(185) Arnold (later Coape-Arnold) of Ashby Lodge, Mirables and Wolvey Hall

Coape-Arnold of Wolvey Hall

George Arnold (1658-1705) of Soho was the grandson of a Dorset gentleman, Robert Arnold of Armswell. His father, as a younger son, had been sent to London to earn a living and may have been apprenticed to a London tradesman. George's own career is obscure, but he occupied property with extensive stabling in the parish of St Anne, Soho from 1696 onwards, and may well have been a cattle dealer like his son, George Arnold (1683-1766), who was operating his business from the same address in 1714. The elder George seems to have been moderately prosperous and was able to secure his elder son, Richard Arnold (1682-1748) a place in the civil service, where he rose to be Chief Clerk in the War Department and then Deputy Secretary at War, 1727-41. The salary and perquisites of such a senior office enabled Richard to buy a property at Reigate (Surrey), but his younger brother George made a larger fortune from supplying cattle and horses to the London market, and he was able to buy the Ashby Lodge estate at Ashby St. Ledgers in Northamptonshire in 1718 and to build a substantial gentry house there four years later. The fact that George obtained a grant of arms in 1725 suggests strongly that he was anxious to restore his family to the status of gentry, although his portrait by Hogarth (see below) depicts a pugnacious self-made man brimming with self-confidence (does anyone else see a resemblance to 'Del-Boy' Trotter?).

Frances Arnold by William Hogarth, c.1740
Image: Fitzwilliam Museum

His only surviving son, Lumley Arnold (1723-81) was given a gentleman's education at Oxford and the Inner Temple, and became a practising barrister; and Hogarth's portrait of his daughter Frances demonstrates that his daughters were correspondingly equipped with poise and the social graces.

Hogarth vividly portrays George Arnold as a larger-than-life character, but his son Lumley comes across from his will as a less sympathetic figure. He had only one child, his 'damnable and undeserving son' George Arnold (1753-1806), who nevertheless inherited all his real property. I suspect George earned his father's contempt because he had no inclination to follow him into the law or any other line of business, and much preferred a life of gentlemanly ease. A portrait miniature by Henry Edridge (see below) shows him as quite a dandy, with a sensitive face, and the year after he inherited the Ashby estate he was made one of the Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber to King George III, an appointment which must have been the result of friends at Court. His first wife was an heiress and brought him the Wolvey estate in Warwickshire, which must have helped to maintain his lifestyle, and after he married for a second time he bought a small farm called Mirables in a picturesque part of the Isle of Wight and extended the house as a seaside villa of the most fashionable kind. He was no doubt also responsible for remodelling his grandfather's house at Ashby Lodge, and although no documentary evidence appears to survive about his projects, he may prove to have been quite an enthusiastic builder. In the 1790s, when the fear of French invasion was rife, he played an active part in first the Northamptonshire Regiment of Gentleman and Yeomanry and later the Isle of Wight Volunteers, of which he was Colonel when he died in 1806.

George and his second wife had three sons, of whom the eldest, George Henry Arnold (1791-1844) inherited the estate when he came of age in 1812. Whereas his father seems to have lived mainly at Mirables towards the end of his life, George Henry seems to have spent most time at Ashby Lodge, although he did visit Mirables for holidays and indeed appears to have replaced the original thatched roof there with tiles. He married in 1817 and his wife bore him a single daughter and no sons. He did, however, have an illegitimate son, Henry Arnold (c.1816-58) born shortly before his marriage, and when he came to make his will he left successive life interests to his wife and illegitimate son (his daughter had already married James Coape by then, and had presumably been provided for through her marriage settlement). When his widow died in 1851, his natural son took possession of the estates, but his right to do so was at once challenged by James Coape, who brought a suit in Chancery alleging that under the will of George Arnold (d. 1806), George Henry had himself only had a life interest and that under the provisions of that will the estates should pass to George's 'right heir', who was the Coapes' eldest son, Henry Fraser James Coape (later Coape-Arnold) (1846-1923). In 1854 he secured a judgement in his favour and an appeal by Henry Arnold was dismissed in 1857. The loss of his estates and the legal fees he had incurred in defending them left Henry Arnold insolvent and seems to have broken up his marriage; he died penniless in Hastings the following year.

Portrait, thought to be of James Coape, sold in 2017.

James Coape (c.1815-89) did correspondingly well out of the case. By 1851, when he instituted proceedings, his wife Georgeana (1817-49) was dead, and although he acted nominally on behalf of his son, who did not come of age until 1867, it was in reality Coape himself who took possession of the Ashby Lodge, Mirables and Wolvey estates. He also inherited his own family property at Goldhanger (Essex), which seems to have consisted primarily of a slightly gentrified farm called Vaults Farm. Four scattered properties may perhaps have been rather an onerous responsibility, however, and there were moves to simplify the holdings. Mirables was sold in about 1873, although Coape replaced it with a house at Ryde (Isle of Wight) which became his main home: at the time of his death he was Chairman of the Ryde magistrates court. Ashby Lodge was sold in the 1880s to Paul Hibbert of Bilton Hall (Warks), a half-brother of the 17th Earl of Shrewsbury, who further altered the house and built a Catholic chapel nearby. 

H.F.J. Coape-Arnold (1846-1923) was ordained as a Church of England minister in 1872, but in 1883, when rector of Yatton Keynell (Wilts), he went over to Rome and had to resign his living. It is not clear where he lived in the next few years, but on his father's death in 1889 he settled at Wolvey Hall, where he rebuilt the old house, which already by the 1820s was regarded as a farmhouse and unfit for gentry occupation. His father's house in Ryde was sold and he was left with just Wolvey Hall and the Goldhanger lands. There seems to be some evidence that his relations with his wife and family deteriorated in later years, as his wife took their younger children, Aliva, Avis, Raymond and Bertha to live in South Africa in 1910, although she returned in 1916. 

Mary Coape-Arnold's sketch of her children fishing, 1890s.
Image: Joanne Eastman

The verandah of Osborne Lodge, Cape Town, where the
Coape-Arnolds lived c.1910-16. Image: Joanne Eastman

Three of his other sons also emigrated to Canada, although since the younger sons could not expect to receive much of an inheritance, that is perhaps less surprising: one of the sons later came back and another went on to the United States. The eldest son, Cranfield Coe Henry Coape-Arnold (1873-1963) inherited the Wolvey and Goldhanger estates, but died unmarried and left Wolvey to his niece, Georgiana Mary Coape-Arnold (1906-87) and her husband George Edwin Burbidge. Their descendants are the present beneficiaries of the family trust which now owns the estate, and their grandson, Oliver Charles Freeman, is the present occupier of Wolvey Hall.

Ashby Lodge, Ashby St. Ledgers, Northamptonshire

The Lodge estate is first mentioned in a manor court roll of 1519 and a description in 1612 suggests that original farmhouse may have been surrounded by emparked enclosures from the beginning.  A new house was built for George Arnold in 1722, and a painting by Nicholas Dall shows this as a plain but handsome squarish five bay three storey house.

Ashby Lodge, Ashby St. Ledgers, by Nicholas Dall c.1760-65. Image: Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Later in the 18th century the house was extensively remodelled and enlarged, but nothing is known about the architects involved or the dates when the changes were made. The original square block was given canted bays in the centre of the main fronts and a balustraded parapet, and completely refenestrated with three broad bays on the entrance front and three narrower bays either side of the canted bay on the side elevation. 

Ashby Lodge: a drawing of 1832 by Georgeana Arnold

Later a large service wing was added to one side and in the mid or later 19th century an incongruous two-storey bay window was added to the entrance front. A Roman Catholic chapel was built close to the house in 1883 for the Hibbert family, and in 1890 Paul Hibbert was said to have 'much improved and enlarged the house at considerable expense'.

Ashby Lodge in 1912, from the north-east.

Ashby Lodge in 1912, from the south-east.

The estate was clearly landscaped in the 18th century too. The Ordnance Survey map of the 1880s clearly shows relict avenues approaching the house from the south and across the park from the east, as well as a large lake (which survives) to the north of the house.

Ashby Lodge from the Ordnance Survey 6" map surveyed in 1883-84.

The house was demolished by Lord Wimborne in the 1920s after he acquired the property to add to Ashby St Ledgers Manor estate. All that survives today are the former lodges east of the house on the A361 and part of the stable court. The lodges are 18th century, with an early 20th century portico and clubroom in between added by Sir Edwin Lutyens to turn them into a club house for Lord Wimborne's private golf club; the building has now been converted into a private house. The golf course was apparently laid out on the park of Ashby Lodge.

Ashby Lodge: the former gate lodges converted into a golf club for Lord Wimborne in the 1920s.
Image: Ian Rob. Some rights reserved.

Descent: George Arnold (1683-1766); to son, Lumley Arnold (1723-81); to son, George Arnold (1753-1806); to son, George Henry Arnold (1791-1844); to illegitimate son, Henry Arnold (d. 1858); by Chancery order to half-sister's widower, James Coape (d. 1889), who sold c.1885 to Paul Edgar Tichborne Hibbert (1846-1929), who sold 1919 to Ivor Churchill Guest (1873-1939), 1st Viscount Wimborne, who demolished the house.

Mirables, Niton, Isle of Wight

The house is one of a number of villas established in the late 18th and early 19th century in the area known as The Undercliff, where ancient landslips have created a Picturesquely tumbled landscape with sea views that extends for over six miles from south of Shanklin to near Chale. Behind the shoreline there are a series of cliffs and very steep wooded hillsides extending up to half a mile inland, between which the ground is romantically broken and irregular. The area offered many sites which, together with a salubrious climate, appealed to the Regency and Victorian builders of summer residences.

Mirables, Niton: the original farmhouse, perhaps after a first phase of improvement.

A romanticised view of the original Arnold Cottage, as depicted in an aquatint of 1810. Image: British Library

Mirables began as a 17th century farmhouse which appears in a romanticised aquatint of 1810 as 'Arnold Cottage'. The vertical topography depicted in this print is hard to reconcile with later views, and it seems that a great deal of artist's licence has been used in the depiction. By the time it was published, the original cottage had been extended for George Arnold by the addition of a thatched-roofed wing with a half-octagonal end surrounded by a verandah with a typically Regency striped awning. Like most of the early cottages ornées in the Island, this work is sadly anonymous, but it could be as early as 1791-94 and it seems likely that an architect of quality designed it. Nigel Temple has noted its similarity to designs by Robert Lugar, who designed the nearby and more famous Puckaster between 1812 and 1824, but if the 1794 date is correct it must be too early for Lugar.

Mirables from a print of 1812, showing the addition made ifor George Arnold.

The next view of the house is a print of 1823, which gives more of a feel for the landscape setting of the villa, and which appears to show that the original thatched roof has been replaced by a more conventional tile covering.

Mirables, from a print of 1823

Later 19th century alterations have removed much of its original charm but created a much more substantial house.The western part of the house, the original farmhouse, was rebuilt and extended in about 1875, with plain gables and mullioned windows, and the Regency wing was rebuilt on a larger scale in about 1895. As part of this work, a polygonal tower with a tall conical roof was added on the north side, and the original Regency veranda was echoed by a two-storey veranda with arches and openwork spandrels.  Inside the house is an 18th century staircase reputed to have been moved here as part of the 1890s works from a house in East Sheen (Surrey), where a number of the original large suburban villas were then giving way to streets of terraced houses (in one of which I grew up!). 

Mirables in 2011. Image: © Bob@wootton

Descent: George Arnold (1753-1806); to son, George Henry Arnold (1791-1844); to widow, Susannah Arnold (d. 1851) and then to his illegitimate son, Henry Arnold (c.1816-58); by Chancery order to James Coape (c.1815-89), who sold c.1873 to H.H. Hammick...sold to Victor George Middleton (fl. 1911); to widow, Ada Middleton (fl. 1939)...

Wolvey Hall, Warwickshire

Wolvey Hall

A house was built on this site in 1676, presumably for the Astley family, who owned the estate until c.1730, and though it was radically remodelled by Henry Fraser James Coape-Arnold in 1889 it still contains a staircase and some panelling and quite a lot of the structure of its predecessor. The oak staircase is dated 1677, and consists of three flights separated by landings, with an openwork balustrade that is not yet of foliage but no longer of strapwork. It is continued to the second floor by a plainer 18th century stair, presumably also preserved from the old house. By the early 19th century Wolvey Hall had declined into a farmhouse, and an article in the Gentleman's Magazine says roundly that there is no gentleman's residence in the parish. The alterations of 1889 produced a regular but plain red brick gentry house of two storeys and an attic, with prominent bargeboarded gables and a narrow off-centre porch.  In the grounds, close to the road, are the ruins of Jacob's Well, dated 1707, with a little reclining river god.

Descent: Astley family; passed c.1730 to William White (fl. 1747-61); to daughter, Elizabeth (d. 1788), wife of George Arnold (1753-1806); to son, George Henry Arnold (1791-1844); to widow, Susannah Arnold (d. 1851) and then to illegitimate son, Henry Arnold (c.1816-58); by Chancery order to James Coape (d. 1889); to son Henry Fraser James Coape (later Coape-Arnold) (1846-1923); to son, Cranfield Coe Henry Coape-Arnold (1873-1961); to niece, Georgiana Mary (1906-87), wife of George Edwin Burbidge; to family trust, which still owns it. The hall was let to William Winterton under James Coape, and again from 1916-41? when tenants included George Travers Aldridge (fl. 1925-34) and Maurice C.L. Freer (fl. 1939).

Arnold (later Coape-Arnold) family of Ashby Lodge and Wolvey Hall

Arnold, George (1658-1705). Elder son of Richard Arnold (b. 1604) and his wife Sarah, born 1658. He married Anne [surname unknown] and had issue, with three other sons who died in infancy:
(1) Mary Arnold (d. 1716); married, 18 May 1693 at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster (Middx), Hubert Gould (1668-1727) of Upwey (Dorset) and had issue; buried at Dorchester (Dorset), 8 October 1716;
(2) Sarah Arnold (b. 1678), born 19 and baptised 22 October 1678; married John Marshall of St Martin's-in-the-Fields;
(3) Anne Arnold (b. 1680), born 24 and baptised 30 September 1680; married [forename unknown] Young;
(4) Richard Arnold (1682-1748) of Reigate (Surrey), born 3 August 1682; a civil servant who rose to become Deputy Secretary at War, 1727-41; married 1st, [name unknown] and had issue a daughter; married 2nd, 8 April 1725, Judith, daughter of Sir John Shaw of Eltham (Kent) and had issue one son and one daughter; died 1748;
(5) George Arnold (1683-1766) (q.v.);
(6) Elizabeth Arnold; died unmarried.
He lived in Arnold's Yard, St Martin-in-the-Fields, London between 1696 and 1705.
He was buried 24 October 1705; his will was proved 6 December 1705. His widow was buried in 1710.

George Arnold, 1683-1766
by William Hogarth
Image: Fitzwilliam Museum

Arnold, George (1683-1766), Only known son of George Arnold (b. 1658) and his wife, born 6 and baptised 10 November 1683. Cattle-dealer*. He obtained a grant of arms, 1725. His portrait by William Hogarth is now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge and breathes pugnacious self-confidence; it somehow comes as no surprise that Arnold was indicted for assault in 1749, when he was in his 60s! He married, 23/28 June 1711 in St Anne, Soho, London, Anne (1691-1741), daughter of Edmund Bromwich of Daventry, and had issue, with three other sons who died in infancy:
(1) George Arnold (1713-15?), born 20 and baptised 29 January 1712/3; died in infancy;
(2) Anne Arnold (b. 1714), born 27 February 1714; married, 15 April 1734 at St Mary Magdalene, Old Fish Street, London, Timothy Roote and had issue; living in 1781;
(3) George Arnold (b. 1715), born 13 and baptised 30 August 1715; died in infancy;
(4) Mary Arnold (b. 1716), born 4 February/21 August 1716; married Thomas Garnett; living in 1781;
(5) George Arnold (b. 1717), born 25 July and baptised 5 August 1717; died young;
(6) Katherine Arnold; died unmarried;
(7) Frances Arnold (b. 1721), born 6 and baptised 18 August 1721; her portrait (see above) by William Hogarth was painted c.1738-40; living in 1766; died unmarried;
(8) Lumley Arnold (1723-81) (q.v.);
(9) Richard Arnold (b. 1728), baptised 10 April 1728; probably died young.
He lived at Arnold's Yard, Upper St. Martin's Lane, London. He purchased the Ashby Lodge estate in 1722 and the manor of Barby.
He died 20 February and was buried at Ashby St Ledgers, 28 February 1766; his will was proved 5 March 1766. His wife died in May 1741.
* He is readily confused in the records with Alderman George Arnold (1691-1751), a London haberdasher who was one of the founders of Bow Pottery.

Arnold, Lumley (1723-81) of Ashby Lodge. Only surviving son of George Arnold (1683-1766) and his wife Anne, daughter of Edmund Bromwich of Daventry, born 30 April and baptised at St Anne, Soho, London, 20 May 1723. Educated at Queens College, Oxford (matriculated 1739) and the Inner Temple (admitted 1739). Barrister-at-law. He married, Anne (c.1720-74), daughter of James Burgess of Essex and had issue:
(1) George Arnold (1753-1806).
He lived at Arnold's Yard, Upper St Martin's Lane, London until he inherited the Ashby Lodge estate from his father in 1766.
He died 5 May and was buried at Ashby St Ledgers, 29 May 1781; his will was proved 25 May 1781. His wife died 12 August and was buried at Ashby St Ledgers, 20 August 1774.

George Arnold by Henry Edridge, 1793
Image: Fitzwilliam Museum

Arnold, George (1753-1806) of Ashby Lodge and Mirables. Only child of Lumley Arnold (1723-81) and his wife Anne, daughter of James Burgess of Essex, born 1753. Educated at St Edmund Hall, Oxford (matriculated 1771). Described in his father's will as 'my very dameable [sic] and undeserving son'. Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to King George III, 1782. JP and DL for Northamptonshire. Capt. in Northamptonshire Regiment of Gentleman & Yeomanry, 1794; Lt-Col. commanding S.E. Battn. of Isle of Wight Volunteers, 1806. Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He married 1st, 1 February 1776, Elizabeth (d. 1788), only daughter and heiress of William White of Wolvey Hall (Warks), and 2nd, 15 September 1788, Henrietta Jane (c.1757-1849), eldest daughter and co-heir of Gen. George Morison, Quartermaster General and had issue:
(2.1) George Henry Arnold (1791-1844) (q.v.);
(2.2) Edward John Richard Arnold (1794-1836), born 3 and baptised 24 February 1794; Lieutenant in the Army (15th Dragoons: Cornet, 1810; Lt., 1811; 12th Dragoons: Lt., 1811-14; half pay, 1814-27; returned to service 1827 and held local rank of Capt. in India) and served in Peninsula War, 1812-13 and India, 1827-36; married, 1814 at St Marylebone (Middx), Mrs. Elizabeth Ward; imprisoned for debt at Winchester, 1818; died at Meerut, Bengal (India), 31 August 1836;
(2.3) Rev. James William Arnold (1795-1865), born 20 July 1795; educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge (admitted 1812; BA 1816; MA 1819) and St John's College, Cambridge (DD 1843); ordained deacon, 1818 and priest, 1819; curate of St. Lawrence (IoW), 1818-26, Ubley and Burrington, 1826-31; stipendiary curate of Whippingham (IoW), c.1833 and Wardington (Oxon), c.1841-51; rector of Polebrook (Northants); married, 9 July 1822 at Cheltenham (Glos), Lady Mary Howard (d. 1873), third daughter of William Ferward Howard, 3rd Earl of Wicklow; died without issue, 25 June 1865; by his will (proved 11 August 1865 (estate under £20,000)) he left part of his estate for the maintenance of the family monuments in St Anne's, Soho, London and Wolvey church.
He inherited the Ashby Lodge estate from his father in 1781 and was probably responsible for remodelling and enlarging the house there. He inherited Wolvey Hall in right of his first wife. He also bought a small freehold estate called Mirables at Niton in the Isle of Wight in about 1791 and enlarged the house as a picturesque seaside villa.
He died 24 October 1806 and was buried at Niton (IoW), where he is commemorated by a monument designed by Henry Rouw. His first wife died suddenly, 10 March 1788, and is commemorated by a monument at Wolvey. His widow died aged 92 at Mirables, 17 September, and was buried at Niton (IoW), 24 September 1849.

Arnold, George Henry (1791-1844) of Ashby Lodge and Wolvey Hall. Son of George Arnold (1753-1806) and his second wife, Henrietta Jane, daughter of Gen. George Morison, born 4 November and baptised at St. Marylebone (Middx), 5 December 1791. Educated at Jesus College, Cambridge (matriculated 1808). JP for Northamptonshire and Warwickshire. He married, 13 May 1817 at Ashby St Ledgers, Susannah Blakeman (c.1791-1851) of Coventry and had issue:
(1) Georgeana Arnold (1817-49) (q.v.).
He also had an illegitimate son,
(X1) Henry Arnold (c.1816-58) of Whitmore Park (Warks), a Lieutenant in the Royal Marines and later a Capt in 1st Regt. of Warwickshire Militia; Vice-President of Daventry Horticultural & Floral Society, 1851; the expense of defending his inheritance in the Courts left him insolvent, with debts of some £37,000 (discharged, 1857); married, 15 November 1842 but apparently sep. by 1858, Catherine (1818-97) (who m2, 17 May 1870 at St George Bloomsbury (Middx), William Overell of Leamington (Warks), solicitor), second daughter of Richard Howson Lamb of Bragborough, and had issue (probably died young); died at Hastings (Sussex), 28 September 1858; will proved 15 January 1859 (effects under £20).
He inherited the Ashby Lodge, Mirables and Wolvey Hall estates from his father in 1806. At his death his estates were bequeathed for life to his widow and then to his illegitimate son, but Georgeana's husband, James Coape, successfully argued in Chancery that under the will of George Arnold (d. 1806), the estates must pass to their son; an appeal against the original decree of 1854 was rejected in 1857 and the Coapes secured the estates. 
He died 27 October and was buried at Ashby St. Ledgers, 5 November 1844, where he is commemorated by a monument designed by I. Wheeler of Reading; his will was proved in the PCC, 10 December 1844.  His widow died 25 April and was buried at Ashby St. Ledgers, 30 April 1851, aged 60; her will was proved in the PCC, 16 May 1851 and left her estate to her sister for life and then to her granddaughters, Julia and Charlotte.

Georgeana Arnold (1817-49)
Image: Fitzwilliam Museum

Arnold, Georgeana (1817-49). Only daughter and heiress of George Henry Arnold (1791-1844) and his wife Susannah Blakeman, born June and baptised at Ashby St. Ledgers, 1 September 1817. She married, 8 October 1840 at Whitwell (IoW), James Coape JP (c.1815-89), who was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge (admitted 1832; BA 1836; MA 1839) and was second son of James Coape of Goldhanger (Essex), and had issue:
(1) Henry Fraser James Coape (later Coape-Arnold) (1846-1923) (q.v.);
(2) Julia Henrietta Mary Coape (1847-1925), baptised 6 August 1847; married, 2 April 1867 at All Saints, Fulham (Middx), Maj. Colvin Stewart (c.1832-1903) of Cairnsmore (Kirkcudbrights.) but had no issue; died 4 July 1925; her will was proved in Scotland, 21 April 1926;
(3) Charlotte Claudine Georgeana Coape (1849-1920), baptised at Whitwell (IoW), 18 August 1849; married 1st, 4 February 1873, Alexander Colquhoun Stirling Murray Dunlop (1848-74) of Corsock (Kirkcudbrights.) but had no issue; married 2nd, 11 October 1882 at Yatton Keynell (Wilts), Gen. Sir Henry Dermot Daly GCB (1821-95) of Ryde House (Isle of Wight) and had issue one son; died 22 February 1920; will proved 2 July 1920 (estate £11,869).
After the expiry of her mother's life interest in the Ashby, Wolvey and Mirables estates, her husband successfully brought a case against her illegitimate half-brother in Chancery, and secured possession of the estates for their son. 
She died, presumably in childbirth, 10 August and was buried at Niton (IoW), 16 August 1849; administration of her goods was granted to her widower, 7 May 1861 (effects under £1,000). Her husband died 10 January 1889; his will was proved 23 March 1889 (effects £92).

H,F.J. Coape-Arnold

Coape-Arnold, Henry Fraser James (1846-1923) of Wolvey Hall. Only son of James Coape (c.1815-89) and his wife Georgeana, daughter of George Henry Arnold of Wolvey Hall, born at Niton (Isle of Wight), 27 February 1846 and baptised at Whitwell (Isle of Wight), 13 April 1846. Educated at St John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1865; BA 1872; MA). Ordained deacon, 1872 and priest, 1874; curate of Wellesbourne (Warks), 1872-75; vicar of Neston (Wilts), 1875-78 and rector of Yatton Keynell (Wilts) 1878-83, but then resigned the living and converted to Roman Catholicism. He assumed the name and arms of Arnold in addition to those of Coape by royal licence in 1898, and claimed to be co-heir to the baronies of de Morley, Monteagle and Marshal by virtual of his descent from Elizabeth Parker, aunt and eventual co-heir of Thomas Parker (d. 1697), Lord Morley. A Land Tax Commissioner for Warwickshire; originally a Conservative in politics, he publicised his transfer of support to the Liberals in 1906. He was Chairman of Nuneaton Board of Guardians, 1902 and supported an open-air meeting in support of Free Trade at Wolvey in 1909. He married, 8 January 1873, Mary Genevieve (d. 1937), eldest daughter of Rev. Charles James Cummings, rector of Cheadle (Cheshire), and had issue:
(1) Cranfield Coe Henry Coape-Arnold (1873-1963) (q.v.);
(2) Fraser Charles Coape-Arnold (1875-1965) of Leintwardine House, born 24 February and baptised at Wellesbourne (Warks), 17 March 1875; grocer and fruiterer at Malvern (Worcs); died unmarried, 17 November 1965; will proved 15 April 1966 (estate £10,049);
(3) Wolvey George Coape-Arnold (1876-1961) (q.v.);
(4) Mary Georgeana Edith Coape-Arnold (1878-1941), born 6 April and baptised at Yatton Keynell (Wilts), 28 April 1878; a nun of the Order of Notre Dame, Clapham Common (London); died 5 May 1941;
(5) Agnes Lovel Coape-Arnold (1880-1940), born 22 May and baptised at Yatton Keynell, 6 June 1880; married Charles Mortimer of Salisbury (Rhodesia) but had no issue; died 10 April 1940;
(6) Ralph Tresham Coape-Arnold (1882-1963), born 10 January and baptised at Yatton Keynell, 29 January 1882; emigrated to Washington state (USA), 1906 and was naturalised as an American citizen, 9 March 1921; employed as gas and electrical engineer and later as a photographer; married, 19 July 1919, Vashti (b. 1891), daughter of J.L. Large of Seattle, Washington (USA); died 17 August 1963;
(7) Gundred Beauchamp Coape-Arnold (1883-1965), born 28 October 1883; married, 12 December 1916 at Wolvey RC church, Arthur George Savill (1863-1939), son of Lt-Col. Samuel George Savill of Boleyns, Bocking (Essex) but had no issue; lived latterly at Leintwardine House; died 4 November 1965; will proved 11 January 1966 (estate £67,356);
(8) Henry Astley Coape-Arnold (1885-1974), born 14 August 1885; emigrated to Canada in 1900; married 24 August 1905 at Brandon, Manitoba (Canada), Theresa Maria Josephine, daughter of Thomas O'Flynn and had issue three sons; lived latterly in Victoria, British Columbia (Canada); died 24 February 1974;
(9) Aliva Edmiston Coape-Arnold (1887-1964), born 5 March and baptised at Wolvey, 27 March 1887; educated at Notre Dame Convent, Blackburn (Lancs); married, 12 July 1920, Frederic Bowker of Mowbray, Cape Town (South Africa) and had issue; died in South Africa, 1964;
(10) Avice/Avis Agnes Mary Coape-Arnold (b. 1889), born 11 August 1889; educated at Notre Dame Convent, Blackburn (Lancs); married, 7 July 1916, Harold Webb, but died without issue, 23 October 1918 in South Africa;
(11) Raymond de Newburgh Coape-Arnold (1891-1918), born 31 August 1891; served as Lt. in 6th Battn, South Staffordshire Regt. and Royal Air Force; killed in an aeroplane accident at Babworth (Notts), 26 June 1918; will proved 12 June 1919 (estate £346);
(12) Bertha de Warenne Coape-Arnold (1894-1982) of Leintwardine (Herefs), born 3 July 1894; educated at Notre Dame Convent, Blackburn (Lancs); Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music; music teacher; JP for Herefordshire; died 31 July 1982; will proved 26 October 1982 (estate £329,781).
Following a Chancery decree in his favour, he inherited Ashby Lodge, Wolvey Hall and Mirables estates in 1857, although in practice his father occupied these properties; he also inherited property at Goldhanger from his father in 1889. Ashby Lodge was sold in the 1880s and Mirables c.1873. He rebuilt Wolvey Hall and in 1890-91 he added a R.C. chapel, which operated until his death, after which it was converted into a garage and a new chapel was built in the village. The Hall was let from 1916 and some 2,462 acres of the estate was dispersed by sale in 1918.
He died 10 July 1923 and was buried at Wolvey; his will was proved 9 January 1924 (estate £12,059). His widow lived latterly at Leintwardine and died 17 February 1937; her will was proved 30 June 1937 (estate £535).

Coape-Arnold, Cranfield Coe Henry (1873-1963). Eldest son of Henry Fraser James Coape-Arnold of Wolvey Hall and Goldhanger, and his wife Mary Genevieve, eldest daughter of Rev. Charles James Cummings, rector of Cheadle (Ches.), born 7 December 1873 and baptised at Wellesbourne (Warks), 11 January 1874. Educated at Cranleigh School. Vice-Chairman of Rugby District Committe of Warwickshire War Agricultural Committee, 1939-41; Chairman of Rugby Rural District Council, 1946-47 and of Wolvey Parish Council, 1949. He married, 6 April 1910 at Newnham Paddox RC chapel (Warks), Mabel Lee (1873-1957), daughter of Charles Forbes Buchan MB, but had no issue.
He inherited Wolvey Hall and Goldhanger from his father in 1923, but sold the latter.
He died 4 March 1963, aged 89; his will was proved 4 June 1963 (estate £68,407). His wife died 3 July 1957; her will was proved 1 October 1957 (estate £2,646).

Coape-Arnold, Wolvey George (1876-1961). Third son of Henry Fraser James Coape-Arnold of Wolvey Hall and Goldhanger, and his wife Mary Genevieve, eldest daughter of Rev. Charles James Cummings, rector of Cheadle (Ches.), born 31 October 1876. He emigrated to Canada in about 1894 but returned to England sometime after 1906. Served in Royal Air Force during WW1. He married, 5 August 1903 at North Norfolk, Manitoba (Canada), Eveline (1886-1968), daughter of Samuel Winterbottom of Manchester and later of North Norfolk, Manitoba, and had issue:
(1) Georgiana Mary Coape-Arnold (1906-87) (q.v.).
He lived latterly at Leintwardine House (Herefs).
He died 8 March 1961; his will was proved 22 June 1961 (estate £18,476). His widow died 24 March 1968.

Coape-Arnold, Georgiana Mary (1906-87). Only child of Wolvey George Coape-Arnold (1873-1961) and his wife Eveline, daughter of Samuel Winterbottom, born at Edrans, Manitoba (Canada), 23 April 1906. She married, 21 March 1941, George Edwin Burbidge (1902-80), son of Sidney George Burbidge of Leicester, railway worker, and had issue:
(1) Mary G. Burbidge (b. 1942) (q.v.); of Wolvey Hall; married, Oct-Dec 1969, John O. Freeman and had issue one son and two daughters; now living;
(2) Richard Coape-Arnold Burbidge (b. 1946) (q.v.).
She inherited Wolvey Hall from her father.
She died 14 November 1987; her will was proved 26 May 1988 (estate £438,834). Her husband died Apr-Jun 1980.

Burbidge (later Coape-Arnold), Richard Coape-Arnold (b. 1946). Only son of George Edwin Burbidge (1902-80) and his wife Georgiana Mary, daughter of Wolvey George Coape-Arnold, born 15 November 1946. Engineeer and later Undertaker. He appears to have changed his name from Burbidge to Coape-Arnold in the early 1970s. He married 1st, Jul-Sep 1968, Kathryn Lake and 2nd, 1988, Maureen Kisby (d. 2005) and had issue:
(1.1) Nicola Marie Burbidge (b. 1969), born Oct-Dec 1969;
(1.2) Stephen John Burbidge (later Coape-Arnold) (b. 1971), born 25 July 1971;
(1.3) James Courtney Coape-Arnold (b. 1974), born Jan-Mar 1974; married, Jan-Mar 2000, Jane Verdun Newberry (b. 1974) and had issue one son and one daughter.
He lived on the Wolvey Hall estate in 2011.
Now living.

Burbidge, Mary G. (b. 1942). Elder child and only daughter of George Edwin Burbidge (1902-80) and his wife Georgiana Mary, daughter of Wolvey George Coape-Arnold,  born 1942. She married, Oct-Dec. 1969, John O. Freeman, and had issue:
(1) Oliver Charles Freeman (b. 1971), now of Wolvey Hall;
(2) Victoria Mary Freeman (b. 1973);
(3) Florence Georgina Freeman (b. 1974).
On the death of her mother, Wolvey Hall was vested in a family trust. She lived at Wolvey Hall.
Now living.

Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1850, i, p.xxx; 1952, p. 62; P. Reid, Burke's & Savill's Guide to Country Houses, vol. 2, 1980, p. 187; D. Hall, The open fields of Northamptonshire, 1995, pp. 140-53; N. Temple, George Repton's Pavilion Notebook, 1993, pp. 77-79; D.W. Lloyd & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: The Isle of Wight, 2006, p. 252;

Location of archives

Arnold and Coape-Arnold of Ashby Lodge and Wolvey Hall: deeds, family and estate papers relating to Northants and Warks property, 18th-19th cents [Warwickshire Record Office, CR1101, CR2352]

Coat of arms

Arnold: Gules, a chevron ermine between three pheons or
Coape-Arnold: Gules, a chevron engrailed argent, gutté de poix, cottised or, between three pheons of the fourth.

Can you help?

Here are a few notes about information and images which would help to improve the account above. If you can help with any of these or with other additions or corrections, please use the contact form in the sidebar to get in touch.

• Does anyone know more about the history of Ashby Lodge, or the dates when it was altered, or the architects employed?  I should be particularly interested to see a ground plan of the house if one exists.
• Can anyone throw any light on the early development of Mirables? It seems clear that George Arnold had acquired it by 1791, but when did he enlarge the original cottage and who was his architect?
• Can anyone supply any of the missing genealogical details about the earlier generations of this family, in particular the name of Richard Arnold (1682-1748)'s first wife, or the dates of death of George Arnold (1683-1766)'s daughters?

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 1 October 2015 and revised 4 and 18 October 2015, 26 April, 8 July and 30 September 2016, 10 March 2017 and 19 March 2019. I am grateful to Nicholas Molyneux, Joanne Eastman, Florence Freeman and Chris Wynne-Davies for additional information and images.