Location and general description
The villiage lies on the northern side of the attractive Windrush valley a few kilometers downstream from Burford. Swinbrook was formerly also known by the variant names Swinebrook, Swinebrooke and Swinbrooke. It was in Wychwood Forest.
A couple of scenes of the land that lies just south of
Swinbrook
Buildings
Church of St Mary
The Church at Swinbrook usually finds mention because of the
magnificent Fettiplace memorial in the Chancel (half of which is
pictured above). However the church itself is beautifully set on a
raised knoll amidst a graveyard full of Cotswold stone tombs and also
contains some windows glazed with fragments of older stained glass. I
have produced a transcription of some monumental
inscriptions
from
Swinbrook churchyard that are, or may be, relevant to my
family tree.
People
The FETTIPLACE family
The FETTIPLACE family had been associated with Swinbrook and Letcombe Regis, Berks since at least the early 16th C. Anthony FETTIPLACE n (c1457-1510), whose brass is in the church at Swinbrook, resided at Swinbrook and Childrey. He was Launderer of the Laund of Burford (see biography at Tudor Place). He was also steward of a number of manors including Burford, Minster Lovell and Shipton. He bought the Manor of Swinbrook on 26 Jun 1503 and from then the FETTIPLACE family began to leave their mark on the village.The baronetcy of FETTIPLACE of Childrey, Berks was created in 1661, shortly after which the title moved to Swinbrook, although the family still retained both seats. The baronetcy passed in relatively rapid succession through Sir John's sons Edmund, Charles, Lorenzo and George upon whoes death it in 1743 became extinct (Burke & Burke, 1844, pg 195). The manor in Swinbrook devolved to Sir George's nephew Thomas BUSHEL [sic] (a son of Robert BUSHELL and Diana FETTIPLACE, daughter of Sir John FETTIPLACE, the 1st Bart, see Burke & Burke ) who then took the name FETTIPLACE. Thomas BUSHEL/FETTIPLACE married Frances BRAY, daughter of Sir Edmund BRAY and his wife Frances (nee MORGAN) and Grandaughter of Sir Reginald BRAY of Great Barrington, Oxon. and Jane BRAY (nee RAINTON), who owned property in Shilton, Oxon.
The KILLMASTER family
Richard Killmaster (brother of Sarah) and several other members of the KILLMASTER family are buried in the churchyard (see Swinbrook Monumental Inscriptions). The KILLMASTER family also have branches at nearby Paynes Farm, Oxon and Shilton, Oxon. as is apparent from the Swinbrook KILLMASTER family tree. Sarah KILLMASTER married John HATTON at Buscot, Berks, where there are numerous KILMESTER burials and a nearby Kilmester's Farm.The HATTON family
The HATTON family were papermakers in the mills upstream from Swinbrook at Widford, Gloucs (now Oxon) and Upton, Oxon, also on the Coln at Quenington, Gloucs. The Parish of Letcombe Regis (held by the FETTIPLACES, see above) also includes West Challow, where a HATTON family were Lords of the manor at enclosure (1802-3) and held over 200 acres of land. There were HATTON christenings in Childrey, Berks (neighbouring village to West Challow) throughout the 17th & 18th Centuries and several in Letcombe Regis around the 1730s. There also appear to have been links between the paper makers at Upton, Oxon and those at Deddington, Oxon where a HUTTON family were papermakers.
From the perspective of the HATTONs the most interesting item at Swinbrook is the Hatton grave in the southern part of the churchyard. It contains three generations of HATTONs, Thomas HATTON, John HATTON and George HATTON (there are pictures on the page for Thomas HATTON). The tomb also contains Thomas HATTON's wife Elizabeth and John HATTON's wife Sarah (nee KILLMASTER). For details of the inscriptions see Swinbrook Monumental Inscriptions.Related links
A selection of links to other sites with information about this place
- The Wychwood Project covers an area that includes Swinbrook
- Tudor Place contains more details concerning the FETTIPLACE Family (in the Gentry section)
- Fortune & Grace, The Fettiplace Family History
Bibliography
- A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, Ireland and Scotland,