 Ancestor Index
- William
Smith/Smyth/e, Bishop of Lincoln, 1496 - 1514
The sources of information on this page
are the Brasenose College Quartercentenary Monographs of
1909.
| Grateful thanks are
extended to Mrs. Elizabeth
Boardman, Archivist of
Brasenose College, Oxford, for information
extracted to this page. The signature is computer
generated. Bishop William Smyth from 'Cold Norton
deed 41, A.D. 1513 (Monograph XI) It is recorded that a bundle of Bishop
Smyth's letters was preserved in Westminster
Abbey (during the 18th Century) but that the
letters 'vanished' from the Muniment Room. [R.
Churton, Supplement to the lives of
Bp. Smyth and Sir R. Sutton (Oxford 1803)]
Full context: Ralph Churton: 'The Lives of
William Smyth, Bishop of Lincoln, and Sir Richard
Sutton, founders of Brazen Nose College, Oxford',
published in 1800 with a supplement in 1803.
|
- William (of)
Lincoln
|
Monograph IX - "All that we know of
the private life of the Bishop is contained in a letter
to Sir Reginald Bray
without date either of time or place, probably belonging
to 1503 ..." By this date, William Smyth
complains ... "nowe
I myselff beynge olde and full of sekenes and ache in my
bones ..."
He is believed to have
been born in about 1460 but conjecture over his age
aside, the letter makes it clear that Bishop Smyth had
become increasingly disillusioned with the state and
operation of many of the religious houses he encountered.
Lincolnshire alone had a monastery to every 53 square
miles, according to C.H. Pearson in 'Historical Maps
of England' (1870) p.61. - and this reaction "goes
far to explain the resolution of the Bishop, though an
unbending conservative, to devote his wealth to the
endowment, not of monks but of a place of learning. Into
his College no member of the Regular Clergy, even if
accredited as his deputy by the Visitor himself, should
ever be allowed to intrude [College Statutes]
and for a Fellow to join a monastic order was, ipso
facto, to vacate his Fellowship."
"William Smyth
belonged to a well-to-do family and his provision for
commoners in his College suggests that he may once have
been in such a position himself."
According to Churton,
William Smyth was "the fourth son of Robert
Smyth of Peel House, in the parish of
Prescot, Lancashire. His grandfather was Henry
Smyth, a country squire, seated at Cuerdley.
The date of his birth and the place of his education are
alike unknown."
| Lineage
sidelines ... Henry > Robert ... William Using the 30 year
"rule of thumb", one may estimate that
Robert Smyth flourished in the 1450s and that his
father, Henry Smyth was comfortably seated at
Cuerdley during the early decades of the
fifteenth Century. To appreciate the significance
of this lineage it is important to be aware also
of the geographical relationship between
Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cheshire - three
counties that touch and bounce off each other
within short distances of the area mentioned
above.
Modern
political boundaries provide little help in this
"picture" since they not only follow
traditional landform boundaries but they have
also been delineated to include or to skirt
specific human-generated concerns. It should be
noted that Salford and Manchester figure in later
generation Smyth family lives and that the
counties of Yorkshire and Westmoreland were also
prime Smyth territories as was neighbouring
Shropshire which had its Acton Burnell Smythes - which family was also
of Eshe Hall in Durham (a Smythe
stronghold).
There was also
an Apothecary, William Smyth, of
Shrewsbury who had a daughter, Corbetta
- born in 1708 - who was associated with Lord
William Manners, and had an illigitimate
son, John Manners (1730). John
Manners married (1765) Louisa, Countess of Dysart. Their descendants form
one of the maternal ancestral lines treated on
this site. Included in the lineage are
Talmash/Cromwell links and further links to Smyth
through the Neville and Cromwell families.
Manners - Leo van de Pas
details the lineage of the Manners
family (from 1355) which was closely associated
with the family of Neville which was, in turn,
associated with Smith/e - Smyth/e
in the Medieval era. See also the Methven
Smyth(e) line (pronounced Smith) - Patrick Smythe of Braco (reign of James IV of
Scotland) - the line tracing back to Thomas
Smyth - who was appointed Apothecary to
James III of Scotland, as appears in a charter
dated 29 January 1477.
Also
to be noted, this: "Peel House which was demolished in
1903, was the home of Robert
Smyth, and was built on the
site of an original dwelling which had been here
since around 1400. The house stood approximately
where Locket Road is situated, off Peel House
Lane. In 1460 William Smyth
(who died 2nd June 1513) son of Robert was born
at the hall and in later years went on to become
the Bishop of Lincoln. William was a charitable
person, built a chapel at Cuerdley and in
1507 raised the school at Farnworth to
grammar school status by his endowment of £10
per year." Source
|
 "Churton conjectures,
partly from the association of one Hugh
Smyth (Hugh is a forename in common with
members of the Bristol, Ashton Court Smyth branch.) with Lord
Strange, son of the first Earl of
Derby, more forcibly from the patronage early bestowed
... by the Earl's second wife, Margaret, Countess of
Richmond, mother of Henry VII,
(ancestral link via Tudor Rose) that he [William
Smyth] was brought up at a school in which were
educated 'certayn
young gentilmen at her findying'." The school was
run by Maurice Westbury whom Margaret, Countess of
Richmond, had brought from Oxford for that purpose.
"This conjecture is strengthened by the
certainty that as a young man Smyth enjoyed exceptional
favour in high places."
"It is known
that he was a Bachelor of Law in 1485, when, within a
month of Henry VII's accession, he was appointed to the
lucrative office of Clerk of the Hanaper in Chancery."
As may be evidenced by
William Smyth's entry in the Dictionary of National
Biography, high office and preferential treatment
came his way very quickly and he
achieved higher offices in swift succession. It may be
taken as certain, too, that he amassed a considerable
fortune. He did not, however covet his wealth since
(Fuller says of him) 'this man wheresoever he went
may be followed by the perfume of charity he left behind
him.' However, in common with many "dynasty
builders" he displayed a degree of nepotism and his
relatives are reputed to have gained considerable benefit
from his wealth and position.
Amongst these was Matthew
Smyth, born in Lancashire and
traditionally accorded kinship to the Bishop - though, as
yet, this is not proven - and who became the
"transitional" Principal of Brasenose Hall
(17th and last Principal, 1510) and Brasenose College
(1st Principal, 1510). Bishop William Smyth had already
given him the prebend of Centum Solidorum at Lincoln in
1508 and was, in 1512, to give him the prebend of
Banbury.
Matthew Smyth became
Rector of Godstow
Nunnery
in 1533
and died - according to the Brasenose College Register,
1909 First Principal and Original Fellows - in
1547/8. He was buried in St. Mary's Church. He was a
benefactor of Falmouth Grammar School in
Cornwall.
NB: Matthew is
a forename often associated with the Bristol Smyth branch
of Ashton Court.
Monograph I - Regarding the "Durham connection" - Monograph I
links William of Durham with the (13th
Century) transactions associated with Brasenose Hall
(which later became Smyth's foundation, Bransenose
College) which had been purchased in 1262 by the
University (according to the historians of University
College) with "William of Durham's money and for
the purposes of his foundation". William of Durham (originally from France) died
in 1249 and a bequest was received by the University,
making him the originator of the College system in
Oxford.
Lincolnshire
Smith/e Smyth/e - some notes:
A Francis
Smythe was Vicar of
Crowle in Lincolnshire. He was an uncle, via his sister,
Mary (Simkinson) Smythe, of the Brewster family - founder
of the American line of Brewster. Mary Smythe's father,
William, was of Yorkshire.
Note also -
Edward Smythe (spouse
unknown) was christened 30 September 1571 at Kirton,
Lincolnshire, England. A son of Edward Smythe was Robert
Smith who married Margaret (unknown). He was christened 4
March 1595 at Sutterton, Lincolnshire, England. His wife
was born circa 1593 at Frampton, Lincolnshire, England.
Children of Robert Smith
and Margaret (unknown) were -
- Edward Smith; christened 2
February 1616 at Frampton, Lincolnshire, England.
- Robert Smith; christened 22 August
1627 at Frampton, Lincolnshire, England; died 30
August 1627 in England.
- Margaret Smith; christened 1623 at
Sutterton, Lincolnshire, England.
- William Smith; born 1628
at Topsfield, Massachusetts; married Abigail (unknown) 1659.
- Lucy Smith; married
(unknown) Moulton; born 1630 at Topsfield,
Massachusetts, USA.
- Jemima Smith;
married (unknown) Tilton; born 1632 at
Topsfield, Massachusetts, USA
- The
Hastings Legacy
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- Smyth
of Ireland
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