CHAMPIONS FROM NORMANDY RAFE DE CRESPIGNY CHAMPIONS FROM NORMANDY AN ESSAY ON THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE CHAMPION DE CRESPIGNY FAMILY 1350-1800 AD BY RAFE DE CRESPIGNY SAINT BARBARY LILLI PILLI, NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA 2017 © Copyright Richard Rafe Champion de Crespigny 2017 FOR THE MEMBERS OF A MOST ENTERPRISING AND ENTERTAINING FAMILY EPIGRAPH: A NOTE ON PRONUNCIATION The "pig" is silent – as in pork: attributed to Constantine Trent Champion de Crespigny (1882-1952) FOREWORD In December 1988 I prepared Champions in Normandy; being some remarks on the early history of the Champion de Crespigny family. Since that time, the internet has made a great deal more material available, and there have been useful publications on French and British history. I have therefore revised and rewritten the earlier work with a slightly different title. While the book is substantially longer, and extends through the eighteenth century, the essentials of the argument in the previous version remain the same: this is the story of a long- lived but essentially minor family in France, just within the fringes of the gentry, whose lineage can be traced in the male line back to the mid-fourteenth century, who prospered from their Huguenot connection, but acquired their greatest good fortune when they were forced into exile in England. Richard Rafe Champion de Crespigny CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: Surname and Shield, Place and Lineage 1 The surname and the shield 1 The sites of Crespigny 6 On genealogy, lineage and family 10 Acknowledgements 10 CHAPTER ONE: The Material on the Pedigree 12 Introductory 12 The Lancaster Book 13 The Kelmarsh Book 16 The Consolations Book 17 The South Sea Book 18 The Reveley Book 21 The original Pedigree Book and other provenance 24 The Extract from the Register of the Court of Aides 26 The College of Arms 27 The Daumont Letters 28 Summary: the text history of the family records 32 CHAPTER TWO: Calvados and the Duchy of Normandy 36 Part I: A History of the Champion Family to 1600 36 Chronology 1000-1600 36 The geography and early history of Lower Normandy 37 A note on noblesse, taille and other terms 39 Maheas, Richard, Jean and Michel 1350-1470 40 The seigneury of La Fleurière 1463-1641 50 Part II: Tales, Legends and Fictions 58 William de Crespigny and the King of England 58 Mollerus-Le Champion and Mad King Charles 60 Burke, Debrett, and Horace Round 66 The Champions de Cicé and other reputed cousins 71 CHAPTER THREE: The Seventeenth Century: Huguenots and Crespignys 78 Chronology 1600-1708 78 The Huguenots and the royal government of France 1540-1629 78 Richard Champion and the estate of Crespigny 80 Claude Champion and the Vierville connection 84 Nobility and Taxation: noblesse and the taille 90 Persecution and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes 96 Emigration to England 100 A Note on the Question of Compensation 106 CHAPTER FOUR: The First Generation in England (c.1685-c.1750) 109 Introductory 109 Chronology 1680-1740 111 Pierre and his sisters 112 Thomas, his wife Magdalen, and their family 119 Gabriel, his wife Elizabeth, and their children 127 CHAPTER FIVE: English Establishment 1730-1805 137 Introductory 137 Chronology c.1700-1800 137 Philip and Claude, sons of Thomas 139 Claude Crespigny (1706-1782) of South Sea House 140 Philip Crespigny (1704-1765) of Doctors Commons 147 and Champion Lodge The children of Philip Crespigny and Anne nee Fonnereau 157 Susanna (1735-1766 157 Anne (1739-1782) 157 Jane (1742-1829) 161 Claude (1734-1818) the first baronet, and his family 162 Philip the younger (1738-1803), Member of Parliament 167 The children of Philip the younger 176 Epilogue 178 Crespigny in Australia 179 BIBLIOGRAPHY 181 INDEX 189 LIST OF TABLES Table I: The First Generations 1350-1500 42 Table II: The Champion Family in Normandy 1450-1650 57 Table III: The Family and Kinfolk of Claude Champion de Crespigny c.1600-1750 110 Table IV: Putative kinship of Elizabeth Champion de Crespigny and the Glasscock family of Essex 136 Table V: Descendants of Thomas Champion [de] Crespigny c.1700-1800 138 Table VI: The Family of Claude Fonnereau c.1650-1750 151 Table VII: The Godparents of Philip CdeC's children with Anne nee Fonnereau 156 LIST OF MAPS Map One: Lower Normandy xiv Map Two: The medieval provinces of northern France xiv Map Three: Detail from Sheet 95 of Cassini's Carte Générale de la France 7 Map Four: Sheet 94 of Cassini's Carte Générale de la France 9 Map Five: Detail of Sheet 94 of Cassini's Carte Générale de la France 9 Map Six: The region of the Champion family in southern Calvados 1350-1650 36 Map Seven: The area of La Fleurière 50 Map Eight: The territory south of Rennes in Brittany (1720) 72 Map Nine: The Duchy of Normandy (1635) by Willem Blaeu 76 Map Ten: Detail from Blaeu's map of Normandy 76 Map Eleven: Regions of Huguenot influence during the sixteenth century 79 Map Twelve: Northern Calvados and the southeast of the Cotentin peninsula 87 Map Thirteen: The Election of Vire in the late seventeenth century 92 Map Fourteen: The southwest of Lake Geneva 115 Map Fifteen: Spain in the early eighteenth century 123 Map Sixteen: The site of Doctors Commons, London (1720) 149 Map Seventeen: Camberwell and Peckham in the early nineteenth century 166 Map Eighteen: The County of Suffolk (1787) 172 x LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS The shield of Normandy xiii The shield of the Champion family 3 A spreader/cross moline 3 Arms of the baronet and "commoner" lineages 4 of the Champion de Crespigny family An image of Saint Crépin 8 The Frontispiece of the Lancaster Book with the arms of the baronets 13 From the Kelmarsh Book 16 Front pages of the Consolations Book: the spread second title page 18 and notes by Philip CdeC on the births of his children Pages from the South Sea Book relating to Thomas and Gabriel Champion 20 Pages from the South Sea Book and the Reveley Book 22 relating to Richard Champion Pages from the Reveley Book with an account of the visit to Fleurière in 1843 23 Copies from the original Daumont Letters 30 Marriage shields of Richard Champion and Michel Champion 41 The donjon of the castle of Vire 45 Shields of the Champion de Cicé and Champion [de Crespigny] families 48 The landscape of La Fleurière 51 Marriage shields of Hebert Champion and Antoine Champion 55 Marriage shields of Raoul Champion and Jean Champion 55 Louis VI at Brenneville 60 Shields of the Champion de Caimbie, Champion [de Crespigny] 61 and Marmion families The Mollerus-Le Champion statement 63 Shields of the Champion de Cicé, Champion [de Crespigny] 73 and Champion de Chartres families The Huguenot Cross 79 Le Temple des Isles at Proussy in Calvados 81 Shield and coronet of Richard Champion married to Marguerite nee Richard 82 Portrait of Marthe nee du Bourget, mother of Richard Champion 83 Portrait of Richard Champion 83 Memorial to Claude CdeC and Marie nee de Vierville 85 in Marylebone Churchyard, London Crespigny House at Vierville-sur-Mer 86 The chimney-piece and coat of arms at Crespigny House 86 Shields from the marriage of Claude CdeC with Marie nee de Vierville 88 Portraits of Claude CdeC and Marie nee de Vierville [?] 88 Remains of the medieval castle at Vierville-sur-Mer 89 Page from the Daumont Letters: the Council of State held on 27 January 1681 98 Shield of Pierre Champion de Crespigny, Director of the French Hospital 108 The Seal of the French Protestant Hospital La Providence 113 showing Elijah being fed by Ravens Title page of Mémoires pour servir a l'histoire du XVIII siècle 117 by Geronimo de Lamberty Page from a letter from Philip CdeC to his uncle Pierre, 1736 117 Guidon of Cardross's Dragoons 1689-1690 118 Front pages of the Consolations Book: the first title page 122 and notes by Thomas CdeC on the births of his children xi A soldier of the 35th Foot [Donegall's Regiment and later Gorges'] 126 The siege of Namur in 1695 128 The Siege of Gibraltar 1704 129 The Battle of Almansa 1707 130 Price of stock in the South Sea Company 1711-1855 141 The Asiento contract for the South Sea Company 142 to trade with Spanish colonies in America Trade label of the South Sea Company 141 South Sea House, London, in the early nineteenth century 143 The Dividend Hall of South Sea House 1810 144 Claude Crespigny, Secretary of the South Sea Company 145 Bookplate of Hugh Reveley, and the binding and bookplate 146 of a book owned by Claude Crespigny of South Sea House A Court Sitting at Doctors Commons 1808 148 Portrait of Claude Fonnereau 150 Bookplate of Philip Champion [de] Crespigny married to Anne nee Fonereau 152 Champion Lodge, Camberwell about 1800 153 Portrait of Philip Champion [de] Crespigny (1704-1765) 155 St Giles Church, Camberwell in 1750 157 Portrait of Susanna Sutton nee Crespigny (1735-1766) 158 Portrait of Ann Glover nee Crespigny (1735-1766) 158 HMS Argo 159 Arms of the Vernon family and a bookplate of J G Vernon, 160 with Vernon impaling Champion de Crespigny Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in the eighteenth century 161 Crespigny House, Aldeburgh 162 Heaton's Folly, Peckham, in 1804 163 Meeting of the Society of Royal British Archers 1794 164 Portraits of Claude Champion de Crespigny, first baronet, 165 and his wife Mary nee Clark Portraits of Philip Champion [de] Crespigny (1738-1803) 167 and his second wife Betsy Hodges nee Handley Portrait of Clarissa nee Brooke, third wife of Philip Champion [de] Crespigny 169 with her daughters Clarissa and Maria Portraits of Philip Champion [de] Crespigny (1738-1803) 170 and his fourth wife Dorothy nee Scott The Old Palace of Westminster 1834 174 and Old Palace Yard at the present day Hintlesham Hall, Suffolk 175 Portland Place, Bath 175 Llangasty Talullyn and Cathedine in the County of Brecknock, Wales 176 xii THE SHIELD OF NORMANDY Map One: Lower Normandy Map Two: The Medieval Provinces of Northern France INTRODUCTION Surname and Shield, Place and Lineage The surname and the shield The sites of Crespigny On genealogy, lineage and family Acknowledgements The surname and the shield The present work is concerned with the family now generally known as Champion de Crespigny.