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The earliest known reference to a Raynham has been located in an index of Wills in The Commissary Court of London , edited by the British Record Society . A William Reynham [1] is listed for the year 1382 and is stated to have been a clerk at St Benets Fink, London. [2]  Further entries were noted for a Joan de Reynham and her husband Robert de Reynham for the years 1388 and 1414.

This information although of interest does not provide any tangible connections with modern day Raynhams, for this we need to go back to the 16th century where John Raineham R140 , was born around 1560, possibly in Suffolk. He certainly earned his living in and around the Suffolk parish of Brettenham , this being close to the parish of Chelsworth where Robert Raynham [3] R20 was baptised over 200 years later.

John Raineham R140 , is my ten times great grandfather and is the oldest, and thus furthest removed Raynham direct descendent that has been located to date. John was buried at St Mary the Virgin Church, Brettenham on the 23 March 1634/35, at the age of 74 years.

A search at the Suffolk County Council Records Office, Bury St Edmunds located John's original will. The will dated 7 March 1634/35, and was made out just before his death and provides details of his surviving family and his wealth. John's date of baptism has not been located to date.

You will note the use of double dating , 1634/35 this reflects the use of the Julian calendar prior to 1752 and the introduction of the modern Gregorian calendar . Until 1752 the first day of the year was the 25 March and the last day 24 March. The use of double dating for the period 1 January to 24 March inclusive before 1752 is attempts no avoid confusion between the two systems.

An example of confusion would be if say a "John Raynham" was baptised in July 1650 and second entry also showed a "John Raynham" having been buried in February 1650 at first glance this may seem to be two different John Raynhams. In fact it is just as likely to be the same John if the date was entered as 1650/51, [4] this situation does occur with many Raynhams who were baptised, married or buried. The will and its transcript, [5] can be seen below, the will confirmed that John , a yeoman farmer was survived by his wife Judeth and his sons John (eldest child), Lawrence , daughters Margarett Osborne , Susan Strutt and his grandchild Richard.

The Last Will and Testament of PRIVATE John Raineham of Brettenham, Suffolk (died 1634)

In the Name of God Amen this seaventh day of March Anno Dni 1634 I John Raineham of Brettenham in the County of Suffk yeoman though but weake of body by reason of my longe age, yet pfect in remembrance (thanks be to God almighty) doe make this my last will & testament in manner & forme following First I bequeath my soule to almighty God who hath made me, to Jesus Christ his sonne my alone Saviour who hath redeemed me and to the holy gost who hath sanctified me And I will my body to be buried in the church yard of the pish church of Brettenham aforesd  And touching my worldly estate I dispose of it as followeth Itm I doe give unto my loveing wife Judeth Raineham for terme of her naturall life all that my Tenement with thappurtenances situate in Combs in the County aforesd and all the lands thereunto belonging or with the same occupied lyinge & being in Combs aforesd nowe in the occupacon of Sawgate or his assignes and after the death of the sd Judeth then I doe give the sd Tenement with thapptenances & all the lands thereunto belonging both free & coppy unto John Raineham my eldest sonne & to his heires for ever Itm I doe give unto Lawrence Raineham my other sonne all that my Tenement situate in Bildeston with thapptennces in the sd County now in the occupacon of John Hempsted or of his assignes to have & to hold the sd Tenement with thapptences unto the sd Lawrence & his heires for ever Provided aloane that the sd Lawrence his heires Executors Administrators or assignes shall trewly pay or cause to be pd unto Judith Raineham aforesd his mother or to her assignes during the naturall life of the sd Judeth the summe of thirty shillings the yeare quarterly that is to say seaven shillings and six pence evry quarter the first payment to within four months next after the decease of me the sd John Raineham the father aforesd Item I doe give unto the sd Lawrence my sonne after the decease of Judeth my sd wife all that my other Tenement with thapptenncs situate in Bildeston aforesd nowe in the occupacon of Huggers widdowe or of her assignes to have & to hold the sd Tenement after the decease of the sd Judeth unto the sd Lawrence & his heires for ever Provided always that after the decease of my sd wife, my daughter Margarett Osborne widdowe during the naturall life of the sd Margarett shall have & injoy for the only habitation of the sd Margarett the East end of the tenement last mentioned next unto the dwelling house of one Addams to be divided at the back side of the Chymney & the Chamber over the sd End together with all the entry nowe being there & halfe the yard & benifitt of the well with free ingresse egresse & regresse to & from the sd end of the Tenement aforesd to & for the sd Margarett during her naturall life as aforesd. Itm I doe give & bequeath unto John Raineham my sd sonne two silver spoons & my greatest tipt pott. Itm I do give unto Lawrence Raineham my sd sonne two silver spoones & my other tipt pott. Itm I doe give unto Susan Strutt widdow my other daughter one silver spoone & my tipt Canne and to my daughter Margaret Osborne one other silver spoone Provided alwaies that my sayd wife shall have the use of the spoones potts & canne during her naturall life. Itm I doe give & bequeath unto my sayd loveing wife my best postd bedsted my best trundle bedsted my best fether bed my best flockbed all furnished halfe my paier of Cobirons Fire panne & tongs one warming panne one paier bellows and fower of the best Cushens to have & injoy all the sayd moveable goods last given & bequeathed unto the sd Judeth during her natrurall life and after her decease as to my best posted bedstead & best other beds furnished to my daughter Margarett Osborne And as to all the rest to thuse of John Raineham my sonne & Lawrence Raineham my sonne Susan Strutt my daughter & Margarett Osborne my daughter to be equally devided amongst them or soe many of them as shalbe then liveing Itm I do give unto my sayd sonne John one posted bedsted one fether bed one bolster & two blanketts Itm I do give unto my sd daughter Margarett Osborne my worst posted bedsted in the hall chamber one fether bed & one fether bolster & one bible Itm I doe give unto Richard Raineham my grandchild the sume of forty shillings to be payd within two yeeres after my decease Itm I doe give to the poore of the pish Church of Brettenham aforesd the sume of tenne shillings to be pd into the hands of the Churchwardens there then being to the sd poor's use within one yeere after my decease Itm I do give unto my sonne in lawe Francis Hall the sume of tenne shillings to be pd unto him within six months next after my decease Itm I do give unto Susan Strutt my sd daughter the sume of fifty shillings to be pd unto her within one yeere next after my decease Itm I doe give unto my other sd daughter Margarett Osborne the sume of five pounds to be pd unto her within six months next after my decease Itm I doe give unto evry one of my grandchildren nowe being the sume of six shillings & eight pence to be pd to evry of them as they shall accomplish theire severall ages of twenty & one yeeres. Lastly I do ordaine & make Lawrence Raineham my sd sonne sole Executor of this my last will & testament desireing & requireing him both out of his duty towards God & filiall obedience towards me faithfully to fulfill this will of mine according to the true intent thereof. In Witness whereof I the sd John Raineham the father have heereunto sett my hand & seale the day & yeere first above Written.

John Raineham
X
his marke
Sealed, published and subscribed
in the prsence of  Edwarde Wengeve Will. Alcocke  

John had property in Combs and Bildeston , Suffolk and left various sums of money and gifts to his family, including 30 shillings a year to his wife, two silver spoons and his "greatest tipt pott" to John and similar to Lawrence. Susan also received a silver spoon and a "tipt canne" and Margarett one silver spoon, his grandchild was to receive 40 shillings.

He also left various furniture to his family and finally he provided 10 shillings to Brettenham  Church for the benefit of the parish poor. The above in today's money is worth ?135, ?180 and ?45 respectively. [6]

It would appear from the will that John R140, had four children at the time of his death, however it would seem that there were other children who either died prior to John's death or were ignored in the will. Richard R144, was the father of the grandchild and appears to have been baptised at Bildeston on the 8 November 1579 [7] and buried at St Mary's Church, Brettenham on the 5 January 1629, some four years prior to the death of his father.

Sadly the parish record transcript for Richard's burial infers that his son John R146 was also buried on the same date. This of course could be a coincidence or alternatively some unfortunate incident occurred which resulted in the death of both.

Other baptisms at Bildeston show that John and Judith (Raynum) had two other daughters, Judith R149 baptised 8 June 1584 and Mary R150, baptised 28 August 1586. In all John and Judith appear to have had three sons and four daughters baptised between the late 1570s and 1590. An extract of the Raynham Tree showing the family can be seen below, the different spellings of the Raynham name is understandable given the variations in local dialect and illiteracy that would be common for those times.

John Raineham R140 , was a man of substance and his family was well established within Brettenham  and surrounding parishes. He was a churchwarden and assisted in the compilation of the Glebe Terrier possibly around 1614. [8]  His wife Judith died in 1635 and was buried at Brettenham Church on the 5 February 1635, some fourteen months after the burial of her husband.

Brettenham, Suffolk is a small village, some five miles from Lavenham and twelve miles from Bury St Edmunds and is dominated by the parish church St Mary the Virgin . There has been church on the site [9] since the time of Edward the Confessor, and today the village has many old farmhouses, some dating back to the medieval period.

Below are an extract from a modern day map [10] that locates Brettenham  and an early photograph of the parish church.

In his early history of Brettenham , L G Pine details the major landowners for the period 1066 to 1500, during the period when the John Raineham R140, was around Edward Wenyeve was the major landowner. The Wenyeves were first recorded in Brettenham  in circa 1340 when a Robert Quenyeve (Wenyeve) was listed on a rent list.

It is not clear whether John worked for Edward Wenyeve , but certainly later in the 17th century the Raynhams were bailiffs to the Wenyeve family. A document setting out the Wenyeve family can be consulted within this CD. [11]

At the time of John's baptism Elizabeth 1, the Tudor Queen (1558- 1603) was on the throne, she was succeeded by James 1, (1603- 1625) and at the time of his death Charles 1 (1625- 1649) was ruling. In 1588 the English were at war with Spain and the Spanish Armada was defeated and prevented Philip 11 of Spain's attempt to invade England.

Religious fervour dominated the 1560s with the wars in France between the Huguenots  (French Protestants) and Roman Catholics (1562- 1568) and The Thirty- nine Articles completed the establishment of the Anglican Church in 1563. In 1601 Elizabethan Poor Law changes introduced in 1601 forced parishes to provide for the needy.

In 1564 William Shakespeare was born, he died in 1616, Guy Fawkes and others attempt to blow up the English Parliament in 1605.

What affect these events may have had on John and his family is not known, however in Suffolk it was a time of change. In 1569 [12] around Lavenham an abortive popular rebellion was attempted, led by John Porter, a weaver and was centred around the difficulties of the cloth trade which had been in serious recession for many years.

John may have benefited from the booming agriculture industry, the population had doubled between1450 and 1650 and the price of food had increased sevenfold. However wages had only trebled, so providing increased profits to the landowners and yeoman farmers.

Of John and Judith's seven children very little is known about them, with the exception of Lawrence R131 and Richard R144. John R139  married Anne Forwoode [13] in Brettenham  Church in 1615, at the time he was listed as being a widower. John's marriage date was not given in the parish register, however in the register for the 25 October 1615 Lawrence Raynham R131 , John's brother was marrying a Anne Grimwade and his sister Margaret Raynham R141 was marrying a Thomas Osborne .

It is quite possible that John also married at this time to complete a hat trick of marriages for the Raynhams of Brettenham . To date no children have been located for John and his wife Anne.

John brother Richard R144 would appear to have married twice, in 1608 at Bildeston Church he married an Alice Osborn, [14] and later he married a woman by the name of Abigail. She has not been located in any parish register or transcript documents but is referred to in Richard's will [15] dated 1 January 1629.

From the will his five surviving children are named beneficiaries, eldest son John R146, Lawrence R147, Richard R143, eldest daughter Abigail R148 and Elizabeth R145. Gifts between ?40 and ?50 were left to each of them when they reached the age of 21 years., today this would be worth between ?3700 and ?4600. He also left property at Boxford , which is approximately 10 miles south of Brettenham , to his eldest son John.

He also bequeathed sums of money to the children of his brother, Lawrence R131 , his sister Margaret Osborne and the poor of Brettenham , clearly as a yeoman of Brettenham he was a man of some substance.

Of Judith Raynum R149 we know she was baptised on the 8 June 1584, Mary Raynum R150 baptised on the 28 August 1586 both at Bildeston parish church. The remaining son Lawrence R131  some details are known, he being my direct descendant are explored in greater detail in Chapter 3.

The six Raynham headstones have been transcribed [16] and read from left to right.

Sarah widow of James Raynham 11 Aug 1793 aged 89"
James Raynham 3 Nov 1789 aged 70"
Ann widow of James Raynham 18 Feb 1805 aged 61"
James Raynham 10 March 1830 aged 81"
Samuel Raynham 7 Dec 1807 aged 19"
Mary widow of James Raynham 2 July 1836 aged 77"

It has been possible to identify five of the above headstones and they relate to James R160 and Sarah Raynham and James R168 and Ann Raynham are husbands and wives. Mary is James R168 second wife who he married following the death of Ann; Samuel has not been identified to date.