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Jessops of
Broom Hall
This line is
by far the most predominant and well documented family line. The
line's progenitor is William Jessop, of Rotherham he married Emmott
Charlesworth, and had a son Richard who married Ann Swift. William
Jessop, son of Richard inherited Broom Hall in Sheffield, Yorkshire,
through his mother, Ann Swift. Interestingly Richard Jessop, in
his pedigree, made no effort to go further back than his father,
William Jessop, of Rotherham; and the first date he gives is that
of the will of his mother, which suggests that the father, as well
as the son, had bettered his fortunes by alliance with an heiress.
The estate first
belonged to the De Ecclesalls and extended from Crookesmoor to Sheffield
Castle. Later the estate was settled by Robert de Ecclesall on Joan
de Wanton and this passed to the Wickersley family through marriage.
John Wickersley (Wycherley), who styled himself as of Broom Hall,
Esq., left the property in 1528 to his son Nicholas, whose only
daughter, and the last of the family, married Robert Swift the younger,
son of Robert Swift, gent., of Rotherham. By this marriage Robert
Swift the younger became possessed of Wickersley, Broom Hall, and
various other estates, making the Hall his principal residence.
Swift also obtained the tithes of Ecclesall, Heeley, and Hallam,
and to him and his brother William Swift, was granted in the 36th
year of Henry VIII (1544) the advowson of the church of Sheffield.
A variety of estates had thus concentrated in the only daughter
of Nicholas de Wickersley, the wife of Robert Swift, a portion of
which came to Richard Jessop through his marriage with Anne, the
eldest of three daughters of Robert Swift. On the pertition of the
estates of the latter in 1561, Jessop received Broom Hall, as well
as other property. The ecclesiastical grants made to the Swifts
passed eventually into the hands of the Jessop family, and thence
by inheritance to the Wilkinson and Gell families, by whom they
have since been administered.
The earlier
portion of Broom Hall was built in the time of Henry VIII, that
is from 1509 to 1547. The Jessops added to the original structure
during the time it was in their possession. In 1791, Broom Hall
was set on fire by 'a mob'. The fire damaged the library, which
had been collected by Francis Jessop, Esq., one of the earliest
members of the Royal Society The most modern (1886) part of the
hall was built by the Rev. Jame Wilkinson, Vicar of Sheffield. Broom
Hall is described
A respectable
three-storey oak-beamed Tudor mansion mansion, located a little
to the north of the Porter [brook], and about a mile west of sheffield.
It is a low building embowered by trees. Around the house lay
a beautiful estate, richly cultivated, well watered and well wooded
By 1881 "the
old Hall had been divided into three good dwelling-houses and the
surrounding estate had been built upon, with a number of "handsome
villa residences" each with a considerable area of grounds
to each.
On Jul 13 1575
the Broom Hall Jessops (at that time spelt Jessoppe) were granted
a coat-of-arms which was subsequently used by the Broom Hall family
of the name. It is noted in Burke's "Encyclopedia," has been verified
at the College of Arms in London. It is described in heraldic terms
as follows:
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ARMS -
Barry of six argent (silver) and azure (blue) , on the first
nine mullets gules, three, three, and three.
CREST
- A dove standing on an olive branch proper."
In plain
English:
A shield
with six transverse bars, alternately silver and blue, the
silver bars each with three red stars. The dove and olive
branch are "proper," that is, of their natural colors.
The endorsement
of the patent is: "Granted, 13 July, 1575, to Richard Jessop,
of broom Hall, in the parish of Sheffield, co. York," and
signed by "William Flower, Norroy King-at-arms."
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Later this Coat
was changed to a quartered shield to incorporate the arms of the Swift
line . The shield is described as
Quarterly
1 and 4 Jessop; Barry of six argent and azure on each piece of the
first 3 mullets gules:
2 and 3 Swift;
Or, a chevron barry nebulee argent and azure between 3 roebucks
courant proper bearing the motto, 'Festina lente,' - make haste
slowly
The family continued
to prosper acquiring land in Yorkshire and Sherwood. In the early
1700s the family became heir to the title 'Lord Darcy', when William
- GG grandson of the original William of Broomhall - married Mary
Darcy, eldest daughter and heir of the then Lord Darcy. It was one
of the Lords Darcy who proclaimed Charles 1 in Sheffield in 1625.
The last Jessop
owner of Broomhall was Judge William Jessop, his only son James
Jessop Lord Darcy died without issue and the Jessop of Broomhall
line failed, and the Broomhall property was left to his eldest daughter
Barbara and her husband Andrew Wilkinson. Their son, Rev. James
Wilkinson, was the last of the family to occupy the Hall. He bequeathed
it to his cousin, Phillip Gell, of Hopton, and the estate afterward
passed by sale into the possession of John Watson, Esq., of Shircliffe
Hall.
The Broom Hall
family were undoubtably Puritan supporters Francis Jessop - Rector
of Treeton - was suspended for is support of the 'dissenters' William
Jessop of Broom Hall presented to the vicarage of Sheffield the
Rev. Thomas Toller, a well known Puritan divine. His son, Wortley
Jessop of Broom Hall, was also a documented Puritan. Richard Jessop,
in 1593, named as supervisors of his will this same Rev. Thomas
Toller, and with him the Rev. Richard Clifton, another Puritan preacher.
Francis Jessop, the third brother, sold his estates in Tilne and
travelled to Holland with John Robinson (a portion of his church
became the Pilgrims founders of Plymouth).
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Back to the Jessop - Name Meaning
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