History Forum / General / British History / September 2007

So where does Thomas the son of Guy Botetourt fit into this?

Chancery: Certificates of Statute Merchant and Statute Staple C
241/35/295
Debtor: Alan, the son of Ivo de Morley [Forehoe Hundred, Norfolk],
William de Laverfield, of Morley, and Robert Karun, of Morley.
Creditor: Thomas, the son of Guy Buttetourt {Buteturt?} [of Upton,
Walsham Hundred, Norfolk] Amount: ?16 13s. 4d. Before
Debtor: Alan, the son of Ivo de Morley [Forehoe Hundred, Norfolk],
William de Laverfield, of Morley, and Robert Karun, of Morley.
Creditor: Thomas, the son of Guy Buttetourt {Buteturt} [of Upton,
Walsham Hundred, Norfolk]
Amount: ?16 13s. 4d.
Before whom: William Butt, of Norwich; John de Kirkby, Clerk.
First term: 10/04/1300
Last term: 10/04/1300
Writ to: Sheriff of Norfolk
Sent by: William Butt, of Norwich; John de Kirkby, Clerk.
Covering dates     1301 Jan 31

Regards,

John

Does this mean that John Botetourt s/o Thomas + Joan de Somery (PA p.
137) was of different stock?

Dear Newsgroup ~

Please find below an updated and expanded account of Sir John
Botetourt, Knt., 1st Lord Botetourt, died 1324, and his wife, Maud
Fitz Thomas.  The account provides new particulars of their life and
immediate family not posted previously.  All of my sources are cited.

Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah

+ + + + + + + + + + +
BOTETOURT FAMILY

1.  JOHN BOTETOURT (or BOUTECOURTE, BOTECOURT, BUTECOURT), Knt., of
Ellingham, Cantley, Kerebrook, and Upton, Norfolk, and, in right of
his wife, of Mendlesham, Suffolk, Shelsley Beauchamp, Worcestershire,
etc., Admiral of the North Fleet, Warden of the Forest of Dean and
Constable of St. Briavels Castle, 1291-1308, Governor of Framlingham
Castle, Suffolk, son and heir of Guy Botetourt, Knt., of Ellingham,
Cantley, Cranworth, Fishley, Kimberley, and Upton, Norfolk, by his
wife, Ada.  He began his household career as a falconer in the 1270s.
He married before June 1282 MAUD FITZ THOMAS, daughter of Thomas Fitz
Otes, Knt., of Mendlesham, Suffolk, Belchamp Otton, Gestingthorpe, and
Gosfield, Essex, and Hamerton, Huntingdonshire, hereditary coiner of
the Mint in the Tower of London and City of Canterbury, by Beatrice,
daughter of William de Beauchamp, Knt., of Bedford, Bedfordshire.  She
was born about 1269-72 (aged 26 in 1295, aged 30 in 1302).  They had
four sons, Thomas, Knt., John, K.B., Otes, Knt., and Robert, and
several daughters, including Joan (affianced to Robert Fitz Walter),
Ada, and Elizabeth. He first campaigned in Wales in 1282 as a squire
of the household.  His wife, Maud, was co-heiress in 1283 to her
brother, Otes Fitz Thomas, and sole heiress in 1285 to her sister,
Joan, wife of Guy Ferre, by which she inherited the hereditary office
of coiner of the Mint, together with the manors of Mendlesham,
Suffolk, and Belchamp Otton, Gestingthorpe, and Gosfield, Essex,
Shelsley Beauchamp, Worcestershire, and a one-third share of the
barony of Bedford, Bedfordshire.  In 1286 he claimed view of
frankpledge and free warren in Hamerton, Huntingdonshire.  Sometime in
the period, 1291-1302, Maud was heiress to her cousin, Joan, daughter
of Hugh Fitz Otes, by which she inherited the manor of Isenhampstead
(in Chesham), Buckinghamshire.  In 1292-1293 he was a justice of gaol
delivery in Warwickshire and Leicestershire.  In 1294 when the king
faced the threat of French galleys raiding the south coast of England,
he appointed two household knights, William de Leybourne and John
Botetourt as captain and sub-captain of the fleet.  In the following
year they were described as admirals-the first use of the term in
England.  In 1296 he commanded 94 ships taken from ports between
Harwich and and King's Lynn, the great majority from Yarmouth.  In
1298 and 1299 he served on four commissions of oyer and terminer.  In
1300 he complained William de Wolcherchehaw, taverner, beat one of his
carters and did "other enormities;" the defendant came into court and
pledged a cask of wine to him.  He was present at the Siege of
Caerlaverock Castle in 1300; the metrical chronicler of that siege
described him as "light of heart and doing good to all."  He was one
of the barons who signed the letter to the Pope in 1301.  In 1304 he
led a raid into Nithsdale with 130 cavalry and 1,770 infantry.  The
same year the king ordered him to assist Robert de Brus, then on the
English side, in transporting one great engine in preparation of the
siege train for the siege of Stirling in Scotland.  He was summoned to
Parliament from 13 July 1305 to 13 Sept. 1324, by writs directed
Johanni Botetourt, whereby he may be held to have become Lord
Botetourt.  In 1305 he was appointed one of the justices of
trailbaston.  The same year he was sent to treat with the Scots on the
affairs of that kingdom.  In 1306 he enrolled himself as performing
the service of one knight in Scotland, but in fact he had a contingent
of three knights and eleven squires with him.  In 1307 he again
commanded a raid against the Scots.  In 1309-1310 William Fitz Walter
conveyed him and his wife, Maud, the manor of Great Bradley, Suffolk.
In 1310 he obtained a license to alienate lands and rents in
Mendlesham, Suffolk in mortmain to the value of 100s. for a chaplain
to celebrate in Mendlesham church.  In 1311 he presented his brother,
Robert Botetourt, as rector of Great Bradley, Suffolk.  In Oct. 1311
he and his wife, Maud, were granted the reversion of the manors of
Fulbourn, Cambridgeshire and Great Carbooke, Norfolk by Baldwin de
Manners, Knt., who died childless in 1320; John sold the former manor
to William la Zouche Mortimer, Knt., Lord Zouche, and Alice his wife
in 1323.  In 1314 he commanded the fleet employed in the expedition
against Scotland.  The same year Peter de Burgate, Knt., released all
his right in the manor of Mendlesham, Suffolk to him and his wife,
Maud.  In 1315 he complained that those recruited for his company were
"feeble chaps, not strong enough, not properly dressed, and lacking
bows and arrows."  In 1316 he presented his brother, Master Roger
Botetourt, as rector of Great Bradley, Suffolk.  In 1318 he again
presented to the church of Great Bradley, Suffolk.  In 1321 he and his
wife, Maud, sold the manor of Shelsley Beauchamp, Worcestershire to
John de Wysham, Knt., and his wife, Hawise de Poynings; about the same
time he also conveyed the manor of Ellingham, Norfolk to the same
couple.  John joined the rebellion of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, and
fought at the Battle of Boroughbridge 16 March 1321/2, for which he
was fined ?1000, and was pardoned 8 Oct. 1322.  In 1323 he and his
wife, Maud, conveyed the manor of Isenhampstead (in Chesham),
Buckinghamshire to Hugh le Despenser the younger, but, on Hugh's
execution and attainder in 1326, the manor escheated to the crown and
custody was re-granted to Maud Botetourt.  In 1324 he paid the Italian
bankers, the Peruzzi, 100 marks, evidently in payment of a debt he
owed to Hugh le Despenser the younger.  SIR JOHN BOTETOURT, 1st Lord
Botetourt, died 25 Nov. 1324.  In 1327 his widow, Maud, sued Robert
son of John Botetourt, John de Wynchestre and others regarding
unspecified land in Suffolk.  She was living 28 May 1329, when she
sold the hereditary office of coiner of the Mint to her son-in-law,
William le Latimer.  She presumably died in or before 1330, when her
son, Otes Botetourt, obtained a license to alienate in mortmain a
messuage in Mendlesham, Suffolk to a chaplain to celebrate in the
parish church for the souls of John Botetourt and Maud his wife.

[Note: The author F.N. Craig published a brilliant article entitled
"The Parentage of John Botetourt (died 1324)" in TAG 63 (1988): 145-
153, which article provides compelling evidence that Sir John
Botetourt, 1st Lord Botetourt, is the son and heir of Guy Botetourt,
Knt. (died c. 1316), of Ellingham, Norfolk, by his wife, Ada.
Specifically, Mr. Craig showed that Sir Guy Botetourt had the manors
of Ellingham (his chief seat), Uphall (in Cantley), and Upton, and
lands at Fishley, Norfolk, all of which passed to Sir John Botetourt,
1st Lord Botetourt, or his descendants.  For additional evidence of
Sir John Botetourt's parentage, see Byerly Recs. of the Wardrobe and
Household 1286-1289 (1986): 258, which mentions Robert brother of John
Botetourt.  Papal Regs.: Letters 2 (1895): 15 in turn names a Robert
son of Guy Botetourt, a priest, who was living in 1306.  Presumably
the same Robert Botetourt is involved in both records.  Elsewhere C.J.
Perceval in Procs. Soc. of Antiquaries of London 2nd ser. 4 (1869):
200-201 states that Robert Botetourt is named in a contemporary deed
as brother to Master Roger Botetourt, which Roger is known to have
been a son of Sir Guy Botetourt [see, for example, Rye, Pedes Finium
or Fines Rel. Cambridge (1891): 90].  Master Roger is likewise almost
certainly the same person as the Roger Botetourt who was rector of
Little Ellingham, Norfolk, which advowson was held by Sir John
Botetourt, 1st Lord Botetourt, in 1317 (see Watkin, Inventory of
Church Goods temp. Edward III (Norfolk Rec. Soc. 19(2)) (1948): 137,
215).  Lastly, new research indicates that Sir John Boteourt appointed
Robert Botetourt as rector at Great Bradley, Suffolk in 1311, and
Master Roger Botetourt as rector of the same place in 1316.  Taken
together, the various pieces of evidence and the close association of
these individuals make it clear that Sir John, Robert, and Master
Roger Botetourt were all sons of the elder Sir Guy Botetourt, Knt., of
Ellingham, Norfolk, who died c.1316].

References:

Parkin, An Essay Towards a Topographical Hist. of the County of
Norfolk 11 (1810): 133.  Blore, Hist. & Antiq. of Rutland 1(2) (1811):
90, 209 (Botetourt Peds.).  Palgrave, The Antient Kalendars and
Inventories of the Treasury of His Majesty's Exchequer 1 (1836): 102.
Ruding, Annals of the Coinage of Great Britain & its Dependencies 2
(1840): 194.  Banks, Baronies in Fee 1 (1844): 131 (sub Botetourt).
Lipscomb, Hist. & Antiq. of Buckingham 4 (1847): 276 (Botetourt
pedigree).  Foss, Judges of England 3 (1851): 38, 57-59 (biog. of John
de Botetourt).  The Gentleman's Mag. (1855): 159.  Notes & Queries 4th
ser. 4 (1869): 572; 4th ser. 5 (1870): 131-132.  Burke, Dormant,
Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages (1883): 63-64 (sub
Botetourt).  Procs. Suffolk Institute of Arch?ology & Natural Hist. 5
(1886): 259-261.  Hill, A Hist. of Upton, Norfolk (1891): following 8
(Botetourt pedigree), 9-10.  Rye, Pedes Finium or Fines Rel. the
County of Cambridge (1891): 89.  Hardy, Cal. of Feet of Fines for
London & Middlesex 1 (1892): 220.  C.P.R. 1292-1301 (1895): 458, 460-
461.  Genealogist n.s. 14 (1897): 251.  C.C.R. 1333-1337 (1898): 549,
552 (mentions "gift and grant" of Ellingham, Norfolk by John Botetourt
to John and Hawise de Wysham, for the service of a sparrow hawk).
Rye, Cal. of Feet of Fines for Suffolk (1900): 119, 152, 154.  List of
Inqs. ad Quod Damnum 1 (PRO Lists and Indexes 17) (1904): 238, 252.
Desc. Cat. of Ancient Deeds 5 (1906): 129-130.  D.N.B. 2 (1908): 909
(biog. of John de Bottetourt).  VCH Bedford 2 (1908): 203, 256, 275; 3
(1912): 9-15, 46, 235.  Copinger, Manors of Suffolk 3 (1909): 277-
281.  Index of Placita de Banco 1327-1328 2 (PRO Lists and Indexes 32)
(1910): 603.  C.P. 2 (1912): 233-235 (sub Botetourt); 4 (1916): 744-
745 (Appendix H); 5 (1926): 475-476 (sub FitzWalter); 8 (1932): 381,
footnote g (sub Manners).  VCH Bedford 3 (1912): 13, 46, 96, 235,
330.  Cal. IPMs 4 (1913): 64-65; 6 (1910): 367-368.  Turner, Cal. of
the Feet of Fines rel. to the County of Huntingdon (1913): 45, 62.
Thomas, Cal. of Early Mayor's Court Rolls 1298-1307 (1924): 53, 59,
225.  VCH Worcester 4 (1924): 331-334.  VCH Buckinghamshire 3 (1925):
203-218, 387-391.  Moor, Knights of Edward I 1 (H.S.P. 80) (1929): 122-
123.  Salter, Boarstall Cartulary (Oxford Hist. Soc.1st ser. 88)
(1930): 300, 318.  VCH Huntingdon 3 (1936): 67.  Fowler, Cal. of IPMs
2 (Bedfords. Hist. Rec. Soc. 19) (1937): 150-151.  Hatton, Book of
Seals (1950): 66-67.  Sanders, English Baronies (1960): 10-12.
Denholm-Young, Hist. & Heraldry (1965): 38-39.  Prestwich, War,
Politics and Finance under Edward I (1972): 57-58.  DeWindt, Royal
Justice and the Medieval English Countryside 2 (1981): 562.  Ellis,
Cat. of Seals in the P.R.O. 2 (1981): 15 (seal of John Botetourt dated
1315-Hung from a hook, between two wyverns, a shield of arms: a
saltire engrailed.  Legend: ...GILL...IS:BOUTETOURTE.  Very clear
impression, edge partly lost.).  Prestwich "Royal Patronage under
Edward I" (13th Cent. England I) (1986): 46 ("The accounts of dona
suggest that Edward I was rather less generous than his son.  John
Botetourt was not rewarded for his services as admiral with a gift of
?500 by Edward I, as he was by Edward II.").  Fryde, Studies in
Medieval Trade & Finance (1983): 6.  TAG 63 (1988): 145-153; 65
(1990): 24-32.  Leese, Blood Royal (1996): 134 (incorrectly identifies
John Botetourt as illegitimate son of King Edward I of England).
Prestwich, Armies and Warfare in the Middle Ages: The English
Experience (1996): 43, 55, 73, 124, 168, 276, 280, 291.  VCH
Gloucester 5 (1996): 413-415.  Brault, Rolls of Arms Edward I (1272-
1307) 2 (1997): 65 (arms of John Botetourt: Or, a saltire indented
sable; he "sealed with a pierced cinquefoil, each leaf charged with a
saltire indented in 1297, 1301, 1307, 1310, 1315; his wife Maud
impaled these arms, 1310 and 1327").  Prestwich, Edward I (1997): 131-
132 ("Edward [I] appears to have been remarkably faithful to his
queens ... there is the curious inclusion of John Botetourt in a
genealogical table in a Hailes Abbey chronicle.  His name appears to
be written over an erasure, and there is nothing in Botetourt's career
to suggest that he was an illegitimate son of the king.  He first
appeared in royal service as a falconer, but rose to high rank,
becoming a banneret in 1298.  He was of East Anglian gentry origin,
and became lord of Mendlesham through marriage.  It is possible that
the scribe intended to put the name of Edward's daughter Elizabeth's
husband where Botetourt's now features.  This evidence places no more
than a question mark against Edward's fidelity.  Edward's grandfather
John and his great-grandfather Henry II had not been faithful
husbands, but attitudes and expectations changed in the thirteenth
century.  Henry III's reputation had been impeccable, as of course had
that of Louis IX.  It would have been surprising had Edward not
followed the precedent set by two kings whom he greatly admired.  In
general terms, the Hailes chronicle is a reliable source, but in the
absence of any corroborative evidence, it is difficult to credit the
evidence of this genealogical table.  It is worth noting that Edward
II's bastard son was duly acknowledged as such in a royal record,
there is no such evidence in the case of John Botetourt").  Rodger,
The Safeguard of the Sea (1998): 86, 131-132.  VCH Cambridge 10
(2002): 136-143.  Prestwich, The Three Edwards: War and State in
England, 1272-1377 (2003): 62, 75, 263.  Barrow, Robert Bruce & the
Community of the Realm of Scotland (2005): 185, 212, 221.