The Goodliffe Family of Lambley Lodge, Belton in the County of RutlandThe Froggatt - Goodliffe Connection
Arnold Goodliffe (1807-1888) was my great-great grandfather. His youngest daughter Sarah, married William FROGGATT in 1867 in Nottingham. The story of William is told elsewhere on this website. I began to record some information about Arnold and his family, orginally based around a typescript copy of his family Memoirs - "The Story of My Life". These memoirs were written by Arnold in 1887 just before he died in 1888, and contain a wealth of memories about his family and his life. Since then, Arnold's draft copy of his Memoirs; his handwritten final copy; the copy in a different hand; and the later typescript can be accessed on this website. My knowledge of the extended family has grown too, and there is an extensive record here of the GOODLIFFE family, especially from Thomas and Ann (CURTIS) onwards. I am sure there is more information, so if you have something of interest, especially photographs, please contact me: paul at frogs.co.nz. You can access the four different versions of Arnold's memoirs hereSearch for people and places on this Goodliffe Family SiteThe Goodliffe Family HistoryWhat's In a Name - GOODLIFFE?Also GOODLIFF, GOODLEFF, GOODLIFT and other phonetic versions. As perhaps expected, there is no clear origin for the surname GOODLIFFE. One version is from the Saxon name GODLEOF meaning "Preferred by God". Another is from the Flemish St GODELIVE" god - "good" and "heofu" - dear love". The first recorded use in Britain is as "Godlif" in 1086, in the Domesday Book for Cambridge, and in the same spelling in the 1197 pipe rolls of the county of Kent. The first genealogical record is the burial of Joan GOODLIFFE on 2 January 1548 at St Bartholomew the Less in London. The first parish record related to the GOODLIFFE family studied here (for which we have an image of the record - not just a transcript) is the baptism of Thomas GOODLIFFE on 28 September 1614 at Gretton, Northamptonshire. Remarkably the spelling in this early record is "GOODLIFFE".
Where does this story start? - LAMLEY LODGE
Our detailed (and verifiable) knowlege of the GOODLIFFE family starts with LAMLEY LODGE - originally a hunting lodge in Leithfield Forest near the village of Belton in the county of Rutland. The Goodliffe family was associated with Lamley Lodge for more than 250 years. Lamley was its original name. The spelling was later changed by Mary GOODLIFFE to Lambley, supposedly to rhyme with "lamb" to stop the tendency of the time to pronounce it as "lame"-ly. There is more information about Lambley Lodge here.Lambley Lodge was held by Daniel CURTIS in 1738 by copyhold from the Lord of the Manor of Liddington (Burghley Hosue) for the fee of 7 pence per year. The Manor Court Rolls record various land transactions involving Daniel CURTIS, Thomas GOODLIFFE and his descemdents up to Simpson Stokes GOODLIFEE. In 1927 copyhold titles were converted to freehold titles. Entries in the Manor Rolls for Lambley Lodge and the GOODLIFFE family can be seen here.Delving into the Goodliffe tree is not new.Arnold set out some of it in his memoirs in 1887. The most extensive tree was drawn up by Frank Arnold Goodliffe, of "Lambley Lodge", Horsham, Sussex in April 1933 (not the original Lambley Lodge). Frank was the great-grandson of Arnold (1807-1888). His diagram is a distinctive series of lines, recording births, marriages and deaths, but only the names of the male children are recorded on it. There is another version of this chart, slightly redrawn in places and clearer than my copy of the blueprint, that can be seen here.
These charts go back to William Ye Elder and his wife Elizabeth (GODFREY). William's grandmother (Martha) died in Belton in June 1711 and this is the first record of a GOODLIFFE in Rutland. Assuming this is the Martha recorded as the mother of several births in Gretton, Northants, then we can link the Belton and Gretton families. There are many versions of the Goodliffe family history on the Internet which appear to have made this assumption, but I am not aware of any conclusive evidence for the link. So, assuming the Martha who died in Belton is the same Martha WORTH who married Thomas Goodliffe in Gretton, she was widowed in Gretton in May 1692. Soon after this she moved back to Belton in Rutland. We can then draw up this tree, linking back to Lion GOODLIFFE in Gretton.
Thomas Goodliffe (28 Dec 1722 - 28 Jul 1810) married Ann CURTIS on 25 Feb 1754 at Wardley, Rutland. They had five children: Thomas, William, Elizabeth, Ann and Sarah. A transcript (in PDF format) of Thomas' Will, dated 15 Sept 1800 can be viewed here. Arnold recalls in his memoirs that his family had lived at Lambley Lodge for about 200 years. (There is more information about Lambley Lodge here). Lambley Lodge is near to the Village of Belton in the County of Rutland. The family events are recorded at the parish church of St Peters in Belton. There is information and photographs about St Peters Church, Belton, where many of the Goodliffe family are buried.
The Children of Thomas Goodliffe and Mary Arnold of Lambley Lodge, Belton in Rutland
Thomas(13 Nov 1756 - 17 Dec 1829) married Mary ARNOLD on 20 Nov 1791 at Barrowden by licence from the Bishop of Peterborough. Presumably the licence was required as Thomas was from another parish. The couple resided at Lambley Lodge.
The family bible (at one time in the possession of Mr Stokes Goodliffe of Old Lambley Lodge - although I do not know where it is today) records the family of Thomas and Mary:
You may click on the highlighted names in the tree or the above list to link to information about each family. Last updated: 21 July 2021 |
