Churches of Leintwardine

• St. Mary Magdalene Church - Leintwardine

  The church at Leintwardine of St. Mary Magdalene is mainly 13th/14th century, although it is built on Saxon and Norman foundations
  The Lady Chapel formerly the Mortimer Chapel, was constructed by Roger de Mortimer in order to offer Masses for the souls of his wife and Mistress – Queen Isabella, and her husband Edward 2nd.

  

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buildings of Leintwardine

• Seedly House - History

  Seedly House Leintwardine was built in the 18th century, and although not the prettiest of buildings it was home to the Mason family for a great many years in the 19th century during which time they made improvements to the interior.

  A typical middle class 19th century wedding

  In May 1863, one of the daughters of William Mason of Seedly House, Eliza, married Mr. C. Wright and the Leintwardine villagers made much of the occasion.

  An early morning start

  At five in the morning, the boom of a cannon woke everyone up, and an hour later all the villagers were hard at work making the preparations for the wedding party. Arches and other emblems were erected to show respect for the house of Seedly, but there was also a very genuine love for the bride who had been born in Leintwardine and had grown up amongst the villagers.

  The village is decorated

  The village looked beautiful, and it was said that if magic had been used it could not have been transformed in a shorter time. Everyone no matter what their age or status lent a hand and brought something to add to the appearance of the village, many remarking that it was not enough to show their affection for the bride. There were floral arches with flags at every turn, and indeed there seemed to be something of a competitive streak in some of the constructors, with everyone striving to outdo everyone else.
  It seems that Eliza was always ready to be charitable and kind, but without any vanity or pride. Poor and rich alike loved her.

  The Wedding

  At ten in the morning, the wedding party departed from Seedly House – four carriages were used; the first containing William Mason, the bride and the bride’s sister. It was a brand new and very elegant carriage, built by Griffiths of Ludlow and it was much admired. The whole party included Mr. and Mrs.Mason,Miss Elizabeth Mason, Miss Lucy and Miss Alice Mason (both bridesmaids), Mr. W. Mason,Mr.G. Mason, and J.Beard who was best man.
  At the church a throng of very esteemed people from near and far had gathered; the church had been tastefully decorated with ivy and creepers, and lovely white flowers.
  Once the ceremony in front of 500 people was over, the bells rang out in glorious peal as the wedding party made their way outside – they more or less had to force their way through the crowds of well wishers, and some twenty children from the National School all dressed in white threw flowers from baskets onto the carpet covered path.
  In addition, twelve white dressed girls held wreaths of flowers to form a floral arch under which the wedding party had to pass on their way back to Seedly House to partake of a splendid lunch after which the happy couple set off to Craven Arms station en route for London. Their departure was marked by a huge amount of old shoes being thrown at them with enthusiastic cheering and many prayers and good wishes for health and happiness.

  1841 – Seedly House Household

   

  William Mason	31
  Rebecca Mason	31
  William Mason	6
  Jane Mason	5
  Rebecca Mason	4
  Mary Mason	3
  Eliza Mason	2
  Elizabeth Mason	11 months

   

  1851 – Seedly House Household

  William Mason	41	Landed Proprietor	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Rebecca Mason	42	Wife	b. Mangotsfield, Gloucestershire
  Jane Mason	15	Daughter	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Rebecca Mason	14	Daughter	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Mary Mason	12	Daughter	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Eliza Mason	11	Daughter	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Elizabeth Mason	10	Daughter	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Lucy Mason	4	Daughter	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Frances Mason	3	Daughter	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Margaret Taylor	30	Cook	b. Salop
  Caroline Woodhouse	24	Housemaid	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Margaret Williams	13	Nurse	b. Salop
  John Harris	31	Groom	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire

  1861 – Seedly House Household

  William Mason	51	Magistrate, Deputy Lieut. Of County of Herefordshire	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Rebecca Haynes Mason	52	Wife	b. Mangotsfield, Gloucestershire
  Eliza Ann Mason	21	Daughter	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Elizabeth Mason	20	Daughter	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Lucy Mason	14	Daughter	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Frances Alice Mason	13	Daughter	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Elizabeth Wright	22	Visitor	b. Wentworth, Derbyshire
  Emma Jones	??	Housemaid	b. Bromfield, Salop
  Mary Ann Savage	22	Cook	b. Herefordshire

  1871 – Seedly House Household

  William Mason	61	Magistrate and landowner	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  George J. Mason	27	Son	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Clara Mason	23	Daughter in law and farmers wife	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Nelly Mason	3	Grand Daughter	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  William Mason	11 months	Grandson	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  George Griffiths	21	Groom and general domestic servant	b. Herefordshire
  Fanny Griffiths	19	Cook	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Jasmine Davies	15	Housemaid	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire
  Ada Jones	12	Undermaid	b. Leintwardine, Herefordshire

   

  By 1881 George was a widower and had moved to farm in Downton Rock, and Charles Longueville Clerke eventually moved into Seedly House.  He was born in Oswestry and educated at Rugby before going up to Cambridge University, initially at Trinity but he migrated to Christs.  He remained unmarried all his life, and died at Seedly house in 1910.

   

  1901 – Seedly House Household

  Charles Longueville Clerke	71	Living on own means	b. Salop
  Mary Wiles	50	cook	b. Salop
  Jane Bayliss	35	Parlourmaid	b. Brimfield, Herefordshire
  James Hughes	49	Groomsman	b. Onibury, Salop
  Clara Evans	16	Kitchenmaid	b. Radnor

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News from the Past Leintwardine

• Leintwardine News from the Past

  Fire, guns and deadly lip balm – Leintwardine was accident prone

  1833 – Serious Fire at Leintwardine

  Mr. Harris, a butcher of Leintwardine, had left home to travel to Rhayader fair, taking all of his ready cash with him, which turned out to be most fortunate.

  Whilst he was away, one of his servants had to give a drench to a cow, and put a lit candle on the floor so that he could see what he was doing.  Unfortunately, the candle set fire to the straw and before help could be procured, the whole premises including the house were consumed by the flames.  Fortunately, although with great difficulty, Mrs. Harris and other inmates were removed to safety.

  1846 – Gun Accident in Leintwardine

  William Meyrick was a servant to Mr. Evans of Copball, and had been given a gun in order to scare off the crows from the crops.

  A witness by the name of Thomas Morris saw William in the field with the gun, and he was leaning on the muzzle end.  Not long afterwards, he heard a bang, and on investigating found William with a wound under his arm which he could see involved his left lung.  William apparently said that he had put three or four pebbles in the gun and it had accidentally gone off as he was leaning on it.

  He died a few days later.

  1851 – Child Burnt to Death at Leintwardine

  This is representative of the horrific number of similar cases for every town and village.

  Ann Catstree, an infant child, was left alone in the house when her clothing caught fire.  She died shortly afterwards.

  1860 – Woman Dies after using Tallow as a Lip Balm

  The eldest daughter of Edward Meredith of Mock-tree Lime Works in Leintwardine, found that she had very cracked lips after being out in the wind one day, so thought that she would use a white tallow candle to ease them.

  Shortly afterwards, her lips began to swell up, and although two doctors attended to her it was to no avail and her lips got bigger and bigger until she was in agony.  She died two days later, and it was supposed that the candle tallow contained something poisonous, or that the fat used had decomposed.

  1862 – Leintwardine Temperance Movement

  The temperance cause in Leintwardine was very popular and the society flourished.

  People were happy to see the reclamation of drunkards who were pests in the area, and even those who were not happy with teetotalism were kindly disposed when seeing these beneficial results.

  A meeting of the Leintwarding Temperance Society which took place in August was voted a complete success, beginning with Mr. Blackmore’s brass band arriving in the village, and they were joined by various adults bearing flags and banners.

  Eventually they arrived at the house of W. Mason of Seedly House where a big tent had been erected and decorated with flowers and mottoes teaching the “evil of strong drinks”.

  Hundreds of people had a jolly good tea with plum cake.

  (Not sure that there is much sign of temperance in Herefordshire these days!)

  1862 –  Children and Axes do not Mix

  The wife of labourer Thomas Lewis of Leinwardine had been chopping sticks, and then left the house leaving the axe on the floor in view of her two children ages three  and one and a half.

  Whilst she was away, the older child picked up the axe and managed to chop of the fore finger of the toddler’s hand, also very nearly severing the other three fingers.

  The poor child was treated by T. Jackman esq., the local surgeon, and progressed well.

   

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1833 – Serious Fire at Leintwardine

Mr. Harris, a butcher of Leintwardine, had left home to travel to Rhayader fair, taking all of his ready cash with him, which turned out to be most fortunate.

Whilst he was away, one of his servants had to give a drench to a cow, and put a lit candle on the floor so that he could see what he was doing.  Unfortunately, the candle set fire to the straw and before help could be procured, the whole premises including the house were consumed by the flames.  Fortunately, although with great difficulty, Mrs. Harris and other inmates were removed to safety.

1846 – Gun Accident in Leintwardine

William Meyrick was a servant to Mr. Evans of Copball, and had been given a gun in order to scare off the crows from the crops.

A witness by the name of Thomas Morris saw William in the field with the gun, and he was leaning on the muzzle end.  Not long afterwards, he heard a bang, and on investigating found William with a wound under his arm which he could see involved his left lung.  William apparently said that he had put three or four pebbles in the gun and it had accidentally gone off as he was leaning on it.

He died a few days later.

1851 – Child Burnt to Death at Leintwardine

This is representative of the horrific number of similar cases for every town and village.

Ann Catstree, an infant child, was left alone in the house when her clothing caught fire.  She died shortly afterwards.

1860 – Woman Dies after using Tallow as a Lip Balm

The eldest daughter of Edward Meredith of Mock-tree Lime Works in Leintwardine, found that she had very cracked lips after being out in the wind one day, so thought that she would use a white tallow candle to ease them.

Shortly afterwards, her lips began to swell up, and although two doctors attended to her it was to no avail and her lips got bigger and bigger until she was in agony.  She died two days later, and it was supposed that the candle tallow contained something poisonous, or that the fat used had decomposed.

1862 – Leintwardine Temperance Movement

The temperance cause in Leintwardine was very popular and the society flourished.

People were happy to see the reclamation of drunkards who were pests in the area, and even those who were not happy with teetotalism were kindly disposed when seeing these beneficial results.

A meeting of the Leintwarding Temperance Society which took place in August was voted a complete success, beginning with Mr. Blackmore’s brass band arriving in the village, and they were joined by various adults bearing flags and banners.

Eventually they arrived at the house of W. Mason of Seedly House where a big tent had been erected and decorated with flowers and mottoes teaching the “evil of strong drinks”.

Hundreds of people had a jolly good tea with plum cake.

(Not sure that there is much sign of temperance in Herefordshire these days!)

1862 –  Children and Axes do not Mix

The wife of labourer Thomas Lewis of Leinwardine had been chopping sticks, and then left the house leaving the axe on the floor in view of her two children ages three  and one and a half.

Whilst she was away, the older child picked up the axe and managed to chop of the fore finger of the toddler’s hand, also very nearly severing the other three fingers.

The poor child was treated by T. Jackman esq., the local surgeon, and progressed well.

A typical middle class 19th century wedding

In May 1863, one of the daughters of William Mason of Seedly House, Eliza, married Mr. C. Wright and the Leintwardine villagers made much of the occasion.

An early morning start

At five in the morning, the boom of a cannon woke everyone up, and an hour later all the villagers were hard at work making the preparations for the wedding party. Arches and other emblems were erected to show respect for the house of Seedly, but there was also a very genuine love for the bride who had been born in Leintwardine and had grown up amongst the villagers.

The village is decorated

The village looked beautiful, and it was said that if magic had been used it could not have been transformed in a shorter time. Everyone no matter what their age or status lent a hand and brought something to add to the appearance of the village, many remarking that it was not enough to show their affection for the bride. There were floral arches with flags at every turn, and indeed there seemed to be something of a competitive streak in some of the constructors, with everyone striving to outdo everyone else.
It seems that Eliza was always ready to be charitable and kind, but without any vanity or pride. Poor and rich alike loved her.

The Wedding

At ten in the morning, the wedding party departed from Seedly House – four carriages were used; the first containing William Mason, the bride and the bride’s sister. It was a brand new and very elegant carriage, built by Griffiths of Ludlow and it was much admired. The whole party included Mr. and Mrs.Mason,Miss Elizabeth Mason, Miss Lucy and Miss Alice Mason (both bridesmaids), Mr. W. Mason,Mr.G. Mason, and J.Beard who was best man.
At the church a throng of very esteemed people from near and far had gathered; the church had been tastefully decorated with ivy and creepers, and lovely white flowers.
Once the ceremony in front of 500 people was over, the bells rang out in glorious peal as the wedding party made their way outside – they more or less had to force their way through the crowds of well wishers, and some twenty children from the National School all dressed in white threw flowers from baskets onto the carpet covered path.
In addition, twelve white dressed girls held wreaths of flowers to form a floral arch under which the wedding party had to pass on their way back to Seedly House to partake of a splendid lunch after which the happy couple set off to Craven Arms station en route for London. Their departure was marked by a huge amount of old shoes being thrown at them with enthusiastic cheering and many prayers and good wishes for health and happiness.

1841 – Seedly House Household

1851 – Seedly House Household

1861 – Seedly House Household

1871 – Seedly House Household

By 1881 George was a widower and had moved to farm in Downton Rock, and Charles Longueville Clerke eventually moved into Seedly House.  He was born in Oswestry and educated at Rugby before going up to Cambridge University, initially at Trinity but he migrated to Christs.  He remained unmarried all his life, and died at Seedly house in 1910.

1901 – Seedly House Household