About this project, and what's coming next

About this project


Through this site, I am sharing my research on the architectural and family history of British and Irish landed families and their country houses, in the hope that others will find the material interesting and useful: the usage of the site by more than 30,000 readers a month from all round the world suggests that others share my interests.  I want in particular to show how the history of the houses reflects that of the families who built and owned them; to lay bare the connections and kinship networks which so often shaped the patronage choices which owners made. The approach has been developed on the basis of my previous research on Gloucestershire country houses, where I was able to visit almost every surviving house and personally inspect all the surviving archival evidence.  However that one county study took me 20 years, and in scaling up to a national canvas I am inevitably largely dependent on the original research of others.

The research which supports this site is therefore primarily derived from secondary sources, online catalogues of archives, and digitised original sources, although I am also drawing on a lifetime of country house and church visiting, which means that over the years I have been to quite a lot of the places described, including many that are not open to the public.  The secondary sources - and especially the Internet sources - for genealogy, and indeed for the architectural history of country houses, are notoriously full of inaccuracies and wish-fulfillment, and I hope that as an archivist I bring to bear on this material over 40 years of experience in evaluating and testing the evidence they provide, so as to offer in these pages as factual an account as I can.  However, while the information provided is as accurate as I can make it while maintaining a reasonable output, I am far from infallible in both my discovery of sources and my assessment of them, and I will be genuinely grateful for additional information and corrections supplied by readers, and especially by the current owners of the houses and by descendants of the families discussed, who may have personal archives containing information not otherwise available.  I make updates and corrections to past posts on a regular basis, so trustworthy information supplied will be incorporated within a few days and acknowledged at the end of the article concerned. I also include at the end of each account a note of when it was first published and subsequently amended, so that readers who refer to the site at intervals can see at a glance whether an account has been updated since their last visit.

We live in egalitarian times, when inequality is viewed with suspicion and social injustice and privilege are seen by many as actually immoral. We find it hard to remember that these attitudes have developed only in the last two hundred years or so and that in earlier times gross inequalities were not only tolerated across society but seen as the natural order of things by rich and poor alike, even if nobody was actually content to be grindingly poor. The rich man was in his castle and the poor man at his gate; and the women, of course, were not even mentioned. In telling the stories of the aristocratic and gentry families of the UK and Ireland and describing the country houses where they lived, I therefore try to avoid judging them by modern standards, although I am always more comfortable writing about those who led useful, creative and purposeful lives than those who milked the world for all they were worth and gave very little back. Just occasionally, one comes across an individual who consistently overstepped the boundaries of what was acceptable in their own time and got away with it, and then it is hard to resist the temptation to temper my objectivity!

I have been asked how I select families and houses for inclusion.  My rule of thumb is that a family should have owned and occupied at least one country house continuously for over half a century and more than one generation, and should have used it as a country house (not as a farm or a furniture store!).  Most of the families included will be found in the pages of one or more editions of Burke's Landed Gentry or Peerage & Baronetage, though not all. Impressively comprehensive though those works are, some families do seem to have slipped through their net, and of course some families died out before John Burke began publishing in the 1820s and 1830s, such as the Ackloms of Wiseton Hall or the Agards of Foston Hall.  I have also been asked about which families I have considered for inclusion, but rejected as not meeting these criteria; a list of these is given below. It will be seen that many of the families which are included in one or more editions of Burke's publications do not meet my criteria. (If you think any of these families did meet the criteria, please let me know!)

Saying that a family is selected for inclusion on the basis of owning a country house of course begs the question of what is a country house, which is interesting and tricky to define. My best effort is that it is a residential building which at the time it was built was in a rural setting and exhibited the characteristics that suggested gentry or aristocratic status to contemporaries. Those characteristics changed over time, with the varying social and economic significance of land ownership and changing architectural and landscaping fashions. Houses that were built as country houses sometimes later declined in status; others that had been simple farms over centuries could be refashioned and redecorated and lived in in a different way, and become country houses almost overnight.  Those are the principles of selection, but I reserve the right to bend the rules to write about any family or house that interests me, and indeed to exclude the terminally dull!

I am well aware that a topic as large as the Landed Families of Britain and Ireland can really only be tackled collaboratively (I have a list of over 13,000 families for potential inclusion), and so I hope that the regular publication of information here will encourage others who share my interests to send me images or information which can be included in future posts. I give below an indication of which families and houses the next few posts will cover. If you can help with any of these, please contact me through the Contact Form at the top of the right-hand side-bar on the site or through Twitter or FacebookIf you do this, please say which page you are commenting on! I endeavour to respond to all genuine messages within a week or so.

I am especially grateful to those friends and contacts who have offered consistent help with particular areas of the country: Tom Lloyd (Wales), Chris Whittick (East Sussex), Rob Wheeler (Lincolnshire), Max Craven (Derbyshire), Hugh Meller and Jane Schofield (Devon), Martin Deacon and Pamela Birch (Bedfordshire) and Mark Fearon (Cheshire). I would be very pleased to hear from anyone in other parts of the country who would be similarly willing to use their knowledge and collections to assist me, or to consult local archives and libraries which it is sadly impractical for me to visit. Others who have provided very generous help of various kinds include the late Sir William Arbuthnot, bt., Catherine Beale, Matthew Beckett, Peter Bell, Chris Bennett, Kate Feluś, Javis Gurr, Mike Hill, Charles Hind, the History of Parliament Trust, Gareth Hughes, Dart Montgomery, Tim Mowl, Jeremy Musson, the late Jonathan Myles-Lea, the National Trust, Chris Pickford, Austen Redman, Liz Rees, Elizabeth Williamson, Roger White and Sue Wood.

I have also received help with particular families and houses from William Acton, John Ainslie, Peter Archdale, Jill Armitage, Anthea Ashfield, James Ashford, Pete & Jackie Bettess, Paul Bradley, David Brown, Nicholas Coleridge, Peter de Loriol, Geoffrey de Wilton, Joanne Eastman, Alison Elliott, David Erskine, David Exworth, Niamh Fitzpatrick, Elisabeth Frankish, Bil Fulton, Susan Griffiths, Clare Hartwell, Freddie Hervey-Bathurst, Jon Hearn, Stan Hicks, Debbie Hodgson, Marc Hoover, Martyn Howes, Michael Kelly, Felicity Learey, Caroline Magnus, David Martin, Jean F. Milne, Nick Molyneux, Phil Norris, Lord Norton, Bernard Nurse, Christine Penney, Anthony Ruscoe, Megan Ryan, Bob and Lucy Scott-Ashe, Colin Varley, John Venning, Chris Webb, and Cressida Williams. 

I am also most grateful to all those who have generously allowed me to reproduce individual photographs from other online and archival sources in return for nothing more than an acknowledgement, and in particular to Matthew Beckett, Charles Hind, Robert O'Byrne, Rob Wheeler, Historic England, National Trust Images and the Royal Institute of British Architects: the number and quality of the illustrations I can offer is thereby much enhanced.  The images used are wherever possible my own, rights cleared, available under a Creative Commons licence or equivalent, or out of copyright. For images taken from the Web it has in some cases not been possible to establish or to contact a rights owner; if anyone can show their copyright has been infringed please contact me and I will either add an appropriate credit or take down the image.

Upton House, Tetbury. Image: Nicholas Kingsley. Some rights reserved.

Anatomy of the site

Comments from readers suggest it may be helpful to explain a bit more about how posts on this site are structured. Each post is in three parts: 

Firstly, a general narrative account of the family from its first rise to gentry status down to its extinction, lapse from gentry status, or the present day, paying particular attention to its fluctuating status and wealth and the acquisition and dispersal of landed estates.
Secondly, accounts of each of the family's country houses, usually in the order they acquired them, and telling - as far as I can discover the information - the whole story of the house, including its development before the family under consideration acquired it, and after they sold it. For each house, there is a narrative history and a list of the owners as far as I have been able to trace it. Some houses which have been owned at different times by several qualifying families may eventually appear in more than one post (e.g. Linden Hall, which features in the posts of the Adamson and Ames families; or Frickley Hall, which features in the posts on the Anne and Warde-Aldam families). In such cases, the description of the house will be given in the article of the family most closely associated with it, with cross-references from the other accounts.
The final section gives summary biographical and genealogical information about the members of the family who actually owned the estate or parts of it, in the sequence of their ownership. The names indexed on the 'Index to Biographical Entries' page are the names which appear in bold in this section, and who were generally the owners of one of the estates of the family, although where estates have passed from a man to his grandson or great-nephew I have included the intervening generations for comprehensibility. For each individual treated, I aim to provide a portrait or photograph, and the following information, where known:
  • Parentage, date and place of birth and/or baptism
  • Education, including travels on the Grand Tour
  • Career - employment, official appointments, offices held, honours
  • Personality, where illuminated by memoirs or other evidence, and significant friendships
  • Marriage(s) - date, place, name and parentage of spouse(s)
  • Children - for each, their dates and places of birth and baptism, marriage, death and burial; the names, covering dates and parentage of their spouse(s), the number and sex of their children; information about their occupation and career, rank and honours. Where possible, children are listed chronologically.
  • Key property transactions during the lifetime of the owner and responsibility for work on the house or houses of the family
  • Date and place of death and burial; date of probate of will, and value of estate; and similar details for their spouse.
Sample of a genealogical entry 

For families with a very complex story, this material may be split over two or even three postings, labelled 'part 1', 'part 2', etc., as, for example, with the Actons of Aldenham, Barons Acton. Each family has been assigned a number, included in the title of the post, which is used for indexing the content of the site on the index pages. 


To avoid any confusion, I should make it plain that the counties referred to in describing the location of properties are those in which the property stood immediately prior to the major shake-up of local government in the mid-20th century (in 1965 around London; in 1974 in the rest of England; and in 1975 in Scotland). Earlier minor boundary changes are ignored; thus Alscot Park is in Warwickshire not Gloucestershire, even though it lay in the latter county until 1931.

I would really welcome any suggestions for improvements in the content or presentation.  I am also very keen to receive additional information and images as updates to previous posts, and will incorporate these to ensure that each post remains the most accurate account I can offer of the family and houses concerned. If you are able to help in this way, please post a comment on the relevant post or contact me through the Contact Form on the site. You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook. I put a message on Twitter as each new post is published.

What's coming next

Over the next few weeks I intend to publish posts on the following families and houses:

  • Leigh-Bennett of Thorpe Place (Surrey) [now published]
  • Benson of Lutwyche Hall (Shropshire) [now published]
  • Benthall of Benthall Hall (Shropshire) [now published]
  • Bentinck of Indio House (Devon) [now published]
  • Cavendish-Bentinck of Welbeck Abbey (Notts) etc., Dukes of Portland [now published in three parts]
  • Benyon of Gidea Hall (Essex) and Englefield Hall (Berks) [now published]
  • Berens of Kevington (Kent) [now published]
  • Beresford of Bolam Hall (Northbld) etc., Barons Decies
  • Beresford of Learmount (Co. Londonderry)
  • Beresford of Woodhouse (Co. Waterford)
  • De La Poer-Beresford of Curraghmore (Co. Waterford), Marquesses of Waterford
  • Massy-Beresford of Macbie Hill (Peebles.) and St Hubert's (Co. Fermanagh)
  • Pack-Beresford of Fenagh (Co. Carlow)


List of families considered for inclusion in the site but not meeting the criteria


Abbey of Redlynch House (Wilts), formerly of Sussex
White Abbott of Cowick Barton (Devon)
Abel of Whitehall Court, London
Abell of Foxcote Manor (Glos)
Abercrombie of Edinburgh, baronets
Abraham of Aughnacloy (Tyrone)
Ackroyd of Birkenshaw (Yorks)
Ackroyd of Dewsbury (Yorks), baronets
Adams, Baron Adams
Adams of Annagurra (Limerick)
Adams of Clifton (Glos)
Coode-Adams of Sampford Grange (Essex)
Phythian-Adams of Kent
Adamson of Rushton Park (Sussex)
Addis of Whiteford (Cornwall)
Addison, Viscounts Addison
Addison of Chilton (Suffolk)
Adie of Brook House (Worcs)
Adrian, Barons Adrian
Shelton-Agar of Melmerby Hall (Cumberland)
Agnew-Somerville, baronets
Aikenhead of Otterington Hall (Yorks)
Ainsworth of Spotland Gate (Lancs)
Aird of London, baronets
Airey of The Grange, Leatherhead (Surrey), Baron Airey
Aitken of Gleneske (Midlothian)
Aizlewood of Whirlow Grange (Yorkshire)
Akroyd of Buckinghamshire
Akroyd of Bank Field
Albu of Johannesburg, baronets
Alexander of Ahilly (Donegal)
Alexander of Blackwall Lodge (Yorks), Barons Cobham
Alexander of Edgehill, Connecticut
Alexander, Earls Alexander of Hillsborough
Alexander of Langshaw, formerly of Redbraes (Dumfries)
Alexander of Sundridge Park (Kent)
Alford of Westonzoyland (Somerset)
Alison of Possil House (Lanarkshire), baronets
Alkin of Bonehill, Tamworth (Staffordshire)
Alkin of Hunton Court (Kent)
Allan of Beacon Hill (Aberdeens)
Allan of Kingsgate (Kent), baronet
Allason of Isle of Wight
Allday of Halford (Warks)
Allanson of Middleton Quernhow (Yorks) and formerly of Adlington (Lancs)
Allen of Allenton, Tallaght (Co. Dublin)
Allen of Clifford Priory (Herefordshire)
Allen of Hoyland (Yorkshire WR)
Allen of Hurtwood House (Surrey), Baron Allen of Hurtwood
Allen of Marlow (Bucks), baronets
Allen of South Molton (Devon)
Allen of Southfield Grange (Yorkshire WR)
Allen of The Rhydd (Worcs)
Allen of Totteridge, baronets
Allen of Upton Bishop (Herefordshire)
Alleyne of Bermuda, baronets
Alleyne of Whitehall (Cork)
Allison of Scaleby Hall (Cumbld)
Allport of Littleover (Derbys)
Allsebrook of Scropton (Derbys/Staffs)
Alston of Hill House, Newbury (Berks)
Murray-Alston of Ireland
Aman, Barons Marley
Ambler of Lawkland Hall (Yorks WR)
Amery of Park House, Stourbridge (Worcs)
Ammon, Baron Ammon
Amorie of Yate (Glos), Barons D'Amorie
Amos of St. Ibbs (Herts)
Anderson, Viscounts Waverley
Anderson (formerly Wood) of Bilton Park and Efford Park
Anderson of Ardtaraig, baronets
Anderson of Ballyhossett (Down)
Anderson of Ballyowan House
Anderson of Fermoy (Cork), baronets
Anderson of Glen Etive
Anderson of Harrold Priory (Beds), baronet
Anderson of Havering Grange (Essex)
Anderson of Mill Hill (Middx), baronets
Anderson of Mill House, Isfield (Sussex)
Anderson of Moorcross House
Anderson of Old Dunbell (Kilkenny)
Anderson of Old Surrey Hall (Surrey)
Anderson of Mullaghmore House (Monaghan) & Parkmount
Anderson of Standen Manor (Berks)
Anderson of Wallsworth House (Glos)
Anderson of Tullichewan (Dumbartons)
Anderton of Spaynes Hall (Essex)
Anderton of Vaila (Shetland)
André of Southampton, baronets
Andrews of Bantony (Sussex)
Andrews of The Down House
Ervine-Andrews of Inish (Cavan)
Andrus of Scadbury Manor (Kent)
Angell of Northey Island (Essex)
Angus of Ravenstone (Northumberland)
Anley of Ryecroft House, Bolney (Sussex)
Annand of Auchter Ellon (Aberdeenshire)
Annand of Springwell House (Durham)
Ansell of Cors-y-gedol (Merioneths)
Anson of Birch Hall (Lancashire), baronets
Anthony of Knight's Close
ApAdam, Barons ApAdam
Aplin (later Alexander) of Woodlands, Budleigh Salterton (Devon)
Appleton of Gaddon House, Uffculme (Devon)
Appleton of Kettlebaston (Suffolk)
Appleton of South Benfleet (Essex)
Appleyard of Burstwick Garth (Yorks)
Apsey of Corfe Mullen (Dorset)
Apsley of Thakeham (Sussex)
Arabin of Beech House or Arabin House, Beech Hill (Essex)
Arbuthnot of Edinburgh, baronets
Arbuthnot of Kittybrewster, baronets
Archer of Salcombe Hill (Devon)
Archer of The Market Place, Ely (Cambs)
Archibald, Barons Archibald
Arden of Hawnes (Beds)
Arden of Watford (Northants)
Arderne of Chichester (Sussex)
Arderne of Elford (Staffs)
Ardes of Sherington (Bucks)
Argall of Low Hall, Walthamstow and Much Baddow (Essex)
Argenti of Picts Hill, Turvey (Beds)
Argles of Eversley, Heversham (Westmld)
Arkinstall of Wilbraham (Cambs)
Armeston of Burbage (Leics)
Armiger of North Creake (Norfolk)
Armitage of Longstone Grange (Derbys)
Armitstead of Buttestone House, Dunkeld (Perths), Baron Armitstead
Armitstead of Leeds (Yorks WR)
Armorer of Belford (Northbld)
Armstrong of Gellidochlithe (Glamorgans)
Armstrong of Lismother (Clare)
Armstrong of London, baronets
Savage-Armstrong of Corratinner (Cavan)
Arnold, Baron Arnold
Arnold of Little Missenden Abbey (Bucks)
Arnot of Arnot Tower (Fife), baronets
Arnott of Baily, Dublin, baronets
Arnould of Broadbridge Mill (Sussex)
Arragh of Arragh, baronets
Arrowsmith of Huntingfield Hall (Suffolk)
Ashenhurst of Ashenhurst Hall (Staffs)
Ashfield of Chesham Bury (Bucks)
Ashman of Stoke Bishop (Glos), baronets
Ashton of Darwen (Lancs) and Abberley Hall (Worcs)
Ashton of Delrow (Herts) and Lichford Hall (Lancs)
Ashton of Scotsgrove House (Oxon)
Ashton of Welston Court (Pembs)
Ashworth of Ashworth, Elland Bank (Yorks WR) and Hall Carr (Lancs)
Ashworth of Staghills (Lancs)
Aske of Aughton and Owsthorpe, baronets
Askwith of Ripon (Yorks WR), Baron Askwith
Atkin of Fernhill (Cork), Baron Atkin
Atkin of Leadington (Cork)
Atkins of Pouldrew (Waterford)
Atkins of Stretton House (Leics)
Atkins of Waterpark (Cork)
Atkinson of Ballynewry (Down)
Atkinson of Fanthorpe Hall (Lincs)
Atkinson of Little Cattall (Yorks)
Atkinson of London and Maidenhead (Berks)
Atkinson of Melbury (Suffk)
Atkinson of Rehins (alias Rahans) and Glencastle (Mayo)
Atkinson of Whitecroft, Wellington
Atkinson of Woburn Daincourt (Bucks)
Atkinson of Woolley Grange (Wilts)
Atmore of Bray-in-the-Wold (Oxon)
Atslow of Downham (Essex)
Attlee, Earls Attlee
Atwill of Mamhead (Devon)
Atwood of Aspall (Suffk)
Aubertin of West Meon (Hants)
Aubrey of Clehonger (Herefs) and Broom Hall (Shrops)
Strachan-Audas of Elloughton House (Yorks ER)
Auden of Horninglow (Staffs)
Audland of Ackenthwaite (Westmld)
Audley of Walden Abbey, Baron Audley of Walden (Essex)
Aungier of East Clandon (Surrey) and Longford (Co. Longford), Earls of Longford
Austen of Derhams, South Mimms (Herts), baronets
Austin of Hollin Hall (Cheshire)
Austin of Roundwood
Austin of Shelford (Cambs)
Austin of Welbury (Yorks WR), baronets
Aveling of Estover (Cambs) and Rochester (Kent)
Avenell of Norfolk
Averey of Fillongley (Warks)
Avery of Mells (Somerset)
Avery of Oakley Court, Bray (Berks)
Aykroyd of Cliffe Hall and Lightcliffe (Yorks)
Aylesbury of London, baronets
Aylesbury of Packwood (Warks)
Aylesbury of Wiveton Hall (Notts)
Ayliffe of Brinkworth (Wilts)
Aylmer of Balrath (Kildare), baronets and Barons Aylmer
Ayloffe of Great Braxted (Essex), baronets
Aylwen of London, baronets
Aylworth of Aylworth (Glos)
Aylworth of Trefford and Lewes (Sussex)
Aynscombe of Aylwins, Mayfield (Sussex)
Murray-Aynsley of Hall Court (Hants)
Ayre of Ely (Cambs)
Ayre of The Limes (Derbys)
Ayre of Yorkshire
Ayscough of Blyborough and Ayscoughfee Hall (Lincs) and Nuttall (Notts)
Ayshcombe of Lyford (Berks), baronets
Ayshford of Wonwell Court (Devon)
Babham of Weston Turville (Bucks)
Babington of Creevagh (Derry)
Babthorpe of Babthorpe and Osgodby (Yorks)
Bachelor of West Rudham (Norfolk)
Bachus of Trumpington (Cambs)
Bacon of Elcot House (Berks), Aberaman House (Glam) and Eywood (Herefs)
Bacon of Harleston (Norfolk)
Bacon of Whiteparish (Wilts)
Badcock of Much Bentley (Essex)
Badcock of Shebbeare (Devon)
Baddeley of Castle Hale (Glos)
Baddeley of Lakefield, baronet
Badeley of Guy Harlings and Leigh's Hall (Essex)
Badenoch of Flamberts (Dorset)
Badlesmere of Badlesmere, Barons Badlesmere
Baghot of Hall Place, Prestbury (Glos) [this family will be covered in a future post on the De La Bere family]
Bagnall of Newberries (Herts)
Bagnall of Newcastle (Staffs)
Bagnall of East Worldham House (Hants)
Bagot of Elford Hall (Staffs)
Baguley of Ashton (Derbys)
Baillie of Lamington (Lanarks) [but see a future post on the Cochrane (later Cochrane-Baillie) family]
Bain of Leadhall Grange
Bainbridge of Snitterton and Wheatley Hill (Co. Durham)
Baines of Bawtry Hall (Yorks WR) and Westbrook (Surrey)
Baird (formerly Adamson) of Auburn (Co. Westmeath)
Baird of Palmer's Cross, Elgin (Morays)
Baker of Aldsworth (Notts)
Baker of Cottesmore (Rutland), baronets
Baker (later Sherston-Baker) of Dunstable House, Richmond, baronets
Baker of Hanwood (Shrops)
Baker of Mayfield Place (Sussex)
Baker of New Windsor (Berks)
Baker of Smallborough & Walton (Norfk)
Bakewell of The Old Hall, Balderston (Notts)
Balam of Walsoken (Norfk)
Balden of Elsington (Norfk)
Balders of West Barsham (Norfk)
Baldock of Hollycombe House, Liphook (Hants)
Baldrey of Stowmarket (Suffk)
Baldwin of Brookfield, Clohina and Cork (Co. Cork)
Baldwin of Cressage Old Hall (Shropshire), Ketton Hall (Rutland) and Levisham Hall (Yorks)
Balean of The Green Hall, Ashbourne (Derbys)
Balfour, Barons Balfour of Inchyre
Balfour, Barons Riverdale
Balfour of Denmiln, baronets
Balfour of Glasclune, Barons Kinross
Balfour of Langham Hall, baronets
Baliol, Barons Baliol
Ball of Blofield, baronets
Ball of Crouch End (Essex)
Ball of Killybegs (Dublin), baronets
Ball of Long Stanton (Cambs)
Ball of Veryan (Cornwall)
Ballantine of Ashgrove and Castlehill (Ayrs)
Ballard of Horton and Wadhurst (Sussex)
Ballard of Maybole
Balmain of Alford House (Somerset)
Bamber of Bamber Hall (Lancs)
Bamburgh, baronets
Banbury of Warneford Place (Wilts), Barons Banbury of Southam
Bancks of Stockholm
Bancroft of The Grange, Ballyragget (Kilkenny)
Band of Wookey House (Somerset)
Bankes of Weston House, Runcorn (Cheshire)
Banks of Curlew Lodge and Sutton Bridge (Cambs)
Banks of Golagh (Co. Monaghan)
Banks of London, baronet
Bannatyne of Haldon (Devon) and Fanningstown Castle (Co. Limerick)
Harmood-Banner, baronet
Campbell-Bannerman of Belmont Castle (Perths)
Bannister of Brantwood, Colne (Lancs)
Banon of Kilgraney House (Co. Carlow)
Barber of Culham Court (Berks), baronet
Barber of Englefield Green (Surrey)
Hilton-Barber of South Africa
Mitford-Barberton of South Africa
Barbor of Flashbrook (Staffs)
Barbour, baronet
Barbour of Barlay (Kirkcudbrights.)
Barby of Washfield (Devon)
Barclay of Perceton (Ayrs.), baronets
Barcroft of The Glen, Newry (Co. Down)
Bard of Staines (Middx), Viscounts Bellamont
Bardolf, Barons Bardolf
Bardolphe of Harpenden (Herts)
Bardswell of The Chase, Chigwell (Essex)
Barentyne of Plumpton (Sussex)
Barham of Trecwn (Pembs.)
Baring of Nubia House (IoW), baronets
Barker of Busbridge House, baronet
Barker of Chesham, Horwood and Southley (Bucks)
Barker of Croboy and Sterling House (Meath)
Barker of The Grange, Bishops Stortford (Herts)
Barker of Hemsby Hall (Norfk)
Barker of Lund Court, Nawton (Yorks NR)
Barker of Mattimore House, Holbeach (Lincs), Needham House (Cambs) and St Germans (Norfk)
Barker of Salt Hill House (Sussex)
Barker of Watchbury House (Warks)
Barklay of Larkbeare (Devon)
Barkesworth of Thormanby (Yorks NR)
Barling of Edgbaston, baronets
Barlow of Ashford and Pitt Manor (Hants)
Barlow of Bradwall Hall (Cheshire), baronets
Barlow of Fort William (India), baronets
Barlow of London, baronets
Barlow of The Chace (Leics)
Barnston, baronets
Barnard of Bartlow (Cambs) and Prestbury (Glos)
Barne of Broom Hall (Devon)
Barnes of Ashgate and Glapwell Hall (Derbys), Baron Gorell
Barnes of Derby (Derbys)
Baron of Holmbury, baronet
Barr, baronet
Barratt of Totteridge Park, Loddington Hall and Ballymoe
Layland-Barratt of Torquay
Barrett of Bar House
Barrett of Castlemore, baronets
Barrett of Court Lodge, Shorne
Barrett of Wroughton Hall
Barrie of Airlie Park, Baron Abertay
Barrie of Kirriemuir, baronet
Barrow of Milestown (Co. Louth)
Barrow of The Red House
Barrow of Ulverstone, baronets
Barry of Dublin, baronets
Barry of Firville
Barry of Kilbolane Castle (Co. Cork)
Barry of Sandville House (Co. Limerick)
Barry of Summer Hill
Milner-Barry of Kilgobbin and Hanover Hall
Jackson-Barstow of Acomb (Yorks)
Barthropp of Hacheston (Suffk)
Bartlet of Ludbrook Manor (Devon)
Bartlett of Hardington Mandeville (Som.), baronets
Bartlett of Holwell and Longburton (Dorset)
Barton of Ballyline House (Co. Kilkenny)
Barton of Threxton House (Norfk) and Hadlow (Kent)
Barwis of Langrigg Hall (Cumbld)
Bassano of Hadenholme
Basset, Barons Basset of Drayton
Basset, Barons Basset of Sapcote
Basset, Barons Basset of Weldon
Bassett of Blore (Staffs) and Grindon (Derbys)
Basset of Fledborough Hall (Berks)
Bate, baronets
Bate of Marchwiel and Llanarmon-yn-Ial (Denbighs)
Bateman of Flixton
Bateman of Guilsborough
La Trobe-Bateman of Moor Park
Bates of Aydon Castle and Langley Castle
Bates of Denton
Bates of Magherabuoy, baronets
Bath of Athcarne, baronets
Bather of Meole Brace Hall
Batho, baronets
Bathurst of Charlton
Batten of Stainforth
Battine of Barrow Court (Somerset)
Batty of Ballyhealy (Westmeath)
Battye of Skelton Hall (Yorks)
Bavent, Barons Bavent
Baverstock of Alton and Windsor
Bawtree of Abberton (Essex)
Baxter of Kilmaron, baronet
Bayldon of Ingsdom and Oaklands (Devon)
Bayley of Allertonshire (Yorks)
Bayley of Etchilhampton, Stowford and Wingfield (Wilts)
Readett-Bayley of Lenton Abbey
Bayly of Amberd House and Torr, Plymouth (Devon)
Bayly of Ballynaclough House and Debsborough (Tipperary)
Bayly of Norelands (Kilkenny)
Baynes of Harefield Place (Middx), baronets
Beadnell of Lemington (Northbld) and Cynhinfa (Montgomerys)
Beadnell of Gogarth (Montgomerys)
Beale of Brettenham (Suffk)
Beale of Maidstone (Kent), baronets
Beaman of Kingscote Grange (Glos)
Beamish of Chelwood Gate (Sussex)
Beard of Grayshott Hall
Beardmore of Flichity House (Inverness), Barons Invernairn
Beardmore of Uplands (Hants)
Beardsley of New Quorn House (Leics)
Beauchamp, Earls of Warwick
Beauchamp, Barons Beauchamp of Bletsoe (Beds)
Beauchamp, Barons Beauchamp of Hatch Beauchamp (Som.)
Beauchamp, Barons Beauchamp of Kidderminster (Worcs)
Beauchamp, Barons Beauchamp of Powick (Worcs)
Beauchamp, Barons St. Amand
Beauchamp of Woodborough (Som.), baronets
Beauford of Troston Hall (Suffk)
Beaufort, Marquesses of Dorset
Beaufort, Dukes of Exeter
Beavan of Penrhos (Herefs)
Beavan of Seldown House (Dorset)
Beaven of Holt (Wilts)
Beaver of Glyn Garth (Anglesey)
Beazley of Warborough (Oxon)
Bec, Barons Beke of Eresby
Beche, Barons La Beche
Beck of Castle Point (Devon)
Beck of London, baronets
Beck of Pylle Manor (Somerset)
Beckett of Forty Hill, Enfield (Middx)
Beckitt of Corthither (Cornwall)
Minton Beddoes of Cheney Longville (Shrops)
Bedford of Old Sleningford Hall (Yorks WR)
Beebee of Womaston (Radnors)
Beecham of Mursley Hall (Bucks) and Compton Scorpion (Warks)
Beeching, Baron Beeching
Beecroft of Kirkstall (Yorks WR)
Beedham of Ashfield (Hunts)
Tidbury-Beer of East Clandon (Surrey)
Beetham of Betham and Little Strickland (Westmld)
Behrens of Holm Acre (Ches)
Beith of Moniave (Dumfries)
Beldam of Toft (Cambs)
Belfield of Primley Hill (Devon)
Belgrave of North Kilworth (Leics)
Belgrave of Preston Hall (Rutland)
Hore-Belisha, Baron Hore-Belisha
Bell of Felden (Co. Antrim)
Bell of Framewood (Bucks), baronets
Bell of Glasgow, baronets
Bell of Marlborough Terrace, baronets
Bell of Melling Hall (Lancs)
Bell of Mynthurst (Surrey), baronets
Bell of Pendell Court (Surrey) and Cottisford House
Bell of Stubb House (Co. Durham)
Bellairs of Stoke d'Albini, Kirby Bellairs and Uffington
Bellenden of Broughton, Lords Bellenden
Bellomont, Earls of Leicester
Bendlowes of Bradfield (Essex)
Benhale, Barons Benhale
Benham of Colchester (Essex)
Benjamin of Holywell (Co. Sligo)
Benger of Dover and Hougham (Kent)
Benion of Aldingbourne (Sussex)
Benington of Bennington (Lincs)
Benn of Glenravel (Co. Antrim) and Rollesby Hall (Norfolk), baronets and Baron Glenravel
Wedgwood-Benn, Viscounts Stansgate
Bennet of Ballintaggart (Co. Kildare)
Bennet of Laleston House (Glamorgan)
Bennett, Baron Bennett of Edgbaston
Bennett of Attlebridge (Norfk)
Bennett of Bennett's Court (Co. Cork)
Bennett of Castle Roe (Co. Londonderry)
Bennett of Cwmllecoediog (Montgomeryshire)
Bennett of Fromehurst (Gloucestershire)
Bennett of Fryston and Oxcombe (Lincolnshire)
Bennett of Juniper Hill (Surrey), Viscount Bennett
Bennett of Kirklington Hall (Notts), baronet
Bennett of Lambeth and Morden (Surrey)
Bennett of Llanvihangel Court (Monmouthshire)
Bennett of Newhall and Tiptree Priory (Essex)
Bennett of Whiteway, Chudleigh (Devon)
Curtis-Bennett of Boreham Lodge (Essex)
Bensley of Marylebone, baronets
Benson of Middleton St George, Stanway House and Stowe House, Lichfield, Baron Charnwood
Benson of Bramham Park (Yorks WR), Barons Bingley [this family will be covered in a future post on the Lane-Fox family, Barons Bingley]
Benson of Compton Bassett (Wilts)
Benson of Murley Grange (Devon)
Benson of Newbrough Hall and Allerwash (Northbld)
Benson of Old Mill House (Wilts)
Benson of The Fould (Westmld)
Benson of Utterby House (Lincs)
Bent of Basford House (Staffs)
Bent of Cosby, Enderby, Frolesworth and Narborough (Leics)
Bent of Wexham Lodge (Bucks)
Bentley of Birch House (Lancs)
Bentley of Pannal Hall (Yorks WR) 
Bentley of Staffordshire
Bentley of West House (Yorks WR)
Benyon of Carshalton (Surrey)
Bere of Dartford and Gravesend (Kent)
Bere of Morebath and Timewell (Devon) and Skilgate (Som.)
Berenger of Owbourne and Iver (Bucks)
Beresford of Bentley and Newton Grange (Derbys)
Beresford of Shakerstone and Nelston (Leics)
Beresford of Squerryes Court (Kent)


Nick Kingsley

Revision

This page was last revised 23 February 2024.

33 comments:

  1. Are the 10 Adair stained glass windows still at Holy Hill house in Strabane? Are there any photos?
    Thank you
    Curtis Adair

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    Replies
    1. I believe so, although my information may not be completely up to date. I do not have any photographs.

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    2. Do you have a contract address or email for the home?
      Thanks.

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    3. The owner would appear to be Mr. Hamilton Thompson, who bought the house in 1983, and who was still resident in 2012. The house has been open to the public for European Heritage Open Days in September in recent years. An account of the history of the house is given here: http://www.breadyancestry.com/index.php?id=35. I gather Mr Thompson has done interviews for the BBC and lectured on the history to West Tyrone Historical Society, so I suggest you approach him direct. The street address is 78 Ballee Road, Strabane BT82 0AA.

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  2. i read your blog on the adams family drumelton house and you say that it remained the family seat until 1963 but my research shows that it remained in the family longer and it was elizabeths niece anabel eveline chatterton harvey who went there in 1963 with her husband harold archibald allison
    annabels mother was eveline norcott adams who was elizabeths sister along with lilian welby adams among others could you please double check my findings

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  3. You are quite correct and I will amend my account accordingly.

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  4. Firstly I would like to say how impressed I am with your entry on the Tyssen-Amhersts and their occupation and alterations of Didlington and Foulden. I am currently researching the T-A's as part of a biography I am putting together of my grandfather - William (one of many in this particular story) Amherst Cecil killed in 1914 - this story is quite complicated - so your blog puts together quite a few pieces of the jigsaw in a very clear way and was a delight to read! I would just say that we sold Foulden before my father's death which was in 1980. I think it was about 1971 when we sold - since then Foulden has been on the market several times! I just wondered during your researches - did you come across any record of another house or building at Foulden which might have been pulled down and the bricks used to make some of the early alterations at Didlington?

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for the correction of the date when Foulden was sold: I will amend my account accordingly. I did not come across the tradition you refer to, but is it possible that Foulden Hall itself was partly taken down to provide materials for Didlington? Probably not, as Foulden was originally mostly semi-timbered, but it would explain why an extensive rebuilding was needed later in the Victorian period.

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  5. Hello Nick, I was just reading your information about the Alcock family and have some documents relating to Wilton Castle which my mother gave me. One of them is a booklet about the castle from the Irish Times in 1939 which states that Clogh-na-Kayer was built in the 14th century by Sir Fulke Furlong who held it in custody for the Earl of Pembroke. According to this document it was subsequently acquired by the Butlers. Edward Butler, Baron of Kayer, rebuilt and restored the ancient castle and added a mansion house to it in the year 1599.

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    Replies
    1. Yes I allude to the house of 1599 in the first sentence of my account of Wilton Castle, but unfortunately I have not been able to find an illustration or description of it.

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  6. I have just found your blogspot quite by accident. How lovely to find something about families, and family trees that is properly researched and that one can actually believe! Many thanks. If I could help I would.

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  7. What a fantastic site. Wish I had discovered it years ago when I was researching landed estates for the Warwickshire Gardens Trust. Did my MA dissertation on the Leigh family of Stoneleigh Abbey so have a lot of information on that family and estate.

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    Replies
    1. I have done some work on the Leighs of Adlestrop many years ago but would be interested to read anything you have written up about Stoneleigh. If you have anything you are willing to share, send me your email address through the Contact Form in the right-hand panel I will send you mine.

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  8. Congratulations on a very interesting, informative and thoughfully put together site. I think we share a similar interest in landed familes. My website is www.redbookofscotland.com

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  9. I have just ordered a copy of the Red Book of Perthshire and look forward to seeing how our research compares!

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  10. Hello Nick, I see you included 3 Appleton families in your blog, but I can find no reference to them. My paternal line is Appleton and, judging from their Last Will and Testaments, they were a fairly wealthy family. I have traced back to the 1700's where David Appleton was a Clerk at Somerset House for the RN, having been born in Devonport. His father and grandfather were also Davids. Any ideas please?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Janet,

      The Appletons are actually in the list of families I have decided don't meet the criteria for inclusion in the blog, so I haven't written about them. You can, however, find out more about the Appletons of South Benfleet in Burke's Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies, and about the Appletons of Gaddon Uffculme in Burke's Landed Gentry 1969. I hope this is of some help.

      Nick

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  11. Will the Luxford family be discussed? They are listed in Burke's Landed Gentry. I am a descendant of that family and would love to know more about them.

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    Replies
    1. Yes I expect so, but it will be some time before I get to them as I am working alphabetically by family.

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  12. Amazing work! (317) Baikie of Tankerness. If you can verify, it might be worth mentioning that Dr. Robt Baikie (1799-1889) published 1834 Observations on the Neirgherries. Beautiful lithographs included.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for this - I have added a note to the article accordingly.

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  13. When I found http://landedfamilies.blogspot.com/2015/12/198-ash-later-beresford-ash-of-ashbrook.html a couple of years ago I thought I had died and gone to heaven! One of my ancestors is most certainly descended from the Ashe/Holland line. I had NO idea she was what she was! I only knew she was a Loyalist and went to Canada in 1783! And then I find all this stuff about her family! Too Cool!

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  14. Have you considered the Hippesley family of Cameley and Ston Easton?? Although at least one of their homes was turned into a hotel, the Reece Mogg family still live in one of the homes. The Reece Mogg family are also descended from this family and well as my own.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, they are on my list, but I am working alphabetically and H will be some years away!

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  15. Hello
    Thank you for your very interesting website which I have stumbled across today while researching my family history.
    I am looking for information about William Thompson who on the 1891 census, aged 52 is recorded as a Gentleman's Gardener and I am wondering if you have any idea who he may have worked in this role?  William and his family including Lucy Thompson who was the first wife of my great grandfather, are living at Great Russell Street, Nothampton at the time.

    William was born in Dallington, Northamptonshire which I believe is only a few minutes from Althorpe and I wonder if it is possible he could have worked there?
    * 1841 census: I believe I have found William aged three living in Dallington * 1861 census, a William Thompsn aged 23 and born in Dallington can be found working as a house servant at 5, Cavendish Terrace, Clapham, Wandsworth, London & Surrey, England in the house of John Humphrey who is described as 'Housekeeper'.
    * 1881 census a William Thompson is recorded at 42, Gt Russell Street, Northampton Priory of St Andrew Aka Town Part, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England (although he is ten years younger than I think he should be). He is recorded as a Gardener (nd). Non domestic maybe (https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=15010.0)? * 1901 census: I have found a William Thompson at 42 Great Russell Street and his occupation aged 62 is given as Market Gardener* 1911: A William Thompson aged 71 is living at 18 Burns Street also working as a Market Gardener
    My interest in William, stems from his daughter Lucy who was the first wife of my great grandfather Joseph Charles Abram. (https://a-little-bit-of-this.co.uk/2021/01/18/lucy-thompson/)
    Lucy has been described to me as a 'dark skinned woman', which at first I found puzzling but having undertaken some research, I now don't believe this to be at all unfeasible and I would love to learn more about the Thompson family, particularly where William who appears to have been working in service roles in his younger days would have got the money to set up as Market Gardener because I feel that would have taken money to do. Also, if Lucy was dark skinned it follows that one or more of her parents was too, however, going back through the census returns, the family all appear to have been born in Northamptonshire.

    Maybe if I could find out where William was working in his role as a Gentlemen's Gardener I can progress from there.

    I would be grateful for any help you could offer.

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    Replies
    1. It sounds as though he was essentially a market gardener. Have you tried looking for him in local trade directories? The Northamptonshire Record Office should have a full set. If he was working for a private owner in 1891 I would expect it to be somewhere in Northampton. It is a bit odd that he was a commercial gardener in 1881 and again in 1901 but not in 1891. I wonder if his first attempt at market gardening was unsuccessful? If he went bust a notice of his bankruptcy should be in the London Gazette (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/notice?service=all-notices) and probably in the local press too. And whatever he was doing it is always worth checking the local papers (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/). Hope this helps. Nick Kingsley

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  16. Hello Nick - I've been sporadically researching the history of Rockland All Saints, and Rockland St Peter in Norfolk where I live, and through Addison Browne Hemsworth Rector of Rockland All Saints from 1850 I have been drawn into the complicated life of the Hemsworth family! I was delighted to find your post on Barker and Hethersett of Shropham Hall last night, but have had to wait for this morning to read it - since as you will agree they are extremely complicated by the fact that they kept marrying each other and taking each other's names! It is most helpful to have confirmation of Lt. Gen James Barker's adoption of the name Hethersett in 1804. I wonder if it was to do with inheritance?
    We visited the grave of Augustus Noel Campbell Hemsworth in Breckles churchyard yesterday and it states that ANC was the great grandson of Wormley Hethersett. I have a large roll of wallpaper on which I hoping to plot the family initially.
    Thank you for pulling all this together. I still haven't digested it all but look forward to Part 2. The recent appearance of your blog convinces me of the value of searching for information on several occasions. Thank you. Sue

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sue - Thanks for your kind words! I expect changes of name to be occasioned by inheritance but the General's big inheritance was more than ten years before he changed his name, and from his brother, not directly from a Hethersett. Unless we evidence of a further inheritance around 1803, I assume that he simply felt that his forbear should have changed his name when the Barkers originally inherited Shropham and decided to rectify the omission. But this sort of family piety does seem unusual!

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  17. Hi Nick,


    Just wondering, in all your Atkins research, did you ever come across mention of any Uptons of Ardaugh House, Bruree/Rossmore Houses of Castletown Conyers or Olde Bayly Farm House of Tipperary? In Particular Odell Upton married to Mary Atkins, (of Richard at Firville?), they o.b.s.p.???

    Best,
    Mark Upton
    Olympia WA USA

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  18. I'm afraid not, but the Atkins name seems to be surprisingly common in Ireland and I was only following up the country-house-owning branch.

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  19. Hello, RE: Baildon. Why is Sir Francis Baildon (1564-1622) not mentioned? I know he ultimately resided in a Kippax estate after his Marriage to Margaret Goodrick (royal descent). Did he not meet a criteria? If not can he be mentioned? Thanks for your consideration.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sir Francis Baildon (d. 1622) seems to have been the son of George Baildon (c.1525-88), who in turn was the son of Robert Baildon (c.1496-1559) who is mentioned in my article. Looking into your query has shown me that I can say a little more about Robert's family (including George), which I will add. Sir Francis himself was not the owner of Baildon Hall and I would not normally include collateral branches unless they were or became in later generations the owners of country houses for more than one generation and more than fifty years. Did Sir Francis own Kippax (as opposed to leasing it) and did his relations stay there for long enough to qualify? I note his eldest surviving son 'went to the bad' and was disinherited.

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  20. Congratulations on a most worthy project!

    ReplyDelete

Please leave a comment if you have any additional information or corrections to offer, or if you are able to help with additional images of the people or buildings in this post.