The chart begins with a Robert le Blake who was a juror at an Inquisition Postmortem according to the Chart at Hungerford Bar 22 Jan 1336. He is said to be of Quemberford Wiltshire. This would be old style of dating so one might think of it as 17 Jan 1337. We are told to look at Note 4. This note reads: The reference to Robt le Blake (1336) was discovered by Sir H Farnham Burke (Garter) who considers this link highly probable. From the Wikipedia Sir Henry Farnham Burke KCVO, CB, FSA (1859 - 1930) was a long serving Anglo-Irish officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. I am assuming the link refers to him being the father of Richard Blague/Blaake listed below his name. There are twelve records for Robert le Blake in the Discovery Search on the National Archives of the United Kingdom website (I did blog this information http://kippeeb.blogspot.com/2018/09/reworking-blake-ydna-website.html 26 Sep 2018. I am going to look at it in a slightly different way and for a different reason and will not repeat all of the references in this blog. I am toying with the idea of subscribing to British History Online as some items can not be seen on the free site.
1. The first item (Date: 1358) is a Grant (at Echelampton) by Robert le Blake to John Malewayn of all his lands and tenements at Echelhamptone which he had by feoffment of his brother Adam Blake and which were lately Robert de Echelhamptone's. Reference 1720/154.
Searching on Genuki (fabulous website by the way) Etchilhampton does appear to be this location. It is a chapelry in the parish of All Cannings, hundred of Swanborough, three miles from Devizes.
Source: https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/WIL/Etchilhampton
Certainly this is the same general area for the Blake family at Calne. Interesting the financial transactions between the Blake family and the Malewayn family in 1358. Robert le Blake and Adam le Blake are brothers and the date of 1358 is prior to the 1440/1441 date for the arrival of a Richard Blake from Ireland in Salibury, Wiltshire. This is looking interesting and I haven't done other than occasionally look at these records.
For the twelve records of the search I will eliminate those not in Wiltshire/Hampshire/Berkshire - the oldest one (1272) is from Southorpe, Lincolnshire.
2. The second item is a bond (at Hungerford) (Date: 1358). Bond (at Hungerford) from Thomas Hungerford and Robert le Blake for payment of £50 to John Malewayn of Echelhamptone. Reference: 1720/152.
Same as 1 in terms of comments.
3. The third item is a grant (at Calne) (Date 1334). Grant (at Calne) by John de Fynemore to William Rolf of Blakelonde ...piece of arable land in the field of Blakelonde (Blackland). Witd: John le Chamberleyy, Thomas de Takelberwe, Robert le Blake, William Asser, Adam le Schetere, William de Taseworthe. Reference: 1720/120.
The earlier date is of assistance as Robert le Blake (if the same person) was 21 years or more in 1334.
4. The fourth item is a Grant (at Stockeleghe) (Date 1347). Grant (at Stockeleghe) by Adam le Chamberleyn of Stokkelegh to John le Glasyere and Isabella his wife, of all his lands and tenements in the hundred of Calne, for the life of the grantor, with reversion of lands in Stokkelegh. Witd: Geoffrey of Castreton, Robert Cauntelou, John Blount, Robert le Blake, Thomas of Roude, Adam le Sheoter, William of Taseworth. Reference: 1720/137.
Continuing reference to date provides proof of life for Robert le Blake (presumably the same individual from 1334 to 1358.
An item from 24 Dec 1363 refers to a Robert le Blake at Uptone, Herefordshire and earlier we had a reference for a Roger le Blake at Madeford, Herefordshire (a different Blake line perhaps).
Two items one in 1345 and one in 1364 are from the estate papers of the Walker-Heneage and Button family. The first Robert le Blake is a witness in 1345 for a lease and counterpart involving East Coker, Somerset. This is a bit interesting because it is quite a distance from the Calne/Devizes area of Wiltshire. However in the next case which is a Quitclaim dated at Calne in 1364, Walter de Frene quitclaims to Robert le Blake, of Kemerford, of all those lands, etc. which Silvester Doynel lately held in Bourbach (Burbage) and which after the death of Patrick de Frene his brother late rector of Yatesbury church should descend to him. Reference DD/WHb/813. Interesting and Kemerford/Quemerford is certainly in the area where the Blake family was located near Calne.
Were Kenerford and Quemerford the same place? Wikipedia again has a history of the spelling of this now suburb of the town of Calne. "Early variants of the name include Camerford (1204), Kenerford (1`226-1228), Qemerford (1240-1245), Cameresford (1292), and Quemerforde (1294)" (Eilert Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names (Oxford, 1936), pp. 359 and 296. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quemerford#cite_note-Ekwall-1
Moving forward and we have Robert le Blake at Quemerford in 1364 receiving eventually a Quitclaim after the death of another person in Burbage. However that doesn't help me with when do we first see Robert le Blake in the Calne area of Wiltshire. This item continues proof of life for a Robert le Blake from at least 1313 to 1364 since he was probably at least 21 in 1334. Other than as noted these items are from the Money-Kyrle Family Estate papers at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre.
An item dated 1363 and Robert le Blake is a witness once again for a Grant (at Bromham) by John de la Roche, knight, to John atte Halle of Whetham .... . Bromham is in the general area of Calne/Devizes.
An unknown dated document in Suffolk but there was a known Blake family in East Anglia.
The Pipe Rolls of Wargrave, Berkshire (1301-2) did not list a Robert le Blake but this scenario just discussed dates him from 1313 to 1364 thus far with the 1313 a calculation based on his being at least 21 in 1334. But he would have been a young child and not listed on the Pipe Rolls if he is indeed of this family at Wargrave, Berkshire.
Doing a search just on Robert Blake yielded a little more information.
In 1386 a Grant to Joan widow of Robert Blake and John her son of all the land in Shawe by Savernake by Robert Devenyssh which he acquired from John Wyleye and Robert in Echelhampton. Reference: DD/WHb/2025. This gives us a known deceased Robert Blake in 1386 (and if he was born in 1313 he would have been 73 if he lived until 1386).
Is this John Blake I the Member of Parliament for Calne in 1381, 1884 and 1385. He died in 1395 leaving at least one son John Blake II who likewise served in Parliament in 1415. The History of parliament online website mentions that he inherited some of the family property at Blacklands. He is noted as being of Quemerford on this page.
Source: https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/blake-john-ii-1388
Back to the Blake Family Chart at the Blake Museum Bridgwater:
:Although we find the son of Robert le Blake to be John mentioned with his mother in the record DD/WHb/2025 the chart has a Richard Blaque as the son of Robert le Blake. It is obvious that Robert le Blake is at Quemerford and hence the Calne Blake line. But who is Richard Blaque alias Blake of Wiltshire?
Searching British History Online (BHO) I find a Richard le Blake at Severn Stoke in the County of Worcestershire at Naunton and the land dealing in this case was in 1275. In 1276 Nicholas le Blake, John le Blake, Thomas le Blake and Richard le Blake paid subsidies at Naunton. Apparently Nicholas le Blac appears on the Gt. Roll of Pipe, 204 Hen. II (Rec. Com.), 157). Source: https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/worcs/vol4/pp192-197
Searching the Discovery catalogue I found five references to a Richard le Blake. and it is Staffordshire where he apparently holds land next to an individual involved in a land deal.
The earliest record in BHO was 1290 and dealt with alien merchants in Winchester. A Richard le Blake, burgess of Shoreham (Sussex) appears to be a debtor to to Alien Merchants. Reference C 241/14/70.
Dated 21 Sep 1313, Feoffment by Thomas le Blake of Wabburleye to Joan his daughter of a place of land there between the land which Alice his daughter held by his gift and the land Richard le Blake formerly held (Warwickshire). Reference E 40/8214. Another set of items found at British History Online (https://www.british-history.ac.uk/ancient-deeds/vol4/pp34-46) A.6474 - A grant by Richard son of Thomas le Blake of Watburleye ....... . Two other references are for Buckinghamshire.
Does this help me prove that the Richard le Blak who received the right to set up a market in England in 1274 was the ancestor of the John Blake mentioned with his mother Joan? The question remains who was Robert le Blake. Was he the son of the Richard le Blak who applied for a license to establish a market? By the time of the possible birth of Robert le Blake before or by 1313, Richard le Blak would have been in his 40-50s perhaps since he was likely an adult in 1274. Robert naming one of his sons Richard might be anticipated but it was John who was the member of parliament for Calne living at Quemerford and it does seem strange not to have him on this chart actually.
But I do have a sort of date scheme for Robert le Blake (born before or in 1313 and died before or by 1386. Moving on one might say to Richard Blaque alias Blake said to have married Anne daughter of William Cole. Looking online one sees dates such as 1331 for this marriage but that is impossible since we have determined a likely date range for Robert.
I would actually like to bypass this entry and move on to Henry Blake marrying Elizabeth Dorrant/Durrant. Looking at a quick search one discovers that a number of sites basically ignore Richard Blaque marrying Anne Cole and they have Henry Blake marrying Elizabeth Durrant in 1353. There is actually a Memorial for Elizabeth (Durrant) Blake at St Mary the Virgin Churchyard in Calne showing her year of death as 1425. Would Henry, as a son of Robert le Blake, fit into this time frame?
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/241577186/elizabeth-blake
The Discovery catalogue has just one result in 1400-1499 for Henry Blake and it is in Leicestershire.
Moving on to William Blake (said to have married Elizabeth daughter of Thomas Power) and my searches using William Blake and Quemerford and Quemberford did not reveal any land deals with the Blake family that could be utilized for dating purposes. There are several reasons perhaps. This Blake line was simply not political and maintained their property at Quemerford over a long period and there were no transactions dealing with the property and the particular male Blake members did not get involved in any types of transactions where they were witnesses. Where the information on the marriages comes from I have no idea but I am not in place to do those kind of searches which involve records not online. The next Blake day I will pull out some of my CDs and see if I can find anything there. At this point I do not see a link between the Richard le Blak at Wargrave and the John Blake I and John Blake II who served as Members of Parliament in the late 1300s and early 1400s. Looking at the Bellett family to come and that will be for the next research day as well.
Robert Blake at Quemberford who married Avice (Wallop) Malwyn widow and the surname is curious having found the earlier records between the Blake and the Malewayn family in the 1300s. Also for the next Blake day which is Friday.
Is it possible to have so many generations in a family in 120 years but I am still working on the dating of each individual.
Teatime soon and Latin lessons.
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