Landed families of Britain and Ireland

This site, which was short-listed for the Society of Architectural Historians (GB) Colvin Prize in 2019, presents my research into the landowning families of the British Isles and the country houses which they owned. Comments, especially in the form of corrections, additional information or new illustrations, are very welcome. Please use the Contact Form in the right hand side bar to contact me privately or the comments facility at the bottom of the page to make a public comment.

Showing posts with label Berkshire. Show all posts

Saturday, 27 December 2025

(621) Bigg (later Bigg-Wither) of Haines Hill, Chilton House, Wymering Manor and Manydown Park

Bigg of Haines Hill etc.

This family came from minor gentry stock in Kent, where William Bigg (fl. 1540) was settled at Benenden in the 16th century. Over several centuries they acquired extensive estates in Berkshire, Wiltshire and Hampshire, which saw a complex pattern of occupation, tenancy and disposal. William Bigg's second son, John Bigg, married a woman from Oxfordshire and established himself at Crowmarsh Gifford (Oxon). He may have owned the Bell Inn at Wallingford (Berks) which later belonged to his youngest son, Richard Bigg (d. 1632), with whom the genealogy below begins. Richard was probably apprenticed to a merchant taylor in London, and was living in the parish of St Giles-in-the-Fields, Holborn (Middx) by 1614. He was Warden of the Merchant Taylors Company in 1623, but declined the Mastership in 1626. He seems to have held Puritan views, but was related by marriage to William Juxon, the bishop of London who attended King Charles I on the scaffold and was made Archbishop of Canterbury at the Restoration in 1660. Richard was prosperous but not seriously rich, and had five sons and at least three daughters to provide for. His eldest son was Richard Bigg (c.1613-70), who probably succeeded to his father's business, but who seems also to have been involved in efforts to suppress tobacco production in England in the 1630s, from which he will have derived a share of the fines levied. He seems to have been richer than his father, and was able to buy the Haines Hill (Berks) estate from the Commonwealth authorities in about 1650, and to secure a confirmation of this purchase from Charles II after the Restoration. The estate came with a substantial and almost new country house, built in the 1630s. Richard (d. 1670) was married twice, his first wife being Lady Phoebe Ley, daughter of the 1st Earl of Marlborough, who was Lord High Treasurer, 1624-28. Their eldest son, John Bigg (c.1645-1714) was educated at Lincolns Inn, succeeded to Haines Hill in 1670 and sealed the family's transition to the landed gentry when he was appointed High Sheriff of Berkshire in 1698-99. His eldest surviving son, also John Bigg (1674-1723) inherited the Haines Hill estate and married, but had no issue. He then had a younger brother living (William Bigg (1679-1740), of Sonning (Berks)), who was High Sheriff of the county in 1726, but William seems not to have to have inherited the estate, which passed instead to John's half-uncle, Lovelace Bigg (1661-1725).

Lovelace Bigg was the eldest surviving son of Richard Bigg (c.1613-70) by his second wife, and was educated for a career in the law. In 1684 he married Dorothy (1661-1717), the daughter of William Wither of Manydown Park (Hants), and by 1689 he was in a position - through some combination of earnings, inheritance, and her marriage portion - to buy the Chilton House estate at Chilton Foliat (Wilts), where he seems to have become resident. Lovelace and Dorothy had a large family of twelve children, almost all of whom survived to adulthood although several of them died relatively young. In 1723, shortly before his own death, Lovelace inherited Haines Hill from his half-nephew, John Bigg (1674-1723). When he died in 1725, his estates at Chilton House and Haines Hill passed to his eldest surviving son, the Rev. Henry Bigg (1690-1740), who was Warden of New College, Oxford and later of Winchester College. He was married but had no children, and sold Haines Hill in 1736. His widow remarried soon after his death, and Chilton House passed to his younger brother, Thomas Bigg (1698-1761), a London surgeon, who added an estate at Woolstone in the parish of Uffington (Berks) to his lands in 1754.

Thomas rebuilt the house at Chilton in the 1750s, but although he married twice he had no children to succeed him, so at his death in 1761 his property passed to another brother, the Rev. Walter Bigg (1701-72), who was rector of Worting and Baughurst (Hants). In 1734, he had married Jane Harris, through whom their only child, Lovelace Bigg (later Bigg-Wither) (1741-1813) inherited Wymering Manor, Portsmouth, in 1768. Lovelace was one of those fortunate people, who in an age of primogeniture and strict settlements, accumulated property by virtue of being the nearest living male relative of several people. Not only did he inherit Chilton House and Woolstone from his father, and Wymering Manor from his uncle; but in 1789 he came into the Wither family seat at Manydown Park on the death of his cousin, William Wither, and at once refronted and remodelled it. He sold the Chilton House estate in 1792 and also a property at Pangbourne, and expanded the Manydown estate. In later life he may have handed over Manydown to his eldest son, Harris Bigg-Wither (1781-1833), as he seems to have lived chiefly at Wymering Manor. Lovelace's daughters, Catherine and Alethea, were friends of the novelist, Jane Austen, whose home at Steventon was close to Manydown, and in 1802 Harris proposed to Jane. After initially accepting him, she changed her mind and remained single for the rest of her life, producing novels rather than babies. Harris soon found another wife, by whom he bore ten children. He inherited Wymering Manor, Manydown Park and Woolstone from his father, but sold Woolstone in 1828 and took a lease on Tangier Park - which adjoined Manydown - and to which he removed. Of his five sons, four took holy orders, and his heir was the Rev. Lovelace Francis Bigg-Wither (1805-74), who sold Wymering Manor in 1835 and bought the freehold of Tangier Park instead. After nearly two centuries of scattered landholdings across three counties, the family at last had a compact, ring-fenced estate, comprising Manydown and Tangier Park, but it was not to last: in 1871 Lovelace moved to Brighton - probably for health reasons - and at his death three years later the combined estate was sold and the proceeds divided among his widow and ten surviving children.

Haines Hill, St Nicholas Hurst, Berkshire

A remarkably little-known and substantial Carolean country house, built in c.1630-35 for Sir Francis Windebank, one of Charles I's Secretaries of State. The early form of the house is recorded in a 17th century bird's eye sketch in the Panshanger archive at Hertfordshire Archives & Local Studies, which shows the house from the south-west. It depicts a three-storey house with gabled attics, a semi-circular porch of two storeys on the west side, cross-windows and shaped gables on the outer faces of the south side. The house probably began as an H-shaped building, with projecting wings flanking courtyards to east and west, but the drawing does not actually show a wing on the north side of the east front. The east front, which faces the public road, was evidently the entrance side, and presumably had a porch which is invisible in the view from the south-west. The drawing does, however, show a straight approach from the road, down a ride bisecting an area of woodland, and leading to a large forecourt enclosed by walls and tall gatepiers. A 'green walk' through the woodland either side of the drive terminates at the south end in a little pyramid-roofed summerhouse, which has long since disappeared.

Haines Hill: 17th century sketch showing the house from the south-west. Image: Hertfordshire Archives & Local Studies DE/P P18

The west front of the house survives largely in the form shown in the drawing, although the cross-windows were replaced by sash windows in the 18th century; probably in 1716, when the house was altered for Lovelace Bigg (1661-1725). There may have been earlier alterations too, as Richard Bigg (d. 1670) mentions 'all my building timber, plancks, boards, bricks, tyles and other such like materials for building in and about my mansion house' in his will. Photographs show additional details of the design, including the rusticated brick quoins at the angles of the wings. The house was said in 1924 to preserve a 17th century long gallery, but most of the internal decoration of the western half of the house now dates from the refit of 1716.

Haines Hill: the house from the south-west in 1960. Image: Peter Reid/Historic England.

Haines Hill: the entrance front in 1960. Image: Peter Reid/Historic England.

In 1760, the east side of the house was rebuilt for James Edward Colleton, who replaced the projecting wing or wings with a plain two-storey pedimented brick range of nine by three bays, entered through a porch of Doric columns. The junction between the old and new work is abrupt and unconcealed, and it seems possible that it was intended to remodel the western side of the house too, but that this was never done. The only alteration made to the west side at this time was to replace the original porch with a much larger structure supporting a semicircular bow to the first floor room, under a triangular pediment. The new block of the 18th century is said to have contemporary interiors.

Haines Hill: gate lodge of c.1840, photographed in 1897. Image: Sporting & Dramatic News

In about 1825 Thomas Garth added a service wing to the house (demolished in 1963 and replaced by a long but inconspicuous flat-roofed wing) and employed Charles Fowler to build a stable block and coach house in 1838. Fowler was presumably also responsible for the pretty Gothick gate lodge with two tall chimneystacks and roof covered in fish-scale tiles. The original formal layout of the gardens shown in the 17th century view was altered in the 18th century, when a series of avenues aligned on the house were laid out, perhaps around the time of the 1716 refit. Later in the 18th or early 19th century this layout was softened by the removal of some of the avenue trees and the landscaping of the parkland between them, but the avenues are still apparent in aerial views of the estate.

For much of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the house was occupied by bachelor owners who devoted their time and money to fox-hunting, and the estate fell into considerable neglect. This was compounded by the evacuation of Eaton House Prep School to the building during the Second World War, and the limited maintenance that was possible then. After Alan Godsal recovered possession of the house, he restored the building and brought in a series of well-known interior decorators, including Prue Lane-Fox, Jean Munroe and David Mlinaric, to refresh the interior decoration. Neither the house nor the gardens are ever open to the public, and as far as I can establish, no illustration of the interior has ever been published.

Descent: sold to Sir Thomas Windebank (d. 1607); to son, Sir Francis Windebank (d. 1646), whose estates were seized by Parliament and sold to Richard Bigg (1613-70); to son, John Bigg (c.1645-1714); to son, John Bigg (1674-1723); to half-uncle, Lovelace Bigg (1661-1725); to son, Rev. Henry Bigg DD (1690-1740); who sold 1736 to James Edward Colleton (d. 1787); to cousin?, Charles Garth (later Colleton); to brother, Thomas Garth (d. 1841); to son, Thomas Colleton Garth (d. 1907); to sister, Mrs. Louisa Anne Shifner (d. 1910); to nephew, Capt. William Charles Godsal (1861-1938); to great-nephew, Alan Anthony Colleton Godsal (1926-2011); to widow, Lady Elizabeth Cameron Godsal (b. 1939), who handed the house over her daughter, Lucy Violet (b. 1964), wife of Christopher Zeal.

Chilton House, Chilton Foliat, Wiltshire

An estate consisting of the medieval manor house of Chilton Foliat, or its site, and its former park was the nucleus of the Chilton House estate. The manor house mentioned in 1546 probably stood immediately west of the church. It was almost certainly the house lived in by Thomas Bigg which he had recently pulled down preparatory to rebuilding when he wrote his will in 1755.

Chilton House, Chilton Foliat: the house when advertised for sale in 1964, shortly before demolition.

The later Chilton House was built, evidently between 1755 and 1758 and probably immediately north of the old house's site. It was a large three-storeyed red-brick building with an entrance through a canted bay at the south-west corner, behind which lay an octagonal entrance hall. The principal front was to the south, and was of five bays and two-and-a-half storeys, with an attic above the cornice and a solid parapet supporting ball finials. On the north side, there were lower service wings. North of these again there stood a large farm courtyard, some buildings of which were converted to residential use after the main house was pulled down in 1965. A kitchen garden walled in red brick lay further east.

Descent: Sir Francis Walsingham; sold 1590 to his secretary, Francis Mylles (d. 1618); to daughter, Philippa, wife of John Packer (d. 1649); to son, John Packer, who sold 1689 to Lovelace Bigg (d. 1725); to son, Henry Bigg (d. 1740); to brother, Thomas Bigg (d. 1761); to brother, Rev. Walter Bigg (1701-72); to son, Lovelace Bigg (later Bigg-Wither) (1741-1813), who sold 1792 to Rev. John Craven (d. 1804);to son, Fulwar Craven, who sold 1834 to General Edward William Leyborne-Popham (d. 1843) of Littlecote House; to son, Francis Leyborne-Popham (d. 1880); to son, Francis William Leyborne-Popham (d. 1907); to brother, Hugh Francis Arthur Leyborne-Popham, who sold 1929 to Sir Ernest Salter Wills (d. 1958); to son, G.S. Wills (d. 1979), who demolished it in 1965.

Wymering Manor, Portsmouth, Hampshire

Wymering is thought to be the oldest manorial site in Portsmouth, and there was probably a manor house on this site from early medieval times. The present building is fundamentally a U-shaped house built in the 1580s for Eleanor Bruning, who inherited the property from her father, William Wayte, in 1561. The walls of close-studded timber framing (for which dendrochronology gives felling dates of 1581-82) are now largely concealed by later brick and stucco. The large external hall chimney, though probably of the same date as the house, was built of flint with a stone plinth and dressings.

Wymering Manor: entrance front in the mid 20th century.

Wymering Manor: rear elevation, showing the Georgian bow window and the mid-19th century single-storey great room.

The house has a complicated history of later changes, not yet fully understood. The space between the wings on the entrance front had been filled in by the mid 19th century, and a big two-storey brick bow was added to the north-west corner room in the late Georgian period. In the mid 19th century a long single-storey bow-ended room was built onto the south-west corner of the house, perhaps by Father George Nugee, who occupied the house as the vicarage but also accommodated a monastic community in the house.

Wymering Manor: the drawing room behind the bow in the early 20th century. Image: Wymering Manor Trust.

The house has many 18th and 19th century decorative features, but most of these seem to have been imported later, either by Nugee or by T. Knowlys Parr, who is known to have acquired fireplaces for the house (removed again after the Second World War) at the demolition of Bold Hall (Lancs) in 1900. The hall, which runs through the depth of the house and thus incorporates the once-open space between the wings, has 18th century panels with pilasters of two different patterns, and there is more such panelling in the rooms above. The hall also has a screen with an arch framed by fluted pilasters, and either side of this are two curving staircases with twisted balusters leading to a first-floor gallery. In their present form the stairs must be part of Knowlys Parr's work, but the design is copied from the upper flights, which seem to be genuine late 17th or early 18th century work, though they cannot be in their original position, and may have been imported from elsewhere.

The house was requisitioned for military use in the Second World War, and much of its land was developed for housing in the 1950s and later. After being at risk of demolition in 1959-60, the house was rescued following a vigorous local campaign, and was converted into a Youth Hostel. The hostel closed c.2006 and the house was eventually acquired from the City Council by the Wymering Manor Preservation Trust in 2013, which is continuing efforts to raise the money necessary to restore the house.

Descent: William Wayte (d. 1561); to daughter, Eleanor Bruning (d. 1593); to son, Francis Bruning; to son, Richard Bruning (d. 1612); to son, Anthony Bruning (fl. 1646); to Edmund Bruning (c.1609-1707)... Rev. Richard Harris (d. 1768); to nephew, Lovelace Bigg (later Bigg-Wither) (1741-1813); to son, Harris Bigg-Wither (1781-1833); to son, Rev. Lovelace Francis Bigg-Wither (1805-74), who sold 1835 to the tenant, John Martin; sold 1858 to Rev. George Nugee and Thomas Thistlethwayte... sold 1898 to Thomas Knowlys-Parr (d. 1938); requisitioned by HM Government, 1938-46; sold 1946 to P.J.A. & G.A. Day, house builders; sold c.1949 to Leonard Metcalfe (d. 1958); sold 1960 to Portsmouth City Council, which eventually gave it in 2013 to Wymering Manor Preservation Trust.

Manydown Park, Wootton St Lawrence, Hampshire

An account of this house has been given in a previous post.

Bigg family of Haines Hill, Chilton House, Wymering Manor and Manydown Park

Bigg, Richard (d. 1632). Third and youngest son of John Bigg of Crowmarsh Gifford (Oxon) and his wife Margaret, daughter of J. Prevost of Oxfordshire. Citizen and merchant taylor of London; Warden of the Merchant Taylors' Company, 1623 and was nominated as Master in 1626 but declined the honour. In some sources he is recorded as an Alderman of the City of London, but this appears to be incorrect. He was a Puritan in religion. He married Anne (d. 1646), daughter of John Juxon and stepdaughter of Matthew Shepard, and had issue:

(1) Richard Bigg (c.1613-70) (q.v.);

(2) Robert Bigg (c.1614-47); educated at Magdalen Hall and Magdalen College, Oxford (matriculated 1632: BA 1636; MA 1638); Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, 1637-47; died without issue, 1647; will proved in the PCC, 15 May 1647;

(3) Francis Bigg (fl. 1664); living in 1664 but died without issue;

(4) Matthew Bigg (c.1620-62), born about 1620; educated at Grays Inn (admitted 1638); probably the man of this name who married, September 1651 at St Mary Abchurch, London, Mary Stapleton, but had no surviving issue; will proved in the PCC, 17 June 1662;

(5) Edward Bigg (fl. 1664); merchant in London; married Frances [surname unknown] and had issue; living in 1664 but death not traced;

(6) Margaret Bigg; married 1st, 7 April 1635 at St Giles-in-the-Fields, Holborn (Middx), Christopher Nicolson (d. 1649) of London, and had issue one son; married 2nd, [forename unknown] Cornbey;

(7) Anne Bigg; married, 23 July 1633 at St Giles-in-the-Fields, Holborn, as his first wife, Tessilio Yale (d. 1668) of St Giles in the Fields, Holborn, vintner, and had issue at least one son and two daughters; living in 1646 but death not traced;

(8) Catherine Bigg (d. 1667); died unmarried and was buried at St Botolph, Aldersgate, London, 9 February 1666/7.

He was living in the parish of St Giles in the Fields, Holborn (Middx) by 1614, but none of his children seem to be baptised there.

He was buried at St Giles in the Fields in April 1632; his will was proved in the PCC, 1 May 1632. His widow was buried at St Giles in the Fields, 21 May 1646; her will was proved in the PCC, 16 May 1646.

Bigg, Richard (c.1613-70). Eldest son of Richard Bigg (d. 1632) and his wife Anne, daughter of Alderman Richard Juxon of London, born in the parish of St Giles in the Fields, Holborn, c.1613. He may be the man of this name who was appointed to prosecute breaches of the proclamation against growing tobacco in England, 1635. He married 1st, 21 April 1642 at St Olave, Old Jewry, London, Lady Phoebe (d. 1654), youngest daughter of James Ley, Earl of Marlborough, Lord High Treasurer, and 2nd, 26 September 1654 at St Bartholomew the Great, London, Mary (1627-1701), daughter and sole heiress of Timothy Wade of London, merchant, and widow of Dr. Edward Cooke MD, and had issue:

(1.1) James Bigg (b. 1642; d. by 1665), baptised at St Giles in the Fields, Holborn (Middx), 24 December 1642;

(1.2) John Bigg (c.1645-1714) (q.v.);

(1.3) Richard Bigg (1650-77); educated at New College, Oxford (matriculated 1671); died 31 July and was buried at Hurst, 3 August 1677; by his will he founded a bread charity at Hurst;

(1.4) Daniel Bigg (d. by 1665);

(2.1) Samuel Bigg (1657-59), baptised at Hurst, 25 June 1657; died in infancy and was buried at Hurst, 26 March 1659;

(2.2) Nathaniel Bigg (1658-76), baptised at Hurst, 11 January 1658/9; educated at Eton; died young and was buried in Eton College chapel, 31 March 1676;

(2.3) Lovelace Bigg (1661-1725) (q.v.);

(2.4) Mary Bigg (1663-65), baptised at Hurst, 27 April 1663; buried at Hurst, 1664/5.

He purchased Haines Hill from the Commonwealth authorities c.1650, and had a confirmation from King Charles II after the Restoration.

He was buried at Hurst, 6 October 1670; his will was proved in the PCC, 14 November 1670. His first wife died 13 February and was buried at Hurst, 17 February 1653/4. His widow died in 1701.

Bigg, John (c.1645-1714). Second, but eldest surviving, son of Richard Bigg (c.1613-70) and his first wife, Lady Phoebe, youngest daughter of James Ley, Earl of Marlborough, Lord High Treasurer, born about 1645*. Educated at Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1663). High Sheriff of Berkshire, 1698-99. He married, 26 October 1668 at St Giles-in-the-Fields, Holborn (Middx), Catherine (c.1651-83), daughter of Anne Martin of Chelsea (Middx), widow, and had issue:

(1) Richard Bigg (b. & d. 1670), baptised at Hurst, 21 February 1669/70; died in infancy and was buried at Hurst on the same day;

(2) Katherine Bigg (1671-75), baptised at Hurst, 26 December 1671; died young and was buried at Hurst, 20 November 1675;

(3) Anne Bigg (1672-1708), baptised at Hurst, 15 December 1672; died unmarried and was buried at Hurst, 4 March 1707/8;

(4) John Bigg (1674-1723), baptised at Hurst, 23 February 1673/4; married 1st, 18 April 1699 at Wargrave (Berks), Ann Webb (d. 1702) and 2nd, 13 May 1708 in St Paul's Cathedral, London, Sarah Leversedge of Frome (Som.), but had no issue; buried at Hurst, 18 June 1723; will proved in the PCC, 14 January 1723/4;

(5) Katherine Bigg (b. 1676), baptised at Hurst, 18 August 1676; death not traced;

(6) William Bigg (1679-1740), baptised at Hurst, 29 July 1679; executor of his father's will and and sole legatee of his personal estate; High Sheriff of Berkshire, 1726; lived at Stanford in Sonning (Berks); married, 1 November 1720 in St Paul's Cathedral, London, Henrietta Maria Maynard (d. 1755) of Sonning, but died without issue; buried at Sonning, 9 May 1740; will was proved in the PCC, 28 July 1740;

(7) James Bigg (b. 1680), baptised at Hurst, 20 June 1680; died without issue;

(8) Ley Bigg (b. & d. 1682), baptised at Hurst, 20 November 1682; died in infancy and was buried at Hurst, 5 December 1682;

(9) Ley Bigg (1683-84), baptised at Hurst, 23 November 1683; died in infancy and was buried at Hurst, 23 May 1684.

He inherited Haines Hill from his father in 1670. At his death it passed first to his elder surviving son, John Bigg (d. 1723) and then to his half-brother, Lovelace Bigg (1661-1725).

He was buried at Hurst (Berks), 5 December 1714; his will was proved in the PCC, 4 December 1714. His wife died, probably following childbirth, and was buried at Hurst, 10 November 1683.

* He is usually said to have been born about 1652, but the form of his father's will makes it almost certain that he was the eldest surviving son; he is mentioned in the will of his grandmother in 1646; and his marriage licence states that he was 23 in 1668.

Bigg, Lovelace (1661-1725). Third, but eldest surviving, son of Richard Bigg (c.1613-70) and his second wife, Mary, daughter and sole heiress of Timothy Wade of London, merchant, and widow of Edward Cooke, born 8 October and baptised at Hurst (Berks), 31 October 1661. Educated at St Edmund Hall, Oxford (matriculated 1679) and Lincolns Inn (admitted 1680). Barrister at law with chambers in Lincoln's Inn. He married 1st, 11 November 1684*, Dorothy (1661-1717), daughter of William Wither of Manydown Park (Hants), and 2nd, 7 April 1719 at Coleshill (Berks), Rachael (1677-1759), daughter of Thomas Fettiplace of Fersham, and had issue:

(1.1) Robert Bigg (1685-86), born 26 August and baptised at Wootton St Lawrence, 27 August 1685; died in infancy and was buried at Wootton St Lawrence, 15 May 1686;

(1.2) Mary Bigg (1687-1736), born 4 May and baptised at Wootton St Lawrence, 8 May 1687; married, 11 November 1718 at Chilton Foliat, Charles Blackstone (d. 1722) of Cheapside, London, silkman, who left her with considerable debts, and had issue three sons (the eldest of whom was the eminent legal commentator, Sir William Blackstone); buried at St Michael-le-Querne, London, 11 January 1735/6; administration of goods (with will annexed) granted in PCC, 14 January 1735/6 and under the terms of her will she established a bread charity at Crowmarsh Gifford (Oxon);

(1.3) William Bigg (1688-1716), said to have been born at Manydown Park, 24 May 1688; educated at Balliol College, Oxford (matriculated 1706; BA 1709; MA 1712; MB 1715); died unmarried at Oxford of smallpox, and was buried at Chilton Foliat, 18 January 1715/6;

(1.4) Dorothy Bigg (1689-1723?), baptised at Wootton St Lawrence, 20 September 1689; married, 19 August 1718 at Chilton Foliat, Thomas Bethell (d. 1728?) of London, and had issue one son and two daughters; probably the woman of this name buried at St Mary Somerset, London, 1 September 1723;

(1.5) Rev. Henry Bigg (1690-1740), born 20 February and baptised at Chilton Foliat, 2 March 1690/1; educated at New College, Oxford (matriculated 1710; BA 1714; MA 1718; BD 1725; DD 1727); Fellow of New College, 1710-21; Warden of New College, Oxford, 1724-30; Fellow and Warden of Winchester College, 1730-40; rector of Worting (Hants), 1724-40 and Farnborough (Hants), 1733-40; inherited Chilton House and Haines Hill from his father in 1725, but sold the latter in 1736; married, 24 May 1723 at Peasemore (Berks), Catherine (1704-74), (who m2, 10 August 1742 at St James Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), Rev. Philip Barton (1694-1765), canon of Christ Church, Oxford), daughter of Roger Garnham of Priors Court, Chieveley (Berks), but had no issue; died between 25 July and 2 August 1740; will proved in the PCC, 8 August 1740;

(1.6) Alethea Bigg (1692-1723), born 11 February 1691/2; married, 8 September 1719 at Chilton Foliat, Seymour Richmond (1691-1784), recorder of Wallingford (Berks) (who m2, 18 November 1727 at Camberwell (Surrey), Margaret Hunsdon), and had issue one son and two daughters; buried at St Peter, Wallingford, 18 October 1723;

(1.7) Elizabeth Bigg (1694-1768), born 11 July and baptised at Chilton Foliat, 19 July 1694; lived at Chilton Foliat; died unmarried and was buried at Chilton Foliat, 12 March 1768;

(1.8) Sarah Bigg (1696-1716), baptised at Chilton Foliat, 21 June 1696; died unmarried and was buried at Chilton Foliat, [date illegible] November 1716;

(1.9) Thomas Bigg (1698-1761), born 4 June and baptised at Chilton Foliat, 7 June 1698; surgeon in London; a member of the Barber Surgeons Company; made free of the city of London, 1722; lived in Lincoln's Inn Fields, Holborn (Middx) and at Wallingford (Berks) until he inherited Chilton House from his elder brother in 1740; purchased the Woolstone (Berks) estate in 1754; rebuilt Chilton House c.1755-58; married 1st, 25 March 1728 at Hayes (Middx), Dorothy Jenyns (d. 1729?) of Hayes (Middx), and second, 26 December 1751 at Chilton Foliat, Hannah Alexander (c.1712-90), but had no issue; died 16 February 1761; will proved in the PCC, 6 April 1761;

(1.10) Rev. Walter Bigg (1701-72) (q.v.);

(1.11) Richard Bigg (1703-28), born 2 April and baptised at Chilton Foliat, 9 April 1703; said to have died unmarried in London, and was probably the man of this name buried at St Michael le Querne, London, 19 July 1728;

(1.12) Anne Bigg (1706-65), baptised at Chilton Foliat, 15 August 1706; married, 17 July 1731 at St Pancras (Middx), Richard Banister (d. 1801) of Heckfield (Hants) and the Inner Temple, and had issue one daughter; buried at Heckfield, 4 February 1765.

He bought the Chilton House estate (Wilts) in 1689 and inherited Haines Hill from his half-nephew, John Bigg, in 1723.

He was buried at Chilton Foliat, 10 February 1724/5; his will was proved in the PCC, 26 April 1725. His first wife was buried at Chilton Foliat, 16 May 1717. His second wife was buried at Chilton Foliat, 1 March 1759.

* The marriage did not take place at Chilton Foliat as is frequently stated, and has not been traced; however, its date can be inferred from two settlements dated 10 and 12 November 1684, in the second of which Lovelace is married and while in the first he is not.

Bigg, Rev. Walter (1701-72). Fifth son of Lovelace Bigg (1661-1725) and his first wife, Dorothy, daughter of William Wither of Manydown Park (Hants), born 28 August and baptised at Chilton Foliat, 10 September 1701. Educated at Winchester (scholar, 1715) and New College, Oxford (matriculated 1719; BCL 1727; Fellow 1720-30). Ordained deacon, 1727 and priest, 1728. Rector of Worting (Hants), 1731-72 and Baughurst (Hants), 1745-69; Fellow of Winchester College, 1730-72. He married, 1734 (licence 8 April), Jane (1705-59), eldest daughter and eventual heiress of Rev. John Harris DD, rector of Chiddingfold and Ash (Surrey), and had issue:

(1) Rev. Lovelace Bigg (later Bigg-Wither) (1741-1813) (q.v.).

He inherited the Chilton House and Woolstone estates from his elder brother in 1761.

He died 18 June and was buried at Worting, 25 June 1772; administration of his goods was granted to his son, 1772. His wife was buried at Chilton Foliat, 5 January 1760.

Lovelace Bigg-Wither (1741-1813)
Bigg (later Bigg-Wither), Lovelace (1741-1813). Only child of Rev. Walter Bigg (1701-72) and his wife Jane, eldest daughter of Rev. John Harris DD, born 4 August and privately baptised by his father 'in the house of Thomas Bigg, surgeon, in Lincoln's Inn Fields', Holborn (Middx), 14 August 1741. Educated at Winchester, Queen's College and New College, Oxford (matriculated 1758; BA 1763), and Middle Temple (admitted 1759; called 1765). Barrister-at-law. JP for Wiltshire (Chairman of Quarter Sessions, c.1784-88) and for Hampshire (Chairman of Quarter Sessions in 1790s); DL for Wiltshire (from 1770), Berkshire (from 1785) and Hampshire (from 1793). He took the additional name and arms of Wither on inheriting the Manydown Park estate in 1789. He married 1st, 20 September 1764 at Ealing (Middx), Rachel (1736-65), second surviving daughter of James Clitherow of New Grove, Ealing, and 2nd, 21 August 1766, Margaret (1739-84), second daughter of Bridges Blackford esq. of Osborne (IoW), and had issue:

(2.1) Margaret Bigg (later Bigg-Wither) (1768-1842), baptised at St Clement Danes, London, 12 November 1768; married, 3 December 1792 at Wootton St Lawrence (Hants), Rev. Charles Blackstone (1759-1801), fellow of Winchester College and vicar of Milborne Port (Dorset), 1788-89 and Andover (Hants), 1789-1801, son of Rev. Charles Blackstone (d. 1804), and had issue one son and one daughter; will proved in the PCC, 12 July 1842;

(2.2) Jane Bigg (later Bigg-Wither) (1770-1846), baptised at Chilton Foliat, 5 June 1770; married, 15 January 1795 at Wootton St Lawremce (Hants), John Awdry (1766-1844) of Notton (Wilts), and had issue five sons and five daughters; died at Bath (Somerset), 14 April 1846; her will was proved in the PCC, 5 June 1846;

(2.3) Dorothy Bigg (later Bigg-Wither) (1771-93), baptised at Chilton Foliat, 8 October 1771; died unmarried and was buried at Wootton St Lawrence, 6 December 1793;

(2.4) Elizabeth Bigg (later Bigg-Wither) (1773-1855), born 21 August and baptised at Chilton Foliat, 6 October 1773; married, 11 January 1797 at Wootton St Lawrence (Hants), Rev. William Heathcote (1772-1802), rector of Worting, second son of Sir William Heathcote of Hursley Park (Hants), and had issue one son (who subsequently inherited the Heathcote family baronetcy) and one daughter; died at Hursley Park, 23 March, and was buried at Hursley, 29 March 1855, where she is commemorated by a monument;

(2.5) Catherine Bigg (later Bigg-Wither) (1775-1848), baptised at Chilton Foliat, 10 May 1775; a friend of the novelist, Jane Austen; married, 25 October 1808 at Wootton St Lawrence, Rev. Herbert Hill (1749-1828) of Staunton-on-Wye (Herefs), Chancellor of Hereford Cathedral and rector of Streatham (Surrey), and had issue five sons and one daughter; buried at Worting (Hants), 4 March 1848; will proved 4 April 1848;

(2.6) Alethea Bigg (later Bigg-Wither) (1777-1847), born 6 October and baptised at Chilton Foliat, 30 November 1777; a friend of the novelist, Jane Austen; died unmarried, 6 January and was buried at Hursley, 13 January 1847; will proved in the PCC, 27 February 1847;

(2.7) Lovelace Wither Bigg (later Bigg-Wither) (1780-94), born 25 January and baptised at Chilton Foliat, 25 July 1780; educated at Winchester College, where he died in the lifetime of his father, 3 March, and was buried at Wootton St Lawrence, 8 March 1794;

(2.8) Harris Bigg (later Bigg-Wither) (1781-1833) (q.v.);

(2.9) Mary Anne Bigg (1782-83), born 16 October 1782 and baptised at Chilton Foliat, 1 January 1783; died in infancy and was buried at Chilton Foliat, 15 June 1783.

He inherited Wymering Manor, Portsmouth (Hants) from Rev. Richard Harris in 1768; Chilton House and Woolstone from his father in 1772; and Manydown Park from his kinsman, William Wither, in 1789. He sold a house and land at Pangbourne (Berks) in 1791 and Chilton House in 1792, and expanded the Manydown Park estate. In later life lived chiefly at Wymering Manor.

He died 24 February 1813 and was buried at Wootton St Lawrence, where he is commemorated by a monument; his will was proved 1 December 1813 (effects under £35,000). His first wife died 22 July and was buried at Chilton Foliat, 27 July 1765. His second wife died 27 December 1784.

Harris Bigg-Wither (1781-1833)
Bigg (later Bigg-Wither), Harris (1781-1833). Only surviving son of Lovelace Bigg (later Bigg-Wither) and his second wife, Margaret, second daughter of Bridges Blackford esq. of Osborne (IoW), born 18 May and baptised at Chilton Foliat, 27 August 1781. Educated at Worcester College, Oxford (matriculated 1801). He took the additional surname and arms of Wither in 1789. His sisters were friends of the novelist, Jane Austen, to whom he proposed in 1802; after initially accepting him, she changed her mind overnight. An officer in the North Hampshire Militia (Capt., 1803; retired 1806); JP for Hampshire. He suffered from a stammer, which made him awkward in company, and was described by Caroline Austen as ‘very plain in person, awkward and even uncouth in manner’. He married, 2 November 1804 at East Dean (Sussex), Anne Howe (1782-1866), only daughter of Lt-Col. Bedingfield Bramley Frith, and had issue:

(1) Rev. Lovelace Francis Bigg-Wither (1805-74) (q.v.);

(2) Rev. Harris Jervoise Bigg-Wither (1806-87), born 31 October 1806 and baptised at Wymering (Hants), 7 July 1807; educated at Oriel College, Oxford (matriculated 1825; BA 1829; MA 1831); ordained deacon, 1831, and priest, 1832; rector of Worting (Hants), 1832-79; married 1st, 13 October 1834 at Basingstoke (Hants), Eliza Harriet (1811-38), daughter of William Apletree, and had issue one daughter; married 2nd, 8 March 1839 at Dummer (Hants), Elizabeth Maria (1817-65), daughter of Edward Walter Blunt (1780-1860) of Kempshott Park (Hants), and had issue one son and eight daughters; died at Cookham (Berks), 1 December and was buried at Worting, 5 December 1887;

(3) Margaret Elizabeth Anne Bigg-Wither (1808-83), baptised at Wymering (Hants), 7 October 1808; died unmarried, 25 March and was buried at Wootton St Lawrence, 30 March 1883; will proved 27 April 1883 (effects £8,608);

(4) Rev. William Henry Walter Bigg-Wither (1809-99), born 9 November 1809; educated at Winchester and New College, Oxford (matriculated 1828; BCL 1835; MA 1856); ordained deacon, 1832 and priest, 1833; curate of Otterbourne (Hants), 1833-70; Fellow of New College, Oxford, 1828-71 (dean of canon law, 1835; dean of civil law, 1853; bursar, 1859; dean, 1860); rector of Hardwick near Aylesbury (Bucks), 1870-99; died unmarried, 13 April 1899 and was buried at Hardwick; will proved 17 June 1899 (estate £985);

(5) Rev. Walter John Perceval Bigg-Wither (1811-76), born 15 February 1811 and baptised at Wymering, 21 October 1812; educated at St Bees College; ordained deacon, 1834, and priest, 1835; vicar of Herriard (Hants), 1835-76 and of Wootton St Lawrence, 1841-76; married, 5 October 1847 at Wootton St Lawrence, Sophia Dixon (c.1812-92), daughter of Richard Stubbs esq., but had no issue; died 17 March 1876; will proved 22 April 1876 (effects under £1,500);

(6) Jane Dorothy Bigg-Wither (1813-55), born 20 January and baptised at Wymering, 9 September 1813; died unmarried and was buried at Worting, 24 January 1855; will proved in the PCC, 9 February 1855;

(7) Anne Frances Bigg-Wither (1814-74), baptised at Wootton St Lawrence, 27 August 1814; died unmarried, 12 December 1874; will proved 14 January 1875 (effects under £3,000);

(8) Elizabeth Mary Bramston Bigg-Wither (1817-79), baptised at Wootton St Lawrence, 4 November 1817; died unmarried at Winchester, 18 August 1879; will proved 20 September 1879 (effects under £4,000);

(9) Marianne Bigg-Wither (1819-1900), baptised at Wootton St Lawrence, 13 August 1819; died unmarried, 21 June, and was buried at Wootton St Lawrence, 26 June 1900; will proved 28 August 1900 (estate £9,815);

(10) Charles Bigg-Wither (1822-94), born and baptised at Wootton St Lawrence, 27 April 1822; educated at Winchester and Edinburgh University; emigrated to New Zealand, 1843, and became a runholder with farms near Blenheim and Richmond; a founding trustee of Nelson College; briefly a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council, 1863; married, 1849 in New Zealand, Eleanor (1831-1911), daughter of Daniel Burn, and had issue five sons and six daughters; died at Wensley Hill, Richmond, 28 June, and was buried in Richmond Cemetery, 30 June 1894.

He inherited Wymering Manor, Manydown Park and Woolstone from his father in 1813. He sold Woolstone in 1828. He lived at Manydown until 1831, when he leased Tangier Park. After his death, his widow lived with her daughters at Farnham (Surrey) and later at Winchester (Hants).

He died of a stroke at Tangier Park, 23 March, and was buried at Wootton St Lawrence, 30 March 1833, where he is commemorated by a monument; his will was proved in the PCC, 27 June 1833. His widow died 13 November and was buried at Wootton St Lawrence, 20 November 1866; her will was proved 31 December 1866 (effects under £3,000).

Bigg-Wither, Rev. Lovelace Francis (1805-74). Eldest son of Harris Bigg (later Bigg-Wither) of Manydown Park, and his wife Anne Howe, only daughter of Lt-Col. Bedingfield Bramley Frith, born 17 September 1805. Educated at Oriel College, Oxford (matriculated 1823; BA 1826; MA 1829). Ordained deacon, 1829 and priest, 1830. Curate of Worting. JP for Hampshire. In 1869 he published a truly dreadful translation of Homer's Odyssey and the Iliad in what he called 'accentuated dramatic verse'. He married, 23 July 1829 at Winslade (Hants), Emma Jemima (1810-1901), fourth daughter of Rev. John Orde, and had issue:

(1) Frances Anne Maria Carleton Bigg-Wither (1831-1911), born 16 July and baptised at Winslade (Hants), 3 September 1831; lived in Brighton with her mother and sisters; died unmarried, 28 January 1911; administration of goods granted 1 March 1911 (estate £4,106);

(2) George Howard Bigg-Wither (1832-72), baptised at Hackwood Park (Hants), 25 August 1832; married, 28 February 1865 at St John, Penge, Georgiana Augusta Frances (1841-1909), daughter of William Richard Edwards of Sydenham (Kent), civil servant, and had issue two daughters; died 24 January and was buried at Norwood Cemetery (Surrey), 31 January 1872; administration of goods granted to his widow, 5 March 1889 (effects £60);

(3) Rosamond Purefoy Bigg-Wither (1833-1914), born 3 October and baptised at Winslade, 4 November 1833; lived in Brighton with her mother and sisters; died unmarried, 22 May, and was buried at Worting, 27 May 1914; will proved 18 June 1914 (estate £5,822);

(4) Arthur Fitzwalter Bigg-Wither (1835-87), born 14 May and baptised at Wootton St Lawrence, 18 June 1835; educated at Marlborough College; an officer in the militia (Ensign, 1852; Lt., 1853) and later the army (Ensign, 1855; Lt., 1856; retired 1859); lived in Portsea (Hants); married 1st, 28 October 1859 at St Bridget, Chester (Ches.), Mary (1841-72), daughter of Thomas Welsby of Chester, wine merchant, and had issue one son and one daughter; married 2nd, 28 May 1874 at Weston Patrick (Hants), Melita Maria (1832-1901), daughter of Robert Terry, and had further issue one son; died 10 August 1887; will proved 24 February 1888 (effects £1,433);

(5) Guy Carleton Bigg-Wither (1836-60), born 22 May and privately baptised at Wootton St Lawrence (Hants), 22 June 1836; educated at Marlborough College; an officer in the Royal Navy (Mate, 1856; Lt., 1859); died at sea in the loss of HMS Camilla in a typhoon off Japan, September 1860; administration of goods granted 5 June 1902 (estate £773);

(6) Edward Julian Bigg-Wither (1837-1909), born 7 September and baptised at Wootton St Lawrence, 5 November 1837; educated at Balliol College, Oxford (matriculated 1856); an officer in the militia (2nd Lt., 1860) and later the army (Ensign, 1861; Lt., 1867; Capt. 1874; retired 1880); adjutant of Royal North Gloucestershire Militia, 1875-80; a freemason from 1876; married, 10 October 1878 at Cheltenham (Glos), Charlotte Laura (1861-1954), youngest daughter of Capt. William Probyn Hunt; died 16 April 1909;

(7) Francis Orde Bigg-Wither (1838-70), born 5 September and baptised at Winslade (Hants), 1 November 1838; assistant surgeon in the Indian Medical Service (MRCS 1859; LSA 1860); married, 17 December 1861 at Bangalore (India), Harriet Kate (c.1841-1918), daughter of Samuel Walker Bayley, and had issue one son; died 22 March and was buried at Secunderabad (India), 23 March 1870; administration of goods granted to his widow, 30 October 1894 (effects £5);

(8) Lancelot Frith Bigg-Wither (1839-90), born 16 October and baptised at Wootton St Lawrence, 28 November 1839; merchant in India; married, 24 September 1868 at Tranquebar (India), Fredricka Sophia (d. 1881), daughter of Dr. van Teylingen, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 19 September 1890 and was buried at Berhampur (India) the same day;

(9) Emma Sophia Bigg-Wither (1840-1929), born 30 November 1840 and baptised at Wootton St Lawrence, 4 January 1841; lived in Brighton with her mother and sisters; died unmarried, 27 November 1929; will proved 28 December 1929 (estate £11,787);

(10) Rev. Reginald Fitzhugh Bigg-Wither (1842-1929), born 9 January and baptised at Wootton St Lawrence, 24 February 1842; educated at Pembroke College, Oxford (matriculated 1860; BA 1863; MA 1867); ordained deacon, 1871 and priest, 1872; curate of West Cheam (Surrey), 1871-74 and Reigate (Surrey), 1875-78; Warden of St Thomas' Diocesan Home (the Winchester Diocesan Penitentiary for Friendless and Fallen Women), 1878-98; rector of Worting, 1879-98; rural dean of Basingstoke (Hants), 1890-93; rector of Wonston (Hants), 1898-1911; author of A history...of St Thomas' Home (1887) and Materials for a history of the Wither family (1907); married, 11 August 1887 at St Paul, Knightsbridge (Middx), Mabel Frederica (1863-1948), daughter of Sir Arthur Townley Watson (1830-1907), 2nd bt., barrister-at-law, and had issue one son and three daughters, as well as two further children who died in infancy; died 7 November 1929; will proved 25 October 1930 (estate £25);

(11) Ferdinand Courtenay Bigg-Wither (1843-61), born 19 April and baptised at Wootton St Lawrence, 18 May 1843; a clerk in the Royal Navy serving aboard HMS Topaz; died unmarried of a fever on Vancouver Island, British Columbia (Canada), 12 November 1861;

(12) Archibald Cuthbert Bigg-Wither (1844-1913), born 25 September and baptised at Wootton St Lawrence, 6 November 1844; an officer in the Indian Army (Lt-Col.); lived latterly at Godalming (Surrey); married, 7 November 1871 at Lezayre (IoM), Caroline Maria (1850-1943), daughter of William Thomas Kidman Ralston of Ramsay (IoM) and had issue three sons and one daughter; died at Peel (IoM), 23 September and was buried at Lezayre, 25 September 1913;

(13) Thomas Plantagenet Bigg-Wither (1845-90), born 8 October and baptised at Wootton St Lawrence, 28 November 1845; civil engineer (MICE, 1872); participated in an expedition in Paraná region of Brazil, 1871-74, and wrote an account of it as Pioneering in Southern Brazil (1878); later was a resident engineer on Bengal & North-Western Railway, India; married, 15 August 1875 at Buckland (Surrey), Mary Grace (1852-1939), daughter of Rev. George Stephen Woodgate, vicar of Pembury (Kent), and had issue three sons and one daughter; died while returning to England, 19 July 1890, and was buried at sea; will proved 22 September 1890 (effects £644);

(14) Henry St. John Bigg-Wither (1851-1931), baptised at Wootton St Lawrence, 6 November 1851; organist; lived with his mother and sisters at Brighton; died unmarried, 21 August 1931; will proved 24 October 1931 (estate £2,098).

He inherited Manydown Park and Wymering Manor from his father in 1833 and bought the adjoining Tangier Park estate the same year. In 1835 he sold Wymering Manor, Portsmouth (Hants), although he retained part of the estate until 1858. He remodelled Tangier Park, where he lived in preference to Manydown until 1871, when he moved to Brighton. The combined estate was sold after his death.

He died in Brighton (Sussex), 6 February, and was buried at Worting (Hants), 12 February 1874; his will was proved 28 February 1874 (effects under £16,000). His widow died in Brighton, 21 August 1901; her will was proved 14 September 1901 (estate £1,442).

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1833-37, vol. 2, pp. 397-403; VCH Hampshire, vol. 3, 1908, pp. 165-70; VCH Berkshire, vol. 3, 1923, pp. 247-60; VCH Wiltshire, vol. 16, 1999, pp. 88-109; G. Tyack, S. Bradley & Sir N. Pevsner, The buildings of England: Berkshire, 2nd edn., 2010, p. 337; C. O'Brien, B. Bailey, Sir N. Pevsner & D.W. Lloyd, The buildings of England: Hampshire - South, 2018, pp. 548-49; J. Orbach, Sir N. Pevsner & B. Cherry, The buildings of England: Wiltshire, 3rd edn., 2021, p. 217;

https://handedon.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/haines-hill-berkshire/

Location of archives

Bigg family of Chilton House: deeds and papers, 17th-18th cents. [Somerset Heritage Centre, DD/PO/5]

Wither and Bigg-Wither of Manydown Park: deeds and papers, 16th-19th cents [Hampshire Archives 21M58]; deeds, manorial, estate and family papers, 1600-1900 [Hampshire Archives 102A17].

Coat of arms

Bigg: Per pale ermine and azure, a lion passant gules ducally crowned or within a bordure engrailed gules, charged with eight fleurs-de-lys or.

Bigg-Wither: Quarterly, first and fourth, argent, a chevron gules between three crescents sable; second and third, per pale ermine and azure, a lion passant gules ducally crowned or within a bordure engrailed gules, charged with eight fleurs-de-lys or.

Can you help?

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

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 27 December 2025 and updated 31 December 2025.

Saturday, 3 May 2025

(601) Best of Donnington Grove

Best of Elmswell and Donnington Grove

This family originated in the North Riding of Yorkshire, where the Rev. Christopher Best was a chantry priest at Wath in 1546. Robert Best (whose relation to Christopher is unclear) obtained a lease of Jervaulx Abbey's grange at Middleton Quernhow (in the parish of Wath) in 1555, and by the death of Henry Best in 1630 the family owned both the grange and manor of Middleton Quernhow. That estate was sold in 1661, but the family retained the manor of Elmswell (Yorks ER), which Henry Best had purchased in 1597 and sold the following year to his brother, James Best (d. 1617). James' eldest son, Paul Best, was an officer in the Swedish army and later in Lord Fairfax's Parliamentarian forces, and being out of England he sold Elmswell to his brother, Henry Best (d. 1645), who is remembered today for his 'farming book' of detailed notes on contemporary agricultural practice, which was published by the Surtees Society in 1857.

Elmswell Hall, before it fell into disuse and dereliction

It was Henry who, about 1634, built a new manor house at Elmswell, some remains of which survive today (and have become a conservation cause célèbre). The house at Elmswell was never a country house in the terms of this project, and later generations seem to have gravitated to urban centres and to have let the property to farmers. It descended from Henry Best to his eldest son, John Best (1621-69), who became a Quaker, and thence to Charles Best (1656-1719) of Pocklington (Yorks ER) and his son Francis Best (1699-1779) of Beverley (Yorks ER), who was a collector of customs for the port of Hull. Francis and his wife produced five sons (two of whom died young) and one daughter, but his eldest son, the Rev. Francis Best (1728-71), who was a Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge and later vicar of South Dalton (Yorks ER) died during his father's lifetime, and the Elmswell estate thus descended in 1779 to Francis' eldest grandson, the Rev. Francis Best (1775-1844), who also succeeded his father as vicar of South Dalton; it was sold after his death. Francis (d. 1844) had a younger brother, Dr. Charles Best (1779-1817), who became physician to the York Lunatic Asylum, where the treatment of the inmates was repeatedly a matter of controversy. Dr. Best had two daughters, of whom the younger was the artist, Mary Ellen Best (1809-91), whose accomplished watercolours provide an intimate window into 19th century domestic life.

Elmswell Hall: watercolour of the kitchen by Mary Ellen Best, 1834. Image: Victoria & Albert Museum P.11-1983.

This was the background of the family which is the subject of this post. The genealogy below begins with Charles Best (1732-1813), who was the youngest son of Francis Best (1699-1779). He settled in London, but he was neither a clergyman nor a barrister, and there is no evidence that he was apprenticed to a trade, so what took him to the city and how he supported himself is something of a mystery. In 1764 he married the daughter and heiress of a Dorset gentleman farmer, William Light of Baglake Manor, Litton Cheney. The coupled lived at first in Bromley (Kent), but later in Bath, and had three sons and one daughter, although there may have been other children whose baptism records have not been traced. The eldest son died young, but the other two both took holy orders, although the elder, the Rev. Charles Best, may have remained in deacon's orders and never been priested. In 1804, the Rev. Charles married Mary Elizabeth Race Godfrey, the daughter of a local clergyman, and they had one son (who emigrated to the United States of America) and one surviving daughter. She married the author and Catholic convert, John Richard Digby-Beste (1806-85), who between 1833 and 1860 owned Botleigh Grange (Hants), which they largely rebuilt c.1838, although they spent much time travelling in Europe and America.

Botleigh Grange, c.1900, from the Charles Hind Postcard Collection. Some rights reserved.

Charles Best's younger son, the Rev. James Wilkes Best (1777-1852), served various Berkshire curacies in the early 19th century before settling in Bath with his wife, Eliza Head Pottinger (1787-1863), the daughter of the vicar of Compton (Berks). They had one child, Head Pottinger Best (1808-87), who was educated at Oxford and then lived for some years at Farthinghoe Lodge (Northants), which he probably rented because of its location in prime hunting country. After his first marriage in 1839 to Maria Duffield, the daughter of the MP for Abingdon, he moved back to Berkshire, where he first rented and later purchased the Donnington Grove estate, which became the family seat for several generations. He also purchased the manors of Alton Priors (Wilts) and Bagnor (Berks), so he evidently had access to plenty of capital, but there is a mystery about the source of his wealth. Head and Maria had two daughters (one of whom died in infancy) before Maria died in 1845, and the following year Head married again, this time to Jane Stratton, the daughter of an Indian civil servant. She provided her husband with an heir, Marmaduke Head Best (1847-1912), who inherited the Donnington Grove estate at his father's death. Marmaduke was married to Mary Leigh Bennett (1851-1926), the daughter of a Surrey squarson, but they had no children. At his death in 1912, therefore, he bequeathed the estate to his widow absolutely, and it subsequently passed to her nephew, Henry Wolley Leigh-Bennett (1880-1951), who sold it in 1936.

Donnington Grove, Berkshire

An account of this house was given in a previous post.

Best of Donnington Grove

Best, Charles (1732-1813). Fifth and youngest son of Francis Best (1699-1779) of Elmswell Hall (Yorks ER), and his wife Rosamond (1701-87), daughter of Yarburgh Constable of Wassand (Yorks ER), baptised at St Mary & St Nicholas, Beverley (Yorks ER), 1 July 1732. He married, 7 April 1764 at St Paul, Covent Garden, Westminster (Middx), Henrietta Harriet (1743-1816), daughter of William Light of Baglake Manor (Dorset), and had issue:

(1) Francis Best (1765-82), baptised at St George, Bloomsbury (Middx), 17 June 1765; said to have died unmarried, 1782;

(2) Catherine Best (b. 1766; fl. 1813), born 21 June and baptised at St Katherine Coleman, London, 21 July 1766; living, unmarried, in 1813;

(3) Rev. Charles Best (1773-1819), born 1773; educated at Winchester, Peterhouse and Emmanuel College, Cambridge (matriculated 1793; SCL); ordained deacon, 1802; curate of East Shefford (Berks), 1802; married, 4 February 1804 at St Swithin, Walcot, Bath, Mary Elizabeth Race (1784-1837) (who m2, 29 November 1826 at St John, Clerkenwell (Middx), James Collins), daughter of Rev. Dr. Race Godfrey DD of Bath, and had issue one son and two daughters; died at Constance (Switzerland), 7 June 1819;

(4) Rev. James Wilkes Best (1777-1852) (q.v.).

He inherited Baglake Manor (Dorset) in right of his wife, but they evidently lived in Bromley (Kent) and later at Bath.

He died at Bath (Som.), 13 May and was buried at St Swithin, Walcot, Bath, 2 June 1813; his will was proved in the PCC, 12 June 1813. His widow died 5 May and was buried at St Swithin, Walcot, Bath, 10 May 1816; her will was proved in the PCC, 12 June 1816.

Best, Rev. James Wilkes (1777-1852). Third son of Charles Best (1732-1813) of Baglake Manor (Dorset) and his wife Henrietta Harriet, daughter of William Light of Baglake Manor, born 7 March and baptised at Bromley (Kent), 10 May 1777. Educated at Trinity College, Oxford (matriculated 1795; BA 1798; MA 1801). Ordained deacon, 1800, and priest, 1801. Curate of Chieveley (Berks), 1801, Compton (Berks), 1818 and Peasemore (Berks), 1819. He married, 30 July 1807 at Compton, Eliza Head (1787-1863), daughter and sole heir of Rev. Head Pottinger (d. 1829), vicar of Compton (Berks), and had issue:

(1) Head Pottinger Best (1808-87) (q.v.).

He lived at Chieveley (Berks) and later in Bath (Som.).

He died at Bath (Som.), 21 July 1852; his will was proved in the PCC, 3 September 1852. His widow died 14 November 1863.

Best, Head Pottinger (1808-87). Only son of Rev. James Wilkes Best (1777-1852) and his wife Eliza Head, daughter and sole heir of Rev. Head Pottinger of Compton (Berks), born 18 July and baptised at Compton, 29 September 1808. Educated at University College, Oxford (matriculated 1826; BA 1830). An officer in the Bloxham & Banbury Troop of Yeomanry Cavalry (Cornet, 1830) and later in the Berkshire Yeomanry Cavalry (2nd Lt., 1831). JP (from 1841) and DL (from 1852) for Berkshire; High Sheriff of Berkshire, 1853-54; Chairman of the Hampshire and Berkshire Railway. Master of the Craven Hounds, 1851-56. He married 1st, 11 June 1839 at St Marylebone (Middx), Maria (1817-45), second daughter of Thomas Duffield of Marcham Park (Berks), MP for Abingdon, and 2nd, 22 September 1846 at Ryde (IoW), Jane (1818-85), eldest daughter of George Stratton HEICS of Madras (India), and had issue:

(1.1) Caroline Eliza Best (b. & d. 1840), born prematurely and baptised at Farthinghoe (Northants), 10 January 1840; died in infancy and was buried at Farthinghoe, 23 January 1840;

(1.2) Rosamond Head Best (1844-77), born 12 May 1844; married, 15 April 1869 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Lt-Col. William Lewis Stucley (1836-1911) (who m2, 5 February 1879 at Fulbeck (Lincs), Marion Elizabeth (1851-1934), daughter of Henry Edward Hamlyn-Fane of Clovelly Court (Devon)), eldest son of Sir George Stucley, 1st bt., of Affeton Castle (Devon), but had no issue; died 29 September 1877, leaving her estate to her husband for life and then to her half-brother;

(2.1) Marmaduke Head Best (1847-1912) (q.v.).

He lived at Farthinghoe Lodge (Northants) until about 1840. He then leased the Donnington Grove (Berks) estate, and in 1850 purchased the manor of Alton Priors, Overton (Wilts) and the Donnington Grove (Berks) estate. From 1861 he leased the manor house of Bagnor and in 1871 he bought the freehold of Bagnor Manor. He settled Alton Priors on his daughter and her husband, and at his death left Donnington and Bagnor to his son.

He died 14 December 1887; his will was proved 7 February 1888 (effects £39,667). His first wife died at Torquay (Devon), 5/6 January 1845; administration of her goods (with will annexed) was granted to her husband in the PCC, 20 February 1845. His second wife died 1 October 1885; her will was proved 3 November 1885 (effects £6,726).

Best, Marmaduke Head (1847-1912). Only son of Head Pottinger Best (1808-87) and his second wife, Jane, eldest daughter of George Stratton, born 27 June 1847. Educated at Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1865). An officer in the Berkshire Yeomanry Cavalry (Lt., by 1872). JP for Berkshire (from 1871; Chairman of Newbury Petty Sessions); County Alderman for Berkshire. President of the South Berkshire Conservative Association. A trustee of Donnington Hospital from 1900. He pursued a legal dispute with the Wawanda Paper Mill at Bagnor near Newbury about the pollution of the section of the River Lambourn passing through his land, which led to the closure of the mill. He married, 1 August 1877 at Thorpe (Surrey), Mary Leigh (1851-1926), daughter of Rev. Henry Leigh Bennett (1795-1880) of Thorpe Place, but had no issue.

He inherited Donnington Grove from his father in 1887 and the Alton Priors estate on the death of his brother-in-law in 1911. At his death they passed to his widow absolutely. She sold Alton Priors to New College, Oxford in 1912, while Donnington Grove passed to her nephew, Henry Wolley Leigh-Bennett (1880-1951).

He died 3 January 1912; his will was proved 20 March and 21 May 1912 (estate £106,362). His widow died 11 April 1926; her will was proved 6 July 1926 (estate £157,508).