Medieval Origins

Early records of the name mention William Hulot, recorded in 1273 in the County of Yorkshire. Adam Howlet was documented in County Somerset during the reign of Edward III (1327-1377). Johannes Houlot is listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. The acquisition of surnames in Europe during the past eight hundred years has been affected by many factors, including social class and social structure, naming practices in neighbouring cultures, and indigenous cultural tradition. On the whole, the richer and more powerful classes tended to acquire surnames earlier than the working classes and the poor, while surnames were quicker to catch on in urban areas than in more sparsely populated rural areas.

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Later instances of the name mention Alice Dorothy Howlett, who was baptised at St. Thomas the Apostle, London, in 1673. Anne, daughter of Thomas and Dorothy Howlett, was baptised at St. Thomas the Apostle, London, in 1684. John, son of John Howlet, was baptised at St. James's, Clerkenwell, London, in 1684. The associated arms are recorded in Sir Bernard Burke's General Armoury. 

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The Hulot Execution Legend

Reverend William King, Vicar of Astley (1947-1973) in his book ‘Bells and Pomegranates’ who writes at length about the Reverend Alfred Hewlett, a Vicar of Astley (1831-1837 and 1840-1885), a son of William Hewlett of Oxford (1774-1851) states that Captain William Hulet who is descended from a High Sherriff of Dublin, and the officer in charge of the soldiers at the execution of Charles I, was a direct ancestor of the Hewletts of this history.

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Of particular interest is a William Hulet (alias ‘Howlett) of London, who was suspected of being the Executioner of King Charles I of England in January 1649.  ​Geoffrey Robertson believed that this William Hulet of London was the Executioner’s understudy, his heavily disguised assistant, who behaved at the time “exactly as a soldier who hated Charles would act – grabbing the head and waving it aloft, and forgetting the traditional cry, ‘Behold the head of a traitor’, because he had never made it before.  On October 15, 1660, William Hulet was put on trial for carrying out the deed. One witness, Richard Gittens, claimed at the trial of Hulet that he was at the execution and recognised Hulet’s voice after Hulet had asked Charles to forgive him. Hulet was deemed to be guilty of high treason, the penalty for which was a gruesome death.  However, a later confession by another resulted in the court, being mindful of the injury done to Hulet, granted him a reprieve.

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Another interesting James Hewlett (1643-1687), was a Blew-Coat boy of Christ’s Hospital (school) and son of a Rev. William Hewlett of London, On April 22, 1661, this James Hewlett, made a speech to Charles II on April 22, 1661, which was the day before his Coronation. Later, James entered Christ Church College, Oxford, as a commoner, matriculating in 1662.  He was elected to a Studentship in 1663 and gained his BA in 1665 and his MA in 1668.  He was tutored by Benjamin Woodroffe, who was a noted tutor and later Chaplain to Charles II, and by Arthur Squibb, who later became vicar of Netherbury in Dorset.  Hewlett himself was a tutor between 1669 and 1672, and a Proctor of the University of Oxford until his death.  Research indicates that he died unmarried in 1687. However, his family of origin may be connected to our Hewlett line. 

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The Bampton Line

​The earliest Hewlett in our family line is William Hewlett (1720-1799) of Bampton. We know little about him except that he was a slater and plasterer and a Church Warden at the Parish of St. Mary Magdalen, Oxford.  We are descended from his eldest son, Thomas Hewlett (1743-1807), also a Church Warden at St. Mary Magdalen, who married Elizabeth Edmonds (1747-1786) at Bampton, Oxfordshire in 1764.

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There has been little success in tracing our Hewletts back beyond Thomas and William. The author has been in contact with a Hewlett family from Sherbourne, Dorset, who share the family legend that a mutual ancestor, Thomas Hulet, was involved in the beheading of King Charles I. However, no hard evidence has been found linking our Hewlett line to theirs.  More research in this area is needed.

 

 

Notes & Sources

Robertson G. The Tyrannicide Brief. (2005), Random House: Sydney, New South Wales..