The Fens - Isle of Ely - Early (Outlawe) History -

The Fens - also known as the Fenland(s), are a naturally marshy region in eastern England. Most of the fens were drained several centuries ago, resulting in a flat, damp, low-lying agricultural region.

A fen is the local name for an individual area of marshland or former marshland and also designates the type of marsh typical of the area.

Most of the Fenland lies within a few metres of sea-level. As with similar areas in the Netherlands, much of the Fenland originally consisted of fresh or saltwater wetlands which have been artificially drained and continue to be protected from floods by drainage banks and pumps. With the support of this drainage system, the Fenland has become a major arable agricultural region in Britain for grains and vegetables. The Fens are particularly fertile, containing around half of the grade 1 agricultural land in England.

After the end of Roman Britain, there is a break in written records. It is thought some of the Iceni may have moved west in to the Fens to avoid the Angles who were migrating across the North Sea from Angeln (modern Schleswig) and settling what would become East Anglia.

The Fens formed a comparative 'safe zone', surrounded by water and marshes, and were easily defended, as well as being not particularly desirable to invading Anglo-Saxons with more important places to control

In the early Christian period of Anglo-Saxon England, a number of Christian individuals sought the isolation that could be found among the wilderness that the Fens had become. These saints, often with close royal links, include Guthlac, Etheldreda, Pega, and Wendreda. Hermitages on the islands became centres of communities which later became monasteries with massive estates.

Isle of Ely - Cambridgeshire
Note: I am trying to put this together chronologically and geographically, where I can...
Also refer to the timeline: Outlawe Timeline

The Isle of Ely (pronounced /ˈiːli/) is an historic region around the city of Ely now in Cambridgeshire, England but previously a county in its own right.

Its name is said to mean "island of eels", a reference to the creatures that were often caught in the local rivers for food. This etymology was first recorded by the Venerable Bede.^[1]

History - Until the 17th Century, the area was literally an island surrounded by a large area of Fen land, a type of swamp. The Fens were ultimately drained using a network of canals designed by Dutch experts.

The area's natural defences led to it playing a role in the military history of England. Following the Norman Conquest, the Isle became a refuge for Saxon forces under Earl Morcar, Bishop Aethelwine of Durham and Hereward the Wake in 1071.^[2] The area was taken by William only after a prolonged struggle.

^[3] In 1139 civil war broke between the forces of King Stephen and the Empress Matilda. Bishop Nigel of Ely, a supporter of Matilda, unsuccessfully tried to hold the Isle. In 1143 Geoffrey de Mandeville rebelled against Stephen, and made his base in the Isle. Geoffrey was mortally wounded at Burwell in 1144. ^[4]

In 1216, during the First Barons' War, the Isle was unsuccessfully defended against the army of King John. Ely took part in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.

Administration: From 1107 until 1837 the Isle was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Ely, who appointed a Chief Justice of Ely and exercised temporal powers within the Liberty of Ely.

This temporal jurisdiction originated in a charter granted by King Edgar in 970, and confirmed by Edward the Confessor and Henry I to the abbot of Ely.

The latter monarch established Ely as the seat of a bishop in 1107, creating the Isle of Ely a county palatine under the bishop. An act of parliament in 1535/6 ended the palatine status of the Isle, with all justices of the peace to be appointed by letters patent issued under the great seal and warrants to be issued in the king's name. However, the bishop retained exclusive jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters, and was custos rotulorum. A chief bailiff was appointed for life by the bishop, and performed the functions of high sheriff within the liberty, who also headed the government of the city of Ely^[5].

Hereward the Outlaw (Wake) - Stood up to the Normans after the conquest. Around 1070 (?) he made his last stand either at Ely or on one of the nearby Isles. Yes, Ely was an island above the marshes and flooded Fens. When Meres really meant something. All of the following can be found on any encyclopaedia - but it can still be of interest.

Herward the Wake was a Saxon Thegn. A thegn was a Saxon nobleman. In service to the King they were indispensable to law and order. Until the Norman conquest of 1066, of course. Hereward came back from exile in around 1070 to stand up to William. For nearly a year he held the isles. To the victor comes the writing of history. Little is known of this man, Hereward. Centuries before 'Robin Hood' he stood up to oppression.

The Wake 1070 -71 Anglo-Saxon rebel against William the Conqueror and the hero of many Norman and English legends. He is associated with a region in present-day Huntingdonshire and Northamptonshire.

In 1070, expecting a conquest of England by King Sweyn II of Denmark, Hereward and some followers joined a force of Danish sailors who had come to Ely. Together they sacked Peterborough Abbey, perhaps to prevent its treasures from falling into the hands of the new Norman abbot, Turold. Soon after, Sweyn made peace with William the Conqueror, and so the Danes returned home. Hereward, however, established himself on the Isle of Ely, which in 1071 became a refuge for Anglo-Saxon fugitives, notably Morcar, earl of Northumbria.

William's forces eventually captured the isle after a methodical assault, but Hereward managed to escape. He is the hero of Charles Kingsley's last novel, Hereward the Wake (1866). Copyright © 1994-2000 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Hereward the Wake - Hereward the Wake (c. 1035 – 1072), known in his own times as Hereward the Outlaw as or Hereward the Exile, was an 11th-century Anglo-Saxon leader involved in resistance to the Norman conquest of England. According to legend, Hereward's base was in the Isle of Ely, and he roamed The Fens, covering North Cambridgeshire, Southern Lincolnshire and West Norfolk, leading popular opposition to William the Conqueror. The name Hereward is composed of Old English roots here = army, and weard = guard^[1], and is cognate with Old High German Heriwart and modern German Heerwart. The title "the Wake" (meaning "watcher") was popularly assigned to him many years after his death.

In 1069 or 1070 the Danish king Sweyn Estrithson sent a small army to try to establish a camp on the Isle of Ely. They were joined by many, including Hereward. His first act was to storm and sack Peterborough Abbey in 1070, in company with local men and Swein's Danes:^[10] his justification is said to have been that he wished to save the Abbey's treasures and relics from the Normans.

In 1071 he and many others made a desperate stand on the Isle of Ely against the Conqueror's rule. Some say that the Normans made a frontal assault, aided by a huge mile-long timber causeway, but that this sank under the weight of armour and horses. It is said that the Normans, probably led by one of William's knights named Belasius (Belsar), then bribed the monks of the island to reveal a safe route across the marshes, resulting in Ely's capture. Hereward is said to have escaped with some of his followers into the wild fenland, and to have continued his resistance.

The 12th century chronicle, Gesta Herewardi, (of unknown authorship: first published by Thomas Wright in 1839 and translated by W. Sweeting for the 1895 edition), says Hereward was eventually pardoned by William and lived the rest of his life in relative peace. The other possibility is Hereward received no such pardon and went into exile never to be heard from again. As this was the fate of a lot of prominent English men after the Conquest it is a distinct possibility.

Hereward the Wake Early Life, Outlaw, & The attack on Peterborough

Hereward was probably born around the year 1040 in Lincolnshire. Legend gives his parents as Earl Leofric of Mercia and Lady Godiva, although given his name it is more likely his father was one of the many Danes who had settled in the area. Hereward's childhood is a complete mystery, although it is thought that sometime in his late teens or early twenties, he managed to get himself outlawed by King Edward the Confessor. Being an outlaw, Hereward left England and went adventuring. There are many tales from this time, such as his travels to the Orkneys, his fight with a giant named Ironhook, and his most famous exploit, the slaying of the white bear. During his adventures, he became a mercenary in the service of the King of Flanders and fought many battles for the king. While in Flanders he may, or may not, have got married to a woman who may, or may not, have been a witch.

As the tales go, Hereward returned to England in secret a year later, ambushed and killed the Normans who had taken up residence in his ancestral home, and raised the surrounding countryside into rebellion. With a group of loyal followers, Hereward led a guerilla war against the Normans from the swampy fen-country in Anglia.

This attack caused William the Conqueror to consider Hereward a major threat. William bribed king Swein to give up his claim to the throne, and the Danish Army sailed away. Still, Hereward did not give up his fight. He rallied more of the oppressed Anglo-Saxon population to his banner and made a base at the island monastery of Ely, a solid chunk of rock in the midst of a vast bog. Several famous personages joined his cause including Earl Morcar of Northumbria.

Fearing that Hereward's rebellion might spread all over the country, William personally led a major offensive against Ely. His first idea was to construct a long wooden causeway supported on floats to march his army across the bog. On the day of the attack, Hereward moved a number of archers into a position to ambush the army. As the army marched across the causeway, they were met by a stream of arrows. The ensuing panic caused the causeway to shake and eventually collapse into the bog. Armored in their heavy mail hauberks, the Norman knights were unable to swim and many were drowned in the bog.

It was an embarrassing and costly setback, but William knew that the island was well stocked and could survive a siege indefinitely, thus he was forced to consider attacking again. After consulting with his advisers, Williams decided, somewhat reluctantly, to enlist the aid of dark magic. Although it might sound as though the story is slipping into fairytale, it should be remembered that most people at this time fully believed in such things. William ordered that the causeway be rebuilt, but much stronger. Also, a large wooden tower was built near the causeway. As William launched a new assault on the island, a witch was taken to the top of the tower, from where she screamed her dark spells down on the island's defenders. But again, Hereward was ready. Again he had sent out ambushers. This time, instead of arrows, they attacked with fire. With the wind at their backs, the defenders set fire to the fens. The fire quickly spread, enveloping the causeway and the wooden tower. Many Norman knights and the witch were burned to death.

Seeing his second attack end in a greater disaster than the first, William decided upon a completely different tactic. Using his spies, William was able to convince the monks on Ely to betray the defenders. The monks led William's army on a secret path to the island, and caught the defenders unprepared. It is at this moment that history loses track of Hereward the Wake. Legend says that he escaped the attack, and considering that no historical account states that he was either killed or captured, this seems quite likely.

Regarding Hereward we are again left with legends and stories. Most of these are tales of how he continued his resistance to William, striking from secret bases with small bands of men. Eventually though, Hereward grew tired of the constant fighting which he recognized as futile. He sent word to William that he wished to make peace. William welcomed Hereward with open arms, pardoned him for his crimes, and proposed a marriage to an Anglo-Saxon noble woman. Hereward's first wife, if she existed, is said to have become a nun. In this way, Hereward became a servant of William and one of the King's top military commanders.

So here we see that "de Utlagh" could be descendants of Hereward the Outlaw.

Oh, So who were the Saxons" ? The Saxons - are made up of three peoples from different parts of Germany. Saxons are people from north west Germany or Old Saxony as it is sometimes known. Angles are people from the Germany/Denmark border. Jutes are believed to originate from areas of Jutland and Frisian coast.

And fyi - The name "Normans" derives from "Northmen" or "Norsemen", after the Vikings from Scandinavia who founded Normandy.

One of the goals is to show connections between England and Ireland with the Outlawe family. It seems many of the knights from Ely were involved with the invasion/Norman conquest of Ireland. So we want to show that they have lands and family both in Ireland and England. Ely appears to have connections to Kilkenny and Wexford Ireland via the Norman Conquest (the Templars?) and the church. Later they return to England and begin buying into more influential properties in Herfordshire, Essex and the like. It is interesting that many Templar knights "retired" to Ireland and were cared for by the Hospitaller's, and that later Roger Outlawe appears as the head of of Hospitaller's in Ireland with has brother William who was a "banker" and mayor of Kilkenny.

Lives of the Lord Chancellors - The early Irish Records are very defective. Many were burned in the Castle of Trim and in St. Mary's Abbey; others were carried out of the country, and are met with in the State Paper Office, the Rolls' Chapel, Record Office, and British Museum, in London; others are at Oxford. Several cities on the Continent possess valuable Irish documents, while many are stored in private houses,

All the places in Hichin which were not in Harold's hands in 1066 were held BY HIS 'MEN'

Speculation: What we see is a possible history of two families, one Saxon (Norman? not likely) "le Utlagh" family , in Norfolk, few in number, powerful early after the conquest and other Saxon "Outlawe" families, many in number, displaced by the conquest, possibly descendants of Herward "the outlaw" Wake or members of his thegns finally defeated at Isle of Ely. These would be Saxon knight's who had lost everything (see Temple Dinlsey - Earl Harold's home) with no home to go back to, their choice manors and castles had already been taken by the Normans. Another term for Outlaw is simply a landless noble without position. These men would probably have simply stayed where they lost, in Ely.

Most importantly, I have yet to find a Norman connection to the name Utlagh. The name/word itself is SAXON in origin. Not Norman.

This writ issues upon the judgment of outlawry being returned by the sheriff upon the exigent, and it takes its name from the words of the mandatory part of the writ which states the defendant being outlawed utlagatum, which word comes from the Saxon utlagh, Latinized utlagatus, and signifies bannitus, extra legem.

They would call themselves Outlaw's and find positions in the church or work for the Normans with the invasion in Ireland or the crusades (Templars? or Hospitaller's). Also, for the time period oral history is very strong. Creating a family legend that had a Norman background might have been advantageous, but would be obviously false to everyone around them at the time (and despised by fellow Norfolk/Ely Saxon's). Another aspect is that no Norman would want to be confused as a Saxon with a Saxon name.

On the other hand, having a Saxon family legend in Ely would have been a badge of honor. No one would want to be confused with "an outlaw" without good reason, unless the people around them understood and admired the significance. A hundred years after the conquest there seems to be "Outlawe's" all around Norfolk. This may simply be due to the records left to us, but it seems to be an indication that the origin of a whole clan of people were based there. Also in regards to any relationship to Hereward "the Wake", it would not have been a legend back in 1100, they would have known they were related to Hereward.

1167 - Norman Invasion of Ireland Begins - 1169 main body of Norman, Welsh and Flemish forces landed in Wexford
1170 - Knights Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem established
1175 - Treaty of Windsor , This Treaty resulted in large scale emigration from England to Ireland
1191 - Hospitallers Order of St Thomas of Canterbury at Acre established

Preceptory of Denny (Denny Abbey - Cambridgeshire) (follow link for more information)

1170 - The Preceptory of Denny - Cambridgshire - Knights Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem established

(There is no direct Outlaw connection. The Preceptory was originally the home of the Benedictine Monks of Ely then taken over by the Knights Templar in 1169. (Speculation: Saxon "Outlawe" knight joins the Knights Templar or a monk like "John de Bernewelle - Outlawe" joins the Hospitaller's ) Very much in the neighborhood...)

There has been a religious house of sorts on this spot since eight hundred years ago, and most of the remains are of the Norman period, when a settlement of 232 THE CAMBRIDGE ROAD Black Monks from Ely settled here. In succession to them came the Knights Templars, who made it a Preceptory, and when their Order was suppressed and ceased out of the land, in consequence of its corruption and viciousness, the nuns of St. Clare were given a home in these deserted halls. Close upon four hundred years have gone since they, too, were thrust forth, and it has for centuries past been a farmhouse.

Denny Abbey is a former abbey near Waterbeach, six miles (10 km) north of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England. The site, on an ancient road between Cambridge and Ely, was settled by farmers as early as the Roman period. The Domesday Book said that it was owned by Eddeva in 1066, and subsequently by Alan, 1st Earl of Richmond.^[1]

A group of Benedictine monks, governed from Ely, moved here from their waterlogged monastery at Elmeney (a vanished settlement about a mile to the northeast) in the 1150s, at the suggestion of Duke Conan IV of Britanny. They built a church, Denny Priory, which opened in 1159. The crossing and transepts are the only parts of the original Priory that remain today. In 1169 the monks returned to Ely and the site was handed to the Knights Templar. The Templars built a number of additions, including a large Norman-style arched doorway and a Refectory. By the 1290s the Knights had lost their power, and in 1308 King Edward II had the entire order arrested and imprisoned, confiscating their property. Denny was given to the Knights Hospitallers, who took no active interest in the property.

In 1324 it was taken over by the Crown. [ Same year as the war in Aquitaine ]

Order of St. Thomas of Canterbury (follow link for more information)

The Hospitallers of St Thomas of Canterbury at Acre - The Hospitallers of St Thomas of Canterbury at Acre, was established in 1191 (during the Third Crusade, 1189-92) at the seaport city of Acre, following its capture from the Saracens by Richard I (1157-1199) (Richard Coeur de Lion) of England and Philip II (1165-1223) of France.

Canterbury History - Eastbridge Hospital - a place of hospitality since the 12th century.

History of Eastbridge Hospital
St. Thomas Becket was murdered on December 29, 1170 in Canterbury Cathedral. Almost immediately, pilgrims came to visit his tomb and the city had to provide accommodation for them. In 1190, Edward FitzOdbold founded a hospital on the bridge in the High Street and Becket's nephew Ralph was probably the first Master. The hospital initially prospered but declined after 150 years . It was refounded in 1342 by Archbishop Stratford, and was probably at its peak in the 1380s when Chaucer was writing his Canterbury Tales. In Chaucer's words pilgrims 'from every shire end of England to Canterbury they wend, the holy blissful martyr for to seek'.

IV. RALPH OUTLAW, born ca. 1595. Married Elizabeth Kempe ca. 1615-16. He died July 4, 1671.
Children: (1) Thomas; (2) Rev. Ralph Outlaw; (3) Elizabeth; (4) Mary; (5) Robert, Sec. V; (6) Charles; (7) Edward
V. ROBERT OUTLAW, (IV-III-II-I) our prime suspect as being a father of Capt. John and Edward.

1324 - William Outlawe nephew of Sir Roger Outlaw is ordered to make pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Thomas at Canterbury

An earlier and famous Kempe lady is Margery Kempe and she is from the neighborhood King's Lynn! And she visits Hospital of St Thomas of Canterbury in Rome!
1413 - Margery Kempe settled debts, and sets off for pilgrimage of the Holy Land

Margery Kempe (c. 1373 – after 1438) is known for writing The Book of Margery Kempe, a work considered by some to be the first autobiography in the English language. This book chronicles, to some extent, her extensive pilgrimages to various holy sites in Europe and Asia.

She was born Margery Brunham in King's Lynn (then Bishop's Lynn), Norfolk, Kingdom of England and married at the age of 20 to a local man named John Kempe, with whom she had 14 children. Her father, John Brunham, was a merchant in Lynn, five-time mayor, Member of Parliament and merchant whose fortunes may have been negatively affected by downturns in the economy, especially in the wool trades, of the 1390s.

Some interesting links about Margery Kemp:
SparkNotes The Book of Margery Kempe Context
The Book of Margery Kempe Introduction
Years of Pilgrimage and Ecclesiastical Investigation, 1413–1418 -Charity Scott Stokes

This early Laurence Outlaw had to be an important man at the time. This may have been his way of supporting the crusades and the returning Templar knights or someone close to him was a victim of leprosy.

1200-1250 - Deed of grant, Lynn - 1d annual rent from a certain [piece of land] 4 feet wide in Damgate held by Peter Strac
Grant by Laurence Outlaw (utlator) of Len to the Hospital of the Blessed Mary Magdalen of Len and to the infirm brothers there for the souls of his parents and his benefactors, the 1d to come from his purse during his lifetime Anglo-Norman Studies Proceedings of ... - Google Books -
There was an epidemic of leprosy in Europe from 1000 to 1200 A.D., which was probably started by the returning soldiers of the Crusades. Leprosy occurred in Britain from 625 to 1798, and at one time there were 326 lazar houses (leprosaria) in Great Britain.

Robert de Utlagh - One of the earliest records of Outlaw (Utlagh) after the conquest where we see Robert de Utlagh trading with the influential Hubert de Burgh and shows the Ireland connection after the conquest since de Burgh's brother was the Governor of Limerick, Ireland We also see the early connection to the "White Canon's" with Robert Fitz Ralph. Then there is William de Noirs, a Norman who basically owned Norfolk after the conquest.

So was Robert de/le Utlagh Norman or Saxon? Clearly he was a vassal with lands and position. He seems to have been a Saxon that retained some situation after the conquest. Most importantly, I have yet to find a Norman connection to the name Utlagh. So he most likely was a very fortunate Saxon. This also may relate to Saxon Thegns (knights) that assisted the Norman's with the invasion and conquest of Ireland (1167 - 1175). This also fits later with Roger Outlawe as the head of Ireland 1311-1340.

I haven't found anything on Roger de Burnham but there is Burnham Market on the coast near King's Lynn, so he may have been another Saxon vassel that retained some authority after the conquest.

Speculation: The white canons may have been intended to replace Saxon priests with Normans. They are associated with Hubert Walter, the crusades and the order is of Norman origin (France). Normans would not wish to give confession to Saxon priests, for example.

1207 - Hubert de Burgh purchased of Roger de Burnham and Julian, his wife, William de Noiers, Robert Fitz Ralph, and Alice his wife, and Robert de Utlagh, their several nine parts of two knights fees in Runton and Beeston and Hinderingham, for which they paid castle gaurd to Dover. 9th of King John *The Norfolk antiquarian miscellany - Google Books - West Runton - Beeston Regis - Hindringham

Hubert de Burgh - Hubert de Burgh (before 1180 – before 5 May 1243) was Earl of Kent, Justiciar of England and Ireland, and one of the most influential men in England during the reigns of John and Henry III. ... De Burgh came from a minor gentry family about which little is known. He was a brother of William de Burgh, Governor of Limerick. ... 1202 de Burgh was appointed Constable of Dover Castle,... Chinon was besieged for a year, and finally fell in June, 1205, Hubert being badly wounded while trying to evade capture. During the year he was trapped in Chinon, and the two following years when he was a prisoner of the French, de Burgh lost most of his estates and posts. The reasons are much debated. After his return to England in 1207, he acquired new and different lands and offices. These included the castles of Lafford and Sleaford, and the shrievalty of Lincolnshire. Probably, however, de Burgh spent most of his time in the English holdings in France, where he was seneschal of Poitou.

Not the William de Noirs of 1207 but an earlier William de Noiers at the time of the conquest 1066, the assumption is that they are related :
William de Noiers - he was the Steward of King William. This position was the sixth highest-ranking position in the English kingdom, after the King himself. William de Noers received 33 manors from William the Conqueror, King of England, probably as a result of his service during the Battle of Hastings.. William de Noers also held a manor in Suffolk County (where his name was spelled Willielmus de Noers) and in Cambridge County (spelled Willielmus de Nouueres). ... As much of William de Noers holdings were in Norfolk, it is possible, although almost impossible to prove, that the “Nurses” found in the King’s Lynn area are descendants of William de Noers.

Robert Fitz Ralph - Coverham Abbey - This Abbey was built by Radulphus, son of Robert Fitz Ralph, for white Canons of the Praemonstrantensian order, about the year 1213, who endowed it with several lands and tenements. He died in 1251, and was buried here. Premonstratensian canons, established in Coverdale 1212

Robert Fitz Ralph was Lord of Middleham - He had Middleham castle in Wensleydale, in the county of North Yorkshire, was built by Robert Fitzrandolph, 3rd Lord of Middleham and Spennithorne, commencing in 1190.

The Premonstratensian order was founded in 1121 by St.Norbert at Prémontré near Laon in Northern France. Premonstratensians followed a strict version of the rule of St.Augustine and were closely related to the Cistercians in their lifestyle and choice of isolated sites for their monasteries. Their first English abbey was founded at Newsham in Lincolnshire (near Grimsby), in 1143. The canons (as Premonstratensian monks were known) wore a white habit and cap and were often called 'the white canons'. Unlike ordinary monks, they did not always stay within the cloisters of the abbey, but served as village priests and missionaries in the local community.

West Runton - West Runton is a village in North Norfolk,^[1] England, approximately ¼ of a mile from the North Sea coast. Evidence of early antiquity^[1] in West Runton is scant. However, evidence of Roman habitation were found just south of the village up on Beeston Regis Heath in 1859, when a complete set of quern-stones were found dating from Roman times. Quern-stones were used to grind materials, the most important of which was usually grain to make flour for bread-making. Up on Beeston Regis Heath there can be found circular pits called "Hills and Holes" (from the 1st edition of the Ordnance Survey map of the area), which are thought to date from prehistoric times. During the Saxon-Norman to Medieval periods these pits were dug to obtain iron ore, which was then smelted in a furnace to produce iron. In the Domesday book, the settlement of Runton is given the name of Rugutune and Runetune.

Beeston Regis - Beeston Regis is a village and civil parish in the North Norfolk district of Norfolk, England^[2]. It is about a mile (2 km) east of Sheringham, Norfolk and near the coast. Evidence of early antiquity in Beeston Regis are few. However, evidence of Roman habitation was found on Beeston Regis Heath in 1859 when a complete set of quern-stones were found dating from Roman times. Quern-stones were used to grind materials, the most important of which was usually grain to make flour for bread.

Up on Beeston Regis Heath there can be found circular pits called 'Hills and Holes' (from the first edition of the Ordnance Survey map of the area). They are thought to date from prehistoric times. During the Saxon-Norman to Medieval periods these pits were dug to obtain iron ore, which was then smelted in a furnace to produce iron^[5].

Burnham Market - Burnham Market is a village and civil parish near the north coast of Norfolk, England. Burnham Market is one of the Burnhams, a group of adjacent villages in North Norfolk. It is the result of the merger of three of the original Burnham villages, namely Burnham Sutton, Burnham Ulph and Burnham Westgate.

Domesday Book - Beeston Regis is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, and within this survey it is called Besetune and Besetuna/tune.^[6]. The main landholders of the parish were William d’Ecouis and Hugh de Montfort. The main tenant was Ingulf, The survey also lists ½ a mill. In the Domesday survey fractions^[7] were used to indicate that the entry, in this case a mill, was on an estate that lay within more than one parish.

Beeston Regis has the remains of an Augustinian priory known as Beeston Regis Priory^[8] (St. Mary's). Founded in 1216, in 1535 it had only a prior and four canons, who served as parish priests for nearby churches, six boys and seven servants. The boys were in effect the boarders at the canons' school, and their number was increased by day boys.

Hindringham - Hindringham is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk.^[2]. The village is 8.5 miles north east of the town of Fakenham, 16.4 miles west of Cromer The name Hindringham means "The land of the people living behind the hills".Hindringham is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 were it is listed with the names of Hidringham, Hindringaham, and Indregeham^[3].

Dover Castle - Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England. It was founded in the 12th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history.^[

In 1216, the French laid siege to the Castle with a large army and great siege engines that could hurl rocks against the walls. Hubert de Burgh only had 150 men to defend the castle with. Part of the outer curtain wall of the castle was undermined by the French and collapsed. But Hubert and his heroic defenders were able to plug the breach and fight off the attackers. With the death of King John, and the accession of his infant son Henry III, the French withdrew. In 1221 he married, as his third wife, Margaret, sister of King Alexander II of Scotland, and four years later was created Earl of Kent

1230 - Alan le Utlage in the Tax Rolls 'Feet of Fines' for the county of Essex
1250 - (William) - Willelmum le Utlag - Close Rolls, January 1250 - Henry III
1270 - (Hugh) Hugo le Utlagh - Close Rolls, May 1270 - Henry III
1273 - Richard Utlawe, County Bedford, (taken from the Hundred Rolls).
1283 - Warin le Utlagh v. Thomas de Hereford, in Swanetun. 12th Henry III.
1288 - Thomas Utlagh - Close Rolls, Edward I - September 1288
1295 - Adam fil' Symon v. Warin le Utlag, in Qeywode. (Bishop of Norwich app. clam.). 24th Henry III
1296 - 'Sussex subsidy of 1296: The rape of Arundel', Villat' de Madhurst, Tortingeton, et Bynstede - Willmo le Utlagh

1283 - Warin le Utlagh v. Thomas de Hereford, in Swanetun. 12th Henry III. [ Swanetun is probably, Swanton Morley , a picturesque village situated in the heart of Norfolk. It is a village steeped in history documented back to the Domesday Book. Today the village exists as a tranquil village community of about 2,500 people ]

Hereford Hall - Thomas de Hereford was lord in 1277 ; and Warin de Hereford and Margaret his wife, had frank pledge, assise of bread and beer, &c. in the 3th of Edward I. in right, as is said, of the dower Margaret, of the inheritance of Richard de Boyland. In the 20th of Edward III. William Attechirch held the fourth part of a fee of Hugh de Hastings, which Sampson de Hoo formerly held. After this, Hereford Hall was held by the Ferrours, in King Edward's reign, Sic. as in Gressenhale.

Hereford or Hertford's Manor - Thomas de Harford held, in the 4th of Henry IV. the sixth part of a fee of the Lord Morley, which John de Hoo formerly held.

By this it appears to be a large and valuable manor: the town seems to take its name, as seated near the joining of two streams or rivulets, called probably Suan, Swin, or Swan;

The name "Hereford" is said to come from the Anglo Saxon "here", an army or formation of soldiers, and the "ford", a place for crossing a river.

1295 - Adam fil' Symon v. Warin le Utlag, in Qeywode. (Bishop of Norwich app. clam.). 24th Henry III

Qeywode - THE TOWN of QEYWOOD - is probably Heywood - possibly "Heywood" Diss is a town (population 6742^[1]) in Norfolk, England close to the border with the neighbouring East Anglian county of Suffolk. The town lies in the valley of the River Waveney, around a mere (lake) that covers 6 acres. The town may take its name from the Saxon term for lake, or from an old Viking word meaning 'village of the dancing horse'. Diss has a large number of historic buildings, including the early 14th century parish church.

1302 - Soldiers of DE HOLT , Norfolk , Jacobum Utlagh (James)
FEUDAL AIDS A.D. 1284 -1431. INQUISITIONS AND ASSESSMENTS

"The return for Norfolk, however, gives the names of all holders of knights' fees, and also the names of the supposed mesne lords.

AD. 1302, NORFOLK. page 401

HUNDREDUM DE HOLT.
Inquisicio facta apud Holt de feodis militaribus in hundredo de Holt, per Rogeram de Perers, Reginaldum de Reppes, Simonem de Bosco, Jacobum Utlagh, Radulfum Stubbard, Ricardum Pynceware, Clementem Chartres, Henricum Overmore, Adam Otewy, Radulfum le May, Petrum Pinkeneye et Johannem filium Thome, qui dicunt &c.

AD 1346 Norfolk, page 510

HUNDREDUM DE HOLT. Juratores.—Johannes de Honeworth, Thomas Uthlagh

Index
Utlagh, Uthlagh, James, 401. ........., Thomas, 510.

1302 - Simon de Noers tenet in Swanton di. f. m.

hundredum = a hundred; a division of a shire; a hundred court; payment due from a hundred; fine from the hundredors for non-appearance at the court.

Holt Ancestry The Origin of the Holt name - The topographic name of HOLT means dweller by a wood or copse, a small area of undergrowth and small trees grown for periodical cutting. This old English term Holt, a wood or a grove, was often preceded with de or del. The Holt name first appeared in 1185 in Kent in the Templars Records with the name of Hugo de Holte. There are many different spellings of the name Holte, Hoult, Holtzer, Holts, Hoults .. as church officials recorded and spelled the name as it sounded. The surname of Holt is one of the oldest Anglo Saxon surnames on record.

The name Holt, seated in Lancashire, appears there from ancient times and possibly before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

The Holt name appears in manuscripts and ancient documents such as the Doomsday Book, the Ragman Rolls, the Curia Regis rolls, the Pipe Rolls, the Hearth Rolls, parish registers, baptismals and tax records.

The Saxon gave rise to many English surnames not least of which was the Holt surname. The collaspe of Roman Britian drew migrants from across the channel and the arrival of Anglo Saxon settlers caused social and political unrest mainly in the south and east of Britian. The Saxons gradually relocated to the north and west, and during the next four hundred years forced the Ancient Britons back into Wales and Cornwall in the west and Cumberland to the north.

Under Saxon rule England prospered under a series of High Kings, the last of which was Harold. In 1066, the Norman invasion from France occurred and their victory at the battle of Hastings. Subsequently, many of the vanquished Saxon land owners forfeited their land to Duke William and his invading Norman rule, and many moved northward to the midlands, Lancashire and Yorkshire away from the Norman oppression.

This notable English family name, Holt, emerged as an influential name in the country of Lancashire where the Holts were recorded as a family of great antiquity seated with manor and estates in that shire. This ancient Lancastrian name was first recorded about 1190 in Lancashire when Hugo Holte was lord of the manor and estates. The Holt surname can be found in many places, but this site is mainly looking at the distribution of the name in Lancashire, England. By the 13th Century the Holts held many halls and lands, the principal families located at Castleton Hall; Stubley Hall; Bispham Hall; Shevington and Ince; and other branches at Ashworth Hall; Grizlehurst Hall; Bridge Hall; Stubbylee Hall; Little Mitton Hall and Balderstone Hall. The family history and genealogy is most intriguing. The Holt name in the parish of Rochdale has been associated with wealth and dignity.

Holt, Norfolk - Holt is a market town and parish in the English county of Norfolk. The town is 22.8 miles (36.7 km) north of the city of Norwich, 9.5 miles (15.3 km) west of Cromer and 35 miles (56 km) east of King's Lynn. The town is on the route of the A148 King's Lynn to Cromer road.
The name Holt is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon word for woodland^[2] and Holt is located on wooded high ground of the Cromer-Holt ridge at the crossing point of two ancient by-ways and as such was a natural point for a settlement to grow. The town has a mention in the great survey of 1086 known as the Domesday Book. In the survey it is described as a market town and a port with the nearby port of Cley next the Sea being described as Holt’s port.

See Outlawe History in Ireland

1298 - Dame Alice Kyteler marries William Outlawe brother of Sir Roger Outlawe, Chancellor of all Ireland
1311-1340 - Sir Roger Outlawe - The Grand Prior - Hospital Of Saint John Of Jerusalem In Ireland - Priory of Kilmainham - Lord Justice of Ireland
1311 - Hospital Of Saint John Of Jerusalem In Ireland - Priory of Kilmainham
1324 - William Outlawe nephew of Sir Roger Outlaw is ordered to make pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Thomas at Canterbury
1324 - Summons to Thomas Fitz John Earl of Kildare to the war in Aquitane - Similar summonses were sent to William Utlawe of Kilkenny - 18 Edw. II 30 Oct. (Aquitane)

I add this to refer to and speculate on the connection of - Sir Roger Outlawe The Grand Prior - Hospital Of Saint John Of Jerusalem and his brother William Outlawe, who was also a highly successful banker (ex-templar?). Where did they come from? (Isle of Ely? England). Were they originally Saxon's?

William Outlawe's son William Outlawe in
1324 - William Outlawe nephew of Sir Roger Outlawe is ordered to make pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Thomas at Canterbury .

So what happened to William Outlawe after his pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Thomas at Canterbury a primary Hospitaller site ?

Sir Roger Outlawe and his brother William Outlawe are among the earliest documented Outlawe references.

Were they originally Saxon's from Ely? Did they join the Templars or Hospitaller's at the Preceptory of Denny in Cambridge - part of which, was a hospital for sick and superannuated brothers. Where did William Outlawe go after completing his pilgrimage, Cambridge?

Barnwell Priory - Cambridgeshire - John Outlawe (de Bernewelle) (follow link for more information)

St Radegund - She is the patron saint of Jesus College Cambridge, which was founded on the site of the twelfth-century nunnery of Saint Mary and Saint Radegund.

St John's College, Cambridge - The college was founded on the site of the 13th century Hospital of St John in Cambridge by Lady Margaret Beaufort in 1511

"John de Bernewelle, or Outlawe, elected March 1392, died Nov. 1408"

1193 - Hubert Walter becomes Archbishop of Canterbury - St.Andrew - His home was West Dereham Abbey

1264 - St. Michael's Parish - Bernewelle - Grant to Robert son of Robert Hubert of all rents in Cambridge and outside for a yearly payment of a pair of white gloves

1330 - Records of the Priory of St Mary and St Radegund Witnesses: John Pilat, Mayor of Cambridge, Stephen de Pawfeld, John de Theversham, Robert Seman, bailiffs, John Utlawe, John De___ et aliis.

1340 - Presentation of Reginald le Outlawe, parson of the church of Esthattele, in the diocese of Ely, to the church, of Risshenden, in the diocese of
Lincoln, in the king's gift by reason of the temporalities of the priory of Lenton being in his hands, oni an exchange of benefices with Hugh de Luffenham.
[ Esthattele is connected to Barnwell Abbey - St Michaels Cambridge - St John's Hospital - John de Hattele - Estenhale: its eastern extremity towards Barnwell Priory was called Estenhale]

1347 - Grant to Henry de Tangmere and John de Bernewell, burgesses, of a messuage as in 58, 60, and 61. Messuage - Buildings and land

1366 - Records of the Priory of St Mary and St Radegund - Gift with warranty - . Witnesses: John Moris, Mayor, William de Horwode, Thomas Dunston, John Goldsmyth, Henry Outlawe et aliis.

1374 - Priory of St Mary and St Radegund - Licence for an easement - The prioress (unnamed) and the nuns to Geoffrey Castre and Margaret, his wife, for an eavesdropping from their house in Walls Lane upon Sarans Croft for the breadth of one foot of St Paul's. Witnesses: William de Horwode, Mayor of Cambridge, Stephen Morice, John de Norton, Robert de Brigham, Henry Outlawe et aliis. - 21 April 1374

1386 - Cambridge Fields: Lease to John Outlawe of Bernwell of four and a half acres, one and a half roods of arable land in Bernewell fields in various parcels for twenty years at an annual rent of 10s.

1389 - Records of the Priory of St Mary and St Radegund - Gift with Royal licence - Witnesses: Robert Brigham, mayor of Cambridge, John Blankpayn, John Marchal, Richard Martyn, John Norton, Robert Martyn, Richard Outlaw et aliis. (regards Barnwell Priory)

1392 - Priory of Barnwell - John de Bernewelle, or John Outlawe, elected March 1392, died Nov. 1408 - John de Bernewelle, (fn. 213) whose personal name was Outlawe; (fn. 214) possibly a canon of West Dereham, and one of the three brothers of that name

Barnwell Priory was an Augustinian priory at Barnwell in Cambridgeshire, founded as a house of Canons Regular. It was home to the Barnwell Chronicler, an anonymous chronicler writing during and about the reign of John of England.

Barton Cambridgeshire - Very close to Barnwell Priory

1334 - Witnesses: Edmund de Ovying'; John Breton; Richard le Smyth; William Mareys; Roger Outlawe of Barton (Barton, Cambridgeshire)

Title

Grant to William de Saham, burgess of Cambridge, and Agnes his wife, of half an acre of arable in Barton field between land of the Prior of Barnwell and land of William de Brunne abutting on le Rugganacreforelonges and on land of Stephen Cosyn

Creator

Matthew le Goldsmith of Barton

1408 - Grant to Richard Aunger, Thomas Fan and John Marchal of the same of 10 acres of arable in the fields of Barton - half an acre lies next to land of Robert Outlawe
1416 - Letters of attorney for John Aleyn of Barton to deliver seisin to Richard and John Aunger of Barton of 3 acres and 3 roods of arable scattered in Barton fields. Creator John Outlawe of Barton

1427 - Grant to Richard Dykes and Thomas Owtelawe, both of Barton, of a messuage with adjacent croft and 3 acres of arable scattered in the vills and fields of Barton and Whitwell - Half an acre of land lies in Barton field in Le Holyffeld between land of the Prior of Barton [sic, for Barnwell[] and land of William Fodreyngton and abuts on land of the said Prior (Barton - Barnwell connection)

1456 - Release by Thomas Outlawe to John Marke of William Audley's former lands in Grantchester, Barton, Coton, Whitwell and Cambridge.
1477 - Deeds relating to Barton - 1 half acre next to land lately of Robert Outlawe, now of Nicholas Cleve

Cambridgeshire Churches - Barton - St. Peters

West Lynn - - St Peters - Sir Adam Outlawe (follow link for more information)

1200-1250 - Deed of grant, Lynn - 1d annual rent from a certain [piece of land] 4 feet wide in Damgate held by Peter Strac
Grant by Laurence Outlaw (utlator) of Len to the Hospital of the Blessed Mary Magdalen of Len and to the infirm brothers there for the souls of his parents and his benefactors, the 1d to come from his purse during his lifetime Anglo-Norman Studies Proceedings of ... - Google Books -
There was an epidemic of leprosy in Europe from 1000 to 1200 A.D., which was probably started by the returning soldiers of the Crusades.
Leprosy occurred in Britain from 625 to 1798, and at one time there were 326 lazar houses (leprosaria) in Great Britain.

See also Barnwell Priory - John Outlaw (de BernewelIe) - Cambridgeshire - St. Mary Magdalene Leper Chapel, Cambridge ,the leper hospital had ceased to admit new lepers in 1279, and what few lepers remained were moved to a colony near Ely.

1384 - GRANT by John de Ingaldesthorp, Knt. to John Outlawe, sen. and Thomas de Acre of Westlenn and William Spicer, burgess of Lynn, of five acres of land in Westlenn [West in St. Peter's parish extending from the King's way, of old called "Satirday Damp" to the common "gola"[?gaol]; to hold by service of a silver penny.
Witn. William Seefoul; Matthew de Tilneye; Laurence Gyboun; etc. - [8 June] 7 Ric II [1384]

1399 - Thomas Outlawe purchased the right of a little ferry boat for 13s. 4d. from the Gild of Corpus Christi
1399 - First Henry IV, Robert Digges, rector of Clenchwarton, &c. confirmed to John Outlaw, senior, of West Lenne, Edmund Baleset, burgess of Lenne, a messuage and lands here; dated at West Lenn on the feast of St. Peter in Cathedra; witnesses, Richard de Bellons, Richard de Well

1456 - Kings Lynn - John Outlawe, the son of Richard Outlawe, upon whom was conferred the freedom of our burgh

1472 - FEOFFMENT by Agnes Balle, of Lenn Episcopi, dau.and heir of John Balle, to Thomas Cokkeson, of North Lenn, William Greneland, William Herald, Richard Dunnysby, and Adam Outlawe, of West Lenn, chaplain, of two acres of land in the field of Clenchewardton at Gripgate.
Witn. John Dawe; Robert Moote; Geoffrey Bedelle; etc.

1481 - Feoffment by Adam Outlawe of West Lynn, chaplain, to John Dawson of Northlenn, chaplain, 1 September 1481 Thomas de Acre's chantry and which were granted with other lands by William Walton, esquire, to Adam Outlawe and John Harold of North Lynn, shipmaster

St. Peters Church West Lynn St Peter, West Lynn - St. Peters Rd, West Lynn, King's Lynn, Norfolk PE34 3JF - A small part, known as West Lynn, is on the west bank. Other districts of King's Lynn include the town centre, North Lynn, South Lynn, Gaywood, North Wootton, South Wootton, and Fairstead.

Sir ADAM OUTLAWE, of West Lynn, St. Peters, priest, died 1501, leaving a Will, by which he bequeathed his chantry, lands and tenements thereto belonging, to Thomas Tyard, and after his decease to remain to the Chantry of "Our Lady" in the Church at St. Peters, the priest of it to pray for the good state of the aldermen, brethren, etc., and for the souls of the same, namely: Thomas of Acre and Muriel, his wife, and for the benefactors, namely: Robert Malle and Agnes his wife, and for his (Outlaw's) own soul, the second Sunday of Lent. To the parish clerk he gave three acres of land in North Lynn and to the bellman of the town he gave the tenement called Bunchesham, at Cowgate, and an acre called Vestyll's Acre, that he pray for the souls mentioned. Thomas of Acre and Muriel his wife, were the founders of this chantry, and he died, as it seems, patron of it, and left the patronage in the gift of the parishioners, the rector or curate not to be feoffee of it. He served it as chantry priest. Sir Adam Outlawe, priest, is buried in the church. (Blomefield's History of Norfolk).

Thomas of Acre probably refers to Castle Acre (Priory ) in Kings Lynn - It is 15 miles (24 km) east of the town of - King's Lynn - Home of Castle Acre Priory

http://www.holycross.edu/departments/visarts/projects/kempe/text/invest.html

The Book of Margery Kempe also offers such a record, in which places serve as memorial sites on which events from her past can spread and stretch and live out their stories. Events in the Book take place; they occur in a town called N, which we eventually discover to be Kempe's home town of Lynn, an important seaport on England's North Sea, or in Norwich, or in York or London; even more specifically, they occur within churches in these cities, so that the Book offers a detailed map of East Anglian and Yorkshsire parishes and cathedrals in the 15th century. Even within parishes, cathedrals, and priories, Kempe locates her memories according to place, often telling us with great precision where particular visions or conversations occur: she is within the Prior's Chapel, she is praying in the chancel at St. Stephen's Church in Norwich, she is in a chapel of St. James; she prays in St. Margaret's Church in a chapel of the Gesine.

See below and also : Matthew Kemp - Virginia

West Dereham - John de Bernewelle - Dereham - Mattishall - Thomas Outlaw
(follow link for more information)

1193 - Hubert Walter becomes Archbishop of Canterbury - St.Andrew - His Home is West Dereham Abbey
1507 - Outlaw (Owtlawe), Thomas, of Mattishall - Will ( 5 miles E. by S. of East Dereham)
1567 - Outlaw (Owtelawe), John, elder, joiner, of East Dereham - Will. (A Joiner - Fine woodworker without using nails)
1572 - Owtlawe, John, of Ringstead, Norfolk - probate will

1403 - BAAS ( Broxbourne ) Manor - Hertfordshire - Simon Outelawe

All the places in HITCHIN which were not in Harold's hands in 1066 were held BY HIS 'MEN' (Hitchin is in Herfordshire)

1392 - Simon Outelawe, Michael Brailes plaintiffs

1399 - Essex. A. 783. Grant by John Forster and Robert Watevyle, goldsmiths and Herts. citizens of London, and John Ive, clerk, to John Charteseye and Simon Outelawe, of all their lands, Ac., in Waltham Holy Cross, Halyfield, and elsewhere, in Essex, with their appurtenances in Chesthunte, Herts. 24 February, 1 Hen. IV. Three seals. (1399)

1403 - Simon Outlawe at Baas Manor - Hertfordshire.- Westminster.- 20 marks of rent issuing from the manor of Baas and from 40 messuages, 4 carucates of land, 100 acres of meadow, 100 acres of pasture, 100 acres of wood and 20 pounds of rent in Hoddesdon', Brokesburne, Amwelle, Wormlee and Chestunt.- Richard Spyce and Isabel have granted to William Skrene and John Martyn the rent, which John Charteseye and Simon Outlawe, tenants of the aforesaid manor and tenements, were accustomed to render to Richard Spyce and Isabel, to receive each year by the hands of the aforesaid tenants and their heirs - William Skrene and John Martyn have given them 100 marks of silver. - 4 Henry [IV] [3 February 1403]. Image Page

1403 - Demise by Walter Merwe and Elizabeth his wife, to John Cherteseye and Simon Owtlawe, for the lives of the grantors, of a messuage, land, and rent &c. in Waltham Holy Cross, in which the said Walter and Elizabeth had been enfeoffed for life by John Martyn and Simon Owtlawe, who lately had the same by fine in the court of the abbot of Waltham Holy Cross, from John Charteseye and Elizabeth his wife. 28 June, 4 Henry IV.

Unfortunately, the fortunes of John Charteseye and Simon Outelawe did not last long:

1406 - Essex. A. 780. Demise by John Charteseye and Simon Outelawe to William Skryne, the elder, John Martyn, Willian Lewyn, and John Eylysforde, clerk, of all their lands, in Waltham Holy Cross. 19 February, 7 Hen. IV. Two seals

Waltham Abbey, Essex - The name Waltham derives from weald or wald "forest" and ham "homestead" or "enclosure". The name of the ancient parish as a whole is Waltham Holy Cross Waltham reverted to the King (Edward the Confessor), who gave it to the Earl Harold Godwinson (later king). Harold rebuilt Tovi's church in stone around 1060, in gratitude it is said for his cure from a paralysis, through praying before the miraculous cross.

Legend has it that after Harold's death at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, his body was brought to Waltham for burial near to the High Altar. Today, the spot is marked by a stone slab in the churchyard (originally the site of the high alter prior to the reformation).

The grave of King Harold - see : Earl Godwin his son Earl Harold and his "Utlagh" men

Hertfordshire - History of Hertfordshire - King Henry IV moved his government temporarily to St Albans early in his reign for fear of public opinion in London.^[45] He married Catherine of France on 2 June 1420, and gave her Hertford Castle.^[46]
Queen Elizabeth I lived at Hatfield House near Hatfield as a girl. When plague ravaged London, she held parliaments at Hertford Castle^[51] in 1564 and 1581. (Baas Manor is very close to Hertford Castle)
House of Knights Templars - Preceptory of Temple Dinsley British History Online
Templar Treasure Tunnels, page 1
BBC - Legacies - Myths and Legends - Hertfordshire's Templar mystery - Article Page 1

David Tree - he chose to retire from acting and pursue life as a gentleman farmer. Having inherited a Victorian School house and three cottages in East Herts, he converted them to handsome dwellings. Since the property included the wall of 15th-century house known as Baas Manor, he combined the cottages, creating Baas Manor Farm.

Film Locations Don't Look Now - Baas Manor Farm

A history of Hoddesdon in the county of Herfordshire About 1250 Dominus Henry de Bathonia or de Bathe, knight and judge, owned nearly all the Broxbourne lands other than the demesne and church lands. No record of the grant of these has come to light, but down to the time of the dissolution' 20s. per annum was paid to the Prior of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem for the lands of Baas," as of his manor of Broxbourne". ... Baa's manor is the original of the name 'Baas', pronounced 'Base',... three other (sub) manors contained in these and held by Bathonia, namely Gerkyns, Maryons, and Halle, the last two rented from the Knights of St. John. ...the site of Baas manor is a mile from the nearest part of Hoddesdon

Broxbourne Manor records:
1328 - John de Chertsey, clericus
1381 - Father of John Charteseye - John Chertsey, clothier, owner of Asselyne's Warf in London
1400 - John Charteseye son of John Chertsey
1424 - Thomas Gloucester holds in succession to a Robert de Chertsey.

Baas Hill A History of Brickendon The Broxbourne Bits In 1066 the manor of Broxbourne was held by Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury. By 1086 it was in the possession of Adelaide, wife of Hugh de Grandmesnil; later Ivo, the son and heir of Hugh, gave the manor to the monks of Bermondsey Abbey, Surrey, about a mile south of the present Tower Bridge in London. However, Ivo had previously mortgaged his lands to Robert, Count of Meulan and first Earl of Leicester, and so with the agreement of the monks of Bermondsey, Robert took possession of Broxbourne. In 1198 the manor was in the possession of the Knights Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem, the only military-religious order of the Catholic Church that still survives to this day. In about 1544, following the confiscation of the properties of the Hospitallers, Henry VIII granted the manor to John Cock of Tewin, former bailiff of the estate for the Knights Hospitallers.

History of Hoddesdon in the county of Herfordshire Family names ... Of irregular names we have a curious instance in Simon Outlawe, a man of some position, who was co-feoffee with John Chertsey in the manor of Baas, ...

1381 - Father of John Charteseye - John Chertsey, clothier, owner of Asselyne's Warf in London

Asselyn's Warf - "St. Dunstun's Warf" - Parish - A Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds

Release "John Ive" rector of St. Michael's to John Asselyn holds for life on the said Quey - 8 march Edward III

Appendix IV - Documents relating to the port of London British History Online - Gibsons Quay. Formerly called Asselynes Wharf after John Asselyne, who owned it in 1366, it was purchased by Sir Christopher Draper a few years before the survey of 1559. (fn. 12) The quay, with one jibbet, was let in 1582 for £50 a year to William Wiggens. It was subsequently known by his name.

Map of port of London British History Online - 9 Gibsons Quay: image

Fincham / Barton Bendish - Richard Outlawe and son Robert 1417-1431

1417 - A. 10008. Feoffment by Henry Fullere of Berton, co. Cambridge, to Richard Aunger, Robert Outlawe, the younger, and Richard Freman of Hatteley, of all his lands, in Berton and Grancete. Berton, Thursday after the Beheading of St. John the Baptist, 5 Henry V.

1419 - Grant. Richard Outlawe of Fyncham and Isabella his wife and Robert their son to Geoffrey Stonham of Berton bendyche.13 Mar 1419
1419 - Richard Outlawe appoints Richard Reed and Thomas Fullere to deliver seisin to Geoffrey Stonham of Bertonbendyche of 3 acres of land in Fyncham - 14 Mar 1419 1419 - Grant. Richard Outlawe of Fyncham and Isabella his wife to John Stonham of Berton - 28 Sept 1419
1419 - Grant. Richard Outlawe of Fyncham to Geoffrey Stonham of Berton Bendych - 21 Dec 1419

1431 - Feoffment. Richard Outlawe of Fyncham and John Webster of Carbeysthorp to Richard Cabraund (?) of Carbeysthorp and Edmund Qwyth, senior, of the same.

Fincham, Norfolk - is a civil parish located approximately 12 miles south of King's Lynn in the north west of the English county of Norfolk. Fincham has a single pub, The Swan, and a single church, St. Martin's church. The church was built during the Middle Ages and renovated by the Victorians. The village used to have two churches, though one became derelict and was destroyed by royal bequest. The village, at one time, hosted 5 public houses.

Fincham history - Medieval Fincham - By 1460, Fincham's agricultural land had doubled to 1850 acres, including pasture (from 843 at Domesday). By 1575, there were 2000 acres. St Michaels was a Norman building, spacious with a square tower. It passed under the control of Shouldham Priory in 1350. St Martins had an effective Perpendicular rebuild in around 1450

Barton Bendish - is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk ^[1] . The village is 7.6 miles east of Downham Market, 38.6 miles west of Norwich. The village lies 14.4 miles south of the town of Kings Lynn.

Weasenham, Norfolk

1458 - Owtelawe, John, of Weasenham, Norfolk - Grant of Administration - Will (This is near King's Lynn and near West Dereham)

Weasenham All Saints -

Cambridge University Library Online - Coke of Weasenham Papers

The papers of the Coke family of Weasenham Hall (Norfolk) were acquired by the University Library in 1998. It includes a series of fourteenth century court rolls with accounts for the two manors of Kipton and Northall, which were acquired in 1592 by Sir Edward Coke (1552-1634), Attorney General under Elizabeth I.

Sir Edward Coke - (pronounced "Cook") (1 February 1552 – 3 September 1634) was a seventeenth-century English jurist and Member of Parliament whose writings on the common law were the definitive legal texts for nearly 150 years. Born into a family of minor Norfolk gentry, Coke traveled to London as a young man to make his living as a barrister. There he rapidly gained prominence as one of the leading attorneys of his time, eventually being appointed Solicitor General and then Attorney General by Queen Elizabeth.

As Attorney General, Coke famously prosecuted Sir Walter Raleigh and the Gunpowder Plot conspirators for treason. In 1606, Coke was made Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, later being elevated, in 1613, to Lord Chief Justice of England. During this period, Coke became fabulously wealthy, eventually coming to own 105 properties.^[5]

Sir Edward Coke was born at Mileham, Norfolk, the son of a barrister from a Norfolk family. Mileham is a village mid way between East Dereham and Fakenham in Mid Norfolk.

Walsingham Parva - Thomas Outlawe 1463

1463 - Outlawe, Thomas, capellanus, of Walsyngham Parva - Will (Capellanus meaning "chaplain") The priory passed into the care of Canons Regular sometime between 1146 and 1174.

Walsingham's history as a pilgrimage centre stretches back to Saxon times. In 1061, during the reign of Edward the Confessor, Richeldis, the widow of the lord of the manor of Walsingham Parva, had a vision in which Our Lady appeared to her and took her in spirit to Nazareth. Here she was shown the the place where the Angel Gabriel had appeared to her at the Annunciation. She was told to take note of the measurements of the Holy House and to build a reproduction of it in Walsingham, to be a place of pilgrimage; England's Nazareth. Richeldis had the vision three times, and then hastened to carry out the instructions she had received. The matter was put in the hands of skilled carpenters, but the question arose, where should the house be built? There seem to be two traditions:

The first tradition states that a spring of water erupted at the location where the house was to be built. This holy well became part of the great Augustinian Priory in which the Holy House built by Richeldis was later enshrined. The second tradition states that during the night there was a heavy fall of dew, but in a certain meadow two spaces of about equal size remained quite dry. Richeldis took this as a sign that the house was to be set up on one of these plots, and chose the one that was close to a well (the Holy Well?).

Pilgrims came in huge numbers. They stopped a mile outside Walsingham at the Slipper Chapel to remove their shoes. Kings, nobles, and ordinary folk entered England's Nazareth as equals to worship Jesus, the Son of God and child of Mary.

Destruction - The upheavals of the Reformation, as a result of King Henry VIII's dispute with Rome brought about the suppression of the Shrine in 1538. The statue of Our Lady of Walsingham (Mary holding Jesus on her knee) was taken to London to be burnt. The Priory was dismantled and left in ruins. This could have been the end of the story, however late in the 19th Century interest in the antiquities of Walsingham began to revive...

Norfolk Churches - Little Walsingham - In the Middle Ages, the shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham was second only to the Shrine of St Thomas of Canterbury in its significance to English pilgrims. By the 12th century, a Priory had grown up here at Walsingham, and pilgrims, unable to visit the real Nazareth in the Holy Land because of its conversion to Islam, came to England's Nazareth instead.

Shrine Of Our Lady Of Walsingham, Norfolk, UK Ancient Christian Pilgrimage Holy Site in Eastern England

Saxon noblewoman Richeldis de Faverches had a vision of recreating the house where Jesus's birth was announced by Gabriel. Thus was the legend of Walsingham born.

The story starts with Richeldis' vision of creating a shrine at Walsingham. According to one legend ghostly workers assembled the materials gifted by Richeldis into the Holy House. Succeeding generations built on the shrine, erecting the Priory around it, which became the Augustinian Walsingham Abbey helped by royal patronage over the years, until the reign of Henry VIII, who had it destroyed in 1538.

Our Lady of Walsingham - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Our Lady of Walsingham is a title used for Mary, the mother of Jesus. The title derives from the belief that Mary appeared in a vision to Richeldis de Faverches, a devout Saxon noblewoman, in 1061 in the village of Walsingham in Norfolk, England. Lady Richeldis had a Holy House built in Walsingham which became a shrine and place of pilgrimage.

In passing on his guardianship of the Holy House, Richeldis's son Geoffrey left instructions for the building of a priory in Walsingham. The priory passed into the care of Canons Regular sometime between 1146 and 1174.

Walsingham is a village (actually two conjoined villages: Little Walsingham and Great Walsingham) in the English county of Norfolk. The village is famed for its religious shrines in honour of the Virgin Mary and as a major pilgrimage centre. It also contains the ruins of two medieval monastic houses.^[1]^[2]

Walsingham became a major centre of pilgrimage in the eleventh century. In 1061, according to the Walsingham legend, an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman, Richeldis de Faverches, had a vision of the Virgin Mary in which she was instructed to build a replica of the house of the Holy Family in Nazareth in honour of the Annunciation. Her family name does not appear in the Domesday Book.

When it was built the Holy House in Walsingham was panelled with wood and contained a wooden statue of an enthroned Virgin Mary with the child Jesus seated on her lap. Among its relics was a phial of the Virgin's milk. Walsingham became one of Northern Europe's great places of pilgrimage and remained so through most of the Middle Ages.

1463 - Richard Owtlawe Master of The Mary Talbot of Lynne and his son?/brother? John Owtlawe as crew

1456 - Kings Lynn - John Outlawe, the son of Richard Outlawe, upon whom was conferred the freedom of our burgh - Same guys?

1462 - A commission was granted to Sir John Howard and Sir Thomas Walgrave to arrest the ships, the Mary Talbot and the Mary Thomson, both of Lynn, and other vessels in Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, for a fleet which the King was fitting out - 29th May 1462

Sir Thomas Walgrave may perhaps have been the person designated in this letter as the Master of Carbrooke. At all events, the date is clearly about this time. At Carbrooke, in Norfolk, was a commandry formerly belonging to the Knights Templars, which, like most of the possessions of the order, when it was suppressed in Edward II's time, was given to the Knights of St. John.

The story of William Caxton by Susan Cunnington
...
On another occasion the son, Sir John, writes to his father : ' Please you to wit that I am at Lynn and am informed by divers persons that the Master
of Carbrooke (a Master of Knights Templars) would take rule in the Mary Talbot as for captain, and give jackets of his livery to divers persons which he waged (paid) by other men, in the said ship.

Fenland notes & queries. A quarterly antiquarian journal for the fenland, in the counties of Huntingdon, Cambridge, Lincoln, Northampton, Norfolk, and Suffolk

" To my right worshipful father, John Paston. " Please you to weet that I am at Lynn, and understand by divers persons, as I am informed, that the master of Carbrooke* would take a rule in the Mary Talbot as for captain, and to give jackets of livery to divers persons which he waged by other men, and not by him, being in the said ship ; wherefore insomuch as I have but few soldiers in mine livery here, to strengthen me in that which is the king's commandment, I keep with me your two men Dawbeny and Calle, which I suppose shall sail with me to Yarmouth, for I have purveyed harness for them, and ye shall well understand by the grace of God that the said master of Carbrooke* shall have none rule in the ships, as I had proposed he should have had, because of his business ; and for this is one of the special causes I keep your said men with me, beseeching you ye take it to none displeasure with me, notwithstanding their herdenj at Wygenhall shall be done this day, by the grace of God, who have you in his keeping.

* Carbrooke is in Norfolk, about midway between Castle Acre and Lynn. There was a society of Knight Templars at that place, and it would be interesting to know if there is any local trace of them now. The master of Carbrooke would mean the head of this society, who (f) was a busy-body and not fitted to act as subordinate under John Paston.

John Paston, the writer of the letter, was brought up in the family of the Duke of Norfolk ; was a soldier, and engaged in French wars ; became heir to his brother in 1479 ; High Sheriff of Norfolk in 1485 ; was made a Knight bannaret at the battle of Stoke in 1487 by Henry VII. ; and died in 1503.

The Pastons a family in the Wars of the Roses by Richard Barber

In May and June both John III and John II were involved in the preparations for repelling any sea-borne invasion. Any royal fleet was usually gathered by 'arresting' merchant vessels for use in war, and John II went to King's Lynn to carry out a warrant for the arrest of a ship called the Mary Talbot, about this time: he wrote to his father:

' This is to let you know I am at Lynn, and gather from various people that the master of Carbrooke wants to take command of the Mary Talbot as captain, or so I am told, and to give jackets of his livery to various people who have been hired by other men, and not by him, who are in the ship....by the grace of God, the master of Carbrooke will have no command in the ships as I intended he should, because of his plots.

1463 - August, my mastyr hath payd Rechard Owtlaw, Mastyr of the Mary Talbott, at the goynge to the see.
1463 - list of the retainers who accompanied Sir John Howard to Wales - Crew of the Mary Talbot of Lynne - Rechard Owtlawe mayster - John Owtlawe.

Sir John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk - 12th Baron Segrave, 11th Baron Mowbray, Earl Marshal (1421 – 22 August 1485) was an English nobleman, soldier, and the first Howard duke of Norfolk. He was a close friend and loyal supporter of King Richard III of England^[1] with whom he died in combat at the Battle of Bosworth.... The Howards were staunch adherents of the House of York during the Wars of the Roses, and John Howard, backed by his powerful Mowbray relations, upheld the Yorkist cause in Norfolk. John Howard died at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22 August 1485 along with his friend and patron King Richard. Howard was the great-grandfather of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, the second and fifth Queens consort, respectively, of King Henry VIII. Thus, through Anne Boleyn, he was the great-great-grandfather of Elizabeth I.

Memorials of the ancient of Ipswich, in the county of Suffolk By John Wodderspoon -

Sir John Howard was now engaged in assisting the king both by sea and land. Afterwards it will be seen he busied himself greatly in fitting out of ships. His ability and knowledge of the sea caused the king eventually to appoint him to arm and command of the fleet, and defend the coast, namely in 1470.

In 1463, Sir John Howard furnishes forth the ship Mary Talbot for the wars, the crew and men which she carried being collected from Ipswitch, Harwich, Lynn, and other places.* The Mary Talbot carried upwards of eighty persons, who appear to have been paid 2s. each upon entering service. Among them we find John Colpho of Wolverstone, John Dykeman of Erwarton, John Browne of Dovercourt, Nicholas Reed of Nacton, and John Bullen of Chelmondiston, with many others from near neighborhoods.

Many of the men on board the Mary Talbot were impressed into service... Thomas Lynnot was paid 48 s. for impressed 29 men... Richard Felaw attends the setting forth of the vessel.

* Sir John Howard had large possessions at Lynn, When Edward fled the kingdom, Sir J. Howard conveyed him to Lynn, and found him security until he quitted England.

In 1466 Sir John was still busy in building the " new kervelle," which he seems to have christened the " Mary Grase"' he bought " an ashe of ij. yerdes longe, for to make a lanteme and a stok for an image of our lady. In the same year he commanded the vessel which conveyed to Calais the English Commissioners accredited to the Courts of Burgundy and France." His steward notes that he was at Calais from the 15th of May to the 17th of September

Although not documented here, I have found elsewhere that The "Mary Grase" was built in Dunwich
Formerly the early medieval capital of East Anglia, Dunwich is now a small village that over the past eight centuries has been suffering from coastal erosion. Today it is no larger than a few streets, a pub, and a few houses. And, famously, the Flora Tea Rooms, an excellent fish-and-chip shop. Most of the former town lies underneath the waves, as the local museum demonstrates, and the town has made an industry out of its lost heritage (which included around a dozen churches, a market square, and a guildhall). Walking along the shingle beach it is frequently possible to pick up small artefacts and bits of archaeology (including bones from an eroding cemetery) from the crumbling cliffs overhead.Once a prosperous seaport with a population of 3000 and listed in the Domesday book, the town was largely destroyed by storms in 1286 and 1347, then fell further victim to the eroding coastline. Today, almost the entire town has disappeared, leaving only the remains of a couple of buildings.

Writer Anne Smith puts history into her novels:

Daughter of York - By Anne Easter Smith - ,,, The captain of my vessel, the Mary Talbot..."Richard Outlaw is a good man, in truth, but he did indeed win Fortunata in a game."

It is 1461: Edward, son of Richard of York, ascends to the throne, and his willful sister, Margaret, immediately becomes a pawn in European politics as Edward negotiates her marriage. The young Margaret falls deeply in love with Anthony Woodville, the married brother of Edward's queen, Elizabeth.

Richard Felaw was an Ipswitch man -Ipswich School A merchant and Alderman of Ipswich called Richard Felaw bequeathed his house in what is now Foundation Street to the School, endowing it with lands so that children of needy parents could attend without paying fees. One of the first pupils to benefit from Felaw’s endowment was Thomas Wolsey who never forgot that it was largely thanks to Felaw that he became what he became Lord Chancellor of England

1462 - C. 5006. Grant by William Rotheley of Dertford and John Sharp of Eard to John Outlawe of Eard of a messuage with garden and arable by Crayfordstrete, also of a parcel of land and wood at Moltgrove by Groveshern in the parish of Eard; also of a parcel of meadow in the marsh called Dokelynghope by Tradehope, which inter alia they had, together with Walter Jolyf since deceased, by the gift of Thomas Roys and Agnes his wife. 12 March, 2 Edward IV. From: 'Deeds: C.5001 - C.5100', A Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds: Volume 6 (1915), pp. 159-173.

1465 - Grant by John Outlawe and Thomas Outlawe to John Marchall, John Stokton, William Redknapp, John Alborowe, Richard Hull, and Henry Newman, citizens and mercers of London, of a tenement with houses, gardens and land in Crayford, of land in a field called 'Depedene,' in Crayford aforesaid, adjoining a croft called 'Fyppescrofte,' and of a parcel of land and wood at Moltgrove, by Grovesherne, Crayford, adjoining Crayford Heath. 7 'November, 5 Edward IV. Kent. C. 1041.

CRAYFORD - LIES the next parish south-eastward from Erith, having the river Thames and that parish for its northern boundary. It appears to have been called, soon after the arrival of the Saxons in this island, by the name of Creccan ford; that is, the ford or passage over the water, then called Crecca. now Cray. (fn. 1)

In the time of archbishop Saint Dunstan, who came to the see of Canterbury, in 960, it was known by the name of Erbede, or Eard, and at the conquest by that of Eard, alias Crayford; by which it continued to be described in all antient deeds and writings to the time of king Henry VIII.

The high London road crosses the southern part of this parish, in which is the village, commonly called Crayfordstreet .

There are now to be seen, as well on the heaths near Crayford, as in the fields hereabout, many artificial caves or holes in the earth, some being ten, fifteen, and others twenty fathoms deep. At the mouth, and thence downward, they are narrow, like the tunnel of a chimney, or passage of a well, but at the bottom they are large and of great compass, insomuch that some of them have several rooms or partitions, one within another, strongly vaulted, and supported with pillars of chalk. In the opinion of the neighbouring inhabitants, they were formerly dug, as well for the use of the chalk, towards building, as for the mending of their lands; but it is most probable that some of them were made for a farther use by the Saxons, our ancestors, who used them as secret hiding places for their wives, children, and goods, as well in times of civil wars as of foreign invasions.

THIS PLACE, in the time of the Saxons, was possessed by one Elfege, a powerful man, who by his will, made in the presence of archbishop Dunstan, about the year 970, gave a third part of his estates in Erhede, and elsewhere, to Christ church, in Canterbury;

Charities.
JOHN MARSHALL, owner of a tenement and 13 acres of marsh ground in this parish, built an isle adjoining to the church of Crayford, and afterwards by his will devised 6s. 8d. part of the rent, for the repair of it, (fn. 32) and 10s. yearly to the poor to the distributed in the bread and cheese, and the remainder for an obit for ever in the church; other lands in this parish were likewife given by divers persons for obits, and for the relief of the poor of it. But most probably these donations were seized on by the king's commissioners in king Henry VIIIth or king Edward the VIth's reigns, as having been given to superstitious uses, and the parish by that means has been deprived of any benefit from them. From: 'Parishes: Crayford', The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 2 (1797), pp. 263-285.

Crayford - is a town and electoral ward in the London Borough of Bexley that was an important bridging point in Roman times across the River Cray, a tributary of the River Darent, which is itself a tributary of the River Thames. Crayford is mentioned in the Domesday Book as having a church and three mills, and a population of 27 villagers and 2 smallholders. There were two main Manor Houses in the area during the Middle Ages, Newbery Manor on the site of what is now Crayford Manor House, and Howbury Manor near Slade Green. Near to Newbery Manor was May Place, built for the Appleton (Apylton) family who served Kings Henry V and Henry VI.^[4]

London Borough of Bexley - Prior to the 19th century the area now forming the Borough was practically unoccupied: very few of the present settlements were mentioned in the Domesday Book. There are still open spaces, however, among the suburban streets and avenues. the Borough owns and maintains over one hundred parks and open spaces, large and small; and there is still a part of the Erith Marshes bordering the River Thames. The Crayford Marshes lie to the east of that river, as do Foots Cray Meadows further south.

Thomas Outlawe(Owtlawe) - Pewterers' Company - London - Wardeyn - 1504

1504-5 - In the tyme of Laurence Aslyn mr willm pecok and Thomas Outlawe wardeyns - History of the Pewterers' Company - glasid by Thomas Owtlawe pg 74, pg 76

History of the Worshipful company of pewterers of the city of London. - Google Books

Company History, The Worshipful Company of Pewterers Ideal venue for functions in the heart of the City of London

The Worshipful Company of Pewterers is one of the older Livery Companies in the City of London. It is number 16 in the order of civic precedence among over a hundred companies. The earliest documented reference to it is in the records of the Corporation dated 1348 when the "goodfolk, makers of vessels of pewter" came before the Mayor and Aldermen asking for approval of the Articles which they had drawn up for the regulation of the trade.

CHARTERS Edward IV granted the first Charter of the Company on 20th January 1474 (1473 in the calendar of the day). In addition to licensing the Freemen of the Mistery of Pewterers to found a Fraternity, it allowed the Guild to regulate the standard of workmanship, the training of craftsmen and the wages and prices to be set. This Charter granted the Guild the right of search throughout England to ensure the quality of pewter was maintained.

The first Hall, completed in 1496, was destroyed in the Great Fire of London. (1666)

THE FIRST HALL: The Company's earliest records show that its members attended every year at the Austin Friars Monastery on the Feast of the Blessed Virgin; after doing business in the Offices, a feast was held in the Hall of the Monastery. Very soon after receiving its first Charter the Company looked for suitable premises for its own Hall and in 1484 acquired a site in Lime Street, which it still owns today. A Hall was completed in 1496 and provided a centre for business and recreation, having both a garden and a vinery. It was a source of pride to its owners, being the centre of their trade government and of their social life. The Hall, as much other Company property, was destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666.

Full text of Old pewter, brass, copper & Sheffield plate

LIST OF ENGLISH PEWTERERS

Outlawe, Thos., 1504

Pecok, William, 1510

Astlyn, Lawrence, 1504

1522 - Acle, Norfolk - Outlawe (Owtlaw), Simon, of Acle - Will

Acle norwich - Google Maps

Houses of Austin canons - The priory of Weybridge British History Online

37. THE PRIORY OF WEYBRIDGE (fn. 1)
Hugh Bigod, earl of Norfolk, founded a small house for Austin Canons, dedicated to the honour of St. Mary, at Weybridge, in the parish of Acle, towards the close of the reign of Henry III. Robert was the first warden or keeper of this humble foundation, and, by an undated deed, the earl granted to Robert and his brethren of the church of St. Mary all his marsh in Acle, with all appurtenances, in free alms.
Roger Bigod, earl of Norfolk, son of Hugh, the patron and founder, granted to Robert the chaplain, the first warden of the house and the brethren of the same, power to elect, after the death of the said warden, one of the brethren in his place, provided that two or three be nominated by them from themselves, or from elsewhere if sufficient be not there found, to be presented to the earl and his heirs, by whom the one that should seem most fitting should be presented to the bishop. From: 'Houses of Austin canons: The priory of Weybridge', A History of the County of Norfolk: Volume 2 (1906), pp. 406-407. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=38294

Acle Village History

In Saxon times, Acle was on the Norfolk shoreline and grew as a fishing village. Great Yarmouth did not exist, the area it occupies being a sand bank, and all the marshes between Great Yarmouth and Acle were under sea. Gradually land was reclaimed from the estuaries of the Rivers Bure, Waveney and Yare leaving large expanses of flat land stretching towards the sea. There are two theories about the origin of the name Acle; one is that it means 'a place that overflowed' or that it means 'in the lea of the oaks', that is, a clearing in an oak forest (to the south of the village at that time was a large oak woodland ).

In Tudor times, hundreds of oaks were felled here for timber to construct Elizabeth I's war ships.

The village stands beside a vast marshland area which in Roman times was a great estuary called Gariensis. Trading ports were located on high ground and Acle was one of those important ports. Evidence of the Romans was found in the late 1980s when quantities of coins were unearthed in The Street during construction of the A47 bypass. Some properties in the village, built on the line of the beach, have front gardens of sand while the back gardens are on a thick bed of flints. Records show that Acle was a fishing port as far back as Saxon times; the Church tower could possibly have served as a lookout point. Tradition has it that there is a Viking burial site 1 mile north of the village.

It is said that Acle, unlike many Norfolk villages, did not suffer any loss of life during the Black Death; villages which suffered badly were often abandoned afterwards, apart from the Church, and new villages were built a short distance away. Two good examples of this can be seen at Reedham and Horning.

In 1086 when the new Norman masters compiled the Domesday Book it was noted there were 23 villagers, 38 smallholders and three slaves. In 1101 Acle Bridge was opened and by the 12th century the village had a manor. The estuary which gave Acle its raison d’etre gradually silted up and rivers were formed after embankments were created by man during the 13th and 14th centuries. In the coming centuries Acle would continue to be an important trade centre for the surrounding area. There has been a market since the 13th century, but livestock, which was once central to it, has ceased in recent years. When the old saleground was closed, a 12th century rubbish dump was unearthed. Hundreds of pieces of medieval pottery and other artefacts were recovered including oyster shells, whelks and even a boars tusk. They were put on display in Norwich Castle Museum.

The Church, in common with many in East Anglia, is dedicated to St Edmund; the oldest part is the round part of the tower, Saxon or Norman in origin. Other fragments of Norman work have been found, but the nave dates from the 13th century and the north porch, showing good flintwork , and the octagonal part of the tower are 15th century.

Acle was at one time owned by the Crown then by the Earl of Norfolk, and subsequently, by Lord Calthorpe (who became Lord of the Manor). It is only comparatively recently that this estate has been broken up. The survey of 1838 lists several other interesting names connected with Acle; it is recorded that the Dean and Chapter of Norwich owned 331 acres, the Earl of Plymouth 8 acres and Magdalen College Oxford 2 acres.
...
Near Acle Bridge are the remains of an old priory (Weybridge Priory) founded in the reign of Edward I (1272-1307) and occupied by Augustinian canons. Its position in the midst of the marshes did not save the abbey from serious damage in the rebellion, headed by Robert, Earl of Leicester and Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, in the reign of Henry II. From 1168 until 1175 the abbey was in the king's hand, Prior Adam being in charge of ecclesiastical matters and Wimar the Chaplain, accounting to the king for the revenue. Owing to the state of disrepair, the abbey applied in 1327 and was subsequently granted a license to enclose the abbey with a battlemented wall. At the Dissolution, the abbey was valued at £7.13.4 and was granted to the Duke of Norfolk. There is little to see now apart from hummocky areas in a field beside the Acle Bridge Inn, but the name is preserved in Priory Close near the Church in Acle.

Acle - The church of St Edmund is one of 124 existing round-tower churches in Norfolk. The round stage of the tower is the oldest part of the church, thought to be Saxon in origin and of a date between 850 and 950 AD. The octagonal stage was added in the 13th century, probably when the roof was raised. The battlements are from 1472. The tower houses six bells, five of which were cast in Norwich and date back to 1623. The tower is reinforced with a metal frame to enable the bells to be rung safely.

Entry to the church is by a porch on the north side, built in 1495. The dressed flints are in contrast with most of the walls which appear to be made of rubble.

The main body of the church, the nave, is thought on the evidence of the measurements and wall thickness to be Norman in origin. This is not immediately obvious as no Norman doorways or aches remain. In 1927, when ivy was being strapped from the outside walls, one of the buttresses collapsed revealing a find of Norman-worked stones, which were later reassembled for safekeeping in the rood stair space.

Nowhere, Norfolk - According to 19th-century directories, Nowhere or No-Where is a marshy area by the River Bure where the villagers of Acle, Norfolk had salt-pans to produce salt for food preservation, etc. Originally an extra-parochial liberty it was formally incorporated into Acle parish in 1862 and the name no longer appears in maps and gazetteers. In 1861 there were four inhabited houses and 16 people.

Adam Owtlawe, Mariner - 1533 - mariner n. One who navigates or assists in navigating a ship. [ This is more than a "seaman" ]

1533 - London and Middlesex Fines: Henry VIII - London & Middlesex - Adam Owtlawe, 'maryner,' - Easter Anno 25 1533
1535 - Sebastian Newdigate (Nedygate) dies in the Tower for denying the King's supremacy
1539,- Henry VIII had unsuccessfully required the English knights in Malta to disavow the authority of the Pope.
1539 - SIR THOMAS SPERTT to MR. GONSON - Has received Gonson's and the lord Privy Seal's letters. Spertt, William Hourrey, John Tebowrow, Adam Outlawe, and Richard Couchey have viewed the Great Nicholas of Bristol, and find no fault except that she draws 3 fathoms of water in ballast and 3½ when laden. Find in her 6 port pieces, 2 slings, a small fowler, 8 bassys, 6 hacbus, 1 new cable, 2 worn cables, 3 hawsers, 3 anchors, 4 tope armurs, 10 flags, 1 streamer. She is worth 700l. if it were not that she draws so much water. Portsmouth, 5 Sept. - King Henry VIII papers

From its price and their description of the vessel it can be deduced that it must have been a very large ship. The Great Nicholas carried 21 guns. [ It is interesting that Adam Owtlawe was included in the inspection of this ship, noting that his opinion was of value to the treasurer of the Navy. (William Gonson) ]

1540 - King Henry VIII visits Hull with his Queen. ( Catherine Howard married Henry VIII on 28 July 1540)
1541 - William Gonson's son David Gonson, Knight of Malta, is hanged, drawn and quartered at Southwark (London)
1541 - Sir Thomas Spertt Dies in December
1542 - Catherine Howard and the three men were executed.
1543 - Henry VIII marries Catherine Parr; alliance between Henry and Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor) against Scotland and France

1543 - Adam Owtlawe - send four ships to the Downes - Feb 23 - Sir Francis Brian to the Kings Council - Scotch prisoners - Feb. 19, 1543

Full text of "Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII" (by Sir Francis Brian)

Dated Westminster., 19 Feb. showing B ^ ' that the King is advertised of the troubles we were in upon the seas and the danger and ruin of his ships, and that I was determined according to your commandment to send four ships to the Downes. The said ships were ready in Humber before the receipt of your letters, whereupon I sent a boat which has spoken with Mr. Clere and Mr. Carye, commanding them to lie off and on upon the coast between Humber and Newcastle, and as Mr. Nedygate and Adam Owtlawe were ready victualled I thought it more convenient that they should accompany Mr. Clere and Mr. Carye, than lie in harbour.

As Clere and Carye went forth of Humber they met a Scot of 30 tons laden with salmon, herring and barrelled fish with the lord Admiral's safe-conduct for George Browne and Ant. Papeworth, of Barwike, to bring, in Scottish ships or boats, certain fish to Berwike, Holy Hand, Aylmouth or Stakton at price therein limited (given). As the Scot had passed the places appointed and said he was going to Boston, Sir John [Clere] and Mr. Carye sent him to Hull, and I have stayed him and certified my lord Admiral. Clere also took a French boat, as I reported, which is at Newcastle, and the men, 31 and 3 Dutchmen, brought in the ships to Hull, and I have, by advice of Mr. Stanhop, delivered all 34 to the mayor to keep them and see them gently handled. Begs to know how their charges shall be paid. Here awaits the coming of Mr. Osborn with the King's further pleasure. The French have delivered an inventory of their goods, valued at 500 mks., which is sent to the lord Admiral. Hull, 23 Feb. Signed. Pp. 2. Add. Endd. : a xxxiiij .

[ Notice that Sir Francis addresses his "peers" as Mr. - Mister - (Master) and others by first and last names. ]

1544 - Henry VIII and Charles V invade France
1544 - William Gonson's wife dies

1544 - Ships - Great Shallop of Dover (Adam Owtlawe, c) - Cavendishe Shallopp (Adam Owtlawe, c.) November 28 1544
From: 'Henry VIII: November 1544, 26-30', Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 19 Part 2: August-December 1544

xv. Payments (like those in § ii.) made 14 Sept. for the Dragon (Dunstone Newdigat, captain), Great Pynneas (Robt. Garthe, c), Newe Barke (Thos Windane, c), Lytell Shallopp of Dover (Thos. Huttone, master), Great Shallop of Dover (Adam Owtlawe, c), New Pynnas made by Jamys Baker (John Borlye, c), Swalloo (Wm. Tyrell, c.), Great Gallyon (Sir Wm. Wodhowse, c), Mynyon (Wm. Cornocke, mr.), Lyon (Wm. Broke, c), Mary Jamys (John Bucke, c). Signed by recipients, three of them with marks.

xxiv. Payments (mostly like those in § ii.) made 20 Oct. for the Newe Barke (Thos. Windhame, captain), Lytell Shalloppe (Thos. Huttone, master), Newe Shallopp (John Booerley, c.), Cavendishe Shallopp (Adam Owtlawe, c.), Marye Jamys (John Cranewen, mr.), Greater Pynneas (Robt. Garthe, c.), Post of Deepe (Cornells Durport, mr.) and Facone Lysleye (Thos. Harding, c.). Not signed. (1905), pp. 396-421.

1544 - Ships The Newe Barke 160 t., 120 m., Adam Owtlawe. (fn. 7) - Caleis - Greate Shalop (D.), Oct 29 1544

Letters and Papers, .Foreign and Domestic, of the Reign of Henry VIII: pt.1. -

He [Mr. Seymour] and Mister Carey doubt how ... the New Bark will stand the Narrow Seas this winter - Dover - 6 November 1544

Mr. Carey has been sick in bed three days and cannot yet rise to come a-land. Will send with the victuals... the New Barke,... and the Lesse Shalope. The rest remain here until he knows whether the King will have him meet with the fleets coming from Bordyowes, for which purpose he would choose...

"Ships appointed by Mr. Seymour to conduct the victuals from Portesmouth to Bulloyn." ... New Barke

Letters and Papers, Foreign ... - As yet, I hear no word what is become of the Grete Shalop.... by reason of the 'holoues' of the seas, that they were strained continually to pump, and specially ... the New Barke...

1544 - Owtlawe, Adam, [no place] 21 pynnyng - Prerogative Court of Canterbury - Probate Wills page 397 - Is this the same man? Did he die at sea? He was alive in October, this reference has just the year , no month.

1545 - Will of Adam Owtlawe - 09 January 1545 - Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury - Pynnyng - The PCC was the most important of these courts dealing with relatively wealthy individuals living mainly in the south of England and most of Wales. If a property-owner in England or Wales died overseas, such as sailors or soldiers, then their will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury regardless of where their property was held. - Adam Owtlawe Will - Had a wife named Alice and a son named Adam (it is very hard to read, so if know old wills, have a look and let me know.)

1545 - Dec 22 - For a weye of salt delivered to Brymer Outlawe, 30s. 14l. 16s. 8d. - Henry VIII: Papers - Somehow Related?

1545 - Mr. Stanhop was knighted
1546 - Benjamin Gonson (William Gonson's son) becomes "Surveyor of all our Shippes" (age 40)
1547 - Henry VIII dies - Edward VI - Duke of Somerset acts as Protector

1550 - Sir Francis Bryan dies in Ireland
1552 - Sir Stanhop was beheaded.

1561 - James Bressey - Will was proved on 25 October 1561. Buried in St. Magnus Churchyard in London Witnesses: Hamnet Bressey, Robert Byrne, Andrew Outlaw, the writer hereof - He was "servant to the Earl of Hertford," Edward Seymour (born 1537). Edward Seymour was a brother of Jane Seymour, third wife of Henry VIII, and of Thomas Seymour, who married Catherine Paar, Henry's sixth and last wife, after the king's death. - Somehow related?

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Now for background on the interesting characters of this story..... This shows the company Adam Owtlawe kept :

(Sir Francis Bryan was a distinguished diplomat, soldier, sailor, cipherer, man of letters, and poet.) (Henry VIII)

Rendering of a photograph of Alan Van Sprang as Sir Francis Bryan in Showtime's 'The Tudors'. England Under The Tudors Sir Francis Bryan (d. 1550) (early-fifties in 1543)

SIR FRANCIS BRYAN* (b. 1490 - d. 1550), poet, translator, soldier, and diplomatist, was the son of Sir Thomas Bryan, and grandson of Sir Thomas Bryan, chief justice of the common pleas from 1471 till his death in 1500. His father was knighted by Henry VII in 1497, was 'knight of the body' at the opening of Henry VIII's reign, and repeatedly served on the commission of the peace for Buckinghamshire, where the family property was settled. Francis Bryan's mother was Margaret, daughter of Humphry Bourchier, and sister of John Bourchier, lord Berners. Lady Bryan was for a time governess to the princesses Mary and Elizabeth, and died in 1551-2. Anne Boleyn is stated to have been his cousin; but we have been unable to discover the exact genealogical connection.¹

In 1526 he lost an eye in a tournament at Greenwich, and had to wear an eye-patch from then on. Bryan was a second cousin of both Anne Boleyn and Jane Seymour. No portrait of Sir Francis survives. Catherine Howard married Sir Francis's mother's brother, so was a cousin also.

Sir Francis returned to favour following Cromwell's demise, becoming vice-admiral of the fleet. In 1543, on the appointment of John Dudley, Lord Lisle as admiral, Bryan was made vice-admiral because of ‘his experience in sea matters’.

As a member of the privy council Bryan took part in public affairs until the close of Henry VIII's reign, and at the beginning of Edward VI's reign he was given a large share of the lands which the dissolution of the monasteries had handed over to the crown. He fought, as a captain of light horse, under the Duke of Somerset at Musselburgh 27 Sept. 1547, when he was created a knight banneret.

Mr Clere is probably Sir John Clere (b. 1511 - d. 1557) - The Cleres inherited Blickling Hall and estate in the late 1500s. The previous owners were the Boleyn family, relatives of Anne Boleyn the second wife of Henry VIII. Edward Clere had been knighted by Elizabeth I in 1580 and the family was extremely wealthy. Edward, however, squandered away the fortune and died a bankrupt in 1611. His widow was forced to sell the house.
Sir John Clere - 1544 - (other Clere's - Sir Thomas (d. 1544) Sir Edward ) (in his mid-thirties in 1543)

Mr. Carye is probably HENRY CAREY, first Lord Hunsdon (1524?-1596), governor of Berwick and chamberlain of Queen Elizabeth's household, born about 1524, was only son of William Carey, esquire of the body to Henry VIII, by his wife Mary, sister of Anne Boleyn and daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn. Through his mother he was first cousin to Queen Elizabeth. His father died of the sweating sickness in 1528, and his mother remarried Sir William Stafford, who died 19 July 1543. (in his early-twenties in 1543)

Carey first comes into notice as member of parliament for Buckingham at the end of 1547; he was re-elected for the same constituency to the parliaments of April and November 1554, and of October 1555. In 1549 Edward VI granted him the manors of Little Brickhill and Burton in Buckinghamshire. He was knighted by his relative Queen Elizabeth soon after her accession, and was created Baron Hunsdon on 13 Jan. 1558-1559, receiving on 20 March following a grant of the honour of Hunsdon and manor of Eastwick in Hertfordshire, together with other lands in Kent.

Henry CAREY (1° B. Hundson) - Said to be son of Henry VIII by Mary Boleyn, officially son of Sir William Carey. The King granted the Carey's actual manors and estates during the affair and immediately before the child's birth.

Sir Thomas Spert - was the first Master of Trinity House in 1514. Born in the late 15th century (date unknown), he died December 1541. He was in turn master of the Mary Rose (before it sank) and the Henri Grâce à Dieu, both ships being flagship to Henry VIII of England. A commoner, he was knighted by Henry at the Palace of Whitehall in 1524. Spert Island off the coast of Antarctica is named for him.

Sussex (John Lewes, Thomas Nedygate, w. 400/. : some appointed to Mr. Gunston for the victualling of the ships in the Narrow Seas)

Mr. Nedygate is probably Thomas Newdegate - a relative of John Newdegate Esq. of Harefield, (or more likely his son John Newdegate Esq.) born 6 Henry VII; dying in 1545 was succeeded by his eldest son. John Newdegate Esq. of Harefield MP for Middlesex in 1571, 1573, 1574

It is interesting that John Newdegate brothers, Sylvester and Duncan, were Knights of St John, and another brother Sebastian who was tortured by Henry VIII for the supremacy thing... He also had a sister/aunt? named Jane who knew Sir Francis Bryan

It is interesting that later in 1561 - Thomas Newdegate was trustee to a will with William Gardiner, someone connected to the MayFlower

Sir Michael Stanhope - Sir Michael Stanhope (ca. 1518 – 22 January 1552) was a Nottinghamshire landowner and suspected rebel against the English Crown. He was a descendant of the ancient Stanhope family of Rampton, Nottinghamshire. He was knighted in 1545. He was implicated in the events which led to the downfall of his brother in law Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, Lord Protector of England, was arrested in 1551, convicted of treason and beheaded in 1552 alongside Sir Thomas Arundell - (he was 25 in 1543)

Mr. Osborn is probably John Osborne, comptroller of the King's ships - September 1542 - John Osborne, comptroller, of the King's ships and works at Detford and other places within the realm

Mr. Seymour is Sir Thomas Seymour - born c. 1508 - executed March 20, 1549 by order of Edward VI's privy council (age 36 in 1544)
4th son of Sir John Seymour and brother of Jane Seymour & Edward Seymour. His connections ensured his promotion, and he quickly won the favour of the King, who gave him many grants of land and employed him in the royal household and on diplomatic missions abroad. From 1540 to 1542 he was at Vienna, and in 1543 in the Netherlands, where he served with distinction in the war against France, holding for a short time the supreme command of the English army. In 1544 he was rewarded with the post of master of the ordnance for life, becoming admiral of the fleet a few months later, in which capacity he was charged with guarding the Channel against French invasion.

William Gonson - Wm. Gonson, paymaster of the King's ships, for " maryne causes," Just a few years earlier his son was executed and a Templar connection....

David Gunston - Knight of Malta- Ven. David Gonson (Gunston), Knight of St. John
Martyred at St. Thomas Waterings, Southwark, 12th July, 1541.

July 7, 1539, Henry VIII had unsuccessfully required the English knights in Malta to disavow the authority of the Pope.

David Gonson was received into the English Auberge at Malta - on 20th October, 1533, and submitted his "proofs of nobility"; for each applicant for admission as a Knight of justice must produce proofs of gentle birth, of legitimacy, of good health, and of good character. David could prove his right to bear the arms of Gonson quartering Tussell, Walter, Beckett, Young and Colfax. He was the fourth son of William Gonson by his marriage with Bennet Walter, sister and heiress of John Walter.

William Gonson was a Gentleman Usher of the King's Chamber and later became responsible for the naval administration of this country. In one contemporary record he is called Vice-Admiral and Paymaster of the Navy. He did at one time command ships but his principal work was covered by the later title " Treasurer of Marine Causes," and he is so described in the Gonson pedigree.

David's eldest brother Benjamin was "Surveyor of all our Shippes" in 1546 and " Treasurer of Marine Causes " in 1549.

Benjamin Gonson - was born Abt. 1506 in Deptford, Kent, England, (he would have been 37 in 1543)

Benjamin's Daughter Katherine married Sir John Hawkins, the famous sea captain. The name Gonson was pronounced as if Goonson, and was sometimes written Gunston. It is as Sir David Gunston that the knight is found in the list of English Martyrs. He was hanged, drawn and quartered at Southwark (London) on 12 July 1541 under the English Act of Supremacy. Blessed David was one of the older sons of Admiral William Gunson, sometime Treasurer of the Navy and Esquire of the Body to King Henry VIII.

The martyr's father, in fact, was William Gonson, captain of the 'Mary Grace' in 1513 and subsequently Paymaster of the Royal Navy. William Gonson's correspondence is plentifully scattered up and down among the state papers of the reign of Henry VIII. A letter to Cromwell mentions his wife in 1536. She died in 1544. Apart from this and his friendship with Cromwell¹⁰, Lord Lisle and other important officials, there is nothing personal that can be gathered from these letters.

The death of his son did not affect William Gonson's position. He obtained a grant of arms¹¹ under Henry VIII. His profession is portrayed by the symbolism of a gun between two anchors.

A brass was erected in the church of Melton Mowbray, Leics., to the memory of Christopher Gonson and his wife Elizabeth in 1543 by Bartholomew, Rector of the same church, his son. The inscription states that they had another son William, who was Esquire of the Body to King Henry VIII¹². He was, of course, the father of the subject of our enquiry. He named one of the King's ships the 'Christopher Gonson' - doubtless after his own father. Elizabeth Gonson of this brass was the daughter and heir of Roger Trussell of Essex.

William Gonson, Treasurer of the Navy, was the father of Benjamin Gonson, also Treasurer of the Navy and the Grandfather of Dame Katherine Gonson who married Sir John Hawkins, who held the office of Treasurer from 1573, when Benjamin Gonson resigned in favor of his son-in-law, until his death in 1595.

- - - - - - - - - - - - So What's a Shallop?

The Shallop – Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail - National Park Service

In the 1600s, the word “shallop” referred to an open wooden workboat such as a barge, dory, or rowboat. Shallops were small enough to row but also had one or two sails.

Captain John Smith’s shallop could carry 15 men. It was probably about 30 feet long and 8 feet wide. It drew less than 2 feet of water, which was important for navigating the shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay and many of the tributaries. Like most English boats of the period, the shallop was built of oak planks fastened together with wooden pegs. It had at least one mast and one or two sails made of hemp canvas.

Like a barge, a shallop could carry heavy cargos in shallow water. John Smith described his boat as “open barge neare three tuns burthen”—which meant it could carry up to three tons of cargo. Its exact shape and style remain a mystery. - — it could be powered by oars or sails, travel in deep or shallow waters, and was light enough to pull ashore. In calms, its mast could be lowered and stowed inside the boat.

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Henry VIII Biography
In 1542 Catherine Howard and the three men were executed. In July 1543 Henry married his sixth wife, Catherine Parr. She was a good stepmother to Henry's two daughters Mary and Elizabeth. Catherine also helped to moderate Henry's religious persecutions. Henry VIII died in 1547.

1543 - Henry VIII marries Catherine Parr; alliance between Henry and Charles V (Holy Roman Emperor) against Scotland and France
1544 - Henry VIII and Charles V invade France

Henry's reign marked the birth of English naval power and was a key factor in England's later victory over the Spanish Armada

Henry VIII and Scotland - In 1543 Henry wrote “A declaration of the cause of war with Scotland” in which he justified why war against James V was just and why England had a right to subdue the Scots.
In December 1543 the Scottish Parliament abrogated the treaties it had signed with England but reaffirmed those Scotland had signed with France. Henry sent the Earl of Hertford and an army to the Scottish borders. Tthey destroyed whatever they could so that the region could not support a landing by the French if one took place in 1544. The show of force was sufficient for some nobles to swear allegiance to Henry. In September 1545, another attack by the English on the Borders also destroyed crops and farms.

Humber - Estuary in northeast England formed by the Ouse and Trent rivers, which meet east of Goole and flow east for 60 km/38 mi to enter the North Sea below Spurn Head. It is an important commercial waterway, and the main ports are Kingston upon Hull on the north side, and Grimsby on the south side

Trinity House - The Corporation came into being in 1514 by Royal Charter granted by Henry VIII under the name "The Master, Wardens, and Assistants of the Guild, Fraternity, or Brotherhood of the most glorious and undivided Trinity, and of St. Clement in the Parish of Deptford-Strond in the County of Kent." ^[3]. The first Master was Thomas Spert, captain of Henry’s flagship Mary Rose. The name of the guild derives from the church of Holy Trinity and St Clement, which adjoined the king's new dockyard at Deptford.^[4]

Richard Outlaw - Pursuivant for Queen Elizabeth I , he had a son, William Outlaw. Although "priest hunters" were considered a surly bunch, however, Richard Outlaw along with Colyer and Anthony Atkinson were "noted" Pursuivant's, or the manager's of the other "surly ones". Also Richard attends the Elizabeth's Council at York, so he must have been respected and presentable. York was the center of the catholic problem and plots of the time. See Lord Sheffield's note.

Context of the time - Why is the Queen's messenger rounding up Catholic Jesuit priests and throwing them in dungeons?

1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots - Executed
1588 - Spanish Armada destroyed attempting to invade England

1593 - Father Henry Walpole, when he was in custody of Outlaw the pursuivant, at York, went another way to work to make a Protestant clergyman keep abstinence.... Outlaw himself, in the Queen's uniform, ... Will Outlaw, little Will, the pursuivant's son, listening with all his ears, and the boy's mother, won by the obedience to the lad, refusing the parson the pigeon pie on which he had set his heart. - Dec 4 - The Month Volume 61 - Google Books

Father Henry Walpole, ... He was asked to return to England in 1593. The Jesuit, his brother and an English soldier sailed together on a French ship headed for Scotland because the southern ports of England were closed because of the plague. On Dec. 4, 1593, the three passengers were put ashore at Flamborough Head, Yorkshire, after 10 days of stormy sailing, but separated on land. Father Walpole was resting at an inn 10 miles inland when he was arrested for being a priest; he had been betrayed by a fellow passenger who was earning money to buy his way out of prison.

One night of freedom in England was followed by 16 months of imprisonment. Walpole admitted during his first interrogation that he was a Jesuit and had come to England to convert people. He was transferred to York Castle for three months, and was permitted to leave the prison to discuss theology with Protestant visitors. Then he was transferred to the Tower of London at the end of February, 1594, so that the notorious priest-torturer Richard Topcliffe could wrest information from him. Walpole was tortured brutally on the rack and was suspended by his wrists for hours, but Topcliffe stretched the tortures out over the course of a year to prevent an accidental death.

Walpole endured torture 14 different times before being returned in 1595 to York to stand trial under the law that made it high treason for an Englishman simply to return home after receiving Holy Orders abroad. The man who had once aspired to be a lawyer defended himself ably, pointing out that the law only applied to priests who had not given themselves up to officials within three days of arrival. He himself had been arrested less than a day after landing in England, so he had not violated that law. The judges responded by demanding that he take the Oath of Supremacy, acknowledging the queen's complete authority in religion. He refused to do so and was convicted of high treason.

On April 7, Walpole was dragged out of York to be executed along with another priest who was killed first. Then the Jesuit climbed the ladder to the gallows and asked the onlookers to pray with him. After he finished the Our Father but before he could say the Hail Mary, the executioner pushed him away from the ladder; then he was taken down and dismembered. The Jesuits in England lost a promising young priest whom they had hoped would take the place of Father Southwell; they received another example of fidelity and courage.

Richard Topcliffe - (14 November 1531 – 1604^[1]) was a landowner and Member of Parliament during the reign of Elizabeth I of England. He became notorious as a priest-hunter and torturer and was often referred to as the Queen's principal "interrogator". Topcliffe entered the service of the Queen's secretary, William Cecil in the 1570s, and worked for Sir Francis Walsingham and the Privy Council.

Topcliffe was a fanatical persecutor of Catholics and the Catholic Church, and was involved in the interrogation and torture of many priests and laity, at a time when all Catholics were accused of actively seeking to overthrow the ruling Anglican establishment of England in order to return England to Catholicism.

Topcliffe gained a reputation as a sadistic torturer who frequently played mind games with prisoners under interrogation.^[2] He claimed that his own instruments and methods were better than the official ones, and was authorized to create a torture chamber in his home in London. He also involved himself directly in the execution of sentences of death upon Catholic recusants, which involved hanging, drawing and quartering.

One of the people Richard Outlawe would have known and worked with early on was Sir Francis Walsingham but all the records for Richard Outlawe are after Walsingham's death in 1590:

Sir Francis Walsingham - (c. 1532 – 6 April 1590) is usually remembered as the "spymaster" of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Walsingham is frequently cited as one of the earliest practitioners of modern intelligence both for espionage and for domestic security. He oversaw operations which penetrated the heart of Spanish military preparation, gathered intelligence from across Europe, and disrupted a range of plots against the queen, securing the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. Walsingham was one of the small coterie who directed the Elizabethan state, overseeing foreign, domestic and religious policy, and the subjugation of Ireland. He worked to bring Scotland and England together. Overall, his foreign policy demonstrated a new understanding of the role of England as a maritime, Protestant power in an increasingly global economy. He was an innovator in exploration, colonization and the use of England's potential maritime power. He is also a convincing prototype of the modern bureaucrat. ... In the realm of counter-espionage, Walsingham was behind the discovery of the Throckmorton and Babington plots to overthrow Elizabeth I, return England to Catholicism and place Mary, Queen of Scots, on the throne.

1593 - 13^th December, Mr Ann, of Frickley, was taken and brought to York. He was committed to Colyer, a noted pursuivant, and his wife to Outlaw, also a noted pursuivant, but a few days after he was sent to Hull Castle.

1594 - Grimston, Ralph, martyr, a gentleman of ancient family, seated at Nidd Hall, in Yorkshire, was a great sufferer on account of his religion. On Nov. 18, 1593, he was twice examined by the president of the north, and on April 2, 1594, he was removed from the custody of Outlaw, the pursuivant at York, to the Castle.

1594 - The Tyrone Rebellion, also known as the Nine Years War from 1594 - 1603

1594 - Royston, 1594 - A prisoner died, He had been sent up from York, where he was in Outlaw the pursuivant's custody. Father Grene's MS. records vol iii p. 767 - Records of the English province of the society of Jesus ... - Google Books

1594/5 - Certificate, addressed to the Lords of the Council, from Edward Mercer, Mayor of Northampton, and John Cater, practitioner in physic there, that Thomas Gravener, a prisoner on his journey from York to London, in charge of Richard Outlawe, the Queen's pursuivant, was at the George Inn in Northampton sick in bed of a dropsy, his belly and his legs being so swollen that in their opinion he was not able to travel.—13 Jan., - Calendar of the manuscripts of the ... - Google Books - Thomas Wyatt - EPITAPH OF SIR THOMAS GRAVENER KNIGHT (Wyatt died in 1452 so this must be for an earlier Thomas Gravener - his father?) - Sir Thomas Grosvenor

1594/5, Jan. 17 - Signifies the death of Gravener the very same Monday after the pursuivant went from Northampton, and therefore before Topcliffe's arrival on Friday to view his state of body, etc. He died like a dumb dog, never showing by utter show one to name God or to think upon God. As well when there was no likelihood of death as when there appeared danger, he would turn his face from the sound of God, and being wished to pray to himself in his own prayers, shunned both the advice and the act himself, so as no appearance of anything but treason to God and to the Queen was discerned to lurk in him. He was buried immediately by the Mayor, and a Coroner's quest did sit upon him, but I being somewhat acquainted with the malice of his church, presume to wish that his body may be taken up again and opened and his stomach examined, thinking some proof will fall out in that act to show that he took poison at Berwick, when he did perceive that he did lie in the net there. It is a resolution taught in the Church to such as to whom they commit these desperate acts and practices, I have found often.

Now, if I may be bold to say it, there remaineth only to know this Gravener's whole heart to enforce his familiar to utter all the secrets that Gravener or the Earl of Tyrone did impart to him (Hailes, the elder, I mean)—a man less savouring of loyalty, obedience, honest religion and humanity than ever I did see, even very red fire itself, and worth seeing and also worth hearing to discern the fury of the Catholic opinion. And it will prove no lost labour, for assuredly by hearsay you cannot believe that disloyalty we simple commissioners do see by their fury expressed, being put to trial. And that is our grief, and mine especially, that we are often taken to be cruel. But God is the witness of all.—Northampton, 17 Jan. 1594. From: 'Cecil Papers: January 1595', Calendar of the Cecil Papers in Hatfield House, Volume 5: 1594-1595. (1894), pp. 77-100.

1594 - On Christmas Eve, 1594, at midnight, Outlaw, another pursuivant, was sent to search a house in or about Winsley Wood, and there he met Anthony Atkinson, the searcher of Hull, who had brought with him thirty men. They entered the house, and after breaking down walls and otherwise damaging the place, arrested Mr Warcop, Jno. Sadler, two menservants, and Father Alexander Rawlings, who were all afterwards imprisoned. - THE BLOCKHOUSES OF KINGSTON-UPON-HULL AND WHO WENT THERE - This Warcop was of Babbington’s conspiracy, and was of counsel with Engleby in all matters, and is a most dangerous person.”

The Babington Plot was the event which most directly led to the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. This was a second major plot against Elizabeth I of England after the Ridolfi plot. It was named after the chief conspirator Anthony Babington (1561–1586), a young Catholic nobleman from Derbyshire. The plot grew out of two originally separate plans. The first involved a Spanish invasion of England with the purpose of deposing Elizabeth and replacing her with Mary; the second was a plot by English Catholics to assassinate Elizabeth. However, both plots were under the guidance of two of Mary's chief agents in Europe, Charles Paget^[6] and Thomas Morgan, the latter being Mary's chief cipher clerk for all her French correspondence

1595 - The names of such persons as are now of Her Majesty's Counsell at Yorke . Richard Outlawe the pursevaunte attending there

1605 - Gunpowder Plot - in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby - Among the plotters was Guy Fawkes, The Gunpowder Plot: Fact or Royal Plot? 1605 - William Vavasour - Knowing he was about to die, Francis Tresham dictated to William Vavasour, his servant, a declaration denying Garnet's knowledge of Wintour's mission to Spain

1606 - April 6 - Information of Richard Outlaw, Pursuivant, relative to the apprehension of John Vavasour, alias Healey, and the obtaining from him the key of his chamber in Carnaby's house. From: 'James I: Volume 20: April, 1606', Calendar of State Papers Domestic: James I, 1603-1610 (1857), pp. 308-314.

1611 - Nov. 26. Lord Sheffield to the Same. Sends up the prisoners by Rich. Outlaw, Pursuivant, whose service he commends. The poverty of the Courts of the North now prevents their paying any rewards or even fees. Was obliged to conduct the search for these prisoners at his own charge.

Edmund Sheffield, 1st Earl of Mulgrave - KG (c. 1564–1646) was a British peer and Member of Parliament, who served as Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire from 1603 to 1619 and Vice-Admiral of Yorkshire from 1604 to 1646. He was created Earl of Mulgrave in 1626. In 1588 he commanded the White Bear, one of the queen's ships, in the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Suspicions of his religion caused by the fact that he had married a catholic were said to be the cause of his ill-success. Yet he seems to have been suspected very unjustly, and a letter from the north in 1599 praises his zeal in apprehending priests. ‘He will undertake any service against the papists, for God hath called him to a very zealous profession of religion’. He also interested himself in colonisation, and was a member of the councils of the Virginia Company (23 May 1609), and of the New England Company (3 Nov. 1620). In the latter capacity he was one of the signers of the first Plymouth patent on 1 June 1621

The Sheffield family descended from Sir Edmund Sheffield, second cousin of Henry VIII, who in 1547 was raised to the Peerage of England as Baron Sheffield of Butterwick and in 1549 was murdered in the streets of Norwich during Kett's Rebellion.

Hull Castle - was situated in what is now the city of Kingston upon Hull in the historic county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England (grid reference TA104287). This was a coastal fortress built by Henry VIII between 1538 and 1544. It was the most northerly of these fortresses and the last to be built during his reign. It was sited between two blockhouses and connected to them by a curtain wall. Around 1680 it was absorbed into the Citadel and used as a magazine. It was finally demolished in 1863.

Thomas Vavasour - In Nov., 1574, after he had been confined to his own house in the city of York for nearly nine months, he was sent into solitary confinement in Hull Castle d. at Hull 1585

Catholic prisoners were sent to the North Blockhouse at Hull Castle

York Castle - (of which Clifford's Tower is a part) is a fortification in the city of York, England. The principal remains of the 13th century - 14th century castle are the keep and some of the curtain wall. From its start in 1068 through to the English Civil War, the castle had an eventful history.

In 1536, political leader Robert Aske was hanged above Clifford's Tower on the orders of King Henry VIII, following the failure of Aske's Pilgrimage of Grace protest against the Dissolution of the Monasteries. ...When the English Civil War broke out in 1642, the Royalists under Henry Clifford, the last Earl of Cumberland, took possession of the castle and city of York and garrisoned them. Clifford repaired the castle and strengthen the walls to permit them to support cannon. Baile Hill, which was 20 feet high and had been incorporated into the city walls, also became a gun emplacement.

Ringstead - Thornham - Sedgeford - Shingham

1513 - Outlaw (Owtlawe), Richard, of Thornham - probate will
1548 - Owtlawe, Walter, of Stow Bardolph - probate will
1572 - Owtlawe, John, of Ringstead, Norfolk - probate will
1587 - Outlaw (Owtlawe), Robert, labourer, of Thornham - Will - Thornham, Norfolk
1596-1597 - Outlaw (Outely), John, husbandman, of Ringstead Andrew - Will. - Ringstead - Norfolk Churches
1600 - Owtlawe, Thomas, of Shingham -probate will
1600 - Owtlawe, Robert, of Thornham - probate will
1614 - Owtlawe, Richard, of Sedgeford - probate will

Fragments In Time - Ringstead, Norfolk The Ringstead Downs, near the village, are a favourite resort of picnic parties.

Ringstead, Norfolk - is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of 11.13 km² (4.30 sq mi) and had a population of 355 in 155 households as of the 2001 census.^[1]

Thornham, Norfolk - is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is situated on the north Norfolk coast some 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north-east of the seaside resort of Hunstanton, 30 km (19 mi) north of the town of King's Lynn (Thornham is very close to Ringstead) , Population 478

Sedgeford - is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, about 6 km south of the North Sea and 5 km (3.1 mi) east of the Wash. It is approximately 90 km (56 mi) north east of Cambridge. It covers an area of 17.06 km² (6.59 sq mi) and had a population of 540 in 224 households as of the 2001 census.^[1

Stow Bardolph - is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, lying between King's Lynn and Downham Market on the A10. The Stow Bardolph estate was purchased by the Hare family in 1553

Shingham - Beachamwell - is a village and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 334. It is about 10 miles (16 km) east of Downham Market. - Church of St Botolph

1399 - Thomas Outlawe purchased the right of a little ferry boat for 13s. 4d. from the Gild of Corpus Christi

1539 - Outlaw: pensioner - Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge - Gonville and Caius is the fourth-oldest college at the University of Cambridge and the third-wealthiest. The College was first founded, as Gonville Hall, by Edmund Gonville, Rector of Terrington St Clement in Norfolk in 1348, making it the fourth-oldest surviving college. When Gonville died three years later, he left a struggling institution with almost no money. The executor of his will, William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich, stepped in, transferring the college to the land close to the college he had just founded, Trinity Hall, and renamed it The Hall of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, endowing it with its first buildings. By the sixteenth century, the college had fallen into disrepair, and in 1557 it was refounded by Royal Charter as Gonville and Caius College by the physician John Caius.

1601 - WILLIAM OUTLAWE matriculated Emmanuel College, 1601. (Interesting - was this the son of Richard Outlaw the pursuivant?)

Elizabeth & Parliament - The 1580s dining hall of Emmanuel College, Cambridge - an Elizabethan foundation

Emmanuel College, Cambridge - The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay on the site of a Dominican friary. Mildmay, a Puritan, originally intended Emmanuel to be a college of training for Protestant preachers to rival the successful Catholic theological schools that had trained Dominican friars for years.

Emmanuel graduates had a large involvement in the settling of North America. Of the first 100 university graduates in New England, one-third were graduates of Emmanuel College. Harvard University, the first college in The United States, was named after John Harvard (B.A., 1632), who was an Emmanuel graduate. Early Emmanuel men included several translators of the 1611 Authorised Version.

RALPH OUTLAWE, son of -Ralph, of Wichingham, admitted pensioner and matriculated Pembroke College, 1637; B. A. 1642; M. A. 1645

Pembroke College, Cambridge - On Christmas Eve 1347, Edward III granted Marie de St Pol, widow of the Earl of Pembroke, the licence for the foundation of a new educational establishment in the young university at Cambridge. The Hall of Valence Mary, as it was originally known, was thus founded to house a body of students and fellows.

THOMAS OUTLAWE, son of Ralph Outlawe of Bintry, admitted pensioner Corpus Christi College 1674, and matriculated 1675.

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge - It is notable for being the only college to have been founded by Cambridge townspeople, having been established in 1352 by the Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

SAMUEL OUTLAWE, son of Thomas Outlawe, of the Isle of Ely, admitted sizar and matriculated Jesus College 1693; B.A. 1697; ordained deacon 1698 ;
; curate of Fotheringay 1698; priest 1699, and received government allowance to Leeward Isles in 1705.

Jesus College, Cambridge - The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely. It has been traditionally believed that the nunnery was turned into a college because the nunnery had gained a reputation for licentiousness.
St Radegund - She is the patron saint of Jesus College Cambridge, which was founded on the site of the twelfth-century nunnery of Saint Mary and Saint Radegund. John Alcock is chiefly remembered as the founder of Jesus College (1496). He provided for this by suppressing the nunnery of St Radegund and appropriating the buildings and revenues of the nunnery to the use of the new college.

St Faith, Little Witchingham

MARBLE INSCRIPTIONS: Wichingham parish.

In memory of Thos. Outlawe, the elder, gent: who died July 3, 1633.
In memory of Thos. Outlawe, gent; who died May 15, 1650.
In memory of Ralph Outlawe, gent; who died Nov. 14, 1670, and Elizabeth, his wife, who died July 4, 1671.

1552 - Bargain and sale, Henry Rychers of Swannington, gent., to Robert his brother: manor called Turtevilles in Witchingham St Faith and all messuages, lands etc., in Witchingham St Faith, Witchingham St Mary, Alderford - exceptions lease of 20 years to Raffe Owtlawe, and said manor acquitted of title of dower of Elizabeth, wife of grantor - 20 Sep 1552

Eynford Hundred - Witchingham, Magna and Parva British History Online

Turtevile's Manor. - The site of it was in Wichingham Parva, or St. Faith's, and was given to St. Bennet's abbey, by Ernaldus, a Saxon; Hugh, the abbot, in the reign of King Stephen, granted it to Roger de Turtevile and his heirs, paying 10s. per ann. to the convent.
...
In the 14th of Charles I (1640). Ralph Outlaw was lord; and in 1664, Thomas Outlaw of Turtevile Manor.

Outlaw, argent, a saltire between four foxes, or wolves heads, couped, gules.

The History and antiquities of the county of Norfolk (Volume 3) by Alexander Jeffrey - TURTEVILE'S MANOR. The site of it was in Witchingham Parva, or St. Faith's, and was given to St. Bennet's abbey by Ernaldus a Saxon. Hugh, the abbot, in the reign of king Stephen, granted it to Roger de Turtevile and his heirs, paying jos. per ann. to the convent. ... In the 14th of Charles I. Ralph Outlaw was lord, and in 1664 Thomas Outlaw.

Cley Hall - Manor in Witchingham Parva

North Erpingham Hundred - Gunton British History Online "Cley Hall in Wichingham"

Eynford Hundred - Witchingham, Magna and Parva British History Online ...In the 17th of Edward IV. John Berney, Esq. of Wichingham, died seized of this manor in Wichingham, St. Faith's; John Berney was lord in the reign of Henry VIII. and left it to his son John .

Bartholomew de Antingham was lord in the 52d of Henry III. in which year William Kerdeston of Bintre, and Cecil his wife, passed by fine, to him, 2 messuages, 170 acres of land, 9s. rent, a mill, 2 acres of wood, 13 of meadow in Wichingham Parva, Alderford, &c. ...In the 40th of Elizabeth, May 28, Martin Berney, and Margaret his wife, Christopher Grimston of Grey's Inn, Esq. and Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Martin Berney, conveyed it by fine, to William Collins, who in the said year passed it to Edward Turner.

It came afterwards to the Outlaws, and Elizabeth Outlaw, widow, kept her first court on the last day of March, 1670.

[ So it seems Turtevile Manor and Cley Hall are one in the same ]

Thomas Outlaw of Wichingham Parva was living in 1620, and by Mary his wife, daughter of — Corie, was father of Ralph, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert, and sister of Sir Robert Kemp, of Spain's Hall, in Finchingfield, Essex, by whom he had Thomas, his son and heir, living in 1664, and had by Sarah his wife, daughter of William Hunt, Esq. of Hilderston, (son of Sir Thomas Hunt,) Ralph his son and heir, who married first Ursula, daughter of Richers Brown of Fulmerston; his 2d wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Adams of Norwich, and dying sans issue, about 1670, left part of his estate to — Brown of Saxthorp, and part to Elizabeth his wife, who afterwards married Gyles Cutting, an attorney.

Little Witchingham churchyard is a sea of high grasses, the few remaining headstones bobbing determinedly..

Bewitched - The churches of the Witchinghams

It is to Little Witchingham that you go to find one of the finest sets of wall-paintings in Norfolk. They appear to date from the first half of the 14th century, during that great flowering of artistic endeavour that would be cruelly brought to an end by the Black Death, which killed perhaps a half of the population of East Anglia. Indeed, in a fascinating aside, the guide book theorises that the south nave wall has been prepared for painting, but that this never happened. Perhaps the pestilence intervened, and as at Kersey in Suffolk left in evidence the Dog That Didn't Bark.

On the south wall, the wall paintings depict the Passion of Christ, and what is probably a panoply of the Apostles. On the west wall, too indistinct to make out now, were doctrinal paintings; the Three Living and the Three Dead, illustrative of the transitoriness of earthly wealth, and what may have been Christ in Majesty. Looking at them, I couldn't help thinking that they are assertive of orthodox Catholicism, and perhaps they were evidence of an even earlier date for my proto-reformation?

The south aisle is more curious; on the outer wall are fragments of figures and scenes that could be anything, but as one appears to show a ram caught in a thicket, and another a King and Priest side by side, perhaps they are episodes from the Old Testament. These are unusual subjects for a 14th century painting, but even stranger are the huge roundels set above the pillars on the south side of the arcade. They depict the symbols of the Evangelists, and quite frankly they look so Victorian that they might easily have come from high in the roof of some 19th century Brighton Anglo-catholic citadel.

But the Victorians did not know about any of these paintings. We know this because this church was little-used even then, and by the start of the 20th century it was abandoned. In 1967, the enthusiastic art historian Eve Baker found it ruinous, roofless, and full of elder trees and ivy. The story goes that she climbed in through one of the empty windows, began stripping away ivy and found that the whitewash came off with it, revealing marvellous things. Thanks to the Norfolk Churches Trust, a plan of repairs was put in place, and the wall-paintings properly excavated in the early 1970s. This perfect little church is now in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. I told my companion, Tom Muckley, that I thought Little Witchingham church a magical place. Tom wondered if I would have found it so magical if it had just been another struggling Anglican church, and I guess he is probably right.

Thomas touches the wounds of the Risen Chris Thomas touches the wounds of the Risen Christ Priest and King

St. George and the Dragon Christ carries his cross

Captain John Outlaw

The Marriage Registers of St. Dunstans Stepney in the County of Middlesex - Google Books

1647 - May 16 - Edward Cooley of Lymehouse Shipwright and Evah Outlaw, M.
1658 - Nov 16 - John Outlawe of Lymehouse Shipwright and Elizeabeth Baker of Ratcliffe, W. Page 92

Photos of Saint Dunstan, Stepney, Middlesex

Saint Dunstan is the parish church of Stepney and the mother church of the East End. Its ancient dedication of Saint Dunstan and All Saints was revived in 1896. The bells in the tower feature in the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons - "... when will that be, say the bells of Stepney."

In the 16th century the riverside hamlets of Stepney became London's 'Sailortown' and St Dunstan's became known as the Church of the High Seas. It was here that seafarers gathered for blessings of their voyages. Until the 1950s all UK births, marriages and deaths at sea were registered in this parish.

Registers from 1586 are housed at the London Metropolitan Archives and post July 1837 at The Family Records Centre. The Red Ensign, flag of the Merchant Navy, still flies from the tower and the church contains several memorials to Admirals and men of the Merchant and Royal Navy Fleets. The unusually spacious and leafy churchyard was enlarged in the 1600s for the burials of Plague victims. In a period of 18 months 6583 died in the parish and in September 1665, 154 were buried in one day. Only a few tabletop tombs from the 18th century remain but the churchyard was once crowded with the graves of seaman, captains, merchants of the East India Company and clergy. (Notes from Pitkin Guide and church leaflet)

The East of London Family History Society Home Page

Spain's Hall - Essex

Spains Hall is an Elizabethan country house near Finchingfield in Essex.

Spains Hall has been a family home for nearly ten centuries. Named after Hervey de Ispania who held the Estate after the Norman Conquest, Spains Hall has been in continuous occupation by only three families ever since.

The present house dates from the early 15th century when the Estate passed to the Kempe family on the marriage of Margery de Ispania to Nicholas Kempe. The front you see today was built in 1585 and in 1637 the house was beautified by Robert Kempe with Dutch gables and silver leaded drainpipes, the restoration of which won a Heritage award in 1977. Allegedly, Robert Kempe was knighted by Cromwell in front of the house in 1641.

The last of the Kempe male line is said to have been killed by robbers and in 1760 the Estate was purchased by Samuel Ruggles, a clothier from the nearby town of Bocking. His descendents, the Ruggles-Brise family, still live in the house today.

IV. RALPH OUTLAW, born ca. 1595. Married Elizabeth Kempe ca. 1615-16. He died July 4, 1671.
Children: (1) Thomas; (2) Rev. Ralph Outlaw; (3) Elizabeth; (4) Mary; (5) Robert, Sec. V; (6) Charles; (7) Edward
V. ROBERT OUTLAW, (IV-III-II-I) our prime suspect as being a father of Capt. John and Edward.

1660 - Book 1. Assents - Outlaw, Ralph 1660 p.217

1610 - Ralph Outlaw, of Witchingham, Norfolk, gent., and of Barnard's Inn. - Feb. 13 - Admissions Gray's Inn - "gentleman of blood" place their children in these Inns of Court (The hero of Charles Dickens's novel Great Expectations, Pip, lodged in Barnard's Inn with Herbert Pocket for a number of years following his arrival in London. (Barnard's ~= Undergraduate school, Grey's Inn ~= Graduate Law school ) ) Grays Inn - Ralph Outlaw - Ralph goes to society college
1615 - Elizabeth Kempe marries Ralph Outlaw son Robert born 1626 (Notice that he's got his Law degree from Grey's Inn by now)

1644 - Robert Kempe Knighted by Oliver Cromwell at Spain's Hall (Essex) 7th Aug 1644 (brother of Elizabeth Kempe)

Supposedly Robert marries an unknown woman and has two sons, future Capt. John Outlaw about 1640 and Edward about 1652.

Robert Outlaw is buried at Ringland Parish about 1680. The only thing really known is the grave at Ringland. Keep in mind that the Great Fire of London occurs in 1666 and probably destroys many records.

An earlier and famous Kempe lady is Margery Kempe and she is from the neighborhood King's Lynn! And she visits Hospital of St Thomas of Canterbury in Rome!

Our Family Tree Surname Kempe

The visitation of Suffolke, Volume 2 By William Harvey, Joseph Jackson Howard, England. College of arms

The English reports - Google Books

Sir Robert Kempe Last Will and Testament.... his wife Dame Elizabeth Kempe

after the decease of Ruth Kempe, widow, my daughter-in-law; shall pay unto my godson Robert Outlaw, out of the rents and profits of the jointure-lands of the said Ruth Kempe, for and during the natural life of him the said Robert Outlaw, one annuity of twenty pounds per annum; and unto Elizabeth Outlaw, the daughter of my nephew Thomas Outlaw, the sum of twenty pounds per annum during her natural life.

Ruth Kempe widow, daugher-in-law of the said Sir Robert Kempe, Knight... and lately the wife of William Kempe Esquire deceased... the only son and heir apparent...

Elizabeth Kempe was daughter of Robert Kempe and sister of Sir Robert Kempe of Spains Hall. She left a will bequeathing all her property to her son Robert.

Matthew Kemp in Virginia

Since Edward and John Outlawe were cousins to Matthew Kemp, they may have teamed up together for the voyage to Virginia:

1659 - (Col.) Matthew Kemp - son of Edmond Kemp - grant to him 1100 acres on Planketank - Lancaster/Middlesex Virginia sheriff of the county 1659
Died 1683 - Edmund Kemp was the grandson of Robert Kemp and nephew of Sir Robert Kemp,
[ according to the chart above Edmund Kemp was the BROTHER of Sir Robert Kemp . Matthew Kemp was the nephew of Sir Robert Kemp ]

1703 - An Act for vesting Lands in Essex, devised by Sir Robert Kemp Knight, deceased, to the Children and Grand Children of Elizabeth Outlaw, one of his Sisters and Coheirs, in Trustees, to be sold for the Benefit of the Devisees.

House of Lords Journal Volume 17 - 1 February 1704 - Sir R. Kemp's Bill.
The Earl of Manchester reported from the Lords Committees, the Bill, intituled,

"An Act for vesting Lands in Essex, devised by Sir Robert Kemp Knight, deceased, to the Children and Grandchildren of Elizabeth Outlaw, One of his Sisters and Coheirs, in Trustees, to be sold, for the Benefit of the Devisees," as fit to pass, without any Amendment.

The Question was put, "Whether this Bill shall pass?" It was Resolved in the Affirmative.
ORDERED, That the Commons have Notice, that the Lords have agreed to the said Bill, without any Amendment.

Outlawe's in Essex

1230 - Alan le Utlage in the Tax Rolls 'Feet of Fines' for the county of Essex

1346 - Inspeximus by Thomas son of James Outlagh of Audham of a writing made by his said father to John son of Thomas Bounde of his freedom; and release of all claim in the said Thomas Bounde and John his brother, sons of the said John son of Thomas, &c. Dated at Wykemer, Thursday before the Translation of St. Thomas the Martyr, 20 Edward III. - Essex - Aldham - Inspeximus = a royal grant or a grant - The 2001 census gave the parish population as 513.

1558 - John Leper of Moche Bromeley Will - John Owtelawe - Essex

1573 - Will: John Owtlawe: Little Clacton: singleman - 13 April - Essex
1575 - Thomas Owtlawe - Assizes held at Chelmsford 3 March 1575 - Essex

Chelmsford - is the county town of Essex, England and the principal settlement of the borough of Chelmsford. It is located in the London commuter belt.

Little Clacton - is a small rural village in Essex. It is located on the Tendring Peninsular. Close to Clacton-on-Sea.

Great Bromley - is a village and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex. It lies 6 kilometres (4 mi) south of Manningtree and 9 kilometres (6 mi) east of Colchester and includes the hamlets of Balls Green and Hare Green.

Thomas Outlaw - Kerdiston and Reepham History (follow link for more information)

1647 - Dispute between Edward and Francis Heyward against Thomas Outlaw and others concerning Kerdiston Heath
1650 - Outlawe, Thomas, of Kerdiston - Will

English Outlaw Ancestors
5. Robert Outlaw of Kerdiston ?
Children of Thomas Outlaw and Margaret Cory:
2. Thomas Outlaw of Kerdiston ca 1600 - 15 May 1650 ?

Norfolk Record Office - NROCAT- on-line catalogue

Commissioners warrant and affidavit of notice in a dispute between Edward and Francis Heyward against Thomas Outlaw and others concerning Kerdiston Heath - 1647

Note re previous law suits about three highways running through Caddow Green and Kerdiston Heath, nd [17th century];and a certificate of a commission relating to a Chancery case between Edward and Francis Heyward against Thomas Outlaw and others concerning the manorial waste of Kerdiston and Reepham, 23 Charles I [1647-1648].

Chancery decree in a suit between Edward and Francis Heyward against Thomas Outlaw and others concerning the waste in Kerdiston with Reepham held of the manor of East Greenwich 1656

The former White Horse Inn and village school are now private houses standing next to an attractive cricket ground used by the Reepham and Salle Cricket Club. Anne Boleyn's maid servant was said to come from Salle and her ghost is said to walk in a lane near the Park. Park Farm, near Cawston, was used as the Tulliver farmhouse in the BBC production of Mill on the Floss.

A visitors guide to the inland village of Salle in Norfolk. Blink and you could well miss the itzy-bitzy village of Salle, which is as neat as a button; It has a truly huge church for such a small place, which echoes with the cries of rooks, who erupt from its tower like a plume of smoke. Inside is a brass for Geoffrey and Alice Boleyn (1440) anncestors of the Boleyns or Bullens who lived in the village as early as 1318, before acquiring Blickling Hall. Anne Boleyn was of course the ill fated wife of Henry VIII who was executed by her husband after having been found guilty of adultery and incest with her brother George Boleyn. It has been rumoured that Anne Boleyn is buried at this church... Just one mile away is the historical market town of Reepham...

1657 - RALPH OUTLAWE, of Tuttington, County Norfolk, and Elizabeth, his wife, living in 1657

Its church, St Peter and St Paul, is one of 124 existing round-tower churches in Norfolk.

CAMBRIDGESHIRE, NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK - Google Books

John Outlaw - Farmer, Landowner

1661 - Ralph Outlaw, A. M. Tho. Thorowgood, rector of Cressingham Magna.

St Michael, Great Cressingham

The church of Cressingham-Magna is an uniform building of flint, boulder, &c. and copings of free-stone, consisting of a nave, north and south isles, and a chancel all covered with lead, and is dedicated to St. Michael; the nave is about 48 feet long, and, together with the isles, about 42 feet wide, the vault of the nave is supported by pillars, each formed of 4 pilasters joined together, which bear up 8 neat arches, four on each side, and as many windows over them; the roof is of oak, having principals whereon are carved the effigies of bishops, priests, &c. At the west end of the nave stands the tower, of the same materials as the church, with a wooden cap covered with lead, and a weathercock thereon; in this tower hang four modern bells: in this tower (fn. 20) is a bell-sollar, or place for the ringers; such places were in ancient time frequently erected by the gifts of well disposed persons, for the greater convenience and decency of their processions, that the priest and people coming in at the western door might not be any way incommoded by the ropes and ringers.

From: 'Hundred of South Greenhoe: Great-Cressingham', An Essay towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk: volume 6 (1807), pp. 94-107. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=78234

While the glass at Great Cressingham is not well-known, even more of a secret is the fact that this church has no fewer than five figure brasses, with the inlays for a couple more. They are all late medieval. The two best are probably those for Thomasina and Richard Rysle, who died in 1497. These 45cm figures are perfect miniatures. Twice as tall is William Eyre, who wears a colar with IHC on it. His wife's figure is now missing, as is another figure which must have been a mourning son. Very curiously, the inscription underneath has been trimmed at both ends, probably as a result of the two figures being removed, but also possibly to remove the Catholic prayer clauses. The best of the figures, though, is the Priest John Aborfeld, in full eucharistic vestments of the early years of the 16th century, when time was running out for the English Catholic Church

Great Cressingham - lies 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north west by road from Little Cressingham, 5 miles (8.0 km) west of Watton, 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Swaffham and only 1.5 miles (2.4 km) off the A1065 arterial road just north of Hilborough in the Breckland District of Norfolk. As of 2007, it has an estimated population of 235^[2] in an area of 9.84 km² (3.80 sq mi).

The village church is dedicated to Saint Michael^[3] in the Benefice of Cockley Cley^[4]

There is a pub called the Olde Windmill Inn.

The village school was built in 1840. It was used as a local Authority school until 1992 and was then acquired by Tom and Sally North. They have restored it as closely as possible to how it would have been in Victorian times and now run free historical school days.^[5]Great Cressingtham is on the very edge of the Stanford Battle Area.

Ringland Parish , St. Peter - Robert Outlawe - slab - 1680?

ROBERT OUTLAW, (IV-III-II-I) our prime suspect as being a father of Capt. John and Edward. There is a slab to him in Ringland Parish

In the middle aisle of the church is a slab to Robt. Outlawe, no date. (1680?)

It must be said that I already knew that Ringland church was the most important church in Norfolk which still had to make its way onto the pages of this website. There may be bigger churches, there may be more famous ones, but none so artistically and historically significant as St Peter.

The Church has 3 isles and a chancel, a square tower and 5 bells. In the middle isle, Orate p, a'i'a. Rob. Outlaw From: 'Eynford Hundred: Ringland'

HOUSES OF PREMONSTRATENSIAN CANONS (White Robe Canons)
42. THE ABBEY OF WEST DEREHAM

Hubert Walter, dean of York, who afterwards became successively bishop of Salisbury and archbishop of Canterbury, founded at his birthplace of West Dereham, in the year 1188, an abbey for Premonstratensian canons, which was colonized from Welbeck. The canons were to pray for the souls of the founder and his parents, his brothers and sisters and all his relatives and friends, as well as for the souls of Ralph de Glanville, justiciary of England, and Bertha his wife. (fn. 1)

King John, on 7 September, 1199, confirmed all the grants made to the abbey by the founder and by other early benefactors; at the same time, at the request of the founder, who was then archbishop of Canterbury, he conferred on the abbey and its tenants exemption from all kinds of service, tolls and dues. (fn. 2) In the same year John granted to the abbey a weekly Wednesday market, and an annual fair of four days, namely on the festival of St. Matthew and the three following days, (fn. 3) and in 1201, the king confirmed to them the grants of half the church of Holkham and of the church of Ringland. (fn. 4)

1688 - Bintree - Bintry - Ralph Outlaw - Rector of Bintry (follow link for more information)

1683/4 - Ralph Outlaw, parson of Bintry, declared his assent to the Prayer Book and the Thirty-nine Articles, and read the Bishop's certificate of his subscription to the declaration that it is not lawful to take arms against the King.

Bintree village, Norfolk - Sometimes spelt Bintry, you will find this village 8 miles north east of Dereham and 9 miles south east of Fakenham. It has a pretty church, St Swithin, with a 14th century tower and beautiful stained glass windows.

The church heraldry of Norfolk by Rev. Edmund Farrer Published in 1887, A.H. Goose and co. (Norwich)
...
Slab at the West End - Bintry - St. Swithun Church:

On a saltire, between four wolves' heads couped, a crescent {Outlaw of Little Witchingham, co. Norfolk, granted 1613, Argent, a saltire gules between four wolves' heads, couped proper.) Crest: A demi-wolf, pierced through the side with an arrow, feathered and headed, the arrow lying sinister bend ways (Outlaw, A demi-wolf proper, pierced through the side with an arrow or, feathered and headed argent, the arrow lying sinister bendways.)

"Here under resteth ye body of Ralph Outlaw, Rector of Bintry, who was son of Ralph Outlaw, of Little Wichingham, in the county of Norfolk. He departed this life ye first day of February, 1688, aged 68 yeres. " Reader, pray stay, death's trophies view and see In them what thou thyself, ere long, must be. "