Poundisford Lodge - near Taunton Somerset
© Copyright Nick Chipchase and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence

His great great grandparents were William Hill (b. circa 1440/50) & Eleanor his wife.

His great grandparents were Roger Hill (b. circa 1470-75 - d.1546) a successful merchant of Taunton and his wife Margery (d.1550)


It was his great grandfather that was responsible for the family settling at Poundisford. The Park was originally an appendage of the episcopal castle of Taunton, one of the possessions of the medieval bishops of Winchester. The enclosure of the park is variously attributed to Bishop Henry de Blois and Bishop Peter des Roches; it was certainly in existence by 1210–11 when King John, who had been hunting at Taunton, sent deer from Hereford to replenish the Bishop’s depleted herd. The position of Keeper or Verderer of the Bishop’s park was highly prized by local gentlemen; in 1487, for example, the post was held by Sir Hugh Luttrell of Dunster Castle, in Somerset. The Verderer was provided with a lodge within the park which stood on the site of the present Poundisford Lodge. In 1534, just two years before the Act of Suppression and the start of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Bishop Gardiner divided the park and leased it as two agricultural holdings. The northern section of the park, together with the original lodge, was leased to John Hill's great grandfather. The southern half of the park was leased in 1534 to a John Soper. Roger is said to have married twice⁽¹⁶⁾   , initially circa 1500 to Alice the daughter of John Toose of Taunton by whom he had 2 children Sir John Hill & a daughter Joane both living in 1548 who died without issue. His second marriage is thought to have been circa 1510 and was to John Hill's grandmother called Margery. Their son Robert Hill (b circa 1512) lived at Taunton where he died in 1581 having inherited the northern half of the park from his step brother John. rogers third son was John Hill's grandfather William Hill (b circa 1515 --see below).

His grand parents were William Hill (b. circa 1515-1594) of Poundisford by his 1st wife Ann Trowbridge (d.1560) the daughter of John Trowbridge of Colyton in Devon


Roger Hill died in 1546(2) and his 3rd son William Hill (John's grandfather), who had made a fortune in foreign trade, negotiated the purchase of the lease for the southern half of the park for the sum of £1,040. Roger Hill’s younger son retained ownership of the northern park and the lodge, which he began to rebuild at about this time. William Hill also began to build a new house, the present Poundisford Park, on his newly acquired property. The two linked properties descended in the Hill family until the late 17th century, when the Lodge passed out of the family by marriage. John's grandmother was William's first wife, Ann the daughter of John Trowbridge of Colyton in Devon but she died circa 1560 well before he was born. In 1570 William was granted the Arms mentioned at the top of this page. It was his grandfathers second wife Lucy the daughter of John & Ann Ryves from Blandford in Dorset that was alive when John was born in 1589. The Dorset Visitation is misleading in this respect; a more detailed account having been given in the 1623 Visitation to Somerset. Lucy is also said to have died at Pitminster 6th June 1592 so its unlikely that he had any memory of her either. William's son and heir was John's father Roger Hill (c1542-1609) and he was one of 10 children by his first wife. He had another four children with his second wife Lucy and their eldest daughter named Lucy after her mother, married William Lawrence (1546-1639) of Winterborne Steepleton on 4th April 1594. As an aside their first child baptised Lucy Lawrence on 1st April 1595 went on to marry the Minister Mr Flea but he died and she remarried to Dennis Bond (1588-1658) of Dorchester in 1622.

His parents were Roger Hill (c1542-1609) of Poundisford & Mary Hassard of Lyme Regis.
John's father had six girls and three boys by his wife Mary the daughter of John Hassard (Hazzard) who is said to have been baptised at Lyme Regis on 10th November 1549⁽⁵⁾ . His eldest son William (d.1642) inherited his fathers estate in 1609 when still a very young man. He married 20 Feb 1603 to Jane (b.1584) the daughter of John Young (Yonge) of Colyton in Devon and they already had 8 children by 1623. The A2A website suggests that William died in 1642 when his estate would have descended to his eldest son Roger Hill (1605-1667) a lawyer whose life is covered in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography^{(13 & 15)} : Roger & Mary's second son Roger Hill lived at Taunton⁽¹⁴⁾ , and their third son John Hill of Dorchester is the subject of this short biography.

He was an Ironmonger by trade but coming from a wealthy merchant family he moved in Dorchester's top circles. The earliest record that I can find for him in Dorchester is when he took on an apprentice, Thomas the son of William Keane of Pitminster for 7 years to help run his merchant business in the town, but he was probably well established by then as along with Dennis Bond he was made a constable of Dorchester in 1618 and he clearly knew William Whiteway the diarist as he is frequently mentioned in his diary. Although William Whiteway junior had been born in 1599 John Hill was present at the baptism of William's new brother James Whiteway born in Dorchester on 1st Oct 1619. John Hill named the child before the font together with Richard Savage and William's aunt Pitt from Bridport, who were all presumably therefore his godparents - a function taken a great deal more seriously in the 17th century and would mean John Hill was a close friend of William Whiteway senior.

John's standing in the community can perhaps best be judged from the offices he held. On 11th Sep 1621 for example he was appointed the first Governor of the Company of Freemen and is named as such in its constitution dated 22nd October that year. Two months later when the aged John Yeate died he replaced him as an Alderman of Dorchester and a week later was appointed to take his place as a Capital Burgesses as well⁽¹⁰⁾   . Like everyone else he was an enthusiastic supporter of John White's schemes to create a godly community and invested in 1624 in the Dorchester Company and formed a part of the inner circle known as the New England Parliament which met in the 'Free School' in Dorchester. In October 1624 he was also elected as Bailiff and in 1628 became MP for Dorchester along with Denzil Holles.

John Hill also took on a number of other civic duties. When John White finally managed to sort out Ministers remuneration in 1631 he was elected steward of the Seaton Parsonage not only therefore responsible for holding funds, but also collecting tithes and the problems that arose when tenants refused to pay. His success in administering these accounts was probably the reason he was elected Treasurer of the County at the Quarter Sessions in Sherborne on 30 April 1633. In 1636 he was elected Mayor of Dorchester and he was particularly solicitous for the welfare of the sick and elderly; on one occasion entering orders for relief payments into corporation minutes in his own hand. Throughout this period John always had one eye on his business and owned several privateers which he used to good effect. The Seaton Stewardship was a position that he held until 1642, no doubt a task he was happy to lose although the reason was the start of the Civil War which brought with it a whole host of other problems. In 1643 when Dorchester was threatened by the Royalists John and other merchants in the town tried to get many of their goods away to safety in a ship leaving Weymouth, but it was captured and presumably plundered. Ever the businessman however John also saw the opportunities the war presented to make money and among other things sold provisions to the besiegers of Sherborne. The war however really saw the end of his actual presence in Dorchester as there is reference to him rarely attending Corporation Meetings in the 1650's and he removed to London where he died.

When he made his Will, however on 21st May 1657, it was still clearly in his heart as he left £100 for one of Whites pet schemes, an endowment to support a poor scholar from Dorchester at one of the universities. This became known as The Hill Exhibition. There is no mention of his wife so presumably Sarah pre-deceased him. His will was proved in London on 4th January 1657/8 and he was replaced as a Capital Burgess of the town on 18th Jan 1657/8.