Combs &c. Research
Sir Robert Lovett of Liscombe
Soulbury, Buckinghamshire (1577-1643)

Introduction

As indicated below, the identity and ancestry of all wives and children of Sir Robert Lovett of Liscombe are not yet fully documented. Primary sources are parish records, Harleian Visitations and various published lineages, histories and memorials as noted. Except where otherwise stated, the sources for this report are those listed and linked at the end the report. This lineage is being actively researched and will be updated and corrected as new facts are uncovered. Combs &c. recommends use of Net-Minder (see below) to those wishing notification of updates to this report.
Also note that the estimated birth years and marriage years of some children may be incorrect due to errors in the published Bucks Visitations source (See Lovett Lineages). These will be adjusted as soon as the correct information has been gathered.
- The Combs &c. Research Group 

Sir Robert Lovett of Liscombe
Soulbury, Buckinghamshire (1577-1643)
1. Robert LOVETT (son of Francis and Anne CRISPE Lovett), born 1577; resided Liscombe, Soulbury, Bucks; died 1643, Sparsholt, Berks; married (1) bef 1604, Susan BROOKE (or RICHARDS?), born bef 1590; died 2 Jul 1609; and (2) 24 Oct 1610, All Saints Parish, Leighton Buzzard, Berks Bedfordshire, Anne(?) SAUNDERS (Richard SAUNDERS and (Elizabeth BLOUNT?) of (Dinton?), Bucks), born bef 1590, died after 1646.
Sir Robert was admitted to the Middle Temple (Inns of Court, London) on 16 Apr 1600. It is not known where he received his earlier education, no record of him having been found at either Oxford or Cambridge Universities.
According to the Visitations of Bucks, "Sir Robert LOVETT of Liscombe in com. Bucks Knight Nov. 22, 1606. Anno. 1634." married (1) "Suzan dau. and heire of...RICHARDS of ye City of Gloucester" and "Suzan dau. and heirs of.....BROOKES of Glocestersh. widow of Sir Ambrose WILLOUGHBY;" and (2) "Anne dau. of Rich SAUNDERS of Dinton in com. Buck. 2d wife."
Burke, however, states that Sir Robert married first "Susan, daughter of Richard BROOKES, esq. and sole heir of her maternal grandfather, Richard PATE, of Matson, in Gloucestershire; she was the widow of Sir Ambrose WILLOUGHBY." Burke describes Sir Robert's second wife, Anne, as the "daughter of Richard SAUNDERS, esq. of Dinton, by Elizabeth, his wife, daughter of BLOUNT, of Blountshall, in the county of Leicester." The supposed marriage record of Sir Robert and Ms. SAUNDERS (as above) states that she was "Alice, de Laigton" [Leighton] (Note that it may be relevant that their third son, Robert, was christened in Dinton, Bucks in 1623/4).
The Lovett Memorials include the arms of the families of Brooke and "Pate of Masterdon," and state that Sir Robert's first wife was "Susan daughter of Richard BROOKE, and heiress of her grandfather Richard PATE, of Marston [sic], Gloucestershire; --(she was the widow of Sir Ambrose WILLOUGHBY de Parham,)" adding that a monument in the Soulbury, Bucks church includes "three shields of arms, the centre one, the arms of LOVETT quartering de TURVILLE, and the other two the arms of PATE and BROOKE..." The Memorials also state that Sir Robert's second wife was "Alice Anne SAUNDERS of Dinton, Bucks" (no source was given for this last, and it may have been a later attempt to reconcile the conflicting records).
"The History of Bucks..." states that Sir Robert married first the daughter and heir of "Richard PATE, Esq. Co. Glouc. 2 July 1609" and second "Anne, Dau. of Richard SAUNDERS, Esq. of Dinton." The source for either Richard PATE as father rather than grandfather or for the marriage date (4-5 years after the births of her daughters) is not known.
Sir Robert was knighted on 22 Nov 1606 (Visitations of Bucks) and in 1608 was the Sheriff of Bucks (Sheriffs of Buckinghamshire). According to the Lovett Memorials, he was on his way home from Tawstock, Devonshire (home of his son, Edward LOVETT, and daughter, Mary LOVETT Downe) when he died. No source is given for this statement and the author makes no mention of the fact that his eldest son, John died there only three months after his father, nor that his eldest daughter by his second wife, Elizabeth LOVETT Combe, was there by 21 Feb 1643/4 (and possibly as early as Dec 1641).


Issue By Susan (per Visitations of Bucks, Lovett):
2.1. Frances LOVETT, born bef 1605; died ?; married 27 Dec 1621, Soulbury, Bucks, John JARWAY (GAREWAY, GAREAWAY), Merchant of London, born ?; died ?
The Visitations of Bucks, Lovett, state that Frances married "Johan. JARWAY of London Merchant nephew of Sir William GARRAWAY." Burke adds that John GAREWAY [sic] was also the heir of his uncle, "Sir William GAREAWAY, knt." The Memorials make no mention of Frances.
2.2. Susan LOVETT, born abt 1605; died 14 Mar 1674, Haddenham, Bucks; married 22 Sep 1624, Soulbury, Bucks, Francis SAUNDERS, born abt 1592; died 4 Jul 1661, Haddenham, Bucks
According to the Visitations of Bucks, Susan married "Francis SANDERS of Dinton in com. Buck (ar.)." Burke describes Susan's husband as: "Francis SAUNDERS, esq. of Dinton, Bucks." The birth years and death dates for both Susan and her husband are from monuments at the church in Haddenham, which also state Susan was Sir Robert's 2nd daughter. (Memorials).
Issue By Anne SAUNDERS:
2.3. Elizabeth LOVETT, baptised 3 Apr 1614, Wotten Underwood, Bucks; died after 1656, a resident of Oxfordshire; married 8 Jul 1630, Soulbury, Bucks, John COMBE (son of John and Mary ARCHDALE Combe), baptised 15 Aug 1602, St. Mary the Virgin, London; buried 24 Apr 1652, Sparsholt, Berks.
Elizabeth's baptismal record reads "Elizabeth LOVETTE Daughter of Robert." The Visitations of Bucks list her as the eldest child of Sir Robert by his second wife and wife of John COMBES. Burke refers to her husband as "John COMBES, Esq." The first five of their children were baptised at Soulbury between 1631 and 1641. Their sixth child was baptised and buried on 21 Feb 1642/3 in Sparsholt, Berks. In September 1643, Elizabeth's father was buried at Sparsholt, and in December of the same year, her brother, John. By 1656, Elizabeth was residing in Oxford when she apprenticed her son, Archdale COMBE for eight years to her brother, Christopher, as a Draper. The family of John and Eizabeth is included in the Combs &c. research report for John and Mary ARCHDALE Combe (see below).
2.4 Anne LOVETT, born 1615-1619; died ?; married (1) Edmund (Edward?) BOURCHIER, fourth Earl of Bath; (2) Baptist NOEL, Viscount Campden and Earl of Gainsborough.
No record of Anne's birth has been located as yet (her birth order, estimated age and marriage are based on the ages of her older and younger siblings and the Visitations of Bucks). According to the Visitations of Bucks, she married "Edmund Earle of Bath." The Lovett Memorials state that a portrait of Ann is in the dining room at Liscombe Park. She is described as "Ann LOVETT, daughter of Sir Robert LOVETT, first the Wife of BOURCHIER, Earl of Bath; and secondly of Baptist NOEL, Viscount CAMPDEN, afterwards Earl of Gainsborough." According to Burke, Anne married "Edward BOURCHIER, fourth Earl of Bath, but by his lordship (she was his second wife) had no issue;" (2) "Baptist NOEL, third Viscount Campden, and had by him one still-born child only."
According to the Index to Royal Genealogical Data, Edward BOURCHIER, Earl of Bath, had one child, a daughter, Elizabeth, who died 22 Sep 1670, having married 8 Jul 1641, Basil FEILDING, 2nd Earl of Denbeigh (no locations given, and no death date or spouses given for Edward). This same source states that Baptist NOEL, the 3rd Viscount Campden, died 29 Oct 1682; married 25 Dec 1632, Anne FEILDING, by whom he had Elizabeth NOEL (married 16 Aug 1677, Charles BERKELEY, 2nd Earl of Berkeley) and Edward NOEL, 1st Earl of Gainsborough [sic] (baptised 27 Jan 1640; married Elizabeth WRIOTHESLY). Both Basil FEILDING and Anne FEILDING are listed as children of William and Susan VILLIERS Feilding, 1st Earl of Denbeigh. If Burke is correct that Anne LOVETT had no living children by Baptist NOEL, these would have been by an earlier wife and her marriage to him after 1640.
According to "Chipping Campden (Gloucester) Churchyard Inscriptions, Baptist NOEL was the eldest son of Edward, NOEL, Viscount Campden and Juliana HICKES (d/o Sir Baptist HICKES), and the husband of Anne (second daughter of William, Earle of Denbeigh) who died 24 Mar 1636 [sic] (and presumably an old style date). It does not appear that either Baptist NOEL or Anne LOVETT were buried here.
According to White's Devonshire Directory of 1850, the BOURCHIER family (Earls of Bath) were Lords of the Manor of Tawstock, Devonshire, thus Anne's marriage may have been the Lovett family's initial connection to Tawstock. The Index to Stewart's Handbook states that William BOURCHIER, Earl of Bath, was Lord of the Manor at Combmartin in 1593, and also refers to the BOURCHIER family (Earls of Bath) as Lords of Barnstaple.
Also note that Soulbury parish records include the marriage on 5 Oct 1641 of a Thomas HOXKINS and Anne LOVETT who have not been identified (Could this perhaps have been a first marriage for Anne, her second marriage under the name HOXKINS or HOSKINS instead of LOVETT?) Also note that the IGI indexes this marriage as HOPKINS.
2.5 Dorothy LOVETT, born 1616-1620 (est.); died ?; married 16 Jul 1640, Soulbury, Bucks, John HERNE or HERON of Huntingdon, born ?; died ?
No baptismal record has been located for Dorothy, whose birth order and age are based on the ages of her older and younger siblings and the Visitations of Bucks. She is not included in the Memorials. The marriage record states she married "Joh. HERNE." The Visitations of Bucks states "Dorothy maryed to Jo. HERON of Huntingt." Burke states that she married "John HERNE, esq." Quite possibly the John HERNE, age 16, who was matriculated at Cambridge University in 1633, the son of John HERNE of Godmanchester, Hunts.
2.6. Mary LOVETT, born 1617-1622; died ?; married 19 Mar 1637/8, Tawstock, Devon; Rev. Richard DOWNE, D.D., born abt 1597; died aft 1636.
No baptismal record has been located for Mary whose birth order and age are based on the ages of her older and younger siblings and the Visitations of Bucks. The latter states that Mary married "DOWNE, Doctor of Divinity, Devon;" the parish records of Tawstock provide the marriage date and his given name of Richard (Burke states erroneously that his given name was John). Richard DOWNE, doctor of divinity earned degrees from both Oxford and Cambridge Universities and was the rector of Tawstock and Marwood, Devonshire in 1636.
2.12 Sarah LOVETT, born ca 1618-1624; died ?; married Robert HERNE of Norfolk.
No birth or marriage record has been located for Sarah whose birth order and age are based on the ages of her older and younger siblings and the Visitations of Bucks, the latter stating that she married "Robert HERNE of Norf." Burke states she married "Robert HERNE, esq." No mention of her is made in the Memorials. Robert HERNE was perhaps the same who matriculated at Cambridge University in 1635 at age 16, born at Tibenham, Norfolk, son of Robert HERNE, gent.
2.7. John LOVETT, Esq., born ca 1621 (age 13 in 1634); died 30 Dec 1643, Sparsholt, Berks; married Katherine WROTHE of Woodbridge, Essex, born ?; died?.
John as Sir Robert's eldest son, his age and his marriage are from the Visitations of Bucks. His burial record is from the Memorials where he is not futher identified (Neither Burke nor the Memorials include John as a son of Sir Robert. Instead, both list Robert who follows as his eldest son).
2.8 Robert LOVETT of Liscombe, Esq., born 1623 (OS); baptised 22 Jan 1623/4, Soulbury Dinton, Bucks; died 11 Aug 1699 (age 75), buried Liscombe, Soulbury, Bucks; married (1) bef 1650, Penelope AYLETT (Thomas and Lettice WILLIAMS Aylett of Howells, Essex), born bef 1635; died 2 Apr 1689, buried Soulbury, Bucks; (2) aft 1688, Elizabeth (BULKELEY?), widow of John BRADSHAW of Darford, Surrey, born ?, died aft 1701.
The Visitations of Bucks list Robert as "2nd son" and state that he married "Penelope dau. of Thos AYLET of Hovells in ....Esquire." Three children are included, son Robert, and daughters, Lettice and Penelope. Robert's baptism is recorded in Soulbury, Bucks, and a monument there provides his residence, title, birth year and death date; his marriage to "Penelope, daughter and sole heiress of Thomas AYLET (3) of Hovels in the County of Essex, Esq.;" his second marriage to "Elizabeth, widow of John BRADSHAW, of Darford, in the County of Surrey, Esq. by whom he had no issue;" and his children and their marriages (Memorials). Penelope AYLETT is included in the Visitation of Essex, 1634, Aylett as the daughter of "Thomas AYLETT of Lincoln's Inn" and Lettice WILLIAMS, daughter and heir of "Thom. WILLIAMS servant to Q. Elizabeth & King James." According to Burke's, Robert was sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1664. According to the History of Bucks, Robert LOVETT married first "Penelope...ob. 3 April 1689" and secondly, "Elizabeth, dau. of ... .....BULKELEY, ob. s.p."
2.9. Frances LOVETT, born 1625; baptised 10 Mar 1624/5, Soulbury, Bucks; died ?
Frances is recorded in Soulbury parish records as "Francisca LOVETT filia [daughter of] Roberti." She is not included in the Visitations of Bucks, Burke or the Lovett Memorials (other than the unannotated baptismal record). She probably died young, but it is also possible that the parish record is in error and that should have read Francis, filius (son) of Robert. (See next).
2.10 Francis LOVETT, born ca 1625; died aft 1640.
Francis is listed as the third son of Sir Robert and Anne in the Visitations of Bucks with no further information. His estimated birth year is based on his apprenticeship as a Draper on 21 Nov 1640 ("Francis LOVETT son of Robert of Solbery Bucks mil."). No mention of Francis is made in either the Memorials or Burkes, and nothing other than his apprenticeship ("to Richard LOEFIELD a mercer in Gracechurch Street, liverman 8 years") is found in Drapers records. It is quite possible that he was the Frances, daughter of Robert [sic] baptised in Mar 1624/5.
2.11 Rebecca (Rebeckah) LOVETT, born 1625; baptised 1625, Soulbury, Bucks; died ?
Rebecca is included in the Visitations of Bucks. According to the Memorials she appears in the Soulbury parish records of 1625 as "Rebeckah LOVETT filia Roberti baptizata." Burke includes her, but likewise provides no additional information.
2.12 Deborah LOVETT, born 1626; baptised Mar 1625/6, Soulbury, Bucks; died ?
Deborah is found only in Soulbury parish records, which list her as "Deborah LOVETT filia Roberti." She may have died before 1634, but no burial record has been located as yet.
2.13 Edward LOVETT, born 1627; christened 14 Oct 1627, Soulbury, Bucks; died Jul 1702 (age 74) and buried 25 Jul 1702, Tawstock, Devon; married (1) 26 Oct 1654, Braunton, Devon, Elizabeth PAGETT or PAGE (William PAGE/T); born ?; died ?; and (2) Joan HEARLE (James HEARLE of Tawstock), born abt 1641; died 1 Jan 1708/9, Tawstock, Devon.
The Bucks Visitations state that Edward married "a daughter of PAGET;" and an IGI entry (Film No. 1037002, not yet read) provides the marriage date, location and spelling. Burke does not include any wife for Edward, but both marriages and both bride's fathers are documented by the transcription of a Tawstock, Devon, monument in the Lovett Memorials:
"Edwardi LOVETT Armigeri Dm. Robert LOVETT militis de Liscomb in agno Buckinghamiensi Filii, qui amos plus minus quinquagesima habitabat ubiduas duxit uxores quarum una fuit Elizabetha filia Gulielmi PAGE Gen. Altera Joanna Filia Jacoba HEARLE Geu. hoc ipse vivus et praesens sibi affixit monumentm. A.D. 1702 aetates suae 74."
(Translated roughly and partially from Latin): "Edward LOVETT, armiger, son of Sir Robert LOVETT of Liscombe in Buckinghamshire... married Elizabeth, daughter of William PAGE, married second Joanna, daughter of James HEARLE, the same who presented this monument. Died 1702, his age 74." A second monument for Joan HEARLE Lovett gives her death date as noted above "in the 67th yeare of her age." There were no other Lovett entries, and no Combe entries in the IGI for Braunton.
2.14 Penelope LOVETT, born 1628, baptised 4 Nov 1628, Soulbury, Bucks; buried 1 Feb 1629, Soulbury, Bucks
This first Penelope (see below), her baptism recorded in Soulbury parish records as "filia Roberti," does not appear in other records, undoubtedly because she died so young.
2.15 Christopher LOVETT, born 1630; baptised 11 Apr 1630, Soulbury, Bucks; died 1679, Dublin, Ireland; buried 2 Mar 1679/80; married 7 May 1657, St. John the Evangelist, Dublin, Ireland, Frances MOORE of Ireland, born ?; died 1715.
The Lovett Memorials (correctly) refer to Christopher as the "5th son of Robert LOVETT, of Liscombe Bucks" even though they do not include eldest son, John. The Visitations of Bucks state that Christopher married daughter (unnamed) of "Piered MOORE of ye quens Count in Ireland." The Lovett Memorials state that Christopher married Frances, "daughter of Roger O'MORE, Prince of Leix, by his wife, a daughter of O'REILLEY, Prince of Brefney." Burke states that Christopher's wife, "Frances O'MORE was daughter and heiress of Roger O'MORE, the descendant and representative of the great family of the O'MORES, Princes of Leix, who great estates had been forfeited in the reign of Elizabeth." The History of Bucks states that "Christopher LOVETT, Esq. Sheriff and Lord Mayor of Dublin.= Frances, dau. of Prizad O'MORE, of Ireland." The marriage record lists her as Frances MOORE (which may have simply been the customary anglicization practiced by the English in Ireland).
Christopher may have been the namesake of an earlier Christopher of Chesham, Bucks, whose relationship (if any) to Sir Robert remains unknown (See Drapers). On 8 Jul 1646, Christopher (son of "Robert of Liscombe Bucks mil dec,") was apprenticed as a Draper by "Dna Ana LOVELL" [sic] to Robert MOWLSWORTH (MOLESWORTH) whose will is lost, but is indexed in Dublin for the year 1656. MOWLSORTH had apparently transferred Christopher's apprenticeship since Roger LAMBERT is listed as his second "master" when he attained his freedman status as a citizen of London on 15 Mar 1653. By 1655, he was in Dublin, where he was apparently residing on 10 Apr 1656, when his nephew, Archdale COMBE (s/o John and Elizabeth LOVETT Combe), was apprenticed to him for eight years (after which, no further record).
According to Burke, Christopher LOVETT "at the time of the Restoration [May 1660], was settled in Turkey as a merchant, but removed in 1660, to Dublin, of which city he became sheriff and lord mayor." It is possible Christopher resided in Turkey between 1659 and 1661, but he was in Dublin in May 1657 when he married, and on 18 Apr 1658, his eldest son, Christopher, was baptised there at St. John the Evangelist. In 1662 Christopher is recorded by the Drapers as paying quarterage in Dublin and in 1663, his daughter Elizabeth was also baptised at St. John's. In 1664, his daughter, Mary, was baptised at St. John's, but from then until 1670, when his son, Francis was baptised, there is no further record of him (as yet - research in progress). In 1673, a daughter, Hana, was baptised at St. John's, followed by Rebeckah in 1674, Arable (Arabella) in 1676 and Edward in 1678. In 1677, "Alderman Christopher Lovett" leased a linen factory at Chapelizod (a village near Dublin), and Christopher apparently died in Dublin in 1679, the year given in the Dublin Archives index to wills (will not extant) under "Christopher LOVETT, deceased 1679." He was Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1676-7, and is also referred to in Ulster records for 1679 as "Christopher LOVETT, Alderman of Dublin."
Robert MOWLSWORTH was deeply involved in the Irish wars and adventures, and Christopher may have soldiered in Ireland during his apprenticeship, as he was apparently the same who was granted land in Kilkenny, Ireland.
2.16 Arabella LOVETT, baptised 10 Jan 1632/3, Soulbury, Bucks; died ?; married(?) Charles PLAYDELL, Esq., born ?; died ?.
Arabella's baptismal record lists her as "Arabella LOVET filia Roberti" and she is listed in the Visitations with no additional information. No marriage record has been located and her marriage to Charles PLAYDELL, Esq. is found only in Burke, his source unknown. The LDS Ancestral Files include a Charles PLEYDELL who may be of interest: Charles PLEYDELL, born abt 1574, of Midge Hill (aka Mudge Hill), Wilts; married Catherine BOURCHIER of Gloucestershire (d/o Thomas and Bridget BOURCHIER, gs/o Anthony and Thomasine MILDMAY Bourchier). Charles and Catherine are listed as the parents of an Elizabeth BOURCHIER, born abt 1660, of Midge Hill, Wilts; buried 1669, "Lydiard, Wiltz." A Charles PLEYDELL is in the IGI, christened in 1615 in Lydiard, s/o Charles PLEYDELL. (Ed. Note: There is a marriage in this family to a Benjamin CULME (but I can't log in to IGI right now to get it).
2.17 Lawrence LOVETT, born 1634; baptised 2 Mar 1633/4, Soulbury, Bucks; died 2 Oct 1698; buried Soulbury, Bucks; married bef 1680, Margaret UNKNOWN, born abt 1630; died 1 Apr 1707; buried 2 Apr 1707, Soulbury, Bucks.
Lawrence is listed in the Visitations of Bucks as the youngest son of Sir Robert with no further information. His baptism is recorded in Soulbury parish records. The monument of his brother, Robert, in Soulbury church includes the statement that "Here also lyeth interred in this vault Lawrence LOVETT, (1) younger Brother of the said Robert LOVETT, who departed this life the 2nd day of October 1698, in the 65th year of his age." No record of his marriage has been found. Margaret's death is inscribed at Soulbury Church as "Margaret LOVETT wife of Lawrence LOVETT died, April 1, 1707 aged 77." Burke refers to him as "Laurence, of Eythorp" and states that he left two daughters, Sarah, wife of the Rev. William BUTTERFIELD, and Susannah, who married (1) "HORTON, esq." and (2) Col. John LOVETT (her first cousin, s/o Christopher and Frances O'MORE Lovett). "Eythorp" has not yet been located (a manor or house?), and no christening records for Sarah and Susan have been located, but Sarah married William BUTTERFIELD 12 Jun 1679, Addington, Bucks, and Susannah married John HORTON 17 May 1686, Middle Claydon, Bucks; and (as Susanna HORTEN) John LOVETT 3 Dec 1691 Quainton, Bucks. They apparently removed to Dublin very shortly since their eldest son, Robert, was christened at St. John the Evangelist on 29 Nov 1692.

Sources


Lovett Lineages (including Visitations and Burkes)

Ecclesiastical Memorials of the Lovett Family by R. J. Arden Lovett, Osten (Belgium)

Genealogical Achievement of The Lovett Family from "The History and Antiquities of the County of Buckingham"

Mr. Lovett Out of Iorland by E. Neville Lovett, 1941

Middle Temple, London, England

Archdales, Combes and Lovetts &c. of the Drapers Company of London

Cambridge University

Descendants of John and Margaret ARCHDALE Combe, Sr.

The Aylet Family of Essex (Penelope AYLETT having married Robert, son of Sir Robert LOVETT)

Braunton, Devonshire

Chesham, Buckinghamshire

Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, England

Combe Martin, Devonshire

Dinton, Buckinghamshire, England

Dublin, Ireland

Haddenham, Buckinghamshire

Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire

Oxfordshire, England

Soulbury, Buckinghamshire

Sparsholt, Berkshire

St. Mary the Virgin Aldermanbury, London

Tawstock, Devonshire

Wotton Underwood, Buckinghamshire, England

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