​Lately, I have been reading an interesting book by Ian Mortimer, "Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England." For those of us hooked on medieval history it is a delight! He walks through various aspects of medieval life, anything from food, travel, customs, and more. Reading through this, you will find a whole new glossary of words that you have never heard. For instance, do you know what a gongfermor's job was? It is actually detailed on google. Have a look. I might post more interesting medieval words here in the future.

It is official, Anastasia was not the daughter of Roger.  In fact, during that time frame there was no Roger Newburgh.  Anastasia was the daughter of John Newburgh Esq. of East Lulworth who died in 1483/4.  I have confirmed that historians have once again published inaccurate information.  How?  I have a copy of the Esquire's will and it in fact speaks of Anastasia Frampton John Newburgh's daughter.  So here is one more for the books that needs to be  corrected.

https://archive.org/details/visitationofdors00harvuoft/visitationofdors00harvuoft/page/54/mode/2up

On page 15 Sir Roger Newborough of East Lulworth was cited as the father of Anastasia. However, I cannot tell what year this occurred!  

John Newburgh Esq. had a daughter named Anastasia whom it is well known married into the Frampton family. There were two Sir Roger's who were his grandsons.  The one who inherited Lulworth died in 1514 with only one daughter who married Sir John Marney. The other is this new entry into the Newburgh orbit.

The mystery continues.

While perusing a book titled Armorial Families, by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies, I ran across an interesting article about quartering of arms. In those arms I found the Earls of Warwick and the Maudit family. In speaking to my colleague Stephen Slater, he recommended that I visit this web site.  

http://www.tim.ukpub.net/Heraldry/quarters/64_qtrs_1927/64_quarters.html

​While not directly related to this group, there are several mentions of Newburgh associations via the Earls of Warwick.  It will give you an idea of the vastness of genealogy and provide information about the individuals mentioned that you would otherwise have to request (and pay for) of the College of Arms.  Enjoy!

Did you know the Carent family members were shirttail relations to the Stourtons and Tudors.   Alice Carent’s mother, Margaret was daughter of William Stourton, Esq. and Elizabeth Moigne. Her grandfather Sir John Stourton who married Katherine Beaumont. (The Beaumont's were blood relations to the Newburghs.) William’s half-sister Edith Stourton married Sir John Beauchamp. (The Beauchamps were a cadet line to the later Earls of Warwick. Henry Newburgh/deNovoBurgo was the first Norman Earl of Warwick.) Their daughter Margaret married John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset.  Their daughter was Lady Margaret Beaufort, first wife of Edmund Tudor, mother of King Henry VII and grandmother of Henry VIII.

I was astounded when I learned the above information, because the "genealogists" peg the Newburghs as being merely merchants in the 15th century. Where that notion came from is a mystery.  My friend Stephen provided more information in the next comment.

​Today’s post is about the difficulty of acquiring information. As I stated recently, I have located information that might be helpful in identifying the 15th century migration of the Newburghs from Dorset to what was then western Dorset - but is now part of Devon.

In an article published in 1903 in Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries, a significant list of names was written into a record known as the Roy Roll. In the article, the Roll was said to have been archived at the British Museum. At some time during the 20th century the roll was moved to the British Library where it remains today. One would think it would be an easy task to find a person to examine the roll. What follows is the difficulty I have encountered in getting the desired information.

First, the British Library experienced a cyber-attack in October of 2023, rendering the online catalogue inoperable. So instead of trying to work through the catalogue, I contacted the library staff directly and was able to get information from a librarian who generously pulled the roll and photographed it for me. I was so excited, thinking that it would be just a few short days or weeks and we would have the information needed to continue research.

NOT SO FAST. . .
At first, I was told that I would need to have someone local in London go to the library and search through this monumental scroll. Just looking at the photo one can see that it is a fragile 15th century parchment that would require special handling. Finding someone of that caliber is difficult. Not to mention the size of the roll would require someone with unlimited time, plus command of medieval Latin.

So . . . I asked if there was a digital copy available - which I discovered there is. However, it is not available to the reading room public! Why? Good question. However, when the digitization department returns to normal operations, a copy of a microfilm (previously available) can be purchased for £18. No problem . . . but the duplication and digitization department is not expected to be back in service any sooner than July or August, if it fact it is functional even then.

So . . . I asked if there was any other archive in England that might have a copy. I discovered that there is – but stringent restrictions apply there as well with regard to the microfilm, which cannot be copied and may not be used for anything other than personal research. However, once again there is a waiting period of up to eight weeks or longer as an independent researcher must be contracted to search the film.

So I am back to square one waiting for the digitization department at the British Library to get back in operation, when I will try and buy a copy of the film and read it myself.

In the last newsletter I wrote that Sir Roger of Devon's location had not been found.    Olive Moger documented a John Newbrugh's existence in 1499 in an area adjacent to Exeter called All Hallows. Is it possible that Sir Roger was following his uncle or father into Devon? The history surrounding that area is interesting. 

​I am working on getting the Devon Archives to send more information about him. Onward!

I have been in contact with the British Library in London in search of the Roy Roll which ultimately may reveal the names of some of the Devon people who were supporting Perkin Warbeck.  As you may remember the Devon records can be somewhat scant in the late 15th century.  In the last newsletter I mentioned that there were 130 Devonians who were mentioned in the scroll.  They were fined for participating in the rebellion.  This included the abbeys and their abbots.

Unfortunately, the British Library suffered a cyber attack back in October 2023 and they have not fully recovered.  One librarian took pity on me and was able to send me a photo of the scroll, which he brought out of storage.  

This is the original document!  However, I need to find someone who can physically go to the library and search the scroll for relevant information.  One bright spot is that it has been placed on microfilm and can be duplicated once the library has its technology restored.  At the moment, they seem to be in a world of hurt  and unable to fulfil the simplest requests for documents. Consequently, it may be some time before we can solve our Devon/Dorset mystery.

Today, I was surprised to find an interesting research paper that involved the Newburghs and many of the collateral families who inhabited Dorset, Somerset, Wilts etc.  This paper gives an interesting account of the history of the family who were involved with the Yorkists.

HOWEVER, the gentleman who wrote the paper was slim on details about the various John Newburghs who were part of this family history.  He did not cite original wills or IPM documents, and took his information from previous books that only guessed at the family tree. 

It doesn't appear that he had gone to the lengths of detailing each member named John, and he was unaware of the fact that there was more than one Roger. He also did not have wives and children appropriately named. Again, another historian has left out the Attemore's and mixed up the children.  So the political history is probably the only accurate information this scholar may have chronicled correctly.   

None-the-less as far as it can be determined after six centuries, he may have nailed down a little more information about the family's political affiliations.  The Beaufort affinity was Lancastrian, but the author mentions only the Stourton affinity.

You can download the paper here.  It was written as a MA dissertation by Robert Stansfield in 2002 at the University of Lancaster.

https://www.academia.edu/40924213/Political_Society_in_Yorkist_England_Somerset_and_Dorset_1461_91