Sir John Wright, Lord of Kelvedon
1488-1551

Wife: Lady Olive Hubbard (1487-1560) 11 Children: Hellena Wright (1509-1536) Roger Wright (1510-1600) John the Elder Wright (1510-1563) Katherine Wright (1512-1595) Joan Wright (1515-1588) Robert Wright (1516-1587) Alice Wright (1519-1566) John the Middle Wright (1522-1558) Walter Wright (1524-1569) John the Younger Wright (1524-1587) Elizabeth Wright (1526-1602) Father: Rev. Sir John Wright Mother: Lady Agnes Hunt

Lord John Wright was born in Dagenham, Essex County, England on 12 Mar 1488. He married Lady Olive Hubbard (1487-1560) in the South Weald Church, Essex County (near Wrightsbridge) on 17 March 1508. Olive had also been born in Dagenham. They had eleven children. As Henry VIII ascended the throne of England, he granted John Wright peerage on 20 June 1509, giving him a title and a seat in the House of Lords. John became a baron and took the title Sir John Wright. He was also granted a coat of arms, an azure shield with silver bars and a leopard's head. The family motto was "Conscia recti," a Latin phrase from Aeneid meaning "a clear conscience."

Sir John personally served King Henry VIII during the "King's Great Matter," during which Henry petitioned Pope Clement VII to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Catherine had not produced an heir to his throne, and Henry asked the Pope to give him a divorce so he could marry Ann Boleyn, the sister of his mistress and a lady in Catherine's entourage. The Pope refused so Henry severed the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church in 1533. Whatever Sir John's role was in this event, it pleased the King and John became a rich man for his efforts. He turned his attention to building a suitable home for a man of his means and station.

Wright Coat of Arms.

Sometime before 1509, John had moved to Kelvedon Hatch with his father. The Domesday Book, a census ordered by King William I (William the Conqueror) in 1086, mentions Kelvenduna, a feudal estate lorded over by a Saxon soldier/sailor, Aethelric. It's thought that Aethelric built the St. Nicholas church, the oldest surviving church in the area. The earliest record of a church in Kelvedon Hatch is 1344, although the dedication to St Nicholas can be traced back to before the 1066 Norman Invasion and to Aethelric because he had a small church built and dedicated to St Nicholas the patron saint of sailors and children. In 1066 Aethelric had sailed off to fight William the Conqueror, the Wryta brothers, and other Norman invaders. The defeated Aethelric returned to Kelvenduna and continued as lord of the manor under William I. Not long afterwards, however, he fell ill and died, willing his property to the Church. The ownership of the Kelvenduna estate passed to "St Peter", the Norman arm of the Roman Catholic Church headquartered in Westminster Abbey.

Sir John Wright erected Kelvedon Hall next to the old Saxon church allegedly built by Aethelric. Its construction took 14 years, beginning in 1524. In 1538, he bought about 2000 acres of the surrounding lands, from Richard Bolles, Lord of the Ongar Hundred, and from Westminster Abbey for £493. Bolles had inherited the tenancy of the lands from his mother's family, the Multons, who had in turn been granted the tenancy in 1225 from Westminster Abbey. This real estate sale to Wright reeked of politics. The transfer of lands from the Church to the loyal gentry was part of Henry's campaign to weaken the power of the Roman Catholic Church in England. The estate is located a little northwest of the village of Kelvedon Hatch, in County Essex.

Kelvedon Hall in Kelvedon Hatch.

After the building of Kelvedon Hall and his acquisition of the estate, Sir John Wright became known as "Lord of Kelvedon" referring to his being lord of the manor. That title is often used to distinguish him from others who were also named Sir John Wright, such as his father, Rev. Sir John Wright.

Lord Kelvedon died in Kelvedon Hall on 5 October 1551. His wife Lady Olive Hubbard Wright died in Kelvedon Hatch on 22 June 1560. The will of Sir John Wright was drawn in the reign of Edward VI, the boy king (1547-1553), son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour.

Although Lord John Wright made Kelvedon Hall, as the estate came to be known, the seat of the family, he owned a large number of other estates in the area of west County Essex bounded by Kelvedon Hatch on the North, Havering on the West and Brentwood on the South. These estates he bequeathed to his four sons in generous measure through his will (see 1551 map).

John Wright's descendants would hold the estate for nearly four centuries, until 1922, through John the Elder's line of descent. In fact there were to be ten successive John Wrights. They extended the estate further by purchasing Germains, a former manor. As land ownership meant power and money the family were able to confirm their status as minor gentry. The manor house was rebuilt by the seventh John Wright in the 18th century. The manor house and grounds are still in good shape and occupied to this day.

The advowson (the right to recommend a member of the Anglican clergy) descended with the manor of Kelvedon Hall until the 19th century. However, from the early 17th century the Wrights became Roman Catholics and lost the right to present incumbents. The old manor house has since been replaced with a more modern structure Arms were granted in June 20,1509. Arms-Azure, two bars, Argent: in chief three leopards heads or,Crest-Out of ducal coronet or dragons head proper.

Kelvedon Hall in 1777 with St Nicholas's Church on right.

The medieval church of St. Nicholas was completely rebuilt in 1753 by the Wright family at a cost of £1,681 (see illustration). Next to the manor house was St Nicholas's church which had been on the site since at least 1372 and may have dated back to before 1066. The first three John Wrights were protesants, but early in the 17th century, the next John Wright converted to Roman Catholicism. He was encouraged to do this by William Byrd the composer, who lived in nearby Stondon Massey. The Wrights were to remain Catholics for the remainder of their time in Kelvedon Hall. In the new house a chapel was built, the existence of which was kept secret, during the time Catholics were being persecuted. In 1753 the church was rebuilt but in 1895 it was abandoned for a new church built in the village.

My [JPP] grandmother Eva Price's father descends from Lord Kelvedon's daughter Joan (1515-88) and Eva's mother descends from his son Walter (1524-1558). Both Joan and Walter are buried along with Lord Kelvedon at the St. Nicholas Churchyard next to Kelvedon Hall, Kelvedon Hatch, Brentwood Borough, Essex, England.

"John Wright, of Kelvedon Hall" on Geni.com which credits a Wikipedia article "Lord John Wright" which is no longer extant.
"Sir John Wright, Lord of Kelvedon Hall, circa 1485 to 1551" on the Wright Brothers website.