General Notes

The Plydren Dummers
Although the mainstream of the Dummers died out with the death of Williamin 1593, it is highly likely that branches of the family continued toexist. The 'Pyldren' Dummers may be one of them. The
'Pyldren' Dummers can be traced back to 1523 when Richard Pyldren aliasDummer appears at Owslebury married to Maude or Matilda Dummer. Maude wasprobably the daughter and heiress of John Dummer, a freeholder andrepresentative of the King at Overton, near Dummer village. The Dummer
name was obviously considered important enough for Richard Pyldren'sdescendants to drop the Pyldren name in favour of Dummer. The 'Pyldren'Dummers were to prosper in numbers and wealth over the succeedingcenturies, and their descendants live today in Great Britain, Australiaand the United States. The kingpins of the family were Maude'sgreat-grandsons John, Richard, Thomas and Stephen, each of whom inheritedestates in Hampshire. John's children grew to be particularly wealthy,acquiring many estates to theNorth of Southampton, and becoming Membersof Parliament. Edmund Dummer (1663-1724) made his money by practising lawand held the Royal appointment of Clerk of the Great
Wardrobe. The most colourful and best known of the branch however wereThomas Lee Dummer, who bought Cranbury Park, and his son Thomas. Thomasre-erected part of Netley Abbey as a romantic ruin in his park and alsobought the Winchester Market Cross in 1770 but was prevented fromremoving it when the good citizens of Winchester drove his workmen away.He contented himself with a plaster copy which the rain washed away. Itwas Thomas who commissioned the architect George Dance to build themagnificent mansion at Cranbury, but like all the other descendants ofJohn, he had no male heirs, so all the wealth and property passed out ofthe family.
Richard Dummer, a Puritan, emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts in 1632,where he became a prominent citizen and founding father. His son Jeremiahwas one of America's greatest silversmiths. Jeremiah's son William becameGovernor of Massachusetts, built Fort Dummer in Vermont and brought theIndian Wars to a close. He bequeathed his estates to establish DummerAcademy, the first school of its kind in the province. Jeremiah's eldestson Jeremiah became His Majesty's Agent for Massachusetts and Connecticutand his spirited defence of these colonies makes him an importanthistorical figure. Richard's descendants thrive in the USA to this day,but back in England the line of his brother Thomas was to survive onlyfor 3 more generations. Thomas's grandson, Edmund, however was noteworthyand he features frequently in references to the Royal Dockyards.Initially as Master Shipwright and later as Surveyor of the Navy he wasresponsible for the siting and design of the Dockyard at Plymouth.Subsequent dabbling in packet boats to the West Indies bankrupted him andhe died in the Fleet Prison, London. The descendants of the fourthbrother, Stephen, were principally yeoman farmers through until themiddle of the 19th century. The family of one of his descendants, Samuel,boarded the ship Rohilla in 1883 and sailed for Australia where theirdescendants flourish to this day. Another family moved
to the London area and opened a private school (crammer), changing theirname to Dummere since it sounded French and more likely to impressparents! The family of William Chamberlayne Dummer (who ran the littlechapel at Horton Heath) continues to thrive in the Winchester and Londonareas.

The most up to date publication is the Family of Dummer by Michael
Dummer, the 5th Edition (June 1996) copies of which are held by The
Society of Genealogists in London and the Church of Latter Day Saints
in Utah.