Nicholas Culpepper

Events

Date of Birth: unknown.

Place of Birth: unknown.

Date of Death: 24 May 1510.

This date is given in the monumental inscription (Davidson-Houston, p. 58).

Place of Burial: Ardingly, Sussex, England.

A brass monument exists in the church.

Relationships

Father: Walter Culpepper (died 1462).

This relationship is given by Attree (Part I, pages 57-59), Wrottesley (p. 411, citing De Banco. Hillary. 4. Ed. 4. m. 484) and Fleming.

Mother: Agnes Roper (died 1457).

This relationship is given by Attree (Part I, pages 57-59) and Fleming. The will of Nicholas's brother Richard mentions Nicholas and their parents Walter Culpepper of Goudhurst, Kent, and Agnes.

Spouse: Elizabeth Wakehurst.

This relationship is given by Attree (Part I, p. 59) and by the Victoria County History of Sussex (Volume 6, sub Ardingly). Nicholas was alleged by Elizabeth Etchingham, Elizabeth Wakehurst’s grandmother, to have abducted Elizabeth and then married her. (Nicholas’s brother, Richard, similarly is alleged to have abducted and married Elizabeth’s sister, Margaret). Julia Pope speculates that what happened was probably a consensual elopement, with the objections from Elizabeth’s grandmother, who was probably one of the girls’ guardians, possibly arising due to considerations of property or status.

Children:

(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project.)

Richard Culpepper (died 1539) married Joan Naylor.

Thomas Culpepper married Anne before 1513. Thomas was of Crawley.

Edward Culpepper. Doctor of the Civil Law.

George Culpepper (will 30 January 1542/3) married Alice. George was of Nayland, Balcombe, Sussex.

Richard Culpepper.

Five other sons and eight daughters, most of whom probably died young.

Evidence

A fine (from Salzmann):

13 Henry VII.

3320. Lewis Clyfford, Walter Culpepyr, Geoffrey Goldwell, John Herenden and Thomas Love v. Richard Culpepyr and Margaret his wife and Nicholas Culpepyr and Elizabeth his wife; manor of Wykham and of a messuage, 160 acres of land, 20 acres of meadow, 340 acres of pasture, 20 acres of wood, £4 rent in Hyrst Perpowne, Clayton, Pykcombe, Dychelynge, Ifelde, Rookyspar and Stenyng; to Thomas, etc.

Monumental inscription (Davidson, p. 58).

Of yo^r charite pray for the soulles of Nichās Culpep(er) esquyer & Elizabeth his wyf, the whiche / Nichās decessed the XXIIIJ day of Maye y^e yer’ of o^r lord MV^cX and the seid Elizabeth decessed the / … day of … the yer of our lord MV^c … on whose soules ihu have mercy.

[Davidson-Houston notes that the brass was put down before the death of Elizabeth, and the date was not inserted.]

References

Ardingly:Manor, in Page, William; Susan M Keeling; Louis Francis Salzman; and C. P. Lewis. The Victoria history of the county of Sussex. (London: A. Constable, 1905-), Volume 7 pages 127 to 132.

Attree, F.W.T., and Booker, J.H.L. “The Sussex Colepepers. Part I.” in Sussex Archaeological Collections (Lewes: Sussex Archaeological Society, 1904), Volume XLVII, pages 47 to 81.

Attree, F.W.T., and Booker, J.H.L. “The Sussex Colepepers. Part II.” in Sussex Archaeological Collections (Lewes: Sussex Archaeological Society, 1905), Volume XLVIII, pages 65 to 98.

Blaauw, W.H., “Wakehurst, Slaugham, and Gravetye,” in Sussex Archaeological Collections (London: Sussex Archaeological Society, 1858) Volume X, pages 151-167.

Davidson-Houston, C.E.D. “Sussex Monumental Brasses” in Sussex Archaeological Collections Volume 76 (Oxford University Press, 1935) pages 46-114.

Fleming, Peter. ‘Culpeper family (per. c.1400–c.1540)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (Oxford University Press, 2004) [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/52784, accessed 24 April 2014]

Great Britain. Court of Common Pleas, and Louis Francis Salzmann. An abstract of feet of fines relating to the county of Sussex. (Lewes, England: Sussex Record Society, 1903, 1908, 1916).

Pope, Julia. “Abduction: An Alternative Form of Courtship?” (available online at Culpepper Connections, URL: http://gen.culpepper.com/ss/p8430.htm)

Will of Richard Culpeper of Erthingle, Sussex. Proved 1516 in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury.

Wrottesley, George. Pedigrees from the plea rolls: collected from the pleadings in the various courts of law A.D. 1200 to 1500, from the original rolls in the Public Records Office. (London, 1905).