The Streatfeilds, Streatfields or Stretfields are an aristocratic English family of the

landed gentry The landed gentry, or the ''gentry'', is a largely historical British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. While distinct from, and socially below, the British peerage, t ...

, from

Chiddingstone Chiddingstone is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the River Eden between Tonbridge and Edenbridge. The village of Chiddingstone Causeway and the hamlet Chiddingstone Hoath are als ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. The family are traceable to the early 16th century and are a possible cadet branch of the

Noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Grea ...

House of Stratford. They were significant landowners in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, and instrumental in shaping those counties throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. From the early 16th century until 1900 the family seat was

Chiddingstone Castle Chiddingstone Castle is situated in the village of Chiddingstone, near Edenbridge, Kent, England, south-southeast of London and in the upper valley of the River Medway. The castle was built by the Streatfeild family and served as their seat fro ...

. The family later sold the castle to Lord Astor in 1938.The Streatfeilds of Kent
accessed 6 November 2015.

Notable members

Robert Streatfeild (1514 – March 1599) is recognised as the common ancestor of most living Streatfeilds and Streatfields. There are still direct descendants of his living in Chiddingstone. Robert Streatfeild's descendants include: *

Henry Streatfeild Henry Streatfeild (1706 - 1762) was a substantial British landowner and member of the prominent Chiddingstone, Kent Streatfeild family. Henry Streatfeild was born on 3 June 1706 in Chiddingstone. He was the son of Henry Streatfeild (1679-1747) a ...

(1706–1762), substantial British landowner *

Alexander Streatfeild-Moore Alexander McNeill Streatfeild-Moore (born Alexander McNeill Streatfeild;
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2008-10-14. ...

(1863–1940), English cricketer *

Edward Champion Streatfeild Edward Champion Streatfeild (16 June 1870 – 22 August 1932) was an English cricketer who played 38 matches of first-class cricket between 1890 and 1893. Streatfeild was born in Nutfield, Surrey, son of Alexander Streatfeild (1837–1887) ...

(1870–1932), English cricketer * Philip Streatfeild (1879–1915), English painter and bohemian * Richard Streatfeild (1559–1601), iron master who established the financial basis for the family * Richard Streatfeild (1833–1877), English cricketer * Sidney Streatfeild (1894–1966), Scottish Unionist Party politician * Thomas Streatfeild (1777–1848), renowned antiquarian and churchman * Rev. William Champion Streatfeild (1839–1912), clergyman * Sir Henry Streatfeild (1857–1938),

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

officer and

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

who served as the commanding officer of the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, and was

Equerry An equerry (; from French ' stable', and related to ' squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually up ...

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

from 1908 until the King's death in 1910, he was then Private Secretary and Equerry to

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 January 1901 to 6 May 1910 as the wife of Kin ...

from 1910 until her death in 1925 * William Champion Streatfeild (1865–1929), Anglican Bishop of Lewes *

Noel Streatfeild Mary Noel Streatfeild OBE (24 December 1895 –11 September 1986) was an English author, best known for children's books including the "Shoes" books, which were not a series (though some books made references to others). Random House, the ...

(1895–1986), author, most famous for her children's books *

Ruth Gervis Ruth Gervis (13 August 1894 – 26 October 1988) was a British illustrator. Together with her sister Noel Streatfeild she illustrated the 1936 book ''Ballet Shoes''. Her other book illustrations include '' The Buttercup Farm Family'', '' The Po ...

(1894–1988), artist, art teacher and illustrator of children's books, most famously ''

Ballet Shoes A ballet shoe, or ballet slipper, is a lightweight shoe designed specifically for ballet dancing. It may be made from soft leather, canvas, or satin, and has flexible, thin full or split soles. Traditionally, women wear pink shoes and men wear wh ...

'', written by her sister,

. She was also a founding member of Sherborne Museum, Dorset. * Geoffrey Streatfeild (1975-), actor in film, television, stage and radio. All his known descendants to the end of World War 1 are listed on the website "The Streatfeilds of Kent".

Possible Stratford descent

File:Stratford type A Rondel 6.jpeg, Stratford
Per fess gules and sable, three plates File:Streatfield CoA.jpeg, Streatfield
Per fess gules and sable, three bezants The House of Stratford has a remarkably similar coat of arms attributed to them in the former half of the 14th century. This could be seen as evidence that the Streatfields, though their line cannot be traced beyond the 1500s, are in fact a

cadet A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...

branch of the Stratford family, the name having been corrupted at some point prior to the 16th century.

Reunion

In July 2014 a significant number of direct descendants of Robert Streatfeild met for a memorial service in St Mary’s Church, Chiddingstone, followed by a gathering at

, home of many generations of Streatfeilds (having been expanded by Henry Streatfeild (1639-1709) from a house in the High Street to the

Restoration style Restoration style, also known as Carolean style from the name ''Carolus'' (Latin for 'Charles'), refers to the decorative and literary arts that became popular in England from the restoration of the monarchy in 1660 under Charles II (reigned fro ...

that it is now).The Trustees of the Denys Eyre Bower Bequest (ed.). "A Treasure in the Garden of England: An Introduction to the History of Chiddingstone Castle". Chiddingstone Castle: A Treasure in the Garden of England. p. 2.

References

{{Reflist Stratford family English families English gentry families