In  August 1831, one of the church bells was stolen and taken a fair distance to be hidden under an archway.  Fortunately, it was discovered and put back in the church.

St Mary’s was restored in the nineteenth century and reopened in July 1867.

The service was choral performed by the Mansel Lacy choir, and Miss Elmer played the harmonium.

The windows were filled with stained and quarry glass at the expense of Mr. Boughton Knight, and the roof, walls and windows were restored;  there were new open seats and a new porch.

Font

12th century, although it is thought that the base may have been altered at some time

Thomas Knight’s Childhood

He was the youngest son of Reverend Thomas Knight, and at the age of 3 his father died – nobody seemed to bother with his education, and at nine he was still unable to read or write.  He was however hugely observant, and one day he spotted the gardener planting some beans in the ground;  he asked why they were being buried and was told that they would grow into plants which would bear more beans.  When the event happened as promised, he decided to plant his pocket knife in the hope of growing more knives, but when nothing happened he considered the cause of the difference in the two cases……….these early thoughts led to his later brilliance with plants.

Thomas Knight’s Schooling

Thomas was eventually sent to school at Ludlow, and was then moved to Chiswick.

Although he went to Balliol College, Oxford University, he didn’t stay long enough to take a degree, choosing instead to return to Herefordshire to take up rural pursuits and indulge his keen interest in all things horticultural, funded partly by an inheritance from his grandfather, the wealthy ironworker Richard Knight.
Thomas married Frances Felton in 1791, after moving to Elton Hall near Ludlow, and began to seriously settle to working on development and cultivation of fruit and vegetables, building a walled garden, and installing hothouses.

He was described as being very knowledgeable of the classics and higher branches of mathematics, as well as on subjects of general information.

He was an active Magistrate, and a promoter of every public improvement.

Thomas Andrew Knight & the Horticultural Society

Thomas wrote a paper entitled “The grafting of fruit trees”, in which he noted how many old varieties of fruit trees were disappearing, and talked about the causes of disease, and this paper was noticed by Sir Joseph Banks of the London Horticultural Society. Sir Joseph was greatly encouraging and the pair frequently corresponded.
In 1809 Thomas Knight inherited the large estate of Downton Castle from his brother, and he was able to continue his research and to breed vast quantities of disease resistance fruit trees. His work didn’t stop with trees – vegetables also came into the equation, including peas, cabbages, potatoes and strawberrys.
The fruits of his labours (sorry!) were quickly adopted by others, and before long everyone was planting his new disease resistance trees and vegetables and were getting great results.
In 1804 Thomas Knight became a founder member of the Horticultural Society London, which later became the Royal Horticultural Society, and in 1811 he was elected President – he was re-elected every year until his death in 1838.

The Death of Thomas Knight Jnr.

Thomas Knight Junior, the son of the above Thomas Andrew Knight was born in 1796 and died tragically in 1827.

His death was a tragic accident;  one Thursday, a party of his friends met at his father’s mansion preparatory to the Ludlow Assembly that evening of which he was to have been President.  In the morning, they went hunting but returned early when no fox was found.

Thomas Knight was keen to further entertain his friends, so took a couple of them pheasant shooting in the woods near Downton.  About a mile from the castle, a pheasant rose, and one friend brought up his gun to shoot – at the very instant that he pulled the trigger, Thomas came from behind a tree into the line of shot, and received most of the charge which entered one eye and penetrated his brain.

The friend was beside himself with horror and remorse whilst Thomas was taken home where two surgeons, Baines and Wakefield, declared that they were very much afraid that Thomas was in great danger.

Thomas died at ten the following morning surrounded by family.  He was just 31.

The Hereford Journal Eulogy

Blessed with an understanding of the first order – heir to a large fortune – and rich in mental endowments, Mr. Knight was equally remarkable for his unassuming deportment, his exemplary moral worth, his contempt for the vicious, and his respect for the virtuous.

He was a most affectionate son and brother, a kind and indulgent landlord almost adored by his tenants, and to the poor, a discriminating and benevolent friend.  Whilst a mere youth he had selected the sterile regions of the north as the first sphere of his travels, and escaped many perils in the adventurous excursion.  He afterwards visited the Continent, and with a mind improved by travel, and a truly English heart, despising the littleness which seeks distinction amongst the follies of the age, he chose the nobler and more virtuous career of usefulness;  and in the bosom of his affectionate and admiring family, fulfilled the amiable duties of an English country gentleman.  He gave employment alike generous and considerate to all the poor and aged around him, visiting them at their humble dwellings with a courtesy that enhanced even the boons of charity and kindness;  and providing for their wants and the permanent welfare of their families, he was justly termed the poor man’s friend.

By his equals he was universally beloved, admired and respected, and was distinguished by liberality, generosity, benevolence and charity.

He gave bright promise of future eminence in the more imposing duties of public life, by the best of all pledges, moral worth, in a private station, and those duties he would have doubtless been called upon to fulfil if providence had spared him.

To the truth of all we have shortly said, the deep regrets alike of the rich and the poor in the vicinity of Mr. Knight’s late happy residence and of his friends in more distance places, bear ample testimony, and by them his virtues will long be remembered, and his early death deeply lamented as a serious private calamity and a public loss.

The Burial Place of Thomas Andrew Knight

He was buried at Wormsley, near to the tomb of his uncle, the late R.P. Knight.

Churches of Wormsley

• St. Mary's Church - Wormsley

  This dear, simple little church is now sadly redundant but it is one of around 300 churches throughout England which are looked after by the Churches Conservation Trust.

  In  August 1831, one of the church bells was stolen and taken a fair distance to be hidden under an archway.  Fortunately, it was discovered and put back in the church.

  St Mary’s was restored in the nineteenth century and reopened in July 1867.

  The service was choral performed by the Mansel Lacy choir, and Miss Elmer played the harmonium.

  The windows were filled with stained and quarry glass at the expense of Mr. Boughton Knight, and the roof, walls and windows were restored;  there were new open seats and a new porch.

   

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Font

  12th century, although it is thought that the base may have been altered at some time

   

   

  

   

   

  Read More >

News from the Past Wormsley

• Wormsley News from the Past

  Death in a barn at Wormsley

   1855 – Death in a Barn at Wormsley

  Eliza Evans, a child aged 16months, was with her father, a hawker and drover,  and mother when they arrived at Wormsley from King’s Pyon, and they went to sleep in a barn.

  They had eaten well on food donated by kind people, and the child had seemed to enjoy it before going to sleep in her mother’s arms.  However, in the night she became very unwell and died almost immediately.

  The jury at the inquest returned a verdict of Died by the Sudden Visitation of God, but added that death was probably accelerated by the child being out in a barn in severe weather.

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Read More >

People of Wormsley

• Thomas Andrew Knight

  Thomas Andrew Knight was born at Wormsley Grange on 10th October 1758 and grew up in the orchards of Herefordshire.  He died in 1838 in London

  Thomas Knight’s Childhood

  He was the youngest son of Reverend Thomas Knight, and at the age of 3 his father died – nobody seemed to bother with his education, and at nine he was still unable to read or write.  He was however hugely observant, and one day he spotted the gardener planting some beans in the ground;  he asked why they were being buried and was told that they would grow into plants which would bear more beans.  When the event happened as promised, he decided to plant his pocket knife in the hope of growing more knives, but when nothing happened he considered the cause of the difference in the two cases……….these early thoughts led to his later brilliance with plants.

  Thomas Knight’s Schooling

  Thomas was eventually sent to school at Ludlow, and was then moved to Chiswick.

  Although he went to Balliol College, Oxford University, he didn’t stay long enough to take a degree, choosing instead to return to Herefordshire to take up rural pursuits and indulge his keen interest in all things horticultural, funded partly by an inheritance from his grandfather, the wealthy ironworker Richard Knight.
  Thomas married Frances Felton in 1791, after moving to Elton Hall near Ludlow, and began to seriously settle to working on development and cultivation of fruit and vegetables, building a walled garden, and installing hothouses.

  He was described as being very knowledgeable of the classics and higher branches of mathematics, as well as on subjects of general information.

  He was an active Magistrate, and a promoter of every public improvement.

  Thomas Andrew Knight & the Horticultural Society

  Thomas wrote a paper entitled “The grafting of fruit trees”, in which he noted how many old varieties of fruit trees were disappearing, and talked about the causes of disease, and this paper was noticed by Sir Joseph Banks of the London Horticultural Society. Sir Joseph was greatly encouraging and the pair frequently corresponded.
  In 1809 Thomas Knight inherited the large estate of Downton Castle from his brother, and he was able to continue his research and to breed vast quantities of disease resistance fruit trees. His work didn’t stop with trees – vegetables also came into the equation, including peas, cabbages, potatoes and strawberrys.
  The fruits of his labours (sorry!) were quickly adopted by others, and before long everyone was planting his new disease resistance trees and vegetables and were getting great results.
  In 1804 Thomas Knight became a founder member of the Horticultural Society London, which later became the Royal Horticultural Society, and in 1811 he was elected President – he was re-elected every year until his death in 1838.

  The Death of Thomas Knight Jnr.

  Thomas Knight Junior, the son of the above Thomas Andrew Knight was born in 1796 and died tragically in 1827.

  His death was a tragic accident;  one Thursday, a party of his friends met at his father’s mansion preparatory to the Ludlow Assembly that evening of which he was to have been President.  In the morning, they went hunting but returned early when no fox was found.

  Thomas Knight was keen to further entertain his friends, so took a couple of them pheasant shooting in the woods near Downton.  About a mile from the castle, a pheasant rose, and one friend brought up his gun to shoot – at the very instant that he pulled the trigger, Thomas came from behind a tree into the line of shot, and received most of the charge which entered one eye and penetrated his brain.

  The friend was beside himself with horror and remorse whilst Thomas was taken home where two surgeons, Baines and Wakefield, declared that they were very much afraid that Thomas was in great danger.

  Thomas died at ten the following morning surrounded by family.  He was just 31.

  The Hereford Journal Eulogy

  Blessed with an understanding of the first order – heir to a large fortune – and rich in mental endowments, Mr. Knight was equally remarkable for his unassuming deportment, his exemplary moral worth, his contempt for the vicious, and his respect for the virtuous.

  He was a most affectionate son and brother, a kind and indulgent landlord almost adored by his tenants, and to the poor, a discriminating and benevolent friend.  Whilst a mere youth he had selected the sterile regions of the north as the first sphere of his travels, and escaped many perils in the adventurous excursion.  He afterwards visited the Continent, and with a mind improved by travel, and a truly English heart, despising the littleness which seeks distinction amongst the follies of the age, he chose the nobler and more virtuous career of usefulness;  and in the bosom of his affectionate and admiring family, fulfilled the amiable duties of an English country gentleman.  He gave employment alike generous and considerate to all the poor and aged around him, visiting them at their humble dwellings with a courtesy that enhanced even the boons of charity and kindness;  and providing for their wants and the permanent welfare of their families, he was justly termed the poor man’s friend.

  By his equals he was universally beloved, admired and respected, and was distinguished by liberality, generosity, benevolence and charity.

  He gave bright promise of future eminence in the more imposing duties of public life, by the best of all pledges, moral worth, in a private station, and those duties he would have doubtless been called upon to fulfil if providence had spared him.

  To the truth of all we have shortly said, the deep regrets alike of the rich and the poor in the vicinity of Mr. Knight’s late happy residence and of his friends in more distance places, bear ample testimony, and by them his virtues will long be remembered, and his early death deeply lamented as a serious private calamity and a public loss.

  The Burial Place of Thomas Andrew Knight

  He was buried at Wormsley, near to the tomb of his uncle, the late R.P. Knight.

   

   

  Read More >

Buildings of Wormsley

• Wormsley Grange History

  Wormsley Grange was built in around the mid 18th century, and is best known for being the birthplace of Richard Payne Knight, the landscape theorist, and his brother Thomas Andrew Knight the renowned horticulturist who planted his hugely successful experimental fruit orchards in the grounds.

  Thomas Andrew Knight was responsible for developing much of the fruit and vegetables that we enjoy now, and he was mentioned in Darwin’s The Origin of Species for his work on cultivated plants.

  Click here to read more about Thomas Knight at Downton Castle.

  Richard Payne Knight

  Richard Payne Knight was born in 1750, and was a sickly child who didn’t attend school until he was 14; he went on the Grand Tour to Italy in 1767 and remained there for a few years. Richard returned to Italy time and again and by all accounts at this time he was rather a shy young man, and a tad dull but remarkably intelligent.

   
  However, once back in Herefordshire he set about designing and building the castellated mansion, Downton Castle  near Ludlow, and he achieved some acclaim for his unorthodox architectural skills. He was better received for his natural landscape designs.

   
  Richard Payne Knight became an MP and retained his Ludlow seat for 22 years; he wrote poetry in his spare time, but his offerings didn’t go down well with pundits such as Horace Walpole – he ended up being blackballed by the Literary Club in 1795 and became known as “the Pagan”. All this notwithstanding, he was a founder of the British Institution in 1805, and never stopped striving to expand his literary and fine art knowledge.
  In 1809 Richard gave Downton Castle to his brother Thomas, and went to London where he enjoyed endless dinner parties, and ate rather more than any person should – in consequence of which he became somewhat large and died of a stroke in 1824.
  He was buried in the churchyard at Wormsley.

   

  Click here for more on Downton Castle and Richard Payne Knight

  Wormsley Grange passed through many hands down the years; for example in the 1830s it was lived in and farmed by a Mr. Reynolds. When he packed up and moved out the following advert appeared in the local papers which leads me to believe that Mr. Reynolds was a keen breeder of horses:
  Sale of Valuable Live and Dead Stock
  Grey Mare, Derby, 6 years old.
  Grey Mare, Jolly, 6 years old
  Black Gelding, Surly, 6 years old
  Black Mare, Diamond, 6 years old
  Black Mare, Lester, 6 years old
  Black Mare, Bunting, 6 years old
  Black Mare, Blackbird in foal to Suffolk horse
  Entire Suffolk horse, aged, warranted perfectly sound; a good worker, free from vice and a sure foal getter.
  Brown Cart Gelding, rising 3 years by Young Merriman, dam Blackbird
  Chestnut Filly rising 2 by Suffolk Horse, dam Blackbird
  Chestnut Colt, rising 2 by Suffolk Horse, dam Bunting
  Yearling Colt by Suffolk House, dam Bunting

  Bay Gelding, 16 hands, aged, quiet in harness
  Brown Galloway filly, 4, with good action
  Brown filly, 15 hands, in fine condition, 5, by General
  Brown filly, rising 4 dam by Lishmahago
  Brown gelding rising 3, by Young Merriman, dam by Master Henry (promising to make a fine match horse)
  Grey Gelding rising 3, by Fitznoble, dam by Ludlow (a very promising colt)
  Chestnut Colt rising 2, by Tom Brown, dam by Lishmahago
  Bay colt, rising 2, by Suffolk horse
  Yearling black Filly by Suffolk horse, dam by Lishmahago

  Following Mr. Reynolds came Edmund Leader, who specialised in pure bred Hereford cattle, all of which were descended from the celebrated herd of Mr. Wheeler of Ivington.
  On his death in 1841, all the stock was put up for sale, along with the contents of Wormsley Grange and the advertisement gives an insight into how the house was furnished:

  Excellent Brussels carpets; hearth rugs, fenders and fire irons; handsome mahogany 12 foot dining table; mahogany and other chairs; mahogany round two leaf and Pembroke tables; mahogany sofa with satin hair covering; oil table covers; clock faced barometer; butler’s tray and stand; excellent 8 day clock; a splendid Spanish mahogany four post bedstead with cornice poles, brass rings and elegant drab damask furniture; other four post and tent bedsteads, straw palliasses, superior goose feather beds, bolsters and pillows; Witney blankets, Marseilles quilts and cotton counterpanes; elegant mahogany wardroble, mahogany and other chests with drawers, swing dressing glasses; wash stands and chamber ware; night commodes and dressing tables; bed-round carpets and chamber horses; roller blinds; eight pairs of flaxen sheets, twelve pillow cases; 6 damask tablecloths; 12 chamber towels etc. and a large variety of dairy, kitchen and culinary requisites. A quantity of china, glass and earthenware.

  Edward Farr then took over Wormsley Grange, and he remained there until his death; his wife died a few years later and their eldest son Richard took over the running of the farm.

  Wormsley Grange remains a working farm to this day.

  1851 – Wormsley Grange Household

  Jane Farr	53	Widow, farmer of 500 acres employing 10 labourers	b. Carmarthenshire, Wales
  Richard Farr	24	Son	b. St Peters, Carmarthenshire, Wales
  William Farr	19	Son	b. St. Peters, Carmarthenshire, Wales
  Robert Farr	17	Son	b. St. Peters, Carmarthenshire, Wales
  Eliza Daniel	18	Niece	b. St. Peters, Carmarthenshire, Wales
  Susannah Morgan	15	House Servant	b. Radnorshire, Wales
  George Tomkins	28	Farm Labourer	b. Norton Canon, Herefordshire
  Thomas Price	23	Farm Labourer	b. Herefordshire
  William Jones	12	Farm Labourer	b. Hampton, Gloucestershire
  John Pugh	40	Farm Labourer	b. Herefordshire

  1861 – Wormsley Grange Household

  Richard Farr	36	Farmer of 511 acres employing 10 men and 3 boys	b. Carmarthenshire, Wales
  Annie Farr	32	Wife	b. Carmarthenshire, Wales
  W.A. Aubrey Farr	5	Son	b. Wormsley, Herefordshire
  C Sylverwood Hall	20	Pupil learning farming	b. Alfreton, Derbyshire
  Harriet Bayley	21	Housemaid	b. Mordiford, Herefordshire
  Joan Williams	56	Cook	b. Brecknockshire, Wales

  1871 – Wormsley Grange Household

  William Pinder	71	Chelsea Pensioner and Bailiff	b. Lincolnshire
  Elizabeth Pinder	66	Wife	b. Shropshire
  John Rollins	32	Lodger – Labourer	b. Gloucestershire

  1881 – Wormsley Grange, Household

  Susanna Moss	55	Farmer 506 acres	b. Paddington, Middlesex
  Mary A. Horn	46	Sister, widow	b. Paddington, Middlesex
  Thomas Bowen	20	Groom	b. Credenhill, Herefordshire
  Sarah A. Pinfold	30	Cook	b. Knowle, Warwickshire
  Mary Sirrell (?)	24	Housemaid	b. Kinnersley, Herefordshire
  Anne Gunter	15	General Domestic Servant	b. Birley, Herefordshire

  1891  – Wormsley Grange Household

  Dennis James	27	Farmer	b. London
  Emilie James	30	Wife	b. Clapham, London
  Bessie James	4	Daughter	b. Weobley, Herefordshire
  Reginald Dennis James	3	Son	b. Weobley, Herefordshire
  Herbert Davies	20	Groom	b. Weobley, Herefordshire
  Kate Emily White	25	Governess	b. Gloucestershire
  Mary Ann Morris	22	Cook	b. Herefordshire

  Read More >

Thomas Andrew Knight was responsible for developing much of the fruit and vegetables that we enjoy now, and he was mentioned in Darwin’s The Origin of Species for his work on cultivated plants.

Click here to read more about Thomas Knight at Downton Castle.

Richard Payne Knight

Richard Payne Knight was born in 1750, and was a sickly child who didn’t attend school until he was 14; he went on the Grand Tour to Italy in 1767 and remained there for a few years. Richard returned to Italy time and again and by all accounts at this time he was rather a shy young man, and a tad dull but remarkably intelligent.

 
However, once back in Herefordshire he set about designing and building the castellated mansion, Downton Castle  near Ludlow, and he achieved some acclaim for his unorthodox architectural skills. He was better received for his natural landscape designs.

 
Richard Payne Knight became an MP and retained his Ludlow seat for 22 years; he wrote poetry in his spare time, but his offerings didn’t go down well with pundits such as Horace Walpole – he ended up being blackballed by the Literary Club in 1795 and became known as “the Pagan”. All this notwithstanding, he was a founder of the British Institution in 1805, and never stopped striving to expand his literary and fine art knowledge.
In 1809 Richard gave Downton Castle to his brother Thomas, and went to London where he enjoyed endless dinner parties, and ate rather more than any person should – in consequence of which he became somewhat large and died of a stroke in 1824.
He was buried in the churchyard at Wormsley.

Click here for more on Downton Castle and Richard Payne Knight

Wormsley Grange passed through many hands down the years; for example in the 1830s it was lived in and farmed by a Mr. Reynolds. When he packed up and moved out the following advert appeared in the local papers which leads me to believe that Mr. Reynolds was a keen breeder of horses:
Sale of Valuable Live and Dead Stock
Grey Mare, Derby, 6 years old.
Grey Mare, Jolly, 6 years old
Black Gelding, Surly, 6 years old
Black Mare, Diamond, 6 years old
Black Mare, Lester, 6 years old
Black Mare, Bunting, 6 years old
Black Mare, Blackbird in foal to Suffolk horse
Entire Suffolk horse, aged, warranted perfectly sound; a good worker, free from vice and a sure foal getter.
Brown Cart Gelding, rising 3 years by Young Merriman, dam Blackbird
Chestnut Filly rising 2 by Suffolk Horse, dam Blackbird
Chestnut Colt, rising 2 by Suffolk Horse, dam Bunting
Yearling Colt by Suffolk House, dam Bunting

Bay Gelding, 16 hands, aged, quiet in harness
Brown Galloway filly, 4, with good action
Brown filly, 15 hands, in fine condition, 5, by General
Brown filly, rising 4 dam by Lishmahago
Brown gelding rising 3, by Young Merriman, dam by Master Henry (promising to make a fine match horse)
Grey Gelding rising 3, by Fitznoble, dam by Ludlow (a very promising colt)
Chestnut Colt rising 2, by Tom Brown, dam by Lishmahago
Bay colt, rising 2, by Suffolk horse
Yearling black Filly by Suffolk horse, dam by Lishmahago

Following Mr. Reynolds came Edmund Leader, who specialised in pure bred Hereford cattle, all of which were descended from the celebrated herd of Mr. Wheeler of Ivington.
On his death in 1841, all the stock was put up for sale, along with the contents of Wormsley Grange and the advertisement gives an insight into how the house was furnished:

Excellent Brussels carpets; hearth rugs, fenders and fire irons; handsome mahogany 12 foot dining table; mahogany and other chairs; mahogany round two leaf and Pembroke tables; mahogany sofa with satin hair covering; oil table covers; clock faced barometer; butler’s tray and stand; excellent 8 day clock; a splendid Spanish mahogany four post bedstead with cornice poles, brass rings and elegant drab damask furniture; other four post and tent bedsteads, straw palliasses, superior goose feather beds, bolsters and pillows; Witney blankets, Marseilles quilts and cotton counterpanes; elegant mahogany wardroble, mahogany and other chests with drawers, swing dressing glasses; wash stands and chamber ware; night commodes and dressing tables; bed-round carpets and chamber horses; roller blinds; eight pairs of flaxen sheets, twelve pillow cases; 6 damask tablecloths; 12 chamber towels etc. and a large variety of dairy, kitchen and culinary requisites. A quantity of china, glass and earthenware.

Edward Farr then took over Wormsley Grange, and he remained there until his death; his wife died a few years later and their eldest son Richard took over the running of the farm.

Wormsley Grange remains a working farm to this day.

1851 – Wormsley Grange Household

1861 – Wormsley Grange Household

1871 – Wormsley Grange Household

1881 – Wormsley Grange, Household

1891  – Wormsley Grange Household

 1855 – Death in a Barn at Wormsley

Eliza Evans, a child aged 16months, was with her father, a hawker and drover,  and mother when they arrived at Wormsley from King’s Pyon, and they went to sleep in a barn.

They had eaten well on food donated by kind people, and the child had seemed to enjoy it before going to sleep in her mother’s arms.  However, in the night she became very unwell and died almost immediately.

The jury at the inquest returned a verdict of Died by the Sudden Visitation of God, but added that death was probably accelerated by the child being out in a barn in severe weather.