(611) Bibby of Hardwicke Grange and Sansaw, and of Tilstone Lodge, baronets

Bibby baronets 

The story of this family is closely bound up with that of the family shipping firm, the Bibby Line, which they founded in 1807 and still own today. John Bibby (1775-1840), with whom the genealogy below begins, was born on a Lancashire farm, and as the fourth of five sons set out in his early 20s to make his fortune in Liverpool. He began his career by working for James Halton, an iron merchant who also forged ship's anchors and chains. Some years later, in 1801, John Bibby set himself up as a shipbroker in partnership with William Hall. By 1805, John could afford to buy a share in four small sailing ships, and in the same year his partnership with Hall was dissolved and Bibby became an independent broker, trading as John Bibby & Co. In 1807 he embarked on a new partnership with John Highfield, advertising regular packet sailings between Parkgate (Ches.) and Dublin. This is regarded as the founding of the present day Bibby Line. Bibby later expanded his destinations to include the Mediterranean and ultimately Trinidad and Brazil. The partnership with Highfield was dissolved in 1821 and the company continued as John Bibby & Co. By 1823 Bibby was operating sailings to Lisbon, Bombay and Canton. Bibby also established an iron merchant’s, a copper works, and two copper smelting works. At the time of his murder in 1840 (a crime that was never solved, but which appears to have been a violent mugging), his estate was valued at £25,000. 

John was succeeded by his youngest son, James Jenkinson Bibby (1813-97), who took on James Leyland as a partner in 1859. By 1865 they had 23 modern steam ships concentrated in the Mediterranean, but the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 severely affected their business and Leyland failed to persuade the family partners to diversify into the Atlantic trade. Eventually, he bought them out in 1873, and J.J. Bibby retired to his Hardwicke Grange estate in Shropshire, to which he added the adjoining Sansaw estate in 1882. These properties descended to his only surviving son, Frank Bibby (1857-1923) and then to the latter's son, Frank Brian Frederic Bibby (1893-1929), whose early death left the estate in the hands of trustees for his young daughter, Cynthia Joan Bibby (1921-71). They decided to demolish Hardwicke Grange and establish Sansaw Hall as the principal seat of the family. The estate has subsequently passed to Cynthia's son, David Robin Bibby Thompson (b. 1946), who handed it on in 2009 to his son, James Peter Bibby Thompson (b. 1975).

James Jenkinson Bibby seems to have found life as a country gentleman insufficiently stimulating, and in 1889 he returned to business, ordering two steamers, costing £120,000, from Harland and Wolff, to trade with and carry passengers to and from Burma. James provided the finance for this new venture, while his nephews, Arthur Wilson Bibby (1846-1935) and Herbert Kirkman Bibby (1844-1927), managed the business. From 1893, the firm had Government contracts for carrying troops to overseas postings, which remained an important part of the business until the 1960s. During the First World War, Arthur appointed his accountant G.W. Robins as general manager and Robins became a partner in 1920. In 1927, a second non-family member was appointed general manager: Leslie O’Brien Harding, an expert on Burma trade. When Arthur died in 1935, his son, later Sir Harold Bibby (1889-1986), 1st bt., took over a well-managed firm, and was able to purchase the Tilstone Lodge estate in Cheshire, which he retained until his death.

Bibby’s entire fleet was requisitioned for the Second World War and government troop-ship contracts continued until 1962. Post-war political instability in former British colonies, the 1956 Suez crisis, increasing foreign competition in shipbuilding, the emergence of containerisation, and the growth of air travel led to 30 years of economic, social and political upheaval in Liverpool and badly disrupted the firm's business model. Harold’s son, later Sir Derek Bibby (1922-2002), 2nd bt., had joined the company after the war and succeeded his father in 1969. Adopting newer business practices enabled Derek to build up the fleet between 1965 and 1977. To protect the company from world trade uncertainties, Bibby joined the Seabridge Shipping Ltd consortium operating bulk carriers. In 1968 Bibby bought the Britain Steamship Company Ltd, a consortium member, from cash reserves, and there were further acquisitions in 1971, including the loss-making Bristol Line, which owned a one-third stake in Dart Containerline, a transatlantic freight operation. The oil shocks of 1973 precipitated a further crisis in shipping and Derek Bibby left the Seabridge consortium in 1977, selling two bulk carriers and Bibby’s stake in Dart Containerline to pay off debts.

On retiring in 1985, Sir Derek Bibby appointed Simon Sherrard, a non-family member, as managing director. Sherrard accelerated diversification by moving into financial services and distribution. At the same time, Sir Derek moved to regain financial control of the business. Since the 1890s, 45% of the shares had been owned by J.J. Bibby's descendants, who were not directly involved in the management of the firm. In 1986, Sir Derek, who had made his home at an Arts & Crafts villa in the Wirral called Willaston Grange in about 1965, sold Tilstone Lodge and increased his share of the business to 84% after buying out Robin Bibby Thompson, his sister Jane Paton-Smith and two other directors. Sir Derek's son, Sir Michael Bibby (b. 1963), 3rd bt., joined the Bibby Line as finance director in 1992 and became MD of the Bibby Group in 2000. In response to a number of major changes in the business environment, he undertook a rapid diversification strategy by investing in shallow water accommodation, offshore oil field services, contract logistics, financial services, burial parks, employment law and health and safety advisory services, and retail, although Bibby’s historical links with the sea were maintained through the Bibby Lines as well as Bibby Maritime and Bibby Ship Management. From a turnover of £6.7m in 1970, Bibby expanded to a turnover of £241m in 2023.

Hardwicke Grange, Hadnall, Shropshire

The estate was for most of its existence a subsidiary property of owners who were more substantially accommodated at Lilleshall or Hawkestone, and it was frequently let or loaned to relatives. The building history reflects this, in that several of the main periods of investment in the property correspond to the years when it was actually occupied by the owners.

Almost nothing is known of the house which existed on this site in Tudor and Stuart times, except that in 1672 it was taxed on seven hearths, implying the existence of a substantial but not necessarily very grand house. Our first real evidence for its appearance comes from a portrait of Lady Hill by John Russell painted in 1778, where the house is shown in the background, and from a watercolour by Moses Griffith (now at Dudmaston) painted in 1790.

Hardwicke Grange: view of the house in the background of
a portrait of Mary, Lady Hill, 1778. 

These views show a two-storey main south-facing front with a five bay centre between slightly projecting wings with Venetian windows on the ground floor. It is thought that the centre represents a small early to mid 18th century house, with the wings being additions of about 1770 for Sir Rowland Hill, but it is not clear whether this house completely replaced the Tudor and Stuart building, or was simply a remodelling.

The next alterations of which anything is known were made around 1820 by Thomas Harrison of Chester for Rowland Hill (1772-1842), 1st Viscount Hill, who was said by a neighbour to have 'greatly improved, extended and beautified the Hall and pleasure grounds, [and] erected a handsome lodge of Grinshill stone, at the gate of entrance from the turnpike road to Shrewsbury'. Harrison's alterations to the house remodelled the entrance front in the Tudor Gothic style, but the views below are rather flattering in making the composition tauter than it was in reality.

Hardwicke Grange: view of the house from the south-west in the early 19th century. 

Hardwicke Grange: engraving of the house from the south-east by J.P. Neale, 1826.

He added gables over the wings and low-pitched gablets over dormer windows to the centre, and constructed a crenellated arcade with four-centred arches between the wings. The whole front was refenestrated, with three windows to the centre, and all the windows were given hood-moulds. The western return elevation had a gable matching those on the front of the wings, and irregular fenestration, including a ground floor canted bay window.  Very little is known about the interiors which Harrison must have created within the remodelled house, except that John Betton and David Evans provided stained glass for some of the new windows before 1825. The house was closely surrounded by a wall with gates on the west and east sides that provided carriage access to the front door.

Hardwicke Grange: the layout of the grounds, as shown on the 1st edition OS 6" map, 1880.

Alongside Thomas Harrison's alterations to the house, the grounds were landscaped, possibly to the designs of John Webb (1754-1828). Moses Griffith's watercolour of the house in 1790 shows the unimproved setting, with the house looking across an open landscape and set against a backdrop of trees. By the 1820s the parkland had been defined by a circuit of roads, shelter belts had been planted around parts of the perimeter, and the whole of the park had been studded with isolated trees. Although most of the park has long since reverted to farmland, the single-storey Tudor Gothic lodge, no doubt also designed by Harrison, survives. It complemented the style of the house, with a crenellated parapet and hoodmoulds over the windows. Also surviving in the park is the brick tower of a windmill with mock arrow slits and pointed windows, a structure which is said to have been built to commemorate Lord Hill's exploits at the Battle of Waterloo, perhaps even to have been a replica of the building he used as a headquarters during the battle. The story that the trees and plantations of the park were positioned to emulate the positions of troops at the start of the battle, which is heard so often, may be discounted as a myth.

Hardwicke Grange: the house as enlarged in 1898-1902 for Frank Bibby. Image: Country Life.

The final phase of development of the house was undertaken  for Frank Bibby (1857-1923) after he inherited the estate in 1897. He did not alter Harrison's entrance front, but doubled the size of the house by large additions at the rear in Grinshill ashlar stone. The additions incorporated new stables and extensive service accommodation. Probably at the same time a new south lodge was constructed and a large fishpond near the house was filled in. The architect for the additions was Charles John Ferguson (1840-1904) of Carlisle (Cumbld.), who had previously worked for the Bibbys on the remodelling of Clive church in 1885-87 and 1894-97. It is not known how he first came to the attention of the family, as his practice was very largely confined to Cumberland and the adjacent counties.

Hardwicke Grange: design for new staircase
by E. Ridsdale Tate, 1902, from The Builder.

Designs were also supplied by Edwin Ridsdale Tate (1862-1922) of York, who was chiefly an artist and antiquary. He had Carlisle connections and was perhaps brought in by Ferguson to design interiors for the house, one of which was illustrated in The Builder in 1902, where the accompanying text strongly implies that the design was realised. Altogether, over £100,000 is said to have been spent on the reconstruction.

On the death of Frank Bibby in 1923 the estate passed to his son, Frank Brian Frederic Bibby, but his untimely death in 1929 left the estate facing two sets of death duties in a short space of time, and with a female heiress who was only eight years old. The Sansaw and Hardwicke Grange estates were vested in trustees who decided that in order to reduce costs the family should in future live at Sansaw and that Hardwicke Grange should be demolished, even though it was only thirty years since there had been major investment in the house. The stables and lodges were left standing, but the rest of the house was carefully dismantled and sales of the building materials took place in 1933. In recent years the stables have been successfully reused as small industrial units, while the former walled garden has become the site for modernist glass office structures, known as the Pavilions.

Descent: Crown sold 1539 to James Leveson (d. 1547); to son, Sir Richard Leveson (d. 1560), kt.; to son, Sir Walter Leveson (1550-1602), kt.; to son, Vice-Adm. Sir Richard Leveson (c.1570-1605), kt.; to first cousin once removed, Sir Richard Leveson (1598-1661), kt.; to nephew, Sir William Leveson-Gower (c.1647-91), 4th bt.; to son, Sir John Leveson-Gower (1675-1709), 5th bt. and 1st Baron Gower; to son, John Leveson-Gower, 2nd Baron and 1st Earl Gower; to son, Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Gower and later 1st Marquess of Stafford, who sold 1765 to Sir Rowland Hill (1705-83), 1st bt.; to widow, Mary (d. 1790), Lady Hill, later wife of Joseph Foster Barham (1729-89), and then to to Sir Richard Hill (1732-1808), 2nd bt.; to nephew, Rowland Hill (1772-1842), 1st Viscount Hill; to nephew, Rowland Hill (1800-75), 2nd Viscount Hill, who sold 1868 to James Jenkinson Bibby (1813-97); to son, Frank Bibby (1857-1923); to son, Frank Brian Frederic Bibby (1893-1929); to trustees, who demolished the house, and then to daughter, Cynthia Joan (1921-71), later the wife of Capt. Noel Dennis Thompson (1914-67); to son, David Robin Bibby Thompson (b. 1946), who handed the estate over to his son, James Peter Bibby Thompson (b. 1975) in 2009. 

The estate was apparently let by 1579/80 to Richard Tyler, who was succeeded by his daughter Dorothy, wife of William Whitcombe. Their grandson, William Whitcombe, was 'of Hardwicke' in 1663 and 1672. Later tenants included Edward Grant, who sold his interest in 1726 to Edward Appleyard, after whose death it was sold in 1740 to Charles Baldwyn, agent for John Powys of Shrewsbury, who in turn sold it in 1741 to the Hill family. After 1790 the house was occupied by Col. John Hill (1769-1814) - a grandson of the 1st baronet - and in 1816 by Col. Hanmer. After the death of the 1st Viscount Hill, the house was occupied by his nephew, Col. Richard Frederick Hill (1804-90) and later by the Misses Hill.

Sansaw Hall, Clive, Shropshire

The Sansaw estate was owned by the Gardiner (sometimes Gardner) family for more than 250 years from its acquisition in 1622 by John Gardiner (1595-1628), a Shrewsbury draper, but there seems not to have been a substantial house on the property until the late 18th century. Several members of the family lived in Shrewsbury rather than on the estate, and the only reference to the family in the 1672 hearth tax return is an entry for 'Nathaniell Garner', who paid tax on a house with just two hearths; he was a younger son of the John Gardiner who bought the estate in 1622. 

Sansaw Hall: detail of the house from an oil painting of the park
by Thomas Saunders, c.1800 (Private Collection)

The man who built the first country house on the estate was John Gardiner (1746-1801), who inherited the property from his grandfather in 1763 and came of age four years later. He commissioned an unknown architect to build a substantial red brick house of three storeys with a five-bay south front and four bay sides, in 1773-75. The south front had no pediment, but a curious raised balustraded parapet over the central bay. On the ground floor, the main entrance took the form of a Venetian window, with a doorcase replacing the central window. To either side of the main block stood a pair of pavilions, with pedimental gables over Venetian windows. The original appearance of the house is recorded in an oil painting of c.1800 by Thomas Saunders, of which a detail is reproduced here.

After James Jenkinson Bibby bought the estate in 1882 or 1883, Sansaw was remodelled and enlarged to the designs of James Francis Doyle (1840-1913) of Liverpool, to serve as a dower house to Hardwicke Grange. Doyle, who was chiefly the architect of churches and public buildings in and around his native city, worked in both the Gothic style and the sub-classical 'Queen Anne' style favoured by Norman Shaw; indeed, he later worked with Shaw on the design of the White Star Line building in Liverpool. 

Sansaw Hall: the house from the south-east in the early 20th century, from an old postcard.

Sansaw Hall: the house from the south-west in 1906, from an old postcard.

At Sansaw, his work (dated 1888 on the rainwater heads) was in the latter manner. New square bay windows were built on the south front of the house, with a loggia between them to act as a porch to the front door. At the rear, the house was extended to the north, so that it had a six-bay elevation on the east side. The 18th century pavilion on the west side was demolished and replaced by a rambling partly three-storey wing, while that on the east side was retained but linked more formally to the house by a curved link. A balustraded parapet was applied all round the house to link the disparate elements. The interiors were largely refitted but still in an 18th century style, although the cornices and marble fireplaces of the front two rooms are thought to be surviving 18th century work. In the grounds, a new drive was laid out to Yorton railway station, with a small stone lodge at its gate.

Sansaw Hall: the house in 2009. (Image: Dan E 

CC BY-SA 2.0)

In the 1930s, with the demolition of Hardwicke Grange, Sansaw Hall became the principal property on the Bibby estate, but in post-war circumstances, when there was no longer a need for extensive service accommodation, it came to seem unnecessarily large. After David Thompson inherited it from his mother in 1971, he employed the talented architect Tom Bird (1918-2017) of Bird & Tyler to undertake a successful reduction of the building, which retained something of the character of the Victorian house - notably through the preservation of the bay windows and loggia on the entrance front - while strengthening the overall Georgian feeling and proportions of the house. More recently, the interiors have been redecorated by Lucinda Griffith for the next generation of the family.

Descent: sold 1622 to John Gardiner (1595-1628) of Shrewsbury; to son, Thomas Gardiner (1617-67); to son, John Gardiner (1660-99);to son, Thomas Gardiner (d. 1763); to grandson, John Gardiner (1746-1801); to first cousin, once removed, Rev. Dr. Lawrence Panting (later Gardiner) (1767-1844); to nephew, Robert Panting (later Gardiner) (d. 1880); to son, Thomas Gardiner (later Kynnersley), who sold 1882/3 to James Jenkinson Bibby (1813-97); to son, Frank Bibby (1857-1923); to son, Frank Brian Frederic Bibby (1893-1929); to trustees and then to daughter, Cynthia Joan (1921-71), later the wife of Capt. Noel Dennis Thompson (1914-67); to son, David Robin Bibby Thompson (b. 1946), who handed the estate over to his son, James Peter Bibby Thompson (b. 1975) in 2009. The house was let in the mid 19th century to Capt. Martin (fl. 1851) and later to the Tippinge family.

Tilstone Lodge, Tilstone Fearnall, Cheshire

The original seat on this estate of the Wilbraham and later the Tollemache families was Tilstone Hall, built around 1600 but damaged in the Civil War and demolished in the 1740s. Thereafter the property had no gentry residence until after the death of Wilbraham Tollemache, 6th Earl of Dysart, in 1821, when his estates were divided. His property in Cheshire and Suffolk passed to his nephew, Admiral John Richard Delap Halliday (1771-1837), who already possessed a town house next door to Apsley House in London, a house in Brighton, and a profitable estate in Antigua. But he at once decided to build a home on his newly acquired Cheshire estate 'for an occasional Residence to receive my tenants and for shooting and hunting', and took the name Tollemache to reflect his inheritance. Although he was keen to build, he was also anxious to limit his expenditure on the new building, wanting it 'very well done, but plain, strong and economically', and construction was deliberately done in stages so as to spread the expense. The interiors were only decorated in 1825 (when the Admiral's son John tried unsuccessfully to persuade his father to enlarge the house) and furniture was ordered only in 1826. By then, attention was turning to the grounds, which were probably laid out by John Webb as they are characteristic of his style, and who is known to have been consulted in August 1821.

Tilstone Lodge: entrance front in 2015.

Tilstone Lodge: garden front in 2015.

The architect chosen for the new house was Thomas Harrison (1744-1829) of Chester, who had already made designs by July 1821. Some of his correspondence relating to the project survives, but sadly not the original drawings. The two-storey house is elegant and spacious, but not at all formal or grand, and its simplicity hardly recalls the severe reflection of antiquity for which Harrison's earlier work is known. The house is built of brick covered with stucco lined to imitate ashlar, with sash windows and almost no applied classical detail, except for the unfluted Doric porte cochère on the west-facing entrance front. 

Tilstone Lodge: the south front

Tilstone Lodge: the house from the south-east in 1909, showing the conservatory fully glazed.

The end of the entrance front facing south over the lake has a graceful shallow curved bow with a pretty cast iron trellised veranda that shades the drawing room and provides a balcony for the bedroom above. The east side of the house has a further full-height shallow curved bow in the centre, and this side of the house probably also had a veranda originally. At the south-east corner is a late 19th century orangery, which was originally fully glazed but was subsequently converted into a billiard room; its arched windows and crowded details are rather at odds with the pure lines of Harrison's work. To the north of the house is a service wing which connected the house to two long ranges either side of a narrow courtyard. One of these ranges was recently pulled down to make way for a new swimming pool.

Tilstone Lodge: the drawing room in 2015.

Inside, the house has a deep entrance hall, altered in the later 19th century, with a beamed ceiling and a dark grey stone chimneypiece, which runs back to a top-lit staircase, also altered in the 19th century. The principal reception rooms are light and airy, and still have their original neo-classical cornices and reeded doorcases, although some of the marble chimneypieces which were recorded as having been installed in the 1820s have been replaced over the years.

In the 1840s, John Tollemache (1805-90), 1st Baron Tollemache, built Peckforton Castle as a new centre for his Cheshire estates, and Tilstone Lodge was relegated to the status of a dower house. It remained part of the estate until 1936, after which it was sold.

Descent: Wilbraham Tollemache (1739-1821), 6th Earl of Dysart; to nephew, Adm. John Richard Delap Halliday (later Tollemache) (1771-1837); to son, John Tollemache (1805-90), 1st Baron Tollemache; to son, Wilbraham Frederic Tollemache (1832-1904), 2nd Baron Tollemache; to son, Bentley Lyonel John Tollemache (1883-1955), 3rd Baron Tollemache; sold 1936 to Sir Harold Bibby (1889-1986), 1st bt.; to son, Sir Derek James Bibby (1922-2002), 2nd bt., who sold c.1986 to Robert James McAlpine (1932-2021); sold 2017 to Edward Reeves (b. 1968).

Bibby family of Hardwicke Grange and Sansaw

John Bibby (1775-1840) 

Bibby, John (1775-1840). Fourth son of James Bibby of Wrightington (Lancs) and his wife Alice, daughter of Jacob Gill of Parbold (Lancs), baptised at Douglas Chapel, Eccleston (Lancs), 19 February 1775. He moved to Liverpool in the 1790s to seek his fortune, and after working for some years for James Halton, an iron merchant, he became a merchant and shipowner in his own right, founding a shipbroking business in 1801 and a shipping line in 1807. He married, 17 August 1805 at Stoke-upon-Trent (Staffs), Mary (c.1783-1819), eldest daughter of Joseph Mellard, mayor of Newcastle-under-Lyme (Staffs) in 1783, and had issue:

(1) Joseph Mellard Bibby (1806-55), born 6 August 1806; East India merchant; lived at Mount Pleasant, Bootle (Lancs) and Linacre, Walton-on-the-Hill (Lancs), which he inherited from his father; married, 1852, Ellen Lord (d. 1904), but had no issue; died at Bootle (Lancs), 22 December, and was buried at Walton-on-the-Hill (Lancs), 27 December 1855; will proved 5 May and in the PCC, 2 June 1856;

(2) Mary Mellard Bibby (1809-87), born 8 July and baptised at Holy Trinity, Liverpool, September 1809; married, 5 January 1836 at Walton-on-the-Hill (Lancs), Henry Francis Penny (d. 1881), of Liverpool, merchant, and had issue at least two sons and four daughters; died 27 April 1887; will proved 22 February 1888 (effects £1,812);

(3) John Bibby (1810-83), of Hart Hill, Allerton, Liverpool (Lancs), born 14 December 1810; married 1st, 5 June 1838, Fanny (d. 1856), daughter of Jesse Hartley of Bootle (Lancs), chief engineer and designer of Liverpool docks, and had issue four sons and four daughters; married 2nd, 19 April 1860, Anna Maria Emily Fleetwood (d. 1899), eldest daughter of Rev. Charles Hesketh of North Meols Hall (Lancs) and co-heir of her brother, Edward Fleetwood Hesketh, and had further issue one son (from whom descended the Fleetwood-Hesketh family of Meols Hall) and three daughters; died 4 April 1883;

(4) Rev. Thomas Bibby (1812-83) [for whom see below, under Bibby of Tilstone Lodge, baronets]

(5) James Jenkinson Bibby (1813-97) (q.v.).

He lived in Liverpool and later at Mount Pleasant, Bootle (Lancs) and Linacre, Walton-on-the-Hill (Lancs).

He was murdered by muggers who took his watch, clubbed him and threw him into a pond, where he drowned, 17 July 1840; his attackers were never caught; he was buried Walton-on-the-Hill (Lancs), 23 July 1840 and is commemorated by a monument erected by his friends at All Hallows, Allerton, Liverpool; his will was proved 10 September 1840 (effects under £25,000). His wife died at Bootle (Lancs), 17/18 June 1819.

James Jenkinson Bibby (1813-97) 

Bibby, James Jenkinson (1813-97). Fourth and youngest son of John Bibby (1775-1840) and his wife Mary, eldest daughter of Joseph Mellard of Newcastle-under-Lyme (Staffs), born 24 June and baptised at Walton-on-the-Hill (Lancs), 17 August 1813. He took over the management of the Bibby Line after the murder of his father in 1840 but retired from active management of the business in 1873. He was also in a copper smelting partnership until 1853 and a director of the Great Western Railway (retired 1886). From 1889 he funded a new shipping business, which was managed by his nephews Arthur and Harold, the sons of his brother, the Rev. Thomas Bibby. JP and DL for Shropshire; High Sheriff of Shropshire, 1882-83; Chairman of the Committee of the Training Ship Indefatigable, 1864-90. He married, 18 April 1844 at Dewsbury (Yorks WR), Sarah (1817-92), third daughter of Thomas Cook of Dewsbury, merchant, and had issue:

(1) Frances Bibby (1845-1921), born 15 December 1845 and baptised at St Nicholas, Liverpool, 14 January 1846; married, 6 September 1866 at Childwall (Lancs), Richard Battye (d. 1873), barrister-at-law, only son of W.W. Battye of Skelton Hall, York, and had issue one son and two daughters; died 16 September 1921; will proved 11 October 1921 (estate £1,465);

(2) Sara Bibby (1847-1923), born 26 April and baptised at St Nicholas, Liverpool, 24 May 1847; lived with her parents and later with her brother before setting up an independent household at 31 Charles St., Mayfair, Westminster; died unmarried, 19 December, and was buried at Clive, 22 December 1923; will proved 24 January 1924 (estate £8,968);

(3) Agnes Jessie Bibby (1849-1922), born 9 January and baptised at St Nicholas, Liverpool, 4 February 1849; married, 21 January 1880 in the Chapel Royal at the Savoy Palace, London, Edward Holmes Baldock (1853-1913) of Craven Lodge, Melton Mowbray (Leics), only son of Edward Holmes Baldock MP, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 26 June 1922; will proved 19 August 1922 (estate £16,926);

(4) Gertrude Bibby (1850-97), born 10 October and baptised at St Nicholas, Liverpool, 7 November 1850; married, 1 May 1880 at the British Embassy in Rome (Italy), Percy Wormald (1850-1910), and had issue one son; died 23 February 1897; will proved 10 July 1897 (effects £6,013);

(5) James Bibby (1852-57), born 28 February and baptised at St Nicholas, Liverpool, 13 April 1852; died young, 11 August and was buried at Holy Trinity, Wavertree, Liverpool, 14 August 1857;

(6) Thomas Cook Bibby (1854-55), born 20 September and was baptised at St Nicholas, Liverpool, 12 December 1854; died in infancy, 28 March and was buried at Holy Trinity, Wavertree, Liverpool, 31 March 1855;

(7) Frank Bibby (1857-1923) (q.v.).

He purchased Hardwicke Grange (Shrops.) from Viscount Hill of Hawsktone in 1868, and the Sansaw estate from Robert Gardner in 1882. He also purchased Craven Lodge, Melton Mowbray (Leics) as a hunting seat and bequeathed this to his daughter Agnes.

He died 8 January and was buried at Clive (Shrops.), 13 January 1897; his will was proved 4 May 1897 (effects £1,773,533). His wife died 19 May and was buried at Clive, 25 May 1892; administration of her goods was granted to her husband, 6 January 1893 (effects £17,274). 

Frank Bibby (1857-1923) 

Bibby, Frank (1857-1923). Third, but only surviving, son of James Jenkinson Bibby (1813-97) and his wife Sarah, daughter of Thomas Cook of Dewsbury (Yorks WR), born 4 January and baptised at St Nicholas, Liverpool, 5 March 1857. Educated at Eton. JP and DL for Shropshire; High Sheriff of Shropshire, 1900-01;  Chairman of the Committee of the Training Ship Indefatigable, 1890-1913. He was a major shareholder in the Bibby Line, but took no active part in the management of the business. He was granted a Board of Trade Master's certificate of competence in relation to his yacht, 1882, and was later a member of the Royal Yacht Squadron. He also took a keen interest in horse-racing, was a member of the Jockey Club, and as an owner won the Grand National in 1905 and 1911. He rode to hounds and was for a time joint Master of the Shropshire Hunt. He was also noted as a breeder of cattle, pigs and sheep, and won prizes at many local shows. He was appointed CBE, 1920 for his wartime service as Chairman of the Shropshire and Herefordshire Appeal Tribunals. He married, 22 July 1890 at Holy Trinity, Sloane St., Chelsea (Middx), Edith Mary (1868-1933), eldest daughter of Maj-Gen. Sir Stanley de Astel Calvert Clarke GCVO CMG of Ranger's Lodge, Hyde Park, Westminster, clerk marshal and chief equerry to HM King Edward VII and serjeant-of-arms to House of Lords, 1910-11, and had issue:

(1) James Stanley Bibby (1892-1904), born 5 February and baptised at Hadnall (Shrops.), 30 March 1892; died young as the result of being kicked by one of his father's horses, 11 October 1904;

(2) Frank Brian Frederic Bibby (1893-1929) (q.v.);

(3) (Averil) Margaret Mary Bibby (1905-65), born 14 April and baptised at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, 13 May 1905; joint Master of South Dorset Fox Hounds, 1936; married 1st, 27 April 1925 at St Margaret, Westminster (div. 1951), Capt. Charles Michael St. Maur Wellesley Wesley (1898-1981), son of Rev. Louis Herbert Wellesley Wesley, and had issue two sons and one daughter; married 2nd, 22 October 1951, Count Stanislaw Thomas August Anton Krasicki (b. c.1905) of Fullbrook House, Elstead (Surrey), son of Count August Konstantin Krasicki; died 13 February 1965; will proved 19 May 1965 (estate £54,592);

(4) Katherine Edith Bibby (1916-85), born 11 March 1916; married 1st, 1 October 1935 at St Margaret, Westminster (div. 1944), Maj-Gen. George Erroll Prior-Palmer CB DSO (d. 1977), younger son of Prior Sumner Prior-Palmer, and had issue one daughter; in 1945 she took the name Millais by deed poll after entering a relationship with Capt. Hesketh Raoul Lejarderay Millais (1901-99) of Westcote Manor (Glos), artist and sportsman; they are said to have married in 1953*, and had further issue one son; died 21 August and was buried at Westcote (Glos), 24 August 1985; her will was proved 26 March 1986 (estate £473,582).

He inherited the Hardwicke Grange and Sansaw estates from his father in 1897. In the years before the First World  War he rented the Mamore Forest estate (Inverness) as a deer stalking estate, and twice entertained King Edward VII there.

He died at the Connaught Hotel in London, 12 February, and was buried at Clive, 15 February 1923; his will was proved 26 May 1923 (estate £1,229,482). His widow died 11 January 1933.

* But I have not been able to trace the marriage, which may have taken place abroad.

Bibby, Frank Brian Frederic (1893-1929). Only surviving son of Frank Bibby (1857-1923) and his wife Edith Mary, eldest daughter of Maj-Gen. Sir Stanley de Astel Calvert Clarke GCVO CMG of Ranger's Lodge, Hyde Park, Westminster (Middx), born 15 December 1893 and baptised at Clive, 7 February 1894. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1911; BA 1917; MA 1921). An officer in the 1st Life Guards (2nd Lt., 1913; Lt., 1913; Capt., 1917) and later the Shropshire Yeomanry (Maj.). High Sheriff of Shropshire, 1929 (died in office). Master of North Shropshire Fox Hounds, 1925-29. A director of the Great Western Railway and the Bibby Line. He married, 2 December 1919 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Ethel Mildred Hague (1899-1967), Master of North Shropshire Fox Hounds, 1929-35, youngest daughter of Thomas Reginald Hague Cook of London, and had issue:

(1) Cynthia Joan Bibby (1921-71) (q.v.).

He inherited the Hardwicke Grange and Sansaw estates from his father in 1923. On his death the estates passed to trustees, who demolished Hardwicke Grange in 1931-33. His widow ran the estate until her second husband died in 1940, after which his daughter took over the management of the property.

He died suddenly aboard his yacht at Kinlochleven (Inverness), 21 July 1929; his will was proved 26 November 1929 (estate £1,082,072). His widow married 2nd, 12 June 1935 at Clive, Maj. John Ronald Campbell (1905-40), and died 17 May 1967; her will was proved 16 November 1967 (estate £44,349).

Bibby, Cynthia Joan (1921-71). Only child of Frank Brian Frederic Bibby (1893-1929) and his wife Ethel Mildred, youngest daughter of Thomas Reginald Hague Cook of London, born 2 October 1921. Educated at Domestic Science College, Axminster (Devon). She married, 26 September 1945 at Clive (Shrops.), Capt. Noel Dennis Thompson (1914-67), youngest son of Claude William George Hugh Thompson of Red House, Escrick (Yorks ER), and had issue:

(1) David Robin Bibby Thompson (b. 1946) (q.v.);

(2) Sarah Jane Thompson (b. 1950), born 14 October 1950; married, October 1969 at Clive, Guy Jonathan Paton-Smith (c.1946-2005) of Hestley Hall, Thorndon (Suffk), banker, son of Norman Paton-Smith of Felsted (Essex), and had issue one daughter; now living.

She inherited the Hardwicke Grange and Sansaw estates from her father and took over the management of the estates on the death of her stepfather in 1940. However, she and her husband lived in Yorkshire for some years after their marriage.

She died 5 February 1971 and was buried at Clive (Shrops.); her will was proved 4 March 1971 (estate £1,116,342).  Her husband died 17/18 January 1967; administration of his goods was granted to his widow, 8 May 1967 (estate £8,528).

Thompson, David Robin Bibby (b. 1946). Only son of Capt. Noel Dennis Thompson (1914-67) and his wife Cynthia Joan, only child of Frank Brian Frederic Bibby (1893-1929) of Hardwicke Grange and Sansaw, born 23 July 1946. Educated at Uppingham. An officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1967; Lt., 1968; ret. 1973) and the territorials (Lt., 1975; Capt., 1976; Maj., 1980; Lt-Col., 1984; Col., 1987; retired 1990). High Sheriff of Shropshire, 1989-90; Chairman of the National Agricultural Centre Housing Association (now Rural Housing Trust, 1984. He married, 21 July 1971 at St Paul, Knightsbridge (Middx), Caroline Ann (b. 1950), only daughter of Lt-Col. Owain Foster of Ardbraccan House (Co. Meath), and had issue:

(1) James Peter Bibby Thompson (b. 1975), born January 1975; an officer in the Royal Marines (Capt., 1998; retired 2005); married, 2001, Asa Cecilia (b. 1973), daughter of Torbjorn Eld-Isaksson of Panghundra (Sweden), and had issue one son.

He inherited the Hardwicke Grange and Sansaw estates from his mother in 1971, and undertook an extensive renovation and modernisation programme to the designs of Tom Bird c.1974. He handed over control to his son in 2009, who has gone on to establish a business park and modern dairy unit on the estate.

Now living. His wife is now living.

Bibby of Tilstone Lodge, baronets

Bibby, Rev. Thomas (1812-83). Third son of John Bibby (1775-1840) [for whom see above] and his wife Mary, eldest daughter of Joseph Mellard of Newcastle-under-Lyme (Staffs), born 7 March and baptised at Holy Trinity, Liverpool (Lancs), 26 April 1812. Educated at St John's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1830; BA 1834; MA 1838). Ordained deacon, 1836 and priest, 1837. Perpetual curate of Holy Trinity, Liverpool, 1837-47 and later vicar of Norton (Glos), 1852-55 and curate of Brownsover (Warks), but he was intermittently without clerical employment. He married, 21 September 1843 at St Mary, Edge Hill, Liverpool, Elizabeth (1812-1905), daughter of Thomas Wilson of Liverpool, merchant, and had issue:

(1) Herbert Kirkman Bibby (1844-1927), born at Wiesbaden (Germany), 8 July and privately baptised, 10 August 1844, but received into the church at Holy Trinity, Liverpool, on the same day as his brother, 18 March 1846; merchant and shipowner in London and Liverpool; married, 27 October 1877 at St John, Devizes (Wilts), Julia (c.1858-1921), daughter of John Carless MD (1820-74) of Stroud (Glos) and had issue three sons and two daughters; died 15 November 1927; will proved 6 January 1928 (estate £182,346);

(2) Arthur Wilson Bibby (1846-1935) (q.v.);

(3) Ernest Vincent Bibby (1849-99), of Throstles Nest, Gateacre (Lancs), born 9 July and was baptised at Cheltenham (Glos), 29 August 1849; married, 13 April 1875 at St Mary, Devizes (Wilts), Sarah (1855-1919), daughter of John Carless MD of Stroud (Glos), and had issue three sons and one daughter; died 17 September and was buried at Halewood, 20 September 1899.

He died 3 September 1883. His widow died 2 October 1905.

Bibby, Arthur Wilson (1846-1935). Second son of Rev. Thomas Bibby (1812-83) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Wilson of Liverpool, merchant, born 10 February and baptised at Holy Trinity, Liverpool, 18 March 1846. Educated at Rugby. A partner in Bibby Bros, shipowners and bankers; director of Canada Shipping; North and South Wales Bank of Maritime Insurance; Warner Barnes & Co.; Ledward Bibby & Co, and the English Coaling Co., Port Said. Chairman of Pacific Steam Navigation Co. and Liverpool Steamship Owners Association. Government nominee on the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board and latterly its Chairman. Chairman of the Committee of the Training Ship Indefatigable, 1913-31. He married, 7 October 1885 at Billinge (Lancs), Beatrice Evelyn (1865-1940), younger daughter of Thomas Heald, attorney, of Greenfield House, Billinge, mayor and clerk of the peace of Wigan (Lancs), and had issue:

(1) Beatrice Helen Bibby (1886-1926), born 28 July and baptised at Billinge, 16 October 1886; married, 4 January 1910 at Woolton, Liverpool (Lancs), John Robert Collie (1871-1940), of Penrhyd Hall (Caernarvons.), cotton merchant (who m2, 22 November 1934 at St Mark, North Audley St, Westminster (Middx), Lettice Valentine Lee (1902-83), daughter of Edward Lee Townsend), eldest son of Rev. James Hunter Collie, a Presbyterian minister, and had issue two sons and two daughters; died 11/13 December 1926; administration of goods granted 5 October 1927 (estate £7,182);

(2) Sir (Arthur) Harold Bibby (1889-1986), 1st bt.;

(3) Constance Eveline Bibby (1891-1970), born 6 April and baptised at Oxton (Ches.), 9 May 1891; married, 20 August 1919 at Woolton, Maurice FitzGerald Sandes Magill (1888-1967), shipbroker, of Highlands, Spencers Wood (Berks), seventh son of Capt. James McGillycuddy Magill of Churchtown House, Beaufort (Co. Kerry), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 16 August 1970 and was buried at Churchtown Old Cemetery, Beaufort Bridge (Co. Kerry); will proved 4 December 1970 (estate £85,587).

He died 15 December 1935 and was buried at St Nicholas, Halewood (Lancs); his will was proved 4 March 1936 (estate £92,483). His widow died 14 January 1940 and was also buried at Halewood; her will was proved 13 March 1940 (estate £6,697).

Sir Harold Bibby (1889-1986), 1st bt. 

Bibby, Sir (Arthur) Harold (1889-1986), 1st bt. Only son of Arthur Wilson Bibby (1846-1935) and his wife Beatrice Evelyn, younger daughter of Thomas Heald of Greenfield House, Billinge (Lancs), born 18 February and baptised at Oxton (Ches.), 23 March 1889. Educated at Rugby. An officer in the Royal Field Artillery (Territorials), 1908-19, who served in France and Flanders in the First World War (mentioned in despatches twice). After the war he joined the family businesses and became senior partner in Bibby Bros. and chairman of the Bibby Line, 1935-69. He was also a director of Sea Insurance, 1922-68 (Chairman, 1930-56), Martins Bank, 1929-67 (Chairman, 1947-62)  the Suez Canal Co., 1939-57, and the Liverpool and London Steamship Protection and Indemnity Association, 1921-68. He was a member of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, 1931-65, Chairman of the Liverpool Sailors' Home, 1921-51, Chairman of the Liverpool Steamship Owners' Association, 1927-28, Chairman of the General Council of British Shipping, 1958-59, and Chairman of the Committee of the Training Ship Indefatigable, 1931-58. High Sheriff of Cheshire, 1934-35. He was knighted, 1956, raised to a baronetcy, 8 July 1959, and received an honorary degree from Liverpool University (LLD, 1959). He married, 26 May 1920 at Woolton, Liverpool (Lancs), Marjorie Guthrie (1898-1985), eldest daughter of Charles James Williamson of Camp Hill, Woolton, Liverpool, and had issue:

(1) Patricia Mary Bibby (1921-2005), born 11 May and baptised at St Paul, Hooton (Lancs), 30 June 1921; served in Second World War as an officer with the Auxiliary Territorial Service; married 1st, 25 March 1944 at Tilstone Fearnall (Ches.) (div. 1956), Maj. Ronald Stuart Kinsey (1914-94), barrister-at-law, and had issue two daughters; married 2nd, Apr-Jun 1962 at Chelsea Register Office, as his second wife, Iain Hall Brookes Macdonald (1901-89); died 14 November 2005; her will was proved 18 May 2006;

(2) Sir Derek James Bibby (1922-2002), 2nd bt. (q.v.);

(3) Joan Elizabeth Bibby (1926-2007), born 5 January 1926; married 1st, 22 December 1951, Maj. Reginald Francis Foster (1896-1974), author and officer in Indian army, and had issue one daughter; married 2nd, 1985 (div. 1987), Clifford Haines; died 23 October 2007; her will was proved 9 July 2008;

(4) Anne Marjorie Bibby (1928-2020), born 30 October 1928; married 1st, 5 May 1951 at Tarporley (Ches.), Lt-Col. John Hamilton Palairet (1917-69), son of Maj. C.A.H. Palairet of Ledbury (Herefs), and had issue three daughters; married 2nd, 1976 (div. 1980), Denis Justin Beattie; died aged 91 on 16 February 2020; will proved 12 February 2021;

(5) John Christopher Bibby (1932-68), born 7 June 1932; educated at Rugby; an officer in the Royal Artillery (Lt.); joint managing director of Executive and Commercial Travel Ltd., 1965; died unmarried, 1 October 1968; will proved 29 November 1968 (estate £55,539). 

He purchased Tilstone Lodge (Cheshire) in 1936 and lived there until his death.

He died 7 March 1986; his will was proved 20 June 1986 (estate £2,505,692). His wife died 30 November 1985; her will was proved 13 January 1986 (estate £1,865,834).

Sir Derek Bibby, 2nd bt. 

Bibby, Sir Derek James (1922-2002), 2nd bt. Elder son of Sir (Arthur) Harold Bibby (1889-1986) and his wife Marjorie Guthrie, eldest daughter of Charles James Williamson of Camp Hill, Woolton, Liverpool, born 29 June 1922. Educated at Rugby and Trinity College, Oxford (MA 1941). He served in the Second World War as an officer in the Royal Artillery (Capt.), 1942-46, and was wounded and awarded the MC, 1945. After the war he joined Bibby Bros, becoming a partner in 1950, chairman, 1969-92 and president, 1992-2002, and was responsible for expanding and diversifying the business in ways which enabled it to survive the recession of the 1970s, becoming a director or chairman of the British Steamship Co., Charles Hill of Bristol, Bristol City Line of Steamships, Seabridge Shipping, and the Liverpool & London War Risks Insurance Association along the way, and a member of the General Council of British Shipping. DL for Cheshire (from 1987). He was Chairman of the Committee of the Training Ship Indefatigable, 1931-60, the National Sea Training School for Boys, and Birkenhead Youth Club, 1953-2002. He succeeded his father as 2nd baronet, 7 March 1986, and was made a Chevalier de l'ordre du Mérite Maritime de France, 1978. He published an autobiography, Glimpses, 1991. He married, 11 January 1961 at Aldford (Ches.), Christine Maud (b. 1936), youngest daughter of Rt. Rev. Frank Jackson Okell, bishop of Stockport, and had issue:

(1) Jennifer Margaret Bibby (b. 1962), born 3 March 1962; educated at Howells School, Denbigh and Oxford University; chartered accountant; married, Jul-Sept 1995, Peter John Smith of Nantwich (Ches.), and had issue three daughters;

(2) Sir Michael James Bibby (b. 1963), 3rd bt., born 2 August 1963; educated at Rugby and Trinity College, Oxford; chartered accountant and company director; joined Bibby Line Group, 1992 and was Managing Director, 2000-18 and Chairman, 2020-date; President of the UK Chamber of Shipping, 2018-date; DL for Merseyside (from 2013); awarded an honorary degree by Liverpool University, 2012 (DLaws); succeeded his father as 3rd baronet, 9 October 2002; married, 1994, Beverley, only daughter of Donald Graham, and had issue twin sons; now living;

(3) Geoffrey Frank Harold Bibby (b. 1965), born 18 February 1965; educated at Rugby and Exeter University; married, 1994, Sarah, eldest daughter of Frederick Robinson of Huntington (Ches.), and had issue one son and one daughter;

(4) Peter John Bibby (b. 1969), born 26 March 1969; educated at Rugby and Manchester University; married, 2010, Leila (b. 1974), a public relations manager, daughter of Mohammed Bahaijoub, and had issue two sons and one daughter;

(5) David Richard Bibby (b. 1970), born 10 August 1970; educated at Rugby and Bath University; married, Apr-Jun 1998, Nicola Jane (b. 1963), youngest daughter of Michael Williams, of Tidworth (Hants), and had issue three daughters.

He purchased Willaston Grange (Ches.), an Edwardian villa, about 1965, which passed at his death to his eldest son. He inherited Tilstone Lodge from his father in 1986, but sold it soon afterwards. His widow lived latterly at Malpas (Ches.)

He committed suicide while suffering from life-threatening illnesses, 9 October 2002; his will was proved 31 December 2002. His widow was living in 2015.

Principal sources

Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 2003, pp. 369-71; P. de Figueiredo & J. Treuherz, Cheshire Country Houses, 1988, pp. 178-80; A. Ruscoe, Landed estates and the gentry: vol 1, Haughmond and Grinshill areas, 1999, pp. 50-52; O. Jones, A. Ghobadian, N. O'Regan & V. Antcliff, 'Dynamic capabilities in a sixth-generation family firm: Entrepreneurship and the Bibby Line', Business History, 55:6, pp. 910-41; G. Williams, The country houses of Shropshire, 2021, pp. 290-93, 565-67.

Location of archives

Bibby Line: operational, fleet, staff and miscellaneous records and photographs, 1812-1988 [National Museums Liverpool: Maritime Archives and Library, B/BIBBY]; correspondence and papers, 18th-20th cents [Liverpool Record Office]

Bibby family of Hardwicke Grange: family papers, 1890-1963 [Shropshire Archives, SRO 5556/2]

Coat of arms

Azure, a saltire parted and fretty argent surmounted in fess point by a lion rampant pean between two escallops in pale and as many mullets of six points in fess of the second.

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide photographs or portraits of the people whose names appear in bold above, for whom no image is currently shown?
• 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 15 September and updated 19 September 2025.

(547) Bellot of Great Moreton Hall, baronets and of Bochym Manor, baronets

Bellot of Great Moreton and
Bochym Manor

The Bellot family (the name is spelled in many different ways, including Bellott, Belot, Billott and Bellett, but the most common spelling of Bellot has been adopted for this article) are said to have been settled in Norfolk until, in the early 15th century, John Bellot married Katherine de Moreton, who brought him the manor of Great Moreton in Cheshire. It subsequently passed to their son and grandson, both called Thomas Moreton, whose dates of birth and death are unknown. The younger Thomas (with whom the genealogy below begins) had two sons, of whom the elder, John Bellot, inherited Great Moreton, while the younger, Thomas Bellot, moved to Wiltshire. This John Bellot of Great Moreton married Joan, daughter of Ralph Moreton of Little Moreton Hall, and it has sometimes been presumed incorrectly that it was this marriage which brought Great Moreton to the Bellots, although their landholding in the area may have been strengthened by the marriage.

John and Joan's eldest son, Thomas Bellot, was probably born about 1515, and married Alice Roydon, who brought him lands at Burton (Denbighs.) to add to his Cheshire estates. In 1552 he bought further property at Burton and Gresford (Denbighs.), and some sources state that he was High Sheriff of that county in 1556. John and Alice had a very large family, with at least ten sons and six daughters, many of whom had notable careers of which something can be traced. Apart from Edward Bellot (b. c.1540), the eldest son, who was heir to the Great Moreton estate, these included Thomas Bellot (c.1541-1611) and Owen Bellot (d. 1612), who became senior and confidential servants in the households of Lord Burghley and the Earl of Shrewsbury respectively, and the Rt. Rev. Hugh Bellot (1542-96) and Ven. Cuthbert Bellot (c.1560-1620), who entered the church. Hugh became bishop of Bangor (Caernarvons.) in 1585 and was translated to Chester in 1595, and although he died soon afterwards it was not before he had appointed his younger brother as Archdeacon of Chester, a post which Cuthbert held until shortly before his death.

Edward Bellot (b. c.1540) actually died in the lifetime of his father, so on the latter's death (which I have been unable to trace), Great Moreton was inherited by Edward's son, Edward Moreton (c.1570-1622). It is said to have been he who rebuilt the manor house at Great Moreton in about 1606, creating the timber-framed house which survived until the 19th century and was recorded by Edward Blore before demolition,

Great Moreton Hall: the 17th century house, as recorded by Edward Blore.
Image: Victoria & Albert Museum.

 although the appearance of the building might suggest a rather later date. Edward's eldest son, John Bellot (c.1594-1659) inherited other properties. As a result of his marriage to Ursula Bentley in about 1612, John acquired The Ashes at Endon (Staffs), although he did not come into possession until 1638, and he also acquired Thringston Hall (Leics) in 1631 as a result of bequest by his childless great-uncle, George Bellot. Thringston was probably sold soon afterwards, but The Ashes remained in the family for several generations, and was probably rebuilt in the mid 17th century, either by John Bellot (d. 1659) or more probably by his son, Sir John Bellot (c.1619-74), 1st bt. The Ashes is a stone-built house, on the cusp between being a farmhouse and a minor gentry house.

The Ashes, Endon: the house as rebuilt in the mid 17th century,
probably for Sir John Bellot (c.1619-74), 1st bt.

The elder John was High Sheriff of Cheshire in 1640-41 and of Denbighshire in 1642-43: tricky positions in the run up to the Civil War, in which he struggled to reconcile the competing requirements of the Crown and Parliament. Eventually forced into taking sides, John - perhaps rather reluctantly - supported the Royalists, and his estates were subsequently sequestrated for delinquency. He recovered them in 1647 on payment of a composition fine, albeit a relatively modest one of £940. His son, later Sir John Bellot, may have been a more enthusiastic Royalist as he was in arms for the king, and he was certainly in favour at the Restoration, being High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1662-63 and being created a baronet in 1663.

Sir John was succeeded as 2nd baronet by his only surviving son, Sir Thomas Bellot (1651-99), 2nd bt., who became a freeman of Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1678 and was elected to Parliament for the borough in 1679-81, 1690-95 and 1698-99. He unwisely acted as one of the sureties for Morgan Whitley, Receiver-General of Taxes for Cheshire and North Wales, who became financially embarrassed and was involved in long-running negotiations with the Treasury which ended in 1706 in a compromise under which less was paid than was due. We do not know what the financial impact of this on the Bellots was, but it must at least have created a period of anxiety and uncertainty for Sir Thomas' heir, Sir Thomas Bellot (1679-1710), 3rd bt., and probably delayed his marriage, which did not take place until 1706, the year of the compromise. Sir Thomas and his wife did have a son but he died in infancy, and so when Sir Thomas himself died at the beginning of 1710, the baronetcy and estates passed to his younger brother, Sir John Bellot (1680-1714), 4th bt., who sold The Ashes to the Debank family later the same year. Sir John remained unmarried, and at his death, lacking close male relatives, he bequeathed Great Moreton to a friend, who was charged with clearing his debts and paying pecuniary legacies to his relatives, and who subsequently sold Great Moreton to make this possible.

The Thomas Bellot who settled in Wiltshire in the early 16th century, the son of Thomas Bellot of Great Moreton, had one recorded son, Richard Bellot (d. c.1558), who leased the Rectory Manor at Corsham (Wilts) from Syon Abbey and, after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, from the Crown. He and his wife Alice Earle had a large family, but his eldest son, Francis Bellot (d. 1597) married a daughter of Reginald Mohun of Boconnoc in Cornwall, who settled Bochym Manor at Cury (Cornw.) on the couple, and this remained the home of their descendants until the 18th century. Francis and his wife had seven sons and one daughter. The eldest son, John Bellot, probably did not live to inherit the estate, although it is known only that he had died by 1608. Since the second son, Thomas Bellot, had gone to seek his fortune in Ireland, Bochym descended to the third brother, the Rev. Reginald Bellot (c.1555-1600), who did not long survive his father, but left a son and daughter. The son, Renatus Bellot (b. 1588), who was still living in 1654, acquired the manor of Bochym (which the Mohuns had retained when the house on the estate was given to the Bellots) in 1616. He was a Royalist in the Civil War, but compounded for his delinquency in 1651. He had probably died before 1660, having outlived most of his children by his first wife, Philippa Bere. His second wife was the sister of General George Monck (1608-70), whose critical role in bringing the interregnum to a peaceful end in 1660 was rewarded with the Dukedom of Albemarle and a period of great influence at the Restoration court. The Bochym estate passed to Renatus' youngest son, Christopher Bellot (c.1622-92), who from 1661-68 leased the coinage duty on tin from Cornwall jointly with another Cornish landowner, Samuel Enys. Surviving correspondence suggests that securing the lease was a ticklish job, and it may well be that the Duke of Albemarle's influence with the king was employed to secure it. Presumably the patent did not prove as profitable as Bellot and Enys expected, however, for after renewing it once they agreed to give it up in exchange of an annual salary of £500, presumably for acting as collectors of the tax on behalf of the Crown.

Christopher Bellot was High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1681-82 and married Bridget, the daughter of William Pendarves of Roscrowe (Cornw.). They had eight daughters but only one son, Renatus Bellot (1674-1710), who was still a minor when his father died. He served briefly as MP for one of the Cornish pocket boroughs from 1702-05, and was twice elected as a member of the Stannary Parliament, which was supposed to regulate the affairs of the tin industry in Cornwall, but was rapidly ceasing to have any meaningful function at this time. In 1697, the year of his mother's death, he married a Cornish heiress, Mary Spoure of Trebartha, and perhaps with an eye to his future acquisition of this more significant estate, he lived beyond his means and encumbered his own estate with debts.

Trebartha Hall: a view of the medieval and Tudor house replaced in the 18th century.
Image: The History of North Hill

He died, however, in May 1710, before he and his wife had succeeded to Trebartha, and Bochym Manor was placed in the hands of trustees for his infant son, Renatus Bellot (1704-12). When the child died two years later, however, the trustees sold the Bochym estate in order to liquidate the debts. Mary married again and she and her second husband, Charles Grylls (d. 1727) lived at Trebartha, but they had no children, and when she died in 1729 she left Trebartha to her cousin, Francis Rodd (d. 1736), on the slightly curious proviso that he never married Jane Parker of Covent Garden; a temptation which he apparently successfully resisted! The Rodd family remained at Trebartha until 1947, but the very large house, which had been rebuilt in the 18th century and enlarged later, was pulled down in 1949.

Great Moreton Hall, Cheshire

An account of this house has been given in a previous post on the Ackers family. 

Bochym Manor, Cornwall

Bochym (pronounced Botcheem) Manor at Cury on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, is an ancient manorial site. It was forfeited to the Crown in 1549 when the owner, John Winslade, joined a rebellion against the religious reforms of the day and was executed. King Edward VI granted the estate to Reginald Mohun, who settled it on one of his daughters when she married Francis Bellot. The house we see today has 16th and 17th century origins and a remarkable plan which speaks vividly of long and incoherent development.

Bochym Manor: the house today.

The house is said to have been damaged in the Civil War, and there was evidently a refit in the 1690s when a formal garden was laid out, the hard landscaping of which survives. The client for this was Renatus Bellot (d. 1710), whose initials and the date 1699 appear on a datestone on the house. Renatus died young, leaving a small son who was the last of his line and after whose death in 1712 the house was sold to George Robinson of Nansloe Manor, who was perhaps responsible for a further early 18th century remodelling: in 1952 there was a fine early 18th century panelled room on the first floor, with the chimneypiece framed by giant pilasters, but this seems to have been taken out in the 1960s or 1970s, and was presumably sold.

Bochym Manor: the staircase in 1952. Image: Herbert Felton/Historic England AA52/10915.

Bochym Manor: the library.

Bochym Manor: the drawing room in 1952. Image: Herbert Felton/Historic England AA52/10912.

In the 18th century the house changed hands several times; it was owned briefly by Robert Furneaux, who designed the first Lizard lighthouse, and was sold in 1825 to Stephen Davey from Redruth, whose fortune was derived from tin mining and brewing (the Redruth Brewery). During his ownership the house flourished and was extensively remodelled in the 1840s. The open well staircase, French Empire drawing room and the Italian walnut panelled library probably date from this time. A fanciful cruciform lodge was built on the south drive in 1851, with walls made of serpentine blocks from the quarries on the estate. The battlemented clock tower near the house was added to mark Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887.

The Davey family remained at Bochym until at least 1916, but I have not been able to trace the 20th century ownership until the house was bought in 1974 by Stanley May, who opened it as 'a pub with a difference'. That seems to have been a short-lived venture, and the house returned to private ownership. By 2014 the house was in poor condition, with many fittings having been removed or damaged in the preceding years. It was sold in that year to the present owners, who have been restoring the house with a view to it becoming a wedding venue as well as their home.

Descent: Crown granted c.1550 to Reginald Mohun; to daughter, Anne, wife of Francis Bellot (d. 1597); to son, Rev. Reginald Bellot (c.1555-1600); to son, Renatus Bellot (b. 1588; fl. 1654); to son, Christopher Bellot (c.1622-92); to son, Renatus Bellot (1674-1710); to trustees for son, Renatus Bellot (1704-12), who sold after his death to George Robinson of Nansloe; to son, Edmund Robinson, who sold 1725 to Thomas Fonnereau; sold? 1780 to Christopher Wallis; sold 1785 to Sir Harry Trelawny, bt.; to son, William Lewis Salisbury Trelawny; sold to [fu] Graham of Penquoit; sold to Thomas Hartley, who let to a tenant farmer; sold 1825 to Robert Davey of Redruth; to ?son, Horton Davey... sold 1974 to Stanley May... sold 2000 to Dr Mark Payne; sold 2014 to Martin and Sarah Caton.

Bellot family of Great Moreton Hall, baronets

Bellot, Thomas. Only known son of Thomas Bellot and his first wife, Margaret, daughter of John Spencer. He married 1st, Katherine, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Thurstan Gawen, and 2nd, Elizabeth, daughter of William Liversage of Macclesfield and widow of [fu] Creswall, and had issue:

(1.1) John Bellot (q.v.);

(2.1) Thomas Bellot [for whom see below, Bellot of Bochym Manor];

(2.2) Katherine Bellot; married William Lawton (d. 1551) of Lawton.

He inherited the manor of Great Moreton from his father.

His date of death is unknown. His first wife's date of death is unknown. His second wife's date of death is unknown.

Bellot, John. Elder son of Thomas Bellot and his first wife, Katherine, eldest daughter and co-heiress of Thurstan Gawen. He married Joan, daughter of Ralph Moreton of Little Moreton, and had issue:

(1) Thomas Bellot (q.v.);

(2) Robert Bellot (d. 1561?), of Great Moreton; married Ellen Sandford and had issue two sons; will proved at Chester, 1561;

(3) Philip Bellot; married and had issue one son;

(4) Blanche Bellot; married Robert/Roger Sparke;

(5) Mary Bellot; married Roger Grene;

(6) Margery Bellot; married Randle Thornton;

(7) Ursula Bellot; married Edward Unwin of Chaterley (Staffs);

(8) Elizabeth Bellot; married Roger Davenport of Chorley;

(9) Emma Bellot; married John Comerford;

(10) Catherine Bellot; married John Creswall.

He inherited Great Moreton from his father.

His date of death is unknown. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bellot, Thomas (b. c.1515). Eldest son of John Bellot and his wife Joan, daughter of Ralph Moreton of Little Moreton Hall. Said by some sources to have been High Sheriff of Denbighshire, 1556. He married Alice, eldest daughter and co-heir of William Roydon (b. c.1490) of Talwyn in Burton (Denbighs.), and had issue:

(1) Edward Bellot (b. c.1540) (q.v.);

(2) Thomas Bellot (c.1541-1611); steward and the most trusted and confidential servant of William Cecil (1520-98), 1st Baron Burghley from 1566; Court of Wards feodary for Denbighshire, 1575-78; Collector of Customs for the Port of London, and later jointly held a lease of the customs on cloth, c.1604-10; maintained a household in the parish of St Clement Danes, London, and another at Cheshunt (Herts), probably on his employer's Theobalds estate; probably died unmarried; will proved 11 October 1611;

(3) Rt. Rev. Hugh Bellot (1542-96), born 1542; educated at Christ's College, Cambridge (matriculated 1561; BA 1564; MA 1567; DD 1579); probably ordained at Ely, c.1570; Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, 1567-73; university proctor, 1570; chaplain to Bishop of Ely; rector of Tydd St Giles (Norfk), 1571 and Doddington (Cambs), 1573; vicar of Gresford (Denbighs), 1579 and rector of Caersws (Flints), 1584;  bishop of Bangor, 1585-95 (and also dean, 1587-93); bishop of Chester, 1595-96; a member of the Council of the Marches of Wales; a scholarly and conscientious bishop, but reputedly a misogynist and a persecutor of Roman Catholics; he died unmarried, 13 June 1596 and was buried at Wrexham (Denbighs.), where he is commemorated by a monument, after a funeral in Chester Cathedral on 22 June 1596;

(4) John Bellot (fl. 1603); Court of Wards feodary for Denbighshire, 1578-1603; servant and later steward to Edward Manners, Earl of Rutland;

(5) George Bellot (d. 1627), of Thrington Hall (Leics); Receiver-General of Westminster Abbey, 1593-1608; died unmarried, 1627; will proved in the PCC, 5 October 1627;

(6) Robert Bellot (d. 1643), of Beyham (Denbighs.); a servant to Lord Burghley; married Dorothy, daughter of Robert Brereton of Wettenhall, and had issue at least one son and one daughter; buried at Wrexham (Denbighs.), 8 March 1642/3;

(7) David Bellot (d. 1619?); steward to Sir Reginald Mohun; probably the 'David Byllet' buried at Ruabon (Denbighs.), 11 September 1619;

(8) Matthew Bellot;

(9) Owen Bellot (d. 1612); sacrist and keeper of the monuments in Westminster Abbey, 1579 and clerk of the second kitchen, 1581; steward to Lord Norris of Rycote and later servant to Gilbert Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury; buried at Astbury, 14 October 1612;

(10) Ven. Cuthbert Bellot (c.1560-1620); educated at Jesus and St John's Colleges, Cambridge (matriculated 1578; BA 1582; MA 1585; BD 1592); Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, 1586-94; prebendary of Bangor, 1593 and Westminster, 1594; archdeacon of Chester, 1596-1619;

(11) Dorothy Bellot; married John Drinkwater (fl. 1586) of Chester, ironmonger, and had issue at least one son and one daughter;

(12) Erminia Bellot (d. 1612?); married 1st, as his second wife, John Manley of Pulton Hall, and 2nd, also as his second wife, Thomas Manley (d. 1617) of Lach, but had no issue; said to have been buried 4 February 1611/2;

(13) Mary Bellot (d. 1608); married 1st, Richard Minshull (d. 1586), and 2nd, Archer Starkey (d. 1622) of Wrenbury (who married 2nd, Anne/Mary, daughter of Charles/Edward Hughes of Holt (Derbys) and widow of John Massey of Coddington (Ches.)), and had issue at least one son; died 1608;

(14) Jane Bellot;

(15) Elizabeth Bellot;

(16) Susan Bellot.

He inherited Great Moreton from his father and purchased lands in Burton and Gresford (Denbighs.) in 1552. He was also farmer of St John's Hospital, Chester

His date of death is unknown, but he is said to have been buried at Gresford (Denbighs.). His wife's date of death is unknown but she is also said to have been buried at Gresford.

Bellot, Edward (b. c.1540). Eldest son of Thomas Bellot (b. c.1515) and his wife Alice, daughter and heir of William Roydon of Denbigshire, born about 1540. He married* Anne, daughter of Edward Moston or Mostyn, and had issue:

(1) Edward Bellot (c.1570-1622) (q.v.);

(2) Thomas Bellot (d. 1654); died unmarried and without issue, and was buried at Astbury, 10 November 1654; will proved in the central Probate Court, 5 March 1654/5;

(3) John Bellot;

(4) George Bellot; living in 1624;

(5) Dorothy Bellot; married, as his second wife, William Griffith of Plas Cichle, Beaumaris (Anglesey), son of John Griffith of Plas Cichle, but died without issue;

(6) Magdalen Bellot (d. 1631); married, 1604 (contract 4 February), Peter (or Piers) Wynne Ffoulkes (d. 1636) of Ereifiad, Henllan (Denbighs.), escheator of Denbighshire, son of John Wyn Ffoulkes (d. 1598), and had issue at least one son and one daughter; buried at Henllan, 30 December 1631;

(7) Katherine Bellot (d. 1654); married 1st, John Conwy of Rhuddlan and 2nd, Piers Conwy of Yr Hendref; died 2 August 1654.

He died in the lifetime of his father but his date of death is unknown. His wife's date of death is unknown.

* Lloyd, History of the princes of Powys, 1882, p.232 says he was married 1st to Ursula Unwin, by whom he had no issue, and 2nd to Anne Mostyn, but I have found no other evidence for the reputed first marriage.

Bellot, Edward (c.1570-1622). Eldest son of Edward Bellot (b. c.1540) and his wife Anne, daughter of Edward Moston or Mostyn, born about 1570. He married, c.1590, Amy (d. 1612), second daughter and co-heir of Anthony Grosvenor of Dodleston (Ches.), and had issue:

(1) John Bellot (c.1594-1659) (q.v.);

(2) Susan Bellot (c.1596-1652); married, 1616/7 (licence 26 February), John Broughton (d. 1655) of Broughton (Flints.), eldest son of Randle Broughton, and had issue at least three sons and two daughters; buried at Worthenbury (Flints), 2 March 1651/2;

(3) George Bellot (b. c.1600), of Odd Rode (Ches.), born about 1600; an officer in the Parliamentarian army (Capt.); MP for Staffordshire, 1653; married, 1641 (licence 29 June), Eleanor, daughter of William Lawton (d. 1613) of Church Lawton (Ches.) and had issue two daughters;

(4) Thomas Bellot (d. 1627); will proved in the PCC, 22 January 1627/8; 

(5) Frances Bellot (d. 1631?); married, 1629 (licence 22 May), Peter Legh (d. 1641) (who m2, 12 December 1632 at St Mary-on-the-Hill, Chester, Anne (d. 1688), daughter of Henry Birkenhead of Backford (Ches.), and had further issue two sons), third son of Sir Peter Legh of Lyme Park, and had issue one son, who died young; probably died in 1631;

(6) Elizabeth Bellot (d. 1669?); married, about August 1624, Thomas Bromley (c.1592-1660) of Hampton (Ches.), and had issue one son and two daughters; possibly the woman of this name buried at Marbury (Ches.), 2 March 1668/9;

(7) Mary Bellot (1609-31), baptised at Astbury, 18 September 1609; married, c.1629, Thomas Gamull (1604-35), son of William Gamull, alderman of Chester, and had issue one daughter; died 23 December 1631.

He inherited Great Moreton from his grandfather, and is said to have been responsible for building the timber-framed house there in about 1606. He also owned property at Burton (Denbighshire).

He died 7 August 1622 and was buried at Astbury; his will was proved in 1622 and an inquisition post mortem was held 28 March 1623. His wife died 1 September 1612 and was buried at Astbury.

Bellot, John (c.1594-1659). Eldest son of Edward Bellot (c.1570-1622) and his wife Amy, daughter and co-heir of Anthony Grosvenor of Dodleston (Ches.), born about 1594. Educated at Grays Inn (admitted 1613). JP and DL for Cheshire. High Sheriff of Cheshire, 1640-41 and of Denbighshire, 1642-43. He adhered to the Royalist party in the Civil War and his lands were sequestrated but redeemed in 1647 on the payment of a fine of £940. He married Ursula, daughter and sole heir of John Bentley of The Ashes, Endon (Staffs), and had issue, with two other children who died in infancy:

(1) Edward Bellot (c.1613-c.1645); married, 18 March 1639/40 at Deddington (Oxon), Sybil (d. 1661) (who m2, 11 September 1649, Sir Edmund Anderson (1605-61), 1st bt. of Broughton and Lea Hall, Gainsborough (Lincs)), daughter of Sir Rowland Egerton (d. 1646), 1st bt. of Farthinghoe (Northants), but died without issue before 1649;

(2) Thomas Bellot (b. c.1618); educated at Trinity College, Oxford (matriculated 1634; BA 1637) and Grays Inn (admitted 1640); died unmarried in the lifetime of his father; 

(3) Sir John Bellot (c.1619-74), 1st bt. (q.v.);

(4) Philip Bellot; died unmarried;

(5) George Bellot (c.1624-60), born about 1624; educated at Hart Hall, Oxford (matriculated 1640); married, 6 November 1647 at Uttoxeter (Staffs), Ann (d. 1666), the daughter and sole heiress of Thomas Colte of Rotherham (Yorks WR), ironmonger, and widow of William Cotton (d. 1641) of Crakemarsh Hall (Staffs), but died without issue and was buried at Uttoxeter, 11 October 1660;

(6) Anne Bellot; married John Ferne (d. 1658) of Crakemarsh (Staffs), son of William Ferne (d. 1651);

(7) Ursula Bellot (d. 1664); married, 1641 (licence 4 December), Thomas Stockton (1609-74), of Cuddington (Ches.) and Grays Inn, barrister-at-law and a judge in Ireland, and had issue at least two sons and one daughter; died 1664.

He inherited Great Moreton Hall from his father in 1622. He also inherited Thringston Hall (Leics) from his great-uncle, George Bellott, in 1631, and The Ashes in right of his wife, gaining possession in 1638.

He died 9 November 1659 and was buried at Astbury (Ches.); his will was proved in the PCC, 14 June 1660. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bellot, Sir John (c.1619-74), 1st bt. Third, but eldest surviving, son of John Bellot (c.1594-1659) and his wife Ursula, daughter and sole heir of John Bentley of The Ashes, Leek (Staffs), born about 1619. He was a Royalist in the Civil War and was in arms for the king, but was pardoned by Parliament in 1647. High Sheriff of Staffordshire, 1662-63. He was created a baronet, 30 June 1663. He married, c.1650, Anne (c.1627-1711), daughter of Roger Wilbraham of Dorfold (Ches.), and had issue: 

(1) Sir Thomas Bellot (1651-99), 2nd bt. (q.v.);

(2) Mary alias Marjorie Bellot (b. 1653), born 22 September 1653; living unmarried, in 1708;

(3) John Bellot (c.1658-68); died young and was buried at Astbury, 9 January 1667/8;

(4) Elizabeth Bellot (b. 1659), born 21 October 1659; died unmarried after 1708;

(5) Anne Bellot (1664-72), born 1 August 1664; died young and was buried at Astbury, 27 May 1672.

He inherited Great Moreton Hall and The Ashes from his father in 1659, and probably built the present house at The Ashes soon afterwards.

He died 14 July and was buried at Astbury (Ches.), 21 July 1674. His widow died 27 December 1711 and was buried at Astbury, 1 January 1711/2; administration of her goods was granted at Chester, 1713.

Bellot, Sir Thomas (1651-99), 2nd bt. Only surviving son of Sir John Bellot (c.1619-74), 1st bt., and his wife Anne, daughter of Roger Wilbraham of Dorfold (Ches.), born 22 October 1651. Educated at Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1668) and Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1671). Freeman of Newcastle-under-Lyme, 1678; MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, 1679-81, 1690-95 and 1698-99. He succeeded his father as 2nd baronet, 14 July 1674. He unwisely acted as a surety for Morgan Whitley, who defaulted as receiver-general of taxes for Cheshire and North Wales and when the Treasury took proceedings against his executors in October 1703, it may have caused financial difficulties for his son. He married, 4 February 1674/5 at St Margaret, Leicester (Leics), Susanna (1654-85?), third daughter of Christopher Packe (1595-1682) of London and Cotes (Leics), draper and Lord Mayor of London in 1654, and had issue:

(1) John Bellot (1676-77), baptised at Astbury (Ches.), 14 December 1676; died in infancy and was buried at Astbury, 5 March 1676/7;

(2) Anne Bellot (1677-1713?), baptised 5 February 1677; died unmarried; administration of goods granted to her sister Elizabeth, 3 September 1713;

(3) Sir Thomas Bellot (1679-1710), 3rd bt. (q.v.);

(4) Sir John Bellot (1680-1714), 4th bt. (q.v.);

(5) Elizabeth Bellot (1682-1732), baptised 7 February 1681/2; died unmarried and was buried at St John the Baptist, Chester, 2 October 1731; administration of goods granted, 12 April 1732;

(6) Susanna Bellot (1683-96), baptised at Astbury, 1 October 1683; died young and was buried at Astbury, 11 November 1696;

(7) Christopher Bellot (b. & d. 1684), baptised at Astbury, 25 November 1684; died in infancy and was buried at Astbury, 31 December 1684;

(8) Edward Bellot (d. 1693); buried at Astbury, 3 October 1693.

He inherited Great Moreton Hall and The Ashes from his father in 1674.

He died 28 November 1699; administration of his goods was granted to his elder surviving son, 3 March 1699/1700. His wife's date of death has not been traced, but it seems likely she died in about 1685.

Bellot, Sir Thomas (1679-1710), 3rd bt. Second, but eldest surviving, son of Sir Thomas Bellot (1651-99), 2nd bt., and his wife Susanna, daughter of Christopher Packe of London and Cotes (Leics), draper, baptised 18 July 1679. Educated at Chester and Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1699). He succeeded his father as 3rd baronet, 28 November 1699. MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, 1705-06, 1708-09. He married, 11 July 1706 at Biddulph (Staffs), Anne (1687-1754), daughter and co-heir of Sir William Bowyer (1654-1702), 4th bt., and had issue:

(1) Thomas Bellot (b. 1707), baptised at Astbury, 4 December 1707; died in infancy and predeceased his father.

He inherited Great Moreton Hall and The Ashes from his father in 1699.

He died by 22 January 1709/10, and his will was proved at Chester. His widow married 2nd, 2 June 1728 at Stapenhill (Derbys), Rowe Pert (d. 1749) of Ilam Hall (Staffs), and died 19 July 1754; she was buried at Biddulph, 31 July 1754.

Bellot, Sir John (1680-1714), 4th bt. Third son of Sir Thomas Bellot (1651-99), 2nd bt., and his wife Susanna, daughter of Christopher Packe of London and Cotes (Leics), draper, baptised at Astbury (Ches.), 14 October 1680. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1699; BA 1704). He succeeded his elder brother as 4th baronet by 22 January 1709. He was unmarried, and had no issue.

He inherited Great Moreton Hall and The Ashes from his brother in 1710, but sold The Ashes to John Debank later that year. At his death he bequeathed the Great Moreton estate to his friend and executor, Richard Vernon of Middlewich (Ches.), charged with the payment of his debts and legacies. It was sold soon afterwards to the Powis family from Staffordshire.

He was buried 8 February 1713/4, when his baronetcy became extinct; his will was proved at Chester, 28 September 1715.

Bellot family of Bochym Manor

Bellot, Thomas. Only known son of Thomas Bellot and his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of William Liversage of Macclesfield and widow of [forename unknown] Creswall. He married [forename unknown] Combesford, and had issue:

(1) Richard Bellot (d. c.1558) (q.v.);

(2) Elizabeth Bellot; married Raffe Brodhurst and had issue at least one daughter.

He settled in Wiltshire.

His date of death is unknown. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bellot, Richard (d. c.1558). Only recorded son of Thomas Bellot and his wife [forename unknown] Combesford. He married Alice (fl. 1558), daughter of Richard Earle, and had issue:

(1) Francis Bellot (d. 1597) (q.v.);

(2) Thomas Bellot (fl. 1558); living, unmarried, in 1558;

(3) Robert Bellot (fl. 1558); living, unmarried, in 1558;

(4) Bridget Bellot (d. 1608); married John Smith (d. 1564?*) of Corsham (Wilts), son of John Smyth (d. 1538) of Corsham, clothier, and had issue six sons and three daughters; will proved in the Corsham Peculiar Court, 16 December 1608;

(5) Dorothy Bellot (fl. 1558); married Robert Chivers (fl. 1558);

(6) Margaret Bellot (fl. 1558); married [forename unknown] Best/Bisse;

(7) Anne Bellot (fl. 1558); married [forename unknown] Hodges;

(8) Katherine Bellot (fl. 1558); living, unmarried, in 1558;

(9) Christian Bellot (fl. 1558); living, unmarried, in 1558;

(10) Elizabeth Bellot (fl. 1558); living, unmarried, in 1558;

(11) Edith Bellot (fl. 1558); living, unmarried, in 1558;

(12) Mary Bellot (fl. 1558); living, unmarried, in 1558.

He leased the Rectory Manor at Corsham in Wiltshire from Syon Abbey and later from the Crown.

He died after 2 December 1558, when his will was written. His widow's date of death is unknown.

* A John Smyth senior was buried at Corsham, 18 February 1563/4 and this seems likely to be the right man, but his will (written in 1563) was not proved in the PCC until 25 November 1570.

Bellot, Francis (d. 1597). Eldest son of Richard Bellot of Corsham (Wilts) and his wife Alice, daughter of Richard Earle. He married Anne/Agnes, daughter of Reginald Mohun (c.1508-67) of Boconnoc (Cornw.), and had issue:

(1) John Bellot (d. by 1608); died without issue before 29 July 1608 and probably in the lifetime of his father;

(2) Thomas Bellot (fl. 1620); living in Ireland in 1620; married Lucy (d. 1631), daughter of John Ryves, and had issue at least one son and three daughters; died before 1631;

(3) Rev. Reginald Bellot (c.1555-1600) (q.v.);

(4) Scipio Bellot; perhaps died young;

(5) William Bellot; perhaps died young;

(6) Arthur Bellot; perhaps died young;

(7) Ambrose Bellot (c.1561-1637) of Downton (Devon), born about 1561; MP for East Looe, 1597; JP for Devon by 1610; married 1st, 1596/7 (licence 14 September), Elinor, daughter and heir of Barnard Smith of Totnes and widow of John Charles of Tavistock (Devon), Sir John Fulford (d. 1580), kt. of Great Fulford (Devon) and John Wrey of Trebigh (Cornw.); married 2nd, 1627 (licence 27 June) at Dittisham, Lucy (d. 1631), daughter of [forename unknown] Stockett and widow of [forename unknown] Wood of Modbury (Devon), and had issue one daughter; administration of goods granted in the PCC, 10 October 1637;

(8) Ann Bellot.

He settled after his marriage at the house at Bochym Manor, Cury (Cornwall), which was given to him by his father-in-law. The manor of Bochym remained with the Mohuns until 1616 however.

He died in 1597. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bellot, Rev. Reginald (c.1555-1600). Third son of Francis Bellot and his wife Anne, daughter of Reginald Mohun of Boconnoc (Cornw.), born about 1555. Educated at Exeter College, Oxford (BA 1574; MA 1577); Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, 1575-84; Rector of Menheniot (Cornw.), 1584-1600. He married Dorothy (d. 1638), daughter of John Dinham of Wortham, Lifton (Devon), and had issue:

(1) Renatus Bellot (b. c.1590; fl. 1634) (q.v.);

(2) Phoebe Bellot (fl. 1600), living in 1600 when she was mentioned in her father's will;

(3) Francis Bellot (b. & d. 1597), baptised at Menheniot, 15 March 1596/7; died in infancy and was buried in the same place, 26 March 1597.

He inherited Bochym from his father in 1597.

His will was proved at Exeter, 5 June 1600. His widow married 2nd, Thomas Hoblyn (d. 1636) of Nanswhyden, St Columb Major (Cornw.), and was buried at St Columb Major, 11 January 1637/8.

Bellot, Renatus (b. 1588; fl. 1654). Only surviving son of Rev. Reginald Bellot (c.1555-1600) and his wife Dorothy, daughter of John Dynham of Wortham, Lifton (Devon), baptised at Menheniot (Cornw.), 5 January 1588/9. Educated at Exeter College, Oxford (matriculated 1605; BA 1609). He was a Royalist in the Civil War and compounded for his delinquency in 1651. He married 1st, 1611 (licence 26 July), probably at Dittisham (Devon), Philippa (b. 1592/3), daughter and heir of William Bere of Pengelley, St. Neot (Cornw.), and 2nd, 28 July 1634 at Hartland (Devon), Mary (b. 1603), daughter of Sir Thomas Monck (1570-1627) and sister of General George Monck (1608-70), later 1st Duke of Albemarle, and had issue:

(1.1) Ambrose Bellot (b. 1612), baptised at St Neot (Cornw.), 13 September 1612; educated at Queen's College, Oxford (matriculated 1628); presumably died in the lifetime of his father;

(1.2) Dorothy Bellot (1613-14), baptised at St Neot, 12 December 1613; died in infancy and was buried at St Neot, 27 June 1614;

(1.3) Philippa Bellot (b. 1615); baptised (as Philip) at St Neot, 18 June 1615; possibly to be identified with the 'Philip Bluet' who married, 9 February 1645/6 at St Teath (Cornw.), Hugh Raw, and had issue; 

(1.4) Renatus Bellot (b. 1616), baptised at St Columb Major (Cornw.), 29 September 1616; perhaps died young;

(1.5) Frances Bellot; living in 1620;

(1.6) Loveday Bellot; living in 1620;

(1.7) Christopher Bellot (c.1622-92) (q.v.);

(1.8) Francis Bellot (c.1627-81?); educated at Exeter College, Oxford (matriculated 1647); perhaps the man of this name whose will was proved in 1681.

He inherited Bochym Manor from his father c.1600, and in 1616 he acquired the manor which had been separated from the house in the mid 16th century.

He was living in 1654 when he was involved in a legal dispute and probably died before 1660. His first wife died between 1627 and 1634. His second wife's date of death is unknown.

Bellot, Christopher (c.1622-92). Third, but eldest surviving, son of Renatus Bellot (b. 1588) and his wife, born about 1622. Educated at Exeter College, Oxford (matriculated 1639). He farmed the coinage duty on tin for Cornwall jointly with Samuel Enys, 1661-68, but subsequently gave up the patent in return for a salary of £500 a year, presumably for acting as collector of the duty. High Sheriff of Cornwall, 1681-82. He married, 5 June 1666 at St Gluvais (Cornw.), Bridget (1643-97), daughter of William Pendarves (d. 1673) of Roscrowe (Cornw.), and had issue:

(1) Anne Bellot (b. 1667), baptised at Cury, 28 April 1667; married, 29 May 1683 at Cury (Cornw.), as his second wife, Thomas Hawkins (1650-1716) of Helston and Trewinnard, St. Erth (Cornw.), and had issue four sons and six daughters;

(2) Loveday Bellot (d. 1711), died unmarried of smallpox, and was buried at All Hallows, Exeter (Devon), 16 September 1711, where she was commemorated by a monument; will proved in Exeter, 1712;

(3) Renatus Bellot (1674-1710) (q.v.);

(4) Catherine Bellot (1676-1717), baptised at Cury, 28 March 1676; died of smallpox in 1717;

(5) Bridget Bellot (d. 1719); married, 25 September 1708 at North Hill (Cornw.), Sampson Hele of Exeter (Devon), merchant (who m2, 12 July 1720 at Exeter Cathedral, Elizabeth March); died of smallpox, 10 June 1719, and was buried at All Hallows, Exeter, where she was commemorated by a monument;

(6) Grace Bellot (d. 1717), of Fowey (Cornw.); died unmarried of smallpox in 1717; will proved 1717;

(7) Elizabeth Bellot (fl. c.1711); living c.1711;

(8) Jane Bellot (d. 1717), of Fowey; died unmarried of smallpox in 1717; will proved 1717;

(9) Mary Bellot (1687-1717) of Fowey (Cornw.), baptised at Cury, 4 April 1687; died of smallpox in 1717; administration of her goods was granted in 1717.

He inherited Bochym Manor from his father, and also had a house at Temple Bar, London.

He was buried at Cury, 10 June 1692. His widow was buried at Cury, 23 November 1697.

Bellot, Renatus (1674-1710). Only son of Christopher Bellot (c.1622-92) and his wife Bridget, daughter of William Pendarves of Roscrowe, baptised at Cury, 26 January 1673/4. Educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge (matriculated 1691) and Middle Temple (admitted 1691). Tory MP for Mitchell (Cornw.), 1702-05; JP for Cornwall. Stannator (elected member of the Stannary Parliament) for Penwith and Kerrier, 1703, 1710. He was said by a near contemporary to have spent all his estate ‘by riot and excess’. He married, 1697 (settlement 3 April), Mary (c.1680-1729), daughter and heiress of Edmund Spoure of Trebartha (Cornw.), and had issue:

(1) Renatus Bellot (1704-12), baptised at Cury, 18 October 1704; died young, 11 July 1712 and was buried at North Hill (Cornw.), where he is commemorated by a monument.

He inherited Bochym Manor from his father in 1692 and came of age in 1695. After his death it passed to trustees for his son, but following his son's death the estate was sold in 1713 for the payment of his debts. His widow was heiress to the Trebartha estate, which she bequeathed to her friend and cousin Francis Rodd (d. 1736) subject to his not marrying Jane Parker of Covent Garden (which he didn't).

He died of a fever and was buried at Cury (Cornw.), 22 May 1710; his will was proved in 1710. His widow married 2nd, 27 December 1716 at Lewannick (Cornw.), Charles Grylls (d. 1727), and was buried at North Hill, 6 May 1729; her will was proved in the PCC, 7 June 1729.

Principal sources

Burke's Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies, 2nd edn., 1841, pp. 54-55; https://www.stirnet.com/genie/data/british/bb4ae/bellot1.php; 

https://www.northhillhistory.co.uk/rodd.htm; ODNB entry for Hugh Bellot (1542-96), bishop of Bangor and Chester.

Location of archives

No significant accumulation is known to survive.

Coat of arms

Argent, on a chief gules, three cinquefoils of the first.

Can you help?

• Can anyone provide further information about the ownership of Bochym Manor in the 20th century?
• 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 16 June 2023 and updated 19 June 2023.