The Dod Family of Highfields

Coat of Arms of the Dods of Edge

William of Buerton submitted the distinct coat of arms of the Dods of Highfields (a cadet branch of the Dods of Edge) in 1663. The Crest is argent (a silver or white shield) on a fess (a horizontal band across the centre) cottised (ie the fess is flanked above and below by narrow parallel bars) wavy gules (drawn in a wavy line; gules means the fess and its cottises are red) with three crescents or (three gold crescents placed on the fess) and a canton Azure (a small square in the upper left of the shield, coloured blue). The crest depicts a silver wheat sheaf, tied with a red band, encircled by a naturally coloured snake. This is a fairly unusual combination. A garb often symbolises agriculture, plenty, or rural stewardship, while a serpent proper can represent wisdom, guardianship, or sometimes danger. Encircling the garb suggests the snake is protecting or enclosing the sheaf.

The motto in copia cautus means cautious amid abundance or be prudent even when resources are plentiful.

The family tree of the Dod Family up to Jane Dod (1711-1783)

The Bakers Home Page Return to the Home Page of the Bakers Family part of the website

The Bakers of Highfields Story The Story of the Dods and Bakers and of Highfields, Fenton House and Hasfield Court. A journey through the history of Cheshire and Staffordshire, an Anglo-Saxon nobleman who retained his lands after the Conquest, pottery at Stoke on Trent, an encounter with Elgar, and the history of an Elizabethan manor house at Audlem

The Bakers of Highfields The family tree of the Bakers of Highfields

The Dod Family The Family Tree of the Dods, predecessors to the Bakers of Highfields

The Bakers of Fenton House and Hasfield Court The Family Tree of the pottery Bakers of Stoke on Trent

The Bellyse Family The Family Tree of the Bellyse Family

The Farndale Story The main part of this website tells the story of the Farndale family from Yorkshire Descendants of Arthur Baker, the story of the Farndale ancestry is told through the main part of this website You can also return to the Farndale website home page

The Hall Family The genealogy of the family of James Hall, linked to the Baker family through marriage to Arthur Baker

The genealogy of the Dod family of Highfields and of Edge and Cloverley, insofar as relating to the Dods of Highfields.

There have been Dods living [in the vicinity of Edge] since records began: this was border country, and by turns, no doubt, they needed the protection of a moat round their home, and then the consolidation of friendships by a Welsh marriage. The Dod family history must be traced since the story of smaller country houses is as much that of a family as of a building. (Haslam, Richard (1985), Edge Hall, Cheshire, The Home of Mr and Mrs Anthony Wolley Dod, in Country Life, 21 November 1985, pages 1612 to 1615).

One Dod was a Bishop, one was the wife of a Bishop, one was the mother of a Bishop; one was an Admiral, three were knights, three were Prebendaries, two were Archdeacons, six were Members of Parliament, one was Chief Baron of the Exchequer, one was Chief Baron of the Chester Exchequer, one a Baron of the Cinque Ports; five were in the military service of the Black Prince, two served at Agincourt; one was killed in Minden, two were at the battle of the Boyne; two lived to the age of 104, and two were hung. (Dod, Captain Robert Phipps, Series of Rough Collections intended to serve as a Pedigree of the Family of Dod, see also Dod, Robert Phipps (1849), Birth and Worth, An Inquiry into the Practical Uses of a Pedigree, London and The Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland).

Dates in brown are not known but estimated as part of a model to make sense of the timelines.

Follow the reference links for more information about each person.

The Hundred of Dudderstone The region which dominated the history of the Dods of Huyton and the Lords of Edge

Huyton The Anglo Saxon origins of Dot’s principal settlement

Dot of Huyton c 1030 to c 1100 Associated with 20 places in Cheshire before the Conquest in the Domesday Book, particularly within the Hundred of Duddeston. His lands were redistributed after the Conquest, but the family reacquired many of the Duddeston lands when his grandson married the daughter of the Lord of Edge Huyton DOD00010

Sources Bibliography of sources used in research

Malpas The important settlement of Malpas

Cadwgan Dot of Malpas c 1068 to 1128 An early medieval figure in Cheshire who bridges the late Saxon era and early Norman administrative records in Cheshire It is possible that he was the same person as Dot of Huyton, in which case his dates need to be reconsidered Malpas DOD00011

Edwin of Poulton Lord of Edge c 1045 to c 1120 Edwin, Lord of Edge, was an 11th-century Anglo-Saxon thane or landowner in Cheshire recorded in the Domesday Book around 1066. He unusually retained many of his lands after the Conquest and was particularly associated with the Hundred of Duddeston. Edge EDW00001

Hova Dod (or Dot) c 1090 to c 1170 Married the daughter and heiress of Edwin, Lord of Edge Hova, son of Cadwgan Dod (or Dot), married the daughter and heiress of the Saxon Lord of Edge during the reign of Henry II, acquiring a portion of the manor of Edge in Malpas The Edge Hall Estates near Malpas was owned by the Dod and Wolley Dod family until the 21^st century Edge DOD00012

Daughter of Edwin of Edge c 1080 to c 1150 Married Hova Dod, bringing her father’s Duddeston lands back into the Dod family Edge EDW00002

Kenric or Kendricke Dod of Edge c 1110 to c 1190 Edge DOD00013

Roger Dod A debtor to the Crown with his father Hugh

Lefwin or Lefwino Dod Listed in the Great Roll of the Pipe, Henry II (1174 to 1175), page 45 and The Great Roll of the Pipe, Henry II (1175 to 1176), page 49 May have been this family

Gamel Dod Listed in the The Great Roll of the Pipe, Henry II (1174 to 1175), page 176 and The Great Roll of the Pipe, Henry II (1175 to 1176), page 105 May have been this family

Willelmus Dod Listed in the the Great Roll of the Pipe, Henry II (1175 to 1176), page 110 May have been this family

Ada or Adam Dod There was an Ada Dod listed 1 mark for selling wine contrary to the assize (The Great Roll of the Pipe, Henry II (1186 to 1187), page 243), but the association with Elias de Preston suggests he may not have been part of the Cheshire family

Ralph (Rad or Radulphus) Dod The Curia Regis Rolls of the reigns of John. Volume 2 page 252 include the early appearance of the family name in royal court proceedings (1199 to 1200)

Cadwgan Dod of Edge c 1150 to c 1220 Edge DOD00015

Stephen Dod of Broxton c 1155 to c 1230 Ancestor of the Dods of Broxton DOD00016

John Dod of Edge Time of Henry III (reigned 1207 to 1272) c 1190 to c 1260 Edge DOD00020

William Dod of Shropshire c 1202 to c 1280 DOD00020B

Edge Hall The history of Edge in the Middle Ages

Stephen Dod of Edge c 1220 to c 1300 Edge DOD00025

Richard Dod Recorded in 1276 Married Juliana May have been a kinsman of Stephen Huntingsdale near Market Drayton See DOD00025

Thomas Dod of Edge c 1260 to c 1330 Burke’s suggests that he seems to have died issueless before 1355 There is some evidence that he may have moved to Wytherlinge in Kent, though this may be a different family Edge DOD00030

William Dod of Edge c 1265 to c 1360 Living in 1355 Edge DOD00031

Hova or Howsa Dod of Edge c 1270 to c 1380 Entry in the Visitations of 1613 Edge DOD00032

The Welsh Marches The relationship between Cheshire and the Welsh Marches

Robert Dod of Wytherlyne c 1300 to c 1380

Roger Dod of Edge Time of Edward III (reigned 1327 to 1377) c 1300 to c 1370 Married Mabel Mere, daughter of David Mere of Edge Living in 1350. Edge DOD00035

John Dod of Smith's Pentrey in Broxton c 1305 to c 1360 Married Margery, daughter of Hugh le Byrd of Broxton DOD00036

Kendrick Dod of Edge c 1307 to c 1360

Hugo c 1308 to c 1365

Thomas Dod of Edge c 1325 to c 1400 Son and heir Married Maud, Matilda or Mary, daughter of David Bird of Broxton Edge DOD00040

Darid Dod Of Prees Pares, Shropshire Married Had issue

John Dod of Farndon c 1330 to c 1410 Married Johanna, daughter and co-heiress of John de Wareyn of Ightfield during the reign of Richard II. Through her marriage, Johanna brought her inherited portion of the adjoining Calverhall and Cloverley lands directly into the Dod family. The Ightfield estate went to William Mainwaring of Peover who had married Johanna’s sister, Margaret Ancestor of the Dods of Cloverly DOD00043

Roger de Cloverley

The Cheshire Men of Richard II The close association between Richard II and Cheshire The Dods of Edge were loyal to Richard II and probably joined the Cheshire Rising of 1400 and may have joined with Harry Hotspur at the Battle of Shrewsbury in 1403 against the new king Henry IV At some stage they submitted to loyalty to the new Lancastrian regime, and retained their hold on Edge

Cheshire Archers The history of the archers of Cheshire

The Dods and Wolley Dods of Edge Hall

Thomas Dod 1379 to c 1440 Gave evidence as a juror in several Inquisitions Post Mortem DOD00050A

John Dod c 1380 to c 1440 Retained for life in 1401 by Lord Talbot of Blakemere and Whitchurch May have murdered Ivo de Solton of Prees for his cap worth 3s 4d DOD00050B

William Dod 1383 to 1465 Married Johanna in 1408 DOD00050

Hugh or Hugo Dod c 1395 to c 1450 Married Agnes de Cloverley in 1418 Gave evidence as a juror in several Inquisitions Post Mortem Cloverley was an estate the Dod family owned since the early fifteenth century Cloverley DOD00051

Agnes de Cloverley

Cloverley A history of Cloverley in the Middle Ages

Ightfield A History of Ightfield in the Middle Ages

John Dod of Cloverley Hall c 1420 to c 1510 Married Matilda, daughter of Ludovic Eyton, of Eyton, Shropshire Cloverley DOD00055

William Dod of Cloverley c 1435 to c 1500 Married Anne Eaton (or Eyton) of Eyton around 1454 or 1455 Summoned by the Countess of Shrewsbury for a land dispute Cloverley DOD00055A

John Dod of Cloverley c 1455 to c 1550 Married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Ralph Egerton, of Ridley, Shropshire, Standard bearer of England Married Alice, daughter of Robert Aston, of Ticehill, Staffordshire Purchased a general pardon from the court of Henry VII to protect him from the risks of the legal system Already a tenant of the nearby Heyfeldes at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 Also held a tenancy at Chesthull, near Market Drayton, on a 60 year lease for a rent of £4 4s Cloverley DOD00058

Hugh Chester c 1490 to c 1570 Owned 500 acres at Woodhouse Lane which included Highefields pasture and Maer Houses Lived at New Street Land to the southeast Married Alice Chester CHE00002

7 daughters with Elizabeth

with Alice

Jane, Margery, Eleanor, Martha, Agnes, Margaret, Alice

John Dod of Cloverley Hall c 1503 to 1578 Elder son Married Margaret, daughter of John Mainwaring of Ightfield, Salop Commanded 100 men in an expedition to Scotland in 1544, part of the Rough Wooing, culminating in the burning of Edinburgh Escheator (tax investigator) for Shropshire in 1550 Cloverley DOD00060

William Dod of Losford c 1505 to c 1575 Younger son He took on debts from Thomas Cromwell between 1518 and 1529, which were formally recorded in 1529. This may have been a factor in his strategy to marry into the Highfields property He may have operated a vintner business in London to enable him to operate within the mercantile law, providing the chance to take on debt Married Anne Chester in 1530 Inherited the Highefields pasture with other lands from Hugh Chester, his father-in-law DOD00061

Anne Chester c 1515 to c 1590 CHE00001

Johanna Married R Freire

Richard Dod of Ightfield c 1532 to 1616 Married Elizabeth, 4th daughter of Sir Thomas Aston, of Aston, Shropshire Died without issue

Robert Dod c 1535 to c 1630 Married Catherine, daughter of John Norwich of Brampton, Northamptonshire and sister of Sir John Norwich, 1st Baronet of Brampton Had issue

Thomas Dod 1535 Died young DOD00070

William Dod of Newstreet Lane and Highfields c 1537 to 1599 In 1568 William married Catherine, daughter of Magrate Pixley, widow of Willaston, Salop William built Highfields probably in the 1560s DOD00071

John Gamul of Buerton Hall

Highfields The story of the House at Audlem

George Dod 1570 Died young No issue DOD00080

Margaret Dod 1574? Married at Audlem in 1594 DOD00082

William Dod of Highfields 1577 to 1655 Married Eleanor, eldest daughter and heiress, daughter of John Gamul of Buerton Hall in 1598 May have hosted Prince Rupert at Highfields during the English Civil War Involved with his brother-in-law in establishment of Audlem Grammar School Highfields, Audlem DOD00081

Eleanor Gamul

William Gamul of Buerton Hall

Thomas Gamul Died 1651 Citizen and Grocer of London In his will, he entrusted £500 to William Dod, with his neighbours, Captain William Massie of Moss Hall and Hugh Hassall, both of Audlem, where says Thomas Gamul I was born. The money was to be used to build a convenient schoolhouse and a dwelling house for a schoolmaster in the town of Audlem. This was to be Audlem Grammar School.

General Sir Francis Gamul 1606 to 1654 A prominent Royalist politician, mayor, and local military commander from Chester, who played a crucial role in organising the defence of the strategic city-garrison for King Charles I during the English Civil War. Lived at Gamul House, Watergate

Thomas Dod of Highfields c 1600 to after 1656 Eldest Son Died unmarried Sequestrated by Parliament in 1645 Highfields until 1656 DOD00090

George Dod of Highfields, formerly of Penders End 1602 to 27 February 1661 Married Dorothy Greenley (1610 to 1702), daughter of Edward Greenley of Titley Court, Herefordshire in 1632 Penders End, Highfields, Audlem DOD00091

William Dod of Buerton 1604 Married Magdalen Shepherd of Walsall, Staffs in 1629 Then married Anne Latham, daughter of Ralph Latham of Nantwich on 18 April 1639 DOD00092

Margaret Dod Married Boote

Elizabeth Dod Married Bostock

Alice Dod Married Richard Wilbraham

Jane Dod Buried 25 February 1650/1

With Magdalen

With Anne

Dorothy Dod c 1650 to c 1730 Married Thomas Hopwood of Milton, Herefordshire Later married her cousin, John Greenley JP of Titley Court in 1682 DOD00100

George Dod of Highfields 1653 to 8 September 1727 Barrister-at-law Married Charity, daughter of John Woodroffe, London and Chalderton, Hampshire in 1680 Highfields, Audlem DOD00101

Alice Dod 1657 Married Watkins DOD00102

William Dod 1631 Managed Highfields for his cousin and resident there by 1662 DOD000150

Alice Dod 1633 Married Lloyd DOD00151

William of Buerton Submitted the coat of arms of the Dods of Highfields in 1663 DOD00151A

John Dod 16 January 1647/8 DOD00152

Margaret Dod 1649 Married Boote DOD00153

Elizabeth Dod 1650 Married Bostock DOD00154

Jane Dod 1651 to 25 February 1651 DOD00155

Alice Dod 1652 Married Wilbraham DOD00156

George Dod of Highfields 15 May 1681 to 4 January 1713 In 1708 married his second cousin, Jane, daughter of John Gouldsmyth, barrister of law of Stapely Manor, Cheshire Barrister-at-law Highfields, Audlem DOD00110

Thomas Dod 25 May 1682 to 25 May 1729 Educated Brasenose College, Oxford (BA 1704, MA 1707, Fellow 1707 to 1720, Proctor 1714) Married Mary Jones Author of The Rule of Equity a printed assize sermon preached and published, delivered on 14 March 1716 or 1717 in the assizes at Oxford Rector of Stepney, 1718-1720 DOD00111

Roger Dod 1684 DOD00112

Randal Dod 1685 DOD00113

John Dod 1687 to 6 September 1688 (buried) DOD00114

Edward Dod 11 October 1688 to 1763 Captain Royal Navy Captured by a superior French force at Brest and bravely refused to disclose British fleet secrets DOD00115

William Dod 15 October 1689 to 1 January 1708 DOD00116

Diana Dod 17 November 1689 Lived at Bridgnorth Her niece Jane Dod often stayed with her, and it was here that Jane Dod met the young architect, William Baker DOD00119

Charity Dod 1692 to 5 June 1752 Died at Raby Castle DOD00117

Rachel Dod 1693 to 1780 Married Honeywood and later Hodgson DOD00118

Lettice Dod Died unmarried Jane Dod Died unmarried Theophilia Dod Died unmarried Ann Dod Died unmarried, 3 June 1725 Elizabeth Dod Died unmarried Dorothy Dod Died unmarried

William Baker 14 October 1705 to 29 November 1771 Married Elizabeth Eykyn in 1729 and Jane Dod on 16 January 1736 The Architect London, Leominster, Highfields, Audlem BAK00068

Jane Dod of Highfields 10 September 1710 to 17 March 1783 Only surviving daughter who inherited Highfields on the death of her grandfather in 1727 Married the architect, William Baker on 16 January 1736 DOD00130

Judith Dod 28 August 1711 to 1711 Died in infancy DOD00131

The Baker Family

The Coat of Arms of the Dods of Highfields

Arms of Dod of Highfields - argent on a fess cottised wavy gules, three crescents or a canton azure were confirmed, born 1641. Crest – a garb argent banded gules environed with a snake ppr. Motto In copia cautus (Burke, John and Burke, Sir Bernard (1836)(Eighteenth Edition, 1972), Bellyse Baker of Highfields in Burke’s Landed Gentry, Volume 3, pages 35 to 38).

Argent refers to a silver or white shield. On a fess refers to a horizontal band across the centre. Cottised means the fess is flanked above and below by narrow parallel bars. Wavy refers to those bars (and often the fess itself) being drawn in a wavy line. Gules means the fess and its cottises are red. Three crescents Or means three gold crescents placed on the fess. A canton Azure is a small square in the upper left of the shield, coloured blue.

Regarding the crest, a garb is a wheat sheaf, a very common heraldic charge. Argent, means silver or white. A banded gules means tied with a band, and gules means red. Environed means surrounded or encircled, snakes in heraldry are often shown coiled around an object. Ppr, short for proper, means the snake is shown in its natural colours.

The crest therefore depicts a silver wheat sheaf, tied with a red band, encircled by a naturally coloured snake. This is a fairly unusual combination. A garb often symbolises agriculture, plenty, or rural stewardship, while a serpent proper can represent wisdom, guardianship, or sometimes danger. Encircling the garb suggests the snake is protecting or enclosing the sheaf.

In copia cautus means cautious amid abundance or be prudent even when resources are plentiful.

Pedigree charts

(In two pedigrees of Dod and Baker of Highfields, Baker Records, 19)

Heraldic Lines of Lineage

The Armorial Bearings of the Cheshire Visitations or Heralds’ Vision of Cheshire (1613), an official genealogical and heraldic survey of county families: