John Wright (1488 - 1551)

Born 12 Jul 1488 in Brentwood, Wealside, Upminster or Kelvedon Hatch, Essex

Descendants

Died 5 Oct 1551 at age 63 in Kelvedon Hall, Kelvedon, Essex, England

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Biography

This profile is part of the Wright Name Study.

Lord of Manor of Kelvedon, 16mi NE London

Buried in chancel of St Mary's Church or Kellydon church

In 1538 he purchased Kelvedon Hall for £493 from Richard Bolles, the brother and heir of John Bolles.^[1]

At the dissolution Sir Richard Rich acquired estate which John Wright remained as tenants. They were also tenants of Anthony Browne in the South Brook Area.

Event: 1524-1538 erected Kelvedon Mansion

Sir John Wright of Kelvedon Hall, Kelvedon Hatch, Co Essex,. Lord of the manor and patron of the church. The will of Sir John Wright was drawn in the reign of Edward VI, the boy king (1547-1553), son of Henry VIII. Lady Wright's will was drawn 23 June 1560. Sir John purchased the manor of Kellydon (Kelvedon) in 1538 and erected Kelvedon Hall. The old manor house has since been replaced with a more modern structure. Arms were granted 20 June 1509. Arms-Azure,two bars,Argent: in chief three leopards heads or Crest-Out of ducal coronet or dragons head proper.

The earliest record of a church in Kelvedon Hatch is 1344, although the dedication to St Nicholas can be traced back to before the Norman Invasion and to Ailric, a Saxon who was possibly a sailor or Captain of a vessel. Ailric had a small church built and dedicated to St Nicholas the patron saint of sailors and children.

Next to the manor house was St Nicholas's church which had been on the site since at least 1372 and may have dated back to before 1066.The first three John Wrights were protesants, but early in the 17th century, the next John Wright converted to Roman Catholicism. He was encouraged to do this by William Byrd the composer, who lived in nearby Stondon Massey. The Wrights were to remain Catholics for the remainder of their time in Kelvedon Hall. In the new house a chapel was built, the existence of which was kept secret, during the time Catholics were being persecuted. In 1753 the church was rebuilt but in 1895 it was abandoned for a new church built in the village. In 1540 Kelvedon Hall was purchased by John Wright a yeoman, and it was to remain in his family for the next 100 years.

Children of Sir John Wright and Olive Hubbard are:

i. John {Elder} Wright, b. October 10, 1510; d. October 10, 1563., Inherited Kelvedon Hall

ii. Katherine Wright, b. 1513; d. 1595.(See Family 7)

iii. Robert Wright, b. April 09, 1516, Kelveden Hatch Co Essex, England; d. 26 Jan 1585/86, Brook Hall, South Weald, Co Essex, England.

iv. Alice Wright, b. 1519; m. Perkins; b. 1517.

v. John 'Middle' Wright, b. June 19, 1522, Kelvedon Hatch Co Essex, England; d. 1558, Kelvedon Hatch Co Essex, England (See Family 9)

vi. John {Younger} Wright, b. May 04, 1524, Whitesbridge Co Essex, England; d. 30 Sep 1587, South Weald, Co Essex, England; m. (1) Elizabeth Linsell; m. (2) Joan Johanna Page, 17 Nov 1540, South Weald Church Co Essex, England; b. Abt. 1526.

vii. Elizabeth Wright, b. August 11, 1526; m. Robert Shepherd.

Birth

12 Jul 1488, Kelvedon Hall, Essex, England

Death

05 OCT 1551, Kelvedon Hatch, Essex, England

Burial

Kelvedon Hatch Churchyard, Kelvedon, Essex, England

Will

"The Will of John Wright of Kelvedon Arch: Essex. Register Thomder 117 and Register Bastwick. (Both copies examined.). In the name of God Amen; 25 Sept, 1551. of Kellydon Essex, Yoeman. Beying in bode feble and weak yet of pfect mynde make my will, etc. soul to God. Body to be buried within the Chancell of Kellydon Church. To poor mens box 20/- To the parish of Southweld 40/- and to the ten poorest parishes about me 20/-each. To my loving wife (not named) 40 marks by the yere to be paid of my land by my four sons equally --£6, 13, 4 each. And the best end of my house of Kelvedon haule at her choice. Also to her my household stuff and 100£, 20 kyne and a gelding. To each daughter (not named) £3, 6, 8. To mending the way to the Common £3, 6, 8. To the reparation of Geedy hall Lane 40/-. To my eldest son John Wright and his heairs Kelydon Hall, Weldsyde Knights, Hubbords[p19] Land with the two houses in Brentwood and Layndon. To Robert Wright and his heirs, Ropers in Brook Street, and house meadow and orchard in Brook Street, Smythes land, Powres wherein now gladden dwelleth with Finers, Burnecks Land and Webbs. To my son called Myddle John I give all the land I have in Havering and houses and millers house and a tenement in Childerditch wherein Gibbes doth dwell. To my son called Young John I give Bishops Hall, Wilchins Pownde Mead, Welde Lyes, Bulfflandes and Dichars in Ramsden Bellhouse and Trays. To John Wright son to my son John the younger, all my land in Navestock. To John Wright son to my son John the elder, a tenement called Drywoods. To John Wright son of my son Robert, a tenement called Argents. To every child (if any) of my childrens children 20/- apiece. To each servant 6/8.Executors: Sons John the elder and Robert.Overseers, Sons, middle and young John (note middle John is here styled "John Wright of Wrights Bridge")Witnesses: Thomas Wood, clerk (I.E. parson) Robert Sheparde, John Symonde, and Thomas Lytman.Proved 21 November 1551 at Stapleford Abbotts by the two Executors named. (Register Bastwick states it was proved at Brentwood but agrees in the date.) "

Research Notes

This statement is certainly false "20 Jun 1509 peer in the House of Lords by King Henry VIII", but its repeated in all the Wright family sources and on other genealogy sites. He was not a peer.

I thought it was a knighthood but the date almost certainly wasn't 3 days before Henry VIII's coronation. I can't find any evidence he was knighted at all by the King, might have been another peer. His family appears to have gained its arms in the 1590s so he probably wasn't a knight - there's a lot of incorrect information about the early generations of this Essex family.

Sources

1. ↑ Kelvedon Hatch: Manors

• Tarbert, Jesse. The Identity and English Ancestry of Rev. Samuel Stone's First Wife: Rebecca Wright, Granddaughter of Rev. Richard Rogers, NEHGR (NEHGS, Boston, 2022) Vol. 176, WN. 704, Page 396.
• Wright, William Henry. History of the Wright Family, Who are Descendants of Samuel Wright (1722-1789) of Lenox, Mass. (Williamson-Haffner, Denver, 1913) Page 18.
  • "The Will of John Wright of Kelvedon Arch : Essex. Register Thomder 117 and Register Bastwick."
• https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/112019/person/-1350271247/facts

DNA Sources

• DNA Confirmation for Lynden Raber Castle Rodriguez from the line of Henry Wright by Ancestry.com DNA::lynden_us and a triangulation match through DNA of Don Allen, on 30 Jul 2015.