Ni20 William Nicholas

William was succeeded by  Thomas Nicholas (Ni19), and Thomas by John Nicholas (Ni18). John's son, John Nicholas (Ni17), and heir of the same name died in 1434. During his Lifetime the family had owned land in Roundway computed at 2/5 of a knight's fee. He was succeeded by a third John Nicholas (Ni16) (d. 1461) and a fourth, who married a de la Roche descendent.

The appearance and recurrance of Nicholas as a first name in the Baynton pedigree http://www.bayntun-history.com/Home.htm as well as the mutual relation with the de la Roch fammily and the proximity of estates and social status allow speculation about additional intermarriages between the Nicholas, Baynton and de la Roch families. It would also be justified to assume that the Nicholases were called to fight with these houses in the countless wars and uprisings between 1150 and the end of the Hundred Years War and suffered with the Bayntons upon the fall of the House of Lancaster.

The fate of an esquire was always to win or lose with his overlord as price for his knight's fee or betray him, which seldom gained the new overlord's lasting trust and loyalty. But the duty to supply horse and arms for battle forced him and every able bodied man in his family to take sides and fight in every war.

The following dates in history may give us an idea of how often William Nicholas and his son(s) were called to arms. He may well have been the younger son of some esquire, baron or earl  who fought successfully with the King and was rewarded with his own manor in Roundway. The name would indicate that he was Norman and not original Saxon, as would the "promotion".

Roundway is a group of now only 6 or seven houses at the center of the area just on the north side of the Avon river that flows by Devizes down to Bristol. A small road  crosses the Avon skirting around Devizes through this group of houses, which is about 200 yards from a small wooded area on the side of hill. This wooded area is embraced by a fork in the road going up to it and branching off two ways along the ridge overlooking the valley. The wood has a convoluted ground surface tracing what might have been fortifications on both sides of a path leading up throught the wood and the miffle of the fork. Similar convolutions on the higher ground hint a what might have been buildings in the complex. The Battle of Roundway took place about a mile up the right fork. The accumulation of earth and humus over what might once have been a castle like manor of Roundway is, however so great and rounded that its destruction or decay must have set in long before that battle, probably during the Wars of the Roses, if not before. This fortification may have been important long ago for regulating traffic from the plains down to Bristol. This small road leading around Devizes rather than through it was hence the "Roundway," which seems the logical origin of the name. The name is clearly of Saxon origin and probably predates the Conquest and might date back to 600 AD, the times when the Saxons were beaating the Bretons and Welsh back from this area, times when a fortification was necessary to prevent the enemy from passing this point of the Avon.

Timeline

1139:
Civil War began in England and raged for 14 years – ending in 1153.

1154:
Henry II was crowned King of England on 19th December at Westminster Abbey, Middlesex, succeeding Stephen. He was the first monarch of the House of Anjou or Plantagenet King.

1167:
Oxford University founded in England.

1170:
Thomas a Becket, who was Henry II's Chancellor of England, and later Archbishop of Canterbury, was assassinated at Canterbury Cathedral by four Norman knights on 29th December on orders of King Henry II.

1189:
Henry II died on 6th July at Chinton Castle, Anjou and was later buried at Fontevrault Abbey, Anjou. He had reigned for 35 years and his third son, Richard I, succeeded him and was crowned King of England on 2nd September at Westminster Abbey, Middlesex. Richard “The Lionheart” reigned for 10 years, but spent most of his time fighting abroad and only 25 weeks of his entire reign in England.

1199:
Richard I reigned for 10 years and was wounded on the battlefield, while not wearing his armour. He died on 6th April at Chalus Aquitaine when gangrene set in and was buried at Fontevrault Abbey, Anjou. His younger brother, John Lackland, succeeded him as King of England and was crowned on 27th May at Westminster Abbey, Middlesex. Also at this time, the English city of Liverpool was founded.

1200:
Cambridge University founded in England

1214:
King John was a strong king with a fierce temper, but proved to be a very unpopular monarch, easily offending his Barons. The Barons rebelled and the Magna Carta was signed by the king, giving them the right to fight abuse from the King and also giving concessions to other classes. It meant that the King had to talk to a Council of Barons and Bishops before he made any big decisions.

1216:
John died from dysentery on 18th October at Newark Castle, Nottinghamshire, after 17 years on the throne and was buried at Worcester Cathedral, Worcester. He was certainly unpopular with his subjects and he left the kingdom to his nine year old son Henry III ascended to the throne on 28th October at Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucestershire.

1220:
Henry III was crowned secondly on 17th May at Westminster Abbey, Middlesex.

1227:
Henry III assumed full Sovereignty of his Kingdom at the age of 20.

1272:
Henry III died at the age of 65, on 16th November at the Palace of Westminster after being on the throne for 56 years and was buried at Westminster Abbey, Middlesex. He was succeeded by his son Edward I “Longshanks” who was 33 years old at the time.

1274:
Edward I was crowned King of England on 19th August at Westminster Abbey, Middlesex.

1275:
Edward I created the first English Parliament after English knights and townsmen joined the barons and bishops in a new council.

1297-1304:
England and Scotland were at war. Iron casting from moulds led to more artillery on the battlefields. Gunpowder became popular and more effective compared to rocks fired from the catapult and slingshot1307:
Edward I ruled for 35 years and died fighting the Scots at Burgh-on-Sands, Cumberland on 7th July and was buried at Westminster Abbey, Middlesex. He was succeeded by his 24 year old son, Edward II, who inherited his father’s war with the Scots.