(126) Anderdon of Henlade House

Anderdon of Henlade House

The Anderdons are one of the rare gentry families who despite holding a country house throughout the 19th and most of the 20th centuries, largely escaped the attention of successive compilers of Burke's Landed Gentry, perhaps because the estate moved between different branches of the family with almost every generation. The slightly unusual name is occasionally spelled Anderton, and is often mistranscribed as Anderson, but 'Anderdon' seems to be the spelling consistently used by the family themselves.

The Anderdons were settled in Bridgwater and its vicinity in the 17th century, when one John Anderdon was a leading nonconformist. Another John Anderton (1695-1744) took a medical degree at Oxford and became a surgeon in the town from the 1720s onwards. In 1738 he bought the site of Bridgwater Castle from the Duke of Chandos, and it seems likely that one of the houses with large gardens occupying the former castle bailey became his home and the base for his practice.  He probably also acquired land at Ruishton (Somerset), later the Henlade House estate, from his wife's family, as the Proctors had been settled there for many generations.  A house existed at Henlade by 1791, when John's eldest son, Robert Proctor Anderdon (1723-1809) was living there, but the present building was constructed for Charles Proctor Anderdon (d. 1824) after he inherited the estate from his uncle in 1809, and after a three-year tenancy expired in 1812.  

When Charles died without issue, he left all his property to his widow, Sarah Panton Anderdon, who died in 1867 at the great age of 92. Her heir was a distant kinsman of her husband, John Edmund Anderdon (1829-72), who came from a branch of the family which had long had mercantile and artistic interests in London and Bristol. The family firm of Manning & Anderdon were involved in the West Indies trade, and several members of the family had estates in Antigua and elsewhere on which slaves were kept until abolition.  John Proctor Anderdon (1760-1846) was one of those compensated at the time of abolition, and with a rather grim irony he chose shackle bolts as the heraldic device for his coat of arms. Manning & Anderdon became bankrupt in 1831 but John had then long since ceased to be a partner and it is not clear to what extent his fortune was affected.  

Beech House, Bransgore, shortly
before demolition in the 1960s

Having remodelled Beech House at Bransgore (Hants) in about 1816 he sold it about this time, which may suggest a call on his capital, but by the mid 1830s he was leasing Farley Hall in Berkshire.  Neither of these houses was with the family for very long.

Both John Edmund Anderdon (1829-72) and his father, John Lavicount Anderdon (1792-1874) were living at Henlade at the time of the 1871 census, but when John Edmund died without issue the following year the estate passed to his uncle, Capt. Hobart Grant Anderdon (1815-88) and was let. Hobart's heir was his great-nephew, Henry Edward Murray (1849-1922), who took the additional name of Anderdon and became the Secretary of Somerset County Cricket Club, in which capacity he was responsible for acquiring the County Ground and establishing the club amongst the first class counties. He re-established the family at Henlade and bequeathed it to his cousin, Herbert Edward Salt (1870-1938), who again took the name of Anderdon.  He had been a fruit farmer in California since the 1890s but came back to England to take up his inheritance, and lived at Henlade in the 1930s.  His son, Henry Manisty Anderdon (1900-85) let the house in the 1940s and 1950s but later occupied it himself, and it was only after he and his wife died within a few months of one another in 1985 that Henlade was finally sold out of the family and became an hotel.

Henlade House, Ruishton, Somerset

A house existed at Henlade by 1791 which was described in 1809 by Fanny Chapman as "a wretched place, so extremely old and out of repair, all but the sitting rooms, which are excellent and the grounds as beautiful as the house is ugly, with an excellent garden."

Henlade House: entrance front, 2014. Image: Nicholas Kingsley. Licenced under this Creative Commons licence

Henlade House

The present north-facing, five bay, two-storey house of stuccoed red brick was built between 1812 and 1815, reputedly to the designs of an Italian architect, although nothing about the building now suggests this. The entrance front has an apparently contemporary Ionic porch with fluted columns. Inside the house has an octagonal entrance hall leading through to a staircase hall with a cantilevered stone staircase with iron balustrade and mahogany handrails.  These two rooms were both redecorated in the Aesthetic movement style in about 1870-72, and elements of this decoration survive in the entrance hall.  At the same time the stables and red brick gate lodges were built. In the 1890s a billiard room was added to the south-west corner of the house and the west front was given its present symmetrical appearance with shallow full-height bays at either end. The house was converted as a hotel in the mid 1980s and was operated as the Mount Somerset Hotel until it closed during the COVID Pandemic in 2020.

Descent: Robert Proctor Anderdon (d. 1809); to nephew, Charles Anderdon (d. 1824); to widow, Sarah Panton Anderdon (d. 1867); to first cousin twice removed, John Edmund Anderdon (1829-72); to uncle, Capt. Hobart Grant Anderdon (1815-88); to nephew, Henry Edward Murray (later Murray-Anderdon) (1848-1922); to cousin, Herbert Edward Salt (later Anderdon) (1870-1938); to son, Henry Manisty Anderdon (d. 1985), who leased it to Sir William Stampe (d. 1951); sold c.1986 to Robert Leslie James Green (b. 1934); sold later for conversion as an hotel.

Anderdon family of Henlade House

Anderdon, Dr. John (1695-1744).  Son of Ferdinando Anderdon of Bridgwater (Somerset) and his wife Mary [maiden surname unknown], born 1695. Educated at University College, Oxford (matriculated 1712/13; BA 1716; MA 1719; B.Med 1722). Practised as a surgeon at Bridgwater. He married Mary Proctor (1696-1780) and had issue:
(1) Robert Proctor Anderdon (1723-1809) (q.v.);
(2) John Anderdon (1727-63); buried at Bridgwater, 6 May 1763;
(3) Ferdinando Anderdon (1730-1807) (q.v.);
(4) William Anderdon (c.1732-1815), of Bath, baptised 17 January 1732; apothecary at Bath;
(5) Charles Anderdon (1734-1811) (q.v.);
(6) Mary Anderdon (1736-1823), baptised 4 May 1736; died unmarried; will proved 13 February 1824;
(7) Susanna Anderdon (b. 1741), baptised 27 May 1741;
(8) Edmund Anderdon (b. 1743; fl. 1819), baptised 24 January 1743.
He bought the site of The Castle, Bridgwater (Somerset) in 1738; this included the remains of a substantial 17th century mansion and two newer houses with large gardens. 
He died in 1744. His widow died in January 1780 and was buried at Bridgwater, 2 February 1780.

Anderdon, Robert Proctor (1723-1809). Eldest son of Dr. John Anderdon (1695-1744) and his wife Mary Proctor, born 1723.  Member of the Board of Agriculture. He married, 1774, Elizabeth Callard (fl. 1809) of Ford, Stockland (Dorset) but had no issue.
He was described as 'of Ruishton' in 1779 but lived at Henlade House by 1791. At his death the property passed to his nephew, Charles Proctor Anderdon.
He was buried 4 October 1809. His widow was living in November 1809.

Anderdon, Charles (1734-1811). Fifth son of Dr. John Anderdon (1695-1744) and his wife Mary Proctor, baptised 16 August 1734. Mayor of Bridgwater, 1773. He married, 1773, Miss Gardiner of Bridgwater, and had issue:
(1) Charles Proctor Anderdon (d. 1824) (q.v.).
He died at Bridgwater, 14 December 1811.

Anderdon, Charles Proctor (d. 1824).  Only son of Charles Anderdon (1734-1811) and his wife. JP for Somerset. He married, 25 October 1803, Sarah Panton Perry (c.1774-1867) but had no issue.
He inherited the Henlade House estate from his uncle in 1809, and built the present house between 1812 and 1815. At his death he bequeathed it to his widow for life.
He died in 1824 and was buried at Ruishton, where he is commemorated by a monument designed by T. King of Bath. His widow died 11 February 1867, aged 92; her will was proved 19 March 1867 (estate under £10,000).

Anderdon, Ferdinando (1730-1807). Third son of Dr. John Anderdon (1695-1744) and his wife Mary Proctor, baptised 17 February 1730. Surgeon in Taunton and later at Bath.  He married, 25 September 1759, Mary Hobart (1738-1823) and had issue:
(1) John Proctor Anderdon (1760-1846) (q.v.);
(2) Ferdinando Anderdon (1763-1834) of Upper Mall, Hammersmith, baptised 8 February 1763; married Rachel (d. 1832), daughter of Richard Alexander of Hammersmith and had issue of which he was survived by one son and two daughters; died 24 September 1834; will proved 27 October 1834
(3) Capt. William Proctor Anderdon (c.1779-1859); served in Bengal Army, 1796-1812 but retired to Bath and was generous to charitable causes; married, 18 January 1817, Frances (d. 1859), daughter of J. Livesey of Bath but had no issue; died 16 April 1859; will proved 21 May 1859 (estate under £30,000).
He died in 1807; his will was proved 27 July 1807. His widow died in May 1823.

Anderdon, John Proctor (1760-1846).  Elder son of Ferdinando Anderdon of Taunton, surgeon, and his wife Mary Hobart, baptised 15 October 1760. Attorney-at-law; partner in Manning & Anderdon, merchants, 1794-1816; received compensation for the abolition of slavery in respect of estates in Antigua; connoisseur and collector of pictures, his collection being sold at Christies in 1847 and 1851; Fellow of the Royal Society, 1811; DL for Hampshire, 1820. He married 1st, 19 April 1785, Anne Oliver, and 2nd, 9 March 1812, Mary Hannah Casamajor, and had issue:
(1.1) Thomas Oliver Anderdon (1786-1856); he served in the army, 1804-11 (Lieutenant, 1804; Captain, 1806) and was present at the battles of Talaver, 1810 and Busaco, 1811 in the Peninsula campaign; educated at Lincolns Inn (barrister-at-law; QC; bencher); married, 6 January 1814, Maria, daughter of Rev. John Nichol of Warenford (Northbld) and had issue; died 31 July 1856; will proved in PCC, 1 December 1856;
(1.2) James Hughes Anderdon (1790-1879); partner in Bosanquet Anderdon & Co., bankers (retired 1843); collector of pictures, including Constable's Malvern Hall (Warwickshire), now in the Tate, engravings and autograph letters; gave works including annotated catalogues to the Royal Academy and British Museum in 1875; died 24 January 1879; will proved 16 April 1879 (estate under £100,000);
(1.3) Lucy Shuckburgh Anderdon (c.1791-1851); married 30 January 1809 Butler Thompson Claxton of Bristol; died 1 May and was buried at West Pennard (Somerset), 8 May 1851; will proved 26 August 1851;
(1.4) John Lavicount Anderdon (1792-1874) (q.v.);
(1.5) Freeman Anderdon (1794-1873), underwriter; became an eccentric recluse and lived in humble circumstances at Lambeth, devoting himself to gardening, collecting pictures, and messing about on the River Thames; an attempt by his two eldest brothers to have him confined as a lunatic in 1829 was unsuccessful and led to a series of trials; died about January 1873;
(2.1) Emma Mary Anderdon (1813-81), baptised 7 September 1813; married, 20 December 1851, Thomas Campbell Robertson (1789-1863), Indian civil servant; died 13 May 1881; will proved 31 May 1881 (estate under £35,000);
(2.2) Hobart Grant Anderdon (1814/5-88), born 18 September and baptised 4 November 1814/5; served in Royal Welsh Fusiliers (2nd Lieutenant, 1833; Lieutenant, 1837; Captain, 1843); married 1st, 25 June 1844 at St. Pancras (London), Eliza, daughter of David Roose; and 2nd, 1857, Mary Ann Parry (1823-85); lived at 17 Gay Street, Bath; inherited Henlade House from his nephew, 1872 but apparently never lived there; died 14 June 1888 and was buried at Ryde New Cemetery, Isle of Wight; will proved 6 August 1888 (estate £22,623);
(2.3) William Manning Anderdon (1816-98), born 10 July and baptised 13 December 1816; partner in Lawson & Anderdon, merchants (dissolved 1849); died 10 September 1898; will proved 6 December 1898 (estate £5,001).
He built Beech House, Bransgore (Hants), reputedly to the designs of Thomas Stedman Whitwell, about 1816, but at the time of his death he was renting Farley Hall (Berks).
He was buried at St Lawrence, Ramsgate (Kent), 7 December 1846 and his will was proved 3 February 1847. His widow was buried at St Lawrence Ramsgate, 14 March 1851; her will was proved 5 April 1851.

Anderdon, John Lavicount (1792-1874). Second son of John Proctor Anderdon (1760-1846) and his first wife, Anne Oliver, born in Bristol, 5 April 1792. Educated under Dr. Nicholas at Ealing and later at Harrow, but was removed from school and entered the family firm of Manning & Anderdon, West Indies merchants (partner c.1816-31), who became bankrupt in 1831 with debts of some £374,000; stood for Parliament in the Penrhyn constituency, 1818, but was defeated in the poll; an enthusiastic angler; author of The River Dove: with some quiet Thoughts on the happy Practice of Angling, 1845, and lives of Bishop Ken of Bath & Wells, 1851 and Jesus Christ, 1861. He married, 4 March 1816, Anna Maria (c.1796-1880), daughter of William Manning MP and sister of Cardinal Manning, and had issue:

(1) Rev. Dr. William Henry Anderdon OSJ (1816-90), born 26 December 1816 and was baptised 8 January 1817 at Sundridge (Kent) and again, 31 May 1817 at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London; educated at Balliol & University Colleges, Oxford (matriculated 1835; BA 1839; MA 1842); entered the Roman Catholic church, 1850; ordained priest at Oscott, 1853; secretary to Cardinal Manning, 1863-68; missionary in America, 1868-70; DD (Rome), 1869; joined the Society of Jesus, 1872 and engaged in missionary work in England; published religious and other works;
(2) Anne Anderdon (1818-92), born 24 January and baptised 7 March 1818; died unmarried at Mentone (France), 10 February 1892; will proved 10 May 1892 (estate £40,235);
(3) Maria Eleanor Anderdon (1819-1904), baptised 7 August 1819; died unmarried, 28 August 1904; will proved 17 September 1904 (estate £34,316);
(4) Fanny Catherine Anderdon (1821-50), born 26 March and baptised 11 October 1821; married, 29 October 1846, Rev. Francis Henry Murray (1820-1902), rector of Chislehurst (Kent) (who m.2, 5 September 1854, Mary Prescott Paterson) and had issue two sons and one daughter (including Henry Edward Murray-Anderdon (q.v.)); died 4 March 1850;
(5) John Edmund Anderdon (1829-72) (q.v.);
(6) Emma Helen Mary Anderdon (1839-1925) (q.v.).
He lived in Bristol and later at Chislehurst (Kent). After his younger son inherited Henlade House in 1867 he and his wife lived there.
He died 8 March 1874 and was buried at Chislehurst (Kent); his will was proved 23 May 1874 (estate under £800). His widow died 1 May 1880 and was also buried at Chislehurst.

Anderdon, John Edmund (1829-72). Younger son of John Lavicount Anderdon (1792-1874) and his wife Anna Maria Manning, born 6 August and baptised 19 September 1829. Educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford (matriculated 1847; BA 1850). A director of the Bank of London. He married, 11 May 1859 at Christ Church, St Marylebone (London), Jane (d. 1878), daughter of Daniel Henderson, gent. but had no issue.
He inherited Henlade House from the widow of his grandfather's first cousin in 1867. At his death he left it to his uncle, Hobart Grant Anderdon.
He died at a hotel in London, 18 October 1872 and was buried at Chislehurst (Kent); his will was proved 2 December 1872 (estate under £80,000). His widow died 4 February 1878.

Murray (later Murray-Anderdon), Henry Edward (1848-1922). Only son of Francis Henry Murray and his wife, Fanny Catherine, daughter of John Lavicount Anderdon, born 8 December 1848. Educated at Marlborough. A keen sportsman, passionate about fishing and cricket, he became an administrator with Somerset County Cricket Club (Secretary 1885-1910; President, 1915-22) and was responsible for securing the Club the County Ground in Taunton and establishing it among the first class counties; described as having "a commanding, aristocratic manner"; also President of the Somerset Football Association.  He married, 4 October 1877, Eliza Isabella Wellwood (d. 1949), daughter of Rev. William Colin Clarke Preston but had no issue.
He inherited Henlade House from his uncle, Hobart Grant Anderdon, in 1888.
He died 9 December 1922; his will was proved 13 February 1923 (estate £22,666). His widow died 3 July 1949; her will was proved 2 November 1949 (estate £66,891).

Anderdon (later Salt), Emma Helen Mary (1839-1925). Youngest child of John Lavicount Anderdon (1792-1874) and his wife Anna Maria Manning, born 13 December 1839 and baptised 16 February 1840. She married, 24 July 1861, Sir Thomas Salt (1830-1904), 1st bt., MP for Stafford, and had issue:
(1) Lt-Col. Sir Thomas Anderdon Salt (1863-1940), 2nd bt. of Hooke Court, Beaminster (Dorset); served in the army (Major, 11th Hussars and as Lt-Col. commanding territorial units during WW1); JP and DL for Staffordshire; High Sheriff of Staffordshire, 1909; JP for Dorset; married 1905 Eleanor Mary Wiggin and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 22 June 1940; will proved 2 November 1940 (estate £60,163);
(2) Laura Helen Salt (1865-1954); married, 12 April 1887, Rt. Hon. Sir Ernest Murray Pollock (1861-1936), 1st Viscount Hanworth, Master of the Rolls, 1923-35 and had issue; died 16 February 1954; will proved 4 June 1954 (estate £6,330);
(3) Mary Louisa Salt (1866-1901), married, 2 January 1889, Joseph William Young Howison Davies (d. 1900); died without issue, 21 May 1901;
(4) Violet Blanche Salt (b. & d. 1868);
(5) Helen Frances Salt (1869-1950), born 10 December 1869; married, 30 September 1896, Maj. John Cecil Grant McFerran of Rickerscote (Staffs); died 7 August 1950; will proved 7 November 1950 (estate £8,895);
(6) Herbert Edward Salt (later Anderdon) (1870-1938) (q.v.);
(7) George Edmund Stephenson Salt (1873-1900), born 19 February 1873; Lieutenant in 1st battn of Royal Welsh Fusiliers during South African Campaign; mentioned in despatches for conspicuous gallantry at Ladysmith; died unmarried at Modderspruit (South Africa), 3 April 1900; administration of goods granted 16 June 1900 (estate £998);
(8) Reginald John Salt (1874-1963), born 2/3 March 1874; educated at Charterhouse and New College, Oxford; bank manager in Leamington (Warks) and later fruit farmer in USA; married 1st, 19 June 1901, Maude Fanny (d. 1962), daughter of Robert Wigram of Broomfield, Weybridge (Surrey) and had issue three daughters; died 19 October 1963; will proved 15 January 1964 (estate £57,661);
(9) Rev. William Manning Salt (1876-1947), born 22 April 1876; educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge (BA 1906; MA 1910); vicar of St Giles, Shrewsbury; prebendary of Lichfield Cathedral; married, 2 January 1907, Mildred Nairne, daughter of Lt-Col. Charles Henry Edward Graeme and had issue three daughters; died 12 November 1947;
(10) Walter Petit Salt (1878-1916), born 6 October 1878; served in WW1 as Captain in 1st battn, Lancashire Regiment; killed in action near Lesbeoufs (France), 27 October 1916;
(11) Maj-Gen. Harold Francis Salt CB DSO CMG (1879-1971), born 30 November 1879; educated at Cooper's Hill; career soldier; served with Royal Artillery in WW1 in Gallipoli, the Balkans, Palestine and Syria; attached to Air Ministry, 1930; Divisional Commander with Territorial Army, 1931-35; Deputy Adjutant General, India, 1935-36; Deputy Quartermaster General, 1936-39; retired 1939; married, 3 August 1914, Phyllis Dulcie (d. 1965), daughter of Maj. Ewan Duncan Cameron and had issue five daughters; died 10 August 1971, aged 91.
She and her husband lived at Weeping Cross (Staffs); after his death she lived in London.
She died 23 March 1925; her will was proved 8 May 1925 (estate £28,548). Her husband died 8 April 1904; his will was proved 12 May 1904 (estate £177,897).

Salt (later Anderdon), Herbert Edward (1870-1938).  Second son of Sir Thomas Salt (1830-1904), 1st bt. and his wife Emma Helen Mary (1840-1923), daughter of John Lavicount Anderdon, born 20 December 1870. Educated at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (admitted 1889). Fruit farmer in California. He changed his surname to Anderdon and returned to England on inhering the Henlade House estate from his cousin in 1922. He married, 25 July 1899, Ethel Menie Manisty (d. 1966) and had issue:
(1) Henry Manisty Anderdon (1900-85) (q.v.);
(2) twin, Dorothy Mary Anderdon (1902-37), born 4 April 1902; died unmarried, 17 March 1937;
(3) twin, Helen Katharine Anderdon (1902-69), born 4 April 1902; died unmarried, 8 April 1969;
(4) Rachel Elinor Anderdon MBE (b. 1909; fl. 1966), born 17 April 1909; awarded MBE 1965;
He inherited the Henlade House estate from his cousin in 1922.
He died10 November 1938; his will was proved 6 February 1939 (estate £40,041). His widow died 12 May 1966; her will was proved 22 August 1966 (estate £15,855).

Anderdon, Henry Manisty (1900-85).  Only son of Herbert Edward Salt (later Anderdon) (1870-1938) and his wife Ethel Menie Manisty (d. 1966), born in America, 10 November 1900.  Educated at Haileybury; working as a bank cashier in 1938; served in WW2 as a Captain in Wiltshire Regiment. He married, 30 November 1929, Sybilla Marjorie (d. 1985), daughter of Col. R.H. Steward of Rockley House (Wilts) and had issue:
(1) John Anderdon (b. 1931);
(2) Ian Anderdon (b. 1936).
He inherited the Henlade House estate from his father in 1938 and it was leased in the 1940s and 1950s. Following his death it was sold for conversion as an hotel.
He and his wife both died in 1985. 

Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1937; Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 1924; http://www.themountsomersethotelandspa.com/pdfs/history-of-the-house.pdf (which contains some errors); diary of Fanny Chapman, 1809.

Location of archives

No significant archive is known to survive.

Coat of arms

Sable, two single shacklebolts in chief, and a double one in base, argent.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 15 June 2014, and was revised 16 June 2014, 12 July 2015, 9 June 2022 and 23 June 2023. I am grateful to Sarah Murden for drawing my attention to the diary of Fanny Chapman.