(506) Bearcroft of Mere Hall

Bearcroft of Mere Hall

By the late 17th century, this family (whose name was spelled in many different ways, including Barecroft, Barcroft, Berecroft and Bearecroft) were claiming to have been of gentry status from the late 14th century onwards. There seems little doubt that they owned a freehold estate in Hanbury parish in the late middle ages, but it did not have the status of a manor and may originally have been quite small, and they should perhaps be regarded as yeomen until the 16th century. The genealogy below begins with John Bearcroft (c.1550-1620), who was perhaps the first of his line to be described as 'esquire'. It would seem that he was responsible for building the present Mere Hall (then known as Mere Green Hall) in about 1611, although he would then have been quite an elderly man to take on a major building project. John married twice, but the eldest son of his first marriage died before him, and the surviving younger sons made careers in trade in Worcester. The heir to Mere Hall was the only son of his second marriage, Philip Bearcroft (c.1589-1643), who was educated as a gentleman at Oxford - where he took a degree - and the Middle Temple. Philip married the daughter of a neighbouring landowner who was also one of original members of the Virginia Company, and his eldest surviving son, John Bearcroft (c.1618-85) also went to Oxford and then to Grays Inn. He did not qualify as a barrister but was regarded later as 'learned in the law though not a public advocate'. During the 17th century the family's property gradually expanded as a result of sensible marriages and judicious purchases, and extended into both Droitwich and Feckenham parishes. John Bearcroft (1649-1700) lived at Shurnock Court in Feckenham during his father's lifetime, and there is little evidence that he ever moved into Mere Hall, although he does appear to have been responsible for some updating of the house.

Little is known about the career of his son, John Bearcroft (1681-1723), who does not seem to have attended a university or one of the inns of court, and who was living in Bristol at the time of his marriage in 1711. It seems possible that he was apprenticed to a Bristol solicitor and later followed that trade, but I have not found any clear evidence for this. He and his wife produced nine children in the twelve short years of their marriage, but of these only five survived to maturity. The heir to the Mere Hall estate was Edward Bearcroft (1715-93), who more certainly had a legal training but used it almost entirely as a tool to promote his own interests at the expense of his clients and even his own family. He has been described as 'cunning, violent, unscrupulous, and deliberately and systematically dishonest', and although he was not always successful in his schemes, his wickedness - which may well have extended to infanticide - never met with the come-uppance it deserved. Perhaps fortunately, he had no legitimate children, and when he died his estate passed to his niece, Frances Dickenson (1751-1820), who later married Capt. John Weir (d. 1812). She had no children either, with the result that the estate passed under her uncle's will to her third cousin once removed, Edward Henry Longcroft (1790-1832), on condition that he took the name Bearcroft.

Longcroft's father was a naval officer who retired on health grounds in 1784 and took up coastguard duties in Pembrokeshire, where he was involved in repulsing the attempted French invasion in 1798. Edward Henry Longcroft (later Bearcroft) was brought up in Haverfordwest and became a militia officer there. After he inherited Mere Hall he moved to Worcestershire and carried out an updating and remodelling of the old house which must have been much needed. His eldest son, Edward Bearcroft (1816-86) inherited Mere Hall in 1832 and only came of age five years later. His wife, from a Pembrokeshire family, died from complications following childbirth in 1852, and he never married again. He was a typical Victorian gentleman, filling a role in the militia and, more enthusiastically, on the magistrates' bench, and serving his term as High Sheriff. His only son, Edward Hugh Bearcroft (1852-1932) was from a similar mould, although in his case the militia was his main field of operations, and he saw active service in South Africa. He had no surviving children, and let Mere Hall to his wife Catherine (1855-1933) for life and then to his first cousin, once removed, Lt-Col. Ernest Charles Lister Bearcroft (1899-1970), an officer in the Royal Marines. His only son, Charles John Edward Bearcroft (1935-2003) found it impossible to maintain the house and estate, and was made bankrupt in 1972, after which the estate was sold out of the family.

Mere Hall, Worcestershire

The estate, originally known as Mere Green Hall, is reputed to have belonged to the Bearcrofts since the 14th century, and a much later bressumer on the current entrance front has the carved date 1337, which may be intended to refer to their acquisition of the property. The present house is a large and well preserved timber-framed manor house, consisting of a central hall range with two large gabled cross-wings, the timbers of which have provided a dendro-date of c.1611, which accords well with the stylistic evidence. The whole house is built of close studding, with large diagonal struts, although the jettied second storey of the hall range has herringbone struts and five charming little gables set above a continuous row of mullioned windows which either lit a long gallery or were intended to suggest that they did. The rear of the hall range has a stone chimney-breast with four star-shaped stacks, now surrounded by later additions. Inside, the house preserves much 17th century panelling, the best in the dining room in the west wing, which also has a fine wooden chimneypiece with arches and caryatids.

Mere Hall, Hanbury: the house in about 1910. Image: Country Life.

The first alterations were made to the house in about 1691, presumably for John Bearcroft (1649-1700). These included replacing the porch, originally set off-centre at the end of a screens passage, with the current open central porch, with thin barley-twist Corinthian columns and an open pediment; adding the pretty fretted central lantern that crowns the house; and laying out the attractive forecourt, which had brick walls topped with iron railings, two square corner pavilions with elegantly sweeping ogee roofs, and fine iron gates. The carved date of 1337 on the front of the house may have been cut at this time, since it is known that the family began asserting their ancient gentility at this time.

Mere Hall, Hanbury: the house from the north-east in c.1910, across the octagonal fish pond. Image: Country Life. 

The house was next altered in the early 19th century, when there were two phases of work. In the first, the delicate Gothick glazing on the entrance front was inserted, and soon afterwards, in 1828, Matthew Habershon carried out substantial alterations for Edward Henry Bearcroft, adding a large south-west service wing of painted brick and creating a new staircase hall. 

Mere Hall, Hanbury: the house from the north in 2019. Image: Jeff Gogarty. Some rights reserved.

In the 20th century, the forecourt lost its original late 17th century gates and railings, presumably as Second World War salvage. In their place, new more widely spaced brick piers were constructed, supporting simplified iron gates  and a lower overthrow. The house has been restored more recently by the present owners. 

Descent: Thomas Bearcroft (fl. 1542); to son, John Bearcroft (c.1550-1620); to son, Philip Bearcroft (c.1589-1643); to son, John Bearcroft (b. c.1618-85); to son, John Bearcroft (1649-1700); to son, John Bearcroft (1681-1723); to son, Edward Bearcroft (1715-93); to niece, Frances Dickenson (1751-1820), later the wife of Capt. John Weir (d. 1812); to third cousin once removed, Edward Henry Longcroft (later Bearcroft) (1790-1832); to widow, Elizabeth Bearcroft (1786-1848) for life and then to son, Edward Bearcroft (1816-86); to son, Edward Hugh Bearcroft (1852-1932); to widow, Catherine Elizabeth Bearcroft (d. 1933) and then to first cousin once removed, Lt-Col. Ernest Charles Lister Bearcroft (1899-1970); to son, Charles John Edward Bearcroft (1935-2003), who sold 1975 to Mr. & Mrs. Duggins; sold 1983 to Mr & Mrs Edward Stearn; sold 2000 to Edward Dean Butler (fl. 2021).

Bearcroft of Mere Hall

Bearcroft, John (c.1550-1620?). Eldest son of Thomas Bearcroft (fl. 1542) of Mere Hall and his wife Anne, daughter of Thomas Laker alias Foxley of Foxley (Lancs), born about 1550. He married 1st, 1 June 1579 at Leigh (Worcs), Margery (d. c.1587), daughter of Humphrey Archer (1528-62) of Tanworth in Arden, and 2nd, 6 May 1588 at Hanbury, Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Humphrey Jennetts of Norgrove (Worcs), and had issue:

(1.1) John Bearcroft (d. 1595); he is said to have married Mary, only daughter of Sir John Herbert (c.1540-1617), Secretary of State and one of the Masters of Requests, and had issue a daughter, but her only recorded marriage (in 1595/6) was to Sir William Dodington (1572-1638), kt. and it seems likely that he was not old enough to marry before he died in the lifetime of his father, and was buried at Hanbury, 1 December 1595;

(1.2) Thomas Bearcroft (b. 1579), baptised at Hanbury, 3 December 1579; probably died young;

(1.3) Anne Bearcroft (b. c.1580), born about 1580; married, 26 October 1607 at Hanbury, Thomas Wylde of Hanbury Astwood and had issue three sons and one daughter;

(1.4) Richard Bearcroft (b. 1581), baptised at Hanbury, 22 December 1581; probably died young;

(1.5) Andrew Bearcroft (b. & d. 1583), baptised at Hanbury, 25 January 1582/3; died in infancy and was buried 7 February 1582/3;

(1.6) Margery Bearcroft (b. 1584), baptised at Hanbury, 14 March 1583/4; married, 26 January 1606/7 at Hanbury, Robert Hanley;

(1.7) Thomas Bearcroft (1584-1651), baptised at Hanbury, 30 March 1584; draper; married 1st, 10 June 1607 at Hanbury, Joan Cooke, and 2nd, 13 June 1613 at Hanbury, Bridget (d. 1656), daughter of John Hanbury of Hanbury (Worcs), and had issue nine sons and two daughters; died 1651;

(1.8) Richard Bearcroft (b. 1585), baptised at Hanbury, 6 February 1584/5; married and had issue one son and four daughters;

(1.9) Edward alias Edmund Bearcroft (1587-1639), baptised at Hanbury, 1 May 1587; clothier in Worcester; married but died without issue; buried at Hanbury, 13 July 1639;

(2.1) Philip Bearcroft (c.1589-1643) (q.v.);

(2.2) Elizabeth Bearcroft (d. 1595); buried at Hanbury, 29 January 1594/5;

(2.2) Elinor Bearcroft (b. 1593); married, 1 July 1617 at Hanbury, Philip Dobbins.

He inherited the Mere Hall estate from his father and probably built the present house c.1611.

He may be the John Berecroft, gent., buried at Hanbury, 27 September 1620. His first wife must have died in 1587 or early 1588. His second wife's date of death is unknown.

Bearcroft, Philip (c.1589-1643). Only son of John Bearcroft (c.1550-1620?) by his second wife Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Humphrey Jennetts of Norgrove Court, Feckenham, born about 1589. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford (matriculated 1607; BA 1609) and Middle Temple (admitted 1610). He married, reputedly in 1614 but perhaps a few years later, Elizabeth (fl. 1647), daughter and co-heiress of Sir Francis Egiock (d. 1622), kt., of Egiock in Inkberrow (Worcs), and had issue:

(1) John Bearcroft (1619-85) (q.v.);

(2) Francis Bearcroft (b. 1622), of Tibberton (Worcs), baptised at Hanbury, 23 June 1622; married, before 1649, Mary (b. c.1610; fl. 1682), daughter of Thomas Harris of Crowle (Worcs) and widow of Rev. Walter Glisson (d. c.1639) of Marnhull (Dorset), and had issue three sons and six daughters; living in 1682;

(3) Anne Bearcroft (b. 1628), baptised at Hanbury, 17 February 1627/8; married Edmund Coucher of Clifton and Ledbury (Herefs), and had issue three sons and at least one daughter;

(4) Philip Bearcroft (1630-69), of Worcester, baptised at Hanbury, 29 March 1630; married Edborow (d. 1681), daughter of Giles Smart of Gloucester, and had issue one son; buried at St Michael, Worcester, 28 September 1669;

(5) Eleanor Bearcroft (b. 1633), baptised at Hanbury, 23 May 1633; married John Tombs of Worcester;

(6) Humphrey Bearcroft (1635-69), of Bristol, baptised at Hanbury, 20 May 1635; married Alice, daughter of [forename unknown] Martin of Bristol, apothecary; died 1669;

(7) Mary Bearcroft (b. 1636), baptised at Hanbury, 24 August 1636.

He inherited Mere Hall from his father, probably in 1620.

He was buried 8 August 1643. His widow was living in 1647 but her date of death is unknown.

Bearcroft, John (1619-85). Eldest son of Philip Bearcroft (c.1589-1643) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Sir Francis Egiock (d. 1622), kt., baptised at Feckenham, 7 March 1618/9. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford (matriculated 1635) and Grays Inn (admitted 1641). His allegiance in the Civil War is uncertain. JP for Worcestershire. He married, 5 September 1644 at Hanbury, Frances (c.1619-84), daughter of Edward Vernon (d. c.1658) of Hanbury Astwood (Worcs), and had issue:

(1) Elizabeth Bearcroft (b. 1645), baptised at Hanbury, 19 May 1645; married, 6 August 1674 at Hanbury, Rev. George Fayting, rector of All Hallows in Worcester;

(2) Philip Bearcroft (1646-74), baptised at Hanbury, 31 December 1646; educated at Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1672); died unmarried in the lifetime of his father, 1674;

(3) John Bearcroft (1649-1700) (q.v.);

(4) Eleanor Bearcroft (1651-77), baptised at Hanbury, 18 September 1651; married, 24 April 1676 at All Saints, Worcester, Thomas Lacy of Feckenham (Worcs); buried at Feckenham, 30 January 1676/7;

(5) Frances Bearcroft (1654-91?), baptised at Hanbury, 22 April 1654; married, 23 September 1680 at Hanbury, John Mence of Woodrow Green, Hanbury, gent; perhaps the 'Frances Mence of Stoke Prior' buried at Hanbury, 20 July 1691;

(6) Edward Bearcroft (1656-57), baptised at Hanbury, 22 November 1656; died in infancy and was buried at Hanbury, 16 January 1656/7;

(7) Edward Bearcroft (1657-1744) (q.v.).

He inherited Mere Hall from his father in 1643.

He died 11 March and was buried at Hanbury. 13 March 1684/5, where he and his wife are commemorated by a monument. His wife died 16 November and was buried at Hanbury, 18 November 1684.

Bearcroft, John (1649-1700). Second, but oldest surviving, son of John Bearcroft (1619-85) and his wife Frances, daughter of Edward Vernon of Hanbury Astwood, baptised at Hanbury, 15 February 1648/9. Educated at Wadham College, Oxford (matriculated 1667; BA 1670; MA 1673). He married, 16 October 1677 at Wolverhampton (Staffs), Sarah (c.1659-1700), daughter of Richard Bracegirdle (d. 1677) of Wolverhampton, apothecary, and sister of the actress, Anne Bracegirdle (c.1663-1748), and had issue:

(1) Frances Bearcroft (b. 1678), baptised at Hanbury, 3 September 1678; living in 1711;

(2) John Bearcroft (1681-1723) (q.v.);

(3) Philip Bearcroft (b. 1685), baptised at Hanbury, 10 June 1685; died without issue.

He lived at Shernock Court (Worcs) and inherited Mere Hall from his father.

He died 1 January 1699/1700, and was buried at Hanbury, where he is commemorated on his father's monument. His widow died 19 December 1700 and was buried at Hanbury, 22 December 1700.

Bearcroft, John (1681-1723). Elder son of John Bearcroft (1649-1700) and his wife Sarah, daughter of Richard Bracegirdle of Wolverhampton (Staffs), baptised at Feckenham (Worcs), 23 March 1681. He married, 3 April 1711 at St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, Jane (1686-1768), daughter of Benjamin Perrott of Oldswinford (Worcs) and later of Bristol, glass maker, and had issue:

(1) John Bearcroft (b. & d. 1712), born at Temple Gate, Bristol, 28 July 1712; died in infancy and was buried at Hanbury, 20 September 1712;

(2) Jane Bearcroft (1713-51), born 21 July, and baptised at St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, 26 July 1713; married, 9 August 1748 at All Saints, Evesham (Worcs), Thomas Dickenson (1717-51) of Worcester, grocer, and had issue a daughter (Frances Dickenson (1751-1820), who inherited Mere Hall for life from her uncle, married Capt. John Weir (d. 1812) and died without issue, whereupon the estate passed under her uncle's will to Edward Henry Longcroft (c.1790-1832), on condition that he took the name Bearcroft); buried at St Nicholas, Worcester, 11 August 1751;

(3) Edward Bearcroft (1715-93) (q.v.);

(4) Frances Bearcroft (1716-41), baptised at Hanbury, 19 July 1716; died unmarried and was buried at Hanbury, 30 July 1741;

(5) John Bearcroft (b. 1717), baptised at Hanbury, 6 August 1717; an officer in the Royal Navy (Lt. 1746); died unmarried;

(6) Mary Bearcroft (b. 1718), baptised at Hanbury, 22 July 1718; living in 1758 but probably died unmarried;

(7) Benjamin Bearcroft (1719-23), baptised at Hanbury, 3 October 1719; died young and was buried at Hanbury, 10 March 1722/3;

(8) Elizabeth Bearcroft (b. 1721), baptised at Hanbury, 2 November 1721; living in 1758 but probably died unmarried; 

(9) Sarah Bearcroft (1723-36), baptised at Hanbury, 18 November 1723; died young, 3 December 1736.

When first married he lived at Temple Gate, Bristol. He inherited Mere Hall from his father in 1700.

He was buried at Hanbury, 15 November 1723, where he is commemorated by a monument erected c.1800 to the design of W. Stephens of Worcester (which says, presumably incorrectly, that he died in September 1723). His widow is said to have been confined in asylum for a time as a result of her son's attempts to overturn the provision of her jointure; she died 26 January and was buried at Hanbury, 28 January 1768 (though the monument to her husband gives her year of death as 1769).

Bearcroft, Edward (1715-93). Second, but eldest surviving, son of John Bearcroft (1681-1723) and his wife Jane Perrott, born at Temple Gate, Bristol, 29 May and baptised at St Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, 1 June 1715. A solicitor, who has been characterised as "cunning, violent, unscrupulous, and deliberately and systematically dishonest", although he could evidently be charming and plausible when it suited his purpose. As a young man, he was charged at Bristol Assizes with the murder of his own illegitimate child, though he was evidently not convicted, reputedly because his mother spent a large sum of money on his defence. He subsequently challenged his mother’s jointure and this upset her so much that she was deemed insane and committed to an asylum. In 1754 he set up in business as a solicitor in Droitwich and set out to batten on the Compton family of Hindlip (Worcs) and Hartpury (Glos), for whom he acted for some years, scheming to gain control of their estates by exercising undue influence on the young Compton baronets, whom he had encouraged in drunkenness and dissipation.  In 1762 he eloped to Gretna Green with, and married, their sister, Catherine Maria (1741-75), daughter of Sir William Compton (d. 1758), 3rd bt., of Hartpury Court (Glos) and Hindlip Hall (Worcs), but they had no issue and separated after he became violent towards her and threw her out of his house. After her brother's death in 1773 he inherited a moiety of the Compton estates in her right. A chance meeting with his wife in 1774 led him to attempt to abduct her and force her to sign over property she held in her own right to him, but in this he was foiled. In his later years, he established a mistress called Betty Heming at one of his properties, Broughton House, Broughton Green, but there is no evidence they had any children. 

He inherited Mere Hall from his father in 1723, and progressively enlarged the estate through the purchase of adjacent farms. He lived in Droitwich rather than at Mere Hall, which was probably let to farming tenants.

He was buried at Hanbury, 11 January 1793; his will was proved in the PCC, 29 April 1793. His wife was buried at Hindlip (Worcs), 8 May 1775.

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Bearcroft, Edward (1657-1744). Fourth and youngest son of John Bearcroft (1619-85) and his wife Frances, daughter of Edward Vernon of Hanbury Astwood, baptised at Hanbury, 10 January 1657/8. A lawyer at Clements Inn and an official in the Chancery Office. He married, 1691 (licence 28 April), Susanna (b. 1668), daughter of Henry Byne (1629-97) of Carshalton (Surrey), and had issue:

(1) Edward Bearcroft (c.1693-1721) (q.v.).

He evidently lived in London and later at Carshalton.

He was buried at Carshalton, 2 May 1744; his will was proved in the PCC, 28 May 1744. His wife's date of death is unknown.

Bearcroft, Edward (c.1693-1721). Only recorded son of Edward Bearcroft (1657-1744) and his wife Susan, daughter of Henry Byne of Carshalton (Surrey), born about 1693. Educated at Queen's and Merton Colleges, Oxford (matriculated 1709; BA 1712; MA 1715) and the Inner Temple (admitted 1713), and then undertook a Grand Tour, visiting Venice and Padua in 1717, when he was described as 'fellow in Oxford'; he was probably briefly a fellow of Merton College, Oxford. While in Venice he had a meeting with the Old Pretender, and was suspected of Jacobite sympathies. He married, c.1718, Elizabeth [surname unknown] (c.1692-1780), and had issue:

(1) Elizabeth Bearcroft (c.1720-c.1790) (q.v.).

He lived at Merton (Surrey).

He was buried at Carshalton (Surrey), 15 August 1721. His widow died aged 88 and was buried at Kew (Surrey), 31 May 1780.

Bearcroft, Elizabeth (c.1720-c.1790). Only recorded daughter of Edward Bearcroft (c.1693-1721) of Merton (Surrey), and his wife, born about 1720. She married, 12 April 1743 at Charterhouse chapel, Finsbury (Middx), Robert Longcroft (1714-85), a grocer, merchant and privateer of Portsmouth (Hants) (bankrupt, 1745), who was later a potter at Brentford (bankrupt again, 1754) and later of Kew (Surrey) and Strand-on-the-Green, Chiswick (Middx), son of Thomas Longcroft, and had issue:

(1) Elizabeth Longcroft (1745-1816), baptised at Portsea (Hants), 2 August 1745; married 1st, 12 July 1763 at Chiswick (Middx), James Powell (c.1733-67), and had issue two sons and one daughter; married 2nd, 11 December 1777 at St Clement Danes, London, Rev. John Smythies (1733-1816), rector of St Mary Magdalene, Colchester and younger son of the Rev. Palmer Smythies of Colchester, and had further issue one son and one daughter; died soon after her husband, 30 October 1816;

(2) Mary Longcroft (1746-1834), baptised at Kew, 16 September 1746; died unmarried and was buried at St Swithin, Walcot, Bath, 27 December 1834; 

(3) Edward Longcroft (1750-1812) (q.v.);

(4) Susan  Longcroft (1756-1847), born 16 August and baptised at Chiswick (Middx), 4 September 1756; died unmarried in Bath aged 91 and was buried at St Swithin, Walcot, 13 November 1847; will proved 2 December 1847;

(5) Thomas Longcroft (1760-1811), born 24 February and baptised at Chiswick, 4 March 1760; travelled to India as personal assistant to the painter, Johann Zoffany (who was a neighbour of his parents in Chiswick), 1783, and became his pupil and a talented amateur artist; after several years he quarrelled with Zoffany and bought some land on which to establish an indigo plantation at Koil near Aligarh, which seems to have been moderately successful; he took an Indian mistress (Moburrick Johan), to whom he left much of his property when he died, 31 July 1811, but there is no evidence that he had any children.

She and her husband lived first at Portsmouth, and later at Kew and Chiswick.

She probably died before 1792. Her husband died 10 September and was buried at Chiswick, 21 September 1785.

Longcroft, Capt. Edward (1750-1812). Elder son of Robert Longcroft of Kew (Surrey) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Bearcroft, baptised at Kew (Surrey), 9 January 1750/1. An officer in the Royal Navy (Midshipman, 1769; Lt., 1778; Cmdr., 1782; Capt., 1809); retired from active service on health grounds, 1784, and was subsequently a Coastguard officer in Pembrokeshire, where he was involved in repelling the attempted French invasion of 1797. He may have married 1st, 28 May 1775 at Bermondsey, Mary White, and 2nd, 30 May 1782 in Kingston (Jamaica), Elizabeth (c.1760-1809), daughter of [forename unknown] Baylis, reputedly of the Lloyney, Beguildy (Radnors.), and had issue:

(1.1) Edward Longcroft (b. 1776), baptised at St Olave, Bermondsey, 7 January 1776; died young;

(2.1) Richard Thomas Longcroft; perhaps born in Jamaica; said to have died in infancy;

(2.2) Edward Henry Longcroft (later Bearcroft) (1790-1832) (q.v.);

(2.3) Elizabeth Augusta Longcroft (1792-1869), baptised at Laugharne, 16 March 1792 and again at Haverfordwest, 12 June 1799; married, 7 May 1815 at Haverfordwest, Capt. William Butler (c.1792-1867), an officer in the Royal Pembrokeshire Fusiliers, and had issue six sons and five daughters; died 22 December and was buried at Haverfordwest, 28 December 1869; administration of goods granted to a daughter, 3 May 1870 (effects under £100);

(2.4) Frances Longcroft (d. 1799); died in infancy and was buried at Haverfordwest, 22 April 1799;

(2.5) Charlotte Longcroft (1799-1866), baptised at Haverfordwest, 12 June 1799; married, 23 March 1819 at Haverfordwest, Thomas Lloyd (1793-1857) of Coedmore, Llangoedmore (Cardigans.), Lord Lieutenant of Cardiganshire, son of Thomas Lloyd (d. 1810) of Coedmore, and had issue four sons and one daughter; died 5 May 1866; her will was proved 10 July 1866 (effects under £14,000);

(2.6) Charles Richard Longcroft (1804-88), of Llanina House (Cardigans.), baptised at Llanarth, 4 November 1804; High Sheriff of Cardiganshire, 1834-35; inherited Llanina House with his sister Charlotte from their godfather, Edward Warren Jones; married 1st, before 1836, Sarah [surname unknown], and had issue; married 2nd, 12 June 1886 at Llanina (Cardigans.), Amelia, daughter of Petro Dusar, teacher of languages; died 20 May and was buried at Llanarth (Cardigans.), 25 May 1888.

He lived latterly at Llanina House (Cardigans), the home of his close friend, Edward Warren Jones, who left it to his younger son and daughter.

He died 16 August, and was buried at Llanarth, 20 August 1812; his will was proved in the PCC, 27 April 1813. His first wife's date of death is unknown. His widow died 23 February and was also buried at Llanarth, 28 February 1809.

Longcroft (later Bearcroft), Edward Henry (1790-1832). Second but eldest surviving son of Edward Longcroft (1750-1812) and his second wife Elizabeth, daughter of [forename unknown] Baylis, reputedly of the Lloyney (Radnors), baptised at Laugharne (Pembs), 24 July 1790. An officer in the Royal Pembroke Militia (Capt., 1811) and Worcestershire Yeomanry Cavalry (Capt., 1831). He changed his name from Longcroft to Bearcroft in 1822 after inheriting the Mere Hall estate. He married, 8 October 1812 at Aberteifi (Cardigans), Elizabeth (1786-1848), daughter of James Bowen of Pantyderi (Pembs), and had issue:

(1) Frances Elizabeth Bearcroft (1814-87), baptised at Haverfordwest, 30 March 1814; a keen amateur toxophilist; lived at Broughton Court, Hanbury; died unmarried, 28 November, and was buried at Hanbury, 2 December 1887;

(2) Charlotte Augusta Bearcroft (1815-16), baptised at Haverfordwest (Pembs), 5 April 1815; died in infancy and was buried at Haverfordwest, 9 April 1816;

(3) Edward Bearcroft (1816-86) (q.v.);

(4) Rev. James Bearcroft (1817-98) (q.v.);

(5) Rev. Thomas Bearcroft (1818-77), baptised at Haverfordwest, 26 December 1818; educated at Bromsgrove Grammar School and Queen's College, Oxford (matriculated 1838; BA 1842; MA 1847); ordained deacon, 1844 and priest, 1845; curate of Pontesbury (Shrops.) and rector of Fitz (Shrops.), 1867-77; a keen amateur toxophilist; married, 2 January 1868 at Edstaston (Shrops.), Mary Hester Lilly Rosalie (1828-97), daughter of Sir Orde John Honyman, 3rd bt., and had issue a daughter; died 2 February and was buried at Edstaston, 7 February 1877;

(6) Henry Bearcroft (1820-89), of Droitwich, baptised at Haverfordwest, 6 December 1820; solicitor; clerk to Droitwich Board of Guardians, 1847-89; also farmer and hop-grower; married, 1852, Ellen (1831-1902), daughter of George Vernon of Hanbury, and had issue one son and two daughters; died 26 May and was buried at Hanbury, 30 May 1889; will proved 2 December 1889 (estate £18,832);

(7) twin?, Charles Philip Bearcroft (1824-41), baptised at Hanbury, 1 January 1825; died young and was buried at Hanbury, 14 May 1841;

(8) twin?, Charlotte Augusta Bearcroft (1825-65), baptised at Hanbury, 1 January 1825; married, 1 September 1857 at Hanbury, James William Bowen of Clynfiew (Carmarthens) and Middle Temple, barrister-at-law, and had issue one son and one daughter; died 14 January 1865;

(9) Marianne Bearcroft (1826-1916), baptised at Hanbury, 12 September 1826; a keen amateur toxophilist; married, 26 September 1865 at Hanbury, as his second wife, Rev. Theodore John Cartwright (c.1806-67), rector of Preston Bagot (Warks); died aged 89 on 15 August 1916; will proved 18 October 1916 (estate £286).

He inherited Mere Hall from his distant cousin, Frances Weir, in 1820. After his death the house passed to his widow for life and she let it for some years to Edwin Shelton, a retired Birmingham businessman, before returning to the house at the end of her life.

He died 5 November and was buried at Hanbury, 13 November 1832; his will was proved in the PCC, 31 May 1833. His widow died 14 December and was buried at Hanbury, 22 December 1848.

Bearcroft, Edward (1816-86). Eldest son of Edward Henry Bearcroft (1790-1832) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of James Bowen of Pantyderry (Pembs), baptised at Haverfordwest (Pembs), 1 June 1816. Educated at Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. An officer in the Worcestershire Yeomanry Cavalry (Cornet, 1836). JP (from 1843) and DL for Worcestershire; Chairman of Droitwich Petty Sessions c.1859-84; High Sheriff of Worcestershire, 1854-55. A Conservative in politics. He suffered from blindness in his later years. He married, 11 February 1850 at Cilgerran (Pembs), Eliza (c.1821-52), third daughter of John Colby of Ffynone (Pembs), and had issue:

(1) Edward Hugh Bearcroft (1852-1932) (q.v.).

He inherited Mere Hall on the death of his mother in 1848.

He died 31 December 1886 and was buried at Hanbury, 6 January 1887; his will was proved 8 June 1887 (estate £8,770). His wife died of complications following childbirth on 23 June and was buried at Hanbury, 29 June 1852.

Bearcroft, Edward Hugh (1852-1932). Only child of Edward Bearcroft (1816-86) and his wife Eliza, third daughter of John Colby of Ffynone (Pembs), born 25 March 1852. Educated at Eton. An officer in the Worcestershire militia (Lt., 1871; Capt., 1877; Maj., 1887; Lt-Col., 1897; hon. Col., 1897), who served in South Africa; appointed CB, 1903. JP for Worcestershire. He married, 10 July 1877 at Abergwili (Carmarthens), Catherine Elizabeth (1855-1933), only daughter of Capt. Grismond Philipps of Cwmgwilly, and had issue:

(1) Eliza Mary Bearcroft (b. & d. 1878), born 15 July 1878; died in infancy, 11 August 1878.

He lived at the Manor House, Feckenham until he inherited Mere Hall from his father in 1886. At his death the house passed to his widow, and on her death the following year to his first cousin once removed, Lt-Col. E.C.L. Bearcroft.

He died 27 January 1932; his will was proved 9 August 1932 (estate £47,398). His widow died 5 December 1933; her will was proved 29 January and 4 July 1934 (estate £44,904).

Bearcroft, Rev. James (1817-98). Second son of Edward Henry Bearcroft (1852-1932) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of James Bowen of Pantyderi (Pembs), born 10 January 1817. Educated at Oriel College, Oxford. Ordained deacon 1841 and priest, 1842. Curate of St Peter, Droitwich, 1841-42; Rector of Hadzor (later Hadzor with Oddingley) (Worcs), 1842-98; he also ran a small boarding school in his rectory. He married, 10 October 1848 at Feckenham (Worcs), Margaret Ann (1823-1901), daughter of Rev. Richard Ingram, rector of St Peter, Droitwich, and had issue:

(1) Philip Bearcroft (1849-1912), born about 10 December 1849 and baptised at Hadzor, 7 January 1850; educated at Keble College, Oxford (matriculated 1871; BA 1874; MA 1879); schoolmaster at Giggleswick School (Yorks WR); died unmarried, 1 June 1912; will proved 19 June 1912 (estate £3,424);

(2) Adm. John Edward Bearcroft (1851-1931), born 18 August and baptised at Hadzor, 15 September 1851; an officer in the Royal Navy (entered Navy, 1864; Sub-Lt., 1870; Lt., 1871; Cmdr. 1888; Capt., 1895; Rear-Adm., 1906; Vice-Adm. 1910; Adm. 1913; retired from active service, 1906); Admiral-Superintendent of contract-built ships on River Clyde, 1906-11; in retirement lived at Torwood, Bowling (Dunbartons.); appointed CB, 1900 and MVO, 1904; married, 26 April 1892, Katherine (c.1858-98), daughter of William P. Howell of Mydrim (Carmarthens.), but had no issue; died 5 September 1931; will confirmed in Scotland, 17 November 1931 (estate £4,760);

(3) Reginald Bearcroft (1853-1914), born 24 April and baptised at Hadzor, 25 May 1853; engineer; manager of the Pimlico Wheel Works in 1881; a freemason from 1886; married 1st, 18 September 1879 at St Silas, Glasgow, Elise Jessie (c.1853-80), second daughter of Henry Dubs of Glasgow, and 2nd, c.1885, perhaps in America, and again, 27 August 1908* at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster (Middx), Millicent Agnes (d. 1938), daughter of Henry Wigmore, mining engineer, and widow of [forename unknown] Fullwood, but had no issue; died 24 January and was buried at Smarden (Kent), 30 January 1914; will proved 24 March 1914 (estate £4,041);

(4) Arthur James Bearcroft (1855-1920), baptised at Hadzor, 10 June 1855; solicitor; a freemason from 1893; married, 12 October 1898 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster (Middx), Mary Elizabeth (1859-1920), daughter of James William Bowen, barrister-at-law, but had no issue; died 1 January 1920; will proved 6 February 1920 (estate £1,358);

(5) Henry Ingram Bearcroft (1857-1912), baptised at Hadzor, 6 November 1857; an officer in the merchant navy (apprentice, 1873; second mate, 1877; mate, 1880; master mariner, 1886) and Royal Naval Reserve (2nd Lt., 1881); died unmarried, 10 August 1912; administration of goods granted to his brother Arthur, 19 June 1912 (estate £891);

(6) William Fortescue Bearcroft (1859-1919), locomotive engineer; married, 26 October 1890 in Malta, Catherine (c.1854-1905), daughter of Rev. John Till, vicar of Gnosall (Staffs), and had issue one daughter; died in Egypt, 4 January 1919; will proved 3 September 1919 (estate £2,478);

(7) Charles Richard Douglas Bearcroft (1866-1930) (q.v.).

He died 26 March 1898; his will was proved 23 July 1898 (effects £3,430). His widow died 17 October 1901; her will was proved 28 December 1901 (estate £1,259).

* The marriage in 1908 appears to have been regularising a long-standing but perhaps informal or undocumented relationship; in the 1911 census the couple say they have been married for 26 years.

Bearcroft, Charles Richard Douglas (1866-1930). Seventh and youngest son of Rev. James Bearcroft (1817-98) and his wife Margaret, daughter of Rev. Richard Ingram, born 21 January and baptised at Hadzor (Worcs), 1 April 1866. Electrical engineer. A freemason from 1903. He married, 10 May 1894 at Yaverland (IoW), Marion Emily (1862-1930), daughter of James Brown Simpson (later Lister) (d. 1871) of the Inner Temple and Dunsa Bank, Kirkby Ravensworth (Yorks NR), and had issue:

(1) Margaret Nora Bearcroft (1895-1968), born 5 March and baptised at Teddington (Middx), 1 April 1895; served in Second World War with Red Cross (Commandant, Surrey); married, 10 August 1921 at Wimbledon (Surrey), Raymond Charles Tottenham (1890-1967), son of Rev. Charles Francis Bosvile Tottenham, but had no issue; died 6 June 1968;

(2) Lt-Col. Ernest Charles Lister Bearcroft (1899-1970) (q.v.).

He died 19 February and was buried at Wimbledon (Surrey), 22 February 1930. His widow died 26 March and was also buried at Wimbledon, 29 March 1930.

Bearcroft, Lt-Col. Ernest Charles Lister (1899-1970). Only recorded son of Charles Richard Douglas Bearcroft (1866-1930) and his wife Marion Emily, daughter of James Lister of Dunsa Bank, Kirkby Ravensworth (Yorks NR), baptised at St James, Hampton Hill (Middx), 4 February 1899. An officer in the Royal Marines, who served in the First and Second World Wars (2nd Lt., 1916; Lt., 1919; Capt. 1927; Maj., 1936; Lt-Col., 1940; retired 1943); JP (from 1939) and DL (from 1963) for Worcestershire; High Sheriff of Worcestershire, 1947. A freemason from 1920. He married, 21 December 1926, Enid Frances Charlotte (1902-73), eldest daughter of Dr. John Llewellyn Rees of Pontardawe (Glam.), and had issue:

(1) Joan Enid Lister Bearcroft (b. 1931), born in Malta, 25 September 1931; emigrated to Kenya; married, 24 October 1957, Peter Bayley Ransom (1934-2001), farmer and amateur jockey, and had issue one son;

(2) Charles John Edward Bearcroft (1935-2003) (q.v.).

He inherited Mere Hall from his first cousin once removed in 1933.

He died 21 May 1970; his will was proved 11 January 1971 (estate £13,656). His widow died 22 April 1973; her will was proved 10 September 1973 (estate £17,279).

Bearcroft, Charles John Edward (1935-2003). Only son of Lt-Col. Ernest Charles Lister Bearcroft (1899-1970) and his wife Enid Frances Charlotte, eldest daughter of Dr. John Llewellyn Rees of Pontardawe (Glam), born 8 April 1935. Farmer; made bankrupt, 1972 (discharged 1977). He married, Apr-June 1963 (div.), Caroline F. Pereira (b. 1942), and had issue:

(1) Edward Patrick Charles Bearcroft (b. 1964), born 9 June 1964; IT consultant; married, Oct-Dec 1994, Catherine A. Marriott (b. 1966), and had issue one son and one daughter;

(2) Catherine Elizabeth Bearcroft (b. 1966), born Jan-Mar 1966; living in 2025. 

He inherited Mere Hall from his father but was obliged by bankruptcy to sell it in the 1970s.

He died 2 May 2003. His ex-wife is now living.

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1952, p. 137; J. Nash, History of Worcestershire, vol. 1, 1781, p. 553; R.H. Silcock, 'County Government in Worcestershire, 1603-60', PhD thesis, University of London, 1974; A.D. Harris (ed.), Registers of the church of St Mary the Virgin, Hanbury (Worcestershire), 1577-1715, 1981; J. Berkeley, 'The Compton family of Hartpury Court', Trans. Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society, vol. 131 (2013), pp. 13-24; J. Phillips-Evans, The Longcrofts: 500 years of a British family, 2014;

Location of archives

Bearcroft of Mere Hall: deeds and family papers, c.1300-20th cent. [Worcestershire Archives, 705:95 3964; 16050]

Coat of arms

Sable a chevron between three bears' heads razed argent with three swans sable upon the chevron.

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 31 January 2022 and updated 1-2 February 2022 and 21 January 2025. I am grateful to Catherine Bearcroft for a correction.

(446) Jones, later Jones-Bateman, of Pentre Mawr

Jones-Bateman of Pentre Mawr 

This family claimed descent from Cynfyn ap Gwerstan, prince of Powys, through a younger branch of the Joneses of Trewythen (Montgomerys), but their more certain genealogy begins with the Rev. William Jones (d. 1725?), who was vicar of Llanferres (Denbighshire) at the beginning of the 18th century. He had three sons, Hugh, John and Rowland, with whom the genealogy below begins, and three daughters. His sister Judith married Humphrey Williams of Pentre Mawr, Abergele (Denbigshire), and inherited that estate from him as they had no surviving children. When she died in 1724 she left it to William's son, the Rev. Hugh Jones (1697-1764), who also succeeded his father as rector of Llanferres the following year. Hugh, who later became vicar of Gresford (Denbighshire) and a canon of St. Asaph Cathedral, appears to have died unmarried, and his property passed to his younger brother, John Jones (1703-78) of Wrexham (Denbighshire). John, and almost certainly Hugh too, had their portraits painted by Richard Wilson in the 1730s, when the artist was just beginning his independent practice as an artist and spent some time at Llanferres, staying with relations at Colomendy Hall. Their patronage seems to have helped the artist become established, and it is possible that the portrait of 'Rowland Jones, an old bard, aged 90' at Chirk Castle was also of a relation.

John Jones died in 1778 and left Pentre Mawr to his nephew, Rowland Jones (1737-1812), who was a saddler in Chester, but also a member of the city corporation who served as Mayor in 1797-98. Rowland's only son, John Jones (1784-1849) was evidently articled to a solicitor in London, and having completed his training, attended Lincoln's Inn for a time, although he does not seem to have been called to the bar. He eventually became the senior partner in the solicitor's practice of Jones, Bateman, Bennett and Field, who occupied chambers in Lincoln's Inn Fields and acted for clients including the Earl of Thanet. He married, in 1824, Marianne Burleton (1799-1874), who has some reputation as an amateur artist, and over the next seven years they had three sons and three daughters, all of whom survived to adulthood. In about 1830, he rebuilt or remodelled the house at Pentre Mawr as a small neo-Tudor mansion, which the family used as a holiday home. In 1834, for reasons which are unclear but which must be connected with his legal practice, John sought royal licence to add the name Bateman to his patronymic, and he and his descendants were subsequently known as Jones-Bateman.

In 1849, the even tenor of the family's life was disrupted by an annus horribilis, which began in January with a fire at the chambers of the legal practice at 2 New Square, Lincoln's Inn Fields.

The Lincoln's Inn Fire of 1849, from the Illustrated London News, 20 January 1849

This blaze, which is said to have been the biggest fire in London for more than a decade, affected several legal gentlemen with chambers in the building and destroyed many documents which had been entrusted to their care, although Jones, Bateman & Bennett had fortunately invested in nine fireproof safes which preserved some of the most important. This upsetting and no doubt disruptive event was followed by - and indeed may have precipitated - the death of John Jones-Bateman himself on 14 July. Little over a month later, on 18 August, John's youngest son, Philip, aged 21, was drowned while swimming off the beach at Abergele. John left Pentre Mawr to his wife for life, but on 11 May 1850 that house also was burned down. One could not blame Marianne Jones-Bateman if she had felt persecuted by Fate after so many cruel blows in such a short time.

Pentre Mawr was rebuilt by 1853, and the remaining five children carried on with their lives. One bright spot in the annus horribilis was the ordaining of the eldest son, Rev. John Burleton Jones-Bateman (1825-1910) and his appointment as rector of Sheldon (Warks), a village near Birmingham, where he was to be the incumbent for sixty-one years, living at first at Olton Hall and later in the rectory.

Sheldon rectory

In 1852, Burleton (he seems to have dropped the John after his marriage) married Mary Jennens, the daughter of a local manufacturer, and they had ten children in the next fourteen years. Apart from one child who died young, the eight sons all had interesting lives, becoming in order of seniority a judge in India, Archdeacon of Zanzibar, a surgeon in Birmingham, a chaplain in the Mediterranean resorts favoured by English tourists, an international standard chess player, the Archdeacon of Southern Mexico... and a serial bigamist. The youngest son's inglorious career is an interesting illustration of how easy it was to lead a double, or even a triple, life in a world of poor communications and manual records, despite being possessed of the distinctive name 'Hastings Jones-Bateman', which he never troubled to change - although he did sometimes add Thomas as a first or second forename. In 1904 he twice found himself in court on charges of bigamy, although he got off on a technicality on both occasions. I have found no evidence that his first wife ever divorced him after the bigamy trial, although it seems likely that she would have done; if not, his fourth, fifth and sixth marriages would also have been bigamous!

Pentre Mawr descended to Rev. Burleton Jones-Bateman on his mother's death in 1874, and continued to be used chiefly as a holiday residence by the family. Burleton's eldest son, Herbert Burleton Jones-Bateman (1853-1918) retired from his career as a judge in India in 1904, and took his young family to live in north Wales, buying Eyarth Hall (Denbighs), a few miles inland from Pentre Mawr.

Eyarth Hall, Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd

When he inherited Pentre Mawr from his father in 1910 he did not move there, but let it as a school, and it was never occupied by the family again, although his sister Lilian built a bungalow on the estate in 1911 where she lived until her death in 1925. 

In 1913, Herbert and his son, Reginald (1894-1965) were out shooting on the Eyarth estate when they were told that an escaped convict - a man with a long list of convictions who was something of a popular hero because of his record of prison escapes - had been seen nearby. Herbert went to inform the police, but Reginald found the man and challenged him to stop and surrender.  When the man refused to do so and went to attack Reginald with a chisel, Reginald shot him in the leg, but unfortunately caught an artery so the man bled to death before help arrived. At the subsequent inquest the jury insisted on bringing in a verdict of manslaughter against Reginald, and he was accordingly sent for trial, although the Crown offered no evidence against him and the judge directed the jury to acquit him.

Herbert's three surviving sons were precisely of the generation to fight in the First World War, and all three were commissioned as junior officers, each eventually achieving the rank of Captain. The eldest son, Llewellyn, was killed in 1916, and Reginald was wounded in the same year. The youngest son, Frank, was killed a week before the Armistice, by which time Herbert himself was already dead, killed in what was deemed at the time to be a freak accident while salmon fishing in the River Dee. Herbert's widow appears to have lived on at Eyarth Hall with her two daughters, who never married, until her death in 1933, but Reginald joined the Ceylon Civil Service, and on his return to England in 1934 bought a house at Budleigh Salterton (Devon), where he lived with his wife and daughter. His younger sister, Margaret Jones-Bateman, went to Oxford to read law and in 1934 qualified as  a solicitor; she was among the first two hundred women to do so and later practised in St. Asaph.

Pentre Mawr, Abergele, Denbighshire

A manor house on this site is first mentioned in 1697, and was probably altered or rebuilt by the Jones family in the 18th century. It was further remodelled in the Tudor Gothic style in about 1830 for John Jones-Bateman. 

Pentre Mawr: the house in the early 20th century, from an old postcard.

On 11 May 1850, however, the house was seriously damaged by fire, and although it was possible for volunteers led by the local vicar to rescue many of the contents, contemporary press reports state that 'despite the efforts of the local fire brigade, it was found impossible to save the house, which in a few hours was completely gutted'. Reconstruction was quickly put in hand, and was apparently completed by 1853, possibly to the designs of John Welch of St. Asaph, who had worked on many of the local mansions. The external walls may have survived the fire, as the symmetrical entrance front, with an oriel in a battlemented two-storey porch, was said to be unchanged from its pre-fire appearance. 

The main front faces west and has five bays, with a battlemented two-storey porch with high angle buttresses and a canted oriel window lighting the chamber over the porch, which has Tudor arched lights and a crenellated parapet. To either side of the porch were two timber cross windows on each floor with a gable over and a high lancet window inset in the gable. Over the front door is an achievement of arms, with the inscription 'Spes Non Fracta'. The south end wall has a two-storey square bay of ashlar stone with three-light mullioned and transomed windows. At the rear is a parallel service range, built in unrendered stone rubble, which has an oriel window on the south end. 

Pentre Mawr: the side and rear elevations of the house. Image: RCAHMW AA54/2362.

The inside must have been very largely renewed after the fire, but some of the plasterwork is very much in the style of the 1830s, and so it may have been replaced to the original designs. By the 20th century the house had a good early 18th century Imperial staircase with ornamented tread ends, twisted balusters and Corinthian newels, which must have been imported although it is unclear whether this was installed after the fire or later.  In the 1870s the house was said to house 'many interesting... works of art, including several family portraits... by [Richard] Wilson, and one by Beechey of Barbara Lisle Bowles, the great-great-great niece of Sir Isaac Newton'. The house became a private school in 1913 and seems to have remained in this use until the Second World War, after which it was sold to the local council for use as offices. More recently, it was insensitively converted into twenty-four small flats, with much loss of interior detail, while some of the windows have also been replaced and the front block has been inappropriately rendered, further detracting from its appearance.

Descent: Humphrey Williams (fl. 1685); to widow, Judith Williams (d. 1724); to nephew, Rev. Hugh Jones (1697-1764); to brother, John Jones (1703-78); to nephew, Rowland Jones (1737-1812); to son, John Jones (later Jones-Bateman) (1784-1849); to widow, Marianne Jones-Bateman (1799-1874); to son, Rev. (John) Burleton Jones-Bateman (1825-1910); to son, Herbert Burleton Jones-Bateman (1853-1918); to son, Reginald Jones-Bateman (1894-1965). The house was leased as a school from 1913 and sold 1948 to Abergele Urban District Council.

Jones and Jones-Bateman family of Pentre Mawr

Rev. Hugh Jones (1697-1764) 

Jones, Rev. Hugh (1697-1764). Son of Rev. William Jones, rector of Llanferres (Denbighs) and his wife Martha, born 8 February and baptised at Llanferres, 10 February 1696/7. Educated at Jesus College, Oxford (matriculated 1715/6; BA 1719). Vicar of Hope, 1724-25; Rector of Llanferres, 1725-43 and vicar of Gresford (Denbighs.), 1743-64; prebendary of St Asaph's Cathedral. His portrait, attributed to Richard Wilson, was painted in 1734. He was probably unmarried, and had no issue.

He inherited Pentre Mawr in 1724 from his aunt Judith, widow of Humphrey Williams of Pentre Mawr. At his death it passed to his brother John.

He died 12 March and was buried at Gresford, 15 March 1764; administration of his goods was granted 1 May 1764.

John Jones (1703-78)

Jones, John (1703-78). Son of Rev. William Jones, rector of Llanferres (Denbighs) and his wife Martha, born 11 August and baptised at Llanferres, 14 August 1703.  He was a signficiant early patron of the artist Richard Wilson, and his portrait by Wilson, of 1738, is the earliest surviving securely dated portrait by the artist. He was probably unmarried and had no issue.

He lived at Wrexham (Denbighs) but inherited Pentre Mawr from his elder brother in 1764. At his death it passed to his nephew, Rowland Jones (1737-1812).

He may be the 'Mr. John Jones, gent., excise officer, Wrexh[a]m'  buried at Gresford, 14 January 1778, although no other record of his being connected with the excise has been found; his will was proved 28 March 1778.

Jones, Rowland (b. 1704). Son of Rev. William Jones, rector of Llanferres (Denbighs) and his wife Martha, born 16 November and baptised at Llanferres, 21 November 1704. He apparently married, 21 October 1731 at Fitz (Shropshire), Mary Birch, and had issue, probably among others:

(1) Hugh Jones (b. 1735), baptised at St Mary, Shrewsbury, 11 September 1735;

(2) Rowland Jones (1737-1812) (q.v.);

(3) Martha Jones (fl. 1812); married [forename unknown] Smith.

He lived in Shrewsbury.

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

Jones, Rowland (1737-1812). Son of Rowland Jones (b. 1704) of Shrewsbury and his wife Mary Birch, baptised at St Mary, Shrewsbury (Shrops.), 18 March 1736/7. Saddler in Chester. Alderman of Chester (Sheriff, 1781-82 and Mayor, 1797-98). He married, 11 August 1773 at Shotwick (Ches.), Jane (c.1751-1843?), daughter of Richard? Lloyd of Great Saughall, Shotwick, and had issue:

(1) Margaret Jones (b. & d. 1774), baptised at St. Peter, Chester, 19 September 1774; died in infancy and was buried, 11 October 1774;

(2) Patricia (k/a Patty) Jones (1775-1845), baptised at St Peter, Chester, 17 November 1775; married, 1 January 1802 at St Michael, Chester, Dr. Samuel Nevett Bennett (1779-1844) of Chester, surgeon, and had issue one son and four daughters; died 2 December 1845 and was buried at Shotwick (Ches.);

(3) Elizabeth Jones (1777-1836), baptised at St Peter, Chester, 6 May 1777; married, 23 January 1818 at St John, Chester, Hugh Colley (c.1780-1865) of Chester, woollen draper; died without issue and was buried at St Mary, Chester, 10 April 1836;

(4) Jane Jones (b. 1781), baptised at St Peter, Chester, 15 May 1781; living in Queen Street, Chester in 1851 and probably died unmarried;

(5) Mary Jones (b. 1783), baptised at St Peter, Chester, 26 February 1783; living with her sister in Queen St., Chester in 1851 and probably died unmarried;

(6) John Jones (later Jones-Bateman) (1784-1849) (q.v.).

He inherited Pentre Mawr from his uncle, John Jones, in 1778.

He died 31 October 1812; his will was proved in the PCC, 12 December 1812. His widow may be the woman of that name buried at St John, Chester, 27 March 1843.

Jones (later Jones-Bateman), John (1784-1849). Only son of Rowland Jones (1737-1812) and his wife Jane, daughter of Richard? Lloyd of Great Saughall, Shotwick (Ches.), born 3 September 1784 and baptised at Chester, 29 June 1785. Educated at a solicitor's office in the Middle Temple and at Lincoln's Inn (admitted 1814). Solicitor; senior partner in Jones, Bateman, Bennett & Field, of Lincolns Inn Fields, London; auditor and land agent to the Earl of Thanet. He took the additional surname of Bateman in 1834. He married, 24 August 1824 at Donhead St Mary (Wilts), Marianne (1799-1874), daughter of William Burleton of Wyken Hall (Leics) and Donhead Lodge, and had issue:

(1) Rev. John Burleton Jones-Bateman (1825-1910) (q.v.);

(2) Rowland Lloyd Jones-Bateman (1826-96), born 10 November 1826 and baptised at St Pancras, 15 August 1827; educated at Winchester College, Trinity and New Colleges, Oxford (matriculated 1845; BA 1848; MA 1852; cricket blue, 1846, 1848), Lincolns Inn (admitted 1848) and Inner Temple (called 1852); barrister-at-law, who worked as an equity draughtsman and conveyancer; Fellow of New College, Oxford, 1846-59; married, 12 August 1858 at Holy Trinity, St Marylebone (Middx), his first cousin, Jessy Jane Marianne (1839-1914), eldest daughter of Col. William Burleton of Portland Place, London, and had issue one son and one daughter; lived latterly at Otterbourne Grange, Winchester (Hants) and died there, 16 December 1896; administration of goods granted 3 March 1897 (effects £30,001) and 8 November 1912;

(3) twin, Philip Wythen Jones-Bateman (1828-49), baptised at St Pancras, 1 August 1828; educated at Eton; drowned while bathing at Abergele, 18 August 1849; administration of goods granted to his brother Rowland, 20 January 1876 (effects under £2,000);

(4) twin, Marianne Emily Jones-Bateman (1828-73), baptised at St Pancras, 1 August 1828; married, 9 August 1850 at Holy Trinity, St. Marylebone (Middx), Charles Hill (b. 1822), son of James Haydock Hill of Berry Hill, Mansfield (Notts), and had issue three sons; died 8 May 1873;

(5) Ellen Jones-Bateman (1829-1902), born 1829; baptised at St Pancras, 16 July 1830; married, 20 February 1851 at Holy Trinity, St. Marylebone, Robert Bamford-Hesketh (1826-94) of Gwyrch Castle (Denbighs.) and had issue one daughter (Winifred Bamford-Hesketh (d. 1924), who succeeded her father at Gwyrch Castle; married, 18 September 1878, Lt-Gen Douglas Mackinnon Baillie Hamilton Cochrane (1852-1935), 12th Earl of Dundonald, and had issue); lived latterly at Torquay (Devon), but died suddenly while on a visit to Gwyrch, 27 August, and was buried at Llandulas (Denbighs.), 30 August 1902; will proved 10 October 1902 (estate £174,808);

(6) Susan Bowles Jones-Bateman (1831-78), baptised at St Pancras, 25 July 1831; married, 27 January 1863 at St Marylebone (Middx), George Deeks Skingley (1812-88), son of Henry Skingley, esq.; died at Folkestone (Kent), 14 October 1878; will proved 19 December 1878 (effects under £18,000).

He inherited Pentre Mawr from his father in 1812 and remodelled it about 1830. His widow rebuilt the house in c.1853 after a fire in 1850. By an unhappy coincidence, his chambers in Lincolns Inn were destroyed by fire in January 1849.

He died in London, 14 July 1849 and was buried at Abergele, where he is commemorated by a monument; his will was proved in the PCC, 12 November 1849. His widow died 25 November and was buried at Abergele, 1 December 1874; her will was proved 5 April 1875 (effects under £18,000).

Jones-Bateman, Rev. (John) Burleton (1825-1910). Eldest son of John Jones (later Jones-Bateman) (1784-1849) and his wife Marianne, daughter of William Burleton of Wyken Hall (Leics), born 21 June 1825 and baptised at St Pancras, 15 August 1827. Educated at Winchester and Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (matriculated 1844; BA 1848; MA 1851; cricket blue, 1848). Ordained deacon and priest, 1849. Rector of Sheldon (Warks), 1849-1910; Rural Dean of Coleshill, 1859-1910; a surrogate in the diocese of Birmingham, 1905-10. He married, 8 June 1852, Mary (1833-1911), daughter of Joseph Jennens of Small Heath, Birmingham, and had issue:

(1) Herbert Burleton Jones-Bateman (1853-1918) (q.v.);

(2) Marion Jones-Bateman (1854-1933), baptised at Sheldon, 5 November 1854; died unmarried, 9 March 1933; will proved 11 May 1923 (estate £17,771);

(3) Newton Jones-Bateman (1855-56), baptised at Sheldon, 2 December 1855; died in infancy and was buried at Sheldon, 29 March 1856;

(4) Ven. Percy Lisle Jones-Bateman (1857-97), baptised at Sheldon, 4 October 1857; educated at Uppingham School and Clare College, Cambridge (matriculated 1876; BA 1880; MA 1891); ordained deacon, 1880 and priest, 1884; missionary in Zanzibar, 1880-86; Principal and Chaplain, Kiungani Theological College, Zanzibar, 1886-97; Archdeacon of Zanzibar, 1889-97; Chancellor of Christ Church Cathedral, Zanzibar, 1896-97; died at Zanzibar, 25 October 1897; will proved 12 January 1898 (estate £647);

(5) Llewellyn Jones-Bateman (1859-89), born 8 February and baptised at Sheldon, 3 April 1859; educated at Haileybury and Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge (matriculated 1878; BA 1882; MB and BCh, 1884); Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, 1884; practised in Birmingham, where he was resident Medical Officer at the Jaffray and other Birmingham Hospitals; author of medical texts; died at Bournemouth, 20 November 1889 and was buried at Sheldon, 25 November 1889;

(6) Rev. Cecil Jones-Bateman (1860-1945), born 8 October and baptised at Sheldon, 2 December 1860; educated at Haileybury and Clare College, Cambridge (matriculated 1880; BA 1884; MA 1895); ordained deacon, 1884, and priest, 1885; held a series of curacies in England, 1884-1909; chaplain at Madeira, 1909-13, Florence, 1920-21, Capri, 1921-22 and Christ Church, Nice (France), 1922-25; vicar of Toddington with Stanley Pontlarge (Glos), 1926-36, when he retired to Cheltenham (Glos); a freemason from 1913; married 1st, 29 November 1887 at St James, Paddington (Middx), Marianne Smith (1857-1914), third daughter of Robert Ritson of Glenbank, Maryport (Cumbld) and had issue one daughter; married 2nd, 7 September 1915, Sibyl Rita Byrom (1886-1984), daughter of Edward Rowland Corrie of Coombe Wood, Branksome Park, Bournemouth (Hants), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died in Bournemouth, 14 October 1945; will proved 4 December 1945 (estate £18,645);

(7) Ernest Jones-Bateman (1862-1929), baptised at Sheldon, 4 May 1862; as a young man, he worked in a bank; later moved to London where he was a noted chess player and took part in several championship congresses; moved to Exmouth on his marriage, 12 January 1905 at Littleham-cum-Exmouth (Devon), to Georgiana Herbert (1861-1938), daughter of James Capell of Weston-super-Mare (Som.) and widow of Rev. Charles Edward Strong (1814-99), vicar of Withycombe Raleigh (Devon), but had no issue; died 18 June 1929; will proved 29 August 1929 (estate £15,022);

(8) Lilian Jones-Bateman (1863-1925), baptised at Sheldon, 2 August 1863; built a bungalow called Cae Glas on the upper portion of the Pentre Mawr estate in 1911, to the designs of D. MacDougall of Abergele; died 19 May 1925; will proved 15 August 1925 (estate £12,045);

(9) Rev. Wilfred Jones-Bateman (1865-1937), born 12 February and baptised at Sheldon, 2 April 1865; educated at Haileybury and Selwyn College, Cambridge (matriculated 1883; BA 1886; MA 1890); ordained deacon, 1888 and priest, 1890; held curacies in England, 1888-93; rector of St. George, Grenada, 1893-1903; chaplain to the bishop, 1894-1904 and canon of the Windward Islands, 1905; rector of Christ Church, Mexico City, 1903-12; archdeacon of Southern Mexico, 1905-12; moved to Godinch, Ontario (Canada) about 1912; served in First World War as chaplain to the Canadian Forces, 1914-19; married, 11 September 1895 at Sewickly, Allegheny, Pennsylvania (USA), Annie Eleanor Bennett (1870-1948), of Pittsburgh (USA) and had issue two sons; died following an operation for a burst appendix at Huron, Ontario, 28 July, and was buried at Maitland Cemetery, Huron, 30 July 1937;

(10) Hastings Jones-Bateman (1866-1934), born 17 March and baptised at Sheldon, 6 May 1866; for reasons unknown he was disowned by his family who sent him to Canada in disgrace with a final severance payment of £13,000 in 1885, where he bought a farm and married 1st, 4 January 1886 at Chatham, Ontario (Canada), Harriet (1865-1929), daughter of John Johnson, and had issue one son; in 1890 he left his wife and child to make a visit to England, but on his return he went straight to California to start a new life as a journalist; there he married 2nd, bigamously, 29 March 1901 at Santa Ana, California (sep. 1902; annulled 1904), Florence M. (b. c.1882), daughter of Edwin Bird; having left his second wife he married 3rd (again bigamously), 15 February 1904 at the RC Church in Pasadena, California (annulled 1904), Catherine Quin, whose sister discovered his previous marriage to Miss Bird; he was twice tried for bigamy but escaped gaol on technical grounds, even though he effectively admitted the offence; the press reported "no mention is made in the complaint... of the wives that Bateman had fitted into his life between 1886 and 1901, but he is a large-hearted man and they are many"; by 1910 he was a clerk in the Post Office, but he later came into or made money and by 1920 gave his occupation as 'capitalist'; he married* 4th, 4 May 1915 at San Diego, California (sep. by 1920; div. 1923 on grounds of his adultery), Wanda Caroline Becker (1890-1972) (who m2, 30 January 1928, Abelson Epstein MD (1889-1977), physician and surgeon); he married 5th, 2 March 1923 at Modesto, California, Ida Elizabeth Hallonquist, with whom he had been living for some years, but this ended in an acrimonious divorce on grounds of his cruelty in 1924; he finally married 6th, c.1926, Betty [surname unknown] (b. 1893); he died at Santa Clara, California, 13 October 1934.

He inherited Pentre Mawr from his mother. He lived at Olton Hall, Solihull (Warks) in the earlier years of his ministry at Sheldon, but later moved to Sheldon rectory.

He died at Sheldon, 29 December 1910; his will was proved 23 February 1911 (estate £94,592). His widow died 24 June 1911; her will was proved 29 July 1911 (estate £6,728).

* His first wife was then still living, but it is possible she divorced him after the events of 1904.

Jones-Bateman, Herbert Burleton (1853-1918). Eldest son of John Burleton Jones-Bateman (1825-1910) and his wife Mary Jennens,  born at Olton Hall, 4 May and baptised at Sheldon (Warks), 10 July 1853. Educated at Marlborough College, 1866-71 and Lincolns Inn (admitted 1875). An officer in the Indian Civil Service, 1874-1904, where he served as Assistant Commissioner and joint magistrate in the North-West Provinces and Oudh, 1876-92 and then as district and sessions court judge, 1892-1904. He married, 11 October 1887 at Henllan (Denbighs.), Evelyn (1863-1933), younger daughter of Rev. Hugh Edward Heaton of Plas Heaton, Henllan, and had issue:

(1) Llewellyn Jones-Bateman (1889-1916), born at Azamgarh (India), 28 January and baptised there, 17 March 1889; educated at Malvern College, Wellington College and Royal Military College, Sandhurst; an officer in the Royal Field Artillery (2nd Lt, 1909; Lt. 1912; T/Capt., 1915); died unmarried, of wounds received in action, 19 March 1916 and was buried at Lapugnoy Military Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais (France); will proved 12 May 1916 (estate £185);

(2) Mary Catherine Jones-Bateman (1890-91), born 31 May and was baptised at Cawnpore, Bengal (India), 13 July 1890; died in infancy, 15 December and was buried at Gorakhpur, Bengal (India), 17 December 1891;

(3) Gilbert Jones-Bateman (1892-93), born 20 March and baptised at Gorakhpur, 17 April 1892; died in infancy, 18 November and was buried at Saharanpur, Bengal (India), 19 November 1893;

(4) Reginald Jones-Bateman (1894-1965) (q.v.);

(5) Francis Jones-Bateman (1895-1918), born 29 November and baptised at Saharanpur, 31 December 1895; educated at Rugby, 1909-14; he served in the First World War in the 3rd battalion, Welsh Fusiliers (2nd Lt., 1914; Lt., 1915; Capt. 1915), and was wounded in 1915 and killed in action near Englefontein (France), 4 November 1918; buried in the Cross Roads Cemetery, Fontaine-au-Bois (France);

(6) Beatrice Jones-Bateman (b. 1899), born 8 March and baptised at Lucknow, 20 April 1899; served as a VAD nurse, 1919; lived at Plas Heaton (Denbighs.) in 1952; died unmarried after 1953;

(7) Margaret Jones-Bateman (1900-70), born 13 August 1900; educated at Society of Home Students, Oxford (BCL 1928) and Grays Inn, and qualified as a solicitor, 1934; lived at St. Asaph (Flints); died unmarried, 5 June 1970; will proved 4 September 1970 (estate £19,095).

He inherited the Pentre Mawr estate from his father in 1910, but let it as a private school from 1913 and lived at Eyarth Hall, Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd (Denbighs.).

He died as a result of an accident while salmon fishing in the River Dee, 19 July 1918, and was buried at Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd; his will was proved 30 September 1918 (estate £35,166). His widow was buried at Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd, 22 September 1933; her will was proved 4 December 1933 (estate £32,738).

Jones-Bateman, Reginald (1894-1965). Third, but eldest surviving son of Herbert Burleton Jones-Bateman (1853-1918) and his wife Evelyn, younger daughter of Rev. Hugh Edward Heaton of Plas Heaton (Denbighs.), born 23 April and baptised at Mussoorie, Bengal (India), 1 June 1894. Educated at Rugby, 1907-13 and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1913; scholar). In 1913 he attempted to detain an escaped convict called John Jones, an habitual criminal who seems to have been something of a popular hero, and shot him in the leg; the man died from shock and loss of blood and the inquest jury sent Jones-Bateman for trial for manslaughter, but the Crown declined to offer evidence against him and he was acquitted at the direction of the judge. He served in the First World War with the Welsh Regiment (2nd Lt., 1915; Lt. 1917; T/Capt., 1918). He was wounded in 1916, and was part of the North Russia Expeditionary Force, June-November 1918. He was an officer in the Ceylon Civil Service, 1919-34, where he served under the Superintendent of Census and Director of Statistics, 1921-24, as Assistant Government Agent, Mullaittivu, 1924-26 and Kandy, 1926-27, and as Assistant Settlement Officer, 1927-34.  He was the author of  A refuge from civilisation (1931) about life in Ceylon, An illustrated guide to the buried cities of Ceylon (1932), and also of the controversial Some new principles of auction bridge (1929; 2nd edn, 1939). He married, 29 January 1925, Dorothy (1898-1981), daughter of John Owen Cook of Diss (Norfk), and had issue:

(1) Patricia Jones-Bateman (1927-2003), born 9 July 1927; educated at Howell's School, Denbigh; died unmarried, 27 May 2003; will proved 16 July 2003.

He inherited Pentre Mawr from his father in 1918, but continued to let it as a school until he sold it to Abergele Urban District Council in 1948. After returning from Ceylon, he lived at 'Inner Ting Tong', Budleigh Salterton (Devon).

He died 16 September 1965; will proved 4 January 1966 (estate £39,266). His widow died 23 November 1981; her will was proved 22 January 1982 (estate £138,442).

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1952, p. 129; E. Hubbard, The buildings of Wales: Clwyd, 1986, p. 99; M. Baker, 'The development of the Welsh country house', Cardiff Univ. PhD thesis, 2015, pp. 262-63; https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/files/bangor/60_2002_2002.xml.

Location of archives

Jones and Jones-Bateman of Pentre Mawr: deeds and estate records, 1531-1866 [National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth: Pentre Mawr collection]

Coat of arms

Quarterly : 1st and 4th, or, a lion rampant gules, armed and langued of the first ; 2nd and 3rd, argent, a chevron sable, between three boars' heads of the second.

Can you help?

• Can anyone supply a view of Pentre Mawr before it was rebuilt in 1830, or between 1830 and the fire of 1850?
• Does anyone know more about Rowland Jones (b. 1704) of Shrewsbury, who remains a shadowy figure?
• I should be most grateful if anyone can provide photographs or portraits of people whose names appear in bold above, and who are not already illustrated. 
• Any additions or corrections to the text above will be gratefully received and incorporated.

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 11 February 2021 and was updated 12 February 2021 and 4 July 2023.