John ab Adam (1260 - aft. 1311)

Born 1260 in Charlton Adam, Somerset, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died after 1311 after age 51 in Charlton Adam, Somerset, England

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Biography

Sir John ap Adam (Lord John ap Adam), son of Reynald and Joan, was born about 1265 in Cary, Somersetshire, England. The N.E. Register, v.11, p53, lists him from Charlton Adam, Somersetshire. He died about May 1311, probably between April 25, 1311 and June 13, 1311. On April 25 he was about to go beyond the seas on a pilgrimage, and his attorneys were nominated for a year. On June 15 the custody of his lands and those of Elizabeth his wife were granted to Ralph de Monthermer for 6,000 marks. John probably died somewhere overseas while on his pilgrimage. Sometime before 1291 he married Lady Elizabeth de Gournay, daughter and heiress of John de Gournay, Lord of Beverston Castle, Gloucestershire, and his wife, Lady Olivia Lovel, daughter of Henry Lovel. Ormerod's Strigulencia says that Elizabeth was descended from the Harptrees of Somerset, the Gournay's Gand's, the DeWere branch of Berkeley and other ancient Baronial houses.

Sir John ap ADAM.. The First (and last) Baron (Lord) Ap-Adam. He was born (before 1267) Lord of Beverston (Beaverstone) and Tidenham (Tildenham), Gloucestershire, of Charlton Adams, in Somersetshire, England. He was Enumerated for Paliament from 1276 to 1307. He married Elizabeth de Gournay before 1291. On 18 February 1290/91 he did homage, and had livery, of the lands of his father-in-law, John de Gurnai. On 19 July 1296 he inherited the lands of his mother-in-law, Olive Lovel. He was created 1st Lord ap Adam by writ on 6 February 1298/99. He lived at Gorste, near Chepstow, Gloucestershire, England; and at Beachley, Tidenham, Gloucestershire, England. His estates were large not only in his own right but he received valuable estates from his wife. Their names are found in most works on extinct peerages.

The name John de Badeham is evidently a mistake for John ap Adam, who married Elizabeth daughter and heir of John de Gurnai for on referring to the fines relating to the settlement it is found that though John is styled 'de Badeham' in a fine of Hilary term 1297, in the following Trinity term the name is given as John Abadam.

John de Pageham (this being probably another variation of Ap Adam) held the manor in 1316 (Feud. Aids, v, 199), and was summoned to Parliament from 1299 to 1309. He was also engaged in the Scottish Wars. He died between May 1311 and June 1311. None of his descendants were ever summoned to Parliament in respect of his Barony.

Sir John ap Adam of Badamscourt.

The conversion of ap Adam to Badham becomes less than coincidental when positioned in the timeline when it occurs in documents - the turn of the first Millenium AD, a Norman invasion, a constantly "at threat" position of the Welsh Marches, and opportunities for Welsh families to improve their position and financial status by being accepted in what is now a financially rich and socially dominant Norman England.

John de Badeham/Badham is in Scotland with Roger Bygod, Earl Marshal and receives licence to entail estates of his wife Elizabeth Gurney whose mother Olivia Lovel has just died. Her estates include Redwyk and Northwick co Gloucester; East Hamptonet co Sussex; Harptree castle and manor and Barrow Gurney co Somerset.

Sir John ab Adam was a baronet called to Parliament and to military service many times between 1297 and 1307. Sir John had Beverstone from his mother and Beachley from his father.

John was born in 1260. John is the child of Reginald Ap Adam and Joan Knoxville.

1280 John son of Reginald ab Adam starts to appear in records and by using ap(b) Adam institutes the surname.

Children of John and Elizabeth: Sir Thomas ap Adam born about1304, died before 1342-43, William ap Adam, Roger ap Adam, of Lancashire, England and, a daughter, name unknown.

Roger Bygod, Earl of Norfolk and Earl Marshal of England makes first known grant to John ap Adam of property in Tidenham and permission for a park enclosure.

1299 John ap Adam summoned to Parliament creating, according to some, a barony.

1301 John ap Adam seals Baron's letter to the Pope about the Scottish succession.

1310 Gilbert de Clare complains that Anthony, Bishop of Durham and others carried away his jewels, gold, silver... goods...charters and muniments from Tewkesbury Abbey. John ap Adam is one appointed to investigate.

1311 Death of Baron John ap Adam. The King apparently wanted to grant the wardship of John's son Thomas to his favourite, Hugh Despenser the Younger but the wardship settled on Ralph Monthermer who was partly based at Chepstow and formerly married to King Edward l's daughter Joan. He was known as Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, in right of Joan's estates, but by this time is married to Isabell de Hastings a daughter of Hugh Despenser the Elder, so there is still a Despenser family involvement.

In the upper part of a Gothic window on the southeast side of Tidenham church, near Chopston, the name of John Ap Adams is still to be found, together with “arms argent in a cross gules, five mullets or,” of Lord Ap Adams. The design is probably executed on stained glass of great thickness and is in perfect preservation. This church originally stood within the boundary of Wales, but at a later period the boundary line was changed so that it is now upon English soil. The arms and crest borne by the family are described as argent in a cross gules; five mullets or, out of a ducal coronet a demi-lion. The legend is “Loyal au mort;” a motto commonly used by this branch of the family is "Aspire, persevere and indulgence,” all other “sub cruce veritas.”

A pedigree for this family exists on pages 218 and 219 of Volume 3, Part of Bradney's History of Monmouthshire. He traces John's line down to a John Huntley. He adds pedigree information tracing the ap Adam line back to Iorwerth ap Caradog, steward to Iorwerth ap Owen.^[1][2]

Bradney says that John died soon after 1310, leaving a son, Thomas who did not come of age until 1324.

A work on the de Gournays names her heir as Thomas.

"This John de Gournay died aged 31, in 1291, leaving Olivia his widow, who survived him ; and died five years afterwards, 24 Edward I. in 1296, seized of the manors of Radwyck and Northwyck in Gloucestershire ; East Hampstow in Sussex; Harptree, Caldecote, Hydon, and Barew-Gurney in Somersetshire.

The only child and heiress of John de Gournay and Olivia his wife was Elizabeth, who was sixteen years of age at her father's death, and was then married to John Ap-Adam, who doing his fealty, had livery of her father's lands, and, on the death of her mother in 1296, of those also held by her in jointure.

This John Ap-Adam had summons to Parliament as a Baron from 25 Edw. I. to the 3 of Edw. II. He and Elizabeth his wife had an only son Thomas, who was of age the 18th Edw. II. ; he alienated many of the estates he had inherited ; Barew-Gournay and Beverstone Castle, were sold by him to Thomas de Berkeley, a great warrior in the reign of Edward III. Thomas Ap-Adam married Johanna Basset, and that he died without issue is shewn by the rest of the fiefs of his mother Elizabeth reverting to the other branches of the family of Gournay. "^[3]

Note

Charlton Mackrell is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated three miles (roughly 4.8 kilometres) east of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 1,020.[1] The parish consists of two villages, Charlton Mackrell and Charlton Adam, together known as "The Charltons". Both villages have approximately similar populations. There are also small settlements at Lytes Cary, Cary Fitzpaine (east of the A37 Fosse Way) and West Charlton. West Charlton is the shrunken remains of the original village of Charlton Mackrell.

Sources

1. ↑ https://books.google.be/books?id=MIlnAAAAMAAJ
2. ↑ https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE88012&from=fhd
3. ↑ The record of the house of Gournay. [With], Volumes 2-4 by Daniel Gurney https://books.google.be/books?id=dlUBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA636 and https://archive.org/stream/recordofhouseofg04gurn#page/n111/mode/2up

Strigulensia: Archæological Memoirs Relating to the District Adjacent to the Confluence of the Severn and the Wye, George Ormerod, T. Richards, 1861

The genealogy of the descendants of several ancient Puritans ... by Morse, Abner, 1793-1865; McCabe, Clara J; McCabe, Dorothy

D. Wolcott, Archaeologia Cambrensis: A Record of the Antiquities of Wales and Its Marches and the Journal of the Cambrian Archaeological Association

'Parishes: East Wellow with Dunwood and Embley', in A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 4, ed. William Page (London, 1911), pp. 535-540 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol4/pp535-540 [accessed 2 October 2015].

Heraldic illustrations, by J. and J. B. Burke, Volume 1, 1844

• D. Wolcott, Archaeologia Cambrensis: A Record of the Antiquities of Wales and Its Marches and the Journal of the Cambrian Archaeological Association

• 'Parishes: East Wellow with Dunwood and Embley', in A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 4, ed. William Page (London, 1911), pp. 535-540 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol4/pp535-540 [accessed 2 October 2015].

Note: Further clarification as to the family of Sir John ap Adams and his wife Elizabeth de Gournay can be found in:

• Kathleen Morgan and Brian S Smith, 'Tidenham including Lancaut: Manors and other estates', in A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 10, Westbury and Whitstone Hundreds, ed. C R Elrington, N M Herbert and R B Pugh (London, 1972), pp. 62-68 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/glos/vol10/pp62-68 [accessed 30 September 2015].

Acknowledgements

• Created through the import of Schauman Skinner Tree_2011-05-21.ged on 22 May 2011.
• Ap Adam-18 created through the import of Adele Schauman Skinner_2011-07-11.ged on Jul 11, 2011 by Adele Schauman.
• Ap Adam-22 created through the import of 2e4y9w_6792005b2a92y72e4mejcc.ged on Jul 27, 2011 by Allan Stuart.
• Created through the import of Rodney Timbrook Ancestors and Relatives_2010-09-10.ged on 10 September 2010.

Al Adams, Monday, April 27, 2015.