Early Life
Robert Bosvile was the son of
Ralph Bosville of
Bradbourne in Kent and
Ann Clement; Robert was probably born in the mid 1550s, given his marriage in 1582 (see below).
Family Life
Robert acquired the estate of
Eynsford/Aynesford in Kent through his marriage to
Elizabeth Sybil, the daughter and heiress of
John Sibyl of
Eynesford and
Joane Pollard. Robert and Elizabeth settled in Eynsford about 1586
2. They had the following children:
- Frances, born around 1585 and who married Henry Hart
- Henry, heir, b. 1587 and who married Isabella Wiseman
- Elizabeth, b. 1588
- Angelet, b. 1590
- Anne, b. 1591
- Rachel, b.?
An entry
4 in the
Sevenoaks Chronicle and Kentish Advertiser about
Britain's Farm, a property passed to Robert from his father Ralph, reads:
In a rural lane just off the main road before you enter Sevenoaks lies Britain's Farm. It is one of the most picturesque spots in the whole district. From the main road the stranger can see the tops of the oast houses standing in a belt of trees, but he little thinks that these are the landmarks of something more than just a farmhouse and that were Britain's Farm better known the feet of visitors would tramp the lane into a broad highway.
Britains, to give it the original name borne by the house, is a delight ot the artist, a treasure house to the lover of antiquity. Its story goes back to a remote past, and even in its present form has little of modernity about it. Old walls, quaint chimneys and a large duck pond link it with a more romantic time....
...In the reign of Queen Elizabeth the manor or farm of Britains belonged to Sir Ralph Bosville of Bradborne. On his death it passed to his second son, Sir Robert, in whose descendants, sealed at Eynsford, it seems to have continued until, Sir Henry Bosville dying without issue, it went to a kinsman. This was Robert Bosville of Staffordshire. His son of the same name sold it about the year 1765 to Sir Thomas Farnaby, Bart., of Kippington...
The farm appears to be
here. No longer quite so rurally idyllic. It can also be seen labelled on this
map of Sevenoaks from 1957. It lies about 8 miles SSW of Eynsford.
Death
Robert died in 1623 according to
Landed Gentry2 but in
Pedigrees of Yorkshire3 he is said to have been buried at Eynsford on the 19
th of June 1620.
Footnotes
[1]
La Neve's Pedigrees has a short Bosvile pedigree which includes Robert and his parents
[2]
Burke's Landed Gentry 1st Edition, Volume 1, page 516
[3] Bosvile of Ardsley, Gunthwaite, Warmsworth, Ravenfield;
Pedigrees of The County Families of Yorkshire, Compiled by Joseph Foster, Volume 1 (West Riding, A-L), London (1874)
[4]
Sevenoaks Chronicle and Kentish Advertiser 24 July 1931, page 2
Abt 1555 - Abt 1620 (~ 65 years)
[2] 
