Kentwell Hall

Both Aelfgar and Sward were Saxons and soon after the Norman invasion in 1066, Saxons nearly everywhere were displaced by Normans. Here, Frodo brother of Baldwin, Abbot of the great Abbey at Bury St Edmunds took the manor. After Frodo, his son Gilbert took the name de Kentwelle, to be followed by Richard, then another Gilbert; this one accompanied the Earl of Clare, known as Strongbow, in the invasion of Ireland in 1170. There he settled and 600 years later a Kentwell, probably a descendant or of his clan, was transported on the 3rd convict ship to Botany Bay. His descendants have since flourished — with a family Association — in Australia where many named Kentwelle now live, while there are few, if any, of that name in England. The last de Kentwelle, probably another Gilbert, held the manor until about 1250 when it was in the hands of the King.