General Notes

[spelman.FTW]

REFN: 663
SIR WILLIAM1 ESPILEMAN, KNIGHT, the first certainly identified ances tor
of this ancient house, was Lord of Brokenhurst in Hampshire, and of
Cow sfield, Wiltshire, in the Twelfth Century. He was the head of the
first known generation of the Spelman family of England and America--a
long line of Knig hts and Esquires, described in 1723 as "an ancient
Family of that Name, who, about Henry III's time, were seated in
Hampshire, but afterwards remov'd into Suffolk, and from thence into
Norfolk." This appears in the "Life of the Aut hor," in "The English Works
of Sir Henry Spelman, Kt." This Sir Henry Spelman , although not in the
direct line of ascent from the first American Spelman, should be regarded
as a benefactor by all of the name or blood, for a genealo gical chart,
made by him, has been the basis and point of departure for all t hat has
been learned of the Spelman lineage in England. A portion of this cha rt,
and an account of this illustrious member of the family, will appear
fu rther on in this book.
In Hoare's History of Wiltshire it is stated that, at t he time of the
Norman Conquest, Cowsfield was held by Brictric, a Saxon; that the
Conqueror bestowed the Manor upon one of his Norman followers; and that
it passed next to Sir William Spileman.
In Domesday Book Aluric is recorded as owner of Brokenhurst, and the next
known Lord of this Manor was Sir Willia m Espileman. The Domesday
chronicle says: "The same Aluric holds one hide in Broceste (Brokenhurst)
which was held in parcenary by his father and his uncl e, and was then
assessed at one hide and now at one-half a hide. There is one ploughland
in demesne, six borderers, and four servants, with a half ploughl and.
There is a church there and wood for XX hogs. It wasworth in Edward's
time XXXX shillings; afterward iiii pounds."
This old church, which beheld the coming of the Normans still stands in
Brokenhurst, as when Sir William Espil eman was Lord of the Manor. Its
interior, long ago stripped of its ancient fu rnishing, does not speak so
vividly of the past--a past of nearly a thousand years, at least--as does
the outside. But it has, fortunately, that some reli cs of the former days
of its glory, one the square Norman font of black marbl e which stands
at one end of the nave. This has old curious carvings, and must possess
an intense interest for all of the Spelman blood, for here many of t he
family received baptism. It is probable that ten Spelmans were buried
wi thin this church, but no effigies or monuments remain to tell their
resting-p laces.
Beside the worn old church is an ancient yew-tree, said to have been
there since the Norman Conquest. The approach to Brokenhurst Church from
the village has been described:
"For a piece of quiet English scenery nothing can exceed this. A deep
lane, its banks a garden of ferns, its hedge matted with honeysuckle and
woven together with bryony, runs winding along a side space o f green to
the lich-gate, guarded by an enormous oak, its limbs now fast deca ying,
its rough bark gray with the perpetual snow of lichens and here and the re
burnished with soft streaks of russet-coloured moss, whilst behind it, in
the church yard, spreads the gloom of a yew, which, from the Conqueror's
da y to this hour, has darkened the graves of generations."
A charter of the Twel fth Century, though unconfirmed until 29 Edward I.,
1300-1301, was witnessed by Sir William Espileman. This charter records
the gift by Nigel Aumfrey, son and heir of Robert Aumfrey, to the Church
of Saint Mary and Saint Michael an d the Monastery of Bromore, of an acre
of meadow in avenmede, lying between t he meadow of Thomas Holebroke and
that of Nicholas Grigge, and stretching fro m the east to the west. The
witnesses were: Sir William Espileman, Knight, He nry de Arnewode, William
de Kyhavene, Roger de Bokeland, William de Gorlyton, Richard de Burghly,
and Henry Tuluz.
Sir Will

At the time of Domesday (1086) the Manor of Brokenhurst was held as one hide by Alvric, as his father and uncle had held it before him.

Worth 40 shillings before the Conquest, it had doubled in value by the time of he Great Survey, and in keeping with all manors in Hampshire, was held, and continued to be held, directly from the King, who kept Hampshire as a royal preserve against this over-powerful underlings in charge of the other counties.  This possibly accounts for its unusual double name, with the Lord named after the caput at the Manor of Brokenhurst, but the Barony after the New Forest, which directly abutted on the lands of the Manor.

In the reigns of William Rufus and Henry I, it was held by Edward Vunithingi, a descendant of Alvric's, who was succeeded by his grandson Hugh.  King Stephen granted it in turn to Alvric de Broclea (Brookely) his brother and so also grandson of Vunithingi, together with "ministerium suum" in the New Forest, and Henry II while still Duke of Normandy, granted it to William Spileman as it has been held by his grandfather Vunithingi and brother Hugh and Alvric Parvus.  In 1212 his son William Spileman II was still holding the lands in Hampshire (including Brockenhurst) by the serjeanty of finding litter for the King's bed and fodder for his horses when he came to Brockenhurst, probably the "ministerium" mentioned earlier