(242) Atkyns of Sapperton, Swell Bowl, Pinbury Park and Ketteringham Hall

Atkyns of Sapperton

When Sir Robert Atkyns (1647-1711), kt., wrote his great county history, The Ancient and Present State of Glostershire, he said in his account of Sapperton, where he treated of his own family, "It is remarkable of this Family, that there has been always one of this Name and Family presiding in some of the Courts of Judicature in this Kingdom above 300 Years". He traced his ancestry back to a Monmouthshire ancestor, Thomas Atkyns, who was buried in the church of St Peter Cheap, London, in 1401, and whose son was the first of the family to be recorded as a lawyer. Those who were not lawyers were merchants, and the genealogy below begins with David Atkins (d. 1552), a leading merchant in Chepstow, who leased the manor of Tuffley near Gloucester as a place of retirement towards the end of his life. David's son, Thomas Atkyns (d. 1551) was a lawyer who became one of the under-sheriffs of London and might have gone on to greater things had he not died relatively young, a few months before his father. Thomas, who lived in London and had a country place at North Ockendon in Essex, was of the generation to profit from the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and in 1545 he bought the former Llanthony Priory manor of Hempsted and in 1548 the manor of Brickhampton in Churchdown. Taken together with his father's lease of the manor of Tuffley, this begins to look like a deliberate policy of building an estate around Gloucester that was interrupted by Thomas' early death. In 1548 he was granted a coat of arms, recognition that he ranked as a gentleman.

Thomas' widow, Margaret, married the royal physician, Dr. Thomas Wendy (d. 1560), who died shortly before Richard Atkyns (c.1540-1610), the son and heir, came of age. In the tradition of his family, Richard was educated at Lincoln's Inn and became one of the senior judges in Wales. He was also a member of the Council of the Marches of Wales, a court appointment that marked a further social advance. Richard inherited both his father and grandfather's properties in Gloucestershire, which in addition to Tuffley, Hempsted and Brickhampton included more scattered estates in Minsterworth, Sodbury and Tidenham or Todenham (probably the former, as it adjoined Chepstow). His contribution to building the family estate was to renew the lease of Tuffley and to buy further land at Minsterworth. In the next generation, Richard Atkyns (1584-1637), the eldest son, was educated at Lincoln's Inn but did not pursue a legal career. He married well, and settled on his estates. Nothing is known of any public career he may have had, but his widow celebrated his personal qualities on his monument when he died. Their only son was another Richard Atkyns (1615-77), who may not have lacked ability but catastrophically lacked application and moderation; faults which he candidly recognised when he penned a self-justificatory Vindication of Richard Atkins in 1669. His spendthrift habits were compounded by the dangers of the times: as a Royalist soldier he had to compound for his estates, which had been ravaged by both sides during the fighting around Gloucester. He inherited in right of his wife a Crown monopoly on printing law books and statutes granted in 1629 which was unenforceable during the Commonwealth and was contested vigorously after the Restoration. In the end, such of his estates as he had not sold during the 1640s and 1650s were wasted in legal fees defending his patent, and in 1667 he was committed to the Marshalsea Prison for debt. He had no children, his marriage broke down, and the generosity of his friends and relatives was exhausted: he never left prison and died there, still in debt. His cousins, the eminent lawyers Sir Edward and Sir Robert Atkyns, paid for his funeral.

With Richard the family story might have ended, but his uncle, Sir Edward Atkyns (1587-1669), kt. was able to pick up some of the pieces. Educated at Lincoln's Inn, Sir Edward became legal adviser to the Earl of Salisbury in the 1620s, and in the 1630s made something of a name for himself as a barrister defending prominent Puritans in the courts. Perhaps at Lord Salisbury's instigation, he became a Serjeant-at-Law in 1640, but his chances of further promotion appear to have waned with Lord Salisbury's fall from the King's favour, and it was Parliament which made him a Baron of the Exchequer in 1645. During the Commonwealth he was a Justice of the Common Pleas, and his judicial experience ensured that at the Restoration he was again appointed as a Baron of the Exchequer, despite his age and Puritan sympathies.

Atkyns Manor, South Cerney: the house of 1660 perhaps built for Sir Edward Atkyns.
The left hand gable is a later addition. Image: Peter Watkins. Some rights reserved

The profits of his career enabled him to buy several Gloucestershire manors from his nephew in the 1640s and 1650s, keeping them in the family, and after 1660 he also bought a manor at South Cerney (Glos) (where he may have built the house now known as Atkyns Manor), and the Albury Hall estate in Hertfordshire, where he died at the age of eighty-two.

Sir Edward had two surviving sons: Sir Robert Atkyns (1621-1710), kt. and Sir Edward Atkyns (1630-98), kt. Both men became eminent lawyers, although their political outlook was very different. Sir Robert was the elder, and widely regarded as one of the ablest lawyers of his generation. He was an MP almost continuously from the mid-1650s to 1673, and was knighted at the Restoration. In 1672 he became one of the justices of common pleas, and he held this post until 1680, when he resigned in protest at the increasingly Absolutist trend of Stuart government. His brother, meanwhile, was a supporter of the King's party, and was knighted and made a judge as one of the Barons of the Exchequer in 1679. He continued to serve under King James II and became Chief Baron in 1686. When James fled the country and William III accepted the Crown, Sir Edward refused to swear allegiance to the new regime and was removed from office; he then retired to an estate he had bought at South Pickenham (Norfk), where he finished building a house that the previous owner had commenced. In what may have been a nicely-judged insult, his post as Chief Baron was given to his elder brother, who held it until he finally retired in 1695. Sir Robert, indeed, was loaded with responsibilities, being also given a commission to act as Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal and Lord Chancellor, in which capacity he acted as Speaker of the House of Lords from 1690-93. It seems remarkable that he was not rewarded with a peerage, and possible that he was offered one but rejected it.

Sir Robert Atkyns had been given the family's remaining Gloucestershire estates during his father's lifetime, and rapidly expanded them. He bought Hempsted from his cousin in 1655 and Lower Swell in 1659, where he built a new house in 1671 which he made his home when he was not at his chambers in Holborn. He also bought Sapperton, Oakley and Pinbury in 1661, and the adjoining estates of Coates, Trewsbury and Daglingworth in 1667. South Cerney and Hempsted were settled on his son, Sir Robert Atkyns (1647-1711), on his marriage in 1669. Later on, however, father and son disagreed about politics (where the younger Sir Robert shared his uncle's Tory and Jacobite stance), and also about the family estates, which Sir Robert junior thought should descend to him intact and which his father wanted to distribute more broadly as his son was childless. From the 1690s onwards the elder Sir Robert executed several settlements of his estates favouring different groups of his descendants at his son's expense. From these settlements and the further complexities of the wills of both Sir Roberts, there arose legal disputes which kept the lawyers employed at intervals for much of the next century, and contributed to the dispersal of the substantial property which the family had amassed by 1700.

After his father died, Sir Robert Atkyns junior (1647-1711) simply took possession of most of his father's property. He was living at Pinbury Park, and although much of the Sapperton estate should have passed under his father's will to the children of his half-sister and brother-in-law, John Tracy, they never claimed this inheritance nor took any steps to prevent Sir Robert assuming ownership, perhaps indicating that they were in sympathy with his position. Lower Swell had been left to Sir Robert's widow for life, but the younger Sir Robert obtained a legal judgement overturning this provision, and evicted her. When he died the following year, his stepmother recovered possession, but on her death it passed as Sir Robert junior intended to his nephew, Robert Atkyns (d. 1753). Robert had already received lands at Trewsbury, Brickhampton, Coates and Minsterworth from his grandfather Sir Robert senior, at the time of his marriage in 1701, but the elder Sir Robert was concerned that he exhibited signs of lunacy, and excluded him from succession to any further property. Predictably, Sir Robert junior therefore favoured him as an heir, although Lower Swell seems to have been the only additional property he received.

Alfred's Hall, Cirencester Park: an engraving showing the sham ruins (right)
constructed from stonework from Sapperton Manor.

The second son of Sir Robert Atkyns senior was Edward Atkyns (1654-82), who died long before his father but who left a surviving daughter, Annabella, the wife of the Rev. & Hon. Henry Brydges. She ultimately inherited the Sapperton estate, but sold it c.1730 to Lord Bathurst, who pulled down the manor house at Sapperton and incorporated much of the land in his now famous landscape park at Cirencester. Some of the stonework from Sapperton was used in creating artificial ruins around Alfred's Hall, the Gothick folly built in the park in the 1720s.

Sir Edward Atkyns (1630-98) had three sons: Richard Atkyns (1666-1717), Edward Atkyns (1672-1751) and another Robert Atkyns (1679-1752). Richard was trained as a lawyer but became a linen draper in London, and Edward was a Hamburg merchant. Both men were prosperous, although Edward appears to have been the more successful. In 1717 he purchased the manor of Ketteringham in Norfolk, and he later added to this further property in and around Norwich. Richard inherited his father's manor of South Pickenham (Norfk), but sold it in 1700 and lived all his life in London. His grandson, Edward Atkyns (1718-65), later inherited the Pinbury Park estate from Robert Atkyns (d. 1753) and also inherited Ketteringham Hall in Norfolk from his great-uncle Edward in 1750. He died leaving a young family, and while Ketteringham passed to his elder son, Edward Atkyns (1757-94), he left his Gloucestershire property to trustees for the benefit of his younger children, of whom the survivors were John Atkyns (later Wright) (1758-1822) and Mary Atkyns (c.1760-1829). They did better than expected from this provision, because in 1770 Edward's trustees unexpectedly came into the Lower Swell estate, and the way Edward's will was drawn meant it passed to the younger children and not to his elder son (who went to law over it and lost). Pinbury was sold to Lord Bathurst's growing Cirencester estate in 1786 or 1788, and Lower Swell passed to John Atkyns Wright, who pulled down the Atkyns house and replaced it with a farmhouse.

The elder son, Edward Atkyns (1757-94), while disappointed of Lower Swell, did inherit Ketteringham Hall. In 1779 he married the actress, Charlotte Walpole (1758-1836), but finding she was not accepted by Norfolk society, and being pressed by creditors, he moved to France, where they seem to have gained an entrée to court circles. When the French Revolution began they left Paris and moved to Lille, and then in 1791 returned to England. Charlotte in particular was much exercised by the plight of the French royal family and aristocracy, and after her husband's death she raised mortgages on the Ketteringham estate to enable her to maintain efforts to assist aristocratic French émigrés. When the French monarchy was re-established in 1814, she petitioned King Louis XVIII for reimbursement of more than £30,000 she claimed to have spent on this cause, but whatever his sympathy for her appeal may have been, he was unable to afford it at a time of financial austerity. She turned instead to her sister-in-law, Mary Atkyns (c.1760-1829), who paid off the mortgages, and settled an annuity on her in return for title to the Ketteringham estate. Mary then settled Ketteringham on her own daughter, Harriet Atkyns, when she married Nathaniel William Peach MP (1785-1835) in 1824. Sadly, Harriet died the following year, but Peach retained the Ketteringham estate until his death, after which it passed to his son by an earlier marriage, who sold it in 1836 for £80,000.

John Atkyns Wright (1758-1822) left the Lower Swell estate to his niece, Ann Dorothy Atkyns (1785-1867), another daughter of his sister Mary. She retained it until 1844, when most of the estate was sold, and she disposed of the remainder in 1865, shortly before she died. It was the last landed property in Atkyns hands.

[Note: I have spelled the surname of this family Atkyns consistently in this account, and this was the usual spelling in the 16th and 17th centuries. The variant form Atkins became more common in the 18th century].

Sapperton Manor, Gloucestershire

A manor house was recorded at Sapperton in 1262-3 and 1332.  From 1463 to 1487 it belonged to the Nottingham family, and thereafter to the Pooles.  At some time in the early 17th century, the house was rebuilt on an L-shaped plan, either by Sir Henry Poole, who was twice High Sheriff of the county and who died in 1616, or by his son, another Sir Henry Poole, who was M.P. for Cirencester three times, and High Sheriff in 1632.  The younger Sir Henry died in 1645, and the fines imposed on his son, Sir William Poole, who was an ardent Royalist, led to the mortgaging and eventual sale of the family estate.

Sapperton Manor: detail of the engraving by John Kip in Sir Robert Atkyns' history of Gloucestershire, 1712

The Pooles' early 17th-century house consisted of a three-storeyed main block facing north-west, with a smaller and possibly older kitchen wing behind. The main block had a façade of six bays, of which the first, third and fifth projected and were surmounted, according to Kip, by an extraordinary series of near-Moorish shaped finials. This front looked down over a garden with a summerhouse on a high raised terrace, and the earthworks of the garden are still visible today.  On the other side of the house, five narrow gables faced a courtyard bounded by the service wing, a wall with an embattled gateway aligned axially on the house and a long avenue, and a further raised terrace walk.  Of the interior of the house nothing is known, but the Hearth Tax return of 1672 records 30 hearths, making it clear that the accommodation was both generous and luxurious.

Sapperton church: panelling probably from Sapperton Manor reused in the church in the 18th century. Image: Nick Kingsley. Some rights reserved.

Following the financial difficulties of the Pooles, Sapperton Manor was sold to Sir Robert Atkyns (1621-1710), kt. in 1661. When he died in 1710, the property was left to his niece Annabella, wife of the Rev. Dr. Henry Brydges, who sold it in 1730 to Lord Bathurst. Bathurst was already engaged in making the enormous landscaped park between Sapperton and Cirencester, and promptly demolished Sapperton Manor to provide suitably Gothick carved stonework for the construction of ruins around Alfred's Hall, a maison de plaisance in the park. Panelling from the house was apparently re-used in Sapperton church, where the bench ends and the Bathurst pew are decorated with Jacobean carvings of Atlantes that are clearly of secular origin.

Descent: Sir William Nottingham (d. c.1484); to widow, Elizabeth, Lady Nottingham, later wife of Richard Poole; to son, Sir Leonard Poole, kt. (d. c.1539); to Sir Giles Poole (d. 1588); to son, Sir Henry Poole (d. 1616), kt.; to son, Sir Henry Poole (d. 1645); to son, Sir William Poole; to son, Sir Henry Poole, who sold 1660/1667 to Sir Robert Atkyns (1621-1710), kt.; to son, Sir Robert Atkyns (1647-1711), kt.; to first cousin once removed, Annabella, wife of Rev. Dr. Henry Brydges, who sold 1730 to Allen Bathurst, 1st Baron (and later 1st Earl Bathurst), who demolished the house.

Swell Bowl, Lower Swell, Gloucestershire

Swell Bowl: engraving of the house by John Kip from Sir Robert Atkyns' history of Gloucestershire, 1712

Sir Robert Atkyns bought the Lower Swell estate from the executors of Sir William Courteen in 1659, and it was reputedly in 1671 that he built a new house on a site away from the old manor, although a description of the estate in 1674 does not mention it explicitly. The new house was a square, two‑storey, five‑by-­five bay block with a hipped roof and four chimneystacks rising symmetrically through a roof flat. Swell Bowl, as the new house was called, was one of the Cotswold houses most clearly influenced by Coleshill. Kip's illustration suggests the house was symmetrical on every front. It had no basement, and raised stone quoins and a simple central doorcase provided the only decoration. It was a modest house for someone of Atkyns' eventual eminence, but firmly in the post‑Restoration tradition of polite architecture. The Swell estate was the subject of litigation between Sir Robert Atkyns' descendants throughout the 18th century, and this led eventually to it passing from one branch of the family to another in 1777. Perhaps shortly after this, it was wholly or partly demolished and rebuilt on a smaller scale as a farmhouse. 

Swell Bowl: the farmhouse in 1865.

The farmhouse was described in 1865 as 'an excellent farm residence, adapted for a hunting box'. It was bought in that year by Alfred Urbain Sartoris, who built a new house, Abbotswood, on the other side of the River Dikler.

Descent: Crown sold c.1594 to John Carter (d. 1627); to son, Giles Carter; sold to Sir William Courteen (d. 1659), kt., sold 1659 to Sir Robert Atkyns (1621-1710), kt; to widow, Anne, Lady Atkyns (d. 1716), from whom it was obtained through a legal judgement by her stepson, Sir Robert Atkyns (1649-1711), kt.; to nephew, Robert Atkyns (d. 1753); to daughters, wives of Thomas Chamberlayne and Thomas Horde, who was resident in 1774; legal action in 1777 led to the transfer to John Atkyns Wright (1758-1822), who rebuilt it as a farmhouse; to niece, Ann Dorothy Atkyns (1785-1867), who sold most of the estate 1844 to John Hudson; sold 1865 to Alfred Urbain Sartoris.

Pinbury Park, Gloucestershire

Pinbury stands in a splendid position above the beech woods of the Frome valley, here known by the appropriate name of The Gulph. It was part of the Poole family's Sapperton Manor estate in the 16th and 17th centuries, and as such was sold to Sir Robert Atkyns in the 1660s. Pinbury became the home of his son of the same name, the county historian. The house itself is said to incorporate some 15th century features, and certainly possesses an unusually thick chimneybreast between the kitchen and dining room. Substantially, however, it is a small T-plan manor house of the late 16th century. 

Pinbury Park. Image: Nick Kingsley. Some rights reserved.

The original, somewhat irregularly placed, windows possessed hoodmoulds, but most of these have been hacked off; perhaps in the late 17th century when Sir Robert Atkyns introduced a new staircase and panelled the entrance hall. In the 18th century, Pinbury became a farmhouse on the Cirencester Park estate, and in the 1770s it was noted that while there had been a large manor house, "the park is converted to a coney-warren, the house gone to decay, and some of it taken down". A central porch was added in the early 19th century, but a more general restoration had to wait until Ernest Barnsley took a repairing lease from Lord Bathurst with his brother Sidney and Ernest Gimson in 1894. Ernest lived in the main house with his family, while the other two converted outbuildings into cottages. Another outbuilding became their joint workshop.

Pinbury Park: dining room, in the early 20th century

When they all moved to Sapperton in 1902-3, Ernest Barnsley extended the house into a summer residence for the Bathurst family, replacing an early 19th century north-west wing with an inner hallway and library, and adding extra service accommodation. The dining room chimney-piece was copied from one in the Victoria & Albert Museum, but the most elaborate decoration was reserved for the library in the west wing, which has fielded sequoia wood panelling.

Pinbury Park: library fireplace and plasterwork
 by Ernest Gimson

Ernest Gimson designed the plaster ceiling with honeysuckle frieze and rose decoration on the beams, and a wonderful stone chimney-piece with a bas-relief carved panel depicting squirrels eating acorns from a stylised oak tree. The squirrel motif was picked up in a set of contemporary firedogs and in the topiary of the garden. Terraced gardens were laid out to the south west, but the most notable feature is an avenue of yew trees known as the Nun’s Walk. From 1932 to 1940 the house was let to the poet laureate, John Masefield, and it remains part of the Bathurst estate, whose present tenant is Mr. Henry Pitman.

Descent: sold 1661 to Sir Robert Atkyns (1621-1710), kt.; to son, Sir Robert Atkyns (1647-1711), kt.; to nephew, Robert Atkyns (d. 1753); to second cousin once removed, Edward Atkyns (1718-65); to trustees for his younger children, who sold c.1786 to Henry Bathurst (1714-94), 2nd Earl Bathurst; to son, Henry Bathurst (1762-1834), 3rd Earl Bathurst; to son, Henry George Bathurst (1790-1866), 4th Earl Bathurst; to brother, William Lennox Bathurst (1791-1878), 5th Earl Bathurst; to nephew, Allen Alexander Bathurst (1832-92), 6th Earl Bathurst; to son, Seymour Henry Bathurst (1864-1943), 7th Earl Bathurst; to grandson, Henry Allen John Bathurst (1927-2011), 8th Earl Bathurst; to son, Allen Christopher Bertram Bathurst (b. 1961), 9th Earl Bathurst.

Ketteringham Hall, Norfolk

The red brick house is now largely a Gothic mansion created by Thomas Allason in 1839-40 and Thomas Jekyll in 1852, for Sir John Peter Boileau, 1st bt. However, the early Victorian works were a remodelling not a rebuilding, and the house would appear to preserve some of the form and fabric of its predecessor, the home of the Heveninghams and later the Atkyns family, which was probably a half-H shaped Tudor house of red brick, with wings projecting on the west. A little surprisingly, there seems to be no illustration of the pre-Victorian house.

Ketteringham Hall: the entrance front c.1870, showing the crocketed pinnacles that originally framed the centre.

Allason created a symmetrical east entrance front of nine bays with angle-shafts and battlements, mullioned and transomed windows, and a central porch with a steep gable. The pilasters that frame the three-bay centre rise into square plinths that project through the battlements; these were once crowned with crocketed pinnacles which gave the house a good deal more coherence. To the north of this elevation is the gable-end of a semi-detached hall, with a big six-light Perpendicular Gothic window giving it the appearance of a chapel, an impression reinforced by the crocketed pinnacles to either side. The gable has a datestone for 1840. 

Ketteringham Hall: watercolour attributed to Thomas Allason, showing a design for the house

Ketteringham Hall: south front

Round the corner to the south is an asymmetrical five-bay front, articulated by buttresses rising into further crenellated turrets as on the corners of the entrance front. The fenestration on this side is irregular, and mixes further mullioned and transomed windows with smaller two-light windows. Parts of the brickwork here may predate the remodelling of the 1830s. A single-storey five-bay Gothic conservatory of stone, with chunky pinnacles, continues the line of the south front; this again dates from 1839-40.

Ketteringham Hall: staircase

Thomas Jekyll's contribution to the house, in 1852, was to fill in the courtyard between the wings that project to the west. His new block contains a library with a Gothic chimneypiece. There is a spacious imperial staircase with plain cast iron balusters supporting a ramped mahogany handrail, which rises in one flight to an oriel bay window, which was an addition of 1844. This window is filled with stained glass, chiefly 16th century work imported from the Low Countries.

Ketteringham Hall: turrets guarding the entrance to the stable court, 1899.

North of the house is the stable court, entered under an arch between an attractive pair of crenellated turrets put up in 1899 for Sir Francis Boileau, which incorporate reliefs and inscriptions from Greece and Asia Minor of the 2nd century BC.

Descent: Sir Henry Gray (d. 1492); to step-daughter Anne, wife of Thomas Heveningham (d. 1499); to son, John Heveningham (d. 1530); to son, Sir Anthony Heveningham (d. 1558); to widow, later wife of Philip Appleyard; to son, Sir Arthur Heveningham (d. 1630), kt.; to son, Sir John Heveningham (d. 1633), kt.; to son, William Heveningham (the regicide) (d. 1678); to son, Sir William Heveningham (fl. 1674); to daughter, Abigail, wife of Henry Heron, who sold 1717 to Edward Atkyns (1672-1750); to great-nephew, Edward Atkyns (1718-65); to son, Edward Atkyns (1757-94); to widow, Charlotte Walpole Atkyns; given to sister-in-law, Harriet, wife of Nathaniel Peach (1785-1835); sold 1836 to Sir John Peter Boileau (1794-1869), 1st bt.; to son, Sir Francis George Manningham Boileau (1830-1900); to son, Sir Maurice Colborne Boileau (1865-1937), 3rd bt.; to brother, Sir Raymond Frederic Boileau (1868-1942), 4th bt.; to brother, Sir Francis James Boileau (1871-1945), 5th bt.; sold 1948 to Duke of Westminster, who leased it as a preparatory school; sold 1965 to Badingham College; sold 1970 to Colin Chapman, who established Group Lotus here; after 1994 divided into leased business units.

Atkyns family of Sapperton and Swell Bowl

Atkyns, David (d. 1552). Son of Thomas Atkyns (d. 1512) of Chepstow (Monmouths). A leading merchant in Chepstow, who retired to his property in Gloucestershire. He married Alice [surname unknown], daughter of a Chepstow merchant, and had issue including:
(1) Thomas Atkyns (d. 1551) (q.v.);
(2) Richard Atkyns (fl. 1551);
(3) William Atkyns (fl. 1551);
(4) Alice Atkyns; married Edmond Madock of Tidenham (Glos).
He is said to have leased the Tuffley Court estate near Gloucester from Gloucester Abbey.
He died at Tuffley in 1552.

Atkyns, Thomas (d. 1551). Eldest son of David Atkyns (d. 1552) and his wife Alice [surname unknown]. Educated at Lincolns Inn (admitted 1523/4; called to bar, 1529; treasurer, 1544-45; reader, 1542, 1551; governor, 1550-52). Barrister-at-law; one of the four Counsel to the Guildhall by 1545; common serjeant or under-sheriff of London, 1545-47. He argued the first case in Plowden's Commentaries. He was granted a coat of arms by Garter King of Arms in 1548. He married Margaret (d. 1570), daughter of John Cook of London, and had issue including:
(1) Richard Atkyns (c.1540-1610) (q.v.);
(2) Margaret Atkyns (d. 1619); married 1st, Thomas Hughes (d. 1558), Royal physician, 2nd, Stephen Hadnell; and 3rd, Sir Richard Lewknor (1542-1616), kt., lawyer; buried at Ludlow (Shrops), 2 December 1619;
(3) Elizabeth Atkyns; married Dr. Smith, physician to Queen Mary;
(4) Mary Atkyns;
(5) Catherine Atkyns; married Sir William Worthington, kt. (fl. 1603) of Essex.
He lived in London and at North Ockendon (Essex), but acquired the manors of Hempsted (Glos) in 1545 and Brickhampton in Churchdown (Glos) in 1548.
He died in the lifetime of his father, 1551, and was buried at St Mary Aldermanbury, London; his will was proved 1 February 1551/2. His widow married 2nd, Dr. Thomas Wendy MP (d. 1560), physician to King Edward VI and Queen Mary I and died in 1570.

Atkyns, Richard (c.1540-1610). Only recorded son of Thomas Atkyns (d. 1551) and his wife Margaret, daughter of John Cook of London, born about 1540. His wardship was granted to his stepfather, Dr. Thomas Wendy MP, physician to King Edward VI and Queen Mary I. Educated at Lincolns Inn (bencher by 1601; reader); he became Chief Justice in Pembrokeshire by 1595, one of Justices of the Sessions of North Wales, and a member of the Council of the Marches of Wales. He married, 29 April 1576 at St Olave, Silver St., London, Eleanor (d. 1594), daughter of Thomas Marsh of Waresley (Hunts), and had issue:
(1) Elizabeth Atkyns (1577-1641), baptised 4 October 1577 at Christ Church, Newgate, London; married, 1610 (settlement 25 June), William Hanmer of Fenns (Flints); buried at Hanmer (Flints), 3 July 1641;
(2) Richard Atkyns (1584-1637) (q.v.);
(3) Thomas Atkyns; died without issue;
(4) Francis Atkyns (fl. 1637); died without issue;
(5) Sir Edward Atkyns (1587-1669), kt. (q.v.);
(6) Mary Atkyns; married Thomas Powell of Shropshire.
He inherited Hempsted and Brickhampton in Churchdown from his father in 1551 and property in Minsterworth, Sodbury, Betesly [not identified] and Tudenham [either Todenham or more probably Tidenham] (all Glos) from his grandfather in 1552. He purchased further property in Minsterworth and leased the manor of Tuffley from the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester Cathedral before 1583.
He died 3 November 1610, and was buried at Hempsted, where he is commemorated by a monument with an effigy; his will was proved 7 December 1610. His wife died 3 April 1594 and was buried at Hempsted, where she is commemorated by a tablet.

Atkyns, Richard (1584-1637). Eldest son of Richard Atkyns (c.1540-1610) and his wife Eleanor, daughter of Thomas Marsh of Waresley (Hunts), born 1584. Educated at Lincolns Inn (admitted 1601). He married Mary (d. 1643), said to be second daughter of Sir Edwin Sandys of Latimer (Bucks) and his wife Elizabeth, Baroness Sandys of The Vyne (Hants), and had issue:
(1) Richard Atkyns (1615-77) (q.v.).
He inherited his father's Gloucestershire manors of Tuffley, Hempsted, Brickhampton, Morcot and Boyfield in 1610 and lived at Tuffley Court (Glos), which was leased from the Dean and Chapter of Gloucester Cathedral.
He died 12 February 1636/7 and was buried at Sherborne St. John (Hants), where he is commemorated by a monument erected by his widow that inexplicably gives his date of death as 1635; an inquisition post mortem was held 23 March 1636/7. His widow died in 1643.

Atkyns, Richard (1615-77). Son of Richard Atkyns (1584-1637) and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Edwin Sandys of Latimer (Bucks) and his wife Elizabeth, Baroness Sandys of The Vyne (Hants), born 1615. Educated at home 'by two cruel and incompetent tutors' and later at the Crypt Grammar School in Gloucester, Balliol College, Oxford (admitted 1629) and Lincolns Inn (admitted 1631), but did not pursue his studies. In about 1635 he accompanied the Catholic younger son of Thomas Arundell, 2nd Baron Arundell of Wardour, on a Continental tour, but his companion died in Paris and he returned to England to manage his father's estate, which he inherited soon after coming of age in 1636. He then travelled to London, where he joined the court, taking part in a royal masque and following the extravagant lifestyle of a minor courtier. Considering himself ‘guilty of three imperfections, that would hinder my preferment there: a blushing modesty, a flexible disposition, and no great diligence’, he returned to Gloucestershire, but found ‘my house was burn'd down, and the place as a seat spoil'd by the long inhabiting of tenants’. He was an active Royalist during the Civil War, raising a troop of 60 men at considerable personal expense; he served under George Brydges and later Prince Maurice with gallantry and distinction, seeing action at the battles of Lansdown and Roundway Down, but following the Royalist capture of Bristol in 1645 he retired from the army. He was then imprisoned by Parliament and his creditors, and had to compound for his estates and settle debts incurred before the war. He was obliged to sell some of his estates and retired to Tuffley, ‘where we found the common fate of a sequestered estate; not only a ruin'd house, but gardens and orchards plough'd to the very doors’.  At the Restoration, he was appointed JP and DL for Gloucestershire, and sought to restore his finances by exploiting a patent for printing law books and abridgements of statutes which had been granted to his father-in-law in 1629 and which King Charles II agreed to extend for a further forty years. His rights under this patent were however contested vigorously by the Stationers Company, and although he was ultimately successful in securing his patent, it was a Pyrrhic victory as the legal costs ruined him and in 1667 he was imprisoned for debt in the Marshalsea, where he remained for the rest of his life. From prison, he published the curious self-justificatory Vindication of Richard Atkyns … with certain sighs or ejaculations at the end of every chapter, 1669. He married, March 1640, Martha (d. by 1696), daughter of William Moore and widow of Sir Patrick Acheson (1611-38), 2nd bt., but by 1667 the marriage had irretrievably broken down and they had no issue.
He inherited his father's Gloucestershire estates, but sold three manors to his uncle, Sir Edward Atkyns (1587-1669), kt. in 1645-46 and the manor of Hempsted to Sir Robert Atkyns in 1655. His will (apparently written before he was imprisoned for debt) left his leasehold manor of Tuffley to his widow for life, but his interest in the property was sold in 1670 to Henry Norwood.
He died in the Marshalsea Prison, 14 September 1677, and was buried at St. George the Martyr, Southwark, 16 September 1677; his will was proved 22 January 1678. His widow died before 1696.

Atkyns, Sir Edward (1587-1669), kt. Third son of Richard Atkyns (c.1540-1610) and his wife Eleanor, daughter of Thomas Marsh of Waresley (Hunts), born at Hensington, Woodstock (Oxon), 1587. Educated at Lincolns Inn (admitted, 1601; called to bar 1614, Governor, 1630; Reader, 1632). Barrister at law; legal adviser to the Earl of Salisbury from the 1620s; his career attracted little attention until 1633, when he was defence counsel for the Puritan (and fellow Lincolns Inn lawyer) William Prynne, after which he attracted a number of high profile Puritan briefs; he was appointed Serjeant-at-Law, 1640, perhaps at Lord Salisbury's request. During the Civil War he sided with the Parliamentarians and served on various Parliamentary committees in Hertfordshire before being appointed a Baron of the Exchequer, 1645-49. After the execution of the king he initially declined reappointment but was soon persuaded (perhaps by Lord Salisbury, who had become an enthusiastic convert to the Cromwellian regime) to accept an appointment as a Justice of the Common Pleas, which he held 1649-59; he quickly gained Cromwell's confidence and was called upon to advise the Lord Protector on a variety of issues and cases. His portrait was painted by J.M. Wright in the 1650s and now hangs in Lincoln's Inn. At the Restoration, the King's commitment to appointing qualified justices overrode the political qualms he must have felt, and Atkyns was reappointed a Baron of the Exchequer 1660-69, and knighted, 23 October 1660; he was on the bench for the trial of regicides in 1660 but took no active part in the proceedings. He married 1st, about 1618, Ursula (1600-44), daughter of Sir Thomas Dacres of Cheshunt (Herts), and 2nd, 16 September 1645, Frances (1604?-1704), daughter of John Berry of Lydd (Kent), and had issue:
(1.1) Anne Atkyns (1619-71), baptised at Cheshunt, 17 July 1619; married 1st, John Fitzherbert (d. 1658) of Begbroke (Oxon) and had issue including two sons and one daughter; married 2nd, 14 April 1664 at St Bride, Fleet St., London, Sir Charles Stepkin (b. 1620), kt.; will proved 1671;
(1.2) Thomas Atkyns (b. 1620), baptised at Cheshunt, 15 February 1619/20; died young;
(1.3) Sir Robert Atkyns (1621-1710), kt. (q.v.);
(1.4) Elizabeth Atkyns (b. 1622), baptised at Cheshunt, 20 August 1622; married Francis Swift of Essex;
(1.5) Frances Atkyns (1626-84), baptised at Cheshunt, 22 September 1626; married, by 1656, Sir Richard Browne (c.1628-84), 2nd bt., of Debden (Essex), and had issue two sons and one daughter; buried at Debden on the same day as her husband, 23 September 1684;
(1.6) Sir Edward Atkyns (1630-98), kt. (q.v.).
He lived in London and later at Albury Hall (Herts) which he purchased in 1661, but purchased most of the ancestral estates in Gloucestershire from his nephew during the Commonwealth, and after 1660 also the manor of South Cerney. He gave most of his Gloucestershire property to his eldest son during his lifetime.
He died at Albury Hall, 9 October 1669 and was commemorated on his son's monument in Westminster Abbey. His first wife died 26 June 1644 and was buried at Cheshunt (Herts), 27 June 1644. His widow died 2 March 1704, reputedly at the age of 100.

Atkyns, Sir Robert (1621-1710), kt. Elder son of Sir Edward Atkyns (1587-1669), kt. and his first wife Ursula, daughter of Sir Thomas Dacres of Cheshunt (Herts), baptised at Cheshunt, 29 April 1621. Educated at Lincolns Inn (admitted 1638; called to bar, 1645; treasurer, 1664). Barrister-at-law; Recorder of Evesham, 1659 and of Bristol, 1661-82; in 1664 he sponsored the admission of the Duke of Monmouth to Lincolns Inn; widely regarded as one of the most learned lawyers of his generation, he was made a Knight of the Bath at the coronation of King Charles II, 23 April 1661, and a serjeant-at-law, 1672; a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, 1672-80. MP for Carmarthen, 1656-58, Evesham, 1659 and East Looe, 1661-73. He resigned from his public appointments in c.1680 in protest against the policies of the government, aligning himself with the proto-Whigs; after the Revolution of 1688, he became Chief Baron of the Exchequer in succession to his brother; he also had a warrant to perform the offices of Lord Chancellor and Lord Keeper, and was thus Speaker of the House of Lords, 1690-93. He was on poor terms with his eldest son, with whom he differed in politics and personal matters. He married 1st, c.1646, Mary (d. 1681), daughter of Sir George Clerke of Watford (Northants) and 2nd, 28 April 1681, his cousin, Anne (c.1660-1712), daughter of Sir Thomas Dacres, and had issue:
(1.1) Sir Robert Atkyns (1647-1711), kt. (q.v.);
(1.2) Edward Atkyns (1654-82) (q.v.); 
(1.3) Thomas Atkyns (1658-91?), baptised 9 July 1658 at St Andrew, Holborn (Middx); married Elizabeth Roberts; presumably died in the lifetime of his father and was perhaps the man of this name buried at St Magnus the Martyr, London, 26 May 1691;
(2.1) Ann Atkyns (1683-1761), baptised at Lower Swell, 8 November 1683; married, 7 August 1699, John Tracy (c.1682-1735) of Stanway Manor (Glos), son of the Hon. Ferdinando Tracy, and had issue six sons and four daughters (John Tracy, the eldest son, took the additional name of Atkyns in 1753); she was buried at Stanway, 28 October 1761; her will was proved 29 March 1762;
(2.2) Elizabeth Atkyns (b. & d. 1685), baptised at Lower Swell (Glos), 2 July 1685; died in infancy and was buried at Sapperton, 24 November 1685;
(2.3) Robert Atkyns (1686-87?), baptised at Lower Swell (Glos), 19 May 1686; died young and was buried at Lower Swell, 18 March 168? [damage to the register means the year is missing];
(2.4) Frances Atkyns (d. 1687); buried at Sapperton, 3 November 1687;
(2.5) William Atkyns (d. 1693); buried at Sapperton, 6 November 1693.
He was given the family's Gloucestershire estates in his father's lifetime, and purchased Swell Bowl in 1659, Sapperton Manor and Pinbury Park in 1661 and Coates, Trewsbury and Daglingworth (all Glos) in 1667, together with the lordships of Bisley Hundred and the Seven Hundreds of Cirencester. He built a new house at Swell Bowl in 1671. He settled Hempsted and South Cerney on his son Robert in 1669 and Trewsbury and Brickhampton, together with property at Coates and Minsterworth on his great nephew Robert in 1701. His property at Coates, Daglingworth, Oakley in Cirencester, Sapperton, Lower Swell, Pinbury and his hundredal rights and lands in Holborn were supposed to pass to his Tracy grandchildren, but they seem never to have claimed this inheritance and his surviving son, Sir Robert, entered into possession of these places except for Lower Swell, which was left for life to Sir Robert's widow, although he recovered Lower Swell from her through a law suit in 1710.
He died 9 February 1709/10 and was buried at Sapperton; he is commemorated on a monument in Westminster Abbey erected by his great nephew; his will was proved 6 March 1709/10. His first wife died 2 March 1680/81. His widow died 9 October 1712.

Sir Robert Atkyns, kt. (1647-1711)

Atkyns, Sir Robert (1647-1711), kt. Elder son of Sir Robert Atkyns (1621-1710) and his first wife, Mary, daughter of Sir George Clerk of Watford (Northants), baptised at Monken Hadley (Herts), 26 August 1647.  Educated at St Edmund Hall, Oxford (matriculated 1662/3) and Lincolns Inn (admitted, 1660/1; called to the bar, 1668). Knighted at Bristol, 5 September 1663. Barrister-at-law, but did not practice. Deputy Receiver-General of Law Duties, 1671-72; Receiver General of Law Duties, 1672-73 and Comptroller of the Law Duties, 1673-79. MP for Cirencester, 1679-81 and for Gloucestershire, 1685-87; JP for Gloucestershire, 1673-1710 (except for a short break in 1688) and DL 1683-88. Freeman of the City of Gloucester, 1681. Unlike his father, with whom he was on poor terms, he was a Tory and a Jacobite, and he declined to take an oath of allegiance to William III, although he was soon reinstated as a justice of the peace. In the new found leisure after his withdrawal from most public office, he wrote the first county history of Gloucestershire, published shortly after his death as The ancient and present state of Glostershire, 1712. He married, 6 July 1669 at St. Andrew, Holborn (Middx), Louise (c.1652-1716), daughter of Sir George Carteret of Hawnes (Beds), but had no issue.
He lived at Pinbury Park in his father's lifetime; his father settled the manors of Hempsted and South Cerney on him, but he sold the latter. He purchased the manor of Bisley in 1678 but sold this soon afterwards too. Through his marriage he acquired an interest in the island of Sark. He inherited the manors of Coates, Daglingworth, and Oakley in Cirencester from his father in 1710, and also took possession of Sapperton, Pinbury and other property which should have passed to his Tracy cousins. At his death, he left his property to his widow and then to his niece Annabella Brydges and her brother Robert Atkyns (d. 1753). Hempsted was sold by his widow and trustees in 1716 to Lord Bathurst.
He died of dysentry at his house in Westminster, 29 November 1711, and was buried at Sapperton, 12 December 1711, where there is a very large monument to his memory erected by his widow. He is also commemorated on the Atkyns monument in Westminster Abbey. His will was proved 26 February 1711/12. His widow died 2 December 1716 and was also buried at Sapperton.

Atkyns, Edward (1654-82). Second son of Sir Robert Atkyns (1621-1710) and his first wife, Mary, daughter of Sir George Clerk of Watford (Northants), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 6 June 1654. Educated at Lincolns Inn (admitted 1669). He married, 1677 (licence 8 February 1676/7), Agnes (b. 1657), daughter of Sir Richard Atkins, 1st bt. of Clapham (Surrey) and had issue:
(1) Robert Atkyns (1679-1753) (q.v.); 
(2) Annabella Atkyns (c.1680-1763), who inherited Sapperton Manor from her uncle and sold it in 1730 to Lord Bathurst; married, 7 June 1705, Hon. & Ven. Dr. Henry Brydges DD (c.1671-1725), rector of Adlestrop and Broadwell (Glos) and archdeacon of Rochester (Kent), second son of James Brydges, 8th Baron Chandos, and had issue three sons and six daughters; buried at Whitchurch, 24 August 1763.
He died in the lifetime of his father and was buried at Sapperton, 28 December 1682. His widow's date of death is unknown.

Atkyns, Robert (1679-1753). Only son of Edward Atkyns (1654-82) and his wife Agnes, daughter of Sir Richard Atkins, 1st bt., of Clapham (Surrey), born 22 January and baptised at Totteridge (Middx), 25 January 1678/9. He married, 1701 (settlement 8 November), Elizabeth Edgecumbe (d. 1739) of Mount Edgecumbe (Cornw.) and had issue:

(1) A son; died young;
(2) Anne Atkyns; married Thomas Horde (d. 1785) of Bourton-on-the-Water (Glos), and had issue one son;
(3) Elizabeth Atkyns (d. by 1778); married, 3 September 1728 at Lower Guiting (Glos), Thomas Chamberlayne, son of Edmund Chamberlayne of Maugersbury (1706-74).
He received the manors of Trewsbury and Brickhampton, together with property at Coates and Minsterworth from his grandfather, Sir Robert Atkyns (1621-1710) on his marriage, but in 1698 and 1708 his grandfather considered that he 'had shown signs of lunacy' and made settlements that excluded him from the succession to the family estates. Sir Robert Atkyns (1647-1711) seems not to have concurred in this judgement and succeeded in overriding his father's settlements, so that he inherited the Swell Bowl estate in 1711. Anne, Lady Atkyns recovered possession of Swell Bowl in 1712, but he finally secured it after her death in 1716. After his death his property passed to his daughters as co-heirs until a lawsuit in 1777 saw ownership of Lower Swell transferred to John Atkins Wright (1758-1822).
He died 16 March and was buried at Lower Swell, 18 March 1753. His wife was buried at Lower Swell, 10 October 1739.

Sir Edward Atkyns, kt. (1630-98)

Atkyns, Sir Edward (1630-98), kt. Younger son of Sir Edward Atkyns (1587-1669), kt. and his first wife Ursula, daughter of Sir Thomas Dacres of Cheshunt (Herts), baptised at Cheshunt (Herts), 14 October 1630. Educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge (admitted 1646) and Lincolns Inn (admitted 1647; called to bar, 1653; bencher, 1671; reader, 1675; treasurer, 1676). Barrister-at-law; serjeant-at-law, 1679; knighted on becoming a judge, 26 June 1679; Baron of the Exchequer, 1679-86; Chief Baron of the Exchequer, 1686-89; he was a Tory and a Jacobite and resigned his office after the Revolution of 1688 rather than swear allegiance to King William III, being succeeded as Chief Baron by his elder brother. JP for Woodstock (Oxon), 1656-62 and Hertfordshire, 1656-79. Recorder of Woodstock, 1661-62. MP for New Woodstock, 1660. He was was renowned for his legal learning and hospitality. He married, 9 December 1656 at St Andrew, Holborn (Middx), Elizabeth (d. by 1686), daughter and co-heir of Francis Lucy of The Strand, London, and had issue, with two other daughters:
(1) Lucy Atkyns (d. 1697), born about 1660; married, 20 January 1678/9 at St Lawrence Jewry, London, Hon. Thomas Newport (1654/5-1719), (later 1st Baron Torrington, who m.2, 22 July 1700, Penelope Mary (d. 1705), daughter of Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 1st bt. and m.3, 8 July 1709, Anne, daughter of Robert Pierrepont), fifth son of Francis Newport, 1st Earl of Bradford, but had no issue; buried at Albury, 29 January 1696/7;
(2) Frances Atkyns (b. c.1663); married, 28 August 1683 at St Peter Mancroft, Norwich (Norfk), John Buttler (b. c.1643) of Watton Woodhall (Herts);
(3) Edward Atkyns (b. 1664), born 28 February and baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 8 March 1663/4; died young;
(4) Kingswell Atkyns (b. 1665), baptised at Albury, 26 July 1655; probably died young;
(5) Richard Atkyns (1666-1717) (q.v.);
(6) Edward Atkyns (1672-1750) (q.v.);
(9) Rebecca Atkyns (c.1673-1711), born about 1673; married, 1708, Baynbrigg Buckeridge (c.1668-1733) (who m2, 4 March 1711/2 at Little Bookham (Surrey), Anne Mary Geering), son of Nicholas Buckeridge, and had issue one son (died young) and one daughter; died 2 May 1711;
(7) Robert Atkyns (c.1679-1752); merchant in Austin Friars, London, who retired to Blackheath (Kent); married and had issue one surviving daughter; will proved 17 October 1752;
(8) Martha Atkyns (fl. 1699); married, 19 November 1699 at Withersdale (Suffk), Thomas Gibson (fl. 1717) of London, gent.;
(10) Mary Atkyns (d. 1710); died unmarried and was buried at South Pickenham, 1710.
He inherited Albury Hall (Herts) from his father in 1669, but sold it about five years later to Thomas Bowyer. He bought the Pickenham Hall estate at South Pickenham (Norfk), where he lived in retirement after 1689 and completed the rebuilding of the hall. He died of the stone, aged 68 and was buried at Albury, 26 October 1698; he was commemorated on his brother's monument in Westminster Abbey. His wife was 'lately deceased' in 1686.

Atkyns, Edward (1672-1751). Second surviving son of Sir Edward Atkyns (1630-98), kt. and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Lucy of The Strand, London, baptised at Albury, 26 July 1672. Hamburg merchant in London. High Sheriff of Norfolk, 1743. He was unmarried and without issue.
He purchased the manor of Ketteringham (Norfk) in 1717. He later purchased the manors of Hethersett, Hacons, Cromwells and Woodhall (all Norfk)
He died aged 79 on 20 January and was buried 29 January 1750/1 at Ketteringham; his will provided for the erection of monuments to himself and his illustrious forbears in both Ketteringham church and Westminster Abbey, which were designed by his friend, Sir Henry Cheere; his will was proved 13 March 1750/1 (effects under £80,000).

Atkyns, Richard (1666-1717). Eldest surviving son of Sir Edward Atkyns (1630-98), kt and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Lucy of The Strand, London, born 20 June 1666. Educated at Brentwood School, Christ's College, Cambridge (admitted 1681) and Lincolns Inn (admitted 1682). Linen draper in Cornhill, London. He married (licence 1689/90) Mary (b. c.1674), only child of Sir Thomas Kinsey (c.1636-96), kt., vintner, of Fulham (Middx), alderman of London, and had issue:
(1) Edward Kinsey Atkyns (1692-1743) (q.v.);
(2) Thomas Atkyns (b. c.1694?; fl. 1717), probably born about 1694; mariner, who at the time his father's will was drawn up was on a voyage to China; died without issue;
(3) Robert Atkyns; died in infancy and was buried at Fulham with his grandfather, Sir Thomas Kinsey;
(4) Elizabeth Atkyns (b. 1696), baptised at Fulham, 31 December 1696; died young; buried at Fulham with her grandfather, Sir Thomas Kinsey;
(5) Rev. Richard Atkyns (c.1697-1745); educated at Christs College and Peterhouse, Cambridge (admitted 1714; BA 1717/8; MA 1721; DD 1733); Fellow of Peterhouse, 1718-31; rector of Lee (Kent), 1731-45; died unmarried and without issue, 24 April 1745, and was buried at Lee;
(6) Robert Atkyns (c.1700-52), born about 1700; educated at Lincolns Inn (admitted 1715/16); linen draper of Austin Friars, London; retired to Blackheath (Kent); he may have been unmarried but left issue a daughter (Mrs. Margaretta White); buried at Albury (Herts), 16 October 1752; will proved 17 October 1752;
(6) Kingmil (recte Kingsmill?) Atkyns (b. 1703), baptised at St Clement Danes, London, 11 May 1703; probably died young;
(7) Mary Atkyns (fl. 1717); married before 1717.
He lived in London. He inherited his father's estate at South Pickenham, but sold it in 1700 to Thomas Chute.
He was buried at Albury, 12 December 1717; his will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 23 December 1717. His wife was buried at Albury (Herts), 1 June 1706.

Atkyns, Edward Kinsey (1692-1743). Son of Richard Atkins (d. 1717) and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Thomas Kinsey, kt., baptised at Fulham (Middx), 26 July 1692. Merchant in London; Governor of St. Thomas' Hospital, London, c.1727-43. He married, 1717 at St Ann Blackfriars, London, Ann Sanderson (d. 1746), and had issue:
(1) Edward Atkyns (1718-65) (q.v.);
(2) Robert Atkyns (b. 1719), baptised at St Peter le Poer, London, 11 August 1719; died young and certainly before 1730;
(3) Kinsey Atkyns (b. 1720), baptised at St. Peter le Poer, London, 5 October 1720; probably died young and certainly before 1746;
(4) Ann Atkyns (b. 1721), baptised at St Peter le Poer, London, 2 February 1720/1; living in 1770, when she was unmarried; her date of death has not been established;
(5) Richard Atkyns (b. 1723), baptised at St Peter le Poer, London, 19 May 1723; probably died young and certainly before 1746;
(6) Lucy Atkyns (1724-25), baptised at St Peter le Poer, London, 20 August 1724; died in infancy and was buried at St Michael, Paternoster Royal, London, 15 March 1724/5;
(7) Thomas Kinsey Atkyns (1728-71), baptised at St Peter le Poer, London, 22 January 1728/9; marine commander in service of East India Co.; married, 4 July 1754 at St Benet Gracechurch, London, Martha Morris (1723-1803), and had issue one son; his will was proved 21 October 1771;
(8) Robert Atkyns (b. 1730), baptised at St Peter le Poer, London, 14 August 1730; died young, before 1746.

He lived in the parish of St Peter-le-Poer, London.
He died 4 July and was buried at Albury, 7 July 1743; his will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 6 July 1743. His widow was buried at Albury, 19 January 1745/6.

Atkyns, Edward (1718-65). Eldest son of Edward Kinsey Atkyns (1692-1743) and his wife Ann Sanderson, baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 28 March 1718, and nephew and heir of Edward Atkyns (d. 1750). Hamburg Merchant in London. He married, 31 December 1755 at St Michael, Oxford, Dorothy (d. 1767), daughter of John Wright of Oxford, and had issue:
(1) Edward Atkyns (1757-94) (q.v.);
(2) John Atkyns (later Atkyns Wright) (1758-1822) of Crowsley Park (Oxon), baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 2 October 1758; educated at Eton, 1773-76, Exeter College, Oxford (matriculated 1777; BA 1780) and Inner Temple (admitted 1778; called to the bar, 1785); succeeded to the estate of his uncle, John Wright, at Crowsley Park in 1797 and took the additional name Wright; JP for Oxfordshire (Chairman of Quarter Sessions, 1819-22); High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, 1798-99; Recorder of Henley-on-Thames, 1799-1822; Major commanding Henley & Binfield Volunteers, 1803-06; MP for Oxford, 1802-07, 1812-20; Vice-President of the Board of Agriculture; through a lawsuit in 1777 he and his sister Mary recovered possession of the Swell Bowl estate in Gloucestershire, where he rebuilt the house as a farmhouse; married, 1786 at St Peter-le-Poer, London, Mary, daughter of Joseph Rigail, Russia merchant, but had no issue; died 5 March 1822;
(3) Robert Atkyns (1759-74), born 10 September and baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 2 October 1759; died 16 June and was buried at Albury, 22 June 1774;
(4) Mary Atkyns (c.1760-1829) (q.v.);
(5) Ann Atkyns (b. 1761), born 22 November and baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 9 December 1761; died before 1765.
He inherited the Ketteringham Hall estate from his uncle, Edward Atkyns (1672-1751) in 1751. He inherited Pinbury Park and the manor of Coates (Glos) from his kinsman, Robert Atkyns (d. 1753). He left his Gloucestershire property to trustees to sell for the benefit of his younger children. The younger children did better than expected out of this as in 1770 the Swell Bowl estate, to which Edward had had a reversionary right, fell into possession, and a legal case held that his will directed it should be sold for the benefit of his younger children, and not pass to his eldest son and heir-at-law. Pinbury was sold to Lord Bathurst in 1786 or 1788.
He died 23 February and was buried at Albury (Herts), 3 March 1765; he was commemorated by a monument in Ketteringham church; his will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 12 March 1765. His widow was buried at Albury (Herts), 2 June 1767; her will was proved in the PCC, 17 June 1767.

Atkyns, Edward (1757-94). Son of Edward Atkyns (1719-65) and his wife Dorothy, daughter of John Wright of Oxford, baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 21 July 1757. Educated at Exeter College, Oxford (matriculated 1776). He married, 18 June 1779 at St James, Piccadilly, London, Charlotte (1758-1836), actress, singer and dancer, daughter of William or Robert Walpole of Athlone (Co. Westmeath & Roscommon), and had issue:
(1) Wright Edward Atkyns (1780-1804) (q.v.).
By November 1784 he and his wife (who was not accepted by county society in Norfolk) had moved to France, probably to avoid their creditors; they entered court circles at Versailles and, after moving to Lille at the end of 1789, Charlotte Atkyns described herself as a pensioner of France, suggesting favour at court; she became a noted equestrienne, thinking little of riding the 74 miles to Calais one day and returning home the next. They returned to England in 1791, but remained in close touch with events in France through émigrés, and about August 1793 she went back to France in the hope of rescuing the surviving members of the French royal family; she succeeded in getting a brief meeting with Queen Marie-Antoinette in the Concièrgerie and the queen is said to have asked her to concentrate on saving her son, regarded by royalists as Louis XVII following the execution of his father. After her husband died in 1794 she may again have gone to France to attempt his rescue, but if there was an attempt it was unsuccessful. She continued to promote the émigré cause and mortgaged Ketteringham in 1799 to raise funds for this purpose. After the restoration of the French monarchy in 1814 she petitioned unsuccessfully for reimbursement of more than £30,000 which she claimed to have expended in the Bourbon cause, and about 1830 she moved permanently to Paris, where she died in reduced circumstances. 
He inherited the manor of Ketteringham from his father. At his death it was left to his widow, who in 1824 gave it to her sister-in-law, Mary Atkyns, in return for an annuity.
He died 27 March and was buried at Ketteringham, 5 April 1794. His widow died in Paris (France), 2 February 1836 but was buried at Ketteringham; her will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 26 July 1838.

Atkyns, Wright Edward (1780-1804). Son of Edward Atkyns (1757-94) and his wife Charlotte, daughter of Elizabeth Walpole, born 28 June and baptised 22 July 1780. An officer in the 1st regiment of dragoons (Cornet, 1797; Lt., 1799; Capt., retired because of ill-health, 1804). He was unmarried and without issue.
He died unmarried, 16 November, and was buried at Ketteringham, 27 November 1804; his will was proved in the PCC, 8 December 1804.

Atkyns, Mary (c.1760-1829). Daughter of Edward Atkyns (1718-65) and his wife Dorothy, daughter of John Wright of Oxford, born about 1760. She married, 13 December 1783 at St Mary, Lambeth (Surrey), John Thomas Atkyns (1757-1819) of Battersea (Surrey) and later of Huntercombe House (Bucks), son of Thomas Atkyns of London, and had issue:
(1) Mary Elizabeth Atkyns (1784-1849), born 24 September and baptised at St George, Hanover Square, London, 23 October 1784; married, 14 February 1823, Maj-Gen. Charles Palmer MP (1777-1851), aide-de-camp to Prince Regent, 1811-20, son of John Palmer of Bath (Somerset), but had no issue; administration of goods (with will annexed) granted to her sister Frances, 26 March 1849;
(2) Ann Dorothy Atkyns (1785-1867), baptised at St George, Hanover Square, London, 13 September 1785; she inherited the Swell Bowl estate from her uncle, John Atkyns Wright, in 1822 but sold most of it in 1844 and the rest after 1865; died unmarried, 20 March 1867; will proved 4 April 1867 (effects under £8,000);
(3) Frances Atkyns (1786-1866), baptised at Fulham (Middx), 20 November 1786; lived at Cadogan Place, Chelsea; died unmarried and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, 26 February 1866; will proved 19 March 1866 (effects under £45,000);
(4) Harriet Atkyns (1790-1825) (q.v.);
(5) John Thomas Atkyns (1792-93), baptised at Battersea (Surrey), 31 December 1792; died in infancy and was buried at Battersea, 19 March 1793;
(6) Robert John Atkyns (1797-1818), born 18 July and baptised at Battersea (Surrey), 25 August 1797; educated at Eton and Exeter College, Oxford (matriculated 1816); died in the lifetime of his father, 23 May, and was buried at Burnham (Bucks), 1 June 1818.
She lived at Tom Taylor's House, Lavender Sweep, Battersea (Surrey) c.1794-1804 and later at Huntercombe Manor, which her husband leased. In 1824 she acquired Ketteringham from her sister-in-law, Charlotte Atkyns, in return for an annuity, and settled it on her daughter Harriet.
She was buried at Burnham (Bucks), 30 November 1829 but commemorated by a monument at Ketteringham; her will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 1 September 1830. Her husband was buried at Burnham, 7 July 1819; his will was proved in the PCC, 15 July 1819.

Atkyns, Harriet (1790-1825). Daughter of John Thomas Atkyns (1757-1819) of Battersea (Surrey) and later of Huntercombe House (Bucks) and his wife Mary (c.1761-1829) (q.v.), daughter of Edward Atkyns, born 19 December 1790 and baptised at St Mary, Battersea, 15 January 1791. She married, 14 July 1824 at Walcot, Bath (Somerset), Nathaniel William Peach MP (1785-1835), son of Nathaniel Peach of Bownham House (Glos) and widower of Elizabeth, daughter of John Goodman of Oare (Wilts), by whom he had one son and two daughters, but had no issue.
Ketteringham Hall  was settled on her by her mother at her marriage; her stepson sold it for £80,000 in 1836 after her husband's death. Her husband also owned The Hyde, Bere Regis (Dorset).
She died 3 July 1825 and was buried at Ketteringham, where she is commemorated by a monument erected by her husband.  Her husband died 29 August 1835; his will was proved 14 September 1835 (effects under £35,000); his will led to a Chancery suit.

Sources

Sir. R. Atkyns, The ancient and present state of Glostershire, 1712, pp. 636, 704 and facing plates; Country Life, 30 April 1910, pp. 630-6; J.D. Thorp, 'History of the manor of Coates', Transactions of the Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, vol. 50, 1928, pp. 135-274; A Carver, The story of Duntisbourne Rouse, 1968; VCH Gloucestershire, vol. 4, p. 394; vol. 6, pp. 166-68; vol. 11, p. 91; B.S. Smith, 'Sir Robert Atkyns', in J. Simmons (ed), English County Historians, 1978, pp. 56-80; J. Johnson, The Gloucestershire Gentry, 1989, pp. 41, 110; P.H. Highfill, K.A. Burnim & E.A. Langhans, A biographical dictionary of actors, actresses, musicians, dancers, managers and other stage personnel in London, 1660-1800, 1993, vol. 15, pp. 243-45; D. Verey & A. Brooks, The buildings of England: Gloucestershire - The Cotswolds, 3rd edn., 1999, pp. 590-91; N.W. Kingsley, The country houses of Gloucestershire, vol. 1, 1500-1660, 2001, pp. 169-70, 246; vol. 2, 1660-1830, 1992, pp. 244-45; N.W. Kingsley & M.J. Hill, The country houses of Gloucestershire: vol. 3, 1830-2000, 2001, pp. 289-90; Sir J. Baker, The men of court, 1440 to 1550, 2012, vol. 1, pp. 239-40; ODNB articles on Richard Atkins (1615-77), Sir Edward Atkyns (1587-1669), Sir Robert Atkyns (1621-1710), Sir Edward Atkyns (1630-98), and Charlotte Atkyns (1758-1836).

Location of archives

No substantial archive is known to survive, although there are a few papers relating to the Norfolk branch of the family among the later archives of the Boileau family of Ketteringham Hall in Norfolk Record Office and scattered deeds and papers relating to the Gloucestershire branch in the Gloucestershire Archives.

Coat of arms

Argent, a cross sable, a tressure of a half fleur de lis between four mullets pierced of the second.

Can you help?

Here are a few notes about information and images which would help to improve the account above. If you can help with any of these or with other additions or corrections, please use the contact form in the sidebar to get in touch.

• Can anyone supply an illustration of Ketteringham Hall before it was remodelled in the 1830s?
• The genealogical details for the 16th and 17th century generations of this family are sadly incomplete. If anyone can provide additional information from authoritative sources I should be very pleased to receive it.
• Can anyone supply further portraits of members of this family whose names appear in bold in the account?

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 6 December 2016 and was updated 20 January and 7 September 2021 and 1 May 2022. I am grateful to Alex Craven for drawing my attention to a significant error.