The Sussex Colepepers
Generations 5-8

Walter, the eldest son of Thomas Colepeper, married, first, Elizabeth, widow of Thomas de Cobham, and, secondly, Alice . . . (who re-married Richard Charles, and died about 1386), but died without issue, when his brother, Sir John Colepeper, succeeded to Bayhall.

Sir John, who in 1348 had purchased the manor of Wigsell, in Salehurst, co. Sussex, from Simon de Etchingham,³⁴ by marriage with Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Hardreshull, of Hardreshull, co. Warwick, considerably augmented his patrimonial estates, and left at his death an only son and heir, Sir Thomas Colepeper, of Bayhall, in Kent., and Hardreshull, in Warwickshire.

Sir Thomas Colepeper married, first, Alianora, daughter and heiress of Nicholas Greene, of Exton, in Rutlandshire, by whom he had issue:--

(i.) Alianora, who married Sir Reginald Cobham, of Lingfield, in Surrey.

(ii.) Sir John Colepeper, of Bayhall, Hardreshull and Exton, who, by Juliana, his wife--who remarried, first, John Braunspath, Esq.,³⁵ and, secondly, Robert Fenne, Esq.,³⁶ -- had issue an only daughter Katherine, who by her first marriage with John Harrington, Esq., carried the Exton estates to that family, and married, secondly, Brian Talbot, Esq.

Sir Thomas Colepeper married, secondly, Joyce, widow of John Vyne, Esq.,³⁷ by whom he had four sons:--

(iii.) Walter.

(iv.) Nicholas.

(v.) Thomas.

(vi.) Richard.

Sir Thomas Colepeper died a very old man, about 1428/9 and the following is an abstract of his will partly translated:

Will of Sir Thomas Colepeper³⁸

Moy Thomas Colpeper Ch^r le dymenge procheyn deuant la feste de lez apostelez Simon et Jude l'an nre sy^r le Roy henry apres le conqueste vj et de son regne vij ordeyne mon testament.... En primez mon alme a dieu et mon corps desire sepelye en l'abbeye de Beggh^ame p cause que l'esgisle est de l'annunciation nre dame en le lieu ou mon sepulture d'Alebastre est fait. Et ieo lise a Nicholas mon fitz toutz mes chiualx. Et a Elizabeth sa femme mez paternosterez de or. A Jouce Topemoye si ele soit en vie v marc. A John Bayhalle bastard x marcz. a Thomas Payne mon cuc xl^s. a mon Butiller 13^s 4^d. mon

Bakere 13^s 4^d. Christianne Braylez 13^s 4^d. John Bosvyle 13^s 4^d. John Coppyng 13^s 4^d. mon parkcr 13^s 4^d, John Devale 13^s 4^d. a chescun garson 3^s 4^d, a chescun page and hyne 20^s. a Malyme ma petite chaumberer a son mariage 20^s. l'eglise de Pepymbery 40^s. al haute auter la 13^s 4^d. S^r John Trot 20^s. al Abbot de Beggh^ame 20^s. a chescun Canon de mesme le lieu 3^s 4^d. To the Curates of the seven nearest parishes 6^s 8^d for masses and to publish my humble will. To five of the poorest of the same patishes 5^d. To the Abbot ard Convent of Begh^ame 10^s yearly to keep my anniversary and the anniversary of Joyouse my wife. To Walter my son 200 marcs "condicionel sil face lealement et naturelement son devoir en lez ventez pticions et liberations de mon chatel p tesmoinage de les autres compaignons et assossez. A Nicholas mon fitz 200 marcs pour son bon svices. A Thomas mon fitz 200 marcs sur tiel condicion d'estre paie sil supporte bien et naturelement a mon volunte de mon testament et a mez executours et enfeffeez. A John Colpeper mon fitz £40 (on same conditions as Thomas). To the Abbot and Convent of Begh^ame £35. 6. 8. To the Church of Nonaignez de Malling 40^s. To the Church of the Priory of Tunbridge 20^s. The brothers of Aylesford 20^s. Al freres austynes de Rye pour tenir mon obit et anniversarie 40^s. A lumer les Taperez de la Shryne de Canterbury 20^s. Et ieo prie et charge John Colpeper et toutz mes autres fitz quils ne disturbent mes executors ne mes enfeffez de fermez. Goods in Manor of Bayhalle. If any person forfeit the condition half his legacy shall go "a mes fitz de moy et ioiouse ma femme" and of the other half, parcel to the Abbot and Convent of Beghme to find a chaplain to sing for the souls of me and Joyouse my wife at the altar where the bodies lie, and remainder to works of chnrity. Executors, Sire John Langdon leuesq de Roucester, John Chethm le Abbot de Beghm, Walter et Nicholas mez ffitz, William Burgoyne, Roger Honyton, William Bernes, et Thomas Festynden.

Ceste la condition et volunte de Monsr. Thoms Colpeper chiualer fait en la feste de seint Margarete l'an nre Sy^r le Roy Henry vj puis le conqueste tierce quil voile et charge q sez enfeffez William Bernes, Rics Ruyton, Sire Robert Clerk, Robert Sprynget queux furont et sount enfeffe auec autres q sount mortz come p chrt^r de fee simple de toutz sez terres et tenementz en les countez de Kent et Sussex portant la Chrt^r date done a la feste de la natiuite nre dame l'an nre Sy^r le Roy henry quarte apres le conqueste viij (8 Sept. 1407). Et apres est un chart^re a Thomas longle Ieuesq de Durhm, William Cheyne justice, Walter et Nicholas Culpeper mes ffitz, W^m. Bernes, Ric. Ruyton, et Robert Sprynget portant le dct chre date Done en la feste del annunciation nre dame l'an nre Sy^r le Roy henry quinte x^me (25 March 1422) De la sit ct mesons del manoir Bayhalle auec toutz les terres et tenementz que furont Auncien temps done p fine a iohn Colpeper mon pere et a sez heires maslez en Pepymbury, Tonbrigge et Tudele. The above feoffees are to receive the rents for two years to pay debts.

Touching the manor of Badeselle it is to remain to Walter my son and his heirs male, with remaindcr to the heirs male of myself and Joyce my wife.

Touching the manor of Bernet in Leghe, Penserst, Bitteberg and Tonbregge, writh the mill of Greenerssh and lands called Scottegrove in Asshe, Gatewicke mede in Otteford, and rents and farms in Sele and Sevenoaks, to Thomas my son and his heirs, remainder to Nicholas his brother, remainder to the heirs of me and Joyce lately my wife, remainder to my right heirs.

Touching the lands and tenements of Coluerdon, two windmills, Coluerdon mede, the lands and tenements of Bokstede and Marsfelde, lands in Fernth and Wadehurst, the mill of Beckeleghe, and 3 marcs of fee farm the Syr de Ponyngs pays for hasylholte, to Nicholas my son and his heirs male, remainder to the heirs of me aud Joyce lately my wife, "et voile q'le dit Nicholas en annu^atage toutez les terres et tenementez rentez et seruiccs appurtenant a manoir de Bayhalle qi fueront purchase p Walter Colpeper mon oncle, John Colpeper mon piere ou p moy q sount depuis purchase q' le fine de Bayllalle fuit fait.

Touching the manor of Wyggesell and lands in Hernden in Sandherst and Newynden because Wyggesell was settled on me and my wife Joyce and our heirs on our marriage "p chart^r endente," notwithstanding I have made anothor feoffmen^t, I wish the original gift to stand good. "Moy Thomas Colpeper le dymenge prochein le Purification nre dame l'an de nre syr. le Roy Henry vj-vij^e." Nicholas my son to make pilgrimages with various specified offerings to Norwich and the shrine of S^t Thomas of Canterbury. To the Church of Pountose in Normandy where the body of Richard my son lies a chalice etc. To Maryon Chamberer mon hopland de scarlet and fur. To Alison another hopland. To Nicholas my son a suitable bed and apparel such as my son Waltor had at his marriage. Other bequests--Thomas Festynden to have £10 to pay Christian Brayley 20^s a year for life--Thomas Pech farmer of Wyggsell to be pardoned a debt of 100^s for last year.

Proved 8 Mar 1428 (viz 1428/9) at Slyndon, and administration granted to Walter Colepeper, Roger Honyton, and Thomas Festynden executors, and afterwards administration was granted at Lambeth to William Burgoyne and Nicholas Colepeper.

Of the sons of Sir Thomas Colepeper, Walter succeeded to all the estates except Exton on the death of his half-brother--Sir John--and was the only one to leave male issue. Thomas is recorded in most pedigrees to have died without issue, and Nicholas, although he does not name her in his will³⁹ at Lambeth, dated 16 Aug 1434, and proved 20 Jan 1434/5, in which he mentions his brother Walter, his wife Elizabeth and his daughter Benedicta or Bennett, and desires "sepeliend' in ecclia annunciacois beate Marie de Begham ante altare sancti laurencii iuxtrem (?iuxta matrem) meam," had another daughter Joyce, who married Walter Lewknor, of Walberton, co. Sussex, fifth son of Sir Thomas Lewknor, M.P. for Lewes.

Walter Colepeper, who continued the line, married Agnes, the daughter of Edmund Roper, of St. Dunstans, Canterbury, and is so described on her tombstone at Goudhurst. She was also the widow of John, son of John de Bedgebury, a fact not mentioned in the pedigrees recorded in the Visitations, but which is amply evidenced by an undated Chancery Procceding, temp. Hen. VI., where Walter Coulpepir and Agneis, his wife, late the wife of John, son of John de Beggebury and Thomas Chaundeler, chaplain, appear as plaintiffs in a dispute relating to property in Goudhurst, Cranbrook and Hawkhurst, which John, son of Roger de Beggebury, left to pay for two chaplains to sing masses for his soul and for that of Johanna, his wife. By this marriage Walter Colepeper had, with two daughters--Margaret, married to Alexander Clifford, and Elizabeth, married to John Hardes, of Hardes, co. Kent--three sons, Richard, John and Nicholas. Agnes, his wife, predeceased him on the 2nd December, 1457, and was buried at Goudhurst, and Walter himself died on the 24th November, 1462, and was also buried at Goudhurst.

Although the pedigree given above differs in many respects from those recorded in the Visitation, it is substantiated not only by many Inquisitions, Deeds and Grants,⁴⁰ but also by a suit entered on membrane 484 of the De Banco Roll, Hilary, 4 Edward IV., whence the following pedigree is deduced:

This suit has reference to the fine levied in 1320, the John at the head of the pedigree being the son of Sir Thomas and Margery, and the plaintiffs, John, Richard and Nicholas Colepeper, claiming one quarter of these lands against Sir John Fogge, according to the customs of gavelkind, in right of their father Walter.

Although Richard is entered in the Visitation in Kent, in 1619, as Walter Colepeper's eldest son, this was not the case, as Sir John, as the eldest son, inherited Hardreshull, co. Warwick, Bayhall, co. Kent, and Wigsell, co. Sussex. It appears also from the same Visitation that this Sir John married Agnes, daughter of John Bedgebury, but no mention whatever is there made of the undoubted fact that some time before 1460 he was the husband of Agnes Gainsford, which is clearly proved by the Proceedings in Chancery relating to the abduction of the two Wakehurst heiresses by Sir John's brothers, Richard and Nicholas,⁴¹ where it is expressly stated that a sister of John and William Gainsford was wedded to John Culpepyr, and later on in the same suit mention is made of John Culpeper and Agnes, his wife. The marriage is also alluded to in De Banco Roll, Trin., 5 Edward IV., m. 118^d, and it explains the mention of Ottewell and George Gainsford (grandsons of the above John Gainsford, who married Anne Wakehurst, aunt of the co-heiresses, and sons of Sir John Gainsford, by Anne, daughter of Ottewell Worsley), as cousins in the will Walter Colepeper, of Calais, 1514--1516.

The question arises, therefore, as to whether the record of Sir John's marriage with Agnes Bedgebury is not due to a mistake on the part of the heralds. In their pedigree they certainly omit these two important facts, viz., that before 1460 Sir John was the husband of Agnes Gainsford, and also that his father Walter's wife, of the same Christian name, was the widow of John Bedgebury. It seems therefore not improbable that these two marriages have been confused; such, indeed, must have been the case unless Sir John was twice married, and of this the Visitation affords no evidence whatever. Sir John Colepeper died 22nd December, 1480, and was buried at Goudherst.

His two brothers, Richard and Nicholas, under somewhat romantic circumstances, married Margaret and Elizabeth Wakehurst, (granddaughters and co-heiresses of Richard Wakehurst, sen., of Wakehurst, in Ardingly. These two girls were confided by Elizabeth, their grandmother, Thomas Echyngham, Thomas Hoo, John Gaynesford and William Gaynesford, their guardians, to the care of John Colepeper and Agnes, his wife, the former of whom "promysed on the faithe and trouthe of his bodye and as he was a gentylman," that they should not be wronged. In spite of this promise, however, he, with Richard and Nicholas his brethren, "with force and armes riotously agense the Kynges peas arayed in the man^r of warre at Goutherst toke and caried" them away to Bobbing, Alexander Clifford's place in Kent, and afterwards transported them to London to a place of John Gibson, "the seide Margarete and Elizabeth at the tyme of their takyng away makyng grete and pittious lamentacion and wepyng."⁴²

This high-handed proceeding on the part of the two fortune hunting brothers was productive of much litigation, as Elizabeth Wakehurst, grandmother of the two heiresses, refused to resign the title deeds of their estates,⁴³ and it was some time before a peaceable settlement was obtained. Richard died without issue, but Nicholas became the ancestor of the Colepepers of Wakehurst, and as the brass to him and his wife Elizabeth in Ardingly Church shows ten sons and eight daughters, we may conclude that they lived long and happily together. [The famous herbalist, Dr. Nicholas Culpeper, was the great-grandson of this Nicholas].

Sir John Colepeper, of Bedgebury, by Agnes, his wife, had two sons:--

(i.) Alexander, progenitor of the senior line of Bedgebury, in Goudhurst, co. Kent, whose descendants, as belonging more to Kent than to Sussex, we shall here omit.

(ii.) Walter, ancestor of the Wigsell branch of the family.

As the Wigsell and Wakehurst Colepepers soon became very numerous, as well as the Bedgebury and Aylesford branches also, it will be better perhaps here to treat of them under their respective houses and, as the senior of the two Sussex lines, we will commence with the Colepepers of Wigsell, in Salehurst.

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Footnotes

³⁴ Feet of Fines, Sussex, 22 Edward III (1348)
³⁵ Harl. Ch. 80, g. 32
³⁶ Close Roll, 27 Henry VI (1448)
³⁷ Harl. Ch. 80, h. 27
³⁸ 403b Chichele at Lambeth
³⁹ Chichele, I, 456b
⁴⁰ Inq. P.M., 9 Henry V, No. 55; Inq. P.M., 16 Henry VIII, on death of John Harrington
⁴¹ Early Chanc. Pro., Bundle 26, No. 304
⁴² Early Chanc. Pro., Bundle 26, No. 304
⁴³ Early Chanc. Pro., Bundle 27, No. 218; Bundle 31, No. 218. De Banco Roll, Trin., 5 Edward IV, m. 118^d