1. ROBERT
Much of the information on the Wingfield family comes from the wonderful research done by the Wingfield Family Association available at http://www.wingfield.org .
Robertus de Campo Venti was the first lord of Wingfield Castle. In 1087 Wingfield manor held 240 acres of land. He witnessed a deed of the Nedhams during the reign of King Henry I (1100-1135).
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m. JOAN FALSTAFF- d. of John Falstaff
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m. ALICE de WEYLAND- d. of Nicholas de Weyland
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b.c.1279
m. ANNE PEACHE- d. of John Peache/Peche
John was lord of Wingfield and Dennington. William de Brews of Stowlangtoft, Suffolk went on an expedition with King Edward I and he nominated John Wingfield and Richard de Brews to be his attorneys until Christmas.
Wingfield Castle- built c.1300
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b.c. 1305
m. ELIZABETH HONEYPOT- d. and heiress of John Honypot of Wingfield
d.c.1327
Tomb of Sir John Wingfield III, d. 1361- St. Andrew's Church, Wingfield, Suffolk
Sir John held lands in Nettons, Yorkshire, Crondall, Hampshire, Maidestone, Norfolk and Wingfield, Hurts Hall, and Saxlingham, Suffolk.
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b.c.1328
m. MARGARET BOVILLE (m.2. Sir Michael de la Pole)- d. of William Boville
will 17 July 1378
By his marriage to Margaret, heiress of Letheringham, he obtained the lands of Letheringham, Suffolk.
In his will Sir Thomas directed that he be buried in the priory church and that �46. 13s. 4d be spent on his funeral! He also bequested 12 silver spoons and 6 plates, incribed with the coat of arms of Brews on condition that they should not be sold out of the family.
In Norwich Cathedral is a misericord that was carved in 1415 and is supposedly of Sir Thomas and Lady Margaret as their arms are carved into the seat.
Misericord- Norwich Cathedral
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b.c.1345
m. MARGARET HASTINGS (m.2. Sir John Russell, d. 1396)
d. after 1389, bur. Letheringham church
John was a member of Parliament from Suffolk in 1383 during the reign of King Richard II and was knighted in 1389.. He held the manors of Letheringham, Potsford and Laxfield in Suffolk.
Sir John's monumental brass survived the destruction of such objects in the 16th and 17th centuries. D.E. Davy states:
"This brass, having been for nearly thirty years in the possession of the late Rev. Richard Turner of Yarmouth, has since his death, through the means of Mr. Dawson Turner and the Marquess of Northampton, been restored to the church, and is now fastened against the south wall, though the stone still remains from whence it was removed.
This church was formerly very rich in brasses, but they have all been lost except the above : this was in consequence of the chancel being allowed to become dilapidated, when idle people tore them from their places, and carried them away."(1)
In 1966 another brass, of Sir John's great-grandson Sir Thomas, was returned to the church as was a shield from Sir John's brass.
The church was in a sad state of repair by the late 18th century and the church fathers demolished the chancel to finance the restoration of the rest of the structure with the result that the chancel and its monuments were crushed and carried away. As a result the tombs of Sir Robert Wingfield, Elizabeth Goushel, Sir John Wingfield and Elizabeth FitzLewis and Sir Anthony Wingfield were destroyed and ten to twenty Wingfield brasses disappeared.
In 1744 Honest Tom Martin, the Suffolk historian, stated: "the tombs and monuments found in this fabric... I have neither seen nor read of any such place (except Westminster Abbey) so fully adorned with such noble remains of antiquity as are met here".(1)
Ruins of St. Mary's Church- Letheringham
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(1) "A Summary Catalogue of Sepulchral Memorials and Remains of Ancient Art Existing in Parish Churches: County of Suffolk"- D.E. Davy, in "The Topographer and Genealogist"- Vol. II, pp. 500-501 (1853) at: http://www.mbs-brasses.co.uk/page148baaaaaaa.html
At his death Robert held the manors of Letheringham, Iken, Thorp, Colston, Westhall, Shelton, Laxfield and Sutton.
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10I. Sir ROBERT (ROBERT 1, JOHN 2, ROBERT 2, THOMAS 4, JOHN 5, JOHN 6, THOMAS 7, JOHN 8, ROBERT 9)
m. ELIZABETH GOUSHILL (b.c.1404)Robert was knighted by King Henry VI on 19 May 1426 and until 1436 was Knight of the Shire for Suffolk. On 28 Nov. 1436 Robert was made Steward of the Honour of Richmond in Norfolk.
In 1443 Sir Robert was made steward to John de Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk and went with him to France to the court of King Charles VII.
In 1447 Robert was accused of rioting and was thrown in Marshalsea prison, however, he was pardoned and released the following year and by 1449 was made Knight of the Shire for Hertfordshire.
Under the reign of Henry VI he was made a member of Parliament, however, in 1450 he was called in Parliament one of the king's "evil advisors". He did receive a Royal Commission in 1451.
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Ref:
"The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant"- George Cokayne, Ed., Alan Sutton Pub., Gloucester, 2000- Vol. II, p. 16