Bonville

This tomb is known as the Bonville Momument and can be seen in the Lady Chapel of Chewton Mendip church.The consensus of opinion is that the memorial is for Sir Henry Fitzroger who had been the lord of the manor but did not produce any son so the Bonvilles acquired lands in Chewton Mendip through marriage.

The Bonville family are first recorded in England in the early 12th century when they were based in Devon and south Somerset.  One of the many Sir Williams Elizabeth FitzRoger in 1393 and eventually they moved to the Manor House of Chewton Mendip.

The last  Sir William was summoned to parliament as ‘Lord Bonville of Chewton’ in February 1449 which is the earliest confirmed date of a lord of the manor living in Chewton Mendip.

He was one of the Lords Royal of the Mendip Forest who controlled the lead mines and a dispute lead to the codification of the miners lawas and the production of a much copied map.

Sir William had an eventful military career. He was involved in the end of the 100 years war and was executed in 1461 during the wars of the roses when he changed sides once to often and fell foul of Margeret of Anjou, the wife of the king. She is sometimes referred to as a ‘she wolf’ because she ruled in the place of her mentally ill husband.

Sir William’s sons and grandsons had previously died so his considerable wealth passed to his  granddaughter, Cecily. This made her one of the wealthiest women in England. She married Thomas Grey, the 1st Marquis of Dorset. .

She  retained ownership of her lands after Sir Thomas died making her one of the lords of the manor in her own right although her ownership was disputed. She married a second time is better known as Cecily Bonville, 7th Baroness Harington and her wikipedia entry gives some idea of she is also sometimes referred to as a ‘she wolf’

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecily_Bonville,_7th_Baroness_Harington

The Grey family eventualy inherited her fortune, including the lordship of Chewton Mendip and they continued to hold the lordship until they lost the estate  and their heads when they rebelled against Mary I.