George was born on 25th January 1598/9, during the final years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, according to the Court of Wards and Liveries documents created on the death of his father. [GA Ref: D3131/2 stated on 2nd October 1616 that he was aged 17 on 25th January]. George was baptised four days later at Badgeworth Parish Church. A year later, his younger brother, Richard junior, was born. They were the only two surviving children born to Richard Gwinnett and his wife, Mary, neé Estcourt.
In 1600, whilst the boys were still babies, their grandmother Eleanor died. In 1604, when the boys were still very young, their grandfather, George Gwinnett who came from North Wales and settled in Gloucestershire, died and was buried in Badgeworth Churchyard. (See Epitaphs)
Nothing is known of the childhood of the two boys who grew up in Crippetts Farmhouse in the parish of Badgeworth on the outskirts of the city of Gloucester. No doubt, as their father was Lord of the Manor, they had a comfortable childhood and a good education but whether George actually went away to school, attended the College School in Gloucester or was taught at home remains a mystery.
The Crippetts drawn by Dr Edward Wilson.
When George was just 16 years old, his father Richard died and, since George was not old enough to inherit the estate in his father’s will, following an assessment of the estate by the Court of Wards and Liveries on behalf of King James I, Mary Gwinnett was given the guardianship of her son George, and his brother Richard, with instruction to ‘bring them up and entertain them’. (For details of this wardship, see his father’s webpage.)
Officially, Mary was her son’s guardian until either he reached the age of majority (21 years) or married, whichever came first. George obviously couldn’t wait for his 21st birthday to come into his inheritance and Lordship of the Manor but married when he was only nineteen years old.
At this point, according to the Court of Wards and Liveries (GA Ref: D3131/4), George could not turn his mother out of Crippetts to bring his new wife in but had to take care of his mother:
the said Mary shall or may quietly enjoy the said grounds and premises during the term of her life, that is to say, the parlour of the said capital messuage or farmhouse of Crippetts and the chamber over the same parlour and the liberty and use of the kitchen of the said capital messuage or farmhouse and of the courtyards and backsides to the same capital messuage belonging and free ingress, egress and regress into and from the same parlour, chamber and kitchen, court and backsides for her the said Mary and her assigns and for her servants and tenants and all other that shall come to or be with the said Mary or her assigns …
He also gave her property and land to provide an income.
So, on 18th June 1618, George Gwinnett married in Shurdington Church to Elizabeth Lawrence, a local girl from a wealthy family. The couple went on to have eleven children, during the next 24 years, four boys and seven girls. They were:
- Elenor (1619 – 1622)
- Elizabeth (1621 – ?) m. Anthony Freeman on 8 Aug 1639
- Richard (1623 – 1675)
- Eleanor (1625 – 1632)
- Mary (1627 – ?) m. William Rogers
- George (1629 – 1682)
- Margaret (1632 – ?) m. Reverend William Westmacott
- Isaac (1632 – 1728)
- Lawrence (1636 – 1693)
- Dorothy (1639 – ?) m. William Randle
- Anne (1643 – 1672) m. John Beach on 31 Oct 1664
The four sons, Richard, George, Isaac and Lawrence, head the four main branches of the rest of my Gwinnett family tree. Whilst George’s younger brother, Richard, had three sons, they none of them appear to have had offspring, so Richard’s line seems to have died out.
On 4th May 1631, George Gwinnett, of Great Shurdington, purchased the ‘Site of the Manor of Greate Bentham, Badgeworth’. The manor was commonly known as Orrys or Urris. For the sum of £550, the purchase included Latners Close, the half acre in Remnants Field and common lands belonging to the manor, from Thomas Edwards & his wife Ann, of Bentham Magna, Giles Steedman and his wife Johane, an apothecary of Tetbury, and William Steedman, vicar of Badgeworth. It would seem that George was beginning to think about the futures of his sons and the property they would need when adults. [G.A. Ref: D2597/31/19]
In 1633, George’s younger brother, Richard of Wormington died, leaving a wife, Mary, three sons, John, Richard and George, all under the age of 21 years, and an unborn child. George was made an overseer of the will which he also witnessed.
Early in 1639, George was mentioned in an Inquisitiones Post Mortem held on the death of his neighbour, William Lawrence, on 6 October 1638. It stated:
The said capital messuage (in Parva Shurdington, where William was living at the time of his death) with the lands and premises thereto belonging are held by George Gwynnett, gent, as of his manor of Badgeworth, by fealty, suit at court and the yearly rent at 2½d, and are worth per annum, clear, 20s. The two closes called Sandfurlonge and the four acres of land in Clayfurlong and the Horne are held of the same George Gwynnett as of his said manor, by fealty, suit at court and the yearly rent of ½d, and are worth per annum, clear, 12d.
A few months later, on 4th April 1639, George Gwinnett was party to a ‘Deed of Settlement to lead to uses of a Fine’ between John Elbridge and his son and heir William, of Bentham and Hannah Hinson of Hunts Court, William Lawrence of Little Shurdington, George Gwinnett of Great Shurdington and Arthur Lysons of Hempstead. It referred to the Manor of Bentham (also known as Bentum or Bridgmare) with all its appurtenances in Bentham, Shurdington, Badgeworth, Witcombe and Brockworth, together with Hammy’s Mead, Stares(?), Crofte and Crickley Meere.
Around the time of the birth of Anne, the final child of George and Elizabeth, the country was plunged into civil war. The City of Gloucester played its part including, between 10th August and 5th September 1643, being under siege by the Royalist forces. I have so far found no evidence of George Gwinnett being involved in either the fighting that took place in and around the city, or of him being part of the organising committee at that particular time. However, whilst he was never the Mayor or an Alderman of Gloucester, he did participate in the running of the city during the civil war as part of the Common Council and later, as a member of the Committee of Safety.
Excerpts from the Common Council Minute Book, 1632 – 1656.
G.A. Ref: GBR/B3/2.
1649 Nomination by the Council of State of Wm. Lenthall (Speaker),
Anthony Edwards (Mayor), James Stephens, Thomas Hill, Thomas Pury, Dennis Wise, Jasper Clutterbuck (Aldermen), Sir Wm. Constable, Bt., Wm. Sheppard, John Dorney, John Wade, Thomas Hodges, Esq., and George Gwinnett, gent., as Commissioners within the County and City of Gloucester to preserve peace and prevent insurrection.
Detailed instructions, including power to muster the militia
1651 Council of State to Commissioners of the Militia for Gloucester City:
10 horses and equipment to be selected from those who are liable under present Militia Act, and are most disaffected towards present government, choosing persons of unquestionable fidelity to ride them.
Names of persons who were charged with and provided horses and equipment according to these instructions: Mr Gwinnett provided one horse and arms, 18th August 1651.
1651 Instructions from the Council of State to Wm. Lenthall, the Mayor, Sir William Constable, Bt., Anthony Edwards, James Stephens, Thos. Pury, Thos. Hill, Dennis Wise, Jasper Clutterbuck, John Wade, Wm. Sheppard, John Dorney, Thos. Hodges, Esq., and George Gwinnett, gent., to be put into operation in the City pursuant to an Order of Parliament:
- to meet monthly to gain information of conspiracy and disaffection and such as are of the Commission of the Peace to take informations and examinations and take appropriate action against such persons;
- to disarm and secure or commit Papists and those disaffected to the present Government, or in correspondence with Charles Stuart, or with hostile persons or nations, or in raising insurrection;
- to observe strangers, their activities and persons they contact, and inform the Council of any suspicious persons;
- arms handed out in recent years to the militia are to be collected and placed in secure custody, and an inventory taken of arms in hands of private persons as well as in safe keeping;
- the Sheriff of the County is to assist in this and they are to keep in correspondence with commanders of the forces in the pay of the Commonwealth
1646 In the meantime, on 14th May, in his family life, George, his wife Elizabeth and son Richard transferred land and property to William Caple and Anthony Freeman for £300. [three houses, 2 dovecotes, gardens, orchards, meadows, pasture and woods in Great & Little Shurdington, Bentham, Badgeworth & Down Hatherley.]. This was part of a marriage settlement between Richard and Ann Caple, for which there was a £500 marriage portion
Later that year, George and Elizabeth were the deforciants in an exemplification of a fine brought against them by William Capel and Anthony Freeman.
1647 On 24th September, George Gwynnett of Great Shurdington made a settlement with William Lawrence of Little Shurdington and Anthony Freeman of Badgeworth regarding the ‘messuage or site of the Manor of Greate Bentham, Badgeworth, commonly called Urris, formerly occupied by Thomas Edwards, gent, plus various pieces of land. These were to be held in trust for George, junior.
1650 The final document found relating to George Gwinnett and property is dated 20th March 1650. It involved George, senior, Richard his oldest son, George, his second son and his wife Elizabeth née Randle, daughter of Thomas, the Randle family, William Lawrence and Anthony Freeman. This time it was the manor of unts Court under consideration.
1658 After the Civil War, responsibility for Gloucester Cathedral was passed to the Mayor and Burgesses of the city so they had to oversee its maintenance including all of the costs. At that time, the Cathedral was said to be in a ‘ruinous state’ and ‘a great part ready to fall down’. But the city authorities could not afford all of the costs so it needed another source of income.
However, according to ‘No Fine but a Glass of Wine’ by Suzanne Eward, various gentlemen had offered to contribute to the costs and others were to be persuaded to contribute. Those with the task of collecting funds were: Aldermen Lawrence Singleton, James Stephens and Anthony Edwards; Robert Tyther, Toby Jordan, Thomas Peirce, John Singleton, James Commelin, John Donne, Thomas Burroughes, George Gwinnett the elder, John Brewster of London, John Tomes, Godfry Ellis, William Angell and Walter Harries.’ How well George Gwinnett fulfilled this task is not known.
1662 On 30 January 1662, George Gwinnett, senior, died and was buried in Badgeworth Churchyard in the same tomb as his father, Richard, and grandfather, George. No will has ever been found so it would appear that none was written; this is surprising considering the amount of property he held but some people are reluctant to admit their mortality – maybe George was one of those.