A Dead-end for Gastelin of Wightwick
I’ve finally finished My Lineage from the Roots Up, vol. 2 and while going through the final formatting I ran across a family line that seemed perfect for this newsletter. I have a snippet of information on the immediate family of my ancestor, including their land holdings, but then there’s nothing.
The details I have are as follows:
Juliana Gastelin (or Gascelyn) was born before 1326 to Walter and Isabella Gastelin. She married Geoffrey de Stawell (d. 1361) and had at least two children. She inherited the manor of Wightwick and the manor of Frampton Cotell in Gloucestershire from her brother Sir William (~1322-1346). She is said to have died in 1357.
Walter Gastelin (or Gascelyn) was born about 1272. He had a wife named Isabella by 1320. They had at least two children. Walter died in 1333. He had been a part of the Earl of Pembroke’s retinue with his brother or cousin Sir Edmund Gascelyn, son of Sir Edmund Gascelyn (d. 1307), son of Sir Geoffrey Gascelyn, household knight of Henry III. This family line owned Sheldon Manor in Chippenham.
The information comes from:
George Dodsworth Stawell. A Quantock family: the Stawells of Cothelstone and their descendants. Wessex Press: Taunton, 1910. p. 32
Close Rolls and Inquisition Postmortem transcriptions shared online
Kathryn Warner. Rioters and Ruffians. Edward II.
But now I’m at a dead end. Given that they had holdings and were knights, I’m wondering if there isn’t another source of information out there that can help flesh out who William’s parents were?
I’ve tried finding information on the manors and the name Wightwick has been subsumed by a more recent build elsewhere in the country. Sheldon was deserted in the 16th century, though the manor house is still occupied. Puportedly, in 1250 it was given to Sir Geoffrey Gascelyn when he married Joan de Godarville, but where this couple stands in relation to my line has a lot of gaps. Framptom Cotell is likely actually the village of Framptom Coterell, to which no manor is attributed.
What do you think? Any hints or help?
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