The Bramhall Family Page was originally set up to collect as much information as possible about the Bramhall's, Dickinson's and Lee's in Lancashire. These families became linked through marriage many years ago and these were the lines concentrated on initially. The author was born and raised in the shadow of Brookfield Unitarian Church, in Gorton, Manchester and has been researching the Bramhall Family History since 1992. The Unitarian Society was established in 1791. The term Unitarian began being used in Europe at the beginning of the 17th century. John Biddle (1615-62) is considered to be the first minister to establish a Unitarian congregation in Britain. The original Brookfield Chapel is shown here the mounting block of which is just inside the gates beside the Lodge and has the date 1703 on it, the date the old chapel was built. Further information is available at Robert Siddall's pages of Brookfield Church Memorabilia.
PLEASE NOTE: For ease of searching, all BAGOT names are entered as such [BAGOT] and all KINNERSLEY names are entered as such [KINNERSLEY] regardless of precise spelling of the time.
EARLY ANCESTORS
THE ARBLASTER's The Arblaster Family of Longden was entered at the 1583 and 1663-4 Visitations, and is given with much elaboration by Shaw in his History of Staffordshire. There is an illustration of Liswis Hall, Staffordshire here.
THE BAGOT's The first record of a Bagot I have is Bagod of Bramshall who held Bramshall Branselle of Robert de TONEI alias de STAFFORD c. 1051 - 1088. Arms of BAGOTs of Blithfield = [1] Ermine two chevrons azzure[1330] [BAGOT][2] Argent a chevron gules between three martlets sable [MALLORY later BAGOT] [c. 1335]
Sir Ralph Bagot [1327 - 1376] Lord of Bagots Bromley, Blymhill and Bramshall was 17th G Grandfather to the author who acquired Blithfield Hall on his marriage to Elizabeth Blithfield [daughter and heiress of John Blithfield, 18th GreatGrandfather of the author of this web site] at Blithfield Parish Church in 1357 and who, by right of his wife became Lord of Blithfield, Colton and Newton.
Sir Richard Bagot [1412 - 1485] slain at the Battle of Bosworth.
Sir Lewis Bagot [c. 1460] was Patron of Blithfield; Knight of the sword 1501; Knight of the Body 1501-7;Knighted c 1506; Sherriff, Staffs 1506-7, 1520-1; J.P. Staffs 12 July 1508-16; Nov 1520, 16 Feb 1531 detained [pardoned] c 1509; M.P. Staffs [a Captain in France] 1513; Served at Terouenne and Tournay; at the Field of the Cloth of Gold 1520;
Colonel Richard Bagot's Regt of Foote. Born in 1618, Colonel Richard Bagot, second cousin of the author, was the fourth son of Sir Hervey Bagot, First Baronet, and a prominent Staffordshire landowner. The Bagot family lived at Blithfield, a country estate about six miles north of Lichfield, where they kept the famous Bagot herd of goats.
In 1642 Richard was commissioned as an Ensign in Lord Kerrey's Regiment of Foote, raised to suppress rebellion in Ireland. By the outbreak of the Civil War during that year, Richard had been promoted to Captain in Colonel Bolles Regiment of the King's Army and it appears that, following the Edgehill campaign in Autumn 1642, Richard returned to Staffordshire to recruit for the Royalist cause.
Richard Bagot was chosen by Prince Rupert to become Governor of Lichfield Close (with promotion to Colonel) on 22nd April 1643 following the removal of its Parliamentary garrison by Prince Rupert. At the same time he was given the task of raising a regiment of horse and another of foot to form the Lichfield Garrison. In this task he had the help of his brother Hervey, the third son, who also was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Richard raised the regiment of horse which he commanded himself, and his brother Hervey raised and commanded a regiment of foot. For two years the garrison of Lichfield Close, under the command of Richard Bagot, maintained effectively the Royalist cause in South Staffordshire. During that time the security of the city was assured and it enjoyed a prosperity which did much to alleviate the effects of the war; the hardships and miseries were still to come. So when Prince Rupert re-visited Lichfield in March 1644 on his way to relieve the town of Newark, they rang the bells of St. Mary’s Church for him and they rang them again on his return when his mission had been accomplished in the face of considerable odds.
Marston Moor marked the beginning of a decline in the Royalist fortunes of war. It had always been Charles’ strategy to march on London and take the capital, as the war progressed his chances of doing so grew less and less. After Royalist successes in the summer of 1643, the indecisive Battle of Newbury allowed Essex and the Parliament army to slip away and so prevented the Royalists from moving on to London.
In early May 1645 the Lichfield garrison received orders to join the King, and on the morning of May 15th the citizens of Lichfield lined the streets to see Colonel Bagot’s men go to war. They left the city they had defended for the last two years and headed west, following in the footsteps of the Roman legions. They made contact with the Kings army at Newport, Shropshire on May 16th, providing a welcome reinforcement. They army marched east and on May 30th they took Leicester, and June 11th found them at Daventry where they were met by the advance guard of Parliamentary forces, led by Sir Thomas Fairfax. A skirmish ensued and the King’s army moved away towards Market Harborough with Fairfax following them.
The two armies met near the village of Naseby and on the morning of June 14th faced each other across a narrow valley. The Royalists had some 8,000 men and the Parliamentarians about 14,000. The result was a disaster for the King’s army. Some 900 royalists were killed and half the army taken prisoner. Bagot’s foot were in the Royalist centre where the heaviest fighting took place. Bagot’s horse remained together as a unit after the battle accompanying the King to Ashby and later to Lichfield. They lived to fight another day but their valiant young commander, Richard Bagot, was wounded in the engagement. He received a bullet in his right arm which was to prove fatal. The heavy bullets of those days caused a gaping wound and a compound fracture, and casualties rarely recovered. In his quarters in Lichfield Close, Richard Bagot lay sick from his wound, looked after by his chirurgeons [medical attendants], Richard Thornton and Humphrey Spooner. In spite of all their efforts his health continued to decline and he died on 7 July 1645. He was 26 years of age. Two days later he was buried in the south aisle choir of the war-shattered Lichfield Cathedral where a monument was erected to his memory.
When Lettice Bagot of Blithfield Hall, Blithfield, 9X G Grandmother of the author, married Francis Kinnersley in 1601 Blithfield Hall remained with her brother, Walter Bagot, and was recently featured in the British Television programme "Open University" entitled 'The British Family: Sources and Myths' [May, 2000]. The Bagot Family occupying the Hall during the mid 17th century are shown here together with images of other portraits originally sold but mainly retrieved over a period of years by Nancy, Lady Bagot. More recent photographs of the interior, including the Dining Room and the Great Hall are shown here. The Great Staircase at Blithfield Hall is shown here with a portrait of Elizabeth Cave, bride of Walter Bagot, holding a rose and painted just prior to her marriage to Walter c. 1584.
The Bagot Goat, mascot of British Regiments, is reputed to have been brought back from the Crusades and a herd settled and maintained at Blithfield Hall. My latest information is that a herd is still maintained by the Bagot family at Levens Hall just outside Milnthorpe, near Kendal, Cumbria.
THE BRAMHALL's
The surnames of Bramel, Bramble, Bramhall, Bramley, Bramall, Bramhill, Bramwell and a number of other families are variations of the name of one of three estates situated northeast of Cheshire, England, about eight miles south of Manchester. Bromale, Brokenfeld and Baguley, originally held by Brun and Haeun de Bromale, passed in 1086 into the hands of Hamo de Mascy, who consequently became Hamo de Bromale, it being the custom under feudal order for freemen to be known by the names of their estates. The manor, likewise, derived its name from the first estate, being called Bromhall. As with many English words, the "h" was neglected when the name was spoken and the "o" sounded as a broad "a". This pronunciation, "Bram'all", led to the variety of spellings found today. The Bramhalls, Brimhalls, Bromales, Bramalls -- the name is spelled in various fashion according to the local idiom of the day -- are described in the pedigrees of Archbishop Bramhall and the Davenports as 'the ancient family of Cheshire', and the village of Bramhall is shown on maps about five miles south of Stockport on the Cheadle, a small stream which flows into the Mersey.
Colonel Thomas Bramhall [1620 - 1689] fought under the command of and alongside Prince Rupert, nephew of Charles I and Commander of the Royalist Forces. Following the second Battle of Newbury in October, 1644, Thomas was granted Lands and Title and created Lord Bramhall at Newbury in recognition of his services.
Frederick Bramhall [1896 - 1963], 9th Earl of Newbury, fought in WWI as a private soldier and was mentioned for bravery in diaries of the time. In "The Lancashire Fighting Territorials" by George Bigwood - 1916. "May '7.-Captain H. Smedley reported gallantry of Privates Cunliffe, Thorp, Bramhall, and Taylor "..... in leaving trenches and bringing in wounded under heavy fire from Turkish trenches."
Bramhall Hall in Cheshire is considered by many to be the most beautiful building of its type in the district, being a black and white structure of timber and magpie mortar. It included a chapel, spacious banquet hall, drawing room as well as the usual medieval accommodations. Descriptions of Bromhall manor may be found in "Visitations of the Seats and Arms of the Noblemen and Gentlemen of Great Britain", by Burks (1852, Vol. 1) and the "Works of John Bramhall, D.D., Archbishop of Ardmagh, Ireland" (1677) and "Genealogy of the Bramhall Family", by Frank L. Bramhall (1903).
THE KINNERSLEY's The name of "Kinnersley" contains in it the earliest history of the place. Some Saxon colonist, called "Kynard" or a "Kineherd" made his clearing (ley) in the dense forest which covered the greater portion of Western Herefordshire, and in the fosse and stockade, raised to protect him from the attack of man and beast, laid the foundation of the future Castle. At what period the stone structure was first erected is impossible to say as most of it has been effaced by later building on its site, but supposing it to have been coeval with the earliest part of the Church, it would be Norman. It formed, at an early period, the home of a family which took its name from their place of residence and the old pedigree of the Kinnersleys or Kynardeslys is adorned with the representation of a moated Castle (of a very conventional type) in front of which stands an old man, halberd in hand and supported by twelve armed men, awaiting passage across the drawbridge of three mounted solseirs. The preamble of the pedigree informs us that this represents John de Kynardesley and his sons receiving the sheriff and his officers when they came by the Conqueror's order to survey the land for the Domesday Book! It adds "the armes ye Kynnardsleys bore at first was Azure a Lyon rampant argent, until one Hugh de Kynardsley went into the Holy Land with Prince Edward in vita H.3. where he received knighthood and had ye Hierusalem Crosses added to his Coate of Armes." Visit the Kinnersley Castle web site for more information.
The Staffordshire Kinnersley's come down from John de Kinnardsleye [c.1200 - 1275] of Kinnardsleye Castle, Herefordshire to Hannah Kinnersley [1840 - c.1905], daughter of Charles Arblaster KINNERSLEY and great grandmother of the author who married farmer James Lee in 1860 and is shown here outside Wards Cottage, Wards Farm, Rivington, circa. 1905. Charles Arblaster Kinnersley, resided at Sheephouse Cottage, Rivington during the construction of the Rivington Reservoir when Charles was a bookkeeper with the Liverpool Water Authority, later to become the North West Water Board.
In 1327 Loxley Hall and its Staffordshire estate passed through marriage to the Kynnersleys of Kynnersley Castle, Hereford when John Kynnersley married Joanna de Ferrers, sister and heiress of Thomas de Ferrers, Lord of Loxley.
Sir Thomas Kynnersley's tomb of alabaster in Uttoxeter Parish Church shows him in armour as he would have worn during the Wars of the Roses which ended with the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 and the beginning of the Tudor Reign with Henry VII.
Between 1817 and 1874, Clough Hall, Kidsgrove was the residence of the Kinnersley family. This stately mansion was built by John Guilbert in 1800. It had twenty bedrooms and many of the rooms had magnificent mahogany panelling. In 1890, it was opened as a public pleasure park known as 'The paradise of the Potteries'. It was famed for its ornate gardens and summer fetes, with many dare-devil rides. The pleasure park was closed in 1905. During the first world war, the hall was used as a residential hotel and also housed some Belgian refugees. By 1920, the changes after the war resulted in little local interest in Clough Hall. The building was sadly demolished in 1925. All that remains now is The Lodge which is situated in The Avenue at the corner of Boathouse Road, and was one of the lodges to the Clough Hall estate. Now a private house, it fell into serious disrepair until recently when it was renovated.
Some births, marriages and deaths of the KINNERSLEY family are recorded in the GRO Index to KINNERSLEY BMD's.
Descendents of the BAGOT family who emigrated to Australia are recorded in the Index to Bagot BMD's.
Descendents of the KINNERSLEY family who emigrated to Australia are recorded in the Index to Kinnersley BMD's.
The KINNERSLEY family in the 1901 UK Census.
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