It is wrongly assumed that the Freme family of Lypiatt, Gloucestershire, were descendants of the Veym and Rames families; these being sometimes considered synonomous. This assumption is based on what is considered to be similarities in pronounciation, and the fact that land once held of the Reoms/Rhioms eventually passed to a family (Bygge) that had intermarried with the Fremes: a debatable supposition that ignored the possibilities of purchase or dower. The fact is that these families were distinct, yet shared connections with the powerful Mortimer/Clifford/Berkeley/Bohun kinship group. What immediately follows are brief examples of the ‘interconnections’ between the families of Veym and Rames; this is followed by an account of the family of Freme/Frome/Freame.

Veym: Cart. St. Mark’s Hospital, Bristol: Charter of Robert de Gournay (to Henry de Gaunt) … tenements in the vill of Erdecote. Testibus Robert de Gurnaco, Roberto de Veym, Rogero de Veym. Chart. 328. 1235-1245: Agreement between Jordan son of Alured de Berkeley and Henry de Gaunt. Testibus … domino Roger de Veym. 1246-50: Charter of Robert de Daynton giving and quit-claiming in free and perpetual alms to Henry de Gaunt, Master of the House of St. Mark. Testibus Dominis Roberto Walrond, vicecomite Glouc., Willelmo de Veym. 1267-8: Confirmation charter of Henry de Gaunt quit-claiming and confirming for the health of the souls of his ancestors. Testibus, William de Veym.

The town of Bisley is little more than three miles from Stroud; the parish to which it gives name is one of the largest in the county, and embraces an extent of nearly twenty-five miles. It is situated at the very extremity of the Cotswolds. Soon after the conquest the manor was granted to the Mortimers, descendants of Roger do Mortimer, one of the Conqueror’s generals.

Ralph de Mortimer, obtained the estates of Edric, earl of Shrewsbury, whom he subdued and made prisoner. Hugh, the son and heir of Ralph, took up arms against Henry II., and incited Roger, earl of Hereford, to fortify Gloucester castle against the king; but the earl returning to his allegiance, Mortimer’s castles were besieged and taken. Hugh Mortimer, his grandson, proved his loyalty during the wars between King John and the barons, by accompanying the royal army to Cirencester, with all the strength that he could muster. His grandson, Roger de Mortimer, obtained the reversal of the attainder, (26th Edward III.) and with it the title of Earl of March, and all the estates which had been granted to the Earl of Salisbury, whose dau. he mar. He died seized of “Byselye” and Winston, (34th Edward III.).

Thomas de Berkeley (III), mar. Margaret dau. of Roger Mortimer of Wigmore in 1319, his grandfather was still alive and the couple were established with the manor of Awre, both the Mortimer and Berkeley moieties being settled on them. (Genealogist, NS xxxv (1919), 96; PRO SC6/1148/12.) The estate was officially restored to Maurice’s heir, Thomas (III), in Jan. 1327. His relationship with Mortimer thrust the family to the forefront of national politics, especially with the imprisonment and death of Edward II at Berkeley Castle in 1327, and ensured that the family received a number of benefits during Mortimer’s reign. The Berkeleys held the manor of Eylminton.

AC/D/6/, early 13c: Gift in Free Dower. Walter Croc to William Chamberlain (Camberlanus in several places; in others altered to Camerarius) with his daughter Simonda, all his land of Eylminton’ in manor of Hembury in salt marsh, to wit two virgates of land which Simon Croc held and one virgate of land of Esse … Witnesses: Geoffrey de Cansy, John Chamberlain, Laurence de Bokene, Ralph de Filtone, William de Estover, Robert de Veym, Richard de Cromhil, Geoffrey de Redmertone. (‘An estate at Lypiatt, Gloucestershire owned by one Richard in 1220 probably comprised Nether Lypiatt tithing. This Richard may have been Richard de Veim, who in 1225 was impleaded over property in Bisley and Stroud by Hugh Mortimer, Bartholomew Laban, and Bartholomew’s wife Muriel’). AC/D/6/5, c. 1275: Charter of Feoffment. Hugh Gole (Goule later in deed) to William Chaumpeneys. One virgate of land in Aylmintone which he and his ancestors before him held with all houses, buildings gardens hedges woods etc. with 10 ac. meadow in Appelderam in the Dolmede with a fourthpart of all pasture in the pasture of Aylmintone … Witnesses: lord John de Salt Marsh, William Golding then Bailiff of Hembury, William de Veym, lord Peter Croc, lord William Chamberlain, William de la Haye, Henry de Werkesburg. AC/D/6/7, late 13c.: Grant. Laurence Goule son & h. of Hugh Goule to William Russel of Sideham and Margaret his wife 20s. annual rent in Ailmingtone in county of Gloucester which Wm. Champeneis is accustomed to pay to him for certain land which he holds of him in Ailmingtone together with the homages services reliefs wards and all other escheats whcih may become due to him and his heirs by reason of the same; to hold to them and their heirs and assigns of the lord of the fee for ever, paying and doing the rents dues customs due and customary for all services etc. and secular demands. Clause of warranty. Witnesses: John de Saltemerse, William de Veim, Maurice de Comtone, Walter Gregory, Walter de Kentelesbar, Roger Basset, John Maydus clerk. AC/D/1/7, between 1290 and 1312: Charter of Feoffment. Margaret de Hameledene in independent power and widowhood to William de Lyons. All that meadow which she had of the gift of lord John de Aston knight in the manor of Aston near Bristol to hold of the chief lords, etc. for ever. For which gift William has given her a certain sum of money. Witnesses: Adam de Butthon, Richard Arthur, knights, John de Butthon, Mathew de Snodone, William le Veym. BCM/A/1/11/29, Aug. 4, 1359: William de Westmoncote, son and heir of Leticia daughter and coheir of John de Berkeleye of Arlingham, and William le Baker of Arlingham. Sun. before St. Laurence the martyr, 33 Edw. III William de Westmoncote has granted to William le Baker, his heirs and assigns all his fisheries in the Severn within the lordship of Erlyngham at the weirs of Rodleye and Garne, viz. one third of the fisheries of one quarter of the said weirs, and one third of a fishery called Reek in the same water.Witnesses: Walter With, Robert de Middeltone, Richard le Stiward, John de Clifford, Richard de Longeneye, Roger de Reom, clerk. AC/D/6/41, Aug. 21, 1402. 3 Henry IV at Gloucester: Quitclaim. James Clifford, Ancelm de Gyse, Walter Toky and Thomas Thorp chaplain to Thomas Murseley and Robert Goderynton all their right in all lands, etc. in Aylmynton and elsewhere in Hundred of Hembury, which they and Thomas Murseley and Robert had by feoffment of Margaret widow of Laurence Seybrook.

1. Hardinc. Before the Conquest the king’s thegn Brictric held Wheatenhurst, and in 1086 Hardinc held it in pledge from Brictric. (‘Wheatenhurst appears to have been held in the late 11th century by Robert de Romilly, and in the 12th by William de Say. It later passed to Geoffrey FitzPeter, Earl of Essex (d. 1213), and he gave the manor of Wheatenhurst with his daughter Maud in marriage to Henry de Bohun, Earl of Hereford. Maud appears to have retained the manor until her death in 1236. It then passed to her son, Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, whom Ralph de Mortimer was suing for three plough-lands in Wheatenhurst in 1237. Humphrey conveyed the manor in 1260 to his son Humphrey, after whose forfeiture for his support of Simon de Montfort it was restored to his father in 1265. The manor thereafter descended with the earldom of Hereford until the late 14th century: it was settled on Humphrey de Bohun and his wife Elizabeth in 1302’ (‘Wheatenhurst or Whitminster: Manors and other estates’, A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 10: Westbury and Whitstone Hundreds (1972), pp. 291-294).

1.1. Robert FitzHarding.

1.1.1. Robert, mar. (i) Hawisia, dau. and heiress of Robert de Gournay, already deceased in 1168, with whom he acquired nine knights’ fiefs held of the honour of William, earl of Gloucester. (ii) Alice, dau. and heiress of Robert de Gaunt, br. of Gilbert, Earl of Lincoln.

1.1.1.1. Maurice de Gaunt. In 1220, Maurice de Gaunt, founded a hospital to provide relief for the sick and poor. It was to be called the “Hospital of St Mark of Billeswyke-by-Bristol” and was housed in the Abbey’s almonry. On Maurice’s death in 1230, his nephew Robert de Gournay added to its endowment, made it independent of the Abbey and placed it under the control of Maurice’s brother Henry de Gaunt. It became known informally as St Mark’s Hospital or Gaunt’s Hospital.

1.1.1.2. Eva de Gaunt, m. Anselm de Gourney.

1.1.1.2.1. Robert de Gourney was succeeded by his son Anselm, 1269, who left the manor to his son John, 1286, whose only dau. and heiress Elizabeth, by marriage carried it to John Ap Adam 1287. From their son Thomas the manor passed by purchase to Thomas Lord Berkeley, 1331 (Sir Robert Atkyns The history of the county of Gloucester, p. 207, 1803).

1.2. Maurice de Berkeley.

1.2.1. Thomas de Berkeley.

1.2.1.1. Maurice de Berkeley. 1.2.1.1.1. Thomas de Berkeley.

1.2.1.1.1.1. Maurice de Berkeley.

1.2.1.1.1.1.1. Thomas de Berkeley, ob. Oct. 27, 1361, m. (1320) (1) Margaret de Mortimer, May 5, 1337, daughter of Sir Roger de Mortimer, Earl of March, and Joan de Geneville. Thomas de Berkeley’s sister, Isabel Berkeley, d. 25 July 1362; m. (1328) (1) Robert de Clifford, ob. 20 May 20, 1344 (Magna Charta Sureties).

Unfortunately, the onomastic evidence is inconclusive. One need only look at the myriad forms for Vains in the eleventh and twelfth centuries (Veim, Vein, Vehim, Vehin, Vehein, Vedun) to see how inconsistently scribes rendered the name of an important local settlement. For bibliographic details of these different forms, and a discussion of the origins of the name Vains, see Bouvris, Jean-Michel, ‘Aux origines du prieuré de Vains: une version inédite de la confirmation par le duc Robert Courte-Heuse d’une donation faite en 1087 par Guillaume le Conquérant à l’abbaye de Saint-Etienne de Caen’, Revue de l’Avranchin et du pays de Granville, 64, 1987, p. 3-21, 67-90, at p. 10-12. Le nom de la paroisse est Saint-Pierre-de-Vains.Ancienne prononciation conformément aux formes anciennes: vin. Formes anciennes: Veim (1061 Fauroux); Vehim (1121, Del. notes); Vein (1121-33, Musset).

Reoms/Rhioms: Stanmore was part of the barony of Roger de Rames at the time of Domesday. Roger’s son William had two sons, Roger and Robert, between whom the Stanmore property was divided at some time before 1130. Adeliza de Rames, probably the dau. of the younger Roger, mar. Edward of Salisbury as his second wife (‘Edgware: Manors’, A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 4: Harmondsworth, Hayes, Norwood with Southall, Hillingdon with Uxbridge, Ickenham, Northolt, Perivale, Ruislip, Edgware, Harrow with Pinner (1971), pp. 155-157). Their dau., Leonia, mar. Robert de Stuteville (EYC ix., pp. 49-51); their grandson, William de Stuteville, son of Osmund, mar. Margaret, widow of Robert Mortimer, of Richard’s Castle, whose son, Robert, was his successor.

Richard FitzPons (progenitor of the Clifford family) mar. Matilda FitzWalter; aunt of Margery of Gloucester, mar. Humphrey de Bohun. Humphrey de Bohun II. succeeded his father as lord of Taterford and Bearer of the Royal Standard in 1120 in the battle of Benneville in Normandy. Humphrey mar. Maud, dau. of Edward de Salisbury. Maud’s brother, Edward de Salisbury II., mar. Adeliza de Rames, dau. of Roger de Rames. The Origins of Some Anglo-Norman Families, by L. C. Loyd, states: ‘Raimes or Reames is from Rames in Seine Inferieure (Normandy).’

This surname is of French locational origin from a place in Seine-Inferieure, Normandy, called Rames. The surname arrived in England during the Norman Conquest of 1066, de Rames, de Ramis and de Raimis, all appear in the Domesday Book of Middlesex, Essex and Suffolk respectively. Hugo de Reymes is recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Norfolk (1273). In the modern idiom the surname has many variant spellings including Reames, Reame, Ryam, Rheam, Reams, Reims, Reeme, etc. In 1349 John de Reom, together with the Prior of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England, held half a knight’s fee, which William de Reom (Rhioms in cart.) and the Prior formerly held in Nether or Lypiatt. Humphrey de Bohun died seized of one knight’s fee in Lower Lypiatte, which John Clifford held; of another half of a fee, which the abbot of Tewkesbury, the prior of the hospitalers of St. John of Jerusalem, and Roger Reom, held. John Clifford, of Dennewaye, died seized of a mess. and virg. here, held of the D. of Hereford, by 4s. per ann. Eliz. and Alice drs. and heirs.

FREME:

1. Richard, the Reeve of Frome.

1.1. William de Frome. T\PH\pls/1/1, c. 1240-50: William de Frome son of Richard the reeve of Frome to John de la Grava; a perch of land in the east field and … in the west field. W: Robert de Curseld (Courcelles), Arnulph de From’, Roger de Cayvel, William de Cayvel, John Burnel, William de Watecumbe, Robert Burewll. T\PH\pls/1/3, c. 1240-50: William son of Richard de Frome to Isabel daughter of Roger de Sokerwyk; a messuage and curtilage in Frome which Herding* once held and which his father Richard gave to her, with ½a. in the Hywysce which joins the abbot of Cirencester’s meadow; and other land.W: Richard Bigod, Arnulph de Frome, James his brother, Robert de Curcell, William Portebref, Robert le Norreis, Walter his brother, William de Kayvel, Hugh le Frere. * Harding was one of the Justices Itinerant in Devon and Cornwall and Exeter to investigate the Royal Pleas in Lent, 9 Will. II. 1096 (Cartulary of Tavistock Priory, as quoted in Notes and Queries, 6th S. ii. 110. It is abundantly clear,’ writes the late Rev. R. W. Eyton in N. and Q., 5th S. xii, 362, ‘ that Harding was succeeded at Merriott and (other Somersetshire estates by his eldest son and heir Nicholas fitz Harding.’

1.1.1. Richard de Frome.

1.1.1. Richard de Frome.

1.1.1.1. William de Frome (M.P. Heref.).

1.1.1.1.1. Reginald de Frome. He died before release, in the prison of the Flete on 24 June, 7 E. III. (1333) ; and by an inquisition taken at Somerton on 29 November following, it was found that before his conviction of perjury, he and Margaret his wife, held a third part of the manor of Suthcadburi (South Cadbury) in dower of the said Margaret, by dotation of John du Boys, her former husband, and by the assignment of John Pauncefote, the chief lord, of whom the manor was held (Escheat, 7 E. III.). 1337; and that she held the other two parts of the manor in allowance of dower from the other lands of her late husband, John du Boys, in Phelippeston, Dorset ; Kytherhampton, Wilts ; and Bytewode and Dounhevede, Somerset, from 2 E. II. (1308), to the day when the manor of Suthcadburi was seized into the King’s hand in consequence of the said Reginald’s conviction of perjury (at Michaelmas, 1331); and the said manor was held by knight’s service, and was worth £19 per annum. (Escheat, 7 E. III. no. 13.). South Cadbury was possessed by the family of Moels, descended to Thomas de Courtney, 4th son of Hugh de Courtney, Earl of Devon, on his mar to the heiress of John de Moels. The family of Bosco (Boys) were tenants here under both rthe Courtneys and Pauncefotes – see John Collinson The History and Antiquities of the County of Somerset, volume 2. In 1166, Henry de Newmarch* was holding lands in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire from Westminster Abbey, and the lands probably included Hasfield, as Henry’s under-tenants were Humphrey and Eustace Pauncefot, of the family which held Hasfield manor for the next four centuries. *His granddau., Hawise, mar. Nicholas de Moels of South Cadbury, Somerset, their dau., Agnes, mar. William de Braose (d. 1290); Giles de Braose, half- br. of Agnes mar. Maud de Whitney; their dau., Elizabeth, mar. William de Frome. William de Braose V. – When Llywelyn had him hanged in 1230 he left no sons but four daus., among whom the inheritance was divided. Brecon went to Eleanor and her husband Humphrey de Bohun. In the years following 1273, he began enticing Llywelyn’s vassals away from their allegiance to him. He was joined in this by Reginald fitz Peter of Dinas and Blaenllynfi, and his vassal Hugh Turbeville of Crickhowell. (Tretower, near Crickhowell belonged originally to the Picards). Grimbald de Pauncefot, who played a leading part in the defence of Gloucester against Prince Edward in 1264. Before his death in 1287, he had granted Hasfield for life to his father-in- law, Hugh de Turberville, and Hugh’s wife (Plac. de Quo Warr. (Rec. Com.), 247; cf. Trans. B.G.A.S. lxxi. 127).

1.1.1.1.1.1. William de Frome. Charles George Young, ‘Additions to Dugdale’s Baronage,’ Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica, vol. vi., pp. 77-78, 1840: ‘Giles de Braose, the son of William by Agnes de Molis his second wife, inherited the manor of Knolton in Dorset from his mother, and had license to alienate it from his uncle Roger de Molis, a. Edw. I. He also held two-thirds of the manor of Buckingham, with the hamlet of Bourton belonging to the said manor, the other third being in dower to Mary his mother-in-law. He was twice mar., first to Beatrice, the dau. and heir of John de St. Eloria, by whom he had only one dau.; secondly, to Maud, dau. of .Eustace de Whitney* of the county of Hereford, by whom he had a son named John, and a dau. Maud. At his death in 33 Edw. I. John his son and heir was only three years old; Lucy his dau. by the first wife, and sole heir to her mother, was of the age of seven, and inherited the manor of Crowell in the county of Oxford, which had belonged to her maternal grandfather, and whereof her father was tenant for life by the Law of England. Of this Lucy I have not found any further notice, except that in a. 6 Edw. II. she was the wife of Robert Mautravers. John was living a. 20 Edw. II. at the death of his grandmother, and inherited that third part of the manor of Buckingham which she held in dower, and the same year did homage for the whole of the said manor and of the hamlet of Bourton. He died without issue, and this inheritance passed to John Frome the son and heir of his sister Maud, wife of William Frome and by the heirs general of Frome into the families of Mussenden and Fillol.’

(*1. ‘Eustacius de Whytene’ (1277) presented John de Chaundos to the church of Pencombe.1.1. Sir Eustace de Whytneye. mar. (Jun. 5, 1301) Elizabeth de Freville, dau. of Sir Alexander de Freville and Joan de Cromwell. 1.1.1.1. Robert de Whytneye. 1.1.1. Robert de Whitney, 1348-1402. killed, together with his brother and most of his relatives, at the battle of Pilleth, at which Edward Mortimer was captured, mar. (1) Maud Cromwell. Sir Robert came of an old-established Herefordshire family, whose chief manor (held of the de Bohuns) was Whitney-on-Wye near the county boundary with Breconshire. He served in the company of Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford (d. 1373), his feudal lord. (See The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1386-1421, ed. J.S. Roskell, L. Clark, C. Rawcliffe., 1993). 1.1.1.1.1. Sir Robert de Whitney, Lord of Clifford and Glasbury, d.1441, mar. Joan Oldcastle. In June 1410 Whitney acted as an executor of his brother-in-law, Sir Thomas Clanowe. The testator left him his favourite white horse, a gilt sword ‘ye callyd Warwik’ and a dagger. After the death of Clanvowe’s widow (Whitney’s sister, Perryne) in 1422, Sir Robert also appears to have come into possession of the Clanvowe manor of Ocle Pychard, near Hereford. Several years before this later date he had mar. Wintelan, one of the daus. of Thomas Oldcastle and ultimately a coheir of her brother, Richard (ibid.). 1.1.1.1.1.1. Sir Eustace de Whitney. 1.1.1.1.1.1.1. Sir Robert Whitney, mar. (1/2) Constance Touchet, dau. of James Touchet, 5th Baron Audley, and Eleanor de Holland, (1/2) Elsbeth Vaughan, dau. of Thomas Vaughn of Hergest* by wife Ellen Gethyn. 1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1. James Whitney, mar. Blanche Milbourne, one of the eleven co-heiresses (a son and dau. died young) of Simon Milborne and Jane (Baskerville) of Burghill, Herefordshire. She was the Lady Mistress in charge of the upbringing of Queen Elizabeth I, Edward VI and also of Queen Mary. Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke mar. Ann Devereux, the niece of Simon Milborne’s mother. 1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1. Elizabeth Whitney, mar. Thomas Morgan, br.-in-law of Thomas Freme of Lypiatt. Between July 1500 and August 1502 Blanche remarried, becoming the second wife of Sir William Herbert of Troy Parva, an illegitimate son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke. *Sir Roger Vaughn had by Gladws, Walter, his eldest son, who is mentioned among the gentry of Herefordshire in the return of the commissioners, 12 Henry VI; 2, Thomas Vaughn, generally styled Thomas ap Rosser Vychan, or ‘Vighann,’ as the clerk of court wrote the addition in the rolls of the manor; 3, Sir Roger Vaughan of Tretower. On the death of her husband, Gladws mar. Sir William ap Thomas, and by him became the mother of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke. Thomas, the second son of Sir Roger, settled at Hergest Court, in the manor of Huntington. His sepulchral inscription commences,— ‘This tomb was erected to the memory of Thomas Vaughan of Hergest, Esq., and Elena Gethen, his wife. He was son of Sir Roger Vaughan of Bredwardine, Knt., and died in the year 1469, aged 69 years. The said Sir Roger Vaughan married Gladus, dau. of Sir David Gam, who was knighted by Henry V in Agincourt field in 1415’ (Archaeologia cambrensis, p. 23, 1871).

1.1.1.1.2. William de Frome. Herefordshire. Two weeks from St Michael, 5 Edward III (Oct. 13, 1331). Parties: William de Frome the younger and Christian, his wife, querents, by Robert de Brompton,* put in the place of Christian, and Thomas, son of Henry Thurgrym, deforciant. Property: 1 messuage, 1 carucate and 30 acres of land in Hompton, Topesleye and Retherwas. Action: Plea of covenant. Agreement: Thomas has acknowledged the messuage and the carucate of land in the vills of Hompton and Topesleye to be the right of William, as those which William and Christian have of his gift, and has remised and quitclaimed them from himself and his heirs to William and Christian and the heirs of William for ever. And besides Thomas granted to William and Christian the 30 acres of land in the vill of Retherwas and has rendered them to them in the same court, to hold to William and Christian, of the chief lords for the lives of William and Christian. And after the decease of William and Christian the same land shall revert to Thomas and his heirs, quit of the heirs of William and Christian, to hold of the chief lords for ever. For this: William and Christian have given him 10 marks of silver. Standardised forms of names. Persons: William de Frome, Christian de Frome, Robert de Brompton, Thomas Thurgrim, Henry Thurgrim Places: Hampton Bishop, Tupsley (in Hampton Bishop), Rotherwas (in Dinedor). These estates were in Grimsworth Hundred, Herefordshire.

1.1.1.1.3. Sir Robert de Frome. Granted 1358. (f. 278.) ‘William de Bohun, earl of Northampton. On behalf of his clerk, Sir Robert de Frome, for a canonry of Hereford, with expectation of a prebend, notwithstanding that he has the church of Hampton Bishop in the same diocese (Calendar of entries in the Papal registers relating to Great Britain and Ireland, p. 333, 1896). Church livings were almost exclusively given by the grantor to those of familial association, with these associations being further strengthened by the marriages of many unrecorded sisters and younger brothers.

1.1.1.1.4. Richard de Frome. Herefordshire. The day after Ascension, 15 Edward III (18 May 1341). And afterwards one month from St Michael in the same year (27 October 1341). Parties: Thomas, son of Roger Pichard, and Eve, his wife, querents, by Richard Frome, put in the place of Eve, and Walter, the parson of the church of Bisshopeston, and John, son of John de Hereford, deforciants. Property: 1 messuage, 3 carucates of land, 8 acres of meadow, 10 acres of pasture and 20 acres of wood in Ouerletton (Over Lecton): Plea of covenant. Agreement: Thomas has acknowledged the tenements to be the right of Walter, as those which Walter and John have of his gift. For this: Walter and John have granted to Thomas and Eve the tenements and have rendered them to them in the same court, to hold to Thomas and Eve and the male heirs of their bodies, of the chief lords for ever. In default of such heirs, remainder to the right heirs of Thomas.

(*He would seem almost certain to be of the following family: Bertha of Hereford, dau. of Miles de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford (her sister, Margaret of Hereford, mar. Humphrey II de Bohun) mar. William de Braose, 3rd Lord of Bramber, d.1192. Her issue included William de Braose, 4th Lord of Bramber, d.1211, and Maud de Braose, mar. to John de Brompton ‘I, John de Bromton, have given to the Church of All Saints of Kinlet, and to the Canons of Wigmore, for the Soul of Matildis de Breus, my wife, a part of my land in Kinlet, and a sum of 5s on my said wife’s anniversary.’ (Eyton’s Antiquities of Shropshire, vol. 4, p 246). Their issue: (1) Brian de Brompton, who mar. Alice de Neufmesnil. In a deed of c. 1215, Walter de Neufmesnil gave to Brian de Brompton, with Alice his dau., in free marriage, four virgates of land in Foxcote, Oxon. The witnesses included Giles de Braose, bishop of Hereford, Hugh, William and Philip de Mortimer (ibid. p. 247). (2) Margaret de Brompton, who mar. Hugh de Turberville. In a late 12th century deed, John de Brompton grants to Margaret, ‘his daug., whom Hugh de Turberville has taken as wife’, all his part of Flavel, Witnesses to this deed included William de Braose and William* his son, Margaret’s uncle and cousin – ibid. p. 246, *whose dau. mar. William de Frome. In 1233, Henry III requiring hostages of the Barons Marchers for their fidelity, Ralph de Mortimer delivered up Henry de Brompton, son and heir of Brian de Brompton, who was thereupon committed to the custody of William de Stuteville.The Inquest of 1255 gives Brian de Brompton as Lord of Kynlet. Therein were v hides of land geldable, whereof Roger de Foxcot held one hide under the aforesaid Brian, by service of doing suit for the said Brian to County and Hundred Courts for the whole Manor. Four hides were held by Brian de Brompton immediately of Roger de Mortimer.

Hugh Mortimer (d. c. 1180) mar. Maud, widow of Philip de Belmeis, and Hugh’s son Roger de Mortimer (d. c.1213) received rents in Bisley by gift of his ‘brothers’ Philip de Belmeis, son of the elder Philip, and Ranulph. In 1225, Roger Mortimer’s son Hugh (d. 1227) was disputing property in Bisley, and in 1236 Hugh’s brother Ralph was recorded as holding 2 fees in Bisley and Longborough. Ralph died in 1246 and was succeeded by his son Roger (d. 1282), whose son Edmund owned the advowson of the first portion of Bisley rectory in 1290, and at his death in 1304 he had a knight’s fee called Stokes End and Bisley held from him by William of Rodborough. The fee was recorded among those held from the Mortimers as of their honor of Wigmore until 1426, but the location of Stokes End has not been established. The Mortimers, in the person of Edmund’s son Roger, became seized in fee of a part of Bisley manor in 1327′ (‘Bisley: Manors and other estates’, A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 11: Bisley and Longtree Hundreds (1976), pp. 11-20).

Pencorab was held soon after the Conquest by Agnes, widow of Turstinus Flandrensis, who was one of the landholders in this county, and thus noticed in the Survey of Domesday: — ‘Agnes, relicta Turstini Flandrensis, et Eustacius Miles, filius ejus, dominus de Whiteney, dederunt ecclesiae Sancti Petri Glocest: unam hidam terre in Penccmb Sudenhalle, liberam ab omni re, tempore Reginaldi Abbatis. Eustace, son of Agnes, assumed the name of Whitney from his possessions, and thus established a family of that name, which was long situated at Whitney in the Hundred of Grimsworth, and which, with their pedigree, will be particularly noticed in the collections for that parish (Duncumb, vol. ii., p. 150).

Bohun/Freme kinship relationship: Humphrey de Bohun, fifth of that name, and second Earl of Hereford of that family, upon the death of his mother (1236), was created Earl of Essex, and mar. first Maude, dau. and heir of Ralph de Isondon, Comte d’Eu in Normandy, by whom he had two sons,— Humphrey, who died during the lifetime of his father (1264), This Humphrey de Bohun died Sept. 23, 1275, and was succeeded by his grandson, Humphrey, son of the Humphrey sixth of the name, who died in 1264, by his first wife, Eleanor, dau. and coheir of William de Braose, lord Brecknock* (great-grandfather of Giles de Braose), as well as of her mother, Eva, coheir of William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke. Humphrey de Bohun, seventh of the name, Earl of Hereford and Essex, mar. Maude, dau. of Ingleram Lord Fiennes, by whom he had an only son, Humphrey, eighth of the name, who, on his father’s death in 1298, succeeded him in his earldoms of Hereford and Essex, and mar. Princess Elizabeth, dau. of King Edward. This eighth Humphrey de Bohun, fourth Earl of Hereford and third Earl of Hereford and Essex, was slain at Borough Bridge, in Yorkshire, Mar. 16, 1321. His issue by the Princess Elizabeth consisted of six sons,— 1, Humphrey, who died young; 2, John, who succeeded him as Earl of Hereford and Essex, and mar. first Alice, dau. of Edmund Earl of Arundel, and secondly Maude, dau. of Ralph Lord Basset, but died in 1335 without issue by either wife; another Humphrey, aged twenty four at his brother’s death, and who succeeded him as Earl of Hereford and Essex, but died unmarried in 1361; Edward, who mar. Elizabeth, dau. of Lord Ros of Hamlake, but also died without issue; William de Bohun (twin with Edward), who continued the line, and was created Earl of Northampton by King Edward III in the eleventh year of his reign (1337). William de Bohun, Earl of Northampton, mar. Elizabeth, dau. of Bartholomew de Badelesmere, and coheir of her brother, Giles Lord Badelesmere, and widow of Edmund de Mortimer, by whom he had a son, Humphrey de Bohun, who succeeded him in 1350 as Earl of Northampton; and in consequence of his two uncles, John and Humphrey, dying without issue, became also, on the decease of the latter on 16 October, 1361, Earl of Hereford and Essex .After his death in 1373 his Stroud manors were specified as one fee at Over Lypiatt, one fee at Paganhill, and ½ fee at Nether Lypiatt (‘Stroud: Manors and other estates’, A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 11: Bisley and Longtree Hundreds (1976), pp. 111-119).*Land in Cherington which descended with Roger d’Ivry’s estates in Hazleton and Tetbury was held in the late 12th century by Thomas de St. Valery, in whose court property in the parish was conveyed to Kingswood Abbey. The land was evidently acquired with Tetbury by William de Braose (d. 1211), who granted part of his land to his daughter Eleanor who, after the death of her husband Hugh Mortimer in 1227, endowed Godstow Abbey (Oxon.) with property in Cherington and Westrip. The endowment was presumably the yardland and rent of 24s. 8d. which the Crown claimed as escheat at the death of Eleanor’s nephew William de Braose in 1230 but acknowledged in 1234 as belonging to the abbey. The land was held by the nuns with property in Charlton until the Dissolution. The Mortimers of Wigmore continued to hold land in Cherington, through the marriage of Maud (d. 1301), the dau. of the younger William de Braose, to Roger Mortimer (d. 1282); in 1381 it was recorded that Edmund Mortimer had held 3s. rent of assize in Cherington belonging to his manor of Bisley (‘Cherington: Manor and other estates’, A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 11: Bisley and Longtree Hundreds (1976), pp. 168-170).

1.1.1.1.3.1. William Frome/Freme. Grant. P/St.J/D/1/11(a). 19 Ric. II. Feast of St. George the Martyr (Apr. 23, 1396) Bristol: 1. Richard Paterne burgess. 2. Bernard Muleward burgess. Premises: tenement and adjacent garden in suburbs of Bristol next to le Barres between shops of John Howell’s and curtilages of Prior of St. James which William Frome holds, which 1, had in fee simple from Robert Braforde and John Blake chaplains, to hold of capital lords of fee for usual services. Warranty given. Witnesses: Elias Robardes, Walter Portlond, John Fluyt, William Wyrcestre, John Paynter, William Godyngs, Richard Stephenys. BCM/A/2/17/10, Apr. 1, 1403: Thomas Berkeley, lord of Berkeley;* and John Sharpe burgess of Bristol, Joan his wife and John his eldest son. Sun. after the Annunciation, 4 Hen. IV. Thomas has granted to John, Joan and John a holding in Redeclyvestret, which John Rowbergh formerly held, extending from the road in front to the water called Avene behind, between the holdings of John Chastel of Cornestret and a ‘comyne slype’; for their lives, rent a red rose a year.Witnesses: John Stevenns, mayor of Bristol, Thomas Knappe, John Barstaple, William Freme, William Wermynstre. At: Bristol Castle. Mayors Sheriffs & Bailiffs of Bristol 1400 -1499, transcribed from ‘History & Antiquities of Bristol’ by William Barrett (18th Century). 1400 Wm. Froome, Robert Dudbrook, Mark Williams, John Seely 1401 John Barstable, Thomas Norton, Rich. Paines, Simon Algod. 1402 John Stephens, John Seely, Thomas Young, Nich. Exetor. 1403 Thomas Knappe.1390 (Jan.) John Vyel, William Frome. 1390 (Nov.) 1391 William Frome, John Stevens. 1397 (Jan.) William Frome, John Banbury II. *Grandson of Margaret de Mortimer, whose sister, Beatrice, mar. Thomas de Braose, son of Piers de Braose, br. or half-br. of Giles de Braose (husband of Maud de Whitney, as said), and uncle of Maud de Braose, the wife of William de Frome; their father, William de Braose having mar. (3) Mary de Ros, and it not being certain who was the mother of particular children.

(1. Sir Robert de Ros, Magna Carta Surety, Knight Templar, b abt 1170, of Helmsley, Yorkshire, d. bef Dec. 23, 1226, mar. Isabel of Scotland, dau. of William I, King of Scotland, ‘the Lion’, and mistress, Isabel Avenal 1.1. Sir William de Ros of Helmsley, mar. Lucy Fitz Piers abt 1226, dau. of Piers Fitz Herbert and Alice Fitz Robert de Warkworth. 1.1.1. Sir Robert de Ros, d May 17, 1285, mar.Isabel d’Aubigny, dau. of Sir William d’Aubigny, Lord of Belvoir, and Isabel … 1.1.1.1. Mary de Ros, mar. William de Braose. 1.1.1.1.1. Avelina de Ros, mar. John de Bohun of Midhurst. Deposition, as proof of age, that John, s. of James de Bohun, was born at the manor of ‘Thadeham’ (Todham in Easebourne) and baptized there ‘on the third day after the feast of St. Martin in the Winter in the year A.D. 1304’, 1323 (Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, vol. 6, p. 263). Finding by inquisition that Aline, late wife of John de Moubray, and John de Bohoun [sic], son and heir of Joan late wife of James de Bohun, are the next heirs of William de Brewosa alias Brewose, and are of full age, 1326. (Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem, vol. 6, p. 435).*Son of James de Bohun, d. 1306, and Joan de Braose, dau. of William de Braose and his first wife, Aliva de Moulton; he subsequently, as said, mar. de Molis, Mary de Ros).

1.1.1.1.3.1.1. Richard Freme. Transfer of lease. 40365/D/2/29, Jul. 20, 1438: Witnesses: Clement Bagot, mayor; Richard Freme, sheriff; Thomas Hore and Thomas Balle, bailiffs; Richard Devenyssch, Hugh Withiford, John Vyell senior, William Coder and John Vyell* junior and several others’ – Bristol Records Office. *Family intermarried with Herberts.

1.1.1.3.1.1.1. Robert Freme. Hugh Mulle grants to Robert Freme of Hampton Bishop and Alice his wife a tenement called Outmore in Hampton for 10s. 1 Oct. 1458. Transactions – Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, Volume 51, p. 214, 1930. Thomas Mulle , Esq He had a s. & h.: Mulle, Thomas (1400-60); of Harescombe.(3) M.P. Gloucestershire 1435, 1439-40, 1449 (1). Lancastrian. S. and h. of Thomas Mulle of Traymill, Devon, M.P., by Julia, da. and h. of Thomas Rous of Harescombe; m. Margery Tracy; his second son Hugh Mulle was M.P. in 1459 and 1460. Eschr., Glos., 1430-1; elector, Glos., 1429, 1431, 1437; sheriff, Heref., 1435-6,(3) 1445-6; J.P. Glos., 28 Apr. 1437 to Dec. 1460; and on all the Glos. comns. from 1440 to the Lancastrian comns. of array in Dec. 1459. In 1441 John Frampton (q.v.) confirmed to him and his wife certain lands in Bisley, Glos.; (4) feoffee in and for John Langley in 1448; elector, Glos., 1447, 1449, 1450 (heads list), 1453 (heads list). In Apr. 1455 he was sumnd. by the Lancastrian party to attend the great council for Glos.(5) d. 1460, when the will of Thomas Mull esq. was proved; (4) yet he was attainted in 1461; and there is no inquisition post mortem to be found. For his eldest son, Sir William Mulle, also attainted, was slain at Towton. (3) Pardon Roll, 1 Nov. 1455 (m. 21). (4) Bristol and Glos. Arch. Soc. Trans. 51, p. 214. (5) Privy Coun. Proc. vi. 341. (Ref: HOP 1439-1509, I:595).

(Thomas Herbert, Constable of Gloucester, 1461. Given the lands of Sir William Mulle by his br. Sir William Herbert (who mar. Anne Devereux). (Cal. Pat. Rolls, Aug, 12, 1461, cit. Howell Thomas Evans Wales and the Wars of the Roses, p. 184, 1915). They were the probable uncles of Jane Herbert, dau. of John ap Gwylim Herbert, who mar. Sir Thomas Morgan.* ‘John ap Gwilym Herbert of Itton, esq., base son to Sir William ap Thomas of Ragland’ (Bradney, A History of Monmouthshire from the Coming of the Normans into Wales down to the Present Time, p. 213, 1904 . See also G.T. Clark, Limbus Patrum Morganiae et Glamorganiae: Being the Genealogies of the Older Families of the Lordships of Morgan and Glamorgan, 1886. *Their granddaughter mar. Thomas Freme of Lypiatt. Herbert Arms: Per pale, azure and gules, three lions rampant argent).

1.1.1.1.3.1.1.1.1. William Freme, of Berkeley and Netherlupeyate (Nether Lypiatt), Glouc., g. or esq. …….’ (Henry VIII: Pardon Roll, part 3, Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, volume 1: 1509-1514 (1920), pp. 234-256). Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Berkeley: William Freme, feodary of the Berkeley estates under Henry VII., and escheator of the Hundred of Berkeley, 1526. Head and feet gone, marginal inscription mutilated, now South Aisle. Position. — On a ledger-stone now in the chancel on the South side of the Communion Table. Size.— 6 ft. 7 in. x 2 ft, 6 in. Description. — This brass affords a very pleasing illustration of the costume of a well-to-do yeoman of the reign of Henry VIII. Following the prevailing fashion William Freme is clean shaven, whilst his hair is long and clubbed. His outer garment is a long tunic or gown lined and faced with fur, open down the front and reaching to his ankles. Over his shoulders he wears a fur cape, which Mr. Haines says “is very rarely seen on brasses.” The sleeves are ample and have fur cuffs. Beneath the tunic is shown the waistband of his doublet, and the tight-fitting sleeves of the same appear at the wrists. On his breast he holds a heart. Hearts are usually found on Pre- Reformation Brasses, and it is said ” that such memorials indicate the deceased was enabled to perform a vow which he had made; but more probably they have different meanings, according to the inscriptions attached to them; and are generally intended to indicate sincere trust in the promises of God. In Boutell’s Christian Monuments there is more than one instance of “Heart-memorials” portrayed. Inscription. — Around the margin of the stone was a fillet of brass bearing an inscription. Unfortunately most of it has disappeared, but the words in brackets have been supplied from Rudder’s Gloucestershire, who with Bigland gives the inscription, but in their time a few of the words had vanished : — Hic jacet corpus Willielmi Freme etc.Which may be rendered into English: “Here lies the body of William Freme … on whose soul may God have mercy, and on the souls of all the faithful departed his relatives and (friends). Amen. Strive to enter by the narrow gate.” Below the inscription is cut on the stone “Ob. 1526.” Heraldry. — Above the figure are the matrices of two shields: Bigland gives his arms as: Two chevronels between three cronels,* for Freme, impaling a bend compone on a chief three escallops for ? — The head (now restored) and feet, two shields above the figure and portions of the marginal inscription. The late Mr. J. H. Cooke, F.S.A., of Berkeley, preserved the head, and in February, 1884, he had it securely fastened in its proper place, so that the memorial is more complete, and not a mere headless trunk as heretofore. Biographical Account. — In Fisher’s History of Berkeley, p. 25, is to be found — “The Fremes were for many generations freehold tenants under the Lords Berkeley, for lands in the manors of Hinton, Alkington, and Canonbury, in the parish of Berkeley and in Berkeley Borough, by Knight’s Service and the rent of twenty horseshoes, and their nails, annually. The first of the family who appeared in this neighbourhood married the heiress of John Usher, temp. Edward IV.” (4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483 – M.S). (Cecil T. Davis The monumental brasses of Gloucestershire, p. 132, 1899, in Glouc. Notes and Queries). *Naylor says ‘Arg. 2 chevronels betw. 3 cronels az.’, that is, essentially, the arms of Morgan: Sable, a chevron between 3 spear-heads (cronels) argent.

1.1.1.1.3.1.1.1.1.1. Thomas Freme of Lypiatt. Sir William Morgan was the head of the Pencoed family of Morgan from 1501 until his death in 1542. He was the son of Sir Thomas Morgan, son and heir of Morgan ap Jenkin ap Philip, esq. of Langston. He appears as Thomas ap Morgan ap Jankyn ap Philip in deeds of 1480, and is almost certainly identified as the Thomas Morgan who appears in a number of royal commissions from 1467, which show his association with the Herberts of Raglan, earls Pembroke. A deed of 1476 identifies him as the steward of Raglan. He mar. Jane, dau. of John Gwilym Herbert, half-br. of William Herbert (d. 1469), earl of Pembroke. Jane was the mother of William and many other children. William was old enough to perform military service by 1492, and was b. c. 1470. He mar. Florence, one of the daus. of Sir Gyles Brydges (d. 1511) of Coberley. (Extracted from National Library of Wales journal – Cyf. 27, rh. 4 Gaeaf 1992 Sir William Morgan of Pencoed (d. 1542) and the Morgans of Tredegar and Machen in Henry VIII’s reign).

Sir Thomas Morgan (by 1509-65), of Pencoed, Mon. b. by 1509, 1st s. of Sir William Morgan of Pencoed, and bro. of Giles Morgan. m. by 1543, Cecily, da. of Sir George Herbert* of Swansea, Glam., 5s. inc. Sir William 1da.; 2da. illegit. suc. fa. 1542. Kntd. 30 Sept. 1544. *b. 1494/95, 1st s. of Richard Herbert* of Ewyas, Herefs. by Margaret, da. and h. of Sir Matthew Cradock of Swansea; bro. of William Herbert I. m. (1) by 1531, Elizabeth, da. of Sir Thomas Berkeley of The Vyne, Hants. (S.T. Bindoff, Hist. Parl. Trust, 1982). *Sir Richard Herbert (died 1510) of Ewyas, Herefordshire was the illegitimate son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and Maud, dau. of Adam ap Howell Graunt (Gwynn).

This Thomas Freme mar. a dau. of Sir William Morgan of Pencoed (Thomas Dudley Fosbroke, Abstracts of records and manuscripts respecting the county of Gloucester, p. 339, 1807). Thomas Freme’s wife was the sister of Giles Morgan, b. by 1515, d. Mar. 9, 1570, by Florence, dau. of Sir Giles Brydges of Coberley, Glos. Florence was the sister of John Brydges: ‘Queen Mary on coming to the Crown in 1553, granted Sudeley Castle to Sir John Bridges of Coberley in the county of Gloucester, who had been a strenuous supporter of her succession; and who, on April 8, 1554, was created Baron Chandos of Sudeley, to him and the heirs male of his body (Franklin’s ‘The progresses’, vol. 3, p. 219, 1823). The Fremes would have been able to bear the three lions rampant of Herbert. They were connected to many families of noble birth. It may be noted that Thomas Freme, mar. to a dau. of Sir William Morgan, was nephew of Richard Freme, cousin of his son, Richard, and was probable br. of John Freme. Henry Freme was closely related, but to what degree I can not ascertain. A branch of the Pencoed Morgans assumed the three lions rampant coat of the Herberts – see Berry’s Heraldica.

(Mr. Collins; ‘This Sir Giles married Isabel, daughter of Thomas Baynham,* and had issue three sons and four daughters. Ursula, his eldest daughter, was married to John Sydenham, of Brimpton in com. Somers.; Florence, second daughter, was married to Sir William Morgan, of South-Wales; Catherine, third daughter, was wedded to Richard Poole, of the county of Gloucester, Esq.; and Anne, the youngest, was married (after his decease) to Sir Rice Mansel, of Margam in Glamorg’). *This family were intermarried with the Herberts.

Tho. son and heir. (ESC. 30 H. VIII.), by a dau. of Sir William Morgan of Pencoed, was father of Will. fath. of Rob, who died seized of this place (Esc. 41 Elizabeth & MS Snell); he mar. Joan, dr. of Gough, and had iss. Will. of Lypiatt, Alice, (4th dr.) w. of Jos. Baynham of Westbury, Esq. Will. by Eliz. dau. of Tho. Bigge of Linchwiake in co. Worc., had iss. Tho. of 1623,* Rob. Will. Sus. and Ursula (Visit. 1623), which Tho. held this M. 14 Car. for then Rob. Fletcher, gent. died seized of a mess. and lands and tenements in Nether Lippiat and Throp. held of Tho. Freme, Esq. as of his M. of Neth. Lipp. *Thomas Freame Armiger, ex cohorte centurio, obit 18 Aprilis, an. dni. 1664, aetatis 63; mon. insc. Thomas Fraemus).

Fosbroke’s Berkeley Manuscripts: pp.. 43, 79, 80, 1821 – Freeholders 1624: Freme’s Lands, lying here and in Berkeley and Alkington and Canonbury; held of Lord Berkeley; sold. 6 James, by Thomas Freme to George Freeman; which lands the above George settled, 14 Charles, on George Freeman, son of Thomas. (Fosbroke’s Berkeley Manuscripts: pp.. 43, 79, 80, 1821). Freme’s Lawns, in Halmer and Hinton, now the inheritance of Thomas Freme of Lypiatt, who has divers lands and tenements in Berkeley Town and Canonbury; those in Halmer, held of Lord Berkeley, by suit of his Hundred Court, and by heriot service, in the several yearly rents hereafter mentioned; viz. 20 horse-shoes and their nails for his lands in Berkeley; 6 s. per annum for his lands in Halmer; 2s. 6d. for his lands in Hinton, called Barry Court, or the Manor of Barron’s, late John Usher’s, rent 12d. and part of Freeman’s lands in Hinton, rent 4d. ; and 18s. 8d. for his lands in Alltington; viz. for a messuage, orchard, and meadow, some time John Baker’s, of Newport, rent 9s. 4d.; and for a pasture called Cole’s Clive.

Sir Simon de Brugge, or as it has been since called Brydges, was living in the reigns of K. Henry III. and Edward I. and was Lord of Brugge-Solers, in the right of mar. with the dau. and heir of the family of Solers. He had issue, John his heir; Hugh, Giles, Walter, and Eleanor; of whom the eldest was Knight of the shire for the county of Hereford, 6 Edward II, and had 108 shillings allowed him and the other Knights for their expences, and two shillings a day for six days going and returning. He had issue by Sarah his wife, Sir Baldwin Brydges, Knt. who mar. Isabel, dau. of Sir Peirs Grandison, by whom he had two sons, Sir Thomas, and Sir John. The latter mar. Alice, dau. of Hugh Hacket, and had issue Thomas, who by Maud, dau. of Thomas Henborough, had several sons; William, the eldest, mar. Alice, dau. and co-heir of William Estington; and Sir John, 2d son, was Lord-Mayor of London, and mar. Agnes, dau. of Thomas Ayloss; and his dau. Winfrede, mar., first, Sir Richard Sackville, by whom she was mother of Thomas, the first Earl of Dorset; and 2dly, to William, Marquis of Winchester. Sir Thomas, (eldest son of Sir Baldwin) mar. Alice, dau. and heir of Sir Thomas Berkeley, by Elizabeth, dau. of Thomas, Lord Chandos, eldest sister and co-heir of John, Lord Chandos, with whom he had the Manor of Coberley, in Glos. They had issue two sons, Sir Giles his heir and Edward, who left a dau., mar. to John, son of Sir John Throgmorton. Sir Giles, who died the 6th Edward IV. leaving issue by Catharine, dau. of James Clifford, Esq., relict of Anselme Guise; a dau. Cecilie, mar. first to Thomas Gates, Esq. and 2dly, to John Welesbourn, Esq. an only son, Thomas, who mar. Florence, dau. of William Darrel, Esq. and had three sons and five daus.: Elizabeth mar. first to William Casey, Esq. and 2dly, to Walter Rowdon, Esq. Alice mar. to Chicheley, Esq. Eleanor, to Sir Thomas Pauncefort; Joan and Anne died unmarried. Of the sons, which were Giles, Sir Richard and Henry; the 2d by Jane, dau. to Sir William Spencer, ancestor of the Duke of Marlborough, left two sons, Anthony his heir, and Edmund.Sir Giles, eldest son of Thomas, succeeded to the estate at Coberley, and died in 1511. He left three sons, John his heir; Thomas, 2d son, who left a son Henry; William, 3d son and four daus.; Ursula mar. to John Sydenham, Esq. Florence mar. Sir William Morgan; Catharine to Sir Richard Poole, Esq. and Anne, 2d wife to Sir Rice Mansel, by whom he had no surviving male issue.

THE FREME FAMILY OF LYPIATT

1. Richard, the reeve of Frome.

2. William de Frome.

3. Richard de Frome.

4. William de Frome, M.P. Heref.

5. Sir Robert de Frome. 1358: ‘William de Bohun, earl of Northampton. On behalf of his clerk, Sir Robert de Frome, for a canonry of Hereford, with expectation of a prebend, notwithstanding that he has the church of Hampton Bishop in the same diocese.

6. William Freme, bailiff of Bristol.

7. Richard Freme, sheriff of Bristol.

8. Robert Freme. Hugh Mulle grants to Robert Freme of Hampton Bishop and Alice his wife a tenement called Outmore in Hampton for 10s. Oct. 1, 1458.

9. William Freme, of Berkeley and Netherlupeyate (Nether Lypiatt), Glouc., g. or esq.

10. Thomas Freme, mar. a dau. of Sir William Morgan of Pencoed.

In the time of Henry II. the greatest part of Frome was in the possession of the family of FitzBernard* of whom were Hameline, William, and Richard, which last held his property of Dru de Montacute. He had a son called Ralph FitzBernard, who by Alianor (Courcelles) his wife was father of Joan his sole daughter and heir. This Joan, about the time of King John, mar. William Branch, or Braunche, (as he is sometimes written) who in her right became possessed of the hundred, manor, and town of Frome, with other property in this and the neighbouring counties. *Held also in Kent: Ralph Picot, sheriff of Kent, mar. Ethelreda de Port, dau. of Henry de Port, Sheriff of Southampton; their dau., Eugenia, mar. Thomas FitzBernard (VCH Cambridge, 6 (1978): 159-160; Benedictus, vol. i, pg. 323; and Pipe Roll, 2 Richard I, sub Kent). In the reign of Henry III., John FitzBernard held Kingsdowne of the king in capite, and died possessed of it in the 55th year of that reign; soon after which this estate seems to have been divided into moieties; and Philipott states, there were two manors, called North court and South court, which made up the estate held by the FitzBernard’s. These names we never heard of, though it is probable they were given to the separate moieties, one of which moieties descended to Ralph, son of John FitzBernard, who died possessed of it under Edward I. He left a son, Thomas, and a dau., Margaret, mar. to Guncelin de Badlesmere;* Thomas died without issue in the 6th of Edward II., and Bona, his wife, held it in dower, on whose decease it passed to Giles, son of Bartholomew, the son of Guncelin de Badlesmere and Margaret FitzBernard. He died in the 12th of Edward Ill., without issue, leaving his four sisters his heirs; Maud, wife of John de Vere, earl of Oxford; Margery, mar. to William lord Ros; Elizabeth, united to William de Bohun, earl of Northampton;* and Margaret, who espoused John Tiptoft. (William H. Ireland, ‘Kent’, vol. 4, p. 423, 1830). *Parents, as said, of Bartholomew de Badlesmere, who had issue: Giles de Badlesmere (mar. to Elizabeth Montacute), and Elizabeth de Badlesmere, who mar. (1) Sir Edward Mortimer, d. 1331, (2) William de Bohun. By Sir Edward Mortimer, Elizabeth de Badlesmere had issue Roger de Mortimer, 2nd. Earl March, who mar. Philippa de Montacute, dau. of William, 1st Earl Salis.; their issue being Edmund Mortimer, who, as said, in 1381, was recorded as holding 3s. rent of assize in Cherington belonging to his manor of Bisley. *Patron of Sir Robert de Frome.

In a time when marriages took place within kinship groups of closely-knit families, with associations being continuously reinforced through repeated intermarriages between the same families, it may be reasonable to propose, however tentatively, that the Frome family of Frome were a cadet of the ancient lords of that place, the FitzBernards; or of the family into which the FitzBernards intermarried, the Courcelles; or of one associated with them.

COURCELLES

1. William Lord of Courcelles; Courseullus-sur-Mer in Normandy.

2. Roger de Courcelles, had large land holdings in the west of England, principally in Somerset, Dorset and Devon..

3. Roger de Courcelles. .

4. Hugh de Courcelle (Roger’s successor), had land holdings in the hundred of Frome in the 12th. century.

5. Wandril (Wandegril) de Courcelles.

MONTACUTE CARTULARY

no. 107. Nicholas Poynz, with the consent of Joan his wife, for his own welfare and for the souls of his father and mother and of his son Hugh Poynz, and Juliana his wife, grants to the church and monks of Montacute fifteen acres of his grove of Stocwode … with the land of the said fifteen acres for ever. Witnesses : — Robert de Mandevile; Jordan Oliver; Jordan de Atebere; Roger de la Ford, then sheriff of Somerset and Dorset; Simon my nephew; Osbert de Dena; Robert de Aula Montis Acuti; Geoffrey le Waleys.

no. 108. Charter of Wandegril de Curcell (is) concerning the gift of a house with a curtilage of his desmesne in Limintone, with the meadows, pasture lands and other appurtenances. Wandigril de Curcell (is) grants to the church and brethren of Montacute a house with a curtilage and ten acres of land of his demesne in Limintone with the meadows and pasture lands, &c. which belong to such a quantity of land (ad tantum terre) free and quit of all service. Witnesses: — William the sub-prior, son of the chancellor; William de Mertoc; Roger de Sancto Cosma; Philip, a monk; Osbert; Roger son of David, chaplain; Robert, knight of Piro; William de Asci; Hugh de Masci; Richard Noreis; William son of Teoderic; Hugh the cook.

no. 109. Charter of John, son of Henry de Port, concerning the gift of the land of Weleg in Warneford. John de Port, son of Henry de Port, grants to the church and brethren of Montacute the land of Warneford, which is called Weleg, with all its appurtenances, to be held in free possession for ever, nothing being retained to him, his heirs, or assigns except prayers. Witnesses: — Robert de Inglesham, archdeacon of Surrey; Robert prior of Sireburne; William son of Asgot; William son of Adam; William son of Roger; Tostan the sheriff; Robert de Turvilla.

no. 110. Charter of Adam de Port, son of the aforesaid John de Port, concerning the confirmation of the said land of Weleg. Adam de Portu confirms to the church and brethren of Montacute the land of Warneforde, which is called Weleg, which Henry his grandfather and John his father gave to the same church, to be held freely with all its customs. Witnesses: — Roger, prior of Syreburne; Adam, prior of Holen; John, clerk de Portu; Maurice de Turbeville.

no. 111. Charter of William de Sancto Johanne, son of the aforesaid Adam de Port, concerning the confirmation of the above-mentioned land of Weleg. William de Sancto Johanne, son of Adam de Portu, confirms to the church and brethren of Montacute the land of Warneforde, which is called Weleg, which Henry his great-grandfather, (triavus), John his grandfather, and Adam his father gave to the same church to be held freely with all customs. Witnesses: — Maurice de Turbevile; Emeric de Cancell (is) …….. Henry de Turbevile.

These grantors and witnesses were of the kinship group associated with Frome, and, thus, with the family which took its name from that place.

DROGO DE MONTACUTE

DB. To this manor is added Stoche (Stony-Stoke). Drogo holds it of the Earl (Morton). Robert son of Wimarc held it in the time of King Edward, and it was assessed to the geldt for three hides. The arable is four carucates. In demesne is one carucate, and two servants; and five villans and eight cottagers with two ploughs. There are five acres of meadow, and two of wood. It is worth three pounds. ‘Drogo de Montacute held this manor till his death, 33 Henry I. 1131, when he was succeeded by his son and heir William de Montacute. In the 2nd Henry II. 1156, Richard de Montacute, son and heir of William de Montacute, paid twenty marks into the King’s Exchequer for the ancient please and in the 7th of the same reign, the said Richard paid twenty marks for scutage, for the knight’s fees which he held at that time. He died, leaving issue Drogo de Montacute his son and heir; who mar. Aliva, dau. of Alan Basset, Baron of Wycomb in the county of Buckingham, and had by her issue, William de Montacute, who succeeded to the Barony, and paid 6l. 1s. 8d. for his estates in this county, in the 6th Richard I.1195, as scutage for the King’s ransom, who had been made prisoner, on his return from the crusade to the Holy Land, by the Emperor of Germany. He was Sheriff for this county and Dorsetshire in the 7th of John, 1206, and during the two following years. He took a part with the rebellious Barons against that monarch in the seventeenth year of his reign; and in consequence, all his lands in this county and Dorsetshire were seized by the King, and given to Ralph de Ralegh. They were soon after restored to him again. He died 18 John, 1217, leaving a son William his heir’ (William Phelps, History and Antiquities of Somersetshire, vol. i., pt. 3-6, p. 214, 1836).

BRAUNCHE

From St. Denis de Branche. ‘The Norman family of Branch, whose estates lay in the Caux, accompanied William de Warrenne to England 1066, where Ralph Branche received a grant of two knight’s fees, of which Gresham was the chief seat.’— The Norman People. Sir Nicholas de Branche held Peperharow, Surrey, temp. Ed. 1. (Manning’s Surrey). About the time of King John, William Braunche married the heiress of Ralph FitzBernard, and in her right became possessed of the hundred, Manor, and town of Frome, with other property in this and the neighbouring counties; and 23 Hen. III. paid 100s. for his relief of the lands of his wife’s inheritance. This William bore on his seal a fleur de lis, surmounted with a file of three points. He died 8 Ed. 1. and was succeeded by Nicholas Braunche’ (probably the Nicholas above-mentioned) ‘who with Roberga his wife, held the manors of Frome and la Valice, with the hundred of Frome, by the service of one knight’s fee, 7 Ed. II. Sir Andrew Braunch, son and heir of Nicholas, 19 Ed. III., granted two mills in Frome, and the bailiwick of the bedelary of the hundred of Frome, to Robert Adymot for life, which mills and bailiwick were certified to be held of the King as parcel of the manor of Frome-Braunche. He died 23 Ed. III., leaving issue Thomas his son and heir; but he dying in his minority, the manor became the property of Richard Winslade, who had married Alianor sister of the said Andrew Braunche’ (Collinson’s Somerset). In Norfolk we find Branch’s Manor, held under the de Wauncis. ‘Sir Peter Branch married Joan, the inheritrix of the Manors of Kenton, Cornerd, and Brandon, and Suffolk, held of the family of de Limesey by four knight’s fees, and lived about King John’s time. Sir Nicholas, 16 Ed. 1, sealed with a lys and label of five points. Thomas Branch died lord about 1361’ (Blomfield’s Norfolk). This was, most likely the same Thomas who held in Somersetshire, and died young (Cleveland, Battle Abbey Roll, vol. i.).

CLYVEDON

In the Gheld Inquest of 1084, taken before Domesday, as also in Domesday book of 1086, Clevedon is returned as having 1029 acres more than at present, and there were attached to the manor 3240 acres of pasture. It was found to be held by one Johannes Danus, but was transferred to Mathew de Moreton, as tenant of the king in capite, the under tenant being one Heldebertus. There were within it seven wild or untamed mares. (See – The Gheld Inquest of Somerset, by R. W. Eyton). Whether Moreton or his immediate descendents took the name Clevedon, or when the name was first assumed, must be left to conjecture. About 1162, William de Clevedon is returned in a list of scutages due to the king, as holding two knight’s fees in Somerset of Henry Lupellus (Lovell). In the Exchequer Red Book Transcript, vol. iii. p. 511, he is also returned as holding the same. In a list of oblations due to the king in 1198, Mathew de Clevedon occurs as owing 100s. for the right to a knight’s fee in Ken, and one in Penna,* versus Richard de Ken; and in 1211 he is again returned as holding the same, as will appear on the Roll of 10th Richard I. In 1215, the year of Magna Charta, all his lands were given to Robert de Baiocis. By 1217, the lands were restored to Mathew, as in that year he did homage for them. In this same year he was succeeded by Roger. In 1225-26, Mathew de Clevedon is found holding offices in Somerset; his successor being Raymond, who is mentioned in 1275. He mar. Elizabeth Aller, their son, Matthew, was born in Charfield, Gloucestershire; his son John, by his second wife, Emma, had issue: Katherine, who mar. Thomas de Berkeley, whose first wife was Margaret de Mortimer, whose sister, Beatrice, to repeat, mar. Thomas de Braose, son of Piers de Braose, br. or half-br. of Giles de Braose (husband of Maud de Whitney, and uncle of Maud de Braose, the wife of William de Frome. Another Maud de Braose, sister or half-sister of Giles and Piers de Braose, mar. Roger Mortimer (d. 1282); in 1381 it was recorded that Edmund Mortimer had held 3s. rent of assize in Cherington belonging to his manor of Bisley.*In the time of Richard I., Matthew de Clyvedon was lord of this manor, and from his descendants it came to a family who received their name from the town of Frome, where they seem to have had large possessions; the name occurring in testimony to several charters and deeds of the family of Braunche, lords of Frome manor.
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