This feature by Trevor Hockenhull is an extension to the Badsey Society's Badsey and Aldington Enclosure Map projects. Trevor, who lives in Badsey, has researched the history of the parcel of land on which his modern house stands. Trevor shows that the foundations of his 'house history' began a few hundred years before the first brick was laid.
"An Indenture made the 28th day of August in the 21st year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George II by the Grace of God of Great Britain France and Ireland being, Defender of the Faith and so forth and in the year of our Lord 1747 between Ann Smith of Badsey in the County of Worcester Widow and Relict of Anthony Smith late of Badsey and Harvington in the County of Worcester Miller deceased of the one part and John Hughes of Evesham in the County of Worcester Gardener of the other part Witnesseth that the said Ann Smith for and in consideration of the sum of £100 of lawful money of Great Britain to her in hand paid by the said John Hughes the Receipt whereof she doth confess and hereby acknowledge she the said Ann Smith hath granted bargained and sold and by these presents doth grant bargain and sell unto the said John Hughes All that one Water Corn Mill being formerly called two Water Corn Mills with the Appurtenances together with the Messuage Tenement or Dwelling House therein so adjoining and belonging commonly called or known by the Name of Badsey Mills and all the Gears Stones Tools and Implements of in about and belonging to the same Mills and also all that piece or parcel of Garden Ground lying near unto the said Mills commonly called or known by the name of Swan's Nest being encompassed about with the Mill Pond and also all those two pieces or parcels of Meadow Ground lying near or adjoining unto the said Mills commonly called or known by the name of the Naite containing by estimation two acres or thereabouts (be the same more or less) being encompassed about with the Brook abutting Northward upon the Mill Bridge and Southward upon the floodgates and also all that one other small piece or parcel of Ground now used for a Garden lying near or adjoining to the said Mills having the Orchard heretofore of Richard Badsey on the East and a certain Ground called the Stockey late in the possession of Clement Dingly Gentleman on the south side thereof."
The above is the beginning of a fuller indenture, which describes the sale of Badsey Mill and all that went with it, and which describes the land which abuts it, or as the indenture says "is encompassed by". On the south side of Ann Smith's land was the land known as Stockey, and it was "late" in the possession of Clement Dingley, a gentleman. The word 'late' suggests that Mr Dingley was dead, but that the land, to all intents and purposes, remained somehow associated with him. It could be that it was in the hands of his executors, [but I have not found a will] or, still in the occupancy of his family. Land was usually leased for a term of three lives, which meant that the occupier nominated his youngest children or grandchildren [on the grounds that they may live the longest], and though one of the 'lives' died, the land still remained in the hands of that family. At the end of the three lives, a new lease was usually arranged with the family, but of course at a higher rental. Thus though Clement Dingley may have died, the land remained in Dingley occupation. I have found nothing on this particular family, but there were Dingleys in Badsey in the seventeenth century, including a Clement, and in the last decade of the sixteenth century and the early decades of the seventeenth century there was a local Magistrate called Francis Dingley going about his business.
By 1787 we know that Stockey belonged to the Reverend Thomas Williams. An absentee landlord who lived for many years in Bere Regis Dorsetshire. He was a man of Oxfordshire, and was christened at Chasleton, near Morton in Marsh, on Sunday the first day of May 1748, by his parents, the Reverend Edward Williams, Rector of Chastleton and Margaret his wife [nee Walker of Evesham]. He had just one sibling, a sister, Ann, born at Chastleton on the second of July 1749. Always bright, his future lay, like his father's, in the church, his father had been educated at Oriel College Oxford [having matriculated and obtained his B.A. on the eighth of July 1745]. In turn Thomas matriculated from Oriel College on Wednesday the thirtieth of May 1764 [he was then aged 16], though he moved to Balliol on the following eighth of September, the record states that he had to "serve the master" this meant he had to carry out domestic service in exchange for tuition from the master. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1768, and completed his education with his Master of Arts degree in the year 1770. He was ordained a priest in 1772. He was the senior Bursar at the time of the death of Henry Fisher on June the twentieth 1773, and he was selected to be instituted in Fisher's place on Saturday the fourth of December 1773. At twenty five years of age he was the incumbent at Bere Regis in Dorset. Thomas Williams was a bachelor, and lived a bachelor's existence for six years in that parish, but he finally married Jane, the daughter of his good friend John Hayward, from the parish of Hampreston, on the twenty eighth day of September 1779. The couple were destined to remain childless.
As I said above, the land known as Stockey belonged to Thomas Williams in 1787, thus it was that Clement Dingley or his descendants, and after him William Collett, paid rents to the Reverend Thomas Williams, with William Collett paying them in 1787. Stockey was probably in the Williams family long before 1747. His father Edward, in making a marriage settlement in 1747 on Lucy Howard, settled a 'Capital Messuage' (house) at Bourton on the Water, and several other cottages land tenements etc. situate in Badsey, Aldington, Bretforton, Offenham and Bidford and vested in a Francis Elisabeth Southby. And a further settlement on his only daughter Ann in 1768 when she married Robert Southby included lands in the same parishes, with a reversionary clause vested in his son Thomas, such that he could buy them back at a cost of £1800, on the death of Ann Southby. Edward Williams died on the twenty fourth of December 1788 intestate. Ann Southby, Thomas Williams only sister, died on the fifteenth of July 1806 and by an Indenture the Reverend Thomas Williams purchased the lands from Robert Southby, the widower of Ann his sister. It seems likely that not all of the lands that were owned by the Williams family were included in these two settlements, as Thomas Williams himself held Stockey in 1787, but he did increase his holdings a great deal when he regained his fathers lands in 1806.
Fifteen years after the Reverend's arrival in Bere Regis, in the year 1788 there was a serious fire which broke out between midnight and one o'clock in the morning of Wednesday the fourth of June in the 'Crown' public house. It seems that in a short time the fire rapidly spread and destroyed the Vicarage and more than 40 other houses, in addition to stables, barns and outbuildings. It was said that the church was several times threatened by the flames, but that the efforts of the firemen and others prevented it from being damaged. The parish registers were not so fortunate, being at the time in the Vicarage. In spite of the severity of the fire, only one death resulted from it, that of a blind man. Most of the houses were not insured, and appeals were made on behalf of those whose property had been destroyed. This included a news paper appeal by Thomas Williams and his churchwardens. The appeal realised £1,279 19s. 4d, all accept £24 of which was distributed to the 39 people who suffered from the fire. The £24 that was kept back was to be spent on a new fire engine. The Bere Regis vicar, from his own purse, built a new and sturdy dwelling, which stands today, having been added to in later Victorian times (including the rendering), but it is now a private dwelling (see photo below). In 1805 Thomas and Jane Williams made a gift to the church at Bere Regis of two enormous flagons made of silver and a beautiful seventeenth century silver paten. At the rear of the church was, and probably still is, a roll bearing the signatures of the many Vicars who have officiated at the church over the years, with the flowing signature of Thomas Williams clearly seen.
In 1813 the Reverend Thomas Williams, donated £100 to the 'endowed boys school', a Bere Regis charity set up in 1719 by a namesake of his. The £100 was to be invested for the benefit of the schoolmaster, who was paid a salary out of the charity funds specifically for teaching the six charity boys, but he could take other fee-paying boys besides in order to supplement his basic annual salary which in 1823 amounted to £10. Shortly after the twenty fifth of May that year, the Reverend received a letter from a Samuel Clark, a parishioner, who wished for a copy of his parents marriage certificate. No doubt adding yet more work to a full routine.
The Reverend and Jane Williams remained in Bere Regis until 1817 when he resigned the living. He was after all sixty nine, and may not have been in the best of health. They undertook the long haul back home, and settled in their main estate which was situated at Bourton on the Hill, Gloucestershire. He remained there, until his death in 1829. There is a memorial plaque in the church of Saint Lawrence, Bourton on the Hill, it reads "To the Memory of the Rev" Thomas Williams MA. Formerly of Baliol College Oxford and many years of Bere Regis. He died May the 5th 1829 aged 80 years".
Soon after arriving at Bourton on the Hill, about 1822 or thereabouts, the Reverend Williams employed a new Land Steward and Agent, in particular to take over the management of his many estates, including all those in Badsey and Aldington. William Woodward of Birlingham was the man charged with the task, whose two sons William and Joseph assisted him in his duties. In 1825 William Woodward junior drew up a map of the Reverends estate in the Hamlet of Aldington and Parish of Offenham. William Woodward continued to manage the estates until the Parson's death in May 1829, and thereafter, with the assistance of his son Joseph, he managed them on behalf of Jane Williams until her death in November 1830. From that time the two of them managed the estates for the executors of Jane Williams, until William Woodward senior relinquished the post. Joseph Woodward then became sole Land Steward and Agent.
Whilst at Bourton on the Hill Reverend Williams made out his will on Sunday the sixth day of June 1819, and on his death Jane as sole executrix had it proved at London on the twenty third of July 1829. Thomas Williams was a propertied man, in terms of freehold; copyhold and leasehold estates, and the bulk of them went to Jane his wife to let at rack rents or dispose of as she saw fit. But an Estate at Great Comberton he gave to a female cousin, [blank] daughter of Thomas Halford. (her name was Ann) The rest and residue he gave one moiety [half, to his cousin [blank] Halford and the two daughters of his cousin Ann Hill, The other moiety he gave to the brother and sisters of [blank] Alies of Alfrick Worcestershire. But his manor of South Stoke in Oxfordhire, held under the Dean and Chapter of Christchurch, was specifically earmarked for Jane his wife to dispose of. There was no mention in his will of his estates here in Badsey nor of Aldington, which was surveyed in 1813, some twelve months after the enclosure of the village. Nor was there mention of Harvington, Marl Cliff nor properties in Honeybourne. The legend associated with the map/plan of Badsey shows that he had some twenty properties here in the village, including Nap Close, Stockey, Little Bullybrook Furlong, Great Bullybrook Furlong, Hurst Way Furlong, Moor Furlong, Willersey Hay Furlong and others.
In 1849, some twenty years after his death, the solicitors acting for his estate were still trying to sort out the conflicting claims of many of the families of [blank] Alies of Alfrick [his name was William]. I get a feeling that the progenitor of this family was at college with Thomas Williams. There were many claimants on the will of Thomas Williams, and on the fourteenth of July of that year, the estate manager, Joseph Woodward, was examined by a magistrate, who was seeking confirmation as to the extent of the deceased land holdings. Woodward was shown a series of maps/plans of all of the estates and confirmed that it was a true and correct representation of the Estate of the said Thomas Williams at Badsey [and the other lands at Aldington, Harvington, Bourton on the Hill etc.] The magistrate has written on the counterpoint of the indenture that Woodward did so confirm. But, he has then drawn a line through this confirmation and written 'failed to confirm the extent'. Another mystery here? We do not know at what stage, or in which year, the good parson's heirs obtained their legacies.
Jane Williams, widow and relic of the Reverend Thomas Williams did not long survive her husband. She made and signed her will on Saturday the seventh of August 1830, and six months later on the twenty second of February 1831 probate was granted. There were many requests to many people, some who seem to have been retainers for years, and yet others who she seems to be looking after as a result of an imposition placed on her by her father in his will [John Hayward of Hampreston Dorset, probate granted twenty-first day of January 1791 at PPC]. One such legacy, of 1000 pounds she left to a servant, Martha Cory "on account of the particular attention which she paid to Reverend Williams during a long and severe illness". In her will she leaves legacies to Hospitals and infirmaries, 'lunatic' Asylums etc.; she provides money for the widows and orphans of Clergymen of four counties, being Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Dorsetshire. She provides for various churches, Blockley, Church Honeybourne, Chasleton, Evenlode and Longbourgh, as well as Bourton on the Hill. She invested £2459 17s. 2d. stock, in the names of the vicars of Longbourgh, Blockley and the Rector of Evenlode in trust to provide Almshouses at Stow on the Wold. There is a plaque in the church of St Lawrence Bourton on the Hill, which commemorates the endowment in March 1831, and the fact of the same three named clergymen being the trustees of a 'Retreat for the Aged' in Bourton on the Hill. Though the plaque does not identify those who donated to the scheme, it appears that she may also have spread her largess in this direction and omitted to have it put in her will.
The place where she lived for so many years was not forgotten. She set up a charity in Bere Regis Dorset in her name. The Jane Williams Charity. An entry in the annuls of Bere Regis says "Jane Williams was the widow of the Rev. Thomas Williams who was vicar of Bere Regis 1773-1817. She died in 1830 and left by will £350 invested in 3% Consols, the interest from which was to be shared annually among two poor men and two poor women of this parish, who were to be members of the Church of England. The dividend amounted to £2 10s. 0d. each and was distributed between Christmas and New Year's day each year. The charity was administered by three trustees one of whom was always to be the current vicar of Bere Regis, the other two being "substantial freeholders or inhabitants of Bere Regis."
Jane Williams also disposed of their estates at Harvington Worcestershire, the Reverend Thomas William's Manor of South Stoke, Oxfordshire, was bequeathed to 'the Masters and Scholars' of Balliol College', and in the college archives is this entry. "1831. Mrs. Jane Williams of Bourton on the Hill, widow of Rev Thomas Williams, formerly Fellow of Balliol (1768 - 1775) & Vicar of Bere Regis bequeathed a Leasehold Estate at South Stoke which sold for £8500." The proceeds of the sale were put into a fund, the interest of which was used for the benefit of College. Because they were such large benefactors to the college, the Reverend and Jane his wife, are mentioned in the College 'Bidding Prayer'. The master of Balliol, Dr Richard Jenkins, writing in 1831 about the retirement of the late Reverend Williams at Bourton on the Hill said "he continued to maintain the character for strictness in friendship ... and to exemplify by acts of unostentatious kindness the influence of a heart naturally warm and benevolent. He thus conciliated the respect and esteem of all who knew him till he sunk under the effects of along and painful illness ". Of Jane Williams he wrote "his widow did not survive her loss; but submitting with pious resignation to the will of Heaven, and rich in every good work, she closed her mortal life in December 1830."
There was no mention of the family estates here in Badsey, nor of those in Marlcliffe, near Bidford, and others which the couple owned. But so much was left to the discretion of Jane's executors, that's no real surprise, The rents for these properties may have created greater profit than any profit gained from selling them off and investing in stocks or consols. The 1831 record of Badsey Land tax returns shows that Stockey was owned by the estate of Thomas Williams, and that the occupier was William Collett, who paid £9 6s. 10d., the usual amount, to the exchequer on this property.
Clement Dingley, or the executors of his estate was the occupier as we know in 1747, and the 1787 land tax, the earliest in the series, shows that William Collett, a tenant farmer, was then the occupier, and the Reverend Thomas Williams was the owner. William Collett paid £9 6s. 10d. to the exchequer on this property, followed in his turn by his son William Collett. In April 1799, the land tax was paid 'forever' on all of Thomas Williams properties. Known as redemption or expressed as someone being 'exonerated', it took the form of an investment in government and was used to pay the land tax, in advance, in perpetuity. Who paid ? I find it interesting that in the very high inflationary period of the Napoleonic wars, one or other of the two William Colletts paid the same amount each and every year from 1787 to 1831.
Somewhere between 1747 and 1787, William Collett took over the tenancy of Stockey, and began to claw a toehold in the community. He was the eldest son of John and Elisabeth Collett, and was baptised here at Badsey on Tuesday the eighteenth of January 1742, he had a sister Ann, who was born in 1747 and a sister Elisabeth born in 1757 [died in 1773]. John Collett, the father of the three children died, and was buried on Sunday the eighteenth of January 1763, leaving a widow and three children including the six year old. Needless to say, the widow had a need to have security and a provider around, thus it is that she married Henry Smith on the fifteenth day of August 1763, two and a half years after her first husband died. William Collett was aged twenty-seven before he decided that he was in a position to get married, perhaps a slot had opened up in the village, a lease was up maybe, and none wanted it. He may well have taken on the lease of Thomas Williams land known as the Stockey at that time. William, no doubt having courted the lady of his choice for some time, married Nancy Bird on Thursday the fifth of October 1769. His sister Ann was a witness. [three weeks later, William was a witness when his sister Ann married Benjamin Gould] Nancy was the daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Bird, and had been christened here at Badsey on the seventh of April 1751. Her father Henry attended, with his future son in law, on the Bishops surrogate in seeking a marriage licence, and duly signified his consent to the marriage. Nancy was a minor.
Despite being only nineteen, just nine months after being married, on the eighth of July, William [junior] was christened at St James church. It was in all probability a bad birth, complications perhaps for Nancy, but she did not survive the birth long. Nancy, mother of William junior and wife of William senior, died and was buried in the churchyard on Friday the tenth of August 1770.
William junior, too young to be fed solids must have been suckled by a wet nurse or a female friend or neighbour as he did survive the ordeal. William senior also survived it as we find him, on a nice Saturday in June 1772, in Wickhamford parish church marrying one, Mary White. Mary was probably the daughter of William and Elisabeth White of Wickhamford, who was christened on the tenth of February 1731. Despite her age, the second Mrs. Collett was safely delivered of a son John, who was baptised on the fourth of February 1775. William Collett's family was complete.
It was in 1773 that William senior's sister Elisabeth had died, and she had been buried in the family grave. It was probably William that arranged for a headstone to be cut and placed at the head of the grave as a memorial to her, as his father John, and his own first wife Nancy, were both included on the carving of the stone. His mother and stepfather, Henry and Elisabeth Smith seem not to have had any children. His stepfather Henry Smith died just before Christmas 1789, and ten years later, on the sixteenth of August 1799, his mother Elisabeth Smith died and was buried in the churchyard.
1787 shows us that William Collett was the occupier of the field called Stockey, under lease from the Reverend Thomas Williams, this was probably a large holding with a house or farm on it, where he and his family lived. He was also farming other lands, as we see that he is a tenant under the Reverend Mr Drummand; John Millard & John Benton [this piece of land he farmed with James Bird]. He and a Mary Roberts owned a piece of land which he farmed, and he also had a lease under Christopher Whitting. He paid a total of £19 14s. 5d. in land tax that year [in 2002 money that was £1694.36] Another William Collet, an incomer, probably the one born at Broadway in 1757, married a Mary Salter in 1790, and baptised three children over the next fifteen years, it is possible, and probable, that this William Collett was a tenant and was also paying the dues under the land tax, and thus his holding may be entangled in 'our' William Collett's payments.
Between the year 1787 to 1800, there was little change in the make up of William's holding of lands, but by 1808 he was not only lease holding under Thomas Williams, but he had a property of his own which was in the occupation of a John Collett, and on which he [John Collett] paid £5 a year tax. This John seems to have been his son, who had married Ann Wheeler in 1802, he was also paying land tax on properties held under Chas Whiting and the reverend Philott. William the younger meanwhile, was still unmarried at the time of his young step brother's marriage, and was probably living with his father and stepmother and working on the family holdings. But by 1805 he had made up his mind to marry, and to this end at the end of April of that year he and Thomas Kelsall of Evesham sought a licence for him to marry Mary Yardington. The marriage took place here in Badsey on Wednesday, the first day of May 1805. The same Thomas Kelsall was a witness as well as a Jane Kelsall, who may have been his wife. William and Mary Collett were destined not to have any children of their own.
Mary Yardington was the third known child of John and Elisabeth Yardington of Bishampton, being christened there on the third of November 1776. Her mother, Elisabeth Fletcher had married John Yardington at Church Lench on the twenty second day of January 1769. She had two sisters Sussanna, born 1774 and Elenor 1772. Sussanna, the middle sister, married Joseph Tovey of Church Lench at that church on the eighteenth of August 1794, by licence, with Thomas Edwin a bondsman, both signed the bond. John Yardington had to give his consent as Sussanna was still a minor. Both Joseph and Sussanna signed the marriage register. The couple had many children, with three of them, Mary born 9 February 1807, Thomas Yardington Tovey [given his mothers surname as a proper name] born ninth of February? 1809, Elenor born on the nineteenth of March 1811 all being christened at the same time on the same day, Thursday, August the tenth 1815. Was this something to do with the Napoleonic wars, or were the family away from their parish during that time, and decided to wait till they went back to christen their children. William was the last to be born, he was christened on the twenty third of July 1819.
William Collett and his new bride Mary appear to have lived with William senior. The situation seems to have been that the ageing William was relinquishing control of his farming workload and taking a back seat. Letting his son William take on more control of the business. After all in the year 1805 he was sixty three years old.
The year 1811, the last year before the act of enclosing the lands in Badsey was due, the two William Colletts held leases under the Reverend Thomas Williams, Christopher Whiting and reverend Mr. Phillott, as well as owning the one property which was tenanted by John Collett. In 1809, a lease was held under the Reverend Williams for a parcel of Land in Aldington [previous tenant was Edward Laugher] for which he pad £1 14s. 9d. in tax. Was this Badsey under grounds? William Collett does not appear in the 1807 inclosure of Aldington.
The following year 1812 was the time of our parish's own revolution, a hive of activity. The men with the chains, pencils and paper arrived and commenced to measure every blade of grass. These commissioners visited every part of the parish, surveyed it, heard and assessed the claims of those holding land in open fields or having rights of access to the common. [The hamlet of Aldington had been enclosed five years earlier] They would then enclose the open fields. Each landowner would be given one plot of land equal in size to the areas he formally held in separate units. The common land was also divided. The amount each individual landowner was given would depend on their total land holdings in the parish and the amount of access they had to the common. The owners were also instructed as to who was responsible for the hedging fencing and ditching etc. to the fields. A record of such changes was mapped out or drawn up in a plan. Two years after the visit of the commissioners, the senior William Collett died. He was buried at Badsey on Friday the twenty-ninth of July 1814, his age is given as seventy two. William junior was now solely responsible for the farm, and though his father seems not to have left a will, no doubt provision was made for his stepmother to remain living in the old house. She lived to a ripe old age, she was 95 years old when she died. She was buried on Tuesday the twentieth of May 1823 in Badsey churchyard.
The land tax record has not survived from the period 1812 to 1817, so we cannot plot the changing ownership which undoubtedly went on after the enclosure [with those who found it uneconomical to work a small piece of land and thus selling it on and seeking work as a day labourer.] But the 1818 land tax shows us that William Collett was paying his £ 9 6 shillings and 10 pence tax on the land leased under the Reverend Williams, and that he still owned the house near the church, which was then tenanted by a Thomas Smith, for which Thomas Smith was paying £4 15s. 0d. in tax. He also had farmland in Aldington, under lease from Thomas Williams, for which he paid his £1 14s.9d. The 1826 return shows that William was still paying his £9 6s. 10d. for his "Farm" held of Thomas Williams; Thomas Smith was still in the farm belonging to William Collett, and John Collett, Williams step brother is back on the scene, owning and living in his own house and on his own land, and our William Collett still held the land in Aldington under lease from the Reverend Williams.
John Collett, William's stepbrother died and was buried here at Badsey in 1831 aged 56, but the sixty one year old William was still alive and kicking, going about his business in the parish, working on Stockey, and renting out his farm near the church to a William Smith, who could be the son of Thomas Smith, the recent tenant. Thomas Smith had christened a son William on the sixth of February 1797.
The census of 1841 shows that William, and Mary his wife, were at home alone that June night, with only a nineteen year old servant girl, Ann Mayo, to look after them. It would appear that they had by this time moved into the house next door to the church, which William had owned for years, but which he had always let for rent. We know the house as 'The Firs'.
On the ninth of April 1850 the eighty year old farmer William Collett died and was buried in the churchyard. He did not appear to have made a will. Just over a month later, on Sunday the nineteenth of May, his widow was a godparent to her great nephew, the service took place at Church Lench, He was given the name Willam Collett Tovey, a tribute to her husband and the infant's great uncle. William Collett Tovey was the son of William and Elisabeth Tovey, and William was her nephew, the youngest son of Sussanah Tovey her sister.
A year later, the census, gives the age of Mary Collett as being 93 years old, the enumerator certainly got that wrong she was born in 1778 not 1758. Two servants were living with her at what we know as The Firs, one of them, the forty three year old Mathilda Payne Watson, was acting as her companion, though described as a servant, and both of them were being looked after by an unmarried 37 year old, Anne Ewins. Mary was described as a Landed Proprietor, and as we shall see it was a good description.
April 1861 saw Mary Collett, this time with her age more or less correct, living at the same address, and her faithful companion, Mathilda Payne Watson, was still with her, but now she was a companion and housekeeper. There was a sixteen year old servant, Harriet Warner, taking care of both their needs. Mary, it seems, still had her portfolio of properties. In 1863 she decided to settle her estate, summoning the scribe, the ever ready Henry New of Evesham, she dictated her wishes and on Friday the ninth day of October, no doubt having had it read out to her, she and her witnesses signed it. The witnesses were clerks who worked for Henry New.
At the end of January 1865, the eighty seven year old widow died, she was buried on Tuesday the thirty first day of the month in the church yard, reunited with her husband William. There were no children of their own to mourn their passing, but there were a whole lot of nephews and nieces, and a cross and a foot stone were erected to their memory, probably by her grateful relatives, the Tovey family of Church Lench.
The fact of her having no children is shown in the make up of her will. After leaving a bequest of £100 to her companion Mathilda Payne Watson, and a bequest to provide blankets to "the poor parishioners of Badsey", she gave Nephews Thomas Yardington Tovey and William Tovey of Church Lench, the Bowers Hill Farm, which at that time was occupied by William Henry Smith. She gave them her own house, "tenement garden and orchard now in my own occupation" one half to go to Thomas Yardington , the other half to William, [we know the house as The Firs, on the High Street, next to the Wheatsheaf car park]. Further bequests were made to the brothers Tovey, a "messuage and tenement with the garden in the occupation of Joseph Jones" [seems to have been the house opposite 'The Firs' the one today known as 'Malvern House'] also "those several parcels of land called under Badsey grounds 22 acres or thereabouts occupied by Mrs Ingles" she also gave Abraham's Well "containing four acres or thereabouts to Joseph Tovey" this may be a brother of the main beneficiaries, or Mary Collett's brother in law. The two brothers combined to sell their legacies and realised their cash value, but the Bowers Hill farm was retained by them, as we find William Tovey's widow Elisabeth and her family living there in 1881, it may be her husband William's death which was registered at Evesham in the first quarter of 1875. His brother Thomas Yardington was still living at his own farm at Church Lench. But it is interesting, that five years after Mary Colletts death, in 1871, his aunt Mary's companion and housekeeper, Matilda Paine Watson, was a visitor at his Farm in Church Lench on that census night.
Her other properties, personal effects household goods etc. were to be sold by her executors and shared out between her ten nephews and nieces, after her funeral expenses had been deducted. The will directed that "eight of the ten parts to be equally divided between my nephews and nieces Thomas Yardington Tovey, William Tovey, Mary the wife of Joseph Gibbs, Sarah the wife of Joseph Russell, Susanah wife of Wm Tustin, Martha wife of Samuel Stone of Pershore, Sall? wife of Walter Wheeler and Charles Edwin Tovey ". Of the remaining two tenths, one was to go to Joseph Tovey, after the trustees had deducted £200 as expenses. The last tenth was to be divided between "Elisabeth Sussanah Merryman wife of John Hatcher", an Undertaker of Wandsworth London, and "Ann Tovey Smith wife of Joseph Smith of 0xford Street London formerly Ann Tovey Merryman ".
Mary Collett's executors, engaged the Evesham Solicitors New, France and Garrard to act on their behalf, and instructed Mr H W Smith to auction three of the properties on the tenth of July 1865, at the Cross Keys Inn Evesham. One of the Lots, lot 3, was the Arable land called Abraham's Well, which had been left to a Joseph Tovey, and one wonders had the two executors bought it off him, or were they selling it on his behalf? Lot one seems to have been 'Malvern House' and lot two was the ground called 'Under Badsey Grounds'. This last lot was knocked down to John Pickup Lord, it appears that he was extending his contiguous land holdings, as he already held lands that formed a boundary with the Under Grounds.
All of the tenants of the three lots were under notice to quit at 'Michaelmas next' [Michaelmas Day is one of the quarter days, the 29th of September and fell at about the time of the autumnal equinox, On that days, rents were due and servants or hands were hired. Michaelmas also marked the end of the farming year and there were a lot of fairs held all over the country]
John Pickup Lord was the son of wealthy parents John and Ann Lord of Wigan, in Lancashire, born on the eighth of February 1821 and christened on the twenty sixth of July the same year. He had a sister Mary. John Lord held a lease on Standish Hall near Wigan, from Charles Strickland Standish, the M. P. for Wigan, in the late 1840's, and 1851 shows us that John Lord, the father, worked a farm there which consisted of some 350 acres, he employed 75 men on the land, as well as four in the hall itself. His main occupation was that of 'Attorney at Law ' and his son John Pickup was described as a 'Gentleman'.
Two years after the census, in 1853 John Lord now aged about sixty, amongst other lands and properties, released Standish Hall, and conveyed the same to others. And promptly moved down to Elmley Castle here in Worcestershire, along with his son, John Pickup Lord, and his daughter Mary. An indenture bearing date twenty eighth of June 1859 places John Pickup Lord at Elmley Castle, with his father. And the 1861 census shows us that John Lord, the father, was living at Elmley Park with his wife and daughter Mary. And forming a second household within the House was John Pickup Lord, his wife Constance Charlotte Hallet Lord and their son John H Lord, surrounded by numerous servants. John Pickup is described as a "Land Proprietor, and a Captain in the 5th Lancashire Militia." John Pickup had married Constance, in the autumn of 1858 at St George's Hanover Square, and had moved in with his father when his son John was born.
Their wealth being based on property, the family Lord set about building their portfolio of properties on arriving here. They were buying land and property from the moment of moving to Worcestershire, about 1855, from Wigan Lancashire. He moved first of all to Elmley Castle with his parents, then moved to Great Malvern, then finally settled in Hallow. The completion of the purchase of the Collett lands, by John Pickup Lord occurred in September 1865. In March 1866 he bought 27 acres of land at Aldington and in July 1866 he bought 275 acres of land at Badsey and Aldington from Joseph Woodward who, a few years earlier, had bought the land which had belonged to the estate of the Reverend Thomas Williams. This purchase included the field known as The Stockey. He also purchased 1200 acres and the lordship of Wickhamford in 1869.
It would appear that John Pickup Lord determined to increase his property portfolio, purchased lot 5, being one of nine lots that was being sold at auction on 23rd July 1866 on behalf of Edward Wilson, Lord of the Manor of Badsey. Lot 5 is described as "All that Close of arable land called Bully Brook Close etc.".
The Lord family had moved from Elmley Castle and were living in Cherbourgh House, Great Malvern, in 1871. With John Pickup, his wife Constance Charlotte and five children, were eight servants, including a governess. There was also a coachman and his wife living at the stables. The son and heir John, was at school at Rugby Warwickshire that night in April. It was at the house at Great Malvern that he made and signed his will on the tenth of May 1872.
John Pickup Lord had most certainly consolidated his land dealings by the time of his death in 1877. In the statement of the real estate in the parish of Badsey of which he was possessed at the time of his death, is the land known as Stockey; he held a further 17 parcels of land in Badsey, including Bully Brook Close, two large holdings in Aldington, the Lordship of the manor of Wickhamford, a large tract of land in Bengeworth, which included the road to Badsey. Plus of course his estate at Hallow and further estates in Lancashire, including lands in Lowton, the village where I lived from 1965 to 1970. Included in his holdings in Badsey were whole swaths of Land that once had been owned by the Reverend Thomas Williams, including the field on which my house is built, the Stockey. Other "late" Williams properties he held included Bullybrook Close, Little Bully Brook Furlong, Great Bullybrook Furlong, Hurst Way Furlong, Moor Furlong, Willersey Way Furlong, and probably others. In all he held 1509 acres 2 roods 32 poles in Worcestershire, which gave him an annual estimated gross rental income of £3265 13 shillings. In the 1876 Post Office Directory of Worcestershire, he is identified as 'Captain Lord' and he is described as a 'Major Landowner'.
It was at Hallow that John Pickup Lord died, on the eighteenth day of March 1877, but it seems he may have been in poor health from 1872 [this date coincides with him signing his will], as an indenture of that date appears to give instructions on how to look after his and then his wife's interests. Constance Charlotte, his wife, lived a further seven years before she too died, on the second of January 1884. The estates were now in the hands of the executors. Over time many properties were sold and stock was purchased, it seems to have been held mainly in Railway stock.
The land called Stockey was held by the trustees of John Pickup and Charlotte Lord, but in the new century, they sold a portion of the field to Alice Kate Bell, the new wife of George Bell of Badsey, on the seventh day of April 1900. The land had been owned by the Lord family for about 45 years.
George Bell was the son of Edwin and Mary Bell, and was christened here at St James church on the twentieth of November 1870. He had a sister, Emma, who had married Albert Edward Evans on the eighth of November 1893, in Badsey, with George Bell acting as a witness. Six years earlier, in December of 1887 an Edwin Richard Evans, a Butcher, had married an Alice Kate Hipkiss.
This Edwin Richard and Albert Edward Evans were brothers, the sons of Edward and Elisabeth Evans, Alice Kate Hipkiss was the daughter of James Hipkiss, both the father of the bride and of the groom were Publicans. Alice Kate was born on the tenth of February 1867 and baptised at St George's Birmingham, daughter of James and Charlotte. Charlotte was a member of the Birmingham Faulkner families of Brewers, and had married James Hipkiss at Birmingham, in the spring of 1860. The 1891 census shows Edwin Richard and Alice Kate with their daughter Alice Beatrice living at 4 Bridge street Evesham, where Edwin Evans had set up in business as a Butcher.
In the summer of 1898 Edwin Richard Evans died, and his widow brought him back to Badsey to be buried, the funeral taking place on the twenty second of June. It would seem that his daughter Alice Beatrice had not been baptised at the time of her birth, as some four months after her father was buried, she was christened here at St James on the nineteenth day of November, her birthday being given as the twenty fifth of October 1888. As with all familial connections, George Bell would have mixed with his family, and often been in the company of his sister Emma, her husband Albert and of course Albert's brother Edwin and his wife Alice Kate, and knowing her as he did, it did not take the twenty nine year old long to realise that he should perhaps marry Alice Kate Evans. This he did, at Aston, Birmingham in the autumn of 1899.
And as I say it was not long before negotiations were completed and Mr and Mrs George Bell were the owners of a portion of the land called Stockey "being three thousand two hundred square yards in the occupation of Thomas Sadler ". It seems that Alice Kate's family, being in the brewing trade for many years were quite wealthy, owning properties in Birmingham, including Jamaica Row, and it is believed that it was Alice Kate who funded the purchase of the piece of Stockey. An Indenture of September 1900, gives the prices some of the people paid for their newly purchased land, and Alice Kate paid some £200 for her piece.
Thomas Sadler, the "occupant of Stockey" was a prosperous Market Gardener, living, in 1901, at Montpellier House in High street, he was the son of Richard and Elizabeth, who moved here from Wormington in Gloucestershire. Thomas was a tenant on the Stockey which he worked as a Market Gardener. He would have had less land to till after the sale to Alice Kate and others. If there were any buildings, sheds or hovels on the land, they were soon removed, and a new house was erected, the date on the doorposts of Stanhope House give us the year of 1900. This was also the year that the Terrace we know as Belmont Terrace was built, directly opposite to Stanhope House and the Stockey.
Alice Kate's piece of land was 3200 square yards, not even an acre. And the piece of land abutting the southern boundary of the piece, purchased by Alice Kate, was purchased at about the same time, or shortly after by the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church Oxford, the depth of the plot, with its frontage of Willersey Road, was the same as Alice Kate's piece, being 40 yards, but it was a little longer, to its boundary of Bully Brook, and consisted of 3353 square yards and cost £250. The terrace of houses on this piece of land [14 in number] was built some time after Stanhope House, [they do not appear in the 1901 census], and it seems that three separate building contractors worked on this row of terraces, with two of them ceasing to trade in the process. The third contractor completed them, and, it is believed, sold them for £100 each on completion. One can see the different manufacture of bricks on the gable end, and at first floor level on some of the houses. The difference in roof heights in the four houses at the bottom of the hill, compared with those higher up, present evidence of the change [although the difference in roof heights could be a consequence of the slope of the road.] The much larger portion of Stockey, containing 5 acres 4 perches and a small copse adjoining containing 2 roods 3 perches remained with Lord's executors, until it was later sold to the same Dean and Chapter of Christ Church some time after September 1900 but before 1915.
The 1901 census, taken on the night of Sunday the thirty first of March indicates that the building of the new house was complete and that the George Bells had moved in to their new home. George, his wife Alice Kate and his step daughter were at home that night, as well as a niece of Alice Kate, Edith Evans, and a nine year old visitor from Birmingham, May Perry. This young lady seems to have been the Aunt May 'from Redditch' that the later family members referred to. The well, from which the family drew water, was situated, approximately, in the kitchen area of the present day bungalow, number 30 Willersey Road. George Bell was an avid pigeon fancier and dog owner, he had a pigeon loft built at the time the house was being built. He was successful too, he won cups and all kinds of prizes. His bird 'Star II' won best in show at a Worcester federation meeting, when nearly a 1000 birds were competing, and he was the proud owner of two lovely Worcester China Vases to display amongst his trophies. A full page article is to be found written by him in "The Racing Pigeon" of February 10th 1907, giving information on his prowess at the breeding and training of pigeons. There is family evidence that the house was given the name Stanhope, in honour of a greatly valued pigeon, but it is more likely that it was named after a certain strain of racing pigeon, which he particularly favoured. This is confirmed by Lieutenant Colonel A.H. Osman, who wrote that the Stanhope was second only to the Logans [his own strain he placed third], he writes "it was when living at Stroud Gloucestershire that Mr. [Herbert] Stanhope built up his own strain [he] set a fine example to Janciers during the years 1880 to 1892.... and when Mr Stanhope moved to Poole in 1892 he took a number of his favourite birds to start his own [new] loft" The story goes that Herbert Stanhope was aware of a Belgium strain (Mons Servais) of bird, some of which he purchased in 1875 and 77, and bred his own strain from them, giving rise to the breed of pigeon known as a Stanhope.
As well as working on his own account as a Market gardener, George was also a manager at Badsey school. In 1901 he had to point out to his fellow Managers that the boys at the school were continually climbing the wall from the playground and getting onto the Stockey. Maybe a bit of forward thinking, because the piece of the Stockey onto which they clambered was, years later, to become the school playing field. In 1908, though still retaining his property, he and Alice Kate left the village and the land, and took up the management of the Royal Oak Inn in Evesham. It may well be that the article in "The Racing Pigeon" was an article in which he wished to sell some stock, reducing his holdings prior to moving to his new occupation?
The record shows that during his absence from the house, George and Mable Brierly were the tenants, and his sojourn here is also shown in the baptisms of his children and the fact of his eldest son George commencing school in 1909. George Brearley had married Mabel Helen Bell, George's youngest sister, at Worcester in the spring of 1902, and moved into Stanhope House about 1908 when George and Alice Kate moved to Evesham. George Brearley was the son of George and Laura Brearley of Port Street Bengeworth, who were mineral Water manufacturers and bottlers.
In the early summer of 1913, George Bell's step daughter, Alice Beatrice Evans, was married to Walter Henry Dore of Badsey, the marriage being registered at Evesham. This coincided with his brother in law George Brierley, either terminating or having his tenancy terminated on Stanhope House, and Alice Beatrice and her new husband moving in. 1814 saw the birth of George and Alice Kate's first grandchild, and Alice Beatrice and Walter Dore's first son, given the name Walter John Dore, but always known as Jack.. Two years later a second son was born, Arthur Edwin Evans [given the name Evans in remembrance of his mothers maiden name] but universally known as 'Bill'.
Walter Henry Dore was the son of Mary Dore and was christened on the sixteenth of June 1889. He was the grandson of yet another prosperous market Gardener, Emmanual Dore, he was formerly a carpenter from Ramsden in Oxfordshire, who married Elisabeth Sears of Wickhamford, the daughter of a 'gardener'. The 1871 census gives his occupation as gardener, it probably means market Gardener.
Three years after the birth of Walter Henry, on the thirtieth of April 1892, his mother Mary Ann Dore married James Barnard. James had been christened on the fifth of March 1869, the son of Mary Ann Barnard and Joseph Addis. This couple Mary Ann and Joseph were married on the fifth of October 1873, four years after the birth of the infant James. There were many step brothers and sisters for Walter Henry Dore to relate to.
In 1923, George Bell by now aged 53, decided to move back into the village, and with a married daughter and son in law plus two grandchildren to consider, George and Alice Kate Bell sold Stanhope House to their daughter and son in law. In October of the year 1923 the deeds were signed and the property was conveyed to Walter Henry Dore, and George and Alice Kate Bell moved into the end terrace in Sands lane, Badsey, where they are shown the following year on the Electoral roll. The property in Sands Lane appears to have been the end one of the second group of four terraces, the Bells owned all four of the terraces. Also appearing on the electoral roll were Walter Henry and Alice Beatrice Dore, for Stanhope House. In 1928, Walter and Alice Kate's family were complete with the birth of James Augustine, known variously as Jim or Gus.
Walter Henry Dore was, like his father in law, a pigeon fancier, and he made the most of the lofts built by George back in 1900. And soon after George Bell moved back into the village, he and Walter Henry were instrumental in the setting up of the "Badsey Flying Club" The inaugural meeting took place on the twenty eighth of July 1927 with Edward Mustoe being elected President, George Bell Chairman and F P Peelman Treasurer and Secretary. Walter Henry Dore was appointed a member of the committee as was H Sadler, ? Lloyd, W Hardiman, H Stewart, J Pethard and S Smith. The item immediately following the election of the Officers, was a proposal that a subscription of five shillings be paid by all members joining the club. It seems that the Badsey Flying club was destined to become the Evesham and District Flying Club.
George Bell continued with his pursuits of pigeons and dogs, until a short illness laid him low, and from which he did not recover, he died at Cheltenham Hospital in his 68th year [he was born in 1870 thus he died in 1938]. Alice Kate, his widow, remained in Sands Lane, and doubtless attended her son in laws funeral in 1944. She died on the second day of February, the following year, 1945.
On the eighteenth of August 1944 Walter Henry Dore of Stanhope House died intestate, with Letters of Administration being granted on the seventeenth day of October following to his widow Alice Beatrice "the lawful widow and relict of W.H. Dore deceased" Alice Beatrice had lost her mother and husband within six months of each other. It was in 1946 that the barn and garage were built, at the rear of Stanhope House, built where the pigeon loft had been located. This coincided with the three brothers purchasing a Bedford Lorry, and commencing trading as WH Dore & Sons (the last time the lorry was used was in 1967, and it remained in the barn until November 1994, when it was taken down to some of the grounds).
It seems that Alice Beatrice continued to live at Stanhope House, but at Christmas time 1957, she conveyed, or sold, "all that piece or parcel of land situate at Badsey in the county of Worcester having a frontage to the main road leading from Evesham to Willersey of 60 feet or thereabouts and a depth therefrom on the southside of 61 feet or thereabouts together with the messuage or dwellinghouse and outbuildings .... known as Stanhope House" to Arthur Edwin Evans Dore, her middle son, [the area was about 382 square yards]. Arthur Edwin Evans Dore was the new owner of the annexed Stanhope house. It would seem that an illness had made the widow consider her options, thus she sold the property to Bill, who was living in the end Terrace in Sands Lane. The remaining 2818 square yards of Market garden land was next to go, sold to her sons Walter John Dore; Arthur Edwin Evans Dore and James Augustine Dore, market gardeners of Badsey. The conveyance was dated the eleventh of April 1958. Bill Dore moved his family into the family house and his mother moved into the end cottage in Sands Lane, one of four which she owned. Bill [Walter John] and Eileen had three children, Christine; James and Robert.
The boy's mother died on the ninth of March 1962. A headstone was raised which bears the legend "IN LOVING MEMORY OF WALTER HENRY DORE DIED AUGUST 18th 1944 AGED 55 YEARS ALSO HIS WIFE ALICE BEATRICE DIED MARCH 9th 1962 AGED 73 YEARS" The end terrace was now vacant. This went to one of the boys under an arrangement, whereby he got the house on relinquishing his one third part of the remaining land. James Augustine Dore made a deed of gift of his one third part of the 2818 square yards, including any outbuildings thereon, to "hold the same.... as joint tenants upon trust to sell the same .... net proceeds of sale to be held in trust for donees as tenants in common in equal shares."
The reduced land once known as Stockey was reduced further on the third day of April 1967 when Walter John and Arthur Edwin Evans Dore sold a piece of land to Mrs. Gwendoline Jean Dyke. This was the southerly portion of the property [less a strip of land 3 feet wide on the southern boundary]. The following day, the fourth of April, the same two men sold another piece of the land, [to the north of the property sold to Mrs. Dyke] to B. Brazier and Company. Brazier and Co, were Builders from Badsey, and they built two detached Bungalows on the two sites, with Mrs Dyke moving into number 32, and Harry and Gertrude Floyd moving into the other, number 30 Willersey road. Members of the families are living there yet.
There was now a strip 3 feet wide close up to the end Terrace house number 34 Willersey Rd, and a largish gap of approximately 75 feet wide between the more northerly bungalow and Stanhope House. But on the first day of April 1968 the two Dore brothers sold or conveyed the three foot strip at the southern side of the property to Mr and Mrs. Raymond Hill, giving them access to the rear of their property, the first house in the terrace.
On the twenty third day of June 1971, the final piece of the smaller portion of land called Stockey owned by the Dore family was sold by Walter John of Childswickham and Arthur Edwin Evans of Stanhope House. The piece being about 75 feet in width was sold to W H Godfrey & Sons (Contractors) limited of Solihull. The contractors had already put the planning application into motion, and outline planning had been given in the March, and detailed approval was granted on the nineteenth of April by Evesham Rural District Council. So building was able to commence as soon as the company could get their resources together after this sale of the land was completed.
Permission was for one pair of Semi Detached houses, to be numbered 26 and 28 Willersey Road. The house on lot number 2 or 26 Willersey road must have been purchased about the same time as the house on number I plot. I do not know who was the owner of number 26 Willersey Road, but my neighbour moved in 1975 [I think].
With the building work in progress, a conveyance was set up dated the twenty first day of December 1971 whereby W H Godfrey & Sons on the one part and Alan Stuart Beal and Gerald David Goddard of the other part in consideration of a certain sum of money, the owners [the Builders] sold the parcel of land situate at Willersey Road Badsey and numbered plot I together with "the dwelling house in the course of erection thereon". The first payment on the mortgage was made on the first day of February 1972, so I assume that the new owners had moved in or were in the process of moving in to the property at that time.
A further assignment was made on the fourteenth of March 1975 between Alan Stuart Beal of 28 Willersey Rd, and Gerald David Goddard of Ruperts Rest, on the one part, and Mr and Mrs Anthony Eric Hill of Norval Road South Littleton on the other part, whereby the vendors conveyed to the purchasers all that parcel of land situate at Willersey Road Badsey with the dwelling house erected there on 'for a consideration'.
This occupation was short lived for on the nineteenth of July 1976 Tony Hill and I completed the signing over of the house, plot I under the Contractors numbering system, or number 28 Willersey Rd under the more conventional numbering, and my family and I moved in on Monday the twenty sixth of July 1976. I believe that my piece of the old field was where the fruit trees and Rhubarb were grown when the Dore family owned the land.
Bill [Arthur Edwin] and Eileen, his wife remained living at Stanhope House throughout all of these latter changes, and in the early 1990's, Bill foiled an even bigger change. A property developer was trying to pressure him into selling up, so that he could open up and gain access to the remaining part of Stockey and put yet more houses on it. But Bill was having none of it, and the developer disappeared with more than one flea in his ear, and was never heard of again. In 1995 Bill died. He died on Saturday the twenty-eighth day of January. Eileen continued living next door but one to us, she survived her husband by some two and a half years, and died on the seventeenth of October 1997. Since then there have been two families living there and a new family, the third, moved in on the nineteenth of May 2005. However, there is still a part of Stockey that belongs to the descendants of Alice Kate Bell. As I mentioned earlier, at the rear of the big house is a barn, and small lean to garage, the present day owner of which is the great great grandson of Alice Kate Bell.
©
References
- Inclosure Map of Badsey dated 1812 badsey.net
- The Badsey Parish Registers badsey.net
- 1841 to 1901 census of Badsey badsey.net
- Church Lench Parish Registers Worcester History Centre
- Bishampton Parish Registers Worcester History Centre
- Marriage Bonds & Allegations Worcester History Centre
- Will Of Revered Thomas Williams London 1829 National Archives
- Will of Jane Williams London 1831 National Archives
- Will of Mary Collett of Badsey 1865 Worcester Record Office
- Ashwin of Bretforton - deeds and Settlements etc.
- Reference 7777/705:273 (i ii iii) Worcester Record Office
- Aldington Land Tax records Worcester Record Office
- Badsey Land Tax records Worcester Record Office
- Wickhamford Parish Register Worcester Record Office
- Letter from Samuel Clark PE/BER Dorset Record Office
- Wigan Parish Register Wigan History Shop
- 1851 census of Standish Lancashire Wigan History Shop
- 1876 Post Office Directory of Worcesterhire Worcester Record Office
- John Pickup Lord - Deeds and Setlements etc. Catalogue
- Reference 70:192/5589/142 Worcester Record Office
- Christ Church College Library Auction leaflet 66.B.119 Oxford
- Archivist Balliol College Oxford
- Archivist Oriel College Oxford
- Bere Regis Internet Web Page
- Air Commodore Edmund Stockwell 1930 "The Reverend Thomas Williams of Balliol College (1764) and Bere Regis and Jane his wife" Wincanton Print Company.
- Civil Indexes
- Lt. Col. AH Osman "Production of a Strain"
- The Pigeon Annual 1907 and racing Pigeon magazines
- House Deeds
- Local Knowledge
I am grateful to the present owner, and to the Author of 'The book of Bere Regis' for permission to use the photograph of the Vicarage built by the Reverend Thomas Williams.
I am grateful to the families who have assisted me in my searches, for giving permission to use contemporary photographs, for the sharing of anecdotal information and evidence, the documented information, and to those who have generally offered me advice and encouragement.
Updated 17 September 2013.