Sir Ralph de Beetham Knight

   Another name for Ralph was Sir Ralph de Betham Knight.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Web Reference:Sir John Beetham.
Sir John's ancestors acquired the manor of Beetham during the reign of Richard I, and subsequently became lords of the manors of Meathop and Farleton as well, holding most of their property as feudal tenants of the earls of Oxford. Little is known about Sir John's father, Robert Beetham, but his grandfather, Sir Ralph Beetham, was an extremely influential figure in the north west, where he served on various royal commissions and also took an active part in punitive raids across the border against the Scots.

• Records and Notes. ⁸⁵⁹
1348 Ralph de Bethum, chivaler, and Richard son of Henry de Caplesheved, Ralph's sergeant, complain that whereas they took at the battle of Durham a prisoner of Scotland called John Styward of Nidisdale and would have brought him to London in accordance with the king's proclamation, Thomas de Roos of Kendale, Robert his brother, Robert Dykemansone of Caplesheved, Adam de la Chaumbre, John Coke, Robert de Syggeswyk, Patrick "Johanes servant de Whassyngton" and others took the prisoner out of their custody at Haverbrek in Kendale and brought him to Scotland for a ransom of £500 [Cal. Pat. R., 1348, pp. 60, 312; Cal. Close R., 1349, p. 62].

1358 Ralph de Bethum, chivaler, has the custody of his manor of Bethum [Abbrev. R. Original, ii, 249].

1359 Ralph de Bethum, knt., complained against Ralph del Knot for cutting down and carrying away his trees at Bethum to the value of 100s. [De Banco R. 398, Easter, 33 Edw. III, m. 12d].

1360 Order for the restoration to Ralph de Bethum, knt., of the manor of Bethum, delivering the issues to Thomas (sic). The escheator had seized the manor, alleging that he found by inquest that Henry III gave in fee to Ralph's ancestor three carucates of land in Bethum with a fishery in the water of Kent, called the manor of Bethum; that Ralph entered the same after the death of Thomas his father without process.

1366 Grant by Ralph de Bethom, knt., to Robert de Bethom, his brother, parson of the church of Winandermere, of all his moveable goods; Dodsworth's MS., 149, f. 142b.

1366 Ralph de Bethom, one of the commissioners to try certain trespassers against the abbot of Shapp by hunting in his park at Shapp; Cal. Pat. R., 1366, p. 357.

Sir Ralph de Bethum is said to have had issue by Alice his wife a son, Robert de Bethum, who was father of John de Bethum [The Beetham Repository, 155].

~Records relating to the Barony of Kendale: Volume II, pp. 211-238

Ralph married Alice.