(615) Biddulph of Biddulph Old Hall and Burton Park

Wright-Biddulph of Burton Park

Biddulph of Biddulph

The early editions of Burke's Landed Gentry provide an extensive and ancient lineage for the Biddulphs, linking them back to a pre-Conquest Saxon owner of lands in the Biddulph area, and to a Norman owner, Ormus le Guidon. There is no doubt that the family are of ancient origin, but as so often, Burke has woven a few recorded facts into a tissue of family tradition and speculation which is incapable of proof. The name Biddulph seems to have been adopted as a surname by the family in the 13th century, from the place where their landholdings were concentrated, but for the purposes of this project there seems little point in tracing them back before the 16th century, when the term 'mansion' is first justified as a description of their principal seat. The family estates were then divided between two brothers: the elder, Sir Richard Biddulph, kt., receiving the property around Biddulph, while the younger, Symon Biddulph, settled at Elmhurst near Lichfield (Staffs). Symon's descendants became Protestants and will be treated in future posts on the Biddulphs of Ledbury and the Biddulphs of Westcombe. This post focuses on the senior line which remained seated at Biddulph, and who adhered staunchly to the Catholic faith, despite the penalties which were increasingly imposed on them by the Crown. The genealogy below begins with Sir Richard's son, Richard Biddulph (d. c.1553), who was presumably responsible for the earliest surviving elements of Biddulph Old Hall. His only known son, Francis Biddulph (d. 1598), greatly enlarged the house, turning it into a quadrangular mansion with a symmetrical front. It is thought that some elements of the house may have remained unfinished in his lifetime, perhaps because of the financial impact of the fines the family faced as recusants. Francis was succeeded by his son, Richard Biddulph (1559-1638), whose only son John Biddulph (d. 1642) died on the eve of the Civil War. The Old Hall then came into the possession of his son, Francis Biddulph (1619-68), who was not only a Catholic but also an enthusiastic Royalist. He garrisoned the Old Hall for the king despite Biddulph lying in a part of the country where the Parliamentarians  were in the majority. A Roundhead commander, Capt. Ashenhurst, laid seige to the house and battered it with cannon-shot, but only after heavier firepower was brought to bear on the house was its surrender forced. Francis Biddulph was arrested and imprisoned, his estates were confiscated and sold, and the house was looted and later burned by local Parliamentarians, leaving the great house of the 1580s the ruin it has remained to the present day.

After the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, Francis was successful in recovering his estates, but he lacked the money to restore or rebuild the house built by his grandfather, and instead, turned to the older and less damaged part of the house, which had been made into a service wing in the 1580s, and fashioned what was, no doubt, intended to be a temporary residence out of it. Francis died in 1668 and was succeeded by his son, Richard Biddulph (1644?-1704), who in 1671 bought the Brambletye estate in Sussex from his financially embarrassed brother-in-law, George Compton (c.1623-74).

Brambletye House: woodcut of the house before it became totally ruined.

Brambletye was, like Biddulph Old Hall, a quadrangular Elizabethan house, but in 1671 it was intact and still occupied. It was perhaps Richard's intention to move to Brambletye rather than to rebuild Biddulph Old Hall, but any such plan was thwarted by a succession of lawsuits from people who disputed Richard's title, and the opposition of tenants on the estate, who denied his authority and even began robbing stone from the house for their own building projects. By the 1690s, when Richard had seen off the challenges to his ownership, not only was Richard perhaps abroad, at the exiled court of King James II, but the house seems to have been somewhere between dereliction and ruin. As at Biddulph, it has remained a ruin to the present day. 

Richard's interest in acquiring a property in Sussex may have been encouraged by his wife Anne (d. 1679), who was the daughter of Sir Henry Goring (d. 1671), 2nd bt., of Burton Park (Sussex). Her brother, Sir William Goring (d. 1724), 3rd bt., was childless, and as he grew older and it became clear he would have no children, the Biddulphs became the heirs to the Burton estate. Richard's son, John Biddulph (c.1675-1720) was actually buried at Burton and may have been living there in his latter years, but it was only on Sir William's death in 1724 that John's son, Richard Biddulph (c.1707-67) technically came into possession of the estate. In the 1730s the existing house at Burton was badly damaged by fire, and Richard rebuilt much of it to the designs of Giacomo Leoni around 1738. Richard remained unmarried, and was succeeded by his brother Charles (c.1714-84), who lived at Winchester (Hants) before coming into the Burton and Biddulph estates. The accumulation of property by the family and the gradual loosening of the anti-Catholic penal measures in the 18th century allowed the Biddulphs to become prosperous once more, and both Richard and Charles travelled extensively on the Continent. So too did Charles's son and successor, John Biddulph (1750-1835), who remained unmarried. In 1826 the house at Burton Park was again badly damaged by fire, and John - then in his mid-70s - was obliged to undertake a further rebuilding. He chose a promising young architect called Henry Bassett, who produced a fashionable design mixing Grecian and Italianate forms, and the new house was built between 1828 and 1831.

When John Biddulph died in 1835, without a direct male heir, he divided his estates between two kinsmen. Biddulph passed to Thomas Stonor (1797-1881), for whom the barony of Camoys was called out of abeyance in 1839, who was his first cousin, twice removed. Lord Camoys sold Biddulph Old Hall in 1866, and it thus passed out of the family which had owned it for some six hundred years and possibly longer. Burton Park and Brambletye descended to Anthony George Wright (1785-1854), who was a first cousin once removed, and who took the additional surname Biddulph at John's request. He seems to have let Burton Park and to have lived in a villa at Tunbridge Wells (Kent). His only son, Anthony John Wright-Biddulph (1830-95), sold Brambletye in 1866. He was twice married but childless, and on his death Burton Park passed to his widow, Diana (1848-1931), who sold it shortly afterwards.

Biddulph Old Hall, Staffordshire

An Early Tudor stone-built house, to which an Elizabethan mansion was attached on the south for Francis Biddulph in the 1580s. The older part of the house consists of a range running north to south, with roof timbers which have been dated by dendrochronology to around 1530. This in turn may have been a rebuilding of an earlier, semi-timbered hunting lodge or park keeper's house for the Biddulphs, whose principal seat was at Bailey Wood in the valley below. The early Tudor house consisted of an open hall set over a basement, with a massive chimney on the east. It has mullioned windows with dripstones and one window, on the west, with a king mullion. In the mid 16th century a slightly taller, squarish block was built to the south of the original building, which is best interpreted as a solar tower.

Biddulph Old Hall: aerial view of the site from the south, showing the ruins of the Elizabethan house in the foreground
and the ogee-capped tower and the remains of the earlier house in the background.

All this was overshadowed by the construction of a new quadrangular mansion to the south of the Tudor house in the 1580s, which seems to have been built in at least two stages. The first stage saw the building of a new main range immediately to the south of the old house, with two long wings either side of it framing a courtyard, which was enclosed on the south side by a single-storey range with a central gateway and porter's lodge. The kitchen stood in the west range of the house and the north range, which was apparently of three storeys, probably housed a new hall with a long gallery above it. Behind the north range rose a high, ogee-capped tower with a banqueting room at the top, which was rebuilt with the windows blocked up after a partial collapse in 1901. The eastern turret may never have been completed, for only its foundations survive, and there are other reasons for thinking that the recusancy fines imposed on the Biddulphs may have cramped their style and led to the house never being completed as originally intended.

Biddulph Old Hall: view of the house from the south, c.1830-40. Image: William Salt Library (bs1536-2).

In the second Elizabethan phase, the original south front was raised to two and three storeys, and was given a central porch bearing (a now partly illegible) date in the 1580s and a balustraded parapet. The window above the archway had tapering pilasters. The centre of the facade was of two storeys, while the wings to either side were raised to three storeys and given three storey canted bays with windows on five sides.

In 1644 the house was garrisoned for the Royalists and heavy artillery was employed to force its surrender; the young Francis Biddulph was imprisoned, and the house was looted and burned. After the ruins were returned to the Biddulphs at the restoration, they lacked the funding to repair or rebuild it the Elizabethan mansion, and retreated to the older part of the house to its north, which had been less badly damaged and was more easily repaired. To the north-west of this, in the 18th century, was added a plain, three-storey extension. 

Biddulph Old Hall: a romantic view of the ruins in the early to mid 19th century.

In the 1840s, with Catholic emancipation breathing new life into the romantic associations of recusancy and Royalism and an appreciation of the picturesque possibilities of the ruined elevations and shattered stonework, the house was restored once more and the north-east angle of the 1580s house was rebuilt as a galleried Catholic chapel. A little later, after James Bateman bought the Old Hall in 1863, gardens were laid out around the ruins, and a yew avenue and romantic valley walk were created.

Biddulph Old Hall: the restored interior, with the new staircase on the right. Image: Christopher John Photography.

In the 20th century the house was once more allowed to decay, but at the beginning of the 21st century it was bought by Nigel Daly and Brian Vowles, who devoted twenty years to the careful and conservative restoration of the inhabited part of the house. They installed a massive oak staircase of Jacobean-inspired design, reconstructed the partly collapsed chapel and its Gothic decoration, and restored the gardens.

Descent: Richard Biddulph (d. c.1553); to son, Francis Biddulph (d. 1598); to son, Richard Biddulph (1559-1638); to son, John Biddulph (d. 1642); to son, Francis Biddulph (1619-68); to son, Richard Biddulph (c.1644-1704); to son, John Biddulph (c.1675-1720); to son, Richard Biddulph (c.1707-67); to brother, Charles Biddulph (c.1714-84); to son, John Biddulph (1750-1835); to Thomas Stonor (1797-1881), later 3rd Baron Camoys; sold 1863 to James Bateman (1811-97), who gave 1868 to his son, John Bateman (1839-1910); sold 1872 to Robert Heath, subject to a life lease to his younger brother, Robert Bateman (1842-1922), who was resident until 1890 but retained the tenancy until his death and sublet to Leonard Biddulph;... sold to Surgeon-Cdr. R.N.W. Biddulph; sold 1933 to Miss Nina Biddulph... to Mrs. Baxter; to Capt. Rupert Stillingfleet Biddulph (fl. 1947)...sold 1963 to English Sangha Association as a Buddhist retreat; sold 2004 to Nigel and David Daly and Brian Vowles.

Burton Park, Barlavington, Sussex

There have been at least three houses on this site. In the medieval period, Burton was a traditional village settlement with the surviving small Norman church, a manor house, and a small village. Nothing is known of the medieval house, except that it lay wholly within Burton parish though very close to the boundary with Barlavington. The village was deserted in the 16th century, perhaps because it was cleared away at the time a deer park was laid out around the second, Elizabethan house, which expanded to the east and thus straddled the boundary between Burton and Barlavington parishes.

Burton Park: the principal entrance of the Elizabethan house, 
from Dallaway's History, 1832.

The Elizabethan house, which survived in part until the early nineteenth century, had at least two courtyards, separated by the main hall range, and had an elaborate porch or centrepiece, of which a drawing is reproduced by Dallaway & Cartwright. 

The eastern half of the house was damaged by fire in the 1730s and reconstructed by Giacomo Leoni in 1738. His elevation features in at least three known views, which show a 173 ft., thirteen bay, two storey front, with the three-bay pedimented centrepiece and end bays stepped forward. The tall ground floor was rusticated, while the first floor had quoins marking the centrepiece and end bays and architraves around the windows - with pediments on those in the end bays. It was a nicely balanced composition, as one should expect from a competent Palladian architect, but the even heights of the ground and first floors are slightly awkward and one suspects that they may have been constrained by the retention of older fabric or the need to align with floor levels in the older part of the house. Behind the facade, the principal apartments were on the first floor, and included a notable saloon and drawing room, one or both of which is said to have been a cube and a half. The west wing of the house contained an 'elegant' Roman Catholic chapel, while the east wing held the service accommodation.

Burton Park: the new east front designed by Giacomo Leoni, 1738, from Dallaway's History of West Sussex, 1832.

On the evening of 12 December 1826 a maid, turning down the beds by candlelight without due care, accidentally set fire to the house. The whole of the centre and west wing were gutted, and though the fire was extinguished before the east wing was consumed, the roof of it collapsed, and it was expected that the winter weather would complete the destruction the Petworth fire brigade had averted. Rather curiously, a contemporary newspaper report stated that 'the mansion, within these few years, was rebuilt, at the expense of many thousand pounds', but nothing is known of a building campaign at this time. The report may simply be inaccurate, for it also records that John Biddulph had died in Italy two years earlier and that 'the property is in a state of litigation', whereas Biddulph survived until 1835. However it was true that at the time of the fire, the house was let, and that no part of the property was insured. A good deal of the contents were saved from the fire, though many pictures were lost and a lot of the furniture was damaged by being thrown out of the windows; while some of what was saved was stolen by looters before it could be conveyed to a place of safety.

Despite the lack of insurance, a new house was soon being constructed, albeit on a smaller scale than its predecessor. It occupied the site of the hall range and Leoni's east front and thus stood wholly in Barlavington parish. It was commissioned by John Biddulph from Henry Bassett (1803-46) of London, a young architect who had caught public attention with designs which won the Gold Medal of the Society of Arts in 1823 and the Gold Medal of the Royal Academy in 1825. The commission to rebuild Burton Park is his only known country house, and it is evident that his initial promise was not sustained, for he became the estate architect and surveyor to the Southampton estate in London, and can be identified as the architect only of a few buildings there and a small number of villas around London. Nonetheless, at the time Burton Park was designed, Bassett was only about twenty-five, and must have hoped for a bright future, but construction did not go smoothly: in August 1829 the partially-built front of the new house collapsed and a bricklayer was killed and several other workmen were injured. Work was resumed and evidently completed in 1831, by which time surplus bricks and other building materials were being sold off at auction.

Burton Park: the new house designed by Henry Bassett and built in 1828-31.

Burton Park: the south front in 1936. Image: Country Life.

Bassett's scheme for the house was clearly designed to be as fashionable as possible, for it uses a Grecian vocabulary but with Italianate touches, rather in the manner of a London club. The main west front is of seven bays and three storeys, with the ground floor forming a rusticated basement. Two string courses separate this from the upper floors, which have a portico in antis on the central three bays, flanked first by a blind bay on each side and then by a broader pilastered end bay. Above are a plain frieze, cornice and attic with a pierced central parapet rising to a central acroterion. The main entrance, into the basement, has a moulded architrave and an exceptionally shallow triangualar pediment supported on two sets of console brackets. Round the corner to the south the house has five bays in a 1-3-1 rhythm, all separated by pilasters, and with the central three bays slightly recessed. In the late 19th century, a large bow window projected from the south end of the east front (removed in 1919), which was echoed in the apse of the two-storey Roman Catholic chapel at the north-east corner. The house was originally faced with Roman cement, but when the house was restored in 1994-98, the cement was taken off and replaced by stucco.

Burton Park: entrance hall in 1936, showing it
as altered by J.S. Courtauld in 1919. Image: Country Life.

Burton Park: the staircase of c.1800
from Michelgrove. Image: Country Life.

In 1919 the house was acquired by John Sewell Courtauld, who had trained as an architect and later worked with Seely & Paget on the remodelling of Eltham Palace (Kent). After acquiring the Burton Park estate he undertook works here too, presumably to his own designs, altering both the house and the gardens surrounding it. He removed the Catholic chapel from the south-east corner of the house, remodelled the striking double-height entrance hall, created a south-facing drawing room, and moved the staircase from south side of the hall to the north side. The staircase itself is the chief feature of interest in the interior. It was designed by George Byfield in about 1800 for Michelgrove (Sussex), which was pulled down about 1828, and was no doubt acquired then to be installed in the new house being built at Burton at the time. It starts in one flight and returns in two, and has a remarkable balustrade of openwork bronze panels, alternately wide and narrow, decorated with greyhounds and crescent moons derived from the coat of arms of the Walkers of Michelgrove. The tread-ends are moulded and even the underside of the treads has a complex moulding. In the 1920s, the gardens were given new formal elements, in the course of which the foundations of the Elizabethan west court were discovered to survive under the lawn west of Bassett's entrance front.

The house and park were requisitioned by the army in 1941, and after the Second World War,  the house, gardens and the southern half of the park were sold to St Michael's School, a girls’ boarding school, which closed in 1994. It was then sold to a development company headed by the architect Michael Wilson, who restored the building, converted it to nine apartments, and created 30 further new dwellings on the estate through the conversion of estate buildings and new building, including additions on the north side of the house.

Descent: Sir William Goring (d. c.1554), kt.; to son, Sir Henry Goring (c.1522-94), kt.; to son, William Goring (d. 1602); to son, Henry Goring (b. c.1575); to son, Sir William Goring (1595-1658), 1st bt.; to son, Sir Henry Goring (c.1618-71), 2nd bt.; to son, Sir William Goring (c.1659-1724); to kinsman, Richard Biddulph (c.1707-67); to brother, Charles Biddulph (d. 1784); to son, John Biddulph (c.1750-1835); to first cousin, once removed, Anthony George Wright (later Wright-Biddulph) (1785-1854); to son, Anthony John Wright-Biddulph (1830-94); to widow, Diana Wright-Biddulph (1848-1931), who sold 1895 to Sir Douglas Hall (1866-1923), 1st bt., MP for Isle of Wight, 1910-23; sold 1919 to Maj. John Sewell Courtauld (1880-1942), MP for Chichester, 1924-42; requisitioned 1941 and sold c.1946 to St Michael's School.

Biddulph family of Biddulph Old Hall and Burton Park

Biddulph, Richard (d. c.1553). Son of Sir Richard Biddulph (fl. early 16th cent.) and his wife Petronilla, daughter of Sir Robert Aston. He married Margaret, daughter and co-heir of Sir John Salwey, and had issue including:

(1) Francis Biddulph (d. 1598) (q.v.).

He inherited Biddulph Old Hall from his father.

He died about 1553, when an inquisition post mortem was held. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Biddulph, Francis (d. 1598). Son of Richard Biddulph and his wife Margaret, daughter and co-heir of Sir John Salwey. He married Isabel, daughter of Sir Francis Gifford of Chillington Hall (Staffs), and had issue including:

(1) Richard Biddulph (1559-1638) (q.v.);

(2) Mary Biddulph; married, before 1591, as his first wife, Thomas Rudyard (d. c.1620) of Rudyard (Staffs), and had issue one son;

(3) Dorothy Biddulph (fl. 1591); living, unmarried, in 1591, when she was mentioned in her father's will; 

(4) Katherine Biddulph (fl. 1591); living, unmarried, in 1591, when she was mentioned in her father's will.

He inherited Biddulph Old Hall from his father and built a new mansion attached to the old house in the 1580s.

He was buried at Biddulph, 21 April 1598; his will was proved in the PCC, 5 May 1598. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Biddulph, Richard (1559-1638). Son of Francis Biddulph (d. 1598) and his wife Isabel, daughter of Sir Francis Gifford of Chillington, born 1559. He married Anne, daughter of John Draycott of Paynesley (Staffs), and had issue including:

(1) John Biddulph (d. 1642) (q.v.);

(2) Mary Biddulph; married Christopher Clough of Myndtown (Shrops.);

(3) Frances Biddulph; married Marmaduke Holdby (d. 1665) of Shackleton (Yorks);

(4) Anne Biddulph; married William Worthington (d. 1663) of Croston (Lancs).

He inherited Biddulph Old Hall from his father in 1598.

He died in 1638, when an inquisition post mortem was held. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Biddulph, John (d. 1642). Son of Richard Biddulph (1559-1636/8) and his wife Anne, daughter of John Draycott of Paynesley (Staffs). He married Mary, daughter of Thomas Eyre of Hassop (Derbys), and had issue including:

(1) Francis Biddulph (1619-68) (q.v.);

(2) John or Thomas Biddulph; said to have been groom of the chamber to King James II who 'was, with the Duke of Berwick, the only attendant of the unfortunate Prince when he stepped into the boat at Sheerness, and severed himself forever from the British soil and crown';

(3) Prudence Biddulph (fl. 1680); married John Crompton (c.1613-c.1675) of Milnwich (Staffs), but had no issue; living in 1680;

(4) Dorothy Biddulph; married Thomas Lane.

He inherited Biddulph Old Hall from his father in 1638.

He died in 1642. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Biddulph, Francis (1619-68). Son of John Biddulph (d. 1642) and his wife Mary, daughter of Thomas Eyre of Hassop (Derbys), said to have been born 7 April 1619. He was a devoted Royalist and garrisoned Biddulph Old Hall for the king. It withstood a siege but in 1644 fell to heavy artillery brought up from Stafford, and was subsequently plundered and burned. He was arrested and imprisoned for some time, and his lands were seized and sold. At the Restoration he recovered his property, but had no funds to rebuild the house, and retreated to the older hall at its rear. He married Margaret or Frances, daughter of George Preston of Holker (Lancs) and had issue:

(1) Richard Biddulph (c.1644-1704) (q.v.);

(2) John Biddulph;

(3) Henry Biddulph (d. 1683); died without issue;

(4) Mary Biddulph; married George Compton (c.1623-74) of Brambletye (Sussex); died without issue;

(5) Margaret Biddulph; died unmarried;

(6) Anne Biddulph (1651-1709), an Augustinian choir nun (professed 1678); died in Paris, 19 January 1709.

He inherited Biddulph Old Hall from his father in 1642.

He died in 1668. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Biddulph, Richard (1644?-1704). Eldest son of Francis Biddulph (1619-68) and his wife Margaret or Frances, daughter of George Preston of Holker (Lancs), said to have been born 7 April 1644. He was a supporter of King James II, and according to some accounts, he followed the king into exile in 1688, like his uncle. He married* Anne (1648?-79), daughter and eventual heiress of Sir Henry Goring (d. 1671), 2nd bt., of Burton (Sussex), and had issue:

(1) John Biddulph (c.1675-1720) (q.v.);

(2) Richard Biddulph; probably died young;

(3) James Biddulph; probably died young;

(2) Francis Biddulph (c.1679-1749); educated at Grays Inn (admitted 1698); buried at Burton, 14 July 1749;

(5) Elizabeth Biddulph (d. 1739); married, 7 June 1694, as his second wife, Charles Dormer (1668-1728), 5th Baron Dormer, and had issue five children; died 29 October 1739;

(6) Anne Biddulph; 

(7) Louisa Biddulph.

He inherited Biddulph Old Hall from his father in 1668 and purchased Brambletye House (Sussex) from his brother-in-law, George Compton, in 1671, but the purchase was disputed and was the subject of litigation until the 1690s, in which time the house appears to have become derelict.

He is said to have died in France in 1704. His wife died 23 October 1679 and was buried at Burton.

* Some sources give a date for this marriage of 7 April 1663, but this appears to be a misreading of the statement in Dallaway that he was then 19 when his father gave in a pedigree at the heralds' visitation.

Biddulph, John (c.1675-1720). Eldest son of Richard Biddulph (1644?-1704) and his wife Anne, daughter of Sir Henry Goring, bt., of Burton (Sussex), born about 1675. He married, about 1705, Mary (c.1681-1744), daughter of Charles Arundell (b. 1647) of Horningsham (Wilts) and great-great-granddaughter of Thomas Arundell (c.1560-1639), 1st Baron Arundell of Wardour, and had issue:

(1) Francis Biddulph; died in infancy;

(2) Richard Biddulph (c.1707-67) (q.v.);

(3) Mary Biddulph (1710-78); married, 19 May 1732, Thomas Stonor (1710-72) of Stonor Park (Oxon), and had issue two sons (through whom she was the ancestor of the Thomas Stonor (1797-1881), 3rd Baron Camoys, who inherited Biddulph Old Hall in 1835) and one daughter; she died 14 June 1778 and was buried at Winchester;

(4) Frances Biddulph (1712-44); joined the English Canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre at Liège (Belgium) as a choir nun (entered 1729; professed 1730); died at Liège, 14 September 1744;

(5) Charles Biddulph (c.1714-84) (q.v.);

(6) Anne Biddulph (1717-75) (q.v.).

He inherited Biddulph Old Hall from his father in 1704, and also owned the manor of Sheffield Grinstead and Brambletye House. As a Roman Catholic he was obliged to register his estates in 1715.

He was buried at Burton, 17 May 1720; his will was proved in the PCC, 14 June 1720. His widow died 5 December and was buried at Burton, 7 December 1744.

Biddulph, Richard (c.1707-67). Second, but elder surviving son of John Biddulph (c.1675-1720) and his wife Mary, daughter of Charles Arundell of Horningsham (Wilts), born about 1707. Educated at the English Jesuit College, St. Omer (France), and travelled in Italy, 1726-27, visiting Rome and Florence with a tutor, Henry or Joseph Sheldon. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Biddulph Old Hall from his father in 1720 and Burton Park on the death of Sir Henry Goring in 1724. After a fire in the 1730s, he partially rebuilt the house at Burton, which became his main residence.

He died 'after a lingering indisposition', 15 October, and was buried at Burton, 22 October 1767; his will was proved in the PCC, 23 February 1768.

Biddulph, Charles (c.1714-84). Third, but younger surviving son of John Biddulph (c.1675-1720) and his wife Mary, daughter of Charles Arundell of Horningsham (Wilts), born c.1714. Educated at the English Jesuit College, St. Omer (France), c.1728-32, after which he travelled in France and Italy. He married 1st, 11 June 1749, Elizabeth (c.1722-63), daughter of Sir Henry Bedingfield, 3rd bt., of Oxburgh Hall (Norfk) and 2nd, 1 December 1764 at St Thomas, Winchester (Hants), Frances Apollonia (d. 1806), daughter of George Brownlow Doughty of Snarford Hall (Lincs) and widow of Henry Wells (d. 1763) of Brambridge (Hants), and had issue:

(1.1) John Biddulph (1750-1835) (q.v.);

(1.2) Charles Biddulph (1752-1821), baptised at St Thomas, Winchester, 16 July 1752; educated at the English Jesuit College, St. Omer (France) and later Bruges (Belgium), c.1762-67; travelled in Italy with his elder brother in 1785-88 and perhaps earlier; an officer in the North Arundel Volunteers (Capt.; Major 1804); died unmarried at Antwerp (Belgium), 2 July 1821, but his remains were repatriated and buried at Burton, April 1822;

(1.3) Richard Biddulph (1753-62), born at Brambridge and baptised at Otterbourne (Hants), 14 September 1753; educated at the English Jesuit College, St. Omer (France) and later Bruges (Belgium), c.1760-62; died young, April 1762;

(1.4) Mary Biddulph (b. 1755), baptised in Winchester, 9 November 1755; probably died young;

(1.5) Thomas Biddulph (1759-89), baptised in Winchester, 7 July 1759; lived at Guildford (Surrey); married, 1786, in France, Clothilda Frances Victoria Margaret Foucart (d. 1829), and had issue one daughter; died at Alphington (Devon), 1789; will proved in the PCC, 5 September 1789.

He lived at Winchester (Hants) until he inherited Biddulph Old Hall and Burton Park from his brother in 1767; his household goods at Winchester were sold by auction in 1768.

He died 13 May, and was buried at Burton, 21 May 1784. His first wife was buried at Bath Abbey, 21 June 1763. His widow lived latterly at Hollest House near Midhurst, and was buried at Burton, 17 February 1806; her will was proved April 1806.

Biddulph, John (1750-1835). Eldest son of Charles Biddulph (c.1714-84) and his first wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Henry Bedingfield of Oxburgh Hall (Norfk), born in Winchester, 1750. Educated at the English Jesuit College, St. Omer (France) and later Bruges (Belgium), c.1762-67, He travelled in Italy in 1769 (visiting Rome), 1775-77 (Florence), 1785-88 (Florence, Rome, Naples and Venice) and again in 1817. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited Biddulph Old Hall and Burton Park from his father in 1784, and was obliged to rebuilt Burton Park in 1828-31, after a fire. At his death, Biddulph Old Hall devolved upon his kinsman, Thomas Stonor (1797-1881), 3rd Baron Camoys, while Burton Park passed to his first cousin once removed, Anthony George Wright (later Wright-Biddulph) (1785-1854).

He died at Burton Park*, 2 August, and was buried at Burton, 12 August 1835; his will was proved in the PCC, 29 December 1835.

* Some accounts say he died in Florence, but contemporary newspapers report his death at Burton.

Biddulph, Anne (1717-75). Second daughter of John Biddulph (c.1675-1720) and his wife Mary, daughter of Charles Arundell of Horningsham (Wilts), born 1717. She married, c.1738, Anthony Wright (1703-82) of Wealdside, South Weald (Essex), goldsmith and banker 'at the sign of the Golden Cup' in Henrietta St., Covent Garden, London, who succeeded to the family business in 1729. They had issue:

(1) Anthony Wright (c.1741-86) (q.v.);

(2) Ann Wright (1743-1819), entered the Sepulchrine convent at Liège (Belgium), 1767 (professed 1768) as a choir nun under the name Sr. Mary Aloysia Joseph; died at New Hall (Essex), 7 December 1819;

(3) Frances Wright; perhaps died in infancy;

(4) Francis Wright (c.1751-86); banker in London; buried at St Pancras Old Church (Middx), 18 June 1786;

(5) Fr. Charles Wright (1752-1827); a Jesuit priest, who was procurator (administrator) of Stonyhurst College (Lancs), 1794-1827; died unmarried; will proved in the PCY, January 1828.

(6) Thomas Wright (c.1753-1818), born about 1753; banker in London, initially with his father and brothers but later as Wright & Co.; purchased Fitzwalters, Shenfield (Essex) as a country retreat; married 1st, 20 January 1783 at Thelveton RC chapel, Lucretia (d. 1803), daughter of Thomas Havers of Thelveton Hall (Norfk) and had issue one son and two daughters; married 2nd, after 1812, Mary, Countess de Front (d. 1830); died at Fitzwalters, 6 January, and was buried at St Pancras Old Church, 13 January 1818; will proved in the PCC, 10 August 1818.

She and her husband lived in London and Wealdside, South Weald.

She died in May 1775. Her husband died in 1782 and was perhaps the man of his name buried at Tichborne (Hants) RC chapel, 18 September 1782.

Wright, Anthony (c.1741-86). Son of Anthony Wright (1703-82) of South Weald (Essex), goldsmith and banker, and his wife Anne, second daughter of John Biddulph of Biddulph Old Hall (Staffs) and Burton Park (Sussex), born about 1741. Banker in Covent Garden, London, in partnership with his father and brothers as Anthony, Francis & Thomas Wright, who specialised in serving Catholic clients. His death being closely followed by that of his widow, his children's upbringing was entrusted to trustees appointed under his will. He married, 2 November 1778 at St Mary, Walcot, Bath (Som.), Lucy Mary (1758-86), second daughter of Edmund Plowden (1727-68), and had issue:

(1) Lucy Wright (c.1781-1847); educated at Bar Convent, York; lived in Hampstead (Middx); died unmarried, 27 April 1847; will proved 14 June 1847;

(2) Mary Wright (c.1783-1854); educated at Bar Convent, York; married, 28 July 1807, Vincent Henry Eyre (1775-1851) of Highfield and Newbold (Warks), and had issue three sons and three daughters; died December 1854;

(3) Anne Wright (c.1784-1838); educated at Bar Convent, York; married, 22 July 1812 at St Marylebone (Middx), Sir Charles Wolseley (1769-1846), 7th bt. of Wolseley (Staffs), and had issue three sons and two daughters; died in Paris, 24 October 1838;

(4) Anthony George Wright (later Wright-Biddulph) (1785-1854) (q.v.);

(5) John Wright (1786-1855), born 20 June 1786; banker with Wright & Co., who was bankrupted by the collapse of the bank in 1840; lived at Belsize Park (Middx) until his bankruptcy, when his estates were sold; married, 16 September 1811 at Mapledurham (Oxon), Henrietta (d. 1839), eldest daughter of Michael Blount of Mapledurham (Oxon), and had issue three daughters; died in Aldermanbury, London, 18 January 1855; will proved in the PCC, 14 July 1855 and 18 February 1861.

He had a house in Covent Garden, London, and inherited Wealdside (now Gilstead Hall), South Weald (Essex) from his father in 1782. 

He was buried at St Pancras (Middx), 16 April 1786; his will was proved 21 April 1786. His wife died following childbirth on 25 June, and was buried at St Pancras, 1 July 1786.

Wright (later Wright-Biddulph), Anthony George (1785-1854). Elder son of Anthony Wright and his wife Mary, second daughter of Edmund Plowden, born 20 April 1785. He was a sleeping partner in his family's banking firm, Wright & Co, which became bankrupt in 1841. He took the additional name Biddulph after inheriting the Burton Park estate from his first cousin once removed in 1835. He married, 15 January 1827 at Thornton Steward (Yorks NR), Catherine Dorothy (1791-1884), daughter of Simon Thomas Scroope of Danby Hall, Thornton Steward, and had issue:

(1) Catherine Charlotte Mary Wright-Biddulph (1828-92), born 10 January and baptised at Danby & West Witton RC church, 11 January 1828; married, 17 January 1850 at St Saviour, Bath, Henry Stone (b. 1823) of Badbury (Wilts), son of Lt-Col. Bayntun Stone; died 14 July 1892; will proved 26 August 1892 (effects £1,254);

(2) Anthony John Wright-Biddulph (1830-94) (q.v.);

(3) Clementina Maria Wright-Biddulph (1832-1906), baptised at Bartlow (Cambs), 2 June 1832; married, 4 August 1860 at the RC Chapel, Blake St., York and St Michael-le-Belfry, York, Charles James Radcliffe (1829-1908), second son of Sir Joseph Radcliffe (1799-1872), 2nd bt. of Rudding Park (Yorks), and had issue four sons and one daughter; died 27 April 1906;

(4) Geraldine Maria Wright-Biddulph (1835-1917), born 26 November and baptised at Bartlow, 27 November 1835; married, 14 April 1863, Godfrey Edward Alister Radcliffe (1832-1923), fourth son of Sir Joseph Radcliffe, 2nd bt. of Rudding Park (Yorks), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 13 February 1917.

He seems to have lived at Waltons, Linton (Cambs) until he inherited Burton Park and Brambletye from his first cousin once removed in 1835. He evidently let Burton Park and lived latterly at Tunbridge Wells (Kent).

He died after a protracted illness, 14 January and was buried at Burton, 20 January 1854. His widow lived latterly with her grandson, Godfrey Radcliffe at Grosmont (Mon.) and died intestate, 4 April 1884.

Wright-Biddulph, Anthony John (1830-95). Only son of Anthony George Wright (later Wright-Biddulph) (1785-1854) and his wife Catherine Dorothea, daughter of Simon Thomas Scrope of Danby Hall (Yorks NR), baptised at Bartlow (Cambs), 27 January 1830. JP and DL for Sussex; High Sheriff of Sussex, 1880. In the 1860s he built a new Roman Catholic church, designed by Gilbert Blount, at Duncton (Sussex), consecrated in 1869, and in the 1870s he appeared as a witness for the claimant in the famous 'Tichborne Claimant' case, remaining a supporter despite the accumulating weight of evidence against the claim. He married 1st, Jan-Mar 1855 in London, Sarah Année (c.1834-86), daughter of J. Downes, and 2nd, 22 November 1887 at Portsmouth RC Cathedral, Diana (1848-1931), novelist, fourth daughter of Sir Harry Dent Goring (1801-59), 8th bt. of Highden (Sussex), and widow of Capt. W. Digby Lloyd (d. 1883), of 67th Regt., but had no issue.

He inherited Burton Park and Brambletye from his father in 1854, but sold Brambletye in 1866. At his death Burton Park passed to his widow who sold it shortly afterwards.

He died 12 August 1895, and was buried in the crypt of his new church at Duncton; his will was proved 4 December 1895 (effects £4,785). His first wife died 15 June 1886. His widow died 16 February 1931 and was buried at Duncton (Sussex); her will was proved 25 March 1931 (estate £7,802).

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1838, vol. 3, pp. 283-85; 1898, vol. 1, p. 112;  J. Dallaway & E. Cartwright, A history of the western division of the county of Sussex, vol. 2, part 1, 1832, pp. 280-84; T.G. Holt, 'Burton Park: a centre of recusancy in Sussex', Recusant History 13 (2), 1975, pp. 106-22; T.P. Hudson, 'Burton Park, Sussex: a further note', Recusant History 22 (1), 1994, pp. 26-28; J. Farrant, Sussex Depicted, 2001, p. 183; E. Williamson, T. Hudson, J. Musson & I. Nairn, The buildings of England: Sussex - West, 2019, pp. 178-80; C. Wakeling & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Staffordshire, 2nd edn., 2024, pp. 140-41;

http://publicaccess.staffsmoorlands.gov.uk/portal/servlets/AttachmentShowServlet?ImageName=325412

Location of archives

No significant accumulation is known to survive, although there are many miscellaneous documents in the Staffordshire and West Sussex Record Offices.

Coat of arms

Biddulph of Biddulph: Vert, an eagle displayed argent, armed and langued gules.

Wright-Biddulph of Burton Park: Quarterly, 1st and 4th, vert, an eagle displayed argent, armed and langued gules (for Biddulph); 2nd and 3rd, azure, two bars argent and in chief a leopard's face or (for Wright).

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide photographs or portraits of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
• Catholic families are always more difficult to do detailed genealogy for, but the Biddulphs have been particularly invisible in the historical record. I shall therefore be especially grateful if anyone can offer further information or corrections to any part of this article. 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 22 October 2025.