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Ernle was the surname of an English
gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...
or
landed family The landed gentry, or the ''gentry'', is a largely historical Social structure of the United Kingdom#History, British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a Estate (land), country estate. Whil ...
descended from the lords of the manor of
Earnley Earnley is a civil and ecclesiastical parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located four miles (6.4 km) south-west of Chichester, and lies on the south coast of England. The parish includes the settlements of Almod ...
in
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
who derived their surname from the name of the place where their estates lay.


Origins


Onomastic

Onomasticians say that the surname's origin, in being drawn from the name of a manor, is topographical in nature, and identical with the place name's origins. As such, it is derived from an
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
compound name composed of ''earn'' meaning ''eagle'' combined with ''leah'' meaning ''wood''. The name's meaning is interpreted as signifying a place to which eagles resort. The earliest forms noted are ''Earneleach'', ''Earnaleagh'', ''Earnelegh'' found in a document dated 780 during the reign of
Oslac Óslác is a theophoric Anglo-Saxon given name, cognate to Old Norse ''Ásleikr''/''Áslákr'' (Latinised ''Ansleicus'', modern Scandinavian ''Aslak'') and to Old High German ''Ansleh'' (''Anslech'', ''Ansleccus''). It is composed of '' ós'' "god" ...
, duke of the South Saxons. A later form, ''Earneleia'', derives from a charter of England's King Aethelstan dated 930. Other English place names deriving from the same two words are thought to include
Earley Earley is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Along with the neighbouring town of Woodley, the Office for National Statistics places Earley within the Reading/Wokingham Urban Area; for the purposes of local ...
, Berkshire and
Areley Kings Areley Kings is a Worcestershire village on the River Severn 10 miles north of Worcester in the picturesque area of the Wyre Forest. The area is featured in the Domesday Book and many historical places of interest, like Areley Hall, are open to ...
(otherwise Areley-on-Severn), formerly called Ernley, Worcestershire. The latter place is connected with
Layamon Layamon or Laghamon (, ; ) – spelled Laȝamon or Laȝamonn in his time, occasionally written Lawman – was an English poet of the late 12th/early 13th century and author of the ''Brut'', a notable work that was the first to present the legend ...
, poet and historian, one of the earliest writers in the English tongue (''The Beginnings of English Literature'', C.M. Lewis, 1900, p. 66): ''About the year 1205 an English 'Brut' was written. This was the work of Layamon, a parish priest of Ernley in Worcestershire. The opening lines give us the best information we have about him. Their metre should be noted. It is a relic of the Old English verse, each half-line (or each line, as here printed) containing two principal accents, and being more or less closely connected with its fellow. The poet, however, often omitted the alliteration; and the scribe, who attempted by marks of punctuation to show which half-lines belonged together, seems in consequence to have sometimes lost his way.'' ''An preost wes on leoden Laȝamon wes ihoten. He wes leouenaðes sone, liðe him beo drihten. He wonede at ernleȝe, at æðelen are chirechen. vppen seuarne staÞe, sel Þar him Þuhte. on fest Radestone Þer he bock radde. Hit com him on mode, & on his mern Þonke.'' ranslation into Modern English ''A priest was among the people who was called Layamon. He was Levenath's son. Gracious to him be the Lord. He dwelt at Ernly, at a noble church upon Severn's bank. Well there to him it seemed, fast by Radestone. There he read books.''


Geographical: Parochial versus manorial extent

The parish of Earnley lies on the southern coast of England in the county of Sussex, 4 miles (6.4 km) south-west of
Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...
, the local cathedral city. It formed part of the
hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...
of ''La Manwode'' or ''Manwood'', now found under the form ''Manhood'', which in turn took its name from a locality in the parish of Earnley. The parish and hundred lie in the original pre-Conquest Saxon division of Sussex known as the
Rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
of Chichester. The boundaries of the manor of Earnley and the parish of the same name are not strictly coterminous, as the manor itself was not contained within the parish borders, but included part of the neighbouring parish of
West Wittering West Wittering is a village and civil parish situated on the Manhood Peninsula in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies near the mouth of Chichester Harbour on the B2179 road southwest of Chichester close to the border with Ha ...
. Also, the parish of Earnley was enlarged in 1524, absorbing the former parish of
Almodington Earnley is a civil and ecclesiastical parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located four miles (6.4 km) south-west of Chichester, and lies on the south coast of England. The parish includes the settlements of Almod ...
, now a hamlet of Earnley parish. The resulting parish, held by a rector, is formally referred to as ''Earnley with Almodington''. During the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
and
Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...
, the parish of Earnley was united with
East Wittering East Wittering is a coastal village in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. The majority of the village lies within the civil parish of East Wittering, while the western edge lies within the boundary of West Wittering civil parish. ...
for the purposes of officially countenanced Presbyterian worship and oversight during the official suppression of
Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
. At the
Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
, which saw not just the return of the
monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
, but also of the
Anglican Settlement Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
, the parishes reverted to their separate status as in pre-Commonwealth times.


Historical

Historians trace the origins of this Sussex landed family to the latter part of the twelfth century. About 1190, ''Bertha de Lancinges'' confirmed an earlier charter for lands amounting to a quarter of a
knight's fee In feudal Anglo-Norman England and Ireland, a knight's fee was a unit measure of land deemed sufficient to support a knight. Of necessity, it would not only provide sustenance for himself, his family, and servants, but also the means to furnish him ...
less one
virgate The virgate, yardland, or yard of land ( la, virgāta was an English unit of land. Primarily a measure of tax assessment rather than area, the virgate was usually (but not always) reckoned as   hide and notionally (but seldom exactly) equal ...
at Earnley, Sussex granted about a generation earlier, that is, circa 1166, by her father ''William de Lancinges'' and his wife ''Maud'' to his uncle, ''Lucas de Ernle''. This name simply means ''Luke of Earnley''. This man, whom historians call ''Luke de Ernle'', is the first known member of the family, and is the probable progenitor of all subsequent ''Ernle''s, though it is not known whether he was actually the first person to be known by this designation. Since he is denominated as ''de Ernle'' in this document, it is quite likely that he or his family was already known and distinguished from others by the use of that ''sobriquet'' or surname. Since the grant of lands was given to him by a family member, it appears logical to assume that his own connexion to the place, like theirs, dated to an earlier period. As for the ''de Lancinges'' family itself, to whom ''Luke de Ernle'' was kin: they were supporters of the
Arundel Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England. The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much large ...
earls of Sussex who were descended from
Roger de Montgomerie, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury Roger de Montgomery (died 1094), also known as Roger the Great, was the first Earl of Shrewsbury, and Earl of Arundel, in Sussex. His father was Roger de Montgomery, seigneur of Montgomery, a member of the House of Montgomerie, and was probably ...
, a major
feudal baron A feudal baron is a vassal holding a heritable fief called a ''barony'', comprising a specific portion of land, granted by an overlord in return for allegiance and service. Following the end of European feudalism, feudal baronies have largely been ...
who was granted large tracts of Sussex known as the
Rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
of Arundel in 1067 or 1068 from his kinsman,
William I of England William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 108 ...
.


Ethnic

It is not now known whether Luke ''de Ernle'' was of
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...
,
Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
, or other, origin, these events having occurred a century after the
Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...
in 1066. The designation ''de Ernle'' occurs very early in the history of the adoption of hereditary surnames in
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, a phenomenon which began along the south-eastern coast of England among the feudal manorial lords (of the greater and lesser nobility) whose members were mostly drawn from the descendants of the Norman invaders and their allies.


Heraldic

The ancient
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
or
heraldic shield In heraldry, an escutcheon () is a shield that forms the main or focal element in an achievement of arms. The word can be used in two related senses. In the first sense, an escutcheon is the shield upon which a coat of arms is displayed. In the s ...
of the Ernle family was not used pursuant to specific rights described in an extant grant of arms from one of the royal officers of arms, but appears to have been borne by the head of the family through prescriptive right having been adopted in
time immemorial Time immemorial ( la, Ab immemorabili) is a phrase meaning time extending beyond the reach of memory, record, or tradition, indefinitely ancient, "ancient beyond memory or record". The phrase is used in legally significant contexts as well as ...
. The contents of the shield reflect a knowledge of the name's original meaning, ''resort of eagles'', that is, a place where eagles congregate. As such, the coat could be said to fall into the category of
canting arms Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. French heralds used the term (), as they would sound out the name of the armiger. Many armorial allus ...
. The
blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...
is ''Argent, on a bend sable, three eagles displayed or'' which means that on a
heater shield The heater shield or heater-shaped shield is a form of European medieval shield, developing from the early medieval kite shield in the late 12th century in response to the declining importance of the shield in combat thanks to improvements in ...
coloured silver appears a wide sash-like strip of black running diagonally from the top left toward the bottom right of the escutcheon on which is placed a row of three golden eagles with their wings open and bodies showing. According to ''Burke's General Armory'' (1884) and ''Burke's General Armory Two'' (1974), this basic coat of arms, sometimes varying in one detail or another, accompanied by various crests or none, was used over the centuries by the branches of the family, who, by the similarity of their descriptions, claim descent from a shared origin in the same Sussex locality,
Earnley Earnley is a civil and ecclesiastical parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located four miles (6.4 km) south-west of Chichester, and lies on the south coast of England. The parish includes the settlements of Almod ...
, from which they derive their surname. These armigerous branches of the family, whose current fate is not always known, with their various differences or departures from the original paternal coat, taken as denoting cadency, were in alphabetical order: (From ''Burke's General Armory'', 1884, p. 312, col. 2) 1. Earnley (co. Cornwall). ''Argent, on a bend cotised sable, two (another, three) eagles displayed with two necks or.'' 2. Earnley (co. Kent). ''Argent, a bend sable cotised between three eagles displayed gules.'' 3. Earnley (co. Sussex). ''Argent, on a bend sable, three eagles displayed or.'' Crest: ''A savage's head affrontée, couped at the shoulders, wreathed about the temples, issuing therefrom a plume of three ostrich feathers all proper.'' (From ''Burke's General Armory'', 1884, p. 328, col. 2) 4. Erneley (place unspecified). ''Argent, on a bend sable, three eagles displayed of the field.'' 5. Ernelle (co. Kent). ''Argent, on a bend cotised sable, three eagles displayed or.'' Crest: ''A chevalier on horseback wielding a scimitar, all proper.'' 6. Ernelle (place unspecified). ''Argent, a bend sable.'' 7. Ernle (Ernle [i.e.
Earnley Earnley is a civil and ecclesiastical parish in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located four miles (6.4 km) south-west of Chichester, and lies on the south coast of England. The parish includes the settlements of Almod ...
], co. Sussex, and Whetham, Wiltshire, Whetham, co. Wilts.; descended from RICHARD ERNLE, of Ernle (that is, Earnley, Sussex), temp. Hen. III, the ancestor of Sir John Ernley, John ERNLE, Knt., of Ernle, Chief Justice, K.B., whose descendant*, Sir
John Ernle Sir John Ernle (1620 – June 1697) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1654 and 1695. He was one of the longest-serving Chancellors of the Exchequer, a position he held from 2 May 1676 to 9 April 1 ...
, Knt., of Whetham, co. Wilts., was Chancellor of the Exchequer and a Privy Councillor, temp. Charles II and James II. The family name, EARNLEY, or ERNLE, is derived from a village in Sussex, so called from the Saxon words ''Earn'' and ''Lege,'' the place or habitation of eagles, and, in allusion, the eagles are borne in the arms). ''Argent, on a bend sable, three eagles displayed or.'' Crest -- ''An eagle displayed vert.''. Another crest -- ''A man's head sidefaced, couped at the shoulders proper, on the head a long cap, barry of six or and sable, at the end two strings and tasselled gold.'' ''*'' This filiation conflicts with what appears in the Oxford
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
, which points out the confusion of centuries of genealogists over the two Ernle brothers both, according to a common mediaeval usage unfamiliar to many modern researchers, named John. The elder of these brothers was John Ernle, Esq., of Fosbury and Bishop's Cannings, Wilts., esquire. He was the progenitor of the Wiltshire line, and thus the 17th-century chancellor's direct ancestor, while the younger of them, known to history chiefly as Sir John Ernley, was the Lord Chief Justice. This latter personage was, moreover, not as the
post-nominal letters Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, ...
''K.B.'' denote, a Knight of the original
Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
, but rather a simple knight, formerly called a ''banneret'', or knight of the field, or what would now be termed a
Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...
, or, in casual usage, a ''carpet knight''. 8. Ernle (Etchilhampton, co. Wilts., baronet, extinct 1787; a branch of ERNLE, of Ernle). ''Same Arms, &c.'' 9. Ernley (JOHN ERNLEY, Sheriff of Wilts., temp. Henry VII). ''Argent, on a bend sable, three eagles displayed or.'' 10. Ernley (quartered by TIDERLEIGH, of Tiderleigh, co. Devon (modern, ''Tytherleigh''). Robert TIDERLEIGH, of that place, temp.
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
, m. ELIZABETH, dau. and co-heir of ANTHONY ERNLEY. Visitation of Somerset, 1620. ''Same Arms.'' (From ''General Armory Two'', 1974, p. 57, col. 2) (as per 4 above) Erneley. Insert (Cos. Wilts. And Sussex). V.* W. (which abbreviations refer to the following items: V.=''Glover's Ordinary''. Cotton MS. Tiberius D. 10; Harleian MSS 1392 and 1459, with the asterisk referring to the note that "Coats incorrectly given in the printed Glover Ordinary which may have been copied into books of reference and probably used as actual coats." W.=''Withie's additions to Glover's Ordinary'', in Harleian MS 1459) (as per 5 above) Ernelle (Co. Kent). Add: V.W. 11. Ernell (place unspecified). ''Argent, on a bend sable, 3 eagles displayed with 2 heads or''. W. (as per 7 above) Ernley (John Ernley). Sheriff of Wilts... Add: Ernley (New Sarum co. Wilts., Baronetcy 1660). ''Same arms.'' Sir John Ernley. Chief Justice of Common Pleas. 1509 (recte, 1519, see
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
). Dug. O.J. (an abbreviation denoting William Dugdale's work, ''Origines Juridiciales'', London, 1671). While coats of arms are often accompanied by mottoes, heraldists and other interested parties will also to note that, apparently, no
motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...
accompanies any of these coats-of-arms.


Status

As an armorial family whose original status derives from ancient landed property, the Ernle family belonged to the class known as the
gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...
. As gentlemen with a
coat-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its w ...
, or
armiger In heraldry, an armiger is a person entitled to use a heraldic achievement (e.g., bear arms, an "armour-bearer") either by hereditary right, grant, matriculation, or assumption of arms. Such a person is said to be armigerous. A family or a cl ...
s, the heads of the family were hereditary esquires, and the younger sons and their cadets all gentlemen, and their daughters all gentlewomen. The family were thus all of ''gentle birth'', and were classed as members of what has been termed the ''minor'' or ''lesser nobility'', corresponding to what the Germans term, ''
Uradel (, German: "ancient nobility"; adjective or ) is a genealogical term introduced in late 18th-century Germany to distinguish those families whose noble rank can be traced to the 14th century or earlier. The word stands opposed to ''Briefadel'', ...
'', which the French call '' noblesse de race'', or ancient nobility. Though they never achieved the ranks of the ''greater nobility'' which, in England, was confined to members of the
peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...
, at least one branch of the family did accede to the ranks of hereditary knighthood, created by King
James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the Union of the Crowns, union of the Scottish and Eng ...
, and known as the
baronetage A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...
. In the 20th century, a female-line descendant, Rowland Prothero, was granted an
hereditary peerage The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of September 2022, there are 807 hereditary peers: 29 dukes (including five royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 190 earls, 111 viscounts, and 443 barons (disregarding subsidi ...
as Lord Ernle, though that title only existed from 1919 to 1937, due to the early death, in action, during World War I, of his only son, who would have been heir to the peerage, had he outlived the hostilities. As can be seen in the case of the cadet lines of its male descendants, junior members of the family sometimes ceased to live as gentry. In England, as opposed to the Continent, where one observes that the legal penalty for
dérogeance Dérogeance ("derogation (of nobility)") was grievance for persons who did acts deemed unworthy of the noble status. A consequence of dérogeance was loss of the privileges of nobility (but not full revocation of nobility). In particular the person ...
resulted in the legal loss of nobiliary status due to the failure of someone of gentle or noble blood to live as a noble, this, however, led to no automatic legal denial of their ancient gentility of blood. So, even if living in reduced circumstances, and performing manual labour, such English gentlefolk did not suffer from any deprivation, withdrawal, or removal of their hereditary gentle status. It is possible, however, that some sank so far from their gentle origins and the former lifestyles of their ancestors that all memory of their family's former rank, privileges, precedence, and
armiger In heraldry, an armiger is a person entitled to use a heraldic achievement (e.g., bear arms, an "armour-bearer") either by hereditary right, grant, matriculation, or assumption of arms. Such a person is said to be armigerous. A family or a cl ...
ous status was lost. On the other hand, while no one could deny their abiding gentle status, they might be subject to popular derision if they asserted it without the means of living up to it by the 'port (i.e. deportment), manner, or reputation' of a gentleman. By the time this decline began to be observed among the junior-most cadet branches of the family, both the senior male line of the family and their surviving next principal male cadet branch in Wiltshire (see ''Ernle of Brembridge'') had died out (in the late 18th century – in fact, within a year of one another). It is not known if anyone is now entitled to claim a male-line descent from this ancient noble family, and thereby lay claim to use the undifferenced coat-of-arms borne by the head of the Ernle family since
time immemorial Time immemorial ( la, Ab immemorabili) is a phrase meaning time extending beyond the reach of memory, record, or tradition, indefinitely ancient, "ancient beyond memory or record". The phrase is used in legally significant contexts as well as ...
. The undifferenced arms are, however, quartered in the armorial bearings of the extant Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax family.


Ernle of Earnley, Sussex, and the Manor of Earnley

This family derived from ''Luke de Ernle'' who was confirmed in his ''de Lancinges'' nephew's earlier grant (1166) to him of almost a quarter of a knight's fee by his ''de Lancinges'' great-niece in about 1190. Historians' attempts to trace this family over later centuries have met with only partial success, though the continuity of the descent of the manor of Earnley among people bearing that early surname is thought to indicate that successive manorial lords all belonged to the same family. The evidence recited in the published account of the manor of Earnley cites a later lord of the manor living around 1260 whose name was also ''Luke de Ernle'' (in this instance, the documentary spelling is ''de Ernele'', and that account favours this spelling of the name). Next, ''John de Ernle son of Luke'' held the manor in 1284. A man who may be this John, or his younger son, John, received a grant of
free warren A free warren—often simply warren—is a type of franchise or privilege conveyed by a sovereign in medieval England to an English subject, promising to hold them harmless for killing game of certain species within a stipulated area, us ...
at Earnley in 1318. In 1337, mention is made of ''John and Richard de Ernele'', and of ''Joan daughter of John de Ernele'' in connexion with the recovery of the nearby manor of Almodington by ''Robert de Almodington''. The next two citations from the 1340s probably pertain to one or other of the two men called ''John de Ernele'' mentioned in 1337. According to the ''Sussex Archaeological Collections'' (1865, p. 248): ''John de Ernele (Ernley), one of the Coroners for Sussex in 1343, being found inefficient, another was ordered to be elected by the County in his place. (Rot. Cl. 17th Edward III.)'' A
fine Fine may refer to: Characters * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (penalty), money to be paid as punishment for an offe ...
dated 1347 names ''John de Ernele of La Manwode''. The place referred to here can be either the name of the
hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...
in which the parish of Earnley was situate, or an actual locality within the parish of Earnley which happens to have given its name to the hundred, probably because it was the usual meeting-place for the whole hundred when it gathered to conduct business. Thereafter, almost a century elapses before there is a mention of ''John Ernle'' conveying the manor of Earnley to John Michelgrove and his wife, Joan, in 1427. In 1428, 1431 and 1432, however, ''William Ernele'' held the manor. A generation later, in 1467, there is record of the manor being settled on ''John Lunsford and Margaret his wife'', who was the ''widow of John Ernele''. The descent hereafter is paralleled by the account of the family cited in the ''Oxford
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'' to be found under the heading, ''Sir
John Ernley Sir John Ernley (or Ernle) (1464 – 22 April 1520) was a British justice. He was educated at one of the Inns of Chancery from 1478 to 1480 before being admitted to Gray's Inn. By 1490 he was a particularly conspicuous member of the "Sussex circl ...
, Chief Justice.'' At this juncture, in her proof of coming of age, Elizabeth Michelgrove, wife of John Shelley (both direct ancestors of the poet, Shelley), it is stated that she was baptised at Earnley parish church on 28 March in the 39th year of the reign of King
Henry VI of England Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English thron ...
, that is, in 1461, and that her godfather was ''John Ernle'', and her godmother, ''Joan Ernle'' (see ''Inq. 15 Ed. VI, no. 66''), who were her kinsfolk, as the
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
, under the entry for her son,
Sir William Shelley Sir William Shelley (1480?–1549) was an English judge. Life Born about 1480, he was the eldest son of Sir John Shelley (died 3 Jan. 1526) and his wife Elizabeth (died 31 July 1513), daughter and heir of John de Michelgrove in the parish of Cl ...
, asserts. Elizabeth was the sole child and heir of her father ''John Michelgrove alias Fauconer'', Esq., of Michelgrove, parish of
Clapham, Sussex Clapham is a rural village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It lies on varying downslopes and escarpment of the South Downs National Park three miles (5 km) north of Angmering on the A280 road and north of the ...
, and his wife, Agnes or Ann, sometimes called Mary, daughter of William Sydney, of
Penshurst Penshurst is a historic village and civil parish located in a valley upon the northern slopes of the Kentish Weald, at the confluence of the River Medway and the River Eden, within the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The village is situa ...
, Kent. It would appear from her pedigree that the connexion was probably through the parties mentioned in the 1427 manorial transfer, and that there may have been a blood tie between the ''Michelgrove alias Fauconer'' family and that of ''Ernle'', in addition to the one of spiritual kinship deriving from the Michelgrove heiress's baptism. ''John Ernele, Ernle, or Ernley'', Solicitor General, then Attorney General of England and, finally, Chief Justice, is mentioned in 1480 as passing the manor to others of his kinsmen, ''John Clerkson, the elder'', and ''John Inglere'', who were great-grandsons of his own forebear, an earlier ''John Ernele''. This is a curious reference as this particular ''John Ernley'' was born in 1464 or 1465, and so was not of age to make a conveyance. Moreover, he had an elder brother, also called John, whom historians refer to as ''John Ernle, The Elder, Esq., of Fosbury and Bishop's Cannings, Wilts.'', to distinguish him from his younger brother of the same name. This elder brother John would normally have been the heir to their father, ''John Ernle, Esq., of Sidlesham, Sussex'' who died in 1465, unless provisions for some other disposition of these estates was made at some point for which no documentation exists, at least, publicly, at present. Thereafter, whoever the ''John Ernle'' of the 1480 conveyance may have been, the manor passed to people of other names who may or may not be connected by blood or marriage to the Ernle family of Earnley. In 1564, the manor was once again conveyed to ''Richard Ernle'' (''Erneley'' in the documentation in this case), indicating that it may, for a time, have been held in trust for the right Ernle heir, and then returned at an appropriate date. At any rate, the connexion between the descent of the manor of ''Earnley'', and the family of the name ''Ernle'', ended finally when a later ''Richard Erneley'' sold it to Richard Taylor in 1630. Thereafter, the family of Ernle, as distinct from the manor of the same name, became attached to the episcopal manor of Cackham in
West Wittering West Wittering is a village and civil parish situated on the Manhood Peninsula in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies near the mouth of Chichester Harbour on the B2179 road southwest of Chichester close to the border with Ha ...
, a place close to their original home at Earnley in
West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ...
. Despite their proximity to their ancestral lands, the Sussex branch of the Ernle family's close ties with the manor and parish from which they derived their surname, seem, however, to have been severed finally in the first third of the 17th century, after the space of nearly 500 years of continuous manorial tenure. Evidence of the eclipse of the Sussex branch of the Ernle family by their Wiltshire kinsmen is seen in the lifetime of the immediate heir of the Sussex line's most successful member: ''"In Sussex, William Earnley was the son of the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas; in contrast to most of his colleagues, who had at least £40 a year with an average of £100, he had only £26 produced by a medley of very small properties, in addition to which he leased Cakeham manor from the Bishop of Chichester."'' One of the latest references to a member of this branch playing a prominent role in the affairs of the county dates from December 1624: ''Justices warrant to apoynte a Provost Marshall and to sett Watch & Ward December 1624'' ''After our very harty comendacons : Whereas we have lately receaved Letters from the Lords of his Ma esty'smost hon urablePrivy Councell directed to us the Justices of Peace of this County; wherein theire Lo dshipsrequire for the better secureinge of high wayes and the more safety of places wh. chabout this season of the yeare are usually offended by idle and loose p'sons .e. personsand at this tyme is more to be suspected than at other tymes in respect of the great leavyes of Souldiers lately made and to be made who are to be conducted through this County that there should be provost Marshalls stirringe and therefore we have thoughte good to apoynte you'' Mr Earnely of Cr. .e. Chichester ''to be provost Marshall for the Rape of Cr. hichester& p'sently .e. presentlyto take uppon you the said office And we have thought it fitt and convenient, that you should make choyse of vj (i.e. six) or viij (i.e. eight) of the substantiallest yeomen to be well armed to attend you at such tymes as yo° .e. youdoe apoynte to make your p'ambulacon .e. perambulationW
thin Thin may refer to: * a lean body shape. ''(See also: emaciation, underweight)'' * ''Thin'' (film), a 2006 HBO documentary about eating disorders * Paper Thin (disambiguation), referring to multiple songs * Thin (web server), a Ruby web-server b ...
that rape by such convenient division thereof as to yo'selves .e. yourselvesshall seeme best to app'hend .e. apprehendall idle and loose persons and other dangereuse people or vagabonds that are to be suspected of any fellonyes or other disorders. That they may be brought to the next Justice of Peace (if Cause require) or otherwise to be committed to the constable to be justified accordinge to the Lawe, And that you do continue this course iij .e. threetymes in the weeke at the leaste and afterwards as you shall hand have further directions ; and so not doubteinge of yor good care accordingly, we bid you heartely farewell.'' This reference to ''Mr Earnely of Chichester'' in 1624, appears to have been one of the last times a male Ernle was alive and active in the county. By the time of the 1634
heraldic Visitation Heraldic visitations were tours of inspection undertaken by Kings of Arms (or alternatively by heralds, or junior officers of arms, acting as their deputies) throughout England, Wales and Ireland. Their purpose was to register and regulate the ...
of Sussex, the remaining Sussex Ernle heritage was represented by ''Bridget, da. .e. daughterof Richard Ernley and wife of Richard Stanney''. Reference to the records of the Archbishop of Canterbury's testamentary jurisdiction provides the final evidences of the extinction of the Sussex line: "Abstracts of Probate Acts in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, volume 1, 1630-34", p. 146 ''Anno 1632'' ''ERNLE, Richard, of Cackham (Cakeham, p. West Wittering), Sussex, Esq.'' ''Will 6 Audleypr. June 16 by rel. Susan. P.r. ELIZ. RISHTON'' "Abstracts of Probate Acts in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Supplement. Sentences and complete index nominum, 1630-1639", p. 32 ''ERNLE, Richard, of Cackham, Sussex, Esq.'' ''Extrix. v. sister BRIDGET STANNY'' ''Sent. pro. val. test., June 16, 1632 6 Audley' ''Will 6 Audleypr vedsame date.'' Thus we see why the 1634 Sussex Visitation showed Bridget Stanney as the representative of the Ernle family in Sussex, for her brother had died sometime before the final disposition of his worldly estate by will and sentence of 16 June 1632. It is not surprising, then, that, when the 1662 heraldic Visitation of Sussex was made, no further pedigree was recorded for the ancient Sussex family of Ernle, and what Ernle blood remained in the county was inherited via the female line, as in the case of the Stanney or Stanny and Rishton families. Thus was extinguished one of the ancient historic surnames of the county of Sussex. The Sussex Ernle family might have deserved some place in Sir J. Bernard Burke's chronicle of the rise and fall from prominence of old names, ''The Vicissitudes of Families'', though he chiefly concerned himself with the demise of families comprising the greater nobility of the realm.


Rise from local to national prominence under the Tudors

The Ernle family maintained their manorial
demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...
at Earnley on the Sussex coast for centuries. In the early Tudor period, the original, or Sussex branch, of the Ernle family gave rise to Sir John Ernle (or Ernley),
Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
, Lord
Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, which was the second-highest common law court in the English legal system until 1875, when it, along with the other ...
(1519–1520), whose career, begun during the reign of King
Henry VII of England Henry VII (28 January 1457 – 21 April 1509) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizure of the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death in 1509. He was the first monarch of the House of Tudor. Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort ...
reached its height in the reign of his son and successor, King
Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
. Sir John Ernley's legal and judicial career and family connexions are detailed in the
DNB Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...
and its successor, the
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
. Sir John's descendants remained in Sussex through the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods maintaining their connexion with the manor of Earnley until its sale in 1630, during the first years of the reign of King
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
. Thereafter, it becomes harder to trace the descent of the Sussex branch of the family, though there are traces of it in Sussex in the 17th and 18th centuries as well as in neighbouring
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
. In 1538, under Henry VIII, ''William Ernle'', son of Sir John Ernle, Lord Chief Justice, was sent to Chichester cathedral as a royal commissioner along with Sir William Goring to take down the Shrine of St
Richard of Chichester Richard of Chichester (1197 – 3 April 1253), also known as Richard de Wych, is a saint (canonized 1262) who was Bishop of Chichester. In Chichester Cathedral a shrine dedicated to Richard had become a richly decorated centre of pilgrimag ...
located there. As Chichester cathedral was the chief church of the diocese where their estates lay, and St Richard was a local saint whose Shrine was decorated by pilgrims and members of the local gentry for over 250 years during the pre-Reformation period, this task was partly a test of the Sussex Ernle family head's loyalty to the new religion, the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
, whereof, on earth, the king had declared his
royal supremacy The Acts of Supremacy are two acts passed by the Parliament of England in the 16th century that established the English monarchs as the head of the Church of England; two similar laws were passed by the Parliament of Ireland establishing the Eng ...
supplanting the authority of the
pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
. Local legends at
West Wittering West Wittering is a village and civil parish situated on the Manhood Peninsula in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies near the mouth of Chichester Harbour on the B2179 road southwest of Chichester close to the border with Ha ...
in Sussex (a place where the Ernle family also held lands at this time) which claim that the bones of St Richard were hidden in a tomb there give rise to the possibility that this ''William Ernle'' or someone closely associated with him managed to secure the saint's relics for posterity when the removal and destruction of the ornaments and relics of St Richard's Shrine took place partly under Ernle's direction. ''William Ernle'' and Elizabeth his wife's tombs with their partially destroyed inscriptions are considered by historians to lie in West Wittering parish church, so the connexion, if true, was close. Be that as it may, later generations of Sussex ''Ernle''s appear to have conformed to the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
more enthusiastically. In 1564, ''Mr Richard Ernlie'' (misprinted as ''Crulie''), of Cackham (now Cakeham), Sussex, son of William, the royal commissioner of 1538, is listed as being one of the gentlemen of Sussex who was designated as being among the "favourers of godlie procedinges", indicating that he was by then a staunch, if rather sobre, Anglican, when such a description was a mark of approval from Church and State alike.


Migration to and proliferation in Wiltshire


Migration

In the 18th century, the senior Wiltshire branch of the ''Ernle'' family claimed that they had established themselves in Wiltshire and abandoned their ancestral lands in Sussex in order to avoid any further exposure to England's seafaring enemies caused by their estate's proximity to the Sussex coast. Examination of their published pedigree reveals that, in fact, the two branches of the family, seated in Sussex and Wiltshire, existed simultaneously for over a century. By the 17th century, however, the name ''Ernle'' seems virtually to have disappeared from Sussex, while the branch established in Wiltshire by ''John Ernle, The Elder, Esq., of
Fosbury Fosbury is a small village in Wiltshire, England, on the eastern edge of the county, near Hampshire. It lies about southeast of Marlborough and south of Hungerford, Berkshire. With few inhabitants, it forms part of the civil parish of Tidcom ...
, Wiltshire and
Bishop's Cannings Bishops Cannings is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, England, north-east of Devizes. The parish includes the village of Coate (not to be confused with Coate, Swindon) and the hamlets of Bourton, Horton and Little Ho ...
, Wiltshire'' (born 1464/5), elder brother of Sir
John Ernle Sir John Ernle (1620 – June 1697) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1654 and 1695. He was one of the longest-serving Chancellors of the Exchequer, a position he held from 2 May 1676 to 9 April 1 ...
, Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas (1519–1520), or his ancestors, continued to flourish in its new home. Recorded in the Visitation of Wiltshire in 1565, and, again, in 1623, the main seat of the family in Wiltshire was at Bourton manorhouse, said to be a former priory in the parish of Bishop's Cannings, but the initial connexion of the family with Wiltshire seems to have stemmed not from this estate but from the marriage in the first third of the 15th century of a Sussex ''Ernle'' to the heiress of an old Wiltshire manorial family, ''Malwyn (or Malwain) of Etchilhampton (alias Ashlington)'', sometimes recorded as being of "Chilhampton" (another form of the place name, Etchilhampton). In contrast, the following account given by Archdeacon Macdonald in the ''Wiltshire Archæological and Natural History Society Magazine'' (1860) reflects the traditional view of how the connexion of the ''Ernle'' family was forged with Wiltshire: ''"Tything of Bourton and Easton (Consolidated)."'' ''"Bourton was one of the seats of the ancient family of Ernle, who came into possession of this property in the time of Henry VIII; John son of William de Ernle having purchased the estate on the dissolution of the monasteries; the land being said to have been Priory property, but for this we have only vague traditional authority, no account of any religious house there, being to be found in any of the best works on the subject. The Ernle property at Echilhampton tchilhamptonbelonged to the ancient family of Malwyn, came into the Ernle family with Joan Best wife of John Ernle..."'' This tradition needs to be examined carefully, for it contains two sections that require separation so that its true significance is understood. First, the acquisition of the lands at Bourton could not have occurred in the lifetime of ''William de Ernle's'' son ''John Ernle'' because he died in 1417 according to a Sussex
inquisition post mortem An Inquisition post mortem (abbreviated to Inq.p.m. or i.p.m., and formerly known as an escheat) (Latin, meaning "(inquisition) after death") is an English medieval or early modern record of the death, estate and heir of one of the king's tenants-in ...
. The period of monastic dissolution occurred over a century later in the period 1538 to 1541. As an aside, this may also be the reason why no one has been able to find a record of the sale of Bourton as a monastic property in the latter period. Secondly, a better idea of when the ''Ernle'' link with Wiltshire was forged can, however, be gleaned from the latter half of the foregoing account. The aforementioned heiress of the ''Malwyn'' family, ''Joan Best'' (daughter of ''Simon Best'' and his wife ''Agnes, daughter of John Malwyn or Malwain, Esq., lord of the manor of Etchilhampton'') must have married ''John Ernle of Sussex'', not later than about 1430, for their son, another ''John Ernle'' (of Sidlesham and Earnley, Sussex), was himself already a father of young sons when he died in 1465, naming his mother Joan (born to 1415) and wife, Margaret (née Morley, of Glynde Place, Sussex) in his will dated that year. The ''Ernle'' family, however, did not inherit Etchilhampton until several intervening heirs of the Malwain's property had first occupied it and then themselves died before ''Joan Best's'' senior heir, her grandson, ''John Ernle of Fosbury, Wiltshire'', finally gained possession of the estate many years after his grandmother's death. Before their eventual inheritance of these lands in Wiltshire, it is not surprising then that the Ernle family concentrated their activities on Sussex, while maintaining a presence in both counties. Christopher Whittick's
DNB Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...
account of ''Sir John Ernley's'' career has this to say about the ''Ernle'' family's two-county history: ''The family had been lords of the manor of Earnley near Chichester since the 13th century'' ic, properly since the 12th..''the acquisition by marriage of lands and a parliamentary seat in Wiltshire in the 1430s, and legal preferment in Sussex after the Yorkist victory in 1460...'' culminated, in terms of the early modern period, in the career of the ''Lord Chief Justice Ernle'' under the first two Tudor monarchs. Supportive of these statements is the following evidence that the head of the Sussex family of Ernle, William Ernle, esq., of Earnley, is named both in Sussex and in Wiltshire as holding lands by the same source, which shows him as having interests in both counties in the same year, viz.: ''Inquisitions and assessments relating to feudal aids: with other analogous documents preserved in the Public Record Office, A. D. 1284-1431'', vol. 5 p. 155 ''A.D. 1428'' age heading ection covering the county of Sussex ''Rapus Cicestrie'' ''Hundredum de Manewode'' ''WILLELMUS de ERNLE tenet iiijtam partem j.f. in ERNLE quondam JOHANNIS ERNLE, subsidium xx.d.'' ranslated from Latin to English as ''The Rape of Cicestrie'' .e. Chichester ''The Hundred of Manwode'' .e. Manwood, now Manhood ''WILLIAM de ERNLE holds the fourth part of j.f. in EARNLEY formerly held by John ERNLE, paying a subsidy .e. a taxof 20 pence'' p. 164 ''Inquisicio capta apud Arundell die Lune proximo post festum Sancti Dunstani anno etc. (as before .e. 1428, on p. 163, where the section starts) de parochiis infra decanatus de Boxgrave, Midherst, Arundell et Storgheton in quibus decem persone inhabitantes domicilia tenentes existunt per sacramenta WILLELMI ERNLE, Johannis Wystryng, Thome Cotes, Thome Stedham, Willelmi atte Tye, Johannis Strode, Willelmi Preston, Roberti Palmer, Ricardi Danell, Johannis Michelgrove, Johannis Goringe, et Willelmi Merew, qui vero jurati dicunt super sacramentum quod:-'' ''Sunt in parochiis supscriptis ut sequitur:-'' nglished from Latin ''Inquisition taken at Arundell on the Monday next after the feast of St Dunstan in the year etc. (1428) concerning the parishes listed as falling under the jurisdiction of the deanery of Boxgrave odern Boxgrove Midherst odern Midhurst Arundell odern Arundel and Storgheton in which ten persons inhabiting dwellings exist by the oath of WILLIAM ERNLE, John Wystryng, Thomas Cotes, Thomas Stedham, William atte Tye, John Strode, William Preston, Robert Palmer ikely ERNLE relation Richard Danell, John Michelgrove name associated with the ERNLE family John Goringe nother name associated with ERNLEs, though more usually found as Goring and William Merew, who say by true oaths upon the holy sacrament that'' ''there are in the parishes above written and which follow:-'' ''BOXGRAVE'' eanery our parishes intervening ''In parochia de ERNLE rector ibidem. WILLELMUS ERNLE, Willelmus Alfreld, Thomas Chapman, Ricardus Palmere, Johannes Bregger, Robertus Palmere.'' hat is to say ''In the parish of ERNLE, the rector of the same. WILLIAM ERNLE, William Alfreld, Thomas Chapman, Richard Palmer(e), John Bregger, Robert Palmer(e).'' p. 247 ''A.D. 1428'' age heading ''WILLELMUS ERNELEY tenet immediate de quo vel quibus ignorant, certa terras et tenementa in Yatesbury que nuper fuerunt Agnetis Burdon, per servicium un. f. m.'' endered into English from Latin as follows ''WILLIAM ERNELEY holds through subinfeudation, but from whom exactly is unknown, various lands in Yatesbury which were formerly held by Agnes Burdon, by the service of one f. m.'' Provided, of course, that these references do indeed relate to the same William ERNLE, this seems to indicate that while based at ''La Manwode'' in the parish of Earnley in Sussex in 1428, where, by being the first named, he would appear to have been the chiefmost resident (as holder of the manor of Earnley), he also held lands formerly in the possession of Agnes Burdon (widow of Nicholas, elsewhere recorded as Durdon, apparently erroneously) at Yatesbury in Wiltshire. The significance of this connexion between EARNLEY, Sussex and Yatesbury, Wiltshire—while not as obvious as the one with Fosbury, Wiltshire with which John ERNLE, The Elder, was later associated—is not, however, to be glossed over lightly. For, whereas Fosbury, and later Bishop's Cannings in Wiltshire, became the main seat of the ERNLE family; significantly, they also held Yatesbury for centuries, perhaps starting in or before 1428 (and no earlier than 1412 when no ERNLE is recorded in an early subsidy roll for Wiltshire). For example, Francis ERNLE, third son of John ERNLE, of Burton in Bishop's Cannings (d. 1572), was described as gentleman, of Yatesbury in his will, and his children retained the connexion. In 1412, however, we see that while the ERNLE family was present as major landholders in Sussex, they had not yet forged their connexion with Wiltshire, viz.: ''Inquisitions and assessments relating to feudal aids : with other analogous documents preserved in the Public Record Office, A. D. 1284-1431'', vol. 6. p. 520 ''Sussex A.D. 1412'' p. 522 ame county ''WILLELMUS ERNELE habet maneria etc. cum pertinenciis, que valent xxi. li. xiij. s. videlicet terras etc. in MANWODE apud ERNELE xx. li., et terras etc. in MENESSE liij. s. iiij. d. Et que terras etc.'' ranslated from Latin into English this reads ''WILLIAM ERNELE has the manor et cetera with its appurtenances worth 21 pounds and 13 shillings, that is to say, lands etc. in MANWODE in the vicinity of ERNELE worth 20 pounds, and lands etc. in MENESSE valued at 52 shillings and 4 pence. And that these lands etc....'' According to the Wiltshire section of the book, p. 541, Yatesbury was then held by Henricus Thorp, while, John MALWAIN or MALWYN, of Etchilhampton, Wilts., a later ERNLE ancestor (see additional references earlier in this section) appears on p. 540, as: ''Johannes MALWAYN habet terras etc. qui valent etc. xxv. li., videlicet in ECHELHAMPTON, WODHAMPTON, ERCHESFONTE, et CONOK xx. li. et apud MERTON, c. s.'' ranslated from Latin into English follows ''John MALWAYN has lands etc. which are valued etc. at 25 pounds, that is to say, in ECHELHAMPTON, WODHAMPTON (modern Woodhampton, Wilts.), ERCHESFONTE (modern Urchfont, Wilts.), and CONOK (modern Conock in the parish of Chirton, Wilts.), worth 20 pounds, and in and about MERTON, 50 shillings.'' (If not in Wiltshire, this Merton may refer to the one in Surrey, in which case it was probably acquired through the family's known London mercantile interests. The other localities are all in Wiltshire). The dual presence of the ERNLE family in Sussex and Wiltshire seems to have been maintained for some generations as is evident from the fact that John ERNLE, The Elder, Esq., of Fosbury, was appointed as one of the four commissioners for Wiltshire in the 13 Hen. VII (1496) parliament, as ''Johes. ERNLEY'' (along with Christopher Tropnell, ''Cristoforus Tropynell'', John Gawen ''Johes Gawen'', and George Chatterton, ''Georgius Chaderton''), while some 9 years later, his younger brother, the confusingly-named John ERNLE (later Sir John ERNLE, Knight, Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Commons Pleas), sat as one of the ten Members of Parliament allotted to the county Sussex in the 19th year of Henry VII's reign
505 Year 505 ( DV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodorus and Sabinianus (or, less frequently, year 1258 '' Ab urb ...
as ''John ERNLY, Gentilman'' enoting the rank he held as an Esquire's younger son found in the circle of his Sussex kin and neighbours (''Thomas Fynes'' iennes ''Knight''; ''John Coke'' ooke ''Esquyer''; ''John Goryng''
oring Oring may refer to: *O-ring, a gasket or seal with an O-shaped cross-section *O-ring chain, a specialized type of roller chain * Oring language, in Nigeria * Orienteering **Fox Oring *OR-ing as an operation of logical disjunction In logic, d ...
''Esquyer''; and ''Roger Leykenour'' ewknor''of Tangermer'' odern Tangmere, and significantly found listed here in the company of the ill-fated ''Edmond Dudley'', ''Esquyer'', recent Speaker of the House of Commons, and leading minister to the king, to whom ERNLE owed so much of his later rise to prominence, while fortunately avoiding the fate of his ill-starred patron. Indeed, after Dudley's execution in 1510, the younger John ERNLE appeared in the rolls of Parliament for 1513 as one of the 15 M.P.s for Sussex (among them a brace of Lewknors, two Fiennes, a Covert, all neighbours and kin), and, notably on the rise, as attorney to an approving master, the King, viz.: ''Joh'es ERNLEY, Attorn. Regis'' .e. John ERNLEY, King's Attorney (see ''Rotuli Parliamentorum : ut et petitiones et placita in parliamento'', vol. 6, pp. 518 & 541; vol. 7, p. 36)


Proliferation of the Wiltshire Ernle family

Nonetheless, the fortunes of the Sussex branch of the family went into a slow decline under the heirs of Sir John Ernley (died 1520): his son William Ernle, M.P., of Cakeham, Sussex, (died 1545), and grandson Richard Ernle (died 1577). Wiltshire, however, proved to be fertile ground for the expansion of the family over successive generations. John Ernle of
Fosbury Fosbury is a small village in Wiltshire, England, on the eastern edge of the county, near Hampshire. It lies about southeast of Marlborough and south of Hungerford, Berkshire. With few inhabitants, it forms part of the civil parish of Tidcom ...
( fl. 1507) had three sons: John his heir (died 1556), Anthony, of
Laverstoke Laverstoke is a village in north west Hampshire, England. In the early 18th century, Laverstoke Mill was purchased by the Portals, a family of Huguenot immigrants from Languedoc who were establishing a successful paper making business. Henry de ...
, Wilts. (died 1530), and William, a Fellow of
New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...
, and later parish priest of
Yatesbury Yatesbury is a village in Wiltshire, England. It is next to Cherhill, north of the A4 road (England), A4 road between Calne and Marlborough, Wiltshire, Marlborough. Yatesbury was an ancient parish and in the 19th century became a Civil parishe ...
, Wilts. John Ernle (died 1556), in turn, had a son and heir John Ernle (died 1572) and William Ernle, founder of the Dorset branch of the family. John Ernle (died 1572), married Mary, daughter of William Hyde, Esq., of
Denchworth Denchworth is a village and civil parish about north of Wantage. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 171. The parish ...
, Berkshire, and had three sons: Michael his heir (d. 1593/4); Thomas (died 1595), of Brembridge manor, Dilton, Westbury, Wilts., and Francis, of Yatesbury, Wilts. John and Mary also had one daughter, Anne, who married Robert Partridge (or Partrydge) (d. 1600), of Wishanger manor,
Miserden Miserden is a village and civil parish in Stroud District, Gloucestershire, England, 4 miles north east of Stroud. The parish includes Whiteway Colony and the hamlets of Sudgrove and The Camp. In the 2001 census the parish had a populatio ...
, Gloucestershire, in about 1566. The proliferation of cadet branches in Wiltshire, however, arose chiefly from the two marriages of Michael Ernle (died 1593/4), first to the heiress of the Whetham House estate, Mary Finnemore, and, secondly, to Susan Hungerford, the daughter of Sir Walter Hungerford by his second wife, Anne Dormer. From these two marriages, there were ten children giving rise to a number of cadet branches of the family seated throughout the county. The chief (senior-most) of these lived at Whetham House in the parish of
Calne Calne () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, southwestern England,OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs h ...
, Wiltshire. There were also branches elsewhere in Wiltshire: at
Conock Chirton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, on the southern edge of the Vale of Pewsey about south-east of Devizes. The parish includes the hamlet of Conock, about half a mile west of Chirton village. Both settlements are jus ...
, parish of
Chirton Chirton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, on the southern edge of the Vale of Pewsey about south-east of Devizes. The parish includes the hamlet of Conock, about half a mile west of Chirton village. Both settlements are jus ...
;
All Cannings All Cannings (pronounced "Allcannings") is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey in the English county of Wiltshire, about east of Devizes. The parish includes the nearby smaller settlement of Allington. The southern part of the pa ...
;
Etchilhampton Etchilhampton is a small village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, in the Vale of Pewsey east of Devizes. History The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded a settlement of 28 households, held by Edward of Salisbury. The manor came into the Ma ...
alias Ashlington; Brimslade Park,
Wootton Rivers Wootton Rivers is a small village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England. The village lies about northeast of Pewsey and south of Marlborough. During the 20th century its population halved and most of its facilities close ...
; and Burytown, Bury Blunsdon, parish of
Highworth Highworth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, England, about northeast of Swindon town centre. The 2011 Census recorded a population of 8,151. The town is notable for its Queen Anne and Georgian buildings, dating ...
.


Baronetcy

Of these, the most prominent was the branch descended from Edward Ernle, son of Michael Ernle, Esq., of Bourton (died 1595), by his second wife, Susan Hungerford, daughter of Sir Walter Hungerford, Kt, of
Farley Castle Farley Castle is an early 19th-century modern house situated at Farley Hill, Swallowfield, Berkshire. The Gothic-styled, two-storey house in red brick with battlements and round turrets, was built for Edward Stephenson Esq in c. 1810 for his yo ...
, Somerset, a granddaughter of the executed Walter,
Lord Hungerford Baron Hungerford is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 7 January 1426 for Walter Hungerford, who was summoned to parliament, had been Member of Parliament, Speaker of the House and invested as Knight of the Order of the Garter ...
. Baptised at Calne in 1587, Edward Ernle, and his wife Gertrude St Lowe, were progenitors of the Ernle Baronets of Etchilhampton, alias Ashlington, Wiltshire, and the '
self-styled A style of office or form of address, also called manner of address, is an official or legally recognized form of address for a person or other entity (such as a government or company), and may often be used in conjunction with a personal title. ...
' Ernle baronets of Brimslade Park. It was their son, Sir Walter Ernle, Knight, of Etchilhampton, who was created a baronet shortly after the
Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
by Charles II on 2 February 1660/1, as Sir Walter Ernle, 1st Baronet. Passing first through his own heirs, the baronetcy was used, with doubtful authority, according to ''The Complete Baronetage'', by the Brimslade Park branch of the family established by his younger brother, Michael Ernle, gent., of Brimslade. That line, too, died out, and the ''soi-disant'' baronet's dignities, real or imagined, were finally extinguished with the death in 1787 of the Reverend Sir Edward Ernle, 7th Baronet, D.D., the Anglican rector of
Avington, Berkshire Avington is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Kintbury, in the West Berkshire district, in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England. The village is on the River Kennet, just under northwest of Kintbury village and ea ...
, without issue, at the age of 75.


Cadet lines

In addition, cadet branches stemming from Michael Ernle's forebears include those derived from his father John Ernle's second son, Thomas Ernle, gent., of Brembridge manor, Dilton,
Westbury, Wiltshire Westbury is a town and civil parish in the west of the English county of Wiltshire, below the northwestern edge of Salisbury Plain, about south of Trowbridge and a similar distance north of Warminster. Originally a market town, Westbury was kn ...
(died 1595), and his third and youngest son, Francis Ernle, gent., of
Yatesbury Yatesbury is a village in Wiltshire, England. It is next to Cherhill, north of the A4 road (England), A4 road between Calne and Marlborough, Wiltshire, Marlborough. Yatesbury was an ancient parish and in the 19th century became a Civil parishe ...
, Wiltshire. Earlier still, a cadet line derived from Michael Ernle's uncle, William Ernle, had established itself at
Sutton Benger Sutton Benger is a village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England, northeast of the town of Chippenham.OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). The parish i ...
, Wiltshire, and later at
Chalbury Chalbury is a village in the English county of Dorset. It lies on the southern edge of Cranborne Chase within the East Dorset administrative district of the county, four miles north of Wimborne Minster and four miles west of Verwood. The village ...
in Dorset.


Brembridge or Bremeridge manor line at Dilton, an 18th-century survival

This line was established by Thomas Ernle (I), gent. (died 1595), second of the three sons, with one daughter, of John Ernle, Esq., of Bourton Priory,
Bishop's Cannings Bishops Cannings is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, England, north-east of Devizes. The parish includes the village of Coate (not to be confused with Coate, Swindon) and the hamlets of Bourton, Horton and Little Ho ...
, Wiltshire, by his wife, Mary, daughter of William Hyde, Esq., of
Denchworth Denchworth is a village and civil parish about north of Wantage. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 171. The parish ...
,
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...
. The Brembridge or Bremeridge manor branch of the family proliferated through the fourteen children – ten sons and four daughters – of Thomas Ernle (died 1595) and his wife Bridget (died 1610), daughter of Richard Franklin, of Overton, Wilts. The eldest son, Thomas Ernle (II), gent. (died 1639), married Praxed or Praxeda Lambe, a daughter of John Lambe (d.v.p. 1615), a son of the lord of the manor of Coulston, Wiltshire. Thomas (II) became lessee of the manor of Abingdon Court,
Cricklade Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227. History Cricklade ...
St Sampson, Wiltshire, in succession to his father, and held the
advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, ...
of St Sampson's parish church, Cricklade. From him was descended the Ernle family of
Braydon Braydon is a civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, about northwest of Swindon, between Purton and Minety. A thinly-populated farming area with no settlements apart from the farms, it is best known for sharing its name with Braydon Forest. T ...
and
Purton Purton is a large village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about northwest of the centre of Swindon. The parish includes the village of Purton Stoke and the hamlets of Bentham, Hayes Knoll, Purton Common, Restrop, The Fox and Widham. Th ...
, Wiltshire, continued by Thomas (II)'s son, Thomas (III), gent., of Braydon, Purton (1614–1694), and his wife, Jane, daughter of the
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
-born naturalised London merchant, Philip Jacobson, gent., King's Jeweller, to
James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the Union of the Crowns, union of the Scottish and Eng ...
and
Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...
, and fee-farmer of estates in Braydon Forest, Wiltshire. Other sons of the line's founder established themselves elsewhere: Edward Ernle, gent., (1577–1655) at Bath, Somerset; Francis Ernle, gent. (born 1577) in the parish of
St John Zachary St John Zachary (meaning "St John, son of St Zachary", i.e. John the Baptist) was a church, first mentioned in official records in 1181, within the City of London, England, on the north side of Gresham Street, Aldersgate. Its vicar from 25 May ...
in London; William Ernle, gent. (1583–1663) at
Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...
in Devon. The line at Bremeridge itself was continued by Richard Ernle, gent. (1584–1650), seventh son of the original Thomas Ernle (I) (died 1595). He married Elizabeth Cogswell, a member of the wealthy family of clothiers in Westbury parish, Wiltshire, and their line continued until the last scion of that family, another Richard Ernle, was buried at Old Dilton chapelry, Westbury, Wiltshire, in 1786, aged 84.


Distaff relatives: female lines

Today the surname ''Ernle'' only survives as an inheritance via the female line, employed by the ''Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax'' family of
Charborough House Charborough House, also known as Charborough Park, is a Grade I listed building, the manor house of the ancient manor of Charborough. The house is between the villages of Sturminster Marshall and Bere Regis in Dorset, England. The grounds, w ...
, Dorset, whose head is the Westminster M.P.,
Richard Drax Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax (born 29 January 1958) is a British Conservative politician, journalist and landowner, serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Dorset since 2010. Early life Drax was born on 29 January 1958 ...
, otherwise Richard Grosvenor Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, Esq., but there are few mentions of the ''Ernle'' women over the centuries. Most ''Ernle'' daughters made suitable marital alliances with members of other gentry families, but it can still be difficult to trace their posterity beyond the first or second generation. Often all that is known of an ''Ernle'' wife is her name, her father's name, and his rank and the name of the place where he had his estate or resided. One slight exception is noteworthy simply due to the paucity of other material. It comes from an
epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
and extols the chief adornment that any lady of good family in times past could bring to her husband besides a dowry of money and land: physical beauty. The quotation comes from
John Aubrey John Aubrey (12 March 1626 – 7 June 1697) was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the ''Brief Lives'', his collection of short biographical pieces. He was a pioneer archaeologist, ...
's ''Collections for Wiltshire'', under the section on the parish of Calne: ''Here under liethe the body of Lady Frances Mildmay, wife to Sir Thomas Mildmay. She dyed in the faith of Christ the ninth of December, 1624. She was daughter to Sir Jno. Ernle of Whetham, and was a very rare beauty.''


New national prominence: Civil War, Anglo-Dutch Wars, and the later Stuarts

The senior line at Whetham House, near
Calne Calne () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, southwestern England,OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs h ...
, Wiltshire, gave rise to the Right Honourable Sir
John Ernle Sir John Ernle (1620 – June 1697) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1654 and 1695. He was one of the longest-serving Chancellors of the Exchequer, a position he held from 2 May 1676 to 9 April 1 ...
(1620–1697), Knight, P.C., M.P.,
Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
to kings Charles II and James II from 1676 to 1689, whose biography is given in the ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''. Another member of the Whetham line, Sir Michael Ernle (1599-?1645), Knight, uncle to the Chancellor, was a royalist commander during the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
. His end is unclear, as John Aubrey's ''Natural History of Wiltshire'', points out:
Sir Michael Ernele, Knight, was second son of Sir John Ernele, of Whetham in the County of Wilts. After he had spent some time at the University of Oxford, he betooke himself to a militarie life in the Low Countries, where he became so good a proficient that at his return into England at the beginning of the Civill warres, King Charles the First gave him the commission of a Colonell in his service, and shortly after he was made Governour of Shrewsbury, and he was, or intended to bee, Major Generall. He did his Majesty good service in the warres, as doth appeare by the Mercurii Aulici. His garrison at Shrewsbury being weakened by drawing out great part of them before the battle at Marston Moore, the townesmen plotted and betrayed his garrison to the Parliament soldiers. He was slain then in the market-place, about the time of the battle of Marston Moore.* * [It was the common belief that Sir Michael Erneley was killed, as here stated, by the Parliamentary soldiers at the time Shrewsbury was taken (Feb. 3, 1644–5); but in Owen and Blakeway's Hist, of Shrewsbury, 4to. 1825, the time and manner of his death is left uncertain. His name is included in the list of those who were made prisoners when the town surrendered.—J. B.]
John Ernle, Sir John Ernle, R.N. (1647–1686), Knight, of Burytown, Bury Blunsdon (otherwise Blunsdon, Broad Blunsdon in
Highworth Highworth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, England, about northeast of Swindon town centre. The 2011 Census recorded a population of 8,151. The town is notable for its Queen Anne and Georgian buildings, dating ...
parish), Wiltshire, eldest son of the foregoing Chancellor of the Exchequer, was an English naval officer during the
Anglo-Dutch Wars The Anglo–Dutch Wars ( nl, Engels–Nederlandse Oorlogen) were a series of conflicts mainly fought between the Dutch Republic and England (later Great Britain) from mid-17th to late 18th century. The first three wars occurred in the second ...
, notably commanding H.M.S. ''Dover'' at the
Battle of Solebay The naval Battle of Solebay took place on 28 May Old Style, 7 June New Style 1672 and was the first naval battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War. The battle began as an attempted raid on Solebay port where an English fleet was anchored and large ...
at the start of the Third Anglo-Dutch War in 1672. He is also mentioned in John Aubrey's ''Natural History of Wiltshire''
Sir John Ernele, great-grandson of Sir John Ernele above sayd, and eldest son of Sir John Ernele, late Chancellour of the Exchequer, had the command of a flagship, and was eminent in some sea services. He married the daughter and heir of Sir John Kerle odern, Kyrleof .... uch Marclein Herefordshire.
His son, John Kyrle Ernle, Esq. (1683–1725), of Whetham, Calne, Wiltshire, and Much Marcle, Herefordshire, entertained Queen
Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
at Whetham.


Devon

William Ernle (1583–1663), gent., sixth of the tens sons, with four daughters, of Thomas Ernle, gent., of Bremeridge manor, Dilton, Wiltshire, and his wife, Bridget, daughter of Richard Franklin, established himself as a merchant at
Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bideford is recorded as ''Bedeford'', ''By ...
,
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
. He married Philippa, a daughter of Edmund Tremayne, by his wife, Elizabeth St Ledger. He is mentioned in a work on the Bideford Witch trial, one of the last such events in England. In that text, the connexion to the Ernle at Newburgh Park, Coxwold, Yorkshire, is established from contemporary documents.


Dorset

In the 17th century, a cadet branch of the Wiltshire-based family also established itself in Dorset, a county to the south-west of Wiltshire, where it was recorded in the ''Visitation of Dorset'' of 1623. Seated first at Sutton Benger, Wiltshire, it later became associated with Chalbury in Dorset. The published registers of the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
, Foster's ''Alumni Oxonienses'' show that members of the family persisted there, and elsewhere in Dorset, until well into the 18th century.


Yorkshire

''The Life of Marmaduke Rawdon'' notes that in the 17th century, one John Ernle (here recorded as ''Mr. John Earneley'') was ''chiefe gentleman'' in the service of
Lord Falconbridge Baron Fauconberg (also Falconberg or Falconbridge) is an hereditary title created twice in the Peerage of England. First created in 1295 when Sir Walter de Fauconberg, an Anglo-Norman, was summoned to parliament. Between 1463 and 1903 the peerag ...
(modern Fauconberg), whose seat was at Newburgh Park, near
Coxwold Coxwold is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire, England, in the North York Moors National Park. It is 18 miles north of York and is where the Rev. Laurence Sterne wrote '' A Sentimental Journey''. History ...
, in the
North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...
. At that period, members of the lesser
gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest ...
often served the greater gentlefolk, which is to say, the
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
, a practice which gave rise to the expression, a ''
gentleman's gentleman A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "vale ...
''. Information about ''Ernle of Bideford, Devon'' shows that this Yorkshire gentleman belonged to the family of ''Ernle of Brembridge''. In 1670, Mary, one of the daughters of ''John Earnley of Alne, gent.'' orkshireaccused Anne Wilkinson, widow, of having used witchcraft against her and two of her sisters, allegedly causing the death of her sister, Eleanor. This anecdote serves to show the links not only between the Ernle family in Devon and Yorkshire, but also to demonstrate the shadow cast in both counties by the witchcraft hysteria then so prevalent.
LXXIX. Anne Wilkinson. York, Apr. 1, 1670. — Before Fr ncis Driffield, Esq. Anne Mattson saith, that yesterday, Mary Earneley, daughter of Mr. John Earnley of Alne, fell into a very sicke fitt, in which shee continued a long time,'' ''sometimes cryinge out that Wilkinson wyfe prickt her with pins, clappinge her hands upon her thighs, intimatinge, as this informant thinketh, that she pricked her thighes. And other times shee cryed out, "That is shee," and said Wilkinson's wyfe run a spitt into her. Whereupon Mr. Earnley sent for Anne Wilkinson, widdow; and, when as the said Wilkinson came into the parlour where the said Mary Earnley lay, the said Mary Earnley shooted out and cryed, " Burne her, burne her, shee tormented two of my sisters." Shee saith further that two sisters of the said Mary Earnleye's dyed since Candlemasse last, and one of them upon the 19th of March last dyed, and, a little before her death, there was taken out of her mouth a blacke ribbond with a crooked pinne at the end of it. George Wrightson of Alne saith, that yesterday, Mary, dau. of John Earnley, gent., fell into a violent and sicke fitt and continued therein one houre and more, all that time crying out in a most sad and lamentable manner that Anne Wilkinson was cruelly prickinge and tormentinge her with pins, as the said Anne was sittinge by her owne fire upon a little chaire; and presently Mrs. Earnley sent this informant to the said Anne Wilkinson's house, whoe brought word shee was there sittinge by the fire upon a little chaire when he suddenly came into her house. Anne Wilkinson of Alne, widdow, saith that she never did Mr. Earnley, nor any that belonged to him, any harme, nor would shee doe; and, as for bewitchinge any of his children, she was sacklesse. Margaret, wife of Richard Wilson, sayth, that in her former husband John Akers' lifetime, she once lost out of her purse 50s. all but three halfe pence; and, shortly after, there happened to be a great wind, and after the wind was downe, she, this ex
minan Minan ( fa, مينان) may refer to: * Minan, Sistan and Baluchestan * Minan, Zanjan * Minan Rural District, in Sistan and Baluchestan Province See also * Min'an Min'an () is a subdistrict and the county seat of Longshan in Hunan, China. ...
, mett with Anne Wilkinson, who fell into a great rage, bitterly cursing this ex
minan Minan ( fa, مينان) may refer to: * Minan, Sistan and Baluchestan * Minan, Zanjan * Minan Rural District, in Sistan and Baluchestan Province See also * Min'an Min'an () is a subdistrict and the county seat of Longshan in Hunan, China. ...
., and telling her that she had been att a wise man, and had raised this wind which had put out her eyes, and that she was stout now she had gott her money againe, and wishing she might never thrive, which cursing of the said Anne did soe trouble this ex
minan Minan ( fa, مينان) may refer to: * Minan, Sistan and Baluchestan * Minan, Zanjan * Minan Rural District, in Sistan and Baluchestan Province See also * Min'an Min'an () is a subdistrict and the county seat of Longshan in Hunan, China. ...
. that she fell a weeping, and, coming home told her mother what had happened, and her mother bad her put her trust in God, and she hoped she could doe her noe harme. And the next day she churned but could gitt noe butter; and, presently, after this ex
minan Minan ( fa, مينان) may refer to: * Minan, Sistan and Baluchestan * Minan, Zanjan * Minan Rural District, in Sistan and Baluchestan Province See also * Min'an Min'an () is a subdistrict and the county seat of Longshan in Hunan, China. ...
. fell sicke, and so continued for neere upon two yeeres, till a Scotch phytsitian came to Tollerton, to whom this ex
minan Minan ( fa, مينان) may refer to: * Minan, Sistan and Baluchestan * Minan, Zanjan * Minan Rural District, in Sistan and Baluchestan Province See also * Min'an Min'an () is a subdistrict and the county seat of Longshan in Hunan, China. ...
. went, and the phisitiane told her she had harme done her. And she further sayth that her said husband, John Acres, fell shortly after ill, and dy'd of a lingering disease, but, till then, he was very strong and healthfull. :— ''Depositions'', pp. 176, 177


Orthographical variety and recent use as a surname, forename, and titular territorial designation

The surname has many variants, including ''
Erneley Erneley is a variant of the surname more commonly found as Ernle. This variant was employed by some of the Ernle baronets, and was perhaps the preferred, but not exclusive, form of the name in the 18th century. *John Erneley, MP *William Erneley, ...
'', ''
Ernley Ernle was the surname of an English gentry or landed family descended from the lords of the manor of Earnley in Sussex who derived their surname from the name of the place where their estates lay. Origins Onomastic Onomasticians say that t ...
'', '' Earnely'', '' Earneley'' and '' Ernly''. Though apparently extinct in the male line in the United Kingdom, its current use as an ancient English surname has been actively maintained by its inclusion as the second component of the quadruple-barrelled patronymic, Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax (see
double-barrelled surname A double-barrelled name is a type of compound surname, typically featuring two words (occasionally more), often joined by a hyphen. Examples of some notable people with double-barrelled names include Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and Sacha Baron Co ...
), borne by descendants of
John William Plunkett, 17th Baron of Dunsany John William Plunkett, 17th Baron of Dunsany (31 August 1853 – 16 January 1899) was an Anglo-Irish Conservative politician and peer. Early life and career Plunkett was the second son of Edward Plunkett, 16th Baron of Dunsany (1808–1889), and ...
, whose wife was Ernle Elizabeth Louisa Maria Grosvenor Ernle-Erle-Drax, née Ernle Elizabeth Louisa Maria Grosvenor Burton (1855–1916), who was doubly descended, both in the female line, from members of the Wiltshire Ernle family. As demonstrated in the foregoing passage, the name Ernle,
Ernley Ernle was the surname of an English gentry or landed family descended from the lords of the manor of Earnley in Sussex who derived their surname from the name of the place where their estates lay. Origins Onomastic Onomasticians say that t ...
(also Ernlé, Ernlè, Ernly, and Ernleigh) is also employed by descendants of the family and others as a
given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...
. Examples include
Ernle Bradford Ernle Dusgate Selby Bradford (11 January 1922 – 8 May 1986) was a noted 20th-century British historian specializing in the Mediterranean world and naval topics.Obituary in ''The Daily Telegraph'', Friday, May 9, 1986, p. 16 He was also an auth ...
(1922–1986), the writer, and Alfred Ernle Montacute Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield, PC (1873–1967), and his son Ernle David Lewis Chatfield, 2nd Baron Chatfield (born 1917), (see also Baron Chatfield), and Sir
Ernley Blackwell Sir Ernley Robertson Hay Blackwell (6 June 1868 – 21 September 1941) was a British lawyer and career civil servant. As chief legal advisor to the Cabinet, Blackwell was involved in the prosecution of Roger Casement, and authorised the circulat ...
, KCB, legal assistant under-secretary of State at the Home Office (1906–1931). The British Conservative politician and writer
Ernle Money Ernle David Drummond Money (17 February 1931 – 14 April 2013) was a Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Ipswich. Biography Money was educated at Marlborough College and Oriel College, Oxford. He served in the Suffolk Regiment from ...
was given the name at birth in 1931. Additionally, it was also used as the name for the
baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
y granted to Rowland Edmund Prothero (1851–1937), who was created the 1st
Baron Ernle Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...
, on 4 February 1919, for whose career and family history consult L.G. Pine's
New Extinct Peerage New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz Albums and EPs * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartn ...
.


References

*''Burke's Commoners'' (short title for ''A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, enjoying territorial possessions or high official rank''), vol. 3, p. 619, vol. 4, p. 209 *''Burke's Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies'' (see ''Ernle of Etchilhampton'', pp. 186–187) *''Burke's General Armory'' hort title being ''The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales'', Sir John Bernard Burke, Ulster King of Arms, reprint of last edition, 1884, by The Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland, 1969. *''Burke's General Armory Two'' being Alfred Morant's Additions and Corrections to ''Burke's General Armory''. Edited and augmented by Cecil R. Humphery-Smith, Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, Maryland, 1974. *''Burke's Landed Gentry'' (short title for ''A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry; or, Commons of Great Britain and Ireland'') (in the 1937 edition, see the articles entitled, and ''Drax of Charborough'', showing their descent from the family of ''Erneley'', p. 641, and ''Money of Much Marcle'' for their ''Ernle'' antecedents, p. 1312) *''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage'' (see ''Chatfield, Barony of'', and ''Dunsany, Barony of'', and, in pre-1937 editions, ''Ernle, Barony of'') *C.W. Bingham (ed.), ''Private Memoirs of John Potenger, Esq.'' (pedigree of ''Ernle'' at end) *''Calne'', p. 185 *''The Camden Miscellany'', Royal Historical Society (Great Britain), Camden Society (Great Britain), 1895, p. 10 (re Richard Ernlie of Cackham, 1564) *C. L'Estrange Ewen, ''Witchcraft and Demonism: A Concise Account from Sworn Testimonies'', 1933, p. 403 * (for Mr Earnely of Chichester's appointment as provost marshal, December 1624) *D.C.G. Elwes and C.J. Robinson, ''Castles, Mansions, and Manors of Western Sussex'', p. 75 * Dallaway's, ''Sussex'', vol. 1, p. 25 * Robert Davies (ed.), ''The Life of Marmaduke Rawdon of York, or Marmaduke Rawdon The Second of that Name'', Camden Society, 1863, p. 77 *Ebenezer Treman, ''The history of the Treman, Tremaine, Truman family in America, with the related families of Mack, Dey, Board and Ayers: being a history of Joseph Truman of New London, Conn. (1666), John Mack of Lyme, Conn. (1680), Richard Dey of New York City (1641), Cornelius Board of Boardville, N.J. (1730), John Ayer of Newberry, Mass. (1635), and their descendants.'' Ithaca, N.Y.: Press of the Ithaca Democrat, 1901, page 16 (for Ernle of Bideford, Devon) *Ekwall, ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names'', 4th edition, p. 156, col.1 *Eliza Gutch, ''Examples of Printed Folk-lore Concerning the North Riding of Yorkshire'', York, 1901, pp. 141–2 (about the Yorkshire Ernle family of Alne) * Foster, ''Alumni Oxonienses'' *''From Whippingham to Westminster'' (the biography of R. E. Prothero, later 1st and last Baron Ernle) *George W. Marshall, ''The Genealogist's Guide'', Billings and Sons, Guildford, 1903, p. 281 (heading, ''Erneley, Ernely, Ernley, or Ernle'') *George W. Marshall (ed.), ''Visitation of Wiltshire'', p. 74 *Hutchin's, ''Dorset'', vol. 3, p. 543 *J.B. Whitmore, ''A Genealogical Guide'', 1953, p. 174 (see ''Erneley, Ernley'' and ''Ernle'') *John Aubrey ''Collections for Wiltshire'' (Sir
Thomas Phillipps Sir Thomas Phillipps, 1st Baronet (2 July 1792 – 6 February 1872), was an English antiquary and book collector Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, ...
, Bt, editor), 1838, p. 43 (epitaph for Frances Ernle, Lady Mildmay, d. 1624) *John Aubrey, ''The Natural History of Wiltshire'' (Colonel Sir Michael Ernle and Capt. Sir John Ernle, R.N.) *Julian Cornwall. ''Wealth and Society in Early Sixteenth Century England'', 1988, p. 21 *L.G. Pine, ''New Extinct Peerage'' (for the barony of Ernle held by R. E. Prothero) *Olof Sigfrid Arngart, ''English Hundred Names'', 1939, p. 74 (for John de Ernele of La Manwode, fl. 1347) *
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
(for biography of Sir John Ernley, Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas) *Public Record Office. ''Inquisitions and assessments relating to feudal aids: with other analogous documents preserved in the Public Record Office, A. D. 1284-1431'', volumes 5 (pp. 155, 164, 247) and 6 (pp. 520, 522, 540–541) * {{open access (for John de Ernele, Sussex coroner 1343) *''Rotuli Parliamentorum : ut et petitiones et placita in parliamento'', vol. 6, pp. 518 & 541; vol. 7, p. 36 *Sir Thomas Phillipps, Baronet (ed.), ''Visitatio Comitatus Wiltoniæ, 1623'' Middle Hill Press *Sir Thomas Phillipps, Baronet (ed.), ''Visitation of Sussex, 1570'' Middle Hill Press, (fol.), 4 *Sir Thomas Phillipps, Baronet (ed.), ''Wiltshire Institutions'' (on the Ernle advowson of St Sampson, Cricklade, Wiltshire) *''The Genealogist'' (New Series), vol. 12, p. 26 *''Victoria History of the County of Sussex'', vol. 2, p. 24, vol. 4, p. 202 *''Victoria History of the County of Wiltshire'' *''Visitation of Dorset of 1623'', Harleian Society (on ''Ernle of Chalbury'') *''Visitation of London Anno Domini 1633, 1634, and 1635'', 2 vols, IN: Harleian Society, London, England (1880), vols 15 & 17 (see vol. 2, p. 5 for ''Jacobson of St Margaret's parish,
Billingsgate Billingsgate is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London. This small City Ward is situated on the north bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in the south-east of the Square Mile. The modern Ward extends south to the ...
ward,
City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
'')(from a manuscript at The
College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...
, London, c. 24) *''Visitation of Sussex of 1633'', Harleian Society, vol. 53, p. 48 *W. Green & Stevens (eds.), ''The English Reports'', vol. 21 (being Chancery series vol. 1) (1930), pp. 634–635 (for ''Still v. Lynn & Al.'', 28 Car. 2, fo. 195 676-1677 2 Chan. Rep. 121, which names Thomas Ernle erein ''Earneley''as husband of Jane Jacobson, daughter of Philip Jacobson, deceased, by his first wife Elizabeth, and states that Jacobson ''père'' married, in 1643, as his second wife, Frances Ernle erein ''Earnely'' sister of his son-in-law, Thomas Earneley alled Thomas Ernle (III) above, under Bremeridge * W.P.W. Phillimore & Lord Phillimore, ''Genealogy of the Family of Phillimore'', 1922, p. 97 (for the ''Finnemore-Ernle'' connexion) *''Washbourne Family'', p. 195 *''Who's Who'' (various editions) *''Wiltshire Archæological and Natural History Society Magazine'', Devizes, vol. 11, p. 192 & vol. 24, p. 217 *''Wotton's English Baronetage'', vol. 3, p. 217 (for the legend of the migration of the ''Ernle'' family from Sussex to Wiltshire)


External links

*On another version of the history of names derived from the same Old English root words meaning ''Eagle's wood'

(see the forms it cites as being derivative: "Earny, Eronie, Arney, Arnely, etc.") *On the connexion of the ''Ernles of Bideford, Devon'', and ''Newburgh Park, Coxwold, North Riding, Yorkshire'', and their common descent from ''Ernle of Bremeridge manor, Dilton, Wiltshire'': Frank J. Gent, ''The Trial of the Bideford Witches'', Crediton, Devon, 1st edition, 1982, 2nd edition, 1998, internet edition, 2001

*On the ''Lancinges'' or ''de Lancinges'' family who granted lands at Earnley, Sussex to ''Luke de Ernle'', from the Victoria County History series: 'Lancing', A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 1: Bramber Rape (Southern Part) (1980), pp. 34–53

(Date accessed: Tuesday, October 16, 2007.) (see the manorial section) *On the Relics of St Richard at West Wittering, Sussex, the Ernle church after Earnley, Sussex itself

English families Surnames Ernle family English gentry families