Notes:

Col Richard Newman is one of the more interesting people in the family history. He matriculated into Pembroke College, Oxford on 30th October 1635 and graduated with an B.A. on 18th June 1639, becoming a Barrister at Law of the Middle Temple in 1640.

He fought on the side of King Charles II at the Battle of Worcester in 1651 during the Civil War, and subsequently became High Steward of Westminster.

Richard assisted the King by helping him to escape to France and/or by sending him money during his exile. Richard was imprisoned by Cromwell for his deeds but was released, presumably when Charles returned to the throne in 1660. King Charles repaid him by royal augmentation to the Newman Coat of Arms.

[Note: A very interesting and enlightening account of the English Civil War is to be found on a page dedicated to Sir Ralph Hopton who led the Royalist forces in the West of England, and who also happened to be the owner of Evercreech Park estate before it was owned by the Newmans. Another account entitled "Easter Rising in South Brent" incorporates the text of a short history of the Civil War as it affected the people of South Brent - see also Brent Knoll page].

Richard inherited the estates of and the estates of North and South Cadbury, Sparkford Manor and Evercreech Park from his father. He went on to purchase Fifehead Manor in 1660 presumably using money rewarded to him by the King Charles II on his restoration to the throne (in addition to the augmentation to his Coat of Arms.)  Note: Prior to its purchase by Col Richard, Fifehead Manor had been leased from the Bristol Canons and Bishops.

According to a note written by Louisa Annie Rogers in 1947, there then existed a portrait of Col. Richard Newman (or Sir Richard Newman as she refers to him). Presumably this portrait still exists, but as yet I have no idea where it is located.

From John Newman May 2002: "Col.Richard Newman of Fifehead: High Steward of Westminster. Sherborne school c.1630. Matriculated Pembroke College Oxford 30/10/1635 aged 15. BA 15/6/1639. Barrister at Law of the Middle Temple 1640. Donor to Sherborne School of 'two gloabes'".

Campbell Newman's account offers the following: "Richard had formed a close bond with members of the royalist faction, and during the Civil Wars was elevated to the War Cabinet as High Steward, roughly equivalent to the office of Prime Minister. He gave large sums from the Perry-Guise fortune to the Stewart kings Charles I and II. At the Battle of Warwick (1651), he held the gates of the City to enable Charles II's retreat, a valiant feat of arms which earned his grandson a baronetcy in posthumous gratitude following that King's restoration. The arms of all descendants of Colonel Richard were also commanded to be augmented by a 'portcullis or surmounted by a crown' representing service to the crown before the Gates of Warwick (§.iii). Richard Newman married Anna, daughter of Sir Charles HARBORD, Surveyor-General to Charles I and II, some time before Charles I was beheaded in 1649, and by her had a large family. He died in 1695, aged 75 years." [Note: If the date I have for Anne Harbord's birth is right (1634), then she would have been a very young bride if she married Richard before Charles I's execution in 1649.]

(1) Anne Harbord of Stannington, Norfolk, was the daughter of Sir Charles Harbord, Surveyor General to King Charles I and King Charles II and ancestor of Garts of Suffield. (I don't know who or what are Garts of Suffield). It was Anne who once owned the Newman-Rogers Bible. She and Col. Richard made the first entry into its fly-leaf dated 1685 and signed their names therein.

Di Clements quotes from Somerset Wills Fifth Series relating to Anne Harbord's will: "1690 Ann Newman. wo Richard esq. Richard N. heir of Richard deceased, husband of testatrix and Anne Warre consenting.  Grand -daughter Anne Warre £500 at 18. If she dies to Wm and Elizabeth her siblings.Thomas Warre her brother. [No mention of Dorothy Warre who is mentioned in Richard Newman's 1681 will. Perhaps she died before 1690, or perhaps she wasn't a daughter of Elizabeth.] Grand-daughter Barbara N £200; if she dies then to her sister Ann [Barbara and Ann, both daughters of Richard Newman of Evercreech] then to my grand-daughters Frances and Catherine Scott [does this mean that Richard and Ann had another daughter who married someone called Scott? It sounds like it if one reads on]  Son Francis Hollis Newman £200 at 21 If he dies to my grandsons John, William and Richard Oxenham. [I wonder whose children these were!]  My son Francis. To my husband my great jewel. Daughter Scott my best Diamond ring. My grandson Richd N. grandson Wm Honeywood daughter Honeywood."

(2) Anne Christianna married Sir William Honeywood Bart. of Elmstead (or Evington, according to Somerset County Council), in Westminster Abbey on 15th June 1675. Her descendants can be found on Tony Newman's "GEDCOM" file: Fifehead.ged. According to her mother's will, there were at least two children, William and a daughter.

Raymond Mercier wrote on 3rd Aug 2002 to say: "I came across a web site relevant to the Honywood family. This is http://kentarchaeology.org.uk/Research/Libr/MIs/MIsElmstead/01.htm is about the Church in Elmstead, where there is "On a brass plate: Here lieth the body of Sir William HONYWOOD Baronet who died the 8th of June 1745 in the 94th year of his age". On the road map all I see is Elmsted (not Elmstead) in Kent.

(3) Elizabeth Warre (née Newman): Elizabeth's name came to me from information taken from Tony Newman's "GEDCOM" file: Fifehead.ged. It was subsequently confirmed by Di Clements who came up with "Somerset Wills Sixth Series Will of Sir Charles Harbord 1678: My daughter Newman's daughter, Elizabeth Warre. My son-in- law Richard N." and also from Somerset Wills Fifth Series, the will of Thomas Warre of Shepton Beauchamp 1694, whose inheritors were his "son and heir Thomas Warre, his grandfather Richard Newman, my wife Cicely Warre". An additional reference in Somerset Wills Fifth Series gives the name Dorothy to Elizabeth's daughter in reference to the Will of her cousin Richard Newman of Evercreech. See Note 1 above indicates Elizabeth's children were Anne, William(?), Elizabeth and Thomas (but no mention of Dorothy - why?).

(4) Francis Holles Newman: I deduce that Francis's name derives from "The Honourable Sir Francis Hollis of Winterborne St Martin in the County of Dorset Knt and Bart" whose name appears in a lease agreement signed by Richard Newman of Fifehead in 1675. The agreement was for Richard Newman, "in consideration of the sum of five shillings of lawful English money to him in hand", to hand over for a period of 12 months his Evercreech and several other nearby estates to a group of four men:

• The Honourable Sir Francis Hollis of Winterborne St Martin in the County of Dorsett Knt and Barrt.
• The Honourable William Harbord of Perry Park in the County of Northton Esqr.
• Sir William Pargiler of Greedworth in the County of Northton Knt. and
• William Tate of De La Pre in the said County of Northton Esq.

I have no idea why this arrangement was entered into, but assume it must have been an amicable arrangement since William Harbord was presumably Richard's brother-in-law, and Francis Hollis was presumably a close friend (if he named his son after him).

A copy of the lease (itself a copy made in 1779) was given to me by the current owners of Evercreech Park Farm. I have made a transcription of the text as best I can (but will be grateful for corrections of any errors that I've made).

Jerry Gandolfo makes an interesting point in an email he sent to me on 15 Mar 2003. He writes: "There are constant references to the English Civil War in our family history (having been pivotal events in the Newman and Wyndham families). At first glance, it appears the Newmans, the Wyndhams and the Sandys were all Royalist. Now, I've discovered a very strong Puritan attachment among the Newman and Sandy's families. The English colonies of North America, later to form the original United States, are largely a by-product of the English Civil War. In the northern group of colonies, collectively called "New England" the settlements were dominated by Puritans who did not like Kings Charles I, Charles II or James II. These colonies for the most part reflect Native American Indian names such as Massachusetts and Connecticut (but also with names such as Rhode Island and New Hampshire). The central colonies, collectively called the "Mid-Atlantic" were largely "Royalist" enterprises. These colonies were named for monarchs; Maryland for Queen Mary, Virginia for Queen Elizabeth (the "virgin" queen) and North Carolina for King Charles. (The southern colonies, South Carolina and Georgia were mixed Royalist, Scotch-Irish and French Huguenots.)

King Charles II who was perhaps the central most figure in the English Civil War (aside from Cromwell) was a central figure in North America. During the dominance of the Parliamentarians, Royalist exiles and refugees came to North America, especially to Maryland. During the domination of the Kings, Puritan religious sought a new society by immigration to North America, especially to the Massachusetts Bay colony and it's subsidiary, New London, which subsequently became Connecticut. In fact, at one point, the Governor of Connecticut was named Francis Newman. This Newman was apparently from London, and with other Newmans, were zealous Puritans. In Virginia, Edwin Sandys was a charter founder of the Virginia Colony (although he never actually left England), a zealous Puritan, and was even arrested by James I on suspicion of wanting to make Virginia into a republic. His son, George Sandys did move to Virginia, and his niece married the Governor of Virginia. Another Sandys, James Sandys, was an early settler of Block Island in Rhode Island. Meanwhile, other Sandys, the Barons of Vine, lost everything they had by supporting the Kings in the English Civil Wars. In both cases, it appears there were Newmans and Sandys on both sides of the fence, not an altogether rare situation in civil wars.