Godwin (Halden) de Bernham (abt. 1030 - abt. 1090)

Born about 1030 in Denmark

Died about 1090 at about age 60 in Bernham, Norfolk, England

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Biography

This profile is part of the Barnum Name Study.

Born Godwin Halden in about 1030 in Denmark, he moved to England as an adult. After he was awarded the lordship of Haylesdon (Hellesdon) by William the Conquerer in 1070, Godwin resided at Bernham, Norfolk (later Barnham Rysks, today Barnham Broom), and adopted the surname de Bernham from that place. Through the vagaries of medieval English spelling, the place name Bernham and the family name de Bernham appear to have mutated over the centuries to become Barnham, from which the variants Barnam and Barnum later developed.

Godwin eventually held the lordships of Nettington, Oxnead, and Bernham and was an ancestor of William de Bernham (b. abt. 1154), Walter de Bernham (abt. 1264-abt. 1327), and their descendants.

During the ensuing years, the family developed and expanded in Norfolk and later Suffolk. By the early 16th century, the greatest concentration of the Barmham surname could be found principally in London and other parts of Middlesex. Subsequently, it expanded to other parts of England.

The following paragraphs are taken from BHO|British History Online, Blomefield, Francis., & Parkin, C. (1805-1810). An essay towards a topographical history of the County of Norfolk, containing a description of the towns, villages and hamlets, with the foundations of monasteries, churches, chapels, chantries, and other religious buildings: also an account of the ancient and present state of all the rectories ... Likewise, an historical account of the castles, seats, and manors, their present and ancient owners; together with the epitaphs ... in all the parish churches ... with several draughts of Churches, monuments, arms, ancient ruins ... collected out of ledger books, registers, records, evidences, deeds, court-rolls, and other authentick memorials. London: Printed for William Miller ... by W. Bulmer.

Smethdon Hundred: Gnatyngdon Near to the town of Sedgeford, there was a village, or hamlet at the Conquest, called Nettington, and afterward Gnatyngdon. At the survey, it was the lordship of Godwin Halden, who being a freeman, held it in King Edward's reign, under Guert, and after under Ralph, and now of the King; it contained one carucate of land, 2 borderers, and one socman had an acre, valued before the Conquest at 10s. now at 20s. per ann. This Godwin Halden, held also at the survey the manor of Halesdon, in the hundred of Taverham, which Stigand held before the Conquest, the manor of Oxnede in South Erpingham hundred, held before the Conquest, by Ailldig, a freeman under Guert, also the manor of Barnham in Fourhow hundred, held by a freeman before the Conquest; so that all these were of the gift of the Conqueror, to Godwin, on the expulsion of the former lords and owners, who held them in King Edward's reign. Godwin Halden, by his name, seems to be an Old English Saxon, or Dane, and how he came to be in such favour, and to merit so much from the Conqueror, is not known; it is, however, worthy of our remark, and notice, that if he was an English Saxon, &c. he is the only one I have yet found in Norfolk, that was allowed to keep his land at the Conquest, and hold it at the survey.

Taverham Hundred: Haylesdon Haylesdon takes its name from its site on a hill, by water, or a river thus, Halesworth, Alesham, &c. On the deprivation of Stigand Archbishop of Canterbury, (who held it as a lay fee) the Conqueror granted it to Godwin Halden. Stigand in King Edward's reign, had 2 carucates of land, 12 villains, 11 borderers, with a carucate in demean; one carucate held by the tenants, paunage for 60 swine, 12 acres of meadow, 2 mills, a fishery, one cow, &c. 10 sheep, &c. 60 goats, and 6 socmen had an acre of land, with a carucate and a half, and 4 acres of meadow, valued at 4£. 12s. 8d. and there was a church but not endowed with any land; it was one leuca and an half, and 20 perches long, and one leuca broad, and 3 furlongs, and paid 8d. ¾ gelt. This Godwin Halden seems to be of Danish extraction, and one thing is remarkable of him, that he held under Earl Guert, brother of King Harold, the lordship of Nettington in Smethdon hundred, in King Edward's time, and at the Conquest, when he was also rewarded with this lordship, those of Oxnead and Bernham in South Erpingham and Fourhow hundreds; a proof that he was a rebel against King Harold, and assisted the Conqueror. Soon after the Conquest, it was divided into two lordships, one held by the family of de Bernham, the other by that of Hauteyn, of the honour of Clare, coming to those Earls, from the Giffards, Earl of Bucks. Bernham's Manor. William de Bernham was lord of this town, Oxnead, Bernham, &c. in the reign of Richard I. and Walter de Bernham held the same in the 20th of Henry III. of the honour of Clare, and William de Bernham had a charter for free-warren in 1264. Walter de Bernham presented to this church in 1309, and in the 8th of Edward II. Thomas de Docking and Maud his wife, settled this lordship on Walter de Bernham and Maud his wife, and in the 16th of that King, it was settled on the said Walter and Maud for life; remainder to Hugh, son of Walter and Isabel his wife, daughter of Gyles de Wachesham and their heirs, and Hugh was lord in the 6th of Edward III. Robert de Bernham, in the 8th of Edward III. lord of this manor, confirmed to the prior and convent of Norwich, a right of common in the fields and heaths of this town, for 300 sheep, and great cattle, levant and couchant, viz. of the east part thereof, called Nabbes. In the 36th of Edward III. Sir Gyles de Bernham and Robert his brother, released to Walter de Berney, citizen of Norwich, this manor and advowson, with the rents, services, &c. and in the said year, John de Bernham, brother and heir of Sir Gyles, released it to the aforesaid Walter, and to Richard de Haylesdon and John his son, citizens of London, all his right: this Sir Gyles, was, as I take it, eldest son of Walter de Bernham, by Isabel his wife, and at this time Alexander Strange had an interest herein, in right of the said Isabel, then his wife. Andrew Bomond, clerk, nephew of Hugh de Bernham, released also to Walter de Berney, Richard de Haylesdon, &c. all his right in the 51st of the said King, and Walter de Berney presented to this church in 1365, &c. and in 1388, Sir John Seton presented in right of Joan his wife. Hauteyn's Manor. William (Hauteyn), son and heir, succeeded his father Hamod, and was lord in 1301, and married Agnes, daughter of William de Brampton, and in 1312, it was settled by fine on him, and his 2d wife, Alice, daughter of William de Walcote, and dying in the year 1326, Sir John Hauteyn was his son and heir, by Agnes his wife; but it does not appear that he inherited this lordship, his father is said to have incurred the displeasure of King Edward I. and to have paid a fine of 569£ 6s. 8d. for certain transgressions, in not attending him in some expedition as is said; and in the 19th of Edward II. not long before his death, had conveyed by fine this lordship to Walter de Bernham and Maud his wife, widow of his father Hamo, and so was united soon after to the manor of Bernham. This Sir John, was probably the same person, who was receiver of the King's customs of wool, and citizen of London, in the 16th of the said King; Sir John sealed with argent, a bend sable, and some of the Hauteyns sealed with bendy of eight, argent and sable. From the Bernhams it came to Walter de Berney, Richard de Haylesdon, so to Gourney, Fastolf, &c. and so to the see of Norwich, as abovementioned

Forehoe Hundred: Bernham-Broom Hauteyn's, now called Hawkins's Manor. This manor was in two parts, Godwin Halden had one, which was worth 20s. and Starcolf another, worth 10s.; they were soon joined, and came to the family sirnamed (sic) de Bernham, and was always held of the Earl of Gloucester and Hereford. Will. de Bernham had it about Richard the First's time, and after him Walter de Bernham, who held the same two fees of the honour of Gloucester, in Oxnedes (Oxnead), Heylesden (Hellesdon), Bernham, Skeyton, and Sunderland in Haringby, that William his predecessor formerly held, they being then valued at 10£ per annum. In 1250, Emma, wife of David de Bernham, had lands here, and in 1264, Will. de Bernham had a charter for free-warren here, and in Skeyton and Anttingham, and the latter end of Henry the Third's reign, Margaret Hauteyn held part of it for life, of Walter de Bernham, who was lord in 1316; and in 1345, Hamon de Mikelefeld and his partners held that part which Margaret Hauteyn formerly had. In 1372, Alex. Straunge of Bernham Ryskes granted to Mr. Will. de Blithe Archdeacon of Norfolk, Thomas parson of Hardyngham, Hugh parson of Bernham with Riskys, Mr. Will. de Swynflet Archdeacon of Norwich, his manor called Hauteyn's Hall in Bernham and Rysks; Sir Rob. Mortimer, Sir Roger de Wylasham, Knights, and others, being witnesses; the original remains among the evidences of the city of Norwich, and hath a seal appendant thereto, which is a shield parted per pale indented, on the dexter side three martlets and this circumscription, . They seem to be trustees to Will. Hauteyn, for this year it is said the manor was in two parts, and was lately held of Humphry de Bohun Earl of Hereford and Essex, by Walter de Bernham and Will. Hauteyn.

Blofield Hundred: Thorp, by Norwich Called Torp in the survey. Stigand Archbishop of Canterbury was lord of it in the reign of the Confessor, in his own right, and held it as a lay-fee; on his deprivation, the Conqueror seized on it, and William de Noiers took care of it, or farmed it at the survey, as steward to him. In Stigand's time, there were 3 carucates, with 24 villains, &c. and 5 borderers, 2 servi, 2 carucates in demean, &c. and 4 carucates among the tenants, paunage for 1200 swine, and 40 acres of meadow, one runcus, 2 cows, &c. with 36 goats. Twenty-six socmen held 2 carucates of land, and one of them had 3 borderers, and there belonged to them 3 carucates and a half; of one of these, Ralph (late) Earl of Norfolk had a moiety, with 30 acres of land, and the soc was in Stigand. After Earl Ralph forfeited, who was lord of this town, and had the soc and sac; Robert Blund farmed it of the King, as William Nowers did, when it was charged and valued at 12£ one sextary of honey, and 2000 herrings; at the survey at 30£ quit-rent. It was 3 leucas long, and one leuca and 3 furlongs broad, and paid 8d. gelt. Here were also 3 socmen, and the moiety of another, with 32 acres of and, and 4 acres of meadow; and, among the tenants, a carucate, which Godwin Halden then held, with their soc and sac, by the grant of Earl Ralph, as the hundred testifies; but they belong to Thorp, with their customary dues; and besides there are 140 sheep, valued at 24d.

South Erpingham Hundred: Oxnead Oxnead takes its name from its site on certain meads or meadows by a river called by the Britains and Saxons, Ouse; a general name for rivers in this county, thus Oxburgh and Oxwick. In the Confessor's reign it was the lordship of Guert, a thane of Saxon or Danish extraction, and Aildeig a freeman held it under him; but at the grand survey (Godwin) Halden was the lord, when there was a church belonging to it, endowed with a large glebe in that age, 24 acres, valued at the annual rent of one penny per acre; 3 villains and 7 borderers held one carucate of land, and one carucate in demean, and one held by the freemen with 12 acres of meadow, and 3 socmen had 60 acres of land. The whole had been valued at 20s. but at the survey at 30s.; it was seven furlongs long, and six broad, and paid 5d. gelt at tax, and the King and the Earl had then the soc. Keving's Manor. This was part of the capital manor of Oxnead, held at the survey by Godwin Halden abovementioned, and soon after granted from it; in the reign of King Richard I. it was held by William de Bernham, lord of Bernham Brome in Norfolk; and in 1263, King Henry III. granted a charter of free-warren to Walter de Bernham, then lord of it, and was held of the Bernhams by the family of Hauteyn. William, son of Sir Hamon Hauteyn, conveyed it to Simon Kevyng, (from whom it took its name,) in 1346.

From Rev. G. Munford, An analysis of the Domesday Book of the County of Norfolk. British Library, Historical Print Editions, comes the following quote:

LX.-GODWIN HALDEN. Blomefield remarks of Godwin Halden, that he held at the Survey a village, or hamlet, called Nettington, near Sedgeford, and that, being a freeman, he held it in King Edward's reign, under Guert; that he “held also at the Survey the manor of Helesden, in the hundred of Taverham, which Stigand held before the Conquest, and the manor of Oxnede, in South Erpingham hundred, held before the Conquest by Ailldig, a freeman under Guert; also the manor of Barnham, in Forehoe hundred, held by a freeman before the Conquest; so that all these were of the gift of the Conqueror to Godwin, on the expulsion of the former lords and owners, who held them in King Edward's reign. Godwin Halden, by his name, seems to be an old English Saxon, or Dane; and how he came to be in such favour, and to merit so much from the Conqueror, is not known; it is, however, worthy of our remark and notice, that, if he was an English Saxon, he is the only one I have yet found in Norfolk that was allowed to keep his land at the Conquest, and held it at the Survey.” And he says farther, that this was “a proof that he was a rebel against King Harold, and assisted the Conqueror.” He was probably the father of Ailmar, a minister regis, and sub-tenant. He held four manors in Norfolk, valued T.R.E. at £7. 28. 8d., and T.R.W. at £8. 28. 8d.

NOTE: T.R.E. is an acronym in Domesday Book for the three Latin words Tempore regis Edwardi, 'in the time of King Edward', or 'before 1066' in the Phillimore translation. Thus, the years 1042-1066. The draft circuit return for the southwestern counties, the satellite known as the Exeter Domesday, or Liber Exoniensis, originally rendered this as "on the day on which King Edward was alive and dead" (5 January 1066). Likewise, T.R.W. is an acronym for Tempore regis Wilhelmi 'in the time of King William I' (1066-1087).

The mention of Blomefield above refers to Rev. Francis Blomefield's An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk (1805). The two quoted sections are from vol. 1; Blom. x. 390. and Ibid. x. 425.

According to Burke, J. (1847). A General Armory of England, Scotland, and Ireland, the arms of Bernham (Norfolk) are blazoned Sa. a cross betw. four crescents ar. That is identical with the blazoning of arms granted to several descendants of Sir Walter Barnham (Suffolk), Chancellor of the Exchequer during the reign of King Richard II. The fact that the family de Bernham dates from 1070 and Sir Walter Barnham flourished about 1350, it may be assumed that Sir Walter and his family are descendants of the former.

Flourished 1070 Norfolk, England.

Sources

• Blomefield, F., & Parkin, C. (1805-1810). An essay towards a topographical history of the County of Norfolk, containing a description of the towns, villages and hamlets, with the foundations of monasteries, churches, chapels, chantries, and other religious buildings: also an account of the ancient and present state of all the rectories ... Likewise, an historical account of the castles, seats, and manors, their present and ancient owners; together with the epitaphs ... in all the parish churches ... with several draughts of Churches, monuments, arms, ancient ruins ... collected out of ledger books, registers, records, evidences, deeds, court-rolls, and other authentick memorials. London: Printed for William Miller ... by W. Bulmer.
• Rev. G. Munford, An analysis of the Domesday Book of the County of Norfolk. vol. 1 (1805)
• Rev. G. Munford, An analysis of the Domesday Book of the County of Norfolk. British Library, Historical Print Editions