Thomas Waller (abt. 1341 - 1390)

Born about 1341 in Groombridge, Kent, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 1390 at about age 49 in Speldhurst, Kent, England

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Biography

Thomas Waller (1330-1390), oldest son and heir. He married Christina Chalfunt, daughter of Henry Chalfunt. We do not know when the family left the estate in Nottinghamshire, given them by William the Conqueror, but it was this Thomas Waller, of Lamberthurst, who in 1360 purchased from Lord Clinton the estate known as "Groombridge" (also spelled Gromebridge and Groomsbridge) to begin a 244 year tenure there by the Waller family. Records show License of Land, (Title) at Billingston in 1407. Much earlier in Saxony times Groombridge had been a moated castle. This was the time of the Renaissance (1300-1550), a time of learning. Thomas was a contemporary of the great English writer, Geoffry Chaucer (1340-1400). Modern English was beginning to take shape as Normans began to use more of the Anglo-Saxon language and Saxons took up some of the Latin. Thomas changed the spelling of the family name to "Waller" and dropped the "de".

Research Notes

Given Katherine Waller's will of 1423,^[1] it seems likely that Thomas Waller was the father of John Waller of Groombridge, without there being this intermediate Thomas Waller.

Sources

1. ↑ Kent Archaeological Society contributors, "Katherine WALLERE, Will 10 March 1423". Kent Archaeological Society. Accessed 16 Oct 2020.

• https://web.archive.org/web/20140902013135/http://mysite.verizon.net/bushwhak/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/wallerhistory.pdf email from Wallace Haynes
• Waller-325 created through the import of Durrell Family Tree.ged on Jul 4, 2011 by Pamela Durrell. Created through the import of Acrossthepond.ged on 21 February 2011.