272 Kingston House, Bradford. 
This pedigree includes, it will be observed, two or three heiresses 
by whom accessions of property were made. The first, Alice Atford, 
brought in the lands of two families, Atford and Langridge. 
Margaret Besill (a coheiress) contributed a moiety of lands, temp. 
Henry VI. The next heiress was that of the ancient family of 
Rogers of Bradford, the founder of which, Anthony Rogers, serjeant 
at law in 1478, had married the other coheiress of Besill. The Rogers 
family lived in the house called in later times Methuen House, at. 
the top of Peput Street; in which Aubrey saw “many old 
escutcheons.”! Dorothy the heiress of Rogers accordingly brought 
to the Halls not only her own patrimony, (part of which lay at 
Holt), but the other moiety also of the Besill estate. Rogers of 
Cannington was a junior branch of this family. 
There is a fine old barn still standing at the west side of Bradford, 
well known for its Early English roof, framed from the ground so 
as to be independent of the walls. Aubrey’s passing observation, 
that in 1670 it had upon the point of one of the gables a hand 
holding a battleaxe, (the crest of Hall), warrants the supposition 
that it was built by one of this family. 
Sir Thomas Hall, last but one in the pedigree given above, 
married Katharine? daughter of Sir Edward Seymour, (of the 
elder house), who died 1659, by Dorothy Killigrew. Sir Thomas 
was a royalist, temp. Charles I.: one of the Wiltshire gentlemen 
who were obliged to compound for their estates. He was fined £660. 
John Hall of Bradford (the last male of the family) added to his 
father’s large estates, the Storridge Pastures, part of the Brooke House 
estate near Westbury, which he purchased in 1665 of Sir Edward 
Hungerford of Farley Castle. He was also probably the purchaser 
of Great Chalfield manor, as he presented to the rectory in 1678. 
His wife was Elizabeth, second daughter of SirThomasThynne, (who 
1 The arms of Rogers (argent, a chevron between 3 bucks sable) are still to be 
seen in the top of the east window of Bradford church. The piece of glass is 
very small and has been turned upside down by the glazier. 
2 In the History of Mere (p. 134) Lady Hall is called Anne Seymour, widow 
of Dr. Stourton, Edmondson and others contradict this. 
