The Brownhill Family of Bedfordshire.

The earliest entry for the Brownhill Family of Bedfordshire is the baptism of  Walter, son of Richard Brownhill, on the 18th. August 1562 at Cople. As with the Brownhills of Norton, it is evident from the absence of adult burials in the registers of Cople and its neighbouring parishes that the Brownhills were not natives of Bedfordshire but had in fact come from somewhere else. The question is: where?

At the time of Walter's baptism  in 1562 the Brownhill family name could be found only in Edinburgh, Cheshire, Yorkshire, Derby/Coventry and London. Therefore, logically Richard Brownhill must have come from one of these places. Insufficient is known about the Edinburgh Brownhills of this date to form a judgement and although Brownhills lived in London they were clearly visitors, not natives, and thus were members of the established families mentioned before. This leaves us with Cheshire, Yorkshire or Derby/Coventry. Nothing has so far been found in the records of Cheshire to indicate a connexion (Gawsworth excepted) so we are left with Yorkshire or Derby/Coventry. Taking Yorkshire to mean  the exclusion of Norton, Derbyshire, then again nothing has so far been found in the records to suggest a connexion. But with Norton the story is different.

The clue to the origin of this family could lie in the name of Richard itself.  An examination of the available evidence shows a dearth of Richards before 1600, although the name clearly existed in the Brownhill families. However, on the 2nd May 1569 at Sheffield Richard Brownell witnessed a Deed of Bargain and Sale between John Parker of Sheffield and London Merchants. This Richard was clearly an adult and, therefore, would have been contemporary with the Richard who lived at Cople in Bedfordshire; in fact he could have been the same Richard. Cople is ideally situated as a stopping point between Sheffield and London and the Deed was between John Parker of Sheffield and London merchants. Therefore, it is not unreasonable to assume that Richard was an agent of the Brownhill/Parker families, accustomed to travelling between Sheffield and London, not to mention other Brownhill/Parker strongholds.

If the Parker family concerned was the same family into which Robert Brownhill of Norton had married then it is quite possible that Richard and Robert were brothers. In support if this it should be noted that Richard Brownhill had a son Oliver who, in turn, had twin sons, Richard and George, born to him at Old Warden, next to Cople, and baptised on the 1st. October 1598. In the neighbouring parish of Blunham lived John Brownhill and his family, but they also were clearly not from Bedfordshire. John's sons were named Edmund and Robert. The only other Edmund who has so far been found among the Brownhills of that period was Edmund Brownhill, clothier and mayor of Coventry in 1565! The name  'Walter' is also uncommon among the Brownhills but was the name given by Richard of Cople to his earliest known son, the only reference so far found for the period 1537 to 1668, a period of  131 years! Yet, as is noted elsewhere, it is recorded in the records of Coventry during the period 1340 to 1450, but so far no where else; not definitive evidence of a connexion but good secondary evidence when taken together with other factors.

Bearing in mind  that there were in fact only a handful of Brownhills living at that time, probably no more than a hundred, of all age groups and of whom half would have been women, it is not inconceivable that Edmund was a family name, passed on by John, and, if this is so, it links Bedfordshire with Coventry. In like manner the name Walter could also have been a family name passed on by Richard and, again if so, consolidates this link.  The presence of twins in the Cople family strengthens the connexion between Coventry(Gawsworth), Derby, Norton and Bedfordshire, and, therefore, although at present it is pure speculation on my part,  I suspect that  Robert of Norton, Richard of Cople, William of Gawsworth, and John of Blunham were brothers and that they were either the brothers or, more likely, the sons, or otherwise kinsmen, of Edmund of Coventry.

As previously mentioned,  we know that Brownhills either lived in or were associated with Coventry between 1340 and 1450 and that Edmund Brownhill was mayor in 1565, but the records do not reveal Brownhills in Coventry after this time in this particular period. Either the Brownhills died out or dispersed to other places. In all probability the family consisted of a single line descent until the early sixteenth century  and then blossomed into a number of branches which moved elsewhere. Certainly this is true of the Gawsworth Brownhills, as is evidenced by the tradition in that family.

Edmund Brownhill was mayor of Coventry in 1565. To have achieved this honour he was doubtless a mature, older, man, probably aged between 45 and 55 or more. Assuming a mean age of 50 he would have been born about  1515, or earlier. At that time the earliest age at which a man could legally marry was fourteen years and most men were wedded by the age of thirty years. Consequently, until positive evidence is found, it is reasonable to assume a mean age of twenty-two years at the time of the first marriage; this means that Edmund probably married about 1537, or earlier!

Robert of Norton's known children were born between  c1559  and 1577, a period of eighteen years; this means that he was relatively young when he married and was probably born about 1537. Richard of Cople's children were born between 1562 and 1590, taking in three marriages, over a period of  twenty-eight years; this would place his birth about 1540. William of Gawsworth clearly married late, as is evidenced by the records of Oxford University, but he obtained his B.A. in 1576; at this time he would have been in his early twenties, so would have been born  about 1554. John of Blunham was married in 1576 and his last known child was born in 1589. This would place his birth in the late 1540's or early 1550's. Although at this stage this is pure speculation it is quite possible that Edmund Brownhill of Coventry was the father of Robert of Norton, Richard of Cople, William of Gawsworth, John of Blunham, and possibly a few daughters as well!

Thus, in my view, the Brownhill Family of Bedfordshire is almost certainly a cadet line of the  Coventry Brownhills.

Another unusual feature about this family is the use of the name 'Simon', so far found only twice in the records of the Brownhills prior to the twentieth century, and only twice in this century. One of the present Simons is a direct descendant of Simon Brownhill of Southill through his son Robert and is himself the son of a Robert. This Simon is the father of twins; his ancestor Simon was the uncle of twins; no other twins have yet been found in the Bedfordshire family in the intervening period of over three centuries!

The following family tree was first compiled by me in the 1960s and was updated in the 1980s. Therefore, it appears in its 1980s form with a few amendments. As I have received additional information since then I am now carrying out a comprehensive review and update, which will replace this one in due course. If anyone reading it spots errors or can add further information I will be pleased to hear from you.

The Bedfordshire Family Tree.