Pt. 2: Drurys of Rougham,
Suffolk
~Please be patient
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Left: Arms of
Thomas Drury of Rougham, Esq. (1430-1486). He was
the grandson of Sir Roger Drury, shown below
jousting. Click
on the coat of arms to open a new window with a
pegigree chart of Thomas Drury.
The arms are marshalled with (clockwise from top
left): Drury, Saxham, Fressel, Geddying, Drury,
Whitwell, Aspall (ancestor of Sir Thomas
Gedding), and Naunton. |
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| Drury
arms and name (with a poppyhead beneath the name)
atop the tower of Rougham Church. The T and D
monogram in the elaborate flintwork panel stands
for the Tillots and Drurys |
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| Above:
St. Mary's Church, Rougham Roman burial
chambers dating from 80-150A.D. have been found
at the site, and portions of the church date to
about 1220. The Perpendicular style tower with
the Drury name was built in the 1400's. Click
here
for more pictures of Rougham Church.
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Sir Nicholas
Drury of Thurston (and later Rougham), 7th great grandson
of Drieu of Normandy, is the first of the line to live at
Rougham village. The Drurys would reside at Rougham for
eleven generations. Nicholas, apparently somewhat
rebellious towards the authority of the Abbey of St.
Edmunds, was pardoned in 1359 for failure to appear to
answer charges that he conspired to keep court cases from
being heard in the Abbey for the area around the village
of Thurston. However, he was in good stead with King
Edward and was sent in 1375 to conduct the king's
business in Ireland. That same year he was commissioned
to "buy and take all the Hawks and Tercels which
they should be able to find" to be appraised and
purchased by the king. Sir Nicholas added the Tau Cross
to the Drury arms.
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| Above:
Original Parish records of Rougham Church |
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The oldest son and heir of
Nicholas was Sir Roger Drury. Sir Roger was a Knight of
the Shire for Suffolk between 1391 and 1407. The Drury
family was well represented by Sir Roger, as he added
significant land holdings to the family and was highly
honored, as depicted in the illustrations below. He is
buried with his wife Majorie Naunton in Rougham church,
with brass monuments. These are considered some of the
finest surviving brasses from the period.
| Right:
Sir Roger
Drury of Rougham (1345-1420) and his wife,
Margaret Naunton: Brass rubbings from their tomb
in St. Mary's Church in Rougham, Suffolk,
England. Brass Rubbings of the Drurys and many
other notable British families are available
from: Kristine Schrepel,K&A Brass Rubbings
& All Things Medieval, KABrassRub@aol.com
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Left: The
brasses in the floor of Rougham church. Many
similar brasses were destroyed over the
centuries. These were preserved because a church
pew was installed over them at one time. The
brasses were engraved and laid at the time of her
death in 1405. Sir Roger's armor is an example of
the Camail period of armory (mid 1300's), with a
curtain of mail protecting the head and shoulders
attached to the bascinet, or helmet. Inscription:
Here lie Lord Roger Drury knight, who died AD1400
and Margery his wife who died 3 Sep AD 1405, on
whose soul may the Lord be merciful. Amen. |
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| Above:
Illuminated manuscript of a 15th century joust,
believed to be between Sir Roger Drury and Sir
Andrew Boteler. Sir Roger and his mount display
the original Drury arms. Jousting tournaments
were banned in England during much of the reign
of Henry III because they could easily be used to
gather an army for an uprising. |
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Left: Stained
glass windows in nearby Bardwell Church, believed
to be Sir Roger Drury and his second wife, Joan.
Note the Drury arms above the kneeling knight,
and the pierced mullet (star) above the helmet
over his wife. |
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Sir Robert Drury
(1543-1625) was the 4th-great grandson of Sir Roger Drury
shown above, and is also buried at Rougham Church. CLICK
HERE to open a new window with
photographs of his monument.
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| If
you would like to correspond with other Drury
researchers, please sign the DRURY guestbook below.
Please indicate the branch of Drurys that you descend
from, so others sharing common ancestors can find you.
Separate Gidley, Stevenson, McCauley, Pollock, Gideon,
Caron and Mignier dit Lagacé guestbooks are on those
family pages. |
