Robert de
Tosny
or (de Tonei)
(d. 11th C)
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Robert de Tosny came
to England with William the Conqueror in 1066. In 1071 Edwin, Earl of Mercia,
was assassinated and his lands distributed amongst William's followers.
Robert de Tosny was granted the manor of Bradley and one third of the king's
rents in Stafford. He went on to build Stafford Castle. Tosny is
nowadays a little village, population 677, ten miles south of Rouen in
the north of France.
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| Bigod
Family
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The
Bigod family owned the manor of Bradley in the 13th C. The Bigods were noted
for, amongst other things, being the the 1st Earls of Norfolk and owners of
Framlingham Castle in Suffolk, taking part in the release of Richard the
Lionheart and the signing of the Magna Carta
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Brooksby Bartholomew
d. 1448
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The
Bartholemew family were owners of Great Bradley Manor for over 100 years.
Brooksby was Sheriff of Leicestershire in 1411 and again in 1420, and member of five
parliaments between 1410 and 1435.
The picture shows the family coat of arms
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Lady
Margaret Beaufort
1443 - 1509 |
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She was mother
of King Henry VII, born when she was just 13. She owned the land between East
Green and the River. This land then passed over to St John's College in
whose ownership it remained until recently. It is now in private
ownership. The twin cottages on the Newmarket side of the village, called
Str John's Cottages are a reminder of the past. She helped found Christ's College and St John's College in
Cambridge. Lady Margaret Hall, the first women's college at Oxford
University, was named in honour. She is buried in Westminster Abbey
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Thomas Soames
~ 1552
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The
Soames'
owned Great Bradley manor in the 16th C. They also owned a house in Hatton Garden and land in London, and eventually had land and interests in
Tobago. Thomas' son was to become Sir Stephen Soame, the Lord Mayor of
London and Lord of the Staple, which means he sat on the Wool Sack. The
family commissioned Vermuyden to
prepare plans to drain the fens.
The picture is of the monument dedicated to the Soames family in Little
Thurlow church
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| John McMahon Wilder |
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John
had a total of 17
children.
The eldest was Charles Gosselin Wilder (born 1842, died 1880),
• the second eldest John Trafalgar Wilder (born 1843, died 1892),
• the second youngest, William Burnard C. Wilder (born 1866, died 1931)
and
• the youngest, Percival H.E. Wilder (born 1868, died 1942).
It was, amazingly, in this order they became Rectors of Great Bradley. This plaque is one of the memorials to the family in the church
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William Pitt
the Elder
1707 - 1778
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One of the
ancestors, on the maternal side, of Ann B who lives in the village. He was
Prime Minister of England 1766 - 1768.
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Mrs
Seabrook
~ 1814
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'The Bury and Norwich Post'
reported that on Wednesday October 26th 1814 Mrs Seabrook,
wife of Thomas Seabrook, butcher of Great Bradley, gave birth to a
daughter. It was their 26th child!
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Thomas Brand
1774 - 1851
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The
Brand family owned Great Bradley manor during the 18th and 19th Centruries.
Thomas Brand was, at one time, the owner of Great Bradley Manor. He was an MP. His son, also Thomas
Brand, became 20th Baron Dacre. Their descendents became
the Viscounts Hampden two generations later. The picture shows Sir Henry
Bouverie William Brand, 1st Viscount Hampden |
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Josiah Nice
d. 1908
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Josiah
was the enumerator for the censuses taken between 1881 and 1901 and he was the last
miller in the Village. He took over both roles from his father but died in
tragic circumstances. The mill was demolished in 1949 |
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The
Great Bradley Mystery
1917
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A
black and white silent movie made in the USA. The plot involves an
affair with a Mr Bradley (actor Edward Ellis) and his stenographer, Lola.
When she becomes pregnant Bradley blames his business partner, Collier. Lola dies
after having her baby, and not long after, Bradley is found dead. Collier
said that he and Bradley were
fighting, and Bradley pulled a gun. They struggled, the gun went off, and
Bradley was killed.
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Burnard Wilder
d. 1920
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Last of four brothers who were
Rectors of the Parish. He served from 1892 - 1920. He
was, without doubt, the greatest "character" of all the Rectors of
our church. He is reputed to have had coins made inscribed "1
pint" and "1/2 pint". The story goes that if the male members
of his congregation attended Church once a day they were given a1/2
pint token and, if twice a day, then they were given a 1 pint token. These
tokens could be exchanged at the pub for the relative quantity of beer! The
family suffered the loss of their son in WWI and the Altar Window was
created in his memory
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Joseph Conrad
1857 - 1924
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Author,
originally named Jósef Teodor Konrad Walecz Korzeniowski. His most famous
book is Lord Jim. he is related to Ann B, who lives in the village, on
her father's side |
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Alice
Mary Wilder
(nee Hemery)
1852 - 1927
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Alice
was wife of Charles Gosselin McMahon Wilder, who was Rector at Great Bradely
from 1870 - 1881. Alice's
brother Clement William emigrated to Australia, where he started a family.
One of his great grandsons was David Hemery, the hurdler. Hemery won Great Britain's only
athletics gold medal at the Mexico Olympics in 1968. |
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Maria Woolstone Rowbottom
1848 - 1938
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Maria
is recorded as having died, aged 90 at Great Bradley
Rectory. She was widow of Major Lever Robert Rowbottom, former Wigan Coroner.
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Nathan Gooch
1886 - 1956 |
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Nathan Gooch was the blind landlord
of The Fox public house. Strangers, unaware of his disability, would be astounded to
learn that he was blind, for he would serve them with their drinks, take
their money and give them change with the confidence and assurance of a
sighted person. His gravestone is in the Churchyard
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| Great
Bradley Stakes
A 1200m race at Newmarket
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The
Great Bradley Stakes was a name of a race held for at least two years at
Newmarket in the 1942 & 43. The most famous horse to win it was
Nasrullah (b.1940 d.1959) on July 18th 1942, ridden by Doug Smith. He was a
Thoroughbred, sire of 15 champions and the English Champion in 1942. He
emigrated from England to U.S. in 1949, when purchased by A.B. Hancock for
$400,000. He is buried at Claiborne Farm, USA.. Located just outside Paris,
Kentucky, it one of the most famous thoroughbred horse farms in the United
States. See
here for commemorative plaque
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| Sipsey
Bridge
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Sipsey
Bridge was the name of a horse born in 1954 on a Yorkshire
Stud. It has a line that is still going today. It is also the bridge over the River Stour
between the village and Newamrket. It is at the boundary of the parish but
also defines the border between
Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
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| Fred
Templeman
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Fred Templeman with jockey
Sir Gordon Richards |
Fred Templeman appears
in the 1901 Census of Great
Bradley. He is 9 years old and living with his sisters and recently
widowed father in Fox Farm, next to the Fox Inn. He grew up to be a famous
jockey and racehorse trainer. The family arrived in Great Bradley
about 1889 and Fred left home for Lambourn, Berkshire, to begin his jockey's
apprentice c.1904. He had his first ride in 1905, aged 13.
Fred's greatest triumph as a jockey was winning the
Derby in 1919 on Grand Parade in it's
debut season (a feat not equalled until 1995). As a trainer he had winners
at the Newmarket Two Thousand Guineas and The Oaks |
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Sue
Ryder
1923 - 2002
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Sue Ryder,
or Baroness
Ryder of Warsaw (1923-2000), is most well known for her care homes. Charles
Foster Ryder was her father and he lived at Great Bradley Hall
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Rev John Eley
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Rector of the Benefice churches
in the area since 1998. He was born the son of a
shepherd and came to prominence as The Cooking Canon on BBC TV's Pebble Mill at One when he entertained audiences with cookery and comedy as a double act with Rabbi Lionel Blue. He has three best selling publications from this series, The Cooking Canon, The Cooking Canon Entertains and Simply Divine.
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| Debach
Delight |
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The best racehorse from the Freedom Farm Stud in East
Green. She won the Group 3, Deutsche Stutenpreis at Hannover.
She bred, Joy of Freedom.
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Rowan
Sylvester-Bradley
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Parish Councillor, living in the village and carrying
the same name
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Louise Mathias
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Poet, and author of
'Lark Apprentice'. Brought up in Great Bradley. Now living in Los
Angeles. |
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Tom Knight
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Grandson of
the late Tony Knight, Chair of the Parish Council, and one of the country's youngest
Dulcimer Players
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Cyril
Potter
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Cyril is featured in
the British Library collection of dialects from around the country.
To listen to his farming memories click
here
To see an analysis of the most interesting dialect
information then click
here
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Milk
it Mick
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Milk it Mick will be standing at
Loan Oak Stud in East Green for the 2008 season
Milk
It Mick (trained by Jamie Osborne) ran 12 times as a 2 year old, winning 5
times including Group 3 Somerville Stakes and Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes. He
was Champion 2 year old in 2003, Timeform rated 120 as a 2 year old. He went
on to run 28 times winning £392,426 and Grade 1 Frank Kilroe stakes at
Santa Anita in 2006.
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