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It is split into two settlements, Upper and Lower Kinsham, the name being roughly translated as “border meadow belonging to the King”.

Churches of Kinsham

• All Saints Church - Kinsham

  This lovely little church was built around the turn of the 13th century, and was extensively restored in the 19th century

   

   

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

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Buildings in Kinsham

• Kinsham Court History

  This lovely manor house was once part of the Harley Estate and was used as a hunting lodge; It is also believed to have been lived in by the family of Florence Nightingale, and also Lord Byron who it was believed locally worked on “Childe Harold” here, although to date I can find no concrete proof of this and indeed a lady from “Byronmania” has contacted me saying that it is almost impossible for this to be true.  Lord Byron wrote the piece before he leased Kinsham Court.  She did concede that he could have written other poetry whilst at Kinsham.

   

  The Rev. W. R. Arrowsmith

  The Rev. W.R. Arrowsmith was resident at Kinsham Court during the 1850s, and was Headmaster of Queen Mary’s Grammar School, Leominster in the 1840s; he was made Rector of Byton in Herefordshire in 1853
  He was somewhat abrasive at times, as was revealed in numerous letters to local papers, but mostly he was fighting for justice and few got the better of him. In 1858 he was brought before the court by Fishmongers in Leominster, and it was reported thus:

   
  “The defendant is a clergyman of the Church of England and in 1849 resided at Leominster. He became a customer for turbot, lobsters etc. which were duly supplied him, but having shifted his residence, his address could not be ascertained and the debt therefore remained on the books until very recently, when he was written to at Kinsham Court Presteign, reminded of his debt of £2 9s. 1d, and requested to discharge it immediately. To this the defendant replied that he did not recollect having any goods off them since he left Leominster, and that previous to that time he presumed he had settled all his accounts. A second letter, a few days later, asks for the date and particulars of the bill, which were furnished; the items being 1849, Oct 15, turbot £1.; lobster, 4s.6d.; basket, 1s. 1850, Aug. 23, turbot 18s.; lobster 4s. 6d; basket 1s. In this second letter he says – “The post office at Presteign have had orders not to forward any letters to Mr. Arrowsmith, but such as bear his true address; and as Messrs Southan and Bebell could easily have obtained that in Leominster, Mr. A. is surprised that after an interval of heaven knows how many years, this should never have been done til a few days ago”. In answer to further applications, he begs in a third letter, dated Jan. 29 1858, “to inform Messrs Southan and Bebell that, as for neglecting to require receipts upon the payment of bills, he has been upon more than one occasion called to pay the same debt twice over, he shall feel it right to avail himself of the Statute of Limitations to bar their demand, unless some reasonable account be rendered why a debt more than seven years old has not been exacted before now”. Number 4, and final, letter dated February 1 1858, is written as if under the impression that he had previously paid the bill, and repeats his intention to plead the Statute of Limitations. His Honour was worry to say the that Rev. gentleman’s argument prevailed, and that he must nonsuit the plaintiffs.”

  Cornelius Hart

  In 1860 Cornelius Hart was inducted to the livings of Kinsham and Lingen, having for many years been the incumbent of Old Street, St. Pancras London, where he was highly valued. His congregation there thought him kindly and they gave him their hearty good wishes for his future welfare, and he arrived in Herefordshire to take up residence at Kinsham Court.

  Kinsham Court Household and Servants 1861 Census

  Cornelius Hart	54	Incumbent Curate of Lingen b. London
  Elizabeth D. Hart	44	Wife
  Henry W. Hart	9	Son b. London
  Thomas D. Hart	6	Son b. London
  Walter W. Hart	1	Son b. London
  Emma Lloyd	15	Servant b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Anne Pritchard	26	Cook b. Richards Castle, Shropshire
  Elizabeth Bounds	19	Housemaid b. Lingen, Herefordshire

  Francis Lyndon Evelyn
  Francis Lyndon Evelyn went to Oxford University and gained his cricket blue in 1880; he was made High Sheriff of Radnorshire in 1887, but died in 1910 aged just 51 years

  Kinsham Court Household and servants 1891 census

  Francis Lyndon Evelyn	31	Magistrate for Herefordshire & Radnorshire, b. Presteigne, Radnorshire
  Susan Grace Evelyn	27	Wife b. Cheshire
  Gwendolin Maud Evelyn	4	Daughter b. Kinsham, Herefordshire
  Frances Mary Evelyn	3	Daughter b. Kinsham, Herefordshire
  Francis Herron Lyndon Evelyn	1	Son b. Kinsham, Herefordshire
  Alfred R. Wood	32	Visitor b. Middlesex
  John Kinch	31	Butler b. Cuddelston, Oxfordshire
  Martha James	23	Domestic Servant, b. Breconshire
  Mary Ann Ball	23	Domestic Servant, b. Radnorshire
  Margaret Davies	27	Domestic Servant, b. Pulverbatch, Salop
  Helen Whittal	16	Domestic Servant, b. Kinsham, Herefordshire

   

  Kinsham Court Household and servants 1901 census

  Francis L. Evelyn	41	Living on own means, b. Presteigne, Radnorshire
  Susan G. Evelyn	36	Wife b. Bowden, Cheshire
  Adela C. Evelyn	6	Daughter b. London
  John Kinch	41	Butler b. Cuddelston, Oxfordshire
  Mary Williams	34	Cook, b. Herefordshire
  Mary E. smith	26	Housemaid b. Manchester
  Mary A. Colley	20	Serving Maid b. Herefordshire
  Eliza A. Woodward	16	Undermaid

   

  Sir John Stanhope Arkwright

  Kinsham Court was bought by the Arkwright family in the 20th century.
  Sir John Stanhope Arkwright was born in 1872 at 11 Lowndes Street, London and was the only son of John Hungerford Arkwright of Hampton Court Castle, Herefordshire; he was educated at Eton and Christ Church Oxford and won the Newdigate prize for English Poetry in 1895.
  In 1900, he was a Barrister, but had also been private secretary to the Home Secretary, Sir Matthew White Ridley, and he became the popular Conservative candidate for Hereford, being described as being a fluent speaker and a great lover of cricket and football. John was duly elected later that year but in 1912 he resigned due to ill health, and an impending operation.
  Sir John Stanhope Arkwright composed the lyrics for a hymn – “O Valiant Hearts, The Supreme Sacrifice”, which was published by both the Hereford Times and The Times in mid 1917. Dr. Charles Harris, the vicar of Colwall, provided the music for the words and it was performed in Westminster Abbey as well as Hereford Cathedral to mark the third anniversary of the outbreak of war.
  It is still used today as a requiem to the fallen, but there were some objections to one verse which appeared to compare the deaths of soldiers to the death of Christ and some churches decided to exclude the controversial verse.

   
  He spent some years at Kinsham Court and in 1934 he was a awarded a Knighthood, following which he was presented with the freedom of the City of Hereford, it being reported in the Hereford Times:
  “Sir John Stanhope Arkwright of Kinsham Court, Co. Hereford, author of the hymn O Valiant Hearts, was on Saturday presented with the freedom of the City of Hereford. He is the brother of Mrs. Chester-Master, widow of Major R.C. Chester-Master, D.S.O., K.R.R.C., Chief Constable of Gloucestershire, who was killed in Action in 1917”
  He died in Presteigne on 19th September 1954

  Kinsham Court Household – 1921

  John Stanhope Arkwright	b. London, Middlesex 1872	Not occupied for a living
  Helen Muriel Stephanie Arkwright	b. Lyonshall, Herefordshire 1883	Wife, Home duties
  Edith Ellen Taylor	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire 1891	Servant
  Milborough Hyde	b. Bodenham, Herefordshire 1893	Servant
  Agnes Sumner	b. Manchester, Lancaster 1887	Servant
  Cathleen Mary Jones	b. Herefordshire 1902	Servant

   

   

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News from the Past Kinsham

• Kinsham News from the Past

  Bolting horses and attempted murder

  1839 Lucky Escape

  The Rev H. W. Maddock along with the Misses Grey and others were travelling from Kinsham Court in two phaeotons.

  Shortly after leaving the Court, when going down a hill, Mr. Maddock’s horse became somewhat unmanageable when the harness broke,  and charged forwards, banging into the other phaeton driven by Robert Me Murdo, causing it to overturn.  The occupants were thrown out, and the second horse took fright, bolting down the hill until it came to a gate which it tried to jump……it was halted in its tracks by the wrecked carriage that it was still dragging.

  Mr. Me Murdo managed to prevent the other horse from also bolting, thus probably saving many lives.

  Another carriage was obtained to take the ladies home, and Mr. Me Murdo volunteered to take the intact phaeton back, accompanied by the Rev. F. Moggridge.  Maybe it was not such a brilliant idea to continue with the same horse however, as when they reached the steep hill down to Kington, it ran away again, kicking out violently.  The carriage overturned again, but thankfully both gentleman escaped with little more than severe bruises.

  1858 Kinsham Bridge

  The bridge at Kinsham had been in a dangerous state for some considerable time, and it was also felt that it had been built in entirely the wrong place as it was approached by a steep rocky road, instead of being built on the flatter side of the hill.  However, there was no prospect of moving the road, so there was no option but to rebuild the bridge in the same place.

  The surveyor pressed for urgent action, and estimates were to be sought.

  Later that year, the two tenders submitted were rejected and a Mr. Gray was requested to carry out the work to his own specifications – this he did to everyone’s satisfaction.

  1864 Attempted Murder at Kinsham

  Joseph Morris, was a former private in the 7th Hussars who deserted his regiment and became a gamekeeper in Eardisland.  He then went into the Radnorshire militia, and was eventually promoted to Corporal.

  Desertion and subsequent Disgrace

  Joseph married whilst in the militia, but soon afterwards was arrested for deserting his regiment some 15 years earlier and was forced to rejoin.  It was not long before he deserted again, and when caught he claimed that it was his wife’s fault for refusing to join him in York where the regiment was based.

  Joseph was given punishment, but the regiment rather gave up on him and he was drummed out, whereupon he went back to his wife in Kinsham and started work on the Central Wales Railway.

  Arguments, Accusations and a Shooting

  When his wife had to look after her ailing mother, Joseph moved in with them, and maybe things became a little strained.  Certainly witnesses reported that they often rowed and sometimes even lived apart.  One evening they had a big argument about some money that Joseph’s wife accused him of stealing from her father and when he set off across the fields she followed him in order to get the money back.  On failing, she went back to the cottage.

  Joseph eventually turned up again in the early evening, and he told his wife that she could have the money if she went for a walk with him, but she told him that the matter had been turned over to the police.  For some reason though she did go for a walk, and Joseph met up with her brandishing a gun.  She tried to grab it, but Joseph said that he wasn’t going to hurt her so she let go and went to get a drink from a stream…..as she bent over, he shot her.

  Joseph Morris Disappears

  At the very second he fired, she moved slightly and the shot merely grazed her head instead of going into her skull – it still tore all her hair, skin and muscle from the bone though, and she understandably screamed for all she was worth.

  Mr. Tearne, the Union surgeon happened to be approaching to visit the sick mother, and rushed to her aid.  Joseph meanwhile had scarpered, but he returned later to beg his wife’s forgiveness – rather spoiling the effect by saying that if he still had a loaded gun he would have shot the doctor, which proved that he had been watching from behind the hedge – and then disappeared again.

  In spite of lengthy searches, no trace of Joseph was found although he was suspected to be hiding in Thornbury, 20 miles away from Kinsham.

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The Rev. W. R. Arrowsmith

The Rev. W.R. Arrowsmith was resident at Kinsham Court during the 1850s, and was Headmaster of Queen Mary’s Grammar School, Leominster in the 1840s; he was made Rector of Byton in Herefordshire in 1853
He was somewhat abrasive at times, as was revealed in numerous letters to local papers, but mostly he was fighting for justice and few got the better of him. In 1858 he was brought before the court by Fishmongers in Leominster, and it was reported thus:

 
“The defendant is a clergyman of the Church of England and in 1849 resided at Leominster. He became a customer for turbot, lobsters etc. which were duly supplied him, but having shifted his residence, his address could not be ascertained and the debt therefore remained on the books until very recently, when he was written to at Kinsham Court Presteign, reminded of his debt of £2 9s. 1d, and requested to discharge it immediately. To this the defendant replied that he did not recollect having any goods off them since he left Leominster, and that previous to that time he presumed he had settled all his accounts. A second letter, a few days later, asks for the date and particulars of the bill, which were furnished; the items being 1849, Oct 15, turbot £1.; lobster, 4s.6d.; basket, 1s. 1850, Aug. 23, turbot 18s.; lobster 4s. 6d; basket 1s. In this second letter he says – “The post office at Presteign have had orders not to forward any letters to Mr. Arrowsmith, but such as bear his true address; and as Messrs Southan and Bebell could easily have obtained that in Leominster, Mr. A. is surprised that after an interval of heaven knows how many years, this should never have been done til a few days ago”. In answer to further applications, he begs in a third letter, dated Jan. 29 1858, “to inform Messrs Southan and Bebell that, as for neglecting to require receipts upon the payment of bills, he has been upon more than one occasion called to pay the same debt twice over, he shall feel it right to avail himself of the Statute of Limitations to bar their demand, unless some reasonable account be rendered why a debt more than seven years old has not been exacted before now”. Number 4, and final, letter dated February 1 1858, is written as if under the impression that he had previously paid the bill, and repeats his intention to plead the Statute of Limitations. His Honour was worry to say the that Rev. gentleman’s argument prevailed, and that he must nonsuit the plaintiffs.”

Cornelius Hart

In 1860 Cornelius Hart was inducted to the livings of Kinsham and Lingen, having for many years been the incumbent of Old Street, St. Pancras London, where he was highly valued. His congregation there thought him kindly and they gave him their hearty good wishes for his future welfare, and he arrived in Herefordshire to take up residence at Kinsham Court.

Kinsham Court Household and Servants 1861 Census

Francis Lyndon Evelyn
Francis Lyndon Evelyn went to Oxford University and gained his cricket blue in 1880; he was made High Sheriff of Radnorshire in 1887, but died in 1910 aged just 51 years

Kinsham Court Household and servants 1891 census

Kinsham Court Household and servants 1901 census

Sir John Stanhope Arkwright

Kinsham Court was bought by the Arkwright family in the 20th century.
Sir John Stanhope Arkwright was born in 1872 at 11 Lowndes Street, London and was the only son of John Hungerford Arkwright of Hampton Court Castle, Herefordshire; he was educated at Eton and Christ Church Oxford and won the Newdigate prize for English Poetry in 1895.
In 1900, he was a Barrister, but had also been private secretary to the Home Secretary, Sir Matthew White Ridley, and he became the popular Conservative candidate for Hereford, being described as being a fluent speaker and a great lover of cricket and football. John was duly elected later that year but in 1912 he resigned due to ill health, and an impending operation.
Sir John Stanhope Arkwright composed the lyrics for a hymn – “O Valiant Hearts, The Supreme Sacrifice”, which was published by both the Hereford Times and The Times in mid 1917. Dr. Charles Harris, the vicar of Colwall, provided the music for the words and it was performed in Westminster Abbey as well as Hereford Cathedral to mark the third anniversary of the outbreak of war.
It is still used today as a requiem to the fallen, but there were some objections to one verse which appeared to compare the deaths of soldiers to the death of Christ and some churches decided to exclude the controversial verse.

 
He spent some years at Kinsham Court and in 1934 he was a awarded a Knighthood, following which he was presented with the freedom of the City of Hereford, it being reported in the Hereford Times:
“Sir John Stanhope Arkwright of Kinsham Court, Co. Hereford, author of the hymn O Valiant Hearts, was on Saturday presented with the freedom of the City of Hereford. He is the brother of Mrs. Chester-Master, widow of Major R.C. Chester-Master, D.S.O., K.R.R.C., Chief Constable of Gloucestershire, who was killed in Action in 1917”
He died in Presteigne on 19th September 1954

Kinsham Court Household – 1921

1839 Lucky Escape

The Rev H. W. Maddock along with the Misses Grey and others were travelling from Kinsham Court in two phaeotons.

Shortly after leaving the Court, when going down a hill, Mr. Maddock’s horse became somewhat unmanageable when the harness broke,  and charged forwards, banging into the other phaeton driven by Robert Me Murdo, causing it to overturn.  The occupants were thrown out, and the second horse took fright, bolting down the hill until it came to a gate which it tried to jump……it was halted in its tracks by the wrecked carriage that it was still dragging.

Mr. Me Murdo managed to prevent the other horse from also bolting, thus probably saving many lives.

Another carriage was obtained to take the ladies home, and Mr. Me Murdo volunteered to take the intact phaeton back, accompanied by the Rev. F. Moggridge.  Maybe it was not such a brilliant idea to continue with the same horse however, as when they reached the steep hill down to Kington, it ran away again, kicking out violently.  The carriage overturned again, but thankfully both gentleman escaped with little more than severe bruises.

1858 Kinsham Bridge

The bridge at Kinsham had been in a dangerous state for some considerable time, and it was also felt that it had been built in entirely the wrong place as it was approached by a steep rocky road, instead of being built on the flatter side of the hill.  However, there was no prospect of moving the road, so there was no option but to rebuild the bridge in the same place.

The surveyor pressed for urgent action, and estimates were to be sought.

Later that year, the two tenders submitted were rejected and a Mr. Gray was requested to carry out the work to his own specifications – this he did to everyone’s satisfaction.

1864 Attempted Murder at Kinsham

Joseph Morris, was a former private in the 7th Hussars who deserted his regiment and became a gamekeeper in Eardisland.  He then went into the Radnorshire militia, and was eventually promoted to Corporal.

Desertion and subsequent Disgrace

Joseph married whilst in the militia, but soon afterwards was arrested for deserting his regiment some 15 years earlier and was forced to rejoin.  It was not long before he deserted again, and when caught he claimed that it was his wife’s fault for refusing to join him in York where the regiment was based.

Joseph was given punishment, but the regiment rather gave up on him and he was drummed out, whereupon he went back to his wife in Kinsham and started work on the Central Wales Railway.

Arguments, Accusations and a Shooting

When his wife had to look after her ailing mother, Joseph moved in with them, and maybe things became a little strained.  Certainly witnesses reported that they often rowed and sometimes even lived apart.  One evening they had a big argument about some money that Joseph’s wife accused him of stealing from her father and when he set off across the fields she followed him in order to get the money back.  On failing, she went back to the cottage.

Joseph eventually turned up again in the early evening, and he told his wife that she could have the money if she went for a walk with him, but she told him that the matter had been turned over to the police.  For some reason though she did go for a walk, and Joseph met up with her brandishing a gun.  She tried to grab it, but Joseph said that he wasn’t going to hurt her so she let go and went to get a drink from a stream…..as she bent over, he shot her.

Joseph Morris Disappears

At the very second he fired, she moved slightly and the shot merely grazed her head instead of going into her skull – it still tore all her hair, skin and muscle from the bone though, and she understandably screamed for all she was worth.

Mr. Tearne, the Union surgeon happened to be approaching to visit the sick mother, and rushed to her aid.  Joseph meanwhile had scarpered, but he returned later to beg his wife’s forgiveness – rather spoiling the effect by saying that if he still had a loaded gun he would have shot the doctor, which proved that he had been watching from behind the hedge – and then disappeared again.

In spite of lengthy searches, no trace of Joseph was found although he was suspected to be hiding in Thornbury, 20 miles away from Kinsham.