(531) Beevor of Hethel Hall and Hargham Hall, baronets

Beever of Hethel and Hargham 

This family trace their origins to a family of minor gentry in the West Riding of Yorkshire, who were settled around Heckmondwike, Batley and Birstall between Huddersfield and Leeds. William Beevor (1658?-1718), with whom the genealogy below begins, was sent to Cambridge and became a clergyman. After more than a decade as Master of a small Grammar School at Thornhill (Yorks WR), he secured the living of Rockland St Mary on the Norfolk Broads in 1693 and, five years later, that of nearby South Walsham (Norfk) in addition. The patron of both livings was the (Roman Catholic) Duke of Norfolk, but how Beevor came to attract his patronage is obscure. William married Elizabeth Batt from Oakwell Hall, Birstall (whose brother, William, was killed in a duel in 1684, and is said to haunt Oakwell) and had eleven children, several of whom died young. His eldest surviving son was trained as a lawyer and lived in London, but his next son, Thomas Beevor (1689-1758) became a prosperous grocer and brewer in Norwich. He was able to educate his eldest son, Thomas Beevor (1725-1814) as a gentleman at Eton, Cambridge and Lincoln's Inn, and in 1750 the younger Thomas married Elizabeth Branthwayt, the heiress of Miles Branthwayt of Hethel Hall on the outskirts of Norwich, who died the following year. This was the critical move in the family's climb into the landed gentry. Thomas acquired a large and relatively modern house and a substantial landed estate through his marriage, and over the following decades he built himself a reputation as a scientific agriculturalist. He was also politically active, standing unsuccessfully for Parliament in Norwich on four occasions between 1768 and 1790, in opposition to the sitting members. In 1784 he was raised to the baronetcy for reasons which are unclear. It is possible that this was a recognition of his agricultural work, and may have been promoted by the Marquess Townshend of Raynham Hall, an even more prominent agriculturalist.

Sir Thomas Beevor had five sons, two of whom went into the church and two into the army, but his eldest son, Sir Thomas Beevor (1753-1820), 2nd bt. seems to have given his father little satisfaction. As a young man, he devoted himself to hunting and social life, and he ran up substantial debts. For a long time he did not marry, although when he did it was again to an heiress, in this case, Anne, the daughter of Hugh Hare of Hargham Hall. However, the marriage did not last, and in 1802 Anne separated from her husband and took her children to live with her mother at Hargham. When the 2nd baronet died, deeply in debt, in 1820, both estates came into the possession of Sir Thomas Branthwayt Beevor (1798-1879), 3rd bt., who had just come of age. In order to pay off his father's debts he sold the Hethel estate and remained at Hargham, which has continued to be the family's residence down to the present day.

The 3rd baronet was a radical Liberal in politics, a friend of William Cobbett, and in the 1820s and 1830s was politically very active, although he seems never to have stood for Parliament. He was once approached about standing for election for the county, but declined, explaining that the county was accustomed to elect gentlemen of greater standing and property that he possessed. Towards the end of his long life he handed over the management of his estate to his eldest son, Sir Thomas Beevor (1823-85), 4th bt., and retired to Great Yarmouth. The 4th baronet was a qualified barrister and in 1850 married Sophia, the widow of Isaac Jermy Jermy, who had been murdered with his father in 1848 in what became a sensational case referred to in the press as 'the Stanfield Hall murders'. Sophia herself had been wounded in the attack, but this did not prevent her going on to produce 13 children by her second husband, all but one of whom survived to adulthood. The eldest son was Sir Hugh Reeve Beevor (1858-1939), 5th bt., who trained as a physician and surgeon and worked at Kings College Hospital in London until he retired in 1914. Sir Hugh's other passion was the natural world, and in retirement he devoted himself to travel in pursuit of rare trees and shrubs.

Sir Hugh's only son was Sir Thomas Lubbock Beevor (1897-1943), 6th bt., who inherited the Hargham estate on the eve of the Second World War. He was  a career naval officer, who served in both world wars and who was involved in planning the Allied invasion of Sicily. Tragically he was killed in a flying accident while on his way to a secret meeting of Allied commanders in Algiers in connection with the invasion, so the estate passed to his son, Sir Thomas Agnew Beevor (1929-2017), 7th bt., who came of age in 1950. He handed over the Hargham estate to his son, Sir Thomas Hugh Cunliffe Beevor (b. 1962), 8th bt., in 2010, and retired to a modest eco-house which he built on the estate, called The Old Woodyard.

Hethel Hall, Norfolk

The many small manors of Hethel were assembled into a single estate in the late 16th and early 17th century by Miles Branthwaite (d. 1612), and either he or his son is likely to have built a Jacobean house in a deer park which was taxed on fourteen hearths in 1664. 

Hethel Hall: a pencil sketch by J.P. Neale, c.1820, showing the large early Georgian house on the site.
Image: Duleep Singh Collection, Thetford Library, courtesy of Norfolk County Council Library & Information Service.

This house was either remodelled or rebuilt as a rather low two-storey pedimented building in the early 18th century, perhaps for Arthur Branthwayt, who inherited in 1710 and died in 1717, or for his son and namesake, who had a similarly short tenure and died in 1724. The proportions of the house and the fact that the grand main front was of ten bays, with the pediment slightly offset from the centre, may indicate that it was a remodelling of an earlier and less regular building. A long projecting arcade to the right of the entrance, probably representing an orangery, is shown with fifteen arches but a pencil note on the drawing corrects this to 20 arches, which would have made it a very striking garden feature. 18th-century maps show the house surrounded by formal gardens and standing next to a water garden which was apparently created out an earlier moat, which suggests that there was a medieval house on the site earlier still. 

Hethel Hall: the site in 1882, showing the water garden probably created from a medieval
moat, from the 1st edn. 25" Ordnance Survey map.

When the house was sold in 1828 it was said that it had been 'the residence of the late Sir Thomas Beevor, who, within the last five years, expended a very considerable sum in altering and improving it'. The dates do not quite line up, as the 2nd baronet died in 1820, but the house was probably altered in the 1810s. The sale particulars reveal that it was a large house, with 'a spacious Hall, Breakfast Parlour, Drawing Room, Dining Room, Library, and other apartments, besides bedrooms and all convenient and appropriate offices'. 

Hethel Hall: the south front in 1902.

The house was sold in 1828 to Hudson Gurney of Keswick Hall (Norfk), who wanted the land but had little interest in the house, which was sold again in the early 1830s to Samuel Calvert. He seems to have been the man who largely or completely demolished the old house and replaced it with a smaller villa on the same site, which was evidently completed by 1835, when it as leased to the Rev. William Wayte Andrew, vicar of Ketteringham. The house had a main two-storey block of three bays by two, with recessed service ranges to the north and west, one of which had a large Diocletian window in its south end. Calvert sold the freehold in 1840 when it was 'recently erected with white brick upon the site of the Ancient Hall'. Although smaller than its predecessor it still contained an entrance hall, dining room, drawing room, breakfast room and ten bedrooms, but it lay at the centre of a property of less than 200 acres, so hardly qualified as a country house at all. It was indeed purchased in 1840 by Sir John Boileau of Ketteringham Hall, apparently as a residence for his son's tutor, and during the later 19th and early 20th centuries it was generally either tenanted or left unoccupied. 

Hethel Hall: the house in the early 20th century, from an old postcard. Image: Phillip Judge.

In the Second World War, land to the west of the house was turned into Hethel airfield, from which the US Air Force operated bombers, and the unoccupied house became dilapidated. It is unclear whether the house was demolished during the war or, as some sources state, in 1952.

Descent: estate assembled by Miles Branthwaite (d. 1612); to son, Arthur Branthwayt (d. c.1645); to son, William Branthwayt (1634-1711); to son, Arthur Branthwayte (d. 1717); to son, Arthur Branthwayte (d. 1724); to brother, Miles Branthwayte (d. 1751); to daughter, Elizabeth, wife of Sir Thomas Beevor (1726-1814), 1st bt.; to son, Sir Thomas Beevor (1753-1820), 2nd bt.; to son, Sir Thomas Branthwayt Beevor (1798-1879), 3rd bt.; who sold 1828 to Hudson Gurney; sold c.1830 to Samuel Calvert; sold 1840 to Sir John Peter Boileau (1794-1869), 1st bt.; to son, Sir Francis George Manningham Boileau (1830-1900), 2nd bt.; to son, Sir Maurice Colborne Boileau (1865-1937), 3rd bt.; to brother, Sir Raymond Frederic Boileau (1868-1942), 4th bt.; to first cousin, Sir Francis James Boileau (1871-1945), 5th bt.; to son, Sir Gilbert George Benson Boileau (1898-1978), 6th bt., who demolished it.

Hargham Hall, Norfolk

The house is remarkably little known or studied. The present house was built c.1690 for Ralph Hare, who inherited in 1689 but whose family had acquired the estate some eighty years earlier, so there was almost certainly a previous house on or near the present site. The west-facing entrance front of colourwashed brick with sash windows was originally of five bays. 

Hargham Hall: the west front

At some point after 1770, the house was enlarged to the south by the addition of a sixth bay which projects slightly to form a new entrance porch with a doorway in the form of a Venetian window, and the house was given a new tall hipped roof with three diminutive dormers. At the same time, the original doorway in the centre of the original facade was converted into a window. A little later, perhaps after 1819, a south wing was added. The east front, also of five bays, was altered in the early 18th century to create a longer sash window in the centre, with a 20th century doorway beneath it. The first-floor windows on this side retain their original glazing bars. Inside, there is a fine early 18th century staircase rising to the attic with twisted balusters and a moulded handrail.

Hargham Hall: the house today

The house sits in what is still a well-timbered park, although the grounds are now much less densely wooded than in the mid 19th century. The park is thought to have been laid out in the 1780s, with the number and size of the peripheral belts being increased in the early 19th century. Immediately north of the house there is a walled garden, apparently of the late 17th century, and with a small summer house with a big shaped gable in the centre of the north wall that was perhaps built a few years later.

Descent: sold c.1610 to Sir Ralph Hare (c.1566-1623), kt. of Stow Bardolph; to son, Sir John Hare (1603-37), kt. of Stow Bardolph; to widow Elizabeth (d. 1644) and then to his third son, Nicholas Hare (1632-89); to son, Ralph Hare (d. 1709); to son, Thomas Hare (1692-1736); to son, Hugh Hare (1730-1800); to daughter Anne (1774-1837), wife of Sir Thomas Beevor (1753-1820), 2nd bt.; to son, Sir Thomas Branthwayt Beevor (1798-1879), 3rd bt.; to son, Sir Thomas Beevor (1823-85), 4th bt.; to son, Sir Hugh Reeve Beevor (1858-1939), 5th bt.; to son, Sir Thomas Lubbock Beevor (1897-1943), 6th bt.; to son, Sir Thomas Agnew Beevor (1929-2017), 7th bt.; to son, Sir (Thomas) Hugh Cunliffe Beevor (b. 1962), 8th bt.

Beevor family of Hethel Hall and Hargham Hall, baronets

Beevor, Rev. William (1659-1718). Son of Abraham Beevor of Heckmondwike (Yorks WR) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of James Savile of Milnsbridge (Yorks WR), said to have been baptised at Birstall (Yorks WR), 8 May 1659. Educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge (admitted 1672; matriculated 1675; BA 1677; MA 1680). Ordained deacon, 1678. Master of Thornhill Grammar School (Yorks WR), 1682-96; rector of Rockland St. Mary (Norfk), 1693-1718 and of South Walsham (Norfk), 1698-1718; he also acted as curate of the neighbouring parishes of Ranworth and Upton. He married, c.1680, Elizabeth (1659-1756), daughter and co-heir of William Batt (d. 1684) of Oakwell Hall, Birstall (Yorks), and had issue:

(1) William Beevor (c.1681-96), born about 1681; died young and was buried at Rockland St Mary, 18 July 1696;

(2) Elizabeth Beevor (1682-1748?), baptised at Thornhill, 20 April 1682; married, 29 May 1705 at South Walsham, John Dove (1679-1738) of Ranworth, maltster and brewer, and had issue at least one son, with whom she evidently fell out as he was excluded from her will though still alive; said to have died at Great Yarmouth in 1747/8; her will was proved in Norwich in 1748;

(3) Abraham Beevor (1683-86), baptised at Thornhill, 6 December 1683; died young and was buried at Thornhill, 9 April 1686;

(4) Martha Beevor (1685-1764), baptised at Thornhill, 18 March 1684/5; married, 2 January 1714/5 at Otley (Yorks WR), as his second wife, Edward Laycon (1679-1726), and had issue three sons and seven daughters; buried at South Walsham, 12 July 1764;

(5) John Beevor (1687-1737?); baptised at Thornhill, 15 December 1687; educated at Furnivall's Inn, London; married, 15 November 1716 at St Andrew, Holborn (Middx), Mary (1697-1754?), daughter of Matthew Lancaster, and had issue four sons and one daughter; perhaps the man of this name buried at St Margaret, Westminster (Middx), 29 December 1737;

(6) Thomas Beevor (1689-1758) (q.v.);

(7) Judith Beevor (1691-1756), baptised at Thornhill, 29 October 1691; married, 17 September 1713 at Otley (Yorks WR), Lawrence Swainson (1681-1736), son of Lawrence Swainson of Otley, and had issue three sons and four daughters; buried at Otley, July 1756;

(8) Catherine Beevor (1693-1766), baptised at Thornhill, 21 September 1693; married, 1 October 1717 at South Walsham, Rev. John Pitcairn (1688-1753), vicar of Shotesham (Norfk), 1715-29, rector of Burgh Castle (Norfk), 1729-53 and headmaster of Great Yarmouth Grammar School from 1722; buried at Burgh Castle, 29 November 1766; will proved at Norwich, 1767;

(9) Carolina Beevor (1696-1761), baptised at Rockland St. Mary, 24 July 1696; married, 23 February 1719/20 at Ranworth, Robert Ward (1677-1742) of Great Yarmouth, brewer and mayor of Great Yarmouth, son of Gabriel Ward, and had issue three sons and two daughters; buried at Great Yarmouth, 25 September 1761;

(10) Henrietta Beevor (b. & d. 1699), baptised at Rockland St Mary, 31 March 1699; died in infancy and was buried at South Walsham, 31 December 1699;

(11) William Beevor (b. & d. 1701), baptised at South Walsham, 1 July 1701; died in infancy and was buried at South Walsham, 4 September 1701.

He lived at Thornhill (Yorks WR) but moved to Norfolk between 1693 and 1696, and lived latterly at South Walsham.

He died 10 October and was buried 13 October 1718 at South Walsham, where he is commemorated by a monument. His widow died aged 97 and was buried at South Walsham, 21 June 1756.

Beevor, Thomas (1689-1758). Fourth son of Rev. William Beevor (1659-1718) of South Walsham (Norfk) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of William Batt of Oakwell Hall, Birstall (Yorks WR), baptised at Thornhill near Dewsbury (Yorks WR), 19 July 1689. Apprenticed to Isaac Schuldham of Norwich, grocer, 1703; admitted a freeman of Norwich, 1712. He worked as a grocer and (from 1727) a brewer in Norwich. He was a member of the common council of Norwich, 1714-19 (auditor, 1714-16). He married 1st, c.1710, Margaret (c.1691-1716), daughter and heiress of Robert Betts of Brampton (Norfk); 2nd, 25 February 1717/8 at Wilby (Norfk), Rose (1691-1723), daughter and heiress of Rev. James Clough (d. 1713) of Suffield (Norfk); and 3rd, 24 December 1724 at St Gregory, Norwich, Esther alias Hester (1695-1767), daughter of John Sharpe of Norwich, and had issue:

(1.1) Catherine Beevor (b. & d. 1713), baptised at St Peter Mancroft, Norwich, 18 March 1712/3; died in infancy and was buried at the same church, 2 April 1713;

(2.1) Rose Beevor (b. & d. 1719), born 11 February and baptised at St Peter Mancroft, Norwich, 27 February 1718/9; died in infancy and was buried in the same church, 25 April 1719;

(2.2) Elizabeth Beevor (1720-80), baptised at St Peter Mancroft, Norwich, 31 March 1720; married, 30 May 1754 at St Saviour, Norwich, as his second wife, John Cotman* (d. 1773) of Great Yarmouth (Norfk); buried at Great Yarmouth, 12 June 1780; will proved at Norwich, 1780;

(2.3) Thomas Beevor (b. 1721), born 9 April and baptised at St Peter Mancroft, Norwich, 16 April 1721; died in infancy in the lifetime of his mother;

(3.1) Sir Thomas Beevor (1725-1814), 1st bt. (q.v.)

(3.2) John Beevor (1727-1815), born 13 April 1727 and baptised at St Martin at Palace, Norwich, 13 April 1728; educated at Norwich Free Grammar School and Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (admitted 1743; MB 1748; MD 1764; junior fellow, Oct-Dec 1750); practised as a physician in Norwich and was one of the physicians at the Bethel Hospital from 1758 and the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, 1772-93; JP for Norfolk; married 1st, 27 January 1750/1 at Great Yarmouth, Margaret (c.1727-52), daughter of Barry Love (d. 1748) of Great Yarmouth, and had issue a twin son and daughter; married 2nd, 10 June 1756 at St Giles, Norwich, Mary (1736-1814), daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Russell (d. 1740), ironmonger, and had issue six sons** and five daughters; died aged 88 on 26 April 1815 and was buried at St Giles, Norwich, where he is commemorated by a monument;

(3.3) Hester Beevor (1728-29), born 27 July and baptised at St Saviour, Norwich, 16 August 1728; died in infancy and was buried at St Saviour, Norwich, 6 June 1729;

(3.4) William Beevor (1730-70), born 23 October and baptised at St Saviour, Norwich, 2 December 1730; he was intended to take over the family brewery but never did so, perhaps because of illness or incapacity; died 25 May 1770 and was buried on 29 May 1770 at St Saviour, Norwich, where he was commemorated on his father's monument;

(3.5) Caroline Beevor (1731-32), baptised at St Saviour, Norwich, 23 November 1731; died in infancy and was buried at St Saviour, Norwich, 22 February 1731/2;

(3.6) Katherine Beevor (1734-35), baptised at Norwich, 25 January 1734; died in infancy and was buried at St Saviour, Norwich, 25 October 1735;

(3.7) James Beevor (1737-1808), baptised at St Saviour, Norwich, 11 April 1737; apprenticed to William Riches of Norwich, worsted weaver, but took over the family brewery in Norwich and became very wealthy, helped by winning £20,000 in the English lottery in March 1784, but the business was sold following his death; married, 13 August 1765 at St Gregory, Norwich, Mary (d. 1828), daughter of Robert Partridge of Norwich, merchant, and had issue four sons and two daughters (including Mary, the wife of the Rev. Miles Beevor, for whom see below); died suddenly, 21 May, and was buried at St Saviour, Norwich, 28 May 1808.

He lived at Norwich.

He died 29 May and was buried at St Saviour, Norwich, 1 June 1758, where he is commemorated by a monument. His first wife died 23 May and was buried 25 May 1716 at Brampton (Norfk), where she is commemorated by a monument. His second wife died, apparently in childbirth, 3 December 1723 and was buried at Brampton, where she is also commemorated by a monument; her will was proved at Norwich, 1723. His widow died 12 June 1767 and was buried with her husband.

* John Cotman was apparently unrelated to the Norfolk artist John Sell Cotman (1782-1842), despite his strong links to Great Yarmouth.

** Two of the sons are thought to have been the illegitimate offspring of Mrs Beevor and Sir John Lombe of Bylaugh Hall (Norfolk), who died unmarried and left them his estate.

Sir Thomas Beevor, 1st bt.
Image: British Museum 

Beevor, Sir Thomas (1725-1814), 1st bt. Eldest surviving son of Thomas Beevor of Norwich, brewer, and his third wife Esther alias Hester, daughter of John Sharpe of Norwich, born 26 October and baptised at St Martin at Palace, Norwich, 1 November 1725. Educated at Eton, Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1742) and Trinity Hall, Cambridge (admitted 1742/3). He obtained a grant of arms, 20 May 1751. JP for Norfolk, who managed the design and building of a new Wymondham Bridewell c.1785. He was a great agriculturalist, who devoted himself to the improvement of his estate at Hethel, and was created a baronet, 22 January 1784, perhaps in recognition of his contribution to agricultural improvement: it is suggested that the Marquess Townshend, an even more famous agriculturalist, may have promoted the honour. He stood for election to parliament as an independent or Whig in the city of Norwich on four occasions (in 1768, 1786, 1787 and 1790) but was unsuccessful on each occasion. He eloped with, and married against her father's wishes, 7 July 1750 at Tivetshall (Norfk), Elizabeth (1727-94), daughter and heiress of Miles Branthwayte of Hethel Hall, and had issue:

(1) Anna Bettina Beevor (1751-80), born 8 September and baptised at St Stephen, Norwich, 22 September 1751; married, 26 August 1777 at Hethel, William Finch Ingle (later Finch) (1757-1826) (who m2, 20 October 1781 at Little Shelford (Cambs), Betty Wheldon (1759-1846)), son of Samuel Ingle of London, linen draper, and had issue one son; died 15 February and was buried at Hethel, 18 February 1780, where she is commemorated by a monument;

(2) Juliana Mary Beevor (1752-1843), born 13 November and baptised at Hethel, 28 November 1752; eloped with and married, 22 May 1777 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Sir Robert John Buxton (1753-1839), 1st bt., of Shadwell Lodge (Norfk), MP for Thetford, 1790-96 and Great Bedwyn, 1797-1806, son of John Buxton of Rushford (Norfk), and had issue one son and two daughters; died aged 90 on 5 February and was buried at Rushford, 14 February 1843; will proved in the PCC, 22 June 1843;

(3) Sir Thomas Beevor (1753-1820), 2nd bt. (q.v.);

(4) Maj. John Beevor (1755-1828), born 12 May and baptised at Hethel, 1 June 1755; an officer in the 9th dragoons (Cornet, 1772; Lt., 1774; Capt., 1793; Maj., 1802); inspecting officer of yeomanry corps in Waterford, Wexford and district until his death; lived latterly at Beevor Lodge, Carlow (Co. Carlow); said to have married [forename unknown] Roberts* but to have been separated from her; died 9 October 1828;

(5) Rev. Dr. Miles Beevor (1756-1834), born 22 October and baptised at Hethel, 14 November 1756; educated, probably at Eton and at University College, Oxford (matriculated 1774; BA 1778; MA 1781; BD and DD, 1815); ordained deacon, 1778 and priest, 1782; vicar of Toftrees and South Creake (Norfk), 1784-85, and of Ketteringham (Norfk), 1786-1835, which he neglected shockingly; rector of Bircham Newton, 1789-1835, which he served by a curate, and of Hethel (Norfk), 1792-1835; chaplain to 1st battalion, 1st Foot, 1786-95; JP and (from 1803) DL for Norfolk; lived at Mulbarton Hall (Norfk); married, 10 March 1791 at St. Saviour, Norwich, Mary (1767-1837), second daughter of James Beevor of Norwich, and had issue one son (who died young) and two daughters; died 29 December 1834 and was buried at Hethel, 5 January 1835; will proved in the PCC, 3 April 1835;

(6) Capt. Arthur Beevor (1758-1839), born 1 July and baptised at Hethel, 14 November 1758; an officer in the army (Ensign, 1775; Lt., 1774; Capt., 1783; retired on half-pay, 1791), who served mainly in America; returned to Norfolk, 1794 and was Major commanding the Bradenham Volunteer Infantry in 1803; JP for Norfolk; married, 2 June 1797 at Newton Flotman (Norfk), Mary (1770-1831), second daughter of Rev. Arthur Branthwayt of Stiffkey (Norfk) and had issue two sons (who both died young) and two daughters; farmed at Honingham (Norfk) until he retired to Great Yarmouth in 1829; died 26 September and was buried at Burgh Castle (Norfk), 3 October 1839; will proved 3 December 1839;

(7) Rev. George Beevor (1762-1810), born 16 April and baptised at Hethel, 2 May 1762; educated at Wymondham GS and Christ's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1780; BA 1784; MA 1787); ordained deacon, 1784 and priest, 1786; rector of Felmingham, 1790-1804, North Cove and Willingham St Mary (Suffk), 1792-1810, Tasburgh (Norfk), 1797-1804 and Wilby-cum-Hargham, 1804-10; chaplain to 2nd battalion, 1st Foot, 1790-97; JP and (from 1803) DL for Norfolk; married, 19 May 1791 at Stiffkey (Norfk), Jane (1763-1819), eldest daughter of Rev. Arthur Branthwayt of Stiffkey, and had issue six sons and three daughters; died of tuberculosis, 21 July 1810.

He inherited the Hethel Hall estate in right of his wife in 1751.

He died 18 February 1814 and was buried at Hethel; his will was proved in the PCC, 12 November 1814 (effects £35,474). His wife died 'of a putrid fever', 15 January, and was buried at Hethel, 24 January 1794.

* Her first husband is said to have been 'connected with Mr Coke of Holkham whose father... bore the name of Wenman Roberts' [Carter]. As Wenman Roberts (1717-76) of Longford Hall (Derbys) was of an earlier generation, her husband could perhaps have been his illegitimate son.

Beevor, Sir Thomas (1753-1820), 2nd bt. Eldest son of Sir Thomas Beevor (1725-1814), 1st bt., and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Miles Branthwayte of Hethel,, born 15 November and baptised at Hethel, 19 December 1753. Educated at Eton and Trinity Hall, Cambridge (matriculated 1772). JP and DL for Norfolk and in his later years, joint chairman of Quarter Sessions. As a young man he devoted himself to hunting and social life, and he is said to have been part of the Prince of Wales' set - a friendship that was disastrous for so many - and when he died he left substantial debts. He succeeded his father as 2nd baronet, 18 February 1814. He married late and his marriage was not happy, and on 30 June 1802 his wife left him and returned to live with her mother (who held the estate for life) at Hargham, taking their children with her; this also caused a rift with his father, who took his daughter-in-law' side, and took legal action for the repayment of loans he had made to his son. He married, 24 August 1795 at Wilby (Norfk) (sep. 1802), Anne (1774-1837), daughter and sole heiress of Hugh Hare (d. 1800) of Hargham Hall, and had issue:

(1) Sir Thomas Branthwayt Beevor (1798-1879), 3rd bt. (q.v.);

(2) Mary Anne Beevor (1800-23), baptised at Old Buckenham (Norfk), 21 February 1800; married, 10 June 1819 at Hethel, Isaac Preston (later Jermy) (d. 1848)* of Stanfield Hall (Norfk), barrister and later recorder of Norwich, and had issue one son and two daughters; buried at St Stephen, Norwich, 24 September 1823;

(3) Juliana Bettina Beevor (1801-28), born 29 March 1801; married, when she was fifteen, and perhaps after an elopement, 19 April 1816 at St Mary, Islington (Middx), Rev. Henry Howard (1785-1856) and had issue one son and four daughters; buried at Hargham, 7 October 1828.

He lived at Old Buckenham (Norfk) until he inherited a life interest in Hethel Hall from his father in 1814. His wife inherited a life interest in Hargham Hall on the death of her mother in 1816, but may have assigned it to her son after his marriage in 1819; she perhaps funded the addition of a new service wing. By the 1830s she was living at Barton Turf (Norfk), but when she died she was sharing an apartment in Paris with a French friend, to whom she left her personal possessions.

He died 10 December 1820 and was buried at Hethel; his will was proved in the PCC, 24 July 1821. His widow is said to have resumed her maiden name in 1820, but press reports referred to her as Lady Beevor when she died in Paris, 30 December 1837.

* In a celebrated case, which became known as 'The Stanfield Hall Murders', Jermy and his son were murdered by one of their tenant farmers on 28 November 1848; his son's wife and servant were also shot but survived.

Sir Thomas Branthwayt Beevor, 3rd bt. 

Beevor, Sir Thomas Branthwayt (1798-1879), 3rd bt. Only son of Sir Thomas Beevor (1753-1820), 2nd bt., and his wife Anne, daughter and sole heiress of Hugh Hare of Hargham Hall, born 7 April and baptised at Old Buckenham (Norfk), 8 April 1798. Educated at Felsted, Oundle and Trinity Hall, Cambridge (matriculated 1816) and Christ's College, Cambridge (migrated 1817). He succeeded his father as 3rd baronet, 10 December 1820. He was a Unitarian in religion and a radical Liberal in politics, who was a friend of William Cobbett, and was active in the parliamentary contests in Norfolk in the 1820s. He was sometimes referred to as 'Citizen Beevor', and so disdained his title that he is said to have cut up the family's original baronetcy patent to make covers for farming notebooks. JP for Norfolk and chairman of Wymondham Petty Sessions; Chairman of the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital and of several Poor Law Boards of Guardians, and founder of a provident society at Attleborough (Norfk) which secured old age annuities to labourers. He was noted for his eccentricities of dress, wearing knee britches and a costume of his own devising. In 1832-33, after the death of his first wife, he travelled to the United States, and while there he sent for and married his second wife, the daughter of a small farmer at Old Buckenham, no doubt feeling that this mésalliance would attract less comment there than in England. He married 1st, 9 December 1819 at Lakenham (Norfk), Elizabeth Bridget (1802-31), second daughter of Dr Richard Lubbock MD of Norwich; 2nd, 6 September 1832 in New York (USA), Martha (1808-43), daughter of Archibald Hardiman alias Hardiment of Old Buckenham (Norfk), farmer; and 3rd, 15 March 1845, Mary (c.1811-78), daughter of F. Davies, and had issue*:

(1.1) Elizabeth Bridget Beevor (1820-88), baptised at Hargham, 11 November 1820; married, 22 July 1843 at Salcombe Regis (Devon), Dr John Dacie Jeffery MD (1810-82) of Sidmouth and later of Worcester, surgeon, and had issue three sons and one daughter; as a widow, lived in Vienna (Austria) and died there, 5 July 1888; will proved 2 August 1888 (effects in England, £602);

(1.2) Sir Thomas Beevor (1823-85), 4th bt. (q.v.);

(2.1) Julia Beevor (1833-1917), born 28 September 1833; brought up as a Unitarian but baptised into the Church of England at Burgh St. Peter, 29 July 1860; educated at Mount Lodge Boarding School, Hampstead (Middx); married, 28 May 1856 at St Pancras (Middx), Dr. Walter Jeffrey Potts MD MRCS (1837-98) of Amersham (Bucks), surgeon, son of George Potts MP, and had issue six sons and four daughters; as a widow lived at Reigate (Surrey) and died there, 5 July 1917; will proved 16 August 1917 (estate £4,197);

(2.2) Arthur Branthwayte Beevor (1834-94), born 14 September 1834 and baptised at Eccles, 28 March 1858; educated at a dissenting academy in St Michael's Hill, Bristol; had a narrow escape from drowning while sailing on the R. Orwell, 1853, but evidently later emigrated to Australia, where he died unmarried in Queensland, 22 May 1894;

(2.3) Marianne Beevor (1835-64), born 14 September 1835 and baptised at Eccles, 28 March 1858; married, 3 June 1862 at St George, Southwark (Surrey), her cousin, Capt. Burton John Daveney (1833-1905), son of Henry Daveney, and had issue one daughter; died in Bombay (India), 18 January 1864 and was buried at Byculla Cemetery there the following day;

(2.4) Phoebe Beevor (1836-54), born 23 October 1836; educated at Mount Lodge Boarding School, Hampstead (Middx); died unmarried, probably of tuberculosis, 10 October 1854;

(2.5) Edward Beevor (1838-67), born 11 December 1838; educated at a dissenting academy in St Michael's Hill, Bristol; died unmarried of tuberculosis, 21 April, and was buried at Yarmouth Old Cemetery (Norfk), 26 April 1867;

(2.6) Jane Beevor (b. & d. 1839), born about June 1839; died in infancy and was buried at Hargham, 4 November 1839;

(2.7) Franklin Beevor (1841-c.1862), born 21 May 1841; joined the merchant navy and was last heard of when he wrote home from Melbourne (Australia) in November 1861; presumed to have drowned in about 1862;

(2.8) Jane Beevor (b. & d. 1842), born April-Jun 1842; died in infancy, 26 October 1842;

(3.1) Harriet Beevor (1845-75), born 1845 and baptised at Hargham, 15 July 1860; married, 8 September 1868 at Christ Church, Harrogate (Yorks WR), Benjamin de Montmorency Dowson (b. 1847) of Lee (Kent) (who m2, 4 October 1876 at the British Embassy in Paris (France), Geraldine Alice Jenny (1847-1939), daughter of Henry Victor de Merindol Malan, and had further issue one daughter), son of Rev. Charles Dowson, and had issue; died at Cannes (France), 29 March 1875;

(3.2) Ellen Beevor (1847-48), born Jul-Sept. 1847; died in infancy and was buried at Hargham, 6 October 1848;

(3.3) Oliver Beevor (1849-74), born 23 May 1849 and baptised at Hargham, 15 July 1860; educated at Middle Temple (admitted 1869; called 1874); barrister-at-law, practising in Great Yarmouth; died unmarried, suddenly, 20 November, and was buried at Bradwell (Norfk), 26 November 1874. 

He inherited the freehold of Hethel Hall on the death of his father in 1820, but sold it in 1828 to pay his father's debts. He inherited Hargham Hall from his mother in 1837 and expanded the estate. He lived there until 1862 when he retired to Great Yarmouth.

He died at Great Yarmouth, 6 April and was buried at Hargham, 11 April 1879; his will was proved 16 May 1879 (effects under £3,000). His first wife died 23 November and was buried at Hargham, 28 November 1831. His second wife died 25 October 1843. His third wife died 20 February, and was buried at Bradwell (Norfk), 27 February 1878.

* There is a family tradition that he may also have had one or more illegitimate children, but these were not acknowledged.

Beevor, Sir Thomas (1823-85), 4th bt. Only son of Sir Thomas Branthwayt Beevor (1798-1879), 3rd bt., and his first wife, Elizabeth Bridget, second daughter of Dr. Richard Lubbock MD of Norwich, born at Hargham, 23 August 1823 and baptised at the Octagon Chapel, Norwich, 3 May 1824. He was later re-baptised into the Church of England at Eccles (Norfk), 9 November 1850. Educated at University College School and University College, London (matriculated 1841; BA 1844), the Inner Temple (admitted 1843) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1846; called 1850); he also undertook a tour of Europe in 1848, visiting France (where he was in Paris during the Third Revolution), Germany, Bohemia, Austria, Hungary, and returning through Germany and the Netherlands. A few years later, a six-month honeymoon  in 1850-51 took him and his wife through France to Italy and back through Germany and Belgium. Barrister-at-law. JP for Norfolk. A freemason from 1847. A director of the Norwich Union Insurance Company Life Office, 1860 (Chairman, 1863-85). An officer in the Norfolk Rifle Volunteers (Ensign, 1860-63). He succeeded his father as 4th baronet, 6 April 1879. He married, 10 December 1850 at St James, Dover (Kent), Sophia Jane (1824-90), daughter of Rev. Clement Chevallier (1765-1830), rector of Badingham (Suffk) and widow of Isaac Jermy Jermy (1821-48)* of Stanfield Hall (Norfk), and had issue:

(1) Sophia Elizabeth Beevor (1851-70), born 28 September and baptised at St Giles, Norwich, 14 November 1851; died unmarried, 8 December, and was buried at Hargham, 12 December 1870;

(2) Amy Beevor (1852-1918), born 31 December 1852 and baptised at St John, Hampstead (Middx), 16 February 1853; teacher at Notting Hill Girls High School, 1886-92 and headteacher of Carlisle Girls High School (Cumbld), 1892-1902; died unmarried, 12 February 1918; will proved 26 March 1918 (estate £10,967);

(3) Thomas Edward Beevor (1854-79), born 9 May and baptised at St John, Hampstead, 29 June 1854; educated at Uppingham and Trinity Hall, Cambridge (admitted 1872), where he accumulated debts, to the distress of his father, who sent him abroad to Canada and the United States in about 1875, and supported him with occasional remittances; he worked briefly as a teacher in Montreal; suffered from Bright's disease (nephritis); died unmarried when he took his own life by an overdose of morphine at Denver, Colorado (USA), 6 August 1879, where he is commemorated by a headstone in the Riverside Cemetery;

(4) Lucy Jane Beevor (1855-1946), born 29 November 1855 and baptised at Attleborough (Norfk), 29 January 1856; married, 23 August 1894 at Hingham (Norfk), Charles Henry Delamain (c.1847-1928), a rancher in New Zealand and Mexico, and later of Mousehall, Tidebrook (Sussex), farmer, eldest son of Col. Charles Henry Delamain CB, and had issue one son; lived latterly at Roundswell House, nr. Barnstaple (Devon); died aged 90 on 7 January 1946; will proved 3 June 1946 (estate £1,800);

(5) Margaret Beevor (1857-1904), born 7 April 1857 and baptised at Attleborough, 8 March 1858; married, 12 September 1891 at Hingham, Henry Penrice Frederick (1857-1942), of Burgh Hall, Burgh Castle (Norfk), solicitor (who m2, 25 April 1908, Diana (1861-1940), third daughter of Sir William Foster, 2nd bt.), son of George Septimus Frederick, and had issue three sons and two daughters; died 17 July and was buried at Burgh Castle, 19 July 1904; will proved 8 September 1904 (estate £1,019);

(6) Sir Hugh Reeve Beevor (1858-1939), 5th bt. (q.v.);

(7) Ralph Jermy Beevor (1859-1937) of The Limes, Weybridge (Surrey), born 29 December 1859; educated at Felsted and Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1878; BA 1882; MA 1892); schoolmaster at Cheltenham College, 1882; an official in the General Post Office, 1883-92; subsequently secretary to public companies; lived at St Albans (Herts) and later Norwich; compiler of Alumni Felstedienses, 1890 (5th edn., 1921); Fellow of the Society of Genealogists; married, 26 April 1894 at St George Colegate, Norwich, Sophia Mary (1865-1948), elder daughter of Rev. Joseph Preston, and had issue three sons and three daughters; died 1 November and was buried at Hargham, 4 November 1937; will proved 7 January 1938 (estate £4,593);

(8) Rev. John Hare Beevor (1861-1914), born 1 or 6 June and baptised at Hingham, 21 September 1861; educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge (matriculated 1879; BA 1883; MA 1903); ordained deacon, 1884, and priest, 1885; rector of Hevingham (Norfk), 1889-1908; Diocesan Inspector of Schools, 1892-1908; retired 1908 and took up farming at Hoveton Hall (Norfk); married, 22 February 1892 at Oratava, Tenereife (Spain), Susan Heard Oliver OBE (k/a Zay) (1857-1938), daughter of Charles William Dabney jr. of Boston, Massachusetts (USA), but had no issue; died of throat cancer, 27 February 1914; will proved 3 April 1914 (estate £2,662);

(9) Cecil Nicholas Beevor (1863-88), born 24 January and baptised at Hingham, 30 September 1863; educated at Royal Military Academy, Woolwich (admitted 1880); an officer in the Royal Engineers (Lt., 1882); died unmarried when he was killed by bandits ('dacoits') in Burma, 15 September 1888;

(10) Alice Franklin Beevor (1864-69), born 17 July and baptised at Hingham, 7 December 1864; died 13 July, and was buried at Hargham, 17 July 1869;

(11) Rowland Beevor (1866-1942), born 7 February and baptised at Hingham, 14 April 1866; articled to J.P. Cobb of Finsbury Circus, solicitor; practised as a solicitor with Williams & James of London; married, 13 September 1893 at St Andrew, Nottingham (Notts), Margaret Frances (1867-1954), daughter of George Evans of Nottingham, insurance agent, and had issue three sons and two daughters; died 7 November 1942; will proved 9 December 1942 (estate £34,817);

(12) Edmund Beevor (1867-1948), born 23 May and baptised at Hingham, 18 October 1867; educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge (matriculated 1886; BA 1889; MA 1895); teacher at Aldenham School, Elstree (Herts) (asst. master, 1889-95; house master, 1895-1922); compiled Aldenham School register, 1913; member of Depwade Rural District Council, 1928-46; lived latterly at Pulham St. Mary (Norfk); married, 4 August 1896 at Hardingham (Norfk), Mary (1861-1947), second daughter of Sir William Foster, 2nd bt. of Hardingham Hall, but had no issue; died 1 November 1948; will proved 21 December 1948 (estate £9,715);

(13) Richard Temple Beevor (1869-97), born 28 August and baptised at Hingham, 7 November 1869; educated at Aldenham Grammar School and University of London (matriculated 1888) and in Leipzig (Germany); organist and composer; died unmarried, 22 July, and was buried at Hargham, 28 July 1897.

He lived at Hampstead (Middx) in the early 1850s and then at Attleborough (Norfk) before moving about 1858 to a house in the Market Place at Hingham (Norfk). He took over management of the Hargham Hall from his father in 1862 and inherited the estate in 1879, but continued to live at Hingham: it is said that his wife, traumatised by the death of her first husband, refused to live in an isolated house again.

He died 18 August and was buried at Hargham, 21 August 1885; his will was proved 3 October 1885 (effects £11,855). His widow died 22 February 1890 and was buried at Hargham.

* Murdered with his father at Stanfield Hall in 1848: see above. Sophia was also shot in the same incident; she survived, but lher right arm became infected and had to be amputated.

Beevor, Sir Hugh Reeve (1858-1939), 5th bt. Second, but eldest surviving son of Sir Thomas Beevor (1823-85), 4th bt., and his wife Sophia Jane, daughter of Rev. Clement Chevallier, rector of Badingham (Suffk) and widow of Isaac Jermy Jermy of Stanfield Hall (Norfk), born 31 October 1858 and baptised at Hingham. Educated at Felsted and Kings College, London (MB 1884). Physician and surgeon (MRCS, 1882; LSA, 1882; MRCP, 1888; FRCP 1896). After qualifying in 1882, he held junior appointments in London and Norwich before travelling to Australia and New Zealand in 1889-90. He then set up as a general practitioner in London and Norwich and joined was attached to King’s College Hospital (Asst Physician, 1890; Physician, 1899; Consulting Physician, 1914). He was a Fellow of Kings College from 1909 and served as dean of the medical department from 1896-98. He was also on the staff of the City of London Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, was an officer in the Territorial Army Royal Army Medical Corps (Maj.) from 1908, and represented the Society of Apothecaries in the General Medical Council, 1900-10. He succeeded his father as 5th baronet, 18 August 1885. A freemason from 1890. He was a lover of the countryside, a naturalist and ornithologist, and after he retired in 1914, he devoted himself to these interests, travelling far and wide in search of rare trees and shrubs. Member of the Norfolk County Council, 1913-31; a director of the Norwich Union Life Office, 1917-36 and of the Fire Office, 1925-36. He married, 29 June 1894 at Hardingham (Norfk), Emily Georgina (d. 1909), daughter of Sir William Foster, 2nd bt. of Hardingham Hall, and had issue:

(1) Bridget Chevallier Beevor (1895-1967), born 5 May 1895; married, 11 February 1920, Rev. Henry Hibberd (1876-1952), rector of Burnham Thorpe (Norfk), son of Dr. Henry Jukes Hibberd of Holmwood, Brockenhurst (Hants), and had issue one son and one daughter; died 28 April 1967; will proved 18 July 1967 (estate £30,966); 

(2) Sir Thomas Lubbock Beevor (1897-1943), 6th bt. (q.v.).

He inherited Hargham Hall from his father in 1885 but put the estate up for sale in 1897. It failed to reach its reserve price at auction.

He died 24 February 1939 and was buried at Hargham; his will was proved 28 April 1939 (estate £47,189). His wife died 17 April, and was buried at Hargham, 22 April 1909; her will was proved 7 July 1909 (estate £133).

Beevor, Sir Thomas Lubbock (1897-1943), 6th bt. Only son of Sir Hugh Reeve Beevor (1858-1939), 5th bt., and his wife Emily Georgina, daughter of Sir William Foster, 2nd bt., born 1 June 1897. Educated at the Royal Naval College, Osborne. An officer in the Royal Navy (midshipman, 1914; Sub-Lt., 1917; Lt., 1918; Lt-Cdr., 1926; Cdr., 1936; A/Capt. 1943), who served in the First and Second World Wars. He succeeded his father as 6th baronet, 24 February 1939. He married, 19 February 1919 at Holy Trinity, Chelsea (Middx), Edith Margaret (1897-1985), daughter of Frank Agnew of Eccles Hall, Attleborough (Norfk), and had issue:

(1) Ina Margaret Anastasia Beevor (1920-2022), born 2 October 1920; married, 9 May 1942, Maj. John Arthur Lewis (1916-2007), elder son of Maj. Alfred Elliott Lewis of Danecroft, Stowmarket (Suffk), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died aged 101 on 20 January 2022; will proved 18 May 2022;

(2) Jocelyn Mary Beevor (1927-2014), born 4 July 1927; married, 8 October 1949 at St Paul, Knightsbridge (Middx), Sir (Edward Courtenay) Henry Warner (1922-2011), 3rd bt., only son of Col. Sir Edward Courtenay Thomas Warner, 2nd bt., of Brettenham Park (Suffk), and had issue three sons; died 22 February 2014; will proved 30 June 2014;

(3) Sir Thomas Agnew Beevor (1929-2017), 7th bt. (q.v.);

(4) Christian Chevallier Beevor (1934-2021), born 30 October 1934; married, 14 October 1959, George Habib Homsi (1930-96), elder son of Habib George Homsi of Beirut (Lebanon), but had no issue; died in France, 4 March 2021.

He inherited Hargham Hall from his father in 1939.

He died in a flying accident on active service, 29 April 1943; his will was proved 20 September 1943 (estate £47,779). His widow married 2nd, 28 August 1944 at Liverpool Cathedral, Rear-Adm. Robert Alexander Currie CB DSC (1905-95) of Thorpe Morieux Hall (Suffk), son of John Currie, and died 19 October 1985; her will was proved 4 December 1985 (estate £407,854).

Beevor, Sir Thomas Agnew (1929-2017), 7th bt. Only son of Sir Thomas Lubbock Beevor (1897-1943), 6th bt., and his wife Edith Margaret (d. 1985), daughter of Frank Agnew of Eccles Hall, Attleborough (Norfk), born in Malta, 6 January 1929. Educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He succeeded his father as 7th baronet, April 1943. JP for Norfolk. He married 1st, 27 April 1957 at Pakenham (Suffk) (div. 1965), Barbara Clare (b. 1936), youngest daughter of Capt. Robert Lionel Brooke Cunliffe CBE RN (1895-1990) of Pakenham Lodge; 2nd, 22 February 1966 (div. 1975), Carola (b. 1930), elder daughter of His Honour Judge Jesse Basil Herbert MC QC (d. 1972); and 3rd, 6 August 1976, Sally Elisabeth (b. 1950), only daughter of Edward Warren Derby Madoc of White Hall, Saham Toney (Norfk), beekeeper, and formerly wife of Dirk Murray Bouwens (1947-2021), and had issue:

(1.1) Bridget Anastasia Beevor (b. 1958), born 6 April 1958; educated at Mayfield School, Putney and Dorset House School of Occupational Therapy (Dip. COT, 1980); married, 8 September 1984, Matthew John Le Fanu Porteous MB BS FRCS FRSM (b. 1957), consultant orthopaedic surgeon, eldest son of John Porteous of London, and had issue two sons and two daughters;

(1.2) Juliana Clare Beevor (b. 1960), born 16 June 1960; married, 1988, Dr. Roderick Peter Ross Marrs MB BS of Assington (Suffk), general practitioner, son of Alan Ross Marrs of Watchet (Som.), and had issue one son and one daughter;

(1.3) Sir Thomas Hugh Cunliffe Beevor (b. 1962), 8th bt. (q.v.).

He inherited Hargham Hall from his father in 1943 and came of age in 1950. He handed over the estate to his son in about 2010, and he and his third wife built an eco-house called 'The Old Woodyard' on the estate.

He died 22 January 2017; his will was proved 5 September 2017. His first wife is now living.  His second wife was living in 2008. His widow is now living.

Beevor, Sir (Thomas) Hugh Cunliffe (b. 1962), 8th bt. Only son of Sir Thomas Agnew Beevor (1929-2017), 7th bt., and his first wife, Barbara Clare, youngest daughter of Capt. Robert Lionel Brooke Cunliffe CBE RN of Pakenham Lodge, Bury St. Edmunds (Suffk), born 1 October 1962. Educated at Radley, Pembroke College, Cambridge (BA, 1985) and Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. Management consultant, farmer and landowner; chairman of Orchard Toys Ltd, 2004-date. He succeeded his father as 8th baronet, 21 January 2017. He married, 27 August 1988, Charlotte Louise (b. 1963), elder daughter of Keith Ernest Harvey of Nuthall (Notts), and had issue:

(1) Thomas William Harvey Beevor (b. 1990), born 15 April 1990; educated at Newcastle University and Henley Business School;

(2) Joshua Peter Hugh Beevor (b. 1992), born 19 May 1992; educated at Norwich Sch. and Newcastle University (BA); finance manager and auditor; married, 2 April 2022, Charlotte, daughter of David Alcock of Stratford-on-Avon (Warks);

(3) Georgina Emily Clare Beevor (b. 1995), born 17 April 1995; educated at Norwich Sch., Durham University (BA 2006) and Cambridge University (PGCE, 2017 and M.Ed, 2020); teacher since 2017.

He was given the Hargham Hall estate by his father in about 2010.

Now living.

Principal sources

Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 2003, pp. 324-25; F. Blomefield, An essay towards a topographical history of the county of Norfolk, vol. 1, 1805, pp. 412-14; J. Kenworthy-Browne et al., Burke's and Savill's Guide to County Houses - East Anglia, 1981, p. 126; A. Carter, The Beevor Story, 1993; Sir N. Pevsner & B. Wilson, The buildings of England: Norfolk - North-West and South, 1999, p. 382; D. Clarke, The country houses of Norfolk: part two - The Lost Houses, 2008, pp. 54-55; P. Dallas, R. Last & T. Williamson, Norfolk gardens and designed landscapes, 2013, pp. 186-87; T. Williamson, I. Ringwood & S. Spooner, Lost country houses of Norfolk, 2015, pp. 175-76;

https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?MNF19788-Hargham-Hall-Quidenham&Index=18796&RecordCount=56734&SessionID=cf67db2a-93ae-4141-b2a3-3778670fe597. 

Location of archives

The estate and family papers appear to be retained by the family.

Coat of arms

Per pale or and argent on a chief indented sable three lions rampant of the first.

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide additional photographs of Hargham Hall, which seems to be remarkably little-recorded?
• Can anyone provide 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 17 December 2022 and was updated 18-20 December 2022, 24 February 2023 and 19 December 2024.