People

Margaret Hody
Margaret Hody, first wife of Thomas Baynham, wearing a 15th Century butterfly head-dress

As mentioned in the introduction, the focus will be on the personal stories of three main characters:

Thomas Baynham of Clearwell (1422-1500) my eleven times great-grandfather, head of the family living in The Forest of Dean at the end of the Middle Ages who had two heirs – Sir Christopher Baynham of Clearwell (1478-1540), my ten times great-grandfather, and his half-brother Sir Alexander Baynham of Westbury (1459-1524).

Jeremiah Baynham (1829-1900) the person who moved with his young family from The Forest to the industrial Midlands in 1854.

Marshall William Baynham (1897-1963) my grandfather who fought in World War I and took part in the Somme Offensive.

These three are featured but many others, including siblings, wives and children, have ‘people’ pages of their own which are hyper-linked throughout this site.

There are also links to some interesting characters on the periphery of these stories, such as James Bainham (1499-1532, Sir Alexander Baynham’s youngest son) the Protestant martyr who was burned at the stake by Sir Thomas More in 1531; and Sir Edmund Baynham, captain of  the notorious Damned Crew who became involved in The Gunpowder Plot in 1605.