Harlakenden family in Earls Colne

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Earls Colne Essex England
Surname/tag: Harlakenden

This is an overview of the Harlakenden family in Earls Colne, part of the Earls Colne One Place Study

Contents 1 Background 2 Harlakenden Line 3 Documentation Legacy 4 Sources

Background

Prior to 1583 there were two lordships: the manor of Earls Colne held by the Earls of Oxford and Colne Priory. In 1583, the seventeenth Earl Edward De Vere sold the Manor of Earls Colne to Roger Harlakenden. The manor of Colne Priory, was held by the Priory until 1534 and then granted a few years later to the Earls of Oxford who sold It in 1592 to Richard Harlakenden, son of Roger. ^[1]There was potentially a degree of manoeuvring to achieve this.^[2] and in 1600 a deposition was made by the Earl claiming foul play^[3] repercussions of which were still running in 1603^[4]
Approximately two fifths of each of the two manors were let out to tenants by copyhold tenure, the remainder held directly by the lords as demesne. During the course of time, some of this land was formed into largish farms usually of between fifty and one hundred acres.^[5]

Harlakenden Line

Though new arrivals to Essex, the Harlakendens quickly established close links with the local gentry. Most had a Puritan leaning. The Harlakendens ruled Earls Colne for three generations and their descendents continued to hold sway for some time after. Under the previous owners, the DeVere family, Earls Colne was just another part of their fiefdom whereas the Harlakendens had fewer interests outside the boundaries of Earls Colne. They were Gentry with Puritan inclinations. This changed the relationship between Lord and tenants, the Harlakendens being much more integrated to village life giving their influence substance. The manors and running of the village were their main concern.^[6]

Roger Harlakenden 1541-1603

Richard Harlakenden then inherited the estate, 1568-1631.

It passed to his son also Richard Harlakenden, 1606-1677.

On the death of Richard, the manor was divided between
Margaret (daughter), wife of John Eldred
Elizabeth (daughter), wife of Thomas Harlakenden Bowes
Mary Harlakenden(Daughter of Elizabeth), wife of Daniel Andrews

Thomas sold his third to Mary in 1700 and arrangements made to divide the lands equally between Mary Andrews and John Eldred.

The Andrews Share
When Mary Andrews died in 1729, her share passed to Anne her daughter (this profile) who married John Wale.
Anne was succeeded by her sons John Wale and Charles Wale, and then by her daughter Anne Holgate.
Anne Holgate was succeeded in 1767 by her daughter Mary Holgate or Holgate Wale.
The Eldred Share
This descended with Olivers in Stanway to John Eldred (d. 1738)who passed it to his sister Anne (d. 1760), wife of the younger John Wale, with remainder to Thomas Kilner.
John Eldred's widow Susannah held the moiety until her death in 1780, and in 1781 Thomas Kilner sold it to Mary Holgate Wale.

Thus the two halves were joined under Mary Holgate Wale

On Mary's death in 1787 the manors passed to Anne Holgate's granddaughter Anne Holgate (d. 1817) and her husband Thomas Carwardine (d. 1824). (They were succeeded by their sons H. H. (d. 1867) and J. B. Carwardine (d. 1871) and by J. B. Carwardine's son John.
After John's death in 1889 the manors of Earls Colne and Colne Priory were separated. Earls Colne passed to John's son F. H. Carwardine (d. 1910) and daughter Florence Mary, who married J. H. W. Keeling; Colne Priory passed to W. R. Probert, son of H. H. and J. B. Carwardine's sister Anne and her husband Thomas Probert. Mrs. Keeling was still lady of Earls Colne manor in 1937, when the last copyholds had been enfranchised and manorial rights extinguished. W. R. Probert was succeeded at Colne Priory by his son William Geoffrey Carwardine-Probert who sold the manor c. 1935.

Succession notes extracted from British History on Line Earls Colne: Manors and other estates

Documentation Legacy

Records in Earls Colne have survived particularly well due to the interest of the Harlakenden family and descendants. Roger Harlakenden had many of the fifteenth century rolls and other documents transcribed. Also, in 1598 he commissioned a detailed survey of his interests in the parish including a detailed map.
His son Richard Harlakenden also kept detailed accounts relating to the estate, which were continued by his son Richard Harlakenden.
The Carwardine and Probert families in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries helped to ensure their preservation.^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ ERO D/DU 256/1
2. ↑ http://www.oxford-shakespeare.com/EssexRecordOffice/D-DU-256-1.pdf
3. ↑ Chancery Decrees and Orders (PRO C78/104/17 decree roll countess of Oxford v: Rich Harlakenden)
4. ↑ Chancery Depositions (PRO C3/273/36 Rich and Thos Harlakenden v Simon Ive and Jn Aylmer)
5. ↑ https://wwwe.lib.cam.ac.uk/earls_colne/intro/index.htm Earls Colne Project, Introduction to the parish
6. ↑ The lords of Earls Colne in The character of English rural society. H. R. French and R. W. Hoyle Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.7765/9781847791405.00013
7. ↑ https://wwwe.lib.cam.ac.uk/earls_colne/intro/use.htm Earls Colne Project Introduction

See also

• The Topographer and Genealogist, Volume 1 edited by John Gough Nichols. Pedigree of Harlakenden of Kent and Essex, by G. Steinman Steinman Esq FSA P228]
• The Character of English Rural Society: Earls Colne, 1550-1750 Henry French , Richard Hoyle 2007