Sunday 14 April 2019

(371) Bardwell of Bolton Hall

The early history of this family is unusually obscure, partly because they seem to have supplied misleading information to the editors of Burke's Landed Gentry. According to the descent given there, John Bardwell (1743-1826), with whom the genealogy below begins, was himself of West Harling Hall (Norfolk) and succeeded his father, another John, who was also seated there. This seems to be a complete fiction. Although an estate at West Harling had belonged to the Bardwell or Berdewell family in the medieval period, the family had long since ceased to hold any property there before the 18th century, and West Harling Hall - which was rebuilt after 1725 - was in other hands. John Bardwell seems, in fact, to have lived in London and to have started his career as a dealer in china, who also acted as a common carrier specialising in the transport of delicate goods. By 1785 he had moved to Sheffield, where he set up as an auctioneer. He was succeeded in this business by his son, Thomas Newman Bardwell (c.1787-1862), who in due course was joined in partnership by his sons, Thomas Newman Bardwell (1815-60) and Frederick Bardwell (1818/9-90). The business was evidently successful, and in 1845 the elder Thomas retired from the concern. At the end of his life, in 1858, he bought Bolton Hall near Fangfoss (Yorks ER). His intention may have been to hand this on to his elder son, but Thomas junior died in 1860. Frederick Bardwell, whose interests had become focused more on the cutlery trade, then had to take up the reins of the auctioneering business too, and when he inherited Bolton Hall in 1862 he let it out, perhaps because he felt the need to live nearer to Sheffield. His only son, Thomas Newman Frederick Bardwell (1850-1931) was however educated as a gentleman, and although he retained his father's interests in the cutlery trade, he lived a gentry lifestyle at Bolton. Most of the land was sold after the First World War, but the house was retained until his death, after which his son, Maj. Thomas Garnett Newman Bardwell (1883-1957) quickly sold it, perhaps to make financial provision for his younger siblings. Major Bardwell, who was a career soldier and racehorse owner, never married and lived subsequently in a villa at Royston (Herts), which he named 'The Boltons', presumably in reference to the name of his father's house rather than the exclusive residential district of London of that name.



Bolton Hall, Fangfoss, Yorkshire (ER)


Bolton Hall, near Fangfoss: the house after rambling additions of c.1882. Image: Historic England.

A well-proportioned two-storey five bay hipped-roofed house of rendered brick, built c.1760 for John Nicoll. The central three bays are stepped slightly forward under a three-bay pediment containing an oculus. When it was offered for sale in 1802 the house was said to consist of 'a Drawing Room and a Dining Room, each about 24 feet by 18, and proportionably high, two small rooms, a large Kitchen, back kitchen, pantry etc.' on the ground floor and 'seven bedrooms with closets etc.' on the upper floor, while a leasing advertisement of 1828 noted that it had recently undergone a thorough repair. The house had apparently already have been enlarged by 1836 when an advertisement referred to an entrance hall and library as well as a drawing room 33 feet by 21 and a dining room 30 feet by 21, and it was further enlarged and altered by T.N.F. Bardwell in about 1882. However, most of the 19th century additions were removed in 1969-73 when the house was restored by Ferrey & Mennim for Col. Worsley.


Bolton Hall: the house after reduction by Ferrey & Mennim in 1969-73.
Descent: John Nicoll... sold 1802...John Preston (fl. 1814-28)... Cook Cooper Taylor (d. 1835); to son, Isaac Taylor; sold 1858? to Thomas Newman Bardwell (c.1790-1862); to son, Frederick Bardwell (1818-90), who gave it to his son, Thomas Newman Frederick Bardwell (1850-1931); to son, Thomas Garnett Newman Bardwell (1883-1957), who sold c.1931?... Col. George Oliver Worsley (1927-2010); sold c.1987... Julian Richer (b. 1959).


Bardwell family of Bolton Hall



Bardwell, John (d. 1826). Parentage unknown. He may possibly be identifiable with the John Bardwell, 'dealer in china' who also acted as a carrier of other delicate goods between London and Norwich, and who invited custom in the press in 1780. By 1785 he was an auctioneer in Sheffield. He married Honor Newman and had issue including:
(1) John Bardwell (b. 1776), baptised at St Mary, Whitechapel (Middx), 28 August 1776;
(2) Hannah Bardwell (b. 1780), baptised at St Mary, Whitechapel (Middx), 28 May 1780;
(3) Elizabeth Bardwell (b. 1783), baptised at Christ Church, Spitalfields (Middx), 20 July 1783;
(4) Thomas Newman Bardwell (c.1787-1862) (q.v.).
He died in Sheffield, 21 August 1826. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bardwell, Thomas Newman (c.1787-1862). Eldest son of John Bardwell (d. 1826) and his wife Honor Newman, baptised at Sheffield, 13 January 1788. JP for Yorkshire. Auctioneer in Sheffield (retired 1845). Trustee of the Rotherham & Four Lane Ends Turnpike Trust. He married, 29 June 1814 at Sheffield (Yorks), Martha Eadon (d. 1865) and had issue:
(1) Thomas Newman Bardwell (1815-60), born 2 June and baptised at Sheffield, 29 June 1815; auctioneer in Sheffield in partnership with his father and brother until 1845; also stockbroker, in partnership with his brother and John Fawcett until 1845; died without issue, at Scarborough (Yorks), 1 May 1860; administration of his goods granted to his father, 13 August 1860 (effects under £100).
(2) Frederick Bardwell (1818/9-90) (q.v.).
He bought Bolton Hall near Fangfoss (Yorks) in 1858.
He died 18 June, and was buried at Ecclesall (Yorks WR), 23 June 1862; his will was proved 9 July 1862 (effects under £4,000). His widow died in Scarborough, 2 September 1865; administration of her goods was granted 25 October 1879 (effects under £50).

Bardwell, Frederick (1818/9-90). Only surviving son of Thomas Newman Bardwell (c.1787-1862) and his wife Martha Eadon, born 15 July 1818/9* and baptised at Sheffield, 6 December 1826. He began as an auctioneer in Sheffield, in partnership with his father and brother, and was also a stockbroker, in partnership with his brother and John Fawcett, until 1845. He seems then to have broadened his interests, becoming an original promoter of Joseph Rodgers & Son Ltd., the cutlery manufacturers and one of the managing directors of that firm until shortly before his death; he was also a director of Samuel Fox & Co. Ltd. He played little part in public affairs apart from being a JP for the West Riding of Yorkshire and serving as a member of Sheffield Town Council, 1870-71, a position from which he resigned after finding the work uncongenial. He was a director of the Sheffield Water Co., 1874-76 and 1881-90. He paid for the building of St. Thomas, Wincobank, Sheffield, and the associated rectory and schools, 1876, in memory of his parents and brother. He married 1st, 27 March 1850 at Sheffield (Yorks), Anne (1820-50), daughter of Maurice Rodgers and 2nd, 7 November 1860 at St Martin, York, her sister Elizabeth Rodgers (1818-93), and had issue:
(1.1) Thomas Newman Frederick Bardwell (1850-1931) (q.v.).
He lived at Lynton (Devon) and Scarborough (Yorks) in the 1850s; he inherited Bolton Hall from his father in 1862 but let it from 1864 and lived at Woodleigh (Notts) and latterly at Park Villa, Worksop (Notts). He owned an estate at Wincobank, Sheffield, which he seems to have developed for housing.
He died 3 May 1890; his will was proved 4 June 1890 (estate £48,709). His first wife died in 1850. His widow was buried at Ecclesall (Yorks WR), 5 June 1893.
*The entry for his baptism in the parish register gives the date as 1818; the plate on his coffin said 1819 (as reported in the local press).

Bardwell, Thomas Newman Frederick (1850-1931). Only son of Frederick Bardwell (1818/9-90) and his wife Anne, daughter of Maurice Rodgers, born 3 July 1850. Educated at Malvern College, Pembroke College, Oxford (matriculated 1869; SCL and BA 1873; MA 1876) and the Inner Temple (admitted 1873; called 1877). Chairman of Joseph Rogers & Sons, cutlery manufacturers, of Sheffield, 1918; Barrister-at-law; JP and DL for East Riding of Yorkshire; County Councillor and Commissioner of Taxes for East Riding. He married, 29 April 1880 at Shifnal (Shrops.), Lucy Sophia (c.1854-99), eldest daughter of Rev. William Bishton Garnett-Botfield of Decker Hill and Bishop's Castle (Shrops.), and had issue:
(1) Grace Frederica Bardwell (1882-1960), born 30 June 1882; married, 4 January 1905, Percy Ayscough Willis (1882-1946), youngest son of Gen. Sir George Harry Smith Willis GCB and had issue two sons and two daughters; died 13 March 1960; will proved 9 May 1960 (estate £2,754);
(2) Thomas Garnett Newman Bardwell (1883-1957) (q.v.);
(3) Sybil Augusta Bardwell (1885-1954), born 2 February 1885; served with ARP in Second World War; married, 2 January 1908, Sir Geoffrey Arnold Ripley (1883-1954), 3rd bt., but had no issue; died 11 August 1954;
(4) Margery Sophia Bardwell (1886-1968), born 6 May 1886; married, 20 February 1906, Maj. William John Corbett-Winder (1875-1950) of Vaynor Park (Montgomerys.) and had issue one son and two daughters; died 20 December 1968; will proved 4 March 1969 (estate £805);
(5) Capt. Tatton Botfield Bardwell (1888-1928), born 18 August 1888; educated at Eton and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; an officer in Montgomeryshire Regt. (Capt.), who served during the First World War with Siegfried Sassoon and is mentioned in the latter's diaries (Sassoon thought him 'a half-baked product of Eton and Sandhurst'!); married, 25 June 1914 at Holy Trinity, Chelsea (Middx), Mary Margaret (d. 1946), younger daughter of Alexander James Henry Campbell of Dunstaffnage, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 14 March 1928;
(6) Mary Myrtle Bardwell (1891-1974), born 7 April and baptised at Full Sutton (Yorks), 10 May 1891; married, 11 February 1915 at St Saviour, Walton St., Chelsea (Middx), Rev. Edmund Henry Corbett-Winder (1882-1960), rector of West Stafford (Dorset), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 28 January 1974; will proved 1 August 1974 (estate £5,853);
(7) Capt. William Scott Bardwell (1892-1968), born 18 April 1892; educated at Cheam School, Royal Naval Colleges, Osborne and Dartmouth; an officer in the Royal Navy, 1909-46 (2nd Lt., 1912; Lt., 1913; Cmdr., 1924; Capt., 1940); served in Second World War; awarded DSO and bar, 1942, 1944; appointed MVO, 1929; married, 18 October 1921, Ellen Louise, daughter of Dr. C. Manville Pratt of Towanda, Pennsylvania (USA) and had issue one son and one daughter; died 24 October 1968.
He inherited Bolton Hall from his father in 1890.
He died at Folkestone (Kent), 28 March 1931, and was buried at Bishop Wilton (Yorks ER), 31 March 1931; his will was proved June 1931 (estate £56,626). His wife died 20 November 1899.


Capt T.G.N. Bardwell (1883-1957).
Some rights reserved.
Bardwell, Maj. Thomas Garnett Newman (1883-1957). Eldest son of Thomas Newman Frederick Bardwell (1850-1931) and his wife Lucy Sophia, eldest daughter of Rev. William Bishton Garnett-Botfield of Decker Hill and Bishop's Castle, born 30 December 1883. Educated at Eton, Jesus College, Cambridge and the Inner Temple (admitted 1913). An officer in the Scots Guards (2nd Lt. 1905-06), the East Yorkshire Yeomanry (2nd Lt., 1903; Lt., 1912; Capt., 1914; Maj.) and the Camel Corps; later seconded to Egyptian Army and served in the Sudan as a district commissioner and DASC, Khartoum, 1920-21. Racehorse owner. He served in the Second World War with the War Office, 1939-41 and Intelligence Corps (Maj.), 1941-46. Appointed MBE, 1946. He was a keen cricketer and Master of Foxhounds. He was unmarried and had no issue.
He inherited Bolton Hall from his father in 1931 but sold it soon afterwards. He lived latterly at The Boltons, Royston (Herts).
He died 25 April 1957; his will was proved 3 June 1957 (estate £30,538).



Sources


Burke's Landed Gentry, 1952, p. 109; M. Egremont, Siegfried Sassoon: a biography, 2013, p. 192.


Location of archives


No significant accumulation is known to survive.


Coat of arms


None recorded


Can you help?


  • Can anyone supply more information about the ownership history of Bolton Hall after its sale by the Bardwells in 1931?
  • I should be most grateful if anyone can provide photographs or portraits of people whose names appear in bold above, and who are not already illustrated.
  • As always, any additions or corrections to the account given above will be gratefully received and incorporated.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 14 April 2019 and updated 19 August 2019 and 23 October 2021. I am grateful to Andrew Rose for additional information.

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Please leave a comment if you have any additional information or corrections to offer, or if you are able to help with additional images of the people or buildings in this post.