Robert Freke
1543 – 1592
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About
Robert Freke of Iwerne Courtney in Dorset was a Teller of the Exchequer, one of the officers who received and paid out the Crown's money under Elizabeth the First. He acquired estates at Cerne Abbas, Littlebredy and Crewkerne, and he married Alice Swayne of Gunville. He died in 1592. He is the earliest of the finance officers scattered through this tree, and a curious ancestor for a family whose present head is a chartered accountant.
Research notes
Documented line. Robert Freke of Iwerne Courtney/Shroton, Dorset (1543-1592); acquired estates at Cerne Abbas, Iwerne Courtney, Littlebredy and Crewkerne. m. Alice Swayne of Gunville (d. Apr 1577). Confirmed by the Dorset CofE register, Iwerne Courtney (Dorset History Centre PE/IWC/RE 1/1) as father of William Freke (bapt. 24 Apr 1577). Authority: Burke's-derived pedigree (thepeerage; WikiTree Freke-19), and primarily The Visitation of Dorsetshire 1623 (Harleian MS 1166, fo. 31), which records 'Robert ffreke of Iwerne Courtney... one of the tellers of the Excheq., obijt 34 Eliz. [1592], sepultus apud Iwerne', m. Alice da. of John Swaine of Blandford. He was a Teller of the Exchequer; buried at Ewerne Courtney 28 Apr 1592. Per John Hutchins, History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset (1861-73), Pedigree of Freke of Shroton (from the Heralds' Visitations of Dorset 1623, Harl. 1166 f.29 (signed Ro. Freake) & 1141 f.116, and the Shroton/Hinton St Mary parish registers), his father was Francis ('Frank') Freke of Thorncombe, Devon (loan to the Queen 1558) and his brother was John Freke of Faringdon; his son and heir was Sir Thomas Freke, Kt. (b.1563, MP for Dorset). Burke's pedigree of Freke of West Bilney (Extinct & Dormant Baronetcies) describes him as auditor of the Treasury who 'died worth a plum, an immense fortune in those times', leaving three sons (Sir Thomas; John of Hilton; William, our line) and seven daughters; it dates his service to 'the reigns of Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth' (the Henry VIII span is likely loose). Backfilled from the family chart, June 2026. [DIRECT ANCESTOR OF THE COMPILER: flag added 24 Jul 2026 by walking the tree from Aynsley, so that this marker is reliable and can be searched.]