CHRONOLOGY

Whilst there are very early references to FRAME / FREAME / FRESNE / FRAXINETO / FRAXINO / RAIM / REYNE families in England, the road to Scotland is still shrouded in mist prior to 1495. For research convenience - the following chronology is being collated to include any early references found for ALL variants of the surnames regardless of their place of origin. Doing so should help reveal any apparent links, and also map the migration of the families. Additionally, other names that might only be considered an outside chance of being associated are also included in the hope that a clearer picture of the ancient lineages will emerge. This is a work in progress and all interested persons are encouraged to participate in the research. Your input will be very welcome!

1030-1050:     

                   FRESNEL – FRA  

                        ‘Thorolf, father of Ralph Fresnel, appears to have been lord-paramount of St. Evroult-de-Montfort and St. Evroult proper, between the yean 1030 and 1050.’

[Ordericus Vitalis, Guizot (François), Léopold Delisle, The Ecclestical History of England and Normandy, Translated by Thomas Forester, 1854, pp. 470-471]

Note: Humphrey de Beaumont’s father was named Turolf/Thorolf. He also had a brother named Ralph.

c1041:       Filius FRANE or FRAME - FRA / ENG

Edward the Confessor’s thegn Osulf possibly accompanied Edward back to England in 1041 following Edward’s long exile in Normandy. Osulf came under scrutiny because in English records he was variously known by the patronymic appellations Osulf fil Frane or Osulf fil Frame and titled Lord Belvoir du Plessis. Since this name inferred Osulf’s father’s was named Frane, Fráni, or Frame etc., the thegn Frane of Rockingham who flourished c.983 was of interest as he may have been born early enough to have been Osulf’s father. However, in Normandy, Osulf was styled Osulf le Fresne or Osulf du Fresne or Osulf de Pont-Audemer. 

Osulf held many lands of King Edward the Confessor, the control of which, after the Conquest, passed to his son-in-law Robert de Toeni (Tosny), spouse of Osulf’s daughter Adeliza who was previously married to William d’Aubini. Osulf’s original holdings included Belvoir, Leicestershire. His son, Grimoult du Plessis, was lord of le Fresne, canton Trévières (*See 1166 - notes on the families Le Fresne and Port/Porte). Grimoult lost his land and his life in 1047 after joining the barons’ uprising against Duke William, and in 1074, William confirmed  ‘the eternal disinheritance of the family of Grimoald du Plessis-Grimoult, a vassal of the bishop of Bayeux, and that the bishops should henceforth hold the confiscated lands in demesne.'  [David Bates, The Earliest Norman Writs, [The English Historical Review, Vol.100, No.395. Apr.1985) p.280]

Osulf and his wife Adelitha are mentioned in 'Parishes: Studham', A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 3 (1912), pp. 426-32:

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43279&strquery=studham

‘The manor of STUDHAM was held in the early part of the 11th century by Ulf, whose widow Adelitha married Oswulf son of Frane, a thegn of Edward the Confessor. Oswulf and Adelitha granted about 1064 the reversion of the manor after their deaths to Leofstan, Abbot of St. Albans, for the health of their souls, the soul of Ulf and other relatives. (fn. 6) Oswulf was living apparently at the time of the Conquest, and William I, it would seem, seized his lands, ignoring the grant to St. Albans, and gave the manor of Studham to his follower Robert de Tony or Todeni of Belvoir before 1086. (fn. 7) At this date Baldric was holding the manor of Robert de Tony. (fn. 8)’ 

Osulf and Adelitha later received back a life interest in their estate at Studham which they had given to the abbey in order that they might build a church there; they agreed to pay the monks 20s. a year ob istius rei agnitionem. However, after the Conquest, Studham also passed to Osulf’s son-in-law Robert de Toeni. [Reginald Leonard, Rural England 1086-1135, 1959, p.168]

Information on Osulf, the family of Fresne and the connections to the family of Beaumont in ‘THE FAMILY OF FRESNE’ – Chapter XIV (b) at: http://www.stanhopefamilyorigins.com/

1050:         FRESNEL - FRA

‘Ralph Fresnel had two sons, William and Robert (vol. ii. p. 399), who sold to Theodoric, abbot of St. Evroult, the church of Notre-Dame-du-Bras in 1050.’

[Ordericus Vitalis, Guizot (François), Léopold Delisle, The Ecclestical History of England and Normandy, Translated by Thomas Forester, 1854, pp. 470-471]

1064:        FRESNEL - FRA

(‘Richard Fresnel, lord of Balbec, appears on a charter of the year 1064; relating to the grant of the priory of Balbec to the abbey of Bernai, but it should seem that he belonged to another family.) ‘

[Ordericus Vitalis, Guizot (François), Léopold Delisle, The Ecclestical History of England and Normandy, Translated by Thomas Forester, 1854, pp. 470-471]        

Bef. 1066:    

                   FRANE  - ENG

From A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO DOMESDAY BOOK

- Sir Henry Ellis, from Volume 2:

PERSONS ETC. HOLDING LANDS, T.R.E. and PREVIOUS TO THE DOMESDAY SURVEY

Page 198:

        OSULF filius Frane teignus R.E. Hertf. 138 bis. Buck. 149.

Bedf. 215 ter. 

                Page 267:

                WIGA homo Osulfi filii Frane, Hertf. 136b.

                FRANE – Buckingham ENG

CHEDDINGTON

Assoc. name: De Toni [De Tosny, Todeni, Toeni]

‘The farm of ELSAGE (Elshage, xvii cent.) until the 17th century was called a manor. In the time of Edward the Confessor one of his thegns, Osulf son of Frane, held and could sell 5½ hides in Cheddington. In 1086 this land was held by Robert de Toni, lord of Belvoir, Leicestershire, as a manor. (fn. 25) The overlordship of Elsage remained appurtenant to the barony of Belvoir (fn. 26) and is last mentioned in 1415.’

From: 'Parishes: Cheddington', A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 3 (1925), pp. 331-334. URL:

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42570&strquery=frane.

                   FRANE – Hertford ENG

                   TRING OR TRING MAGNA

                Assoc. names: Eustace of Boulogne; Engelric

                ‘The manor of TRING or TRINGE MAGNA was held before the Conquest by Engelric, and there were two sokemen, men of Oswulf son of Frane, who held two hides, which they could sell. These sokemen were attached to the manor by Engelric after King William came. One of the men of the abbey of Ramsey held 5 hides of this manor in the same way, but could not sell or alienate them from Ramsey Abbey. He also had been attached to it by Engelric after King William came, and did not belong to it in the time of King Edward.

At the time of the Domesday Survey, Tring was held by Count Eustace of Boulogne, whose daughter and heir Maud married Stephen, afterwards king of England.’

From: 'Parishes: Tring with Long Marston', A History of the County of Hertford: volume 2 (1908), pp. 281-294. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=43280&strquery=frane.

FRANE – Bedford ENG

OAKLEY

Assoc. names: De Todeni, Roos, Bosard, Reynes

‘In the time of the Confessor Osulf, a king's thegn, held land in Oakley. (fn. 3*) In 1086 Robert de Todeni held 4 hides, having two knights as tenants. This property afterwards became known as the OAKLEY REYNES MANOR. The overlordship of this manor follows the same descent as the honour of Belvoir, (fn. 4) as Robert de Todeni's fief afterwards became known, which passed from the Todeni family to the family of Roos of Hamlake, (fn. 5) the last mention of the overlordship being found in 1512. (fn. 6) The earliest known tenant of Oakley Reynes Manor was Simon de Bosard, who held it as a third part of a knight's fee at the time of the Testa de Nevill. (fn. 7) By 1278 he had been succeeded by Richard de Bosard, who in that year held the manor, then comprising 3⅓ hides of land, a view of frankpledge, a free fishery from Benery to his mill in Oakley and rights of common fishing from Milton Mill to Cothemannesholme. (fn. 8) Richard de Bosard's sister and heiress Joan married Thomas Reynes, who became lord of Oakley Manor in the right of his wife.’

*3V.C.H. Beds. i, 247, 248. Osulf was, according to Mr. F. A. Stenton, the son of Frane

 From: 'Parishes: Oakley', A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 3 (1912), pp. 149-153.

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42403&strquery=frane.

1066:         FRAXINETO - Said to be among the Conqueror’s Companions in 1066:

                *Radulphus de Fraxineto (aka Odo)

From: http://www.stanhopefamilyorigins.com/

*‘Radulphus de Beaumont’s g.g.g. grandson was Radulphus de Fraxineto, i.e. Fresne, aka Odo, a companion of ‘the Conqueror’, who also assisted him in the conquest of Maine, fighting against his probable cousin, Hubert III. de Beaumont, Vicomte de Beaumont, et Maine, et Vendome, son of Ralph de Beaumont V., who had rebelled against ‘the Conqueror’, his sworn liege lord.  Radulphus de Fraxineto gained much in terms of land ownership from his loyalty, as it was common custom to reward a relative of someone who had renounced his fealty… It would appear that through his sons, William and Ranulph, stemmed the Fresnes of Scotland and Ireland.’

                FORMIBAUD / FERMEBAUD / FIRMBAUD / FREMBAUD / FRUMBAUD  - ENG

                (poss. early 'Frame/Frampe derivative?)

Formibaud:

or rather Fermebaud—(Leland). "The Firmbauds," says Lysons, "are among the earliest extinct families which are known, by records subsequent to the Norman survey, to have possessed property in Bedfordshire, and twice represented the county in parliament in the reign of Edward III." They also held Bow-Brickhill, in Buckinghamshire, which passed from them to the Staffords. Nicholas Frembaud was Constable of Bristol Castle in the reign of Edward III. He had also the custody of the see of Bath and Wells and other great estates, which yet were occasionally seized into the King's hands. His son Thomas succeeded him in his Bedfordshire estates; and afterwards, Sir John Frembaud (probably Thomas's son) exercised the patronage of the church of Bow-Brickhill between 1336 and 1349."—Lipscomb's Buckinghamshire. In the latter year Henry Fermbaud served as knight of the shire for Bucks. Geoffrey Frumbaud held sixty acres of land at Wingfeud [Wingfield] in Suffolk, by the service of paying the King two white doves yearly.—Plac. Coron. 4 Ed. I.   [Battle Abbey Rolls]

1066:         De FRANTONE (FRAMPTON) – Lincoln ENG

                   Alesanus de Frantone, 1066, Domesday Book, Lincolnshire

[Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames, 1996, p.176]

Note: The name FRAMPTON is included in the FRAME DNA Project. Most ‘Frampton’ place names are said to derive from the River Frome. However, the village in Lincolnshire has a different origin and is said to be the ‘Farmstead of a man named  Fráni or Frameca’. [A.D. Mills, A Dictionary of British Place Names, 2003, pp.196-197]

c1066-1624:   

                   De FREIGNE / De FRAXINIS / De FRAYNE / FRENCH

Roscommon IRE

Assoc. names: Walter de Bermingham, Gerard de Roche, Eustace Le Poer, Edward De Burgo, Richard de Tuite, Miles De Courcy, Earl of Desmond, Earl of Ormond

‘FRENCH, ARTHUR, esq. of French Park, in the county of Roscommon, late knight of that shire in parliament; succeeded his father in 1820.

Lineage:
The family of FRENCH, whose name was originally De Freigne, or De Fraxinis, is of great antiquity, and claims descent from Rollo, first Duke of Normandy. It was established in England by one of the companions in arms of the Conqueror, and in Ireland, by Sir Herbert, or Humphrey De Frayne, who accompanied Strongbow in his expedition against that country, and acquiring large possessions in the province of Leinster, settled at Ballymacuoge, in Wexford. He had two sons, Patrick and Nicholas, whose descendants early gained distinction and ranked amongst the most powerful of the Anglo-Norman barons.

In 1332, Fulk de Fraxinis is mentioned as one of the good knights to whom the king looked for the maintenance of tranquillity in Ireland; in 1335, Fulk and Oliver De Freigne were summoned to attend EDWARD III with arms and men in the war with Scotland; in 1342, Fulk de Freigne was rated at ten men at arms and twenty nobelars, to attend the king in the war with France; in 1344, Fulke de la Freigne  was summoned to attend the Earl of Kildare, with Walter de Bermingham, Gerard de Roche, Eustace Le Poer, Edward De Burgo, Richard de Tuite, Miles De Courcy, &c.; in 1355, Sir Fulke de Freigne was security for the Earl of Desmond, and when Lionel, Duke of Clarence, came to Ireland, he knighted three of this family as among the most distinguished soldiers of that kingdom. In 1362, Patrick de la Freigne, commanded a large force under the Earl of Ormond in the war with the rebels, and in two years after, Sir John Freigne was fined £50 for refusing to attend parliament when summoned as a peer, in 1377.

In 1376, JAMES FRENCH, third son of Sir Robert De Freigne, was chosen to represent Wexford* in the parliament of Westminster. He had a son…’
[ John Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland ]

c.1080:      FRAXINETO 

Odo ‘Rufus’ de Fraxineto witnessed a charter of William I, ca. 1080 [Bates, RRAN p. 802]

1086:         FRANE – Leicester ENG

Re: SLAWSTON, LEICESTERSHIRE

                        Assoc. names: De Buci, Basset, De Neville, De Tatershall

Manor
In 1086 two tenants named Godwin and Frane held 2½ carucates from Robert de Buci in Slawston, and another virgate of waste was held by Ingeld. (fn. 11) This holding descended by c. 1130 to Richard Basset, who had inherited much of de Buci's Leicestershire lands, and was then assessed as 3 carucates. (fn. 12) In 1242–3 Hugh de Nevill held ¼ knight's fee in Slawston from Robert de Tatershall who held from Ralph Basset of Weldon. (fn. 13) By 1279 there were said to be 7½ carucates in Slawston, but 1½ of these belonged to the honor of Belvoir (see below) and 3½ may be identified as being in Othorpe...' 

[From: 'Slawston', A History of the County of Leicestershire:

Volume 5: Gartree Hundred (1964), pp. 297-303. ]

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22071

1086-1252: 

                   De FRENEY / De FRAISNETO / Du FRENAI - Rutland ENG

Re: BELTON

Assoc. names: De Ferrers, Fitz Herbert, De Aslaketon, De Mortimer, Le Blount

Manors

‘The manor of BELTON was probably one of the berewicks attached to the manor of Ridlington in 1086. (fn. 6) It was presumably alienated by the Crown with the manor of Oakham (q.v.) in the 12th century, and from that time was held of the castle and manor of Oakham (fn. 7) as one knight's fee.

The first sub-tenant of the manor seems to have been Ralph de Freney (de Fraisneto, du Frenai), who granted land belonging to his fee in Belton to the Priory of St. Mary at Brooke, (fn. 8) probably at its foundation by Hugh de Ferrers before 1153. (fn. 9) Whether Ralph held the whole manor or whether its division into moieties (fn. 10) had already taken place is unknown. Ralph was living in 1166–7, and was succeeded by his son William, mentioned in relation to Rutland from 1175 to 1203. (fn. 11) William refers in charters to Brooke Priory, to his sons Robert, his heir, and Reginald. (fn. 12) Robert possibly died without issue, as Reginald succeeded to Belton, where he had held a virgate of land in his father's lifetime. (fn. 13) He lost his property in England, as a Norman, in 1205, (fn. 14) but Alice de Freney, probably holding the manor in dower as widow of William de Freney, leased in that year a carucate of land to Peter de Aslaketon. (fn. 15) After her death the manor reverted to the chief lords, and in 1232 Henry III intimated to Peter Fitz Herbert and Isabel his wife, then overlords, that it was his pleasure that they should restore Belton to Henry son of Reginald de Freney. (fn. 16) Before 1237 Henry de Freney sold a moiety of the manor of Belton to Hugh de Mortimer, son of Isabel by her former husband Roger de Mortimer. (fn. 17) On his death it passed to his mother, who was the tenant in 1244, (fn. 18) when Alice, widow of Hugh, sued her mother-in-law for dower in Belton. Alice, however, was required to give an undertaking that if she recovered dower, it should revert to the Crown after the death of Isabel. (fn. 19) Isabel died in 1252, (fn. 20) when the overlordship reverted to the Crown and passed in that year with Oakham (q.v.) to Richard, Earl of Cornwall…’

[From: 'Parishes: Belton', A History of the County of Rutland: Volume 2 (1935), pp. 27-32.]     Extensive information at:

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=66195

?                 FRAXINO - ENG

                Misc. Deeds

Kent?] B. 433. Grant by Alan de la Dane to William the Leech (medico), of a messuage and house in Boctone next Keystrete. Witnesses:—John de Boctone, Ralph and Gilbert de Fraxino, John de Brendle, Alexander Hereberd, and others (named).

From: 'Deeds: B.401 - B.500', A Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds: Volume 1 (1890), pp. 252-261.

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=64215&strquery=Fraxino.

Berks.] B. 687. Grant by Ralph de Fraxino, of Brihtwaltone, to Walter Godeshalf, of a rent payable by the latter for a messuage, curtilage, and land within the manor of Brihtwaltone.

Witnesses:—John Renaud of Uldesle, Peter de Werdeham, and others (named).

From: 'Deeds: B.601 - B.700', A Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds: Volume 1 (1890), pp. 271-280.

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=64217&strquery=Fraxino.

[Essex.] A. 770. Confirmation by William, called abbot of Albermarle, by advice of Osbert and Walter, "our monks," and the whole convent to Ydonea, the prioress, and the nuns of St. Mary of Wikes, of the sale Robert de Glowcestria and Ralph son of Ailaf, made them, paying the abbot the service due yearly from the land, as Roger's grant witnesses. Witnesses:—Master Denis, monk of St. Edmund, Master Alan, William de Fraxino, Robert his brother, Eustace de Braham, Miles le Enveise Robert de Coppedoc.

From: 'Deeds: A.701 - A.800', A Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds: Volume 1 (1890), pp. 82-95.

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=64199&strquery=Fraxino.

[Dors.] A. 245. Grant by Walter de Daiville to Alan Basset and his heirs of all his land in Winterburn, which William de Frayino [?Fraxino] held, for a term beginning at the feast of St. Margaret [before ?] "the agreement made between our lord the King and his barons at Rinningmed," to the next Easter following thereafter; the land then to remain to Walter and his heirs in the same state as he grants it, that is, seven acres ploughed and the meadow "ad falcandum," saving Alan's aforesaid crop to the Michaelmas next following. Witnesses:—Thomas Basset, Thomas de Estlegh, Hugh Dispenser, Walter de Coventry, Stephen de Segrave, Richard de Turribus and others (named). [17 John.]

From: 'Deeds: A.201 - A.300', A Descriptive Catalogue of Ancient Deeds: Volume 1 (1890), pp. 21-33.

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=64194&strquery=Frayino.

1086:        FREAM - Surrey ENG

               CHESSINGTON, SURREY

               Assoc. names: Crispin, Wallingford; Hatton; Crisp; Hamilton; Chancellor; Dobbys; Rychbell; Haynes, Harvey

       ‘...Land in Chessington was held of Edward the Confessor by Magno Suert, and in 1086 (when it was assessed for 1 hide, though in the time of King Edward it had been assessed for 5) was included among the estates of Miles Crispin, who appears to have claimed it without warrant in right of his father-in-law Wigod of Wallingford, as the jurors declared that Wigod was not holding it when William I came into England. (V.C.H. Surr. i, 325b00.

This land descended with the honour of Wallingford, and in 1279 was in the possession of Edmund Earl of Cornwall.

BOXLEY ABBEY

 ‘…The possessions of Boxley in Chessington are not described as a manor until 1535, when they are included among the monastic lands under the name of the 'Manor of Friern,' and valued at £6. (Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), i, 79.)

’… From this date [1594] the descent of the manor follows that of Chessington down to the time of Thomas Hatton, who sold Chessington (vide supra) in 1742, but not Fream. He died in 1746. Fream was bought shortly afterwards by Mr. Christopher Hamilton, with whom lived Samuel Crisp, Miss Burney's friend. Mr. Hamilton was succeeded by his sister, who died in 1797. The house was called Chessington Hall by Mr. Hamilton, and the property has since been known by that name. It was used as a farm, and the old house, said to date from 1520, became ruinous and was pulled down in 1833–4. The present house was then built on the old foundations; the old brickwork is visible in the cellars. Mr. Horatio Chancellor bought Fream or Chessington Hall in 1851 and still owns it.

 From: 'Parishes: Chessington', A History of the County of Surrey: Volume 3 (1911), pp. 263-266.

http://www.british- history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42964&strquery=Fream.

1086-1653: 

                   FREAM - Gloucester ENG

                   FRAMPTON ON SEVERN

                Assoc. names: Ernesi; Pons; De Lacy; De Clifford; FitzPain; Holford

‘…Before the Conquest Frampton was held by Ernesi, and in 1086 Drew son of Pons held it of the king; Roger de Lacy also held 1 hide there unjustly. (fn. 33) Frampton later passed to Drew's nephew, Walter son of Richard son of Pons; Walter, who assumed the surname Clifford, (fn. 34) made the grant mentioned above of the mill at Frampton c. 1180, and his son Walter (fn. 35) confirmed Frampton to his younger brother Richard de Clifford in 1200, to hold it of Walter. (fn. 36) Richard held the manor of FRAMPTON at his death in or before 1213, when Walter made fine for the custody of the land and heirs of his brother Richard…’

‘…Nicholas of the Newland, who in 1322 received a lease of 1 yardland from Robert FitzPain, (fn. 85) had the highest assessment for tax in Frampton, and the second highest in the hundred, in 1327. (fn. 86) If Nicholas had a freehold estate it may have been that which had come to Geoffrey and Alice Holford by 1440, (fn. 87) which in turn may have been one of three estates held by the families of Haynes, Fream, and Selwyn…’

‘…Robert Fream died in 1599 holding Lower Lypiatt manor in Stroud and an estate in Frampton. His son and heir Thomas (fn. 2) had four tenants in Frampton in 1618. (fn. 3) Thomas's son Thomas was in possession of the estate in 1653 and was succeeded by three daughters as coheirs, of whom Sarah married Henry Window, (fn. 4) Elizabeth married Thomas Clutterbuck, (fn. 5) and Anne married Thomas Chamberlayne. (fn. 6) The subsequent descent of the estate has not been traced…’

From: 'Frampton on Severn: Manors and other estates', A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 10: Westbury and Whitstone Hundreds (1972), pp. 143-148.

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=15791&strquery=Fream.

1086:         FRAXINO – Hampshire ENG

TOTFORD

Assoc. names: Totford; Odo the Steward; Philip of Micheldever; Richard de Bordene; Philip Butler; Henry le Frankelyn

‘TOTFORD (Totteford xii cent.) (fn. 27) is not mentioned by name in the Domesday Book, but since it was assessed at five hides in the thirteenth century it may perhaps be identical with the five hides held of the abbey in 1086 by Odo the Steward, which were then worth 50s. (fn. 28) William de Totford witnessed a charter to Hyde Abbey in 1191, (fn. 29) and was probably the William de Totford referred to in an inscription (fn. 30) which has been taken from the north wall of the old church. William was probably succeeded by Robert de Totford, who witnessed a grant to Roger Abbot of Hyde (1248–63), (fn. 31) and who had a son John living in 1262. (fn. 32) These were evidently members of a family which held part of the land now known as Totford. Later in the thirteenth century the whole of Totford, consisting of five hides, was held by Philip de Totford, Philip Butler, Peter de Fraxino and Henry le Frankelyn by service of one knight's fee to the abbot of Hyde. (fn. 33) Of these five hides Philip Butler held one, which was apparently annexed to the Butlers' neighbouring manor of Brown Candover (q.v.); (fn. 34) another, which was held by Peter de Fraxino, was acquired from his descendant John de Fraxino (fn. 35) before 1346 by Philip of Micheldever and Richard de Bordene, the former of whom doubtless added his moiety to his manor of Mottisfont (q.v.’;

From: 'Parishes: Northington', A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 3 (1908), pp. 394-397.

 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=42010.

1100-1339: 

                   De FRESNE / De FRAXINO – Sussex ENG

                   OVING, MARTINSGRAVE or GROVE

        Assoc. names: De Broc, De Tregoz, Peter de Wodehorne, de Vilers, William, Earl of Arundel, de Picheford, John de Gatesden, De la Grave, Sir William de Bernak

The manor of MARTINESGRAVE or GROVE (fn. 41) belonged to the city of Chichester in the time of Henry I, but he gave lands then worth £10 to William de Fresne (de Fraxino), (fn. 42) and this was no doubt the 'land of Fresne' which in 1166 constituted one fee of the honor of Arundel. (fn. 43) In 1187 Martinesgrave was in the king's hands, being tallaged at 10s., (fn. 44) and towards the end of 1189 it was granted to Niel de Broc. (fn. 45) Shortly after this, Robert de Tregoz also held the manor for a while, as he had £10 of land in Martinesgrave in 1196 (fn. 46) and gave to Boxgrove Priory for the soul of his wife Sybil two crofts in his manor of Grove, 'which was given to me for my service', one being Elbrugge croft and the other Leacroft adjoining the road to Oving. (fn. 47) His charter is undated but was before 1215, in which year Prior Robert demised to Peter de Wodehorne Ipicroft at Martinesgrave, 'which croft Robert de Tregoz gave us'. (fn. 48)

A later William de Fresne seems to have recovered the estate before 1217, but shortly afterwards forfeited Martinesgrave as a Norman and it was given first to Robert de Vilers and then in 1223, on his death, to William, Earl of Arundel, (fn. 49) the overlord of the fee. In 1233, during the minority of Earl Hugh, the king gave the manor to William de Picheford. (fn. 50) William de Fresne, however, returned to England, recovered his lands in Drayton and Grove, and obtained leave to alienate them to John de Gatesden. (fn. 51) He in turn conveyed the land to Boxgrove Priory. (fn. 52)

On the division of Earl Hugh's fees between his coheirs in 1244 the ½ fee in Grove held by John de Gatesden was assigned to John FitzAlan, who, as already stated, confirmed it to Boxgrove Priory; there was also 1/20 fee in Grove held by John de la Grave which was assigned to Robert de Tateshale. (fn. 53) This was represented in 1303 by 1/80 held by Ralph de la Grave, 1/80 by Robert le Botiller, and 1/40 by Richard de Picheford. (fn. 54) These were assigned in 1309 to John de Orreby and Joan his wife and Joan de Driby, coheirs of Tateshale; (fn. 55) and the 1/40 fee was held in 1339 of Sir William de Bernak in right of Alice his wife, representing Tateshale, by John de la Grave. (fn. 56)

[From: 'Oving', A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 4: The Rape of Chichester (1953), pp. 165-170.]

1119:         FRESNEL - FRA

Assoc. names: Eustace, Thorolf, Theodoric, abbot of St. Evroult

CH. XIII. Richard Fresnel, of La Ferte near St Evroulf, takes arms—He is opposed by Ralph of Pont-Echanfré—The king in person quells the revolt—Richard Fresnel dies at the Abbey.

RICHARD FRESNEL⁷, who boasted of no less than eight sons, when near his end became so infatuated by the injudicious counsels of his wife that, in conjunction with them, he took measures against the welfare of the community. He caused a fort to be built with the king's money on the territory of -Anciens, and following Eustace his lord, employed himself in ravaging the lands of his neighbours, so that, old as he was, he had no shame at being ranked among the public enemies. At this period, the observance of Lent was damnably violated by the sons of men.

(Footnote: 7 Richard Fresnel, founder of La Ferte-Fresnel, a near neighbour of the monks of St. Evroult, and a vassal of the lords of Breteuil. The fief of La Ferte.-Fresnel was held under them for the service of five knights completely armed. The first person we know of this ancient family is Thorolf, father of Ralph Fresnel, who appears to have been lord-paramount of St. Evroult-de-Montfort and St. Evroult proper, between the yean 1030 and 1050. See vol. ii. p. 314. The name Thorolf smacks of its Scandinavian origin. Ralph Fresnel had two sons, William and Robert (vol. ii. p. 399), who sold to Theodoric, abbot of St. Evroult, the church of Notre-Dame-du-Bras in 1050. The Richard Fresnel mentioned in this chapter must have been the son of one of them. A Richard Fresnel, lord of Balbec, appears on a charter of the year 1064; relating to the grant of the priory of Balbec to the abbey of Bernai, but it should seem that he belonged to another family.)

[Ordericus Vitalis, Guizot (François), Léopold Delisle, The Ecclestical History of England and Normandy, Translated by Thomas Forester, 1854, pp. 470-471]        

c1126:       FRESNEL – Leicester ENG

Assoc. names: Bretuil; Du Bois; Charneles, Cierrey; Bordigny.’

‘The second earl of Leicester [aka Robert de Beaumont] (who succeeded his father in 1118) came by the great Norman honour of Bretuil in 1120 by marriage. To recruit the friendship of its chief barons, the earl lavishly endowed certain of the barons of Bretuil with estates in Warwickshire and Leicestershire. The most notable of these newcomers was Arnold du Bois…Other families from Bretuil to share the earl’s generosity with Arnold: those of Fresnel, Charneles, Cierrey and Bordigny.’

[David Bates, Anne Curry, England and Normandy in the Middle Ages, 1994, p.57]

1135-c.1600:  

                   De VEIM / De REOM / FREAME – Gloucester ENG

LYPIATT & NETHER LYPIATT

Assoc. names: Mortimer, Laban, Walsh, Windowe, Chamberlayne, Clutterbuck, Coxe. The full Victoria County History article also mentions the families of Nash/e (Fresne), Ferris etc.

‘An estate at Lypiatt owned by one Richard in 1220 probably comprised Nether Lypiatt tithing. (fn. 51) Richard may have been Richard de Veim who in 1225 was impleaded over property in Bisley and Stroud by Hugh Mortimer, Bartholomew Laban, and Bartholomew's wife Muriel. (fn. 52) An earlier Richard de Veim was one of the vavasours on Bisley manor c. 1135. (fn. 53) In 1346 ½ knight's fee at Nether Lypiatt was held jointly by John de Reom, who had succeeded William de Reom, and the prior of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. (fn. 54) John de Reom's estate, later known as the manor of NETHER LYPIATT, was held in 1374 and 1384 by Roger Reom, (fn. 55) who may have been succeeded by Thomas atte Reom who in 1387 did fealty to Bisley manor for land formerly held by Roger. (fn. 56) In 1479, William Freame, whose name was evidently a variation of Reom, held Nether Lypiatt manor. (fn. 57) In 1517 the manor was held by the same or a later William Freame, and it was retained by his widow Catherine who married Richard Walsh; on Catherine's death in 1539 it passed to her son Thomas Freame, (fn. 58) probably the same man who made his will in 1572 and was succeeded by his son William. (fn. 59) William was succeeded by his son Robert, who died in 1599 holding the manor and over 400 a. of land in Nether Lypiatt and Thrupp, and the manor passed to Robert's son Thomas (fn. 60) (d. 1659) and Thomas's son Thomas (d. 1664). (fn. 61) The younger Thomas's heirs were his three daughters, Sarah who married Henry Windowe, Anne who married Thomas Chamberlayne of Wanborough (Wilts.), and Elizabeth who married Thomas Clutterbuck of Brown's Hill, Bisley; the daughters made a partition of the manor in 1689 although Thomas's widow Anne (d. 1694) still occupied the manor-house and had a life-interest in part of the estate. (fn. 62) Catherine, daughter and heir of Thomas and Anne Chamberlayne, married Charles Coxe (fn. 63) and she apparently also inherited her aunt Sarah's part of the estate; (fn. 64) the descent of the Clutterbucks' share is traced below…’

‘…In 1541 and 1558 a messuage called Freame House was held freely from the Hospitallers' manor by Thomas Freame. (fn. 11) If Thomas was the same man as the owner of the other Nether Lypiatt manor, it is possible that the house was the Freames' chief house at Nether Lypiatt Manor, its tenure from the Hospitallers resulting from the derivation of the two manors from a single estate. It may, however, have been at Middle Lypiatt House, later the chief house of the Leversages' estate. Middle Lypiatt House is a late-16th- or early-17th-century gabled house comprising a central hall and entrance range, a kitchen wing to the north, and a parlour to the south. The main doorway on the east front was later moved southwards and given a gabled porch. The parlour was panelled early in the 18th century and at about the same time the kitchen wing was extended to the north and east.

In 1374 Tewkesbury Abbey, as well as Roger Reom and the Hospitallers, was holding a portion of the fee of Nether Lypiatt, (fn. 12) and the abbey's estate was again recorded in 1479. (fn. 13) It was presumably represented by unspecified possessions of the abbey described as at Bisley at the Dissolution (fn. 14) but it has not been found recorded later…’

[From: 'Stroud: Manors and other estates', A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume 11: Bisley and Longtree Hundreds (1976), pp. 111-119.]

http://www.british- history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=19060&strquery=Reom

1138:         FRESNEL - FRA

‘Thereupon, William Fresnel [Latin: Fresmel, older son of Richard Fresnel mentioned above in 1119.] and his six brothers, and Alain de Tanée, and Ernald the count;s steward, with the garrison of Glos, rose in arms and burnt Pont Echanfré, Montreuil, and the neighbouring bourgs.’ (footnote: William Fresnel, lord of La Ferté-Fresnel) [Ordericus Vitalis, Guizot (François), Léopold Delisle, The Ecclestical History of England and Normandy, Translated by Thomas Forester, 1856, p.197]

c.1138-40: 

                   FRESNEL – FRA and Leicester ENG

‘Richard Fresnel. The Fresnels were, like the Du Bois, one of the great baronial houses of the honor of Bretuil. This is Richard Fresnel III, son of William Fresnel II. At this time Richard has not yet inherited his father’s castle and barony of La Ferté-Fresnel (Orne, cant. La Ferté ), hence his low position on the witness list. Richard stayed with Earl Robert throughout Stephen’s reign. Even when he was confined to England by loss of  the honor of Bretuil. He attests 3 other charters of the earl from this period.’  (Footnote: Crouch, The Beaumont Twins, 106,111)

[David Crouch, Institute of Historical Research, London, THE FOUNDATION OF LEICESTER ABBEY, AND OTHER  PROBLEMS]

1145:         FRAXINO – WAL and Hereford ENG

                   Re: RICHARDS CASTLE

                Assoc. names: Port, Osbern Fitz Hugh; Mortimer, Braos

‘…It has been shown that Roger Port of Kington managed to acquire Presteigne from Osbern Fitz Hugh before 9 April 1145 when Thomas Fraxino granted the church there to St Guthlac's priory, Hereford…’ http://www.castles99.ukprint.com/index.html

‘The castle site above Presteigne is a fairly typical early motte and bailey design. It may have been built prior to the Doomsday survey of 1086. The area was part of the estates of the Lords of Richards Castle and is refered to as 'Humet', later being altered to Preists-humet to distinguish it from Kings-humet which is now Kinsham and at that time was a Crown possession. Presteigne changed hands sometime after 1139 when it came into the possession of Adam Port of Kington. He established the Fraxino family as Lords of Presteigne and here they remained while the overlordship changed, first in 1172 when the Ports were bannished after their involvement in a rebellion and their estates became part of the sherrifdom of Hereford. In 1203 William Braose III bought the barony of Kington and thus gained control of Presteigne. He rebelled in 1208 at which time Thomas Fraxino managed to withdraw his holdings into a separate barony which he held directly from King John. In 1218 Braose was restored and again Presteigne came under his overlordship until his heirless death in 1230 when Ralph Mortimer was appointed as part-custodian to Braose lands. Ralphs son, Roger Mortimer later married Maud Braose and through her inheritance Presteigne became part of the Mortimer estates. The Fraxinos remained here as tennants until 1262 when the castle was captured and destroyed by the Welsh under Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.’

http://www.soukosdesigns.force9.co.uk/recreation/localhistory/pages/presteigne.htm

1154-1189:  

                   FRAXINO / FRECHNIE – Worcester ENG