William Hotchkiss / Hodgkins

Personal and Family Information

William was born about 1490 in Shropshire, England, the son of Simon Hotchkiss / Hodgkins but his mother is unknown.

He died after 1558. The place is not known.

His wife was Cecily. They were married, but the date and place have not been found. They had no known children.

Pedigree Chart (3 generations)

Events

Notes

Note 1

!Note: William Hodgkins appears to have been the principal heir for a specific portion of the estate of Richard Hotchkiss / Hodgkins of Antingham . A significant series of probate filings from 1519 onward suggests William was inheriting some of those holdings rather than being deceased himself at that point. The 1519 and 1538 probates may mark property transfer or legal affirmation, not his death—meaning he most likely wasn’t dead but was acting in an executor or heir role.

!Source: Norfolk Wills & Probate https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=PRS%2FNORFWILLPROB%2F073734&tab=this

First name William

Document type Will

Last name Howchyns <<<< Variant of Hotchkiss or Hotchkins. “tch” is often mis-transcibed as “w”.

Archive reference ANW, will register, Tary, fo. 25

Title Howchyns, William, of Great Yarmouth

View source website View source website

Year 1519

Record set Norfolk Wills & Probate

Date 1519-1535

Category Birth, Marriage & Death

Residence Great Yarmouth

Subcategory Wills & Probate

County Norfolk

Collections from Great Britain, England

Country England

Note: Likely inheritance from Richard Hotchkiss, the Acquirer.

!Source: Staffordshire, Dioceses Of Lichfield And Coventry Wills And Probate 1521-1860

https://www.findmypast.com/transcript?id=GBPRS%2FSTAFF%2FWILLS%2F081174&tab=this

First name Wm

Series description Registered wills and original wills, administrations and inventories, 1494-1860, and, act books, 1532-1638 for Diocese of Lichfield Episcopal Consistory Court

Last name Heykenes <<< Variant of Hochkens or Hotchkiss. Secretary hand “e” and “o” are often indestiguishable and “y” is often a misread for “ch”.

Piece description Calendar of wills and admons.

Year 1538

Piece surname range A-L

Will year 1538

Piece year range 1494-1650

Parish -

Record set Staffordshire, Dioceses Of Lichfield And Coventry Wills And Probate 1521-1860

Place Bradbere, , England <<<< Unknown location. Could be Bardbury, Devon.

Category Birth, Marriage & Death

County -

Subcategory Wills & Probate

Country England

Collections from England, Great Britain

Note: 1. Likely inheritance from Richard Hotchkiss, the Acquirer.

2. The fact that This was probated in the Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry confirms the legal venue was the West Midlands [Staffordshire/Derbyshire/Warwickshire/Shropshire]. In those counties possibilites would include Bradwell [Staffordshire] or Bradbourne [Derbyshire]. However, if a person died holding land in multiple jurisdictions, their will might be processed in one primary court , like Lichfield, but referenced in local records where the land sat.

3. There is a specific, high-confidence historical match for this name. The "Isle of Bradbere" appears in the 12th-century Boldon Book , an inventory of the Bishopric of Durham. It was mentioned in an exchange of land between the Bishop's chamberlain and a local tenant. This indicates "Bradbere" was a distinct, recognized topographical feature [likely a "broad grove”] used to identify land holdings.

4. There is documented evidence of the "Bradbere" name in 16th-century Buckinghamshire. The Buckinghamshire Record Society lists an Edmund Bradbere in the early 1500s. This suggests that "Bradbere" existed as a recognized locational surname or minor property name in the county during the same era as your wills.

5. Bradenham, Norfolk: Historically held by the de Cailly family , this manor was a significant estate. By the early 1500s, parts of the manor were being purchased and consolidated by the Spelman family. If your ancestors were in Cromer and North Walsham, they were within the primary social and legal sphere of this manor.

6. Bradenham, Buckinghamshire: This manor has a distinct but parallel history. It was a well-known medieval lordship that passed through various families, including the Whartons and the Windsor family.

7. The Valor Ecclesiasticus, 1535, was the "Tudor Domesday" survey used to assess church wealth before the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Bradwell Abbey, Buckinghamshire was one of the first to be suppressed in the early 1530s.

The lands were often transferred to the Crown and then leased or sold to "Acquirers" like our Richard. It may be that Richard targeted such cheap and available lands for aquiral.

The 1538 probate for Wm Heykenes of "Bradbere" fits the timeline of someone affirming their rights to former monastic lands or copyhold tenements that were in legal flux following the suppression of houses like Bradwell.

!Source: The National Archives' catalogue https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C7504612

C - Records created, acquired, and inherited by Chancery, and also of the Wardrobe, Royal Household, Exchequer and various commissions

Division within C - Records of Equity Side: the Six Clerks

C 1 - Court of Chancery: Six Clerks Office: Early Pleadings and Proceedings, Richard II to Philip and Mary

C 1/1434 - Detailed description at item level

Catalogue description Short title: Hodgekyn v Mount. Plaintiffs: William HODGEKYN. Defendants: Leonard MOUNT....

Reference: C 1/1434/52-55

Description:

Short title: Hodgekyn v Mount.

Plaintiffs: William HODGEKYN.

Defendants: Leonard MOUNT.

Subject: Refusal to complete an assignment of a lease from John Seyntleger, knight. Buckinghamshire

Note: Mutilated.

Date: 1556-1558

Held by: The National Archives, Kew

Legal status: Public Record

Closure status: Open Document, Open Description

Note: This lease, originally granted under Sir John, was supposed to be transferred to William, and Leonard Mount was refusing to finish the deal.