(551) Bence of Thorington Hall and Kentwell Hall

Bence of Thorington and Kentwell 

The Bence family had probably settled in Suffolk by the 14th century, when there was a family of that name at Bungay on the Norfolk border. The earliest certain ancestor, however, was Edmund Bence, who was living at the port of Aldeburgh by 1524, and was sufficiently prosperous to be included in the subsidy assessment for that year. By the Elizabethan period Edmund's son John was a thriving merchant and shipowner, and both he and his brother were assessed for the subsidy in 1568. By 1582 seven people of that surname feature in the tax roll and the family was evidently the wealthiest in the town. Alexander Bence (1547-1613), with whom the genealogy below begins, was bailiff (i.e. mayor) of the town on six occasions between 1586 and 1612, and was selected as one of its MPs in 1604, although pressure from the Howard family, who controlled the borough, meant that the return was amended to include their client instead of Bence, and he never sat in Parliament (although his younger brother had done so twice in the 1580s and 1590s). Alexander had a large family, with nine sons and only two daughters, only three of whom died before reaching maturity. Confusingly, the sons included two called Alexander who both survived to adulthood: clearly their father was determined to have a son to carry on his name! In fact, the eldest son, Thomas Bence (1574-1610) and the elder Alexander (1577-c.1608), both died in their father's lifetime, so it was John Bence (1581-1635) who succeeded his father in his core business interests at Aldeburgh. His surviving younger brothers, Robert Bence (1585-1656), Alexander the younger (fl. 1660) and Squire Bence (1597-1648), also inherited some of his shipping interests, but seem to have been largely based in London, where Robert was a salter and Alexander a grocer. They retained their Suffolk connections, however, and Alexander was MP for Aldeburgh, 1640-48 and for Suffolk, 1654-55, while Squire was MP for Suffolk in 1640. The family were Parliamentarian in their sympathies during the Civil War, and Alexander and Squire both served on the County Committee for Suffolk.

John Bence (1581-1635) was a merchant like his father and a burgess of Aldeburgh from 1610 until his death: he served as Chamberlain in 1609-10 and Bailiff on four occasions (1611-12, 1617-18, 1619, 1625-6) and was MP for the town in 1624. Unfortunately, although the early parish registers for Aldeburgh survive from 1558, there is a missing volume covering the period 1600-91, so we know much less about his family than we do about his father's. Like many wealthy merchants at this time, he invested some of his capital in land, buying property at Ringsfield near Beccles (Suffk) (which passed to his eldest son, John Bence (d. 1681)) and at Benhall near Saxmundham (Suffk). The latter was inherited by his second son, Edmund Bence (c.1619-1702), and since there seems to be no evidence of his involvement in mercantile activities, Edmund was probably the first of the family to regard himself as a landed gentleman. Three of his sons were sent to Cambridge for an appropriate education, while Robert Bence (1675-1745) married an heiress and lived at Sibton and Henstead (both Suffolk). Edmund's eldest son, John Bence (1670-1718) bought the manors of Thorington in about 1691 and Heveningham in 1700, but since he died without a son to inherit his property he left Thorington to his brother, Alexander Bence (1672-1759) and directed his executors to sell Heveningham, which they did in 1719. Alexander Bence evidently pursued an academic career, becoming a Fellow of St Catherine's College in 1701, but after he inherited Thorington he took up his responsibilities in the county and was twice pricked as High Sheriff in 1733-34 and 1742-43. The expense of the shrievalty being considerable, his having to bear it twice in ten years occasioned some adverse comment in the press, and it is hard to believe that the burden could not have been more equitably distributed. Alexander outlived all his sons, so on his death Thorington passed to his daughter Ann (1714-94). A spinster of forty-five, she found that her inheritance transformed her prospects in the marriage stakes, and in 1762 she married a man ten years her junior, George Golding (c.1724-1803). Not surprisingly, in view of her age, they had no children, and at her death she left Thorington to her husband for life, with remainder to her first cousin once removed, the Rev. Bence Sparrow (1747-1826), on condition that he took the name Bence in lieu of Sparrow.

The Rev. Bence Bence (as he became) was the second son of Robert Sparrow (1705-65) of Worlingham Hall (Suffk) and his wife Anne (1708-76), the daughter of Robert Bence (1675-1745). Since his elder brother inherited Worlingham, Bence was sent into the church and became a notable pluralist, acquiring many livings in Suffolk through the generosity of relatives who presented him and the tolerance of his bishop. He actually resided at Beccles, and as soon as his only son, Henry Bence Bence (1788-1861), came of age, he handed the Thorington Hall estate over to him. In 1815, Henry married Elizabeth Starkie, a considerable heiress, and the young couple set about building a new house on the Thorington estate. It seems likely that the old hall, although large, had become very neglected, and Henry demolished it and built a new house in a fashionable neo-classical style on a different site on the estate in 1817-24. The architect was recorded as Thomas Hopper by a diarist who visited in 1820 while the house was under construction.

Henry and Elizabeth had three sons and a daughter, although only the two elder sons survived their parents. The eldest son, Henry Alexander Starkie Bence (1816-81), would inherit Thorington, but the second son, Edward Robert Starkie Bence (1823-89), was fortunate enough to inherit a fortune of £130,000 from Elizabeth Starkie, a cousin of his mother, while still a teenager. This enabled his trustees to purchase the recently remodelled Kentwell Hall at Long Melford (Suffk) as a suitable residence for him, and also enabled him to obtain commissions in the King's Dragoon Guards, one of the smartest regiments, for his military career in the 1840s. Edward married in 1850 and he and his wife produced one son and five daughters. Unfortunately, the son, Edward Starkie Bence (1862-1937), who remained unmarried, had no interest in living at Kentwell, and let it to a series of tenants. When he died, it passed to his nephew, Charles Douglas Bunbury Ross (1887-1970), on condition that he took the name Starkie-Bence, which he did in 1938. Charles had emigrated as a young man to British Columbia, where he farmed, although he returned to England to fight in the First World War, and again on receiving his inheritance. In contrast to his uncle's indifference to Kentwell, Charles was determined to take on the inheritance, largely for the benefit of his son, Richmond (1916-41), but the latter was killed in the Second World War. After the war, Charles remained at Kentwell, although it became increasingly clear that he could not afford to do so, and the place slid rapidly into disrepair. When he died in 1969, Kentwell passed to his widow, who could not wait to sell, and declared as she left that 'it was like leaving prison'. The purchaser was the barrister and amateur architect, Patrick Phillips (b. 1941), who has devoted more than fifty years to nursing the house back to health and good fortune.

Henry Alexander Starkie Bence (1816-81), who inherited Thorington Hall on his father's death in 1861, is said to have pursued a career in the diplomatic corps, although I have not been able to find any record of his postings. He married in 1850, but he and his wife had no sons, and at his death he left Thorington to his three surviving daughters as co-heirs. The youngest, Ida Millicent (1860-1951), married Col. Guy Lenox Lambert (1856-1930) in 1884, and they took the name Bence-Lambert by royal licence. It was actually they who occupied Thorington Hall, and Ida remained there after her husband's death, until the house was requisitioned for military use in 1940. When the property was returned to her in 1945 it seemed impossible for a widow of advanced years to live there in the social circumstances of the time, and after trying unsuccessfully to find a buyer for the house as a residence, she sold it to a demolition contractor and it was pulled down in 1949.

Thorington Hall, near Halesworth, Suffolk

Very little seems to be known about the large Tudor or Jacobean manor house at Thorington, which was taxed on 18 hearths in 1674 and which was acquired by the Bence family in 1691 as part of their rapidly expanding property portfolio in east Suffolk. It is marked on Hodskinson's map of Suffolk in 1783, and stood about half a mile south of the later house, just south of the present Park Farm. 

Thorington Hall: the entrance front in the late 19th century. Image: Matthew Beckett

Thorington Hall: the side elevation in the early 20th century. Image: Matthew Beckett

The new house was built in 1817-24 for Lt-Col. Henry Bence Bence (1788-1861) to the design of Thomas Hopper, and was a distinguished and excellently proportioned two storey building of white brick with a five-bay entrance front and seven-bay garden front. The east-facing entrance front was dominated by a massive pedimented Ionic portico that bears a notable similarity to that designed earlier by Hopper for Leigh Court (Somerset) on the model of that at Pythouse (Wiltshire), which in turn had been designed by the owner for himself. Hopper had a considerable practice in Suffolk (including work at Woolverstone Hall, Brome Hall, Melford Hall and - coincidentally - Kentwell Hall) and was also working at Gosford Castle in County Armagh for Bence's cousin and her husband, the Earl of Gosford, from about 1819. The south-facing garden front of Thorington had a three-bay centrepiece, with Doric pilasters at either end and two Ionic half-columns either side of the central window, all supporting a section of full entablature but no pediment. A lower service wing projected to the north side of the house and connected it to the surviving stable court. 

The house is said to have cost £16,000 to build, which seems surprisingly modest considering that it was richly finished inside, with mahogany doors, marble chimneypieces, and extensive decorative plasterwork. The entrance hall was stone flagged, and the principal apartments on the ground floor included a saloon, drawing room, dining room, library and smoking room. The saloon is said to have had a domed ceiling with a circular roof light, and the other rooms 'highly enriched plaster ceilings and cornices'. The staircase rose in two flights to a galleried landing on the first floor, which gave access both to the five principal bedrooms in the main block and to six secondary bedrooms above the north wing. 

Thorington Hall: the footprint of the house in 1883, from the 1st edition 25" map.

Thorington Hall: the gate lodge before restoration. Image: A Building Fan.

The main drive led south from the house to what is now the A12, where a lodge with tetrastyle Tuscan porticoes echoed the neo-classical sophistication of the house and was accompanied by cast-iron gate piers, modelled and painted to resemble stone, and massive gates and railings. The lodge, like the stable court, survives, and was restored and extended in about 2010. Further from the house, there were decorative estate buildings, including the thatched Round House (to the north-east), which was built as a gamekeeper's cottage, and the L-plan Stone Cottage, with Gothick glazing bars (to the south-west). In 1883 the house was still surrounded by open parkland, but twenty years later a broad terrace had been constructed below the south front, with flights of steps between low walls supporting large urns.

Thorington Hall: demolition in progress, 1949. Image: Matthew Beckett.

Thorington Hall: demolition in progress, 1949. Image: Matthew Beckett.

The Bence family remained in occupation until the house was requisitioned for military use by the army in 1940. Although many houses were badly damaged during army occupation in the Second World War, this seems not to have been the case at Thorington, but when it was returned to the family in 1945 the difficulty and expense of recruiting servants to make it habitable again encouraged the elderly owner to sell up. The estate was put on the market in August 1945, but was unsold and soon afterwards the house was sold to a demolition contractor (Palmers of Saxmundham). It was pulled down in 1949, and the firm reputedly covered the costs of demolition from the sale of the mahogany doors alone. Much of the rubble was simply bulldozed into the cellars of the house, and the present owners report that fragments of moulded plasterwork and marble fireplaces occasionally surface on the site. Thorington was a particularly sad loss in a county which has lost so many important houses, partly because its elegance and apparently good condition at the time of demolition, and partly because with hindsight we can see how sought after it would have been in later decades if only it had been spared in the dire years after the Second World War.

Descent: Henry Norris (fl. 1576); sold 1583 to Leonard Spencer; sold 1584 to Anthony Wingfield; sold 1593 to Sir Edward Coke (d. 1634); to fifth son, Henry Coke (d. 1661); to son, Richard Coke (d. 1670); to widow, Mary Coke (d. 1674); to son, Robert Coke (d. c.1679); to son, Edward Coke of Holkham, whose trustees sold c.1691 to John Bence (1670-1718); to brother, Alexander Bence (1672-1759); to daughter Ann (1714-94), wife of George Golding (c.1724-1803); to cousin, Rev. Bence Sparrow (later Bence) (1747-1824); who gave it in 1809 to his son, Henry Bence Bence (1788-1861); to son, Henry Alexander Starkie Bence (1816-81); to daughters, of whom Ida Millicent (1860-1951), wife of Col. Guy Lenox Lambert (later Bence Lambert) (1856-1930) occupied the house; sold c.1947 to Palmers of Saxmundham; demolished 1949.

Kentwell Hall, Long Melford, Suffolk

A romantic moated Tudor house of mellow red brick, set within a broad moat on a site about a mile north of the town of Long Melford. The estate belonged from 1404 to the Clopton family, who were closely associated with the building of Long Melford church, but the name Kentwell was originally attached to a house almost a mile further north-west which Sir William Clopton (d. 1446) abandoned in favour of a moated manor house called Lutons which stood on the present site. As far as is known, nothing of the original manor house survived successive phases of rebuilding in the 16th century, but it is thought that the walled garden north of the moat may be 15th century as it is on a slightly different axis to the present house. The detached building within the moat, known now as The Moat House, but probably built as a brewery or laundry, is also late 15th century.

Kentwell House: the house from the south in 2017. Image: Nicholas Kingsley. Some rights reserved.

Kentwell Hall: the ends of the wings and the south bridge over the moat. Image: ruth1066.

Work on the present house probably began soon after Sir William Clopton (1450-1530), kt., inherited in 1497, and proceeded slowly, as funds were available and successive owners had the time and energy for building, until about 1580. At the end of the process the house had become a fairly typical large U-plan mansion with an entrance front that gives a strong impression of symmetry, although the elevations are actually balanced rather than perfectly symmetrical. The centre (originally of two storeys) has a central porch with a straight gable and pinnacles, and rectangular bay windows to either side: that on the right lighting the hall. The long wings also have bay windows, gabled dormers, and ogee-capped turrets at the outer ends of their side elevations. 

Kentwell Hall: aerial view from the south-east, showing the moat and the U-plan of the house. Image: John Fielding. Some rights reserved.

Construction seems to have begun with the centre of the house, followed by the east wing, which was built in two stages and which contained the family apartments, and then the west wing, which contained lodgings and a large new kitchen: earlier there had been a detached kitchen to the north-west which may have been part of the previous house. The floor level of the hall was raised when the wings were built, which probably implies that the scheme evolved with successive phases of work. The west wing is thought to have been completed by about 1540, but the various phases of building are not yet more closely dated than that. Two bridges across the moat link the house to the surrounding landscape, and there is evidence that the south bridge was originally guarded by a gatehouse at its inner end, and by an outer gatehouse about halfway between the moat and the current gates. Work continued in the 1570s, when an extra floor was added to the central block to contain a fashionable Long Gallery in anticipation of a visit by Queen Elizabeth in the summer of 1578. The mason John Prynce received payments in 1571 'for all his worke done abowghte my new buyldinge' and in 1577; while the carpenter Richard Ward was paid in 1579, presumably for fitting up the new gallery. Although the entrance front was made as regular as possible, no attempt at symmetry was made on the other elevations, which have garderobes, chimneys and dormer windows placed where they were needed, and windows at several different heights.

Kentwell Hall: rear elevation in the 1970s, showing the absence of any effort to achieve symmetry. Image: Historic England.

Kentwell Hall: the staircase of c.1680 inserted in the east wing. Image: © Talybibo.

Sir Thomas Robinson, who bought the estate in 1676, was a successful lawyer, and in the brief period before he jumped to his death escaping from a fire at his chambers in London, he made some changes to the house and grounds, the most significant of which were the insertion of a fine open-well staircase of c.1680 and the planting in 1678 of the lime avenue which still forms the south approach to the house. There were further piecemeal changes to the interior of the house in the 18th century, including the insertion of some sash windows (a few of which survive on the west front); while outside, the moat was enlarged to bring part of the garden east of the house within it. A ground floor corridor has an elaborate plaster entablature with a triglyph frieze, which looks as though it dates from the second quarter of the 18th century, and the chimneypiece which survives in the hall also dates from c.1730. Richard Moore, the owner from 1782, inserted some further new chimneypieces, and may have undertaken more general redecoration, but much of what he did was probably swept away in a more comprehensive remodelling undertaken by Thomas Hopper in c.1825-27 for Robert Hart Logan (1772-1838), a Scot who had made a fortune as a timber merchant in Canada. 

Kentwell Hall: the great hall, as remodelled by Thomas Hopper, c.1825-27.

Kentwell Hall: the dining room, created by Thomas Hopper, c.1825-27.

Hopper did little to the outside, except for renewing the stucco surrounds to the mullioned and transomed windows, but the principal interiors are now largely his work. In the hall he introduced the Gothic panelling and the Jacobean-style roof with hammerbeams, pendants and wall-posts, which is actually all of plaster and merely painted to resemble wood. Across the screens passage he created a square double-height dining room, which is perhaps the most successful of his new interiors. It is dominated by a massive chimneypiece of grey marble, modelled on a 15th century one in the Bishop's Palace at Exeter. The walls have a high Jacobean-style dado of arches and pilasters, separated by a band of strapwork decoration from Gothic arcading around the upper part of the walls. On the other side of the hall is the parlour, again remodelled by Hopper, with a very pretty Gothic plaster cornice, although much of its present character comes from the rich terracotta paint on the walls and the late 20th century painted ceiling by Paul Dufficey, who also decorated the 'Roman bathroom' above. Beyond the staircase in the east wing are the billiard room and library, both created in their current form by Hopper, who intended them as a library and drawing room respectively. The present library has a Corinthian screen of cast iron scagliola columns.

Kentwell Hall: the parlour, remodelled by Thomas Hopper, c.1825-27.

The house was requisitioned for military use in the Second World War, but the Bences were able to retain a flat in the building, and probably as a result it was less badly damaged than many houses. After the war, a shortage of funds, staff and materials led to Kentwell becoming increasingly neglected, and when Mrs. Starkie Bence finally sold it in 1971 she declared that she felt as though she was leaving prison! The purchaser who bravely stepped forward to buy and restore the house was the current owner, Patrick Phillips, who has combined a busy career as a barrister with the personal oversight of restoration work, and who has indeed acted as an amateur architect when need arose. His philosophy of minimal intervention rather than radical restoration has meant that little has changed at all obviously. Some of the more evident changes include repaving the courtyard between the wings on the entrance front with multi-coloured bricks in the form of a stylized Tudor rose (in 1984-85), and the building of two octagonal gatehouses with ogee roofs (in c.1993), which function as offices and public toilets, as well as the painted decoration referred to above. The house and gardens are open to the public on a generous basis in summer, with many activity days for schoolchildren and the general public, although attendance at the latter is advised only for those with a ready tolerance of costumed re-enactors.

Descent: Katherine Mylde (d. 1404), wife of Thomas Clopton and later of Sir William Tendring; to son, Sir William Clopton (d. 1446), kt.; to son, John Clopton (c.1420-97); to son, Sir William Clopton (1450-1530), kt.; to son, John Clopton (c.1475-1541); to son, William Clopton (1509-63); to son, Francis Clopton (1539-78); to brother, William Clopton (1541-89); to half-brother, Thomas Clopton (c.1565-96); to son, Sir William Clopton (1592-1616), kt.; to son, William Clopton (1616-22); to sister, Anne Clopton (1612-41), later wife of Sir Symonds d'Ewes (1602-50), kt.; to daughter, Sissilia (d. 1661), later wife of Sir Thomas D'Arcy, who sold 1676 to Sir Thomas Robinson (1618-83), kt. and 1st bt.; to son, Sir Lumley Robinson (d. 1684), 2nd bt.; to son, Sir Thomas Robinson (1681-1743), 3rd bt.; sold 1706 to John Moore (1658-1713); to nephew, John Mould (later Moore) (1697-1735); to son, Henry Moore (1730-73); to brother, Richard Moore (1734-82); to son, Richard Moore (1769-1826), whose creditors foreclosed and sold Kentwell in 1823 to Robert Hart Logan (1772-1838); to brother, who sold 1839 to Edward Robert Starkie Bence (1823-89); to son, Edward Starkie Bence (1862-1937); to nephew, Charles Douglas Bunbury Starkie Ross (later Bence) (1895-1969); to widow, who sold 1971 to Patrick Phillips (b. 1941). The house was let from 1616 until perhaps 1641 to Thomas Gardener, yeoman; and from 1889 to 1938 to a series of tenants including Sir John Aird, H. Turton Norton and Sir Connop Guthrie

Bence family of Thorington Hall and Kentwell Hall

Bence, Alexander (1547-1613). Eldest son of John Bence (d. 1577) of Aldeburgh (Suffk) and his wife Joan (d. 1585), daughter of William Wignall, born 1547. Merchant and shipowner in Aldeburgh, and a member of the Virginia Company by 1609. He was Chamberlain of Aldeburgh borough, 1573-74 and Bailiff, 1586-87, 1592-93, 1598, 1606-07, 1611-12 and on one other occasion; elected MP for Aldeburgh, 1604, but was not returned owing to pressure on the borough from the Howard family, who controlled it. He married, 2 September 1571 at Aldeburgh, Mary, daughter of Thomas Squire (d. 1605) of Aldeburgh, and had issue, with one further son, who died in infancy:

(1) Rose Bence (b. 1572), baptised 12 January 1572/3; married 1st, 22 August 1591 at Aldeburgh, Richard Atkinson (d. 1591), and 2nd, 15 June 1592 at Aldeburgh, Thomas Johnson of Aldeburgh, and had issue at least two sons and two daughters; living in 1612;

(2) Thomas Bence (1574-1610), baptised at Aldeburgh, 21 December 1574; died unmarried after 3 July 1610; will proved 30 November 1610;

(3) Alexander Bence the elder (1577-c.1608), baptised at Aldeburgh, 28 July 1577; married 1st, Mary [surname unknown] and had issue; married 2nd, 11 July 1600 at Aldeburgh, Rose Johnson, and had issue one daughter; died between 1605 and 1610; 

(4) John Bence (1581-1635) (q.v.);

(5) Robert Bence (1585-1656) of London, baptised at Aldeburgh, 28 February 1584/5; citizen and salter of London; married, about 1643, Elizabeth Kent? (d. 1696), and had issue four sons and two daughters; buried at St Benet, Gracechurch St., London, 20 March 1655/6; will proved 2 March 1656/7;

(6) William Bence (b. & d. 1587), baptised at Aldeburgh, 16 October 1587; died in infancy and was buried at Aldeburgh, 10 December 1587;

(7) William Bence (1591-97), baptised at Aldeburgh, 5 December 1591; died young and was buried at Aldeburgh, 27 May 1597;

(8) Alexander Bence the younger (fl. 1660); born after 1588 as he was under the age of 24 in 1612; merchant and shipowner; citizen and grocer of London (alderman, 1653); MP for Aldeburgh, 1640-48 (when he was excluded during Pride's Purge); Navy Commissioner, 1642; a Parliamentarian who was a member of the Suffolk County Committee during the Civil War; MP for Suffolk, 1654-55; Master of Trinity House, 1659-60; married Anne Aylett of Rendham (Suffk) and had issue; living in 1660;

(9) Mary Bence (b. 1597), baptised 17 April 1597; married John Base (fl. 1645) of Benhall (Suffk), and had issue;

(10) Squire Bence (1597-1648), baptised at Aldeburgh, 17 April 1597; MP for Suffolk, 1640; a Parliamentarian who was a member of the Suffolk County Committee during the Civil War; married 1st, 26 August 1617 at St Dunstan, Stepney (Middx), Elizabeth Pett, and had issue two children (who died young); married 2nd, 1644 at Stoke Newington (Middx), Mary Salby (d. 1678); died 27 November 1648 and was buried at Aldeburgh, where he was commemorated by a monument, now lost; will proved 23 February 1648/9.

He lived in Aldeburgh.

He died 27 January 1612/3 and was buried at Aldeburgh; his will was proved 25 February 1612/3. His wife predeceased him but her date of death is unknown.

Bence, John (1581-1635). Third son of Alexander Bence (1547-1612) and his wife Mary, daughter of Thomas Squire, baptised at Aldeburgh, 30 April 1581. Merchant in Aldeburgh, and four times bailiff of that borough; MP for Aldeburgh, 1624. He married 1st, by 1612, Mary, daughter of Edmund French (d. 1619) of Kelsale (Suffk), and 2nd, 10 May 1627 at Rayleigh (Essex), Elizabeth Papworth (fl. 1635), widow, and had issue:

(1.1) Mary Bence (fl. 1635), born before 1612; married [forename unknown] Barkley and had issue at least one daughter; 

(1.2) Elizabeth Bence (fl. 1635), born before 1612; married, William Smith of Parkfield, and had issue at least two sons and one daughter;

(1.3) A son; died before 1635; 

(1.4) John Bence (d. 1681) of Ringsfield (Suffk); High Sheriff of Suffolk, 1664-65; married Anne (d. 1683), daughter of Christopher Layer of Norwich, but had no issue; died 20 February 1680/1; will proved 11 April 1681;

(1.5) Edmund Bence (c.1619-1702) (q.v.);

(1.6) Alexander Bence (fl. 1635).

He lived at Aldeburgh and Benhall (Suffk).

He died in London, 2 July 1635, and was buried at Aldeburgh, where he was commemorated by a monument; his will was proved in the PCC, 6 July 1635. His first wife's date of death is unknown, but she was buried at Aldeburgh. His widow was living in 1635; her date of death is unknown.

Bence, Edmund (c.1619-1702). Second surviving son of John Bence (1581-1635) and his first wife Mary, daughter of Edmund French of Kelsale (Suffk), born about 1619. He married Mary (c.1648-1717), daughter of Sir Francis Yallop, kt., and had issue:

(1) John Bence (1670-1718), baptised at Benhall, 27 September 1670; educated at St Catherine's College, Cambridge (admitted 1685); MP for Dunwich, 1691-95 and for Ipswich, 1702-08; purchased Thorington Hall in about 1691 and Heveningham Hall (Suffk) in 1700; married, by 1692, Catherine (d. 1715), daughter and heir of Sir Sackville Glemham, kt. of Glemham (Suffk), and had issue one son (who died in infancy) and one daughter (who married Sir William Barker (1680-1731), 5th bt., of Grimston Hall (Suffk)); died 18 October 1718 and was buried at Heveningham, where he and his wife are commemorated by a monument; by his will, proved in the PCC, 12 May 1719, he bequeathed Thorington, Kelsale and Carlton to his next brother and directed his executors to sell Heveningham; 

(2) Alexander Bence (1672-1759) (q.v.);

(3) Edmund Bence (b. 1673), baptised at Benhall, 25 May 1673; died in infancy;

(4) Robert Bence (1675-1745) (q.v.);

(5) Mary Bence (1676-1765), baptised at Benhall, 23 January 1675/6; died unmarried on 16 January 1765, and and was buried with her sister at Benhall (Suffk), where they are commemorated by a floor slab (on which her age is given incorrectly as 93);

(6) Edmund Bence (1677-78), baptised at Benhall, 5 July 1677; died in infancy and was buried at Benhall, 23 October 1678;

(7) William Bence (b. & d. 1678), baptised at Benhall, 6 October 1678; died in infancy and was buried at Benhall, 10 October 1678;

(8) Rev. Thomas Bence (1680-1757), baptised at Benhall, 20 January 1679/80; educated at St Catherine's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1696; BA 1700; MA 1703); ordained deacon and priest, 1704, rector of Kelsall and Carlton (Suffk), 1705 and of Thorington, 1722; married Margaret (d. 1737), daughter and heir of Robert Barker of Bredfield (Suffk) and had issue one son (who died in infancy) and two daughters; buried at Carlton, 27 September 1757;

(9) Abigail Bence (1681-1751), baptised at Benhall, 5 August 1681; lived at Saxmundham (Suffk); died unmarried, 10 March 1750/1 and was buried at Benhall, 25 March 1751.

He lived at Benhall (Suffk).

He died 5 May, and was buried at Benhall, 7 May 1702; his will was proved in the PCC, 5 September 1702. His widow died 10 May and was buried at Benhall (Suffk), 25 May 1717.

Bence, Alexander (1672-1759). Second son of Edmund Bruce (c.1619-1702) and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Francis Yallop, kt., baptised at Benhall (Suffk), 20 February 1671/2. Educated at St Catherine's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1688; BA 1691; MA 1694). Fellow of St Catherine's College, Cambridge, 1701. High Sheriff of Suffolk, 1733-34 and 1742-43. He married, 1 July 1708 at St Martin Outwich, London, Christian, daughter of Sir Anthony Deane, kt., of London, and had issue:

(1) John Bence (b. 1710), baptised at Chediston (Suffk), 25 March 1710; probably died young;

(2) Alexander Bence (1711-42), baptised at Chediston, 23 March 1710/1; educated at St Catherine's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1727) and Middle Temple (admitted 1729); buried at Thorington, 7 June 1742, where he is commemorated by a monument;

(3) William Bence (1712-13), baptised at Chediston, 12 June 1712; died in infancy and was buried at Chediston, 4 June 1713;

(4) Edmond Bence (b. & d. 1713), baptised at Chediston, 1 July 1713; died in infancy and was buried at Chediston, 9 September 1713;

(5) Ann Bence (1714-94) (q.v.). 

He inherited Thorington Hall from his elder brother in 1718.

He was buried at Thorington, 8 August 1759, where he is commemorated on his son's monument. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bence, Ann (1714-94). Only daughter of Alexander Bence (1672-1759) and his wife Christian, daughter of Sir Anthony Deane, kt., of London, baptised at Chediston (Suffk), 31 December 1714. She married, 19 January 1762 at Thorington, George Golding (c.1724-1803) of Poslingford (Suffk), but had no issue.

She inherited Thorington Hall from her father in 1759. She left it to her husband for life, and then to her cousin, the Rev. Bence Sparrow (1747-1824), on condition that he took the name Bence.

She was buried at Thorington, 3 October 1794, where she is commemorated by a monument; her will was proved in the PCC, 17 October 1794. Her widower was buried at Thorington, 29 December 1803; his will was proved in the PCC, 16 January 1804.

Bence, Robert (1675?-1745). Third son of Edmund Bruce (c.1619-1702) and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Francis Yallop, kt., said to have been born 1675. He married, 20 July 1704 at Henstead (Suffk), Mary (1683-1717), daughter and heir of the Rev. Lawrence Eachard of Henstead (Suffk), and had issue:

(1) Lawrence Bence (1706-47), baptised at Sibton, 8 October 1706; died unmarried, 31 March, and was buried at Henstead, 2 April 1747;

(2) Anne Bence (1707-76) (q.v.);

(3) Mary Bence (1709-92), baptised at Sibton, 30 September 1709; died unmarried and was buried at Henstead, 28 December 1792.

He lived at Sibton and Henstead (Suffk).

He died 19 December and was buried at Henstead, 22 December 1745; his will was proved in the PCC, 12 June 1746. His wife died 24 August and was buried at Sibton, 27 August 1717.

Bence, Anne (1708-76). Elder daughter of Robert Bence (1675?-1745) and his wife Mary, daughter and heir of Rev. Lawrence Echard of Henstead (Suffk), bapised at Sibton (Suffk), 31 January 1707/8. She married, 16 December 1740 at Henstead, Robert Sparrow (1705-65) of Worlingham Hall (Suffk), and had issue:

(1) Robert Sparrow (1741-1822) of Worlingham Hall, which he rebuilt c.1800 to the designs of Francis Sandys; baptised at Woodbridge, 24 October 1741; married, 8 July 1771 at St Marylebone (Middx), Mary (1738-93), eldest daughter of Sir John Bernard (1699-1766), 4th bt., of Brampton Park (Hunts), and had issue one son and one daughter; buried at Worlingham, 18 March 1822;

(2) Rev. Bence Sparrow (later Bence) (1747-1824) (q.v.);

(3) John Sparrow (b. 1748), baptised at Woodbridge, 12 February 1748; presumably died in infancy;

(4) John Sparrow (b. 1749), baptised at Kelsale, 5 February 1749; probably died young.

She and her husband lived at Woodbridge (Suffk) until 1755, when they bought Worlingham Hall.

She died 9 November and was buried at Henstead, 16 November 1776. Her husband died 15 September 1765 and was buried at Henstead; his will was proved in the PCC, 29 November 1765.

Sparrow (later Bence), Rev. Bence (1747-1824). Second son of Robert Sparrow (1705-64) of Worlingham Hall (Suffk) and his wife Ann, elder daughter of Robert Bence of Henstead (Suffk), baptised at Woodbridge (Suffk), 18 October 1747. Educated at Norwich and Emmanuel College, Cambridge (matriculated 1765; LLB 1771). Ordained deacon and priest, 1774. A considerable pluralist, he was perpetual curate of Great Redisham (Suffk), 1774-1806; rector of Beccles (Suffk), 1774-1823; vicar of Endergate (Suffk), 1806-23; rector (and patron) of Kelsale-cum-Carlton (Suffk), 1806-10 and rector of Thorington, 1807-21. He took the surname and arms of Bence in lieu of Sparrow for himself and his family, 2 May 1804, after inheriting the Thorington estate. He married, 16 May 1786 at Beccles (Suffk), Harriet (1759?-1815), daughter and heir of William Elmy of Beccles, and had issue:

(1) Henry Bence Sparrow (later Bence) (1788-1861) (q.v.);

(2) Anna Maria Sparrow (later Bence) (1787-1872), baptised at Beccles, 28 March 1787; married, 1 June 1809 at Beccles, Rev. Lancelot Robert Brown (1786-1868), rector of Kelsale and Carlton (Suffk), 1810-68, Thorington, 1821-50 and Saxmundham, 1826-68, son of Robert Brown, and had issue three daughters; died 17 March and was buried at Kelsale, 23 March 1872; will proved 1 May 1872 (effects under £12,000);

(3) Matilda Sparrow (later Bence) (1791-1869), baptised at Beccles, 5 March 1791; married, 17 July 1811, Lt-Col. William Jones (c.1776-1843) of 5th dragoon guards, and had issue three sons; died 14 September and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, 20 September 1869; will proved 12 November 1869 (effects under £600).

He inherited Thorington Hall in 1803 after the death of his cousin's widower, but gave the estate to his son on his coming of age in 1809.

He died 2 September 1824; his will was proved in the PCC, 12 October 1824. His wife died 9 June and was buried at Beccles, 15 June 1815.

Sparrow (later Bence), Henry Bence (1788-1861). Only son of the Rev. Bence Sparrow (later Bence) (1747-1824) and his wife Harriet, daughter and heir of William Elmy of Beccles (Suffk), baptised at Beccles, 12 March 1788. Educated at Charterhouse School and St John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1806). An officer in the army (Cornet, 1808; Capt., 1811; retired 1814), who served in the Peninsula War (wounded at Talavera) and in the East Suffolk militia (Lt-Col., 1844). JP and DL for Suffolk and JP for Norfolk. He took the surname Bence in lieu of Sparrow with his father in 1804. He married, 5 May 1815, Elizabeth Susanna (1795-1862), second daughter and co-heir of Nicholas Starkie of Frenchwood (Lancs) and East Riddlesden Hall (Yorks WR), and had issue:

(1) Henry Alexander Starkie Bence (1816-81) (q.v.);

(2) Marianne Katharine Starkie Bence (1817-33), born and baptised at Kelsale (Suffk), 3 November 1817; died unmarried at Bracondale (Norfk), 21 May, and was buried at Thorington, 25 May 1833;

(3) Edward Robert Starkie Bence (1823-89) (q.v.);

(4) Rev. Thomas Starkie Bence (1824-58), born 1 October and baptised at Thorington, 2 October 1824; educated at Charterhouse School and St John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1843; BA 1848; MA 1851); ordained deacon, 1847 and priest, 1848; curate of Monks Eleigh (Suffk), 1847-49; rector of Thorington, 1849-58; married, 16 April 1857 at Boughton Monchelsea (Kent), Elizabeth Frances (1829-1917) (who m2, 21 September 1865, Capt. George Alexander Warburton (1828-91)), eldest daughter of Robert Cuninghame Taylor of Boughton Place (Kent), and had issue one daughter; died 14 July and was buried at Thorington, 20 July 1858, where he is commemorated by a memorial window; will proved 18 August 1858 (effects under £4,000).

He was given the Thorington Hall estate as a coming of age present by his father in 1809, and rebuilt the house to the designs of Thomas Hopper between 1817 and 1824.

He died 9 February and was buried at Thorington, 16 February 1861; his will was proved 13 April 1861 (effects under £16,000). His widow died at St. Leonards-on-Sea (Sussex), 19 December and was buried at Thorington, 27 December 1862; her will was proved 8 May 1863 (effects under £3,000).

Bence, Henry Alexander Starkie (1816-81). Eldest son of Henry Bence Sparrow (later Bence) (1788-1861) and his wife Elizabeth Susanna, second daughter and co-heir of Nicholas Starkie of Frenchwood (Lancs), born 15 May and baptised at Thorington, 16 May 1816. Educated at Charterhouse School and Balliol College, Oxford (matriculated 1835; BA 1839). Said to have been a member of the diplomatic corps. JP (from 1844) and DL for Suffolk; High Sheriff of Suffolk, 1872-73; Colonel of the East Suffolk Militia. He married, 22 August 1850 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Agnes (1828-1904), second daughter of John Barclay of Devonshire Place, London, and had issue:

(1) Agnes Marian Bence (1852-1931), born 20 August and baptised at Duddingston (Midlothian), 2 September 1852; she and her husband took the name Bence-Trower on their marriage; she married, 6 July 1876 at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), Percy Trower (later Bence-Trower) (1846-1908), wine merchant, second son of Henry Trower of London, wine merchant, and had issue six sons and two daughters; died at Shinfield Lodge (Berks), 21 April 1931; will proved 20 June 1931 (estate £3,270);

(2) Edith Mabel Bence (1854-1931), born 8 February and baptised at Hove (Sussex), 3 April 1854; died unmarried at Thorington Hall, 27 August 1931; will proved 14 December 1931 (estate £28,663);

(3) Millicent Bence (b. & d. 1855), baptised at Cathedine (Brecons.), 12 August 1855; died in infancy and was buried at Llangasty-Tallyllyn (Brecons.), 27 September 1855;

(4) Ida Millicent Bence (1860-1951) (q.v.).

He inherited the Thorington Hall estate from his father in 1861. At his death it passed to his daughters as co-heirs.

He died 30 May and was buried at Thorington, 3 June 1881; his will was proved 9 August 1881 (effects £11,411). His widow died 19 June and was buried at Thorington, 23 June 1904. Her will was proved 16 September 1904 (estate £8,216).

Ida Bence-Lambert (1860-1951) 
Image: Marian Mollett

Bence, Ida Millicent (1860-1951). Youngest but last surviving daughter of Henry Alexander Starkie Bence (1816-81) and his wife Agnes, second daughter of John Barclay, born 2 March and baptised at Cathedine (Brecons.), 6 May 1860. On her marriage, she and her husband took the name Bence-Lambert by royal licence. She married, 23 January 1884 at Thorington, Col. Guy Lenox Lambert CMG DL JP (1856-1930) of Dernasliggan, Leenane (Co. Galway), second son of Alexander Clendinning Lambert of Brookhill (Co. Mayo), but had no issue.

She was one of the coheirs to the Thorington estate at her father's death in 1881, but outlived her sisters. She lived at the house until it was requisitioned in 1940, and sold it for demolition in about 1947.

She died 19 October 1951; her will was proved 16 January 1952 (estate £49,331). Her husband died in Dublin, while travelling from his Irish estate to Thorington, 23 June 1930; his will was proved 3 October 1930 (estate £2,692).

Bence, Edward Robert Starkie (1823-89). Second son of Henry Bence Sparrow (later Bence) (1788-1861) and his wife Elizabeth Susanna, second daughter and co-heir of Nicholas Starkie of Frenchwood (Lancs), born 27 August 1823. An officer in the King's Dragoon Guards (Cornet, 1842; Lt., 1844; Capt., 1850; retired c.1850). JP and DL (from 1853) for Suffolk; High Sheriff of Suffolk, 1861-62. He married, 30 July 1850 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Eliza Charlotte Albinia (1831-1917), youngest daughter of Capt. George James Sulivan (1791-1858) of Wilmington, Ryde (IoW) and formerly of Melford Hall and Redgrave Hall (Suffk), and had issue:

(1) Isabel Elizabeth Starkie Bence (1851-1933), baptised at St Mary, Bryanston Sq., Westminster (Middx), 19 June 1851; married, 19 October 1880 at St Michael, Bath (Som.), George Smith (1847-1928), farmer, and had issue three sons and one daughter; disinherited by her father as she married without his consent; died 12 June 1933; administration of goods granted 8 August 1933 (estate £61);

(2) Albinia Marian Starkie Bence (1854-1940), baptised at St Mary, Bryanston Sq., Westminster, 12 May 1854; married, 27 September 1887, Col. John Heathfield Stratton (1837-1925) of The Gage, Little Berkhamsted (Herts), but had no issue; died 29 June 1940; will proved 29 August 1940 (estate £49,898);

(3) Leila Emily Catherine Starkie Bence (1858-1910) (q.v.);

(4) Mabel Mary Starkie Bence (1861-93), baptised at Stanstead (Suffk), 2 May 1861; died unmarried, 20 February 1893; administration of her goods was granted 27 April 1893 (effects £8,626);

(5) Edward Starkie Bence (1862-1937) (q.v.);

(6) Alice Maude Mary Starkie Bence (1868-1916), born 29 April and baptised at Long Melford, 29 June 1868; died unmarried 1 July 1916; will proved 7 November 1916 (estate £2,886).

He inherited a fortune of £130,000 from a maternal cousin, Elizabeth Starkie, and the legacy was used by his trustees to buy the Kentwell Hall (Suffk) estate in 1839, reputedly for £85,000.

He died 24 February 1889; his will was proved 23 May 1889 (effects £29,000). His widow died at Eastbourne (Sussex), 26 May 1917; her will was proved 19 September 1917 (estate £2,335).

Bence, Edward Starkie (1862-1937). Only son of Edward Robert Starkie Bence (1823-89) and his wife Eliza Charlotte Albinia, daughter of George James Sulivan of Wilmington, Ryde (IoW), born 4 July and baptised at Glemsford (Suffk), 2 September 1862. Educated at Magdalen College, Cambridge (matriculated, 1881). An officer in the 3rd battalion, Suffolk Regiment (2nd Lt., 1881; Lt. by 1883; Capt., 1885; retired 1889); JP (from 1885) and DL (from 1894) for Suffolk. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Kentwell Hall from his father in 1889, but chose not to live there and let it to a succession of tenants. At his death it passed to his nephew, Charles Ross, on condition that he took the name Bence.

He died 4 April 1937, and was probably buried at Thorington, where he is commemorated by a monument; his will was proved 4 August and 13 September 1937 (estate £49,859).

Bence, Leila Emily Catherine Starkie (1858-1929). Third daughter of Edward Robert Starkie Bence (1823-89) and his wife Eliza Charlotte Albinia, daughter of George James Sulivan of Wilmington, Ryde (IoW), baptised at Redgrave with Botesdale (Suffk), 18 September 1858. She married, 28 September 1886 at St Matthew, Bayswater (Middx), Charles Edmund Ross (1854-1910), banker, son of William Henry Drummond Ross of the Bengal Army, and had issue:

(1) Charles Douglas Bunbury Ross (later Starkie-Bence) (1887-1969) (q.v.);

(2) Edmund Starkie Ross (1889-1962), baptised at Christchurch, Folkestone (Kent), 28 March 1889; married, Jul-Sept. 1927, Dorothy Mary Faber (c.1904-94), but had no issue; died at Como (Italy), 18 September 1962; will proved 10 December 1962 (estate £39,376);

(3) Leila Gwendoline Ross (1890-1967), born 7 November 1890*; served as a VAD nurse in First World War, 1916-19; died unmarried at St Andrews Mental Hospital, Northampton, 1 May 1967; will proved 26 July 1967 (estate £23,070);

(4) Albinia Ivy Ross (1892-1977), born 28 April and baptised at Folkestone (Kent), 20 May 1892; served as a Red Cross volunteer nurse in First World War (mentioned in despatches); died 16 January 1977; will proved 28 February 1977 (estate £120,449).

She lived latterly at Oxted (Surrey).

She died 26 March 1929; her will was proved 5 July 1930 (estate £244). Her husband died 9 February and was buried at Charlton Cemetery, Greenwich (Kent), 12 February 1910; his will was proved 10 March 1910 (estate £742).

* In the 1939 register she gave her date of birth as 7 November 1897, but she appears on the 1891 census, aged 5 months.

Ross (later Starkie-Bence), Charles Douglas Bunbury (1887-1969). Elder son of Charles Edmund Ross (1854-1910) and his wife Leila Emily Catherine Starkie, daughter of Edward Robert Starkie Bence, born 19 August 1887. Farmer. He emigrated to Vancouver Island, British Columbia (Canada) in 1906, but returned to England to serve in the First World War with the 48th Canadian Infantry (Sgt.) and the Royal Sussex Regiment (2nd Lt., 1915; Lt.); and again on inheriting the Kentwell estate in 1937. He took the name Starkie-Bence under the terms of his uncle's will in 1938. He married, 17 April 1915 at Chemainus, British Columbia, Maithal Gertrude Halhed (1890-1977) and had issue:

(1) Richmond Douglas Starkie Ross (later Bence) (1916-41), born 1 July 1916; served in RAF Volunteer Reserve in Second World War and was killed in action, 5 September 1941; administration of his goods was granted to his father, 28 August 1942 (estate £32,715).

He inherited Kentwell Hall from his uncle in 1937. After his death it passed to his widow, who sold it in 1971.

He died 17 June 1969; administration of his goods was granted 12 March 1970 (estate £451,680). His widow died at Great Cornard (Suffolk), 13 May 1977 (estate £95,354).

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1850, p. 81; G. Worsley, 'Kentwell Hall, Suffolk', Country Life, 20 February 1992, pp. 52-55; W.M. Roberts, Lost country houses of Suffolk, 2010, pp. 158-60; J. Bettley & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Suffolk - East, 2015, pp. 545-46; J. Bettley & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Suffolk - West, 2015, pp. 396-99; History of Parliament articles on the several 16th and 17th centuries members of the family who served as MPs for Suffolk constituencies;

http://www.lostheritage.org.uk/houses/lh_suffolk_thoringtonhall.html

Location of archives

Bence of Kentwell Hall: deeds, manorial records, estate and family papers, 1394-20th century [Suffolk Archives, Bury St. Edmunds HA 505]

Bence of Thorington Hall: album of photographs, sketches etc., c.1850 [Suffolk Archives, Lowestoft 1798]; family papers relating to the Kelsale Trust, 1856-1931 [Suffolk Archives, Bury St. Edmunds HD 1547/3]

Coat of arms

Argent, on a cross, between four frets gules, a castle of the first.

Can you help?

• I was unable to trace any interior photographs of Thorington Hall, or a plan of its layout. If anyone can supply such images, I should be most grateful.
• Does anyone know anything about the reputed diplomatic career of Henry Alexander Starkie Bence (1816-81), which probably took place in the 1840s?
• Can anyone provide portraits or photographs 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 28 July 2023 and was updated 29 July, 2 August and 16 August 2023 and 2 October 2024. I am most grateful to Dr. James Bettley for furnishing contemporary evidence of Hopper's responsibility for Thorington Hall, and to Marian Mollett for a correction and a photograph.