(608) Bevan and Smalman of Quatford Castle and Longstowe Hall

Smalman of Wilderhope and Quatford 

In this article, I trace the interlinked stories of the Smalman and Bevan families of Quatford Castle (Shropshire), and of the cadet branch of the Bevan family who are still resident at Longstowe Hall (Cambs). The story really begins with John Smalman (1782-1852), a builder and architect at Bridgnorth (Shrops.) who was proud of his descent from the romantically Recusant and Royalist Smalman family of Wilderhope Manor (Shrops.), although the family had sold Wilderhope in 1734, two generations before he was born. His father, also John Smalman (1749-1834), with whom the genealogy below begins, lived at Munslow (Shrops.) and may have been the builder-architect of this name who in 1799 designed a new stone house in the village there, later called the Miller House, for William Wainwright. Certainly, there was a strong building tradition in the family, which manifested itself not just in the career of John Smalman (1782-1852), but also in those of five of his nephews, including Samuel Pountney Smith (1812-83), one of the leading architects in Shrewsbury in the mid 19th century. 

Wilderhope Manor

John dominated the construction industry in and around Bridgnorth in the first quarter of the 19th century, and no doubt derived his rising prosperity chiefly from his activities as a builder, since only a small number of architectural projects are certainly known to be his work, although these include the enlargement of Stanley Hall (Shrops.) c.1816 and alterations to Dudmaston Hall (Shrops.) in 1826. By the 1820s, John was living at a modest house called The Chantry, at Quatford, where he built a Gothick folly called The Watch House in the grounds. At the end of the decade he bought a plot of land between Quatford and Bridgnorth and built himself a castellated villa which became known as Quatford Castle. In the 1830s and 1840s, John played a prominent role in the civic affairs of Bridgnorth, serving as mayor in 1837-38, but he never married, and in his old age his niece, Mary Beddoes (1816-89) went to live with him. She inherited the estate when he died, and two years later she married the Rev. Edward Griffith (c.1808-71), who it seems likely was a relative of the George Griffith who in 1847 published a narrative poem entitled The English Village; an Old-Man's Tale of the Castle of Quatford. Mary also died without issue and left the castle to her cousin, Mary Bevan (1821-1900), the sister of Samuel Pountney Smith and his architect brothers.

Mary Bevan (née Smith)'s husband was Henry Bevan (1813-67), an accountant who also acted as Secretary of the Shropshire Infirmary. Their only children were two sons, Henry Edward James Bevan (1854-1935), who went into the church, and Charles Smalman Bevan (1856-1923), who became a bank clerk in Birmingham and never married. On Mary's death in 1900, Quatford passed to the Rev. Henry Bevan, who was then Gresham Professor of Divinity, rector of Holy Trinity, Sloane St. in fashionable Chelsea (Middx), Rural Dean of Chelsea, and a chaplain to the Bishop of London. He was clearly marked for further promotion in the church and it was not long in coming, for he became rector of St Luke, Chelsea in 1902 and Archdeacon of Middlesex in 1903, a post he held until 1930. He and his wife, the Hon. Charlotte Molesworth (1864-1931) divided their time between Chelsea and Quatford. They had four sons of whom the eldest followed his father into the church, the second became an engineer and eventually emigrated to Canada, and the two youngest went into the army. They also had two daughters, the elder of whom acted as secretary to her father and later became a head teacher in Jamaica. The eldest son was the Rev. Hugh Henry Molesworth Bevan (1884-1970), who followed a similar career path to his father, holding a succession of benefices in west London and becoming a prebendary of St Paul's Cathedral and Secretary of the London Diocesan Conference in 1942. In 1948 he was appointed Archdeacon of Ludlow and made his home at Quatford Castle, but six years later he abruptly sold the castle and accepted the rectory of Stanton Long (Shrops.), to which he relocated, retaining the archdeaconry until 1960. Hugh and his wife Rachel Knatchbull-Hugesson (1893-1987) had three sons, in whom a strong musical tradition is evident. The eldest, Roger Bevan (1918-98), who was disinherited by his father for marrying a Roman Catholic (and his first cousin, to boot), became director of music at Downside School, while the second son, Maurice Bevan (1921-2006) was a vicar choral at St Paul's Cathedral and a professional singer and composer with the Deller Consort and the BBC. Roger and his wife had fourteen children, and in the 1970s he formed a family choir which operated until 1984. The fifty-four cousins of the next generation have more recently renewed the idea, and since 2015 fifteen of them have performed as the Bevan Family Consort.

The third son of the Rev. Henry Edward James Bevan (1854-1935) was the rather sonorously named Temple Percy Molesworth Bevan (1897-1981), who served as an officer in the Grenadier Guards in the First World War and had a career in industry in the Far East between the wars, before acting as general organising secretary for the 1948 Olympic Games in London. In 1920, he married Amy (1895-1978), the daughter of William Arthur Briscoe (1860-1934) of Longstowe Hall (Cambs). Her brother, Richard George Briscoe (1893-1957) who inherited Longstowe, was unmarried and without issue, and in 1951 he made over the Longstowe estate to Temple and Amy's eldest son, Michael Guy Molesworth Bevan (1926-92). At first, Temple and Amy seem to have been resident at Longstowe, but Michael took over the running of the estate in 1957. He played a prominent role in county society, culminating in his appointment as Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, 1985-92. On his death, the estate passed to his second son, William George Briscoe Bevan (b. 1958), who now lives there but also operates it as a wedding venue. 

Quatford Castle, Shropshire

A compact castellated villa, at first called Morf Mount (although the present name had been adopted by 1833), set on a wooded crag south of Bridgnorth, with fine views over the River Severn. Although there was a Norman motte-and-bailey castle at Quatford, of which the mound survives beside the river, the present house is about three-quarters of a mile to the north-west. 

View of Quatford Castle across the River Severn attributed to Joseph Powell, c.1834.

It is entirely the creation of John Smalman (c.1783-1852), a successful local architect and builder, who was mayor of Bridgnorth in 1837-38 and was very proud of his descent from the Smalman family of Wilderhope Manor, though his immediate ancestors had been tradesmen. He lived previously at The Chantry, a little further south, where he had built a brick and stucco folly known as The Watch Tower in the grounds. He built Quatford Castle in a similar style to the Watch Tower for himself in 1829-30, in a mix of red sandstone and brick, which were surely meant to be concealed by a stucco coat which would have greatly increased the impact of the building in the landscape. The house consists of a group of polygonal towers of varying heights, dressed up with heavy crenellation and deep machicolation, which are composed with a clear eye to picturesque effect. Smalman subsequently commissioned a series of views of Bridgnorth and Quatford from the leading watercolourist, Joseph Powell.

Quatford Castle: the house from the north, c.1920, from an old postcard.

Quatford Castle: the house from the south in 1977.

A pair of projecting conservatories at the south-east and south-west angles of the house, both of which open off the main drawing room, add to the complexity of the profile, but these apart the house is essentially square in plan. The windows are large, irregularly placed sashes with Gothick glazing bars, some of which have nominally pointed heads.  The design was very favourably noticed when it was new (Charles Hulbert in 1837 called it 'the most perfect imitation I ever beheld'), but later surveys of the county, made after this sort of design fell out favour in the Victorian period, barely mention it. In 1954 the house had five reception rooms and six principal bedrooms, with the most important rooms facing the views over the garden to the river. The house is said to have been restored and modernised by the new owners in the later 1950s. The house is approached by a lodge up the longest drive that could conveniently be laid out on what was always a fairly small plot; when the house was sold in 1954 it stood on 13.5 acres.

Quatford Castle: site plan from the 1st edn. 25" plan of 1882.

Descent: built 1829-30 for John Smalman (1782-1852); to niece, Mary Beddoes (1816-89), later wife of Rev. Edward Griffith (c.1808-71); to cousin, Mary Smith (1821-1900), the widow of Henry Bevan (1813-67); to son, Ven. Henry Edward James Bevan (1854-1935); to son, Ven. Hugh Henry Molesworth Bevan (1884-1970), who sold 1954 to Arthur Philip Morley (1900-73); to widow Joan Morley, who sold 1977 to Harold Edward Baker (1922-83); to sons, Karl Baker (b. 1955) and Adam Richard Baker (b. 1961).

Longstowe Hall, Cambridgeshire

The medieval manor-house of the De Stowe family probably occupied the site of the present Longstowe Hall, and was surrounded by a great moat, in the eastern part of which a young man was drowned in 1381. 

Longstowe Hall: the Elizabethan house, drawn by R. Relhan in 1833
(Image: Cambridge Antiquarian Society)

The earliest parts of the present house were built for Anthony Cage the elder (d. 1583), who created an E-plan house, the entrance front of which is now represented by the central three bays of the garden front of the present house. In 1858 the estate was sold to Sidney Stanley (d. 1896), for whom William M. Fawcett of Cambridge extensively remodelled the house in 1865-70, adding gabled extensions to either side of the original building. A design by Fawcett was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1870. From this era, the house retains its huge, west-facing drawing room, with a French-style marble chimneypiece and restrained neo-Jacobean plasterwork. Some earlier interiors were also preserved, such as the neighbouring morning room in an 18th-century spirit. This was recorded by the artist David Wilkie, who stayed at the house in about 1840. 

Longstowe Hall: the site plan as shown on the 1st edn. 25" Ordnance Survey map of 1886,
showing the enlarged block plan of the house after the additions of 1865-70.

William Arthur Briscoe, who had rented the house from 1879, bought the freehold in 1905, and soon afterwards commissioned Sir John W. Simpson & Maxwell Ayrton to build a completely new entrance front in a late Jacobean Revival style and make further alterations to the garden front, reducing the height of the central gable and adding the classical porch-cum-loggia. They also laid out the formal gardens and built a very handsome gatehouse at the end of the main drive. The works were spread over about five years (1907-12), and involved the employment of a number of different contractors, several of whom were local.

Longstowe Hall: design for new north and west fronts by Simpson & Ayrton, from Building News, 1916.

Longstowe Hall: garden front as altered by Simpson & Ayrton in 1907-12.

Longstowe Hall: the interior face of the gatehouse, from the Architectural Review, 1909.

Inside, the house was given a series of lavish Edwardian rooms appropriate to the increased scale of the house, including a two-storey hall with an arcaded timber gallery and a strapwork ceiling by Albert Hodge modelled on that of the long gallery at Lanhydrock (Cornwall) but with the figures transposed into a classical style. The hall also has some genuine Flemish panelling of c.1550, some 17th century baroque woodwork, and in about 1950 was given a painted frieze by Edgar Richards, depicting Arcadian fantasy figures in fictive architecture (which seems now to have been removed or covered up). The library and smoking room are almost equally grand, with more Continental Baroque panelling and further neo-Jacobean plasterwork by Hodge, and the staircase is a forest of richly-toned woodwork and panelling. The Edwardian essence of these interiors is unusually well preserved, when so many rooms of similar date have been stripped back either through the sale of contents or a late 20th century desire for greater minimalism. The house was photographed for Country Life in 2022, and the interiors can be seen in their account.

Longstowe Hall: a wedding in the great hall, before the removal or covering of the frieze.

Descent: John Broughton (d. 1528); to daughter Anne (d. 1562), wife of Sir Thomas Cheyney KG (d. 1558); to son, Henry Cheyney, who sold 1563 to Thomas Bownest; to Anthony Cage (d. 1583); to son, Anthony Cage (d. 1603); to son, Sir John Cage (d. 1628); to son, Sir Anthony Cage, who sold 1649 to Francis Bickley; sold 1655 to Sir Ralph Bovey (d. 1679); to Rev. Thomas Davies (later Bovey); to daughter Catherine (d. 1778), wife of Sir Thomas Alston (1724-74), 5th bt.; to her illegitimate son, Charles Wasse alias Alston, who sold 1796 to Rev. Robert Thomson (d. 1827); sold 1840 to Richard Simpson (d. 1853); to son, Joseph Simpson, who sold 1858 to Sidney Stanley (d. 1896); to son, Charles Wentworth Stanley (1860-1939), who sold 1905 to William Arthur Briscoe (1860-1934); to son, Richard George Briscoe (1893-1957), who in 1951 gave the estate to his nephew, Michael Guy Molesworth Bevan (1926-92); to son, William George Briscoe Bevan (b. 1958). The house was let as a girls' school during and after the Second World War.

Smalman family of Quatford Castle

Smalman, John (1749-1834). Son of John Smalman (1711-74) of Diddlebury (Shrops.) and his wife Sarah (d. 1782), daughter and heiress of William Barney of Albrighton (Shrops.), baptised at Diddlebury, 16 July 1749. Possibly the architect and builder who designed the Miller House at Munslow for William Wainwright in 1799. He married, 21 July 1781 at Munslow (Shrops.), Jane (c.1758-1805), daughter and heiress of Francis Wainwright of The Fegg, Much Wenlock, and had issue:

(1) John Smalman (1782-1852) (q.v.);

(2) Emma Smalman (1783-1866) (q.v.);

(3) Eleanor Smalman (1785-1849), baptised at Munslow, 19 February 1785; married, 19 January 1818, William Woofe (1780-1872) of The Gaer, Caereinion (Montgomerys.), and had issue at least three sons; buried at Castle Caerinion, 7 August 1849;

(4) Harriet Smalman (1787-1864) (q.v.);

(5) Francis Wainwright Smalman (1793-1814), baptised at Munslow, 4 August 1793; died unmarried and was buried at St John in Bedwardine (Worcs), 19 July 1814.

He lived at Munslow.

He died 19 June and was buried at Munslow, 24 June 1834. His wife died 17 December 1805.

John Smalman (1782-1852) 

Smalman, John (1782-1852). Elder son of John Smalman (1749-1834) and his wife Jane, daughter and heiress of Francis Wainwright of The Fegg, Much Wenlock, born 7 April 1782. Builder and architect of Bridgnorth (Shrops.) and Quatford, who seems to have become extremely prosperous, presumably on account of his role as a builder, as his known architectural works are all local to Bridgnorth and few in number. He was probably responsible for the addition of an attic storey to Dudmaston Hall (Shrops.), 1826, and additions to Stanley Hall (Shrops.), c.1816, and also widened Bridgnorth Bridge and built a new theatre in the town (which only survived for some thirty years). His most significant design was undoubtedly for his own house, Quatford Castle, built in 1829-30. His nephew, Samuel Pountney Smith (1812-83), became his pupil. He was a Whig in politics, became an alderman of Bridgnorth in 1835, and served as mayor of the town, 1837-38, and a portrait of him remains in the town hall. JP for Bridgnorth borough, 1836. He had literary interests, and wrote several long poems of eccentric character which are preserved in manuscript. He was unmarried and without issue.

He lived at The Chantry, Quatford until he built Quatford Castle in 1829-30.

He died 11 March 1852, and was buried at Quatford, where he is commemorated by a monument with a eulogistic epitaph.

Smalman, Harriet (1787-1864). Third and youngest daughter of John Smalman (1749-1834) and his wife Jane, daughter and heiress of Francis Wainwright of The Fegg, Much Wenlock, baptised at Munslow (Shrops.), 4 July 1787. She married, 14 November 1815 at Munslow, George Beddoes (c.1770-1854), joiner, and had issue:

(1) Mary Beddoes (1816-89), baptised at Quatford, 26 May 1816; lived with her uncle, John Smalman, at Quatford Castle, and inherited the property from him in 1852; married, 19 January 1854 at Quatford, Rev. Edward Griffith (c.1808-71) of Frome (Som.), son of James Griffith, gent., but had no issue; died 18 October and was buried at Quatford, 23 October 1889; will proved 15 November 1889 (effects £18,108).

She lived latterly at Quatford Castle with her daughter.

She died 26 July and was buried at Quatford, 1 August 1864; administration of her goods was granted 11 October 1864 (effects under £1,000). Her husband was buried at Bishop's Castle (Shrops.), 18 March 1854.

Smalman, Emma (1783-1866). Eldest daughter of John Smalman (1749-1834) and his wife Jane, daughter and heiress of Francis Wainwright of The Fegg, Much Wenlock, baptised at Munslow, 6 September 1783. She married, 26 June 1807, Edward Smith (c.1778-1847) of the Crown Inn alias Munslow Hundred House, Munslow (Shrops.), innkeeper, and had issue:

(1) Edward Smith (b. 1811), baptised at Munslow, 11 August 1811; builder at Oldswinford (Worcs); married, 5 February 1829 at Wistanstow (Shrops.), Elizabeth Jones (d. by 1851);

(2) Samuel Pountney Smith (1812-83), born 2 November and baptised at Munslow, 17 December 1812; pupil of his uncle, John Smalman, builder and architect, who set up practice in Shrewsbury in the 1840s and developed a regional reputation, with commissions in Herefordshire to the south and north Wales to the north, as well as more locally, chiefly for churches and institutional buildings, but also for some houses; a JP for Shrewsbury and a borough councillor, serving as mayor, 1873-74 and alderman, 1876-83; married, 18 July 1843 at Stanton Long (Shrops.), Mary Butcher, and had issue; died 5 November 1883 and was buried at Shrewsbury General Cemetery (the buildings of which he had designed); will proved 5 February 1884 (effects £2,895);

(3) Jane Smith (1815-1907), baptised at Munslow, 7 March 1815; kept house for her brother Edward until she married, 16 April 1857 at Oldswinford, Rev. Alpheus Slight (1812-86); died in Derby, 9 January 1907;

(4) John Smith (1817-48?), baptised at Munslow, 16 April 1817; architect in Shrewsbury, perhaps briefly in partnership with his elder brother; married, 11 October 1842 at Much Wenlock (Shrops.), Anne, daughter of John Shakeshaft of Wenlock, ironmonger; probably the man of this name who was buried at Shawbury (Shrops.), 29 December 1848;

(5) Thomas Smith (1819-76), baptised at Munslow, 24 April 1819; architect and surveyor in Stourbridge (Worcs); married, 18 November 1847 Phoebe (d. 1890), daughter of William Pargeter; buried at Oldswinford, 15 July 1876;

(6) Mary Smith (1821-1900), baptised at Munslow, 3 June 1821; married Henry Bevan (1813-67) [for whom see below under Bevan of Quatford Castle]

(7) Francis Smalman Smith (1823-92), baptised at Munslow, 19 April 1823; architect in Shrewsbury and later at Lytham St Annes (Lancs); married, 14 July 1864 at Kingswinford (Worcs), Elizabeth Haynes (b. 1835), daughter of John Bourne of Kingswinford, and had issue two sons and four daughters; died 14 December 1892; administration of goods granted 16 May 1893 (effects £73);

(8) Charles Blakeway Smith (1825-85), baptised at Munslow, 26 May 1825; railway and canal traffic superintendent; married, 1853, Mary Ann Weston, and had issue; died 20 April 1885; administration of goods granted 26 June 1885 (effects £109).

She was buried at Rushbury, 16 October 1866. Her husband was buried at Rushbury, 29 September 1847.

Bevan family of Quatford Castle

Bevan, Henry (1813-67). Son of James Bevan, weaver and later linen cloth manufacturer, and parish clerk of Holy Cross parish, Shrewsbury, and his wife Mary Stanley, born 12 June and baptised at Holy Cross, Shrewsbury (Shrewsbury Abbey), 1 July 1813. Accountant; Secretary of the Shropshire Infirmary. He married, 5 July 1853 at Holy Cross, Shrewsbury, Mary (1821-1900), daughter of Edward Smith of Burton and Munslow (Shrops.), niece of John Smalman (1782-1852), and sister of Samuel Pountney Smith (d. 1883), architect, and had issue:

(1) Ven. Henry Edward James Bevan (1854-1935) (q.v.);

(2) Charles Smalman Bevan (1856-1927), born 24 March and baptised at St Alkmund, Shrewsbury, 23 April 1856; bank clerk with Messrs. Barclay & Co. in Birmingham, c.1873-1923; died 17 December 1927 and was buried at Quatford; will proved 19 January 1928 (estate £1,996).

He lived in Shrewsbury. His widow inherited Quatford Castle from her first cousin, Mary Griffith (née Beddoes) in 1889.

He died 29 August 1867; his will was proved 20 April 1868 (effects under £300). His widow died at Quatford Castle, 16 July 1900; her will was proved 19 September 1900 (estate £2,040).

Bevan, Ven. Henry Edward James (1854-1935). Elder son of Henry Bevan (1813-67) and his wife Mary, daughter of Edward Smith of Burton and Munslow (Shrops.), born 14 May and baptised at St Alkmund, Shrewsbury, 7 June 1854. Educated at Shrewsbury School, St John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1873; BA 1878; MA 1883) and Ely Theological College. Ordained deacon, 1878 and priest, 1879. Vicar of St Andrew, Stoke Newington (Middx), 1883-96; Gresham Professor of Divinity, 1888-1904; Examining Chaplain to Bishops of London, 1894-1901; rector of Holy Trinity, Sloane St., Chelsea, 1895-1902; Rural Dean of Chelsea (Middx), 1897-1905; Rector of St Luke, Chelsea (Middx), 1902-30; Archdeacon of Middlesex, 1903-30; and a Prebendary of St. Paul's Cathedral, London. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature from 1905. He married, 16 June 1883 at St Lawrence Jewry, London, the Hon. Charlotte Josephine Elizabeth (1864-1931), second daughter of Samuel Molesworth (1829-1906), 8th Viscount Molesworth, and had issue:

(1) Ven. Hugh Henry Molesworth Bevan (1884-1970) (q.v.);

(2) Cecil Mary Molesworth Bevan (1886-1944), born 17 May 1886; acted as secretary to her father but later became a teacher and was Headmistress of St Hilda's Diocesan High School in Jamaica, c.1929-36 and later a teacher of divinity in a private school in Chelsea (Middx); died 11 March 1944 and was buried at Quatford; will proved 22 December 1944 (estate £4,098);

(3) Guy Theodore Molesworth Bevan (1890-1974), born 17 March and baptised at St Andrew, Stoke Newington (Middx), 13 April 1890; educated at Malvern College and St. John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1909; BA 1912); served in First World War in Royal Engineers (2nd Lt., 1914; Lt., 1915; Capt., 1917; A/Maj., 1918; retired as Maj., 1920); mechanical engineer (MICE, 1917; FIMechE), who emigrated to Canada and became managing director of Massey-Harris Ltd., manufacturers of agricultural machinery (and one of the predecessors of Massey-Ferguson Ltd.); married 1st, 1920, Jean Munro Martin (1883-1968), and 2nd, c.1970, Josephine Isabel Tait (1911-2013); died at Southampton, Ontario (Canada), 26 June 1974;

(4) Gwen Charlotte Molesworth Bevan (1894-1944), born 17 April and baptised at St Andrew, Stoke Newington, 13 May 1894; studied at Royal Botanic Gardening School, Regents Park; married, 2 January 1922, at RC Church of Most Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More, Chelsea, Frank Reginald Baldock (1883-1925), a professional singer, son of Rev. Richard Baldock, vicar of Carlton-le-Moorland; died 17 September 1944; will proved 23 October 1945 (estate £954); 

(5) Lt-Col. Temple Percy Molesworth Bevan (1897-1981) [see below, under Bevan of Longstowe Hall];

(6) Maj. Rupert Charles Molesworth Bevan (1899-1963), born 31 January and baptised at Holy Trinity, Sloane St., Chelsea, 29 March 1899; educated at Repton School; an officer in the Grenadier Guards (2nd Lt., 1917; Lt., 1919; retired, 1920) and later a clerk in a stockbroking firm; married, 18 September 1937 at Quatford, Dorothy Esther (1896-1973), daughter of L.J. Bates of Earley (Berks), but had no issue; died 5 February 1963 and was buried at Stanton Lacy (Shrops.); administration of goods granted 21 March 1963 (estate £340).

He inherited Quatford Castle from his mother in 1900.

He died 11 July 1935 and was buried at Quatford; his will was proved 22 October 1935 (estate £21,123). His wife died 8 August and was buried at Quatford, 12 August 1931.

Bevan, Ven. Hugh Henry Molesworth (1884-1970). Eldest son of Ven. Henry Edward James Bevan (1854-1935) and his wife, the Hon. Charlotte Joseph Elizabeth, second daughter of Samuel Molesworth, 8th Viscount Molesworth, born 2 August and baptised at St Andrew, Stoke Newington (Middx), 12 October 1884. Educated at Shrewsbury School, Queen's College, Oxford (BA 1907; MA 1912), and Cuddesdon Theological College. Ordained deacon, 1908, and priest, 1909. Vicar of East Acton (Middx), 1916-28; vicar of Hammersmith (Middx), 1928-48; rural dean of Ealing, 1925-28, and of Hammersmith, 1928-48; Examining Chaplain to the Bishop of London, 1939-48 and to Bishop of Hereford, 1948-66; prebendary of St Paul's Cathedral, London, 1942-48; Secretary of the London Diocesan Conference, 1942-48; Archdeacon of Ludlow, 1948-60 and prebendary of Hereford Cathedral, 1948-66; rector of Stanton Lacy (Shrops.), 1954-66. A member of 'Nobody's Friends', a High Church dining club, 1946-64; a Fellow of Sion College, London, 1945. He married, 16 July 1917 at St Luke, Chelsea (Middx), Rachel Joyse (1893-1987), daughter of Rev. Reginald Bridges Knatchbull-Hugesson, rector of West Grinstead (Sussex), and had issue:

(1) Roger Hugh Bevan (1918-98), born 27 June and baptised at St Dunstan, East Acton, 28 July 1918; educated at Shrewsbury School and Queen's College, Oxford (BA 1940; MA 1947); headmaster of St Mary's School, Newtown (Montgomerys.) and later director of music at Downside Abbey, where he formed a choir composed of ten of his children known as the Bevan Family Choir, which operated from the 1970s-1984*; married, 10 February 1943, his Roman Catholic first cousin, Cecilia Mary Margaret (k/a Molly) (1924-92), daughter of Frank Reginald Baldock, and had issue seven sons and seven daughters; died at Croscombe (Som), 21 June 1998;

(2) Maurice Guy Smalman Bevan (1921-2006), born 10 March and baptised at St Dunstan, East Acton, 17 April 1921; educated at Shrewsbury School and Magdalen College, Oxford; a vicar choral at St Paul's Cathedral; a bass-baritone singer and composer, who sang with the Deller Consort and the BBC (Fellow of Trinity College London; Assocation of Royal College of Music); married, 5 June 1948, Ann Christine Mary Josephine (1925-91), daughter of Maj. C. Alderson, and had issue one daughter; died 20 June 2006; will proved 3 November 2006;

(3) Christopher Henry Knatchbull Bevan (1933-2012), born 12 June 1933; educated at Shrewsbury School; married, 10 September 1960, Isabel Elinor Brightman (1935-2016), and had issue one daughter; died in Edinburgh, 20 September 2012.

He inherited Quatford Castle from his father in 1935, but sold it in 1954, and lived latterly at Corvedale, Croscombe (Somerset).

He died 15 January 1970. His widow died aged 94 on 15 November 1987; her will was proved 5 February 1988 (estate under £70,000).

* A tradition revived by the next generation, who formed the Bevan Family Consort in 2015.

Bevan of Longstowe Hall

Lt-Col. T.P.M. Bevan (1897-1981) 

Bevan, Lt-Col. Temple Percy Molesworth (1897-1981). Third son of Ven. Henry Edward James Bevan (1854-1935) and his wife, the Hon. Charlotte Joseph Elizabeth, second daughter of Samuel Molesworth, 8th Viscount Molesworth, born 18 February and baptised at Holy Trinity, Chelsea, 23 March 1897. Educated at Shrewsbury School. An officer in the Grenadier Guards (2nd Lt., 1916; Lt., 1916; retired 1919; Capt., c.1940; Maj. by 1947; Hon. Lt-Col., 1947), who served in the First World War (wounded; awarded MC, 1917) and Second World War. Employed by Shell Oil Co. in China, 1919-33 and Briscoe & Co. in New Zealand, 1933-36. General Organizing Secretary for 1948 London Olympic Games, 1946-49. Appointed a knight of the Order of Dannebrog (Denmark), 1946. He married, 22 November 1920 in Hong Kong, Amy Florence (1895-1978), elder daughter of William Arthur Briscoe of Caynton Manor (Shrops.), and had issue:

(1) Sonia Patricia Molesworth Bevan (1922-2016), born 15 May 1922; married, 4 December 1946 at Longstowe, Charles Wroughton Wentworth Stanley (1919-91) of High Wych Grange, Sawbridgeworth (Herts), eldest son of Capt. Charles Sidney Bowen Wentworth Stanley , and had issue two sons and one daughter; died aged 94 on 18 August 2016; will proved 27 April 2017;

(2) Michael Guy Molesworth Bevan (1926-92) (q.v.);

(3) Pamela Elizabeth Molesworth Bevan (b. 1930), born 2 January 1930; married, 16 May 1951 at Holy Trinity, Brompton (Middx), Rt. Hon. Sir David Cozens-Hardy Hirst (1925-2011), Lord Justice of Appeal, 1992-99, son of Thomas William Hirst of Fairlie House (Ayrs.), and had issue three sons and two daughters; now living.

He lived at Longstowe Hall from 1951.

He died at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, West Germany, 9 March 1981, and was buried at Longstowe, 5 May 1981, where he is commemorated by a monument designed by Hans Feibusch and carved by David Kindersley. His wife died 14 April 1978; her will was proved 14 September 1978 (estate £71,696).

Bevan, Michael Guy Molesworth (1926-92). Only son of Lt-Col. Temple Percy Molesworth Bevan (1897-1981) and his wife Amy Florence, elder daughter of William Arthur Briscoe of Caynton Manor (Shrops.), born 23 August 1926. Educated at Eton. Served in Second World War with Grenadier Guards, 1944-47. A director of Briscoes Ltd. and Walford Maritime Holdings, 1953-85. A Governor of the Papworth Village Settlement (later Papworth Trust), 1962-91 (Chairman, 1980-91; Vice-President, 1991-92); A syndic of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, 1985-92; Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, 1985-92. He took over the management of the Longstowe estate in 1957 and was appointed a Knight of St John, 1986. He married, 23 May 1948, Mary (1926-2014), elder daughter of Capt. Charles Gerald Brocklebank MC (1893-1940), and had issue:

(1) Roger Anthony Briscoe Bevan (b. 1951), born 23 December 1951; educated at Eton; married 1st, Apr-Jun 1980 (div.) Marian Casey, daughter of Theodore Donohue of Litchfield, Connecticut (USA), and 2nd, Jul-Sept 1994, Beverley D. Anastopolis;

(2) Penelope Anne Bevan (b. 1955), born 2 March 1955; married, 1982, Geoffrey Thomas Carwardine Probert (b. 1953) of Great Bevills, Bures (Suffk), son of Lt-Col. Richard Harlachenden Carwardine Probert, and had issue two sons and two daughters;

(3) William George Briscoe Bevan (b. 1958) (q.v.);

(4) James Edward Briscoe Bevan (b. 1960) of Bulby Hall (Lincs), born 6 December 1960; married, 1986, Susan Fiona, daughter of Victor Parker of Appleton (Ches.), and had issue one daughter.

He inherited Longstowe Hall from his uncle, R.G. Briscoe, in 1951.

He died 2 March and was buried at Longstowe, 5 March 1992; his will was proved 11 June 1992 (estate £2,662,069). His widow died 27 April 2014; her will was proved 10 September 2014.

Bevan, William George Briscoe (b. 1958). Second, but elder surviving, son of Michael Guy Molesworth Bevan (1926-92) and his wife Mary, elder daughter of Capt. Charles Gerald Brocklebank MC, born 18 April 1958. Farmer and event organiser. He married, 1st, 7 December 1985 (div. 2002), Annabel Jane (b. 1960), daughter of William Bertram Weatherall of Mursley (Bucks), and 2nd, Apr-Jun 2004, Mercedes San Luis otherwise Cowan  (b. 1969), and had issue:

(1.1) George Michael Briscoe Bevan (b. 1988), born 20 December 1988;

(1.2) Lucy Clare Bevan (b. 1990), born 12 May 1990;

(1.3) Victoria Mary Bevan (b. 1993).

He inherited Longstowe Hall from his father in 1992 and developed it as a wedding venue.

Now living. His first wife married 2nd, 2005, Charles Robert Barker Hewitson (b. 1952) of Burnham Overy Staithe (Norfk), and is now living. His second wife is now living.

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1952, p. 171; W.G.D. Fletcher, 'The sequestration papers of Thomas Smalman of Wilderhope', Trans. Shropshire Archaeological and Natural History Soc., part 1, 3rd series, vol. iii, pp. 1-36; VCH Cambridgeshire, vol. 5, 1973, pp. 120-27; J. Newman & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Shropshire, 2nd edn., 2006, p. 482; Sir H.M. Colvin, A biographical dictionary of British architects, 1600-1840, 4th edn., 2008, p. 930; S. Bradley & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Cambridgeshire, 2nd edn., 2014, pp. 607-08; G. Williams, The country houses of Shropshire, 2021, pp. 542-43; J. Musson, 'Longstowe Hall', Country Life, 27 April 2022, pp. 56-61;

http://www.newellporter.co.uk/Quatford/Quatford_History_Exhibition_2017_low_res.pdf

Location of archives

No significant accumulation is known to survive.

Coat of arms

Smalman of Wilderhope and Quatford:  Gules, a chevron between three pigeons volant or.

Bevan of Quatford and Longstowe: None recorded.

Can you help?

• A group of 27 watercolours of Bridgnorth and Quatford by Joseph Powell, commissioned by John Smalman, were offered for sale in 2014 and again in 2017. Does anyone know their current whereabouts?
• Can anyone provide photographs or portraits 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 acknowledgments

This post was first published 5 August 2025.