John Berkeley (1352 - 1428)

Born 23 Jan 1352 in Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Eleanor (Assheton) Berkeley — married before 16 Mar 1367 in England

Descendants

Died 5 Mar 1428 at age 76 in Beverstone, Gloucestershire, England

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Biography

John de Berkeley, Knt., of Beverstone^[1]

John, fourth and youngest son, but only surviving son, of Sir Thomas de Berkeley by his second wife Katherine de Clivedon, was born and baptized at Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, England on 23 January 1351/2 (aged 32 in 1386).^[1][2]

He married three times:

1. before 16 March 1367 to Eleanor Ashton (or Assheton), daughter of Robert de Ashton, Knt., "Lord High Treasurer 1375-7, Chancellor and Justiciar of Ireland, Admiral of the West, Governor of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports, by his 1st wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Ralph Gorges, Knt., 1st Lord Gorges."^[1][3]
2. about 13 October 1374 (date of settlement) to Elizabeth Betteshorne,^[1] daughter and heiress of John de Betteshorne, Knt., by Gouda (or Goda), daughter and co-heiress of John de Cormailles.^[4]
3. after 14 October 1412/before 8 June 1427 to Margaret Cheyne, daughter of Ralph de Cheyne, Knt., widow of Thomas Brewes, Knt. (died 1395), William Burcestor, Knt. (died 1407), William Breton, Esq. (living 1409-10).^[4][5]

Children

John had no children by Eleanor or Margaret (his 1st and 3rd wives). By his 2nd wife, Elizabeth Betteshorne, John is said to have had 14 sons, including his heir Maurice, and 3 daughters:^[1]

• Maurice Berkeley, Knt. (born about 1386), married Lora FitzHugh^[1]
• Joan Berkeley, married Thomas Stawell, Knt.^[1]
• Eleanor Berkeley, married (1) John Arundel, K.B., Lord Arundel & Mautravers, (2) Richard Poynings, Knt., (3) Walter Hungerford, K.G., K.B., 1st Lord Hungerford^[1]
• Elizabeth Berkeley, married Edward Cherleton, K.G., 5th Lord Cherleton, (2) John Sutton, K.G., 1st Lord Dudley^[1][6]
• John^{[citation needed][7]}
• Edward^{[citation needed][7]}

Sir John Berkeley left a will on 21 February 1428 in which he requested burial in St. Mary's chapel, Mere, Wiltshire. He "died on 5 Mar. following, at the age of 76."^[8]

Occupation

Knighted before 1383^[8]

• Knight of the Shire for Gloucestershire^[1]
• Sheriff of Gloucestershire: 1392-3, 1397-8, 1414-1415^[1]
• Sheriff of Hampshire: 1402-3, 1406-7^[1]
• Sheriff of Wiltshire: 1410-11^[1]

For additional offices held, see his biography posted by the History of Parliament Online, which describes him as "a hard working local officer of the Crown."^[8]

Property

"of Beverstone, Compton Greenfield, Over (in Almondsbury), Syde, Tockington, and Woodmancote (in Dursley), Gloucestershire, Lower Ham and Tickenham, Somerset, Clevelode, Worcestershire... and, in right of his 2nd wife, of Bisterne (in Ringwood), Exbury, and Minstead, Hampshire, Gillingham, Dorset, Chaddenwick (in Mere), and West Grimstead, Wiltshire, etc."^[1]

see his biography posted by the History of Parliament Online for details

Research Notes

Death location: While he was "of Beverstone",^[1] a source is needed to support that he died there.

Mother Katherine de Clivedon, according to Douglas Richardson's Royal Ancestry. Another source (see next) shows John to be son of Thomas's first wife, Margaret de Mortimer. However, barring a published correction or discovery of primary documentation to the contrary, WikiTree shows his mother as Katherine.

Berkeley Family Monuments" says son John (died 1426/7) is by Thomas's first wife, Margaret:

"He [Thomas] was one of the great lords of the Berkeley family, and added much to the estates, diligently improving them whilst maintaining an expensive household. He was twice married, and out of eight sons and one daughter by his 1st wife, Margaret, fourth daughter of Roger de Mortimer, Earl of March, only two sons survived him. One of these, John, d. 1426-7, is commemorated on a brass in Mere church, Wilts. The second wife, Katherine, who is buried beside him, was the widow of Sir Peter le Viele, knt., of Charfield, Gloucs., and daughter of Sir John Clevedon, knt., of Aller, Somerset. She survived her husband 24 years, and died in 1385."^[9]

See also this page: "There is also a brass of his [Sir John Betteshorne's] son-in-law Sir John Berkeley which dates to about 1430."^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14} Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 2nd edition, 4 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2011), Vol II, pages 171-173, FISHER #7. John Berkeley, Knt., #8.
2. ↑ History of Parliament Online has his birth as 21 January 1352.
3. ↑ The WikiTree profile for Ralph Gorges calls him Lord Gorges but does not mention an Elizabeth m Ashton/Assheton.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2013), Vol I, p 333 BERKELEY; Vol II, p 590 FISHER #8. John Berkeley, Knt.
5. ↑ From Cawley: Margaret _____ married as her first husband Thomas de Brewes (d 2 Sep 1395, bur Horsham, Sussex). "She married secondly (royal licence 6 Jan 1396) as his second wife, William Burcestre. She married secondly [sic] (after 22 Feb 1410) as his third wife, John Berkeley of Beverstone, Gloucestershire."
6. ↑ from Richardson's Magna Carta Ancestry, Vol. I, p 427, CHERLETON #9 Edward Cherleton, John's daughter Elizabeth married Lord Cherleton before 1408 (no issue) and married Lord Dudley before 28 June 1421.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Sons named John and Edward are not listed by Richardson, but he names only one (Maurice), while stating that John and Elizabeth (Batteshorne) Berkeley were said to have had 14 sons.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} History of Parliament Online: Sir John Berkeley
9. ↑ "Berkeley Family Monuments," St Mary's (accessed 4 May 2018)
10. ↑ History of the Parish Church of St. Michael, Mere (accessed 4 May 2018)

• Richardson, Douglas. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. 2nd edition. Salt Lake City: the author, 2011. See also WikiTree's source page for Magna Carta Ancestry.
• Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham. Salt Lake City: the author, 2013. See also WikiTree's source page for Royal Ancestry

See also:

• Piers de Brewes, entry in the database Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families by Charles Cawley © Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, 2000-2018.
• Sir John Berkeley, Sheriff of Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, & Wiltshire in "Our Royal, Titled, Noble, and Commoner Ancestors & Cousins" (website, compiler Mr. Marlyn Lewis, Portland, OR; accessed April 20, 2015). Sources given were Cokayne's The Complete Peerage and Richardson's Plantagenet Ancestry, Magna Carta Ancestry, and Royal Ancestry.
  • George Edward Cokayne, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom
  • Douglas Richardson, Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, Royal Ancestry series, 2nd edition, 3 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2011)
  • Douglas Richardson, Magna Carta Ancestry, Vol. I, p. 176-177
  • Douglas Richardson, Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham, (Salt Lake City, Utah: the author, 2013)
• Wikipedia: John Berkeley (died 1428)
• St Michael the Archangel Church, Mere (accessed 4 May 2018)
• Find A Grave: Memorial #102075522 for Sir John Berkeley (no sources or pictures; churchyard page does not mention Berkeley)
• Benolt, Thomas, et al. Pedigrees from the visitation of Hampshire. London, 1913, page 5: Berkley. Archive.org.

Acknowledgements

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Magna Carta Project

This profile was re-reviewed and approved for the Magna Carta project on 5 May 2018. ~ Liz Shifflett and this section was updated on 25 Mar 2020 ~ Thiessen-117.

John Berkeley is a decendant of Magna Carta Surety Baron Saher de Quincy and appears in trails badged by the Magna Carta Project to the following Gateway Ancestors:

• Robert Abell (MCA I:1-2 ABELL): trail was badged in September 2017. See the trail HERE.
• Dannett Abney: badged November 2015. See the trail HERE.
• Elizabeth Covert (MCA I:555-559 COVERT): badged in 2015 and re-reviewed in March 2020. This trail can be seen HERE.
• John Fisher: badged in 2015 and re-reviewed in April 2020. See the trail HERE.
• Agnes Mackworth (MCA III:91-93 MACKWORTH): badged March 2022. See the trail HERE.
• Elizabeth Marshall: trail badged in May 2020. See the trail HERE.

John Berkeley appears in unbadged trails (needing more work) to the following Gateways:

• Washington Gateways (John and Lawrence) (MCA IV:293-295 WASHINGTON): needs development. See the trail HERE.

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".