The Hickmotts of England

(last updated: 16 March 2012)

The ever-increasing genealogical and other information on the Hickmotts of England now on the public record enables us to begin to paint a broad picture of who they were, where they originated from, where they lived and worked, and where they moved and migrated to over the 450 years from 1450 to 1900. As we will see, for the early part of this period they were to be found mainly in East Kent and Greater London. Many of the early Hickmotts were also part of England's merchant, farming and yeoman classes - the equivalent of the 'Martins' in Jane Austen's Emma. All this changed in the 19th century when high birth rates combined with the pressures of the industrial revolution saw increasing numbers of the family move away from East Kent and the proportion of tenant and yeoman farmers decrease in favour of artisans and members of the labouring and serving classes.

We have also been able to make some progress in linking the various Hickmott lines although it remains the case that many (too many) early linkages in particular remain unknown, uncertain or no more than best guesses. This is in large part because, the dramatic expansion of genealogical information in recent years notwithstanding, there remain numerous and, in many cases, significant gaps in the available record for England (and the Hickmotts) especially for those family historians who rely primarily on the internet for their research. The task of constructing an overall Hickmott family tree is further compounded by early variations in spelling, the lack of detailed information in many parish records, and the tendency of the early families in particular to use the same (relatively common) christian names for their children.

The Hickmott 'First Families': 1300-1600

Family folklore has it that the first Hickmotts in England were Flemish weavers and silk merchants. Evidence to support this belief includes, first, the fact that a number of our first known Hickmotts were clothiers and mercers and, second, they were concentrated in the area of England - East Kent - where the Flemish weavers who were brought to the country in the mid-1300s had been settled. The published indexes of last wills and testaments registered in East Kent during the 15th century include three Hickmotes who died at Horsmonden during this period - Thomas (in 1461), John (1486) and Richard (1500) - and two other Richards one of whom died at Brenchley (in 1467) and the other at West Malling in 1485. It is quite possible of course that these were all part of the one family. The list of wills registered in East Kent in the 16th century includes eleven Hickmotes who died at Horsmonden - Richard (1517), Bartholemew (1518), Henry (1528), Mathew (1541), William (1545), John jnr (1555), John snr (1558), Laurence (1564), Thomas snr (1568), Bartholemew (1580) and John (1590) - one who died at Brenchley - Richard in 1550 - and one at Goudhurst (William in 1599). These findings and the genealogical record described below suggest that the village of Horsmonden, located roughly mid-way between Cranbrook and Tonbridge in East Kent, could be from where most of England's subsequent Hickmotts originated although it is also conceivable that the observed pattern is more a reflection of the records that are carrently available than of any underlying reality.

Beginning as a simple clearing in the great Weald forest, Horsmonden gradually evolved through the 12th and 13th centuries into a settled agricultural community centred on the Church of St Margaret (which, curiously, was built some two miles from the village). The influx of Flemish weavers in the mid-1300s saw Horsmonden and a number of adjoining villages and towns become involved in the production of Kentish broadcloth and, given the weavers' distaste for English ale, in the growth of hops and the brewing of hops-based beers. During Tudor times (1485-1603) the Weald and its forests became the 'black country' of England with iron foundries and forges scattered throughout the region including around Horsmonden and its adjoining villages.

What we know of the Hickmotts of Horsmonden before 1550 is drawn largely from the wills we have been able to access from the list just described. Our knowledge of some of the Hickmotts after 1550 is also drawn from their last wills and testaments but is supplemented by the births, deaths and marriage records that were required to be collecteded by all parishes in England from 1538. Thus the last will and testament of the William Hickmote who died at Horsmonden in 1545, shows that he was a 'clothier' and that he and his wife, Alice, had at least one son, Thomas, and a daughter (possibly Joane Hickmote although the will doesn't name her). They may also have had a second son, William Hickmote, who, according to the available genealogical record of Hickmotts before 1600 was twice married: first to Mary Merryham/Merriam at Horsmonden in 1563 and second to Margaret Heneley at Horsmonden in 1568. Two other key families at this time were those of Stephen Hickmote and his wife Joane Iden, who were married at Horsmonden in 1559, and Thomas Hickmote and Elizabeth Kingswoode who were married at Horsmonden in 1568. We think that Stephen was a brother of the Horsmonden clothier William Hickmott. Thomas may have been William's son although it is more probable he was one of his nephews. Whatever his parentage, the descendants of Thomas and Elizabeth Hickmote nee Kingswoode together with those of William Hickmote and Margaret Henely form the bulk of the early lines of the Hickmott family at Horsmonden and Goudhurst (pdf file).

The will of the clothier William Hickmott also indicates that a number of his siblings were living at Horsmonden at the time of his death in 1545. These included Thomas (who may have been the father of the Thomas described above), John, Alexander, Stephen (probably the husband of Joane Iden), Robert, Leonard and Elizabeth Hickmote. While most of these appear to have spent their lives in the Horsmonden area, the genealogical record suggests that Leonard and/or his descendants may have moved to and lived in the Eastbourne area of Sussex in the late 1500s and early 1600s. It also suggests that Humphrey Hickmott, the youngest son of the Laurence Hickmote who died at Horsmonden in 1563, probably married Fortune Gates at Aldgate in London in 1588 and died at Northiam near Beneden in Sussex in 1593, thereby raising the possibility that some of the early London Hickmotts together with those who lived around Rye and Winchelsea in Sussex in the mid-1600s also had their roots in Horsmonden.

Another connection between the Hickmotts of Horsmonden and Goudhurst and those who later lived in London and Cranbrook is flagged in the will of John Hickmott of Clifford's Inn in London, whose last will and testament, proven in 1657, shows that he and his wife, Joane Sunnibanke, were the owners of Hartley Manor Farm (then called Daltons, later Hartley Wood Farm) at Hartley to the south-west of Cranbrook (they also had lands and tenements at Staplehurst and Aylesford in Kent, Mersham in Surrey, Cuddesdon near Oxford, High Onger in Essex, and St Andrews at Holborn in Middlesex). In his will John left his estate to the couple's only son, Charles Hickmott, who was born in around 1646 and died in 1668 while he was studying at Oxford. John also left sums of money to his 'loving mother-in-law Mistress Joane Sunnibanke', his 'sister Longbane to buy mourning', his niece Margaret Read, and to the joint overseers of his will, his brother-in-law Longbane and 'cousin Thomas of Goudherst' (most likely the son of William Hickmote, the Horsmonden clothier).

The Hickmott name first appears in the Cranbrook parish registers, which cover the period from 1559 to the early-1800s, in 1598 with the marriage there of William Henry Hickmott and Anne Cogger. Susan McAlpinbe tells us that Anne was baptized at Sandhurst in Kent on 18 November 1576, the daughter of Simon Cogger and Agnes Leeche and that she and William lived at Cranbrook after their marriage and had nine children there. Ann died and was buried at Cranbrook in 1648. It now seems likely that William came from Horsmonden, most likely the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Hickmote nee Kingswoode (whose eldest son, William, was baptised there in 1570). We know from his last will and testament that William Henry worked at Cranbrook as a butcher and by the time of his death in 1636, owned land and properties in both the parishes of Cranbrook and Horsmonden. His properties at Cranbrook were left to his eldest son, William Hickmote jnr, who we think married Elizabeth Beale at Canterbury in 1618. Those at Horsmonden were to go to his youngest son, Thomas, once Thomas reached the age of 26 (we are not certain yet whether and when Thomas married). We do know that both William Henry and his son William had large families whose descendants form the bulk of the known Hickmotts of Cranbrook (pdf file).

The available genealogical record for the late 1500s generally reflects the pattern shown by the East Kent wills, with the majority of recorded Hickmotes living in and around the village of Horsmonden. In addition to those already mentioned, they included a number of John Hickmotes, one of whom served as a warden of St Mary's Church from 1558 until the end of the century, and another who was known as 'John Hickmote of Ringshill'. The only other significant grouping of Hickmotts at the time comprised those who were living and working in London. These included Jone and William Hyckmote who married John Taylor and Elizabeth Faller at Cornhill in 1564 and 1568, and Katherin and James Hickmott who married William Poppo and Barbara Gittins at St Dunstan in East London in 1568 and 1569. A generation later banns for the marriage of Humphrie Hickmote and Fortune Gates were read at St Botolph's in Algate, the same church in which an Anthony Hickmott married Margaret Dancks in 1590. A John Hickmott married Elizabeth Barnes at East London in 1588 and Edward and Sarah Hickmote married Sarah Graffan and George Winns at All Hallows in 1584 and 1595. As described above, we believe that Humphrey Hickmote and probably Anthony as well came from or lived in Horsmonden for part of their lives. The other London Hickmotts may also have been related to those at Horsmonden or Goudhurst although we have yet to discover any evidence to support this.

Moving On: The Hickmotts between 1600 and 1700

While the available Hickmott genealogical record for the 17th century is neither complete nor exhaustive it nonetheless shows that the bulk of the known Hickmotts continued to live in Kent with a growing number also in London and Sussex. Although most known Hickmotts continued to be clustered in the towns and villages described earlier they were also found at Tonbridge (from around the 1620s), Headcorn (1640s), Brenchley (1660s) and Marden (1680s). Unfortunately our current genealogical information for these outrider families is only fragmentary and insufficient either to connect them to the early families at Horsmonden or Goudhurst or to construct even a rudimentary family tree. The one possible exception is for the Hickmotts of Headcorn, a village located some nine miles east of Horsmonden.

The earliest mentioned Hickmott to date at Headcorn is a Francis Hickmott who, with his wife Elizabeth, had three children there between 1637 and 1641. The records of marriages held at Canterbury show that the same Francis, who was described as a mercer of Headcorn, stood bond for the marriage, at Goudhurst in 1636, of George Hickmott and Elizabeth Reynoldes. This suggests that Francis may have been related to George who was born at Horsmonden in around 1598, the son of John Hickmote snr. We also think that Francis was married twice: first at Beneden in Kent in 1636 to Elizabeth Bridger with whom he had the three children at Headcorn - John (1638-40), Mary (1641-41) and John (1641) - before Elizabeth's death there in 1641; and second, to Elizabeth Ellet at Headcorn in 1643. We don't know if Francis and the second Elizabeth had any children nor have we yet found when and where Francis died. Francis and Elizabeth's son John seems to have married out of the parish but lived at Headcorn with his wife Mary and had at least two children there: Edward (born at Headcorn in 1667) and Francis (1670-1). Although still to be confirmed, it seems likely that these were the forbears of the Hickmotts who later lived at Headcorn including William and Elizabeth Hickmott nee Kemp who were married at nearby Langley but lived at Headcorn after their marriage and had four children there. Click here to read more about these Hickmotts and their known descendants together with those who lived at the nearby villages of Frittenden and Smarden, and here for a list of the known Hickmott bdms for the three places (pdf file).

Both the available genealogical record for the 17th century and the known bdms for the parishes of Horsmonden and Goudhurst show there to be numerous Hickmotes at both places during the period in question. As mentioned above, the Goudhurst line of the family descends from the clothier William Hickmote and his wife Alice through their son William Hickmote jnr and his wife Margaret Heneley. Key people in their family tree includes their grandson Thomas Hickmote, who married Margaret Usborne at Goudhurst in 1643 and had at least four children there, and great grandson Richard Hickmote, who we believe married Mercy Beechin at Goudhurst in 1685 and had six children there between 1687 and 1698. A significant couple at Horsmoden at this time was Thomas Hickmote and his wife Elizabeth Kingswoode who were married there in 1568. While we remain uncertain about Thomas' parents - he may have been a grandson of William and Alice, or a descendant of one of William's brothers (possibly Thomas, John or Stephen) - we do know that he and Elizabeth had at least six children at Horsmonden between 1570 and 1586 and that many of these, in turn, were married and had children at Horsmonden. They included especially William Hickmott who married Alice Bould in 1631 and had at least eight children at Horsmonden between 1632 and 1646. They weren't the only Hickmotts at Horsmonden of course. Also present would have been the descendants of Stephen Hickmote and Joane Iden although we have not been able to trace them with any certainty beyond the 1630s. A pdf file of known Hickmott bdms for the two villages can be obtained by clicking here.

To be continued ...

Last updated: 16 March 2012

Image Sources:
Goudhurst in 1910 and the Church of St Margaret at Horsmonden in around 1920, from The Weald of Kent, Surrey and Sussex Website.

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