Archive:The Ancestry of John Whitney, Chapter V, Part 1
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Melville, Henry, A.M., LL.B., The Ancestry of John Whitney: Who, with His Wife Elinor, and Sons John, Richard, Nathaniel, Thomas, and Jonathan, Emigrated from London, England, in the Year 1635, and Settled in Watertown, Massachusetts; the First of the Name in America, and the One from Whom a Great Majority of the Whitneys Now Living in the United States Are Descended (New York, NY: The De Vinne Press, 1896).
CHAPTER V
THE WHITNEYS OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
James Whitney; marriage to Blanche Milbourne; her ancestry and
possessions. Description of Icomb. James Whitney, Receiver of
Newport, 1521-22. James Whitney, Sewer for the Chamber, 1516;
Receiver-General, etc., 1530. Robert Whitney of Icomb; marriage;
in charge of estate of Duke of Buckingham, 1523; Commissioner of
Peace for Gloucestershire, 1524; Sheriff of Gloucestershire, 1527,
'28, '29, '30; nominated Knight of the Bath at Coronation of Anne
Boleyn, 1533; pensioned from Monastery lands, 1535; "Attendant
upon the King's person," in war of 1536, supplying forty men;
death, 1541; will. John Whitney, the "bedfelloe" of Roger As-
cham. Robert Whitney knighted, 1553; summoned by privy council,
1555, 1559; in Parliament, 1559; marriage; ancestry of his wife
Sybil Baskerville; quarterings of Whitney Arms; Inquest post
mortem, 1567. James Whitney knighted, 1570; Sheriff, 1574, 1586,
1587; Suitor for hand of Barbara Gamage; death, 1587; will.
CONTEMPORARIES.
Persons. Events.
King Henry VII. 1485-1509. Battle of Flodden Field 1513.
King Henry VIII. 1509-1547. Beginning of Reformation . 1517.
King Edward VI. 1547-1553. Conquest of Mexico 1519.
Queen Mary 1553-1558. Fall of Wolsey 1529.
Queen Elizabeth 1558-1603. Execution of Anne Boleyn . . 1536.
Martin Luther. . . . b. 1483, d. 1546. Persecution of Protestants, 1553-58.
Thomas Wolsey . b. 1471, d. 1530. Massacre of St. Bartholomew .1572.
Thomas Cranmer . b. 1489, d. 1556. Rise of Dutch Republic 1579.
Thomas Cromwell . b. 1490, d. 1540. First Colonists in Virginia . .1585.
Mary Queen of Scots, b. 1542, d.1587. Conquest of Spanish Armada, 1588.
Sir Walter Raleigh, b. 1552, d. 1618. Edict of Nantes 1598.
116
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 117 THE head of the Whitney family in the early years of the sixteenth century was James, or, as Judge Cooke, perhaps improperly, calls him, "Sir James Whitney of Whitney Court."1 With him begins a pedigree, proved, 1634, in the College of Arms, where the original manuscript still is. According to this, a copy of which is in the Appendix, he married Blanche, fourth daughter and co-heir of Simon Milbourne, a lady of wealth and of a lineage so distinguished as to be worthy of careful attention. Sir John Eynesford (or Eylesford), elected a repre- sentative for Herefordshire in ten Parliaments, died leaving an only child, Elizabeth, who inherited his very considerable estate. Elizabeth Eynesford married Sir Piers Milbourne of Lincolnshire, by whom she had an only child, John. John Milbourne married, in 1434, Elizabeth, daugh- ter of Sir Walter Devereux, and died leaving one child, Simon. Elizabeth survived him for many years. On their tombstone was this inscription: "John Milbourne, who was Peter's heir, A Squire was he, and lyeth here. And eke his wife, Lord Devereux daughter Who here was buried forty years after." 1 Cooke's "History of Herefordshire," Hundred of Grimsworth, p. 52. From the Conquest till the wars of the Roses, knighthood, though be- stowed by the sovereign on each individual with appropriate ceremo- nies, in a leading county family like that of Whitney was, to all intents and purposes, hereditary, like the title of Baronet at the present day. Each head of the family, if he had not before gained it by distin- guished public service, received it on succeeding to the estate. During
118 The Ancestry of John Whitney Simon Milbourne, twice Sheriff of Herefordshire, increased his fortune by marrying an heiress, Jane, only child of Ralph, a younger son of Sir John Basker- ville, and died leaving only daughters, who thus in- herited through both their parents. One of these daughters was Blanche, who married James Whitney. Sir John Eynesford, = Christian, daughter of M. P. ten times, | Sir Gerard de Furnival. |_______ | Sir Piers Milbourne, = Elizabeth. | _____________| | John Milbourne, = Elizabeth, daughter of | Sir Walter Devereux. _________| | Simon Milbourne, = Jane, daughter of | Ralph Baskerville. |__ | James Whitney, = Blanche. Lady Whitney's maternal ancestors wore equally distinguished. Sir John Blackett (or Blaket), of Icomb in Glouces- tershire, who fought at Agincourt, married Margaret, daughter of Sir John Eynesford, above mentioned, and died in 1431, by his will bequeathing his body "to the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin in the church at Icomb," and leaving as his heiress a daughter, Anne. Anne Blackett married Ralph Baskerville, son of Sir John Baskerville, and had an only daughter, Jane. Jane Baskerville married Simon Milbourne and had a daughter, Blanche, who married James Whitney.
TOMB OF SIR JOHN BLACKETT.
In the Parish Church at Icomb.
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 119
Sir John Blackett, = Margaret, daughter of
of Icomb, | Sir John Eynesford.
|__
|
Ralph Baskerville, = Anne.
|_
|
Simon Milbourne, = Jane.
|___
|
James Whitney, = Blanche.
Her descent through the Baskervilles is also worth
tracing.
This family was founded by a knight who came
over with William the Conqueror, fought at Senlac,
and was one of those named in the famous roll of
Battle Abbey. He settled at Eardisley Castle, near
Whitney, and his descendants intermarried with the
best West of England families, served as Sheriffs of
Herefordshire twenty-one times, and were elected
Knights of the Shire eleven times.
Sir John Baskerville, who fought at Agincourt,
married Elizabeth, daughter of John Brugge, of
Letton and Staunton in Herefordshire, and died,
leaving a second son, Ralph, who married Anne,
daughter of Sir John Blackett.
Sir John Baskerville = Elizabeth, daughter and
| heiress of John Brugge.
____________|
|
Ralph Baskerville, = Anne, daughter of
| Sir John Blackett.
|________
|
Simon Milbourne, = Jane Baskerville.
|______
|
James Whitney = Blanche Milbourne.
120 The Ancestry of John Whitney Through this marriage with an heiress, the last of a line of heiresses, the Whitneys added to their ar- morial shield a number of quarterings from the fami- lies whose names had become extinct--of which more will be said later--and gained, with other property, the beautiful old manor-house at Icomb, built about A. D. 1400, by Sir John Blackett, whose marble effigy can still be seen in a chapel attached to the parish church close by. The following description of the monument, shown in the accompanying photograph, is from the pen of Rev. David Royce, A. M., Vicar of Nether Swell, Gloucestershire, a distinguished antiquarian: It is, says Mr. Royce, a recessed tomb with a straight- sided arch, handsomely and doubly cusped. The tomb has in front seven arched niches, and one at each end. In each niche a figure. In the centre the Eternal Father support- ing the Crucifix. On either side are two kneeling figures, the one, the knight; the other, his wife in horned head- dress. On either side of these, again, are angels bearing shields--in the two outer niches, their respective patron saints, S. John the Baptist, and S. Margaret. The knight is thus accoutred: his head (encased in a bassinet to which is fastened the camail or tippet of chain- work) rests on his tilting helmet, surmounted by his crest-- a cap of maintenance with a horse's or ass's ears erect, like feathers on either side. Over a habergeon or skirt of chain mail, a jupon, charged with armorial bearings, viz., Quar- terly, 1 and 4, az., a bond between 6 cross crosslets, or, tre- rolls fitche'e or, Blaket; 2 and 3, gules, 3 Danish axes, or, Hackluit. They are not halberds, as Nash supposes, for Lewston. Three e'paulie'res, or overlapping plates, edged or picked out with gold, protect the shoulders--rerebraces and vambraces sheath the arms--the collar of knighthood, with trefoil clasp, adorns the neck (ergo Sir John)--the
GROUND PLAN.
PLAN OF FIRST FLOOR.
A. Hall. B. Withdrawing-room. C. Courts. D. Parlour. B. Gateway.
F. Servants' Hall. G. Cellar. B+ Chapel. I. Solar.
ICOMB PLACE, GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 121
legs are enclosed in plate--the genouille'res are fan-shaped
like the elbow-pieces--sollerets and spurs arm the feet,
resting against a dog--on the right side is an anelace or
misericorde attached to a baudric, passing horizontally over
the hip, and (what is unusual) a studded belt, passing diag-
onally from the waist, carries the sword on the left side.
The hands are clasped in prayer. There is something very
striking in these effigies. The soldier dies in panoply as
each soldier of Christ should die. Then there is the repose
of the figure--the meek uplifting of the hands in prayer,
as "if the last moment of life were spent in imploring the
mercy so soon to be needed." The still, solemn, reverent
posture, befits the sanctity of the place where the memorial
is enshrined. The attitude of the effigy--a continuing
symbol of the attitude of the spirit, discharged from the
war, expectant, ever praying for the accomplishing of the
number of the elect and the hastening of the Kingdom.
The same learned gentleman, in a paper read be-
fore the Worcester Diocesan Architectural Society,
August 11, 1869, thus describes the manor-house:
ICOMB PLACE
Is a venerable memorial of the stability and grandeur
of England in olden time. This building is a rare type of
the "places" of gentlefolk in the fifteenth century.
It is not remarkable for any contrivances or arrange-
ments for defence. There are the remains, indeed, of a deep
broad moat, fed by springs from the neighboring hill--ex-
cavated perhaps for the defence of a former stronghold
upon this same spot. The aspect of the present house, on
the south side, is commanding, overlooking (what may be
termed) a ravine. On the west, however, the house itself
is overlooked and commanded by one of the spurs of the
Cotswolds. It was built or rebuilt in the fifteenth century,
when mansions had begun to lay aside their warlike char-
122 The Ancestry of John Whitney acteristics, and to adopt the more comfortable arrange- ments of the Tudor period. The plan of Icomb Place is quadrangular, yet not true to the square. The west side of the first quadrangle is several feet wider than the east. This irregularity has not arisen, apparently, from more recent alterations. They were not, perhaps, very nice on such a point in olden times. As regards the condition of the house, it is one of decay and desolation. Still it is a matter of congratulation that the shell survives, and that so much remains to furnish a clue to its original arrangement. On approaching the house for the first time, the eye is surprised and attracted by the portal, which--projecting a little from the main building, flanked by buttresses, and surmounted by a handsome traceried window, with an em- battled parapet in line with the eaves of the roof--has much the effect of a gateway tower. The mouldings of the gateway are bold and characteristic. The four-centred arch is of the depressed form. The original gates still retain their position: they are of oak, framed, ledged, and stud- ded with nails. The window above the gateway is light and graceful, al- though not enriched with cusps. It consists of four lights --a central and bolder mullion dividing these into pairs. The arch of each light is ogeed. The tracery is composed of eight elongated oval openings, with label knees from the cornice over. The windows in the front wall were originally seven. Four to the right of the gateway--two in the upper story, of two lights, plain arched, square-headed, and labelled; and two of three lights of the same description below. The three to the left of the gateway, viz., one next to the latter (perhaps a look-out window), and two others to the east (one above, the other below), are of the same character as those just mentioned, only without labels. Two later win- dows have been inserted to light a more recent stair. All
ICOMB PLACE.
The Gateway.
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 123 these windows, excepting the one over the gateway, once ornamental with artistic glazing, and the heraldic or storied pane, arc now walled up. The original shutters remain. Two tall square chimnies, on this north side, spring from the wall midway, as on a bracket. Those are well conceived, relieving the front from flatness, and breaking the line of the long roof, which is terminated at each end by a coped gable. On entering the gateway, right and left are doorways Tudor-headed--the one, left, opening into, probably, the porter's lodge, or an apartment for the domestics. This room is lighted by the two windows in the north front (left of the gateway already described), and by a two-light win- dow of later date to the east, or end wall. A door at the south-east corner opens into the store-room or cellar' of the establishment. The occupants of this room were of a sturdy and devoted spirit, to judge by one specimen. In a View of Frankpledge (most kindly lent me by C. S. Whitmore, Esq., of I.. Slaughter,) held in 2 Henry V., Richard Tybaray, bailiff of the hundred, presented Nicholas, servant of John Blaket, for resisting him in the discharge of the functions of his office, and for drawing his dagger upon him, for which burst of feeling, said Nicholas was fined 20d., accord- ing to the value of the dagger. This room is provided with a good fireplace. The door on the opposite side of the gateway opens into a large apartment lighted by four windows, two looking north (already noticed), a larger one in the west gable of four lights, and the fourth, of a single compartment look- ing south into the quadrangle. Here again we find a sub- stantial stone fireplace. This may have been the general room of the family. If so (and if of the date of Sir John Blaket, the hero of Agincourt) here,--with Margaret, daugh- ter of Sir Ralph Hastings, whose maternal arms were once in the chantry window--and subsequently with Margaret Wroughton or Worstan (his second wife, and probably a daughter of Sir John Eynsford), and with their children
124 The Ancestry of John Whitney Edmond and Anne Blaket--and in his later days with Elizabeth Trillowe (his third wife, and widow of Sir Thomas Wilcotes),--Sir John Blaket, released from the toils and perils of war, enjoyed domestic seclusion and repose. And all imposing group it was, if Margaret in Nosely Church, Leicestershire, or Elizabeth Blaket in Northleigh, Oxon, be faithfully represented by their effigies--(See Skelton's "Oxfordshire" for an engraving of the latter exquisite sculp- ture)--or Sir John by the figure in the chantry of Icomb Church--or, again, if this were the domestic apartment, a lively scene it was, when Simon Milbourne of Icomb (who married Sir John Blaket's grand-daughter) with his eleven daughters lived and moved within it. We pass from a this room by a door in the south wall to another somewhat spacious apartment, forming the west side of the quadrangle. The first thing which catches the eye is an oriel (more striking externally) carried up the whole height of the building. Next to this oriel is a large six-light window of good workmanship, enriched with cusps. There is a fireplace opposite, and a winding stone stair in the south-west corner of this room, leads up to the chapel. In the south wall, near the east angle, is a Tudor- headed doorway into the grand dining-hall. This was prob- ably a gathering room or ante-room to the hall,--or it may have been a private dining room in the which the knight and his successors preferred a more quiet repast. Then the oriel at the end might answer, on a small scale, to those in larger dining halls,--or it may have been a nook into which people might retire for a quiet gossip, or for a little Gothic flirtation. From this room, by the above door, we enter the spa- cious and lofty hall, lighted by two fine transomed windows, with oval openings in the head on the north, and by one on the south, of similar design to the one over the gateway. The southern window has been converted into a door-way, in the splay of which is fixed a circular plain stoup, which looks too fresh to have been an ancient appendage to the
ICOMB PLACE, INTERIOR OF FIRST COURT.
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 125 hall. A capacious fireplace exists near the dais-end in the southern wall. At the east end is a screen with two en- trances, but this is later work of James I's time. In this hall is still a fine table, 22 ft. 8 in. long, 33 in. broad, 5 in. thick, of Which 17 ft. 4 in. is one solid piece. The fine wain- scot in the porter's lodge and other parts of the building, with draped or linen pattern panels, probably came out of the hall. In one corner stands an important consequential weapon--a halbert, with crescent axe, and hooked beak, with square pole ironed and studded--a relic of the gran- deur and ceremonial of Tudor times. After this dry archi- tectural detail, may Imagination play her part? Then would she people this grand place with stately lady and stalwart knight, with the dignified and venerable Abbot of Bruerne, ever a welcome guest--with gentle priest--with gallant esquire--with grave official--and busy servant. There presided Sir John Blaket in damask gown--having laid aside the stiffness and stateliness of the knight for the graces of courtesy and hospitality. Fish, flesh, and fowl, and pasties of the doe, are brought in with solemn pomp. The "crater argenteus vocatus the great belle of silver, the quarter-potte of silver" (bequeathed to the Abbot of Bru- erne), sparkle with Ippocrits or Malvoisie. The conversa- tion runs on the party politics of those unsettled days--ere long it turns to martial scenes--the recital of some feat of military daring stirs the blood, and then, old walls, did ye not ring with a lusty cheer for English prowess, of brave men and good soldiers, ever lavish of their very life for England's security and fame. Then, in turn, softer music of minstrels in the gallery (over the screen) modifies the noise below-whilst trophies--on the walls, won in perilous campaign, or banners bearing the insignia of the family, seem to flutter and rustle in unison and sympathy. But from romance to reality. Leaving the hall, we find our- selves in the passage connecting the quadrangles. At the end, opening into the front quadrangle, is a fine sharp- pointed Perpendicular door, with jambs moulded halfway
126 The Ancestry of John Whitney
down, and with shields and tracery in the spandrils. At
the other end a plainer door. This passage, called "the
screens," divides the hall from the buttery. The hatch still
remains, at which we must again imagine what stores were
dispensed to the cook--what rations to the domestics--
and, better still, what bounty to the poor.
To the north of the buttery, forming the east side of the
front quadrangle, were the celler and larder--the impor-
tant store-house of the establishment. The kitchen appears
to have been beyond the buttery, forming the east side of
the second quadrangle, and now part of the modern resi-
dence. The south and west sides of the second quadrangle
are now used as offices. In this quadrangle, on the west
side, was, perhaps, the bakehouse, mentioned in Edmond
Blaket's will. In the south-west corner of this quadrangle,
now used as a back-kitchen, is a wide open fireplace, with a
massive timber mantel; and a never-failing supply of water
from the neighboring spring.
The First Floor.
We will now retrace our steps to the south-west corner
of what has been called the withdrawing-room. There the
stone stair, afore-mentioned, conducts into what tradition
has handed down as the Chapel. For our forefathers cared
not, alone, for their own animal gratification and comfort,
and temporal dignity, nor for the mere shelter and support,
board and lodging, of their dependents. They were equally
careful for the spiritual welfare of all. Most houses of any
size had one portion set apart for God. There the domestic
chaplain officiated night and day. There the members of
the household congregated. This room, too, would be as a
bond of peace knitting all hearts in Icomb Place together.
The well-spring of repose it was amidst time excitement pe-
culiar to those days. Here uplifted heart and hand would
feel themselves relaxed, yet braced for future exploit. This
chapel has a good window of three lights in the east wall,
ICOMB PLACE.
Upper portion of the projection in the northwest angle of the first Court.
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 127 well moulded and boldly cusped, like the window in the withdrawing-room below. The mouldings are of similar sections with the window in the chantry. Close by this window, to the left, is the upper and more elaborate portion of the oriel before mentioned. It 'nay have served the pur- pose of a small private oratory, or it may have been a tri- bune, or kind of family pew. The window of the chapel appears to have been splayed away, with reference to this singular projection. Close by the entrance from the stone stairs is a door opening into a room, south of the chapel, set apart, per- haps, for the chaplain. On the left of the fireplace in this room, a square window, low down, communicates with the chapel. Or may this room have been the sick room of the Place, and this opening answer to those in the hospital of S. Cross ? The heads of two priests are carved on the cor- nice of the oriel, outside, together with the head of a lady in mitred head-dress, and of a gentleman in a cap or hat with fall. There is a fireplace in the chapel with oaken kerb. The roof of the chapel is of the barrel or waggon kind--the rafters massive and close, each with an arched rib like those in the chantry aisle of the church (if laid bare), or those in New College cloisters. From the chapel we pass (by the garderobe on the left), into the room of the Place. Originally the solar--a gal- lery--a place of resort for dancing and amusements. It is a very long room, reaching the whole length of the build- ing, originally. It is a magnificent room. Here is a fine specimen of the timber roof of the period, with its prin- ciples, purlings, and broad curved braces. A flat panelled ceiling appears to have been introduced, probably for warmth's sake, at a subsequent period, of which the hori- zontal beams alone remain. The stair with its partitions, now dividing this room, seems of later date. These par- titions look as if they had been brought from the Hall. Two rooms were formed out of one to make things more snug. The two windows, to the right of the principal
128 The Ancestry of John Whitney
gateway, as before stated, were inserted to light this
newly constructed stair. Each of these rooms has a fire-
place--or there were two fireplaces in the original solar,
which was lighted by six windows--one in each gable--
one of two lights looking into the quadrangle--two on the
north, already noticed, with the window over the gateway.
The internal finish of this window is to be admired, with its
intra-mural arch and open spandrils. And, if Fancy may
be allowed to introduce herself again, in such a matter-of-
fact thing as an archaeological survey, she would fill this
room, on some grand gathering, festive occasion, or high
day, with the illustrious throng of the then neighboring
great--such as Hastings of Daylesford, Baskervilles of
Coombe, Cliffords, Bassets--ladies of dignified yet gentle
mien--men, noble in descent, sage in council, and daring
in action--the pride and flower of English chivalry.
A door at the south-east corner of this room admits into
the east side of the quadrangle--perhaps the sleeping
apartments. Here are the bedrooms of the present inhab-
ited portion, accessible by stairs of later date, close to the
buttery hatch. In one of the rooms is a fine Jacobean fire-
place, which, with the outside appearance of this part, would
make one suppose that the room, in later times, had been
an up-stairs withdrawing-room. The iron work of the win-
dows is noticeable, particularly the ingenious latch and bolt
arrangement. In a pane of the window of this room is the
following couplet:
"June, 1691.
"Let others learn to live, there's nothing I
Esteem worth learning but the way to die.
Sept. 8, 1691. H. Cope."
London to Icomb
On another pane which has disappeared--
"June, 1688.
"Sanat, vivificat, Ditat quoque
Surgere mane'. II. Cope."
ICOMB PLACE.
Doorway into the passage at the end of the Dining-Hall.
South side of first Court.
Whitneys of the Sixteenth Century 129 There are attics above, now without floors. On the end wall of one is drawn, in chocolate, in full sail, a three-mast ship. One over the east end of the hall is called Dyke's chamber. The present proprietor, Mr. S. M Simpson, has re- cently restored the building, and, repairing the rav- ages of five hundred years, occupies it as a residence, the most beautiful of any in the surrounding country. The photographs shown give some idea of its appear- ance, but not much of its situation, which is on high ground in the Cotswold hills, commanding a view toward the east and north for many miles. To James and Blanche Whitney, according to the Harleian Manuscripts, wore born four children, viz.: (1) Robert, their heir; (2) James, spoken of at length below; (3) Watkin, who married Margaret, daughter and heir of Jenkin Reese of Clyro in Radnorshire, and (4) Elizabeth, who married Thomas Morgan of Arkston, and was the mother of Anne, who married Henry Carey, Lord Hunsdon, K. G., who played so important a part in politics during the reign of Eliza- beth, and lies buried in Westminster Abbey. While some of these children were young James died, and it seems that his widow soon married Sir William Herbert, Knight, of Troy in Monmouthshire, a dis- tinguished man, by whom she had two sons, Sir Charles Herbert, Knight, and Sir Thomas Herbert, Knight. It is so stated in Harleian Manuscript No. 1041, Visitation of Gloucestershire, 1623, in British Museum; and in Cooke's "Hundred of Grimsworth," page 52. The other Harleian Manuscripts represent her as a widow when she married Whitney. Which- ever are correct, Whitneys, and not Herberts, in- herited her lands.
Copyright © 2004, 2006, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group
Categories:
- Medieval
- England
- Herefordshire, England
- Whitney, Herefordshire, England
- Pencombe, Herefordshire, England
- Ocle Pitcherd, Herefordshire, England
- Kings Caple, Herefordshire, England
- Comwich, Herefordshire, England
- Clifton, Herefordshire, England
- Gloucestershire, England
- Icomb, Gloucestershire, England
- Wales
- Monmouthshire, Wales
- Troy, Monmouthshire, Wales
- Radnorshire, Wales
- Boughrood, Radnorshire, Wales
