DOCSLIB.ORG

The Revd Thomas Henry Whorwood and His Sons

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Revd Thomas Henry Whorwood and His Sons The Vicar of St Andrew’s Church, Headington and his sons The Revd Thomas Henry Whorwood (1778–1835) was Vicar of St Andrew’s 1804–1835, Vicar of Marston 1805–1833, and Lord of the Manor of Headington 1806–1835 His elder son Thomas Henry Whorwood (1812–1884) was Vicar of Marston 1833–1849 and Lord of the Manor of Headington 1835–1849 His younger son William Henry Whorwood (1817–1843) was a prodigal son The Revd Thomas Henry Whorwood (1778– While his older brother had been alive, the 1835) was the son of Henry Whorwood, Lord Vicar was evidently cowed by him: in 1805 of the Manor of Headington from 1771 to James Palmer, the curate of St Andrew’s c.1800. His mother Mary had died a week after Church, had written to the Bishop saying that giving birth to Thomas Henry and his twin the Vicar was in a state of such dependence on brother William Henry on 7 May 1778. his elder brother that he could not ‘differ from The older brother of the twins, Henry Mayne him materially without danger of starvation’. Whorwood, succeeded to the Lordship of the But as soon as the Vicar stepped into his Manor in c.1800 on the death of their father, brother’s shoes as Lord, he began to show that and was married in 1802. he too had his brother’s vicious streak and As the second son of the Lord of the Manor, lacked the Christian charity that might be ex- Thomas had been destined from birth to enter pected of a vicar: he immediately issued a no- the Church, and in 1785 had gone off to learn tice announcing that ‘Steel traps and other de- his trade at Worcester College in Oxford. The structive engines’ were to be set on his land in Lord of the Manor conveniently held the ad- Headington to keep out poachers. vowson of both Headington and Marston, and On 22 April 1807, within six months of suc- in 1804, at the age of 26, he had been duly ap- ceeding as Lord of the Manor, Thomas married pointed Vicar of Headington by his elder Mary Grape, daughter of the late Revd William brother; in the following year the vicarage of Grape, at St Michael’s Church in Bedwardine, Marston similarly fell into his lap. Worcester, and the marriage was reported in For his first two years as Vicar of Jackson’s Oxford Journal of 25 April 1807. By St Andrew’s the young Revd Whorwood had his marriage settlement dated 16 and 17 April been an absentee, leaving the church in the 1807 an Indenture of Release relating to the hands of the curate, James Palmer. But in 1806 Manor House and 321 acres of its land was his elder brother died childless at the age of 35, made between (1) Thomas himself, (2) Mrs and Thomas succeeded him as Lord of the Hannah Grape and her daughter Mary; (3) John Manor and thus came to live in the Manor Paget Hastings; and (4) the two trustees: Revd House in the heart of Headington. Being a Richard Grape (Mary’s brother) and the Revd squarson as well as the Vicar of two parishes Benjamin Mence of Worcester. was no great burden at a time when most of the The Vicar and his wife baptised two sons at work was undertaken by hard-working curates; St Andrew’s Church: the elder (born in 1812) and two stipends would have been useful, as the was named Thomas Henry after his father, Revd Whorwood was not as rich as might have while the younger (born in 1817) was named been expected. In the first place, his fractionally William Henry after his father’s twin. Since younger twin brother, William Henry (who was their father planned that both should follow him now a naval captain) had inherited the Heading- into the Church, they proceeded from Eton to ton manorial estates (totalling 522 acres). Sec- the University of Oxford: Thomas to University ondly he had inherited their deceased elder College in 1829 (becoming a Demy at Magda- brother’s debts, and on 8 December 1806 took len College the next year) and William to out a mortgage on the Manor House and Worcester College in 1834. Holly’s Farm, Headington with William When he wrote his final Will in 1831, Tho- Fletcher and John Parsons of Oxford, bankers. mas Henry Whorwood stated that on his death 2 his elder son should succeed him as Vicar of Meanwhile that brother had been leading a Headington, and his younger son as Vicar of dutiful life in Oxford. In 1833 his father Marston. So at this point, when the younger son (probably already suffering from ill-health) had William was aged 14 and still at Eton, he was made him Vicar of Marston as soon as he be- obviously still considered to be good enough came 21. William’s subsequent disgrace put for Marston. But soon after going up to paid to any idea of Thomas later moving over Worcester College, when he was still only 17, to Headington to make way for his brother; and William did something for which his father was in any case Thomas himself appears to have unable to forgive him. We may never know ex- had no interest in this prospect, because when actly what the boy did, but it made his father in he succeeded his father as Lord of the Manor in February 1835 (literally, dramatically, and in 1835 he appointed Joseph Charles Pring as front of witnesses) tear all references to him out Vicar of St Andrew’s in his father’s place; and of his Will. Time was not allowed to heal the Pring (although at 33 his patron’s senior by ten rift, because less than four months later the years) was to remain in this position for the Vicar of St Andrew’s was dead. next 41 years. In any case Thomas (despite his In the event, the Will was declared invalid fourth-class degree in Literae Humaniores) had and the Vicar’s property was distributed as if he also in 1833 been appointed a Fellow of Mag- had died intestate. His widow swore an Affida- dalen College, and although he remained Vicar vit in December 1835 to explain the tattered of Marston for sixteen years until 1849, he state of the Will, saying that: seems to have taken more interest in his college in or about the month of February last duties than his parochial ones. the said deceased in several conversa- On becoming Lord of the Manor in 1835, tions with her declared that his Young- Thomas immediately put Headington Manor est Son William Henry Whorwood who House and its remaining land up for sale. Only had then recently incurred the dis- a proportion of land was sold, however, and on pleasure of his Father had by this bad 13 July 1838 Mrs Whorwood and her two sons conduct forfeited all claims upon him sold the Manor House and 321 acres of land to and that he the said deceased had re- the auctioneer George Alexander Peppercorn solved that his oldest son should have Thomas and his mother had to move out of everything he possessed. the Manor House, and went to live in a Magda- William, although a Scholar of his college, len College house at 1 St Clements (on the site never completed his degree, but (according to of the present Waynflete Building). William Alumni Oxonienses) left in 1836 when he was Tuckwell described her thus: still only 18. Madame Whorwood, a stately old Soon after this William Henry Whorwood lady in antique dress, lived with him inherited most of the manorial land of Heading- in the house overhanging the Cher- ton from his seafaring bachelor uncle, who had well on the north side of Magdalen died just a fortnight after his twin brother. On Bridge; the top of her high cap usu- 13 July 1838 William is described in an inden- ally visible to passers-by. ture of being of the City of Oxford, so he was The mother and son eventually moved to an- not living with his family in the Manor House. other Magdalen house at 64 High Street. Less than five years later he died alone in Jer- In 1849, when Thomas was given a college sey at the age of 26. When his will was proved living at Willoughby in Warwickshire, he sold on 17 June 1843 he is described as ‘William the title of Lord of the Manor of Headington to Henry Whorwood late of the City of Oxford but William Peppercorn, who had already inherited at present residing in the parish of Saint Helier the manor lands from George Alexander Pep- Island of Jersey Gentleman’. After making percorn. Thomas still spent time in Oxford with small bequests to the servant who cared for him his mother, and after her death in 1855 led a during his last illness and to his ‘affectionate miserable lonely life ‘ruled by five domestics and beloved mother’, he left the bulk of his es- whose service was perfect freedom’. Tuckwell tate to his elder brother Thomas. describes him as ‘a fresh-coloured, smooth- 3 faced, vivacious, whist-playing, amiable stained glass in memory of my late dear lounger’, and wrote, ‘I met poor Whorwood not Mother, Father, Uncle, and Myself’. This indi- long before his death, pallid, weary, corpulent; cates that he had erased his brother from his and he cried as we talked over old times.’ memory.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Middle Ages the Middle Ages (Or Medieval Times) Was a Time of Lords and Peasants; Manors and Huts; Very Rich and Very Poor
    The Middle Ages The Middle Ages (or Medieval Times) was a time of lords and peasants; manors and huts; very rich and very poor. The first half of the middle ages is often referred to as the Dark Ages. After the fall of the Roman Empire, a large amount of Roman culture and knowledge was lost. This was because the Romans kept excellent records of events that occurred. Therefore, historians refer to the time after the Romans as dark because there was no central government recording the events. The Lord of the Manor Life in the Middle Ages would be very different depending on which social class you fell into and how much money (or wealth) you had. For safety and defence, people in the Middle Ages formed small communities around a Central Lord or Master. These communities were called Manors and the ruler was called the Lord of the Manor. The Manor Each manor would have a castle (or manor house), a church, a village, and farm land. Self-Sufficiency Each manor was largely self- sufficient. This meant that people living in that community would grow or produce all of the basic items they needed for food, clothing, and shelter. To meet these needs, the manor had buildings devoted to special purposes, such as: The mill for grinding grain The bake house for making bread The blacksmith for creating metal goods. Power and Wealth This pyramid shows the KING power in the country during the Middle Ages. The King is at the top of Loyalty Military Aid the pyramid because he LORDS OF THE MANORS had ultimate power over the whole country.
    [Show full text]
  • Freedmen and Serfs Code of Chivalry
    CK_4_TH_HG_P087_242.QXD 10/6/05 9:02 AM Page 116 II. Europe in the Middle Ages Cross-curricular Freedmen and Serfs Teaching Idea The manorial system was the economic side of medieval life. The lord lived Since the King Arthur legends and on the manor surrounded by his knights for protection and enriched by the toil Robin Hood are parts of the Grade 4 of his peasants. Until the 14th century, some peasants, known as serfs, were Core Knowledge Language Arts required to work a certain number of days a year in the lord’s fields and to pay Sequence, be sure to connect the histor- rent in the form of produce. In exchange, the serfs were entitled to cultivate land ical and literary topics. Many teachers for themselves, and the lord had to protect his serfs from attacks by bandits and prefer to read the King Arthur legends the followers of other lords. It was also the duty of the lord of the manor to hear during the study of the Middle Ages. disputes on his manor and to render judgment. Serfs were not free, but they were not slaves either. They could not move from manor to manor, but a lord could not dispossess them. A serf or slave that was granted freedom from his lord was called a freedman. A few peasants were free. They did not owe service to the lord but only a Teaching Idea fixed rent in exchange for land and protection. Encourage students to adopt a “code of chivalry” in the classroom and around Code of Chivalry the school.
    [Show full text]
  • Feudal Baronies and Manorial Lordships
    Feudal Baronies and Manorial Lordships The seven years of the Baronage operation on the Internet have seen two messages stressed repeatedly — first, that the only feudal baronies still held in baroniam and capable of being sold with their status intact are those of Scotland, and, second, that genuine manorial lordships are not titles of nobility, and their holders are not qualified to be styled “Lord” (as in “Lord Blogges” or “Lord Bloggeston”). Now as new Scottish legislation is intended to separate baronial titles from the land to which they have been tied for, in some cases, close to 900 years, and thus to allow them, in essence, to be traded in a manner similar to English manorial lordships (with all the risks that entails), many readers have written to ask for an explanation of what is happening and for our views on what will happen in the future. In response, this special edition of the Baronage magazine examines the nature of feudal baronies and manorial lordships. Feudalism and the Barony The feudal system was developed in the territories Charlemagne had ruled, and it was brought to Britain by the Norman Conquest. Under feudalism all land belongs to the King. He grants parts of it to his closest advisers and most powerful warriors, these being known as tenants-in-chief, and they in turn grant parts of their lands to others who could in turn let parts of their holdings. There is thus a chain – King, tenants-in-chief, tenants, sub-tenants. The basic unit of feudalism is the manor – which had existed in Britain before the Conquest but was readily absorbed into the feudal system.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Was Odard, First Lord of Dutton, a Distant Relative of William the Conqueror?
    Was Odard, First Lord of Dutton, a Distant Relative of William the Conqueror? Edward Dutton University of Oulu Abstract According to the Dutton tree researched by antiquarian P. H. Lawson, Odard, first Lord of the Manor of Dutton in Cheshire and progenitor of the noted Gentry family the Duttons of Dutton, was related to William the Conqueror on his mother’s and on his father’s side. This article reviews the evidence and argues that Odard was not related to the Conqueror on his mother’s side. Regarding his father’s side, the evidence is perhaps most parsimoniously explained by Odard indeed being a distant relative of the Conqueror’s. However this conclusion is only fractionally more persuasive than the opposite one and accordingly there is good reason to seriously doubt it and reserve judgement.1 Introduction The anonymous author of the 1901 book The Duttons of Dutton remarked that the Cheshire knightly and Gentry family are of particular interest to historians: ‘There is a general historical interest in the family history of the Duttons. They have an undoubted historical descent from one of the followers of William the Conqueror . and were involved in the contests and convulsions of their time.’ He observes that these include, in assorted branches, the Crusades, Agincourt, the Wars of the Roses and the dissolution of the monasteries. 2 The male line of the Duttons of Dutton died out in 1614. But it is the founder of the Duttons of Dutton, Odard, first Lord of the Manor of Dutton, whom I wish to focus on in this article.
    [Show full text]
  • Are You Being Conned? (Second Edition)
    Are You Being Conned? (second edition) Are You Being Conned? No! Of course not! You’re street smart. You’ve been He’s in town on business, well, not really serious around a bit. I mean – you see ’em coming, don’t you? business – he represents a charity. And you’re the sort who in this town would know the right kind of people But look at this one. Smart suit, cut’s a bit old- he ought to meet. Would you enjoy that – introducing fashioned, but it’s clean and has been pressed. Striped your new friend, a real lord, to your old friends? Well, tie; good shoes (you always look carefully at the shoes, would you? don’t you?), hair a bit too long, and an English accent. ____◊____ Perhaps that’s the famous old school tie they talk about in Agatha Christie. Then it’s a few days later and you’re sitting alone, crying into your beer. How could it be your fault? I What’s that they’re saying over there in the corner? mean, there are hundreds of English lords, and you had He’s a lord, an English lord? Well, that could explain to meet the one phony. Just one among hundreds. How his clothes. He looks a bit odd, but then perhaps they bad can your luck be ? One among hundreds ! all do. It’s the inbreeding, you suppose. But now he’s smiling at you. And he’s offering to buy you a drink. But you’re wrong. He wasn’t one alone.
    [Show full text]
  • Manorial Lordships and Statutory Declarations
    Manorial Lordships and Statutory Declarations A Cautionary Description A reader submitted the text of the following pages in the hope that we would agree to publish it, but first we circulated it to parties we believed might be interested in its message in the expectation that we would receive dissenting views. None cared to offer any. The principal interest lies in the paradox he explains – that the much used Statutory Declaration proves not that a vendor owns a manorial lordship, but rather that he probably does not. An Introduction to the Manor URING THE YEARS FOLLOWING HIS INVASION OF ENGLAND IN 1066, Duke William of Normandy, King William I of the English, William the Conqueror, introduced a D modified system of land management we now call “the Feudal System”. As part of this system William created some 13,418 manors – or areas of land administration – that were governed by the local “Lord of the Manor”. The lord of the manor, in turn, sublet some of the land to his tenants. A manor however, cannot be viewed as a single entity, for a manor consisted of four dis- tinct elements: 1. the manorial lands 2. the manorial lordship 3. the manorial records 4. land rights (held by the lord of the manor over the lands worked by his tenants) However, for the subject of this paper, viz. the ownership of manorial lordships, land rights may be disregarded and instead, for convenience, concentration will be upon the three remaining elements with the intention of showing how these three elements interact and what bearing any one may or may not have upon the others.
    [Show full text]
  • The Medieval Feudal System
    2 Choose the correct answer. The medieval feudal system 1 Nobles and 2 LAND LOYALTY 3 (Lords of the manor) 4 The medieval feudal system Anglo-Saxon England was mainly a society of landowners and farmers. There was already a king, peasants and rich nobles, but if the king needed an army, he used to call on the landowners and farmers to become his soldiers. The Normans had another level of society – knights who fought on horseback and who were ‘professional soldiers’. The knights were supposed to show courage, loyalty, honour and kindness. 1 Which level of society did not exist in Anglo-Saxon England? a nobles b king c knights d peasants Venture Level 2 . The medieval feudal system, p.251 © Oxford University Press PHOTOCOPIABLE The Norman Conquest brought a new type of society to England – the feudal system. The feudal system is a system where the higher classes of society give land to the lower classes in return for loyalty. 2 In the feudal system, what could you receive for your loyalty to the people above you? a 10% of their money b land and protection c an army d honour In the European feudal system, the king of a country owned all the land and had total power. In medieval times, people used to believe that God gave the king the right to rule. The king gave land to any nobles who promised to give him money and knights for his army. Nobles and bishops had to swear an oath to remain loyal to the king. In England, the bishops received money from the king, and everyone else in the country had to pay the church 10% of what they had.
    [Show full text]
  • Briefing Note No. 3 Checklists of Sources: Manors and Estates
    Department of History, Lancaster University Victoria County History: Cumbria Project Briefing Note No. 3 Checklists of Sources: Manors and Estates These notes are intended to complement VCH guidance notes on ‘Manors and Estates’ and should be read in conjunction with them: http://www.victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk/local- history/manors-and-estates Where to start will depend in part on the part of Cumbria in which the township/parish you are researching lies: For Cumberland, start with: John Denton’s History of Cumberland, ed. A. J. L. Winchester. Surtees Society Vol. 213 and CWAAS Record Series Vol. XX (Woodbridge, 2010). [only partial coverage but very useful for the medieval estates of which his accounts survive. Where possible, use the footnotes to go back to the primary sources (Cal. Inq. p. m. etc) and cite these rather than Denton himself. Thomas Denton: a Perambulation of Cumberland 1687-1688, including descriptions of Westmorland, The Isle of Man and Ireland, ed. A. J. L. Winchester with M. Wane. Surtees Society Vol. 207 and CWAAS Record Series Vol. XVI (Woodbridge, 2003). [again, where possible check his statements in independent sources] For Westmorland: J. F. Curwen, The Later Records relating to North Westmorland or the Barony of Appleby, CWAAS (Kendal, 1932). 1 W. Farrer, Records relating to the Barony of Kendale Vols. I and II, ed. J. F. Curwen; and J. F. Curwen, Records relating to the Barony of Kendale Vol. III, CWAAS Record Series Vols IV-VI (Kendal, 1923-6). These sources focus on the medieval (and, to a lesser extent, early-modern) centuries. The story of landownership should be followed through to the time of writing.
    [Show full text]
  • Manorial Society of Great Britain, Advice on Buying a Manorial Title
    Advice on buying a manorial title ¦ http://www.msgb.co.uk http://www.msgb.co.uk/buying_advice.html Advice on buying a manorial title 1: WHAT IS A MANORIAL LORDSHIP? 1.1: Introduction 1.2: Importance of Solicitors 1.3: Taxation 1.4: British and overseas owners and death 1.5: Land Registration Act, 2002 (LRA) 1.6: Scottish baronies 1.7: Some publications 1.1: Introduction UNDER the laws of real property in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Irish Republic, Lordships of the manor are known as ‘estates in land’ and in Courts, where they may crop up in cases to do with real property, they are often simply called ‘land’. They are ‘incorporeal hereditaments’ (literally, property without body) and are well glossed from the English and Welsh point of view in Halsbury’s Laws of England, vol viii, title Copyholds, which is available in most solicitors’ offices or central reference library. Manors cover an immutable area of land and may include rights over and under that land, such as rights to exploit minerals under the soil, manorial waste, commons and greens. While it has always been the case that manorial rights can sometimes have a high value, this is rare because the rights are frequently unknown and unresearched (or are just not commercial). There is no value in owning mineral rights if there are no commercially exploitable minerals, such as granite or aggregate, and purchasers should not expect a manorial Eldorado. If such benefits were routine, then asking prices by agents would be considerably higher to reflect this.
    [Show full text]
  • Manorial Documents Rules 1959
    DISCLAIMER: As Member States provide national legislations, hyperlinks and explanatory notes (if any), UNESCO does not guarantee their accuracy, nor their up-dating on this web site, and is not liable for any incorrect information. COPYRIGHT: All rights reserved.This information may be used only for research, educational, legal and non- commercial purposes, with acknowledgement of UNESCO Cultural Heritage Laws Database as the source (© UNESCO). 1959 No 1399 MANORIAL INCIDENTS AND RECORDS Manorial Documents Rules 1959 Made 7th August 1959 Coming into Operation 1st September, 1959 I, Raymond, Baron Evershed, Master of the Rolls, in exercise of the powers conferred upon me by subsection (7) of section 144A of the Law of Property Act, 1922, hereby make the following Rules:— 1 (1) In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires:— “Manorial documents” means court rolls, surveys, maps, terriers, documents and books of every description relating to the boundaries, wastes, customs or courts of a manor, but does not include the deeds or other instruments required for evidencing the title to a manor or agreements or draft agreements relating to compensation, or any documents which came into being after 31st December 1925; “Lord of the manor” means the lord for the time being of the manor, or any person entitled to manorial documents; “Record repository” means the Public Record Office, any local authority, public library, museum, or historical or antiquarian society to which manorial documents are transferred in pursuance of a direction given by the Master of the Rolls under subsection (4) of section 144A of the Law of Property Act 1922 or that subsection as applied by section 7(1) of the Local Government (Records) Act 1962, and any repository approved by the Master of the Rolls as a place of deposit for manorial documents under Rule 5 hereof.
    [Show full text]
  • The Lands of the Scottish Kings in England
    THE LANDS OF THE SCOTTISH KINGS IN ENGLAND THE HONOUR OF HUNTINGDON THE LIBERTY OF TYNDALE AND THE HONOUR OF PENRITH BY MARGARET F. MOORE, M.A. (EDINBURGH) (CARNLGIKFELLOW IN PALEOGRAPHY AND EARLY ECONOMIC RIITORY) INTRODUCTION BY P. HUME BROWN, M.A., LL.D., Fraser Profcsaor of Ancient (Scottish) History and Palieography in the University of Edinburgh, and Historiographer- Royal for Scotland LONDON : GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD- RUSKIN HOUSE, MUSEUM STREET, W.C* CONTENTS PREFACE - - - - - --- - - vii CHAPTERI PAGE THE HISTORY OF THE HONOURS AND LIBERTY - - I CHAPTERI1 THE MEDIRVAL ASPECT OF THE LANDS - - - - 13 CHAPTERI11 THE FEUDAL HISTORY OF THE HOLDINGS - - - 29 CHAPTERIV THE MANORIAL FRANCHISES - - - - - - 48 CHAPTERV THE MANORIAL ECONOMY - ----- 67 CHAPTER VI LOCAL CHURCH HISTORY -..-- - 94 CHAPTERVII STATE OF SOCIETY ---- - 109 MANORIAL ECONOMY OF THE MANOR OF MARKET OVERTON IN THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY --- - 130 PREFACE THIs was completed during the tenure of a Carnegie Research Fellowship and has been published by aid of a grant from the Carnegie Trust. The subject of research, connected as it is with Scottish history, is one which appeals naturally to a Scottish student of English manorial history; for although it is well known that the Scottish kings held certain lands in England during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries little attention has been given to the details of these holdings. The personal association of David I and his heirs and of the ill-fated John Balliol with the Honour of Huntingdon, the Liberty of Tyndale and the Honour of Penrith is usually regarded as an incident of feudal tenure, and the sojourn of the Scottish kings on English soil has left no records other than the allowances and establish- ments of the royal household.
    [Show full text]
  • 19 Medieval Family History
    A short guide to medieval family history Tracing your family history before the mid 16th century is a challenge. There are no parish registers before 1538 (and many do not even go back that far). However, there are other sources which can help you. With a bit of lateral thinking and some luck, you may be able to find earlier generations. There are some barriers to using original documents, but many are not as problematic as they seem at first. Many documents are in Latin. This was the official legal language until 1733. However, most follow a standard form. Once you are familiar with this, it is relatively easy to pick out the important names, dates and places. Early hand writing can seem difficult to read. Most people wrote in a fairly standard hand. Once you are familiar with the standard letter forms, it does become slightly easier. Some early documents are very fragile. It may be impossible for you to look at some items as this would cause irreparable damage to them. However, the descriptions of documents in catalogues are usually quite lengthy. They can give you some information without the need for seeing the document itself. You may find that many useful sources are not here at Shropshire Archives. Your ancestors may appear in some of the national sources which are held at The National Archives. The National Archives does have a very useful web-site at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk with lots of information about the types of records they hold. We have printed copies of some sources (see later).
    [Show full text]