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 original 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".  

There is still a Great Hidden Farm at Hungerford to this day (see photo on right).

In March 2013 a breakthrough has enabled this Pedigree to be taken back a further two generations to a William Beckingham and Magdalen Woodward  who were raising children in Lambourn, Berkshire from 1573. The original Roger now has two wives, both called Mary, and the death of the first one in Lambourn links to the place of birth of the first three children to Lambourn and the last seven children then link to Hungerford. This split could also explain why there are two children called Mary mentioned in Roger's Will, one being born to each wife. 

A new breakthrough in July 2020 found the baptism of a Roger BECKONGAME in 1683 to a SEMOR Beckongame and after further research, it has be proved to my satisfaction that this 'new' Roger is the one who was 'head' of the Savernake Pedigree, and a son of SAYMORE Beckingham of the Great Hidden line (see below re Saymore's burial).

The downloadable Gedcom and pdf below now show the new position.

This Pedigree is now 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, originally headed by Roger Beckingham, Yeoman/husbandman of Great Hidden died March 1673/74 but now by William Beckingham born around 1548.

The Savernake pedigree has now been merged, see note above (July 2020)

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 1709 at Frampton upon Severn, Gloucestershire as BUCKINGHAM. There is a later pedigree of Buckinghams in Gloucestershire with similar given names but as yet no link has been found back to Seymour.

The Clyffe Pypard pedigree that once commenced with an Elizabeth Beckingham appearing there from nowhere has now been linked to a Beckingham family from Baydon and now to Great Hidden.

The Thruxton Beckinghams start 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. 

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 been attached to the Great Hidden pedigree. He was the illegitimate son of an Elizabeth Ballard and was baptised at Stratfield Saye as "Henry Beckingham Ballard".  I have also found that a "Great Hidden" Henry Beckingham was "of Stratfield Saye" when he married Melah Cooper at Bramley in Hampshire in 1811 therefore have concluded that this Henry is the father of Elizabeth Ballard's son.  

Emigration took a lot of Great Hidden families to places far and wide, and there are now Beckinghams in New South Wales and Western Australia; various states on the USA 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.  (See my thoughts on the name change on the Beckingham name page).