The relation is distant, but I share a common ancestor with the Mr. Custance mentioned in Woodforde's A Diary of a Country Parson. I asked my mother about the particulars and she sent me the following note along with a link to the Custance website and a link to a portrait of Hambleton Custance.

Hello Marie-Bernadette,

Our line begins with Robert Custance, born 1510 (actually it goes back farther, but I don't have dates, only names) who died May 1549, married Alice. They had three children: William, b. 1533; Ayme; and Edmund, b.1539 (?)

William's line comes down to Colonel Frederick Hambleton
Custance and his daughter, Olive. Edmund's line comes down to Henry Custance and his daughter, Isabella (my grandmother).
Love,
Mum

The Mr. Custance mentioned in Woodforde's work was a descendant of the above named William whereas I am descended from William's brother, Edmund.
The Col. Frederick Hambleton Custance mentioned above was named after Hambleton Custance whose portrait can be seen at http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/AWork?id=9291. Olive Custance, a poetess in her own right, was married to the infamous "Bosie", Oscar Wilde's umm..."significant friend".

The following was written by Graham Custance (he and I are distant cousins by our common ancestor Edmund Custance) and can be found at the Custance website -- http://www.custance.co.uk/.

"Our journey takes us back to 1510 when William Custance a Yeoman of Sutton died. He was married to Cicely and they had Robert Custance. He too was a Yeoman and a landed proprietor in Norfolk. Robert had estates in Barningham Norwood, Bodham and Winter Barningham. He married Alice and he died in Barningham on April 23 1561.

There are records of the name De Cusancia appearing in Northrepps and Southrepps in Norfolk between 1315 and 1323 with William and Peter De Cusancia being Parsons there. Thomas Custanny was a Freeman of Norwich in 1367. The name in its present form was first found in Wheatacre in 1390 with Simon and Thomas Custance.

As we can see the name has evolved down the years in various forms but I have traced back directly to William. Robert had three children Ayme, William and Edmund. Not much is known about Amye but the two boys and their decendants are well chronicled.

William Custance was the eldest son of Robert and it is from him that the start of the Weston Longville line originates. William was born in 1533 and married Francis Bacon in 1560. They had two children Margaret and William. He died in Norfolk in 1601. The descendants of William later went on to be written about in the book "A Diary of a Country Parson". by Thomas Woodforde. The church in Weston Longville still stands today along with the Custance pew. The church and cemetery are a haven of memorials and graves to the family and is well worth a visit.

Edmund Custance is from whom I descend. He was born in Barningham and he married Cicely Palmer in 1570. They had three children Thomas, Katherine and Robert. It is from this side that the Custance families of Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire descend. Thomas was born in 1573 and married Francis Francis (!!!!). Together they had seven children. Annis, Emily, John, William, Francis, Mary and Thomas. And many, many generations later myself, Graham, decided to try and find out about my "roots". It has so far taken me 17 years and a lot of assistance from other "Custances" who are all fascinated by this subject."

Honoured, &c.
Marie-Bernadette