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Among
the stories of the Middle Ages, there is a tradition of two brothers
enlisting in the service of William the Conqueror, and fighting so bravely
during his invasion of Wales that they readily won their spurs. Having
observed that they resided, the one, on a hill and the other on a knoll, or
lesser hill, the king, on investing then with the honours and insignia of
knighthood, dubbed them Hill-ton and Knoll-ton. Whatever of truth may
attach to the tradition, it is certain that the name is an ancient one, born out of its own native soil.
A large proportion of English
proper names has been suggested by local situations and associations, and
of these the name Knowlton is one of the most striking, as it is one of
the most ancient. The suffix ton is the old Saxon tun,
town, so that in its primary use it meant the people, or town, on the
knoll, but in process of time it lost this collective force, and was
applied to the chief family, or personae, resident thereon. For the purpose both
of government and revenue, the people were grouped in Hundreds, so
called because one hundred families were made to comprise one district, or
borough.
In Doomsday Book,
that curious and quaint record of estates and surveys which the Conqueror
ordered in 1083, that he might know the extent of his realm and provide
for the royal revenues, there was a Knowlton Hundred, originally but a
mere hamlet in Dorset, which became by royal appointment a Fair Town, and
a rural centre of considerable importance.
The original hamlet and manor
have long since passed away, but-the name survives as does the Knowlton
church, and its present boundaries include Knowlhill, Moor Crichel,
Crichel-Govis, Gussage All Saints, Gussage St Michael,
Wimborne St Giles, and the Parish of Woodlands.
This estate was anciently held by Anagar, and in Doomsday Book, the name
is Chenoltone, while in subsequent books it is indifferently spelled Knowlton,
Knolton, Knollton, Knowton and Knowlden.
A careful inspection
of the Wills and Administrations in the Prerogative Courts of Canterbury
and York reveals these varied spelling of the one and the same name, for it is
differently spelled in the same document, and by the same person. It is
well documented that proper names were, until a very recent date spelled
phonetically, or according to their sound, this is a ready
explanation of these singular orthographies.
The name spelt as
Knowlton,
the strongest spelling over the years, reaches back traditionally to the time of William the Conqueror, 1066-87.
Knowlton Parish and
Knowlton Hall still designate a Manor and Baronial Residence in Kent
County, six miles from the city of Canterbury. It
originally belonged to Odo, Bishop of Baieux, who was subsequently
disgraced, and his property confiscated to the Crown. In the fifteenth
year of the Conqueror, the estate was surveyed, and given to one of his
followers, from whom it passed by Knight’s service to Perot, and thence
to the owners in later years. In the thirty-third year of Edward the
First, Perot assumed the title of Lord Knollton, an early example of the
transfer of a proper name from the soil to its owner. Lord Knowlton left
the estate to his daughter Christian, who married William de Langley, High
Sheriff under Edward III. (1327-77). His son called himself William
Knollton, Esq., during the reign of Henry VI (1429-71). In the twentieth
year of Henry VII (1505) William’s son John (whose son and successor,
Edward, married Elizabeth Peyton, daughter of Sir John Peyton, who was the
next owner) came into possession, and he married Dorothy Tyndal, daughter
of Sir John Tyndal, Governor of the Tower of London. His grandson and
heir, Thomas, had children, Dorothy, Catherine, William, and
Thomas. From the time when Sir Perot adopted the title Lord Knollton, down
to the day of Sir D’Aetb, it is matter of history that the lords of this
manor were known indifferently both by their surnames and by their adopted
titles, and the Parish and Hall now perpetuate that historic fact.
Knowlton Hall is a fine residence situated on a knoll in a beautiful park
of two hundred acres, which are kept in a high state of cultivation, and
adorned with the choicest creations of the gardener’s artistic genius.
The land is gently rolling, affording an agreeable diversity of hill and
dale, and the beautiful walks and paths entice one into the shade of grand
old trees that have delighted for ages the eyes that faded out of human
life centuries ago.
An
examination of the fragmentary histories and ecclesiastical records of
the sixteenth century discloses the fact that the names of these Kentish
Knowlton’s are precisely those that appear and reappear, again and
again, among the families of the Knowlton’s of at least five succeeding
generations. Every Knowlton of this period was found mainly within, or
near, the county of Dorset and smaller quantities in Kent, and the
conclusion would appear to be irresistible that the surname itself would
have come from from the Hamlet of Knowlton in Dorset. Indeed, the name
could never have been used in Kent in its original and wider
significance, for there is not at present, nor has there ever been, even
a village settlement there. Besides the Hall, there are only the Rectory
and two farm houses on the estate and the whole parish reports but
twenty-six souls. In regard to the Knowlton Hamlet in
Dorset, it appears that after the demise of the village through the Black
Death, most Knowlton's migrated to Southampton (25miles) and Bournemouth
area (20 miles), in fact you will find in both these areas the most
concentrated amount of the Knowlton name in England with some of them even
holding
the position of Mayor of Southampton. Therefore, Dorset & Hampshire
being the more populated counties over the past 1000 years of the Knowlton
name.
Thomas Knowlton, an
antiquarian who emigrated to the new world (USA), was fond of telling of the distinction enjoyed by one of
his ancestors, a retainer of the Earl of Warwick, who always appeared in
Court dress, with a silver and jewelled sword at his belt, and other
insignia of rank, and who stood high with the King. He had charge of one
of the Earl’s castles in Kent, and was a descendant of the Knowlton’s referred
to above. This has been passed on by the grandchildren over the
years and many other interesting facts told by the
Knowlton’s concerning the position of their ancestors.
There were Knowlton's
in Canterbury, and in the City of London as early as 1550, and the
published "Visitations and Allegations of the Provinces of York and
Canterbury" clearly show that they were never a numerous or scattered
family, but that until the year 1728 they were confined entirely to the
counties of Dorset, Hampshire, Middlesex and Kent. They invariably married by license
instead of by banns, which as invariably indicates a recognized social
position and condition of comfort, for such license could be obtained only
from the Archbishop of Canterbury, and at considerable expense of about 50
pounds. In these old records the titles of Mr. and Esq. frequently used,
indicating a social status above that of the common people.
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