{86} Edward III Descents for Lady Ellen (née Thresher) Wrey (1733-1813)

Thresher of Bradford Coat of Arms
[Argent, a chevron gules, between three
boars' heads erect and couped, sable]

The previous post gave a descent from Edward III for Ellen Thresher, second wife of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Baronet, that was an addition to Ruvigny's 1907 Anne of Exeter volume. This post will present five additional descents from Edward III for Ellen, Lady Wrey. [Update: many thanks to John Higgins, for sending me the two further lines of descent (Lines D and E below) from Edward III for Lady Ellen Wrey.]

Edward Thresher was a successful clothier in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, who married Dyonisia, daughter of Richard Long of Collingbourne Kingston, from one of the most prominent gentry families in the county. Their only surviving son John Thresher, a respected attorney, returned to Bradford-on-Avon at his father's death. Since 1698, the Thresher home in the town was the Chantry House. John waited until middle age to marry, taking to wife Ellen Long, the only daughter of his first cousin Henry Long of Melksham House.

The Longs of South Wraxall Manor had become one of the leading families in Wiltshire by the mid-15th-century, in large part due to the patronage of the Lords Hungerford, to whom they were related. Sir Thomas Long (d. 1508) was connected both with the Barons Stourton and with the Seymours of Wolf Hall, and acquired the manor of Draycot Cerne in the county, making Draycot House there the family's chief seat. It was his son Sir Henry Long who first married into the Edward I bloodline, taking to wife, at some point between 1510 and 1515, Eleanor (née Wrottesley) Leversedge, the twenty-something widow of the squire of Vallis House in the parish of Frome, Wiltshire, about 13 miles from South Wraxall. But long before this marriage, probably in the 14th-century, a branch of the Longs had separated from the main South Wraxall line. In the mid-17th century, the head of this junior line was Thomas Long of Little Cheverell and Melksham House (1579-1654), whose eldest son John Long inherited those properties, but died childless, when his nephew Henry Long (1659-1686), eldest son of his next brother Richard Long of Collingbourne Kingston (c.1633-1669), inherited. It was this Henry Long who married back into the senior branch of the family, taking to wife Anne, the youngest sister of Hope Long of South Wraxall Manor (1648-1715). Henry Long of Melksham House died at the young age of 28, and his only son was born posthumously seven months after his death.

Monument of Henry Long of Melksham
in South Wraxall Church

HENRY LONG of Melksham House, Wiltshire, b. (posthumous) South Wraxall Manor, Wiltshire, bap. 20 Oct. 1687 St James Church, South Wraxall; d. 23 Oct. 1727, bur. 31 Oct. 1727 St Nicholas Church, North Bradley, Wiltshire, only son of Henry Long of Melksham House (1659-1687, descended from Edward III - see Generation D13 below) and Anne Long of South Wraxall (1652-1705, descended from Edward III - see Generation A13 below); m. by 1709, ELLEN TRENCHARD, b. 1687; d. 9 July 1752, bur. 18 July 1752 St Nicholas Church, North Bradley, dau. of William Trenchard of Cutteridge House (c.1643-1713, descended from Edward III - see Generation C10 below) and Ellen Norton (c.1648-1710, descended from Edward III - see Generation B13 below), and had issue, three sons and one daughter.

Issue of Henry and Ellen (Trenchard) Long:

1) WILLIAM LONG of Melksham House, b. 1709/10; d. unm. 15 June 1773, bur. 23 June 1773 St Nicholas Church, North Bradley.

2) ELLEN LONG, bap. 27 Feb. 1711 St Michael Church, Melksham; d. 17 Apr. 1753 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, bur. Holy Trinity Church, Bradford on Avon; m. 1731 St Michael Church, Melksham, her first cousin once removed, JOHN THRESHER of Chantry House, Bradford on Avon, bap. 22 May 1689 Holy Trinity Church, Bradford on Avon; d. 17 Aug. 1741, bur. there, son of Edward Thresher of Bradford on Avon, clothier (c.1660-1725) and Dyonisia Long (1662-1692, descended from Edward III - see Generation E13 below), and had issue, four daughters.

Lady Ellen (née Thresher) Wrey
(1733-1813)

Issue of Ellen (Long) and John Thresher:

2A) ELLEN THRESHER, bap. 20 Aug. 1733 Holy Trinity Church, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire; d. 3 Dec. 1813 Bath, Somersetshire, bur. 13 Dec. 1813 St Peter Church, Tawstock, Devon; m. 1 May 1755 St Bartholomew Church, Corsham, Wiltshire, as his 2nd wife, Sir BOURCHIER WREY, 6th Baronet of Trebeigh, b. 7 Jan. 1715 London, bap. 13 Jan. 1715 St James Church, Westminster; d. 13 Apr. 1784, bur. 22 Apr. 1784 St Peter Church, Tawstock, est son of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 5th Baronet of Trebeigh (1683-1726, descended from Edward III) and Diana Rolle (c.1685-aft.1725, descended from Edward III), and had issue, two sons and four daughters.

2B) DYONISIA THRESHER, bap. 21 Aug. 1735 Holy Trinity Church, Bradford on Avon; d. unm. 18 Jan. 1806, bur. 28 Jan. 1806 St Michael Church, Melksham.

John Crosdill (c.1750-1825)

2C) ELIZABETH THRESHER, bap. 21 May 1737 Holy Trinity Church, Bradford on Avon; d.s.p. 26 May 1807, bur. 6 June 1807 St Michael Church, Melksham; m. 1st 5 Aug. 1756 St Mary Church, Potterne, Wiltshire, as his 2nd wife, ROBERT COLEBROOKE of Chilham Castle, Kent, M.P. Maldon 1741-1761, b. 24 June 1718 London, bap. 3 July 1718 St Benet Fink, London; d.s.p.l. 10 May 1784 Soissons, Picardy, France, bur. St Mary Church, Chilham, Kent, est surv. son of James Colebrooke of Chilham Castle, London banker (1680-1752) and Mary Hudson (d. 1753); m. 2nd 31 May 1785 St Marylebone Parish Church, London, JOHN CROSDILL of Marylebone, violoncellist, b. c.1750 (aged 75 in burial entry); d.s.p.l. Oct. 1825 Marylebone, bur. 11 Oct. 1825 St Marylebone Parish Church, son of Richard Crosdill of Marylebone, violoncellist (c.1698-1790) and Margaret Taylor (d. 1792).

2D) MARY THRESHER, b. 1739; d. unm. 12 Dec. 1816[*1], bur. St Michael Church, Melksham.

3) JOHN LONG, b. Feb. 1712; d. in infancy 31 Oct. 1712 South Wraxall Manor, bur. 1 Nov. 1712 St James Church, South Wraxall.

St Michael Church, Melksham, Wiltshire

4) HENRY LONG, bap. 14 July 1713 St Michael Church, Melksham; d. unm. 30 Aug. 1739, bur. 17 Sept. 1739 St Nicholas Church, North Bradley.

[*1] I cannot locate baptism or burial entries for Mary Thresher in the three major online genealogy databases (Ancestry, Find My Past, Family Search), which is odd, since I can find them for each of her three sisters. Mary's date of death is from her M.I. in Melksham Church, which also states she died at age 77. Her P.C.C. will dated 8 July 1814, proved 21 January 1817, leaves bequests to all six grown children of her sister Ellen, Lady Wrey, as well as to several of their children. The affidavit to the will, made on 9 Dec. 1816 and sworn on 10 Jan. 1817, confirms Mary's death date of 12 Dec. 1816, as it appears on her M.I.

Edward III had sons A1 and B1 (see below)
A1) Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence (1338-1368) m. 1) Lady Elizabeth de Burgh (1332-1363, descended from Edward I), and had
A2) Lady Philippa Plantagenet of Clarence (1355-1377) m. Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March (1352-1381), and had

Dorothy (née Dudley) Wrottesley
- see Generation A7

A3) Lady Elizabeth Mortimer (1371-1417) m. 1) Sir Henry 'Hotspur' Percy (1364-1403), and had
A4) Lady Elizabeth Percy (c.1395-1437) m. 1) John, 7th Lord Clifford (1388-1422, descended from Edward I), and had
A5) Thomas, 8th Lord Clifford (1414-1455) m. Joan Dacre (c.1417-c.1452, descended from Edward I), and had
A6) Maud Clifford (b. c.1436) m. 2) Sir Edmund Sutton, Heir of Dudley Castle (c.1430-1482), and had
A7) Dorothy Dudley (c.1465-1517) m. Richard Wrottesley of Wrottesley Hall (1457-1521), and had
A8) Eleanor Wrottesley (c.1486-1543) m. 2) Sir Henry Long of Draycot House (by 1487-1556), and had
A9) Sir Robert Long of Draycot House (1516-1581) m. Barbara Carne (d. 1607, descended from Edward I)[*2], and had
A10) Sir Walter Long of Draycot House (1560-1610) m. 1) Mary Pakington (d. by 1594), and had
A11) John Long of South Wraxall Manor (c.1585-1636) m. Anne Eyre (b. 1590), and had

Long Coat of Arms

A12) John Long of South Wraxall Manor (c.1616-1652) m. 2) Katherine Paynter, and had
A13) ANNE LONG, b. 1652[*3]; d. 4 Oct. 1705, bur. St James Church, South Wraxall; m. (lic. 15 Dec.) 1684, HENRY LONG of Melksham House (see D13 below), and had
A14) Henry Long of Melksham House (1687-1727-see details above) m. Ellen Trenchard (see B13 below), and had
A15) Ellen Long (1711-1753-see details above) m. John Thresher of Bradford on Avon (see E14 below), and had
A16) Ellen Thresher (1733-1813-see details above) m. Sir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Baronet

[*2] I'm one of those who feel there is not enough evidence to support Joan Stradling, the first wife of Maurice Dennys of Siston, being a daughter of Jane Beaufort, daughter of Cardinal Henry Beaufort. But for those who feel that connection is valid, then Barbara Carne, wife of Sir Robert Long, would be a descendant of Edward III thru Cardinal Beaufort.

South Wraxall Manor, Wiltshire

[*3] Per her marriage licence, Anne Long was age 26, so born in 1658, and per her M.I. in South Wraxall Church, she was age 48 at death, so born in 1656/7. Both ages are incorrect, making her younger than she actually was. In the PCC will of her father John Long, dated 19 Feb. 1651/2, and proved 12 July 1652, he leaves property "for and towards the diet education & mainteynance of all my children That is to say Elizabeth Long, Katharine Long, Hope Long, Love Longe, and the child or children which my said wife goeth with or is lately brought to bed of." Anne was thus her father's youngest child, born in 1652. I am grateful to Chris Pitt-Lewis for bringing this to my attention in a Feb. 2014 SGM post. In addition to her son (A14 above), Anne Long had one other child, a namesake daughter, Anne Long, bap. 6 Oct. 1685 St James Church, South Wraxall; bur. 27 June 1749 St Mary Church, Whaddon, Wiltshire, wife of Rev. Walter Clarke, rector of Whaddon, bur. there 16 Mar. 1735.

Joan (née Beaufort),
Countess of Westmorland -
see Generation B2

B1) John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (1340-1399) m. 3) Katherine Roet (c.1350-1403), and had a dau B2 and a son D2 (see below)
B2) Lady Joan Beaufort (1377-1440) m. 2) Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland (1364-1425), and had two sons B3 and C3 (see below)
B3) Richard Neville, 1st Earl of Salisbury (c.1398-1460) m. Lady Alice Montagu (1406-1462, descended from Edward I), and had
B4) Lady Katherine Neville (c.1442-1504) m. 1) William Bonville, 6th Lord Harington (1442-1460, descended from Edward I), and had
B5) Cecily Bonville (1460-1529) m. 1) Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (c.1456-1501, descended from Edward I), and had
B6) Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset (1477-1530) m. 2) Margaret Wotton (d. 1541), and had
B7) Lady Elizabeth Grey (c.1520-1564) m. 2) Sir George Norton of Abbots Leigh (d. 1584), and had
B8) Samuel Norton of Abbots Leigh (1548-1621) m. ----[*4], and had

Lady Elizabeth (née Grey) Norton
- see Generation B7

B9) George Norton of Abbots Leigh (c.1575-bef.1635?) m. Anne Strangways (c.1580-aft.1635, descended from Edward III thru Anne, Duchess of Exeter), and had
B10) Grace Norton (c.1600-by 1627) m. Arthur Norton of London (c.1595-1635), and had
B11) Sir George Norton of Abbots Leigh (1622-1668) m. Ellen Owen (1622-1677, descended from Edward I), and had
B12) Ellen Norton (c.1648-1710) m. William Trenchard of Cutteridge House (see C10 below), and had
B13) Ellen Trenchard (1687-1752) m. Henry Long of Melksham House (see A14 above)

[*4] Per the ODNB bio of Samuel Norton, "nothing is known of his wife."

3rd Lord Abergavenny -
see Generation C3

C3) Edward Neville, 3rd Lord Abergavenny (c.1417-1476) m. 1) Lady Elizabeth Beauchamp (1415-1448, descended from Edward III), and had
C4) George Neville, 4th Lord Abergavenny (1440-1492) m. 1) Margaret Fenne (c.1444-1485), and had
C5) Sir Edward Neville of Addington Park (by1482-1538) m. Eleanor Windsor (d. 1531, descended from Edward I), and had
C6) Edward Neville, 7th Lord Abergavenny (c.1518-1589) m. 1) Katherine Brome, and had
C7) Francis Neville of Chichester (c.1558-1628) m. 1) Mary Lewknor (d. by 1616), and had
C8) Edward Neville of Bentworth m. Margaret Palmes (descended from Edward I), and had
C9) Anne Neville m. John Trenchard of Saltford (d. 1651), and had
C10) William Trenchard of Cutteridge House (c.1643-1713) m. Ellen Norton (see B12 above)

Cardinal Henry Beaufort -
see Generation D2

D2) Henry Beaufort, Cardinal Bishop of Winchester (1375-1447) = unknown mistress, and had
D3) Jane Beaufort, illegit. (c.1402-1479) m. Sir Edward Stradling of St Donats Castle (c.1389-1453), and had
D4) Sir Henry Stradling of St Donats Castle (c.1423-1476) m. Elizabeth ap Thomas, and had
D5) Thomas Stradling of St Donats Castle (c.1454-1480) m. Jennet Matthew (d. 1485), and had
D6) Sir Edward Stradling of St Donats (c.1472-1535) m. Elizabeth Arundell (d. 1513), and had
D7) Joan Stradling m. 2) Alexander Popham of Huntworth (by 1504-1556), and had
D8) Sir John Popham of Wellington (c.1531-1607) m. Amy Adams (d. 1612), and had

Sir John Popham -
see Generation D8

D9) Eleanor Popham m. Roger Warre of Hestercombe House (d. 1616, descended from Edward I), and had
D10) AMY WARRE, b. Sept. 1578; d. 1650; m. 2nd c.1605, as his 2nd wife, GIFFORD LONG of Rood Ashton House, West Ashton, Wiltshire, M.P. Westbury 1625, b. c.1576; d. 15 Dec. 1634, est son of Edward Long of Monkton House (d. 1622) and Anne Brouncker (d. 1607), and had
D11) EDWARD LONG of Rood Ashton House, b. 1607; d. 1644; m. 17 Feb. 1631 St Peter-le-Poer, London, DOROTHY JONES, bap. 9 Sept. 1610 St Peter-le-Poer, London; d. unknown, est dau. of Isaac Jones of London, Merchant Taylor (d. 1652) and Elizabeth Prince (descended from Edward I), and had
D12) ELIZABETH LONG, bap. 25 Apr. 1637 St Peter-le-Poer, London; d. unknown[*5]; m. 1st 9 Apr. 1657 St Mary Church, Collingbourne Kingston, Wiltshire, RICHARD LONG of Collingbourne Kingston, b. c.1633; bur. 27 Sept. 1669 St Mary Church, Collingbourne Kingston, 2nd son of Thomas Long of Little Cheverell (1579-1654) and Joan Flower, and had a son D13 and a dau E13 (see below)
D13) HENRY LONG of Melksham House, b. 22 Dec. 1659 Collingbourne Kingston, bap. 3 Jan. 1660 St Mary Church, Collingbourne; d. 31 Mar. 1687, bur. St James Church, South Wraxall; m. (lic. 15 Dec.) 1684, ANNE LONG (see A13 above)

St Mary Church, Collingbourne Kingston

E13) DYONISIA LONG, bap. 23 Jan. 1662 St Mary Church, Collingbourne Kingston; d. 10 Nov. 1692, bur. Holy Trinity Church, Bradford-on-Avon; m. 15 Oct. 1685 St Andrew Church, Chippenham, Wiltshire, EDWARD THRESHER of Chantry House, Bradford on Avon, clothier, b. c.1660; d. 18 Feb. 1725, bur. Holy Trinity Church, Bradford on Avon, and had
E14) John Thresher of Bradford on Avon (1689-1741-see details above) m. Ellen Long (see A15 above)

[*5] Elizabeth (Long) Long m. 2nd 29 Sept. 1670 St Mary Church, Collingbourne Kingston, John Ayres, esquire, and, aside from a mention of "Elizabeth Eyres" by her brother Henry Long of Rood Ashton House (1632-1672) when he made out his will the following year, I've been unable to uncover her subsequent history, or when she died. Nor have I been able to further identify her second husband. [Update 31 July 2017: Thanks to Cheryl Nicol and her detailed genealogical work Inheriting the Earth: The Long Family's 500 Year Reign in Wiltshire (which I highly recommend), Elizabeth's second husband can be further identified. He was John Eyre of Little Chalfield, Wiltshire, bur. 26 Aug. 1672 All Saints Church, Great Chalfield, est son of Robert Eyre of Little Chalfield (1591-1651) and his 1st wife Elizabeth Warne (d. 1632). By John Eyre, Elizabeth (née Long) had further issue, two daughters. Her date of death remains elusive.]

The next blogpost will continue the ancestry of Hon. Annette (née Palk) Baird, and explore a line of descent from Edward III for Lady Dorothy Elizabeth (née Vaughan) Palk that is an addition to Ruvigny's 1911 Mortimer-Percy volume.

Cheers,                                      -----Brad

{85} Ruvigny Addition: Exeter Descent for Ellen (née Thresher), Lady Wrey (1733-1813)

Ellen (née Thresher), Lady Wrey (1733-1813)

Continuing with the royal ancestry of Hon. Annette (née Palk) Baird, mother of Muriel Jane (née Baird) Noel, we have Ellen Thresher, the second wife of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Baronet. The couple are found in Table V (p. 8) of Ruvigny's 1907 Anne of Exeter volume, with their descendants (or at least those known to the marquis) enumerated on pp. 128-136. Ruvigny, however, was unaware that Ellen, Lady Wrey, was, like her husband, also a descendant of Anne, Duchess of Exeter, sister of Edward IV and Richard III. Her ancestress Anne (née Strangways) appears in Table LXIX (pp. 74-75) of the Exeter volume, with her husband George Norton of Abbots Leigh, and a question as to whether or not the couple had issue. They did indeed have one surviving daughter, Grace Norton, the first wife of Arthur Norton, eldest son of Bonham Norton (1565-1635), a London printer and bookseller, who was the official printer to King James I, and in that capacity was one of the original publishers of the King James version of the Holy Bible. Arthur Norton continued his father's printing business for a short while only, for he died in October 1635, six months after his father., leaving two sons, George and Hugh Norton, by his first wife Grace (née Norton).

Norton of Abbots Leigh Coat of Arms
[Argent on a bend, cotised between
two lions rampant, sable three
escallop shells, or]

The Norton publishing dynasty of London were of Shropshire origin, seated at Church Stretton in that county, and were unrelated (as far as can be determined) to the Nortons seated at Leigh Court, in the Somersetshire parish of Abbots Leigh. The identical surnames seem to have confused subsequent heralds and genealogists, including Peter Le Neve (1661-1729), Norroy King of Arms, whose 1696 pedigree of Sir George Norton of Abbots Leigh (1622-1668), has that knight as the son, rather than the grandson, of George and Anne (née Strangways) Norton. Starting with this Sir George, the 17th-century Nortons of Abbots Leigh bore the Norton of London & Stretton coat of arms, which had been issued to Bonham Norton in 1611, quartered with the arms of the 16th-century Nortons of Abbots Leigh.

Ellen, Lady Wrey, did not leave much of a mark on history, though she survived to the age of 80, dying in 1813 in Regency-era Bath, and two of her daughters were acquaintances of novelist Jane Austen. The inscription on the monument she shares with her husband in St Peter Church, Tawstock, Devon, gives a glimpse into her character: "affectionately regretted by her surviving family, and closing on the 2d of December 1813, a Life of habitual piety, active Benevolence & every christian Virtue."

Norton of London Coat of Arms
[Or, two bars gules on a chief azure
an inescutcheon ermine]

ELLEN THRESHER, bap. 20 Aug. 1733 Holy Trinity Church, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire; d. 3 Dec. 1813 Bath, Somersetshire, bur. 13 Dec. 1813 St Peter Church, Tawstock, Devon, est dau. of John Tresher of Bradford on Avon (1689-1741) and Ellen Long (1711-1753, descended from Edward III - see Generation 16 below); m. 1 May 1755 St Bartholomew Church, Corsham, Wiltshire, as his 2nd wife, Sir BOURCHIER WREY, 6th Baronet of Trebeigh, b. 7 Jan. 1715 London, bap. 13 Jan. 1715 St James Church, Westminster; d. 13 Apr. 1784, bur. 22 Apr. 1784 St Peter Church, Tawstock, est son of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 5th Baronet of Trebeigh (1683-1726, descended from Edward III) and Diana Rolle (c.1685-aft.1725, descended from Edward III), and had issue, two sons and four daughters.

Issue of Ellen (Thresher) and Sir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Baronet:

1) ELLEN WREY, b. Bloomsbury, London, bap. 14 Mar. 1756 St George the Martyr, Holborn, London; d. 10 Sept. 1827, bur. 21 Sept. 1827 St Peter Church, Battlesden, Berkshire; m. 13 May 1790 St Swithin Church, Walcot, Bath, Rev. EDWARD HENRY WHINFIELD, Rector of Battlesden 1784-1821, bap. 30 July 1756 Windsor, Berkshire; d. 6 July 1821, bur. 12 July 1821 St Peter Church, Battlesden, est son of Rev Dr. Henry Whinfield of Windsor (d. 1793) and Bridget Pennington (d. 1812), and had issue, two sons.

Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Baronet
(1757-1826)

2) Sir BOURCHIER WREY, 7th Baronet of Trebeigh, b. 22 Feb. 1757 Tawstock Court, Devon, bap. 23 Feb. 1757 St Peter Church, Tawstock; d. 20 Nov. 1826 Holne Chase House, Ashburton, Devon, bur. 2 Dec. 1826 St Peter Church, Tawstock; m. 1st 14 Mar. 1786 St John the Baptist Church, Shottesbrooke, Berkshire, ANNE PALK, bap. 3 Aug. 1764 Fort St George, Madras, India; d. 5 Sept. 1791 Tawstock Court, Devon, bur. 16 Sept. 1791 St Peter Church, Tawstock, dau. of Sir Robert Palk, 1st Baronet of Haldon House (1717-1798) and Anne Vansittart (1738-1788, descended from Henry IV), and had issue, two sons and one daughter; m. 2nd Jan. 1793 St Mary Church, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, ANNE OSBORNE, b. c.1758 (age 54 at death, per burial entry); d. 26 Jan. 1813, bur. 11 Feb. 1813 St Peter Church, Tawstock, dau. of John Osborne of Monks Mill, Wotton-under-Edge, clothier (d. 1771) and Elizabeth White, and had further issue, one son and one daughter.

3) DYONISIA WREY, bap. 6 July 1758 St Peter Church, Tawstock; d. 29 Dec. 1835 Upcott House, Pilton, Devon, bur. 6 Jan. 1836 St Mary Church, Pilton; m. 9 May 1780 St Peter Church, Tawstock, ROBERT HARDING of Upcott House, b. 4 Aug. 1750 South Molton, Devon, bap. 5 Aug. 1750 St Mary Magdalene Church, South Molton; d. 4 Sept. 1804 Upcott House, bur. 8 Sept. 1804 St Mary Church, Pilton, est son of Thomas Harding of Upcott House (d. 1772) and Mary Bryant, and had issue, four sons and two daughters.

St Peter Church, Tawstock, Devon

4) FLORENTINA WREY, b. Oct. 1759 Tawstock Court, bap. 2 Nov. 1759 St Peter Church, Tawstock; d. 16 May 1835, bur. St John Church, Steeple Ashton, Wiltshire; m. 28 Mar. 1786 St Peter Church, Tawstock, RICHARD GODOLPHIN LONG of Rood Ashton House, Steeple Ashton, M.P. Wiltshire 1806-18, b. 2 Oct. 1761, bap. 12 Nov. 1761 All Saints Church, West Lavington, Wiltshire; d. 1 July 1835 Rood Ashton House, bur. 8 July 1835 St John Church, Steeple Ashton, est son of Richard Long of Rood Ashton House (1718-1787, descended from Edward III) and Meliora Lambe, and had issue, two sons and four daughters.

5) Rev. BOURCHIER WILLIAM WREY, Rector of Tawstock 1801-39, b. 6 May 1761 Tawstock Court, bap. 11 May 1761 St Peter Church, Tawstock; d. 19 Aug. 1839 Corffe House, Tawstock, bur. 27 Aug. 1839 St Peter Church, Tawstock; m. 26 Nov. 1789 Holy Trinity Church, Bradford on Avon, SOPHIA BETHELL, bap. there 7 Aug. 1767; d. 1 Dec. 1848 Pennsylvania, Exeter, Devon, bur. 9 Dec. 1848 St Peter Church, Tawstock, dau. of George Bethell of Bradford on Avon, clothier (d. 1795) and Sarah Singer (d. 1777), and had issue, three sons and three daughters.

6) ANNA MARIA WREY, b. 18 July 1764 Tawstock Court, bap. 20 July 1764 St Peter Church, Tawstock; bur. 5 Mar. 1834 St Mary Church, Great Chart, Kent; m. 30 Apr. 1791 St Mary Church, Walcot, Bath, NICHOLAS ROUNDELL TOKE of Godinton House, Great Chart, b. 19 May 1764; d. 19 Feb. 1837, bur. 27 Feb. 1837 St Mary Church, Great Chart, son of John Toke of Godinton House (1738-1819) and Margaret Roundell (1744-1780), and had issue, one daughter.

Following is the 17-generation descent of Ellen, Lady Wrey, from Edward III through Anne, Duchess of Exeter.

Edward III had a 2nd surviving son:

Anne, Duchess of Exeter -
see Generation 6

1) Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence (1338-1368) m. 1) Lady Elizabeth de Burgh (1332-1363, descended from Edward I), and had
2) Lady Philippa Plantagenet of Clarence (1355-1377) m. Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March (1352-1381), and had
3) Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March (1374-1398) m. Lady Alianore Holland (1370-1405, descended from Edward I), and had
4) Lady Anne Mortimer (1388-1411) m. Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (1385-1415, descended from Edward III), and had
5) Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York (1411-1460) m. Lady Cecily Neville (1415-1495, descended from Edward III), and had
6) Anne Plantagenet, Duchess of Exeter (1439-1476) m. 2) Sir Thomas St Leger (by 1438-1483), and had
7) Lady Anne St Leger (1475-1526) m. George Manners, 11th Lord Ros (1470-1513, descended from Edward I), and had

Strangways of Melbury Coat of Arms

8) Margaret Manners m. 1) Henry Strangways, Heir of Melbury Hall (c.1506-1544), and had
9) Sir Giles Strangways of Melbury Hall (1528-1562) m. Joan Wadham (d. 1603, descended from Edward I), and had
10) John Strangways of Melbury Hall (c.1548-1593) m. Dorothy Thynne (d. 1592), and had
11) Anne Strangways (c.1580-aft.1635) m. George Norton of Leigh Court, Abbots Leigh (c.1575-bef.1635?, descended from Edward III)[*1], and had
12) GRACE NORTON, b. c.1600; d. by 1627[*2]; m. by 1621, as his 1st wife, ARTHUR NORTON of London, printer, b. c.1595; d. by 15 Nov. 1635 (when will was proved), bur. St Faith under St Pauls, London, er son of Bonham Norton of London, king's printer (1565-1635) and Jane Owen (c.1575-1640), and had
13) Sir GEORGE NORTON of Leigh Court, Abbots Leigh, Somersetshire, b. 1622; d. 29 Feb. 1668 Leigh Court, bur. 4 Mar. 1668 Holy Trinity Church, Abbots Leigh; m. c.1645, as her 1st husband, his first cousin once removed, ELLEN OWEN, b. 21 May 1622 Shrewsbury, Shropshire, bap. 6 June 1622 St Mary Church, Shrewsbury; bur. 10 May 1677 Holy Trinity Church, Abbots Leigh, yst dau. of Sir William Owen of Condover Hall (1581-1662) and his 1st wife Ellen Needham (c.1590-1623, descended from Edward I), and had

From Table LXIX in Ruvigny's 1907 Exeter volume

14) ELLEN NORTON, b. c.1648 (age 19 in her marriage licence); bur. 16 Aug. 1710 St Nicholas Church, North Bradley, Wiltshire; m. (lic. 4 May) 1668, WILLIAM TRENCHARD of Cutteridge House, North Bradley, b. c.1643 (age 70 at death, per his HOP bio); d. 22 Aug. 1713, bur. 4 Sept. 1713 St Nicholas Church, North Bradley, son of John Trenchard of Saltford (d. 1651) and Anne Neville (descended from Edward III), and had
15) ELLEN TRENCHARD, b. 1687; d. 9 July 1752, bur. 18 July 1752 St Nicholas Church, North Bradley; m. by 1709, HENRY LONG of Melksham House, Wiltshire, bap. 20 Oct. 1687 St James Church, South Wraxall, Wiltshire; d. 23 Oct. 1727, bur. 31 Oct. 1727 St Nicholas Church, North Bradley, son of Henry Long of Melksham House (1659-1687, descended from Edward III) and Anne Long (1657-1705, descended from Edward III), and had
16) ELLEN LONG, b. Melksham House, bap. 27 Feb. 1711 St Michael Church, Melksham; d. 17 Apr. 1753, bur. Holy Trinity Church, Bradford on Avon; m. 1731 St Michael Church, Melksham, her first cousin once removed, JOHN THRESHER of Chantry House, Bradford on Avon, b. there, bap. 22 May 1689 Holy Trinity Church, Bradford on Avon; d. 17 Aug. 1741, bur. there, son of Edward Thresher of Chantry House (c.1660-1725) and Dyonisia Long (1662-1692, descended from Edward III), and had
17) ELLEN THRESHER (1733-1813 - see details above), 2nd wife of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Baronet

Peter Le Neve's 1696 pedigree of Norton of Abbots Leigh,
published in 1873 by the Harleian Society

[*1] Anne (née Strangways) Norton was mentioned in the 25 Oct. 1635 will of her son-in-law Arthur Norton "I wille unto my lovinge Mother Mrs. Anne Norton," and she was one of the three individuals who proved the will on 15 Nov. 1635. The fact that no mention is made of his father-in-law George Norton, Anne's husband, suggests that he had predeceased Arthur.

[*2] Arthur Norton m. 2nd 6 June 1627 St Mary Aldermanbury, London, Rebecca, widow of David Briggs of London, merchant. She m. 3rd Nicholas Francklin of Lincolns Inn, and was living 1642.

The next blogpost will explore some of the remaining Edward III descents for Ellen (née Thresher), Lady Wrey.

Cheers,                                         -------Brad

{84} Edward III Descents for siblings John Rolle (c.1649-1689) and Florence (née Rolle), Lady Wrey (1657-1724)

Rolle of Stevenstone Coat of Arms
[Or, on a fess dancette between three
billets azure, each charged with
a lion rampant of the field,
as many bezants]

When John Rolle, the heir to one of the largest landed families in the West Country (holding over forty manors in Devon alone), married Lady Christiana Bruce, daughter of the earl of Ailesbury, in 1677, it was the most prestigious match yet made by a Rolle. The family fortune was founded by John's great-great-grandfather George Rolle (by 1486-1552), who was likely of Dorset origin, but made his career in London, where he owned and leased property. A successful attorney, he had a clientele which included several monastic houses in Devon, and one of that county's leading peers, Arthur Plantagenet, Viscount Lisle, great-uncle to King Henry VIII. As Lisle's legal counsel, Rolle was prominent in the viscount's protracted dispute with Henry Daubeney during the 1530s over Lady Lisle's property. And it was in Devon where George Rolle built his own country house, at the manor of Stevenstone, in the parish of St Giles Wood, near Torrington, which he purchased in 1524.

George's great-grandson Sir Henry Rolle, the heir to Stevenstone House, was the first of the family to marry into the Edward I bloodline. His wife was Anne, the elder daughter and co-heir of Sir Thomas Denys of Holcombe Burnell in Devon. Among the several properties she brought with her to the Rolles was Bicton House, which became a favourite residence of the family. Sir Henry Rolle died in 1616, nine years before his father, who died at the age of 80 in 1625. The heir was Sir Henry's only surviving son, Dennis Rolle, then aged eleven-and-a-half. Dennis went on to become the youngest sheriff of Devon before his own untimely death at age 23 in 1638. He had married young, at age 15, and had fathered six children, but only one had been a son, which had died an infant in December 1636. Dennis's five daughters stood to inherit Bicton House and the other properties that had come to the Rolles through their grandmother Anne (née Denys), but the chief seat of Stevenstone House and most of the other Rolle properties were entailed, so they passed to Dennis's only surviving male first cousin. And when he died in 1647, with no son, they then passed to a 21-year-old distant cousin, John Rolle, a farmer at Marhayes, in the parish of Week St Mary, Cornwall, who was mowing hay when news was brought to him that he had inherited Stevenstone House. By that point, Florence, the eldest of Dennis Rolle's four surviving daughters, was aged 16, and John Rolle wisely married her, reuniting Bicton House and the other properties from the Denys inheritance, with Stevenstone House and the Rolle inheritance. John Rolle, the couple's eldest son and heir, was the one who made the prestigious marriage to Lady Christiana Bruce. The male line of George Rolle (by 1486-1552) went extinct in 1842 at the death of John and Lady Christiana Rolle's great-grandson John, who was elevated to the peerage as Baron Rolle of Stevenstone in 1796.

Stevenstone House, Devon

Of Sir John and Florence Rolle's five younger children, the only one to have issue was their younger daughter Florence, who married the 28-year-old Sir Bourchier Wrey, a baronet from Cornwall who had inherited through his mother the Devon estates of the Bourchier earls of Bath, chief of which was Tawstock House in Devon, just 8 miles from Stevenstone House.

JOHN ROLLE, Heir of Stevenstone House, St Giles in the Wood, Devon, b. c.1649 (aged 28 in 1677); bur. 22 Apr. 1689 St Mary Church, Bicton, Devon, son of Sir John Rolle of Stevenstone House (1626-1706) and Florence Rolle (1631-1705, descended from Edward III - see Generation A12 below); m. 9 June 1677 St Andrew Church, Ampthill, Bedfordshire, as her 1st husband, Lady CHRISTIANA BRUCE, b. c.1658 (age "about 19" in 1677)[*1]; d. 5 Apr. 1720, bur. 23 Apr. 1720 St Mary Church, Bicton, Devon, 4th surv. dau. of Robert Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury (1626-1685, descended from Edward III) and Lady Diana Grey (c.1629-1689, descended from Edward III), and had issue, three sons and three daughters.

Issue of John and Lady Christiana (Bruce) Rolle:

Old St Mary Church, Bicton, Devon

1) ROBERT ROLLE of Stevenstone House, M.P. Callington 1701-02, Devon 1702-10; b. Houghton Park, Ampthill, bap. 16 Oct. 1678 St Andrew Church, Ampthill; d.s.p. 18 Aug. 1710 Exeter, Devon, bur. St Mary Church, Bicton; m. 19 Mar. 1705 St Michael Church, Otterton, Devon, ELIZABETH DUKE, bap. 23 Dec. 1679 St Martin in the Fields, London; d.s.p., bur. 29 Sept. 1716 St Mary Church, Bicton, dau. of Richard Duke of Otterton (1652-1733, descended from Edward I) and his 1st wife Isabella Yonge (d. 1705, descended from Edward III).

2) JOHN ROLLE of Stevenstone House, M.P. Saltash 1703-05, Devon 1710-13, 1727-30; b. Stevenstone House, bap. 8 Dec. 1679 St Giles Church, St Giles in the Wood; bur. there 23 May 1730; m. 24 June 1706 St Antholin Budge Row, London, his first cousin, ISABELLA CHARLOTTE WALTER, bap. 8 May 1687 St Paul Covent Garden, London; bur. 11 Oct. 1734 St Giles Church, St Giles in the Wood, dau. of Sir William Walter, 2nd Baronet of Sarsden (c.1635-1694, descended from Edward I) and Lady Mary Bruce (1657-1711, descended from Edward III), and had issue, four sons and seven daughters.

3) DENNIS ROLLE of Horwood, Devon, bap. 2 May 1682 St James Church, Clerkenwell, Middlesex; d. 20 Dec. 1714 Horwood, bur. 23 Dec. 1714 St Michael Church, Horwood; m. 1707 London, ANNE HERBERT[*2], and had issue, one daughter.

Issue of Dennis and Anne (Herbert) Rolle:

3A) ANNE ROLLE, b. 25 Aug. 1708 Horwood, bap. 19 Sept. 1708 St Michael Church, Horwood; bur. 1 Oct. 1742 St Peter Church, Roborough, Devon; m. 13 Oct. 1728 St Mary Church, Bideford, Devon, THOMAS STAFFORD [later WOLLACOMBE] of Coombe Barton, Roborough, b. Stafford Barton, Dolton, Devon, bap. 14 Sept. 1697 St Edmund Church, Dolton; bur. 17 Nov. 1756 St Peter Church, Roborough, yr son of John Stafford of Stafford Barton (1674-1721) and Mary Wollacombe (1666-1701), and had issue, three sons and five daughters.

St Giles Church, St Giles in the Wood, Devon

4) DIANA ROLLE, b. 25 June 1683 Stevenstone House, bap. 12 July 1683 St Giles Church, St Giles in the Wood; bur. there 22 Sept. 1683.

5) DIANA ROLLE, b. c.1685; d. after 1725?[*3]; m. 1st 17 Sept. 1706 St Giles Church, St Giles in the Wood, JOHN SPARK of Plymouth, Devon, M.P. Newport 1701-07, bap. 4 Feb. 1673 St Charles Church, Plymouth; d.s.p. 2 Jan. 1707, son of John Spark of Plymouth and Duglas Eliot; m. 2nd 17 Feb. 1708 St Peter Cornhill, London, her first cousin, Sir BOURCHIER WREY, 5th Baronet of Trebeigh, b. 15 July 1683 Stevenstone House, bap. 22 July 1683 St Giles Church, St Giles in the Wood; bur. 12 Nov. 1726 St Peter Church, Tawstock, son of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 4th Baronet of Trebeigh (c.1653-1696, descended from Edward III) and Florence Rolle (1657-1724, descended from Edward III), and had issue, five sons and five daughters.

6) CHRISTIANA ROLLE, bap. 1 Jan. 1689 St Giles Church, St Giles in the Wood; d. young or unm.

Lady Christiana (née Bruce) Rolle
(c.1658-1720)

[*1] From at least 1756, in the 3rd edition of The Peerage of England by Arthur Collins, Lady Christiana is listed as the third daughter of Robert Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury, immediately after Lady Anne Bruce who married Sir William Rich, 2nd Baronet of Sunning, and immediately before Lady Mary Bruce, who married Sir William Walter, 2nd Baronet of Sarsden. Lady Christiana was indeed the third of Lord Ailesbury's daughters to marry. But we know from Lady Mary's baptism entry in the parish register of St James Church, Clerkenwell, that she was born on the last day of 1657. We also know that Thomas Bruce, the second earl of Ailesbury, was born the previous year, in September 1656. From her marriage licence, Lady Christiana was "about 19" in June 1677, so born about 1658-59. No baptism entry for her has been uncovered, but it seems she was actually a year or so younger than her sister Lady Mary, and so was the fourth, not the third, surviving daughter of the first earl of Ailesbury.

[*2] Lt-Col. John Lambrick Vivian, the Victorian-era genealogist who specialized in West Country families, has a pedigree of Rolle of Stevenstone in his 1897 Visitations of the County of Devon. He has Col. Dennis Rolle, a younger son of Sir John Rolle, K.B., as the Dennis Rolle who died at Horwood, Devon in 1714. It's clear from Dennis Rolle's M.I. in Horwood Church--"Here lyeth the body of Dennis Rolle, esq. of Horwood, the son of Jno Rolle, esq. the grand son of Sir Jno Rolle of Stevenstone, Knight of the Bth, who died ye 20th of September 1714"--that Vivian was incorrect, and that Dennis Rolle of Horwood was the younger son of John and Lady Christiana (Bruce) Rolle, and the grandson of Sir John Rolle, K.B. William Cooke, a genealogist in Ontario, Canada, has an online account of the Descendants of Sir John Rolle (1627-1706), and correctly has Dennis Rolle of Horwood as the youngest son of John and Lady Christiana Rolle. He has this Dennis Rolle's wife as Susan, daughter of Richard Lant. Susan, daughter of Richard Lant of London m. 1st, Sir Peter Lear, 1st Baronet of London (d. 1683), and m. 2nd, Dennis Rolle. But a lady married to a man who died in 1683 had to have been born in the 1660s, at the latest, and so it is chronologically impossible for her to have been the wife of a man born in 1682, and mother of his daughter born in 1708. It would appear that the second husband of Susan (Lant) Lear was instead Col. Dennis Rolle of Great Torrington, Devon, the younger son of Sir John Rolle, K.B., and uncle of Dennis Rolle of Horwood. Col. Dennis Rolle was buried 9 Feb. 1713 at St Giles Church, St Giles in the Wood. Per the baptism entry for Anne Rolle in the Horwood Parish Register, she was daughter of Dennis and Anne (not Susan) Rolle. Dennis Rolle married Anne Herbert in 1707 in London, per Boyd's marriage indexes, 1538-1850, and this fits perfectly with the baptism of Anne Rolle the following year.

St Michael Church, Horwood, Devon

[*3] Many genealogists, including Lt-Col. Vivian, and George Edward Cokayne in his Complete Baronetage, assume that Diana Rolle, wife of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 5th Baronet, was baptized at St Giles in the Wood on 12 July 1683. But it's clear from a M.I. in that church that the Diana Rolle baptized in July 1683 died an infant two months later in September 1683. No baptism entry for Diana (Rolle), Lady Wrey, has surfaced. Nor has a burial entry for Diana, Lady Wrey, been uncovered. There is no M.I. for her in St Peter Church, Tawstock, the burial place of the Wrey baronets, which is odd. The will of Diana Wrey of Tawstock, Devon, was proved in 1721, per the Devon Wills Index, 1163-1999. This would appear to be for Diana (née Rolle), Lady Wrey, except that baptism entries for children of the couple exist for Charles Wrey (15 June 1722 Tawstock), Anna Christiana Wrey (28 June 1723 Tawstock), and Catherine Wrey (4 July 1725 Barnstaple). So 1721 for the date Diana Wrey's will was proved must be a mistranscription?

M.I. of Florence (née Rolle), Lady Wrey

FLORENCE ROLLE, b. 26 Nov. 1657 Bicton House, Devon, bap. 29 Nov. 1657 St Mary Church, Bicton; d. 24 Aug. 1724, bur. St Peter Church, Tawstock, dau. of Sir John Rolle of Stevenstone House (1626-1706) and Florence Rolle (1631-1705, descended from Edward III - see Generation A12 below); m. 3 May 1681 St Giles Church, St Giles in the Wood, Sir BOURCHIER WREY, 4th Baronet of Trebeigh, b. c.1653; d. 28 July 1696, bur. 18 Aug. 1696 St Peter Church, Tawstock, Devon, est son of Sir Chichester Wrey, 3rd Baronet of Trebeigh (1628-1668, descended from Edward III) and Lady Anne Bourchier (1628-1662, descended from Edward III), and had issue, three sons and one daughter.

Issue of Florence (Rolle) and Sir Bourchier Wrey, 4th Baronet:

1) BOURCHIER WREY, b. Stevenstone House, bap. 28 Feb. 1682 St Giles Church, St Giles in the Wood; d. in infancy by 1683.

2) Sir BOURCHIER WREY, 5th Baronet of Trebeigh, b. 15 July 1683 Stevenstone House, bap. 22 July 1683 St Giles Church, St Giles in the Wood; bur. 12 Nov. 1726 St Peter Church, Tawstock; m. 17 Feb. 1708 St Peter Cornhill, London, as her 2nd husband, his first cousin, DIANA (ROLLE) SPARK, b. c.1685; d. aft. 1725, widow of John Spark of Plymouth, and dau. of John Rolle, Heir of Stevenstone House (c.1649-1689, descended from Edward III) and Lady Christiana Bruce (c.1658-1720, descended from Edward III), and had issue, five sons and five daughters.

Florence (née Wrey) Cole
(c.1684-1718)

3) FLORENCE WREY, b. c.1684; d. 30 Aug. 1718 Dublin, Ireland; m. 13 July 1707 St Clement Danes, London, as his 1st wife, JOHN COLE of Florence Court, co Fermanagh, Ireland, bap. 12 Apr. 1680 St Michan Church, Dublin; d. July 1726, est son of Sir Michael Cole of Enniskillen Castle (c.1642-1711) and his 2nd wife Elizabeth Cole (1657-1733, descended from Edward III), and had issue, five sons and three daughters.

4) Rev. CHICHESTER WREY, Rector of Tawstock 1710-56, b. c.1686 (aged 80 at death, per his M.I.); d. 13 Mar. 1756 Tawstock, bur. 20 Mar. 1756 St Peter Church, Tawstock; m. 1st 3 Oct. 1714 St Michael Church, Heavitree, Devon, MARGARET PYNE, b. c.1695; d. by 1735, dau. of Roger Pyne of East Wonford House, Heavitree, and had issue, one son and two daughters; m. 2nd 19 May 1735 St Peter Church, Tawstock, ELIZABETH LONG, bur. there 27 Sept. 1755, and had further issue, one son and four daughters.

John Rolle, Heir of Stevenstone House, and his sister Florence (née Rolle), Lady Wrey, have three lines of descent from Edward III. Below is the descent of Hon. Anne (née Palk) Baird from that monarch through those three lines.

Edward III had two sons A1 & D1 (see below)

1st Earl of Salisbury - see
Generation A3

A1) John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (1340-1399) m. 3) Katherine Roet (c.1350-1403), and had
A2) Lady Joan Beaufort (1377-1440) m. 2) Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland (1364-1425), and had
A3) Richard Neville, 1st Earl of Salisbury (c.1398-1460) m. Lady Alice Montagu (1406-1462, descended from Edward I), and had two daus A4 and C4 (see below)
A4) Lady Katherine Neville (c.1442-1504) m. 1) William Bonville, 6th Lord Harington (1442-1460, descended from Edward I), and had
A5) Cecily Bonville (1460-1529) m. 1) Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset (c.1456-1501, descended from Edward I), and had
A6) Lady Dorothy Grey (c.1485-1553) m. 1) Robert, 2nd Lord Willoughby of Broke (1472-1521), and had
A7) Elizabeth Willoughby (c.1510-by 1552) m. John Paulet, 2nd Marquess of Winchester (c.1510-1576, descended from Edward I), and had
A8) William Paulet, 3rd Marquess of Winchester (c.1532-1598) m. Agnes Howard (c.1534-1601, descended from Edward I), and had
A9) Lady Anne Paulet (d. aft.1613) m. Sir Thomas Denys of Holcombe Burnell (1559-1613), and had

A10) ANNE DENYS, b. c.1590; d. unknown; m. by 1611, Sir HENRY ROLLE, Heir of Stevenstone House, b. c.1585; bur. 12 May 1616 St Giles Church, St Giles in the Wood, son of Sir Henry Rolle of Stevenstone House (1545-1625) and Elizabeth Watts, and had

Dennis Rolle - see
Generation A11

A11) DENNIS ROLLE of Stevenstone House, b. 11 Dec. 1614; d. 11 June 1638 Bicton House, Devon, bur. 12 June 1638 St Mary Church, Bicton; m. by 1630, Hon. MARGARET POULETT (see C11 below), and had
A12) FLORENCE ROLLE, bap. 27 Feb. 1631 St Giles Church, St Giles in the Wood; d. 10 Aug. 1705 Tawstock House, bur. 14 Aug. 1705 St Peter Church, Tawstock; m. (lic. 28 Feb.) 1648, Sir JOHN ROLLE of Stevenstone House, K.B., b. Marhayes, Week St Mary, Cornwall, bap. 23 Sept. 1627 St Mary Church, Week St Mary; bur. 1 May 1706 St Giles Church, St Giles in the Wood, son of Andrew Rolle of Marhayes (c.1580-1628) and Grace Roberts, and had a son A13 and a dau B13 (see below)
A13) John Rolle, Heir of Stevenstone House (c.1649-1689 - see details above) m. Lady Christiana Bruce (c.1658-1720, descended from Edward III), and had
A14) Diana Rolle (c.1685-aft.1725 - see details above) m. 2) Sir Bourchier Wrey, 5th Baronet of Trebeigh (see B14 below), and had
A15) Sir BOURCHIER WREY, 6th Baronet of Trebeigh, b. 7 Jan. 1715 Westminster, London, bap. 13 Jan. 1715 St James Church, Westminster; d. 13 Apr. 1784, bur. 22 Apr. 1784 St Peter Church, Tawstock; m. 2nd 1 May 1755 St Bartholomew Church, Corsham, Wiltshire, ELLEN THRESHER, bap. 20 Aug. 1733 Holy Trinity Church, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire; d. 3 Dec. 1813 Bath, Somersetshire, bur. 13 Dec. 1813 St Peter Church, Tawstock, dau. of John Thresher of Bradford on Avon (1689-1741) and Ellen Long (1711-1753, descended from Edward III), and had
A16) Sir BOURCHIER WREY, 7th Baronet of Trebeigh, b. 22 Feb. 1757 Tawstock Court, Devon, bap. 23 Feb. 1757 St Peter Church, Tawstock; d. 20 Nov. 1826 Holne Chase House, Ashburton, Devon, bur. 2 Dec. 1826 St Peter Church, Tawstock; m. 1st 14 Mar. 1786 St John the Baptist Church, Shottesbrooke, Berkshire, ANNE PALK, bap. 3 Aug. 1764 Fort St George, Madras, India; d. 5 Sept. 1791 Tawstock Court, Devon, bur. 16 Sept. 1791 St Peter Church, Tawstock, dau. of Sir Robert Palk, 1st Baronet of Haldon House (1717-1798) and Anne Vansittart (1738-1788, descended from Henry IV), and had

Palk of Haldon Coat of Arms

A17) ANNA ELEANORA WREY, b. 12 Jan. 1787 Tawstock Court, bap. 18 Jan. 1787 St Peter Church, Tawstock; d. 25 Jan. 1846 Dieppe, Normandy, France; m. 2nd 9 Dec. 1815 St Peter Church, Tawstock, as his 1st wife, her first cousin, Sir LAWRENCE VAUGHAN PALK, 3rd Baronet of Haldon House, b. 25 Apr. 1793 Westminster, London, bap. 30 May 1793 St George Hanover Square; d. 16 May 1860 Haldon House, Kenn, Devon, bur. 23 May 1860 St Michael & All Angels Church, Dunchideock, Devon, son of Sir Lawrence Palk, 2nd Baronet of Haldon House (1766-1813, descended from Henry IV) and Lady Dorothy Elizabeth Vaughan (1764-1849, descended from Edward III), and had
A18) LAWRENCE PALK, 1st Baron Haldon of Haldon, b. 30 Jan. 1818 Marylebone, London, bap. 26 Feb. 1818 St Marylebone Parish Church; d. 22 Mar. 1883 Haldon House, bur. 29 Mar. 1883 St Andrew Churchyard, Kenn, Devon; m. 15 Nov. 1845 St Mary Church, Rufford, Lancashire, MARIA HARRIET HESKETH, bap. 26 Nov. 1826 St Mary Church, Rufford; d. 18 Dec. 1905 Eastfield House, Whitchurch-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, bur. 21 Dec. 1905 St Andrew Churchyard, Kenn, only dau. of Sir Thomas Henry Hesketh, 4th Baronet of Rufford (1799-1843, descended from Edward III) and Annette Maria Bomford (c.1799-1879, descended from Edward III), and had
A19) Hon. ANNETTE MARIA PALK (1851-1884) m. Sir Alexander Baird, 1st Baronet of Ury

B13) Florence Rolle (1657-1724 - see details above) m. Sir Bourchier Wrey, 4th Baronet of Trebeigh (c.1653-1696, descended from Edward III), and had
B14) Sir Bourchier Wrey, 5th Baronet of Trebeigh (1683-1726) m. Diana Rolle (see A14 above)

C4) Lady Alice Neville (c.1434-aft.1503) m. Henry, 6th Lord Fitzhugh (1429-1472), and had

1st Baron Norris - see
Generation C8

C5) Alice Fitzhugh (c.1452-1516) m. Sir John Fiennes, Heir of Dacre (c.1447-c.1482, descended from Edward I), and had
C6) Thomas Fiennes, 8th Lord Dacre (1472-1533) m. Anne Bourchier (see D5 below), and had
C7) Mary Fiennes (c.1497-1531) m. Sir Henry Norris of Bray (c.1491-1536, descended from Edward I), and had

C8) Henry, 1st Baron Norris of Bray (c.1525-1601) m. Margery Williams (d. 1599), and had
C9) Katherine Norris (c.1560-1602) m. Sir Anthony Paulet of Hinton St George (1562-1600), and had
C10) John, 1st Baron Poulett of Hinton St George (1586-1649) m. Elizabeth Kenn (1593-1663), and had
C11) Hon. MARGARET POULETT, b. c.1614; d. Jan. 1671; m. 1st by 1630, DENNIS ROLLE of Stevenstone House (see A11 above)[*4]

Monument to Dennis and Margaret
(née Poulett) Rolle in Bicton Church

[*4] Hon. Margaret (Poulett) Rolle m. 2nd Sir Richard Cholmley of Grosmont, d. Oct. 1644 Axminster, Devon, son of Sir Richard Cholmley of Whitby (1580-1631, descended from Edward III) and his 2nd wife Margaret Cobb; m. 3rd "during the mid 1650s", Col. Edward Cooke of Highnam Court, Gloucestershire, b. c.1622; d. 29 Jan. 1684 Highnam Court, bur. 2 Feb. 1684 Holy Innocents Church, Highnam, Gloucestershire, 2nd son of Sir Robert Cooke of Highnam Court (d. 1643, descended from Edward III) and his 1st wife Dorothy Fleetwood (descended from Edward I). For genealogical details on Col. Cooke and his family, including the death date of Hon. Margaret (Poulett) (Rolle) (Cholmley) Cooke, see the 1997 article by N.R.R. Fisher 'Colonel Edward Cooke of Highnam (c.1622-1684) and Henry Somerset, First Duke of Beaufort: Client and Patron' in Transactions of the Bristol and Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, Vol. 115.

D1) Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester (1355-1397) m. Lady Eleanor de Bohun (1365-1399, descended from Edward I), and had
D2) Anne Plantagenet, Countess of Buckingham (1383-1438) m. 3) William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu (c.1374-1420), and had
D3) John Bourchier, 1st Lord Berners (c.1411-1474) m. Margery Berners (1409-1475), and had
D4) Sir Humphrey Bourchier, Heir of Berners (1443-1471) m. Elizabeth Tilney (1446-1497), and had
D5) Anne Bourchier (1470-aft.1530) m. Thomas Fiennes, 8th Lord Dacre (see C6 above)

The next blogpost will explore the descent of Ellen Thresher, second wife of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Baronet (see Generation A15 above), from Anne, Duchess of Exeter, sister of Edward IV and Richard III, which descent is an addition to Ruvigny's 1907 Exeter volume.

Cheers,                               -------Brad

{83} Ruvigny Addition: Clarence Descent for Hon. Annette (née Palk) Baird (1851-1884)

Lady Christiana (née Bruce) Rolle (c.1658-1820)

Continuing with the royal lines of descent in the ancestry of Annette (née Palk) Baird, the mother of Muriel Jane Baird, wife of Byron Viner Noel, we have one that is an addition to Ruvigny's 1905 Clarence volume.  On the last of his tables in that volume - Table LXXX on p. 70 - Ruvigny has "Lady Christian Bruce" with two husbands and a question as to whether or not she left issue. As it turns out, she left issue from both of her marriages. The descendants of her second marriage went extinct in 1781, but there are many descendants from Lady Christiana's first marriage living today. Indeed, in the subsequent volume of Ruvigny's series, the Anne of Exeter one published two years later in 1907, Ruvigny shows the wife of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 5th Baronet as "Diana Sparke née Rolle," unaware that Diana was the daughter of Lady Christiana Bruce. So all of Diana's descendants who appear in Sections 57 thru 62 (pp. 128-136) of the Exeter volume, by right should be in the previous Clarence volume.

From Ruvigny's 1905 Clarence volume

Not much is known today of Lady Christiana (Bruce) (Rolle) Gayer, beyond her stunning portrait by Peter Lely. Art historians believe it was painted in 1677, on the occasion of her first marriage to John Rolle. Per their marriage licence, Lady Christiana was then age 19 and her husband age 28, so nine years her senior. Rolle, even though both of his parents were living, was old enough to choose his own bride, and as her portrait indicates, Lady Christiana was a great beauty. She was the fourth surviving daughter of the earl of Ailesbury, one of the most active peers in the House of Lords and one of the most trusted by King Charles II. The 1677 licence states that Ailesbury gave his consent to his daughter's marriage. He had arranged for his two eldest daughters to marry young baronets, and after the eldest one was widowed about the age of twenty, he arranged her subsequent marriage to the heir to the earldom of Rutland.

From Ruvigny's 1907 Exeter volume

Lord Ailesbury could have anticipated a grand match into the peerage for his next marriageable daughters Lady Mary and Lady Christiana, who were only a year apart. John Rolle had no title, nor the prospect of one, when he asked the earl for his daughter's hand. Nevertheless, the prospective groom came from a strong Royalist family and his father, Sir John Rolle senior, was moderately active in the Cavalier Parliament which had started in 1661 and would continue on until 1679. Even better, the Rolles were considered the wealthiest family in the West Country, holding over forty manors in Devon alone, and an annual income of about £6,000. Lord Ailesbury could be assured that his daughter would never want for anything.

Lady Christiana's first husband emerges even less clearly today that she does. Constantly in the shadow of his father, a Knight of the Bath, the younger John Rolle ran for his own seat in Parliament, at Barnstaple in 1685, but was defeated by two Tories. He died four years later, at the premature age of forty, with a 62-year-old father who would survive for another seventeen years, and a 30-year-old widow with several young children (three sons and a daughter survived infancy). With both her parents now dead and her brother the 2nd earl of Ailesbury in exile with the deposed King James II, Lady Christiana could no longer count on the head of the Bruce family as a powerful figure at court. If she wanted any kind of life independent of her wealthy in-laws in Devon, she only had her sisters and their husbands to turn to for advice and support. It is from the family circle of her sister Lady Anne Rich that Lady Christiana found her second husband.

Gayer of Stoke Poges  Coat of Arms
[Ermine a fleur de lys on a chief a mullet or]

Sir Robert Gayer was in his late 50s in 1690, a widower with five children, ranging in age from 24 to 11. His first wife had died in 1683, and her brother, Sir William Rich, 2nd Baronet of Sonning (c.1654-1711), was married to Lady Anne (née Bruce), the elder sister of Lady Christiana Rolle. He had a townhouse on Jermyn Street in Westminster, and a country seat in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, which he had spent the past decade re-modelling and updating. Gayer was descended from the younger son of a minor gentry family from Liskeard in Cornwall, but it was trade that made the family's fortune. His father Sir John Gayer (1584-1649) had been a merchant and member of both the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers and the East India Company, who served terms as Sheriff and as Lord Mayor of London, and served time in the Tower for his support of Charles I. Sir Robert Gayer proved as fervently devoted to the Stuart dynasty as his father had been. He had been made a Knight of the Bath at the Coronation of Charles II (as had John Rolle senior, Lady Christiana's father-in-law), and was dismayed by the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89 which saw James II usurped from the throne by his own son-in-law William of Orange. Though he was almost two dozen years her senior, Lady Christiana married Sir Robert Gayer at some point early in the 1690s. It is from her second marriage that we have the only surviving anecdotal story involving Lady Christiana:

"Gayer is said to have been a humourist, sometimes very captious, and much afflicted with the gout. He was greatly attached to the House of Stuart, and the exiled branch of that family; and it is related, that Stoke House having been then lately rebuilt with some splendour, was become an object of much curiosity and attraction; and amongst others, King William III went thither to see it: but his Majesty's arrival threw the old Knight into a violent passion, and he vehemently swore that he would never permit the King to come under his roof. 'He has got possession of another man's house already--he is a usurper; tell him to go back again.' In vain Lady Gayer [Christiana] interposed; but not prevailing, she fell down upon her knees, and entreated Sir Robert to let the King (who was all this time waiting in his coach at the door) see the house. But he only raved more furiously, and declared an Englishman's house is his castle, and that he would never permit the King to come within those walls. So his Majesty went back again, and never saw Stoke Poges" [George Lipscomb, History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham, 1847].

Manor House, Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire

With Sir Robert Gayer, Lady Christiana bore two sons, James and Edward. Naming their elder boy in honour of the exiled Stuart monarch lends support to there being some truth behind the tale of Gayer's defiance of William III. When he made his will in 1699, Sir Robert bequeathed £5,000 to each of his two young sons with Lady Christina. He died two years later and was buried in the Gayer family vault in London, next to his first wife. Lady Christina survived him twelve years, taking a townhouse in South Kensington. She died in 1720 at age 62, and was buried in Devon next to her first husband. Edward Gayer, the younger of her sons from her second marriage, is thought to have died without issue. James Gayer, no doubt with the assistance of his wealthy Rolle half-brothers, made his home in the West Country, at Rockbeare House near Exeter, Devon, and died in 1764, leaving a son Dr.  James Gayer (1717-1776), rector of Marham Church, Cornwall 1750-76, who died unmarried, and a daughter Christiana Susanna Gayer (1713-1781) wife of Stuckley Lucas of Southampton, at whose death the line of Sir Robert and Lady Christiana Gayer became extinct.

Bruce Earl of Ailesbury Coat of Arms

Lady CHRISTIANA BRUCE, b. c.1658 (age "about 19" in 1677); d. 5 Apr. 1720, bur. 23 Apr. 1720 St Mary Church, Bicton, Devon, 4th surv. dau. of Robert Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury (1626-1685, descended from Edward III) and Lady Diana Grey (c.1629-1689, descended from Edward III); m. 1st 9 June 1677 St Andrew Church, Ampthill, JOHN ROLLE, Heir of Stevenstone House, b. c.1649 (aged 28 in 1677); bur. 22 Apr. 1689 St Mary Church, Bicton, son of Sir John Rolle of Stevenstone House (1627-1706) and Florence Rolle (1631-1705, descended from Edward III), and had issue, three sons and three daughters; m. 2nd c.1690, as his 2nd wife, Sir ROBERT GAYER of Westminster and Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, b. c.1636; d. 14 June 1701, bur. 18 June 1701 St Katherine Cree, London, son of Sir John Gayer of London (1584-1649) and Katherine Hopkins, and had further issue, two sons[*1].

Issue of Lady Christiana (Bruce) (Rolle) and Sir Robert Gayer:

1) JAMES GAYER of Rockbeare House, Devon, b. c.1693 (admitted to Cambridge Apr. 1709 age 15) London; bur. 21 Nov. 1764 St Michael & All Angels Church, Sowton, Devon; m. 1st by 1716, SUSANNA (----), bur. 12 Apr. 1760 St Michael & All Angels Church, Sowton, and had issue, one son and one daughter; m. 2nd 3 June 1762 St Mary Church, Rockbeare, as her 1st husband, MARY MOMPESSON, dau. of George Mompesson of Great Torrington, Devon.

Bath Abbey

Issue of James and Susanna (----) Gayer:

1A) Dr. JAMES GAYER, Rector of Marham Church, Cornwall 1750-76, bap. 11 Apr. 1717 St Mary Church, Buckerell, Devon; d. unm. 22 Feb. 1776, bur. 28 Feb. 1776 St Katherine Cree, London.

1B) CHRISTIANA SUSANNA GAYER, bap. 11 Nov. 1718 St Mary Church, Buckerell; d.s.p. 24 Oct. 1781 Bath, Somersetshire, bur. Bath Abbey; m. 8 Apr. 1763 St Martin in the Fields, London, as his 1st wife, STUCLEY LUCAS of Baronsdown House, Brompton Regis, Somersetshire, b. 7 Oct. 1736 Castle Grove, Bampton, Devon; d. 24 May 1811 Baronsdown House, bur. 25 May 1811 St Mary Church, Brompton Regis, son of Robert Lucas of Castle Grove and Mary Tristram.

2) EDWARD GAYER, b. c.1695; d. unm., bur. 19 May 1733 St Mary Church, Bicton.

[*1] In his 1887 Gayer of Trenbrace pedigree, genealogist John Lambrick Vivian assigned Lady Christiana and Sir Robert Gayer a daughter Mary, wife of Hon. Roger North. Mary Gayer married North in 1796 at age 30, and was in reality the eldest surviving child of Sir Robert Gayer, by his first wife Mary Rich.

For those who enjoy mtDNA as much as I do, it's interesting that Lady Christina (Bruce) (Rolle) Gayer is a 7th-generation mtDNA descendant of Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury.  In fact, Lady Christina's daughter Diana, Lady Wrey can be traced back 14 generations in her mtDNA line to Maria de Padilla (1334-1361), wife of Pedro I, King of Castile. Following is Annette (née Palk) Baird's 20-generation descent from Edward III thru George, Duke of Clarence and Lady Christiana (née Bruce) Rolle.

Edward III had a 2nd surv son:
1) Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence (1338-1368) m. 1) Lady Elizabeth de Burgh (1332-1363, descended from Edward I), and had
2) Lady Philippa Plantagenet of Clarence (1355-1377) m. Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March (1352-1381), and had
3) Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March (1374-1398) m. Lady Alianore Holland (1370-1405, descended from Edward I), and had
4) Lady Anne Mortimer (1388-1411) m. Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (1385-1415, descended from Edward III), and had

3rd Countess of Salisbury -
see Generation 7

5) Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York (1411-1460) m. Lady Cecily Neville (1415-1495, descended from Edward III), and had
6) George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence (1449-1478) m. Lady Isabel Neville (1451-1476, descended from Edward III), and had
7) Margaret Plantagenet, 3rd Countess of Salisbury (1473-1541) m. Sir Richard Pole of Medmenham (1459-1504), and had
8) Ursula Pole (c.1498-1570) m. Henry Stafford, 1st Baron Stafford (1501-1563, descended from Edward III), and had
9) Dorothy Stafford (1526-1604) m. Sir William Stafford of Chebsey (c.1500-1566), and had
10) Elizabeth Stafford (c.1546-1599) m. 1) Sir William Drury of Hawstead Hall (1550-1590, descended from Edward III), and had
11) Elizabeth Drury (1578-1653) m. William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Exeter (1566-1640, descended from Edward III), and had
12) Lady Anne Cecil (1602-1676) m. Henry Grey, 1st Earl of Stamford (c.1599-1673, descended from Edward III), and had
13) Lady Diana Grey (c.1629-1689) m. Robert Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury (1626-1685, descended from Edward III), and had
14) Lady Christiana Bruce (c.1658-1720) m. 1) John Rolle, Heir of Stevenstone House (c.1649-1689, descended from Edward III), and had
15) Diana Rolle (b. c.1685-1721) m. 2) Sir Bourchier Wrey, 5th Baronet of Trebeigh (1683-1726, descended from Edward III), and had

Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Bt -
see Generation 17

16) Sir Bourchier Wrey, 6th Baronet of Trebeigh (1715-1784) m. 2) Ellen Thresher (1733-1813, descended from Edward III), and had
17) Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Baronet of Trebeigh (1757-1826) m. 1) Anne Palk (1764-1791, descended from Henry IV), and had
18) Anna Eleanora Wrey (1787-1846) m. 2) Sir Lawrence Vaughan Palk, 3rd Baronet of Haldon House (1793-1860, descended from Henry IV), and had
19) Lawrence Palk, 1st Baron Haldon (1818-1883) m. Maria Harriet Hesketh (1826-1905, descended from Edward III), and had
20) Hon. Annette Maria Palk (1851-1884), wife of Sir Alexander Baird, 1st Baronet of Ury

The next blogpost will examine the Edward III descents of John Rolle, first husband of Lady Christiana Bruce.

Cheers,                         ----Brad