(592) Berney of Swardeston Hall, Bracon Hall and Morton Hall

Berney of Swardeston, Bracon
and Morton Halls 

Thomas Berney (c.1596-1673), with whom the genealogy below begins, was the fourth son of Sir Thomas Berney (1565-1616), kt., of Reedham (Norfk) [for whom see my previous post]. Thomas bought the Swardeston Hall estate in 1628 and went on to purchase the Hockering estate before 1658. He supported the Parliamentarian side in the Civil War and was High Sheriff of Norfolk in 1647-48, but he is not known to have played an active part in the Civil War. He and his wife had five children, but only the eldest son and younger daughter are known to have survived to adulthood. The daughter married William Branthwayte of Hethel (Norfk), establishing a long-standing connection between the two families. The son, John Berney (1634-78) went to Cambridge and was married in 1670 to Elizabeth, a daughter of Sir Arthur Onslow, 1st bt., of Clandon (Surrey). He inherited the Swardeston and Hockering estates in 1673, but died only five years later, leaving a young family. His widow married again, to Sir Francis Wyndham, 3rd bt., of Trent (Som.), and had a further son. She had evidently died by 1694/5, when Wyndham married again, and in that year her son Thomas Berney (1674-1720) came of age and succeeded to his father's property at Swardeston and Hockering. Thomas and his wife Anne (d. 1744) - who was a member of the Suckling family with whom the Berneys also had multiple marriage connections - had at least eight children, but only the three youngest are known to have reached adulthood. The only surviving son was John Berney (1717-1800), who came of age in 1738 and was High Sheriff of Norfolk in 1750-51. He married Susanna Trench in 1744 and in about 1750 bought Bracon Hall and the manor of Bracon Ash, to which they relocated. Their only son who lived to adulthood was Thomas Berney (1753-86), who was given the Hockering estate by his father and also inherited part of the manor of Ducketts at Tottenham (Middx) through his mother's family. He died in his father's lifetime, so it was Thomas's son, Thomas Trench Berney (1784-1869), who inherited the estates on his grandfather's death in 1800. The widow of Thomas Berney (d. 1786) rented Mergate Hall at Bracon Ash on a sixty-year lease from 1789, and lived there until her death in 1839.

Thomas Trench Berney came of age in 1805 and seems to have reshaped the estates he inherited through judicious sales and purchases. As a young man, he appears to have intended to replace Bracon Hall with a new house, and the old hall was evidently demolished by about 1805, but only the stables of the new house were ever erected. In 1819 or a little earlier he bought the Morton Hall estate at Morton-on-the-Hill (adjoining his Hockering property) and in 1821 he paid 30,000 guineas for the Euston Lodge estate, which I have not been able to locate (although it was said to be in Norfolk and may have been near Euston Hall, just over the Suffolk border). He offset these purchases by the sale of Swardeston Hall in 1823 and by selling the Bracon Ash estate in 1833 to his unmarried sister Elizabeth (1779-1847), who had lived with her widowed mother at Mergate Hall since the death of their father. Elizabeth's purchase of Bracon Ash was followed by the building of a modest new house at Bracon Hall, which was perhaps motivated by the approaching end of the lease on Mergate Hall, but in the event, Elizabeth died in 1847, shortly before the expiry of the lease, and bequeathed the Bracon Ash estate back to her brother.

Thomas Trench Berney made his home at Morton Hall, to which he added a large new wing. At his death in 1869, he divided his property between his two eldest sons, with George Duckett Berney (1813-87) receiving Morton Hall and Hockering, and the Rev. Thomas Berney (1816-95) receiving Bracon Hall. George married, but had no issue, and Thomas, who was more than a little eccentric, remained unmarried. George left the Morton Hall estate to his widow, Catherine (1830-1914) for life, but on Thomas' death his property passed to his next surviving brother, Augustus Berney (1831-1910), who had emigrated to Australia in 1852 and had recently retired after more than 30 years as a customs officer. He returned to England with his wife and younger daughter to take up his inheritance, and was soon followed by his elder daughter and her husband and probably by his only son, George Augustus Berney (1865-1952), who was certainly in England by 1914 when he inherited the Morton Hall estate on the death of his uncle's widow. The elder Augustus left Bracon Hall not to his son - perhaps realising that the latter's expectation of inheriting Morton Hall must soon be fulfilled - but to his widow (who died in 1916) and then to his daughter, Dora Lavinia Berney (1866-1959), who remained at Bracon Hall until her latter years. 

George Augustus Berney (1865-1952) was unmarried when he inherited Morton Hall in 1914, but in 1922 he married Marjory Scott Verel and produced two sons, John Verel Berney (1924-2014) and Richard Trench Berney (1927-2016). In the 1930s he lived in Norwich and let Morton Hall, which was requisitioned for military use during the Second World War but left unoccupied for several years. In 1946 it was leased to a company which used it as a furniture store, and by 1953 the whole house was in poor condition. John Verel Berney, who had recently inherited it, demolished a large part of the house and remodelled what remained into a smaller family house, but he evidently found the result unsatisfactory, for in 1963 he sold Morton Hall and soon afterwards built a completely new, neo-Georgian, house on his Hockering estate, which is now the home of his elder grandson, Oliver Berney (b. 1975).

Dora Berney handed over Bracon Hall to her nephew, Richard Trench Berney (1927-2016), when she became too elderly to manage the estate, and Richard and his wife (d. 2015) lived there until their deaths. Richard then bequeathed the property to his younger great-nephew, Humphrey Gilbert Berney (b. 1980), who has restored the property.

Swardeston Hall (later Gowthorpe Manor), Swardeston, Norfolk

A complex house, the core of which is two parallel ranges running roughly north-south, which are of different dates though both have crowstepped gables, and which are linked together by connecting wings.

Swardeston Hall (now Gowthorpe Manor): watercolour of the house from the south by Bosworth W. Harcourt, 1904.
The Tudor range is on the left; the Jacobean one on the right. Norfolk Museums Service 1922.135.BH514. Some rights reserved.

The earliest part is the western range, which was first constructed in semi-timbered form by the Styward family after 1531. Later in the 16th century this range was enclosed in brick and given a short three-bay west front with a central porch and mullioned and transomed windows (renewed in 1908, when many other alterations took place, including the removal of the external plaster recorded in the view above). The single-storey ashlar porch is gabled, with the date 1574 in the apex of the gable, which seems a little early for the style of the work and may refer to a date of acquisition or marriage rather of construction. The end-gables of the range are stepped, and that to the south has a five-light mullioned window on the ground floor, a pedimented four-light window above, and a two-light casement window in the attic: these all date from 1908 and the original fenestration was quite different, as the view above shows. The rear of this wing has a three-quarter stair turret, entered through a roll-moulded doorway under a four-centred arch with the Styward arms in the spandrels.

Swardeston Hall (now Gowthorpe Manor): the west front of the Tudor range. Image: Robert Orr/Historic England.

In the early 17th century, a T-shaped east range was built, consisting of a main north-south range parallel to the existing house, with a slightly lower wing projecting to its east. A shorter wing on the west connected it to the older part of the house. The gables of the addition are all stepped, and the windows are all mullioned and transomed cross casements, some with pediments. The east side has a second porch, not built of ashlar like the west porch but also dated 1574. Here the date cannot refer to construction, and strengthens the probability that it refers to something of greater significance to the family. A chimneypiece in the wing has the arms of Styward family again, so it would seem the addition was made before the estate was sold to Thomas Berney in c.1630. 

By the beginning of the 20th century the house had become a farmhouse and a series of watercolours in Norwich Castle Museum painted between 1902 and 1905 show that it was extensively decayed. An extensive restoration and remodelling took place in 1908-10, as well as the building of a substantial gabled addition to the north-east, providing additional service accommodation. 

Swardeston Hall (now Gowthorpe Manor):watercolour of the forecourt wall and gatepiers, by Bosworth W. Harcourt, 1902.
Image: Norfolk Museums Service 1922.135.BH773.  Some rights reserved.

The site retains intriguing evidence of a formerly grand formal layout accompanying the 17th century house. To the south-west of the house is a walled rectangular forecourt, now a garden, which was entered through a particularly grand pair of gatepiers, and beyond these the courtyard wall is raised up into two shaped gables which may originally have marked the ends of a stable block or other outbuildings. South-east of the house is a single-storey early 17th century gazebo, with four pilasters around the north doorway and shaped gables. West of the house is a fine 17th century barn with shaped gables and some mullioned windows. These features may all be a little later than the additions to the house, and could date from the 1650s or even the 1660s.

Descent: Sir Edward Boleyn (1496-1571), kt.; sold 1525 to Thomas Aldryche, Leonard Spencer and William Knightley; sold 1526 to John Clerk; sold 1531 to Augustine Styward (1491-1571), mercer and Lord Mayor of Norwich; to son, William Steward alias Styward (fl. 1608); to son, Thomas Styward; sold 1628 to Dame Juliana Berney (c.1568-1645); to son, Thomas Berney (c.1596-1673); to son, John Berney (1634-78); to son, Thomas Berney (1674-1760); to son, John Berney (1717-1800); to grandson, Thomas Trench Berney (1784-1869), who sold 1823 to John Steward (1766-1829); to son, John Henry Steward (1799-1863); to son, John Steward (c.1822-99); to son, Maj. John Henry Steward (1863-1915); to widow, Mrs Eleanor Steward (d. 1952) for life, and then to son, John Geoffrey Steward (1901-80); to widow, Mrs. Mary Steward (1902-84); to daughter, Rosemary Margaret (b. 1933), wife of David Melville Watkinson (1930-2011); to son, Paul Watkinson.

Bracon Hall, Bracon Ash, Norfolk

John Berney (1717-1800) bought the estate in about 1750, reputedly with a Queen Anne house, which was retained until about 1805. Francis Stone of Norwich made designs for a new house in that year, but only the stable block seems to have been built to his designs. This stands west of the present house and has five bays, with a pedimented centre, two Diocletian windows and an open arcade on the ground floor. In 1828, the site of the house, which had clearly been demolished by then if not in 1805, and the new stables etc. were offered for sale, but they seem to have remained with the family and the present house was built in 1833 for Miss Elizabeth Berney (d. 1847). 

Bracon Hall: the entrance front in recent years. Part of the stable block is visible to the left.

This is a large-boned square house of two storeys and three by three bays, with a hipped roof. The windows are tripartite sashes, set under distinctive but not very elegant basket-arch shaped heads, and there is a Diocletian window in the west wall, facing the stables.

Descent: Sir Nicholas Appleyard (d. 1511), kt.; to son, John Appleyard; to son, Roger Appleyard (d. 1528); to son, John Appleyard (b. c.1526); sold c.1569 to Thomas Townesend; sold c.1599 to Sir Edwin Rich, kt., who sold 1622 to Robert Wood; to son, Robert Wood (1601-80); to son, Thomas Wood (1626-99); to son, Thomas Wood... sold 1750 to John Berney (1717-1800); to grandson, Thomas Trench Berney (1784-1869), who sold 1833 to his sister, Elizabeth Berney (1779-1847) but inherited it again on her death; to son, Rev. Thomas Berney (1816-95); to brother, Augustus Berney (1831-1910); to daughter, Dora Berney (1866-1959); to nephew, Richard Trench Berney (1927-2016); to great-nephew, Humphrey Gilbert Berney (b. 1980).

Morton Hall, Morton-on-the-Hill, Norfolk

Thomas Southwell (d. 1609) built a small Elizabethan house with stepped gables here, on a site immediately east of the parish church. After the estate passed to Thomas Trench Berney (1784-1869) in 1819, he added a large wing at right angles to the original house, more than doubling the size of the building and making it L-shaped. The new wing was connected to the old house by a slightly lower, box-framed link, which may have been 17th or 18th century. There were further additions, at the south-west corner, later in the 19th century. 

Morton Hall, Morton-on-the-Hill: the house from the south-west in 1952, with the Elizabethan wing on the right,
the late 19th century addition on the left, and the Regency wing visible behind. Image: Historic England AA53/5828

Morton Hall, Morton-on-the-Hill: the west side of the Elizabethan house in the early 20th century, from an old postcard.

The end result was a rambling building of considerable size but very limited aesthetic appeal. The house was requisitioned for military purposes in the Second World War and occupied from October 1940 to May 1941. It then stood empty until 1946, when it was leased to Wallace King as a furniture storage depot. The firm gave up the lease in 1953, by which time the older portion and the 'link building' were in very poor repair, as survey photographs in the National Monuments Record show. 

Morton Hall, Morton-on-the-Hill: the east front of the 1819 wing in 1952. Image: Historic England AA53/5831

In about 1955, John Verel Berney (1924-2014), demolished the older parts of the house, leaving only the main 19th century wing at the north end of the site and the late 19th century single-storey addition that had formed the south-west corner. The larger surviving fragment, which is built of red brick, was then refurbished and modernised to form a moderately substantial country house in its own right. The two-storey seven-bay east front has a far-projecting central entrance bay rising through both storeys to a pediment and a polygonal cupola above that. The entrance front is of three storeys and five bays with a projecting three-storey wing at the northern end and a modern canted porch in the centre. The garden walls incorporate some late 16th century brickwork in English bond, preserved from the original setting of the Elizabethan house, but much of the present landscaping dates from after the sale of the estate with 2,192 acres in 1963.

Descent: Thomas Southwell (d. 1609); to kinsman, Denzany Southwell (d. 1636); to son, Thomas Southwell, who sold 1642 to Sir Arthur Jenny (d. 1668), kt.; to grandson, Suckling Jenny (d. 1698), who sold 1691 to Nicholas Helwys (c.1662-1724); to son, Nicholas Helways (b. 1703); to sister, Catherine Helways (d. 1756); to niece, Elizabeth Bladwell (1726-1814), wife of Charles le Grys (1725-1803); sold 1819 to Thomas Trench Berney (1784-1869); to son, George Duckett Berney (1813-87); to widow, Catherine Mary Berney (1830-1914); to nephew, George Augustus Berney (1865-1952); to son, John Verel Berney (1924-2014), who sold 1963 to Sir William Richard Prince-Smith (1928-2007), 4th bt.; to widow, Lady Ann Christina Prince-Smith (b. 1944).

Hockering House, Norfolk

The Berney family have owned the Hockering estate since the 1650s, but the modest original manor house was rarely used as a residence. In the 19th and 20th centuries the estate was an adjunct to the nearby Morton Hall property, but after Morton Hall was sold in 1963, a new two storey house of brick with a hipped roof, was built at Hockering for John Verel Berney (1924-2014). 

Hockering House: the garden front.

It was designed by Cecil Smith in 1968 in a rather unpractised and minimalist neo-Georgian style, although considering it was built at a time when the feeling for classical design had been all but lost, the proportions are not bad. The first floor windows sit immediately underneath the cornice a trifle awkwardly, but Georgian parallels could be found. The shallow-pedimented nine bay garden front has pilaster strips at the corners and framing the slightly projecting three-bay centre, the ground floor windows and door in which have arched heads. The entrance front is of seven bays, with the three central bays recessed this time, again under a pediment. The grounds of the house are now used as a wedding venue.

Descent: built for John Verel Berney (1924-2014); to grandson, Oliver Augustus Gage Berney (b. 1975).

Berney family of Gawthorpe Manor, Bracon Hall and Morton Hall

Berney, Thomas (c.1596-1673). Fourth son of Sir Thomas Berney (1565-1616), kt., of Park Hall, Reedham (Norfk) and his wife Juliana (c.1568-1645), daughter of Sir Thomas Gawdy (d. 1588) of Redenhall (Norfk), justice of Common Pleas, born about 1596. He supported the Parliamentarian side in the Civil War and was appointed High Sheriff of Norfolk, 1647-48. He married, 25 November 1633 at Swardeston, Dorothy (1596-1672), daughter of John Smith of Erminghall (Norfk), and had issue:

(1) John Berney (1634-78) (q.v.);

(2) Jane Berney (b. 1636), baptised at Swardeston, 13 January 1635/6; 

(3) Thomas Berney (b. 1637), baptised at Swardeston, 1 June 1637;

(4) Richard Berney (b. 1638), baptised at Swardeston, 8 August 1638;

(5) Julian (f.) Berney (c.1639-1727), born about 1639*; married William Branthwayte (1634-1711) of Hethel, and had issue eight sons and ten daughters (of whom twelve survived to adulthood); died aged 88 on 29 November 1727 and was buried at Hethel (Norfk).

His widowed mother bought the Swardeston Hall estate for him in 1628 and he had acquired the manor of Hockering by 1658.

He died 2 April 1673, and was buried at Swardeston, where he is commemorated by a floor slab; his will was proved in the PCC, 6 May 1673. His wife died 29 September 1672 and was buried at Swardeston, where she is also commemorated by a floor slab.

* She may have been baptised at Swardeston, like her siblings, but the register appears defective at this period.

Berney, John (1634-78). Eldest son of Thomas Berney (c.1596-1673) and his wife Dorothy, daughter of John Smith of Erminghall (Norfk), baptised at Swardeston, January 1633/4. Educated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge (matriculated 1653) and Grays Inn (admitted 1655). He married, 1670 (licence 17 November), Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Arthur Onslow (1622-88), 1st bt., of West Clandon (Surrey), and widow of [forename unknown] Cholmley, and had issue:

(1) Elizabeth Berney (1671-78), born about 1671 when she was mentioned in her grandfather's will; died unmarried and was buried at Swardeston, 14 November 1678;

(2) Dorothy* Berney (c.1672-1747); possibly the 'Ann Berney of Swasham' who married, 2 July 1700 at Pyrford (Surrey), Robert Suckling (1673-1735) of Woodton Hall (Norfk), and had issue four sons and three daughters; died 15 January 1747/8 and was buried at Woodton;

(3) Thomas Berney (1674-1720) (q.v.).

He inherited Swardeston Hall and Hockering from his father in 1673.

He died 19 October 1678, and was buried at Swardeston, where he is commemorated by a floor slab; his will was proved in the PCC, 1 April 1679. His widow married 3rd, Sir Francis Wyndham (c.1654-1716), 3rd bt. of Trent (Som.) (who married 2nd, 18 February 1694/5, Hester (d. 1708), widow of Matthew Ingram, and 3rd, 8 April 1712, Henrietta Maria (d. 1739), daughter of Thomas Wiggington of Ham (Surrey) and widow of Sir Richard Newdigate, 2nd bt., of Arbury (Warks) and Harefield (Middx)), and had further issue one son; she died in or before 1695.

* Some sources give her name as Ann, but she is named as Dorothy in her father's will and in later trust documentation about the Berney estate.

Berney, Thomas (1674-1720). Only son of John Berney (1634-78) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Arthur Onslow, bt., of West Clandon (Surrey) and widow of [forename unknown] Cholmley, baptised at Swardeston, 23 April 1674. He married, 29 May 1700 at Woodton (Norfk), Anne (d. 1744), daughter of Robert Suckling of Woodton Hall, and had issue, perhaps among others:

(1) Elizabeth Berney (1701-31?), baptised at Swardeston, 25 February 1700/1; said to have died unmarried in 1731;

(2) Onslow Berney (b. & d. 1702), baptised at Swardeston, 12 March 1701/2; died in infancy and was buried at Swardeston, 14 May 1702;

(3) Anne Berney (b. 1703), baptised at Swardeston, 17 November 1703;

(4) Robert Berney (b. & d. 1705), baptised at Swardeston, 20 February 1704/5; died in infancy and was buried at Swardeston, 24 February 1704/5;

(5) Sarah Berney (b. 1706), baptised at Swardeston, 7 June 1706;

(6) Mary Berney (1712-1810), baptised at Swardeston, 26 April 1712; died unmarried at Swardeston Hall, aged 97, on 15 January 1810;

(7) Juliana Berney (1713-92?), baptised at Swardeston, 26 April 1713; possibly the woman of this name who died unmarried and was buried at St Mary in the Marsh, Norwich, 10 February 1792;

(8) John Berney (1717-1800) (q.v.).

He inherited Swardeston Hall and Hockering from his father in 1678 and came of age in 1695.

He died 25 October, and was buried at Swardeston, 26 October 1720; his will was proved in Norwich, 1721. His widow was buried at Swardeston, 12 April 1744.

Berney, John (1717-1800). Third and youngest, but only surviving, son of Thomas Berney (1674-1720) and his wife Anne, daughter of Robert Suckling of Woodton Hall (Norfk), baptised at Swardeston, 14 July 1717. High Sheriff of Norfolk, 1750-51. He married 1st, 28 May 1745, Susannah (1715-54), daughter and sole heir of Thomas Trench, and 2nd, 28 October 1755 at St Stephen Walbrook, London, Margaret (1714-1801), daughter and heir of Sir Daniel Dolins (1679-1728), kt., and had issue:

(1.1) Susannah Berney (1746-97), baptised at Swardeston, 14 May 1746; married, 20 December 1774 at St James, Bath (Som.), Peter John Fremeaux (1742-84) of Kingsthorpe Hall (Northants), and had issue one daughter; died 26 October 1797;

(1.2) John Berney (b. & d. 1748), baptised at Swardeston, 9 March 1747/8; died in infancy and was buried at Swardeston, 18 June 1748;

(1.3) Anne Berney (1749-50), baptised at Swardeston, 20 February 1748/9; died in infancy and was buried at Swardeston, 10 May 1750;

(1.4) John Berney (1750-54), baptised at Swardeston, 4 July 1750; died young, 4 May, and was buried at Bracon Ash, 21 May 1754, where he is commemorated by a monument;

(1.5) Anne Berney (1751-94), baptised at Bracon Ash, 23 June 1751; married, 17 December 1776 at Bracon Ash, Robert Fellowes (1742-1829), of Shotesham Park (Norfk)*, MP for Norfolk, 1802-07, son of William Fellowes of Shotesham, and had issue six sons and six daughters; died 21 February 1794;

(1.6) Thomas Berney (1753-86) (q.v.).

He inherited Swardeston Hall and Hockering from his father in 1720 and came of age in 1738. He purchased Bracon Hall at Bracon Ash (Norfk) in 1750, and also had a house at Hackney (Middx).

He died 18 October and was buried at Bracon Ash, 30 October 1800; his will was proved in the PCC, 16 December 1800. His first wife died 18 March, and was buried at Bracon Ash, 24 March 1753/4. His widow died 4 March and was buried at St John, Hackney, 10 March 1801; her will was proved in London, 31 March 1801.

* Which he rebuilt to the designs of Sir John Soane, 1784.

Berney, Thomas (1753-86). Third, but only surviving, son of John Berney (1717-1800) and his first wife Susannah, daughter and sole heir of Thomas Trench, born 18 March and baptised at Bracon Ash, 23 March 1753. JP for Norfolk. He married, 3 May 1774 at St Margaret, Westminster (Middx), Elizabeth (1754-1839), third daughter of Sir George Jackson (later Duckett) (1725-1822), 1st bt., MP for Colchester and Under-Secretary for the Admiralty, and had issue:

(1) Elizabeth Berney (1779-1847) (q.v.);

(2) Thomas Trench Berney (1784-1869) (q.v.).

He was given the Hockering estate by his father but seems to have lived at Bracon Ash; through his mother he also inherited part of the manor of Ducketts, Tottenham (Middx). His widow rented Mergate Hall at Bracon Ash from 1789.

He died at Hackney (Middx) in the lifetime of his father, 21 November, and was buried at Bracon Ash, 4 December 1786; his will was proved in the PCC, 29 December 1786. His widow died 5 January, and was buried at Bracon Ash, 15 January 1839; her will was proved in the PCC, 30 October 1840.

Berney, Elizabeth (1779-1847). Only daughter of Thomas Berney (1753-86) and his wife Elizabeth, third daughter of Sir George Jackson (later Duckett), baptised at Wymondham (Norfk), 27 June 1779. She was unmarried and without issue.

She purchased Bracon Hall from her brother in 1833, and rebuilt the house there. She succeeded her mother as lessee of Mergate Hall, the lease of which expired in 1849. At her death her property passed to her brother.

She died 26 June and was buried at Bracon Ash, 6 July 1847.

Berney, Thomas Trench (1784-1869). Only son of Thomas Berney (1753-86) and his wife Elizabeth, third daughter of Sir George Jackson (later Duckett), born 17 July and baptised at Bracon Ash, 18 July 1784. Educated at Oriel College, Oxford (matriculated 1801). JP for Norfolk; High Sheriff of Norfolk, 1813-14. In 1840, he designed and patented an improved cartridge for sporting and other uses, which increased the accuracy and force of shots. He married, 15 June 1812 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Mary (1790-1876), daughter of Thomas Penrice of Great Yarmouth (Norfk), and had issue:

(1) George Duckett Berney (1813-87) (q.v.);

(2) Mary Berney (b. & d. 1814); born 25 February 1814; died in infancy and was buried at Bracon Ash, 27 February 1814;

(3) Rev. Thomas Berney (1816-95) (q.v.);

(4) Mary Berney (1817-63), born 18 June and baptised at Morton-on-the-Hill, 24 June 1817; died unmarried and was buried at Morton-on-the-Hill, 10 July 1863;

(5) Elizabeth Emily Berney (1820-80), baptised at Morton-on-the-Hill, 12 March 1820; died unmarried following an accident at Marlingford Hall (Norfk), 5 February, and was buried at Morton-on-the-Hill, 11 February 1880;

(6) Susanna Berney (1821-1906), baptised at Morton-on-the-Hill, 26 August 1821; died unmarried, 15 October, and was buried at Morton-on-the-Hill, 19 October 1906;

(7) John Berney (b. & d. 1823), born 22 May 1823; died in infancy and was buried at Bracon Ash, 7 July 1823;

(8) John Berney (1824-59), born 30 August and baptised at Morton-on-the-Hill, 5 September 1824; civil engineer; died unmarried from typhoid fever, 11 October, and was buried at Bracon Ash, 18 October 1859;

(9) Charles Berney (1825-26), born 24 October and baptised at Morton-on-the-Hill, 30 October 1825; died in infancy and was buried at Bracon Ash, 31 January 1826;

(10) Caroline Berney (1827-57), baptised at Morton-on-the-Hill, 29 April 1827; married, 24 February 1848 at Morton-on-the-Hill, Andrew Fountaine (1808-74) of Narford Hall (Norfk), and had issue two daughters; died at Morton Hall, August 1857;

(11) Julia Berney (1830-1903), baptised at Morton-on-the-Hill, 25 April 1830; died unmarried, 9 July, and was buried at Morton-on-the-Hill, 14 July 1903; will proved 25 September 1903 (estate £15,021);

(12) Augustus Berney (1831-1910) (q.v.);

(13) Charles Berney (1832-34), born 17 October and baptised at Morton-on-the-Hill, 21 October 1832; died in infancy and was buried at Bracon Ash, 1 April 1834.

He inherited Bracon Hall, Swardeston Hall and Hockering from his grandfather in 1800 and came of age in 1805. He sold Swardeston Hall in 1823 and sold Bracon Hall to his sister in 1833; but purchased Morton Hall in 1819 and the Euston Lodge (Norfk) estate (reportedly for 30,000 guineas) in 1821. 

He died 15 September 1869 and was buried at Bracon Ash, where he is commemorated by a monument; his will was proved 31 January 1870 (effects under £20,000). His widow died at Morton Hall, 5 February, and was buried at Bracon Ash, 11 February 1876; her will was proved 3 May 1876 (effects under £800).

Berney, Rev. Thomas (1816-95). Second son of Thomas Trench Berney (1784-1869) and his wife Mary, daughter of Thomas Penrice of Great Yarmouth (Norfk), born 26 May and baptised at Bracon Ash, 28 May 1816. Educated at Charterhouse School and St John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1834; BA 1838; MA 1843). Ordained deacon, 1838 and priest, 1839. Rector of Hockering with Bergh, 1839-56 and of Bracon Ash, 1855-95. He held extreme protestant views and was a bitter opponent of 'Ritualism' in the church. He was also somewhat eccentric, and was the author of a pamphlet arguing against the marriage of a man with his deceased wife's sister. In 1864 he was accused of immoral conduct with a clergyman's wife and her sister, and suspended for two years by the Court of Arches, but the decision was reversed on his appeal to the Privy Council, which considered the evidence insufficient for a conviction. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Bracon Hall from his father in 1869.

He died 22 September and was buried at Bracon Ash, 26 September 1895, where he is commemorated by a monument; administration of his goods was granted to his sister Susanna, 25 January 1896 (effects £1,747).

Berney, George Duckett (1813-87). Eldest son of Thomas Trench Berney (1784-1869) and his wife Mary, daughter of Thomas Penrice of Great Yarmouth (Norfk), born 21 April and baptised at Bracon Ash, 25 April 1813. Educated at Charterhouse School and St John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1831). JP and DL for Norfolk; High Sheriff of Norfolk, 1881-82. He married, 15 September 1864 at Bylaugh (Norfk), Catherine Mary (1830-1914), eldest surviving daughter of Rev. Henry Lombe of Bylaugh Park, but had no issue.

He inherited Morton Hall and Hockering from his father in 1869. At his death he left the estate to his widow for life.

He died 13 December 1887; will proved 18 April 1888 (effects £22,265). His widow was buried at Morton-on-the-Hill, 5 August 1914; her will was proved 15 September 1914 (estate £23,591).

Berney, Augustus (1831-1910). Fourth son of Thomas Trench Berney (1784-1869) and his wife Mary, daughter of Thomas Penrice of Great Yarmouth (Norfk), born 17 August and baptised at Merton-on-the-Hill, 21 August 1831. He emigrated to Sydney, New South Wales (Australia) in 1852, where he was a Customs officer from 1855 until his retirement c.1890. He returned to England in 1895 after the death of his elder brother left him heir to the Bracon Ash estate. A freemason from 1867. He married, 5 April 1858 at St Leonards, North Shore, Sydney, New South Wales, Matilda Lavinia (1826-1916), daughter of Col. John George Nathaniel Gibbes, and had issue:

(1) Eva Constance Elizabeth Fanny Berney (1861-1936), born 1 December 1861 and baptised at Darlinghurst, New South Wales, 18 January 1862; married, 7 November 1893 at Darlinghurst, Henry Goulburn Willoughby Chetwynd (1858-1909), son of Capt. the Hon. Henry Wayland Chetwynd, and had issue three daughters; moved to England with her husband, 1897; died 16 August 1936; will proved 14 November 1936 (estate £30,029);

(2) Percy Ernest Augustus Berney (1863-64), born 26 March and baptised at Darlinghurst, 23 May 1863; died in infancy, 9 May 1864 and was buried at Randwick, New South Wales, where he is commemorated by a headstone;

(3) George Augustus Berney (1865-1952) (q.v.);

(4) Dora Lavinia Berney (1866-1959), born 27 October 1866; came to England with her parents, 1895; inherited Bracon Hall from her father in 1910 and lived there until her later years when she moved to Bungay (Suffk); died unmarried aged 93 on 27 November 1893 and was buried at Bracon Ash; will proved 10 June 1960 (estate £21,828).

He inherited Bracon Hall from his elder brother in 1895.

He died 27 September, and was buried at Bracon Ash, 1 October 1910, where he is commemorated by a memorial brass; his will was proved 27 February 1911 (estate £40,299). His widow died 8 December 1916; her will was proved 3 March 1917 (estate £802).

Berney, George Augustus (1865-1952). Second, but only surviving, son of Augustus Berney (1831-1910) and his wife Matilda Lavinia, daughter of Col. John George Nathaniel Gibbes, born at Darlinghurst, New South Wales, 10 April, and baptised there 27 May 1865. He married, 16 December 1922 at Brooke (Norfk), Marjory Scott (1889-1966), daughter of John Bisett Verel, and had issue:

(1) John Verel Berney (1924-2014) (q.v.);

(2) Richard Trench Berney (1927-2016) (q.v.).

He inherited Morton Hall and Hockering from his aunt in 1914. In the 1930s, Morton Hall was let to Stephen Vlasto (1868-1935), and it was requisitioned for military use, 1940-46, but left unoccupied after 1941. He lived latterly in Norwich.

He died 13 October 1952 and was buried at Bracon Ash, where he and his wife are commemorated by a monument; his will was proved 22 December 1952 (estate £6,570). His widow died 14 January 1966 and was also buried at Bracon Ash; her will was proved 21 March 1966 (estate £8,983).

Berney, Richard Trench (1927-2016). Second son of George Augustus Berney (1865-1952) and his wife Marjory Scott Verel, born 29 January 1927. He served in the Second World War with the Scots Guards (L/Cpl; retired 1946). He married, Oct-Dec 1956, Peggy Bertha (1926-2015), daughter of James Godfrey, but had no issue.

He inherited Bracon Hall from his aunt Dora Berney in 1959.

He died 8 December 2016; his will was proved 27 May 2017. His wife died 4 November 2015; her will was proved 1 July 2016.

John Verel Berney (1924-2014) 

Berney, John Verel (1924-2014). Elder son of George Augustus Berney (1865-1952) and his wife Marjory Scott Verel, born 17 February 1924. Educated at Radley and Clare College, Cambridge. An officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1944; retired 1947). JP for Norfolk from 1957. High Sheriff of Norfolk, 1978-79. He married, 3 January 1950 at Bracon Ash, Dr. Jill MD (1920-84), daughter of Gilbert Philip Makinson (d. 1928) of Sydney (Australia), and had issue:

(1) Ralph John Berney (b. 1950) (q.v.);

(2) Philippa Frances Berney (b. 1953), born 11 January 1953; speech and language therapist;  married, 13 September 1980, Nicholas Gerald Chudleigh Moll (b. 1951), graphic designer, son of G.M. Moll, and had issue three sons;

(3) Sylvia Irene Berney (b. 1955), born 12 January 1955; educated at Bristol University (MB, BS, 1978); physician and surgeon; consultant haematologist with Barnet & Chase Farm NHS Hospitals Trust;

(4) Rosalind Berney (b. 1958), born 1 September 1958; educated at Benenden School; insurance underwriter; married, 24 February 1993 at Weston Longville (Norfk), Andrew Michael Spittle (b. 1959), chartered surveyor, son of Michael Spittle of Elmbridge (Worcs), and had issue two daughters.

He inherited Morton Hall and Hockering from his father in 1952, pulled part of Morton Hall down and remodelled the rest, c.1953. He then sold it in 1963 and built a new house on the  Hockering estate in 1968. 

He died aged 90 on 8 July 2014; his will was proved 3 June 2015. His wife died 10 June 1984; her will was proved 11 January 1985 (estate £102,645).

Berney, Ralph John (b. 1950) Only son of John Verel Berney (1924-2014) and his wife Jill, daughter of Gilbert Makinson of Sydney (Australia), born 29 December 1950. After a career in farming, he retrained and became a journalist, teacher and author, working mainly in eastern Europe, Turkey and the Middle East; author of The Marconi Officer (2024). He married, 16 July 1974 (div.) at Caister St Edmund (Norfk), Susan Jennifer Gage Miller (b. 1953), and had issue:

(1) Oliver Augustus Gage Berney (b. 1975), born 29 June 1975; inherited Hockering House from his grandfather in 2014; married, c.2010, Samantha Marin; now living;

(2) Rose Isabel Berney (1977-2005), born 8 September 1977; suffered from mental illness and took her own life, 15 November 2005;

(3) Humphrey Gilbert Berney (b. 1980), born 26 July 1980; educated at Gresham's School, Holt; singer with National Youth Chamber Choir before training as an opera singer and joining the classical music quartert Blake; inherited Bracon Hall from his great uncle in 2016; married, c.2018, Charlotte Taylor (b. 1983), interior designer; now living. 

He lives in Izmir (Turkey).

Now living. His former wife married 2nd, Apr-Jun 1998, Frederick Robert Preston (b. 1947) of Mulbarton (Norfk), farmer, and is now living.

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1914, pp. 143-44; Sir N. Pevsner & B. Wilson, The buildings of England: Norfolk 2 - North-West and South, 2nd edn., 1999, pp. 211, 408, 547, 688-89; P. Dallas, R. Last & T. Williamson, Norfolk gardens and designed landscapes, 2013, p. 285; T. Williamson, I. Ringwood & S. Spooner, Lost country houses of Norfolk, 2015, pp. 317-18.

Location of archives

Berney family of Morton Hall etc: deeds, manorial records, family and estate papers, 16th-20th cents [Norfolk Record Office, BER, STA 517-603, FOS429-437]

Coat of arms

Per pale, gules and azure, 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 17 December 2024.