Gurney Genealogy Library Updated 29 May 2026 by Allen Gurney

These research notes are provided as-is and contain supplementary working research.

Edmund Gournay (G23) Notes

Research notes for g23-edmund-gurney-fact-sheet.md. See .claude/rules/research-files.md for the paired-file rule.

Working Notes

Will details from DG-II p. 363 (added 2026-04-16 from chat bcb40001)

The will of Edmund Gournay is dated more precisely than the fact sheet captures:

  • Will date: “Thursday the feast of the Ascension of our Lord in that year” (1387)
  • Burial directive: “his body to be buried in the church of the Assumption of the blessed Virgin in that town [West Barsham]”
  • Bequest: “8l. to be distributed to the poor on his burial day”
  • Executors named: Osbert de Mundeford and Thomas Kemp
  • Will register: Reg. Harsyke, fol. 34, Bishop’s office at Norwich

These details (executors, exact bequest amount, the “Ascension” dating) didn’t fit the fact sheet narrative but are useful for any biographical writing.

John of Gaunt stewardship — phrasing flag (added 2026-04-16 from chat bcb40001)

The DG-II passages reviewed in chat bcb40001 (pp. 357–363) do not contain the phrase “John of Gaunt” directly. They list Edmund’s many royal commission appointments — entirely consistent with him holding that stewardship — but the explicit attribution comes from the History of Parliament Online entry. Open question 1 below tracks the verification need.

Full Latin will text (DG-Supp Note 118, pp. 789–791)

2026-04-18 — This is the most important single document for any junior-branch Gournay. DG-Supp Note 118 gives the complete Latin text of Edmund’s will from a 1637 copy made by Sir Simonds Dewes (Harl. MSS. 10, fol. 144/pencil 148). The original in the Bishop’s Register (Registrum Harsyke) was “almost illegible from decay,” but the Dewes copy survives.

Key provisions extracted from the Latin:

  • Executors: Katherine his wife, John his son, Osbert de Mundeford, and Thomas Kempe. (Note: four executors, not two as the earlier note stated — the DG-II summary omits Katherine and John.)
  • Burial: Thirteen paupers in white vestments to hold thirteen torches around his body; black vestments for his family and kinsmen; each poor man present at the burial to receive one penny.
  • Katherine’s dower: Full dower of all lands and tenements due by law, plus all household utensils and her share of all goods and chattels, “without contradiction or impediment from heirs or executors.”
  • Restitution clause: If anyone can prove Edmund unjustly detained or extorted property from them, his heirs are directed to make restitution — “si aliquis bono et rationabili titulo eis ostendere poterit quod idem Edmundus eos disseisierit de aliqua terra.”
  • Distribution: To religious houses and the four orders of friars, and to the poor, as the executors see fit.
  • Proved: 1 August 1387 at Norwich, with a codicil annexed.

DG’s commentary: “This will, not being in the first person, must be considered not a complete copy, but a good summary of contents.” The Dewes copy was “compared Dec. 22, Anno 1638.” DG also notes: “I think it likely the flag stone, at West Barsham, engraved at page 408, was in memory of this Edmund Gurnay; and not of William Gurnay V. — who was probably buried at Irstead.”

The restitution clause is remarkable — Edmund directs his heirs to compensate anyone he wronged. This suggests either personal conscience or a legal culture where powerful local lawyers were expected to have enemies.

Lost Norwich registers: DG-Supp Note 118 also reveals that “after Register Harsyke, which ends in 1404, there is no Register until Register Hyrnings, which begins in 1419.” This 15-year gap (1404–1419) explains why Sir John Gurney’s will (d.1408) has never been found.

Walsingham 1385 charter — Edmund named (DG-Supp Note 116)

2026-04-18 — Patent Roll 8 Richard II, p. 2, m. 15 (1385). Edmund named alongside Stephen de Hales, Oliver de Calthorpe, Ralph de Shelton (all knights), and William de Walsham (clerk). They are licensed to grant the manors of Great Riburgh and Little Riburgh (Woodhall) to the Prior of Walsingham. Source: Monasticon Anglicanum, Vol. VI, p. 74.

This places Edmund in elite Norfolk gentry company — the Calthorpes, Hales, and Sheltons were among the leading families of late 14th-century Norfolk.

Feltwell and Mundford trusts (DG-Supp Note 117)

2026-04-18 — Close Rolls, 5 Richard II (1382): John de Plays, knight, gave to a group of trustees including Edmund Gournay the manor of Feltwell in Norfolk and the manor of Mundford with the advowson. The co-trustees: William de Beauchamp, John Marmyon, John de Burgh, Stephen de Hales (all knights). This confirms Edmund’s role as a legal trustee for major Norfolk landholders.

DG-Supp Note 117 also notes the Saxthorpe (Loundhall) manor: “John de Mereworthe was lord of the manor of Saxthorpe, which had been held by John Gurnay II [Rector], as it afterwards was by John Gurnay V [Sir John, d.1408].” The £20/year annuity from Edmund to John de Mereworthe was “probably in consequence of some agreement between them” — likely a buyout or settlement related to Saxthorpe.

Robert de Wauncy — Katherine’s ancestor (DG-Supp Note 119)

2026-04-18 — DG-Supp Note 119 (pp. 791–792) gives additional Wauncy family detail:

  • Robert de Wauncy witnessed two deeds of Richard I at Château-Gaillard, 24 October, 10th year of his reign (1198). A Wauncy serving as witness to Richard the Lionheart’s deeds at his great Norman fortress — this is a high-status connection.
  • Robert de Wauncy also appears in Stapleton’s Norman Exchequer Roll (p. CXLVII) as custodian, along with Walter de Ely, of the daughter of the Count of Brittany and the daughter of the Emperor of Cyprus, responsible for their raiment and expenses while at Rouen and on the journey from Rouen to Chinon.
  • The Wauncy/Wansey family: Mr. William Wansey of Arborfield sent DG information; his branch had been at Warminster, Wiltshire, since Henry VIII. Arms: gules, three gauntlets (or gloves) argent.

Significance: Katherine de Wauncy’s family was connected to the Angevin court at the highest level. This further elevates the West Barsham acquisition from a local Norfolk marriage to a union with a family that had served Richard I personally.

Sir John Gurney d.1408 — IPM proves collateral status (DG-Supp Note 121)

2026-04-18 — DG-Supp Note 121 (pp. 793–794) provides the Inquisition Post Mortem for Sir John Gurney, taken at “Holt markett” before John le Straunge, Escheator, 10 Henry IV (1408). Key findings from the Latin text:

  • John Gurney “did not hold any lands or tenements in his demesne as of fee, nor of service, from the said King in chief, nor from any other lord in the said county” — because all his lands were in the hands of feoffees (a common estate-planning practice to avoid feudal death dues).
  • John died on “the Tuesday before the feast of St. Nicholas last past” = 5 December 1408.
  • “Edmundus filius dicti Johannis Gurnay est heres ejus de sanguine propinquior; et quod idem Edmundus fuit etatis decem annorum” = Edmund, son of John, is his next heir of blood, and Edmund was aged 10 at the feast of Philip and James last past.
  • DG adds: “This Edmund, son and heir of John de Gournay, died sine prole, and probably under age.” Thus Sir John’s successor was his nephew Thomas (G21).
  • Blomefield gives John’s death as 1407 (one year earlier) — DG corrects this to 1408 based on the IPM.
  • Similar inquisitions were taken at Attlebridge and Rudham, both with the same findings.

This is the critical proof for AI-Rules §7 correction #3: Sir John Gurney (d.1408) is collateral. His son Edmund died young without issue. The direct line passes through G23 Edmund’s other son Robert (G22), whose son Thomas (G21) became Sir John’s successor.

Patent Roll 1406 — Walsingham land grant (DG-Supp Note 120)

2026-04-18 — Patent Roll Henry IV, p. 2, m. 29 (1406): “Johanni Gournay, Johanni Drew persona ecclesie de Harplee, Ricardo Creyk et Johanni Lynge seniori” licensed to grant 80 acres in Burnham to the Prior and Convent of Walsingham, for anniversaries of Edmund de Reynham, knight, and Cristiana his wife.

DG adds: “John De Gurnai was escheator for Norfolk, 2nd Henry 4th, the year after his shrievalty.” This is Sir John (collateral, d.1408), not G24, but confirms the family’s continued Walsingham patronage and administrative prominence in Norfolk.

Sir John Gurney V — Aquitaine service under John of Gaunt, 1394

2026-05-22 — The AHRC Soldier in Later Medieval England database records “John Gourney” granted letters of attorney for service in Gascony / Aquitaine on 20 October 1394, in the retinue (or under the commander) of John of Gaunt, then duke of Lancaster and lieutenant of Aquitaine. Reference: TNA C61/104, m. 7.[1]

Identification. The 1394 entry is Sir John Gurney V (Edmund’s eldest son, d. 4 December 1408). Three points converge:

  • Affinity. Edmund G23 served as steward of John of Gaunt’s East Anglian estates 1372–1387 (per History of Parliament Online). Sir John V succeeded to that affinity in the next generation; service on Gaunt’s 1394 Aquitaine expedition is a direct continuation of the family’s Lancastrian client relationship.
  • Rank and age. Sir John V was a knight, sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk 1399 and 1408, and MP for the Coventry parliament of 1404. Active military service in 1394 fits a man approaching 30, with a Crown career taking shape immediately after.
  • Date pattern. Gaunt led the principal English administrative expedition to Aquitaine in 1394 (he was created duke of Aquitaine in 1390 and crossed in 1394–95 to assert the title). Letters of attorney dated October 1394 are exactly the instrument issued to retainers preparing for that crossing.

Several earlier 1370s–1380s “John Gournay” / “John Gourney” knight entries in the same database (France, Calais garrison under Calveley and Brocas, etc.) cluster around the right rank and theatre; some belong to Sir John V as a younger man, others to an earlier-generation knight John de Gournay — including the “John Gournay” / “John Gourneye” who appears as a captain in his own right in 1370 (the Knolles “Great Chevauchée” retinue lists, TNA E101/30/25), too senior to be the future Sir John V and therefore a separate, earlier knight John de Gournay.

No equivalent service entry for G23 Edmund himself. Edmund Gournay was a lawyer and royal commissioner, not a soldier; consistent with that, no Edmund Gournay/Gurney appears in the Soldier in Later Medieval England database in the period of his career (1372–1387). This is a useful negative confirmation of his civilian profile.

Norwich civic counsel and North Barsham corroboration

Blomefield’s Norwich Richard II chapter gives Edmund an independent civic role: the city paid “Edm. Gournay” 20s. yearly as one of its counsellors. This aligns with the existing profile of Edmund as a legal/stewardship figure and should be treated as a direct city-account corroboration rather than only later genealogical narrative.[2]

Blomefield’s North Barsham entry adds another landholding context: in Edward III’s reign North Barsham came to Edmund Gournay by his marriage with Catherine, daughter of Sir William and sister of Sir Edward Wauci, and remained in the family.[3]

Berford’s Manor, Cringleford — De la Pole feoffee, c. 1370

Blomefield’s Norfolk volume 5 records that after the Berford co-heirs released their rights in 1370, Berford’s Manor at Cringleford was “absolutely vested in the De la Poles, who settled it soon after on Edmund Gourney, Will. de Boyton, Tho. Spynk, and John le Latimer of Norwich” as feoffees, the manor then extending into Hethersett, Eaton, Earlham, Little Melton, Colney, and the Cringleford watermill.[4] By 1381 John le Latimer of Norwich was sole lord with view of frankpledge, weyf, and strey, and Edmund Gournay with the other De la Pole feoffees released all right to him in the same year.[4:1]

This is independent of the 1382 Close Rolls trust by John de Plays already documented here, and it predates it. It places Edmund in a De la Pole–linked Norfolk feoffee network in the early 1370s — the De la Poles being one of the dominant late-fourteenth-century magnate houses, with the merchant William de la Pole’s son Michael soon to be created earl of Suffolk under Richard II — and ties him directly to John le Latimer of Norwich, who already appears in the manor of Berford’s Manor before becoming sole lord in 1381. The Cringleford / Hethersett / Earlham cluster sits south-west of Norwich, broadening Edmund’s documented service footprint beyond his Harpley, West Barsham, Hardingham, and King’s Lynn principal-counsel work.

Landholdings

Place Period Notes
Harpley, Norfolk c. 1370–1387 Principal documented holding
Hardingham, Norfolk c. 1370–1387 Swathings manor
King’s Lynn (Bishop’s Lynn), Norfolk c. 1370–1387 Standing counsel to the city [DG-II-359]
West Barsham, Norfolk 1372 (acquired) – 1387 Wauncy inheritance via Katherine. Will dated here 1387.
Saxthorpe, Norfolk (Loundhall) acquired in Edmund’s lifetime £20/year annuity to John de Mereworthe (DG-Supp Note 117)
Depden, Suffolk 1372 (acquired) – 1387 Wauncy inheritance via Katherine
Denver, Norfolk 1357 (attested) onward Wauncy inheritance; 100 marks p.a.
Feltwell, Norfolk 1382 (trustee) Trust for John de Plays (Close Rolls 5 Rich. II)
Great/Little Riburgh (Woodhall) 1385 (trustee/grantor) Granted to Walsingham Priory (Pat. 8 Rich. II)

Open Questions

  1. John of Gaunt stewardship: Re-read the HoP Online entry to confirm the Gaunt phrasing and date range (1372–1387).
  2. West Barsham flagstone (DG-I p. 408): DG thinks it memorializes Edmund, not William V. Can this flagstone be verified as still extant in the church?
  3. Harl. MSS. 10, fol. 144: The Dewes copy of the will — is this available through the BL digitized manuscripts? A photograph would be valuable.
  4. The restitution clause: Is this unusual for Norfolk wills of the 1380s, or was it a standard provision?
  5. TNA C61/104, m. 7 (1394): Direct pull of the Gascon Roll entry would capture the full Latin clause and any kinsman naming alongside Sir John Gurney V — useful background detail, not required for the identification.
  6. Earlier 1370s–1380s “John Gournay” knight entries: TNA C76/38 (1359, Reims expedition), C76/53–55 (early 1370s, France), C76/56–59 (mid-1370s, France and Calais garrison under Calveley), C76/62 (1378, Calais garrison under Brocas), C76/65 (1381). Some are Sir John V as a younger man; the 1359 Reims entry is too early and is an earlier knight John de Gournay. Pulling the individual rolls would separate the two Johns entry-by-entry.

Sources Consulted

  • DG-I, p. 279 (summary paragraph on Edmund). [DG-I]
  • DG-II, pp. 357–363 (Edmund chapter) and Appendices LXIII (Wauncy family), LXV (West Barsham indenture). [DG-II]
  • DG-Supp, Note 116 (p. 789): Walsingham 1385 charter — Edmund named with Calthorpe, Hales, Shelton. [DG-Supp]
  • DG-Supp, Note 117 (p. 789): Feltwell/Mundford trust (1382); Saxthorpe/Loundhall connection; £20 annuity. [DG-Supp]
  • DG-Supp, Note 118 (pp. 789–791): Full Latin will text — Registrum Harsyke via Harl. MSS. 10 (Dewes copy 1637). Four executors. Thirteen paupers. Restitution clause. Lost Norwich registers 1404–1419. [DG-Supp]
  • DG-Supp, Note 119 (pp. 791–792): Robert de Wauncy — Richard I witness at Château-Gaillard (1198); custodian of princesses at Rouen. [DG-Supp]
  • DG-Supp, Note 120 (pp. 792–793): Patent Roll 1406 — Burnham land for Walsingham. Sir John as escheator and sheriff. [DG-Supp]
  • DG-Supp, Note 121 (pp. 793–794): Sir John Gurney (d.1408) IPM — death 5 Dec 1408; son Edmund heir aged 10, died sine prole. Thomas nephew and successor. Lost will (Register gap 1404–1419). [DG-Supp]
  • History of Parliament Online: Edmund Gurney, d. 1387 (HoP entry title preserves modern editorial form). [HoP]
  • Blomefield, History of Norfolk, vol. vii, pp. 42–47 (West Barsham). [Blomefield]
  • Reg. Harsyke, fol. 34 (will) — cited via DG. [Reg-Harsyke]
  • Patent Rolls, 36–50 Edw. III and Rich. II. [Pat-Rolls]
  • Soldier in Later Medieval England Online Database (AHRC, Bell/Curry/King/Simpkin): Sir John Gurney V entry, 1394 Aquitaine under John of Gaunt (TNA C61/104, m. 7); negative result for Edmund G23 himself, consistent with his civilian/legal career. See medievalsoldier-database in data/sources.json. [medievalsoldier-database]

Conflicting Information

Wansey pedigree conflict: Alice Bavard, Katherine’s death date, and Sir John’s regnal dates

The Wansey/Wauncy pedigree lead preserves a close but conflicting collateral-line version of Edmund Gournay’s family. It agrees with the settled frame that Edmund Gorney died in 1387 and that his son John died in 9 Henry IV, but it says Katherine survived Edmund until 3 Henry IV (1401/2), identifies John’s wife as Alice Bavard, and says John was knight of the shire in 6 Henry IV. The wife’s name is the material conflict: HoP identifies Sir John’s wife as Alice Heylesdon, while the Wansey pedigree supplies Alice Bavard. Keep the Wansey form beside the HoP and DG material as a real pedigree witness, but do not replace Heylesdon unless the Bavard/Heylesdon discrepancy can be resolved by alias, remarriage, or a page-image transcription error.[5]

Claim Source A Source B Status
Number of executors DG-II p. 363: “Osbert de Mundeford and Thomas Kemp” DG-Supp Note 118 (full Latin): Katherine, John, Osbert de Mundeford, Thomas Kempe Four executors, not two. DG-II’s summary omitted Katherine and John. The Supplement’s full Latin text is authoritative.
West Barsham flagstone Traditionally attributed to William Gurnay V DG-Supp Note 118: “I think it likely the flag stone… was in memory of this Edmund Gurnay” DG favors Edmund attribution. Not definitively resolved.
Sir John d.1408 death year Blomefield: 1407 DG-Supp Note 121 (IPM): 5 December 1408 DG corrects Blomefield. IPM is primary source.
Sir John Gurney’s wife HoP: Alice Heylesdon Wansey pedigree: Alice Bavard Preserve both. Check for alias/remarriage/transcription before changing the preferred HoP form.

Fact Sheet Improvement Notes

  1. Four executors: The fact sheet and citations currently imply two executors (Osbert and Thomas). The full Latin will names four: Katherine his wife, John his son, Osbert de Mundeford, and Thomas Kempe. Should be corrected.
  2. Thirteen paupers in white: The burial scene described in the will — thirteen poor men in white holding torches around the body, while the family wears black — is vivid medieval imagery. Could strengthen the narrative.
  3. Restitution clause: Edmund directing his heirs to compensate anyone he wronged is a powerful character detail for a lawyer of eminence. Worth a sentence in the narrative.
  4. Wauncy at Château-Gaillard: Katherine’s ancestor Robert de Wauncy witnessed deeds for Richard I at his great fortress in 1198. This elevates the Wauncy connection beyond a local Norfolk family.
  5. Lost registers 1404–1419: The Norwich register gap explains the missing will of Sir John (d.1408). Worth noting as it affects multiple G22–G20 ancestors.

Citation note (2026-04-16)

Earlier version of this companion miscited DG-II references as “DG Supplement (1858)” — page numbers under p. 725 are below the Supplement’s range. Corrected. See sources/intake/done/audit-dg-citation-supplement-misattribution-2026-04-16.md.

History of Parliament biography — already preserved in corpus supplement

The full text of L. S. Woodger, “GURNEY, John (d.1408), of Harpley and West Barsham, Norf.,” in J. S. Roskell, L. Clark, and C. Rawcliffe, eds., The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1386-1421 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), is already preserved at sources/corpus_supplement/John-Gurney-d1408-The-History-of-Parliamentx.md (sourceId hop-gurney). That file is the authoritative copy of the biography and the place to consult when extending coverage of Sir John V into G22 / G23 research notes.

Findings from the HoP biography that are still worth surfacing in this companion (not previously summarised here):

  • 1392 Edmund Clippesby murder and the death threat against Sir John. “When, in 1392, Edmund Clippesby, a leading Norfolk lawyer who had acted with Gurney’s father as joint steward of the duchy of Lancaster estates in the region, was murdered at his home, Gurney himself was threatened with death if he tried to open proceedings against the criminals, all of whom were servants of Bishop Despenser of Norwich. (The bishop was no friend of John of Gaunt.)” — places the Edmund-Gurney / Edmund-Clipesby joint Norwich retainer pair (Norwich Treasurers’ fee paragraphs, see v63 + sources/corpus_supplement/norwich-records-hudson-tingey-vol2-edmund-gornay-fees.md) in a wider political context.
  • 1392 London Husting court payment. Alice Heylesdon’s late father had divided his property between Alice and her sister Margaret in 1384; Margaret died before majority; in 1392 Alice and John Gurney collected the £300 from the London civic authorities allotted to her by the Heylesdon will. The full Heylesdon will text is at sources/corpus_supplement/husting-wills-london-vol2-john-heylesdon-1384.md (via v63).
  • 1399 Nerford purchase at Houghton. “Gurney increased his holdings still further through purchase, buying in 1399 a moiety of the Nerford manor at Houghton, which bordered on his own estate at Harpley.”
  • 1408 Hellesdon bridge dispute with Norwich. “Early in 1408 he instigated work at Hellesdon on the building of a bridge over the river Wensum, but the citizens of Norwich, apprehensive that this would result in their loss of revenue from tolls, procured a royal writ suspending the project until the matter had been discussed before the King’s Council.” A direct echo of Edmund’s own friction with Norwich (his retainer status notwithstanding) a generation earlier.
  • 1406 Walsingham land grant in Sir Edmund Reynham’s memory. Sir John continued the family’s Walsingham priory patronage that Edmund had begun (1385 Walsingham grant with Calthorpe / Hales / Shelton, per Patent Roll 8 Richard II, p. 2, m. 15) and that Thomas II (G20) would extend (1471 will gold-turquoise ring to the chapel of the Annunciation + £10 to the prior for a “new work”).
  • March 1408 Felton-Banham lease to John Spencer. Last documented Gurney transaction before Sir John V’s death on 4 December 1408.
  • Edmund the heir (Sir John V’s only son) was 10 years old at the father’s death and “followed him to the grave not long afterwards.”
  • Alice Heylesdon’s three marriages and 1433 Heylesdon sale to Fastolf. Alice survived Sir John V by at least 25 years. She sold Loundhall to John Wynter to pay her late husband’s debts. She remarried twice: first the Fitzalan retainer Sir John Wiltshire (d. 1428), then Richard Selling esquire. In 1433 she sold the bulk of her Heylesdon inheritance to Sir John Fastolf KG. In 1450 Fastolf, securing the title deeds, also wanted copies of the wills of Gurney and Wiltshire (Paston Letters ed. Gairdner i. 164). The Heylesdon-Fastolf-Paston-Heydon chain that the G19 1472 Saxthorpe episode (v62 Item 01) sits inside begins here.

Norwich Treasurers’ fee payments to Edmund — primary record

The Norwich City Treasurers’ accounts in Records of the City of Norwich vol. ii (Hudson and Tingey 1910), pp. 44 and 47, record two annual fee payments of 20 shillings each to “Edmund Gornay,” paid in the same fee paragraph as the 20s paid to Edmund de Clipesby:

“Fees paid. First, paid to Edmund Gornay for his fee this year, 20s. To Edmund de Clipesby, 20s. To the said Treasurers for their fees this year, 40s.” (p. 44)

“Fees Paid. To Edmund Gornay for his fee this year, 20s. To Edmund de Clipesby etc. 20s. To John Drake etc. 13s. 4d. To John de Tasburgh, Common Sergeant, etc. £5 12s.” (p. 47)

This is the direct primary attestation behind Blomefield’s standing-counsel reference and the History of Parliament biography’s phrasing. The retainer-pair detail with Edmund de Clipesby is the new content: Clipesby is the lawyer the History of Parliament biography identifies as joint Duchy of Lancaster steward with Edmund Gurney’s father and as the man murdered at his home in 1392 by servants of Bishop Despenser, with Sir John V then threatened with death if he opened proceedings against the killers. Gornay and Clipesby were a documented retainer pair to the city for years before the killing.

Full text of both paragraphs and the volume’s later “Gurnay, John 245, 7” Norwich-tenant entry preserved at sources/corpus_supplement/norwich-records-hudson-tingey-vol2-edmund-gornay-fees.md.[6]

John Heylesdon’s 1384 Husting will — foundation document for the Heylesdon settlement

Append also under the existing Sir John V sub-section: Reginald R. Sharpe, Calendar of Wills proved and enrolled in the Court of Husting, London Part II (1890), pp. 241-243, Roll 113 (1), preserves the full Husting calendar text of John Heylesdon’s will, dated London 14 April 1384 and proved at the Husting on Monday next before St Margaret the Virgin (20 July) 1384.

Key provisions:

  • Buried at Hellesdon parish church “near the tomb of his father and mother” — anchoring two prior Heylesdon generations at the parish.
  • Wife: Johanna.
  • Daughters: Alice (the future wife of Sir John Gurney V) and Margaret (who died before majority per the History of Parliament biography).
  • Brother: Robert Heylesdon. Sister: Margaret Heylesdon.
  • Two perpetual chantries at Hellesdon parish church, endowed by 20 marks yearly quitrent of lands in the London parish of All Hallows de Graschirche. Trustees: John Chircheman and Sir Richard Tasburgh (then rector of Hellesdon). For the souls of John, Johanna, Walter de Berneye, Edmund de Alderford, John Chircheman and Emma wife of same, Thomas de Aldeburgh, and others.
  • Wife Johanna: life interest in the Hellesdon lands subject to the chantry charge; £200 sterling by way of dower of his movable goods; her entire chamber, ornaments, personal clothing.
  • After Johanna’s decease, the Hellesdon lands to Margaret his daughter in tail; remainder in trust for sale for pious uses.
  • To Alice his daughter — lands and tenements in the city of Norwich in tail; and “under certain conditions,” his tenements in Westcheap, London, called the “Crowned Seld” (la Selde coronata).
  • Other bequests: Agnes wife of Bartholomew Marche; poor lepers within three miles of London; redemption of poor prisoners in Ludgate and Newgate; poor kinsfolk in Hellesdon and elsewhere in Norfolk; poor scholars at school; two pilgrims to Rome for one Lent; the Carthusian monks near West Smithfield; the Nuns Minoresses without Aldgate; the nuns of Shouldham; William Reve, rector of the church of Drayton; John and Thomas Tasburgh; Margaret wife of Thomas Mounteneye. £40 on his funeral. Codicil annexed.
  • The Husting calendar notes the will was later made an exhibit in Chancery, Attorney-General v. Fishmongers’ Company — almost certainly post-Reformation litigation over the chantry endowments after the Edward VI dissolutions.

This is the document from which the entire downstream Heylesdon-Gurney property settlement flows. When Margaret died before majority, Alice inherited everything (Crowned Seld, Norwich tenements, the Hellesdon and Drayton manors, the chantry advowsons, and the Norfolk kinsfolk network). On her marriage to Sir John Gurney V it all entered the West Barsham Gurney portfolio.

Full calendar text and the Stow / Crowned Seld identification preserved at sources/corpus_supplement/husting-wills-london-vol2-john-heylesdon-1384.md.[7]

Armstrong 1781 — Sir John V additional attestations (Heigham, Drayton, Hellesden, Taverham, Denver, Saxthorpe) + Sir John Howard’s silver-cup bequest

Mostyn John Armstrong, The History and Antiquities of the County of Norfolk (1781), substantially extends the documented economic footprint of Sir John Gurney V — the d. 1408 sheriff / MP / HoP-entered figure — outside the West Barsham / Harpley / North Barsham core.

1395-96 conveyance to John Winter

Armstrong vol. 9 (Freebridge entry for Heigham next Norwich): “John Gournay, and Alice his wife, were in possession of [the Hellesden mediety] in the 19th of Richard II [1395-96], when they passed it, with the manor of Drayton, and the advowson of the two chantries in this town, to John Winter, &c.”

The same fine is recorded again at Drayton (vol. 9, Freebridge entry for Drayton): “But part of this lordship was alienated probably about the end of Edward III. by Sir John de la Pole, in the 19th of Richard II. John Gourney conveying it, with the advowson, to John Winter and his heirs, by fine.”

And again at Taverham (vol. 9, Freebridge entry for Taverham): “In 1395, the advowson of one of these portions was settled by fine on John Winter, &c. by John Gournay and Alice his wife, with Drayton and Hellesden manors.”

This is John and Alice Gourney’s coordinated 1395-96 alienation of the Norwich-adjacent Heigham / Hellesden / Drayton / Taverham cluster — formerly the Hayleſdon family lands, now passing to John Winter (probably the same John Winter who was a major Norwich civic figure of the period). The named wife is Alice; the John Hayleſdon Husting will of 1384 (already in this companion) is the conveyance route by which these specific manors had come into Gurney hands. Armstrong’s three-volume cross-attestation strongly supports the Alice Heylesdon identification over the Wansey-pedigree Alice Bavard variant.[8]

1398 + 1401 Heigham advowson presentations

Armstrong vol. 9 (continuation of the Heigham mediety entry): “yet in 1398, and 1401, John Gourney presented to this church as lord.” Two further dated advowson presentations by Sir John V, between the 1395-96 conveyance to John Winter and the 1401-02 fee attestation below.[9]

1401-02 Drayton + Taverham fee attestation

Armstrong vol. 9 (Drayton entry): “In the 3d of Henry IV. [1401-02] John Gournay held two fees here and in Drayton, sometime John Spring’s, of the lord Morley, as part of the barony of Rye.” Sir John V held two fees at Drayton + Taverham under the lord Morley as late as 1401-02 — six years before his 5 December 1408 death.[10]

1407-08 Denver lord-at-death

Armstrong vol. 1 (Loddon Hundred entry for Denver mediety): “In the 9th of Henry IV. John Gourney, esq. died lord, and of West Barsham.” Independent corroboration of Sir John V’s death year (9 Henry IV = 1407-08; DG-Supp Note 121 / HoP fix the date at 5 Dec 1408) and of his Denver tenure already in this companion’s tenure table.[11]

Saxthorpe c. 1411 — post-IPM Gurney holding

Armstrong vol. 3 (North Erpingham Hundred entry for Saxthorpe): “[Saxthorpe manor descent:] …In 1400 Henry, Alexander and Roger Groos held it, and about 1411 John Gurnay, of West Barsham; after this Sir John Fastolf, knight of the garter, was lord, and died seised of it.” Sir John V died 5 Dec 1408. The c. 1411 actor is most parsimoniously Edmund (Sir John V’s IPM-aged-10 son acting through guardians during minority) or the eventual nephew-successor Thomas I (G21). The 1411 attestation is distinct from the v62 Paston-Saxthorpe-1472 patchset’s later Saxthorpe involvement.[12]

Sir John Howard’s silver-cup bequest

Armstrong vol. 6 (South Erpingham Hundred entry for Walsingham priory area): Sir John Howard’s will (late 14th / early 15th century — Howard’s son John died on a journey to the Holy Land in 1410) leaves cups of plate to a named knightly circle: “to Sir William Beauchamp, and Sir John Marmion, knts. to each a silver cup with a cover, to be made new, weighing 10lb. in gross; to Sir Stephen Hales, John de Burgh, Richard de Sutton, knts. and [Sir John] Gurney, to each of them a new cup to be made of silver, with a cover, each of the weight of 10 marks in gross.” This places Sir John Gurney V in Sir John Howard’s intimate gift circle alongside Hales, Burgh, and Sutton — the same Howard / Plays / Heydon political network the project already documents at G18 / G19 / G20.[13]

1373 Wauci → Edmund Gurney West Barsham transfer date

Armstrong vol. 5 (Gallow Hundred entry for West Barsham): “Hugo de Wauci held this manor of the Earl Warren, and it remained with his descendants till the 47th of Edw. III [1373], when it came to Edmund Gurney by marriage.” Sharpens the project’s existing “after 1372” reading for the Wauncy → G23 West Barsham inheritance by one year.[14]

  1. John Gourney, Gascony / Aquitaine, in the retinue of John of Gaunt (d. 1399), duke of Lancaster and Aquitaine; Letters of Attorney TNA C61/104, m. 7, 20 October 1394. From the AHRC-funded Soldier in Later Medieval England Online Database, www.medievalsoldier.org, accessed 2026-05-22. Source ID: medievalsoldier-database. The same database includes earlier 1370s–1380s “John Gournay” knight entries in France and the Calais garrison (e.g. TNA C76/59, C76/62, C76/65) attributable in part to Sir John V as a younger man and in part to an earlier-generation knight John de Gournay; the 1370 captaincy in the Knolles chevauchée (TNA E101/30/25) is too senior to be the future Sir John V. ↩︎

  2. Francis Blomefield, “The city of Norwich, chapter 16: Of the city in Richard II’s time,” History of Norfolk, vol. 3, pp. 102-117, British History Online. Source ID: blomefield-norfolk. ↩︎

  3. Francis Blomefield, “Gallow and Brothercross Hundreds: North-Barsham,” History of Norfolk, vol. 7, pp. 47-52, British History Online. Source ID: blomefield-norfolk. ↩︎

  4. Francis Blomefield, An Essay Towards a Topographical History of the County of Norfolk, vol. 5 (London: W. Miller, 1806), pp. 33–39, “Cringleford” / “Berford’s Manor”; British History Online transcription. Source ID: blomefield-norfolk-vol5-pp33-cringleford-berford. ↩︎ ↩︎

  5. “Genealogy of the ancient Family of the Wanseys olim Waunci,” copied from William Wansey, F.S.A., manuscript books on the Wansey family, 1873, PDF hosted by Nick Delves; user-supplied transcription in C:\Users\allen\Downloads\Future research urls3.md. Source ID: wansey-medieval-genealogy-1925. ↩︎

  6. William Hudson and John Cottingham Tingey, eds., The Records of the City of Norwich (Norwich and London: Jarrold, 1910), vol. ii, “Selected Records of the City of Norwich,” City Treasurers’ Accounts, pp. 44 and 47. Internet Archive: archive.org/stream/recordsofcityofn02norwuoft/recordsofcityofn02norwuoft_djvu.txt. Index of Names entry: “Gornay, Edmund, 44, 7.” Source ID: norwich-records-hudson-tingey-vol2. ↩︎

  7. Reginald R. Sharpe, ed., Calendar of Wills proved and enrolled in the Court of Husting, London, A.D. 1258-A.D. 1688, Part II (London: J. C. Francis, 1890), pp. 241-243, Roll 113 (1). Internet Archive: archive.org/stream/willshusting02sharuoft/willshusting02sharuoft_djvu.txt. Source ID: husting-wills-london-vol2-sharpe. ↩︎

  8. Mostyn John Armstrong, History and Antiquities of the County of Norfolk, vol. 9 (Norwich, 1781), Freebridge Hundred — Heigham next Norwich, Drayton, and Taverham parish entries. Internet Archive item bim_eighteenth-century_history-and-antiquities-_armstrong-mostyn-john_1781_9. Source ID: armstrong-norfolk-1781. ↩︎

  9. Armstrong, Norfolk, vol. 9, Heigham next Norwich. Source ID: armstrong-norfolk-1781. ↩︎

  10. Armstrong, Norfolk, vol. 9, Drayton. Source ID: armstrong-norfolk-1781. ↩︎

  11. Armstrong, Norfolk, vol. 1, Loddon Hundred — Denver mediety. Internet Archive item bim_eighteenth-century_history-and-antiquities-_armstrong-mostyn-john_1781_1. Source ID: armstrong-norfolk-1781. ↩︎

  12. Armstrong, Norfolk, vol. 3, North Erpingham — Saxthorpe. Internet Archive item bim_eighteenth-century_history-and-antiquities-_armstrong-mostyn-john_1781_3. Source ID: armstrong-norfolk-1781. ↩︎

  13. Armstrong, Norfolk, vol. 6 (Norwich, 1781), South Erpingham Hundred — Walsingham priory area, Sir John Howard’s will extract. Internet Archive item bim_eighteenth-century_history-and-antiquities-_armstrong-mostyn-john_1781_6. Source ID: armstrong-norfolk-1781. ↩︎

  14. Armstrong, Norfolk, vol. 5, Gallow — West Barsham parish entry. Internet Archive item bim_eighteenth-century_history-and-antiquities-_armstrong-mostyn-john_1781_5. Source ID: armstrong-norfolk-1781. ↩︎