William Culpeper Esq. of Hunton and Wigsell

Esquire of Hunton, Lossenham in Newenden and Heryngdon in Tenterden, Kent. Of Wigsell, Saleshurst, Sussex. Justice of the Peace for Kent.

Third but eldest surviving son of Walter Culpeper and Anne Aucher, grandson of Sir John Culpeper and Agnes Gainsford, Henry Aucher and Elizabeth Guildford.

Husband of Cecily Barrett, daughter of John Barrett of Bellhouse, Essex and Philippe, daughter of Thomas Bardfelde. They were married by settlement dated 04 Jan 1530, her maritagium included lands called Scotts in Sandhurst and Newenden, Kent. They had seven sons and two daughters; John, Francis, Martin, Walter, Thomas, Richard, Edmund, Elizabeth, wife of John Wildgose and Anne, wife of Simon Edolphe.

William was admitted to Gray's Inn in 1530, and as a result, servant to Thomas Cromwell, who was then Lord of the Privy Seal. In March of 1539 William had seisin of the lands of the dissolved Priory of Lossenham, which had been founded by his ancestor, Thomas FitzAucher in 1241. William left a will dated 16 Nov 1559, proved 06 Dec 1559.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/109696736/william-culpeper

William Culpeper of Hunton and Wigsell, born a youngest son, was named in his father's will (1514) as 'my sonne Willm,' with provision to be 'founde to schole.' That this injunction was carried out and that he was put through grammar school, and sent thence to London to reside at either Barnard's or Staple Inn, may be deduced from his admission to Grays Inn in 1530 (Foster, fo. 423).

This would be the year he came of age, when the deaths of his two elder brothers had already left him his father's heir. This appears both from. the contemporary instrument (Harl. Charter, 76 H 12) which confirmed to William as 'son and heir' of his father the dispositions of the will of Sir John in favor of Walter; and from his mother's will two years later.

It may be that William Culpeper began life as a practising lawyer. The earliest public record of him is not in itself inconsistent with such an hypothesis. In 1538 he was included in the long list of gentlemen enrolled as 'servants' to Henry VIII's servant Thomas Cromwell, then Lord Privy Seal and at the dizzy height of his prosperity; for he was not part of the household, but one of those who were to attend only when called (L. & P. Henry V111, Xiii, pt. 2, p. 497). The patronage resulting from this service was part of the contemporary spoil of the monasteries. He had a grant of an annuity charged on the priory of Christ Church at Canterbury, and on March io, 1538/9, the seizin of the lands of the dissolved priory of Losenham, which his Aucher ancestor had founded (ibid., xiv, pt. I, p. 224; xx, Pt. I, p. 324).

It is significant that in all these testimonies William appears only in relation to Kent. In his grant of the priory of Losenham he is, indeed, described as 'of Hunton,' while his second son was listed at Winchester College in 1553 (Kirby, Winchester Scholars, 1888, p. 132) by the same qualification. Thus it appears that on his marriage, which took place in 1530 as appears from the record of the family settlement of that year, William established himself, not at Wigsell, but in the midst of the Kentish weald, on the river Beult near its junction with the Medway. This was an eminently agreeable place of residence, but Hunton was not a Culpeper lordship. It was vested in the Wyatts of Allington (Hasted, ii, 229), a family which, like the Culpepers, later produced a Governor of Virginia.

In relation to the Wyatts, William Culpeper achieved also his next appearance in a public record: for when, in January, 1540/1, Sir Thomas Wyatt, the poet, was involved in Cromwell's downfall and for some weeks was held a prisoner in the Tower, William Culpeper was, on Wyatt's nomination, permitted by the Privy Council to have the custody of Allington Castle (L. & P. Henry V111, xvi, 229). He did not, however, persistently follow their fortunes. Whether, unlike his youthful kinsmen of Bedgebury and Aylesford, he remembered the check his family had had in the reign of Edward II, whether he had never accepted the break with Rome (three of his sons were named for saints), or whether it was merely his fortieth year which counselled prudence, William was loyal to Queen Mary's government in the crisis of 1553 and did not follow the poet's son into 'Wyatt's rebellion.' His record then was that of an active justice of the peace; at first in organizing police, and, after the danger had passed, charged with the custody of sequestered estates (Acts P. C., 1554-56) pp. 70, 85).

In the course of this last duty William moved his residence several times, which explains why his third son, Martin, was entered at Winchester (Kirby, supra) as 'of Barfriston' in east Kent. It follows that it was not until the very end of his life that William settled down at Wigsell, where he made his will:

"16 Nov 1559 (1 Elizabeth). I Willm Culpeper of Wigsell in the County of Sussex, Esquire. To be buried in the parish church of Salehurste, in the chapell where my good dere wife Cicely Culpeper doth lye. Poor householders of Bodyam 20s. £lO for a tome to sett on my grave. To reparation of Church of Newyndon £3. 6. 8. To William Grantham my seruant 20s. a yere for life. To Gybson's widow 10s. a yere for life. To Mr. Hyde scolemaster of Wynchester 30s. To Elizabeth Wilgosse and Anne Edolf my daughters £5 each for a silver cup with my arms to be graven on it. To Edward Donck of Hawkherst my newe cloth gowne furred and to John Twysden my ffryce coot. Residuary legatee and Executor John Culpeper my eldest son and my nephew John Tufton of Hothfield Esq my overseer to whom my graye curtall geldynge. Witnesses Willm Grantham, Willm Lopham, John Webbe, George Pix, John Tufton, Marye Tufton, Symon Edolfe, Anne Edolfe, Rich. Lacheford.

"As to my lands in Sussex and Kent to John my son, my manors of Lossenham and Louedean in Kent, my m'she in Newynden called the ffryers m'she, my lands called Scotts in Sandherste and Newynden and and a yerely rent of £3 out of Walland marshe, also two parts of my manor of Wigsell in the county of Sussex in three partes divided, if the said John pay unto Fraunces Culpeper my second son, Marten Culpeper my third son, Walter Culpeper my fourth son, Thomas Culpeper my fifth son Edmonde Culpeper my vijth son £5 a year each for life, and to Richard Culpeper my vjth son an annuity of £6. 13. 4. --all the above with the right of entry in default of payment on the two parts of the manor of Wigsell. My manor of Heryngden in Kent to John my son to pay my debts and legacies and if he will not to Francis and Martin my sons. Proved 6 Dec. 1559 by John Colepeper executor."

Source: Fairfax Harrison, "The Proprietors of the Northern Neck."

.

This would be the year he came of age, when the deaths of his two elder brothers had already left him his father's heir. This appears both from. the contemporary instrument (Harl. Charter, 76 H 12) which confirmed to William as 'son and heir' of his father the dispositions of the will of Sir John in favor of Walter; and from his mother's will two years later.

.

It may be that William Culpeper began life as a practising lawyer. The earliest public record of him is not in itself inconsistent with such an hypothesis. In 1538 he was included in the long list of gentlemen enrolled as 'servants' to Henry VIII's servant Thomas Cromwell, then Lord Privy Seal and at the dizzy height of his prosperity; for he was not part of the household, but one of those who were to attend only when called (L. & P. Henry V111, Xiii, pt. 2, p. 497). The patronage resulting from this service was part of the contemporary spoil of the monasteries. He had a grant of an annuity charged on the priory of Christ Church at Canterbury, and on March io, 1538/9, the seizin of the lands of the dissolved priory of Losenham, which his Aucher ancestor had founded (ibid., xiv, pt. I, p. 224; xx, Pt. I, p. 324).

.

It is significant that in all these testimonies William appears only in relation to Kent. In his grant of the priory of Losenham he is, indeed, described as 'of Hunton,' while his second son was listed at Winchester College in 1553 (Kirby, Winchester Scholars, 1888, p. 132) by the same qualification. Thus it appears that on his marriage, which took place in 1530 as appears from the record of the family settlement of that year, William established himself, not at Wigsell, but in the midst of the Kentish weald, on the river Beult near its junction with the Medway. This was an eminently agreeable place of residence, but Hunton was not a Culpeper lordship. It was vested in the Wyatts of Allington (Hasted, ii, 229), a family which, like the Culpepers, later produced a Governor of Virginia.

.

In relation to the Wyatts, William Culpeper achieved also his next appearance in a public record: for when, in January, 1540/1, Sir Thomas Wyatt, the poet, was involved in Cromwell's downfall and for some weeks was held a prisoner in the Tower, William Culpeper was, on Wyatt's nomination, permitted by the Privy Council to have the custody of Allington Castle (L. & P. Henry V111, xvi, 229). He did not, however, persistently follow their fortunes. Whether, unlike his youthful kinsmen of Bedgebury and Aylesford, he remembered the check his family had had in the reign of Edward II, whether he had never accepted the break with Rome (three of his sons were named for saints), or whether it was merely his fortieth year which counselled prudence, William was loyal to Queen Mary's government in the crisis of 1553 and did not follow the poet's son into 'Wyatt's rebellion.' His record then was that of an active justice of the peace; at first in organizing police, and, after the danger had passed, charged with the custody of sequestered estates (Acts P. C., 1554-56) pp. 70, 85).

.

In the course of this last duty William moved his residence several times, which explains why his third son, Martin, was entered at Winchester (Kirby, supra) as 'of Barfriston' in east Kent. It follows that it was not until the very end of his life that William settled down at Wigsell, where he made his will:

.

"16 Nov 1559 (1 Elizabeth). I Willm Culpeper of Wigsell in the County of Sussex, Esquire. To be buried in the parish church of Salehurste, in the chapell where my good dere wife Cicely Culpeper doth lye. Poor householders of Bodyam 20s. £lO for a tome to sett on my grave. To reparation of Church of Newyndon £3. 6. 8. To William Grantham my seruant 20s. a yere for life. To Gybson's widow 10s. a yere for life. To Mr. Hyde scolemaster of Wynchester 30s. To Elizabeth Wilgosse and Anne Edolf my daughters £5 each for a silver cup with my arms to be graven on it. To Edward Donck of Hawkherst my newe cloth gowne furred and to John Twysden my ffryce coot. Residuary legatee and Executor John Culpeper my eldest son and my nephew John Tufton of Hothfield Esq my overseer to whom my graye curtall geldynge. Witnesses Willm Grantham, Willm Lopham, John Webbe, George Pix, John Tufton, Marye Tufton, Symon Edolfe, Anne Edolfe, Rich. Lacheford.

.

"As to my lands in Sussex and Kent to John my son, my manors of Lossenham and Louedean in Kent, my m'she in Newynden called the ffryers m'she, my lands called Scotts in Sandherste and Newynden and and a yerely rent of £3 out of Walland marshe, also two parts of my manor of Wigsell in the county of Sussex in three partes divided, if the said John pay unto Fraunces Culpeper my second son, Marten Culpeper my third son, Walter Culpeper my fourth son, Thomas Culpeper my fifth son Edmonde Culpeper my vijth son £5 a year each for life, and to Richard Culpeper my vjth son an annuity of £6. 13. 4. --all the above with the right of entry in default of payment on the two parts of the manor of Wigsell. My manor of Heryngden in Kent to John my son to pay my debts and legacies and if he will not to Francis and Martin my sons. Proved 6 Dec. 1559 by John Colepeper executor."

.

Source: Fairfax Harrison, "The Proprietors of the Northern Neck."

Biography William Culpeper, Esq., Justice of the Peace for Kent was born circa 1509 at of Hunton, Losenham in Newenden, & Heryngdon in Tenterden, Kent, England; Of age in 1530. A settlement for the marriage William Culpeper, Esq., Justice of the Peace for Kent and Cecily Barrett was made on 4 January 1530; They had 7 sons (John, Esq; Francis; Martin; Walter; Thomas; Richard; & Edmund) & 2 daughters (Elizabeth, wife of John Wildgose; & Anne, wife of Simon Edolphe). William Culpeper, Esq., Justice of the Peace for Kent left a will on 16 November 1559; Requested burial in the chapel of the parish church in Salehurst, Sussex. His estate was probated on 6 December 1559 His full name as given in Culpepper Connections is William Culpepper of Hunton and Wigsell. He is named in his fathers will as well as his mothers will. He is included in the 1538 list of gentlemen enrolled as servants to Henry VIII's servant Thomas Cromwell. He made his will on November 16, 1559 in Wigsell, Sussex county. Research Notes N443Biography William Culpeper of Hunton and Wigsell, born a youngest son, was named in his father's will (1514) as 'my sonne Willm,' with provision to be 'founde to schole.' That this injunction was carried out and that he was put through grammar school, and sent thence to London to reside at either Barnard's or Staple Inn, may be deduced from his admission to Grays Inn in 1530 (Foster, fo. 423). . This would be the year he came of age, when the deaths of his two elder brothers had already left him his father's heir. See Harl. Charter, 76 H 12, which confirmed to William as 'son and heir' of his father, and his parent's wills. In 1538 he was included in the long list of gentlemen enrolled as 'servants' to Henry VIII's servant Thomas Cromwell, then Lord Privy Seal and at the dizzy height of his prosperity; for he was not part of the household, but one of those who were to attend only when called (L. & P. Henry V111, Xiii, pt. 2, p. 497). The patronage resulting from this service was part of the contemporary spoil of the monasteries. He had a grant of an annuity charged on the priory of Christ Church at Canterbury, and in March, 1538/9, the seizin of the lands of the dissolved priory of Losenham, which his Aucher ancestor had founded (ibid., xiv, pt. I, p. 224; xx, Pt. I, p. 324). Upon his marriage, in 1530, William established himself, not at Wigsell, but in the midst of the Kentish weald, on the river Beult near its junction with the Medway. This was an eminently agreeable place of residence, but Hunton was not a Culpeper lordship. It was vested in the Wyatts of Allington (Hasted, ii, 229), a family which, like the Culpepers, later produced a Governor of Virginia. In relation to the Wyatts, William Culpeper achieved also his next appearance in a public record: for when, in January, 1540/1, Sir Thomas Wyatt, the poet, was involved in Cromwell's downfall and for some weeks was held a prisoner in the Tower, William Culpeper was, on Wyatt's nomination, permitted by the Privy Council to have the custody of Allington Castle (L. & P. Henry V111, xvi, 229). William was loyal to Queen Mary's government in the crisis of 1553 and did not follow the poet's son into 'Wyatt's rebellion.' William's record then was that of an active justice of the peace; at first in organizing police, and, after the danger had passed, charged with the custody of sequestered estates (Acts P. C., 1554-56) pp. 70, 85). In the course of this last duty William moved his residence several times. Not until the very end of his life did William settle down at Wigsell, where he made his will: 16 Nov 1559 (1 Elizabeth). I Willm Culpeper of Wigsell in the County of Sussex, Esquire. To be buried in the parish church of Salehurste, in the chapell where my good dere wife Cicely Culpeper doth lye. Poor householders of Bodyam 20s. £10 for a tome to sett on my grave. To reparation of Church of Newyndon £3. 6. 8. To William Grantham my seruant 20s. a yere for life. To Gybson's widow 10s. a yere for life. To Mr. Hyde scolemaster of Wynchester 30s. To Elizabeth Wilgosse and Anne Edolf my daughters £5 each for a silver cup with my arms to be graven on it. To Edward Donck of Hawkherst my newe cloth gowne furred and to John Twysden my ffryce coot. Residuary legatee and Executor John Culpeper my eldest son and my nephew John Tufton of Hothfield Esq my overseer to whom my graye curtall geldynge. Witnesses Willm Grantham, Willm Lopham, John Webbe, George Pix, John Tufton, Marye Tufton, Symon Edolfe, Anne Edolfe, Rich. Lacheford. As to my lands in Sussex and Kent to John my son, my manors of Lossenham and Louedean in Kent, my m'she in Newynden called the ffryers m'she, my lands called Scotts in Sandherste and Newynden and and a yerely rent of £3 out of Walland marshe, also two parts of my manor of Wigsell in the county of Sussex in three partes divided, if the said John pay unto Fraunces Culpeper my second son, Marten Culpeper my third son, Walter Culpeper my fourth son, Thomas Culpeper my fifth son Edmonde Culpeper my vijth son £5 a year each for life, and to Richard Culpeper my vjth son an annuity of £6. 13. 4. --all the above with the right of entry in default of payment on the two parts of the manor of Wigsell. My manor of Heryngden in Kent to John my son to pay my debts and legacies and if he will not to Francis and Martin my sons. Proved 6 Dec 1559 by John Colepeper executor. Source: Fairfax Harrison, "The Proprietors of the Northern Neck"The Will of William Colepeper, of Wigsell.47 Of the daughters, Elizabeth married John Wildgose, of Salehurst, co. Sussex, and Anne married Simon Edolphe, of St. Radigunds, co. Kent, while the descendants of Martin, Walter and Richard removed to other counties and died out as shown in the pedigree, and Edmund, who held various livings in Kent, apparently died unmarried. The fifth son Thomas was of Wilmington, co. Sussex, and, as he left no issue by his wife Elizabeth, widow of John Gode, of London, the wills of himself and his wife are here inserted. Their marriage licence to marry at Harrietsham is dated 17 Dec 1579, at Canterbury, Thomas Colepeper being, then described as of Hawkhurst, gent. He died on the 7th and was buried at Wilmington on the 10 Oct 1603, aged 60. His widow Elizabeth was also buried there 3 Jul 1606. Sources

Source: S-1237460205 Repository: #R-1547006964 Title: Millennium File Author: Heritage Consulting Publication: Ancestry.com Operations Inc APID: 1,7249::0 Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, (2011), Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, Royal Ancestry series, 2nd edition, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2011), volume II, pages 12-15. Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, 2nd Edition, Vol. II, p. 13. Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry, Vol. II, p. 369. Colepeper pedigree "Sussex Archaeological Collections" v 47 p 73 Visitation of Kent Page 62: Colepeper

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/109747873/cecily-dingett-culpeper

William Culpeper, Esq., son of Walter Culpeper and Anne Aucher. He married Cecily Barrett by settlement dated 04 Jan 1530, her maritagium included lands called Scotts in Sandhurst and Newenden, Kent. They had seven sons and two daughters; John, Francis, Martin, Walter, Thomas, Richard, Edmund, Elizabeth, wife of John Wildgose and Anne, wife of Simon Edolphe.

The Culpeper family settlemant of 4 January, 1529/30 (Harl. Chart., 76 H12, already cited) provided for the holding of Wigsell by trustees 'to the use of said Anne Colepepyr [widow of Walter[9] for life; remainder to said William Colepepyr and Cecele Barett, and the heirs of their bodies; in default to said William Colepepyr in tail, in default to the right heirs of said Sir Alexander Colepepyr [of Bedgebury].' This testimony at once that on the date of the charter of 1530 the marriage had been arranged and was still not consummated. In the Culpeper pedigree returned at the Visitation of Kent, 1619, the bride is described only as 'Cecelia, filia...Barrett,' but the Barrett pedigree returned at the Visitation of Essex, 1612, which also certifies the marriage, identifies the bride's father. The Barretts, descended from a companion of the Conqueror (see the Visitation of Essex, 1612, Harl. Pub., vol. xiii, 145), were long seated in Hawkhurst, co., Kent (Hasted, iii, 72), but in 1397 one of them married the heiress of the family of Belhouse in Essex and removed thither his residence (Morant, i, 78). His descendants were raised to the peerage by James I as barons Newburgh of Fife after intermarriage with the Falkland Carys. The John Barrett of Belhouse, whose daughter married William[10], but who died in 1526, before that marriage was celebrated, is described by Morant as 'applying himself to the study of the law, became eminent in that profession.' His contemporary, John Leland the antiquary, in his Encomia Illust. vivor. (Works 1774 ed., v, p. 107), vaunts his forensic eloquence in latin verse: 'Sic tua sollicitos facundia rara clientes Sublever, et medio stet tua caussa foro.' It would seem, therefore, that it must have been the tradition of this John Barrett, quite as much as the legal education of William Culpeper himself, which was the inspiration of the procession of the Wigsell Culpepers toward the Inns of Courts.