Key Facts

Snapshot:	knight in 14th-century Kent, England
Parents:	2101620William de Detling His mother's identity is uncertain.
Born:	unknown
Died:	by 1363 location unknown
Buried:	unknown

Note: I'd like to extend special thanks to researcher Jared Nathan for sharing his work pertaining to 1050810John.

As explained below, we know that 1050810John de Detlyng was very likely an adult in 1346, and that his father was 2101620William de Detling.

Problem: Resolved Who was 1050810John's father? (And what about his mother?) Below is an excerpt from the pedigree that appears in: I. Cave-Browne, Detling in Days Gone By, or The History of the Parish (Maidstone and London, 1880), page 63. As you can see, Cave-Browne's pedigree cites a 1319 fine. This is CP 25/1/101/106 no. 626A. Below is an abstract1 and an excerpt from the original record.2 626a. At Westminster, Octave of the Holy Trinity Ao 12— Betw. Thomas de Banquell' plt., and William de Brampton' and Alice his wife defts., of 21 acr. and 3 roods of land, with appurts., in Dentlyngg'. William and Alice admit it to be the Right of Thomas; and, for themselves and the heirs of Alice, grant to him and to his heirs, and receive 10l. for the concession.1 2101620William, his wife Alice, and their Detling property mentioned in the 1319 fine abstracted above. Full page.2 The fine shows that 2101620William and Alice had owned land in Detling, Kent and then later lost ownership. Ultimately, though, they must have re-acquired the property (or a similar, nearby property), since (1) in 1346 1050810John paid for a fee that 2101620William Detling owned (presumably previously);3 and (2) 1050810John later passed a Detling manor down to his descendants, as proven by a 1440 lawsuit.4 The multi-generational inheritance of the Detling manor plus the fact that 1050810John paid for land previously owned by 2101620William very strongly implies that 2101620William was 1050810John's father, even though no contemporary record explicitly says so. 1050810John's mother might have been 2101620William's wife Alice, who is mentioned in the 1319 fine,1 but there isn't enough evidence to be certain.

1050810John de Detlyng, his wife 1050811Joan, and several of their descendants are mentioned in a lawsuit filed by three of their great-granddaughters in an Easter 1440 court.4 The same relationships described in the lawsuit record were later affirmed in the 1574 visitation of Kent.5

1050810John, 1050811Johane, and their daughter 525405Benedicta mentioned together in an Easter 1440 lawsuit record. Full page.4

Since the lawsuit mentions a manor in Detling, and since 1050810John is repeatedly described as "de Detlyng," 4 he surely had owned this manor, but I have been unable to find any other information about the building. (As noted previously, 1050810John, as a resident of Maidstone Hundred, paid for a fee—effectively a land property tax—in Detling in 1346.3)

1050810John also owned Crombury manor in Hadlow, and the same record proves that he was a knight.5

He must have died by 1363, since his widow 1050811Joan had married her second husband Henry de Apuldrefeld by then.6

Sources Cited:

1: James Greenstreet, "Kent Fines, 10-15 Edward II," Archaeologia Cantiana, Volume XIV (1882), page 259.

2: I obtained an image of this record from: Anglo-American Legal Tradition, O'Quinn Law Library, University of Houston; <http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT7/CP25(1)/CP25_1_101_97-112/IMG_0264.htm>, accessed 16 April 2022.

3: James Greenstreet, "Assessments in Kent for the Aid to Knight the Black Prince, Anno 20 Edward III," Archaeologia Cantiana, Volume X (1876), page 151. As you can see, Greenstreet transcribes de Johanne de Detlynge et Thoma de Bukwelle pro dimidio feodo quod Willelmus de Detlynge tenuit in Detlynge de Archiepiscopo, which might translate as "from John Detlynge and Thomas de Buckwell for half the fee which William of Detlynge held in Detlinge of the archbishop."

4: UK National Archives CP 40/717 (Court of Common Pleas / Plea Rolls / Chief Justice's roll, 18 Hen VI, Easter term), on an apparently unnumbered page pertaining to a lawsuit involving William Sonde et al. vs. John Ruton et al. I obtained an image of this record from: Anglo-American Legal Tradition, O'Quinn Law Library, University of Houston; <http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT1/H6/CP40no717/bCP40no717dorses/IMG_1261.htm>, accessed 29 March 2022. You can see AALT's index entry for this record at <http://aalt.law.uh.edu/Indices/CP40Indices/CP40no717/CP40no717Pl.htm> by searching "1262." As you can see, the original record is in Latin, so refer to the abstract in: George Wrottesley, Pedigrees from the Plea Rolls: Collected from the Pleadings in the Various Courts of Law, A.D. 1200 to 1500, from the Original Rolls in the Public Record Office, page 371.

5: Calendar of Inquisitions Post Mortem and Other Analogous Documents, Volume IX, Edward III (1916), page 64, an entry that reads, "Crongebery. A quarter of a knight's fee which John de Detlyn holds."

6: UK National Archives reference ID CP 25/1/105/174 no. 1373. I obtained an image of this record from: Anglo-American Legal Tradition, O'Quinn Law Library, University of Houston; <http://aalt.law.uh.edu/AALT7/CP25(1)/CP25_1_105_160-175/IMG_0375.htm>, accessed 6 August 2022. As you can see, the original record is in Latin, but an English translation is available.