(591) Berney of Reedham, Kirby Bedon and Barton Bendish, baronets

Berney baronets

The Berneys are one of the most ancient of Norfolk families. Blomefield believed they could trace their origin to the village of Berney (now Barney in Fulmodeston), where the first of the family to be mentioned was Adam de Berney in the late 12th century, but the early references he found did not allow him to construct a coherent pedigree before the time of Sir Thomas de Berney (d. 1389). He married the daughter and heiress of Sir William de Redham, through which the family acquired their estate at Reedham on the River Yare, close to the Suffolk border. In the genealogy below, I take up the story with Henry Berney (d. 1585), who built a new seat on his Reedham estate, which seems to be the first property of the family that could be defined as a country house, although we have no visual image of it. Henry was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir Thomas Berney (1565-1616), kt., who was knighted as part of the Coronation celebrations of King James I in 1603, and served as High Sheriff of Norfolk in 1610-11. The family seem to have been on an upward social trajectory at this time, and Sir Thomas, his siblings and his children mostly made marriages with other county gentry families. His two eldest sons having died without issue in his lifetime, Sir Thomas was succeeded by his third son, Sir Richard Berney (c.1594-1668), 1st bt., who was raised to a baronetcy in 1620 and served as High Sheriff in 1622-23. He was a Parliamentarian in the Civil War, as the majority of Norfolk gentry were, but he is not known to have played any particular role in either the fighting or county governance. Unfortunately, he fell out with his eldest son over the latter's desire to become a lawyer and to choose his own wife, and disinherited him, so at his death the Reedham estate passed to his second son, Richard Berney (c.1621-80), while the baronetcy passed to the spurned eldest son, Sir Thomas Berney (c.1619-94), 2nd bt. Richard Berney was High Sheriff in 1662-63 and 1669-70, but proved to be a poor choice of custodian for the Reedham estate, as he burned his way through a large cash legacy in little more than a decade. At his death he did make some provision for the younger children of his elder brother, but the funds were left in the hands of his own son, Richard Berney (1650-95), who continued the dissipation of the estate, and they were still unpaid when he in turn died fifteen years later. The younger Richard left large debts and had no choice but to instruct his executors to sell the Reedham estate to meet them and to finally pay the outstanding legacies.

The third son of the 1st baronet was John Berney (d. 1689), who lived at Westwick (Norfk), but inherited the manor of Elsing (Norfk) in right of his wife. He in turn had two sons: John, who inherited the Westwick and Elsing estates, which were later divided between his two daughters; and Richard Berney (1674-1738), a lawyer and leading figure in Norwich, who acted as Clerk of the Peace for Norfolk. Richard also inherited the Langley Park estate from another branch of the Berney family, which had held it since the dissolution of the monasteries, and probably around 1730, he built a new two storey house at Langley, which had a five-bay entrance front and seven-bay garden front.

Langley Park: the house after enlargement in c.1742-44.

Perhaps partly through the expense of building, Richard became financially over-extended, and in 1736 he went bankrupt. He died not long afterwards, and the Langley Park estate was sold in 1739 and the house greatly enlarged to the design of Matthew Brettingham in c.1742-44.

To revert to the main line of the family, Sir Thomas Berney (c.1619-94), 2nd bt., did get to study law but not to marry the girl he wanted, and indeed he did not marry at all until 1653, when he made a match with a daughter of the governor of the Landguard Fort in Suffolk. They settled in Colchester and later in Norwich, where Sir Thomas probably worked as a solicitor, and had a family of six sons and five daughters. In 1655 he bought an estate at Barton Bendish on the edge of the fens, but this seems to have been an investment property and he never lived there. Several of his children died young, and one of his sons was hanged for murder, but the baronetcy and the Barton Bendish estate descended to his eldest son, Sir Richard Berney (1655-1706), 3rd bt., who followed his father into the law, married a daughter of the Branthwayte family of Hethel (Norfk), and had no less than sixteen children, including two sets of twins. By 1690 - and thus during his father's lifetime - Sir Richard had made a home at Kirby Bedon Hall, south-east of Norwich. He was at first probably a tenant, but in 1704 he purchased the freehold and the estate remained with his descendants until about 1836, when it was sold and the house demolished.

The 3rd baronet was succeeded in turn by his two eldest sons, Sir Richard Berney (1688-1711), 4th bt., who died unmarried, and Sir Thomas Berney (1690-1742), 5th bt. The latter married Elizabeth Folkes, the daughter of a Grays Inn lawyer who was also the ultimate heir to a sugar plantation in Barbados named after her grandfather, Samuel Hanson (d. 1689?), which was a financially significant addition to the family estates. The value of the property (later estimated as £2,500 a year, net) no doubt explains why Sir Thomas' heir was named Sir Hanson Berney (1722-78), 6th bt. With Sir Hanson, the family probably reached the peak of its prosperity. From his father he inherited the Kirby Bedon and Barton Bendish estates in Norfolk and the Barbados plantation, and through his marriage to Catherine Woolball he acquired Lite's Manor at Ardeley (Herts). In the early years of his marriage, and possibly later, he also maintained a town house in London. All this property he handed on to his son and heir, Sir John Berney (1757-1825), 7th bt., whose prosperity allowed him to marry into the aristocracy, in the person of Lady Henrietta Nevill, daughter of the 1st Earl of Abergavenny. Sadly, Sir John quickly ran up huge debts, presumably through gambling, and as early as 1789 his affairs were placed in the hands of trustees, who sold Lite's Manor in 1789. In 1793 his brother-in-law, the 2nd Earl, seems to have paid off some of his debts, and he resumed control of his estates, but he again fell into debt. He was obliged to sell the Barbados plantation in 1809, and the contents of Kirby Bedon Hall were auctioned off in 1816. The house itself was up for sale in 1817, but although a sale was agreed it seems to have fallen through. He may have moved to Barton Bendish Hall at that time, as his wine cellar there was sold in 1823, after which he and his family moved to Belgium, out of the reach of pressing creditors. Two of his younger sons stayed in the Brussels area for the rest of their lives and died unmarried.

Sir John's heir was his eldest son, Sir Hanson Berney (1780-1870), 8th bt., who lived at Kirby Bedon for about ten years after his father's death but then sold the estate in 1836. Although he retained some ties to Norfolk, he leased out the Barton Bendish estate and lived at Twycross (Leics) until around 1867, when he moved to Beaumaris in Anglesey. Under his long tenure as head of the family, its financial position seems to have stabilised somewhat, although the Barton estate may have remained mortgaged. Sir Hanson was married twice, but his only child was a son by his second wife, Sir Henry Hanson Berney (1843-1907), 9th bt., who took advantage of living in Anglesey to indulge a passion for yachting. After his father's death, however, the impact of the Agricultural Depression on his income meant this was a luxury he could no longer afford, and he and his family moved frequently from one rented property to another. His eldest son, Capt. Thomas Hugh Berney (1866-1900), was killed in the Boer War and so the 9th baronet's heir was his grandson, Sir Thomas Reedham Berney (1893-1975), 10th bt., who came of age in 1914 and sold the Barton Bendish estate soon afterwards. That ended the family's connection with Norfolk, but the baronetcy continues, having been inherited on the 10th baronet's death in 1975 by his grandson, Sir Julian Reedham Stuart Berney (b. 1952). who now lives in Essex.

Park Hall (later Reedham Hall), Reedham, Norfolk

The house is said to have been built for Henry Berney (1524-85) in 1557. It replaced the Old Hall (which they had held since 1357) at the east end of Reedham village, which was right on the edge of the Yare floodplain. The new house stood on slightly higher land and was perhaps thought to be in a rather healthier situation. Little is known of its appearance, except that it is said to have had two flanking towers.  Aerial photographs of 1953 show the earthworks of ditches, possibly relating to a moat or garden features, and a building platform. The Tudor house remained until 1750, when it was said to have burnt down. A new house was built on the same site for the Leathes family, which probably incorporated some portions of the earlier building, but map evidence and descriptions from 19th century letting particulars suggest that it was a large farmhouse rather than a country house.

Reedham Hall: plan of site in 1884.

In 1848, although approached by 'a fine avenue of handsome trees' and possessed of a lodge, shrubbery and pleasure grounds, the house had only six bedrooms. By the later 19th century it was a tenanted farm and the rebuilt Old Hall had resumed its position as the principal residence in the parish. The 18th century farmhouse was pulled down between 1937 and 1946 when Reedham Hall Farm was acquired by the English Beet Sugar Corporation Ltd., and replaced by a series of large sheds and yards. 

Descent: built for Henry Berney (1524-85); to son, Sir Thomas Berney (1565-1615), kt.; to son, Sir Richard Berney (c.1590-1668), 1st bt.; to second son, Richard Berney, who sold 1669... Sir James Edwards, kt., of London... Sir Lambert Blackwell, bt.; to son? Sir Samuel Blackwell... sold by 1739 to Carteret Leathes (1698-1780) of Oakley House, Harwich (Essex) who rebuilt it as a farmhouse; to son, John Leathes (d. 1787); to brother, George Leathes (d. 1817); to John Francis Leathes (1786-1848) of Herringfleet Hall; to brother, Henry Mussenden Leathes (1790-1864); to son, Lt-Col. Hill Mussenden Leathes (1829-1915); to son, Carteret de Mussenden Leathes (1870-1952), who sold to the English Sugar Beet Corporation.

Kirby Bedon Hall, Norfolk

A small, probably 16th century, house south of the village was expanded into a country house between 1612 and 1616 for Owen Sheppard (1561-1629). A description of the building was recorded in 1616 as 'a very fayre house new builte with lyme brick & stone', which had extensive cellars. On the ground floor were 'a fayre great hall with a chymney, a ploughmans hall, a parlour waynscotted with a chimney & a little lodging chamber by it with a chimney, a stillhouse with a furnace... a very fayre & greate study waynscotted with a great many boxes for evidence, wherein there is a chimney' and 'a lytle study... for a clerke to write in'. On the first floor was 'a fayre greate chamber & a chymney, six good lodging chambers... all with chimneys and five inward chambers to them'. The top floor had four 'lodging chambers with chymneys & 7 lodging chambers without chimneys, all well furnished', while in the attics there was ample storage space. A 'very fayre stayer case' between the parlour and the great hall gave access to the great chamber, and there was a secondary staircase adjoining the kitchen which gave access to all the floors. North of the house was 'a courte yarde walled with stone with battlements on top of the wall', together with other courts; while to the south there was 'a gardeyne fore flowers with [a] fesaunt house & partitions to keep them in'.  A large number of outbuildings included a chamber over the stables where there were nine beds for servants, and a malthouse with two guest chambers at the end. 

Kirby Bedon Hall, from an engraving published in 1781. 

The house was recorded in an engraving of 1781, which shows a house with a two-storey centre and three-storey projecting wings, a stepped gable over the centre, and battlemented parapets over the wings. The windows in the wings are shown as remarkably low and wide for the date of the house, and those on the first floor have low-pitched pediments across the whole width of the windows, in the East Anglian fashion familiar from Roos Hall, Honingham Hall and elsewhere. It is likely that the drawing rather over-emphasises the width and low height of the building, and the battlemented parapets over the wings may be a later alteration, replacing the gables which it seems likely the house had originally. By 1781, the earlier formal gardens had given way to a landscaped setting, although sale particulars of 1817 note that there were still numerous detached offices, including a dairy, granary, coach house and stables. The house still stood in a small park at the time of Bryant's map of Norfolk in 1826, but had apparently been disparked before the tithe map was drawn in 1842. When it was offered for sale in 1836 it was noted that 'a considerable sum has been expended [on the house] within a few years' and it then had fifteen bedrooms, a dining room, drawing room, library, study and 'spacious halls'. The new owner, H.J. Stracey of Rackheath Hall, had no use for the house and pulled most of it down in 1841, when there was a dispersal and demolition sale. He retained only the kitchen range (possibly the earliest, Tudor, part of the house) which was converted into labourer's cottages; these, and any other ruins of the Jacobean mansion, were pulled down in 1895.

Descent: sold 1604 to Thomas Osbourne; to son-in-law, Owen Sheppard (1561-1629), who enlarged the house; to son, Robert Sheppard... John Cock and Nicholas Rookwood...sold 1704 to Sir Richard Berney (1663-1706), 3rd bt.; to son, Sir Richard Berney (1688-1710), 4th bt.; to brother, Sir Thomas Berney (1689-1742), 5th bt.; to son, Sir Hanson Berney (1722-78), 6th bt.; to son, Sir John Berney (1757-1825), 7th bt.; to Sir Hanson Berney (1780-1870), 8th bt., who sold 1836 to H.J. Stracey, who demolished the house in 1841.

Barton Hall, Barton Bendish, Norfolk

Barton Bendish Hall: south front.

A two storey Elizabethan house of pale red brick with crowstepped gables at either end, which was enlarged and remodelled by James & Turner of Norwich in 1856; it is not clear whether the alterations were undertaken for the Berney estate (which invested heavily in cottages around this time) or for the tenant, Charles Muskett. The Victorian additions comprise three gabled ranges of different heights with their roof ridges at right-angles to the original Elizabethan range. The southernmost Victorian range has two dormers with stepped gables and is stepped back a little from the gable-end of the Elizabethan wing, which therefore appears as a cross-wing. The house now has Victorian mullioned and transomed windows under hood-moulds throughout. A circuitous drive originally led through the modest grounds from a lodge north of the house to a main entrance by the porch on the west side of the house, but in more recent years this has become the garden front and the house is now entered on the north.

Descent: sold 1665 to Sir Richard Berney (1663-1706), 3rd bt.; to son, Sir Richard Berney (1688-1710), 4th bt.; to brother, Sir Thomas Berney (1689-1742), 5th bt.; to son, Sir Hanson Berney (1722-78), 6th bt.; to son, Sir John Berney (1757-1825), 7th bt.; to Sir Hanson Berney (1780-1870), 8th bt.; to son, Sir Henry Hanson Berney (1843-1907), 9th bt.; to grandson, Sir Thomas Reedham Berney (1893-1975), 10th bt., who sold...

The house was let for most of the 19th century.

Langley Park, Norfolk

This house has been described in a previous post.

Berney family of Reedham, Kirby Bedon and Barton Bendish, baronets

Berney, Henry (d. 1585). Only son of John Berney (d. 1557) of Reedham and his first wife, Margaret, daughter of William Reade of Beccles (Suffk), variously said to have been born between 1524 and 1540. A Commissioner of Sewers for Norfolk. He married, 22 March 1562 at Dartford (Kent), Alice, daughter of Roger Appleton of Combe (Essex), and had 'a numerous issue' including:

(1) Anne Berney (b. c.1563), born about 1563; married, October 1585, Thomas Guybon (1561-1605) (who m2, 1600 at Oby (Norfk), Audrey (b. 1565), daughter and coheir of John Clippesby of Oby, and had further issue two sons), eldest son of Humphrey Guybon of Castle Acre (Norfk), and had issue six sons and two daughters; died before 1600;

(2) Sir Thomas Berney (1565-1616), kt. (q.v.);

(3) Margaret Berney (c.1566-1641?), born about 1566; married, 10 November 1586, as his second wife, Edward Paston (1550-1630) of Thorpe Hall and Appleton Hall (Norfk), and had issue five sons and four daughters; buried at Blofield (Norfk), 1641, where she is commemorated by a floor slab erected by her son;

(4) Henry Berney; said to have married Mary Tyrwhitt of Hadderstone and Ripon (Yorks WR);

(5) John Berney; said to have married Mary, daughter of Sir Francis Cursoun, and had issue one son;

(6) Edward Berney;

(7) Richard Berney;

(8) Mary Berney; married [forename unknown] Elstoff.

He inherited the Reedham estate from his father, but built a new house called Park Hall on a site north of the village where he created an enclosed park.

He died 4 March 1584/5 and was buried at Reedham, where he is commemorated by a fine monument erected by his widow; his will was proved 9 May 1585 and an inquisition post mortem was held at Norwich, 27 July 1585. His widow's date of death is unknown.

Berney, Sir Thomas (1565-1616), kt. Eldest son of Henry Berney (d. 1585) and his wife Alice, daughter of Roger Appleton of Combe (Essex), born 1565. He was one of the large group of £40 freeholders knighted before the coronation of King James I, 23 July 1603. High Sheriff of Norfolk, 1610-11. He married, c.1589, Juliana (c.1568-1645), daughter of Sir Thomas Gawdy (d. 1588) of Redenhall (Norfk), justice of Common Pleas, and had issue:

(1) William Berney (c.1590-c.1615); married, 1614 (licence 4 January 1613/4) at Stondon (Herts), Bridget (1596-1653) (who m2, William Skinner (1596-1627), MP for Grimsby, 1626, son of Sir Vincent Skinner of Thornton College (Lincs), and had issue three sons and four daughters), daughter of Sir Edward Coke, lord chief justice, but had no issue; died in the lifetime of his father, about 1615;

(2) John Berney (b. c.1592); died unmarried in the lifetime of his father;

(3) Sir Richard Berney (c.1594-1668), 1st bt. (q.v.);

(4) Thomas Berney (c.1596-1673) [for whom see my forthcoming post on the Berneys of Gowthorpe Manor and Bracon Hall etc.];

(5) Frances Berney (c.1600-67), born about 1600; married, 31 July 1622 at Tottenham (Middx), Sir Edward Barkham (c.1595-1667) of Southacre (Norfk), MP for Boston, 1625-26, and had issue five sons and eleven daughters; buried at Southacre, 25 July 1667.

He inherited Park Hall, Reedham from his father in 1584. His widow lived at Swardeston (Norfk).

He died in 1616. His widow was buried 11 February 1645; her will was proved in Norwich, 1645.

Berney, Sir Richard (c.1594-1668), 1st bt. Third, but eldest surviving, son of Sir Thomas Berney (1565-1615), kt., and his wife Juliana, daughter of Sir Thomas Gawdy of Redenhall (Norfk), born about 1594. He was created a baronet, 5 May 1620. High Sheriff of Norfolk, 1622. He supported the parliamentary faction during the Civil War and was a member of the County Committee for Norfolk, but seems not to have taken a very active part in its work. He married, c.1618, Anne (1590-1652), daughter of Michael Smallpage (d. 1594) of Chichester (Sussex), and had issue, with several further daughters, whose names seem not to be recorded:

(1) Sir Thomas Berney (c.1619-94), 2nd bt. (q.v.);

(2) Richard Berney (c.1621-80) (q.v.);

(3) John Berney (1623-89) [for whom see below, Berney of Westwick and Langley]; 

(4) William Berney (c.1627-58); married, 8 January 1651/2 at Elsing (Norfk), Philippa (d. 1701) (who m2, 16 May 1661, William Bladwell (d. 1697) of Swannington (Norfk), and had further issue two sons and two daughters), a daughter of Thomas Browne of Elsing Hall (Norfk), and had issue one son and one daughter; died aged 31 and was buried at Elsing, 27 August 1658; will proved 17 December 1658;

(5) Henry Berney; died unmarried;

(6) Edmond Berney (b. 1628), baptised at St Margaret, Westminster (Middx), 25 February 1627/8; said to have died in infancy;

(7) Elizabeth Berney (fl. 1669).

He inherited Park Hall, Reedham from his father in 1616. Having fallen out with his eldest son, he left most of his property at his death to his second son, Richard Berney. He purchased an estate at Westwick and Bromholm which he bequeathed to his third son, John.

He died 'aged 74', and was buried at Reedham, 2 January 1668/9; his will was proved 21 January 1669 and 25 June 1701. His wife was buried at Reedham, 12 October 1652.

Berney, Richard (c.1621-80). Second son of Sir Richard Berney (c.1594-1668), 1st bt., and his wife Anne, daughter of Michael Smallpage of Chichester (Sussex), born c.1621. Educated at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (matriculated 1639) and Grays Inn (admitted 1640). High Sheriff of Norfolk, 1662-63 and 1669-70. He married, 27 June 1649 at Southwood (Norfk), Mary (c.1632-91), daughter of Sir Jacob Garrard (1586-1666), kt. and later 1st bt., of Plaistow (Essex) and Langford St. Andrew (Norfk), a rich London merchant, and had issue:

(1) Richard Berney (1650-95), born at Plaistow (Essex), 1650; educated at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (matriculated 1669); High Sheriff of Norfolk, 1692-93; inherited the Park Hall, Reedham estate, which reputedly yielded some £7,000 a year, from his father, but dissipated his estate and directed his executors to sell it to pay his debts; married, 10 June 1692 at St Nicholas Cole Abbey, London, possibly as his second wife*, Elizabeth Cowan (b. c.1665), by whom he had issue one son; died 18 October 1695 and was buried at Reedham, where he is commemorated by a floor slab; will proved in the PCC, 7 December 1695.

He inherited Park Hall, Reedham, from his father in 1668, and reputedly some £50,000 in cash, which he squandered.

He died 28 January 1679/80 and was buried at Reedham, where he is commemorated by a floor slab; his will was proved in the PCC, 6 February 1679/80. His widow died 18 March, and was buried at Reedham, 20 March 1691/2.

* He is described as 'widower' in the parish register, but no earlier marriage has been traced.

Berney, Sir Thomas (c.1619-94), 2nd bt. Eldest son of Sir Richard Berney (c.1594-1668), 1st bt., and his wife Anne, daughter of Michael Smallpage of Chichester (Sussex), born c.1619. Educated at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (matriculated 1637) and Grays Inn (admitted 1637). He fell out with his father over his desire to study law and his choice of marriage partner, and was disinherited. He eventually married, 15 September 1653 at St Mary-in-the-Marsh, Norwich, Sarah (1630-1712), daughter of Thomas Tyrell, governor of the Landguard Fort, Felixstowe (Suffk), and had issue:

(1) Ann Berney (b. 1654), baptised at St Peter, Colchester, 29 September 1654; 

(2) Sir Richard Berney (1655-1706), 3rd bt. (q.v.);

(3) Sarah Berney (1659-65), baptised at St Peter, Colchester, 26 February 1658/9; died young and was buried at Colchester, 9 February 1664/5;

(4) Elizabeth Berney (b. 1661), baptised at St Peter, Colchester, 24 February 1660/1;

(5) Thomas Berney (1663-84), baptised at St Peter, Colchester (Essex), 17 April 1663; educated at Norwich, Kings Lynn, Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (matriculated 1680) and Grays Inn (admitted 1681); described as 'hot-headed, poor with money and quick to anger', he was hanged at Norwich for the murder of Capt. Thomas Bedingfield during a drunken brawl in Norwich, 8 September 1684;

(6) John Berney (1665-1719), baptised at St Peter, Colchester, 16 March 1664/5; lived at Weasenham (Norfk); married Philippa, daughter of Thomas Browne of Elsing (Norfk), and had issue three sons and three daughters; died 1719; will proved in the PCC, 17 December 1719;

(7) Rev. William Berney (1668-1748), baptised at Lexden (Essex), 19 March 1667/8; educated at Norwich, Kings Lynn, Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (matriculated 1685; LLB 1690); Fellow of Gonville & Caius College, 1691-93; ordained priest, 1693; vicar of Worstead (Norfk), 1693-1730; rector of Stokesby and Herringby, 1730-47; married Mary, daughter of Henry Hancock, and had issue one surviving son; died 22 January 1747/8 and was buried at Worstead;

(8) Henry Berney (b. 1671), baptised at St Peter Hungate, Norwich, 8 January 1670/1; educated at Norwich, Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (matriculated 1690; BA 1694) and Grays Inn (admitted 1696); probably died unmarried;

(9) Mary Berney (1672-1720), born 5 November and baptised at St Peter, Hungate, Norwich, 14 November 1672; married, 26 August 1707 at Weasenham (Norfk), as his second wife, Charles Barnwell (1679-1750) of Mileham (who m3, 30 May 1722 at Weasenham, Mary (1701-87), daughter of Rev. John Novell, and had further issue three sons and four daughters), and had issue four sons and three daughters; died 17 December 1720 and was buried at Mileham (Norfk);

(10) Sarah Berney (1674-80), baptised at St Peter Hungate, Norwich, 21 May 1674; died young, 6 July 1680 and was buried at Reedham;

(11) Charles Berney (1676-82), baptised at St Peter Hungate, Norwich, 19 September 1676; died young, 20 May 1682, and was buried at Reedham.

He lived at Colchester (Essex) and later in Norwich. He bought the Barton Bendish estate in 1665.

He was buried at Kirby Bedon, 12 March 1693/4; his will was proved in the PCC, alongside that of his son, 5 February 1713/4. His widow was buried at Kirby Bedon, 11 January 1711/12.

Berney, Sir Richard (1655-1706), 3rd bt. Eldest son of Sir Thomas Berney (c.1619-94) and his wife Sarah, daughter of Thomas Tyrell of Essex, born 23 September and baptised at St Peter, Colchester (Essex), 28 September 1655. Educated at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (matriculated 1675) and Grays Inn (admitted 1678). He married, c.1685, Dorothy (c.1660-1711), daughter of William Branthwayte of Hethel (Norfk), and had issue:

(1) Julian Berney (f.) (c.1687-1750), eldest daughter, born about 1687 and probably baptised at Hethel, for which the registers do not survive; married, 29 February 1719/20 at Kirby Bedon, her cousin, Thomas Berney (c.1690-1745), recorder of Kings Lynn, son of John Berney (d. 1719) of Weasenham (Norfk) and a grandson of the 2nd baronet, and had issue two sons; buried at St Margaret & St Nicholas, Kings Lynn, 14 October 1750; administration of goods granted 1750/1;

(2) Sir Richard Berney (1688-1711), 4th bt. (q.v.);

(3) Sir Thomas Berney (1690-1742), 5th bt. (q.v.);

(4) twin, Rev. William Berney (1691-1714); baptised at Kirby Bedon, 18 February 1690/1; educated at Eton, Norwich and Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (matriculated 1708; LLB 1714); ordained deacon, 1714; curate of Westwick (Norfk); died unmarried and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 19 June 1714; will proved in Norwich, 1714;

(5) twin, Henry Berney (b. & d. 1691), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 18 February 1690/1; died in infancy and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 11 August 1691;

(6) Sarah Berney (1692-1701), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 1 April 1692; died young and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 12 April 1701;

(7) John Berney (b. 1693), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 30 June 1693; died young;

(8) Robert Berney (b. 1694), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 11 December 1694; living in 1705 and said to have died in Barbados;

(9) Dorothy Berney (1696-1772), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 24 January 1695/6; married, 19 June 1722 at Kirby Bedon, her first cousin, Rev. William Berney (1697-1763), rector of Newton Flotham (Norfk), 1721-63 and of Frettenham (Norfk), 1736-63, son of William Berney (1668-1748), and had issue at least two sons; will proved in the PCC, 15 September 1772;

(10) Henry Berney (1697-1729?), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 23 April 1696/7; living in 1705 and possibly the man of this name buried at Little Plumstead (Norfk), 1 May 1729;

(11) Frances Berney (1698-1713), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 3 June 1698; died young and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 9 November 1713;

(12) Rev. John Berney (1699-1782), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 11 August 1699; educated at Norwich and Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (matriculated 1717; BA 1721; MA 1724; DD 1741); Fellow of Gonville & Caius College, 1721-37; ordained deacon, 1722 and priest, 1724; rector of St Clement, Norwich, 1736, Hethersett (Norfk), 1736 and Saxlingham (Norfk), 1740-82 and Archdeacon of Norwich, 1744-82; a chaplain in ordinary to King George III; married, 9 June 1740 at Saxlingham, Elizabeth (1705-62), daughter of Very Rev. John Baron, Dean of Norwich Cathedral, but had no issue; died 13 June 1782 and was buried at Hethersett, where he and his wife are commemorated by a floor slab; will proved in the PCC, 12 July 1782;

(13) twin, Charles Berney (1700-01), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 26 November 1700; died in infancy and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 31 August 1701;

(14) twin, Branthwayt Berney (1700-01), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 26 November 1700; died in infancy and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 10 May 1701;

(15) Sarah Berney (1702-41), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 4 April 1702; lived in the precincts of Norwich Cathedral; died unmarried and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 25 February 1740/1;

(16) Elizabeth Berney (1705-83), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 12 November 1705; died unmarried and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 10 May 1783; will proved in the PCC, 6 June 1783.

He inherited the Barton Bendish estate from his father in 1693, but was living at Kirby Bedon Hall by 1690. He purchased the freehold of the Kirby Bedon estate in 1704 with money left to him by his uncle Richard Berney (d. 1679), which he did not actually receive until some time after the death of his cousin, Richard Berney (d. 1695).

He was buried at Kirby Bedon, 8 May 1706; his will was proved 5 February 1713/4. His widow was buried at Kirby Bedon on the same day as her eldest son, 8 January 1710/11.

Berney, Sir Richard (1688-1711), 4th bt. Eldest son of Sir Richard Berney (1655-1706), 3rd bt., and his wife Dorothy, daughter of William Branthwayte of Hethel (Norfk), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 12 November 1688. Educated at Eton and Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (matriculated 1706). He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Kirby Bedon Hall and the Barton Bendish estate from his father in 1706 and came of age in 1709.

He was buried at Kirby Bedon on the same day as his mother, 8 January 1710/11.

Berney, Sir Thomas (1690-1742), 5th bt. Second son of Sir Richard Berney (1655-1706), 3rd bt., and his wife Dorothy, daughter of William Branthwayte of Hethel (Norfk), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 4 March 1689/90. He married, in or before 1714, Elizabeth (fl. 1742), only daughter and heir of Simon Folkes of Grays Inn, and also eventual heir of her maternal grandfather, Samuel Hanson (d. 1689?) of Barbados, and had issue:

(1) Elizabeth Berney (b. & d. 1717), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 3 October 1717; died in infancy and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 14 October 1717;

(2) Julian Berney (1718-19), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 27 December 1718; died in infancy and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 8 January 1718/9; 

(3) Thomas Berney (d. 1721), baptism not traced but buried at Kirby Bedon, 26 January 1720/1;

(4) Sir Hanson Berney (1722-78), 6th bt. (q.v.);

(5) Rev. Richard Berney (1725-94), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 19 February 1724/5; educated at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (matriculated 1741; BA 1746; MA 1749); ordained deacon, 1748, and priest, 1749; rector of Stokesby (Norfk), 1749-94 and Bramerton (Norfk), 1756-94 and perpetual curate of Dunston (Norfk), 1761; married Mary [surname unknown] (fl. 1794); died 23 December and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 30 December 1794; will proved in the PCC, 13 January 1795;

(6) Thomas Berney (1726-27), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 23 April 1726; died in infancy and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 12 April 1727.

He inherited Kirby Bedon Hall and the Barton Bendish estate from his elder brother in 1710.

He was buried at Kirby Bedon, 19 April 1742; his will was proved in the PCC, 5 May 1742. His widow was living in 1742; her date of death is unknown.

Berney, Sir Hanson (1722-78), 6th bt. Second, but eldest surviving son of Sir Thomas Berney (1690-1742), 5th bt., and his wife Elizabeth, only daughter of Simon Folkes of Suffolk, baptised at Kirby Bedon, 13 March 1721/2. Educated at Bury GS and Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (matriculated 1738; MA 1743). Fellow of Gonville & Caius College, 1743-56. High Sheriff of Norfolk, 1762-63. He married, 8 April 1756 at Somerset House, London, Catherine (1728-92), daughter and heir of William Woolball of Walthamstow (Essex), and had issue:

(1) Sir John Berney (1757-1825), 7th bt. (q.v.);

(2) Elizabeth Berney (b. 1759), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 5 January 1759; probably died unmarried;

(3) Catherine Berney (1761-1823), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 30 September 1761; lived in Norwich; died unmarried, 21 August 1823; will proved 16 September 1823;

(4) Juliana Berney (1762-63), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 30 November 1762; died in infancy and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 8 June 1763;

(5) Hanson Berney (1764-65), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 20 July 1764; died in infancy and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 3 May 1765.

He inherited Kirby Bedon Hall and the Barton Bendish estate from his father in 1742. He also inherited Hanson's Plantation in Barbados from his wife's grandfather, which is said to have yielded £2,500 a year, and came into Lite's Manor, Ardeley (Herts) on his marriage. From 1757-61 he leased 47 Upper Grosvenor St., Westminster as a town house.

He died at Kensington (Middx) and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 5 February 1778; administration of his goods was granted 16 April 1778. His widow died 24 July and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 2 August 1792.

Berney, Sir John (1757-1825), 7th bt. Eldest and only surviving son of Sir Hanson Berney (1722-78), 6th bt., and his wife Catherine, daughter and heir of William Woolball of Walthamstow (Essex), born 11 April and baptised at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), 3 May 1757. Educated at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (matriculated 1776; MA 1778). In the 1780s, he became financially embarassed and his affairs were placed in the hands of trustees, 1789-93, after which his brother-in-law, the Earl of Abergavenny, apparently paid off his pressing debts, but for the rest of his life he remained troubled by legal suits from creditors, who ranged in scale from the mortgagees on his estates to cottagers from whom he borrowed small sums. He married, 9 September 1779 at Hingham (Norfk), Lady Henrietta (1756-1833), daughter of George Nevill (1727-85), 17th Baron Abergavenny and 1st Earl of Abergavenny, and had issue:

(1) Sir Hanson Berney (1780-1870), 8th bt. (q.v.);

(2) John Berney (1782-1835), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 7 January 1782; an officer in the Royal Navy (Lt., 1803; Cdr., 1814; retired on half-pay); perhaps the man of this name who married, 13 November 1815, at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Ann Francoise Conner (d. 1824), and had issue one daughter; died at Dunkirk (France), 31 December 1835;

(3) Henrietta Berney (b. 1783), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 28 May 1783; perhaps died young;

(4) Henry Berney (1785-1850), baptised at Kirby Bedon, 19 September 1785; died unmarried at St André near Bruges (Belgium), 29/30 September 1850; will proved 19 December 1850;

(5) Catherine Berney (b. & d. 1787), born 20 October and baptised at Kirby Bedon, 21 October 1787; died in infancy and was buried at Kirby Bedon, 23 October 1787;

(6) Elizabeth Berney (1789-1836?), born 21 May and baptised at Kirby Bedon, 4 June 1789; married, 3 June 1819 at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, Jacob van Romyn, inventor of an improved spinning machine for yarn, and lived abroad; living in 1833 and said to have died in 1836;

(7) Anna Maria (alias Mary Anne or Marianne) Berney (1792-1857?), born 8 October and baptised at St Marylebone (Middx), 10 November 1792; married, 26 February 1816 at St. Marylebone (Middx), Lt. William Paul Williams RN; said to have died in 1857;

(8) George Berney (1795-1869), baptised at Barton Bendish, 20 August 1795; died unmarried at St. André near Bruges (Belgium), 15 February 1869.

He inherited the Kirby Bedon, Barton Bendish and Lite's Manor estates and Hansons Plantation, Barbados from his father in 1778. He also inherited the major portion of the estate of his great-uncle, the Rev. John Berney, in 1782. His trustees sold Lite's Manor in 1789. He sold the Barbados property in 1810. The contents of Kirby Bedon Hall were sold in 1816, and the sale of the estate to Col. Master of Catton (Norfk) was reported in 1817 although the property seems to have remained in the possession of the Berneys until the 1830s. The contents of Barton Hall were sold in 1789 and his wine cellar there in 1823, at which time he apparently went to live in Bruges.

He died in Belgium, 4 September 1825, and was buried in the English cemetery at Bruges. His widow died at Anderlecht (Belgium), 2 April 1833 and was also buried at Bruges; her will was proved in the PCC, 13 July 1833.

Berney, Sir Hanson (1780-1870), 8th bt. Eldest son of Sir John Berney (1757-1825), 7th bt., and his wife Lady Henrietta, daughter of George Nevill, 17th Baron Bergavenny and 1st Earl of Abergavenny, born 3 December and baptised at Kirby Bedon, 18 December 1780. Educated at Christ's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1800). An officer in the West Norfolk militia (Capt., 1803; Maj., 1809); JP and DL for Norfolk. A trustee of the Norwich Equitable Assurance Office and Vice-President of the West Norfolk and Lynn Hospital. He married 1st, 20 April 1811 at St Mary, Lewisham (Kent), Anne (d. 1838), eldest daughter of Henry Tahourdin of Sydenham (Kent), and 2nd, 10 October 1843 at St Edmund the King & Martyr, London, Agnes (1800-70), daughter of Thomas Peck, tradesman, and had issue:

(2.1) Sir Henry Hanson Berney (1843-1907), 9th bt. (q.v.).

He inherited the Kirby Bedon and Barton Bendish estates from his father in 1825, but sold the former about 1836. Barton Bendish was tenanted throughout his life. After selling Kirby Bedon, he lived at Twycross (Leics) until c.1867 and later in Beaumaris (Anglesey).

He died at Beaumaris, 7 September 1870 and was buried at Barton Bendish; his will was proved 6 December 1870 (effects under £8,000). His first wife died at Lindley Hall (Leics), 14 January 1838. His second wife died 6 October 1870 and was buried at Penmon near Beaumaris (Anglesey); her will was proved 17 December 1870 (effects under £4,000).

Berney, Sir Henry Hanson (1843-1907), 9th bt. Only child of Sir Hanson Berney (1780-1870), 8th bt., and his second wife, Agnes, daughter of Thomas Peck, born 30 November and baptised at Twycross (Leics), 31 December 1843. Educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge (matriculated 1862; LLB, 1865). The Agricultural Depression had a severe effect on his finances, and he was obliged to give up his chief recreation of yachting. He married, 31 January 1866 at Twycross, Jane Dorothy (1840-1921), daughter of Rev. Andrew Bloxam (1801-78), vicar of Twycross and later rector of Harborough Magna (Warks), and had issue:

(1) Maj. Thomas Hugh Berney (1866-1900) (q.v.);

(2) Richard William Berney (1867-1945), born 20 December 1867 and baptised at Twycross, 17 May 1868; emigrated to New Zealand, 1886, and then South Africa, where he became a farmer and an officer in the South African constabulary who served in the Boer War and in German SW Africa and German E Africa in the First World War; married, 25 June 1913 at Bloomfontein (South Africa), Maria Theresa, daughter of Rev. Leslie Carter, rector of Eglish (Co. Armagh), but had no issue; died 1945;

(3) John Hanson Berney (1868-1959), born 22 November 1868 and baptised at Twycross, 8 August 1869; emigrated to New Zealand, 1886; married, April 1900, Margaret (1880-1948), daughter of Sinclair George of New Zealand, and had issue four sons and two daughters; died at Masterton (NZ), 26 May 1959 and was buried at Wairarapa (NZ), where he and his wife were commemorated by a monument;

(4) Robert Henry Berney (1871-1961), born 5 May and baptised at Harborough Magna (Warks), 2 July 1871; educated at United Services College, Westward Ho! (Devon) and Trinity Hall, Cambridge (matriculated 1890; BA 1894; MA 1916); schoolmaster at Godstowe School and later headmaster of St George's Lower School, Harpenden (Herts); served in First and Second World Wars; married 1st, 24 December 1904 at Christ Church, Edinburgh (Midl.), Edith Ann (1865-1937), youngest daughter of Daniel Wilson of The Old Hall, Sandal Magna (Yorks WR), and 2nd, 20 December 1938, Salome Constance (1885-1968), daughter of Cdr. Edwin Dawes of Holmbury, Bedford (Beds), but had no issue; died 9 February 1961;

(5) Matthew Cromwell Berney (b. & d. 1872), born August 1872; died in infancy, 9 September 1872;

(6) Andrew James Berney (1873-1910), born 23 September 1873; educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge (matriculated 1893; BA 1896); District Commissioner in Ghana and Sierra Leone; died unmarried at Zouaragu (Ghana), 28 December 1910; will proved 3 November 1911 (estate £1,475);

(7) Mary Agnes Berney (1876-1958), born 30 March 1876; lived at Leamington Spa (Warks); died unmarried, 3 April 1958; will proved 18 July 1958 (estate £3,454);

(8) Alexander David Berney (1877-1942), born 20 September 1877; garden designer; married, 19 March 1924, Alice Lizzie (1889-1939), fourth daughter of Arthur Jacobs Moore of Lowestoft (Suffk), and had issue one daughter; died 5 September 1942; will proved 5 February 1943 (estate £524);

(9) Jane Dorothy Elizabeth Berney (1878-1964), born 28 November 1878; married, 3 July 1907 at Moffat (Dumfriess.), Henry Dubs Middleton (1880-1932), solicitor, eldest son of Arthur Middleton of Far Headingley, Leeds (Yorks WR), and had issue two sons; died 15 December 1964; will proved 26 February 1965 (estate £6,032);

(10) Catherine Anne Berney (1880-1918), born 19 June 1880; married, 24 August 1904 at St Thomas, Edinburgh, Dr Robert William Thomas Ewart MD (1868-1939) of Sailfoot, Moffat (Dumfriess), eldest son of Lt-Col. Robert William Ewart of Allershaw (Lanarks), and had issue one daughter; died intestate, 25 December 1918 and was buried at Sleepyhillock Cemetery, Montrose (Angus); administration of goods granted 4 February 1919 (estate £84).

He inherited the Barton Bendish estate from his father in 1870, but continued to lease it out, and lived at various addresses across England, Wales and Scotland. 

He died at Burncrook, Moffat (Dumfriess.), 27 February 1907 and was buried at Barton Bendish; his will was proved 28 June 1907 (estate £65,495). His widow died at Leamington Spa (Warks), 7 December 1921; her will was proved 24 January 1922 (estate £7,373).

Capt. T.H. Berney (1866-1900) 

Berney, Capt. Thomas Hugh (1866-1900). Eldest son of Sir Henry Hanson Berney (1843-1907), 9th bt., and his wife Jane Dorothy, daughter of Rev. Andrew Bloxam, rector of Harborough Magna (Warks), born 17 October and baptised at Beaumaris (Anglesey), 27 November 1866. Educated at United Services College, Westward Ho! (Devon). An officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1887; Lt., 1889; Capt. 1894), who served in the Ashanti expedition and the Boer War (mentioned in despatches three times). He married, 2 July 1892 at Castle Hyde, Fermoy (Co. Cork), Fridzwede Katherine Enid Lawrence Fraser Ogilvy (1869-1941), second daughter of Lt-Col. Frederick William Bell of the Stand House, Fermoy (Co. Cork), and had issue:

(1) Sir Thomas Reedham Berney (1893-1975), 10th bt. (q.v.);

(2) (Richard) Geoffrey Gordon Berney (1897-1961), born 19 January and baptised at St Mary the Virgin, Dover, 9 May 1897; served in RAF, 1918; married, 1930 (sep. by 1937), Marjorie Vernon (1900-79), daughter of Lt-Col. Vernon W. Urquhart of Huntingfield (Suffk), and adopted one daughter; he was  subsequently partner of Doris Rosemary* (1912-78) (who married, 1967, Arthur William Foxley-Norris (1888-1977)), daughter of Cecil Dalziel Beckwith of London and West Africa; died Oct-Dec 1961.

He was killed in action at Monte Cristo, Natal (South Africa), 18 February 1900, and was buried at Colenso, Natal (South Africa); his will was proved 25 April 1900 (effects in England, £150). His widow died 13 March 1941; administration of her goods (with will annexed) was granted to her younger son, 30 June 1941 (estate £4,749).

* She took the name Berney in lieu of Beckwith by deed poll, 1941.

Sir Thomas Reedham Berney, 10th bt.
Image: National Portrait Gallery 

Berney, Sir Thomas Reedham (1893-1975), 10th bt. Elder son of Maj. Thomas Hugh Berney (1866-1900) and his wife Fridzwede Katherine, daughter of Lt-Col. F.W. Bell of Fermoy (Co. Cork), born 6 July 1893. Educated at Wellington and Trinity Hall, Cambridge (BA 1915; MA 1919). An officer in a territorial battalion of the Norfolk Regiment (2nd Lt., 1914; Lt.; Capt., 1915; retired 1927; returned to colours as Lt., 1941), who served in First and Second World Wars and was awarded the MC, 1918; ADC to Governor of Southern Rhodesia, 1925-26. He married 1st, 23 August 1921 at Langleybury (Herts) (div. 1927 on the grounds of his adultery with the woman who became his second wife), Estelle Irene (1901-86), youngest daughter of Reginald John Norton Dawson (1866-1925) of The Grange, Pakefield (Suffk); married 2nd, 25 July 1927 (div. 1947) at Kensington Register Office, Marjorie Agnew Erskine (1907-78), younger daughter of William Erskine Gill (1877-1949) of Salisbury (S. Rhodesia); and married 3rd, 26 April 1947, Muriel Margaret (k/a Peggie) (1903-69), younger daughter of Howard Mackay Page, stockbroker, and had issue:

(1.1) Estelle Elaine Berney (1922-2016), born 17 October 1922; married 1st, 25 September 1940 at Simla (India), Maj. Kenneth William Bols (1913-44), younger son of Maj-Gen. Sir Louis Jean Bols KCB KCMG DSO, and had issue one son and one daughter; married 2nd, 7 November 1946, Lt-Col. Mark Frederic Strutt MC (1913-82), and had further issue one daughter; died 30 September 2016;

(2.1) Elizabeth Anne Berney (b. 1927), born Jul-Sept 1927; married, 19 April 1952 at Church of the Holy Family, Witham (Essex) (annulled 1960), Allan Eustace Shepherd (1916-88);

(2.2) John Reedham Erskine Berney (1929-52), born 31 March 1929; educated at St Andrew's College, Grahamstown (South Africa) and Sandhurst; an officer in the Royal Norfolk Regiment (Lt.), who served in Korea (despatches); married, 27 July 1951, the Hon. Jean Davina (b. 1932) (who married 2nd, 20 January 1954 (div.), Percy William Jesson (1928-2000), son of Lt-Col. Harold Jesson, and had further issue two sons and two daughters, and who married 3rd, 1985, Michael Denison Ritchie (c.1932-2011)), only daughter of James Gray Stuart MP (1897-1971), later 1st Viscount Stuart of Findhorn, and had issue one son (now the 11th baronet); killed in action in Korea, 24 July 1952; 

(2.3) Claire Berney (b. 1933), born February 1933; married 1st, 20 December 1956 (div.), Lt. Jeremy Michael Howard Lynch RN (1930-2003) and had issue one son and two daughters; said to have married 2nd, 1992, Prof. Richard Christie.

He inherited the Barton Bendish estate from his grandfather in 1907, but sold it. He lived subsequently at Ewell (Surrey) and Downton (Wilts).

He died 5 January 1975; will proved 28 April and 15 September 1975 (estate £15,000). His first wife married 2nd, 29 December 1927, Eric Edward Dorman-Smith (c.1895-1969), and died 24 August 1986. His second wife married 2nd, c.1947 at Bulawayo (Zimbabwe), Jack Graham Pain. His third wife died 6 June 1969; administration of her goods was granted 29 August 1969 (estate £4,872).

Berney of Westwick and Langley Park

Berney, John (d. 1689). Third son of Sir Richard Berney (c.1594-1668), 1st bt., and his wife Anne, daughter of Michael Smallpage of Chichester (Sussex), born 1623. He married, 1671, Susan (d. 1691), daughter of John Staines, and had issue:

(1.1) John Berney (1672-1730), baptised at Westwick, 29 June 1672; married 1st, c.1700, Bridget (1679-1711), daughter of William Branthwayte, of Hethel, Esq.; and had issue two daughters; married 2nd, 16 July 1720 at St Botolph Aldgate, London, Elizabeth (c.1692-1764), daughter of Maurice Kendall of New Buckenham (Norfk); died 24 September 1730 and was buried at Westwick, where he is commemorated by a floor slab;

(1.2) Richard Berney (1674-1738) (q.v.). 

He inherited his father's estate Westwick and Bromholm (Norfk) in 1668, and through his wife he inherited the manor of Elsing (Norfk). Either he or his second son evidently inherited the Langley estate.

He died 31 March 1689 and was buried at Westwick, where he is commemorated by a floor slab. His widow was buried at Westwick, 29 March 1691.

Berney, Richard (1674-1738). Second son of John Berney (d. 1689) and his wife Susan, daughter of John Staines, baptised at Westwick, 3 August 1674. Educated at Grays Inn (admitted 1695). A solicitor in Norwich, he acted as Steward of Norwich, 1703-27; Recorder of Norwich, 1727-38; Tory MP for Norwich, 1710-15; and Clerk of the Peace for Norfolk by 1730. He became bankrupt in 1736, and placed his assets in the hands of trustees, including his son-in-law, to repay his debts. He married, 14 January 1710/11 at St Peter Mancroft, Norwich, Mary (1687-1765), daughter of Augustine Briggs, mayor of Norwich in 1695-96, and had issue:

(1) Elizabeth Berney (1712-69), born 14 March and baptised at St Michael-at-Plea, Norwich, 19 March 1711/2; married, 7 January 1732/3 at Langley (Norfk), as his second wife, Thomas Bramston MP (c.1690-1765), of Skreens Park, Roxwell (Essex), and had issue one son and two daughters; buried at Roxwell, 21 January 1769.

He inherited the Langley estate and built Langley Park (Norfk) in the 1720s, but it was sold after his death.

He was buried at Westwick, 8 January 1737/8; his will was proved in the PCC, 2 March 1737/8. His widow was buried at Westwick, 18 February 1765; her will was proved in Norwich, 1765.

Principal sources

Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 2003, pp. 357-58; W. Betham, The Baronetage of England, vol. 1, 1801, pp. 181-84; F. Blomefield, An essay towards a topographical history of the county of Norfolk, vol. 11, 1810, pp. 121-32; B. Cozens-Hardy, 'Some Norfolk halls', Norfolk Archaeology, 1961, pp. 163-208; T. Williamson, I. Ringwood & S. Spooner, Lost country houses of Norfolk, 2015, pp. 195-97, 226.

Location of archives

No substantial archive is known to survive, although some papers may remain with the family. A small group of material relating to the Barbados estate and the trustees of Sir John Berney, 7th bt., c.1779-1801 can be found in Norfolk Record Office, FEL 538-9, 881-7.

Coat of arms

Quarterly, gules and azure, over all a cross engrailed, ermine.

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide portraits or photographs of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
• If anyone can offer further information or corrections to any part of this article I should be most grateful. I am always particularly pleased to hear from current owners or the descendants of families associated with a property who can supply information from their own research or personal knowledge for inclusion.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 5 December 2024 and was updated 7-15 December 2024.

(590) Berners of Woolverstone Hall

Berners of Woolverstone Hall 

Chauncy's history of Hertfordshire (1700) traces the descent of the Berners family from Hugh de Berners, who held a hide of land at Eversden (Cambs) at the time of Domesday Book in 1086. Unfortunately, he allows only thirteen generations for the more than 500 years separating Hugh from Josias Berners (1605-61), with whom the genealogy below begins, which is scarcely credible, so at best Chauncy's pedigree must be incomplete, and much of its earlier part may be largely fictitious. There is no doubt, however, that members of the family were prominent landowners in Surrey in the 14th and 15th centuries, while another branch of the family settled in Essex, and sent their younger sons into the mercantile profession in London over several generations. The family are surprisingly hard to trace with certainty in the records of the period because their name was spelled in so many different ways: for example, the Josias with whom our story really begins was baptised as Josias Barnish. He was educated at Grays Inn and became the solicitor to the recently formed New River Company, which for nearly three hundred years made large profits from supplying much of London with drinking water. The company was one of the first joint-stock utility companies, and in 1628 he bought four of the thirty-six shares in the company, the profits from which laid the foundations of the family's future prosperity. Josias held nonconformist religious views and he supported the Parliamentary faction during the Civil War. During the Commonwealth, he was a member of the 'Barebones' Parliament for Middlesex, and as late as 1659 he served a term as President of the Council of State. His strong attachment to republican views was not tested after the Restoration, for he died less than a year after Charles II's return from exile.

Josias married twice, but had only one surviving son, James Berners (c.1655-92) who was a child of about six when his father died. He inherited not only his father's shares in the New River Co., but also a piece of land adjoining the Tyburn Road (later Oxford St.), in Marylebone (Middx), which his father had bought in 1654. This must have been acquired with an eye to its future development potential, but in the late 17th century it mostly continued to be used for market gardening and brick-making.

Moor Place, Much Hadham in the 1690s.

James made an advantageous marriage in 1677 to the only daughter and heiress of an East India merchant, and with the capital she brought him he was able to purchase Moor or Moores Place at Much Hadham (Herts), a handsome gabled mid 17th century house which was probably built for Sir Richard Atkins (1625-89), 1st bt., in the 1650s. Here he raised his family of six children, the eldest of whom were barely adults when he died in 1692. His eldest son and chief heir was William Berners (1679-1712), who inherited his property in London and Hertfordshire and his shares in the New River Company. Like his father, he married a merchant's daughter, Elizabeth Raworth, and they had four sons, of whom one died in infancy and the youngest was posthumous. The children were all still minors when William died, and Elizabeth soon married again, to Charles Gostlin (d. 1767), who accumulated land at Hanwell (Middx) and built a new house there called Hanwell Park, perhaps c.1740. The heir to the Berners estates was William's eldest son, Robert Berners (1706-23), but he died before coming into his inheritance. The only sons to survive to maturity were therefore William Berners (1709-83) and Henry Berners (1713-82). Both men seem to have been solicitors in private practice, and they remained close throughout their lives. Their stepfather, Charles Gostlin, died without issue and left his Hanwell Park estate to them jointly, although it seems to have become Henry's home. When Henry died unmarried in 1782, his share passed to his brother, William, who as the elder of the two had inherited the Moor Place and Marylebone estates. He sold Moor Place back to the Atkins family and took a lease of the Woolverstone Hall estate on the Suffolk coast, where there was then a Jacobean house not dissimilar in size to Moor Place.

Over the course of his lifetime, William turned his empty fields in Marylebone into elegant streets of residential houses, with a lucrative commercial front on Oxford Street. The entry fines and ground rents swelled his income, and in 1773 he was able to buy the freehold of the Woolverstone estate and then to rebuild the house on a much grander scale and to landscape the grounds. His architect was John Johnson (1732-1814), who was both a resident and a developer on his Marylebone property, and the landscaping was probably the work of Nathaniel Richmond. When he died in 1783, William left two sons, of whom the elder, Charles Berners (c.1734-1815) inherited his property, while the younger, the Rev. Henry Berners (1736-1800), entered the church and became rector of Hambledon (Bucks). Charles Berners continued to expand the Woolverstone estate, and in the 1790s he bought the landscaped grounds of Holbrook House from his neighbour, Sir Charles Kent (c.1743-1811), 1st bt., whose principal seat was Fornham Hall (Suffk). 

Charles Berners married in 1765 and he and his wife had three sons and one daughter. The eldest son, Charles Berners (1767-1831), went to Oxford and then undertook an unusually adventurous grand tour, which took him to the Ottoman empire, in the company of Luigi Mayer, a German-Italian artist who was retained as an official artist by the British ambassador at Constantinople. Mayer later came and stayed at Woolverstone for some months in 1799, producing a body of sketches of views on and around the estate which were probably commissioned by Charles Berners senior. Charles junior made some improvements to the house at Woolverstone in the 1820s, but he never married, and when he died the estates passed to his younger brother. The Rev. Henry Denny Berners (1769-1852) had entered the church, been appointed to the Suffolk livings in the family's gift, and was made Archdeacon of Suffolk in 1819. Both Charles and Henry found it necessary to support their younger brother, William Berners (1771-1841?), for whom his father had bought a partnership in a London bank (Dorset, Johnstone & Wilkinsons) in 1795. Banking was then - even more than today - a high reward but high risk occupation, and unfortunately in 1803 the bank collapsed and the partners were bankrupted. William remained an undischarged bankrupt for the rest of his life, and a final settlement of the bank's affairs was not made until 1860! As a result, he was dependent upon allowances from his brothers, who also provided him with a comfortable house in Queen Anne Street. 

The Rev. Henry Denny Berners, William Berners, and William's twin sister, Maria Berners (1771-1831) all married into the Jarrett family, who owned plantations in Jamaica but were largely absentee owners by this period. By his wife Sarah, Henry Denny Berners had three sons and one daughter. The eldest son, John Berners (1800-86) entered the army, but a promising career in the Foot Guards was cut short by an illness which left one side of his body weakened. He married, but had no children, and devoted much of his energy to expanding and improving the family estate in Suffolk. The income from the Marylebone estate made this possible even against the backdrop of the Agricultural Depression, and his obituaries praised the superior quality of the estate and the comforts and large gardens enjoyed by his tenants. When John died he was succeeded by his next brother, Hugh Berners (1801-91), who entered the navy, but spent much of his time on half pay after 1828. In the few years during which he controlled the estate, he continued his brother's programme of estate improvements. Hugh was succeeded by his son, Charles Hugh Berners (1842-1919), who took a Scottish wife and had three sons and two daughters. His eldest daughter, Mary Alice Berners (1868-1944) had the most extraordinary career, marrying without her father's consent, repenting at leisure, going through a messy divorce, converting to Catholicism, and living as a man in India for nearly a quarter of a century. It was, however, her brother, Maj. John Anstruther Berners (1869-1934) who inherited the estates. To meet the death duties on the estate he was advised to sell the freehold of properties on the Marylebone estate, and after he died his son, Geoffrey Hugh Berners (1893-1972) did the same thing. With hindsight, it was a short-sighted policy, for the redevelopment potential of the estate in the later 20th century could have brought far larger returns than the family managed to realise. A modest proportion of the estate remained intact, however, and descended to Geoffrey's daughter, Patricia Ann Allsopp (1933-2017), becoming known as the Berners-Allsopp estate. Woolverstone, however, was sold in its entirety in 1937, and passed into institutional use, latterly as a new home for Ipswich High School. Geoffrey Berners bought Little Coxwell Grove (Berks) with some land in about 1934, and after selling Woolverstone he also bought Marcham Park (Berks), although this was sold again in 1948. He lived subsequently at Little Coxwell Grove, which remains in the family.

Hanwell Park, Middlesex

In the early to mid 18th century, Charles Gostlin (d. 1767) built up an estate in the northern part of Hanwell parish, on which he built a modest villa, shown on John Rocque's map of 1746 as a square block. Around this, Gostlin laid out grounds with formal avenues of trees. Sadly no visual record of the house at this time appears to survive. When Gostlin died without issue, he left the property to his stepsons, Henry (1713-82) and William (1709-83) Berners, who in 1775 obtained a private Act of Parliament for the exchange of some lands with Hobbayne's charity. The house was actually occupied by Henry Berners, and the exchange allowed him to expand the grounds, and to demolish some cottages which obstructed his views to the south. It is possible that Capability Brown was consulted about landscaping the property at this time, since Nathaniel Bayly, MP for Abingdon, who had been involved in steering the exchange Act through Parliament, paid Brown for a visit to Hanwell and a survey by Samuel Lapidge. But if Hanwell Park was the property in question - and it was the only large house in the village apart from the rectory - then it is not clear that anything was done to Brown's design.

Hanwell Park: north and west fronts from an engraving published in 1855.

Hanwell Park: south front, shortly before demolition.

At an unknown date, perhaps around 1800 or a little later, the house was extensively remodelled, producing a much larger, rectangular two-storey building with nine-bay north and seven-bay south fronts, on each of which the two bays at either end were stepped forward. On the south side, a handome portico with coupled Doric columns was placed in front of the three recessed centre bays, while on the north side a double-armed staircase rose to the front door. The west end of the house had a broad canted bay rising through both storeys, while at the east end there was a small service wing. Nothing is known of the interiors of the house.

Some outlying portions of the estate were sold off after 1782 to provide building plots for two further substantial villas (Brent Lodge and The Grove), but the remainder was kept intact and passed through several different hands in the 19th century. In 1883 Sir Montagu Sharpe decided to break up the estate for building purposes; the house itself was still standing in 1897, but had been demolished and replaced by terraced housing and a school before 1913.

Descent: built for Charles Gostlin (d. 1767); to stepsons, Henry Berners (1713-82) and William Berners (1709-83)... sold to Sir Archibald McDonald (1747-1826), 1st bt.; sold before 1816 to Thomas Willan (d. 1828) of Twyford Park (Middx); sold 1828 to Charles Turner; to son, John Turner; sold 1848 to Benjamin Sharpe (d. 1883); to son, Sir Montagu Sharpe (1857-1942), kt., who sold 1884; sold 1897 to J.C. Johnstone and demolished soon afterwards.

Woolverstone Hall, Suffolk

The first hall of which anything is known was a compact, five-bay house of two storeys, which was probably built in the early 17th century for either Philip Catelyn (d. 1632) or his successor Philip Bacon (1590-1635), who purchased the manor in 1628. The house, which stood on the site of the present stable block (which incorporates some of its brickwork), had two projecting two storey canted bays either side of a narrower central bay containing the main entrance, but its most distinctive feature was the array of curved and pinnacled shaped gables at roof level. These seem not to have close parallels in other Suffolk or Essex houses, and their use may be an argument for the house having been built for Philip Bacon, whose architecturally literate extended family had connections in many parts of England.

Woolverstone Hall: the Jacobean house, recorded shortly before demolition in the 1770s. Image: Suffolk Archives HD4052.

The house was evidently still in its Jacobean form when it was rented by William Berners in about 1740, following the sale of Moor Place. Over the next thirty years he became increasingly prosperous as a result of the development of his estate in Marylebone, and in 1773 he bought the freehold. Immediately afterwards, he commissioned John Johnson (1732-1814) to design the present house, which was built on a new site, a little further north, that offered fine views over the Orwell valley. Johnson was active as a developer on the Berners estate in London from 1769, and also lived and had his office and workshop there. It is therefore no surprise that Berners should have chosen him to design his new seat, although he was a relatively young man and Woolverstone Hall was one of the largest and most prestigious commissions of his career. The house was well advanced by 1776, when it was being stuccoed, and Johnson exhibited a drawing of it at the Royal Academy the following year. It consists of a seven-by-five bay, two-and-a-half storey centre block, linked by curved wings on the entrance front to one-and-a-half storey pavilions, which housed the kitchens (north side), and dairy and laundry (south side). 

Woolverstone Hall: ground floor plan, recorded at the school in 1977.

Woolverstone Hall: plans of the upper floors, recorded at the school in 1977.

Little documentation seems to survive relating to the building, but unsigned plans of the ground and upper floors are recorded, which record the original layout, although they do not show the house exactly as executed. The house is built of white Woolpit brick with dressings of Portland stone, and the ground floor of the entrance front is of rusticated stone. The central three bays have arched recesses around the windows, and above there are four attached Ionic columns supporting a pediment. Johnson was an enthusiastic user of Coade stone, which is used here for the capitals of the columns, the modillions in the cornice, and the vases on the pediment (one of which is a disguised chimney), as well as for a decorative panel of Diana the huntress in the pediment. The outer first floor windows are pedimented, and the central ones sit in arched recesses filled with sculptural decoration. The rear of the house is much plainer, with just a shallow full-height bow window across the central three bays, commanding the prospect over the Orwell valley.

Woolverstone Hall: entrance front, from an old postcard

Woolverstone Hall: garden front, c.1890, before the addition of the two-storey blocks either side of the centre. Image: Historic England.

The house is known to have been altered by Thomas Hopper in 1823, at a time when he was working extensively in Suffolk, but how much he did to the house is unclear. He may have been responsible for the current form of the Roman Doric porticoes on the ends of the service pavilions, but the early plans of the house appear to show a similar feature in this position. More certainly, he added the curved screen walls with Roman Doric columns which conceal the backs of the service pavilions from the garden front. The most notable later alteration was the addition of a single bay at first-floor level to either side of the central block, which seems to have been done at the end of the 19th century, alongside some other changes to the house, which saw the creation of a billiard room with a fireback dated 1898. 

Woolverstone Hall: drawing room, c.1900.

The original plans show that the house was planned as a large villa, with three main rooms across the south front of the house: a study, drawing room and dining room. The front door opens into a vestibule flanked by a pair of modest staircases, and behind it, between the vestibule and the main rooms, was a top-lit central hall with oval galleries on the upper levels that acted as the main circulation space of the house. The three main rooms on the ground floor, the central room behind the bow on the first floor, and the dome of the central hall preserve elegant neo-classical plasterwork (although the ceiling in the study is a re-creation). These rooms also have original chimneypieces, as does the principal bedroom, where the central panel is painted rather than carved.

Woolverstone Hall: view of the house and park across the River Orwell. In the centre of the view is the Cat House of 1783, which had a large trompe l'oeil Gothic window painted on the end wall, complete with a painted cat looking out. Recent conversion to a dwelling has seen the fictive window replaced by a real one.

A park of some sort already existed by 1725, but alongside the building of the new house, the park was extended and improved. There is circumstantial evidence to suggest that the designer may have been Nathaniel Richmond, a London nurseryman who first worked as a foreman for Capability Brown and then set up an independent landscaping practice in the late 1750s. He  worked in tandem with John Johnson at Skreens (Essex) in c.1769-71 and again at Terling Place (Essex) in 1772-78, so a third joint commission here seems very likely. Further evidence for his responsibility comes from Humphry Repton, who prepared himself to take up landscape gardening by visiting parks laid out by William Kent, Capability Brown and Richmond, and one of the eight places he records visiting was Woolverstone. By 1839, the southern and eastern sections of the park were fenced in, probably for deer; larger areas of woodland lay south-east of the house and along the foreshore of the river Orwell, where there was also a curious Gothick folly called the Cat House. Circuitous carriage drives typical of Richmond led through the park. The site of the old house was redeveloped to form a grand new quadrangular stable block with a white brick front of c.1776, although the composition is now dominated by a monumental 19th century Italianate brick water tower. The principal ornament of the park was a tall obelisk to the memory of William Berners erected by his son in 1793 to the designs of Robert Mylne, but sadly this was pulled down in 1945. A new formal garden was laid out by W.A. Nesfield in the 1850s, but only its structure survives today. 

Woolverstone Hall: aerial photograph of stable block. Image: Aerofilms Ltd /Historic England

Holbrook Gardens: view of the lake and summerhouse by Luigi Mayer, 1799. Image: © Victoria and Albert Museum, London SD.659. 

In the later 18th and 19th centuries, the estate was expanded progressively, until by the 1880s it was more than 5,000 acres. Charles Berners (d. 1815) bought the landscaped grounds formerly attached to Holbrook House, which stood about a mile and a half to the south of Woolverstone. They had been laid out before 1783 for Sir Charles Kent, with features including an ornamental lake, a wilderness woodland, and a substantial summer house, which was later used as a base for shooting expeditions. The 'Holbrook Gardens' remained part of the estate until the whole property was dispersed at auction in 1937. Estate expansion to the north also brought in the Elizabethan Freston Tower. John Berners (1800-86) devoted his efforts to a major programme of rebuilding and improvement on the estate, as part of which he built new lodges west of the house (the Holbrook Lodge, by W.E. Nesfield, 1861) and to the north-west (the Monkey Lodge at Freston). The latter takes its name from the monkeys on the gatepiers, which are said to be an allusion to a pet monkey who saved a child of the Berners family from a fire. In the 1870s a cottage orné dairy and some estate housing in matching style (now Dairy House and Park View) were constructed adjoining the 18th century brick-walled kitchen garden.

Woolverstone Hall: aerial view of the house today. Image: Ipswich High School.

The house and park at Woolverstone were bought by the Nuffield Trust as an investment for Oxford University in 1937. Having stood empty for a couple of years, the house was requisitioned during the Second World War for use as a naval training establishment. In 1950, the property was sold to London County Council, which converted it for use as a boys' boarding school, building two new dormitory and teaching blocks in a soul-less Modernist style in 1958. In 1990-92 the boarding school closed and the premises were sold to Ipswich High School, which moved here from the centre of Ipswich. Further additions have been made to the school facilities since, including a sports hall and theatre block, of 1993, and a swimming pool of 2002. As a result of the 19th century and later developments, little survives of the original parkland layout.

Descent: Robert Woolverston (d. 1492); to son, Thomas Woolverston (d. 1516); to son, Richard Woolverston (d. 1537); to son, Philip Woolverston, who sold 1580 to Sir Thomas Gawdy (d. 1588), kt.; to son, Henry Gawdy (b. c.1552), who probably sold to Richard Catelyn (d. 1596?); to son, Philip Catelyn (d. 1632), who sold 1628 to Philip Bacon (1590-1635); to daughter Anne (d. by 1677), wife of Thomas Bedingfield (1618-58?) and later of Sir Philip Parker (c.1625-90), 1st bt.; to son, Thomas Bedingfield (d. 1684)... John Tyson (bankrupt 1720); to John Ward; to son, Knox Ward (d. 1741), who leased the estate to William Berners (1709-83), who purchased the freehold in 1773; to son, Charles Berners (1767-1831); to brother, Ven. Henry Denny Berners (1769-1852); to son, John Berners (1800-86); to brother, Hugh Berners (1801-91); to son, Charles Hugh Berners (1842-1919); to son, Maj. John Anstruther Berners (1869-1934); to son, Geoffrey Hugh Berners (1893-1972), who sold 1937 to Nuffield Trust for Oxford University; sold 1950 to London County Council; sold 1992 to Ipswich High School.

Berners family of Woolverstone Hall

Berners*, Josias (1605-61). Son of William Berners of London, silkman, and his wife Catherine Tailboys of London, baptised at St. Dionis Backchurch, London, 10 November 1605. Educated at Grays Inn (admitted 1620). He purchased four shares (one ninth of the company) in the New River Company from William Backhouse in 1628, and acted as solicitor to the company. A supporter of the Commonwealth, he was MP for Middlesex in the Barebones Parliament, 1654, and served a month's term as President of the Council of State, 1659. A Baptist in religion. He married 1st, Mary (d. 1652), daughter of George Cotton of Panfield Hall (Essex), and 2nd, 30 December 1652 at St Andrew, Holborn (Middx), Abigail (1623-1713), daughter of Thomas Barnes (d. 1628) of Aldborough Hatch, Barking (Essex) and widow of John Lockey (d. c.1651) of Holmes Hill (Herts) and Barking, and had issue:

(2.1) Thomas Berners (1653-54), baptised at St James, Clerkenwell, 19 November 1653; died in infancy and was buried at St James, Clerkenwell, 1 March 1653/4;

(2.2) James Berners (c.1655-92) (q.v.).

He purchased two large fields (about 25 acres) in St Marylebone parish in 1654 (later the Berners estate).

He was buried at St Dionis Backchurch, London, 23 February 1660/1; by his will he left a charity of £5 a year for apprenticing poor boys from Wormley (Herts). His first wife was buried at St James Clerkenwell, 24 August 1652, and was commemorated by a monument recorded by John Strype. His widow married 3rd, 1662, as his third wife, Roger Hill (1605-67) of Poundisford (Som.) and 4th, Col. George Thompson (d. 1691), and was buried at Barking (Essex), 3 December 1713.

* The name is spelled in many different ways in the 17th century, including Barnes, Barnish, Barners, etc. The unfamiliar name Josias is sometimes given as Josiah.

Berners, James (c.1655-92). Only surviving son of Josias Berners (1605-61) and his second wife, Abigail, daughter of Thomas Barnes of Aldborough Hatch (Essex) and widow of John Lockey (d. c.1651) of Holmes Hill (Herts) and Barking (Essex), born about 1655*. He inherited his father's four shares (one ninth) of the New River Company. He married, 14 November 1677 at St Andrew, Holborn (Middx), Mary (d. 1718), daughter and heiress of William Robinson of Cheshunt (Herts), East India merchant and director of the Bank of England, and had issue:

(1) Mary Berners (1678-1727), baptised at Much Hadham, 14 November 1678; died unmarried and was buried at Much Hadham, 20 September 1727; will proved in the PCC, 16 October 1727;

(2) William Berners (1679-1712) (q.v.);

(3) Winifred Berners (1681-83), baptised at Much Hadham, 30 March 1681; died 25 June 1683 and was buried at Much Badham;

(4) James Berners (1682-1743?), baptised at Much Hadham, 8 March 1681/2; living in 1727, when he was mentioned in his sister's will, and probably the man of this name buried at Chippenham (Wilts), 29 December 1743;

(5) Abigail Berners (b. 1683), baptised at Much Hadham, 23 May 1683; married, 29 October 1702 at St Paul's Cathedral, London, Rev. Hill Denny (1678-1719), rector of Eastwick and Little Parndon (Essex), son of Peter Denny of Bishops Stortford (Herts), and had issue one surviving son; living in 1736;

(6) Josias Berners (1684-1748), baptised at Much Hadham, 22 May 1684; apprenticed to Abraham Foster of London, grocer, 1700, but became an apothecary in London; married, 2 July 1713 at St Marylebone (Middx), Mary Briggs (fl. 1747), but apparently had no issue; buried at St Bride, Fleet St., London, 15 February 1747/8; will proved 19 February 1747/8.

He inherited the St Marylebone property from his father soon after the Restoration. He lived at Wormley (Herts) until he purchased Moor Place, Much Hadham, between 1677 and 1689.

He was buried at Much Hadham, 2 March 1691/2; his will was proved in the PCC, 11 March 1692/3. His widow was buried at Much Hadham, 21 February 1717/8; her will was proved in the PCC, 20 February 1717/8.

* Estimated from his stated age of 22 on his marriage licence.

Berners, William (1679-1712). Eldest son of James Berners and his wife Mary, daughter and heiress of William Robinson of Cheshunt (Herts), baptised at Much Hadham (Herts), 25 August 1679. Educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (matriculated 1696). JP for Hertfordshire, 1703-12; High Sheriff of Hertfordshire, 1710-11; Tory MP for Hythe (Kent), 1711-12. He held four shares in the New River Company. He married, 29 May 1705 at St Paul's Cathedral, London, Elizabeth (c.1685-1773), daughter of Robert Raworth, and had issue: 

(1) Robert Berners (1706-23), baptised at All Hallows Staining, London, 15 June 1706; inherited the Moor Place estate from his father in 1712, but died before coming of age and was buried at Much Hadham, 25 June 1723;

(2) William Berners (b. & d. 1707), baptised at All Hallows Staining, London, 5 June 1707; died in infancy and was buried at Much Hadham, 17 June 1707;

(3) William Berners (1709-83) (q.v.);

(4) Henry Berners (1713-82), educated at Westminster Sch (admitted 1722/3), Inner Temple (admitted 1728) and Oriel College, Oxford (matriculated 1730; MA 1735); a shareholder of the New River Company and probably a solicitor; inherited Hanwell Park from his stepfather in 1767 and obtained a private Act of Parliament in 1775 to exchange lands with a local charity to improve the views; he may also have consulted Capability Brown about landscaping improvements; died unmarried and was buried at Much Hadham, 26 January 1782; will proved in the PCC, 23 January 1782.

He inherited Moor Place, Much Hadham and the St Marylebone property from his father. His widow's second husband, Charles Gostlin, acquired the Hanwell Park estate (Middx), where he built a house and laid out a park. At his death, it passed to his stepson, Henry Berners.

He died 19 June, and was buried at Much Hadham, 28 June 1712; his will was proved in the PCC, 3 July 1712. His widow married 2nd, 16 September 1715 at St Mary Magdalen, Old Fish St., London, Charles Gostlin (1690-1767), and may be the Elizabeth Gostlin, widow, whose will was proved 2 June 1773*.

* However, the History of Parliament states she died in 1725.

Berners, William (1709-83). Third, but second surviving, son of William Berners (1679-1712) and his wife Elizabeeth, daughter of Robert Raworth, born 10 July 1709. Educated at Westminster School (admitted 1722/3). Solicitor in practice at Grays Inn. He married, 29 June 1732 at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), Mary (c.1710-82), daughter of Henry Bendysh of South Town, Great Yarmouth (Norfk), and had issue:

(1) Charles Berners (c.1734-1815) (q.v.);

(2) Rev. Henry Berners (1736-1800); educated at Westminster Sch. (admitted 1746) and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1754; BCL 1761); ordained deacon and priest, 1760; rector of Hambledon (Bucks), 1760-1800; JP for Buckinghamshire; married, 28 March 1786 at St Clement Danes, Westminster (Middx), Elizabeth (1761-1817), daughter of Robert Weston, and had issue one daughter; died in London, 4 April, and was buried at Hambleton, 10 April 1800; will proved in the PCC, 9 April 1800.

He inherited Moor/Moores Place, Much Hadham and the St Marylebone property from his elder brother in 1723, and came of age in 1730. He sold Moor Place to Robert Atkins, probably before 1740, and lived subsequently at Newman Hall (Essex) and in London. He began the development of the Berners estate in Marylebone around 1758. He rented Woolverstone Hall from about 1740 and purchased the freehold in 1773, rebuilding it in 1776 to the designs of John Johnson.

He died 18 September 1783; an obelisk to his memory was erected in Woolverstone Park by his son in 1793; his will was proved in the PCC, 25 September 1783. His wife died 1 January 1782.

Berners, Charles (c.1734-1815). Elder son of William Berners (1709-83) and his wife Mary, daughter of Henry Bendysh of South Town, Great Yarmouth (Norfk), born c.1734. Educated at Monk Soham School (Suffk), Westminster (admitted 1746) and Oriel College, Oxford (matriculated 1752; MA 1756; DCL 1814). JP for Suffolk. He married, 11 June 1765 in the Archbishop's Chapel at Lambeth Palace (Surrey), Catherine (1735-1800), daughter of John Laroche of Englefield Green (Surrey), and had issue:

(1) Charles Berners (1767-1831) (q.v.);

(2) Ven. Henry Denny Berners (1769-1852) (q.v.);

(3) twin, William Berners (1771-1841?), born 30 May and baptised at St Marylebone, 14 June 1771; banker in London, a partner in Dorset, Johnstone & Wilkinsons from 1795 until their bankruptcy in 1803; he seems to have remained undischarged for the rest of his life (and a final dividend to creditors was only made in 1860), but he was later a member of the London area board of the Norwich Union Life Insurance Soc. and a Governor of the Asylum for Deaf and Dumb Children of the Poor; married, January 1797, Rachel (1776-1853), daughter of John Jarrett of Freemantle, Southampton (Hants) and had issue three sons and one daughter; said to have died in 1841;

(4) twin, Maria Berners (1771-1831), born 30 May and baptised at St Marylebone, 14 June 1771; married, 23 May 1793 at St Marylebone, Herbert Newton Jarrett (1765-1829) of Barningham Hall (Norfk) and later Hobland Hall (Norfk) and Great Bromley Lodge (Essex), owner of the Orange Valley estate in Jamaica, and had issue two sons and three daughters; buried at Downton (Wilts), 14 December 1831.

He inherited Woolverstone Hall and the Berners estate in Marylebone from his father in 1783. Before 1799 he bought the Holbrook Gardens from Sir Charles Kent.

He was buried at Much Hadham, 16 May 1815; his will was proved in the PCC, 27 May 1815. His wife died in London, 3 March 1800.

Berners, Charles (1767-1831). Eldest son of Charles Berners (c.1734-1815) and his wife Katherine, daughter of John Laroche of Egham (Surrey), baptised at Egham (Surrey), 7 December 1767. Educated at Westminster (admitted 1780) and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1785; BA 1789; MA 1815 as a grand compounder). Undertook a grand tour with the artist, Luigi Mayer* (1755-1803), in 1792, which took him beyond the usual Italian sites to visit Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Turkey. An officer in the Suffolk Yeomanry Cavalry (Lt., 1794) and later in the Ipswich Gentlemen and Yeomanry Cavalry (Lt., 1798; Capt., 1800). A Governor of the Ipswich Sick Dispensary from its foundation in 1797. High Sheriff of Suffolk, 1818-19. A Conservative in politics, but took little part in public affairs. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Woolverstone Hall and the Berners estate in Marylebone from his father in 1815.

He died 19 August 1831; his will was proved in December 1831.

* Mayer was an Italian artist of German extraction who was retained by Sir Robert Ainslie (1730-1812), 1st bt., British ambassador to the Ottoman empire, to record scenes in the near East. Ainslie's extensive collection of views by Mayer, published in 1801-06, is now partly in the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Mayer stayed at Woolverstone Hall in 1799 and made drawings of the locality, probably for Charles Berners senior, but only a few of these are known to survive.

Berners, Ven. Henry Denny (1769-1852). Second son of Charles Berners (c.1734-1815) and his wife Katherine, daughter of John Laroche of Egham (Surrey), born 18 September and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), 2 October 1769. Educated at St Mary Hall, Oxford (matriculated 1787; BCL 1794). Ordained deacon, 1793, and priest, 1794. Rector of Harkstead (Suffk), 1794-1833,Woolverstone and Erwarton (Suffk), 1801-35; Archdeacon of Suffolk, 1819-46. JP for Suffolk. In 1827, he injured his leg in a shooting accident at Woolverstone. He married, 8 July 1799 at Millbrook (Hants), Sarah (1775-1867), daughter of John Jarrett (1746-1809) of Freemantle, Southampton (Hants), and had issue:

(1) John Berners (1800-86) (q.v.);

(2) Hugh Berners (1801-91) (q.v.);

(3) Rev. Ralph Berners (1803-58), born 8 February and baptised at Stutton (Suffk), 7 April 1803; educated at Westminster (admitted 1816), Trinity College, Oxford (matriculated 1820) and Magdalen College, Oxford (BA 1823; MA 1826); ordained deacon, 1826, and priest, 1827; rector of Woolverstone, Harkstead and Erwarton, 1833-58; married, 27 June 1831 at St Mary, Marylebone (Middx), Eliza (1801-83), daughter of General Sir Cornelius Cuyler (1740-1819), 1st bt., of Welwyn (Herts), and had issue three sons and three daughters; died at Nice (France), 31 January, and was buried at Erwarton, 17 February 1858; will proved 4 March 1858 (effects under £14,000);

(4) Alicia Berners (1804-20), born 25 June and baptised at Woolverstone, 12 August 1804; died unmarried at Versailles (France) but buried at Woolverstone, 2 November 1820.

He inherited £20,000 from his great-uncle, Henry Berners, in 1782, and also Woolverstone Hall and the Berners estate in Marylebone from his elder brother in 1831.

He died 24 January 1852 and was buried at Woolverstone where he is commemorated by a monument carved by R. Westmacott junior, 1839; his will was proved in the PCC, 25 February 1852. His widow died aged 91 in London, 10 February, and was buried at Woolverstone, 16 February 1867; her will was proved 22 February 1867 (effects under £2,000).

Berners, John (1800-86). Eldest son of Ven. Henry Denny (1769-1852) and his wife Sarah, daughter of John Jarrett of Freemantle, Southampton (Hants), born 26 June and baptised at St. Marylebone (Middx), 26 July 1800. Educated at Westminster (admitted 1810). An officer in the 3rd Foot Guards (Ensign & Lt., 1820; Lt. & Capt., 1826; retired c.1827). While serving with his regiment at the Tower of London, he contracted an illness which left him permanently weakened on one side of the body and prevented his participation in hunting and shooting. He was instead a keen yachtsman, and occupied himself with wood carving and fretwork. He was a Conservative in politics, but took no part in public affairs beyond serving as a JP and DL for Suffolk. President of the Ipswich and East Suffolk Hospital, 1870-86. He married, 21 February 1832 at East Bergholt (Suffk), Mary Henrietta (1802-87), daughter of Rev. Joshua Rowley, rector of East Bergholt, but had no issue.

He lived at Holbrook House until he inherited Woolverstone Hall and the Berners estate in Marylebone from his father in 1852, and undertook extensive improvements on the estate which it was estimated had cost him £80,000.

He died 31 August, and was buried at Woolverstone, 3 September 1886; his will was proved 1 November 1886 (estate £222,126). His widow died 2 January 1887; her will was proved 23 April 1887 (estate £125,564).

Capt. Hugh Berners (1801-91) 

Berners, Hugh (1801-91). Second son of Ven. Henry Denny Berners (1769-1852) and his wife Sarah, daughter of John Jarrett of Freemantle, Southampton (Hants), born 25 July and baptised at St Marylebone (Middx), 24 October 1801. Joined the Royal Navy 1814 (Lt., 1824; Cdr., 1842; retired as Capt., 1860), but after 1828 he spent much of his time on half-pay. JP for Middlesex and Hampshire. President of the Suffolk Agricultural Association, 1888-91. A Conservative in politics. During his brother's latter years, he managed the estate at Woolverstone, and after succeeding to the property, he paid the majority of the cost (some £8,000) of enlarging Woolverstone church to the designs of J.P. St Aubyn, and also contributed £1,500 to the restoration of Chelmondiston church (Suffk). He married, 29 October 1832 at Itchen Abbas (Hants), his cousin, Julia Alice (1807-92), daughter of John Ashton of The Grange, Northwich (Ches.), and had issue:

(1) Julia Emily Berners (1836-1917), born in Winchester (Hants), 29 July, and baptised at Itchen Stoke (Hants), 28 August 1836; lived at 33 Chester Sq., Westminster (Middx); died unmarried, 17 January 1917 and was buried at Woolverstone; will proved 2 June 1917 (estate £11,289);

(2) Alice Henrietta Berners (1839-84), baptised at Chapel Royal, Brighton (Sussex), 30 January 1839; married, 9 July 1872 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster, as his second wife, Col. the Hon. Richard Thomas Rowley (1812-87), MP for Harwich, 1860-65, second son of Clotworth Taylor Rowley, 1st Baron Langford of Summerhill (Co. Meath), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 7 August 1884; administration of goods granted 8 October 1884 (effects £4,480);

(3) Julianna Augusta Berners (1841-1928), baptised at Bedhampton (Hants), 16 February 1841; married, 16 August 1867, Maj. Henry Charles Talbot (1837-1901), son of Rev. Henry George Talbot, and had issue one son and two daughters; died 22 January 1928; will proved 24 February 1928 (estate £4,164);

(4) Charles Hugh Berners (1842-1919) (q.v.);

(5) Edith Maud Berners (1846-1912), baptised at Gatcombe (IoW), 17 May 1846; married, 19 January 1875 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster (Middx), Charles Alfred William Rycroft (1839-84), son of Sir Richard Henry Charles Rycroft (1793-1864), 3rd bt., and had issue two sons and two daughters; died 17 November 1912; will proved 8 January 1913 (estate £52,196);

(6) Frederick Rowley Berners (1848-52), born 8 May 1848; died young, 16 February 1852.

He rented a succession of country houses, including Gatcombe House (IoW), Landford House (Wilts), Melchett Park (Hants) and Midanbury, nr. Southampton (Hants), until he inherited Woolverstone Hall and the Berners estate in Marylebone from his elder brother in 1886. He continued his brother's estate improvements at Woolverstone. He also had a house in Eaton Square, Westminster. 

He died following a stroke, 7 May, and was buried at Woolverstone, 12 May 1891; his will was proved 13 July 1891 (effects £114,097). His widow died 14 April 1892; her will was proved 20 May 1892.

Berners, Charles Hugh (1842-1919). Only surviving son of Capt. Hugh Berners RN (1801-91) and his wife Julia Alice, daughter of John Ashton, born 28 August and baptised at Bedhampton (Hants), 14 October 1842. Educated at Rugby, Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1860; BA 1865; MA 1868) and Inner Temple (admitted 1864 and again 1880). JP for Suffolk; High Sheriff of Suffolk, 1895-96. President of the Suffolk Agricultural Association, 1902; High Steward of Harwich, 1902. He married, 20 June 1867 at St Paul, Onslow Sq., Kensington (Middx), Mary (c.1845-1911), daughter of Sir Ralph Abercromby Anstruther (1804-63), 4th bt. of Balcaskie (Fife), and had issue:

(1) Mary Alice Berners (1868-1944), born 4 May 1868; married secretly, while her father was in Australia, 9 February 1889 (sep. 1900; div. 1907 on the grounds of his cruelty), Col. Charles Spencer Warwick (1865-1933), and had issue one son and one daughter; converted to Catholicism, c.1907; after the First World War she returned to India, where she lived as a man, calling herself 'Major Michael Warwick'; she then devoted herself to building a monastery called St Michael's Mount at Jelikote (India), and became known as 'Brother Michele de Elias Warwick'; her life story has been written up by Simon Pearce in The astonishing story of Mary Alice Berners (2021); died in India, 9 April 1944; administration of goods granted 7 July 1945 (estate £22,175);

(2) Maj. John Anstruther Berners (1869-1934) (q.v.);

(3) Brig-Gen. Ralph Abercrombie Berners (1871-1949), born 14 June and baptised at Yoxford (Suffk), 24 July 1871; educated at Cheam School, Eton and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; an officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1890; Lt., 1893; Capt., 1899; Maj. 1911; Lt-Col., 1915; Col., 1919; retired as Brig-Gen., 1920); awarded DSO, 1917; married, 1 June 1898 at St Peter, Eaton Square, Westminster (Middx), Laura Gertrude (1871-1958), daughter of Lt-Gen. Sir Robert Laffan KCMG (1821-82), but had no issue; died 25 February 1949 and was buried at Bourton (Dorset); will proved 30 April 1949 (estate £82,704);

(4) Julia Katherine Berners (1873-1950), baptised at Yoxford, 20 April 1873; married, 3 January 1895 at Woolverstone, Col. Steuart Bogle Smith (1859-1920), and had issue one son; died 3 December 1950 and was buried at Hangleton (Sussex); will proved 8 February 1951 (estate £40,723);

(5) Hamilton Hugh Berners (1881-1914), baptised at Longcross (Surrey), 13 November 1881; educated at Eton; an officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1905; Lt., 1906; Capt., 1912); married, 8 June 1907 at the Brompton Oratory (Middx), Edith Mary Georgina (1884-1973), daughter of Charles Munro Sandham (1856-92) of Rowdell, Pulborough (Sussex), but had no issue; killed in action, 14 September 1914, and was buried at Soupir Communal Cemetery, Picardy (France); will proved 19 November 1914 (estate £13,609).

He had a house at Long Cross, Chertsey (Surrey) and inherited Woolverstone Hall and the Berners estate in Marylebone from his father in 1891. He subsequently divided his time between Suffolk and Surrey.

He died 15 January 1919; his will was proved 12 April 1919 (estate £214,045). His wife died at Marseilles (France), 17 April 1911; her will was proved 2 August 1911 (estate £1,911).

Berners, Maj. John Anstruther (1869-1934). Eldest son of Charles Hugh Berners (1842-1919) and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Ralph Abercromby Anstruther, 4th bt. of Balcaskie (Fife), born 23 September and baptised at St Simon, Upper Chelsea (Middx), 11 November 1869. Educated at Cheam School, Eton and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. An officer in the army (Lt., 1890; Lt., 1892; retired 1895), he served during the First World War with the Norfolk National Reserve (Maj.) and was appointed OBE for his war work. JP for Suffolk from 1903. He was noted as a generous landlord and keen sportsman, especially associated with cricket and hunting; he was Master of the Eastern Counties Otter Hounds, 1923-30. He married, 1 February 1893 at St Stephen, South Kensington (Middx), Ethel Charlotte (1864-1935)*, fifth daughter of Laurence James Baker of Ottershaw Park (Surrey), MP for Frome 1885-86, and had issue:

(1) Geoffrey Hugh Berners (1893-1972) (q.v.);

(2) Gwendolen Ethel Berners (1896-1987), born 23 March and baptised at Pirbright (Surrey), 3 May 1896; married 1st, 30 July 1914 at Woolverstone, Capt. Robert John Charles Otter (1881-1915), eldest son of Robert Charles Otter of Royston Manor, Retford (Notts), and had issue one daughter; married 2nd, 12 July 1916 at St Luke, Chelsea (Middx), Maj. Arthur Willis (1877-1928), son of Ambrose Robinson Willis; married 3rd, 4 July 1928 at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (div.), Capt. Frank Whitley Jagger (1897-1979), only son of Edward Whitley Jagger of Knowle (Warks), estate agent; married 4th, Apr-Jun 1946, Capt. Ernest Frederick Tobin Maunsell (1895-1959); died 6 February 1987; administration of goods granted 5 October 1987 (effects under £40,000);

(3) Olive Marjory Berners (1897-1991), born 7 August and baptised at Kingscote (Glos), 12 September 1897; married 1st, 2 June 1917 at Hellesdon (Norfk) (div. 1929), as his first wife, Capt. Robert Millington Knowles MC (1893-1950), fourth son of Andrew Knowles of Newent Court (Glos), and had issue three sons; married 2nd, 3 December 1931 at Harkstead (Suffk), Adm. Sir Harold Thomas Coulthard Walker KCB RN (1891-1975) of Rake House, Liss (Hants), son of Sir Harold Walker of Palace Lodge, Crediton (Devon), and had further issue one son and one daughter; died aged 94 on 8 November 1991; her will was proved 12 February 1992 (estate £408,392).

He lived at Kingscote Park (Glos) and Hellesdon House, Norwich before he inherited Woolverstone Hall and the Berners estate in Marylebone from his father in 1919. He commenced the sale of plots on the Marylebone estate. His widow lived at Hill Lodge, Pangbourne (Berks) and later at Daglingworth House (Glos).

He died 2 March 1934; his will was proved May 1934 (estate £1,180,099). His widow died 17 May 1935; her will was proved 17 July 1935 (estate £3,123).

* His wife instituted divorce proceedings in 1918, on the grounds of his cruelty and adultery, but her petition was rejected by the courts.

Berners, Geoffrey Hugh (1893-1972). Only son of John Anstruther Berners (1869-1934) and his wife Ethel Charlotte, fifth daughter of Laurence James Baker of Ottershaw Park (Surrey), born 20 November 1893. Educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford. He served in the First World War with the 3rd battalion, Norfolk Regiment (2nd Lt., 1914; Lt., 1915; retired 1920). JP for Suffolk. He married, 9 November 1929 at All Saints, Ennismore Gardens, Kensington (Middx), Betty Jane (1910-68), only daughter of Arthur Gordon of Garrards Farm*, Uffington (Berks), racehorse trainer, and had issue:

(1) Patricia Ann Berners (1933-2017) (q.v.).

He rented property in Berkshire until he bought Little Coxwell Grove (Berks) c.1934. He inherited Woolverstone Hall and the Berners estate in Marylebone from his father in 1934. He sold Woolverstone Park with 6,042 acres in 1937 to the Nuffield Trust for Oxford University, and purchased Marcham Park (Berks) in 1938, but sold it again in 1948. He lived subsequently at Little Coxwell Grove. He continued his father's policy of selling the freehold of parts of the Marylebone estate, greatly reducing its size.

He died 10 January 1972; his will was proved 15 February 1972 (estate £179,556). His wife died 7 November 1968; her will was proved 18 July 1969 (estate £437,940).

* Garrards Farm was later the home of John Betjeman, 1934-45.

Berners, Patricia Ann (1933-2017). Only child of Geoffrey Hugh Berners (1893-1972) and his wife Elizabeth Jane, only daughter of Arthur Gordon of Garrards Farm, Uffington (Berks), born 2 September 1933. She married, 16 July 1953 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Michael Edward Ranulph Allsopp (1930-2017), banker, son of Samuel Ranulph Allsopp, and had issue:

(1) Frances Jane Berners Allsopp (b. 1955), born 26 May 1955; married 1st, 26 April 1975 (div. 1980), Dermot Michael Claud Chichester (1953-2010), son of Maj. Lord Desmond Clive Chichester, and 2nd, 1984, Maj. David John Basil Woodd (b. 1950), son of Basil Bethune Neville Woodd, and had issue two daughters;

(2) Carolyn Ann Berners Allsopp (1957-2015), born 30 September 1957; died unmarried, 17 March 2015;

(3) Jessica Elizabeth Berners Allsopp (b. 1960), born 5 April 1960; Master and later Chairwoman of the Old Berks Hunt; married, 6 July 1984, Hon. Edward Douglas Leigh-Pemberton (b. 1959), of Longcot House, Little Coxwell (Berks), chartered surveyor and land agent, son of Robin Leigh-Pemberton, Baron Kingsdown, and had issue three sons;

(4) Davina Hyacinthe Berners Allsopp (b. 1960), born 5 April 1960; married, 10 July 1987 at Ruwa (Zimbabwe), as his second wife, Sir Nicholas Folliott Douglas Powell (1935-2019), 4th bt., of Hillside, Bromley (Zimbabwe), son of Sir Richard George Douglas Powell, 3rd bt., and had issue two sons and one daughter;

(5) A son (b. & d. 1966), born 1 October 1966 but died the same day.

She inherited Little Coxwell Grove and the remains of the Berners estate in Marylebone from her father in 1972. The estate is now known as the Berners-Allsopp estate.

She died 26 November 2017; her will was proved 27 June 2018. Her husband died 30 April 2017; his will was proved 7 September 2017.

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1952, p. 167; Sir H. Chauncy, The historical antiquities of Hertfordshire, 1826, vol. 1, pp. 316-17; N. Briggs, John Johnson, 1991, pp. 34-37; J.T. Smith, Hertfordshire Houses: a selective inventory, 1993, p. 129; J. Bettley & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Suffolk - East, 2015, pp. 604-6;

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/architecture/sites/bartlett/files/chapter30_the_berners_estate.pdf;

https://www.thepeerage.com/p25004.htm#i250034.

Location of archives

Berners family of Woolverstone Hall: deeds, manorial records, estate papers, household accounts and genealogical papers, 1341-1936 [Suffolk Archives, S1/10, HD 169].

Coat of arms

Quarterly, or and vert.

Can you help?

• Can anyone show conclusively whether Elizabeth Gostlin died in 1725 or 1773?
• Can anyone provide further information about the death of William Berners (1771-1841?), banker, who was an undischarged bankrupt?
• 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 24 November 2024 and was updated 25 November 2024.