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| Palmes family (Yorkshire) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Palmes |
| Caption | Arms of Palmes: Argent, a fess engrailed sable between three cinquefoils gules |
| Country | England |
| Region | Yorkshire |
| Founded | 12th century |
| Founder | William Palmis (trad.) |
| Notable | Guy Palmes, William Palmes, Francis Palmes, Anne Palmes |
Palmes family (Yorkshire)
The Palmes family were a landed gentry lineage established in Yorkshire with roots traceable to the Norman and medieval periods associated with York and the North Riding. Over generations the family interwove with families such as the St Quintin family, Lascelles family, Darcy family, Dukes of Leeds, and figures connected to Elizabeth I, Charles I, Charles II, and the Glorious Revolution. Members of the family served in roles linked to the House of Commons, House of Lords, the North Riding of Yorkshire, and participated in conflicts including the English Civil War, the War of the Spanish Succession, and continental postings under William III.
Early references to the Palmes name appear in medieval documents alongside families like the de Warenne family and the Percy family in records of landholding in the reigns of Henry II of England and King John. Traditions connect a progenitor often rendered as William Palmis to the post-Conquest aristocratic milieu that included Norman invasion of England veterans who received grants from magnates such as Roger de Mowbray and Robert de Brus. By the 13th century Palmes holdings are associated with estates near Kirby Misperton, Broughton, and the environs of Yorkshire Wolds, entering county court rolls and taxation lists alongside the Basset family and de Neville family.
The family's principal seats included manor houses and halls historically recorded at Ingleby Arncliffe (Ingleby), Brotton, Norton Conyers, and the manor of Kirby Misperton. These properties connected the Palmes lineage to regional centers such as Northallerton and Scarborough and to ecclesiastical patrons like Byland Abbey and St Mary's Abbey, York. Through marriage and acquisition the Palmes interacted with estates of the Hotham family, Strickland family, and Cromwell family (English) branches, while later generations maintained residences nearer Ripon and engaged with urban developments in Leeds and Hull.
Prominent names within the pedigree include MPs and magistrates such as Sir Guy Palmes (Members of Parliament during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I), William Palmes (Parliamentarian and county official), and Francis Palmes (soldier and envoy who served under William III and in campaigns related to the Nine Years' War). Female members allied by marriage to houses including the Fairfax family, the Boyle family, and the Savile family linked the Palmes to figures like Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron and Robert Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork. Later descendants intermarried with rising mercantile families of Leeds and with titled families such as the Earls of Mexborough and Barons Hothfield.
Throughout the Tudor, Stuart, and Hanoverian periods Palmes served as Members of Parliament for constituencies in the North Riding of Yorkshire and as Justices of the Peace and High Sheriffs under monarchs from Henry VIII to George III. During the English Civil War allegiances among Palmes branches reflected national divisions: some family members fought for the Royalists and for commanders like Prince Rupert of the Rhine, while others took positions with the Parliamentarians allied to figures such as Oliver Cromwell. In the 17th and 18th centuries Palmes officers served in campaigns connected to the War of the Spanish Succession, the War of the Grand Alliance, and postings in Ireland and continental garrisons, participating under commanders including John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and Earl of Marlborough-era theaters.
The Palmes coat of arms—commonly blazoned Argent, a fess engrailed sable between three cinquefoils gules—appears in heraldic visitations of Yorkshire alongside arms of allied houses such as the Vavasour family, Hodgson family, and Gower family. Genealogical pedigrees were recorded in the Visitations of Yorkshire and in compiled works alongside registries of families like the St Quintin family and Aislabie family. Cadet branches adopted differenced arms and quarterings after marriages into families such as the Wentworth family, Tancred family, and Brompton family, yielding complex descent lines connected to peerage claims and entailments adjudicated in county courts and in the Court of Chancery.
The Palmes presence is visible in parish churches, memorials, and heraldic glass across sites including All Saints' Church, Northallerton, St Michael le Belfrey, and local manorial chapels, where monuments link the family to clergy, patrons, and local benefactions tied to institutions such as York Minster and St Peter's School, York. Literary and antiquarian writers from the 18th century onward—antiquarians influenced by the Society of Antiquaries of London and county historians like John Whitaker and Arthur Collins—cited Palmes pedigrees when charting Yorkshire gentry networks alongside narratives of the Industrial Revolution in nearby Leeds and the expansion of British Empire administrative families. Contemporary place-names, archived correspondence in county record offices, and surviving architecture sustain the Palmes imprint within Yorkshire heritage and studies of northern English landed families.
Category:English gentry families Category:History of Yorkshire