Beachborough Manor

Lithograph showing the "Folly" on the hill, that later burned down via fireworks
Beachborough, Kent, UK was one of the largest former estates of Kent. Color arms of Sir William's grandson William Brockman Esq. shown at top

Beachborough Manor was a manor in Beachborough, Kent, UK purchased by Sir William Brockman's great-grandfather, Father Henry Brockman ca. 1500 and subsequently passed through various squires in the English Brockman family. Like many buildings in the UK, it found use in World War II by the Allies, as an American hospital. It later became Stowe College and served in that capacity for several years. Prime Minister David Lloyd-George lived there in the early 20th century. The property now serves as a Bed and Breakfast.1

Heraldry of some of the early English Brockmans

See also: Heraldry

The origins and evolution of the Brockman arms are not completely documented. English arms are given to specific individuals; sons (and daughters) have to be given their own. Any person may display the arms of any lineal ancestor so long as one is honest about whose arms they were.

Brief history and sketch of Arms of the Beachborough squires

Sir William Brockman (1595–1654) was an English military leader, politician, and land owner, and a notable combatant in the English civil war, wherein he fought against Oliver Cromwell's Republican forces.

Portrait of Sir William Brockman
Brockman Arms of William's father Henry 1606, presumed to be similar or the same as Sir William's

James Brockman, was the son of William of Newington, Kent. He martriculated into Corpus Christi College on 10 December 1641, aged 15. He was born in Beachborough, Kent. He died in February, 1683.

William Brockman was a descendant (the third in a line) of Sir William Brockman of Kent. He married Anne Glydd, elder daughter of Richardd Glydd, Esq, of Pendhill, in Surrey. They had three sons, William, James and John. His son William pre-deceased him. John died in 1739. James, his second son, became heir. William Brockman Esq. served as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons. Notes relating to his activities show him to be active in this capacity from about 1691 to 1693. These activities can be researched via the name "Brockman" at British History Online

Sketch of Brockman Arms with Glydd, Sir William's grandson William Brockman Esq. who married Anne Glyd

James Brockman Esq. (died 1767) was the last male heir of the Brockmans of Kent, Beachborough. He died unmarried in 1767 and bequeathed his estates to the family priest who attended to him in his last days, the great nephew of his mother, the Reverend Ralph Drake. (Vide App. VIII). Thus came the double name of Drake-Brockman, for the Rev. Ralph Drake wed the young Brockman cousin of James, took the Arms and Surname of Brockman, and saw the estates left to him. (It is interesting to note that according to the Register of Alumni Oxoniensis, by Foster, vide App. V, it states that as “R. D. Brockman, which latter name he had assumed in addition to his patronymic.”) Concerning this point of the double name, see App. IX and Will of Rev. Ralph Drake-Brockman. The Drake-Brockmans produced several notable descendants in England and Australia (see the English Brockman family summary).

James Brockman Esq., last Brockman heir
The arms of the last male heir of the Brockmans

Rev. Ralph Drake-Brockman died at the age of 57, on 11 November 1781. He continued the Brockman succession from Sir William via a maternal line as described above. The Rev. Ralph Drake thus took the Arms and Surname of Brockman and the estates were left to him, though soon thereafter Beachborough passed from the stewardship of Drake-Brockmans.

The Arms of Ralph Drake-Brockman retaining the Red Drake Wyvern
James Brockman's Appointed Heir, Ralph Drake-Brockman

Despite these interesting beginnings, several notable Australians are descended from Ralph Drake-Brockman (see Brockman surname disambiguation page) or various external links.

A brief history of the Beachborough Brockmans

The Beachborough family has figured prominently in the social and public life of Kent, two of the Brockmans, Sir William Brockman and James Drake-Brockman, having served in the office of sheriff of Kent, and all those who inherited the Beachborough Estate were in the Commission of Peace for East Kent. Several Brockmans in Kent were armigerous gentry and used the "esquire" title.

The first record of the family dates from the reign of King Richard II. Lands which had become vested in the Crown on the attainder of Sir Robert Belknap, were granted to John Brokeman in the 13th year of that monarch's reign, i.e., in 1390, and consisted of the Manor of Pirrie, extending to Old Romney and Medley, with other lands in Stowting and Crundale, by a patent which was enrolled in the Tower in that year.

Brockman Family at Beachborough, Edward Haytley
Brockman Family at Beachborough, Edward Haytley

John Brokeman received arms, a motto, a grant of land, and was made Collector of Customs for the Cinque Ports (the five port cities in Kent immediately opposite the upper French coast). Richard II, the grantor, had just achieved his majority, fired his guardians, and was selecting trusted allies for key positions. Keeping watch on those five ports was important--John of Gaunt, Richard's chief adversary in England, was getting major support from France. The family was allowed to maintain the motto "Esse Quam Videri" – "To be, rather than to appear to be." The Brokeman name spelling became "Brockman" within one generation.

An interesting side note of the Kentish Brockmans is their relationship with the St. Leger family, who also have an interesting genealogy and history. John's grandson John Brockman married Helen St. Leger Clifford, a young widow. As a St. Leger by birth, she is descended from a Norman knight who accompanied William the Conqueror from Normandy to England. The St. Legers settled at Ulcombe, Kent, where a "brass" memorial to Helen's father John St. Leger still exists in the church floor. A descendant of John St. Leger through another child, Warham St. Leger, came to Jamestown, Virginia early, but apparently left (as a number of Cavaliers did) when the Cromwellian Puritans came to power in England and made Claiborne the governor of Virginia. Warham had returned to England about 20 years before the ancestor of most USA English Brockmans, Henry Brockman, came to the Catholic stronghold of St. Mary's County, Maryland.

Paintings by Edward Haytley

Edward Haytley, a lesser-known English master, was hired to paint "conversation pieces" featuring the Brockman family at Beachborough. These pieces show the family indulging in various activities with the various views of Beachborough highlighted. The paintings are now housed at the National Gallery Victoria in Australia.

External links

Sources