HISTORY OF NORTON. 25 



There is every reason to think that this was the John, 4th 

 son of Gervase, but why called Sir John is by no means evident 

 He does not appear to be in any list of knights. Very probably 

 he was a knight of some foreign order, or it is quite possible that 

 he had been dubbed a knight, but did not see fit to pay the 

 fees demanded by the Herald's College, and so was omitted from 

 their lists. This was not uncommon. 



The reasons for believing the two men to be identical are two- 

 fold : (1) There does not appear to be any other will or adminis- 

 tration of a John which will at all do for the son of Gervase 

 Kirke, and it is difficult to believe that a man in his position, and 

 with the property that would have come to him from his brothers, 

 could have died without either. (2) James Kirke, in his will, 

 24 March, 1650-1, directs to be buried in the church of Eastham, 

 in Sussex, and bequeaths to his brother, " Mr. John Kirke," his 

 freehold land and house in Eastham, for life, with remainder to 

 his nephew, George Kirke, eldest son of his brother, Sir David. 

 He also bequeaths to his brother John other property in Eastham, 

 in trust, with remainder to the said George ; and the brother 

 John was his executor in 1656. 



Now the first item in the will of this mysterious Sir John Kirke 

 is the bequest to his wife, Anne, of his freehold estate in Eastham, 

 with remainder to his son, Thomas Kirke, Esq. 



These facts seem to be almost conclusive. Violenta prcesumptio 

 est plena probatio, but, as it is better never to put anything in a 

 pedigree which cannot be proved absolutely, Sir John has been 

 omitted in this instance. Still there can be no moral doubt about 

 it. 



Sir John names no other child but Thomas. Lady Anne does 

 not name Thomas, but leaves her Eastham estate, and all her 

 personalty to her son James Kirke, who proved her will. Both 

 ignore the John, Mary, and Elizabeth, who were certainly living 

 in 1658-9 and 1663, as children of John. Of course, they may 

 have all died, but there is a strong suspicion that " Mary Lugg, 

 wife of John Lugg, gentl"'," to whom Sir John Kirke leaves a 

 moiety of his messuages in St. Mary, Savoy (it will be remem- 



