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| Cholmeley family | |
|---|---|
| Name | Cholmeley family |
| Country | England |
| Region | Lincolnshire; Yorkshire; London |
| Founded | 12th century (traditionally) |
| Notable | Sir Hugh Cholmeley; Montague Cholmeley; Sir Roger Cholmeley; Francis Cholmeley |
Cholmeley family The Cholmeley family is an English lineage associated with landed gentry, law, parliamentary service, and local governance from the medieval period through the modern era. Members held offices connected to the Kingdom of England, Parliament of England, Parliament of the UK and served in regional institutions across Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and London. The family's history intersects with notable events and figures such as the English Civil War, the Restoration, and the evolution of British peerage and baronetcies.
The family tradition traces descent to medieval landholders recorded in cartularies alongside families like the de Lacy family, Percy family, FitzAlan family, Beaumont family and de Warenne family. Early charters reference holdings in the Honour of Bolingbroke and manors near Grimsby, linking the family to regional magnates such as the Earl of Lincoln and the Earls of Pembroke. During the reigns of Henry II of England, Richard I of England, and John, King of England, members appear in legal documents, pipe rolls and feudal surveys alongside officials like the Sheriff of Lincolnshire and clerics attached to Lincoln Cathedral and the Monastery of Bury St Edmunds. The family's fortunes expanded through marital alliances with houses connected to the House of Lancaster and minor gentry active during the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of the Roses.
Prominent jurists and officeholders include Sir Roger Cholmeley, who served as Lord Chief Justice and was associated with Gray's Inn and the foundation of institutions in London during the reign of Henry VIII of England and Edward VI of England. Sir Hugh Cholmeley, 1st Baronet, was a Parliamentarian-turned-Royalist commander during the English Civil War and served in the Long Parliament before aligning with the Royalist cause; his actions intersected with figures such as Oliver Cromwell, Thomas Fairfax, and Prince Rupert of the Rhine. Later parliamentarians include Montague Cholmeley, who represented constituencies in the House of Commons during the 19th century, engaging with debates under William Ewart Gladstone and colleagues from the Conservatives and Whigs. Other members served as justices of the peace, sheriffs, and commissioners under monarchs from Elizabeth I of England to Victoria and were contemporaries of figures such as Edward Coke, John Pym, Charles I of England and George III of the United Kingdom.
The family seat historically centered on country houses and manor estates in Norton Disney, Kirkby, and notable holdings in Hatchford and near Scarborough. Properties were recorded in Domesday Book-era surveys and later estate rolls, often in proximity to estates owned by the Bulmer family, Scrope family, Neville family, and de Mowbray family. Members maintained townhouses in Lincoln and London, with connections to commercial districts near Cheapside and legal institutions in Holborn. Estates were altered by events including sequestration during the English Civil War and settlement adjustments under statutes such as the Act of Settlement and land reforms in the 19th century associated with the Reform Acts.
Arms attributed to the family appear in heraldic rolls alongside those of the College of Arms and in visitations of counties conducted by officers like the Clarenceux King of Arms. Heraldic descriptions were recorded using tinctures and charges comparable to shields used by contemporaneous families such as the Vavasour family, Mowbray family, and FitzHugh family. Orthographic variants of the surname occurred in legal records and parish registers, paralleling shifts seen in names such as Cholmley, Cholmley(e), and similar permutations evident in documentation associated with the Public Record Office and antiquarians like Sir William Dugdale and John Leland.
Family members sat as Members of Parliament for boroughs and counties, engaging with parliamentary procedures in the Middle Temple and debates on legislation alongside MPs from constituencies such as York, Lincoln, Scarborough, and Grantham. They served as sheriffs of counties, justices at quarter sessions, and commissioners for tax assessments during fiscal crises like the Monmouth Rebellion, the Jacobite risings, and wartime levies in the Napoleonic Wars. Their legal careers connected them to institutions including the Court of King's Bench, Chancery Court, and the Inns of Court alongside jurists such as Matthew Hale and Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon.
The family's legacy persists in county histories, genealogical compendia, and place names recorded by antiquaries such as John Camden Hotten and Nicholas Pevsner. References to family members appear in parliamentary diaries, legal reports, and chronicles that also discuss figures like Samuel Pepys, John Evelyn, and historians of the Victorian era who documented country house life. Architectural features of surviving estates reflect styles influenced by architects linked to commissions for families like the Adam family, Inigo Jones-inspired designers, and restoration work associated with the Victorian Gothic Revival. The family is also noted in heraldic collections preserved by the College of Arms and in local museums in Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire.
Category:English families Category:History of Lincolnshire