Waller family

The Waller family was an English family whose documented history connects it with Kent and later with estates and public life in Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire, and North Yorkshire. The family is particularly associated with Groombridge Place and with the poet and parliamentarian Edmund Waller (1606–1687), although the surname was borne by several distinct individuals across successive generations. Because the historical record includes repeated use of the name Edmund Waller, genealogical numbering varies between sources and can make relationships difficult to distinguish. The family's early geographical tradition places its origins in Kent, followed by migration into Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire during the late medieval or early modern period, and later expansion into Gloucestershire. Members of the family held land, served as Members of Parliament, practiced law, occupied ecclesiastical or court offices, and took part in military and public administration. Their status was based less on a continuous modern corporate identity than on inheritance, marriage alliances, estate ownership, and public office. The best-known individual associated with the family was Edmund Waller, the seventeenth-century poet and MP. His first marriage was to Anne Banks, who died in childbirth, and he later married Mary Bracey, also recorded in variant forms as Bressy, Bresse, or Breaux. Their descendants and wider relations included MPs, a London merchant, a civilian lawyer, and members connected by marriage to other prominent landowning and political families. The family network extended to places including Rouen, Jersey, and the West Indies through different branches and marriages. Later Wallers were prominent in Buckinghamshire and Gloucestershire. Edmund Waller, who represented Great Marlow and Chipping Wycombe and served as Cofferer of the Household, acquired or inherited estates including Farmington, Turkdean, and Hazleton. His descendant Edmund Waller, active in the eighteenth century, represented Chipping Wycombe and became master of St Katherine's Hospital. Robert Waller represented Chipping Wycombe for many years and served as a Groom of the Bedchamber. The family also maintained connections with Hall Barn, Farmington, and estates in North Yorkshire. In the nineteenth century, Harry Edmund Waller inherited property connected with Kirkby Fleetham and Clint after the death of Sophia Elizabeth Lawrence in 1845. Edmund Waller (1828–1898), a justice of the peace and deputy lieutenant, later served as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire. His daughter Rachel Waller married Cecil Fane De Salis, while Major-General William-Noel Waller pursued a military career in the Royal Artillery. Other descendants lived in Britain, India, and the United States. The family's historical identity therefore rests on genealogy, landed property, parliamentary service, and marriage alliances rather than on a commercial brand or operating enterprise. The available account does not establish a current family organization, headquarters, website, active business, or present-day owner. Its heraldic tradition is described with a black shield bearing three gold walnut leaves between two silver bendlets, a walnut-tree crest, and the motto “Hic fructus virtutis Azincourt.”

The Waller family is described as a Kentish family associated with Groombridge Place that later moved through Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire before establishing important connections in Gloucestershire and, for one generation, North Yorkshire. The chronology of the family's earliest movement is uncertain, with accounts placing the migration broadly in either the fourteenth or sixteenth century. The surviving genealogy is complicated by the repeated use of the name Edmund Waller, with several men identified through alternative generational numbers or through relationships such as father, son, grandson, uncle, and nephew. The family’s most celebrated member was Edmund Waller (1606–1687), a poet and Member of Parliament. His first wife, Anne Banks, died in childbirth, leaving a surviving daughter who later married William Dormer. Waller married Mary Bracey in 1644; her surname appears in several variant forms, and the marriage was associated with continental travel and residence in Rouen. Their children and descendants formed branches that connected the family with London commerce, legal and ecclesiastical careers, Jersey, and the West Indies. Among the children attributed to this marriage were Benjamin; Edmund, who represented Amersham and became a Quaker; William, a London merchant; and Dr Stephen Waller, a civilian lawyer associated with Hall Barn and the parliamentary arrangements surrounding the Union. During the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the family became closely involved in parliamentary and estate life. Edmund Waller (1652–1699/1700) represented Amersham from 1689 to 1698, studied at Christ Church, Oxford, and the Middle Temple, and became a bencher in 1696. Another Edmund Waller, born in 1696 and dying in 1771, represented Great Marlow and later Chipping Wycombe. He served as Cofferer of the Household from December 1744 to December 1746, inherited family property, and acquired or succeeded to Gloucestershire estates at Farmington, Turkdean, and Hazleton. His marriage to Mary Aislabie linked him to the Aislabie family and to the estate world surrounding Studley Royal. A later Edmund Waller, born around 1725 and dying in 1788, represented Chipping Wycombe during two periods and served as master of St Katherine’s Hospital. The account characterizes his personal life negatively, stating that he “took to the bottle,” but also records his Oxford and Lincoln’s Inn education and his marriage to Martha Philipps. Harry Waller, who represented Chipping Wycombe from 1726 to 1747, subsequently served as deputy master of St Katherine’s Hospital. Robert Waller represented Chipping Wycombe from 1761 to 1790 and later served as Groom of the Bedchamber. These offices illustrate the family’s integration into parliamentary, court, and institutional administration. The estate succession continued into the nineteenth century. Reverend Harry Waller inherited from his brother Edmund in 1810 and retired to Boulogne in 1821, reportedly because of debt. Harry Edmund Waller sold Hall Barn in 1832 and later inherited Kirkby Fleetham and Clint, near Ripon, through the estate of Sophia Elizabeth Lawrence in 1845. The inheritance was connected to the Aislabie-derived property network, although much of the broader estate passed to the Robinson family. Harry Edmund Waller was a justice of the peace and deputy lieutenant, was nominated High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1833, and is also associated in the account with the Ascot Gold Cup of 1852. Edmund Waller (1828–1898) held the offices of justice of the peace and deputy lieutenant and served as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1876. He was associated with Little Hall Barn, Farmington near Northleach, and Kirkby Fleetham; the unentailed North Yorkshire property was later sold in 1889. His first marriage was to Lucy Georgiana Elwes, and his second to Emily Mary Young. Their daughter Rachel Waller married Cecil Fane De Salis in 1889. Major-General William-Noel Waller served in the Royal Artillery and married twice. Harry Noel Waller lived in India and later died in New York in 1944. The family account also records several female relatives and collateral branches, including Mary Waller, who married Dr Peter Birch of Westminster Abbey, and Dorothy Waller, who lived in Morley near Leeds and left her house to the Reverend Timothy Alred. These details demonstrate that the genealogy extends beyond the principal landed and parliamentary line. The family’s heraldic arms feature walnut leaves and a walnut-tree crest, with a motto referring to the fruits of virtue and Agincourt. No evidence in the supplied material establishes a current corporate entity, commercial product portfolio, active family office, or contemporary organizational structure.

• 1889

  Rachel Waller marries Cecil Fane De Salis

  [1]Waller familyen.wikipedia.org

  Rachel Waller married Cecil Fane De Salis, extending the family’s network of landed and aristocratic connections.

• 1876

  Edmund Waller serves as High Sheriff of Gloucestershire

  [1]Waller familyen.wikipedia.org

  Edmund Waller (1828–1898), a justice of the peace and deputy lieutenant, held the office of High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1876.

• 1832

  Sale of Hall Barn

  [1]Waller familyen.wikipedia.org

  Harry Edmund Waller sold Hall Barn and later inherited property associated with Kirkby Fleetham and Clint.

• 1744

  Cofferer of the Household appointment

  [1]Waller familyen.wikipedia.org

  Edmund Waller served as Cofferer of the Household from December 1744 to December 1746.

• 1722

  Edmund Waller enters Parliament for Great Marlow

  [1]Waller familyen.wikipedia.org

  An Edmund Waller born in 1696 began representing Great Marlow in 1722 and later represented Chipping Wycombe.

• 1689

  Edmund Waller begins representation of Amersham

  [1]Waller familyen.wikipedia.org

  Edmund Waller (1652–1699/1700) represented Amersham from 1689 until 1698 and later became a bencher of the Middle Temple.

• 1644

  Edmund Waller marries Mary Bracey

  [1]Waller familyen.wikipedia.org

  Following the death of his first wife, Edmund Waller married Mary Bracey, whose surname is recorded in several variant forms.

• 1606

  Birth of Edmund Waller, poet and MP

  [1]Waller familyen.wikipedia.org

  Edmund Waller, the family’s best-known literary and political figure, was born in 1606 and later served as a Member of Parliament.

• Early association with Kent and Groombridge Place

  [1]Waller familyen.wikipedia.org

  The family is identified as Kentish and associated with Groombridge Place before branches moved into Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Historical English landed and political family; not a documented commercial brand.

1. 1Waller familyen.wikipedia.org