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

landed gentry The landed gentry, or the gentry (sometimes collectively known as the squirearchy), is a largely historical Irish and British social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least had a country estate. It is t ...

, from

Chiddingstone Chiddingstone is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Sevenoaks (district), Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the River Eden, Kent, River Eden between Tonbridge and Edenbridge, Kent, Edenbrid ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. 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, Gr ...

House of Stratford The House of Stratford () is a British aristocratic family, originating in Stratford-on-Avon between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. The family has produced multiple titles, including Earl of Aldborough, Viscount Amiens, Baron Baltin ...

. They were significant landowners in

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

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 ...

. The family later sold the castle to Lord Astor in 1938.

Notable members

Robert Streatfeild Robert Streatfeild (1514 - March 1599) of Chiddingstone, Kent is the earliest known ancestor to which most known Streatfeilds and Streatfields can trace their ancestry, and the progenitor of the Streatfeild family. Origins Robert Streatfeild was ...

(1514 – March 1599) is claimed as the common ancestor of most living Streatfeilds and Streatfields. * Henry Streatfeild (1706–1762), substantial British landowner * Alexander Streatfeild-Moore (1863–1940), English cricketer * Edward Champion Streatfeild (1870–1932), English cricketer *

Philip Streatfeild James Philip Sydney Streatfeild (5 November 1879 – 3 June 1915) was an English painter and bohemian descended from the historic Streatfeild family of Chiddingstone Castle, Kent. Streatfeild was born in Clapham, where his father was a bank clerk ...

(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 Sidney Richard Streatfeild (27 June 1894 – 2 December 1966) was a Scottish Unionist Party politician descended from the historic Streatfeild family. Sidney Streatfeild was the son of Hugh Streatfeild (1867–1950) and Evelyn Cherry (d 1964). ...

(1894–1966), Scottish Unionist Party politician *

Thomas Streatfeild Rev Thomas Streatfeild MA, FSA (5 January 1777 – 17 May 1848) was a renowned antiquarian and churchman in the early 19th century descended from the historic Streatfeild family. He lived on both sides of the Surrey Kent border, but is best known ...

(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 Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

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 The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

, and was

Equerry An equerry (; from French language, 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 attend ...

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

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 List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

from 1910 until her death in 1925 *

William Champion Streatfeild William Champion Streatfeild (1 September 1865Who's Who, Who was Who 1897–2007: London, A & C Black, 2008 – 15 February 1929) was the Anglican Bishop of Lewes. He was a descendant of the historic Streatfeild family, the father of the nov ...

(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 U.S. ...

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

'', written by her sister,

. She was also a founding member of Sherborne Museum, Dorset. *

Geoffrey Streatfeild Geoffrey Streatfeild (born 1975) is an English actor in film, television, stage and radio. Career His notable film and TV roles include '' The Other Boleyn Girl'' and '' Kinky Boots''. He also appeared in the Royal Shakespeare Company's "His ...

(1975-), actor in film, television, stage and radio.

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

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 a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

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