Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 11.djvu/444

 434

NOTES AND QUERIES. ms.xi. JONES. 1915.

and settled in the parish of Belhelvie, Aberdeenshire. Where can I find a life of Courage the brewer ? Did he leave issue ?

J. M. BULLOCH. 123, Pall Mall, S.W.

FIELD OK FELD OF YOEKSTTIHE. I am trying to trace the connexions and history of the above families, and should greatly appreciate any reference furnished by 'N. & Q.' readers. I have the ' D.N.IV before me, and the following scant informa- tion r Theophilus Field was at one time Bishop of Llandaff (I believe in the sixteenth century). Another Field (Christian name uncertain) migrated to Bristol, a parish in Virginia. Heraldry : a mailed a.rm and hand emerging from a cloud bearing a hollow sphere. FRED. E. BOLT.

131, Anerley Road, Anerley.

THE SEVEN SEAS. Can any reader tell me the names of the " Seven Seas " of Mr. Rudyard Kipling's book ? I have searched many works of reference, but hitherto without success.

JOHN PATCHING.

DE GORGES. (9 S. xii. 21, 41, 154, 251.)

THE history of those members of the De Gorges family who were resident in the Isle of Wight from circa 1241, down to the failure of the male line a century later, needs to be retold to make it accord with the facts revealed by late research work. The pedi- grees in the several Peerages need to be revised also, since the genealogies given in them are not now in accordance with known facts.

Ralph (1) de Gorges, son of Ivo de Gorges of Tarn worth, co. Warwick, married before 1241 Elena, sole daughter and heiress of Ivo de Morville, Lord of Bradpole in Dorset and Knighton, Isle of Wight. He thus acquired very large possessions, including those of the family of Wra.xa.ll, of Wraxall in Somerset, the heiress of whom had been married to Eudo de Morville, grandfather of Ivo. William, the ancestor of the island branch of the De Morvilles, obtained possession of Knighton manor, held as three knights' fees of the honour of Carisbrooke before 1150, conjecturally by grant, though

no documentary proof of this can be cited. From two entries in the Patent Rolls (1232-47, pp. 243, 323), it may be surmised that both parties were under age at the time of their marriage.

Ralph " was a knight and great warrior," taking an active part in the French wars, and going with the King to Gascony in 1253. He was engaged three years later in the Welsh wars, and was in attendance on the King when he was " cooped up " in the city of Bristol by the disaffected citizens in the year 1263. Soon afterwards he was ap- pointed governor of the castles of Shirebourne and Exeter. In 54 Henry III., Dugdale (' Baronage of England,' tomes ii.-iii., p. 55, art. ' Gorges ') says : " Ralph was signed with the Cross in order for his journey to the Holy Land, where he attended and shared with Prince Edward the glories of that ex- pedition." Soon after his return from the Crusade, he died, leaving his wife an executor of his will (Fine Rolls, 56 Hen. III.). He left issue two sons, Ralph and John. A reference to the latter is made in the Patent Rolls (1281-92, p. 422):

" 1291, Feb. 5. Grant to John, son of Elena de Gorges, for the services of the said Elena to the King and late Queen in the custody of their children, of a suitable marriage when one falls in."

Ralph (2) de Gorges equalled his father in military distinction, taking a prominent part in the wars of Edward I. There is a notice to the Treasurer and Barons of the Exchequer entered on the Close Rolls (1279-88, p. 260),

" that the King has pardoned Ralph de Gorges for his good services 24:1., in which he is indebted to the Exchequer for the debts of his father when he was sheriff of Dorset."

He attained the distinction of knighthood by 1285 ('Feudal Aids,' ii. 34, Dorset). The death of Lady Elena, his mother, took place early in February, 20 Edward I. (1292), Sir Ralph being 36 years of age when he suc- ceeded to all her extensive estates in the counties of Dorset, Devon, and Somerset. On his doing homage in the following month the King orders seisin be given. He was in Scotland, on the King's service, from June until Christmas, and was Marshal of the King's army in Gascony, 21 Edward I. Dugdale (tome ii. p. 55) writes :

" He went again to those parts 22 Edward I., where he obtained such favour from the King, that in case he should depart this life before his return, his executors should receive the profits of all his lands, from the time of his death until the end of three years, for the performance of his will."