Ingram de Boynton -- he went off to make war on the king and returned a hero with the magna carta in his pocket. He married the richest girl on the block. Then he settled down to live the life of a country gentleman.

Country gentleman? For Ingram it meant: family, managing land, contributing to religious institutions, and participating in governing. And 'country' meant avoiding the scheming and warring surrounding the king.

Family

The Long Lived Boyntons

The Boyntons of the thirteenth century were: Walter, William, Ingram, William, Ingram, and Walter. There are other Boyntons -- other children of these Boyntons and other families of Boyntons -- but these are the thirteenth century heirs of the family that can trace its history from the twelfth to the twentieth century.

Age is very difficult to determine for persons living in the thirteenth century. Dates of birth and death are known for kings, queens, and a few nobles. But for everyone else -- there are no records unless the family kept records, and very few family records have survived to today. It is possible to make estimates, and by the time of Ingram the dates of documents that record his actions become precise enough for them to be useful in establishing when he lived.

We can make pretty good estimates about Walter's age. Walter died between 1210 and 1215. His name is on a 1210 document, and he was dead by the time the magna carta was signed [Thomas, p. 205]. He was old enough in 1165 to send two daughters to Watton Priory. If he was at least thirty in 1165 then he must have been at least 75 when he died.

It is not possible to make good estimates about the age of William, Ingram's father. The documents do not have good enough dates on them to give us either a beginning or and ending. Hugh Thomas says that he participated in the rebellion against John leading to the magna carta, and that is the last date we know for him [Thomas, p. 205]. But that is certainly not good evidence about the date of his demise.

Beginning with Ingram, the dates of charters and other documents he signed or witnessed provide good information about his adult life. The first documents for Ingram are in the decade of 1210, and the last documents are in the decade of 1250. His adult life spanned at least 5 decades. If you give him a decade or a decade and a half to become adult that gives a life span of sixty to sixty-five years.

William, the son of Ingram, is referred to on documents running from the 1250s to the 1300s. That suggests an adult life span of sixty years. However, William had a grandson named William, and some or all of the later documents may refer to William the grandson rather than William the grandfather.

Ingram, the grandson of Ingram, was old enough in the 1270s to participate in Edward's war against Wales. And he continued to be active through the 1310s. Documents referring to him span sixty years. His son, Walter, first appears on a document in the 1310s. That suggests he was born toward the end of the thirteenth century.

Life expectancy in the thirteenth century was not what it is today. Relative to today, a large number of children died in child birth or in the first year. That is part of the difference; a part that does not show in this record. The other part of the answer is a much wider range of age for adult death. Young men died in battle. Young women died giving birth to children. Disease killed young and old. Health care was dangerous to your health. But some lived a full life -- even by our standards. The Boyntons of the thirteenth seem to have been very hardy.

The Immediate Family

One of the documents in the Hull collection ties together three generations of Boyntons -- Ingram's father, his sister, and his son.

DATES: mid 13th century
DESCRIPTION: Gift: Ingram de Bouinton to his son and heir William: - - 20 bovates in Bouington with a capital messuage sometime of Ingram's father William, and 4 tofts (i.e. 16 bovates towards the W. near lands of Matilda sister of Ingram.; 4 bovates towards the S. near lands of Alexander de Munceys; the tofts being held by Ralph the miller, Agnes le Ruter, Beatrice de Collum and Matilda de Bouington) - - : Witn. Sir Alan son of Brian, Robert his brother, Adam de Mangneby, William de Rudestayn, Richard de Thorny, Alan de Bouington, Alexander de Munceys, Nicholas clerk of Karthorp, William Pichot.
Fragment of seal, NOTE Estimated date, Hull Document

Ingram: his father was William; his son was William. And the document introduces Matilda, the sister of Ingram. All that we learn about Matilda is that she had land in Boynton, but that is suggestive of the geographic center of gravity of the Boynton family. William had held the land that Ingram now held. Ingram was passing the land to his son, William, at his marriage. And Ingram's sister held land in Boynton. We know they held land elsewhere, but the whole family seems to have been directly connected to land in Boynton.

Between 1216 and 1220 Ingram revolted against the king -- the magna carta revolt -- and married Joan de Acklam. Joan's family had held land from the de Brus family for more than 100 years. Eventually she would become sole heir of this land, and it would become a part of the Boynton family fortune.

Joan and Ingram had four children: William, Michael, Joan, and Margaret [Collier, p. 4]. William was the oldest son and became heir. All that is known about the other three is their names.

When William was old enough to marry his parents set him up with property in Boynton [charter above]. William was marrying a Boynton girl, Alice de Muncels. Her parents also contributed land to the new family. The land would become an addition to the Boynton holdings in Boynton.

DATES: early 13th century - circa 1255
DESCRIPTION: Copies (15th cent.) a) Gift: Ingram de Muncels to William de Boynton, with his daughter Alice in marriage: - - 3 carucates and capital messuage in Boynton - - : Doing forinsec service as where 48 carucates make a knight's fee b) Confirmation: Lady Gundred de Merley to William de Boynton son of Ingram de Boynton: - - all lands by him in Boynton of the fee of Munceaus, assigned to her for dower (Reserving 6 bovates, the capital manor - house, site of the mill, 4 (bond - holdings? `bondir') and 4 tofts (i.e. 16 bovates) to Robert de Helyton, or Herlton, for 10 years from 1255), circa 1255
NOTE Estimated date, Hull Document

This was probably about the time that Joan and Ingram were moving to Acklam to take up residence at the manor there. Collier notes that they were seated at Acklam by 1245, and it was probably earlier based on transactions at Roxby earlier.

Land

The Boyntons were a prosperous family with most of their land holdings in the East Riding of Yorkshire. They demonstrate that even in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the self-made family was possible. Walter seems to have started the family fortune, at least in part, based on his knowledge and contacts made while serving as business manager of St. Mary's Abbey, York. William added to the family fortune through his work in court. And Ingram married Joan. When Joan became sole heir of the Acklam family holdings that merged the wealth of two prosperous families -- effectively doubling the Boynton family fortune. That marriage constituted the Boynton triangle: Acklam, Boynton and Roxby. There were always other lands held, but these three were to be the center of Boynton wealth until a later [late 15th century] Boynton married into Barmston. Charles Young traced the rise of the Neville family from equally modest beginnings. [Young, 1996] Boyntons were not unique in being a self-made family. However, it was not the standard path to wealth, which was birth.

Land holders managed their land, and Ingram seems to have been good enough at managing his land that others arranged for him to manage theirs.

DATES: September 1240
DESCRIPTION: Lease in her, widowhood: Lady Ada Butembain to Sir Ingram de Bouinton: - - her dower in the town of Rouceby (Roxby) which she should receive from him and his wife - - : for his life, rendering 100s. rent yearly at Sneinton. Witn. Sir Fulk Basset, dean of York, Sir Richard son of Ralf, Master Robert de Barton, Master Adam de Feversham, Hugh Gubiun, Amselm Gubiun, William Maletok. Seal, vesica, 2 birds on (a formalized tree?) `SIGILL ........ UBUIN', chipped, Hull Document

Lady Ada Butembain held land in Roxby, and she arranged with Ingram to manage the land. It must have been a substantial piece of land because he and Joan were to pay her 100 shillings per year for the use of the land, and 100 shillings was a lot of money in that day [A Boynton Story: Recalibrating Wealth].

Important land holder, good manager seem to have been Ingram's economic legacy.

Religion

Walter had been chief financial officer of St. Mary's Abbey, York; as such he was party to many transactions involving religious houses. However, he was particularly interested in the priory at Bridlington. Bridlington was only five miles down the road from Boynton, and that, apparently, led him to take an active part in the financial state of the priory [A Boynton Story: Boyntons and Percys--00]. There is no information about William's involvement with the church beyond the charters he signed with his father.

Ingram seems to have become involved with religious institutions in Yorkshire in a different way. The de Brus family had been instrumental in establishing the priory at Guisborough, and they had maintained an interest in this religious institution for more than 100 years. Families that held land from de Brus were encouraged to contribute to the financial health of Guisborough, as well. And the de Acklam family had been regularly involved in transactions involving the priory. Through his connection with the de Acklams Ingram was drawn into working with this priory and one other -- the Priory of St. John the Evangelist of the Park of Healaugh.

Healaugh is ten miles west of Richmond, which makes it considerably west of Boynton-Acklam holdings. It was established in the twelfth century as a hermitage, but became a priory in 1218 with a gift from the granddaughter of the founder; the founder was Bertram Haget and the granddaughter was Alice Haget de Sancta Maria [Purvis, p. xi] Someone in the network surrounding Peter de Brus convinced them to take up support for this priory because for a short period -- at least short measured in centuries -- Peter de Brus and his men were actively involved in supporting the priory. That included both Joan and Ingram [Boynton Places: Priory of St. John the Evangelist of the Park of Healaugh]. Before she and Ingram were married Joan gave land at Cleatlam to her brother who, in turn, gave it to the priory. Ingram gave land at Marton to the priory. And they both were involved with other gifts as witnesses -- including several that Peter de Brus witnessed. There are no dates on these charters, but Joan gave the land while she was a widow, and that was between 1216 and 1220. So the de Brus network must have been involved in re-establishing the hermitage as a priory. William, Ingram's son, gave land to the priory decades later.

William was probably the last Boynton to contribute to the priory at Healaugh Park. But Guisborough is between Acklam and Roxby, and later generations of Boyntons took up support for the priory there.

Politics and Governing

As a young man Ingram went off to make war on the king. John was not a popular king -- particularly in the north. Peter de Brus was one of the leaders of the opposition, and Walter and William both knew him quite well. Ingram probably knew him as well, but he would come to know him better after his marriage to Joan [A Boynton Story: Magna Carta, Father and Sons] because of the de Acklam connection. The insurrection was a great success -- after John died and was replaced on the throne by his nine year old son. There is hardly anything as freeing for nobles as a king who is too young to rule. But they made some points -- the magna carta -- that everyone since have found remarkably important. Ingram was surely happy to have been there.

One's contribution to the good of the realm did not end with warring -- for the king or against him. The county court met every six weeks in Yorkshire, and anyone who held land was expected to be there. Aside from the sheriff, this was the major governing institution in the county. It was where the good of the realm was realized in each county. There are a number of records that show that Ingram was there as juror and assisting others in court hearings [A Boynton Story: County Court].

One Final Legacy

The Boynton coat of arms was a gold background with three red crescents divided by a fess [stripe] on the background. It is not, however, listed in any of the early lists of coats of arms. Hence, it is difficult to know how far back the coat of arms was being used by Boyntons. Ingram comes to our rescue. His seal on one of the Healaugh documents is: round, 1 3/4", armorial, a fess between three crescents with a label of three points [Blair, p. 307] Early in the thirteenth century the Boyntons were using the three crescents divided by the fess. They may have used it earlier, but this is evidence that it is of very ancient origin.

.....

Blair, C. Hunter, ed. (1911) Catalogue of Seals at Durham From a Manuscript Made by the Rev. William Greenwell, Archaeologia Aeliana, Published by Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Upon Tyne, third series, volume vii.

Collier, Carus (1914) An Account of the Boynton Family and the Family Seat of Burton Agnes, William Appleyard & Sons.

J. S. Purvis, ed. (1936) The Chartulary of the Augustinian Priory of St. John the Evangelist of the Park of Healaugh, Yorkshire Archaeological Society Record Series, vol. XCII.

Thomas, Hugh M. (1993) Vassals, Heiresses, Crusaders, and Thugs; The Gentry of Angevin Yorkshire, 1154-1216, University of Pennsylvania Press.

Young, Charles R. (1996) The Making of the Neville Family 1166-1400, The Boydell Press.