edmund frost + lettice moseley
According to the Frost Family pedigree, Edmund was born in Hunstan, Suffolk about 1632 to Thomas Frost and Anne Salter. Following his father’s death in 1642, Edmund inherited Hunston Hall as the eldest son when he was only 10 years old. His two younger sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, died in infancy while his two older sisters, Anne and Bridget, survived and later married but were not entitled to inherit the estate.
Edmund married Lettice Moseley of Ousden Hall in the village of Ousden located to the south east of Bury St Edmonds. The Concise Description of Bury Saint Edmund’s and Its Environs published in 1827 contains additional information on the Hall and the Moseley family dating back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1559 - 1603):
This Manor was anciently the property of William Criketot, and in the reign of Queen Elizabeth was the Lordship and estate of Humphrey Moseley, Esq., secondary of Woodstreet Compter, of the family of Moseley, of Dunstall, in Staffordshire; he married Margaret, daughter of Sir Clement Heigham, of Barrow, Knight, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, in the reign of Queen Mary; their descendants inherited it until 1800, when John Moseley, Esq., the present representative of this ancient family, sold it to John Smith, Esq., also a Staffordshire gentleman, of whom the Rev. James Thomas Hand purchased it, in 1804; who is the present Lord, patron, and incumbent. Ousden Hall, the residence of the Rev. Mr. Hand, was built in Queen Elizabeth’s reign, but from various alterations little more remains of the original structure than the porch at the north entrance. It is situated on a rising ground, and commands several pleasing views over the vicintiy and adjoining county of Cambridge.
Edmund and Lettice had eight children, all born at Hunston Hall between 1665 and 1678, and but sadly only three of their children survived infancy. Their eldest surviving son, Thomas, was born in 1670 but he died before 1706. Judith was born in 1677 and Edmund in 1678.
Edmund died on 21 November 1700 and was buried at St George Tombland in Norwich, Norfolk alongside his wife who had died two weeks before. It is not known why Edmund and Lettice were buried so far from their home in Hunston but their internment is noted in several sources including The Church Heraldry of Norfolk which contains additional information including the heraldry and inscription on their memorial stone that lies in the nave of the church:
Mrs. Letitia Frost, wife of Edmond Frost of Hunston Hall in Suffolk, gentleman, who departed this life ye 5th day of November 1700, aged 69; and for Edmund Frost, who died Novr 21 1700, aged 68. Judith, their daughter, wife of Mr. Daniel Meadows of the City of Norwich, who died June 24, 1719, aged 41; Philip and Thomas, sons of Daniel and Judith Meadows; Daniel Meadows, died Jany 27, 1739, aged 62; Daniel, his son, M.D., Ipswich, died Oct 4, 1744, aged 37.
In addition, The first parish register of St. George of Tombland, Norwich (A.D. 1538-1707) contains details on Edmund’s will which was dated 18 November 1700 and proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury by his son Thomas on 17 February 1701. In his will, Edmund:
directs his burial in St. George Tombland church; he bequeathed the mansion in Hunsdon, Suffolk, where he lately dwelt, and then occupied by Isaac Welham, with the manor belonging thereto, to Thomas his son; there are also legacies to Judith Frost his daughter, Maurice Moseley his brother, Bridget Basse of Woodbridge his sister, Richard Frost his grandson, and the poor of Hunsdon; Martha Frost occurs as a witness.
There was no mention of a legacy to his second son, Edmund, but Hunston Hall later passed to him following his brother Thomas’ death in 1706. The Manor and Rectory of Hunston were part of the Priory of Ixworth and after the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in 1538, the property was granted to Richard Codington. It passed into the Ashfield family and was purchased by John Lurkin in 1614. Soon after, the manor was vested in the Frost family until 1727 when the Lurkins purchased it from the assignees of Edmund Frost, ‘the last of that name connected with Hunston’. The hall remained in the Lurkin family for many years before passing through marriage to the Heigham family; sadly, the hall was completely destroyed by fire in 1925.
Their daughter, Judith, married Daniel Meadows on 10 July 1702 at St Mary in the Marsh, Norwich and they had three sons who were also buried in the family tomb at St George. As eldest son Thomas died unmarried, the only known Frost descendants of Edmund and Lettice are through their youngest son Edmund.