HALL FAMILY HISTORY

DESCENDANTS OF THE HALL FAMILY 

OF BRADFORD-ON-AVON, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND

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WWW.HALLFAMILYNAME.COM

WANDA JEAN "JEANIE" WARE DEGIDIO

There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children.
One of these is roots; the other is wings.  Jonas Salk

     IMPORTANTto see both the Hall and Rogers Pedigree visit the Hall's of Bradford on Avon Link above.  Click on the first link in the second paragraph, and go to the bottom of the page.  The pedigrees are provided by Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England and this is their official website.

     For more information on the Wiltshire Hall's, click on the Hall's of Bradford link above and select Community History (upper right), select Text Images (lower left), and enter in the Search Key Word Box (lower left) the word Bradford, this will bring a list of the on-line images.  Here you will find Book 16, Bradford on Avon, A History and Description, by W. H. Jones, go to the bottom of the page and click next until you come to chapter 7, this is the chapter dealing with the Hall family of Bradford on Avon.

     The arms of the Hall’s of Bradford on Avon can be seen at Holy Trinity Church in Bradford on Avon on a wooden screen on the north wall of the chancel, once used to separate the south aisle from the body of the church.  A description of the Hall arms and crest, found on the 1565 Hall Pedigree of the Herald's Visitation, is carried back to Thomas Halle, or de la Sale, living at the close of the 14th century.  The Hall motto is described in an article in The Wiltshire Society’s Magazine, issue 268.

Arms: Sable, three poleaxes argent;
Crest: A
n arm embowed in armour Proper (natural color), garnished Or (gold), holding a poleaxe argent (silver);
Motto:
“Deo et pauperibus,” meaning: “To God and the Poor.”

     The poleaxe symbolizes readiness for the ordeal of battle and the defense of purpose through allegiance to the sovereign; loyalty, conviction, and unconquerable will, a staff weapon used by Knights, betoken on one of dignity and repute. The blade was an axe-head, usually balanced by a hammer-type head, and surmounted by a steel spike. Used from the 15th century for foot combats. The shaft was of ash other hardwood, mounted by an axe blade that had a forward point for thrusting and a thin projection on the back for piercing armor or pulling a horseman off balance. The poleaxe and halberd were specialized weapons for fighting armored men-at-arms and penetrating knightly armor.

     Based on the following information, the de Aulas of Bradford on Avon are more than likely descendants of the Isle of Wight de Aulas, who are often referred to as Normans.  An early deed shows that Henry Hall, b. c1440, son and heir of Nicholas Hall and Margaret Besill who died early and passed them on to his brother Thomas, held lands in Bradford, Lye, Troll Parva, Slade, Ford, Wraxhall, Holt, Broughton, Marlborough, Okebourn Meysey, Wilts, Freshford, Iford, Mitford, Frome, Widcombe, Portishead, Fleete, as well as other placed in Somerset. 

     The Battle Abbey Roll: With Some Account of the Norman Lineages, states, "this family took its name from Le Haulle in Normandy.  Warin de Haulla is mentioned in Somerset in 1154 and again in 1165, and held a barony of eight fees in Devon. The de Aulas held St. Lawrence, Stenbury and Yavesland in Isle of Wight."

     Anne Wroughton of Moores Court, Isle of Wight, daughter of Sir Thomas Wroughton, married Lancelot Lisle and they had son Thomas Lisle. Lancelot Lisle died and his manorial rights passed to his widow Anne who then married Anthony Rogers, son of Anthony Rogers and Dorothy Ernely, grandson of William Rogers and Joan Horton and great grandson of Thomas Rogers and Cecilia Besill. Cecilia's sister Margaret married Nicholas Hall. Anthony Rogers and his wife Anne held courts at Holt between 1544 and 1556; grandson Anthony Lisle, son of Thomas Lisle, succeeded her. Dorothy Rogers b. c1540, daughter and heir of Anthony Rogers of Bradford and Anne Wroughton, married John Hall, son of Thomas Hall and Elizabeth Mervyn.

     The Lisle's were from Wolton, Isle of Wight, Hampshire, England, and the Wroughton’s were from Moores Court, Isle Wight, England.  Eleanor de Gorges, heiress of Wraxhall, was born c1307 in Knighton, Isle of Wight, Hampshire, England and died c1376 in Wraxall, Long Ashton, Somerset, England.  She married Sir Theobald Russell of Kingston, son of Sir William Russell of Kingston and Katherine de Aula.

     TOTHILL MANOR. The manor of Tothill was taken from Richard de Says in late 1265. Thomas de Aula is mentioned as lord of Tothill in 1267. By Nov 1274 King Edward I, granted it to John Ferre.  Eleanor Ferre, heiress of Tothill was alive in 1330 when she was referred to as "Dame de Georges wife of Sir John Peche" and William Russell, Eleanor's grandson, described her as a "grasping, avaricious, tyrannical woman."  Ralph de Gorges m. Eleanor in 1301 and died 1323. His widow was granted as dower the manor of Wraxhall and one-third of the manor of Braunton, she then married before 1326 John Peche (1st Lord Peche), and was still living by 1334.

     HOLT MANOR - Walter de Aula is mentioned in a very early deed as owner of Ford Farm in Holt, his father Reginald de Aula is described as his predecessor in a charter of Abbess Mary according to, Chartus and Custumals of Shaftesbury Abbey 1089-1216 by N. E. Stacy. 

     BRIDDLESFORD - Domesday shows it being held by Nigel, son of William, son of Azor, and Yaverland, passing to the de Aula Family.  By 1204 - Briddlesford was returned to the overlord, Thomas de Aula, Lord of Yaverland.  He was the son of Roger de aula, and grandson of Warin de aula, one of the founders of St. Nicholas Chapel in Carisbrooke Castle.  The tenant, William de Bridlesford, had forfeited the land due to a felony.  By the end of the 13th century, it was in the hands of the Lisle family of Wootton.  The manor of Briddlesford eventually passed to Thomas Lisle, stepson of Anthony Rogers, of Bradford on Avon, in the right of Thomas' mother Anne Wroughton Lisle Rogers.

     RAIINHAM MANOR - Rainham manor, which formed part of the honor of Bampton, descended from Walter of Douai who died c1107 to his son Robert of Bampton and to Robert's daughter Gillian who married 1) William Paynel and 2) Warin Haule (d. 1176).

     MORTON MANOR - Morton manor, Brading, Isle of Wight, formed part of the estate of the family of Aula, being held of Thomas de Aula's manor of Tothill in 1267-8, and passed to his descendants, the Russell’s of Yaverland. Morton Manor, believed to be built in 1249, is situated on the original site of residence of the Norman de Aula family.

     YAVERLAND MANOR - Thomas de Aula is mentioned in a deed of 1228, and in 1254 his son Roger de Aula obtained a grant at Yaverland, Isle of Wight. Before the end of the century the manor passed to William Russell by his marriage with the daughter of Thomas de Aula.

     KERN MANOR was held before the Conquest by Earl Harold, and in 1086 by the king. It seems afterwards to have passed to the Aula family, and Roger de Aula gave part to the Knights Templar. His gift was confirmed by Ralph Mackerell and augmented by Robert Russell.

     SPAN MANOR – Span originally belonged to the de Aula family, but was held near the end of the 13th century by William Russell, Lord of Yaverland.

     STENBURY MANOR According to Worley's "Isle of Wight" (1781) pg. 220, "the manor of Stenbury was held by the family of de Aula from after the Norman conquest, from whom it descended to that of Heyno who enjoyed it for more than two centuries, and lived at the manor house, which was surrounded by a moat."

     In 1700, John Hall, builder of the Alms-Houses in Bradford on Avon, ordered the Hall coat of arms, crest and inscription “Deo et pauperibus,” be cut in stone and placed on the front of the building, which can still be seen. In Heraldry, the poleaxe, a staff weapon used by Knights, was conferred to those of dignity, good reputation, conviction, loyalty, and readiness for action.  A heraldic artist was able to recreate the Hall coat of arms based on the above description. 

     Before the invasion in 1066, William the Conqueror imported soldiers from surrounding provinces to improve the fighting abilities of his army. These knights were quickly assimilated into the Norman aristocracy and many stood by William’s side at Hastings, and subsequently became prominent among Anglo-Norman baronial families in England. It is known that William asked men from Poitou, Burgundy, Brittany, Flanders, Germany, Denmark and Italy to join his army. In exchange for their services, William promised them a share of the land and wealth of England.

     Whether or not the Hall’s of Bradford on Avon arrived with William the Conqueror is unknown.  We do know the first mention of the “de Aula’s of Bradford” is found in, Charters and Custumals of Shaftesbury Abbey, 1089-1216, By N. E. Stacy, wherein Reginaldus de Aula “of Bradford” is mentioned.  It also describes a charter of Abbess Mary, which names Reginald de Aula as the predecessor of Walter de Aula.  These early documents used the French, or Norman, version of the Hall surname. Records of Holy Trinity Parish, built by the Norman’s in Bradford on Avon following the conquest, show the de Aula’s as members from an early date. These records indicate the de Aula’s were a family of consequent, wealth and power as lords of the manor.

     Mary (c1150-1216), Abbess of Shaftesbury, believed to be the daughter of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou and Maine, Duke of Normandy, and half-sister of Henry II, exacted her rights, as Lady of the Manor, of wardship and marriage over their minor children from the representatives of Reginald de Aula upon his death.  Agnes, widow of Reginald de Aula, paid twenty-five marks and Mary agreed to cede her rights.  In feudal law, the right of wardship allowed the abbess to take control of a minor heir until the heir came of age. The right of marriage allowed them to have some say as to whom the daughter or widow of a vassal would marry and both rights brought increased revenue.

     As owner of Halus Manor, an estate known to be held by the Abbess of Shaftesbury as part of her manor of Bradford, Reginald de Aula had attained a status of quality and wealth while living in Bradford on Avon, possibly acquiring the manor as his father’s eldest son and heir.  The various spelling of this family name include Hall, Halle, Haule, Haul, Hal, Hale, De Aule, De la Sale, De la Salle, De Sale, De Salle, De la S’aula and others, the Latin version of the name being Aula, and the French version being Salle.  In Leland’s Itinerary he states, “Halle, alias De la Sale, dwellith in a pretty stone house at the east end of the town, on the right bank of Avon, a man of 100 pounds of land by the year; an ancient gentleman since the time of Edward I.”     

     The Domesday Book of 1086 was a survey similar to those done today. It was ordered by William the Conqueror and contained records for 13,418 English settlements. The main purpose of the survey was to find out who owned what so they could be taxed on it, and the judgment of the assessors was final, whatever the book said about who owned the property, or what it was worth, was the law, with no appeal.  It recorded the manor of Bradford as consisting of about 5,000 acres, and as being held by the Abbey of Shaftesbury. Following the Norman Conquest, records indicate there was very little change in this area, except for the construction of a large Norman church and renovation of the town bridge.  This Norman church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is located near the town center by the river, and is believed built over the remains of an older church. 

     During Saxon times the town bridge was wooden, but during Norman times it was replaced with high quality stone.  The original slim design, built without parapets, was so dangerous people kept falling into the river, which led to the construction of another bridge alongside it, effectively doubling the width. Two ribbed and pointed arches of the original Norman construction can still be seen on the eastern side, and if you look under the bridge you can clearly see the joint. On the bridge is a small building, originally a chapel, and the fish on the weather vane is a Gudgeon, an early Christian symbol. In later years, the chapel was used as a small prison where local drunks and troublemakers were sometimes confined overnight.  

 

 

BRADFORD ON AVON TOWN BRIDGE

 

     In 1206 the Pipe Roll of 6 John shows Thomas de Aula, “paid 40 marks and a palfrey to get what he ought to have had for nothing, namely the lands escheated to him through his tenant’s felony.”  The legal rights of the Crown were already extended beyond their legal limits, but King John decided to extend them even further. Once he obtained a firm footing in the felon’s land, he then refused to surrender it to the rightful lord after the year and day had expired, causing great anger among the Barons. The Magna Carta, an English charter issued in 1215, was written to end such abuses. Records show Gilbert de Aula signed his name as a witness to the signing of the Magna Carta, which later influenced the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights, and is considered one of the most important legal documents in the history of democracy.

     Thomas Hall, spouse of Alice Bower, was summoned before the King’s Justices with reference to a debt of £100 owning to Sir John Turberville, Knight. He failed to make his appearance and was charged with something similar to "contempt of Court."  The penalty of 'outlawry' soon followed. He soon surrendered himself to justice, and for a time was an inmate of Fleet prison.  Among the deeds and other documents found at the Hall during the process of repairs was one dated 18 Henry VII, and contained a "Royal Pardon and Revocation of Outlawry for Thomas Hall, lately of Bradford, Co. Wilts, Gentleman, now in the Fleet Prison." It does not appear from the document that the debt was paid at the time of his release; the condition of his release being that he should appear in Court "if the said John should desire to speak with him touching the debt above mentioned.” 

     The outlawed man was outside the pale of society; anyone might slay him at pleasure; in the grim phrase of the day, he bore “a wolf’s head” and might be hunted like a noxious beast. A reward of two marks was offered for each outlaw’s head brought to Westminster. Two barons showed their knowledge of John’s suspicions by withdrawing secretly from his Court and taking to flight. The King caused them to be outlawed in their absence, and thereafter seized their estates and demolished their castles.

      In 1273 William de Aula de Bradford is mentioned among Wiltshire gentlemen witnessing documents during the reign of King Edward (1273-1307).  In the Hundred Rolls, (7 Edw. I, 1279), Reginald de Aula and Adam de Mokesham appear as Jurors for the Hundred of Melksham.  William de Aula, b. c1238, was a minor at the time of his father’s death, and in 1295 he was appointed to the high office of Coroner. In a deed of that time, he is referred to as, “Coronator Domini Regis,” suggesting both wealth and worldly station. Other documents from 1284-1330 mention William de Aula, his wife Katherine, and son Thomas. It is thought the recessed tomb located on the south side of the Chancel of Holy Trinity Church belongs to William de Aula. 

     The position of county Coroner was instituted in 1194 assuming duties, which had been previously assigned to the sheriff. This was a position appointed by freeholders who assembled in the county court.  Along with other minor functions, his main duties were to guard royal interests, and keep the royal pleas. He received formal accusations, took sureties, and made preliminary investigations to examine the size and nature of the victim’s wounds in a charge of mayhem; and to keep an eye on royal windfalls. He also appraised the value of chattels forfeited to the King. When felons took refuge in sanctuary, it was the coroner who arranged for their leaving the country on forfeiting all that they had. They kept a record of those who had been outlawed, and received “appeals” of criminal charges.

     From the visitation of 1565, we can establish that the Hall’s of Bradford on Avon intermarried with others of wealth and status, while maintaining continuous ownership of Hall Manor, also known as “The Hall.”  In 1851, a series of deeds were found in the flooring during extensive repairs containing a vast amount of information on this family and other families throughout the area. These deeds gave a description of property held by the Hall family in this and the neighboring hundreds, and extending from a very early period to the 13th year of Henry VII.  All of the deeds were written by the same hand, which indicates they were copied from the originals.  It is thought they were likely deposited under the flooring for safe keeping during those most unsettling times.  An elaborate Spanish steel court sword was also found hidden among the deeds.

     Wiltshire Community History states, "At the end of the 16th century The Hall, the finest building in the town, was built by the Hall family, who had been prominent local landowners from at least the mid 13th century. The new building replaced a medieval house which Leland had noted as 'a pretty stone house at the east end of the town."  Pevsner described The Hall as, "the one nationally major mansion in Bradford, not a town house but a country house in character."  In 1320, Thomas at Halle, of Bradford, witnessed a deed, now at Lacock Abbey.  In 1324, Reynold de le Sale of Bradford, was granted land by charter, referred to a brother Thomas, Rector of Portishead, Somerset, he married Isabella.  In 1350, John Hall's son, William, was presented to the chapel of Barley in Bradford parish, and between 1357 and 1361 Thomas at Halle of Bradford is mentioned in numerous deeds.  

 

 

THE HALL

 

     From the Herald's Visitations, we find the Hall pedigree carried back to Thomas Halle, or De la Sale, living at the close of the 14th century.  From deeds we know that Thomas descended from Reginald de Aula and Alice, daughter and, upon the death of her brother Peter, sole heir of Thomas Atte Forde, also written Atford, from whom, he obtained Ford Farm. Alice Atte Forde was the heiress of Nicholas Langridge of Bradford through her mother. Thomas Halle of Bradford in the County of Wiltes, Esq., married Alice, sister and heir of Peter Atford, both heirs of Thomas At Forde of Bradford, and Edith his wife. Edith was the daughter and heir of Roger and Alice his wife, and Alice was daughter of Nicholas Langridge of Bradford. Roger was the son of Roger and Joan, his wife, daughter of Thomas Lyttleton of Bradford, son and heir of Peter. From this, we know the property belonging to Peter Lyttleton (or Littleton) prior to the commencement of the 13th century, and came to Alice At Ford, which she brought to the Hall family.

     Lying just within the western edge of Wiltshire about eight miles southeast of the city of Bath in Somerset, the historical town of Bradford on Avon, is home of architectural buildings from Saxon, Roman and Norman times. Bradford on Avon is a small picturesque English town among the rolling hills on the banks of the river Avon. The town bridge, dating from Norman times, crosses what’s referred to as the ‘broad ford’ on the Avon, and is thought to be the origin of the town’s name.  Bradford on Avon is close to some of the oldest manmade stone structures known, older than the Great Pyramid of Egypt, and 25 miles away from one of the wonders of the world, Stonehenge.  The earliest trace of ancient Britons in the town was over 2,500 years ago with a small settlement just above the area known as Troy.

     King Aethered II gave the estate of Bradford to Shaftesbury Abbey in 1001, and suggested relocating the bones of King Edward, nicknamed the Martyr, to Bradford on Avon, for safety reasons during the early part of the 11th century due to increasingly frequent Viking raids. The relocation never happened, but it is believed the present Saxon church was built to accommodate the relics.  St. Olave’s Street, now Woolley Street, runs parallel with the river Avon along its northern bank. The name St. Olave commemorated a church dedicated to a Scandinavian saint, indicating Viking influence, and possible settlement, in this area during the 11th century.

     In 1532 Bradford on Avon witnessed the barbaric spectacle of a public burning at the stake of one of its own. Thomas Tropnell, of Wiltshire, denied the doctrine of transubstantiation, the fact that the bread and wine taken at the eucharist literally were the body and blood of Christ, and was burned to death in the market place at the bottom of Market Street. The Hall’s of Bradford were connected to the Tropnell family by way of William Hall, son of Thomas Hall, after his marriage to Elizabeth, daughter of Christopher Tropnell of Chalfield.  Christoper Tropnell was the spouse of Anne Carew, coheir of her brother's estate and daughter of Nicholas Carew IV, of Beddington, Nutfield and Carshalton, co. Surrey, Sulham, Berkshire, and Delamars, Hertfordshire.  She was born 1436, or "aged 22" at the death of her father in 1466.

     Mentioned previously, The Wiltshire Society’s Magazine, published an engraving of a shield taken from a tracing of a carved oak quartering located over the chimney-piece at the Hall, which show several quarterings recording the various early alliances made by members of the Hall family. Among those quartered are those of Besill and Atford, two others, 'A bend between three leopard or lions heads erased, the other, and an eagle sable, preying on a fish azure,' are possibly those of Littleton and Langridge.  However, since the shield contains the quartering of Besill, it may also include that of the mother of Nicholas Hall who married Margaret Besill, whose name and family are yet unknown.  

 

 

HALL QUARTERED ARMS

 

     By the fourteenth century, Wiltshire had become a county of importance and great wealth through the exclusive manufacturing of white undyed broadcloth. Gloucester, Somerset, and Oxford soon followed Wiltshire in the manufacturing of white undyed broadcloth. In 1540, John Leland, upon visited the town, wrote 'All the town of Bradford standith by clothmaking'. These English "clothiers" soon became a close-knit group. Pedigrees show these families intermarried and were linked by the Clothier Guild. These clothiers became a very wealthy and powerful guild because the weaving and distribution of cloth was so vastly important to the English economy.  Most of these family businesses were closely held and passed down through either bloodlines or by marriage, with few outsiders. It stands to reason then that the influence of this Guild would extend from all areas and well into London with close family connections. 

     For more than six centuries Bradford on Avon was a center of cloth weaving. During this time, most of the buildings along the hillside to the river were spinners and weavers cottages with the woolen mills lining the bank of the river Avon. By the mid sixteenth century the clothiers of Wiltshire, and the Hall’s in particular, became an important family in the cloth trade. This prosperity continued until a devastating outbreak of plague in 1609.  This outbreak coupled with Wiltshire’s unwillingness to change from the old white undyed broadcloth to the new lighter colored broadcloths, resulted in a sharp and immediate decline in the manufacturing of broadcloth in Wiltshire.  This decline, and the rise of religious unrest led many Wiltshire’s residents down a path leading to America.  

 

THOMAS DE LA SALE

BIRTH: c1340 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
DEATH: Aft. 1352 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
FATHER:  William de Aula, Coronator Regis
MOTHER: Catherine LNU
WIFE: Edith LNU

MARRIED: c1361 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
DESCENDING SON: Thomas Atte Halle 

CHILDREN:

1.  Thomas Atte Halle b. c1364

 

THOMAS ATTE HALLE

BIRTH: c1364 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
DEATH: c1430 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
FATHER:  Thomas de la Salle 
MOTHER: Edith LNU
WIFE: Alice Atford d. 1426/27
W. FATHER: Thomas Atte Ford 
W. MOTHER: Edith 
MARRIED: c1385 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
DESCENDING SON: Thomas Halle

CHILDREN:

1.  Reginald Halle, b. c1386 d. Bfr. 1427, eldest son, he endowed a charity in the parish church of Bradford in 1420.  He died prior to his mother as she named her heir as son Thomas.  Reginald married Matilda, and their son William died in infancy

2.  Edith Halle, b. c1388, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
3.  Isabel Halle, b. c1390, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
5. 
Thomas Halle, b. 1396 Bradford on Avon, d. c1450, deed shows he was living in 1450
4.  John Halle, b. c1398 Bradford on Avon, d. c1417 Bradford on Avon
6.  Richard Halle, b. c1400, descendants are name in the pedigree of Gore of Aldrington   

     Thomas, the first-named in the ordinary pedigrees, is said to have descended from Reginald de Aula, and married, about the year 1390, Alice, daughter and, by the death of her brother Peter, sole heir of 'Thomas Atte-Forde. Documents dated 1408 state, "Alice, relict of Thomas Halle, who died 1427, was holding land in Bradford Leigh and South Wraxall of the Abbess of Shaftesbury."  Alice Atford Hall survived her husband, dying in the year 1427. Reginald, the eldest son, died before 1427 without surviving issue, therefore her second son Thomas, aged thirty at the time of her death, became heir of her estate. Before his death, Reginald de Halle, the eldest son, endowed a "chaplain to serve at the altar at St. Nicholas" in the Parish Church.   

 

THOMAS HALLE

BIRTH: 1397 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
DEATH: Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
FATHER:  Thomas Atte Halle
MOTHER: Alice Atford d. c1427
WIFE: Unknown

MARRIED: c1425 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
DESCENDING SON: Nicholas Hall

CHILDREN:

1.  Nicholas Hall, son/heir, b. c1429 Bradford on Avon, m. Margaret, daughter and coheir of William Besill or Besyll who died in 1479

 

NICHOLAS HALL

BIRTH: c1429 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
DEATH: Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
FATHER:  Thomas Halle
WIFE: Margaret Besill or Besyll
W. FATHER: William Besill or Besyll
MARRIED: c1451 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
DESCENDING SON: Thomas Hall  

CHILDREN:

 1.  Henry Hall, son/heir, b. c1452 Bradford on Avon, died soon after father
 2.  Thomas Hall, b. c1460, m. Alice, daughter of William Norton of Wilton, alias William Bowyer

     Nicholas Hall substantially increased the wealth of the family by marrying Margaret one of the daughters and co-heiresses of William Besill II of Bradford; Cecilia, the other co-heiress, married Anthony Rogers, b. c1438, of Bradford on Avon. In a commission dated 4 Apr 1403, Margaret’s grandfather, William Besill I, was notified by Westminster, after the deaths of Sir William Asthorpe and King Richard II, with Humphrey de Stafford, knight, William Stourton, Thomas Bonham, and the sheriff of co. Wilts. to, “inquire concerning the information that much waste, ruin, dilapidation and destruction has many times been committed as well in the castle and barton or manor of Marlborough. The Inquisition was held before Thomas Bonham and William Besiles,  Salisbury, Thursday before St. Thomas the apostle, 1403: The said castle has been injured and wasted in many ways in the time of Robert Power, William Asthorp and William Scrop, late constables, to what amount the jurors do not know.”

     Nicholas died leaving to his son and heir, Henry, lands, houses, and mills in Bradford held of the Abbess of Shaftesbury. Henry died soon after his father, without heirs, being omitted from the 1565 pedigree in the Herald's Visitation. The estates passed to Thomas, his brother, who died 1515 seized of Hall's Manor of Bradford. At the end of the 15th century a deed dated 21st Edward IV, states Henry Hall of this family had lands in Bradford, Lye, Troll Parva, Slade, Ford, Wraxhall, Holt, Broughton, Marlborough, Okebourn Meysey, Wilts, Freshford, Iford, Mitford, Frome, Fleete, Widcombe, Portishead and other placed in Somerset. 

 

THOMAS HALL

BIRTH: c1460 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
DEATH: Aft. 1515 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
FATHER:  Nicholas Hall
MOTHER: Margaret Besill or Besyll
WIFE: Alice Norton
W. FATHER:  William Norton, alias Bowyer of Wilton
MARRIED:  c1481 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
DESCENDING SON:  William Hall  

CHILDREN:

1.  William Hall, b. c1482 m. Elizabeth, daughter of Christopher Tropenell of Chalfield
2.  Arthur Hall, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
3.  Osmond Hall, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
4.  Alice Hall, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire m. John Torney of Wolverton
5.  Edith Hall, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire m. Edmond Chatterton
6. 
Thomas Hall, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire  

     Thomas Hall, spouse of Alice Bower, daughter of William Norton of Wilton alias Bowyer, was summoned before the King’s Justices with reference to a debt of £100 owning to Sir John Turberville, Knight. He failed to make his appearance and was charged with something similar to "contempt of Court."  The penalty of 'outlawry' soon followed.

     An outlawed man was outside the pale of society; anyone might slay him at pleasure; in the grim phrase of the day, he bore “a wolf’s head” and might be hunted like a noxious beast. A reward of two marks was offered for each outlaw’s head brought to Westminster. Two barons showed their knowledge of John’s suspicions by withdrawing secretly from his Court and taking to flight. The King caused them to be outlawed in their absence, and thereafter seized their estates and demolished their castles. Thomas soon surrendered himself to justice, and for a time was an inmate of Fleet prison. 

     Among the deeds and other documents found at the Hall during the process of repairs was one dated 18 Henry VII (1504), and contained a "Royal Pardon and Revocation of Outlawry for Thomas Hall, lately of Bradford, Co. Wilts, Gentleman, now in the Fleet Prison." It does not appear from the document that the debt was paid at the time of his release; the condition of his release being that he should appear in Court "if the said John should desire to speak with him touching the debt above mentioned.”

 

WILLIAM HALL

BIRTH: c1492 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
DEATH: c1545 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
FATHER:  Thomas Hall
MOTHER:  Alice Norton, alias Bowyer of Wilton
WIFE: Elizabeth Tropenell
W. FATHER:  Christopher Tropenell
MARRIED:  c1514 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
DESCENDING SON:  Thomas Hall  

CHILDREN:

1. Thomas Hall, son/heir b. c1515 Bradford on Avon m. Elizabeth d/o John Mervyn of Fonthill

2. Paul Hall, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England

3. William Hall, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England

4. Margaret Hall, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England m. Freeman Jarvis

5. Jane Hall, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England m. John Gunter of Hullavington

6. George Hall, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England

 

 

 

 

TROPENELL ARMS

 

     William married Elizabeth, daughter of Christopher Tropenell, and granddaughter of Thomas Tropenell and Agnes Ludlow.  Agnes was the fourth daughter of William Ludlow, Lord of Hill Deverel. 

     In 1542, Leland, wrote that William Hall lived 'in a pretty stone house at the east end of the town' and that he was “a man of £100 lands by the year.”

     Christopher Tropenell was the spouse of Anne Carew, coheir of her brother's estate and daughter of Nicholas Carew IV, of Beddington, Nutfield and Carshalton, co. Surrey, Sulham, Berkshire and Dalamars, Hertfordshire.  She was born 1436, or "aged 22" at the death of her father in 1466.  The estate of Nicholas Carew passed to his daughter Anne, “wife of Christopher Tropenell.”  Anne was succeeded by Thomas Tropenell, her son, who died at Sulham in 1548, leaving all his goods to his wife Eleanor for the education of their children. The property eventually passed to Thomas Tropnell's great-granddaughter Ann who married John Eyre in 1550.

     Christopher’s father, Thomas Tropenell, (1402-1488), was responsible for the recovery of Great Chalfield. After much litigation, he was able to effectively convince the courts that he was heir to the Percy’s through a female, the male line having become extinct.  The estate was recorded in the Domesday Book as the property of Ernulf de Hesding, Comte de Perche.

     The arms of Tropenell impaling Ludow are displayed in the roof of the hall and also on their tomb.  The manor, now owned by the National Trust, is surrounded by a moat and gatehouse and has beautiful oriel windows and a great hall.

     The Lady Chapel in the Parish Church of St. Bartholomew, Corsham, Wiltshire, was re-built between 1465 and 1480 by Thomas Tropenell, of Neston and Great Chalfield, and is dominated by the Tropenell's magnificent altar tomb, built to receive the remains of himself and his wife.  He endowed the chapel with a charge of ten marks on his estate, two oxen, and two cows.  These charges were willed on 19 Dec 1514 by Anne, widow of Christopher Tropenell, son of Thomas, to be maintained by her executors. A smaller tomb in the chapel is that of her son, Christopher Tropenell.

     Another Thomas Tropnell, of Wiltshire, an unknown member of this family, denied the doctrine of transubstantiation, the fact that the bread and wine taken at the eucharist literally were the body and blood of Christ, and was burned to death in the market place at the bottom of Market Street.

 

THOMAS HALL

BIRTH: c1515 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
DEATH: Bfr. 1575 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
FATHER:  William Hall
MOTHER:  Elizabeth Tropenell
WIFE:  Elizabeth Mervyn
W. FATHER:  John Mervyn
W. MOTHER:  Joan Hungerford
MARRIED:  c1539 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire
DESCENDING SON:  John Hall I  

 

CHILDREN:

1.  John Hall, son/heir b. c1540-1597 of Forde, m. c1562 Dorothy Rogers daughter and heiress of Anthony Rogers
2.  Robert Hall, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
3.  Jane Hall, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
4.  Dorothy Hall, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
5.  Ann Hall, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
6. 
Thomas Hall, Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England

 

     Thomas Hall married Elizabeth Marvyn, daughter of John Mervyn of Fonthill. Of the various families of this name mentioned in the "Visitations of Wilts," Somerset, and others, among the most prominent was that of Sir John Marvin, of Fonthill Abbey, Wiltshire, grandson of Richard Marvyn, who died in the seventeenth year of the reign of Henry VI. Marvins held the fine estate of Fonthill Abbey, in the parish of Hindon, for more than two centuries. The ancestors of Reinold Marvin were all "Yeomen," owning the lands hey occupied or inherited. Many derived incomes from the tenants who held under them, but none of them appear to have used armorial device but intermarried with "armorial families."

     John Mervyn was of Pertwood and Fonthill Abbey, he married Joan, daughter of Lord Hungerford.  William Fletcher, owner of Pertwood Manor, in right of his wife Joan, daughter of John Brother of Pertwood, died early in the 16th century, leaving as his heirs Agnes, wife of John Maton, and Margaret, wife of John Ingram. Margaret married, as a second husband, William Mervyn and her share of the manor passed to her son John Mervyn. The moiety belonging to Agnes Maton subsequently passed to George Ludlow, who sold it in 1553 to John Mervyn, thus possessing the both portions of the property.

     Thomas acquired his father's estates and is said to be the builder of a small Chantry Chapel twelve and a half feet in width and sixteen in length at the southeast angle of the Nave. It was previously thought William Hall, who married Elizabeth Tropenell, of Chalfield, was the builder of the Chantry Chapel, also called, “The Kingston Aisle" or sometimes referred to as “The Dukes House.”  It was renamed Kingston Aisle after eventually passing from the Hall family to the Dukes of Kingston.  

     The Dukes of Kingston acquired the property after the estates devolved onto Rachel Baynton in 1708.  She was from the neighboring Little Chalfield Manor.  Rachel married soon after her inheritance the 1st Duke of Kingston, William Pierrepont.   Unfortunately, the marriage was short-lived when William died of smallpox leaving Rachel a widow with two small children.  Her descendant, Evelyn Pierrepont eventually succeeded as the 2nd Duke of Kingston and his daughter, Frances, married into the Medows family who were eventually ennobled as Earl Manvers.  After Evelyn died leaving no male heirs, the Hall and Pierrepont fortunes fell to Frances's son and the future Earl Manvers.  In consequence the name changed to the "Kingston Aisle,” but has since reverted to being called, "The Hall."

     A 1575 lawsuit states, “Thomas Hall Esq. deceased is, and his ancestors have for a long time, been seized of water mills and other lands' in the manor of Bradford, held by the abbey of Shaftesbury.”  

 

JOHN HALL I

BIRTH: c1540 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
DEATH: 1597 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
FATHER:  Thomas Hall
MOTHER: Elizabeth Mervyn
WIFE: Dorothy Rogers
W. FATHER: Anthony Rogers
W. MOTHER:  Ann b. 1507, daughter of Sir William Wroughton
MARRIED:  c1569 Bradford on Avon
DESCENDING SON:  John Hall II  

 

CHILDREN:

 1.  Thomas Hall, b. c1566-c1600, eldest son.
 2.  John Hall II b. c 1570 d. 1631 m. Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Brune of Athelhampton co. Dorset.  

     After succeeding male heirs of Hall family of Bradford on Avon intermarried with the families of Bower of Wilton, Tropenell of Chalfield, and Mervyn of Fonthill, we find John Hall, the next heir of this family, described as 'of Forde,' married to Dorothy, daughter and sole heiress of Anthony Rogers who died in 1583.  Anthony Rogers was the last male representative of this branch of the Rogers family in Bradford on Avon.  By this pairing, the Besill estate was once again under one roof.  She also brought into the marriage her own patrimony, part of which was located at Holt. Her mother was Anne daughter of Sir Thomas Wroughton.  The tomb of Sir William Wroughton, who died in 1559, has a canopy and inscription in a fine strapwork cartouche, can be seen at the Bradford-on-Avon, Holy Trinity Church.

 

 

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH

 

     John Hall, builder of ‘The Hall’, often described as a wealthy clothier and as such, was a member of the powerful Clothier’s Guild. In a 1611 Wiltshire document states. "The Abbey house and lands passed from Fulk Morley to John Hall, a wealthy clothier of Bradford-on-Avon."   Another Wiltshire article states, "The building was built in 1610 by John Hall, a Wiltshire clothier; in 1847 it became the home of the Moulton family, who founded the rubber manufacturing business.”  

     John, the second son of John Hall and Dorothy Rogers, succeeded as heir, after the decease of his older brother Thomas. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Brune of Athelhampton, Co. Dorset, and is more than likely the builder of the mansion described, by Aubrey, as "the best built house for the quality of a gentleman in Wilts," often referred to as the “Duke’s House” or "Kingston House." From Leland’s mid 1500 description, we know an older house stood on the same site as he describes it as "a pratie stone house at the este ende of the toune on the right bank of Avon." In volume 1 of the Wiltshire Society Magazine, a detailed description of the house is given, as well as one in C. J. Richardson’s "Observations on the Architecture of England during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James I," and details are described and illustrated by G. Vivian in "Illustrations of Claverton and the Duke's House." The present owner has completed renovations of the house, which has adhered to its original plan as much as possible.

JOHN HALL II

BIRTH: c1570 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
DEATH: 1631 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
FATHER:  John Hall I
MOTHER: Dorothy Rogers
WIFE: Elizabeth Brune c1572-1/12/1633
W. FATHER: Henry Brune
W. MOTHER: Unknown
MARRIED: c1592 in Puddletown, Dorset
DESCENDING SON: John Hall III  

CHILDREN:

1. Brune Hall, Bp 1593 Holy Trinity Ch, Wiltshire d. 1593 Wiltshire.
2.  Elizabeth Hall, Bp 1594
Holy Trinity Ch. m 1620 John Cottrell s/o John of Wingfield.
3.  Edward Hall, Bp 1598
Holy Trinity Ch, Wiltshire, d. 1601 Wiltshire.
4.  Thomas Hall, son/heir, Bp 1600
Holy Trinity Ch, Wiltshire, m. c1621 Catherine d/o Sir Edward Seymour.

5.  Jane Hall, Bp 1601 Holy Trinity Ch, Wiltshire, unmarried 1631 (father’s will).  
6.  Mary Hall, Bp 1604
Holy Trinity Ch, Wiltshire, d. 3/24/1641 Wiltshire m. Christopher Bailey 6/14/1622 Wiltshire.
7.  John Hall, Bp 1605
Holy Trinity Ch, Wiltshire, m. possibly Elizabeth Rogers.
8.  Dorothy Hall, Bp 1608
Holy Trinity Ch, Wiltshire, unmarried 1631 (father’s will).
9.  Nicholas Hall, Bp 1609
Holy Trinity Ch, Wiltshire, d. 1610
10. Anne Hall, Bp Holy Trinity Ch 1612, unmarried 1631 (father’s will).
11. Henry Hall, Bp Holy Trinity Ch 1614, d. 1614 Wiltshire.
12. William Hall, b. c1613, not on Holy Trinity Ch bp records, but listed on John’s 1631 will as his son.  It is believed he was adopted after infant death of two sons.  

 

The following are several connections between the Halls of Rhode Island and the Halls of Bradford on Avon:  

1.  William and John Hall are shown as sons of John and Elizabeth (Brune) Hall on the Bradford on Avon Hall pedigree, and both are named as sons in his will. William and John Hall disappear from Bradford on Avon records following the death of their father in 1631. In 1637, William and John Hall appear in early records during the early formation of Newport, Rhode Island.  

2.  William Hall was the only child named in his father's will who was not listed in the baptism records of Holy Trinity Church. In 1663, William Hall of Newport, Rhode Island stated in court he is "50 years or thereabouts," or born in 1613.  William Hall of Bradford on Avon was born after 1614, as he would not "fit" into the family otherwise.

3.  Sons Brune, Edward, Henry, and Nicholas baptized 1593, 1598, 1609 and 1614 consecutively, all died young.  The overwhelming grief resulting from the loss of four young sons may have been the driving force behind the adoption of William.

4.  Elizabeth Brune, born 1572, was the first child born after the marriage of her parents who married in 1571.  She married John Hall in 1592 and their first child, Brune Hall, was baptized in 1593; their last child was baptized in 1614.  The birth of her children covered 21 years, therefore Elizabeth would have been age 42 when Henry was born; well beyond the average for most women

5.  It appears extremely unlikely William Hall was the natural son of John and Elizabeth (Brune) Hall, therefore, unlikely his yDNA would match that of John Hall, their natural child.  Results from descendants recent yDNA tests have proven this to be true.

6.  The Pedigree of the Hall's of Bradford on Avon show the marriage of John Hall to Dorothy Rogers and Elizabeth Hall to John Cottrell.  Rhode Island records show the Hall's, Cottrell's and Rogers were closely associated in early Rhode Island.

7.  Henry Hall is shown as a weaver in several early Rhode Island documents and the Hall's of Bradford, manufactured undyed broadcloth for many generations.

8.  Mary Hall, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Brune) Hall, married Christopher Bailey.  Robert Bayley, of Wingfield, Wiltshire, married Christian Arnold of Hertfordshire, they were the parents of Christopher Bayly.  John Bailey of Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, married Eleanor Knight, daughter of William Knight and Jane Langburne, she was born 1612 in Wiltshire.  Their son John Bailey, Jr. married Eleanor Emery who was born in Romsey, Hampshire, England.  Richard Knight, chr. 14 Jan 1602 in Romsey, Hampshire, England married Sarah Rogers of Newport, Rhode Island. 

9.  On Jan 19, 1663/4, Richard Knight made, in partnership with Henry, son of John Hall, the great purchase of lands at Chippachog, in Westerly and Kingston afterwards known as the Hall and Knight Purchase. Nicholas Cottrell was also a signer of the Misquamicut (Westerly) Purchase with Henry and Richard.

10.  John Dyer of Bratton, Somerset, England married Jane Ernley, daughter of John Erneley of Bishops Cannings and Lucie Cooke, daughter of Thomas Cooke of Salisbury.  They were the parents of William Dyer, born 1580 in London, England, father of William Dyer (9 Sep 1609 London, England-18 Apr 1672 Newport, Newport Co. RI) who married Mary, also known as Mary Dyer in, “Biography of a Rebel Quaker”, by Ruth Plimpton.  Dorothea Erneley married Anthony Rogers of Bradford on Avon, she was the sister of John Erneley who married Lucie Cooke.  

    Upon researching the Holy Trinity Church records, a Wiltshire genealogist discovered eleven children of John and Elizabeth (Brune) Hall. From these records we learn the names of four additional sons who died at a young age, Brune, Edward, Henry and Nicholas.  Nicholas is suspected to be the name of the eldest son of Elizabeth Hall and John Cottrell of Bradford on Avon, and the Rhode Island Nicholas Cottrell was closely associated with the Hall family of early Rhode Island. 

     Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry Brune and Elizabeth Martyn. A beautiful Memorial Brass dated 1595 is dedicated to Nicholas Martyn and is located at St Mary's Church in Puddletown, Dorset. This 16th Century brass depicts Nicholas Martyn, bareheaded, in armour, kneeling before an altar on which is an open book. Behind him are his three sons, who all predeceased him. Sir William Martyn was a wealthy merchant and Lord Mayor of London in 1492. He built his estate of Athelhampton sometime after 1485. Sir Nicholas Martyn was the last male heir of the Martyne line. He was buried in 1595 in Athelhampton Aisle. Nicholas Martyn's four daughters were given equal shares to the estate; his eldest daughter married Henry Brune. To his right is his wife, Margaret, daughter of John Wadham, whose brother Nicholas Wadham, in 1613, founded Wadham College, Oxford. Behind her are their seven daughters. Above them are the arms of Martyn, Arg. two bars gules, impaling Wadham, Gules a chevron between three roses arg.,: above is the Martyn crest, a Martyn (ape) proper, chained to a stump of a tree or, sejant, holding in his paw a mirror azure. Nicholas was the last of the Martyns and died without male issue in 1595. His estate was divided amongst his four surviving daughters, of whom Elizabeth, the eldest, married Henry Brune; and their son, as heir to his mother, lived at Athelhampton Hall. A tablet in memory of a member of the Martyn family with the same crest is on the East Wall of the South transept at Crewkerne.  It's through the Brune lineage that one of several connections is made to the royal family.

     The Brune family has a long history, the Manor of Rowner was granted by a grateful King Edward I to Sir William le Brun in 1277, a record of this is kept in the Hampshire County Archives at Winchester with the family papers. Two Brune sons, Philip and Nicholas, were given the office of Rector between 1292 and 1306. Sir John Brune, grandfather of Elizabeth Brune, died in 1559 and left his estates, including Grange farm, to his son Henry. As a minor he had to wait for his inheritance to be bought back for him from the Ward of Courts when he attained his majority. In 1571 he married Elizabeth Martyn, the eldest daughter of Nicholas Martyn of Athelhampton. His son John was baptized in 1577 in St. Mary Magdalene, Piddleton, together with his six sisters. Henry died in 1594 leaving Grange farm in trust to provide for his five surviving daughters. The rare solid limestone sepulcher tomb in the Chantry is to Sir John Brune, Lord Chancellor of England, who died in 1559, and is one of two such structures in the country. Its escutcheons reveal the careful marrying that went on to secure the family’s mighty wealth, linking with de la Rokele, Bamfilde, Ticheborne and Knowles. Sir John had left money in his will for the tomb’s construction, and provided for his wife to live at The Grange as a dower house. That house still stands today, and is part of Gosport Borough Council’s Grange Farm complex.  

     Henry III and Edmund Crouchback married women with European royal descent.  In addition to the Norman English kings, royal ancestors include the Capetian kings of France, Charlemagne, Frederick III Barbarossa of Germany, Saxons such as Alfred the Great of England, Kings of Scotland and Spain, and monarchs, princesses and dukes from central and eastern Europe.  

 

     Lineage from King Henry III to Elizabeth Brune, spouse of John Hall:

     Henry III, King of England married Eleanor of Province

     Edmund “Crouchback,” Earl of Lancaster and Leicester, married Blanche of Artois

     Henry Plantagenet, Earl of Leicester, married Maud Chaworth

     Eleanor Plantagenet married Sir John de Beaumont

     Maud de Beaumont married Sir Hugh Courtenay I

     Sir Hugh Courtenay II married Margaret Carminow

     Elizabeth Courtenay married Sir John Trethurffe

     Jane Trethurffe married John Tregarthen

     Joan Tregarthen married Sir John Wadham of Merryfield

     Margaret Wadham married Sir Nicholas Martyn

     Elizabeth Martyn married Sir Henry Brune of Athelhampton

     Elizabeth Brune married John Hall of Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire

 

     1620 Apr 29 Groom John Cotterell aged 27 occupation gent residing at Long Ashton, Somerset, Bride Elizabeth HALL aged 22 residing at Bradford, Wilts, dau of John Esq Bondsmen; Source: Wiltshire Wills and Administration.  John Cotterell from Long Ashton, Somerset, April 29, 1620 Salisbury, Wilts, Marriage License, Gent, AGE 27; & Elizabeth d/o John Hall of Bradford, Age 22 Reference Salisbury Mar. Lic.  

     The Cottrell family first settled in Flanders after arriving with William the Conqueror and was referred to as "Cottrell the Norman"; his son was John Cottrell, the grandfather of Ralph. John Cottrell in 1357 was Comptroller of the King's works.  Thomas Coterell represented the Southrepps, co. Norfolk branch of the family in 1540 and married Mary, daughter and heiress of Sir John Inglos. Their son Robert married Anne, dau. of Nicholas Bohun, son of Francis Bohun of Westhall and Elizabeth Knyvett, and Audrey (Ethelreda) Coke, and had Sir Clement, Margaret, and Nicholas. Sir Clement (1585-1631) was of Wylsford co. Linc. married Anne Alleyen (Allen).  William Coggeshall, son of William Coggishall, was Chr. on 24 Dec 1620 in Ickleton, Cambridgeshire, England. 

     1622 Jun 14 Groom Christopher Bayly aged 23 occupation Gent residing at Wingfield, WIL Bride Mary Haulle aged 18 residing at Bradford, status spouse, dau. of John, Bradford Bondsmen to be married at Bradford. Christopher Bayly and Mary Haulle obtained marriage license 17 May 1622 Bradford On Avon. Wiltshire Wills and Administration. Mary was the daughter of John Hall (c1570 Wiltshire-1631 Wiltshire).  One of the witnesses for John Hall’s will was Christopher Bayly (Bailey).

     In the early 16th century Thomas Bayley of Trowbridge, Wiltshire, married Agnes Cleveland, and they were the parents of William, who left two sons, William, the eldest, died without issue, and Christopher.  Christopher married into the Filioll family and was the father by her of William, John, Christopher, and Robert. Only Robert Bayley “of Wingfield”, Wiltshire, left issue. He married Christian Arnold of Hertfordshire, daughter of Richard, and was the father of Christopher Bayly, son and heir.  Source: Descendants of William Bailey of Newport, RI, Bailey Family Genealogy, pg 255.  

     John Bailey of Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, married Eleanor, daughter of William Knight and Jane Langburne, born about 1612 in Chippenham Co. Wiltshire.  Their son John Bailey, Jr. was born 1613 in England, and died 1691 in Newbury, Essex Co., MA.   

     William Bailey of Newport, RI purchased land from Gabriel Hicks on 14 Jun 1655, “land bounded partly by the sea.” On 5 Mar 1656, William Bailey, Sr. with Gabriel Hicks sold Joshua Coggeshall of Portsmouth 21 acres in Newport, RI.  Family tradition states he was a weaver of silk. He married Grace Parsons, daughter of Hugh and Elizabeth Parson, after arriving in Rhode Island and died before 20 Jul 1670. Hugh Parsons (1613-1684) and wife Elizabeth, widow of William England, sold 18 acres to William Wood on 3 Jul 1662. After Hugh's death, about the year 1677, Elizabeth married Thomas Lawson. On 20 Apr 1677, Hugh Parsons, Jr. leased a dwelling house, land and orchard from his stepfather Thomas Lawton of Portsmouth and agreed to pay 3 pounds a year to Elizabeth Sherman, daughter of Thomas Lawton.  Source: Records of the Bailey Family Descendants of William Bailey of Newport, RI.

CONDENSED WILL OF JOHN HALL OF BRADFORD-ON-AVON

     10 Oct 1630, I John Hall of Bradford in the countie of Wilks and diocese of Sarum, Esquire, do make this my last will and testament.  Item - Elizabeth Hall my wife lands at the Abbey house countie of Somerset, with furniture.  Daughter Elizabeth Cottrell the some of one hundred pounds, daughter Mary one hundred pounds paid to Christopher Baylie gentleman her husband, grandson John Baylie tenne pounds, unmarried daughters Jane, Dorothie and Anne nine hunderd pounds.  My two sons John and William the yearly some of fifteen pounds a piece, to double after wife's death. Executor Thomas Hall, my son and heir.  Overseers - John Brewin (Brune), Knight, William Eyre (Ayer), Esquire, my kinsman, and John Andry, Theophilus Clarke.  Witnesses: John Andry, Sr., Christopher Bayly (Bailey) and Charles Taylor.

     Thomas Hall succeeded his father, and his son John Hall built the almshouse in Bradford on Avon in 1700, which still accommodates four elderly men.  The arms of the Halls are carved over the door.  John Hall was the last of the Halls in Bradford on Avon, and by his will dated 10 Sep 1708, he devised all his lands in Wilts, Somerset and elsewhere to Denzill Onslow, Esq., Edward Lisle, Esq., Frances Goddard, Esq., and Robert Eyre, Esq., trustees; upon trust after the marriage of Rachel, daughter of Thomas Baynton of Bradford, Wilts, for the said Rachel Baynton during her life. Tthe letters K and M with coronets above them are carved on the almshouse chimneys and refer to the Dukes of Kingston and Earls Manvers.  

ALMSHOUSE OF BRADFORD ON AVON

 

HALLS OF RHODE ISLAND  

JOHN HALL III

BIRTH: Bap. 1605 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
DEATH: Aft. 1665 Newport, Rhode Island
FATHER:  John Hall II
MOTHER: Elizabeth Brune
WIFE: Elizabeth Rogers?
W. FATHER:  James Rogers ?
W. MOTHER:  Unknown
MARRIED:  c1635 Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, England
DESCENDING SON: Henry Hall

CHILDREN:

1.   Henry Hall b. c1637, MA Bay Colony
2.   James Hall b. c1639 MA Bay Colony m. Margaret (divorced early in RI according to court documents)

 

     The manner in which John and William Hall arrived in New England is cloudy, but they likely arrived on the Griffin in 1633 with William and Anne Hutchinson, who settled in Boston in a home across from Gov. Winthrop. Gov. Winthrop's journal dated 18 Sep 1634 states, "The Griffin and another ship now arriving with about 200 passengers. Mr. Lathrop and Mr. Sims, two godly ministers coming in the same ship".  The names of the 200 passengers on the Griffin is unknown, but approximately one-quarter of the passenger list has been reconstructed using early documents in which they mention having arrived in Boston with the Hutchinson family. 

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