700 Years of Beville Family History by Asselia S. Lichliter
According to (1) historical records the Beville family came to England in 1066 CE from Normandy with William the Conqueror.(2) The family home, the Château de Bieville, was located in a valley very near the castle of Duke William at Caen. (3) Normandy was the land settled by the “north people” who invaded France from Denmark and Norway under the leadership of Rollo, a Viking chieftain, in 911. A kinsman of the de Beville family, Magnus the Great, or Mandeville, was a member of Rollo’s invading army of France in 911 CE.
Sir Theobald de Beville, the patriarch of the family at the time of the invasion of England, was a chevalier, a minor lord, of the court of the Duke. The chateau was the center of extensive land holdings of the de Beville family who were engaged in raising horses and dairy farming. The cheeses they made were famous for their quality, so much so, that the King of France ordered them for his court. (4)
The chateau resembled a small castle with a round tower, a (5) great hall for dining and family gatherings, with chambers for sleeping accommodations, and a kitchen. (6) A chapel was nearby for the use of the family and the local citizens. (7)
On the death of King Edward of England, William refused to recognize the heir to the throne chosen by a counsel, Harold l. William, as cousin to Edward,claimed that he was the rightful heir to the crown and proceeded to take it with the blessings of the Pope.
Sir Humphery and Sir Wiiliam de Beville, two sons of the chevalier, were knights serving in the army of the powerful Duke of Normandy.(8) The Count de Mandeville, one of William’s favorite commanders, encouraged the two brothers to join the invasion army.
The invasion of England known as the Battle of Hastings took place on September 23, 1066 CE just northwest of Pevensey Bay on the eastern coast. The Norman army composed of 700 warships, 10,000 men with horses, weaponry and provisions was the largest ever to sail across the English Channel.
The Normans defeated the English and the Duke of Normandy became the King of England. This invasion and victory is considered by historians and students of history to be a turning point in English history which affected the history of the world as well.
He had promised those who would join him at this invasion grants of land, The De Beville brothers, part of the elite cavalry that turned the battle into a victory, were placed on the rolls by the clerks to receive rewards. (9)
Those listed on the Rolls created for the invasion are known as the companions of Duke William; they were Counts, Barons, and Lords; these were the commanders and the elite who had provided ships, horses, men, and those who begged for the venture. They were granted the Lordships. The lists do not include the thousands who were the Standard Bearers, Men of Arms, Yeomen, Freemen, and other ranks. Although some of these were granted smaller parcels of England even as small as one-eighth of a knight’s fee. (10)
Among the list of the Norman nobility on the Rolls to be connected to the de Beville brothers in England was:
Count Eustace of Boulogne [Connects the Beville family to King William I, according to the renowned genealogist Doug Richardson.]
The defeat at Hastings was only the beginning; war continued for many years as the English barons fought to defend their lands. The de Beville brothers were engaged in this warfare; Sir Humphery served in Cornwall with Count Robert Mortain, half brother of King William while Sir William served Odo, the king’s other half brother. Odo was the Bishop of Bayeux in Normandy and was called Odo “the fighting Bishop'' by his men. For their service they were granted knight’s fees and other honors.
By 1084 CE the English aristocracy was completely diminished with their lands and estates awarded to the Normans by King William l. The Saxon aristocracy that remained were those whose loyalty to King William was proven. Sir William de Beville’s descendants would marry into these Saxon families which included; the ancient Hoo family, ancestors of Anne Bolyne, the Wingfield family of Suffolk’s Wingfield Castle, and the de Wappenberry family of Huntingdonshire.
The Boville Family of Cornwall, England
Sir Humphery was made the commander of the castle at Truro and lands were granted to him near Kilkhampton, in southeastern Cornwall. Sir Humphrey ‘s descendants would become connected to the Grenville and Arundel families. (11) The O’Boyle family of Ireland and the Boyle family of Scotland are also connected to Sir Humphrey de Beville. Sir Humphrey was known as Boville.
The Beville Family of Suffolk
Sir William de Beville was granted lands as an undertenant to his suzerain lord the Count de Mandeville in Suffolk, England, on the eastern coast then called East Anglia. Eventually his descendant would become the Lord of Letheringham through marriage with a Glanville heiress. [Sir Ranulph de Glanville was the author of the English Laws] The Duchess of Cleveland’s book referring to de Beville‘s states that “the family was widely spread in England, and in 1165 held sixteen knights' fees.” This is equivalent to 16 manors. (12)
A manor granted to William de Beville in East Suffolk has an ancient stone gate and wall that denotes its early existence with the chiseled words Bevillham Farm. Others were in Kent, Surrey, and Creting St.Peter under the overlordship of Odo the fighting Bishop who had been granted all of the huge county of Kent.
Sahala, William de Beville’s oldest son succeeded to his father’s estate including the manor of Letheringham under the overlordship of Geoffrey de Mandeville, who had been made Earl of Essex. The title of Earl in England was the equivalent of Count/Comte in France.
Sir William’s descendant and heiress of the Beville land holdings, Margery de Bovill (the spelling was changed by the 12th Century in Suffolk), married Sir Thomas Wingfield in 1238 which increased the wealth and the status of this family. (13)
Two Powerful Links Increase the Beville Status
Sir Geoffery, Count de Mandeville was granted over 15 land holdings and appointed the honor of the castellan of the Tower of London the most famous fortress to be built by the new King to extol his power over the English. This was an hereditary position until 1144 he joined the strife that caused anarchy to prevail. (14)
Sir Walter de Ouether, a member of the Duke of Normandy’s court, received from the King 11 land grants 35 landholdings granted to his father during the reign of King Edward, William’s predecessor. Sir Walter’s son Sir Gerald fitz Walter was made castellan of Pembroke Castle. He married Nesta, daughter of the Prince of Wales, Rhys ap Tewdr Mawr. Their descendants were the Fitzgeralds, Windsor and the Carew families. The Tudor royal family were also descendants of Prince Rhys therefore kinsman of the descendants of Gerald and Nesta. The Beville family became related to the Carew’s through a marriage in the 16th Century.
Carew Castle
This connected the Beville family to the Hoo family ancestors of Queen Elizabeth I as well as Sir Walter Raleigh who was married to the granddaughter of Sir Nicholas Carew, Elizabeth Throckmorton. She was the daughter of Elizabeth Carew Throckmorton.
Essex Beville’s grandfather, Sir Robert Beville II of Huntingdonshire, married another granddaughter of Sir Nicholas named Mary Saunders, daughter of Isabel Carew Saunders. An ancestor James Carew had married Isabel Hoo the daughter of Sir Thomas Hoo which connected these families to Queen Anne Boleyn through her grandmother Ann Hoo. Anne Boleyn’s daughter by King Henry VIII, Elizabeth l, is related to Essex Beville and his descendants through their shared ancestry of Hoo and Carew.
The Beville Family of Huntingdonshire, England
Sir William de Beville ‘s son, Sahala and a grandson, William, are listed in the Domesday Book as living in Suffolk while another De Beville awarded lands named Fulk is listed in the Domesday Book in Upton, Huntingdonshire as an under tenant of Hugh de Avranches, Earl of Chester. (15) Hugh contributed 60 warships, arms and provisions to the Duke for the invasion for which he was well rewarded. Among the many holdings was the entire county of Chester along the Welsh border which made him a “marcher’ Lord with palentine powers. (16)
The exact relationship of Hugh d'Avranches and his son Richard Viscount de Avranches with the de Beville and de Mandeville families is difficult to ascertain although they are all three connected in ancient documents of Normandy. A clue to add to this mystery is the fact that Geoffery de Mandeville had land holdings in the Avranches region in Normandy and, in fact, William de Mandeville, his descendant, was permitted to build a castle at his ancestral home at Chambois, Avranches during Henry Il’s invasion of Normandy in 1173. (17)
A volume published by the Antiquarian Society of Normandy written in Latin titled “A Collection of the Acts of the Dukes of Normandy, 911- 1066” contains several references to the Beville family. Act no.197 on pages 397-385, refers to William and Fulco as sons of Teobald de Buele. ( A Latin form of de Bevill) Since the Fulk of Upton is reported in the Domesday Book it is more than likely that he was named for William’s brother and is indeed a closer bloodline of son or grandson.
Fulk of Upton is the direct ancestor of Essex Beville who was born in 1640 in Sawtry, Huntingdonshire, England. The Beville’s of Huntingdonshire became quite prosperous through marriages and land grants. (18) The family manor was located in Chesterton, Huntingdonshire for over two centuries. The manor and the estates of the Beville family of Chesterton were inherited by the daughter of Robert Beville, II and her husband Sir John Dryden and later inherited by their kinsman the Pigot family. (19)
Although the Beville family was to become extinct in England after 600 years, the De Beville continued to prosper in Normandy, France. The Marquise John de Beville served as a General in the army of Lord Rochambeau when the French entered the American Revolutionary War in 1776. (20)
It is recorded in the Annals of French history that the Marquise and his son John Chevalier de Beville were guillotined by the French Revolutionaries in 1789 as aristocrats against the New Republic; the Beville Chateau had been reconstructed to resemble the royal Palace of Versailles which identified the Beville family as aristocrats close to Royalty.
The daughter of the late Baron d’Yvelin de Beville and his wife La Baronne d’Yvelin de Béville of Paris, France, Mrs. James Gardener, ancestor of Theobold de Beville was interviewed in the 1970’s in Washington, DC. where she resides. Her sister lives in Paris and since there are no male heirs the family name will unfortunately die out after flourishing for 900 years in Normandy, France.
Essex Beville migrated to the New World about 1670 to become the progenitor of the Beville families beginning in Virginia that extends throughout the United States at present.
Royal Ancestry, a recent publication of genealogist Douglas Richardson, identifies the Beville’s as one of 250 families that immigrated to Colonial America as descendants of King William I, William the Conqueror.
Compiled by Sandi B. Johnson, Historian
This document has been compiled by Sandra B. Johnson as an example of the interrelationships that merged the Anglo-Saxon and the Franco Norman Families. The Anglo Norman of England ARE the English of the present time.
1. This information may be found in the book researched and published by Asselia Strobar Lichliter entitled “700 Years of the Beville Family”
2. This information may be found in the book researched and published by Asselia Strobar Lichliter entitled “700 Years of the Beville Family”
3. There were no surnames in use in the 11th century, so one’s location was sufficient. The de Beville name which can be spelled Buell, Bevill, Boyville, Beville or Bovill appears in several records of the names of those accompanying William during the invasion of England including the Battle Abbey Roll, Wace, and the Duchess of Clevland’s account “ The Medieval Mosaic”.
4. The chateau is located in the Calvados region of Normandy which is still famous for dairy products, horse breeding and a famous apple brandy called Calvados.
5.
6. The ruins of the earlier building are located on the property at Bieville, Normandy A chateau was built in the 18th century as a smaller version of Versaille Palace. It remains intact and is listed on the Historical Monuments of France.
7.
8. Knighthood was attained by the’ Winning of The Silver Spurs’ after arduous training, jousting championships, and/or heroic deeds in battle. The young men were usually chosen from noble families but could rise up through the ranks from the lower classes. At this time knighthood was granted by the King of France since Normandy was a vassal of his kingdom.
9. The monks acted as scribes who recorded the names of the men to receive lands from the Duke. The names were placed at the Abbey built by the Duke at the place the battle took place as a memorial to the fallen .It is called the Battle Abbey.The Dives Roll ,authenticated by Leopold de Lisle an eminent French antiquarian ,is carved in marble and includes Guilliaume and Honfroi de Biville it is located in Notre Dame Church in Dives where it is believed that William prayed before sailing to England in 1066.The Falaise Roll was compiled by a committee of experts and placed in the chapel at Chateau de Falaise ,the birthplace of William the Conqueror, lists along with the companions whose names are carved in bronze ithat of Le Sire de Béville et d’ Yvelin.
10. A knight's fee was 120 acres rewarded for services in battle or otherwise which was an inheritable claim according to feudal laws.
11. Notable Bevill/ Grenville descendants were the famous” sea captains of Devonshire” Sir Richard Grenvill and Sir Anthony Grenville. Sir Walter Raleigh was a kinsman and the famous hero of the Civil War in 1644 was the Royalist Bevill Grenville.
12. In feudal times a manor was the district over which a lord held authority;land held by an overlord partly divided among his tenants in return for taxes and military services.
13. Notable descendants include Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk who married Princess Mary, sister of Henry VII their granddaughter was Jane Grey ,”the Queen of England for Nine Days” and Sir Edward Maria Wingfield the first governor of Jamestown, Virginia.
14. Anarchy occurs when leadership is undefined and chaos ensues allowing individuals to use their power to take whatever they desire.
15. The Domesday Book was a compilation of the taxable properties belonging to King William I in the year 1086.
16. The Marcher Lords were placed along the border to defend William’s English position against an invasion from Wales the holdings resembled small kingdoms as they were able to wage war, mete out justice and collect taxes. William was careful to spread the holdings of the greater lords many distances apart so that no one lord would have an advantage against him. As the Duke of Normandy, William had more land than the King which he had acquired through warfare even though he was a vassal of the King. A vassal swore allegiance to the King and only acted with his permission.
17. The book Medieval Mosaic by the Duchess of Cleveland defines them as related to the Beville family.
18. “Their position in society was of sufficient importance to be identified in the Victorian History of Hunts, the Visitation of Hunts (a heraldic survey), Dugdale’s Antiquities and many ancient charters as landed gentrys for several hundred years.” 700 Years of the Beville Family by Asselia Strobar, is an important well researched account of this family.In 1973 the county of Huntingdonshire was incorporated into Cambridgeshire; the old name is often abbreviated to Hunts .
19.John Beville father of Essex and the grandson of Robert Beville II was to inherit if there were no male heirs; even though he contested the will in the English courts Honor Dryden remained as heiress.
20. Listed as Quartermaster General: Brigadier General de Beville serving under Lt. General Jean Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur,Count de Rochambeau,Commander of the King’s Forces in America in” French Units at Yorktown”,part of the Colonial National Historical Park Service)War of Independence 177-1778” Translated by Edwin Balch ,U. of Ca. and The Magazine of History with Notes and Queries- Vol. 24.
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