Francis Perkins (aft. 1545 - 1615)

Born after 1545 in Ufton Court, Ufton Nervet, Berkshire, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1615 before age 70 in Ufton Court, Ufton Nervet,, Berkshire, England

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Biography

There were two ladies named Katherine Perkins : one was the daughter of William and Anne Perkins, of Ufton, the other was the daughter of Francis Perkins (son of William and Anne), and therefore granddaughter of William and Anne Perkins. Francis, son of William and Anne Perkins, was born between 1545 and 1556 : his son Francis was born in 1586, and therefore, had Katherine been his daughter, it is not likely that she could have been born earlier than 1584, in which case she certainly could not have been Mrs. George Tattershall (No. 2) in 1586.^[1]

Birth

Date: 1540

Place: Ufton, Berkshire, England

Death

Date: 1615

Place: Ufton, Berkshire, England

Burial

Date: 27 JAN 1615

Place: Ufton, Berkshire, England

Legatee of his Uncle Richard Parkyns at age 21 in 1571 and of Pole Manor of Ufton at the death of Richard's wife, Lady Marvyn in 1581. Francis was the first of the line to use Perkins as his name almost all the time. He never presented gifts to the parish as recusants were not so permitted. The last of the family to do so was his aunt, Lady Marvyn ,widow of Richard Parkyns, and that was in 1566. By 1563 it was death to hear mass. The family was never part of any of the suspected conspiracies and none were imprisoned or killed. Living with Francis in 1586 were his mother, Mrs Tattersall on her second marriage and again a widow, Mr. George Tattersall and his wife, Edward Tattersall, Richard Marvyn, and others. One of those may have been a hidden priest. Francis was living at Langford, Wiltshire, in 1599 with Ufton let to pay recusant taxes. His tomb in Ufton Parish Church has him in armor beside his wife. There are effigies of two children kneeling below with one in armor. The Diocesan Register has him buried on 27 Jan 1615/16. (A. Mary Sharp, The History of Ufton Court, of the Parish of Ufton, in the County of Berks, and of the Perkins Family: compiled from Ancient Records, London: Eliot Stock. 62, Paternoster Road, 1892).

Ufton Court largely rebuilt by the Perkins family who moved over from the old moated site at Ufton Robert in 1567. The Perkins were well known Catholics who were persecuted by the local magistrates in the 16th century. They had to pay heavy fines for refusing to attend the parish church, and Ufton Court was raided by officials looking for priests in hiding. They found some of their hiding places and a small fortune in gold plate in 1599, but the priests had gone. The secret chapel up in the rafters of the court still remains today, as well as traces of an escape tunnel leading into the woods. In the 18th century, long after the persecutions had stopped, Bonnie Prince Charlie is said to have visited the Perkins' on one of his forays back into the country incognito. The famous Ufton Bread Dole is distributed every year from a certain window at the Court. Lady Elizabeth Marvyn, widow of Richard Perkins, left the money for the dole in her will (1581) in thanks for finding her way home after getting lost in some woods. The Perkins finally sold up in 1802.(David Nash Ford's Royal Berkshire History).

Sources

1. ↑ Chronicles of Finchampstead: In the County of Berkshire By William Lyon (of Finchampstead), page 160.

• The History of Ufton Court: Of the Parish of Ufton, in the County of Berks ... By A. Mary Sharp
• Chronicles of Finchampstead: In the County of Berkshire By William Lyon (of Finchampstead).
• "The History of Ufton Court: Of the Parish of Ufton, in the County of Berks" by A. Mary Sharp