Nynne family of Great Chart

[ggbarber]

I am researching the surname Nynne in the Great Chart area pre-1600, and also the early history of Ninne House Manor in Great Chart.
The surname appears in Rotherfield, Sussex about 1530 and given the rarity of the name I think there is a good chance of a connection.
If anyone has information or an interest in this surname (which becomes Ninn after about 1600 in Kent) please reply and I will share the information I have.

[bearkat]

There are some early NYN(NE) wills listed on Maureen Rawson's website

http://www.kentarchaeology.ac/ekwills_a/series/ekp_p1/ekp_p1n_na.html

[ggbarber]

Many thanks for your reply Bearkat. I was aware of those and have had a genealogist look at them for me. For the record I have copied what I have on them below:

Nynne wills of Egerton, pre 1500.
      These four wills proved to be quite challenging to decipher and I give the bare bones of the contents of each of a separate sheet. There may have been some personal names that were not legible but I am pretty sure I read all the parish names and that the only ones mentioned were near Egerton – Pivington is a hamlet in the parish of Pluckley – and there was no mention of Rotherfield or Nynne als Barber or any kin further afield that I could see. I could send them off to my Latin expert to translate. His fee is likely to be around £120 to transcribe and translate all four.


Centre for Kentish Studies, Maidstone.

PRC 32/2/7.
18 March [illegible]
Avice Nynne of Egerton. Bequests to lights in the church. Mentions daughter Julian, daughter Bridget? , feoffees John Knok, Robert Knok, William Kynge, son John, Robert Nynne.
Probate 18 April? 1460.

 
PRC 32/2/193.
16 October 1468? William Nynne of the parish of Egerton, bequests to lights in the church and for masses, mentions church of Smarden, Pivington, to John Metford [?] and Joan his wife, William Grene [?] and Jane his wife, makes John Nynne and John Holstrete executors.
Last will concerning his lands and tenements in Upstrete in Egerton, Charing, Westwell and Pivington, wife Agnes, Stonbrege in Egerton, son John, son Robert, daughter Alice.
Probate ? March 1468.


PRC 32/2/619.
5 December 1484 Agnes Nynne, to be buried in the church of Egerton, bequests to daughter Julian Best, John Kynge, Agnes Kyng, Stephen Kyng, daughter Alice, rest to my son Robert Nynne and my daughter Alice Nynne and I make them executors.
Probate 22 February 1484.


PRC 32/3/339.
? January 1492 John Nynne of Egerton, to be buried in the church of St.Mary’s Egerton. To the high altar for my tithes and oblations forgotten 20d. Bequests to wife Alys, to Symon Smyth, to Agnes Turnor daughter of John Turnor of Harrietsham, to Harry Turnor and Robert Turnor, my sister’s sons, to the son of Joan my sister if he be alive, to the sons of my sister Agnes, to Gylbard,  John and Alis, the children of the foresaid Agnes my sister, to Richard [illegible], to Alis Elmhurst, to an honest priest to sing in the parish church of Egerton for a quarter of a year and in the church of Ulcombe for another quarter of a year.
Last will, mentions feoffees Richard Wanden, George Pemyll, Gylbard Barlyng and Richard Barlyng, lands and tenements in the parishes of Chilham and Selling, lands and tenements in Godmersham, son Thomas.
Probate 11 February 1492.

[bearkat]

A Google books search comes up with a few hits for Ninne House.

It was in the ownership of John at Nin until the rign of Henry VI, then the Sharpe, Curteis, Bedford and Claxton families.

[ggbarber]

Thanks Bearkat. The source for this is:
The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, Volume 7, by Edward Hasted published in 1798.

It mentions the manor of Ninne House in Great Chart:
"NINNEHOUSE is a manor, situated on the northernside of the quarry-hill, not far from the river Stour,which was antiently (anciently) the residence of John at Nin,whose figure, in armour, was with those of other eminent men formerly in the north window of the northchancel of this church; in whose descendants it continued till the reign of Henry VI. when it was alienated to Sharpe; one of whom, William Sharpe, ofthis place, died possessed of it in 1499, and lies buried in the middle isle of this church, with his fivewives, as does his descendant William Sharpe the elder, who died in 1583".

A Ninn farm and a Ninn Lane survive today in Great Chart. Unfortunately the lead light windows mentioned in the church are long gone, possibly removed during the time of Oliver Cromwell in the mid 1600's. It appears that this John at Nin could be one of the earliest ancestors of this name in Kent or Sussex.

I would love to find out more about him  and would appreciate any ideas on where to look.

I went thru all the online documents in the UK National Archives and have documented the occurrences of the name Nynne/Ninne/Nin/Ninn - all occurred in the Great Chart area or nearby parishes like Egerton. I went back to about 1250 and there was no mention of John at Nin suggesting he was earlier than 1250.

Geoff

[ggbarber]

Bearkat,

Just as aside - are you aware of the Muster Lists for soldiers 1369-1453 available at:
http://www.icmacentre.ac.uk/soldier/database/

I became aware of it while searching for Nynnes. There is a Richard Nynne:

First Name   De   Surname   Status   Rank   Captain Name   Commander   Year   Nature of Activity   Reference   Membrane
Richard      Nynne      Man-at-arms   Fiennes, Roger, Sir   Gloucester, Humphrey, Duke of   1417   Exped France    TNA E101/51/2   m16

A very interesting resource.
Regards
Geoff

[supermoussi]

Hi there, are the Challock Ninnes connected to the ones you mention? I suspect they descend from a Henry Ninn, Yeoman & churchwarden of Rainham but am not really sure..

[ggbarber]

Hi
Challock is close to the Great Chart area and, based on proximity and the rarity of the name, I would be confident in suggesting that your Ninn's go back to there in the 15thC/16thC. It seems the name moved from Great Chart to the Egerton area then across to Challock, as well as to more distant areas in Kent such as Rainham. It does seem that Ninne House Manor in Great Chart is likely the source of the name.

Just a note about the spelling. I have found that prior to 1500 the surname was nearly always spelt Nynne in Kent, but after about 1650 it is always spelt Ninn.

I am a Barber alias Nynne (or Nynne alias Barber) and have had a paternal DNA test done (thru ancestry.com). I would love to find a male Ninn from these areas in Kent who was prepared to do the DNA test to see if we are of the same male line, in which case I would know that my lineage goes back through the Nynne/Ninn family. At the moment I do not know if my name should be Barber or Nynne.

[supermoussi]

Judging by http://gbnames.publicprofiler.org/ are their any Kent Ninns left?