AYLIFFE
The Ayliffes were the first owners of the manor of Grittenham following the dissolution, and were a prominent family in the area until the mid eighteenth century, being also patrons of St Michaels Church, Brinkworth. A full pedigree of the earlier family may be found in the Visitation of Wiltshire, 1623. After the manor passed out of the family (by marriage in 1737), a remnant of the family remained in the parish until the middle of the next century.
BEAL(E) This is one of the ancient families of the parish, and were well established there at the time of the dissolution. In 1539, John, Robert and William Bele were listed as archers in the muster rolls, and the family held by copy various pieces of farming land in the manor, probably in the area now covered by Hill End Farm. Fewer members of the family are recorded in the registers during the eighteenth century, and the last recorded entry for the name is in 1784.
CLARK(E) Wyllyam Clarke was recorded as a 'byllman' in the Muster Rolls of 1539, and he may well be the William who was recorded as holding land by copy in 1578 and serving as churchwarden in 1584. The family was quite numerous in the parish from the seventeenth century, and was well respected. A memorial tablet may be found in the church dedicated to the memory of Nathan Clark (d. 1830).
CRIP(P)S This family may be connected to Tobias Cripp or Crispe, who was rector of Brinkworth 1629 - 1642. Certainly there is no record of the name in the parish before this time. Various books and articles have been written about Tobias Crispe, and are listed in Goddard's Wiltshire Bibliography (1929)
DIXON Thomas Dixon was mentioned as being a cottager in 1578, and his will was proved at the PCC in 1619, when he referred to himself as a 'gentleman'. There is no reason to think, however, that the Dixon family who lived in the parish during the following 200 years were any more than labourers and tradesmen.
DODSON There is little mention of this family in the parish before the year 1700, although after this date it became quite numerous. They were mainly labourers, although John Dodson was recorded in 1784 as being a butcher. In 1749, Robert Dodson lived with his family in a small, rented cottage to the north of the common.
FRANKLIN(G) Another labouring family who were numerous during the eighteenth century. However, there is no mention of the family in the tithe apportionment (1840), by which time it must be assumed that the family had all but disappeared from the parish.
FRY(E) The Fry family has been common in many parts of north Wiltshire during the past five or six centuries, and Brinkworth is no exception. Wyllyam Fry is recorded in the Muster Rolls of 1539, and Michael Fry was a juror on the manorial court a generation later. John Fry, son of William, was a miller in 1622. Michael's descendants farmed in the parish during the seventeenth century and continued to play a prominent role in local affairs. By the end of the eighteenth century, however, those members of the family remaining in the parish were labourers and tradesmen.
HAYWARD Reference to this family in Brinkworth may be found back to 1578 when Thomas and John, father and son, held two messuages called Iles and Worth, the exact locations of which are not now known. Humphrey Hayward (1730-1814) was probably the verger of the church, since he appears as witness to the majority of marriages there in his later life. He was probably succeeded in this job by his son Joshua (1780-1850).
HEAL(E) Another ancient family in the parish, with Nicholas Hele appearing in the Muster Rolls (1539) as an archer. The farm now called 'Hill End' was called 'Heale End' in 1680, and was probably once farmed by this family. The last mention of the name in the parish registers is in 1774, although it is likely that the name was corrupted to Hale, which was a labouring family surviving to the following century.
HEN(D)L(E)Y The earliest mention of this family in the parish is in the Muster Rolls (1539), where Thomas Henley was listed as a 'Byllman'. He was probably the brother of John Henley, both of whom held land copyhold at the time it was granted to William Stumpe in 1544. In 1578, Thomas farmed two messuages called Wysedomes and Waterholdes, which were situated in the area now known as Fritterswell. These pieces of land continued to be farmed by the same family until after 1750. John Henly (1674-1764) inherited land in Gloucestershire from his uncle, Adam Henly (d.1681), which he sold and invested in various farms in the Brinkworth and Lyneham areas. Following his death, the family moved out of the parish, with the last lease being relinquished in 1808. Various members of the family served as mayor in Calne during the nineteenth century, living alongside their third and fourth cousins who were tradesmen. The family is still well represented both in Calne and nearby Chippenham. Early Brinkworth Henlys
HUGH(E)S / HUSE A labouring family of this name lived in the parish during the eighteenth century. There was another family of the same name which was closely connected to the Moravian Church at East Tytherton.
HUNT(E) This family was strongly represented in the earlier parish registers, suggesting that it had been in the area for a few generations. However, because there is no mention of the name in earlier court records, it is reasonable to concluded that this was a labouring family at the time, holding no land of its own. The name appears throughout the parish registers, into the nineteenth century.
LEWES/LEWIS During the eighteenth century this was a labouring family. There is little mention of the name before the year 1700, although upon his death in 1689, John Lewes was described as a yeoman. Avery Lewis, he was born c.1769, probably at Cricklade, was married twice: firstly in 1795 to Hannah Dixon (d.1829) and secondly in 1833 to Jane Freeth, when he was about 64 years of age. He died in 1866 aged 97.
MAPSON This was an established family in the area during the seventeenth century, probably as tradesmen. Robert Mapson (d.1712) was a drugget maker, as was his son, also Robert (d.1740)
MAT(T)HEW(E)(S) By far the most numerous family in Brinkworth. Between 1700 and 1750, 14% of all baptisms at Brinkworth were for this family. In 1570, John Mathewe, hos sons Hugh and Thomas, took out an indenture for a cottage in Brinkworth, and in 1620 (in the Lenten Recognisances) Hugh was described as a husbandman. Charles Matthews (c.1729) was of Sundays Hill, to the north of the parish, and there were still members of the family living there at the time of the tithe apportionment in 1840. At his burial in 1758, John Matthews is described as being 'of The Sign of the Fox'. In 1836, William Matthews was a miller.
MOOD(Y)(IE) John Moody (d.1638) is the earliest known member of the family living in the parish, amd Francis Moody (d.1674) described himself as a yeoman. Thereafter a small family of this name lived in the parish throughout the next two centuries, mainly as labourers.
NICHOL(L)S From 1573, Christopher Nicholles (born c.1530) held two indentures for land in Brinkworth. Robert Nickalls married Hesther Sherer in 1673, and the following year (at the baptism of his first child) he was recorded as being 'of Badmington'. John Nichols (b.1724) was a strong member of the Moravian Church at East Tytherton and his brother James (b.1732, married 1766 to Mary Henly) was the ancestor of a yeoman family, surviving in the parish right into this century. Jacob Nichols (1803 - 1867), who ran Goddard's Farm in Grittenham, was described at his burial as having been 'for 40 years the rector's church beadle' - most probably with the responsibility of organising and running the parish meetings.
OVENS/OWENS No mention of this family is found in the sixteenth century surveys, although a marriage for Edward Owen is recorded in 1619, and Alice Wilshere made mention of her daughter Elizabeth Ovens in her will of 1621. William Ovens (d.1660) was a tailor and Harry Ovens was described as a yeoman at his marriage in 1762.
PONTING Nicholas Ponting (born c.1545) marked the parish bounds in 1610, although the family at that time were probably more closely associated with Dauntsey than Brinkworth. He acquired a 99-year lease for land in Brinkworth in 1598, and this passed through the Ponting family for several generations, with the lease renewed in 1676. By 1840, at the time of the tithe apportionment, only one member of the family remained in the parish - William (1800 - 1874), a labouring man who died in the workhouse.
PINNELL The muster rolls of 1539 list three members of this family, who were, by then, clearly well-established in the parish. John Pinnell, in his will of 1570, described himself as a wheeler. In 1578, George lived in Grittenham, Thomas was a cottager at Baker's Bridge and Jeffery held West Hargrove, to the south west of the church. Although an influential local family, they never rose far above 'cottager' status. The family survived in quite large numbers throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
PINNIGER This name has not been found in the parish before the start of parish records (1659), and was almost exclusively spelt 'Peneger' until the end of that century. In his will of 1696, John Piniger described himself as a 'yeoman', although the family is not mentioned in the land survey of 1704. Humphrey Pinnegar (married 1783) was a servant, and the only member of the family mentioned in the tithe apportionment of 1840 was John, who held a small cottage with garden. By this time, however, the influential family of this name was established in Calne, though no link has yet been forged between them and their poorer relations in Brinkworth.
POTTER The family lived in the area as far back as 1606 (marriage of Richard to Annie Riche), although no mention is found of the name in the early land surveys. In 1786, Daniel Potter, described as being a 'yeoman aged 18 years', married Catherine Wiltshire, a widow aged 80. Catherine survived the marriage by just five years, and Daniel remarried in 1794 to Mary Bath. In 1840, another Daniel Potter farmed at Elborough, in the east of the parish.
SKULL/SCULL This family appears to have been well established in the parish during the sixteenth century, though there is no mention of the name in the muster rolls of 1539. John Skull (born c.1510), who was assessed for tax in 1576, may be the same as the John Skull of Garsdon who was similarly assessed in 1544. This John appeared in the 1603 survey aged 93 years, and may well be the same onw who was married to Alice Hayes or Yates in 1607. John died in 1610, and Alice was sued in the chancery courts by John's family in 1615 for giving birth to a child after the death of her husband. John Skull the Elder (d.1680) was a leasehold farmer of some considerable means, and lived at 'ye Heale End' - now known as Hill End Farm. From that point, the family declined in number within the parish, and by the time of the tithe apportionment in 1840 there is no mention of it.
SHE(A)RER Richard Sherer was listed as a 'byllman' in the muster rolls (1539), and in 1568 John Shearer the Elder was granted a lease for the manorial lands of Grittenham. At that time Thomas Shearer lived at a place called 'Pacys alias Healehouse', which may be the same as the 'Heale End' where John Skull lived in 1680 (see above). Over the following centuries, however, the fortunes of the family declined, and by the end of the eighteenth century those remaining in the parish were tradesmen.
SLY The first appearance of this name in the registers was in 1701, for the baptism of Mary, daughter of Richard and Ann Sly. Their numbers grew rapidly from that point, but appear to have remained a labouring family.
SMITH Not surprisingly, this name, and its variants, appears regularly throughout the history of the parish. In 1578, Harry Smythe was a "cottager, living under Anthony Gering's hedge". There were probably several families of this name in the area, with various social standings (Henry Smith d.1714 was a yeoman, and James Smith m.1761 was a servant).
SPENCER Although John Spencer was listed as a 'byllman' in the muster rolls of 1539, there is no mention of the family in any of the land surveys of the parish during the sixteenth century. In 1621, 'Mr John Spencer' married 'Mrs Anne Ayliffe', a member of the family of the local manorial lord. The Spencers in the eighteenth century were labourers. Coincidentally, in 1816 William Spencer - a carpenter - was married to Martha Ayliffe, which was by then also a trading family.
STRA(I)NGE This name appears in the parish registers from 1660, but not in previous records. However, there was a family of this name in Wootton Bassett in 1595, when Catherine Strange married Christopher Henley of that town. During the eighteenth century the family were tradesmen and labourers.
STRATTON This was a prominent family up to the middle of the eighteenth century. John Stratton (d.1636) owned various pieces of land in the parish, including that area (still) known as Clitchborough Farm. The family continued in strong numbers through the following centuries, though the main line left the parish in the early 1800's, returning often to their 'home' church for baptisms etc. (Undecimus Stratton travelled back from Purton in 1838, and from Mortimer in Berkshire in 1845).
SUTTON There was a family of this name living in the Brinkworth area around the beginning of the seventeenth century, although not within the bounds of the manor. The Suttons of the eighteenth century were yeomen, and in 1798 John Sutton of Bonds Farm, Grittenham, was granted a dissenter's meeting house certificate. In 1840, David Sutton farmed at Grove Farm, James Sutton at nearby Snell's Farm, and Mary Sutton at Bowds Farm, all in Grittenham
THOM(P)SON The first mention of this name in the parish registers is in 1695 when Thomas Tomson brought his daughter Mary for baptism. The family grew in size during the following century, and were mainly tradesmen.
VINES This is a very interesting yeoman family, evidence of which in the area is found back to the start of the seventeenth century. Certainly by the end of that century there were several families of this name living in the Brinkworth and Dauntsey parishes. In 1706, Margery Vines was buried at Brinkworth, aged 109 years. The family lived in Grittenham during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and it is thought that Vines Farm is named after Edward Vines (died 1785), who was married to Ann Henly. Another Vines family lived at nearby Bremhill, achieving prominence during the nineteenth century. It has not yet been possible to link these various branches of the family together.
VIZARD The first member of this labouring family to live in Brinkworth was probably John Vizard, who was married to Grace Pynnell in 1671. They used the relatively uncommon forenames 'Gabriel' amd 'Reuben' quite extensively. The family were still living in the parish at the end of the nineteenth century.
WAYTE This family was already well established in the parish by 1539, when William, Edward & Robert were all listed as Archers in the Muster Rolls. Henry (d. 1606) was a husbandman of Grittenham, and probably a sidesman at the parish church in 1584. There is a commemorative plaque to the family inside the church to the family, which was very prominent in the area during the seventeenth century. However, its fortunes declined over the following two hundred years, and by the start of the nineteenth century all members fo the family in the parish were of labouring status. By 1840 there were three separate families in Brinkworth of this name, each renting small labourers' cottages.
WALKER John Walker was a customary tenant of the manor of Brinkworth in 1570, holding three parcels of land. These were passed on to his sons Thomas and John. The John Walker (presumably of a later generation) who died in 1669 described himself as a yeoman, and the family continued throughout the eighteenth century as farmers in the parish. In 1840, John Walker held the farm now known as Hundred Acres, in the extreme north-east of the parish.
WEBB In 1578 Johanna Webb, possibly the widow of Richard (an archer in the muster rolls of 1539) lived in a house called 'Stephines', with accompanying land called 'Baldewines', which passed to her sons Richard and Walter upon her death in 1592. These same pieces of land were mentioned in a lease granted to William Fry in 1702, at which time the lane upon which they stood was called 'Webbs Lane'. The family continued to be numerous in the parish right through to the end of the nineteenth century, more as labourers than as farmers.
YOUNG Robert Young (d.1624) marked the parish bounds in 1610. He first acquired land in the manor in 1604, the name not having been found in manorial documents before this date. He may well have been the ancestor of the prominent quaker family of this name who lived in the area in the early eighteenth century. Abraham Young, who in 1840 ran the farm now known as 'Hill End', also owned a windmill. At the same time, Nathaniel Young ran Clitchbury Farm, and Daniel Young ran Strange's Farm in Grittenham.
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