Landed families of Britain and Ireland

This site, which was short-listed for the Society of Architectural Historians (GB) Colvin Prize in 2019, presents my research into the landowning families of the British Isles and the country houses which they owned. Comments, especially in the form of corrections, additional information or new illustrations, are very welcome. Please use the Contact Form in the right hand side bar to contact me privately or the comments facility at the bottom of the page to make a public comment.

Friday, 23 May 2025

(603) Betenson of Scadbury Manor and Bradbourne Hall

Betenson of Scadbury

The Betenson family (the name is also spelled Bettenson and Bettison with occasional more exotic variants) are said to have originated in Staffordshire, but Richard Betenson (d. 1579), with whom the genealogy below begins, was a lawyer in London, and over several succeeding generations the family remained closely associated with the law. Like so many upwardly mobile middle-class professionals of the time, they invested their profits in property, and over time developed a second income stream from their rental portfolio. Richard Betenson himself lived in Old Jewry in the city of London, and through his wife acquired Tyle or Tiled Hall at Latchingdon (Essex), a substantial farm house which survives, although much rebuilt and enlarged in the 18th and 19th centuries. Richard died when all his children were still minors, but his eldest son, Richard Betenson (c.1563-1624) was sent to Cambridge and then to Grays Inn. There seems to be no record of his being called to the bar, but his will makes it clear that he was in legal practice. He and his wife had only two known children, sons who both followed the family legal tradition, but with very different results. The elder, Sir Richard Betenson (c.1601-79), was knighted in 1625 and took the parliamentary side in the Civil War. He was a member of the County Committee for Surrey in 1644-46 and High Sheriff of Surrey in 1645-46, but he seems to have had no difficulty reconciling himself to the restored monarchy, for he was made a baronet in 1663 and was High Sheriff of Kent at the time of his death. During his life he accumulated property at an accelerating rate, culminating in his purchase of the Scadbury Manor estate in Kent in 1660. Although Scadbury was already an old and an old-fashioned house, it would have been regarded as a country house at the time, being taxed on fifteen hearths in 1664 and on 18 hearths in 1675. Sir Richard's younger brother, Thomas Betenson (d. 1653), was much less fortunate. His father bequeathed him an estate at Chaldon (Surrey) and he also had property at Willey Green (Surrey), but he was obliged to sell the former to his elder brother in 1640 and by 1649 was confined in a City of London debtor's prison, from which he may never have been released.

Eagle House, Wimbledon, purchased by Richard Betenson in 1647.

Sir Richard Betenson had two sons: Richard Betenson (1632-77) and Edward Betenson (1633-1700), both of whom were bred to the law, although it is not certain that Richard ever practiced; if he did, it was probably under the aegis of his father. He bought Eagle House at Wimbledon in 1647, a relatively new and quite grand suburban villa, which still survives today. In 1662 he was made a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, so he will have spent some of his time at court. In the 1670s his health gave way and he was obliged to move abroad in search of a healthier climate, but he died in France in 1677. His widow and children remained abroad for some years after his death, and were at least occasionally at the French court. His eldest daughter was married in England in 1681 and his widow remarried in England the following year, but his daughter Dorothy was still in France in 1685, when she died unmarried (some accounts say she was poisoned). Richard Betenson's only surviving son, Sir Edward Betenson (1670-1733), 2nd bt., inherited Eagle House from his father in 1677 and the baronetcy, together with Scadbury Manor and most of his grandfather's property, in 1679, but did not come of age until 1691. He grew up in a female-dominated household and there is no record of his having attended university or the inns of court where he might have acquired polished manners. Perhaps as a result, he seems to have developed a misogynistic streak, repeatedly declaring to his uncle that he would never marry. He also became addicted to gambling, and in 1700 sold Eagle House. By the time of his death in 1733 his estates were mortgaged for more than £6,000, the main house at Scadbury had not been kept in repair, and he had probably been forced by its increasing dilapidation to move into a nearby farmhouse or his lodgings in Covent Garden.

At the 2nd baronet's death, his estates passed to his three surviving sisters (Albinia Selwyn, Theodosia Farrington and Frances Hewett) as co-heiresses, and they came to an arrangement by which they all sold or gave their shares to Albinia's eldest son, Col. John Selwyn (1688-1751), who paid off the mortgages, and sold the scattered estates to his relatives. The baronetcy could not pass with the estates, being limited to heirs male of the body of the 1st baronet, and was inherited instead by the 2nd baronet's cousin, Sir Edward Betenson (1691-1762), 3rd bt., who in the eyes of the world was the only child of the 1st baronet's younger son, Edward Betenson (1633-1700) of Lincoln's Inn. However, in his will (which of course was in the public domain), Edward Betenson had left ample evidence that his son could not be legitimate as he and his wife had been separated - and had ceased to have marital relations - nearly a year before the son was born, and that the son must be the result of one of his wife's several adulterous liaisons of which he had evidence. We know the evidence to support these claims was in the hands of the 2nd baronet's sisters, and it is remarkable that the 3rd baronet's succession was apparently never challenged. No doubt a desire to avoid scandal disinclined the family to oppose his claim, and the passage of more than thirty years since Edward Betenson's death may have dimmed other memories. At all events, the 3rd baronet did succeed to the title. He was a long-serving officer in the 1st Foot Guards, who had risen no higher than a lieutenancy but was still on the strength in 1740. He was no doubt one of the many older officers encouraged to retire during George II's army reforms of the 1740s, and he lived thereafter in Bloomsbury. He had married the daughter of an English merchant in Madras in 1719, and they had just two children: a son and a daughter.

The son was Sir Richard Betenson (1721-86), 4th baronet, who lived in Queen Square, Bloomsbury alongside his father. Nothing is known of his career - if he had one - until 1762, when he not only inherited the baronetcy but acquired from a kinsman, Henry Bosville, a life interest in Bradbourne Hall, Riverhead (Kent). Following quickly on this improvement in his fortunes he was made High Sheriff of Kent, 1765-66. Both the grounds and the house at Bradbourne were improved in the second half of the 18th century, but on balance it seems likely that the work on the grounds was carried out for Bosville before 1762, and the work on the house for his successor, Thomas Lane, after 1786. Sir Richard married, in 1756, a daughter of the president of the Royal Society, but they had no children, and on his death the baronetcy became extinct.

Scadbury Manor, Chislehurst, Kent

A probably 13th century moated site with a complicated development history, clarified in part through extensive archaeology over the last forty years. The site was continuously occupied until 1738, when the main house was pulled down. A former gatehouse building which had been converted into a farmhouse survived that demolition and was subsequently enlarged into a new 'mansion', but this was severely damaged by a 'V1' flying bomb in the Second World War and burnt in 1976, with the ruins being pulled down in 1984. Unfortunately no visual evidence of the house pulled down in 1738 has yet come to light, although a reconstruction of the house at the time of Queen Elizabeth's visit in 1597, based on the archaeological evidence, has been attempted.

Possible reconstruction of the moated Scadbury Manor in 1597, based on the brick foundations still in existence.
Reproduced with kind permission of the Orpington and District Archaeological Society. © ODAS, 2016-2025. All rights reserved.

Scadbury Manor: aerial view of the site from above in 1934, showing the Victorian house (top) and the re-excavated moat (below),
from a damaged glass plate negative. Image: Britain from Above.

Amateur archaeological work on the site of the original house in the 1920s led to the construction of a pseudo-medieval 'manor hall' in 1936 on the site of the former great hall, reusing genuine medieval timbers from Manor Farm in St Mary Cray, which were thought at the time to have originated in the house at Scadbury pulled down in 1738. After persistent vandalism, the 'manor hall' in turn was taken down in 1987, when the medieval timbers were sent to the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum in Sussex.

Scadbury Manor: the interior of the 'manor hall' recreated in 1936 with timbers from a farmhouse in St Mary Cray, and removed in 1987.

Although there is evidence of the occupation of the site from the 13th century, the archaeological evidence suggests a complete - but possibly phased - rebuilding of the house in the late 15th and early 16th century. In the late 19th century it was remembered that an archway was formerly dated 1540, which may be evidence for when at least some of the rebuilding was carried out: the client was presumably either James Walsingham or his son, Sir Edward Walsingham, who inherited in that year. The new house was timber-framed, with brick infill.

In 1660 the estate (comprising the manors of Scadbury, Chislehurst, Dartford, Cobham and Combe) was sold to Sir Richard Betenson. Four years later the house at Scadbury was taxed on 15 hearths, but by 1675 there were 18 hearths, so Betenson evidently commissioned some additions or improvements to the house. It was a large house, but not in the first rank of gentry houses in Kent, and, indeed, was not even the largest house in Chislehurst (which had 24 hearths).

Probably around 1700 the former gatehouse was enlarged and converted for use as a farmhouse, which became known as Scadbury Farm. Sir Edward Betenson may have moved into it before his death in 1733, as in 1734 the main building was evidently unfit for occupation, being described as 'a large Old Timber Building of no value more than as old materials', and by 1738 demolition of the Tudor mansion was in progress. By 1778, ‘the ancient mansion of Scadbury has been many years in ruins, and there remains now only a farm house, built out of part of them’. In 1804, Jeffrey Wyatt (later Wyatville) made plans for the redevelopment of the farmhouse, but these were never executed.

Scadbury Manor: the house as enlarged in 1870. Image: Historic England

Scadbury Manor: interior in 1921. Image: Historic England

Scadbury Manor: drawing room in 1921. Image: Historic England

A further enlargement of the farmhouse into a new 'mansion' is said to have been carried out for the 1st Earl Sydney in 1870; this was no doubt intended to make it a suitable residence for the agent managing the estate rather than there being any thought of the Earl using it himself. It continued to be occupied by agents for the estate until c.1921, when Hugh Marsham-Townshend moved into it, his seats at Matson House (Glos) and Frognal House, adjoining Scadbury, having been sold.

Scadbury Manor: the remaining ruins on the site from the south in 2020. Image: Ethan Doyle White. Some rights reserved.

In 1945 the house was badly damaged by a 'V1' flying bomb, but it remained in use by the family until the death of the last resident owner in 1975. Soon afterwards, in 1976, the empty house was badly damaged by fire and the ruins were demolished in March 1984. Following extensive vandalism the 'manor hall' building of the 1930s was demolished in November 1987 and the genuine medieval timbers in it were given to the Weald & Downland Museum in Sussex.

Descent: James Walsingham (c.1462-1540); to son, Sir Edward Walsingham (c.1480-1550), kt.; to son, Sir Thomas Walsingham (c.1526-84), kt.; to son, Edmund Walsingham (1557-89); to brother, Sir Thomas Walsingham (c.1561-1630), kt.; to son, Thomas Walsingham (c.1589-1669); sold 1660 to Sir Richard Betenson (c.1601-79), 1st bt.; to grandson, Sir Edward Betenson (1670-1733), 2nd bt.; to sisters and co-heiresses, Theodosia (d. 1749), wife of Maj-Gen. William Farrington, Albinia (d. 1737), wife of Maj-Gen. William Selwyn (d. 1702) and Frances, wife of Sir Thomas Hewitt, kt., of Shireoaks Hall (Notts); who in 1736 sold or transferred their shares to Col. John Selwyn (1688-1751) of Matson (Glos), who sold 1742 to Thomas Townshend (1701-80); to son, Thomas Townshend (1733-1800), 1st Viscount Sydney; to son, John Thomas Townshend (1764-1831), 2nd Viscount Sydney; to son, John Robert Townshend (1805-90), 3rd Viscount & 1st Earl Sydney; to widow, Emily Caroline, Countess Sydney (d. 1893) for life and then to nephew, Hon. Robert Marsham (later Marsham-Townshend) (1834-1914); to son, Hugh Marsham-Townshend (d. 1967); handed over estate c.1946 to son, John Marsham-Townshend (1905-75); to nieces, June and Susan Marsham-Townshend; sold 1983 to Bromley London Borough Council.

Bradbourne Hall, Riverhead, Kent

There was a medieval or Tudor house here, of which almost nothing seems to be known. It was replaced about 1720 by a new three-storey house with a five-bay west-facing entrance front and seven-bay east-facing garden front. The new house was built for William Bosvile (d. 1740), although it is said that because his wife died before it was finished he never moved into it, preferring to live in a smaller property on the estate.

Bradbourne Hall, Riverhead: view of the entrance front and south wing from the south-west. Image: Matthew Beckett.

Bradbourne Hall, Riverhead: the garden front and south wing from the south-east. Image: Matthew Beckett.

Towards the end of the 18th century, a two-storey neo-classical wing was added to the south side of the existing building, which had a full-height curved bow facing over the views to the south. The date of this addition is uncertain, but it was probably the work of Thomas Lane (d. 1805) after he inherited the estate in 1786. The grounds are said to have been laid out for Henry Bosvile (d. 1762), who inherited in 1740.

The mildly eccentric Francis Crawshay, who owned the house for a short period in the 1870s, and who had the immense resources of his south Wales ironworks behind him, commissioned the casting of a massive bell in Lyon (France) in 1871, which he hung from a tripod on the lawn of the house. Known as 'the Great Bell of Bradbourne', it was the second largest bell in Kent (after Great Dunstan in Canterbury Cathedral), and its regular sounding was audible for miles around. It survived until 1918, when it was sold as scrap metal to a bellfounder.

The house and estate were sold in 1927 for housing development, but the house survived for another decade, being finally pulled down in 1937, when a sale of the building materials was held.

Descent: Crown sold 1555 to Ralph Bosvile, clerk to the Court of Wards; to son, Henry Bosvile; to son, Sir Ralph Bosvile (d. 1635); to son, Lennard Bosvile (d. 1639); to sister, Margaret (d. 1682), wife of Sir William Boswell; to first cousin once removed, William Bosville (d. 1740); to son, Henry Bosville (d. 1762); to kinsman, Sir Richard Betenson (1721-86), 4th bt. and then to Thomas Lane (d. 1805); to son, Henry Thomas Lane (b. c.1793); to son, who sold 1840 to Henry Hughes (d. 1865); sold 1870 to Francis Crawshay (1811-78); to son, who sold 1896 to Multon Lambarde (d. 1896); to son, Maj. William Gore Lambarde, who sold 1927 to Ideal Home Estates for redevelopment.

Betenson family of Scadbury Manor

Betenson, Richard (d. 1579). Son of William Bettenson, and said to have been born in Staffordshire. Lawyer. He married, 1562 (licence 20 September), Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of John Osborn of Tyle Hall, Latchingdon (Essex), and had issue, perhaps among others:

(1) Richard Betenson (c.1563-1624) (q.v.);
(2) Elizabeth Betenson (1564-1607), baptised at St Olave, Jewry, London, 16 July 1564; possibly married 1st, 31 July 1585 at St Giles Cripplegate, London, Tristram Palfreyman, and 2nd, soon afterwards, [forename unknown] Furner; will proved in the PCC, 11 December 1607;
(3) Peter Betenson (1568-1603), baptised at St Olave, Jewry, London, 7 May 1568; living in Halstead, 1601, when he was mentioned in his stepfather's will; died without issue; will proved in Essex archdeaconry court, 1603;
(4) Edward Betenson (1569-1616), of Colne Engaine (Essex), baptised at St Olave, Jewry, London, 16 September 1569; married [forename unknown], daughter of Richard Lance of Truro (Cornwall) and had issue one son and two daughters; will proved in Essex archdeaconry court, 1616;
(5) Mary Betenson (1578-1636), baptised at St Olave, Jewry, London, 15 February 1577/8; married Samuel Colman (1572-1653) of Brent Eleigh (Suffk), and had issue at least two sons and one daughter; buried at Brent Eleigh, 23 May 1636.

He lived in the parish of St Olave, Jewry, London, but acquired Tyle Hall, Latchingdon (Essex) in right of his wife. He also had lands at Wandsworth (Surrey), a house at Finsbury Bridge (Middx) and other property in London.

His date of death is unknown; his will was proved in the PCC, 14 December 1579. His widow married 2nd, 1580 (licence 11 August), Arthur Breame (d. 1602) of Gosfield and Halstead (Essex), and had further issue one daughter; her date of death is unknown.

Betenson, Richard (c.1563-1624). Eldest son of Richard Betenson (d. 1579) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of John Osborn of Tyle Hall, Latchingdon (Essex). Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1579), Barnards Inn and Grays Inn (admitted 1582). Lawyer. He married Catherine, illegitimate daughter of George Tuke of Layer Marney (Essex), and had issue:

(1) Sir Richard Betenson (c.1601-79), 1st bt. (q.v.);
(2) Thomas Betenson (d. 1653), of Willey (Surrey); educated at Grays Inn (admitted 1623); evidently fell into debt as when he wrote his will in 1649 he was a prisoner in the Wood Street Compter, London; married Anne, daughter of Henry Lovell (1576-1653) of Bletchingley (Surrey) and had issue two sons and two daughters; will proved in the PCC, 27 June 1653.

He lived at Layer de la Hay (Essex) and later at Feering (Essex). In 1613 he purchased the manor of Chaldon (Surrey) which he bequeathed to his younger son.

He died 12 July and was buried at Feering, 14 July 1624; his will was proved in the PCC, 22 September 1624. His widow's date of death is unknown.

Betenson, Sir Richard (c.1601-79), kt. and 1st bt. Elder son of Richard Betenson (c.1563-1624) and his wife Catherine, illegitimate daughter of George Tuke of Layer Marney (Essex), born about 1601. Educated at Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1621). Barrister-at-law. A County Commissioner for Surrey, 1644-46. He was knighted at Royston (Herts), 28 February 1624/5* and raised to a baronetcy, 7 June 1663**. High Sheriff of Surrey (appointed by Parliament), 1645-46 and for Kent, 1679-80. He married, 9 December 1624 at St Benet, Paul's Wharf, London, Anne (d. 1681), daughter of Sir William Monyns of Waldershare (Kent), and had issue:

(1) Jane Betenson (1627-39), baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 30 July 1627; died young, 5 May 1639 and was buried at Wimbledon (Surrey), where she was commemorated by a monument (now lost);
(2) Anne Betenson (1628-66?), baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 7 July 1628; died unmarried 29 July 166?*** and was buried at Wimbledon;
(3) Richard Betenson (1632-77) (q.v.);
(4) Edward Betenson (1633-1700) [for whom see below, Betenson family of Bradbourne Hall].

He inherited his father's property at Layer de la Hay (Essex) in 1624. In 1640 he bought the manor of Chaldon (Surrey) from his younger brother and in 1660 he purchased the manors of Chislehurst and Scadbury from Thomas Walsingham, from whom he had previously bought property in the city of London.

He died 29 August 1679 and was buried at Chislehurst (Kent); his will was proved in the PCC, 23 September 1679. His widow died 19 February and was buried at Chislehurst, 23 February 1680/1; her will was proved in the PCC, 3 March 1680/1.

* He was the last knight dubbed by King James I.

** The date is often wrongly given as 7 February 1666/7.

*** Date on floor slab illegible when recorded in the 19th century.

Betenson, Richard (1632-77). Elder son of Sir Richard Betenson (c.1601-79), kt. and 1st bt., and his wife Anne, daughter of Sir William Monyns of Waldershare (Kent), baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 6 March 1631/2. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1649) and Grays Inn (admitted 1650). Appointed a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, 1662. At the end of his life he moved to France for health reasons. He married, 21 September 1656 at St Andrew, Holborn (Middx), Albinia, daughter of Sir Christopher Wray, kt., of Ashby (Lincs) and granddaughter of Edward Cecil, 1st (and last) Viscount Wimbledon, and had issue (with two other children who died young):

(1) Albinia Betenson (1657-1737), of Carshalton (Surrey); a friend of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu; married, 26 May 1681 in Westminster Abbey (Middx), Maj-Gen. William Selwyn (1655-1702) of Matson House (Glos), MP for Gloucester, 1698-1701 and briefly governor of Jamaica, 1702, and had issue four sons and three daughters; buried at Matson (Glos), 4 January 1737/8; her will was proved in the PCC, 5 January 1737/8;
(2) Richard Betenson (c.1660-76); born about 1660; died young and was buried at Chislehurst, 23 May 1676;
(3) Ann Betenson (b. 1661), born 30 September and baptised at St James, Clerkenwell (Middx), 7 October 1661; died young;
(4) Theodosia Betenson (c.1663-1749), born about 1663; married, 18 August 1687 at Chislehurst, Lt-Gen. William Farrington (1664-1712) of Chislehurst (Kent), MP for Malmesbury, 1705-12, and had issue one son and two daughters (the elder of whom married Robert Bertie (1660-1723), 1st Duke of Ancaster); died 25 November 1749; will proved in the PCC, 1 December 1749;
(5) Dorothy Betenson (1664-85), baptised at Chislehurst, 11 November 1664, a noted beauty who King Louis XIV of France thought bore a strong resemblance to his favourite, the Duchesse de la Vallière; she died unmarried in France and is said in some accounts to have been poisoned; will proved 8 February 1684/5;
(6) Thomas Betenson (b. 1667), baptised at Chislehurst, 6 October 1667; thought to be the subject of a portrait by Sir Peter Lely; died young, probably in the late 1670s;
(7) Frances Betenson (1669-1756), born in Hatton Garden, London, 1 January, and baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 6 January 1668/9; a friend of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu; married, 7 September 1689 at Geneva (Switzerland), Sir Thomas Hewett (1656-1726), kt., of Shireoaks (Notts), amateur architect, Captain of the Guard to King Charles II, and Surveyor-General of Woods to William III and George I; died in London, and was buried with her husband at Wales near Sheffield (Yorks WR), 11 February 1756; will proved in the PCC, 24 February 1756;
(8) Sir Edward Betenson (1670-1733), 2nd bt. (q.v.).

In 1647 he purchased Eagle House, Wimbledon (Surrey) from John Dawes. He also had leased houses in Hatton Garden and York Buildings, London. After his death, his widow remained in France with her family for some time, and they were well known at the French court.

He died in the lifetime of his father, at Montpelier (France), and was buried at Wimbledon (Surrey), 30 March 1677, where he is commemorated by a floor slab in Lord Wimbledon's chapel; his will was proved in the PCC, 8 May 1677. His widow married 2nd, 11 May 1682 at Holy Trinity, Minories, London, Samuel Oldfield (d. 1722) (who m2, Elizabeth (d. 1732), daughter of William Cavendish of Doveridge (Derbys)); she died between 1700 and 1705.

Sir Edward Betenson, 2nd bt.
Image: Richard Selwyn Sharpe.
Betenson, Sir Edward (1670-1733), 2nd bt. Third, but only surviving, son of Richard Betenson (1632-77) and his wife Albinia, daughter of Sir Christopher Wray, kt., baptised at Chaldon (Surrey), 11 September 1670*. He may have been educated at Clare College, Cambridge, as he later presented a pair of candlesticks to the college, but his name does not appear in the Alumni Cantabrigiensis. He succeeded his grandfather as 2nd baronet, 20 August 1679, and came of age in 1691. High Sheriff of Kent, 1705-06. He was addicted to gambling, sold much of his patrimony (including the trees from Scadbury Park) and left substantial debts. In 1718 he was involved in an affray in Chislehurst Church, when he attempted to prevent a collection being taken for poor children in Aldersgate (London), fearing that this was a covert attempt to raise funds for the Jacobite cause. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Eagle House, Wimbledon from his father in 1677, and the Scadbury Manor estate, lands in Greenwich (Kent), the manor of Chaldon (Surrey), the Lamb Inn, Cornhill and other house property in London, and several estates in Essex from his grandfather in 1679. He sold Eagle House in 1700. At his death he had lodgings in Covent Garden, and his remaining property, burdened with a mortgage of £6,045, passed to his surviving sisters as co-heiresses. A family arrangement in 1736 conveyed all the property to Albinia's son, Col. John Selwyn, who discharged the mortgage and sold the estates, chiefly to relatives.

He died 17 October 1733 and was buried at Chislehurst, where he is commemorated by a monument erected by his sisters; administration of his goods was granted to his sisters, 5 December 1733.

* A child of this name with the correct parents was so baptised, but his monument says he died in his 58th year, implying a date of birth in 1675. No baptism corresponding to that has been found, however, so it may be the monument which is in error.

Betenson family of Bradbourne Hall

Betenson, Edward (1633-1700). Younger son of Sir Richard Betenson (c.1601-79), kt. and 1st bt., and his wife Anne, daughter of Sir William Monyns of Waldershare (Kent), baptised at Bekesbourne (Kent), 30 December 1633. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1650) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1653; called 1666). Barrister-at-law. He married, 21 May 1685 at Temple Church, London, Catherine (1666-1713), eldest daughter of Sir John Rayney (1627-80), 2nd bt. of Wrotham Place (Kent), but they were separated in 1689 though never divorced. According to his will she subsequently had multiple sexual partners, including Theophilus Boughey, the two sons of Sir Roger Twisden, and a Frenchman lodging in Wimbledon*. Her exploits resulted in the birth of a child, whose illegitimacy was never publicly acknowledged, but was asserted in his putative father's will:

(1) Sir Edward Betenson (1691-1762), 3rd bt. (q.v.).

He lived at Lincoln's Inn, London.

He was buried at Chislehurst, 12 March 1699/1700; his will, proved in the PCC, 19 March 1699/1700, declared the illegitimacy of his putative son, set out claims about his wife's adultery, and alleges that she and her mother twice attempted to poison him. His widow was buried at Wrotham, 31 Deember 1713.

* The will presents a dossier of evidence of his wife's adultery, and was backed up by witness statements, which were preserved by the family.

Betenson, Sir Edward (1691-1762), 3rd bt. Publicly, he was the son of Edward Betenson (1633-1700) and his wife Catherine, eldest daughter of Sir John Rayney, 2nd bt., of Wrotham (Kent), but he was probably the illegitimate son of his mother, born 14 February and baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 26 February 1690/1. An officer in the army (Ensign, 1713; Lt., 1727*; retired after 1740). He succeeded his first cousin as 3rd baronet, 17 October 1733, though his illegitimacy should have prevented that. He married, 24 September 1719 at Westminster (a clandestine marriage), Ursula (c.1698-1763), daughter of John Nicks of Fort St George (i.e. Madras) (India), merchant, and had issue:

(1) Helen Betenson (c.1720-88), born about 1720; executrix of her father's will; died unmarried aged 68 and was buried at Wrotham, 18 November 1788; by her will, proved in the PCC, 26 November 1788, she bequeathed £10,000 for the building of ten new houses in Bromley College to house poor widows;
(2) Sir Richard Betenson (1721-86), 4th bt. (q.v.).

He lived in the parish of St George, Bloomsbury.

He died 24 November 1762 and was buried at Wrotham (Kent); his will was proved in the PCC, 15 December 1762. His wife died 11 June 1763 and was buried at Wrotham.

* However he is described "Capt Edward Bettenson" in the parish register for the baptism of his son.

Betenson, Sir Richard (1721-86), 4th bt. Only son of Sir Edward Betenson (1691-1762), 3rd bt., and his wife Ursula, daughter of John Nicks of Fort St George (India), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 13 October 1721. He succeded his father as 4th baronet, 24 November 1762. High Sheriff of Kent, 1765-66. He married, 23 June 1756 at St Mary Magdalene, Richmond (Surrey), Lucretia (1721-58), daughter and co-heiress of Martin Folkes of Hillingdon (Norfk), president of the Royal Society, but had no issue.

He rented a town house in Queen Square, Bloomsbury from Lord Scarsdale. He inherited the Bradbourne Hall estate at Riverhead (Kent) in 1762 from his kinsman Henry Bosville, under whose will it passed, on his death, to Thomas Lane (d. 1805).

He died 15 June 1786, when his baronetcy became extinct, and was buried at Wrotham (Kent), 24 June 1786, where he is commemorated by a monument; administration of his goods was granted in June 1786. His wife died 26 June 1758 and was buried at Wrotham, where she is commemorated by a monument attributed to Roubiliac or Nicholas Read; her will was proved in the PCC, 16 June 1758.

Principal sources

Burke's Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies, 2nd edn., 1841, p. 60; E.A. Webb, G.W. Miller & J. Beckwith, The history of Chislehurst, 1899, pp. 111-69; Sevenoaks Chronicle and Kentish Advertiser, 30 April 1937, p.2; Orpington & District Archaeological Society, A Scadbury Manor chronology, 2014;

https://www.bradbournelakes.co.uk/conservation-restoration/history;

Location of archives

Betenson family of Scadbury, baronets: estate papers, 14th-20th cents [Bromley Historic Collections, 857, 1080]. Some further papers remain with their Selwyn descendants.

Betenson family of Bradbourne Hall: deeds and papers, 1422-18th cent. [Canterbury Cathedral Archives, U92].

Coat of arms

Argent, a fess gules in chief a lion passant, within a bordure engrailed ermine.

Can you help?

Can anyone provide photographs or portraits of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
If anyone can offer further information or corrections to any part of this article I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from current owners or the descendants of families associated with a property who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 23 May 2025 and was updated 24 May 2025. I am grateful to Richard Selwyn Sharpe for his assistance with this article.

Monday, 12 May 2025

(602) Best of Wynford Eagle, Barons Wynford

Best of Wynford Eagle, Barons Wynford

The story of this family, and the genealogy below, begins with William Draper Best (1767-1845), who was born at Haselbury Plucknett (Som.) near Crewkerne on the Somerset/Dorset border, as the third son of Thomas Best and his wife Betty Draper. Thomas Best seems to have belonged to the 'parish gentry' strata of society, a small-scale landowner who also held leasehold and copyhold lands. William was intended to make a career in the church, and with this in mind he was sent to Oxford, but in 1784 his cousin, Samuel Best of Burton Bradstock (Dorset), died and left most of his property to William and his brothers. The windfall was sufficient to allow William a greater choice of career, and he decided to abandon the university and study for the bar at the Inner Temple. Given his 'lively and clever' manner, it was probably a good decision, and although his knowledge of the law was questionable, his ability to argue a case quickly brought him a large practice. In 1800 he was made one of the serjeants-at-law, and in 1806 king's serjeant, positions which gave him access to plead in the highest courts at Westminster. From 1802-06 and 1812-19 he was also a member of parliament, initially as a Whig and later as a Tory; his allegiance being dictated less by principle than by personal advantage. His ready wit made him socially successful, and he was soon a member of the Prince of Wales' circle, a connection which bore fruit when the prince became Regent, with his appointment as Solicitor-General and then Attorney-General for the Prince, before in 1818 he became a judge. The latter stages of his career were blighted by an increasing affliction with gout, and it was probably this that eventually forced his retirement from judicial office in 1829. Having been knighted in 1819, he was made a peer as 1st Baron Wynford on his retirement, and he also became deputy speaker of the House of Lords, where in a concession to his infirmity, he was allowed to sit in an armchair. Eventually, even getting to Parliament became impossible, and he spent his last years in complete retirement at his house at Chislehurst (Kent), which he had rented from 1800, and of which he bought the freehold in 1824. He also bought the Wynford Eagle estate in Dorset. I have not been able to discover the precise date of this purchase, but it was in the family's possession by 1823, when his eldest son, William Samuel Best took out a game certificate. This suggests that the property may have been acquired for William Samuel, and it is therefore tempting to associate the acquisition with the latter's marriage in 1821, but it could equally well have been bought a few years earlier, when William Draper Best was MP for nearby Bridport, in 1812-17.

William Samuel Best (1798-1869), 2nd Baron Wynford, followed in his father's footsteps and became a barrister and, briefly, an MP, but he did not have his father's skills or motivation to build a career in either the law or parliament. Nor is he known to have spent much time on his estates. He sold his father's house at Chislehurst - then called Leesons - in about 1850, and lived chiefly at his house in Hanover Square, where he and his wife raised their family of four sons and one daughter. His four sons all went into the services; three of them into the army and one into the Navy. The eldest, William Draper Mortimer Best (1826-99), 3rd Baron Wynford, retired from the army in 1856, and was married soon afterwards to a daughter of the rich Scottish landowner and banker, Evan Baillie (1798-1883). He does seem to have been occasionally resident in Dorset, and was probably responsible for building the modest gabled house (originally called Wynford House but now Higher Wynford Farm) further up the valley from the old manor house, the first reference to which appears to date from 1863. The 3rd Baron and his wife had no surviving children, and so on his death the estate passed to his younger brother, Henry Molyneux Best (1829-1903), 4th Baron Wynford, whose career is something of a mystery. Although he clearly joined the Royal Navy and was a midshipman by 1845, he seems never to have gone on to become an officer. He lived most of his life in quiet, late Georgian Connaught Square, and devoted his time to botany and horticulture. He never married, and so at his death the peerage and Wynford Eagle estate passed to his nearest male relative, who was the eldest son of the 1st baron's fourth son, the Hon. & Rev. Samuel Best (1802-73). This was George Best (1838-1904), 5th Baron Wynford, who had settled at Charlton House, Donhead St Mary (Wilts), which he rented (although his widow and daughter later purchased the freehold). He only held the title for a year before being succeeded by his eldest son, Philip George Best (1871-1940), 6th Baron Wynford.

The 6th Baron does seem to have been resident on his estate (at Higher Wynford) after retiring from the army and the Dorset yeomanry, and between the First and Second World Wars he played a prominent role in local administration. He and his wife had three daughters, who all married and moved away, and at his death during the Second World War the estate passed to his younger brother, Samuel John Best (1874-1943), 7th Baron Wynford, most of whose career had been spent running tea plantations in India. By the time he inherited the estate he had retired to a mansion flat in Putney, and although he was eventually buried at Wynford Eagle he can have spent very little time there. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Robert Samuel Best (1917-2002), 8th Baron Wynford, who was a career soldier until retiring from the army in 1960. It was he who, in the early 1980s, moved the family seat back from Higher Wynford to the Manor House of Wynford Eagle and restored the property. The estate now belongs to his son, John Philip Robert Best (b. 1950), 9th Baron Wynford, who is a chartered surveyor, and who has a son and daughter to succeed him.

Pheasant Grove (alias Leesons), Chislehurst, Kent

A modest house, hardly more than a suburban villa, which was probably built in the mid 18th century and seems at first to have been called Pheasant Lodge. It was evidently of seven by two or three bays and may originally have had only two storeys.

Pheasant Grove: the entrance front in 1824, from sale particulars.

By the time it was first recorded in 1824 the house was of three storeys, with a three-bay pediment set against the attic storey. Although 18th century architects did use this form, it was never common, and the drawing shows the proportions of the top floor were a little more generous than those below, which quite strongly suggests the top floor was a later addition. In 1840, when the house was advertised for sale, it offered six principal bedrooms, three dressing-rooms, a morning room, a bow drawing room 27x24 feet with a handsome marble chimneypiece; a 30x22 ft dining room; a breakfast room; and an entrance hall, and stood in some fifty acres of grounds. The house was not sold on that occasion, but in 1850 the contents of the house were dispersed at a four day sale and it was probably sold soon afterwards.

Pheasant Grove alias Leesons, Chislehurst: site plan from 1st edn 6" map of 1868.

The house was evidently altered in the mid 19th century, for by 1868, when it was recorded on the 1st edition 6" Ordnance map, it had acquired an asymmetrically placed porch, but thereafter the footprint remained much the same. The house stood empty from about 1914, and was destroyed by a fire which started in the roof in May 1918. It was insured, but was replaced by a smaller building on the same site, which reverted to the original name of Pheasant Lodge. This in turn was pulled down in the mid 20th century and replaced by suburban housing.

Descent: Mr Taggart, who leased it from 1800 and sold it 1824 to Rt. Hon. Sir William Draper Best (1767-1845), 1st Baron Wynford; to son, William Samuel Best (1798-1869), 2nd Baron Wynford, who sold c.1850 to Richard Paterson (d. 1865); to daughter, widow of Joseph Busk, who let it 1881 to Sir Neville Lubbock (1839-1914) and later to Maj. Heales; to daughters, who sold 1900 to Joseph Brailsford, owner at the time of the fire in 1918.

Wynford Eagle Manor House (now Manor Farm), Dorset

According to the date on the porch, the present house was built in 1630 for William Sydenham (1593-1661), but although the compact plan and symmetrical west front date from that time, his works were actually a remodelling of a smaller, probably late 16th century house, which may have been built for his grandfather, Richard Sydenham (1534-1607). The earlier building was a south-facing single-depth house built of pale grey limestone rubble which remains visible on the south and east elevations. The evidence for the two phases of building is technical and was summarised by Gomme & Maguire in 2008. The most telling evidence is that the south front has two blocked doorways which had clearly already been blocked by the time that the plinth of the new house was built, for it continues across them; the south wall must therefore belong to an earlier building. Evidence in the roof suggests that the earlier house extended north more than half the depth of the present building, but its north wall was not reused in the remodelling of 1630.

Wynford Eagle Manor House: the west front in 1944. Image: Historic England

The work of 1630 moved the main entrance and the axis of the layout through ninety degrees, and saw the creation of a new entrance front on the west side, faced in fine-jointed Ham Hill ashlar; the new north side of the house was built more cheaply, with alternating bands of limestone and flint. At the centre of the west front is a projecting, three-storey porch with a small gable crowned by a large carved eagle finial, above two-light mullioned windows on the upper floors and a round-arched doorway. The house is unified by string courses above the ground and first-floor windows that extend across the whole frontage and continue onto the other elevations. The house is given a distinctive character by the gables either side of the porch, which are asymmetrical because the pitch of the roof on the inner side is steeper than that on the outer side. It is possible that this unusual arrangement was a consequence of retaining parts of the roof structure of the 16th century house over the south front; and that the north side was simply built to match. The ground floor of the west front has mullioned and transomed windows, but elsewhere the windows are simple three-light mullioned windows. Matching chimneystacks, with four diagonal-set shafts and built off the the central transverse wall, increase the symmetrical effect.

Wynford Eagle Manor House: the west front and 16th century south elevation, Image: Brian Kingsland/Historic England

The south front of the house is continued further east by a once-separate block, which seems to belong to the late 16th century phase, but wich was incorporated into the house in 1630 and became the kitchen.

Wynford Eagle Manor House: ground floor plan (after Gomme & Maguire).
Key: H=Hall; CP=Common Parlour; K=Kitchen/Winter Parlour; GP=Great Parlour

This allowed all four rooms on the ground floor of the main block to be used for family and reception purposes. There are two rooms on the north side and two on the south, while between them is a circulating space comprised of a fairly narrow entrance passage, which broadens out into a vestibule and staircase hall. The staircase now rises only to the first floor, but may once have continued to the attic rooms, which are lit only from the west. One room on the first floor is panelled and has a four-centred arched stone fireplace with moulded jambs and a timber overmantel of two bays with attached Ionic columns. The flat panels under the arches between the columns were painted later in the 17th century with fantasy landscapes.

In the late 19th century, the Best family moved to a new house, Wynford House, which they built further up the valley, and the old manor house declined into a farmhouse. However, after many years the 8th Lord Wynford moved back in c.1981.

Descent: John La Zouche (c.1486-1550), 8th Baron Zouche; sold 1545 to Thomas Sydenham (d. 1577); to son, Richard Sydenham (1534-1607); to grandson, William Sydenham (1593-1661); to son, William Sydenham (1615-61); to son, William Sydenham (1640-1718); ... sold to George Richards (d. 1746); to brother, Rev. John Richards (fl. 1774)... sold by 1823 to Sir William Draper Best (1767-1845), 1st Baron Wynford; to son, William Samuel Best (1798-1869), 2nd Baron Wynford; to son, William Draper Mortimer Best (1826-99), 3rd Baron Wynford; to brother, Henry Molyneux Best (1829-1903), 4th Baron Wynford; to cousin, George Best (1838-1904), 5th Baron Wynford; to son, Philip George Best (1871-1940), 6th Baron Wynford; to brother, Samuel John Best (1874-1943), 7th Baron Wynford; to son, Robert Samuel Best (1917-2002), 8th Baron Wynford; to son, John Philip Robert Best (b. 1950), 9th Baron Wynford.

Best family of Wynford Eagle

1st Baron Wynford
Best, Rt. Hon. Sir William Draper (1767-1845), kt., 1st Baron Wynford. Third son of Thomas Best of Haslebury Plucknett (Som.) and his wife Betty Draper, born 13 December 1767. Educated at Crewkerne School, Wadham College, Oxford (matriculated 1782), and the Middle Temple (admitted 1784; called 1789). He was initially intended for the church, but left Oxford without taking a degree when he inherited a substantial legacy from a cousin, and trained instead for the law. He became a barrister on the Home circuit, where he attracted the attention of Lord Kenyon to whose patronage he owed his early professional success. He was made a Serjeant-at-law, 1800; King's Serjeant, 1806; and first achieved judicial office as Recorder of Guildford, 1809. Whig MP for Petersfield, 1802-06, and Tory MP for Bridport, 1812-17 and Guildford, 1818-19; Solicitor-General to the Prince of Wales, 1813-16; Attorney-General to the Prince of Wales, 1816-19; Second Justice of Chester, 1817-18; Chief Justice of Chester, 1818; a Judge of King's Bench, 1818-24; Chief Justice of Common Pleas, 1824-29. He was knighted, 1819, sworn of the Privy Council, 1824, and raised to the peerage as 1st Baron Wynford, 5 June 1829, becoming Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords, 1829. He was awarded an honorary degree by Oxford University (DCL, 1834). Best was described in an obituary in the Law Magazine as a 'man of pleasure' whose devotion to the opposite sex 'amounted to a controlling passion' and in 1805 he was charged with a sexual assault on a client, but acquitted. The same writer said: 'he seems to have been governed but by one rule of action in politics, to aid that side from which most might be expected', an attitude in which he was far from being alone in his generation. As a barrister, it was said of him that 'though superficial in legal knowledge, his readiness of comprehension and fluency of speech' led to his having a large practice and appearing in important criminal trials. As a judge, 'his hasty and questionable opinions' and 'his summing up so much to one side' led to his being nicknamed 'the judge advocate'. According to Lady Louisa Stuart, 'he is too lively and too clever to put on gravity and speaks his mind outright on all subjects', and it has been suggested that he was offered a peerage and the deputy speakership of the Lords to induce him to give up judicial office, but his retirement was more probably the result of an increasing affliction with gout. He married, 6 May 1794 at St Dunstan-in-the-West, London, Mary Anne (1768-1840), second daughter of Jerome Knapp, Clerk of the Haberdashers Company, and had issue:

(1) William Chapple Best (b. & d. 1795), born 7 July 1795; died in infancy and was buried at St George, Bloomsbury (Middx), 9 July 1795;
(2) Hon. Grace Anne Best (1796-1868), born 31 July and baptised at St George, Bloomsbury (Middx), 24 August 1796; married, 23 July 1814 at St Giles-in-the-Fields, Holborn (Middx), Philip Lake Godsal (1784-1858) of Iscoyd Park (Flints.), son of Philip Godsal, coach-maker, and had issue at least one son and three daughters; buried at Malpas (Ches.), 25 February 1868; will proved 11 March 1868 (effects under £3,000);
(3) William Samuel Best (1798-1869), 2nd Baron Wynford (q.v.);
(4) Vice-Adm. the Hon. Thomas Best (1799-1864), born 12 August and baptised at Croydon (Surrey), 6 September 1799; an officer in the Royal Navy from 1812 (Midshipman, 1814; Lt., 1822; Cdr., 1828; Capt., 1830; Vice-Adm., 1855; retired on half-pay, 1830); married, 25 August 1835, Marianne (1807-66), second daughter of George Kenyon, 2nd Baron Kenyon, and had issue at least two sons; died in Kensington (Middx), 4 September 1864; administration of goods granted to his widow, 18 October 1864 (effects under £40,000);
(5) Mary Anne Best (1801-02), born 3 April and baptised at St Pancras (Middx), 10 May 1801; died in infancy, 5 April 1802;
(6) Rev. the Hon. Samuel Best (1802-73) (q.v.);
(7) Sarah Betty Best (1804-05?), born 18 June and baptised at St George, Bloomsbury (Middx), 6 July 1804; said to have died in infancy, 23 July 1805;
(8) Jerome Best (1806-18), born 18 March and baptised at St George, Bloomsbury, 21 April 1806; educated at Eton (admitted 1817); died at the school and was buried at Eton, 28 October 1818;
(9) Hon. Anne James Best (1808-36), born 7 February and baptised at St George, Bloomsbury, 30 March 1808; married, 25 July 1826 at St Giles-in-the-Fields, Holborn (Middx), Adm. Sir William Fanshawe Martin (1801-95), 4th bt., KCB (who m2, 21 May 1838, Sophia Elizabeth (d. 1874), daughter of Robert Hurt of Wirksworth and had further issue one son and five daughters), of Lockinge (Berks), and had issue two sons (who died young) and two daughters; died 1 April 1836 and was buried at Hastings (Sussex);
(10) Hon. John Charles Best (1809-40), born 9 December 1809 and baptised at St Giles-in-the-Fields, Holborn (Middx), 18 January 1810; an officer in the army (Ensign, 1827; Lt., 1829; Capt., 1834); drowned off Norfolk Island (Australia) by the upsetting of a boat, 13 February 1840.

He leased Pheasant Grove, Chislehurst (Kent) from 1800 onwards and bought the freehold in 1824, changing its name to Leesons. He purchased the Wynford Eagle estate before 1823.

He died at Leesons, 3 March 1845; his will was proved in the PCC, 8 April 1845. His wife died 5 March 1840 and was buried at Foots Cray (Kent).

Best, William Samuel (1798-1869), 2nd Baron Wynford. Second, but eldest surviving son of Rt. Hon. Sir William Draper Best, 1st Baron Wynford, and his wife Mary Anne, second daughter of Jerome Knapp, clerk of the Haberdashers Company, born 19 February and baptised at St Pancras (Middx), 22 April 1798. Educated at Eton, Brasenose College, Oxford (matriculated 1814; BA 1818; MA 1821) and the Inner Temple (admitted as a child, 1805; called 1823). Barrister-at-law; MP for St. Michael's, 1831-32, and unsuccessfully contested the Barnstaple constituency in 1837. He succeeded his father as 2nd Baron Wynford, 3 March 1845. He married, 17 July 1821 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Jane (1803-95), daughter of William Thoyts of Sulhampstead (Berks), and had issue:

(1) Hon. Anne Louisa Best (1825-99), born 11 March and baptised at St George, Bloomsbury (Middx), 4 May 1825; married, 7 April 1858 at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, Maj-Gen. Patrick Yule (1792-1873), son of James Yule, but had no issue; died 22 April 1899; her will was confirmed in Edinburgh, 28 July 1899 (estate £17,267);
(2) William Draper Mortimer Best (1826-99), 3rd Baron Wynford (q.v.);
(3) Hon. Frederic Barnewall Best (1827-76), born 18 August 1827 and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, 26 April 1828; an officer in the 2nd Bengal Fusiliers (Lt., 1849; Capt., 1863; retired 1863) and later one of the Gentlemen at Arms (the Queen's Bodyguard), from 1867; married 1st, 9 June 1864 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster, Charlotte Elizabeth (1841-65), eldest daughter of Francis Hart Dyke, and had issue one son, who died in infancy; he married 2nd, 24 November 1870 at Melcombe Regis (Dorset), Frances Hinton (1837-1912) (who m3, 19 September 1882 at Melcombe Regis, Sir Thomas Fraser Grove (1824-97), 1st bt.), only child of Henry Northcote of Okefield, Crediton (Devon), barrister-at-law, and widow of Capt. Herbert Edward George Crosse (1837-65); died at Weymouth (Dorset), 5 January, and was buried at Brompton Cemetery (Middx), 11 January 1876; will proved 25 January 1876 (effects under £12,000);
(4) Henry Molyneux Best (1829-1903), 4th Baron Wynford (q.v.);
(5) Hon. Robert Rainy Best (1834-1903), born 21 August and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, 17 September 1834; an officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1852; Ensign, 1854; Lt., 1854; Capt. 1855?); married 1st, 8 March 1856 at St Mary Abbotts, Kensington (Middx), Maria Addison (1837-81), daughter of Thomas Augustus Swaysland of Crawley (Sussex), but had no issue; and 2nd, 18 April 1882 at Charlton (Kent), Meynella Katherine Hilda (1862-99), daughter of Capt. Frederick Augustus Percy Wood, Royal Marines, and had issue one son (who died in infancy) and one daughter; died at Torquay (Devon), 2 February 1903; will proved 17 March 1903 (estate £21,712).

He lived in Hanover Sq. and later Park Place, St James', Westminster. He inherited Leesons and the Wynford Eagle estate from his father in 1845, but sold the former in about 1850.

He died 28 February and was buried at Brompton Cemetery (Middx), 6 March 1869; his will was proved 24 March 1869 (effects under £120,000). His widow died aged 91 on 23 February 1895; administration of her goods (with will annexed) was granted to her son, Henry, 18 April 1895 (effects £13,066).

Best, William Draper Mortimer (1826-99), 3rd Baron Wynford. Eldest son of William Samuel Best (1798-1869), 2nd Baron Wynford, and his wife Jane, daughter of William Thoyts of Sulhamstead (Berks), born 2 August and baptised at St George, Bloomsbury (Middx), 19 December 1826. An officer in the army (Ensign, 1844; Lt., 1847; Capt. 1854; retired 1856). He succeeded his father as 3rd Baron Wynford, 28 February 1869. He married, 17 December 1857 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Caroline Eliza Montagu (1829-1913), daughter of Evan Baillie (1798-1883) of Dochfour, and had issue:

(1) Algernon Best (1858-59), born 26 December 1858 and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), 16 January 1859; died in infancy, 18 January 1859.

He probably built Wynford House (now Higher Wynford Farm) - first mentioned in 1863 - during his father's lifetime, and inherited the Wynford Eagle estate from his father in 1869.

He died 27 August and was buried at Brompton Cemetery (Middx), 30 August 1899. His widow died 16 January 1913; administration of her goods was granted 5 March 1913 (estate £188,869).

Best, Henry Molyneux (1829-1903), 4th Baron Wynford. Third son of William Samuel Best (1798-1869), 2nd Baron Wynford, and his wife Jane, daughter of William Thoyts of Sulhamstead (Berks), born 7 November and baptised at St George, Hanover Square, Westminister (Middx), 11 December 1829. He evidently had a career in the Royal Navy (Midshipman by 1845), which he still felt it relevant to record ('late R.N.') in the 1881 census, but I have been unable to trace any record of him being commissioned and he seems not to appear in the Navy List. He was a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society from 1867 and the Royal Botanical Society (a member of Council from 1872); and a Member of the Royal Institution from 1869. He succeeded his elder brother as 4th Baron Wynford, 27 August 1899. He was unmarried and had no issue.

He lived at 7 Connaught Sq., Westminster, and inherited the Wynford Eagle estate from his brother in 1899.

He died at Paignton (Devon), 28 October and was buried at Brompton Cemetery, 3 November 1903; his will was proved 15 December 1903 (estate £60,484).

Best, Rev. the Hon. Samuel (1802-73). Fourth son of Rt. Hon. Sir William Draper Best, 1st Baron Wynford, and his wife Mary Anne, second daughter of Jerome Knapp, clerk of the Haberdashers Company, born 2 December 1802. Educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1822; BA 1826; MA 1830). Fellow of King's College, Cambridge, 1825-26; ordained deacon, 1825, and priest, 1826; rector of Blandford St Mary (Dorset), 1830-34, and of Abbotts Ann (Hants), 1831-73; chaplain to his father, 1831; Rural Dean of Andover, 1854-73; elected by the clergy of the archdeaconry of Winchester as their proctor in convocation, 1859, 1865; honorary canon of Winchester Cathedral, 1872-73. A well-known Evangelical clergyman, he was the author of many works, principally on parochial matters and collections of sermons, and founded the Abbotts Ann Provident Society in 1831. He married 1st, 11 April 1826, Charlotte Willis (1805-33), daughter of Sir James Burrough, judge of the Court of Common Pleas; and 2nd, 21 February 1835, Emma (1809-91), daughter of Lt-Col. Charles Duke, and had issue:

(2.1) Hon. Mary Margaret Best (1836-1913), born 10 May and baptised at Chislehurst (Kent), 5 June 1836; granted rank of a baron's daughter, 1904; married, 8 May 1859 at Abbotts Ann, Rev. Sir James Erasmus Philipps (1824-1912), 12th bt., vicar of Warminster (Wilts) and canon of Salisbury Cathedral, and had issue six sons (of whom three obtained peerages as 1st Viscount St Davids, 1st Baron Kylsant, and 1st Baron Milford) and five daughters; died 5 September 1913 and was buried with her husband in the cloister of Salisbury Cathedral, in which they are commemorated by a monument; administration of her goods was granted 14 November 1913 (estate £773);
(2.2) George Best (1838-1904), 5th Baron Wynford (q.v.);
(2.3) Grace Emma Best (1840-64), born 17 October and baptised at Abbotts Ann, 2 December 1840; married, 27 February 1862 at Abbotts Ann, Rev. Florence Thomas Wethered (1840-1919), vicar of Hurley (Berks), 1868-1919 (who m2, 4 December 1867 at Hurley, Mary Josephine (1840-1931), daughter of Joseph Bonsor, and had further issue), son of Rev. Florence John Wethered, and had issue one son and one daughter; died 10 October 1864;
(2.4) Hon. John Charles Best (1842-1907), born 13 May and baptised at Abbotts Ann, 18 June 1842; an officer in the Royal Navy from 1855 (Lt., 1862; Cdr., 1869; retired as Capt., 1884); JP for Denbighshire and Merionethshire; High Sheriff of Denbighshire, 1888-89; founder of the North Wales Sheep Dog Society, 1867, whose annual trials received the patronage of Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra; Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, 1871; Conservator of the River Dee Fishery District, 1875; President of the Llangollen Club, 1877-78; granted rank of a baron's younger son, 1904; married, 2 April 1873 at Llangollen (Denbighs.), Mary (d. 1927), daughter of William Wagstaff (d. 1877) of Plas yn Vivod, Llangollen, and had issue one son; died 25 May 1907; administration of goods granted 31 October 1907 (estate £814);
(2.5) Hon. Thomas William Best (1844-1909), born 23 January and baptised at Abbotts Ann, 8 April 1844; an officer in the army (Ensign, 1863; Lt., 1866; Capt., 1876; Maj., 1881; retired 1883); adjutant to Hallamshire Rifles, 1879-83; Chief Constable of Merionethshire, 1883-1907; granted rank of a baron's younger son, 1904; married, 16 September 1879 at Hurworth-on-Tees (Co. Durham), Harriet Royds (1858-1935), third surviving daughter of Henry Anthony Grey of The Hall, Hurworth-on-Tees and Brent House, Meole Brace (Shrops.), and had issue two sons; died at Barmouth (Merioneths.), 3 January, and was buried at Llanaber (Merioneths.), 6 January 1909; will proved 26 February 1909 (estate £784);
(2.6) Hon. Fanny Gertrude Sophia Best (1845-1904), born 3 September and baptised at Abbotts Ann, 1 October 1845; granted rank of a baron's daughter, 1904; died unmarried, 26 November 1904; will proved 17 January 1905 (estate £11,790).

He died 20 January and was buried at Abbotts Ann, 24 January 1873; his will was proved 11 March 1873 (effects under £25,000). His first wife died 23 September 1833. His widow lived latterly at Mentone (France) and died at Aix-les-Bains (France) 7 September 1891; her will proved 27 October 1891 (effects £527).

Best, George (1838-1904), 5th Baron Wynford. Eldest son of Rev. the Hon. Samuel Best (1802-73) and his second wife Emma, daughter of Lt-Col. Charles Duke, born 14 December 1838 and baptised at Abbotts Ann (Hants), 21 January 1839. Educated at Rugby and Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. An officer in the Royal Artillery (Lt., 1858; Capt. 1871; Maj., 1879; retired as Lt-Col., 1883). JP for Wiltshire and Dorset. Chairman of Wiltshire Agriculture Committee. He succeded his cousin as 5th Baron Wynford, 28 October 1903, but only held the title for a year before his death. He married, 7 September 1870 at Weyhill (Hants), Editha Anne (1846-1924), daughter of Matthew Henry Marsh MP of Ramridge, Andover (Hants), and had issue:

(1) Philip George Best (1871-1940), 6th Baron Wynford (q.v.);
(2) Hon. Margaret Mary Best (1872-1941), born 6 October and baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich (Kent), 15 November 1872; worked as a Red Cross nurse during and after the First World War, and later as Honorary Secretary of School Empire Tour Committee, and during the Second World War as a postal censor; Fellow of British Empire Society; appointed OBE, 1929 and CBE, 1938; died unmarried, 30 November 1941; her will was proved 3 April 1942 (estate £15,311);
(3) Samuel John Best (1874-1943), 7th Baron Wynford (q.v.);
(4) Hon. Gertrude Emma Best (1876-1953), born 10 November and was baptised at Weyhill (Hants), 24 December 1876; trained as a nurse at St Thomas' Hospital, London, 1903-06; Associate of Royal Red Cross; state registered nurse, 1922; Asst. Matron of St Thomas's Hospital, 1913-24 and founder and matron of Tower House Emergency Medical Service Hospital, Salisbury, 1940-45; Chairman of Wiltshire County Nursing Association; awarded MBE, 1941; inherited Charlton House from her mother in 1924 but sold it and lived latterly at Charlton Parva with her younger sister; died unmarried, 19 October 1953; will proved 15 January 1954 (estate £22,371);
(5) Admiral Hon. Sir Matthew Robert Best (1878-1940), born 18 June 1878; an officer in the Royal Navy from 1892 (Midshipman; Lt., 1900; Cdr., 1911; Capt., 1916; Rear-Adm., 1928; Vice-Adm. 1932; Adm. 1936; retired 1939), who served in the First World War and was decorated for his role in the Battle of Jutland; appointed MVO, 1910; DSO, 1916, and bar, 1918; CB, 1928 and KCB, 1935; awarded Russian Order of St Stanislaus and Japanese Order of Rising Sun; a popular and decisive naval commander who was esteemed by his superiors and many of those under his command, though he did not suffer fools gladly; married, 2 January 1908 at Holy Trinity, Sloane St., Chelsea (Middx), Annis Elizabeth (1880-1971), second daughter of Charles Frederick Wood of West Woodhay House (Berks) and later of Twyford House (Hants), and had issue one son and one daughter; lived latterly at Crockway, Frampton (Dorset); died 13 October 1940 and was buried at Toller Fratrum (Dorset); administration of goods (with will annexed) granted to his widow, 31 January 1941 (estate £9,486);
(6) Grace Edith Best (1879-99), born 1 September and baptised at St Michael, Coventry (Warks), 21 October 1879; died unmarried of pneumonia, 20 May 1899;
(7) Hon. Helen Best (1880-1959), born 5 November 1880 and baptised at St Michael, Coventry, 6 January 1881; married, 12 July 1910 at Holy Trinity, Sloane St., Chelsea (Middx), Arthur Gerald Wilson (c.1870-1918), solicitor, son of Rev. Charles Wilson of Bickley (Kent), and had issue one daughter; died 7 January 1959; will proved 11 June 1959 (estate £15,076);
(8) Hon. James William Best (1882-1960), born 3 May and baptised at St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich, 15 June 1882; educated at Wellington Coll and Cooper's Hill; an official of the Indian Forest Service and an officer in the Indian Auxiliary Force (Capt.); retired to England and became a dairy farmer at Beaminster (Dorset) and a Verderer of the New Forest; JP for Dorset; awarded OBE, 1919; married, 11 August 1914 at Lytchett Minster (Dorset), Florence Mary Bernarda (1885-1961), daughter of Sir Elliott Lees, 1st bt. of Lytchet Manor, and had issue four sons and two daughters; died 16 July 1960; cremated and ashes buried at Melplash (Dorset), 20 July 1960; will proved 21 October 1960 (estate £22,669);
(9) Hon. Bertha Beatrice Best (1884-1961), born 26 June 1884; married, 7 January 1920 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster (Middx), Lt-Col. Guy Montague Atkinson DSO (1882-1956) of Penleigh House, Westbury (Wilts), elder son of Lt-Col. Guy Newcomen Atkinson of Cangort (Co. Offaly), but had no issue; died 10 June and was buried at Dilton Marsh, 26 June 1961; will proved 21 November 1961 (estate £31,225);
(10) Hon. Marion Frances Best (1887-1969), born 27 July and was baptised at Donhead St Mary, 17 September 1887; lived at Charlton Parva, Donhead St Mary (Wilts); died unmarried, 6 September 1969; will proved 16 December 1969 (estate £25,273).

He lived at Charlton House, Donhead St Mary (Wilts), which he rented from 1884; his widow and her daughter Gertrude bought the freehold in 1913. He inherited the Wynford Eagle estate from his cousin in 1903.

He died 27 October 1904; his will was proved 12 January 1905 (estate £26,067). His widow died 31 May 1924, and was buried at Charlton (Wilts); her will was proved 17 July 1924 (estate £9,740).

6th Baron Wynford
Best, Philip George (1871-1940), 6th Baron Wynford. Eldest son of George Best (1838-1904), 5th Baron Wynford, and his wife Edith Anne, daughter of Matthew Henry Marsh MP of Ramridge, Andover (Hants), born 27 August and baptised at Abbotts Ann (Hants), 24 September 1871. Educated at Wellington College and Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. An officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1890; Lt., 1893; Capt., 1900; retired 1904) and later in Dorset Yeomanry (Lt., 1906; Capt., 1906; Maj., 1909; Lt-Col., 1916), who served in the First World War (wounded; mentioned in despatches; awarded DSO, 1917); JP (from 1905) and DL (from 1919) for Dorset; County Councillor for Dorset, 1916-35; Chairman of Mental Hospital Committee, 1931-34; Vice-President of the Bath & West Agricultural Society. A staunch churchman, he was a member of the Salisbury Diocesan Board of Finance, and Chairman of the Dorset Voluntary Schools Association. He succeeded his father as 6th Baron Wynford, 27 October 1904. He married, 16 October 1906 at All Souls, Langham Place, Marylebone (Middx), Hon. Eva Lilian Cecilia (1885-1974), only child of Robert William Napier, 2nd Baron Napier of Magdala, and had issue:

(1) Hon. Grace Janet Mary Best (1907-2002), born 27 August 1907; married, 12 November 1930 at St Paul, Knightsbridge (Middx), Edward Kenneth Macleod Hilleary MVO (1904-73) of Lordington Park (Sussex), second son of Maj. Edward Langdale Hilleary OBE of The Lodge, Edinbane, Isle of Skye, and had issue three daughters; died 4 January 2002; will proved 17 June 2002;
(2) Hon. Eva Constance Edith Best (1909-99), born 11 February 1909; married, 23 April 1932 at Maiden Newton (Dorset) (div. 1961), Philip Valentine Mackinnon (1908-95), only son of Rt. Hon. Sir Frank Douglas Mackinnon, Lord Justice of Appeal, but had no issue; died 1 May 1999; will proved 2 June 1999;
(3) Hon. Mary Jemima Best (1912-2007), born 23 August 1912; married, 2 September 1944, Jack Hendy (1915-93), 'a Communist electrician and trade unionist', and had issue two sons (who both became life peers, in 2019 and 2022 respectively); said to have died in 2007.

He inherited the Wynford Eagle estate from his father in 1904.

In 1939, he emigrated to South Africa for health reasons, and he died at Stellenbosch, Western Cape, 15 December 1940; his will was proved 8 August 1941 (estate £183,714). His widow died in Salisbury (Rhodesia), 23 March 1974; administration of her goods (with will annexed) was granted in Cape Town (South Africa) and sealed in London, 21 April 1975 (effects in England & Wales £5,522).

Best, Samuel John (1874-1943), 7th Baron Wynford. Second son of George Best (1838-1904), 5th Baron Wynford, and his wife Edith Anne, daughter of Matthew Henry Marsh MP of Ramridge, Andover (Hants), born 24 June 1874. Educated at Wellington College, after which he spent some years farming in New Zealand; he then moved to Bengal (now Bangladesh) where became a tea planter with Octavius Steel & Co., and after some years in their Calcutta office returned to England as a partner in the firm. While abroad, he served with the New Zealand Mounted Rifles and the Surma Light Horse (Assam), but during the First World War he was an officer in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (Lt.). He succeeded his elder brother as 7th Baron Wynford, 15 December 1940. He married 1st, 26 August 1914 at Darjeeling (India), Evelyn Mary Aylmer (1887-1929), second daughter of Maj-Gen. Sir Edward Sinclair May KCB CMG, and 2nd, 5 June 1930, Margeurite Jane (1890-1966), daughter of Charles Pratt of the Indian Railway Service, and widow of William Kenneth Allies (1881-1922), and had issue:

(1.1) Hon. Edith Joy Marion Best (1915-93), born in Calcutta (India), 14 August 1915; married, 3 April 1937 at Merrow (Surrey), Cdr. Walpole John Eyre RN (1906-87) of Sadborow Myll, Thorncombe (Dorset), son of Rev. George Frederick Eyre of West Hill, Lyme Regis (Dorset), and had issue one son and one daughter, and also adopted one daughter; died 4 February 1993; will proved 26 October 1993 (estate £725,351);
(1.2) Robert Samuel Best (1917-2002), 8th Baron Wynford (q.v.);
(1.3) John Philip Best (1919-40), born in Calcutta, 14 March 1919; an officer in the Royal Navy (Midshipman, 1937; Sub-Lt., 1939; mentioned in despatches, 1940), who was lost when HM Submarine Spearfish was sunk by U-boat U34, 2 August 1940; administration of goods (with will annexed) granted 5 May 1941 (estate £2,694);
(1.4) Hon. Patrick George Matthew Best (1923-2009), born in Calcutta, 5 October 1923; educated at Wellington Coll; an officer in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (Midshipman, 1943; Sub-Lt., 1943) in Second World War; employed by Wiggins Teape Ltd. from 1946 (director from 1968; deputy chairman, 1978; chairman and managing director, 1979); director of BAT Industries, 1979-84 and of Rank Hovis Macdougall; Master of Ironmongers Company, 1985-86; a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts; appointed an officer of the Belgian Order of the Crown, 1980; married 1st, 29 March 1947 at St Mark, North Audley St., Westminster (Middx), Heather Elizabeth (1924-99), younger daughter of Hamilton Gardner of South Kensington (Middx), and had issue four sons and one daughter; married 2nd, 1 April 2000, Anne Loveday Ayscough (1931-2005), daughter of Kenneth Ayscough England; lived latterly at Monks House, Petersfield (Hants); died 30 October 2009; will proved 6 September 2010.

He lived in a flat in one of the blocks built on the site of Wildcroft Manor in Putney (Surrey). He inhertied the Wynford Eagle estate from his elder brother in 1940.

He died in Putney (Surrey), 29 August, and was buried at Wynford Eagle, 3 September 1943; his will was proved 8 March 1944 (estate £138,855). His first wife died 28 March 1929; her will was proved 12 June 1929 (estate £1,719). His widow died in Cheltenham (Glos), 28 March 1966; her will was proved 20 October 1966 (estate £10,832).

8th Baron Wynford
Best, Robert Samuel (1917-2002), 8th Baron Wynford. Eldest son of Samuel John Best (1874-1943), 7th Baron Wynford, and his first wife, Evelyn Mary Aylmer, second daughter of Maj-Gen. Sir Edward Sinclair May KCB CMG, born in Calcutta (India), 5 January 1917. Educated at Eton and Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. An officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1937; Lt., 1940; Capt., 1945; Maj., 1950; Lt-Col., 1957; retired 1960), who served in the Second World War (wounded, awarded Croix de Guerre, 1943); appointed MBE, 1952. DL for Dorset (from 1970). He succeeded his father as 8th Baron Wynford, 29 August 1943. He married, 6 May 1941 at Holy Trinity, Brompton (Middx), Anne Daphne Mametz (1918-2002), only daughter of Maj-Gen. John Randle Minshull-Ford CB DSO MC of Windlesham (Surrey), and had issue:

(1) Hon. Caroline Anne Sabina Best (b. 1942), born 28 March 1942; educated at Trinity College, Dublin; married, 24 October 1964, Edward Patrick Gundry (1935-2013), elder son of Edward Fox Gundry (1909-94), and had issue one son and two daughters; living in 2023;
(2) Hon. Jacqueline Dorothy Mametz Best (b. 1946), born 9 November 1946; married, 7 June 1969, Jeremy James Richard Pope OBE DL (b. 1943), solicitor, of Maiden Newton (Dorset), and had issue three sons; living in 2023;
(3) John Philip Robert Best (b. 1950), 9th Baron Wynford (q.v.).

He inherited the Wynford Eagle estate from his father in 1943.

He died 21 January 2002; his will was proved 20 September 2002. His widow died 25 October 2002; her will was proved 8 September 2003.

Best, John Philip Robert (b. 1950), 9th Baron Wynford. Only son of Robert Samuel Best (1917-2002), 8th Baron Wynford, and his wife Anne Daphne Mametz, only daughter of Maj-Gen. John Randle Minshull-Ford CB DSO MC, born 23 November 1950. Educated at Radley College, Keele University (BA 1974), and Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester (MRAC, 1977). Landowner and chartered surveyor (MRICS, 1979). He succeeded his father as 9th Baron Wynford, 21 January 2002. He married, 10 October 1981, Fenella Christian Mary (b. 1952), only daughter of Capt. Arthur Reginald Danks MBE (d. 1996), and had issue:

(1) Hon. Sophie Hannah Elizabeth Best (b. 1985), born 18 November 1985; management and business consultant in Dorchester (Dorset);
(2) Hon. Harry Robert Francis Best (b. 1987), born 9 May 1987; heir apparent to the barony.

He took over the management of the Wynford Eagle estate from his father in 1981.

Now living. His wife is now living.