(536) Bell of Bourne Park

Bell of Bourne Park

This family owed its place in the landed gentry entirely to the brilliance and diligence of one man: John Bell (1764-1836), with whom the genealogy below begins. He came from a middle-class background in Kendal (Westmorland) but had the misfortune to be orphaned at an early age, and was raised by his aunt. Sent to local grammar schools, he proved an enthusiastic student, and at Cambridge he emerged as the Senior Wrangler (the student with the highest marks in the final exams in the Mathematics tripos), which has been called 'the greatest intellectual achievement attainable in Britain'. He then went on to the Middle Temple (and later to Grays Inn) to train as a barrister, being called to the bar in 1792. It was a career for which he was in some ways curious unfitted, since he spoke all his life with a strong regional accent, had a stammer, and wrote a hand which was barely legible at the best of times. His ability as a lawyer outweighed all these difficulties, however, and he became highly successful in a very competitive environment: the Lord Chancellor thought him the ablest lawyer at the Chancery bar. His public career is well-documented, but his private life is more obscure. He had evidently been widowed after a childless marriage before, in 1815, he married Jane Grove. They had only one child: a son called Matthew Bell (1817-1903), and when John died in 1836 his wealth was distributed between his widow and his son, who came of age two years later. Although John had been some years retired by then, and had bought an estate at Milton near Canterbury (where he rebuilt the church in 1829), much of his wealth was still held in the form of investments. 

In his will, John Bell expressed the hope that his son would train for the law, but Matthew's inclinations were much more to the life of the country gentleman. He sold out many of his father's investments in order to buy the Bourne Park estate at Bishopsbourne, which had a significantly grander house than existed at Milton, and in the late 1840s he undertook a substantial programme of improvements to it, including the creation of the lake which is such an important feature of the grounds today. He served his turn as High Sheriff in 1850, and occupied himself with being an active farmer and hop-grower as well as being a JP and Deputy Lieutenant for the county and taking his place on the boards of local charities. He seems to have been regarded as a good and generous landlord, and in the late 1840s, when many tenants were struggling to pay their rent, he remitted 10% of what was due to him. He married in 1839 and his wife bore eleven children over the next twenty years: five sons and six daughters, of whom only one son died in infancy, although another died aged nineteen, perhaps of tuberculosis. His heir apparent was his eldest son, Matthew John Bell (1840-1902), who went into the army but retired as a captain in 1869, shortly before his marriage in 1870 to Kathleen Reilly, the daughter of a Dublin barrister. They had one son and two daughters, but Matthew John died after a long illness in 1902 before inheriting the Bourne estate. His father seems not to have recovered from the shock of losing his eldest son, and died the following year, leaving as his heir Matthew John's only son, Matthew Gerald Edward Bell (1871-1926), who also joined the army. He retired as a captain in 1909, but rejoined his regiment in the First World War, serving on the General Staff, and finally retired as a Lieutenant-Colonel in 1919. His uncle, Herbert James Bell (1853-1918), who lived on the Bourne estate and was a solicitor, assisted with the management of the estate while Matthew was in the army, but died shortly before the end of the First World War. Matthew came back to Bourne and took up the reins of estate management, taking much of his land in hand and farming it himself in an effort to get a better return. When he died at a comparatively young age in 1926 his son was still a minor, and his executors took the decision to sell the estate, bringing to a close the family's brief century as landed gentry.

Bourne Park, Bishopbourne, Kent

This house has been described in a previous post.

Bell family of Bourne Park

John Bell (1765-1836) 

Bell, John (1764-1836). Son of Matthew Bell (1733-66) of Kirkland, Kendal (Westmld) and his wife Agnes, daughter of William Yeats of Beetham (Lancs), born at Kendal, 23 October 1764. Orphaned at an early age, he was brought up by an aunt. Educated at Kirkby Lonsdale School, Beetham Grammar School, Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1781; BA (senior wrangler), 1786; MA 1789), Middle Temple (admitted 1787) and Grays Inn (migrated 1790; called 1792; bencher 1813; treasurer, 1818-19, 1834-35). He became a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, 1787, was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1797, and was made a KC in 1816 and a Fellow of the Royal Society, 1824. The Lord Chancellor (Lord Eldon) thought him the ablest lawyer at the Chancery bar, though he could 'neither read, write, walk, nor talk': Bell was lame, spoke with a broad Westmorland accent, the effect of which was heightened by a stammer, and wrote in a hand never more than barely legible*. He was a vehement opponent of changes to the operation of the law courts and expressed his views in evidence to a royal commission in 1824 and a pamphlet, Thoughts on the proposed alterations in the court of Chancery, (1830), but he was a Whig in politics. He married**, 29 July 1815 at St Giles in the Fields, Holborn (Middx), Jane (d. 1855), daughter of Henry Grove, and had issue:

(1) Matthew Bell (1817-1903) (q.v.).

He lived at Bedford Square in London, but had purchased an estate at Milton near Canterbury (Kent) before 1829. His widow lived latterly at Oswalds, Bishopsbourne (Kent).

He died 6 February, and was buried at Milton near Canterbury, 18 February 1836; his will was proved in the PCC, 26 February 1836. His widow died 4 October 1855; her will was proved in the PCC, 24 November 1855.

* According to his obituaries, he 'used facetiously to say. when asked what sort of hand he thought he really wrote, that had three sorts—one that himself could read—one that his clerk could read—and one that neither he nor his clerk could read'!

** This was apparently at least his second marriage, as he is described as a widower in the register; his first marriage may have been at the lawyers' church of St Andrew Holborn, where a John Bell married Diana Higgins in 1788 and a John Bell married a Sarah Hancock in 1792, but there are many other possibilities.

Bell, Matthew (1817-1903). Only son of John Bell (1764-1836) and his wife Jane, daughter of Henry Grove, born 7 July and baptised at St Giles in the Fields, Holborn (Middx), 2 August 1817. Educated at Eton, Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1834; BA 1838; MA 1841) and Grays Inn (admitted 1836). JP and DL (from 1852) for Kent; High Sheriff of Kent, 1850. An officer in the East Kent Yeomanry (Capt., 1853). Landowner, farmer and hop-grower. He was a trustee of the Kent and Canterbury Hospital and the Rochester Bridge Trust, and a director of the Equitable Life Assurance Society. He married, 13 June 1839 at St Mary, Bryanston Sq., Westminster (Middx), Fanny Cecilia (1815-1908), youngest daughter of Thomas Hanway Bigge (1776?-1824) of Newcastle-on-Tyne and Longbenton (Northbld), banker, and had issue:

(1) Matthew John Bell (1840-1902) (q.v.);

(2) Edward Shurland Bell (1841-61), born 1 September and baptised at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster, 29 September 1841; died unmarried, 16 April 1861;

(3) Florence Jane Bell (1842-1921), born 18 September and baptised at Bishopsbourne, 24 November 1842; married, 28 July 1868 at Bishopsbourne, Maj. Allen George Douglas (1834-93), only son of Henry Hamilton Douglas, and had issue one daughter; died 26 January 1921 (estate £22,648);

(4) Charles George Bell (1843-85), born 6 September and baptised at Bishopsbourne, 26 October 1843; educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1861); an officer in the 23rd Foot (Ensign, 1863; Lt., 1868; ret. 1873), who was apparently subsequently a planter in Ceylon; married, 17 July 1875 at St Paul, Knightsbridge (Middx), Frances Emma Honoria (later k/a Fanny Beresford) (c.1851-1921), second daughter of Col. John James Whyte of Newtown Manor (Co. Leitrim), and had issue one son and two daughters; died at sea on his passage home from Ceylon, 18 May 1885, and was buried in the Red Sea; administration of his goods granted to his widow, 7 December 1886 (effects £183);

(5) An unnamed son (b. & d. 1845), born 10 March 1845 but died the same day;

(6) Fanny Alice Bell (1846-1928), born 5 April and baptised at Bishopsbourne, 22 May 1846; married, 26 October 1865 at Bishopsbourne, Charles Stewart Hardy (1842-1914) of Chilham Castle (Kent) and had issue five sons and three daughters; died 14 June 1928 and was buried at Chilham;

(7) Augusta Rose Bell (1848-1945), born 27 January and baptised at St Mary, Bryanston Sq., Westminster (Middx), 28 February 1848; married, 4 January 1876 at Bishopsbourne, Lt. William Gaven Eden RN (1849-1931) of Benburb, East Grinstead (Sussex), eldest son of Rev. Arthur Eden, vicar of Ticehurst (Sussex), and had issue two sons and four daughters; died aged 97 on 13 December 1945; will proved 3 May 1946 (estate £4,027);

(8) Eleanor Margaret Bell (1849-1933), born 8 July and baptised at Bishopsbourne, 7 September 1849; married, 16 July 1874 at Bishopsbourne, Canon Arthur Ellison Molineux (1846-1919), vicar of Minster-in-Thanet (Kent), rural dean of Westbere and hon. Canon of Canterbury Cathedral, fourth son of George Molineux of Lewes (Sussex), banker, and had issue two daughters; died 23 April 1933; will proved 31 July 1933 (estate £13,364);

(9) Constance Georgina Bell (1851-1940), born 7 April and baptised at Bishopsbourne, 25 May 1851; married, 30 July 1872 at Bishopsbourne, Maj-Gen. Frederick Thomas Whinyates (1833-1915) of Abbotsleigh, Bournemouth (Hants), but had no issue; died 18 December 1940; will proved 15 March 1941 (estate £17,486);

(10) Herbert James Bell (1853-1918), born 16 August 1853; educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1871); solicitor; died unmarried, 14 September 1918 and was buried at Bishopsbourne; will proved 7 November 1918 (estate £31,918);

(11) Gertrude Cecilia Bell (1858-1946), born 9 August and baptised at Bishopsbourne, 26 September 1858; married, 23 June 1885 at Bishopsbourne, Maj. Philip Francis Durham (1852-1932) of Wingfield, Highcliffe, Christchurch (Hants), eldest son of Patrick Francis Durham (1808-81) of Glanymor House, Aberystwyth (Cardigans.), and had issue one son and one daughter; died 24 January 1946; will proved 16 August 1946 (estate £6,074).

He purchased Bourne Park in 1844 and remodelled it to the designs of John Shaw in 1848-49.

He died 24 December 1903 and was buried at Bishopsbourne, where he is commemorated by a brass plaque; his will was proved 21 January 1904 (estate £55,106). His widow died at Bordighera (Italy), 17 December 1908 but was buried at Bishopsbourne, where she is also commemorated by a brass plaque; her will was proved 4 February 1909 (estate £3,906).

Bell, Matthew John (1840-1902). Eldest son of Matthew Bell (1817-1903) and his wife Fanny Cecilia, youngest daughter of Thomas Hanway Bigge of Newcastle-on-Tyne and Longbenton (Northbld), born 3 May and baptised at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster (Middx), 20 June 1840. Educated at Eton. An officer in the 13th Foot (Ensign, 1858; Lt., 1860; Capt., 1866; ret. 1869) and later in the Royal East Kent Mounted Rifles (Lt., 1870). JP for Folkestone, 1879. He married, 7 July 1870 at Taney (Co. Dublin), Kathleen Matilda (1851-1911), second daughter of John Reilly of St. Bridget's, Clonskeagh (Co. Dublin), barrister-at-law, and had issue:

(1) Matthew Gerald Edward Bell (1871-1926) (q.v.);

(2) Maude Cecilia Bell (1873-1920), born 26 October 1873; married, 5 January 1897 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Major-Gen. Sir Charles John Sackville-West KBE CMG CB (1870-1962), later 4th Baron Sackville (who m2, 30 January 1924, Anne (d. 1961), daughter of William Meredith of New York (USA) and widow of Stephen Sohier Bigelow of Boston (USA)), and had issue one son and one daughter; died in Paris (France), 7 December 1920; administration of her goods was granted 4 February 1921 and 7 November 1928 (estate £10,996);

(3) Kathleen Bell (1877-1908), born 10 June and baptised at St Brelade (Jersey), 15 July 1877; died unmarried and was buried at Bishopsbourne, 13 August 1908; administration of her goods was granted November 1908 and 7 July 1911 (estate £4,254).

He died after a long illness in the lifetime of his father, 8 February 1902, and was buried at Bishopsbourne, where he is commemorated by a brass plaque; administration of his goods was granted to his widow, 24 April 1902 (estate £2,209). His widow died at Nice (France), 28 March 1911; her will was proved 13 May 1911 (estate £30,069).

Bell, Matthew Gerald Edward (1871-1926). Only son of Matthew John Bell (1840-1902) and his wife Kathleen Matilda, second daughter of John Reilly of St. Bridget's, Clonskeagh (Co. Dublin), born 24 July 1871. Educated at Eton. An officer in the Rifle Brigade (2nd Lt., 1895; Lt., 1896; Capt., 1900; retired 1909; returned to colours as Maj., 1914; Lt-Col., 1917; retired 1919); appointed OBE. JP for Kent from 1922. After retiring from the army in 1919 he took his estate in hand and farmed it himself, winning prizes for hop growing and stock breeding. He married, 11 July 1905 in the private chapel of Buckingham Palace (where his bride was a Maid of Honour to HM Queen Alexandra, 1901-05), Hon. Mary (1875-1962), daughter of Rt. Hon. Sir William Hart-Dyke (1837-1931), 7th bt., of Lullingstone Castle (Kent), and had issue:

(1) Matthew Alexander Henry Bell (1908-59), born 25 August 1908; educated at Eton; lived at Old House Farm, Coolham (Sussex) and later in Canterbury (Kent); married, 21 April 1936 at Chelsea Old Church (Middx) (div. 1948), Dawn Elizabeth (1909-66) (who m2, 24 January 1949, Sydney Ernest Lodington Baddeley (1886-1971), youngest son of Col. Paul Frederick Michael Baddeley), daughter of Lt-Col. George McClintock of  Eaton Terrace SW1, but had no issue; died 6 April 1959; will proved 1 February 1960 (estate £3,095).

He inherited Bourne Park from his grandfather in 1903, but it was sold by his executors in 1927 following his death. His widow lived subsequently at Bredon House (Worcs).

He died 8 May 1926; his will was proved 7 August and 10-11 September 1926 (estate £72,911). His widow died 7 October 1962.

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1952, p. 149; Oxford Dictionary of National Biography article on John Bell (1764-1836).

Location of archives

Bell family of Bourne Park: deeds and estate papers, 18th-19th cents. [Kent History Centre, U806]

Coat of arms

Sable, on a chevron between three bells argent, as many lions heads erased gules.

Can you help?

• 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 26 February 2023.