The Smalbroke family was a powerful family

Family

In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...

 between the early 15th and early 19th centuries, owning large areas of land in Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

15th-16th centuries

The family are first recorded in the Birmingham in 1425, when William Smalbroke is recorded as a trustee of charitable property at Yardley

Yardley, Birmingham

Yardley is an area in east Birmingham, England. It is also a council constituency, managed by its own district committee.Birmingham Yardley is a constituency and its Member of Parliament is John Hemming.-Features:...

. John Smalbroke was recorded as 'yoman' in 1440. It is believed that the family remained yeomen

Yeoman

Yeoman refers chiefly to a free man owning his own farm, especially from the Elizabethan era to the 17th century. Work requiring a great deal of effort or labor, such as would be done by a yeoman farmer, came to be described as "yeoman's work"...

 in Yardley throughout the 15th century. The family is again referenced as being in Birmingham in a record of Richard Smalbroke occupying a tenement

Tenement

A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...

 and croft

Croft (land)

A croft is a fenced or enclosed area of land, usually small and arable with a crofter's dwelling thereon. A crofter is one who has tenure and use of the land, typically as a tenant farmer.- Etymology :...

 in Park Street at the time of the 1553 survey of Birmingham. Richard was a man of local importance to Birmingham, serving as a bailiff for a number of years. He was instrumental in the foundation of King Edwards School

King Edward's School, Birmingham

King Edward's School is an independent secondary school in Birmingham, England, founded by King Edward VI in 1552. It is part of the Foundation of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham, and is widely regarded as one of the most academically successful schools in the country, according to...

 in New Street

New Street, Birmingham

New Street is a street in central Birmingham, England . It is one of the city's principal thoroughfares and shopping streets. Named after it is Birmingham New Street Station, although that does not have an entrance on New Street except through the Pallasades Shopping Centre.-History:New Street is...

. He also owned a shop on the High Street, dealing in ironwares, spices and textiles. He was married to Joan. He died in 1575, leaving two sons; Richard and Thomas Smalbroke; and three daughters; Mary, Bridgett and Dorothy Smalbroke.

Richard's son, also named Richard, was born in 1553. He married Margaret Hall (d. December 22, 1573) on August 17, 1568, the young widow of Richard Greswolde with whom she had two children; Henry and Thomas Greswolde. She had three children with Richard Smalbroke; Robert, Joan and Richard Smalbroke Jnr. Their son named Richard died at a young age on October 13, 1573. Following the death of Margaret in late 1573, Richard remarried to a woman named Elizabeth Kinnersley, with whom he had no children. In 1590, Richard built Blakesley Hall

Blakesley Hall

Blakesley Hall is a Tudor hall on Blakesley Road in Yardley, Birmingham, England. It is one of the oldest buildings in Birmingham and is a typical example of Tudor architecture with the use of darkened timber and wattle-and-daub infill, with an external lime render which is painted white...

 on farmland he owned in Yardley, which is indicated by his initials inscribed above the doorway. The family farmed at the hall and had other buildings in the surrounding area which were lost over time. Throughout the 16th century, the family kept detailed logs of the family accounts, documenting the way the family estate was built up.

Richard's sister, Mary, who was born around 1546, married Richard Stokes in 1557. They had one daughter named Elizabeth. Mary died around June 1591. Bridgett, another of Richard's sisters, was born about 1555. She married Ambrose Rotton on the same day as her sister, Mary, at St Martin's, Birmingham

St Martin in the Bull Ring

The church of St Martin in the Bull Ring in Birmingham 5, England is a parish church in the Church of England.-Background:It is the original parish church of Birmingham. It stands between the Bull Ring shopping centre and the markets. The church is a Grade II* listed building. The current Rector...

. She died in December 1620 in Aston

Aston

Aston is an area of the City of Birmingham, in the West Midlands of England. Lying to the north-east of the Birmingham city centre, Aston constitutes an electoral ward within the council constituency of Ladywood.-History:...

 eight children; John, Robert, Anne, Elizabeth, Richard, Thomas, Ambrose and Henry. She was buried on December 28, 1620. Her husband had died the year before on April 2. The other sister, Dorothy, was born around 1556. She married Richard Garratt on January 24, 1579/1580. She had no children.

Richard's brother, Thomas Smalbroke, whose birth date is unknown, married Elizabeth Colmore of the wealthy Colmore family in Birmingham on November 20, 1570. Together, they had eight children; Richard Jnr., Elizabeth, Anne, Daratie, Thomas, John, Robert and Bridget. He died in 1608.

17th century

Thomas Smalbroke's son, also called Thomas Smalbroke, was born in 1585. Thomas Smalbroke kept detailed accounts of his payments of tithe

Tithe

A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...

s on agricultural property in the family's account book. In 1613, Richard Smalbroke, his uncle, died leaving six fields to Thomas in his will. Blakesley Hall passed to Richard's wife, Barbara. Barbara subsequently married into the gentry, firstly to Henry Devereux of Castle Bromwich Hall

Castle Bromwich Hall

Castle Bromwich Hall is a Jacobean Mansion in the village of Castle Bromwich, which is situated in the northern part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands, England. It is a Grade I listed building.-History:...

 and, after his death, to Aylmer Folliot of Pirton Court in Pershore

Pershore

Pershore is a market town in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon. Pershore is in the Wychavon district and is part of the West Worcestershire parliamentary constituency. At the 2001 census the population was 7,304...

. Aylmer and Barbara had 12 children who all lived at Blakesley Hall. Their eldest son, named Aylmer after his father, inherited the hall in 1679 when his mother died at the age of 82. Aylmer never married and when he died in 1684, he left Blakesley Hall to his brother Robert, who lived in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. Robert had a successful military career and did not want take on the Yardley property. Therefore, one year after his brother's death, in 1685, Robert sold Blakesley Hall to the Rector of Solihull for £1261 and 10s.

Thomas Smalbroke's accounts show the difference between his six fields in 1608 to his twenty properties in 1646. Thomas Smalbroke died in 1649. Thomas married three times in his life, including a marriage to Elizabeth Rotton, his cousin, in 1607. He had seven children with Elizabeth; Thomas, Richard, Joseph, William, Samuel, Samuel and Sara. Thomas died before his father in 1636. By the time his father died, Richard was the eldest and inherited the largest proportion of the estate. Richard continued enlarging the estates through the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

 and Commonwealth. In 1657, Richard sold land in Bordesley

Bordesley, West Midlands

Bordesley is an area of Birmingham, England and is part of the City's Nechells Ward.It is served by Bordesley railway station.It should not be confused with nearby Bordesley Green.-Notable residents :...

 to a man named William Hawkes. He also married three times to Anne Hawkins, Judith Gough and Margaret Knight. He had a son, Samuel, with his first wife, Anne. Richard's third wife was Margaret Knight, widow of a successful London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 lawyer whose family owned an estate at Rowington

Rowington

Rowington is a village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire. It is five miles north-west of the town of Warwick and five miles south-west of the town of Kenilworth...

, Warwickshire

Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...

. Richard had a daughter named Grace with Margaret. Margaret died in 1692.

The family's ties with the Knight family were strengthened when Richard's son, Samuel Smalbroke, married Elizabeth Knight on February 14, 1665. By 1682, Samuel Smalbroke was calling himself 'gentleman of Rowington'. It was Samuel Smalbroke's acquisition of the Rowington estate which completed the family's transition from burgesses to country gentlemen. Samuel's marriage to Elizabeth Knight produced two children; Richard and Elizabeth Smalbroke. Richard Smalbroke was noted as being born in 1672 at number 19 High Street in Birmingham. He was baptised on November 3, 1672 at St Martin's, Birmingham. Elizabeth was born around 1676 and married John Staunton on December 26, 1699. Samuel died on May 21, 1701.

18th century

Richard was educated at Magdalen College

Magdalen College, Oxford

Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...

 in Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

. Here he achieved a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in 1691, to a Master of Arts in 1694. He also achieved a Bachelor of Divinity

Bachelor of Divinity

In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....

 in 1706, to a Doctor of Divinity

Doctor of Divinity

Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....

 in 1708. He obtained a fellowship and, in 1712, became chaplain to Archbishop Thomas Tenison

Thomas Tenison

Thomas Tenison was an English church leader, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1694 until his death. During his primacy, he crowned two British monarchs.-Life:...

 and treasurer of Llandaff

Llandaff

Llandaff is a district in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Church in Wales Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese covers the most populous area of South Wales. Much of the district is covered by parkland known as Llandaff...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. In 1717, he was made prebend of Hereford

Hereford

Hereford is a cathedral city, civil parish and county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, southwest of Worcester, and northwest of Gloucester...

. On February 2, 1723, he was consecrated as Bishop of St David's

Bishop of St David's

The Bishop of St David's is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of St David's.The succession of bishops stretches back to Saint David who in the 6th century established his seat in what is today the city of St David's in Pembrokeshire, founding St David's Cathedral. The current Bishop of St...

 from which he was moved to Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry on February 20, 1730. Also in 1730, he donated £100 to Magdalen College for the construction of new buildings. He published eleven sermons between 1706 and 1732, three charges and over 22 controversial pieces. He was involved in many disputes, which were said to have weakened his writing ability.

Bishop Smalbroke married Catherine Brooks, a sister of Archdeacon Brooks, with whom he had five sons and four daughters; Elizabeth, Thomas, Catherine, Richard, William, Mary, Samuel, Anne and John. Elizabeth never married as did Thomas who died on July 2, 1778. He settled the family estate on three of his sons, Richard, William and Samuel shortly before his death on December 22, 1749 (though stated by Clarke as September 22).

John Smalbroke died as a baby on August 20, 1722. William died on June 9, 1797 and was buried in Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

 on June 17. He had never married. Samuel Smalbroke became the prebend of Hansacre in 1744 till 1749. He, apparently, exchanged this for the title of prebend of Tarvin

Tarvin

Tarvin is a village in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It had a population of 2,693 people at the 2001 UK census, and the ward covers about .-Location:...

, Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

, and of Statfold

Statfold

Statfold is a former village in Staffordshire, England, about north-east of Tamworth. These days little remains of the village itself, but the Norman parish church, and the Tudor manor house of Statfold Hall still exist, as do a few scattered farms and houses.The Statfold Barn Railway is on the...

 in 1749. Anne Smalbroke married a man known only as Dr. Parker.

19th century

Samuel Smalbroke died on July 27, 1803 in Wem

Wem

Wem is a small market town in Shropshire, England. It is the administrative centre for the northern area committee of Shropshire Council, which has its headquarters at Edinburgh House in the centre of Wem. Wem railway station is on the Shrewsbury to Crewe railway line...

, Shropshire

Shropshire

Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

. He was buried on August 5, 1803 in Lichfield Cathedral

Lichfield Cathedral

Lichfield Cathedral is situated in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. It is the only medieval English cathedral with three spires. The Diocese of Lichfield covers all of Staffordshire, much of Shropshire and part of the Black Country and West Midlands...

.

Richard Smalbroke, who died on May 8, 1805 at an advanced age, was the last surviving son of the bishop. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. On his death, the family property passed to the surviving children of his sister Catherine, who had married the Reverend William Vyse in 1733; the Rev. Dr. William Vyse, rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

 of Lambeth

Lambeth

Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...

 (d. 1816) and General Richard Vyse (d. 1825). The estate then passed to General Vyse's successors, the Howard-Vyse family of Stoke Park, Stoke Poges

Stoke Poges

Stoke Poges is a village and civil parish in the South Buckinghamshire district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the south of the county, about three miles north of Slough and a mile east of Farnham Common....

. The intermarriage of the Smalbroke and Vyse families added a substantial landholding in Staffordshire

Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...

 to the existing estate, which was thereafter administered as part of the Birmingham estate, as evidenced by the rentals, which reveal an annual estate income of around £1,000 by the 1820s. It was at this point that the Smalbroke surname was lost.

Legacy

The Smalbroke name, also spelled Smallbrook, is remembered by the road Smallbrook Queensway

A4400 road

The A4400 was a main road in Birmingham, United Kingdom which previously formed a ring around the city centre. Junctions on the road were largely grade separated, with pedestrians kept physically separate from vehicular traffic and most junctions allowing vehicles staying on the road to pass over...

, formerly Smallbrook Street, in Birmingham City Centre. The street received its name from the association of being close to small plots of land owned by Bishop Richard Smalbroke. He leased out the land to Samuel Vaughton, a gunsmith, in 1707. A wall tablet is located in Lichfield Cathedral

Lichfield Cathedral

Lichfield Cathedral is situated in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. It is the only medieval English cathedral with three spires. The Diocese of Lichfield covers all of Staffordshire, much of Shropshire and part of the Black Country and West Midlands...

 commemorating Bishop Richard Smalbroke.

The records of the Howard-Vyse family's estate at Stoke Place, Stoke Poges, are in the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies

Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies

The Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies is the county record office for Buckinghamshire, England. It houses the former Buckinghamshire Record Office and the former Buckinghamshire Local Studies Library. It is located in Aylesbury, in the base of County Hall....

. Birmingham Reference Library and Birmingham City Archives contain a calendar of estates owned by the Smalbroke family in Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Buckinghamshire. The records were deposited by Major-General Sir Richard Howard-Vyse, Buckinghamshire, through Messrs. Chesshire Gibson & Co, Birmingham and Buckinghamshire Record Office. The collection reached the City Archives in two deposits, received in 1937 and 1958.