HOLLAND, Francis (c1760-1812 - Holland family at Wickhamford Manor

In the second half of the eighteenth century, Wickhamford Manor was occupied by a branch of the Holland family of Cropthorne. At that time the Manor was usually referred to as Manor Farm.

A document in the archives at The Hive, Worcester dated 29^th September 1762 shows a summary of the rentals due in Wickhamford, presumably to the Sandys family of Ombersley, who owned much of the property in the village at that time. At the head of the list is “Mr Fra. Holland” and he was due to pay £250.0.0 for the ‘Manour Farm’ and some other property. This sum is the equivalent of £31,000 today, when the calculation is based on the Retail Price Index, i.e. purchasing power. It is the equivalent of £414,000 based on average earnings then and now. (The total amount due for the entire village in this document was £456.17.0.)

Summary of the rentals due in Wickhamford, dated 29th September 1762

The Francis Holland referred to in this document married Mary Bagrand in St Michael’s Church, Cropthorne on 16^th January 1760. A son, also called Francis, was baptised in Wickhamford on 29^th January 1763.

One other document concerning Francis Holland senior is a letter sent to Lord Sandys in London on 12^th November 1766. This concerns his wish to plant some hedges in Wickhamford and he is asking his Lordship to clarify the ownership of some fields. A sign of the times is the way he signs off his letter as ‘your Lordships most obedient and very Dutiful Humble servant’.

Letter sent to Lord Sandys in London on 12th November 1766

Francis Holland junior married Ann Corbett in her home parish of Quinton, near Stratford, Warwickshire on 21^st January 1789 and the couple lived at Wickhamford afterwards.

*The Quinton marriage register entry for Francis Holland of Wickhamford and Ann Corbett*

They had six children baptised at St John the Baptist Church, Wickhamford – Maria-Corbett (22^nd Nov. 1789), Mary Ann (22^nd June 1791), Corbett (9^th Dec. 1792), Elizabeth (7^th Sept. 1794), Francis (10^th July 1796), and finally Susan (13^th May 1798). None of the family married or are buried in Wickhamford and there are no memorials to the family in the Church.

Ann Holland died at the early age of 40 and was buried in Cropthorne on 30^th July 1802, but Francis (junior) lived to the grand age of 85 and was buried in the same village on 23^rd February 1848. The third Francis Holland (b. 1796) was living in Cropthorne until his death in 1878 and the family continued there for two more generations before the male line ran out.

From the information presented above, it would appear that two generations of the Holland family rented Wickhamford Manor from the Sandys family during the approximate period 1760-1812. (One last reference found of ‘Francis Holland of Wickhamford’ is his being mentioned in a document concerning the conveyancing of a property called Pophills in Salford Priors in 1812.)

In the Churchyard at Cropthorne is one large tomb containing the remains of four members of the Holland family associated with Wickhamford –

Francis Holland ‘Late of Wickhamford’ died on 17^th July 1782, aged 59,
his wife, Mary, who died in December 1802, aged 79,
their son, Francis Holland, who died on 17^th February 1848, aged 85,
his wife, Ann, who died 26^th July 1802, aged 40.

*The Holland grave in Cropthorne Churchyard*

Francis Holland of Wickhamford d. 1782, aged 59 years — *Francis Holland of Wickhamford d. 1782, aged 59 yea*

*Mary Holland, wife of Francis (senior) d. 1802, aged 79 years*

*Francis Holland of Cropthorne d. 1848, aged 85 years*

*Ann Holland, wife of Francis (junior) d 1802, aged 40 years*

The third generation Francis Holland (b. Wickhamford, 1796) married twice and a memorial plaque in Cropthorne Church (see below) commemorates his first wife, Jane (d. 1851) and Francis (d. 1878). Although he appears in the 1871 census as ‘Francis Holland’, at the time of his death he was recorded as ‘Francis Holland Corbett’.

Memorial plaque in Cropthorne Church

Finally, there is a tragic story concerning the eldest child of Francis and Ann Holland, born in Wickhamford in 1789. Maria-Corbett Holland married Dr Charles Frederick Vandeburgh R. N. on 5^th May 1818 at Cropthorne. The couple had a son, Frederick Corbett Vandeburgh, born on 18^th February 1819 and baptised in Liverpool on 5^th May that year. Maria-Corbett died in Liverpool on 19^th October 1825 and her widower remarried in Chester in 1826, to Louisa Crockford. He and his heavily pregnant wife were visiting Cropthorne June 1828 and staying with his erstwhile father-in-law, Francis Holland. The following newspaper item reports the sad events that occurred.

Newspaper death notice - Dr Charles Frederick Vandeburgh

The child, Emily, was not baptised until 7^th July 1830, in Liverpool.

Acknowledgement

Thanks are due to Peter Stewart for taking the photographs of the Holland tomb and Church plaque in Cropthorne.

Tom Locke and Val Harman – January 2014