The Bucketts Hill family tree begins in the parish of Berkeley in the 1500’s with Thomas and Elinor Clutterbuck who were yeoman or farmers, descended from the original copyholders of Berkeley Castle. There were certainly other close relatives living in the area at this time including Thomas’s mother, Katherine, and brothers, Robert, Richard, William and John but records are too sketchy to start a formal family tree before this time.
For example, there is a court roll entry in 1498, during the reign of Henry VII, that records a rent payment of 8 pence:
‘paid by Robert Cloterbuk and his brother, William, for a stag called ‘Noleshasel’ leased to them for their lives’
however, there are no previous written records in the area - parish church or otherwise - relating to this family.
Most farms were quite self sufficient in these early days. In addition to dairy cattle or sheep, farmers kept pigs, chickens, ducks and other animals for eggs and meat. Cropping consisted mainly of wheat, barley, corn, peas, beans and other market gardens, along with apple and pear orchards. Locals could sell their wares in the township of Berkeley, which was one of the oldest market towns in England.
Thomas and Elinor Clutterbuck had three sons before Thomas died in 1571. Their youngest, John, and his wife, Jane, had 9 children; 5 boys and 4 girls. Every member of the family would help out with the farming duties, however, traditionally, the oldest son would be the sole one to inherit the property. Other male children would need to strike out on their own, the womenfolk being absorbed into other families. If the oldest son died (with no male descendant), ownership would pass to the next surviving son. It has been handed down through the generations of Thomas and Elinor’s direct descendants since the 15th century to the present day, and by their ancestors, the original Berkeley Clutterbucks, for many years before.
In 1608, the year that Thomas and Elinor’s son, John, died, the Berkeley’s Steward, John Smyth, took a Muster Roll of almost all of the adult male population in Gloucestershire. He recorded a rough idea of age and height for all of the men as this was an important consideration in deciding what type of weapon they would each be best suited to in battle.
Pikemen Caliver Musketeers
The tallest men were pikemen, those of average height were musketeers, those of lesser height were calivers. Those shorter still were ‘pyoneers’ or foot soldiers who went ahead with pick axes and shovels to clear the way or dig trenches.
In the Berkeley Muster Roll, John’s eldest child, George, is listed as a husbandman (farmer) from Wanswell, in Berkeley, and recorded as a musketeer, which meant he was of average height. Two of his younger brothers were tall pikemen, one was also a musketeer and the other was a caliver.
George married Margaretta Moodie just before the Berkeley Muster Roll and had 8 children in the following 7 years. When Margaretta passed away in 1612, George remarried. He and his new wife, Tacie, spent the next 55 years together, putting him into his late 80’s - a ripe old age for the times!