In England, in the Middle Ages a 'hide' was a piece of land just big
enough to support one free family. It would have been 80 to 120 acres in size; based on
the quality of the land. The surname 'Hyde' or 'Hide' was often given to the holder of the
land and his family, or to a family living near a hide.
From this, is it obvious that not all Hyde/Hide families are likely
to have one common origin and numerous UK counties claim their own town or village of
Hyde.
Omerod's History of Cheshire quotes 'that about the time of King
John, one moiety of the township of HYDE was vested in a family which bore the local name
and was then represented by Matthew de Hyde'. This Matthew had a son, Sir Robert Hyde,
knt. Lord of the manors of Hyde and Newton in Cheshire; of Shalcross in Derbyshire; and of
Halghton in the county of Lancashire, who married the cousin and heiress of Thomas de
Norbury, by whom he acquired the lordship of Norbury, Cheshire. Descended from these
Hyde's are those in Wiltshire at Tisbury and West Hatch and also Edward Hyde; Earl of
Clarendon.
In Berkshire, near Denchworth, the manor of Hyde belonged to another
Hyde family, who reputedly held it by a grant of King Canute. The Hyde's added to their
estate and by 1383 held all three manors at Denchworth and continued to do so for two
centuries and more before retiring to their great seat at Kingston Lisle. The parish
church of Denchworth holds brasses for Oliver Hyde who died in 1516 and his wife Agnes who
died in 1523, William Hyde who died in 1557 and his wife Margery who died in 1562 and for
William Hyde who died in 1567 and his wife Alice who died in 1584. The Hyde's had a strong
Royal connection and were a prolific family in Berkshire throughout the 16th and 17th
centuries and branches of this family appeared at Hinton, Hurst, Brimpton, Letcombe Regis,
Whitchurch, Pangbourne, Marlborough, Binfield, Abingdon, Blagrave and County Cork;
Ireland.
HYDE/HIDE FAMILY
The earliest records found to date for my own family are those of the baptisms of
the children of George and Priscilla Hide of East Lockinge in the county of Berkshire (now
located in Oxfordshire).
East Lockinge is a village approximately 4 miles South East of Denchworth,
although no connection has yet been found to link them with the Denchworth Hyde's. The
church has parts which date back to the 13th century and is dedicated to All Souls.
George Hide was a wheelwright who died at East Lockinge in 1684.
Both he and his wife Priscilla died intestate and the will of George was administered by
his eldest son John. The inventory totalled £30-16s-4d. The issue of George and Priscilla
were:-
John, 1651, who married Sarah Styles and had issue at Wantage. Gabriel, 1654, who married Mary ......?, and had
issue at Stratton St. Margaret, see below
Sarah, 1656
Aime (Ann), 1660
Mary, 1662, who married John Johnson.
Hanna, 1665
George, 1667, who married Martha .......? and had issue at Drayton.
Charles, 1671
Gabriel Hyde was a wheelwright who died in 1711 (will)
at Stratton St. Margaret, near Swindon, Wiltshire. The parish church is dedicated to St.
Margaret of Antioch and was built in 1280. The parish registers begin in 1608. Prominent
families of Stratton, were the Jordans, Williams, Barretts, Iles, Lawrences, Pantinge and
the Days. The issue of Gabriel and Mary were:-
Robert, 1680 Gabriel, 1683, who married Sarah Doare, and
had issue at Stratton St. Margaret, see below
George, 1684
Amy, 16.., who married Richard Lester.
Gabriel Hyde was a wheelwright who died in 1745
(will) at Stratton St. Margaret. Sarah died in 1747 (will). The issue of Gabriel and Sarah
were:-
John, 1711, twin of
George, 1711
Mary, 1712
Robert, 1713, who married Hannah Munday and had issue at Stratton St. Margaret.
Sarah, 1715, who married Curtis Lester.
Gabriel, 1716
Joshua, 1721, who married Sarah Avery. John, 1723, who married Elizabeth Pantinge, and had
issue at Stratton St. Margaret, see below.
John Hyde was a carpenter who died in 1784 at Stratton
St. Margaret, as did his wife Elizabeth . The issue of John and Elizabeth were:-
Francis, 1754
Gabriel, 1757
John, 1758 Robert, 1761, who married firstly Sarah Smith and
had issue at Stratton St. Margaret, see below and secondly married Honor Ponting by
license.
Robert Hyde was a carpenter who died in 1825 at Stratton St.
Margaret. The issue of Robert and Sarah were:-
John, 1791, who married Jane Salt, and had issue at Stratton St. Margaret.
Joshua, 1793, who married Mary Sutton, and had issue at Stratton St. Margaret.
Elizabeth, 1796
Gabriel, 1798
Robert, 1799
Mary Ann, 1801
Richard, 1803
Francis, 1805, who married Hannah Arkell, and had issue at Northleach. Gabriel, 1805, who married Maria Cook, and
had issue at Northleach, see below.
William, 1807
Gabriel George Hyde was an Agricultural
labourer, who died in 1872 at Northleach. The earliest mention of Northleach occurs in the
Doomsday Book (1086) where it is called 'Leece'. A church existed at Northleach by 1100,
the present church of St. Peter and St. Paul is one of the great Cotswold 'wool' churches
and was almost entirely rebuilt in the 15th century. The church holds many memorial
brasses, mainly of rich woolstaplers and one of a priest. The issue of Gabriel George and
Maria were:-
Henry, 1833, who married Mary Ann Ferris at
Northleach and had issue, see below
Harriett, 1835
Robert, 1837
Ann, 1839, who married George Bridgeman
Elizabeth Cook, 184, who married Edwin Sidebottom
Charles, 1844
Jane, 1846
Emma, 1849, who married William Millard
Clara, 1851
William, 1853
Robert, 1855, who married Mary A Trueman
Thomas, 1862
Henry Hyde was an Agricultural labourer, who died in
1877 at Northleach. The issue of Henry and Mary Ann were:-
George, 1855, who married Mary Ann Scarrett
at Northleach and had issue, see below
William, 1857
Ann, 1859, who married James Scott
Elizabeth, 1861, who married George Townsend
John, 1862
Jane, 1864, who married Arthur Morse
Emma, 1865, who had issue and later married Albert Ricketts
Charles, 1867
Charles, 1873, who married Elizabeth Kate Ford and had issue
George Hyde was an Agricultural labourer, who died in
1915 and is buried at Northleach. The issue of George and Mary Ann were:-
Anne Maria, 1876, who married Frederick Hopkins and lived at Brooksdale Cottages,
Cheltenham.
George, 1879, who married Agnes Mary Edwards.
William, 1882
Henry, 1885
John, 1886, who married Ada Kathleen ........?, and lived at Edgbaston. Frederick, 1889
Harry, 1892
Ernest, 1896
Frederick Hyde, my grandfather married Lily Bayman
Cook in 1913 at Aston Register Office, Birmingham. They later moved to Leckhampton,
Cheltenham.
The information above has been provided by John Hyde. If you
are interested in the Hyde family contact John.
He has an extensive database on the family for the locations
mentioned above.