John of Wheathampstead Esq d 1649 - The Broket Archive

John of Wheathampstead Esq
b c 1571 bur 5 Nov 1649

Only son of Edward and Etheldred Lady Challoner. He was known as ‘John Brockett of Wheathampstead Esq’, and lived near the Church at a residence called the Street. His father died 1598 and for half a century thereafter John was a prominent local squire until his own death. He was sometimes called ‘the elder’—as in a 1631 document—or ‘snr’—as in the baptism of his son John—to distinguish him from the other adult John of Wheathampstead Esq, b 1583, called latterly ‘John Brokett of Caswell‘ after his last residence in Wheathampstead.

John’s baptism is not recorded in the surviving Wheathampstead records. Perhaps it was in Buckinghamshire? He matriculated at Magdalen College Oxford 30 Oct 1584, ‘of Buckinghamshire’, aged 13, so was b c 1571. Admitted to Gray’s Inn 1588. 1649 5 Nov: “John Brocket Esqr” was buried in Wheathampstead.1

Contents of this page:
Contemporary namesakes
Wives and children
Other records
Last Will and Testament

Contemporary namesakes

Wives and children

John married twice, firstly to Mary GARROWAY, in St Mary Abchurch, London, 13 Dec 1600.2 She bore him 10 children, 7 of whom died aged 19 or younger. The 3 survivors were Judith, Edward and Charles. On 29 Jul 1619 “Marie Wyfe of John Broket Esqr.” was buried in Wheathampstead.3 On 29 Dec 1623 John married secondly Mary BANISTER at St Bride Fleet St, London.4 She bore him 8 children, 3 and probably 4 of whom died aged 20 or younger. The 4 known survivors were George, Mary, Thomas, William and Henry. Gough’s transcription of the Wheathampstead Parish Registers records Mary’s burial there on 21 Dec 1667: “Mrs Mary Brockett Widow, from Ayte”,5 presumably Ayot. This was 18 years after John had died.

Children with first wife Mary GARROWAY:6

  1. Mary bur 1 May 1604 in Wheathampstead.
  2. Frances bap 29 Mar 1604, bur 23 Jul 1623, both in Wheathampstead.
  3. Judith bap 30 May 1605 in Wheathampstead. “Robert Clarke A minister of the Parish of Sarrett in the Countie of Harfoot [sic] and Judeth Brockett of Whetthamsted in the same Countie maried the sixtene of February” 1634/5 at London St Nicholas Acons.7 Sarratt is c 15 m SW of Wheathampstead. Magdalen, daughter of Robert and Judeth CLARKE was baptised 30 Sep 1640 at Sarratt.8 According to the 1669 Visitation of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire,9 Judith married Richard EDMONDS.10 This would have been between Jan 1648 and Jun 1650, the writing of her father John’s Will and the challenge to it—in the former she was “daughter Clark” and in the latter “Judith Edwards alias Brockett”.
  4. Edward of Wheathampstead Gent, bap 14 Jan 1606/7, bur 19 Jan 1669/70, both in Wheathampstead. See below.
  5. William bap 20 Jul 1608,11 bur 7 Nov 1609, both in Wheathampstead.
  6. John bap 20 May 1611,12 bur 4 Nov 1628, both in Wheathampstead.
  7. Charles bap 1 Jul 1613,13 bur 9 Jan 1616/7, both in Wheathampstead.
  8. Thomas bap 15 Jan 1614/5,14 bur 9 Aug 1619, both in Wheathampstead.
  9. Garway or Garraway bap 6 Jun 1616,15 bur 19 Apr 1619, both in Wheathampstead.
  10. Charles of Westminster Gent, bap 2 Jun 1618 in Wheathampstead,16 died 1662/3. See below. See separate page.

Children with second wife Mary BANISTER:

  1. George of Watford Gent, bap 4 Jan 1624/5 in Wheathampstead, buried 8 Sep 1686. See below.
  2. Mary bap 19 Jun 1627 in Wheathampstead,17 married Richard MICHELL, St Bride Fleet St, London, 12 Nov 1647,18 the church that her father and mother were married in 24 years before. Richard was perhaps baptised at Wheathampstead 14 Mar 1623/4, son of Richard Michell Gent.19 “Mary Michell alias Brockett” was still alive in 26 Jun 1650 when the right of probate of her father John’s Will was challenged.
  3. Thomas bap 4 May 1628 Wheathampstead, buried there 6 Jul 1671. See below.
  4. Elizabeth bap 3 Aug 1628,20 bur 18 Jul 1632, both in Wheathampstead.
  5. John bap 20 Oct 1629 in Wheathampstead.21 His mother’s gravestone, inscribed in 1669 had hJohn’s name included along with all her other children, including Elizabeth who died in infancy, but her husband John didn’t mention him in his Will of 1649. nor did his brothers Bannister, Charles or William in theirs of 1652, 1662 or 1675 respectively, and no other records of John have been found. He probably died young, and his mother Mary wished to record his memory. It would be speculation to suggest why the burials of all his other siblings who died young were recorded in Gough’s copy of the Wheathampstead Parish Register, but not his. Omissions in parish records weren’t uncommon, and Gough’s copy was made in the 18th C from old Churchwarden’s accounts. If John hadn’t died by 1649 at the latest why would he have been the only surviving child not mentioned in family Wills?
  6. William of Wheathampstead Gent, bap 23 Oct 1631 in Wheathampstead, bur 1 Jan 1675/6. See below.
  7. Banister of London, Servant, bap 20 Jan 1632/3 in Wheathampstead. Died unmarried. Will written 7 Feb 1651/2, proved PCC 20 Jul 1652. See below.
  8. Henry bap 22 Jul 1634 in Wheathampstead. Alive 1675 (brother William’s Will). To be distinguished from Henry Brockett of Limbury, Laborer/Yeoman, died 1684, and of course from Henry Brockett of Hitchin 1684-1785.

That the baptismal dates of nearly all John and Marys’ children were separated by only one or two years suggests that they were all baptised regularly as young infants. Two of John’s surviving sons, the eldest Edward (1607-1670) and one of the youngest William (1631-1675), were known as gentlemen of Wheathampstead. They were the last 2 Brocketts of Wheathampstead.

This is the memorial inscription over Mary’s grave on the floor of the Brockett Chapel in St Helens Wheathampstead, lying to the left of her stepson Edward’s.22 It shows that John’s 2nd wife Mary was the daughter of George Banister of Drayton, Middlesex, Gent and lists the 8 children she bore him:

Wheathampstead grave Mary Brokett 1669
+
It reads:

HERE LYETH INTERRED YE BODY OF
MARY BROKETT SECOND WIFE OF JOHN
BROKETT LATE OF WHETHAMSTEAD IN
YE COVNTY OF HERTF ESQ & DAVGHTER
OF GEOGE BANISTER LATE OF DRAYTON
IN YE COVNTY OF MIDDX GENT & HAD
ISSVE BY HIM 6 SONNES & 2 DAVGHTERS
VIZ GEOGE THOMAS MARY JOHN  ∼∼
WILLIAM ELIZABETH BANISTER & HENRY
SHE DEPARTED THIS LIFE YE [blank] DAY
OF [blank] ANNO DOMINI 1669
AGED 77 YEARS

It says that Mary died in 1669, with a blank space for month and day< although according to Gough her burial had been on 21 Dec 1667. The gravestone and style of inscription are so similar to Edward’s that it looks as though they were made and laid at the same time following Edward’s burial in 1670, hence perhaps the mistake with Mary’s year of death and the blank spaces left for day and month.

Other records

1598: John was bearer of one of the 2 standards at the heraldic funeral of Sir John II in St Etheldreda’s Hatfield.

1628: “John Brockett of the Streete Esqr” was due £4 on £10 worth of land in the Lay Subsidy of July this year.23

1631: On 4 Aug John Brockett the elder of Wheathampstead, Esq, placed a close of land called the Great Brache in Sandridge in trust, to reconvey it to himself as security for payments of £2 a year to the poor of Wheathampstead, Hatfield, Sandridge, Harpenden and Redbourn. By an inquisition of 7 Jun 1628, under the Statute of Charitable uses, it had been found that John Brockett was chargeable with this charity having £200 ‘remaineing in his hands from one Edward Smith of Saundridge’.24 He signed (on the insert at the bottom):

John of Wheathampstead's signature 1631

1638: John—or John of Caswell—was accused of digging a ditch across a public way.25

1647: Conveyed the Manor of East Hide—part of Luton Manor—to Thomas Mitchell.26

John’s last Will and Testament

1647/8 6 Jan: John wrote his Will, proved PCC 11 Jan 1649/50.27+Read more


Comments on the Will:

  • John willed to be buried near his first wife in the Brockett Chapel in Wheathampstead parish church.
  • His second wife Mary was sole Executrix.
  • 8 of John’s 9 living children were left bequests: his 7 sons Edward, Charles, George, Thomas, William, Banister and Henry, and his daughter Clark—Judith. The omission of his daughter Mary Michell appears to have been a copyist’s error, see the next point.
  • In the challenge to John’s Will of 26 Jun 1650, both John’s surviving daughters were mentioned: “Judith Edwards alias Brockett” and “Mary Brockett alias Michell“. However, in this court copy of the Will itself only Judith—as daughter Clark—was mentioned, plus her own daughter Magdaline. However the text is corrupt and it seems that the copyist omitted a line or two as you can see:

    “Item I give unto my daughter Clark the summe of twentie five pounds to be paid unto them as soone as conveniently it may after and out of the sale of my said Lands And my will is that the said twenty pounds soe given to the said Magdaline be payd unto her mother my daughter for the use of her said child”

    The word ‘them’ must refer to someone missing, as also the referents of “the said twenty pounds” and “the said Magdaline”. It might just have been the bequest to Magdaline that was omitted, however why should John not have made a bequest to his daughter Mary after she had done so to Judith; “Item I give unto my daughter Michell the summe of twentie five pounds”? One of the witnesses to the Will was Richard Michell, Mary’s husband—or perhaps father-in-law if he was still alive. It would seem unlikely that Mary would be John’s only surviving child not given a bequest. The scribe’s omission may well have contained it.

  • John bequeathed two messuages. One in Wheathampstead and Sandridge, the next parish, and the other in Hatfield. The first he bequeathed to his wife for the term of two years, thereafter to his eldest son. The other was to be sold and £1,600 of the proceeds were to be divided equally among “six of my younger children”, i.e. £266 pounds each.
  • John also left £5 to a sister[-in-law] married to Pease with a daughter Anne. Neither of John’s actual sisters were married to a Pease.
  • Witnesses: George Banister Edward Bassock Richard Michell.
  • No IPM was held on John’s death. His property would not have been held in chief from the king.

Challenge to Mary’s executorship

It appears that Mary’s executorship was challenged by all the children and a nephew: all 7 sons, the 2 daughters Judith Edwards and Mary Michell, and Edward Salter, son of John’s sister Ursula. Mary the Widow therefore went to court to confirm her right as Executor, which she obtained. The children failed to appear and were pronounced contumacious. This is the Sentence, or final decree, of Sir Nathaniel Brent, Master of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, issued 26 Jun 1650:29+Read more

Eldest son Edward of Wheathamstead Gent 1607-70

Bap 14 Jan 1606/7, eldest son of John of Wheathampstead Esq. Edward was taxed Michaelmas 1663 for 8 firehearths, the 5th rating in Wheathampstead—after John Garrard 26, William Stubbing 14, Thomas Hunsdon 12. Mary his widow was assessed Lady Day 1673 for 11 firehearths, the 3rd highest in Wheathampstead—after John Garrard 23, Thomas Hunsdon 13.30

Edward’s arms are given as a quarterly of 18,31 largely corresponding with those of his grandfather Edward, as represented in Harley 807.

“Edward Brockett Gent.” was buried in Wheathampstead 19 Jan 1669/70.32 He left no Will, and Administration of his estate is recorded for 14 Jul 1670.33 The transcript notes “Wheathampstead, Herts., Ad. to Mary B., wid., rel.”34 It means that he died at Wheathampstead and Administration was given to Mary Brockett, his widow. This is the memorial inscription over Edward’s grave on the floor of the Brockett Chapel in St Helens Wheathampstead, lying to the right of his mother Mary’s:35

Wheathampstead grave Edward Brokett 1669
+
It reads:

HERE LYES YE BODY OF EDWARD BROKETT
GENT ELDEST SON OF JOHN BROKETT
LATE OF WHETHAMSTEAD IN YE COVNTY
OF HERTF ESQR & LATE HVSBAND OF
MARY YE DAVGHTER OF HENRY TOOKE LATE
OF BISHOPS HATFEILD IN YE COVNTY OF
HERTF GENT & HAD ISSVE BY HER ONE SON
& 4 DAVGHTERS VIZ JOHN MARY
ELIZABETH FRANCES & ANNE
HE DEPARTED THIS LIFE YE 9TH DAY OF JANUARY
ANNO DOMINI 1669 AGED 64 YEARS

This shows that he married Mary TOOKE and they had 5 children:

  1. Mary. Baptised Wheathampstead 25 Sep 1654. In uncle William’s Will of 1675, she was bequeathed—as “Mrs Mary Broket” when aged about 21 and probably unmarried—£100, a quarter of the residue and £20 of the bequest to uncle George if he predeceased his wife, which he did. No further definite record of Mary has yet been found.
  2. Elizabeth. Baptised Wheathampstead 21 Nov 1654. Elizabeth was the only one of her siblings not to be mentioned in her uncle William’s Will of 1675, although she was still apparently single and aged about 21. It was presumably her marriage that was recorded in Gough’s transcript of the Wheathampstead register as: “Lawrence Kilbee Cittiezen of Lond’ and Elizabeth Brokett 3 Jun 1680“—no other Contemporary Elizabeth Brokett of Wheathampstead is known. She died soon after, as the Administration of the estate of Elizabeth Kilby is recorded for 18 Jun 1681.36 The transcript notes “A. H. the Less, Lond.; d. at Wheathampstead, Herts., Ad. to Law. K., h.”37 This means that she died at Wheathampstead and was buried in All-Hallows-the-Less in the City of London, and that Administration was given to Lawrence Kilby, her husband. All-Hallows-the-Less was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666, but the site of the church was retained as a burial ground.
  3. Frances. Baptised Wheathampstead 16 Jun 1658. In uncle William’s Will of 1675, she was bequeathed—as “Mrs Frances Broket” when aged about 17—£100, a quarter of the residue and £20 of the bequest to uncle George if he predeceased his wife, which he did. She married 24 Oct 1678 in Wheathampstead Mr Wm BUTTLER, Citizen of London.
  4. John. Baptised Wheathampstead 5 May 1660. In uncle William’s Will of 1675, he was bequeathed—as “Mr John Broket” when aged about 15—£100, a quarter of the residue and £20 of the bequest to uncle George if he predeceased his wife, which he did. John was alive in 1692 when he and others answered a Bill of Complaint brought by maternal cousins Anne Lench and others re property in Hamside, Hatfield Woodgate, Hertfordshire, and West Smithfield, Middlesex.38 He may have married Annis and, if so, died 1700-1 with issue. No further record of John has been found. It is more than unlikely that he was John of Shillington Labourer, who had a family there from 1696 and died 1720.
  5. Anne. Baptised Wheathampstead 1661. In uncle William’s Will of 1675, she was bequeathed—as “Mrs Ann Broket” when aged about 14—£100, a quarter of the residue and £20 of the bequest to uncle George if he predeceased his wife, which he did. She married Stewart SPICER 1 Nov 1682. The entry reads: “Stewart Spicer, of St Helen’s, London, Bach[elo]r, about 23, & Anne Brockett, of Whitehamsted [sic], Herts, Sp[inste]r, about 19 [more like 21], her parents dead, she at the disposal of [blank] Lamb.Vicar of Whitehamsted afsd, who consents; alleged by John Gray, of St Botolph, Bishopsgate, London, Merchant Taylor; at Stratford Bow or Bromley, co. Middx., or Westham, co. Essex.”39

Apart from Elizabeth, all were left substantial bequests in their uncle William’s Will of 1675. Edward’s widow Mrs Mary Brockett was buried in Wheathampstead 14 Oct 1680.

Charles of Westminster Gent 1618-1663

Married Anne BRISTOW—predeceased Charles? not mentioned in his Will, proved PCC 11 Feb 1662/3, executors brother Thomas and kinsman Edmond Brockett and Mr William Rolfe.40+Read more


Inventory of the goods and chattells of Charles Gent of Westminster taken 6 Aug 1663.41+Read more
Charles had a contemporary namesake kinsman in London: Charles, a Fishmonger. They both had sons named John, and the Willingale Spain Brockets, desendants of Charles the Fishmonger, preferred to claim descent from this Charles Gentleman.

Son George of Watford Gent 1631-75

George bap 4 Jan 1624/5.42 Married Susanna RUNNINGTON 30 Apr 1660 in Newington St Mary, Surrey,43 now a district of South London, just south of the River Thames. Susannah, daughter of William and Mary Runnington was baptised 22 Jul 1634 at Watford St Mary.44 Soon after their marriage they removed to Watford, Hertfordshire, where their daughter was christened, c 11 m SW of Wheathampstead. George was witness to John of Caswell’s Will proved 1659. George was alive and married in 1675—his brother William’s Will of that year reveals an antipathy towards George’s wife. Child:

Mary daughter of George Brockett” christened 18 Apr 1661, Watford St Mary.45Mrs Mary Brocket“, i.e. ‘Mistress’, was buried 14 Feb 1677/8, Watford St Mary,46 [aged 17].

Mr George Brocket” was buried 5 Jun 1676 Watford St Mary.47 George left no Will, and Administration of his estate is recorded being granted to Susannah 26 Jun 1676.48 “An Inventory of the goods & Chattelles of George Broket late of Watford in the County of Hertf’ Gent” was taken 15 Jun 1676.49 It isn’t known who the Geo Brocket buried 1676 St James Clerkenwell, Middlesex, recorded in Boyd’s London Burials, was.50

Mrs Susanna Brocket Widow” was buried 8 Sep 1686, Watford St Mary, a note dated 17 Sep by the Churchwardens said that [unlike all the burials of that month and August] “No Affidavit was brought within the time limited by the Statute for Burying in Woollen”.51 In her Will, written 21 Aug 1686, proved Archdeaconry of St Albans Sep, she left the following bequests to:

niece Sarah Runnington £5
nephew George Runnington
brother William Runnington £40 and his son William £5
brother-in-law John Ansell £40
executrix sister Mary Burton Widow, the residue52

suggesting that she and George had no surviving children.

Son Thomas Citizen and Clothworker of London 1628-1671

“Thomas Son of John Brocket” was baptised in Wheathampstead 4 May 1628,53 and on 6 Jul 1671 “Mr Thomas Broket from the Place” was buried there.54 The Place was a house in Wheathampstead.

How do we know that “Thomas Brokett Cittizen and Clothworker of London” whose Will was proved 20 Jul 1671, was baptised and buried in Wheathampstead, son of John of Wheathampstead Esq?

1. In his Will of 1675 the younger brother of the Thomas baptised 1628—William of Wheathampstead Gentleman—mentioned “my Executorshipp to my brother Thomas Broket”.

2. The sole Executor of the Will of Thomas, Citizen and Clothworker of London, proved 1671, was “my loveing brother William Brokett of London Gentleman”. No other contemporary Thomas Brokett of London is known who had a Gentleman brother William, and no other contemporary Gentleman William Brokett of London or elsewhere is known who had a brother Thomas who was a Citizen and Clothworker of London. That William was styled both of London and Wheathampstead reflects the fact that “In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries especially, younger sons of the gentry who were destined not to inherit land and titles often went to London to seek their fortunes in trade.”55 Brothers Charles and Bannister also removed to London. Perhaps William styled himself of ‘Wheathampstead’ after his elder brother Edward Brokett of Wheathampstead Gent died in 1670.

3. Probate of Thomas’ Will was on 20 Jul 1671 at the PCC and Thomas, baptised 1638, had been buried a fortnight earlier in Wheathampstead 6 Jul 1671. It was a simple Will requiring little time in execution. That Thomas was recorded as “from the Place” suggests that he had either removed back from London latterly, or that his burial ceremony proceeded from that house.

In addition, Edmond Brockett Citizen and Merchant Taylor of London appointed “my Cousin Thomas Brockett” Executor of his Will in 1665, which was subsequently disputed by Edmond’s widow Judith, who referred to Thomas as Edmond’s “kinsman”. Edmond was baptised in Wheathampstead in 1625, 3 years before Thomas, so the two would have known each other from childhood. They were third cousins. Since Edmond was sick in the middle of the major 1665 epidemic of the plague in London it makes sense that he would have chosen an Executor near to hand in London rather than one a day’s journey away in Wheathampstead.

A secondary source, Boyd’s Inhabitants of London recorded the following Family Unit:56

Thomas Brocket of St Dunstan East, citizen & Clothworker
Wife Ellen. Died 1652 Jul 8 at St Dunstan E
Will 1671 PCC fol 58
Children:
Anne bap 1650 Jan 6
Anne bap 1651 Jan 30

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Note: St Dunstan in the East is to be distinguished from St Dunstan’s, Stepney, where other Broket families were recorded earlier and probably later.

This adds the information that Thomas was married to Ellen and they had two daughters called Anne, the first presumably dying before the second was baptised. Indeed, the following 7 parish records have been found for Thomas and Ellen or Eleanor:

Thomas Brockett sonne of Thomas and Ellen” was baptised in St. Clement Danes, Westminster, 19 Jan 1645/6.57
Ann Brocket, daughter of Thomas and Ellin was baptised in St Dunstan in the East, London 6 Jan 1651/2.58
Eleanor Brockett, wife of Thomas was buried in St Dunstan in the East, London 8 Jul 1652.59
Female Brocket, daughter of Thomas and Ellyn was baptised in St Dunstan in the East, London 30 Jan 1652/3.60
Martha Brockett, daughter of Thomas and Ellin was baptised in St Dunstan in the East, London 20 May 1655.61
Joan Brockett, daughter of Thomas and Ellinor was baptised in St Dunstan in the East, London 16 Aug 1657.62
Joan Brockett, daughter of Thomas was buried in St Dunstan in the East, London 28 Nov 1658.63

But did all these records—or any of them—relate to our Thomas the Clothworker? We have no other record confirming his parish, and none of these parish records specified him as a Clothworker or a Citizen, or anything else—as shown by this snip of the first one above:64

Thomas Brockett bap 1646 Westminster

The other 6 records, however, are transcripts so it’s possible that the originals might have more information, but until they are accessible we assume that like this one they don’t. Furthermore, no marriage records have so far been found of a Thomas Broket—whether Clothworker or not—marrying an Ellen or Eleanor. Might another Thomas Broket in London at the time have been the husband of Ellen or Eleanor? Or perhaps of the second Ellen or Eleanor? Boyd’s Inhabitants of London is an invaluable resource—the author was one of the foremost genealogists of the first half of the 20th C—but it was a compilation of transcriptions of records from disparate sources,65 and there is no explicit linkage in these records of Thomas’ family that he—if he was one individual—was the Clothworker, nor were any sources provided. And did the son Thomas or Martha or the unnamed daughter survive to adulthood? The fact that Thomas mentioned neither wife nor children in his Will doesn’t necessarily mean that none of them did.

And were Eleanor and Ellen the same person? Or persons—the parish records above show that Thomas and Ellen/Eleanor baptised 3 further children after Eleanor (Ellen?) died in 1652. So did Thomas marry a second Ellen/Eleanor and she gave birth to the unnamed female only 7 months after the previous Ellen/Eleanor died? Also, the first baptism—of son Thomas—was in 1646 and Thomas the Clothworker, baptised 1628, would only then have been about 18 years old. That Thomas, baptised 1628, and his siblings were probably all baptised as young infants is suggested by the regularity of their baptisms every 1 or 2 years. A teenage marriage would have been uncommon though not unheard of. But the 1645/6 baptism was in a different parish, so were the parents another Thomas and Ellen? The picture is unclear.

Having said all that, unless and until a more suitable Thomas Broket is found in London records at that time, it is probably unduly sceptical not to assume that Thomas, husband of Ellen/Eleanor, was the Citizen and Clothworker of London who lived 1628-1671.

Thomas’ Will was written 28 Feb 1664, proved 20 Jul 1671, sole Executor [younger] brother William Brockett Gent of London:66+Read more


The whole point of this brief Will was to hand over his entire estate to his brother without any conditions. It provides little other information apart from:

1. Thomas was a Citizen and Clothworker of London.
2. His brother William—the sole executor—was a Gentleman of London.
3. The witnesses were Nicholas Moore and Richard Hare Snr. Comment: The latter was probably a co-defendant with Thomas in the suit brought by Judith Brockitt in 1665.67

Son William of London/Wheathamstead Gent 1631-75

Son of John of Wheathampstead Esq, bap 23 Oct 1631,68 bur 1 Jan 1675/6, the last Brockett of Wheathampstead. Although in his own Will he styled himself “William Broket of Wheatthamstead in the County of Hertford gentleman” he also lived in London, as evidenced by his brother Thomas’ Will of 1664, proved by William as sole Executor in 1671, which referred to him as “my loveing brother William Brokett Gentleman of London“. No other William of London is known who could have been him. Perhaps William styled himself of ‘Wheathampstead’ after his elder brother Edward Brokett of Wheathampstead Gent died in 1670. William wrote his Will on 10 Dec 1675 and it was proved at the PCC 1 Mar 1675/6.69 At least by the time of writing his Will William had neither wife nor children:+Read more

Bequests to his immediate family:

To brother Mr George Broket £100—only £20 of which within 9 months of William’s death, and the remaining £80 on the death of George’s wife. If she survived him—which she did 6 months later in 1576—then the remaining £80 to go in equal parts to brother Edward’s children John, Mary, Frances, Ann.

To brother Henry Broket £10 with £100+ of bills and bonds that he owed William by vertue of my Executorship to my brother Thomas Broket provided hee Will give a generall Release to my Executors at the receiveing the Said money and bills and bonds.

To John Brokett son of brother Charles £166 at 21. Comment: Apart perhaps from the residue left to his brother Edward’s children, this was the largest single bequest. The fact that John son of Charles was under 21 in 1675, i.e. born after 1654, is significant for the correct descent of the Willingale Spain Brocket family.

To Mrs Broket Widow of brother Edward Broket Gentleman £50.

To Mr John Broket son of brother Edward Broket £50.

To Mrs Mary Broket daughter of brother Edward Broket £100.

To Mrs Frances Broket daughter of brother Edward Broket £50.

To Mrs. Ann Broket daughter of brother Edward Broket £130. Comment: For some reason William made no bequest to his brother Edward’s other daughter Elizabeth who didn’t marry till 1680.

Residue to the children of brother Edward Broket John Mary Frances and Ann.

William also left bequests to 8 friends of £17 plus £5 to the poor of Wheathamstead, and the Executors Mr Jesper Wilshire of Broket Hall and Mr Thomas Lanch Citizen of the City of London Waxchandler,71 were to receive £50 each.

On 31 Dec 1676 an Inventory of William’s goods and chattels was taken:72+Read more


£765 15s 7d + £57 19s in outstanding bills not received = £822 19s 7d, which was a tidy sum. The bequests in his Will came to £778, not counting the £100+ debts written off from brother Henry, so there was a residue of £44 19s 7d for his nieces and nephew.

Aside from these 2 Wills and the Inventory, and a mention in his father’s Will of 1647, the only other record currently found concerning William is from 27 Mar 1673 when William Brockett of Whethamsted, Gent, purchased a 500 year lease for £35 from Thomas Carpenter of Abbots Langley, Yeoman, of 7 acres of arable land in Abbots Langley called The Heath, adjoining Pease Lane north and the land of Daniell Lea south and the land of Thomas Carpenter west, Witnesses Joshua Lomax and John Dagnall.75 Langley is c 6 m N of Wheathampstead.

Son Banister of London

Bannister bap 20 Jan 1632/3.76 Died unmarried. Will written 7 Feb 1651/2, proved PCC 20 Jul 1652:77+Read more


He left the following bequests to his Brockett relatives:

mother Mrs Mary £5
brother Edward 20s for a ring
brother Charles 20s for a ring
brother George 20s for a ring
sister Mrs Mary Michell 20s for a ring
brother William £50
brother Henry £50
brother Thomas, Sole Executor, the residue

and several to relatives on his mother’s side.

Page Last Updated: August 25, 2022

Footnotes

For full bibliographical details please see the sections Publications or Glossary.

Expand

[1] The Bodleian Library MS.Gough Herts.4 p 13.

[2] IGI.

[3] Gough's transcript of the Register, p 11.

[4] IGI.

[5] p 13.

[6] Dates of baptisms and burials all from Richard Gough's 18th C transcript of the Wheathampstead Parish Register, The Bodleian Library MS.Gough Herts.4 fols.138r – 143r.

[7] St Nicholas Acons Parish Register, image accessed from Ancestry.com 17 Feb 2020, citing London Metropolitan Archives P69/NIC1/A/001/MS17621. Boyd's marriage index, 1538-1850, gave the date as 1634, transcript accessed from FMP 17 Feb 2020.

[8] FMP and Ancestry.com transcripts accessed 17 Feb 2020., citing IGI (FamilySearch).

[9] Preserved in the College of Arms ms. D24/ii/50.

[10] 'Edmunds' in the 1860 Gateshead Pedigree.

[11] The Bodleian Library MS.Gough Herts.4 p 3.

[12] The Bodleian Library MS.Gough Herts.4 p 3.

[13] The Bodleian Library MS.Gough Herts.4 p 3.

[14] The Bodleian Library MS.Gough Herts.4 p 3.

[15] The Bodleian Library MS.Gough Herts.4 p 3.

[16] The Bodleian Library MS.Gough Herts.4 p 3.

[17] The Bodleian Library MS.Gough Herts.4 p 4.

[18] IGI.

[19] The Bodleian Library MS.Gough Herts.4 p 3.

[20] The Bodleian Library MS.Gough Herts.4 p 4.

[21] The Bodleian Library MS.Gough Herts.4 p 4.

[22] Image taken by Julie Fennell 1995.

[23] TNA E 179/121/331, available online Jan 2019 from FamilySearch FHL film #2228680. Thanks to James Lively for drawing attention to this.

[24] HALS DE/Z120/44942.

[25] Herts County Records Sessions Rolls and Books, vol 1 pp 18-9, vol 5 pp 233, 261, as cited in Munby 1974 p 45.

[26] VCH Bedfordshire vol 2 pp 357.

[27] TNA PROB11/211/61.

[28] Uncultivated areas, wastes.

[29] TNA PROB 11/212/787. For the original Latin contact the Archivist of this website.

[30] Munby 1974 p 84.

[31] The 1669 Visitation of Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, preserved in the College of Arms ms D24/ii/50.

[32] Gough's transcript of the Wheathampstead Parish Registers p 13.

[33] TNA PROB 6/45 f.109 (Prerogative Court Of Canterbury Administrations 1660-1700).

[34] Accessed from FMP 15 Feb 2020.

[35] Image taken by Julie Fennell 1995.

[36] TNA PROB 6/56 f.76 (Prerogative Court Of Canterbury Administrations 1660-1700).

[37] Accessed from FMP 15 Feb 2020.

[38] TNA C5/171/126.

[39] Faculty Office Marriage Licences 1543-1700, p 163; London Marriage Licences 1521-1869 p 1267 (images accessed from FMP 10 Feb 2020).

[40] TNA PROB 11/310/215.

[41] TNA PROB 4/13862, with monetary values modernised and lines joined. Some words illegible.

[42] The Bodleian Library MS.Gough Herts.4 p 3.

[43] Surrey Parish Register Transcripts by West Surrey Family History Society, accessed from FMP 15 Feb 2020.

[44] IGI (Family Search) accessed 15 Feb 2020.

[45] Parish Register, image accessed from FMP 15 Feb 2020.

[46] Parish Register, image accessed from FMP 15 Feb 2020.

[47] Parish Register, image accessed from FMP 15 Feb 2020.

[48] HALS 112AW23.

[49] HALS A25/3971.

[50] Transcription by the Society of Genealogists, accessed from FMP 15 Feb 2020.

[51] Parish Register, image accessed from FMP 15 Feb 2020.

[52] HALS 122AW5.

[53] The Bodleian Library MS.Gough Herts.4 p 4.

[54] Gough's transcription of the Wheathampstead Parish Registers, p 13.

[55] Sharpe 2011 p 127.

[56] Boyd's Inhabitants Of London & Family Units 1200-1946, transcription by the Society of Genealogists, accessed from FMP 15 Feb 2020.

[57] Image accessed on FMP (uncatalogued collection) 15 Feb 2020; IGI (FamilySearch) transcript accessed 15 Feb 2020.

[58] Transcript accessed on FMP, and IGI (FamilySearch) 15 Feb 2020.

[59] Transcript of the Greater London Burial Index by Cliff Webb, accessed on FMP 15 Feb 2020.

[60] Transcript accessed on FMP, and IGI (FamilySearch) 15 Feb 2020.

[61] Transcript accessed on FMP, and IGI (FamilySearch) 15 Feb 2020.

[62] Transcript accessed on Ancestry.com, and IGI (FamilySearch) 15 Feb 2020.

[63] Transcript of the Greater London Burial Index by Cliff Webb, accessed on FMP 15 Feb 2020.

[64] Image courtesy of FMP, downloaded 15 Feb 2020.

[65] Sharpe 2011 pp 126-7.

[66] TNA PROB 11/336/472.

[67] TNA C10/107/25 Brockitt v Brochitt, Hare, Banton.

[68] The Bodleian Library MS.Gough Herts.4 p 4.

[69] TNA PROB 11/350/320.

[70] NSOED 'hopeless, not recoverable'.

[71] NSOED 'A seller or maker of candles'.

[72] TNA PROB 4/9192. The year date is smudged but was probably 1676. It could hardly be 1675, if he hadn't yet been buried. The writing of currency has been modernised, e.g. £2 16s 10d instead of ij l xvj s x d.

[73] A type of linen first made in Holland.

[74] A rapier.

[75] HALS 80744.

[76] The Bodleian Library MS.Gough Herts.4 p 5.

[77] TNA PROB 11/224/263. Proved on the oath of brother Thomas Brockett.

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