Wiltshire and its worthies: Notes topographical and biographical

Front matter

I WILTS! I IRK AND ITS W( )R'l H I KS . WILTSHIRE AND ITS WORTHIES: • NOTES TOPOGRAPHICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL. BY JOSEPH STKATFOKD, K AUTHOR OF " GOOD AND GREAT MEN Of? GLOUCESTERSHIRE," &c. &c. " There is an eager desire, of which all mankind, perhaps, are sensible, to attain some tangible or visible memorial of the great men of other days ; to visit the spots they frequented, to linger in the ruins of their habitations, the scenes in which their great deeds were performed, the tombs in which their ashes repose. " G. PoULETT SCKOPE, At Inaugural Meeting ofthe Wilts Archæological and Natural History Society, 1S53. Salisbury : BROWN AND CO LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL & CO. 1882. Salisbury : Bennett Brothers, Printers, Journal Office* THIS VOLUME JS INSCRIBED TO THE MEMORY OF A GOOD FATHER: BORN AT CRICKLADE, WILTS, 1780 ; DIED AT GLOUCESTER,

Preface

. A Wiltshire author has pithily said that a short book should no more have a long preface than a small house a large portico. According to this rule mine ought to be brief. The present volume had its origin in a series of sixteen papers which appeared in The Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard, in the spring and summer of 1881. They were introduced by the following remarks : — " It may seem an impertinence for one who is neither a native nor a resident of the county, to offer "Notes on Wiltshire and its Worthies." Generous minds will find explanation and excuse in the following facts. " My father was a Wiltshire man. My paternal grandfather sleeps under the shadow of St. Sampson's noble tower at Cricklade, a photograph of which is daily before my eyes. Other ancestors and relatives rest in the churchyards of Blunsdon, Latton, Eisey, and neighbouring parishes.

Wiltshire traditions, including the two-fold version of the moonraking legend, were "household words" in my early home ; and Stonehenge was a favourite family picture. Visits to Wiltshire were among the pleasures of my youth. Many of my most intimate friends of later life have been Wiltshire men. For twenty-seven years I resided near the north-western end of the shire, often visiting some of its towns and villages, and having much intercourse with its people. " More than a quarter of a century ago, I read to a Young Men's Society a paper on some of the Poets whose names are inseparably associated with this county. Subsequently I began to collect notes of its Worthies in general. These I intended to weave into a popular lecture, to be given at Cricklade, and at the delivery of which I had reason to think my late VI friend, the much respected Richard Mullings, Esq., of Cirencester, a native of Bishop's Cannings, and Town Clerk of Cricklade, would have presided.

Circumstances prevented my carrying this design into effect, and for a time my work was stayed. 1880, the centenary of my father's birth, recalled my attention to the subject ; and the results will be presented in the series of papers of which this is the first." In compiling these papers I was often embarrassed by the abundance of materials ; and my difficulty was to select and condense. Correspondence and further researches added to the stock, the possession of which suggested an extension of the work and its re-issue in a more permanent form. This course was also urged by friends in Wiltshire and elsewhere. In making these extensions I have received kind and valuable help from W. C. Kemm, Esq., of Amesbury. This gentleman has not only forwarded me a large quantity of interesting topographical and biographical materials, but also furnished some such excellently written sketches that I have given them with as little alteration as my plan would allow.

It was also in the heart of another gentleman of Amesbury, Job Edwards, Esq., to have afforded me kindly aid, had not illness unfortunately prevented his doing so. My thanks for the use of valuable books are due to W. R. Brown, Esq., of Trowbridge, John Mullings, Esq., of Cirencester ; and many others. Some further obligations are acknowledged in the body of the work, J. S. Gloucesteb, September, 1882. INDEX OF PERSONS. PAGE. Addison ... ... ... 162 Ailesbury, Marquis of ... 156 Aiscougli ... ... ... 61 Akerman ... ... ... 146 Aldhelm ... ... ... 13 Alleine ... ... ... 127 Alsop ... ... ... 137 Amesbury, Michael of ... 115 Arundell, Lady Blanche ... 77 Athelstan, King ... ... 15 Aubrey ... ... ... 23 Bailey ... ... ... 35 Barrett ... ... ... 34 Bayley 133 Beckford ... ... ... 76 Beckinsau ... ... ... 86 Benet ... ... ... 139 Bennett ... ... ... 105 Blackmore ... ... 37 Bowie ... ... ... 164 Bowles ... ... ... 137 Bransdon ... ... ... 139 Brewer ... ... ... 51 Bright ... ... ... 140 Brindley ... ... ... 34 Britton ... ... ... 26 Brodie ... ... ... 165 Browne, H. ... ... 116 Browne, J. H. B. ... ... 117 Buckeridge ... ... 130 PAGE.

Canutus ... ... ... 146 Centenarians ... ... 168 Cnilmarke ... ... 88 Chubb ... ... ... 106 Clarendon, Earl of ... ... 90 Colerne, William of ... ... 16 Collier ... ... ,. 110 Collinson ... ... ... 134 Corderoy ... ... ... 161 Coryat ... ... ... 102 Cottington ... ... 72 Coxe ... ... ... 100 Crabbe ... ... ... 52 Crisp ... ... ... 142 Cunnington ... ... ... 69 Curie ... ... ... 99 Danvers ... ... ... 141 Darell ... ... ... 153 Davies ... ... ... 78 Deane ... ... ... 121 Dekny ... ... ... 59 Devizes, Richard of ... ... 126 Ditton ... ... ... 106 Dodson ... ... ... 156 Dryden ... ... ... 12 Duck ... ... ... 125 Duke ... ... ... Hi Edington ... ... ... 60 Edwards ... ... ,,, PAGE. PAGE Eedes 104 Hyde, A. 104 143 Estcourt Eyre 9 Hyde, Anne . . Hyde, E. 166 90 Hyde, N. 77 Ferraby Foster 132 Jackson Jay 6 156 79 Fowler, J. Fowler, R. Fox, C. J. Fox, S. 43 Jewel ■Hi 107 167 Keate Ken Kemm 51 166 68 Fox, G. Fry 171 111 31 Kingsley 83,97 Fulke 144 Lansdowne Latimer 135 Gane 82 21 Gibbons Gore 176 Lawes, H. Lawes, W. Lawrence Leask 89 20 104 Granville Greenhill 59 128 105 67 Long, W. Long, J. Long, E. Longspee Ludlow 29 Harte 156 29 106 Harris, J. Harris, W. Harvey 30 107 100 47 70 Hatcher Hayter Hazlitt Heath 8 105 Malmesbury, Oliver of Malmesbury, William of Marlborough, Earl of Marriott 15 118 15 32 88 Herbert, G. ...

Herbert, Lord Hill 97 110 96 Marsh 148 174 Marshman Martin 64 Hoare Hobbes Holland Hooker Horman Howard 73 56 16 Martyrs 171 165 Maschiart Maskelyne Massinger Maton 102 164 144 101 103 12 162 Hughes, Jabez Hughes, John Hunt 156 Matthews 102 155 Methuen, P. Methuen, Col. 38 123 PAGE. Mills ... ... ... 35 Montagu ... ... ... 41 Moore ... ... ... 134 Muggleton ... ... ... 34 Mullings ... ... ... 128 Neeld ... ... ... 35 Nicholas ... ... ... 131 Noble ... ... ... 30 Nonconformists ... ... 171 Norris ... ... 99, 161 Pembroke, Countess of ... 94 Pembroke, Earl of ... ... 95 Penn, Admiral ... ... 145 Penn, William ... ... 145 Penruddocke ... ... 121 Pierce ... ... ... 126 Poore, Bishop ... ... 100 Poore, E. ... ... ... 162 Potter ... ... ... 72 Pound ... ... ... 133 Powell ... ... ... 19 Priestley ... ... ... 137 Proctor ... ... ... 137 Radnor, Earl of ... ... 167 Raleigh 166 Rhodes ... ... ... 84 Richmond ... ... ... 145 Rochester, Earl of ... ... 42 Rose ... ... ... 115 Sachaverell ... ... ... 154 Sadler ... 157 Salisbury, Earl of ... ... 100 Salisbury, John of ... ... 109 Saunders ... ... ... 122 Scott ... ... ... 34 Scrope, Sir W 22 PAGE.

Alderton ... ... ... 20 AH Cannings ... ... 131 Amesbury ... ... ... 114 Anstey ... ... ... 86 Ashton Keynes ... ... 145 Bemerton ... ... ... 97 Berwick St. John ... ... 82 Bishops Cannings ... ... 132 Bishop Lavington ... ... 121 Boscombe ... ... 164 Bowood ... ... ... 135 Box ... ... ... 39 Brads ord-on- Avon ... ... 46 Bradon ... ... ... 144 Bremhill ... ... ... 137 Brickworth ... ... 166 Brinkworth ... ... 142 Broadchalk ... ... 86 Broad Hinton ... ... 139 Bromham ... ... ... 134 Calne ... ... ... 136 Castle Combe ... ... 21 Chapel Playster Chapmanslade ... ... 67 Charlton 11 Charlton, Great ... ... 125 Cherhill 137 Chicksgrove ... ... 78 Chilmark ... ... ... 88 Chilton 157 Chippenham ... ... 34 PAGE- Christian Malford ... ... 31 Chute ... ... ... 161 Clarendon Park ... ... 167 Collingbourne Ducis ... ... 161 Collingbourne Kingston . . . 161 Coinpton Chamberlain ... 87 Conock ... ... ... 126 Corsham ... ... ... 36 Coulston ... ... ... 59 Cricklade ... ... ... 146 Damerham ... ... ... 84 Dauntsey ... ... ... 141 Devizes ... ... ... 126 Dinton ... ... ... 89 Downton ... ... ... 166 Draycot ... ... ... 130 Draycot Cerne ... ... 31 East Knoyle ... ... 74 Easton Piers ... ... 23 Edington ... ... ... 60 Eisey ... ... ... 146 Farley ... ... ... 166 Fonthill ... ... ... 76 Garsdon ... ... ... 12 Great Bedwin ... ... 157 Great Charlton ... ... 125 Hannington ... ... ... 69 Heytesbury ... ... ... 148 HillDeverill ... ...

PAGE. PAGE. Idmiston Imber 164 Ramsbury 153 121 Roundway Hill Rowde 134 130 Jarvis' Quarry 9 John a Gore's Cross 121 Salisbury 100, 170 Salisbury Plain Sarum, Old ... 113 8 109 Kemble 156 Kellaways 32 Savernake Semley 81 Kingston St. Michael Kingston, West 23 21 Sevenhampton Sherstone 149 20 Lacock Lake to South Tidworth Spye Park ... 162 111 42 Langley Burrell Lavington, East Lavington, West Littlecote 32 58 Steeple Ashton Steeple Langford Stonehenge ... 123 110 121 115 153 Stourton 73 Longford 167 Stratford-sub- C astle Sutton Benger 108 Longleat House Long Newnton Lyneham 07 30 9 143 Swindon 140 Teffont Ewyas Tisbury ss Maiden Bradley Malmesbury 71 77 13 Trafalgar House Trowbridge ... 167 Market Lavington Marlborough 123 51 153 Tytherton Lucas 31 Melksham Mere 43 71 Upavon 123 Milston Mincty 162 Wanborough 152 144 Wardour Castle Warminster ...

Whiteparish 77 Monkton Deverill Monkton Farley 71 07 40 166 Wilcot 130 Netheravon 118 Wilsford Wilton Ill North Tidworth 162 92 Winterbourne Bassett Winterbourne Monkton Winterslow 139 Old Sarum 109 139 Orcheston St. Mary 118 165 Pewsey Purton 160 Wootton Bassett 143 143 Wulfhall WILTSHIRE AND ITS WORTHIES.

Introduction

. " Wiltshire is a fine, a remarkable, a truly interesting county." John Britton. " Without wishing to draw any invidious comparisons between this county and other parts of England, I may say I scarcely know any district so rich as ours — it is a perfect epitome of history." Lord Sidney Herbert. are now in an upper northern part of the county of Wilts. If we could take our stand on some Pisgah, and looking southward, view the land as it lies before us, we should see that it c^i^X spreads out in a rather elliptical shape, but somewhat round Q>.j f> at its north head, and somewhat square at its south base. Its extreme length from north to south is fifty-seven miles ; its greatest breadth from east to west is thirty-four miles. On the north, it is bounded by Gloucestershire ; on the east, by Berkshire and Hampshire ; on the south, by Hampshire and Dorsetshire ; and on the west, by Somersetshire and Gloucestershire.

Within its area there are about 870,000 acres, of which nearly 800,000 are arable, meadow, or pasture land. The population, which in 1801 was 185,107, had increased in 1871 to 257,177; consisting of 126,828 malesand 130,349 females. The census of 1881 shows a small increase, tn^fcqtal population amounting to 258,967. The surface of the country presents a variety of features. The north part, including a portion of the White Horse Vale, consists mainly of rich B arable and pasture lowlands, with gentle risings here and there. It is well watered by many fine streams, and is famous for its excellent dairy produce. Across the middle of the shire, from Savernake Forest on the east by the Black Heath to Westbury on the west, runs an irregular range of hills. Marlborough Downs are on the north side ; and on the south side stretch those extensive clowns which form the famous Salisbury Plain.

In the south-east portion of the county there are wide-spreading ranges of chalk hills, covered with good soil and in a high state of cultivation. Here, as well as in the north and among the mid-shire downs, there are scenes of much picturesqueness and beauty. The Bristol Avon, the Salisbury Avon, the Nadder, the Wiley, and some smaller rivers, rise in Wiltshire or flow through it. None of these streams are of much use for navigation, but they contribute greatly to the beauty and fertility of the districts through which they pass. There are several lines of canal in the north, but the south is almost without this accommodation. Various railway systems intersect the county in different parts. Looking at a Geological map, it, will be seen that while the north and north-west parts of Wilts belong to the Oolite formations, the north-east and south portions belong to the chalk.

" Its geological formation," says Mr. Scrope, " is of a very simple character. It contains no older rocks than the upper beds of the Lias, nor any newer than the chalk, except a few patches of clay and gravel belonging to the Eocene Tertiaries upon the surface of its chalk downs, and the alluvial beds of its existing river valleys. Moreover, these strata appear to have suffered com paratively little disturbance ; the whole series lying ' conformably,' that is, in parallel beds, one over the other. On the other hand, within this limited range the structure of our county exhibits a most instructive and interesting variety of sedimentary and fossiliferous strata, well displayed and easily studied." Ecclesiastically this county is in the province of Canterbury ; and chiefly in the diocese of Salisbury; the deaneries of Cricklade and Malmesbury, comprising about 80 parishes and districts, and also the parish of Marston Maisey, being in that of Gloucester and Bristol.

Its parliamentary divisions are North and South ; and are in pretty equal proportion, the dividing line being drawn from Chilton on the east to Westbury on the west. Each contains seventeen hundreds. It was a quaint conceit of John Aubrey, that there was a marked difference between the people of the north and the south. This difference as described by him was by no means flattering to that part of the county to which he himself belonged. Speaking of the north and its inhabitants, he says: — "It is a woodsere country, abounding with sour and austere plants, as sorrel, &c, which makes their humours sour : Mem. North Wiltshire is very worm-woodish, and more litigious than South Wilts." One would imagine that the old antiquarian was himself under the influence of these " sour plants" when he wrote this uncomplimentary Mem.

Of the peculiar excellencies of any particular portion of the inhabitants, or of the merits of the people of the county in general, we do not now treat. It will be our aim to single out those who in past times became men of note ; and to record their names in association with the places to which they belonged. The number of men who rise to eminence and obtain names which pass down to posterity is comparatively small. Genius is rare ; distinguished abilities belong to few; and great deeds are only occasionally achieved. Thousands of lives do not rise to mediocrity; and even when this is reached and passed, celebrity is not necessarily gained. Serviceable talents may be exercised and useful lives spent without securing present special attention or future fame. When therefore we meet with names shining in the records of human history — whether in the annals of a kingdom or a parish — it is interesting to note their existence and mark the causes which render them conspicuous.

Biography serves important uses. Ages before Longfellow sang — " Lives of great men all remind us We may make our lives sublime ;" or even Plutarch had penned his lives of glorious Greeks, minds and hearts had been stirred and purified by the records of noble deeds and moral ex cellence. A good life is, in a sense, perpetuated by memorials of its works, and a worthy character continues to shine in the delineation of its virtues. The original may perish and pass from sight, but faithful portraits b will preserve its memory and extend its influence. It is the work of the biographer to perpetuate, for the good of future generations, that which has proved beneficial to the past. Genius and worth are the heritage of the world. The gifted and the excellent belong not to one age or one land alone, but to the whole race through all time.

Human hearts in every land awed by the pencil of Raphael or thrilled by the music of Handel feel kinship with these gifted spirits, and appropriate them as the common property of the race. Never theless there is an important sense in which the illustrious one belongs to the nation of his birth ; and may be specially claimed by the spot where his life began or his years were spent. The honour of such special proprietorship has ever been highly esteemed. Did not seven cities claim to have been the birthplace of Homer ? and does not the little Avon-side town of Stratford lift its head high among the renowned spots of the world, as the cradle and grave of Shakespeare ? Many a mighty city, rich and influential in itself, yet feels that it adds to its glory by the erection of a memorial to some illustrious citizen.

Localities become more interesting when written over with history's pen ; and even natural scenes acquire fresh charms from being linked with noble names and worthy deeds. In words eloquent as Carlyle's own, one of his biographers has said : — " How the charm would be lessened that we find in the scenery of our native land, how much less potent would be the influence of that scenery in the formation of character, were it not for such associations as these ? Without the moral influence derived from humanity, the physical beauty and grandeur would count for comparatively little ; even the most splendid prospects in nature assert but a limited power over the mind until they have been linked to the story of noble lives. What are the fields, however good for growing corn, that have been hallowed by no memories of martyr and hero ? the rivers that are songless but for their own natural music ? the mountains that are no more associated with human life than are the clouds which mantle round their summits ?

Not merely for their natural loveli ness do we visit those lakes on whose woody shores dwelt Southey and Coleridge, De Quincey and Arnold, Wilson and Wordsworth. Sheffield, with its clang of hammers, and thick smoke curtain, looks less grim when we think of Ebenezer Elliott and James Montgomery. Byron and Kirke White deepen the romance of Sherwood Forest, and send a pathos through Wilford Grove ; the whole of woody Warwickshire becomes like a fairyland at the thought of Shakespeare ; even the dull banks of the sleepy Ouse are glorified by the Farmer of St. Ives and the Bedford Tinker — the one the doer of the greatest deeds, the other the dreamer of the grandest dream, that fill with so much meaning the name of England." Local biography may, therefore, be thought to possess peculiar interest : and the inhabitants of particular places may be expected to welcome records of the great and the good who have been connected with the same spots in years gone by.

The County of Wilts has not been unfruitful in eminent men ; and the Worthies of Wiltshire might supply biographical materials for a goodly volume. Brief notes, gathered from a variety of sources, will be all that will be attempted here. We shall meet with names of which not only Wiltshire but all England is justly proud ; we shall also meet with others comparatively little known ; and, perhaps, with some which may be deemed notorious rather than famous, but of which we shall make passing mention. A few words as to the plan of this work. A line running from Jarvis' Quarry, in the parish of Kemble, in the north, to Tollard Royal in the south ; and another from Hannington in the north through Odstock in the south, would divide the county into three longitudinal strips of about eleven miles each in breadth.

These strips will be called West Wilts, Mid "Wilts, and East Wrilts respectively. The Parliamentary division line crossing the shire from Chilton to Westbury bisects these strips, and gives us three northern and three southern parts : these will be — West Wilts — North and South. Mid Wilts — North and South. East Wilts — North and South. In following the course I have marked out, we shall travel down the western side of the county, and then bending eastward reach its capital city. Thence we shall return northward in a devious line through the middle of the shire to the upper end, from which, turning our faces to the south-east, we shall pass along the eastern side till we again come to Salisbury. Here, pausing, we shall, in conclusion, notice a variety of interesting facts relating particularly to the social and religious history of the county.

In pursuing our way we shall be often tempted to pause. Pleasant hills will invite us to climb their slopes, and gentle streams to wander along their banks. We shall pass many an ancient church and many a noble mansion where we might well linger in interested and admiring contempla tion ; while we shall find it hard not to tarry amidst those wondrous monuments of antiquity for which the Downs of Marlborough and the Plain of Salisbury are so justly famed. Almost contemporaneously with the first publication of these Notes a leading daily Journal, referring to Stonehenge and " the unequalled series of earth and stone monuments which lie to the north of it," remarked — " There are few curiosities, as they used to be called, in England better worth visiting, none perhaps more impressive in themselves and fuller of suggestion (when the neighbouring Old Sarum and Clarendon, Salisbury Cathedral and Wilton, the battlefields of the seventeenth century, and the rotten boroughs of the eighteenth are taken with it) in historical memories.

In these holidays any one who is original enough to take a not particularly celebrated English county as his playground may try Wiltshire, provided he does not set his heart upon mountains and waterfalls, or gambling tables and loose company, or unpleasant tasting waters, or Scotch hotel bills, with a very excellent chance of satisfaction." But these pleasant tasks must be left for those who have more leisure ; and our one aim already indicated must be steadily kept in view. In our travels we shall ask information from gossiping John Aubrey, and from his more careful and accurate fellow county man John Britton. The topographer Cooke, and the county historian Sir Richard Hoare, will afford us help. Items of biography will be gathered from quaint Thomas Fuller, Professor Henry Morley, and numerous other sources.

Especially shall we derive assistance from the invaluable writings of one to whom Wiltshire owes a deep debt of gratitude, as a most diligent and successful student and expositor of its history and antiquities — the Rev. John Edward Jackson, M.A., F.S.A., Rector of Leigh Delamere and Hon. Canon of Bristol. As Editor of Aubrey's " Collections," as one of the Secretaries of the Wrilts Archæological and Natural History Society, joint Editor of its admirable Magazine and frequent contributor to its pages, the labours of this gentleman have largely increased and enriched the literature of the county. Many and worthy, too, have been his co-workers ; and from some of these we shall gain many an interesting fact as we go on our way. In not a few instances we shall be indebted to the courtesy of various correspon dents, both in Wiltshire and elsewhere, for information which could not be obtained from other quarters. The aid of that venerable and willing, but not always reliable authority — ■" An old inhabitant" — will also be occa sionally rendered.

Part I West Wilts

— N ORTH. " Methinkes it shewes a kind of gratitude and good nature to revise the memories and memorials of the pious and charitable Benefactors since dead and gone." Jo. Awbret. " It is in every man's power to do a very great deal of good. This is the main thing, that every one of us should individually exert himself to do his best." Eight Hon. T. H. S. Sotheron Estcourt. .bffsii\f. most northerly parish of the county on its western side is „i^: fcthat of Kemble. This once secluded rural village was the birth- 'fcM$- place of M?X HENRY HATCHER, Tsa5 •3>__ who was born May 14th, 1777. He was the son of a small farmer ; and his education was commenced at a school in Cirencester. It was continued at Salisbury whither his parents removed ; and at fourteen he became junior assistant in the school where he had been placed.

After filling similar situations in other schools, he became at the age of eighteen, amanuensis to the Rev. William Coxe, of Bemerton. From this time his literary and archæological labours in connection with Mr. Coxe, Sir R. C. Hoare, and Mr. Benson, as well as his own independent efforts, were unceasing. In a letter to John Britton, dated January, 1843, he thus refers to the works and pursuits of his past life : — " Last year was the fiftieth since I became in some degree connected with literature. In that interval twenty-five quarto volumes have passed through my hands as amanuensis or editor. I have written one quarto, two octavos, and a folio of about 800 pages. I have acquired twelve languages or dialects, and I have dabbled with many other matters of which I am scarcely suspected. Through all this I have waded ; I may safely say by my own exertions ; and I have still at sixty-five, to work hard for a livelihood.

Our dear and valued country is a precious place for those who do not understand the direct art of money-getting. I sometimes fancy it cannot be so every-' where." To this he might have added that for many years he had the toil and responsibility of a school which he commenced and successfully con ducted in Salisbury. His death occurred suddenly December 14th, 18*47. The Dean and Chapter and other inhabitants of Salisbury erected a tablet to his memory in the Cathedral ; and his friend Britton wrote his Memoirs. The extreme north point of Kemble parish is Jarvis Quarry, just two miles south-west of Cirencester, on the ancient Acman Street. From this point the boundary line of the shire runs on the east side of the Roman way, so that the traveller does not enter Wiltshire till Jackament's Bottom is passed, when the line crosses the old road and keeps on its west side to the parish of Ashley.

A mile or so brings us to Long Newnton, south and west of which runs the infant Avon, separating this Wiltshire parish from the Gloucestershire one of Shipton Moyne, where Estcourt Park surrounding Estcourt House, abuts upon this dividing stream. WTith these parishes the name ofthe Right Honourable THOMAS HENRY SUTTON SOTHERON ESTCOURT, is inseparably associated. By residence and property in these border parishes he belonged to both counties : Gloucestershire claims him as a member of one of its oldest families ; Wiltshire claims him as one of its truest friends. He was the son of Thomas Grimston Estcourt, of the ancient family of Estcourt, which has been settled in Gloucestershire, and held property at Shipton Moyne, for nearly 600 years. His mother was Eleanor, daughter and co-heiress of James Sutton, of New Park, Devizes.

He was their eldest son, and was born in London on April 4th, 1801, and christened at St. George's, Hanover Square, May 15th. After being at Harrow, he went to Oriel College, Oxford ; taking his M.A. degree in 1826. In 1829 he entered Parliament as member for Marlborough ; and the following year married Lucy Sarah, daughter of Admiral Frank Sotheron, of Kirklington, Notts, whose name he assumed by sign manual in 1839 ; re-assuming his paternal name by the same process in 1855. He was member for Devizes from 1835 to 1844, when he succeeded Sir Francis Burdett as one of the representatives of North Wilts — a position he continued to hold till the state of his health obliged him to retire from public affairs in 1874. As a supporter of Lord Derby's Administration his abilities were recognised by the Premier, by whom he was appointed President of the Poor Law Board in 1858 ; and successor of Mr. Walpole in the Home Office the following' year.

While diligently and effectively discharging parliamentary and official duties, he was ever mindful of the interests of his constituents, and alive to the promotion of local improve ments. As a pleasant illustration of the way in which he ' magnified his office' as representative of the Northern division of the county, it is related that on one occasion at a public dinner, where some little discussion of North and South interests occurred, he said playfully, in answer to some argument of Sidney Herbert — " Yes ; you represent the chalk, and I the cheese." Among the many philanthropic works of his actively useful life, that connected with the Wilts Friendly Society deserves especial mention. This institution, intended for the benefit of the working classes, was established in 1828 ; " but," says a writer in the Devizes Gazette, " little came of it till Mr. Estcourt took it in hand.