De Swanland family in Yorkshire

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THE FAMILY de SWANLAND

The de Swanland family of the village of Swanland

The very first record to be found, relating to this family, is in the muniments in Westminster Abbey in a document from year 1282.

Taken from an extract from Roll 206 of the Pleas at Westminster:

 “.... before William de Bereford and his fellow justices of the King’s bench
 in Trinity term. 10 Edward I (i.e. 1282 ad). viz. precipe to (Reginald de 
 Gynges) Sheriff of Hertfordshire to summon John de Somery to answer 
 by what services he holds his tenements of Richard de Gachesworthe in 
 Bygrave and Denardeston (present Bygrave in Hertfordshire and Denston 
 in Suffolk), which services the same Richard granted to Simon de
 Swanelonde by fine.” 

Despite extensive research, the author of this section of the book can find no record of another place name that resembles “Swanland” either in England or in France and so we have chosen to believe that this man, living in the South of England - in London then in North Mimms and later in Harefield - either came from Swanland in the East Riding of Yorkshire or his ancestors did. As we shall show later, there were definite links with Simon de Swanland, his heirs and other people who lived in Swanland during the same period.

After the Norman conquest of Britain, all at the court of King William would have spoken Norman French. At this time surnames, as previously mentioned, were not in use but, as there were many people with the same first name, ways had developed to tell one “Simon” from another. In this case one’s place of origin was used. Thus we have a Simon of Swanland. In French, of is de and so we have Simon de Swanland.

At this time in our history, the King and his Court would move around the country, dispensing justice in each area in turn. Meticulous records were kept of each transaction. For example the Patent (i.e. open) Rolls were public records of royal letters and decrees; the Close (i.e. closed) Rolls were records of grants from the crown which were not for public inspection; the Fines referred to land transactions; the Inquisitions were ecclesiastical records or records of the king’s investigations. It is from these and similar records that most of the information has been found about the de Swanlands. We know that one branch of the family lived in this area as it is recorded in the Patent Rolls of 28 July 1315, and again on 20 February and 10 October the following year, that “Loretta, late the wife of John de Usflet, John his son, Gerard de Usflet, Nicholas son of John de Swanneslond and Stephen his brother, .... (6 others) ...,William Bradan of Westlevele (Westella), John Bradan of Westelvele and others broke by night the walls and dykes made for the preservation of the king’s manor of Miton in Kyngeston-upon-Hull and of his lands there, so that his corn and meadows were submerged”.

On 3rd July 1301 John de Swanland and two others were fined ten shillings for an assault on Richard de Anlaby. The animosity between these families obviously continued as, in 1311, there was a complaint to the courts “... by Stephen, son of John de Swanland that Richard de Anelauby of Westelvelage (Westella), with others, assaulted him at Westelvelage co. York, and at Swanland, in the same county, carried away his goods.” He too was fined ten shillings.

In 1320 Nicholas de Swanland held land in Monkgate (now called Blackfriargate), Hull and in his will of 1342 he bequeathed it to his son, Robert, who sold the tenement (property) - now divided into two - in 1352. North Ferriby Church hold records of the death of Nicholas, son of John of Swanland, in 1342 and Patton notes that, “He bequeathd his best animal for his mortuary. ”

It is recorded in 1329 that “Walter, Prior of North Ferriby, claimed against John de Swannesland, clerk, messuage, 102 acres of land and 12 acres of meadow in Swannesland, as the right of her Church”.

On 12 June 1333 Thomas de Swanlund, citizen of London, owed £50 to the Archbishop of York for lands in Yorkshire. Was he a wool farmer here? On 4 January 1338 an order was made “to permit Thomas de Swanlond, citizen of London, to take ten sacks of wool to that city, as it was ordained in Parliament at Westminster on Monday after St. Matthew last, that no-one of England, Ireland, Wales or Scotland within the king’s power, except kings, queens and their children, should use cloth which was bought after the Michaelmas following.”

In the turbulent times in which the de Swanlands lived, kings needed men to fight for them and one way to recruit was to give people a pardon for crimes committed, in return for their service to the king. In 1339, Richard de Swanland was granted pardon (together with others) for the death of William de Peder of Beverley.

On 18 July 1352 there is a record that “Robert, son of Nicholas, son of John of Swanland conveyed 2 messuages (plots) of land in Oldfre Lane (also believed to now be Blackfriargate) to John de Upsale” and in 1365 a document in the Yorkshire Fines shows William de Swanlond and his wife Joan owning land in Hull which they had “to hold (for) Robert and his heirs”.

We find another connection with the de Swanlands and the church in the Patent Rolls of 12 May 1390, when it is recorded that a chaplain is appointed to Layerthorpebrigg, York, by the resignation of Nicholas de Swanland. Again, on 4 April 1396 :

 “Licence for Nicholas Swanland and Robert Halton, chaplains, to 
  found a chantry  of one chaplain in the church of St. Peter ‘in les 
  Willoghes’ in Walmegate, York, with the assent of  Thomas, 
  Archbishop of York, the prior and convent of the Holy Trinity, who
  hold the church to their own uses, and the parishioners of the said 
  church; and to erect houses and buildings on certain parcels of land 
  in divers parts of the cemetery of the church ...... (full details of 
  positions and measurement) ....and to alienate the premises in 
  mortmain to the chaplain of the chantry and his successors 
  celebrating divine services four days a week in the said church for 
  the good estate of the said Nicholas and Robert, while living, and for
  their souls after death and the souls of their ancestors and benefactors.
  For 1 mark paid in the hanaper”

As evidence that the de Swanlands in the Hull area and those in London and North Mimms are of the same family, we use several sources.

An entry in the Fines of 1329 records, “...from John de Swanland, clerk, to John Bradan of Swanland, one messuage of 70 acres of land and 4 acres of meadow in Swanlund. To hold to John Bradan for life; remainder to Richard, his son and his heirs”. Richard Bradan appears often, both in documents and as a witness to documents signed by Simon, from 1322 to 1333. In the Westminster Abbey Muniments there is a document, dated 1332, showing Simon granting land in North Mimms to Richard and on 18th October 1332 Richard witnesses a document where Simon is now the Lord of Herefeld. We also have documents showing a grant in 1330 to a “William Bradan of Swanneslond”.

In 1331 we discover a John de Swanlond, clerk, who is “owed money from the late king for goods bought for his wardrobe”. This John was a relative of William of Melton (Archbishop of York 1317 to 1340) and brother to Simon of Swanland, the king’s merchant from Hull, who acted as banker to William Melton.

An entry in the Close Rolls at Westminster on 10 June 1344 records,

“Simon de Swanlund, knight, and Simon, his son, acknowledge that they
  owe to John de Flete and John, son of Nicholas de Swanland in the 
  county of York, £54 10s. to be levied of their lands and chattels in the 
  city of London.”

In the British Archives in London there is a document dated 8 February 1355 regarding land holdings in Swanland. It mentions Cecilia, wife of John, son of Peter of Swanland. At the time of going to press, this document is being translated from the original hand written Latin but further details will be found in the Appendices at the end of this book.

The Borthwick Institute at the University of York holds the will of Elizabeth, wife of Thomas de Swanland, draper of Beverley dated 9 April 1404. A translation of this will is to be found in the appendices.

We think of flyposting being a modern inconvenience but on 5 July 1408 the Provost of Beverley complained of “notices being posted to the contempt of the king” and the list of those responsible included one Thomas Swanland. He was in trouble again two years later when Thomas, Bishop of Durham complained that he (plus 17 other named people) “broke into his close at Walkyngton in the county of York, depastured his grass and coppice there with beasts and assaulted and ill treated his servants...”

The last mention we have found of a member of the local de Swanland family is in a book by Stannywell held in Kingston upon Hull archives, referring to a Thomas Swanland (and three others) buying land in Munkgate from John Bilton, draper, on 30 April 1429 and, on 27 October 1438, they “sold a messuage and shops in Marketgate at the north east corner of Holy Trinity churchyard and a tenement in Munkgate to William Sharp and John Dodyngton”.

During the research on the de Swanland family much information has been discovered on members living in other parts of the country plus some details on named individual members where their residence was not clear. As this page is on the history of the village of Swanland, details of the other de Swanlands have been included in a book produced by Swanland History Group <www.swanland.info>.