64 



Bishop Tanner, his Family and Writings. 



upon the Society of Christ Church. In connection with this pre- 

 sentation, Sir Thos. Phillips, in his printed Volume, called "Wiltshire 

 Institutions/' inserts against Thomas Tanner's Institution, Ad. 1671, 

 a remark; " Queer e, if afterwards Bp. Tanner? We may certainly say 

 No! — at this date Bishop Tanner was unbeneficed; because unborn. It 

 was his Father, who was the New Vicar of Market Lavington. He 

 appears to have waited, nearly two years, before he married his first 

 wife, whose family resided at Market Lavington. The Register of 

 that period, under April 20th, 1673, contains the following entry; 

 {i Married, Thomas Tanner, Vicar, and Sarah Willoughby by Banns." 

 There is little to be gathered from the Register about the family of the 

 Lady,for it dates only from about the time of Tanner's Incumbency ; 

 the older volumes are missing; so that a full account of the Willough- 

 by s, cannot thus be obtained. I was however, whilst compiling this 

 Paper, fortunate in obtaining sight of the Court Rolls of Sir John 

 Danvers, Lord of the Manor of Lavington, Anno Dom. 1646 to 

 1654: where I found, Joseph Willoughby, as the general "Foreman 

 of the Homage/' always with this addition to his name, "Gent." 

 I am inclined from this circumstance to infer, that he was an Attor- 

 ney; probably manager of the property under Mr. Yorke, the Steward 

 of the Court; who had his residence at Fiddington, (in right of his 

 Wife, Anne, daughter of William Bower, Esq.) : the same " Mr. Wm. 

 Yorke " who is mentioned by Aubrey, as one ready to help in com- 

 piling a Wilts County History. These Willoughbys were an ille- 

 gitimate branch of the Willoughby de Broke family : descending 

 from a natural son of Sir William Willoughby, one of whose repre- 

 sentatives settled in Lavington, and intermarried with the 

 Daunteseys. Their pedigree is given in Sir Richard Colt Hoare's 

 Modern Wilts. The supposed last heir male of the Market 

 Lavington Willoughbys, was a medical man, and died there, 

 unmarried, in the memory of some old persons still living. After 

 the marriage of Thomas Tanner and Sarah Willoughby we naturally 

 examine the Baptismal Register; and under 167f the birth of their 

 first Child, the future Bishop of St. Asaph, is thus registered. 

 " Baptized Feb. 1st. Thomas, Son of Thomas Tanner, born Jan. 24 

 " after midnight, being* Saturday Morning, and Sarah his Wife.''' 



