The de Vere to Wentworth years at Belchamp Walter
This is (was) a straight dump of Thomas Wright's text from The History and Topography of Essex 1831/36.
The formatting (quoted text) is being cleaned up. The text is in the process of being annotated with cross-references to other pages. I admit that the dump was a cheap-shot and it is only now (Xmas 2025) I am starting to put things into context.
The history of Belchamp Walter as related to Botetourt has been a focus that I started (somewhat) my history of the village. The lack of documentation and the "self-serving" Wikipedia page coupled with Thomas Wright has not helped. The period of English history of the later years of Edward II and the activities of the Despensers has not been recorded in any of the histories that I have seen.
A dump of text from The History and Topology of Essex
Page formerly titled: Conquest to "the Post Civil war years"
This page is now superceeded by my storyboard "Conquest to Wentworth" and my page on Aubrey de Vere.
The information on this page was taken from "The history and topography of ... Essex" – Thomas Wright 1831/36.
I have not transcribed Thomas Wright's text in my normal "quoted" style as I have changed it for readabilty and as a source for links.
I don't find the statement on the Historic England website (not Thomas Wright) with regard to Belchamp Hall particularly helpful:
Under the de Veres it was held by a number of families
until in 1539 it came to Sir Roger Wentworth.
The estate may well have been "(stiil officially held by the de Veres)" but I think that this is a little bit of an over simplification. There is still much to be researched about the Wentworth inheritance.
The "number of families" include many families that were relevant to both the national and local history, from the political standpoint and who was on the English throne at the time.
Essex, in this case North Essex, was an important strategical holding due to its location. Its proximity to London and the
Thames, its coast, along with Kent, facing mainland Europe.
This page is part of an on-going research project on the history of Belchamp Walter and
the manor of Belchamp Walter.
If you have found it making a web search looking for geneological or other information on the village then please bookmark this page and return
often as I am likely to make regular updates. If you delve deeper into this website you will find many other pages similar
to this one.
What follows on this page is rather "rambling" and is pretty much a reproduction of Thomas Wright's account.
I really need to re-write it (again!). The part that I am tackling here is the second dissemination of what I
started with
the Hinkford Hundreds, the page for a fuller version of Wright's rext uses expandable
sections.
In hindsight I don't think that the formatting on the Hinkford page helps. (Note: I am in the process of re-writing it anyway)
Top
A re-write of Thomas Wrights account:
Not a direct quote.
"
The Belchamp estate belonged to Aubrey de Vere, in the reign of King Henry I
Roese, his daughter, it was given to her for her marriage portion, with her first husband,
Geoffrey de Mandeville, 1st earl of Essex.
It was also held by her second husband, Pegasus, or Payne de Beauchamp, baron of Bedford.
Payne de Beauchamp's son, Simon de Beauchamp, was steward of the household to
King Stephen.
His son and successor, William, acquired military fame by his prowess and conduct,
but proving unfaithful to King Henry III his castle at Bedford was ordered to be demolished.
"
"
William de Beauchamp died in 1259, or 1260, leaving, by his wife Avicia,
his sons Simon, William, and John; and his daughters, Maud, Beatrix, and Ella.
Simon the eldest son, Simon de Beauchamp survived his father three years, leaving an only daughter, who did not succeed to this inheritance.
The estate was granted by the lord paramount, Hugh de Vere, earl of Oxford, to William (de Beauchamp), her father's brother, to be held by the service of one knight's fee.
"
"
On William (de Beauchamp)'s death, in 1264, he was succeeded by the third and last brother
(John de Beauchamp?);
but, sometime in that year, being among the barons who rose in arms against King Henry III, he was slain at
the battle of Evesham (1265),
and his confiscated lands given to prince Edward, the king's eldest son.
"
"
These co-heiresses and their husbands, or joint heirs, upon paying their compositions, in pursuance of the
"Dictum of Kenelworth," J(oan) had livery of the barony of Bedford, and the great estates which belonged to them, and, in 1278, on the death of Avicia, widow of William Beauchamp, of Bedford, a partition was made between these co-heiresses.
"
"
Roger de Mowbray, the son of Maud de Mowbray (daughter of William de Beauchamp), held lands here in 1281, of the earl of Oxford; his successor was his son John (de Mowbray)
and John de Steyngreve, on his death in 1295, also had possessions here.
Isabel, his only daughter, was married to Simon de Pateshull, who, in her right,
held these lands at the time of his death, in 1296.
"
"
He left a son named John, and Isabel, his widow, was married to Walter de Tey
(born between circa 1250 and circa 1270).
"
"
In 1286, William de Montchensy died, holding this manor and other estates, of the inheritance of his wife Beatrix, deceased, formerly wife of Thomas Fitz-Otho.
His son William was his heir.
"
The Botetourts
"
But this estate descended to Maud (Fitz-Otho), the last surviving daughter of Fitz-Otho, by the before-mentioned Beatrix; and this Maud conveyed it to her husband, Sir John de Botetourt, of Mendlesham, in Suffolk, to whom she was married in 1302.
"
"
They had four sons, Thomas, John, Otho, and Robert, and a daughter.
Sir John died in 1325, holding jointly with his wife this and other estates, which were entailed on the second son John, who, on his death, in 1339, to left his only son, Sir John, his successor.
"
The Gernons and Swynbourne
"
According to her epitaph in this church (Little Horksley), she died in 1400, but this is supposed to be an erroneous statement, as the year 1433 is mentioned in the inquisitions as the time of her decease.
"
"
She bore to Sir Robert five sons, who all died without issue, and two daughters, Alice and Margery; the latter married to Nicholas Berners, of Aberden Hall, in Debden, and Codham Hall, in Wethersfield, whose daughter Catharine was wife of Sir William Fynderne; but this estate was the inheritance of Alice, the eldest daughter, married to John Helion, Esq. of Bumsted Helion.
"
The Helions - Tyrell - and the Wentworths
"
John Helion, Esq. was their son and heir, who, dying in 1450, left, by his wife Editha, daughter and co heiress of Thomas Rolfe, Esq. of Gosfield, Philippa, married to Sir Thomas Montgomery, Esq. of Faulkbourne Hall; and Isabel, the wife of Humphrey Tyrell, Esq. of Little Warley, to whom she bore an only daughter, named Anne, who, by marriage, conveyed this and other great estates to Sir Roger Wentworth, of Codham Hall, in Wethersfield.
"
The name of the village
The village of Belchamp Walter was known as Walter Belchamp up until the late 19th century. Accounts attribute this to Walter de Tey, of Marks Tey, Essex.
However, I cannot find information that He "held" or resided in the manor.
from the Marks Tey website:
The Merk and Tey families were no strangers to each other because on 14th November 1302, at Westminster the signatures of
Walter de Teye
and John de Merk appear next to each other as witnesses to a Royal letters patent for a grant in recognition of good service to the
King and his predecessors.
I have also seen Water Belchamp in court records dated 1730-1770.
Timeline - for just BW
As there are so many names mentioned in this account it is difficult to get a sense of a timeline. We know that the overall span is
from the 1060's until
the early 1600's and the control and ownership of the manor changed hands many times. This is in contrast to the "Raymond Years".
In all this time there have been significant periods of English history.
Local Timeline
Magna Carta
It didn't take long from Conquest until "the Raymond Years" (1611) for unrest to show its face. In fact Magna Carter and the "Rebels Revolt" in 1215 was pretty early on.
The
Lists of participants in 1215 de Vere, Bigod, de Mowbray ......... de Clare - the Wikipedia link
needs to be added to ?????
Background to this page
This page was the first attempt at recoding the "dump" of the text from Thomas Wright.
The text on this page also forms the basis of other pages based on the names mentioned by Thomas Wright.