John Bennett of 16th Century Wiveliscombe

Michael Cooley, BA, MA • 16 October 2026

Robert Bennett is the earliest proven Bennett patriarch found in Wiveliscombe, Somerset, England. He married in 1558, raised a large family, became a successful businessman, and died there in 1603. His son, Edward, was a wealthy merchant and shipowner centered in London. His Virginia plantation was established in 1622, managed over a span of time by two brothers and a nephew. Robert's grandson, Richard Bennett, was a political and religious leader in Virginia, eventually becoming the first governor of the colony under Oliver Cromwell's republican government.

Any genealogist would be happy to document an ancestor likely born in the 1530s. But others get a bit greedy and begin making connections that often didn't exist. Yes, there is at least one Bennett other than Robert found in Wiveliscombe during the 16th century; a man named John Bennett for whom a considerable mythology has developed over the last century, none of which is found in historic documents. And no document has been uncovered that proves the relationship between John and Robert. There are no parish records regarding either man's birth. And although such records were mandated by the Henry VIII's government in 1538, compliance moved slowly across the kingdom. Nearby Milverton kept records from the start, but the parish of Wiveliscombe waited twenty years to put clerical pen to paper. Robert Bennett's marriage to Elizabeth Edney was one of the first recorded in the parish. Other records, wills for example, can be found, but no birth, marriage, or burials exist before 1558.

In his 1938 book, John Boddie Bennett describes John as a possible father to Robert. On another page, he describes them as possible brothers.1 In fact, he might have been on to something. Let's take a look at every known record found so far for John. There's no question; at least one John Bennett resided in Wiveliscombe during the 16th century.

The first seven entries are taken from lists of tithes as found in F. Hancock's Wifela's Combe (1911). They're arranged according to the year of Henry VIII's reign, which started 22 April 1509. For example, the 33rd year is represented here as from 22 April 1542 to 21 April 1543. I've translated them to regular calendar years. The page numbers refer to Hancock's book.2

Undoubtedly, these records refer to more than one John. The 1522 John was born on one side of 1500, either just after or an untold number of years into the 1400s. He certainly would not have been the John fathering a child in 1582! That his wife died in 1564 is reasonable, and that he is described as a tanner is interesting simply due to the fact that Robert is recorded as a tanner in his 1603 will. And what about the fourteen year gap in the record, 1526 to 1540? One man? It's possible the 1522 John had died and that a son of the same name became of age in the interim. A young man born in the 1520s might have had a wife in 1564 and could be the same man who married Joan.

Actually, we can make a case for there being three Johns. Five generations of a family often exists within the span of one century. But that there are so few records in 16th-century Wiveliscombe, we can't afford to guess about who might have been living. Nevertheless, two Johns as father and son is a reasonable assumption.

I've just looked at a photocopy of the original parish record for the death of Johan Bennett, 3 April 1592. It clearly states "wife of John Bennett." Boddie suggests that the burial of a John Bennett on 17 October 1601 is her husband. However, looking at that, it tells us that he was Robert's son. (And that seriously disrupts an important portion of the genealogy.)

So, we've reconstructed the family for one of the 16th-century John Bennetts. But we still lack the births, marriages, and deaths of either man, nor do we have a stated relationship to Robert. And there is no hint of any adult male Bennett until the turn of the century. That there was a John that had sons Robert and John is highly reasonable. There;s no evidence for any other patriarch; so, for the time being, we might construct a tree like this.

It appears that the latter John's family started a decade later than Robert's. Was John the younger brother? A search of parish records for all of Somerset reveals only this record for nearby Milveton: John Bennett married Johan Denberie, 21 January 1558. However, they would not have waited twenty years to have children.

Confusingly, Hancocke states,

We subjoin a translation in full of a court roll, the original of which has been kindly lent to the writer by Mr. Pearse. The grants to John Bennett and George Howell are dated A.D. 1580 – the twenty-first year of the episcopate of Bishop Berkeley.5

The paragraph is followed by several entries, most of which lack mention of Bennett and Howell. But they all end with, "The fine to be paid at Michaelmas next by his own surety" and are signed by Gilbert Berkeley, Bishop of Bath and Wells. Edward the Confessor and his wife Edithe granted Wiveliscombe to Giso, then the Bishop of Bath, in 1065. The territory, along with others across Somerset, was controlled by the bishopric for the next 800 years. In turn, the diocese leased land to individuals or groups who often rented them out. The lease program provided considerable income to the diocese. But had all these lands been licensed to John Bennett and George Howell? If so, John might have held a good degree of wealth. Unfortunately, no will is found for him.

Here's one such entry granting a license to John himself.

Wyvelescombe. A licence to be made and granted to John Bennett and Joan his wife: which said John holds in the right of the said Joan a messuage, a fardell of land and divers cottages with the appurts within the manor of Wyvelescombe, to let and set one cottage, parcel of the said premises, now in the tenure, holding and occupation of William Slocombe, to William Hyll, Joan his wife, and to Elinor Story the daughter of Robert Story: To hold to them for the term of their lives, according to the custom of the said manor, by the yearly rent to be paid to the said John Bennet and Joan during the life of the said Joan of 3s. and all other suits, reparations and services thereof due and accustomed. This licence is granted at the "especyall" request of Mr Panell, and the said Bennett is to pay a fine for the same, to wit, 6s. 8d. to be paid at Michaelmas next. And this shall be, etc. Gilb Bath and Wells.6

Curiously, the grant was made by virtue of the right of his wife, Joan. Did she inherit it, perhaps from her father or a former husband? We may never know.

We can comfortably say that at least two John Bennetts were present in Wiveliscombe in the 16th century. One of them regularly paid tithes to the diocese in the early part of the century. We can't say which man was married to the Margaret buried in 1564. Making that distinction depends on their births. In any event, there are indications that both men did reasonably well. Robert was undoubtedly successful and seems to have passed his talents on to his son Edward, a very wealthy merchant and more. And he may have set the stage for his nephew, Richard, the future governor of Virginia. Did this aptitude for success begin with the elder John? Whatever the impetus was, the heritage of wealth continued several generations — at least through the death of Governor Bennett's grandson, Richard Bennett III in 1749. He has been referred to as the richest man in the English colonies at the time.

There is one other matter regarding John that needs to be set straight. Although discussed in a 2024 article, the issue begs to be partly represented here.7 A decidedly untrained researcher of some earlier decade invented a man called "Sir Robert Herbert Bennett, Earl of Tankerville" and made him the very Robert who left a will in 1603. There was simply no such man. The first telltale sign is that there were no middle names in the 16th century; they didn't become fashionable until the late 18th century. Furthermore, the earldom of Tankerville was held by the Grey family in two separate creations, 1418-1459 and 1695. Peter Gray of the second creation had no male heirs. His daughter, Mary, married Charles Bennet (of a very different family), the earldom passing to him after Peter Grey's death in 1714. Simply stated, it was never in the hands of any 16th century Bennett — of Somerset or elsewhere. The title was in abeyance for 250 years and through the entirety of this Bennett story. After all, the men of the Wiveliscombe, including Robert, were generally referred to as yeomen, not as lords, in the records of the day. (As an historian, I find it unsettling that folks try to rewrite history merely for personal ego.)

Perhaps fuller investigation will turn up more data regarding the relationships among 16th-century Wiveliscombe Bennetts. Finding more lists of tithes is possible. Less likely would be mentions of Bennetts in other's wills. But it's worth a look. The Bennetts had in-law relationships with the Storys and the Edneys, for example. And might John have been a trusting friend of others besides Richard Yea. He was clearly a man of some stature. Nevertheless, very few wills are found for Wiveliscombe for the 16th century.

And finally, note that on 26 April 1379 at the meeting of the Hundred Court in "Wyvelescomb" that there was a "Thos. Benet" listed among several other townspeople requesting that charges be brought against "Thomas Tournour in mercy because he has not yet removed his manure lying on the Highway ... to the nuisance &c [list of complaintants]."8 We have no evidence that the first John, who might have been born a hundred year later, was descended from this man. However, you can be assured that I'll keep my out for more information, especially about that manure!


1. John Bennett Boddie, Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County, Virginia 1 (Chicago: Chicago Law Printing Company, 1938), 67, 71.

2. F. Hancock, M.A., S.C.L., F.S.A. Wifela's Combe: A History of the P of Wiveliscombe (Taunton: Barnicott & Pearse, The Wessex Press, 1911). Pages as noted above.

3. A. J. Monday, "On Two Somerset Wills, temp. Edward VI, 1548", Proceedings of the Somersetshire Archaeological and Natural History Society 29 (Taunton, England: J. F. Hammond, 1883), 61-68. My thanks to Martyn Yeo.

4. "Wiveliscombe Parish Records (Church of St Andrew), 1558-2020", Somerset Archives and Local Studies, Southwest Heritage Trust, Ref. D/P/wiv, Web, https://swheritage.org.uk/somerset-archives/. Note that these can be found on both ancestry.com and familysearch.org. The latter often lacks the original images.

5. F. Hancock, 92.

6. F. Hancock, 106.

7. Michael Cooley, "...And the Child Now in My Wife's Womb", ancestraldata.com, 31 July 2024, web, https://blog.ancestraldata.com/viewer.pl?2024-07-31-Bennett.html.

8. F. Hancock, 268; "ED 1125", Lambeth Palace Library, The National Library and Archive of the Church of England, web, https://archives.lambethpalacelibrary.org.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=ED/5/A/1/WIV/1125