A short history of the earlier families

The name Hunnisett, and its other forms, was unknown in England before the 16th century.  Several of the earliest Hunnisetts in England are known to have been ironworkers from France who settled in Sussex.  Prior to this time the name was found near Namur in Northern France (now Belgium), where again the name was associated with the iron trade.

The first recorded "Hunnisetts" in England were two Frenchmen, Jakes and Adrian Hanyset who appeared in the denization rolls of 1541 although both had been here for a number of years by then. Two years later Adrian was accused of a murder but fled the scene and was never brought to trial.

During the 1550's James Henesye (also recorded as Jaques Hanysue or Onysed) was an iron finer in the Horsham/Nuthurst area of Sussex and when he died in 1560 left the earliest known example of a "Hunnisett" will.

In 1569 Peter Henesit married Clemens Tole in Fletching, Sussex and had a number of children baptised in Mountfield and later Westfield. Probably about half of today's "Hunnisett" families, including my own, can be traced back to Peter through his son Clement. Both Peter and Clement were hammermen in the iron industry of the Sussex weald.

By the middle of the 17th century the iron industry of the weald was in decline and the descendants of this family took up other occupations such as farming, and one or two moved further afield, initially to Kent and later to London, in search of work.

Many of the early Hunnisetts left wills which help us to link the families and provide an insight into their lives. Richard Honnisett, who died in Herstmonceux in 1732, did not leave a will, but an inventory of all his goods and chattells survives and along with other information, such as records of leases, provides a fascinating insight into the life of this early 18th century yeoman farmer and his family.