Hamon de Massey 1st Baron de Dunham ^{1 2 3 4 5 6 7}

   Other names for Hamon were Haimo de Masci, Hamo de Mascy Baron de Dunham, Hamon I De Mascy 1st Baron of Massey and Hammon I Massey Baron of Dunham Massey.

  Research Notes:

Illegitmate son of William de la Ferte-Macé per most sources.

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From Wikipedia - Hamon de Massey 2 Dec 2010:

The first Hamon de Massey was the owner of the manors of Agden , Baguley , Bowdon , Dunham , Hale and Little Bollington after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, taking over from the Saxon thegn Aelfward according to the Domesday Book .[1]

The name of Hamon de Massey was passed on to his descendants for several generations. There are several different ways of spelling the name, including "de Masci", "de Mace", "de Macei", "de Mascy", "de Massy" and "de Massie".

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From Wikipedia - Dunham Massey

The Chester to York Roman road passes between the settlements of Dunham Massey and Bowdon and today forms the boundary between the two places. The name Dunham is derived from the Anglo-Saxon dun, meaning hill. The Massey element of the name is a result of its ownership by the Massey Barons. The manor of Dunham is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as having belonged to the Saxon thegn Aelfward before the Norman Conquest and to Hamo de Masci after. De Masci was an influential baron, who also had control over the manors of Baguley , Bowdon , Hale , Partington , and Timperley . The addition of "Massey" to the name Dunham reflects the manor's importance within the barony; Dunham was the seat of the Masseys. The importance of Dunham is further emphasised by the presence of two of de Massey's castles: Dunham Castle and Watch Hill Castle on the border with Bowdon; a third, Ullerwood Castle , was near Hale. The Masseys remained barons of Dunham and its environs until the 14th century, when the line became extinct.

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From Wikipedia - Bramall Hall 17 March 2011:

Bramall Hall is a Tudor manor house in Bramhall , within the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport , Greater Manchester, England. It is a timber-framed building, the oldest parts of which date from the 14th century, with later additions from the 16th and 19th centuries. The house, which functions as a museum, and its 70 acres (28 ha) of landscaped parkland with lakes, woodland, and gardens are open to the public.

Dating back to Anglo-Saxon England , the manor of Bramall was first described in the Domesday Book in 1086, when it was held by the Masseys. From the late 14th century it was owned by the Davenports who built the present house, and remained lords of the manor for about 500 years before selling the estate of nearly 2,000 acres in 1877 to the Manchester Freeholders' Company, a property company formed expressly for the purpose of exploiting the estate's potential for residential building development. The Hall and a residual park of over 50 acres was sold on by the Freeholders (though not the lordship of the manor) to the Nevill family of successful industrialists. In 1925 it was purchased by John Henry Davies , and then, in 1935, acquired by the local government authority for the area - Hazel Grove and Bramhall Urban District Council. Bramall Hall is owned now, following local government reorganisation in 1974, by Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC), which describes it as "the most prestigious and historically significant building in the Conservation Area".[1]

The name "Bramall" means "nook of land where broom grows" and is derived from the Old English noun br meaning broom , a type of shrub common in the area, and the Old English noun halh, which has several meanings - including nook, secret place and valley - that could refer to Bramall.[2] The manor of Bramall dates from the Anglo-Saxon period , when it was held as two separate estates owned by the Anglo-Saxon freemen Brun and Hacun.[3] The manor was devastated during William the Conqueror 's Harrying of the North .[4] After William subdued the north-west of England, the land was divided among his followers and Bramall was given to Hamon de Massey in around 1070.[3]

The earliest reference to Bramhall was recorded in the Domesday Book as "Bramale" at which time the manor was part of the Hamestan Hundred in Cheshire. With Cheadle and Norbury , Bramall was one of three places described in the Domesday Book that today lie within the modern-day Metropolitan Borough of Stockport .[1] Whereas its value was 32 shillings before 1066, it was worth only 5 shillings by 1086.[5]

In the first part of the 12th century, the manor passed from the second Baron of Dunham Massey to Matthew de Bromale. According to Dean, Matthew's father is said to have founded the de Bromale family, naming himself after the manor, and he may have been related to or a follower of the de Masseys. He may have also held the manor at some point. The de Bromales held the manor until 1370 when Alice de Bromale married John de Davenport , and the family name was changed.[4]


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Genealogy.com (Snell) says he was an illegitimate son (per Wyatt Massey 11/20/1999). Fought at Battle of Hastings and/or served as Mathieu's squire. Mathieu was later killed in battle in Normandy. Hamon was the first to live at Dunham Massey and was known as the Baron de Dunham. He founded the Massey family.

Has death date as 1101 in Dunham, Lancaster, Lancashire, England.

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Herman W. Snell ("Descendants of William De Belleme") quotes from History of Cheshire, by Sir Peter Leycester

"Hamo de Mascy is thought to have been the illegitimate, or "natural" son of William de La Ferte, viscount of the powerful Belleme (Bellamy) family of Normandy. The seat of his holdings was the town of La Ferte Mace (fur-tee ma-cee) located in the present day Orne district. William's oldest son (legitimate) was Baron Mathieu de La Ferte Mace. His youngest (legitimate) was Hugue de Macey. All three sons were present at the Battle of Hastings, 1066, and as a result were given land grants in England. At Hastings, Mathieu's rank was Baron, Hugue's rank was knight, and Hamo served as Mathieu's squire. Mathieu would not live to enjoy his English possessions, as shortly after Hastings he was killed in battle in Shropshire. Hamo received his grants in Chesire and founded the Mascy (Massey) family. The seat of his holdings was the village of Dunham and his family lived at Dunham Massey Hall. His title was Baron de Dunham, and his descendants would continue to live at Dunham Massey Hall until 1458 when it came into the possession of the Booth family by marriage to a Massey heiress. In 1085 the Masseys held nine lordships in Chesire.

Dunham Massey Hall, at the time the Masseys lived in it, was a three winged manor (in the shape of a squared off U) surrounded by a moat. The extensive grounds outside the moat contained a deer park, orchards, a river, and fishing ponds. Later owners made many changes and it bears little resemblance to the old Massey homestead. It now belongs to the British National Trust and is open to the public. It is located four miles spouthwest of Altrincham, which is a suburb of Manchester. "

Sites obtained by Hamon l, in addition the the house in Chester and land in Wirrall peninsula, were Ullerton or Owlarton. It is located approx. two miles south-southeast from the town of Knutsford. Going northwest to the Mersey River, Northeast to Bramhall or Bromhale, which is those days would have been two miles s/w from Stockport, Thence below Stockport to the Mersey River.
With these two lines denoting the s/e/ and s/w/ boundary and the Mersey River being the northern boundary of an area having a triangular shape. At about the midway point of the northern boundary on the Mersey River would be the river crossing to the City of Manchester original location in Lancaster, which lies to the north of Chester.

This probably marks the area with the greatest holdings of the Barons de Mascy in Cheshire. With these lands Hamon de Mascy had lesser Lords who held portions thereof for him or under his 'right'. Examples would be Adae de Carrington and Alano de Tatton. Both constituted Estates granted to Hamon.

In 1092 King William Rufus was a guest at the Court of Hugh Lupus in Chester. at least two of his Barons attended the King, Hamon de Mascy and William Venables. They along with their entourage of adherents and servants of Hamon's, accompanied the King on a hunting expedition in the Wirrall Peninsula. This probably took place on lands which had been set aside as a hunting preserve of the King and treated as his possession, which had not been the subject of a grant, not even to Earl Hugh Lupus. No doubt it was a consequence of some occurrence on this hunting expedition that a new estate was given to Hamon I, in fee of Hugh Lupus.

Pontington, the area which is called today the village of Puddington,was granted by the King him self, so that there after the
de Mascy Cheshire Barons held it in fee of the King rather than in fee of the Earl. For that reason Pontington was in later years especially prized.One can only speculate why King William Rufus made this generous grant. However, as soon as the hunting party returned to Hugh Lupus' Castle at Chester, Hamon sought out a scrivener, possibly a Monk whoes duties were appropriate to the purpose of recording as follows:

"I, William, King of England do give onto Mascy all my right, interest and title to the hop and hopland(valley land) from me and mine with bow and arrow, when I shoot upon yerrow(the place), and in witness to the sooth(action or statement) I seal with my wang tooth."

Inscribed as witness was William Venables "fratre suo". In the consideration given to the first Hamon de Mascy it should be remembered that he was a part of the court and governing body of nobles in Cheshire at a time when it was a county Palatinate under Earl Hugh Lupus. What this means is, that it's rule was like that under a country under martial law. At least Earl Hugh Lupus was not hampered by either King William the Conqueror or King William Rufus and he reigned in Cheshire as King. The Barons and their Lords were almost constantly put to defend against the Welsh on Cheshire's western border and to maintain control over the Saxons who made up the bulk of the population.

Hamon Massey, the first Baron of Dunham-Massy, held the towns of Dunham,Bowden, Hale, Ashley and half of Owlerton in Bucklow Hundred, under Hugh Lupus, Earl of Cheshire in the reign of William the Conqueror. All of which one Edward held formerly, as appears by Domesday Book.So it appears this Edward was dispossessed of his right herein and these lands given to Hamon by Hugh Lupus. Hamon also had land in Maxfield Hundred,Bromhale and Puddington in Wirrall Hundred and other places, at the same time.

[FN:From the History of Cheshire, by Sir Peter Leycester:FN].

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From http://www.springhillfarm.com/broomhall/history.html:
After the conquest the Saxons were ejected and their lands were granted to Normans. BRAMALE (Bramhall) was granted to HAIMO (Hamo, Hamon) DE MASCI (Mascy, Massey &c) as part of the barony of Dunham Massey, the the Macclesfield Hundred. It is linked historically with Brunhala = Bromhale = Broomhall near Wrenbury and Nantwich, through the family of Hamo de Masci, the first baron.
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  Birth Notes:

FamilySearch or Rootsweb AFN: 18GS-7Q3 b. abt 1076

  Noted events in his life were:

• Received: Bramall (Bromale), Abt 1070, Bramhall, (Greater Manchester), Cheshire, England. From Wikipedia - Bramall Hall:
The manor was devastated during William the Conqueror 's Harrying of the North .[4] After William subdued the north-west of England, the land was divided among his followers and Bramall was given to Hamon de Massey in around 1070.[3]

The earliest reference to Bramhall was recorded in the Domesday Book as "Bramale" at which time the manor was part of the Hamestan Hundred in Cheshire. With Cheadle and Norbury , Bramall was one of three places described in the Domesday Book that today lie within the modern-day Metropolitan Borough of Stockport .[1] Whereas its value was 32 shillings before 1066, it was worth only 5 shillings by 1086.[5]

In the first part of the 12th century, the manor passed from the second Baron of Dunham Massey to Matthew de Bromale. According to Dean, Matthew's father is said to have founded the de Bromale family, naming himself after the manor, and he may have been related to or a follower of the de Masseys. He may have also held the manor at some point. The de Bromales held the manor until 1370 when Alice de Bromale married John de Davenport , and the family name was changed.[4]

Hamon married Margaret Sacie, daughter of Le Sire De Sacie and Unknown, about 1099 in Dunham Massey, Bucklow, Cheshire, England. (Margaret Sacie was born about 1077 in Dunham, Lancaster, Lancashire, England.)