​​​Origins of the Name "Beuzeville"

The origin of the name ‘Beuzeville’ is unknown. However, the 19th-century French Historian, Charpillon, suggests that Beuze was derived from Boson, an influential family in early Norman times. He states that the name did not appear before the Norman occupation of the country and that the earliest known reference to Beuzeville was in the first half of the 11th century. It is recorded that in 1232, Guillaume de Beuzeville was the head of the Manor; in 1375, it was a stronghold of the King, and in 1685, twenty-three protestants abjured following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes.

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​​Early Medieval Connections

Guillaume de Beuzeville was the Abbott of a Monastery at Bec’ (Abbaye Notre-Dame du Bec - 1361-1388), a Benedictine Monastic foundation midway between the cities of Rouen and Bernay and was formerly the most influential abbey of the 12th-century Anglo-Norman Kingdom.​

There were several Seigneuries of Beuzeville[2] in Normandy, from one of which our emigrant family is believed to be descended. There is a tradition recorded by James Beuzeville (1809-1887) to the effect that the family estates passed to a daughter and son-in-law of the house. James also recorded that the reformer, John Calvin, was a guest of the family during one of his visits to France.​

An 18th century document, probably compiled by Pierre Beuzeville (1741-1812) records a number of instances of the occurrence of the name of Beuzeville in the old Norman histories, including a reference to William de Beuzeville, a royal physician at the court of Francis I who is said to be a direct ancestor of ours.

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​Identifying the Norman Homeland

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​​​The Chateau at Beuzeville-la-Grenier

​The Chateau at Beuzeville-la-Grenier was made uninhabitable by its owner just prior to World War II in order, I believe, to prevent the German Army from taking it over. In 1997, I visited it with my husband and son, and the ruins were magical: overgrown with creepers and surrounded by birch trees. One can still see the large fireplaces, the entrance, and the remains of beautiful stone sculpture on the edifice. This chateau may be Beuzeville's place of origin; however, further research is required to verify this. ​​

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The First Known Ancestors

Reliable information at this time reveals that the earliest Beuzeville of this history was Job Beuzeville (1637-1662), who married Esther Le Caron on December 7, 1653, in the Protestant Church at Lintot, Normandy.

Our Beuzevilles, also French Huguenots, escaped to England about the same time as our Roussels, settling in Spitalfields, East London.

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Spitalfields: A Refuge for the Huguenots

The Spitalfields region of London has, for centuries, been a place of settlement for new refugee groups.  Today, the predominant religious group is Islamic, and one finds buildings that were once synagogues and/or churches now used as mosques.

​Spitalfields in the early years of the eighteenth century prospered as Huguenot refugees from Canterbury migrated there to join those who were already established. By the middle of the eighteenth century, a thriving manufacture existed, assisted by a growing export trade to America and by the proximity of London, where patterned silks were much in demand.

​There was a big socioeconomic gap between the struggling weavers and the silk designers and those businessmen who masterminded the industry, and between residents of the Eastern suburbs of London and wealthy families of the Silk Manufacturers.​

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The Beuzevilles in the Silk Industry​

In about 1725, when the silk industry at Spitalfields was beginning to boom, Jacques Beuzeville (1860-1745), one of our Huguenot emigrants from France, established a silk manufacturing business at 24 Steward Street, Spitalfields (which borders on the Spitalfields market). Several partners who were relatives of Jacques joined the firm.  Just exactly who these men were in the beginning is unclear, but it is believed that they were Beuzeville, Levesque (a cousin), and Belloncle (a son-in-law).

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Faith as the Centre of Community​

Church congregations in Spitalfields were the matrix of the emigrant community. Organised religion provided a connecting thread, holding together the experiences of refugees in the homeland they had left and in their adopted country.  Gwynn states that "despite all the changes that took place in the organisation of the French churches in England between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, the desire to worship God remained unaltered. 

​The refugees who left France were devoted to the Huguenot cause. Unusually determined and principled men and women, they believed that serving God gave meaning to life.  This belief engendered a strong sense of personal accountability for their actions, and, in turn, both fostered the virtues that have marked out the Huguenots and so many of their descendants: frugality, hard work, upright behaviour, responsibility and sobriety.

French Huguenots in London were noted for their attention to the relief of the poor and needy. Church congregations prided themselves on providing for poor families even in hard times. Many Friendly Societies were constituted, and a hospital was built and maintained.

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Philanthropy and the French Hospital

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• The ancestors of this family were prominent in their philanthropy, and many became Directors of the French Hospital in London. They include:

• Estienne Beuzeville (1774),

• Pierre Beuzeville (1776),

• Jacques Beuzeville (1777),

• Étienne Beuzeville (1814),

• Jean Guillemard (1769),

• Isaac Guillemard (1785),

• Jacques Guillemard (1789),

• Jean Guillemard (1793), 

• Daniel Guillemard (1810).

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A Line Leading to Esther Hewlett Copley

​Of particular interest to us is Jacques Beuzeville (1680-1745) who established the silk weaving business in Spitalfields and his wife Marie Anne Guillemard (1690-1754) who were the grandparents of both Peter Beuzeville (1742-1812) and his wife Mary Meredith, of London and Henley on Thames; and their youngest daughter Esther (1786-1851) who married James Philip Hewlett I (1780-1820) of Oxford at Henley on Thames in 1808.

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Notes and Sources

Research based on, in part, the research of W.A.W de Beuzeville. Courtesy of Ralph Byles in South Australia.

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