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ANNO D'NI 1583.

EDITED BY

H. SYDNEY GRAZEBROOK, Esq.

LONDON : MITCHELL AND HUGHES, 140 WARDOUR STREET, W.

1883.

Contents;.

PAGE

Introduction .......... vii

List of Pedigrees xix

What is to be performed by the Heralds at their going in

Visitation 1

Somerset's Warrant, directed to the Bailiff of the Hundred of

Cudleston, to summon the Esquires and Gentlemen

inhabiting within the said Hundred to appear before him in

order to the enregistering of their several arms and descents 2

Nomina Nobilium de Com' Stafford', 1583 3

Warrant of Summons against such as contemptuously refuse to

appear upon the former warrant, to make their further

appearance before the Earl Marshal 11

The manner of the Heralds' Proclamation for the disclaiming of

ignoble persons . . . . . . . . .12

Names of those who were disclaimed 14

Lay Subsidy Roll of the 18th of Elizabeth, a.d. 1576 ... 17 Names and Arms of Staffordshire Knights, temp. Edward I. . 20 Anna Nobilium de Com' Stafford' ex libro antiquo in Officio

Armorum 21

Arms of Staffordshire Families as represented in the gallery at

Theobald's 26

Seal of the Town of Stafford, and List of the " Companie and

Brotherhood," etc., of the said town 27

Seal of Lichfield, with similar List

Seal of Newcastle under Lyme, with similar List

The doubtful Arms of Staffordshire .

Pedigrees (in alphabetical order)

Notes on the Pedigree of De Wastineys

. 28 . . 28 . 29 33 to 155 . 156

Index 163

fintrotmrtton.

The Visitation contained in the following pages was made by- Robert Glover, Somerset Herald, as deputy to his father-in- law, William Flower, Norroy King of Arms.

Glover, who was made Somerset Herald in 1571, was born at Ashford in Kent in 1543. Erdeswick styles him " the only sufficient man in his time for armorye and descents in this land," and Sir William Dugdale considered him " the best Herald that did ever belong to the office." So high was his reputation for professional skill and unwearied attention, that the contemporary provincial Kings of Arms sent him on several occasions to visit the counties in their marches ; and, besides Staffordshire, he either visited or assisted in the Visitatioi] s of the several counties of Chester, Derby, Durham, Lancaster, Northumberland, and York. But his " Somer too soone set," for he died at the early age of forty-five in 1588.

The manuscript from which the Visitation here printed is transcribed is a small folio in the William Salt Library, which I have ventured to designate " The Stukeley MS."

It has a somewhat curious history. Inside the cover is written in a large bold hand :

" Wm Stukeley.

This book I redeem'd

from a shop where

it was to be used

as waste paper,

1756,

and giveu to Eabdley Wilmot."

This is the handwriting of the learned antiquary Dr. Wil- liam Stukeley, who was born in 1687, and died in 1765. On the flyleaf is the autograph of " John Eardley Wilmot, July 1811 ;" and inside the cover are pasted two armorial bookplates of the Wilmot family, viz., " Sir John Eardley

b 2

Vlll INTRODUCTION.

Wilmot, Knt., London," and "JohnEardley Wilmot, Berkswell Hall."

From the Wilmots the manuscript passed into the posses- sion of William Hamper, F.S.A., from whose representatives it was acquired by Mr. Salt.

By whom or when this MS. was written I am unable to say; but a pencil note by Mr. Hamper, dated 1817, states that it " evidently belonged to Win. Booth, of Witton, Esq. (the friend of Dug-dale), from his notes in various parts of it." This William Booth was an eminent barrister and a noted antiquary. Dugdale, in his " Warwickshire," speaks of him as " a gentleman so well affected to antiquities that by his judicious observation of sundry notable things concerning this part of the countie (which with much freenesse he hath im- parted toward this present work) he deserves a better acknow- ledgment from me than by a few words can be expressed." Hamper (" Life of Dugdale," p. 1 25) states that he had retrieved a few of Mr. Booth's collections (this very MS. being no doubt one of the few), but that he had sought in vain for one of his volumes, entitled " Descents of some gentlemen, and others our neighbours, in and about Birmingham, set down by me William Booth, of the Middle Temple, London, according to the best intelligence I could have from old men, and from notes and papers which concern others in our study, 1641." Shaw, the historian of Staffordshire, found this MS. in the possession of Erasmus Darwin of Derby in 1791, and from it copied the (not quite accurate) pedigree of Stamford of Perry Hall given in his second volume, p. 109.*

The original, or office copy, of Glover's Visitation of Staf- fordshire had in Dugdale's time " long been purloined from the office." But Noblef asserts that the true original, " written by Somerset at the time of the Visitation, and signed by those gentlemen who gave him information relative to their families," is in the library of Queen's College, Oxford.

Noble's work has been described by a competent judge as " careless and inaccurate," and he himself as a " perpetual

* In the College of Arms is a quarto volume of pedigrees in the handwriting of Nicholas Charles, Lancaster Herald, with additions by Mr. Booth. At the beginning is written, " William Booth of Witton his book, 1660."

t " History of the College of Arms," Appendix, p. xxxi.

INTRODUCTION. ix

blunderer." But in this case he is generally allowed to be correct.

The MS. to which he refers has every appearance of being the original, and if the signatures* are not genuine they are very clever imitations. With this volume the Stukeley MS. agrees in almost every particular. But in order to perfect his MS. Mr. Salt caused it to be carefully collated with the reputed original; several missing pedigrees were supplied,f and all variations noted. The gentleman employed in this work was Mr. Thorpe, who speaks of the Queen's College MS. as " Glover's original Visitation, in an old vellum binding." Mr. Thorpe's notes upon this and several other manuscript copies of the Visitation are in the William Salt Library, and will be more particularly referred to in the sequel.

The first entire Visitation ever published was that of Durham taken by Flower (assisted by Glover) in 1575. This was issued in 1820, and is noticed in the " Gentleman's Magazine " for that year (July, p. 45). The reviewer describes it as "a perfect novelty in the annals of genealogical literature." For, says he, " notwithstanding that several copies of these records are extant both in our public and private libraries, they have never yet been made accessible through the medium of the press." This was followed in the same year by the Durham Visitation of 1615 (of which only 50 copies were printed), and by the Visitation of Middlesex in 1663. Since then a goodly number of these records have been printed, the Harleian Society alone having issued sixteen volumes, which, with two exceptions, are, or purport to be, County Visitations. The Surtees Society has issued Tonge's " Visitation of the Northern Counties in 1530," and Dugdale's valuable "Visitation of Yorkshire in 1665-6;" and the Chetham Society has placed in the hands of its subscribers four Visitations of Lancashire. In addition to these, we have the Visitations of Yorkshire in 1584

* I may here note that in the Stukeley MS. the signatures attached to the several pedigrees do not in all cases agree with the original. For example, in the former MS. the Endesore pedigree is signed " Richard Endesore," and that of Wyrley "John Wyrley." Mr. Thorpe has noted all these variations, and the several signatures here printed are as in the original.

f The pedigrees thus supplied are Ashenhurst, p. 35 ; Aston, p. 37 ; Biddulph, p. 50 ; Giffard, p. 81 ; Hawkes, p. 97 ; Himiett, p. 99 ; Noel (" ex chartis "), p. 119 ; K-udyerd, p. 126; and Somerford, p. 131.

X INTRODUCTION.

and 1612, edited by Mr. Joseph Foster; those of Suffolk in 1561, 1577, and 1612, edited by Mr. Metcalfe; and several others.

It must, however, be admitted that some of these publica- tions, though of considerable value as collections of county pedigrees, are not precisely what they claim to be. They are copied as a rule from some MS. in the Harleian Library, which, though purporting to be a Visitation of a certain county on such a date, often contains the result of two Visita- tions combined and amalgamated ; and in some cases is so full of additions and continuations by " other hands " that (to use Wanley's words) " it is no easy matter to shew what belongs to the Visitation and what not." On the other hand some of these MSS. contain but a selection of the descents given in the original, and these but mere abstracts or outlines. For example, the Harl. MS. 6104 is stated to contain Dugdale's Visitations of Staffordshire in 1663-4, and of Derbyshire in 16G2-3 ; but a comparison of the MS., with the original Visita- tions remaining in the College of Arms, will reveal innumerable errors both of omission and commission. And yet the latter portion of this MS. has been recently published under the title of "The Visitation of Derbyshire, taken in 1662, and reviewed in 1663, by William Dugdale," which, with every respect for its learned editor, I humbly conceive to be an unfortunate mistake. Again, the "Visitation of Lancashire in 1664-5," published by the Chetham Society, contains towards the end much matter quite foreign to the Visitation. The pedigree of Trafford, for instance, ascends to Saxon times, whereas in Dugdale's original it goes back only to the grandfather of the then head of the family. This, as the editor of a recent pub- lication of the Chetham Society points out, " cannot fail to be very misleading," since it gives the sanction of the great name of Dugdale to a composition in which he had no hand.

I ought perhaps to apologise for these critical remarks as being somewhat out of place ; but I have made them, not for the purpose of unkindly criticising these valuable publications, but to draw attention to what I have already ventured to call an unfortunate mistake, and more especially to explain why, though there are numerous manuscripts in existence by the

INTRODUCTION. xi

aid of which many of the pedigrees contained in the following pages might be amplified and extended, I have, in professing to print Glover's Visitation, given nothing but that Visitation, and have carefully avoided all " continuations " and " enlarge- ments," except in a few instances (and they are all noted) in which I have utilized the information supplied by the "HathertonMS." •

By this name I refer to a transcript in the William Salt Library (made by Mr. James Broughton) of a manuscript belonging to Lord Hathertoh. This MS. purports to be a copy of Glover's Visitation, but, like most of the so-called copies, it contains much additional matter. It is identical — even in its errors — with John Withie's " Copie of the Visitation book of Staffordshire made in 1583 " (Harl. MS. 1077), which is dated 1621. Mr. Broughton wrote an account of this volume in the "Gentleman's Magazine" for September 1829 (p. 212); and in the Preface to his transcript he suggests that his original " is in the handwriting of Sampson Erdeswick and his amanuensis Wyrley." But he gives no reasons for this opinion, and it is manifest from internal evidence that the MS. is of a more recent date than he supposes.

In addition to the pedigrees, the Queen's College and Stukeley MSS. contain numerous extracts from old deeds and charters, and tricks of seals illustrating the descents and arms of the families whose genealogies are recorded. These I have omitted, and personally I regret the omission. But it has been considered that these documents would be more fittingly in- troduced into the Staffordshire Chartulary commenced in the second volume of these Collections. I have also omitted some preliminary matter, such as extracts from " Domesday," the " Liber Rubeus," and sundry other documents which have been already printed either by the Record Commissioners or by Shaw, or have been made public in other ways. I should also add that I am alone responsible for the alphabetical arrange- ment of the pedigrees. They are not so arranged in my original, but, besides the obvious utility of such an arrano-e- ment for purposes of reference, there are several cogent reasons (with which I need not trouble the reader) which have influ- enced me. On pages xix and xx, however, will be found a

Xll INTRODUCTION.

list of the pedigrees in the order in which they are given in the original.

An examination of the list of those summoned by Glover to appear before him and record their descents (pp. 3-11) will shew that 204 persons, or about 183 heads of families, were ordered to put in an appearance. Of these forty-seven were " Ignobiles,"* and were "disclaimed," together with some who in the list are styled "gentlemen." Some were " extra com." or "hors du pays," that is out of the jurisdiction of the visiting Herald, or absent and unable to appear. Making due allowance for all these, it follows that at least forty heads of families made default, or, as Glover would term it, " disobedi- ently and contemptuously " refused to appear before him ; and these defaulters bore such well-known names as Congreve, Wolseley, Sneyd, Fowke, Lane, Kynnersley, Draycott, Chet- wynd, Stanley, Skeffington, Swynfen, etc., etc.f

With regard to this last-named family Edmund Lodge, Lancaster Herald (writing in 1797), remarks how strange it is that the Swynfens of Swynfen should have neglected to enter their pedigree in any of the Staffordshire Visitations; and tenfold more strange (he adds) that Dugdale, the son of Elizabeth Swynfen, should have nowhere given any further account of this his mother's family than the mere names of her father and grandfather.

The late Mr. J. G. Nichols, in noticing the Lancashire Visitations published by the Chetham Society, observes that though it is a decided testimony to the antiquity of a family that it should appear in a Visitation, yet its absence is not a positive proof to the contrary. There is (he continues) an amount of accident as to the admission or omission of families

* " Nohiles" says Coke, "sunt qui arma gentilicia anticessorum suorum proferre possunt." By the word ignobilis the Heralds simply meant " not entitled to bear arms," or, as it is sometimes expressed in English, " no gentleman."

t When Sir W. Dugdale visited Yorkshire in 1665-6 nearly one-third of the whole number of gentry whom he called upon to appear before him with proofs of their arms and pedigrees treated his summonses with neglect. In the Preface to the printed Visitation a list of the persons who were contumacious is given, and in this list may lie recognised a few of the well-known ancient gentry of the county, besides many headjs of families whose descendants at this day would have rejoiced had 1 bey then placed their pedigrees on record. There will also be found a long list of defaulters at the same Herald's Visitation of Lancashire, 1664-5, in the Introduction to the Chetham Society's printed copy.

INTRODUCTION. Xlll

in the Visitation books. Ormerod has remarked that the very ancient family of Hulton of Hulton is entered only in the first and last Visitations of Lancashire, and that of Gerard of Bryn in none.

Some men, no doubt, were too proud to have their ancient standing brought at all into question, or to allow that it required recognition. Others were altogether careless and in- different, and their tastes were for very different objects. Others would be absent from home at the time of the Heralds' circuit ; or, if summoned to attend them at a neighbouring town, were possibly prevented by illness, or indisposed by domestic sorrow and trouble.*

With regard to the degree of credit to be attached to Visitation pedigrees, the same writer remarks that the Visita- tions stand in the position of a witness at a trial, supposed to be the person best informed upon the subject of inquiry, but who may be mistaken from defect of memory or other accidental circumstances. Still, he adds, such evidence, collected by officers whose business it was to gather the truth, must at least be important, if not always authoritative, and of course all the more worthy of credit, so far as it is contemporaneous, or nearly so, with the facts related. f

The principal authority possessed by the Visitation books is undoubtedly the signature of the head of the family therein recorded. But it is notorious that subscribers frequently attached their names to most defective and imperfect genea- logies— genealogies from which the maiden and even christian names of their own wives and mothers are frequently absent ; and though it must be admitted that the visiting Herald was in a great measure dependent on the individual who furnished the information, yet surely he should be held responsible for these frequent omissions of names and facts which, it is obvious, the person who entered the pedigree could easily supply. One of many examples of this strange and unaccount- able carelessness will be found in the descent of Arblaster in this Visitation. Thomas Arblaster, who signed this pedigree, must at least have known his mother's name ; and his father,

* " Herald and Genealogist, vii., p. 47. f Ibid., ii., p. 185.

XIV INTRODUCTION.

who was then living, could assuredly, if asked, have supplied further information. Of course this is by no means a solitary instance of such a state of things, but I am not aware that any satisfactory explanation of the astonishing ignorance apparently displayed by the subscribers of Visitation pedigrees — or the extreme carelessness of the Herald who recorded them — has yet been offered. The Heralds were enjoined by the Eoyal Commission under which all their Visitations were made, not only to " peruse and take knowledge " of " all manner of Arms," etc., but also to take " notes of the descents, pedigrees, and marriages " of the " nobiles " in their provinces. Yet it seems to me that as a rule they paid far more attention to the former than the latter ; and provided that a right to arms was satisfactorily established, they did not trouble themselves to ascertain, even by oral testimony, the names or parentage of females who, being neither heiresses nor co- heiresses, were not in a position to transmit their armorial insignia to posterity.

In the College of Arms there are three copies (so called) of Glover's Visitation, which collectively contain a vast deal of additional and indeed extraneous matter. These are Dugdale's own copy, Vincent's, and a volume called E.D.N. 13.

The first-named manuscript is in Dugdale's own hand- writing. I here copy its instructive titlepage: "A Copye of the Visitation of Staffordshire made by William Flower, Norroy King of Armes, in A0 mdlxxxiii (the Originall having been long since purloyned* out of this Office) : which Copye was taken from a Transcript thereof sometimes belonging to Edward Gwynn, late of FurnivalPs Inne, in Com' MiddP (but now in the Library of William Pierpoint, of Thoresby, in Com' ISTott' Esq1"), by William Dugdale, Esq1', Norroy King of Armes, and given unto this Society vj° Maij, mdclxviii. In which transcript, though there be divers errors and mistakes ; yet considering that the Originall is thus lost, it was thought better thus to preserve a Copye, wdl possibly may in time be rectified, than to have nothing at all thereof." In addition to the Visitation with its " errors and mistakes," the volume

* It is ratlier singular that the original of Glover's Visitation of Yorkshire in 1584 is also stated to have been " purloined " from the College.

INTRODUCTION. XV

contains a series of other pedigrees which Dugdale says did not, in his opinion, form a part of the Visitation.

From the disappearance of the original until the year 1668, therefore, the Heralds did not even possess a copy of this Visitation. But on the death of Ralph Sheldon, of Beoley, co. Worcester, in 1684, the College acquired under his will the two other manuscripts above named, one of which (Vincent 133) was, in the absence of the original, allowed to be put in evidence in 1785 in a trial respecting the manor of Mere, as appears by a note inserted in the volume by Francis Townsend, Windsor Herald.

Other manuscripts in public and private, collections pur- porting to be copies of this Visitation (most of which were carefully examined and abstracts of their contents taken by Mr. Thorpe) are : —

1. A copy in the library at Loxley Park, transcribed by

Captain Fernyhough.

2. A copy in the Bodleian Library, Oxford : Gough's

Staffordshire MSS., No. 1. This contains many additional pedigrees, one dated 1750 and another 1752, and the Arms of Sir T. Broughton dated 1768.

3. A second copy in Queen's College library, Oxford.

4. Harl. MS. 818. A book in folio, containing, inter alia,

pedigrees from Glover's Visitation and from Erdes- wick's Collections, written partly by Ralph Brooke and partly by others.

5. Harl. MS. 1077. A folio MS., " the far greater part of

which was written and tricked a.d. 1621 by the hand of John Withie, the arms painter." It is a copy of Glover's Visitation, but has " many addi- tions." This, as has been already stated, corresponds nearly page by page with Lord Hatherton's MS., excepting the additions of which Wanley (Harl. Catalogue) speaks, which are in another hand. There are also inserted pedigrees of a later date : inter alia, a pedigree of Mynors drawn up by John Tilston in 1678, a pedigree of Foljambe " seeming to be in the handwriting of Sir Henry St. George,"

XVI INTRODUCTION.

a pedigree of Nott of Cannock, and two pedigrees of Leveson. It is noted in the Catalogue that " Mr. Withie has transcribed the subscriptions of the gentlemen at the bottom of their descents into this book." It should be mentioned that the rota- tion of the pedigrees in this MS. is quite different to the Queen's College and Stukeley MSS.

6. Harl. MS. 1173. A transcript of Withie's book ; " but

it is to be noted that notwithstanding many gross faults in this copy through the ignorance and care- lessness of the copyiste, it is of value because of many considerable additions made to it which are wanting in Mr. Withie's book ; as Mr. Withie's also has many recent additions inserted in it since this transcript was made." (Wanley.)

7. Harl. MS. 1415. A folio volume, containing, besides the

Staffordshire Visitation, that of Yorkshire taken by Glover in 1584-5. Wanley says he cannot be positive as to who wrote this MS., "because it is known that many officers of Arms wrote very like to one another." In this MS. the last name in the list of Staffordshire disclaimers is industriously blotted out ; " the posterity or relations of him," writes Wanley, "being perhaps grown ashamed of that disclaiming." The name thus erased was " John Coleman of Canke."

8. Harl. MS. 1429. Contains a few arms and memoranda

from Glover's Visitation ; also a few descents from Dugdale's Visitation of 1663-4, inserted by John Saunders. It also contains a so-called Visitation of Hertfordshire, but this, says Wanley, is " a painter's title," for arms painters (he adds) " when they see a book of pedigrees relating to one county alone usually call them Visitations without further exami- nation."

9. Harl. MS. 1570. "Written and tricked by divers

hands ; more espescially by Mr. Nicholas Charles and Mr. Eichard Mundy." It contains "a very good copy " of Glover's Visitation, but with " very

INTRODUCTION. XV11

many enlargements and continuations by Richard Mundy and others," and " some descents entered by Mr. Mundy which were either not at all registered at the Visitation of the County in 1583, or at least not in so ample a manner."

10. Harl. MS. 6128. A very valuable collection of pedigrees

of Staffordshire families, which has been largely used by genealogists and almost invariably quoted as "The Visitation of 1583" — which it certainly is not. Its date is circa 1620.

11. A copy referred to by Shaw (vol. 2, Introd., p. xxx) as

being then in the' possession of Mr. Sharpe "the

ingenious antiquary of Coventry." He describes

it as " a most curious copy of Glover's Visitation of

1583, transcribed by William Smith, Rouge Dragon,

1597, and illustrated with various additions by

Erdeswick, Rowland Frith [of Thornes, Shenstone]

the Herald, and others ; also a coloured map of the

county, and a later Visitation at the end."

In conclusion 1 desire to call special attention to Mr.

Parker's able article on the Wastineys family, and to express

a hope that it may be regarded as a precedent for similar

papers in illustration and correction of this Visitation.

H. Sydney Grazebrook.

December, 1882.

( xix )

Utet of tfte $etit(j;rce£ rrrortJctr bg #tobrr,

IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY ARE GIVEN IN THE QUEEN'S COLLEGE AND STUKELEY MSS.

	PAGE			PAGE
Stafford (seal)	27	Broughton of Longdon	. 60
Stafford .	. 132	Streethay .	. 137
Lichfield (seal) .	. 28	Everard		. 69
Paget	. 122	Bagshaw		. 41
Gresley and Gastneys .	. 86	Arblaster .		. 34
Gresley	85	Welles		145
Gresley (Stemma antiquis-		Hill .		98
simum) .	. 87	Endesore .		. 68
Harcourt .	91	Leigh		101
Coyney	65	Leigh, Rushall, etc.		103
Bagot	39	Grosvenor .		. 90
Trentham . . . .	139	Moseley		115
Fitzherbert	72	Whorwood .		148
Bassett, Meynell, etc. .	44	Leveson		106
Bassett	45	Whorwood .		150
Bassett and Egerton .	46	Giffard		80
Newcastle (seal) .	28	Whorwood of Bobington	151
Bowyer .	53	Wrottesley .	152
Thicknes .	138	Stamford of Pury Hall	133
Main waring	113	Stamford of Pakington, etc	135
Brett	55	Wyrley .	153
Colyar .	64	Skrimshire .	129
Foljambe .	77	Broughton of Broughton	58
Brooke .	56	Moreton .	114
Rugeley .	127	Whitgreave	147
Adderley .	. 33	Cholmley .		62

XX

LIST OF THE PEDIGREES RECORDED BY GLOVER.

			PAGE				PAGE
Giffard . .81	Ashenhurst . . .35
Somirford .			131	Smith			130
Rudyerd			126	Unwyn			142
Biddulph .			50	Yardley			154
Aston .			37	Robinson .			125
Littleton .			108	Harcourt and Astley		94
Astley			36	Harcourt of Ranton		94
Dickens			67	Fitzherbert		74
Feme .			. 70	Humett			99
Nevill			. 116	Hawlces			97
Brooke, etc.			. 57	Petit .			124
Hunt			. 100	Verdon			144
Okeover			. 120	Bowes, etc.			51
Fitzwilliam			. 76	Plantney			125
Fowler			. 78	Corbett			64
Vise .			. 144	Lyseux			110
Crompton .			. 66	Bassett			47
Macclesfield			. Ill	Noel .			117
Bartram, etc.			. 42	Noel {ex Chartis, etc.)		119
Tyrrell			. 141	Finderne .			71

THE

Visitation of f^tafforosfjire,

A.D. 1583.

What is to be performed by the heralds at their going in visitation.

The names of the Hundreds in such a sheere as they will visitt being collected out of the Sheryve's bookes, or the Under- sheryve's, with all the surnames and cristen names of all such as are called or wrytten Knights, Esquyers, and Gentlemen in the sheer, that beying taken and gathered then wrytten in a booke, all those names so receaved every C by itselfe, which doth serve them to marke the apearance of all such as doe apeare (being warned by the Baylye of the sayde C by vertue of a precept delyvered by the Herauld to him) in this maner :

J. M. Knight,

W. T. Esquier,

T. B. Gentln, apparuit,

A. S. Gentln, Ignobilis,

F. J. Gentln, apparuit, entred,

J. H. Gentln, Nothus, they doe ryde to every Knight's house and take notice there, as also to such esquyers as will have them come. The resi- dewe are warned by the Bayley to appeare at the cheifest towne in the Hundred at a daye certaine, where the sayde Herauld doth resorte to take notyce.

B

2 the visitation op staffordshire, a.d. 1583.

Somerset's warrant, directed to the bailiff of the

Hundred of Cudleston, to summon the Esquires and

Gentlemen inhabiting within the said Hundred

to appear before him in order to the

enregistering of their several

arms and descents.

To John Berwike, baylif of the Hundred of Cudleston

in the countye of Stafforde, his Deputie or

Deputies.

These are to require you, and in the Queene's Majestie's

name to charge and commande you, that forthwth upon the

sight hereof you warne these Esq13 and Gent11 whose names

are hereunder written p'sonally to apeare before mee

Somersett, Marshall and Deputy to Norrey Kinge of Amies,

at Stafford on beinge the daye of ... .

at nyne of the clocke before Noone the same day, whereat I doe intende to sytte for the better registeringe of all the Gent, w'thin the sayde Hundred; and that they bringe wth them such Armes and Creasts as they nowe use and beare, wth their Pedigrees or Descentes, and such of theire evidence or matter of record e and credite as may (if neede so require) justifie the same : to the intent that I, knowinge howe they use and chalenge the names of Esqr and Gentle- man, and beare their Armes, may accordingly make entrance therof and recorde the same ; or else to proceede as the Vertue of my comissyon bindeth me in that behaulf .

Alsoe will such of them as have receaved either Armes, Creasts, or Pedigrees of one WilPm Dakins,* the late lewde

* It would appear that this "lewde usurper" of Norroy's functions was a member of the family formerly seated at Stubbing Edge, in Derbyshire. For Mr. Glover, in his " History of Derbyshire," mentions a tablet in Ashover Church in memory of sundry Dakeynes of Stubbing, and among those commemorated is " Gulielmus Dakeyne, Norroy." Dallaway (" Heraldic Inquiries," p. 318) has printed a copy of a "Warrant issued in 1597 by the then Earl Marshal directing the appre- hension of this man. He is described as "a notable dealer in Armes, and maker of false pedigrees," for which fault (it is added) " about xx years past he lost one of his ears, and about a year past he was apprehended for the like and imprisoned." It appears that Dakyns had compiled spurious pedigrees for nearly one hundred families, and that his son Christopher Dakyns, and one Edward Waterhouse — the latter " falsely calling himself servant to Clurenceux " — had carried on a like nefarious trade.

THE VISITATION OF STAFFORDSHIRE, A.D. 1583. 3

usurper of the office of Norrey Kinge of Armes, to bringe them in to be cancelled, if they be untrue, and, beinge founde justifiable, to receave the same at my handes wth war- ran dize, as I am espetyally comanded by her Matie and the Lordes of her Hignes' most honorable Privie Councell.

And these that may not comodiously bringe wth them such theire evidences, auncient writinges, and monuments (sic) as would serve to prove the antiquitie of theire race and familye, but shalbe desirous to have me home to theire houses ; upon the significatyon of such theire desires, for the furtherance of Her Matie9 service, I will make my repaire unto them soe soone as conveniently I maye. Herof charge them not to fayle as they will avoyde the perill that may ensue of any theire contemptes herin.

Geven at Stafford under the Scale of the office of Norrey, the day of July, aho 1583, in the xxvth yeare of

the raigne of our most gratious Soveraigne Ladye Queen Elizabeth.

Nomina* Nobilitjm de Com' Stafford, 1583.

[Being a list of those summoned by warrant to appear before

Glover, Somerset, and record their descents and arms.]

HUNDREDUM DE CuDLESTON.

Ap. Joh'es Asteley, vel Aspley, de Woodeaton. Ignobilis. fRicardus Brooke, de Lapley, ar. Entcl. Ap. JEdwardus Cholmeley, de Copenhall, gen.

Ap. Edwardus Clarke, aVs Grenway, de Shredicott. Ignobilis.

* To a large proportion of the names in this list a trick of the family arms is attached. I only note those which are not elsewhere recorded in this Visitation. What authority attaches to these coats I am unable to say, but probably they are mere memoranda made by the transcriber. I should mention that I am responsible for the alphabetical arrangement here adopted.

f Cheeky, argent and sable, on a chief or, a brock (or badger) proper.

% The arms here given are .... three garbs, 2 and 1, between the two upper garbs a crescent ; but see the Pedigree.

B 2

4 THE VISITATION OF STAFFORDSHIRE, A.D. 1583.

Johannes Coleman, de Canke, gen.

*Franciscus Congreve, de Stretton, gen.

Matheus Cradock, de Villa de Stafford, gen.

Thomas Cress well, de Liddall, gen.

Kic'us Dickenson, de Bradley. Ignobilis.

Philippns Draycott, de Littlewood, gen.

Joh'es Egginton, de Roberson, gen.

Joh'es Fowke, de Guns'on, gen.

fPogerus Fowke, de Brewood, gen.

Will'nius Fynney, de Canke. Ignobilis.

Joh'es Giffard, de Chillington, ar.

Hnmfridns Giffard, de , tertins filius, gen.

JThomas Lane, de Hyde et de Bentley, ar., Jnstic'.

§Edwardus Littleton, de Pilletonhall, ar., Justic'.

Ricardus Milles, de Bedam, gen.

Joh'es Mitton aVs HarjDesfeild, de Weston under Lizard, ar.

Adamus Moreton, de Wilbrighton, ar. Ap. Edwardus Moreton, de Ingleton, gen. Ap. Franciscus Picto, de Churcheaton. Ignobilis. Ap. Thomas Skrimshire, de Forton, ar., fra' " senior.

Jacobus Skrimshire, de Norbury, ar., fra' junior.

Galfridus Somerford, de Somerford, gen. Entd. Edwardus, D'ns Stafford.

Ric'us Weston, de Rudgeley, gen. Ap. Humfridus Whitgreve, de Burton, ar.

Erasmus Wolseley, de Wolseley, ar.

HlTNDREDUM DE OfFELOWE.

Georgius Abell, de Neuburgh, Senescallus com' Salop.

* Sable, a chevron between three battle axes argent.

t Vert, a fleur-de-lis argent.

X .... a chevron between three mullets .... Added by Mr. Booth, " This coat is mistaken, it should be parted p' fesse or and B., a ^-s G. bet. 3 mullets counterchanged of the feild."

§ Argent, a bend cottised sable within a border engrailed gules bezautee, — the coat of Westcote.

THE VISITATION OF STAFFORDSHIRE, A.D. 1583. 5

Eiitd. Radulplrus Adderley, de Cotonhall, ar., Justic'.

Georgius Agard, de Barton. Huinfridus Agard, de Newburgh. Will'us Agai'd, de Tmistall, gen. Entd. Ap. Thomas Arblaster, de Longdon, gen.

*Syinon Arden, de Yoxall, gen. Entd. Ap. Nicholaus Bagshawe, de Farwell, gen. Edward us Bassett, de Hintes, gen. fJoli'es Bowes, de Elford, ar., Justic'. Recusavit. JJoh'es Brittayne, de Sirescott et Tamworth, ar. Ap. Rob'tus Brookes, de Haselore, gen. Ap. Edwardus Broughton, de Longdon, gen. Thomas Carden, del Hermitage. § Will'us Comberford, de Comberford, gen. Ricardus Endesore, de Pagetts Bromley, gen. Entd. Thomas Ensore, de Cumberford, gen.

Entd. Humfridus Everard, de Whittington, gen.

Rowlandus Eyre, de Hermitage, gen. Entd. Thomas Fitzherbert, de Hampstall Rydware, Miles.

Thomas Fowke, de Aston, gen. Thomas Frythe, de Thornes. Ignobilis. Henricus Grove, de Handesworth. Ignobilis. Ap. Joh'es Harmon, de Morehall, — a patent granted by

Garter and Clarencieulx. Ap. Ric'us Hawkes, de Rushall, gen. Entd. Hugo Hill, de Pipe, gen.

||Edmundus James, de com. Wigorn., ar., Justic'. Hors du pays. Entd. ^[Edwardus Leghe, de Rushall, ar.

** Will'us Madder, de Tonge, et de Harleston, ar., Justic'.

* Ermine, a fesse counter-componee or and azure.

t Ermine, three bows strung in fesse gules, a crescent for difference. See " D mbtful Arms," post.

t See " Doubtful Arms."

§ Gules, on a cross engrailed or four roses of the field.

|| See " Doubtful Arms."

% Gules, on a cross engrailed between four unicorn's heads erased .... as many roundles.

** Azure, on a fesse wavy ermine three lions rampant gules.

O THE VISITATION OF STAFFORDSHIRE, A.D. 1583.

Humfridus Minors, de Barton, gen.

Frauncis Monntford, de Walsall, ar.

Jacobus JSToell, de Pelsall, gen.

Joh'es Parsliouse, de Walsall. Ignobilis.

Will'us Rolston, de Rolston, gen.

Thomas Pudgley, de Hawkesyard, ar. Entd. Ap. Will'us Ruggeley, de Smalwood, gen.

"^Thomas Salt, de Yoxall, gen.

fJoh'es Skevington, de Fiskerwick, ar. Ap. Edwardus Sprott, de Askmerebroke. Ignobilis. Entd. Eobertus Stamford, de Pyrybarre, ar., Justic'.

Entd. Ap. Will'us Staunford, de Pakinton et de Eowley, gen.

Walterus Stanley, de Westbromwicke, ar. Entd. Ap. PkiLvppus Strettey, de Streetey, gen.

JRic'us Swynfeild, de Swinfeild, gen. Ap. Humfridus Thickbrome, de Tkickbrome. Ignobilis. Entd. Ap. Eob'tus Welles, de Horecrosse, ar.

§Thomas Whittington, de Newborowe, gen. Entd. Thomas Wirley, de Handesworth, ar., Justic'.

|| Humfridus Wolverston, de Stotfeld, gen.

HuNDREDUM DE ToTMONSLOW.

Ap. Joh'es Ashenhurst, de Ashenhurst. Ignobilis. Ap. Johannes Basford, de Hillsdale, Ignobilis. Entd. Will'us Bassett, de Blore, ar., Justic'.

* Argent, a chevron conped between three mullets sable. With these arms Thomas Salt quartered — (1) Stockley, of Yoxall, Argent, a chevron between three boars statant gules, and (2) He wet, of Walsall, Sable, a chevron engrailed between three owls or. Thomas Salt married Anne, daughter and coheir of Thomas Strong- man, of Ealey (Rayleigh ?), Essex, and had issue — Eichard, Thomas, Eobert, and Elizabeth (Harl. MS. 886, Vis. Essex, 1558, etc.). He was son of Eichard Salt, and grandson of Eobert Salt, of Yoxall, by . . . ., daughter of . . . . Sprott, of Ash- morebrook. His mother, Elizabeth, was daughter and coheir of Thomas Stockley, of Yoxall, son of Ealph, and grandson of William Stockley, by Margaret, his wife, daughter and coheir of John Hewet, of Walsall. See Leigh Pedigree.

f Argent, three bull's heads, erased sable, a mullet for difference. See " Doubtful Arms." X This is no doubt intended for Swynfen.

§ Argent, a bugle horn strung between three escallops sable. This is the coat of Tamhonie which Whittington was entitled to quarter. The coat borne by the family was Argent, three mullets azure. See Shaw, i., 75 and 93.

II See "Doubtful Arms."

THE VISITATION OF STAFFORDSHIRE, A.D. 1583. 7

Bartk'us Colclougke, de Delpkurst. Ignobilis. Rickard Crompton, de Ckeckley, ar., Justic'. Entd. Joh'es Cuny, de Weston Cuny, ar.

* Jok'es Draycott, de Paynsley, ar. Antkonius Eyton, de Matkfeld. Ignobilis. Jok'es Feme, de Crakeinarcke. Ignobilis. Ap. Henricus Flacket, de Cambridge. Ignobilis. fJok'es Fleetwood, de Calewicke, ar. Ric'us Flyar, de Utoxetur. Ignobilis. Entd. Godfridus Foljambe, de Croxsden, ar. Nothus.

Ap. Jokannes Henskaw, de Lockwood. Ignobilis. Jok'es Higginbotkain, de Ruskton. Ignobilis. Ap. Hugk Hollyns, de Moseley. Ignobilis. Ap. Tkomas Homersley, de Skaw. Ignobilis. JAntkonius Kinnersley, de Locksley, gen. Tkomas Madeley, de Denston. Ignobilis. § Sampson Meverell, de Tkrowley, ar. Franciscus Mynoures, de Woodland, gen. Entd. ||Rad's Minours, de Utoxetur, gen.

Ap. Will'us Mountford, de Banke, yeoman. Ignobilis.

Pkilippus Okeover, de Okeover, ar., Justic'. Ap. Tkomas Parker, de Careswall. Ignobilis.

Jok'es Port, dellam. Ignobilis. Ap. Tkomas Pyott, de Ckedull. Ignobilis.

Tkomas Rudyard, de Rudyard, ar., Justic', aVs Teteswortk. Ap. Edwardus Tkornebury, de Tkornebury. Ignobilis. Ap. Tkomas Tirrell, de Ruskton, gen. Nothus.