(556) Bennet of Beachampton and Calverton and Bennet of Babraham, baronets

Bennet of Babraham, baronets 

This family were established as minor gentry in Berkshire by 1433 but a coherent descent can be traced only from Thomas Bennet (c.1503-47) of Clapcot in Wallingford (Berks), with whom the genealogy below begins. His eldest son, Richard Bennet (c.1528-74) inherited his father's lands in and around Wallingford, but his younger brothers, Edmond (d. 1602) and Sir Thomas (c.1544-1627), kt., became merchants in Oxford and London respectively. Sir Thomas made a fortune quickly as a mercer in London and in the early 17th century applied his capital to lending money at interest to the Crown and others. He was an active philanthropist, being involved in London charities in his lifetime and making generous bequests to others at his death, and he played a full part in civic affairs, being an alderman from 1593 and serving as Lord Mayor of London in 1603-04. In 1609 he bought Beachampton Manor in Buckinghamshire (which he noted in his will he had spent £500 on improving) and then in 1616 the adjoining manor of Calverton. This included much of the busy town of Stony Stratford (Bucks), including its market and several of the important inns in the town, which serviced the traffic on the main road (Watling St.) from London to the north-west. He also bought, about 1622, the manor of Broad Marston in the parish of Pebworth (then Glos, now Worcs). Sir Thomas had eight sons and four daughters, but several of his sons died young and the eldest to survive, Ambrose Bennet (1582-1631) was evidently not favoured by his father, for although not cut out of Sir Thomas' will altogether he received only modest bequests. It was the next surviving son, Sir Simon Bennet (1584-1631), 1st bt., who was the principal beneficiary, inheriting the manors of Beachampton and Calverton. He was raised to a baronetcy shortly after his father's death in 1627, but since he had no issue the dignity died with him. He acquired an extensively wooded estate in Northamptonshire called Handley Park, and at his death bequeathed this to his alma mater, University College, Oxford. Sir Thomas' will provided that in the event of Sir Simon's death without issue, the Beachampton and Calverton estates should pass to his next son, Richard Bennet (1586-1628) and then to the latter's son Simon Bennet (1624-82).

Broad Marston Manor

Richard himself received the manor of Broad Marston under his father's will and was probably already been living there, as he was in the middle of remodelling the house (as well as his town house in London) when he himself died just a year after his father. The house is still substantially a building of the 1620s.

Richard's widow, Elizabeth (d. 1661) purchased the wardship of her son from the Crown and married again, to Sir Heneage Finch (1580-1631), kt., the Speaker of the House of Commons. In 1630, Finch bought the house at Kensington (Middx) which was later acquired by the Crown and developed as Kensington Palace, and Elizabeth made her home there throughout her long widowhood. Her son, Simon Bennet (1624-82) came of age and into possession of his manors of Beachampton, Calverton and Broad Marston in 1645. He married in 1649 and he and his wife settled at Calverton Manor, which they enlarged and remodelled in 1659. Far from settling into the retired life of a country gentleman, however, Simon became an important player in the nascent London banking scene, using his substantial assets to make loans on a large scale to hundreds of clients, and substantially increasing his wealth as a result. He brought the hard-headed attitude of the businessman to his role as a country squire and father too. He converted much of his Buckinghamshire estate to permanent grassland, throwing many of the estate labourers out of work as a result, and his widow continued the process and became extremely unpopular locally as a result. It is also clear that at least two of his three surviving daughters were married against their wishes, even if - in the eyes of the world - they were 'good' matches. All of them had left home by the end of 1682, and Simon's widow, Grace Bennet, lived alone at Calverton Manor, surrounded by a resentful tenantry and apparently without indoor servants. Rumours abounded that much of the family wealth was kept in the house in the form of gold coins, and in 1694 a butcher and his apprentice from Stony Stratford broke into the house one morning intent on robbery and murdered Grace with exceptional violence. They were spotted by estate workers while making their escape and were captured, tried and executed, but the murder of Grace Bennet remained a cause célèbre for decades to come. The family estates passed to the two surviving daughters, Grace Bennet (1664-1732) and Frances Cecil (1670-1713), Countess of Salisbury, both of whom had one son. But Grace's son predeceased her and left no issue, so the family estates at Broad Marston, Calverton and Beachampton all passed in the hands of the Cecils of Hatfield House, and their manor houses had declined into farmhouses before the properties were sold in 1806 and 1807.

The family's original property at Wallingford descended in 1547 to Richard Bennet (c.1528-74), but much of it was leased, and since the interests of the next generation lay elsewhere, the leases were not renewed. Richard had seven sons and three daughters, but little is known about the career of his eldest son, Ralph Bennet (b. c.1555), who married the daughter of a Bristol merchant and was probably a merchant himself; his descendants settled at Morden (Surrey). The next surviving son was Sir John Bennet (c.1557-1627), a lawyer, politician and courtier, whose career ended in disgrace in 1622, when he was convicted of corruption, jailed, fined and banned from public office. His descendants included the Earls of Arlington and Tankerville and will be the subject of future posts. Next brother to Sir John was Thomas Bennet (c.1562-1620), who seems to have been apprenticed to his uncle and namesake, Sir Thomas Bennet (c.1544-1627), the Lord Mayor, and who pursued a similar career as a mercer in London, becoming an alderman in 1613, although he was never Lord Mayor. The two men have often been confused, not least because this Thomas Bennet, the nephew, also invested heavily in landed property, presumably with a view to providing for his huge family of fourteen children. His eldest surviving son, Richard Bennet (1595-1658), was educated at the Inner Temple and became a lawyer. He inherited much of his father's scattered property portfolio, but settled at Kew (Surrey), where he had a 16th century timber-framed house on the site where Frederick, Prince of Wales' White House was to stand in the mid 18th century. Richard and his next brother, Sir Thomas Bennet (1596-1667), 1st bt., married two sisters, and in 1632 they and their mother-in-law jointly purchased the Babraham Hall estate in Cambridgeshire, although only Sir Thomas seems to have lived there. Whereas the properties bought by the other branch of the family at Broad Marston, Calverton and Beachampton were all relatively modest manor houses, Babraham Hall was a much grander and very substantial mansion, taxed on forty hearths in 1662. It became the centre of the Bennet estates, although Sir Thomas also acquired property at Hurcot in Somerset and in the Isle of Wight to add to the lands in Sussex and Kent he had inherited from his father.

Babraham descended from Sir Thomas to his elder son, Sir Levinus Bennet (1631-93), 2nd bt., who was named after his maternal grandfather. He seems to have reshaped the family estates to focus more on their lands in and around Babraham, and sold off the lands he inherited in the Isle of Wight and probably those in Kent and Sussex too. He was MP for Cambridgeshire from 1679 until his death, and married Judith Boevey, whose father was an upwardly mobile London merchant of Dutch origins who settled his family at Flaxley Abbey in Gloucestershire. Levinus and Judith had two sons (one of whom died in infancy) and eight daughters, so at his death Babraham passed to his only surviving son, Sir Richard Bennet (1673-1701), 3rd bt. However, Sir Richard did not enjoy the family estates for very long, since he came of age in 1694 and died of smallpox just seven years later, leaving only a daughter, Judith Bennet (1701-13). When she died before coming into her inheritance, the Babraham and Hurcot estates passed to Sir Richard's five surviving sisters (Mary Bush, Judith Bennet, Dorothy Page, Levina Alexander and Jane Mitchell) as co-heirs. Only Levina and Jane left surviving children, in each case a single son, and the testamentary arrangements of their co-heirs meant that Bennet Alexander (1702-45) ended up with seven-tenths of the estate and his cousin William Mitchell (b. 1704) with three-tenths. Bennet Alexander, who took the additional name Bennet in 1742, was arguably in a stronger position to reunite the estate than his cousin William Mitchell, but his early death divided his share of the property once more between his son, Richard Henry Alexander Bennet (1743-1814) and his daughter, Levina (1739-1822) and her husband, John Luther (c.1739-86) of Great Myles (Essex). In the event, Bennet and Luther came to an arrangement with William Mitchell in 1765 by which Mitchell secured undivided possession of Babraham, Bennet undivided possession of Hurcot and some cash, while the Luthers received just a cash settlement.

Northcourt Manor, Shorwell: engraving of 1864.

 Mitchell pulled down the (now very neglected) Jacobean house at Babraham in 1766-67 and sold the estate in 1770 to Robert Jones (d. 1774), the MP for Huntingdon, who built a much smaller house on the site of its predecessor. Richard Bennet sold the Hurcot estate in Somerset in 1798, after which the family had no significant landed property for about ten years, until in 1809 he inherited Northcourt Manor, Shorwell (Isle of Wight) from his half-sister. This house remained in the family until the death of his widow in 1837 but then passed to his younger daughter Isabella (1775-1867) and her husband, Gen. Sir James Willoughby Gordon (1772-1851), 1st bt.

Beachampton Hall, Buckinghamshire

A manor house was recorded at Beachampton in 1333, but the present house, set on a terrace above the River Great Ouse, seems to be the late 16th or early 17th century wing of an earlier, perhaps timber-framed, house of c.1500, which stood on the site of the present walled garden and was demolished in the 18th century. 

Beachampton Hall: the house from the north-east in 2020, with the 17th century Great Chamber wing on the left.

The surviving fragment is built of rubble stone, with gables, mullioned and transomed windows, and brick chimneystacks, and comprises a main range running north-to-south, with wings to the east and west, forming a Z-plan. The east wing is thought to have been added in the early 17th century, perhaps for a visit by Queen Anne of Denmark which is traditionally said to have taken place (quite plausibly, as Sir Thomas Bennet's brother was the queen's chancellor). This may account for the £500 which Sir Thomas noted in his will that he had spent on improving the house. The gabled east wall of the east wing has a seven-light canted bay window lighting the Great Chamber, which retains some armorial stained glass. 

Beachampton Hall: the house from the south-west in the early 20th century.

Beachampton Hall: the staircase in 1911. 

The staircase seems to be early 17th century and remains in situ, but the elaborate balustrade with carved heraldic newel figures which was photographed in the early 20th century was removed in the 1920s, and sold in 1927 to William Randolph Hearst; its current location is unknown. The staircase still has the door surround with a billet motif visible in the picture reproduced here. Few other early internal features survive, however, for the house declined into a farmhouse in the 18th century and the Great Chamber wing was unoccupied for many years. The house has been extensively restored in recent years.

The house is surrounded by the well-preserved earthworks and relict features of a complex Tudor and Jacobean garden, with terracing, garden walls, a fine gateway, and a summerhouse in the walled garden south of the house which appears to incorporate materials from the demolished part of the main house.

Descent: John Cornwall, sold c.1458 to Richard Pigott (d. 1460); to son, John Pigott; to son, Robert Pigott; to son Thomas Pigott (d. 1592); to son, George Pigott (fl. 1599); to son, Sir Thomas Pigott, who sold c.1609 to Sir Thomas Bennet (c.1544-1627), kt.; to son, Sir Simon Bennet (1584-1631), 1st bt.; to nephew, Simon Bennet (1624-82); to daughter Frances (1670-1713), wife of James Cecil (1666-94), 4th Earl of Salisbury; to son, to son, James Cecil (1691-1728), 5th Earl of Salisbury; to son, James Cecil (1713-80), 6th Earl of Salisbury; to son, James Cecil (1748-1823), 7th Earl and 1st Marquess of Salisbury, who sold 1807 to trustees of will of Ann Brooks for use of her nephew, John Harrison (d. 1834) of Shelswell (Oxon); to Sir James Walker (1803-83), 1st bt.; to son, Sir James Robert Walker (1829-99), 2nd bt.; to son, Sir James Heron Walker (1865-1900), 3rd bt.; to son, Sir Robert James Milo Walker (1890-1930), 4th bt., who sold 1922 to Frederick Henry Verey (1857-1922); to nephew, George Frederick Verey (1891-1974); sold after his death to [forename unknown] Marchant; sold 2020. From the early 18th century until the 1880s the house is said to have been tenanted by the Flowers family, and it remained tenanted until 1922, when the sitting tenants, the Vereys, bought the freehold.

Calverton Manor, Buckinghamshire

A stone built manor house north of the church, with a steep tiled roof. The core, comprising the main block with a jettied rear projection and three-light mullioned windows, was built around 1500 or perhaps a little later for either John de Vere (d. 1513), 13th Earl of Oxford, Great Chamberlain to Henry VII, or his nephew, the 14th Earl (d. 1526). 

Calverton Manor House in the early 20th century.

The house was extended in the late 16th century and again enlarged and modernised for Simon Bennet in 1659, whose initials and the date appear on the porch. Benett added the two tall dormers on the west front and the gabled south wing. Like Beachampton, Calverton Manor House passed in the 18th century to the Earls of Salisbury and declined into a farmhouse, which had become derelict by the late 20th century. It was restored in the early 21st century by Mr & Mrs David Lock, a process which was the subject of a programme in the Restoration Home TV series broadcast in 2011.

Calverton Manor House: the house shortly before the recent restoration. 

Descent: John de Vere (1442-1513), 13th Earl of Oxford; to nephew, John de Vere (1499-1526), 14th Earl of Oxford; to widow Ann de Vere (d. 1559), Countess of Oxford; to co-heirs (John Nevill (d. 1576), 3rd Baron Latimer, Lady Ursula Knightley (d. 1560) and Sir Robert Wingfield); a partition of estates in 1580 assigned Calverton to Sir Robert's daughter Katherine (d. 1596), wife of Henry Percy (c.1532-85), 2nd Earl of Northumberland and later of Francis Fytton; to son, Sir Charles Percy who with his brother Henry Percy (1564-1632), 3rd Earl of Northumberland sold 1616 to Sir Thomas Bennet (c.1544-1627), kt.; to son, Sir Simon Bennet (1584-1631), 1st bt.; to nephew, Simon Bennet (1624-82); to daughter Frances (1670-1713), wife of James Cecil (1666-94), 4th Earl of Salisbury; to son, James Cecil (1691-1728), 5th Earl of Salisbury; to son, James Cecil (1713-80), 6th Earl of Salisbury; to son, James Cecil (1748-1823), 7th Earl and 1st Marquess of Salisbury, who sold 1806 to William Selby Lowndes of Whaddon Hall (1767-1840); to son, William Selby-Lowndes (1807-86); to son, William Selby-Lowndes (1836-1920)... sold c.2006 to Mr & Mrs David Lock.

Babraham Hall, Cambridgeshire

An account of this house has been given in a previous post.

Bennet family of Beachampton

Bennet, Thomas (c.1503-47). Parentage unknown; said to have been born 6 October 1503. He married, c.1524 at Wallingford (Berks), Agnes (d. 1557), daughter of William Moleyns of Mackney (Oxon), and had issue:

(1) Joan Bennet the elder; married Thomas Fritwell;

(2) Elizabeth Bennet (d. 1580); married Edward Gunn, and had issue at least two sons and two daughters;

(3) Avis Bennet (d. 1574); married, before 1547, Robert Southby, and had issue;

(4) Richard Bennet (1528-74) [for whom see below, under Bennet family of Babraham];

(5) Edmund Bennet (d. 1602), of Oxford; buried at St Martin, Oxford, 28 May 1602;

(6) Margaret Bennet;

(7) Avelen Bennet; married [forename unknown] Burt, and had issue at least one son;

(8) Joan Bennet the younger;

(9) Sir Thomas Bennet (c.1544-1627), kt (q.v.);

(10) Samuel Bennet (b. c.1548), presumably the child his wife was carrying when he wrote his will in 1547.

He lived at Clapcot near Wallingford.

He died 25 March 1547 and was buried at Wallingford; his will was proved in the PCC, 7 February 1547/8. His widow married 2nd, Thomas Teasdale, and had further issue one son; she died in 1557; her will was proved in the PCC, 13 December 1557.

Bennet, Sir Thomas (c.1544-1627), kt. Third son of Thomas Bennet (c.1503-47) and his wife Agnes, daughter of William Moleyns of Mackney (Oxon), born about 1544. Apprenticed to the Mercer's Company. He traded as a mercer in London and diversified into financing the Crown in the early 17th century. Alderman of the City of London, 1593-1627 (Sheriff 1594-95 and Lord Mayor 1603-04). Knighted at Whitehall, 24 July 1603. He served as President of the Bridewell and Bethlem Hospitals and was a patron of St Bartholomew's Hospital. He married, 25 August 1575 at St Mary le Bow, London, Mary (b. 1555), daughter of Robert Taylor, haberdasher and alderman of London, and had issue:

(1) Thomas Bennet (b. 1575), baptised at St Benet Fink, London, 21 December 1575; died young;

(2) Anne Bennet (1577-1611), baptised at St Benet Fink, London, 14 July 1577; married 1st, 22 October 1594 at St Lawrence Jewry, London, William Duncombe (d. 1608), haberdasher, son of Thomas Duncombe (d. 1596), and had issue one son and seven daughters; married 2nd, 6 November 1609 at St Olave, Old Jewry, London, George Lowe (c.1570-1639), merchant, financier and MP for Calne, 1625-29 (who m2, by 1625, Katherine (d. 1629), daughter of Sir John Smythe of Ostenhanger (Kent) and widow of Sir Henry Baker (c.1587-1623), 1st bt., of Sissinghurst (Kent)), son of William Lowe (d. 1588) of Shrewsbury (Shrops.), draper, and had issue two sons; buried 16 July 1611;

(3) Robert Bennet (b. 1579), baptised at St Benet Fink, London, 24 February 1578/9; probably died young;

(4) Elizabeth Bennet (1580-82), baptised at St Benet Fink, London, 21 February 1579/80; died young and was buried at St Benet Fink, London, 29 April 1582;

(5) Ambrose Bennet (1582-1631), baptised at St Benet Fink, London, 15 April 1582; died unmarried and without issue, 22 March 1630/1; will proved in the PCC, 28 March 1631;

(6) Thomas Bennet (b. 1583), baptised at St Benet Fink, London, 12 May 1583; probably died young;

(7) Sir Simon Bennet (1584-1631), 1st bt. (q.v.);

(8) Sarah Bennet (1585-87), baptised at St Benet Fink, London, 1 August 1585; died in infancy and was buried at St Benet Fink, London, 18 May 1587;

(9) Richard Bennet (1586-1628) (q.v.);

(10) John Bennet (c.1589-1631); a rich merchant in London; married, possibly 15 January 1606/7 at St Andrew by the Wardrobe, London, Joan [surname unknown*] (fl. 1627) and had issue at least three sons; buried in the chancel of St Stephen Walbrook, London, 3 May 1631;

(11) Mary Bennet (1590-1657), baptised at St Benet Fink, London, 10 January 1590; married, 16 June 1608 at St Olave, Old Jewry, London (with a portion of £3,000), Sir George Croke (1560-1642), serjeant-at-law, justice of the common pleas, 1623-28 and justice of King's Bench, 1628-41 and MP for Bere Alston (Devon), 1597, third son of John Croke (d. 1608) of Chilton (Bucks), and had issue one son and three daughters; died 1 December and was buried at Waterstock (Oxon), 3 December 1657; will proved in the PCC, 20 November 1658;

(12) George Bennet (1593-96), baptised at St Benet Fink, London, 11 July 1593; died young and was buried at St Lawrence Jewry, 10 September 1596.

He purchased the Beachampton estate (Bucks) in 1609, the manor of Calverton in 1616 and the Broad Marston (Glos, now Warks) estate c.1622.

He died 16 February 1626/7; his wealth at death has been estimated at £24,000. His wife presumably predeceased him as she is not mentioned in his will; her date of death is unknown.

* If this is the correct marriage, the bride's surname has been omitted from the entry.

Bennet, Sir Simon (1584-1631), 1st bt. Fifth son of Sir Thomas Bennet (c.1544-1627) and his wife Mary, daughter of Robert Taylor, alderman of London, baptised at St Benet Fink, London, 14 June 1584. Educated at University College, Oxford (matriculated 1602) and Inner Temple (admitted 1605). He was created a baronet, 17 July 1627. He married, by December 1624, Elizabeth (d. 1636), daughter of Sir Arthur Ingram (c.1565-1642), kt., of Temple Newsam House (Yorks WR), but had no issue.

He inherited the Beachampton and Calverton estates from his father in 1627. In 1630 he bought Handley Park in Whittlewood (Northants) from the Crown for £6,000: he bequeathed this estate to University College, Oxford, which used it to fund major additions to the college buildings in the 1630s and to establish additional fellowships and scholarships, although there were later disputes with the Bennet family about the terms of the bequest.

He died 21 August 1631, when his baronetcy became extinct, and was buried at Beachampton, 22 August 1631; his will was proved in the PCC, 3 September 1631. His widow died 13 June and was buried at St Bartholomew the Great, London, 30 June 1636.

Bennet, Richard (1586-1628). Sixth son of Sir Thomas Bennet (c.1544-1627) and his wife Mary, daughter of Robert Taylor, alderman of London, baptised at St Benet Fink, London, 7 August 1586. Citizen and mercer of London, who became a member of the Virginia Company and also invested in the East India Company. He married Elizabeth (d. 1661), daughter of William Craddock, cloth factor for Sir Baptist Hicks (c.1551-1629) in Hamburg (Germany), and had issue:

(1) Simon Bennet (1624-82) (q.v.).

He lived in Old Jewry, London and inherited Broad Marston manor (then Glos, now Worcs), at both of which he was enlarging his houses at the time of his death. He also had property at Deanshanger and Passenham (Northants) and Shelton and Thorpe (Notts). His widow lived latterly at the house in Kensington (Middx) acquired by her second husband which was later acquired by the Crown as Kensington Palace.

He died 21 April and was buried at St Olave, Old Jewry, 29 April 1628; his will was proved in the PCC, 7 May 1628. His widow married 2nd, 16 April 1629 at St Dunstan-in-the-West, London, Sir Heneage Finch (1580-1631), kt., Recorder of the City of London, MP for London, 1624-29, and Speaker of the House of Commons, fifth son of Sir Moyle Finch, 1st bt. of Eastwell (Kent), and had further issue two daughters; she died about September 1661 and her will was proved 27 February 1661/2.

Bennet, Simon (1624-82). Only son of Richard Bennet (1586-1628) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of William Craddock of Staffordshire, baptised at St Olave, Old Jewry, London, 6 June 1624. After his father's death he became a ward of King Charles I, who granted his wardship to Walter Steward who in turn assigned it to Sir Richard Wynn and Sir William Uvedale, before his mother purchased his wardship from Steward and his assignees at a cost of £4,000. His education was probably interrupted by the Civil War, but he attended Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1646) and later had chambers at the inn. A moderate Parliamentarian in the Civil War (his funerary monument covers all bases by recording that he was 'heartily devoted to the Church, the King, and the Republic'). He employed his capital in money-lending, chiefly on property and short-term loans, and his letters and accounts survive to document the extent of his operations. He clearly believed that politics should not get in the way of business, since his clients included both Cavaliers and Roundheads. High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, 1650-51 and 1665-66. In April 1657 he travelled to France, apparently on behalf of the Cromwellian regime, in connection with the Anglo-French alliance against the Spanish. He married, 30 October 1649 at St Bartholomew the Less, London (with a portion of £6,000), Grace (1632-94), daughter of Gilbert Moorwood of London, merchant, and had issue:

(1) Mary Bennet (1651-63), born 10 July 1651; died young, 20 July 1663;

(2) Thomas Bennet (b. & d. 1653), born 28 April and baptised at Beachampton, 1 May 1653; died in infancy, 2 May 1653;

(3) Elizabeth Bennet (1659-80), born 27 February and baptised at Beachampton, 27 March 1659; married, May 1674 (licence 23 May), Edward Osborne (1654-89), Viscount Latimer, MP for Corfe Castle, 1677-79 and Buckingham, 1679-81, eldest son of Thomas Osborne (1632-1712), 1st Earl of Danby, and had issue one son and one daughter (who both died young); died 1 May 1680;

(4) Grace Bennet (1664-1732), born 27 September 1664; married, 1681, after a turbulent courtship*, John Bennet (1656-1712) of Great and Little Abington (Cambs), MP for Newton (Lancs), 1691-95, eldest son of John Bennet (d. 1663), and had issue one son (who predeceased her); died 5 September and was buried in Westminster Abbey, 13 September 1732; her will was proved 7 September 1732;

(5) Mary Bennet (1666-74), born 28 April 1666; died young, 26 November 1674;

(6) Simon Bennet (1668-73), born 27 June 1668; died young, 23 August 1674;

(7) Frances Bennet (1670-1713), born 20 October 1670; in 1700-01 she undertook a Grand Tour, visiting Rome, Venice and Padua, apparently accompanied by her late husband's younger brothers and a lover called Colonel Josselyn; married (aged just thirteen), 13 July 1683 at St Martin Outwich, London, James Cecil (1666-94), 4th Earl of Salisbury, and had issue one son (who succeeded his father as 5th Earl); died at Epsom (Surrey), 7 or 8 July and was buried at St Giles in the Fields, Westminster (Middx), 15 July 1713; her will was proved 3 October 1713.

He inherited the manor of Broad Marston from his father in 1628 and Calverton and Beachampton from his uncle in 1631 and came of age in 1645. In 1656 he purchased an estate at Witley Park (Surrey). The house at Calverton where he lived was modernised and enlarged in 1659. At his death the estate passed to his widow for life and then to his three daughters as co-heirs, but ultimately passed into the Cecil family. His widow, 'a miserable, covetous and wretched person' lived alone in the manor house at Calverton (Bucks).

He died in August** 1682 and was buried at Beachampton, where he and his wife are commemorated by a fine baroque monument; his will was proved in the PCC, 4 November 1682. His widow was murdered by a burglar who broke into the manor house at Calverton, 19 September 1694; she was buried at Beachampton. Her murderer, a butcher from Stony Stratford (Bucks) was caught and executed for his crime.

* Her father supported the match, but recorded "my daughter Grace is more violent against him than her mother, and after she had given him five or six denials, she hath ever since locked herself up whenever he came to the house, both mother and daughter keep themselves very close from him, insomuch that he is forced to get a ladder to climb up to the window to them, but cannot see them when he hath done. Sometimes they fling a pail of water upon his head and wet him to the skin, the difference being so high among them; yet for all this he is not at all dismayed, but is fully resolved to stick by it and pursue his design, although it should last yet these seven years". The date and place of the eventual marriage have not been traced. Her husband over-reached himself financially in making agricultural improvements at Abington and his mortgagees foreclosed and deprived him of his estates; he died in a debtor's prison.

** Dates of 6 August, 20 August and 30 August are recorded in different sources, but there seems to be no entry in the parish register and no date is given on his monument in the church.

Bennet family of Babraham, baronets

Bennet, Richard (c.1528-74). Eldest son of Thomas Bennet (c.1503-47) and his wife Agnes, daughter of William Moleyns of Mackney (Oxon), born about 1528. Apprenticed to the Mercer's Company. He married, c.1552, Elizabeth (d. 1597?), daughter of Thomas Teasdale* of 'Sandford Deanly', and had issue:

(1) Anne Bennet (b. c.1553), born about 1553; married 1st David Harris junior (d. 1586) of Bristol, and 2nd, 23 July 1587 at St Nicholas, Bristol, as his second wife, William Vawer (c.1548-1620) of Bristol, merchant, and had issue four sons; probably died before 1619 as she is not mentioned in her husband's will;

(2) Ralph Bennet (b. c.1555; fl. 1608), of Morden (Surrey); educated at Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1574?); married, before 1582, Alice, daughter of David Harris (d. 1582), alderman. grocer and apothecary of Bristol, and had issue at least two sons and three daughters; living in 1608;

(3) Richard Bennet; probably died in infancy;

(4) Sir John Bennet (c.1557-1627), kt. [for whom see my post on the Bennet family of Dawley House, Chillingham Castle and Walton Hall, Barons Ossulston and Earls of Tankerville]

(5) Thomas Bennet (c.1562-1620) (q.v.);

(6) William Bennet (c.1564-1609), of Fulham (Middx) and Marlborough (Wilts), born about 1564; educated at Abingdon Grammar School and Grays Inn (admitted 1584); MP for Ripon, 1593; married Anne [surname unknown] but had no issue; died February 1608/9; will proved in the PCC, 22 February 1608/9, by which he endowed six scholarships at Abingdon school and a charity for the poor of Marlborough;

(7) Bridget Bennet (b. c.1565; fl. 1610), born about 1565; married, c.1587, Rev. Thomas Brickendon, and had issue; living in 1610;

(8) Edmund Bennet (b. c.1567; fl. 1608); educated at Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1581); living in 1608;

(9) Rev. Walter Bennet (c.1568-1614), born about 1568; educated at New College, Oxford (matriculated 1588; BA 1592; MA 1596; BD 1608; DD, 1609); Fellow of New College, 1599-1607; university proctor, 1602-03; ordained deacon and priest, 1606; rector of Little Wittenham (Berks), 1607-14; canon of York Minster, 1608-14; precentor of Salisbury Cathedral, 1608-13 and canon there, 1610-13; archdeacon of Wiltshire and rector of Minety (Wilts), 1610-14; married, 13 September 1608 at Salisbury Cathedral, Katherine, daughter of Henry Cotton (d. 1615), bishop of Salisbury; died before 25 August 1614; administration of goods granted to his widow, 1615;

(10) Elizabeth Bennet (b. c.1570), born about 1570; married, 6 February 1591/2 at St Michael-le-Belfry, York, John Piers (d. 1647), registrar to Archbishop of York, son of Thomas Piers of South Hinksey (Berks) and nephew and heir of Most Rev. John Piers (1523-94), Archbishop of York, and had issue.

He lived at Wallingford (Berks), where he was lessee of the manor of Clapcot and of the parsonage of All Hallows, Wallingford, and owned other property.

He died after 30 January 1573/4; his will was proved in the PCC, 3 July 1574. His wife is said to have died 28 June 1597.

* His wife was presumably the daughter of his mother's second husband.

** She died 9 February 1601/2 and was buried at York Minster, where she is commemorated by a monument erected in 1615 to the design of Nicholas Stone: it is said to be his earliest surviving work.

Bennet, Thomas (c.1562-1620). Fourth son of Richard Bennet (c.1528-74) of Clapcot, Wallingford (Berks) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Tisdale of 'Sandford Deanly', born about 1562. Possibly the man of this name educated at Trinity College, Oxford (matriculated 1581). Apprenticed to his uncle, Sir Thomas Bennet (c.1544-1627). Mercer in London and a member of the Company of Merchant Adventurers there. Alderman of London, 1613-20; Sheriff of London, 1613-14. He married, 18 August 1590 at St Thomas the Apostle, London, Dorothy (1572-1642), daughter of Richard May of London and Rawmere (Sussex), and sister of Sir Humphrey May, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and had surviving issue:

(1) Edward Bennet (1592-1604), baptised at St Thomas the Apostle, London, 3 December 1592; died young and was buried at St Thomas the Apostle, London, 9 May 1604;

(2) William Bennet (1594-1604), baptised at St Thomas the Apostle, London, 25 August 1594; died young and was buried at St Thomas the Apostle, London, 9 May 1604;

(3) Richard Bennet (1595-1658) (q.v.);

(4) Sir Thomas Bennet (1596-1667), 1st bt. (q.v.);

(5) Mary Bennet (1597-1648?), baptised at St Thomas the Apostle, London, 4 December 1597; married, 1 January 1617/8 at St Michael Paternoster, London, Richard Lewkenor (c.1589-1635), and had issue at least one son; buried at West Dean (Sussex), 13 May 1648;

(6) Dorothy Bennet (1599-1651), baptised at St Thomas the Apostle, London, 22 April 1599; married, 28 February 1619/20 at St Pancras, Soper Lane, London, Sir Gamaliel Capel (1601-83), kt., and had issue one son; buried at Oxted (Surrey), 2 January 1651/2;

(7) Elizabeth Bennet (b. 1600), baptised at St Thomas the Apostle, London, 22 June 1600; married, 30 April 1622 at St Pancras, Soper Lane, London, Sir Richard Stone (d. 1660), kt. of Great Stukeley (Hunts), Ridgmont (Beds) and Rushden House (Herts) (who m2, 1643, Elizabeth (1620-71?), daughter of Sir Richard Gery of Bushmead Priory (Beds) and had further issue), son of John Stone (d. 1640), serjeant-at-law, and had issue four sons and five daughters; died before 1643;

(8) Humphrey Bennet (b. 1601), baptised at St Thomas the Apostle, London, 16 August 1601; died young;

(9) Anne Bennet (1602-c.1630), baptised at St Thomas the Apostle, London, 5 September 1602; married, 9 May 1622 at St Pancras, Soper Lane, London, William Amcotts (c.1593-1639) of Aisthorpe (Lincs), son of Sir Richard Amcotts of Aisthorpe, and had issue two sons and three daughters; probably died in or soon after 1630;

(10) William Bennet (b. 1604), baptised at St Thomas the Apostle, London, 30 December 1604; died in the lifetime of his father but death not traced;

(11) Sir Humphrey Bennet (1606-67), kt., baptised at St Thomas the Apostle, London, 19 March 1605/6; educated at Inner Temple (admitted 1622) and St John's College, Oxford (matriculated 1623); High Sheriff of Hampshire, 1643-45; the leading Royalist in Hampshire, he was an officer in the Royalist army (Col. of horse), 1643-45 and was described as 'very active and very cruel'; knighted in October or November 1644 for his distinguished service at the second Battle of Newbury, but went abroad after the fall of Winchester in 1645, returning in 1646; he compounded for his estates in 1649, paying a fine of £890, but during the 1650s he continued to plot against the Commonwealth government and was arrested and imprisoned at least three times; JP and DL for Hampshire, 1660-67; MP for Petersfield, 1661-67; a gentleman of the privy chamber, 1666-67; owned the manors of Shalden (Hants) - which he bought in 1632 and was obliged to sell in 1653 - and Newport (IoW), but lived latterly at Rotherfield Park (Hants), in which his third wife had a life interest; married 1st, 7 July 1631 at St Mary Aldermanbury, London, Mary (d. 1637), daughter of Thomas Smith of Aldermanbury, London and South Tidworth (Hants), merchant and had issue one son (killed at the Battle of Sole Bay in 1672) and one daughter; married 2nd, Elizabeth (d. 1660), daughter of Meredith Thomas and had issue two daughters; married 3rd, 14 February 1660/1 at St Clement Danes, London, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Button (1585-1655), 1st bt., of Alton Priors (Wilts) and widow of Sir Richard Norton (1619-52), 2nd bt., of Rotherfield (Hants); died December 1667;

(12) Margaret Bennet (b. 1607), baptised at St Thomas the Apostle, London, 5 August 1607; married, 5 April 1627 at St Pancras, Soper Lane, London, Henry Rolle (c.1589-1656) of Shapwick (Som.), lawyer, MP for Callington, 1614, 1621, 1624 and for Truro, 1625-29, serjeant-at-law, 1640-45, and Lord Chief Justice of Kings Bench, 1648-55, second son of Robert Rolle (d. 1633) of Heanton (Devon), and had issue one son; probably the woman of this name buried at St Giles in the Wood (Devon), 21 January 1676/7;

(13) Rebecca Bennet (1609-34), baptised at St Thomas the Apostle, London, 2 April 1609; married, 22 June 1630, as his first wife, Sir Bulstrode Whitelock (1605-75)*, kt., of Fawley Court (Bucks), Parliamentarian lawyer and politician, who was raised to the peerage by Oliver Cromwell as Lord Whitelock, 1657, although this lapsed at he Restoration, eldest son of Sir James Whitelocke (1570-1632), and had issue one son; died insane, 9 May 1634;

(14) Joan Bennet (1610-93), baptised at St Pancras, Soper Lane, 20 May 1610; married, 30 June 1631 at St Pancras, Soper Lane, Stephen Smith (1604-70) of Blackmore (Essex), son of Arthur Smith, and had issue five sons and five daughters; buried at Blackmore, 18 May 1693.

He purchased a wide range of property across southern England in the last years of his life, probably reflecting a desire to provide for his sons.

He died after 18 April 1620 and was buried at the Mercers' Chapel, St Thomas Acons in the parish of St Pancras, Soper Lane, London, 18 May 1620; his will was proved in the PCC, 9 May 1620. His widow was buried at Mortlake (Surrey), 21 June 1642; her will was proved in the PCC, 5 July 1642.

* Sir Bulstrode married 2nd, 9 November 1635 at Fawley Court chapel after an elopement, Frances (1614-49), daughter of William, 3rd Lord Willoughby of Parham, by whom he had three sons and six daughters; and married 3rd, 5 August 1650 at Bromham (Beds) and again 11 September 1650 at Hackney (Middx), Mary (d. 1684), daughter of Bigley Carleton of London, grocer, and widow of Rowland Wilson MP (d. 1650), by whom he had five sons and two daughters.

Bennet, Richard (1595-1658). Third, but eldest surviving, son of Thomas Bennet (c.1562-1620) and his wife Dorothy, daughter of Richard May of London and Rawmere (Sussex), baptised at St Thomas the Apostle, London, 30 August 1595. Educated at the Inner Temple (admitted 1616). Lawyer. He married 1st, 25 November 1623 at St Stephen Walbrook, London, Jane (d. 1638), daughter and co-heir of Levinus Monk, and 2nd, 11 December 1638 at St Botolph Aldgate, London, Mary, daughter of Robert Leman of Ipswich, and had issue:

(1.1) Jane Bennet (1629-1700), baptised at St Olave, Hart St., London, 19 February 1628/9; married, 14 September 1648 at Babraham, Hon. James Scudamore (1624-68), MP for Hereford, 1642-44 and for Herefordshire, 1661-68, son of John Scudamore, 1st Viscount Scudamore of Sligo, of Holme Lacy (Herefs), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 21 February 1699/1700 and was buried at Holme Lacy, where she is commemorated by a splendid baroque monument; will proved in the PCC, 2 November 1700;

(2.1) Dorothy Bennet (1642-1721), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn (Middx), 16 November 1642; married, 1659 (settlement 16 February), Sir Henry Capel KB (1638-96), 1st Baron Capell of Tewkesbury, of the White House, Kew (Surrey), MP for Tewkesbury, 1660-85, 1690-92 and for Cockermouth, 1689-90, third son of Arthur Capel (d. 1649), 1st Baron Capell of Hadham, but had no issue; died 7 June and was buried at Kew (Surrey), 15 June 1721; she was commemorated by a memorial in Mortlake church (Surrey);

(2.2) Leman Bennet (1650-c.1655), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 20 August 1650; said to have died young, in the lifetime of his father, but death not traced;

(2.3) Richard Bennet (b. 1654), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 19 June 1654; said to have died young, in the lifetime of his father, but death not traced.

He lived at Kew House (Surrey), then an old timber-framed house which would be rebuilt in the 18th century by Frederick, Prince of Wales, as The White House; this passed to his daughter Dorothy and thence to the Capel family. Richard inherited the castle and manor of Wyrcroft and associated lands at Axminster (Devon), the manor of Perycourt at Faversham (Kent), the New Parke near Leicester (Leics) and the Black Swan Inn in Westcheape, London from his father in 1620, and jointly purchased the manor of Babraham with his next brother and mother-in-law, 1631. 

He died 12 April and was buried at Babraham, 29 April 1658, where the monument erected by his nephew says he was a baronet, although no other reference to him as such has been found. His first wife died in 1638. His second wife's date of death is unknown.

Bennet, Sir Thomas (1596-1667), 1st bt. Fourth, but second surviving, son of Thomas Bennet (c.1562-1620) and his wife Dorothy, daughter of Richard May of London and Rawmere (Sussex), baptised at St Thomas the Apostle, London, 7 November 1596. Educated at the Inner Temple (admitted 1616). Evidently a Royalist in the Civil War. He was created a baronet, 22 November 1660. He married, c.1628, Mary (d. 1684), daughter and co-heir of Levinus Monk, one of the Clerks to the Signet, and had issue:

(1) Mary Bennet (c.1629-1711), born about 1629; married, 25 December 1650 at All Hallows, London Wall, London, Sir Heneage Fetherstone (1627-1711), 1st bt., only son of Henry Fetherstone of Hassingbrook, Stanford-le-Hope (Essex) and London, stationer, and had issue three sons and seven daughters; buried at Stanford-le-Hope, 30? January 1710/11;

(2) Sir Levinus Bennet (1631-93), 2nd bt. (q.v.);

(3) Elizabeth Bennet (1633?-1711), perhaps the woman of this name baptised at St Olave, Hart St., London, 3 July 1633 although age stated on her marriage licence would imply a birth around 1647; married, 7 December 1682 at Babraham, as his second wife, Hon. Robert Bertie (1619-1708), third son of Robert Bertie (1582-1642), 1st Earl of Lindsey, but had no issue; buried at Barking (Essex), 12 January 1712/3; will proved in the PCC, 13 January 1712/3;

(4) Thomas Bennet (d. c.1680); mentioned in his father's will in 1664, but said to have died about 1680.

He inherited lands at Sidlesham (Sussex), and Benenden and Rolvenden (Kent) from his father in 1620. In 1629 he purchased the manor of Hurcot at Somerton (Som.) and this descended with his Babraham estate, which he purchased jontly with his elder brother and mother-in-law in 1632. By his marriage, he acquired a moiety of the manor of Stoke Hammond (Bucks), which his widow and son sold in 1672. He also acquired lands in the Isle of Wight, which he settled on his elder son. His estate was sequestrated in 1651, but he recovered his property. His will noted that "I lived in hard and troublesome times and with much difficulty did preserve that estate which I leave".

He died 28 June and was buried at Babraham, 30 June 1667, where he and his brother Richard are commemorated by a large standing monument; his will was proved 1667. His widow was buried at Babraham, 20 May 1684; her will was proved in 1684.

Bennet, Sir Levinus (1631-93), 2nd bt. Elder son of Sir Thomas Bennet (1596-1667), 1st bt., and his wife Mary, daughter and co-heir of Levinus Monk, baptised at Mortlake (Surrey), 18 January 1630/1. Educated at Grays Inn (admitted 1644) and perhaps at St Catherine's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1645). High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire, 1652-53; JP for Cambridgeshire, 1661-88, 1689-93. MP for Cambridgeshire, 1679-93. He succeeded his father as 2nd baronet, 28 June 1667. He married, 6 July 1653 at All Hallows, London Wall, London, Judith (d. 1703), daughter of William Boevey (d. 1661) of London and Flaxley Abbey (Glos)*, merchant, and had issue:

(1) Mary Bennet (1654-1725?), baptised at Babraham, 25 April 1654; married, 7 January 1680 at Holy Trinity, Minories, London, James Bush (d. 1724) of London and Amsterdam, merchant, and had issue one son (Levinus (d. 1723)); inherited a one-fifth share in the Babraham and Hurcot (Som.) estates from her niece, 1713; said to have died in 1725 but is not mentioned in her husband's will, written in 1722, and may therefore have died considerably earlier;

(2) Levinus Bennet (b. 1656), born at Babraham, 26 August 1656; died before 1693 and probably in infancy;

(3) Judith Bennet (1657-1724), born at Babraham, 27 September 1657; inherited a one-fifth share in the Babraham and Hurcot estates from her niece, 1713 and also owned the manor of Foulden (Norfk); died unmarried, 3 October 1724; her will, proved in the PCC, 23 October 1724, added a further £1,000 to similar charitable bequests by her brother-in-law James Bush and the latter's son, Levinus Bush, for the establishment of a school and almshouse at Babraham;

(4) Elizabeth Bennet (1660-84), born 3 June and baptised at Babraham, 14 June 1660; died unmarried and was buried at Babraham, 16 October 1684;

(5) Dorothy Bennet (1661-1735), born 18 November and baptised at Babraham, 28 November 1661; inherited a one-fifth share in the Babraham and Hurcot estates from her niece, 1713; married, 25 November 1690 at Babraham, John Page (d. by 1717); buried at Babraham, 13 June 1735;

(6) Levina Bennet (1664-1732) (q.v.);

(7) Bridget Bennet (1665-66), born 11 September and baptised at Babraham, 20 September 1665; died in infancy and was buried at Babraham, 5 December 1666;

(8) Jane Bennet (b. 1667), born 8 March 1666/7 and baptised at Babraham, 25 March 1667; inherited a one-fifth share in the Babraham and Hurcot estates from her niece, 1713; married, 27 July 1703 in the Bishop of London's chapel in St Botolph Aldersgate, London, James Mitchell (fl. 1721) and had issue at least one son; living in 1721;

(9) Caroline Bennet (b. 1669), born 28 September and baptised at Babraham, 3 October 1669; died before 1693 and probably in infancy;

(10) Sir Richard Bennet (1673-1701), 3rd bt. (q.v.).

He inherited the Babraham and Hurcot estates from his uncle in 1658 and his father in 1667. His father settled lands in the Isle of Wight on him at his marriage in 1653. In 1667 he also inherited the manor of Newport (IoW) from his uncle, Sir Humphrey Bennet, but he sold it the following year.

He died in London, 5 December and was buried at Babraham, 14 December 1693; his will was proved 17 January 1693/4. His widow was buried at Babraham, 22 January 1702/3 and her will was proved 4 February 1702/3.

* William and his half-brother, James Boevey, jointly bought Flaxley Abbey c.1654. At William's death it passed to his sister, Joanna Clarke.

Bennet, Sir Richard (1673-1701), 3rd bt. Second but only surviving son of Sir Levinus Bennet (1631-93), 2nd bt., and his wife Judith, daughter of William Boevey of London and Flaxley Abbey (Glos), merchant, born 8 July and baptised at Babraham, 15 July 1673. He succeeded his father as 3rd baronet, 5 December 1693. He married, 27 June 1695 at Ely Chapel, Holborn (Middx), Elizabeth (1680-1727), daughter of Sir Charles Caesar, kt., MP, of Bennington Place (Herts), and had issue:

(1) Judith Bennet (1701-13), born 6 January 1700/1; died young, and was buried at Warminghurst (Sussex), 6 July 1713.

He inherited the Babraham and Hurcot estates from his father in 1693. At his death his estate passed to his daughter, and then when she died young, to his five sisters as co-heirs.

He died of smallpox, 23 May, when his baronetcy became extinct, and was buried at Babraham, 29 May 1701; administration of his goods was granted 23 June 1701. His widow married 2nd, 31 January 1704/5, James Butler (1680-1741) of Warminghurst Park (Sussex)*, MP for Arundel, 1705-08 and for Sussex, 1715-22, 1728-41, son of James Butler of Amberley Castle (Sussex), and had further issue one son; she died 1 July and was buried (as Lady Elizabeth Bennet) at Warminghurst, 5 July 1727.

* He and his wife acquired the estate in 1707 and had built a large new house on a new site by 1710. It was pulled down between 1806 and 1810.

Bennet, Levina (1664-1732). Fifth daughter of Sir Levinus Bennet (1631-93), 2nd bt., and his wife Judith, daughter of William Boevey of London and Flaxley Abbey (Glos), merchant, born 28 January and baptised at Babraham, 14 February 1663/4. She married, 12 October 1700 at Charterhouse Chapel, Finsbury (Middx), Edward Alexander (1670-1751) of the White House, Ongar (Essex), a proctor in the Court of Arches at Doctor's Commons, second son of Nicholas Alexander of Marden Ash, High Ongar (Essex), and had issue:

(1) Bennet Alexander (later Bennet) (1702-45) (q.v.).

She inherited a one-fifth share in the manors of Babraham and Hurcot (Som.) from her niece in 1713 which she bequeathed to her son at her death.

She was buried at Babraham, 10 September 1732. Her husband was buried at Chipping Ongar (Essex), 2 November 1751; his will was proved in the PCC, 2 December 1752.

Alexander (later Bennet), Bennet (1702-45). Only child of Edward Alexander of Ongar (Essex) and his wife Levina, daughter of Sir Levinus Bennet (1631-93), 2nd bt., born 28 April and baptised at St Gregory-by-St Paul, London, 30 April 1702. Educated at Westminster and Queen's College, Oxford (matriculated 1721). He took the additional name Bennet by Act of Parliament in 1742. He married, 30 September 1738 at High Laver (Essex), Mary (1719-76), daughter of Benjamin Ash, and had issue:

(1) Levina Bennet (1739-1822), baptised at High Ongar (Essex), 3 August 1739; married, 21 January 1762 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), John Luther (c.1739-86) of Great Myles, Kelvedon Hatch (Essex), MP for Essex, 1763-84, and had issue two children (who died in the lifetime of their father); buried at Shorwell (IoW), 9 February 1822; will proved in the PCC, 13 February 1822;

(2) Richard Henry Alexander Bennet (1743-1814) (q.v.).

He inherited a one-fifth share in the manors of Babraham and Hurcot (Som.) from his mother in 1732, another two-fifths from his aunt Judith Bennet in 1724, and a further tenth from his aunt Dorothy in 1735. At his death the property was divided between his son and son-in-law.

He died 20 December 1745, and was buried at Babraham, 1 January 1745/6. His widow married 2nd, 2 May 1747 at Ely Chapel, Holborn (Middx), Richard Bull (1721-1805) of The White House, Chipping Ongar (Essex) and later of Northcourt Manor, Shorwell (IoW), MP for Newport (Cornw.), 1756-80, a noted book collector and extra-illustrator, son of Sir John Bull, kt., a London merchant, and had further issue two daughters, who died unmarried; she was buried at Chipping Ongar (Essex), 3 June 1776.

Bennet, Richard Henry Alexander (1743-1814). Only son of Bennet Alexander (later Bennet) (1702-45), and his wife Mary, daughter of Benjamin Ash, born 11 May 1743. Educated at Westminster. Elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, 1765 and of the Royal Society, 1767. MP for Newport (Cornw.), 1770-74. He married, 20 January 1766 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Elizabeth Amelia (1750-1837)*, daughter of Peter Burrell MP (1724-75), and had issue:

(1) Emilia Elizabeth Bennet (1766-1839), born 1 December and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster, 26 December 1766; married, 13 July 1787 at Beckenham (Kent), Sir John Edward Swinburne (1762-1860), 6th bt. of Capheaton (Northbld), and had issue two sons and five daughters; died 28 March 1839;

(2) Richard Henry Alexander Bennet (1769-1818), born 26 October and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster, 13 November 1769; educated at Westminster School, 1777-81; joined Royal Navy (Lt. 1790; Cdr. 1793; Capt. 1796; retired 1809); MP for Launceston, 1802-06, 1807-12 and for Enniskillen, 1807; he suffered a stroke in 1813 and died unmarried, 11 October 1818, being buried at Shorwell (IoW), 21 October 1818; will proved in the PCC, 26 November 1818;

(3) Isabella Julia Levina Bennet (1775-1867), born 11 September and baptised 5 October 1775; artist (as Lady Gordon), who published a volume of etchings in 1847; married, 15 October 1805 at her father's house in Beckenham (Kent) by special licence, Sir James Willoughby Gordon (1772-1851), 1st bt., Quartermaster General of the army and MP for Launceston, 1829-31, son of Capt. James Grant-Gordon, and had issue one son and one daughter; died 28 March 1867; will proved 6 June 1867 (effects under £4,000).

He inherited a moiety of his father's interest in the Babraham and Hurcot (Som.) estates in 1745, and in 1765 joined with his brother-in-law, John Luther, in selling the whole of their interest in Babraham to his first cousin once removed, William Mitchell, who held the remaining share in the estate, while in return he received the whole of their joint interest in Hurcot, which he sold in 1798. He lived subsequently at Beckenham (Kent). In 1809 he inherited Northcourt Manor, Shorwell (IoW) from his half-sister, Elizabeth Bull.

He died 14 March and was buried at Shorwell (IoW), 24 March 1814; his will was proved in the PCC, 24 March 1814. His widow was buried at Shorwell, 9 February 1837; her will was proved in the PCC, 31 March 1837.

* She was unusually well connected, as her brother Peter Burrell (1754-1820) became 1st Baron Gwydir, and three of her sisters married the Duke of Northumberland, the Earl of Beverley, and the Marquess of Exeter.

Principal sources

Burke's Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies, 2nd edn., 1841, p. 57; VCH Buckinghamshire, vol. 4, 1927, pp. 149-53; VCH Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Ely, vol. 6, 1978, pp. 19-30; Sir N. Pevsner & E. Williamson, The buildings of England: Buckinghamshire, 2nd edn., 1994, pp. 167-68, 213; J. Harris, Moving Rooms, 2007, p. 235; L.L. Peck, Women of Fortune: money, marriage and murder in Early Modern England, 2018; Beachampton Hall (Buckinghamshire Gardens Trust report, 2022; 

Location of archives

Bennet of Shorwell (IoW): deeds and papers, 1636-18th cent. [Isle of Wight Record Office, DL]

Bennet, Simon (1624-82): correspondence and accounts relating to banking business, c.1648-80 [Hatfield House Archives, Accounts 162]

Coat of arms

Gules, a bezant between three demi-lions rampant, argent.

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide fuller information about the 20th century ownership of Beachampton Hall or Calverton Manor?
• 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 27 September 2023.

(555) Bengough of The Ridge, Wotton-under-Edge

Bengough of The Ridge 

The Rev. George Bengough (1705?-53), who became a Presbyterian minister in Tewkesbury (Glos) in the mid 18th century, and with whom the genealogy below begins, was almost certainly the son of Henry Bengough (d. 1740) of Worcester. George and his wife, Elizabeth Pinnock or Pynock, were married in 1735 and their eldest son, Henry Bengough (1739-1818) was born four years later. Henry was destined for a career in the law but made his first appearance in the courts at the tender age of fourteen, when he had to appear before the Prerogative Court of Canterbury to swear to having written his late father's will at his father's direction. It was probably not much later that he was articled as a clerk to William Cadell of Bristol, solicitor, whose daughter, Joanna, he married in 1760. He subsequently went on build an extensive and lucrative practice as a solicitor in Bristol, acting for many of the leading families of the city for some fifty years. His brother-in-law, Thomas Cadell, was a successful publisher, and Henry invested in the business (his purchase of the copyright in Blackstone's Commentaries alone is said to have brought him £30,000). In due course he became a member of the city corporation and he was Mayor in 1792. Two years later, he used some of his accumulated capital to become one of the founders of the Bristol City Bank, which further increased his wealth. He retired from practice a few years before his death, but the valuation of his estate for probate estimated that he was worth some £250,000, placing him firmly among the super-rich of his age. Henry and his wife had at least four children, but all of them seem to have died before their parents, so at his death he left an unusually complex will which attempted to dictate the future uses of his wealth for up to 140 years after his death. The chief beneficiaries, apart from his widow, who was left a life interest in some of his property and died in 1821, were to be the poor of Bristol, for whom he endowed an almshouse in the city, and a large group of nephews and nieces, first among whom was his nephew, George Bengough (1794-1856). The lands in Somerset intended to support the almshouse did not produce sufficient income to realise his objective, and the income had to accrue until the 1870s, when at last they were sufficient to buy a site in Horfield Road and build Bengough's Almshouse. The will established a body of trustees who were charged with managing Henry's assets, paying annuities to some of his relatives and accumulating the surplus income until £1,500 was available, when it was to be invested in landed property. As a result the trustees built up a ragbag property portfolio with little coherence. There was litigation between the trustees and the intended beneficiaries, who attempted to gain control of the capital in a long-running case eventually decided in the trustees' favour by the House of Lords. 

George Bengough was himself a lawyer in Bristol, and may have taken over his uncle's practice on the latter's retirement. There is no record of his being formally articled to another solicitor, so he was probably taken into his uncle's firm without formal articles. In due course he became a member of Bristol corporation, but he was never as significant or dominant a figure as his uncle had been. He maintained the nonconformist tradition of the family, being a Unitarian, and was also a Whig in politics and an opponent of slavery, although his uncle had certainly acted for Bristol families with West Indian plantations and thus derived some of his wealth, directly or indirectly, from the proceeds of slavery. Although the terms of his uncle's will were upheld by the House of Lords, in 1837 George was able to buy The Ridge at Wotton-under-Edge, and other large purchases of land followed, including the manor of Gaunt's Earthcott at Almondsbury in 1838. It seems probable that these acquisitions were financed by the profits of his own legal career rather than by the release of funds from his uncle's trustees. George made some minor changes to The Ridge, and built a chapel and bridge in the grounds, but the house was less than twenty years old when he acquired it and not in need of major works.

George and his wife had four sons and four daughters. His eldest son, George Henry Bengough (1828-65) was of a serious cast of mind, and trained for the priesthood at Wells Theological College, but while he was studying there he met the leading Gloucestershire magistrate, Thomas Barwick Lloyd-Baker, who persuaded him that he could do more good in the world as a philanthropic layman than as 'yet another rich clergyman'. Together, the two men established the Hardwicke Reformatory, taking juvenile criminals from the slums of London and giving them a stable environment, education and physical labour with a view to reforming them. For several years, Bengough was the resident master of the institution, before moving on to advise on the creation of a similar body in Devon and then to manage the Kingswood reformatory near Bristol. The reformatory movement was surprisingly successful, having a marked impact on juvenile offending in the major cities, and spread rapidly in the 1850s and 1860s, earning government grants in the process. Bengough himself did not live to see this, however, for he seems to have contracted tuberculosis (whether from one of the young offenders he lived among or not is uncertain) and died in Florence in 1865. Since he had no son, and as The Ridge estate had been entailed, it passed to his next brother, John Charles Bengough (1829-1913), who may also have considered entering the church and was certainly a composer of hymn tunes in his later years, an interest he shared with his youngest brother, the Rev. Edward Stewart Bengough (1839-1920), who was for two years chaplain and precentor of King's College, Cambridge.

John played his part in county affairs, being High Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1877-78, and serving as a JP, DL and an officer in the Gloucestershire Yeomanry. However, for reasons which are unclear, in about 1884 he moved out of The Ridge (which was taken over by his eldest son, John Alan George Bengough (1859-99)) and moved to Upton House near Poole (Dorset), which he rented. J.C. Bengough and his wife Caroline Augusta had ten children, several of whom had interesting lives, although many of them predeceased their father. His second son, Clement Stuart Bengough (1861-1934) was a painfully shy and reclusive man, prone to fits of violent temper. Perhaps as a result of one such episode, he was sent to America as a remittance man, where he became a solitary rancher living in a log cabin in Wyoming, and the stuff of local legend. Another son, Cyril Francis Bengough (1864-1931) was more conventionally successful, becoming a civil engineer and retiring as chief engineer of the North-Eastern Railway to a manor house at Conderton (Worcs). John Alan Bengough (1859-99), having moved into The Ridge in 1884 moved out again to the dower house known as The Ridings in 1895. This time the cause seems to have been the declining income from the estate during the Agricultural Depression, and The Ridge was let to Colonel Parkinson. The family would never live there again. When J.A.G. Bengough died in 1899, another victim of tuberculosis, his children were all young and his widow moved away from Wotton-under-Edge. His elder son, John Crosbie Bengough (1888-1916) inherited the estate on the death of his grandfather in 1913 but was killed in the First World War. That landed the family with a second set of death duties within a few years, and obliged John's brother, Nigel James Bengough (1895-1980) to sell most the outlying lands the family had acquired in the early 19th century. Col. Parkinson and his son having both died during the First World War, The Ridge was unoccupied, and at some point in the 1920s the house and the 500 acre core of the estate were sold to a neighbouring landowner, Charles Kingsley Cory (1890-1967), who pulled down most of the house between 1934 and 1937. Nigel Bengough made his home in a farmhouse at Monkland (Herefs), which remains the property of his descendants today.

The Ridge, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire

The Ridge estate, which in medieval times had belonged to Kingswood Abbey, passed at the Dissolution of the Monasteries to the Poyntz family and descended with their Newark Park estate until the 18th century. It then changed hands a number of times before being bought by Edward Sheppard, a clothier from Uley, in 1805. The early 19th century was a period of widespread, if cyclical, prosperity in the Gloucestershire clothing industry, and work on the creation of The Ridge and laying out the grounds may have taken place over an extended period as a result. Nothing seems to have happened until at least 1810, when Sheppard was assessed for rates only on a farm, but probably began about that time as Sheppard sought a footpath diversion order - suggesting he was beginning to layout a park - in 1811.

The Ridge: sketch plan of (probably then unbuilt) mansion in 1811.

The plan he submitted shows the footprint of a gentleman's house which already incorporates key elements (the long conservatory and the two bow fronts facing north-west) of the eventual design, but is not the same as the eventual layout. In 1814 the description of the property in the rating records changes from 'Ridge Farm' to 'House and Offices' so the shell of the building was probably then either complete or under construction. In 1816, a press report gives The Ridge as Edward Sheppard's address for the first time, so enough of the house must then have been complete for him to occupy it. Another footpath diversion order plan dated 1817, which shows only half the house, shows enough to make it clear that the layout was the same as that projected by 1811, but a lodge had been built and the environs had been transformed in a gentleman's park, with shelter belts and plantations of trees. It is thus pretty certain that a significant part of Sheppard's scheme was carried out in the 1810s. This is puzzling because since the publication of Delineations of Gloucestershire in 1825, the architect of Edward Sheppard's new house has been recorded as George Stanley Repton (1786-1858), son of the landscape gardener, Humphry Repton, who after many years as a pupil and assistant in the office of John Nash, finally set up on his own between 1818 and 1820. It would seem, therefore, that Sheppard, having begun by remodelling and extending the existing Ridge Farm or building a new house on its site, decided that it was not satisfactory, and turned to Repton to convert the - possibly incomplete - building into something grander. As early as 1810 Nash wrote to a client that he wanted to give Repton freedom to design “a Moiety of all Cottages farm houses & picturesque buildings” for which commissions might come to their office, but it seems unlikely that Nash would have allowed Repton to design a major new house as early as 1814. It was, however, not unusual for architects to pass on an important commission to favoured former pupils when they set up on their own, to help them establish their own practice, and it is possible that this is what happened at The Ridge. Another possibility is that Repton's elder brother John Adey Repton, who had a number of commissions in Gloucestershire at this time, was originally approached about work at The Ridge, and passed on the commission to a brother just starting to build an independent career.

The Ridge: engraving of the house from the south-west, 1825, from Delineations of Gloucestershire.

The Ridge: garden front elevation from the sale particulars of 1837, showing the original arrangement, with pediments on the wings and
over the ground floor windows. Image: Gloucestershire Archives RZ354.1

The house that resulted from Repton's involvement was on a very considerable scale, and the commission must have helped to establish his career. Clearly it was a building he was proud of and of which he showed drawings to later clients, for the RIBA has a plan and elevation on paper watermarked 1825, which must have been made for such a purpose. The main block of the house was almost square, but the north front, which overlooked spectacular views, was extended to either side by four‑bay blank arcades concealing a conservatory on one side and service accommodation on the other. These terminated in single‑bay pavilions, again blind to the north, but lit by windows in their return elevations. The central block was itself in three parts: a two‑storey three‑bay centre with a concealed roof and balustraded parapet, and flanking, slightly projecting, wings which had an additional attic storey and pitched roofs running in templar fashion from front to back of the house. These wings had shallow curved bow windows. It is apparent from the plans and later views of the house how the building of the 1810s was simply incorporated into Repton's scheme. His main innovation was to create a new entrance front on the south side, with the tall earlier wings framing a broad Ionic portico rising the full height of the central three bays. All the ground‑floor windows on the main fronts were pedimented, and from the corners of the south front quadrant walls curved out to enclose a forecourt and conceal the rear view of the kitchen court. On the west, the glazed, south‑facing side of the conservatory looked out onto an enclosed flower garden, while to the west the buildings of the service court incorporated the earlier L-shaped range.

The Ridge: ground floor plan of the house from the sale particulars of 1837. Image: Gloucestershire Archives RZ354.1.

Although no illustrations seem to survive to show how the interiors of The Ridge were decorated, an excellent and detailed plan of the house was published when it was sold in 1837 after Edward Sheppard became bankrupt. Along the north front, a suite of three rooms (drawing room, library and dining room) of varied shapes inter‑connected through wide folding doors. The 60ft conservatory opened from the drawing room in what was coming to be the usual way. Behind this sequence of rooms ran a passage open on one side through an arcade to the unheated entrance hall. From the hall itself, a top‑lit oval staircase hall containing a cantilevered stone stair opened to the east, while on its west side was an elaborated columned niche. A subsidiary stair occupied the space behind the niche, and the ground floor also contained a breakfast room and justice room, poked rather awkwardly down a corridor behind the second staircase.

The size of The Ridge, and the grandeur of its bow‑ended dining room and lengthy conservatory announced Sheppard's wealth to the world; the book‑lined library and provision of a justice room signalled his politeness and his aspiration to the magistracy. But Sheppard's was a fortune founded on industrial wealth, and ultimately he proved vulnerable to the collapse in the clothing trade which took Paul Wathen, Daniel Lloyd and other local clothiers into bankruptcy. The Ridge was auctioned at the Old Bell Inn, Dursley, in 1837, and was bought by George Bengough (1794-1856), a Bristol solicitor.  He added a second lodge and built a delightful cast-iron bridge in the grounds in 1840 and a chapel at The Ridings in 1841, and apparently also made some changes to the house. Later photographs of the garden front shows raised parapets in lieu of the pediments on the wings, and that the pediments on the ground floor windows had also been removed. There seem, however, to have been few other changes to Repton's design, at least externally.

The Ridge: a photograph of the garden front, probably in the 1860s, showing how the pediments over the wings
and ground-floor windows had been removed. 

The estate descended in turn to George's sons, George Henry Bengough (d. 1865) and John Charles Bengough (d. 1913), but was not occupied by the family after 1895, and was let until the death of the tenant in the First World War. It was among extensive Gloucestershire estates put up for sale by John's grandson, Nigel James Bengough, in 1918, but remained unsold. Unoccupied and deteriorating, it was finally sold with the 500 acre core of the estate to a neighbouring landowner, Charles Kingsley Cory (1890-1967), who demolished it except for the carriage courtyard. The exact date of demolition is uncertain. A press report in 1933 stated that it was intended to demolish the house, but not until May 1937 does another report mention that demolition had taken place; some of the doorcases are said to have been reused in the extension and refitting of Stancombe Park (Glos), which seem to have been underway in 1936.

The Ridge: unexecuted scheme for a replacement house designed by Peter Yiangou, 2009. Image: Peter Yiangou.

In the 1960s the abandoned and ruinous carriage court was restored as a holiday home for Raymond Cory, but when his daughters came to sell the estate in the early 21st century, they increased the value of the property by obtaining planning permission for the building of a new classical country house on the site of The Ridge, to the designs of Peter Yiangou. This would have emulated the external appearance of the Repton house - without being a precise copy - but not its internal layout, and would have incorporated the existing house. The scheme was widely publicised as an interesting proposal at the time. However, in 2014, after the property had been sold to The Ebony Trust, they commissioned a smaller scheme in an earlier 18th century style from Quinlan & Francis Terry which was also given planning permission. Unfortunately, neither scheme has been proceeded with at the time of writing, although some minor additions and improvements have been made to the existing house.

Descent: built c.1811-17 for Edward Sheppard (d. 1849); sold following his bankruptcy in 1837 to George Bengough (d. 1856); to son, George Henry Bengough (d. 1865); to brother, John Charles Bengough (1829-1913), who moved out in 1884 in favour of his son, John Alan George Bengough (1859-99); to trustees for son, John Crosbie Bengough (1888-1916); to brother, Wing-Cdr. Nigel James Bengough (1895-1980), who sold between 1921 and 1934 to Charles Kingsley Cory (1890-1967), who demolished the house c.1934; to son, Raymond Cory (1922-2007); to daughters, who sold 2009 to The Ebony Trust. From 1895 to about 1916 the house was let to Col. Parkinson and his son, Thomas Parkinson, solicitor. 

Bengough family of The Ridge

Bengough, Rev. George (1705?-53). Almost certainly the son of Henry Bengough (d. 1740) of Worcester, baptised at the Angel St. Independent Chapel, Worcester, 22 March 1704/5. Presbyterian minister at Tewkesbury (Glos), who evidently also had links with the Barton St. Chapel in Gloucester as the registers of that church include a note of the baptisms of most of his children at Tewkesbury. He married, 13 March 1734/5 at Tirley (Glos), Elizabeth, daughter of James Pinnock alias Pynock of Bristol, and had issue:

(1) Henry Bengough (1739-1818) (q.v.);

(2) James Bengough (b. 1742), baptised in the Presbyterian church at Tewkesbury, 19 March 1741/2;

(3) Ann Bengough (c.1744-1819), born about 1744; married, 9 November 1780 at Stapleton (Glos), Richard Rickets (1747-1818), and had issue two sons and two daughters; buried  5 November 1819;

(4) George Bengough (b. 1745); baptised at the Presbyterian church in Tewkesbury, 26 March 1744/5; died young;

(5) Elizabeth Bengough (b. 1747), baptised in the Presbyterian church at Tewkesbury, 9 November 1747; died young;

(6) Elizabeth Bengough (1749-61), baptised in the Presbyterian church at Tewkesbury, 15 November 1749; died young and was buried at Tewkesbury, 4 May 1761;

(7) George Bengough (1751-1804) (q.v.).

He lived at Tewkesbury.

His will was proved in the PCC, 1 January 1753. His widow's date of death is unknown.

Bengough, Henry (1739-1818).  Eldest son of Rev. George Bengough (1705?-53) and his wife Elizabeth Pynock, born 1739. Articled clerk to William Cadell of Bristol, attorney, who after serving his apprenticeship became a leading solicitor in Bristol, acting for many of the chief merchant families in the city, and being for some years Under-Sheriff of the City. He was also one of the founding partners in the Bristol City Bank, 1794. An alderman of Bristol Corporation (Sheriff, 1789; Mayor, 1792-93), he was regarded as the dominant public figure in Bristol in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. After retiring from legal practice he became a JP for Bristol. He was a Unitarian in religion. He married, 10 April 1760 at Christ Church, Bristol, Joanna (1739-1821), daughter of William Cadell of Bristol, attorney, and had issue:

(1) Mary Bengough (1761-96), baptised at Lewins Mead Unitarian Chapel, 9 February 1761; died unmarried and was buried at Lewins Mead Unitarian Chapel, 28 December 1796;

(2) Alice Bengough (b. 1764), baptised at Lewins Mead Unitarian Chapel, 13 November 1764; probably died young;

(3) George Bengough (1772-1811?), baptised at Lewins Mead Unitarian Chapel, 20 February 1772; possibly the man of this name who was buried at St Swithin, Walcot, Bath (Som.), 5 November 1811;

(4) Henry Hett Bengough (b. 1776), baptised at Lewins Mead Unitarian Chapel, 20 June 1776; probably died young.

He lived in Queen Square, Bristol, and also acquired a seat at Westbury-on-Trym (Glos).

He died 10 April 1818 and was buried in the Lord Mayor's Chapel, Bristol, where he is commemorated by a monument designed by Sir Francis Chantrey. He left a long and complex will which was proved in the PCC but led to lengthy litigation in Chancery, finally decided by the House of Lords. By his will he left a sum to endow an almshouse charity (Bengough's Almshouses) in Bristol. His widow was buried in the family vault at Lewins Mead Unitarian Chapel, 23 June 1821; her will was proved in the PCC, 28 June 1821.

Bengough, George (1751-1804). Fourth and youngest son of Rev. George Bengough (1705?-53) and his wife Elizabeth Pynock, born at Tewkesbury (Glos), 7 November, and baptised in the Presbyterian chapel there, 2 December 1751. Apprenticed to Samuel Fripp of Bristol, soap boiler and tallow chandler, 1768, but there seems to be no evidence that he pursued a commercial career: in the few contemporary references to him he is described as a gentleman. He married, 1 March 1791 at St James, Bristol, Ann (1757-1835), daughter of Samuel Fripp (1723-94) of Bristol, and had issue:

(1) George Bengough (1794-1856) (q.v.);

(2) Henry Bengough (1795-1848), born 10 January 1795; married, 15 June 1826 at Bathwick (Som.), Louisa (1796-1871), daughter of Joseph Chapman, and had issue three sons; died 20 November and was buried at Widcombe (Som.), 25 November 1848; will proved in the PCC, 14 December 1848;

(3) Samuel Bengough (1797-1802), born 31 December 1797 and baptised at Lewins Mead Unitarian Chapel, Bristol, 11 May 1798; died young and was buried at Lewins Mead Unitarian Chapel, Bristol, 30 October 1802;

(4) James Bengough (1799-1825), born 2 April 1799; married, 3 February 1825 at St Augustine-the-Less, Bristol, Sarah Taprell (1801-68), and had issue one daughter (born posthumously); died 4 December and was buried at Lewins Mead Unitarian Chapel, Bristol, 15 December 1825; administration of his goods was granted to his widow;

(5) Anne Elizabeth Bengough (1801-33), born 5 December 1801; married, 2 August 1827 at St James, Bristol, William Ignatius Okely (1804-59), architect, partner of James Foster of Bristol, architect until 1837 and later a Moravian minister, son of Rev. Dr. William Okely of Mirfield (Yorks WR), Moravian minister, but had no issue; buried in the Moravian Church burial ground, Upper Maudlin St., Bristol, 19 May 1833.

He lived in Bristol.

He died 7 April and was buried at Lewins Mead Unitarian Chapel, Bristol, 16 April 1804; his will was proved in the PCC, 3 October 1804. His widow died 6 January 1835 and was buried in the Moravian Church burial ground, Upper Maudlin St., Bristol; her will was proved in the PCC, 4 February 1835.

Bengough, George (1794-1856). Eldest son of George Bengough (1751-1804) of Bristol and his wife Ann, daughter of Samuel Fripp of Bristol, born 2 January and baptised at Lewins Mead Unitarian Chapel, 6 February 1794. Solicitor in Bristol; admitted to Lincoln's Inn, 1826. A member of the Common Council of the City of Bristol from 1829 (High Sheriff, 1831-32) and a Trustee of the Bristol Municipal Charities, 1836-52; JP for Bristol; High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, 1846-47. Secretary of the Bristol Theological Lecture Fund and the Bristol Asylum for the Blind. He was a Liberal in politics and a Unitarian in religion, and an an opponent of slavery, being one of those who petitioned the mayor of Bristol to hold a public meeting in favour of abolition throughout the British dominions, 1828. He married, 2 August 1826 at St Andrew, Clifton, Bristol, Anne (1802-75), daughter of Capt. John Cooke Carpenter RN, and had issue:

(1) George Henry Bengough (1828-65) (q.v.);

(2) John Charles Bengough (1829-1913) (q.v.);

(3) Emily Mary Agnes Josephine Bengough (1831-77), born 3 January and baptised at St Andrew, Clifton, Bristol, 31 May 1831; died unmarried at St Mary Church (Devon), 2 February 1877; will proved 23 March 1877 (effects under £5,000);

(4) Isabella Bengough (1833-99), baptised at St Andrew, Clifton, Bristol, 3 July 1833; after her father's death, lived with her youngest brother and presumably acted as his housekeeper; died unmarried at Hemingby, 14 April 1899; will proved 10 June 1899 and 18 September 1901 (estate £5,544);

(5) Gertrude Anne Bengough (1834-61), born 10 November 1834 and baptised at St James, Bristol, 17 June 1835; died unmarried and was buried at Wotton-under-Edge, 23 March 1861; administration of goods granted to her brother John, 24 January 1876 (effects under £5,000);

(6) Maj-Gen. Sir Harcourt Mortimer Bengough (1837-1922), kt., born 25 November 1837; educated at Rugby; army officer (Ensign, 1855; Lt., 1855; Capt., 1864; Maj., 1878; Lt-Col. 1881; Col., 1883; Brig-Gen., 1886; Maj-Gen., 1894), who served in the Crimean War, First Zulu War and Third Anglo-Burmese War (mentioned in despatches, 1886); appointed CB 1886 and KCB, 1908; published Memories of a soldier's life (1913); married, 22 December 1876 at Yorktown (Surrey), Christina (1852-1938), daughter of Henry Maybery of Ely Tower, Brecon (Brecons.), and had issue four sons; died at Bognor Regis (Sussex), 30 March 1922; will proved 21 April 1922 (estate £464);

(7) Rev. Edward Stewart Bengough (1839-1920), born July and baptised at Wotton-under-Edge, 18 October 1839; educated at Oriel College, Oxford (matriculated 1858; BA 1861; MA 1865; BMus, 1872); ordained deacon, 1863 and priest, 1864; curate in Kidderminster (Worcs), 1863-66, Weston-in-Gordano (Som.), 1866-68 and St Thomas, Oxford, 1868-73; chaplain and precentor of King's College, Cambridge, 1873-75; rector of Hemingby (Lincs), 1876-91 and  Horncastle (Lincs), 1881-1914; a composer of musical works, including a setting of God save the king for four voices (1902) and a Te Deum (1910); died unmarried, 20 July 1920; will proved 23 November 1920 (estate £1,186);

(8) Harriott Caroline Bengough (1842-44), born 14 December 1842; died in infancy and was buried at Uley (Glos), 24 February 1844.

He was heir to his uncle, Henry Bengough of Bristol, solicitor and partner in the Bristol City Bank. In the 1830s he lived at Cotham Lodge, Bristol. He purchased The Ridge in 1837 and the manor of Gaunts Earthcott at Almondsbury in 1838, and also acquired land at Monkland (Herefs), Eastington (Glos), Shirenewton (Mon) and Cirencester (Glos). After his death his widow moved to London but soon settled at St Mary Church (Devon).

He died 25 December 1856 and was buried at Wotton-under-Edge, 2 January 1857; his will was proved in the PCC, 7 February 1857. His widow died at St Mary Church (Devon), 17 January and was buried at Torquay Cemetery, 21 January 1875; her will was proved 19 May 1875 (effects under £1,500).

Bengough, George Henry (1828-65). Eldest son of George Bengough (1794-1856) and his wife Anne, daughter of Capt. John Cooke Carpenter RN, born 24 March and baptised at St. Andrew, Clifton, Bristol (Glos), 19 May 1828. Educated at Winchester, Oriel College, Oxford (matriculated 1846; BA 1850; MA 1853) and Wells Theological College (admitted 1850). He originally intended to make a career in the church, but was persuaded instead by Thomas Barwick Lloyd-Baker of Hardwicke Court (Glos) to join him in the establishment and management of a pioneering reformatory for boys with criminal convictions at Hardwicke in 1852, of which he served as the first governor for several years before helping to establish a similar institution in Devon and then managing the Kingswood Reformatory in Gloucestershire, where he remained until his health declined. He was the first Secretary of the Reformatory Union, and was also an officer in the Royal South Gloucestershire Light Infantry Militia (Capt., 1858) and a JP for Gloucestershire. He was a radical Whig in politics. He married 1st, 22 September 1855 at St Michael, Gloucester, Harriet (1835-59), younger daughter of Dr. Thomas Evans MD, and 2nd, 11 September 1860 at Stapleton (Glos), Mary Josephine (1841-1917), eldest daughter of Rev. Joseph Henry Butterworth, vicar of Stapleton, and had issue:

(1.1) Marion Agnes Bengough (1856-96), baptised at St Michael, Gloucester, 26 November 1856; emigrated to South Africa in 1879 with her friend Elenora Catharine Cuyler and worked as a nurse at Kimberley; author of the novels So near akin (1891) and In a promised land (1893), which are respectively based on her experience of life in England and South Africa; died unmarried at Cape Town, 3 October 1896; will proved 1 December 1896 (effects £10,191);

(1.2) Amy Georgina Bengough (1857-1935), born Oct-Dec 1857 and baptised at St Peter, Bournemouth (Hants), 3 January 1858; acted as companion to her uncle, Rev. E.S. Bengough (1839-1920) at Horncastle (Lincs); died unmarried at Horncastle, 27 April 1935; will proved 22 October 1935 (estate £5,762);

(2.1) Mary George Etheldreda Bengough (1863-1936), born in Paris (France); educated at University College, Bristol; travelled to India, 1921; died unmarried, 24 January 1936; will proved 20 March 1936 (estate £18,218);

(2.2) Beatrice Eugenie Bengough (1864-1952), born in Paris, 9 June 1864 and baptised at Honfleur (France), 18 August 1864 and again at Stapleton, 18 June 1866; educated at St Mary's, Wantage; a Sister of Mercy at St Mary's Convent, Wantage; died Apr-Jun 1952.

He inherited The Ridge from his father in 1856. His widow moved to Clifton, Bristol after his death, and later to London.

He died in Florence (Italy), 22 October 1865 and was buried in the Cimitero Accotolico there. His will was proved 21 November 1865 (effects under £16,000). His first wife died at Plymouth (Devon), 5 July 1859. His widow died 16 December 1917; her will was proved 19 January 1918 (estate £15,354).

Bengough, John Charles (1829-1913). Second son of George Bengough (1794-1856) and his wife Anne, daughter of Capt. John Cooke Carpenter RN, born 20 May and baptised at St Andrew, Clifton, Bristol, 22 June 1829. Educated at Rugby and Exeter and Oriel Colleges, Oxford (matriculated 1847; BA 1851). An officer in the Royal Gloucestershire Yeomanry Cavalry (Capt., 1870; retired 1877) and 2nd (Volunteer) Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment (Capt., retired 1885). JP and DL for Gloucestershire; High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, 1877-78. He was a composer of hymn tunes and a collection of his compositions, dating from c.1890, is now in Gloucestershire Archives. He married, 9 June 1857 at Newington Bagpath (Glos), Caroline Augusta (c.1834-99), daughter of Rev. Alan Gardner Cornwall (1798-1872) of Ashcroft House (Glos), rector of Kingscote and Newington Bagpath (Glos), and had issue*:

(1) John Alan George Bengough (1859-99) (q.v.);

(2) Clement Stuart Bengough (1861-1934), born 14 January and baptised at Frampton Cotterell (Glos), 28 March 1861; educated at Marlborough College; played two first class cricket matches for Gloucestershire CCC; noted for his painful shyness, occasional fits of violent temper, vicious wolfhounds and a love of books and flowers, he was sent to America as a remittance man in about 1887 and became a rancher near Laramie, Wyoming, where he lived as a recluse in an isolated log cabin; he died 19 June 1934, his will directing that he be buried on the hillside near his cabin, where he was commemorated by a monument; his will was proved 19 November 1934 (estate in England £4,856), but he reputedly left some $40,000 in cash in America;

(3) Evelyn Caroline Bengough (1862-88), baptised at Newington Bagpath, 4 October 1862; died unmarried and was buried at Hamworthy (Dorset), 27 August 1888;

(4) Cyril Francis Bengough (1864-1931), born 31 March and baptised at Olveston (Glos), 11 May 1864; educated at Marlborough College, University College, Bristol, and the Institution of Civil Engineers (admitted 1883; MICE, 1893); civil engineer with the Tyne Commissioners, 1888-90 and North-Eastern Railway, 1890-1926, becoming their Chief Engineer; married, 30 April 1891 at Gosforth (Northbld), Agnes Elizabeth (1866-1957), eighth daughter of George Angus of Low Gosforth House, and had issue three sons and three daughters and one further child who died in infancy; lived latterly at Conderton Manor (Worcs); died 22 July and was buried at Overbury (Worcs), 26 July 1931; will proved 2 September 1931 (estate £15,164);

(5) Cecil Ann Bengough (1865-1949), born 29 August and baptised at Olveston (Glos), 25 September 1865; married, 5 April 1894 at Hamworthy (Dorset), Rev. Thomas Henry Philpot (1839-1917) of Hedge End, Botleigh (Hants), rector of Stockleigh Pomeroy (Devon), 1894-1917, but had no issue; died 3 January 1949; will proved 7 May 1949 (estate £4,637);

(6) Ernest Henry Bengough (1866-87), born 29 November 1866 and baptised at Wotton-under-Edge, 4 March 1867; educated at Rugby and Oriel College, Oxford (matriculated 1886); died unmarried and was buried at Hamworthy, 3 May 1887;

(7) Charles William Bengough (1867-97), born 22 November 1867 and baptised at Wotton-under-Edge, 21 February 1868; educated at Rugby; an officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1888; Lt., 1890); died unmarried, 26 January and was buried at Hamworthy, 29 January 1897; administration of goods granted to his father, 12 March 1897 (effects £162);

(8) twin, Emily Marguerite Bengough (1869-1961), born 23 October and baptised at Wotton-under-Edge, 17 December 1869; died unmarried, aged 92, 28 November 1961; will proved 5 February 1962 (estate £479);

(9) twin, Eleanor Daisy Bengough (1869-87), born 23 October and baptised at Wotton-under-Edge, 17 December 1869; died unmarried of tuberculosis, 9 October, and was buried at Hamworthy, 14 October 1887;

(10) Alan John Bengough (1872-1913), born 16 December 1872 and baptised at Wotton-under-Edge, 1 April 1873; lived at Latteridge, Iron Acton (Glos); died 26 August and was buried at Iron Acton, 30 August 1913; will proved 29 September 1913 (estate £1,020).

He inherited The Ridge from his elder brother in 1865, but handed it over to his eldest son in 1884, and lived subsequently at Upton House, Poole (Dorset) and Southampton.

He died 19 March 1913 and left instructions that his body should be cremated; his will was proved 26 September 1913 (estate £43,102). His wife died at Upton House, Poole, 7 April 1899.

* The couple also had a stillborn son in 1858.

Bengough, John Alan George (1859-99). Eldest son of John Charles Bengough (1829-1913) and his wife Caroline Augusta, daughter of Rev. Alan Gardner-Cornwall, rector of Kingscote and Newington Bagpath (Glos), born 14 July and baptised at Newington Bagpath, 21 August 1859. Educated at Eton and Exeter College, Oxford (matriculated 1878; BA 1884; MA 1886). An officer in the 2nd Gloucestershire Volunteer Rifles (Lt., 1882; Capt., 1889; retired 1889). JP (from 1884) and DL (from 1882) for Gloucestershire. He married, 10 November 1887 at Ballyheigue (Co. Kerry), Rose Margaret Anne (1863-1941), second daughter of Col. James Crosbie of Ballyheigue Castle, and had issue:

(1) John Crosbie Bengough (1888-1916) (q.v.);

(2) Evelyn Rose Bengough (1889-1971), born 23 November 1889 and baptised at Newington Bagpath (Glos), 10 January 1890; educated at Royal Academy of Music (LRAM); served in First World War as a nurse in France with the British Red Cross; after the war she became a music teacher at Petworth (Sussex); lived later at The Priory, Buckland Dinham (Som.); died unmarried, 16 May 1971; will proved 8 September 1971 (estate £5,577);

(3) Gwenda Kathleen Bengough (1892-1976), born 21 May 1892; lived with her elder sister at Buckland Dinham; died unmarried, 24 March 1976; will proved 21 May 1976 (estate £27,474);

(4) Nigel James Bengough (1895-1980) (q.v.);

(5) Madeleine Lois Bengough (1898-1981), born 1 April and baptised at Newington Bagpath, 26 April 1898; lived with her elder sister at Buckland Dinham; died unmarried, 7 December 1981; will proved 26 April 1982 (estate £29,149).

He occupied The Ridge from 1884-95 and then moved to the dower house, The Ridings. After his death his widow declined to stay on the estate and it was subsequently tenanted. She lived subsequently at various addresses including Tocknells House, Painswick (Glos), The Abbey, Cranbrook (Kent) and Pallingham Manor, Petworth (Sussex).

He died of tuberculosis in the lifetime of his father, 24 November, and was buried at Wotton-under-Edge, 29 November 1899; administration of his effects was granted to his widow, 9 March 1900 (effects £74). His widow died 24 January 1941; her will was proved 30 September 1941 (estate £4,584).

John Crosbie Bengough (1888-1916) 

Bengough, John Crosbie (1888-1916). Elder son of John Alan George Bengough (1859-99) and his wife Rose Margaret Anne, second daughter of Col. James Crosbie of Ballyheigue Castle (Co. Kerry), baptised at Newington Bagpath (Glos), 29 November 1888. Educated at Rugby and Emmanuel College, Cambridge (matriculated 1908; BA 1911). He was entered for the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich but failed an eyesight test and went to Cambridge instead. After taking his degree he went out to the Transvaal to farm, but returned in 1913 and joined the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars (2nd Lt., 1913; T/Capt., 1915; mentioned in despatches), serving as ADC to General Peyton. He was a freemason from 1914. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited The Ridge on the death of his grandfather in 1913, but never moved into the house.

He was killed in action in a cavalry charge on the western frontier in Egypt, 26 February 1916, and was buried at the Chatby Military Cemetery, Alexandria (Egypt); he is commemorated by a monument at Wotton-under-Edge. Administration of his goods was granted to his mother, 2 September 1916 (estate £5,824).

Nigel James Bengough (1895-1980) 

Bengough, Nigel James (1895-1980). Second son of John Alan George Bengough (1859-99) and his wife Rose Margaret Anne, second daughter of Col. James Crosbie of Ballyheigue Castle (Co. Kerry), born 4 January and baptised at Newington Bagpath (Glos), 4 March 1895. Educated at Haileybury College and the Royal School of Mines. An officer in the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry (2nd Lt., 1914; Lt. 1916; retired as Hon. Capt. 1917), who obtained a pilot's licence in 1915 and was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps (Flying Offr, 1915; Flight Cdr., 1916) in the First World War; an officer in the Royal Air Force (Pilot Offr., 1939; Fl. Offr., 1940; Fl. Lt., 1942; Sq. Ldr., 1944; retired as Wing Cdr., 1944) in the Second World War. He was an enthusiastic and successful archer, winning several trophies from the 1920s to the 1950s. In retirement, he became Chairman of Herefordshire Community Council and Master of the Guild of Hereford Craftsmen. He married, 4 September 1924, Alice Ernestine (1893-1982), second daughter of Sir George Albu (1857-1935), 1st bt., the German-born South African diamond magnate, and had issue:

(1) Jane Bengough (1926-2006), born 5 October 1926; married, 15 July 1952, as his third wife, Richard Bridges St. John Quarry OBE (1912-2002) of Gaddeshill House, Eversley (Hants), company director, son of Maj. St John S. Quarry, and had issue one son and one daughter; died 9 May 2006; will proved 19 December 2006;

(2) Sir Piers Henry George Bengough (1929-2005), kt., born 24 May 1929; educated at Eton; an officer in the army, 1948-73 (2nd Lt., 1948; Lt., 1951; Capt., 1956; Maj., 1963; Lt-Col., 1971; retired 1973) and a member of the Hon. Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, 1981-99; Hon. Colonel of the Royal Hussars, 1983-90; racehorse owner and amateur jockey (he rode over thirty winners); a member of the Jockey Club from 1965; a Trustee of Ascot Racecourse, 1973-97 (Chairman, 1982-97) and Queen's Representative at Ascot, 1982-97; also a director of several other racecourses and Chairman of the Compensation Fund for Jockeys, 1981-89; appointed OBE, 1973 and KCVO, 1986; DL for Hereford & Worcester, 1987; High Sheriff of Herefordshire, 2002-03; lived at Great House, Canon Pyon (Herefs) and later Monkland (Herefs); married, 21 June 1952, the former Olympic figure skater, Bridget (1928-2019), daughter of Dr. F. Shirley Adams MD of Harley St., London and Alton House, Seaview (IoW), and had issue two sons; died 18 April 2005; will proved 21 September 2005;

He inherited The Ridge from his elder brother in 1916, but sold outlying portions of the estate comprising some 3,000 acres around Almondsbury, Winterbourne, Cirencester and Shirenewton (Mon.) in 1918 in order to meet the double death duties payable on the property following the deaths in rapid succession of his father and brother. He lived for a time at Alkerton Grange, Eastington (Glos). The Ridge itself was eventually sold privately to Charles Kingsley Cory (1890-1967). Nigel Bengough lived subsequently at Monkland (Herefs).

He died 13 February 1980; his will was proved 1 August 1980 (estate £229,889). His widow died 16 November 1982; her will was proved 11 April 1983 (estate £181,802).

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1972, p.60; E.S. Lindley, A History of Wotton‑under‑Edge, 1956, pp. 325‑7; Caspar Star-Tribune, 27 February 1972, p. 58; G. Masefield, Wotton under Edge: a century of change, 1980, p. 92; N.W. Kingsley, The country houses of Gloucestershire: vol. 2, 1660-1830, 1992, pp. 209-11; N. Temple, George Repton’s Pavilion Notebook, 1993, pp. 9-10; J. Lyes, A strong smell of brimstone: the solicitors and attorneys of Bristol, 1740-1840, 1999.

Location of archives

No significant accumulation is known to survive. Some papers may remain with the family.

Coat of arms

Argent, three lions' heads erased sable, each charged with an ermine spot or; on a chief indented of the second, three crosses pattée of the first.

Can you help?

• If anyone knows more about the will of Henry Bengough (1739-1818) than I have discovered, and especially about how far it benefited his nephew George and subsequent generations of the family, I should be very pleased to hear from them.
• Does anyone know why J.C. Bengough moved out of The Ridge in 1884 in favour of his eldest son?
• 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 September 2023 and updated 27 December 2023 and 24 February 2024. I am most grateful to Thoss Shearer for sharing his research on The Ridge with me, and to George Hudson and Peter Bowen for additional information.