BURBAGE, Cuthbert and family
BURBAGE, Cuthbert1565-1636London theatre owner including the Globe Theatre In 1629 Cuthbert Burbage bought from Robert Wade of Grays Inn for £1472 ‘ the site of the manor of Baston, a capital messuage called Baston Farm with appurtenances and 180 acres of land, meadow, pasture and several parcels of woodland containing 86 acres and other premises …..lying in the parishes of Hayes, Bromley and West Wickham.’ He therefore became one of the major landowners in Hayes. He and his wife Elizabeth died at Baston in 1636 but they were buried in the crypt of St Leonard’s Church, Shoreditch, the church used by Burbage’s Company of Players. Cuthbert Burbage burial entry (Hayes Church Register) The property remained in his family until the middle of the 18th century. BURBAGE, Elizabethd 1671Generous benefactor to Hayes Church Elizabeth Burbage was the daughter of Cuthbert Burbage and inherited his Hayes properties on his death. She married (1) Amyas Maxey 1620 by whom she had two children, a daughter Elizabeth and son James Burbage (2) George Bingley 1630 – 1652, auditor of the imprests. He had a house in Bromley which Elizabeth sold in 1662. She preferred to live at Baston and in the 1664 Hearth tax her home was rated for 7 hearths. The land was leased to the Delver family but she paid the quit rents of 20/- to the Manor of Orpington for Baston Heath. She provided Hayes church with a large wainscot pulpit with a rich damask cushion and cloth covering and gave a pair of Communion flagons. The Vestry was in disrepair and unused and so was the passage to it so at her own expense Mrs Bingley provided a pew against the passage for her family, friends etc. and enjoyed it until she died in 1671. The inventory made after her death suggests that the house was divided and shared with her son James. The contents of her two chambers, parlour and kitchen were valued at £29. Her parlour had a fireplace and was furnished with several wall hangings and pictures, a couch and six chairs. Boxes and a trunk in her chamber contained books and musical instruments worth £2, the same value given to her feather bed, bolster, pillows, curtain and valence. In her will she left £5 to be distributed to the poor of Hayes. Her son James Burbage Maxey inherited the Baston lands and it was his wife Elizabeth, who later married Colonel Evan Lloyd, who had a new house built on the site of Baston Manor. LLOYD, Elizabeth née BurleyDied 1693Encouraged the education of poor Hayes children Elizabeth Burley married James Burbage Maxey who inherited Baston Manor on his mother’s death. He died in 1677. She had a new house and coach house built joining the original Baston house. By 1682 her estate consisted of ‘two messuages, three barns, three stables, three gardens, three orchards, 120 acres of land, 40 acres of meadow, 50 acres of pasture, and 90 acres of woods plus the appurtenances in Bromley, Hayes and West Wickham.’ She married Colonel Evan Lloyd who supported her in a number of local legal disputes. One concerned her right to sit in a particular pew in the Church. Originally the family had sat in one built by the vestry for her mother-in-law Elizabeth Bingley. In 1685 the parishioners decided to repair the vestry and this meant reopening the passage way to it. Mrs Lloyd moved into another pew but this was disputed by John Clerke, a farmer. She appears to have won this case at the Church Court but she was not so successful in her attempts to dispute the rights of the Lennard family over part of Baston Heath which she claimed had not been sold to them. On her death, she left £3 a year from some of her Hayes lands to the Churchwardens and Overseers of the Poor of the parish of Hayes for ‘putting to school poor children to learn to read’ and any money left over was to be used ‘in putting to apprentice one or more of the said poor children’. Her husband Evan Lloyd remained at Baston Manor until his death in 1714.
HEYDON, Henry and family
Arms of Henry Heydon and his wife Ann, daughter of Sir Geoffrey Bulleyne(Kadwell Portfolio, Bromley Historic Collections) HEYDON, HenryDied 1504Lawyer, landowner, Justice of Peace, knighted The Heydon family was based in Norfolk and accumulated their wealth and prestige during the 15th century. Henry Heydon bought the manors of West Wickham and Baston the year after the birth of his son John in 1468. He had married Ann, the daughter of Geoffrey Bulleyne (Boleyn), a rich London mercer and it seems that she preferred to be nearer to her family in Kent. It has been said that Henry would regularly ride around his estate and discuss with his steward its various assets or problems. For most of the early years he resided at Wickham Court although that became more difficult after his father John died in about 1479 and he needed to spend more time in Norfolk. Baston was usually let on seven year leases and dues were paid to him. His widow Anne continued to hold manorial courts until her death in 1510. HEYDON, JohnDied 1550Landowner, knighted John inherited Baston on his father’s death in 1504 but left its administration to others as he was trying to make his way at the court of Henry VIII. It was his son Richard who trained as a lawyer, and resided in London who was entrusted with the management of his Kentish estates. Richard resided at Wickham Court for some of the time and also kept an eye on the administration of Baston Manor. HEYDON, ChristopherDied 1579Landowner, deputy lieutenant Norfolk, knighted Christopher, the grandson of John Heydon, inherited the properties as his father Christopher had died in 1541 He added to his lands in Kent In 1561 by purchasing from Sir Percival Harte some 210 acres of heath at Baston. A few years later, however, there were claims that his lands were not being well looked after. A survey of his woods showed that valuable timber was being spoiled by unwise felling. It seems that he was not an able administrator and was living beyond his means. He became famed for his lavish hospitality. He was well known in the neighbourhood and some thirty years after his death was still remembered for his drilling of the local militia during one of the scares caused by the threat of Spanish invasion. Camden wrote in 1610: ‘As for the other small intrenchment not farre off W. Wickham, it was cast in fresh memory when old Sir Christopher Heydon, a man then of great command in these parts trained the country people.’ In his will he instructed his heir Sir William to sell the Kentish estates to settle his debts and legacies. This ended the involvement of the Heydon family in Baston although legal wrangles about the Kentish lands continued in the next century. Further information Wickham Court and the Heydons, Mother Mary Gregory, Archaeologia Cantiana 1963
COLLINS, Arthur
Arthur Collins, Mayor of Bromley 1944-45 COLLINS, ArthurAbt 1882 – 26 July 1952Accountant, specialising in local government Shortly after he was 40 years old Arthur Collins resigned his post as treasurer of Birmingham City Council and set up a private practice in Westminster acting as a financial adviser to local authorities. By 1924 he had moved to Greenways, a house built just before the First World War, situated on the edge of Hayes Common. He soon became very involved with the affairs of Hayes. With Edwin Preston, he purchased some of the land adjacent to Hayes Church to provide a site for the building of a Village Hill which was opened in 1927. When the Parish Council ceased to exist in 1934 he became Chairman of the Hayes Common Conservators and had a significant effect in advising Bromley Council on the legal and financial issues involved. Prior to the demise of the Parish Council, the maintenance of the Common had been paid for out of a separate Common Rate which continued to operate while new arrangements were made. When the Second World War broke out and the War Office wished to requisition part of Hayes Common for an anti-aircraft gun site and other military requirements the negotiations by the Conservators with the Lands Branch helped to ensure that after the war had ended the land was restored to the community. In 1934 he moved to Baston Manor. He was a very keen tennis player and his son was twice a Junior Kent Champion and in 1931 reached the semi-final of the Junior Lawn Tennis Championship at Wimbledon. He arranged for exhibition matches to be held on his two tennis courts in 1935 to raise funds for Hayes Tennis Club of which he was president. In March 1939 he became President of the Hayes Cricket Club remarking on the club’s high reputation and stating ‘Cricket is a glorious game and we who live in Hayes have a glorious place to play it in.’ After the war, his loan to the Hayes Cricket and Sports Club enabled them to buy their ground in Barnet Wood Road. He was also generous in opening his house for use for fetes and other charitable occasions such as entertaining groups of women, who had come from Miss Knowles’ Mission Church in the East End, to tea in his garden. His wife was also involved in many of these activities. In 1941 he was co-opted on the Bromley Council as a representative of the Sundridge Ward. He became Mayor of Bromley 1944-45, then chairman of Bromley Housing Committee but in 1947 decided not to stand for re-election. In 1948 he became an Alderman and the following year was granted the Freedom of the Borough for his immense contribution. He died in 1952 leaving a wife Mary and three grown-up children.
TORRENS, Alfred
Captain Alfred Torrens (Bromley Record October 1895) Torrens, Alfred 1832 – 22 January 1903 Captain 66th Royal West Berks Regiment, MCC & West Kent Cricket Club In 1873 Captain Torrens and his wife Ann, the daughter of Sir Claude Scott of Sundridge, leased Baston Manor from John Farnaby Lennard and moved there with their young family. By this time he had retired from his position as a Captain in the 66th Regiment and also in 1874 gave up his position as adjutant of volunteers which he had held for seven years. He made several improvements to the outbuildings but his main passion was his garden. He brought back exotic specimens from his travels for his greenhouses and became well known for the chrysanthemums he was growing. In the early 1890s, he was elected to a seat on the Board of Guardians and the Rural Sanitary Authority as the representative for Hayes. He was elected a member of the Hayes Parish Council from its inception in 1894 until his death. He was also a Conservator of Hayes Commons and on several occasions was involved in efforts to quell the fires which broke out on the Common. He was well known for his generosity and more than one soldier who had served with him came to Baston Manor and received assistance. As his obituary said ‘ In the village, his cheery smile and cordial greeting will be sorely missed. To young and old, rich and poor alike, his old-world courtesy never failed. He was, indeed, a true English gentleman.’ His widow Anne continued to live at Baston Manor until she moved in 1916 to the Grove where she died in 1924. She supported the Church and in 1920 the dedication of the replica Pitt Banner, which she had made to replace the one lost in earlier renovations, was dedicated. Torrens, William Matthew 1869 – 15 February 1931 Stockbroker William Matthew Torrens was the eldest son of Captain Alfred and Ann Torrens. He lived with them at Baston Manor and in 1896 he was commended for his bravery in confronting a notorious burglar, Charles Taylor, who was stealing silver from the house. After his marriage in 1906 to Lilian Fardell, he moved to Prickley Wood and they had two daughters and a son. When his mother moved to the Grove they joined her and remained living there until 1930, leaving shortly after their daughter Betty married Randle John Baker Wilbraham in a very fashionable wedding at St Martin’s in the Field. Canon Percy Thompson, Rector of Hayes, was one of the officiating clergy. Matt Torrens was very active within the community, member of the Parish Council from 1925 until 1930, Hayes Common Conservator, Chairman of the Hayes, Keston & West Wickham Conservatives, member of the Hayes Flower Show Committee and of the Hayes Cricket Club. Attwood Alfred Torrens Torrens, Attwood Alfred 1874 – 8 December 1916 Stockbroker, Cricketer, Major RFA Attwood Torrens, the second son of Alfred and Ann Torrens, was born in Hayes and lived with his parents at Baston Manor. He was involved with the Scouts. He was a good cricketer, a keen supporter of Hayes Cricket Club and in 1906 joined the MCC on their tour to New Zealand. At the outbreak of the First World War, he joined the Public Schools Battalion and then the Royal Field Artillery as a Major. On 8 December 1916, he was struck by a piece of shell while trying to lead his men to safety. He was described as an excellent officer and very popular in the brigade. At the age of 42, he is the oldest of the First World War casualties to appear on the Hayes War Memorial.
SCOTT, Stephen
SCOTT, StephenOctober 1578 – 25 June 1658Gentleman Pensioner to Charles 1, sheriff of Kent 1647 Sir Stephen Scott’s arms on his ledger stone in Hayes Parish Church Stephen Scott first leased Hayes Place from the heirs of Robert Hall. He then bought it in 1624 with his brother Edmund who left his half to Stephen when he died in 1638. Described as a gentleman pensioner to the king, Stephen remained at Hayes Place until the execution of the King in 1648. He was careful to pay his dues during the Civil War between Parliament and the King, contributing £30 in 1642 towards the defence of the County and £6 for the April 1644 tax. In 1647 he was appointed sheriff of Kent at a time when there was considerable discussion about the way forward and the moderate petition from Kent presented the following year was seen as inflammatory by Parliament. Stephen chose to leave Hayes for Cheshunt where he died at the age of almost 80. However, he was buried in Hayes Church where his ledger stone remains. Twice married, his five children by his second wife, Elizabeth Brograve, were all born and baptised in Hayes. He bequeathed Hayes Place and his property in Hayes to his wife and after her death to his son John. Descendants of Stephen Scott SCOTT, Johnbaptised 6 Jan 1627 – 8 April 1670 ‘Gentleman of his Majesty’s Privy Chamber in ordinary, Justice of the Peace in corum for Kent’ John Scott inherited Hayes Place on his mother’s death in 1667 but died three years later. On his ledger stone, it says that he had married Sir Humphrey Style’s widow, Dame Hester Style. He may have moved to Beckenham but when Dame Hester was buried in Beckenham Church in 1671 there is no mention of the marriage. He had no children and Hayes Place was left to his younger brother Stephen. SCOTT, Stephen1641 – 1712Knighted Stephen Scott married Elizabeth Butler in 1670 and lived at Hayes Place, which he inherited from his brother John. A daughter Arabella in 1684 and a son William in 1688 were baptised in Hayes Church. In the 1680s difficulties arose regarding the preacher at Hayes Church and in June 1681 an unlicensed minister Mr Alsop preached in the open air to a large crowd assembled in Mr Scott’s farmyard. The meeting was timed to coincide with Revd Robert Bourne’s reading of the service in Church. Stephen Scott supported efforts to allow Mr Alsop to preach in the Church and when the curate Mr Metcalf barred the doors against him it is reported that Stephen Scott threatened to beat the Curate if he continued to come to Hayes. Stephen Scott like many gentlemen had taken out loans on Hayes Place to finance his lifestyle. In 1695 he mortgaged all the property and two years later sold it to John Harrison. He then lived in London until his death in 1712 when he was buried at Hayes on 20 March.
WILSON Edward
Edward Wilson (State Library of Victoria) WILSON, Edward 1814 -10 January 1878Australian Newspaper Proprietor and Philanthropist Edward Wilson emigrated to Australia in 1842 and in 1847 bought the Melbourne Argus. When his eyesight started to fade he returned to England and leased Hayes Place and about 300 acres of land. He was always keen to try out new ideas and in 1870 bought two steam engines for use on his farm for ploughing. The 1871 Census reported that he employed 33 men, 6 boys and a woman and also had 11 resident servants. Edward was in frequent contact with Charles Darwin and was one of the founders of the Colonial Institute. In 1868 he received many visitors at Hayes Place. He played an important part in the community of Hayes. Edward was one of the first Common Conservators after a scheme for the Management of Hayes Common was approved in 1868. He was generous with donations. In 1872, at Christmas for example, he provided warm scarlet waterproof coats and a new shilling to every girl at the Village School. In 1873, he chaired a Parochial Committee set up to consider the sanitary arrangements in Hayes. It showed that the wells, cesspools and privy arrangements in the village were far from satisfactory. The Local Government Board, however, thought their proposals were inadequate and nothing was done. Edward died in Hayes but his body was later interred in Melbourne. Edward Wilson
TRAILL, Williamina and family
TRAILL, Williamina22 July 1785 – 9 August 1862Proprietor & botanist Williamina Traill came to Hayes Place with the Dehany family in 1798 and died there in 1862. On Miss Mary Dehany’s death in 1832 Williamina was left all her property. She chose to waive her rights to the West Indian estates but to accept Hayes Place and all its land. She was 47 years old when she became one of the most important landowners in Hayes. Not only did she own Hayes Place with its 165 acres and 15 cottages she also rented a further 76 acres from Robert Howard, owner of Pickhurst. For thirty years she managed her estate, employed over 30 labourers and had eight resident servants. She became a regular contributor to the annual Tradesmen’s Feast and provided the funds for the village celebrations for the coronation of Queen Victoria in 1838. With keen cricketers in her family, it is not surprising that she is credited with reviving the Hayes Cricket team. In 1835 she presided at the Hayes v Bromley game at home and was described as ‘The Patroness of the Hayes Cricketers’. She was particularly interested in the natural world and the strange plants and animals that existed overseas. She received from the West Indies, for instance, the gift of a noisy parrot from Lady Cameron and some unusual wasps which were offered to Revd Berkeley. In 1805 she became the first Lady Proprietor of the Royal Institution, a society for the advancement of scientific knowledge. When Revd Till died in 1827 he left her his thirty-six volumes of English Botany. The glasshouses, set up at Hayes Place, allowed her to follow her scientific interests and she became well known for her cultivation of exotic specimens. A passionflower was raised from seeds brought from Buenos Aires and she introduced into England Brugmansia Sanguinea, more commonly known as Red Angel’s Trumpet, from seeds that had been collected in Ecuador. She sent a drawing of it to appear in the British Flower Garden by Robert Sweet. Her gardener William Hunt, in May 1838 was awarded a silver medal at the London Horticultural Society Exhibition for a Clematis Sieboldii. Thomas Williams became head gardener after his death and exhibited successfully at the Royal Botanic Society’s Exhibitions, Regent’s Park, from 1849. In 1857 he gained a gold medal for 8 Cape Heaths and a silver medal for 6 stove & greenhouse plants. Williamina also lent space in her glasshouse for Mrs Anna Hussey, a noted mycologist, to experiment with some of her fungi. A talented artist, several sketches survive from the early 19th century of drawings Miss Traill made of the village. In 1856 she contributed to and laid the foundation stone for the north aisle of Hayes Church, designed by George Gilbert Scott. The memorial plaque for her and the members of the family interred nearby is on the wall of the north aisle. She also helped the local school to which she gave £5 a year and paid the school fees for some of her labourers’ children which in 1851 amounted to more than £11. After her death in 1862, her brothers decided to build an additional and separate schoolroom at a cost of £400 as a tribute to her. Memorial to the Traill family in Hayes Church TRAILL, George1787 – 29 Sept 1871MP for Caithness 1841 – 1869 George Traill inherited Hayes Place from his sister Williamina and rented out the property. On his death, he bequeathed it to his younger brother James. TRAILL, James6 May 1794 – !6 Oct 1873,Metropolitan police magistrate, James Traill inherited Hayes Place after the death of his elder brother George. He spent some time at Hayes Place when it was owned by his sister Williamina. James’ mother-in-law Elizabeth, Lady Henry Spencer Churchill, was buried in Hayes Church in 1868. TRAILL, James Christie,30 September 1826 – 6 Feb 1899Barrister and English Cricketer James Christie Traill became the owner of the Hayes Place estate on his father’s death. As a young man he was a keen cricketer and on occasions played for the Hayes XI. Two of his sons, James William and John Murray, and a grandson Sinclair Traill died in the First World War and are commemorated in Hayes Church. After the death of the tenant Edward Wilson, who had leased Hayes Place in 1868, he sold the property to Everard Hambro in 1880.
DEHANY, Philip
DEHANY, Philipabout 1734 – 27 Oct 1809Member of the Committee who revised the Laws of Cricket 1774 Philip Dehany bought Hayes Place in !798 and shared his time between Hayes and his house in London, 63 Upper Seymour Street, which he continued to visit. He moved to Hayes Place with his wife Margaret, daughter Mary aged 39, and Williamina Trail aged 14 . They had 16 servants. Ten years earlier his only child Mary had suffered a devastating event when her fiancé John Sinclair, Earl of Caithness, shot himself, reportedly because her father had refused permission for him to marry her on account of his debts. John Sinclair’s niece, Williamina Traill, joined the Dehany family and eventually after Mary’s death in 1832 inherited Hayes Place. The Dehany family continued to buy up property in Hayes and extend their grounds but took little part in the affairs of Hayes.
LEGGE, George, Lord Lewisham
Lord Lewisham (Kadwell Portfolio, Bromley Historic Collections) LEGGE George, Lord (Viscount) Lewisham3 October 1755 – 10 Nov 18103rd Earl of Dartmouth 1801, Fellow of the Royal Society 1781, Lord Lewisham moved to Hayes with his wife Frances and five children under 5 years old. In May 1789 He took out loans to purchase Hayes Place for £10,500. At the time he had an income of £3000 a year, including £1000 a year from his appointment as Warden of the Stannaries. Four more daughters were born and baptised in Hayes by 1798. Although his daughter Katherine born in 1793 only lived 6 weeks. Their household included 21 servants in the house and 2 gardeners living in a dwelling in the gardens. He developed an excellent relationship with the Rector, Revd John Till, and through him was influenced to provide the land and house for the start of the village school in 1791. He supported the school’s activities and also made several donations to the poor in the village. George lost his position as Warden of the Stannaries and needed to raise money by selling Hayes Place which he did in 1798. He maintained his links with Hayes, particularly with the Revd John Till, who agreed in 1802 that he would tutor his eldest son William who stayed at the Rectory for three months before he went to Christ Church, Oxford. William continued to maintain contact with Revd Till, whose letters reveal a great deal about events in Hayes. Frances, Countess Dowager of Dartmouth, paid for John Till’s impressive tomb in Hayes in 1827 ‘in token of their affection and gratitude to a dear lamented friend.’ Further information: Legge Family papers Staffordshire Archives
HARRISON, John
HARRISON John,died 1713citizen and felt maker John Harrison bought Hayes Place and its estate from Sir Stephen Scott in 1695. He died in 1713 and left the property to his wife Sarah and on her death to his son Joseph. Another son John, a soap maker, with his mother Sarah, took out a mortgage on the property in 1720. The following year she was involved with a dispute about her lawful right to a pew in the church. After her death in about 1730, the property was leased to Lynthwaite Farrant and then a number of tenants including the Rt Honourable Edward Montagu in 1751. John and his wife had taken out a further mortgage on the property in 1742. He and his brother Joseph later sold William Pitt both the house and their other property and land in Hayes.