(624) Biggs (later Yeatman-Biggs) of Stockton House

Biggs of Stockton

The Biggs family were yeomen farmers in south Wiltshire who leased gradually increasing areas of farmland in the 17th and early 18th centuries, chiefly from the Earls of Pembroke. From 1681, Tristram Biggs (d. 1721) was tenant of one of the manors of Little Langford (Wilts) and from 1753 his son, Tristram Biggs (1675-1757), held both the manors in that parish. His property at Little Langford passed to his elder son, Thomas Biggs (d. 1767), but on the latter's death without issue, passed to Tristram's younger son, Henry Biggs (1722-1800), with whom the genealogy below begins. Henry, who also inherited lands at Maddington (Wilts) from his grandmother's family, purchased the Stockton House estate in 1772. He died in 1800, when his extensive freehold and leasehold property passed to his only son, Harry Biggs (1766-1856). Although he does not seem to have attended a university or one of the inns of court, Harry was firmly established as a member of the landed gentry, serving as a JP and Deputy Lieutenant for Wiltshire, and as High Sheriff in 1811-12, and being noted as a sportsman in a wide range of traditional field sports. He further expanded the Stockton estate and remodelled the manor house, almost certainly to the designs of Jeffry Wyatt (later Sir Jeffry Wyatville), around 1802. When he died, aged nearly ninety, he had two surviving children. Stockton passed to his son, Henry Godolphin Biggs (1803-77), who was twice married but had no children, and so on his death it passed to his sister's second son, Maj-Gen. Arthur Godolphin Yeatman (1843-98), who took the additional name Biggs on succeeding to the estate. 

As his rank suggests, Maj-Gen. Yeatman-Biggs was a career soldier, who was in England relatively little and who was unmarried. He rented out Stockton House, and when he died on active service in India, his property passed to his younger brother, the Rt. Rev. Huyshe Wolcott Yeatman (later Yeatman-Biggs) (1845-1922), who was then Suffragan Bishop of Southwark but who was soon promoted the see of Worcester and was later first Bishop of Coventry. The bishop had already purchased the Stock Gaylard estate in Dorset from Yeatman cousins who were struggling financially, and with the addition of the Stockton estate he is said to have become the richest member of the bench of bishops. From 1904 he lived at Hartlebury Castle (Worcs), and he continued to let Stockton House until he sold it in 1920, while retaining much of the associated estate. When he died, he divided his property between his surviving sons, with the elder, William Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs (1878-1952) receiving the residue of the Stockton estate, now centered on a farmhouse called Longhall, and the younger, Lewys Legge Yeatman (1879-1962), inheriting Stock Gaylard. William's only son, Arthur Hushe Yeatman-Biggs (1908-44) was killed in the Second World War, so at his death in 1952 the Stockton estate descended to his grandson, Huyshe Nicholas Yeatman-Biggs (1936-2023), and the surviving part of the estate still remains in the hands of the family.

Stockton House, Wiltshire 

This is a well-documented house which has also been unusually thoroughly recorded and explored by artists and architectural historians from the early 19th century onwards. The wealth of evidence enables its story to be told in considerable detail, and makes clear just how much change and reworking may lie behind an apparently little-altered building.

Stockton House: watercolour of the house from the south-west by John Buckler, 1810. Image: Yale Center for British Art (B1991.40.75)

The house was built in two phases that together produced a fine gabled house of strikingly banded stone and flint, measuring four bays by three, and having two storeys and attics, closely similar to Keevil Manor and Boyton Manor (Wilts). John Topp (d. 1596) acquired the freehold of the manor in 1585, and bequeathed it to his nephew, John Topp (d. 1632). Both phases of the house are usually said to have been carried out for John (d. 1632) – the first between his inheritance in 1596 and about 1603, and the second a few years later, but before his wife’s death in 1617 – though it is possible that the first phase of the work could have been undertaken for John (d. 1596), with some later alterations at the time of the second phase.

Stockton House: photograph of the house from the south-east in 1905. Image: Country Life. A straight joint in the masonry
to the right of the two downpipes in the centre of the east front marks the division between the first (left) and second (right) phases of the house.

The house was apparently built on a former common pasture called the West Marsh, and much of the land around it was later imparked, causing the closure of the direct road from Codford Bridge to the village. This led to a legal dispute which was resolved in 1602 by the inclosure of the West Marsh and its division between the major landowners. The house was at first L-shaped, and only in the second phase of c.1610 was the north-east corner constructed and the three-storey ashlar porch tower added. It is thought that a service stair tower may have stood in the re-entrant angle before the addition was made to the north-east corner. The new work at the north-east corner of the house can be identified by a vertical joint in the masonry, though it continues the stripy effect of the main block. The new porch on the west front is of plain ashlar and provides a background to richly carved architectural sculpture. Internally, the addition provided a second kitchen and a buttery and pantry, and additional bedrooms, but at the same time the principal rooms were greatly enriched with plasterwork and panelling, further described below. The architect of these changes is likely to have been William Arnold, the architect of Montacute House (Som.) and Wadham College, Oxford, to whom the porches added to Keevil and Boyton are also attributed. 

Stockton House: west front c.1870. The mid 17th century chapel and minister's house form the wing on the left;
but the water tower and other additions by the Ferreys have yet to be added.

The porch entrance at Stockton has Doric columns, a triglyph frieze, and a cornice with vases. Above this, the first floor is glazed on three sides with mullioned and transomed windows, creating a charming little porch room with an elaborate plaster ceiling which is open on its fourth side to the great chamber. The top floor of the porch tower has a mullioned window and supports a strapwork cresting with a pierced ring at its centre: a motif perhaps copied from Longleat, where Arnold may also have worked. To either side of the porch are mullioned and transomed windows of three lights and then of four lights in the outer bays, while the gables have three-light mullioned windows. All this was perfectly symmetrical until the sills of the ground and first floor windows to the right of the porch were lowered in the early 19th century. The south and east fronts are equally regular, with the main windows all of four lights.

The first addition to the site after the building of the porch was the construction of a large chapel of chequered flint and stone (as at West Amesbury House, not far away), which stands north-west of the house and is connected to it by the former minister's dwelling, which has a big semicircular gable. The chapel is thought to date from the third quarter of the 17th century, and perhaps to the Commonwealth years. It has two-light windows with arched lights and an oval west light. In the more secular 1770s, it was converted into a stable block for the tenant of the house, but later – perhaps in the 1820s – this was abandoned in favour of a new gabled stable block, also in chequered flint and stone, designed by John Benett of Pythouse for Harry Biggs, which appears to incorporate some earlier work. Perhaps for that reason, it was designed in a vernacular style, and the damaged datestone for 16—mentioned above was built into the left side of the left gable. Soon afterwards, in 1828, the coach house and related buildings adjoining the stable block were rebuilt.

Stockton House: skylight on first-floor landing,
attributed to Jeffry Wyatville.  (Image: Moulding & Co.)

Harry Biggs had earlier made alterations to the house c.1802, perhaps in anticipation of his marriage. According to family tradition, his alterations were made to the designs of Jeffry Wyatt (later Sir Jeffry Wyatville), and although there is no documentary evidence to support this claim, it is plausible both stylistically and in terms of Biggs’ connections with other clients. In particular, the toplit landing which he created on the first floor has a star-vault rib pattern supporting the lantern which is a miniature version of the similar feature Wyatville created above the staircase at Longleat House (Wilts) at much the same time. Wyatville presumably also built the single-storey porch in the centre of the south front of the house, which provides access directly into the remodelled staircase hall; this was probably used as the main entrance to the house in the early 19th century, when a new approach drive was laid out to the south front rather than to the Jacobean porch on the west front. Another change made at the same time was to lower the window sills of the Great Chamber and the porch room opening off it by about a foot to make the room lighter. This damaged the external symmetry of the west front, and is thought to have displaced the datestone.

In 1877-82 there were further alterations and additions by Benjamin Ferrey (1810-80) and his son, Benjamin Edward Ferrey (1845-1900), which included a re-roofing, internal redecoration, the construction of a substantial two-storey service wing and a kitchen wing which doubled the footprint of the house, and the building of a tower containing a water tank. The rainwater heads around the house are dated 1879. A new lodge was built at the end of the drive and illustrated in The Builder in 1882.

Stockton House: design for gate lodge by B.E. Ferrey, from The Builder, 1882.

It was probably intended as part of these works to reinstate the former chapel, and with this in mind Maj-Gen. Yeatman-Biggs acquired much of the Georgian chapel woodwork from Winchester College, which had been removed during Butterfield’s refitting of the chapel in 1874 and placed in store. However, the restoration of the chapel was abandoned. The General’s brother explored the possibility of using it at Farnham Castle (Surrey) but his architect, Sir Arthur Blomfield, found it would not fit, and it was eventually reused at New Hall, Winchester, in 1960.

In 1906 and 1920 there were significant sales of Jacobean and Georgian furniture from the house, some of which may have been made for it but most of which was apparently collected in the 19th century. The second sale was occasioned by the Biggs family’s sale of the house, which then passed through several owners in the 20th century. Successive owners made significant alterations to the fabric. The economist Oswald Falk, who owned the house from 1924-34, removed much of the interior decoration installed by the Ferreys, including the elaborate fittings of the hall and the arched screen between this and the staircase.

During the Second World War, the house was requisitioned for military use, but the only lasting change to the building or grounds was the construction of a swimming pool next to the walled garden. In 1951, after the house was sold to Lady Lacey, the Victorian kitchen wing was mostly demolished, leaving only the water tower and the service wing of the Ferreys work still standing. The original kitchen of the house, in the north-east corner, which had been remodelled as a Victorian dining room, was returned to its original function. After 1998, the joinery company Stuart Interiors Ltd. was brought into refit the original hall in the south-west corner of the house as a neo-Jacobean library, and they also did work in three other rooms. Finally, the house has been given a thorough restoration and sensitive remodelling by Donald Insall Associates in 2014-17 for the present owner. Their work has combined the installation of modern services and facilities throughout the house, with the careful restoration of the historic fabric. The swimming pool created in the Second World War, which had been altered into a natural pond, was replaced by a new pool overlooked by a Modernist pool house.

Stockton House: the hall in 1905, showing the decoration applied by the Ferreys in 1877-82 and removed in 1927. Image: Country Life.

Stockton House: view from the hall into the staircase in 1905;
the screen was removed in 1927. 

The porch near the centre of the west front leads into what has been the hall since 1877 but was probably originally a winter parlour or back kitchen. The original hall seems to have been the south-west room, entered from a screens passage behind the porch. In the 19th century the larger new hall in the north-west corner of the house was given rich neo-Jacobean decoration, which was almost entirely stripped out in 1927, when the present plain 16th century fireplace and doors were brought in from elsewhere. The Victorian hall opened through a screen of three arches into the long narrow staircase hall created by Sir Jeffry Wyatville, which has a toplit upper landing at the northern end. The staircase itself is of timber with iron balustrades, and has an unusual form with two flights rising at opposite ends of the east wall to meet at a bridge across the room before dividing again against the west wall to climb to the first floor. The south-east corner of the ground floor is occupied by the Great Parlour or White Drawing Room, with a fireplace of stone and plaster with plenty of fretwork or arabesque motifs; the big scrolls on top, flanking the coat of arms, may have been added in the 1670s. There is a plaster frieze above the panelling with strapwork and moustachioed masks, and a cruder strapwork frieze above the cornice, with shields and initials that imply a date before 1617. The south-west corner room became a library with fitted bookcases in the late 20th century.

Stockton House: the White Drawing Room or Parlour in the south-east corner of the house in 1905. Image: Country Life.

Stockton House: the Great Chamber in 1905. Image: Country Life.

Stockton House: view from the Great Chamber into the porch room in 1905. Image: Country Life.

The majority of the surviving Jacobean interiors are on the first floor. By far the finest room is the Great Chamber in the south-west corner, which opens into the room above the porch. It has a fine ceiling of broad curvilinear bands framing panels decorated with flowers and animals in high relief, including an elephant. The splendid chimneypiece has coupled columns in two tiers, the upper ones framing an overmantel containing a strapwork cartouche and, in the centre, two detached heads said to represent Adam and Eve. This is so similar to chimneypieces at Montacute and Wayford Manor (Som.), Wolfeton Manor (Dorset) and The Hall, Bradford-on-Avon (Wilts) that it may be attributed with confidence to the workshop of William Arnold, but the details of the strapwork cartouche derive ultimately from designs published by Cornelis Bos in the 1540s. The panelling with fluted pilasters was added later, as it covers the ceiling edge, and although of similar date to the plasterwork it may have been imported much later. In the corner is a wooden lobby or internal porch with rich carving of figures and ornament.

Stockton House: chimneypiece of the 'Shadrach Room' engraved by C.J. Richardson, 1838.

On the east side of the house is the Shadrach Room, which takes its name from the overmantel relief depicting the Biblical 'Burning Fiery Furnace', with a text from Daniel 3;25, taken from the authorised version of the Bible published in 1611. The scene is surrounded by deeply moulded strapwork and flanked by a pair of male figures in an exotic costume of hats, tunics and boots. The fireplace below is flanked by female terms and has further elaborate strapwork below the cornice. The Shadrach Room also has a rich ceiling, with thin ribs forming love-hearts and lozenges, crowded with flowers, and a small central pendant. The Iris Room next door has a Tudor-arched fireplace in a chimneypiece of rusticated pilasters and a fretwork frieze. In the northern part of the first floor are two further bedrooms, the Elizabethan Room and the Georgian Room. The Elizabethan Room has the arms of Elizabeth I and her ER monogram amongst the thin ribs of the ceiling, but the arms of James I in a large strapwork cartouche flanked by terms, which suggests that it was in progress around 1603, when the change of dynasty took place. The ceiling is now thought to be a 19th century recreation of the original ceiling, large chunks of which were found under the floorboards during the recent restoration. The adjoining Georgian room was refitted in the mid 18th century; it retains a mildly Rococo chimneypiece which was said in 1924 to have a lapis lazuli surround, of which nothing remains.

Stockton House: a naive view of the house in its parkland setting, n.d. {c.1840]. Image: Wiltshire History Centre 401/1.

The area around the house was laid out as a park when the house was built, but ambitious formal gardens are said to have been created for Edward Topp during the reign of James II. Miles in 1847 records that these included an entrance court with gatepiers topped by lions holding armorial shields, a bowling green to the south of the house and private gardens to the east. A raised terrace on the south and west sides of the house had a parapet with twelve busts of Roman emperors and handsome vases. The formal gardens are said to have been cleared away at the time of Wyatville’s alterations to the house, and replaced by a Brownian landscape of greensward with a curving carriage drive leading up to the house. At the end of the 19th century the Ashley Dodds constructed a new two-acre kitchen garden, a separate walled garden, and a range of greenhouses, some heated, for vines, peaches, and exotic plants including orchids, and in 1937, the Hon. Michael Scott asked the leading landscape architects, Thomas H. Mawson & Son of Lancaster, to prepare a scheme for remodelling the gardens, but this appears to have been abandoned after Scott’s death the following year.

Descent: Crown sold 1547 to Sir William Herbert, later 1st Earl of Pembroke; to son, Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, who sold 1585 to the tenant, John Topp (d. 1596); to nephew, John Topp (d. 1632); to son, John Topp (d. 1640); to brother, John Topp (d. 1660); to brother, Edward Topp (d. 1665); to son, John Topp (d. 1675); to son, Edward Topp (d. 1740); to son, John Topp (d. 1745); to sister, Christiana, wife of Richard Lansdown, and niece, Susanna, wife of Robert Everard Balch (1724-79), of whom Balch was the survivor and sold 1772 to Henry Biggs (1722-1800); to son, Harry Biggs (1766-1856); to son, Henry Godolphin Biggs (1803-77); to nephew, Maj-Gen. Arthur Godolphin Yeatman (later Yeatman-Biggs) (1843-98); to brother, Rt. Rev. Huyshe Wolcott Yeatman (later Yeatman-Biggs) (1845-1922); sold 1920 to Lt-Col. Skeffington-Smyth, who sold 1927 to Oswald Toynbee Falk; sold 1934 to Hon. Michael Simon Scott (d. 1938); to widow, who sold c.1950 to J.M. Stratton; sold 1951 to Lady Lacey; sold 1970 to Capt. & Mrs. Derek O'Reilly; sold 1998 to Graham Wild; sold 2014 to Nicholas David Jenkins (b. 1967). 

The estate was leased by the Earls of Pembroke to Richard Ockeden of Boydon, who sublet it in 1565 to John Topp (d. 1596), who bought the freehold in 1585. It was leased in 1772/3 to Winchcombe Henry Hartley of Bucklebury (Berks) and in the later 19th and early 20th centuries, when the tenants included George Ashley Dodd of Godinton (Kent), c.1888-97; Edward Priaulx Tennant, 1st Baron Glenconner, c.1897-1906; and George Knowles from 1906. The house was requisitioned for military use in the Second World War.

Biggs (later Yeatman-Biggs) family of Stockton House

Biggs, Henry (1722-1800). Younger son of Tristram Biggs (1675-1757) of Little Langford (Wilts) and his second wife, Jane, daughter of Henry Miles of Maddington, born 24 January and baptised at Little Langford, 28 January 1721/2. He married, 3 June 1765 at Fisherton Delamere (Wilts), Diana (c.1729-1818), daughter of John Davis of Bapton (Wilts) and widow of John Potticary of Stockton, and had issue:

(1) Harry Biggs (1766-1856) (q.v.);

(2) Jane Biggs (1768-1854), born 1 April 1768; married, 28 April 1794, Rev. William Bond (1757-1852), rector of Tyneham (Dorset) and canon residentiary of Bristol Cathedral, fourth son of John Bond MP (b. 1717) of Creech Grange (Dorset), and had issue four sons and two daughters; buried at Tyneham, 17 March 1854.

He inherited his father's property at Little Langford and purchased the Stockton House estate in 1772. He also inherited lands at Bourton in Maddington (Wilts) from his grandmother's family.

He died 31 March and was buried at Stockton, 7 April 1800; his will was proved 20 June 1800. His widow died aged 89 on 30 June, and was buried at Stockton, 6 July 1818.

Harry Biggs (1766-1856) 

Biggs, Harry (1766-1856). Only son of Henry Biggs (1722-1800) and his wife Diana, daughter of John Davis of Bapton (Wilts) and widow of John Potticary of Stockton, born 4 December 1766. JP and DL (from 1825) for Wiltshire; High Sheriff of Wiltshire, 1811-12. He was a noted sportsman, being 'for considerably more than half a century a patron of the turf and the leash, as well as of most other British sports', and owned a number of notably successful racehorses during his career, as well as regularly serving as steward of local race meetings in Wiltshire. He married, 16 September 1802 at Christchurch (Hants), Margaretta Anna (1783-1861), only child and heir of William Godolphin Burslem (c.1754-1809) of Alton Grange and Ravenstone Hall (Leics), and had issue:

(1) Henry Godolphin Biggs (1803-77) (q.v.);

(2) Arthur William Biggs (1804-40), born 9 August 1804 and baptised at Stockton, 8 September 1805; an officer in the 7th Hussars (Cornet, 1824; Lt., 1826; Capt., 1829; Major, 1837); died unmarried and without issue at Doncaster (Yorks WR), 2/3 November, and was buried at Stockton, 10 November 1840;

(3) Margaretta Anne Biggs (1805-19), born 11 October 1805 and baptised at Christchurch, 28 April 1807; died young, 11 October 1819;

(4) Emma Biggs (1810-73) (q.v.).

He inherited the Stockton House estate from his father in 1800, and remodelled the house to the designs of Jeffry Wyatt (later Wyatville). In 1818 he bought the adjoining manor of Codford St Mary (Wilts) and added it to the estate; he also acquired further land in Codford St Peter.

He died aged 89 on 30 May and was buried at Stockton, 6 June 1856; his will was proved in the PCC, 26 September 1856. His widow died in Weymouth (Dorset) and was buried at Stockton, 16 October 1861.

Biggs, Henry Godolphin (1803-77). Elder son of Harry Biggs (1766-1856) and his wife Margaretta Anna, only child and heir of William Godolphin Burslem of Alton Grange (Leics), born 4 July 1803 and baptised at Stockton, 6 January 1804. Educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford (matriculated 1825). An officer in the Hindon troop of Yeomanry Cavalry (Lt., 1829); JP and DL for Wiltshire. A servant who left his service with the promise of an annuity of £40 a year for life 'having looked after me like a mother' had to sue in 1861 for continued payment of the annuity, and stated that she had left because of his increasing ill-temper. He married 1st, 20 June 1837 at Dinton (Wilts), Marianne (1798-1838), daughter of William Wyndham MP of Dinton House (Wilts), and 2nd, Jul-Sept. 1859, Jane (1833-78), daughter of Jared Smith of Bath (Som.), grocer, but had no issue.

He inherited the Stockton House estate from his father in 1856, but also his father's considerable debts.

He died 19 February and was buried at Lansdown Cemetery, Bath, 26 February 1877; his will was proved 29 March 1877 (effects under £10,000). His first wife died at Dinton House, 12 February and was buried at Stockton, 16 February 1838. His widow died 5 March, and was buried at Lansdown Cemetery, Bath, 19 March 1878.

Biggs, Emma (1810-73). Second, but only surviving, daughter of Harry Biggs (1766-1856) and his wife Margaretta Anna, only child and heir of William Godolphin Burslem of Alton Grange and Ravenstone Hall (Leics), baptised at Stockton, 8 October 1810*. In the late 1840s she and her husband fled to Belgium and France to avoid his creditors. She married, 6 July 1837 at Stockton, Harry Farr Yeatman (1811-52) of Manston House (Dorset), eldest son of Rev. Harry Farr Yeatman (c.1786-1861) of Stock Gaylard (Dorset), and had issue:

(1) Emma Louise Yeatman (1838-42), born 25 May and baptised at Stock Gaylard, 6 August 1838; died young, 1 September, and was buried at Stock Gaylard, 5 September 1842, where she is commemorated by a monument;

(2) Harry Farr Yeatman (1839-84), born 19 September, and baptised at Stock Gaylard, 10 November 1839; an officer in the Royal Navy (Cadet, 1853; Midshipman, 1855; Mate, 1860; Lt., 1861; Cdr., 1871; retired 1873); a freemason by 1876; married, 6 February 1876 at St Peter, Eaton Sq., Westminster (Middx), Charlotte (1841-1908), daughter of William Temple esq., and had issue one son and two daughters; died at Sydenham (Kent), 7 July, and was buried at Stock Gaylard, 11 July 1884; will proved 23 January 1885 (effects £7,202);

(3) Rhoda Marwood Yeatman (1842-66), baptised at Manston, 24 April 1842; married, 3 October 1865 at Preston (Dorset), Percy Sandford Nevile (1840-1914) (who m2, 1873, Etheline, daughter of Charles H. Radcliffe of Salisbury, and had further issue two sons), son of John Pate Nevile of Skelbrooke (Yorks WR), and had issue one son; died, probably following childbirth, and was buried at Skelbrooke, 6 October 1866;

(4) Maj-Gen. Arthur Godolphin Yeatman (later Yeatman-Biggs) (1843-98) (q.v.);

(5) Rt. Rev. Huyshe Wolcott Yeatman (later Yeatman-Biggs) (1845-1922) (q.v.);

(6) Emily Frances Emma Yeatman (1851-1917), born in Brussels (Belgium), 22 November 1851; estate agent; died unmarried, 15 June 1917.

She and her husband lived at Manston House (Dorset) until they fled abroad. Her husband's father bequeathed Stock Court at Stock Gaylard to his second son, Marwood Yeatman, rather than to her children. As a widow, she lived latterly at Chalbury Lodge, Preston (Dorset).

She died at Chalbury Lodge, 9 February and was buried at Stock Gaylard, 15 February 1873; her will was proved 5 April 1873 (effects under £9,000). Her husband died at Boulogne, France, 22 May 1852, and was buried there, but his body was exhumed 2 September 1885, and reburied at Stock Gaylard (Dorset), 5 September 1885.

* The family monument in Stockton church says she was born 23 January 1811, but this seems to be an error.

Maj-Gen A.G. Yeatman-Biggs 

Yeatman (later Yeatman-Biggs), Maj-Gen. Arthur Godolphin (1843-98). Second son of Harry Farr Yeatman (1811-52) of Manston House (Dorset) and his wife Emma, second but only surviving daughter of Harry Biggs (1766-1856), born 22 March 1843 and baptised at Manston (Dorset), 22 July 1844. Officer in Royal Artillery (Lt., 1860; Capt., 1874; Maj., 1880; Lt-Col., 1882; Col., 1886; Maj-Gen, 1897; mentioned in despatches, 1882; retired on half pay 1 January 1894 but was appointed Assistant Adjutant-General in India later that month); he served in China, 1861-62, South Africa, 1879, Egypt, 1882 and on the Indian Frontier, 1897-98; JP for Wiltshire (from 1878). Awarded CB, 1891. He took the name and arms of Biggs in addition to Yeatman by royal licence on inheriting the Stockton estate, 1878. He was unmarried and without issue.

He inherited the Stockton House estate from his uncle in 1877.

He died of dysentery while on active service at Peshawar (India), 4 January, and was buried there, 5 January 1898; his will was proved 3 June 1898 (estate £11,216).

Rt. Rev. Dr. Huyshe Wolcott Yeatman-Biggs 

Yeatman (later Yeatman-Biggs), Rt. Rev. Dr. Huyshe Wolcott (1845-1922). Third son of Harry Farr Yeatman (1811-52) of Manston House (Dorset) and his wife Emma, second but only surviving daughter of Harry Biggs (1766-1856), born 2 February and baptised at Manston (Dorset), 7 July 1845. Educated at Winchester and Emmanuel College, Cambridge (matriculated 1864; BA 1867; MA 1871; DD 1891; Hon. Fellow, 1905-22). Ordained deacon, 1869 and priest, 1870. Curate of St Edmund, Salisbury (Wilts), 1869-77; chaplain to Bishop of Salisbury, 1875-85; vicar of Netherbury (Dorset), 1877-79; vicar of Sydenham (Kent), 1879-91; hon. canon of Rochester, 1884-91; Warden of Bishop's College, Blackheath (Kent), 1894; proctor of diocese of Rochester in Convocation and examining chaplain to Bishop of Winchester, 1891; Suffragan Bishop of Southwark, 1891-1904; Bishop of Worcester, 1904-18; first Bishop of Coventry, 1918-22; Provincial Chaplain to Archbishop of Canterbury. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Author of The efficiency and inefficiency of a diocese; Life in an English diocese; Lay Work and other works. He took the name and arms of Biggs in addition to Yeatman by royal licence on inheriting the Stockton estate, 1898. He married, 24 November 1875, Lady Barbara Caroline (1841-1909), sixth daughter of William Legge (1784-1853), 4th Earl of Dartmouth, and had issue:

(1) Barbara Margaret Yeatman-Biggs (1876-1962), born 18 October 1876; lived in Salisbury; died unmarried, 14 March, and was buried at Stock Gaylard, 17 March 1962; will proved 11 May 1962 (estate £13,302);

(2) William Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs (1878-1952) (q.v.);

(3) Lewys Legge Yeatman (1879-1962), born 17 August 1879; educated at Winchester and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1898; BA 1902); solicitor with Charles Russell & Co.; barrister-at-law, 1906; an officer in the Dorset Yeomanry (Lt., 1905; retired; returned to regiment as 2nd Lt., 1915); succeeded his father in the Stock Gaylard estate; High Sheriff of Dorset, 1940-41; married, 6 October 1910 at Tyneham (Dorset), Edith Cecily Garneys (1884-1979), daughter of William Henry Bond of Tyneham, and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 8 April 1962; will proved 4 July 1962 (estate £87,276);

(4) Mary Godolphin Yeatman (b, & d. 1881), born 5 January 1881; died in infancy and was buried at Stockton, 25 January 1881;

(5) Arthur John Barrington Yeatman (1882-93), born 11 October 1882; died young at Shroton (Dorset), 9 September, and was buried at Stockton, 14 September 1893.

He purchased the Stock Gaylard estate from his Yeatman cousins in about 1880 and inherited the Stockton House estate from his elder brother in 1898, but sold the latter in 1920.

He died 14 April 1922 and was buried at Stockton, but is commemorated by a monumental effigy in Coventry Cathedral, which survived the bombing of 1940; his will was proved 4 August 1922 (estate £59,634). His wife died 5 January and was buried at Stockton, 9 January 1909.

Yeatman-Biggs, William Huyshe (1878-1952). Eldest son of Rt. Rev. Dr. Huyshe Wolcott Yeatman (later Yeatman-Biggs) (1845-1922) and his wife Lady Barbara Caroline, sixth daughter of William Legge, 4th Earl of Dartmouth, born 15 February 1878. Educated at Winchester, Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1898) and Yorkshire Agricultural College (admitted 1902). Land agent to his father, 1903. An officer in the Royal Wiltshire Imperial Yeomanry (2nd Lt., 1902; retired 1905), the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (Lt., 1915; Lt-Cdr., 1917; mentioned in despatches, 1918), and the Royal Flying Corps (Maj.; mentioned in despatches, 1918; retired 1919). JP for Wiltshire (from 1927); Income Tax Commissioner. He married, 15 August 1905 at Stockton, Muriel Barbara (1882-1973), daughter of J.F. Schwann (later Swann) of Oakfield, Wimbledon (Surrey), and had issue:

(1) twin, Barbara Godolphin Yeatman-Biggs (1906-94), born 6 August 1906; married, 7 May 1930, Arthur Frank Seton Sykes (1903-80) of Tytherington Manor, Heytesbury (Wilts), eldest son of Brig-Gen. Sir Percy Molesworth Sykes, kt., and had issue one son; died 6 August 1994; will proved 21 March 1995 (estate £172,102);

(2) twin, Margaret Elizabeth Yeatman-Biggs (1906-78), born 6 August 1906 and baptised at St Mary, Wimbledon, 8 June 1907; married, 11 June 1932 at Salisbury Cathedral, Maurice Brenton Syndercombe Bower (1906-75), elder son of Maurice Syndercombe Bower of Bagber, Sturminster Newton (Dorset), and had issue two sons; died 26 January 1978; will proved 31 March 1978 (estate £63,051);

(3) Arthur Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs (1908-44) (q.v.).

He inherited Longhall, Stockton (Wilts) and the remaining part of the Stockton estate from his father in 1922.

He died 5 November 1952 and was buried at Stockton; his will was proved 28 April 1953 (estate £5,316). His widow died 29 July 1973; her will was proved 16 November 1973 (estate £106,028).

Yeatman-Biggs, Arthur Huyshe (1908-44). Only son of William Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs (1878-1952) and his wife Muriel Barbara, daughter of J.F. Swann of Oakfield, Wimbledon (Surrey), born 20 February 1908. Educated at Malvern, Royal Military College, Sandhurst and Christ Church, Oxford (matriculated 1932; BA 1934). An officer in the army (2nd Lt., 1928; Lt., 1931; Capt., 1938; Temp. Maj., 1941, 1943-44), who served in Palestine, Shanghai (China) and with the 'Chindits' in Burma. He married, 14 November 1934, Kathleen Edith Clare (1909-61), only daughter of Eric Drayton Swanwick (1871-1955) of Old Whittington, Chesterfield (Derbys), and had issue:

(1) Huyshe Nicholas Yeatman-Biggs (1936-2023) (q.v.);

(2) Eric Jonathan William Yeatman-Biggs (b. 1941); company director; now living.

He was killed on active service in Burma, 13 May 1944, and was buried at Taukkyan Military Cemetery; his will was proved 15 February and 18 May 1945 (estate £19,225). His widow married 2nd, 26 February 1949, Lt-Col. Thomas Wolryche Guy Stansfield (1906-87) of Topps, Stockton, and died 24 October 1961; her will was proved 23 March 1962 (estate £34,515).

Yeatman-Biggs, Huyshe Nicholas (1936-2023). Elder son of Arthur Huyshe Yeatman Biggs (1908-44) and his wife Kathleen Edith Clare, only daughter of Eric Drayton Swanwick of Old Whittington, Chesterfield (Derbys), born 20 March 1936. He married, 1962, Susannah Louise (b. 1941), daughter of Michael Benjamin Norris Bomford (1916-2002) of Old Dunnington Farm, Alcester (Warks) and had issue :

(1) Harry William Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs (b. 1963), born September 1963; educated at Winchester, Goldsmiths College, London (BA 1986), and Heatherley School of Art; professional artist, working in France, 1998-2010 and subsequently in Wiltshire; married, c.2009, Evelyn Dylewski;

(2) Annabelle L. Yeatman-Biggs (b. 1965), born Jan-Mar 1965; married August 1989, Adrian Barclay Leng (b. 1962), son of Gen. Sir Peter John Hall Leng (1925-2009), kt., and had issue one son and two daughters;

(3) Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs (b. 1968), born Jul-Sept 1968.

He later had an illegitimate daughter by Alexandra Mary Clare Wyndham Douglas, Marchioness of Queensberry:

(X1) Beatrice Alexandra Elizabeth Douglas (b. 1986).

He inherited Longhall, Stockton (Wilts) from his grandfather in 1952 and came of age in 1957.

He died 31 December 2023 and was buried at Stockton, 30 January 2024. His wife is now living.

Principal sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1952, p. 176; Country Life, 21 October 1905, pp. 558-66; VCH Wiltshire, vol. 11, 1980, pp. 212-23; M. Binney, 'Stockton House, Wiltshire', Country Life, 9-23 February 1984; J. Chandler, Codford: wool and war in Wiltshire, 2007, pp. 66-69; A. Gomme & A. Maguire, Design and plan in the country house, 2008, pp. 249-50; A. Foyle, Stockton House Heritage Statement, 2014; C. Aslet, 'Stockton House, Wiltshire', Country Life, 28 January 2018; J. Orbach, Sir N. Pevsner & B. Cherry, The buildings of England: Wiltshire, 3rd edn., 2021, pp. 663-65; MS history of the house and village at Stockton by Rev. Thomas Miles, 1847, continued by W.H. Yeatman-Biggs, 1930-52.

Location of archives

Biggs of Stockton House: deeds, manorial records, estate and family papers, 1293-20th cent. [Wiltshire & Swindon History Centre, 93, 108, 115, 153, 166, 185, 202, 384, 401, 906)

Coat of arms

Biggs: Per pale argent and azure, a lion passant within an orle engrailed, charged with ten fleurs-de-lis all counterchanged

Yeatman-Biggs: Quarterly, 1st and 4th, per pale argent and azure, a lion passant within an orle engrailed, charged with ten fleurs-de-lis all counterchanged (for Biggs); 2nd and 3rd, per pale argent and sable, on a fesse dovetailed, counter dovetailed or, between two gates in chief and a goat's head erased in base counterchanged, three boars heads gules (for Yeatman).

Can you help?

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

Revision and acknowledgements

This post was first published 23 January 2026. I am grateful to Andy Foyle for suggestions and corrections about the development of the house.

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

Bigg of Haines Hill etc. 

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

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

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

Haines Hill, St Nicholas Hurst, Berkshire

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chilton House, Chilton Foliat, Wiltshire

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

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

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

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

Wymering Manor, Portsmouth, Hampshire

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Manydown Park, Wootton St Lawrence, Hampshire

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(1.2) John Bigg (c.1645-1714) (q.v.);

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lovelace Bigg-Wither (1741-1813) 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Harris Bigg-Wither (1781-1833) 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Principal sources

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

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

Location of archives

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

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

Coat of arms

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

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

Can you help?

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

Revision and acknowledgements

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