Palmes family
An ancient English aristocratic family historically associated with Naburn Hall in Yorkshire and several cadet branches.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
The Palmes family is an ancient English landed and aristocratic family associated principally with Naburn Hall near York, together with cadet branches at Lindley Hall in North Yorkshire, Ashwell in Rutland, and Carcraig in Ireland. The family is especially noted in historical accounts for its long association with Roman Catholicism and religious nonconformity during and after the English Reformation. Unlike a commercial brand, the Palmes family is a genealogical and historical subject rather than a corporate enterprise, product maker, or consumer-facing organization. The family's early associations were with Taunton Deane in Somerset. Manfred de Palma, or Palmes, was recorded as living during the reign of King Stephen, around 1140, and was said to have received extensive landholding in the lordship of Taunton Deane through a grant connected with Milo, Earl of Hereford and Constable of England. The Naburn line later established a connection with the former Norman lordship of Naburn through the marriage of William Palmes of Taunton to Matilda, described in genealogical accounts as a daughter or sister of Richard de Watterville. Through the Watterville line, the family claimed a maternal descent from Robert de Todeni, the Norman baron who held numerous estates after the Norman Conquest and whose principal seat was Belvoir. From the thirteenth century, Naburn remained the family's principal seat for many generations. The estate was described as descending continuously from father to son until the death of Commander George Bryan Palmes in 1974, a continuity that later writers treated as an unusual example of long-term landed succession. By the early sixteenth century, the family held property not only at Naburn but also in Riccall, Escrick, South Duffield, Elvington, Barthorpe, Sutton, Holtby, Berrythorpe, and Gate Fulford. Members of the family entered legal and political life, including service as serjeants-at-law, Members of Parliament, and local officeholders. Naburn Hall developed over several centuries. The manor house is recorded from 1345, was remodelled in the 1730s, altered again in the early nineteenth century, and restored and enlarged in 1870. Its associated buildings included a Catholic chapel, coach house, stables, and gate lodge. The chapel, originally built in the sixteenth century by Nicholas Palmes, provided a place for the family to maintain Catholic worship; it was rebuilt in 1870. The estate therefore served not only as a residence but also as an important setting for the family's religious and social identity. Religious allegiance shaped the family's public and private history. Several generations resisted abandoning Catholic practice after the Reformation, and members incurred recusancy fines for failing to attend Anglican services. Their Catholicism restricted access to public office and encouraged a retreat toward estate-based influence, although marriages with other prominent Catholic landed families helped preserve their social position. Some branches adopted Protestantism: Sir Francis Palmes of the Lindley line renounced Catholicism and established the family's presence at Lindley Hall. The Naburn branch is recorded as changing religious allegiance in 1784. The family also participated in the political conflicts of seventeenth-century England. Sir Brian Palmes raised a regiment for King Charles I during the English Civil War and was subsequently subjected to a parliamentary composition or financial settlement affecting his estate. Earlier members had connections with both Royalist and opposing political circles, while marriage links connected the Palmes family with the Fairfaxes and other major Yorkshire families. Other notable members included MPs representing constituencies such as York, Knaresborough, Stamford, Rutland, West Looe, and Malton, as well as later figures associated with cricket and polo. The family remains principally significant as a subject of British genealogy, country-house history, religious history, and the study of the English landed elite.
History
The Palmes family traced its early history to Taunton Deane in Somerset, where Manfred de Palma or Palmes was recorded as living around 1140 during the reign of King Stephen. Later genealogical traditions connected the family to Robert de Todeni, a Norman baron who received extensive estates after the Conquest. Through marriage into the Watterville family, William Palmes of Taunton acquired the lordship of Naburn in 1226, establishing the estate as the principal seat of the Yorkshire branch. Naburn remained associated with the family for centuries. The manor house is documented from 1345, and sixteenth-century records show that the family held a substantial group of properties across the surrounding Yorkshire countryside. A 1519 will of Brian Palmes listed estates at Naburn and several neighbouring settlements. The family's landed position supported participation in legal, parliamentary, and local government institutions. Members served as serjeants-at-law, MPs, and high sheriffs, while marriage alliances connected them to families including the Fairfaxes, Eures, Langdales, Stapletons, and other Catholic or aristocratic houses. Religious change was central to the family's later history. The Naburn branch maintained Catholic practice after the Reformation and paid recusancy fines for non-attendance at Anglican services. Because Catholicism limited access to public office, the family increasingly exercised influence through its estates, kinship networks, and private religious life. A chapel associated with St Nicholas was built at Naburn in the sixteenth century so that the family could continue worship; the structure was rebuilt in 1870. Accounts state that the Naburn branch did not change religious allegiance until 1784, and that Catholic practice remained influential in the village during the intervening period. The Lindley branch followed a different course. Sir Francis Palmes acquired the lordship of Lindley through his maternal inheritance and adopted Protestantism. The line later became connected with the Eure family through William Palmes's marriage to Mary Eure. When their surviving daughter Elizabeth married Sir William Strickland, Lindley passed into the Strickland family. During the English Civil War, Sir Brian Palmes raised a regiment for Charles I and was later required to compound for his estate under the parliamentary regime. The broader family had complex political connections, including links to the Fairfax family through marriage. In later centuries, Palmes family members continued to be associated with public life, sport, and the management of landed estates. Naburn Hall was remodelled in 1735, altered in 1818, and restored and enlarged in 1870. The main line's continuous association with Naburn was said to have ended with the death of Commander George Bryan Palmes in 1974. The family is now primarily studied through genealogical, architectural, parliamentary, and religious-history sources.
- 1974
End of the long Naburn succession
[1]The death of Commander George Bryan Palmes marked the reported end of the family's uninterrupted father-to-son succession at Naburn.
- 1870
Restoration and enlargement of Naburn Hall
[1]Naburn Hall was restored and enlarged to designs attributed to William Atkinson, and the associated Catholic chapel was rebuilt.
- 1818
Further alteration of Naburn Hall
[1]George Palmes commissioned additional changes to the family residence.
- 1784
Religious allegiance changed at Naburn
[1]The Naburn branch was recorded as changing from its longstanding Catholic allegiance.
- 1735
Naburn Hall remodelled
[1]Brian Palmes commissioned a major remodelling of Naburn Hall.
- 1577
First recorded recusancy fine
[1]Brian Palmes was recorded as paying a recusancy fine, reflecting the Naburn branch's continued Catholic allegiance after the Reformation.
- 1519
Brian Palmes's estate record
[1]The will of Brian Palmes documented the family's holdings at Naburn and numerous other Yorkshire settlements.
Early record at Taunton Deane
[1]Manfred de Palma or Palmes was recorded as living in the sixth year of King Stephen's reign and was associated with an extensive grant of land in Taunton Deane.
Acquisition of Naburn
[1]William Palmes of Taunton acquired the lordship of Naburn through marriage to Matilda of the Watterville family, according to the family's genealogical tradition.
Naburn Hall documented
[1]Naburn's manor house was recorded as an established family residence.
Products and positioning
A historical English landed family and genealogical lineage, not a commercial brand or operating business.
Sources1 sources
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