The Beckingham One-Name Study

Great Hidden

This major Pedigree is known to our informal group of researchers as "The Great Hidden Line" with the current oldest known Beckingham traced being a Roger Beckingham who died March 1673/74 in Hungerford, Berkshire, and whose Will refers to him as "Husbandman of Great Hidden, Hungerford".  The Will also mentions Roger's brother, Henry and this is the first inkling we have of any siblings for Roger.

There is still a Great Hidden Farm at Hungerford to this day. This particular pedigree runs almost parallel to "The Savernake Line" in times and places, but as yet there has been no obvious connection proven between the two.  But .....

There is a possible family for the parents and grandparents of Roger of Great Hidden, but as yet no definite proof. Now if this "new" family group also had a son called Henry as a  brother to Roger, and if Henry founded the Savernake line.........

However, there are massive gaps in the parish registers for the area where we think Henry should have been born, therefore we do not know whether there is a Henry in this new group and so this puzzle may never be solved.

This pedigree is built up from many lines that other researchers were pursuing and are listed, in no particular order, below - 

There is the initial Great Hidden Pedigree, currently headed by Roger Beckingham, Yeoman/husbandman of Great Hidden died March 1673/74.

From Baydon in Wiltshire was added Seymour Beckingham marrying Elizabeth Chamberlyn in 1717. It turned out that this was Seymour's second marriage as his Will spelt out that his eldest son was by his former wife.  Some of this line went to Lambourn whilst  Seymour's father was buried in Frampton upon Severn, Gloucestershire as BUCKINGHAM.

The Thruxton Beckinghams started with Thomas Beckingham marrying Maria Ruby in 1829 at Andover and we were able to tie Thomas into a line from Penton Mewsey, also in Hampshire, that started with a Roger and Judith Beckingham around 1719. It was Thomas Beckingham of Marlborough in Wiltshire who turned out to be this Roger's father and Thomas himself was a son of Roger of Great Hidden thereby creating the link.

East and West Meon  in Hampshire also provided a line of its own, starting with Thomas Beckingham marrying Rebecca Brewer there in 1785. It transpired that Thomas was baptised at Penton Mewsey in 1762 and linked the Meon Beckinghams to Great Hidden. 

What is called the Kent pedigree has now been linked into Great Hidden as a William Beckingham, widower aged 68 born in Tilehurst  and in the City of London workhouse at the 1851 census has tied the two pedigrees together.

Henry Beckingham RN was born in Portsea in 1856 and proved elusive, but he stated at both of his marriages that his father was called William who we eventually traced to a Thruxton link.

Another Henry Beckingham born around 1808 at Stratfield Saye, Hampshire has recently been attached to the Great Hidden pedigree. (See "Other Known Pedigrees for details).

The New Zealand Pedigree of Beckinghams descended from Honeyborn Beckingham also now appear to be from the Great Hidden line.  (Again, see "Other Known Pedigrees for details).

Emigration took a lot of Great Hidden families to places far and wide, and apart from Honeyborn above, there were emigrations to New South Wales and Western Australia; New York and Canada.

Many of the Beckinghams lived at Tilehurst near Reading in the 18th and 19th centuries from where there was a migration to Brentford in Middlesex where they became BECKENHAMS. 

There is currently a separate pedigree commencing in Monmouth with a Thomas Beckingham born circa 1780 who could be a Thomas from Newbury, Berkshire but I need to find some earlier censuses first.