Robert BARRINGTON / BERRINGTON (c1643-1717), gentleman of Seal, Kent and the Middle Temple

Robert BARRINGTON c1643 - 1717	=	Ann French ? - 1711
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Francis BARRINGTON c1688 - 1762	=	Rose Porter 1692 - 1751
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Mary BARRINGTON 1731 - 1780	=	William BENNETT 1732 - 1781
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Elizabeth BENNETT 1765 - 1839	=	John KEMP 1748 - 5 Sep 1811
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Ann KEMP 10 Jul 1784 - 19 Apr 1858	=	John BEST 12 Dec 1776 - <7 Jun 1841
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Caleb BEST 14 Oct 1826 - 26 Aug 1917	=	Jane Augusta BATH 27 Jan 1832 - 20 Feb 1907
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Frederick Barrington BEST 7 Dec 1873 - 9 Apr 1958	=	Lucy Amy BOULT 21 Aug 1881 - 17 Jul 1926
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Freda Mary BEST 20 Oct 1908 - 23 Sep 2001	=	Alan Frederick CRYER 24 Jan 1904 - 14 Jan 1997
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Neil Barrington CRYER

Robert Berrington ¹ ² (to use the surname spelling in the earliest of the documents in which he appears) was born in the reign of King Charles I in about 1643 at Datchet, Buckinghamshire. His parents were Thomas Berrington, a gentleman of independent means and his wife Margaret, born Margaret Perryman. The baptismal record gives only an approximate date, even though the dates for Robert's older siblings are exact. The reason is almost certainly due to the English Civil War, as registers were poorly kept during that time (1643 - 1647) and in the commonwealth period which followed. Many were abandoned or hidden by the clergy and in some cases were lost completely.

It is interesting to speculate how much the events of the period affected Robert and his family. These events were highly significant in historical terms: the English Civil War; the execution of Charles I (1649); life under Oliver Cromwell in Puritan England; the reinstatement of the monarchy with Charles II (1660); the Great Plague of 1665; and the Great Fire of London in 1666. Perhaps tucked away in Datchet, the family was immune to any effects.

Robert was the youngest of Thomas's and Margaret's children, all of whom were born in Datchet:

Thomas Berrington was baptised in Datchet on 26 Oct 1634.
John Berrington was baptised at Datchet on 1 Nov 1635
Mary Berrington was baptised in Datchet on 30 Jul 1637
Anne Berrington was baptised in Datchet on 22 Sep 1639
Margaret Berrington was baptised in Datchet in 1641
Robert Berrington was baptised in Datchet in 1643

Robert's father died when he was only about a year old, but that did not apparently leave the family in poverty. Wealth and influence are implied by Robert becoming a member of the Middle Temple¹^{3 4}. He was admitted on 21 April 1668 as the third son of Thomas Berrington of Datchet, Bucks, a gentleman, deceased. Robert was clearly proud of his membership, as he seems to have used it in the same way that people nowadays might use a title. Incidentally two other Berringtons were on the Admissions Register: Thomas Berrington, admitted 26 October 1580, late of New Inn, gentleman, son and heir of Roger Berrington of Calcott, Salop, esq, and Humfrey Berrington, admitted on the 8 May 1618, gentleman, son and heir of Thomas Berrington of Moate Hall, Salop, esq. [Salop is an abbreviation for Shropshire.] There may have been a family relationship with these Salop Berringtons. Richard Barrington of Essex was admitted sometime around 1792-3.

Various documents¹ show that Robert married Anne French of Seal in Kent. However no marriage record has so far come to light. Judging by the baptismal records of the couple's children, the marriage probably took place around 1670. (Research into Anne's French ancestry is in hand.) Anne inherited a significant legacy from her brother, Francis French of Seal in Kent. So the fact that Robert was wealthy is beyond doubt, particularly as women's wealth became their husbands' according to the norms of the time. Robert had property in villages in Buckinghamshire, Sussex and Kent; a home in Seal and a London residence at Southampton Buildings in Holborn, near the Middle Temple.

Robert and Anne had the following known children:

Anne was baptised as a Berrington on 6 Apr 1675 at Datchet, Buckinghamshire. The will of her brother Francis showed that she married into the Holmden family. A marriage allegation dated 05 Jul 1696 showed that she married as a Barrington and that the groom was John Holmden. The parish in Kent where the marriage was to take place was illegible.
Elizabeth was born circa 1679, but no formal record of her birth or baptism has come to light. (Her existence is known from the Berrington indenture and in her brother Francis' will.) She is documented as a spinster.
Margaret was born on 15 Feb 1679 and baptised as a Barrington on 17 Feb 1679 at Saint Martin in the Fields, Westminster, London.
Emme was born circa 1683, but again no formal record of her birth or baptism has come to light. Her existence is documented in the Berrington indenture, but as she is not mentioned in her father's will, she may have died young.
Francis, the couple's only son, was baptised as a Barrington on 29 Nov 1685 at St Andrew, Holborn, London, and as Neil's direct ancestor there is much about him elsewhere on this website. The date agrees with his marriage allegation of having reached his 28th birthday by 14 January 1715. His baptismal record gives Southampton Buildings, Holborn as the family's address.

The two uses of the Barrington / Berrington spelling could be due to nothing more than the non-standardised spelling of the time. So far, though, it seems that Robert was the first to use the Barrington version: in various deeds ⁴ and for the London baptisms of his son Francis, although not the Datchet baptism of his eldest daughter. So it could have been that it suited his purposes in London's Middle Temple to imply a link with the mega-wealthy and influential Barringtons of Hatfield Broad Oak, Essex. It may even be relevant that John Shute Barrington, 1st Viscount Barrington (1678—1734), English lawyer and theologian, who studied law in the Inner Temple, was married around the same time as Robert's son, Francis. John Barrington Shute's marriage allegation was dated 17 June 1713, whereas that of Francis was dated 14 January 1715, both for St Andrew, Holborn. Francis, who was baptised as Barrington and who baptised his children as Barrington, reverted in later life to the Berrington spelling used by his Datchet ancestors.

Robert lived to about 74 years. He survived Ann by just over six years. Both were buried in Seal: she on 21 Aug 1711 and he on 26 Nov 1717. Considering that they were comparatively well-off, it is surprising that Margaret Stevens' book 'Past Generations of Seal and Kempsing from the Memorials of the Churches' gives no record for them.

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1. Indenture of 9 June 1688 involving Robert Berrington, his wife Anne (formerly French) and providing various relationships and lists of properties. Also notes from Arthur Waring, made in 1912. (Other material from Geoff Copus is on matters not directly related to this page and will form the basis of one or more new pages in due course.)

2. All the genealogy websites relating to Robert seem to be sub-webs of either something totally different sites or of international genealogy sites. The best way to locate them would be a search on Berrington Datchet. They are all in the Berrington rather than the Barrington name.

3. Admission Register of the Middle Temple.

4. A Calendar of Deeds and other Records preserved in the Muniment Room at the Museum, Aylesbury, printed for the Records Branch of the Buckinghamshire Archealogical Society, 1941.