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Associates in Early Records
of the A'Bear family in East Berkshire.
Family research to date has revealed four records of early A'Bear ancestors living in the Wargrave area in the early 14th century. They all appear to refer to the same man, John, called atte Bere in two records and de la Bere in the others. In three records, this man is associated with a number of other people from East Berkshire.
In 1318, the ringleaders of those trespassing in the park of the Earl of Lancaster at Ashridge in Wokingham were given as:
| Geoffrey atte Beche | Geoffrey was Lord of the Manor of Beeches in Wokingham. In 1327, he was assessed for the largest sum of money amongst the residents of Wokingham. The family is almost certainly a younger branch of the De la Beches from Aldworth. |
| John Pippard | John was the Lord of the Manor of Hinton Pipard in Hurst. He inherited the manor, including land in Ruscombe, from his father, Simon, in 1297. He died in 1362. |
| Peter de Waltham | The Walthams were Lords of the Manor of Walthamsland in White Waltham. The goods of a Robert de Waltham were assessed there in 1327 & 1332. |
| John Lammar | No information at present. |
| Adam de Waltham | See Peter de Waltham above. |
| Adam the Younge | No information at present. |
| Robert le Yem | The surname appears to be Eme, perhaps modern Eames. The family does not appear in records from East Berkshire but, in 1363, a Thomas Eme was Warden of St. Bartholomew's Hospital in Newbury. |
| John de Yevendon | The surname is more properly Evendon, from the manor of that name in Wokingham. A Richard de Evendon purchased the manor of East Court in Finchampstead in 1347. |
| Richard de la Chaumber | This family is associated with Bray. Hamo de Chaumbre was Warden of the Royal Manor of Bray in the early 14th century and his probable descendant, William, purchased the manor of Mores, in the same parish, in 1559. |
| William Turry | A William Terry held a fishery in Cookham in 1254. |
| Richard atte Hegge of Waltham | The Higgs were an old White Waltham family. They eventually purchased the manor of Waltham Place in the early 17th century. |
| John le Bercher of Hurley | The surname is probably a form of Birchestre, still preserved in Burchett's Green in Hurley parish. |
| Robert de Lullebrok | There were two manors of this name, Lillibrook in Bray and Lowbrook in Cookham. Both were owned by the same family. Robert was certainly at the former in 1292 and he was a Knight of the Shire in the parliament of 1323. He died in 1327. |
| John de la Bere of Wargrave | See Conclusions below. |
When the Vicar of Wargrave transferred some land to the Vicar of Warfield in 1325, the witnesses were given as:
| Robert de Waltham | As above, the Walthams were Lords of the Manor of Walthamsland in White Waltham. Robert's goods were assessed there in 1327 & 1332. |
| William de Newenham | Possibly from Newnham Murren near Wallingford |
| Henry Batayl | Henry was Lord of the Manor of Ascot. He had succeeded his father, Richard, in 1302. Suggestions that he died in 1319 would appear to be premature. |
| Henry de Penkeneye | Henry was Lord of the Manor of Pinkneys in Cookham in 1318. The name is preserved today in Pinkney's Green. |
| Roger de Wodemancote | Possibly from Woodmancott near Basingstoke or Woodcote near Wallingford. |
| John atte Bere | See Conclusions below. |
| Richard Aylward | The Aylwards were certainly a prominent family in East Berkshire. There was an Aylward's Green in Sandhurst and a William Aylward is recorded in a 1631 inscription on the pulpit in Easthampstead Church. |
| William atte Halle | William was Lord of the Manor of Hall in Sandhurst in the late 14th century. He may have been the son of John atte Halle who was the lord in 1332 & 1354. |
| Robert atte Lak | Possibly a member of the Laken family from Bray. |
| Master Thomas Cook of Easthampstead | Possibly the Rector of Easthampstead, although the name of the incumbent at this date is not recorded elsewhere. |
| William le Coterel of Easthampstead | The Cottrells were an old Easthampstead family best known for Richard Cottrells's Charity set up in 1575. |
| Richard Clerk called le Carpenter of Bray | No information at present. |
Residents of Wargrave who complained about excessive taxation in 1340 were recorded as:
| John atte Bere | See Conclusions below. |
| John atte Wydegate | No information at present. |
| Rob Wepestrode | Probably a member of the Gibstrode family from Gibstrode Farm in Wargrave. |
| John Dyton | No information at present. |
| John atte Frythe | From 'the Frith,' a tract of Windsor Forest which stretched from Cookham and Bray to Wargrave. The only section remaining is now known as Maidenhead Thicket. |
| Philip Galant | No information at present. |
These names provide a listing of some twenty-nine contemporaries of John atte/de la Bere. The contexts in which they appear would further suggest that they were, indeed, his peers. The latter record of 1340 is restricted to residents of Wargrave and information about those mentioned is distinctly lacking. The names however seem to indicate that they were members of important families in the parish, probably associated with key farming estates. Of the other twenty-four men, seven were Lords of various East Berkshire manors. Another five were members of manorial families. Six seem to be from landed families or of other respected positions. Unfortunately there is no information presently available concerning the remaining six associates.
John atte/de la Bere was, no doubt, of approximately equal status to most, if not all, of these men. As the majority appear to come from landed manorial families, it seems likely that the atte/de la Beres also owned a manor in the area. If, as proposed, John atte Bere alias De la Bere is to be identified with John De la Bere who was later Lord of Weobley Castle in Glamorganshire, then it is unlikely that he would have been anything but a manorial lord, or at least the lord's son. As can be seen, the majority of lords during this time were named after their manor, or had their manor named after them. Thus, the two main candidates for an atte/de la Bere residence are the manors of Bere Court in Pangbourne and Bere Place in Wargrave. Bere Court was, in fact, originally called the manor of 'De La Bere'. However, considering our man's epithet, 'of Wargrave,' the latter would appear most likely. The theory is backed by a local tradition that the manor was owned by the A'Bear family; and also by a lack of evidence to the contrary.