(402) Barnham of Boughton Monchelsea Place, baronets

Barnham of Boughton Monchelsea,

The Barnham family have recently received sustained academic attention, largely because of the fortuitous survival of both an early family group picture (possibly by Hans Eworth) depicting Alice Barnham (1523-1604) and her two eldest sons, and the text of an early 17th century genealogical memoir by the antiquarian, Sir Francis Barnham (1576-1646), kt. In her book, Locating Privacy in Tudor London (2008), Professor Lena Cowen Orlin has sought to contextualise these artefacts not only by studying the standard genealogical sources for the people concerned, but also by seeking out references to them in a wide variety of contemporary official and corporate records. Her work shows just how much can be pieced together about a family even in the remote world of Tudor and Jacobean London, if sufficient time and research expertise are devoted to pertinacious enquiry. The Landed Families of Britain and Ireland project is necessarily based almost entirely on secondary sources and primary sources that are available online and in print: it is humbling to realise how much fuller an account might be written had we but world enough and time. In the case of this family, however, the prosopographical information given below is immensely enriched by Orlin's work, although the responsibility for any errors of fact or emphasis is of course mine alone.

Even with the work of Professor Orlin, some mysteries remain, the most significant of which concerns the origins of Stephen Barnham (d. 1550), with whom the genealogy below begins. The genealogical memoir written by his great-grandson states that his father and grandfather were killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, when Stephen was a child, and that he was then educated at Battle Abbey (to which his ancestors had been significant donors), before progressing to a clerkship in the service of Cardinal Wolsey and to a position at the court of King Henry VIII. He treats this as fact, whereas he is more cautious about accepting the truth of a claim that the family first achieved prominence in the time of King Richard II, when a Sir Walter Barnham became a Baron of the Exchequer. But it does not accord well with the fact that Stephen's will, written shortly before his death in 1550, reveals him to have been an innkeeper at Southwick (Hants), and suggests an altogether humbler station in life. Sir Francis seeks to account for this discrepancy by suggesting that Stephen's second wife 'did so governe him, and misgoverne his estate, as made him att his death little more than even with the world', but on balance it seems unlikely that this would be sufficient to bring a courtier to such a humble occupation. It is also noteworthy that the family seems not to have been armigerous until a grant of arms to Francis Barnham in 1561.

We cannot be too confident that Sir Francis' account of his great-grandfather was mere fiction, however, for he goes on to record that as a young man his grandfather, Francis Barnham (c.1515-76), was found a place with the Board of Green Cloth. The other particulars he gives of his grandfather's career can be confirmed from independent sources, so it seems likely that this is true too. And since the Board was a branch of the Royal Household, it seems more likely that this post, however humble it may have been, would have been given to a gentleman's son than an innkeeper's son, however promising. Francis found, however, that there few prospects of preferment in the Royal Household, and that he was running through his limited inheritance, so he gave up his place at court for an apprenticeship with a London draper and merchant adventurer. He became a freeman in 1541 and established his own business as an export merchant, in which he quickly became prosperous, and he later expanded his activities into money-lending.

Alice, Lady Barnham and her children, 1557, tentatively attributed to Hans Eworth.
The picture is now in the Denver Art Museum, Colorado (USA).

His wife, Alice, who was herself a businesswoman in the silk trade, probably played an important role in his business as well as his household, since Francis himself was increasingly occupied with civic affairs. He built a career with the Draper's Company and the City of London that culminated in his terms as Sheriff of London in 1570-71 and Master of the Drapers in 1572. Had he lived longer, seniority would no doubt have brought him his turn as Lord Mayor, but he died in 1576, leaving three sons, the youngest of whom was only seventeen. Although Francis had kept most of his wealth in liquid form through his activities as a money-lender, he invested in 1568 in the purchase of two manors in Kent, which he left to his widow for life and then to his eldest son, Sir Martin Barnham (1548-1610). Martin was intended to follow the classic path for the eldest son of a rich merchant into the landed gentry, and was educated for the role at Oxford and Grays Inn, while his younger brothers, Stephen and Benedict, remained in trade. Stephen, who seems to have been chiefly a land speculator, settled eventually at Southover near Lewes (Sussex); Benedict took up his father's mantle as a merchant and rapidly became one of the richest in the city of London. He was Sheriff of London in 1592, and also an MP, but died at the tender age of 38, leaving a widow (whose three further marriages were successively to a knight, a viscount, and an earl) and five daughters.

In 1572, Sir Martin Barnham married Ursula, the daughter of Robert Rudston (d. 1590) of Boughton Monchelsea Place. As part of the marriage settlement, the young couple were to live in Rudston's household for four years, without contributing to the expenses. This allowed Sir Martin to save most of his income during these years, and in 1576 he was able to lease an estate at Hollingbourne, where he later also bought land and built a new house. 

Hollingbourne Manor House: this was the house, then known as
the Parsonage, which Sir Martin Barnham leased from 1576.
Image: Penny Mayes. Some rights reserved.

The arrangement probably also allowed the in-laws to keep an eye on the relationship between the young couple, and, of course, it avoided the necessity for Rudston to make a large cash outlay on a portion for his daughter. Sadly, Ursula Barnham died in 1579, leaving only one surviving son, but Sir Martin married again the following year and had a large family. By the time of his death in 1610, he had accumulated sufficient lands to provide good dowries for his daughters and significant lands for all his sons. His eldest son, Sir Francis Barnham (1576-1646), inherited his father's lands and houses at Hollingbourne, but in 1613 he also came into Boughton Monchelsea, on the death of his uncle. He moved there, and his father's new house at Hollingbourne was actually sold in 1616, although he retained the leased house and lived there again later after his son took over Boughton Monchelsea. Sir Francis went to Cambridge and Grays Inn, where he made useful friends, including the Earl of Pembroke, who helped shape his career thereafter. In 1603 he was able to arrange, with Pembroke's help, for both his father and himself to be knighted at the coronation of James I, without payment of the usual fees: Sir Martin having declined to be knighted if it might appear that the honour had been purchased. Sir Francis went on to be MP for Maidstone in successive parliaments, and built on his father's reputation to become an important figure in the Kentish gentry. He was also an enthusiastic antiquarian, who wrote the genealogical memoir which I discussed earlier, and in the 1620s he was suggested as one of the foundation members of a proposed Royal Academy for the study of history and public affairs. His own part in public affairs came largely to a close with the outbreak of the Civil War. Having been part of the parliamentary consensus that the powers of the King needed to be limited, his enthusiasm for opposition seems to have evaporated with the descent into civil war, and he took no part in the proceedings of Parliament or the county committee after 1643. He was threatened with exclusion and the sequestration of his estate for his non-attendance, so his absence was probably a reflection of his neutrality rather than of increasing infirmity. He died in 1646 and was succeeded by his son, Sir Robert Barnham (1606-85), 1st bt.

Sir Robert may have had Presbyterian sympathies, but he was essentially a Royalist, and he took part in the Kentish Uprising of 1648 and was briefly imprisoned at Leeds Castle. With the Restoration of the Monarchy he became MP for Maidstone and a JP and deputy lieutenant for Kent, and in 1663 he purchased the baronetcy for which his estate qualified him. In later life, however, he seems to have had money troubles for reasons which are unclear (perhaps just bad management). Both of his sons predeceased him, and he was succeeded at Boughton Monchelsea by his youngest daughter, Philadelphia (1664-1730) and her husband, Thomas Rider (c.1648-1702), to whom he had also previously sold his property at Bilsington. Their son, Sir Barnham Rider (1683-1728), kt., inherited the Boughton Monchelsea estate, and in remained with the Riders until the early 20th century. A further account will be given in a future post on that family.

Boughton Monchelsea Place, Kent

The house consists of the east and south ranges of a quadrangular house built about 1567-75 by Robert Rudston, which is recorded in Badeslade's view of 1719. The north and west ranges were apparently demolished in the 18th century and replaced by the present single-storey brick service ranges: a clock and bell of 1657 visible in Badeslade's view were relocated in a new turret on the rebuilt west range. In 1819-20 the south range was largely rebuilt, and probably at the same time the east range was given battlements and new interiors with simple but elegant Gothic decoration.

Boughton Monchelsea Place: detail of Badeslade's engraving of the house, 1719. The now-demolished north front is nearest the viewpoint.

Robert Rudston acquired the manor of Boughton Monchelsea in or soon after 1551, but shortly afterwards was implicated in Sir Thomas Wyatt's rebellion against Queen Mary and only pardoned on the payment, in 1555, of a large fine, amounting to some two-thirds of the value of the estate. His finances must have taken some time to recover from this penalty, and it is therefore not surprising that building work was delayed for a further decade. Thomas Philpot's survey of Kent, the Villare Cantiarum (1659) states that Rudston 'much improved the ancient Structure with the increase of Building, in the years 1567 and 1576', and this seems to be confirmed by three dates of 1567, 1568 and 1575 on armorial stained glass reused in the windows of the entrance hall and dining room. Philpot's form of words implies that Rudston remodelled rather than rebuilt the existing manor house, and since Badeslade shows that the north, east and west ranges were more regular than the south range, it may be that he enlarged an existing manor house into a quadrangular building. Badeslade's view shows part of the south range with a lower roof than the rest, and a jumble of gabled bays projecting into the courtyard. This could represent the original timber-framed 15th century hall and its ancillary buildings, although sadly the 19th century rebuilding of the south range has destroyed any structural evidence to support this theory. Badeslade's view shows the owner's carriage approaching the south front of the house, and this suggests that the main entrance was probably still on that side in the early 18th century despite the existence of porches on the north and east sides. Philpot's statement also implies that there were two phases of late 16th century building, a few years apart. This may explain why the porch on the east front is not bonded into the wall behind: it may be that it was an addition to the original scheme, although there is also said to be some evidence than in it present form it was rebuilt when other changes were made to the east front in the early 19th century.

Boughton Monchelsea Place: the east range, from an old postcard.

The east front as it exists today and the north front as shown in the Badeslade engraving were almost identical, and it seems likely that they were always so. When first built, however, they almost certainly had mullioned or mullioned and transomed windows, and the present nearly symmetrical distribution of the windows seems to be late 17th century. They presumably form part of the same remodelling as the present main staircase, which would seem to date from about 1690 and thus be work carried out for Thomas and Philadelphia Rider. It seems likely that long cross-windows were then inserted in place of the original mullioned windows, and in places there are signs of the alteration in the stonework. The elevations are now of nine bays, with four windows either side of the central porch on the ground floor. On the first floor, however, only bays two, four, six and eight have windows, and the dormers are placed directly above them. There are some curious minor irregularities in the fenestration which reflect its complex evolution: for example, the way in which the first floor window in bay 8 is not directly above the window on the ground floor, although the corresponding window in bay 2 is. 

Boughton Monchelsea Place: the staircase of c.1690. Image: Country Life.

An inventory of 1617 gives valuable information about the accommodation provided by the house, which then included a hall and screens passage ('the hall entry'), a gallery, five parlours of various kinds and fourteen bedrooms, apart from the service accommodation. It seems likely that the hall referred to was in the east wing, as the main staircase of the Elizabethan house was in a gabled tower on the courtyard side of this range. Only the upper part of the original stair now survives, and it is very simple and plain. It leads up to the attic floor, where there is a small closet (called, in an early inventory, 'Mistress Rudston's herb closet') which retains its original oak cupboards and shelves. The gallery may have been at attic level in the east range or on the first floor of the north range. The new staircase of c.1690 was built in a new addition in the angle between the two surviving ranges. It is of oak, and rises in three wide shallow flights, with stout newel posts, a broad ramped handrail and widely-spaced twisted balusters typical of its date. The moulded plaster ceiling, doorcases and dado of the hall are also all of a piece with the staircase, and the adjoining bedroom (over the entrance hall) was refitted at the same time.

Boughton Monchelsea Place: the courtyard side of the east wing. In the centre is the Elizabethan staircase tower; to its right the three windows of the 17th century staircase, and to its left the Georgian bedroom block. Image: Country Life.

Boughton Monchelsea Place: the south range as rebuilt in 1819-20. Image: Historic England.

When the north and west ranges of the house were pulled down  in the mid 18th century by Thomas Rider (d. 1785), who was a bachelor and perhaps found the house unnecessarily large, he masked the scar on the courtyard side of the east range by building two new bedrooms over storage space. The final major changes were made to the house by Thomas Rider (d. 1847), who inherited in 1805. He added the battlements to the east front and created the present Gothic entrance hall and the dining room, which has a Gothic screen across one end and a Gothic chimneypiece. These works may be a little earlier than the rebuilding of the south wing in 1818-20, when a new drive providing a direct approach to the east front was also laid out following the enclosure of Cox's Heath and the extension of the grounds to the north of the house.

Boughton Monchelsea Place: the entrance hall formed in the early 19th century. Image: Country Life.

Descent: sold 1551 to Robert Rudston (d. 1590); to son, Belknap Rudston (d. 1613); to nephew, Sir Francis Barnham (1576-1646), kt.; to son, Sir Robert Barnham (1606-85), 1st bt.; to daughter, Philadelphia (1664-1730), wife of Thomas Rider (c.1648-1702); to son, Sir Barnham Rider (d. 1728); to son, Thomas Rider (d. 1785); to cousin, Ingram Rider (1733-1805); to son, Thomas Rider (d. 1847); to nephew, Thomas Rider (fl. 1887?)...sold 1960 to Michael Bluett Winch; gifted 1990 to Charles Gooch; sold 1998 to Mr. & Mrs. D. Kendrick. The house was let from the mid 19th century onwards: Lt-Col. G.B. Winch was the tenant 1902-48 and his nephew, Michael Bluett Winch from 1948 until he bought the freehold in 1960.

Hollingbourne House, Kent

Sir Martin Barnham (1548-1610), kt., and his first wife came to live at Hollingbourne in 1576, when he took a lease of the then recently-built Hollingbourne Manor from the Culpepper family. After his wife's death in 1579 he avoided the place for a while but he retained the tenancy and by 1603 he and his second family seem to have been resident once more. He may have tried and failed to buy the freehold of the Manor, because towards the end of his life, having bought the manor of Ripple, he chose a site on Hollingbourne Hill on which to build a new house, which was completed in 1609. His son and heir, Sir Francis Barnham (1576-1646), kt., preferring the situation of Boughton Monchelsea Place, which he had inherited in 1613, moved there and sold Hollingbourne House in 1616. Unfortunately, we know nothing about the appearance of the Jacobean house here, which was replaced in 1798-99 by the present severe two-storey white brick house designed by Charles Beazley for Baldwin Duppa Duppa.

Hollingbourne House: the south front designed by Charles Beazley in 1798-99 for Baldwin Duppa Duppa.

This has a ten-bay south front facing wide views, with an awkward two-bay centre under a mean pediment, linked by single recessed bays with niches on the ground floor to three-bay wings which are set even further back. The ground-floor windows come down almost to floor level. The central room on the south front has a Soaneian ceiling, with a depressed groin-vault and separately vaulted spaces at either end of the room. The principal staircase was placed to the rear of the main front, in a broad bow, and has a typical plain Regency balustrade. Behind the long south front a much narrower block connected the house to the stables and other offices.

Hollingbourne House: the house depicted on the 1st edition 6" map surveyed in 1866.

The main drive approached the house from the north-west and continued through an archway on the ground floor of the house to emerge on the east front, where it curved round to the stables. This arrangement, visible on the 1st edition 6" map of 1865-66, was altered soon afterwards, when the archway was blocked up to create a new hall. Further alterations were made to the house by Carden & Godfrey in the 20th century. 

Descent: built for Sir Martin Barnham (1548-1610), kt.; to son, Sir Francis Barnham (1576-1646), kt., who sold 1616... Charles Pelham sold 1705 to Baldwin Duppa (1650-1737); to son, Baldwin Duppa (1682-1764); to kinsman, Rev. Richard Hancorn (later Duppa) (d. 1790); to brother Baldwin Hancorn (later Duppa) (d. 1798); to son, Baldwin Duppa Duppa (1763-1847); to grandson, Baldwin Francis Duppa (d. 1874), who sold to his uncle, George Duppa (d. 1888); to nephew, Richard Turbutt (later Duppa de Uphaugh) (1855-1944)... sold 1936 to Lady Pearson; ... John H. Doyle (fl. 1946); to Mr & Mrs E.H. Doyle (fl. 1958)... Mr & Mrs Paul Mullis (fl. 2000-03); sold 2005.

Barnham family, baronets

Barnham, Stephen (d. 1550). His parentage is unknown. His great-grandson believed that he was the son and grandson of men who were killed fighting for the Yorkists at Bosworth Field in 1485 and lost their estates, and that he was subsequently educated at Battle Abbey before entering the service of Cardinal Wolsey, and later becoming a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to King Henry VIII. This seems unlikely, as his will shows him to have been a prosperous yeoman and innkeeper at the Crown, Southwick (Hants), but it cannot be entirely discounted, as his great-grandson's account says his estate was greatly reduced by the bad management of his second wife. He married 1st, [forename unknown], daughter of Bluett of Hampshire, and 2nd, Joan [surname unknown]. and had issue:
(1) Francis Barnham (c.1515-76) (q.v.);
(2) Thomas Barnham (d. 1576); citizen and draper of London; married Alice Cressy and had issue three sons and three daughters; administration of goods granted to his widow, 1576;
(3) Dorothy Barnham (fl. 1550); married John Chapman (c.1516-73) of London;
(4) Agnes Barnham (fl. 1550);
(5) Elizabeth Barnham (fl. 1550).
He also had two illegitimate daughters, mentioned in his will:
(X1) Maud Barnham (fl. 1550);
(X2) Dorothy Barnham (fl. 1550).
He lived at Southwick (Hants).
He died between 28 October 1550 and 9 January 1550/1; his will was proved 9 January 1550/1. His first wife's date of death is unknown. His second wife's date of death is unknown.

Barnham, Francis (c.1515-76). Elder son of Stephen Barnham and his first wife, [forename unknown] Bluett, born about 1515. As a young man he entered the court as an officer of the Steward of the Royal Household, but finding preferment slow and the place expensive, he apprenticed himself to William Pratt, a London draper, and in 1539, after Pratt died, to Sir Richard Champion, who was also a merchant adventurer and later Lord Mayor. He completed his articles and was made free of the Drapers Company in 1541, going on to become a liveryman in 1551, a member of the Court of Assistants from 1558, and Master in 1568-69 and 1571-72. His business seems at first to have been concerned almost exclusively with the export of goods, especially cloth, and he became a member of the Merchant Adventurers Company and a founder member of the Russia Company established in 1555. His wealth increased rapidly, and by 1570 he was clearly involved in commercial money-lending on a considerable scale, and found himself before the Exchequer accused of doing so at usurious rates, although the outcome of the case is unclear. He was one of the fifteen city merchants to whom the Crown owed most in 1571-72. What is known of his land transactions suggests he may also have been speculating in property, and it is possible that these two trades were responsible for more of his later wealth than his activities as an export merchant. He received a grant of arms in 1561. He was churchwarden of St Mildred Poultry, 1554-56, a governor of the Bridewell, 1559-61, 1572-74 and of St Thomas' Hospital, London, 1564-70 (Treasurer 1567-69) and 1574-76. He began an active career in civic administration before 1558, when he was already a member of the Common Council of the City of London, became an Alderman in 1568, and served as High Sheriff of London, 1570-71, but died before seniority would have brought him the mayoralty. He married, about 1546, Alice (1523-1604), daughter and heir of William Bradbridge of Chichester (Sussex), who seems to have been trained in her father's household as a silkwoman and to have practiced this trade independently of her husband's business during and after their marriage. They had issue*:
(1) Sir Martin Barnham (1548-1610), kt. (q.v.);
(2) Stephen Barnham (1549-1608), born 21 July and baptised at St Mildred, Poultry, London, 27 July 1549; made free of the Drapers' Company, 1572, but seems to have been a land speculator, chiefly in Sussex, rather than a merchant; MP for Chichester, 1601; he acquired Southover Manor, Lewes (Sussex) and made his home there; married 1st, Anne Patrick (d. 1592), and had issue one son and three daughters; married 2nd, Anne Dawkes, widow; buried 18 January 1608;
(3) Anthony Barnham (b. 1558), baptised 18 March 1557/8; probably died in infancy and certainly before 1568;
(4) Benedict Barnham (1559-98), baptised 2 June 1559; educated at St Alban Hall, Oxford; a merchant in London, where he rapidly became one of richest merchants; MP for Minehead, 1589 and Yarmouth, 1597; High Sheriff of London, 1592; Master of the Draper's Company, 1592, 1596; married, 28 April 1583 at St Clement Eastcheap, London, Dorothea (c.1565-1639) (who married 2nd, Sir John Pakington (d. 1625), kt., of Westwood Park (Worcs); 3rd, Sir Robert Needham (d. 1631), 1st Viscount Kilmorey; and 4th, Sir Thomas Erskine (1566-1639), 1st Earl of Kellie, and was buried 19 September 1639 at St Clement Eastcheap, London), daughter of Ambrose Smith of London, silkman, and had issue five daughters (one of whom married Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam and later Viscount St. Alban); buried 27 April 1598 at St Leonard Eastcheap; by his will (which left the vast personal estate of £14,614), he provided £100 for a monument to be set up near his father's tomb.
He lived in London. He purchased the two manors of Bilsington (Kent) in 1568, with the Court Lodge and Bilsington Priory.
He died 10 May and was buried at St Clement, Eastcheap, London, 23 May 1576, where his widow erected a chest tomb** in his memory before 1588; his will was proved 12 May 1576 and included a significant benefaction of land in Southwark (Surrey) to Christ's Hospital. His widow was also buried at St Clement Eastcheap, London, 14 May 1604; her will was proved 15 May 1604, and left a number of charitable bequests.
* Some sources also list a daughter, Etheldred(a), who married William Cleybroke, but I have found no reference to her in contemporary sources.
** Mentioned in John Stow's Survey of London but destroyed in the Great Fire of London, 1666.

Barnham, Sir Martin (1548-1610), kt. Eldest son of Francis Barnham (d. 1571) and his wife Alice Brobridge, born 26 March and baptised at St Mildred, Poultry, London, 27 March 1548. Educated in London and at Alban Hall, Oxford. After some months in the office of a lawyer called Barker he went to Grays Inn, where he made some lifelong friendships, including that of Sir Thomas Bodley. He was knighted at the coronation of King James I, 1603. JP for Kent from 1580; High Sheriff of Kent, 1598. He gained a considerable reputation for his legal knowledge in defending his title to the manors of Bilsington, and in later life he became a leading figure in the management of Romney Marsh and its sea defences. He married 1st, August 1572 at Boughton Malherbe (Kent), Ursula (d. 1579), daughter of Robert Rudston of Boughton Monchelsea (Kent) and 2nd, 1580, Judith, daughter of Sir Martin Calthorp, kt., lord mayor of London, and had issue (with two further sons by his second wife who died young, and probably in infancy):
(1.1) Sir Francis Barnham (1576-1646), kt. (q.v.);
(1.2) Benedict Barham (b. & d. 1579), born 28 July and baptised at Hollingbourne, 3 August 1579; died in infancy and was buried at Hollingbourne, 7 August 1579;
(2.1) Alice Barnham (1582-1638), baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 11 March 1581/2; married 4 December 1598 at St Leonard Eastcheap, London, Sir Robert Honywood (1574-1653), kt., of Petts Court, Charing and had issue twenty children; buried at Charing, 17 March 1637/8;
(2.2) Martin Barnham (b. c.1584?); inherited lands in Hollingbourne, Sundridge and Chevening from his father in 1610; married, 1607 (licence 15 December), Una (d. 1653), daughter of Henry Isley of Sundridge (Kent) and had issue one son and one daughter; died before 1649;
(2.3) James (alias Jacob) Barnham (b. c.1586?); inherited lands in Staplehurst and Goudhurst (Kent) from his father; married [forename unknown] Wood of Bromley (Kent), and had issue two sons and one daughter;
(2.4) Elizabeth Barnham (c.1588-1620); married, 29 November 1603 at Hollingbourne, Augustine Steward (1584-1628) of Eastbury Manor House, Barking (who was a founder member of the Virginia Company in 1612 and visited the colony before 1619), and had issue three sons and one daughter; buried at St Leonard, Shoreditch (Middx), 2 December 1620;
(2.5) Thomas Barnham (1589-1636?), baptised at St Clement Eastcheap, London, 6 July 1589; inherited lands at Littlebourne and Ickham (Kent) from his father; possibly the man of this name who died unmarried and was buried at Bearsted (Kent), 10 August 1636;
(2.6) Judith Barnham (1591?-99), said to have been born in 1591; died young and was buried at Hollingbourne, 24 December 1599;
(2.7) Anne Barnham (b. 1592; fl. 1649), baptised at Hollingbourne, 22 September 1592; married, as his second wife, Sir George Chute (1586-1649), kt., of Stockwell (Surrey) and Wistaston (Herefs), and had issue two sons and three daughters; living in 1649;
(2.8) Catherine Barnham (1594-1642), baptised at Hollingbourne, 22 September 1594; married, 7 November 1611 at Hollingbourne, Sir Christopher Buckle (1590-1660), kt., of Banstead (Surrey), and had issue three sons and seven daughters; buried at Banstead, 5 July 1642.
For four years after his first marriage he lived with his father in law at Boughton Monchelsea, but in about 1576 he purchased a lease of Hollingbourne Manor (Kent), which was his home for the rest of his life. He also built Hollingbourne House nearby shortly before his death. He inherited the two manors of Bilsington on the expiry of his mother's life interest.
He died 12 December 1610 and was buried at Hollingbourne, where he is commemorated by a monument; his will was proved 2 February 1610/11. His first wife died after childbirth, and was buried at Hollingbourne, 28 July 1579. His second wife's date of death is unknown.

Barnham, Sir Francis (1576-1646), kt. Only son of Sir Martin Barnham (1548-1610), kt., and his first wife, Ursula, daughter of Robert Rudston of Boughton Monchelsea (Kent), baptised at Hollingbourne, 20 October 1576. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1592) and Grays Inn (admitted 1594). He and his father were knighted at the Coronation of King James I, 1603, his friend and patron Lord Pembroke having arranged that the usual fees should be waived. In 1608-10 he served briefly in the army, commanding a company at Flushing in a regiment of which his patron's uncle, Viscount de L'Isle, was colonel, and he was later a Captain of the Trained Bands for Kent.  Presumably through the interest of Lord Pembroke, who was High Steward of the Duchy of Cornwall, he became MP for Grampound (Cornw.) in the first and second Parliaments of James I, 1604-10, 1614. In 1617 he became a freeman of the borough of Maidstone and acquired property in the town, and he was subsequently elected MP for Maidstone, 1621-25, 1626-29, 1640-46. In the early 1620s, Barnham was suggested by Edmund Bolton as one of 84 members of a proposed royal academy for the study of public affairs, heraldry, and English history, but the scheme died with the king. He was opposed to Charles I's personal rule, and took the Parliamentarian side at the outbreak of the Civil War, but his enthusiasm for the cause seems to have ebbed quickly with the onset of hostilities, and by 1643 he had clearly withdrawn his support, as he was being threatened with sequestration for non-attendance in Parliament. He was a Commissioner for Sewers in Kent and Sussex, 1608-45; DL for Kent (from 1617) and Canterbury (from 1615) and Warden of Rochester Bridge, 1629-30. He became a member of the Virginia Company in 1612. By an agreement with his brother-in-law, Sir Thomas Waller, he succeeded Waller as Chief Butler of England during the minority of the latter's eldest son, William, but for reasons which are obscure he remained in this sinecure until 1641. On the death of his wife's nephew in 1630, he secured the wardship of his son and heir, Francis Lennard (1619-62), 14th Baron Dacre. He was an enthusiastic antiquarian, and at some point in the early 17th century he wrote a short memoir concerning his family history, which was published in The Ancestor in 1904. He married, 3 January 1598/9 at Sevenoaks (Kent), Elizabeth (d. 1631), daughter of Sampson Leonard alias Lennard esq. of Chevening and sister of Henry Lennard, 12th Baron Dacre of the South, and had issue:
(1) Margaret Barnham (1603-38), baptised at Charing (Kent), 16 October 1603; buried at Boughton Monchelsea, 25 March 1638;
(2) Dacres Barnham (c.1604-25?); aged 15 in 1619; educated at Middle Temple (admitted 1623); living in May 1625, but some accounts say he died 9 May 1625 and he was certainly dead before 1642;
(3) Sir Robert Barnham (1606-85), 1st bt. (q.v.);
(4) Judith Barnham (b. 1609), baptised at Hollingbourne, 7 May 1609; living in 1619 but probably dead by 1642 as she is not mentioned in her father's will;
(5) Edward Barnham (b. 1610), baptised at All Saints, Maidstone, 14 February 1609/10; living in 1619 but probably dead by 1642 as he is not mentioned in his father's will;
(6) Martin Barnham (b. & d. 1610), baptised at Hollingbourne, 30 December 1610; died in infancy and was buried at Hollingbourne, 31 December 1610;
(7) Francis Barnham (c.1612-77), of Maidstone, born about 1612; married, 10 August 1642 at Wartling (Sussex), Margaret (1615-92), daughter of Sir Edward Duke, kt., of Cossington, and had issue three sons and four daughters; buried at All Saints, Maidstone, 27 April 1677;
(8) William Barnham (b. 1613; fl. 1642), baptised at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster (Middx), 19 May 1613; living in 1642;
(9) Dudley Barnham (b. 1614; fl. 1642), baptised at Hollingbourne, 16/17 October 1614; living in 1642;
(10) Elizabeth Barnham (c.1616-34), born about 1616; died unmarried and was buried at All Saints, Maidstone, 18 July 1634;
(11) Martin Barnham (b. 1618), baptised at Linton (Kent), 21 September 1618; probably dead by 1642 as he is not mentioned in his father's will;
(12) Frances Barnham (b. 1619; fl. 1646), baptised at Hollingbourne, 15 October 1619; married 1st, 30 April 1638 at St Benet, Paul's Wharf, London, Sir Robert Wildgoose (1615-42), kt., of Iridge, Salehurst (Sussex), and 2nd, 16 October 1646 at St Ann, Blackfriars, William Saltkin;
(13) John Barnham (1621-82), baptised at Hollingbourne, 13 August 1621; married [name unknown] and had issue one son and one daughter; buried at Boughton Monchelsea, 5 January 1681/2.
He inherited his father's property at Hollingbourne in 1610 and Boughton Monchelsea Place from his uncle, Belknap Rudston, in 1613. He preferred the latter seat and sold his father's house at Hollingbourne in 1616 for £3,355, while retaining the Hollingbourne Parsonage, to which he seems to have returned after his eldest surviving son came of age. He also acquired a house in Maidstone.
He died 12 September and was buried at Boughton Monchelsea, 16 September 1646, where he is commemorated by a monument designed by Nicholas Stone; his will was proved 23 October 1646. His wife was buried at All Saints, Maidstone, 19 September 1631 but is commemorated by a monument at Boughton Monchelsea.

Barnham, Sir Robert (1606-85), 1st bt. Eldest surviving son of Sir Francis Barnham (1576-1646), kt. and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sampson Leonard esq. of Chevening (Kent), baptised at Hollingbourne, 13 September or 12 October 1606. He was a member of the Rochester Bridge Trust, 1632-43, 1661-64 (Warden, 1635). Although he may have had Presbyterian sympathies, he was at heart a Royalist, and he was imprisoned in Leeds Castle for some months and took part in the Kentish rising of 1648. He was MP for Maidstone, 1660-79 and adhered increasingly closely to the Court party. JP for Kent, 1660-85; and DL for Kent, 1660-63, 1672-85. He purchased a baronetcy, 14 August 1663. In later life he seems to have had financial problems, became dependent on a pension from the government; and sold his estate at Bilsington in Romney Marsh to his son-in-law, Thomas Rider. He married 1st, 28 February 1635/6 at St Peter, Cornhill, London, Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Henley of Henley (Som.) and London, Chief Clerk of Kings Bench, and 2nd, 27 August 1663 at All Hallows, London Wall, London, Hannah (1630?-86), perhaps the daughter of Daniel Nicholls of London and certainly the widow of William Lowfield of London, draper, and had issue:
(1.1) Elizabeth Barnham (1636-37), baptised at Boughton Monchelsea, 22 December 1636; died in infancy and was buried at Boughton Monchelsea, 28 February 1636/7;
(1.2) Francis Barnham (1637-68), baptised at All Saints, Maidstone (Kent), 19 December 1637; married, 8 October 1667 at St Michael, Lewes (Sussex), Anne, sixth daughter of Sir Thomas Parker, kt. of Ratton (Sussex) and widow of John Shirley of Isfield (Sussex), but had no issue; died 1668;
(1.3) Dacres Barnham (1639-49), baptised at Boughton Monchelsea, 11 January 1638/9; died young and was buried at Boughton Monchelsea, 25 May 1649;
(1.4) Margaret Barnham (b. 1640), baptised at Boughton Monchelsea, 31 December 1640; probably died unmarried before 1664 as she is not mentioned in the pedigree submitted in that year to the Visitation of Kent;
(1.5) Elizabeth Barnham (1642-86), baptised at Boughton Monchelsea, 18 July 1642; married, 5 January 1685/6 at Boughton Monchelsea, Joseph Crowther; buried at Boughton Monchelsea, 25 June 1686;
(1.6) Anne Barnham (1643-1717), baptised at Boughton Monchelsea, 23 August 1643; married, 25 January 1669 at Boughton Monchelsea, as his second wife, Charles Good (1638-1711) of Malden (Surrey), and had issue two sons and three daughters; died 28 February 1717;
(1.7) Mary Barnham (1644-68), baptised at Boughton Monchelsea, 18 October 1644; married, 8 December 1659 at Boughton Monchelsea, Sir Nathaniel Powell (c.1640-1709), 2nd bt. (who m2, 26 January 1667/8 at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, Frances (d. 1719), daughter of Philip Stapleton of Warter (Yorks)), and had issue two sons and several daughters; buried at Boughton Monchelsea, 10 January 1667/8;
(2.1) Philadelphia Barnham (1664-1730) (q.v.).
He was settled at Boughton Monchelsea Place in his father's lifetime and inherited both that property and the Bilsington estate in Romney Marsh from his father in 1646, but sold the latter to his son-in-law before his death.
He was buried at Boughton Monchelsea, 1 June 1685, when his baronetcy became extinct*; his will was proved 12 June 1685. His first wife's date of death is unknown. His widow was buried at Boughton Monchelsea, 28 December 1685.
* Curiously, he was unclear whether his baronetcy was disposable by will, and sought to bequeath it to his son-in-law, Thomas Rider. The way this was worded in his will led the editors of Burke's Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies to believe he had a son or grandson called Thomas who had inherited the title, but this was not the case.

Barnham, Philadelphia (1664-1730). Only daughter of Sir Robert Barnham (1606-85), 1st bt., and his second wife Hannah, born 20 May and baptised at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster (Middx), 28 May 1664. She married, 24 August 1682 at Boughton Monchelsea, Thomas Rider (c.1648-1702), Whig MP for Maidstone, 1690-95, 1696-98, eldest son of Sir William Rider MP, kt., of Bethnal Green (Middx), and had issue:
(1) Sir Barnham Rider (1683-1728), baptised at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster (Middx), 17 June 1683; educated at Middle Temple (admitted 1697) and St John's College, Oxford (matriculated 1703); he inherited the Boughton Monchelsea estate in 1702 and came of age in 1704; knighted 20 October 1714; Whig MP for Maidstone, 1716-22, 1723-27; married, 1717 (settlement 28 October), Susan, daughter of Vice-Admiral James Littleton of North Ockendon (Essex), and had issue two sons and two daughters; died 21 November and was buried at Boughton Monchelsea, 26 November 1728;
(2) William Rider (1685-1739), baptised at Boughton Monchelsea, 25 January 1684/5; buried at Boughton Monchelsea, 8 April 1739; 
(3) Philadelphia Rider (1691-1756?), baptised at St Margaret, Westminster, 24 May 1691; probably the woman of this name who died unmarried and was buried at Boughton Monchelsea, 21 December 1756.
She and her husband inherited Boughton Monchelsea Place from her father in 1685 and appear to have remodelled it c.1690.
She was buried at Boughton Monchelsea, 24 January 1729/30. By her will, she provided funds for the education of her grandson, Sir Thomas Rider, as a gentleman, 'so that he might be sensible of how fatal intemperance had been to his Father and Grandfather'. Her husband was buried at Boughton Monchelsea, 11 November 1702.

Principal sources

Burke's Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies, 2nd edn., 1841, p. 42; The Ancestor, vol. 9, 1904, pp. 191-209; A. Oswald, 'Boughton Monchelsea Place', Country Life, 20 June 1963, pp. 1489-93 and 27 June 1963, pp. 1552-55; A. Everitt, The community of Kent and the Great Rebellion, 1640-60, 1966, p. 145; L. C. Orlin, Locating privacy in Tudor London, 2008; ODNB entry on Sir Francis Barnham; History of Parliament entries on Sir Francis Barnham and Sir Robert Barnham.

Coat of arms

Sable, a cross engrailed between four crescents argent.

Location of archives

No significant archive is known to survive, although a few items apparently remained with the property at least until its most recent sale. 

Can you help?

• When the genealogical memoir of Sir Francis Barnham was published in 1904 it survived only as an 18th century copy among the papers of the Barrett-Lennard family, but it seems not now to be among the papers of that family in the Essex Record Office or the Centre for Kentish Studies. Does anyone know it current whereabouts?
• I should be most grateful if anyone can provide photographs or portraits of people whose names appear in bold above, and who are not already illustrated.
• As always, any additions or corrections to the account given above will be gratefully received and incorporated.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 21 January 2020 and was updated 30 January 2020. I am grateful to Mrs. Kendrick for corrections to my draft account of Boughton Monchelsea Place.