My 24 x Great Grandfather William D’Avranches was born in the town of Avranches in Normandy, France in the year 1037. He was a member of the Ducal family of Normandy and a relative of Richard le Goz whose son later became Earl of Chester
In 1040 – while still an infant – William was installed as Comte D’Avranches by William Duke of Normandy.
He came to England with William, Duke of Normandy in 1066 and after the Duke of Normandy’s defeat of King Harold Godwinson’s army at the Battle of Hastings on 14th October that year, Willaim D’Avranches was made Lord of the manor of Hougham (an Anglo Saxon manor near Dover) together with sundry other manors.
William was also one of the 8 Knights who were appointed Wardens over Dover Castle under John de Fienne, the others being Fulbert de Dover, William de Arsic, Galfridus Peverel, William Maminot, Robert de Port, Hugh Crevequer, and Adam Fitzwilliams. It is thought William married Matilda daughter of Baldwin De Redvers, Earl of Devon (but no definite proof of this exists).
William and Matilda settled in Okehampton in Devon and had two sons: Robert d’Avranches (born around 1067 and died after 1130), and Rualon (born around 1070 and died about 1147 in Kent).
Whilst Robert was adopted by his Uncle Richard de Brione and inherited the Barony of Okehampton (being known as Robert Viscount of Devonshire, heriditary Sheriff of Devonshsire, and Castalan of Exeter) his brother Ruallon d’Avranches became Sheriff of Kent and married Matilda de Monville. She carried the lordship of Folkestone and the lands at Flete and thus Rualon became Lord of Folkestone, as did their first-born son, William ( ?-1190). William is credited to be the architect of Avranches Tower at Dover Castle, reputedly the strongest tower in the curtain wall.
Rualon and Matilda had at least two sons – William (1120-before 1190) and Robert d’Avranches (1140/1160 – before 1230). It was Robert who was the first to adopt the surname ‘de Hougham’ – it’s meaning being the same as Avranches – ‘a home in a hilly place’. Part Norman (‘hough’ – on a hill) and part Saxon (‘ham’ – home). He was also the first Hougham to be knighted and receive Coat of Arms.
In 1189 by Deed of Grant he was granted the Manor of Boxley which he owned to the Abbey of Maidstone in return for certain services from the abbots there, according to this same Deed of Grant he owned the Manor of Wavering and had let part of it prior to 1189.
Robert de Hougham – as he was now known – was a Crusader who fought with King Richard I (the ‘Lionheart’) at the Siege of Acre in the north of the Holy Land between August 1189 and July 1191. He appears to be the only crusader from the Dover area to be named as such and he was one of the few to survive the rigours of crusading. Perhaps in appreciation of his survival he undertook the rebuilding of the church in Hougham, which he found in a ruinous state on his return to England.
The Parish Church of St Laurence the Martyr, Hougham
It was Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury (602-690) who is believed to have started the system of diving Britain into ecclesiastical parishes, a system which survives little-changed to this day. He persuaded many land holders to build and endow churches on their lands and gave them the right to appoint the incumbants to those churches. Hougham appears in a list of seventh century parishes, making it one of the earliest to have been created.
In 696 King Wihtred of Kent had the canons (the priests), who had been in Dover Castle since 620, moved to a new monastery in Dover’s market place. This was known as St Martin’s and it came to own most of Hougham parish by the time of Domesday in 1086. When the Priory was refounded in 1131, Hougham was transferred to the ‘New Work’. This became known as Dover Priory and Hougham stayed with it until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s.
The Parish of Hougham stretched from Dover Priory in the east, along the sea shore to Abbots Cliffe in the west, and inland to the borders of Alkham and Poulton in the north.
Although Hougham church had its origins in the seventh century no trace of the early building can be seen. Today’s building is made up mainly of good Norman and early English work, greatly restored in Victorian times. It was constructed at the end of the eleventh or beginning of the twelth century. Built from the flints and stones found in abundance in the immediate neighbourhood, with the addition of some Kentish ragstone and import caen stone used at angles and openings
Robert de Hougham’s restoration work
CHANCEL & NAVE
At one time a Lady Chapel was connected to the south side of the chancel by two arches. When Robert de Hougham returned from the crusades the Lady Chapel was in such a poor state of repair he had it pulled down, the arches walled up and a lancet inserted in each. Robert also had the chancel roof raised and a triplet of lancets inserted in the east end.
NORTH AISLE
The north aisle is basically Norman with heavy restoration work in the thirteenth century at the hand of Robert de Hougham. It is joined to the nave by an arcade of two arches on circular pillars and octagonal capitals. The Norman arches were replaced by 13th century pointed arches.
The doorway in the north wall was built by Robert de Hougham, but it was blocked up at the end of the 14th century. Robert also had the two lancets in this wall inserted, as well as the triple lancet at the east end.
SOUTH AISLE & PORCH
The south aisle was rapaired by Robert de Hougham and is joined to the nave by a plain semi-circular arch. The south porch was added at the same time. The pointed arch over the south doorway to the porch is of fine craftsmanship and is reputed to be one of the best thirteenth century mason’s work in the area.
The walled-up door way is just visible on the far-right of the picture…
(View my descent from William d’Avranches here)
For more information:
Histories – how reliable is our data? – http://royroyes.net/showmedia.php?mediaID=553&medialinkID=1593
St Lawrence church, Hougham, Kent – https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Hougham,_Kent_Genealogy
Details of Hougham Church, and Robert’s rebuilding work quoted here are taken from a booklet written by Susan Lees in 1994.
