| Notes |
- Came to England from Holland in 1304 when aged about 30, on settlement of Flemings in England
The reason that W E Stern'e changed his name to "western", was because he travelled from Holland to the west. The Dutch were famous for dyking of the land of East Anglia and were very protective over the reclaimed land. This obviously caused resentment with the English, so being that Stern'e was such a well known Dutch name he thought it prudent to change his name; the simple change was W E to We-stern thus dropping the final E.
The Origins of "Western's" in England
England had a large sheep population & huge quantities of spun wool but not many proficient weavers. The spun wool was sent to Belgium
or Flanders to be woven into cloth. during the time of Edward 111 & his queen Phillipa, France imposed restrictions on imports of wool from England to Flanders. Flemish weavers were coaxed to come to England with the promise that once settled "they should feed on the fat beef and mutton till nothing but their fullness should stint their stomachs".
The We Sternes were amongst those weavers that came to London, settling in the parish of
St Dunstans in the East, of Dyce Quay, Lower Thames Street. The Church of St Dunstans
was at the west end of Thames Street somewhere near Idol Lane, built probably in the
13th Century. Here many We Sterne were married, baptised & buried. It is probable that
the houses would have been built of lath & plaster & very simple. London would have been
a very filthy city as most cities were, with garbage & sewerage tossed into the street.
Westerne as they became know, were weavers & industrious & thrifty people, because
150 or so years later they had branched out & William b 1576, married Francis Trott
(another Flemish?) became a grocer. A grocer in those days was perhaps also an importer
of things like spices, fruit wine etc. The Grocers Guild was considered one of the most
powerful & he was a member as was his brother Robert. Robert was also a member of the
Haberdashers Co of Ironmonger Lane.
William was buried in Mercers Hall Chapel. How many of these Guild Halls survive to this day?
Thomas 4th son of William & Francis, became quite wealthy as the younger son he had made
his own way in life & married a wealthy lady of Sussex - Martha Gott. her family were engaged
in sheep rearing & agriculture. Thomas purchased large tracts of woodland & one or more
forges & blast furnaces, where he manufactured iron. He also supplied large quantities of timber
to the Navy Commissioners (Samuel Pepys?).
Also they made the iron railings for St Paul's Cathedral and a small portion of these are in Lewes castle.
It is not known if any family members died of the Plague, but it is likely that their part of London would have been destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 as it started in Pudding Lane, not far from where they originally lived.
Anyhow, between 1677-1686 Thomas purchased the manor & estate of Rivenhall which the "Western" family owned until just before WW2.
Rivenhall is situated in Witham in Essex. Originally the estate comprised manor house, church, village & public house where they brewed their own ale. Now the manor house has very few
acres & is owned by Arabs?. The church contains many memorials to various Westerns buried
underneath. A large plaque on the floor names the family of William etc. although not all are
buried there.
The pub is called "The Western Arms". Examples of Coat of arms on most memorials. One Western buried outside.
|
Abt 1274 - 
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