Earliest Records: 14th Century

Walter, Philip and Alexander Broget were 3 of the 38 taxpayers in Brumpton Salden 1301 (Brompton and Sawdon) in the wapentake and forest of Pickering, 20-5 miles NE of York (YASRS 1897 vol 21 pp 59-60).

• Three paid a lord of the manor rate: 15-18s. Two of these were William and Isabella de Vescy. Isabella (d 1334) was a Bolton Percy landowner (M J Harrison 2000 pp 7-10, 273). The Brokets here were probably in her or William's retinue.
• The next highest was Walter, paying 7s 3d—a substantial tax. The tax was a fifteenth on movables, so it could be said that Walter's goods were worth something like £5 6s 9d.
• Then there was 1 who paid in the 6-7 shilling bracket, 2 in the 5-6 and 1 in the 4-5.
• Eight paid 3-4 shillings.
• Philip—2s 6d—and Alexander—2s 1d farthing—were 2 of the 14 in the 2-3 shilling bracket.
• The 8 remaining paid 9-23d.

The 2-3s bracket could be called middling peasants; not rich but not poor. They were established in the village with their own families. Thus the youngest of the 3 Brokets would have been born 1276 at the latest. 57 years later Alexander Broket of the Forest of Pickering was fined 6d for not appearing at the eyre 1334 (Turton 1897 p 25). This may have been the same Alexander, but more likely a namesake of the next generation.

It looks as though Walter was the father, or at least from the previous generation; born in the 1250s perhaps. The Bolton Percy connection means that Walter's father was a Broket too, born by the 1230s and thus a contemporary of John of Newton Kyme. There being two Brokets in the same area means there had been one or more in the generation preceding, born by 1210—the earliest known Yorkshire Broket.

Most North Riding returns are preserved for this 1301 subsidy, but all West Riding ones are lost and the only East Riding ones are for the wapentake east of Bolton Percy. Its 1301 Brokets are therefore lost. 1301 returns for most of York City are preserved but no Brokets are recorded. The 1297 subsidy for Yorkshire is only patchily preserved and no Brokets were in those particular areas (YASRS 1894 vol 16).

Deeds transferring property in Bolton Percy parish witnessed by Thomas survive from c 1303 to the 1320s. He would have been born by 1280, so too old to have been the Thomas recorded in 1387. He would have died well before 1379—no Thomas was recorded in Steeton for the poll tax that year. Perhaps he was the father of John b c 1310. Being signatories to deeds at this time indicated at least a parish-gentry status. Thomas, and John after him, were significant members of the local rural community. The Elizabethan Brokets considered Steton as their ancestral origin.

The first deed was undated, but William de Hornington was living in Hornington at least 1303-15 (M J Harrison 2000 p 273; Brown 1913 p 82) and Symon de Wakefield at least 1311 (M J Harrison 2000 p 273).

William Broket is recorded in tax lists 1315-1342 for the parish of Kempston, a couple of miles SW of Bedford, and so was born by 1294. He may have been the father of Ralph.

In 1342 Ralph Broket was eligible to pay tax on wool in Kempston, Bedfordshire, like William.

Edward III corresponded with this Castilian knight to use his influence in the negotiations for the marriage of his daughter Joan to Alfonso XI king of Leon and Castile's eldest son Pedro—later dubbed Pedro the Cruel.

Castilian naval power had been growing and the English were looking for a Castilian alliance in their prolonged conflict with France, known today as the Hundred Years War. John Alfonso del Broket Knight must have had influence at the Castilian court because recent diplomatic visits had informed Edward well of the identity of the persons whose support was required to further the alliance (Russell 1955 p 8).

In addition to sending envoys, King Edward copied the letters to John Alfonso del Broket Knight and to:

• the Queen of Castile
• Master John Stephani Chancellor of the king of Castile
• Ferand Zanccii de Valladolid Knight
• John Martyn de Lene Knight
• Alkar' master of the Jennets—the Cavalry—of the king of Castile.

As it turned out, the question of the bride's dowry prolonged the negotiations and Joan did not start her journey to Castile until 1348. The delay proved fatal to the English as it did to Joan who died of the plague on the way (Estow 1995 p 11).

Following are 3 examples of the letters; the third showing that John Alfonso had been communicating with Edward III:

John Alfonso del Broket's name shows his English ancestry:

1. The Broket element does not approximate to any Spanish or Gascon word. There is/was no similar place name in Castile or Gascony, and an indigenous surname Broket has not been found in Spain or Gascony. There was no name approximating to Broket in the list of knights at Alfonso XI's coronation (Rosell 1919 p 235-7), nor with respect to his chivalric initiative in 1332 (Linehan 2002 item VII), nor in the index of earlier names (del Rivero 1942). The Royal Archives of Castile were destroyed in the 14th C, so there is no compendium or edition of the letters of Alfonso XI; those in the Archivo Historico Nacional, Seccion de Clero, were edited by E Gonzalez Crespo (Madrid 1985), but have no Broket entry (information from Dr P Linehan 2003). It was coincidence that John de Brocas was one of Edward III's senior diplomats in these negotiations with Alfonso XI (Chaplais 2003 p 183). The Brocas family is well attested in subsequent Gascon and Guyenne history (e.g. O'Gilvy 1856 vol 2 pp 54-68) but that the Brokets originated in Gascony (H Andrews 1927 p 401) was speculation and does not fit with the existence of earlier English records. O'Gilvy recorded no Broket.
2. 'del' is further evidence of the name's foreignness. The usual locative surname was de + the place, like de Vailhedolit 'of Valladolid'. The added definite article in del would have been a means of indicating a foreign name.
3. The Alfonso element is a Spanish patronymic—John's father's first name was Alfonso. To have borne a Spanish first name, his father must have had a Spanish parent, in this case mother.
   John's paternal grandfather, a Broket, had married a Castilian woman. It is likely that Alfonso also married a Spanish wife.

All this points to the fact that John was a 2nd generation immigrant. 60 years earlier in 1282 Baron John de Vescy (d 1289) of Northumberland and Yorkshire had been sent to Aragon to negotiate a marriage between Edward I's daughter Eleanor and Alfonso X (DNB vol 20 pp 287). Perhaps a Broket in his retinue went with him and within a couple of generations one of his line held sufficient land to become minor Spanish gentry. This may have been later than 1332.

John's English ancestry maybe made him suitable as a go-between in Edward III's negotiations.

Four deeds have survived concerning transfers of property in Steeton and neighbouring Colton, which John witnessed (TH DLT/1942 10c, 11c, e & f). The other names are familiar as local landholders, placing John in their social rank. He would have been prominent in the local community c 1340-60, born perhaps c 1310. Was he the son of Thomas? Not a taxpayer in Steeton in 1379, he had presumably died by then.

Philip borrowed £20 and below is his bond to repay. It was recorded on the back (endorsed) of the following year's Close Roll, 1356. Sible Hedingham is a small Essex village about 34 miles north of Tilbury down at the mouth of the Thames, where his creditors were.

Philip had some possessions in mainland Europe, but all his property was only worth a little more than £20. The Calendar translation in l.3 has: 'to advance his business' but this does not necessarily mean trade (Calendar of Close Rolls 1354-60 p 321).

To borrow like this Philip would have been at least in his mid to late 20s, born by 1330—maybe much earlier. No Brokets were recorded as taxpayers in Essex in 1327 (Ward 1983 and 1991), so Philip's father may not have come from there. The 1340s were probably too late for Philip to have received his name as a nickname.

Nicholas was long lived—born c 1324 and still able in 1399. Nicholas lived through the ravages of the Black Death 1348-50, 61-2 and 75, and would have been prominent in his local parish of Bolton Percy for half a century. The following records have survived:

i. 1361-2 & 1391. As a witness to 4 deeds concerning transfers of property in Colton, next to Steeton. The other names are familiar as local landholders, placing Nicholas in their social rank.

ii. 1379 poll tax. As the Brewer (brasiator) in the township Nicholas paid the relatively high tax of 12d. Of the 30 Steeton taxpayers, only he and the firmarius, William Cerf, paid more than the standard labourer's rate of 4d. He and his wife employed a servant. Any children would have been more than likely already set up on their own. 'He would be supplying malt and possibly brewing for an inn which would provide rest and refreshment for travellers along the king's highway' (M J Harrison 2000 p 257).

iii. 1382. At the inquisition into the proof of age of Margaret Chaumont at Bolton Percy, Nicholas, aged 58 or more, recalled making a sheepfold of eight posts in his tenement in Bolton Persey on 11 Oct 1368 (Cal Inq 15 p 352). This suggests a birth date of c 1324.

iv. 1399. The last known record of Nicholas is from August 1399, when he and Thomas Broket, joint executors of the will of John Somurby, Priest, took an oath to prepare an inventory of his goods and render account to the Archbishop (Swanson 1985 p 25). Nicholas was c 75 years old and Thomas probably in his late 20s. Given that Nicholas was still working in 1379, it's unlikely that the 1391 and 99 records refer to a son of Nicholas, called Nicholas. It is possible that Nicholas was a brother of the earlier Thomas, and/or Robert and Richard. Perhaps he was the son of Thomas of the generation before. The Brokets of York and the Ainsty were very few in number.

This poll tax and graduated income tax was levied to finance Richard II's war with France. 13 Brokets in 9 households were recorded for the Yorkshire West Riding (YATARS 1882 vol 6 p 337 & vol 7 pp 10, 157, 176-7). There were 3 parishes with 2 Broket households and 2 parishes with 1, all within a day's ride of each other. People were mobile in these times, humble no less than rich (Raftis 1964 pp 167, 208).

Other than the two in the parish of Bolton Percy, Brokets were in Walton about 7 miles up river, in Westfolyfayt (Follifoot) a similar distance again, in Scriven about 4 miles north of Follifoot, and then over in Settle some 58 miles to the west of York in the Pennines. Both Follifoot and Scriven were in Percy Knaresborough lands (Pollard 1990 p 126-7). Settle too?

The 3 single women were probably widows; it was very unusual for a spinster to live on her own at that time:

• Cecilia could have been a recent widow with an under-16 family still living with her, or she could have been an older one living on her own. If she had been in service to another family, she would have been recorded as such. She would have to have been a recent widow to be the mother of Thomas Broket who became Lord of Southwood in 1393, but widows paid the rate of their former husbands and Cecilia's was the lowest rate. Already well-off villagers were those who benefitted from the new opportunities after the Black Death (Razi 1986 pp 147-8). She couldn't have been his mother. If she was an older widow she probably wasn't the mother of Nicholas either, who himself was already about 55.
• Agnes may have been William's mother.
• Ellen was taxed at the trader's rate of 6d. It could have been inherited from her husband.

Several other records of Nicholas survive and William of Walton was probably the William who fell from his horse and broke his leg in 1368. His son William would have been born before 1363. The Settle family had, or had had, a manservant: Adam Brocketman (Reaney 1995 p xlvi). Nothing more is known of the Scriven or Settle families before they died out or left.

The second recorded Broket in Essex after Phlip in 1355, John was joint surety for the subsidy on the sale of cloth in Essex and Hertfordshire:

Tendring is about 8 miles E of Colchester and 8 SW of Harwich. The covenants referred to are described on p 93 of the Calendar. This is one of a similar set of leases to many other counties.

At the inquisition into the proof of age of Margaret Chaumont at Bolton Percy on 12 Oct 1382, William Broket, aged 52, recalled falling from his horse and breaking his leg on 11 Oct 1368 (Cal Inq 15 p 352). He was therefore born c 1330 and most probably the William recorded in the 1379 poll tax for Walton, about 7 miles from Bolton Percy. There was no other suitable William tax payer in 1379.

Thomas stood joint surety in Westminster for orders to suspend proceedings. Seven years later in 1394 there is a similar record:

From c 1399 there are frequent records from Westminster of the Thomas Broket who had married Dionesia Sampson by 1393. The 1394 record here may have been of him, but the 1387 one was too early:

• Standing surety required being present at the court and having sound financial assets.
• Thomas of 1387 already had contacts on a national level.
• Thomas therefore visited Westminster and had a certain financial base in Yorkshire.
• A birth date after 1360 for this Thomas would be difficult. So too would a birth date before 1370 for the Thomas who married Dionisia and who was working in Westminster up till his death in 1435.
• It is difficult to think of this Thomas as Thomas of Steeton, local landholder and already adult 1320-1335. More likely, he was his son.

Perhaps Thomas had moved from the Ainsty to the City. No Thomas Broket paid the 1379 poll tax in the Ainsty. So, unless he evaded paying, this Thomas was not then living in the Ainsty. That this Thomas was dubbed 'of Yorkshire' doesn't in the contexts mean he wasn't of the City.

To marry a son to the heiress of a manor near York, the father would have had financial assets and connections at county level at least. Of all known candidates, this Thomas is the most likely father of Thomas who married Dionesia:

1. This Thomas stood surety at Westminster alongside national partners. The younger Thomas worked early as an Attorney in Westminster.
2. This Thomas may have had some legal education in order to act as mainpernor at Westminster. The younger Thomas had a good education—as well as being an Attorney he would have been in minor orders. The text of his appointment as Remembrancer shows that he was a 'suitable clerk'.
3. Nicholas, although relatively well off as the local brewer, was too old to be the younger Thomas' father. Certainly they were working together in 1399, but Nicholas was by then c 75 years old and Thomas probably only in his late 20s.
4. Nor was Cecilia a possible mother of the younger Thomas.
5. It was usual to give an heir the father's name.
6. The only record of the father of Thomas who married Dionesia—Glover's Pedigree of the mid 16th C—indeed gave him as Thomas Broket, married to Elizabeth Rider. So late a source as Glover should be treated with caution, but if it tallies with other evidence it shouldn't be ignored. In fact, on the one hand it did not dub Thomas 'of Steeton' as it did the others before him, and on the other the Riders or Rythers were an Ainsty family.
7. If the trend was for wealthy York men to acquire land and property outside the City, then while the wealth of this Thomas was insufficient to generate many records in York, his exisiting local connections could have compensated (M J Harrison 2000 p 257; cf Palliser 1979 p 99).

Like Thomas Broket of Yorkshire in 1387, Robert stood joint surety down in Westminster for orders to suspend proceedings. They were probably brothers.

The following year, 1390/1, he gained the freedom of the City of York as a Draper (Register of the Freeman 1897 p 90). Drapers, dealers in cloth, were a powerful group in the city. The Tailors were the largest clothing craft and the second largest of all crafts. The Drapers were much fewer in number but far more influential (Palliser 1979 pp 151, 163). In 1394-5 he paid ulnage on 2.5 cloths (Kermode App 4 'Merchant Biographies').

His will, proved 1429 (York Minster Library M2/6e f 27r), refers to him as a merchant and shows his strong connection to St Leonards Hospital. Robert mentioned no wife or children in his will, but this does not mean that he had none. Robert junior, also a Draper and a freeman of York, was most probably his son, and he may have had others.

The Black Death hit the city 5 times between 1349 and 1378 and Robert would have witnessed its horrors (VCH City of York p 85).

Sir John Fairfax, Rector of Prestcote, bequeathed 20s to Sir Richard Broket: 'lego domino Ricardo Broket capellano xxs' (J Raine et al 1836- vol 1 p 189). 'Dominus' meaning 'Sir' or 'Lord' was the honorific title of an ordained priest. On 21 April 1405 Richard Broket Priest was instituted as Vicar of Rillington, c 20 miles NE of York (Swanson 1981 p 69). It is possible that Richard was a brother of Thomas, and/or Robert and possibly Nicholas.

Thomas became Lord of Southwood manor in Appleton near York through the right of his wife, Dionisia Sampson, whom he had married by 1393. He may well have been the son of Thomas above and was recorded working with Nicholas in 1399.