(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.

(550) Belt of Bossall Hall

Belt of Bossall

This family came to prominence through their careers as merchants and public administrators in the city of York in the late 16th and early 17th century. Leonard Belt (c.1548-90), with whom the genealogy below begins, was town clerk of the city for nearly 20 years and died comparatively young, leaving a widow and at least six children. His two surviving sons, Sir Robert Belt (1576-1656), kt., and Sir William Belt (1582-1651), kt., followed in his footsteps, Robert serving as Sheriff in 1614 and Lord Mayor in 1628 and 1640 (in which year he was also knighted), and William being Recorder of York, 1625-38, in which capacity he was knighted in 1633. The two brothers both bought landed estates near the city, with Robert buying the Bossall estate jointly with his brother-in-law, James Boyes, in 1623 and rebuilding the house there by 1644, while William acquired a smaller property at Overton, north-west of the city, and also the Treasurer's House in the city in 1648. Sir Robert sided with the Royalists during the Civil War and was displaced from his position as an alderman after the city was captured by the Parliamentarians in 1644.

Subsequent generations seem to have kept a lower profile. Sir William's sons apparently disposed of his property soon after his death. Bossall Hall passed to Sir Robert's eldest son, Leonard Belt (1612-62), who died without surviving issue, and then to his brother, Daniel Belt (1615-97), who lived in Putney (Surrey) and never moved to Bossall (perhaps because his brother's widow was in occupation of the manor house). When he died without surviving sons, the estate passed to his great-nephew, Robert Belt (c.1686-1746), who came of age in about 1707 and was responsible for a major remodelling of Bossall Hall in the 1720s. Several of his nine children died young, but Bossall passed to his eldest son, Robert Belt (1723-80), and then to the latter's son, Robert Belt (1747-1826), who seems to have been the last of the family to actually live at Bossall, at least for part of the year. For many years he was an official of the Crown Office, and since his children were born in London he may have exercised his duties personally. One might expect that someone holding such a post would have had some legal training, but I cannot find any record of this. His eldest son, Robert Belt (1776-1839) was, however, a barrister, and became one of the Commissioners for Insolvent Debtors in 1820, as well as publishing law reports. He inherited Bossall in 1826 but let the house and lived full-time in London. His eldest son, Robert Wallis Belt (1815-70), apparently suffered a period of mental illness in the 1830s which led his father to bequeath his property in trustees, and although R.W. Belt recovered sufficiently to attend university and be ordained, he never became a beneficed clergyman and was made bankrupt in the 1860s. At his death, Bossall passed to his half-brother, William John Belt (1826-92), who like his father was trained as a barrister, and practiced as a conveyancer. He married in 1865 but had no children, and as he grew older (and particularly after his wife's death in 1878) became more eccentric and unpredictable. An ungoverned temper led him to appear several times in the magistrates' courts, and his history of Bossall seems to be unreliable. He sold some of the contents of Bossall Hall in 1885 and the estate itself in 1890, and was the last of his line to be a landed gentleman.

Bossall Hall, Yorkshire (NR)

Bossall Hall: the south and west fronts in 2021.

A moated site, on which W.J. Belt claimed in 1885 that he had found the foundations of a double curtain wall with square and round towers and a barbican, but there is absolutely no documentary evidence of a medieval castle here, and it seems probable that he was simply misinterpreting the remains of a medieval manor house. Whatever the earlier building had been, it had been demolished and replaced before 1644, when a double-pile mansion house of brick had been built for Sir Robert Belt of York, who bought the estate in 1623. The present house is essentially the same building, though rather disguised by later alterations. The west front still preserves two early 17th century chimneybreasts, while the gables to their left and right have small 17th century pedimented windows, and the eight-bay south front has the ghosts of similar pediments. 

Bossall Hall: staircase of c.1726

Bossall Hall: the drawing room as refitted in c.1726 and further altered in c.1793.

The house was given a substantial refit, probably in 1726, the date on a rainwater head. Sash windows were introduced in place of the original fenestration, a fine new open-well staircase was constructed with turned balusters, dado panelling, and elaborate parquetry inlay on the half-landing, and the principal interiors were redecorated, although the earlier ceiling beams were retained but encased. A second rainwater head with the date 1793 probably refers to a further remodelling, when the sills of the drawing room windows were lowered, and a new chimneypiece and panelling were installed in the same room. The raising of a blind parapet above the south front may also date from that time. At the rear of the property are single-storey service ranges of the later 19th and 20th centuries, and the study has a fireplace with a repoussé brass canopy within an inglenook of the same period.

Descent: Thomas Redmayne (d. 1514); to daughter Elizabeth, wife of William Thwaites and later of [forename unknown] Kirkby; to granddaughter Anne, wife of Sir William Ingleby for life then to her cousin, James Thwaites (d. 1603); to son, William Thwaites who sold 1613 to William Smithson; sold manor 1623 to Sir Robert Belt (1576-1656), kt. and James Boyes (d. 1623), on whose death the two halves of the property were apparently reunited; to son, Leonard Belt (1612-62); to brother, Daniel Belt (1615-97); to great-nephew, Robert Belt (c.1686-1746); to son, Robert Belt (1723-80); to son, Robert Belt (1747-1826); to son, Robert Belt (1776-1839); to son, Rev. Robert Wallis Belt (1815-70); to half-brother, William John Belt (1826-92), who sold 1890 to Sir James Walker (1829-99), 2nd bt.; to son, Sir James Heron Walker (1865-1900), 3rd bt.; to Sir Robert James Milo Walker (1890-1930), 4th bt.; to son, Sir James Heron Walker (1914-2003), 5th bt., who sold c.1960 to Brig. Ian Darsie Watson (1915-2001); to widow, Lady Susan Diana Watson (b. 1938); sold c.2021...

Belt family of Bossall Hall

Belt, Leonard (alias Lancelot) (c.1548-90). Parentage uncertain, although he was possibly a son of Robert Belt of Stillingfleet (Yorks NR), born about 1548. Admitted a freeman of the city of York, 1570. Town Clerk of the city of York, 1571-90. He married, 9 September 1573 at St Crux, York, Mary (1554-1632), daughter of Alderman William Beckwith of York, and had issue:

(1) Alice Belt (1574-1606), baptised at St Crux, York, 27 June 1574; married, 12 June 1593 at St Crux, York, James Boyes (d. 1623) (who in 1623 joined with his brother-in-law in buying the manor of Bossall), and had issue one daughter; buried at St Crux, York, 3 August 1606;

(2) Sir Robert Belt (1576-1656), kt. (q.v.);

(3) Ellen Belt (b. 1576), baptised at St Crux, York, 12 August 1576;

(4) Mary Belt (1577-93), baptised at St Crux, York, 18 September 1577; died unmarried and was buried at St Crux, York, 11 August 1593;

(5) Elizabeth Belt (b. 1578), baptised at St Crux, York, 2 January 1578/9;

(6) Sarah Belt (b. 1580), baptised at St Crux, York, 9 April 1580; married, 5 June 1599 at St Crux, York, George Askwith (1575-1626), and had issue three sons and five daughters; living in 1618;

(7) Sir William Belt (1582-1651), baptised at St Crux, York, 27 March 1582; educated at Grays Inn (admitted 1598); recorder of the city of York, 1625-38; lessee of the tithes of Preston (Yorks ER); acquired an estate at Overton (Yorks NR) near York and for a brief period from 1648 owned the Treasurer's House, York; married 1st, 24 August 1624 at St Michael-le-Belfrey, York, Susan* (d. 1630), daughter of [forename unknown] Waterhouse and widow of Thomas Millington (d. 1624) of York, and had issue one son (who died young); married 2nd, 17 April 1631 at Carleton-in-Lindrick, Martha* (d. 1652), daughter of Maximilian Waterhouse of Wallingwells (Notts), and had further issue three sons and two daughters; buried at St Michael-le-Belfrey, York, 11 February 1650/1; will proved in central Probate Court, 11 May 1653;

(8) Jane Belt (1584-1607), baptised at St Crux, York, 1 July 1584; died unmarried and was buried at St Crux, York, 20 June 1607;

(9) Leonard Belt (b. & d. 1588), baptised at Crux, York, 25 December 1588, but died in infancy and was buried at St Crux, York the same day.

He lived in York.

He was buried at St Crux, York, 5 August 1590; his will was proved at York, 16 December 1590. His widow died 14 December and was buried at St Crux, York, 16 December 1632.

* It seems possible that his two wives were sisters, but there are several Waterhouse families in Yorkshire at this time and it cannot be assumed.

Belt, Sir Robert (1576-1656), kt. Eldest son of Leonard Belt (c.1548-90) and his wife Mary, daughter of William Beckwith of York, baptised at St Crux, York, 22 February 1575/6. He became a freeman of the city of York, 1599, and was an alderman of the city, 1623-45 (Sheriff, 1614; Lord Mayor, 1628, 1640); knighted at Bossall, 24 August 1640. In 1638, he contributed to the repair of the chancel of Pocklington church, where he had formerly leased the tithes, although he had no obligation to do so. He married 1st, 7 February 1602/3 at St Crux, York, Jane Hudson (d. 1608) and 2nd, 17 July 1609 at Halifax (Yorks WR), Grace (1592-1664), daughter of Daniel Foxcroft of Halifax, and had issue:

(1.1) Jane Belt (b. & d. 1608); buried at All Saints, Pavement, York, 20 June 1608;

(2.1) Mary Belt (1610-27), baptised at All Saints, Pavement, York, 20 November 1610; died unmarried and was buried at Bossall, 11 April 1627;

(2.2) Leonard Belt (1612-62) (q.v.);

(2.3) Robert Belt (1614-15), baptised at All Saints, Pavement, York, 24 July 1614; died in infancy and was buried at All Saints, Pavement, York, 7 January 1614/5;

(2.4) Daniel Belt (1615-97) (q.v.);

(2.5) Grace Belt (b. 1616), baptised at All Saints, Pavement, York, 16 October 1616; presumably died young before 1620;

(2.6) John Belt (b. & d. 1619), baptised at All Saints, Pavement, York, 8 May 1619, but died and was buried at the same church the following day;

(2.7) Grace Belt (b. 1620), baptised at All Saints, Pavement, York, 6 June 1620; married, 9 September 1641 at Bossall, Richard Nelson; date of death unknown;

(2.8) Sarah Belt (1622-92), baptised at All Saints, Pavement, York, 10 February 1621/2; married 1st, 6 February 1648/9 at Bossall, Joseph Oley (d. 1655) of York, merchant; married 2nd, 1659 (licence), William Ibson (d. 1659) of Belsteads, York; and married 3rd, 23 January 1661/2 at Newton-on-Ouse (Yorks), Alderman Thomas Bawtry of York; said to have been buried at Bossall, 22 March 1691/2;

(2.9) Ann Belt (b. & d. 1623), baptised at All Saints, Pavement, York, 23 March 1622/3; died in infancy and was buried at All Saints, Pavement, York, 27 July 1623;

(2.10) John Belt (1624-32), baptised at All Saints, Pavement, York, 28 June 1624; died young and was buried at Bossall, 31 July 1632;

(2.11) Jasper Belt (1625-62) (q.v.);

(2.12) William Belt (1628-31), baptised at All Saints, Pavement, York, 22 December 1628; died young and was buried at Bossall, 6 October 1631;

(2.13) Robert Belt (1630-65), baptised at Bossall, 30 November 1630; said to have married Thomasine [surname unknown] (d. 1680), but this is probably a confusion with his nephew and namesake; buried at Bossall, 17 January 1664/5.

He lived in York and bought the Bossall estate in 1623 jointly with his brother-in-law, James Boyes (d. 1623). After the latter's death the property seems to have been reunited in his ownership, and by 1644 he had rebuilt the house. The estate was sequestered after the Civil War, but the family rented it back until the Restoration.

He died at Flaxton (Yorks NR), 4 September 1650 and was buried at Bossall, where he is commemorated by a monument erected by his daughter Sarah; his will was proved at York, 9 October 1656. His first wife died following childbirth and was buried at All Saints, Pavement, York, 29 June 1608. His widow died 11 August 1664 and was buried at Bossall where she is commemorated on her husband's monument.

Belt, Leonard (1612-62). Eldest son of Sir Robert Belt (1576-1656), kt. and his second wife, Grace, daughter of Daniel Foxcroft of Halifax, baptised at All Saints, Pavement, York, 1 April 1612. Educated at Grays Inn (admitted 1641). He married 1st, 2 June 1630 at Bossall, Ann (d. 1631), daughter of [forename unknown] Atkinson and 2nd, Mary [surname unknown], and had issue:

(1.1) Susanna Belt (1631-36), baptised at Bossall, 23 August 1631; died young and was buried at Bossall, 14 June 1636.

He lived at Bossall Hall, which he inherited from his father in 1656.

He was buried at Bossall, 4 April 1662. His first wife died following childbirth and was buried at Bossell, 26 September 1631. His second wife's date of death is unknown.

Belt, Daniel (1615-97). Third son of Sir Robert Belt (1576-1656), kt. and his second wife, Grace, daughter of Daniel Foxcroft of Halifax, baptised at All Saints, Pavement, York, 6 August 1615. He married, 1649 (licence 30 August), Anne (1629-1711?), daughter of Francis West, and had issue:

(1) Anne Belt (b. 1654), born 27 February and baptised at All Hallows, Bread St., London, 16 March 1653/4; married, 24 November 1677 at Bromley-by-Bow (Middx), Mr. Whefield [recte Whitfield]; living in 1696;

(2) Francis Belt (d. 1661); died young and was buried at St Mary, Putney (Surrey), 24 July 1661;

(3) Henry Belt (d. 1674); died in the lifetime of his father and was buried at Woolwich (Kent), 11 October 1674.

He inherited Bossall Hall from his brother Leonard in 1662, but lived at Putney (Surrey).

He died at Putney, 7 July 1697; his will was proved in the PCC, 8 July 1697. His widow was living in 1696 and may be the Ann Belt buried at St Margaret, Westminster, 21 November 1711.

Belt, Jasper (1625-61). Sixth son of Sir Robert Belt (1576-1656), kt. and his second wife, Grace, daughter of Daniel Foxcroft of Halifax, baptised at All Saints, Pavement, York, 31 July 1625. He married, 11 January 1654/5 at Holme-upon-Spalding-Moor (Yorks ER), Jane (d. 1703), daughter of Thomas Crosby of Holme, and had issue:

(1) Robert Belt (1655-90) (q.v.);

(2) Sarah Belt (1657-90), born 7 November and baptised at Pocklington (Yorks ER), 11 November 1657; married, 19 October 1676 at Bridlington (Yorks ER), William Bower (d. 1707) of Bridlington, merchant, and had issue four sons and four daughters; died 23 April 1690 and was buried at Bossall, where she is commemorated on the same monument as her brother.

He apparently lived at Pocklington (Yorks ER).

He was buried at Pocklington, 31 December 1661; his will was proved 11 June 1662. His widow died 20 May 1703; her will was proved 20 July 1703.

Belt, Robert (1655-90). Only son of Jasper Belt (1625-62) and his wife Jane, daughter of Thomas Crosby of Holme-upon-Spalding-Moor (Yorks ER), born 30 November and baptised at Pocklington (Yorks ER), 4 December 1655. He probably married 1st, 8 November 1677 at Pocklington, Thomasine Bower (d. 1681), and 2nd, 30 November 1684 at Birdsall (Yorks ER), Goodith (c.1660-1718*), daughter of Edward Pegge of Beauchief Abbey (Derbys), and had issue:

(2.1) Robert Belt (c.1686-1746) (q.v.);

(2.2) Leonard Belt (1688-1723), baptised at Bossall, 18 January 1687/8; apprenticed to George Ludlum of London, wax chandler, 1702; became a wax chandler and drysalter in London; married, 1714 (licence 26 April), Mary Hammond (b. c.1688) and had issue two sons and one daughter; buried at All Hallows the Great, London, 23 May 1723;

(2.3) Elizabeth Belt (c.1689-1723), born about 1689; died unmarried, 15 March 1723/4 and was buried at Bossall, where she is commemorated by a monument.

He is said to have been heir to his uncle Daniel Belt (1615-97) but predeceased him.

He was killed when a pair of compasses were stuck into his neck, 25 March 1690, and was buried at Bossall where he is commemorated by a monument; his will was proved 13 October 1690. His first wife was buried at Bossall, 16 February 1680/1. His widow died 1 January and was buried at Bossall, 3 January 1717/18.

* Her date of birth is estimate from her stated age at marriage (24); however, her tombstone at Bossall says she was then in her 64th year, implying a date of birth in 1663.

Belt, Robert (c.1686-1746). Elder son of Robert Belt (1655-90) and his second wife Goodith, daughter of Edward Pegge of Beauchief, Sheffield (Yorks WR), born about 1686. Educated at Middle Temple (admitted 1702). He married, 8 October 1722 at Yapham-cum-Meltonby (Yorks ER). Mary (1697-1753), daughter of William Overend of Pocklington (Yorks ER), and had issue:

(1) Robert Belt (1723-80) (q.v.);

(2) George Belt (1725-26), baptised at Bossall, 19 April 1725; died in infancy and was buried at Bossall, 17 January 1725/6;

(3) Daniel Belt (1726-87), baptised at Bossall, 26 April 1726; apprenticed to David Burton of Yarm (Yorks NR), attorney, 1742, but did not take to the law and became an officer in the Marines (2nd Lt., 1756; Lt., 1761; retired on half-pay as Capt. by 1784); lived latterly in York; died unmarried, 9 September and was buried at Bossall, 11 September 1787; will proved in the PCC, 19 February 1788;

(4) Goodith Belt (1727-1807), baptised at Bossall, 7 August 1727; married, 1 May 1773 at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster (Middx), as his second wife, Samuel Pegge FSA (1733-1800), composer, author, antiquarian and groom of the Privy Chamber, 1762-1800, but had no issue; died 17 October and was buried at Bossall, 23 October 1807;

(5) Mary Belt (1728-1807), baptised 5 December 1728; died unmarried at York, 24 December, and was buried at Bossall, 27 December 1807; will proved 1 March 1808 (effects under £200);

(6) Leonard Belt (1730-40), baptised at Bossall, 22 September 1730; died young and was buried at Bossall, 19 December 1740;

(7) John Belt (1732-1800), baptised at Bossall, 28 April 1732; a surgeon in York; died, apparently unmarried, 23 January and was buried at Bossall, 27 January 1800;

(8) Jane Belt (1734-60), baptised at Bossall, 24 January 1733/4; died unmarried and was buried at Bossall, 12 February 1760;

(9) William Belt (1735-36), baptised at Bossall, 11 December 1735; died in infancy and was buried at Bossall, 22 April 1736.

He inherited the Bossall estate from his great-uncle Daniel in 1697 and came of age in about 1707.

He died 7 April 1746 and was buried at Bossall, where he is commemorated on a family monument; his will was proved at York, 10 September 1746. His widow died 27 October 1753 and was buried at Bossall, where she is commemorated on the family monument.

Belt, Robert (1723-80). Eldest son of Robert Belt (c.1686-1746) and his wife Mary, daughter of William Overend of Pocklington (Yorks ER), baptised at Bossall, 30 November 1723. He married, 13 November 1746, Elizabeth (1725-1805), daughter of James Wallis of Hull (Yorks ER), merchant, and had issue:

(1) Robert Belt (1747-1826) (q.v.);

(2) James Belt (1748-79?), baptised at Bossall, 9 September 1748; a merchant at Bencoolen, Sumatra (Indonesia); apparently married and had issue at least one daughter; said to have died April 1779;

(3) Leonard Belt (1750-1814), of Pickering (Yorks NR), baptised at Bossall, 1 August 1750; married, 30 November 1789 at Middleton-by-Pickering (Yorks NR), Sarah Bedford (1766-1819), but had no issue; he did, however, have an illegitimate son (William Bunce* (fl. 1805)) named in his mother's will; buried at Middleton-by-Pickering, 17 June 1814; will proved in the PCY, 1814.

He inherited the Bossall estate from his father in 1746.

He died 21 June 1780 and was buried at Bossall, where he is commemorated by a monument; administration of his goods was granted to his widow, 23 May 1781. His widow died 3 February 1805 and was also buried at Bossall, where she is commemorated by a monument; her will was proved in the PCC, 11 March 1805.

* Surname uncertain.

Belt, Robert (1747-1826). Eldest son of Robert Belt (1723-80) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of James Wallis of Hull (Yorks ER), baptised at Bossall, 10 September 1747. Employed from at least 1775 at the Crown Office in the Court of King's Bench, London, although in what capacity is unclear. He married, 15 May 1775 at Beauchief (Derbys), Frances (c.1747-1822), daughter of Strelley Pegge of Beauchief Hall, and had issue:

(1) Robert Belt (1776-1839) (q.v.);

(2) Christopher Pegge Belt (b. 1778), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn (Middx), 22 July 1778; probably died young, as he is not mentioned in his father's will;

(3) Elizabeth Mary Belt (1781-1833), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 13 December 1781; married 7 December 1826 at Bathwick (Som.), Capt. Thomas Emery of Banwell (Som.); died 20 April 1833; will proved in the PCC, 9 July 1833;

(4) Peter Belt (1782-1804), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 19 December 1782; employed at the Crown Office like his father; died unmarried, 'of a decline', presumably tuberculosis, at Bristol Hot Wells, 19 August, and was buried in the new burial ground at St Andrew, Clifton (Glos), 24 August 1804; commemorated by monuments at Clifton and Bossall;

(5) James Belt (1784-1856), born 2 December 1783 and baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 11 March 1794; married, c.1810, at Bordeaux (France), Elizabeth (c.1789-1820), daughter of Simon Segny, advocate, of Bordeaux; died at Bordeaux, 10 October 1856;

(6) William Belt (1789-1882), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 15 April 1789; Russia merchant; married, 12 August 1815, Elizabeth (1793-1860), daughter of Marmaduke Langdale of New Ormond St., London, and had issue two sons and three daughters; died 6 March 1882 and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery; will proved 14 April 1882 (estate £2,595).

He inherited the Bossall estate from his father in 1780. After his death the contents of the house were sold by his son.

He died 19 March and was buried at Bossall, 25 March 1826; his will was proved in the PCC, 27 July 1826. His wife died 17 August and was buried at Bossall, 23 August 1822.

Belt, Robert (1776-1839). Eldest son of Robert Belt (1747-1826) and his wife Frances, daughter of Strelley Pegge of Beauchief Hall (Derbys), baptised at Beauchief, 1 November 1776. Educated at the Inner Temple (admitted 1794; called 1802). Barrister-at-law; Insolvent Debtors Commissioner, 1820. He edited several volumes of law reports in the 1810s and 1820s. He married 1st, 22 September 1812 at Overton (Hants), Mary (d. 1822), daughter of Bryan Troughton of Overton, and 2nd, 3 June 1824 at Islington (Middx), Margaret (d. 1872), daughter of Capt. Peter Gordon, mariner, missionary and reformer, and had issue:

(1.1) Frances Mary Belt (1814-64), born 4 January and baptised at St Clement Danes, London, 14 January 1814; married, 3 September 1840 at Tunbridge Wells, Alfred John Beeching (1812-62) of Tunbridge Wells, solicitor, son of Thomas Beeching, banker, and had issue two sons and three daughters; died 17 June 1864; administration of goods granted April 1865 and 18 March 1869 (effects under £600);

(1.2) Rev. Robert Wallis Belt (1815-70), baptised at St Clement Danes, London, 2 August 1815; suffered from a period of illness which rendered him incompetent to manage his affairs, 1834, but recovered and was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge (matriculated 1839; BA 1845); curate of Hope (Derbys), 1846-47 and of Studley (Warks), 1848; a published poet and author of reminiscences, 1852; imprisoned for debt in Fleet Prison and declared bankrupt, 1861 (annulled, 1864); married, 27 July 1841 at St Cuthbert, Edinburgh, Mary Ann Collinson, daughter of William Smith of Edinburgh, WS; died 20 April 1870; administration of goods granted 23 June 1871 (effects under £1,000);

(1.3) George Peter Belt (1817-24), baptised at St Clement Danes, London, 15 March 1817; died young and was buried at Islington, 13 December 1824;

(1.4) Charles Belt (1818-44), born 12 September and baptised at Overton (Hants), 18 October 1818; gentleman farmer; died unmarried and was buried at Suffield (Norfk), 28 December 1844; will proved in the PCC, 7 January 1845;

(1.5) James Strelley Belt (1820-45), baptised at St Clement Danes, London, 23 June 1820; an officer in the merchant marine (Mate); died unmarried; will proved 1 November 1843;

(1.6) Catherine Belt (b. 1822), baptised at St Clement Danes, London, 26 May 1822; possibly the child of this name buried at Ridge (Herts), 31 July 1830;

(2.1) Margaret Ann Belt (1825-99), born 10/18 February and baptised at St George-the-Martyr, Bloomsbury (Middx), 31 March 1825; married, 12 November 1863 at St Nicholas, Brighton (Sussex), Rev. Bury Capel (1825-1915), vicar of Abergavenny (Mon.) and canon of Llandaff Cathedral (who m2, 2 January 1901 at Christ Church, Clifton (Glos), Fanny Edith (1865-1938), daughter of John White), son of James Durnford Capel, steam engine manufacturer, and had issue one daughter; died 4 November. and was buried at Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol, 8 November 1899;

(2.2) William John Belt (1826-92) (q.v.);

(2.3) Jane Belt (1828-71), born 7 March and baptised at St George-the-Martyr, Bloomsbury, 11 April 1828; died unmarried at Brighton (Sussex), 12 November 1871.

He inherited the Bossall estate from his father in 1826 but as he lived in London he sold the contents of the house (which was presumably rented out) later that year. At his death the estate passed to trustees for the benefit of his eldest son, on whose death in 1870 it passed to his youngest son. His widow lived latterly at Brighton (Sussex).

He died 22 December and was buried at Tunbridge Wells (Kent), 30 December 1839; his will was proved in the PCC, 12 February 1840. His first wife died in childbirth, 19 May 1822. His widow died 27 May 1872; her will was proved 5 July 1872 (effects under £600).

Belt, William John (1826-92). Fifth son of Robert Belt (1776-1839) and his wife Margaret, born 14 June 1826 and baptised at St George-the-Martyr, Bloomsbury, 14 July 1827. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1847; BA 1851; MA 1855) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1858; called 1861). Barrister-at-law; equity draughtsman and conveyancer. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, he was the author of The story of Bossall Hall (1885). In later life, he was charged with several offences of assault, possibly as a result of drunkenness. He married, 28 November 1865 at Hove (Sussex), Sibella Marianne (1825-78), only daughter of William Albin Garratt of Hampstead (Middx), Brighton (Sussex) and Lincoln's Inn, barrister-at-law, but had no issue.

He inherited the Bossall estate after the death of his half-brother in 1870, but let it and lived in London and at Westcott Hill, Dorking (Surrey). He sold the Bossall estate in 1890.

He died 3 February 1892 and was buried at Highgate Cemetery (Middx); administration of his goods was granted 15 March 1892 (effects £1,334). His wife died 15 February 1878 and was also buried at Highgate Cemetery.

Principal sources

J.W. Clay (ed.), Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire, with additions, vol. 2, 1907, pp. 61-64;

https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~akrb61/genealogy/people/belt/d1.htm#g1.

Location of archives

Belt family of Bossall: deeds and miscellaneous papers, 12th cent-1826 [Borthwick Institute for Archives, University of York, MOR]

Coat of arms

Gules, on a chevron argent between three bezants a cross pattée fitchee between two mullets pierced azure

Can you help?

• 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 16 July 2023 and updated 26 August 2023.