Roger Conyers-Norton Esq.
b.abt 1300 Durham, Eng
m. Maragret Norton daughter and heiress of Richard Norton

Norton Roger formerly CONYERs E HL bore azure a maunch ermine over all a bend gules
Shirlev j F

Sir John Norton
b.abt 1442 Norton Conyers, York, Eng
d. 27 Aug, 1520 Wath, York, Eng
m. Margaret Ward
children:
John
Henry
Margaret
Ann
Jane

Richard Norton Esq. (Old Richard)
b. 1494 Norton Conyers, York, Eng
d. 9 Apr, 1584 Spanish Flanders
m. Susanne Neville

Richard Norton, known as "Old Norton", was the head of his illustrious house, which remained faithful to the Catholic religion. Despite this fact he held positions of influence during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, was Governor of Norham Castle under Mary, and in 1568-69 was sheriff of Yorkshire. He had been pardoned for joining in the Pilgrimage of Grace, but he and his brother Thomas, his nine sons, of whom Christopher was the seventh, and many of their relatives hastened to take part in the northern uprising of 1569. He was attainted and fled to Flanders with four of his sons, two of his sons were pardoned, another apostatized,

children:
Katherine
Claire
Francis - the eldest, was a fugitive with his father;
John - the second, was of Ripon, was not implicated;
Edmund - the third, was ancestor of the Lords Grantly. He was not implicated;
William - the fourth, was tried with his uncle Thomas and Brother Christopher but was pardoned;
George - the fifth, was a fugitive with his father;
Thomas - the sixth, died without issue, was not implicated;
Chirstopher - the 7th, was hanged /quartered with his uncle Thomas, at Tyburn, 27 May 1570;
Marmaduke -the 8th, pleaded guilty but was pardoned and died at Stranton 4th Nov. 1594. He was kept a prisoner in the Tower, however, until 1572.
Sampson - he ninth, and youngest son, was a fugitive with his father and was at Mechlin in 1571, then a pensioner of the King of Spain.

The ancient arms of the Norton family of Chart Sutton, near Maidstone, Kent, are agent, a chevron between three crescents azure.
Strangely they are recorded in pedigrees and Visitations outside the county of Kent, firstly in the Middlesex Pedigrees collected by Richard Mundy in Harleian Ms. No. 1551, fo. 79 made sometime after 1624 and, secondly, in the Berkshire Visitation made in 1623 by Henry Chitting (Chester Herald) and John Philipot (Somerset Herald),
Ms. Ashmole 852, pp. 278 & 279.

In the former the family is represented by ‘Stephen Norton of London’ and in the latter by Gregory Norton of Charlton in Wantage, Berkshire, who was created a baronet of Ireland on 27 April 1624. However, the Visitation of Kent taken in 1574 by Robert Cooke, Clarenceaux King of Arms, lists the arms of Norton as one of the quarterings of the Samson family derived from ‘Joane daughter and Coheire of Norton of the Manner of Norton.’ There is also a monumental brass of Paul Iden (“Pawle Yden”) in the Sydney Chapel of Penshurst Church. Dating from 1514 this includes a quartering of the Norton arms which the Iden family inherited and passed on to their descendants, one of whom was the poet, P. B. Shelley. John Philipot’s manuscript notes, from about 1603 (Harleian Ms. 3917) also lists the Norton arms as one of those inherited by the Iden family.

Writing in 1776 Thomas Philipot, the antiquary and author of Villare Cantianum states that within the confines of the parish of Chart Sutton “there is an ancient manor and mansion called Norton Place … which gave name to as ancient a family as any in this track.” He also states that in the south windows of the church there were effigies of Stephen Norton, “who flourished in King Richard II’s time” and that he had found one of his name depicted in an armorial tabard of the Norton arms in a tournament of Kentish gentlemen.

If we are to give credence to Thomas Philipot’s chronology we are dealing with the period 1377-1399 when Stephen Norton, the celebrated Kentish bell founder and ancestor of the Chart Sutton Nortons was known to be extant. During the fifteenth century the Nortons continued to play a significant part in local affairs: ‘Stephen Norton of Chart, gentleman’ being listed among those who took part in Jack Cade’s rebellion of 1450.

Cadet branches – some being designated as yeomen – sprang up in nearby Boughton Monchelsea, Sutton Valence, Smarden, Borden, Egerton, Biddenden, Pluckley and Bedthersden. By the early seventeenth century the senior branch was ruined through the partition of their lands according to the peculiarly Kentish law of gavelkind, though a cadet branch achieved a baronetcy in the person of Sir Gregory Norton (1594-1652). He also achieved notoriety as one of the judges who sat at the trial of King Charles I and as a signatory of the king’s death warrant. Although rewarded with the former royal palace of Sheen, it was restored to the Crown at the Restoration; whilst his son, Sir Henry Norton, a Royalist, was disinherited by his father and died in obscurity, when the baronetcy is presumed to have become extinct. It is at this time that the Norton crest first appears in the 1623 Visitation of Berkshire, being described as out of a ducal coronet azure, a demi-lion rampant, double queued, argent.

On 27 June 1990 His Grace the Duke of Norfolk, as Earl Marshal and Hereditary Marshal of England, issued his warrant authorising the Kings of Arms to grant arms to the late Henry George Norton, gentleman (born at Ashford, Kent 1873; died at London 1944) and his descendants, who was himself descended from a cadet branch of the Chart Sutton Nortons. After the lapse in the use of arms for so many generations suitable differences were required as marks of cadency. This is often done by the alteration or reversal of colours or by the transposition or substitution of charges, though still enabling the original arms to be recognisable.

By Letters Patent dated 1 August 1991 Garter Principal King of Arms (Sir Alexander Colin Cole) and Norroy & Ulster King of Arms (John Brooke-Little) granted to Henry George Norton (1873-1944) and his descendants the following arms: azure a chevron between two bells in chief and a crescent in base gold and for a crest, in a crest coronet or a demi-lion double queued azure holding in the dexter paw a bell gold. It will be seen that the 1991 grant is a reversal of colours and metals with the substitution of gold for silver and of bells for two of the crescents, but is still clearly recognisable as the arms of Norton (ancient). In the crest the Kings of Arms have again replaced silver with gold and reversed the sequence of colours and metals, differencing the double-tailed demi-lion by giving him a golden bell. The introduction of the bells is an allusion to the three surviving bells of Stephen Norton the bell founder and also provides a link between shield and crest which was not previously there.

click for a larger version

In the same Letters Patent the Kings of Arms also granted to the Reverend William Henry Hugo Newman-Norton (born 1948), grandson of Henry George Norton (1873-1944) the heraldic badge, a seraph or visaged proper, being an illusion to his religious name as ‘Abba Seraphim’ Metropolitan of Glastonbury within the British Orthodox Church, part of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria.

George Norton
b.abt 1485

William Norton
b.abt 1515

John Norton of Wyarton and his wife, Joan St. Leger.
b.abt 1540
m.Dorthy Farnefold

Visitation of Berkshire, 1623 ' (vol. ii. p. 116, Harl. Soc.) ?
In the pedigree of Norton of Charleton, in the parish of Wantage, Gregory is said to be son of Henry Norton (eldest son of John Norton of Wierton, in the parish of Boughton Monchelsea, co. Kent) by Elizabeth, dau. of William Nelston of Chadleworth, . Berks, and nephew to Sir Dudley Norton, Knt:, the King's Secretary in Ireland. Inasmuch as in the patent of his creation to the baronetcy in 1624 he is styled " Gre- gory Norton of Charlton, co. Berks," there can be no doubt of the identity.

Sir Dudley Norton, Knight, Principal Secretary of State in Ireland under Charles I in 1612.
b.
m.Margaret MASTERSON, the daughter of Sir Thomas MASTERSON
her first marriage was to Roger MAINWARING.

Arms argent on a chevron azure between three crescents of the second a crescent of the first for difference impaling ermine a chevron azure between three garbs or

The HonH Sr Dudly Norton Knt principal Secretary to the State and one of the privie Councell departed this mortall Life the 27 1 of July 1634. He had to Wife Margr Dr of Sr Thomas Masterson of Fearnes in the County of Waxford K by whome he had Issue, Dudly Norton his only son who hath to Wife Katherin Dr of Capt Hercie Wolferstou of Statfould Esq in Staffordshire by whome he hath Issue Henry Norton. She was relict of John Bromfeild of Bullthornes in Staffordshire. Margaret wife of S Dudly Norton before mar to Roger Manneringe sometime Remebrancer of the Exchequer of Ireland. S Dudly Norton was buried in tlie Choire of Christ Church Dublin y 30th of July. source Miscellanea Genealogica Et Heraldica

Dudley Norton
b.
m. Katherin Daughter of Capt Hercie Wolferstou of Statfould Esq in Staffordshire by whome he hath Issue Henry Norton She was relict of John Bromfeild of Bullthornes in Staffordshire.

Thomas Norton Chepsted, Kent
We have the will of Thomas Norton of Chipstead dated 1479/80 and can verify that he is the father of Alexander Norton of Gouldhurst & Borden, gentleman, who died 1513-15; John Norton of Tonbridge, gentleman, who died 1525/6 although no mention is made of the third son, Thomas Norton of Chipstead. His existence, however, can be verified by the 1513 will of Alexander Norton of Gouldhurst.

Thomas Norton of “Chepstead” inaccurately gives him as son of the elder of the two siblings called Stephen Norton, whereas he was the son of John Norton of Borden, who died 1471/2. Thomas Norton actually describes himself as “of Borden” in his will of 1479/80 and makes no reference to any property in Chipstead, which is in Chevening near Sevenoaks in the west of the county.

Chapter 7
POOR SCOUNDREL REGICIDE

Gregory Norton was the second and only surviving son of Henry Norton1 of the cadet line of Wyarton in the Parish of Boughton Monchelsea. His mother was Elizabeth, fourth daughter of William Nelson2, gentleman, of Chaddleworth, Berkshire, Chief Protonotary of the County Palatine of Lancashire. Henry Norton and Elizabeth married at Merton, Surrey on 6 February 1590, where their sons, Horden3 and Gregory were baptised on 23 April 1593 and 15 December 1594 respectively. Henry Norton is subsequently described as ‘of Wantage, Berks’, Chaddleworth being a parish situated about six miles south of Wantage on the road to Hungerford. When the heralds, Chitting and Philipott, conducted their Visitation of Berkshire in 1623 Gregory Norton, described as ‘of Charlton in Wantage’, duly registered his arms.
By that date Gregory Norton was married to Martha4, widow of John Gunter5 and daughter of Bradshaw Drew, gentleman, of Densworth in East Ashling, a tithing in the parish of Funtington, Sussex,6 and they had five children, Gregory, who was baptised at Wantage on 14 February 1622; Elizabeth (whose age is given as 2 in the 1623 Berkshire Visitation); Henry, who was baptized at Saint Martin-in-the-Fields on 4 May 1629; a second Henry (the first presumably having died in infancy) whose baptism of 2 January 1632 was recorded at Saint Andrew, Holborn on 8 January as “out of Edward Parry’s house near George Yard” and Grisell Valentia7, who was baptized at Funtington on 26 May 1637 and buried there on 15 June 1637.

Through his uncle, Sir Dudley Norton, Gregory Norton had connections which offered him some hope of preferment. In 1611 King James I had instituted the new hereditary rank of baronet with the sole objective of raising money to support troops in Ulster. The ‘honour’ cost the first recipients £1,095 and entitled them to the prefix Sir with precedence above knights.8 Finding this a lucrative source of income, King James created a baronetage of Ireland on 30 September 1619. Gregory Norton was created an Irish baronet “by patent dated 27 April 1624, at Dublin, the Privy Seal being 20 February 1623/4 at Westminster.”
Admitted to Gray's Inn on 3 August 1629 he was a contemporary there of John Bradshaw (1602-1659), John Cook (died 1660) and John Allured (1607-1651), all of who was to become prominent parliamentarians. In 1639 the Council of State tried to obtain financial support from Sir Gregory to assist in the suppression of the Scottish rebels,
“The King has gone in person to resist the dangerous rebellion in Scotland which threatens the peace & safety of this kingdom. All the nobility and many other persons of quality do readily assist him, some in their persons others with considerable sums of money, whereof we do hereby give you notice, that you may also lay hold on this occasion to express yr. Fidelity & good affection, and you will do very well to signify forthwith your resolution to this board, from whence his Majesty will understand the same.”9

At this period he resided at Hampden's Manor, Penn, Buckinghamshire but in 1640 he obtained the Manor of Aglands, West Thorney, near Chichester, Sussex, when he also became a Justice of the Peace for West Sussex and in 1642 Receiver for Midhurst and Chichester. On 19 October 1643 he was given a commission to raise a hundred men in Sussex for the defence of the Isle of Wight and in 1644 both Gregory and Martha were on the island, where they had property. On 20 June 1644 he was one of several parliamentary supporters added to the Committee for the Isle of Wight. It is recorded that the Rev. Aaron Crosfield was brought before this committee for saying that “he that would not join with Prince Rupert against Parliament was a traitor and a rebel.” The parson was shut out of his church by some of his parishioners “who desired to hear an honest and godly man sent to them by Parliament.” Crosfield sent for his surplice and preached to a small congregation, while the “honest godly man” addressed a large audience in the school-house. For the benefit of Lady Martha these sermons were privately repeated in her home, enraging Crosfield’s supporters, who threatened to demolish her mansion.10 In 1645 he entered parliament in a by-election and served in the Long Parliament as one of the two members for Midhurst in Sussex. Robert Temple11 observes that although Sir Gregory Norton was not “a commanding presence” in the House, he “was a devoted committee man.” He served on the committee concerning accounts within weeks of his election and later joined the committees for martial law and Irish affairs, which he attended assiduously, becoming a major figure. Following Pride's Purge, his importance in the Commons increased dramatically and he was immediately co-opted to the committees concerning Accounts, Irish Affairs and for Martial Law. After Pride’s Purge of 1648 (when some 140 M.P’s were excluded) he remained with the Rump and joined the committees for Revenue and Compounding.

His political connections, made it inevitable that on 23 December 1648 he would be drawn onto the committee for proceedings against the king, the first of the Commons committees which laid the groundwork for the king's trial and execution. John Bradshaw (1602-1659), who presided at the trial; John Cook (died 1660), chief prosecutor and John Alured (1607-1651), the regicide, were all contemporaries from his days at Gray's Inn. Among the other regicides, Humphrey Edwards (died 1658) was a close personal friend and William Cawley (1602-1666?) was his fellow M.P. for Midhurst. On 6 January he attended the first of the sessions of the high court of justice preparatory to the trial and then attended all but two days of the trial. He was present when sentence was pronounced against the king and signed the death warrant12 which also sealed the ruination of his line and ensured his place among the infamous in history. William Winstanley referred to him as

"One whose means was not answerable to his Title, being one of the Pensioners to the King, who ungratefully for the lucre of money joyned also in the King's murther, and had by his fellow Regicides for his service, as good as given Richmond Manner and House."

Another, anonymous writer, also attributes dishonourable motives to his actions,

"This beggerly Knight had been one of the Pensioners to the King, and in return for the Bread he had eaten and being kept from Starving, became one of his Murders, sitting in the Court to try him, and signing the Warrant for Execution.

For this diabolical Action, he was rewarded with Richmond House and Mannor. He escap'd the more proper Reward for his Villainy, an Halter, by dying before the Restoration." 13

John Evelyn, the diarist, has an entry under 28 October 1653 which refers to “that cursed woman cald the Lady Norton, of whom it was reported, that she spit in our King’s face, as he went to the Scaffold, indeede her talke & discourse was like an impudent woman.” However, the attribution of this act to Lady Martha is questioned by the diary’s editor.14
His service to the Commonwealth did not end here and he served on committees to set up a republican form of government and to abolish both the House of Lords and the monarchy.15 For these services, on 10 September 1645, he was awarded a thousand pounds “out of such papists’ and delinquents’ estates, not yet discovered, as he shall discover” and that he should hold and enjoy Sir Roger Palmer’s sequestered house at Charing Cross for which the Committee of Sequestrations should pay to the landlord the yearly rent of twenty-five pounds. The money was not immediately forthcoming but he was eventually paid from a confiscation made after he reported a concealment in compounding by Sir Henry Hastings, a Royalist. His avaricious spirit can be gauged by the fact that he took too much and, after his death, Lady Martha was required to repay some £516. He also acquired the tenancy of Manor of Oatlands Park near Weybridge16 and after the king’s execution he obtained Richmond Palace at Sheen, Surrey and much of its furnishings. This was first sold on 12 April 1650 by the Commissioners of the House of Commons for £13,562 0s.6d. to a three-man consortium comprising Thomas Rokeby, William Goodrick and Adam Baynes on behalf of themselves and other creditors and then purchased by Sir Gregory Norton, the materials being valued at £10,782.19s.2d.17 Mark Noble expressed the widely accepted view of these transactions,

"As a reward for this nefarious butchery, he was gratified with Richmond Palace, and much of his Majesty's furniture, at a very inconsiderable price … He appears to have had his slender fidelity overcome with the prospect of dividing the royal plunder, which the king's enemies shared with great rapacity amongst them". 18

Richmond Palace had been rebuilt magnificently by Henry VII following a fire which had destroyed the more modest royal manor. Although situated at Sheen, Henry VII had named it after his former earldom and pictures show it as comprising three floors, with numerous bays and turrets and crowned with fourteen bulbous cupolas. The Spanish ambassador marvelled because it contained “more rooms and better than the Alcazar of Madrid – the crowds in them are so great as to be hardly contained” as well as eighteen kitchens. Its central features were a hall and a chapel, each a hundred feet long and all richly carved and ornamented.19 Sir Gregory and Lady Norton must have found its empty vastness strange and unsettling.

However, recent research suggests it is likely that Sir Gregory did not use the palace as a splendid residence but instead, turned it into a stone quarry. John Cloake20 thinks it probable that Sir Gregory bought only the lordship of the manor of Richmond and part of the brick buildings facing Richmond Green and the outer court. A near contemporary observer asserts that “Henry Carter of Richmond was the first puller-down of the King’s house there and sold the stone and material of the house to the value of £2000 and upwards.” It seems that Carter acquired title to the stone buildings, which comprised among other things, the Privy Lodgings, the Chapel and the Hall. Cloake has traced through the Manor Court rolls and books for this period evidence that demolition was in progress by October 1651 and disputes over the rights of the inhabitants were numerous.

Richmond Palace

If he was well rewarded for his services to the new order, in his family life he was sorely tried. His eldest son and heir, Gregory Norton, had shown promise. He was admitted as a Fellow Commoner at Jesus College, Cambridge, on 1 March 1637/8 and matriculated but he had died in 1652. His younger brother, Henry, now became the heir. Although he was to follow closely his father in his career, being admitted to Gray's Inn on 10 March 1657/8 and elected as Member of Parliament for Petersfield in 1659 21, he did not share his father’s political sympathies. In his will, Sir Gregory refers to “my unnaturall & disobedient sonn Henrie Norton” whose only share in the inheritance is the redemption of heavily mortgaged land in Penn “to the end that he payinge the money due upon the said mortgage may enjoy the said land unto him and his heires.” By contrast the residue of his lands was settled upon his executor, the regicide Humphrey Edwards, who is described as “my most lovinge and deare friend.” His will, which was dated 12 March 1652, was obviously made in preparation for his death as he was buried in Richmond Church on 26 March 1652, although Lady Martha was in France, at Poitiers, when he died.22 Probate of the will was granted to Lady Martha Norton on 24 September 1652.
According to Robert Temple, Lady Martha was hounded under the Protectorate by the commissioners for compounding, who persecuted many republican MPs. On 20 October 1655 at St. Paul’s Church, Covent Garden, she married Robert Gordon, 4th Viscount Kenmure (1622-1663). Kenmure was an active Royalist and in 1649 the Commission of Assembly ordered that he “satisfie in the Kirk of Leith for his fornication committed there, at least on[e] day.” In 1650 he had held Kenmure Castle for some time against the Parliamentary forces and was taken a prisoner at Worcester in September 1651. In July 1653 he joined Glencairn's rising on behalf of the Prince of Wales and a price of £200 was set on his head. However, he received good terms from General Monck in 1654 and was able to return to London and marry. He suffered much on account of his loyalty to the king and was excepted from Cromwell’s Act of Grace, 1654. Shortly after marrying Lady Martha she conveyed to him the manors and advowsons of Stokenham Rectory in South Devon, Clymsland Prior and Landulph in Cornwall which had been settled on her by Sir Gregory Norton, so that in 1656 Sir Henry Norton was obliged to sue his mother and Viscount Kenmure for their return. During this Chancery suit she was referred to as “very selfish.” The court ordered that the money raised by the sale of her lands, which had been used by Sir Gregory to buy Richmond Palace, should be repaid to Lord Kenmure. Here he also vandalized the property by “taking away the waincote, bords, locks, & windowes.” He and Martha appeared to have separated and he retired to Greenlaw in Berwick and died in 1663 without issue.

At the death of Sir Gregory Norton in 1652 the baronetcy passed to his only surviving son. On 14 October 1656 at St. Margaret’s, Westminster, Sir Henry Norton married Mabella, daughter of Sir Richard Norton, 1st baronet of Rotherfield, in the Parish of East Tisted, Hampshire. Although sharing a surname and a baronetcy dating from 1622, the two families were previously unconnected.23 Lady Mabella’s father, Sir Richard Norton (1582-1645), was a former Sheriff of Hampshire (1613-14) and M.P. for Petersfield (1621-22) who was created a baronet in 1622. He was a sufferer in the royal cause and was imprisoned in July 1644 as well as fined £1,000, although this was later reduced to £500. The family were staunch royalists, his eldest son, Sir Richard Norton (1619-1652), the 2nd baronet, was compounded for his delinquency by a fine of £100 in 1645, and his second son, Sir John Norton (1620-1687), the 3rd baronet, had also suffered in the Royal cause.
Sir Gregory Norton was fortunate not to have survived until the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660 as the few regicides still living were executed and Parliament directed that the leading figures (Bradshaw, Cromwell and Ireton), though dead, should be exhumed from Westminster and “hanged in their coffins at Tyburn” before having their heads exposed in Westminster Hall and their corpses reburied beneath the scaffold.24 Although his corpse was left in peace, Sir Gregory’s name was inserted in the bill of indemnity, by which all misappropriated property was restored to the crown.
It appears that the lordship of the Manor of Richmond, which Sir Gregory Norton bequeathed to Humphrey Edwards in 1652, subsequently passed to Dame Martha Norton in 1655, possibly paid for by Viscount Kenmure, who is listed jointly as lord of the manor in 1656. By 1657, however, Sir Henry Norton was lord of the manor and was living in part of the palace comprising three distinct buildings: one next to the gate; another in the Wine Cellar Court built at right angles to the line of the wall and projecting well forward of the Gate House and the third comprising a long range, almost level in front with the end of the second, which contained what were still in 1660 called the Prince’s Chambers and which stood on the site of what is now Maids of Honour Row. These buildings were decayed and around 1658 Sir Henry let them at an annual rent of £20 to Mr. Walter Long who, “having some of his children sick in London was advised by his physicians to go to Richmond to take benefit of that Aire for their recovery.”

At the Restoration the manor reverted to the crown and was formally restored to Queen Henrietta Maria – to whom it had been granted originally in 1627 - by a resolution of Parliament on 23 June 1660. In July 1660 King Charles II issued a life grant to Edward Villiers of the offices of “Keeper of West Sheen House als Richmond, with the wardrobe, gardens and green thereto belonging, Keeper of the Park, lodges and game, also Steward of the Court Leet there, Keeper of the late Monastery of Sheen, Steward of the said Manor and Keeper of the Court Baron there.” Mr. Long submitted a petition explaining that he had already laid out about £400 in repairs on the property leased from Sir Henry, although he had not yet moved in. He was unsuccessful in obtaining a crown lease and it is not known whether he received any compensation for the work he had undertaken.25

After the Restoration both Viscountess Kenmure and Sir Henry Norton set about trying to salvage something of the estates held by Sir Gregory Norton, which were now confiscated by the crown. Throughout 1660-1662 they petitioned repeatedly but without success. In September 1660 Lady Mabella petitioned for the restoration of £300, recovered by Sir Henry “at the expense of her portion of £2,000” out of Sir Gregory’s estate. She recited her own royalist connections and referred to her father-in-law “who had his hands dyed in the blood of the late King and disinherited her husband because he abhored such deeds.”

In October 1660 Viscount Kenmure, who the previous year had been imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle but escaped, petitioned the crown for the restoration of the Devon and Cornwall estates. However, whilst this was under consideration Nicholas Delves, a citizen of London and a Merchant Taylor, made a counter petition. He explained that he had lent £350 to Sir Henry Norton on a bond of £700 because he had often heard that his father had disinherited his “for affection to His Majesty.” The Manor and Rectory of Stokenham had been offered as security but not only had it been “forfeited by the treason of Sir Henry’s father” but he had now learned that “it is regranted to Sir Henry, who has taken it in another name, which will endanger his money.” Delves asked that Sir Henry should either pay the debt or that the lands should be granted to him. In December 1661 it was ordered that either no grant of the Manor and Rectory of Stokenham should be made until Sir Henry Norton secured or paid Delves the outstanding debt, or that the grant to Sir Henry should be made in his own name so that the land might be liable for the debt. In March 1662 there is recorded a grant to Sir John Norton and two others of the Rectory of Stokenham “with all lands etc. belonging thereto except the advowson of the church, now in the king's hands, by forfeiture of Sir Gregory Norton, deceased.” 26 Presumably this marked the successful outcome of their endeavours as Lysons, Magna Brittanica records,

"The Manor of Stokenham Priory belonged to Sir Gregory Norton, Bart., one of the Regicides. In 1685 Sir Henry Norton, of Stokenham, brother of Sir John Norton, Bart., of Rotherfield, in Hampshire, bequeathed this estate to his nephew, Henry Nelson, Esq., son of William Nelson, Esq., of Chaddleworth, Berks. It was purchased of Norton Nelson, Esq., by the Holdsworth family, and is now the property of A.H. Holdsworth Esq." 27

In her will dated 1670-71, Martha Gordon, Dowager Viscountess Kenmure, left her lands in Chichester and her barn with sixteen acres “called Dremeo in Bridham” (Deanes in Birdham) to her “kinsman” William Nelson of Chaddleworth and the remainder of her land to her son, Sir Henry Norton of Stockenham, Devon, who was named as executor and was therefore reconciled to his mother.

Peter Ellacott’s excellent study of Martha Drew and the families with which she was connected raises the question of whether any descendants of Sir Henry Norton survived. His own wife is a descendant of the Victorian architect, John Norton, and preserved a “family tradition” that Sir Gregory and Lady Martha are “numbered among their ancestors.” Although Sir Henry Norton vanishes from the historical records, apparently without trace, there is no reference to his having any children. Furthermore, it seems highly improbable that he would have bequeathed his lands at Stockenham to his Nelson cousins if he had left any descendants himself. The Complete Baronetage merely records that Sir Henry Norton was living 31 December 1661 but then states that “nothing further is known of him; but at his death, say about 1690, the Baronetcy is presumed to have become extinct.”

Sir James Norton b.abt 1270 (heir) 1310
m.Elizabeth de Gurdon
m. Margaret
(Adam de Gurdon died seised of the manor of Tisted, leaving a daughter and heir Joan, who in 1308 settled the whole on herself for life with reversion to James de Norton and his heirs. For licence to enter the manor James de Norton paid a fine of 5 marks to the crown during the next year. (fn. 13) In March, 1316, the manor was in his hands, (fn. 14) and in the May of that year he settled it upon himself and his second wife Margaret and their heirs; failing such it was to revert to Thomas the son of James by his first wife Elizabeth. ) (source)

Sir James de Norton of Hants bore vert a lyon rapant or. - WlLLlAM took up the cross in the last Crusade 1270 (Parlimentary Roll E. ii) (source)
(The future Edward I of England undertook another Crusade in 1271, after having accompanied Louis on the Eighth Crusade. He accomplished very little in Syria and retired the following year after a truce.)

Sir Richard Norton (heir of Rotherfield) Sheriff of Hampshire, 1st Baronet of Rotherfield 1622 b.1582 d.July 1645
m.Amy Bilson (died before 1655 daughter of Thomas Bilson. Bishop of Winchester.)
The manor then passed to his son Richard, who was several times sheriff of Hampshire, and who was created baronet in 1622. The Norton family were staunch royalists and suffered heavily for their adherence to Charles. In July, 1644, Sir Richard was committed 'for maintaining the proceedings against the Parliament and for doing many disservices.' He was imprisoned in Lord Petre's house, but was by order of the Committee for Prisoners discharged in August, 1644, on giving sufficient security. His estates were valued at £15,000 a year, and on admission to compound he was fined at £1,000. This was reduced to £500 in March, 1645. He paid the fine, but died before August of that year, leaving his estate heavily charged, as his sons complained when they compounded for their own and their father's delinquency on his death. They stated that they had been in the king's army in Winchester garrison, and five days after its surrender had taken an oath administered by the county committee. They were now heavily burdened with their father's debts and the necessity of paying their mother's jointure, while Sir Richard the elder son had no other estate, and John the younger only a lease of £15 a year, now sequestered. In April, 1647, all proceedings against them were stayed, since they had paid £100, the sum to which their fine had been reduced in consideration of their poverty and their father's fine. (source)

Sir Richard Norton (1582-1645), was a former Sheriff of Hampshire (1613-14) and M.P. for Petersfield (1621-22) who was created a baronet in 1622. He was a sufferer in the royal cause and was imprisoned in July 1644 as well as fined £1,000, although this was later reduced to £500. The family were staunch royalists, his eldest son, Sir Richard Norton (1619-1652), the 2nd baronet, was compounded for his delinquency by a fine of £100 in 1645, and his second son, Sir John Norton (1620-1687), the 3rd baronet, had also suffered in the Royal cause.

other issue:
Thomas Norton > had son John Norton
Catherine Norton
Elizabeth Norton m. Thomas Antrobus

Mabella Norton
m. 14 October 1656 Sir Henry Norton at St. Margaret’s, Westminster, Sir Henry Norton in the Parish of East Tisted, Hampshire.

Sir Henry Norton is the son of Sir Gregory Norton regicide.
Although sharing a surname and a baronetcy dating from 1622, the two families were previously unconnected.

After the Dissolution the site of the priory church of Southwick was granted to John White, servant to Sir Thomas Wriothesley, in 1538, and eight years later the manor and church of Southwick were granted to Sir Thomas Wriothesley that he might alienate them to John White. On the death of John White in 1567 the manor passed to his son and heir Edward. In 1580 Edward died, leaving a son and heir, John, who, in 1606, settled the manor on his daughter and co-heir Honor on her marriage with Sir Daniel Norton, and they came into possession of the manor on the death of John White in the following year.

Sir Daniel Norton died seised of the manor in 1636, leaving a son and heir, Richard, who had married Anne daughter of Sir William Earle. Richard died 10 December, 1732, and his daughter and heir Sarah married Henry Whitehead ; they had two children Richard and Mary. Richard died young, 25 December, 1733, leaving all his estates to his nephew Francis Thistlethwayte, son of his sister Mary, who had married Alexander Thistlethwayte in 1717 and died before 1728. (fn. 19) Francis Thistlethwayte of Southwick took the name of Whitehead, and died 30 March, 1751, leaving his estates to his elder brother with remainder to his younger brother, Robert Thistlethwayte. From that time the manor has remained in the hands of the Thistlethwayte family ; Mr. Alexander Thistlethwayte of Southwick Park being lord of the manor at the present day. (source)

other issue of Daniel and Honora White
Daniel
Edward
Thomas
John
Catherine
Honor
Frances
Bridget
Elizabet
Mary Catherine

Honora Norton
m.John Elliott (son of Sir John of St.Germans)

Sir Richard Norton of Southwick d.10 December, 1732 (heir)
m.Anne Earle (daughter of Sir Walter Earle of Charborough)

Daniel Norton d.1688 (heir)
m.Isabel lawson (daughter of Sir John Lawson)

Thomas Norton Esq. Councellor at Law
b. 1532, London, England
d. Mar 1584 in Sharpenhoe, Bedfordshire. Buried on 10 Mar 1583/4 in Sharpenhoe, Bedfordshire.
m. Margery Cranmer b. 1532 in London, England, third daughter of Thomas Cranmer

m. 2nd Alice Cranmer, 10 Mar 1567/8 b. 1536 in Aslacton, Nottinghamshire, d. Feb 1601/2 in Chestnut, Herefordshire., daughter of Rev. Edmund Cranmer Archbishop of Canterbury (1491-bef 20 Apr 1571) & Anne Sands, in Sharpenhoe, Bedfordshire
children:
Christopher b.abt.1569 d.1603
Margaret
Henry b.1571, listed below
Robert b.1579, listed below
Elizabeth b.1577
Ann b.1578
Thomas b.1578
Col. Walter b.1580, listed below
William b.1582

Visitation of Bedfordshire, 1634 (Harleian 19:128-129)*
(the crescent for difference suggests Thomas was the 2nd son)

Member of the Grocery Company

Walter Norton's eldest brother was Henry Norton, whose son Henry came to New England in 1634 source

Will of Thomas Norton of Shapnoll Bedford Esq proved 15 April 1584 brother Thomas Cranmer executor for benefit of wife and children Bull L 35
Biography from "the History of Parliment"

Capt. Walter Norton,
b.abt 1580
d.1633 Murdered by Pequots at mouth of Connecticut River in the summer of 1633
m Jane (Reeve) Reynolds.abt 1605; d. before about 1618
children:
Son, b.1605; killed 1625 at Isle of Rhe (ca 1605-1625)
m. 2nd Eleanor Knight., 1618
children:
Jane Norton (ca 1618-bef 1680)

Soldier. In a petition of 26 February 1628/9 to the Council of War, Lieutenant Colonel Walter Norton outlined his service in the Low Countries from 1625 to 1627 under the commission of the Duke of Buckingham, and asked for back pay for himself and his officers; he related that he was "taken prisoner in the Isle of Rees [Rhe] on the day of the retreat with 63 pieces about him, and having then also his only son being his ensign, together with his lieutenant slain in that service"
MIGRATION to New England: 1630
FIRST RESIDENCE: Charlestown, MA
REMOVES: York, Maine 1632
RETURN TRIPS: In England 1631, returned to New England 1632

Grant of lands in Maine.
"Att Warwick House the 2 of Dec 1631 There being present The Earle of Warwick Presid The L Gorges & S Ferdinando Gorges Threr There was this pfsent day sealed a Pattf granted to Ferdinando Gorges sonn and heire of John Gorges of London Esqf Walter Norton Lieut Cott Tho Coppyn Esq Samuel Maverick Esq Thomas Graves Gen an Ingineer Raphe Glover Merchf WTM Jeffryes gen John Busley gen Joell Woolsey gen all of New England Robert Norton Esqf Richard Norton gen George Norton of Sharpenhow in yf County of Bedford and Robert Rainsford yf younger of London gen first 100 acres of Land for every person transported or to be transported by them or any of them within 7 yeares next insueing soe that the said person or persons abide there 3 yeares either at one or severall times yf same land to be taken & chosen in any place adjacent to the 12,000 acres of Land hereafter mencttned & y same not to be inhabitted ." Source

"One of Walter Norton's sisters married Sir George Coppyn, and they had a son, THOMAS COPPYN , who was a co-patentee with Walter Norton in the grant of Agamenticus" source

" A further glimpse of the enterprise Sir Ferdinando Gorges records in these words Hereupon he Lieut Col Norton and some of his associates hastened to take possession of their territories carrying with them their families and other necessary provisions and I sent over for my son my nephew Captain William Gorges who had been my lieutenant in the fort of Plymouth with some other craftsmen for the building of houses and erecting of saw mills." source

"Maine Reference has already been made to a grant of land on the west most side of the Agamenticus river made December 2 1631 by the council for New England to Ferdinando Gorges Sir Ferdinando s grandson and heir and also to a grant on the east side of the river made at the same time to Lieutenant Colonel Francis Norton and others 1 In his Briefe Narration Gorges " source

Will of Christopher Norton
"Christopher Norton of London gentleman 18 April 1603 sister Coppin sister Margaret sister Rainsforde cozen William Cranmer brother Robert Norton brother Capt Walter Norton executor Capt Walter Norton refusing the trust commission was issued 28 Feb y 1603 to William Norton a brother of dec d IIarte L 24"
source

Luke Norton Esq.
m.Lettice Graveley
Councellor at Law in the inner Temple. One of the Chancery dwelt at Offley in county Hertford.
children:
Gravely
Lettice (married Richard Norton
Benjamin
Thomas
Anne

Richard Norton
b.abt 1517
d. 1567 Sharpenhoe, Bedford, England Will of Richard Norton from the National Archives in London
m. Mary Wingar (Margerie Wingate) Will of Margarie Norton
b. 1528 in Sharpenhoe, Bedfordshire
d. 26 Jun 1571 in Streatley, Bedfordshire
chldren from will:
Richard,
William, b. 1558 listed below
Thomas,
Daniel
Johanne,
Hill,
Wynches

Problems:
1) children do not match with Payne-Joyce Genealogy

William Norton
b.1558 Sharpenhoe, Bedford, England
d. 19 Oct 1622 in St. Michael, Cornhill, London
m. Margerie Hawes
children:
I. William, listed below

m. 2nd Denise Chomley 15 May 1583, Sharpenhow, Bedfordshire
d.7 May 1628 in Steanley, England.
children:
II. Thomas b.1608, removed to Guilford, CT, listed below
III. John,
IV. Elizabeth,
V. Francis, (daughter Elizabeth married Isaac Addington of Charleston, MA, registered arms)
VI. Hugh,
VII. Daniel,
VIII.Phebe,
IX Richard b.1596, listed below

Problems:
1) Thomas is born when William is 50 years old.

Richard Norton
b.1596 in Streatley, Bedford, England
d. 24 Jan 1653 in Bedfordshire, England
d. (Apr 1665 in London, England. Buried on 6 Apr 1665 in St Michaels, Cornhill, London)
M. Lettice Norton, daughter of Luke Norton & Lettice Graveley. Lettice, widow of Robert Cheney of Bramhanger, in Luton parish, Bedfordshire
m. 2nd Ellen Rowley, 1 Jun 1615 or 1605) in Essex, England
b.1600 in Essex, England
d.Nov 1630 in London, England. Buried on 24 Nov 1630 in St Michaels, Cornhill, London
children:
John Norton (Died soon) (ca 1616-Jan 1616)
George Norton (ca 1617-)
John Norton (Died soon) (ca 1619-Nov 1620)
Robert Norton (ca 1620-)
Ellen Norton (ca 1622-Oct 1650)
Dorothy Norton (ca 1623-)
Luke Norton (ca 1625-)
Richard Norton (ca 1626-) will
John Norton (ca 1628-5 Nov 1709) ( removed to Hartford, CT),
William Norton (ca 1629-)

Problems:
1) Three Johns? Why is John so important a name?

John Norton of Branford and Farmington, CT
b. 5 Jun 1628 London, England
d. 5 Nov 1709 Farmington, Hartford, CT, USA 
m. Dorothy ???? abt 1644 in Branford, New Haven, CT, USA
children:
i. Elizabeth Norton, b. 1645.
ii. Hannah Norton, b. 1647.      
iii.Dorothy Norton, b. 01 Mar 1649, Branford; m. UNKNOWN DICKINSON.
iv. John Norton, b. 24 May 1650, Branford; d. 15 Jan 1657, Branford.
m. 2nd Elizabeth ALLEN between 1653 and 1657.
Children
v. Felix Norton, b. 14 Oct 1657;same date d. 15 Jan 1658, Branford, CT
vi. John Norton, b. 14 Oct 1657, same date Branford; d. 25 Apr 1725, Farmington, CT.
m. 3rd Elizabeth CLARK between 1657 and 1659.
Children
vii. Samuel Norton, b. 13 May 1659, Farmington; d. 21 Aug 1659, Farmington.
viii. Thomas Norton, b. 1660, Farmington, Connecticut; d. 02 May 1729.

Problems:
1) John Norton was only 16 when he married Dorothy. This is unlikely.
2) John was only 16 when he signed the charter at Branford in 1644. unlikely.
3) How did John get to New England at 16? He purchased quite a bit of land too.

Thomas Norton of Guilford, CT
b. 1608, Surry, England
d. 1648, Guilford, CT
m. Grace Wells
Thomas Norton brought with him a pedigree done by John Philepott, Sommerset Herald in 1632. Thomas Norton of Sharpenhoe "the puritan" and ancestor of Rev. John and Rev. Wm. who went to Boston. (Dictionary of National Biog of Britain)

John Norton (Rev) Boston, MA
b. May 9, 1606
d. 1663
m. Mary
no children:

Came to NE 1644, settled at Ipswitch. Succeded to Rev John Cotton, First Church, Boston.

Nicholas Norton
b. (1562.from biography) alt b.1575 White, Somerset, , England
d. 1620 Broadway, Somerset, , England

removed from White Lackington with his father when a child, and died there at the age of 54 years (1616) as described in the chancery suit. That he was a man above the average is shown by the fact of his occupying the position of church warden of the parish (1599) but as the parish register does not exist prior to 1678 it is not possible at present to determine the names of but half of his eight children. The attested copies of parish registers then required by church law preserved the names of three of them and the chancery suit furnishes the name of his eldest son. Unfortunately, the Bishops Transcripts of Broadway Parish in the Diosceasan Registry at Wells for the years 1609-11 inclusive, the particular years in which we should undoubtedly find the baptism of our Nicholas whose birth fell, as we know, within those years are missing from the files.

Broadway, situated in the Hundred of Bulstone, is so-called, because it consists of one wide street leading from Ilminster two miles distant to the Forest of Roche on the West. It has about fifty houses with about 300 population and two religious edifices, one belonging to the Church of England, dedicated to S. Aldhelm, where the parents of Nicholas Norton worshipped, and a dissenting chapel of which latter named the present minister is the Rev. John W. Standerwick, a direct descendant of the Richard Standerwick, who had the business dealings with Nicholas Norton. [*Edward Poole, who was a neighbor of Nicholas Norton in Weymouth, was an emigrant from Broadway also.]

ISAAC NORTON,
b. 3 May 1641 Weymouth, Massachusetts , farmer;
d. 1723 and his estate was adm. by his son Jacob.
Inventory showed property to the value of £73-6-6, which was divided to the heirs 28 Mch 1723.
m. RUTH BAYES (10), abt. 1663, who was b. 2 July 1643.
Children:
HANNAH,3 b. (1664) ; m. JOSHUA DAGGETT (13).
ABIGAIL, b. (1666); m. (Richard?) WEEKS (5).
JACOB, b. (1668).
BENJAMIN, b. (1671).
SAMUEL, b. 1674.
SARAH, b. 1676, m. EBENEZER HAWES of Yarmouth, Mass. 22 Feb. 1699-1700.
THOMAS, b. (1678).
ISAAC, b. 1680.
RUTH, b. (1681); m. ISRAEL DAGGETT (18) 31 Jan. 1701.
JOSEPH, b. (1682).
MERCY, b. (1687); m. JAMES CLAGHORN (40) 30 Nov. 1715.

Jacob Norton
b. 1 Mar. 1643 Edgartown, Dukes, Massachusetts, USA
d. 1691 Marthas Vineyard, Dukes, Massachusetts, USA

res. Edgartown and Barnstable. It is not known that he ever married. He was living as late as 1691 (Deeds I. 252).

ROBERT NORTON, who took up his residence in the cathedral city of Wells where he followed the occupation of innholder and was at the date of his death (1590) without issue. He left considerable property to his nephews. Robert Norton of parish of S. Cuthbert, Wells, innholder, at his decease had four water mills, which he disposed of by will dated 1590, viz: two to his wife and two to his brother William.

In 37 Elizabeth (1594) Joan the widow, William and Nicholas began suit against William Norton the executor, and litigation was continued by John, the son of Nicholas. The latter had followed the prosecution of this suit for 22 years, according to the complaint of John, to the ruin of his estate and in the end "sickened & died with great greife & anguishe of mince leavinge behinde him a poor widdowe and 8 children (1616) whereof yor subject is the eldest, but not one pennye towards their reliefe & maintenance other than the hopes of the said decree, by means of whose death his wiffe & children have nott only lost a careful! pvider for them but also a possibilitie of an estate wch the said Nicholas had, after the said William the executor, worth at least 200 marks." [*Star Chamber Proceedings, (James I) 221/10, John Norton of Broadway, Chapman, plaintiff vat William Norton et als defendants. The compiler has much other material on this family, which is omitted for want of space. Doubtless the complete pedigree of this family could be worked out in England from the authors' notes.]

Found in Gloustershire
(Related to Nortons of York)

Norton, az. three swords, conjoined at the pomels, in the fesse point, ar. pomelled gu ; on a chief of the last, a lion pass. gu. betw. two maunches erm.

Norton az. three swords, in triangle, pomel to pomel, ar.

Found in Suffolk
(Related to Nortons of York)

Norton, az. three swords, conjoined at the pomels, in the fesse point, ar. pomelled or ; on a chief of the last, a lion pass. gu. betw. two maunches

Norton, az. three swords, in triangle, ar. hilts or ; on a chief of the third, a lion pass. betw. two maunches, sa.

Norton, gu. three swords, conjoined by the pomels, in triangle, ar. hilts or.

NORTON of Claines, Worcester
Azure three swords one in pale point upwards the others in saltire points downwards argent on a chief of the last a lion passant of the first