The Sheaffe family came to England during the reign of Edward III, 1327-1377, from Flanders. Fourteenth Century Flanders was a prosperous industrial and commercial area including present day Holland, Belgium and portions of France.
One of the major industries of the area was the weaving of woolen cloth. The weavers of Flanders were dependent on England for the raw wool for their mills and this may have been one of the reasons that the Sheaffes and several other families came to England to settle and establish their cloth industry. The area around Cranbrook in Kent met their needs. They were near the source of wool, and they were situated close to the narrow section of the English Channel giving them easy access to their commercial and financial sources.
Many of the ancient Cloth Halls are still standing, including Willesley House which was bequeathed in 1594 to Edmond Sheaffe.
The very earliest mention of Sheaffe in the records is in Cranbrook starting about 1470, but since the records of earlier years are almost non existent, they had probably been in Cranbrook for a least 100 years before that date.
Thomas Sheaffe
