Churches of Sarnesfield

• St. Mary's Church - Sarnesfield

  Parts of St. Mary’s church are 12th century, with the tower being added in the late 13th century. There was major restoration in the late 19th and early 20th century.

   

   

   

  

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News from the Past Sarnesfield

• Sarnesfield News from the Past

  Bigamy, John Abell’s tomb and more

  1846 – Unfortunate Victim of Double Accident at Sarnesfield

  The son of Mr. Powell of Batch Farm, Sarnesfield Court, was going home with his father’s team of horses which were pulling a cart laden with flag stones from New Radnor.

  When he started down Bilmoor’s Pitch, the brake slipper came away from beneath the wheel of the cart due to the poor state of the road caused by the recent heavy rains, and the cart ran forward unchecked.

  The cart ran into the shaft horse which Powell Junior was holding by the bridle, and the poor animal fell, taking Powell with it;  he broke one of his legs in two places but he was very lucky not to have been killed.

  His misfortune was not yet over though, because as he was being taken home on a light cart procured from Walton,  field workers saw him and rushed over to find out what had happened, and to ply him with cider and beer.  During the excitement the horse pulling the light cart (one that had been in the original accident, and was therefore in a nervous state no doubt) took fright and bolted for home, bouncing the cart and Mr. Powell Junior all over the place until it reached the wainhouse.

  It was rather surprising that Mr. Powell survived this second incident, and was not dashed to pieces!

  1848 – Common Cause of Death

  This sort of thing happened time and time again, and was one of the most common causes of death of waggoners.

  Thomas Preece, aged 15, had been sent by a Mr. Edwards of Pembridge for whom he was working, to fetch a plough from the blacksmith’s shop.

  Thomas took a horse and cart, and decided to ride on the shafts (an illegal practice) – unfortunately the horse took fright and bolted, causing Thomas to fall off the shafts and under the wheels of the cart, where he was killed outright.

  1851 – John Abell – Tombstone at Sarnesfield

  John Abell, the celebrated builder from the time of James I and Charles I, had been buried in Sarnesfield Churchyard beneath a monument commissioned by himself at the age of 90.

  John Abell was responsible for the Town Halls of Hereford and Leominster, the Butchers’ Hall in Hereford market and many other Herefordshire market houses.

  He was considered an architect of great skill, but some people scorned his work saying that in many cases, i.e. Hereford Town Hall, he merely rebuilt what was already there, albeit with embellishments.

  John Abell engraved his own effigy on his tomb, showing himself kneeling between his two wives with an inscription and the emblems of his occupation.  (The rule, compass and square).  However, in 1851 much of the inscription was worn away.

  The inscription was not exactly brilliant in its poetry, but it has a simple charm:

  “This craggy stone a covering is for an Architector’s bed,

  That lofty buildings raised high, yet now lyes down his head:

  His line and rule, so death concludes, are locked up in store.

  Build they who list, or they who wist, for he can build no more.

  His house of clay could hold no longer.

  May heavens (????) frame him a stronger.”

  John Abel

   

  1857 – In Memoriam of John Abell

  At a Town Council meeting in October 1857, a letter from Richard Parry of Kington was read out, in which he solicited subscriptions towards the renovation of John Abell’s tomb in Sarnesfield churchyard.

  John Abell was described as the celebrated builder of the most remarkable wooden structures in the Kingdom, and of the town halls at Hereford, Leominster and Weobley in Herefordshire.

  All of the Council members bar two subscribed 2s 6d each.

  1860 – Case of Bigamy at Sarnesfield

  Henry Le Jeune was working as a servant for Mr. Selwyn who lived at Sarnesfield Court, and while the family were up in London he secretly married one of the maids by the name of Maynal.

  They married at the Catholic Chapel in Weobley, and when Mr. Selwyn returned home and discovered what had happened he sacked the pair of them.

  Henry then went with his wife, Maynal, to her home in Yarm in North Yorkshire, where he procured £30 of her money in order to go to Middlesborough to start up a business.  However, he never returned and Maynal went to the police who eventually found him in London……..with a woman that he married in the previous December!

  A warrant was obtained for his arrest and he was taken back to Hereford where he was committed for trial at the Assizes.

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Buildings Sarnesfield

• Sarnesfield Court History

  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.

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

  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

   

  Read More >

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

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

Sarnesfield Court Household – 1871

Sarnesfield Court Household – 1881

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

1846 – Unfortunate Victim of Double Accident at Sarnesfield

The son of Mr. Powell of Batch Farm, Sarnesfield Court, was going home with his father’s team of horses which were pulling a cart laden with flag stones from New Radnor.

When he started down Bilmoor’s Pitch, the brake slipper came away from beneath the wheel of the cart due to the poor state of the road caused by the recent heavy rains, and the cart ran forward unchecked.

The cart ran into the shaft horse which Powell Junior was holding by the bridle, and the poor animal fell, taking Powell with it;  he broke one of his legs in two places but he was very lucky not to have been killed.

His misfortune was not yet over though, because as he was being taken home on a light cart procured from Walton,  field workers saw him and rushed over to find out what had happened, and to ply him with cider and beer.  During the excitement the horse pulling the light cart (one that had been in the original accident, and was therefore in a nervous state no doubt) took fright and bolted for home, bouncing the cart and Mr. Powell Junior all over the place until it reached the wainhouse.

It was rather surprising that Mr. Powell survived this second incident, and was not dashed to pieces!

1848 – Common Cause of Death

This sort of thing happened time and time again, and was one of the most common causes of death of waggoners.

Thomas Preece, aged 15, had been sent by a Mr. Edwards of Pembridge for whom he was working, to fetch a plough from the blacksmith’s shop.

Thomas took a horse and cart, and decided to ride on the shafts (an illegal practice) – unfortunately the horse took fright and bolted, causing Thomas to fall off the shafts and under the wheels of the cart, where he was killed outright.

1851 – John Abell – Tombstone at Sarnesfield

John Abell, the celebrated builder from the time of James I and Charles I, had been buried in Sarnesfield Churchyard beneath a monument commissioned by himself at the age of 90.

John Abell was responsible for the Town Halls of Hereford and Leominster, the Butchers’ Hall in Hereford market and many other Herefordshire market houses.

He was considered an architect of great skill, but some people scorned his work saying that in many cases, i.e. Hereford Town Hall, he merely rebuilt what was already there, albeit with embellishments.

John Abell engraved his own effigy on his tomb, showing himself kneeling between his two wives with an inscription and the emblems of his occupation.  (The rule, compass and square).  However, in 1851 much of the inscription was worn away.

The inscription was not exactly brilliant in its poetry, but it has a simple charm:

“This craggy stone a covering is for an Architector’s bed,

That lofty buildings raised high, yet now lyes down his head:

His line and rule, so death concludes, are locked up in store.

Build they who list, or they who wist, for he can build no more.

His house of clay could hold no longer.

May heavens (????) frame him a stronger.”

John Abel

1857 – In Memoriam of John Abell

At a Town Council meeting in October 1857, a letter from Richard Parry of Kington was read out, in which he solicited subscriptions towards the renovation of John Abell’s tomb in Sarnesfield churchyard.

John Abell was described as the celebrated builder of the most remarkable wooden structures in the Kingdom, and of the town halls at Hereford, Leominster and Weobley in Herefordshire.

All of the Council members bar two subscribed 2s 6d each.

1860 – Case of Bigamy at Sarnesfield

Henry Le Jeune was working as a servant for Mr. Selwyn who lived at Sarnesfield Court, and while the family were up in London he secretly married one of the maids by the name of Maynal.

They married at the Catholic Chapel in Weobley, and when Mr. Selwyn returned home and discovered what had happened he sacked the pair of them.

Henry then went with his wife, Maynal, to her home in Yarm in North Yorkshire, where he procured £30 of her money in order to go to Middlesborough to start up a business.  However, he never returned and Maynal went to the police who eventually found him in London……..with a woman that he married in the previous December!

A warrant was obtained for his arrest and he was taken back to Hereford where he was committed for trial at the Assizes.