Oliver LE NEVE [23020]

  General Notes:

The Monument in Great Witchingham.
Under the earth near this stone lyeth the dust of Oliver le Neve Esq late of this parish one of the Justices of the Peace and Captain of a Foot Company of the Militia of this County Second son of Frances le Neve gentleman Citizen and Draper of London and of Avice his wife daughter of Peter Wright and sister and heir of Peter Wright of London Merchant he died on the 23rd day of November Anno Domino 1711 and was buried on the 26th of the same month leaving behind him by his first wife Anne only ye daughter of Sir John Gaudy of West Herling in this County Baronet (who lyeth by his side) three daughters and co-heirs Isabella Anne and Henrietta le Neve who caused this Memorial to be set up As also what remains of Elizabeth his second wife daughter and co-heir expectant of Robert Sheffield of Kensington in Middlesex Esq grandson of Edmund Earl of Mulgrave long since deceased she died suddenly on the 8th day of November 1707 without child and was buried here on the 12th day of the same month
Tam Math quam Mercurio.

Oliver Le Neve esq, lat of this parish, one of the justices of the peace & Captain of a Foot Company of the of the Militia
Nov 1711
Church of St Mary, Great Witchingham, Norfolk, England
"Under the earth near this stone lyeth the dust of Oliver le Neve Esq late of this parish one of the Justices of the Peace and Captain of a Foot Company of the Militia of this County Second son of Frances le Neve gentleman Citizen and Draper of London and of Avice his wife daughter of Peter Wright and sister and heir of Peter Wright of London Merchant he died on the 23rd day of November Anno Domino 1711 and was buried on the 26th of the same month leaving behind him by his first wife Anne only ye daughter of Sir John Gaudy of West Herling in this County Baronet (who lyeth by his side) three daughters and co-heirs Isabella Anne and Henrietta Le Neve who caused this Memorial to be set up As also what remains of Elizabeth his second wife daughter and co-heir expectant of Robert Sheffield of Kensington in Middlesex Esq grandson of Edmund Earl of Mulgrave long since deceased she died suddenly on the 8th day of November 1707 without child and was buried here on the 12th day of the same month. Tam Math quam Mercurio [As much a man of war as commerce]" Heraldic wall memorial - Under the wall near this stone lyeth the dust of Oliver Le Neve esq, lat of this parish, one of the justices of the peace & Captain of a Foot Company of the of the Militia of this County, second son of Francis Le Neve, gentleman, citizen & draper of London, and of Avice his wife, daughter of Peter Wright & sister & heir of Peter Wright of London, merchant, He died on the 28th day of November Anno Domini 1711 and was buried on the 26th of the same month , leaving behind him by his first wife Anne, only daughter of Sir John Gaudy of West Harling in this county, baronet (who lyeth by his side) three daughters & coheirs; Isabella, Anne & Henrietta Le Neve who caused this memorial to be sett up. As also what remains of Elizabeth his 3d wife, daughter & coheir expectant of Robert Sheffeild of Kensington in Middlesex, esqr, grandson of Edmund Earl of Mulgrave, long since deceased. She died suddenly on the 8th day of November 1707 without child & was buried here on the 12th day of the same month". (Oliver Le Neve was born in 1662 to Francis Le Neve 1681 , a London draper and upholsterer at Cornhill, and Avice, his wife, who was the daughter of city merchant Peter Wright. Francis Le Neve, who may have been brought to London by his Norfolk kinsman William Le Neve, owned a modest amount of London property, warehouses and shops. Oliver Le Neve had an older brother Peter who became an antiquary, elected President of the Antiquarian Society in 1687, and became a Norroy King of Arms herald. Le Neve's immediate family originated in Norfolk, with the ancestral family dating there to at least the early 15c particularly at Ringland; his grandfather Firmian Le Neve was the first from Ringland known to live in London. An older half-cousin twice removed of Le Neve, also called Oliver Le Neve (c.1600 - 1678) of Great Witchingham, who had been a stationer in London, willed in 1674 everything to his 10-year-old namesake, leaving the brother Peter as the recipient of the bequest if Oliver died without male heir. The settlement left Le Neve wealthy and the owner of Witchingham Hall, with his income being augmented by rent from his properties in London. Le Neve was sent to Hart Hall at Oxford in 1679-80,
Picture courtesy Svitlana Condliff Ancestry.

  Research Notes:

Ref: http://www.leneve.com/chapter3.htm
http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/1525157/family?cfpid=24069317726

  Other Records

1. The Cawston Duel: Between Oliver Le Neve & Henry Hobart, 20 Aug 1698, Cawston Heath NFK.
Sir Henry Hobart, fourth baronet, former King's Lynn MP and owner of Blickling Hall lived in the splendour created by the first baronet and saw his family continue to thrive despite the third baronet's stubborn espousal of republicanism.
Young Henry had been knighted at the age of 13 by Charles II and as a member of the Whig Party, had prospered in the political climate of the 1690s.
But what links this sophisticated, headstrong and argumentative man to a simple stone urn on a patch of common land at Cawston and the curtains closing on a medieval mark of honour?
On the Holt Road, hidden from view by a group of trees and next to a garage, the Duel Stone marks not only the place where Sir Henry was mortally wounded on August 20 1698 but also the last duel fought in Norfolk.
It is a fairly unremarkable monument to a momentous day when two men drew their swords to settle a matter of honour with fate suggesting that the victor would be the renowned swordsman, Hobart.
He faced Oliver Le Neve, a Tory-supporting lawyer, a country sportsman, fisherman and a well-known drinker who lived at Great Witchingham Hall who had already known great tragedy: his wife Anne, with whom he had a son and three daughters (a second son died in infancy), had died in childbirth in 1695.
In June 1698, he married Jane Knyvet and two months later prepared to meet his Maker after a row brewed with Sir Henry Hobart, who held him responsible for the loss of his seat at parliament in 1689.
Henry attributed his defeat to rumours which were circulating about his conduct in Ireland during the 1690 Boyne Campaign, a battle between the deposed King James II and the Dutch Prince William of Orange.
Hobart had served as the Prince's general of horse at the Battle during the Irish campaign, but there were whispers in Norfolk that he had been a coward and Henry believed that Le Neve was responsible for them.
Enraged, because he had introduced a private bill into the Commons on Le Neve's behalf the year before, Hobart immediately issued a challenge to the man who was no match for his prowess with a blade and who immediately issued back a denial.
Hobart ignored the plea and pressed the matter, demanding a duel. His opponent had no choice but to accept and in doing so, privately accept his likely demise, telling Hobart: "I am ready and desirious to meet you when and where you please to assign, for the matter shall not rest as it is."
Cawston was around halfway between Blickling and Witchingham and the pair met on a Saturday morning, with only a servant girl as a witness who hid in the bushes as the duel took place.
Commonly, seconds were engaged by each party whose job it was to ensure the duel was carried out under honorable conditions with equally deadly weapons and to mutually decide how long the fight would last and what conditions would end the duel. Hobart and Le Neve did not engage seconds.
Hobart almost immediately wounded his opponent in the arm but his sword became caught up in Le Neve's coat and after a riposte, Hobart felt a blade run through his belly. It was a mortal wound.
He was taken back to Blickling in agony and died there the next day, Le Neve fleeing Norfolk to avoid retaliation, finally returning two years later at which point he stood trial, was acquitted at Thetford assizes and was free to live his life.
But it was to be a life haunted by tragedy: his second wife Jane died in 1703 and his third wife Elizabeth died three months after their wedding day. In 1711, both Le Neve, 49, and his son, 20, died within months of each other.
But Le Neve isn't forgotten: in the south west turret bedroom at Blickling Hall where he died from the wounds from their battle, Henry Hobart's ghostly wailing remembers the under-dog who defeated him and who, unlike him, lived to fight another day.
The Cawston Stone pictured marks the place of the duel.

Oliver married Anne GAWDY [23028] [MRIN: 8278], daughter of Sir John GAWDY 2nd Bart of West Harling NFK [27539] and Anne GREY of Merton NFK [34704], on 6 Apr 1685 in St Peter Rockland NFK. (Anne GAWDY [23028] was born in 1656 in West Harling NFK, died in Feb 1695/96 in Witchingham Hall SFK and was buried in Gt Witchingham NFK.)

Oliver next married Jane KNYVET [27537] [MRIN: 5036] in Jun 1698. (Jane KNYVET [27537] was born in 1670 in Ashwellthorpe NFK, died on 19 Jun 1704 and was buried in Gt Witchingham NFK.)

Oliver next married Elizabeth SHEFFIELD [27538] [MRIN: 5037] on 31 Jul 1707. (Elizabeth SHEFFIELD [27538] was born in 1678 and died on 8 Nov 1707.)