William Ball, Lord of the Manor of Barkham

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1. The Visitation of London 1633-35 gives the following information in respect of the Balls of Barkham, which was supplied in 1634 by William Ball of Lincoln's Inn.E1

• 1480 death of William Ball of Barkham
• 1543 death of his son, Robert Ball of Barkham
• (1546 per parish registers)E2
• 1550 death of Robert's eldest son, William, at Wokingham
• [1558] death of Robert's second son, EdwardE3

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From:http://www.rpi.edu/~holmes/Hobbies/Genealogy/ps30/ps30_233.htm

Misc. Notes

Lord of the Manor of Barkham; Commissioner of Berks County

Notes

Individual:

1. The surname "Ball" is probably a shortened form of "Baldwin" datin g from Norman times meaning "one who is bold enough to win in battle". For many generations the Baldwins were Counts of Flanders. The shortened variations of the spelling included "Baell", "Ball", and Balle".

John Balle, born 1263 in Norfolk County, England, is one of the earlie st recorded but with very little information. The "Mad Preacher of Kent", John Ball, is the most recorded following John Balle. Having great disdain for royalty while preaching "equality among men" and believing no man had the right to set himself as master of others, he was beheaded by Richard II, King of England in 1381.

2. William was titled "Lord of the Manor of Barkham" and the reason fo r this is unknown to us. The Ball family did not possess Barkham Manor according to available records beginning in the 1300's. D. J. French of Barkham, in a letter to us in 1999, made this comment:

"There is nothing to suggest any connection between the Balls of Barkh am & Wokingham and Barkham Manor.

By way of background to this conclusion, please also find attached th e chapters about the modern Barkham

Manor and the Bullock family (lords of Barkham) which will appear i n a book I am writing about the history of

Barkham. Please note that the William Ball (alias Bennett) referred t o in the former was a member of the

Standen family (from Surrey), and appears to be quite unrelated to th e Balls of Barkham and Wokingham."

We believe many Ball individuals were born and/or raised in Barkham bu t their families were not the owners of Barkham Manor.

In the following excerpts from Mr. French's pending book, a William Ba ll, referred to as a "kinsman" and heir to William Standen (owner of Barkham Manor at the time of his death in 1639 and childless), with wife Margaret, lived in Barkham Manor as early as 1645 and as late as 1657. Mr. French did not consider this William related to our Ball family. William Ball Jr and his wife Margaret Downman appear to be too young but his father William Ball III would be of the correct age:

"7. LORDSHIP OF BARKHAM 1330-1589; BULLOCK FAMILY

The sale of the manor of Barkham by Philip and Henry le Botiller to Jo hn Mautravers in 1330 had been disputed by

Agnes de Nevill, through legal proceedings (called an assize of nove l disseisin) commenced before the forfeiture of

John Mautravers' property, and Agnes recovered title to the manor an d a carucate of land (corresponding to one hide,

say 120 acres, consistent with the 1331 valuation) under a judgment i n 1334(1). Agnes de Nevill is reputed to have

married Gilbert Bullock, son of Robert Bullock, lord of Arborfield, an d so the manor of Barkham passed into the

younger line of the Bullock family(2)(since Gilbert Bullock was not Ro bert Bullock's eldest son (another Robert)).

In 1343 Gilbert Bullock presented John de Insula as new rector to Bark ham church(3). The wooden effigy in the

church porch of a recumbent lady in a long, loose dress and linen head -dress is reputed to be an effigy of Agnes

de Nevill (see Chapter 18). The lordship of Barkham was to remain in t he Bullock family until 1589(4).

Agnes de Nevill and Gilbert Bullock may have died without male heirs , perhaps as a consequence of the Black

Death, since in 1368, when Agnes Mautravers (widow of John Mautravers ) unsuccessfully claimed rights of dower

(or widow's thirds) over the manor of Barkham, the lordship was in th e hands of Thomas Ganefeld and Agnes his wife

for term of Agnes' life under a family settlement, the reversion bein g held by John Bullokes(5). Agnes Ganefeld may

have been the daughter and heir of Agnes de Nevill and Gilbert Bullock , or the sister of either. There are also

references to Thomas Ganefeld in 1362 and 1372. Coincidentally, a Henr y Ganefeld was rector of Barkham about this

time until his death in 1396(6). There is no record of whether John Bu llokes became lord of Barkham, but by 1391 the

lordship was in the hands of another Gilbert Bullock (who could have b een his son)(7), who lived until at least 1415.

Gilbert Bullock was succeeded as lord of Barkham by his son Thomas Bul lock, who in 1419 presented Walter Bosum

as rector to Barkham church(8). Meanwhile, in 1405 Robert Bullock tert ius, lord of the manor of Arborfield for at least

forty years, died without male heirs, and the lordship of Arborfield p assed to his daughter and heir Margaret, and her

husband John Hertyngdon, for term of Margaret's life under a family se ttlement(9). In 1418/21 the reversion to the

lordship of Arborfield was conveyed to Thomas Bullock of Barkham and h is wife Alice(10), so that when Margaret

Hertyngdon died, Thomas Bullock became lord of both manors, thereby un iting the two branches of the family. There

survives at the Berkshire Record Office a 1429 deed whereby the mano r of Barkham was conveyed by family trustees

to Thomas Bullock absolutely(11).

Although Thomas Bullock (or a son of the same name) remained lord of A rborfield until 1463, a Robert Bullock was lord

of the manor of Barkham from at least 1444, when he presented John Eve rdon to the rectory of Barkham(12). Robert

Bullock appears to have died between 1483 and 1489, when his widow, El eanor, presented John Hawkyns as rector to

Barkham church(13), presumably as part of her widow's thirds (or right s of dower).

The identity of the lord of Barkham after Eleanor Bullokys' death, an d of the lord of Arborfield after Thomas Bullock's

decease in 1463, is unclear, on account of the paucity of surviving re cords, but by 1502 Gilbert Bullock was lord of both

manors. The 1566 Heralds' Visitation of Berkshire(14) says that Gilber t was the son of Robert (who married Eleanor), who

was the son of Thomas (died 1463) and his wife Alice Yeadinge, suggest ing that Thomas Bullock granted his son and

heir, Robert, a life tenancy of the manor of Barkham before 1444 in an ticipation of his inheritance. There are several

inconsistencies in the surviving documents relating to this period, an d another son, Richard, may have held an interest

in Arborfield manor after Thomas Bullock's death(15).

In mediµval and Tudor times the manor house was located on the moate d site adjacent to the parish church. This would

have been the residence of the Bullocks as lords of Barkham, until th e lordships of Barkham and Arborfield were in the

same hands, when the head of the family resided at Arborfield (as th e more substantial manor). It is possible that the

surviving building was built (or re-built) as a dower house for Eleano r Bullock in the mid 1480's. Following Eleanor's death

Arborfield became the permanent seat of the Bullocks, and the manor ho use at Barkham was let as a farm to a succession

of tenants (family and non-family), as recounted in Chapter 9.

Little is known about Gilbert Bullock, except that he presented Rober t Towneshend to the rectory of Barkham in 1504(16),

and married Margaret, daughter of Sir William Norris of Bray. By 151 4 Gilbert Bullock had died, and had been succeeded

by his son Thomas (who presented Thomas Hornby to the rectory of Barkh am in that year)(17), who remained lord of the

manors of Arborfield and Barkham until his death in 1558. He married A lice, daughter of John Kingsmill, one of the justices

of the Common Pleas (whose estates included Langley Pond Farm in Barkh am, where his father, Richard Kingsmill, had

been born).

Thomas Bullock was a minor member of Henry VIII's household, and he ap pears in a list of the Royal Household in 1516

as one of the Gentlemen Ushers Extraordinary(18). Thomas Bullock serve d the Crown in a number of capacities. In 1518 and

1528 he was Escheator (an agent of the Crown) of the counties of Oxo n and Berks(19), and he was also appointed a tax

commissioner for Berkshire several times. In 1544 Thomas Bullock was a mongst the nobles and gentry who supplied men

and horses to Henry VIII for the war with France(20). Thomas Bullock' s contingent consisted of 'archers eight, and billmen

thirteen', in all probability recruited amongst his tenants in Arborfi eld and Barkham.

In 1517 a government commission enquiring into private enclosures note d that Thomas Bullock had enclosed 100 acres of

arable land in Barkham, displacing one messuage and eight persons(21) . If converted to pasture for sheep, this would have

removed from tillage a significant proportion of the cultivated land i n the 1,362 acre parish, much of which comprised heath,

scrub or woodland. (Indeed, by 1613, only 57 acres of the mediµval ope n arable fields remained)(22). A list of heads of

household liable to pay taxes survives from 1524/5(23), which lists 2 4 taxpayers, suggesting that the population of Barkham

at the time was in the region of 110.

Thomas Bullock died in 1558, and his son Richard succeeded to the tw o manors. Little is known about Richard Bullock,

except that he and his wife, Alice, had a large number of children. Wh en Richard Bullock died in 1570, his son Thomas

succeeded to the manors of Arborfield and Barkham. In 1581 Thomas wa s Escheator of Oxon and Berks, and he also served

as High Sheriff of Berkshire 1581-82. He married Dorothy, daughter o f Sir William Forster of Aldermaston. A heavy

accumulation of debts forced Thomas Bullock to sell the two manors fo r ?4,000 in 1589, thereby causing the demise of the

Bullock family fortunes (see Chapter 14)."

"13. HISTORY OF BARKHAM MANOR, PART I (1540-1787)

Origins

The origins of the mansion house called Barkham Manor are obscure, sin ce there are few surviving records before the 1750's,

and it is not known who the early occupants were.

Although the present house (apart from the cellars) dates from the en d of the eighteenth century, the reputed origin of the

ornamental lakes as stew ponds and the magnificent plane tree (Platanu s Orientalis), reputed to be up to 450 years old, may

indicate the existence of a high status building on the site since a t least Tudor times. If the present lakes do indeed derive

from mediµval stew ponds, they would have been stocked with fish lik e carp, to be consumed on days when church laws

required abstinence from eating meat (i.e. Fridays and during Lent) an d during winter.

The mediµval manor house had been on a moated site adjacent to the par ish church. At some stage during the first part of the

seventeenth century, the site of the manor of Barkham migrated to th e present Barkham Manor site, although the property was

known as Barkham House until well into the nineteenth century. Curious ly, however, although the mediµval manor house was

described as a 'faire houfe' in a 1613 survey of the parishes in Winds or Forest, none of the other twelve houses in Barkham

listed attracted any special mention(1).

If there was a high status building on the site in Tudor times, one o f the early occupants may have been John White, a partner

in the Reading and Wokingham bellfoundries(2), who retired to Barkham , where he died in 1551. White was a wealthy man by

contemporary standards, leaving a personal estate of ?81. 15s. 7d.(3) , and had been mayor of Reading (before, and after, the

dissolution of Reading Abbey) in 1536 and 1542. This is, however, pure ly conjectural.

Standens 1589 to 1700

In 1589, the lordships of Arborfield and Barkham, together with 2,20 0 acres (78% of the two parishes) were sold by Thomas

Bullock (who was almost bankrupt) to Edmond Standen, Clerk of the Pett y Bag of the Court of Chancery, for ?4,000(4).

On his death in 1603, Edmond Standen was succeeded by his son, William , who lived at Arborfield manor until his death

(aged 73) in 1639. The lengthy Latin epitaph on his tomb in St Barthol omew's, Arborfield (which is opposite the porch when

you enter the church) is fulsome in its praise of his generous natur e and Christian virtues. William Standen died childless,

and his heir-at-law was a kinsman called William Ball, who was the gra ndson of Edmond Standen's second brother. The

Arborfield and Barkham estates passed, however, under a family settlem ent to another kinsman of the same name, William

Standen, who was the grandson of Edmond Standen's fifth brother. The t rustees were William Lenthall MP and Nicholas

Love(5).

It appears that William Standen (kinsman) and his (first) wife, Sarah , took up residence in Barkham, probably at the mansion

house on the Barkham Manor site, not long after William Standen's deat h in 1639, and remained at Barkham during the troubled

Civil War years, since the Barkham parish registers include 5 Stande n family entries in 1642-45 (1 baptism and 4 burials)(6),

whilst Mary Standen (widow of William Standen) continued to live at Ar borfield until her death in 1645. Little is known about

William Standen (kinsman), except that he was at some time a member o f the Barber Surgeons' Company in the City of London,

and was High Sheriff of Berkshire in 1648.

When Mary Standen (widow) died in 1645, William and Sarah Standen move d from Barkham to Arborfield manor, whilst his

kinsman, William Ball, a supporter of the Parliamentary cause and writ er of political pamphlets, took up residence at Barkham,

where he and his wife Margaret continued to reside, when not in London , until at least 1652(7). It seems that William Standen's

wife, Sarah, predeceased him, and by 1657 he had taken a second wife c alled Elizabeth.

The history of the dispute between William Bullock and Edmond Stande n in the 1590's, and between Edward Bullock and

William Standen 1650-62, about the ownership of the manors of Arborfie ld and Barkham is recounted in Chapters 14 and 16.

The next occupiers of the manor house appear to have been the family o f John Stronghill and his (second) wife Judith, from

at least 1654 until Stronghill's death in 1666(8). John Stronghill's N ew Year 'Guifte' to the parish church in 1664 of a silver

paten, engraved with his coat of arms, is still part of the church pla te. According to the surviving hearth tax returns for 1662-64,

Barkham House had nine fireplaces at this time(9). John Struggle seem s to have occupied as sub-tenant 1662-63.

William Standen died in 1686, and was succeeded by his son John. Whe n John Standen died in 1694, he was succeeded by

Edward Standen. It is not known whether Edward was the eldest son of J ohn Standen or his third brother.

Watermans, Kingsmills & Osgoods 1700 to 1768

The Standens continued to own the manor of Barkham until 1700, when Ed ward Standen sold the Barkham estate (including

the lordship and the advowson) to William Waterman I of Southwark (gra ndson of Sir George Waterman, Lord Mayor of London

1672)(10). Little is known about William Waterman, although he serve d as High Sheriff of Berkshire 1709-10. William

Waterman's daughter Eleanor married Edward Standen's son, also calle d Edward (of 'The Ballad of Molly Mog' fame).

William Waterman died in 1733(11), and his eldest son, the Rev.d Joh n Waterman, succeeded to the Barkham estate after the

death of his widow Mary. John Waterman's wife Penelope was the daughte r of Sir William Kingsmill of Sydmonton in Hampshire.

The Kingsmill family had been major landowners in the locality since t he middle ages, and owned Langley Pond Farm in the

parish. The marriage may have been the reason for the gift of a silve r flagon to Barkham church by Penelope Kingsmill's mother,

Dame Rebecca, in 1720.

As well as owning the advowson of Barkham, John Waterman held the righ t to make the next presentation to the living of

Arborfield. When the Rev.d John Sale, who had been rector of both Arbo rfield and Barkham since 1694, died in 1739, John

Waterman presented himself as rector of Arborfield, but presented th e Rev.d William Dawes to the living of Barkham(12).

The Rev.d John Waterman seems to have divided his time between Barkha m House and Sydmonton Court, which appears to

have been his principal residence, where his wife Penelope would hav e looked after, initially, her mother, Dame Rebecca

Kingsmill, who died in 1727, and her brother William, who, though a ce rtified lunatic, was head of the Kingsmill family from

1698 to 1766.

John Waterman appears to have ministered to the needs of his parishion ers in Arborfield from Barkham House, since a notice

in the Reading Mercury in 1746 about criminal damage to a coppice owne d by him in Arborfield indicates that he was then

resident in Barkham(13). The atmosphere at Sydmonton Court, notwithsta nding its 3,000 acres, must have been difficult at

times, and the manor house at Barkham would have offered a welcome res pite.

In 1755 John Waterman died, without male issue, and the Barkham mano r estate passed to his nephew, William Waterman III.

In September 1755 William Waterman III began raising money on the secu rity of the estate, and a number of complicated

transactions involving the estate were to ensue over the following tw o years(14).

The Rev.d John Waterman's daughter, Rebecca, married Lawrence Head Osg ood, son and heir of John Osgood, lord of the

manors of Chieveley. Osgood, who served as High Sheriff of Berkshire i n 1748/9, leased Barkham House from 1751(15) until

his death (aged 47) in 1768, when the contents of the house were aucti oned in a two-day sale, and the house offered for

re-letting(16). A daughter, Penelope, was baptised at Barkham in 1754 .

The surviving Kingsmill manuscripts give various addresses for Lawrenc e Head Osgood from 1758 onwards (including

Sydmonton), and he died in Oxfordshire. In 1758 (whilst living at Bark ham) his wife, Rebecca, became co-custodian of her

insane uncle, William Kingsmill. When William Kingsmill died (aged 81 ) in 1766, without issue, the Kingsmill estates were

divided between Rebecca Osgood and another neice, Elizabeth Brice, an d their respective husbands (since married women

could not own property until 1882)(17). (See Chapter 6).

Pitts & Fonnereaus 1757 to 1787

In December 1757 Edward Wise, an entrepreneurial Wokingham solicitor , bought Barkham manor, and on-sold the estate to

William Pitt of Binfield Manor for ?6,513(18). When William Pitt die d in 1774, the Barkham estate passed to his brother, John

Pitt, whose estates were in Dorset. The Pitt family trustees activel y tried to sell the Binfield and Barkham estates (which

necessitated a private Act of Parliament to unravel a strict settlemen t created by William Pitt's will)(19).

The Rev.d John Gabriel became tenant of Barkham House by 1780. Gabrie l was a well-to-do Georgian cleric, with three

carriages and two male servants (including a footman)(20), who had pre viously resided at his other living at Hampstead Norris.

Following his death in 1782 there was a two-day sale of his furnitur e and personal effects at Barkham Manor(21).

In 1783 John Pitt sold the Barkham manor estate, the lordship and th e advowson, to Thomas Fonnereau, who took up residence

at the house. At the same time John Pitt and Thomas Fonnereau jointl y agreed to sell about 1,783 oak trees, growing in various

parts of the manor, to a Reading timber merchant, who was to be respon sible for their felling, for ?4,000(22). In January 1784

Thomas Fonnereau sold Barkham Manor to his brother Harry(23), althoug h Thomas continued to live there, and was on good

terms with the new rector, the Rev.d David Davies (contributing to th e cost of pulling down the old parsonage house (a 'mean

cottage, badly situated'), and re-building it).

In summer 1787 Barkham Manor was offered for sale: 'a commodious dwell ing house, the principal part recently built and

genteelly fitted up and finifhed'(24). Why the principal part of the h ouse had been re-built is unknown. Either it was in a serious

state of disrepair or there had been some calamity, perhaps a fire. "

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Sources

Title: Ball Family Records

Author: Robert Ball

Publication: 1998

Media: Letter

Title: Merson Family Records

Author: Wayne Merson

Publication: 1998

Media: Letter

Title: The Visitation Of London

Author: William Ball, of Lincoln's Inn

Publication: 1633-1635

Media: Manuscript

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William Ball was born around 1450, married c. 1470 and died in 1480. His entire life was spent at Barkham Manor in Berkshire County, England. His wife is unknown, and a complete listing of his children has yet to be found. He had at least one son, Robert.

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William lived his whole life in Barkham, Berhshire County, England. No information is available on the name of his wife. There is not a listing of his children, but it is known that he had at least one child:

Robert BALL.

Source: Patsy Putnam.

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The Lee's of Virginia, Washington, Ball, Bowie, all connect to this database at Charles Henry Lee and Susan Randolph Cooke.

Sources:

  1. Abbrev: Ball, A Elden: database of Edward Graham Ball

     Title: A. Elden Ball, (4190 Butternut Rd. SLC, UT 84010) GEDCOM file imported in 1997, based on the works of Edward Graham Ball in 1987. See "Edward Ball of 1670, Family Line" and "Family Record of James Ball 1690 of Carteret Co. North Carolina". Additions and corrections by Vern, "vyrntaylor@yahoo.com" and Renda Taylor.rd Graham Ball in 1987. See "Edward Ball of 1670, Family Line" and "Family Record of James Ball 1690 of Carteret Co. North Carolina". Additions and corrections by Vern, "vyrntaylor@yahoo.com" and Renda Taylor.997, based on the works of Edward Graham Ball in 1987. See "Edward Ball of 1670, Family Line" and "Family Record of James Ball 1690 of Carteret Co. North Carolina". Additions and corrections by Vern, "vyrntaylor@yahoo.com" and Renda Taylor.

     Text: 1. Genealogies of Virginia Families, Vol. I. pg. 78

     2. "Colonel William Ball of Virginia" by- Earl L. W. Heck, FHLC 921.73 - B21h

     3. Ball Family History, Vol.3, Family History Library Catalog US/CAN 929.273 B21v

     4. "A Brief Look At The Family Of Colonel William Ball of Virginia, Grandfather of Mary Ball, Mother of Pres. George Washington." page 116

     5. Writings Of Washington, Vol. 32, Page 28

!Page 114 "A Brief Look At The Family Of Colonel William Ball of Virginia."

His wife unknown b. Abt 1454

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Reference to the Ball family and its improtance greatly antedate William Ball. In Hertfordshire, there is an estate known as "Balls Park" taking its name form John de Ball, who represented Hartford druing the reign of Edward I, 1271-1307. There are perhaps as many as seven variations of the Ball Arms. The lion rampant holding the globe is common to all. Three stars appear on the shield rather than star fish. The motto, "Coelum Qui Tueri," appears on all. It is sometimes translated as "Behold the Hevens" rather than "Heaven to those who dare." The helmet indicates knighthood in the lineage. The fancy scroll work represents the tattered remnants of a crusader's cloak which implies that there were crusaders in the family. The shield is silver with a black chief or upper portion having three starfish. Shaded portions of the scroll work and other similarly shaded areas may be either red or black.

William Ball was Lord of the Manor, as it stands today. It is a 17th century mansion house on 5 acres of ground and adjoining land. The orginial building was enlarged in the 18th and 19th centuries when the Georgian and Victorian elements were added. It is listed Grade 2 building of special architectural or historic interest and is mentioned in Sir Nikolaus Pevsner's Building of England. The high brick wall of the property flanking Barkham Road is a prominent feature of Barkham and dates from the early 19th century. It encloses the former gardner and stable block. There was a Ball family at Barkham from 1480-1600

http://www.angelfire.com/tx4/custer/ball.html

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William was lord of Barkham Manor.

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• http://maryballwashington.com/E.berksBalls.pdf