Cleborne Geneaolgy

Commencing with Bardolph, the common progenitor of several noble families of the north, the descent is as follows:—

1. Bardolph,[5] Lord of Ravenswath and other manors in Richmondshire, was a great landowner in Yorkshire, who gave a carucate of land and the churches of Patrick Brampton and Ravenswath in pure alms to the Abbey of St. Mary’s at York. In his old age, when weary of the world and its trouble, he became a monk, and retired to the Abbey, of which he had been a benefactor. (See Dugdale’s and Burke’s Extinct Peerage.) He was succeeded by his son and heir—

2. Akaris, or Acarius FitzBardolph, who founded the Abbey of Fors (5 Stephen, A.D. 1140) and granted the original site of Jervaulx to the Suvignian monks at York. He also gave a charter to the Priory of St. Andrews, and lands and tenths in Rafenswad (Ravenswath), to which gifts.—“Hen. fit. Hervei, and Conan d’Ask” were witnesses. (Marrig. Charters, Coll. Top. Et. Genealogy, III., 114.) He died, A.D. 1161, leaving two sons:

1. Herveus, of whom presently.
2. Walter.

3. Hervey FitzAkaris (A.D. 1165, ob. 1182), “a noble and good knight,” who consented that Conan, Earl of Richmond, should translate the abbey of charity to East Wilton, and place it on the banks of the river Jore, from which it was called Jorevaulx. He was a witness with his brother Walter to a charter of Conan IV., Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond (11 Hen. II., A.D. 1165); and about the same time he “gave his 9th sheaf of corn which grew on his lands in Askew, Brompton, Lemingford, and Ravenswet to the Priory of Maryke in the Deanery of Richmond.” (Burton Monast. Ebor., p. 357.) He died, A.D. 1182, leaving three sons:

1. Henry FitzHervey (ob. 1201), who mar. Alice, daughter of Randolph FitzWalter de Greystocke (ob. 12 John 1211), from whom descended the Barons FitzHugh. He witnessed a charter of Duke Conan, in 1165, one of Conan de Asch, in 1196; and was a witness with his brother Alan, to the charters of Peter FitzThornfinn, and of Gilbert FitzAlan, 1196-8.
2. Richard.
3. Alan, of whom presently.

4. Alan, dictus “Cleburne” (Le Neve MSS., III., 114), youngest son of Hervey FitzAkaris, son of Bardolph, “was a witness with his brother Henry (“Henrico fit. Hervei, Alan fre. ei, Conan d’Aske,” and others) to charters of Gilbert FitzAlan, Alan FitzAdam, and Peter FitzThorfinn, to Marrig Abbey, co. York,” c. 1188-98. (Coll. Top. Et Genealogy, III., 114.) Richard Hervei, who witnessed a charter of Ada of Kirby Sleeth (c. 1196), and “Rich. de Hervei, whose daughter Galiene gave lands in Blencogo to Abbey of Holm Cultram, for maintenance of infirm poor” (N. and B. Hist. West. I., 172-89; Hutch. Hist. Cumb. II., 331), are probably identical with Richard the second son of this Hervey. Alan, the third and youngest son received (temp. John,) a moiety of the manor of Cliburn, co. Westmoreland; and a fine was paid for the alienation of lands there in 1215: “Fin. 16 Joan. m. d. de Terras in Cleburn,” S. V. Lanercost. (See Tanner’s Notitia, Hutchinson’s Hist. Cumb., I., 58.) This manor gave to Alan FitzHervey “a local habitation and a name,” but “when a man takes his surname from his possessions or residences, it is very hard to say at which particular point, the personal designation passes into the hereditary surname.” (Freeman Norm. Conq., V., 379.) Prior to the Domesday, and for nearly two centuries after, there were no fixed surnames: the eldest son took the Christian name of the father, while the youngest assumed the name of his own manor; hence “Alan” is found in the charters[6] of that period, although the surname must also have been used, for Palgrave states that “Idonea, daughter of Allen Clibburne, married Walter, the fourth son of William Tankard, the Steward of Knaresborough, and had issue George Tankard, who died Sine prole. temp. Henry III., (1216-72). See Baronetage III., 387; English Baronage, 1741.

5. Hervey (In Bas-Breton, “Hærve” or “Hoerve,” from Old Germ. “Hervey,” means strong in war) held lands and tenements in Cliburne, Clifton, and Milkanthorpe, by knight service, tempore, Hen. III., and Edw. I (1216-72).

There was also a Roland FitzHervy (temp. Hen. III.) who mar. Alice de Lexington, and held “Sutton upon Trent.”

Hervey de Cliburne was succeeded by his son and heir Geoffrey. (Inq. P. M. 8 Edw. II., 1315.)

6. Geoffrey[7] FitzHervey (de Cleburne), whose heir with Gilbert d’Engayne of Cliburne-Clifton, and others, “held divers tenements in Cliburne, Louther, Clifton, and Milkanthorpe, by service.” (Escheats, 8 Edw. II., 1315.) At another inquisition, temp. Edw. II., “Walter de Tylin, John de Staffel, and Robert de Sowerley (as trustees, probably in a settlement) held a moiety of Cliburne by cornage.” (Collins’s Peerage, p. 428.) The heirs of Geoffrey, son of Hervey held by these trustees (by knight service of the king), until Robert de Cleburne, one of the said heirs, became of age, and succeeded to the moiety of Cliburn-Hervey.

7. Sir Robert,[8] lord of the manor of Cliburn-Hervey, was a person of some distinction, temp. Edw. III., and was knight of the Shire of Westmoreland, 7 and 10 Rich. II., 1384-7. (Hist. West., App. I., 459.) In 1336 (9 Edw. III.), he was “a witness with Sir Hugh de Louther to settlement by Sir Walter Strickland, of the manor of Hackthorp, upon his sons, Thomas, John, and Ralf Strickland.” (Hist. West. II.,92.) In 1356 “he held lands in Ireland,” but he apparently made no settlement there. In right of his wife Margaret, he held the lands and was lord of the manors of Bampton of Cundale, Bampton Patryke and Knipe Patric, in Westmoreland. (Inq. Post Mort., 43 Edw. III.; 15 Rich. II., 1370-92.)

He married Margaret, daughter and co-heir of Henry de Cundale[9] and Kyne (one of the Drengi of Westmoreland), who held their lands before the Conquest, and were permitted to retain them. This Henry de Cundale was in descent from that Henry, lord of Cundale, who, temp. Hen. II. (1154), among other principal men of note, was a witness to a compromise between the Abbot of Byland concerning manor of Bleaton, and in 13 John (1212) was a witness to a grant of Robert de Vipont to Shapp Abbey; and who in 1201 (Oblata Roll, 2 John) made a fine with the king not to go with him to Normandy. Sir Robert had issue one son, John, who, dying at an early age, was succeeded by his second son, John de Clybourne.

8. John de Cleburne (who died vita patris), left two sons:

1. Roland.
2. John.

His widow, Margaret (who married for her second husband John de Wathecoppe of Warcupp), “held the manor of Cliburn-Hervey for Rowland, son and heir of the said John Cleburne and Margaret.” (Inq. P. M., 15 Rich. II., 1392; Hist. West., I., 459.) Rowland dying young, his lands passed to his brother John.

9. John, second son of John de Clyborne and Margaret his wife, held Cliburn-Hervy in 1422, 9 Hen. V.: “Johannes Cliburne pro manerio de Cleburn-Hervy, xvi. s. ix^d. (Harl. MS. 628, ff. 228 b.) In 1423, he was lord of the manors of Cliburn-Hervey and Cliburn-Tailbois (the two moieties having been united after the death of John, only son and heir of Robert de Franceys of Cleburne, who married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of the last Walter de Tailbois: Dugd. MS.); and also “held the manors of Bampton Patrick, Bampton Cundale, and Knype Patric, by cornage.” (Inq. P. M., 10 Hen. V., 1423; Hist. West., 257, I., 466.) He was succeeded by his son and heir:

10. Rowland, son and heir of John de Cleburn, was “lord of the manors of Cliburn-Hervey and Tailbois, and held Bampton-Cundale and Knipe, by homage, fealty, and cornage.” (Inq. P. M. 31, Hen. VI., 1453.) He is scarcely mentioned in the local records, though he was probably with Clifford at Towton on that fatal Palm Sunday, 24th March, 1461. He was just and considerate of his tenants, remitted their “gressums;” and by him the last of his “Villeins in gross” was sold free. In 1456 he was appointed “one of the jurors upon the Inquisition, after the death of Thomas Lord Clifford” (34 Hen. VI.; Hist. West., I., 469), and also “held the same which heretofore, as the Inquisition set forth, were held by Ralph de Cundale.” (Hist.West., I., 466-7.) He was succeeded by his son and heir:

11. John, son of Rowland Cleburne, married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thos. Curwen of Workington Hall. This was considered a great alliance, for Elizabeth’s blood was “darkly, deeply, beautifully blue:” her ancestor Orme having married Gunilda, daughter of “Cospatric the Great,” first Earl of Dunbar and Northumberland, whose father Maldred was younger brother of the “Gracious Duncan, murdered by Macbeth, whose grandmother was Elgira, daughter of the Saxon King Ethelred II., called the “unready.” (Jackson’s Curwen’s of Workington; Symeon of Durham, II., 307; Freeman’s Norm. Conq., IV., 89.) This John was lord of the manors of Cleburn, and held Bampton Cundale, of Henry Lord Clifford, by homage, fealty, and scutage, when “scutage” runs at £10 10s.; when more, more; when less, less; and the cornage of 15s. 3d. (Inq. Post. Mort., 19 Hen. VII.) Having escaped the bloody fields of Barnet, Tewksbury, and Bosworth, he died (from injuries received in a skirmish at Kirtlemore, on St. Magdalen’s day, 22nd July, 1484,) on the 8th Aug., 1489 (Inq. P. M., 4 Hen. VII), and was succeeded by his son and heir:

12. Thomas, of Cliburne Hall, b. 1467, for at an Inquisition held, 19 Hen. VII. (1504) it was found that “John Clyborne, his father, died 8th August, 1489, and that Thomas Clyborne, his son and heir was then 22 years of age.” (Hist. West., I., 467.) He held his manor of Bampton, of Henry Lord Clifford, by homage, fealty, and scutage (Inq. Post Mort., 18 Hen. VIII., 1527), and was assessed for non-payment of his dues on this manor, due the Diocese of Carlisle, 5 Hen. VIII. (Valor Ecclesiasticus, p. 294). He neglected his estate, engaged in many visionary schemes, and became so wild, reckless, and extravagant, that in Nov., 1512, “he with Henry Lord Clifford and others, were proceeded against for debts due by them to the king.” (Letters and Papers, Hen. VIII., Vol. I., p. 435.) He was succeeded by his son and heir:

13. Robert, of Cliburne, co. Westmoreland, and of Killerby, near Catterick, co. York, married Emma, dau. and co-heiress of George Kirkbride of Kirkbride (8th in descent from Adam, son of Odard de Logis, second Baron of Wigton, who granted Kirkbride to his second son Adam, temp. John (1199-1216). He was of a languid disposition and feeble body; which unfitted him for active exertion in the field. Though an advocate of the Catholic party, he did not join in “The Pilgrimage of Grace,” in 1536, nor did he take much part in county affairs. In 1531-53 (22-24 Hen. VIII.) he was chosen “an arbitrator in a case between Guy and Hugh Machell of Crackenthorpe” (Hist. West., I., 358-459); and, in 1543, when called upon by the Warden of the West Marches he supplied from his own retainers “six horse and ten foot soldiers for service on the Borders.” (List of principal Gentlemen subject to Border Service—Hist. West., I., 41.) By his wife Emma (living, A.D. 1482) he left one son and a daughter:

1. Edmond, of whom presently.
2. Eleanor, married to Richard Kirkbride, of Ellerton, in Hesket, co. Cumberland, whose great grandson “Bernard Kirkbride died s. p. in 1677.”

14. Edmund or Edward, son and heir of Robert of Killerby and Cliburne, married Ann, daughter of Layton of Dalmaine (of an ancient family in Cumberlandshire), and had issue:

1. Richard, of whom presently.
2. Thomas, of Hay-Close, co. Cumberland, who married Elizabeth Thwaites, 25th Sept., 1594. He was of a hot and peppery disposition, and in 1589 became involved in a tedious lawsuit with “Sir Wymond Cary, the Queen’s Lessee, about certain lands, messuages and Courts-Baron in Snettisham manor, co. Norfolk” (Cal. Ducat. Lancast., 31 Eliz.); and had another suit in Chancery with “Arthur Clarke about the manor of Hemyngford-Grey, county Huntingdon.” (Chan. Provc. Eliz., pp. 159-162.)
3. John.
4. William. (Quære, Vicar of Nidd, and Dean of Kildare, 1626.)
5. Elizabeth, married to John Thwaite of Marston.

Notes

[5] Bardolph: Harrison (see the History of Yorkshire) deduces Bardolph and his brother Bodin from Thorfin, fil. Cospatric de Ravenswet et Dalton in Yorkshire, temp. Canute; while Watson makes Bardolph the son-in-law, and not the son of Thorfin. Bardolph is “said to be of the family of the Earls of Richmond.”—See Gale’s Honorie de Richmond; and Whittaker’s Richmondshire. Burke acknowledges that “the earlier generations of the Earls of Richmond are very conflicting.” The families of Crawford, L’Estrange, and FitzAllan of Bedale, also derive from them Bretin Earls; and the FitzHughs, Askews, and others, from Bardolph. Whittaker says: Askew, Lincolnshire, was granted after 1086 by Alan, Earl of Richmond, to Bardolph, his brother, father of Askaris, ancestor of the Barons FitzHugh of Ravensworth. Henry FitzAskew granted tithes of Askew to Marrig. (Burton Monast. Ebor. 269.) Randolph FitzHenry had Henry and Adam, between whom Askew was divided. Adam assumed the name of Askew.”—Hist. Richmond; and The Norman People, 144.

[6] Charters: Lord Lindsey says:—In the 11th and 12th centuries the Charters are the only evidence to be depended upon, as history or pedigrees are unsatisfactory or wanting. After this we have the Inquisitions Post Mortem and other authentic records.—See Lives of the Lindseys.

[7] Geoffrey: This Geoffrey had a brother Nicholas de Cliburne, who was Sheriff of Westmoreland, 26, 28, 31, 32 and 33 Edw. I. (1295-1309).—Deputy Keeper’s Roll, at the Record Office, London; also Cumb. Westm. Transactions, Vol. IV., p. 294.

[8] Sir Robert: The knighthood of the age of chivalry was a very different honour from this modern dignity; for, in the 13th and 15th centuries it had precedence of Peerage.

[9] Cundale: Bampton Hall (temp. Hen. III., 1216-72) was the seat of Henry de Cundale (name derived from “Cundale,” in York), a family of great consideration, who continued here till Edw. II. (1307-27) when their property went to the Cleburns.

Thornthwaite Hall was the mansion house of Bampton Patric, called after Patric de Culwen, temp. Hen. II., 1154.

“Ralf de Cundale was fined 40 marks.”—Fines in Exchequer, 22 Hen. II., 1176.

The battle of Otterburn was fought, 1383.

Alice, dau. of Thomas Cleburn, temp. Edw. III., married Jno. Wray, from whom the Wrays of Richmond are descended.