Dear All, There have been many notes to the list in the past about the Cutts of Kittery, Maine, USA, who descended from the Cutts of Burnett - sometimes mentioned as being in Gloucestershire, sometimes Somerset, and as county boundaries have changed over the years these are obviously the same place. Burnett is situated between the old Bristol=Wells and Bristol=Bath (A4) coaching routes and is a very attractive small village. I recently visited Burnett, to look for the Cutte Brass Memorial stated as being in the church there. It is a small village, (just off the B3116 road which connects the A4 at Keynsham to the A39 road to Wells) The old manor house from the 1600s has long gone and the new Manor House had been built in the Georgian period. The church is tiny, but unfortunately they do not have a write-up of the village and its history, although the gentleman that I found who held a key to the church tells me he is thinking about preparing one. The brass is attractive, in good condition, about two foot square, and wall-mounted. It shows John Cutte and his wife Joan and on the left are the names of his boys, and on the right the names of the girls. "Here lyeth Buryed John Cutte, sometime Mayor of the City of Brostolle (sic) who deceased leaving his wife Joane and hath hade (sic) between them eight sons and four daughters. He deceased in the month of May the 21st day Anno Domini 1575." "Robert, William, Richard, John, Nicholas, John, Thomas, Matthew, Anne, Susan, Mary, Brigit" I hope to be able to get a photograph of this brass later. I am told that the land in the village was given in 1650 to a charity for the Red Maids School at Bristol - to educate 20 young ladies and pay for a teacher to teach them to read and sew..........obviously this is no longer the case and the land was sold. Bristol Library may have more information about the charity (the girls all wore red dresses...probably similar to the Blue Coats boys' schools) This confirms that the Cutte(s) held a high position in the Court of Henry VIII and Elizabeth and this may be the John Cutte who was one of the five Receivers for the King................... It is interesting that the family names are the same as those that later went to America...... I have since been sent the following information by the gentleman who opened the church for me:- As promised, I have looked up details of the Cutt family. The following is taken from "The Manor and Parish of Burnett, Somerset" by Wilfred Leighton, a book taken from the "Transactions of the Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaelogical Society", Vol 59, 1938 "On 15 January 1538 - 9 the Abbot of Tewkesbury granted a lease of the Manor for 99 years to Edward Tyndale (brother of William Tyndale, translator of the Bible) who was Steward and Auditor at the Abbey. According to the lease, he was to hold the property in the same form as when it was occupied by Isabella Reede, a widow, and her son, John, the previous lessees. Edward Tyndale died in 1546 at Hurst and was buried at Slimbridge. It was during his tenure, in January 1540, the Abbey and all of its possessions, including Burnett, was surrendered to Henry VIII, during his dissolution of the monasteries. On 21 March 1559 - 60, Henry's daughter, Queen Elizabeth 1, sold Burnett to Richard Roberts, a gentleman of London and John Cutte, a Mayor of Bristol and a wealthy trader and financier. Roberts later released his interest and Cutte became sole owner and lord of the manor. Cutte died of the plague in 1575 and was buried in St Michaels Church, Burnett. A plaque to commemorate his death was erected in the church. The Cutte Brass is known nationally and is still in excellent condition. It carries many interesting decorations and pictures of John Cutte, his wife and 12 children - eight sons and four daughters, all named: Robert Died young William Succeeded his father in the lordship of the manor Richard Died young Nicholas Wine merchant, married Bridget, daughter of Alderman Saxey. Buried 31 March 1581 - 2 with no living children. John Died young Thomas Died young Matthew Under age in 1572, died with no living children Anne Married John Bisse. Buried at Burnett in 1617 Susan Mary Bridget Unmarried in 1572 John Cutte left Burnett Manor to his wife, Joan (she contributed £25 towards the Armada expenses in 1589). Their eldest son, William, died on 15 May 1584 before his mother and Burnett passed to William's son, John. He leased land in Burnett to John Forde for £30 and a yearly rent of 30 shillings. John died without any living children and in 1599 Burnett was conveyed to Bridget, the widow of another of John Cutte's sons, Nicholas, and her second husband, John Whitson. John Whitson is an important figure in the history of Bristol and Burnett. As a young man he came to Bristol from Gloucester and was apprenticed for eight years to Nicholas Cutt(e), a prominent wine merchant. Whitson was said to be a handsome young man and when his master died in 1581 - 2, it is recorded that his mistress, the widow Brigit Cutt , one day called him into the wine cellar and 'bade him broach the best butt of wine in the cellar'. History does not reveal exactly what happened in the cellar, but they married on 12 April 1585! And so the estate of Burnett passed to John Whitson. John and Brigit had three daughters: Bridget, christened at St Nicholas on 2 November 1585, married Sir George Trenchard in 1603 and died in childbirth in 1605. Catherine, christened at St Nicholas on 12 December 1586 and buried there on 18 February 1588. Anne, christened st St Nicholas on 2 July 1588 and buried there on 4 March 1597." There is no date for the marriage of John Cutte and his wife Joane, nor dates of baptisms of the children , but it is possible that the John Cutts b.c.1563 at Burnett who m. Bridgett Baker before 1615 in England, and then died Nov. 1625 in England was the second John mentioned above. He had a son, Richard, bapt. 23 June, 1615 at Bath , who m. Eleanor Aldersey, who emigrated to the US. I hope this helps those of you who are researching this Cutts line. Regards, Mavis, in Somerset, UK. (born Nottingham)