(521) Becher of Howbury Hall

Becher of Howbury

The Becher (sometimes Bechar, Beecher or Beacher) family were settled in western Kent in the 15th and 16th centuries as yeomen and minor gentry with landholdings in Leigh, Penshurst, Chiddingstone, Cowden, Mereworth and Wrotham. John Becher of Powndrowen House, Penshurst (which he sold to a relative) is said to have had no less than eleven sons, the youngest of whom, Henry Becher (c.1511-71) (with whom the genealogy below begins), was apprenticed to a London haberdasher and became a freeman of the city of London in 1534. A career as a merchant followed, and in due course Henry joined the Common Council, becoming an alderman in 1567 and serving as one of the sheriffs of London in 1570. He became sufficiently wealthy to invest in the purchase of lands, although his acquisitions were scattered around the country rather than being concentrated in a particular area. He was succeeded in his business by his eldest son, Henry Becher (c.1544-1608), who seems to have retired in about 1597, when he bought the Fotheringhay College estate in Northamptonshire.

Fotheringhay College: the buildings as shown on a 16th century estate map.

This property consisted of the ruins of the claustral buildings of the a college of secular priests attached to Fotheringhay church, which had served as the mausoleum of the Dukes of York in 15th century. The college had been dissolved in 1549 and the college buildings were unroofed and partly demolished soon afterwards. It seems likely, since the Bechers were resident in the early 17th century, that they either repaired part of the ruined buildings of the college or built a new house on the site.

Henry Becher died in 1608 and was succeeded by his eldest son, William Becher (1574-1640), who was knighted in 1619. He was brought up as a gentleman, being educated at Cambridge and becoming MP for Huntingdon in 1601. He lived at Howbury Hall in Bedfordshire, and although he does not seem to have bought the freehold of it until about 1624, he was evidently living there during his father's lifetime, for in 1603 he exercised his right to appoint a new minister at the local parish church of Renhold, and in 1612-13 he was High Sheriff of Bedfordshire. He probably built the Jacobean house which was recorded by Thomas Fisher in about 1815. After buying the freehold of Howbury, he proceeded to sell the Fotheringhay College property in 1629, although some land at Fotheringhay probably remained in the possession of his siblings, as members of the family continued to be buried there into the mid 17th century.

Sir William Becher seems to have been of a Puritan persuasion, and he married a daughter of Oliver St. John, 1st Baron St. John of Bletsoe, whose family were among the leading Presbyterians in the country. They had an enormous family of at least 17 children (some sources say 19!) and their sons included a Puritan minister and a Presbyterian academic who was intruded into Peterhouse, Cambridge in 1644 (but expelled in 1650, after the Presbyterians fell out among themselves). The heir to Howbury was Oliver Becher (1598-c.1659), who inherited the estate just before the outbreak of the Civil War and held it through the two troubled decades of the war and Commonwealth. He was an officer in the Parliamentarian army during the Civil War, and played an active part in the fighting between 1642 and 1644. His exact date of death is uncertain, but he was succeeded in about 1659 by his eldest son, William Becher (1628-94), who may have held more moderate views than his father. He seems to have been popular with the restored monarchy, being knighted in 1660 and appointed as a militia officer, JP and Deputy Lieutenant in the same year. In 1661 he was one of the magistrates who tried John Bunyan for offences under the Conventicle Act of 1593 and sent him to Bedford Gaol, and this also suggests that he was relatively comfortable with the emerging limits to religious toleration. Against this must be set the fact that his first wife was a St. John; so perhaps the reality is that Sir William recognised the need for compromise if the religious and political wounds of the Civil War and Commonwealth were to be healed.

Sir William's eldest son and heir was William Becher (1661-1724), who was apprenticed to a London mercer and became a freeman of London in 1691, although it seems likely that his business career was cut short when he inherited the Howbury estate from his father in 1694. He became a justice of the peace for Bedfordshire, but did not fulfil the wide range of public responsibilities which his father had taken on, and he remains a comparatively obscure figure. His only surviving son, William Becher (1697-1751) is even more obscure: all that is known of him is that he married in 1726 an Elizabeth Clarke (d. 1766), who may have been a relative of his father's second wife. When he died in 1751 he left the Howbury estate to her for life, with remainder to a succession of distant cousins.

The man who actually came into possession on the death of William's widow in 1766 was John Becher (1711-c.1779), a great-great-grandson of Sir William Becher (1574-1640). The intervening generations had all been London merchants, but John went abroad and became a merchant first at Alicante (Spain) and after about 1740 at Livorno (Italy), where there was a large expatriate community of English merchants. He married in Livorno in 1744 and all his children were born there, and although he returned to England in 1766 to claim his inheritance, his complex business affairs took him back to Italy, and he was still there in 1776, shortly before his death. He was a partner in a hemp manufactory which was described in 1775 as "gone by ye Devil, the partners are all by the Ears and gone to law together, and poor old Becher will be trick'd out of all". He was also associated in business with his son William (b. 1748), who contracted a gambling habit and ran up large debts. Either on that account or because his son remained in Italy to manage the family interests there, John left the Howbury estate to his younger brother, Richard Becher (1721-82), who had recently returned from India with a modest fortune. Unfortunately, Richard was persuaded to place his 'modest fortune' at risk, either to help a friend or to guarantee his nephew's gambling debts (accounts differ) and he was obliged to sell the Howbury estate to the Polhill family (who still own it) in 1781 and to return to India to resume earning a living. He died soon afterwards, and his sons all made careers in the service of the East India Company. The gambling ne'er-do-well William Becher (b. 1748) was married and in Paris by 1790, but is said later to have emigrated to the West Indies, where he had died by 1809. 

Howbury Hall, Renhold, Bedfordshire

The estate belonged in the late 16th and 17th centuries to the Gostwick family of Willington Hall, and it seems unlikely that they had or needed a house of any great consequence at Howbury. It is likely, however, that a new mansion was built for Sir William Becher after he acquired the estate, and this would appear to be consistent with the appearance of the house recorded by Thomas Fisher c.1815. 

Howbury Hall: watercolour by Thomas Fisher, c.1815, showing the Jacobean house. Image: Cheffins Fine Art.

Sir William's new house consisted of a hall range with two cross-wings and a central porch between two tall and symmetrically placed dormer windows. Mullioned or mullioned and transomed windows survived in the dormers and the wings in the early 19th century, but the fenestration of the centre had been regularized with sash windows, probably in the early 18th century, when the surviving U-plan stables and the dairy/laundry building near the house were built. An irregular service wing adjoined the main building on the east, part of which survived until c.1960, when it was taken down after an outbreak of wet and dry rot and death watch beetle.

In 1847 the Jacobean house was seriously damaged by fire after a thoughtless workman lit a fire in the roof to destroy a nest of bees. The house was unoccupied and unfurnished at the time, and the books had been removed, but the entrance hall, drawing room, library and many bedrooms, comprising the left-hand wing were burned to the ground, with nothing but the chimneystacks and small sections of wall attached to them surviving. The billiard room, dining room, some further bedrooms, and the service accommodation in the right-hand wing, remained standing, though considerably damaged. 

Howbury Hall: engraving of 1851 showing the house with only one wing.

Howbury Hall: the entrance front today

The house was rebuilt in 1849 for Frederick Charles Polhill-Turner (1826-81) by James Horsford of Bedford with a rendered five-bay front of two storeys, plus wings with two-storey canted bay-windows, although an engraving of 1851 shows only one wing. The wings have cast iron balconies on the first floor. The design is still entirely pre-Victorian in feeling, and the interior decoration is still in a delicate classical style. The elegant central hall has a screen of Ionic marble columns and an imperial staircase behind it lit by an arched window. In the east wing, there is some surviving earlier work, including a reset staircase with rustic columns as balusters and walls with stucco that seems to date from c.1730-40. 

Descent: Sir John Nevill; granted 1538 to Sir John Gostwick (d. 1545); to son, William Gostwick (d. 1545); to uncle, William Gostwick (d. 1549); to son, John Gostwick (d. 1581); to son, Sir William Gostwick (d. 1615), 1st bt.; who leased it about 1603 and whose son, Sir Edward Gostwick (d. 1630) sold it c.1624 to Sir William Becher (1574-1640); to son, Oliver Becher (1598-c.1659); to son, Sir William Becher (1628-94), kt.; to son, William Becher (1661-1724); to son, William Becher (1697-1751); to widow, Elizabeth Becher (d. 1766) for life and then to distant kinsman, John Becher (1711-c.1779); to brother, Richard Becher (1721-82), who sold 1781 to Nathaniel Polhill (1723-82); to son, Nathaniel Polhill (1756-82); to son, Nathaniel Polhill (d. 1802); to uncle, John Polhill (1757-1828); to son, Thomas Polhill (1794-1828); to brother, Frederick Polhill (1798-1848); to son, Frederick Charles Polhill-Turner (1826-81); to son, Frederick Edward Polhill-Turner (1858-1903);to brother, Cecil Henry Polhill-Turner (1860-1938); to son, Cecil Charles Polhill (1890-1957); to nephew, Anthony Nathaniel Polhill (1921-2007); handed over 1995 to nephew, Arthur Julian George Polhill (b. 1956).

Becher family of Howbury Hall

Becher, Henry (c.1511-71). Said to have been the eleventh and youngest son of John Becher of Powndrowen House, Penshurst (Kent) and his wife, born in or before 1511. Apprenticed to William Gressant of London, haberdasher, and was made free of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, 1534. He became a member of the Russia Company and of the Company of Merchant Adventurers, and traded extensively in fine cloths, dyes, books and haberdashery items including pins. He was elected to the Common Council of the City of London (Alderman for Bridge Ward Without, 1567-71; Sheriff, 1570-71*). He married 1st, about 1540, Alice, daughter of Thomas Heron of Edgcumbe House, Croydon (Surrey), and 2nd, 16 May 1566 at St. Christopher-le-Stocks, London, Jane (d. 1588), said to be the daughter of Geoffrey Gittons of Wrexham (Flints) and the widow of Oliver Lovibond of London, and had issue:

(1.1) Elizabeth Becher (c.1542-1612), born about 1542; married 1st, 5 October 1560 at St Christopher-le-Stocks, London, Clement Kelk (1523-93) of London, haberdasher and merchant adventurer; married 2nd, 7 January 1594 at St Helen, Bishopsgate, London, as his third wife, Thomas Harrison (1530-1602) of Finchampstead (Berks), surveyor of the staple; apparently died without issue and was buried at Finchampstead, 10 September 1612; will proved 1612;

(1.2) Henry Becher (c.1544-1608) (q.v.);

(1.3) Edward Becher (c.1545-1607?), of Allhallows, London; said to have been an esquire of the body to Queen Elizabeth I; possibly the man of this name admitted to Lincoln's Inn, 1595/6; married, 1580 (licence 5 October), the Hon. Frances (b. 1549), daughter of William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham, and widow of Thomas Coppinger (d. 1580) of Davington (Kent), and had issue three sons; said to have died at Finchampstead, 1607;

(1.4) Phane Becher (c.1546-92) [for whom see my post on the Becher family of Aughadown and Hollybrook]

(1.5) Mary Becher (c.1549-1600); married, 4 September 1569 at St Christopher-le-Stocks, London, Chideock Wardour (1542-1611) of Plaitford (Hants), Clerk of the Pells in the Exchequer and MP for Stockbridge (Hants), 1589 and Ludgershall (Wilts), 1593, and had issue one son and three daughters; died 19 September 1600 and was buried at Chiswick (Middx), where she and her husband are commemorated by a monument;

(1.6) Margaret Becher (c.1551-1621); married, 23 July 1571 at Stratfield Saye (Hants), Sir Thomas Dabridgecourt (c.1546-1614), kt., of Stratfield Saye, eldest son of George Dabridgecourt (and whose sister Susan married her brother Phane), and had issue at least three sons and two daughters; buried at Stratfield Saye, 30 October 1621; her will was proved 29 November 1622;

(1.7) Mabel Becher (b. c.1553); married, 3 February 1575/6 at East Tisted (Hants), Sir Richard Norton (c.1552-1611) of Tisted (Hants) (who m2, after 1598, Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Capell of Rudgwick (Sussex) and widow of Humphrey Adderley (1511/2-98) of Weddington Hall (Northants)), and had issue three sons and two daughters; died about 1590-95;

(1.8) William Becher (c.1554-1631), born about 1554 (aged 16 in 1571); made free of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, 1577; admitted to the Inner Temple, 1597; married, 14 April 1578 at Islington (Middx), Judith (c.1561-1630), daughter of John Quarles of London, and had issue four sons and six daughters (including Sir William Becher (1581-1651), kt., MP, Clerk of the Privy Council and diplomat); buried at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster (Middx), 21 October 1631;

(1.9) Dorothy Becher (c.1555-58), born about 1555; died young and was buried at St Christopher-le-Stocks, London, 8 April 1558;

(1.10) Bartholomew Becher (b. c.1556), born about 1556; educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge (matriculated 1572) and Middle Temple (admitted 1573; called to bar, 1589); barrister-at-law; married Alice Miller; living in 1592 but death not traced.

He lived in Walbrook Ward in 1541 and at a house known as 'The Worm on the Hoop' next to St. Christopher-le-Stocks church by 1548. He purchased manors and other property in Devon, Somerset (Huntspill), Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire (the manor of Caldecott in South Weald), Wiltshire, Surrey (the manor of Palmers in Croydon), Essex and Suffolk, and inherited property at Penshurst (Kent) from his father.

He died 15 January and was buried at St Christopher-le-Stocks, London, 29 January 1570/71, where he was commemorated by a monument. His will (proved in the PCC, 3 February 1570/1) made charitable bequests for the poor of Penshurst and Chiddingstone. His first wife died in or before 1566 and was buried at St Christopher-le-Stocks. His widow married 3rd, 9 August 1571 at St John, Hampstead (Middx), Sir Richard Pipe (d. 1587), alderman and draper of London; she died at his estate in Wallingwells (Notts) in 1588; her will was proved in the PCC, 30 November 1588.

* Not 1569-70, as is often stated.

Becher, Henry (c.1544-1608). Eldest son of Henry Becher (c.1511-71) and his first wife, Alice, daughter of Thomas Heron of Edgcumbe House, Croydon (Surrey), born about 1544 (aged 26 in 1571). He was made free of the Worshipful Company of Haberdashers in London, 1565 (Second Warden, 1584; First Warden, 1586). He married, 14 May 1571 at St Mary Woolchurch Haw, London, Judith (c.1548-1615), daughter and sole heiress of John Rich MD, apothecary to Queen Elizabeth I, and had issue including:

(1) Jane Becher (1572-75), baptised at St Christopher-le-Stocks, London, 23 November 1572; died young and was buried in the same church, 16 August 1575;

(2) Sir William Becher (1574-1640), kt. (q.v.);

(3) Edward Becher (1577-c.1658), baptised at St Christopher-le-Stocks, London, 3 August 1577; educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge (matriculated 1592) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1596); died unmarried and was buried at Fotheringhay, 24 September 1658; will proved in the PCC, 15 October 1658;

(4) Elizabeth Becher (1580-1652), baptised at St. Christopher-le-Stocks, London, 28 August 1580; inherited her father's property at Huntspill (Som.); married, 17 August 1602 at Fotheringhay, as his second wife, Thomas Anscell (d. 1623) of Great Barford (Beds), and had issue at least three sons and two daughters; lived latterly at Kempston (Beds); buried at Great Barford, 19 September 1652; will proved in the PCC, 7 May 1653;

(5) George Becher (b. 1587; fl. 1640), baptised at St. Christopher-le-Stocks, London, 17 April 1587; lived at Clavering (Essex); married, 2 September 1618 at Battersea (Surrey), Elizabeth Whitney, and had issue at least two sons and two daughters; living in 1640 but death not traced;

(6) Ursula Becher (b. 1589; fl. 1640), baptised at St. Christopher-le-Stocks, London, 5 January 1589; married, 26 February 1608/9 at Fotheringhay, Matthew Robinson (fl. 1647) of Longthorpe (Hunts), and had issue at least one son and two daughters; living in 1640;

(7) Dorothy Becher (1590-1651), baptised at Southill (Beds), 25 October 1590; married, 27 November 1610 at Fotheringhay, George Kimpton (d. 1656) of Weston (Herts); buried at Weston, 9 June 1651.

He purchased the rectory and college buildings at Fotheringhay (Northants) from Gamaliel Crays in 1597. He also had property in Bedfordshire and Somerset (Huntspill).

He was buried at Fotheringhay, 1 June 1608; his will was proved 15 December 1608. His widow was buried at Fotheringhay, 4 October 1615; her will was proved 7 December 1615.

Becher, Sir William (1574-1640)*. Eldest son of Henry Becher (c.1544-1608) and his wife Judith, daughter of John Rich MD, physician to Queen Elizabeth I, baptised at St Christopher-le-Stocks, London, 12 September 1574. Educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge (matriculated c.1592). MP for Huntingdon, 1601. High Sheriff of Bedfordshire, 1612-13. He was knighted by King James I at Kirby Hall (Northants), 27 July 1619. He married, 25 February 1594/5 at Southill (Beds), the Hon. Elizabeth (c.1578-1658), daughter of Oliver St. John (d. 1582), 1st Baron St. John of Bletsoe, and had issue:

(1) Olive Becher (b. 1596), baptised at St Christopher-le-Stocks, London, 23 May 1596;

(2) Oliver Becher (1598-c.1659) (q.v.);

(3) twin, Dorothy Becher (1600-59?), baptised at Bletsoe, 15 April 1600; married 1st, 16 January 1626/7 at Fotheringhay, as his second wife, William Conyers (d. 1639) of Walthamstow (Essex), serjeant-at-law and 2nd, 8 August 1654 at Walthamstow, Stephen Harvey of London; probably the woman of this name buried at Toppesfield (Essex), 29 October 1659;

(4) twin, Judith Becher (b. & d. 1600), baptised at Bletsoe, 15 April 1600; died in infancy and was buried at Bletsoe, 5 August 1600;

(5) Henry Becher (1602-c.1660), baptised at Fotheringhay, 2 May 1602; married, 31 July 1623 at St Margaret, Westminster (Middx), Anne Silvester (fl. 1666), and had issue one son and six daughters; died between 1657 (when he was named in the will of an uncle) and 1666 (when his brother Francis' will says he was deceased);

(6) Anne Becher (1603-59), baptised at Renhold, 9 October 1603; married, 26 August 1625 at Fotheringhay, Edmund Harding of Aspley Guise (Beds); buried at Aspley Guise, 10 August 1659;

(7) Elizabeth Becher (1606-c.1655), baptised at Renhold, 9 March 1605/6; died unmarried and was described as 'lately deceased' in the will of her uncle Edward Becher in March 1655/6;

(8) William Becher (b. & d. 1607), baptised at Renhold, 26 July 1607; died in infancy and was buried at Renhold, 17 November 1607;

(9) Rev. William Becher (1608-61), baptised at Renhold, 20 November 1608; possibly educated at Oxford University; ordained 1636; rector of Woodford (Northants), 1638-61, and probably a Puritan as the owner of the advowson held Puritan views; died, probably unmarried, about September 1661;

(10) Edward Becher (1610-c.1635), baptised at Renhold, 5 August 1610; educated at St John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1628; BA 1631); said to have died in Germany before 1640;

(11) St. John Becher (1611-59), baptised at Renhold, 14 November 1611; probably the man of this name buried at Renhold, 20 April 1659;

(12) Judith Becher (b. 1612), baptised at Renhold, 29 November 1612; died unmarried;

(13) Francis Becher (1614-97) [for whom see below];

(14) Fane Becher (1615-c.1619), baptised at Fotheringhay, 21 December 1615; died aged about four years;

(15) Katherine Becher (b. 1618), baptised at Renhold, 23 December 1618; living unmarried in 1655/6;

(16) Howard Becher (1620-95), baptised at Fotheringhay, 29 June 1620; educated at Emmanuel College and Peterhouse, Cambridge (matriculated 1637; BA 1639; MA 1643); intruded as a Presbyterian Fellow of Peterhouse, 1644 and was one of the Taxors of the University, 1646, but was one of three Fellows ejected by the visitors in 1650; he transferred to Oxford, where he was incorporated in 1655; and died unmarried at the house of Samuel Clark in Oxford; will proved 16 March 1694/5.

(17) John Becher (b. 1622), baptised at Fotheringhay, 9 May 1622; living in 1695, when he was executor of his brother Howard's will.

He inherited Fotheringhay College from his father in 1608, but sold it to John Browne, 1629. He leased the manor of Howbury in or before 1603 and purchased the freehold in 1624.

He was buried at Renhold, 22 December 1640; his will was proved 2 April 1641. His widow was buried at Renhold, 15 September 1658.

* He is frequently confused with his cousin and namesake, William Becher (1580-1651).

Becher, Oliver (1598-c.1659). Eldest son of Sir William Becher (1574-1640) and his wife, the Hon. Elizabeth, daughter of Oliver St. John (d. 1582), 1st Baron St. John of Bletsoe, baptised at Bletsoe, 31 December 1598. Educated at Queens' College, Cambridge (matriculated 1615) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1617). An officer in the Parliamentary Army in the Civil War (Capt., 1642; Maj., 1643). He married, 24 July 1627 at East Haddon (Northants), Elizabeth (c.1599-1663), daughter of Sir William Tate (d. 1617), kt., of Delapré Abbey (Northants), and had issue:

(1) Sir William Becher (1628-94) (q.v.);

(2) Oliver Becher (1629-80), born 4 July and baptised at Fotheringhay, 16 July 1629; educated at Middle Temple (admitted 1666); lived at Brill (Bucks) and later at West Lynn (Norfk); married, 15 December 1670, Sarah Wyan (b. c.1640) of London, but apparently had no issue; buried at Renhold, 16 October or 12 November 1680*;

(3) Edward Becher (1630-35), baptised at Fotheringhay, 25 October 1630; died young, 13 December 1635 and was buried at Hardingstone (Northants);

(4) Elizabeth Becher (1632-80), born 14 March and baptised at Renhold, 22 March 1631/2; died unmarried at the home of her brother-in-law, Oliver Williams, and was buried at St Faith by St Paul's, London, 25 April 1680;

(5) John Becher (1633-34), born 30 July and baptised at Renhold, 20 August 1633; died in infancy, 28 February and was buried at Renhold, 1 March 1633/4;

(6) Francis Becher (1634-97), born 2 August and baptised at Renhold, 10 August 1634; died unmarried, 3 January and was buried at Renhold, 12 January 1696/7;

(7) Mary Becher (1635-59), born 12 September and baptised at Renhold, 13 September 1635; died unmarried and was buried at Renhold, 11 May 1659;

(8) Judith Becher (1636-55), born 14 October 1636; died unmarried and was buried at St. Bartholomew the Great, London, 17 December 1655 'from the house of the Countess of Bolingbroke';

(9) St. John Becher (b. 1637), born at Howbury, 8 November 1637; possibly the man of this name who married, 17 November 1670 at St Alphage, London Wall, London, Elizabeth Hunton, and had issue one son;

(10) Catherine Becher (1640-1704), born 8 August and baptised at Renhold, 17 August 1640; married 1st, 6 April 1680, Oliver Williams (d. 1693) of London, apothecary, and 2nd, 8 April 1695 at St Dunstan, Stepney (Middx), Richard Becher (c.1653-1701) [for whom see below]; she died without issue and was buried at St Faith by St Paul's, London, 3 November 1704; her will was proved 6 November 1704.

He inherited the Howbury estate from his father in 1640. His wife is said to have been co-heir (with her sister) to her grandfather, Edward La Zouche, 11th Baron Zouch of Harringworth.

He was apparently living in 1658 but dead by 1659, but his burial has not been traced. His widow was buried at Renhold, 20 March 1662/3.

* The original register gives the dates as 16 October; the bishop's transcript as 12 November.

Becher, Sir William (1628-94). Eldest son of Oliver Becher (1598-c.1659) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Tate of Delapré Abbey (Northants), born 24 April and baptised at Fotheringhay (Northants), 5 May 1628. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1645) and the Inner Temple (admitted 1647). He was nominated as one of the Knights of the Royal Oak in 1660 and when this order was abandoned, was knighted at Whitehall, 16 November 1660. JP for Bedfordshire (in which capacity he was one of the magistrates who sent John Bunyan to prison), 1660-80, 1689-94; and DL for Bedfordshire, 1660-79, 1688, 1689-94. MP for Bedford, 1667-79. An officer in the Bedfordshire militia (Capt-Lt., 1660). He married 1st, 15 February 1655/6 at Renhold, his second cousin once removed, the Hon. Frances (1626-58), daughter of Oliver St. John, Baron St. John of Bletsoe, son of Oliver St. John, 4th Baron St. John of Bletsoe and 1st Earl of Bolingbroke; married 2nd, 24 December 1660 at St Paul, Paul's Wharf, London, Elizabeth (d. 1705), daughter of John Huxley of Edmonton (Middx) and Eaton Bray (Beds), and widow of Thomas Hillersdon of Elstow (Beds), and had issue:

(1.1) Arabella Becher (1657-1700), born 17 January and baptised at Renhold, 30 January 1656/7; married, 1684 (licence 14 June), Thomas Huxley (c.1638-94), of North Mimms (Herts), the brother of her father's second wife, and had issue at least two daughters; buried at Renhold, 13 October 1700;

(1.2) St. John Becher (1658-85), born 2 August and baptised at Renhold, 17 August 1658; educated at Queens' College, Cambridge (matriculated 1677) and Inner Temple (admitted 1678); died unmarried and was buried at Renhold, 17 March 1684/5;

(2.1) William Becher (1661-1724) (q.v.);

(2.2) Elizabeth Becher (1663-1701), born 4 March and baptised at Renhold, 12 March 1662/3; died unmarried, of smallpox, 17 April, and was buried at Renhold, 22 April 1701, where she is commemorated by monument attributed to Edward Stanton;

(2.3) John Becher (1664-73), born 22 June and baptised at Renhold, 21 July 1664; died young and was buried at Renhold, 11 May 1673;

(2.4) George Becher (1667-1740), born 28 October and baptised at Renhold, 11 November 1667; apprenticed to an attorney and educated at Inner Temple (admitted 1688); a member of the South Sea Company; lived at Stepney and Hammersmith (Middx) but latterly in London; died unmarried and was buried at Renhold, 12 November 1740; his will was proved 21 November 1740.

He inherited Howbury (Beds) from his father in about 1659. His widow moved to Bow (Middx) after he died.

He died 5 December and was buried at Renhold (Beds), 9 December 1694, where he is commemorated by a monument attributed to William Stanton; his will was proved 1 January 1694/5. His first wife was buried 17 September 1658. His widow died at Bow (Middx), 12 January, and was buried at Elstow, 20 January 1704/5; her will was proved 24 January 1704/5.

Becher, William (1661-1724). Eldest son of Sir William Becher (1628-94), kt., and his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of John Huxley of Edmonton (Middx) and widow of Thomas Hillersdon of Elstow (Beds), said to have been born 4 January 1661. Apprenticed to Samuel Moyer of London, mercer, 1679, and made free of the Mercer's Company, 1691. JP for Bedfordshire. He married 1st, 3 September 1695 at Kempston (Beds), Mary (1673-97), daughter of Matthew Dennis of Kempston; and 2nd, 10 August 1699 at St Benet, Paul's Wharf, London, Jane (c.1669-1741), daughter and heir of George Clarke MP (c.1626-89) of Watford (Northants), and had issue:

(1.1) William Becher (1697-1751) (q.v.);

(2.1) Jane Rachel Becher (1700-70), born 12 July and baptised at Kensington (Middx), 3 August 1700; married, 28 January 1719/20 at St James Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), as his third wife, Thomas Lewis (1685-1732) of St. Pierre (Mon.), MP for Monmouthshire, 1713, 1715-22, and had issue two sons and five daughters; buried at St George-the-Martyr, London, 25 June 1770; will proved in the PCC, 26 June 1770;

(2.2) Mary Becher (1702-03), born 3 July 1702; died of convulsions in infancy, 13 January, and was buried at Renhold, 17 January 1702/3.

He inherited the Howbury estate from his father in 1694. His widow lived latterly in Lincoln's Inn Fields, London.

He was buried at Renhold, 5 June 1724; his will was proved in the PCC, 16 June 1724 and included a bequest of money to support a schoolmaster at Renhold. His first wife died following the birth of her son, 17 November and was buried at Renhold, 20 November 1697. His widow was buried at Lamb's Conduit Burial Ground, Bloomsbury (Middx), 25 April 1741; her will was proved in the PCC, 22 April 1741.

Becher, William (1697-1751). Only son of William Becher (1661-1724) and his first wife Mary, daughter of Matthew Dennis of Kempston (Beds), born 2 October and baptised at Renhold, 8 October 1697. He married, 16 June 1726 at St John, Clerkenwell (Middx), Elizabeth (1696?-1766), daughter of John Clarke of Hackney (Middx), but had no issue.

He inherited the Howbury estate from his father in 1724. In his will he left his estate to his widow for life, with remainder to his nephew, Craven Lewis, second son of his sister, Jane Rachel Lewis, provided he took the name and arms of Becher. In the event, which transpired, that Craven did not survive his widow, the estate was to pass to the oldest surviving male child of his cousin John Becher (1683-1744), for whom see below.

He died 12 June and was buried 24 June 1751 at Renhold, where he is commemorated by a monument erected in 1753; his will was proved in the PCC, 1 July 1751. His widow lived at Red Lion Square in London, and died 3 July 1766; she was probably buried at Renhold in accordance with her will, though she does not appear in the register; her will was proved in the PCC, 6 August 1766.

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Becher, Francis (1614-97). Seventh son of Sir William Becher (1574-1640) and his wife, the Hon. Elizabeth, daughter of Oliver St. John, 1st Baron St. John of Bletsoe, baptised at Renhold, 29 May 1614. Citizen and skinner of London. He married, 22 June 1647 at St Christopher-le-Stocks, London, Anne Dawson (1628-1700), and had issue:

(1) Elizabeth Becher (c.1650-85), born about 1650; died unmarried and was buried in the family vault at St Stephen Walbrook, London, 7 March 1684/5; will proved 15 January 1686/7;

(2) Richard Becher (c.1653-1701); grocer and druggist of London; married, 1st, 30 October 1676 at St Mary Woolnoth, London, Lydia (1653-94), daughter of William Marston of London, and 2nd, 1695 (licence 8 April), Catherine, daughter of Oliver Becher and widow of Oliver Williams, and had issue six sons and three daughters; buried at St Stephen, Walbrook, London, 30 December 1701;

(3) Edward Becher (c.1654-1711) (q.v.)

He died 3 January and was buried at Renhold, 12 January 1696/7. His wife died in 1700.

Becher, Edward (c.1654-1711). Younger son of Francis Becher (1614-97) and his wife Anne Dawson, born about 1654. Citizen and draper of London (freeman, 1676); warden of the Draper's Company, 1706. He married 30 January 1680/1 at St Stephen, Coleman St., London, Joyce (c.1656-94), daughter of William Marston of London and sister of his brother Richard's wife, and had issue:

(1) Francis Becher (c.1681-82), born about 1681; died in infancy and was buried at St Botolph Bishopsgate, London, 10 July 1682;

(2) Sir Edward Becher (1682-1732), kt., baptised at St Botolph, Bishopsgate, London, 2 March 1681/2; citizen and draper of London; Master of the Draper's Company, 1719-20; a director of the South Sea Company, 1724-32; common councilman for Bishopsgate Without Ward, 1711-18, and alderman, 1718-32 (sheriff, 1721-22; Lord Mayor, 1727-28); knighted, 8 May 1722; married, 6 May 1707 at St Saviour, Southwark (Surrey), Ann (b. 1684)*, daughter of James Becher, and had issue two sons and three daughters; died 2 September and was buried at St Botolph, Bishopsgate, London, 10 September 1732; administration of his goods granted  26 September 1732;

(3) John Becher (1683-1744) (q.v.);

(4) Mary Becher (1687-1766), baptised at St Botolph, Bishopsgate, London, 30 December 1687; married, 7 February 1709/10 at St Stephen, Coleman St., London, Richard Samborne (1684-1758) of New Inn and later of Hatfield, and had issue one son and one daughter; buried at Hatfield (Herts), 13 February 1766;

(5) Unnamed son (c.1688-89), probably born in December 1688; died in infancy and was buried at St Botolph Bishopsgate, 1 January 1689;

(6) Elizabeth Becher (1692-1746), baptised at St Botolph Bishopsgate, London, 25 February 1691/2; married, 14 April 1713 at St Anne & St Agnes, Aldersgate, London, Thomas Ange (d. 1733), and had issue one daughter; buried at Wanstead (Essex), 10 February 1745/6; 

(7) George Becher (b. 1693), baptised at St Botolph Bishopsgate, London, 17 October 1693; living in 1711, but no further reference found.

He lived in London.

He was buried at Richmond (Surrey), August 1711; his will was proved in the PCC, 15 October 1711. His wife was buried in the family vault at St Stephen, Walbrook, London, 29 December 1694.

* His widow may be the Ann Becher who married, 11 December 1729 at St Lawrence Jewry, London, Samuel King.

Becher, John (1683-1744). Third son of Edward Becher (c.1654-1711) and his wife Joyce, daughter of William Marston, baptised at St Botolph, Bishopsgate, London, 16 October 1683. Dry salter in Watling St., London. He married, 20 November 1707 at Mortlake (Surrey), Jane (b. 1685), daughter of Robert Eyre (1658-1718) of Mortlake, and had issue:

(1) Jane Becher (1708-99), born and baptised at St Augustine, Watling St., London, 7 September 1708; said to have died unmarried, 6 November 1799;

(2) Robert Becher (b. 1709), born and baptised at St Augustine, Watling St., London, 11 August 1709; apparently living in 1750 but died before 1766;

(3) John Becher (1711-c.1779) (q.v.);

(4) Edward Becher (1713-48), baptised at St Augustine, Watling St., London, 1 April 1713; said to have died in 1748;

(5) Anne Becher (b. 1715), born and baptised at St Augustine, Watling St., London, 2 May 1715;

(6) Mary Becher (1717-76), baptised at St Augustine, Watling St., London, 21 January 1716/7; died 31 December 1776;

(7) William Becher (b. 1720), born 14 March and baptised at St Augustine, Watling St., London, 18 March 1719/20; died before 1748;

(8) Richard Becher (1721-82) (q.v.).

He lived in London.

He died 4 November 1744. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Becher, John (1711-c.1779). Second son of John Becher (1683-1744) and his wife Jane, daughter of Robert Eyre of Mortlake (Surrey), born and baptised at St Augustine, Watling St., London, 5 October 1711. Merchant at Alicante (Spain) and later at Livorno (Italy), where he was a partner in a hemp manufactory and a ship-broking firm among other enterprises. High Sheriff of Bedfordshire, 1778-79. He married, 10 March 1744 at Livorno (Italy), Mary (1721-1801), third daughter of Samuel Tucker, formerly consul at Alicante (Spain), and had issue:

(1) Jane Harriot Becher (1745-51), born at Livorno, 25 November 1745; died young, 29 January 1751 and was buried in the English Cemetery at Livorno;

(2) John Becher (b. 1747), born at Livorno, 1747 but died in infancy;

(3) William Becher (b. 1748), born at Livorno, 2 June 1748; engaged with his father in business activities in Livorno by 1775; an officer in the Bedfordshire militia (Capt.), who ran up substantial gambling debts, paying off which may have cost his uncle the Howbury estate; he was living in France by 1790 and emigrated eventually to the West Indies, having married, 30 November 1778 at St Marylebone (Middx), Martha, eldest daughter of John Ford of London, by whom he had one son and one daughter; his death was erroneously reported in the press in 1770 but he was really dead by the time of his daughter's marriage in 1809;

(4) A daughter (b. & d. 1749), born at Livorno (Italy), 2 September 1749 but died the same day;

(5) Jane Harriot Becher (b. & d. 1751), born at Livorno, 20 June 1751; died in infancy, 28 August 1751.

He lived at Livorno (Italy) until at least 1776, but must I think have been in England for his shrievalty. He inherited Howbury from the widow of his first cousin once removed in 1766. At his death it passed not to his son but to his younger brother.

He died in or about 1779, but no record of his death, burial or will can be found. His widow was buried at Putney (Surrey), 24 June 1801.

Becher, Richard (1721-82). Fifth son of John Becher (1683-1744) and his wife Jane, daughter of Robert Eyre of Mortlake (Surrey), born 26 November and baptised at Richmond (Surrey), 4 December 1721. An officer in the East India Company's service in India from 1743-61, when he was dismissed for having signed Lord Clive's letter of remonstrance to the Directors in 1759; in 1767, when Clive was Governor General, he was reappointed to the Bengal Council and in 1769 became the British Resident at Murshidabad. He is said to have made heroic efforts to alleviate the horrors of the Bengal Famine of 1770, and was noted for his honesty and freedom from graft. In 1774 he returned to England with a modest fortune, which he was said to soon afterwards have 'risked and lost in trying to help a friend', although the he may actually have felt obliged to pay his nephew William's gambling debts. He was obliged to sell the family estate which he inherited in about 1779 and to return to India to earn a living, being appointed as head of the Calcutta Mint, 1781. However, his health was no longer up to the stresses of life in India and he died little more than a year later. He married 1st, 29 November 1752 at St John, Calcutta (India), Charlotte (1738-59), daughter of Fenwick Golightly (b. 1702), and 2nd, 21 December 1765 at St Andrew Undershaft, London, Anne (1743-1808), daughter of Samuel Haselby, and had issue:

(1.1) Charlotte Becher (1754-56), baptised at Calcutta, 3 July 1754; died in infancy, 20 November 1756 at Fultah (India);

(2.1) Richard Stephens Becher (1764-1846), born prior to the marriage of his parents, 15 March and baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 17 March 1764; an official in the Bengal Civil Service (writer, 1781; commercial resident at Commercolly, 1790 and Bareilly, 1802; third member of the Board of Trade, 1805; salt agent at Tumlook, 1809; retired 1815); married, 12 August 1815 at St Marylebone, Frances Wyatt (1773-1855), but had no issue; however, he had four sons and three daughters born in India before his marriage whose mother(s) are unknown; died in Brighton, 9 April and was buried at St Nicholas, Brighton, 16 April 1846; will proved in the PCC, 1846;

(2.2) twin, John Stephens Becher (1765-1830), born  prior to the marriage of his parents, 21 June 1765; an official in the Bengal Civil Service (writer, 1781; paymaster of troops in Bengal presidency, 1791; judge at Moorshedabad, 1797; judge of court of appeal, 1804; retired 1805); after retirement he settled at Chancellor House, Mount Ephraim, Tunbridge Wells (Kent); he was unmarried, but had five illegitimate sons in India between 1790 and 1803, possibly by Jane, daughter of Major Thomas Reed, for whom he made provision in his will; died at Speldhurst (Kent), 28 March 1830; will proved in the PCC, 13 April 1830;

(2.3) twin, Robert Stephens Becher (1765-1818), born  prior to the marriage of his parents, 21 June 1765; an officer in the service of the East India Company, 1781-92 (Cadet, 1781; Ensign, 1781; Lieutenant, 1782); indigo manufacturer and merchant in Cawnpore, 1782-1808, when his production facilities were seized by Almas Ali Khan, the principal Amaldar of the Nawab Wazir of Oudh; married, 10 April 1801 at St Marylebone (Middx), Louisa (1781-1847), eldest daughter of Charles John Purling, and had issue six sons and two daughters; died at sea while returning to England, 8 August 1818;

(2.4) Charlotte Becher (1767-1837), born 2 August and baptised at Calcutta, 8 September 1767; married, 31 October 1783 at Epsom (Surrey), Maj. Charles Marsack (1736-1820) of Caversham Park (Oxon), reputedly the illegitimate son of HRH Frederick, Prince of Wales by his mistress Margaret, Countess of Marsac, and had issue seven sons and four daughters; died at Caversham, 26 January 1837, and was buried at Speldhurst (Kent);

(2.5) William Augustus Becher (1772-78), born in India, 26 September 1772; died young, 28 March 1778;

(2.6) Charles Grant Becher (1777-1842), born 5 February and baptised at St Marylebone (Middx), 7 March 1777; joined the East India Company's service, initially in the military branch (Cadet, 1793; Cornet, 1794; resigned 1795), but transferred to Bengal Civil Service (Writer, 1795; Salt Agent for Cuttack, 1795-1826, when he was removed for corruption, possibly unjustly; Commercial Resident at Rungpore from 1826); married 1st, 9 January 1800 at Berhampore (India), Mary Penneck (d. 1805), daughter of Lt. Henry Reid, and had issue two daughters; married 2nd, 10 January 1807 at Calcutta, Charlotte (1790-1816), daughter of Richard Humfrays, and had further issue three sons and three daughters; died at Nice (France), 16 July 1842;

(2.7) Sophia Becher (1779-83?), born 4 August and baptised at St. Marylebone, 14 August 1779;  died young and was probably the child of this name buried at Putney (Surrey), 17 August 1783;

(2.8) George Becher (1780-1837), born 1 September and baptised at Godstone (Surrey), 10 October 1780; an officer in the East India Company's army (Cadet, 1794; Cornet, 1795; Lt. 1800; Capt-Lt., 1805; Capt. 1812; Maj. 1818; Lt-Col., 1824; Colonel, 1829); married, 10 August 1807 at Dinapore (India), Harriet Geldart (1784-1870), daughter of John Barclay of Tain (Ross & Cromarty), and had issue ten sons and one daughter; died at sea while returning to England on furlough, 15 November 1837.

He lived in Bedford Square, London, but inherited the Howbury estate from his elder brother in about 1779. In 1781 he sold the estate to Nathaniel Polhill in order to pay off his debts. He had then 'lately left the United Kingdom for the East Indies'.

He died in Calcutta (India), 17 October 1782. His first wife died in Calcutta, 14 October 1759. His widow married 2nd, 31 December 1784 at Epsom, Maj-Gen. Charles Auriol (1756-1821), and was buried at St Giles, Camberwell (Surrey), 7 July 1808; administration of her goods with will annexed was granted 8 March 1809; her second husband was buried at Littleham-cum-Exmouth (Devon), 31 January 1821.

Principal sources

Burke's Irish Family Records, 1976, p. 100; J. Ingamells, A dictionary of British and Irish travellers in Italy, 1701-1800, 1997, p. 70; C. O'Brien & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire and Peterborough, 2nd edn., 2014, pp. 270-71;

http://www.all-saints-church-renhold.org/becherfamilyhistory.html; 

https://the-bechers-in-india.weebly.com/richard-becher-1764-1846.html

Location of archives

No significant archive is known to survive, although some miscellaneous deeds, manorial records and estate papers are to be found among the archives of the Polhill family [Bedfordshire Archives, PO] and others have been purchased by Bedfordshire Archives.

Coat of arms

Vairé, argent and gules, on a canton or, a stag's head couped, sable.

Can you help?

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

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 31 July 2022 and updated 2 August 2022.