William Jephson (bef. 1495 - 1541)

Husband of Mary (Goringe) Jephson — married about 1528 (to about 1532) in Sussex, England

Descendants

Died 7 Sep 1541 after age 46 in Hardham, Sussex, England

Biography

Preamble: The Anglo-Irish Miscellany says the name (and derivatives) probably “means the son of Jeffrey, indicating a Norman-French extraction. And it is quite likely that the family was one of those termed Novi Homines, which came to the fore following the ruin of so many great houses during the Wars of the Roses.” ^[1] Brigadier Maurice Denham Jephson, the author in 1964 of “An Anglo-Irish Miscellany” owned Mallow Castle and had access to what records there were. He wrote: “The Jephsons were surprisingly neglectful about preserving records, so their previous history is not known.” His book traces the Jephson family essentially from William Jephson’s son, another William. The availability and accessibility of on-line records nearly 60 years later has allowed at least some of the earlier details to be filled in.

Early Years: William Jephson, Jefson or Jeffson was probably born before 1495. Like many at the time, including those such as Thomas, Cardinal Wolsey and Thomas Cromwell, William’s actual date of birth has not so far been identified.^[2] Neither his parents nor siblings have so far been identified either.

William’s formal upbringing and education are also so far unknown. However, on 22nd January 1517 William Jeffson was recommended by the Lord Privy Seal, Cuthbert Tunstall, Bishop of London and Durham, to the Lord Cardinal of York, Thomas Wolsey, for the post as one of the ‘Six Clerks of Chancery’.^[3] This was on the retirement of a Clerk called Rodes and with a recommendation from Sir Thomas More.^[4] His education must therefore have been significant and have included some substantial legal training. This makes his birthdate of about 1490 more likely and possibly even earlier. For more on the recommendation, the Six Clerks and Chancery, see Research Notes below.

A special Act of Parliament of 1523 allowed the Six Clerks of Chancery to marry, as up to that time they were required to be single. William Jefson is named in the Act as are the other five Clerks. They were the very last Government clerks to be subject to vows of celibacy. ^[5] This also suggests that he was not married before that date. In 1533, William was still one of the Six Clerks of Chancery, as he was in 1536 and 1538. ^[6]

During 1538 and into 1539, England prepared for invasion, defences were repaired and “ordnance was supplied wherever it was needed, lists of ships and of mariners were drawn up in every port, and musters were taken throughout the kingdom.”^[7] In April 1539, William Jefson was a Commissioner of Muster within the Rape of Arundel in Sussex along with Sir William Goring and Sir John Dawtre, responsible for identifying the names of all able men, archers and billmen, including their servants, of which William had 5, Sir William 25 and Sir John 20.^[8]

Land related issues: What sort of cases was he involved with? He was certainly involved with a number of cases, a number of which have been identified so far. More details will be added once the National Archive reopens.

William’s Marriages and Children:

Mary née Goring: A pedigree in the Society of Genealogists in London, drawn up in 1893 by Edward Stuart Preston, shows William’s 1st wife was a daughter of John Goringe Esq. His 2nd wife was Mary née Gifford, daughter of Sir William Gifford of Hertfordshire.^[9]

The Peerage also shows William’s 1st wife, Mary, as a daughter of John Goringe of Sussex (John Goringe died 16th October 1520) and Constance née Dyke of Burton, Sussex although the Visitation of Sussex’s Goring pedigree does not show a relevant Mary. William had one child with her, his heir, William Jephson. She seems to have died soon after, maybe in childbirth?

No residence details have yet been traced for William in Hardham in Sussex although it appears that he did own property there in the 1530’s although the Visitation of Sussex in 1530 does not show this.

Sussex also probably helps explain his 1st marriage, to Mary Goring. The Goring family had roots in Sussex going back to the Domesday Book and were the source of the Norwich Earldom, Baron Goring. Sir William Goringe (died 1553) was one of the Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber to King Edward VI (1547-1553).

Interestingly, the Fiennes family who later bought Froyle were also well represented in Sussex at this time.

If we assume that William and Mary née Goring were married in about 1528, William would have been about 38 and Mary (The Peerage) born in 1505, about 23. Son William was born on 23 July 1531 and Mary likely died about 1532/1533.

Mary née Gifford: The Peerage also shows his 2nd wife as Mary née Gifford, daughter of Sir William Gifford of Hertfordshire and Eleanor née Paulet. Pedigrees from the Visitation of Hampshire in 1530 indicates that Mary was actually one of their grand-daughters and unmarried at that time. Eleanor was the grandmother rather than aunt to John Gyfford of Echell (or Itchell). ^[10]

Assuming William married Mary née Gifford about 1535, he would have been about 45 years of age. Mary’s age is unknown, but if we assume that she was born about 1510, she would have been 25 years of age at her wedding and about 47 when she died in 1557.

“An Anglo-Irish Miscellany” has William married only once, to Mary née Goringe of Burton, Sussex and shows only one child, namely a son, William who later became High Sheriff of Hampshire in 1571. No daughters are referenced.

However, William’s Will, now digitised although written in Latin, clearly references his wife Mary and his brother-in-law as Richard Gyfford, Esquire. Pedigrees of the Visitation of Hampshire in 1530 shows Richard Gifford of Kings Sambourne in County Southampton (Hampshire) as William’s probable brother-in-law. Richard Gifford was also married to Anne née Goring from Sussex.

On the assumption that William and Mary née Gifford’s marriage took place about 1535, William’s Will of 1542 ^[11] shows that he and Mary had three daughters, all of whom were still young children as he bequeathed each of them ‘100 merks’ to be given them on their respective 19th birthdays. The daughters might have been born in 1537, 1538 and 1540, making them 4, 3 and 1 years of age at William’s death.

The transcript of the Will of Mary Jefson, dated June 1557 reads: ... "To my son in law William Jefson now at the present being beyond the sea and attending on my Lord Montague his master, all the profits..." "... If the said William dies before the end of the said term be expired, I bequeath the same to my well beloved fryndes my nevy John Jefford (Gifford) of Echell (Itchell), my cosen Richard Kingsmill, my cosen James Hadock and to the longer liver of them all the residue of the said term to the use and behoof and profit of Elinor Burley, Christian Jefson and Elizabeth Jefson my natural daughters, and to no other use."

She asked that her daughters Eleanor Burley and Christian Jefson act as executors and if they decline, she then names her "... son in law William Jefson and her nevew John Gyfford to be executors ... my cosen James Haydocke and my cosen Richard Kingsmill to be overseers ... all doubt and dispute about anything contained in the Will to be determyned by my nephew John Gyfforde of Echell, Esq. my cosen James Haydocke and my cosen Richard Kingsmill." The inventory related to Mary’s death was taken on the 20th November 1557 by among others, William Jefson.

Under the terms of William’s Will in 1542, Mary was made ward for son William in his minority, thus when she refers to her "son in law" William, it does confirm that (father) William was married twice and that William was the son and only child of the 1st marriage and that she and (father) William had three daughters. It also confirms that Mary's maiden name was Gifford/Gyfford/Gyfforde.

In her Will, Mary refers twice to John Gifford of Itchell in Hampshire as her nephew whereas the pages that show the Gifford pedigree in the Pedigrees of the Visitation of Hampshire in 1530 shows John as her elder brother.^[12] John Gifford of Itchell’s second son is also listed as John Gifford and could be the John referenced in Mary’s Will although he is not shown specifically as “of Itchell”.

The Haydock family has its own pages in the Pedigrees of the Visitation of Hampshire in 1530 which includes Mary’s cousin, James Haydock, as James Haydock of Greywell in County Southampton (Hampshire). James Haydock’s father, Alexander, had a brother Thomas who was married to Jane née Gifford, a daughter of Sir William Gifford. ^[13]

So too, the Kingsmill family has its own pages in Pedigrees of the Visitation of Hampshire in 1530 where Mary’s cousin, Richard Kingsmill is also found. In fact, there are two possible Richard Kingsmill’s in this pedigree, but the most likely is Richard Kingsmill of High Cleare in County Southampton who was Attorney to the Court of Wards under Queen Elizabeth 1 and son of Sir John Kingsmill, Justice of the Common Pleas. Sir John was married to Constance, a daughter of John Goring of Sussex. Other Kingsmill family connections with the Goring family, the Fiennes and Norris families are also shown on this pedigree. ^[14]

In Mary’s Will, two of the three daughters are shown as Jephson’s which indicates that they were still unmarried, 15 years after William’s death. The three daughters would then have been about 20, 18 and 17 years old respectively. They were: Eleanor, born about 1537, who, in 1557 was already married with George Burley of Potterne, Wiltshire. Christian(a), born about 1538, who would marry Richard Whitehede of Heatherley. Heatherley may be West Tytherley in Hampshire. Editha or Elizabeth, born about 1540, who would marry a Walter Hickman, reputedly an ancestor of the Earls of Portsmouth.

Froyle: Following the dissolution of the nunnery of Froyle, William, “to whom with Mary his wife Henry VIII granted ye manor of Froyle in Hants, 1534”. The origin of the date 1534 is “The Peerage”. ^[15] The origin of an alternative date of 1539 has not been traced. They are both anyway incorrect.

“An Anglo-Irish Miscellany” says, “In 1541, King Henry VIII granted the Manor of Froyle in Hampshire”. ^[16] The Letters and Papers of Henry VIII are quite clear that William Jefson of London was granted the estate of Froyle on 18th June 1541 at Westminster Palace.^[17] William Jephson acquired the Manor for GBP 1,505.17s.4d and an annual rent to the Crown of GBP 4.13s.5d. The same charges are stated in “An Anglo-Irish Miscellany”.

In June 1542, nine months after William’s death, Mary was granted an annuity of GBP 10 by Henry VIII at Hampton Court, with the funds to come from the vicarage of Froyle which had been owned directly by William. This grant also referenced Mary’s wardship of the young William during his minority and up to his marriage.^[18]

Mary Jefson née Gifford died at Froyle in 1557. Her Will was dated June 1557 and the inventory was taken on 20th November 1557. William, the son, later built Froyle Place on the site of an older house. The Jephson family retained and expanded the estate through acquisition until it was sold to John and Richard Fiennes, younger sons of Viscount Saye and Sele in 1652.

William’s Death and Will: Although only recently acquired, William Jephson did not die at Froyle, but at his residence at Hardham in Sussex. “My wratched and synfull body I will to be buryed in the churche of Hardham”. He was buried in the church on 7th September 1541. ^[19] As William Jefson, gentleman, his Will was probated on 6th May 1542. ^[20] As William Jephson, his estate was subject to ‘Inquisitions Post-Mortem’ in Hampshire in 1542.

William’s Will includes the sentence “… my sole executrix Mary my well-beloved wife, appoints as overseers my Lord Saynt John and my well-beloved brother Sir William Gorryng, knight, witnesses Master Richard Gyfford …”.

Sir William Paulet was styled Lord Saint John between 1539 and 1550 being elevated as Earl of Wiltshire in 1550-1551 and as the 1st Marquis of Winchester from 1551 to his death in 1572. He was directly involved in, among others, the trials of Sir Thomas More and of Anne Boleyn. Sir William Paulet who was also Lord Treasurer of England, built ‘The Basing House’ in Hampshire in 1535.

It was the largest private house in England and comprised some 360 rooms. The house was visited by Henry VIII, Elizabeth and by Philip of Spain and Queen Mary on their honeymoon in 1554. In 1642, it was owned by John Paulet, 5th Marquis, a Catholic and ardent supporter of the King, known as 'the loyal Marquess' as it was reputed that every window in the house had been scratched by a diamond with the words "Aimez Loyaulté".

The house was besieged by the Protestant army in the English Civil War, starting in August 1643. The house was finally taken with significant bloodshed in October 1645 after Cromwell brought artillery to breach the walls. The house was pillaged and set on fire. Parliament had it demolished. John Paulet was sent to the Tower of London, his lands confiscated although most of them were returned to him later by Charles II.

Colonel John Jephson, born about 1621/1622 and son of Major General Sir John Jephson and Elizabeth of Froyle was held prisoner at the Basing House in 1644.

Research Notes: The Court of Chancery and the ‘Six Clerks’: The recommendation from Tunstall to Wolsey was apparently brought personally by William Jeffson and delivered to Wolsey at Tournai in today’s Belgium.

The Battle of the Spurs on 16th August 1513 had been both Henry’s and the first English success on French soil since 1453. After the battle, Henry and his troops moved on and besieged Tournai “… the wealthiest city in all Flanders and the most populous of any of this side of Paris”. ^[21] The city surrendered in September 1513 and Henry gave the bishopric of Tournai to Wolsey. The city was restored to France in 1518 on the condition that King Francis of France paid Wolsey an annual pension for the loss of the bishopric of 12,000 livres.

The Court of Chancery developed actively under both Wolsey and Cromwell: “… because Wolsey was Lord Chancellor he would often have attached to him various Chancery officials, including the Clerk of the Crown, who attested all letters and writs issued under the great seal, and the Clerk of the Hanaper, who looked after the fees of the Chancery Court.”^[22]

“… it is remarkable that Wolsey left such a mark upon the Court of Chancery. He took immense personal interest in the development of equity and appreciated more clearly than any of his predecessors the significance of Chancery as a ‘court of the King’s conscience”. ^[23]

“The volume of Chancery litigation increased very noticeably during his rule, … since many litigants came to prefer pleadings in Chancery to proceeding by writ at common law.” ^[24]

“… because large-scale sheep farming by both lay and monastic landowners was causing depopulation of hamlets … in May 1517 he appointed commissioners of enquiry to establish all enclosures that had been made since 1485, requiring them to send their returns into Chancery … There was a further commission in 1518. Then in July of that year he issued a decree ordering all enclosures, hedges and ditches made in the past thirty-two years to be demolished, on pain of fines of GBP 100 … The crown entered proceedings against many landowners in the Court of Chancery… “ ^[25]

“Allied to this was his (Cromwell’s) work as Master of the Rolls to make the Court of Chancery more efficient…” ^[26]

(1529) “On the 9th of August writs were issued from Chancery summoning that Parliament which met on the 3rd of November and did not separate till the last link in the chain which bound England to Rome was sundered …" ^[27]

(1533) “… Henry might appoint a royal commission to reform the canon law; appeals were to be permitted to Chancery from the Archbishop’s Court; abbeys and other religious houses, which had been exempt from episcopal authority, were placed immediately under the jurisdiction of Chancery." ^[28]

(1534) “The supreme appellate jurisdiction in ecclesiastical causes was taken away from Rome, but it was not granted the English Church to which in truth it had never belonged. Chancery, and not the Archbishop’s Court, was made the final resort for ecclesiastical appeals." ^[29]

See also The State's Servants, The Civil Service of the English Republic 1649-1660 by G E Aylmer, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1973 on the later role of the Six Clerks and the reforms made under the Republic.

Sources

1. ↑ “An Anglo-Irish Miscellany, Some Records of the Jephsons of Mallow” by Brigadier Maurice Denham Jephson. Published in 1964 by Allen Figgis of Dublin. Page 17.
2. ↑ “The Cardinal and The Secretary”'', by Neville Williams, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1975, Pages 5 and 142
3. ↑ British History Online. Henry VIII. Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, Volume 2, 1515-1518, dated 22nd January 1517. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol2/pp905-919 (sourced 16/12/2020 )
4. ↑ The Domesday of Inclosures 1517-1518 by Isaac Sunders Leadham, Pages 77 and 78, published 1897. https://archive.org/details/cu31924092526601/page/n87/mode/2up?q=Jefson (sourced 14/12/2020)
5. ↑ The Statutes of the Realm, Volume 3, Chapter 8, Page 216 from 1963, by T E Tomlins and W E Taunton https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=B7o4AQAAMAAJ&dq=statute%20%22william%20jefson%22&pg=PA216#v=onepage&q&f=false (sourced 30/11/2020)
6. ↑ The National Archives, Catalogue Entry for Reference C 1/830/11-12, Short title: Jefson v Underdowne. Ellis Mydmore. Date 1533-1538. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7482784 (sourced 29/11/2020)
7. ↑ Henry VIII by A F Pollard, Longmans, 1963, Pages 256, 300
8. ↑ British History Online. Henry VIII. Letters and Papers: Miscellaneous, Spring 1539 https://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol14/no1/pp264-330#highlight-first (sourced 17/12/2020)
9. ↑ Society of Genealogists, Smith MSS 42.2.
10. ↑ Pedigrees from the Visitations of Hampshire by Thomas Benolt, 1530, Published 1913. Page 16 https://archive.org/details/pedigreesfromvis64beno/page/16/mode/2up?q=Gifford (sourced 28/12/2020)
11. ↑ Public Records Office, PROB-11-29-101 (sourced 17/11/2020)
12. ↑ Pedigrees from the Visitations of Hampshire by Thomas Benolt, 1530, Published 1913. Page 16. https://archive.org/details/pedigreesfromvis64beno/page/16/mode/2up?q=Gifford (sourced 28/12/2020)
13. ↑ Pedigrees from the Visitations of Hampshire by Thomas Benolt, 1530, Published 1913. Page 11. https://archive.org/details/pedigreesfromvis64beno/page/10/mode/2up?q=Haydock (sourced 28/12/2020)
14. ↑ Pedigrees from the Visitations of Hampshire by Thomas Benolt, 1530, Published 1913. Pages 2-3. https://archive.org/details/pedigreesfromvis64beno/page/2/mode/2up?q=Kingsmill (sourced 28/12/2020)
15. ↑ The Peerage, ID: M#300821 shown as last edited on 25th January 2016. Citing: S5792 Robin Dening. http://www.thepeerage.com/p30083.htm#i300821 (sourced 06/12/20)
16. ↑ An Anglo-Irish Miscellany, Some Records of the Jephsons of Mallow by Brigadier Maurice Denham Jephson. Published in 1964 by Allen Figgis of Dublin. Page 17
17. ↑ British History Online. Henry VIII: June 1541, 21-30 https://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol16/pp444-465#highlight-first (sourced 02/12/2020)
18. ↑ British History Online. Henry VIII: June 1542, 26-30, Item 66 https://www.british-history.ac.uk/letters-papers-hen8/vol17/pp245-266 (sourced 02/12/2020)
19. ↑ Transcript of Sussex Wills - Vol II. Chiddingly to Horsham by R. Garraway Rice, F.S.A & edited by Walter H. Godfrey, F.S.A.. Published by Sussex Record Society in 1936 https://www.sussexrecordsociety.org/olb/srs042/259/ (sourced 29/11/2020)
20. ↑ The National Archive. Prerogative Court of Canterbury. Catalogue description: Will of William Jefson, Gentleman of Hardham, Sussex. Ref: PROB 11/29/101. Date: 06 May 1542. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D950050 (sourced 29/11/2020)
21. ↑ The Cardinal and the Secretary, by Neville Williams, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1975, Page 16
22. ↑ The Cardinal and the Secretary, by Neville Williams, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1975, Page 60
23. ↑ The Cardinal and the Secretary, by Neville Williams, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1975, Page 80
24. ↑ The Cardinal and the Secretary, by Neville Williams, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1975, Page 80
25. ↑ The Cardinal and the Secretary, by Neville Williams, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1975, Page 93
26. ↑ The Cardinal and the Secretary, by Neville Williams, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1975, Page204
27. ↑ "Henry VIII” by A F Pollard, Longmans, 1963, Page 200
28. ↑ "Henry VIII” by A F Pollard, Longmans, 1963, Page 256
29. ↑ "Henry VIII” by A F Pollard, Longmans, 1963, Page 262

• The Inquisition Post Mortem for William, written in Latin, and professionally translated for Chris Jephson, who owns a photocopy of the original document, (which is held at The National Archives).