Gregory Wale (1668 – 5 June 1739) was a

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

, a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Cambridgeshire and Conservator of the

River Cam The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distance from Cambridge to ...

Parents

Gregory Wale was the son of Thomas Wale of

Lackford Lackford is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around four miles north-west of Bury St Edmunds on the A1101, in 2005 it had a population of 270. The parish contains the Lackford Lake ...

, Suffolk (born 8 January 1642) and Penelope Wood. He was one of four sons and two daughters. Thomas Wale of Lackford was the son of Robert Wale of Bardfield Hall who in 1653 established the Wale family merchant business in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

. Robert Wale was the grandson of Thomas Wale who purchased in 1613

Harston Hall Harston is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, located around 5 miles (8 km) south of Cambridge. In 2011, it had a population of 1,740. Village Sign The village sign was erected in the Queen's Silver Jubilee yea ...

, which may be considered the Wale ancestral home.

The obelisk

He is notable for a large

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...

in his memory on Magots Mount () near

Little Shelford Little Shelford is a village located to the south of Cambridge, in the county of Cambridgeshire, in eastern England. The River Granta lies between it and the larger village of Great Shelford, and both are served by Shelford railway station, whic ...

, Cambridgeshire. This small hill is also known on some maps as St. Margaret's Mount. The obelisk was erected in 1739. The monument is inscribed as follows:

To the Memory of Gregory Wale Esq, Justice of the Peace for this County. Deputy Lieutenant. County Treasurer. Conservator of the River Cam. He lived an advocate for liberty. A good subject. An agreeable companion, a faithful friend, an hospitable neighbour, and in all parts of life a useful member of society. He died June 5th 1739 in the 71st year of his age: universally lamented, and was buried in the parish church of Little Shelford. This obelisk was erected by his surviving friend James Church Esq as a public testimony of his regard to the memory of so worthy a gentleman.

Gregory Wale and James Church used to meet regularly at this place, and they agreed that when one of them died, the survivor should put up a monument to his friend's memory on the very spot where they so often met.Cambridgeshire, EnglandGenWeb Project - Harston
/ref> After the death of Gregory Wale, his granddaughter Margot Wale often used to walk up the mount and was very fond of it. At the latter end of her life she would lie at her window and watch her little hill and her friends and the country people got into the habit of calling it "Margot's Mount" and in later years this was corrupted to "Maggot's Mount". Gregory Wale was Lord of the Manor of Tiptofts in

Harston Harston is a village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England, located around 5 miles (8 km) south of Cambridge. In 2011, it had a population of 1,740. Village Sign The village sign was erected in the Queen's Silver Jubilee ye ...

, Cambridgeshire from 1731–1735 His son and grandson were subsequently Lord of the Manor.

Family life

He married Margaret Sparke in about 1700. Margaret Sparke came from Risby and was the daughter of Ezekiel Sparke. The children of Gregory Wale and Margaret Sparke were Margaret Wale (born 24 February 1699) of

and

Thomas Wale Thomas Wale was a Cambridgeshire gentleman born at Risby, Suffolk on 7 September 1701 and died in 1796. He is notable for having left a significant quantity of documents collated throughout his life which constituted the book ''My Grandfather's P ...

of Little Shelford. Margaret Wale (born 24 February 1699) lived at

, probably in

. She married Allen Hurrell (senior, died 1740) at

on 12 January 1719 and their daughter Margaret Hurrell (junior) married John (Littel) Bridge (died 1776, buried at Harston) an "eminent counsellor at law" at

near Risby, Bury St Edmunds in 1752 John Littel Bridge's brother Thomas was also in business in Riga, associated with Thomas Wale. Margaret Bridge's son was Thomas Bridge (Little) of

Shudy Camps Shudy Camps is a village in the south-east corner of Cambridgeshire, England, near the border of Essex and Suffolk, and is part of the Hundreds of Cambridgeshire, Chilford Hundred. In 2001, according to the census, the population was 310, increa ...

(died ''c.'' 1830). Thomas Bridge's daughter Henrietta Bridge married William Long and their daughter was Henrietta Langhorne. All of the above were notable landowners in Harston John Littel Bridge was the son of Robert Bridge of Shudy Camps and Sarah (or Susanna) daughter of Thomas (or John) Littel of Halstead Co, EssexE.N. Geijer, Rouge Dragos Pursuivant of Arms, College of Arms, Queen Victoria Street London EC4 Gregory Wale married his second wife Elizabeth Hitch and they had a son called Hitch Wale (born 1711). Elizabeth was the daughter of Captain Thomas Hitch.

Other aspects of his life

Some of his personal papers form part of those which his great grandson used to write "My Grandfather's Pocket Book". This book (page 63) gives an interesting anecdote concerning the birth of his son Thomas Wale: "7ber 15th 1701 - Wagered with Von Poodall a bottle of wine yt

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

my next child will be a boy". The author then notes "And he won it also". Gregory Wale is buried in the parish church of Little Shelford.

Parents

The obelisk

Family life

Other aspects of his life

References

See also