13. BELSEY-HAWKINGE

Cory Tree

THOMAS BELSEY and JOAN HAWKINGE (13)

 

THOMAS BELSEY. In 1703, Henry Weeks married Mary Belsi in the Kentish village of Nonington. We have traced Mary’s Belsey ancestors back to the 16^th century, across a range of villages in mid-Kent, east of Canterbury. 

The earliest are Thomas Belsey and his wife Joan Hawkinge,. They were married in  Tilmanstone, west of Deal, in 1564 That makes their likely birth dates around 1540. The Tilmanstone registers have survived from 1558, so we cannot tell whether they were born in Tilmanstone or elsewhere. The absence of a large extended family makes it likely that Thomas came from another parish. The first Belsey records in Tilmanstone are for Thomas’s marriage and the baptisms of subsequent children.

We know from his will that Thomas was a yeoman.

 

JOAN HAWKINGE. Joan’s surname is hard to read from the handwritten register. It has been variously transcribed as Hucking and Hawking. The second letter is definitely an ‘a’.

As with Thomas, her birth would have been too early for us to know whether she was baptised in Tilmanstone or elsewhere. There is no evidence of other Hawkings (or Huckings) in Tilmanstone in the 16^th century, so we conclude that she too came from another parish. 

Thomas and Joan were probably born in the closing years of Henry VIII’s reign. They lived through the reigns of his children Edward and Mary. By the time they were married, Elizabeth I was on the throne. 

It is then that we find their wedding.

Marriage. St Andrew, Tilmanstone.
1564 Oct 24  Thomas Belsye and Joan Hawkinge.

From the following year onwards there is a succession of Belsey baptisms. The Tilmanstone register at this stage does not give the name of the father, let alone the mother. But the dates make it a reasonable assumption that these are Thomas and Joan’s children.

They are said to have had ten children.[1] Research is hampered by the many variant spellings of their surname, including Belce and Belche.

Baptisms. St Andrew, Tilmanstone.
1565 Dec 9  William
1567 Nov 9  Agnes
1570 Jan 6  Thomas
1572 Nov 30  Johane
1574 May 2  Marie. Marie was buried on 9 Sep 1575.
1575 Mar 18  Edward
1576 Jul 8  Richard
1578 Nov 3  John
Edward was buried on 10 Jun 1581.
1583 Oct 13  Elizabeth
On 10 Jun 1593, Margaret daughter of Thomas Belsy was buried.

Tilmanstone is a small parish, 2 miles by 1. The land is gently undulating, with more fertile soil in the valleys.
It is divided into Upper and Lower Streets, the former being higher and containing the church of St Andrew.

In 1573, the Archbishop’s visitation complained the there had only been two sermons preached in the church since the previous visitation.  Visitations took place every two or three years. Tilmanstone was clearly not a hotbed of Reformation zeal.

Most of Thomas and Joan’s lives were lived under the long reign of Elizabeth I, but both lived long enough to see the end of the Tudor dynasty in 1603 and the coming of the Stuarts, with Mary Queen of Scots’ son, James I of England and VI of Scotland.

Burial. St Andrew, Tilmanstone.
1606 Apr 20  Joan wife of Thomas Belsye
She was probably in her 60s.

Thomas lived on another 10 years.
1616 May  Thomas Belche
He may have been approaching 80.

The will of Thomas Belsye yeoman of Tilmanstone was written in Latin on 15 Feb 1613.[2]
He left money for the poor of Tilmanstone.
There were legacies of £10 toeach of three sons: William, Richard and Thomas. All his lands and tenements in Tilmanstone went to his youngest son John. He may already have helped the older sons to set themselves up with farms.
As was common, the lands Thomas left were evidently leased. There is clause in the will about ensuring that the Lord of the manor’s rent was paid
Thomas made his son John his sole executor.
There are no legacies to his daughters. It was common for daughters not to appear in wills because they had already received a substantial marriage portion.
Thomas signed with his mark
The will was proved on 7 Jan 1616/17.

  

[1] https://ryders.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/9-Belsey-Other-Kent-Familes.pdf
[2] https://ryders.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/9-Belsey-Other-Kent-Familes.pdf