Status, Scandal and Subterfuge

Sacred

to the Memory of

William Dore

who departed this Life

the 26th January 1815

Aged 65 Years

Sacred

to the Memory of

Sarah Wife of William Dore

who departed this Life

the 30th of June 1803

Aged 49 Years

Sacred

to the Memory of

Mary, Daughter of

William and Sarah Dore

Who departed this Life

the 16th of April 1834

Aged 63 Years

Sacred

to the Memory of

John, the son of William & Sarah Dore who departed this Life

the 21st of May 1844

Aged 56 Years

Sacred

To the Memory of

Ann Daughter of William & Sarah Dore

Who departed this Life

the 1st of July 1851

Aged 71 Years

Also

to the Memory of Sarah, Daughter of William and

Sarah Dore

who departed this Life

June 19th 1858

Aged 81 Years

William Dore was the first in an auctioneering family dynasty that spanned nearly 100 years and three generations.

Christened at St Mary's Church, Lydiard Tregoze in 1749, the son of Peter and Jone Dore, William married local girl Sarah Hedges and produced a large family.

William fulfilled his parish responsibilities as tenant and rate payer, and clocked up an impressive 13 years service as churchwarden with Jacob Matthews of Toothill, retiring in 1812, possibly due to ill health or just general infirmity. A long time tenant of Lord Bolingbroke, William paid rates on Wick Farm and additional land called Prinnels, Blacklands and Greendown between 1806 and his death in 1815.

He wrote his will in the month before he died and what I find particularly interesting are the personal bequests William makes to his family. Beds and bedding continue to be an important and valuable item of household furnishing and are handed down to his daughters.

I would love to be able to identify the house in Shaw that William bought for his four unmarried daughters. I wonder if it survived the 1980s development?

In the Name of God Amen I William Dore of Lydiard Tregooze in the County of Wilts, Yeoman being of Sound and disposing mind and memory do this Fifth Day of December in the year of Our Lord One Thousand eight Hundred and fourteen Make and publish this to be my last Will and Testament in manner following (that is to say) I give unto my son Peter Dore my Silver Tankard To my Daughter Elizabeth Beames my Small Mahogany Dining Table To my son John my Yearling Cart Horse Colt and my old Chestnut Hackney but my will is that the latter shall not be sold or Disposed of but be kept by him so long as it shall live To my Daughter Ann my Mahogany Tea Table To my Daughter Sarah my best Bed bedstead Bedding and Furniture to my Daughter Mary the Bed bedstead Bedding and Furniture in the room wherein I usually sleep To my Daughter Joan the Bed Bolster and Pillows which my Daughters are now making and my next best bedstead and furniture I Give to my Son William All the Stock and Effects on the Farm wherein I have lately placed him called the Marsh Farm also all my Wearing Apparel of every sort and kind and the sum of Thirty Pounds which I sometime since lent him Also I Give and Devise to my four Daughters Sarah Ann Mary and Joan All that my Freehold Messuage or Tenement Garden and Premises with the Appurtenances situate and being at Shaw in the parish of Lydiard Millicent in the said County which I lately purchased of William Morse To hold to them in the nature of and as Joint Tenants during so long time as they shall remain Single and Unmarried it being my desire that as soon as either of them shall Marry her Interest therein shall immediately Cease But my will further is that in Case all my said Daughters shall Marry Then immediately on the marriage of the last of them I Give and Devise the same unto such of my said four Daughters as shall be then living To hold to them their Heirs and Assigns for ever as Tenants in Common and not as joint Tenants All the rest residue and remainder of my personal Estate and Effects whatsoever and of what kind so ever (after payment of my just Debts and my Funeral and Testamentary Expenses) I Give and Bequeath to my Son John and my Daughters Ann Sarah Mary and Joan to be divided between them and in equal parts and proportions To and for his her and Their own Use and Benefit And I do hereby Nominate and Appoint my said son John and my said Daughter Sarah joint Executor and Executrix of this my Will In Witness Whereof I have herewith set my hand and seal the day and year first above written

Witnesses HP Burt, Wm Farmer, Joseph Noad

painted 1603 English School

This portrait of dashing John St John, dressed in blue silk and wearing a pearl earring, would have caused the fluttering of a few young hearts no doubt, but John was already spoken for. He was about 17 years old when this was painted in 1603, the year before his marriage.

John was the second son of Sir John and his wife Lucy Hungerford. His father died in 1594 when John was about 8 years old. His mother quickly remarried but by 1598 she too was dead.

The guardianship of the young, wealthy boy, went first to a member of the senior branch of the family, another Sir John St John, 2nd Baron St John of Bletsoe and after his death in 1596 to the boy's uncle Oliver St John. However, another gentleman had his eye on the St John family fortunes.

Sir Thomas Leighton, Governor of Guernsey, was already close to the St John family and perhaps especially so after the tragic events of the summer of 1597. On that inauspicious day in August Sir Thomas had planned a day's hunting on the nearby island of Herm, one of the perks of being Governor of Guernsey. It had not been his intention to take the party of teenagers staying with him and at Castle Cornet, but they nagged him so much he eventually succumbed. The youngsters included Walter St John, our John's elder brother who was about 15 years old at the time. Whether Sir Thomas was young Walter's guardian remains unknown.

While Sir Thomas and his party enjoyed the hunt the boys worked at their lessons, after which the whole party sat down together to dine.

After they had eaten, the boys asked if they could go bathing, a request that was at first denied by the Governor. But these youngsters didn't give in easily and eventually Sir Thomas gave his permission on the understanding that three older men in the party accompanied them and that they didn't go too far out to sea.

The impetuous young Walter leapt into the sea ahead of the rest of the party and immediately ran into difficulties. His tutor Isaac Daubeny dived in and shouted to Walter to climb on his back, which he did, causing them both to sink. Another man called John Andros, who had hurt his foot in a previous rescue attempt, plunged into the sea again, but became entangled in the weeds. He narrowly escaped disaster by grabbing hold of a submerged rock to which he clung.

Two others attempted a rescue, but it was John Bowyer who found the drowned body of Walter standing upright, entangled in the weeds.

Sir Thomas later became the guardian of Walter's brother John. Perhaps he felt a responsibility to the young man who had lost his parents and brother in a few short years. Sir Thomas's wife Elizabeth Knollys was a cousin of the Queen to whom she made an application for the wardship of the young man, stating they had 'a mind to match him to their daughter.' But maybe even this is not as mercenary as it might at first appear.

Still a ward of court, John married Anne at St John's Church, Hackney, close to her London home, on July 9, 1604. He was 19 years old and she was just 13. It seems unlikely that the couple set up home together immediately as the first of their 13 children was born eight years later in 1612.

The portrait of the young John St John was purchased in 1965 and now hangs in the dining room at Lydiard House.

In Loving memory of

William Kinchin

Who died Dec 15th 1898 aged 74 years

Also of Catherine his beloved wife

who died Oct. 5th 1864

Aged 46 years

In Loving memory of

Matilda Elizabeth

the beloved wife of

Thomas Kinchin, who died June 24th 1906 aged 51 Years

William Kinchin was born and grew up at the Lydiard estate home farm, Windmill Leaze. He took over the tenancy from his father Thomas and after a lifetime at the farm in Hook he died there in 1898. William's son William J.P. Kinchin became the tenant following his father's death but in a little over ten years the Kinchin's long reign at Windmill Leaze was over.

Lady Bolingbroke died in 1940 and two years later what remained of the estate went up for auction at the Corn Hall in Swindon's Cattle Market. The sale particulars of the remaining portion of the Lydiard Park Estate included the historic mansion, pleasure and parklands, Windmill Leaze Farm, Creeches Farm, Cottages and allotments and several holdings of arable and pasture land, the whole comprising approximately 750 acres.

Lot 1 was described as 'an exceptionally attractive dairy and grazing farm known as Windmill Leaze Farm situated in the parish of Lydiard Tregoze comprising 175.746 acres.'

The description continues:

The Farm House is substantially built of brick and stone, with tiled and slated roofs. Containing on the Ground Floor: Dining and Drawing Rooms, Kitchen (fitted with Triplex range) Dairy and usual Domestic offices. On the First Floor: 4 bedrooms and bathroom. On the second floor: 3 good attics.

The buildings are excellent, viz:- range of timber and brick built buildings with slate roof, forming tie up for 35 cows, with water laid on. Trap house cement block, asbestos roofed garage, with lean-to oil house in which there is fixed two 250 gall storage tanks, fitted with pumps. Timber built and thatched roof building, forming tie up for 14 cows and 3 calf standings. Cart horse stable for 6, with chaff house. Blacksmith Shop. Another range of buildings to tie up 8 cows and two calving boxes with large fore courts. 3 Dutch Barns (11 bays) 4 Bay lean to to Dutch Barn forming Implement shed. Barn, fitted with large Corn Bins and platform. Nag stable for 2. Two enclosed cattle sheds with large concreted yards. A further tie up for 11 cows. 2 calving boxes. Wood house.Large fitted dog kennel. Men's Mess Room. 7 bay implement shed. Goose and fowls' houses.

The tenants fixtures comprises: in house, Triplex grate, drawing room grate, grate with tiled hearth in bedroom, bathroom furnishings, together with the hot water system throughout the house, including Airing Cloak Room and soft water supply tank.

Buildings: The lean to G.I. erection to Barn, forming two loose boxes. Wood and engine houses. Garage and oil houses with the two storage tanks. Blacksmith Shop. 3 Dutch barns and lean to implement shed. The 2½ h.p. Lister Engine and pump to main water supply. The Drinking Bowls and piping to cow sheds. Three G.I. supply tanks to receive water from Cooler. Three large wooden corn bins and platform in barn. Summer house in garden. Footbridge across brook. Cement drinking place to the four acres. Cement bottom to front yard.

Two capital cottages being well built of stone with slate roofs, each containing Living room and kitchen, 2 bedrooms and box room, lean to Wash House, together with spacious and productive garden.

Being O.S. No. 279 Area .579 acre

Tenants fixtures: Two G.I. Store houses in garden

Let on a Ladyday Tenancy to Mr F.W. Rumming.

Apportioned Rent £264 Tenant paying rates

Tithe Annuity £59 10. 0. Land Tax £11.10.0

Pending completion of sale of timber, referred to in Condition 9, The Ministry of Supply have a defined way for removal of timber over this lot.

The farm is better known today as Park Farm and is still owned by the Rumming family.

This Victorian photograph of Windmill Leaze Farm is thought to include members of the Kinchin family - published courtesy of the Rumming family.

Lady Johanna St John died at her Battersea home on January 15 1704/5 and was buried in the family vault at neighbouring St Mary's Church.

Much of Johanna's writings survive, including her 1680 Receipt Book now held by the Wellcome Library and the subject of a whole host of events at Lydiard House this year, including a fascinating series of lectures.

In 1995 the Friends of Lydiard Tregoz published a transcription of Lady Johanna's will. Lady Johanna wrote the will herself in 1703 and then added a scrawling codicil on the fourth side of the original document, writing in the margins and obscuring some of the text.

The will, even in transcription, is quite difficult to interpret, but my special interest is in the personal bequests made to family and friends. Raised in the Puritan branch of the Bletsoe family Johanna has a no nonsense reputation, so it is pleasing to read evidence of the caring side of her nature.

Johanna did her philanthropic duty as can be seen in the following investment.

'Alsoe I give an Hundred pound to be placed out at intrest or vested in a purchace as my said exeqtrs shall think fitt & that Alice James my old servant shall have the profitt & intrest therof dureing her life & after her Death I would have the profitt therof & intrest layd out yearely or as often as conveniently may be in the placeing out to Apprentice a poor Girl or Boy of Battersea aforesaid'

Susanna Foot, another trusted servant receives -

'..all my weareing Clothes Linnin & woolen new & old & all the whole Furniture in my Closit & Chamber except the Clock the Cabinet in my Closet & the smal Pictures & thos thing wch I have already disposed to .. alsoe I give her Foot the Plate I used in my Chamber as the Porenger & spoon the Basin I wash in & the Cupp I drink my Choclatte in & alsoe in my Closit I give her all in it & my silver skillet.'

By the time Lady Johanna died at the age of 75 she had outlived all but five of her 13 children.

To her incorrigible eldest son Henry St John, convicted of the murder of Sir William Escott in The Globe Tavern she leaves 'the Great Bible in my Closet with the Pictures of the 4 Evangilists'

To her daughters and daughter's in law she leaves the following:

'Alsoe I leave to my Daughter Chute all the little Pictures (wherof Sr Walter St Johns mother is one) wch hang over my Table in my Closet & two Guilt canns Sr Walter gave me Alsoe I give to my Daughter Frances wife to my Son William St John my Jubely Chair in the Guilt Leather Rome in my said House & all the Chiny things in the same Room except what belongs to the Thea Table in the same Roo & two of my silver salvers To my eldest son Henrys wife I give the rest of my silver salvers wch are 6 in number & my two silver candlesticks alsoe I give her...To my Daurgr Cholmondeley I give my great Receit Book & crosstich screen in my House in the Dining Rome ther..'

The grandchildren also receive bequests.

'Alsoe I give unto my God Daughter & Grand Daughter Johanna Cholmondeley & Daughter to my Daughter Cholmondeley one Hundred pounds...To my Grand Dtr Soame according to my promise I give my Booke of receits of cookery & Preserves according to ....To my Grand Dater St John Toppe I give my cabinet in my Closet but would have the papers therin burnt first...' and her Grandson Henry's wife also receives a keepsake.
'To my Grand Daughter wife to my Grandson Henry St John I give the oval silver Chamberpott & the two smal silver cupps with covers wch I had last of Mr North I give them to my Grand Daughter Mrs Frances St John.'

The Codicil written a year later reads:

I give my Pendelum clock in my Chamber to my Brother Frances St John of Long thorp in Northamptonshire I give to my Godson Frances Lee son to the Earl of Litchfeild 40 pounds in one yeare afer my Death to be payd him if alive or elce to come to my Grand son Henry St John when my personal Debts as for Clothes & such things as I pay for with the allowance of 150 pound a yeare Sr Walter give me if any mony be left I desire Susan Foot may have it given her as an addition to what I have given her before in this my will Sr Walter knows & so doe all concernd my Hand that I doe not live to write it out fair (as I intend) I hope it shall be no obiection to its being Authentick & my will as my Hand will shew it to be.

But perhaps the two references I find most moving are the ones she makes to her friend the Countess of Lindsey -

'To my old & Deare Friend the Countess of Lindsey I leave my Gold cupp wch Mrs Drax left me for a Legesey, And wish I could leave her a Friend may love her as much & have more power to serve her then my selfe'

and to her husband of 56 years, Walter St John, then aged 75.

'I desire if Sr Walter St John outlive me his old servants may be continued about him & that he may not be removed to Liddiard London or any other place from Battersea wher he has lived so long least it hasten his Death'

To the Memory of Jonas Clarke

Who died March 31st 1862 aged 74 years

In memory of Cordelia Ann daughter

of Francis and Jane Carey who died

Dec 8th 1861 Aged 16 Years

Also Jonas, their son died Jan 18th 1865 Aged 14 years.

The grave of Wick Farm tenant Jonas Clarke senior is just inside the gates to the churchyard at St Mary's, Lydiard Tregoze. Jonas was born in Minety in 1787 where he spent his early adult life. His marriage to Elizabeth Fitchew in 1816 proved to be unsuccesful and by 1818 he had entered into a relationship with Alice Pinnell. The couple had seven children but had to wait more than thirty years for the death of Elizabeth before they could marry.

Jonas's business like will makes no reference to bequests of a personal nature. He leaves his real estate to his only surviving son Jonas and to his wife Alice he leaves 'all my live and dead farming stock and crops of corn grain and hay household goods furniture and effects dairy utensils implements of husbandry monies and securities for money and all other my personal estate and effects whatsoever unto my Wife Alice Clark for her absolute use and benefit so long as she shall continue my widow'

A record of the old field names of Wick Farm appear on the Tithe records of 1841, including:-

Bakers Mead

Green Down

The Green Down Mead

New inclosure

The Clay Pit Ground

The Prinnels

High Croft

Lower Wick

Upper Wick

Part of Holdings

Fresh Brooks Mead

This roughly drawn map of West Swindon in the 1980s plots some of these parcels of land.

The farm remained in the tenancy of the Clarke family until the 1880s. You might like to read how local author Mark Child unraveled the confusing story of two younger Jonas Clarke's.

In 1930 cash strapped Lady Bolingbroke put several of her properties on the market in what was described as 'one of the largest sales held in Swindon for many years.'

Lot 28 of 57 was Jonas's former home.

An exceedingly dry rich grazing and dairy holding known as Wick Farm situate in the Parishes of Lydiard Tregoze and Lydiard Millicent, and having an acreage of 139a 1r 3p intersected by good roads. The Farm House is brick built, slated and tiled and the farm buildings are of similar construction. There are also two excellent modern cottages substantially built of brick, with slated roofs, each containing five rooms.

This farm has been in hand recently and, for the purposes of this sale, the rent is estimated at £332. Vacant possession can be given on completion.

Proportion of Tithe Annuity in Lydiard Tregoze, say £49 10s 0d.

proportion of Tithe Annuity in Lydiard Millicent, say £1 11s 0d

Land Tax to be apportioned

The Vendor retains the right to take water from the Spring at Brook Buildings for the Keeper's Cottage adjoining (which are not included in this sale).

There are three telephone poles erected on this lot for which the PO Telegraphs pay 3/- per annum

There was no offer made on Wick Farm in the 1930's sale.

English School

This portrait of Oliver, 2nd Earl of Bolingbroke, purchased by Swindon Corporation in 1965, will enjoy a makeover this year, thanks to the fund raising efforts of the Friends of Lydiard Park.

Oliver St John was born in 1634, a member of the senior, Bletsoe branch of the family, descended from the eldest son of Lady Margaret Beauchamp and her first husband Oliver St. John. Lady Margaret's second marriage to John Beaufort produced a daughter Margaret, the mother of the first Tudor King Henry VII.

Oliver's wife, Frances Cavendish was one of Royalist William Cavendish 1st Duke of Newcastle and Elizabeth Bassett's three daughters. With her sisters Jane and Elizabeth, Frances grew up at Welbeck Abbey, a former monastery in Nottinghamshire; a home the three women would courageously defend during the English Civil Wars. However, in marriage Frances aligned herself with the Parliamentarian St Johns when she wed Oliver at Pitstone, Buckinghamshire on November 24, 1654.

The couple's marriage settlement included a sum of £7,000 paid as portion and extensive lands in Bedfordshire to be held to the use of the Earl of Bolingbroke for life and afterwards to his new wife Frances for her life to be held in trust for 2,000 years. In default of any male issue, and in case there were daughters of the marriage, the trustees were to raise £60 per annum out of the property for their education and maintenance; if there was one daughter the sum of £7,000 was to be raised and paid at the age of 18 or on marriage and should there be more than one daughter the sum of £10,000 was to be raised and divided equally, payable at the same time. The trust of 2,000 years was to be declared void if there was any male issue of the marriage.

As it turned out Frances and Oliver St John had no children during their 24 years of marriage and on his death in 1688 Oliver’s titles and estate went to his brother Paulet.

The couple lived at Bletsoe Castle in Bedfordshire where Frances died on August 15, 1678. She was buried in the parish church at Bletsoe where Oliver erected this memorial. The tablet on the left side was left blank, presumably for a suitable inscription when Oliver died, but apparently no one ever got around to writing his epitaph.

William Dore, the third to be so named, was born in the parish of Lydiard Tregoze, probably at Wick Farm, in about 1791 and when his father wrote his will in 1814 he writes 'I Give to my Son William All the Stock and Effects on the Farm wherein I have lately placed him called the Marsh Farm.' This property was one of the many farms owned by the St John family in the parish of Lydiard Tregoze

But by 1841 the younger William had left farming and moved into Swindon, living in Bath Road with his wife Martha and their four children. By now William had established not only a successful auction house but also a printing business on Victoria Street where Victoria House now stands. Eldest son William worked alongside his father as an auctioneer while second son Abbott was in charge of the printing firm.

A hundred years after William moved out his former home, Marsh Farm went on the market, one of the properties that comprised the large Lydiard Park Estate sale in 1930.

Lot 18 was described as - An exceptionally convenient dairy holding known as Marsh Farm in the Parish of Lydiard Tregoze and intersected by the Hay Lane - Lydiard and Main Swindon Roads, forming a Compact holding of Good, Healthy, Level Pasture Lane, having an area of 101 acres 3 roods 0 perches.

The Farm House is Brick built and Slated, and contains three rooms, Dairy, Larger, Milk House and usual Offices; four bedrooms and cheese room.

The Farm Buildings comprise:- Stabling for six horses, Tie-up accommodation for 44 cows with water laid on, five-bay Fatting stalls, Implement shed, etc (Two Hay Barns and Lean-to Shed claimed by Tenant). The landlord is liable to take over the kitchen range at a valuation on the termination of the tenancy.
There is also a picturesque brick built and thatched four room cottage abutting on the Main Cross Roads.

Led on a Michaelmas Tenancy to Mr John Rumming with Lot 19, except Field 486, which is sub let to him by the Tenant of Lot 21. Tenants pay Rates, Land Tax to be apportioned.

Proportion of Tithe Annuity, say £27 5s 0d.

Rent apportioned for purposes of this Sale, say £157 12s 6d.

Marsh Farm was one of several properties that went unsold. Today the farmhouse remains, dwarfed by the futuristic buildings on the Windmill Business Park.

The image of Dore's Swindon Almanack is published courtesy of Swindon Local Studies.

Mare and foals disturbed by an approaching storm

As Swindon Borough Council agonizes over what to do about Lydiard House, who would have thought that Frederick, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke and 3rd Viscount St John might have been its saviour!

This is 'Bully' who famously divorced Lady Diana Spencer, sold the family pile at Battersea, spent a fortune on Sevres porcelain and bought more than 90 thoroughbred racehorses during a ten year period. "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast horses. The rest I just squandered," he might have said to the press of the day.*

Along with the horses he bought, raced and sold in the 1760s, Frederick also became the patron of a Lancashire born artist specialising in painting horses.

The first of Frederick's horses to be immortalised in oils was 'Lustre, held by a groom.' Next came 'Tristram Shandy' followed by a bay filly called 'Molly Long Legs.'

Frederick had a group of his brood mares and their foals painted, most probably in the Lydiard parkland. The title for this atmospheric painting is 'Mares and Foals disturbed by an approaching storm.'

In 1765 Frederick had the celebrated 'Gimcrack' painted following his win on Newmarket Heath. And to complete his gallery of equine portraits Frederick had painted 'Turf,' a bay who earned him around 2000 guineas, a 'Favourite hunter of Henry, Viscount Bolingbroke' and 'Hollyhock.'

In 1943 things were just about as bad as they could get at Lydiard House. With the Palladian mansion house falling down about his ears, Vernon, 6th Viscount Bolingbroke, moved into Brook Cottage, the home of his own great grandfather, one of the gamekeepers once employed on the estate.

Up at the mansion house he had the mother of all clear outs - donating 2 and a half tons of historic documents to the wartime paper salvage scheme. Furniture was burned on the front lawn and in December of that year he dispatched four paintings for auction at Christie's; two fetched £4,410 each, a group of mares and foals made £1,365 and a fourth, the 'favourite horse of Henry Viscount Bolingbroke standing by a river, the family seat and church seen in the background' made £787.

These were just four of eight pictures Frederick had commissioned in the 1760s, painted by George Stubbs, the most famous painter of horses this country has ever produced. The painting of Hollyhock was given to M. Monet in 1766 who obviously thought it needed livening up and had a couple of figures and a flock of sheep added to the background. The painting was later bought by the Prince of Wales in 1810 and now hangs in Windsor Castle, part of the Royal Collection.

Today the whereabouts of 'Tristram Shandy,' which sold at Christie's for £2.3 million in 2000, is unknown, but 'Molly Long Legs' hangs in Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery.

And in 2011 one of George Stubbs's works fetched a cool £22.4 million, making it the third most valuable Old Master ever sold. And what was this painting? It was Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath with a trainer, a stable lad and a jockey, one of the paintings Vernon sold in 1943.

Gimcrack on Newmarket Heath with a trainer, a stable lad and a jockey

Turf with Jockey up at Newmarket

Hollyhock

Lustre held by a groom

Molly Long Legs

Tristram Shandy

The Favourite Hunter of Henry Viscount Bolingbroke - a copy of this painting hangs in the library at Lydiard House

*"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered." George Best, professional footballer.

Earlier this year the wall painting above the chancel arch in St Mary's Church, Lydiard Tregoze, was revealed and restored for the third time in more than one hundred and seventy years.

In August 1837 a certain Henry Gibbs painted a picture he described as "A Drawing From An Ancient Painting Found in Fine Liddiard Church, Wilts."

Sometime after Mr Gibbs executed this drawing the painting was covered in lime wash and hidden from view until it was rediscovered during restoration work undertaken in 1901.

So who are the people represented in the wall painting. Two theories exist, one that the figures represent those redeemed by Christ's sacrifice such as bishops, merchants, lawyers etc. The second, apparently more convincing interpretation is that those gathered beneath the cross are Christ's tormentors, the high priests and Pharisees, possibly even Pilate himself. The message being that we should not crucify Christ again by either word or deed.

The costumes date the painting to the early 16th century, sometime between 1520-1540. The symbols of the sun and moon are regular features on medieval representations of the crucifixion but seldom appear after the 15th century, adding yet another puzzle to this painting.

Conservationist Ruth McNeilage spent most of May working on the wall painting and admits that the eight figures around a central cross are something of a mystery.

With the first phase in the ambitious £1 million project complete, the church is now wind and watertight. A second phase of conservation and restoration work now begins, focusing on the 18th century boxed pews and other historic monuments, including the medieval wall paintings.

2011 photograph published courtesy of Duncan and Mandy Ball

Friends of Lydiard Tregoz Report No. 18 published May 11, 1985.

Perhaps the most striking feature of any ecclesiastical building, from parish church to cathedral, are the stained glass windows, and St Mary's, Lydiard Tregoze has examples from more than six centuries.

The glorious 17th century East window is the work of Abraham van Linge and was commissioned by Sir John St John in 1630. Abraham and his brother Bernard came to England from Emden, Friesland in around 1623. Examples of Abraham's work can be seen in the V&A, Lincoln College, Oxford, Queen's College, Oxford and Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. Or closer to home, in the Blue Closet or Diana Room at Lydiard House.

At the opposite end of the church the vibrant West window, erected in 1859 to the memory of local farmer John King by his two sisters Ann and Mary, was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as 'Large figures, strident colours, bad.'

But the jewel in the stained glass crown at St Mary's has to be the fragments of 15th century glass found in practically every window. Executed by long forgotten itinerant Flemish glass workers, these stories in coloured glass reveal yet more history.

When the glass workers arrived at a commission they cast their eye around the local villagers for models to sit for their work, choosing those with strong and particularly beautiful features. What a thought that as we gaze up at these works of art the residents of medieval Lydiard Tregoze are looking down on us.

"In the tracery lights of the south aisle windows are depicted four prophets, possibly Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, or they may be the four Doctors of the Church - Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and Gregory the Great, who were not often depicted in ecclesiastical vestments. One holds an open book and two hold scrolls; in each case they have hands raised in warning or have fingers pointing upwards or forwards in teaching;"Friends of Lydiard Tregoz Report 38 published 14 May 2008

Centre window includes the Virgin crowned and holding a sceptre, and the Christ child. Possibly modeled by a beautiful young mother from medieval Lydiard Tregoze with her own child.

In the north aisle angels holding scrolls with the opening words of the Gloria - Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis - Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will

Angel playing a mandolin

This window to the East of the church has been the subject of several interpretations. One figure holds a shield with a rose en soleil, one of the badges of Edward IV, and they were at one time believed to represent three Seraphim. However it is now thought more likely that these are characters from Daniel Chapter 1-3 and represent Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who were consigned to a fiery furnace. The angel with outstretched hands is the angel of God who delivered them from their ordeal.

by Maria Verelst

This little dimpled darling is Holles St John, youngest son of Henry 1st Viscount St John and his second wife Angelica Pellisary.

Angelica had 12 children, but only four survived to adulthood, George (1693-1716); Henrietta (1699-1756); John (1702-49) and Holles (1710-38).

Little is know about Holles excepting that he was an equerry to Queen Caroline, according to his memorial in Battersea church. He was very close to his sister and would appear to be the only member of her family who continued to see her following her expulsion by husband Robert Knight, Lord Luxborough.

Holles was also very fond of the theatre, although whether as an enthusiastic member of the audience or as an actor is unknown. On his death he left his sister shares in Covent Garden Theatre, naming her as executrix of his Will.

In the name of God Amen I the Honoble Holles St John Esq youngest son of the Right Honble Henry Lord Viscount St John being of sound and perfect mind and memory thanks be given to God for the same do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament in manner and fform following ffirst I give and devise all that my ffreehold Estate whereof I stand seized pofsefsed of or Interested in called ffreienCourt with the Mefsuage Outhouses Lands and premifses thereunto belonging and appertaining now in the occupation of Richard Perry or his undertenants Situate lying and being at Peckham Rye in the Parish of Camberwell in the County of Surry unto my sister Henrietta Knight Wife of Robert Knight Esq for and during the term of her Natural Life and from and immediately after the decease of the said Henrietta Knight then I give and devise the same to my Niece Henrietta Knight daughter of my said Sister Henrietta Knight for and during the term of her Natural Life and from and immediately after the decease of the said Henrietta Knight the daughter then to the heirs Males of her Body lawfully to be begotten And for want of such Issue Remainder to my own right heirs for ever Item I give and bequeath unto Sir Peter Soame Baronet two hundred pounds and to his Sister Msrs Jane Sarah Soame five hundred pounds of lawfull money of Great Britain I give to my Servant Jeremiah Trean (?)ffifty pounds and all my apparel both woollen and Linen I desire my Executrix herein after named to lay out ffifty pounds on a Monument to be Erected in the Church where I happen to be buryed I give to my Brother the late Lord Viscount Bolingbroke my Diamond ring which was given me by me ffather and after my Debts ffuneral Charges and the Legacies hereby given are paid and Satisfyed I do hereby give and bequeath all the rest and residue to my personal estate Goods and Chattells whatsoever and wheresoever unto my said Sister Henrietta Knight and her Afsigns whom I hereby constitute and appoint Sole Executrix of this my last Will and Testament In Witness and whereof I the said Holles St John have hereunto sett my hand and Seal the first day of November in the tenth year of the Reign of Our Sovereign Lord George the Second over Great Britain King Defender of the ffaith And in the year of Our Lord One thousand Seven hundred and thirty Six Holles St John Signed Sealed Published and Declared by the Testator Holles St John as his last Will and Testament in the Presence of us who set our hands as witnesses in the presence and at the Desire of the said Testator – Morris Jacob Wale Tho: Osbourne

This Will was proved at London before the Right Worshipfull John Bettesworth Doctor of Laws Master Keeper or Commifsary of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury lawfully constituted the Seventeenth day of October in the year of Our Lord One Thousand Seven hundred and thirty Eight by the Oath of the Honble Henrietta Knight (Wife of Robert Knight Esq) the Sister of the deceased and Executrix in the Said Will named to whom administration was granted of All and Singular the Goods Chattells and Creditts of the said deceased being first Sworn by Commifsion duly to Administer

An obituary published in the Gentleman's Magazine descibes Holles as being 'of a lively Genius and a sparkling wit,' but not every publication was so complimentary. The author of Bolingbroke and His Times - The Sequel, published in 1901/2 calls him 'fat, unwieldy, and, like them all, turbulent.'

Holles died on October 6, 1738 aged 27. He was buried in the family vault at St. Mary's, Battersea where Henrietta erected a monument to his memory, according to wishes expressed in his will.

Art print is by Daniel Lysons.

Affectionate

Remembrance of

Edwin Edmonds

Who died June 20th 1884

Aged 59 Years

Also of

Rhoda his Wife

Who died Sept 25th 1861

Aged 40 Years

The grave of Edwin and Rhoda Edmonds stands just inside the gate to St Mary's Church, Lydiard Tregoze.

The Victorian Edmonds family was large and well established in the parish of Lydiard Tregoze with records dating back to the mid 18th century. Trade Directories for the mid 19th century list Edwin as an agricultural machinist while his brother George was a baker and mealman, his father Jacob a shopkeeper and John Edmonds a shoemaker and shopkeeper.

Edwin was the son of Jacob and Charlotte Edmonds and lived his entire life in the village of Hook, the scattering of cottages that snake around the perimeter of Lydiard Park to Wootton Bassett.

Edwin married Rhoda Durston in 1847 and the couple set up home next door to Edwin's parents where their eight children were born. Their third son, Rowland Edwin Algernon born in 1850 died in childhood.

In 1861 Rhoda gave birth to a 7th son, Rowland Edwin, but sadly died either in childbirth or soon after. The census of the following year records Edwin 45, a Master Agricultural Engineer, still living at Lower Hook with his younger children and a housekeeper by the name of Fanny Cole Large.

During the following ten years Fanny had three children - Kate Ellen Edmonds Large born in 1872, Edwin George Emonds Large 1876 and Irene May Edmonds Large 1881, no doubt the children of a relationship with Edwin, although there is no evidence of a marriage between the couple. When Edwin made his Will on March 22, 1884 he made provision for Fanny Cole Large but describes himself as a Widower.

Meanwhile the engineering business went from strength to strength in the hands of his capable son Edwin Hugh Edmonds who worked as an agricultural and general machinist and threshing machine contractor at Coped Hall, Wootton Bassett. The firm's Clients' Account Ledger 1899-1907 is held at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre, Chippenham.

Jacob Edmonds is also buried in St Mary's churchyard with his wife Charlotte. The badly weathered headstone once proudly recorded that Jacob had been parish clerk for 62 years.

Edwin Hugh Edmonds' engineering business at Coped Hall, Wootton Basset. Image courtesy of Ancestry Public Family Trees

Edwin Edmonds' Will dated March 22, 1884. Image courtesy of Ancestry Public Family Trees (for link see above)

Edwin also left his mark, etched into one of the church windows and dated March 21 /48.

Image courtesy of Ancestry Public Family Trees (for link see above)

Grave of Jacob and Charlotte Edmonds courtesy of Duncan and Mandy Ball.

John St John 2nd Viscount St John is the man we have to thank for Lydiard House as we know it today. Well actually it's his wife,wealthy heiress Anne Furnese, we should really thank as while he might have had the vision it was her money that paid for the remodelling of the old medieval mansion.

John was born on May 3, 1702, one of four surviving children from the marriage of reprobate Henry St John and his second wife Angelica Pelissary.

John studied at Eton before being sent to complete his education in Paris in 1720. On his return to England he took up the position of Comptroller of the Customs of London in reversion, a post his father had negotiated with the Duchess of Kendal, George I's mistress. It is believed Henry had paid the Duchess £4,000 for the reversion of the customs sinecure worth £1,200 a year for the lives of his two younger sons John and Holles. This wasn't the first time Henry had used his royal connections to advantage. He was said to have bought his title from the Duchess in 1716 as well.

John married Anne in 1729 and the newly weds set up home at 51 Brook Street in a new property that today lies beneath the foundations of Claridges. Once Anne came into her inheritance the couple began work on Lydiard, dividing their time between these two properties and the manor house at Battersea. One can't help but wonder how much time and effort John put into his role as Tory MP for Wootton Bassett as he completed his grand designs on both a London and a country property.

This portrait of John in his coronation robes is one of two that hang in Lydiard House. I suppose once you've shelled out on a bit of ermine you want to get your money's worth out of it.

The coronation of George II took place in 1727 which would tie in nicely with the youthful appearance of John in this portrait and the lifespan of the artist, Scottish portrait painter William Aikman who died in 1731.

Anne died in the summer of 1747 and within a year John had remarried. He married his second wife Hester Clarke at St Anne's, Soho on June 19, 1748 but within less than six months he was dead. John is buried in the St John vault beneath St Mary's Church, Lydiard Tregoze.

A plan of the new and the old

Lydiard House as it is today.

This John St John was born in about 1746, the youngest child and third son of John 2^nd Viscount St John and his wife Anne, daughter and heiress of Sir Robert Furnese. It was this couple who set about transforming the medieval mansion house and deerpark at Lydiard – John had the vision and Anne had the money.

Anne Furnese

Their eldest son was Frederick, the infamous ‘Bully’ who married and divorced Lady Diana Spencer. Second son Henry was a General and MP for Wootton Bassett. Daughter Elizabeth Louisa, born in 1744 married William 1^stBaron Bagot and tragically lost three of her children across a three day period during an epidemic of scarlet fever in June 1773. John completed the family. Sadly his mother Anne died in 1747 and his father just a year later.

Elizabeth Louisa

Young John was educated at Eton 1756-63, the school favoured by successive generations of the St John family. He then attended Trinity College, Oxford before studying law at Lincoln’s Inn and Middle Temple. He was called to the bar in 1770.

With brother Henry taking the family parliamentary seat at Wootton Bassett, John was elected as MP for Newport on the Isle of Wight in 1773. The newly elected MP made his maiden speech on June 10, 1773 in defence of Lord North’s East India Regulating Act – an act of parliament which sought to overhaul the management of the extensive and powerful East India Company. Frederick North, 2^nd Earl of Guildford, who served as Prime Minister between 1770-1782, shared a kinship with the supportive John St. John. Frederick’s stepmother, Catherine Furnese, his father’s third wife, was half sister to John’s mother Anne.

John went on to serve as MP for Eye in Suffolk for six years before being re-elected for Newport in 1780. He was also Surveyor General of Crown Lands, a lucrative post estimated to be worth £1,400 a year, from 1775-84.

So what kind of man was this junior member of the St John family? Opinions varied widely. John’s eldest brother Frederick wrote to George Selwyn in 1766 - “The intricacies of law, which may puzzle some of the peers on this occasion, I fancy are great, and I do most heartily lament with you that my brother has turned his thoughts to intrigue, dress, and all the personal accomplishments of the most refined Macaroni. Had he not done so, I doubt not but his clear apprehension, and very distinct and short method of explaining himself, would have made him a match upon this occasion, for a Mansfield or a Camden.” Perhaps he could have even followed in the footsteps of his famous uncle, statesman and orator Henry, Viscount Bolingbroke.

However John was described as delivering “a legalistic speech, precious and precise” when he spoke on the third reading of the Massachusetts Bay Bill, which may or may not be a compliment, while A M Storer wrote to Lord Carlisle on June 28, 1781 that “John St John is more dull, more tedious, more important than ever.”

John turned his hand to writing and his work includes a quantity of blank verse, a book entitled Observations on the Land Revenue of the Crown and a pamphlet against Paine’s Rights of Man. He also wrote two plays - a tragedy called Mary, Queen of Scots starring the celebrated Mrs Sarah Siddons in the title role and The Island of Marguerite, an opera in two acts, both produced at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in 1789.

Described as both a fop and a Macaroni (an 18^thcentury English Dandy and fashionista) you get the impression that our John was a complex character.

John died at his home in Park Street, Grosvenor Square on the night of Tuesday October 8, 1793. He was interred seven days later in the family vault at St Mary’s alongside his brother Frederick. His brother Henry raised a marble mural tablet with an affectionate verse. The memorial can be seen in the south aisle, close to his John's burial place.

In Memory of

Robert Harwood

Who Departed This Life

January 18th 1864

Aged 55 Years

Also of

Robert

Son of

Robert and Susannah Harwood

Who Departed This Life

July 21 1872

Aged 28 Years

Robert Harwood got up early on Sunday morning, July 21 1872. He picked up the gun that once belonged to his father and set off across the fields to Toothill Farm. He knew the area well - this was where he had lived with his parents and his two brothers John and William and his sister Ellen just a few short years ago; where he had worked as a farm labourer and had learned to shoot before securing a job in the Great Western Railway as an engine driver. He knew every inch of this farm and he knew where to bag a rabbit or two.

He was found later that day - dead; the rabbits at his feet. At the inquest held at the farm on Monday the coroner told how it was his opinion that as Robert drew his gun to shoot again it became entangled and exploded; the charge entering the victim's throat under the left ear. The verdict was recorded - "Accidentally killed by a gun while unlawfully shooting rabbits." He was 28 years old.

The funeral was reported in the Swindon Advertiser thus:

"On Wednesday afternoon last, the remains of the late Mr R Harwood (who met with his untimely end on Sunday morning last) were borne to their final resting place in the parish churchyard of Lydiard Tregoze. The deceased being a member of the "Mackie's Good Intent Lodge of Oddfellows, was carried to the grave by the brethren of that Lodge followed by his sorrowing relatives, a large number of odd-fellows and fellow servants in the employ of the GWR Company, as further proof of the great respect in which the deceased was held. Several persons attended from Chippenham to shew their last token of respect. The service was impressively performed by the Rev W.H.Ed. McKnight."

Toothill Farm 2014

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, died on July 26, 1680, aged 33 years old. It had been, how can I put it, an eventful life.

The son of Anne St John and her second husband Royalist hero Henry, Viscount Wilmot, John was a bit of an embarrassment to his mother.

It wasn't just the lewd poems or the bawdy plays, his dismissal from court or the drinking and whoring that upset her. It wasn't even the attempted abduction of his future, fabulously rich heiress, wife to be Elizabeth Malet that made her raise her eyebrows. Well actually it was, but what really upset her was that he wouldn't renounce all of the above on his death bed - and boy did she try hard to persuade him.

John was born at Ditchley, Oxfordshire and at the age of just 12 was sent to Wadham College, where it was said he 'grew debauched.' These things happen! Having picked up his MA three years later, John went off on the obligatory Grand Tour, which probably finished off the debauchery tuition.

Following the abduction attempt, John married Elizabeth Malet. The couple had four children - a son who died young and three daughters.

Elizabeth who married Edward Montague, 3rd Earl of Sandwich.

Anne who married first Henry Bayntun and next Francis Greville.

And Malet who became the wife of John Vaughan, 1st Viscount Lisburne.

Back home in London he was the toast of the Restoration Court. He frequented the theatre, gave acting lessons to his mistress Elizabeth Barry and wrote a lot of very rude poetry.

But it was the death bed renunciation of his life long atheism that was the real best seller and remained in print for two hundred years - a cautionary tale for any young man about to embark upon a life of excess.

John died at his home in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, his body so ravaged by his lifestyle that it was unknown whether it was the effects of alcoholism or venereal disease that eventually killed him.

John's portrait, attributed to Peter Lely, hangs in the Dining Room at Lydiard House. Visit the website on www.lydiardhouse.org.uk for details of opening times and forthcoming events.

It would appear that the Lady St. Johns had a penchant for gardening. And while it was down to the men to make sweeping changes to the parkland, it was the women who attended to the finer details.

Lady Johanna, wife of Sir Walter St John was a keen gardener. Letters written from her home in Battersea to Thomas Hardyman her steward at Lydiard indicate how involved she was with the planting and development of the garden.

hardyman
I bid richard brown send down some slips of the Austrian rose if he hath sent them set them betwen the lawrel tre in the court if ther be any that stand far enough asunder …

Another letter to Hardyman gives instructions for Rudler, the gardener, regarding a consignment of seeds.

…to send him a noat of the number and how to use them but the seed must not be s[own] till next yere tell him he must not brag to much least he lose them and tel him I would have all the white and yelow crowns planted in the outward garden as wel as thos that are turned plaine red or yalow or white bid him also save some of his white stock seed to us …

Following his marriage to wealthy heiress Anne Furnese in 1729, Sir John remodelled the manor house and landscaped the parkland at Lydiard. Anne’s dowry didn’t extend to a complete rebuild of Lydiard House and the garden makeover had to come within budget as well - the new walled garden to the west of the house was constructed using bricks from the old one. Sadly the formal gardens that his grandmother Lady Johanna presided over were swept away.

The unhappy Lady Diana Spencer who married John and Anne’s dissolute son Frederick, sought consolation in the walled garden and added her contribution to its design and content.

Inside, the walls enclose a surprising large area of 4,500 square metres. The unusual parallelogram shape of the garden was designed to maximise sunlight throughout the year. The north eastern wall is slightly higher than the rest, providing a barrier against the winter winds, while the corner of the eastern wall is curved, a perfect place to sit and watch the setting summer sun.

The main gated and pillared entrance is approached via an avenue of incongruous fir trees planted in the 20th century. A small arched doorway in the north eastern wall is linked by one of two footpaths crossing south west to north east. The 1766 estate map shows an outer footpath and others crossing south east to north west.

In 1886 only the perimeter pathway and the one between the main entrance and small door remained. By then the garden was no longer a place of recreation for the Lady’s of the house to take a little exercise, but a Victorian vegetable garden complete with glass house and potting shed.

In 2004 Wessex Archaeology made an excavation of the walled garden in advance of an ambitious four year restoration programme.

Evidence of many of the original features was revealed and a well with a stone cistern was discovered. Many sherds of Romano British pottery were found during the course of the archaeological dig, dating from the 2nd to 5th century when there was a large production site in the Shaw Ridge area of West Swindon.

Sherds of wheel thrown medieval pottery produced in nearby Minety were also discovered. And just one small piece of Tudor Green ware produced in great quantity in the early 16th century - perhaps a jug from the table of Margaret Carew who married John St John in about 1525.

Two sherds of Creamware reveal that the St. Johns were buying from 18th century pottery mogul Josiah Wedgewood, hardly surprising as Lady Diana contributed designs for the potter’s Jasper ware.

Fragments of clay pipes, the cigarette butt of an earlier age, less offensive and a useful dating device, were discovered. As tobacco prices dropped, bowl sizes increased and this along with pipemakers marks make pipes easily dateable.

More than 300 years on, the letters of 17th century Lady Johanna St John have contributed to the design of the restored walled garden. Those responsible for the 21st century planting have where possible selected plants that would have been popular in Lady Johanna’s day. In the 17th century the purchase of a tulip bulb could lead to bankruptcy. Thankfully today they are a tad cheaper.

As a new member of the Friends of Lydiard Park, I was able to join them on their recent annual summer outing.

The Friends, an independent charity dedicated to supporting the conservation and continued enhancement of Lydiard House and Park, was established in 2005, a successor to the Friends of Lydiard Tregoz founded in the 1960s. With a new website launched in May and a facebook page just hours old, the Friends are getting their message across to a modern, media savvy audience.

This year's trip was to the magnificent Stourhead House near Warminster. The estate comprises a Palladian stately home, a Pantheon and a Temple of Apollo, plus other classical representations, set in more than 2,600 acres.

The property belonged to the Hoare banking family for more than 200 years. The estate was split in 1946 when half was gifted to the National Trust and half remains in family ownership.

Henry Hoare, who ran the bank alongside his younger brother Benjamin following the death of their father Sir Richard, purchased the medieval Stourton manor and renamed it Stourhead. He began work on the impressive Palladian mansion but unfortunately never lived to see it completed. It would be his son, another Henry, nicknamed 'The Magnificent' who furnished the house and created the classical landscape complete with temples and monuments.

And of course there has to be a Lydiard Park/St John family connection.

Hoare's bank was founded in 1673, the brain child of goldsmith Richard Hoare. Sir Henry St John, the reprobate found guilty of murdering Sir William Escott in 1684, was the first family member to open an account with Hoare's in 1697. His father Sir Walter was the second St John client, opening his account in 1704.

The third member of the family to bank with Hoare's was the Hon. John St John, responsible for the remodelling of Lydiard House in 1745. Perhaps he popped down to Stourhead to visit his bank manager and pick up a few tips for his own grand design.

Today Hoare's is the oldest, independently owned private bank with branches at 37 Fleet Street and 32 Lowndes Street.

Clock Arch

Pantheon

Grotto

Temple of Flora

Gothic Cottage

Members of the Friends with Emily, our guide, in front of the Pope Cabinet

In 2004 Brian Carne and Sonia St John were permitted to examine the ledgers containing entries for the three St John accounts held at the Hoare's Bank Archive in Fleet Street. Earlier that year it had been established that Roger Morris had been paid to work on Lydiard House during the refurbishment to a Palladian style in the 18th century.

Many thanks to Sonia St John for making her research available.

A look at last year's visit by the Woodvilles.

The Woodville re-enactors won over the locals at Lydiard Park this weekend when they set up camp on the edge of the front lawn.

Head of the household gave us a top to toe run down on those all important fashion accessories. The lady wearing a black hat was flaunting her wealth as was the woman in white, neither did much housework apparently. And we were told not to be fooled into thinking the man rattling his armour was a knight - none of his bits matched and the provenance was questionable too.

The archer checking his equipment told some gory stories of the wounds inflicted by the various arrow heads while the talk on 15th century medical practices sounded marginally more painful.

A display of archery in the walled garden revealed that women were equal to the job and did you know it was the Victorians who named the famous 15th century weapon the longbow. At the time bow was considered a perfectly adequate name.

Here are some photographs from the weekend. If you would like to know more about the Woodvilles visit their website on www.woodvilles.org.uk

The encampment in the woods

A pint sized crossbow apprentice

Wealthy black hat wearing lady

Two posh ladies

A one knight stand - check out his armour!

At home with the Woodvilles

Musician

Handy tips - visitors were being instructed on how to get a knife through the visor of a helmet

Arriving in the Walled Garden for the archery display

Getting dressed for the part.

Warming up.

A view of the Butts

Bow versus crossbow contest experiences technical hitch - crossbow 5, bow 'I wasn't counting.'

by John Hopner

purchased 1965

Like everything else in his life, George Richard's will was complicated. The original ran to 7,000 words across nineteen pages and was proved on February 14, 1825.

The summarized version reproduced in The Friends of Lydiard Tregoz Report 22 published in 1989 pays particular attention to the property and estate. Woodland in the parishes of Purton, Lydiard Tregoze, Lydiard Millicent and Broad Hinton was to go on the market with George Richard's eldest, abandoned son Henry having first option to buy them for £35,000.

To George and Edward Barton the two surviving sons of his incestuous relationship with his half sister Mary Beauclerk, he leaves £1,200 each. His other children receive varying amounts. George Frederick £1,000; William James, a Cornet in the 13th Regiment of Light Dragoons, £3,000; Joseph Henry, an Ensign in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards £4,000. His two sons Ferdinand and Charles are to received £3,000 each when they reach the age of 21. His daughters Isabella Marianne and Antoinette Diana who were then both living at Lydiard House, would receive £6,000 each when they either reached the age of 21 or when they married.

There is no mention of personal bequests in this summarized version - no bed furnishings, no pieces of jewellery, no items of clothing. George Richard writes: 'All the rest of my Manors and property I devise to my Wife Isabella, Viscountess Bolingbroke, together with 'All my household Goods and Furniture Books pictures and prints of every kind plate Linen China Wines Liquors Horses Carriages and Harness.'

Apparently everything else was devised to the executors to convert into money and to be invested.

William Dore - being of Sound and disposing mind and memory

Portrait of the week - Sir John St John (c1585-1648) later 1st Baronet

Windmill Leaze - an exceptionally attractive dairy and grazing farm

Portrait of the week - Lady Johanna St John

To the Memory of Jonas Clarke

Oliver St John (1634-1688) 2nd Earl of Bolingbroke

The enterprising Dore family

"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast horses..."

Restored Wall Painting in St Mary's Church, Lydiard Tregoze

Jewels in the Stained Glass Crown

Portrait of the Week - Holles St John (1710-1738)

Edwin and Rhoda Edmonds

John St John (1702-1748) 2nd Viscount St John

Yet another John St John (c1746-1793)

On this day 142 years ago

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester

Walled Garden

Friends of Lydiard Park Summer Outing

Time Travelling in Lydiard Park

Portrait of the week - George Richard