Presenting to a church in 1547 (General)

by isherwop , Thursday, August 16, 2018, 21:41 (2086 days ago) @ isherwop

Here is the est of the comment which was to big to send in one bite

“Having traced the descent of this family from the original grant of Hasfield to that of its alienation; we now have to treat of a collateral branch of the same stock, of which the present Baronet is the representative. Contemporary with Thomas Pauncenfote before mentioned, (who died in 1535) was Grimbald Pauncefote, described in the Herald’s Visitation to Gloucestershire in 1682, of Hasfield, aforesaid, and therein stated to have been born about the year (illegible). By Millicent his wife, he had issue a son William,.............., son and heir of Grimbald, of Pauntley, and of Newent in the county of Gloucester, and was buried at Pauntley, 28th February,1616, aged 84, leaving issue, by Dorothy his wife, daughter and coheir of Giles Scolcroft, of Selby, in the county of York, Esq; two sons Grimbald and Giles, and a daughter Dorothy, the wife of Richard Green of Newent, Esq. Sometime chancellor of the diocese of Gloucester. Grimbald Pauncefote, of Pauntley, aforesaid, Esq. Eldest son and heir of William, by Dorothy Scolcroft, married first, Mary, eldest daughter of John Nourse, of Weston-under-Penyard, in the county of Hereford, Esq. By whom he had issue 1, Poole Pauncefotet, his heir and 2, William, who died unmarried, and was buried at Pauntley, 26th April 1638: also three daughters etc. etc. etc. Grimbald Pauncefote married secondly, Dorothy, daughter of John Cam, of Dymock, in the county of Gloucester, by whom he had 1, John; 2, William, who was baptised 31 October 1618, died unmarried June 1167; 3, Robert, baptised 9th May 1654, married (after 1682,) Elizabeth, third daughter of Leonard Smooke, of Stour Provis, in the county of Dorset, Gent. He died 14 August, 1721, aged 67: she died 11 February, 1720, aged 70; both were buried at Pauntley.”

To summarise, the Dalley line commences with Grimbald Sen. then to his son William and thence to Grimbald Jun and then his son Robert whose daughter Elizabeth married Thomas Hall who is Henry Dalley’s great great grandfather!

A brief article in the UK Genealogical Archives states that “the manor previously belonged to the Whittington family, including Sir Richard Whittington lord mayor of London. The Pauncefotes family were afterwards in possession.” It is not clear exactly when the Pauncefotes occupied the manor but it is quite possible Grimbald Sen. was the first occupant as the Whittington’s possession seems to have been contested about this time. There are records of William and John Pauncefote’s in the church cemetery but we don’t know how long the family occupied the manor now known as Pauntley Court. Pauntley is a rural area about 12km west of Hasfield and is similar to Hasfield being the parish centre with the Church and Manor House in close proximity.
This aerial photograph shows the house and garden on the right and the church on the left.
Pauntley Court and gardens is now a luxury bed and breakfast open to the public. If anyone ever visits they could ask the current owner if they know much about the history of the manor and when the Pauncefote family were occupants.

We have a long and complicated will for Grimbald Pauncefoot (spelt this way in the will). It is evident that the Pauncefote family owned land in a quite a lot of different locations and were very wealthy. They derived their income from the tenancies received from their leasehold farmers. The occupation of both Grimabald and Robert who inherited some of the properties is Gent an indication they did not do any farming themselves.

Although the Paucenfote family had achieved prominence and were Lords of the Manor at Hasfield for many years the Baronetcy was not granted until 1757 to George Smith. He is Grimbald’s great great great grandson. They must have run out of male heirs as it was George Smoth’s wife Mary Howe’s mother Elizabeth who was the Pauncefote heiress. The first baron George Smith was Grimbald Jun’s great great great grandson and he received the baronetcy in 1757 when he was Sheriff of Nottingham. George retained the name of Smith for his life time but when the title passed to his son also George who was Sheriff of Gloucester he changed the name of the baronetcy to Bromley in 1778 and then in 1803 by royal license assumed the name and arms of Pauncefoteto. According to the history he assumed the name of Pauncefote as a result of inheriting “the whole estate of the family Pauncefote” but Wikipedia says that the change was to Pauncefote-Bromley. I have been told that it was not unusual for people to change their names when they inherited substantial wealth in order to strengthen their claims to the inheritance. Be that as it may be the third baronet Robert who was an admiral in the royal navy dropped the name Pauncefote altogether and thereafter the Baron’s name has been simply Bromley. In 1889 another Baron Pauncefote who was granted. This Baron was born in Munich and it is this Baron Pauncefote who appears in modern editions of books on members of the british peerage.