The Bond Line, A Narrative — Three

This is Chapter Three of seven: Digging deeper into our Cornwall ancestors— from Erth Barton, to Holwood Manor.

Wessex, one of the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England, was land which now approximates the modern counties of Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, and Somerset, and eventually expanded westward to cover Devon and Cornwall.

This may be how the name Bondi, came to be identified as the Bonds of Erth, who were located near the border of Devon and Cornwall, near Plymouth Sound. We do not know when our ancestors arrived in Penryn, Cornwall, but we do know that about the year 1400 our ancestor Robert Bond (of Penryn) married Elizabeth de Erth (Earth) and that upon that marriage, the Bonds of Erth began. (1)

Map of Cornwall and the South West, extracted from the map of England by Matthew Paris, circa 1250. The names Cornwall, Devon, and Somerset are large labels written in blue and red ink, with Dorset written in red ink. (Map detail courtesy of World History Encyclopedia).

The Cornish Gentry

Gentry is defined as an old English word signifying people from a high social class, i.e. the landed gentry.

The names of most of the Cornish gentry are local — “The Cornish,” says Carew, “entitle one another with his owne and his father’s Christian name, and conclude with the place of his dwelling.” Carew was the author of the 1602 edition of the Survey of Cornwall.

The practice of families taking their names from the place of their abode, with the addition of de, was, at an early period, more or less prevalent throughout England. “Bond, of Earth, near Saltash, married the heiress of an ancient family, who took their name from that Barton [the manor house of a farm].”

Trematon Castle, Cornwall by Petit W Le, after T Allom,
published 1830 by Fisher, Son & Co. London.

Before the Duchy of Cornwall was created, as an annex to the English crown in 1337, Trematon Castle was one of four principal residences of the Earls of Cornwall. (2)

Hugh de Erth and His Descendants

We first learned about the de Erth family with the mention of both Hugh and William de Erth in a long-titled book — A Continuation of the Complete History of England: containing the lives and reigns of Edward I, II & III and Richard the Second by Robery Brady, published in 1700. (This is the only historical reference we have found for William de Erth.)

On page 78 of that book, Brady writes that in 1304, the Terms given to, and accepted by John Comyn [terms of submission by the Scots after the last insurrection] … “These things are agreed on with Monsieur Richard de Burgh, earl of Ulster, Monsieur Aymer de Valance, … Monsieur Henry de Percy, Knights, and John Comyn of Badenagh, for Himself and his Aydants of Scotland, … in the Name  of the King, … Monsieur Hugh de Erth, Monsieur William de Erth, Monsieur James de Ross, … Knights, for themselves and all their Scots assistants, who would be sworn in the Peace and Faith of the King, were Sworn.

Hence, Hugh de Erth was sworn as a Knight for his faithful service in battles for King Edward I, who reigned from A.D. 1272 – 1307. Edward was also known as Edward Longshanks, and the Hammer of the Scots. Hugh de Erth must have been very brave and valiant in battles to catch the attention of the King. Here is a little background:
24 February 1303: The Battle of Roslin takes place between English and Scottish forces at Roslin, south of Edinburgh, resulting in a Scottish victory. 
– An irritated and impatient man, King Edward I, in May 1303, invaded Scotland once more, with a view to subjugating the country once and for all. 
3 February 1304: The Community of Scotland under the Guardianship of John III Comyn agrees to a peace treaty with King Edward I.

A Continuation of the Complete History of England…by Robery Brady, 1700.
Detail excerpt from page 78. Note the use of the French language.

Obviously, King Edward I and his successors thought highly of the de Erth family from Cornwall. In 1299, Henry de Erth was born in Erth, St. Stephens Parish, Cornwall. His father was Sir Hugh de Erth, Knight, but his mother’s name is unrecorded. (Possibly her name could have been Helena Beckstead?)

In research from nearly a century ago, Allen Kerr Bond wrote in The Story of The Bonds of Earth“The first mention of Earth in history that I can find, is in the English Calendar of Patent Rolls for 1337 A.D. (for King Edward III) when Henry de Erth [a Knight] is made Constable of the strong castle of Tremerton [Trematon], a few miles from Earth. Although this Knight of Earth was not a Bond, it was by marriage with one of his heiress descendants a little later that the first Bond came to Earth as its knightly possessor…” Henry de Erth had been bestowed these lands for services rendered to John of Eltham, the Earl of Cornwall, and the brother of King Edward III who reigned from A.D. 1327-1377. (Note: Kerr Bond uses the spelling Earth while we have chosen to use the original spelling Erth).

It must have been nice to be “in good” with the royal family. Hugh de Erth’s son, Sir Henry de Erth, was also a Knight, and apparently a very good friend and servant to John of Eltham, the Duke of Cornwall, a younger brother of King Edward III.

Excerpts from the 1337 Calendar of the Patent Rolls
for Edward III A. D. 1334-1338. From pages 382-383, 395, and 509.

There are (shown above) three excerpts from the 1337 Calendar of the Patent Rolls for Edward III A. D. 1334-1338, which identify Sir Henry de Erth specifically. The first two are the most important:
– The first excerpt endows him with the constableship of Tremonton Castle, which is a Knight’s role.
– The second excerpt reinforces the first endowment, establishes the terms, and recognizes Sir Henry de Erth’s long time services to John of Eltham. It further identifies Henry’s role as a “baneour”. That important role is the chief standard-bearer of the King; a Knight Banneret. John of Eltham was a warrior prince and Henry would have been right there in battle, beside him. In 1333, King Edward III made his greatest expedition against Scotland, resulting in the capture and permanent annexation to England of the strong Scottish border fortress of Berwick.

A medieval depiction of King Edward III at the siege of Berwick.
The Knight Banneret carrying the square-shaped banner is Sir Henry de Erth.
Here is the original context of the Sir Henry de Erth image, as found in a French illuminated manuscript. (See footnotes).

Sir Henry de Erth’s son Geoffrey de Erth, was likely born at Erth in St. Stephen’s Parish, Saltash, and died circa 1405. Geoffrey had a daughter named Elizabeth de Erth. As the heiress of Erth, she was his favored daughter — her birth is estimated to be circa 1375. Elizabeth is written about (below) in Our Erth Ancestors. (3)

Nearby is the Village of Saltash, Cornwall, England, Courtesy of Magna Britannia, Vol. III — Cornwall, circa 1814. (Image courtesy of Archive.org).

Where on Earth was Erth?

The Erth settlement, or estate, was likely located on the Lynher river, which connected to Plymouth Sound, not very far from the village of Trematon. From the book, The Bonds of Earth, by Allen Kerr Bond: “The great harbor of Plymouth, marking the beginning of the line of boundary between Cornwall and Devonshire; and beside a little river of Cornwall which enters this great harbor is the homestead ‘Earth’ or ‘Erth’, the ancient dwelling of the Bonds of Cornwall.

Richard Carew (1555-1620), Aged 32, as High-Sherriff and Deputy-Lieutenant of Cornwall. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).

A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. I, provides two relevant (but unattributed) references. The second entry follows: “In following the course of the Lyner [the Lynher river], you fall down by Master Bond’s ancient house at Erth, descended to his ancestors from a daughter and heir of that name”. We discovered that this quote was taken from The Survey of Cornwall by Richard Carew, published in 1602.

Carew’s Survey of Cornwall, page 111, published 1602.

In the “Table of the Second Booke” Bond is listed as being in the East Hundred, [similar to a county]. This is the easternmost county of Cornwall. This table falls near the end of the book.

Our research led us to add many new sources which confirm the establishment of the Bond family at Erth. (4)

We cited the two books in the top row left and center, in our writing about Hugh de Erth and His Descendants. Excerpts from the other four sources are situated below:

The Parochial History of Cornwall, Vol. 3, page 465, published 1838.

Note: Galfridus is an Anglo-Norman variant of the name Geoffrey.

The Battle Abbey Roll , page 138, published 1889.
Magna Britannia, page 290, published 1814.
Magna Britannia, page c, published 1814.
Magna Britannia, page cxxxii, published 1814.

Our Erth Ancestors

We know some of the lineage of the de Erth line and the names of some of the early family. For the de Erth family, their gentry status within the Cornish society, we can infer: 1) Their names are location-based and so they must be from the landowning classes. 2) In a feudal society, land was power and so this placed them well above most Englishmen.

This map is included to show the difference in location from Penryn to Erth, Cornwall. Trains travelling from Penryn to Saltash cover a distance of around 43 miles (69 km) during the journey. Our ancestors could have easily sailed from one location to the other.


 [Cornwall] Cornubia sive Cornwallia, by Willem Janszoon Blaeu, Amsterdam, circa 1650.
The circled areas indicate Penryn on the left, and Erth on the right.
(Image courtesy of Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps).

The deErth and Penryn ancestors for whom we have records, are listed below interspersed with important historical points. All births and deaths were in Cornwall, England, unless noted. For the Bonds of Penryn, we show a list only, as we have no knowledge of them as persons; how they lived, their education, and little of their professions.

When Goffery de Erth died, (Hugh de Erth and His Descendants section), the next owner of Erth Barton was Robert Bond of Penryn, who had married his daughter, Elizabeth de Erth.

  1. Robert Bond was born est. 1370, in Penryn, Cornwall and died est.1434 at Erth, Saltash, Cornwall . He married Elizabeth de Erth who was born est. 1375 and died est. 1434. Elizabeth was likely born at Erth, Saltash, Cornwall and died in the same location. The Barton of Erth is located in St. Stephen Parish. As a result of this advantageous marriage, the Bonds of Penryn became the Bonds of Erth, and Robert Bond vastly increased his landholdings.
Ancient Family Crest for de Erth
Ancient Family Crest for Bond

Elizabeth and Robert had three sons, all born at Erth, Saltash, Cornwall:
– Thomas born est. 1400 – death date unknown
– Robert born est. 1408 – death date unknown
Richard born est. 1410 and died est. 1462
We are descended from Richard Bond — He remained at Erth and continued the direct family line there. His brother Robert, is the founder of the Dorset Branch of the Bond family.

1387: John Trevisa of Cornwall wrote the first book about England in the English language (previously Latin was the language most frequently used by authors).

2. Richard Bond born est. 1410 at Erth, Saltash, Cornwall and died est. 1462 in the same place. Richard married first Elizabeth Maynard est. 1400-1430 of Dorset, and subsequently after her death he married, in 1434, her sister, Agenta ‘Agnes’ Maynard who was born est. 1411 in Dorset and died est. 1470 at Erth, Saltash, Cornwall. It has been written that Agnes Maynard was an heiress of an old Cornish family said to be descended from Irish kings.

John Burke, Esq. wrote A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, in 4 Volumes, published between 1833-1838. According to Burke: “Richard, of Earth , who m. in 1434 , (during the reign of 12th Henry VI) Agnes, second daughter and co-heiress of Richard Maynard, and their posterity were still residing at Earth at the visitation of Cornwall , anno 1620 . The Bonds, of Holwood, in the same county, were a younger branch of those of Earth , and are now represented by Thomas Bond in the county of Cornwall.

Ancient Family Crest for Maynard in Cornwall, and Essex

Richard and Agnes had two sons: Thomas and Richard.
(We are descended from Thomas).

3. Thomas Bond was born est. 1440 and died est. 1510, both at Erth, Saltash, Cornwall. (The website findagrave.com states Thomas was born in 1450, but that would make him a pre-teen when married!)

Thomas Bond married Elizabeth Kendall of Duloe, Cornwall, date unknown. She was born est. 1445 in Duloe to Richard and Jane (Penpons) Kendall and died est. 1516 at Erth, Saltash, Cornwall. Thomas and Elizabeth are buried in the ancient St. Stephen Churchyard in Saltash, Cornwall, England.

Ancient Family Crest for Kendall

Thomas and Elizabeth had three children, all born at Erth, Saltash, Cornwall.
– John born est. 1462 – death date unknown
– William (Willms) born est. 1465 – death est. 1529 also at Erth, Cornwall
(We are descended from William).
– Agenta born est. 1467 – death date unknown.

1485: Polydore Vergil, an Italian cleric commissioned by King Henry VII to write a history of England, states that “The whole country of Britain is divided into four parts, whereof the one is inhabited by Englishmen, the other of Scots, the third of Welshmen, the fourth of Cornish people … and which all differ among themselves either in tongue, either in manners, or else in laws and ordinances.” 

4. William (Willms) Bond married Jane Gibbs of Dorset about 1500. She was born est. 1480 in Dorset and died est. 1539 at Erth, Saltash, Cornwall. Both are buried in St. Stephen Parish churchyard in Saltash.

William and Jane had three children at Erth, Saltash:
– William II born est. 1503 – death date unknown
– Richard born 1507 and died 1553 at Erth.
(We are descended from Richard).
– Elizabeth est. 1509 – death date unknown. She was married three times; William Killigrewe, Robert Trevisa, and John Piper.

1498: Plague, a.k.a. the Black Death which one of the most devastating pandemics in human history sweeps England.

Portrait of Henry VIII of England (1491-1547), by Meynnart Wewyck, circa 1509.
(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).

1509: Henry VIII’s coronation procession includes “nine children of honour” representing England and France, Gascony, Guienne, Normandy, Anjou, Cornwall, Wales and Ireland. 

Oh No! 1509-1510 More Plague in Cornwall...

1533-1540 Henry VIII founds Church of England and commences the Reformation. Dissolution of the Monasteries including Glasney College in Penryn (Part One). 

5. Richard Bond was born September 22, 1507 and died December 20, 1553, both at Erth, Saltash, Cornwall. In 1530, Richard married Elizabeth Coriton of Saltash, Cornwall, daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Coryton/Coriton. Why the spelling of the Coryton name changed is unknown . Elizabeth was the widow of John Batten. The Coritons (Coryton) were an old family who as far back as 1250 were seated at Coryton in Devonshire. Elizabeth was born est. 1508 in Saltash, Cornwall. Her death date is unknown but she most likely died at Erth, Saltash, Cornwall.

Richard and Elizabeth had seven children. Their son, Thomas Bond, was born est. 1532 at Erth Barton, Saltash, Cornwall and died in 1600 at Fulham, London, England. (We are descended from Thomas, see The Bond Line, A Narrative — Four) (5)

Ancient Family Crest for Coryton

1545: The captain of Henry VIII’s ship the Mary Rose, Roger Grenville of Stowe (father of Sir Richard Grenville of the Revenge) dies in the sinking of the ship. This ship was acting as the flagship of vice-admiral Sir George Carew when the ship was struck by a squall and sank at Spithead (Portsmouth) on July 19th. Comment: In the 1980s, our parents toured the recovered and restored ship wreck, Mary Rose, at the Cleveland Historical Society at University Circle, Cleveland, Ohio.

It should be noted that the Bonds of Erth continued through Thomas’s brother, William Bond, who married Katherine Fitz de Ford and carried on the family Bonds of Erth. There are indications that other children and their decedents moved north of Quethiock to an area known as Tresunger in St. Endellion, County Cornwall. (5)

Historic Ordnance Survey Map of Devonport, 1899-1900,
for the extracted detail of Erth Barton, Cornwall.
(Image courtesy of The Francis Frith Collection, see footnotes.).

Erth Barton

The ancient ancestral Bond Estate is located close to the small city of Saltash in Cornwall, near Plymouth Sound. The Erth House is a Norman Manor House, and the Barton, or Farm, was once called Goffery Manor, in the 9th Century AD.

In 1610, a study was commissioned to determine if Erth House was the oldest building in Cornwall, and the conclusion was that it indeed was the oldest building due to large sections of the interior structure being intact. It did however, receive remodeling in the 17th century.  It is documented as a “barton at Erth held by Golfridus [Geoffrey] de Earth temp Henry IV (1399-1413)”. The building is today a country manor Bed and Breakfast with the same name.

The present day Erth Barton looks like a nice place to stay if you are in the Cornwall, England area. When I wrote about glancing backward in the preface for The Bond Line, A Narrative — Two, I now realize that if I had earlier attained this level of scholarship about family genealogy — I (Thomas) would certainly have found a pathway for our parents to see the significant, original Bond estate. (6)

Quite Quintessentially Quethiocke – Our Holwood Ancestors

6. Thomas Bond married Jone (maiden name unknown) about 1560 and acquired the Holwood estate by marriage with Jone. She had probably inherited it from her family. Jone was the widow of T. Tome and had a daughter named Sable Tome. From the website findagrave.com for Thomas Bond(e) the following is a description of Holwood, the estate of Thomas and Jone Bond. “Thomas Bonde, a younger son, left Earth and located at Holwood, a seat higher up the river Lyner, of very great antiquity,… from him descend the family of ‘Bonds of Erth and Holwood.’ … Gilbert describes the place as “a fine estate abounding in tillage and pasture lands, excellent timber and fruits.” Holwood is 2 miles west of Quethiock Parish, Cornwall. It is also about seven miles northwest of the Bonds of Erth, Saltash, also in County Cornwall.

Depending upon who was recording the information, the new parish was called Quethiocke, which had been known by other names. According to Bannister’s Glossary of Names: “The parish, formerly called Quethiocke, Quedic, Queidike, and Cruetheke, means ‘The weaver’s place (gwia) to weave’. And from genuki.org:
“The parish of Quethiock, (Cornish: Gwydhek), is pronounced ‘Gwithick’; anciently called Cruetheke… It is named after the Old Cornish for a wooded place”.

Holwood Manor on the River Lynher, Cornwall. Quethiocke Parish is shown at top center.
Historic Ordnance Survey Map of Doddycross, 1900.
(Image courtesy of The Francis Frith Collection, see footnotes.).
Quethiock Church & Its Interior Manuments
Gilbert’s An Historical Survey of the County of Cornwall, 1820 edition, page 462.

7. William Bond, the only child of Thomas and Jone Bond, was born in 1561 at Holewood Manor, Quethiock, County Cornwall and died there in 1610. In 1582 William married Jane Sproue, daughter of Thomas Sproue of Northill. Children born to this marriage were: Eleanor 1583 (wife of Hugh Rositer), Thomas 1584 (the Second, of Holwood), Susanna 1587 (wife of Peter Hunt), John 1689, Christopher 1591, Anna 1593 (wife of Richard Roberts), and (possibly) Richard 1594. Jane (Sproue) Bond died, death date unknown.

At some point in time, we know that Thomas removed from Holwood and moved to Fulham, London, England. We can only speculate why and when this occurred. His young son, William, became “the lord of the manor”. We will elaborate on Thomas Bond of Fulham in The Bond Line, A Narrative — Four.

Sir Roger Moore as James Bond 007.
Clearly perplexed, he’s likely trying to sort out the endless stream of male ancestors
named “William Bond” over the generations. (Image courtesy of Digital Spy).

After the death of his first wife, Jane, William Bond married a second time about 1606, to Wilmot Haughton, widow of Philip Stroud. Wilmot was born about 1570 at Haughton Towers in Lancashire, England to William and Anne (DeVerney) Haughton. Wilmot’s death at Holwood Manor is estimated about 1633. To this marriage two sons were born: William Bond 1608 (our ancestor) and his brother Peter Bond 1610. We will follow our ancestor William Bond in Section Four.

Thomas, the first born son of William and Jane (Sproue) Bond, most likely inherited Holwood Manor, as cited below, by the reign of Charles II (1660-1685). In the following generations of the William and Jane (Sproue) Bond’s family there are several males named William. As the generations grew it is likely that Thomas (b. 1688, son of William, b. 1663), had likely inherited Holwood. However, he “died without offspring”. In his will, dated April 18, 1723, he left all of his lands to Richard, his first cousin… with “the provision that he make either the mansion of Earth or Holwood his principle place of residence, under penalty of forfeiture of all lands so demised.” Richard chose Holwood, but he also died without offspring. With their deaths, Erth and Holwood probably passed out of the family’s hands.

A description of Holwood.
Gilbert’s An Historical Survey of the County of Cornwall, 1820 edition, page 465.
Magna Britannia, vol. 3, page 274.

Our line of the Bonds of Erth and Holwood were minor political players, still mostly concerned with tending to their country manor houses, with their plantations, and Devon cattle. Eventually, some of the Bond cousins of the Dorset line would become rather prominent in London, but that is not our direct lineage. Some in our line stayed at Erth, some went just a bit north to Holwood for a few generations, and some went to Fulham, London. (7)

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials,
Notes, and Observations

(1) — one record

Britannica
Wessex
https://www.britannica.com/place/Wessex-historical-kingdom

The Cornish Gentry

(2) — two records

World History Encyclopedia
Matthew Paris’ Map of Britain
https://www.worldhistory.org/image/14133/matthew-paris-map-of-britain/
Note: For the Map of Cornwall and the South West, extracted from the map of England by Matthew Paris, circa 1250.

BHO | British History Online
General history: Gentry
Cornish Gentry
https://www.british-history.ac.uk/magna-britannia/vol3/xcviii-cxviii

Hugh de Erth and His Descendants

(3) — thirteen records

A Continuation of the Complete History of England:
Containing the Lives and Reigns of Edward I, II & III and Richard the Second 
by Robery Brady, 1627 — 1700
https://wellcomecollection.org/works/evc94t65
and
https://wellcomecollection.org/works/evc94t65/items?canvas=88
Book page: 78, Digital page: 88/636.

The Story of The Bonds of Earth
by Allen Kerr Bond
https://archive.org/details/storyofbondsofea00bond/mode/2up
Book page: 1-2, Digital page: 15-16/299.

Three mentions of Henry de Erth in the
Calendar of the Patent Rolls for Edward III A. D. 1334-1338:
Excerpt One: Membrane 39
Book page: 383, Digital page: 395/820, Located about halfway down the page. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015011275826&view=1up&seq=395&skin=2021
Excerpt Two: Membrane 32
Book page: 382-393, Digital page: 405/820, Located near the bottom and at the top of the next page.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015011275826&view=1up&seq=405&skin=2021
Excerpt Three: Membrane 6
Book page: 497, Digital page 509/820, Located near the bottom and at the top of the next page.
“Henry de Erth had been bestowed these lands for services rendered to John of Eltham, the Earl of Cornwall, and brother of Edward II.”

Many Mini Biographies
Bond Family History in England
by Rodney Bond
http://www.teachergenealogist007.com/2009/12/bond-256-257.html

Henry DeErth
https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/84073441/person/32503277148/facts

Geoffrey DeErth
https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/58654237/person/44036735936/facts

Knight Banneret
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_banneret

Outer book cover artwork for:
Les nouvelles Croniques de France et d’Angleterre, made and compiled by Jehan Froissart

The Seige of Berwick (1333) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Berwick_(1333)
and for the illustration link:
File:Edouard III devant Berwick.jpg
Note: Here is the painting in its original context:
BnF Archives et Manuscrits, Français 2643 -2646
Chroniques sire JEHAN FROISSART ». Français 2643
Froissart, Jean (1337?-1410?). Auteur du texte
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84386043/f90#

BONDWORLD
Bond, Where Did You Come From?
(An interesting personal reflection of Bond family history by Peter Bond)
https://web.archive.org/web/20150515032419/http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/bondworld/page03.htm

Where on Earth was Erth?

(4) — seven records

Richard Carew (1555-1620), aged 32,
as High Sheriff & Deputy-Lieutenant of Cornwall
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:British_%28English%29_School_-_Richard_Carew_%281555–1620%29,_Aged_32,_as_High-Sherrif_and_Deputy-Lieutenant_of_Cornwall_-_352348_-_National_Trust.jpg
Note: For his portrait.

Carew’s Survey of Cornwall
by Richard Carew, of Antoine, Esq.
https://archive.org/details/surveycornwalla00caregoog/page/n250/mode/2up?view=theater
Book page: 111, Digital page: 251/377

The Parochial History of Cornwall, Vol. III
Founded on the manuscript histories of Mr. Hals and Mr. Tonkin, with
with additions and various appendices by Davies Gilbert, 1838
https://archive.org/details/parochialhistory03gilb/page/464/mode/2up
Book page: 465, Digital page: 464/470

The Battle Abbey Roll
by The Duchess of Cleveland
https://archive.org/details/battleabbeyrollw01battuoft/page/n5/mode/2up
Book page: 138, Digital page: 138/352

Magna Brittanica, Being a Concise Topographical Account
of the Several Counties of Great Britain, Volume The Third
by Rev. Daniel Lysons and Samuel Lysons, Esq., 1814
https://archive.org/details/magnabrittanicab03lyso/page/n7/mode/2up
Book page: 290, Digital page: 291/360
Book page: C, Digital page: 124/780
Book page: cxxxii, Digital page: 156/780
Digital page: 650/780 (for the Village of Saltash illustration)

Our Erth Ancestors

(5) — ten records

Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps
 [Cornwall] Cornubia sive Cornwallia
by Willem Janszoon Blaeu, Amsterdam, circa 1650
https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/111054
Note: For the map image.

An Historical Survey of the County of Cornwall: to which is added, a complete heraldry, by C. S. Gilbert, 1817 (This edition contains the heraldry bookplates.)
https://wellcomecollection.org/works/g68eerr8/items?canvas=9
Note 1: Book page: 30, Digital page: 30/441, for the Bond family reference.
Note 2: For five Coat of Arms, as follows:
– Bond Coat of Arms, Plate VI (6)
– De Erth Coat of Arms, Plate XIII (13)
– Coryton Coat of Arms, Plate VI (6)
– Kendall Coat of Arms, Plate XV (15)
– Maynard Coat of Arms, Plate XVII (17)
Note 3: The Maynard family coat of arms (as demonstrated in Gilbert’s book),
may be a localized Cornwall variation. Excerpted from the Description found in this file: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maynard_%28of_Easton,_Essex%29_Arms.svg , as follows:
Maynard Baronets, Baron Maynard, Viscount Maynard. Descended from Maynard of Sherford in the parish of Brixton, Devon (as is stated on monument to Sir Henty Maynard (d.1610).
The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds’ Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.561); Sherford located in parish of Brixton per Risdon, Tristram, Survey of Devon, 1811 edition, London, 1811, with 1810 Additions, p.392.

A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland…
by John Burke
https://archive.org/details/genealogicalheral01burk/page/n27/mode/2up

IntoCornwall.com
Cornwall History Timeline
https://www.intocornwall.com/features/cornwall-history-timeline.asp

Portrait of Henry VIII of England (1491-1547)
by Meynnart Wewyck, circa 1509.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HenryVIII_1509.jpg
Note: For his portrait.

Robert of Penryn Bond
https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/50985043/person/27101647611/facts

Thomas Bond
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/175760445/thomas-bond
Elizabeth Kendall Bond
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/175760509/elizabeth_bond
Note: For burial references at St. Stephen Churchyard, Saltash, Cornwall.

The Story of The Bonds of Earth
by Allen Kerr Bond
https://archive.org/details/storyofbondsofea00bond/mode/2up
Book page: 37-47, Digital page: 36-46/299

Erth Barton

(6) — three records

The Francis Frith Collection
Historic Ordnance Survey Map of Devonport, 1899-1900
https://www.francisfrith.com/devonport/map-of-devonport-1899-1900_rnc690529
Note: For the discreet map image of Erth Barton’s location.

Heritage Gateway
Historic England Research Records
Earth Barton
https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=436604&resourceID=19191
Note: For ownership details

The present day country manor bed and breakfast: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g209971-d310884-Reviews-Erth_Barton-Saltash_Cornwall_England.html

Quite Quintessentially QuethiockeOur Holwood Ancestors

(7) – thirteen records

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is bannisterss-glossary-.jpg

A Glossary of Cornish Names
by John Bannister, 1871
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo1.ark:/13960/t2s477p68&view=2up&seq=160

GENUKI, UK and Ireland Genealogy
Quethiock
https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/CON/Quethiock

Geni
William Bond, of Holewood
https://www.geni.com/people/William-Bond-of-Holewood/6000000174135300843

An Illustrated Postal Directory, Twenty Parishes in East Cornwall, page 125, circa 1901.

An Illustrated Postal Directory, Twenty Parishes in East Cornwall
for The New Century
by Venning and Birkbeck, third edition 1901
Book page: 228, Digital page: 228/280, for “Holwood or Holloughwood”
https://archive.org/details/illustratedposta00venn/page/n33/mode/2up?view=theater

The Francis Frith Collection
Historic Ordnance Survey Map of Doddycross, 1900
https://www.francisfrith.com/trehawke/map-of-doddycross-1900_rnc691465
Note: For the discreet images of Holwood and Quethiocke Parish.

Gilbert’s An Historical Survey of the County of Cornwall, 1820 edition.

An Historical Survey of the County of Cornwall:
To Which Is Added, A Complete Heraldry
by C. S. Gilbert, 1820
https://archive.org/details/b2201195x_0002/page/n7/mode/2up?view=theater Book page: Frontispiece, Digital page: 8/1082
and here:
https://wellcomecollection.org/works/g68eerr8/items?canvas=9
Note: For both versions, this edition did NOT contain heraldry bookplates.

Magna Brittanica, Being a Concise Topographical Account
of the Several Counties of Great Britain, Volume The Third
by Rev. Daniel Lysons and Samuel Lysons, Esq., 1814
Holloughwood, or Holwood Manor
Book page: 274 (bottom) — 275 (top), Digital page: 274-275/361, for
https://archive.org/details/magnabrittanicab03lyso/page/274/mode/2up

BHO | British History Online
Parishes: Quethiock – Ruan Minor
Quethiock, or Quithiock
https://www.british-history.ac.uk/magna-britannia/vol3/pp274-280

The Richard Bond Family in America
by Rev. Thomas A. Bond, Abbey of the Genesee, 1981
Microfilmed by the Genealogical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 9, 1986
(Item 14, Project and Roll XLIB 7-102 2017, G.S. Call 1321093)

Richard Bond and desendents [sic]
https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/10403921/person/6979535919/media/5f0ecfd9-3dd2-4c1a-a1ab-bfb0e84b19f6?_phsrc=qGQ3868&_phstart=successSource

IntoCornwall.com
Cornwall History Timeline
https://www.intocornwall.com/features/cornwall-history-timeline.asp

Digital Spy
Sir Roger Moore, star of James Bond, has sadly died aged 89
https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a829011/sir-roger-moore-james-bond-obituary-dies/
Note: For his portrait.

The Ancient Bonds of Erth — One, Family Heraldry

This is Chapter One of seven: Please start here — everything will be explained in due time. We’re not in a rush.

Introduction: Hollywood Has Really Messed Things Up

If you think about classic movies like The Adventures of Robin Hood, or Monty Python and the Holy Grail, viewers have the sanitized impression that the Middle Ages were a lot of fun and games, hither ’n yon, etc., but of course… we all know that just wasn’t true.

There were a lot of wars, people were stressed out, dry cleaners didn’t exist, and worst of all (!), there was no Tylenol available for those tension headaches after a night of drinking too much “mulled wine”. But our ancestors, resourceful as they were, somehow pulled through. We know, we’ve got their genes.

The costume designer obviously had a “bedazzled” phase with that Pegasus motif.

At some point, our ancestors switched from eating like this:

We still eat like this — especially when we get a bucket of Extra Crispy at KFC.

To eating like this:

We wonder what type of family crest they had at Downton Abbey?

Surely, we jest? But there is signifigance in what a Pegasus heraldry symbol meant to the other troops, and what the finally laid table of an upperclass British family meant to the villagers: there was always an audience looking on.

When it comes to the ancient deErth family and the ancient Bond family, we had heraldry for a purpose. Let us explain… (1)

Let’s Pause for a Moment to Look at Symbolic Thinking

We all know what these symbols mean, right? Creating and adding meaning to symbols is a uniquely human trait. As such, symbolic thinking is a feature which sets us apart from all other thinking creatures.

In the pre-literate world, symbols became very important, because once learned, they guided people to understand with whom, or what, they were dealing with. To an extant, that is still true today, especially with sports, commerce, and religion.

Heraldry originated when most people were illiterate, but could easily recognize a bold, striking, and simple design. I guess you could call it an early form of social media, with the court heralds being influencers.

What is a Coat-of-Arms?

Words used to describe symbols like these, are called “blazons”.

How did a coat-of-arms get started? The first coat-of-arms were used to distinguish one knight from another. When a knight had on his full armor, including plate mail and helmet, even his friends couldn’t recognize him. Because of this, knights began to paint symbols on their shields. The symbols on a coat-of-arms were meant to represent the achievements of the person, manor, or state, to whom the arms were granted. They eventually began to put the symbol on their banner and the cloth surcoat they wore over their armor. This is how it got the name coat-of-arms

To use and legally bear a coat-of-arms, a person had to be granted the honor by a ruling monarch. The laws and rules regarding the right to use them, and if they could be passed on varied greatly by region, ruler, and country. In England and Scotland, the individual granted the coat-of-arms was the only one who could use it and display it. It wasn’t until King Richard I, in the 13th century, that a coat-of-arms became hereditary.

Coat-of-Arms for the DeErth and Bonds of Erth Families

Ancient heraldry for the deErth family. The only design which was evident within the Bond family following the deErth family’s three deer heads of Erth. The subsequent black chevron with three gold bezants (coins), is the registered and recognized Bonds of Erth heraldry.

Arms of Bond of Erth Barton, near Saltash, Cornwall.
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia.com).

At first glance, we thought that this coat-of-arms was just a little bit plain jane. Then we came to realize that this is what authenticity looks like.

What Did the Colors Mean?

The colors in heraldry are called tinctures. Old French words were used to describe the colors of the background, which came to have different meanings. Red (gules) was the color of a warrior and nobility, blue (azure) for truth and sincerity, black (sable) for piety and knowledge, and green (vert) for hope and joy. Presently, English heraldry has seven colors (tinctures) including two metals (gold, silver) and five colors (blue, red, purple, black, green).

  • Estucheon, the shape of the shield.
  • Helm, the top center of this shape, where future generations might add elements to represent their individual family.
  • Charge, the main picture in the center of the coat of arms. In our family, we had a black Chevron, that is the pointed shape on the estucheon.
  • Ordinaries, designs that appeared on the field. In our family, we had Bezants, these are the three gold coins diplayed on the black chevron. This motif is derived from Richard, the Earl of Cornwall.

What is a Family Crest?

Everyone gets confused and uses these coat-of-arms and family crest interchangeably. They are not the same. The crest is the helm (top portion) of the coat-of-arms and is actually part of the overall design. The crest is an identifier for what the person (who was originally granted the coat-of-arms) did, in order to receive the honor. Some families have used it as a symbol, without the full arms beneath it.

In the Introduction we wrote about how different eating styles have evolved over time. Family crests evolved for the fortunate few to to use to mark their property. For example, if your Family Shield was too complex to recreate at a small scale, a family crest would be used. Perfect for stamping on the silverware to show your pedigree!

Courtesy of http://www.martyndowner.com

The Heralds Were Busy Bureaucrats

It became the job of people called heralds to keep track of the different coats-of-arms. They made sure that each design was unique, and they also kept track as to whom each Family Arms belonged. 

From Britannica: “In the second half of the 12th century the men who supervised festivities and delivered invitations to guests were often the same minstrels who, after tournaments and battles, extolled [sang the praises of] the virtues and deeds of the victors. Heralds can be identified in the descriptions of tournaments from about 1170. The duties of minstrels and messengers appear then to have merged, and, as the minstrels recounted the deeds and virtues of their masters and their masters’ ancestors, their interest in genealogy developed. That new skill was related to their tournament duties, which included the necessity to recognize the banners and shields of all those invited to attend”. In other words, somebody had to keep things sorted out.

Pictures of heralds from H. Ströhl’s Heraldischer Atlas. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia).

By the 12th century, the use of the coat-of-arms had become much more common, and in the 13th-century family use of the coat-of-arms became common as the symbols had been passed down from ancestors in the previous centuries. Usually, the oldest son would often inherit the coat-of-arms from his father without any changes, while younger brothers often added symbols to make theirs unique. When a woman married, the coat-of-arms of her family was often added to her husband’s arms, called marshaling.

As families grew, the shield of the coat-of-arms was sometimes divided into different parts (e.g. quartered) to represent the merging of families (although this is not the only reason a shield might be divided). Even still, families would have to alter the Arms enough to distinguish it from prior generations. This is where it would become a Family Arms, the symbol for the family, instead of the symbol for an individual.

Even though this map by John Speed, dates from 1611, one can see that there was still a lot of heraldry going on. (Image courtesy of University of Cambridge Digital Library).

Cornish heraldry generally conformed with the rules and customs of English heraldry… however, the use of arms was far more widespread amongst the Cornish than the English and there was far less control over the use of heraldry. The writer Richard Carew wrote in the early 17th century, “The Cornish appear to change and diversify their arms at pleasure… The most Cornish gentlemen can better vaunt of their pedigree than their livelihood for that they derive from great antiquity, and I make question whether any shire in England of but equal quantitie can muster a like number of faire coate-armours”. Even back then, Carew was sniffing out the socially ambitious families.

This is why you will see several Arms for one surname or family, that can look only slightly different, or can look entirely different from each other.

Our cousins — the Bonds of Grange — and their Family Arms.

Notice in the above example of heraldry for The Bonds of Grange from A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. I. The Coat-of-Arms for that particular family has been marshaled (four quadrants) and elements have been added to the top (the helm). If you look carefully, you can still see the chevron with the three bezants.

From The Story of The Bonds of Earth, by Allen Kerr Bond, Pegasus Press, 1930.

Notice in the example above how the Bond Coat-of-Arms has gotten a lot more decorated. There’s even a catchy motto added. This phrase is frequently translated from Latin as: The World Does Not Suffice, or The World Is Not Enough.

As the Bond family married, immigrated, and went on with their lives, it once again became fashionable (rather than a basic necessity) to have a family coat-of-arms. The trouble was, there were so many Bond families, and not a lot of widespread scholarship to support what designs went forward. There were no more heralds to manage who-really-was-who.

Even George Lazenby, in his only film as James Bond, got in on the act.

Film still from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

As we all know, James Bond always prevailed in his fight for good-versus-evil. (Even with that modern, exuberant coat-of-arms). That’s why we love him. (2)

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials,
Notes, and Observations

Introduction: Hollywood Has Really Messed Things Up

(1) — two records

The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1938
http://deepfocusreview.com/definitives/the-adventures-of-robin-hood/

TV Series Finale
Downton Abbey: Crewmembers Recall the Final Season’s Big Dinner Table Scene
https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/downton-abbey-crewmembers-recall-final-seasons-big-dinner-table-scene/

(2) — twelve records

For these six Sections listed below, all records are adapted from the links that follow:

Let’s Pause for a Moment to Look atSymbolic Thinking
What is a Coat-of-Arms?
Coat-of-Arms for the DeErth and Bonds of Erth Families
What Did the Colors Mean?
What is a Family Crest?
The HeraldsWere Busy Bureaucrats

Encyclopædia Britannica
Heraldry
https://www.britannica.com/topic/heraldry

An Historical Survey of the County of Cornwall: to which is added, a complete heraldry, by C. S. Gilbert, 1817
https://wellcomecollection.org/works/g68eerr8/items?canvas=9
Note 1: Book page: 30, Digital page: 30/441, for the Bond family historical text reference.
Note 2: For two Coat-of-Arms, as follows:
– Bond Coat-of-Arms, Plate VI (6)
– De Erth Coat-of-Arms, Plate XIII (13)
Note: This edition contains the heraldry bookplates.

A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners
of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. I
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/48501/images/CommGBIrelandI-005335-243?pId=368839&lang=en-US
Book page: 243, Digital page: 306/787
– Bond (ancient) — A fess or. [a horizontal belt of honor]
– Bond, of Cornwall — Arg. on a chevron sa. Three bezants

The Gene Genie
Coat-of-Arms and Crests, What’s The Difference?https://thegenegenieblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/09/coat-of-arms-and-crests-whats-the-difference/

Cornish Heraldry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_heraldry

The Heraldry Society
The Emergence of the Heraldic Phrase in the Thirteenth Century https://www.theheraldrysociety.com/articles/the-emergence-of-the-heraldic-phrase-in-the-thirteenth-century/

Ducksters
Middle Ages, A Knight’s Coat-of-Arms https://www.ducksters.com/history/middle_ages/knight_coat_of_arms.php

Heraldischer Atlas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraldischer_Atlas
Note: For the pictures of heralds

(John Speed Map of Cornwall, 1611)
University of Cambridge Digital Library
The theatre of the empire of Great Britaine: presenting an exact geography of the kingdomes of England, Scotland, Ireland,… (Atlas.2.61.1)
https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/PR-ATLAS-00002-00061-00001/18

A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners
of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. I
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/48501/images/CommGBIrelandI-005332-240?pId=368839
Book page: 240, Digital page: 303/787
Note: For the Bonds of Grange coat-of-arms image.

The Story of The Bonds of Earth
by Allen Kerr Bond
https://archive.org/details/storyofbondsofea00bond/page/n5/mode/2up
Book page: Frontispiece image, Digital page: 6/332.
Note: For the Bonds of Erth and Holewood coat-of-arms image.

Film still from: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service https://www.reddit.com/r/MovieDetails/comments/dt1imx/on_her_majestys_secret_service_james_bonds_family/

George Lazenby as James Bond 007.
(Image courtesy of http://www.jamesbondlifestyle.com).

The Bond Line, A Narrative — Two

This is Chapter Two of seven: There’s a lot to write about! In this part, we will cover Our Earliest History up to and including Penryn, Cornwall, England.

Preface: Let’s Begin with Bond Street in London

Our parents were not world travelers. Outside of my father’s experiences as a World War II sailor in the Pacific Theater, and some trips to Ontario, Canada, they seemed to be the most comfortable traveling within the mainland USA. In 1988, I (Thomas) volunteered to be their chaperone if they would come to London for a week, to see some places involved with their family heritage. So they came.

We called our father “Pop”. Our parents were simply Mom and Pop. 

Dean Phillip Bond in London, England, 1988. (Family photograph).

Pop had always embraced his Irish heritage; our Mom, her English roots. He desired to be All Things Irish, but that was truly only a part of him. For both of them, Britain itself played the largest role.

One day we found ourselves in the very posh Mayfair District, seeking out a place we had learned of — Bond Street. To our delight, we saw that there were actually two sections: Old Bond Street and New Bond Street. Pop stood on the old side, I stood on the new side, and we reached out and hugged each other. He was tickled pink.

— Thomas

Bond Street in the Mayfair District of London, England. (Image courtesy of wikipedia.org).

The story about London’s Bond Street is emblematic of how family histories are always about connecting the old with the new. The old path merges with the new path, both united, always following time’s arrow in one direction. By glancing backward, we seek to try and discern clues about our fleeting, ever-receding past.

Introduction: Our Ancient Origins

Located at the fringes of Europe, Britain received European technological and cultural developments much later than Southern Europe and the Mediterranean region did, during prehistory. By around 4000 BC, the island was populated by people with a Neolithic culture. No written language of the pre-Roman inhabitants of Britain is known; therefore, the history, culture and way of life of pre-Roman Britain are known mainly through archeological finds. This evidence demonstrates that ancient Britons were involved in extensive maritime trade and cultural links with the rest of Europe from the Neolithic onwards, especially by exporting tin that was in abundant supply.

Recent archeological evidence (based on measuring specific isotopes found in tin), has revealed that ancient tin ingots found in Israel — prove the metal was mined in Cornwall as long ago as 2000 BC. Through trade routes from thousands of years ago, these ingots ended up in the far eastern Meiterranean. There is some current controversy over whether the Phoenicians had ever reached Britain, and that is for others to settle. As always, new evidence sometimes takes a while to be accepted. They may have gotten there… certainly someone did. (1)

The earliest known reference to the inhabitants of Britain was by Pytheas, a Greek geographer who made a voyage of exploration around the British Isles between 330 and 320 BC.

Wikipedia, Pytheas of Massalia

Although none of his own writings remain, writers during the time of the Roman Empire made much reference to Britons. Pytheas called the people of Britain the Pretanoí or Bretanoí. Pliny’s Natural History (77 AD) says the older name for the island was Albion, and Avenius calls it insula Albionum, “island of the Albions”.  

The Latin name for the Britons was Britanni. The last centuries before the Roman invasion saw an influx of Celtic speaking refugees from Gaul ,[modern-day description: generally where France meets Belgium], who were displaced as the Roman Empire expanded around 50 BC. They settled along most of the coastline of southern Britain between about 200 BC and 43 AD, although it is hard to estimate what proportion of the population they formed there. In the first century BC, Roman leader Julius Caesar reported that the Gauls called themselves ‘Celts’ — Thus whether it was given to them by others or not, it was used by the Celts themselves.

The southwest peninsular location of the Cornovii.
(Image courtesy of Vividmaps.com).

In pre-Roman times, Cornwall was part of the kingdom of Dumnonia. The ancient Britons formed a series of tribes, cultures and identities: the Dumnonii and Cornovii were the Celtic tribes who inhabited what was to become Cornwall during the Iron Age, Roman, and post-Roman periods. The map above shows the Cornovii tribe in the southwest peninsula of “England”, the area now known as Cornwall.

The Cornovii, Who Become The Cornish People

The Sack of Rome in the year 410 prompted a complete Roman departure from Britain, and Cornwall then experienced an influx of Celtic Christian missionaries from Ireland who had a profound effect upon the early Cornish people, their culture, faith, and architecture. These first centuries after the Romans left are known as the age of the saints. The ensuing decline of the Roman Empire encouraged the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain. The Angles, Jutes, Frisia, and Saxons, Germanic peoples from northern [mostly coastal] Europe, established petty kingdoms and settled in different regions of what was to become England, and parts of southern Scotland.

Historically, the Anglo-Saxon period denotes the period in Britain between about 450 and 1066. The early Anglo-Saxon period includes the creation of an English nation, of which many aspects still survive today, including regional government by shires and counties (also known as hundreds). During this period, Christianity was established and there was a flowering of literature and language. Charters and law were also established. The term Anglo-Saxon is popularly used for the language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons in England and southeastern Scotland from at least the mid-5th century until the mid-12th century. It is more commonly called Old English. (2)

The Norsemen, The Danes, and The Vikings

The Viking Age in Scandinavian history is recorded as the period from 793, the earliest record of the first Danish sea raids on England by Norsemen, lasting until the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. At that time, the present day nations of Norway, Sweden and Denmark did not exist. Those who came to the British Isles have been generally referred to as Vikings [from Scandinavia]. However, some scholars debate whether the term Viking represented all settlers, or just those who raided England and other countries.

In the 700s, Frankish and English records of political, military, and economic interactions with the north, describe the Danes as one people ruled by a king, and Denmark as comprising the peninsula of Jutland, all the islands, and Scania (part of Sweden). A unified realm was initiated by King Harald I Fairhair in the 9th century. His efforts in unifying the petty kingdoms of Norway resulted in the first known Norwegian central government.

The Age of Viking Voyages. Notes the years indicated on the orange boxes.
Bright green: territories, and bright blue: sailing routes. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia.org).

Sabine Baring-Gould writes in his Family Names and Their Meaning:

“It is now generally recognized that the name Bonde… (plural Bonder) was not originally a family name; but was the designation of a class of Norse landholders. 

The old Norse Bonde was the man in highest position after the Earl. He was the free-holder responsible to none save the Earl. It was because [King] Harold Fairhair resolved on introducing the feudal tenure of land into Norway, that a great exodus of the Bonder took place; and they migrated and colonized Iceland and the Faroe Isles”.

Bonders emigrated to England from Scandinavian with, or as, Vikings. They may have arrived as early as the 800s and became landholders. They lived among the people and became “English”. At the onset of the Norman Conquest in 1066 they were initially overwhelmed in a common ruin with the Saxons and other tribes. However, not for long; within in a generation or two they adjusted to Norman rule, re-established themselves and began to identify by the old class title: Bond.

Observations: This establishes that the Bond name and its variations, was present throughout England in the centuries before the Norman Conquest, and that many of them were landholders during the Anglo-Saxon period. It is reasonable to assume that some of these Bond(ers) ended up in Cornwall.

The Anglo-Saxons referred to Cornwall as West Wales, to distinguish it from North Wales (modern-day Wales). The Saxons, of the Kingdom of Wessex, were expanding their territory westwards toward Cornwall. The Cornish were frequently embattled with the West Saxons, until King Athelstan of England, 927-939, determined that the River Tamar would become the formal boundary between the West Saxons and the Cornish in the year 936, making Cornwall one of the last retreats of the older Britons that encouraged the development of a distinct Cornish identity.

Arrival in England scene [39] from the Bayeux Tapestry, depicting ships grounding and horses landing. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia.org).

The Norman Conquest of England, which began with an invasion by the troops of William, Duke of Normandy (King William I of England) in 1066, resulted in the removal of the Anglo-Saxon derived monarchy, aristocracy, and clerical hierarchy. It was replaced by Normans, Scandinavian Vikings from northern France and their Breton allies where they maintained rule in the Brittonic-speaking parts of the conquered lands. England would come to absorb the Normans, but the Cornish (Cornwall) “vigorously resisted” their influence.

The Normans themselves were descendants of those Vikings who had been given feudal over-lordship of areas in northern France, namely the Duchy of Normandy, in the 10th century. In that respect, descendants of the Vikings continued to have an influence in northern Europe.

William the Conqueror, William I of England (circa 1028-1087). First Norman King of England (1066-1087), holding Battle Abbey, illuminated manuscript portrait painting
by Matthew Paris circa 1250-1259. (Image courtesy of Alamy).

Edward The Confessor died in January 1066 after a reign of 23 years as King of England. Edward was childless and had no heir to the throne. After his death there were several claimants to the English throne. Harold Godwinson, Harald Hardrada, King of Norway and Duke William II of Normandy. William was a first cousin once-removed of Edward the Confessor. Harold Godwinson repelled Hardrada and claimed the throne for 282 days. Duke William II of Normandy invaded England and defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings in October 1066. He became William the Conqueror and King William I of England.

The Domesday Book

Oxford Reference defines the Domesday Book as “A survey of property in England conducted in 1086. Conceived by William I, but probably to some extent based on pre-Conquest administrative records. It was the most comprehensive assessment of property and land ever undertaken in medieval Europe. Its purpose was to maximize the revenues from the land tax…” The holdings / estates that became connected to the Bond families are mentioned in two places. Note: We have included these references to demonstrate that there were Bond, Bonde, Le Bonde, Bondi, Bondu etc., families present before the Norman invasion and that these families already had long histories in England.

The Domesday Book was a comprehensive survey and record of all the landowners, property, tenants and serfs of medieval Norman England. It was compiled in 1086-7 under the orders of William the Conqueror (r. 1066-87).

The Domesday Book established that the “Bondi” (derived from Bonder) family in ª(the future Wiltshire county) were endowed with ancient land holdings. At that time the recognition of land ownership gave them rights and privileges that were excluded from most other people.

Domesday Book, Folio Wiltshire, page 17, is where we see the name Bondi specifically mentioned:

Fisherton-de-la-mere, Folio Wiltshire, page 17, Domesday Book

Domesday Book, Folio Wiltshire, page 10, is where the Fisherton estate (in Wilts) is specifically mentioned. Lord Roger DeCourseulles (also known as De Courcil) 1030-1121, came to England with William The Conqueror in 1066. In this Folio he is identified as the tenant in chief of Fisherton Delaware, Wiltshire, England. The Lord of Fisherton was surnamed Bondi. Lord Roger’s second son, Hugh Fitz Roger married the Bondi sister and heiress. Upon this marriage their offspring assumed the Bondi name. Note: From Lord Roger’s first son, John de Curichil, the family line eventually leads to Sir Winston Churchill.


Fisherton [Anger], Folio Wiltshire, page 10, Domesday Book

In Cornwall, the Domesday Survey identified that the major landholders were King William I, his half-brother Robert, Count of Mortain and the Bishop of Exeter of Tavistock Abbey. (3)

Slavery, The Feudal System, and the Manor System

Throughout Europe, wartime captives were commonly forced into slavery — something that remained true for the people captured during Viking raids. As European kingdoms transitioned to feudal societies, serfdom began to replace slavery as the main economic and agricultural engine. From Slavery to Tenant Farming “In England, slaves (or slave families) are recorded at the village level in the Domesday Book (1086). If counted as heads of households, the c. 28,000 slaves made up just over ten percent of the recorded population. In general, slavery was more prevalent in southwest England than in the east of England.” English Christians nominally discontinued owning slaves after the 1066 conquest. It is difficult to be certain about slave numbers, however, since the old Roman word for slave (servus) continued to be applied to unfree people whose status later was reflected by the term serf.

The system of having slaves gave way to the feudal system. It is most assured that our ancestors of the High Middle Ages worked under the feudal system.

From Western European Feudalism —
Establishing Order: “By the High Middle Ages… feudalism was completely developed and the Europeans benefited from it. Feudalism established a strong social order that provided protection and safety. Under feudalism, Europeans were linked to each other with promises which helped both parties, up and down in the hierarchy. The feudal system was just like an ecosystem – without one level, the entire system would fall apart. The hierarchies were formed of four main parts: Monarchs, Lords/Ladies (Nobles), Knights, and Peasants/Serfs. Each of the levels depended on each other on their everyday lives.”

From Wikipedia.org —
“The classic version of feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations which existed among the warrior nobility, revolving around the three key concepts of lords, vassals, and fiefs. In broad terms, a lord was a noble who held land, a vassal was a person who was granted possession of the land by the lord, and the land was known as a fief. In exchange for the use of the fief and protection by the lord, the vassal would provide some sort of service to the lord,” [such as tenant farming, and military service].


Penhallam Manor, with an example of a a 13th century manor house inner courtyard.
(Image courtesy of English Heritage, see footnotes).

The feudal system slowly morphed into “manorialism”. Again, from Wikipedia.org — “Manorialism, also known as the manor system, was the method of land ownership in parts of Europe, notably England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, sometimes fortified manor house in which the lord of the manor and his dependents lived and administered a rural estate, and a population of labourers who worked the surrounding land to support themselves and the lord. Manorialism is sometimes included as part of the feudal system.” (4)

The Bond Family Surname

As explained in the section The Norsemen, The Danes, and The Vikings, the Bond family name has its origins in a class of landholders originally from Scandinavia who settled in England. As a consequence of the Norman Invasion and the purging of Anglo-Saxon culture, some Bond families (through good fortune) retained their land. Some had already transitioned to the use of surnames, which eventually came to be recognized through heraldry.

Sabine Baring-Gould: (An apt example) “Richard, the Bonde immigrant settler, became Richard Bonde [landowner], as the terror of the Norman rule relaxed. The completeness of the catastrophe of the Conquest may be perceived by the total and permanent disappearance of Saxon and Norse personal names.

Throughout the records and rolls of
the 12th and 13th centuries we find [that]
all our personal names are Norman.
The Saxon seems almost extinct.
This lament applies with full force to the
Bonds of Cornwall.
Thomas, William, Richard, Henry, [and] John repeat themselves generation after generation. …this compliance with Norman custom was really due to a contempt for everything pre-Conquest…

Sabine Baring-Gould,
Family Names And Their Story

Ancestry.com also has a good summation of the origins the Bond surname —
English: status name for a peasant farmer or husbandman, Middle English bonde (Old English bonda, bunda, reinforced by Old Norse bóndi). The Old Norse word was also in use as a personal name, and this has given rise to other English and Scandinavian surnames alongside those originating as status names.

Sean Connery as James Bond in Dr. No (1962).
Definitely not a peasant farmer: So, who’s your favorite Bond?

From A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. I, provides two relevant (but unattributed) references. The first follows:

“Mr. Bond has an old MS. pedigree on vellum, dated 1636, which deduces their descent from a Norman, who came in at the Conquest, and married the daughter and heiress of Bond, of Penrynin Cornwall: and in Andersen’s pedigree, of Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, we find that Hugh Fitz Roger, second son of Roger de Council, (a follower of William the Conqueror, and who obtained from him extensive estates in Somersetshire, Dorsetshire, and Wiltshire, as appears by Domesday ) [circa 1086-1087], espousing the sister and heiress, lord of Fisherton, their offspring assumed the surname and arms of that family, viz sa fess or, and hence came the family of Bond. This Bond (or Bondi as he is called in the Domesday book) appears to have been a Saxon, and is mentioned in that record as holding Fisherton in Wilts, as well as other lordships in Dorset and Somerset, as early as the time of Edward the Confessor.

Observation: In the first sentence Roger De Courcil is marrying the daughter and heiress of Bond in Penryn, Cornwall. In Collins’s Peerage of England, Roger De Courcil wedded Gertruda, daughter of Sir Guy de Torbay. Then the mention of Hugh Fitz Roger marrying a sister and heiress of Fisherton and taking on the Bondi surname. All of the historical documents we have discovered, go back-and-forth in time with their references. As such, “what happened when and to whom” from a thousand years ago, can get a little cloudy. (5)

The Emerging Bond Family Lineage in Cornwall and Wilts

Our research has led us to believe that our Bond family line originates to a large extent, in Penryn, Cornwall, England. Cornwall was a distinct and to a great extent, separate part of the kingdom. In 1485, Polydore Vergil, the Italian cleric commissioned by King Henry VII to write a history of England, wrote that “The whole country of Britain is divided into four parts, whereof the one is inhabited by Englishmen, the other of Scots, the third of Welshmen, the fourth of Cornish people … and which all differ among themselves either in tongue, either in manners, or else in laws and ordinances.”

The ancient town of Penryn.
(Image courtesy of Cornish Studies Resources).

Penryn is one of Cornwall’s most ancient towns, located on the southwest coast of Cornwall. The town first appears in the Domesday Book under the name of Trelivel, and was named Penryn in 1216 by the Bishop of Exeter. It was once an important harbor, handling granite and tin, trade to be shipped to other parts of the country and the world, during the medieval period. We don’t know what our Penryn ancestors did for their living over the centuries. It seems likely that some of them could have been engaged (in some form) with the acquisition and refinement of tin.

At the time that our early Bonds lived there, Penryn was administered by the Bishop of Exeter. He had a manor house and our ancestors most likely were among the people who supported his manor through both trade and tax. (6)

The Two Centuries After William The Conqueror

Two years after the Norman Conquest, in 1068, there was a rebellion in the Southwest (Cornwall), causing King William I, to order that castles be built there. At this time, the Manor of Trematon was in the hands of William’s half-brother Robert, the Count of Mortain. Robert chose for his castle a site about 1-1/2 miles southeast of Trematon village, overlooking the Lynher estuary. The original castle defenses consisted of earthworks and timber palisades — it was built upon the Roman ruins of an earlier fort. Four Norman castles were built in east Cornwall at different periods, at Launceston, Trematon, Restormel, and Tintagel.

Trematon Castle on the River Lynher, from Magna Britannia, Vol. III, Cornwall, circa 1814.
(Image courtesy of Archive.org).

Trematon Castle became the administrative center for the area, and Robert, (the Count) soon founded and promoted a weekly market outside the castle’s gate. This functioned administratively to focus the population on him charitably. In 1075, Robert ceded the Manor of Trematon to Richard de Valletort, a Norman knight who had fought at the Battle of Hastings.

From the Battle Abbey Roll:

The Battle Abbey Roll , page 138.

Observation: We do not know with certainty if these ancients Bond(s) were Saxon, or Norman, or perhaps a bit of both.

The following text is taken directly from A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. I“The family of Bond were of great antiquity in the county of Cornwall and are said to have been originally seated at Penryn in that county, but removed thence, at a very early period, to Earth, in the parish of St. Stephens, [near Trematon Castle] an estate they acquired in marriage with the daughter and heiress of a very ancient house, which took its name from that place.” (7)

Our Bond Penryn Ancestors

We have tried to give a bit of history of the possible origins of Bonds in England. However, we do not have documented records of Bonds until we learn of Robert Bond marrying Elizabeth de Erth in Saltash, Cornwall about 1400. Below are some references to Bonds found in family trees in Ancestry and/or Family Search. Without actual source material it is difficult to know the exact nature of our early ancestors.

The early Penryn ancestors (without sources) are listed below interspersed with important historical points:

1. John Le Bond I, born est. 1220

Observations: John LeBond is generally recognized as the progenitor of the Bond family line in Cornwall, but there are almost no verifiable records of him. It is interesting to note that his surname begins with ‘Le’. Could this be a Norman influence? Interestingly, in the Cornish language there is a word Laë , which means “High”. Perhaps Le Bond was a designation of high status?

1258: Grant to Bishop of Exeter for a market and fair at Penryn. “The granting of the right to hold markets and fairs was a very significant development for any town in the medieval period; they provided the underpinning for the economy of the town and brought trade in from the surrounding countryside.”

2. Gnu Le Bond est. 1250 – 1307, (A son with a curious name… Obviously the name is transcribed from some ancient name which we do not have reference to.)

1265: Glasney College was founded at Penryn by the Bishop of Exeter. On completion this fortified residence housed 26 clerics with its own church, domestic quarters, refectory, chapter house, mills, and cemetery. It was subsequently destroyed during the Reformation. 

3. John Le Bond II est. 1280-1340, married toMnu 1285-1345 (What a name! — perhaps her name could be Mary?).

4. Richard of Penryn Bond est. 1300-1350, Penryn, Cornwall, married Sarah, Lady Bragham, est. 1300 -1330, Penryn, Cornwall.

1315-1317: Total failure of the harvest in Cornwall through bad weather. In Europe, climate change leads to the Great Famine. 

5. Richard II of Penryn Bond est. 1330-1380, Penryn, Cornwall

The Black Death (or “Great Pestilence”) reached Cornwall 1349, almost certainly by a ship, peaking in 1350-51 and breaking-out again in 1352. Estimates suggest that towns in Cornwall such as Truro and Bodmin lost half of their populations.

6. John of Penryn Bond est. 1350-1400, Penryn, Cornwall England, married to Mary, dates unknown.

1360-1362: Second outbreak of The Black Death in Cornwall lasting to 1362.

After this period, we have records which indicate that Robert Bond est. 1375 – about 1434, relocated east to Erth, Saltash to marry Elizabeth deErth. Erth (Earth) is the area near Tremanton Castle and Plymouth Sound. Subsequent posts will show, that our Cornwall family history will move through: Penryn > Erth > Holwood > London to America. (8)

Following are the footnotes for the Primary Source Materials,
Notes, and Observations

Introduction: Our Ancient Origins

(1) — five records

Adapted from three sources:
Celtic Britons
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_Britons
Celts
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celts
Prehistoric Britain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistoric_Britain

Map from The Times of Israel: Tin deposits on the Eurasian continent and distribution of tin finds in the area studied dating from 2500-1000 BCE. The arrow does not indicate the actual trade route but merely illustrates the assumed origin of the Israeli tin based on the data.
(Credit: Berger et al. 2019; Prepared by Daniel Berger)

The Times of Israel
Groundbreaking study: Ancient tin ingots found in Israel were mined in England
by Amanda Borschel-Dan
https://www.timesofisrael.com/groundbreaking-study-ancient-tin-ingots-found-in-israel-were-mined-in-england/

Vivid Maps
Roman Britain Explained in Maps
Britain and Ireland just before the Roman invasion (10 AD)
https://vividmaps.com/roman-britain/
Note: Scroll down, and the entry is found in the Comments section, as submitted under the name Chaplin.

The Cornovii, Who Become The Cornish People
and
The Norsemen, The Danes, and The Vikings

(2) — eight records

Adapted from six sources:

Cornish People
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_people
Norman Conquest
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Conquest
and
Anglo-Saxons
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxons
Vikings
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikings
Viking activity in the British Isles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_activity_in_the_British_Isles
and
Pre-Viking And Viking Age Denmark
https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/pre-viking-and-viking-age-denmark

The Story of The Bonds of Earth
by Allen Kerr Bond
https://archive.org/details/storyofbondsofea00bond/mode/2up
Book page: 17-18. Digital page: 33-34/328.

Alamy
William the Conqueror, William I of England (circa 1028-1087). First Norman King of England (1066-1087), holding Battle Abbey, illuminated manuscript portrait painting
by Matthew Paris circa 1250-1259
https://www.alamy.com/william-the-conqueror-william-i-of-england-circa-1028-1087-first-norman-king-of-england-1066-1087-holding-battle-abbey-illuminated-manuscript-portrait-painting-by-matthew-paris-circa-1250-1259-image545386459.html

The Domesday Book

(3) — eight records

The Domesday Book (as illustrated) by William Andrews, circa 1900, from “Historic Byways and Highways of Old England” (Image courtesy of Wikipedia.org).

Domesday Book
https://www.worldhistory.org/Domesday_Book/

Domesday Book (explained): https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095725686

Here are the actual folios of the Domesday book from:
https://opendomesday.org

“This Bond (or Bondi as he is called in the Domesday book) appears to have been a Saxon, and is mentioned in that record as holding Fisherton in Wilts The two estates of ‘Fisherton’ in Wiltshire are mentioned in these folios, as follows:

First: https://opendomesday.org/place/SU0038/fisherton-de-la-mere/
and the original folios of the Domesday Book, Wiltshire, page 17, where the name Bondi is specifically mentioned: https://opendomesday.org/book/wiltshire/17/

Second: https://opendomesday.org/place/SU1329/fisherton-anger/
and the original folios of the Domesday B00k, Wiltshire, page 10: https://opendomesday.org/book/wiltshire/10/

Collins’s Peerage of England, Genealogical, Biographical, and Historical,
published 1812
by Sir Edgerton Brydges, K. J.
https://archive.org/details/collinsspeerage_01coll/page/n387/mode/2up?ref=ol&view=theater
Book page: 362, Digital page: 388/608

Slavery, The Feudal System, and the Manor System

(4) — six records

From Slavery to Tenant Farming
Elite Economies in the Nordic Area

c.1050 — 1250
by Frode Iversen
https://www.khm.uio.no/om/organisasjon/arkeologisk-seksjon/ansatte/frodeiv/frodes-artikler/iversen-2019.-from-slavery-to-tenant-farming.-nordic-elites-1050-1250-vol-1-with-list-of-contributors.pdf
and
Slavery in Medieval Europe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_medieval_Europe

Western European Feudalism
Relationships Between The Levels

https://westerneuropefeudalism.weebly.com/relationships-between-levels.html

Feudalism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feudalism
and
Manorialism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manorialism

English Heritage
Home > Visit > Places to Visit > Penhallam Manor > History
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/penhallam-manor/history/
Note: Image located under the subtitle, The West Range.

The Bond Family Surname

(5) — five records

Excerpt from page 116 of Family Names and Their Story.

Family Names and Their Story
by Sabine Baring-Gould
https://archive.org/details/familynamestheir00bari/page/n5/mode/2up?ref=ol&view=theater
Book page: 116, Digital page: 116/431
Book page: 186, Digital page: 186/431
Book page: 190, Digital page: 190/431

Bond Family History / Bond Surname Meaning
https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=bond

Den of Geek
Sean Connery, Acting Icon and Original James Bond, Dies at 90
by Tony Sokol
https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/sean-connery-acting-icon-and-original-james-bond-dies-at-90/
Note: For the film still of Sean Connery as James Bond in the film Dr. No (1962).

A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners
of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. I
History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland
by John Burke, Esq.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/48501/images/CommGBIrelandI-005332-240?pId=368839&lang=en-US
Book page: 240, Digital page: 303/787

Collins’s Peerage of England, Genealogical, Biographical, and Historical,
published 1812
by Sir Edgerton Brydges, K. J.
https://archive.org/details/collinsspeerage_01coll/page/n387/mode/2up?ref=ol&view=theater
Book page: 362, Digital page: 388/608

The Emerging Bond Family Lineage in Cornwall

(6) — two records

Cornwall Heritage Trust
Medieval Cornwall
https://www.cornwallheritagetrust.org/timeline/medieval-cornwall/
Note: “In 1485, Polydore Vergil… “

Penryn, Cornwall
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penryn,_Cornwall

The Two Centuries After William The Conqueror

(7) — five records

Welcome to Saltash
History 1066 to 1200
https://kernoweb.neocities.org/saltash/bhs1066.htm

Magna Brittanica, Being a Concise Topographical Account
of the Several Counties of Great Britain, Volume The Third
by Rev. Daniel Lysons and Samuel Lysons, Esq., 1814
by Daniel Lysons and Samuel Lysons
https://archive.org/details/b22012369_0002/page/288/mode/1up
Digital page: 671/800 (for the Trematon Castle on the River Lynher illustration)

The Battle Abbey Roll
by The Duchess of Cleveland
https://archive.org/details/battleabbeyrollw01battuoft/page/n5/mode/2up
Book page: 138, Digital page: 138/352

A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners
of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. I
History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland
by John Burke, Esq.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/48501/images/CommGBIrelandI-005332-240?pId=368839&lang=en-US
Book page: 240, Digital page: 303/787
Note: For the Bonds of Grange coat-of-arms image.

Cornish Studies Resources
North Petherwin: the theft of a parish
https://bernarddeacon.com/2022/07/08/north-petherwin-the-theft-of-a-parish/
Note: For the 1812 map image of Cornwall and the town of Penryn.

Our Penryn Ancestors

(8) — three records

IntoCornwall.com
Cornwall History Timeline
https://www.intocornwall.com/features/cornwall-history-timeline.asp

John LeBond
https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/50985043/person/132260923995/facts

Poppyland Publishing
East Anglian History Books
Baldock
https://www.poppyland.co.uk/baldock.html#:~:text=The%20granting%20of%20the%20right,in%20from%20the%20surrounding%20countryside.
Note: For “The granting of the right to hold markets and fairs was a very significant development for any town in the medieval period; they provided the underpinning for the economy of the town and brought trade in from the surrounding countryside.”