Westley ancestry and descendants Wesley
Our objective at this website is to present accrued genealogical links to ancestral roots Westley and their location, toward establishing family pedigrees aligned more or less with known early progenitors. We hope for impetus from individual family histories that appear connected e.g., Blisworth and Roade Westleys. For information and comment, please contact the writer Guy Wesley: wesley.research@gmail.com
Research by a member of the London Genealogists Society, Mr Arthur Samuel Thorp of Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire ca 1963, involving his work with the Wesley Historical Society and personal correspondence, has contributed foundation data most helpful, adjunct to the International Genealogical Index (IGI).
‘The earliest records date back as far as 1538 when Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s Vicar General, issued an order that each parish was to keep a register detailing every baptism, marriage and burial it performed’ (Society of Genealogists website). However, the IGI ‘neither complete nor perfect’ is understood to have omitted 60 percent of critical Devon parishes, while those in Somerset and Dorset also may be incomplete. See file notes accompanying this study -
Thorp letters reviewed
Westley Hall
Whittlewood Westleys
Warwickshire Westleys
Birmingham Westleys
The Westley surname has origins at Westleigh in Devon before Norman times, of the Saxon thegn Guy of Welswe near Wells in Somerset, who was born in 940 CE and of whom developed individual de Wellesley and Westleith lineages, later Wellesley and Westley, reunited by a marriage in 1585 of Sir Herbert Westley heir of Westleigh, to Elizabeth de Wellesley daughter of Robert de Wellesley of Castle Carbury in Ireland.
A great-grandson of Guy of Welswe, Walrond of Welswey Manor in Somerset, died between 1070 and 1080 during Norman occupation, and so we believe the surname ‘Wesley’ came from the French pronunciation of Welswe cum Wellesley; henceforth related branching upon the English conquest of Ireland. Walter de Wellesley became standard-bearer to King Henry II Plantagenet in 1172 and for this service received large grants of land in counties Meath and Kildare.
Walter de Wellesley’s brother Arthur and nephew Sir Nicholas de Westleith also were sent to Ireland by Henry in 1173 to help subdue Ulster. Walter’s grandson, William de Wellesley (1233-1303) died in battle with the Irish and his son a baron Sir John de Wellesley (1312) became High Sheriff of Kildare, henceforth Barons Norragh. Sir John’s son Sir William de Wellesley founded thence Somerset Wellesleys, it seems also holding estates in Shropshire and elsewhere across England.
We find births recorded at London of Henry Westley in 1322 and Thomas Wesley in 1470, also the Lord Mayor of London in 1743, Sir Robert Westley, who was born in 1670 at Brixton Deverill in Wiltshire, the 5th great-grandson to John Westley born 1425 at Warminster in Wilts. These indicate generational dispersion of Somerset Westleys from Wells into near counties, accompanying the growth in ecclesiastical power of the cathedral and deanery of Wells dating from the 12th century.
A chaplain to king Edward IV (reign 1461-1483) was Walter Edmund Westley born 1414-1424 at Wesley Manor in Somerset, a brother to Sir Arthur 4th baron Norragh, both sons of Gerald de Wellesley. Sir Arthur’s son Reverend John Westley was rector of Langton about Weymouth in Dorset ca 1500 while close prebendaries attaching to Wells Cathedral include canon Thomas Westley in 1659, who is most likely a close relative.
Sir Herbert Westley born about 1565 at Westleigh in Devon 2nd great grandson of Sir Arthur Westley, has sons his heir William, Harphame and Bartholomew (1596) who is great-grandfather to the Epworth-born John and Charles Wesley, Wesleyan Church founders. Bartholomew Westley married Ann Colley from the aristocratic family that inherited the Wellesley title and lands; and so Ann is grandaunt to Richard Colley Wesley 1st Baron Mornington, grandfather of Arthur Wesley (cum Wellesley) the Duke of Wellington, while Reverend Bartholomew is a cousin many times removed to Richard Colley Wesley; Bartholomew and the duke are not blood relatives.
Bartholomew Westley held the Dorset rectories of Charmouth since about 1620 and Catherston after 1650 from which he was ejected in 1662. His son John Westley was appointed to the Dorset vicarage of Winterborn-Whitchurch in 1658; diocesan records show John also was ejected in 1662 as an ‘independent’ and imprisoned for not using the common prayer-book in ‘dispute with Bishop Ironside’ pursuant to their Puritan beliefs, having served as Ministers approved by Oliver Cromwell’s Triers.
Sir Herbert Westley’s great-grandson Samuel Wesley married Susannah Annesley (1669-1742) whose father Dr Samuel Annesley was born in 1620 of John Anslye at Kenilworth near Haseley in Warwickshire, strongly Puritan. Dr Annesley in 1644 became chaplain of His Majesty’s ship ‘Globe’ under Sir Robert Rich, Earl Warwick and Lord High Admiral, who procured him his diploma of LL.D. Soon after in 1657, when nominated by Oliver Cromwell, Annesley was made lecturer of St Paul’s and in 1658 Vicar at St Gile’s Cripplegate, two of London’s largest congregations.
Sir Herbert Westley’s mother Alice Tracy is a great-granddaughter to Sir Thomas Throckmorton of Coughton (abt 1412-1472) High Sheriff of Warwick and Leicester, while Alice is 2nd cousin of Clement Throckmorton (1517-1573) of Haseley in Warwickshire. Sir Herbert is 3rd cousin to Job Throckmorton (snr) while Job (jnr) is grandnephew to Sir Nicholas Throckmorton (1515-1570) of Paulerspury manor in Northamptonshire who with his brother Clement became prominent Puritan MPs in the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603).
Sir Nicholas Throckmorton was granted by King Edward VI in 1551 the Crown estate of Luffield, which in 1542 had been incorporated into the Honour of Grafton by a huge amalgamation following the Tudor Dissolution of former priory lands, whose holding was continued under his 2nd son Arthur Throckmorton until death in 1626; Sir Nicholas’ daughter Ann married nearby magnate Sir Peter Temple of Stowe Estate.
Adjacent landholders about Stowe included Sir Nicholas Wentworth (1482-1557) with his Puritan sons Paul and parliamentarian Sir Peter Wentworth (1529-1596) as lords of the adjacent manor of Lillingstone Lovell; Anglican theologian Dr Peter Toon states that Elizabethan Puritanism may be traced back to the Lollards, 14th century followers of Oxford theologian John Wycliffe (1320s-1384) behind the Reformation.
The Classical Movement (1580-1590) prevailed over London, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire mostly between 1586 and 1588 while smaller in Devon, Cornwall and Leicestershire. It worked secretly to return Puritan laymen to Parliament from 1564 through preachers and chaplaincies or lectureships, supported by magistrates and merchants of certain towns, as well as the larger patronage offered by such loyal aristocrats as Francis Russell, Earl of Bedford. Lord Robert Dudley (1532-1588) Earl Leicester, born in Oxfordshire, became leader of the Puritan party at Elizabeth’s court and also was closely aligned with the Throckmorton dynasty.
Thomas Wilcox (ca 1549-1608) became one of the most powerful of Elizabethan era Puritans, with many ‘friends in high places’ such as Sir Francis Walsingham (1530-1590) MP for Lyme Regis in Dorset, supported by powerful statesmen Sir Francis Russell 2nd Earl Bedford and Sir William Cecil (1520-1598) 1st Baron Burghley, who participated in the Elizabethan Religious Settlement of 1559 though inclined towards further reforms in the Church.
Sir Francis Russell (1527-1585) MP for Buckinghamshire, whilst sharing opinions with Elizabethan reformers, was made lord-lieutenant of the counties of Devon, Cornwall and Dorset early in 1558. His son, Lord William Russell 1st Baronet of Thornhaugh (1558-1613) ‘controlled several parliamentary seats, which he assigned to friends and relatives who would assist him in promoting his particular cause in government, the Puritan faith’.
Sir Francis Russell was godfather to Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596) whose cousins are Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) of Hayes Barton in Devon and Sir Richard Grenville (1542-1591) of Buckland Abbey in Devon, all foundation Puritans.
From 1563, Flemish Protestant and Huguenot lacemakers were resettled in Kent, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Northampton, again in 1572, while Lord William Russell in 1586 invited many refugees to settle under his protection in what became established lace villages, which by 1685 housed further waves of religious refugees from Burgundy and Normandy. Lord William Russell had fought for William the Silent in the Low Countries and was married to Rachel, daughter of the Huguenot Marquis de Rivigny.
This allegiance of influential Elizabethan statesmen together held important territory for the realm while promoting its cottage industries and church reforms after Lollardy, thereby fostering settlement of the large workforces needed to supplant monastic rule, pending increased productivity demands of agriculture. Lace making and straw plaiting were among Elizabethan projects first introduced in Devon and the South Midlands as handcrafts, primarily to occupy women and girls, which led to expansion of local economies and trading centres.
We note from the genealogical record Thomas Westley born ca 1765 at St Albans in Hertfordshire, whose grandsons William and Benjamin Wesley were in the 1881 census occupied in straw-hat manufacture, concurrent with Wesleys at Luton and Dunstable in adjacent Bedfordshire, described as straw-plaiters. They are possibly close family to my grandfather William Wesley who was born at Dunstable, shown aged 14 in that census, a ‘visitor’ and ‘apprentice to straw-hat manufacturer’ at a ‘plait shop’ in Luton; Thomas could possibly be his great-granduncle from St Albans.
William’s father, my great-grandfather Joseph Westley (1825-1886) moved from Paulerspury where his family included lace-makers; his 1st wife Ruth’s father George Humphrey was in 1839 a ‘straw-hat manufacturer and plait-dealer’ at Houghton Regis and Joseph’s 2nd wife Emma Bird was a ‘straw-plaiter’. Likewise affiliated lace-making communities both Westley and Wesley are listed in the 1881 census at Paulerspury, Blisworth and Roade in Northamptonshire, which suggests they share ancestry from Elizabethan times, close by or within the Grafton Estate.
Furthermore, ancestral ties are evident in that my grandfather William became a fisherman ca 1885 at Ramsgate in Kent where we find residing in the same street another family of fishermen Wesley, lineal descendants of Devon Westleys, direct relatives of Bartholomew in the Epworth lineage, prompting notions of close kinship or stewardship behind livelihoods and migration across counties. In this case the benefactor was most likely George Augustus Wesley of 9 Percy Road, Ramsgate, grandson of Bartholomew Westley of Brixham in Devon, 4th great-grandson of the Puritan minister Reverend Bartholomew Westley (1596-1670) and Ann Colley.
Northamptonshire families Westley share incidence of first names Thomas and Joseph, concurrent in the 18th century at Roade, Piddington, Blisworth, Milton Malsor, also in Bedfordshire at Amptill, whereas my 3rd great-grandfather Joseph Westley (1766-1848) who appears born at Paulerspury but first married at Water Stratford in Buckinghamshire, remarried at Turvey in Bedfordshire where we find other Westley ancestry.
These entail genesis from Joseph Westley born in 1603 at Lillingstone Dayrell north of Stowe in Buckinghamshire, lying adjacent to Throckmorton territory of Luffield, Towcester, Paulerspury, Grafton and Whittlewood, which developed as Elizabethan era projects, most likely influenced by Sir Herbert Westley earlier in the 17th century.
Sir Herbert’s father Walter Westley appears to be the only male child of the heir William de Wellesley, who married Gwendaline Courteney in 1532. William is a grandson of abovementioned Sir Arthur Westley 4th Baron Norragh, who had sons Richard and Humphrey Westley ca 1450 at Wesley Manor in Somerset, great-granduncles to Sir Herbert. Their connection to those listed in the IGI is speculative since there were several cases of ‘unnamed issue’ among the Somerset and Dorset Westleys, mentioned by Mr Thorp.
The International Genealogical Index (IGI) has other 16th century events Westley in adjacent English counties, suggesting branches of the same family settled consequent of the Reformation, which originated in 1517 but remains notional without precise genealogical data. We may conclude from the list following, that several belong to family groups and therefore related from more than one generation -
John Westley birth 1513 at Fen Ditton in Cambridgeshire.
Christopher Wesley, birth about 1557 at Canterbury in Kent.
Jeffrye Westlye married Allyce Fissher in 1579 at Dover in Kent.
Walter Wesley died about 1537 at Warwick in Warwickshire.
Thomas Westly baptised 6 September 1544 at Bicester in Oxfordshire.
Edward Westley married in 1561 at Bubbenhall in Warwickshire.
Henry Westley married Johanna Baytes in 1574 at Warwick in Warwickshire.
Benjamin Westley married Eleanor abt 1575 at Lillingstone Dayrell, Bucks.
George Westlye tenant ca 1575 of 'Heybarne feylde' at Lillingstone Dayrell.
Richarde Westley married Ann Iveringham in 1595 at Stowe in Bucks.
Jeremie Westley married in 1596 at St Albans in Hertfordshire.
Richard Westley married Ann Bateman in 1599 at Lillingstone Lovell in Bucks.
It seems clear that progressive settlement within one or two generations Westley spread from Warwickshire to Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire in the 16th century, which agrees with the aforesaid notion of single family unit involvement. Whilst their progenitor is not known, we may infer he belongs to a long list of 16th century births ensuing that of Thomas Wesley in 1470 at London, including descendants of John Westleye from about 1552 at Newgate.
Populations for Inner London from years 1300 to 1550 remained static around 60,000 then grew rapidly by 1600 to about 140,000. Consequent to over-crowding, many New Towns developed across central England, inherent with market places upon the posting of Lords Lieutenant as ordered by Henry in furthering his plantation of trusted landholders as a means of central government - ‘a new race of nobility under Tudor rule, families of businessmen, lawyers and courtiers derived power from their great wealth gained in the upheavals of the Reformation Period’ (World Book).
Research by a member of the London Genealogists Society, Mr Arthur Samuel Thorp of Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire ca 1963, involving his work with the Wesley Historical Society and personal correspondence, has contributed foundation data most helpful, adjunct to the International Genealogical Index (IGI).
‘The earliest records date back as far as 1538 when Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s Vicar General, issued an order that each parish was to keep a register detailing every baptism, marriage and burial it performed’ (Society of Genealogists website). However, the IGI ‘neither complete nor perfect’ is understood to have omitted 60 percent of critical Devon parishes, while those in Somerset and Dorset also may be incomplete. See file notes accompanying this study -
Thorp letters reviewed
Westley Hall
Whittlewood Westleys
Warwickshire Westleys
Birmingham Westleys
The Westley surname has origins at Westleigh in Devon before Norman times, of the Saxon thegn Guy of Welswe near Wells in Somerset, who was born in 940 CE and of whom developed individual de Wellesley and Westleith lineages, later Wellesley and Westley, reunited by a marriage in 1585 of Sir Herbert Westley heir of Westleigh, to Elizabeth de Wellesley daughter of Robert de Wellesley of Castle Carbury in Ireland.
A great-grandson of Guy of Welswe, Walrond of Welswey Manor in Somerset, died between 1070 and 1080 during Norman occupation, and so we believe the surname ‘Wesley’ came from the French pronunciation of Welswe cum Wellesley; henceforth related branching upon the English conquest of Ireland. Walter de Wellesley became standard-bearer to King Henry II Plantagenet in 1172 and for this service received large grants of land in counties Meath and Kildare.
Walter de Wellesley’s brother Arthur and nephew Sir Nicholas de Westleith also were sent to Ireland by Henry in 1173 to help subdue Ulster. Walter’s grandson, William de Wellesley (1233-1303) died in battle with the Irish and his son a baron Sir John de Wellesley (1312) became High Sheriff of Kildare, henceforth Barons Norragh. Sir John’s son Sir William de Wellesley founded thence Somerset Wellesleys, it seems also holding estates in Shropshire and elsewhere across England.
We find births recorded at London of Henry Westley in 1322 and Thomas Wesley in 1470, also the Lord Mayor of London in 1743, Sir Robert Westley, who was born in 1670 at Brixton Deverill in Wiltshire, the 5th great-grandson to John Westley born 1425 at Warminster in Wilts. These indicate generational dispersion of Somerset Westleys from Wells into near counties, accompanying the growth in ecclesiastical power of the cathedral and deanery of Wells dating from the 12th century.
A chaplain to king Edward IV (reign 1461-1483) was Walter Edmund Westley born 1414-1424 at Wesley Manor in Somerset, a brother to Sir Arthur 4th baron Norragh, both sons of Gerald de Wellesley. Sir Arthur’s son Reverend John Westley was rector of Langton about Weymouth in Dorset ca 1500 while close prebendaries attaching to Wells Cathedral include canon Thomas Westley in 1659, who is most likely a close relative.
Sir Herbert Westley born about 1565 at Westleigh in Devon 2nd great grandson of Sir Arthur Westley, has sons his heir William, Harphame and Bartholomew (1596) who is great-grandfather to the Epworth-born John and Charles Wesley, Wesleyan Church founders. Bartholomew Westley married Ann Colley from the aristocratic family that inherited the Wellesley title and lands; and so Ann is grandaunt to Richard Colley Wesley 1st Baron Mornington, grandfather of Arthur Wesley (cum Wellesley) the Duke of Wellington, while Reverend Bartholomew is a cousin many times removed to Richard Colley Wesley; Bartholomew and the duke are not blood relatives.
Bartholomew Westley held the Dorset rectories of Charmouth since about 1620 and Catherston after 1650 from which he was ejected in 1662. His son John Westley was appointed to the Dorset vicarage of Winterborn-Whitchurch in 1658; diocesan records show John also was ejected in 1662 as an ‘independent’ and imprisoned for not using the common prayer-book in ‘dispute with Bishop Ironside’ pursuant to their Puritan beliefs, having served as Ministers approved by Oliver Cromwell’s Triers.
Sir Herbert Westley’s great-grandson Samuel Wesley married Susannah Annesley (1669-1742) whose father Dr Samuel Annesley was born in 1620 of John Anslye at Kenilworth near Haseley in Warwickshire, strongly Puritan. Dr Annesley in 1644 became chaplain of His Majesty’s ship ‘Globe’ under Sir Robert Rich, Earl Warwick and Lord High Admiral, who procured him his diploma of LL.D. Soon after in 1657, when nominated by Oliver Cromwell, Annesley was made lecturer of St Paul’s and in 1658 Vicar at St Gile’s Cripplegate, two of London’s largest congregations.
Sir Herbert Westley’s mother Alice Tracy is a great-granddaughter to Sir Thomas Throckmorton of Coughton (abt 1412-1472) High Sheriff of Warwick and Leicester, while Alice is 2nd cousin of Clement Throckmorton (1517-1573) of Haseley in Warwickshire. Sir Herbert is 3rd cousin to Job Throckmorton (snr) while Job (jnr) is grandnephew to Sir Nicholas Throckmorton (1515-1570) of Paulerspury manor in Northamptonshire who with his brother Clement became prominent Puritan MPs in the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603).
Sir Nicholas Throckmorton was granted by King Edward VI in 1551 the Crown estate of Luffield, which in 1542 had been incorporated into the Honour of Grafton by a huge amalgamation following the Tudor Dissolution of former priory lands, whose holding was continued under his 2nd son Arthur Throckmorton until death in 1626; Sir Nicholas’ daughter Ann married nearby magnate Sir Peter Temple of Stowe Estate.
Adjacent landholders about Stowe included Sir Nicholas Wentworth (1482-1557) with his Puritan sons Paul and parliamentarian Sir Peter Wentworth (1529-1596) as lords of the adjacent manor of Lillingstone Lovell; Anglican theologian Dr Peter Toon states that Elizabethan Puritanism may be traced back to the Lollards, 14th century followers of Oxford theologian John Wycliffe (1320s-1384) behind the Reformation.
The Classical Movement (1580-1590) prevailed over London, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire mostly between 1586 and 1588 while smaller in Devon, Cornwall and Leicestershire. It worked secretly to return Puritan laymen to Parliament from 1564 through preachers and chaplaincies or lectureships, supported by magistrates and merchants of certain towns, as well as the larger patronage offered by such loyal aristocrats as Francis Russell, Earl of Bedford. Lord Robert Dudley (1532-1588) Earl Leicester, born in Oxfordshire, became leader of the Puritan party at Elizabeth’s court and also was closely aligned with the Throckmorton dynasty.
Thomas Wilcox (ca 1549-1608) became one of the most powerful of Elizabethan era Puritans, with many ‘friends in high places’ such as Sir Francis Walsingham (1530-1590) MP for Lyme Regis in Dorset, supported by powerful statesmen Sir Francis Russell 2nd Earl Bedford and Sir William Cecil (1520-1598) 1st Baron Burghley, who participated in the Elizabethan Religious Settlement of 1559 though inclined towards further reforms in the Church.
Sir Francis Russell (1527-1585) MP for Buckinghamshire, whilst sharing opinions with Elizabethan reformers, was made lord-lieutenant of the counties of Devon, Cornwall and Dorset early in 1558. His son, Lord William Russell 1st Baronet of Thornhaugh (1558-1613) ‘controlled several parliamentary seats, which he assigned to friends and relatives who would assist him in promoting his particular cause in government, the Puritan faith’.
Sir Francis Russell was godfather to Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596) whose cousins are Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618) of Hayes Barton in Devon and Sir Richard Grenville (1542-1591) of Buckland Abbey in Devon, all foundation Puritans.
From 1563, Flemish Protestant and Huguenot lacemakers were resettled in Kent, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Northampton, again in 1572, while Lord William Russell in 1586 invited many refugees to settle under his protection in what became established lace villages, which by 1685 housed further waves of religious refugees from Burgundy and Normandy. Lord William Russell had fought for William the Silent in the Low Countries and was married to Rachel, daughter of the Huguenot Marquis de Rivigny.
This allegiance of influential Elizabethan statesmen together held important territory for the realm while promoting its cottage industries and church reforms after Lollardy, thereby fostering settlement of the large workforces needed to supplant monastic rule, pending increased productivity demands of agriculture. Lace making and straw plaiting were among Elizabethan projects first introduced in Devon and the South Midlands as handcrafts, primarily to occupy women and girls, which led to expansion of local economies and trading centres.
We note from the genealogical record Thomas Westley born ca 1765 at St Albans in Hertfordshire, whose grandsons William and Benjamin Wesley were in the 1881 census occupied in straw-hat manufacture, concurrent with Wesleys at Luton and Dunstable in adjacent Bedfordshire, described as straw-plaiters. They are possibly close family to my grandfather William Wesley who was born at Dunstable, shown aged 14 in that census, a ‘visitor’ and ‘apprentice to straw-hat manufacturer’ at a ‘plait shop’ in Luton; Thomas could possibly be his great-granduncle from St Albans.
William’s father, my great-grandfather Joseph Westley (1825-1886) moved from Paulerspury where his family included lace-makers; his 1st wife Ruth’s father George Humphrey was in 1839 a ‘straw-hat manufacturer and plait-dealer’ at Houghton Regis and Joseph’s 2nd wife Emma Bird was a ‘straw-plaiter’. Likewise affiliated lace-making communities both Westley and Wesley are listed in the 1881 census at Paulerspury, Blisworth and Roade in Northamptonshire, which suggests they share ancestry from Elizabethan times, close by or within the Grafton Estate.
Furthermore, ancestral ties are evident in that my grandfather William became a fisherman ca 1885 at Ramsgate in Kent where we find residing in the same street another family of fishermen Wesley, lineal descendants of Devon Westleys, direct relatives of Bartholomew in the Epworth lineage, prompting notions of close kinship or stewardship behind livelihoods and migration across counties. In this case the benefactor was most likely George Augustus Wesley of 9 Percy Road, Ramsgate, grandson of Bartholomew Westley of Brixham in Devon, 4th great-grandson of the Puritan minister Reverend Bartholomew Westley (1596-1670) and Ann Colley.
Northamptonshire families Westley share incidence of first names Thomas and Joseph, concurrent in the 18th century at Roade, Piddington, Blisworth, Milton Malsor, also in Bedfordshire at Amptill, whereas my 3rd great-grandfather Joseph Westley (1766-1848) who appears born at Paulerspury but first married at Water Stratford in Buckinghamshire, remarried at Turvey in Bedfordshire where we find other Westley ancestry.
These entail genesis from Joseph Westley born in 1603 at Lillingstone Dayrell north of Stowe in Buckinghamshire, lying adjacent to Throckmorton territory of Luffield, Towcester, Paulerspury, Grafton and Whittlewood, which developed as Elizabethan era projects, most likely influenced by Sir Herbert Westley earlier in the 17th century.
Sir Herbert’s father Walter Westley appears to be the only male child of the heir William de Wellesley, who married Gwendaline Courteney in 1532. William is a grandson of abovementioned Sir Arthur Westley 4th Baron Norragh, who had sons Richard and Humphrey Westley ca 1450 at Wesley Manor in Somerset, great-granduncles to Sir Herbert. Their connection to those listed in the IGI is speculative since there were several cases of ‘unnamed issue’ among the Somerset and Dorset Westleys, mentioned by Mr Thorp.
The International Genealogical Index (IGI) has other 16th century events Westley in adjacent English counties, suggesting branches of the same family settled consequent of the Reformation, which originated in 1517 but remains notional without precise genealogical data. We may conclude from the list following, that several belong to family groups and therefore related from more than one generation -
John Westley birth 1513 at Fen Ditton in Cambridgeshire.
Christopher Wesley, birth about 1557 at Canterbury in Kent.
Jeffrye Westlye married Allyce Fissher in 1579 at Dover in Kent.
Walter Wesley died about 1537 at Warwick in Warwickshire.
Thomas Westly baptised 6 September 1544 at Bicester in Oxfordshire.
Edward Westley married in 1561 at Bubbenhall in Warwickshire.
Henry Westley married Johanna Baytes in 1574 at Warwick in Warwickshire.
Benjamin Westley married Eleanor abt 1575 at Lillingstone Dayrell, Bucks.
George Westlye tenant ca 1575 of 'Heybarne feylde' at Lillingstone Dayrell.
Richarde Westley married Ann Iveringham in 1595 at Stowe in Bucks.
Jeremie Westley married in 1596 at St Albans in Hertfordshire.
Richard Westley married Ann Bateman in 1599 at Lillingstone Lovell in Bucks.
It seems clear that progressive settlement within one or two generations Westley spread from Warwickshire to Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire in the 16th century, which agrees with the aforesaid notion of single family unit involvement. Whilst their progenitor is not known, we may infer he belongs to a long list of 16th century births ensuing that of Thomas Wesley in 1470 at London, including descendants of John Westleye from about 1552 at Newgate.
Populations for Inner London from years 1300 to 1550 remained static around 60,000 then grew rapidly by 1600 to about 140,000. Consequent to over-crowding, many New Towns developed across central England, inherent with market places upon the posting of Lords Lieutenant as ordered by Henry in furthering his plantation of trusted landholders as a means of central government - ‘a new race of nobility under Tudor rule, families of businessmen, lawyers and courtiers derived power from their great wealth gained in the upheavals of the Reformation Period’ (World Book).