THE NORWOOD FAMILY PAGE

The Norwood Arms at Wormshill, Kent, England

Wormshill Village Church

Marion Norwood Callam writes in The Norwoods II. Heraldry and Brasses (Bushy Heath, 1965, pp. 40-42):

"In one of the very quiet by-ways in Kent between Sittingboourne on the north and Boughton Malherbe on the south, we came across a farm named Norwood in the village of Wormsell. It was a long rectangular building, full of old timber, beautifully restored and cared for by its present owner, Mr. Gordon Webb. In the reign of Henry III the manor of Wormsell and that of Boughton Malherbe, was owned by Robert de Gatton 'whose grandson, hamo, dying without male issue, Elizabeth his daughter and co-heir carried both these estates in marriage to William de Dene...Margery, the other daughter of Hamo married Simon de Northwood and possessed all her father's lands in Surry'. Hasted Vol. V. p. 562.

"According to the Harleian MSS Knights of Ed. I p. 272, 'Sir John (Simon [de Northwood]'s father) had custody of two-thirds of the lands of late Hamo de Gatton in minority of heirs (except Gatton Park) with Kt. fees and marriage of heirs of Wm. de Milksope Kt. having sold same to him 19 Ap. 1305'.

"While Elizabeth de Gatton entered into Wormsell Manor, her sister Margery and Sir Simon de Northwood took Gatton in Surrey. the region to the west of Gatton park is known as Norwoodhill, where there is also a farm by the name of Norwood. This Sir Simon was the brother of Sir Humphrey de Northwood of Shalford [Essex].

"In the obscurely situated village church of Wormsell we came across a memorial window to Simon de Northwood and his wife (fig. 60 [b&w photo, p. 61]).

"Here the Norwood arms ermine, a cross engrailed gules, charged with a bendlet azure, impaling Gatton chequy, argent and azure (Arch. Cant. V. p. 222)(Fig. 60), are in stained glass above the figure of Sir Simon de Northwood in his armour. This is a small single window, which was probably a factor in its withstanding the bombing of the Second World War, although ther has been repair to the fourteenth century figure of the knight (Fig. 57 [drawing, p. 41])."

Note: You can see that the glass beneath the right-hand cross bar and above the lower right half of the bendlet in the dexter half of the shield is not ermine but brown. In GMNC's photo, referenced above as Figure 60 ("Stained glass window in Wormsell church Kent to Simon de Northwood, with Norwood and Gatton arms"), this piece of glass is ermine, so apparently at some point between the 1960s and 1990/1 this glass was replaced or improperly cleaned. Was ermine impossible to reproduce, or did the restorer just make an error in matching the brown color of the Gatton arms (which should actually be argent (white))? Were six pieces of glass replaced, and if so, why with this brown color?

Steve Norwood, who contributed the photos for this section writes:

"My take on the brown glass was that it was old and turned color with age and possibly as the result of lack of funds for proper repair. I noticed that even one of the repair pieces (check in gaton arms has a crack in it). "During our visit to the Norwood/Gatton window, the village was having a fete at the community center next to the church. We found the church locked. When we inquired, we were directed to the manor house down the lane to obtain the key. The lady of the house was most gracious and very thankful that we had came to visit and pointed out that the church was closed during the festivities.

"After visiting the church, we stopped by the fete and were then greeted by the current lord of the manor who was officiating the celebrations. We of course introduced ourselves as Norwoods visiting Norwood sites and mentioned MNC's books which led us to his village. He asked if we were doing 'original research' to which I replied 'yes' (thinking you can't get more original than walking the ground). He seemed very knowledgeable about the history of his village manor and the families associated with it through the years, including the Norwoods. He then made a comment which I used from then onwards with great reward. Always verify from independent sources information in MNC's books.

"I had forgotten the misprint/misspelling of 'Wormshill' to 'Wormsell'. Upon reflection, I take it that that was formost in his mind.

"He related the following concerning the name 'Wormshill'. Wormshill is a corruption of the original Woten's Hill. The area was conquered by the Danes and subsequently became part of the 'Danelaw' during Saxon times. The name became corrupted to Wormshill as the area became christianized (the Christians relating the worship of Woten (Odin) with the worship of the devil (often described as a worm or serpent in medieval Europe)).

"I double checked my Ordinace Survey Map of Kent. 'Wormshill' is in fact the correct spelling. I also cross checked the Ordinace Survey Atlas of Great Britain. There is no "Wormsell" in Great Britain.

"I believe the photos of the Norwood-Gatton Arms were taken just before left England (we were there from 76 til 79 and again from 88 til 91) for the last time in 90 or spring of 91."

Please take the following link to additional Norwood arms on the ceiling of the Cloisters at Canterbury Cathedral.

Norwood/Poynings at Canterbury Cathedral

Background of Norwood Heraldic Arms

According to GMNC (p. 27):

"1. Sir Stephen de Northwood, armiger, was the first to bear arms. He took the Crusaders' cross which he ornamented by engrailing (scalloping the edges) gules (red). This first coat of arms is termed the pronominal coat.

2. His son, Roger de Northwood, took an ermine field on which to emblazon his cross engrailed gules. Upon his marriage to Bona de Wautham, heiress of Ralph Fitz Bernard, from which she was know as Bona Fitz Bernard, he was entitled to impale her arms vair (variation on a checked pattern as seen in the photo) on a chief (a field with a bar across the top) gules, 2 mullets of the field (Arch. Cant. Vol. XV. p. 19) with those of his own." The husband's arms are placed on the right (dexter) and the wife's on the left (sinister) of a vertically bisected shield.

"3. Their son Sir John de Northwood, upon his marriage to the Lady Joan de Badlesmere, daughter and heir of Sir Bartholomew de Badlesmere of Chilham Castle, Kent, could quarter his arms by placing Norwood in the first and last quarters, Fitz-Bernard in the top sinsiter and Badlesmere in the dexter bottom quarter, the latter being argent (silver), a fesse (a bar horizontally bisecting the field) between 2 bars gemelles gules."

The sixth son of this couple, Sir Humphrey de Northwoode, was Lord of Shalford, and the Northwood and Fitz Bernard arms are explained. How do Poynings and Sackville enter the picture? The Poynings connection is apparently through Sir Humphrey's uncle Henry's family, whose daughter (or granddaughter) Joan, co-heir of his son Thomas, married Thomas, Lord Poynings.

The only Sackville connection that GMNC discusses in this book is that of Anne Sackville, the second wife of William Norwood of Leckhampton Court, Gloucestershire.

Beginning on page 80 of GMNC's The Norwoods III, we find a history of Anne Sackville, daughter of Sir Christopher Sackville. Her first husband was Richard Fogge of Dane Court, Tilmanstone, Kent. In the vicarage house at Ashford, Kent, there are eight coats of arms in glass, which include Poynings--Sir Edward--along with Fogge and others. Richard Fogge died in 1598 and Anne married William Norwood of Leckhampton Court, Gloucestershire. Predeceasing William, she left a very detailed will in which she names Tyringham Norwood as cousin, 3rd cousin, once removed, of her second husband. In an earlier generation, Sir John, son of Sir Roger and Sir Humphrey's father, also had a Sackville (Sakeville) connection, for in 1319 shortly before his death "he sold Bokhurste manor, a part of the honor of l'aigle, to Joan, widow of Andrew de Sakeville...without the king's license."(James G. Dempsey, Norwood--Northwood families of Kent, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire. Cincinnati, 1983, 1987)

This is all that the records available to me at this time reveal. If you have more to add or corrections to make, please send them along.

Photographs in this section were made by Steve Norwood

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