When We Were English, Part XXXIX

A Deeper Look into Buckinghamshire Roots

By Glenn N. Holliman

Cuddington, some nine miles from Aylesbury and forty or so miles east of London, was and is a small village.  There is a pub and an ancient village church.  If you look below at this hand drawn map provided by Carolyn Stonham, a professor who lives in Holyman House (1698) on the site of the 15^th Century Holyman Manor House (long since decayed), one can understand better the dimensions of the small town.

                   

This map is in three parts.  The bottom half shows Cuddington in relationship to Aylesbury (right) and the M-40 (left), a major motorway which flows west toward Oxford and east toward London.

The upper right part of the map is a visual of the village with the Holyman Farm in the upper middle. The left upper part of the map is the 1698 Holyman House where Professor Stonham lives today, a thatched roofed cottage. Unfortunately the remains of sticky tape have marred the map a bit.

If one recalls my last article, I advanced the thesis that one Thomas Holliman of Cuddington (will – 1558) is a direct grandfather of mine.  Hmmm…if so who begat Thomas and when and from where did these Cuddington Holymans appear?

Below is another document Professor Stonham shared with me and which my wife copied with our digital camera.  This is a muster and tax roll representing two generations.  The muster certificate is from 1522 and the manorial survey from 1555.

Notice that a Thomas Holliman is listed on both.  In the earlier document, John Holiman is the wealthiest.  In the later document, Thomas Holyman (Holiman) is recorded as the person with the most wealth.  Is this Thomas my generation’s 10^th great grandfather?

                               

This Thomas Holyman did quite well, holding the manor and land granted by Queen Mary Tudor.  Let’s reflect a bit….Mary Tudor tried in her reign from 1553 – 1558 to restore the Roman Catholic Church to England.  Her Cardinal Pole appointed a parish priest and former monk, John Holyman of Cuddington, as Bishop of Bristol.  John died in 1558, one month after Queen Mary.

Did the Holyman family in Cuddington benefit from the benevolence of the Queen because the family, especially The Rt. Rev. John Holyman, was loyal to the old faith, the Roman Catholic Church?

Did the fortunes of the Holymans begin to unravel with the establishment of the Protestant Church of England during the long reign of the next queen – Elizabeth from 1558 – 1603?

Did the surviving Holymans flow with the times?  

One notes from published sources that Chistopher Holyman (will – 1589) of Cuddington and Sherington is listed as a member of Queen Elizabeth’s guard.  Hmmm….much to consider and a lot of questions that cannot be easily if ever answered.

Let's keep researching and pondering....