Robert Streatfeild

Robert Streatfeild (1514 - March 1599) of Chiddingstone, Kent is the earliest know descendent to which most known Streatfeilds and Streatfields can trace their ancestry, and the progenitor of the Streatfeild family.

Robert Streatfeild was born in 1514. He lived all his life, as far as is known, in the village of Chiddingstone, in the Weald of Kent. He therefore grew up at the height of Henry VIII’s reign when Anne Boleyn was living at nearby Hever Castle. There is no record of his parents, though it is probable that his ancestors had been in the area for several generations.

Robert was known as an ironmaster and wool merchant. The Weald was the centre of the medieval iron industry, which seems to have been the economic base of both the village as a whole and the Streatfeild family. He laid the foundation for the family’s involvement in the iron industry in which his grandson, Richard, made his fortune.

Robert married and daughter of Richard Rivers, steward of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, possibly called Joan. Most records only talk of her as the sister of Sir John Rivers, who was Lord Mayor of London in 1573. She was born in 1520 in Penshurst, Kent. This marriage probably reflects that Robert was already upwardly mobile. Robert died in March 1559 and was buried in Chiddingstone on 16 March.

Robert and Joan had two sons, Henry and Richard.

Henry Streatfeild was born in 1535 in Chiddingstone. He died on 29 December 1598 in Chiddingstone. He married Alice Moody about 1535 in Chiddingstone.

Richard Streatfeild was a yeoman of Cransted in Chiddingstone and of Chested in Penshurst. He was born about 1540 in Chiddingstone and died on 4 December 1584, and was buried in Chiddingstone.

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