Peter (Wode) Atte Wode (abt. 1321 - abt. 1370)

Born about 1321 in Surrey, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 1370 at about age 49 in Sanderstead, Surrey, England [uncertain]

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Biography

Name

Peter is seem in source material as Peter atte Wode. The "atte" is a prefix of Saxon origin which means "at the", "of" or "in". The term "Wode" is Saxon and middle English for "wood", as in "forest", not timber. Thus Peter atte Wode would be Peter at the Wood. However the use of the term "wood" as a name at the time, Middle English, was derogatory and implied a person not in control of themselves. Thus the name, for the period, is best as Peter Wode. Today variants would be seen as Atwood, Wood, Woods and Wode.

Birth

Peter was born c. 1311. This is an estimate based on the events of his life. Peter is the son of Geoffrey Atte Wode. His article on wikipedia calls him Peter Atte Wode and mentions he was born at Gullesden (Coulsdon), Surrey, now part of Greater London).

Events

On March 15, 1351 Peter Atte Wode and John De Roulegh along with seven others were appointed as “keepers” to the “joint commission for the peace and for labourers” in Surrey. This commission was formed in several counties in England to provide an enforcement for new laws that had been enacted to regulate labor and provide for peace after the Black Death decimated the population in 1348-49. On September 15, 1351 de Roulegh and Peter Atte Wode were removed from their positions on the commission as a result of complaints of impropriety by fellow commissioners. They were both tried and Peter Atte Wode was found to be innocent of the charges.

Atte Wode became associated with William of Wykeham (1320 – 1404). His association with Wykeham undoubtedly enhanced his stature and helped increase his wealth. Jean Froissart (1337 – 1405), the fames chronicler of medieval England and France, says in his Chronicles (1395):

“At this time reigned a priest called William of Wykeham. This William of Wykeham was so much in favor with the King of England, that everything was done by him, and nothing was done without him” (Froissart 1904).

In 1361 he was jointly appointed as a Justice in Eyre (a magistrate in medieval forest law) south of the Trent, a position he held until about 1367.

Land Records

He held land in several locations. Woodmansterne appears to be held in 1360. In 1364, according to the History of Surrey, Cecilia, wife of Sir Richard Tuberville, granted her half of the estate at farm to Peter atte Wode, his wife Laurencia and their son Peter, in survivorship.^[1] Peter accounted for the manor of Chipstead in 1364. Before 1382, with Peter and his son both dead, Cecilia Tuberville quitclaimed the manor to Hugh Queche of London, Laurencia's son by her second marriage. This transaction is noticed in the Close Rolls of Richard II.^[2]

He appears to have retained the ancestral home at Coulston, Surrey, and, in 1350, was licensed by the Bishop to maintain an oratory (a private chapel) at Wood Place.

Family

He married a lady that appears on record as Laurentia, her surname is not provided in source. Source material suggests he had one son:

• Peter atte Wode. He would become a Knight of the Shire and married a lady named Petronilla.

Death

Peter, and his son, had both died prior to early 1382, when Cecilia Tuberville quitclaimed the manor to Hugh Queche of London, Laurencia's son by her second marriage. Peter likely died some time before 1382 given that his wife had remarried and had a son.

Given that the role of Justice in Eyre was generally held for life and Peter is not seen on record after 1367 it seems a reasonable supposition that he died at, or shortly after, 1367.

Laurencia, remarried, a man with the surname of Queche, likely a mercer (textile merchant), of London.

There is a record^[3] where, on 20 November 1382, John Newdigate and Laurencia, the widow of Peter atte Wode, assigned £6 14s. rents of the priory and convent of Stoke. The relationship, if any, between John Newdigate and Laurencia, is unknown. The rental was for the creation of a chantry, of one canon, to pray for Laurencia whilst living, and of the soul of Peter, and the souls of the king, bishop, and Laurencia when dead.

Note

Sergeant of Arms to the King. There is a Wikipedia article for Peter Atte Wode here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Atte_Wode but I'm not totally sure that it is all about the same person.

There is a record about Chipstede (Chipstead in the Wikipedia article) from the Calendar of the close rolls from Richard II that names Peter atte Wode, Laurencia his wife, and Peter his son. However both Peter's being lately dead, the lands are going to Hugh Quecche, Laurencia's son (presumbably from an earlier marriage). There are 2 documents dated 3 August 5 Richard II, and 26 November 5 Richard II (even though it has 1382 in the margin, 5 Richard II would have been 1381)

The record can be found here https://archive.org/stream/calendarofclos02grea#page/103/mode/1up

Source

• http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=24279608&pid=1783215081

Research Notes

He has been detached from William Atte Wode and Juliana Unknown as parents.

Sources

1. ↑ [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/surrey/vol3/pp189-196 Parish of Chipstead, Surrey; Beauchamps
2. ↑ Calendar of the close rolls preserved in the Public Record Office : Richard II; Transaction 1382
3. ↑ British History Online; History of Surrey; Houses of the Austin canons; Priory of Newark

See also:

• Wood genealogy and other family sketches : genealogical memoranda of a branch of the Wood family in England and America page 12
• A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3; Parish of Chipstead
• Calendar of the close rolls preserved in the Public Record Office : Richard II. Available at archive.org
• Wikipedia article for Peter atte Wode