Amys families have been around Barton Turf from at least 1329. The most visible record of their presence is in the parish church of St Michael and All Angels, where brass inscriptions on two adjacent stone slabs in the St Thomas Chapel provide memorials for Thomas Amys and his first wife Margery. Thomas was born around 1430 and became a successful merchant. During his lifetime he commissioned the construction of the St Thomas Chapel in Barton Turf Church and in his will he made bequests to the church and to the guilds that had altars there. He made his will on 12th July 1495 and was buried on 3rd August of the same year.
We believe there are descendants of Thomas Amys living in Barton Turf today, implying that the family has had a presence in the village over eight centuries. The spelling of the family name varies: so we find Ames, Amies, Amis, Amiss, Amos, Amoss, Amyas, Amys and Amyss. Members of Amys families have connections with the Baldwin, Cox, Drake, Edrich, Lubbock, Watts and Yaxley families. Our research has identified over 220 Amys descendants of Henry Amys who was born around 1295. We would appreciate any more information on the Amys families’ connections with Barton Turf. If you can help, please contact the project team.
Peter Mayes, a descendant of Thomas Amys, has researched the family history extensively. Two articles he has written can be downloaded as PDF documents.
The two Amys memorial brasses in the St Thomas Chapel of Barton Turf Church
Click on each image to view full size
The first entitled The Amys Family – Early Days charts the Amys name from its first appearance in the twelfth century, through the family’s appearance in Barton Turf in 1327, its financial dealings in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, to the fortunes of Thomas Amys in the late fifteenth century.
The second, A Medieval Merchant Makes His Will, describes the terms of Thomas Amys’s will and aspects of his life, his family and associates in the fifteenth century.
If you have any comments about these articles that you would like us to pass on to Peter Mayes, please contact the project team.