(622) Bigge (later Selby-Bigge) of Benton Hall and Linden Hall

Bigge, later Selby-Bigge,
of Benton Hall and Linden Hall 

This family was probably distantly related to the Bigg (later Bigg-Wither) family of Haines Hill etc. who were the subject of a previous post, but the parentage of William Bigge (1638?-90), with whom the genealogy below begins, remains uncertain. William became a lawyer in London, but took as his wife a lady from County Durham whose father divided his estates in that county and Northumberland between his two daughters, and in about 1680 William moved north to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, presumably the better to manage the property he had inherited in her right. The couple had a large family, several of whom died young, and all the survivors were minors when William died in 1690. Three of his sons survived him, although one of them died just a few weeks later. John Bigge (1670-1728), the eldest son, inherited farms in Kent and Hampshire, and purchased house property in London, and it was the younger surviving son, Thomas Bigge (1677-1758), who inherited the lands in Northumberland. He is said to have gone to India as a sailor in the 1690s and was not heard of for so long that the family presumed his death and his sisters received the income from his estate. When he at length turned up, safe and sound, around 1705, there was some difficulty in recovering his property, but a settlement was eventually arrived at and confirmed by a private Act of Parliament in 1710. Thomas married in 1706 and had three sons and three daughters. The eldest son, William Bigge (1707-58), who was a lawyer and one of the 'Six Clerks in Chancery', died a few months before his father but through his marriage brought additional property into the family at Stannington and Ovingham (Northbld) which was said to be worth £25,000. Edward Bigge (1708-64), the second son, was also a lawyer in London, but purchased an estate at Brenkley in Dinnington. As he was unmarried, he left this to the second son of his brother William. Thomas's youngest son and namesake, Thomas Bigge (1716-91) became a mercer in London in partnership with his brother-in-law, Sir Robert Carr, but returned to the north-east around 1760 and built Benton Hall on part of the family's estate.

Although William Bigge (1707-58) was a London lawyer, he retained a base in Northumberland and was active in developing coal mining on his father's estates. In 1750-51, he was High Sheriff of Northumberland, clearly marking the family's acceptance as part of the county elite. When he died, he left three sons, the eldest of whom, Thomas Charles Bigge (1739-94), was educated as a gentleman and sent on the Grand Tour.

Carville Hall, Wallsend

The second son, William Edward Bigge (1742-74) was educated as a lawyer and found a position as a junior clerk in the Six Clerks Office. He succeeded his uncle Edward in the Brenkley estate in 1764, but like him died unmarried, whereupon Brenkley passed to his younger brother, John Bigge (1743-97), who had been apprenticed to his uncle Thomas, the London mercer. John was evidently sufficiently prosperous to also buy Carville Hall at Wallsend from his Carr relatives, although he ended his days back in London.

Thomas Charles Bigge (1739-94), who was sent to Oxford and made a Grand Tour in the 1760s, was High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1771-72 and stood unsuccessfully for Parliament in the Whig interest in 1774. Although the family was becoming richer through the exploitation of the coal on their estates, he still lived at the property called Benton House, which was essentially an extended farmhouse. T.C. Bigge had three surviving sons, of whom the eldest, Charles William Bigge (1773-1849) inherited his property, while John Thomas Bigge (1780-1843) was a lawyer and civil servant specialising in colonial affairs, and Thomas Hanway Bigge (1784-1824) became a banker in Newcastle, who bought Benton Hall from his cousin Thomas Bigge in about 1805. Charles William Bigge was arguably the most successful member of the family. After Oxford and the Grand Tour he became a partner in a Newcastle bank. He was active in local Whig politics and public affairs, and served as Lt-Col of the county militia from 1799 and as Chairman of Quarter Sessions, 1829-40, a position which clearly indicates his standing in the county gentry and their appreciation of his ability. He was a close friend of Earl Grey, the Whig leader, and of Sir Charles Monck of Belsay Hall, who in 1811-12 designed him a new house, Linden Hall at Longhorsley, which replaced Benton House as his chief seat. For the last ten years of his life he was president of the Newcastle 'Lit & Phil' Society. He might easily have been elected to Parliament, but resisted calls to stand on the grounds of cost, and in 1838 also turned down the offer of a baronetcy. He and his wife had an exceptionally large family of thirteen children, but his eldest son, Charles John Bigge (1803-46), a Newcastle banker, predeceased him, so at his death his property passed to his grandson, Charles Selby Bigge (1834-89).

When Charles Selby Bigge came of age in 1855, he inherited shares in the Northumberland & Durham District Bank and in 1856 he was invited to join his uncle, Matthew Robert Bigge, on the board of directors. This he did, but it proved to be a catastrophic decision, for in 1857 the bank was forced to suspend payment and he became liable for a share of the bank's debts. This required him to sell Linden Hall and much if not all of his land in Northumberland in 1861. He became a director of the Alliance Co-operative Coal Co. of Ruabon (Denbighs), and may have lived in Shropshire for a time.

Ightham Mote (Kent). Image: Katie Chan. Some rights reserved 

Happily, his financial difficulties were eased in 1867 when his maternal grandfather died and left him the 583-acre Ightham Mote estate in Kent, where he lived for the rest of his life. (An account of Ightham Mote is, however, reserved for a future post on the Selby family). After his death, Ightham Mote was sold, and his three sons, who all adopted the surname Selby-Bigge, pursued professional careers: Charles Prideaux Ogle Selby-Bigge (1857-1914) as a land agent; Sir (Lewis) Amherst Selby-Bigge (1860-1951), kt. and 1st bt., as a senior civil servant; and Lt-Col. Denys Leighton Selby-Bigge (1864-1945) as an electrical engineer. Sir Lewis achieved modest prosperity through his official appointments, and was able to retire to a farmhouse near Lewes (Sussex) in 1919, but none of the family prospered sufficiently to return to country house living. Sir Amherst's only surviving son, Sir John Amherst Selby-Bigge (1892-1973), 2nd bt. is best remembered today as an avant-garde artist (exhibiting surrealist works under the name John Bigge), but was variously a chicken farmer, estate agent, and an heroic Red Cross executive in post-Second World War Yugoslavia.

As noted above, Thomas Bigge (1716-91) was a younger son who joined his uncle's mercery business. In 1763 he married Elizabeth Rundell, who was the elder sister of the goldsmith and jeweller, Philip Rundell, and at much the same time he retired to the family lands at Longbenton (Northbld.), where he built a new house later known as Benton Hall. The couple's only surviving child was Thomas Bigge (1766-1849), who was educated at Oxford. In the 1790s he was active in the Newcastle area as a moderately radical Whig, but in about 1805 he sold Benton Hall to his kinsman, Thomas Hanway Bigge (1784-1824) and moved south to London, where he became a partner in Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, the large and important goldsmithing and jewellery business founded by his uncle, Philip Rundell. From 1830 he owned a quarter of the business and was one of the managing directors, which for many years had prestigious commissions (including a new crown for the coronation of Queen Victoria) and delivered large profits. However, in 1843 the firm ceased trading, and in 1845 the partnership was dissolved. Thomas and his wife Maria, who was also a niece of Philip Rundell, had a quite exceptional family of fifteen children, all but three of whom survived to adulthood. They had varied and interesting careers, but only the youngest, Fanny Cecilia Bigge (1815-1908), who married Matthew Bell (1817-1903) of Bourne Park (Kent), returned to country house living.

Benton Hall, Longbenton, Northumberland

Longbenton, north-east of the city of Newcastle, was developed in the 18th and early 19th century for coal-mining, but also became home to a number of large houses which were mostly built by the men who derived their wealth from the coal works. Benton Hall (otherwise known as Little Benton Hall or the White House) was a case in point. The initial building is said to have been erected about 1760 for Thomas Bigge (1716-91), who was in partnership with his brother-in-law, Sir Robert Carr, as a mercer in London, but also owned a share in the Bigge family's coal interests around Longbenton. He married in 1763 and the house may have been erected in anticipation of his marriage or shortly after it. 

Benton Hall: entrance front

As first built, the house probably consisted of the five bay, three-storey centre, although the lower two storeys of the wings, with their full-height canted bow windows on the garden front, may also have been part of the original scheme. The single-storey outer wings and the rather ill-proportioned third storeys added to the wings were probably put on in the 19th century and although it is tempting to associated these with the exceptionally large family of Thomas Bigge (1766-1849), who lived at Benton Hall until about 1805, they are probably rather later. The entrance front had an off-centre porch leading into a staircase hall lit by a Venetian window at mezzanine level, set below a Diocletian window in the top storey. It seems likely that this awkward situation arose because the entrance was originally on the other side of the house and was moved to this side in the 19th century.

Benton Hall, Longbenton: garden front

In 1902 the substantial accommodation offered by the house included a drawing room, dining room, library, billiard room and study, 25 bedrooms, as well as the service accommodation, and in 1871 there was an indoor staff of fifteen. The house was surrounded by lawns and gardens, which were of sufficient note to be opened to the public on a commercial basis as the Northumberland & Durham Botanical Gardens in a short-lived enterprise in 1854-58. The gardens were kept up to an extent even after the house ceased to be occupied at the beginning of the 20th century, for in 1913 it was noted that '[though the] forsaken mansion gives an air of sadness to the immediate surroundings... the adjacent vinery, conservatories, and gardens are under proper guardianship and are not allowed to become waste. And above all the trees remain as they were'. However, the end was in sight: in 1927 part of the grounds was turned over to public tennis courts, and in 1931 the whole estate was sold to the North Heaton Development Company for suburban development. The house was demolished in about 1934 and the resulting rubble was used to infill an old quarry.

Descent: built c.1760 for Thomas Bigge (1716-91); to son, Thomas Bigge (1766-1849); sold c.1805 to Thomas Hanway Bigge (1784-1824); sold after his death to William Losh (1770-1861); sold c.1854 to Northumberland & Durham Botanical Gardens; sold 1858 to John Anthony Woods (1816-1901); to son, James Edward Woods, who sold 1902 to William Henry Fitzpatrick Watson Armstrong (1863-1941), 1st Baron Armstrong of Bamburgh and Cragside, who sold 1931 to North Heaton Development Company.

Linden Hall, Longhorsley, Northumberland

Linden Hall, Longhorsley.  Image: Xooo.co.uk

A very plain and beautifully ashlared five bay two storey house designed in 1812 by Sir Charles Monck of Belsay for his friend, Charles William Bigge. Linden Hall is the only house which Sir Charles designed apart from his own, much more heavily Greek, mansion at Belsay. John Dobson of Newcastle probably provided some assistance, but the drawings seem to be entirely in Monck's hand. The central bay is much wider than the rest and has an extremely heavy and severe four-column porch with unfluted Greek Doric columns.  Inside there is an elegant rectangular top-lit central hall in which the staircase rises along three walls, under an oval roof lantern.  The house is now an hotel, and the stable block and outbuildings were converted to domestic accommodation in the 1980s by Ainsworth Spark.

Linden Hall, Longhorsley: the staircase hall today

Descent:  built for Charles William Bigge (1773-1849); to grandson, Charles Selby Bigge (1834-89), who sold 1861 to Henry Metcalf Ames (1820-74); to son, Louis Eric Ames (1855-1933), who sold 1903 to Lawrence William Adamson (1829-1911); to son, Lt-Col. John George Adamson (1855-1932); to daughters Muriel Adamson (1884-1963) and Eve Adamson (b. 1890), who sold 1963 to John M. Liddell; who sold 1978 for conversion to hotel.

Bigge (later Selby-Bigge) family of Linden Hall and Ightham Mote

Bigge, William (1638?-90). Parentage uncertain; Hodgson suggested that he might be the son of William Bigge of Shalford (Essex) and his wife Melior Roper, who was born about 1620, but Burke's Landed Gentry preferred the suggestion that he derived from the Bigg family of Kent (and thus shared a common origin with the Bigg family of Haines Hill). In view of the fact that he owned property at Hawkhurst, the latter suggestion seems more likely, and he is perhaps to be identified with the William, son of William and Sara Bigge baptised at Benenden (Kent), on 19 August 1638. Attorney with chambers in Furnival's Inn, Holborn (Middx) until c.1680 and later at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He married, 30 August 1666 at Seaham (Co. Durham), Isabel (1648-1707), daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Dent, and had issue:

(1) William Bigge (b. 1667), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 19 September 1667; died young, perhaps in infancy and certainly before 1686;

(2) Isabella Bigge (b. & d. 1669), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 20 April 1669; died in infancy at Furnival's Inn, 6 November 1669;

(3) John Bigge (1670-1728), baptised at Holborn, 16 February 1670; placed in the custody of his father's 'cozen', John Bowles of Shaftesbury (Dorset) and settled at East Knoyle (Wilts); educated at Middle Temple (admitted 1691); inherited a farm at Hawkhurst (Kent) and a copyhold farm at Rotherwick (Hants) from his father; purchased one-sixth of Spital Square, London in 1696; said to have married, 1701 in Chester, Anne Jackson, but the marriage has not been traced; later declared a lunatic; died without issue at Bedlington (Northbld), and was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 19 January 1727/8;

(4) James Bigge (1672-90), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 20 June 1672; inherited houses in the Great Market, Newcastle, and £1000 under his father's will; died unmarried and without issue just a few weeks after his father, and was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 13 April 1690;

(5) Mary Bigge (1674-1727), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 27 January 1674/5; married, 14 October 1701 at St Andrew, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Edward Collingwood of Byker, Newcastle-upon-Tyne; buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 15 October 1727;

(6) Roger Bigge (1676-77), baptised at St Andrew, Holborn, 29 April 1676; died in infancy at Furnival's Inn, 22 October 1677;

(7) Thomas Bigge (1677-1758) (q.v.);

(8) Anne Bigge (b. 1684), baptised at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 11 September 1684; married, 12 February 1701/2 at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Edward Ward (d. 1717); death not traced.

He lived latterly at Newcastle-on-Tyne. His father-in-law divided his estates at Heddon-on-the-Wall, Darras Hall, Caistron, and East, West and North Coldcoats (all Northbld) between his two daughters (the other being Julian, wife of John Hindmarsh of Little Benton). She also inherited a moiety of Willington, which his mother-in-law bought after her husband's death from Sir Francis Anderson. She settled her lands upon her sons in succession, with remainder to her daughters.

He was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 18 March 1690, where he and John Hindmarch had erected a monument for their families in 1684; his will was proved in the PCC, 4 July 1690. His widow was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 15 July 1707.

Bigge, Thomas (1677-1758). Fifth and youngest son of William Bigge (d. 1690) and his wife Isabel, daughter and heiress of Thomas Dent, baptised at St Andrew, Holborn (Middx), 21 June 1677. He is said to have gone to India as a sailor and not been heard of for a long time, whereupon his death was presumed and his sisters gained control of his and his brother John's property; at length he returned and a settlement was arrived at between Thomas and his sisters in 1709, which was confirmed by a private Act of Parliament in 1710. He married, 12 May 1706 at Longbenton (Northbld), Elizabeth (d. 1752), daughter and co-heiress of Edward Hindmarsh of the Six Clerks' Office, London, and had issue:

(1) William Bigge (1707-58) (q.v.);

(2) Edward Bigge (1708-64), baptised at Longbenton, 22 June 1708; attorney in Grays Inn, London; lived in London and at Jesmond, Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Northbld); purchased Brenkley estate in Dinnington (Northbld); died unmarried and was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 5 April 1764; will proved in the PCC, 11 May 1764;

(3) Grace Bigge (1710-64), baptised at Longbenton, 30 March 1710; married Sir Robert Carr (1707-91) (who m2, 1765, Mary Little, and had further issue one daughter), mercer, of London and Hampton (Middx), who claimed the baronetcy of Kerr of Greenhead (Roxb.), and had issue one daughter; buried at Ewell (Surrey), 27 May 1764;

(4) Mary Bigge (1712-90), baptised at Longbenton, 10 April 1712; died unmarried at Ripon in December 1790 and was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 7 December 1790; will proved in the PCC, 16 June 1791;

(5) Elizabeth Bigge (1714-71), baptised at Longbenton, 24 May 1714; died unmarried and was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 12 September 1771;

(6) Thomas Bigge (1716-91) [for whom see below, Bigge of Benton Hall].

He lived at Byker, Newcastle-on-Tyne and Benton House, Longbenton, which he enlarged.

He was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 28 December 1758; his will was proved 17 March 1759. His wife was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 23 June 1752.

Bigge, William (1707-58). Eldest son of Thomas Bigge (1677-1759) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Edward Hindmarsh of Benton (Northbld), baptised at Longbenton, 25 March 1707. Attorney and one of the Six Clerks in Chancery. Colliery owner in Northumberland and was involved inthe development of collieries elsewhere in Northumberland, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire (WR). High Sheriff of Northumberland, 1750-51. He married, 29 January 1736 at St Nicholas, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Mary (d. 1780), daughter and heiress of Charles Clarke of Ovingham (Northbld), attorney, and had issue:

(1) Thomas Charles Bigge (1739-94) (q.v.);

(2) William Edward Bigge (1740-74), born 6 January, and baptised at St Giles-in-the-Fields, Holborn (Middx), 1 February 1739/40; lawyer and one of the sworn clerks to the Six Clerks in Chancery by 1769, succeeded to the estate of his uncle Edward Bigge at Brenkley in Dinnington (Northbld), 1764; died unmarried at Bedlington (Northbld) and was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 7 June 1774; will proved in the PCC, 20 June 1774;

(3) Charles Clarke Bigge (1741-43), born at Little Benton, 8 July 1741; died in infancy of measles, 3 February. and was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 4 February 1742/3;

(4) John Bigge (1743-97), born in Newcastle, 14 January, and was baptised at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 22 February 1742/3; apprenticed to his uncle, Thomas Bigge, 1757; mercer in London in the same firm in which his uncles Thomas Bigge and Sir Robert Carr had been partners; inherited his brother William's estate at Brenkley in 1774 and purchased Carville Hall, Wallsend, where he lived for some years before retiring to chambers in King's Bench Walk, London; a Tory in politics, unlike most of this family; died unmarried, 11 March, and was buried at St Bride, Fleet St., London, 15 March 1797.

He lived at Benton (Northbld), where he had colliery interests, and inherited property at Stannington and Ovingham in right of his wife which was reputedly worth £25,000.

He died in the lifetime of his father, 30 June 1758 and was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. His widow died 5 May 1780 and was buried at Ovingham.

Bigge, Thomas Charles (1739-94). Eldest son of William Bigge (1707-58) and his wife Mary, daughter and heiress of Charles Clarke of Ovingham (Northbld), born in Lincoln's Inn Fields, Holborn (Middx), 24 January and baptised at St Giles-in-the-Fields, Holborn (Middx), 22 February 1738/9. Educated at Westminster, Lincolns Inn (admitted 1755) and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1757). He travelled abroad, possibly partly for health reasons, in 1759 and 1763-66, and visited Turin, Florence, Rome, Naples and Parma in 1764-65. Colliery owner in Northumberland. JP for Northumberland; High Sheriff of Northumberland, 1771-72. He stood unsuccessfully for parliament in the Morpeth constituency in 1774. He was a member of the 'Roman Club' founded by Edward Gibbon in 1765. He married, 6 November 1772 at St Andrew, Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Northbld), Jemima* (1748-1806), daughter of William Ord of Fenham (Northbld), and had issue:

(1) Charles William Bigge (1773-1849) (q.v.);

(2) Jemima Bigge (1776-79), born 17 February and baptised at Longbenton, 18 March 1776; died young and was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 30 August 1779;

(3) Mary Anne Bigge (1777-1805), baptised at Longbenton, 26 August 1777; died unmarried and was buried at Weston, Bath (Som.), 18 June 1805;

(4) William Edward Bigge (1778-91), born 28 October 1778 and baptised at Longbenton, 6 January 1779; educated at Westminster School, where he died and was buried at St Margaret, Westminster (Middx), 28 October 1791;

(5) John Thomas Bigge (1780-1843), born 8 March and baptised at Longbenton, 10 April 1780; educated at Newcastle GS, Westminster, Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1797; BA 1801; MA 1804) and Inner Temple (admitted 1801; called 1806); barrister-at-law; Chief Justice of Trinidad, 1814-18; Commissioner of Inquiry into Colony of New South Wales, 1819-23 and also conducted an inquiry into the conduct of William Sorrell as governor of Tasmania, 1820-23; Chairman of Commission of Enquiry into the administration and finance of the Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius and Ceylon, 1832-39; his reports on colonial administration in New South Wales led to the resignation of the progressive governor, Macquarie, and reduced the status of convict transportees to near slavery; he lived latterly at Dover (Kent); died unmarried at the Grosvenor Hotel, London, 22 December, and was buried at Fulham (Middx), 28 December 1843; his will was proved in the PCC 26 February 1845 (effects under £46,000);

(6) Charlotte Eleanor Bigge (1781-1800), born 13 February and baptised at Longbenton, 13 March 1781; died unmarried at Clifton (Glos), 29 June, and was buried at Weston, Bath (Som.), 3 July 1800;

(7) Eliza Bigge (1782-1819), baptised at Longbenton, 23 April 1782; died unmarried, 19 May 1819 and was buried at Fulham (Middx), 24 May 1819; her will was proved in the PCC, 8 June 1819;

(8) Thomas Hanway Bigge (1784-1824), baptised at Longbenton, 2 October 1784; educated at Westminster; partner in Old Bank, Newcastle from 1806; inherited estates at Brinkley and Carville from his uncle John Bigge and purchased Benton Hall c.1805, all of  which were sold after his death; married, 26 March 1814 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Charlotte (d. 1874), daughter of Rev. James Scott, rector of St Lawrence, Southampton (Hants) and vicar of Itchenstoke (Hants), and had issue four sons and two daughters; buried at Ovingham (Northbld), 21 December 1824;

(9) Jemima Susannah Bigge (1788-1809), baptised at Longbenton, 4 September 1788; died unmarried, 9 March, and was buried at Ovingham, 13 March 1809;

(10) Grace Julia Bigge (1791-1872), baptised at Longbenton, 15 April 1791; married 1st, 24 March 1817 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, her cousin, Thomas Christopher Glyn (1789-1827), of Gaunts House (Dorset), son of Richard Carr Glyn, and had issue three sons; married 2nd, 20 June 1836 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, Henry Barne Sawbridge (c.1778-1851) of East Haddon Hall (Northants), but had no further issue; died 30 September 1872.

He lived at Benton House.

He died 10 October 1794 and was buried at All Saints, Weston, Bath (Som.); his will was proved in the PCC, 6 November 1794. His widow died 25 November 1806 and was buried at Fulham (Middx).

* Her portrait by Angelica Kauffman was sold at auction in 2006.

Charles William Bigge (1773-1849) 

Bigge, Charles William (1773-1849). Eldest son of Thomas Charles Bigge (1739-94) and his wife Jemima, daughter of William Ord of Fenham (Northbld), born at Benton House, 28 October and baptised at Longbenton (Northbld), 18 November 1773. Educated at Westminster (admitted 1784), Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1791; BA 1795; MA 1798) and Middle Temple (admitted 1795), after which he undertook a grand tour of Germany and Italy, 1800-02. Partner in Ridley, Bigge, Gibson & Co. of Newcastle, bankers, later taken over by the Northumberland & Durham District Bank in Newcastle-on-Tyne, of which he became a director. JP (Chairman of Quarter Sessions, 1829-40) and DL for Northumberland; High Sheriff of Northumberland, 1802-03; Chairman of Morpeth Poor Law Union, 1836-41. An officer in the Northumberland Militia (Lt-Col., 1799). He was a prominent figure in Whig politics in Northumberland, but declined to stand for parliament on grounds of cost; he also declined the offer of a baronetcy in 1838. He was President of the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Literary and Philosophical Society, 1838-49 and of the Mechanics Institute, and Vice-President of the Newcastle Society of Antiquaries and of the Newcastle Natural History Society. He married, 27 January 1802, Alicia (1780-1848), only daughter of Christopher Wilkinson of Thorpe (Yorks) and Newcastle-on-Tyne, and had issue:

(1) Charles John Bigge (1803-46) (q.v.);

(2) Charles James Bigge (1805-06?), born 22 January and baptised at Whittingham (Northbld), 20 November 1805; probably the child of these parents who died 26 December and was buried (as 'William James Bigge') at Fulham (Middx), 30 December 1806;

(3) Henry Lancelot Bigge (1806-44), born 10 May and baptised at Whittingham, 14 June 1806; educated at Westminster (admitted 1818; Kings Scholar, 1820) and University College, Oxford (matriculated 1824); an officer in the 66th Bengal Native Infantry (Cadet, 1827; Ensign, 1828; Lt., 1834; Capt., 1844), who served as principal assistant to the Governor of the North-East Frontier, 1838-43; died unmarried and without issue at Barrisal in Assam, 9 December 1844 and is commemorated by a monument at Ovingham (Northbld); will proved 31 December 1844;

(4) Ven. Edward Thomas Bigge (1807-44), born 19 October and baptised at Whittingham, 18 November 1807; educated at Westminster (admitted 1821) and University College, Oxford (matriculated 1828; BA 1832; MA 1835); ordained deacon, 1834, and priest, 1835; Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, c.1834-42; vicar of Eglingham (Northbld), 1837-44 and archdeacon of Lindisfarne, 1842-44; died unmarried and without issue, 3 April 1844, and was buried at Ovingham (Northbld), where he is commemorated by a monument;

(5) Mary Bigge (1809-21), born 26 July and baptised at Whittingham, 1 October 1809; died young, 3 February, and was buried at Longhorsley, 7 February 1821;

(6) Charlotte Eliza Bigge (1810-84), born 1 November and baptised at Whittingham, 2 December 1810; married, 22 February 1849 at Longhorsley, David Smith (c.1804-80) of Edinburgh, son of Alexander Smith; died 11 February 1884 and is commemorated by a monument at Ovingham;

(7) William Matthew Bigge (1812-89), born 9 October and baptised at Whittingham, 26 November 1812; an officer in the 70th Foot (Ensign, 1831; Lt., 1836; Capt. 1839; Maj., 1845; Lt-Col., 1847; retired 1849); died unmarried, 2 January 1889; will proved 2 February 1889 (effects £2,107);

(8) Rev. John Frederick Bigge (1814-85), born 12 July and baptised at Longhorsley (Northbld), 29 December 1814; educated at Durham University (BA 1840; MA 1843); ordained deacon and priest, 1840; vicar of Ovingham, 1841-47 and of Stamfordham (Northbld), 1847-85; President of Tyneside Naturalists' Club, 1847; married, 14 December 1843, Caroline Mary, daughter of Nathaniel Ellison, and had issue five sons and six daughters (including Arthur John Bigge (1849-1931), 1st and last Baron Stamfordham); died 28 February 1885; will proved 2 May 1885 (effects £17,664);

(9) Julia Katherina Bigge (1816-1843), born 21 January 1816 and baptised at Longhorsley, 18 November 1817; married, 13 February 1840, as his first wife, Rev. Henry Joseph Maltby (c.1814-63) (who m2, 13 April 1847, Elizabeth Mary Bradford (1824-1906) and had further issue three sons and one daughter), son of Rt. Rev. Edward Maltby, bishop of Durham, and had issue one son and one daughter; died 27 April 1843;

(10) Arthur Bigge (1818-85), born 18 May and baptised at Longhorsley, 17 June 1818; educated at University College, Oxford (matriculated 1836; BA 1840; MA 1843), and the Inner Temple (admitted 1839; called 1844); barrister-at-law; Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, 1843-58; stipendiary magistrate at Brighton (Sussex), 1855-84; married, 24 September 1857, Elizabeth (d. 1882), daughter of James Henry Sclater of Newick Park (Sussex), and had issue one daughter; died 28 August 1885; will proved 27 November 1885 (effects £4,512);

(11) Jemima Bigge (1820-35), born 25 May and baptised at Longhorsley, 22 June 1820; died young, 23 May 1835, and was buried at Longhorsley;

(12) Matthew Robert Bigge (1822-1906), born 30 March and baptised at Longhorsley, 27 April 1822; JP for Northamptonshire; a director of the Northumberland & Durham District Bank, which became insolvent in 1858; sheriff of Newcastle, 1846; married 1st, 21 September 1848 at St Andrew, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Mildreda Eliza (d. 1850), daughter of Col. Robert Bell (1772-1851) of Fenham Hall, Newcastle (Northbld), and had issue one daughter; married 2nd, 1 November 1854 at Stanhope (Co. Durham), Elizabeth Jane (c.1822-96), daughter of Rev. William Nicholas Darnell (1776-1865), rector of Stanhope (Co. Durham), and had issue one son and two daughters; died at Stamford (Lincs), 17 July 1906; will proved 15 October 1906 (estate £1,739);

(13) Rev. George Richard Bigge (1825-86), born 2 October and baptised at Longhorsley, 27 December 1825; educated at Durham University (BA 1847; MA 1850); ordained deacon, 1847 and priest, 1850; curate of Huntspill (Som.), 1848-50; vicar of Ovingham, 1850-69, Stanton and Snowshill (Glos), 1872-74, and Ingestre (Staffs), 1874-77; and rector of Bolam (Northbld), 1880-86; married, 18 June 1850 at Congresbury (Som.), Annette Henriette Wolff (1829-1913), daughter of Capt. Richard Francis Gibson Poore, and had issue four sons and five daughters; died 17 January 1886; will proved 26 March 1886 (effects £2,698).

He inherited estates and collieries at Benton, Heddon-on-the-Wall, Ponteland and Gosforth (all Northbld) from his father in 1794 and lived at Benton House until he built Linden Hall in 1811-12 to the designs of  Sir Charles Monck of Belsay.

He died 8 December, and was buried at Longhorsley, 13 December 1849; his will was proved in the PCC, 29 July 1850. His wife died 19 February 1848 and was buried at Longhorsley.

Bigge, Charles John (1803-46). Eldest son of Charles William Bigge (1773-1849) and his wife Alicia, only daughter of Christopher Wilkinson of Thorpe (Yorks) and Newcastle-on-Tyne, born 11 April and baptised at Whittingham (Northbld.), 20 April 1803. Educated at Westminster (admitted 1814) and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1821). Partner in the Northumberland & Durham District Bank at Newcastle-on-Tyne. Alderman of Newcastle (Mayor, 1832-37). He married, 29 May 1833 at Bamburgh (Northbld.), Lewis Marianne (1812-90), daughter and co-heir of Prideaux John Selby (1788-1867) of Twizell House (Northbld) and Ightham Mote (Kent), and had issue:

(1) Charles Selby Bigge (1834-89) (q.v.);

(2) Mary Lewis Bigge (1836-89), baptised at Whickham, 27 May 1836; married, 3 June 1863 at Ightham (Kent), Rev. John Clere Scott Darby (1830-1901) of Markby (Sussex), rector of Machen (Mon.) (who m2, 23 February 1892 at Machen, Emily Mary Potter (1866-1942)), son of George Darby, gent., and had issue seven sons; buried at Machen, 18 December 1889;

(3) Henry Bertram Bigge (1837-38), born December 1837 and baptised at Whickham (Co. Durham), 2 January 1838; died in infancy and was buried at Whickham, 4 January 1838;

(4) Fanny Alice Bigge (1839-1912), baptised at Whickham, 13 July 1839; married, 6 June 1867 at Ightham, Thomas St Leger Blaauw (1839-93), of Beechland (Sussex), son of William Henry Blaauw (1793-1870), and had issue two sons and three daughters; died 20 November and was buried at Newick, 26 November 1912; will proved 20 January 1913 (estate £3,323);

(5) Louisa Charlotte Bigge (1842-1915), born 11 March and baptised at Whickham, 28 March 1842; married, 8 August 1865 at Ightham, Charles Francis Massingberd-Mundy (1839-1913) of Ormsby Hall (Lincs), and had issue four sons and two daughters; died 12 March and was buried at South Ormsby (Lincs), 17 March 1915; will proved 12 April 1916 (estate £2,736);

(6) Sybil Constance Bigge (1846-1913), born posthumously, 6 April, and baptised at St Mary, Bryanston Square, Marylebone (Middx), 26 May 1846; married, 14 July 1875 at Ightham, Sir William Selby Church (1837-1928), 1st bt., and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 4 February 1913 and was buried at Hatfield (Herts); will proved 14 March 1913 (estate £4,425).

He died in the lifetime of his father, 16 March, and was buried at All Saints, Fulham (Middx), 23 March 1846. His widow married 2nd, 17 October 1850 at Ightham, Maj. Robert Luard (later Luard-Selby) (1800-80); she was buried at Ightham, 22 March 1890; administration of her goods (with will annexed) was granted 17 June 1890 (effects £6,869).

Bigge, Charles Selby (1834-89). Elder and only surviving son of Charles John Bigge (1803-46) and his wife Lewis Marianne, daughter and co-heir of Prideaux John Selby of Twizell House (Northbld) and Ightham Mote (Kent), born 21 July and baptised at Whickham (Co. Durham), 2 August 1834. Educated at Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1853). JP for Northumberland from 1856. A freemason from 1854. He became a director of the Northumberland & Durham District Bank on achieving his majority, but the bank soon afterwards became insolvent and he found himself liable for a share of the debts, which forced him to sell Linden Hall. He was later a director of the Alliance Co-operative Coal Co. of Ruabon (Denbighs). He married, 24 July 1856 at Beckenham (Kent), Katharina (d. 1918), daughter of John Scott Ogle of Oakwood House, Beckenham, and had issue:

(1) Charles Prideaux Ogle Selby-Bigge (1857-1914) (q.v.);

(2) Sir Lewis Amherst Selby-Bigge (1860-1951), 1st bt. (q.v.);

(3) Lt-Col. Denys Leighton Selby Bigge (1864-1945), born 11 September and baptised at Bourton (Shrops.), 9 October 1864; educated at Marlborough, Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1882), and the University of Liège; a Member of the Institute of Electrical Engineers; consulting electrical engineer with his own firm, D. Selby-Bigge & Co., from which he retired in 1942; before and during the First World War he was an officer in the Northumberland Hussars (2nd Lt., 1898; Lt., 1899; Capt., 1902; Maj., 1905; Temp. Lt-Col., 1915); DL for Northumberland; lived latterly at Ripon (Yorks WR); married, 25 July 1905 at Chillingham (Northbld), Marianne Mildred (1878-1944), daughter of Sir Jacob Wilson KCVO of Chillingham Barns, and had issue three daughters; died 22 January 1945.

He inherited Linden Hall from his grandfather in 1849 and Ightham Mote in 1867. He sold Linden Hall in 1861, and the 583 acre Ightham Mote estate was sold by auction after his death.

He died 16 January 1889; his will was proved 5 March 1889 (effects £12,327). His widow died 15 January, and was buried at Brompton Cemetery (Middx), 19 January 1918; her will was proved 18 April 1918 (estate £8,238).

Selby-Bigge, Charles Prideaux Ogle (1857-1914). Eldest son of Charles Selby Bigge (1834-89) and his wife Katharina, daughter of John Scott Ogle of Oakwood (Kent), born in Edinburgh, 25 July 1857. Land agent to the Norfolk estates of William Amherst Tyssen-Amherst (1835-1909), 1st Baron Amherst of Hackney. A freemason from 1907. He married, 14 August 1902 at St Mark, North Audley St., Westminster (Middx), Joan (1881-1949), second daughter of Seymour Pleydell-Bouverie of Whissendine House (Rut.), banker, and had issue:

(1) Arthur Charles Selby-Bigge (1903-37), born 1 September and baptised at Holy Trinity, Chelsea, 7 October 1903; clerk to Jackson Vinley & Co., chartered accountants; died unmarried, 31 July and was buried at Triberg, Baden-Wurttemberg (Germany), 2 August 1937; administration of goods granted to his sister, 22 October 1937 (estate £175);

(2) Bridget Joan Selby-Bigge (1905-84), born 30 June 1905; educated at Farlington House School, Haywards Heath (Sussex); lived at Brookhill, Fethard (Co. Tipperary); died unmarried, 13 September 1984; will proved in London, 12 March 1986 (estate in England & Wales, £243,020);

(3) Frances Grace Selby-Bigge (1909-14), born 25 August and baptised at Oakham, 25 September 1909; died young, about July 1914.

He lived at Foulden Hall (Norfk) while acting as agent to the Norfolk estates of Lord Amherst of Hackney, and later at The Limes, Oakham (Rut.).

He died 6 January 1914; his will was proved 2 April 1914 (estate £11,056). His widow died 9 July 1949; her will was proved 29 April 1950 (estate £5,228).

Sir Amherst Selby-Bigge,  (1860-1951), 1st bt. 
Image: Nat. Portrait Gallery.
Some rights reserved. 

Selby-Bigge, Sir (Lewis) Amherst (1860-1951), kt. & 1st bt. Second son of Charles Selby Bigge (1834-89) and his wife Katharina,  daughter of John Scott Ogle of Oakwood (Kent), born at Oakwood House, Beckenham (Kent), 3 April and was baptised at Beckenham, 8 May 1860. He was known by his second forename and took the name Selby-Bigge by deed poll in 1887. Educated at Winchester and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1879; BA 1883; MA 1886) and Inner Temple (called 1891). Fellow of University College, Oxford and tutor in philosophy, 1883-94 (University proctor, 1891; Hon. Fellow, 1930). Barrister-at-law; Assistant Charity Commissioner, 1894-1902; with Board of Education, 1903-25 (Asst Sec, 1903-07; Principal Asst. Sec., 1907-11; Permanent Secretary, 1911-25). In retirement he became a member of the East Sussex County Education Committee. He was appointed CB, 1905; KCB, 1913; and raised to a baronetcy, 14 February 1919. In 1929 he stood unsuccessfully for Parliament as a Unionist candidate for the Combined Universities seat. His published works include British Moralists (1897) and editions of two works by David Hume. He married, 15 September 1885 at Underriver (Kent), Edith Lindsay OBE (1865-1939), daughter of Rt. Hon. John Robert Davison QC MP of Underriver House, and had issue:

(1) Evelyn Mary Selby-Bigge (1887-1984), born 16 October and baptised at St Philip & St James, Oxford, 18 November 1887; married, 22 June 1908 at Holy Trinity, Chelsea (Middx), Henry Cecil Pember (1879-1917), stockbroker, second son of Henry George Pember of Fair Oak Park (Hants), and had issue one son and one daughter; lived latterly at Rodmell Hill Cottage, Rodmell (Sussex); died aged 96 on 1 April 1984; will proved 2 August 1984 (estate £15,573);

(2) Edith Katharine Selby-Bigge (1889-1971), born 31 March and baptised at St Philip & St James, Oxford, 3 May 1889; married, 31 October 1914, Capt. Geoffrey Francis Bowes-Lyon (1886-1951) of Vale Court, Colerne (Wilts), colliery owner and company director, son of the Hon. Francis Bowes-Lyon DL, and had issue one son and two daughters; lived latterly at Lewes (Sussex); died 19 September 1971; will proved 7 January 1972 (estate £28,521);

(3) Sir John Amherst Selby-Bigge (1892-1973), 2nd bt. (q.v.);

(4) Arthur Jeffrey Selby-Bigge (1894-95), born 14 March and baptised 15 April 1894; died in infancy, 20 September 1895 and was buried at Underriver.

He lived at Kings Sutton (Northants) and in London until he purchased a farmhouse called Kingston Manor, Lewes (Sussex) in 1919, to which he retired.

He died aged 91 on 24 May 1951, and was buried at Kingston (Sussex); his will was proved 10 August 1951 (estate £26,479). His wife died 28 May and was buried at Kingston, 31 May 1939; her will was proved 21 August 1939 (estate £14,655).

Sir John Amherst Selby-Bigge, 2nd bt.
Image: Nat. Portrait Gallery.
Some rights reserved.  

Selby-Bigge, Sir John Amherst (1892-1973), 2nd bt. Elder and only surviving son of Sir Lewis Amherst Selby-Bigge (1860-1951) and his wife Edith Lindsay OBE, daughter of Rt. Hon. John Robert Davison QC MP of Underriver House (Kent), born 20 June and baptised at St Philip & St James, Oxford, 22 July 1892. Educated at Winchester, Christ Church, Oxford, University College, London (matriculated 1913) and Slade School of Art (admitted 1914). He served in the First World War, 1914-19, with Royal Army Service Corps (T/Lt.) and Military Intelligence. After the First World War he worked as a chicken farmer at Chiddingly (Sussex) and as an estate agent, but continued to paint in his spare time, and in the 1930s he exhibited (as John Bigge) a number of modernist and surrealist works at exhibitions; he was a founder member of the 'Unit One' coterie of artists led by Paul Nash. During the Second World War he worked first as sub-editor of BBC European News service, 1942-43 and then as Assistant Commissioner for Civilian Relief with the British Red Cross in Austria, where he was instrumental in preventing the massacre of 6,000 Slovenian civilian refugees by the forces of Marshal Tito. He was appointed OBE, 1946, and succeeded his father as 2nd baronet, 24 May 1951. He married 1st, 6 July 1914 (div. 1944), Ruth (1892-1962), eldest daughter of Edward Walter Humphries of Bradford (Yorks WR), and 2nd, 3 January 1946, Marija (c.1905-55), eldest daughter of Judge Martin Bacik of Vienna (Austria), and had issue:

(1.1) Annabella Joanna Lewis Selby-Bigge (1915-19), born 13 October and baptised at St Simon Zelotes, Chelsea (Middx), 24 November 1915; died young, 7 July 1919;

(1.2) Lydia Jane Selby-Bigge (1920-79), born 11 June 1920; married, 1941 (div. 1946), Gilbert Morand of Chambery, and had issue; died at Quartier le Ferrage, Tourrette sur Loup, Alpes Maritimes (France), 20 February 1979; will proved 22 May 1981 (estate in England, £1,417);

(1.3) Cornelia Diana Selby-Bigge (1922-88), born 14 August 1922; married, 10 August 1947, as his second wife, Hugh Max Bowden (1909-90) of Sheriff Mount, Low Fell (Northbld) and Port Douglas, Queensland (Australia), son of Hugh Hunter Bowden, and had issue two daughters; died 5 October 1988 and was buried at Port Douglas Cemetery, Queensland;

(1.4) Mary Elizabeth Selby-Bigge (1924-2023), born 8 April 1924; married 1st, 1951, John Sheals Pratt, MB BChir (d. 1956), and 2nd, 1967, Gp-Capt. Richard Irwin Knight Edwards DFC AFC (d. 1967); died aged 98 on 20 March 2023.

He lived in Sussex in the early 1920s and later in Chelsea (Middx), but latterly at Limeuil, Dordogne (France).

He died 3 October 1973, when the baronetcy became extinct; his will was proved 3 July 1974 (estate in England, £1,748). His first wife died 12 December 1962; administration of her goods was granted 8 May 1963 (estate £1,967). His second wife died 6 December 1955.

Bigge of Benton Hall

Bigge, Thomas (1716-91).  Third and youngest son of Thomas Bigge (1677-1758) [for whom see above] and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Hindmarsh of Longbenton, baptised at Longbenton, 27 December 1716. Mercer on Ludgate Hill, London, in partnership with his brother-in-law, Robert (later Sir Robert) Carr. He married, 4 August 1763 at Bath, Elizabeth (1730-1812), daughter of Richard Rundell of Norton St Philip (Som.) and elder sister of the jeweller and goldsmith, Philip Rundell, and had issue:

(1) Thomas Benton (1766-1851) (q.v.);

(2) Elizabeth Benton (1767-71), baptised at Longbenton, 23 April 1767; died young and was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 12 September 1771. 

He inherited lands at Longbenton from his father, on which he built Benton Hall c.1760.

He was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 8 May 1791. His widow was buried at Hendon (Middx), 24 April 1812; her will was proved in the PCC, 4 May 1812.

Bigge, Thomas (1766-1849). Only son of Thomas Bigge (1716-91) and his wife Elizabeth Rundell, born at Longbenton, 8 January and baptised at Longbenton, 25 February 1766. Educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford* (matriculated 1783; BA 1787; MA 1791). A Whig in politics, he became a writer of political tracts in the 1790s, occupying a position somewhere between the moderate Whigs and the radicals; he was also active in local political meetings and supported a monthly periodical, The Oeconomist, in 1798-99. In later life he became a partner in the family firm of Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, which was one of the leading goldsmiths in London; from 1830 he owned 25% of the business but the firm ceased trading in 1843 and the partnership was dissolved two years later. He married, 16 July 1792 at St Swithin, Walcot, Bath (Som.), Maria (d. 1846), daughter of Thomas Rundell of Bath, surgeon, and niece of Philip Rundell, and had issue:

(1) Elizabeth Bigge (1793-1869), born 28 October 1793 and baptised at Longbenton, 14 January 1794; married, 8 April 1817 at Kensington (Middx), Lt-Col. Sir Alexander Anderson, KB CB KTS (c.1787-1842) of Palmers Cross, Elgin (Morays), and had issue at least two sons and two daughters; died 18 March 1869 and was buried at Brackley (Inverness), where she is commemorated by a tombstone in the kirkyard;

(2) Maria Bigge (1795-97), baptised at Longbenton, 14 September 1795; died in infancy and was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 24 May 1797;

(3) Jane Eleanor Bigge (1796-1812), baptised at Longbenton, 5 September 1796; died unmarried and was buried at Hendon (Middx), 12 April 1812;

(4) Thomas Charles Bigge (b. 1796), baptised at Longbenton, 29 December 1796; probably died in infancy;

(5) Augusta Bigge (1797-1866), baptised at Longbenton, 20 December 1797; married, May 1835, as his second wife, Ven. Edward Pope (1793-1855), of St Catherine's (Surrey), formerly Archdeacon of Jamaica, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 19 June and was buried buried at Puttenham (Surrey), 25 June 1866; will proved 20 July 1866 (effects under £10,000);

(6) Emily Maria Bigge (1799-1806), born 28 September, and baptised at Longbenton, 6 December 1799; died young and was buried at Hendon (Middx), 7 January 1806;

(7) Thomas Edward Bigge (1801-80), born 20 January and baptised at Longbenton, 27 March 1801; army officer (2nd Lt., 1819; Lt., 1825; Capt., 1826); a director of railway companies; commanding officer of 'The Railway Rifles', 1859; married, 13 June 1850 at St James, Paddington (Middx), Ellen Fanny (1822-1912), daughter of George O'Brien; died 29 December 1880; will proved 25 January 1881 (effects under £45,000);

(8) Maria Bigge (1802-29), born 20 May and baptised at Longbenton, 30 June 1802; died unmarried and was buried at Edmonton (Middx), 9 May 1829; will proved in the PCC, 14 May 1829;

(9) Philip Edmund Bigge (1803-23), born 21 November 1803 and baptised at Longbenton, 5 January 1804; educated at University College, Oxford (matriculated 1821); died in Madeira (Portugal), 17 August, and was buried there, 19 August 1823;

(10) Georgiana Bigge (1805-76), born 16 March and baptised at Longbenton, 18 August 1805; married, 28 April 1835 at Beddington (Surrey), George Scovell (1803-90) of Carshalton (Surrey), and had issue four sons and three daughters; buried at Brompton Cemetery (Middx), 25 July 1876;

(11) James Rundell Bigge (1806-53), born 3 March and baptised at St James, Paddington (Middx), 6 April 1806; an officer in the HEICS Bengal army (Cadet, 1821; Ensign, 1822; Lt., 1823; on sick leave, 1830-32 when he retired); married, 7 October 1845 at St Mary-le-Bow, Durham, Margaret (1818-53), daughter of Calverley Bewicke (1780-1865) of Coulby Manor, Hemlington (Yorks NR); died 10 July and was buried at Torquay (Devon), 16 July 1853; administration of his goods (with will annexed) granted in the PCC, 1 November 1853;

(12) Charles Richard Bigge (1808-74), baptised at St Mary Abbotts, Kensington (Middx), 21 January 1809; educated at Westminster School (admitted 1818); partner in Rundell, Bridge & Rundell until the firm was dissolved in 1845; married, 19 May 1835 at Carshalton (Surrey), Kate Sarah (1810-37), daughter of John Thomas Scovell (1776-1854), and had issue one son and one daughter; died 21 April and was buried at Brompton Cemetery, 25 April 1874; will proved 8 May 1874 (effects under £4,000);

(13) Emily Jane Bigge (1811-89), born 25 November 1811 and baptised at Kensington, 21 June 1812; died unmarried, 13 October 1889 and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery; will proved 13 November 1889 (effects £30,727);

(14) John Francis Bigge (1813-56), born 17 September 1813 and baptised at Kensington, 13 April 1814; admitted to Hayes Mental Asylum, 1852; died unmarried and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, 6 March 1856;

(15) Frances Cecilia Bigge (1815-1908), baptised at Chislehurst (Kent), 7 January 1816; married, 13 June 1839 at St Mary, Bryanston Sq., Marylebone (Middx), Matthew Bell (1817-1903) of Bourne Park (Kent), son of John Bell (1764-1836), and had issue five sons and six daughters; died at Bordighera (Italy), 17 December 1908 but was buried at Bishopsbourne, where she is also commemorated by a brass plaque; her will was proved 4 February 1909 (estate £3,906).

He inherited Benton Hall from his father in 1791 but sold it to his kinsman, Thomas Hanway Bigge (1784-1824) in c.1805, and lived subsequently at various addresses in and around London.

He died 31 October, and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, 3 November 1849. His wife died 30 March and was buried at Kensal Green Cemetery, 4 April 1846.

* Though the Alumni Oxoniensis confuses him with Thomas Hanway Bigge (1784-1824).

Principal sources

Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 1967, p. 247; J. Hodgson, A history of Northumberland, vol 2, part 2, 1858, pp. 97-99; Sir N. Pevsner, I. Richmond, J. Grundy, G. McCombie, P. Ryder and H. Welfare, The buildings of England: Northumberland, 2nd edn., 1992, p. 377; J. Davidson, Northumberland's Lost Houses, 3rd edn., 2022, p.18;

https://kingssutton-pc.gov.uk/the-parish/parish-history/

https://heatonhistorygroup.org/2025/10/23/benton-hall-a-lost-mansion/

Location of archives

No significant accumulation is known to survive.

Coat of arms

Ermine, on a fesse engrailed gules, between three martlets sable, a mullet between two crescents or.

Can you help?

• If anyone can conclusively demonstrate the parentage of William Bigge (1638?-90) or prove the connection of this family to the Bigges of Benenden, I should be very pleased to hear from them.
• 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 5 January 2026.

(609) Bewicke of Close House and Hallaton Hall

Bewicke of Close House
and Urpeth Lodge 

The Bewicke (also Bewick, Bewyke etc.) family were established in Newcastle-upon-Tyne (Northbld.) by the 15th century. Peter Bewicke was mayor of the town in 1490 and his son Andrew Bewicke held the same office in 1538. The genealogy below begins with Robert Bewicke (1561-1642), who is supposed to have been this Andrew's son, although the dates make it possible that the Andrew who was Robert's father and died before 1575 was a son of the mayor rather than identical with him. Robert followed in the footsteps of his predecessors, pursuing a mercantile career in Newcastle and serving as sheriff in 1615-16 and mayor in 1628-29. He lived in houses within or close to the town, but towards the end of his life began investing capital in estates in the countryside around Newcastle, buying what became the Close House estate (Northbld.) in 1623-24 and the Urpeth Lodge estate in Co. Durham in 1640. In recognition of his arrival among the landed gentry, he was selected to serve as high sheriff of Northumberland in 1638-39. When he died at the advanced age of 80 just three years later, his only surviving child was Thomas Bewicke (1606-90), who succeeded to his mercantile interests and who had been mayor of Newcastle in 1639-40. Thomas went on to be high sheriff of Co. Durham during the Commonwealth, 1655-56 and of Northumberland after the Restoration, in 1662-63, and was among the names proposed for the abortive Order of the Royal Oak in 1660. Thomas married Jane Calverley (d. 1682), and this was presumably a marriage of some importance to the family since her surname was thereafter regularly used as a forename down to the 20th century. Thomas and Jane had seven sons (two of whom died young) and six daughters (of whom only two reached adulthood), and Thomas' intention seems to have been to establish his eldest son, Robert Bewicke (1643-1704) as a landed gentleman, while his younger sons inherited his mercantile interests or, in the case of the youngest, Benjamin Bewicke (1665-1730), went into the church. However, Robert died unmarried and the second son, Thomas Bewicke (1648-1721), failed to produce a surviving male heir. In 1721, therefore, the estates devolved on Calverley Bewicke (1661-1729), the sixth son of Thomas (d. 1690), who was a member of the Company of Merchant Adventurers in Newcastle, but who was established as a grocer in London by 1696. He and his wife Dorothy Izard (whose father was a grocer and perhaps the master to whom Calverley was apprenticed), had two surviving sons. The elder, who succeeded to the Close House and Urpeth Lodge estates, was Robert Bewicke (1690-1735), while the younger, Calverley Bewicke (1694-1774) succeeded his childless uncle, the Rev. Benjamin Bewicke (1665-1730) at Hallaton Hall.

To focus on the Close House family first, Robert Bewicke left two young sons at his early death in 1735, and their mother Jane (1704-63) must have run the estate for many years before the elder son, Sir Robert Bewicke (1728-71) came of age in 1749. He seems to have been the first head of the family to be university educated, and in 1760 he was knighted by George III when he presented a loyal address on the accession of the new king in his capacity as High Sheriff of Northumberland. He was also the first and only member of the family to receive the honour of knighthood in more than five centuries as prominent gentry. He married in 1752 and produced eleven children before his early death in 1771. For reasons which are unclear his eldest son, Robert Bewicke (1753-1800) did not inherit the estates but became a merchant in Newcastle, where he died unmarried. The younger son who did inherit Close House and Urpeth Lodge was Calverley Bewicke (1755-1815), the only member of the family to serve as a member of parliament, who rebuilt Close House in the late 1770s. He married twice but produced no issue, and when he died he bequeathed his estates to his widow for life, with remainder to the younger son of his sister Mary (1754-83), who had married a London merchant called Alexander Anderson (c.1730-96). What he probably did not expect was that his widow Margaret would survive to the ripe old age of 97 and retain the estates in her possession until her death in 1859. Only then did they pass to Calverley's eldest surviving nephew, Calverley Bewicke Bewicke (1780-1865), who had taken the surname Bewicke in lieu of Anderson in 1815 in anticipation of his much delayed inheritance. He lived at Kirkley Hall, Ponteland (Northbld) and later at Coulby Manor, Hemlington (Yorks NR), and by the time he came into possession of Close House and Urpeth Lodge he did not want to relocate. Urpeth Lodge was sold in about 1860 and his eldest son, Calverley Bewicke (later Bewicke-Bewicke) (1817-76) moved into Close House. His tenure was to be fairly short, however, for he died while serving as High Sheriff of Northumberland in 1876. His son and heir was Calverley Bewicke (1858-96), a passionate promoter of cricket in the county, who laid out a cricket ground at Close House. He too died young, and left the estate to his widow, Eleanor Evelyn Bewicke (1858-1919) for life. She let the house from 1906 and her eldest son, Maj. Calverley Bewicke (1883-1963) was only able to return in 1929. After a decade, it was requisitioned at the start of the Second World War and passed into institutional use. When it was returned to Maj. Bewicke after the war he soon decided to sell the main house and retreated to a smaller property, High Close House, on the estate. His son, Maj. Calverley Bewicke (1914-97) - who to avoid confusion was always known as Verley - was a racehorse trainer and in 1951 bought Shawdon Hall (Northbld), which coincidentally was designed by William Newton, the architect to whom Close House is attributed. Many family pictures and some furniture was moved from Close House, as can be seen from an article on Shawdon in Country Life in 1959, but Shawdon was not destined to be a new seat for the family, for in 1963 Verley and his wife Juliet (1916-99) were divorced and Shawdon was sold the following year. This really marks the end of the family as landed gentry, but a kind of coda is provided by the fact that Juliet Bewicke had inherited Eglingham Hall (Northbld.) from her father in 1960 and lived there until she handed it over to her elder daughter April (b. 1940) and her husband Henry Potts (b. 1938) in 1974, though that house too seems now to have been sold.

The Rev. Benjamin Bewicke (1665-1730), youngest son of Thomas Bewicke (1606-90), entered the church and became vicar of Barrow-upon-Soar (Leics). He married Elizabeth Fenwick, the daughter of another Leicestershire clergyman, and in 1713 bought the manor and advowson of Hallaton, his father-in-law's parish, where he probably remodelled the house with a regular new east front. The couple had no children to inherit  the estate, so Benjamin left his wife a life interest in the property and settled the remainder on his nephew, Calverley Bewicke (1694-1774), a London merchant trading in Portuguese wines and other goods, who lived at Clapham (Surrey) and was connected by marriage with prominent members of the Clapham Sect. Elizabeth survived her husband until 1769, so Calverley was already an old man when he came into his inheritance, and there is no evidence that he occupied the house at Hallaton, which was probably let. His son and heir, Benjamin Bewicke (1728-1816), was also a London merchant, but was bankrupted in 1784. Because the estate at Hallaton was settled, technically Benjamin only had a life interest in it, so the freehold could not be seized by his creditors, but his life interest would either have been sold or leased out, depending on what his creditors felt was to their best advantage. Benjamin's son, the Rev. Calverley John Bewicke (1765-1843) was appointed rector of Hallaton in 1789, and could have occupied the house as a tenant, but he may have served the parish by employing a curate rather than being resident himself. He married a widow in 1788 but was involved in a high-profile divorce five years later after his wife had a scandalous affair with the brother of her first husband. He then remaned single until 1815, when he married the much younger daughter of a London banker and MP. Within a few months of his father's death in 1816, he was resident at Hallaton, and he went on to enlarge and make alterations to the Hall, perhaps financed by the settlement he received on his marriage. When he died in 1843 he was succeeded by his eldest son, Calverley Bewicke (1816-64), who had been educated at Oxford, where he devoted his time to rowing. He married in 1839 and at first rented a house in Cumberland, where his first child was born, but by 1842 he had settled in Madeira and Hallaton Hall was let. It is not clear whether it was business or health concerns that took him to Madeira, but given the long-standing connection of the family with the Portuguese wine trade, the former seems likely. He died in Lisbon in 1864, when his youngest children were still in their teens, and his widow died in Italy the following year. His children had all been brought up abroad and can have felt very little connection to Hallaton; indeed, his son and heir, Calverley Theodore Bewicke (1848-1902) had already joined the Royal Navy before he came into his inheritance at the age of sixteen. Not surprisingly, Hallaton Hall continued to be let until in 1897 he sold the house to a Leicester banker, Samuel Nevins Bankart. Although the house was sold, he retained the estate (some 800 acres in the 1870s), which passed to his widow, Effie Elizabeth Bewicke (1853-1939) for life, with remainder to his nephew, Calverley George Bewicke (1897-1916). In the event, the young man was killed in the First World War. Effie retained the estate until her death and took a benevolent interest in the village, although she never lived there, preferring to stay in Worcestershire, where she had been brought up. On her death the property seems to have passed to C.G. Bewicke's sister, Honoria Marcella Whigham, who still had interests in the village in the 1960s, but was gradually sold off in the late 20th century.

Close House, Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland

Very little is known about the predecessor of the present building, except that it was possessed of a private chapel, in origin a chantry chapel, and that in 1738 it contained a hall, parlour, dining room, two main staircases and five principal bedrooms, as well as service accommodation and a nursery. The chapel is said to have been demolished in 1779 when the present house was built for Calverley Bewicke (1755-1815), but it does not feature in the inventory of 1738. The new house was almost certainly designed by the Newcastle architect, William Newton. It is a five by five bay block of two-and-a-half storeys with a lower two-storey wing at the rear. The entrance front has the central three bays broken slightly forward under a pediment and a double plat band separating the ground and first floors, which continues around the side elevations. The central doorcase has Tuscan columns supporting a broken pediment. Later additions include a single-storey canted bay on the right-hand side elevation, perhaps of the mid 19th century, as it is not shown on a vignette of the house on an estate map of 1794. The design of the main block is a variation of the formula used (with additional bays) by Newton at Hesleyside Hall (1796) and Hebburn Hall (1790-93).

Close House: late 18th century engraving of the house from the south-east.

Close House: the house from the south-east today.

Inside, the house has a straight stair from ground floor to first floor; a feature found also at Hebburn Hall. One room has an early 18th century fireplace with a bolection-moulded surround flanked by full-height fluted Ionic pilasters, and an Adam-style ceiling. The former music room has rich Rococo style stucco decoration, perhaps of the 1890s but just possibly by the Duke of Northumberland's team of Italian stuccodores who were working at Alnwick around 1850. The house passed into institutional use during the Second World War, and later became a campus for Newcastle University. In 2004 it was sold to the present owner, who opened the house as an hotel in 2005, in conjunction with the golf courses he created in the park. However, in 2014 he built new club facilities in the park, and converted Close House into his private residence.

In the late 18th century the grounds were landscaped to take advantage of the sweeping views down to the River Tyne. They include an orangery near the house, and contemporary with it, of five bays separated by Tuscan columns. A little to the west the drive crosses a deep valley on a high late 18th century stone bridge. There is also an icehouse, south-west of the house. A new north lodge was erected shortly before 1885.

Descent: Thomas Read (fl. 1561); to brother, Richard Read; to son, Clement Read (d. c.1627), who settled the estate on his sons in 1607-10, including Gerard Read, who evidently bought out his brothers, but whose creditors sold 1621 to his kinsman, George Read (fl. 1624), who sold 1623-24 to Robert Bewicke (1561-1642); to son, Thomas Bewicke (1606-90); to son, Robert Bewicke (1643-1704); to brother, Calverley Bewicke (1661-1729); to son, Robert Bewicke (1690-1735); to son, Sir Robert Bewicke (1728-71), kt.; to son, Calverley Bewicke (1755-1815), who rebuilt the house; to widow, Margaret Bewicke (1761-1859) and then to nephew, Calverley Bewicke Anderson (later Bewicke) (1782-1865); to son, Calverley Bewicke (later Bewicke-Bewicke) (1817-76); to son, Calverley Bewicke (1858-96); to widow, Eleanor Evelyn Bewicke (1858-1919); to son, Calverley Bewicke (1883-1963), who sold 1953 to James Rutherford & Sons; sold 1960 to King's College, Newcastle (later Newcastle University); sold 2004 to Sir (Andrew William) Graham Wylie (b. 1959), kt. The house was let to Sir James Knott (1855-1934), 1st bt. 1906-29.

Urpeth Lodge (now Urpeth Hall), Co. Durham

A modest five bay, two-and-a-half storey 18th century house in the hamlet of High Urpeth, which was remodelled and extended by R.J. Johnson for Major Joicey in about 1890. The front is remarkably badly proportioned, with the first floor windows set far too high up the walls for visual harmony. Were they always in this position, or were they raised at the time of the remodelling so as to align with the first floor windows in the west wing? 

Urpeth Lodge: south front. perhaps c.1910.

The interiors were redone at the same date, by Sopwith & Sons, and include a drawing room behind the big bow in the west wing and a cantilvered staircase with a wooden balustrade in the domed staircase hall behind the main block. The house passed out of the Bewicke family in the mid 19th century, and was divided into three dwellings in the second half of the 20th century. A gate lodge was built in the 19th century. The grounds were always limited in size, but still contain a 19th century ice house.

Descent: sold 1640 to Robert Bewicke (1561-1642); to son, Thomas Bewicke (1606-90); to son, Robert Bewicke (1643-1704); to brother, Calverley Bewicke (1661-1729); to son, Robert Bewicke (1690-1735); to son, Sir Robert Bewicke (1728-71), kt.; to son, Calverley Bewicke (1755-1815); to widow, Margaret Bewicke (1761-1859) and then to nephew, Calverley Bewicke Anderson (later Bewicke) (1782-1865); who sold c.1860 to Maj. William James Joicey (d. 1912); sold to T.Y. Greener...

Hallaton Hall, Leicestershire

An unusually complex house with an obscure building history which has been interpreted by different authorities in markedly different ways. It stands in landscaped grounds on the east side of the village on an island site surrounded by a high wall, between three roads. The site is thought to be that of the manor house of one of the two manors which were united in 1613 to form the later estate.

Hallaton Hall: the east front in 1796, from Nichols' History of Leicestershire, vol. 2, part 2

The earliest visual evidence for the house is an engraving of 1796, which shows a seven-bay, two-storey house with regular, closely-spaced, sash windows. This is captioned as showing the east front of the house, and the appearance of the parish church on the left-hand edge of the view confirms this orientation. So what is shown is not the west front, which later developed as the entrance front. The house appears to have two parallel roof ridges, running north to south, and the gable-ends have just two small and irregularly-positioned windows. Coupled with the evidently low ceiling-heights of the two floors, these features suggest that this is a 16th or early 17th century house, refronted in the early 18th century. Some support for this comes from fragmentary internal evidence in the present house, including ceiling beams in the entrance hall and the room above which are thought to be 16th century but altered later. One might suggest the house was first built for John Dent in the 1590s or for William Street after he unified the two Hallaton manors in 1613, and that the refronting was carried out for the Rev. Benjamin Bewicke after he bought the estate in 1713.

Hallaton Hall: entrance front, as remodelled in the early 19th century.

Hallaton Hall: the south front and gardens in the early 20th century.

The next phase of development was perhaps undertaken for the Rev. Calverley John Bewicke (1765-1843), who inherited the estate in 1816 but may have been resident before that, as he was rector of the parish from 1789. One of the two piles of the house seems then to have been demolished, and the remaining one to have been clamped between new north and south wings. Both these wings project forward from the line of the surviving part of the old house under hipped roofs, and the space between them is occupied by a Tuscan porch and colonnade. The south wing was made into a new garden front of six bays, with the middle two raised to a third storey and stepped forward, while on the north side a detached service wing was built, and the grounds were laid out with terraces and glasshouses.

Hallaton Hall from 1st edn 25" plan, 1885

Hallaton Hall from 2nd edn 25" plan, 1904,
showing the additions made the previous year.

A terrible storm in July 1900 is said to have broken 2,000 panes of glass in the glasshouses at Hallaton Hall, but this damage had presumably been rectified before a major enlargement and remodelling took place for S.N. Bankart in 1903, when a small conservatory on the east end of the south range was replaced by a large glazed winter garden, and a music room was built beyond it, with another room - perhaps a smoking or billiard room - behind it. A bay window was added to the side of the dining room, and a linking range was constructed, joining the house to the detached service wing. Inside, the house was comprehensively redecorated, in a mixture of neo-Jacobean taste (entrance hall, dining room) and neo-Georgian style (drawing room). The Arts & Crafts plasterwork specialist, George Percy Bankart, was distantly related to Samuel Nevins Bankart, but there is no suggestion that he was involved in the redecoration of Hallaton.

Hallaton Hall: dining room

Hallaton Hall: drawing room

After some sixty years of institutional use between 1940 and 2000, the house was returned to residential use and extensively restored in 2003-05 for the current owners. They removed the late 20th century accretions and restored the house and grounds, but replaced most of the original windows with double-glazing, removed the bay window from the side of the dining room, and created vehicular access through the ground floor of the service wing. In 2023, they also obtained planning permission to add a subtantial new glass and concrete block behind the music room so as to divide the house into two dwellings. 

Descent: Crown sold 1588 to Richard Branthwayte and Roger Bromley, who sold later the same year to John Dent (d. 1595) of London, salter; to brother Edward Dent; to son, Francis Dent, who sold 1607 to William Street... Berkeley Street sold 1713 to Rev. Benjamin Bewicke (1665-1730), vicar of Barrow on Soar; to nephew Calverley Bewicke (1694-1774); to son, Benjamin Bewicke (1728-1815); to son, Rev. Calverley John Bewicke (1765-1843); to son, Calverley Bewicke (1816-64); to son, Calverley Theodore Bewicke (1848-1902), who sold the house but not the estate in 1897 to Samuel Nevins Bankart; sold 1912 to his brother-in-law, Herbert Fletcher; sold c.1923 to John Withers (fl. 1938); requisitioned for use by an evacuated boys' school, 1940; sold to Leicestershire County Council for use as an approved school, c.1946; sold to Order of Our Lady of Good Counsel as a training school for novices; sold 1976 to Torch Trust for the Blind; which sold c.2000 to Thomas Robert Hazleton (b. 1966).

Bewicke family of Close House and Urpeth Lodge

Bewicke, Robert (1561-1642). Son of Andrew Bewicke (d. by 1575), merchant adventurer of Newcastle-on-Tyne and his wife Margaret, daughter of Cuthbert Hunter of Newcastle, merchant, baptised at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 18 October 1561. Merchant adventurer and boothman (corn merchant) in Newcastle. Sheriff of Newcastle, 1615-16; Mayor of Newcastle, 1628-29; High Sheriff of Northumberland, 1638-39. He married, 24 January 1596/7 at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Eleanor (1577-1661), daughter of Alderman William Huntley of Newcastle, and had issue:

(1) William Bewicke (1598-1636), baptised at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 5 October 1598; merchant in Newcastle; married, 13 February 1622/3 at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Eleanor (d. 1665) (who m2, 14 January 1637/8 at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Thomas Loraine (d. 1649) of Kirkharle (Northbld)), daughter of Alderman Henry Maddison of Newcastle, and had issue one son and three daughters; died 22 February and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 24 February 1636/7, where he was commemorated by a monument; 

(2) Jane Bewicke (1600-21), baptised at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 27 January 1599/1600; given her father's house on the Sand Hill, Newcastle, as a wedding present; married, 25 October 1620, John Mitford (1594-1623) of Newcastle, merchant, son of Robert Mitford (d. 1597) of Newcastle, merchant, and had issue one son; died following childbirth and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 18 November 1621;

(3) Margaret Bewicke (1601-03), baptised at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 16 April 1601; died young and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 18 July 1603;

(4) Andrew Bewicke (b. & d. 1603), baptised at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 11 November 1603 but died in infancy and was buried there the following day;

(5) Robert Bewicke (1604-05), baptised at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 4 November 1604; died in infancy and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 15 March 1604/5;

(6) Thomas Bewicke (1606-90) (q.v.);

(7) Susan Bewicke (1609-11), baptised at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 15 October 1609; died in infancy and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 2 February 1610/11.

He purchased a house in The Close, Newcastle from Sir Henry Anderson and later a house 'on the Sand Hill' in Newcastle. He also bought the manor of Chantre and the chantry of Abbey-le-Close (later Close House) in 1623-24, and the Urpeth Lodge estate in Co. Durham in 1640.

He died 15 March and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 17 March 1641/2, where he is commemorated by a monument; his will was proved at Durham, 5 March 1641/2. His widow died 1 June and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 18 June 1661.

Bewicke, Thomas (1606-90). Fourth, but only surviving, son of Robert Bewicke (1561-1642) and his wife Eleanor, daughter of Alderman William Huntley of Newcastle, baptised at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 28 September 1606. Merchant adventurer in Newcastle and coal owner in Co. Durham; Mayor of Newcastle, 1639-40; High Sheriff of Co. Durham, 1655-56 and of Northumberland, 1662-63. He was presumably a Royalist, as he was one of the men nominated for the proposed Order of the Royal Oak in 1660. He married, 3 January 1641/2 at St Andrew, Newcastle-on-Tyne*, Jane (d. 1682), daughter of Sheffield Calverley (1592-c.1623), and had issue:

(1) Robert Bewicke (1643-1704), said to have been baptised 9 November 1643; inherited Close House and Urpeth Lodge, and interests in coal mines and Ryton (Co. Durham) and elsewhere from his father in 1690; High Sheriff of Northumberland, 1694-95; died unmarried, 9 January, and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 16 January 1703/4, where he is commemorated by a monument; will proved at Durham, 24 January 1703/4;

(2) Eleanor Bewicke (1646-61), baptised at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 29 December 1646; died young and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 23 August 1661;

(3) Thomas Bewicke (1648-1721), born 22 November and baptised at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 30 November 1648; admitted to Company of Merchant Adventurers of Newcastle-on-Tyne before November 1668; inherited Close House from his elder brother in 1704; married, 16 March 1674/5 at South Shields (Co. Durham), Eleanor (d. 1723), daughter of Robert Mitford, and had issue one son (who died before his father) and one daughter; died 5 March and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 8 March 1720/1;

(4) Jane Bewicke (1652-1705), born 10 June and baptised at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 14 June 1652; died unmarried and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 8 June 1705; will proved at Durham, 14 June 1705;

(5) Sheffield Bewicke (1653-54), baptised at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 16 July 1653; died in infancy and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 17 September 1654;

(6) Margaret Bewicke (1654-73?), baptised at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 5 November 1654; probably died unmarried and was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 3 April 1673;

(7) William Bewicke (1655-57), baptised at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 26 October 1655; died in infancy and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 13 April 1657;

(8) Elizabeth Bewicke (b. & d. 1657), born 31 January and baptised 5 February 1656/7; died in infancy and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 23 October 1657;

(9) Joseph Bewicke (1658-96), born 28 July and baptised at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 3 August 1658; merchant in Newcastle-on-Tyne; died unmarried and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 17 May 1696; will proved at Durham, 19 June 1696;

(10) twin, Barbara Bewicke (1660-1723), born 8 February and baptised 15 February 1659/60; married, 9 February 1698 at Heddon-on-the-Wall, Alderman William Ramsey (1660-1716) of Newcastle-on-Tyne; buried at All Saints, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 31 January 1723;

(11) twin, Elizabeth Bewicke (1660-73?), born 8 February and baptised 15 February 1659/60; probably died young and was buried at All Saints, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 8 August 1673;

(12) Calverley Bewicke (1661-1729) (q.v.);

(13) Rev. Benjamin Bewicke (1665-1730) [for whom see below, under Bewicke of Hallaton Hall]. 

He inherited Close House and Urpeth Lodge from his father in 1642.

He died 7 November and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 9 November 1690, where he is commemorated by a monument; his will was proved at Durham, 1690. His wife died 9 August, and was also buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 11 August 1682, where she is commemorated by a monument.

* Entered in the register of St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, but his wife's name is not stated.

Bewicke, Calverley (1661-1729). Sixth son of Thomas Bewicke (1606-90) and his wife Jane, daughter of Sheffield Calverley, baptised 8 July 1661. Admitted a Merchant Adventurer in Newcastle, 31 July 1695, but became a grocer in London until he inherited the family estates on the death of his brother Thomas in 1721. He married, 18 May 1686 at St Dionis Backchurch, London, Dorothy (1664-98), daughter of Ralph Izard (d. 1699) of London, citizen and grocer of London, and had issue:

(1) Elizabeth Bewicke (b. 1687), baptised at St Peter, Cornhill, London, 10 March 1686/7; married, 7 December 1708 at St Botolph, Bishopsgate, London, William Eyles or Eyres; death not traced;

(2) Jane Bewicke (b. 1688), baptised at St Peter, Cornhill, London, 18 October 1688; perhaps died young;

(3) Robert Bewicke (1690-1735) (q.v.);

(4) Barbara Bewicke (b. 1691), baptised at St Peter, Cornhill, London, 22 January 1690/1; perhaps died young;

(5) Thomas Bewicke (b. 1692), baptised at St Peter, Cornhill, London, 22 July 1692; perhaps died young;

(6) Joseph Bewicke (1693-1722), baptised at St Peter, Cornhill, London, 6 July 1693; said to have died without issue, 1722;

(7) Calverley Bewicke (1694-1774) [for whom see Bewicke of Hallaton Hall below]

(8) Dorothy Bewicke (1695-1751), baptised 7 November 1695; married, 8 November 1718 at York,  Thomas Lambton (1691-1746) of Hardwick (Co. Durham) and had issue at least five daughters; buried 21 January 1750/1 at St Oswald, Durham.

He inherited Close House and Urpeth Lodge from his elder brother, Thomas, in 1721.

He died 29 August and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1 September 1729; his will was proved at Durham, 10 September 1729. His wife was buried 'near the font' in St Peter Cornhill, London, 18 February 1697/8.

Bewicke, Robert (1690-1735). Eldest son of Calverley Bewicke (1661-1729) and his wife Dorothy Izard, baptised at St Peter Cornhill, London, 14 January 1689/90. Admitted to the Newcastle Merchant Adventurers Co., 17 December 1718. High Sheriff of Northumberland, 1726-27.  He married 1st, c.1720, presumably in the Netherlands, Elizabeth Klippinck (d. 1723) of Amsterdam, and 2nd, 29 September 1724 at Bishop Middleham (Co. Durham), Jane (1704-63), daughter of Robert Lynn of Mainsforth (Co. Durham), gent., and had issue:

(2.1) Sir Robert Bewicke (1728-71), kt. (q.v.);

(2.2) Rev. Wilson Bewicke (1730-99), baptised at Heddon-on-the-Wall, 20 November 1730; educated at University College (matriculated 1748), Lincoln College (BA 1751) and Oriel College, Oxford (MD 1756; BD and DD, 1771); ordained deacon, 1756 and priest, 1757; vicar of Calverley (Yorks), 1759-70; rector of Ross-on-Wye and Bodenham (Herefs), 1770; admitted to the Newcastle Merchant Adventurers Co., 21 December 1752; married, 26 October 1767 at Calverley (Yorks WR), Margaret (c.1753-1824), daughter and heir of John Ord of Sedgefield (Co. Durham), but had no issue; will proved in the PCC, 23 March 1799.

He lived at Bishop Middleham and later at Cassop Hall until he inherited Close House and Urpeth Lodge from his father in 1729.

He was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 30 March 1735; his will was proved in Durham, and a detailed room-by-room inventory of his possessions - not made until 1738 -gives the only real evidence of the nature of the predecessor of the present house. His first wife was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 29 March 1723. His widow was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 24 August 1763.

Bewicke, Sir Robert (1728-71), kt. Elder son of Robert Bewicke (1690-1735) and his wife Jane, daughter of Robert Lynn of Mainsforth (Co. Durham), baptised at Bishop Middleham, 7 July 1728. Educated at University College, Oxford (matriculated 1747). Admitted to Newcastle Merchant Adventurers Co., 21 December 1752; High Sheriff of Northumberland, 1760-61. He was knighted by King George III on delivering a loyal address in his capacity as High Sheriff, 5 December 1760. He married, 31 January 1752, at Holme Pierrepont (Notts), Mary, daughter of Robert Huish of Nottingham, merchant, and had issue:

(1) Jane Bewicke (1752-1821), baptised at Heddon-on-the-Wall, 11 November 1752; married, 7 March 1778 at Battersea (Surrey), Sir Paul Jodrell MD (1746-1803), physician, second son of Paul Jodrell of Duffield, solicitor-general to Frederick, Prince of Wales, and had issue one daughter; buried at Dartmouth (Devon), 16 January 1821, where she is commemorated by a monument;

(2) Robert Bewicke (1753-1800), baptised at Heddon-on-the-Wall, 7 October 1753; merchant in Newcastle; died unmarried, 10 December and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 15 December 1800;

(3) Mary Bewicke (1754-c.1783) (q.v.);

(4) Calverley Bewicke (1755-1815) (q.v.);

(5) Dorothy Bewicke (b. & d. 1756), born 1 August 1756; died in infancy, 12 August 1756;

(6) Margaret Bewicke (1757-1839), born 18 September 1757; married, 4 July 1781 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Thomas Bond (d. 1807) of Norton House (Devon), but had no issue; buried at Dartmouth (Devon), 14 June 1839; will proved in the PCC, 5 July 1839;

(7) Ann Bewicke (1759-1836), born 18 February 1759; married 1st, 8 October 1781 at Boxley (Kent), George Bursey (d. 1782) of London; married 2nd, 24 July 1798 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, James Woodmason (c.1748-1831)* of Belcamp House, Dublin and Emsworth, Kinsealy (Co. Dublin), and later of Norton House, Dartmouth (Devon), stationer and banker; buried at Dartmouth, 29 January 1836;

(8) Eleanor Bewicke (b. 1760), baptised at Heddon-on-the-Wall, 29 June 1760; married, 6 July 1779 at St Margaret, Lothbury, London, Alexander Anderson (1757-1831) of Streatham Common (Surrey), the stepson of her sister Mary, but had no issue; living in 1817 but death not traced;

(9) Alice Bewicke (1761-1803), born 13 September 1761; died unmarried; will proved in the PCC, 27 May 1803;

(10) Dorothy Bewicke (1763-1843), born 9 January 1763; married, 27 December 1782 at St Margaret, Westminster, William Lynn (1753-1837) of Westminster, surgeon and President of the Royal College of Surgeons, 1825-26, but had no issue; buried at Holy Trinity, Clapham (Surrey), 26 April 1843; will proved in the PCC, 12 May 1843;

(11) Thomas Bewicke (1770-76?), baptised at Heddon-on-the-Wall, 7 October 1770; said to have died aged 5 and is therefore probably the person of this name buried at Newcastle-on-Tyne, 13 January 1776.

He inherited Close House and Urpeth Lodge from his father in 1735.

He died 3 September 1771 and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 8 September 1771, where he is commemorated by a monument. His widow died at Pontoise (France) in about May 1779, and although she was a protestant, was buried in the convent there.

* James Woodmason was a serial businessman, who is first heard of as a gallery owner in Dublin. He then moved to London and opened a gallery there before becoming a successful stationer, who supplied paper to Benjamin Franklin and was an agent for James Watt's letter copying press. He was also partner in a wallpaper manufacturing business. Finally, he became a partner with John Claudius Beresford (1766-1846) in the large Dublin banking firm, Beresford & Co., 1793-1808. He acted as executor of the will of Ann's first husband, George Bursey.

Bewicke, Calverley (1755-1815). Second son of Sir Robert Bewicke (1728-71), kt., and his wife Mary, daughter of Robert Huish of Nottingham, merchant, born 26 June 1755. Educated at Royal Grammar School, Newcastle-on-Tyne and University College, Oxford (matriculated 1773). High Sheriff of Northumberland, 1782-83. An officer in the 2nd Dragoon Guards (Cornet; retired 1778) and later the Durham Militia (Lt-Col., 1794-1805). Whig MP for Winchilsea, 1806-15, on the interest of his neighbour, the Earl of Darlington. He married 1st, 23 October 1777 at Brancepeth (Co. Durham), Dorothy (d. 1779), daughter of Thomas Wilkinson of Brancepeth, and 2nd, 7 June 1781 at St Mary-le-Bow, Durham, Margaret (1761-1859), daughter and co-heir of Robert Spearman of Oldacres, Sedgefield (Co. Durham), but had no issue.

He inherited Close House and Urpeth Lodge from his father in 1771 and came of age in 1776; he rebuilt Close House in 1779.

He died 24 October 1815 and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, where he is commemorated by a fine monument designed by Edward Hodges Baily (1788-1867). His first wife died in York, 18 July, and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 22 July 1779. His widow died aged 97 on 8 March 1859 and was buried at St Nicholas, Newcastle-on-Tyne; her will was proved 16 June 1859 (effects under £16,000).

Bewicke, Mary (1754-83). Second daughter of Sir Robert Bewicke (1728-71), kt., and his wife Mary, daughter of Robert Huish of Nottingham, merchant, baptised at Heddon-on-the-Wall, 16 August 1754. She married, 17 September 1772 at Heddon-on-the-Wall, as his second wife, Alexander Anderson (c.1730-96) of Highgate (Middx) and London, merchant, and had issue:

(1) John Robert Anderson (1775-1837), born 29 June and baptised at St Michael, Highgate, 22 July 1775; London merchant and agent for Scottish merchants in the capital; married, 2 January 1809 at Edinburgh, Elizabeth (1776-1860), daughter of Robert Boswell WS of Edinburgh, Lord Lyon Depute of Scotland, and had issue two sons and four daughters; buried at Holy Trinity, Clapham (Surrey), 4 December 1837; will proved in the PCC, 28 September 1838;

(2) Charlotte Anderson (1779-1864), baptised at St Michael, Highgate, 27 July 1779; lived at Bishopston (Co. Durham); died unmarried, 25 August 1864; will proved 26 October 1864 (effects under £12,000);

(3) Calverley Bewicke Anderson (later Bewicke) (1780-1865) (q.v.);

(4) Mary Ann Anderson (1782-1857), born 1 May and baptised at St Michael, Highgate, 19 May 1782; made her home with the children of her eldest brother after 1839; died unmarried in Edinburgh, 12? January 1857, and was buried in Greyfriars kirkyard, where she is commemorated by a monument; will proved in the PCC, 14 March 1857;

(5) Paul Anderson (1783-1852), born 16 April and baptised at St Michael Highgate, 27 April 1783; lived at Mainsforth and later Cassoe (Co. Durham); died unmarried, 15 May 1852, and was buried at Kelloe (Co. Durham), where he is commemorated by a tombstone in the churchyard.

After her marriage, she lived at Highgate.

She died following childbirth, and was buried at Highgate Chapel, of which her husband was a Governor, 26 April 1783. Her husband married 3rd, 12 September 1783 at Edinburgh, Mary (fl. 1796), youngest daughter of Roger Hogg of Kirkliston; he was buried at Highgate, 19 November 1796.

Anderson (later Bewicke), Calverley Bewicke (1780-1865). Second son of Alexander Anderson of Highgate (Middx), and his wife Mary, daughter of Sir Robert Bewicke (1728-71), kt., of Close House (Northbld.), baptised at Highgate (Middx), 29 November 1780. An officer in the South Lincolnshire militia (Capt., 1810). He took the name and arms of Bewicke in lieu of Anderson by royal sign manual, 1815. He married, 15 April 1816 at Witton-le-Wear (Co. Durham), Elizabeth Philadelphia (1782-1865), daughter of Thomas Wilkinson of Witton Castle and Coxhoe (Co. Durham), and had issue:

(1) Calverley Bewicke (1817-76) (q.v.);

(2) twin, Robert Calverley Bewicke (later Bewicke-Bewicke) (1818-86), of Coulby Manor, Hemlington (Yorks NR), born 15 May and baptised at Ponteland, 9 June 1818; articled to Armour Donkin of Newcastle, solicitor, 1836; educated at Middle Temple (admitted 1842; called 1845); barrister-at-law; an officer in the Northumberland & Newcastle Yeomanry Cavalry (Cornet, 1844) and Durham Rifle Volunteers (Capt., 1861; resigned 1861); took surname Bewicke-Bewicke by 1876; JP (by 1881) and DL for North Riding of Yorkshire; married, 23 February 1854 at Stainton-in-Cleveland (Yorks NR), Mary Theresa (1833-1916), third daughter of Rev. William Gooch, canon of York Minster, and had issue two sons and two daughters; died 31 October 1886; will proved 23 November 1886 (effects £37,342);

(3) twin, Margaret Bewicke (1818-53), born 15 May and baptised at Ponteland (Northbld), 9 June 1818; married, 7 October 1845 at St Mary-le-Bow, Durham, James Rundell Bigge (1806-53), but had no issue; died 20 September 1853; will proved in the PCC, 1 November 1853;

(4) Thomas Bewicke (1822-42), born 28 May, and baptised at Castle Eden (Co. Durham), 30 September 1822; died without issue and was buried at Stainton-in-Cleveland (Yorks NR), 26 March 1842;

(5) William Bewicke (1824-89), of Threepwood Hall, Warden (Northbld), born at Castle Eden (Co. Durham), 18 November 1824 and baptised at Stainton-in-Cleveland (Yorks), 8 September 1826; in 1861 he was jailed for four years for shooting at two sheriff's officers who went to Threepwood Hall to serve a writ on him, but it subsequently transpired that he was the victim of a conspiracy and he was released a year later 'without a stain on his character', though he does seem to have had a somewhat hasty temper; he married 1st, 8 May 1852 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Jane Westgarth (1824-58)*, daughter of Rev. Robert Tweddell, and had issue one daughter; married 2nd, 27 July 1864 at St Luke, King's Cross (Middx) (div. on the grounds of his cruelty and adultery, 1867), Elizabeth Lucy (b. c.1832), daughter of Benjamin Jones, solicitor, and had issue one son (who died in infancy); died 10 May 1889; will proved 27 November 1889 (effects £11,223);

(6) Elizabeth Bewicke (1820-55), born 15 July and baptised at Castle Eden, 20 August 1820; died unmarried, 21 November 1855; will proved in the PCC, 16 February 1856 and administration of her remaining goods granted 22 May 1865.

He inherited Close House and Urpeth Lodge on the death of his aunt in 1859, but never lived there. He sold Urpeth Lodge about 1860. He lived at Kirkley Hall, Ponteland (Northbld) and later at Coulby Manor, Hemlington (Yorks NR).

He died 8 March 1865; his will was proved 5 April 1865 (effects under £120,000). His widow died 15 March 1865; administration of her goods (with will annexed) was granted 24 April 1865 (effects under £10,000).

* She perhaps suffered from post-natal depression, for she was briefly confined in a lunatic asylum in 1853.

Bewicke (later Bewicke-Bewicke), Calverley (1817-76). Eldest son of Calverley Bewicke Anderson (later Bewicke) (1782-1865) and his wife Elizabeth Philadelphia, daughter of Thomas Wilkinson of Witton Castle and Coxhoe (Co. Durham), born 4 July and baptised at Ponteland (Northbld), 13 July 1817. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1837). JP and DL for County Durham and JP for Northumberland; High Sheriff of Northumberland, 1876 (died in office). He married, 8 November 1854 at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), Jane Henrietta (c.1838-99), only daughter of William Torrens MacCullagh (later MacCullough Torrens) MP (1813-94), and had issue:

(1) Margaret Elizabeth Henrietta Bewicke (1855-1935), born about December 1855 and baptised at Haughton-le-Skerne (Co. Durham), 5 January 1856; married, 16 January 1878 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), William Edward Montague Hulton-Harrap (c.1849-1916) of Bardsley Hall (Lancs) and Lythwood Hall (Shrops.), son of Rev. Arthur Hyde Hulton (c.1817-58), vicar of Ashton-under-Lyne (Lancs), and had issue one daughter; died in Shrewsbury (Shrops.), 15 March 1935; will proved 4 June 1935 (estate £4,083);

(2) Calverley Bewicke (1858-96) (q.v.);

(3) Capt. Percival Wentworth Bewicke (1861-1950), born 22 December 1861 and baptised at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster (Middx), 17 March 1862; educated at Harrow; an officer in the 15th Hussars (Lt., 1883; Capt., 1890); inherited the racehorses of his friend, the trainer Charles Perkins of Carham Hall, Coldstream (Berwicks.) in 1905; lived latterly at St. Andrews (Fife); died unmarried, 20 May 1950; will proved in Scotland, by which he left his estate largely to his great-nephew, Calverley Bewicke (1914-97), who shared his racing interests;

(4) Ethel Adela Spearman Bewicke (1865-1918), baptised at Heddon-on-the-Wall, 15 October 1865; died unmarried in Battersea (London), 26 April 1918; will proved 26 July 1918 (estate £8,215).

He lived at Heighington (Co. Durham) until he moved to Close House on the death of his great-aunt in 1859. In 1873 his estate comprised just under 3,000 acres.

He died 10 August 1876; his will was proved 11 September 1876 (effects under £14,000). His widow married 2nd, 10 October 1881 at St Mary, Bryanston Square, Westminster (Middx), James Lyster O'Beirne (c.1820-95), MP for Cashel (Co. Tipperary) 1865-69, son of Edward O'Beirne, solicitor; she died at Maison Bayle, Bielle, Bas Pyrennes (France), 17 August 1899; her will was proved 7 November 1899 (estate in England, £959).

Bewicke, Calverley (1858-96). Elder son of Calverley Bewicke (1817-76) and his wife Jane Henrietta, only daughter of W.T. MacCullagh Torrens MP, born 28 January and baptised at Heighington (Co. Durham), 9 March 1858. JP for Northumberland. He was an enthusiastic promoter of cricket, who did 'more than any other person to promote club cricket in Northumberland'. He married, 10 April 1880 at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster (Middx), Eleanor Evelyn (1858-1919), younger daughter of Rev. Edward Henry Quicke (1822-70), vicar of Newton St. Cyres (Devon), and had issue:

(1) Violet Margaret Bewicke (1881-1938), born 13 January and baptised at Christ Church, Down St., Mayfair, Westminster (Middx), 5 March 1881; married 1st, 15 September 1904 at Heddon-on-the-Wall, John Guthrie Percival (1866-1914), son of Rt. Rev. John Percival (1834-1918), Bishop of Hereford, and 2nd, 19 July 1924 in Kensington (Middx), Maj. Edric Thomas Kingscote (1885-1959) of Kingscote Park (Glos), but died without issue, 23 March 1938;

(2) Beatrice Evelyn Bewicke (1882-1905), born 1 April and baptised at Ovingham (Northbld), 30 April 1882; married, 12 December 1904 at Heddon-on-the-Wall, Lt-Col. Kenneth John Walters Leather CBE (1878-1963), engineer, (who m2, 15 October 1908 at Holy Trinity, Kensington Gore (Middx), Sybil Margaret (1886-1942), daughter of Arthur Laing, shipbuilder, and had issue one son; and m3, Jan-Mar 1943, Gladys (1906-93), daughter of Henry Aynsley Crinkley (1870-1916)), fourth son of Frederick John Leather of Middleton Hall, Belford (Northbld.), but had no issue; died 30 October 1905; administration of goods granted to her husband, 2 January 1906 (estate £3,967);

(3) Maj. Calverley Bewicke (1883-1963) (q.v.);

(4) Ione Eleanor Bewicke (1884-1945), born 16 November 1884 and baptised at Christ Church, Down St., Mayfair, 16 February 1885; married, 3 August 1909 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster, Lt-Col. John Salusbury Unthank DSO (1875-1959), eldest surviving son of Clement William Joseph Unthank of Intwood Hall (Norfk), and had issue one daughter; died 19 January 1945; will proved 24 April 1945 (estate £4,188);

(5) Ivan Calverley Edward Bewicke (1885-1934), born December 1885; educated at Haileybury; bankrupt, 1911, due to excessive expenditure and gambling losses; married, 1919*, Susanne Elise Camille Henriette Quintaine (1898-1972), and had issue at least three children; died at Frankston, Victoria (Australia), 4 March 1933; administration of goods granted 28 July 1937 (estate £517);

(6) Daphne Bewicke (1887-1947), born 10 February and baptised at Tormoham (Devon), 1 April 1887; married 1st, 29 August 1907 at Heddon-on-the-Wall, Charles Noel Ridley (1884-1915) of Park End (Northbld), and had issue two daughters; married 2nd, 8 October 1918 at Brampton (Cumbld.), Brig. Hall Grant Pringle DSO (1876-1942), son of David Pringle, farmer; died at Whitby (Yorks NR), 23 April 1947; will proved 27 August 1947 (estate £4,734);

(7) Richard Evelyn Bewicke (1888-1911), born 6 June 1888; educated at Wellington College, 1902-05; married, 1909, Valerie Jean Sinclair (who m2, 1912 at Sliddery, Isle of Arran, Aubrey Mendelssohn Cowan**, and 3rd, 1920, Geoffrey Michael Elliot Square); died from an overdose of morphia, which he took habitually for a heart complaint, 26 July 1911; administration of goods granted 27 September 1911 (estate £190);

(8) Wentworth Percival Bewicke (1892-1953), born 31 May 1892; educated at Harrow; an officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1911; retired 1913; returned to colours c.1914; Lt., c.1915; Capt., 1916; retired 1919; awarded MC); farmer at Kingston, Hawridge (Bucks); married, 1929, Hilda Jane (1900-96), daughter of Edward Holdstock and former wife of Charles James Weddup (1890-1966); died 23 July 1953; will proved 11 September 1953 (estate £10,245).

He inherited Close House on the death of his father in 1876. At his death he left it to his widow for life and then to his eldest son. The house was leased from 1906-29.

He died 5 September 1896; his will was proved 23 October 1896 (effects £51,885). His widow died in London, 8 September 1919; her will was proved 1 November 1919 (estate £12,160).

* Some accounts say they were divorced in 1929, but I have found no evidence for this.

** In 1920, Mrs Cowan sought a declaration in the Edinburgh Court of Session that she had never been legally married to Mr Cowan, and also a promise of his silence about it; both parties subsequently remarried. It 1935 the divorce court set aside her marriage to Mr Square and Mr Cowan's second marriage, finding that the Scottish marriage of 1912 had been valid.

Bewicke, Maj. Calverley (1883-1963). Eldest son of Calverley Bewicke (1858-96) and his wife Eleanor Evelyn, younger daughter of Rev. Edward Henry Quicke, vicar of Newton St. Cyres (Devon), born 7 March 1883. Educated at Harrow. An officer in the Northumberland Fusiliers (2nd Lt., 1902) and the Scots Guards (2nd Lt., by 1905; accidentally shot in the stomach during a live firing exercise, 1906 and retired 1907; returned to service as 2nd Lt., 1915; Lt., c.1916; Capt., 1918; Maj. by 1924; awarded OBE, 1913 and MC, 1917; returned to service as Lt., 1940). During his period out of the army before the first world war he was an amateur jockey and suffered several damaging falls. JP for Northumberland from 1938. He married, 3 June 1911 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Hylda (c.1889-1934), possibly the actress of that name, daughter of Henry Dugdale of Leamington (Warks), and had issue:

(1) Maj. Calverley Bewicke (1914-97) (q.v.);

(2) Rosemary Bettine Bewicke (1918-70), born 7 November 1918 and baptised at Holy Trinity, Sloane St., Chelsea, 4 March 1919; married, Oct-Dec 1938, Frank Freeman (1917-95), son of William Freeman (1881-1968), but had no issue; died Jul-Sept. 1970;

(3) Eleanor Ann Bewicke (1924-2004), born Apr-Jun 1924; married, 1950, Michael Harold Price (1917-95) of Whinfield, St. Boswells (Roxburghs.), son of Sir Keith Price (d. 1956), kt., of Wintershall, Bramley (Surrey); died 16 April 2004.

He inherited Close House on the death of his mother in 1919, but the house was leased until 1929, and was requisitioned during the Second World War, and he lived in Berkshire and later at High Close House on the estate. He sold Close House in 1953 and from 1960 lived at Eglingham Hall, which his daughter-in-law inherited from her father in 1960.

He was buried 4 December 1963. His wife died 6 June 1934; administration of her goods was granted to her husband, 10 September 1934 (estate £357).

Bewicke, Maj. Calverley (k/a Verley) (1914-97). Only son of Maj. Calverley Bewicke (1883-1963) and his wife Hylda, daughter of James Dugdale of Leamington (Warks), born 18 July 1914. Educated at Eton. He served in the Northumberland Hussars and Yorkshire Dragoons (Maj.), and saw active service in the Second World War. Amateur National Hunt rider, who later became a trainer of racehorses and had some success (including winning the 1958 Cheltenham Gold Cup with 'Kerstin'), but found as many others have done, that racing was an excellent way to turn a large fortune into a small one; he eventually gave up racing and became a wine merchant and importer, specialising in the wines of Sancerre. He was also an accomplished amateur cricketer. He married 1st, 27 October 1936 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx) (div. 1963 on the grounds of his adultery), Juliet (1916-99), daughter of Lt-Col. Henry Roland Milvain (1880-1960) of Eglingham Hall (Northbld), and 2nd, 15 July 1965, Marigold (b. 1942), daughter of Noel Phillips-Browne of Lyndhurst (Hants), and had issue:

(1.1) (Judith) April Bewicke (b. 1940), born 25 March 1940; given Eglingham Hall by her mother, c.1974; married, July 1962 at Eglingham, Henry Potts (b. 1938), solicitor, younger son of Henry Potts of Chorlton (Ches.);

(1.2) Clare Bewicke (b. 1945), born 3 September 1945; bespoke shirtmaker (with Deborah Wood) as 'Deborah & Clare', 1965-75 and later a partner in Callan & Horsey; married, Apr-Jun 1972, Alan Callan, photographer, musician and music producer;

(1.3) Calverley Milvain Bewicke (b. 1949), born 23 March 1949; educated at Eton and Montpelier University; married, January 1971, (Lasca) Teresa Strange, daughter of Mrs Benjamin Hill of Wichita Falls, Texas (USA) and granddaughter of D.D. Strange of Texas, oil tycoon;

(1.4) Daphne Gay Bewicke (b. 1950), born 5 August 1950; potter.

He bought Shawdon Hall (Northbld) in 1951 but sold it in 1964 after his divorce. His first wife lived at Eglingham Hall after their divorce but handed it over to her eldest daughter in about 1974. His widow lived latterly at Coldstream (Berwicks.)

He died in February 1997. His first wife died 1 April 1999; her will was proved 18 January 2000. His widow is now living.

Bewicke of Hallaton Hall

Bewicke, Rev. Benjamin (1665-1730). Seventh and youngest son of Thomas Bewicke (1606-90) [for whom see above] and his wife Jane, daughter of Sheffield Calverley, baptised at Heddon-on-the-Wall, 19 August 1665. Educated at University College, Oxford (matriculated 1683; BA 1687; MA 1689). Ordained deacon, 1690 and priest, 1691. Curate of Chipping Campden (Glos), 1692-96; lecturer and reader at St Peter, Cornhill, London, 1696-1701; Vicar of Barrow-on-Soar (Leics), 1701-30. He married, 10 April 1710, Elizabeth (1691-1769), daughter of Rev. William Fenwick, rector of Hallaton, but had no issue.

He purchased the manor and advowson of Hallaton (Leics) in 1713. At his death, he bequeathed the estate to his widow for life and then to his nephew, Calverley Bewicke (1694-1774).

He died 21 August 1730 and is said to have been buried at Barrow-on-Soar, though his name does not seem to appear in the register. His widow died 27 November and was buried at Hallaton, 1 December 1769.

Bewicke, Calverley (1694-1774), Fourth and youngest son of Calverley Bewicke (1661-1729) [for whom see above] and his wife Dorothy Izard, baptised at St Peter, Cornhill, London, 21 August 1694. He was admitted to the Newcastle Merchant Adventurers Co., 13 May 1717. A merchant in London trading with Portugal. High Sheriff of Leicestershire, 1762-63. He married, 20 April 1728 at Mortlake (Surrey), Alice (1697-1775), daughter of Robert Smyth of London, merchant, and had issue:

(1) Benjamin Bewicke (1728-1816) (q.v.);

(2) Anne Bewicke (1729-1811), baptised at All Hallows, Staining, London, 8 July 1729; married, 15? December 1761, Rt. Rev. Philip Yonge (1709-83), the 'extraordinarily idle' Bishop of Bristol, 1758-61 and of Norwich, 1761-83, but had no issue; died in London, 28 January 1811;

(3) Sarah Bewicke (c.1730-70), born about 1730; died unmarried, 23 August, and was buried at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 30 August 1770;

(4) Dorothy Bewicke (1731-94), baptised at All Hallows, Staining, London, 30 September 1731; died unmarried and was buried at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 28 April 1794;

(5) Alice Bewicke (1734-96), baptised at St James Garlickhythe, London, 10 February 1733/4; married, 11 August 1767 at Holy Trinity, Clapham, Daniel Eyre (1727-86), of Salisbury (Wilts), and had issue two sons and one daughter; buried at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 24 December 1796;

(6) Calverley Bewicke (1735-1803), baptised at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 13 February 1735; merchant in London; lived at Clapham (Surrey); married, 6 May 1766 at Holy Trinity, Clapham, Jane, daughter of Robert Thornton and had issue one son and one daughter; buried at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 30 September 1803; will proved in the PCC, 6 October 1803.

He inherited the manor and advowson of Hallaton (Leics) on the death of his aunt in 1769.

He was buried at Clapham (Surrey), 17 February 1774; his will was proved in the PCC, 26 February 1774. His widow died 31 October and was buried at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 8 November 1775; her will was proved in the PCC, 23 November 1775.

Bewicke, Benjamin (1728-1816). Elder son of Calverley Bewicke (1694-1774) and his wife Alice, daughter of Robert Smyth of London, merchant, baptised at All Hallows, Staining, London, 22 May 1728. Merchant in London, in partnership with Calverley Bewicke and Foulerond Mourgue, who became bankrupt in 1784 and were still paying dividends to their creditors in 1795. In 1804 he was a member of the Court of Assistants of the Corporation of the Sons of the Clergy for the relief of their poor widows and children. He married 1st, 27 October 1761 at Battersea (Surrey), Elizabeth (d. 1762), daughter of Henry Smyth of London, and 2nd, 21 February 1764 at St Thomas the Apostle, London, Anne (c.1734-1822), daughter of John Glessal of Putney (Surrey), and had issue:

(2.1) Rev. Calverley John Bewicke (1765-1843) (q.v.);

(2.2) Benjamin Bewicke (1766-87?), born 7 March and baptised at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 19 March 1766; said to have died unmarried in about 1787;

(2.3) Robert Bewicke (1767-1820), born 3 March and baptised at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 3 May 1767; died unmarried and was buried at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 14 December 1820;

(2.4) Philip Bewicke (1768-1814), born 16 April and baptised at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 27 April 1768; had a relationship with Harriet Sparks (1787-1851), by whom he produced one illegitimate daughter; died 21 August and was buried at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 5 September 1814;

(2.5) Rev. Thomas Bewicke (1769-1842), baptised at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 2 June 1769; educated at Jesus College, Cambridge (matriculated 1787; BA 1791; MA 1794); ordained deacon, 1792 and priest, 1794; stipendiary curate at Ilketshall (Suffk), 1813 and Bungay (Suffk), 1833; married, 18 October 1797 at Starston (Norfk), Sarah (1768-1849), daughter of Rev. Robert Etheridge, rector of Starston (Norfk), and had issue one son and five daughters; died 7 February 1842 and was buried at St Mary, Bungay, where he is commemorated by a monument;

(2.6) Anna Letitia Bewicke (1771-1841), born 14 February and baptised at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 27 February 1771; lived at Brighton (Sussex); died unmarried and was buried at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 22 October 1841; her will was proved in the PCC, 15 December 1841;

(2.7) Dorothy Bewicke (b. & d. 1772), born 11 April and baptised at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 7 May 1772; died in infancy, 8 May, and was buried at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 11 May 1772;

(2.8) Rebecca Bewicke (1774-1856), born 5 February and baptised at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 16 February 1774; married, 26 April 1815 at St Andrew, Holborn (Middx), William Augustus Standert (1780-1852), son of Osborn Standert, but had no issue; died 16 March, and was buried at Preston (Sussex), 25 March 1856; her will was proved in the PCC, 3 April 1856.

He inherited the Hallaton Hall estate from his father in 1774; as the property was settled and he therefore only had a life interest it was not lost to the family on his bankruptcy. He lived in New Ormond St., London.

He died 25 April, and was buried at Holy Trinity, Clapham, 2 May 1816; his will was proved in the PCC, 26 July 1816. His first wife died in childbirth, 3 October 1762, but her burial has not been traced; administration of her goods (with will annexed) was granted in the PCC, 27 October 1762. His widow died in December 1822 and was buried at Clapham, 2 January 1823; her will was proved in the PCC, 28 April 1823.

Bewicke, Rev. Calverley John (1765-1843). Eldest son of Benjamin Bewicke (1728-1816) and his second wife, Anne, daughter of John Glessal of London, baptised at Holy Trinity, Clapham (Surrey), 23 January 1765. Educated at Westminster School, Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1782; BA 1786; MA 1812) and Grays Inn (admitted 1783). Ordained deacon, 1789 and priest, 1789. Rector of Hallaton-cum-Blaston, 1789-1843 and Loddington (Leics), 1812-43; domestic chaplain to William Arden (1789-1849), 2nd Baron Alvanley, 1812. In 1793 his first wife was convicted of adultery with W. Welby Vaughan, the brother of her first husband, and Vaughan was fined £400 for 'criminal conversation'. He married 1st, 16 August 1788 (div. 1793) at St Andrew, Holborn (Middx), Mary Elizabeth (1757-1854), daughter of Sir Everard Buckworth (later Buckworth-Herne), 5th bt., and widow of James Vaughan (1765-88) of Leicester, and 2nd, 12 December 1815 at St Andrew Holborn, Caroline (d. 1822), daughter of Col. Nathaniel Newnham MP (c.1741-1809), sugar-baker, banker and Lord Mayor of London, of Barn Rocks House, Pagham (Sussex), and had issue:

(2.1) Calverley Bewicke (1816-64) (q.v.);

(2.2) Emma Bewicke (1818-91), baptised at Hallaton, 29 October 1818; married, 26 November 1839 at All Souls, Langham Place, Marylebone (Middx), her cousin, Richard Calverley Bewicke (1798-1861) of Barsham (Suffk) and Ripple House (Kent), and had issue two sons and three daughters; died 27 April 1891;

(2.3) Sophia Bewicke (1820-68), baptised at Hallaton, 3 April 1820; died unmarried at Bornal (Belgium), 22 March 1868;

(2.4) Thomas Bewicke (1822-72), baptised at Pagham (Sussex), 3 September 1822; lived at Brighton (Sussex); died 16 January 1872; will proved 26 February 1872 (estate under £3,000).

He inherited the Hallaton Hall estate from his father in 1815.

He died at Hallaton Hall, 5 May 1843; his will was proved in the PCC, 22 August 1843. His first wife married 3rd, 17 October 1799 at Heydon (Essex), Capt. John Buckworth and died in 1855. His second wife died following childbirth, and was buried at Pagham (Sussex), 10 October 1822.

Bewicke, Calverley (1816-64). Elder son of Rev. Calverley John Bewicke (1765-1843) and his second wife, Caroline, daughter of Col. Nathaniel Newnham of Barn Rocks House (Sussex), born 29 September and baptised at Hallaton, 30 September 1816. Educated at Westminster School, 1827-35, and University College, Oxford (matriculated 1835; rowing blue); first President of the Oxford University Boat Club, 1839. He married, 2 October 1839 at Boldon (Co. Durham), Mary Amelia (d. 1865), youngest daughter of Rev. Nathaniel John Hollingsworth, rector of Boldon, and had issue:

(1) Caroline Emily Bewicke (1840-1931), born at Suttle House (Cumbld.), 22 October 1840; married, 4 June 1887 at St Peter, Cranley Gardens, Kensington (Middx), as his second wife, Francis John du Pasquier (b. 1845) of London, a clerk in the Crown Office at the Royal Courts of Justice, son of Capt. Francis William du Pasquier, but had no issue; buried at Kensington Cemetery, Hanwell (Middx), 29 August 1931;

(2) Menina Honoria Bewicke (1842-1936), born 4 April and baptised at Funchal, Madeira (Portugal), 25 April 1842; became a Sister of Charity of St Vincent de Paul at Salonika (Greece); author of Tapestry of a Life; died unmarried aged 94 at Salonika (Greece), 5 July 1936; will proved 28 August 1936 (estate £400)

(3) Alicia Helen Neva Bewicke (1845-1926), born 19 April and baptised at Funchal, Madeira, 12 May 1845; married, 2 November 1886 at St George, Hanover Sq., Westminster (Middx), Archibald John Little (1838-1908) of Shanghai (China), son of William John Little, physician, but had no issue; died 31 July 1926; will proved 15 February 1927 (estate £4,275).

(4) Calverley Theodore Bewicke (1846-1902) (q.v.);

(5) Hugh Bertram Nathaniel Bewicke (1850-1921), born 2 August and baptised at British chaplaincy, Funchal, Madeira (Portugal), 18 August 1850; an officer in the army (Capt.); married, 28 October 1893 at Agra (India), Lucy Blanche (1859-1943), daughter of Lt-Col. Samuel Briggs Cookson (1824-72), and had issue two sons and one daughter; died at Hallaton Grange, Hallaton (Leics), 3 May 1921; will proved 30 June 1921 (estate £4,412); 

(6) William Standert Bewicke (1851-1912), born 21 August and baptised at British chaplaincy, Funchal, Madeira (Portugal), 14 September 1851; British vice-consul at Tetuan (Morocco), 1895-1912; died in Gibraltar, 10 August 1912; administration of his goods granted to his elder brother, 25 September 1912 (estate £708).

He inherited the Hallaton Hall estate from his father in 1843, but let the house from 1848.

He died at the Braganza Hotel, Lisbon (Portugal), 22 June 1864. His widow died at Arona (Italy), 7 July 1865.

Bewicke, Calverley Theodore (1848-1902). Eldest son of Calverley Bewicke (1816-64) and his wife Mary Amelia, youngest daughter of Rev. Nathaniel John Hollingsworth, rector of Boldon (Co. Durham), born in Rome (Italy), 5 March 1848*. He joined the Royal Navy in 1861 (Sub-Lt., 1868; Lt., 1872; retired 1888). He married, 21 August 1878 at Upper Arley (Staffs; now Worcs), Effie Elizabeth (1853-1939), daughter of Rev. Dawson William Turner DCL (1815-85) of Arley Cottage, but had no issue.

He inherited the Hallaton Hall estate from his father in 1864, and in 1873 his estate was 802 acres. He continued to let the house until he sold it in 1897 to Samuel Nevins Bankart. He lived in London. At his death the estate passed to his widow for life with the intention that it would go ultimately to his nephew, Calverley George Bewicke (1897-1916), who was, however killed in the First World War.

He died 20 May 1902; his will was proved 11 June 1902 (estate £33,310). His widow died at Great Malvern (Worcs), 7 February, and was buried at Upper Arley, 9 February 1939; her will was proved 26 April 1939 (estate £24,549). 

* His tombstone gives the date as 1846, but this seems to be an error.

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1894, pp. 146-47; Burke's Landed Gentry, 1972, pp. 66-67; C.J. Bates, 'Heddon-on-the-Wall: The Church and Parish', Archaeologia Aeliana vol. 11 (1886), pp. 240-94; C. Hussey, 'Shawdon Hall, Northumberland', Country Life, 5 March 1959, pp. 460-63; Sir N. Pevsner et al., The buildings of England: Northumberland, 2nd edn., 1992, p. 311; R. Pears, 'William Newton (1730-1798) and the Development of the Architectural Profession in North-East England', Newcastle Univ. PhD thesis, 2013; Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland, Hallaton: the story of the village - the pre-war years, 2019; M. Roberts, Sir N. Pevsner & E. Williamson, The buildings of England: County Durham, 3rd edn., 2021, p.115; T. Ebbs. 'Hallaton Hall Heritage Impact Statement', 2023.

Location of archives

Bewicke of Close House: No significant archive is known to survive, but some papers may remain with the family.

Bewicke of Hallaton Hall (Leics): deeds, estate and family papers, 1628-1912 [Record Office for Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland, DG26]

Coat of arms

Argent, five lozenges in fesse gules each charged with a mullet of the first, between three bears' heads erased sable.

Can you help?

• Can anyone give additional information about the ownership of Urpeth Lodge since 1912, or say exactly when Eglingham Hall was sold by Mr & Mrs Potts?
• Can anyone provide fuller information about the dispersal of the Hallaton Hall estate in the 20th century, or say whether the planned enlargement and subdivision of the house has gone ahead?
• 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 22 August 2025 and updated 24 August 2025 and 4 January 2026.