Symbols and devices of various kinds have been used as battle flags or badges of office since time immemorial. The ancient Israelites displayed “standards…according to the house of their fathers” (Numbers, 2,2 & 34); Roman legions carried vexilla adorned with the eagle into battle; the Golden Dragon of Wessex, which had been adopted from the Celts, was carried at Burford in 752 and again by Harold at Senlac Ridge in 1066; the Bayeux Tapestry depicts battle flags displayed by the Normans in 1066, although their significance, whether territorial or personal, is still disputed.

Heraldry as we know it today, however, developed in western Europe during the Middle Ages as an aid to identification. Conventional wisdom holds that as armour became heavier and knights began to wear helmets which covered their faces and concealed their identity, some method was needed to distinguish friend from foe on the battlefield. Various emblems and colours were at first painted on helmets and shields, then later on surcoats worn over armour, whence arose the term coat of arms.

Another theory holds that mediaeval heraldry originated in the “proto-heraldic system evident in the lance pennons of [William of Normandy’s] Flemish allies.” (Stephen Friar & John Ferguson, Basic Heraldry, p.9) This system had evolved among “certain leading families descended from the Emperor Charlemagne” and included “the use of dynastic and territorial emblems on seals, coinage, customs stamps and flags….There is evidence to suggest that these devices were common to families or groups linked by blood or feudal tenure, and were…hereditary. With the redistribution of lands following the Norman Conquest, the cadets in England of Flemish families…of Carolingian descent, and the devices used by them, became integrated in Anglo-Norman society.” (Ibid., p. 10, citing Beryl Platts, The Origins of Heraldry)

Whatever its origin, the regulation and codification of heraldry and evolution of what we may properly call heraldic law was a long, slow process, and there is considerable debate about when and how this law actually developed. One major controversy involves the assumption of arms. No one disagrees, of course, that in the beginning arms were assumed--the question is at what point did assumption become either “illegal” or unacceptable.

Those who disagree with Squibb point out that the Writ of 1417 seems to apply only to men attending musters for the French expedition; they also cite contemporary treatises on arms by Nicholas Upton and Juliana Bernes, among others, who not only condoned assumption but indicated that it was still being practiced in 15^th century England.

Upton and Juliana Bernes whose late 15^th century Book of St. Albans followed Upton closely, conceded the “greater authority/majoris auctoritatis” of arms granted by “Kings/Principes” over those assumed by individuals (“alia arma per sic nobilitatum assumpta“) (Upton), while at the same time asserting not only the right of assumption but the common man’s right to assume and bear arms.

Conspicuously absent from the list is any reference to arms granted by Heralds. In fact, Upton made a point of disagreeing with those who believed that Heralds had the right to grant arms: “Nor do I dare sanction the opinion of those who say that Heralds are able to grant arms, but I do say that if such arms are borne, having been granted by any Herald whatsoever, that those arms are not of greater authority than those which are assumed by one’s own authority/ Nec approbare audeo opinionem quorundam dicentium quod Heraldi possunt dare Arma, sed dico, si que talia Arma portentur, per Heraldum aliquem cuicumque collata, quod illa Arma non sunt majoris auctoritatis quam illa queauctoritate propria sunt assumpta.

Whatever the rules and preferences of certain mediaeval authorities may have been, however, it is clear that in practice at least anyone could assume arms on his own authority, provided that he did not usurp arms already borne by someone else:

Arma tamen propria actoritate assumpta, si tamen alius illa per prius non portaverit, sunt satis valida. (Upton) This more fluid view of the social order of mediaeval England is consistent with the reality which enabled William Marshall, second son of a minor noble, to become Regent of England after the death of King John in 1216, and elevated Chaucer, son of a custom’s official, to the status of close friend and brother-in-law by marriage of John of Gaunt, fourth son of Edward III. In the next century, Chaucer’s granddaughter Alice would marry the Duke of Suffolk and continue the family’s rise in fortune.

Even from the earliest times, arms have been associated with a family, not a surname. As the lists which follow will illustrate, many different Britton families which were not related to each other had coats of arms during the mediaeval and Tudor periods. In order to prove that one has the right to bear any of these arms, one must first prove direct and legitimate male line descent from an armigerous Britton ancestor.

In England and Wales, the governing authority is the College of Arms in London, which was founded in 1484 by Richard III (last of the Plantagenet kings). Any other organisation which professes to sell to the general public copies of a Britton coat of arms or an ancient Britton genealogy is therefore engaging in a fraudulent activity.

The College writ also runs in the Commonwealth nations of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, etc., but not in Scotland where similar authority is vested in the Lord Lyon. In Scotland, improper use or assumption of arms is regarded as a common-law offense, whereas in England it is merely an infraction of the civil law, subject to trial in the Court of Chivalry.

Americans who cannot prove descent from an armigerous British ancestor may nonetheless be eligible for a grant of arms for the College of Arms if they can prove descent from a male ancestor who lived in the American colonies before the Revolution and have duly registered their pedigree with the College. Such a grant will entitle them and their posterity to bear the same coat of arms.

While heraldry often provides useful clues for the genealogist, heraldic material from the Mediaeval and even the Tudor periods must be examined with particular care, since the rules governing arms today did not always apply before 1600. Of particular importance for the genealogist is the question of the hereditability of arms during the middle ages. In theory, at least, in the mediaeval as in the modern era, arms belonged in perpetuity to a man and his male-line descendants, and in cases where the male-line failed, daughters could inherit their father’s arms and pass them on to their sons.

Practice, however, did not always reflect theory, and the fact that two Britton families used the same arms in the 13^th or 14^th century does not necessarily mean that they shared a common male ancestor. Likewise, two families who bore different arms in the same period may well have had common ancestry.

We know, for example, that Sir Robert le Breton of Walton, Derbyshire (d 1279), bore per pale gules and azure, a fesse between two chevrons gules (Knights of Edward I), --the same arms were used by Breton of Havitree in Devonshire in-- yet his son Roger le Breton (died 1322) bore argent a chevron between three escallops gules (Ibid.), and his grandson Robert le Breton bore azure a bend between six mullets or at the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322 (Ibid.), the latter borne by Bretons in Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire. Subsequent generations at Walton seem to have settled on argent a chevron between three escallops gules, which is found at the parish church in Chesterfield.

Similar ambivalence may be found among Bretons in Essex. The earliest evidence dates to 1301 when Sir John Breton, Dominus de Sporle, sealed the Barons’ letter to the Pope with quarterly or and gules a bordure azure. Thomas Breton, who is said to have been of the same branch which held land in Northampton and at Boxted in Essex, bore these arms as well c 1387 (Armorial Urfe # 322), while a Visitation pedigree from Wilshire attributes a slightly different version of the same (quarterly or and gules a bordure sable) to the Bretons of Monkton Farley, who claimed descent from Layer-Breton.

An entirely different coat of arms, however--Azure two chevrons or with in chief as many mullets of the second --was displayed in stained glass at the church at Layer Breton (Francis Morgan Nichols, The Hall of Lawford Hall: Records of an Essex House and its Proprietors, p. 12 citing Symond’s Essex Memoranda, MS, College of Arms, v. 2, p. 197) and two shields bearing azure two chevrons or adorned the frieze at Lawford Hall, at one time home to a branch related to Layer Breton. Burke’s General Armory identifies the latter as the arms of Breton of Haxted and gives a variation: Azure two chevrons or with a mullet for difference Crest: on a lion’s gamb azure a chevron charged with a mullet sable.

Also associated with Essex were two examples of arms in which the colours and overall design remained the same as above but the chevron was replaced (possibly as the result of a copying error) by its diminutive form, the chevronnel: Azure two chevronels between three mullets or which were quartered in the arms of Huberd (Metcalfe’s Visitation of Essex: p. 584) and Azure two chevronels or in a chief as many mullets of the second borne by Thomas Breton of Essex whose daughter Ann married Rafe Whittle (p. 622

Likewise, Breton of Barwell, whose pedigree dovetails with that of Monkton Farley and the wills of William Breton who died in Colchester in 1499 and his grandson William who died in London in 1559, appears to have assumed in error the arms of Breton of Norton (a branch of Breton of Tamworth, Staffordshire) by the time of the Visitation of Leicestershire in 1619. These arms, moreover, were eventually carried into Kent by a descendant of Barwell and may still be seen in the parish church at Houghton.

Although the reason for these changes in Breton may only be surmised, well-documented cases of alternations and augmentations of arms are found throughout the mediaeval period. Warinus de Strode, for instance, who was related to the Duke of Brittany, bore the arms of Brittany (Ermine) to which were added a Canton sable charged with a Crescent argent . Two men of the Bardolf family bore arms Azure three Cinquefoils Or and Azure three Cinquefoils argent, (Friar & Ferguson, Basic Heraldry, p. 22)a variation reminiscent of that seen between the Bretons of Layer-Breton and their descendants at Monkton-Farley.

Similarity, however, did not always signify a relationship between armigers (Ibid.), so one must be cautious when inferring consanguinity from arms borne even by families with the same surname. Were the Bretons of Bitton Parish, Gloucestershire related to the ancient Breton family of Layer-Breton? The design of their arms (Quarterly or and gules) is fundamentally the same, and while proof of such a relationship appears to be lacking, at least one such claim has been made:

to “any persons spiritual… or temporal [for] service done to us” and with sufficient

“possessions and riches able to maintain the same" but also to "reform all false armory and arms devised without authority, marks unlawfully set or made in escutcheons, squares or lozenges, which escutcheons, squares or lozenges be tokens of nobleness; and them to deface and take away wheresoever they be set, whether it be in stone, windows plate or any other matter of ways set, and all such as set upon churches or other places, banners, standards, pennons, or coats or arms not having authority so to do.” (See also Felicity Heal and Clive Holmes, The Gentry in England and Wales 1500-1700, p. 28).

Rules governing the use of arms were enforced during the Tudor and Stuart period by the Court of Chivalry, which was restored in 1623 and again in 1660, after the Interregnum, to try cases involving disputed arms, and by the series of inspections known as the Visitations which were conducted by the Heralds who visited each English county about every forty years.

In 1530, the amount of money sufficient to support the status of armiger was deemed to be L10 annual income and L300 in net worth. A one-time fee of L5 or L6 pounds was assessed for registration. Since the fee raised money for the King, it should come as no surprise that the Visitation pedigrees often contain serious errors. The late George Andrews Moriarty, a distinguished genealogist, once observed that pedigrees “compiled by the Tudor and Stuart Heralds vary greatly in accuracy and completeness, according to date and authorship. Certainly, the work of many antiquaries of this period was uncritical, and often downright dishonest."

Harrison’s ideas probably reflected the growth, by Elizabeth’s reign, of “a sizeable minority of non-armigerous lesser gentry” whose numbers were destined to increase in proportion both to the “expanded definition” of gentleman and the “existence of a growing body of alternative evidence generated by the courts.” By the end of the next century, the Heralds’ “monopoly” over “genealogical knowledge” was essentially broken, (Daniel Wolfe, The Social Circulation of the Past: English Historical Culture 1500-1700, p. 113), so that in 1669, when Clarenceaux King of Arms visited Oxford, “‘many looked on th[e] matter as a trick to get money’ ” and the “local gentry” stayed away in favour of a “more pressing social engagement--a horserace at Brickley.” (Heal and Holmes, p. 28, contemporary account in single quotes)

The Rev. William Pestell, Rector of Coleorton, Leicestershire, expressed the new Zeitgeist perhaps as well as anyone: “I have no pedigree nor coat of armes not ever had, nor do I pretend to any, nor am I ambitious to be blazond for any thinge but honesty and loyalty,” he wrote, “I am a Master of Artes & that makes me a gentleman & that a worshipfull one & I care not to go higher.” (Woolf, p. 112)

As the Herald’s grip loosened, however, interest in and knowledge of genealogy increased within the general population, partly because of its “centrality” to property rights and the transfer of land and money from one generation to the next. (Woolf, p. 113): “The advent of such devices as the strict settlement among most segments of the gentry, the greater attention to provision of estates for younger children, and the expanded role of the central courts in settling property disputes were all features of the land market in the century after the Restoration. They in turn gave rise to a vast assortment of documents that were much more powerful at law than a genealogy, however long and well-supported by family monuments. Looked at from a different perspective, the conveyancer and the attorney were likely to be of more value than the herald in the age of entails, contingent remainders, and life interests.” (Woolf, p. 113)

Thus from the wreckage of an older system of pedigrees, modern genealogy was born. Despite the flaws inherent in many of the Visitation pedigrees, however, there is still much valuable information to be gleaned from them: even a single accurate date sometimes makes rough estimates possible for other parts of a line, while the pedigree itself can provide a quick, easy way to identify individuals or families who may then be documented from other, more reliable sources.

An Index of Pedigrees and Arms Contained in the Heralds Visitations and Other Genealogical MSS in the British Museum by R. Sims (London, 1849) shows the following pedigrees for Brittons or Bretons, some of which may be found in the Visitations while others are available in county histories or genealogies:

East Anglia:

Essex--Breton of Layer Breton

Norfolk--Britton of Felmingham

Central England:

Northamptonshire--Breton or Bretton of Teken

Staffordshire--Bretton; Brittayne of Serescott & Tamworth

Leicestershire--Breton of Barwell from London [Family appears to have been from Essex]

North of England:

Lincolnshire--Brytane

Derbyshire--Breton or Bretton of Walton; Brytane

South of England:

Wiltshire--Bretton or Breton of Monkton Farley from Essex [Family is from East Anglia]

Hampshire--Bretton

Southwest England:

Somerset--William Bretton of Kelston disclaimed

Devonshire--Bruton or Breton of Havitree

Early Breton pedigrees from other sources are also included on this page.

The pedigrees which follow are intended to highlight Britton families which may have male-line descendants living today. Pedigrees are arranged by region, reflecting the system used by the Oxford Genetic Atlas Project.

For more information on early Britton families in England, please see our History Page.

The first two generations of this line are taken from the wills of William Breton d 1499, Colchester (PCC) and William Breton of London d 1459 (PCC) as cited by

Alexander Balloch Grosart, The Works in Verse and Prose of Nicholas Breton, p. 1xff:

Colchester and London Branch

Nicholas Breton of Colchester bc 1400 or before, buried at St. John’s Colchester, Essex

Issue:

1.John Breton m Joane_______ died before 1499

2. Alice m ________ Bodford died before 1499

John Breton bc 1425 or before, buried at St. John’s Colchester

Issue:

1. William Breton d 1499, Colchester, buried at St. John’s (PCC Will)

2. John Breton living in 1499, d 1500, Colchester (PCC Will)

The following pedigree for Breton of Monkton Farley, Wiltshire comes from Metcalfe’s Visitation of Wiltshire 1565, p. 8 and traces the line of William Breton who died at Colchester in 1499:

Arms: Quarterly or and gules a bordure sable

William Breton of Layer Breton, Co Essex m [Isabella] d/o Haines of Essex, Gent. & Had:

1. William son and heir

2. Grace m Ratcliff of Essex

William ²

Breton of Layer m Ann d/o ______ Denham of the North & had:

1. Henry son & heir

2. John d young

3. Francis 3^rd son

4. Thomas died young

5. William 5^th son

Henry ³ Breton of Monkton Farley, Wiltshire m Ann d/o George Coulte of Cavendish, Suffolk & had:

1. George son & heir

2. William 2^nd son

3. Margaret m _____Hammond of Neyland, Suffolk, Gent.

4. Elizabeth unmarried

Information for the family of Henry Breton’s youngest brother William (#5 above) comes from William’s 1458 will unless otherwise indicated:

William Breton of Redcrosse Street, London

bc 1450 or before, died 1459, London, buried at St, Giles Cripplegate, London

m Elizabeth Bacon, daughter of John Bacon

Issue:

1. Richard

2. Nicholas bc 1542/3 d 1626 (dates from Grosart)

3. Thamar

4. Ann m John Smyth of Cavendish, Haverhill, Suffolk & Boston Lincs. (Wm Hervey, Visitation of Suffolk 1561, p. 104)

Richard Breton’s line is continued in the pedigree of Breton of Barwell, Leicestershire from William Camden, Visitation of Leicestershire 1619, p. 161:

Arms: Azure on a bend between six stars pierced or, in dexter chief a mullet for difference

William Breton de London--Elizabeth Dacon [ie Bacon]

Issue:

1. Richard de London m Katherine fil Edwardi Guest de Worcester [she married 2^nd Richard Wright of Sutton, Leicester]

2. Nicholas Breton de London [poet]--2^nd son

Richard Breton and wife Katherine

Issue:

1. Maria m Edw Newton de Leicester

2. Robert de Barwell, Leicester m Alicia d/o Richard Wright de Sutton iuxta Broughton in Leicester

3. Elizabeth m Franciscus Ducket de Broughton

Robert Breton and Alicia

Issue:

1. Robert aged 8 years

2. Katherine 14 years

3. Richard son & heir--20 in 1619

4. Daniel age 19

5. Francis age 12

6. William --3^rd son age 16--Schollasticus in Academin Cantab’

7. John age 6

8. Thomas age 5

In the late 17^th century, Richard Breton, who claimed descent from Breton of Barwell, settled near Dover in Kent and left descendants as follows:

1. Richard Breton of Dover m Anne daughter of Matthew Babbington, Esq. Of Temple Rothley, Leicester in 1671 (Burke’s Genealogical & Heraldic History of the Lamded Gentry, v.1. ,p. 42; also Burke’s Commoners, v. 4. p. 518))--Anne died 16 Sept `1677 and was buried at Houghton, Kent

Issue:

Robert b 1673

2. Robert Breton b 27 Aug 1673 m Mary Moyle, daughter of John Moyle of Buckwell, Kent died 27 Sept 1707 in his 35^th year--resided at the Elms and was buried at Houghton--tombstone indicates descent fro Breton of Barwell on his father’s side and Bassingtons on his mother’s side [Hasted, vol. 9, p. ?, which indicates he was the son of Nicholas Breton, but that is incorrect as shown by the tombstones at Houghton)

Issue:

1. Moyle

2. Richard died young

3. Robert

4. John died young

5. Thomas

6. Anne

7. Elizabeth

8. Mary

3a. Moyle Breton Esq. Of Kennington, Kent-- b 1692 d 19 May 1735 aged 4, buried at Boughton Aluph, Kent-- married Mary daughter of William Moyse of Bennedon, Kent and had:

1. Moyle

2. Richard who had two daughters

3. The Rev. Robert Breton, Vicar of Boughton Aluph m Elizabeth____

b 1724 d 1808, without issue

4a. Moyle Breton the Younger m Martha____ & died before 22 April 1761 (date of her will); she died 1 March 1766

1. The Rev. Moyle Breton b 1744, d. 18 April 1818 at age 84 without issue; ordained Deacon in 1751, Priest in 1752 and served as Vicar of Boughton Aluph; married Elizabeth______ who died 12 Sept 1804, age 59--both are buried at Boughton Aluph

(Admissions to the College of St. John the Evangelist, v. 3, p. 553)

2. Moyse Breton d.sp.

3. Whitfield Breton bc

[Hasted, v.7. P 555--The Rev. Moyle Breton and his brother Whitfield inherited property in gavelkind]

3. Whitfield Breton bc 1752 or before (based on date of marriage)--m Lucy Elmstone at Rolvanden in 1773

Issue: (Source for children is a posting at Rootsweb)

1. Mary Martha b 1775 m William Mercer

2. Lucia 1777-1818

3. Thomas b 1785 Tenterden

4. Ann 1787-1806

If the information from Rootsweb is correct and Thomas was the only son of Whitfield Breton, then he was probably the father of:

John Whitfield Breton of Sagerland, Sussex, Gent.

bc 1811-15 (age 36 on the 1841 Census for Sussex and 40 in 1851, Sussex)

m Emma, daughter of Wm Cooper at Brighton in Dec. 1857 (Gentleman’s Magazine, p. 674)

Died August 1874--will dated 4 Nov. 1873 (Source: Chancery suit brought by representatives of three infant children, not named, against the widow who had remarried)

There is disagreement regarding the arms of Breton of Layer- Breton: From East Anglian Notes & Queries, vols 3&4, p. 85: “Monkton-Farley bore Quarterly or and gules while other authorities indicate that Layer Breton bore Azure two chevrons or [Harl MS 154, 1fb, 1f, 12 & Edmonson’s Heraldry.]

A similar coat of arms--Azure two chevrons or with in chief as many mullets of the second --was displayed in stained glass at Layer Breton Church. (Francis Morgan Nichols, The Hall of Lawford Hall: Records of an Essex House and its Proprietors, p. 12 citing Symond’s Essex Memoranda, MS, College of Arms, v. 2, p. 197) Burke’s General Armory identifies these arms as Breton of Haxted, Essex.

John Britton, bc 1558 or before; buried at Hadleigh Suffolk, 6 November 1636; will dated 17 July 1636 proved in the PCC, February 1637

Married 1^st Elizabeth Strutt, 16 February 1579/80; she was buried at Hadleigh 22 February 1621/22; m 2^nd Elizabeth__________________, PCC will proved 13 March 1637

Issue:

1. Elizabeth ch 28 June 1582

2. Thomas ch 1 March 1583 (PCC Will 16 June 1621, 47 Dale) m Sybele Cauthon 30 Jan 1611 (she married 2^nd John Alabaster)

3. Robert ch 27 Dec 1585

4. Lawrence ch 21 April 1588 (PCC Will 13 August 1657)

5. Ann ch 29 Nov 1590

6. William ch 6 May 1593 (PCC Will 20 Feb 1643)

7. Margaret ch 8 July 1595 m George Gooday, Grocer of London (for Gooday, see Visitation of London 1633, 1634, 1635 , pt. 1, p.322)

8. Mary ch 13 Sept 1597

9. Ales ch 24 Dfeb 159

10. Sarah no date (there was a Sarah Breton ch 28 Oct 1571--either an error, perhaps for 1591, or an earlier Sarah Britton) -Sarah the Younger married Forth Gooday, brother of George Gooday

The ancestors of an armigerous Breton family may be traced at Witchingham Magna in central Norfolk from the late 13^th or early 14^th century. One branch of this family was later established at Felmingham, a parish eleven miles northeast of Witchingham.

Arms: Quarterly of six: 1 & 6 (Breton): Quarterly per fess indented argent & gules, in 1^st Quarter a mullet sable 2^nd: argent, a chevron between three birds’ feet erased sable 3^rd Gules two lions passant-guardant ermine ducally crowned or 4^th Ermine on a chief gules five lozenges conjoined in fess or 5^th Sable a fess between two chevrons or

Crest: A demi-Talbot rampant gules erased or collared & lined of the last, the end tied in a knot

1. Edmund le Breton of Witchingham Magna married Ermentruden, daughter of _____ in Norfolk & had:

Issue:

a. William Breton of Witchingham m Daughter & heir of Yermouth

b. Nicholas Breton

2a. William Breton of Witchingham m Daughter & heir of Yermouth, father of:

3. William Breton of Witchingham married Isabell daughter of Kerdeston & had:

4. John Breton of Witchingham temp Richard II (ie 1377-99) m Mary, daughter & heir of Hamond Felton of Lycham [Litchan] in Norfolk

5. John Breton of Witchingham m Margery daughter and sole heir of Robert Gerbridge, & had:

Issue:

a. Edmund Breton of Witchingham married Margery daughter of Symon Blyan--ob. sp

b. Robert Breton of Witchingham Magna married Elizabeth daughter of Thomas Brampton of Norfolk & had:

7b. Robert Breton of Witchingham Magna married Elizabeth daughter of Thomas Brampton of Norfolk & had:

Issue:

a. Thomas Breton married Margerie daughter of Thomas Jermye of Metfield, Suffolk

b. John Breton, Esq. Presented to the Church in 1501 (Mostyn John Armstrong, History & Antiquities of the County of Norfolk, p. 48)

8a. Thomas Breton married Margerie daughter of Thomas Jermye of Metfield, Suffolk

Issue:

a. Thomas Breton of Felmingham in Norfolk marrued Eleanor daughter of Wynborrow of Whynborrow [Whinburgh in Norfolk]

b. Robert

c. John

d. William

e. Edward

f. John

g. Olyve ux. Edw. Thirland in Gamston, Notts.

h. Jane ux Henry Dagayne

8a. Thomas Breton of Felmingham in Norfolk marrued Eleanor daughter of Wynborrow of My borrow [Whinburgh in Norfolk] & had:

Issue:

a. Henry Breton of Felmingham married Martha daughter of Rafe Symonds of Clay, Norfolk

b. Humfrey

C John ob.s.p.

d. Margery ux John Blakney

9a. Henry Breton of Felmingham married Matha daughter of Rafe Symonds of Clay, Norfolk & had:

Issue:

a. Thomas

b. Erasmus

c. William

d. Edward

e. Arthur

f. Elizabeth ux. Ric. Crofts

g. Jane ux John Stydolfe of Surrey

h. Mary

i. Elizabeth ux Wm, Whitwood

j. Margaret ux Wm Russell

k. Olyve m 1^st Thomas Hearne of London 2^nd Sir John Herne ob. Sp

l. Thomas married twice, ob. sp

Burke’s General Armory lists Argent two bars sable, a label of three points gules as the arms of Breton of Cambridge, but nothing further is known of this family.

John Breton, estimated to have been born c 1537 had a son:

Richardus (Richard) Breton, ch 17 Jan 1558.

Richard Breton married Maria Brewster 25 July 1588 and was the father of:

John ch 10 April 1589

Anna ch 22 Sept 1591

Elena ch 13 Jan 1593

Johanna ch 17 June 1596 m Giles Tyler 11 Nov 1624

John Breton married Margaret Appleyard on 24 April 1611 and had:

Maria, daughter of John and Margaret is recorded for 9 Feb 1612

Alicia ch on 1 Feb 1623,

Johannes [or John] ch 1 Oct 1626

John married Alice (maiden name unknown) and was the father of nine children whose births are recorded at Dullingham:

Joshua ch 16 Jan 1650

Anne ch 26 May 1653 m Wm Fuller 16 Jan 1673

John ch 21 Nov 1654

Mary ch 26 March 1658

Susan ch 6 Sept 1660

John ch 29 Jan 1662

Hines ch 19 July 1665 d 2 Nov 1667

Alice ch 5 Aug 1668

William ch Oct 1672

From the Visitation of Northamptonshire Made in 1564 & 1618-19 , p. 4

Arms: Argent, a fess dancettee gules, in chief three boars' heads couped sable

John Breton of Teken [Parish of Ravensthorpe] Gent. m Elizabeth d/o Seint Germayne of London, Gent

Issue:

1. Christopher eldest son and heir

Henry 2dn son, priest

Anne m John Hill of East Haddon, Northants.

Christopher Breton Gent m Christain d/o Thomas Saunders of Sibberton, Northants.

Issue:

1. Robert eldest son & heir

2. Richard 2nd son

3. Elizabeth m Lawrence Gregg of Creaton, Northants.

4. Dorothy m Edward Holmes Sen of London

5. Frances m 1st Hymphrey Dextrer of Cranley, Northants 2nd John Wynberd of Cottesbrooke, Northants, merchant 3rd John Evans of Lodington, Northants.

6. Margaret m Wm Turner de Suton, Colfdfield in Warwick [Camden, Visitation of Leicestershire 1619, p. 95)

Christopher 2nd Ann d/o Robert Bayham, merchant-- 20 Jan 1545 (bur. 5 March 1558/9--Gen. Memoirs of the Extinct Family of Chester of Chicheley, v. 1, p. 76, by Robert Edmond Chester Waters)

Issue: [Dates from Memoirs of Chester Family]

Alexander b 1546

Joseph b 4 Aug 1547

William b 1549

Mary ch 15 Nov 1553

Martha 21 Feb 1551

Christopher was buried 18 Sept 1556 (Memoirs of Chester Family) or 5 March 1558/8 (Visitation pedigree)

Robert Breton of Teeton, Esq. living in 1618 m Jane d/o Raphe Bosvile of Bradbone, Kent

Issue:

1. Robert heir m Elizabeth d/o of Francis Hervey of Cotton End iuxta Norwich, S'geant at law--his eldest daughter Mary married Wm Chester

2. Francis

3. John ch 3 Oct 1567 d 27 April 1619

4. Thomas

5. Anthony

6. John--no issue

7. Ursula

8. Benedict

9. Prudence

10. Elizabeth

Breton of Norton is a branch of a Breton family which was seated at Tamworth, Staffordshire from the late 12^th century. Arms: Azure a bend between six mullets pierced. Crest: A lion’s gamb erased azure, charged with a chevron between three billets argent (Warwickshire Arms & lineages, Staffordshire Visitations 1664-1700, p. 34 ; Burke’s General Armory).

Johannes Breton de Tamworth [son of Nicholas] m 1^st Brigitta d/o Wm Wyrley de Hampstead, Northants. by whom he had issue:

Elizabeth m John Levenson de Wyrley, Stafford

M 2^nd Elizabeth d/o John Wyrley de Medmenham, Bucks.

a. Dorothea ux Franc Duffield de Medmenham, Bucks.

b. Jana ux Franc Combeford de Linsell, Stafford; Ux Xopheri Endsor de Comberford, Stafford

c. Frances nupta Wm. Hudson de Baddesley in Wanell

d. Thomas}

e. Walt} no issue

f. John}

g. Nicholas Breton

Capt. Nicholas Breton de Norton iuxta Daventree in Co. Northants Arm 1618 [of Norton near Daventreee in Northants.] m Anna fil Edw Legne de Rushnell in Stafford & had issue:

a. John m Ann & succeeded his father in 1624

b. Edwardus

c. Christopheris obiere celebi --never married

d. Gerardus

e. Williamus

f. Howard

g. Francesca ux Gerard Fielding de Sutton in Bennington, Co. Notts.

h. Anna s.p.

Capt. Nicholas Breton (10g. Above) died in 1624 and is buried at All Saints, Norton, Northamptonshire. He and his father John served as officers under Elizabeth. Nicholas purchased Mauntalls’s Manor, Henry VIII”s College Manor & on a moiety of Cornwall Manor from Sir Seymour Knightly; from c 1624 on, these properties were known as Norton’s Manor. The manor was sold in 2800 by trustees of the late Michael Harvey Breton, Esq. (Francis Wheelan, History Gazeteer, p. 427)

Also pertaining to this family: Nicholas Breton who died in 1658 and his wife were buried at All Saints, Norton in a pink and white marble monument. (Francis Wheelan, History Gazeteer, p. 427)

Arms: Azure on a bend between six stars pierced or, in dexter chief a mullet for difference

William Breton de London--Elizabeth Dacon [ie Bacon]

Issue:

1. Richard de London m Katherine fil Edwardi Guest de Worcester [she married 2^nd Richard Wright of Sutton, Leicester]

2. Nicholas Breton de London [poet]--2^nd son

Richard Breton and wife Katherine

Issue:

1. Maria m Edw Newton de Leicester

2. Robert de Barwell, Leicester m Alicia d/o Richard Wright de Sutton iuxta Broughton in Leicester

3. Elizabeth m Franciscus Ducket de Broughton

Robert Breton and Alicia

Issue:

1. Robert aged 8 years

2. Katherine 14 years

3. Richard son & heir--20 in 1619

4. Daniel age 19

5. Francis age 12

6. William --3^rd son age 16--Schollasticus in Academin Cantab’

7. John age 6

8. Thomas age 5

Warwickshire Arms & Lineages provides a rudimentary pedigree for one branch of this family: “Captain John Breton, Member for Tamworth 1585, was son of Richard Breton of Sirescote and Tamworth, and fourth in descent from Richard Breton, of Tamworth (temp. Hen. VII.), and eighth in descent from John Breton, of Tamworth (temp. Edw. III.), which John was son of Guy, and grandson of William de Breton, of Long Itchington, (temp. Edw. L) This William mar. Agneta, daug. of William de Chetwode, and was son of Nicholas Breton, of Long Itchington, and third in descent from Robert de Breton, of Bascote (temp. Rich. I.), and sixth in descent from Hugh Breton, Lord of Favershall, who founded the Abbey of Kirkstead in Lincolnshire, A.D. 1139. Descendant : C. D. Breton, Esq., Fillongley, Co. Warw. Pr. Rep.”

The following chart is taken from this source:

Hugh Breton, Lord of Favershall, founder of the Abbey of Kirkstead in Lincolnshire in 1139

His son

His grandson

Robert de Breton of Bascote (temp. Richard I)

His son

Nicholas Breton of Long Itchington

William Breton of Long Itching ton m Agneta de Chetwode (temp. Edward I)

Guy Breton

John Breton of Tamworth--temp. Edward III

His son

His grandson

His great grandson

Richard Breton temp. Henry VII

His son

His grandson

Richard Breton of Sirescote & Tamworth

Capt. Nicholas Breton, Member of Parliament for Tamworth, 1585

Kirkstead was a hamlet called Kirkby on Bain at the time of the Norman Conquest. William gave it to Eudo, one of his Knights, and Eudo’s son Hugh Brito or Hugh Breton founded a Cistercian Abbey there in 1138, which was dedicated to St. Mary. A small chapel was later built by Robert de Tattershall, grandson of Hugh the Breton.

Hugh le Breton married Joan, widow of Ralph Rochford of the Manor of Fenne in Boston, Lincolnshire (Arthur S. Larkin, Lincolnshire Pedigrees, p. 629) For more on Hugh Breton, please see the section on Lincolnshire.

A more detailed chart for another branch of the same family, bearing the same arms, is included in the Visitation of Staffordshire, although it is not itself a visitation pedigree and certainly errs in the first four generations who bore quarterly or and gules a bordure azure and held land in Essex, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Northamptonshire. The second John Breton in this line died c 1306 leaving a minor son John who died without issue in the same year (1311) as his grandfather, Sir John Breton, Dominus de Sporle. (For more on this family, please see Breton of Essex, Norfolk, and Northampton.)

Generation 5 in the chart is Elias Breton of uncertain date who held lands in Apethorpe,, Co. Northants. “de annis incertis”; he has also been omitted.

Therefore, the lineage which follows begins with generation 6 of thechart shown in the Visitation of Staffordshire:

1. William Breton m Johanna, fil Hug. Bysschop de Tamworth

2. Johannis Breton 15 Edw II [c 1321-22]

3. Adam Breton de Tamworth 31 Edw III [c 1358] & Johanna ux eius [his wife] 21 Richard II [c1397-98]

4. Johannes Breton 12 Hen IV [c1410-11]

5. Johannis Breton 12 fil. Johis Breton nuper de Coventree Co Warwick 31 Hen VI [John Breton son of John recently of Convetry, Warwick]

6. Johannis Breton de Tamworth ut apparent p petitionem type Hen VII [John Breton of Tamworth as appears from a petition Hen VII, his issue:

1^st son Richardus s. pr. [no issue]

2^nd son Johannis de London mercator [John of London merchant]

3^rd son Humfridus had sons Richard, Humphrey & Johannis

7. Johannis de London mercator m Elizabeth dau & heir of Boughton de London, renupta Rado Verney Juniori mil. Postea ux Johis Drew de Bristow Ar. [he died in 1533; she remarried Rado Verney Jr soldier, afterwards wife of John Drew of Bristow, Armiger]

Issue:

a. Nicholas Breton de Syrescotes in Co. Stafford--2 fil & h 2.3 Ph.M [c1555-56--two sons & heirs]

b. Ewenus Breton d. sp. 1555/6--[no issue]

8a. Nicholas Breton de Syrescotes in Co. Stafford--2 fil & h 2.3 Ph.M [c1555-56--two sons & heirs], his son:

9. Johannes de Tamworth [son of Nicholas] m 1^st Brigitta d/o Wm Wyrley de Hampstead, Northants. by whom he had issue:

Elizabeth m John Levenson de Wyrley, Stafford

M 2^nd Elizabeth d/o John Wyrley de Medmenham, Bucks.

a. Dorothea ux Franc Duffield de Medmenham, Bucks.

b. Jana ux Franc Combeford de Linsell, Stafford; Ux Xopheri Endsor de Comberford, Stafford

c. Frances nupta Wm. Hudson de Baddesley in Wanell

d. Thomas}

e. Walt} no issue

f. John}

g. Nicholas Breton--the line continues through Nicholas as follows:

10g. Nicholas Breton de Norton iuxta Daventree in Co. Northants Arm 1618 [of Norton near Daventreee in Northants.] m Anna fil Edw Legne de Rushnell in Stafford & had issue:

a. John m Ann

b. Edwardus

c. Christopheris obiere celebi --never married

d. Gerardus

e. Williamus

f. Howard

g. Francesca ux Gerard Fielding de Sutton in Bennington, Co. Notts.

Early History from Charles Worthy, Devonshire Wills, p. 370ff.-

Although there is no evidence of Brittons at Bitton before the 16th century, they may have been "cadets of the House of Breton of Borough, several members of which settled in the parishes of Parkham and Alwington considerably before the time of Thomas Bruton, the ancestor of the Brutons of Yeo Vale." (p. 371)

Thomas & John Britton paid the subsidy in Oldland (moiety of Bitton manor) in 1523
John Breton & son Walter held land at Hanham Abbotts 1536
Thomas Brytayne paid the subsidy at Bitton & Hinsham in 1545
Lewse & Thomas Brytton Hanham Abbots 1557

The pedigree begins with John Bryttan will dated 1 March 1560/ Oct 1562, Bitton, Glo.
His son Thomas married Agnes Horsington and they had 6 sons & 3 daughters, of which
5th son John m Jane Burneli, Bitton, 26 June 1571; his will dated 14 Sept 1612
Eldest son Thomas ch June 1573, Bitton, his son
John purchased fee simple of the property on which another had lived and become owner of Bitton Court in 1633
Jasper, eldest son of Thomas and Agnes Horsington Britton lived at Swinford in Bitton--will dated 12 Aug 1590; his son:
John (eldest), his son
John, his son

Jasper's second son Stephen was the great grandfather of Simon Britton of St. George, Bristol, who was ancestor of Philip William Poole Britton Britton (below) b 1863 of Bitton House, Enfield, Middlesex & Hanham Court in Glo. Arms of this branch of this family: Quarterly or and gules, two lions passant in chief. etc.
Source: Charles Worthy, Devonshire Wills, and Edward E. Britton and Florence E. Young, Genealogy Britton

Continued from The Visitation of England and Wales, vol. 2, p 77ff:

Issue:

1. Joan b 1628

2. John b 1634

3. Thomas b 1639

4. Maurice b 1643 m Margaret

Maurice m Margaret

Issue:

1. Maurice b 1688 m Jane

2. Stephen d 1748 m Mary Hall

3. William b 1684

Stephen m Mary Hall

Issue:

1. Elizabeth b 1717

2. Stephen b 1748 m Elizabeth

3. Mary b 1719

5. Samson b 1726

6. Hannah b 1727

Stephen Britton b 1718 m Elizabeth

Issue:

1. Stephen

2. Maurice

3. Samuel b 1748

4. George b 1754

5. Sarah

6. Simon m Sarah Ridley, 2nd Mary Gage 3rd Eleanor Cannington d 1822

7. Elizabeth b 1743

Simon Britton m Mary Gage

Issue:

1. Eldest son Simon Gage 1782-1852 bur. Devon m Jame Hokpins

Issue:

2. Second son Daniel Britton 1784-1871 m Mary Ann Maillard (pedigree continues below)

Issue:

Continued from Visitation of England and Wales, vol. 4:

William Simon Britton (son of Daniel Britton & Mary Ann Maillard above) married Caroline Gell

Issue:

1. William Henry Briton of Caer Briton & Ashley Hall (only child) born 1835 d 1890 m Hannah Canter Poole

William Henry Britton and Hannah Poole

Issue:

1. Philip William Poolel Briton b 1863 m Agnes Cassandra Carylyon

2. Arthur Henry Daniel Britton b 1875

Philip William Poole Briton & Agnes Carlyon

Issue:

1. Winstantley Briton

2. Ella Carlyon Poole Britton b 1883

3. Henry Courtney Britton b 1891

4. Raymond Carlyon Britton b 1893

Bruton of Havitree from Sir Henry Saint-George, Visitation of the County of Devon in the Year 1620, p. 336

Arms: per pale gules and azure, a fess between two chevrons argent

Thomas Bruton al Breton of Borough in the parish of Morthowe

Issue: 1) Thomas 2) George 3) William 4) Philip 5) Robert 6) Adam

William Bruton of Havitree (3rd son above) was buried in the Cathedral Church of St. Peters m Elizabeth d/o Wm Ryder

Issue:

William age 23 in 1622 (2nd son)

John, 1st son & heir d 1612 m Dorothy d/o Leigh of Havitree--sons William age 17 in 1622 and John age 24

Mary m Arthur Periman

Susan m James Eveleigh

Elizabeth m Edward Fortescue

Margaret m William Peter

See also Breton of Layer-Breton, Essex

This pedigree for Breton of Monkton Farley, Wiltshire comes from Metcalfe’s Visitation of Wiltshire 1565, p. 8 and appears to trace the family’s descent from William Breton who died at Colchester in 1499.

Arms: Quarterly or and gules a bordure sable

William Breton of Layer Breton, Co Essex m [Isabella] d/o Haines of Essex, Gent. & Had:

1. William son and heir

2. Grace m Ratcliff of Essex

William ²

Breton of Layer m Ann d/o ______ Denham of the North & had:

1. Henry son & heir

2. John d young

3. Francis 3^rd son

4. Thomas died young

5. William 5^th son

Henry ³

Breton of Monkton Farley, Wiltshire m Ann d/o George Coulte of Cavendish, Suffolk & had:

1. George son & heir

2. William 2^nd son

3. Margaret m _____Hammond of Neyland, Suffolk, Gent.

4. Elizabeth unmarried

1. Richard Breton of Dover m Anne daughter of Matthew Babbington, Esq. Of Temple Rothley, Leicester in 1671 (Burke’s Genealogical & Heraldic History of the Lamded Gentry, v.1. ,p. 42; also Burke’s Commoners, v. 4. p. 518))--Anne died 16 Sept `1677 and was buried at Houghton, Kent

Issue:

Robert b 1673

2. Robert Breton b 27 Aug 1673 m Mary Moyle, daughter of John Moyle of Buckwell, Kent died 27 Sept 1707 in his 35^th year--resided at the Elms and was buried at Houghton--tombstone indicates descent fro Breton of Barwell on his father’s side and Bassingtons on his mother’s side [Hasted, vol. 9, p. ?, which indicates he was the son of Nicholas Breton, but that is incorrect as shown by the tombstones at Houghton)

Issue:

1. Moyle

2. Richard died young

3. Robert

4. John died young

5. Thomas

6. Anne

7. Elizabeth

8. Mary

3a. Moyle Breton Esq. Of Kennington, Kent-- b 1692 d 19 May 1735 aged 4, buried at Boughton Aluph, Kent-- married Mary daughter of William Moyse of Bennedon, Kent and had:

1. Moyle

2. Richard who had two daughters

3. The Rev. Robert Breton, Vicar of Boughton Aluph m Elizabeth____

b 1724 d 1808, without issue

4a. Moyle Breton the Younger m Martha____ & died before 22 April 1761 (date of her will); she died 1 March 1766

1. The Rev. Moyle Breton b 1744, d. 18 April 1818 at age 84 without issue; ordained Deacon in 1751, Priest in 1752 and served as Vicar of Boughton Aluph; married Elizabeth______ who died 12 Sept 1804, age 59--both are buried at Boughton Aluph

(Admissions to the College of St. John the Evangelist, v. 3, p. 553)

2. Moyse Breton d.sp.

3. Whitfield Breton bc

[Hasted, v.7. P 555--The Rev. Moyle Breton and his brother Whitfield inherited property in gavelkind]

3. Whitfield Breton bc 1752 or before (based on date of marriage)--m Lucy Elmstone at Rolvanden in 1773

Issue: (Source for children is a posting at Rootsweb)

1. Mary Martha b 1775 m William Mercer

2. Lucia 1777-1818

3. Thomas b 1785 Tenterden

4. Ann 1787-1806

If the information from Rootsweb is correct and Thomas was the only son of Whitfield Breton, then he was probably the father of:

John Whitfield Breton of Sagerland, Sussex, Gent.

bc 1811-15 (age 36 on the 1841 Census for Sussex and 40 in 1851, Sussex)

m Emma, daughter of Wm Cooper at Brighton in Dec. 1857 (Gentleman’s Magazine, p. 674)

Died August 1874--will dated 4 Nov. 1873 (Source: Chancery suit brought by representatives of three infant children, not named, against the widow who had remarried)

From W. Harry Rylands, ed., Pedigrees from the Visitation of Hampshire, p.25

_________________Breton,, bc 1250 ? [estimate]

Issue: 1) William Breton m _________ 2) Ann m Herbert de Denmead, coussen of John Grimstead of Grimstead in Wiltshire--her great great grandson John Wallop was living Anno 4 Hen IV [c 1402-3]

William Breton (the Younger)

Daughter and sole heir m Walter Hackett & died without issue

These arms are associated with a particular English county, but not with a particular English family.

[A mullet (ie star) is the cadency mark of the third son.]

Haxted, Essex--azure two chevrons or with in chief as many mullets of the second. (Francis Morgan Nichols, The Hall of Lawford Hall: Records of an Essex House and its Proprietors, p. 12 citing Symond’s Essex Memoranda, MS, College of Arms, v. 2, p. 197)

From Metcalfe’s Visitation of Essex: p. 584 Azure two chevronels between three mullets or-- [quartered in the arms of Huberd]

p. 622-- Rafe Whittle m Ann d/o Thomas Breton of Essex, Arms azure two chevronels or in a chief as many mullets of the second

From Essex Arch. Soc. vol. 2.(NS), pp. 3-4: The family of Margaret Breton, daughter of Thomas Breton, who married Humfrey Barrington of Barrington Hall in Braddocks, Essex [1400’s] bore azure a chevron or, but the origin of this family remains unknown.

From Burke’s General Armory: