My Great Grandmother Sarah Wakelin was born in 1838 in Aston, Birmingham the fourth daughter of Thomas Wakelin of Lichfield and his wife Sarah Hughes of Tamworth in Staffordshire. Her father Thomas was descended from a very old Staffordshire Catholic family the HEVENINGHAMS. Thomas's mother was ARABELLA HEVENINGHAM of the City of Lichfield and his father was THOMAS WAKELIN, a tailor and breeches maker of Boar St.,Lichfield.

The Heveningham family first rose to prominance in the early 14th century when they held lands in Essex and Suffolk. According to Dutt's Suffolk, the manor of Heveningham was granted to Sir Philip de Heveningham in 1271. It was Maud Jarpenville, sole daughter and heiress of Roger de Jarpenville, who brought to her husband Sir Philip de Hevenyngham the manor of Totham and diverse lands in ye towne of Goldhanger in the County of Essex. This Sir Philip died about the year 1336. Their descendants continued to live in the village of Heveningham in Suffolk and later in Ketteringham in Norfolk when Thomas Heveningham and his wife Anne Yarde inherited the Ketteringham estates of Sir Henry Grey late in the 15th century. Sir Henry Grey was Anne Yarde's step-father.

Erasmus Heveningham (b. abt 1515 d. 1560) was the founder of the Staffordshire branch of the Heveningham family and was the fifth son of Sir John Heveningham of Heveningham and Ketteringham and his wife Alice Shelton daughter of Sir Ralph Shelton. Erasmus made a good marriage with the heiress, Mary Moyle, whose father had estates in Kent, and whose mother was Isabella Stanley of the House of Derby. Through her mother, Mary had claims on land in Staffordshire which had once belonged to the Arderne family, and had come into the possession of Sir Humphrey Stanley. The Manor of Pipe (near Lichfield) was one of these possessions which came into the Heveningham family through Erasmus's marriage to Mary Moyle. The Manor of Pipe was inherited by Mary from her grandfather Sir John Stanley of Pipe. It was originally bought into the de Stafford and Stanley families by Margaret Basset, daugter of Sir Ralph Basset of Drayton and wife of Sir Richard de Stafford. The Manor of Aston devolved unto Mary Moyle through the Stanley family. It had been bought into the family by Dame Ellen Leigh, daughter of Sir James Leigh and wife of Sir Humphrey Stanley.

Erasmus Heveningham's 3 x great grandson, Christopher Heveningham, married Mary BROOKE the heiress of Haselour. It is through the BROOKE family and their ancestors the NEVILLE family that I can claim direct descent from William the Conqueror. I can also claim direct descent from William the Conqueror through my STANLEY and De ARDERNE ancestors too, albeit from an illigitimate line.

The original spelling of the surname was HEUENYNGHAM with a silent 'v' and it has always been pronounced HENNINGHAM. Today, the name HEVENINGHAM has died out in the male line, although the name HENNINGHAM can still be found in the Birmingham area. It is believed that these Birmingham "Henningham's" are probably descended from the Lichfield HEVENINGHAMs or from the Cannock HENNINGHAMS (believed to be another branch of the HEVENINGHAM family from a much earlier line of descent from Erasmus Heveningahm of Aston). One branch which devolved through the female line, the PUGHES, assumed the name of HEVENINGHAM (or de Heveningham) on inherititing some family property.

In 1898 a Pedigree of the Family of Heveningham by Everard Green, Rouge Dragon was lodged at the College of Arms. It was certified as correct and signed by George Heveningham. This pedigree shows a completely incorrect lineage of descent of George's ancestors, Thomas Heveningham of Wolverhampton and his wife, Sarah Turton. The corrected version can be found on my on-line database.

Sarah Wakelin married Charles Russell of Worcester in Birmingham in 1859. They were the author's Great Grandparents.

• Ancestors of Arabella Heveningham 1765-1854 (378 KB)
  This tree traces the research I have made into the ancestors of ARABELLA HEVENINGHAM (later Arabella Wakelin and Arabella Robinson). Her ancestry can be traced directly back to that of the families of Stanley, FitzHerbert, Shelton, Moyle, Brooke, Saxelby, Bowes and many other notable families of the 14th century. Arabella is the 3 x great grandmother of the author of this site.
• Heveningham of Staffordshire (292 KB)
  This pedigree shows the descendants of Erasmus Heveningham a younger son of Sir John Heveningham and Alice Shelton of Ketteringham in Norfolk and Heveningham in Suffolk. Erasmus was a younger brother of Sir Anthony Heveningham of Ketteringham. It contains all the known descendants of Erasmus down to the early part of 20th century.
• Edmund de Stafforde and Margaret Basset (171 KB)
  Descendants of Edmund de Stafforde and his wife, Margaret Basset through 10 generations.
• Stanley Family of Elford and Pype Pedigree (71 KB)
  This tree shows the descendants of Sir Thomas Stanley and Matilda Arderne down through seven generations to their descendants, the Heveninghams.
• The Family Dynasty (816 KB)
  This tree is especially for Callum,Josh and Sophie - my grandchildren. It contains thirty one generations of ALL our known ancestors.
• My Norman Roots (199 KB)
  This tree shows my lineal descent from William the Conqueror through the ligitimate line of the BROOKE of Haselour family and also through the illigitimate line of the Earls of Gloucester through the STANLEY and De ARDERNE families. I am sure there must be many more connections to William through other lines.
• Huddleston of Millom, Sawston, Elford & Lt.Haseley (118 KB)
  Sir William Huddleston of Elford married Lady Isabella de Neville daughter of John de Neville, Marquis of Montacute and were the ancestors of Mary Brooke of Haselour who married Christopher Heveningham of Lichfield in 1692. This is a Pedigree of the Huddleston family from John de Hodelston of Millom in Cumberland and Joan de Boivil, his wife and shows their descendants, the Huddlestons of Sawston in Cambridgeshire, Elford in Staffordshire and Little Haseley in Oxfordshire with other branches of Farringdon in Lancashire and Hutton-John in Cumberland. Apart from the Elford line which has been my own research, the remainder has been transcibed from Burke's "Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland. Vol. II".
• John Bowes of Streatlam, co. Durham (243 KB)
  Descendants of John Bowes and Anne Gunvile. John Bowes was a younger son of the House of Bowes of Streatlam Castle, Co. Durham. His descendants later settled in Staffordshire and married into the HEVENINGHAM, HARTE of Lullingstone Castle and MANWOOD families.
• Heveningham - The Earliest Origins (8 KB)
  The earliest origins of the Heveningham family. TREAT WITH EXTREME CAUTION - none of this can be substantiated by me. But to have ignored it would have been wrong as it is possibly the only information available on the origins of this family. This information comes from an early 16th century pedigree in Lansdowne MS260 held by the British Library. But these people are unlikely to have been merely invented, and when Sir Robert is described as marrying a daughter of Earl Warrenne or Sir Ralf a daughter of Fulk Bohun, Earl of Hereford, there may be some basis of truth. It might have been dangerous to stake an unwarranted claim
• Heveningham of Ketteringham in Norfolk (76 KB)
  This pedigree shows the descendants of Sir Anthony Heveningham of Ketteringham in Norfolk. Sir Anthony was the son and heir of Sir John Heveningham and Alice Shelton of Heveningham in Suffolk and Ketteringham in Norfolk. He was also the brother of Erasmus Heveningham of the manor of Aston in Staffordshire
• The Heueningham (Heveningham) Pedigree (412 KB)
  The Heueningham Pedigree from the 12th to the 20th century. This pedigree is based on an original pedigree of 1637 held by the Norfolk Records Office. It has been continued down to the 20th century from research undertaken by the Author.

• Haselour Hall (71 KB)
  Haselour was the ancestral home of the Brooke family. It was originally Stanley property and devolved through the female line to Lucie Huddleston.
• Haselour Hall - photo taken in 2000 (80 KB)
  Formally the seat of the BROOKE family. Mary Brooke of Haselour married Christopher Heveningham of Lichfield.
• Clifton Campville Church (34 KB)
  It is here at Clifton Campville that the Sir Richard de Stafford and his wife Isabel are buried. They were ancestors of the Heveningham family.
• Ashtead Park, Surrey (62 KB)
  Ashtead Park was the Surrey estate of Hon. Mary Howard, lady of the manor of Elford. Mary was descended from Sir John Bowes of Elford through his son Richard Bowes. The manor and lands held by the Bowes family devolved to Mary Howard. When Mary Howard died the Ashtead estate was sold and became a school.
• Tomb of Isabel de Vernon (53 KB)
  This tombe is in the church at Clifton Campville.
• Sir Jerome Bowes - (d.1616) (24 KB)
  Sir Jerome Bowes was the son of Sir John Bowes and his wife, Dorothy Markham. They held the manor of Okeley in Staffordshire and also lands in Hackney(London). Sir Jerome Bowes, who was proud of being the guardian of his sovereign's and his country's honour, was sent to Moscow as ambassador from Queen Elizabeth 1 to the Emperor Ian Vasilovich. He held lands in Eggleston (co. Durham), Yorkshire and Norfolk and his family are believed to be descended from the Bowes of Streathlam line.
• Dr. Samuel Johnson's House, Lichfield (40 KB)
  Samuel Johnson's house, whose father had a bookshop here.
• Tomb of Sir Richard de Stafford (53 KB)
  Sir Richard de Stafford was the husband of Isabel de Vernon. His tomb, together with that of his wife, can be seen the church at Clifton Campville.
• Lichfield Cathedral (54 KB)
  Lichfield Cathedral showing the Minster Pool. Photo taken in 2000.
• Tomb of Sir Thomas de Arderne (26 KB)
  Tomb of Sir Thomas de Arderne and his wife Matilda de Stafford in St. Peter's Church, Elford.
• The Hamlet of Mavesyn Ridware (61 KB)
  Mavesyn Ridware. Photo taken in the Spring of 2000.
• Tomb of Sir William Smyth in St. Peter's, Elford (18 KB)
  This part of the tomb shows Sir William Smyth with his second wife, Lady Isabel de Neville.
• Mary Shelton (Lady Heveningham) - (d. 1571) (30 KB)
  This drawing by Hans Holbein is of Mary Shelton who was the daughter of Sir John Shelton and his wife, Lady Anne Boleyn. Mary was first cousin to Queen Anne Boleyn. She married her cousin, Sir Anthony Heveningham of Ketteringham c. 1546 and was the mother of Sir Arthur Heveningham. After the death of Sir Anthony Heveningham in 1557, Mary married Philip Appleyard, Esq., Her sister, Madge (Margaret) Shelton attended Anne Boleyn on the scaffold.
• Mavesyn Ridware Church (48 KB)
  It was at Mavesyn Ridware Church that Arabella Heveningham married her second husband, Sampson Robinson in 1834.
• Tomb of Sir William Symth and his two wives (34 KB)
  This part of the tomb shows Sir William Smyth with his first wife Anne Staunton.
• Engraving of brasses at Ketteringham Church (100 KB)
  These engravings depict the enamelled brass over the tomb of Thomas Heveningham (d.1499) and his wife Anne Yarde (d.1507) at Ketteringham Church, Norfolk.
• Shield showing the Neville Arms (52 KB)
  This shield is on the tomb of Sir William Smyth and his two wives Anne Staunton and Lady Isabella Neville at St. Peter's Church, Elford.
• Unknown sitter - possibly Sir William Heveningham (11 KB)
  The name of this sitter is unknown but I believe it MIGHT be of Sir William Heveningham (b. abt 1612), the Regicide. At the outbreak of the civil war he took sides with the parliament. He was nominated one of the high court of justices to try King Charles I. When the sentence was confirmed, he refused to sign the death-warrant. In October 1660 he was sentenced to death at the Old Bailey. He was then imprisoned at Windsor Castle and deprived of his estates. He survived his ordeal in Windsor Castle and died in 1678 and was buried at Ketteringham. He married firstly Katherine Wallop and secondly Lady Mary Carey, g.g.g grandaughter of Lady Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne Boleyn. Sir William Heveningham was the grandson of Sir Arthur Heveningham of Ketteringham.
• Hampstall Ridware (39 KB)
  The church at Hampstall Ridware. Hampstall Ridware was home to the Fitzherbert and Coton families, both of which are ancestors of the Heveninghams.
• Ketteringham Church and the Old Vicarage (99 KB)
  The Heveningham family held the manor of Ketteringham from 1492 till 1717. Ketteringham Hall is adjacent to the church.
• Ketteringham Hall (55 KB)
  Ketteringham Hall was once the home of the Heveningham family but it had many wings and additions built onto it in Victorian times, so it is not now the Hall that the family once knew. This photo was taken from the top of the church tower.
• Minster Pool, Lichfield (70 KB)
  Lichfield is very much today as the Heveninghams would have known it.
• Lichfield Cathedral (53 KB)
  The magnificent cathedral.
• Tudor House in Bore Street, Lichfield (58 KB)
  Arabella Heveningham once lived in Bore Street. .
• Ketteringham Church - Tomb of Thomas Heveningham (58 KB)
  Thomas Heveningham died in 1499 and was buried here in Ketteringham. Anne Yarde, his wife, died in 1507. The brasses portray both Thomas and Anne and their children. The brass to the right of the picture is that of Emma Appleyard, wife of Henry Grey.
• Stowe Street, Lichfield (48 KB)
  Arabella Heveningham lived in Stowe Street when she died in 1854. Most of it has been re-developed except this pair of old cottages.
• Brass to Anne Yarde in Ketteringham Church (71 KB)
  This brass depicts Anne Yarde and her five daughters. Anne died in 1507 and was the wife of Thomas Heveningham.
• Pype Hall (49 KB)
  Pype Hall was once the seat of the Heveningham family. The original building and demolished and re-built circa 1700.
• Brass to Thomas Heveningham at Ketteringham Church (59 KB)
  Thomas Heveningham, who died in 1499, is depicted on this brass with his five sons. Thomas and his wife Anne Yarde inherited the manor of Ketteringham from Sir Henry Grey in 1492. Sir Henry Grey was Anne's step-father.
• Tudor Tythe Barn at Pype Hall (54 KB)
  Pype Hall Manor was demolished and the present Pype Hall built in the 18th century. The Tythe Barn was part of the original manor.
• Medieval Font at Ketteringham Church (58 KB)
  The font displays the arms of Redisham and Grey with a label of 5 points.
• Tomb of Sir John Stanley (d. 1474) (48 KB)
  Sir John Stanley's tomb in St. Peter's, Elford.
• Heveningham Church, Suffolk (93 KB)
  According to Dutt's Suffolk, the manor of Heveningham was granted to Sir Philip de Heveningham in 1271. The manor of Heveningham belonged to the Heveningham family until the death of Lady Abigail Heveningham in 1717 when it was sold. Beneath the pews is the vault which holds 19 members of the Heveningham family. There is also a wooden effigy of Sir John Heveningham.
• Stanley Chapel, St. Peter's, Elford (45 KB)
  Here lie many of the ancestors of the Brooke/Heveningham family.
• Frederick Russell & Mary Ann Connor (96 KB)
  This photograph is of Frederick Russell and his wife Mary Ann Connor. Seated on their laps are their twins, Albert and Sheila. Frederick was my grandfather and he was the son of Sarah Wakelin and her husband Charles Russell and great grandson of Arabella Heveningham and Thomas Wakelin. Mary Ann Connor came from Ballycanew in Wexford, Ireland. The photo was taken in Birmingham about 1922.
• Tomb of Sir Richard de Stafford (53 KB)
  Medieval wall painting depicting Christ, Sir Richard de Stafford and his wife Isabel de Vernon on the tomb of Sir Richard in Clifton Campville church.
• Albert Frederick Russell - (1920-1981) (44 KB)
  Albert was my father. He was the son of Frederick Russell and Mary Ann Connor of Birmingham and g.g.grandson of Arabella Heveningam and Thomas Wakelin of Lichfield. This photo was taken during WWII when he was in his early twenties. On the outbreak of War in September 1939 Albert joined the 210th (Worcester Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Bty R.A. In 1940 he served with the British Expedionary Force and was evacuated off the beaches at Dunkirk. In 1941 he served as a gunner in 'E' Battery in the tank corp in the 8th Army (the Desert Rats) under Field Marshall Montgomery in the North African campaign and saw action at the Battle of El Alamein, Tobruk and Tunisia. At some stage Albert transferred to the Parachute Regiment but injured his back on a jump whilst training and was invalided out. In 1944 he again served with Montgomery's 8th Army in Sicily and Italy and saw action at the Battle of Monte Casino. He later went on to Rome and Venice. In 1945 he was with the army in Austria repatriating prisoners of war. He was a member of the Honourable Artillery Company.
• Sir Arthur Heveningham (d. 1630) (14 KB)
  Sir Arthur Heveningham was the son of Sir Anthony Heveningham of Ketteringham and his 2nd wife, Mary Shelton. Sir Arthur was married to Mary Hanschet of Herfordshire - a marriage which has been described as the meanest match the Heveninghams had made in 400 years. Sir Arthur's mother, Mary Shelton was the daughter of Lady Anne Boleyn (d. 1556) and Sir John Shelton. Through her Boleyn mother, Mary Shelton was first cousin to Anne Boleyn who was executed in 1536. Sir Arthur was Sheriff of Norfolk and died in 1630.
• Bridget Paston (Lady Heveningham) - (d. 1624) (8 KB)
  Bridget Paston was the 2nd wife of Sir John Heveningham of Ketteringham (d. 1633) who was the son of Sir Arthur Heveningham and Mary Hanschet. She was the daughter of Christopher Paston and Anne Audley. Bridget died in 1624 and was buried at Ketteringham.

• Henry Grey of Ketteringham, Norfolk (89 KB)
  Henry Grey was the third son of Sir Thomas Grey and Joan de Mowbray. Henry held the manor of Ketteringham probably by right of his wife Emma Appleyard daughter of Sir William Appleyard,the first Mayor of Norwich who died about the year 1420. Henry Grey's son, Sir Henry Grey, left the Ketteringham estates to his step-daughter, Anne Yarde and her husband Thomas Heveningham. The Heveningham family continued to live at both Ketteringham Hall and Heveningham Hall for the next two centuries.
• Family Fortunes - or lack of them! (25 KB)
  The downfall of the HEVENINGHAM family of Lichfield.
• Heveningham of Aston Hall, Stone, Staffordshire (184 KB)
  Descendants of Erasmus Heveningham (1515 - 1560)and their connections to the families of: STANLEY, FITZHERBERT, ALPORT, BOWES, MOYLE
• Bowes of Suffolk, Okeley, Elford & Hackney, (184 KB)
  This report is on the descendants of John Bowes, a 6th son of the house of Bowes and his wife, Anne Gunville of Gorleston, Suffolk with their connections to the families of BOWES of the manors of Elford and Okeley in Staffordshire, HEVENINGHAM of Pype, HARTE of Lullingstone Castle, MANWOOD of Hackington, and the PAGET/HOWARD family of Ashtead in Surrey.
• Christopher Heveningham, Gent., of Lichfield (350 KB)
  Descendants of Christopher Heveningham of Lichfield and his wife Mary BROOKE of Haselour Hall.
• Arabella Heveningham & Thomas Wakelin of Lichfield (230 KB)
  Descendants of Arabella Heveningham & Thomas Wakelin and their connections to the families of: RUSSELL (of Worcester/Birmingham), HUGHES (of Tamworth-in-Arden).
• The Shelton Family of Shelton, Norfolk. (446 KB)
  The Sheltons of Shelton were an ancient and knightly family, who played their part in English history and once possessed considerable estates in Norfolk and Suffolk. This report shows the descent of the Shelton family from Nicholas Shelton who was living in 1215. The Sheltons married into the Boleyn family of Blickling in Norfolk and the Heveningham family of Heveningham and Ketteringham. Queen Anne Boleyn was a cousin of both the Shelton and the Heveningham families, the later being through marrige.
• Heveningham - The Earliest Origins (110 KB)
  The earliest origins of the Heveningham family. TREAT WITH EXTREME CAUTION - none of this can be substantiated by me. But to have ignored it would have been wrong as it is possibly the only information available on the origins of this family. This information comes from an early 16th century pedigree in Lansdowne MS260 held by the British Library. But these people are unlikely to have been merely invented, and when Sir Robert is described as marrying a daughter of Earl Warrenne or Sir Ralf a daughter of Fulk Bohun, Earl of Hereford, there may be some basis of truth. It might have been dangerous to stake an unwarranted claim
• Brooke of Haselour (130 KB)
  The descendants of John Brooke and Lucie Huddleston of Haselour and their connections to the families of de STANLEY, de STAFFORD, de ARDERNE, NEVILLE, SMYTHE, HEVENINGHAM, AGARD.
• The Heveningham Pedigree (216 KB)
  The Heveningham pedigree from the earliest beginings taken from an early 17th century (c.1637)pedigree in the Norfolk Records Office.
• Heveningham of Elford, Staffordshire (238 KB)
  Descendants of Nicholas Heveningham and Elizabeth Bowes of Elford and their connections to the families of : BROOKE, SAXELBY MIDDLEMORE, SIMEON, WELD.
• Anne Yarde - Heiress of Ketteringham (55 KB)
  Anne Yarde (or Yerde) was the daughter of Thomas Yerde of Denton Court, Kent and his wife Joan Scott of Scott's Hall, Kent. Anne married Thomas Heveningham of Heveningham in Suffolk and brought into the Heveningham family the Ketteringham estates which she had inherited from Sir Henry Grey.
• Sir Thomas de Stanley & Matilda de Arderne (269 KB)
  Descendants of Sir Thomas de Stanley and Matilda de Arderne and their connections to the HEVENINGHAM and STAFFORD families.

• RETURN TO MY HOME PAGE
• Our St. Leger Family of Ulcombe, Kent
• William the Conqueror
• More Staffordshire Links...
• The Norman Conquest and the Battle of Hastings
• My Pembrokeshire Roots
• Heart of England
• My Family Tree Maker Homepage
• The Village of Elford, Staffordshire
• Anne Boleyn - (d. 1536) - cousin to the Sheltons
• Smyth Family of Elford
• St. Andrew's Church, Clifton Campville c. 1790
• Moyle Monuments in St. Mary's Church, Eastwell.
• Eastwell Manor, Kent - home to the Moyle family
• The Elford Monuments
• MY INDEX TO SURNAMES
• English Medieval Genealogy
• Staffordshire Links
• HEVENINGHAM OF ASTON - Notes from the William Salt Library
• THE FAMILY TREE - my on-line database

Rosemary St. Leger-May
maytree4@aol.com

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