Lady Anne Clopton of Kentwell Hall and Stowlangtoft

Anne Clopton was the only child of Sir William Clopton, Knight, of Kentwell Hall, Long Melford, County Suffolk and his first wife, Anne Barnardiston. She was born in 1612. She married Sir Symonds d'Ewes, Baronet, of Stowlangtoft October 24, 1626 in Blackfriars Church. Sir Symonds was born in the parish of Chardstock, Dorsetshire, at Coxden on December 18, 1602. He was the son of Paul d'Ewes, Esquire of Milden, Suffolk, and Cecilia Simonds of Coxden. When Lady Anne's father died in 1618, she inherited Kentwell Hall and became the last of the Cloptons to hold this magnificent estate.

According to The Gentry of England and Wales 1500-1700, there is a reference to Sir Symonds. Although an avid Puritan who eschewed heraldic display, he was obviously impressed with the fact that he was marrying into the ancient Clopton family. The reference reads: "the marriage of Simonds(sp) d'Ewes and Anne Clopton were largely conducted within the canons of godly discourse: d'Ewes noted that his prospective bride was 'verie religiouslie educated, while her grandmother, Landy Anne Bernardston, praised 'the good beginninge of grace' that she saw in him. Yet d'Ewes also revelled in the antiquity of his wife's family which linked hiim 'either nearlie or more remotely to all the ancient nobilitie of England.' Equally Lady Bernardiston pressed D'Ewes to acquire a knighthood; such 'litle additions,' she wrote delicately, might gain him 'further respecte amonkst her kindred.'

Lady Anne and Sir Symonds had six children, although only two, Cecilia and Isolda survived infancy. Cecilia married Sir Thomas Darcy. Isolda never married. As the only surviving child, Cecilia held Kentwell until her death, when her husband sold it to Sir John Robinson.

Their first son, named Clopton d'Ewes, "a goodly sweet child," died soon after his birth "Through the curesed ignorance or neglect of such as were employed about the lady during her confinement." A touching memorial in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, Lavenham, Suffolk, is the "baby brass" located at the front of the altar rail. It dates from 1631 and shows a tiny baby in its chrisom robe, signifying that he died during the first 30 days of life. Transcription of the Latin inscription reads:

By untimely death, save that it was so decreed by Almighty God, was snatched away out of his miserable life the ninth day of July, ten days after his birth and four after his baptism, Clopton d'Ewes, Esquire, son and heir apparent of Symonds d'Ewes, Baronet, and lady Anne, his wife, only daughter and heiress of William Clopton, Military Officer: whose blessed soul imbued with faith by means best known to Himself, the Eternal father of mercies (as we fully trust) has given a place in the blessed choir of Saints in Heaven.

Twin sons, Adrian and Geeradt survived but a few hours after their premature births in 1632. Their deaths were occasioned "by some such hurt to lady d'Ewes by travelling in her coach in Bury streets during the festival." Her fourth son, also named Clopton, died before he was two years old of rickets, which was caused "by their pitching upon a proud, fretting, ill-conditioned woman for a nurse" and aggravated by the unskillful treatment of "Dr. Despotine, an Italian physician at Bury." Sir Symonds had from his boyhood kept an elaborate record of all he read and wrote and saw, and he began an autobiography based on these diaries. However, following the 1636 death of this child, it appears he stopped work on this manuscript.

Sir Symonds can be considered the first of the Clopton genealogists. He followed fourteen generations of Cloptons back to Willimus Peccatume (Fr: Pe'che') of Cloptunna, who is listed in the Doomsday Book. In 1638, referring to Holy Trinity Church in Long Melford, he wrote:

I believe that there is scarce a second private family of nobility or gentry either in England or Christendom that can show so many goodly monuments of itself in any one church, cathedral or parochial, as remains of the Cloptons in that of Melford, in the said county of Suffolk.

His papers and other writings may still be found in the British Museum. Educated at St. John's college, Cambridge under the tutorship of Richard Holdsworth, his greatest work is considered by scholars the parliamentary history of Queen Elizabeth's reign. One of his more ambitious projects was the compilation of an Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Working in conjunction with Francis Junius, it was completed but never printed. What he lacked in constructive ability, a mere copyist and collector, he more than made up for as a collector of great conscientiousness, industry, and accuracy.

A baronetcy was conferred on him July 15, 1641. His enjoyment of this honor was short lived; Lady Anne died of smallpox two weeks later at the age of 29 after an illness of 10 days. Although their marriage had been arranged, his writings indicated he deeply loved her. He married as his second wife Elizabeth Willoughby, the daughter of Sir Henry Willoughby, Baronet, of Risley in Derbyshire. He died at Stow Langtoft Hall on April 8, 1650. Their son, Willoughby, succeeded Sir Symonds in his title and estates. The baronetcy became extinct in 1731.

Based on:

Articles Originally Appearing in the August 1989, April 1990, and April 1991 Issues Of
The Clopton Family Newsletter
by James M. McMillen mcmillen@arlington.net
and Isabel Lancaster (Clopton) Steiner

The Ancestors and Descendants of William Clopton Of York County, Virginia,
Compiled by Gene Carlton Clopton, Phoenix Printing Inc., Atlanta, Georgia

The Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, London

Contributed by :

Suellen Clopton Blanton, bblanton@fast.net