HYDE/HIDE ORIGINS AND FAMILIES

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.

Copyright 1999-2011 John Hyde