Edward Neville II: Henry Neville's Brother, Windsor MP, Will Witness, and Culham Family

Topic: Edward Neville II, brother of Sir Henry Neville

Core finding

The Edward Nevill who witnessed Sir Henry Neville's will on 30 April 1615 was Henry's adult younger brother Edward Neville II. The will identifies him in the bequest clause and repeats his name in the execution clause:

“I do give unto Henry Nevill sonne of my brother Edward Nevill, and to Anne Nevill his daughter my wyves goddaughter, to eache of them the somme of fyftie poundes.”

“Signed, sealed and delivered by the sayed S[i]r Henry Nevill, and acknowledged for his last will and testament in the presence of: H. Savill. Edward Nevill. Will[ia]m Simonson. William Hamond.”

This packet treats the identification as a fact and follows its genealogical consequences. The named Henry and Anne were children of Henry Neville's brother, not children of Henry's son Edward. Anne Killigrew Neville was the niece Anne's godmother.

Biography

History of Parliament identifies Edward as born in 1567, the second son of the elder Sir Henry Neville and Elizabeth Gresham, and brother of Henry. It records him as a Lincoln's Inn student in 1586, married by 1604, and father of five sons. He sat with his brother for New Windsor in 1593.

The biography places him at Wargrave, Windsor, Culham, and Sunninghill. It reports that his father left him Culham manor, other Berkshire property, and the household goods at the Savoy. His death date remains unknown.

Foster independently identifies him at Oxford:

“Nevill, Edward, of Middlesex, equitis fil. Merton Coll., matric. 24 Nov., 1581, aged 15; brother of Francis 1581, and of Henry 1577.”

The explicit brother link and matching age connect the Merton student to the 1567 younger brother.

The Culham/Windsor children

History of Parliament's 5s. is filled out by the will and Foster:

Foster's exact educational entries and page images are transcribed and reproduced in the dated report. Edward is explicitly the second son and Charles the fourth. The sources do not yet state the order of Henry, Ralph, and Richard.

Required name separations

Three of the brother's sons repeat names found among the ambassador's sons:

• Edward of Culham's son Edward studied at Merton and became rector of Farleigh. The ambassador's son Edward studied at Eton and King's College, Cambridge and died in 1632.
• Edward of Windsor's fourth son Charles studied at Queen's and Balliol. The 1615 IPM independently names the ambassador's fourth son Charles.
• Edward of Windsor's son Richard was a Merton fellow and died in 1644. The 1615 IPM independently names the ambassador's fifth son Richard.

No Oxford fact should cross from one household to the other on forename alone.

The Berkshire visitation is incomplete: it lists only Sir Henry, Edward, and Richard among the ambassador's sons, while the settlement recited in the IPM names six sons. It is therefore a later pedigree witness, not a complete birth-order control. Its line Richard Nevill Doctor of Lawe is also corrected by its own footnote to William, Chancellor of Chichester; the Oxford register independently confirms William's D.C.L. and office. This further reinforces the need to keep visitation names subordinate to parent-, place-, and institution-specific evidence.

Parliamentary context

In 1593 New Windsor returned both brothers. Duncan summarizes that “young Henry Neville, and his younger brother Edward, took both the seats for New Windsor.” History of Parliament's individual biography supports the pairing and distinguishes Edward II from the older Abergavenny claimant Edward Neville I.

This must also be kept separate from the 1588/89 Windsor substitution, when Henry's cousin Edward Neville I was selected after Henry was chosen knight of the shire for Sussex.

Research importance

The brother's biography clarifies the people physically present around Henry's legal and household life. Edward shared Merton connections, Windsor representation, Berkshire landholding, and the execution of the 1615 will. His daughter's godparent tie to Anne Killigrew Neville shows that the two brothers' households were joined by religious as well as legal kinship.

It also corrects a recurrent source-control problem. The ambassador's household and the Culham household repeated the names Edward, Charles, and Richard within nearly the same generation. Untangling that duplication is necessary before using university records, clerical careers, monuments, or death dates in any account of the Neville family's learning and literary afterlife.

Sources and images

• Full dated report with quotations, family table, images, and new research paths: EDWARD NEVILLE II BROTHER WILL WITNESS CULHAM FAMILY FRESH RESEARCH 2026 07 12.
• Sir Henry Neville's will, TNA PROB 11/126/63; Henry Neville Will Transcription v3.
• Alan Harding, “NEVILLE, Edward II (b.1567), of Wargrave and Windsor, Berks.”, History of Parliament, Hasler volume (1981); preserved snapshot.
• Joseph Foster, Alumni Oxonienses, vol. 3 (1891), pp. 1057–58; p. 1057, p. 1058.
• Walter C. Metcalfe, ed., The Visitations of Berkshire (1882), p. 66; scan.
• Local acquisition ledger: SOURCE NOTES.