Bedfordshire

In 19-20th C Britain Bedfordshire had the largest number of Brocketts outside London and Glasgow/Lanarkshire. In the 100 years 1855-1954 184 were born in Bedfordshire—compare 391 in London and 217 in Glasgow/Lanarkshire. Two households were also recorded near Bedford as early as 1315-1341. Add to these facts that they were recorded in 32 parishes in the county 17-19th C and you could well conclude that Bedfordshire was an ultimate origin.

However, the 14th C line died out or migrated and Brokets are not recorded in Bedfordshire again till 1547. When parish records appeared Dunton was the only parish with a Broket clan—a cadet Hertfordshire line. Most post 16th C Bedfordshire Brocketts could descend from this Dunton clan, which had 37 births/baptisms recorded 1596-1673. Four other clans flourished: in Bromham—60 births/baptisms 1779-1874, Bedford—22 births/baptisms 1823-78, Biddenham—19 births/baptisms 1779-1867 and Blunham—18 births/baptisms 1801-60. Other records were nearly all of individual families.

William Broket of the parish of Kempston, a couple of miles south west of Bedford, is the first known Broket of Bedfordshire. He is recorded in tax lists 1315-1342, and so was born by 1294. In 1341/2 Ralph Broket is found with William in the parish's list of those eligible to pay tax on wool, i.e. sheepowners (PRO E179/242/1 m 12d). William paid tax on 2 stone 12 lbs of wool (ij Petr xij li—about the 4th largest in the village). There were 26 stones in a sack in 1347 (Jurkowski et al 1998 p 49) and Kempston's total from c 217 payers was 6.75 sacks and 3 stones. Ralph paid on 9 lbs. Perhaps Ralph was William's son, set up on his own by 1342. He would then have been born by 1321.

 William Broket of Kempston
 
        b c 1280-90
 
            |
            |
           ?|
 
          Ralph
 
       b c 1310-20

Unless he was given the nickname Broket in Kempston as a late teenager c 1309-1313, neither William nor any other Broket namesake was in Kempston or even in Bedfordshire for the subsidy of 1309. William was therefore either given the byname Broket or was an immigrant.

Figures show that there was considerable mobility into and out of the parish and the county in the early 14th century, so William could well have been an immigrant.

Kempston Subsidy Rolls 1200-1600

A search was made for Brokets through all Kempston entries in those Bedfordshire Subsidy Rolls that included Redbornestoke Hundred and listed taxpayers names from 1200-1600 (List of Exchequer K.R. Subsidy Rolls, Lay Series vol 1, p 10ff). William and Ralph were the only ones. Brokets weren't recorded in Kempston again until the mid to late 1730s.

The steady rise in William's payments suggests successful husbandry—his 1315 smallholding may have trebled in size by 1332, when out of 77 taxpayers in Kempston only 5 paid more than William. He had become one of the 6 richest members of the parish. The Kempston tax list from c 1341 had 6 oath givers and William was the 2nd (E 179/71/17).

There was a gap in the lists between 1341 and c 1538, during which a Kempston / Redbornestoke Broket line could feasibly have continued, however their absence c 1538-44 suggests that it had died out or left well before.

Kempston parish lies south west of Bedford in Redbornestoke hundred and had a population of 300-400 in the early 14th century.

The subsidies of 1309 and 1332 show continuity (Suffolk Green Books 1925 18, pp 65-7 & 177-8):

On the face of it, of the 99 taxpayer surnames in 1309 only 33% were still in the parish a generation later in 1332. A 2nd third was in other hundreds and the remaining 33% were not anywhere in Bedfordshire.

Assuming an average age of 25 on marriage and 50 on death (Stell & Hawkyard 1996 p 3) in the 23 intervening years between the subsidies, nearly all the taxpayers would have died. But even on the assumption that only half had sons, mobility was still apparently in the region of 50%.

Falling below the minimum level of assessment could account for some of this. Of the lowest 10 taxpayer names in 1309 Kempston, half were no longer recorded in Bedfordshire by 1332, 4 were found in other hundreds, and only 1 in Kempston. Surname formation could also perhaps account for some. The son of Richard Schepherde or Richard de Wylden in Kempston in 1309, for instance, could have been recorded as John le Fitz Richard in 1332. Conversely, unrelated people could have had the same surname or byname—at least with place names, like de Goldington. But occupational surnames should not be assumed to be non-hereditary, even at this time (Leggett 1971 p 131).

Taking all this into account could still produce an overall estimate of mobility between 1309-32 of 30-40%. Furthermore, it was coupled with a general decline in prosperity in the village.

Prosperity decline 1309-1332

The tax called the 15th & 10th in 1332 required every man in the countryside to pay the equivalent of one fifteenth of the value of his movables (like cattle and crops) and every man in a town to pay the equivalent of one tenth (Jurkowski et al 1998 p xxx).

The tax in 1309 had only been a 25th; people paid less. A townsman with movables in 1309 worth £5 paid a twenty-fifth on them: 4s. In 1332 he was due 10s on the same.

The parish's total tax in 1309 was £14 5s 1d, and in 1332 £10 3s 4d. Since these were a 25th and 15th respectively, the total value of the parish householders' declared movables had fallen by more than 50% in 23 years: from £356 7s 1d to £152 10s.

Top 10 1309 Kempston taxes (E179/72/227 & E179/71/13 f 11d)

The column name in both years lists those surnames still in Kempston in 1332, and the column 1332 lists their tax. Only 4 of the top 10 1309 taxpayer surnames were still in Kempston in 1332, and the value of their payments had dropped significantly. 2 were in other hundreds, 4 were no longer in Bedfordshire. These figures indicate an approximate 60-65% mobility of families in and out of the wealthier stratum of the community.   1309 name in both years 1332 15s 6d 3/4   — 13s 1d 1/4   — 11s 3d 1/2 Holdeward 12d 10s 11d 3/4 — 7s 7d 1/4 de Herdwic 3s 8d 6s 4d 3/4 — 5s 11d — 5s 8d 3/4 — 5s 2d 1/4 de Goldington* 3s 4s 7d 1/2 Godrich* 2s 11d 1/2

Note: * indicates the same first name in both years.

Top 10 1332 Kempston taxes (E179/71/13 f 11d & E179/72/227)

7 of the top 10 1332 taxpayer surnames had been in Kempston in 1309. But only 3 of the 6 paying over 5 shillings in 1332 had figured in the subsidy 22 years earlier. In 1309 9 had paid above 5s, yet the tax was at a higher threshold (a 25th as opposed to a 15th in 1332). With the majority of the wealthier men having left and 22% fewer overall taxpayers, prosperity in Kempston had clearly declined considerably over the 23 years.   1332 name in both years 1309 16s 8d   — 8s 7d   — 8s 6d Russel* 3s 4d 1/4 8s 6d Sely/Sali* 17d 1/4 5s 6d le Whyte 4s 1d 3/4 5s 0d 1/4 — 4s 0 1/4 Croude 2s 7d 1/2 3s 8d de Herdwik 7s 7d 1/4 3s 8d Maheu — 3s 8d Martyn* 3s 4d 1/2

16th C birth/baptism records (IGI, excluding all 'Abt' entries)

Dates	Place	Number	Comments
1586-9	Campton	3	Hitchin family
1596	Dunton	1	Hitchin family

As a neighbouring county to Hertfordshire where Brokets were landowners 15-17th C, a presence in Bedfordshire might be expected, however none have been found from the 15th C (Feudal Aids 1284-1431) and 16th C ones number only 4, all of whom were from the Hertfordshire group or related. The Dunton clan only emerged in the late 16th C with Edward, the younger son of a Hertfordshire cadet line.

i. Edward 1547

Date/source	Latin	English translation
1547 BRO C1645	shoulder: present' preceptum est distringere Iuratores presentant quod Johannes Everard senior ingressus est in feodum domini videlicet in quinque acras terre arrabilis diuisim iacentes in campis de Byfootte pro redditu vj d per annum Ideo preceptum est ballio distringere eundem Iohannem ad essendum ad proximam Curiam Et ad soluendum et faciendum quietum tam pro Edwardo Broket quam pro seipso Et omnia alia onera et seruicia inde debitur et de iure consueta &c	Presentment. It is ordered to distrain The jurors present that John Everard senior has entered into the fee of the lord in 5 acres of arable land lying diversely in the fields of Byfootte for a rent of 6d p a. The bailiff is therefore ordered to distrain the same John to be at the next Court and to pay and make quit both for Edward Broket and for himself and [to do] all other charges and services he is thereafter due [as anyone doing suit to that manor] and

This was one of many presentments by jurors for moneys due in the Luton area. The Lord was a certain George Ackeworth Esq. John Everard had become a freeholder in the manor of 5 acres of arable land in open field. He was perhaps a tenant of Edward Broket, or purchasor from him. The rent was 6 p.a., and the bailiff was ordered to insure that John come to the next court to come quit.

Quit-rents were fees on freeholders (or copyholders) on payment of which they would go 'free'; otherwise they would (or could) be distrained (i.e. have their goods seized). In this case, Edward Broket, as sublessee or transferor, could also be liable if John didn't pay. Edward being a surety could not have been a bondsman. It is most likely that this was Edward of Letchworth.

ii. Sir John II ?1575-98

?1575: Acquired the Manors of Luton Hoo and East Hide—part of Luton Manor (VCH Bedfordshire vol 2 pp 355, 7).

1594: Sir John Brockett of Wheathampstead, an absentee landholder from Hertfordshire paid £4 for £40 in land in Tyllesworth in Manshedd hundred in 1594 (c 7 m W of Luton), but had sold it by 1597 (E 179/72/214, E 179/72/223, E 179/72/227).

1598: In his will written 7 Aug 1598 ll 206-8 he mentioned property in neighbouring Stanbridge c 8 m W of Luton: 'I geve and bequeath vnto Nicholas Cooke my Servaunte his heires and assignes for ever All my messuages landes Tenements and hereditamentes lyinge and beinge in Stanbridge within the Countie of Bedforde'.

iii. Edmund Vicar of Luton c 1565-1652

Son of William of Esyndon Gent, Vicar of Luton for c 22 years 1595-1617, when he moved back to Herts to become Rector of Graveley.

iv. Edward bur Dunton 2 June 1598

Second son of William II of Hitchin. The Hitchin registers began in June 1562 and Edward's christening in November that year was one of the first entries: 'the 28 daye was the sonne of Willm Broket named Edward Broket.'

He married Parnell TANNER by 1584 (her father's will) and had moved by 1586 to Campton, Bedfordshire, where 3 of their 4 children were baptised. In the Campton registers Edward is recorded as Edward Brocket/Brockette of Campton. Less than 10 years later they moved to Dunton and Millow, where their descendants were yeoman farmers for the next 77 years or more. Children:

1. Elizabeth bap 17 July 1586 Campton; married Thomas HUGGINS, Melbourn, Cambridgeshire 22 Oct 1601 (IGI). Children mentioned in Parnell's will.
2. Edward
3. John
4. Robert.

There were 13 payers of the 1597 subsidy in Dunton (PRO E179/243/2): 1 was styled a Gentleman, 1 a Yeoman, 9 Husbandmen, 1 a Fuller and 1 a Weaver. Edward was one of the Husbandmen, paying 16d on 20s of goods.

Despite this, losing his father at the age of 1 and his grandfather's loss of inheritance, Edward was a relatively wealthy yeoman at his death a year later in 1598—the first Broket burial in Dunton. Although only 36 years old, he left legacies of £300 and 80 shillings over and above any property which he would have dealt with separately, e.g. to his eldest son Edward, who was only 9 at the time but not mentioned in the will: