John Elrington (abt. 1443 - abt. 1483)

Descendants

Biography

Sir John Elrington may have been the son of Simon Elrington. Another John Elrington^[1] was a contemporary of Sir John Elrington and may have also been a son of Simon Elrington and a brother to Sir John. Both Johns are mentioned extensively in early documents as the elder or younger but the Calendar of Close Rolls, Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III 1476-1485 defines Sir John Elrington as the younger:

"John Blakman, son of John brother of William Blakman, to John Elryngton the younger, knight, John Elryngton the elder, gentleman, John Gunthorpe clerk, ... in Berks, which he held by demise of Robert Forster and..."^[2]

John Elrington performed many roles and held many titles including Clerk of the Hanaper, Treasurer of the household of King Edward IV, Sheriff of Surry and Sussex, Constable of Windsor Castle, Knight of the Body and Knight of the Shire of Middlesex.^[3] John became Sir John Elrington when he was knighted in 1478.

Marriages and Family

He married firstly Maud Disney, daughter of John Disney and secondly, Margaret Echyngham/Etchingham, widow of Sir William Blount, Lord Mountjoy, who was killed at the Battle of Barnet on 14 April 1471. At the time of their marriage both John and Margaret were parents of young children. From his union with Maud Disney John Elrington had at least five children – Simon, John, Thomas, Jane and Anne. Margaret had produced four children with William Blount and the three youngest Edward, Elizabeth and Anne were living when she married for the second time. Another son John Blount had died as an infant.

Property associated with John Elrington

Fosham Manor, Aldbrough, Yorkshire

In April 1467 John Elrington, through his first wife Maud Disney, acquired the Manor of Fosham, Aldbrough, Yorkshire along with various other properties. ^[4] The Disney family had held Fosham from the 1300s.^[5]

Great Dixter and Udimore, Sussex

Great Dixter and Udimore were were both originally properties of the Etchingham family. They passed to John Elrington and his second wife Margaret from her father Sir Thomas Etchingham. The Great Dixter house was built by Sir Thomas Etchingham between 1464 and 1479.^[6] The original manor house was incorporated with another similar building brought from Kent in 1910-12 and some original features may still be visible.^[7][8]

Udimore was dismantled in 1912 and re-erected in Groombridge, Kent.^[9] There are a number of photographs and drawings of Udimore available in print publications^[10] and online.

On 15 August 1479 John Elrington was given a licence to crenellate (fortify) Great Dixter and Udimore:^[11]

August 15 1479 Guildford
Licence for John Elryngton, knight, treasurer of the household, and his heirs to build walls and towers with stone, lime and sand around and within his manors of Dixthern and Udymore, co. Sussex, and to crenellate the same and to impark and enclose all the lands, meadows, feedings, pastures and woods pertaining to the said manors, and grant that they shall have free warrend in all the demesnes and lands pertaining to the manors and a several fishery in the stanks and waters pertaining to them.^[12]

Will

This is a partial summary of John's will which was proved 5 February 1484.^[13] Family members mentioned are:

Margaret my wife
Simond my eldest son
John my second son
Thomas my third son
Edward my youngest son
Anne my daughter
Jane my daughter, wife of John Colt
Brother John Elrington

Sources

1. ↑ This John Elrington is probably the John Elryngton, keeper of the Common Pleas who died 1501/2 mentioned in a footnote on p.52 of Nichols, John. Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica: 10, 1800.
2. ↑ 'Close Rolls, Richard III: 1482-1485', in Calendar of Close Rolls, Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III 1476-1485, ed. K H Ledward (London, 1954), pp. 391-409. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-close-rolls/edw4/1476-85/pp391-409(this is locked content on British History Online thus the whole entry was not available to view free)
3. ↑ Douglas Richardson, Kimball G. Everingham, and David Faris, Plantagenet Ancestry : A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families (Salt Lake City, UT.: Douglas Richardson., 2011, p. 678.
4. ↑ Medieval Genealogy, Feet of Fines CP 25/1/294/74, number 45. http://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/fines/abstracts/CP_25_1_294_74.shtml
5. ↑ K J Allison, A P Baggs, T N Cooper, C Davidson-Cragoe and J Walker, 'Middle division: Aldbrough', in A History of the County of York East Riding: Volume 7, Holderness Wapentake, Middle and North Divisions, ed. G H R Kent (London, 2002), pp. 5-27. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/yorks/east/vol7/pp5-27.
6. ↑ Emery, Anthony. Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300-1500: Volume 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006, p. 341. [This book contains some typographical and other errors which does not reassure when assessing the accuracy of the content]
7. ↑ Wikipedia, entry for Great Dixter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Dixter
8. ↑ Oasthouses and barn at Great Dixter to the north west of the house, Historic England. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1216899
9. ↑ Gatehouse Gazetteer, Udimore Court Lodge. http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/English%20sites/1114.html
10. ↑ Dickinson, Alan. Around Rye in Old Photographs. Gloucester: Sutton, 1989
11. ↑ Davis, Philip, English Licences to Crenellate 1199 - 1567, The Castle Studies Group Journal No 20: 2006-7, The Castle Studies Group, p. 245. http://www.castlestudiesgroup.org.uk/Licences%20to%20Crenellate%20-%20Philip%20Davis.pdf
12. ↑ Calendar of the patent rolls preserved in the Public Record Office AD 1476-1485, London, His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1901, p. 162.
13. ↑ The National Archives; Kew, England; Prerogative Court of Canterbury and Related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers; Class: PROB 11; Piece: 7. John Elrington probate 5 Feburary 1484.

See also:

• Benolte, Thomas; Philipot, John; & Owen, George. The Visitations of the County of Sussex: 1530 and 1633-4. London: The Harleian Society, 1905. Vol LIII, p 125, Echingham.