Margery Bayhall 
Female, #8401, (say 1265 - )
| Birth* | say 1265 | Margery was born say 1265. |
| Marriage* | say 1299 | She married Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall in Pembury, co. Kent say 1299. |
| Married Name | say 1299 | As of say 1299, her married name was Culpeper. |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Biography* | The following evidence is adduced to show that Margery probably belonged to the Bayhall famiIy. In 1299 there is the grant, mentioned before, by Benedicta daughter of Thomas de Chitcroft, which family bore identically the same arms as the Colepepers (and therefore Thomns de Chitcrolt may hnve been a Colepeper himself, or he and Thomas Colepeper may both by marriage with the Bayhall heiresses have adopted their coat of arms) to Thomas, son of Thomas Colepeper, and Margery his wife of lands at Beghall with part of a mill in Pepinbury. 1308. Charter in which Cecilia, Margeria, Amicia, and Christina, daughters of John atte Bayhalle grant to Thomas the son of Thomas Colepeper, for 5 marcs, all their part of a mill and lands in Pepinbury which they had after the death of their grandfather William atte Bayhalle. 1309. Johanna quae fuit uxor Johannis atte Beyhalle petit versus Thomas Colepeper juniorem. 1312. Grant from Ralph Newman and Agnes daughtor and heir of Geoffrey atte Beyhalle to Thomas Colepeper and Margery his wife of lands in Pepinbery. 1312. Grant of Walter son of Jeffrey atte Beyhalle and Agnes his daughter and Ralph Neweman to Thomas Colepeper and Margery his wife for 26 shillings "quandam granam terrae in Pepingebery." 1313. Gilbert ate Beyhalle grants to Thomas Colepeper and Margery for 50 shillings a piece of land in Pepingbery to be held by them and their heirs for ever. 1314. Charter by which Christina daughter of John atte Bayhalle for 4 marcs grants to Thomas Colepeper lands in Pepingbery. 1315. Christina de Bayhalle grants to Thomas Colepeper and Margery his wife for 3s 6d the pension which William Scrivor owes yearly to her. 1316. Grant from Ralph Newheman to Thomas Colepeper and Margery his wife of lands at Beahalle in fields called "Redest" and "Mesebort" in Pepinbury. 1316. Charter by which Christina daughter of John atte Bayhalle grants to Thomas Colepeper and Margery for two shillings all that part of wood "inter Rodgate et stagna de Bayhalle cum placea super quam boscus crescit." 1317. Christina daughter of John atte Bayhalle grants to Thomas Colepeper and Margery for 4 marcs a messuage and lands in Peapingbury which she had "post decessum Willelmi ate Beyhalle avi sui." 1317. Quitclaim by Johanna widow of John atte Beyhalle to Thomas Colepeper and Margery his wife of a house and lands at Beyhalle for 3½ marcs." - Source: "The Sussex Colepepers", published in the "Sussex Archaeological Collections", Volume XLVII, 1904, pp 51-52. | |
| Birth of Son | say 1303 | Her son Walter Culpeper was born say 1303. |
| Birth of Son | say 1305 | Her son Sir John Culpeper of Hardreshull and Bayhall was born say 1305 at England. |
| Birth of Son | say 1307 | Her son Richard Culpeper was born say 1307. |
| Biography | She is referenced in a biographical note for Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall in Pembury, co. Kent.1 |
Family | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall in Pembury, co. Kent | |
| Marriage* | say 1299 | She married Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall in Pembury, co. Kent say 1299. |
| Children | ||
| Charts | Diana, Princess of Wales: Culpeper Ancestral Chart John Culpeper the Merchant: Ancestral Chart |
| Last Edited | 1 Jan 2012 |
Citations
- Sussex Archeological Collections, Sussex, England: Sussex Archaeological Society.
Janet H. Stevenson, "Alexander Nesbitt, a Sussex antiquary, and the Oldlands estate", 1999, Volume 137, pages 163-164.
Sir John Culpeper of Hardreshull and Bayhall1
Male, #8402, (say 1305 - after 1370)
| Father* | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall in Pembury, co. Kent |
| Mother* | Margery Bayhall |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Birth* | say 1305 | John was born at England say 1305. |
| Marriage* | say 1345 | He married Elizabeth Hardreshull at Pembury, co. Kent, England, say 1345. |
| Birth of Son | say 1356 | His son Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton was born say 1356. |
| Death* | after 1370 | He died at co. Kent, England, after 1370. |
| Biography* | Sir John, who in 1348 had purchased the manor of Wigsell, in Salehurst, co. Sussex, from Simon de Etchingham, 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.1 Sir John succeeded to Bayhall on the death of his brother Walter. Sheriff 1364-5, 1365-6, 1368-9 (39, 40 43 Edw III). Commissioner for equipping ships 1370, jointly with sheriffs of Kent, Surrey, Sussex and others. (Rymer) In Burke's Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland & Scotland, p. 144-145, is the following on John Culpeper, Sheriff of Kent: "John Colepeper, esq. of Bay Hall, who was sheriff of Kent in the 43rd an unknown date of Edward III [around 1370]. He m. Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Sir John Hardrishall, knt. of Hardrishall, in the county of Warwick, by Maud Mussenden, an heiress, and thereby became possessed of divers manors." | |
| Will | 26 Oct 1427 | He is mentioned in the will of Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton on 26 Oct 1427.2 |
| Biography | He is referenced in a biographical note for Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall in Pembury, co. Kent.3 |
Family | Elizabeth Hardreshull | |
| Marriage* | say 1345 | He married Elizabeth Hardreshull at Pembury, co. Kent, England, say 1345. |
| Child | ||
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
- Medieval Kent Wills at Lambeth - Book 22 Page 139. A translation into English from Latin / French transcriptions made by Leland L. Duncan
www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/Wills/Lbth/Bk22/page%20139.htm. - Sussex Archeological Collections, Sussex, England: Sussex Archaeological Society.
Janet H. Stevenson, "Alexander Nesbitt, a Sussex antiquary, and the Oldlands estate", 1999, Volume 137, pages 163-164.
Elizabeth Hardreshull1,2
Female, #8403, (say 1320 - )
| Father* | Sir John de Hardreshull of Hardreshull and Ashton |
| Mother* | Margaret Stafford |
| Birth* | say 1320 | Elizabeth was born say 1320. |
| Marriage* | say 1345 | She married Sir John Culpeper of Hardreshull and Bayhall at Pembury, co. Kent, England, say 1345. |
| Married Name | say 1345 | As of say 1345, her married name was Culpeper. |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Biography* | Elizabeth was the co-heiress to her father's estate. | |
| Birth of Son | say 1356 | Her son Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton was born say 1356. |
| Research note* | 10 May 2020 | See: Dudding, Reginald Charles: History of the Manor and Parish of Saleby with Thoresthorpe in the County of Lincoln, with some owners (1922), chapter IV: Hardreshull of Hardreshull, Ashton and Saleby pp 26-42, 211.3 |
Family | Sir John Culpeper of Hardreshull and Bayhall | |
| Marriage* | say 1345 | She married Sir John Culpeper of Hardreshull and Bayhall at Pembury, co. Kent, England, say 1345. |
| Child | ||
| Charts | Diana, Princess of Wales: Culpeper Ancestral Chart John Culpeper the Merchant: Ancestral Chart |
| Last Edited | 10 May 2020 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
- George Baker, "Hardreshull and Colepeper of Ashton," History and Antiquites of the County of Northampton.
- Lewis W. Griffin Jr. (#47), Phoenix, AZ.
Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton1
Male, #8404, (say 1356 - circa 1428)
| Father* | Sir John Culpeper of Hardreshull and Bayhall |
| Mother* | Elizabeth Hardreshull |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Birth* | say 1356 | Thomas was born say 1356. |
| Birth of Son | say 1374 | His son Sir John Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton was born say 1374. |
| Marriage* | say 1378 | He married Alianora de Greene at Bayhall, Pembury, co. Kent, England, say 1378. |
| Marriage* | say 1380 | He married Joyce (?) say 1380. |
| Birth of Son | say 1384 | His son Nicholas Culpeper was born say 1384. |
| Birth of Son | say 1386 | His son Thomas Culpeper was born say 1386. |
| Birth of Son | say 1388 | His son Richard Culpeper was born say 1388. |
| Death of Spouse | 1393 | His wife Alianora de Greene died in 1393. |
| Biography* | M.P. 1381-1382 Sheriff 1393-1394.1 | |
| Birth of Son | say 1400 | His son Walter Culpeper of Goudhurst, Bayhall & Hardreshull was born say 1400. |
| Will* | 26 Oct 1427 | He made a will on 26 Oct 1427. THOMAS COLPEPER, Knight, Sunday next before the Feast of the Apostles Simon and Jude the 7th year of the reign of Our Lord the King Henry VI after the conquest. My body to be buried in the Abbey of Begghame because that church is dedicated the Annunciation of Our Lady, in the place where my sepulture of "Alebastre" is made. I leave to Nicholas my son (Nicholas Culpeper) all my horses and to Elizabeth (Elizabeth (?)) his wife my paternosters of gold and I leave to Jouet Topymoye if she is alive 5 marcs. To John Bayhalle, Bastard, if he helps my executors 10 marcs. To Thomas Payn my ‘cuc’ 40s. To my ‘butiller’ 13s. 4d. My ‘Baker’ 13s. 4d. To Cristiane Brayley 13s. 4d., John Bosvyle 13s. 4d., John Coppyng 13s. 4d., my Parker 13s. 4d., John Dwale 13s. 4d. To each ‘garson’ 3s. 4d., to each ‘page’ and ‘hyne’ 20d., ‘a Malyne ma petite Chaumberer’ to her marriage and advancement 20s. I leave to aid the church of Pepynbery to diverse good works 40s. To the high altar there 13s. 4d. To Sr. John Trot 20s. To the Abbot of Beggham 20s., to each chanon 3s. 4d., to each curate (curatour) of seven parishes nearest for Placebo, Dirige and Commendation and mass by note of Requiem 6s. 8d. To Five of the poorest men of the same parishes 5d. To the Abbot and Convent of Beggham each year for 7 years 10s. to hold my anniversary and the Anniversary of Joyouse (Joyce) my wife. I leave to Walter my son (Walter Culpeper of Goudhurst, Bayhall & Hardreshull) 200 marcs. To Nicholas my son 200 marcs. To Thomas Fitz (sic) 200 marcs. To John Copeper my son (Sir John Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton) £40. To Abbot and Convent of Begghame £35. 6. 8. To the church of Nuns of Mallyng 40s., the Priory church of Tonbregge 20s., the Friars of Aylesforde 20s., the Austyn Friars of Rye to hold my obit and anniversary 40s. I leave to the light of the Tapers of the schryne of Cantirbury 20s. I pray and charge John Colpeper and all my other sons by the blessing of God and of myself that they do not hinder my executors or my feoffees. I leave for the administration of my goods on the manor of Baghalle at my decease if need be £20. The Residue the one moiety to my sons and to Joyce my wife (Joyce (?)) and the other moiety to the Abbey of Beghame on condition they find a chaplain to sing for the souls of me and Joyce my wife at the altar where our bodies lie for ten years as my executors and the abbot can agree. Executors. Sire John Langdon, Bishop of Roucestre, John Chetham Abbot of Beghame, Walter and Nicholas my sons, Wm. Burgoyne, Roger Honyton, Wm. Bernes and Thomas Festynden and I give to the Bishop of Rochester for his diligence and labour 10 marcs and to each of the others 5 marcs. This is the Will of Master Thomas Colpeper Knight, made in the Feast of St. Margaret in the 3rd year of the reign of Our Lord the King Henry VI since the conquest charging his enfeoffees Wm. Bernes, Richd Ruyton, Sire Robert Clerk, Robert Sprynget in all lands and tenements in the Counties of Kent and Sussex who were enfeoffed by deed bearing dated in the Feast of the Annunciation of Our Lady 10th years of King Henry the Fourth (8 September 1407) and afterwards by a charter to certain feoffees Thomas Longle bishop of Durham, Wm. Cheyne justice, Walter et Nicholas Colpeper my sons, Wm. Bernes, Ric Ruyton and Robert Sprynget carrying the date the Feast of the Annunciation of our Lady in the 10th year of the King Henry the Fifth (25 March 1422) concerning the Manor of Bayhalle with all lands etc., which were of old time given by fine to John Colpeper my father (Sir John Culpeper of Hardreshull and Bayhall) and his heirs males in the parishes of Pepyngbery, Tonbregge and Tudele. I will and charge my said feoffees Thomas, William, Walter and Nicholas Wm. Bernes, Richard and Robert the said manor to go to my sons by partition in Gauylkynde. And touching the Manor of Badeselle after the death of me Sr. Thos. Colpeper to go to Walter my son and his heirs males and in default to the heirs of me and Dame Joyce and then to my right heirs. And touching the Manor of Bernet in the parishes of Leghe, Penserst, Bitehergh and Tonbregge with the ‘molyne a brente’ of Gretenerssh, with all the lands and tenements called Scottegrove in the parish of Asshe, Gatewikemede in the parish of Otteforde, with the rents and farms in the parishes of Sele and Sevenoke, to Thomas my son and for default to Nicholas his brother and for default to the heirs male of me and Joyce my wife and in default to my right heirs. And touching the lands etc of Coluerden, two windmills, Coluerden mede, the lands etc of Bokstede, Marsfelde, with all the lands etc in the parishes of Fernthe (Frant) and Wadeherst with the mill of Berkeleghe and three marcs of fee farm which the Sire de Ponynges pays for the lands called Hosilhothe, to Nicholas my son. In default to the heirs males of me and Joyce lately my wife. And I will that the said Nicholas shall have ‘en ennuatage’ all the lands etc which are of fee simple belonging to the Manor of Bayhalle which were bought by Walter Colpeper my uncle (Walter Culpeper), John Colpeper my father or by me Sir Thos. Colpeper Knight, which were bought since the Fine was made and I charge my feoffes after my death to enfeoff the said Nicholas my son therein. Touching the Manor of Wyggesele and lands of Hernden in the parishes of Sandherst and Newynden because the said manor of Wiggesele is of fee and was given and granted by deed indented at the marriage between Joyce my wife and me Sr. Thomas Colpeper and to the heirs males and in default to the right heirs of me the said Sr. Thomas, not withstanding that since our marriage I have made other feoffement to Wm. Bernes and others I will after my death the said Manor be granted by the feoffees as was arranged at our marriage. Done at Bayhalle the year etc abovesaid. I Thomas Colpeper Knt, the Sunday next the Feast of the Purification of Our Lady the 7th year of the reign of King Henry VIth ordain: that Nicholas my son in his proper person shall go a pilgrimage to Norwich and there offer ‘a le Seint vicair on coer quest en mon chapel d’oor’ and that he have the cost of his expenses of my goods. That the same Nicholas make another Pilgrimage to the ‘Shryne’ of St. Thomas of Caunterbury in his proper person and there offer ‘vn roll d’oor’ and have for himself the costs and expenses. I leave in the church in the Town of Pountose in Normandy where the body of Richard my son (Richard Culpeper) lies a chalys and a chaplain to sing there for his soul for a year. To Marion Chamberer my ‘hopland’ of Scarlet and furred with ‘Mesines’ and 20s. To Alison for her labour another ‘hopland’ with the fur and 13s. 4d. (Hopoland = a cloak). To Nicholas my son a suitable bed such as his brother Walter had at his marriage. I will that Thomas Festynden have £10 on condition he find surety to pay to Cristian Braylez each year during her life 20s. To the Prior and Convent of Cumbwelle 100s. I will that Thomas Peche farmer of Wiggessele be pardoned his debt of last year of 100s. My feoffees in a piece of land called Gatewikmede in Otteforde to sell and buy other land for Thomas my son. Proved 8 March 1428 at Slydon and administration granted to Walter Colpeper, Roger Honyton and Thos. Festynden executors and afterwards at Lambeth to Wm. Burgoyne and Nicholas Colpeper. (403b Chichele I).2 |
| Death* | circa 1428 | He died circa 1428. |
| Probate* | 8 Mar 1429 | Probate action was taken on Thomas's estate on 8 Mar 1429 at Slyndon, co. Sussex, England, Chicele, I, 456b. |
| Biography | He is referenced in a biographical note for Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall in Pembury, co. Kent.3 |
Family 1 | Alianora de Greene | |
| Marriage* | say 1378 | He married Alianora de Greene at Bayhall, Pembury, co. Kent, England, say 1378. |
| Children | ||
Family 2 | Joyce (?) | |
| Marriage* | say 1380 | He married Joyce (?) say 1380. |
| Children | ||
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
- Medieval Kent Wills at Lambeth - Book 22 Page 139. A translation into English from Latin / French transcriptions made by Leland L. Duncan
www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/Wills/Lbth/Bk22/page%20139.htm. - Sussex Archeological Collections, Sussex, England: Sussex Archaeological Society.
Janet H. Stevenson, "Alexander Nesbitt, a Sussex antiquary, and the Oldlands estate", 1999, Volume 137, pages 163-164.
Joyce (?)1
Female, #8405, (say 1348 - )
| Birth* | say 1348 | Joyce was born say 1348. |
| Marriage | say 1365 | She married John Vyne Esq. say 1365. |
| Married Name | say 1365 | As of say 1365, her married name was Vyne. |
| Marriage* | say 1380 | She married Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton say 1380. |
| Married Name | say 1380 | As of say 1380, her married name was Culpeper. |
| Biography* | When Joyce married Sir Thomas Colepeper, she had been the widow of John Vyne, Esquire. | |
| Birth of Son | say 1384 | Her son Nicholas Culpeper was born say 1384. |
| Birth of Son | say 1386 | Her son Thomas Culpeper was born say 1386. |
| Birth of Son | say 1388 | Her son Richard Culpeper was born say 1388. |
| Birth of Son | say 1400 | Her son Walter Culpeper of Goudhurst, Bayhall & Hardreshull was born say 1400. |
| Will | 26 Oct 1427 | She is mentioned in the will of Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton on 26 Oct 1427.2 |
| Research note* | 2 Mar 2020 | From Johnathan Carn: I believe Sir John Culpepper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton second wife was Jocosa Joyce Baynard. I don’t know her birth year, but I believe she died in 1428 in Oxenheath, England.3 |
Family | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton | |
| Marriage* | say 1380 | She married Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton say 1380. |
| Children | ||
| Charts | Diana, Princess of Wales: Culpeper Ancestral Chart John Culpeper the Merchant: Ancestral Chart |
| Last Edited | 2 Mar 2020 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
- Medieval Kent Wills at Lambeth - Book 22 Page 139. A translation into English from Latin / French transcriptions made by Leland L. Duncan
www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/Wills/Lbth/Bk22/page%20139.htm. - Jon Carn. <e-mail address>
Walter Culpeper of Goudhurst, Bayhall & Hardreshull1
Male, #8406, (say 1400 - 24 Nov 1462)
| Father* | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton |
| Mother* | Joyce (?) |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Nickname | Walter Culpeper of Goudhurst, Bayhall & Hardreshull also went by the name of The Squire of Agincourt. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Birth* | say 1400 | Walter was born say 1400. |
| Marriage* | say 1425 | He married Agnes Roper say 1425. |
| Will | 26 Oct 1427 | He is mentioned in the will of Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton on 26 Oct 1427.2 |
| Death of Father | circa 1428 | His father Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton died circa 1428. |
| Birth of Son | say 1430 | His son John Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Bedgebury was born say 1430. |
| Birth of Son | say 1435 | His son Richard Culpeper of Wakehurst was born say 1435. |
| Birth of Son | say 1437 | His son Nicholas Culpeper of Wakehurst was born say 1437. |
| Death of Spouse | 2 Dec 1457 | His wife Agnes Roper died on 2 Dec 1457 at Goudhurst, co. Kent, England.3 |
| Death* | 24 Nov 1462 | He died at Goudhurst, co. Kent, England, on 24 Nov 1462. |
| Burial* | after 24 Nov 1462 | His body was interred after 24 Nov 1462 at Bedgebury Chapel of St. Mary's Church, Goudhurst, co. Kent, England. |
| Biography* | 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 sons... . 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, but also by a suit entered on membrane 484 of the De Banco Roll, Hilary, 4 Edward IV., whence the following pedigree is deduced: . ..John Culpeper(5) ....Thomas Culpeper(6) ......Thomas Culpeper(7) ......Walter Culpeper(7) ........John Culpeper(8) ........Richard Culpeper(8) ........Nicholas Culpeper(8) ......John Culpeper(7) ......Nicholas Culpeper(7) . 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, 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. 118d, 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. . Source: Col. F. W. T. Attree, "The Sussex Colepepers" . ----------------------- At the time of their check at the hands of Edward II, the Culpepers seem to have recently inaugurated their characteristic practice of land acquisition by the time honored expedient of marrying heiresses. It was from their first manor so acquired, that of Bayhall in the Kentish parish of Pembury on the southern border of the weald, that they spread, as Hasted remarks, 'over the whole face of the county' of Kent; and, we may add, eventually of adjacent Sussex as well. . In this process, the Walter Culpeper who fought at Agincourt, being of the seventh recorded generation of his family, put his roots in the ground a few miles southeast of Bayhall. About 1425 he married the widow of the last Bedgebury of Bedgebury in Goudhurst and was buried with that family in Goudhurst church. His tomb described him as 'arm. filius Thorne Culpeper militis... obiit 24 November 1462' (Weever, Antient Funeral Monuments, 1767 ed., p. 69); which identifies him genealogically as the Walter, son of Thomas, who himself left sons, John, Richard and Nicholas, as rehearsed in DeBanco Roll, 4 Edw. IV, Hilary Term, membrane 484. . Source: Fairfax Harrison, "The Proprietors of the Northern Neck."3 | |
| Will | 22 Sep 1516 | He is mentioned in the will of Richard Culpeper of Wakehurst on 22 Sep 1516.4 |
| Biography | He is referenced in a biographical note for Henry Culpeper of Lower Norfolk Co., VA.5,6 |
Family | Agnes Roper | |
| Marriage* | say 1425 | He married Agnes Roper say 1425. |
| Children | ||
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
- Medieval Kent Wills at Lambeth - Book 22 Page 139. A translation into English from Latin / French transcriptions made by Leland L. Duncan
www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/Wills/Lbth/Bk22/page%20139.htm. - Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
Pages 54-60. - Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part II", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVIII,65-98, (1905)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
Pp 65-66. - Warren L. Culpepper (#1942), Former publisher of Culpepper Connections.
- Lewis W. Griffin Jr. (#47), Phoenix, AZ.
Agnes Roper1,2
Female, #8407, (say 1400 - 2 Dec 1457)
| Father* | Edmund Roper of St. Dunstan's Canterbury |
| Birth* | say 1400 | Agnes was born at St. Dunstan's, Canterbury, co. Kent, England, say 1400. |
| Marriage | say 1422 | She married John Bedgebury of Bedgebury Manor say 1422. |
| Married Name | say 1422 | As of say 1422, her married name was Bedgebury. |
| Marriage* | say 1425 | She married Walter Culpeper of Goudhurst, Bayhall & Hardreshull say 1425. |
| Married Name | say 1425 | As of say 1425, her married name was Culpeper. |
| Birth of Son | say 1430 | Her son John Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Bedgebury was born say 1430. |
| Birth of Son | say 1435 | Her son Richard Culpeper of Wakehurst was born say 1435. |
| Birth of Son | say 1437 | Her son Nicholas Culpeper of Wakehurst was born say 1437. |
| Death* | 2 Dec 1457 | She died at Goudhurst, co. Kent, England, on 2 Dec 1457.3 |
| Burial* | circa 3 Dec 1457 | Her body was interred circa 3 Dec 1457 at Bedgebury Chapel of St. Mary's Church, Goudhurst, co. Kent, England.3 |
| Biography* | 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 Culpeper and Agnes, 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. (Sussex Colepepers-I) The Visitation of Kent 1619 says, "Agnes Roper was the daughter of Rudolph Roper (and Beatrice Lewknor, daughter of Thomas Lewkner), son of Thomas Roper (and the daughter of Thomas Appledore), son of Thomas Roper, son of Adae Roper, son of Edwin Roper." History and Topological Survey of the County of Kent, V.I (1797) by Edward Hasted, Chap.: Eltham, p.471: This family of Roper derived their original from Haculf Musard, who, in the Conqueror's time [1066-87], was as eminent for his virtue and piety as for his opulence. His manors, from his being seated at Miserden, in Gloucestershire, were in general, thogh lying in different counties, comprehended under the name of Baronia de Miserden. He was succeeded by his son, Richard, who died anno 33 Henry II (1187), whose younger son, William, was surnamed Rubra Spatha, and Rougespe, which was afterwards contracted to Roper, from one of whose posterity, about the reign of king Edward I (1272-1307), as some antient evidences affirm the Ropers of the county of Kent derive their descent, and from whom likewise the Ropers of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, who continued till king Henry VI's (1422-61) reign, derived their original; at which time Isolda, only daughter of John Roper of Turndich, marrying Richard, eldest son of Richard Furneaux of Beighton, in Derbyshire, he covenanted, that his son and all his issue by her should thenceforth forsake their paternal name, and assume that of Roper, from whence descended the Ropers, viscounts Baltinglass, barons of Bantre in Ireland, and those of Hull, in Yorkshire. Among others of this name, who flourished in those early times, was William Rosper, or De Rubra Spatha, who in the reign of king Henry III (1216-72) was a great benefactor to St. Martin's priory, in Dover. John de Rubra Spatha or Rosper, did eminent service in Scotland, under king Edward III (1327-77) who rewarded him and William Clifford (as appears by a pedigree recorded in the duke of Dorfet's pedigree) about the 29th year of his reign (1356), with the third part of those forfeitures which were due from the Jews then inhabiting in London, for the violation of some penal statutes, which had been enacted against them. In the 1st year of king Richard II (1377), the king calling on his subjects for money on an emergency, John Ropere of Canterbury, lent forty pounds to furnish out a fleet against the French and Scots; and Henry Ropere of Redyng, next year lent the king twenty pounds for the like occasions. The heraldic visitations of this county, taken by John Philipott, rouge dragon, in 1619, begins the pedigree of this family with Edwin Roper, of the count of Kent, whose son, Adam Roper, had two sons, Thomas and Edmund, who was prior of Bilsington, in this county. Thomas Roper married the daughter of Thomas de Apuldore, and by her had one son and heir, Ralph, who was twice married, first to Beatrix, daughter of Sir Thomas Lewknor, and secondley to the daughter of Thomas Kempe of Wye. By his first wife he had John, who died without issue, in 1401; Agnes, married to Walter Culpeper, esq. of Bedgbury, and Edmund, who was of St. Dunstan's, and an eminent man in the reigns of Henry IV and V under whom he was a justice of the peace for this county. He died in the 12th year of Henry VI and was buried in the church of St. Dunstan's, leaving two sons, John Roper of Swacliffe, esq. and Edmund. John Roper, the eldest son, was of Swacliffe, and succeeded his father likewise at St. Dunstan's. He was one of the surveyors of the customs of the cinque ports under king Henry VII in his 19th year (1504). He married Margery, daughter and coheir of John Tattersall before mentioned, and died in the end of the year 1488...3 | |
| Will | 22 Sep 1516 | She is mentioned in the will of Richard Culpeper of Wakehurst on 22 Sep 1516.4 |
Family | Walter Culpeper of Goudhurst, Bayhall & Hardreshull | |
| Marriage* | say 1425 | She married Walter Culpeper of Goudhurst, Bayhall & Hardreshull say 1425. |
| Children | ||
| Charts | Diana, Princess of Wales: Culpeper Ancestral Chart John Culpeper the Merchant: Ancestral Chart |
| Last Edited | 8 Feb 2011 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
- 1619 Visitation, Kent, England.
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
Pages 54-60. - Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part II", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVIII,65-98, (1905)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
Pp 65-66.
John Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Bedgebury1
Male, #8408, (say 1430 - 22 Dec 1480)
| Father* | Walter Culpeper of Goudhurst, Bayhall & Hardreshull |
| Mother* | Agnes Roper |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Birth* | say 1430 | John was born say 1430. |
| Death of Mother | 2 Dec 1457 | His mother Agnes Roper died on 2 Dec 1457 at Goudhurst, co. Kent, England.2 |
| Death of Father | 24 Nov 1462 | His father Walter Culpeper of Goudhurst, Bayhall & Hardreshull died on 24 Nov 1462 at Goudhurst, co. Kent, England. |
| Marriage* | say 1465 | He married Agnes Gainsford say 1465. |
| Birth of Son | say 1470 | His son Sir Alexander Culpeper of Bedgebury & Hardreshull, Knight was born say 1470. |
| Birth of Son | say 1475 | His son Walter Culpeper of Calais and Wigsell was born say 1475 at England. |
| Death* | 22 Dec 1480 | He died at Goudhurst, co. Kent, England, on 22 Dec 1480. |
| Burial* | after 22 Dec 1480 | His body was interred after 22 Dec 1480 at Bedgebury Chapel of St. Mary's Church, Goudhurst, co. Kent, England. |
| Biography* | Sir John(8) served the office of Sheriff of Kent in 7 Edw. IV (1468) and was buried in Goudhurst, beside his father; being described on his tomb as 'Johannis Culpeper, militis obiit 22 December 1480’ (Weever, loc. cit.) . It appears from an indenture dated 4 January, 21 Henry VIII [1529/30] which has survived (Harl. Charter, 76 H 12) that Sir John left a will (otherwise lost) disposing of his estates among two sons, Alexander(9) and Walter(9), named respectively for their maternal uncle, Alexander Clifford of Bobbing (thus introducing among the Culpepers a name which was to appear in Virginia), and for their grandfather, the Squire of Agincourt. These estates included the manors acquired by the Bedgebury marriage (Bedgebury and Haselden) in Kent, an inherited Culpeper manor (Wigsell) in Sussex, and certain lands in Essex which Sir John had purchased; and the will in question divided them among the two sons, the intention of the testator being that, despite the Kentish custom of gavelkind, the elder should take all the lands in Kent, and the younger those in Sussex and Essex. Wigsell, which thus devolved upon Walter(9) and was to be the seat of three generations of his descendants, was at the time of the death of Walter's father a manor 'holden by Knights service of the Lord of the Castle of Hastings,' consisting of some 600 acres of plough and pasture, with as much more of wood and heath, in the Sussex parish of Salehurst; lying close under the southwestern border of Kent, not far from Bayhall and Bedgebury. It was purchased in 1348 (Sussex Feet of Fines, 22 Edward III) from Simon de Etchingham by Sir John Culpeper(5); whose heir, Sir Thomas(6), records in his will of 1429 (Harl. Ch., 80 H 27) that it was settled upon him on the occasion of his first marriage. Wigsell was not yet a place of residence, however: its original value lay in the supply of charcoal which its forest cover provided for the iron smelting industry in which the Culpepers, like so many of their neighbours in the Weald, were profitably engaged in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries (Victoria County History, Sussex, ii, 241). At the death of Sir John(8), Wigsell must already have been somewhat denuded and so of less value than it had been; but the title was sufficient, nevertheless, to enable its inheritor to pursue the thrifty practice of his ancestors and negotiate a marriage which established Culpeper of Wigsell for a century and a half to come. . Source of preceding: Fairfax Harrison, "The Proprietors of the Northern Neck" . Sir John's 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, to the care of John Colepeper and Agnes, his wife. For further deatils, see narrative for Nicholas. . Alexander and Walter, the two sons of Sir John and Agnes, were respectively, the progenitors of the senior line of Bedgbury, in Goudhurst, co. Kent, and the Wigsell branch of the family in nearby Salehurst, co. Sussex.1 | |
| Will | 22 Sep 1516 | He is mentioned in the will of Richard Culpeper of Wakehurst on 22 Sep 1516.3 |
Family | Agnes Gainsford | |
| Marriage* | say 1465 | He married Agnes Gainsford say 1465. |
| Children | ||
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
Pages 54-60. - Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part II", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVIII,65-98, (1905)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
Pp 65-66.
Agnes Gainsford1
Female, #8409, (say 1445 - )
| Father* | John Gaynesford |
| Birth* | say 1445 | Agnes was born say 1445. |
| Marriage* | say 1465 | She married John Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Bedgebury say 1465. |
| Married Name | say 1465 | As of say 1465, her married name was Culpeper. |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Biography* | 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, 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. 118d, 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 Goudhurst. . Source: Col. F. W. T. Attree, "The Sussex Colepepers." | |
| Birth of Son | say 1470 | Her son Sir Alexander Culpeper of Bedgebury & Hardreshull, Knight was born say 1470. |
| Birth of Son | say 1475 | Her son Walter Culpeper of Calais and Wigsell was born say 1475 at England. |
Family | John Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Bedgebury | |
| Marriage* | say 1465 | She married John Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Bedgebury say 1465. |
| Children | ||
| Charts | Diana, Princess of Wales: Culpeper Ancestral Chart John Culpeper the Merchant: Ancestral Chart |
| Last Edited | 1 Jan 2012 |
Citations
- Sussex Archeological Collections, Vol. XLVIII, Volume XLVIII, Sussex, England: Sussex Archaeological Society, 1936-.
John Culpeper of Lynleigh
Male, #8410, (circa 1262 - after 1337)
| Father* | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Brenchley and Bayhall |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Birth* | circa 1262 | John was born at England circa 1262. |
| Marriage* | say 1285 | He married Johanna (?) say 1285. |
| Biography* | John and his three siblings (Thomas, Walter and Nicholas) were implicated in the Earl of Lancaster's rebellion, but John and Nicholas evidently in a Iesser degree than Thomas and Walter. There was an order issued in 1322 to the Sheriff of York to receive John Colepeper and others into custody in York Castle. This looks as if John Colepeper took part in the Battle of Boroughbridge... After remaining a close prisoner during the remainder of the reign in the Castles of Berkhampstead and Gloucester, John Colepeper was released on the accession of Edward III., and in the restoration of confiscated lands which then took place those of John Colepeper, of Lynlegh, were included. He was alive eleven years later, when John Colepeper, of Lynlegh, with Johanna, his wife, appear as deforciants in a fine relating to 20 acres of land in Wythyhame.1 | |
| Death* | after 1337 | He died after 1337. |
Family | Johanna (?) | |
| Charts | The 12th century Culpepers of England: Descendant Chart (16 generations, Males only) |
| Last Edited | 5 Jun 2011 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
Pp 49-51.
Johanna (?)
Female, #8411, (circa 1267 - )
| Birth* | circa 1267 | Johanna was born circa 1267. |
| Marriage* | say 1285 | She married John Culpeper of Lynleigh say 1285. |
| Married Name | say 1285 | As of say 1285, her married name was Culpeper. |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. |
Family | John Culpeper of Lynleigh | |
| Last Edited | 5 Jun 2011 |
Nicholas Culpeper
Male, #8412, (circa 1264 - after 1323)
| Father* | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Brenchley and Bayhall |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Birth* | circa 1264 | Nicholas was born at England circa 1264. |
| Death* | after 1323 | He died after 1323. |
| Biography* | Imprisoned. Released 17 Edward II. |
| Charts | The 12th century Culpepers of England: Descendant Chart (16 generations, Males only) |
| Last Edited | 24 May 2011 |
Walter Culpeper of Preston Hall1
Male, #8413, (say 1266 - 1321)
| Father* | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Brenchley and Bayhall |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Birth* | say 1266 | Walter was born at England say 1266. |
| Marriage* | say 1300 | He married Joane Bayhall say 1300. |
| Birth of Son | 1307 | His son Thomas Culpeper of East Farleigh was born in 1307. |
| Birth of Son | 1317 | His son Sir Geoffrey Culpeper of Preston Hall in Aylesford, co. Kent was born in 1317. |
| Birth of Son | 1318 | His son John Culpeper was born in 1318. |
| Death* | 1321 | He died at Winchelsea, co. Sussex, England, in 1321. |
| Biography* | Castellan of Leeds Castle. |
Family | Joane Bayhall | |
| Marriage* | say 1300 | He married Joane Bayhall say 1300. |
| Children | ||
| Charts | Catherine Howard (Fifth Queen of Henry VIII): Culpeper Ancestral Chart The 12th century Culpepers of England: Descendant Chart (16 generations, Males only) |
| Last Edited | 9 Nov 2010 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "Colepeper of Aylesford Pedigree in The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaelogical Collection, Vol. XLVII, 1904.
Joane Bayhall1
Female, #8414, (say 1271 - )
| Birth* | say 1271 | Joane was born say 1271. |
| Marriage* | say 1300 | She married Walter Culpeper of Preston Hall say 1300. |
| Married Name | say 1300 | As of say 1300, her married name was Culpeper. |
| Birth of Son | 1307 | Her son Thomas Culpeper of East Farleigh was born in 1307. |
| Birth of Son | 1317 | Her son Sir Geoffrey Culpeper of Preston Hall in Aylesford, co. Kent was born in 1317. |
| Birth of Son | 1318 | Her son John Culpeper was born in 1318. |
Family | Walter Culpeper of Preston Hall | |
| Children | ||
| Charts | Catherine Howard (Fifth Queen of Henry VIII): Culpeper Ancestral Chart |
| Last Edited | 8 Feb 2011 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "Colepeper of Aylesford Pedigree in The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaelogical Collection, Vol. XLVII, 1904.
Margaret Culpeper
Female, #8415, (say 1301 - )
| Father* | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall in Pembury, co. Kent |
| Mother* | Margery Bayhall |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Birth* | say 1301 | Margaret was born say 1301. |
| Burial* | Her body was interred at Pembury, co. Kent, England. | |
| Biography* | In 1860, the floor of the chancel of St. Peter's Church, Pembury, was raised two steps, thus concealing an interesting old tombstone of Margeret. Round the edge are the words "Pritz pur lame Margarete la file Sire Thomas Culpeper" written in Lombardic capitals. A drawing of Margaret Culpeper’s tomb can be seen in the British museum. (Source: Mary E. Standen, "History of Pembury", 1984.) |
| Last Edited | 24 May 2011 |
Walter Culpeper1
Male, #8416, (say 1303 - )
| Father* | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall in Pembury, co. Kent |
| Mother* | Margery Bayhall |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Birth* | say 1303 | Walter was born say 1303. |
| Marriage* | He married Elizabeth (?). | |
| Marriage* | He married Alice (?). | |
| Biography* | 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. - Source: The Sussex Colepepers-I, page 54. | |
| Will | 26 Oct 1427 | He is mentioned in the will of Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton on 26 Oct 1427.2 |
| Biography | He is referenced in a biographical note for Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall in Pembury, co. Kent.3 |
Family 1 | Elizabeth (?) | |
| Marriage* | He married Elizabeth (?). | |
Family 2 | Alice (?) | |
| Marriage* | He married Alice (?). | |
| Charts | The 12th century Culpepers of England: Descendant Chart (16 generations, Males only) |
| Last Edited | 24 May 2011 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
- Medieval Kent Wills at Lambeth - Book 22 Page 139. A translation into English from Latin / French transcriptions made by Leland L. Duncan
www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/Wills/Lbth/Bk22/page%20139.htm. - Sussex Archeological Collections, Sussex, England: Sussex Archaeological Society.
Janet H. Stevenson, "Alexander Nesbitt, a Sussex antiquary, and the Oldlands estate", 1999, Volume 137, pages 163-164.
Elizabeth (?)1
Female, #8417, (say 1310 - after 1359)
| Birth* | say 1310 | Elizabeth was born say 1310. |
| Marriage | She married Thomas de Cobham. | |
| Married Name | Her married name was Cobham. | |
| Marriage* | She married Walter Culpeper. | |
| Married Name | Her married name was Culpeper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Death* | after 1359 | She died after 1359. |
| Biography* | Elizabeth, was the widow of Thomas de Cobham when she married Walter Colepeper. |
Family | Walter Culpeper | |
| Marriage* | She married Walter Culpeper. | |
| Last Edited | 24 May 2011 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
Alice (?)1
Female, #8418, (say 1325 - 1386)
| Birth* | say 1325 | Alice was born say 1325. |
| Marriage* | She married Walter Culpeper. | |
| Married Name | Her married name was Culpeper. | |
| Marriage | She married Richard Charles. | |
| Married Name | Her married name was Charles. | |
| Death* | 1386 | She died in 1386. |
| Biography* | After Walter Colepepers death, Alice married Richard Charles. |
Family | Walter Culpeper | |
| Marriage* | She married Walter Culpeper. | |
| Last Edited | 27 Dec 1999 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
Richard Culpeper
Male, #8419, (say 1307 - after 1365)
| Father* | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall in Pembury, co. Kent |
| Mother* | Margery Bayhall |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Birth* | say 1307 | Richard was born say 1307. |
| Death* | after 1365 | He died after 1365. |
| Charts | The 12th century Culpepers of England: Descendant Chart (16 generations, Males only) |
| Last Edited | 24 May 2011 |
Alianora de Greene1
Female, #8420, (say 1356 - 1393)
| Father* | Nicholas de Greene of Exton, co. Rutland |
| Mother* | Joan de Bruce |
| Birth* | say 1356 | Alianora was born at Exton, Rutlandshire, England, say 1356. |
| Birth of Son | say 1374 | Her son Sir John Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton was born say 1374. |
| Marriage* | say 1378 | She married Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton at Bayhall, Pembury, co. Kent, England, say 1378. |
| Married Name | say 1378 | As of say 1378, her married name was Culpeper. |
| Death* | 1393 | She died in 1393. |
| Biography* | Alianora was the heiress to her father's estate. |
Family | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton | |
| Children | ||
| Last Edited | 14 Sep 2002 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
Alianora Culpeper1
Female, #8421, (say 1390 - 1420)
| Father* | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton |
| Mother* | Alianora de Greene |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Birth* | say 1390 | Alianora was born say 1390. |
| Death of Mother | 1393 | Her mother Alianora de Greene died in 1393. |
| Marriage* | say 1409 | She married Sir Reginald Cobham of Sterborough Castle at co. Surrey, England, say 1409. |
| Married Name | circa 1409 | As of circa 1409, her married name was Cobham. |
| Death* | 1420 | She died in 1420. |
| Burial* | 1420 | Her body was interred in 1420 at Lingfield, co. Surrey, England. |
| Biography* | M.I. |
Family | Sir Reginald Cobham of Sterborough Castle | |
| Marriage* | say 1409 | She married Sir Reginald Cobham of Sterborough Castle at co. Surrey, England, say 1409. |
| Child | ||
| Last Edited | 9 Nov 2010 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
Sir Reginald Cobham of Sterborough Castle1
Male, #8422, (say 1381 - 1446)
| Father* | Reynold Lord Cobham |
| Mother* | Eleanor Mautravers Baroness |
| Name Variation | He was also known as Cobham of Lingfield in Surrey. | |
| Birth* | say 1381 | Reginald was born at co. Surrey, England, say 1381. |
| Death of Father | 6 Jul 1403 | His father Reynold Lord Cobham died on 6 Jul 1403 at Lingfield, co. Surrey, England. |
| Death of Mother | 10 Jan 1405 | His mother Eleanor Mautravers Baroness died on 10 Jan 1405 at Lewes, co. Sussex, England. |
| Marriage* | say 1409 | He married Alianora Culpeper at co. Surrey, England, say 1409. |
| Death of Spouse | 1420 | His wife Alianora Culpeper died in 1420. |
| Death* | 1446 | He died at Lingfield, co. Surrey, England, in 1446. |
Family | Alianora Culpeper | |
| Marriage* | say 1409 | He married Alianora Culpeper at co. Surrey, England, say 1409. |
| Child | ||
| Last Edited | 2 Aug 2004 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
Sir John Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton1
Male, #8423, (say 1374 - say 1430)
| Father* | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton |
| Mother* | Alianora de Greene |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Birth* | say 1374 | John was born say 1374. |
| Death of Mother | 1393 | His mother Alianora de Greene died in 1393. |
| Marriage* | say 1394 | He married Juliana Cromwell say 1394. |
| Will | 26 Oct 1427 | He is mentioned in the will of Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton on 26 Oct 1427.2 |
| Death* | say 1430 | He died say 1430. |
| Biography* | M.P. for Rutland 1421-1427 and 1430. |
Family | Juliana Cromwell | |
| Marriage* | say 1394 | He married Juliana Cromwell say 1394. |
| Child | ||
| Charts | The 12th century Culpepers of England: Descendant Chart (16 generations, Males only) |
| Last Edited | 9 Nov 2010 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
- Medieval Kent Wills at Lambeth - Book 22 Page 139. A translation into English from Latin / French transcriptions made by Leland L. Duncan
www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/Wills/Lbth/Bk22/page%20139.htm.
Juliana Cromwell1
Female, #8424, (say 1379 - say 1450)
| Birth* | say 1379 | Juliana was born say 1379. |
| Marriage* | say 1394 | She married Sir John Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton say 1394. |
| Married Name | say 1394 | As of say 1394, her married name was Culpeper. |
| Death of Spouse | say 1430 | Her husband Sir John Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton died say 1430. |
| Marriage | say 1435 | She married John Braunspath Esq. say 1435. |
| Married Name | say 1435 | As of say 1435, her married name was Braunspath. |
| Marriage | say 1445 | She married Robert Fenne Esq. say 1445. |
| Married Name | say 1445 | As of say 1445, her married name was Fenne. |
| Death* | say 1450 | She died say 1450. |
| Biography* | Juliana married in order: Sir John Colepeper, John Braunspath, Esquire, and Robert Fenne, Esquire.1 |
Family | Sir John Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton | |
| Marriage* | say 1394 | She married Sir John Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton say 1394. |
| Child | ||
| Last Edited | 2 Aug 2004 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
Nicholas Culpeper1
Male, #8425, (say 1384 - 1434)
| Father* | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton |
| Mother* | Joyce (?) |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Birth* | say 1384 | Nicholas was born say 1384. |
| Marriage* | say 1410 | He married Elizabeth (?) say 1410. |
| Will | 26 Oct 1427 | He is mentioned in the will of Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton on 26 Oct 1427.2 |
| Death of Father | circa 1428 | His father Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton died circa 1428. |
| Death* | 1434 | He died in 1434. |
| Will* | 16 Aug 1434 | He made a will on 16 Aug 1434 NICHOLAS CULPIPER, 16 August 1434. To be buried in the church of the Annunciation of Blessed Mary of Begham before the altar of Saint Laurence ‘iuxtrem meam’ (?iuxta matrem meam). I leave to the Abbot of that place 10s. and each canon 3s. 4d. To the Prior 40s. and Sub-prior 3s. 4s. To the Prior of Combwell to the building of the cloister 40s. To the use of the church of Begham 10 mrcs. On the day of my death and for my month’s day 10 mrcs. I leave to be distributed to the Prior and Convent of Combwell 20s. viz to each priest 3s. 4d., to each novice 20d and particularly to Thomas Chestir canon of Combwell for his labour 6s. 8d. To Elizabeth my wife 40 mrcs and Benedicta my daughter to her marriage 100 mrcs. To Walter my brother and his wife 10 marcs and to all their sons 10 mrcs. To Elizabeth my wife all my moveable chattels viz in beasts, utensils of house hold with my gold chain with cross, except the grain at Dodeherst (?Godehurst) which shall remain to my executors to fulfil my will. To be distributed to the poor for my soul on the day of my death, month’s day and anniversary 40s of which Wm. Shepistayle shall have 13s. 4d. To Elizabeth my wife to fulfil my Pilgrimages to Blessed Mary of Walsyngham and to Canterbury four marks. To Agnes Dreel ‘famule mee’ 26s. 8d. To Johan Bethnam 20s., Richd Downer and John Pepersham 6s. 8d., and to each groom (garcioni) in the house of Walter my brother 20d. and each handmaid dwelling in that house 20d. To Juliana dwelling in that house 12d. To a secular chaplain to celebrate for my soul and my parents in the church of Blessed Mary of Begham at the altar of Blessed Laurence aforesaid for a year 10 marcs. To Thomas Hellys 13s. 4d. Residue to be distributed in works of mercy. Executors: Walter Culpiper my brother, Elizabeth my wife and Nicholas Watton. Proved in the manor of Maydeston 20 January 1434 by Walter Culpiper with reserved powers for the other executors. (456b Chichele I).3 |
| Probate* | 20 Jan 1435 | Probate action was taken on Nicholas's estate on 20 Jan 1435 at Lambeth, co. Surrey, England, Chicele, I, 456bWill dated 16 Aug 1434. |
| Biography* | Nicholas, although he does not name her in his will at Lambeth, dated 16th August, 1434, and proved 20th January, 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. (From: "The Sussex Colepepers.") | |
| Biography | He is referenced in a biographical note for Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall in Pembury, co. Kent.4 |
Family | Elizabeth (?) | |
| Marriage* | say 1410 | He married Elizabeth (?) say 1410. |
| Children | ||
| Charts | The 12th century Culpepers of England: Descendant Chart (16 generations, Males only) |
| Last Edited | 4 Jun 2011 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
- Medieval Kent Wills at Lambeth - Book 22 Page 139. A translation into English from Latin / French transcriptions made by Leland L. Duncan
www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/Wills/Lbth/Bk22/page%20139.htm. - A translation into English from Latin / French transcriptions made by Leland L. Duncan
www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/Wills/Lbth/Bk22/page%20173.htm . - Sussex Archeological Collections, Sussex, England: Sussex Archaeological Society.
Janet H. Stevenson, "Alexander Nesbitt, a Sussex antiquary, and the Oldlands estate", 1999, Volume 137, pages 163-164.
Elizabeth (?)1
Female, #8426, (say 1389 - )
| Birth* | say 1389 | Elizabeth was born say 1389. |
| Marriage* | say 1410 | She married Nicholas Culpeper say 1410. |
| Married Name | say 1410 | As of say 1410, her married name was Culpeper. |
| Will | 26 Oct 1427 | She is mentioned in the will of Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton on 26 Oct 1427.2 |
Family | Nicholas Culpeper | |
| Children | ||
| Last Edited | 27 Dec 1999 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
- Medieval Kent Wills at Lambeth - Book 22 Page 139. A translation into English from Latin / French transcriptions made by Leland L. Duncan
www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/Wills/Lbth/Bk22/page%20139.htm.
Richard Culpeper1
Male, #8428, (say 1388 - before 1428)
| Father* | Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton |
| Mother* | Joyce (?) |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Birth* | say 1388 | Richard was born say 1388. |
| Will | 26 Oct 1427 | He is mentioned in the will of Sir Thomas Culpeper of Bayhall, Hardreshull & Exton on 26 Oct 1427.2 |
| Death* | before 1428 | He died before 1428. |
| Burial* | before 1428 | His body was interred before 1428 at Pontose, Normandy, France. |
| Charts | The 12th century Culpepers of England: Descendant Chart (16 generations, Males only) |
| Last Edited | 5 Jun 2011 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
- Medieval Kent Wills at Lambeth - Book 22 Page 139. A translation into English from Latin / French transcriptions made by Leland L. Duncan
www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/Wills/Lbth/Bk22/page%20139.htm.
Nicholas Culpeper of Wakehurst1
Male, #8429, (say 1437 - 23 May 1510)
| Father* | Walter Culpeper of Goudhurst, Bayhall & Hardreshull |
| Mother* | Agnes Roper |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Culpepper. | |
| Name-AltSpell | This surname is sometimes spelled Colepeper. | |
| Birth* | say 1437 | Nicholas was born say 1437. |
| Death of Mother | 2 Dec 1457 | His mother Agnes Roper died on 2 Dec 1457 at Goudhurst, co. Kent, England.2 |
| Death of Father | 24 Nov 1462 | His father Walter Culpeper of Goudhurst, Bayhall & Hardreshull died on 24 Nov 1462 at Goudhurst, co. Kent, England. |
| Marriage* | say 1464 | He married Elizabeth Wakehurst say 1464. |
| Birth of Son | say 1465 | His son Richard Culpeper of Wakehurst was born say 1465. |
| Biography* | Nicholas, with his brother, Richard, under somewhat romantic circumstances, married the Wakehurst sisters, (granddaughters and co-heiresses of Richard Wakehurst, sen., of Wakehurst, in Ardingly). These two girls were confided by Elizabeth, their grandmother, 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, Richard and Nicholas, "with force and armes riotously agense the Kynges peas arayed in the manr 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." 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, 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.3 Also see on this website "Abduction: An Alternative Form of Courtship?" This is a paper written by Julia Pope, M.A. and presented at the International Medieval Congress, Kalamazoo. MI, May 2003. Based upon the 15th century abduction of the Wakehurst sisters by the Culpeper brothers, it can be viewed at: http://gen.culpepper.com/ss/p8456.htm. | |
| Birth of Son | say 1473 | His son Thomas Culpeper of Crawley, Esq. was born say 1473. |
| Birth of Son | say 1476 | His son Rev. Edward Culpeper D.C.L. was born say 1476. |
| Birth of Son | say 1479 | His son George Culpeper of Naylands in Balcombe, co. Sussex was born say 1479. |
| Birth of Son | say 1483 | His son Richard Culpeper of Lewes was born say 1483. |
| Death* | 23 May 1510 | He died at Wakehurst, Ardingly, co. Sussex, England, on 23 May 1510. |
| Burial* | after 23 May 1510 | His body was interred after 23 May 1510 at St. Peter's Church, Ardingly, co. Sussex, England. |
| Will | 22 Sep 1516 | He is mentioned in the will of Richard Culpeper of Wakehurst on 22 Sep 1516.4 |
Family | Elizabeth Wakehurst | |
| Marriage* | say 1464 | He married Elizabeth Wakehurst say 1464. |
| Children | ||
| Charts | The 12th century Culpepers of England: Descendant Chart (16 generations, Males only) |
| Last Edited | 23 May 2011 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part I", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVII,47-81, (1904)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
Pages 54-60. - Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part II", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVIII,65-98, (1905)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part II", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVIII,65-98, (1905)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
Pp 65-66.
Elizabeth Wakehurst1
Female, #8430, (say 1449 - after 1517)
| Father* | Richard Wakehurst of Ardingly |
| Mother* | Agnes (?) |
| Birth* | say 1449 | Elizabeth was born at Wakehurst, Ardingly, co. Sussex, England, say 1449. |
| Marriage* | say 1464 | She married Nicholas Culpeper of Wakehurst say 1464. |
| Married Name | say 1464 | As of say 1464, her married name was Culpeper. |
| Birth of Son | say 1465 | Her son Richard Culpeper of Wakehurst was born say 1465. |
| Birth of Son | say 1473 | Her son Thomas Culpeper of Crawley, Esq. was born say 1473. |
| Birth of Son | say 1476 | Her son Rev. Edward Culpeper D.C.L. was born say 1476. |
| Birth of Son | say 1479 | Her son George Culpeper of Naylands in Balcombe, co. Sussex was born say 1479. |
| Birth of Son | say 1483 | Her son Richard Culpeper of Lewes was born say 1483. |
| Will | 22 Sep 1516 | She is mentioned in the will of Richard Culpeper of Wakehurst on 22 Sep 1516.2 |
| Death* | after 1517 | She died at Wakehurst, Ardingly, co. Sussex, England, after 1517. |
| Burial* | after 1517 | Her body was interred after 1517 at St. Peter's Church, Ardingly, co. Sussex, England. |
| Biography* | Abduction: An Alternative Form of Courtship? by Julia Pope, M.A. Presented at the International Medieval Congress, Kalamazoo, MI, May 2003 Some time between 1457 and 1460, two young sisters, Elizabeth and Margaret Wakehurst, were allegedly abducted.1 The legal battle that followed would hound them and their families for decades. By incorporating the ample resources of legal records, we can reach a greater understanding of problems traditionally viewed solely through the lens of social history. Pieced together as much as possible from the surviving documents, the story of the Wakehurst heiresses, though exceptional, can shed light not only on the ambiguous nature of the crime of abduction, but also on more general questions of courtship, marriage, and the value of female consent. Medieval English lawmakers considered abduction a serious problem. No fewer than eight statutes on the subject can be found on the books between 1275 and 1487. I will only mention the two with most bearing on the Wakehurst case. The Statute of Westminster II of 1285 made abduction a felony. If the female victim did not consent, or consented after the fact, the punishment remained the same. If, however, she had consented in advance, under this law no crime had been committed. Second is the statute of 6 Richard II (1382), which gave a woman’s next of kin the right to prosecute her abductor even if she consented to the abduction. It also debarred an abductor from inheriting property by marrying his victim. These statutes comprise the legal frame of reference for the Wakehurst case. They did not bear on it directly, however, because it was largely fought in the court of Chancery. In the late medieval period, Chancery functioned (among other things) as a court of equity - a last resort for people who could not get justice through normal channels.2 Chancellors were meant to supplement the common law, but were not strictly bound by it; instead, their rulings were supposed to be based on ‘conscience’.3 In petitioning the Chancellor, a plaintiff was seeking remedy for an offense that either was not adequately covered by existing statute law, or for which they would be unable to obtain justice in the regular court system for some reason. The work of Cameron, Ives, and Post has demonstrated that the common law courts were not a popular option for resolving abduction disputes, leaving Chancery as a prime alternative venue. Scholarship on medieval abduction has tended to focus on two distinct but related aspects of the crime. First, much ink has been devoted to the confusion surrounding the Latin term raptus, meaning “carrying off, abduction, rape, or plunder.” The preferred English translation is “ravish,” since it incorporates a similar ambiguity regarding of sexual contact. This terminological conflation of what we consider two separate crimes, kidnapping and rape, has proven problematic for historians attempting to tease out the medieval concept of abduction. In my research, however, this debate is of secondary importance. The documents I have examined were written in the vernacular, and therefore rely on less ambiguous terminology, such as “carried away”. Second, scholars have debated the amount of female agency involved in abduction. Some, drawing on the work of Susan Brownmiller, have argued that abduction was fundamentally considered a property crime against men, and that female agency was unimportant. However, this claim is based largely on an examination of statute law, not case evidence. Arguing against the ‘property crime’ theory is Garthine Walker, who has contended that it was not the victims themselves who were seen as property, but rather the lands and wealth that would be transferred through them, a crucial distinction to bear in mind. Others, drawing more on literary than historical records, have seen abduction as a romantic crime, and suggest that many (perhaps even most) so-called abductions were actually concealed elopements, which assumes the consent of both parties. More recently, Emma Hawkes has taken a different position, arguing that though some abductions were consensual, many were not, and that a woman’s consent or lack thereof was of fundamental importance in determining the outcome of a legal case. I have examined some fifty cases of abduction presented to Chancery between 1389 and 1515. My research has shown that many abduction cases in Chancery records were heavily connected with wardship, money, and marriage. Although Ives argued that “abduction for gain is almost unknown”4 in the fifteenth century, it would be more accurate to say that abduction for ransom was not common (out of fifty cases I examined, only four followed such a pattern). If we consider the potential wealth that a valuable wardship or the marriage of an heiress could bring, many abductions could be called ‘abductions for gain’ (at least eighteen out of fifty, in my sample group). The Wakehurst case is one such. Because of the unusual amount of detail we have regarding this particular abduction incident, we can use it to examine some of the surrounding issues, particularly the role courtship may have played in abduction. I will turn now to the facts of the case itself. Richard Wakehurst the Elder, who had been a member of Parliament and Justice of the Peace, died in 1455. In his will he named Thomas Hoo and William Gaynesford as the supervisors who would ensure that the executors fulfilled their duties properly.5 His only son, Richard the Younger, had predeceased him. Thus, Richard the Elder’s only heirs were his two granddaughters Margaret and Elizabeth, the children of his son Richard and daughter-in-law Agnes Gaynesford (a sister of William and John). Although their ages are not certain, they were still unmarried at the time of their grandfather’s death. They were probably quite young, most likely in their early teens. Their wardship apparently fell to their grandmother Elizabeth’s relatives. Not long afterwards, a petition was sent to the chancellor by the girls’ grandmother Elizabeth, who was writing along with Thomas Etchingham, Thomas Hoo, and John and William Gaynesford, esqs.6 This petition stated that her granddaughters had been placed under the care of Sir John Culpepper. Incidentally, in a detail apparently not mentioned in Elizabeth’s original petition, Sir John had, some time previously, married Agnes Gaynesford, the girls’ widowed mother.7 Their joint tomb remains in the Lady Chapel at Goudherst, Kent, and it indicates that together they had six children.8 Culpepper had, the petitioners claimed, “promysed on the faithe and trouthe of his bodye and as he was a gentylman” that no harm would come to the girls. The plaintiffs made serious accusations against John, along with his brothers Richard and Nicholas Culpepper and their brother-in-law Alexander Clifford, claiming that they “with force and armes, riotously agense the Kinges peas, arayed in the manner of warre…toke and caried away” the girls to Clifford’s home in Bobbing, Kent. At the time of their abduction, we learn, Margaret and Elizabeth made “grete and pittious lamentacion and weping.” Elizabeth and her co-petitioners ended by claiming that the two young women were still being detained against their wills in London at the home of one John Gibson. The various families involved here, all members of the local gentry, were heavily connected through several marriages.9 There is strong evidence that Etchingham and Hoo (whose father was married to a woman named Elizabeth Etchingham) were relatives of the girls’ grandmother Elizabeth (whose maiden name was also Etchingham), although the exact nature of their relationship remains unclear.10 The Gaynesford family was doubly married into the Wakehurst family, and thus could also be expected to have a strong interest in the matters at issue. No further evidence is forthcoming from this basic text, which follows many of the standard conventions of the genre, but other documents can fill in some of the surrounding story. The two young co-heiresses, Margaret and Elizabeth, married their alleged abductors not long after the incident, though the exact date of their weddings is not certain. Margaret was married to Richard, and Elizabeth to Nicholas. In marrying this way, the couples violated a number of the traditions and standards surrounding marriage at this time, to say the least. First, they were within the prohibited degrees of affinity by medieval standards, the Culpeppers being the girls’ step-uncles by reason of Sir John and Agnes’s marriage. That this relationship was uncomfortably close to home would have been abundantly clear to everyone involved. Secondly, the process by which the marriages were conducted was well outside the norm. Abduction, even if Margaret and Elizabeth were willing victims, was not a socially acceptable substitute for courtship, wherein gaining the consent of family and friends was an important step. Finally, the couples apparently married in London, when they should have married within their home parish, with the banns read in advance. Presumably the flight to London was necessary because of the two factors mentioned earlier – the overly close bond between the couples, and the opposition of at least some of their family members to the match. In situations such as this, where the legal and moral grounds for marriage were somewhat dubious, the most likely course of action would have been for the couples to marry quickly, and before a priest, though preferably one who would not ask too many questions. London, even then the anonymous metropolis, would have been the easiest place for them to locate such a priest. The authority provided by a solemnized ceremony would have considerably outweighed the secrecy of a clandestine marriage, if the couples expected the marriages to be challenged in the ecclesiastical court system. Perhaps the journey to Bobbing, Kent, to Alexander Clifford’s home (which would have taken them considerably out of their way) was undertaken in order to obtain Clifford’s help and/or advice in these matters. Unfortunately, the identity of the John Gibson they are said to have stayed with in London is unknown, but he could also have aided them in the process of getting married. The main opponents to the young couples was the girls’ grandmother Elizabeth Wakehurst, and to a lesser extent her relatives, the Etchingham and Hoo families. Elizabeth’s precise reasons for objecting to the marriages are not immediately evident from the documents available, but several possibilities spring to mind. First and foremost, she probably thought that the Culpeppers were too closely related to her granddaughters. She may have considered the men to be poor matches for her wealthy heiress granddaughters because Nicholas and Richard were younger sons and thus were not likely to inherit a great deal of wealth or property in their own rights – in short, she probably thought Margaret and Elizabeth could do better, given their considerable inheritance. Finally, and most tentatively, she may have objected to the Culpepper brothers themselves on some more personal grounds. The Culpepper family may have been social climbers with a penchant for marrying heiresses (their grandfather and great-grandfather had both definitely married women much wealthier than themselves), and it is not too far-fetched to imagine Elizabeth Wakehurst considered them presumptuous upstarts. Her decision to resort to Chancery for remedy is not unusual, judging by the number of cases I have examined from that venue. Although verdicts have not survived, the tactic of petitioning the Chancellor in an attempt to forestall an undesirable union and protect family property was evidently unsuccessful in this case. We are forced to wonder how much truth there is in the original petition, given that it was designed to sway the Chancellor’s opinion into line with Elizabeth Wakehurst’s own. But if Elizabeth Wakehurst’s petition had not presented her granddaughters’ departure as a case of abduction, complete with heart-wrenching descriptions of their “grete and pittious lamentacion and weping,” her case would more than likely have been hastily dismissed, as voluntary elopement was not criminal. The petition seems not to have raised the question of the violation of wardship. Evidently Elizabeth (or more likely, her lawyers) did not consider this strategy to be the most effective means of achieving her goal – not primarily the return of the girls (which the Chancellor would have had few means of effecting), but safe-guarding the family property from their new husbands. This petition was thus a legal manoeuvre of some skill, and, although the chancellor’s ruling is not known, the care and thought that went into the preparation of the argument were evidently considerable. Subsequently, Elizabeth and her family set about blocking as much of the girls’ inheritance as they could. Even twenty years later, the two couples were still engaged in legal disputes with their grandmother’s relatives over various manors and pieces of property that were originally part of the Wakehurst women’s inheritance from their father and grandfather.11 Although her attempt to disinherit completely the two couples eventually failed, Elizabeth Wakehurst probably managed to make things very unpleasant for them while she lived with her numerous petitions to Chancery and, no doubt, by other means as well. One question arises here: given that the marriages were well within the forbidden degrees of affinity, why did Elizabeth not attempt to have them dissolved? Surprisingly, as far as can be determined, she made no mention whatsoever in her various petitions to Chancery of the girls’ mother being remarried to Sir John Culpepper. There is no evidence that she brought the case before the ecclesiastical courts of London or elsewhere in the province of Canterbury, though the survival of such records from this period is chancy at best. Searching further afield, there is no sign that the couples were granted a dispensation to marry by papal authorities, nor that any (possibly lost) local ecclesiastical verdict was appealed to Rome, although there are many other surviving appeals for dispensations on grounds of affinity. We are left to wonder, then, how much the question of affinity bears on this case. While Helmholz would have us believe that people in medieval England rarely violated the bonds of consanguinity if they were aware of them, perhaps we can tentatively say that in this case, ties of affinity (ties of marriage, not of blood) were not seen as a major obstacle to marriage, at least by the couples themselves. While Elizabeth Wakehurst and her relatives were the main antagonists to the young couples, Richard, Margaret, Nicholas, and Elizabeth also seem to have had a considerable support network. The girls’ mother Agnes and her second husband Sir John must have permitted the marriages to go ahead, or at least done nothing to hinder them. Certainly grandmother Elizabeth considered Sir John equally as culpable as his younger brothers, though it seems unlikely he actually accompanied them on their abduction journey. Brother-in-law Alexander Clifford probably also provided support, along with a place to lay low for a time. The mysterious John Gibson in London presumably also assisted them in some capacity, whether in finding a priest who was amenable to solemnizing a more-than-slightly-questionable marriage, or simply providing lodgings in the city. Traditional courtship involved gaining the consent of family and friends, and it seems the couples had managed this, to a certain extent. The consent of the Wakehurst girls themselves must also have been secured – the question being, was it before or after they were carried away? Certainly the men who were said to have abducted them were no strangers to Margaret and Elizabeth, though they were likely a good deal older than their step-nieces. It would not have been unusual for unmarried younger brothers of a well-off family to spend at least some of their time at their family estate. If there was an abduction, I suspect it was a carefully orchestrated act, planned in advance due to some previously-expressed opposition from the girls’ grandmother and guardians towards a proposed match. Or, more likely, there was never a violent abduction as described in the petition. Perhaps there was merely a calm journey to the house of another relative, and the description provided in the petition is pure legal rhetoric intended to sway the Chancellor with a sense of the horrors of the alleged crime. It is worth noting that the girls were taken from the home of John Culpepper, and that it is unlikely Elizabeth Wakehurst or any of her associates actually witnessed it. After the death of grandmother Elizabeth in 1464, the couples returned to Wakehurst Place and seem to have lived in comparative peace, aside from occasional legal wrangling with the Etchinghams and Hoos over the ownership of several manors. Richard Culpepper died in 1516, and his wife Margaret had predeceased him; they left no children.12 Sir Nicholas Culpepper, who had been knighted in 1465, died in 1509, and his wife Elizabeth outlived both him and his brother Richard. Burke’s states that Nicholas and Elizabeth had five surviving sons, Richard, Edward, Thomas, George, and another Richard,13 but their funeral brass in Ardingly Church, Sussex, shows a remarkable ten sons and eight daughters. It has been colourfully described as “so crowded as to look like a poster warning against rush hour travel.” 14 In all likelihood many of these children died young or at least predeceased their parents. Of the four main players in this little drama, only Richard’s will survives. He had evidently done quite well for himself, for it details property in Kent, seven separate named locations in Sussex, and land in Surrey. He named his sister-in-law Elizabeth as a co-executrix of his will, along with some of her sons, which suggests the two couples remained unusually close. Richard also requested that the churchwardens at Ardingly keep an obit, praying for him, Margaret his wife, his parents Walter and Agnes Culpepper, Richard Wakehurst the elder (his wife’s grandfather), and Richard Wakehurst the younger and his wife Agnes (his wife’s parents). Although we should not read too much into such a request, it seems irresistibly telling that he did not request prayers for Richard the elder’s wife Elizabeth, who had caused him so much trouble. Although this case is complicated, and almost certainly some of the details, such as the exact role of the girls’ mother Agnes, are likely to remain obscure, it nevertheless presents a much fuller story than many of the other petitions I have examined. We can see that what was originally presented to Chancery as a violent abduction incident could eventually form the basis of an enduring marriage, or two enduring marriages in this case. It is not necessary to make recourse to Stockholm syndrome to explain this outcome – it is much more likely that these were in face consensual marriages that were only presented as abductions. A brief summary of my findings demonstrates that the Wakehurst case was exceptional in some ways, but quite conventional in others. Perhaps because of the nature of the legal forum to which they were being directed, most Chancery petitions do not depict abduction primarily as a violent, or even a sexual, crime. Instead the focus is on rightful guardianship of wards, distribution of inheritance, and control of property and marriage. Like the vast majority of the petitions I have examined, this case shows young women being abducted by adult men who were interested in their property. The first exceptional aspect of the case is that we know the outcome. In only two other cases I examined was I able to determine the eventual result of the alleged abduction (one resulted in marriage, the other did not). And secondly, there is considerable (if circumstantial) evidence that the alleged abduction was actually no such thing. The apparent complicity of the girls’ step-father (and possibly of their mother as well, given her absence from the legal wrangling), as well as various other relatives, and the likelihood that the consent of the girls themselves would have been needed, suggest that the description of the girls being carried off kicking and screaming by armed men is pure legal fiction. While in most petitions we are left to wonder at the veracity of the claims made by the aggrieved parties, in this case I believe that much of the incident described by Elizabeth Wakehurst did not take place as claimed, but was instead an attempt to “spin” the story to suit her own purposes. I would suggest that instead, what we see here are the traces of a partially successful courtship. I say “partially successful” because it seems clear that the Culpepper men did manage to gain the consent of both the Wakehurst girls and at least some of their relatives, probably through entirely ordinary ways. Where they failed was in gaining the consent of Elizabeth Wakehurst and her family, who were most likely among the girls’ guardians, and this is where the case took a dramatic turn away from the norm. Instead of a conventional wedding, the couples resorted to what amounted to an elopement, and what was subsequently depicted by angry relatives as an abduction. We cannot know now just how they arrived at this decision, but considering the amount of legal and financial trouble it caused them, it cannot have been lightly taken. To marry without the full support of family and community was a difficult choice, but one which was ultimately successful for the Culpeppers and their brides; despite the clear opposition they faced, there is no evidence of any legal challenge to the validity of their marriages – despite the fact that any such challenge would have had several grounds on which to stand (affinity, force, or marriage outside their home parish). Ultimately, however, there was little an irate family could do to end a marriage that was consensual on the part of both partners - as long as the Wakehurst girls consented before their abduction and not afterwards, no crime had been committed, and the main ramifications would have been financial and social in nature. Footnotes: 1. PRO C1/26/304, 1457-60. 2. Although Haskett debates whether the use of the term ‘equity’ in a strict legal sense (meaning the provision of a remedy that was outside the law, but fulfilled the intention of the law) is truly applicable to the late medieval court, I will use it here for the sake of clarity, with the understanding that some believe it may not be the proper technical term. Haskett, 266-68. 3. Haskett, 253. 4. Ives, “Inception and Operation,” 26. 5. PRO, PCC Prob. 11/4, 24rv. 6. All of these men were relatives of the family and had been feofees of Richard Wakehurst; in all probability one or more of these writers may also have held the girls’ wardship. 7. This detail seems not to be present in the petition, although the damage makes it uncertain. It is, however, included in Richard Wakehurst’s entry in The History of Parliament, 732. 8. http://gen.culpepper.com/places/intl-eng/goudhurst.htm 9. I have compiled a family tree of the known members of the families involved in this case, which is included as Figure 1. Members of each family whose exact relationship is unknown have not been included on this chart. 10. http://gen.culpepper.com/places/intl-eng/wakehurst2.htm 11. http://gen.culpepper.com/places/intl-eng/wakehurst2.htm 12. John Burke, Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland, and Scotland, 2nd ed. (London: John Russell Smith, 1844), 145. 13. Burke, Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies, 145. 14. http://gen.culpepper.com/places/intl-eng/wakehurst2.htm. |
Family | Nicholas Culpeper of Wakehurst | |
| Marriage* | say 1464 | She married Nicholas Culpeper of Wakehurst say 1464. |
| Children | ||
| Last Edited | 23 May 2011 |
Citations
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part II", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVIII,65-98, (1905)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
- Col. F.W.T. Attree R.E./F.S.A. & Rev. J.H.L. Booker M.A., "The Sussex Colepepers, Part II", Sussex Archaeological Collections, XLVIII,65-98, (1905)http://gen.culpepper.com/historical/sussex/default.htm.
Pp 65-66.