Duke Family History

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I am indebted to Lynn Teague for her permission to use her extensive research on the history of the Duke family. By pressing on this link you will be taken to her complete published study with included references on the Duke family in England. She has also undertaken a splendid second piece of research on the Duke family in Barbados. I have only used her first study as a compliment to my research on the Lords of the Manor of Winterborne Saint Martin and the branch of the Duke family of which I am a member. On reading her work I have found many areas over the centuries where the Lords of the Manor of Winterborne Saint Martin and the Duke family may have overlapped and I have attempted to join these events and people with links between the pages of this website.

I have also found a paper written by the Reverend R. E. H. Duke in 1915 published in Wilshire Notes and Queries titled "An account of the Family of Duke, of Lake" It can be found in original form by following this link or in abridged form with this text. Some of it covers common ground of with Lynn Teague's study

Links within this Duke family section will use the small Duke sheep brand logo and that will take you to Duke family references concerning the county of Dorset and other asides along the way.

Links from the other familys' pages of this website to this series of Duke pages will use a small wreath which forms a part of the Duke family crest. Both of these small markers are reduced from the images at the head of this page.

Lynn Teague's study extends to some 100 pages of A4 paper and this reduced version to 70 or so pages. Happy reading!

THE EARLY CENTURIES

The Duke family of southern England is of Anglo-Norman origin.

The Duke family first appears in known English records in the late 1100's. The name "Duke" or "Dukes" was originally le Duc, a term that was used to mean "leader" before the term became associated with a specific rank of the nobility. In southern England, the form Le Duc persists for several centuries.

A Dictionary of British Surnames states that the name is derived from "ME duc, duk(e), douk, doke, OFr duc 'leader of an army, captain'." The term is derived from a title in the administration of the Carolingian Empire, and was equivalent to the term "ealerdom" that was native to the Scandinavian origins of the Normans and the "alderman" of Anglo-Saxon England. The ealerdom, and le duc, was the representative of the royal ruler among local leaders.

THE EARLIEST RECORDED MEMBERS OF THE DUKE FAMILY IN ENGLAND

The following individuals are found in The Norman People and their Existing Descendants :

Duke. Osmond le Duc, Alexander and Robert le Duc, Norm., 1180-98; Radulphus Dux of Bucks (1199). Hence the Baronets Duke. Robert D. and his father are mentioned in England.

Duck, or Le Duc. Willelmus Dux was of Normandy, 1198; Ralph Dux of Buckinghamshire 1198.

These establish some connections with Normandy. It is possibly that some of those identified with Normandy were actually born in England, since at this time residence in both locations was common and many who lived in England continued to think of Normandy as their principal residence.

A History of English Surnames gives the following references to members of the le Duc family in England:

Herbert le Duc 1185 Templars (Shropshire)

Adam Duke 1198 Pipe Rolls (Bedfordshire)

Henry Dukes 1214 Curia Regis Rolls (Warwickshire)

Herbert le Duc was a member of The Knights Templar, the order of which, were established in 1118 and became one of the two major military orders of the Middle Ages, created to protect travellers on the road of the Holy Land and ultimately among the most prominent of the groups of medieval crusaders. In 1185, the year that Herbert le Duke's membership is noted, they built Temple Church in London, which was later to become the Temple of the Inns of Court. Herbert le Duc is likely to have served with Richard I (Coeur de Lion) on the Third Crusade, against Saladin, which Richard began in July 1190.

The reference to a member of the Duke family in England in 1185 is the earliest that the author has found.

At this time, there was still considerable movement between Normandy and England. During the 34 years of the reign of Henry II (1154-89), he spent 21 years on the continent, and only 13 in England. It is probable that the Ducs had been living in England for at least three generations by 1185 to produce the number of scattered references that have been found for the late 1100's and the 1200's.

If there were several generations in place by 1185, this would date their appearance in England at or near the time of the conquest in 1066. Early references in the Domesday Book are often by first name and location only, providing an ample number of early Normans who cannot be associated with their descendants only a few generations later.

The history of the family suggests that the area in and surrounding London represented the earliest identifiable English home of the family. We also find examples of different, and presumably independent, early forms of the Duke surname in other areas at this time. In 1210 Godefridi Duc was mentioned in the vicinity of Sutton, Northamptonshire. Ralph f. Duc is found in Lincolnshire:

Records show that Ralph f. [filius, son of] Duc of the Aswardhun Wapentake of Lincolnshire had 1 packhorse, 2 young horses, 2 calves, 26 sheep, a pig, a quantity of corn, and other items. The whole was valued at 15 s 22 d. This reflects the same Norman impulse toward meticulous administration that produced the Domesday Book

. The name of Reginald le Duc is listed in Yorkshire in 1199, and takes the same form as that of the Normans in southern England, but there is no evidence that he established a family line there.

THE DUKE FAMILY IN EASTERN ENGLAND

Three, or perhaps four, major branches of the le Duc family appear to have existed in the late 12th and early 13th century. One consists of Henry in Warwickshire and Herbert, Knight Templar in adjacent Shropshire, and their close relatives. Another consists of Roger le Duc, Sheriff of London in 1190-91 and 1193, and his descendants. The next includes Adam le Duc of Bedfordshire and his descendants. Ralph le Duc of Buckinghamshire may be Adam's brother, and is included in this branch.

LONDON

The family of Roger le Duc assumed prominence in the late 12th century in England. The following references are found in a history of Suffolk:

Roger le Duke, Sheriff of London 1190-1191, 1193, under Richard I, Coeur de Leon

Peter Duke, Sheriff of London 1209, under King John, and his son, Roger Duke, Sheriff of London 1227, Lord Mayor of London 1227-1230, under King Henry III, and his grandson

Walter of Brampton, did homage for land in Shadingfield at Framlingham Castle during the reign of Edward III, 1327-1377

ROGER LE DUC'S FAMILY

The earliest generations of the family of Roger le Duc consists of Roger, Peter (probably Roger's son although this relationship isn't certain), and finally Roger, who was Lord Mayor of London in 1227-30.

In 1209, Peter le Duc was Sheriff of London. In the preceding year, Pope Innocent had laid an interdict on England and Wales; in 1209 King John was excommunicated. There is little evidence that this caused any great concern on the part of the king or the public. Other matters provoked greater concern, and in 1215 John was compelled to sign the Magna Carta, which established the division of authority between crown and parliament that has been the unique strength of English governance and law.

In the Easter Term of 1221, in the fifth year of King Henry III, Roger le Duc served as judge of the itinerant superior court in Norfolk. It is not known which Roger le Duc is meant.

In 1225-6, William Duke, probably a son or brother of Roger, was an alderman of London, involved in the foundation of a convent of the Grey Friars in the parish of "Sancti Nicholai de Macellis," St. Nicholas. Roger Duke and Martin FitzWilliam are listed as "vicecomites" (sheriffs) of London. Roger Duke is listed as Mayor in 1226, with Stephan Bokerell and Henry Cobham, "vicecomites." By 1227, Roger le Duc was again Sheriff of London, and later Mayor of the city from 1227-30.

The amount of time elapsed since the previous tenure as sheriff of a Roger le Duc suggests that this was probably a different individual. At this time Henry III was on the throne. A council ruled in his behalf, since when King John died in 1216 Henry was only nine years old. Henry III did not actually assume his responsibilities as king until 1232.

The approximate location of the London properties of Roger le Duc, Mayor of London in 1227-30, has been identified in English records regarding later transfers of the property. The first transfer was in 1239:

January 20, 1239: Grant to St. Mary and the brethren of the hospital of Ospreng, in frankalmoin, of a house in the parish of St. Mary, Colecherch, in the city of London, which Matthew Blund sold to Roger le Duc, who afterwards sold it to Isaac of Norwich, a Jew, from whose heirs the king purchased it.

The parish of St. Mary, Colechurch, in London is located immediately southwest of the Guildhall, north and south of Cheapside. The second transfer in which Roger le Duc's ownership is mentioned was on February 10, 1280:

The same day was read in full Husting an agreement whereby John de Quoye and Johanna his wife, daughter of John Viel, junior, demised to Roger the Tailor their capital mansion in Bredstrete, formerly belong to Roger le Duc, together with a shop formerly held by Hugh de Lenne, skinner.

"Bredstrete" is Bread Street, between Cheapside and Cannon Street, south of the City of London wall and only a few blocks from the City of London Guildhall.

THE DORSET ESTATES OF ROGER LE DUC

Roger le Duke acquired a number of properties at the end of his term as mayor of London:

Grant to Roger le Duc, citizen of London, of a rent of 30 marks, which the prior of Vast and Rumilly was wont to receive yearly from Thomas de Canvill by way of farm for the town of Fobbing, and of a rent of 10 marks, which the said prior was wont to receive from the monks of Coggeshall, which rents the said Roger has from the said prior for a term of seven years from A.D.1227; grant also to the said Roger of the manors of Winterburne, Bochamton, and Swanewic, and the advowson of Winterburne, which the said prior and convent have demised to the said Roger to hold for life by rendering one besant yearly to them.

The rents to be received by Roger le Duc from Fobbing and Coggeshall refer to Suffolk. However, the estates were in Dorset. All three of these manors were the property of the Priory of Vast (Vaast or Wast) in France. Winterborne Monkton was immediately southwest of Dorchester; Bochampton was northeast of Dorchester; Swanewic was in the Purbeck area at the location of contemporary Swanage, just south of Poole on the Dorset coast. Interestingly, they are clustered around the two royal castles present in Dorset at that time, at Dorchester and at Castle Corfe, Purbeck.

The next reference to the transfer of the Dorset estates occurs in 1269, when the prior of St. Michael, Winterborne Monkton (Sancti Michaelis de Vasto) contracted with Adam de Stratton for the lease of these manors and associated lands. Roger le Duc and his heirs might have held this property in the interim, during the years A.D.1228-1269, but it is more likely that the estates reverted to the crown on his death, prior to 1241.

These estates were almost certainly leased as sources of income, but it is possible that members of the family resided at one or all of the manors for some part of the time between 1228 and 1241, or even 1269. However, no evidence of an established family of the Duke name appears in Dorset during the 13th or 14th centuries. They are absent in the Hundred Rolls of 1279-81. It is improbable that establishment of the Duke family in Dorset dates from Roger le Duc's acquisition of these estates.

ROGER IN BUCKS

In 1230 Roger le Duc leased a manor in Buckinghamshire for a five year period:

Allowance (concessisse) to Roger le Duc, citizen of London, of an agreement made between John son of Robert and the said Roger, whereby the said Roger or his assigns were to hold the manor of Evre, co. Bucks, except the mills and swans, of the said John for a term of five years from the quinzaine of Easter 14 Henry III, pursuant to a chirograph made between the said Roger and John.

Evre is in extreme southeastern Buckinghamshire, on the border with Middlesex. This property would have been within an easy one-day ride by horse of London, a convenient country estate for someone involved in London affairs. It is unclear whether John didn't want to lease out his swans, or whether Roger was not disposed to take them.

LONDON AGAIN

Roger le Duc was Sheriff of London in 1225-7, and Mayor in 1227-30. A contemporaneous William le Duc was a London Alderman, living in St. Nicholas parish; he might have been Roger's brother, another son of the older Roger. (Although Peter le Duc is given in some sources as son of the first Roger, and father of the second, this does not seem chronologically likely to the present author, particularly since the name Peter does not reappear for some time in the family story.)

There was apparently no time after Roger le Duc's term as mayor in 1227-30 that the Duke family was not represented in London. In 1283 we find a record of a will by John le Duk, proved in the London Court of Husting, providing as follows:

"To Johanna his wife his mansion house for life; remainder to Thomas and Roger his sons in equal portions." No date. [Roll 14 (138)].

This John le Duk is almost certainly a son or grandson of Roger le Duc. Subsequently, we find additional information about another John Duk, in the 1308 will of Geoffrey de Borham of London. Borham left his tenement in the parish of S. Stephen de Colemanestrete (St. Stephen of Coleman Street) to his wife Cristiana and his daughter Juliana. The remainders were to go to his daughter Juliana, and to William and Adam, sons of his sister Alesia, who had married John Duk. Another sister of the testator, married to Thomas de Bradefeld, was also charged with certain payments to the children of Alesia. No further information is provided regarding John and Alesia Duk and their children; they might not have lived in London.

Borham also bequeathed funding for a chantry in the church of St. Stephen, or failing that St. Dunstan, for the good of his soul and the souls of Matilda, his former wife, and of Osmund and Deonisia, his parents, and others. He also left to Juliana "divers chattels," including counterpanes, feather beds, sheets, a large brass pot holding seven gallons and a brass pot of one gallon, table-cloths, towels, and, finally, he left twelvepence toward the work of London Bridge.

JOHN DUKE OF THE KING'S HOUSEHOLD: HOW MANY, AND WHERE?

A reference tells us that John Duke of the king's household was on a stipend of 100s. a year from Edward III. This was changed to life maintenance at Thorneye in Cambridgeshire in 1368. This was a provision for retirement, used for those whose rank did not warrant a gift of a manor and whose lack of immediate ties permitted retirement to a religious community. Another reference tells us that John Duke of Essex served at Crécy and Calais, and in 1347 was with many others granted a pardon for his service, provided he continued to provide military service in France, apparently indefinitely. It is likely that this is the same individual who was given retirement at Thorneye, after having continued in the king's service for many years. Medieval war has been described as the king's household in arms.