henry III. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the Honywoods moved to Hythe, which they frequently represented in Parliament, and later to Sene, in Newington, near Hythe. Caseborne, in Cheriton, came from an heiress of that name before the time of Henry VI.; Evington was acquired by purchase during the reign of Henry VII.

Younger branches came from Marks Hall in Essex and Petts in Charing, in this county. From the former family was Robert Honywood, whose wife Mary, daughter of Robert Atwaters or Waters, lived to see 367 descendants. She died in 1620 at the age of 93.

See Topographer and Genealogist, i. 397, 568; ii. 169, 189, 256, 312, 433; Hasted's Kent, ii. 442, 449; iii. 308; Wotton's Baronetage, iii. 105.

Coat of Arms.—Silver, with a chevron between three blue hawk's heads severed at the neck. These arms date back to the time of Richard II and are engraved on the cloisters of Canterbury Cathedral. See Willement, p. 101.

Present Representative, Sir Courtenay John Honywood, 7th Baronet.

Twysden, in the Goudhurst area, seems to have given its name to this family. Adam de Twysden owned it during the reign of Edward I. Later, in the time of Henry IV, his descendant Roger Twysden married the daughter and heir of Thomas Chelmington from Chelmington in Great Chart, and their son Roger moved there. Twysden was sold during the reign of Henry VI. In Elizabeth's reign, William Twysden from Chelmington married Elizabeth, the daughter of Thomas Roydon from Roydon-Hall, which has since been the home of his descendants. There's another Twysden in the parish of Sandhurst in this county, where the family is also said to have lived during Edward I's time.

A younger branch of Bradbourne in this county, which was also made up of Baronets, went extinct in 1841.

See Hasted's Kent, ii. 213, 275; iii. 37, 244; Philpot's Kent, p. 300; Wotton's Baronetage, i. 211.

Coat of Arms.—Divided into four sections, silver and red, with a diagonal cross and four small crosses, all with swapped colors.

Present Representative, Sir William Twysden, 8th Baronet.

This family claims descent from Robert de Toke, who was present with Henry III at the Battle of Northampton. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the Tokes lived in Bere, in the parish of Westcliffe, in this county; this line became extinct towards the end of the seventeenth century.

The Tokes of Godington are a junior branch that comes from the heiress of Goldwell, from Godington, around the time of Henry VI's reign.

See Hasted's Kent, iii. 247; Visitations of Kent, 1574 and 1619; and Harleian MSS. 1195. 55, 1196. 108.

Arms.—Divided diagonally black and silver, displaying three gryphon heads severed and switched in color. John Toke, of Godington, was awarded an additional coat of arms by Henry VII as a reward for his mission to the French King: specifically, Silver, with a diagonal band between three black greyhound heads cut off with gold collars, accompanied by three silver discs.

Present Representative, the Rev. Nicholas Toke.

William Roper, or Rosper, who lived during the reign of Henry III, is the first recorded ancestor; his descendants were from St. Dunstan's, near Canterbury, in the reigns of Edward III and Richard II. Edmund Roper was one of the Justices of the Peace for this county during the time of Henry IV and V.

The older branch of this family lived at West-Hall in Eltham and also at St. Dunstan's, but it died out in 1725. The younger and current branch at Linstead, which descended from the heiress of Fineux during the reign of Henry VIII, was granted a peerage by King James I to Sir John Roper in 1616.

For the origin of the family, see Dugdale's Warwickshire, 2nd ed. p. 316; Hasted's Kent, i. 55; ii. 687; iii. 589; and Brydges's Collins, vii. 77.

Coat of Arms.—Divided horizontally, with blue on the top and gold on the bottom, a vertical stripe that alternates colors, displaying three deer heads severed at the neck in gold.

Present Representative, George Henry Roper Curzon, 16th Baron Teynham.

Hasted doesn't provide a detailed family background for this family before Richard Knatchbull bought the manor and estate of Hatch during the reign of Henry VII. However, it seems that the first documented ancestor, John Knatchbull, owned land in the parish of Limne in this county during the reign of Edward III. Some members of the family were still there during the time of Charles I. There are family trees in the Visitations of Kent from 1574 and 1619.

See Philpot's Kent, p.199; Hasted's Kent, iii. 286; and Wotton's Baronetage, ii. 228.

Arms.—Blue background with three gold cross-crosslets that have pointed ends arranged diagonally, outlined in gold.

Present Representative, Sir Norton Joseph Knatchbull, 10th Baronet.

The Filmers were historically established at the manor of Herst, in the parish of Otterden, in this county, during the reign of Edward II, and stayed there until the time of Elizabeth. At that point, Robert Filmer, son of James, moved to Little Charleton in East Sutton; the manor was bought by his older son. There are family trees of the Filmer family in the Kentish Visitations of 1574 and 1619. The Baronetcy was granted by Charles II as a reward for the loyal efforts of Sir Robert Filmer during the Usurpation.

See Hasted's Kent, ii. 410; Wotton's Baronetage, iii. 581. Limbs.—Black with three horizontal stripes, and at the top three gold cinquefoils.

Present Representative, Sir Edmund Filmer, 9th Baronet, former M.P. for West Kent.

Solomon Oxenden, who lived during the reign of Edward III, is the first known ancestor. Dene, located in the parish of Wingham, was bought towards the end of Henry VI's reign. The family had previously lived at Brook, in the same parish. Thomas Oxenden died owning Dene in 1492. There is a family tree in the Visitation of Kent from 1619.

See Hasted's Kent, iii. 696; Wotton's Baronetage, iii. 638.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background with a red chevron between three black oxen. Confirmed in the 24th year of Henry VI.

Present Representative, Sir Henry Chudleigh Oxenden, 8th Baronet.

"The name of the Finches," writes Leland, "has been held in high regard in Sussex around Winchelsea since ancient times, and likely originated from some notable merchant of Winchelsea." The name is believed to come from the manor of Finches in the parish of Kidd.

Vincent Herbert, also known as Finch, married Joan, the daughter and heir of Robert de Pitlesden from Tenderden. His son lived in Netherfield, Sussex, during the reigns of Richard II and Henry IV and was the ancestor of this family, who settled at the Moat near Canterbury through marriage with the heiress of Belknap before 1493. Eastwell was acquired via the coheiress of Moyle around the time of Elizabeth's reign.

The heiress of Heneage, who married Sir Moyle Finch, became the Countess of Winchilsea in 1628. The Earldom of Nottingham was established by law and was granted in 1681 to Heneage, the grandson of the first Countess.

Younger Branch. Earl of Aylesford 1714.

From John, the second son of the second Vincent Finch of Netherfield, came the Finches of Sewards, Norton, Kingsdown, Feversham, Wye, and other areas in this county.

See Leland's Itinerary, vi. fol. 59; Basted's Kent. iii. 198; and Brydges's Collins, iii. 371.

Arms.—Silver, with a chevron between three black gryphons.

Present Representative, George James Finch Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea, and 7th Earl of Nottingham.

Gamel de Pennington, the ancestor of this old family, was living at Pennington during the time of the Conquest. However, as early as the reign of Henry II, Muncaster in Cumberland was owned by the Penningtons and later became their home; it was here that King Henry VI was hidden by Sir John Pennington while escaping from his enemies. There’s a tale that when leaving Muncaster, the king gave his host a small glass vessel, which the family still has today, known as "The Luck of Muncaster;" a significant amount of superstition was associated with its preservation.

See Baines's History of the County of Lancaster, iv. 669; Lysons's Cumberland, 139; Wotton's Baronetage, iii. 602.

Coat of Arms.—Gold background with five blue fusils arranged in a horizontal line.

Present Representative, Josslyn Francis Pennington, 5th Baron Muncaster.

An old Norman family has owned the manor of Sefton in this county since the time of the Conquest, or shortly afterward. It was held as a knight's fee, as part of the Castle of Lancaster.

William de Molines is the first documented ancestor, and from him the family lineage is clearly traced to the present day. This truly noble family has achieved significant recognition in battles, as seen at Agincourt and Flodden. The honor of carrying the banner has been awarded to a Molyneux three times. The second time was in Spain in 1367, directly from the Black Prince himself. In the seventeenth century, the family demonstrated their loyalty to the crown and faced the consequences.

Sir Archdall's Lodge's Peerage of Ireland, iii. 239; Brydges's Biographical Peerage, iv. 93; and Baines's Lancashire, iv. 276.

Younger Branch. Molyneux, of Castle Dillon, County Armagh, Baronet 1730, descended from Thomas Molyneux, born in Calais in 1531. For more information, see "An Account of the Family and Descendants of Sir Thomas Molyneux, Knight, Chancellor of the Exchequer in Ireland to Queen Elizabeth." Evesham, sm. 4to. 1820.

For Molyneux of Teversal, Nottinghamshire, Baronet 1611, extinct 1812, descended from the second son of Sir Richard Molyneux, the hero of Agincourt, see Thoroton's Nottinghamshire, p. 269; and Wotton's Baronetage, i. 141.

Coat of Arms.—Blue, featuring a gold cross with split ends. The Irish branch shows a gold fleur-de-lis in the right quarter.

Present Representative, William Philip Molyneux, 4th Earl of Sefton.

Hocton, or Hoghton, seems to have been given in marriage by Warin Bussel to a man named Hamon, referred to as "Pincerna," whose grandson was the first "Adam de Hocton," who owned one carucate of land in Hocton during the reign of Henry II. His grandson, Sir Adam de Hoghton, lived during the 50th year of Henry III., and was the ancestor of this family.

See Baines's Lancashire, iii. 348 and 459, for an interesting account of Hoghton Tower, which has been long abandoned by the family; and Wotton's Baronetage, i. 15.

Coat of Arms.—Black, with three silver bars: used during Richard II's reign. by Mr. Ric. de Hoghton. His son (?) Richard, the same, with a red label of three points. (Rolls.)

Present Representative, Sir Henry Hoghton, 9th Baronet.

Clifton is in the parish of Kirkham, where William de Clifton owned ten carucates of land in the 42nd year of Henry III, and served as Collector of Aids for this county. His son Gilbert, Lord of Clifton, passed away in the seventeenth year of Edward II. After Cuthbert Clifton died in 1512, the manor was briefly transferred away from the male line through an heiress; however, through a marriage with the coheiress of Halsall before 1657, it returned to the principal branch of this ancient family, which was originally a junior line descended from the Cliftons of Westby.

See Baines's Lancashire, vol. 4, p. 404.

Coat of Arms.—Black, with a silver diagonal stripe and three red stars: used during the reigns of Edward III and Richard II by Mr. Robert de Clyfton. (Rolls.)

Present Representative, John Talbot Clifton, Esq.

Trafford is in the parish of Eccles, and it's believed that the ancestors of this family were established here even before the Norman Conquest. The family tree presented in Baines's Lancashire claims to be based on documents held by the family, but some of it is definitely inaccurate and shouldn't be relied upon. Ralph de Trafford, who is said to have died around 1050, is the first recorded ancestor, but this is before surnames became common, which, as Camden notes, first appear in the Domesday Survey. Overall, it seems that the family's age is somewhat exaggerated, although the name likely originates from this area at an early time.

See Baines's Lancashire, vol. 3, p. 110.

Arms.—Silver, a red gryphon standing upright. For the supposed origin of the Trafford Crest, "a man thrashing," see "Hearne's Curious Discourses," i. 262, edited in 1771. This was granted around the mid-16th century.

Present Representative, Sir Humphry Trafford, 2nd Baronet.

In the year 1275, during the reign of Edward I, Sir William Heskayte, Knight, married the coheiress of Fytton and acquired Rufford, which has since been passed down through this ancient family.

Younger branch. Hesketh of Gwyrch Castle, Denbighshire, is descended from the Heskeths of Rossel, Lancashire, who formed a younger branch of the Rufford family.

See Baines's Lancashire, vol. iii, p. 426.

Coat of Arms.—Silver, with a black diagonal stripe featuring three golden wheatsheaves, the traditional coat of Fytton. Hesketh of Gwyrch Castle has, Gold, with a black diagonal stripe between two red circles and three wheatsheaves of the same color.

Present Representative, Sir Thomas George Hesketh, 5th Baronet.

"This isn't one of those long lines that are only remembered for being old," says Whitaker in his account of several notable members of this distinguished family, which descends from John del Legh, who died around the 4th year of Edward III, and the great heiress Cecilia, daughter of Richard de Townley, whose family has Saxon roots and can be traced back to the reign of Alfred. There’s an unbroken series of portraits preserved at Townley, which Whitaker describes beautifully, ranging from John Townley, Esq. in the reign of Elizabeth to the present day.

See Leland's Itinerary, i. 96 and v. 102; Whitaker's Whalley, 271, 341, 484; and for the extinct branches of Hurstwood Hall, [1562-1794,] p. 384; and of Barnside [Edw. IV.—1739,] p. 395.

For the background of the Legh (actually Venables) family from Cheshire, refer to Leigh of Adlestrop, p. 92.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background with a band and three black stars above it.

Present Representative, Charles Townley, Esq.

This family traces its roots to the same ancestor as the now-extinct house of the Windsors, Earls of Plymouth. The Carews, both from England and Ireland, also claim descent from the same ancestors, according to Camden. This lineage goes back to the time of the Conquest, with Otherus or Otho being the first recorded ancestor. The Lancashire branch didn't settle there until the reign of Edward III, when they acquired Bryn through marriage with the heiress of that name and place. The Gerards of Ince gave rise to the extinct Lords Gerard of Gerard's-Bromley, and Sir William Gerard, who served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland and died in 1581.

See Baines's Lancashire, iii. 641; and Wotton's Baronetage, i. 51.

Arms.—Silver, a red saltire.

Present Representative, Sir Robert Tolver Gerard, 13th Baronet.

Although Sir Rowland Stanley Errington, brother of Sir William Massey Stanley, formerly of Hooton in Cheshire, is technically the head of this prestigious family, since that estate has been sold and his family no longer has ties to Cheshire, the Earl of Derby should be regarded as the chief since he is genuinely the principal branch of the Stanley family.

As few families have played a more significant role in history, so few can trace such a satisfying lineage. Descended from a younger branch of the Barons Audeley, from Audeley in Staffordshire, the name Stanley was adopted by William de Audleigh, who took it from the manor of that name in the county during the reign of John. Sir John Stanley, K.G., Lord Deputy of Ireland, married the heiress of Lathom in 1381, acquiring Knowesley as a result. It was this Sir John who also secured a grant for the Isle of Man, which later passed to the Murrays, Dukes of Athol, until 1765. The main branch of this family became extinct with the death of James, the tenth Earl, in 1736; the earldom then went to Sir Edward Stanley of Bickerstaff, Baronet, who was descended from Sir James Stanley, the brother of Thomas, the second Earl of Derby.

For Stanley of Hooton, see Ormerod's Cheshire, ii. 230. The well-known, or rather notorious, Sir William Stanley was part of this lineage.

Younger Branches. Stanley of Cross-Hall, a descendant of Peter, the second son of Sir Thomas Stanley, 2nd Baronet, who died in 1653; and the family of the late Rev. James Stanley of Ormskirk, descended from Henry, the second son of Sir Edward Stanley 1st Bart., who died in 1640.

Stanley of Alderley, Cheshire, Baron Stanley of Alderley 1839, descended from Sir John Stanley and the heiress of Wever of Alderley. See Ormerod, iii. 306.

Stanley of Dalegarth, Cumberland, is a descendant of John, the second son of John Stanley, Esq., who was the younger brother of Sir William Stanley, and the heiress of Bamville.

See Brydges's Collins, iii. 50; Seacome's House of Stanley, 4to. 1741; for Stanley Legend, &c. Coll. Topog. et Genealog. vii. 1.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background with a diagonal blue stripe featuring three deer heads facing forward with gold antlers, adopted upon marrying the heiress of Bamville, in place of the Audeley coat of arms.*

Present Representative, Edward Geoffrey Smith Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, K.G.

This is the only remaining branch of the old Lancashire family of Assheton, originally based in Assheton-under-Lyne, and from whom the Asshetons of Middleton and Great Lever, both Baronets, descended from the elder lines. The current family descends from Radcliffe Assheton, the second son of Ralph Assheton of Great Lever, born in 1582.

Downham seems to have become part of the family in the seventeenth century.

See Whitaker's Whalley, pp. 299 and 300, for the interesting journal of Nicholas Assheton from Downham, Esq. 1617-18, which has been fully published as vol. xiv. in the series of the Chetham Society, 1848. For Assheton of Ashton-under-Lyne, refer to Baines's Lancashire, ii. 532, and Collectanea Topog. et Genealog. vii. 12; for Ashton of Lever and Whalley, see Baines, iii. 190.

Arms.—Silver, a black pierced star.

Present Representative, Ralph Assheton.

This is a younger branch of the well-known Lancashire family of this name, who trace their ancestry back to Richard of Radclyffe Tower, near Bury, during the reign of Edward I. Ordshall, also in this county, was for many years the home of the ancestors of the current family, who are descendants of Robert, the sixth and youngest son of Sir Alexander Radclyffe of Ordshall, born in 1650. Foxdenton, which belonged to one branch of the Radclyffes as early as the fifteenth century, was passed down to the current family early in the last century. The now-extinct house of the Radclyffes, Barons Fitzwalter and Earls of Sussex since 1529, descended from William, the elder brother of the first Sir John Radclyffe of Ordshall. The Radclyffes of Dilston, Baronet 1619, and Earls of Derwentwater since 1687, possibly also share the same origin, though this has not been confirmed.

See Burke's Landed Gentry, 2nd ed. vol. ii. p. 1091, and Ellis's Family of Radclyffe, for the House of Dilston (1850).

Coat of Arms.—Silver with two wavy black stripes and a red label with three points. A simpler version, Silver with a wavy black stripe, was used by the Earls of Sussex and the Earls of Derwentwater.

Present Rep, Robert Radclyffe, Esq.

Hulton is in the parish of Dean and gave its name to Bleythen, known as de Hulton, during the reign of Henry II. This ancient family, which still resides at their original manor, is linearly descended from him.

See Baines's Lancashire, iii. p. 40.

Arms.—Silver, a red lion rampant.

Present Rep, William Hulton, Esq.

Descended from Robert Eccleston of Eccleston, who lived during the reign of Henry III, an estate that remained in the family until the last generation, when it was sold, along with the name of Scarisbrick, which was acquired through marriage around the same time.

See Baines, iii. 480; and for Scarisbrick, iv. 258.

In Flower's visit to this county in 1567, there's a family tree of Eccleston.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background with a black cross; in the top left quarter, there is a red fleur-de-lis.

Current Representative, Charles Scarisbrick, Esq.

There’s a solid family history about this in Ormerod's History of Cheshire, (ii. p. 204), under Chorlton, a property the family bought in 1811. The first known ancestor is Matthew de Hormerodes, who lived around 1270. The older branch of his descendants, named after Ormerod in Whalley, went extinct in 1793. The current family traces their lineage back to George Ormerod, the fourth son of Peter Ormerod from Ormerod, who passed away in 1653.

See also Whitaker's Whalley, p. 364.

Coat of Arms.—Gold background, with three horizontal bars, and a red lion walking at the top.

Present Rep, George Ormerod, Esq.

The family tree starts with Geoffry Starky from Barthington (Barnton) in Cheshire, believed to be the same as Geoffry, son of Richard Starkie from Stretton, in the same county, a long-established family traced back nearly to the Conquest. William Starkie was in Barnton during the seventh year of Edward IV. Huntroyd was obtained through marriage in 1464, when he married the heiress of Symondstone.

See Whitaker's Whalley, 266, 529; also Ormerod's Cheshire, i. 474; and Baines, iii. 309.

Younger branches. Starkie of Twiston, and Starkie of Thornton, Yorkshire.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background, featuring a diagonal stripe with six black storks.

Present Representative, Le Gendre Starkie, Esq.

A younger branch of the Chadwick family, which is now extinct, can be traced back to the reign of Edward III.

Healey came from the coheiress of Okeden in 1483. Mavesyn Ridware, in Staffordshire, also belongs to this family, inherited from an heiress of the Cawardens, and ultimately from the Malvesyns, who came with the Conqueror.

Younger branch. Chadwick of Swinton, in this county, comes from the heiress of Strettell: they bear their arms differentiated by a border engrailed or, charged with cross crosslets.

See Shaw's Staffordshire, vol. 1, p. 166, for an interesting account of the Malvesyns, Cawardens, and Chadwicks of Mavesyn Ridware; also check out Whitaker's Whalley, p. 459.

Coat of Arms.—Red, a shield with a border of silver martlets.

Present Representative, John de Heley Mavesyn Chadwick, Esq.

Richard Patten, who seems to have thrived before Henry III's reign, gained ownership of the Court of Dagenham in Essex through his marriage to a coheiress. He was the distant ancestor of this family. John Patten of Dagenham Court, who lived in 1376, moved to Waynflete in Lincolnshire; he was the great-grandfather of the well-known William Patten, also known as Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester. The present family descends from William's brother, Richard Patten, of Boslow in Derbyshire. His son lived in Warrington in this county in 1536.

See the family tree by Bigland and Heard created in 1770, and printed in Bloxam's Memorial of Bishop Waynflete for the Caxton Society in 1851.

Arms.—Diamond-shaped patterns in white and black, featuring a red square in the corner.

Present Representative, John Wilson Patten, Esq. M.P. for North Lancashire.

"One of the oldest families in the entire county," wrote Burton in 1622; they descended from Ralph Turvile, a supporter of the abbey of Leicester in 1297. The main residence was at Normanton Turvile, in this county, where the older branch of the family went extinct in 1776. Aston Flamvile, also in Leicestershire, was the home of the immediate ancestors of this younger branch. It was sold in the early eighteenth century, and Husband's Bosworth inherited it through the will of Maria-Alathea Fortescue in 1763.

See Nichols's Leicestershire, under Normanton Turvile, iv. pt. 2. 1004; under Aston Flamvile, ii. pt. 2. 465; under Husband's Bosworth, iv. pt. 2. 451

Coat of Arms.—Red with three small fur chevrons. This coat was worn by Sir Richard Turvile of Warwickshire during the reign of Edward II, while Sir Nicholas Turvil displayed a similar coat at the same time, but with only two chevrons instead. (Rolls of the date.)

Present Representative, Francis Charles Turvile, Esq.

This old family was definitely established in Quorndon two generations before the reign of Edward I. During the time of Henry VI, Thomas, the second son of John Farnham and Margaret Billington, who was living in 1393, founded a younger branch known as "The Nether-Hall." He is the ancestor of the current family, which also has ties to the older branch called "of Quorndon," through the marriage of the coheiress in 1703 to Benjamin Farnham of the Nether-Hall.

See Nichols's History of Leicestershire, vol. iii. pt. i. p. 103.

Coat of Arms.—Divided into four sections, blue and white, featuring a crescent shape in the first and second sections.

Sir Robert de Farnham, from Stafford County, had the following coat of arms during the reign of Edward II: Quarterly silver and blue, four crescents alternating in color. (Roll.)

Present Representative, Edward Basil Farnham, Esq. former M.P. for North Leicestershire.

Lewis de Brienne, who passed away in 1283, was married to Agnes, Viscountess de Beaumont, who died in 1300. Their children took on the Beaumont name, and this is believed to be the origin of this noble family. Coleorton came from the heiress of Maureward in the fifteenth century, but Grace-dieu, also in this county, was the earlier residence. The representative of the older line of the family was made Viscount Beaumont in Ireland in 1622, which became extinct in 1702. At that time, Coleorton went to the ancestors of the current Baronet, who is a descendant of the third son of Nicholas Beaumont of Coleorton, who died in 1585.

See Nicholas Leicestershire, iii. pt. 2. 743; Wotton's Baronetage, iii. 230; Erdeswick's Staffordshire, ed. 1844, 396; and Hornby's Tract on Dugdale's Baronage.

Coat of Arms.—Blue, dotted with lilies and a golden lion standing on one hind leg. Sir Henry de Beaumont showed this coat with a silver and red striped baton during the reign of Edward II; under Richard II, Mr. de Beaumont omitted the baton (Rolls of the dates.)

Present Representative, Sir George Howland Beaumont, ninth Baronet.

Dugdale starts the family tree of this significant historical family with Henry de Grey, to whom King Richard the First granted the manor of Turroc or Thurrock in Essex in the sixth year of his reign. His son Richard was associated with Codnoure or Codnor in Derbyshire, which he inherited from his mother, a coheiress of Bardolf. Groby and Bradgate came from the heiress of Ferrers during the reign of Henry VI. Regarding the latter, Leland writes, "This park was part of the old Earl of Leicester's lands, which later came to the Lord Ferrers of Groby through general heirs, and then to the Greyes."

Extinct branches of this illustrious family include the Greys of Codnor, Wilton, Rotherfield, Ruthyn, and the Dukes of Kent and Suffolk.

See Dugdale's Baronage, i. 709; Nichols's Leicestershire, iii. pt. 2. 682; Brydges's Collins, iii. 340.

Coat of Arms.—Six vertical stripes in silver and blue. Richard de Grey used this coat during the reign of Henry III. John de Grey added a red label to it. During Edward II's reign, different family members showcased the same arms, incorporating a red diagonal stripe, a red label, a red label with gold discs, a red baton, and three red roundels at the top, with the last being used by the Dukes of Suffolk.

Present Representative, George Harry Grey, seventh Earl of Stamford and Warrington.

The Babingtons originated from Babington in Northumberland during the reign of King John. They later moved to Nottinghamshire and became notable figures. The main line was established at Dethick in Ashover, Derbyshire, through marriage with the coheiress of that ancient family, before 1431. The Rothley branch, which came from a second son of the Dethick family, was settled there at the start of the sixteenth century and is now the principal line of the family after the Babingtons of Dethick died out around 1650.

See Nichols's Leicestershire, iii. pt. 2. 955; and Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica, ii. 94, and viii. 313, for a highly valuable article on the older branch of this family. Also, check out Topographer and Genealogist, i. 133, 259, 333, for the different branches of this ancient family.

Arms.—Silver, ten red circles and a blue banner with three points. This coat, reversed and without the banner, was worn by Sir John de Babington during the reign of Edward II. (Roll of the date.)

Present Representative, Thomas Gisborne Babington, Esq.

Originally from Northumberland, where Simon de Hasilrig lived during Edward I's reign. In the early 15th century, Thomas Hasilrig of Fawdon, in that county, married Isabel Heron, the heiress of Noseley, and the family moved to Leicestershire. Leland mentions the head of the family during his time: "Hasilrig of Northamptonshire [a mistake for Leicestershire] has about 50li land in Northumberland, at Esselington, where there is a notable house of the Hasilrigs; and one of the Coilingwoods now lives there and oversees his lands."

See Leland's Itin., i. fol. 15. v. fol. 101; Wotton's Baronetage, i. 520; Nichols's Leicestershire, ii. pt. 2. 756; and the Scrope and Grosvenor Roll, vol. ii. p. 325.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background, with a chevron between three green hazel leaves.

Present Representative, Sir Arthur Grey Hazlerigg, 12th Baronet.

The Wollastons were lords of the manor of Wollaston in the Old Swinford parish and Staffordshire county (which they sold to the Aston family during the reign of Richard II) at a very early period. They later settled at Trescot and Perton in the Tettenhall parish in the same county. The family tree in Nichols's Leicestershire starts with Thomas Wollaston of Perton, "a notable figure during the reigns of Henry VII and VIII." In 1709, William Wollaston, Esq., the renowned author of "The Religion of Nature," put together an account of this family, which is published in the History of Leicestershire. He was the direct ancestor of the current family, who have also been based at Oncott in Staffordshire and Finborough Hall in Suffolk. Shenton was acquired early in the reign of James I.

See Nichols's Leicestershire, vol. 4, part 2, page 541.

Arms.—Silver, three black starbursts.

Present Representative, Frederick William Wollaston, Esq.

Welby, near Grantham in this county, is believed to have given its name to this "ancient house, bearing arms," and here Sir William Welby, who is clearly documented in their lineage, owned property between 1307 and 1327. The manor of Frieston, along with Poynton Hall, also in Lincolnshire, was held by Sir Thomas Welby, who was undoubtedly an even earlier ancestor, from King Henry III. in 1216. The aforementioned Sir William married the heiress of Multon of Multon in this county, and that location remained the main residence of his descendants until the end of the sixteenth century. John Welby, the ancestor of the current family, purchased Denton in 1539.

See "Notices of the Family of Welby," 8vo., Grantham, 1842; and Allen's History of Lincolnshire, ii. 314; for Welby of Multon, see Blore's Rutlandshire, 192.

Arms.—Black, with a stripe between three silver fleurs-de-lis.

Present Representative, Sir Glynne Earle Welby, 3rd Baronet.

The name is believed to come from Dimmok, in Gloucester County, but the family history isn't confirmed beyond Henry Dymmok in the second year of Edward III. His grandson John married Margaret, the only granddaughter and heir of Sir Thomas de Ludlowe, who was the son of Joan, the youngest daughter and coheir of Philip, the last Lord Marmyon, Baron of Scrivelsby. Because of the ownership of that manor, the Dymoke family has held the hereditary title of Champion of England since the coronation of Richard II.

See Banks's Family of Marmyon, p. 117; and Allen's Lincolnshire, ii. 83.

Coat of Arms.—Black field, featuring two silver lions walking, each crowned in gold. Used by Mr. John Dymoke during the reign of Richard II. (Roll of the date.)

Present Representative, The Honorable and Rev. John Dymoke.

John Heneage is at the top of the family tree; he was alive during the 38th year of Henry III's reign. He had a descendant also named John, who was Lord of the Manor of Hainton in the 10th year of Edward III's reign. However, according to Leland, "the old Heneage lands didn't bring in more than fifty pounds a year." The family clearly benefited from the decline of the monastic houses: "Sir Thomas Hennage has spent a lot of money at Haynton, where he is Lord and Patron, on renovations and new construction using brick and abbey stone."

See Leland's Itinerary, vii. fol. 52; and Allen's History of Lincolnshire, ii. 67.

Coat of Arms.—Gold, a black greyhound in motion positioned between three blue leopard heads, with a red wavy border.

Present Representative, Edward Heneage, Esq., M.P. for Lincoln.

Originally from Northumberland, where the family established themselves early on. The first recorded ancestor is Sir Robert de Maners, who received a land grant in Berrington in 1327 and served as M.P. for Northumberland in 1340. His son, William Maners of Etal, died before 1324, and this estate seems to have been inherited from an heiress of Muschamp. By the end of the fifteenth century, through marriage with the heiress of the baronial family of Roos, the Manners family acquired the Castle of Belvoir. In the following century, a fortunate union with the heiress of Vernon of Haddon further enhanced the wealth and significance of this noble family.

The royal title of Rutland, which had belonged to the House of York, was given to Thomas Lord Roos in 1525 as the grandson of Lady Anne of York, sister to King Edward IV.

An extinct branch dated back to the time of Henry VIII. for a long time of Newmanor House, in the parish of Framlington, in Durham. Another branch of the Etal family was from Cheswick, in the same county, which became extinct after 1633.

See Raine's North Durham, 211, 230; Nichols's Leicestershire, ii. pt. i. 67; and Brydges's Collins, i. 454.

Coat of Arms.—Gold background, two blue stripes; a quartered top section in blue and red, featuring 1st and 4th quarters with two fleurs-de-lis, and 2nd and 3rd quarters displaying a gold leopard from England; the top section being an enhancement granted by Henry VIII. The original coat of arms, likely inspired by the Muschamp family’s arms, were Gold background, two blue stripes, a red top section. Refer to the records from the reigns of Edward II and Richard III.

Present Representative, Charles Cecil John Manners, 6th Duke of Rutland.

This is a branch of the extinct Lords Alington family from Horseheath in Cambridgeshire, who originally came from Alington in the same county shortly after the Conquest. The family descends from a younger son of Sir Giles Alington and settled at Swinhope during Queen Elizabeth's reign.

See Clutterbuck's History of Hertfordshire, ii. 542; and Collectanea Topog. et Genealog. iv. 33-53, and note 2, p. 39. For Horseheath, see Topographer, ii. 374.

Coat of Arms.—Black, featuring a notched diagonal band among six silver rectangles.

Present Representative, George Marmaduke Alington, Esq.

It has been assumed, though without any proof or authority, that this family is descended from Thorold, Sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1052, and therefore can claim Saxon origins. However, there is no doubt that this is a very ancient family, established at Marston as early as the reign of Henry I.

See Wotton's Baronetage, ii. 338, and iv. 250.

Arms.—Black, three rearing silver goats.

Present Representative, Sir John Charles Thorold, 11th Baronet.

"Langton, Sir," Dr. Johnson exclaimed, referring to his friend Bennet Langton of Langton, who was then the distinguished head of this very old family, "has a grant of free warren from Henry II, and Cardinal Stephen Langton during King John's reign was from this family." The name comes from Langton-by-Spilsby in Lincolnshire, a manor that has remained, to this day, the inheritance of this house, which is descended through the female line from the Massingberds of Sutterton in this county.

Younger branch. The Langton-Massingberds of Gunby.

See Allen's History of the County of Lincoln, ii. 175; and Boswell's Life of Johnson, ed. 1836, i. 294.

Coat of Arms.—Split vertically into six sections, silver and black, featuring a gold diagonal stripe.

Present Representative, Bennet Rothes Langton, Attorney at Law.

This very old family descends from Lambert Massyngberd of Soterton, now Sutterton, in this county, who lived during the reign of Edward I and has stayed in Lincolnshire ever since. In the late 1400s, through the marriage of Sir Thomas Massyngberd to the heiress of Braytoft of Braytoft Hall in Gunby, the Massingberds moved to that location, which became the main seat of their descendants. Ormsby, bought from the Skipwiths in 1636, and later Gunby Hall, built by Sir William Massingberd, the 2nd Baronet of this family, in 1699, was their main residence until it passed by an heiress to a younger branch of the Langtons, who adopted the name. Wrangle is a recent purchase in this county by the current representative of the male line of the family. The Massingberds early on embraced the Reformed faith. Thomas Massingberd, the last representative for Calais in 1552, "fled abroad for his religion" during Mary’s rule. However, his descendant, William Burrell Massingberd of Ormsby, joined Prince Charles Edward at Derby: a miniature given to him by the Prince is still in the family. Ormsby currently belongs to a younger branch of the Mundys of Markeaton in Derbyshire, who have taken on the name Massingberd.

See the Genealogy of this House, a manuscript by Robert Dale, Suffolk Herald, created around the year 1718, and still located at Ormsby; and Allen's History of the County, under Ormsby and Gunby.

Coat of Arms.—Blue, featuring three quatrefoils (two above one), and at the top, a gold boar walking, marked on the shoulder with a red cross, generally linked to the following coat, thought to have been used by Sir Thomas Massingberd, Knight of St. John, during the reign of Henry VIII. Quarterly gold and silver, on a red cross with smaller arms, surrounded by four black lions standing, two scallops of the first.

Present Representative, The Rev. Francis Charles Massingberd.

"In the Isle" of Axholme, there are now 4 gentlemen of note: Sheffield, Candish, Evers, and Mounson. The lands of one Bellewood were inherited by this Mounson, a younger son of the old Mounson from Lincolnshire. This old Mounson is somewhat considered the first to elevate his family." Thus wrote Leland in his Itinerary. However, the Monsons can be clearly traced back to the year 1378, as residents of East-Reson in this county. They later settled at South Carlton, a village near Burton.

See Leland's Itin., i. fol. 42; Allen's Lincolnshire, ii. 57; and Brydges's Collins, vii. 228.

Arms.—Or, two red chevronels.

Present Representative, William John Monson, 7th Baron Monson.

This is an old house in Shropshire that comes from William de Whichcote of Whichcote in that county, dating back to 1255. During the reign of Edward IV, through marriage with the heiress of Tyrwhitt, the family acquired Harpswell in this county, which remained the home of the Whichcotes for a long time.

See Wotton's Baronetage, iii. 13; and Allen's History of Lincolnshire, i. 38.

Coat of Arms.—White fur featuring two red boars standing on their hind legs, one positioned above the other.

Present Representative, Sir Thomas Whichcote, 7th Baronet.

Roger Anderson of Wrawby, in this county, was a gentleman living in the late 14th century, who came from Northumberland, and he is the starting point of the family lineage. His great-grandson Henry, also from Wrawby, was the grandfather of Sir Edmund Anderson of Flixborough, a knight and the Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, who passed away in 1605. He was the ancestor of the current family, as well as of Sir Charles Anderson of Broughton in Lincolnshire, Baronet in 1660, and the Andersons of Eyworth in Bedfordshire, Baronet in 1664, which became extinct in 1773. Brocklesby came from an heiress of Pelham, a younger branch of the Pelhams, Earls of Chichester.

See Wotton's English Baronetage, vol. iii. p. 191, vol. iv. p. 427, and "The History of Lea," published in 1841.

Arms.—Silver background with a chevron between three black crosses that have flowered ends.

Present Representative, Charles Anderson Pelham, 3rd Earl of Yarborough.

The early history of the Berties from Berstead in Kent is documented by the Thurnham charters owned by Sir Edward Dering and various reliable public records. Although the exact lineage isn't entirely clear, there seems to be no reason to doubt that this "undefamed house" descended from John or Bartholomew de Bereteghe, who were alive during the 35th year of Edward I's reign. The marriage between Richard Bertie, son of Robert who died in 1500, and Katherine, daughter of William Willoughby, the last Lord Willoughby of Eresby, and widow of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, is well-known as the beginning of this prominent family. Their history has been delightfully illustrated over five generations by Lady Georgiana Bertie. Grimsthorpe, inherited from the Duchess of Suffolk through her paternal Willoughby ancestors, became the main residence of the Berties, Barons Willoughby of Eresby and Lords Great Chamberlains of England. Robert, the second Lord Willoughby, was elevated to the Earldom of Lindsey by King Charles I. His great-grandson was granted the title Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven in 1715, which became extinct after the fifth Duke passed away in 1809. The Earldom of Lindsey and the representation of the family then passed to the father of the current Earl, who is descended from the fifth son of the second Earl of Lindsey by his first wife.

Younger branch, the Earl of Abingdon 1682, Baron Norreys of Rycote 1572, is descended from the second marriage of the second Earl of Lindsey and the heiress of Wray, whose mother was the sole heir of Francis Norreys, Earl of Berkshire, and Lord Norreys of Rycote.

See Lady G. Bertie's "Five Generations of a Loyal House," 4to. 1845, and Brydges's Collins, vol. ii. p. 1, vol. iii. 628.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background, featuring three blue battering rams arranged vertically, highlighted and detailed in gold. The "document or grant" from the fourth year of Edward VI describes the arms as, Quarterly, 1 and 4, Silver with a blue battering ram, accented in gold; 2 and 3, Black with a silver tower.

Present Representative, George Augustus Frederick Albemarle Bertie, 10th Earl of Lindsey.

"This family is very old, as they were gentlemen of good standing during the time of King John, as shown by many ancient documents and records I've seen," wrote Peacham in his "Compleate Gentleman," in 1634. (p. 191.) The name is local, coming from Wodehouse in Silfield, in this county; however, as early as the reign of Henry III, the family owned property in Kimberley, and during the reign of Henry IV, the manor was also inherited from the heiress of Fastolff.

See Blomefield's Norfolk, ed. 1739, vol. i. p. 751, for long extracts from the interesting old family tree in verse; Wotton's Baronetage, i. 164; and Brydges's Collins's Peerage, viii. 562.

Coat of Arms.—Black, featuring a gold chevron with blood drops, between three white five-petal flowers. This coat is believed to have been updated to its current design by Henry V in honor of John Wodehouse's courage at the Battle of Agincourt, with the blood drops, which are not considered great heraldry today, being added at that time. The supporters, two wild men, were also said to have been used for the first time then.

Present Representative, John Wodehouse, 3rd Baron Wodehouse, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.

Walpole, in Mershland, in this county, gave its name to this historical family, and Joceline de Walpole was living here during the reign of Stephen. Reginald de Walpole, during the time of Henry I, seems to have been the direct ancestor of the family. He was the father of Richard, who married Emma, the daughter of Walter de Hawton, or Houghton, which very early on became the family seat, and which, after the death of the third Earl of the first creation, was passed on to the descendants of his aunt Mary, Viscountess Malpas, daughter of Sir Robert Walpole; whose descendant, the Marquess of Cholmondeley, is the current owner.

See Blomefield, iii. 796, and iv. 708; also Brydges's Collins, v. 631.

Coat of Arms.—Yellow, featuring a horizontal band between two black chevrons with three small crosses of the same color.

Present Representative, Horatio William Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford.

Berney, in the hundred of North Greenhow in this county, surely gave its name to this old family, which can be traced back almost to the Conquest. Park Hall, their former home, is in the parish of Reedham and was

Younger branch, Berney of Morton Hall in this county, descended from a younger brother of the first Baronet.

See Parkins's continuation of Blomefield's Norfolk, v. 1482; and Wotton's Baronetage, i. 378.

Coat of Arms.—Split vertically, red on one side and blue on the other, featuring a notched white cross.

Present Representative, Sir Henry Hanson Berney, 9th Baronet.

Descended from the noble house of Astley Castle in Warwickshire, and traced back to Philip de Estlega during the 12th year of Henry II., and through the female line from the Constables of Melton-Constable, which estate came into the family through the second marriage of Thomas Lord Astley with Edith, the third sister and co-heir of Geffrey de Constable, in the time of Henry III. Astley Castle, the original seat, passed down by an heiress to the Greys of Ruthin, who later became Marquesses of Dorset and Dukes of Suffolk. Hill-Morton in Warwickshire was also the residence of this family since the reign of Henry III.

The Astleys, originally from Patishull in Staffordshire, were the older branch that came from Thomas Lord Astley's first marriage. He was killed during the Barons' Wars at Evesham (in the 49th year of Henry III.) and the line ended in 1771. The Astleys now residing in Everley, Wiltshire, became Baronet in 1821 and are descendants of the second son of Walter Astley of Patishull, who was the father of the first Baronet of that line (1662).

See Parkins's Blomefield's Norfolk, v. 940; Thomas's Dugdale's Warwickshire, i. 19, 107; and Wotton's Baronetage, iii. 63; for Astleys of Patishull, Shaw's Staffordshire, ii. 287; and Wotton's Baronetage, iii. 368.

Arms.—Blue, a cinquefoil of ermine within a wavy gold border. The Patishull and Everley family does not feature the border, and this was how the head of the house displayed it during the reign of Richard II. Around the same time, Thomas de Astley modified his coat by adding a label with three points in gold, marked with two red bars. (Rolls.)

Present Representative, Jacob Henry Delaval Astley, 3rd Baron Hastings.

Originally a Norman family based at Bedingfeld in Suffolk, they settled there soon after the Conquest. Oxburgh, or Oxborough, has been the home of this distinguished knightly family since the reign of Edward IV., when Edmund Bedingfeld married Margaret, the daughter of Robert Tudenham, who received permission to build the walls and towers of Oxburgh in 1482. The baronetcy was granted by Charles II. as a sign of his favor and in recognition of the family's notable loyalty and the hardships they endured during the usurpation. The Bedingfelds of Ditchingham, in this county, are a younger branch that separated from the main lineage as early as the mid-fourteenth century.

See Blomefield, iii. 482; Wotton's Baronetage, iii. 212; and the Rev. G. H. M'Gill's account of Oxburgh Hall in the Proceedings of the Norfolk Archaeological Society.

Arms.—Ermine, a red eagle with wings spread, talons in gold.

Present Representative, Sir Henry George Paston Bedingfeld, 7th Baronet.

The prestigious historical family of Howard, when it comes to age, falls behind many other English families: it can only be reliably traced back to Sir William Howard, who was a Judge of the Common Pleas in 1297. Norfolk seems to be the county where this notable family should be recognized, with the Duke of Norfolk still owning land in the county that comes from his ancestors of the Bigod family. In the fourteenth century, the marriage to the heiress of Mowbray established the foundation of the honors and significance of the Howards, with the first Duke being the son of Margaret, the daughter and co-heir of Thomas de Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. The estates in Sussex were inherited from the heiress of Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel, during the reign of Edward VI.; Worksop came from the Talbots; and Greystoke and Morpeth were inherited from the Dacres.

All the English peers of the house of Howard can be traced back to a common ancestor, Thomas, the second Duke of Norfolk, who passed away in 1524. The Duke of Norfolk, the Earls of Suffolk and Carlisle, are descended from his first wife, while the Earl of Effingham comes from his second wife. The Howards of Greystoke, in Cumberland, are a younger branch of the current ducal house. The Howards of Corby Castle, also in Cumberland, are descendants of the second son of "Belted Will," who is the ancestor of the house of Carlisle.

Extinct branches: The Viscount Bindon; the Earls of Northampton, Nottingham, and Stafford; and Lord Howard of Escrick.

See Brydges's Collins, i. 50, for the Duke of Norfolk; iii. 147 for the Earl of Suffolk; iii. 501 for the Earl of Carlisle; and iv. 264, for the Earl of Effingham. Also check out Cartwright's Rape of Bramber, p. 185; Dallaway's Rape of Arundel; and Hunter's South Yorkshire, ii. 10. For the Howard Monuments at East-Winch, see Weever's Funeral Monuments, p. 842-9; for their state in the 18th century, refer to Parkins's Blomefield's Norfolk, iv. 746; and Topographer and Genealogist, ii. 90. For the Earl of Carlisle, see Hodgson's History of Northumberland, ii. pt. 2, p. 381; for Howard of Corby, the same volume, p. 477. Also, see "Historical Anecdotes of some of the Howard Family," 12mo. 1769; Tierney's Castle and Town of Arundel, 8vo. 1834; and Mr. Howard's "Indication of Memorials, &c. of the Howard Family," fol. 1834.

Coat of Arms.—Red, with a diagonal stripe between six small silver crosses with pointed ends, on a shield featuring a half-lion pierced through the mouth with an arrow, surrounded by a double floral border in red, granted by patent 5 Henry VIII. to Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, to commemorate the victory over the Scots at Flodden. The current coat was used by Sir John Howard during Edward II's reign, and by Mr. Howard during the reigns of Edward II and Richard III. It has been suggested, due to the similarity of this coat with that of the Botilers, Barons of Wem (Red, a checkered band in silver and black between six crosses with rounded ends in silver), that Sir William Howard the Judge was descended from the Hords, who were stewards to these Barons. It's interesting to note that none of the Howards ever added the de to their name, which contradicts their supposed connection to Hawarden in Flintshire. (Blakeway's Sheriffs of Shropshire, pp. 53 note.)

Present Representative, Henry Fitzalan Howard, 15th Duke of Norfolk.

This is a younger branch of the Gurneys from West Barsham in this county, whose main male line ended in 1661. West Barsham came from the heiress of Waunci around the time of Edward III. Before that, the Gurneys seem to have been settled at Harpley, also in Norfolk, as early as 1206, and they can be traced back for two additional generations, being (as there's no reason to doubt) descended from the prominent Norman baronial family of the same name. The current family can be considered to have been reestablished by John Gurney, a notable silk merchant in Norwich, around 1670. Keswick was bought in 1747. The Gournays of Somersetshire, represented by the Earls of Egmont, may be a separate family; their coat of arms was Paly of six or and azure. However, Dugdale suggests they share a common ancestor with the earlier house. (Baronage, i. 429.)

See the "Records of the House of Gournay," privately printed, 4to., 1848, and especially for the Norman origin of the family on page 293 of that book. For the Gournays of Somersetshire, check the History of the House of Ivery. London, 1742, vol. ii. p. 473,

Coat of Arms.—Silver background with a red cross that has curved edges; in the top left corner, there's a blue cinquefoil.

Present Rep, Hudson Gurney, Esq.

This ancient family is believed to share the same origin as the noble Norman house of Grey, currently represented by the Earl of Stamford. Its lineage can be traced back to William de Grey of Cavendish, Suffolk, whose grandson, Sir Thomas, settled in Cornerth around 1306 through his marriage to the heiress of the same name. Their son and heir married the coheiress of Baynard, which led to them acquiring Merton, the long-standing residence of this family.

See Blomefield, i. 576; and Brydges's Collins, vii. 510.

Coat of Arms.—Split into six parts, silver and blue, with three red rings at the top. The traditional coat of Cornerth, blue, with a gold stripe between two gold chevrons, (likely inherited from their higher-ranking lords, the Baynards,) was passed down through many generations of this family's ancestors.

Present Representative, Thomas de Grey, 5th Baron Walsingham.

This family is said to have been founded shortly after the Conquest in Letheringsett, Norfolk, but is more well-known as a Suffolk family, having settled in Monks' Bradfield in that county during the reign of Richard I. Redgrave was granted to the esteemed Sir Nicholas Bacon by Henry VIII in the 36th year of his reign, along with his son Francis, Viscount St. Alban's, who were the main figures of this family. Raveningham passed down to the Bacons from the heiress of the ancient family of Castell, or de Castello, around the middle of the 18th century.

See Parkins's Continuation of Blomefield's Norfolk, iv. 262 Wotton's Baronetage, i. 1, and ii. 72.

Coat of Arms.—Red, with a silver upper section that has two black stars. This coat of arms was used by Sir Edmund Bacon during the reign of Edward II, and by M. Bacon during the reign of Edward III. (Rolls.) A brass from around A.D. 1320, found in Gorleston church, Suffolk, is thought to represent a member of this family and features five diamond shapes arranged diagonally on the field, along with the stars in the upper section: see Boutell's Brasses, p. 36.

Present Representative, Sir Henry Hickman Bacon, 11th Baronet.

The ancestors of this old house were based in Horham, Suffolk, in the 13th century, "knights of high repute in those parts," according to Camden, and traced back to Sir Hubert Jernegan from there. Somerleyton, also in Suffolk, came from the heiress of Fitzosbert and later became the family home, continuing as such until the elder line died out. Cossey was granted to Sir Henry Jerningham (son of Sir Edward Jerningham by his second wife) in 1547 by Queen Mary, "being the first who openly supported her after the death of Edward VI." He was the ancestor of Lord Stafford.

See Weever's Ancient Funerall Monuments, p. 769; Blomefield's Norfolk, i. p. 660; Wotton's Baronetage, i. 450; and Suckling's History of Suffolk, ii. p. 46.

Arms.—Silver, three red buckles.

Present Representative, Henry Valentine Stafford Jerningham, 9th Baron Stafford.

In 1377, the ancestor of this family lived in Snoring Magna in this county. In 1398, John Townshend moved to Rainham, which some say he inherited from the heiress of Havile, but the lineage provided by Collins isn't trustworthy, and Leland's negative description, stating that "the grandfather of Townsende currently living was an ordinary man of some means," is also questionable. The reality seems to be that the family is old, but not particularly significant before the time of Sir Walter de Townsend, who married Maud Scogan and was active around the year 1400.

See Blomefield, iii. 815; Brydges's Collins, ii. 454; and Leland's Itinerary, iv. p. 13.

Coat of Arms.—Blue field with a white fur chevron between three silver scallops.

Present Representative, John Villiers Stuart Townshend, 5th Marquess Townshend.

This is a newer branch of the very old baronial house of Wake, who were Barons in Lincolnshire during the reign of Henry I. Sir Hugh Wake was the lord of Deeping in Lincolnshire and of Blisworth in this county, given to him by his father, Baldwin, the fourth Lord Wake. He passed away in 1315 and was the direct ancestor of the current Baronet. See the memoir of the Wake family, printed privately in 1833 and written by Archbishop Wake, and Wotton's Baronetage, i. 465.

Arms.—Gold, with two red bars above three circles. This coat was used by Hugh Wake during the reign of Henry III and later by Sir John Wake under Edward II. Sir Hugh Wake updated his arms at that time by adding a blue canton. His uncle changed the colors to red and silver, with the background being red. M. Thomas Wake de Blisworth, during Edward III's reign, used the same arms, with a notched black border. (Rolls of the dates.)

Present Representative, Sir William Wake, 11th Baronet.

William de Bredenhill, sitting at Dodington in Oxfordshire during the reign of Edward I, and owning lands at Aynho in the same county at that time, is the first verified ancestor of the Brudenells. However, their main significance can be traced back to Sir Robert Brudenell, Chief Justice of the King's Bench in the reign of Henry VII, who married a coheiress of Entwisell, thereby acquiring Dene and Stanton Wyvill in the county of Leicester.

See the family background in Nichols's History of Leicestershire, vol. ii. pt. ii. p. 807; also check Brydges's Collins, iii. 487.

Younger branch. The Marquess of Ailesbury (1821), descended from Thomas, the fourth son of George, the fourth Earl of Cardigan, and Lady Elizabeth Bruce, the eldest daughter of Thomas, the second Earl of Ailesbury.

Coat of Arms.—Silver background with a red chevron between three blue helmets.

Present Representative, James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, K.C.B.

The first recorded ancestor of this ancient family is Rainald, who was the mesne lord of Knightley in Staffordshire, under Earl Roger during the time of William the Conqueror, as noted in the Domesday Book. That estate left the family when an heiress married Robert de Peshall around the reign of Edward III., and the Knightleys moved to Gnowsall in the same county in the 17th year of Richard II. (1394). Fawsley was bought in the 3rd year of Henry V. (1415-16). Leland mentions it like this: "Mr. Knightley, a man of great lands, has his main house at Foullesle, but it isn’t very magnificent." (Itin. i. fol. 11.)