Wednesday, November 30, 2016

de Berkeley Family and Castle

(Jody Gray): our 27th GGF, Ralph Fitz Stephen b. 1122, is said to have married an “unknown” de Berkeley of Berkeley Castle; sometimes reported as the daughter of Roger de Berkeley III.
  It is possible that the spouse of this Ralph Fitz Stephen, was the daughter of Roger de Berkeley III. The marriage of Ralph Fitz Stephen and “Unknown” de Berkeley could have occurred around the time [1152] of her father being dispossessed by King Stephen. She would have been one of the last of the original de Berkeley’s to live in the Berkeley Castle.
  The 1st castle at Berkeley was built around 1067, subsequently held by three generations of the first Berkeley family, all called Roger de Berkeley. William the Conqueror, had granted the manor of Berkeley to Roger Berkeley I, of Dursley. Alliances: Ralph’s great-grandfather, Airard Fitz Stephen was the commander of “the Mora”, William’s flagship in the Battle of Hastings; he rewarded Airard with land; the descendants of Airard remained in close alliance with the throne of England. The Berkeley ancestors also arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066; William granted the manor of Berkeley to Roger de Berkeley, he became the 1st Baron of Berkeley.

Roger de Berkeley III b. 1094 Berkeley, Gloucestershire d. 1170 Berkeley, Gloucestershire. Note (Jody Gray), Roger de Berkeley was basically “caught-in-the-crosshairs”: The last Roger de Berkeley was dispossessed in 1152 for withholding his allegiance from the House of Plantagenet during the conflict of The Anarchy. Henry had no living heir when he died in 1135; he’d made arrangements for his daughter, “Empress” Matilda to succeed him; but after his death, his nephew, Stephen “of Blois” claimed the crown. Empress Matilda challenged him and the battles that ensued became known as The Anarchy. Henry II, son of Empress Matilda and Geoffrey Plantagenet (great-grandson of William I.), succeeded King Stephen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Berkeley  Baron Berkeley. His son Roger II (d. about 1131) and grandson Roger III (d. after 1177) also held the manor of Dursley in-chief of the king.
In 1152 Roger III was deprived of the farm of Berkeley during the civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud. He was later restored to Dursley, and founded the family of “Berkeley of Dursley”, but Berkeley Castle was granted by barony to Robert FitzHarding, a native Englishman and royal financier of Bristol, whose family also took the name “de Berkeley”. To mollify the ill-feelings of Roger of Dursley, Henry II encouraged each family to marry their respective male heirs to the eldest daughters of the other, which was successfully accomplished.

Note (Jody Gray): The Berkeley Castle was granted by barony to Robert FitzHarding, whose family took the name “de Berkeley”; consequently, the descendants of Robert FitzHarding using the surname “de Berkeley” are not of the blood lineage of the original “de Berkeley’s” granted the manor of Berkeley by William the Conqueror. The main resource for these “de Berkeley's” appears to be John Smyth of Nibley (d. 1641) steward of the Berkeley estates, the biographer of the family and author of “Lives of the Berkeleys” published 1618.
https://www.houseofnames.com/berkeley-family-crest Berkeley Family Crest. The name Berkeley arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Berkeley family lived in the county of Gloucestershire, where the family held the distinguished title of the Lords of Berkeley Castle.
  Roger de Berkeley, a near relative of Edward the Confessor, and lord of Dursley, from whom the earliest authentic pedigree of the Berkeley family is deduced. Berkeley, notwithstanding the residence of the oldest branches of the family in their castle at Dursley, was a market-town; and had a nunnery endowed with the large manor. A few years afterwards, William the Conqueror, professing high regard for all the relatives of Edward the Confessor, granted the manor of Berkeley to Roger Berkeley, of Dursley, by whose descendants it was held till the reign of Henry II. [dispossessed by King Stephen in 1152].


  A castle in the town of Berkeley, the origins date back to the 11th century; it remained within the Berkeley family since they reconstructed it in the 12th century, except for a period of royal ownership by the Tudors. It is traditionally believed to be the scene of the murder of King Edward II in 1327.
  The first castle at Berkeley was a motte-and-bailey, built around 1067 by William FitzOsbern shortly after the Conquest; subsequently held by three generations of the first Berkeley family, all called Roger de Berkeley. The last Roger de Berkeley was dispossessed in 1152 for withholding his allegiance from the House of Plantagenet during the conflict of The Anarchy, and the feudal barony of Berkeley was then granted to Robert Fitzharding, a wealthy burgess of Bristol and supporter of the Plantagenets. He was the founder of the Berkeley family which still holds the castle.
Noteworthy: Adjoining the Great Hall is one of two of the original chapels, that includes painted wooden vaulted ceilings and a biblical passage, written in Norman French. This room also contains an illustrated vellum book of plainsong that was used in Catholic rites, before the family converted to Protestantism in the 16th century.
  During the English Civil War, the castle still held sufficient significance for it to be captured in 1645… for the Parliamentarian side and after a siege… the Royal garrison surrendered. As was usual, the walls were left breached after this siege but the Berkeley family were allowed to retain ownership on condition that they never repaired the damage to the Keep and Outer Bailey, still enforced today by the original Act of Parliament drawn up at the time… the breach is partially filled by a subsequent ‘modern’ rebuild… amounts to a low garden wall, to stop people falling 28’ from the Keep Garden, the original Castle “motte”.


Modern times. The castle is the third oldest continuously occupied castle in England after the royal fortresses of the Tower of London and Windsor Castle, and the oldest to be continuously owned and occupied by the same family… The Berkeley family divide their time between the Castle and their other home, Spetchley Park, just outside Worcester, which has been in the family’s ownership since 1606. The areas open to the public are managed by the Berkeley Castle Charitable Trust.

Other Resources

Ancestry.com “Hints” for Unknown de Berkeley
Netherlands, Genealogieonline Trees Index: Sedzilla De Berkeley, b. 1135 d. 1192. Mother, Hawise Beaumont. Father, William Earl Gloucester Fitz Robert. Note (Jody Gray): google search results for Hawise de Beaumont b. 1120 m: William Fitz Robert, would have been 15 when Sedzilla was born. I have “unknown” de Berkeley b. 1126, Hawise could not have been her mother.


(Jody Gray): These de Berkeley’s are of the aforementioned, Robert FitzHarding, who took the name “de Berkeley”.

  Thomas de Berkeley b. 1293 or 1296 d. 10/27/1361, wealthy, feudal baron of Berkeley, of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, England. Eldest son and heir of Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley and Eve la Zouche.

  In 1327 he was made joint custodian of the deposed King Edward II, whom he received at Berkeley Castle. He was later commanded to deliver custody of the king to his fellow custodians… The king as murdered at Berkeley Castle during his absence. As an accessory to the murder of the deposed king, he was tried by a jury of 12 knights in 1330 and was honorably acquitted.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_de_Berkeley,_4th_Baron_Berkeley Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley b. ca 1330 d. 6/8/1368 “The Valiant”; feudal baron of Berkeley, of Berkeley Castle.

Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley b. 1/5/1352/53 d. 7/13/1417, “The Magnificent”; was an English peer and an admiral. 1367, married Margaret de Lisle, 3rd Baroness Lisle, daughter of Warine de Lisle, 2nd Baron Lisle and Margaret Pipard. He had no male progeny, only a daughter and sole heiress: Elizabeth de Lisle who married Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick.
 In 1417 he enfeoffed at Berkeley Castle, shortly before his death, several feoffees to hold all his lands in trust, due to the fact he had no male children as his heirs and that the course of succession then seemed unclear… These were very significant positions of trust granted to his feoffees as Berkeley died leaving only a daughter and the succession to the vast Berkeley lands, including the castle itself, became a matter of much dispute amongst his possible heirs resulting in a series of feuds which led in 1470 to the last private battle fought on English soil at the Battle of Nibley Green, between Lord William Berkeley and Viscount Lisle, and there followed the longest dispute in English legal history, which did not end until 1609.

Died 7/13/1417; buried in the Church of St Mary the Virgin within his manor of Wotton-under-Edge; his large chest tomb with Monumental brass on top survives in that church.

William de Berkeley, 1st Marquess of Berkeley b. 1426 d. 2/14/1492; was an English peer, given the epithet “The Waste-All” by the family biographer and steward John Smyth of Nibley. He was born to James Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley and Lady Isabel Mowbray at Berkeley Castle. Married, 1st (1466) to Elizabeth West, daughter of Reginald West, 6th Baron De La Warr; he obtained a divorce 11/20/1467. Married, 2nd (Nov. 1468) Joan Strangeways, daughter of Sir Thomas Strangeways and Lady Katherine Neville. Married, 3rd (1486) Anne Fiennes, sister of Thomas Fiennes, 8th Baron Dacre.
1438, invested as a Knight; he assumed the title of Baron Berkeley by writ after the death of his father, James Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley, 10/22/1463. Invested as Knight Bachelor, 4/18/1475. Styled as Viscount of Catherlough (now County Carlow) between 1481 and 2/10/1485. Created Viscount Berkeley 4/21/1481, as Privy Counsellor (P.C.) 3/5/1482 or 83. Earl of Nottingham 6/28/1483. He assumed the life office of Earl Marshal and Great Marshal of England 2/19/1485 or 86. Created Marquess of Berkeley 1/28/1488 or 89.

  He had no surviving male issue, thus the marquesate and his other non-inherited titles became extinct on his death, but he had a younger brother, Maurice Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley. He disinherited Maurice, as having brought shame on the noble House of Berkeley by marrying beneath his status Isabel Mead, daughter of Philip Mead of Wraxall an Alderman and Mayor of Bristol in 1459, 1462 and 1469. In order to achieve this, the castle, lands and lordships composing the Barony of Berkeley he settled on King Henry VII and his heirs male, failing which to descend to his own rightful heirs. Thus, in 1553 on the death of King Edward VI, the unmarried grandson of Henry VII, the Berkeley inheritance returned to the family. Therefore, on the death of the 1st Marquis, only the barony title was passed on to his younger brother Maurice; he was Baron Berkeley by right, (even though) not actually in possession of the baronial property. The 4th, 5th and 6th barons were also de jure only, with Henry (d. 1613) becoming de facto 7th Baron in 1553.
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Tuesday, November 29, 2016

History of Gloucestershire

(Jody Gray) Gloucestershire is where the Fitz Stephen Family settled and it played an important role in the lives of the Kings and Queens of England.
http://gray-adamsfamily.blogspot.com/2016/10/references-stephensstevens-genealogy.html Blog Post: References: Stephens/Stevens Genealogy. (pg 9) The Fitz Stephen family came over with William the Conqueror, and were feudal barons in Gloucestershire from the reign of King Henry II, first of the Plantagenets’. In that reign  Ralph Fitz Stephen, Baron of Wapley, and his brother William, afterwards Chief Justice of the Circuit Court of England, were jointly High Sheriffs of the shire, a position then of such influence that there was effort to make it hereditary in the noble families... At different times the manors of Wapley, Winterbourne, Lewynesmede, Eastington, Alkerton, Fretherne, Lypiatt Park, Little Sodbury, Chavenage, Bisley, Horton, Cherington and Alderley have been seats of the family in Gloucestershire, with estates in other counties.

History of Gloucestershire -
Map, 1832
  Gloucestershire formed part of Harold’s earldom at the time of the Norman Conquest of England.
  In The Anarchy (1135-54) of King Stephen’s (of Blois) reign (1135-54) the cause of the Empress Matilda was supported by her half brother, Robert of Gloucester, who had rebuilt the castle at Bristol. The castles at Gloucester and Cirencester were also garrisoned on her behalf. Beverston Castle was also a site of the Stephen Matilda conflict.
  In the baron’s war of the reign of Henry III. (1216-1272), Gloucester was garrisoned by Simon de Montfort, but was captured by Prince Edward in 1265, in which year de Montfort was slain at Evesham.
  Bristol and Gloucester actively supported the Yorkist cause during the Wars of the Roses.
  In the religious struggles of the 16th century Gloucester showed strong Protestant sympathy, and in the reign of Mary, Bishop Hooper was sent to Gloucester to be burnt as a warning to the county.
  The same Puritan leanings induced the county to support the Parliamentary cause in the civil war of the 17th century. In 1643 Bristol and Cirencester were captured by the Royalists, but the latter was recovered in the same year and Bristol in 1645. Two Civil War battles were fought at Beverston Castle, and Parliament ordered its battlements destroyed to deprive the Royalists use of the fortress. Gloucester was garrisoned for the Parliament throughout the struggle.
List of Castles in Gloucestershire
In the final years before the outbreak of the civil war of the Anarchy, the Gloucesters were extensively developing their primary castle at Gloucester. Gloucester was a key battleground in the conflict from 1139–53 between the rival rulers of Stephen (King of England) and Empress Matilda. Warfare in England at the time centred on castles and attrition warfare and the largely pro-Angevin supporters of Matilda in Gloucestershire responded with a rush of castle-building. Many of these were destroyed by Stephen during the war, or after the conflict when Henry II attempted to restore royal control over these critical fortifications, although recent scholarship has indicated that less Gloucestershire castles were destroyed in the 1150s than once thought. In the 13th and 14th century, fortified manor houses became a more popular form of fortification. By the 16th century, most Gloucestershire castles were in disuse, although some, such as Gloucester and St Briavels remained in use as administrative centres or gaols. Several castles in Gloucestershire were damaged or slighted in the English Civil War from 1642–9. In the 18th and 19th century, prison reform brought an end to the use of Gloucestershire castles as gaols, leaving only a handful of occupied castles as private homes in the 21st century.
Some Gloucestershire Castles: Berkeley Castle, St Briavels Castle, Sudeley, Winchcombe.

Decline: The defences were kept in full repair until the mid 15th century. It is likely that in the reign of Richard III the castle ceased to be maintained as a fortress, continuing in use only as the county goal. Much of the stonework of the castle was taken to construct roads and other buildings and by the mid 17th century all the buildings around the curtain wall had apparently gone, leaving only the keep, used as the gaol, and the main gatehouse standing. Demolition of the gaol began in 1787 and the new gaol was finished in 1791 leaving no visible remains of the castle.
The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society -Volume (1-133) Browse. Contents for volume 1 (1876)
Berkeley Castle… Society Pages… Notes on the Tombs in Tewkesbury Abbey… Vestiges of the Supremacy of Mercia in the South of England, during the 8th Century… On the Great Berkeley Law-Suit of the 15th and 16th Centuries, A Chapter of Gloucestershire History… St. Briavels Castle… On the Earls of Gloucester… On the Landholders of Gloucestershire named in Domesday Book… Church of St. Michael and All Angels, Bishop’s Cleeve, Gloucestershire [Memorials of the de la Bere family appear in the church at Cleeve.]… Transactions in Bristol… Proceedings at Stroud… Tewkesbury Abbey Church… The Berkeley Manuscripts……..
The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society
Notes on Chavenage and the Stephens Family
The Builder of Southam and some Deeds Connected with the Estate
Original Documents relating to Bristol
A service for the dead: form and function of the anniversary in late medieval Bristol
http://www.bgas.org.uk/ The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society -home page - about us - publications *slide show: Gloucester Cathedral…

https://archive.org/details/transactionsbris18bris Transactions of Bristol and Gloucester Archaeological Society   1893-94. Digital Book, Full Text.

The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society - Browse…

http://www.bgas.org.uk/publications/general.html The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society - Search Page…

https://www.researchgate.net/journal/0068-1032_Transactions-Bristol_and_Gloucestershire_Archaeological_Society_Bristol_and_Gloucestershire_Archaeological_Society Transactions -Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaelogical Sociaety - Articles… An Account of the founding of the first Gloucestershire County Asylum, now Horton Road Hosptial, 1792-1823.

https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000523592 Hathi Trust Digital Library - The Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society.

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Saturday, November 26, 2016

The Bradeston Family and Winterbourne Estate

John Fitz Stephen b. 1186 married the daughter of Thomas de Bradeston


Essay docs.org. Manor of Winterbourne
CHAPTER I.
The Manors.
THE manor of Winterbourne was held by Aluin under Edward the Confessor. At the time of the Domesday Survey the Royal manor of Bitton, with its "members," Winterbourne and Wapley, was held by William the Conqueror, and appears to have been retained in the hands of the kings till the reign of Henry II. Smaller manors were arranged in groups for the entertainment of the king and his retinue when he made a progress through his estates, and, when he ceased to do so, an amount of produce proportioned to the extent and value of each estate was required to be sent to the king's court, the share of each being expressed in terms of the quantity supposed to be necessary for one night's lodging for the royal household. Sometimes an equivalent in money was required. Bitton, Winterbourne and Wapley paid a "ferm" for one night between them ("Analysis of Domesday Survey of Glos."--Rev. C. S. Taylor).
Winterbourne was held by Reginald de Cahoine (Pipe-Roll 2, Hen. II) and Ralph Fitzstephen held it in 1191 (Pipe-Roll 2, Richard I). It was held by this family for a long time, other lords holding it of them. Philip de Albeniaco died seized of it in 1216, and Richard de Wales (or Walsh) held a portion in 1225, and Ralph de Wales in 1246; he left two daughters and co-heirs who married Geoffrey de Wrokeshall and Ralph de Hadele respectively. In 1303 "A moiety of the manor was held by Juliana de Wrokeshall of Sir Gilbert, son of Stephen, by service of one quarter of a knight's fee. On her death her inheritance descended to her four daughters," Joan who married John de Cerne, Rose who married Richard de Brokenberg (or Brokenborrow). Anastasia who married John de Haddon, and Margaret, who married Geoffrey de Mohun. In 1320 Sir John Giffard, who held a moiety of the manor, "unjustly disseized Robert de Hadele of a messuage and a carucate of land in Winterbourne"; he had summoned Hadele to his castle at Brimpsfield, "for what cause Robert knew not, but in dread of disobedience came, and the said John detained him and imprisoned him until against his will he made a quit-claim of the said tenement to the said John" (Inq. at Tettbury, in 1324). In that year Giffard, who had taken part in the conspiracy against Edward II, was attainted and executed, and his castle of Brimpsfield was razed to the ground.
THE BRADESTON FAMILY.
In 1328 the manor was held of Henry Fitzstephen by Thomas de Bradeston. One William de Bradeston was abbot of St. Augustine's monastery, Bristol, and was compelled to resign in 1243 after a visitation by Walter de Cantelupe, bishop of Worcester. Thomas was son of Henry de Bradeston, who married Isabel. He held the manor of Bradeston (now called Breadstone, a tything of the parish of Berkeley) of the Lord of Berkeley. The Bradestone coat of arms appears among those of the Berkeleys in the east windows of the cathedrals of Gloucester and Bristol. Thomas was knighted in 1330, and was granted, under certain conditions, the custody of the castle and barton of Gloucester "for his better maintenance in the knightly rank lately conferred on him." (Pat. Roll, 18 Sept., 1330). He was summoned to Parliament from 1347-1360 (he died) by writs directed to "Thome de Bradeston," whereby he is held to have become Lord Bradeston. He married (1) Isabel, after whose death he founded in 1344 the chapel of St. Michael, Bradeston (also called "Bradston Colledge "). He also founded a chantry in Winterbourne Church (see "Chantry Chapel of St. Michael, Winterbourne "). He married (2) Agnes--who died in 1369.
He was commissioned, with Thomas Lord Berkeley and the sheriff to choose 200 archers in the county (French Roll 19, Edward III 1327-1377), and he had a similar commission with Maurice de Berkeley in the following year. Some of these archers were probably drawn from Winterbourne. In the Calais Roll he appears in the king's division at the Battle of Crecy (1346). He evidently lived chiefly at Bradeston, only visiting his manor of Winterbourne occasionally. At an Inquisition held on the death of one Edmund le Blount in 1374, in proof that one Edmund, son and heir of Hugo le Blount, is of full age, four witnesses certify that they were dining with Thomas de Bradeston at Winterbourne on a specified day in 1353, when news of the birth of the said Edmund was brought to his uncle, John de Filton, who was one of the guests. Thomas is said to have been associated with the murder of Edward II, 1307-1327. Before his death he had enfeoffed [under the feudal system, give someone freehold property or land in exchange for their pledged service] Robert Mordac, rector of Winterbourne, and two others with the manor of Bradeston (Cal. of Inq. 34, Ed. III). He died August 24th, 1360, and his I.P.M. was taken at Bradeston on September 21st. He held the manor of Winterbourne jointly with his wife Agnes, in tail male, with contingent remainders to Robert (his son), and John (his grandson) -Note (Jody Gray): I think this is reference to John Stephens, said to have conjointly held the manor... .
  Sir Robert, son and heir of Thomas, by Isabel his first wife, died c. 1355-7 during his father's lifetime. In his journey to the holy land he was taken prisoner by the citizens of Pisa in 1346; the king procured his deliverance by committing twelve merchants of Pisa, who were then in London, to the Tower till they secured his freedom (Smyth's Lives of the Berkeleys). He married Isabella, daughter of Sir Ralph Bassett, of Drayton. This lady was married six times, Sir Robert being her second husband. She died in 1393, and is said to have been buried in Colmworth church, Beds. Robert left two sons, Sir Thomas, born 1352, died 1373, and John, born c. 1353-4. Sir Thomas married Ela, daughter of Sir John de St. Lo, by whom he had a child, Elizabeth, born 1373, who married Sir Walter atte Pole. Ela held the manor with reversion to Thomas, son of Sir Edmund, who was son of John. Sir Edmund, born before 1374. married Blanch --, and died before 1395, in which year Blanch was the wife of Sir Andrew Hage.
  On January 30th, 1393, "grant by special grace (was made) to Blanche Bradeston and her heirs of free warren in all the demesne lands of the manor of Winterbourne, co. Glos., and also of a weekly market in the town of Winterbourne, which is united to the said manor, and of two yearly fairs there, one on the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, and the other on the feast of St. Luke the evangelist" (Cal. of Charter Rolls). On the Close Roll of 19 Richard II, Blanche is referred to by the name of her first husband. The chief butler of the port of Bristol is ordered to deliver "one tun of wine a year to Blanche Bradeston during her life, and the arrears since I March 8 Richard II, on which date the king granted her for life one tun of wine a year there, so that she should pay the merchant so much as the king should pay him." Thomas, son of Edmund and Blanche is mentioned in 1405 as making a presentation to the living of Winterbourne. There are few subsequent references to members of the family. In 1506 William Browne, warden of the chantry of St. Michael, appeals to the Archbishop in reference to his ill-treatment by Anthony Bradeston (see "Chantry of St. Michael "); in 1540 one Anthony Bradeston figures in the long dispute about the presentation of John Rastall to the Wardenship of the chantry. Anthony, in his will, dated 28 June, 1549, is described as lord of the manor of Winterbourne, and desires to be buried "in the chancel of St. Michael, in the parish church of Winterbourne," appointing his son Henry as his residuary legatee and executor. In 1561 one John Bradeston was excommunicated for non-appearance in a suit of "William Blinde, sequestrator of the fruits of Frampton Cotterell v. John Bradeston, payment of tythes" (records of Bristol Consistory Court). In 1594, Elizabeth Bradeston conveyed to William Veale, and Nicholas Crundall, clerk, "the manor" and the advowson of the church. In 1601 the manor was conveyed to James Buck; the document contains the names of Nicholas Veale, and others, and of several members of the Bradeston family. In 1609 Edward Bradeston was pardoned "for privacy committed upon the French, on his compensating the merchants" (Cal. of State papers). The Winterbourne registers record the burials of Catherine Bradeston in 1620, of Mary in 1626, and of Robert in 1640.
http://www.winterbourne.freeuk.com/ludwell.html History of Winterbourne by H W N Ludwell, 1972
Early Settlers -evidence to take us back to 8 centuries BC when the liberians lived in this land…
  A great change came about in 1228 when King Henry III granted a Charter of Disafforestation and most of the Forest was converted into Common Land a small part being retained as a Royal Chase.
  As a result of the Feudal system introduced into Britain by William the Conqueror, the King, in theory, became owner of all the land in the Kingdom most of which he apportioned among his Barons as Tenants in Chief.
   the Domesday Book (1086) fully recognises one organ of Saxon Life - the "Shire" or "County" through which the King acted. The officers of the Shire or Hundred made their demands from the Lord of the Manor, who "answers for the manor" in the matter of taxation from his tenantry as best he may.
  Hence in Winterbourne we know of three Manors, namely (i) The Manor of Winterbourne, (ii) The Manor of Hambrook, and (iii) The Manor of Sturden.
  An appropriate conclusion to this chapter is a reference to the Bradeston Family, various members of which were Lords of the Manor of Winterbourne.
http://www.winterbournebarn.org.uk/index.html Winterbourne Medieval Barn 1342
Winterbourne Medieval Barn is a building of national importance. Built in 1342, just a few years before the great plagues swept across England, the barn is a unique survival of the medieval agrarian economy. It was commissioned by Thomas de Bradeston, who was Lord of the Manor of Winterbourne from 1328 until his death in 1360. Records suggest that he 'dined with friends at Winterbourne in 1353'.
History:
Winterbourne Medieval Barn was built in the middle of the 14th Century, a turbulent time in which one King was murdered and another deposed. Throughout this period England was also ravaged by civil wars, famine and the Black Death, as well as by foreign wars against the Scots and the French. The man who had the Barn built, Thomas de Bradeston, was involved in many of these events, some of which are recorded here:
A Timeline to a Turbulent 14th Century

  • 1306: Rebellion of Robert the Bruce.
  • 1307: Death of Edward I; accession of Edward II.
  • 1314: Scottish Victory at Bannockburn.
  • 1315 - 16: Great Famine.
  • 1321 - 22: Civil War in England.
  • 1327: Edward II is murdered in nearby Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire.
  •          NB: Thomas de Bradeston was closely associated with the Berkeley family.
  • 1328: de Bradeston acquires the Patronage of Winterbourne.
  • 1337: The Hundred Years War against the French begins,
  •           in which de Bradeston is said to have amassed his wealth
  •           as a Captain in Edward III's army.
  • 1339 - 41: Political Crisis in England.
  • 1342: Construction of Winterbourne Barn.
  • 1348: First occurrence of the Plague in England.
  • 1377: Death of Edward III; accession of Richard II.
  • 1381: Peasants' Revolt.
  • 1399: Deposition of Richard II; accession of Henry IV.

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