The Belknap Family

Alice (Belknap) Shelley

Effigy of Alice (Belknap) Shelley
Alice (Belknap) Shelley
Closeup of the effigy of Alice (Belknap) Shelley on the tomb of her and her husband in St. Mary the Virgin, Clapham, Sussex
photo by Mark Humphrys in 2019 posted at Humprys genealogy
Birth: 1480 - 1481

Father: Henry Belknap

Mother: Margarete (_____) Belknap

Married:
Effigy of William Shelley
William Shelley
Closeup of the effigy of William Shelley on his tomb in St. Mary the Virgin, Clapham, Sussex. William is shown dressed as a judge, with hood and coif. This is believed to be one of the earliest representations of this legal costume. 
photo by Mark Humphrys in 2019 posted at Humprys genealogy
William Shelley

William was the son of John Shelley and Elizabeth de Michelgrove. He was educated in law at the Inner Temple, appointed recorder of London in 1520, became a serjeant-at-law two years later, and was raised to the bench as judge of the common pleas in 1527. William participated in a number of important trials of the tumultuous era, including that of the men accused of adultery with Anne Boleyn, and that of noblemen Sir Geoffrey Pole, Sir Edward Neville, and Sir Nicholas Carew, accused of being traitors to Henry VIII. He was a member of the parliaments of 9 August 1529, and 27 April 1536. William died between 5 November 1548 and 9 February 1548(9), and is buried in St. Mary the Virgin, Clapham, Sussex.

William was named an executor of the will of his brother-in-law, Gerard Danett dated 30 April 1520 (held at the National Archives (PROB 11/20/18)).
Item I gyve and bequeathe to my brother Willm Shelley ffyve yardez black clothe at vjs viijd the yarde amd fyve markes in money with oon gilte spone of the piece before rehersed to thentent he shall truely ?? the performance of thys my will as my speciall trust is in hym  ... And of this my present Testament and Last Will I make and ordeyne my trusty Executours mary my wif and my lovyng broder Willm Shelley to do for me as they wold be doon fore, and by thadvise of Sr Edward Belkanppe ...
Memorand that this will as it is interlyned ?? the hande of me Willm Shelley was rid in the heryng of the said Gerard Danett and by hym aggreed in the presens of Sr Edward Grevill Sr Edward fferrers my Sister his wif my Cosan John Danett my cosyn Elisabeth Danett my Cosyn mary Danett maister ffawke Sr Thomas Walles Alis Shelly my wif my cosyn beatryx Rawson and ?? parker the last day of Aprill the xijth yere of the Reign of kyng henry the viijth Item the said Gerard Revoked all other wills made any tyme before and willed that this will only shuld stand in effect These being present Edward Grevill Edward fferrers William ffalk Sir Thomas Walles John Danett ??? parker

Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII vol 12 pt 1 pp325-6 (1890)
1537 26 March. R.O.
738.  SIR WILLIAM SHELLEY to CROMWELL.
  Received, on Monday last, 19 March, the King’s letters dated the 12th, showing that his Grace is informed Shelley will commune with his Council for the sale of the manor of Knell. Has never been moved for the sale of the manor, but only of the woods, and that was by Cromwell. Mr. Legh, surveyor of the King’s works at Calais, surveyed the woods, but Shelley does not know what report he will make. Will tell, next time he waits on Cromwell, what he himself thinks they are worth.  March 26.
  Hol., p. 1. Add.: Lord Cromwell lord Privy Seal.  Endd.
739.  [SIR WILLIAM SHELLEY] to WRIOTHESLEY.
  In compliance with my lord Privy Seal’s command gives a valuation of the manor of Knell and the woods there, which it is the King’s pleasure to have for the commodity of his town of Calais. The lordship is worth 48l, a year, and the yearly wood sale has been 40l. or 40 marks, never under 20l., saving of late years, since the restraint of carrying wood beyond sea. Thinks he could sell the wood for over 2,000l. Has been offered 1,500l. for it. It would be hard to find such plenty of timber so near the water. The lordship of Knell is the old house of the Belknaps, given to the writer by Mr. Belknap as part of his late wife’s portion, and he would not part with it to any other. Hopes the King will recompense him and his children with lands in Sussex, and would prefer the manor of Fynden and some of the lands of the duchy of Lancaster in that co., viz., Marsefield, Willingedowne, Endyllwyke, and Seford. Fyndon is in the hands of the Chancellor of the Augmentations, but he might take suppressed lands for it.
  Pp. 3. Not signed or add., but endd.: Mr. Shelley. Begins: Master Wreseley.

The will of William Shelley was dated 5 November 1548 and proved on 8 February 1548(9). It is is held at the National Archives (PROB 11/32/341)
In the name of God Amen I William Shelley knygt one of the Justice of or sovergne lorde the kyng of hys comon pleas the vth daye of Novembr the yere of our lorde god a Thousand fyve hundredth fourtey & eight make and ordyn this my present testament and last will in mannerand forme folowing ffist I bequeath my soule to Almighty god to y blessed virgyn hys mother and to all the holy company of hevyn and my body to be buried in the prsh cburche of the prsh where yt shall please god I shall depart ...
Probatum ... viij die ffebruary Anno dni millimo quingentesimo xlviijo Jurament Johanne Shelley

Dictionary of National Biography vol 52 pp41-2 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1897)
  SHELLEY, Sir WILLIAM (1480?–1549?), judge, born about 1480, was the eldest son of Sir John Shelley (d. 3 Jan. 1526) and his wife Elizabeth (d. 31 July 1513), daughter and heir of John de Michelgrove in the parish of Clapham, Sussex (reproductions of monumental brasses in Addit. MS. 32490). The Shelleys are said, on the suspicious authority of the ‘Battle Abbey Roll,’ to have been descended from a companion of William the Conqueror, and uncorroborated family tradition assigns important diplomatic and other positions to various early members of the family. The name was perhaps derived from Shelley Park, near Lewes, which has long since disappeared. It is attributed to the William de Conches who is said to have been a professor at Paris and to have died about 1155 [see WILLIAM]. A John and a Thomas Shelley were executed in 1400 by Henry IV for their adherence to the cause of Richard II, and their brother Sir William was ancestor of the judge. His son Sir John, who was M.P. for Rye between 1415 and 1423, married Beatrice, daughter of Sir John Hawkwood [q. v.], the famous soldier. Of the judge’s six brothers, one, John, became a knight of the order of St. John, and was killed in defending Rhodes against the Turks in 1522; from another, Edward, who is variously given as second, third, or fourth son, came the baronets of Castle Goring, Sussex (created 1806), and Percy Bysshe Shelley, the poet. The youngest brother, John Shelley, died in 1554. The settlement of an estate which he purchased on the dissolution of Sion monastery led to the important lawsuit known as ‘Shelley’s case,’ and the decision known as the ‘rule in Shelley’s case’ (see COKE, Reports, i. 94; CHITTY, Equity Index, 4th ed. vi. 6307–6318; American and English Encycl. of Law, xxii. 493–524; STEPHEN, Comment, 12th ed. i. 323–5; HAYES, Observations on Suggestions for abolishing the Rule in Shelley’s Case, 1829).
  Although the eldest son, William was sent to the Inner Temple not to make a profession of law but in order to understand his own affairs, and according to his son it was much against his will that he was made first serjeant, and then judge, by Henry VIII (SIR RICHARD SHELLEY, Letters, p. 15). From the beginning of Henry’s reign he appears on commissions of the peace for Sussex and other counties; in 1517 he was autumn reader in the Inner Temple, and about the same time became one of the judges of the sheriff’s court in London. In 1520 he was appointed recorder of that city, and in May 1521 was placed on the special commission of oyer and terminer to find an indictment against Edward Stafford, duke of Buckingham [q. v.] In the same year he took the degree of the coif. In 1523 he is erroneously said to have been returned to parliament for London (Foss; but cf. Off. Ret. i. 369). In 1527 he was raised to the bench as judge of the common pleas, and in 1529 he was sent to demand from Wolsey the surrender of York House, afterwards Whitehall. Soon afterwards he entertained Henry VIII at Michelgrove. He was summoned to parliament on 9 Aug. 1529, and again on 27 April 1536. He was hostile to the Reformation, and is said to have suffered from Cromwell’s antipathy; but his name appears in most of the important state trials of the period—in that of the Charterhouse monks and Fisher (1535), of Weston, Norris, Lord Rochford, and Anne Boleyn (May 1536), and Sir Geoffrey Pole, Sir Edward Neville, and Sir Nicholas Carew (1538–9). In 1547 he was consulted by Henry VIII’s executors about the provisions of his will. He died between 3 Nov. 1548 and 10 May 1549.
  Shelley married Alice (d. 1536?), daughter of Sir Henry Belknap, great-grandson of Sir Robert de Bealknap [q. v.] of Knelle in the parish of Beckley, Sussex. By her he had four sons: John (d. 15 Dec. 1550) was father of William (not to be confused with William Shelley of Hertford, also a prisoner in the Tower in 1580), who was attainted 15 Dec. 1582 for complicity in Charles Paget’s treasons, but not executed, and died 15 April 1597, being succeeded by his son John, created a baronet in 1611; the second son of the judge was Sir Richard Shelley [q. v.]; the third, Sir James, was, like Sir Richard, a distinguished and widely travelled knight of St. John (cf. Notes and Queries, 1st ser. viii. 192, x. 201–2); the fourth, Sir Edward, a master of the household of Henry VIII, treasurer of the council of the north, and captain of Berwick, was killed at Pinkie on 10 Sept. 1547 (cf. Addit. MSS. 32647 ff. 66, 70, 32648 f. 12, 32653 f. 161; Chron. of Calais, p. 176, &c.; Lit. Rem. of Edward VI, Roxb. Club, pp. ccc; Cal. Hamilton Papers, passim).
  [Foss's Judges of England; Lower's Sussex Worthies; Letters and Papers of Henry VIII, ed. Brewer and Gairdner, passim; Acts of the Privy Council, ed. Dasent; Rymer's Fœdera, orig. ed. vol. xiv. passim; Letters of Sir R. Shelley, 1774; Cavendish’s Wolsey, p. 155; Sussex Archæol. Collections, passim; The Shelley Pedigree (separately published, also in Miscell. Genealog. et Herald. new ser. iii. 422–7, and in Pref. to Buxton Forman’s Prose Works of Shelley); Collins’s Baronets, i. 60–5; Berry’s Sussex Genealogies; Burke’s Peerage and Baronetage; Horsfield’s Lewes; Holloway’s Hist. of Rye, 1847; Gent. Mag. 1785 ii. 713, 1852 i. 517.]      A. F. P.

Further details of William life and career can be found in The Brasses & Monuments in St. Mary the Virgin Church, Clapham, West Sussex pp 8-12 (Robert Hutchinson, 2008)

Children: Notes:
Alice, "my Sister Shelley", is bequeathed "a gilt spone of the value of xs or about", and was a witness to, in the will of her brother-in-law, Gerard Danett dated 30 April 1520 (held at the National Archives (PROB 11/20/18)).

Alice and her husband, William Shelley, are beneficiaries of, and William is named an executor of, the will of Ann's brother, Edward Belknap dated 23 March 1520(1) and proved on 28 September 1521 (held at the National Archives (PROB 11/20/235))
Item I will that my Brother Shelley and my sister his wif shall haue to theyme and to the heires of my said sister the manor of Knill with the Apputenances in the Countie of Suffex And all my lands and hereditaments in the Countie of Suffex And the Manor of Clandon with the Appurtenances in the Countie of Essex And all my lands in Clandon aforesaid the Manor of Wolston also with the members and appurtenances And the manor of Marston with all my landes and hereditaments in Wolston and Marston in the Countie of Warwyke.
... And of this my present Testament and last will I make and ordeyn Sir Edeward fferrers knight my Brother Willm Shelley and ?? Willm Clerk ??? of Wolford myn Executours

Alice and William Shelley are also named in the IPM of Ann's brother, Edward Belknap, held in Lewes in October 1521.
Notes of Post Mortem Inquisitions take in Sussex 1 Henry VII to 1649 p21 (F.W.T. Attree, 1912)
      98.
  EDWARD BELKNAPP, knt.  Vol. 37, No. 133.
  Lewes, (5?) Oct. 13 Hen. VIII.  Died 25 March 11 Hen. VIII.
  Coheirs, sisters Ann, wife of Robert Wotton, knt., Mary, wife of Gerard Bennett, aged 43, Alice, wife of William Shelley, aged 40 and more, and great-nephew Anthony Coke, esq., son of John, son of Elizabeth, another sister of E. B., aged 16 and more.
  Lands.—Manor of Knelle. Made will—wife Lady Alice B., brother William Shelley and my sister his wife, niece Beatrix Ranson. Had manors of Walston and Marston, co. Warwick. Inherited manor of Knelle as son and heir of Henry B., who by will left it to Margaret, his widow, for her life.

A Calendar of the Feet of Fines Relating to the County of Huntington p122 (1913)
      16 Hen VIII. [1524]
  17 Between William Shelley, serjeant-at-law, and Alice, his wife, and Thomas Shelley, clerk— and John Shelley, esquire—of the manor of Offord Dacy, otherwise Offord Danes, and of five messuages, five hundred acres of land, twenty acres of meadow, one hundred and twenty acres of pasture in Offord Dacy, otherwise Offord Danes, and also of the advowson of the church of Offord Dacy, otherwise Offord Danes.

Tomb of William Shelley and Alice (Belknap) Shelley
Tomb of William Shelley and Alice (Belknap) Shelley, also showing their 14 children (7 sons and 7 daughters), in St. Mary the Virgin, Clapham, Sussex
photo by Mark Humphrys in 2019 posted at Humprys genealogy
Burial: St. Mary the Virgin, Clapham, Sussex, England
Drawing of the tomb of William Shelley and Alice (Belknap) Shelley
A watercolour drawing of a monument in the north wall of the chancel of Clapham Church in (West) Sussex drawn in 1789 by  Samuel Hieronymus Grimm
image from British Library Online Gallery

Sources:

Ann (Belknap) Wotton

Father: Henry Belknap

Mother: Margarete (_____) Belknap

Married: Robert Wotton
Robert was born in 1465, the son of Nicholas Wotton. He was knighted by Edward IV, served as sheriff of Kent in 1498-9, was made lieutenant of Guisnes, and from 1510 to 1519 was knight-porter of Calais. The will of "Sir Robert Wotton, Comptroller of Calais of Boughton Malherbe, Kent" was dated 23 December 1523 and proved on 7 June 1524 (National Archives PROB 11/21/362). The will, in Latin, has been transcribed and translated by the Kent Archaeological Society. In his will, Robert requests "to be buried in the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the order of the Carmelites within the choir by the high altar of that church near the body of Anne recently my wife in the town of Calais if I shall have died in that town or its marches."

Robert was named an executor of the will of his father-in-law, Sir Henry Belknap, dated 20 January 1487(8). He also proved that will on 2 December 1488.
PROB 11-8
This is the Last wyll and ordenance of me henry Belknapp Esquire made the xxth day of Janyver the yere of our Lord god m ccclxxxvij ... And I make and ordeyne Margarete my wyfe John Breton and Robert Wooton myn executours ...
Probatum ... secundo die mensis Decembre Anno dni millimo cccclxxxviij Juramento Roberti Wotton et Edward Belknapp   

Dictionary of National Biography vol 63 pp47-8 (ed. Sidney Lee, 1900)
  WOTTON, SIR EDWARD (1489-1551), treasurer of Calais, born in 1489, was the eldest son of Sir Robert Wotton, by his wife Anne, daughter of Sir Henry Belknap. Sir Robert was grandson of Nicholas Wotton (1372-1418), a member of the Drapers’ Company of London, who was sheriff in 1406 and lord mayor in 1415, and again in 1430, and represented the city in parliament continuously from 1406 to 1429 (Off. Ret. i. 269-316). He acquired the manor of Boughton Malherbe, Kent, by his marriage with Joan, only daughter and heir of Robert Corbie of that place, and was succeeded by his son Nicholas, who died on 9 April 1481 (Cal. Inq. post mortem, Henry VII, i. 694); the latter’s son, Sir Robert, born in 1465, was knighted by Edward IV, served as sheriff of Kent in 1498-9, was made lieutenant of Guisnes, and from 1510 to 1519 was knight-porter of Calais. He left issue two sons, Edward and Dr. Nicholas Wotton [q. v.], and three daughters, of whom Margaret (d. 1541) was the second wife of Thomas Grey, second marquis of Dorset [q. v.]

Children: Notes:
Ann "my Sister Wutton" is bequeathed "a gilt spone of the value of xs or about" in the will of her brother-in-law, Gerard Danett dated 30 April 1520 (held at the National Archives (PROB 11/20/18)).

Ann and her husband, Robert Wotton, are named in the IPM of Ann's brother, Edward Belknap, held in Lewes in October 1521.
Notes of Post Mortem Inquisitions take in Sussex 1 Henry VII to 1649 p21 (F.W.T. Attree, 1912)
      98.
  EDWARD BELKNAPP, knt.  Vol. 37, No. 133.
  Lewes, (5?) Oct. 13 Hen. VIII.  Died 25 March 11 Hen. VIII.
  Coheirs, sisters Ann, wife of Robert Wotton, knt., Mary, wife of Gerard Bennett, aged 43, Alice, wife of William Shelley, aged 40 and more, and great-nephew Anthony Coke, esq., son of John, son of Elizabeth, another sister of E. B., aged 16 and more.
  Lands.—Manor of Knelle. Made will—wife Lady Alice B., brother William Shelley and my sister his wife, niece Beatrix Ranson. Had manors of Walston and Marston, co. Warwick. Inherited manor of Knelle as son and heir of Henry B., who by will left it to Margaret, his widow, for her life.

Buried: by the high altar of the church of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Order of Carmelite Friars in Calais, Pale of Calais
Anne's burial had occurred before 23 December 1523 - the date of Rober's will.

Sources:

Dorothy (Belknap) Butler

Father: Henry Belknap

Mother: Margarete (_____) Belknap

Memorial brass of John Butler
2010 photograph of the memorial brass of Sir John Butler in Watton-at-Stone, Hertfordshire
photo by jmc4 posted on flickr.com
Married: John Butler

John was married multiple times, though there is some discrepancy as to the number and order of the wives and the combination of their first and last names. Sir Henry Chauncy, writing in 1700, transcribed information from gravestones in Watton-at-Stone, that John's first wife was Dorothy Belknap, the daughter of Henry Belknap, and his second was Katherine Acton, who died on 18 August 1513.
The historical antiquities of Hertfordshire p334 (Sir Henry Chauncy, 1700)
  Within the Chancel and the Chapel are some Gravestones which have these Inscriptions.
  Hic jacent Johannes Butler, Armiger, & Katharina filia Thomæ Actoe, generosi; Dorothea una etiam filiarum Henerici Belknap, Armigeri, uxor Johannis Botele, antedict, qui quidem Johannes obiit undecimo die mensis Maii, Anno Dom, milesimo quingentesimo & decimo quarto, & dicta Katharina decimo octavo die Augusti Anno Dom. milesimo quingentesimo decimo tertio. 

Robert Clutterbuck, however, writing in 1821, transcribes the inscription on a brass memorial to John Butler and his wives, also in the church at Watton-on-Stone, which memorial gives John three wives and states that John married, firstly, Katherine Acton, secondly Dorothy Tyrell and thirdly, Margaret Belknap, daughter of Henry Belknap, who died on 18 August 1513.
The history and antiquities of the county of Hertford vol 2 p499 (Robert Clutterbuck, 1821)
  Under the effigies of a man and his three wives in brass, this inscription, in black letter:
  Hic jacent Joh’nes Butler, armiger, Katharina filia Thomae Acton, generosi, Dorothea una filiarum Will’mi Tyrell, de Gypping armigeri, Margareta una eciam filiarum Henrici Belknap, armig’i uxores Joh’nis Butler antedict’; qui quidem Joh’nes obiit undecimo die mens’. Maij anno d’ni mill’mo quingentesimo XIIIIo. Et d’ca Margareta, XVIIIo, die Augusti, anno d’ni mill’mo CCCCC.XIIIo.
  Arms: five shields, 1st. Boteler, impaling Argent, two chevronels Azure, within a bordure engrailed Gules, Tyrell; 2d. Boteler quartering Kilpec; 3d. Boteler impaling quarterly, 1st. Azure, three eagles in bend between two cotices Argent, Belknap, 2d., . . . two bendlets . . . ., 3d, . . . . three bendlets . . . ., 4th . . . . a fess . . . . between six crosses patèe fitched at the foot . . . .; 4th shield, the same as the second; 5th. Boteler impaling . . . .  a chevron . . . . between three tuns. . . . .

In this biography I have preferred the earlier transcription by Chauncy, absent having seen any supporting documentation for the Clutterbuck version. John's will does not mention the names any of his wives - he mentions only "my wyffes soules", so that is no help, and Henry Belknap's will does not name his daughters. Both Chauncy and Clutterbuck agree that John died on 11 May 1514, and is buried at Watton-at-Stone, Hertfordshire. John's will, dated 7 September 1513, was proved on 11 July 1515, and is held at the National Archives (PROB 11/18/169). It mentions a son Richard and two unmarried daughters, Marie and Joyce.

Notes and Queries vol 8 15 October 1853 p363
“John Butteler, Esquier,” by his will, dated 7th September, 1513, and proved at Lambeth 11th July, 1515, appoints “his most gracious Maister, Maister Thomas Louett,” to be supervisor of his will, and bequeaths to him “a Sauterbook as a poore remembraunce;” ... This John Boteler is said by Clutterbuck to have married three wives: 1. Katherine, daughter of Thomas Acton; 2. Margaret, daughter of Henry Belknap, who died 18th August, 1513; 3. Dorothy, daughter of William Tyrrell, Esq., of Gipping in Suffolk: the last mentioned was the mother of his heir, Sir Philip Boteler, Kt.; but I can nowhere find who was the mother of the son Richard, and the daughters Mary and Joyce mentioned in his will

Death: The Clutterbuck transcription of the memorial brass states that "Margareta Belknap" died on 18 August 1513, but Chauncy's gravestone transcription states that it was Katherine Acton who died on 18 August 1513.

Burial: Watton-at-Stone, Hertfordshire, England
Memorial Brasses in Hertfordshire Churches pp150-1 (William Frampton Andrews, 1903)
       WATTON-AT-STONE.
  VI.—Man in armour, achievement of arms, and four shields. There formerly were brasses also of three wives, and an inscription as given by Clutterbuck in his history of the county, and also by Chauncy—
“Hic jacent Joh’nes Butler, armiger, Katharina filia Thomæ Acton, generosi, Dorothea una filiarum Will’m Tyrrell de Gypping armigeri, Margareta una eciam filiarum Henrici Belknap, armig’i uxores Joh’nis Butler antedict’; qui quidem Joh’nes obiit undecimo die mens Maij anno dñi mill’mo quingentesimo xiiiio. Et d’ca Margareta xviiio die Augusti anno dñi millmo CCCCCXIIIo.”
The figure of Sir John Butler is clothed in a suit of armour, with the exception of a helmet. The brass is in a good state of preservation, and has been relaid in a new stone. The shields are charged with his arms, quartered with those of each wife; the achievement also bears his arms, with those of Kilpeck, of which he held the barony. The first and second wives do not seem to have had the dates of their deaths recorded on the brass, but that of the third wife is given as 1513. All of them predeceased the worthy knight, who only lived a few months after the death of the last one.

Sources:

Edward Belknap

Birth: 1470 - 1471

Father: Henry Belknap

Mother: Margarete (_____) Belknap

Married: Alice

Alice "my good Lady and Sister Belknappe" is bequeathed "a gilt spone of the value of xs or about in the will of her brother-in-law, Gerard Danett dated 30 April 1520 (held at the National Archives (PROB 11/20/18)). Alice married, secondly, John Brugge.

Notes:
Edward was named son and heir in his father in his father's will dated 20 January 1487(8) and at his father's IPM, held on 4 November 1488. He also proved his father's will on 2 December 1488.
PROB 11-8
This is the Last wyll and ordenance of me henry Belknapp Esquire made the xxth day of Janyver the yere of our Lord god m ccclxxxvij ... And if Margarete my wyf decese my son Edward or he that shalhappyn tobe my heyre being wtn the age of xxj yere then I will that myn executours ??? the assets revenues and profits thereof till my sonne Edward or he that shalbe myn heyre come to the age of xxj yere to the sustentacion and mariage of my doughters then being unmarried but if that my sonne Edward or he that then shalbe myn heyre wyll take the charge of the fynding and marriage of my said doughters And if he will soo doo then I will that he haue the said Manr and Landys Immediatly after the decease of my said wyfe ...
Probatum ... secundo die mensis Decembre Anno dni millimo cccclxxxviij Juramento Roberti Wotton et Edward Belknapp   

Notes of Post Mortem Inquisitions take in Sussex 1 Henry VII to 1649 p21 (F.W.T. Attree, 1912)
      97.
  HENRY BELKNAP, esq. Vol. 4, No. 23.
  Inquisition 10 Nov. 4 Hen. VII. Died 20 June 3 Hen. VII.
  Heir, son Edward B., aged 17.
  Lands. Manor of Knelle in Beckle and Pesemarsh, wife Margaret has it for life.

Edward is mentioned in the IPM of his brother-in-law, Philip Cooke, dated 3 February 1503(4).
Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem Henry VII vol 2 p472 (1915)
723.  PHILIP COKE, knight.
Writ 28 January, inquisition 3 February, 19 Henry VII.
He was seised of the under-mentioned tenements, &c., in fee, and, being so seised, long before his death, by charter 11 July, 18 Henry VII, enfeoffed Thomas Tyrrell, knight, Edward Belknapp, esquire, Gerard Danett, esquire, and John Carell, gentleman, thereof, for the performance of his last will. They were seised thereof accordingly in fee to the intent aforesaid, and they being so seised, he died.

Edward was knighted on 25 September 1513, at Tournay, France after Henry VIII took the besieged town.
The Knights of England vol 2 p39 (William Arthur Shaw, 1906)
1513, Sept. 25.
  Knights made at Tournay, in the church after the King came from, Mass under his banner in the church.
...
  EDWARD BELKNAPP.

Edward is mentioned in, and was an executor of, the will of his brother-in-law, Gerard Danett, dated 30 April 1520 and proved on 25 May 1520 (held at the National Archives (PROB 11/20/18))

Death: 25 March 1521, probably in London
Edward died two days after making his will "here in London" on 23 March 1520(1).

Burial: in his will, Edward requested to be buried in Black Friars in Ludgate or Charterhouse in Coventry. As he died two days after making his will in London, he was probably buried in Black Friars, London.
National Archives (PROB 11/20/235)
... And I will that my bodye yf I dye here in London be buryed in the Blakeffryes within Ludagte nre to the place where my Brother Danell lyeth buryed And if I dye in Warwyke shire then I will that my bodye be buryed in the Charterhouse nyr Coventre  
 
Will: The will of "Sir Edward Belknappe or Belknap" was dated 23 March 1520(1) and proved on 28 September 1521. It is held at the National Archives (PROB 11/20/235)
In the name of God Amen the xxiij daye of Marche the yere of ??? ??? ??? after the Englisshe Churche Accounte a thousande fyve hundreth and twenty beynge the xij yere of the Reigne of our soverigne lord kyng henry theviijth I Sir Edward Belknappe knight although I be sike in my body yet thanks be to all mighty god in hole mynde and parfytte remembrance
... And I will that my bodye yf I dye here in London be buryed in the Blakeffryes within Ludagte nre to the place where my Brother Danett lyeth buryed And if I dye in Warwycke shire then I will that my bodye be buryed in the Charterhouse nyr Coventre
... Item I will that my Wif shall haue all the howsehold stuff that I haue at that tyme at Waston in Warwyke shire. Item I will that my household stuff in London be sold by my Executors, Item I will that my Wyf have of my plate to the Value of oon hundred mrks suche as she will chese And the residue of all my plate Jewells and Chaynes I wilbe sold by myn Executors
...Item I will that my Wyf haue the Manor of Weston with thapputenances for the terme of hyr lyffe. And that she shall haue asmuche of my landes in Dorsett for terme of hyr lyffe as shalbe of the clere yerely value of lxxxiij li over and a boue all yerely charges and repryses and that she shall take the same in full recompence of all Joynture and dower to hyr belongyng And if she refuse so to do or do ??? any Joynture or Dower or trobull my heires  Executours ??? or ??? or any of the, of and for any Joyntur or dower beside that that I haue appoynted to hyr by this my last will ??? that then she shall take noe benefytte by reason of this my will or any of the said landes But that she shall thereof be excluded and haue noe more but that she shalbe lawfully Intitled to by that order of the lawe   Item I will that my Brother Shelley and my sister his wif shall haue to theyme and to the heires of my said sister the manor of Knill with the Apputenances in the Countie of Suffex And all my lands and hereditaments in the Countie of Suffex And the Manor of Clandon with the Appurtenances in the Countie of Essex And all my lands in Clandon aforesaid the Manor of Wolston also with the members and appurtenances And the manor of Marston with all my landes and hereditaments in Wolston and Marston in the Countie of Warwyke.
... And of this my present Testament and last will I make and ordeyn Sir Edeward fferrers knight my Brother Willm Shelley and ?? Willm Clerk vycar of Wolford myn Executours
...the said Testatour addyd to his last will as here after folowith that ys to saye where he will that Dame Alys Belknappe his wif ??? ??? the Manor of Weston haue yerely for teerme of her lyff lxxxiij li oute of the Manor of Dorsett he will by this Coadycyll that she should haue the same of any of the ffarms that were in his owne hands
... Item that Anthony Cooks portion shall remayne in his Executours hands tyll the said Anthony or hys heires shallbe at the full age of xxij yeres  

Probate: Edward's IPM was held in Lewes in October 1521.
Notes of Post Mortem Inquisitions take in Sussex 1 Henry VII to 1649 p21 (F.W.T. Attree, 1912)
      98.
  EDWARD BELKNAPP, knt.  Vol. 37, No. 133.
  Lewes, (5?) Oct. 13 Hen. VIII.  Died 25 March 11 Hen. VIII.
  Coheirs, sisters Ann, wife of Robert Wotton, knt., Mary, wife of Gerard Bennett, aged 43, Alice, wife of William Shelley, aged 40 and more, and great-nephew Anthony Coke, esq., son of John, son of Elizabeth, another sister of E. B., aged 16 and more.
  Lands.—Manor of Knelle. Made will—wife Lady Alice B., brother William Shelley and my sister his wife, niece Beatrix Ranson. Had manors of Walston and Marston, co. Warwick. Inherited manor of Knelle as son and heir of Henry B., who by will left it to Margaret, his widow, for her life.

In the period 1538 to 1544, a lawsuit was brought my Edward's siblings and their descendants against Edward's wife over the inheritance.
Early Chancery Proceedings vol 8 p252 (1963)
    FILE 1087.
49-50  Edward WOTON, knight, Mary DANETT and Anthony COKE, esquire, son and heir of John Coke, v. John BRUGGE and Alice his wife, late the wife of Edward Belknap, knight. Manor of Weston-under-Weatherley, late of the said Sir Edward Belknap, brother of the said Mary and uncle of the said Sir Edward Woton and John Coke.      WARWICK.

Sources:

Elizabeth (Belknap) Cooke

Father: Henry Belknap

Mother: Margaret (_____) Belknap

Married: Philip Cooke

Children: Notes:
Elizabeth is listed in the IPM of her brother, Edward Belknap, held in October 1521, as the mother of John Coke and grandmother of Anthony Coke, who inherits her share, presumably because Elizabeth was deceased by the date of the IPM.
Notes of Post Mortem Inquisitions take in Sussex 1 Henry VII to 1649 p21 (F.W.T. Attree, 1912)
      98.
  EDWARD BELKNAPP, knt.  Vol. 37, No. 133.
  Lewes, (5?) Oct. 13 Hen. VIII.  Died 25 March 11 Hen. VIII.
  Coheirs, sisters Ann, wife of Robert Wotton, knt., Mary, wife of Gerard Bennett, aged 43, Alice, wife of William Shelley, aged 40 and more, and great-nephew Anthony Coke, esq., son of John, son of Elizabeth, another sister of E. B., aged 16 and more.
  Lands.—Manor of Knelle. Made will—wife Lady Alice B., brother William Shelley and my sister his wife, niece Beatrix Ranson. Had manors of Walston and Marston, co. Warwick. Inherited manor of Knelle as son and heir of Henry B., who by will left it to Margaret, his widow, for her life.

Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archæological Society vol 3 p306 (1870)
Sir Philip Cooke, Knight, of Gidea Hall; born 1454; living 1478. Dubbed a Knight at the Bridge Foot, at the King’s entry into London after the Battle of Blackheath 17 June, 1497.=Elizabeth, second dau. and coheir of Sir Henry Belknap, Knight; died before 1517.

The Essex Review vol 21 p1 (1912)
    THE COOKES OF GIDEA HALL
      (Continued from Vol. xx., p. 211).
          BY STEPHEN J. BARNS.
WHEN Sir Thomas Cooke died, his eldest son Philip was twenty-four years of age, having been born in 1454. He succeeded not only to the Gidea Hall estate, but apparently to the profitable draper’s business in London; and, like his father before him, took his part in the government of the capital. Upon the entry of Henry VII. into London after the battle of Blackheath, he was dubbed a knight at the Bridge Foot on 17 June 1497. He married Elizabeth, second daughter and coheir of Sir Henry Belknap, knight, and was succeeded at his decease by his eldest son, John Cooke, esquire, who held the manor of Gidea Hall of Katherine of Aragon, queen of Henry VIII.

Death: before October 1521

Philip's IPM mentions Edward Belknap, Elizabeth's brother.
Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem Henry VII vol 2 p472 (1915)
723.  PHILIP COKE, knight.
Writ 28 January, inquisition 3 February, 19 Henry VII.
He was seised of the under-mentioned tenements, &c., in fee, and, being so seised, long before his death, by charter 11 July, 18 Henry VII, enfeoffed Thomas Tyrrell, knight, Edward Belknapp, esquire, Gerard Danett, esquire, and John Carell, gentleman, thereof, for the performance of his last will. They were seised thereof accordingly in fee to the intent aforesaid, and they being so seised, he died.
  He died 7 December, 19 Henry VII. John Coke, aged 18 and more, is his son and heir.
SURREY. A tenement in Southwerk, called ‘le Bere,’ another tenement there, called ‘le Dolfyn,’ fourteen tenements in Southwerk, mutually lying next a lane there called ‘Bere Alye,’ and a place of land there, commonly called ‘le Wharff,’ adjacent to the Thames, worth beyond outgoings, 16l., held of Robert Michell, prior of the church, or priory, of St. Mary of Overe, in right of his church, or priory, by fealty and a rent of 5l. 6s. 8d. payable quarterly, for all service.
C. Series II. Vol. 17. (46.)

Sources:

Griselda (Belknap) Caryll

Father: Henry Belknap

Mother: Margarete (_____) Belknap

Married: John Caryll

John was a serjeant-at-law. He married twice more after the death of Griselda. His second wife was Margaret Ellinbridge and one of the children of that marriage was his son and heir, also John Caryll, who also became serjeant-at-law, and married Elizabeth Palmer, who occurs in another branch of this family tree. His third wife was Jane Reade. John died in 1523, and was buried in St. Dunstan’s in the West, London. His will, dated 12 May 1523, was proved on 25 June 1523 (National Archives, Kew (PROB 11/21/166).
Sussex Archaeological Collections vol 33 pp170-2 (1883)
  WARNHAM: THE CHURCH AND MONUMENTS.
      BY J. LEWIS ANDRÉ.
        CARILL.
  The family of Carill, Carrell or Caryll, was for several generations of considerable importance in the county of Sussex. They appear to have come from London and to have settled in Sussex early in the 16th century; in the first instance apparently at Warnham, and subsequently at Harting, and Shipley, and other places in the county. The pedigree given by Berry76 is in the earlier generations far from correct, and that given in Dallaway77 by J. C. Brooke, Somerset Herald, is but little better. They both erroneously describe John Carill, Esq., Serjeant-at-Law, and his son John Carill, Esq., Serjeant-at-Law, Attorney of the Duchy of Lancaster as Knights, but it is clear that they were never knighted. The latter is also incorrectly described as “Sir John Caryll,” in a work printed as early as the year 1685.78 Brooke commences his pedigree with “O’Carroll of Ireland,” who he states was father of “Sir John Caryll [correctly John Carill, Esq.], Serjeant-at-Law,” but Berry makes him son of — Caryll by his wife, a daughter of — Bealknap. John Carill, Esq., above-named, was called to the degree of Serjeant-at-Law on the 18th of November, 2 Henry VIII.79 He died in 1523, and was buried in the church of St. Dunstan’s in the West, London. “In the Isle there whereas the Judges and Sergeants dooe vsuallie sett.”80 In the churchwarden’s accounts of that parish for the year commencing Michaelmas, 14 Henry VIII., is the following note respecting his burial:—81“Resayvyd ffor the pytt and the knyll of Mr Carrell xxs. ”82 He married three times, 1st, Greseld —, 2ndly Margaret, sister of Thomas Elingbrigge, of Merstham, co. Surrey, Esq., and 3rdly, Jane, daughter and sole heir of Sir Robert Reade, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. He left issue both by his second and third wives By Margaret, his second wife, who was buried on the north side of the chancel of Warnham church before the 12th of May, 1523, he had with other issue a son and heir, John Carill of Warnham, Esq., who was living and not aged 22 years on 12th May, 1523, and who was called to the degree of Sergeant-at-Law 17th Oct. 1552 
  76 “Pedigrees of the Families of the County of Sussex.” London, 1830. By Wm. Berry, pp. 358-9.
  77 Dallaway, Vol i., p. 190.
  78 “The Grandeur of the Law,” 1685, p. 156.
  79 “Observations Touching the Antiquity and Dignity of the Degree of Serjeant at Law,” by Edward Wynne, 1765.
  80 See the abstract of his son’s will, post, p. 174.
  81 MS. Collections of T. C. Noble, Esq.
  82 His will, dated 12th May, 1523, was proved in P.C.C. 25th June in the same year (10 Bodfelde) by Thomas Carell and John Carell, two of the executors, Anthony Fitzherbert and Nicholas Covert renouncing. The following abstract contains the principal items of interest, both from an archæological and genealogical point of view, mentioned in the will:—“ In the name of god amen, I John Caryll one of the Kynges Sergeantes at the lawe hole in mynde, the xij day of May In the yere of our lorde god a thousand fyve hundred & xxiij And the xvth yere of the Reigne of Kyng Henry the viijth make my testament conteynyng in the same my last wyll Revoking all former willes and testamentes in maner and fourme folowing. First I bequeth my soule to almighty Jhu my Redemer and to his blissed moder and Virgyn saint mary and to all the holy company of hevyn, And my wretched and synfull body to be buried besides margaret my late Dere and entierly well beloved wyfe before the ymage of our blissed lady wtin the Church of Warnh’m yf my fortune be to dye in those parties or elles to be buried where as it shall please god to calle me to his mercy. Item I bequeth to Richard Roser thelder executour of the testament of sir Richard Patenson (sic) late vicar of Warnh’m for my tithes forgotten or not playnly paid vjs viijd. Item to the vicar that nowe is for the same cawse xxs. Item to the moder Church of Chichest’r iijs iiijd. Item to the Church of Warnh’m iiij m’rces to be bestowed vpon necessarye ornamentes or Repacions of the same Churche or Stepull there by the discrecion of myn executors or by the more parte of them. Item I will that the vicar of Warnh’m say a Trentall of masses for my soule in the Parishe Church of Warnh’m and in the like wise that sir Thomas Mascall say an other trentall of masses in the Trinitie Chapell of Horsh’m where I am founder and they have for their labour after the custume and comon vse of the Cuntrey. Item I will that the pour people that shallbe at my burying and monthesdaye have peny dole as many as come. Item I will that the obserunce aboute my burying and also at my moneth day be doon honestly after my pour havur (sic) and not excedingly nor for pompe . . .  to Jane my wyfe all that belongeth to hir bodye . . . to my suster Smyth xxs and to my suster holbroke xxs and I forgeve her xvs which I paide for her husbandes dettes . . . to my suster Elizabeth Potter xxs of my charitie and noon otherwise and where as diverse besy persones mormour and sey that I owe ynto hir x m’rces by reason of my faders wille I vtterly deny that he wylled her or charged me with the valour of one peny but for declaracion of trouth in that behalf where she was in service wt my moder Belknap for my sake my fader at the tyme of his depting spake these wordes or like in effect, as for my doughter Elizabeth I will not charge you with one peny for her she is your suster and I am sure you wilbe glad to see hir doo well . . . And also whereas by my meanes of my said moder Belknap she mought have maryed with a gentilman in Som’shere of xili lande and better, And also my self entended to have marid hir to John Mychell son of John Michel (sic) of Bukfeld or to Gasely whereof she had never Joye to here, but gested at them and afterward lyved lyke a brothell in my house and fynally cast herself away vpon a pou’ fond wreched body to the shame of me and of all hir frendes forasmoch as in her was . . . Item of this my present testament I make myn executours Antony Fitzherbert one of the Kynges Justices of his com’on Benche, Sir Thomas Blenerheyset Knyght, Richard Covert, Squyer, Thomas Caryll my brother and John Caryll my sonne and heire apparent.” He mentions his wife Jane and a deed “concernyng her Joyntur,” dated [blank] Hen. VIII., also his daughter Greseld and daughter Dorothie, and adds, “yf they wilbe honestly ruled in mariage by my wife their moder and by my said brother . . . And as to my four sonnys Richard, Robert, George, and Thomas because they have a moder and so have not my two other sonnes . . . I bequeth to my said sonne John my Ryng with the Dyamond for because it was his moders, And also I bequeth to the same John my signet graven with Elyngbrigge armes for because it was his vncle Thomas Elyngbrigges.” He gives certain directions as to the residue of his goods, and orders that:—“wt parte thereof to doo for my soule and the soules of my fader and moder and Greseld and Margaret my late wyves . . . my said sonne Edwarde . . . I have my two first sonnes John and Edwarde by oon vent (sic) videli’t by Margaret Elyngbrige my late wyfe, And I have yssue by my good wife that nowe is Richard, Robert, George, and Thomas . . . Item I will than (sic) an honest stone be leyde vpon me and vpon Margaret my late wyfe wt bothe our Armes in Remembraunce of me and my pour posteritie, yf I chaunce to dye at Warnh’m for our soules and or frendes soules an honest prest be founde x yeres to synge in the Churche of Warnh’m and to have x m’e yerely of the Reuenues of my landes for his wagys . . . all myn evidences . . . whiche be nowe metely well sorted wtin my galary at my house at Warnham . . . till that my said sonne John Caryll shall come to the age of xxij yeres.”

Death: 11 July 1498

Memorial to Griselda (Belknap) Caryll
Memorial to Griselda (Belknap) Caryll, in St. Mary the Virgin, Clapham, Sussex
photo by Mark Humphrys in 2019 posted at Humprys genealogy
Burial: St. Mary the Virgin, Clapham, Sussex, England
The Brasses & Monuments in St. Mary the Virgin Church, Clapham, West Sussex p 5 (Robert Hutchinson, 2008)
Brass inscription, Griselda, wife of John Caryll, 1498.
Relaid, mural, south wall of chancel. Four-line inscription in Latin black letter:
Hic iacet bona et virtuosa Gresildis nup[er] ux[or] Joh[ann]is Caryll una
filiaru[m] henr[ici] belknap armigeri consanguinei et unius heredu[m]
Rad[ulph]i boteler militis d[omi]ni de Sudeley que obijt xj die Julii A[nn] o
d[omi]ni M[illesim]o CCCC lxxxxviijo cuius anime propicietur deus ame[n]
Translated: Here lies good and virtuous Griselda, late wife of John Caryll, one of the daughters of Henry Belknap esquire, blood relation and one of the heirs of Ralph Boteler, Knight, Lord of Sudeley, who died on July 11th, 1498, on whose soul may God have mercy, amen.

Sources:

Henry Belknap

Married: Margarete

Children:
Notes:
Henry had three brothers - John, William and Philip.
Calendar of Close Rolls, Henry VI 1435-1441 p24 (1937)
1436. Dec. 13.
Westminster.
  To the escheator in Kent. Order in presence of William Bealknap, Henry Bealknap and Philip Bealknap, or of their attorneys, to make a partition of 10 acres of land in Orpynton into three equal parts, and to give the said William seisin of his purparty, and to remove the king’s hand from the purparties remaining, delivering up any issues thereof taken; as it is found by inquisition, taken before the escheator, that John Bealknap esquire at his death held that land of William Haute esquire in tenure of ‘gavelkynde,’ and that the said William, Henry and Philip are his brothers and next heirs according to the custom of such tenure; and the king has taken the homage and fealty of the said William due for two thirds of the manor of Seyntlynge in the town of ‘Seyntmarycraye’ which the said John held in chief as of the honour of Peverell.

Calendar of the Patent Rolls 1452-1461 p275 (1910)
1454. April 16.
Westminster.
  Commission to Richard Wyderton and Thomas Stones, appointing, them to take in any suitable place near Dover on 20 April instant the muster of Henry Belkenap and the men at arms and archers ordered to go with him to the defence of Guysnes castle.

Death: 20 June 1488

Will: The will of Henry Belknapp was dated 20 January 1487(8) and proved on 2 December 1488
PROB 11-8
This is the Last wyll and ordenance of me henry Belknapp Esquire made the xxth day of Janyver the yere of our Lord god m ccclxxxvij And the iijth yere of the Reigne of kyng Henry the vijth I the said hynry then being in good and hole mynde Jhu be thankyd ffyrst I wyll and ordeyne that myn executours ??? and ??? for my dettys be payde in discharge of my soule and of the soulys that I stand charged for as will answer before god Also I will and ordeyne that myn executours shall ??? of my Mannors Landys and tenements in the Countie of Warwyk yerely for the terme of vij yere xx. to contentacion of my said dettys And the residue of the same vij li after my dettys be payd toward the mariage of my doutre And if so be that myn executours be trobeled ??? and put from the ??? of the said vij li so that they may not pay my dettys ??? Then I will that myn executours sell asmuch woode in my manor of knell as shall suffice to the contentacion of my said dettys so tha in no ways the contentacion of my dettys be ??? for lak thereof And then the said vij li as asmuch thereof as may be ??? and ??? shall goo toward the marriages of my doughters Also I will that Immediately after my decease Margarete my wyfe shallhaue the Manor of Knell wt thappurtenances in the Countie of Suffex and all the Landes and tenements ... And if Margarete my wyf decese my son Edward or he that shalhappyn tobe my heyre being wtn the age of xxj yere then I will that myn executours ??? the assets revenues and profits thereof till my sonne Edward or he that shalbe myn heyre come to the age of xxj yere to the sustentacion and mariage of my doughters then being unmarried but if that my sonne Edward or he that then shalbe myn heyre wyll take the charge of the fynding and marriage of my said doughters And if he will soo doo then I will that he haue the said Manr and Landys Immediatly after the decease of my said wyfe Also I will after the decese of my said wyf that Wyllyam my sonne shalhaue an Annuall rente of x mark by yere out of the Manor of Knell wt a sufficiant clause of discharge for terme of hys lyfe And I make and ordeyne Margarete my wyfe John Breton and Robert Wooton myn executours ...
Probatum ... secundo die mensis Decembre Anno dni millimo cccclxxxviij Juramento Roberti Wotton et Edward Belknapp   

Probate: Henry's IPM was held on 4 November 1488.
Notes of Post Mortem Inquisitions take in Sussex 1 Henry VII to 1649 p21 (F.W.T. Attree, 1912)
      97.
  HENRY BELKNAP, esq. Vol. 4, No. 23.
  Inquisition 10 Nov. 4 Hen. VII. Died 20 June 3 Hen. VII.
  Heir, son Edward B., aged 17.
  Lands. Manor of Knelle in Beckle and Pesemarsh, wife Margaret has it for life.

Early Chancery Proceedings vol 5 p541 (1963)
Bundle 579
28  William Shelley, serjeant-at-law, and Alice, his wife, sister and co-heir of Edward Belknap, knight, son of Harry Belknap, esquire.
Petition for the examination of witnesses as to complainants’ title to share under the will of the said Harry (recited) in the manors of Knell, Wolston, Marston, Mascallsbury, and Stondon, in one-third of the manors of Blo . . .  sters and Wappenbury, in lands, rents, services, and common of pasture in Beckley, Peasmarsh, Wolston, Marston, Dartford, Monks Kirby, Stretton-upon-Dunsmore, Binley, Wappenbury, Eythorpe, Hougham, Billesley, Clayton, Honiley, Knotlond, Gage, Haseley, Hatton, Wroxall, Warwick, Mascallsbury, Great Stondon, White Roothing, Great Easton (‘on the Hill’), and Thaxted, and in the advowson of the church of Stondon. Commission. Mutilated.
Sussex, Warwick, Essex

Sources:

Margarete (_____) Belknap

Married: Henry Belknap

Children:
Notes: Margarete is named in Henry Belknap's will dated 20 January 1487(8) and in his IPM held on 4 November 1488.
PROB 11-8
This is the Last wyll and ordenance of me henry Belknapp Esquire made the xxth day of Janyver the yere of our Lord god m ccclxxxvij ... Also I will that Immediately after my decease Margarete my wyfe shallhaue the Manor of Knell wt thappurtenances in the Countie of Suffex and all the Landes and tenements   

Notes of Post Mortem Inquisitions take in Sussex 1 Henry VII to 1649 p21 (F.W.T. Attree, 1912)
      97.
  HENRY BELKNAP, esq. Vol. 4, No. 23.
  Inquisition 10 Nov. 4 Hen. VII. Died 20 June 3 Hen. VII.
  Heir, son Edward B., aged 17.
  Lands. Manor of Knelle in Beckle and Pesemarsh, wife Margaret has it for life.

Margarete was possibly a lady in waiting to Elizabeth of York, queen of Henry VII. A "maistres Margarette Belknap" appears in a list of wages paid by the Queen, and the editor of a publication of her wardrobe accounts surmises that she was the wife of Henry Belknap.
Privy Purse Expenses of Elizabeth of York p13 (Nicholas Harris Nicolas, 1830)
May 1502
Itm̃ the xxjth day of May ...
Itm̃ the same day to maistres Belknap for money by hir lent to the Quenes grace     xx s̃.
p38
August 1502
Itm̃ the vjth day of August ...
Itm̃ the same day to Maistres Belknap for money by hir delivered by the commaundement of the Quene to the Quene of Scottes at Windesore      xx s̃.
p52
October 1502
Itm̃ the xiijth day of October ...
Itm̃ the same day to Maistres Belknap for a reward geven to a servant of the Bisshop of Rouchestre for bringing a present of grapes to the Quene       xiij s̃. iiij d.
p99
March 1503
WAGES. ...
Itm̃ to Maistres Margrette Belknap      vj li. xiij s̃. iiij d.
p177
Belknap, Mrs. Margaret, 13, 38, 52, 99.
One of the ladies in attendance on the queen’s person. Query, if she was the Margaret Belknap, daughter of Sir Richard Knollys, and widow of Henry Belknap, Esq., who died in 1488, and by whom she had Sir Edward Belknap, a privy councillor to Henry VII. and Henry VIII.? She was living in 1488, after which time nothing has been discovered about her.

Margarete, named as "my moder Belknap" appears in the will of her son-in-law, John Caryll, dated 12 May 1523, but it is not clear from the context that she is still alive at that date.
Sussex Archaeological Collections vol 33 p172n (1883)
... to my suster Elizabeth Potter xxs of my charitie and noon otherwise and where as diverse besy persones mormour and sey that I owe ynto hir x m’rces by reason of my faders wille I vtterly deny that he wylled her or charged me with the valour of one peny but for declaracion of trouth in that behalf where she was in service wt my moder Belknap for my sake my fader at the tyme of his depting spake these wordes or like in effect, as for my doughter Elizabeth I will not charge you with one peny for her she is your suster and I am sure you wilbe glad to see hir doo well . . . And also whereas by my meanes of my said moder Belknap she mought have maryed with a gentilman in Som’shere of xili lande and better, And also my self entended to have marid hir to John Mychell son of John Michel (sic) of Bukfeld or to Gasely whereof she had never Joye to here, but gested at them and afterward lyved lyke a brothell in my house and fynally cast herself away vpon a pou’ fond wreched body to the shame of me and of all hir frendes forasmoch as in her was

Sources:

Mary (Belknap) Danett

Birth: 1477 - 1478

Father: Henry Belknap

Mother: Margarete (_____) Belknap

Married: Gerard Danett

Gerard was born on 3 July 1473, the son of John Danet and Jane de la Haye, and married firstly Anne. He died on 4 May 1520 and was buried "withoute coffir or chest only to be wrapped in a symple shete" in the church of the Black Friars in London "under thold stone with the ragged Crosse next adoiynyng to the smale stonyes of Thomas of Danet Elen Danet Robert and Nichol Danet my children".

History of the manor of Westhope, County Salop pp33 (Evelyn H. Martin, 1909)
  John Dannatt, the son of Richard Dannatt (temp. Edward IV.) is put down in the Visitation of Shropshire as of Leicestershire. He married Jane, daughter of Thomas de la Haye. Nichols states that he died in 1490. He had a son Gerard Dannatt, born 3 July, 1473, and who married Mary, sister and co-heir of Sir Edward Belknap of Knoll, co. Warwick. He was Councellor of State to Henry VIII., and died 4 May, 1520, and was buried at the Abbey of Tiltey, co. Essex, where a monument is erected to his memory.

The will of Gerard Danet was dated 30 April 1520 and proved on 25 May 1520. It is is held at the National Archives (PROB 11/20/18)
In the name of God Amen The yere of our lord god m vc xx the last day of Apriell the xijth yere of our sourane lord kyng henry the viijth I Gerard Danet gentilman beyng of hole mynde make and ordeyne this my testament and last will in manner and form followyng that is to saye ffirst I gyve and bequeath my synfull soule to all mighty god maker and redemer of all the world ... Item I bequeathe my most wrecched and synfull body to be buryed withoute coffir or chest only to be wrapped in a symple shete in  the myddel of the Church of the black ffriars in london under thold stone with the ragged Crosse next adoiynyng to the smale stonyes of Thomas of Danet Elen Danet Robert and Nichol Danet my children ... Item gyve and bequeathe to my son John Danet my gilt chalis my masse book my best vestement with the best auter clothes Item I gyve and bequethe to the same john my playne gilte cupe havyng the grey hondes hed on the botom rasyd Also I gyve to the same John xij spones silver and ??? gilte Item I gyve to hym also my best salter ... Item I will that all that bequest remayne in the kepyng of Mary my wif or of my executours or the executours of my wif at thewill and pleasure of Mary my wif to the tyme that my said sonne John come to the full Age of xxiij yere at the lest And also that he be guyded ordered and advised by my said wif ??? myne executours and ??? and else to have no peny or peny worth of that my bequest ??? that the same bequest be disposed by the discrecion of my said wif or myne executours to myne other children not maried beying ??? as is beforesaid Item I gyve and bequeathe to my daughter Anne wif to my said sonne John my possenet sylver and a gilt spone And also I gyve and bequeathe to my said sonne John my smalle chayne wt the cross which I have accustomed dayly to wear and all that upon conditiond as before it ??? and that my greater cheyne be sold towards the marriage of my two daughters Elizabeth and Mary further be orderyd and Guyded by Mary my wif and myne executours in lyke wise as my sonne John and else to be lyke condicion as my said sonne John and non other wise Item I gyve and bequeathe to my daughter Elizabeth oon hundredthe poundes to her marriage so that she be rueled and ordered by my wif mary her mother Ans also I gyve and bequeathe to my daughter mary ffour gross poundes to her marriage so that she be in lyke wise ruelyd by my said wif mary And if it happe any of my said daughters to dye before marriage had as god defende Then I will that the moyte of her some so beyng ded be gyven to the other daughter beyng owlyve And the other moyte thereof to Thomas my Sonne And if it happen bothe my said daughters to dye before marriage hade as it beforehand Then I will the said Thomas my sonne shall have those porcions before bequeathed to my said daughters ... Item I will that myne especiall good lady my lady Merques Dorsett have a gold ryng with the fyve principall wordes of our Saviour Jhu Crist and of the value of xlvs to thentent it may please her to have the mor often my synfull soule in her good devoute remembrance And in lyke wise my good Lady and Sister Belknappe my Sister Wutton my Sister Shelley have every of theym a gilt spone of the value of xs or about to thentent they maye in lykewise remember my said soule And also that every of my daughters wt my daughter Anne have lyke facioned ryng as my lady mergues of the value of xxvjs viijd Item I gyve and bequeathe to my brother Sir Edwarde Belknappe my mule wt hyr apparell to thentent he shalbe goode brother and vncle to mary my wif and my children all tyme gyvyng theym hys best advise and counsell and to see true performyng of thys my will Item I gyve and bequeath to mary my wif all suche landez as I have purchased in hereftre Shire for terme of hyr lyf And after hyr dethe to the right heires of my body And for defaulte of suche heires to the right heires of John Danet my ffather Item I will that my Executours by the space of vij yeres bestowe yerely to some goode religious prest xxs by yere to syng for my soule my wyf Anne soul my ffather and mother soules the soule of Thomas Danet clerk the soule of Gerarde delahaye the soule of Thomas Elmebrugge the soule of Robert Elmere clerk the soule of Margaret buteler and all xpen soules ... Item I gyve and bequeathe to my brother Willm Shelley ffyve yardez black clothe at vjs viijd the yarde amd fyve markes in money with oon gilte spone of the piece before rehersed to thentent he shall truely ?? the performance of thys my will as my speciall trust is in hym The residue of all my goodes moveable with the wardshipp of my daughter Anne And all other my goodes except souly my leas of my hous in Ive lane which I gyve Joyntly to my said wif and John my Sonne I gyve and bequeathe to mary my wif to dispose and ordre any thyng according to the true Intente of this my present will and testament as she will answer before almyghty god at the dredfull daye of Juggement ... And of this my present Testament and Last Will I make and ordeyne my trusty Executours mary my wif and my lovyng broder Willm Shelley to do for me as they wold be doon fore, and by thadvise of Sr Edward Belkanppe In wytnes whereof I have wryten this testament and last will with myn own hande and ffynysshed it the xxijth day of Aprill the xjth yere of the reigne of our soveraine lorde kyng henry the xiijth and subscribed my name the daye and yere abivesaid Item I gyve and bequeath to my said wif mary all my landez purchased in Surrey for terme of her lyfe And after her dethe to theright heyres of my body lawfully geboten And for defaulte of such Issue to my daughter Ann Danett for terme of her lyf the Remaynder over to the right heires of me the said Gerarde ... Item I will that mary my wif haue all the Issues Rente revenues and profitte of all my housez tents and heriditaments in the ??? of lecestr in the Towne of lecestr and the Citie of Coventre or any of them whiche be no parte of her Joynter for terme of vij yeres next and Immediatly followyng my deceas ... Item I will my Lady of Salisbury haue a lyke remebrance as I have bequeathed to my Lady marques
Memorand that this will as it is interlyned ?? the hande of me Willm Shelley was rid in the heryng of the said Gerard Danett and by hym aggreed in the presens of Sr Edward Grevill Sr Edward fferrers my Sister his wif my Cosan John Danett my cosyn Elisabeth Danett my Cosyn mary Danett maister ffawke Sr Thomas Walles Alis Shelly my wif my cosyn beatryx Rawson and ?? parker the last day of Aprill the xijth yere of the Reign of kyng henry the viijth Item the said Gerard Revoked all other wills made any tyme before and willed that this will only shuld stand in effect These being present Edward Grevill Edward fferrers William ffalk Sir Thomas Walles John Danett richard parker
Probatum ... xxv die mensus may anno dni millimo quingentesimo vicesimo Jurament marie relicte et executrix    

History of the manor of Westhope, County Salop pp37-39 (Evelyn H. Martin, 1909)
  Gerard Dannatt's Will is dated 30 April, 1520.
  “I bequeath my body to be buried in the Church of the Black Friars in London, under the old stone with the ragged cross, next adjoyning to the smale stonys of Thomas Danet, Elenor Danet, Robert and Nicholas Danet, my children, or else in the Parish Church of St. Faith. My body to be wrapped only in a simple sheet, without coffer or chest, and the Prior or Churchwardens shall provide 13 old torches, 4 great tapers, or else my executors shall provide with Thomas Linde, wax chaundler, dwelling in the old Bayle in London, so that no money be spent in new fashions. I will there will be provided 12 schocheons of myne armes to be sette about my corps and pillars, next adjoyning to my grave and not past. If I be buried in the Black Friars, I will Master Curlewse, my curate, have 3s. 4d., and Sir Thomas, his Parish priest 20d. Item, I give to my son John Danet, my gilt challis, my mass book, and my best vestment with the outer clothes, with bedding etc., including the counterpane I bought of the executors of my lady Naffan, my plain gilt cup having the greyhounds head in the bottom raised, and my bag of the greyhounds head. I will that all this bequest remain at the pleasure of Mary my wife, till my son come to the age of 23 years at the least. I give to my daughter Anne, wife to my said son, my possenet silver and a gilt spoon. I give to my son John, my small cheyne with the cross which I have been accustomed to wear daily, my greater cheyne to be sold towards the marriage of my two daughters Elizabeth and Mary, to whom I give £100 and £80 respectively towards their marriages. If both my said daughters die before marriage, their portions shall come to my son Thomas, save that some portion shall be spent in the repair of the bridges and ways about Leicester, Warwick, and the highway at Mestham, leading from Wood Street to the cross at Mestham. Item, I give to the amendyng of the bridge between my house and the Friars Augustines in Leicester £10. I will that my special good lady, the Lady Marques Dorsett have a gold ring to the intent she may have my sinful soul in remembrance, likewise my good Lady and sister Belknappe, and my sisters Wutton and Shelley a gilt spoon apiece. Item, I give to my brother, Sir Edward Belknappe my mule with the apparel. I devise to Mary my wife, such lands as I have bought in Leicestershire for her life, then to remain to the right heirs of my body and in default to the right heirs of John Danet my father. I will that for seven years my executors bestow 20s. yearly to some good religious priest, to sing for the soul of my wife Anne, the souls of my father and mother, of Thomas Danet, Clerk, of Gerard Delahaye, Thomas Elmbrugge, Robert Elmore, Clerk, and Margaret Buteler. I give to Robert Cobbis 6s. 8d, and to every other of my servants in my house 3s. 4d. To my brother William Shelley 5 yards of black cloth. The residue of all my goods, except only the lease of my house in Ive Lane, which I give jointly to my wife Mary and son John, I give to my wife. I give to my son John, my best signet with the greyhound's head, I make my wife Mary, and my brother William Shelley, my executors with the advice of Sir Edward Belknappe. I give to my wife Mary, all my lands purchased in Surrey for her life to remain at her death to the right heirs of my body, and in default to my daughter Anne Danet for life and my right heirs. I will that my servant Robert May have 40s. yearly, during his life out of my lands in the town of Leicester, and that my wife have all the issues of my lands in Leicestor, and Coventry, which be no part of her jointure for 7 years to come. Item, I will that my Lady of Salisbury have a like remembrance as I have bequeathed to my Ladv Marques.”
  Witnesses: Sir Edward Greville. Sir Edward Ferrers, my sister his wife, my cosyn John Danett, my cosyn Elizabeth Danett, my cosyn Mary Danett, Maister William Fawke, Sir Thomas Walles, Ales Shelley, my wife, my cosyn Beatrice Rawdon, and Mr. Richard Parker.
  Proved in P.C.C. 25 May, 1520, by the executrix (2 Maynwaring.)

There is a memorial brass to Gerard in Tiltey Abbey, Essex
Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society vol 7 p276 (F.W.T. Attree, 1912)
TILTEY ABBEY.  ...
Gerard Danet, gent., of co. Leicester (1520), whose mon. brass is here, is to be buried at Black Friars, “without coffir or chest, only to be wrapped in a symple shete.” Widow, Mary (1558: 16, Welles)

History of the manor of Westhope, County Salop pp33-37 (Evelyn H. Martin, 1909)
  At Tiltey Dunmow, in the Church, is a brass to Gerard Danet, who died 4 May, 1520, and was buried there with Maria, his wife. The brass contains three shields :— 1st shield. Quarterly, 1. Danet .... guttée de . . . . a canton ermine; 2. on two bars 6 lions rampant; 3. same as 2; 4. 3 eagles rising. 2nd shield: Danet, with a quartering as on shield one, impaling quarterly, 1. 3 eagles displayed, a bend cottised .... 2. Two bendlets; 3. A bend of ten: 4. A fesse cheque between 6 crosses patée fitchée, three and three. 3rd shield: Quarterly 1 and 8 Danet; 2. On two bars 6 lions rampant three and three; 3. Three eagles displayed in bend cottised; 4. Two bendlets; 5. Three eagles displayed; 6. Bendy of ten; 7. A fesse chequé between 6 crosses patée fitchée.

Children: Notes:
Mary and her husband, "Gerard Bennett", are named in the IPM of Mary's brother, Edward Belknap, held in Lewes in October 1521.
Notes of Post Mortem Inquisitions take in Sussex 1 Henry VII to 1649 p21 (F.W.T. Attree, 1912)
      98.
  EDWARD BELKNAPP, knt.  Vol. 37, No. 133.
  Lewes, (5?) Oct. 13 Hen. VIII.  Died 25 March 11 Hen. VIII.
  Coheirs, sisters Ann, wife of Robert Wotton, knt., Mary, wife of Gerard Bennett, aged 43, Alice, wife of William Shelley, aged 40 and more, and great-nephew Anthony Coke, esq., son of John, son of Elizabeth, another sister of E. B., aged 16 and more.
  Lands.—Manor of Knelle. Made will—wife Lady Alice B., brother William Shelley and my sister his wife, niece Beatrix Ranson. Had manors of Walston and Marston, co. Warwick. Inherited manor of Knelle as son and heir of Henry B., who by will left it to Margaret, his widow, for her life.

Mary is named in a lawsuit brought in the period 1538 to 1544 against her brother's wife over Edward's inheritance.
Early Chancery Proceedings vol 8 p252 (1963)
    FILE 1087.
49-50  Edward WOTON, knight, Mary DANETT and Anthony COKE, esquire, son and heir of John Coke, v. John BRUGGE and Alice his wife, late the wife of Edward Belknap, knight.
Manor of Weston-under-Weatherley, late of the said Sir Edward Belknap, brother of the said Mary and uncle of the said Sir Edward Woton and John Coke.      WARWICK.
51  The same v. the same.
Portions of the manor of Dorset (i.e. Burton or Avon Dassett) not bequeathed to the said Alice.       WARWICK.

Death: Between 3 November 1556, the date of Mary's will, and 15 December 1558, the date on which that will was proved.

Will: The will of "Will of Marie Danett, Widow", dated 3 November 1556 was proved on 15 December 1558. It is is held at the National Archives (PROB 11/42A/123)

History of the manor of Westhope, County Salop pp39-41 (Evelyn H. Martin, 1909)
  The Will of Mary Dannatt, widow of Gerard Dannatt, is dated 3 November, 1556.
  “I will that a sermon be made at my burial by a learned man, and I give £10 to be distributed to six score poor folks men or women, and to poor householders in eight Parishes, viz,, the Parish where I shall be called out of this world, and six Parishes adjoining, and the Parish of Mestham. I give to my son-in-law, Sir John Arundell, Knight, and my daughter Elizabeth, his wife, a chafing dish of silver, &c. To my son-in-law, George Medeley, Esq., and my daughter Marie his wife, two pots of silver, etc., and all my household stuff remaining at Tyltey on the day of my death. To my son Thomas Danett, a basin and ewer of silver, parcel gilt, &c, and to his wife Anne, my ring with a diamond. Item, to Anne Danett, widow of my son Sir John Danet, Knight, deceased, my ring bequeathed me by my sister Shelley. To my nephew (grandson) John Arundell, Esq., son and heir to the said Sir John, one gilt goblet with a cover graven with the greyhound's head and the lizard, To my nephews (grandsons) Thomas, George and Edward Arundell, younger sons of Sir John, a Gilt spoon apiece, with the letter M enamelled on the top, and the like to my nieces (grand-daughters) Cecill, Marie and Elizabeth Arundell. To Anne Atkinson £6 13s. 4d. To Leonard Danet, a little standing cup, gilt. To Gerard and Thomas Danet, younger sons of my said son Sir John, a gilt spoon as above. To Jane Danet one of the daughters of my said late son, a little casting bottle, &c. To my niece, the Lady Mary Carrowe, late wife to Sir Henrie Guldeford, Knight, my little candlestick of silver. To my good Lord, the Lord John Graye and Dame Marie his wife, two rings of fine gold. To my nephews Sir Anthony Cooke of Guydyhall, Knight, and Thomas Wootton, Esq., son and heir of Sir Edward Wootton, Knight, deceased, rings enamelled with the letter M on the inside. To Marie Wooton, widow of my nephew William Wooton, deceased, a like ring. To Cecill Elyys 20s. My executors shall have all moneys coming out of my estate of inheritance in Bedford and Broome. I give to Thomas Danet, son and heir of my son Thomas Danet, my best feather bed and bedding, &c, &c, at his age of 22. To Edward, Awdeley, George, and John Danett, sons of my son Thomas, a gilt spoon apiece with the letter M and the like to their sisters Frances and Jane Danet. To John Danet, second son of my son Sir John, the little pot which the Queen's Majesty gave me for a New Year's gift, two cushions of verders with the greyhound's head, &c. To Henry Medeley, son and heir to my son-in-law George Medeley, a goblet of silver. My two suits of hanging of cloth remaining in London to be divided between my son Thomas, and the said Henry Medeley. To Elizabeth Medeley, one of the daughters of the said George, my best damask gown, &c, and my bedstead which I used myself to be in at the Myneris (Minories.) To Mary Medley, her sister, my striped gown of satin. To Mary Danett, daughter of my son Thomas, my gown of satin furred with martins. My executors shall occupy all my lands in Great Dorsett, and Birton alias Dorsett, and Byrton in the county of Warwick, and in Old Lydde and Langporte, co. Kent, except my part of the Manor of Great Dorsett and Birton alias Dorsett, and Birton, which I have covenanted to remain at my death to Leonard Danett, Esq., my cousin and heir apparent by Indenture between myself and him dated 15th December 1 and 2 Phillip and Maty, and excepting the lands I have conveyed to my younger son Thomas Danett, they shall also occupy my third part of the woods in St. Mary Cray, Orpington, Pollescraie, and Chiselhurst for 15 years from my decease. I give to my niece Mary Whitneye £15. To Dorothy Perrie 4 marks. To Elizabeth and Marie Medeley, daughters of George Medeley, Esquire, £50 apiece. To William Medeley, one of the sons of the said George, a holy water stoupe with the sprinkle gilt. To Mary Danet, eldest daughter to my son Thomas £50, if she die before she be married, then to remain successively to her younger sisters, Frances and Jane, to their marriages. To my servants, John Gonne and William Gorton, £10 apiece. My executors shall have as above all rents of certain meadows in the Manor of Bronkynsthorpe, co. Leicester. I ordain my executors, my Lord John Greye, my said nephew Thomas Wootton, Esquire, George Medeley, Esquire, and my son Thomas Danet.”
(Signed) MARIE DANET.  
  Proved in P.C.C. 15 December, 1558, by Justinian Kidd. Proctor for the executors named. (16 Welles).

Sources:

William Belknap

Father: Henry Belknap

Mother: Margarete (_____) Belknap

Notes:
William was named a son in his father in his father's will dated 20 January 1487(8).
PROB 11-8
This is the Last wyll and ordenance of me henry Belknapp Esquire made the xxth day of Janyver the yere of our Lord god m ccclxxxvij ... Also I will after the decese of my said wyf that Wyllyam my sonne shalhaue an Annuall rente of x mark by yere out of the Manor of Knell wt a sufficiant clause of discharge for terme of hys lyfe

Death:
William is not named in the will of his brother, Edward, dated on 23 March 1520(1), in which his four sister re named co-heirs, and it is likely that William died before this date (National Archives (PROB 11/20/235))

Sources:
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