Pratt Manors

The Church of Ryston is dedicated to St. Michael, and stands in a field by itself, about a quarter of a mile from Riston Hall. It is built of carr stone and is a single pile, about thirty-three feet in length and twenty-two in breadth. At the west end of the nave stands part of a little four square tower, with the groins of free stone; the upper part of the tower lies open and is broke down to the roof of the church. The chancel is divided from the body by a screen, and is in length about thirty feet and in breadth about twenty-seven; this chancel has a roof like the nave, camerated, plastered and covered with tile. On the pavement lies a marble stone with the arms of Pratt, argent on a chevron between three pellets, two in chief charged each with a martlet, and one in base with a trefoil argent, three mascles or impaling gules or movins. ( The crest of Pratt is a wolf's head couped, per pale argent & a sable & a collar, with three plates counterchanged) and thus inscribed: "Here lieth the body of Roger Prat, lord of the manor of Ryston, who married Ann, one of the daughters & co-heiresses of Sir Edmund Movins, of Waldershire, in Kent, & baronet. He d. 20 Feb 1684."

Against the north wall is an alter monument of stone and alabaster, on which lies the statue of a lady, at her full length, in a cumbent posture, supporting her head with her right hand, which rests on a cushion, all carved out in alabaster; the body of the monument is ornamented with flowers, fruit, &c. and thereon this epitaph: "Here ly's the body of the lady Pratt, whose first husband was Sir Roger Pratt, of this place; her second husband was Sigimand Trafford, of Dunstan Hall, in Tyeld St. Maries, in the county of Lincoln, Esq., who caused this monument to be erected in her memory. She died 12 Sep 1706, in the sixty-third year of her age."

Walter Gylour was Lord of the Manor in the reign of Henry VII, and by a daughter of Gylour it came to the Prats. William Prat was lord, and by his will, dated 4 Dec 1557, desires to be buried in the church of St. Edmund in Downham Market. The Pratts derive from Robert Prat, whose son, Edmund, was Lord of the Manor of Cartes in Hockwold, and died in the 34th year of reign of Henry VIII. This Edmund married the heiress of Walter Gylour, and John was his son and heir.

William Prat, son of John, by his will dated above in 1557, gives this lordship with lands, tenements, &c., in Roxham, Higley, Fordham, Denner, Downham, Desham, and Bexwell, to Gregory Pratt, of Hoxwold, and his male heirs. This Gregory was nephew to William, and son of his brother, Edward Pratt, by Catherine, daughter of (--?--) Tassell; Gregory and Richard Prat executors, and Edmund Beaupre, supervisor.

Gregory was lord in 1573, and married, Ann, daughter and co-heir of William Cocket, Esq., of Berthorp, in Norfolk, by whom he had two sons, Gregory and Francis. This Gregory married Theodosia, daughter of (--?--) Tyrrell, and relict of Edmund West, of Marchworth, in Bucks and she was buried there in January, 1629. Sir Rogert Pratt, their son, died Lord in 1684. So that we must return to Edward Pratt, second son of Edward (bro. of Gregory) by Catharine Tassell; this Edward was of Hockwold, and married Dorothy, daughter of William Cobb, Esq., of Landeringham, and father of Edward Pratt, of Horningham, in Suffolk, who by Ursula, his wife, daughter of Rossington, of Framingham, in Suffolk, was father of Edward Pratt, gentleman of Yoxford, in Suffolk, by Emma, his wife, daughter of (--?--) Triffin, of Crimplesham, widow of (--?--) Bexwell; he had Edward Pratt, of Woodbridge, in Suffolk, who married Mary, daughter of Anthony Applethwait, of Ipswich, Esq., now lord of Riston, who by Henrietta, daughter of Sir Robert Davers, baronet of Rushbrook, in Suffolk, had two sons, Edward and Jermyn. Edward, the eldest, married a daughter of Sir Jacob Astley, baronet. It is to be observed that Francis Pratt, second son of Gregory, by his wife, daughter of Cocket, married first, Ursula, daughter of Anthony Gosnold, of Ottley, in Suffolk, had by him, Edward Pratt, who died in 1664.[4]

"Anthony Du Prat, Cardinal Legate, Chancellor of France, and Prime Minister of Francis I, was born at Issoire, in Auvergne, in 1465, and after studying for the bar, became successively, Advocate General to the Parliament of Toulouse, Master of Requests, and President a Mortier, to the Parliament of Paris, in 1507, chiefly President of the same. In 1515, he preceded Stephen Porcher, as Keeper of the Seals. He soon after accompanied Francis to Italy, and at Bologna had a conference with Leo X, on the subject of the Abrogation of the Pragmatic Sanction, and negotiated a Concordat with the pontiff. After the Battle of Pavia, in 1525, and during the captivity of Francis, Du Pratt powerfully influenced the Councils of Louisa, of Savoy, the regent, and was an object of jealousy to the Parliament of Paris. He was raised to the purple in 1527, and made legate "a latere" in 1530. He was an active and violent opponent of the Reformers, and died Archbishop of Sens, in 1535. A devotion to the personal interests of his royal master was the ruling passion of his life."[5]

Lamberhurst Parish, Beegham Abbey, was, in the time of Queen Anne, conveyed by sale to John Pratt, Esq., of Wilderness, Sergeant-at-Law, and afterwards Chief Justice of the King's Bench. On his death in 1725, John Pratt Esq., or Wilderness, his eldest son, succeeded him in this manor, of which he died possessed in 1770, as did his son, of Wilderness, but afterward of Seven Oak, where he also died in 1797, and, by his will, gave this estate to his half-brother, Thomas Pratt, Esq., elder brother of Charles, Earl of Camden, and he subsequently possessed this manor, with the site of the abbey and lands belonging thereunto. Considerable vestiges of the ruins of this edifice are yet standing, and within the walls of the church, over which the roof remained till Lord Chief Justice Pratt caused the same to be taken down for the use of the materials. There are several gravestones upon one of which is a crosier. There are also three tombs, or coffins of stone, one of which is decorated with the sculpture of a cross pomel pierced.[6]


	Pratt Family Website \| home Introduction Cont'd \| Pratt Manors \| Branches of Pratt Family \| Abstracts of Wills \| Abstracts Cont'd \| Pratts of Weymouth \| 1st & 2nd Generations \| 3rd Thru 7th Gen \| Related Links \| Contact Us Pratt Manors Riston Hall The Church of Ryston is dedicated to St. Michael, and stands in a field by itself, about a quarter of a mile from Riston Hall. It is built of carr stone and is a single pile, about thirty-three feet in length and twenty-two in breadth. At the west end of the nave stands part of a little four square tower, with the groins of free stone; the upper part of the tower lies open and is broke down to the roof of the church. The chancel is divided from the body by a screen, and is in length about thirty feet and in breadth about twenty-seven; this chancel has a roof like the nave, camerated, plastered and covered with tile. On the pavement lies a marble stone with the arms of Pratt, argent on a chevron between three pellets, two in chief charged each with a martlet, and one in base with a trefoil argent, three mascles or impaling gules or movins. ( The crest of Pratt is a wolf's head couped, per pale argent & a sable & a collar, with three plates counterchanged) and thus inscribed: "Here lieth the body of Roger Prat, lord of the manor of Ryston, who married Ann, one of the daughters & co-heiresses of Sir Edmund Movins, of Waldershire, in Kent, & baronet. He d. 20 Feb 1684." "Until the resurrection of the Just, My bones untouched will rest I trust." Against the north wall is an alter monument of stone and alabaster, on which lies the statue of a lady, at her full length, in a cumbent posture, supporting her head with her right hand, which rests on a cushion, all carved out in alabaster; the body of the monument is ornamented with flowers, fruit, &c. and thereon this epitaph: "Here ly's the body of the lady Pratt, whose first husband was Sir Roger Pratt, of this place; her second husband was Sigimand Trafford, of Dunstan Hall, in Tyeld St. Maries, in the county of Lincoln, Esq., who caused this monument to be erected in her memory. She died 12 Sep 1706, in the sixty-third year of her age." Walter Gylour was Lord of the Manor in the reign of Henry VII, and by a daughter of Gylour it came to the Prats. William Prat was lord, and by his will, dated 4 Dec 1557, desires to be buried in the church of St. Edmund in Downham Market. The Pratts derive from Robert Prat, whose son, Edmund, was Lord of the Manor of Cartes in Hockwold, and died in the 34th year of reign of Henry VIII. This Edmund married the heiress of Walter Gylour, and John was his son and heir. William Prat, son of John, by his will dated above in 1557, gives this lordship with lands, tenements, &c., in Roxham, Higley, Fordham, Denner, Downham, Desham, and Bexwell, to Gregory Pratt, of Hoxwold, and his male heirs. This Gregory was nephew to William, and son of his brother, Edward Pratt, by Catherine, daughter of (--?--) Tassell; Gregory and Richard Prat executors, and Edmund Beaupre, supervisor. Gregory was lord in 1573, and married, Ann, daughter and co-heir of William Cocket, Esq., of Berthorp, in Norfolk, by whom he had two sons, Gregory and Francis. This Gregory married Theodosia, daughter of (--?--) Tyrrell, and relict of Edmund West, of Marchworth, in Bucks and she was buried there in January, 1629. Sir Rogert Pratt, their son, died Lord in 1684. So that we must return to Edward Pratt, second son of Edward (bro. of Gregory) by Catharine Tassell; this Edward was of Hockwold, and married Dorothy, daughter of William Cobb, Esq., of Landeringham, and father of Edward Pratt, of Horningham, in Suffolk, who by Ursula, his wife, daughter of Rossington, of Framingham, in Suffolk, was father of Edward Pratt, gentleman of Yoxford, in Suffolk, by Emma, his wife, daughter of (--?--) Triffin, of Crimplesham, widow of (--?--) Bexwell; he had Edward Pratt, of Woodbridge, in Suffolk, who married Mary, daughter of Anthony Applethwait, of Ipswich, Esq., now lord of Riston, who by Henrietta, daughter of Sir Robert Davers, baronet of Rushbrook, in Suffolk, had two sons, Edward and Jermyn. Edward, the eldest, married a daughter of Sir Jacob Astley, baronet. It is to be observed that Francis Pratt, second son of Gregory, by his wife, daughter of Cocket, married first, Ursula, daughter of Anthony Gosnold, of Ottley, in Suffolk, had by him, Edward Pratt, who died in 1664.[4] WALPOLE HALL Walpole Hall, in Roxham, soon after the reign of James I, came to the Pratts, Roger Pratt, Esq., being possesor in 1807. "Anthony Du Prat, Cardinal Legate, Chancellor of France, and Prime Minister of Francis I, was born at Issoire, in Auvergne, in 1465, and after studying for the bar, became successively, Advocate General to the Parliament of Toulouse, Master of Requests, and President a Mortier, to the Parliament of Paris, in 1507, chiefly President of the same. In 1515, he preceded Stephen Porcher, as Keeper of the Seals. He soon after accompanied Francis to Italy, and at Bologna had a conference with Leo X, on the subject of the Abrogation of the Pragmatic Sanction, and negotiated a Concordat with the pontiff. After the Battle of Pavia, in 1525, and during the captivity of Francis, Du Pratt powerfully influenced the Councils of Louisa, of Savoy, the regent, and was an object of jealousy to the Parliament of Paris. He was raised to the purple in 1527, and made legate "a latere" in 1530. He was an active and violent opponent of the Reformers, and died Archbishop of Sens, in 1535. A devotion to the personal interests of his royal master was the ruling passion of his life."[5] Beegham Abbey Lamberhurst Parish, Beegham Abbey, was, in the time of Queen Anne, conveyed by sale to John Pratt, Esq., of Wilderness, Sergeant-at-Law, and afterwards Chief Justice of the King's Bench. On his death in 1725, John Pratt Esq., or Wilderness, his eldest son, succeeded him in this manor, of which he died possessed in 1770, as did his son, of Wilderness, but afterward of Seven Oak, where he also died in 1797, and, by his will, gave this estate to his half-brother, Thomas Pratt, Esq., elder brother of Charles, Earl of Camden, and he subsequently possessed this manor, with the site of the abbey and lands belonging thereunto. Considerable vestiges of the ruins of this edifice are yet standing, and within the walls of the church, over which the roof remained till Lord Chief Justice Pratt caused the same to be taken down for the use of the materials. There are several gravestones upon one of which is a crosier. There are also three tombs, or coffins of stone, one of which is decorated with the sculpture of a cross pomel pierced.[6] Richard Pratt was elected mayor of Canterbury, September 14th 1456, more than 36 years prior to the discovery of America.[7] [4] "History of Norfolk" by Vide Parkins, Vol. VII. [5] "Biographical Dictionary" by Rose, Vol. II, Page 221. [6] "History of co. Kent" by Ireland, Vol. III, Page 332. [7] "History of Kent" by Halstead, Vol. II, Page 52. Continue For Public Records