Whatmore Family History

William Watmer, born 1569  at Stottesdon in Shropshire, notary and sometime Mayor of the City of Canterbury, told the Heralds on their Visitation of Kent in 1619, that he was the direct descendant of a William Watmoughe who was the third son of John Watmoughe of Eccleston. This William the third son, who died at Stottesdon in 1537, has being taken to be the ancestor of all the  Whatmore family of the Welsh Marches and West Midlands. I have speculated that he was born about 1472 at Eccleston in Prescot parish, Lancashire. Geoffrey Whatmore, Family Historian, discovered however that the probate acts in the court books of the Episcopal Consistory of Hereford (which covers south Shropshire wills) include entries for wills made by JOHN WATMOR of Stottedon (relict of Elizabeth) in 1502 and by Edmund of Stottesdon (relict of Joan) in 1519. Unfortunately these wills have not survived.  So who were these people and did they arrive in Shropshire before William the third son ? Unfortunately we can only speculate as to the answer to this question. Edmund may have been William’s uncle and John may have been William’s brother. The three may have migrated to Shropshire together. Clearly there were Whatmores at Stottesdon by 1502.

Less specualtive may be a suggested answer to the question of why Stottesdon? Whilst younger sons often left home in search of pastures new, there had to be a reason for a migration as far south as southern Shropshire. The key to the mystery may be the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22 August 1485 at which Henry Tudor defeated Richard III. We know that Thomas, Lord Stanley of Lathom and Knowsley of Lancashire played a decisive part in the battle, fighting on the side of Henry. Lord Stanley’s fighting men undoubtedly included members of the Watmough family from his estates around Prescot.  Lord Stanley was rewarded by King Henry VII by the award of the title Earl of Derby. Some of Lord Stanley’s lands were in Shropshire. It seems quite possible that he may have rewarded some of his own fighting men including Watmoughs with tenancies of these lands.  Alternatively, the first Whatmore settlers in Shropshire may have been given their tenancies by Gilbert Talbot of Stottesdon who also fought for Henry Tudor and who was rewarded with a knighthood and  the grant of lands of attainted Yorkists. John Whitmore, the historian of the Belbroughton branch of the Whatmore family, has managed to find a direct link between Gilbert Talbot and Lord Thomas Stanley. One of Lord Stanley’s sons was sent from Lancashire to serve as a squire to Gilbert Talbot and it is possible that the steward’s own retinue included some of the Watmough family from Prescot. These may have remained in Shropshire and fought alongside Gilbert Talbot at Bosworth Field.

Whatever the reason, the  earliest Whatmore family members settled in the township  of Chorley in the eastern part of the parish of Stottesdon. Although Chorley is also the name of a place in Lancashire and there is also a township of Prescot in the parish of Stottesdon, these are co-incidences and these Shropshire place names are much older than the advent of the Watmoughs from Lancashire.

For an account of the Battle of Bosworth Field and a list of the main participants, use this link: http://www.richard111.com/bosworth1.htm

Farm at Chorley, Stottesdon, dating back to the times of the early Whatmores.

Copyright: Rhys D Whatmore

The Duck Inn at Chorley, Stottesdon

Copyright: Rhys D Whatmore

William Watmough, the third son, married a Margaret who died in 1544. William and Margaret had four known children;  RICHARD, HUMPHREY, JOHN  and JOYCE

Although William Watmough the third son made a will, this has not survived. Luckily  that of his wife Margaret, made in 1544 still exists in the Herford Record Office.

 The following transcription of Margaret’s will was made by Christopher Potter of Ludlow and is reproduced here by his kind permission:

 In the name of God amen, the secownde day of october in the yer[e] of towr lorde  a M  CCCCC  xliiij I  Margett Watmore Seke in bowdye & holle of memorye make my testament or last wyll in this man[ner]  furst I bequeve my soll to almyghty god the lady Sent marye & to all the companye of hevyn my bowdye to  be beryd in the chercharde of Stot[er]ton It[em] I Bequeve to the cathedrall cherch of hereforde iiijd  It[em] to Anne Rushburye my servant xls a honest bedde wt all that lowngyth therto  It[em] to Elezabeth Renoldes  a Wenlyng calffe  It[em] to Jhone Renoldes my dowzthr a heyfer of a yer[e] olde  Item to the cherch of Stoterton xxd to helpe to the making of a bell    It[em] to Thomas Watmore the son of Humfre Watmore a Wenlyng calff to be deleveryd att the descretion of Ric my son the Rest of my goodes my dettes & legaces & funerall expences payd I geve and bequeve to Richard my son whom I orden & make my sole executor Syr Iohn Hamonde oeversear  Witnes Robart Rushburye John Haryattes Thomas Crompe & Thomas Wever

Dettes that I oweth

Imprmis to Iohn my son            Is

It[em] to Richarde my son        vj li   iijs  iiijd

If we compare the bequests in the will of Margaret with the pedigree chart from the Heralds Visitation of Kent we will see that Margaret refers to Thomas as the son of Humphrey and not as her own son. It would appear that William Watmer  missed out a generation in his pedigree.

Stottesdon  church in 1791 painted by the Rev. Edward Williams

Copyright: Shropshire Archives. Reproduced here by their kind permission

Photograph of Stottesdon Church by Peter J Saunders

Reproduced by his kind permission

Stottesdon church is one of the finest in Shropshire and is well worth a visit. The oldest part of the church is the west doorway which is now inside the tower. This has a lintel and a tympanum which is at least 11th century and may date to before the conquest.  The font is exceptionally fine and probably dates from about 1160, being of the Herefordshire school whose other famous carvings can be seen at Shobden and Kilpeck in Worcestershire.

Geoffrey Whatmore’s research shows that all the entries in the Stottesdon parish registers (extant from 1565) relate to descendants of  William Watmough, the third son. William’s relatives John (died 1502) and Edmund (died 1519) undoubtedly had descendants whose baptisms were before the start of the Stottesdon registers, but it is clear that the lines of John and Edmund did not continue in Stottesdon.