(399) Barnett of Glympton Park

A young naval lieutenant called Benjamin Barnett (1669-1703) was one of 279 men lost when HMS Stirling Castle foundered on the Goodwin Sands off Deal (Kent) during the Great Storm of 1703. The fate of his father did not deter Benjamin's only son, Curtis Barnett (1696-1746), with whom the genealogy below begins, from entering the navy in 1710, and he progressed rapidly through the ranks, becoming a Captain in 1731 and being made Commodore of a small squadron sent to the Bay of Bengal in 1744 to attack French trading vessels. A single action, which also resulted in his securing significant prize money, quickly recovered British command of the Bay, and he spent much of 1745 cruising between Ceylon and the mouth of the Ganges looking for trouble and not finding it. However, in the spring of 1746 he fell ill of a fever and died on board his ship at Madras. His will made provision for his widow and two surviving sons, and also for his sister and her children, but he directed his trustees to invest the bulk of his fortune in the purchase of a landed estate for the use of his wife, and after her death, for that of his elder son, Charles. The estate that was eventually purchased was Stratton Park near Biggleswade in Bedfordshire, which was held by his descendants until the early 20th century: the Barnetts of Stratton Park will be the subject of my next article. This account discusses his second son, Benjamin Barnett (1735-1805) and his descendants, and the house in Oxfordshire which they inherited in the 19th century.

Benjamin Barnett did not follow his father and grandfather into the Navy, but became a banker in London, joining John Bland & Son of Lombard Street and becoming a partner there by 1761, when the firm became Bland, Barnett & Co. He became the senior partner following the death of John Bland junior in 1788 (when the firm became Barnett, Hoare, Hill & Barnett), and retired in 1800. His nephew Charles Barnett, of the Stratton Park family, then became a partner, and Benjamin's son, George Henry Barnett (1780-1871) joined the firm soon after 1800. The name of the business continued to alter with every change in the partnership until 1826, after which it was known as Barnett, Hoare & Co. until 1872, and then as Barnett, Hoare, Hanbury & Lloyd until 1884, when it was absorbed into the Lloyds family as part of a wider merger. 

In 1770, Benjamin married Avice (1748-1822), the elder daughter of Sir George Wheate, 3rd bt., of Lechlade Manor (Glos), who was one of his father's four testamentary trustees. The original seat of the Wheate family was Glympton Park in Oxfordshire, which had been remodelled by either Sir George's grandfather, Sir Thomas Wheate (1667-1721), 1st bt., or his uncle, Sir Thomas Wheate (1693-1746), 2nd bt. However, on the latter's death the property had been separated from the baronetcy, and had passed to the 2nd baronet's widow. After her death, her daughters, Sarah, Anne and Mary, bought it from Sir Jacob Wheate, the 5th baronet. Only Mary married (to Richard Lloyd (1730-96)), and the estate thus descended to their son, Francis Sackville Lloyd (1761-1812), who took the name Wheate in recognition of his inheritance. Francis died without issue, leaving the estate for life to his widow Elizabeth, with reversion on her death to the senior line heir of the Wheates. By 1846, when Mrs. Way died, this was George Henry Barnett (1780-1871), the eldest son of Benjamin and Avice. Although he was only a very distant connection to the previous owners, the inheritance cannot have been a surprise, since Benjamin would have been the heir presumptive since his mother's death in 1822. Once he gained possession, he remodelled the house (which was probably rather neglected), but he is said only to have lived there in summer, even after he retired from the bank.

Despite occasional difficulties caused by wars and the business cycle, two generations of banking, together with other business directorships and socially advantageous marriages (his wife was a first cousin of George Canning, briefly the Prime Minister in 1827), made George Henry Barnett a wealthy man, worth £120,000 at his death in 1871. Both his surviving sons, Henry Barnett (1815-96) and Charles George Barnett (1816-96) followed him into the bank, and remained partners until its final absorption into Lloyds in 1884.

King's Beeches, Ascot: built for C.G. Barnett in about 1867.

As the elder, Henry also inherited the Glympton estate, but Charles built himself a new house near Ascot called King's Beeches, which he occupied until his death.

Henry Barnett had wider interests than his father and grandfather, serving as MP for Woodstock between 1865 and 1874, and also becoming a member of the House of Laity of the Church of England's Synod. He belonged to the Anglo-Catholic wing of the church, and was prominent in church circles for his promotion of the revival of a monastic tradition in Anglicanism. The Rev. William John Butler (1818-94), who founded St. Mary's Convent at Wantage (Berks) in 1848, was his brother-in-law, and two of his daughters subsequently became nuns at Wantage. 

Like his father, Henry Barnett outlived several of his sons, including George Wheate Barnett (1843-78), who entered the family bank and was probably his father's intended successor as a partner; his death in 1878 may have been a factor in the decision of the partners to merge the bank with the Lloyds group a few years later. At his death in 1896, Henry was therefore succeeded at Glympton by his third but eldest surviving son, Frank Henry Barnett (1850-1907), who had a short career in the Navy before his marriage. After that, he is curiously invisible in the records: he took no part in business or politics; does not seem to have been involved with the arts or country sports; and had only a minimal engagement with local affairs, becoming a JP in 1901. Until he inherited Glympton, he lived in Chelsea and later at Holton (Oxon), where he rented the dower house (Holton Cottage) from the family into which his younger sister had married. It is possible that his limited activities were due to delicate health, for he seems to have died of tuberculosis. His tenure as owner of Glympton was fairly short, but he may have been responsible for adding external shutters to many of the windows of the house.

On the death of Frank Barnett in 1907, Glympton passed to his only son, George Henry Barnett (1880-1942), who was a career soldier, and can have been at Glympton rather little until he retired from the regular army in 1920. When he died, in the depths of the Second World War, the estate passed to his only surviving son, Maj. Benjamin George Barnett (1912-98), but by this time the wealth derived from 19th century banking had been considerably diminished by generations of taxes and agricultural depression.

Swift's House, Stoke Lyne

Probably in order to pay the death duties, Maj. Barnett decided to sell the estate, which found an enthusiastic new owner in Alan Good in 1944. Major Barnett moved just a few miles away to Swifts House at Stoke Lyne near Bicester, the seat of his wife's family, the Peytons, which they inherited in 1962. This remained the family home until the death of his widow in 2007, but has since been sold. The present head of the family is Mr. David Barnett, who farms from a Jacobean manor house in Northamptonshire called Great Purston Manor.

Glympton Park, Oxfordshire

There was a manor house here by the 16th century if not earlier, and since the present house stands very close to the medieval church, it was probably on this site, although nothing now survives that is earlier than the 18th century. The estate was acquired by the Wheate family in 1633, the parish was enclosed in the late 17th century, and a deer park was created around the house. In about 1705 Sir John Vanbrugh, who had just been appointed to design Blenheim Palace nearby, produced some sketch designs for Sir Thomas Wheate, 1st bt., for remodelling or rebuilding the house. None of these proposals were executed, but with them is what seems to be a sketch plan of the existing house. If this does relate to Glympton, it suggests the old house then consisted of south range which had a medieval or Tudor great hall in the centre, but which had been remodelled in the late 17th century with symmetrical projections at either end, and with a generous open-well staircase next to the hall. Behind this range was a courtyard flanked by two parallel wings - the internal layout of which is not shown - and closed by a screen wall on the north.

Glympton Park: ground plan showing the house c.1705. Image: Victoria & Albert Museum.

Glympton Park: design of c.1705 by Sir John Vanbrugh for remodelling the south front as a regular classical facade. Image: Victoria & Albert Museum.

Although Vanbrugh's schemes for the house came to nothing, a substantial remodelling does seem to have taken place later for either Sir Thomas Wheate (d. 1721) or more probably for his son of the same name, who died in 1746. As Vanbrugh had proposed, the south front was remodelled and made symmetrical, with a two-storey elevation of seven bays (grouped 2-3-2) between the projecting ends. The interiors were refitted at the same time, and by the early 19th century - if not before - the western rear wing had been demolished.

In 1846 the estate passed to George Henry Barnett (1780-1871), who was the son of a London banker. He demolished the projecting ends of the south front and refaced the seven bay centre in Bath stone, with decorative motifs in a restrained Italianate style, including a balustraded parapet. He moved the main entrance from the centre of this range to the west front (where he created a new Tuscan porch), and replaced it with a single-storey canted bay window. His biggest changes, however, were to rebuild the rear east wing as a new service range, and to construct a new stable block between the house and the church. Apart from the addition of external shutters, probably in the late 19th or early 20th century, the house remained in this form until it was sold by the Barnett family during the Second World War.

Glympton Park: the south front of the house in the early 20th century. The Tuscan porch on the west front can be seen in profile, and the late Victorian window shutters are in place. Image: Historic England

Glympton Park: the house from the south-east in the early 20th century, showing the service wing added in the 1840s.

Alan Good, the Anglo-Irish head of a successful engineering company, bought the house in 1944 and had grand plans for remodelling it. His ambition was to realise Vanbrugh's proposed thirteen-bay elevation of two storeys, with taller pedimented end-pavilions and segmental-headed windows, but in the post-War period, when building materials were centrally controlled and largely devoted to the vital work of reconstructing bombed cities and industrial sites, this was unrealistic. Instead, he employed Trenwith Wills in 1948-49 to carry out a more limited remodelling, removing the external shutters and replanning and re-Georgianizing the interior. In 1974 the entrance hall had mid 18th century wooden panelling with a dentil cornice, doorways with broken pediments, and a screen of three arches separating the hall from a staircase by Trenwith Wills, but how much of this was original to the house, or in its original position, is unclear. Alan Good may have hoped to carry out further work later on, when building licences were relaxed, but any such scheme was prevented by his early death in 1953.

The estate was bought in 1990 by the Saudi Arabian Prince Bandar bin Sultan al-Saud, and was further enlarged and remodelled for him in 1992-96 by Philip Jebb (d. 1995), with the work continued and completed by Nicholas Johnson and Peter Cave. Externally, their main impact has been on the west side of the house, where a new eight bay range (uncomfortably grouped 3-2-3) with a pedimented centre was constructed. They also remodelled and enlarged the 19th century service wing and reused the Tuscan porch of the 1840s as the facade of a new terrace room on the west front. Inside, Jebb designed a new entrance hall and full-height staircase hall, but the rest of the interior was remodelled with interiors by Alberto Pinto of Paris. The 19th century stables, north of the house, have also been considerably enlarged.

Glympton Park: the house in its landscaped park in 2015.

The house sits in a delightful small-scale landscaped park, in which a section of the River Glyme was dammed to form a serpentine lake, very much in the manner of Capability Brown. Since he is known to have worked on the adjoining Blenheim and Kiddington estates, he may have worked here too, although there seems to be no documentary evidence for this, and it could just be a piece of successful emulation.

Glympton Park: the gatehouse in about 1850.

The entrance to the estate is through a gatehouse flanked by a pair of lodges, which stands south of the house. The gateway itself has a high flat basket arch, probably of c.1800, and a drawing of about 1850 shows it with rather pretty and simple Gothick glazing. The present half-timbering and the pyramidal roof must date from a remodelling in 1880. The lodges to either side of the archway have recently been enlarged for the current owner of the estate.

Descent: Thomas Lydeard (d. 1480); to son Anthony Lydeard; to son, William Lydeard (d. 1545); to brother, Edmund Lydeard, who sold 1547 to John Cupper, who in 1581 settled the manor on his son Richard Cupper (d. 1583); to widow, Frances (later Pollard) (fl. 1632) who leased it until 1616 to Thomas Tesdale, cofounder of Pembroke College, Oxford; in 1632 her nephew John Cupper sold the manor with her consent to Sir John Sedley; sold 1633 to William Wheate (d. 1659); to son Thomas Wheate (d. 1668); to son Sir Thomas Wheate (1667-1721), 1st bt.; to son, Sir Thomas Wheate (1693-1746), 2nd bt; to widow, Mary (d. 1765); after her death her daughters Sarah Wheate (d. 1805) and Anne Wheate (d. 1807) and Mary Lloyd (d. 1803) bought the estate from Sir Jacob Wheate (d. 1783), 5th bt., and held it jointly; on Anne's death it passed to Mary's son Francis Sackville Lloyd (later Wheate) (d. 1812); to widow Elizabeth Wheate (d. 1846), who later married the Rev. William Way (d. 1845), and then to George Henry Barnett (1780-1871); to son, Henry Barnett (1815-96); to son, Frank Henry Barnett (1850-1907); to son, Col. George Henry Barnett (1880-1942); to son Maj. Benjamin Barnett (1912-98), who sold 1944 to Alan Paul Good (1906-53); sold after his death to the Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist, Willard Garfield Weston (1898-1978), who sold 1957 to Eric William Towler (1900-87); sold 1988 to the Australian tycoon, Alan Bond (1938-2015); sold 1990 to Prince Bandar bin Sultan al-Saud (b. 1949).

Barnett family of Glympton Park

Commodore Curtis Barnett (1696-1746)

Barnett, Commodore Curtis (1696-1746). Only son of Lt. Benjamin Barnett RN (1669-1703) and his wife Mary, widow of [forename unknown] Willin, born 26 April and baptised at Alverstoke (Hants), 8 May 1696. An officer in the Royal Navy from 1710 (Midshipman, 1713; Lt., 1718; Cmdr., 1730; Capt., 1731; Commodore, 1744). He married, 13 May 1725 at St Paul's Cathedral, London, Elizabeth (1700-75), daughter of Benjamin Rosewell, master shipwright, and had issue:
(1) Elizabeth Barnett (b. & d. 1726), born 15 May and baptised at Chatham (Kent), 27 May 1726; said to have died in infancy, 31 August 1726;
(2) Benjamin Barnett (1731-32?), born 27 March and baptised at Chatham, 10 April 1731; said to have died in infancy at Gibraltar in 1732;
(3) Charles Barnett (1733-1811), born at Gibraltar, 17 May 1733; educated at Oriel College, Oxford (matriculated 1750); married, 17 February 1756, Bridget (c.1731-1816), daughter of Alexander Clayton, and had issue three sons and two daughters [from whom descend the Barnetts of Stratton Park, who will be the subject of my next article];
(4) Benjamin Barnett (1735-1805) (q.v.).
He seems to have lived chiefly at Chatham (Kent) when in England and owned a farm at nearby Gillingham. By his will he directed his trustees to invest the bulk of his residuary estate in the purchase of a landed estate for the use of his widow and subsequently his elder son: the estate purchased was Stratton Park (Beds.)
He died after a short illness at Fort St. David, Madras (India) while commanding the East Indies Squadron of the Royal Navy, 2 May 1746; his will was proved 27 July 1747. His widow died at Stratton Park, 30 July, and was buried at Biggleswade (Beds), 5 August 1775.

Barnett, Benjamin (1735-1802). Younger surviving son of Commodore Curtis Barnett (1696-1746) and his wife Elizabeth Rosewell, born 29 September and baptised at Chatham (Kent), 4 October 1735. Banker in London with Barnett, Hoare, Hill and Barnett (senior partner from 1788; retired 1800). He married, 6 December 1770 at Blackmore (Essex), Avice (1748-1822), daughter of Sir George Wheate, 3rd bt. of Glympton Park, and had issue:
(1) Avice Barnett (1771-1842); baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 27 December 1771; died unmarried, 3 August, and was buried at Putney (Surrey), 10 August 1842;
(2) Elizabeth Barnett (1773-1818), baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London,  24 July 1773; died unmarried and was buried at St George the Martyr, London, 20 September 1818;
(3) Henrietta Barnett (1774-1847), baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 10 October 1774; died unmarried in London, 11 February, and was buried at St. Marylebone (Middx), 18 February 1847;
(4) Charlotte Barnett (1776-1821), baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 18 June 1776; died unmarried in London, 10 February, and was buried at St Mary, Bryanston Sq., London, 15 February 1821;
(5) Lucy Bridget Barnett (1778-1864), baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 1 July 1778; died unmarried in London,  12 March, and was buried at Glympton, 17 March 1864; will proved 5 April 1864;
(6) George Henry Barnett (1780-1871) (q.v.);
(7) Maria Catherine Barnett (1782-1832), baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 9 June 1782; died unmarried at Blackheath (Kent), 7 June 1832, and was buried at Charlton (Kent);
(8) Edward Barnett (b. 1785), baptised at St. John Hampstead, 5 August 1785; a writer with the East India Company from 1802; died in India, in or after 1802;
(9) Lt-Col. Charles John Barnett (1790-1856), born 13 February and baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 12 March 1790; officer in Scots Guards (Ensign, 1807; Lt. & Capt., 1812; Capt. & Lt-Col., 1820; retired 1830), who fought at the Battle of Waterloo; after leaving the army he joined the diplomatic service and was consul at Warsaw (Poland), 1833-41 and consul-general in Egypt, 1841-46, when he retired; died unmarried at Englefield Green (Surrey), 4 August, and was buried at Virginia Water (Surrey), 9 August 1856;
(10) Robert Barnett (1794-1877), baptised at St Peter le Poer, London, 8 April 1794; stockbroker; lived at Blackheath (Kent); married, 5 June 1821 at Hanley Castle (Worcs), Henrietta (c.1798-1864), second daughter of William Farquharson, and had issue one son [from whom descended the Barnett family of Halton Castle, Northumberland] and two daughters; died at Blackheath Park, 9 August 1877; will proved 1 September 1877 (effects under £30,000).
He lived in London and later at Theobalds Grove, Cheshunt (Herts).
He was buried at Cheshunt, 18 June 1802; his will was proved in the PCC, 26 June 1802. His widow was buried at St. Marylebone, 15 August 1822; her will was proved 23 August 1822.

George Henry Barnett (1780-1871)

Barnett, George Henry (1780-1871). Eldest son of Benjamin Barnett (1735-1805) and his wife Avice, daughter of Sir George Wheate, 3rd bt., of Glympton Park (Oxon), born at Glympton Park, 4 April and baptised at St Peter-le-Poer, London, 5 May 1780. Educated at Eton. Banker in London with Barnett Hoare & Co; a director of the Alliance Assurance Co. JP (from 1848) and DL (from 1852) for Oxfordshire. He married, 14 December 1805 at St Marylebone (Middx), Elizabeth ('Bess') Canning (1777-1838), daughter of Stratford Canning of London and sister of Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe, and had issue:
(1) Harriet Barnett (1806-59), born in London, 7 November 1806 and baptised at St Marylebone, 12 January 1807; died unmarried, 9 April, and was buried at Glympton, 14 April 1859;
(2) George Barnett (b. 1809), born 25 April and was baptised 14 December 1809; said to have died in infancy;
(3) Elizabeth Barnett (1810-1900), born 28 November 1810 and baptised at St Marylebone, 27 May 1811; lived at The Mead, Wantage; died unmarried aged 89 on 15 April 1900; will proved 17 May 1900 (estate £19,907);
(4) Emma Barnett (1813-94), born 27 May 1813 and baptised at St Marylebone on the same day; married, 29 July 1843 at Putney (Surrey), Very Rev. William John Butler (1818-94), vicar of Wantage (Berks), 1846-85, founder of St Mary's Convent there, and later dean of Lincoln Cathedral, 1885-94, son of John La Forey Butler, banker, and had issue six children; died 21 January 1894 and was buried with her husband (who died a week earlier) in the cloisters of Lincoln Cathedral; they are commemorated by a fine marble monument behind the high altar; will proved 24 March 1894 (effects £16,413);
(5) Henry Barnett (1815-96) (q.v.);
(6) Charles George Barnett (1816-96), born 5 November 1816 and baptised at St Marylebone, 22 February 1817; educated at Eton; banker in London as a partner in Barnett, Hoare & Co. (later Barnett, Hoare, Hanbury & Lloyd) until its merger into Lloyds Bank in 1884; director of the Alliance Assurance Co. and also of railway companies; JP for Berkshire; lived at King's Beeches, Sunninghill (Berks) from 1867, and was a churchwarden at Ascot, 1868-91 and a manager of Ascot Heath Schools; married, 22 April 1847 at St George, Hanover Sq., London, Marianne Jane (1819-83), daughter of Edward St. John-Mildmay, and had issue four sons and two daughters; died at Sunninghill, 1 May 1886; will proved 9 June 1886 (estate £69,566);
(7) Mary Charlotte Barnett (1818-1904), born 4 October and baptised at St Marylebone, 3 December 1818; married, 5 July 1842 at Putney (Surrey), Charles Unwin, son of John Unwin, and had issue; died at Tunbridge Wells (Kent), 28 September 1904; will proved 8 December 1904 (estate £4,244);
(8) Louisa Barnett (1820-1913), born 5 October 1820 and baptised at St. Marylebone, 6 February 1820; married, 13 May 1854 at St Paul, Knightsbridge (Middx), Paul Butler (1821-75), son of John La Forey Butler, and had issue three sons; lived latterly at Wyck Hill House, Wyck Rissington (Glos); died aged 93 at Tunbridge Wells, 8 December 1913, and was buried at Wyck Rissington, 11 December 1913; will proved 14 March 1914 (estate £2,314).
He had a town house at 42 Wilton Crescent, Belgravia and a villa at Putney; after he inherited Glympton Park in 1846 from his mother's family, he spent the summers there.
He died aged 91 on 26 April, and was buried at Glympton, 2 May 1871; his will was proved 19 May 1871 (effects under £120,000). His wife died 17 December, and was buried at Putney, 24 December 1838.

Henry Barnett (1815-96)

Barnett, Henry (1815-96). Elder surviving son of George Henry Barnett (1780-1871) and his wife Elizabeth ('Bess') Canning, born 14 February 1815. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1832; BA 1836; MA 1847). Banker in London with Barnett, Hoare, Hanbury & Lloyd until its merger into Lloyds Bank in 1884; also a director of the Provincial Bank of Ireland and Chairman of the Economic Life Assurance Society. Conservative MP for Woodstock, 1865-74. JP (from 1848), DL and County Alderman for Oxfordshire; Hon. Col. of Oxfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry. He was a key supporter of the Anglo-Catholic wing of the Church of England, did much to encourage the establishment of Anglican sisterhoods (which two of his daughters joined), and was a member of the House of Laymen of the Synod for the Province of Canterbury. His agricultural interests included the breeding of Oxfordshire Downs sheep, and he supported the Oxfordshire County Agricultural Society. As a young man he was an enthusiastic cricketer, and made four appearances for the MCC, 1836-39. He married, 18 September 1838, Emily Ann (1816-83), fourth daughter of John Stratton of Chesterton and Great Tew (Oxon), and had issue:
(1) Frances Elizabeth Barnett (1840-95), born 1 August 1840; became an Anglican nun with the Sisters of St Mary, Wantage (Berks); died unmarried at St Mary's Cottage, Matheram, near Poona (India), 9 November 1895; will proved 28 October 1896 (effects £2,921);
(2) George Barnett (b. & d. 1842), born 4 April 1842; died in infancy, 6 May 1842;
(3) George Wheate Barnett (1843-78), born 19 August 1843; educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1861; BA 1864); banker in his father's firm; an officer in the Oxfordshire Yeomanry Cavalry (Cornet, 1866; Lt., 1872); died unmarried in London, 25 March, and was buried at Glympton, 30 March 1878; will proved 29 May 1878 (effects under £14,000);
(4) Emily Avice Barnett (1846-1933), born 1 April 1846; became a nun with the Sisters of St Mary, Wantage; died unmarried at Wantage, 27 January 1933;
(5) Gertrude Louisa Barnett (1848-1912), born in London, 2 April 1848, with a stillborn twin sister; married, 7 January 1880 at Glympton, as his second wife, Ven. Charles Wellington Johnson (later Furse) (1821-1900), Archdeacon of Westminster, son of Charles William Johnson of Great Torrington (Devon), and had issue one son and one daughter; died at Markham House, Wokingham (Berks), 6 March 1912, and was buried at Swallowfield (Berks); will proved 1 May 1912 (estate £5,182);
(6) Frank Henry Barnett (1850-1907) (q.v.);
(7) Canon Herbert Barnett (1851-1937), born 14 May 1851; educated at Radley, Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1869; BA 1873; MA 1878) and Cuddesdon Theological College; ordained deacon 1874 and priest, 1876; chaplain of Cuddesdon College, 1878-82; vicar of Watlington (Oxon), 1882-86 and of Bracknell (Berks, 1886-1919; rural dean of Maidenhead, 1903-21; Hon. Canon of Christ Church, Oxford, 1914-37; married, 19 April 1888, Mary (1865-1953), daughter of Charles Lethbridge, and had issue one son and two daughters; died at Binfield (Berks), 23 November 1937 and was buried at Glympton;
(8) Walter Stratford Barnett (1853-61), born 30 May 1853; died young, 15 February 1861 and was buried at Glympton;
(9) Amy Katherine Barnett (1854-1943), born 28 June 1854; married, 26 January 1875, Edward Alexander James Duff (1847-1916), son of Adm. Norwich Duff, and had issue three sons and five daughters; died 15 January 1943.
He inherited Glympton Park from his father in 1871, and had a town house at 15 West Halkin St., Belgravia.
He died 5 May, and was buried at Glympton, 9 May 1896; his will was proved 8 August 1896 (effects £122,865). His wife died in Florence (Italy), 12 March, and was buried at Glympton, 24 March 1883.

Barnett, Frank Henry (1850-1907). Third but eldest surviving son of Henry Barnett (1815-96) and his wife Emily Ann, fourth daughter of John Stratton of Great Tew (Oxon), born in London, 17 February 1850. Educated at Eton. An officer in the Royal Navy (Cadet. 1864; Midshipman, 1866; Sub-Lt., 1870; retired 1873). JP for Oxfordshire, 1901. He married, 17 October 1878 at St Paul, Wilton Place, London, Frances Mary (1859-1947), elder daughter of Henry Tudor Davies, barrister, Chief Magistrate of Hong Kong, and member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, and had issue:
(1) George Henry Barnett (1880-1942) (q.v.).
After his marriage, he lived in Chelsea (Middx) and at Holton Cottage (Oxon) until he inherited Glympton Park from his father in 1896.
He died 7 October and was buried at Glympton, 10 October 1907; his will was proved 16 January 1908 (estate £86,935). His widow died at Eastbourne (Sussex), 11 July, and was buried at Glympton, 20 July 1947; her will was proved 28 October 1947 (estate £3,698).

Barnett, Col. George Henry (1880-1942). Only child of Frank Henry Barnett (1850-1907) and his wife Frances Mary, elder daughter of Henry Tudor Davies, barrister, born in London, 12 November 1880. Educated at Radley and Royal Military College, Sandhurst. An officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1899; Lt., 1901; Capt., 1907; Maj., 1915 and Br. Lt-Col., 1918; retired 1920), serving in Boer War (severely wounded) and First World War (mentioned in despatches seven times; DSO 1916; CMG 1918); later an officer in the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (Lt. Col., 1920; retired as Col. 1924) and Hon. Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (from 1926). He was awarded the Italian Croce di Guerra and Corona d'Italia. JP (from 1909) and DL (from 1924) for Oxfordshire. He married, 7 April 1904 at Ramsden (Oxon), Mary Dorothea Lowbridge (1876-1946), daughter of Rev. Robert Lowbridge Baker of Ramsden House (Oxon), and had issue:
(1) Dame Mary Henrietta Barnett (1905-85), born 16 February 1905; educated at Heathfield and Ascot; an officer in Women's Auxiliary Air Force and Women's Royal Air Force, 1939-60 (Squadron Officer, 1943; Group Officer, 1949; Deputy Director, 1949-52; Air Commandant and Director of the Women's Royal Air Force, 1956-60); hon. aide de camp to HM The Queen, 1956-60; appointed DBE, 1958 (OBE 1950; CBE 1956); JP and County Councillor for Oxfordshire; lived at Hoggrove House, Woodstock (Oxon); died unmarried, 11 September 1985 and was buried at Glympton; will proved 5 November 1985 (estate £238,269);
(2) Maj. Frank Henry Wheate Barnett (1906-40), born 11 December 1906; educated at Eton and RMC Sandhurst; an officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1927; Lt., 1930; Capt., 1937; Maj., 1940); married 23 March 1938, Julia Ysobel (1910-94) (who m2, 6 August 1947, Frederick John Randolph Coleridge CBE DSO), youngest daughter of Lt-Col. Arthur Llewellyn OBE of Wribbenhall, Bewdley (Worcs), and had issue one daughter; died 2 June 1940 of wounds received the previous day at Dunkirk; buried at Dunkirk Town Cemetery but also commemorated by a memorial plaque at Glympton; will proved 26 May 1941 (estate £1,407);
(3) Daphne Helena Barnett (1910-96), born 16 August 1910; married 29/30 October 1936 at Glympton, Maj. John Edward Stanes Chamberlayne (1910-94) of Chipping Norton (Oxon), son of Col. Edward Tankerville Chamberlayne DSO of Witherley Hall (Warks), and had issue two children; died 17 August 1996; will proved 30 October 1996;
(4) Maj. Benjamin George Barnett (1912-88) (q.v.); 
(5) Rev. (Jessica Dorothy) Anne Barnett (1918-2000), born 5 October 1918; ordained deacon in Kenya, c.1966; the first female curate in England when appointed at Halifax (Yorks WR) in 1973; retired 1988; lived latterly at Hoggrove House, Woodstock; died unmarried, 11 May 2000; will proved 23 August 2000.
He inherited Glympton Park from his father in 1907.
He died 8 October and was buried at Glympton, 11 October 1942; his will was proved 27 February 1943 (estate £51,494). His widow died 26 June and was buried at Glympton, 30 June 1946; her will was proved 12 September 1946 (estate £7,729).

Barnett, Maj. Benjamin George (1912-98). Second, but only surviving, son of George Henry Barnett (1880-1942) and his wife Mary Dorothea Baker, born 5 December 1912. An officer in the Oxfordshire Yeomanry from 1936 (2nd Lt., 1936; Lt., 1939; Capt., 1939; Maj., 1946), who served in France in 1940 and 1944-45 and was officer commanding the first allied troops to relieve the Belsen Concentration Camp (Germany), 1945; appointed MBE, 1945. Stockbroker in Oxford. High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, 1969-70; Chairman of Oxfordshire Playing Fields Association. He married, 28 July 1943, Delia (1916-2006), elder daughter of Maj. Sir Algernon Thomas Peyton, 7th bt. and had issue:
(1) David John Wheate Barnett (b. 1946), born 16 February 1946; educated at Eton; chartered surveyor and sheep farmer at Purston Manor (Northants); married, Jul-Sept 1971, Annabel M. Owen (b. 1950) and had issue;
(2) Charles Henry Barnett (b. 1948), born 15 July 1948; educated at Eton; chief executive of Aintree and later Ascot Racecourses; lives at Erbistock (Denbighs.); married, Jul-Sept 1978, Georgina R. Greig, and had issue one son and two daughters;
(3) Rosemary Dorothea Barnett (b. 1953), born 13 April 1953; caterer in London.
He inherited Glympton Park from his father in 1942 but sold the 1,250 acre estate in 1944 and lived subsequently at Swifts House, Stoke Lyne (Oxon).
He died 25 September 1998; his will was proved 21 January 1999. His widow died 8 September 2006; her will was proved 1 March 2007.

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1965, pp. 47-49; H. Barnett, Glympton: the history of an Oxfordshire manor, 1923;  J. Sherwood & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Oxfordshire, 1974, p. 613; VCH Oxfordshire, vol. 11, 1983, pp. 120-31; A. Brooks & J. Sherwood, The buildings of England: Oxfordshire - North and West, 2017, pp. 332-33; ODNB entry on Curtis Barnett (1696-1746).

Location of archives

No significant accumulation of family papers is known to survive.
Barnett, Commander Curtis (1696-1746): letter book, 1744-46 [National Maritime Museum, Greenwich AND/8]
Barnett, Dame Mary Henrietta (1905-85): scrapbooks, 1940-60 [Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, Kings College, London]
Barnett, Hoare, Hanbury & Lloyd, bankers: business records, 1774-1884 [Lloyds Banking Group Archives

Coat of arms

None recorded

Can you help?

• I have been unable to locate a view of Glympton Park before its remodelling c.1846, and would be most grateful if anyone can supply one. I have also not seen illustrations of the interior of any period, and would again be grateful for any such views.
• 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 6 December 2019 and was updated 14 August 2020 and 21 July 2021: I am grateful to Michael P. Barnett for additional information and corrections.