Richard Fermor Archives - PHILIP ALAN FARMER

February 15, 2026February 15, 2026

The Fermor Protection of Catholic Recusants in Somerton

Short biographies from the book “Thomas Fermor and the Sons of Witney“ about members of the Fermors of Somerton mentioned in a YouTube video by Tim Guile.

While conducting some research, I discovered the following video posted on YouTube by local historian Tim Guile:

Guile, Tim. “Ember Burning, Catholic Recusancy and the Fermor Family of North Oxfordshire.” English Catholic History Association.

For more than one hundred years, the English monarchy tried to rid the country of Catholicism through ever-increasing legislation and punishment. The Fermor family allowed a small Roman Catholic community to flourish in Somerton and Hardwick during most of the post-Reformation period.[1] The Fermors’ influence was especially noticeable in the religious life of the villagers, with the Catholic faith openly practiced.

Included below are excerpted and edited short biographies of those mentioned in the video.

William Fermor and Somerton, Oxfordshire

The Aston Family owned Somerton since at least 1327. In February 1504, William Fermor paid £287 to William Aston for the reversion to the moiety of the manor of Somerton. Aston held Somerton until 21 April 1504, when he conveyed his moiety of Somerton to a group of feoffees which included William Fermor’s brother Richard Fermor and step-brother Richard Wenman. The quitclaim deed also included ten messuages, ten gardens, four hundred acres of land, one hundred acres of meadow, sixty acres of pasture, forty acres of wood, one hundred shillings rent in Somerton, Fretewell, Dunstewe, Fewecote, and Tusmore, several fisheries of Charwell, and the advowson of the church of Somerton.[2] Two years later after the death of Aston, Somerton was finally “covenanted with William Fermor.”

Another moiety of the manor of Somerton which had been held by the Earls de Grey reverted to the Crown in December 1495 with the second attainder of Francis Lovell, 1st Viscount Lovell. William purchased the moiety in 1498 but was received fourteen years later in 1512 by formal grant from Henry VIII at a yearly rent of £15 11s.

With the manor re-united and William in possession, he at once built a new residence house on the rising ground southeast of the village upon the river Cherwel. It was here that William resided for almost forty years.[3]

William Fermor and Hardwick, Oxfordshire

After purchasing a third part of Hardwick from Thomas Colyer and his wife Margery in 1514,[4] William rebuilt the house by 1520. In 1523 William Spencer, son of Robert Spencer and Elizabeth Arden, released to Fermor his right to a share of the manor. The remaining third part seems to have been held in 1511 by Edmund Bury, who conveyed it to Edward Chamberlain, but William evidently acquired this share also by 1548, when he made a settlement of the whole manor.[5]

Hardwick had a separate church around 1249 or 1250 when William D’Aundeley, the lord of the manor, presented, but two years later, the advowson was with the Knights Hospitallers. In 1532, by reason of a grant from the Knights Hospitallers, William presented. After the suppression of the Knights Hospitallers in 1540, Henry VIII sold the advowson in 1545 to John Pope of London, an associate of William Fermor. The advowson then descended with the manor with the Fermors presenting until the mid-nineteenth century. For Hardwick in the reign of Edward VI, its location and size under the protection of the rich Fermor family allowed a small Roman Catholic community to flourish during most of the post-Reformation period.[6]

Will of William Fermor

William Fermor died on 29 September 1552, having made his will eighteen days earlier.[7] His wife Elizabeth (Norrys) Fermor was appointed sole executrix and directed to “bear and pay all my funerals after a convenient degree and order and with no pomp or vainglory.” As neither of his four wives bore any children, the principal beneficiaries were the sons of his brother Richard Fermor namely John, Jerome, and the youngest Thomas as heir.

At the church of Somerton, the east end of the south aisle was lengthened and converted into a chantry by William Fermor. He installed new windows, constructed a new entrance, and built a round-headed arch giving access to the aisle from the chancel. The aisle became the burial-place of the Fermor family noted for the fine sixteenth century monuments and the family maintained the chantry until the end of the nineteenth century.

Thomas Fermor of Somerton

Richard Fermor’s youngest son, Thomas Fermor, was born by 1526. On his uncle’s death in 1552, Thomas inherited Somerton subject to the life interest of his aunt who was still lady of the manor as late as 1568.[8] Thomas could afford to wait for his inheritance, having wed by 1552 to Frances Horde, the only child and heiress of Thomas Horde of Hord Park or Bridgnorth Park, Bridgnorth, by his wife Dorothy Harpur.[9]

Frances died 10 July 1570 and was buried at Astley Abbots on 12 July.[10] Thomas remarried to Bridget Bradshaw, the daughter of Henry Bradshaw of Halton, Buckinghamshire, and the widow of Henry White of South Warnborough, Hampshire. Thomas and Bridget had one son and two daughters: Richard Fermor who married first Jane Lacon and secondly Cornelia Cornwallis; Anne, who died 12 April 1575 and was buried at Somerton; and Mary, who married Francis Plowden.[11]

While a staunch Catholic who may have been on Queen Mary’s side in reversing Henry VIII’s Protestant reformations, Thomas Fermor was not one of the Members of Parliament who “stood for the true religion” against the initial measures for the restoration of Catholicism.

Thomas was one of the Shropshire Catholics who sheltered the priest John Felton after 24 May 1570 when Felton posted Pope Pius V’s Regnans in Excelsis excommunication of Elizabeth I to the gates of Edmund Grindal, the Bishop of London. Wanted for treason and implicated by his friend William Mellowes during torture, Felton was arrested on 04 August, racked, convicted, condemned to die by execution, hanged, and quartered alive on 08 August.

By 1573, Thomas Fermor had succeeded his aunt Elizabeth (Norrys) Fermor. For twenty-eight years, Thomas lived at Somerton, although a land deed from 02 February 1575 describes him as “Thomas Farmor of Chynnor” a location thirty miles from Somerton yet must have been special to Thomas for him to bequeath 20s. to the “pooreste people inhabitings in Chinnor.”[12]

Tomb of Thomas and Bridget Fermor

Bridget died on 15 June 1580; Thomas Fermor died on 08 August 1580. Thomas’ will was written on 15 June 1580 – interestingly the same day as when his wife Bridget died – and probated on 13 August 1580. He was buried in Somerton Church next to his wife Bridget with all of the recognized rites and customs of the time.

oxford-3-150317 — Copyright (C) 2017, Snowpetrel Photography. Snowpetrel Photography | Flickr

Thomas left £40 for the erection of an alabaster tomb to be erected over his grave. By indenture made on 20 September 1582 between George Shirley of “Staunton Harrolde in ye county of Leic’esquier,” Richard Roiley of “Buron uppo Trente in ye county of Stafford, Tumbe maker,” and Gabriell Roiley, the son of Richard Roiley, the details of the tomb’s construction and appearance were fully described and witnessed by William Tortone, John Toplines, and Thomas Nodine. Having previously constructed the tomb of George’s father, John Shirley, the Roiley’s were well known tomb-makers from Burton, an area celebrated for its alabaster.[13]

oxford-2-150317 — Copyright (C) 2017, Snowpetrel Photography. Snowpetrel Photography | Flickr

Thomas’ will also illustrates “seigneurial Catholicism” by leaving rent-charges or leases to a number of servants who, or whose families, can be traced among Oxfordshire Catholics for some years afterwards. Among his charitable bequests was the “Castle Yard in Somerton and the Chappell therein standing” for procuring a license and erecting a free school in the chapel for the service of God, the Crown, and the commonwealth. His will also stipulated that the schoolmaster should be nominated by one of the ecclesiastical, secular, or academic dignitaries of Oxfordshire or by the Lord of Somerton. The executors invested £160 in land in Milcombe in Bloxham parish, and the chapel in the castle courtyard, which had fallen into disrepair after the penal laws banned Roman Catholic services, was converted into a school building.[14]

Sir Richard Fermor

In 1596 after attaining his majority, Sir Richard Fermor (son of Thomas and Bridget Fermor) inherited Somerton and Hardwick. The executors of his father’s will had well-fulfilled their trust for Sir Richard to financially purchase the manor of Tusmore from Thomas and Bridget Williamson in 1606, uniting Tusmore with Hardwick.

Sir Richard married early to Jane Lacon, daughter of Rowland Lacon of Willey, who died young after bearing a son, Thomas, and a daughter, Jane. At the age of twenty-five in about 1601, Sir Richard remarried to Cornelia Cornwallis, the third daughter of Lucy Neville and Sir William Cornwallis.

Sir Richard died at the age of forty-six on 07 January 1642 without a long or serious illness, having made his will on the day of his death, and his burial at Somerton Church was hurried.[15] A grandiose monument was constructed immediately beside the table tomb of his parents. Soon after his death, the House of Commons seized Sir Richard’s money because he was a papist.

Sir Richard Fermor of Somerton. Somerton, Oxfordshire, St James Church, History & Photos | Historic Oxfordshire Guide

Sir John Fermor

Sir Richard’s son John Fermor was knighted on 29 August 1624 at Shotover Lodge owned by Sir Timothy Tyrrell,[16] and dying the next year, left his widow Cecily Compton, the daughter of Sir Henry Compton of Brambletye, Sussex, to remarry Henry Arundell, 3rd Baron Arundell of Wardour. Sir John’s will dated 10 July 1625 and probated 23 November 1625 names his father as executor, made provisions for his wife “dame Cicelie, and my child, if she be with child,” and mentions his wife’s grandmother “my Lady of Dorsett.”[17] Sir John’s tomb in the church at Somerton shows the young knight reclining, under a melancholic Latin epitaph.

At this time in 1625, it is believed Sir Richard moved from Somerton into Hardwick. As the Somerton was part of her dowry, Cecily moved and remained there during her life.

Sir John Fermor of Somerton. Somerton, Oxfordshire, St James Church, History & Photos | Historic Oxfordshire Guide

Jane Fermor and Colonel Thomas Morgan

Sir Richard Fermor’s eldest daughter, Jane Fermor,^{115} married Colonel Thomas Morgan of Weston-under-Wetherley, Warwickshire, son of Anthony Morgan, Esquire of Mitchell Town, Monmouthshire, and Bridget Anthony, daughter and heir of (another) Anthony Morgan of Heyford.

At his own expense, Morgan, a Royalist, raised a troop of horse and fought on 16 July 1643 in the Battle of Roundway Down near Devizes, Wiltshire. In the first Battle of Newbury, Berkshire, Charles I personally led the Royalist forces, whose cavalry of seven thousand horses outnumbered the Roundhead cavalry led by Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex. As the landscape of open fields would have exposed Essex’s troops, he chose to engage the Royalists under the concealment of the hedges, ditches, and sunken lanes. Entangled in the dense brush, Morgan was killed on 20 September 1643 and was buried in the Fermor aisle of St. James Church at Somerton with a black marble slab inscribed in his memory.[18]

Philip Farmer is the author and publisher of “Thomas Fermor and the Sons of Witney” tracing the family history from 1420 to 1685, and “Edward Farmar and the Sons of Whitemarsh” following their 1685 arrival from Ireland into Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Harlan County, Kentucky.

[1] Stapleton, History of the Post-Reformation Catholic Missions in Oxfordshire (1906), p.80; Lobel, A Victoria History of the County of Oxford, vol.6 (1959), pp.168-173.

[2] CP 25/1/191/31, No. 58. The other querents were William Bulcombe, Edward Cope, Richard Eryngton, William Eryngton, John Byllyng, and Edmund Hobell.

[3] Stapleton, History of the Post-Reformation Catholic Missions in Oxfordshire (1906), p.66; Collins, The Peerage of England, vol.5 (1768), p.48.

[4] Perhaps the Margery who had previously married William Gygour.

[5] Lobel, A Victoria History of the County of Oxford, vol.6 (1959), pp.168-173.

[6] Stapleton, History of the Post-Reformation Catholic Missions in Oxfordshire (1906), p.80; Lobel, A Victoria History of the County of Oxford, vol.6 (1959), pp.168-173.

[7] Hutchens, “Will of William Fermor of Somerton,” Oxfordshire Family History Society (OFHS.uk). nd. An abstract also found in Blomfield, History of the Present Deanery of Bicester, Oxon (1882), p.105. The will has been included in a separate chapter.

[8] Baker, The History and Antiquities of the County of Northampton, vol.1 (1822), p.707.

[9] Grazebrook et al, The Visitation of Shropshire, Taken in the Year 1623, pt.1 (1889), p.183.

[10] Clark-Maxwell, “The Chantries of St. Leonard’s Church, Shropshire,” Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, ser,4 vol.8 (1920), p.54. “On the demise of Frances Fermor without issue, Holicote passed to her cousin-german Thomas Horde, who held it in 1594, and was living 1603. He was son of John Hord (first cousin of Frances Fermor) by Katharine, daughter of Adam Otley of Pitchford…” (Purton, “Some Account of the Manor of Chetton,” Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Natural History Society, ser.2 vol.6 (1894), pp.184-185.)

[11] Blomfield, History of the Present Deanery of Bicester, Oxon (1882), pp.11-12, 122; Plowden, Records of the Chicheley Plowdens, A.D. 1590-1913 (1914), pp.10, 51.

[12] Thorpe, “Fermor, Thomas (by 1523-80), of Horde Park, Bridgnorth, Salop and Somerton, Oxon,” The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558 (1982); Stapleton, History of the Post-Reformation Catholic Missions in Oxfordshire (1906), pp.66-67; Shirley, “Original Documents Extracts From The Fermor Accounts, A.D. 1580,” Archaeological Journal, vol.8 no.1 (1851), pp.179-186; Gomme, The Gentlemen’s Magazine Library, pt.9(1897),pp.208-215.

[13] Macklin, The Brasses of England (1907), p.10. Richard Roiley of Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire.

[14] Reports of the Commissioners For Inquiring Concerning Charities in the Hundreds of Banbury & Bloxham et al (1826), pp.144-146. The report contains a short history, detailed list of landholders, and contribution of payments. “There are now 14 or 15 free children in the school, who are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic… (p.146)”

[15] Blomfield, History of the Present Deanery of Bicester, Oxon (1882), p.120. The will of Richard Fermor, probated on 08 June 1643 at Oxford, “mentions son Henry Ffermor, daughter in law Ursula, daughter Lucy Peter, daughter Jane Morgan, grandson Richard Fermor under age, and grandchildren Peter and Henry Ffermor and their sisters Mary and Anne Ffermor all under age. Mentions grandchildren, the children of my daughter Lucy Peter. Other relatives include Chamberleyn, Lek, etc.. Sons in law William Peter and Thomas Morgan, nephew George Gyfford, and Edmund Plowden, son of Ffrancis Plowden the younger to be Executors.”

[16] Shaw, The Knights of England, vol.2 (1906), p.186.

[17] Blomfield, History of the Present Deanery of Bicester, Oxon (1882), p.120.

[18] Hamilton, The Chronicle of the English Augustinian Canonesses Regular of the Lateran, at St Monica’s in Louvain, vol.2 (1906), pp.3-4.

Title photo: Poliphilo. “St James’ parish church, Somerton, Oxfordshire, seen from the southeast.” 2013. CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication of Creative Commons.

February 5, 2026February 5, 2026

Thomas Barett, cousin to the Wenman and Fermor Families?

This blog re-examines Fermor wills that identify a cousin – Thomas Barrett – and to determine his relationship to the family.

In an earlier blog, we examined the will of William Fermor to determine how he was related to his “goode aunt Elizabeth Horne… and to her sonne my Cosyne Edmund Horne Esquire…”

Known Fermor pedigree of Emotte (Hervey, Wenman) Fermor. She gifts her “cousin” Thomas Barett… but how is he related?

Fermor Wills

The 05 April 1501 will of Emmote (Hervey, Wenman) Fermor bequeaths to “my cousin Thomas Barett xxs. and vi spones [20 shillings and 6 spoons]…”[1]

The 01 July 1551 will of her son Richard Fermor bequeaths “a life annuity of 5 marks pa to my cousin Barret (which he already has by patent)…”[2]

The 1552 will of her son William Fermor bequeaths “to my cousin Thomas Barret a life Annuity of 40s pa to be levied out of my lands etc in Idbury and Bold…”[3]

Assuming we apply the modern translation of “cousin,” at a minimum Thomas Barett would have been the son of Emmote (Hervey, Wenman) Fermor’s aunt or uncle, of whose identities are unknown at this time. This requires knowing the siblings of her father Symkin Hervey and requires the identify of her unknown mother’s siblings to determine if Thomas is a paternal or maternal first cousin. By default, Thomas Barett as a cousin to Emmote would also be a cousin to her sons William and Richard, either as removed cousins or second cousins (and higher, e.g. third cousins).

As it may be possible that Emmote uses the term “cousin” to lovingly reference her husband Thomas Richards alias Fermor’s kin, we would also need to identify the siblings of her late husband’s paternal and maternal siblings, all currently unknown. Using this same possibility of referencing a late husband’s kin, we would also need to examine the paternal and maternal siblings of Henry Wenman, also currently unknown.

Will of Dame Elizabeth (Tenacre, Kyrkebye, Wymond) Thurston

A search of Wenman wills results in the 15 March 1520 will of Dame Elizabeth Thurston of Saint Vedast, City of London, bequeathing “to wife of Cosyn Barett, a pair of silver beads and a gurdell of stole work… Maister John Barett and his wife… Thomas Barrett and his wife…”[4]

Elizabeth Tenacre, was the daughter of William Tenacre of Strode and the granddaughter of Henry Tenacre of Halling and Strode, Kent.[5] As mentioned in her lengthy will, she married as follows:

Firstly to John Kyrkebye, vintner;

Secondly to Thomas Wymond, citizen and fuller of London, widowed after the death of his wife Johane ___. Both Elizabeth and Thomas are mentioned in the September 1494 will of William Tenacre, Mercer of the City of London, wherein he bequeaths “my Coufen Elifabeth Tenacre the wyf of Thomas Wymond…” as shown on the third line in the title picture.[6] Thomas Wymond’s will is dated 15 August 1496 and was proved 18 October 1496; and

Lastly to Sir John Thurston, goldsmith and borderer (embroiderer), alderman in 1515 representing Castle Baynard, and Sheriff of London in 1517.[7] Prior to his marriage to Elizabeth, John was married to Alice ___.By most accounts, Sir John died between the codicil to his will on 20 July 1520 and probate on 08 August 1520, and was buried at St. Foster’s Church.[8] However, this conflicts with his wife’s writing of the will in March 1520 before his death, and probated 23 February 1521. Other sources place Sir John’s death in 1519.[9]

Note however, no other Wenman wills that are known kin and connection to the Fermor family mention the Barett’s. Additionally, other surnames in the Wymond wills are not mentioned in the Wenman wills of known kin or connection to the Fermor family.

Thomas Barrett

The “cousin Barret” mentioned in the will of Richard Fermor is presumed to be the same Thomas Barett, citizen and merchant tailor of London, partnered with William Fermor and Richard Fermer, their step-brother Richard Wenman, and possibly a Farmer alias Draper relative for several land purchases in 1525 and in 1527…

“Alex Hawte & wife Joan to Thos Barrett, Wm & Ric Fermour. 1/3 of a moiety of 3 mess. 120a land, 30a mead, 140a past & 100a wood in Lee, Charlton, Eltham, Greenwich & Lewisham. £80 (28)”[10]

“Jn Blundell, Wm Draper, esq & Thos Barret & wife Margt to Ric Fermer, Ric Weyman & Wm Fermer. Moiety of 3 mess, 120a land, 20a mead, 140a past & 100a wood in Lee, Charlton, Eltham, Greenwich & Lewisham. £40 (1).”[11]

… and as partners with Richard Fermor in 1532 to acquire and sell land in Kent to Thomas Cromwell and Christopher Hales on behalf of Henry VIII for the king’s use:

“A.5281. Bond by Richard Fermor merchant of the staple of Calais, and Thomas Barett, citizen and merchant tailor of London, to Thomas Crumwell, master or treasurer of the king’s jewels, and Christopher Hales, attorney general, for 100l, for the king’s use. 16 June, 24 Henry VIII. Signed. Two seals.
Endorsed : Condition of above bond, witnessing that if the said Fermor and Barett shall observe the covenants of certain indentures of even date with the said bond, made between the above parties, the said bond shall be void.”[12]

“A.5278. [Kent] Receipt by Richard Fermor, merchant of the staple of Calais, and Thomas Barett, citizen and merchant tailor of London, for 58l. 7s. 3d. received from Thomas Crumwell, master and treasurer of the king’s jewels, in payment of all sums due to them for the purchase of the moiety, ‘purparte or haulfendele’ of the lands and tenements &c. called ‘Smythes landes’ and ‘Newlands’ within the king’s new park of Eltham, purchased by the said Cromwell and Christopher Hales, attorney general, from them, for the king’s use. 22 August, 24 Henry VIII. English. Two seals.”[13]

While numerous other publications reference Barett as a “tailor of London”, one legal source describes a “Thomas Barett, of Wainfleet (Lincolnshire), Merchant of the Staple of Calais…”[14] providing a reasonable rationale how Barett and Richard Fermor were further acquainted having both shared the same occupation.

Likewise, a “John Barett, goldsmith, gifted about £3 5s. per annum to supply coal to the poor of the Goldsmiths’ Company…” in 1511,[15] another likely Barett family connection to the Thurston’s.

Another land transaction involves the manor of Fritwell, Oxfordshire, once owned by Sir William Boleyn, but having died a year or two after possessing the manor, left it to his son and heir Sir Thomas Boleyn. Thomas and his wife Elizabeth promptly sold the manor to Thomas Barett. The manor consisted of 200 acres of land, 40 acres of meadow, 200 acres of pasture, 3 acres of wood, and 13s. 4d. rent with their appurtenances. As the Boleyn’s did not obtain the King’s license for the sale, Barett and Boleyn sued for the royal pardon granted in 1520.[16]

William Fermor held lands and tenements in Somerton, Fritwell, Duns Tew, Steeple Aston, Middle Aston, Idbury, Foscot, Bold, Kingham, Pudle Hill(?), and Banbury that he left to his wife Elizabeth (Norreys) Fermor, which then passed to William’s nephew Thomas Fermor (son of William’s brother Richard Fermor), and then to Thomas’ son Richard Fermor.

Conclusion

There is insufficient evidence to conclude Thomas Barett is a cousin of the Fermor family, with a pedigree to confirm missing leaves on the Fermor tree. Additionally, while there may be a Wymond-Wenman connection based on similar surnames, the Wymond wills and the Wenman wills show no direct connection. Thomas Barett may have been referred as a cousin as a term of endearment due to his close personal and/or working relationship with the Fermor family.

[1] TNA PROB 11/12; Hutchens, “Will of Emott Fermer of Witney,” Oxfordshire Family History Society (OFHS.uk). nd; For alternate translation: Bloom, Wayman Wills and Administrations Preserved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 1383-1821 (1922), pp.2-3.

[2] Hutchens, “Will of Richard Fermer of NTH Easton Neston,” Oxfordshire Family History Society (OFHS.uk). nd.

[3] Hutchens, “Will of William Fermor of Somerton,” Oxfordshire Family History Society (OFHS.uk). nd. An abstract also found in Blomfield, History of the Present Deanery of Bicester, Oxon (1882), p.105.

[4] PROB 11/20/149; Bloom, Wayman Wills and Administrations Preserved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 1383-1821 (1922), pp.6-10. The author in his introduction posits the many spellings of Wenman, to include Wymond.

[5] Jewers, “Grants and Certificates of Arms,” The Genealogist, vol.27(1911), pp.179, 223. Possibly the same Henry Tenacre pardoned for his involvement in the Jack Cade Rebellion of 1450 (reference Orridge, Jack Cade’s Rebellion (1869), p.51; Calendar of the Patent Rolls, Henry VI (1909), p.350.) The Tenacre heraldric arms are described as “gu. on a fess chequy Or an Az. betw. three martlets Arg., beaks Vert., as many scallop shells Erm.” per Stowe MSS 692 fo.90 & 702 fo.115.

[6] PROB 11/20/248.

[7] Beavan, The Alderman of the City of London (1913), p.23; Jewers, “Grants and Certificates of Arms,” The Genealogist, vol.27(1911), pp.179, 223; Rylands, Grantees of Arms (1915), p.250; AALT CP40no1060, Image 5718f; AALT CP40no1060, Image 6120f.

[8] Chaffers, Hall-Marks on Gold and Silver Plate (1922), p.21. The later states “buried 1519.”

[9] Prideaux, Memorials of the Goldsmiths’ Company (1896), p.322.

[10] CP 25(2) 20/118/687.

[11] CP 25(2) 20/120/753.

[12] A Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds, vol.3 (1900), p.159.

[13] TNA E 40/5278; TNA E 40/5281; A Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds, vol.3 (1900), p.159.

[14] TNA C 1/174/3.

[15] Chaffers, Hall-Marks on Gold and Silver Plate (1922), p.20.

[16] Blomfield, History of the Present Deanery of Bicester, Oxon (1893), p.18-19.

September 17, 2023September 17, 2023

The Men of King Henry VIII

The Smithsonian Channel aired a three-part series about King Henry VIII and his men. The episodes provide good educational and entertaining biographies of those who associated with Richard Fermor of Easton Neston and his brother William Fermor of Somerton.

The book “Thomas Fermor and the Sons of Witney” spans a period from the 1400s to 1685 into nearly eight hundred pages. The challenge was to summarize almost three hundred years of English feudalism, land ownership, military technology, geography, history, court proceedings, international commerce, fashion, and other facets of life into those pages. In some cases, entire books have been written about persons or events that regrettably were condensed into a sentence, paragraph, or a few pages.

The Smithsonian Channel aired a three-part series providing good educational and entertaining biographies of Henry VIII and of his men who associated with Richard Fermor of Easton Neston and his brother William Fermor of Somerton.

Henry VIII and the King’s Men – TV Series | Smithsonian Channel

Mentioned in the series and in the book are the following men:

Sir Richard Empson

Sir Richard Empson, born 1505 in Towcester, Northamptonshire, was a knight, high lawyer, Member of Parliament for Northamptonshire, Speaker of the House of Commons, High Steward of Cambridge University, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Empson was quite wealthy owning the manor and hundred of Towcester, the manors of Easton Neston, Hulcote, Alderton, Stoke Bruerne, Shutlanger, Bradden, Cold Higham, Grimscote, Potcote and Burton Latimer, and lands in other parts of the country.

With his colleague, Edmund Dudley, Empson collected taxes for Henry VII using extortion, harassment, and other suspicious, but legal, methods. This made the king very rich but made Empson and Dudley very unpopular. When Henry VIII became king, he arrested the two men and stripped them of their land.

Sir Richard Empson (left), with Henry VII and Sir Edmund Dudley. The Duke of Rutland Collection.

Dudley was sent to Guildhall in London for trial on 18 July 1509, and Empson was sent to the castle of Northampton for trial on 03 October 1509. Richard Fermor, recorded as living in Isham, Northamptonshire, was named one of the jurors for Empson’s trial. Innocent yet convicted of treason, Empson and Dudley were beheaded on 17 August 1510.

The Easton Neston estate, still in attainder since January 1510, was initially granted to William Compton in 1512, said then to be of “late Comberford,” but then given by a petition and act of restitution to Sir Richard Empson’s son and heir, Thomas Empson, Esquire. By indenture dated 12 July 1527, Thomas Empson in consideration of £1,000 deeded Easton Neston and other lands to William Fermor. It is unclear if William purchased the Empson estates on behalf of his brother Richard, or if he relinquished ownership to Empson within three years of the indenture, as it is recorded that Richard purchased the manor of Easton Neston in 1530 from Empson, and not from William.

Cardinal Thomas Wolsey

Richard Fermor became a wealthy man due to his position as a Merchant of the Staple of Calais. Richard was at Florence, Italy, in December 1524 when he gave financial aid to John Clerk, an agent in Rome negotiating for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey’s election to the papacy.

By 1527, Henry VIII ordered Cardinal Thomas Wolsey to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. Unable to convince the Pope, Wolsey was arrested in 1529 and stripped of his government office yet permitted to remain Archbishop of York. He was also stripped of his property including his magnificent Hampton Court, which Henry took to replace the Palace of Westminster as his own main London residence.

After his fall in 1529, Wolsey owed £124 8s. 9d. by 13 October 1529 for silks Richard supplied him. In 1530, William Fermor was on the Commission of Inquiry into Cardinal Wolsey’s possessions in whose records show “To Roger Elys, for duties paid to William Farmer, Clerk of the Crown, for discharging my Lord’s praemunire, and entering his pardon, 4£.”[1] On 16 May 1530, probably for his work in the preparation of a pardon for Cardinal Wolsey, he received £100.

Accused of treason, Wolsey was ordered to London by Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland. He fell ill during the journey and died at Leicester on 29 November 1530.

Thomas Cromwell

Henry VIII, weary of the Pope’s delays in the matter of his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, severed the Church of England from the Church of Rome in 1534.[2] While there were no discernible changes in the liturgy or the practice of daily religion, the faithful who had denied the king’s blasphemous title of “Head of the Church” were ordered to be drawn, hung, and quartered. In varying degrees of legislation, bribery of the nobility, and magnifying slander into a crime, the king confiscated church land.

Thomas Cromwell urged Henry VIII to plunder the gold and silver chalices and other sacred religious objects that had been bestowed by the parishioners to the churches and monasteries.[3] Thomas Wriothesley and Richard Pollard coldly relate in a letter to Cromwell the confiscation of objects from the Abbey of Bury St. Edmund valued at five thousand marks, along with treasures from other places of worship. In preparation of seizing and confiscating abbey lands in Oxfordshire, a writ dated at Westminster on 30 January 1535 authorized an enquiry to the inventory and value of each place of worship and was addressed to the mayor, knights, and several other prominent men, including William Fermor.[4]

In 1535, William was appointed one of the Royal Commissioners for Oxfordshire for collecting the tenths of spiritualities forbidden to be paid to Rome.[5] Cromwell commissioned William in June 1537 to inquire into allegations of treason made against the abbots of Eynsham and Osney. Considering William as a totally reliable servant of the Crown, Cromwell secured his return as a Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire in 1539. William reported to Cromwell again in 1540 about alleged seditious speeches by a priest and by a wool-winder.

For denying the king’s supremacy and maintaining the supremacy of Pope Paul III, Henry VIII condemned the “traitorous” James alias Nicholas Thayne, with a praemunire and imprisonment at Buckingham Gaol in autumn 1539. Richard came to the aid of his former priest and confessor with a couple of shirts and 8d., the equivalent of a day’s wages for a skilled laborer.[6] For this egregious act of charity, Richard incurred Henry VIII’s wrath. With the efforts of his “false friend” Thomas Cromwell, Richard was arraigned in Westminster Hall and sentenced on 09 May 1540 to life imprisonment. Additionally, Richard’s entire estate including Easton Neston was seized for the king’s use, and executed with such strictness and severity that nothing was left for him, his wife, or his children.[7]

Will Somers

Richard Fermor’s freedom and wealth were later fully restored to him due to an unlikely ally. During his prosperous days, Richard employed comedian Will Somers from Shropshire as his personal fool. It was Somers’ first job, and enjoying his professional successes, was appointed court jester by Henry VIII in 1525 after Richard made introductions at Greenwich and presented him to the king.

Lean and “hollow-eyed,” Somers had a comical face, and with a monkey on his shoulders, walked in a mincing way with a stoop around the room, rolling his eyes. Somers would tell jokes, himself laughing uncontrollably at the punchlines, or mercilessly impersonating those who were the subject of his jests. Even the monkey performed tricks. Somers’ sense of humor was very much in demand leaving monarchs and courtiers in fits of laughter. For twenty years he was the king’s constant companion and entertainment, yet never sought to capitalize on his friendship with the king, keeping in the background when not performing and preserving his privacy.[8] Using all of his wit, charm, and well-timed speeches, Somers made all attempts to restore his former employer’s fortunes, particularly when Henry VIII was feeling melancholy from his failing health.

[1] Blomfield, History of the Present Deanery of Bicester, Oxon (1882), p.104.

[2] Hankins, “Papists, Power, and Puritans: Catholic Officeholding and the Rise of the ‘Puritan Faction’ in Early-Seventeenth-Century Essex,” The Catholic Historical Review, vol.95 no.4 (October 2009), p.689.

[3] Lee, History and Antiquities of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Thame (1883), pp.298-302.

[4] Lee, History and Antiquities of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Thame (1883), p.302.

[5] Blomfield, History of the Present Deanery of Bicester, Oxon (1882), p.105.

[6] Dyer, A Country Merchant, 1495-1520 (2012), p.7.

[7] Hamilton, The Chronicle of the English Augustinian Canonesses Regular of the Lateran, at St Monica’s in Louvain, vol.2 (1906), pp.118-120; Evans, Highways and Byways in Northamptonshire and Rutland (1918), p.318; Collins, The Peerage of England, vol.5 (1768), p.49.

[8] Weir, Henry VIII: The King and His Court (2001), p.29.

May 19, 2023May 19, 2023

Farmer Coat of Arms

In an earlier blog, we highlighted the fascination that two characters from William Shakespeare’s play had with a coat of arms. Even today, there is a modern fascination with wanting to display family heraldry. You see it on family trees, or with companies selling you a certificate or coffee mug. Regrettably, some of these companies and genealogists are assigning the wrong coat of arms. This blog examines various Farmer family heraldry and how it can be used to build a good family tree.

When the Heralds convened their county visitations, they called “all persons that do pretend to bear arms or are styled Esquires or Gentlemen… to produce and show forth by what authority they do challenge and claim the same.”[1] Families or their agents arrived and provided documentation of their family pedigree. Additionally, the Heralds documented the arms displayed at the churches, universities, and other houses. Those persons who could not defend their claim or stole the arms were shamed in the market square and the wrongfully displayed arms were pulled down or defaced. When the Heralds visited Shropshire in 1623, Edward Farmer of Brome, John Farmer, and Roger Farmer were disclaimed.[2]

The visitations provide a good source of genealogical data; however, the Heralds’ abilities to take good notes, the abilities of families to document their family trees, and editorial mistakes have produced some errors. Some good examples include children listed as siblings, incorrect names, and omissions of entire generations. One slight issue is one heraldic description, with a multi-generational pedigree.

A descendant may have made at least two changes to have a new coat of arms granted. Therefore, as shown below, family heraldry is subject not only to geography – of Northamptonshire, or of Leicestershire – but also subject to a moment in time.

Richards

Henry Richards, of Welsh ancestry, was born in 1420. At the age of twenty-four, he met Agnes Fermor, born in 1426.[3] Sometime after their 1446 marriage, Henry took his wife’s surname, an indication that Agnes, the daughter and heiress of her father’s estate, was from a family of higher social distinction than the Richards. Henry Richards alias Fermor had a daughter, Elizabeth, and a son, Thomas.

We know this from the tomb of Thomas Richards alias Fermor’s great grandson Sir George Fermor in St. Mary’s Church at Easton Neston. The dexter spandril of the arch has the Fermor arms, and on the sinister spandril:

FERMOR, quartering 1. Azure a saltier between four eagles displayed or [RICARDS]; 2. Gules on bend argent three trefoils slipped vert [HERVEY]; 3. Per pale indented argent and or a chevron between three escallops gules [BROWNE].[4]

Fermor (top left) quartered with Richards (top right), Hervey (bottom left), and Browne (bottom right).

The Hervey arms signify the marriage of Thomas Richards alias Fermor to his second wife Emmote Hervey. The Browne arms signify the marriage of Thomas Richards alias Fermor’s son Richard to Anne Browne.

Fermor (ancient) & Wenman

When Thomas Richards alias Fermor married Emmote Hervey as his second wife, the expectation would be for the Richards arms on the dexter to impale Hervey on the sinister, with possible quarterings to signify Emmote’s first marriage to Henry Wenman. The Wenman coat of arms granted by Roger Machado, Clarenceux and King of Arms in London, is described as:

WENMAN: on a fess between three anchors as many lions’ heads erased.[5]

However, Richard Lee, Portcullis and Pursuivant of Arms, in his 1574 visitation of Oxfordshire, records among the arms in Witney Church the following below the inscription “Thomas Ffarmor and Alice and Emote his wyfes.”

FARMER (ancient): arg[ent] on a fess Sa[ble] between three lions’ heads erased Gu[les] three anchors Or.[6]

Interestingly, the Wenman and Fermor heraldry is very similar, signifying there may have been a family connection much earlier than Thomas and Emmote’s marriage.

The “anchors and lions” coat of arms remained with Thomas Richards alias Fermor’s line with his sons William and Richard, and then by Richard’s son Sir John Fermor. The arms were passed down to Sir John’s sons and daughters. For example, Mary Fermor married Thomas Lucas, son of John Lucas of London and Colchester by his first wife Mary Abell of Essex. Mary (Fermor) Lucas died on 05 July 1613, and the Lucas coat of arms on her tomb has three shields impaling Fermor.[7]

Fermor (modern)

Sir John Fermor’s son Sir George Fermor had the anchors removed in 1591 with approval from Clarenceux Robert Cooke and Richard Lee of Richmond.[8]

These arms were passed down to Sir George’s sons and daughters, as also seen on his tomb.

I to VI: FERMOR

VII: Argent an eagle displayed sable collared or within a border sable Bezanty [KILLIGREW] impaling FERMOR. [Jane Fermor’s marriage to Sir John Killigrew.]

VIII. FERMOR ancient [sic?], impaling FERMOR modern. [Agnes Fermor’s marriage to Sir Richard Wenman?]

IX to XI: FERMOR

XII: Argent a fess between three blackbirds sable [HOBY] impaling FERMOR. [Katherine Fermor’s marriage to William Hoby.]

XIII. FERMOR impaling 1. Argent a chevron between three crosses flory sable [ANDERSON]; 2. Argent three cocks gules [COCKAYNE]. [Sir Hatton Fermor’s marriage to Elizabeth Anderson and Anne Cokayne.]

XIV: 1. Or a chevron gules canton ermine [STAFFORD OF BLATHERWICK]; 2. Gules an inescocheon argent between eight mullets in orle or [CHAMBERLAYNE], impaling FERMOR. [Elizabeth Fermor’s marriages to Sir William Stafford and Thomas Chamberlayne of Wickham.]

XV: FERMOR

XVI: 1. Argent lion rampant azure [CRICHTON]; 2. Gules three lions passant in pale or [O’BRIEN], impaling FERMOR. [Mary Fermor’s marriages to Robert Crichton and Barnabas O’Brien.][9]

Burke’s A General Armory of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1884) has “lions and anchors” for the Farmers of London; of Somerton, Oxfordshire; and from Northamptonshire, Shropshire, and Worcestershire. For descendants who claim Sir George Fermor as an ancestor, “lion heads,” to include the descendants of Oxfordshire; Mount Pleasant, Sussex; Nonsuch Park, Surrey; Northumberland; and Clarvil, Sussex.

For the Irish descendants of Sir George’s son Robert Farmar, to include the Farmar’s of Bloomfield and Dunsinane, County Wexford, a crescent signifies the difference, with exception to Robert’s son Major Jasper Farmar.[10]

Farmer (other)

Descriptions of the heraldry for other Farmer families are as follows.

Farmer of Norfolk (1552)
Argent, on a saltire sable (sometimes sable), between four lions’ heads erased gules, a martlet between four bezants, on a chief azure an anchor between two pallets or.[11]

Farmer of Walsh, Sussex (1575)
gules, a chevron vaire between three lions rampant or.[12]

Farmer of Sussex
Ermine a chevron Sable between three roses Gules [Farmor].[13]

Farmers of Worcestershire
argent, on a fesse sable between three lion’s heads erased gules, as many acorns slipped or.[14]

Farmers of Leicestershire
sable, on a chevron between three lamps argent, flammant proper, a leopard’s face between two mullets gules.[15]

Draper alias Farmer

At one time, the Fermor’s became Draper’s through the line of Thomas Richards alias Fermor’s son John, born to his first wife Alice ___, possibly Draper.

When examining the arms granted to Thomas Draper alias Farmer, the letters included in the Visitation of Berkshire are those of Thomas Draper of Lincoln’s Inn (Thomas^A) whose arms granted in 1612 are identical to the arms of Thomas Draper of Great Marlow (Thomas^B) granted in 1571.

On a column within the Old St. Pancras Church near Islington are the same arms belonging to Richard Draper, Serjeant-at-Law, who died at Highgate in 1756 at the age of sixty-one (b. ca. 1695). The same arms are claimed by Richard Draper’s father Thomas Draper. When proof of descent was requested at the 1687 visitation of London, Thomas produced an untinctured steel seal.[16]

At another point in family history, the surname dropped the alias and simply became “Farmer.” The arms for John Farmer of Cookham, son of Thomas^B, at his tomb in the north transept of the All Saints church in Great Marlow has the sinister showing the relationship of his father’s marriage to Agnes Barker,[17] while the dexter description is described as…

Langley, History of Buckinghamshire (1797)
Arms, Baron and femme. In chief, 3 fleurs de lys in base 3 bends [DRAPER] ; impaling quarterly, 1 and 4, a lion [BARKER] — 2 and 3, three spears [BURGHLEY].[18]

Lipscomb, History of Buckingham (1847)
On a Chief three fleur-de-lis: in base three bendlets: repeated on another shield. Quarterly, 1 and 4, party per chev. Engrailed, a lion ramp… counter charged; 2 and 3, a chief… surtout three spears in pale.[19]

Burke, General Armory (1884)
bendy of eight or and gu. on a chief ar. three fleurs-de-lis az. [20] [Most closely matches the untictured arms for Thomas William Farmer (1786-1837), a hop and seed merchant buried with his wife Mary Ann (1791-1838) at St. Saviour, Southwark.] [21]

Stephenson, Monumental Brasses (1903 & 1926)
(1). (Gu.). three bendlets (or), on a chief per fess (arg.) and ermine three fleur de lys in the upper part (sa.) DRAPER.
(2). Per chevron engrailed (or) and (sa.) a lion rampant counterchanged. BARKER. Quartering. Per chief (sa.) and (arg.) over all three tilting spears erect counterchanged. BURLEY.[22]

The 1797 and 1847 description has led to speculation that Thomas Richards alias Fermor’s first wife Alice may have been related to John Norman, Lord Mayor of London in 1453 based on descriptions for his coat of arms.

Burke’s General Armory:
or, three bars gules; in the chief argent as many fleur-de-lis sable.[23]

Harleian MSS:
or, three bendlets gules, a chief per fess argent and ermine, charged in chief with three fleurs de lys sable.

Ferney

When Sir George Fermor changed his arms, the Fermor coat of arms became identical to Fiernye of Yt Ilk from Fife, Scotland. According to Robert Stodart in Scottish Arms, Being a Collection of Armorial Bearings, A.D. 1370-1678 (1881), the arms in Illuminated Heraldic Manuscript (ca. 1565) once owned by James Workman in 1623 are described as…

the fess is sable… with three anchors on the fess; anchors are the bearing of Ferme or Fairholme.[24]

Burke’s General Armory notation for Ferny in Scotland is slightly different, perhaps as a result of location and moment in time for the family:

Or. a fesse az. betw. three lions’ heads erased gu.[25]

Burke’s Ferney tinctures were used by Thomas Trotter for his 1801 watercolors of the Fermor family monuments at Somerset church,[26] including the arms above the monument to Sir George’s uncle Jerome and his wife Jane. Today, the tinctures on the monument are of the sable fess and lions gules impaling “sable, a bend between two leopards’ faces or.”

As Jane’s identity is unknown, a study of arms and pedigrees may suggest that she descended from the Isaacs of Kent. The research is supported by multiple associations with the Fermors. The Isaacs family arms changed over time, including the tincture of the leopard faces changing from gules to or, and the sinister bend changing to dexter bend.

Featured image: “St Mary’s Church, Easton Neston, Northamptonshire,” SeeAroundBritain.com. nd.

[1] Rylands, Disclaimers At The Heralds’ Visitations (1888), pp.iii-viii, 26.

[2] Rylands, Disclaimers At The Heralds’ Visitations (1888), pp.iii-viii, 26.

[3] Farmer, “Thomas Farmer, Jamestown Adventurer: His History, Descendants, & Ancestors,” Pioneers Along Southern Trails, vol.3 (December 2009), p.212; Howard et al, Genealogical collections illustrating the history of Roman Catholic families of England (1887).

[4] Baker, History and Antiquities of the County of Northampton, vol.2 (1844), p.148.

[5] Blomfield, History of the Deanery of Bicester (1882), p.121.

[6] Blomfield, History of the Deanery of Bicester (1882), pp.103, 121; Turner, The Visitations of the County of Oxford (1871), p.46.

[7] Raven Visitation of 1612. Metcalfe, Visitations of Essex, p.235.

[8] Rylands, Grantees of Arms Named in Docquets and Patents to the End of the Sixteenth Century (1915), p 86.

[9] Baker, History and Antiquities of the County of Northampton, vol.2 (1844), p.148. Installed in 1609 on the east wall of the All Saints Church in Bisham is a window consisting of six panes, each pane with a shield on the top and a shield on the bottom. Presently, the bottom shield on the fifth pane from the left has Hoby impaling Fermor (modern). Also reference: Page, A Victoria History of the County of Berkshire, vol.3 (1923), pp.139-152.

[10] “Colonial Estates – Philadelphia, PA & Bucks County, PA,” Hobbs and Phillips Family Genealogy; Cook, “Farmar of Ardevalaine, County Tipperary, Ireland and of Whitemarsh, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania,” The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, vol.21, no.2 (1959), p.93; “Wills Proved at Philadelphia 1682-1692,” Publications of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, vol.1, no.2 (1896), pp.58-59. Endorsed on reverse: Mary Farmers Will 1686 Prob**1 in forme of Law l: 5^th month 1687 & registered Book A: fol: 45 #32. In America, the arms were used by: 1) Edward Farmar (Committee on Heraldry, New England Historic Genealogical Society. A Roll of Arms. 9 vols. Boston, 1928-1980; Jordan, Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania, vol.4 (1932), p.168/169); 2) Edward’s nephew Thomas Farmar (NEHGS aforementioned; Crozier, William Armstrong. Crozier’s General Armory (1904, reprint 1972)); and 3) Robert Adolph Farmar who was the son of Major Robert Farmer, the British Governor of Mobile (Crozier aforementioned; Matthews, John. Matthews’ American Armoury and Blue Book (1907, reprint 1962). An incorrect coat of arms of “a fess between three cocks’ heads” appears in Bean, History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, vol.2 (1884), p.1139.

[11] Rye, The Visitacion of Norffolk (1891), p.119; Rye, A List of Coat Armour Used in Norfolk Before the Date of the First Herald’s Visitation of 1563 (1917), p.23; Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (1884), p.340.

[12] Bannerman, The Visitations of the County of Sussex, Made and Taken in the Years 1530 (1905), p.113. “by patent dated the xth of November 1575 17 of Q. Elizebeth by Cla. Cooke.”

[13] Metcalfe, The Visitations of Suffolk Made by Hervey, Clarenceux, 1561, Cooke, Clarenceux 1577, and Raven, Richmond Herald, 1612 (1882), p.113.

[14] Grazebrook, The Heraldry of Worcestershire (1873).

[15] Fetherston, The Visitation of the County of Leicester in the Year 1619 (1870), p.179. Arms tricked for the descendants of Bartholomew Farmer and Margery ___ of Ratcliff. The coat of arms patented on 20 October 1663 by Sir Edward Walker to George Farmer of Holbeach, Lincolnshire, the fourth son of Bartholomew Farmer of Leicestershire and Ursula Mootus of Whitchurch, removed several charges as follows: “Sable, a chevron between 3 lamps Argent, flames Or.” (Ryley et al, The Visitation of Middlesex, Began in the Year 1663 (1820), p.50; Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (1884), p.340.)

[16] Woodcock, “Heraldry in Old St Pancras Church,” The Coat of Arms; Annual Journal of the Heraldry Society, ser.4 vol.1 no.235 (2018), pp.60-61. Thomas Woodcock, Garter Principal of Arms, writes, “As Thomas’ father Joshua Draper of Braintee [sic], Essex, died in 1686 aged 73, he must have been born in 1613, a year after the grant [to Thomas Draper of Stroud Green in Middlesex by William Camden, Clarenceux in 1612], so would not appear to be a descendant of Thomas Draper the grantee, particularly as his father is also recorded as another Joshua Draper of Braintree, who died in about 1630…” Woodcock also notes that its location as described in Lyson’s time was on the east wall of the chancel and had been relocated to the north wall of the nave (Lysons, The Environs of London, vol.3 (1795), pp.351-353).

[17] “[the] coats-of-arms for Barker and Burghley signify the marriage of William Barker and Anne Burghley, daughter and coheir of William Burghley who lived in Sonning… Who Thomas married though is unknown. John Barker of Wokingham and his wife Katherine Martin had two daughters, Anne and Bridgett, who are not shown in the visitations. All of the children of John Barker and Katherine were listed in John Barker’s will, dated 1551. Neither Ann nor Bridget were married at the time of his death. Both were given an inheritance, to be paid to them should or when they married… It is not clear how the coat-of-arms would have become attached to the Farmers…” (Farmer, “Thomas Farmer, Jamestown Adventurer: His History, Descendants, & Ancestors,” Pioneers along Southern Trails, vol.3 (December 2009), p.234.) Per parish records, “1592. Dec. 19. Agnes ffarmer, wife of Thomas ffarmer alias Draper, gent., was buried…” (Stephenson, “Monumental Brasses Formerly In Great Marlow Church,” Records of Buckinghamshire, vol.8 (1903), p. 456.)

[18] Langley, The History and Antiquities of the Hundred of Desborough, and Deanery of Wycombe, in Buckinghamshire (1797), p.128.

[19] Lipsomb, The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham, vol.3 (1847), p.603.

[20] Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (1884), p.341.

[21] Bax, “On Some Armorial Ledgers in the Cathedral Church of St. Saviour, Southwark,” Surrey Archaeological Collections, vol.22 (1909), pp.23-24; Boumphrey, Surrey Coat of Arms (1983), p.123.

[22] Stephenson, “Monumental Brasses Formerly In Great Marlow Church,” Records of Buckinghamshire, vol.8 (1903), pp.454-455; Stephenson, A List of Monumental Brasses in the British Isles (1926), p.55. Based on a rubbing in the Society of Antiquaries. The 1673 Roll of Arms for Thomas Draper, Baronet, of Sonninghill Park will also omits the ermine as “656. Three bends, on a chief per fess and argent three fleurs-de-lis, badge of Ulster (Schomberg, “A Roll of Arms, 1673,” The Genealogist, vol.25 (1909), p.245.)

[23] Farmer, “Thomas Farmer, Jamestown Adventurer: His History, Descendants, & Ancestors,” Pioneers along Southern Trails, vol.3 (December 2009), pp.215, 224-225; Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (1884), p.737.

[24] Blomfield, History of the Deanery of Bicester (1882), p.121; Stodart, Scottish Arms, Being a Collection of Armorial Bearings, A.D. 1370-1678 (1881), pp.168-169. “William de Ferny occurs in 1390; his descendants held the various Offices of keeper of Falkland forest, constable of Cupar, and mair of fee of Crail. Ferny was alienated early in the seventeenth century, and the heiress married Lovell of Ballumbie. The arms are cut in stone on a monument at Cupar of the fifteenth century. The coat given here is exactly that of Fermor, Earl of Pomfret, in England, and a family of Farmer, in England, bore the same, with three anchors or on the fess; anchors are the bearing of Ferme or Fairholme in Scotland, so it would seem that these southern families, with a surname certainly derived from an occupation, have wished to make out a Scottish descent…”

[25] Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (1884), p.341.

[26] CMD ID 19903, MS. Top. Oxon d., “Drawings of Somerton church and of the Fermor family monuments there,” Bodleian Library, Oxford.