Sarnesfield Court was a lovely building, constructed over time by improving and enlarging earlier houses on the site;  it was demolished in 1955/77 and a new house was erected in its place using the lovely stable block.  The beautiful grounds and some of the walled garden still remain.

sarnesfield court

 

 

 

 

 

 

This picture of the original Sarnesfield Court has been kindly supplied by  the lovely and invaluable site http://www.lostheritage.org.uk/ to be found here.  Do take a look – without sites like this, images of our glorious old buildings may become very scarce indeed.

 

As will be seen, many notable families lived at Sarnesfield Court and it is a shame that a place with such an illustrious history could not be saved.

 

When the Domesday survey was carried out, Sarnesfield was owned by Roger de Laci (Lacey), and eventually passed by the co-heiress of Sir Nicholas de Sarnesfield to the Monington family where it remained for a great many years.  It is thought that the name Monington came from the parish of Monnington on Wye in Herefordshire, and the men were prominent members of society, being M.P.s, Mayors and Magistrates.

The male Monington line died out, and Ann Teresa Monington gave the Sarnesfield estate to John Webb Weston who in 1829 assumed the Monington name by Royal Licence, but he died without having any children and the estate was handed to the children of his sister Anna Maria, wife of William Thomas Salvin of Croxdale, Durham.

The children of this pair went on to sell the estate to William Worsley Worswick in 1878, and he then sold it on in 1891 to George William Marshall.  George’s great grandson inherited the estate, and currently lives in the house built on the site of the old court.

 

Sarnesfield Court Household – 1851

Thomas Monington 58 Magistrate County of Hereford b. Sutton Place Surrey
Mary Ann Monington 58 Wife b. Dorset
James Clarkson 38 House Servant b. Bede, Yorkshire
William Arundell 38 Coachman b. Gloucestershire
Mary Gardner 36 Housekeeper b. Yarpole, Herefordshire
Elizabeth Loden 38 Housemaid b. Warwickshire
Monica Renderson 29 Housemaid b. Gloucestershire
Eliza Ralph 25 Kitchen Maid b. Worcestershire

Marmaduke Charles Salvin

Marmaduke Charles Salvin was a member of one of the oldest Durham families, and was a descendant of Lord de Rooss.  He was educated at St. Cuthbert’s College, Ushaw and in 1845 married Caroline, the daughter of Sir Charles Wolsely.  Sadly Caroline died some five years before Charles, but they had many children together.

Not only did Marmaduke have estates in Durham, he also had properties in Herefordshire, including Sarnesfield Court.  He died at Burn Hall, Durham, just after Christmas in 1885.

Sarnesfield Court Household – 1861

Marmaduke Charles Salvin 49 Landed Proprietor and Magistrate b. Durham
Caroline Salvin 42 Wife b. Naples
Teresa Mary Salvin 7 Daughter b. Durham
Agnes M. Salvin 6 Daughter b. Durham
Frances J. Salvin 4 Daughter b. Durham
Beatrice M. Salvin 3 Daughter b. Durham
Thomas A. Berry 61 Butler b. London
Frederick Austin Langdon 17 Footman b. Pontypool, Wales
Mary Hay Furst 34 Housekeeper
Sarah Barley 38 Nurse b. York
Elizabeth Claredge 27 Housemaid b. London
Eliza Probert 17 Housemaid b. Herefordshire
Ann Eliza Daw 28 Kitchenmaid b. Dorset

Sarnesfield Court Household – 1871

William Smith 36 Gardener b. Churchill Oxfordshire
Harriet Smith 36 Wife b. Bodenham, Herefordshire
Charles Smith 7 Son b. Kings Acre, Herefordshire
Edwin Smith 5 Son b. Kings Acre, Herefordshire
Edith Anne Smith 3 Daughter b. Kings Acre, Herefordshire
Clara Emma Smith 7 mths Daughter b. Sarnesfield, Herefordshire

Sarnesfield Court Household – 1881

William Worsley Worswick 33 Land owner and farmer b. Lancashire
Ellen Worsley Worswick 34 Wife b. Nottinghamshire
Richard Worsley Worswick 6 Son b. Rutland
Robert Worsley Worswick 5 Son b. Rutland
Thomas Worsley Worswick 4 Son b. Rutland
Frances Worsley Worswick 2 Daughter b. Sarnesfield
Julia De Kilien 19 Governess b. Belgium
Eliza Warner 52 Nurse b. London
Ellen Hennessy 50 Cook b. Ireland
William West 33 Butler b. Nottinghamshire
George Farmer 39 Coachman b. Worcestershire
Teresa Trainer 23 Lady’s Maid b. Ireland
Elizabeth James 25 Nurse b. Gloucestershire
Jane Hanby 33 Housemaid b. Catterick, Yorkshire
Margaret M. Court 20 Housemaid b. Carlisle
Mary Higgins 21 Kitchen Maid b. Birmingham
Edward Jewell 29 Footman b. Norfolk
John Lane 21 Oddman b. Worcestershire

George William Marshall

Sarnesfield Court was purchased by George William Marshall in 1891 – he was born near Birmingham in 1839 and was the only child of a Birmingham Banker, George Marshall.  His early education was private, followed by going to St. Peter’s College Radley and thence to Magdalen College, Cambridge.  Eventually he moved to Peterhouse and graduated in 1861, before being called to the bar.

George was appointed Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms in 1887, and he was a lifelong enthusiast of all things genealogical and was a stickler for accuracy.  At Sarnesfield Court he amassed a huge genealogical and heraldic library, as well as a collection of armorial china and was a founder member of the Parish Records Society..  He was fortunate enough to receive  an inheritance from his godfather and this enabled him to buy the Sarnesfield estate

In 1902 he became High Sheriff of Herefordshire, and was also a J.P. and D.L as well as a Freemason.

He owned a house in London, and it was there that he died in September 1905 but he was buried at Sarnesfield along with his tabard as York Herald.

Sarnesfield Court Household – 1901

Thomas Marshall 18 Son b. Dorset
Jane Dalrymple 42 Widow, resident lady in charge b. Midhurst, Sussex
Ellen Blake 34 Cook b. Berkshire
Mary Griffiths 30 Housemaid b. Pembroke Dock
Ellen Elizabeth Gethen 23 Kitchenmaid b. Shropshire
Miriam Brister 18 Housemaid b. Warwick
Elizabeth M. Bimmersley 20 Scullery Maid b. Staunton on Wye, Herefordshire
Frederick C. Williams 32 Manservant b. Bradford, Yorkshire
William Birkbeck 19 Footman b. Yorkshire