other families mentioned, and by their descendants of other

names.

This common source probably centred in some eminent person who gave name to Chevreville and Cherolcourt or Capricuria, and was ancestor inter alios of their subsequent owners. Robert de Caureolicurte had a son Elyas. (Notices, p. 52.) Turald de Chevrecourt or Caprecuria was a Domesday tenant in Leic. and Notts. In the church of Wyfordby in the former county, was a shield of arms containing a goat statant evidently the cognizance of the family.* The ancient family of Thorold bear three goats salient and was doubtless descended of the above Turald, who might have been the same person as Turold de Verley who was a Domesday tenant in other counties. Of this family at an early period was Elias de Verley. The family of Chevreville was early settled in England, Robert de C. occurring temp. Stephen (Record of the House of Gournay, p. 389) and he, or another Robert, held 2 knight's fees in Norfolk 1166; Richard, one in Herefordsh.; Hugh, 5 in Devon; Alexander, 3 in Wilts, and Elyas de C. one in Somersetshire at the same time. The seal of Thomas Kerville esq. in 1467 exhibits a shield containing a chevron between 3 leopard's faces, and a goat statant for crest. (ibid.)

In the Roll of Arms temp. Edw. II. Sir Richard de Catesbury of Herts, bore Gules a fess vaire or and azure, between 3 goat's heads arg. Elias de C. was witness to a charter of Gilbert de Montfichet temp. Hen. II.

The arms of Cerne, according to Britton (Beauties of Wilts, iii. 117) were az, a horse's head couped or. A Crest of Punchardun was a unicorn's head, both perhaps originally a goat's head. Cerne we have seen (No. I) was a scion of Venuz, and Venuz and Punchardun were supposed to be identical families, and of the blood of the Alises.

De Helles, Hellys, and Hills of Kent.

At p. 76, some notice was given of this family, and it was conjectured to be a branch of Alis of Allington. At p. 176, a notice was cited in confirmation of this view, viz. of Gilbert fil. Aeleis, temp. John, who was evidently the same person as Gilbert de Helles; and at p. 183, some further notices were quoted, tending to prove the identity of Helles and Elys. In this chapter, in accordance with the intention expressed at p. 184, we shall give all the particulars of this family that can

In the Brit. Mus. is a seal (xxxvi. 110, 111) of Johannes de Cheverestonę miles, of the fourteenth century, containing on a bend 3 goats.

De collected, and produce further reasons for its early identity with Alis.

"R."

In Thorpe's Registrum Roffense (p. 273) is given a copy of a charter of the Prior and Convent of Rochester, by which they grant "Gileberto militi, filio Willielmi de Helles, et Matildæ uxoris (sic)* suæ in capella de Helles duo officia in quâlibet ebdomadâ pro ipsis et antecessoribus et successoribus suis omnibus in perpetuum, &c." The style of this document is of the age of King John. The Prior is denoted only by his initial The only Priors at this period whose initial this would be, are Richard, 1182; Ralph de Ros, 1199; and Richard de Darente, 1225-1238. That the grantee is the Gilbert de Hellest occurring temp. John and early Hen. III., there can be no doubt, and as his father is mentioned, it is probable he was recently deceased, and the grantor was probably therefore Ralph de Ros. We have seen at p. 183, that De Helles at this period was also written "fil. Elie": now, in the Rotuli Curiæ Regis (i. 362) there is a William fil. Elie mentioned who it seems probable is the William father of Gilbert. Between 1194 and 1199, Rose de Camberwell pleads against Geoffry de Tichesey for reasonable dower out of the lands in C. which were her husband's, Will. fil. Elie. Dower it afterwards appears was adjudged to her. Rose had a sister Cecilia who were both interested in a hide of land in Camberwell (ibid. p. 444). This Geoffry de Tichesey, or another person of the same name, according to the Testa de Nevill, held a quarter of a knight's fee in capite of the Honour of Gloucester in Camberwell, which Wm. Earl of G. gave to Alexander de T. ancestor of Geoffry. A Geoffrey de Tichesey occurs as a witness circa 1140 (Arch. Cant. iv. 205) who was probably the same G. de T. who held 2 knight's fees of the Earl of Gloucester, 1166, in Kent, apparently; but they are probably the same 2 knight's fees held by Geoffry de T. in Tichesey co. Surrey, (a parish bordering on Kent) mentioned in the Testa de Nevill, as held of the king in capite, of the Honour of Gloucester; whilst at the same time, Thomas de Valoignes is said to hold also 2 knight's fees in Tichesey which Hugh de Nevill has in custody. In the same document these 4 knight's fees are mentioned as held by different persons, probably at a later or earlier period, viz. 2 by John de Tychesie of the Earl of G., and 2 by Wm. de Cantalupe [for the heir] "que fuerunt Hamonis de Valoynes, de eodem honore."

*The title to this charter is "Carta, etc., qua concedunt Gilberto de Helles et Matilda uxoris (sic) suæ," etc., which shows, besides the expression " duo officia," that Matilda was wife of Gilbert, and not his mother.

+ Hen. II. gave to the Knights Templars a Carucate of Land in Dartford, which one Gilbert rented 32 Hen. II. (1186) at 12 mares. A Gilbert de Ros is mentioned in the Testa de Nevill for Herts.

A Hamo de V. of Wetherden co. Suffolk occurs 21 Hen. III.; and in a suit concerning the presentation to the church of Rendham in the same county, 12 John, Matilda wife of Hamo de Tichesey, and niece of Elias de Rendham, are mentioned, as also Rose paternal aunt of Robert father of Elias. (Abbrev. Plac. p. 35.) There was evidently, from the above, a close relationship between the families of Tichesey and Valoynes; probably, the former was an offshoot of the latter.

By what title Geoffry de Tichesey became owner of the lands of William fitz Elys out of which dower was granted to his widow Rose, does not appear; but unless by purchase, it would imply consanguinity, especially from the facts and circumstances just given, and others to come, in this case, on the assumption of Wm. fitz Elys being father of Gilbert de Helles.

This Gilbert we have seen was owner of some of the Domesday possessions of Anschitil de Ros (who it should be mentioned was owner of the manor of Tattesfield, co. Surrey, adjoining to Tichesey, but whose successors are not met with earlier than 1309, when Roderick Fitz Griffin possessed the manor and advowson*). There is no doubt he inherited the "capella de Helles" and appurtenant property, for his presumed brothers, and cotemporaries, Adam, Wm. and Theobald de Helles,† exhibit the same form of surname, which is primâ facie of local origin (though in this instance undoubtedly named by the family itself). The question is whether the ancestor of Gilbert acquired the lands of De Ros directly from that family, or intermediately. And here some circumstances arise which almost determine that it was intermediately. Alan and Theobald were distinctive names of the Valoynes. We have Theobald de Helles above, and Alan in the next generation. Moreover, Robert de Ros (s. of Peter and Adelina Espec) living

Manning and Bray's Hist. ii. 408.

There seems to have been some connection between the families of De Helles and Hastings. The notice of the three De Helles in the Abbreviatio Plac. occurs in a suit of mort d'ancestor between them and Manasser de Hastings concerning a carucate of land in Gravenel. This place, near Faversham, gave name to a family (Hasted, vii. 30). "Hamo" held Tooting of the Abbot of Chertsey at the Domesday Survey. In the Testa de Nevill it is said that the heirs of Rich. de Gravenell hold one knt's fee in F. Hamo, probably the samne person, was also Domesday Tenant of Tichesey. The Grange, a manor in Gillingham, was held temp. Hen. III. in serjeanty by Manasser de Hastings (Hasted, iv. 236), 10 Hen. III. there was a Fine levied between Gilbert de Helles and Robert de Hastings of land in Gillingham. The above notices point to connected interests arising from a common

source.

In Burke's Armoury, ermine 3 lozenges Gules are assigned to Hell of Hell's Court in Kent. This coat would appear to be derived from Hastings. In Harl. MSS. 6589, are some arms of Sussex persons of an early period; int. al. a fess between 3 lozenges are given as the bearings of William de Hastings. And in the Cloisters of Canterbury cathedral is a shield containing 3 lozenges, 2 and 1, probably meant for Hells (Willement).

3 Hen. II. mar. Sibil de Valoignes, who might have been aunt of Philip de V. (son of Roger de V. and Agnes) living 2 Rich. I. and father of another Sibilla his d. and h. This match would prepare us for another between the same families, by which a female descendant of Anschitil de Ros might have brought to her husband a part of his Domesday property, viz. the manor of Darent, afterwards owned by the De Helles.

It now remains, after the foregoing preparation, to state the fact which appears strongly to corroborate the conjecture that the family of De Helles was a branch of Alis; indeed, that William, father of Gilbert de Helles, was brother of Roger Alis of Allington living 1161. This is the circumstance that this Roger, as Roger fil. Aeliz occurs as witness to the confirmatory charter of Robert de Valoignes to Binham Priory in Norfolk, soon after 1162. This generally implies consanguinity; and in this case perhaps of a twofold character, first some alliance between Alis and Valoignes in the preceding generation, and, secondly, another between Wm. fitz Elys and a Valoignes. According to this view, therefore, Rose his widow must have been a Valoignes and have brought the manor of Darent to her husband in marriage.*

Though the notices to be met with of the family of Helles are numerous, yet they are so unconnected that no pedigree of the family can be compiled, notwithstanding they owned the same property for several generations, and the important manor of Darent for upwards of three centuries.

Thomas de Helles had a charter of free warren granted to him for his lands at Darent and at Dartford 17 Edw. I. One of his descendants, Richard Hills, owned this manor, early

*It is singular that there were two sisters and coheirs named Rose and Cecilia, daughters of Robert de Valoignes, s. and h. of Robert (br. and h. of Alan), who married into the families of Pakenham and Ufford, and living at a much later period than Rose wife of Wm. fitz Elys and her sister Cecilia. The two d. and col. of Robert de V. seem to have been named after their grandmother Rose le Blund, and a Cecilia le Blund probably her sister.

The " great and opulent family of Twitham" deriving their name from the hamlet of Twitham in the parish of Wingham co. Kent (Hasted's Kent, ix. 230), seems to have been connected with that of Helles, and was probably also descended from that of Ros and Valoignes. Theobald son of Hamo de T. lived temp. John (Abb. Plac.). Nicholas s. of Nicholas de T. about this time gave a rent of 15s. in Dartford to the Knights Templars (Hasted, ii. 301). Alan de Ť. is said to have been with Rich. I. at the siege of Acre. Twitham-Hells in Ash is a manor which before Edw. III. was owned by Hells, afterwards by Twitham; Theobald de T. died seized of it 4 Ric. II. (ibid. ix. 206). The family bore for arms, Semée of cross crosslets, 3 cinquefoils. The family of Cosington, a branch of Ros, bore 3 roses, which bearing was probably the early canting charge of the De Ros. The cinquefoils of Twitham might have been inherited from the latter family. The family of Kent likewise bore 3 cinquefoils. Nicholas de Kent in 1166 held one knight's fee and a half in Kent of Daniel de Crevequer (Liber Niger). Possibly he was the same person as Nicholas de Twitham.

Hen. VIII. and left a d. and h. ux. Henry Melhard. (Hasted's Kent, ii. 373).

Hells Court in Ash near Sandwich was owned by Bertram de Helles, Lieut. of Dover Castle, temp. Hen. III. His descendant Henry de Helles was M.P. for Kent, temp. Edw. III. Gilbert de Helles of Helles Court was Sheriff of Kent, 30 Edw. III. and bore Sable a bend argent* as carved on the roof of the cloisters of Canterbury Cathedral. His descendants alienated the estate temp. Edw. IV. (ib. ix. 203).

31 Hen. III. Emma de Helles (Pipe Roll, Kent). 1 Edw. I. Alicia que fuit ux. Theobald de Helles red. comp. de marc. (ibid.). 15 Edw. II. Will. de Helles s. of John de H. released lands in London and Middx. (Abbrev. Plac. p. 338).

26 Edw. I. Thos. de Helles and his br. were Auditors of the Exchequer (Madox's Hist. of the Exchequer, ii. 307).

3 Edw. I. Daniel de Helles was Manucaptor of Wm. de Brok, Knight of the Shire for Middx. (Parl. Writs).

1324. Henry and James de Helles were amongst the Men at Arms for Kent (ibid.).

6 Edw. II. Robert de Dene was the nearest heir and guardian of William and Thomas, sons of John de Hellis, and minors. (Robinson on Gavelkind, p. 188).

1274. Alex. de Helles, Clericum (Thorpe's Reg. Roff. p. 605).

The following Fines (from Lansd. MSS., 267, 268) relate to the family :

10 Hen. III., Between Gilbert de Hell and Robert de Hastings of land in Gillingham.

11 Hen. III., Between Gilb. de Helles and Adam le Blund of land in Sandwich. 36 Hen. III., Between Alice de Helles and Thos. de Cleydon of land in Helles. 38 Hen. III., Between Alice de H. and Walter s. of Robert of land in Halsted. 17 Edw. I., Between John le Clerk of Helles and Beatrix, ux. ej., and Alex. de Helles of land in Darent and Horton.

21 Edw. I., Between Ric. de Sandwich, Qu. and Theobald de Helles and Willm. his br. of land in Ash.

21 Edw. I., Between John de Helles, and Tho. Destabler et ux. ej. of land in Estry.

21 Edw. I., Between Alan de Helles and Simon de Merdenne of property in Canterbury.

10 Edw. I. Wm. atte Helle granted land in Wooton (in East Kent). Hill House in Wooton formerly belonged to Hills of Hells Court, of which family John Hill, Prebendary of Canterbury, sold it 32 Eliz. to Henry Foche.

7 Edw. III. David Earl of Athol settled the manor of Eggarton in Godmersham on his kinsman Sir Henry de Hills. Gilbert de Hills lies buried in this church with the marks of

This was the coat of Antingham of Antingham, co. Norf. and was quartered by Garneys of Suffolk (Suckling's Suffolk),