(637) Reynardson and Birch-Reynardson of Holywell Hall and Adwell House

Birch-Reynardson of Holywell and Adwell 

This post primarily concerns the Birch, later Birch-Reynardson, family, who descended from a younger son of George Birch (1652-1722) of Harborne House [for whom see my previous post]. The change of name was effected in 1811, following the marriage of General Thomas Birch (1773-1847) and Ethelred Reynardson (1778-1854), and their inheritance of the Holywell Hall estate from Ethelred's father. It seems convenient to also consider in this post the Reynardsons of Holywell Hall, and I shall begin this introduction with them.

The genealogy of the Reynardsons below begins with Sir Abraham Reynardson (c.1590-1661), who was the son of Thomas Reynardson, a Turkey merchant from Plymouth (Devon). Sir Abraham was apprenticed to a London merchant taylor and became a leading figure in the Merchant Taylors Company, serving as its Master in 1640.

Reynardson House, Tottenham (Middx): the house of
Sir Abraham Reynardson, engraved in 1798.

The profits of his trade enabled him to buy a mansion house at Tottenham (Middx) in 1639, and also to invest in lands in Bedfordshire, Essex and Suffolk as well as house property in the city of London. He was also active in civic affairs, serving as one of the sheriffs of the city of London in 1640 and being elected Lord Mayor for the year 1648-49. As a Royalist Lord Mayor, he was soon in conflict with the Rump Parliament, which eventually deposed him when he refused to proclaim the Act abolishing kingly government; he was also fined £2,000 and imprisoned in the Tower of London for two months. At the Restoration he was restored to aldermanic office and knighted, but he declined on the grounds of his deteriorating health the offer of election as Lord Mayor for 1660-61. Sir Abraham married twice and had a total of seven sons and three daughters, many of whom had interesting lives. His eldest surviving son was Nicholas Reynardson (1630-89), who inherited his house at Tottenham and lands in London and Suffolk, but who was fifty before he married and left no issue.

Cedar House, Hillingdon: the house of Samuel Reynardson (1638-1721) 

He bequeathed £2,000 to fund the building of almshouses at Tottenham, but his estates devolved on his half-brother, Samuel Reynardson (1638-1721), who was a London merchant and had by 1678 already established himself at Cedar House, Hillingdon (Middx) and begun developing his garden and plant collection. Samuel became a noted botanist and mycologist, and the rarities from his collection were sold after his death to Sir Robert Walpole. Samuel married and had children, but they all predeceased him, so at his death his property was divided among his surviving relatives and various charitable bequests: many of his books went to establish a parochial library for Hillingdon. The Reynardson house at Tottenham passed to his nephew and namesake, Samuel Reynardson (1705-97), who in 1728 was also gifted the Holywell Hall estate in Lincolnshire, which had been bought for him by his elderly and very rich aunt, Lady Barnardiston (1639-1730). The gift did not cause Samuel to abandon his career in the law and he went on to become one of the 'Six Clerks' in Chancery, and to divide his time between London and Lincolnshire. He retained his Chancery post until his death in 1797, although it seems likely that the duties were carried out by deputies in his later years. The alterations made to Holywell Hall in the 1760s, or the sale of the house at Tottenham in 1776 may mark the point at which he partially retired. Samuel had only one surviving son, Jacob Reynardson (1742-1811), who like his father was a barrister and held a number of public appointments from the 1770s. He and his wife had five daughters but no son to succeed him at Holywell, so on his death the estate passed to his eldest daughter, Ethelred (1778-1854) and her husband, General Thomas Birch (1773-1847), who took the name Birch-Reynardson by royal licence in 1811.

James Birch (1698-1772) was the fourth son of George Birch (1652-1722) of Harborne [for whom see my previous post]. He was a solicitor in Coventry and may have held an honorary doctorate of laws from Cambridge University, although he does not appear to have been a student there. His eldest surviving son was George Birch (1733-1803), who was educated at  Cambridge and the Middle Temple, from where he was called to the bar, although there is not much evidence of him practising. He was fortunate enough to marry an heiress, Mary Newell (1737-1837), who was a close friend of Jane Austen's mother, and later of the novelist herself, and who lived until a few months short of her hundredth birthday. Mary brought him the Henley Hall estate near Henley-on-Thames (Oxon), which he passed on to his fourth son, John William Birch (later Newell-Birch) (1775-1864), while he himself lived at Barton Lodge, Winkfield (Berks), which he probably built in the 1770s. In 1781 he purchased the house called Sophia Farm or Sophia Lodge near Clewer (Berks) from the Duke of Gloucester for £10,000, but this was sold after his death, his widow preferring to retain Barton Lodge.

Sophia Lodge, Clewer, before its Gothick remodelling in 1813

Barton Lodge, Winkfield

George Birch's eldest son, James Birch (1771-1817) was again a lawyer - it was to become a long tradition in the family - but he was unmarried and lived in chambers at the Middle Temple. His second son, Thomas Birch (1773-1847) who inherited Barton Lodge after the death of his mother in 1837, was an army officer who saw active service in the 1790s but later moved into the Quartermaster General's department. It is not clear when he retired on half-pay, but he continued to progress through the ranks, being commissioned a full General in the year before he died. It was his marriage to Ethelred Reynardson  which brought the Holywell estate to the Birch family and led, as we have seen, to their taking the name Birch-Reynardson in 1811.

The General and his wife had six sons and three daughters, with the eldest boy, Charles Thomas Samuel Birch-Reynardson (1810-89) succeeding him at Holywell Hall. George (1812-92) and John (1816-1914) became clergymen, and the latter was rector of Holywell-cum-Careby for a remarkable 70 years before his death at the age of 98. Edward (1812-95) was a career army officer, Henry (1814-84) was a barrister, while the youngest son, William (1819-25) died as a child after being kicked by a horse. C.T.S. Birch-Reynardson belonged to the generation that grew up at a time when the technology of coach- and road-building had evolved sufficiently for coach travel to become relatively comfortable (at least by comparison with the experience of earlier generations!), and fast enough to be exhilarating. Between the 1820s and 1840s many young men took to coach and carriage driving - and racing - as a sport requiring skill and endurance, and offering a real adrenaline rush. Any sort of carriage driving could be fun, but serious addicts sometimes bribed the professionals who drove heavy public stage-coaches to let them take the reins. After the rapid expansion of the railway network in the 1840s, the coaching network quickly withered (and the condition of the roads deteriorated with it), and the opportunities for the sport of carriage driving declined too. Those like Birch-Reynardson, who had enjoyed it as young men, were left with happy memories and many of them - like him - wrote nostalgic memoirs of their exploits. C.T.S. Birch-Reynardson had three daughters but only one son, Charles Birch-Reynardson (1845-1919), who pursued a career in the army, retiring as Colonel of the Grenadier Guards. He married in 1875 and had two daughters but no son to succeed to Holywell, which was left instead to his elder daughter Miriam (1876-1921), the wife of Lt-Col. Arthur Fuller-Acland-Hood (1859-1929). In 1920, they took the name Acland-Hood-Reynardson to perpetuate the connection of her family name with the estate (presumably they did not consider for long a full concatenation of their names as  Birch-Reynardson-Fuller-Acland-Hood!), but sadly Miriam died the following year, leaving only one surviving child, Agatha Isabel (1903-93), who in 1926 married Maj. the Hon. Mountjoy John Charles Wedderburn Fane (1900-63), a younger son of the 13th Earl of Westmorland. They lived at Holywell until 1954 but then sold it and moved first to the former rectory in Careby (Lincs) and then to Manton Hall (Rutland).

John William Newell-Birch (1775-1864), the fourth son of George Birch (1733-1803), was given his mother's ancestral seat of Henley Park (Oxon), which he is said to have greatly improved, and in 1846 he also inherited from a kinswoman, Frances Webb, the Adwell estate in Oxfordshire. He was a barrister who became one of the senior clerks in the House of Lords until his retirement in 1848, and he had a town house in London, where he must have spent much of his time. He was married but had no issue, so on his death Henley Park passed to his widow (and seems to have been sold after her death) while Adwell passed to his nephew, Henry Birch-Reynardson (1814-84), a qualified barrister who specialised in drafting and conveyancing. He rebuilt Adwell church in the 1860s. Henry was married and had four sons and one daughter, and he was succeeded by his eldest son, William John Birch-Reynardson (1849-1940), who lived at the Prebendal House in Aylesbury (Bucks) before inheriting the Adwell estate. His marriage produced a son and a daughter, and he had handed Adwell on to his son, Henry Thomas Birch-Reynardson (1892-1972) by 1935. Henry, who saw active service in the First World War and was wounded seriously enough that it eventually forced his retirement from the army, later wrote an account of his time in Mesopotamia, a novel, and a travelogue which described a journey with his family from the north coast of Africa to the Cape of Good Hope. He was the exception among the Birch-Reynardsons of Adwell in not being a lawyer. His son, Bill Birch-Reynardson (1923-2017), who took over the Adwell estate in 1959, saw service in the Second World War but trained as a barrister afterwards, and developed a highly specialised practice dealing with international maritime law and commercial litigation. After his wife's death in 1997 he handed over the Adwell estate to his son Tom Birch-Reynardson (b. 1956), who is a solicitor dealing with the same areas of law as his father; he has three sons and a daughter, so the future of the estate seems secure.

It may not have escaped readers of the foregoing paragraphs that this is a family given to a  remarkably consistent pattern of longevity. Although they have not yet produced a centenarian, Mary Birch (1737-1837) came pretty close, as did the Rev. John Birch-Reynardson (1816-1914), and I count at least six other members of the family who have lived into their 90s; a remarkable record.

Holywell Hall, Lincolnshire

The estate stands in the limestone belt, at the extreme south-west corner of Lincolnshire, where it adjoins Rutland, and the deliciously creamy building stone of the house, church and garden buildings seems to belong more to that county than to the more varied landscape of Lincolnshire. Indeed, the stone must come from the Holywell quarry, which is today the main source of high quality 'Clipsham' limestone, which takes its name from a Rutland village. 

Holywell Hall: the house from the south-west in 2003.

The house seems to have a complex and not well-understood building history, with a probably 17th century L-shaped core, now represented chiefly by the fabric of the west wing, with its steeply-pitched stone roof. This house was taxed on seven hearths in 1665. There were later additions and alterations in at least two phases. Reputedly in 1764, the west range was remodelled as a five bay front with moulded window surrounds and a wooden cornice, but the five bays are not all the same and it seems probable there is more than one phase of work here. The south and east fronts of the house are early 19th century, and presumably date from after Thomas and Etheired Birch-Reynardson inherited the estate from her father in 1812. The south front has a plain two-storey six-bay sash-windowed elevation, stepped slightly forward from the gable-end of the older block. The only decoration is a recessed panel above each of the ground-floor windows. 

Holywell Hall: entrance front and church in 1976. Image: Historic England.

The new entrance front, on the east elevation, is a more considered and sophisticated design, of three wide bays, with the central one slightly recessed and having Tuscan columns in antis on the ground floor. To either side, the ground floor has tripartite windows under segmental arches, with the uprights of the windows fashioned as charmingly attenuated colonettes. To the north of the house is a six-bay service wing with Diocletian windows and keystoned entrance arches, perhaps of the 1764 phase of work. The house was separated from the major part of the estate in 1954, and has since changed hands several times, and it now has very little land. In the early 21st century, parts of the house and the grounds have been used as a wedding venue (which has recently closed), and a single-storey garden room has been erected on the west side of the house.

Holywell Hall: staircase hall. Image: Hannah Duffy.

Holywell Hall: drawing room in 2003.

The house now has a largely Regency interior, with a fine top-lit central hall containing an Imperial staircase with galleries carried on dark scagliola Ionic columns, and circular wall plaques with military trophies and swags. The four main reception rooms have relatively simple fireplaces, cornices, wall panels, and contemporary doors.

Holywell Hall: view of the house and church from the lake in the mid 20th century.

Holywell Hall stands in a small park - 'perhaps the most beautiful landscape park in the county' according to Sir Henry Thorold - which is thought to have been laid out for Samuel Reynardson after his marriage in 1732, although the style suggests it may be rather later. Facing the drive are the Palladian stables, perhaps of the 1760s, of seven bays with a central archway, pediment and crowning lantern, and with just Diocletian windows piercing the walls. The south front of the house looks down over a shallow slope to a ribbon lake in the valley bottom, which is crossed by a balustraded stone road bridge of three arches carrying the drive, and also by a footbridge with a 'Chinese Chippendale' balustrade. 

Holywell Hall: the footbridge and Fishing Temple. Image: Hannah Duffy.

The latter stands close to the Fishing Temple, which has a pedimented Tuscan Doric portico in antis and rusticated windows to either side, and is a close copy of the Menagerie by James Gibbs at Hackwood Park (Hants), which was illustrated in his Book of Architecture (1728). The Temple loosely frames the view south from the house over the ribbon lake, and is balanced by the small parish church (redundant since 1980 and now a private chapel), which was built about 1700 on a new site and may always have been intended as an ornament to the hall. West of the house is a five-bay orangery with an unusually architectural front; it has pilasters at the ends and framing the central bay, which in turn is crowned by a broken pediment enclosing a bust.

Descent: sold 1575 to Robert Goodall; to son, Robert Goodhall (b. 1568); to son, William Goodhall; to son, Robert Goodhall (d. 1682); to son, William Goodhall (d. 1687); to son, Robert Goodhall (b. 1674); to son, William Goodhall (1628-1766), who sold 1728 to Mary, Lady Barnardiston, for her nephew, Samuel Reynardson (1705-97); to son, Jacob Reynardson (1743-1811); to daughter, Ethelred (1778-1854), wife of Lt-Gen. Thomas Birch (later Birch-Reynardson) (1773-1847); to son, Charles Thomas Samuel Birch-Reynardson (1810-89); to son, Charles Birch-Reynardson (1845-1919); to daughter, Miriam Anne (1876-1921), wife of Lt-Col. Arthur Fuller-Acland-Hood (later Acland-Hood-Reynardson) (1859-1929); to daughter, Agatha Isabel (1903-93), wife of Maj. the Hon. Mountjoy Charles Wedderburn Fane, who sold 1954 to Philip Lockwood; handed on 1977 to son, William Lockwood; sold 1984 to Keith Childs; sold 1994 to Princess Yuri Galitzine (Dr Jean Shanks); sold 2003 to Robert Gillespie; sold 2013 to Slipstream Overseas SA.

Adwell House, Oxfordshire

The house has a rather more complex story to tell than its current external appearance suggests. The earliest manor house of which anything is known which was taxed on seven hearths in the 1660s and was probably altered for William Newell around 1700 after being tenanted for much of the late 17th century. Parts of the early building seem to survive within the present structure, for alterations to the fabric in 1935 and 1960 revealed older work. 

Adwell House: entrance front of c.1790. Image: Adwell Estate.

The present five-by-three bay main block was created around 1790, and has a rendered south front with a thin cornice and parapet. The central bay breaks forward and is fronted by a Doric porch, with side-lights inserted in 1960. On the north side, the fenestration is less regular and formal, but a cluster of tripartite windows lighting the rooms at the north-west corner of the house hint at the internal changes which took place in about 1820.

Adwell House: the side and rear elevations in 1960. Image: Historic England.

The very modest exterior gives no clue to the fine and striking staircase created at this time, which is set in a transverse space at the back of the entrance hall, It is top-lit by a dome flanked by two ribbed half-domes. The staircase itself has a metalwork balustrade, and at the foot, two curiously bulbous stone newels. 

Adwell House: entrance hall and staircase, 2014. Image: Henry Lawford. Some rights reserved.

Adwell House: vault of the staircase hall, 1960. Image: Historic England.

Other work of the same date perhaps included the addition of a large conservatory at the south-west corner of the house (since demolished). Further alterations are recorded from 1935, which is perhaps when the billiard room adjoining the main block on the east was built, but the house underwent a more significant remodelling in about 1960, when a new interior decorative scheme by John Fowler was implemented. The grounds were landscaped with lakes and ponds in the late 18th and early 19th century.

Descent: Christopher Betham (fl. 1566) sold 1580/1 to his tenant, John Franklin (d. 1597) of Cannons (Middx); to brother, Richard Franklin (d. 1615); to son, Sir John Franklin (d. 1647); to widow, Dame Elizabeth Franklin, who sold 1658 to Henry Franklin (d. 1663) of Bledlow (Bucks); to daughters, Anne, Mary and Frances, wife of William Newell (d. by 1698) of Pophleys in Stokenchurch, who sold their shares to Newell in 1680; to son, William Newell (d. c.1729); to son, Rev. William Newell (d. 1747); to widow, Esther Newell for life and then to daughter Elizabeth (d. 1818), later wife of James Jones of Stadhampton; to friend, Frances Webb (c.1774-1846) of Stoke Bishop (Glos), who lived at Adwell with her brother, Col. Edward Webb MP (1779-1839); to kinsman, John William Birch (later Newell-Birch) (1775-1867); to nephew, Henry Birch-Reynardson (1814-84); to son, William John Birch-Reynardson (1849-1940); handed on c.1935 to son, Lt-Col. Henry Thomas Birch-Reynardson (1892-1972); handed on 1959 to son, Bill Birch-Reynardson (1923-2017); handed on after 1997 to son, Thomas Henry Birch-Reynardson (b. 1956).

Reynardson of Holywell Hall

Sir Abraham Reynardson (c.1590-1661) 

Reynardson, Sir Abraham (c.1590-1661), kt. Son of Thomas Reynardson of Plymouth (Devon), Turkey merchant, and his wife Julian Brace (from the Isle of Wight), said to have been born at Plymouth in 1589 or 1590. Apprenticed to Edmund James of London, merchant taylor, and admitted a freeman of London, 1618. Merchant in London; member of the East India Company from 1630 and Treasurer of the Levant Company, 1639-41. Master of the Merchant Taylors Company, 1640. An alderman of the City of London, 1640-49, 1660-61 (Sheriff, 1640; Lord Mayor of London, 1648-49), but was deprived of the lord mayoralty, fined £2,000, and committed to the Tower of London for two months for refusing to proclaim the Act abolishing the government of kings passed by Parliament in April 1649. At the Restoration, he was knighted, 5 July 1660, and restored to aldermanic office, but declined election as Lord Mayor for 1660-61 due to his declining health. He married 1st, 2 December 1623 at St Peter-le-Poer, London, Abigail (1602-32), daughter and co-heiress of Sir Nicholas Crispe, kt., and 2nd, 1636 at Stoke Newington (Middx), Eleanor, daughter of Richard Wynne of Shrewsbury (Shrops.), and had issue:

(1.1) Abraham Reynardson (b. 1628); educated at Merchant Taylors' School, 1643; probably died young;

(1.2) Nicholas Reynardson (1630-89), born 25 April 1630; educated at Merchant Taylor's School, 1645; inherited his father's house at Tottenham and also property in Bishopsgate, London; Holbrooke Park , Wherstead and Stoke (Suffk); married, 1680 (settlement 1 July), Anne (who m2, 10 October 1689, Sir Robert Bedingfield (1637-1711), kt.), daughter and co-heir of William Strode (d. 1661) of Newhouse (Warks); buried at the chancel of St Martin, Outwich, London, 1 March 1688/9; will proved 2 March 1688/9, making provision for the building of almshouses at Tottenham;

(1.3) Samuel Reynardson (d. 1631); died in infancy and was buried at St Andrew, Undershaft, 20 December 1631;

(2.1) Samuel Reynardson (1638-1721), born 31 October 1638 and baptised at St Andrew Undershaft, 5 November 1638; educated at Merchant Taylors School; merchant in London; bought Cedar House, Hillingdon (Middx) in 1678, where he developed a garden and became a noted gardener, plant collector, and botanist*; his will reveals he also had property or interests at Pulloxhill, Harlington, Higham Gobion, Westoning and Flitton (Beds), Edgware and Tottenham (Middx) and Holbrooke Park (Suffk); married, 22 October 1669 at All Hallows, London Wall, London, Mary (b. 1642), daughter of Jeffry Howland of Streatham (Surrey), and had issue one son and two daughters (of whom the only survivor was Mary (d. 1712), who married, 1709/10 (settlement 21 February), Sir Edmund Prideaux (1675-1728), 5th bt.); buried at Hillingdon, 29 September 1721; his will, proved in the PCC, 17 October 1721, made extensive charitable requests including the establishment of a parochial library at Hillingdon which survived until it was destroyed by a misguided incumbent in 1940;

(2.2) Mary Reynardson (1639-1730), baptised at St Andrew Undershaft, London, 11 December 1639; married, 16 September 1656 at St Michael Bassishaw, London, Sir Samuel Barnardiston (1620-1707), 1st bt., of Brightwell Hall (Suffk), Turkey merchant; in 1728 purchased the Holywell estate for her nephew, Samuel Reynardson (1704-97); buried with her parents at St Martin Outwich, London, 13 February 1729/30; her will was proved 11 February 1729/30;

(2.3) Priscilla Reynardson (1644-1713), born 27 June 1644; died unmarried and was buried in the chancel of St Martin Outwich, London, 7 October 1713; administration of goods granted to her brother Joseph, 4 December 1713;

(2.4) Isaac Reynardson (1647-76?), born 29 August 1647; East India merchant and factor at Bharuch (India); died unmarried at Bharuch, probably soon after his will was written on 27 June 1676; will proved in the PCC, 20 July 1677;

(2.5) Abigail Reynardson (b. 1650), baptised at Tottenham, 23 March 1649/50; married, 18 August 1670 at Tottenham (Middx), Richard Onslow (1632-c.1712) of London, merchant and fishmonger, son of Col. Sir Richard Onslow (1601-64), kt., but had no issue; death not traced;

(2.6) Jacob Reynardson (1652-1719) (q.v.);

(2.7) Joseph Reynardson (c.1654-1725); married, 19 May 1687 at Pulloxhill (Beds), Anne (d. 1725), daughter of John Coppin, and had issue at least one son and two daughters; adminstration of goods granted to his widow, 18 February 1724/5 and subsequently to his son, Abraham, 27 August 1725.

He purchased a mansion at Tottenham Green (Middx) in 1639, and acquired lands in Suffolk and at Harlow (Essex) which passed to his sons and were eventually sold. In 1640 he took a lease of a house in Bishopsgate St., London, formerly occupied by Lord Wriothesley and Sir W. Acton.

He died at Tottenham, 4 October, and was buried at St Martin Outwich, London, 17 October 1661, his funeral being conducted by the heralds with much pomp and expense; his will was proved in the PCC, 22 October 1661. His first wife died in July 1632 and was buried at St Andrew Undershaft, London. His widow was buried at St Martin Outwich, London, 14 July 1674.

*His collection of rare plants was sold after his death to Sir Robert Walpole.

Reynardson, Jacob (1652-1719). Third son of Sir Abraham Reynardson (1590-1661) and his second wife, Eleanor, daughter of Richard Wynne of Shrewsbury (Shrops.), born 1652. Citizen and mercer of London, merchant in Bristol, and from 1707 a burgess of Glasgow and Edinburgh. He was probably apprenticed to a Turkey merchant who sent him to the Middle East; in 1673 he is known to have visited Jerusalem. A director of the Bank of England from 1700. Collector of Customs for the Port of Bristol, 1714; DL for City of Bristol, 1715. He married, 13 February 1680/1 at St Dunstan-in-the-East, London, Frances (c.1662-1727?), daughter of Francis Farnaby of Kippington House (Kent) and had issue:

(1) Nicholas Reynardson (d. 1692), buried at Sevenoaks (Kent), 4 March 1691/2; 

(2) Frances Reynardson (d. 1692); buried at Sevenoaks, 19 March 1691/2;

(3) Francis Reynardson (1694-1725), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 14 February 1693/4; educated at Balliol College, Oxford (matriculated 1710) and the University of Leiden (MD 1714); physician, poet and satirist, known chiefly for The Stage (published under a pseudonym, 1713) and Poems on Several Occasions (1714); a Tory with Jacobite sympathies; died unmarried and was buried in the chancel of St Martin Outwich, London, 22 October 1725;

(4) Elizabeth Reynardson (1695-1757), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 19 August 1695; married, 22 April 1714, probably in the chapel of Somerset House, London, as his second wife, Rev. Benjamin Rudge (1680-1741), rector of Thornhaugh (Hunts) and Evedon (Lincs), and had issue nine sons and one daughter; lived latterly at Leighton Buzzard (Beds), where she was buried, 18 February 1757; will proved in the PCC, 26 February 1757;

(5) Anne Reynardson (d. 1697); died young and was buried at Sevenoaks (Kent), 1 May 1697;

(6) Mary Reynardson (b. & d. 1697), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn (Middx), 14 February 1696/7; died in infancy and was buried at Sevenoaks (Kent), 3 July 1697;

(7) Samuel Reynardson (1705-97) (q.v.).

He lived much of his life in Bristol.

He was buried at St Nicholas or St James, Bristol, 30 September 1719*; his will was proved in the PCC, 8 October 1719. His widow is said to have died in 1727.

* His burial is entered in the register of one  church and the bishop's transcript of the register of the other.

Reynardson, Samuel (1705-97). Third son of Jacob Reynardson (1652-1719) and his wife Frances, daughter of Joseph Farnaby of Kippington (Kent), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn (Middx), 4 March 1704/5. Educated at the Middle Temple (admitted 1731; called 1744; bencher 1767; reader 1776). He was one of the Six Clerks in Chancery, 1734-97. A Fellow of the Royal Society, 1742-97, who contributed a paper on the standardisation of weights and measures, 1766. In the 1770s he was a Governor of the London Bridewell, and in 1778 he was one of three commissioners appointed to exercise the duties of the Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire in relation to the militia during the vacancy following the death of the 3rd Duke of Ancaster. He married, 1732 (licence 15 May; settlement 17 May), Sarah (1708-63), daughter and heiress of Sir Randolph Knipe, kt., Turkey merchant, and had issue:

(1) Samuel Charles Reynardson  (1740-76), born 30 July and baptised at St George the Martyr, Bloomsbury, 22 August 1740; educated at Middle Temple (admitted 1755) and Queens' College, Cambridge (matriculated 1759); barrister-at-law; died unmarried at Lisbon (Portugal), 1776;

(2) Jacob Reynardson (1743-1812) (q.v.);

(3) Frances Elizabeth Reynardson (c.1746-1830), born about 1746; married, 4 September 1784 at Holywell, Edward Reeve (1744-1825) of Bury St Edmunds (Suffk), and had issue one daughter; died 26 June and was buried at St Mary-in-the-Castle, Hastings (Sussex), 2 July 1830; administration of goods with will and codicils annexed granted in the PCC, 17 August 1830;

(4) Katherine Reynardson (c.1749-1819), born about 1749; married, 11 September 1781 at Holywell, Henry Partridge KC (1746-1803), of Lowbrookes (Berks) and Northwold (Norfk), and later of Cromer (Norfk), and had issue at least two sons and four daughters; died 13 December and was buried at Cromer (Norfk), 22 December 1819; will proved in the PCC, 7 February 1820.

He inherited his grandfather's house in Tottenham from his uncle Samuel in 1721, but sold it in 1776. He was given Holywell Hall by his aunt in 1728, and made additions and alterations to it, probably c.1764, but he also maintained a town house in London.

He died aged 92 and was buried at Holywell, 18 November 1797; his will was proved in the PCC, 23 December 1797. His wife died 1 June and was buried at Holywell, 11 June 1763.

Reynardson, Jacob (1742-1811). Second, but eldest surviving, son of Samuel Reynardson (1705-97) and his wife Sarah, daughter and heiress of Sir Randolph Knipe, kt., baptised at St George the Martyr, Bloomsbury, 2 October 1742. Educated at Middle Temple (admitted 1755; called 1766) and Queens' College, Cambridge (matriculated 1760). Barrister-at-law, who held a number of Crown appointments, including being one of the four Clerks of the Privy Seal, 1774,  a Commissioner of Bankrupts and a Commissioner of the Hackney Coach Office, 1775. JP for Rutland, 1776. Steward of Stamford Races, 1801. He married, 25 September 1777 in the chapel at Erddig, Gresford (Denbighs.), with a portion of £10,000, Anne (d. 1812), eldest daughter of Sir John Cust, 3rd bt., of Belton House (Lincs), speaker of the House of Commons, and had issue:

(1) Ethelred Anne Reynardson (1778-1854) (q.v.);

(2) Elizabeth Frances Reynardson (1779-1837), baptised at St George the Martyr, Bloomsbury, 23 September 1779; died unmarried and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery (Middx), 24 October 1837;

(3) Katherine Sarah Reynardson (1780-1861), born 9 August and baptised at St George the Martyr, Bloomsbury, 8 September 1780; married, 19 July 1804 at St Marylebone (Middx) (with a portion of £10,000), Wyrley Birch (1781-1866) of Wretham Hall (Norfk), and had issue seven sons and eight daughters; died 11 October 1861;

(4) Jemima Reynardson (1781-1863), born 26 September and baptised at St George the Martyr, Bloomsbury, 31 October 1781; lived in London; died unmarried, 6 November, and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, 12 November 1863; will proved 5 December 1863 (effects under £180,000);

(5) Lucy Charlotte Reynardson (1785-89), baptised at St George the Martyr, Bloomsbury, 27 August 1785; died young and was buried at Holywell, 18 September 1789.

He lived in Bloomsbury until he inherited Holywell Hall from his father in 1797.

He died 11 October, and was buried at Holywell, 22 October 1811; his will was proved in the PCC, 9 December 1811. His widow died in London, 10 June, and was buried at Holywell, 18 June 1812.

Reynardson, Ethelred (1778-1854). Eldest daughter and co-heir of Jacob Reynardson (1743-1812) and his wife Anne, eldest daughter of Sir John Cust, 3rd bt., of Belton House (Lincs), born 11 July and baptised at St George the Martyr, Bloomsbury, 4 August 1778. She and her husband took the name Birch-Reynardson on inheriting the Holywell estate in 1811. She married, 3 June 1806 at St Marylebone (Middx), Gen. Thomas Birch, of Barton Lodge, Winkfield and Sophia Lodge, Clewer (Berks), and had issue six sons and three daughters [for whom see below, under Birch (later Birch-Reynardson), Gen. Thomas (1773-1847)].

She inherited the Holywell Hall estate from her father in 1811.

She died 22 March and was buried at Holywell, 28 March 1854; her will was proved in the PCC, 2 May 1854. Her husband died 31 January and was buried at Holywell, 6 February 1847; his will was proved in the PCC, 27 March 1847.

Birch (later Birch-Reynardson) family of Holywell Hall

Birch, James (1698-1772). Fourth son of George Birch (1652-1722) of Harborne House (Staffs) [for whom see my previous post] and his wife Mary, daughter of Thomas Forrester of Castle Bromwich (Warks), born 29 July 1698. Attorney in Coventry (Warks); Under-Sheriff of Warwickshire by 1724; Town Clerk of Coventry by 1745; Receiver-General of Land Tax for Warwickshire, 1752-72. He is said to have held an LLD from Cambridge University but does not appear on the alumni lists. He married 1st, 5 November 1729, probably at St Michael, Coventry*, Jane (1705-49), only daughter and sole heiress of Abraham Owen of Coventry, and 2nd, 31 December 1751 at Wolston (Warks), Susannah Hubert (c.1712-83?), of Wolston, and had issue:

(1.1) Owen Birch (b. & d. 1730), born 2 July 1730; died in infancy, 18 November 1730 and was buried at St Michael, Coventry;

(1.2) Abraham Owen Birch (b. & d. 1733), born 17 January 1732/3; died in infancy, 19 September 1733 and was buried at St Michael, Coventry;

(1.3) George Birch (1733-1803) (q.v.);

(1.4) Thomas Birch (1735-38), born 27 February 1734/5; died young, 1 May 1738 and was buried at St Michael, Coventry;

(1.5) Jane Birch (1738-40), born 5 June 1738; died in infancy, 30 January 1739/40 and was buried at St Michael, Coventry;

(1.6) Sarah Birch (1739-1819), born 7 August 1739; married 1st, 6 April 1763 at St Michael, Coventry, Col. Geoffrey Woodward Vane (1735-85), of Twyford Lodge (Hants), and had issue three sons; married 2nd, 24 May 1787 at Twyford, as his second wife, Sir Wadsworth Busk (1728-1811), kt., of Newtown (IoM), Davy Lodge (Herts) and Beaconsfield (Bucks), barrister-at-law and Attorney General and Chancellor of the Isle of Man; as a widow she lived in Bath (Som.); died 10 September 1819 and was buried at St Swithin, Walcot (Som.), where she is commemorated by a monument; will proved 8 November 1819;

(1.7) Rev. James Birch (1741-1823), born 13 April 1741; educated at Queen's and Magdalen Colleges, Oxford (matriculated 1757; BA 1761; MA 1764; BD 1773); ordained deacon, 1764 and priest, 1770; rector of Great Wishford (Wilts) and vicar of Ashbury (Berks), 1774-1823; married, 24 April 1786 at Twyford, Anne (c.1767-1808), daughter of Rev. Cornelius Murdin, vicar of Twyford, and is said to have had issue twelve children; buried at Great Wishford, 30 May 1823; will proved in the PCC, 16 July 1823;

(1.8) Jane Birch (1742-64), born 24 June 1742; died unmarried, 22 March 1764.

He lived in Coventry and after his second marriage at Wolston (Warks).

He died 6 December 1772 and was buried at St Michael, Coventry; his will was proved in the PCC, 3 February 1773. His first wife died 7 May 1749 and was buried at St Michael, Coventry. His second wife's date of death is unknown, though she may be the woman of this name buried at St Philip, Birmingham, 11 August 1783.

* Most of the records of which church were destroyed in the Coventry blitz in 1941.

Birch, George (1733-1803). Third, but elder surviving, son of James Birch (1698-1772) and his first wife, Jane, daughter of Abraham Owen of Coventry (Warks), born at Coventry (Warks), 10 July 1733. Educated at Clare College, Cambridge (matriculated 1750) and the Middle Temple (admitted 1750). Barrister-at-law. He married, 22 December 1770 at Henley-on-Thames (Oxon), Mary (1737-1837)*, daughter of Thomas Newell (d. 1777) of Henley Park, Henley-on-Thames, and had issue:

(1) James Birch (1771-1817), born 20 September and baptised at St Marylebone (Middx), 24 October 1771; educated at Eton, Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1790; BA 1794; MA 1797) and the Middle Temple (admitted 1794; called 1800); barrister-at-law; lived in the Middle Temple; died unmarried, 17 March, and was buried at St Marylebone, 25 March 1817;

(2) General Thomas Birch (later Birch-Reynardson) (1773-1847) (q.v.);

(3) George Birch (1774-75), born 9 May and baptised at St Marylebone, 4 June 1774; died in infancy, 14 April 1775;

(4) John William Birch (later Newell-Birch) (1775-1864) [for whom see below, under Birch-Reynardson of Adwell House];

(5) George Edward Birch (1776-94), born 6 December 1776 and baptised at St Marylebone, 3 January 1777; a midshipman in the Royal Navy; died of fever in Plymouth Dockyard while serving on HMS Bellona, January 1794;

(6) Mary Jane Birch (1778-1856), born 11 April and baptised at St Marylebone, 13 May 1778; married, 5 May 1818 at Winkfield, Rev. William Canning (1778-1860) of Clewer (Berks), rector of East and West Heslerton (Yorks NR) and canon of St George's Chapel, Windsor; died 25 January 1856.

He probably built Barton Lodge, St Leonard's Hill, Winkfield (Berks), and was succeeded there by his widow. In 1781 he purchased Sophia Farm (alias Sophia Lodge), Clewer (Berks) - then a one-and-a-half storey seven bay classical house with crenellated corner towers - from HRH the Duke of Gloucester for £10,000, but it was evidently sold after his death and much remodelled by James Wyatt for the next owner. In 1787, when he wrote his will, he was living at Remenham (Berks).

He died 4 April and was buried at Clewer, 12 April 1803; his will was proved in the PCC, 30 April 1803. His widow died aged 99 on 29 March, and was buried at Clewer, 6 April 1837; her will was proved in the PCC, 17 April 1837.

* Mary was a close friend of Jane Austen's mother, and Jane herself was an occasional visitor to Barton Lodge; Mary's sons are thought to have begun their schooling as pupils of George Austen at Steventon (Hants). 

Birch (later Birch-Reynardson), Gen. Thomas (1773-1847). Second, but eldest surviving, son of George Birch (1733-1803) and his wife Mary, daughter of Thomas Newell of Henley Park, Henley-on-Thames (Oxon), baptised at St Marylebone (Middx), 27 April 1773. Educated at Trinity College, Oxford (matriculated 1791). An officer in the army (Ensign, 1793; Lt., 1793; Capt., 1794; Maj., 1799; Lt-Col., 1803; Col., 1812; Maj-Gen., 1814; Lt-Gen., 1830; Gen. 1846), who served in 16th Light Dragoons until 1803 and then in the Quartermaster General's department. After leaving the regular army he joined the Ness Yeomanry Cavalry, Lincolnshire (Capt., 1820). JP and DL (from 1820) for Lincolnshire. He had literary interests, and invited the poet John Clare to visit him at Holywell. He took the additional name and arms of Reynardson by royal licence on inheriting the Holywell estate in right of his wife in 1811. He married, 3 June 1806 at St Marylebone (Middx), Ethelred Anne (1778-1854), eldest daughter and heiress of Jacob Reynardson (1743-1812) of Holywell Hall, and had issue:

(1) Ethelred Frances Birch-Reynardson (1809-46), born at Lexden (Essex), 5 May, and baptised at Holywell, 2 August 1809; married, 23 August 1834 at Holywell, Henry Champion Partridge (1807-50) of Snare Hill, Thetford (Norfk), eldest son of Henry Samuel Partridge of Hockham Hall (Norfk), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died at Holywell Hall, 9 October, and was buried at Holywell, 15 October 1846;

(2) Charles Thomas Samuel Birch-Reynardson (1810-89) (q.v.);

(3) twin, Rev. George Birch-Reynardson (1812-92), born at Edinburgh, 4 May 1812 and baptised at Holywell, 24 February 1815; educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1831; BA 1835; MA 1838); ordained deacon, 1836, and priest, 1837; rector of Eastling (Kent), 1842-92; married 1st, 30 April 1846 at St Mary, Bryanston Sq., St Marylebone (Middx), Julia (1814-55), younger daughter of Sir John Trollope, 6th bt., and had issue three daughters; married 2nd, 28 August 1856 at Chacombe (Northants), Frances Vere (1812-76), daughter of Fiennes Wykeham Martin (1769-1840) of Leeds Castle (Kent) and Chacombe Priory; died 1 November and was buried at Eastling, 8 November 1892; will proved 7 December 1892 (effects £124,841);

(4) twin, Edward Birch-Reynardson (1812-95), born 4 May 1812 and baptised at Holywell, 24 February 1815; an officer in the Grenadier Guards (Ensign, 1829; Ensign & Lt., 1830; Lt. & Capt., 1832; Capt. & Lt. Col., 1844;  Col., 1854; retired c.1856), who commanded the Grenadiers at the Battle of Sebastopol; appointed CB, 1856; lived at Rushington Manor, Totton (Hants) and was a JP (from 1856) for Hampshire; married, 5 September 1849 at Little Ponton (Lincs), Emily* (1822-93), eldest daughter of Vere Fane (1785-1863) of Little Ponton Hall, banker and MP, and had issue two sons and two daughters; died 10 May and was buried at Colbury (Hants), 14 May 1895;

(5) Henry Birch-Reynardson (1814-84) [for whom see below, under Birch-Reynardson of Adwell House]

(6) Rev. John Birch-Reynardson (1816-1914), born 31 January and baptised at Holywell, 10 July 1816; educated at Charterhouse and Corpus Christi College, Oxford (matriculated 1835; BA 1840; MA 1843); ordained deacon, 1841, and priest, 1842; rector of Holywell-cum-Careby (Lincs), 1844-1914; married, 6 November 1862 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster (Middx), Sophia (c.1826-90), second daughter of Lt-Gen. Edward Buckley Wynyard CB (1788-1864), but had no issue; died aged 98 on 25 May 1914 and was buried at Careby (Lincs); will proved 2 July 1914 (estate £177,796);

(7) Matilda Caroline Birch-Reynardson (1817-1907), baptised at Holywell, 7 September 1817; married, 11 August 1853 at Corby (Lincs), Robert Stopford (1813-78), merchant, fifth son of Rev. Hon. Richard Bruce Stopford (1774-1844), canon of Windsor and chaplain to HM Queen Victoria, and had issue one son and one daughter; died in London aged 90 on 25 December 1907, and was buried at Hendon (Middx); will proved 30 January 1908 (estate £49,266);

(8) William Birch-Reynardson (1819-25), born 3 March and baptised at Holywell, 22 March 1819; the kick of a horse in August 1825 fractured his skull and he died from his injuries, 15 October, and was buried at Holywell, 21 October 1825;

(9) Emma Lucy Birch-Reynardson (1821-67), baptised at Holywell, 20 May 1821; lived with her brother John at Careby Rectory; died unmarried, 10 May, and was buried at Adwell, 17 May 1867.

He lived at Barton Lodge, Winkfield (Berks) until his wife inherited Holywell Hall in 1811; Holywell was subsequently enlarged and remodelled and became their home.

He died 31 January and was buried at Holywell, 6 February 1847; his will was proved in the PCC, 27 March 1847. His widow died 22 March and was buried at Holywell, 28 March 1854; her will was proved in the PCC, 2 May 1854.

* All of whose descendants are in remainder to the Barony of Le Despencer.

C.T.S. Birch-Reynardson (1809-89)
Image: National Trust, Erddig 

Birch-Reynardson, Charles Thomas Samuel (1810-89). Eldest son of Lt-Gen. Thomas Birch (later Birch-Reynardson) (1773-1847) and his wife Ethelred Anne, eldest daughter and heiress of Jacob Reynardson (1743-1812) of Holywell Hall (Lincs), born at Lexden (Essex), 10 November 1810 and baptised at Holywell, 2 April 1811. Educated at Charterhouse, Eton, and Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1831). JP and DL for Lincolnshire; High Sheriff of Lincolnshire, 1859-60. A celebrated amateur coachman, he was the author of Down the Road: Reminiscences of a Gentleman Coachman (1875); and Sports And Anecdotes of Bygone Days in England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, and The Sunny South (1887). He married 1st, 2 September 1835 in the chapel at Erddig (Denbighs.), Anne (d. 1853), eldest daughter of Simon Yorke of Erddig, and 2nd, 4 September 1867 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster (Middx), Victoria (d. 1871), third daughter of George Dodwell of Kevinsfort (Co. Sligo), and had issue:

(1.1) Etheldred Anne Birch-Reynardson (1836-84), baptised at Holywell, 25 August 1836; married, 3 January 1860, John Alexander Hope (1831-73), 6th Earl of Hopetoun, and had issue two sons* and two daughters; died 15 October 1884 and was buried in the Hopetoun Mausoleum with her husband; will proved 11 December 1884 (effects over £14,000);

(1.2) Mary Karoline Birch-Reynardson (1838-1915), born 18 January and baptised at Gresford (Denbighs), 15 February 1838 and again at Knockin (Shrops.), 25 August 1838; died unmarried at Windsor (Berks), 9 October 1915; will proved 12 November 1915 (estate £26,272);

(1.3) Constance Louisa Matilda Birch-Reynardson (1843-1935), baptised at Wrexham (Denbighs.), 9 May 1843; married, 14 September 1874 at Stanwick (Yorks NR), Capt. Frederick Young (1839-1913), an officer in the 2nd Life Guards, but had no issue; died 5 August 1935; will proved 2 September 1935 (estate £8,800);

(1.4) Charles Birch-Reynardson (1845-1919) (q.v.).

He inherited Holywell Hall from his father in 1847.

He died 25 April 1889 and was buried at Adwell (Oxon); his will was proved 25 June 1889 (effects £36,356). His first wife died at Hinton Admiral (Hants), 16 October, and was buried at Christchurch (Hants), 22 October 1853, where she is commemorated by a monument. His second wife died 24 August and was buried at Holywell, 30 August 1871; administration of her goods was granted to her husband, 23 February 1872 (effects under £600).

* The elder son, John Adrian Louis Hope (1860-1908) succeeded as 7th Earl in 1873, was Governor-General of Australia, and was created 1st Marquess of Linlithgow in 1902.

Charles Birch-Reynardson
(1845-1919) 

Birch-Reynardson, Charles (1845-1919). Only son of Charles Thomas Samuel Birch-Reynardson (1809-89) and his first wife, Anne, eldest daughter of Simon Yorke of Erddig (Denbighs.), born in Milan (Italy), 10 December 1845 and baptised at Holywell, 3 April 1846. Educated at Eton. An officer in the Grenadier Guards (Ensign & Lt., 1866; Lt. & Capt., 1869; Capt. & Lt-Col., 1876; Col., 1886; retired 1886), who was ADC to the Viceroy of India, 1872-74; JP for Parts of Kesteven; High Sheriff of Rutland, 1895. He married, 8 April 1875 at Buxton (Norfk), Emma Maria (1850-1944), eldest daughter of Rev. William James Stracey of Buxton, and had issue:

(1) Miriam Anne Birch-Reynardson (1876-1921) (q.v.);

(2) Alice Mary Birch-Reynardson (1877-1965), born 10 October and baptised at St Michael, Chester Sq., Westminster (Middx), 2 November 1877; married, 12 November 1902 at St Luke, Chelsea (Middx), Cdr. Coventry Makgill-Crichton-Maitland RN (1877-1958) of Witham Hall, Witham-on-the-Hill (Lincs), elder son of Maj-Gen. David Makgill-Crichton-Maitland, and had issue one son and one daughter; died 20 October 1965; will proved 18 March 1966 (estate £14,308).

He inherited Holywell Hall from his father in 1889.

He died at Hopetoun House (West Lothian), 14 November, and was buried at Careby (Lincs), 18 November 1919; his will was proved 7 February 1920 (estate £62,947). His widow died aged 93 on 12 March 1944; her will was proved 6 May 1944 (estate £6,167).

Birch-Reynardson, Miriam Anne (1876-1921). Elder daughter of Charles Birch-Reynardson (1845-1919) and his wife Emma Maria, eldest daughter of Rev. William James Stacey-Clitherow of Boston House, born 27 February and baptised at St Michael, Chester Sq., Westminster (Middx), 25 March 1876. She and her husband had royal licence to take the additional surname Reynardson and to discontinue the name Fuller, 1920. She married, 19 November 1896 at St Saviour, Chelsea (Middx), Lt-Col. Arthur Fuller-Acland-Hood OBE JP DL (1859-1929), younger son of Capt. Sir Alexander Bateman Periam Fuller-Acland-Hood (1819-92), 3rd bt., MP, and had issue:

(1) Charles Alexander John Fuller-Acland-Hood (1897-1916), born 24 August and baptised at Holywell, 9 October 1897; educated at Eton; a midshipman in the Royal Navy, who was unmarried when he was killed in action on board HMS Invincible at the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916; administration of goods granted 4 August 1916 (estate £216);

(2) Arthur Ailwyn Fuller-Acland-Hood (b. & d. 1900), born 27 August and baptised at St Saviour, Chelsea, 27 September 1900; died in infancy, 28 September 1900;

(3) Agatha Isabel Acland-Hood-Reynardson (1903-93) (q.v.).

She inherited Holywell Hall from her father in 1919. On her death in 1921 it passed to her husband and then to her daughter Agatha.

She died 10 April 1921; her will was proved 16 July 1921 (estate £42,861). Her husband died 24 April 1929 and was buried at Careby; his will was proved 1 July and 8 October 1929 (estate £128,672).

Agatha Isabel Fane (1903-93) 
Image: National Portrait Gallery

Fuller-Acland-Hood (later Acland-Hood-Reynardson), Agatha Isabel (1903-93). Only daughter and only surviving child of Lt-Col. Arthur Fuller-Acland-Hood (later Acland-Hood-Reynardson) (1859-1929) and his wife Miriam Anne, elder daughter of Charles Birch-Reynardson (1845-1919) of Holywell Hall (Lincs), born 3 October and baptised at Holywell, 22 November 1903. JP for Lincolnshire. She married, 29 April 1926 at Corby (Lincs), Maj. the Hon. Mountjoy John Charles Wedderburn Fane (1900-63), son of Lt-Col. Anthony Mildmay Julian Fane, 13th Earl of Westmorland, and had issue:

(1) Lt-Cdr. Anthony Charles Reynardson Fane (1927-2024), born 11 October 1927; educated at Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, 1941-44; an officer in the Royal Navy (Midshipman, 1945; Lt., 1948; Lt-Cdr., 1956; retired 1957), who served with the Fleet Air Arm; lived at Ridgemead House, Sunningdale (Berks); married, 17 January 1956 at St Mark, North Audley St., Westminster (Middx), Caroline Mary Rokeby, daughter of Hugh Delano Holland, and had issue one son and two daughters; died aged 96 on 1 September 2024; will proved 10 May 2025;

(2) Daphne Sybil Fane (1929-2005), born 25 March 1929; lived at Careby and later at Stamford (Lincs); died unmarried, 23 January 2005; will proved 27 June 2005.

She inherited Holywell Hall on the death of her father in 1929, but sold it in 1954. She lived subsequently at the Old Rectory, Careby (Lincs) and latterly at Manton Hall (Rutland).

She died aged 90 on 3 December 1993; her will was proved 22 February 1994 (estate £533,646). Her husband died 9 October 1963 and was buried at Careby (Lincs); his will was proved 3 December 1963 (estate £1,269).

Birch-Reynardson family of Adwell House

Birch (later Newell-Birch), John William (1775-1864). Fourth son of George Birch (1733-1803) and his wife Mary, daughter of Thomas Newell of Henley Park, Henley-on-Thames (Oxon), born 30 April and baptised at St Marylebone (Middx), 28 May 1775. Educated at Middle Temple (admitted 1795) and Inner Temple (admitted 1800; called 1804). Barrister-at-law; Clerk in the House of Lords (Clerk Assistant, 1835; retired 1848 with a pension of £2,000 a year). He took the additional name and arms of Newell by royal licence, after inheriting Adwell House in 1846. He married, 13 December 1821 at St Marylebone, Diana Elizabeth (1779-1867), daughter of James Bourchier of Little Berkhamsted (Herts), but had no issue.

He inherited Adwell House from his kinswoman, Miss Frances Webb, in 1846, but lived at Henley Park (Oxon), which he 'much improved'; he also maintained a town house in London (at several different addresses over time).

He died 24 January 1864; his will was proved 30 March 1864 (effects under £200,000). His widow died at Henley Park, 26 June 1867; her will was proved 9 August 1867 (effects under £60,000).

Birch-Reynardson, Henry (1814-84). Fourth son of Lt-Gen. Thomas Birch (later Birch-Reynardson) (1773-1847) and his wife Ethelred Anne, eldest daughter and heiress of Jacob Reynardson (1743-1812) of Holywell Hall (Lincs), born 5 September 1814 and baptised at Holywell, 24 February 1815. Educated at Eton, Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1833; BA 1837; MA 1840) and Inner Temple (admitted 1837; called 1842). Barrister-at-law; drafting and conveyancing counsel in Chancery; JP for Oxfordshire; High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, 1861-62. He rebuilt Adwell church to the designs of Arthur Blomfield, 1865. He married, 9 September 1847 at Hockham (Norfk), Eleanor Dorothea (1817-1905), youngest daughter of Henry Samuel Partridge of Hockham Hall, and had issue:

(1) William John Birch-Reynardson (1849-1940) (q.v.);

(2) Marion Louisa Birch-Reynardson (1850-1936), born 13 August and baptised at Bexley (Kent), 8 October 1850; lived with her parents and later her brothers Edwin and Herbert; died unmarried at Rudge Hill House, Stroud (Glos), 6 July 1936 and was buried at Edge (Glos); will proved 20 October 1936 (estate £38,607);

(3) Rev. Edwin Thomas Birch-Reynardson (1851-1920), born December 1851 and baptised at Holywell, 5 March 1852; educated at Eton, Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1870; BA 1876; MA 1879) and Leeds Clergy School, 1876-77; ordained deacon, 1877, and priest, 1879; curate of Leeds (Yorks WR), 1877-87; vicar of St Luke, Beeston Hill, Leeds, 1887-1905, and of Carleton-in-Craven (Yorks WR), 1905-20; died unmarried, 27 October 1920; will proved 22 December 1920 (estate £23,013);

(4) Aubrey Henry Birch-Reynardson (1853-1935), born 22 September and baptised at Holywell, 19 December 1853; educated at Marlborough; articled to Domvile Laurence & Co. of New Sq. London EC, solicitors; solicitor in practice with Hewlett & Co. of Grays Inn; married, 26 July 1894, Margaret (1861-1930), second daughter of Hon. Charles William Thomas Spring-Rice, and had issue one daughter; died 3 August 1935 and was buried at Wimbledon (Surrey); will proved 9 October 1935 (estate £44,438) and 26 February 1941;

(5) Herbert Frederick Birch-Reynardson (1856-1939), born 6 January, and baptised at Adwell, 13 April 1856; educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1875; BA 1878); on staff of British Museum; author of a number of songs, hymns and musical arrangements; lived at Rudge Hill House, Stroud (Glos); died unmarried, 10 January 1939, and was buried at Edge; will proved 27 February 1939 (estate £50,547).

He inherited Adwell House from his uncle, John Newell-Birch, in 1864.

He died at San Remo (Italy), 5 February 1884; his will was proved 24 March 1884 (estate £120,693). His widow died 6 November 1905; her will was proved 16 December 1905 (estate £16,707).

Birch-Reynardson, William John (1849-1940). Eldest son of Henry Birch-Reynardson (1814-84) and his wife Eleanor Dorothea, youngest daughter of Henry Samuel Partridge of Hockham Hall (Norfk), born 16 April and baptised at Holywell, 28 July 1849. Educated at Eton, Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1868; BA 1871) and Inner Temple (admitted 1872; called 1875). Barrister-at-law; JP for Oxfordshire from 1885; High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, 1913-14. He married, 25 July 1889 at Wimbledon (Surrey), Violet (1865-1940), second daughter of Surg-Maj. Thomas Maxwell (1823-1908) of West Hill House, Guildford (Surrey), and had issue:

(1) Violet Marion Birch-Reynardson (1890-1980), born 2 July 1890; married, 18 October 1911 at Adwell, Lt-Col. Samuel Edgar Ashton (1888-1967) of Scotsgrove House, Haddenham (Bucks), farmer and MFH, son of William Mark Ashton (1858-95) of Heyscroft, West Didsbury (Lancs), millowner, and had issue four sons; died 7 July 1980; will proved 29 September 1980 (estate £52,803);

(2) Lt-Col. Henry Thomas Birch-Reynardson (1892-1972) (q.v.).

He lived at the Prebendal House, Aylesbury (Bucks), until he inherited Adwell House from his father in 1884. He handed on Adwell to his son by 1935. He and his wife lived subsequently at 78 Woodstock Rd, Oxford.

He died aged 90 on 29 January 1940; his will was proved 10 April 1940 (estate £45,508). His widow died 5 September 1940; her will was proved 11 December 1940 (estate £5,848).

Lt-Col. Henry Thomas Birch-Reynardson (1892-1972) 

Birch-Reynardson, Henry Thomas (1892-1972). Only son of William John Birch-Reynardson (1849-1940) and his wife Violet, second daughter of Surg-Maj. Thomas Maxwell of West Hill House, Guildford (Surrey), born at the Prebendal House, Aylesbury (Bucks), 24 February and baptised at Adwell, 29 April 1892. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford (BA 1913). An officer in the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (2nd Lt., 1913; Lt., 1914; Capt., 1916; wounded 1915; retired on grounds of ill-health, 1927) who served in India, 1913-14 and Mesopotamia, 1914-15 and was attached to War Office, 1921-24; Secretary to two Governors-General of South Africa, 1927-34 (appointed CMG, 1933); a local director of Barclays Bank in Oxford; High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, 1958-59. Author of a memoir of his wartime experiences, Mesopotamia, 1914-15 (1919), a novel, Black Coffee (1928), and a travelogue, High Street, Africa (1936). He married 1st, 14 September 1917 at St Mark, North Audley St., Westminster (Middx), Diana Helen JP (1891-1962), only daughter of Hon. Edwin Charles William Ponsonby of Woodleys, Wootton (Oxon), and 2nd, Jan-Mar 1965, Frances (1916-88), daughter of Parke Davis Straker of California (USA), and had issue:

(1.1) Cynthia Violet Birch-Reynardson (1918-2008), born at Wootton, 11 September 1918; married, 30 August 1939, Lt-Col. Sir Humphrey Povah Treverbian Prideaux OBE (1915-2014) of Odiham (Hants), and had issue four sons; died aged 89 on 30 March 2008; will proved 5 August 2008;

(1.2) Rosamond Dora Birch-Reynardson (1920-2007), born 21 February 1920; married 1st, 10 July 1943 at Adwell, Capt. James Marriott GM (1918-44), only son of Frederick William Marriott (1869-1953) of Witney (Oxon), farmer and blanket maker, and had issue one son; married 2nd, 6 December 1946 at Holy Trinity, Brompton (Middx), Col. Christopher Charles (k/a Kit) Egerton MC (1923-2000) of Great Edstone House, Kirbymoorside (Yorks NR), younger son of Rear-Adm. Henry Jack Egerton of Colville House, Coxwold (Yorks NR), and had further issue three sons and one daughter; died 27 August 2007 and was buried at Edstone (Yorks NR);

(1.3) William Robert Ashley (k/a Bill) Birch-Reynardson (1923-2017) (q.v.);

(1.4) Richard Francis Birch-Reynardson (1926-2003), born 26 September 1926; educated at Eton; served in Second World War with Grenadier Guards (2nd Lt., 1945; Lt., 1947; Capt., 1953); married, 18 June 1951 at St Francis RC Church, South Ascot (Berks), Mary (1928-2015), youngest daughter of Sir John Crocker Bulteel KCVO DSO MC of Leighton, Manaton (Devon) and Royal Enclosure Lodge, Ascot, and had issue one daughter; they also adopted one son and one daughter; died at Cape Town (South Africa), 3 March 2003; will proved 10 March 2004.

He was given Adwell House by his father by 1935. In 1959, he handed it over to his elder son and moved to Rhodesia, while retaining a flat in the famous Spread Eagle Hotel at Thame (Oxon).

He died in South Africa, 4 February 1972; his will was proved 3 August 1972 (estate £19,171). His first wife died 26 November 1962. His widow died in 1988.

Bill Birch-Reynardson (1923-2017) 

Birch-Reynardson, William Robert Ashley (k/a Bill) (1923-2017). Elder son of Lt-Col. Henry Thomas Birch-Reynardson (1892-1972) and his first wife, Diana Helen, only daughter of Hon. Edwin Charles William Ponsonby, born 9 December 1923. Educated at Eton, Christ Church, Oxford (BA) and the Inner Temple (called 1952). An officer in the Royal Armoured Corps (2nd Lt., 1944; Lt., 1949; retired 1951; wounded 1944) and the Inns of Court Regiment (Lt., 1951; retired 1957). Barrister-at-law with the Shipping Council and later Thomas Miller from 1960-92 (Senior Partner, 1981-88); deputy chairman of the Comité Maritime International. High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, 1974-75. Chairman of South Oxfordshire Hunt and a director of the Garsington Opera Company, 1989-2008 (Chairman, 2005-08). Author of Letters to Lorna (2008) and Survivors (2014), collections of family letters. He was appointed CBE, 1994, for services to maritime law. He married, 25 November 1950, Pamela Matnika (k/a Nik) (1923-97), elder daughter of Lt-Gen. Sir Thomas Humphrys KCB CMG DSO of Quintain House, West Malling (Kent), and had issue:

(1) Juliet Rosamund Birch-Reynardson (b. 1952), born 20 March 1952; married, August 1984 at Adwell, Ronald Reay Stewart-Brown (1948-2015), and had issue two sons and one daughter;

(2) Clare Diana Birch-Reynardson (b. 1954), born 29 June 1954; married, 7 January 1984 at Adwell, Adrian Trayton Hopkinson (b. 1953) of Norton Curlieu House (Warks), son of David Hopkinson of Poling (Sussex), and had issue at least three sons and one daughter;

(3) Thomas Henry Birch-Reynardson (b. 1956) (q.v.).

He was given Adwell House by his father in 1959; after his wife's death he handed it over to his son and moved to The Garden House, Adwell.

He died aged 93 on 4 July 2017 and was buried at Adwell; his will was proved 29 December 2017. His wife died 6 August 1997 and was buried at Adwell; her will was proved 5 January 1998.

Tom Birch-Reynardson (b. 1956) 

Birch Reynardson, Thomas Henry (b. 1956). Only son of William Robert Ashley Birch-Reynardson (1923-2017) and his wife Pamela Matknika, elder daughter of Lt-Gen. Sir Thomas Humphrys KCB CMG DSO of Quintain House, West Malling (Kent), born 8 October 1956. Educated at Eton. Solicitor in private practice, specialising in commercial litigation and maritime law, who established his own firm (Birch Reynardson & Co. Ltd. of London) in 2007; a member of the British Maritime Law Association (Secretary of the Limitation Committee), the London Maritime Arbitrators Association and the London Shipping Law Centre where he also lectures; a Trustee of the Comité Maritime International. High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, 2015-16. He married, 18 December 1982, Imogen Mary (b. 1957), daughter of John Andrew Caldecott of Elmdown Farm, Ramsbury (Wilts), and had issue:

(1) George William Birch-Reynardson (b. 1985), born 19 February 1985; investment consultant; married, 2018, Sarah Rose (b. 1988), daughter of Mark Edward Trehearne Davies (b. 1948) of Admington Hall (Warks), and had issue one son and one daughter;

(2) Daisy Mary Birch-Reynardson (b. 1986), born 7 August 1986; head of operations at Feedstock Ltd, a financial services technology company;

(3) William Andrew Birch-Reynardson (b. 1989), born 1 March 1989; educated at Eton and Pembroke College, Oxford;

(4) Edward Henry Birch-Reynardson (b. 1993), born May 1993; director of Adda Property, Thame (Oxon) from 2019; married, 28 May 2022, Tamara Manuela (b. 1992), daughter of Peter Frederick Leopold Koch de Gooreynd of Yarn Hill House, Epwell (Oxon), and had issue.

He was given the Adwell estate during his father's lifetime.

Now living. His wife is now living.

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1969, pp. 757-60; VCH Oxfordshire, vol. 8, 1964, pp. 7-10; Sir N. Pevsner, J. Harris & N. Antram, The buildings of England: Lincolnshire, 2nd edn., 1989, pp. 390-91; Sir H. Thorold, Lincolnshire Houses, 1999, pp. 151-52; Country Life, 16 November 2006, pp. 68-72; S. Bradley, Sir N. Pevsner & J. Sherwood, The buildings of England: Oxfordshire - Oxford and the south-east, 2023, p. 583.

Location of archives

Birch and Birch-Reynardson of Holywell: deeds, estate and household papers, 13th century-1923 [Lincolnshire Archives H; MARTIN]

Birch-Reynardson of Adwell: the estate and family papers are understood to remain with the family.

Coat of arms

Quarterly, 1st and 4th, Or two chevronels engrailed Gules on a canton of the last a mascle Argent; 2nd and 3rd, Azure three fleurs-de-lys Argent a canton of the last.

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 8 June 2026.