C.P. Addition: Margaret Poynings, wife of John Brewes, Knt., and Thomas Wykeham, Knt.

[Douglas Richardson]

Dear Newsgroup~

Complete Peerage, 11 (1949): 328-329 (sub Saint John) has a good
account of Thomas Poynings.Knt., 5th Lord Sainrt John of Basing (died
7 March 1428/9). Complete Peerage shows that Sir Thomas Poynings
married (1st) Joan le Strange, daughter of Roger le Strange, Knt., 5th
Lord Strange of Knockin; (2nd) Philippe Mortimer, widow successively
of John de Hastings, Knt., 3rd Earl of Pembroke, and Richard de
Arundel, K.G., Earl of Arundel and Surrey, and daughter of Edmund
Mortimer, Knt., 3rd Earl of March, by Philippe, daughter and heiress
of Lionel of Antwerp, K.G., Duke of Clarence, 5th Earl of Ulster; and
(3rd) Maud Mauley, widow of John Halsham, Esq.

Sir Thomas Poynings had surviving issue by his 1st and 3rd marriages,
including a daughter, Margaret, born to his 1st wife, Joan le
Strange. In footnote h on page 329, the following particulars are
given regarding Margaret:

"His daughter Margaret, married, 1stly, Sir John Brewes; 2ndly, _____
Wykham (Cal. Fine Rolls, vol. xviii, pp. 97, 117; Ch. inq. p.m., 27
Henry VI, no. 25). END OF QUOTE.

Other secondary sources that I've consulted indicate that Margaret
Poynings' first husband, Sir John Brewes, was of Wiston, Sussex,
Chesham Bois Buckinghamshire, etc., Sir John Brewes died without issue
29 Sept. 1426, and was buried at Wiston, Sussex. Elwes, History of
the Castles, Mansions & Manors of Western Sussex (1876): 263 states
that following the death of Sir John Brewes, the manor of Wiston
devolved on his widow, Margaret, who died in possession of the manor
14 May 1449. As far as I know, no one has previously identified
Margaret Pynings' 2nd husband, ____ Wykham.

Recently I was going through the published episcopal register of
Richard Paty, Bishop of Chichester [see Deedes, Extracts from the
Episcopal Registers of Richard Paty, S.T.P., Lord Bishop of Chichester
(Sussex Rec. Soc. 4) (1905)]. On pages 118–119, it shows that Sir
Thomas Wykeham presented to the church of Wiston, Sussex in 1440. On
pages 132–133, it shows that Lady Margaret Wykeham presented to the
church of Wiston, Sussex in 1444.

Given that Wiston, Sussex was a Brewes property, the Lady Margaret
Wykeham who made the presentation to the church there in 1444 would
doubtless be Margaret Poynings, widow of Sir John Brewes, who
presumably held the advowson of the church there, together with the
manor, in right of her dower. The Sir Thomas Wykeham who made the
presentation to the church there in 1440 would surely be Margaret
Poynings' mysterious 2nd husband.

Sir Thomas Wykeham is readily identifiable as Sir Thomas Wykeham,
Knt., of Broughton, Oxfordshire, Knight of the Shire for Oxfordshire,
1402, 1416, 1422, and 1425, Sheriff of Oxfordshire and Berkshire, 1413–
14, 1417–18, 1426–27, 1430–31, Sheriff of Hampshire, 1416–17, 2nd son
of William Perrot, of Ash, Hampshire, by Alice, daughter of William
Champneys. Sir Thomas Wykeham was heir in 1404 to his great-uncle,
William Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester. Sir Thomas Wykeham died in
1443. His will was proved 9 Jan. 1444.

Further particulars of Sir Thomas Wykeham can be found in Roskell,
Commons in the Parliament of 1422 (1954): 239-241, which is available
at the following weblink:

http://books.google.com/books?id=TxYNAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA239

It appears that Margaret Poynings was Sir Thomas Wykeham's 2nd wife,
he having previously married Margaret Willicotes, as indicated by
Roskell cited above.

Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah

[Douglas Richardson]

In my post just now, I stated that Thomas Poynings.Knt., was "5th Lord
Sainrt John of Basing."

I meant to say 5th Lord Saint John of Basing.

DR

[Doug Thompson]

Thanks for sharing that information Douglas. It looks like a good
connection.

Doug Thompson

http://freespace.virgin.net/doug.thompson/BraoseWeb/stage.htm

[Doug Thompson]

Thanks for sharing that information Douglas. It looks like a good
connection.

Doug Thompson

http://freespace.virgin.net/doug.thompson/BraoseWeb/stage.htm

[Doug Thompson]

Thanks for sharing that information Douglas. It looks like a good
connection.

Doug Thompson

http://freespace.virgin.net/doug.thompson/BraoseWeb/stage.htm

[Doug Thompson]

Thanks for sharing that information Douglas. It looks like a good
connection.

Doug Thompson

http://freespace.virgin.net/doug.thompson/BraoseWeb/stage.htm

[Doug Thompson]

Sorry about the repetitions! Something got stuck!!

Doug

[Douglas Richardson]

Dear Newsgroup ~

It appears that Roskell got the given name of Sir Thomas Wykeham's 1st
wife wrong. Her name was actually Elizabeth Wilcotes (or Willicotes),
not Margaret Willicotes. My guess is Roskell knew that Sir Thomas
Wykeham had a wife or widow named Margaret, and he assumed she was his
only wife. Roskell probably wasn't aware that Sir Thomas Wykeham had
two wives, not one.

For evidence of Elizabeth Wilcotes' correct given name, see the
abstract of her mother's inquisition post mortem dated 1445 which was
printed in an article on the Wilcotes family Berks, Bucks & Oxon
Archaeological Journal 3 (1897): 97–107.

This material may be viewed at the following weblink (pg. 99):

http://books.google.com/books?id=VDcNAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA99

The inquisition post mortem indicates that William Wykeham, son of
Elizabeth [Wilcotes], was aged 24 in 1445, or born about 1421. This
William Wykeham is known to have been the son of Sir Thomas Wykeham.

The following Patent Rolls item indicates that Sir Thomas Wykeham had
two sons, William and Thomas, in 1441:

http://books.google.com/books?id=XMA9AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA306&dq=Elizabeth+Willicotes&hl=en&ei=wa-qTqalEOGViQLf1NCeCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Wykeham&f=false

Here is a Oxfordshire visitation record for Sir Thomas Wykeham which
includes only his 1st Wilcotes marriage,

http://books.google.com/books?id=t_sUAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA296

Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah

[Douglas Richardson]

Dear Newsgroup ~

In a post on the newsgroup two years ago, I discussed evidence for the marriages of Margaret Poynings (died 1449), wife successively of John Brewes, Knt. (died 29 Sept. 1426), of Wiston, Sussex, Chesham Bois Buckinghamshire, etc., and Thomas Wykeham, Knt. (died 1443), of Broughton, Oxfordshire.

Elwes, History of the Castles, Mansions & Manors of Western Sussex (1876): 263 states that following the death of Margaret's 1st husband, Sir John Brewes in 1426, the manor of Wiston devolved on his widow, Margaret, who died in possession of the manor in 1449.

While it was known that Margaret Poynings married (2nd) a certain man named Wykeham, evidence as to the identity of Margaret Poynings' second husband was lacking. Two years ago I found such evidence in the published episcopal register of Richard Paty, Bishop of Chichester [see Deedes, Extracts from the Episcopal Registers of Richard Paty, S.T.P., Lord Bishop of Chichester (Sussex Rec. Soc. 4) (1905)]. On pages 118-119, it shows that Sir Thomas Wykeham presented to the church of Wiston, Sussex in 1440. On pages 132-133, it shows that Lady Margaret Wykeham presented to the church of Wiston, Sussex in 1444.

On the basis of this evidence, I identified Margaret Poynings' second husband as Sir Thomas Wykeham, Knt., of Broughton, Oxfordshire, Knight of the Shire for Oxfordshire, 1402, 1416, 1422, and 1425, Sheriff of Oxfordshire and Berkshire, 1413-14, 1417-18, 1426-27, 1430-31, Sheriff of Hampshire, 1416-17.

Since my original post in 2011, I recently discovered further evidence which conclusively proves that Margaret Poynings' second husband was in fact Sir Thomas Wykeham. The evidence is found in a Common Pleas lawsuit dated 1430, the details of which are presented below.

In 1430 Richard Piers sued Richard Mayhewe, of Broughton, Oxfordshire, yeoman, executor of the will of John Brewes, Knt., and Thomas Wykeham, Knt., of Broughton, Oxfordshire and his wife, Margaret, co-executrix of the said will, in the Court of Common Pleas regarding a debt of 44s. 10d. Reference: Court of Common Pleas, CP40/677, image 457f (available at http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no677/aCP40no677fronts/IMG_0457.htm).

Although Margaret Poynings left no descendants, there are numerous 17th Century New World immigrants that descend from her sister-in-law, Beatrice Brewes, wife of Hugh Shirley, Knt., of Lower Ettington, Warwickshire:

Dannett Abney, Elizabeth Bosvile, George, Giles & Robert Brent, Thomas Bressey, Nathaniel Browne, Edward Carleton, Thomas Dudley, Edmund Hawes, Henry, Jane & Nicholas Lowe, Anne Mauleverer, George Reade, Richard Saltonstall.

Margaret Poynings' brother, Hugh Poynings, Knt., of Chawton, Hampshire is also in the ancestry of one 17th Century New World immigrant:

William Goddard

For further details of Margaret Poynings and her husbands, Sir John Brewes and Sir Thomas Wykeham, please see my book, Royal Ancestry [5 volume set], published in 2013.

Best always, Douglas Richardson, Salt Lake City, Utah