20th Generation  

46. Sir Francis Dodington Knight was christened on 19 Feb 1603 in Dodington.

General Notes: Sir Francis Dodington, who was Sheriff of Somerset, ventured his all on the side of King Charles in the civil war. There are many stories about him. Some Parliament soldiers surrendered on promise of quarter. But he hanged them at Frome and he was known as (a) man of no honour. He is also reported as meeting a minister of religion in Shervage Wood. Sir Francis stopped him and demanded if he was for

King or Parliament?' The reply was For God and the Gospel', and Sir Francis shot him on the spot. No doubt apocryphal but evidently he was a man of some character.

He fled to France and sold knives and buckles to eke out a living. He did, however, manage to captivate a rich French widow and, at the restoration, he returned to England and though his estates had been greatly wasted yet he could never be prevailed upon to ask everything of the Crown, having engaged himself as he always declared on a mere matter of conscience'.

Noted events in his life were:

• college: 17 Jun 1621, Wadham College, Oxford.

• father's will: 1612.

• mother's will: 1647.

• Burke's Landed Gentry: second edition, page 177, supplement: says that he married Dorcas, daughter of Sir Bryan I'Anson, Knight

Francis married Alice Sydenham, daughter of William Hoby and Unknown, on 24 Nov 1627 in St Mary Milk, London. Another name for Alice is Ann.

Children from this marriage were:

+ 61 M    i. John Dodington died in 1663.

   62 F    ii. Alicia Dodington died on 12 Feb 1630 and was buried in Dodington.

47. Christopher Dodington was born in 1605 in Dodington and died in 1656 at age 51.

General Notes: the following data contradicts other date-of-death data: below it implies that he lived until 1687, whereas the above data says his will was proved in 1656!

occupation: Recorder, Wells, Somerset

the following, found in a little booklet in Mere church, just over the Somerset border in Wiltshire, some 35 miles ESE of Taunton:

"A number of the inventories list the goods under the headings of the rooms
where they were found. This gives a picture of the layout of these
particular houses, some large, others obviously small. At one end of the
scale is the interesting case of Christopher Dodington in 1687. We know the
Dodingtons to have been gentry, who had owned Woodlands Manor since 1360,
but by 1705 they were in financial straits and sold it to Sir Matthew
Andrews. Christopher was presumably another member of the family who was
also hard pressed, as his adminstratrix's account shows some £160 of
borrowings on bond, which seem to have swallowed up much of the estate. His
main house was at Zeals, and had the Hall, with a parlour and a kitchen,
with chambers over all three. In his case the parlour seems to have been
used as the main bedroom. One of the chambers had 2 old beds, sharing the
space with stocks of wheat and peas; the other two were store rooms for
wool, cheese & malt; in addition there was the farmyard with 62 sheep and
all the trimmings of an arable farm. He had in addition a house at Burton on
a grander scale, with Hall parlour, buttery kitchen and milkhouse, and above
them the Green Chamber, a little chamber within the green chamber, and the
Hall chamber, all well furnished with one bed apiece, whilst the cockloft,
or top chamber, contained merely one lesser bed."

The booklet is one of a series of short histories, this one entitled 'Death
and Life in Tudor and Stuart Mere', based upon the researcher's examination
of old Wills and Inventories and his conclusions about the way of life of
the local inhabitants having regard to the evidence of records of their
property and contents. This paragraph is the only one dealing with the
Dodington family but they were evidently well to do people in the area at
that time.

Noted events in his life were:

• Baptism: 9 Jun 1605, Dodington.

• college: 17 Jun 1621, Wadham College, Oxford.

• father's will: 1612.

• George Dodington's will: 1618.

• Occupation: 1656, Recorder.

• Residence: Wells, Somerset.

• mother's will: 1647.

• Own Will: 21 Jan 1656. proved in perrogative court, canterbury, 16 Nov 1657 and 8 Jan 1676

• Residence: Lincoln's Inn, Middlesex.

Christopher married Mary Gouge, daughter of Rev William Gouge DD and Unknown, in 1679. Mary was born in 1613 and died in 1713 at age 100.

Noted events in her life were:

• Husband's Will: 1656.

• Name change: Burkes has her name as "GROUGE."

Children from this marriage were:

   63 M    i. George Dodington was born in 1646, died on 31 Mar 1698 at age 52, and was buried on 2 Apr 1698 in Wells Cathedral.

Noted events in his life were:

• Residence: Lincoln's Inn, middlesex & Wells, Somerset.

George married Eleanor Bull. Eleanor was born in 1646 and died in 1698 at age 52.

+ 64 M    ii. William Dodington was born in 1649, died on 22 Mar 1708 at age 59, and was buried in Cheddar, Somerset.

   65 F    iii. Elizabeth Dodington .

   66 F    iv. Margaret Dodington .

Margaret married John Davis in Wells Somerset.

   67 F    v. Mary Dodington .

   68 F    vi. Anne Dodington .