THE KNYVETT LETTERS John Knyvett of Plumstead, eldest son of Jane Knyvett, was ancestor of the Berners line. Jane had never assumed the Baronial dignity. Her grandson, Thomas, obtained from the Commissioners for the Office of Earl Marshall an acknowledgement of his right to the title but his attention was diverted to other matters and he did not pursue the matter further. His grandson, Thomas, pressed his claim, but the outbreak of the Civil War completely destoryed any chance of revival of the Barony in his lifetime. The title was not claimed until 1720, when it was confirmed upon Katherine, wife of Richard Bokenham, 7th in descent from Jane Knyvett. Katherine died without issue, in 1743, and the title became abeyant until 1832, when it was confirmed upon Robert Wilson, son of Elizabeth Knyvett. The title passed to Henry Wilson, then to his son, Henry William Wilson, who was succeeded by his niece, Emma Harriet Wilson. Emma Wilson married Sir Henry Thomas Thyrwhitt, and the title passed to her son, Raymond Thyrwhitt, who was succeeded by his son Gerald Hugh Thyrwhitt. On the death of Gerald Thyrwhitt in 1950 the title passed to his daughter, Vera Ruby Thyrwhitt, the present Baroness.1 On Jane's death in 1562 her grandson, Thomas, succeeded to the greater part of her inheritance. Born about 1539, knighted 40 years later, he lived under five sovereigns. In 157980 he acted as High Sheriff of Norfolk. He married Muriel, daughter of Sir Thomas Parry, Treasurer of the household of Queen Elizabeth, and appears to have been a person of cultivated tastes. In his large library of printed books and manuscripts every branch of learning was represented. The majority of his manuscripts were later added to the famous collection of John Moore, Bishop of Norwich, and thus found their way to the Cambridge University Library. His grandson, also Sir Thomas Knyvett, born in 1596, the son of Sir Thomas Knyvett and Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Nathaniel Bacon of Stiffkey, gained belated fame when his letters to his wife written between 1620 and 1644, edited by Mr Bertram Schofield, Ph.D., were published by Constable, London, in 1949. Written in a breezy style in the midst of troubles which were to rend the kingdom into two warring factions and lead to the execution of Charles the First, the letters rank among those that will henceforth be quoted in histories when a little contemporary colour is required to light up the dull chronicle of events. Before the quarrel between King and Parliament came to a head, Knyvett loved the country life at Ashwellthorpe, occasionally visiting London on various errands of litigation. In 1614 he graduated as a Bachelor of Arts at Cambridge. In 1620 he married Katherine, daughter of Thomas, 5th Baron de Burgh, and we are dependent on his absences from her "at the Pen distance", to use his own words, for these letters. His affection for his young wife was evident in the addresses and subscriptions on the letters. The bearers of his letters read such directions as these: To his deere wife mis Knyvett give these. To his most assuered wife mis Katherine Kynvett give these any wher wher she is. To his truly, fidely, cordially beloved wife mis Katherine Knyvett these.
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Mistress Knyvett found at the end of the letters such subscriptions as:
Thy deere loving husband. Thy loving husband who love thee more than his owne life. Thy faithfull deer friend. Thy humblest servant. Thy assuered loving husband till death. Thine in all conditions. Best of all one letter ends:
I am only sory that this night I faile of my expectation which was to sleepe with thee in my armes, which is, I confess, a Just punishment for my long vagarye, but my comfort is I hope thou art not inexorable. So deer hart, I long to se thee. Thy true loving though wandring Boye, T. Knyvett. He opens with explanations and excuses for his absences, some of which are less frank than this one:
Deare harte, my best love, remembred unto the. Take it not ill that I come not home, for I am in a place wher we have excellent sport and I cannot gett away yett. To morrowe night I wilbe at home, god willing. In the meane time god in heaven keepe us both. Farewell. His chief business at this period seems to have been to pursue his claim to the Barony of Berners. In London he does shopping commissions for his wife.
I have bespoken thee (he writes) a delicate hatt and White fether for so it must be, only it shall have a little tippe of yr captaines coullers. I can assuer thee, heer is not one coullerd gowne of 40 worne, but all Blacke with coullerd forebodys & kirtle. and again,
All the wear at Court is plain white aprons among the great ladies. In 1621 he mentions preparations for the projected marriage of the Spanish Infanta with Prince Charles:
For newes the Kings Chappell at Whithall is curiously painted and all the images newe made and a silver crusifix amaking to hange therin, against the spannish Ladys coming. The breakdown of the Spanish marriage negotiations, however, rendered the preparations unnecessary. In May, 1625, he witnessed James the First's funeral:
I did se the Funerall for nothinge. If it had cost me any monye I showld have been very sorye, for I never sawe a thinge worss performd for the order of it, and that which was most unsufferable, some of the Duke of Buck: men tooke away the cloth of state which the kings bodye showld have layen upon in the charriot that it was fainte to lye upon the bare charrit.
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In 1625 he speaks of the plague, which was second only in gravity to that of 1665:
The plauge doe much increase heare, which make my cousin and I to keepe our selves in our chamber but when we must needs. I have dined and supped but three times out of my chamber since I came. In 1632 we catch a remarkable glimpse of the Star Chamber at work under Charles:
I must Admonish you of that which I have longe desierd that by all means in the world you strictly observe fastinge days with out any kind of Fleash at all either hot or colde. The consequence is as much as my undoing, if I be Questiond for it, for heer have been divers sorely fined in the Starr Chamber allreadye. Heer was one mr Palmer of Kent was fined a thousand pound for coming to live in towne, being a Bachellor. This a busines much pried into. For my parte I hope this not much concerne me, if I can but keepe my wife at home. The events that followed are familiar history. The "ship-money" tax was revived: a tax imposed on sea-coast counties to provide a fleet in time of war, it was imposed by Charles on inland counties in time of peace. The legality of the tax was tested in court and upheld. With the coming to power of the Parliamentary party it was resolved to make an example of Strafford, one of the King's ministers, and he was tried and executed. In 1637 Thomas Knyvett attempted to attend a session of the great ship money trial but, although he "was up by peepe of the day I was so farr from getting into the roome that I could not get neer the doore by 2 or 3 yards." At the great Strafford trial he was more successful, and has left a long account of the proceedings. He wrote to his wife on 31st March, 1641:
The Lord Strafford's trial hath continued 10 days debate and yet scarce gone through half the 28 articles in his charge ... He answered the first 3 or 4 days' charge with good equal opinion of the auditors, but since he hath flagged much. How he speeds this day I have not yet heard, for I durst not go myself to the court having taken physic yesterday. The King and Queen have not missed one day, since it began. A glimpse of the King's growing unpopularity and the religious unrest is seen in a letter dated 18th May, 1642:
The King have not his full expectation from the Yorkshire men, yet thay have admitted him a Gaurd of a 1000 foote & 200 horss, to attend his Person ... Poore King, he grows still in more contempte & slyghte heer every day then other; and no render when the reverence & worshipp of the King of Kings comes to be constr'd superstitious and Idollatrus, yet no worshipp to much for the sons of men. There was never much doubt about Knyvett's royalist sympathies, as seen in a letter to his wife in 1643 -
God in mercy turne ther harts that are so obstinat that wilbelieve nothing that comes from so gratiouse a Prince, though he hath ingag'd his soule in all the obligations of a Christian -
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but he was never in favour of settlement of the dispute between King and Parliament by force of arms. It was, therefore, perhaps just bad luck that he happened to be in Lowestoft, waiting to cross to Holland, at the time of the Lowestoft Rising, an unsuccessful plot by a handful of Royalists against the Parliamentary forces. His own account of it is as follows:
.... but it so fell out, while I was in this towne, Collon: Cromwell, the nowe Lod Prot: brought horss & foot against it, & uppon his first summons all the gentlemen strangers waulkt out of the towne & yeelded themselves with out the least opposition whereof myself was one. He was imprisoned, with other Royalists, for two months in Windsor Castle for an imputed participation in the rising. The prisoners arrived at the castle without a change of clothing and were herded together with one bed for 7 persons. Their material discomforts, however, were somevhat mitigated by the solicitude of their fair attendants. He made use of this on one occasion when he had been scolded by his wife:
I had no such Language in Windsor Castle. Ther wear better bred gentlewoemen And more tender harts that would melte into Teares of compassion in our Armes. Take heed of sending me thether againe. Knyvett had influential friends, one of whom was Elizabeth Hampden, an aunt of Oliver Cromwell. He wrote to his wife:
If you write any thing to mis Hambden, I praye let it be only to use her interest to Corronell Cromwell that I shall be fayerly treated hear 'till we shalbe releast. With the help of such friends he was able to convince the Parliamentary party of his innocence and after two months' imprisonment was released. It was not long before he was under suspicion and in trouble again, and his estate was under sequestration for a year before it was discharged. He wrote to his wife on 12th April, 1644:
I have been let bloode & purg'd, and much need I had of it, my bloode being growne so hot & furious againe, which is no miracle considering the continuall vexation this world affords. For his escape from the grasping hands of the Parliamentary Committees, Knyvett owed much to the influence and interest of Cromwell. He later had the opportunity of rendering a return service, and Cromwell's letter to him, seeking the small favour, is reproduced in Carlyle's Letters and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell. Thomas Knyvett died in 1658, aged 62. He did not live to see the revival of the family fortunes with the restoration of Charles the Second. Despite the favours received from Cromwell, in his epitaph, composed by himself, Kynvett left no doubt about which side he was on:
Here lyes loyal Knyvet, who hated Anarchy, Liv'd a true Protestant and dyed with Monarchy. 1 Debrett's Peerage Knightage and Companionage, 1953
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MUSICIANS - A STRANGE AND STARTLING ASSEMBLAGE? William, a younger son of Edward Knyvett and Jane Bourchier, was the ancestor of the Knyvetts of Fundenhall in Norfolk, who continued to reside there until, according to Burke's Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies, one of their descendants removed to London. He was a cabinet maker employed at Buckingham Palace in the reign of George II. Though never known to have made a piece of furniture, he had plenty of money to play at cards at the taverns he frequented. The Earl of Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty, was a frequent visitor at his house. The solution to this mystery, according to Knyvett records, was that Charles was the paramour of the Princess Elizabeth, in which role he was acceptable by reason of his descent from the Plantagenet kings of England. The cabinet-making was a mere pretence to afford him access to her apartments. Charles the Cabinetmaker was the father of Charles Knyvett, organist and composer to George III, who purchased an estate at Sonning near Reading, Berks.1 Born in 1752, he was one of the principal alto singers at the Commemoration of Handel in 1784, and was also engaged at the Concert of Ancient Music. He was appointed a gentleman of the Chapel Royal on 6th November, 1786. In 1791 he, in conjunction with Samuel Harrison, established the Vocal Concerts, which they carried on until 1794. On 25th July, 1796, he was appointed an organist to the Chapel Royal, and a few years later resigned his former post. He died in 1822. This Charles had three sons, Charles, Henry, and William. Charles and William both distinguished themselves in the musical field. Charles received his vocal deportment and musical education under S. Webbe. He was appointed organist to the parish Church of St. George, Hanover Square, in 1802. He was also the Director of the vocal concerts in Hanover Square conjointly with his brother, William Knyvett, and Messrs. Greatorex and Bartleman. Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, in a note on Charles, adds: "The family is ancient and can be traced to the Conqueror." William, the youngest brother, was described as an eminent counter-tenor singer equally admired for the sweetness of his voice and the high finish and delicacy of his style in partsinging. Both Charles and William were considered to be among the very few English singers remarkable for correctness in the musical enunciations of the words of our language. William first commenced orchestral singing at the Concert of Ancient Music about 1795, after which he assisted in all the most important concerts and music meetings in London and the provincial towns. His glees were described as "airy and elegant". He was a Gentleman of the Chapel Royal in 1797, Lay Vicar of Westminster Abbey, and succeeded Arnold as composer to the Chapel Royal in 1802. He conducted the concerts of Ancient Music 1832-40, the Birmingham Festivals 1834-43, and the York Festival in 1835. He composed the famous song "The Bells of St. Michael's Tower" and also the anthems for the coronations of George IV and Queen Victoria.4 He married Sarah Delaney.5 His son Francis, who migrated to Australia in 1852, is the subject of the next chapter. Of the descendants of Charles, a grandson, Edward Ferrers Knyvett (born 1833, son of the Reverend Charles William Knyvett, Chaplain to Queen Victoria), migrated to Queensland. Officially a surveyor, he is described by one of his descendants as having spent his life playing cricket against the Englishmen and dabbling in grazing. His sons included Frank Berners Knyvett (later Colonel Knyvett D.S.O., D.C.M.) subject of the famous Knyvett case, of which
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the defense was published in book form, and R. Hugh Knyvett, author of "Over There with the Australians". The latter received a fine tribute from Roosevelt, writing in the "Independent", who called him a "Modern Galahad". "No man", he said, "could look at his face and not see that he combined, as few men do, the daring and the iron courage of the born fighter, with the singularly gentle and lofty idealism, the same intensity of spirit which made him so formidable a foe in personal combat, also made him one of the most convincing and effective speakers who ever stirred to action souls that had been but half awake." Both of these brothers died without issue. Another brother, Percy Gordon Knyvett, well known as a Stipendiary Magistrate in Queensland until his death in 1955, had two sons, Dr. Alan Ferrers Knyvett, now AssistantSuperintendent of the General Hospital in Brisbane, and Squadron-Leader Geoffrey Gordon Knyvett, of Mallala, South Australia. Living descendants of Henry are Carey John Knyvett, Bishop of Selby, and Major John Seymour Knyvett of Guildford, grandsons of Carey Seymour Knyvett, banker, of Waterloo Place. A compilation entitled "Descendants of the Royal Houses of England - A list of persons entitled to quarter the arms of the Royal Houses of England" (C. E. Long, London, 1845, J. B. & J. G. Nichols) includes: Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward the Fourth. George, Duke of Clarence, second son of King Edward the Third. Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, second son of King Edward the Third. John of Gaunt. Duke of Lancaster, third son of King Edward the Third. Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, fourth son of King Edward the Third. Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, fifth son of King Edward the Third. Among the descendants of Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester, appear: Descendants of Sir Thomas Bourchier, youngest son of Henry Bourchier, Earl of Essex, eldest son of William, Earl of Eu, and Anne Plantagenet. Descendants of John Bourchier, Lord Berners, fifth son of William, Earl of Eu, and Anne Plantagenet, viz. Lord Berners. Descendants, if any, of Edmund Knyvett, Keeper of the Lions in the Tower, second son of Sir Thomas Knyvett of Ashwellthorpe, senior, was married, but no issue given. Descendants of William Knyvett, of Fundenhall, Norfolk, son of Edmund Knyvett and Jane Bourchier, viz: Charles Knyvett, of Sonning, near Reading, Berks. Henry John Knyvett, of the Home Office. Carey Seymour Knyvett, of Waterloo Place, banker. Frederick Knyvett, Captain in the East India Service. Felix Knyvett of Chester, Solicitor. sons of Henry Knyvett, brother of the said Charles Knyvett. William Knyvett, Composer to Her Majesty's Chapel Royal, brother of the said Charles Knyvett. Mr. Long's work is prefaced by the remarks:-
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It is not pretended to offer, in this compilation, a perfect list of the parties entitled to quarter the Royal Arms - the attempt would be impracticable. That the claimants to the right will hereafter be very greatly augmented is undeniable, and that is exactly what it is desired may be the case. The researches necessary for the purpose would almost amount to a postponement of the publication sine die, and it has therefore been deemed the better plan to print what has already been established, and to consider the present collection as a basis for future operations. The varied fortunes of many of these inheritors of the royal coat, and their singular juxtaposition with others springing from the same stem, form a rather remarkable feature in the work. If the investigation were pursued still further, there is every possibility that the princely blood of Plantagenet would be found to flow through veins even more humble than some of those which are here recorded. This is as it should be. There is no prescriptive right to interminable gentility, any more than of great talents or personal attractions. "Misery", we are told, "makes people acquainted with strange bedfellows"; but we had yet to learn that a coheirship in the coat-armour of this potent kingdom would present such a motley group of claimants, now, for the first time introduced together to drink at the same fountain of honor. Dukes and Butchers -Grand-Dukes and Shoemakers - Emperors and Saddlers' Apprentices - and still the line may stretch out hereafter to some "high-born Beggars", tendering their tickets of admission to the honours of the royal shield. Such is this strange and startling assemblage! 1 Burke's Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies. 2 Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians 3 The Musicians' Dictionary. 4 Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians 5 Registrar-General's Records, Sydney (Death of Francis Knyvett)
A TOUCH OF WELSH Francis Knyvett, third son of William Knyvett, was born in London in 1807.In 1838 he married Ann, born 1818, daughter of William Turner of Parkia, High Sheriff of the County of Carnarvon, and sister of Sir Llewellyn Turner, the well-known archaeologist who restored Carnarvon Castle. William Turner was born at Low Moorhouse in Seathwaite Parish, Lancashire, and his wife, Jane Williams, was of Irish and Welsh descent. In a pamphlet entitled Thirty-one Years' Work in the Repair of Carnarvon Castle (Cambrian Press, Carnarvon, 1902), Sir Llewellyn Turner tells how, at the invitation of Lord Carnarvon, Constable of Carnarvon Castle, he accepted the post of Deputy-Constable and undertook the management and repair of the building. He had interested himself in mediaeval matters since boyhood, especially with the great Castle of Carnarvon, which was built by Edward the First and in which the first Prince of Wales (afterwards Edward the Second) was born. During a period of thirty years the restoration of the Castle was carried out almost entirely from the fourpence entrance fees paid by visitors. These totalled an average of ÂŁ222 a year, from which 18/- a week was paid to Mrs. Watkins, "the careful keeper".
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In his book., The Memories of Sir Llewellyn Turner, published by Isbister & Co., London, 1903, he recounts his experiences as Chief Magistrate and High Sheriff of Carnarvon and Commodore of the Royal Welsh Yacht Club, tells of the bad but amusing old times of the Welsh judiciary, and gives intimate portraits of thirty English judges and seventeen admirals who were his friends. He describes his efforts to "cleanse the Augean Stable" as Carnarvon was justly described before the cholera and the railway cleaned out most of the slums. Despite continued opposition from Mr. Gladstone, he never relaxed his efforts to have English adopted as the spoken language of the Welsh people, with a view to helping them obtain the higher government positions ,which were filled by the Irish and Scotch because of their superior knowledge of English. He addressed extensive meetings in Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Wales on the subjects of Temperance, Education, and Perjury. He devoted considerable time and energy, as late as 1903, to dissuading the Welsh people from upholding a belief in ghosts, citing instances where such superstitions tended materially to "assist knaves and murderers and to render the detection of crime more dlifficult." He was knighted for his services to Wales, especially in raising volunteers for the Navy. In 1852, at the age of 45, Francis Knyvett migrated to Australia, with his wife, Ann, and family, to apply for a position with the new banking company. He brought with him from England several letters of recommendation. One, from Earl Grey to the Governor-General, was a testimonial in support of an application he made as Chairman of the projected Bank in Sydney. Another was addressed to W. M. Manning, Esq., M.L.C., from his brother, Edye Manning, of Exeter:-
My dear William, I beg to introduce to your acquaintance Mr Frank Knyvett, a member of a family whose name must be well known to you. I think it is very probable that either Mr Wise or W. 0. Manning may have forestalled me in this introduction but if they have it may do no harm for me to add my recommendations in favour of this gentleman. I trust he may succeed in the object he may have in view and any kindness shown to him or good advice he would I am sure be thankful for. I trust to make my own appearance in Sydney in 3 or 4 weeks after him, having engaged my passage in the Vinerva. Believe me ever your affectionate Brother Edye Manning. The Vicar of Lancaster wrote to the Rt. Rev. the Lord Bishop of Sydney: -
My Lord, As I am personally unknown to your Lordship I fear many apologies may be necessary for thus venturing to address your Lordship. I trust however the object I have in doing so will in some measure be my excuse. The bearer of this note. Mr Knyvett, is about to settle with his family in Sydney and as he has obtained some letters of introduction to your Lordship he has requested me to bear my testimony to the respectability of his character and family connections. I have much pleasure in now doing so. And in apprising your Lordship that I have reason to believe him not unworthy
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of any notice which your Lordship may be able to bestow on him, so as to forward his views and wishes in settling in his new and adopted home. I have the honour My Lord to be with much respect Your Lordship's most obt. Servant, J. V. Turner Vicar of Lancaster Records in the archives of the Bank of New South Wales, Sydney, show that Francis Knyvett was an applicant for the position of Accountant of the Australian Joint Stock Bank in December, 1852. He was allotted 20 shares in the bank in the first issue of shares in November, 1852. Mr Ashton B. Ottley was appointed to the position of Accountant at a salary of ÂŁ350 a year, security being given to the amount of ÂŁ2,000. Francis Knyvett turned his attention to grazing, and when he died in 1860 was residing on his property at Liberty Plains, near Parramatta. The Registrar-General's Records describe him as - Gentleman. age 52 years, 6 years in the Colony, son of William Knyvett. Organist and Composer to Her Majesty. Francis Knyvett left a widow, four sons, and one daughter. Two daughters had predeceased him. The three eldest sons remained in Australia, while the widow returned to England with the two younger children, Charles Felix, 6, and Julia Zillah, 4. Immediately on her arrival in England she died, leaving the two children to be brought up by their uncle, Sir Llewellyn Turner, at Parkia, Carnarvon. In their teens they returned to Australia. Their eldest brother, Francis, had married Alice Dulhunty, a daughter of R. V. Dulhunty, and had settled on a property in the Dubbo district. In 1877, Julia Zillah, at the age of 21, married Robert George Dulhunty, thus causing the Plantagenet blood to flow under yet another name. Edmund Francis Knyvett, born 1879, and his son, Edmund Dulhunty Knyvett, born 1914, graziers, of Leadville, near Cowra, New South Wales, were the only surviving male members of this branch of the Knyvett family until the latter's son, David Edmund. was born in 1959.
See website at http://www.dulhunty.com/html/Dpc0.htm
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