My Ancestral Connections to 18 Medieval Cathedrals in England

Three days ago, I started my holiday season by researching online medieval gift offerings through some of England’s greatest cathedrals and their online gift shops. Unbeknownst to me, I discovered that many of my ancestors are buried within these cathedrals.  

For example, Bristol Cathedral is where I uncovered my Anglo-Saxon ‘Berkeley’ family roots, tracing my lineage back to King John through his cousin and mistress, Adela de Warenne. Additionally, my ancestor, Sir Thomas de Berkeley, played a role in the Magna Carta parliament of 1225. Remarkably, my 18th great-grandmother, Lady Katharine Clivedon Berkeley, established England's oldest medieval chantry school, aiming to revive Latin scholarship after the devastating bubonic plague pandemic in the 1300s.

The fact that I have inherited the DNA of all these British medieval personages via my 17th century Anglo-American émigré Puritan ancestors amazes me still – but it’s my Plantagenet heritage that amazes me more – the number of ways in which King John’s legitimate and illegitimate progeny make their way into my American consciousness.

Below are 18 English Cathedrals in which my forebears are buried – a panoramic view, if you like, of my medieval British family history.

Lincoln Cathedral

Foundation stones were laid in 1072. Prominent medieval personages buried within who are my ancestors:

• Queen Eleanor of Castile (1st wife of King Edward I of England)
• Katherine de Roet Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster (3rd wife of John of Gaunt, middle son of King Edward III)
• Katherine’s daughter, Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland

Salisbury Cathedral

Foundation stones of the cathedral laid on April 28, 1220. Prominent medieval personages buried within who are my ancestors:

• William Longespee, 3rd Earl of Salisbury (half-brother of King John of England)
• Ela of Salisbury, wife of William Longespee, 3rd Countess of Salisbury

Worcester Cathedral

Foundation stones of the cathedral laid in 1084. Prominent medieval personages buried within who are my ancestors:

• King John of England, my 25th great-grandfather
• Walter de Cantilupe, Bishop of Worcester, my ancestral uncle

Gloucester Cathedral

Foundation stones of the cathedral laid in 1089. Prominent medieval personages buried within who are my ancestors:

• King Edward II of England, my 22nd great-grandfather

Chichester Cathedral

• Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel
• Eleanor of Lancaster (2nd wife of Richard FitzAlan, Daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, grandson of King Henry III of England).
  

Hereford Cathedral

Foundation stones were laid in 1079, previously a place of worship since the 8th century. Prominent medieval personages buried within who are my ancestors:

• Bishop Giles de Braose
• Bishop & Saint Thomas de Cantilupe
• Bishop William de Vere
• Bishop Thomas Charlton
• Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, a cenotaph to my ancestor

Durham Cathedral

• Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville de Raby
• Alice de Audley, wife of Ralph Neville
• John Neville, son of Ralph Neville, 3rd Baron Raby de Neville
• Maud Percy, daughter-in-law of Ralph Neville
• Anthony Bek, Prince Bishop of Durham, my ancestral uncle

Winchester Cathedral

Foundation stones were laid in 1079, previously the site of the Old Minster and New Minster dating back to the 800’s. Prominent medieval personages buried within who are my ancestors:

• Emma of Normandy, Queen of England
• Godwin, Earl of Wessex; and four generations of the Kings of Wessex
• Ecgberht, son of Godwin
• Aethelwulf, son of Godwin
• Alfred the Great, son of Godwin
• Edward the Elder, son of Godwin

Chester Cathedral

Foundation stones were laid in 1093, previously founded as a Benedictine Abbey. Prominent medieval personages buried within who are my ancestors:

• Ranulf le Meschin, 3rd Earl of Chester
• Hugh de Kevilioc, son of Ranulf le Meschin, 5th Earl of Chester
• Hugh d’Avranches, Earl of Chester, my ancestral uncle
• Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, my ancestral uncle

York Minster

Foundation stones were laid in 1220. Prominent medieval personages buried within who are my ancestors:

• Henry ‘Hotspur’ Percy
• Tostig Godwinson, my ancestral uncle
• Walter de Grey, Archbishop of York, my ancestral uncle

Norwich Cathedral

Foundation stones were laid in 1096. Prominent medieval personages buried within who are my ancestors:

• Knight Roger Bigod of Norfolk
• John de Grey, Bishop of Norwich, my ancestral uncle

Canterbury Cathedral

• Joan, Countess of Kent aka ‘The Fair Maid of Kent’
• Edward of Woodstock aka ‘the Black Prince’, (Eldest Son of King Edward III of England), my ancestral uncle and step-father
• King Henry IV of England, my ancestral uncle
• John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, my ancestral uncle
• Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury and Hubert Walter, my ancestral uncle
• Margaret Holland, Duchess of Clarence, Archbishop of Canterbury, my ancestral Aunt

Exeter Cathedral

Foundation stones were laid in 1133. Prominent medieval personages buried within who are my ancestors:

• Henry Marshal, Bishop of Exeter, my ancestral uncle
• James Berkeley, Bishop of Exeter, my ancestral uncle

Bristol Cathedral

Foundation stones were laid in 1220, previously founded as St. Augustine’s Abbey in 1140. Prominent medieval personages buried within who are my ancestors:

• Maurice de Berkeley, 5th Feudal Baron de Berkeley, ‘the Resolute’
• Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley, ‘The Magnanimous’, grandson of Maurice de Berkeley, 5th Feudal Baron de Berkeley

Old St. Paul’s Cathedral

Foundation Stones were laid 1087 - 4th such church on this site going back to the 7th century. Sadly, this cathedral was destroyed during the Great Fire of London in 1666. Prominent medieval personages buried within who are my ancestors:

• King AEthelred II ‘the Unready’
• Edward the Exile, grandson of King AEthelred II (by way of Aethelred’s 3rd son, King Edmund Ironside)
  
• John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, 4th son of King Edward III of England
• Paon de Roet (Father of my ancestress, Katherine de Roet Swynford, 3rd wife of John of Gaunt and Father-in-law of Geoffrey Chaucer)
• John Beauchamp, 1st Baron Beauchamp of Warwick ( my ancestral uncle, son of Guy de Beauchamp, 10th Earl of Warwick (I descend from his two sisters, Maud and Elizabeth)
  

Ely Cathedral

Ely Cathedral has origins dating back to AD 673 when St Etheldreda built an Abbey Church. The present building dates back to 1083, and was granted Cathedral status in 1109. Prominent medieval personages buried within who are my ancestors:

• Uncle Louis of Luxembourg, Bishop of Ely, Bishop of Therouanne, Archbishop of Rouen - I descend from his brother, Pierre I of Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, maternal grandfather of Queen Elizabeth Woodville
• Uncle Simon de Montacute, Bishop of Ely - I descend from his brother, William Montagu, 1st Earl of Salisbury
• Uncle Alfred Aetheling, brother of Edward the Confessor - I descend from his half-siblings-Edmund Ironside and AElfgifu (who married Uhtred ‘the Bold’ of Bamburgh
• Uncle Geoffrey de Burgh, Bishop of Ely - I descend from his brothers, William de Burgh and Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent
  

St. Mary’s Priory and Cathedral in Coventry

Founded by Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his wife, Lady Godiva in the 11th century and dedicated to St. Mary, this monastery became a priory and cathedral in 1102. Sadly, this cathedral was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the early 16th century. Prominent medieval personages buried within who are my ancestors:

• Leofric, Earl of Mercia
• Godgifu aka Lady Godiva, wife of Leofric
• AElfgar, Earl of Mercia, son of Leofric
  

Oxford, Christ Church Cathedral

Foundation Stones were laid in 1160, formerly the Priory of St. Frideswide, the patron saint of Oxford, who founded a nunnery on this site. Prominent medieval personages buried within who are my ancestors:

• Lady Elizabeth de Montfort, Baroness Montagu (Daughter of Peter II de Montfort of Beaudesert Castle in Warwickshire
• Maud de la Mare, wife of Peter II de Montfort
• Elizabeth’s grandfather was Peter I de Montfort (1205-1265), the first Speaker of the House of Commons, whose wife was Alice Audley. 
•  Peter I and Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester (my ancestor as well) were among the seven magnates who revolted against King Henry III during the Second Barons’ War.
• Peter I was with Simon de Montfort in his final campaign, and was slain with him at the Battle of Evesham on 4 August 1265.)
  

Interesting fact: Elizabeth’s marriage to William Montagu, 2nd Baron Montagu was arranged by Eleanor of Castile, the first wife of King Edward I of England. Elizabeth and William were the grandparents of my ancestors - Edward Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March, who married Philippa, 5th Countess of Ulster – the only child of Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence (the great-grandson of King Edward I and Eleanor of Castile) and wife, Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster.

Useful Links

Before 11 May 1214, Richard married Rohese de Dover, daughter and heiress of Fulbert de Dover by his spouse Isabel, daughter of William Briwere. Their children were:

• Richard de Dover, feudal baron of Chilham, married Matilda, 6th Countess of Angus Isabella, married 1247 Sir Maurice de Berkeley of Berkeley, Gloucestershire.Lorette (d.bef.1265),[married 1248 Sir William Marmion, 2nd Baron Marmion of Winteringham and of Tanfield, Yorkshire.
• King John of England and mistress first cousin, Adela de Warenne
• Richard FitzRoy, Baron of Chilham m. Rohese de Dover/Douvres

I am descended not only from his daughter, Lorette of Dover – but Richard FitzRoy’s Daughter, Isabella of Dover, who married +Sir Maurice de Berkeley, 5th  Feudal Baron de Berkeley ‘the Resolute’, Son of Sir Thomas de Berkeley, ‘the Observer’ (See His Ancestry Below).

• Thomas de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley, ‘the Wise’ m. Joan de Ferrers, (Daughter of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby and Margaret de Quincy)
• Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley, ‘The Magnanimous’ m. Eve la Zouche, (Daughter of Eudo la Zouche and Millicent Cantilupe)
• Sir Thomas Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley, ‘The Rich’ m. 2. Lady Katharine Clivedon, (Daughter of Sir John Clivedon and Emma of Somerset and Worcestershire) – my 18th Great-grandparents

Wikipedia Note: In 1384 she obtained a royal licence for a chantry school that today is called the Katharine Lady Berkeley's School. The school is said to be the first founded by a lay person, the first founded by a woman and the first to offer free education to anyone…. She wanted to create more scholars skilled in Latin, as many of them had been lost in the Black Death.

Sir John Berkeley of Beverston Castle, Sheriff of Somerset, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, & Wiltshire m.2. Elizabeth Betteshorne, (Daughter of Sir John Betteshorne, Sheriff of Hampshire and Lady Gouda de Cormeilles) Elizabeth Berkeley m. John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley My 16th Great-grandparents - Ancestors of my 17th century émigré 10th Great-grandfather, Gov. Thomas Dudley Eadnoth the Constable aka Eadnoth the Staller

(Steward to Edward the Confessor and King Harold Godwinson) (1030-1068)

Harding FitzEadnoth, Mayor of Bristol m. Livida de Meriet (1060-1125)

Robert ‘the Devout’ FitzHarding (Anglo-Saxon nobleman) (abt 1095-1170) m. Eve ‘The Prioress’ FitzEstmond

Note: Eve founded a priory of nuns on St. Michael’s Hill, Bristol, England where she died and was buried with her husband. Lord Maurice ‘Make Peace’ FitzRobert FitzHarding (abt 1120-1190) m. Alice de Berkeley (Daughter of Roger III de Berkeley)

Sir Thomas de Berkeley, ‘the Observer’ m. Joan de Somery, (Daughter of Ralph de Somery and Margaret Gras-the niece of William Marshal thru his sister, Maud)-my 22nd Great-grandparents (abt 1167-1243)

Note: Sir Thomas sided against King John of England along with his brother Robert, who was fined by King John for one thousand pounds which in due course fell to Thomas to pay off.

Note: Indeed, Berkeley Castle was taken for the King's use following the Baron's revoltand Thomas did not regain title to it until 1223; a corollary of which was his nephew, Osbert Gifford (his sister’s-Maud’s son), who became the King's servant as surety. 

Note: Thomas was present at the parliament in 1225 addressing the Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forests.

Sir Maurice de Berkeley, 5th Feudal Baron de Berkeley, ‘the Resolute’(1218-1281) married Isabella of Dover, granddaughter of King John of England.