| James Nassau Gordon Milne (b. 1985), Hugh Nicholas Milne (b. 1991), Georgina Thea Gordon Milne (b. 1992) | |||||||||||||
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| Graham
Nassau Gordon Senior-Milne (b. 1955
m. 1983 sep. 2003)
'Man in a webcam' by Picasso (Yours for $9,000,000) 'A layabout by profession, with a sideline in dilettantism.' Brother of Claire Jaqueline Milne and Alan Gordon Milne.
What my ancestors have been doing for the last 1000 years (either that or breaking rocks). GRAHAM NASSAU GORDON SENIOR-MILNE, 41ST BARON AND 28TH LORD PALATINE* OF MORDINGTON of 39 Castle St., Norham, nr. Berwick-upon-Tweed (from 2004), Edrington House, Mordington, Berwickshire (1998-2004), The Dovecote, Lowick, nr. Berwick-upon-Tweed (1996-1998), The Mansion House, Sanson Seal, nr. Berwick-upon-Tweed (1985-1996), 113 Gowan Avenue, Fulham, London SW6 (1982-1985), 1st Floor Flat, 26 Barons Court Rd, West Kensington, London W14 (1981-1982); b 29 Sept 1955 at the Nuffield Maternity Home, Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford; educ Fonthill Lodge Pre-Prep. and Prep. Schools, nr. East Grinstead, W. Sussex 1960-1969, Tonbridge 1969-71, Epsom College 1971-74; 2nd Lt. Royal Marines 1976-77; Asst. Film Dir. Cygnet Guild, London 1978; City of London Polytechnic (Foundation in Accountancy - passed with Credit) 1979-80; Served articles (ACA 1985) with Ernst & Whinney, Chartered Accountants, Southampton and London 1980-86; IT Auditor, Arthur Young, Chartered Accountants, Edinburgh 1987-88; IT Auditor, Scottish Homes, Edinburgh 1989-92; Fin. Cntrllr. & IT Mngr, Scottish Borders Enterprise, Galashiels 1992-96; Prtnr, Cogent Communications, Berwick-upon-Tweed 1996-98; IT Audit Mngr, Lloyds TSB, London and Edinburgh 1998-2004; Prtnr, ABC Publications, Berwick-upon-Tweed 2004; Chrmn, Berwick Parish Church Trust 1993; Freeman Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers from 1994; Mmbr Council of the Scottish Genealogy Society from 2002. *The Barony of Mordington has been held in free regality ('in libera regalitate'), that is as a palatine lordship, since 24th March 1381-2 when Sir James Douglas (d. before May 1441) received a grant of Mordington and other lands from Robert II in free regality (Scots Peerage, VI, 350 referring to Reg. Honor. de Morton; also Register of the Great Seal, II, 993 being a charter of confirmation under the Great Seal dated 9th July 1470 to William Douglas of Morton and Whittingham referring, inter alia, to the 'baroniam de Mordingtoun' and to grants of Mordington 'in libera regalitate' by Robert II and Robert III).
Palatinates (or regalities as they are called in Scotland) were usually lawless border regions or remote areas. They were usually granted to a high-ranking noble who was given royal jurisdiction ('regality' = sovereign jurisdiction) to enable him to maintain law and order in the palatinate, and he reigned within his lands legally as a 'reguli' or little king (according to Lord Bankton, 'An Institute of the Laws of Scotland', II, III, para. 83). The Palatine Counties of Chester and Durham, for example, were created to administer the border areas between England and Wales and England and Scotland respectively. The Palatinate of Durham was ruled by the Bishop of Durham, who was known as the Prince-Bishop of Durham, reflecting the fact that palatine lords were legally princes of their domains, from which the royal authority was excluded (although the lord of the palatinate still owed allegiance to his sovereign). The Palatine Earldom of Chester had its own parliament until the 16th century and the County Palatine of Durham had its own court system until the 1970s. According to Burke's 'Extinct Peerage', the Palatine Earldom of Chester was granted by William the Conqueror in 1070 to Hugh de Abrincis (d'Avranches), otherwise 'Hugh Lupus' or 'Hugh the Fat', 'to hold as freely by the sword as the King himself held England by the crown', that is with complete royal jurisdiction. The Complete Peerage states (vol. 3, p. 165) that Hugh d'Avranches, Earl of Chester, had his hereditary barons as a Count Palatine, including William Venables, Baron of Kinderton, whose issue male continued until 1676. In Scotland, the legal term 'in libera regalitate' conferred complete criminal jusrisdiction, excluding only treason, including the power to try the Four Pleas of the Crown (murder, arson, rape and robbery). Earls and bishops palatine (in England) and lords of regality (in Scotland) had the right to create their own barons; that is, effectively, to create franchise (baronial) jurisdictions out of their own fanchise (regality) jurisdiction. This power was exercised in Scotland into the 1990s (see 'Scottish Feudal Baronies' by Hugh Peskett, Consultant Editor for Scotland, Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage. This article also appeared in 'East Lothian Life', Autumn 2003, p. 17). In 'The Court Book of the Barony of Carnwath 1523-1542' ('the most authoritative account of the formation and functions of baronies in Scotland' - Sir Malcolm Innes of Edingight, formerly Lord Lyon, The Scottish Genealogist, vol. 47, pp. 35-41, June 2000) Professor Croft Dickinson states (p. lix): 'Finally, in considering these grants of rights of public justice it is clear that the tenant received them from his lord because his social position entitled him to them, because, in fact, he was already a "baron" as the word was understood in feudal society. He might not hold of the King; he might not hold in liberam baroniam. Nevertheless his jurisdiction was baronial and while bearing Craig's caveat in mind, we are bound to conclude that those tenants who held of an earl or lord and who had a right of furca and fossa were 'barons'. The jurisdiction must be our test, irrespective of whether that jurisidction was derived from an earl or king.' For more on regalities/palatinates see here.
The arms of the Bishop of Durham. These arms include a crozier and sword in saltire, as opposed to the two croziers in saltire borne by other Bishops, and a mitre issuing out of a ducal coronet as a crest. These two additaments, the sword and the coronet, symbolized the temporal power of the Bishop as a palatine lord.
The arms of Milne quartered with Senior. Quarterly, first and fourth, azure a cross moline between four fleur-de-lys or (for MILNE), second and third, per fess, gules and azure, a fess ermine between, in chief, two lions heads erased or and, in base, a dolphin naiant embowed argent (for SENIOR). Above the shield is placed a chapeau Gules furred Ermine (in respect of his feudal Barony of Mordington), thereon a Helm befitting his degree with a mantling Azure doubled Or and on a wreath of the liveries is set for crest the head, neck and wings of a swan bearing in its beak a Tudor rose Proper seeded Or, and in an escrol over the same this motto 'Honore et amore'.
Note that I am entitled to quarter the arms of Hammersley and Eden, which would make my arms 'Quarterly, first quarter, azure a cross moline between four fleur-de-lys or (for MILNE), second quarter, per fess, gules and azure, a fess ermine between, in chief, two lions heads erased or and, in base, a dolphin naiant embowed argent (for SENIOR), third quarter, gules, three rams heads couped erminois (for HAMMERSLEY), fourth quarter, gules, on a chevron between three garbs or, banded vert, as many escallops sable (for EDEN)' - see below. The arms of Hammersley should be quartered with the arms of GREENWOOD OF STAPLETON, namely, sable a chevron ermine between three saltires or, a mullet for difference (see Dugdale's 'Visitation of Yorkshire', p. 233). In addition, the arms of Eden and Hammersley should both be quartered with those of Buncombe-Poulett-Thomson, namely: Quarterly, 1st and 4th, argent a buck's head cabossed gules, attired or, on a chief azure a cross crosslet fitchee of the third between two mullets of six points (spur revels per Balfour Paul) of the first (for THOMSON); 2nd, sable, three swords in pile points downwards proper, pommels and hilts or, a crescent for difference (for POULETT); 3rd, argent, a fret between four crescents facing inwards sable (for BUNCOMBE). It also appears that I am entitled to bear the arms of CORONEL (Portugal), see below, that is azure, five eagles displayed or in saltire, the middle eagle crowned or, probably best shown as an inescutcheon (a small shield in the middle).
Sanson Seal, Berwick-upon-Tweed.
Edrington House, Mordington, Berwickshire.
39 Castle St., Norham (the white cottage in the middle), headquarters of Milne Global Enterprises Inc.
Epsom College. The windows to the left of the door are those of the Masters' Common Room. Naturally, I managed to kick a rugby ball through one of these windows on my first day at school.
Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, where I was born in 1955.
Fonthill Prep School (now called Rockwood Park and no longer a school building - though the school is still thriving at the site of the old pre-prep in Coombe Hill Road) - the front. I was given 6 of the best (with a leather riding crop) for climbing out on the roof on the left (from the little flat-roofed dormer window), where I then spent the afternoon waving and making rude gestures to my friends on the tennis court (where this picture was taken from). Unfortunately, when I tried to get back in I found that someone had locked the window and so I had no alternative but to call for help. Another thrashing! The dorms (dormitories) were on the top two floors of the wing on the left. We used to throw darts at eachother in the dark I remember (this stopped abruptly when someone was hit in the eye - I didn't invent this game by the way) and terrify eachother silly with tales of mad axemen wandering the corridors (we were so terrified we didn't even dare to go to the loo). We also used to go and raid the larders in the middle of the night. On one occasion almost the entire school was involved (about 50 to 60 boys). Unfortunately, we were caught by the headmaster and this escapade ended with him chasing the entire school round and round the outside of the gym building (not shown) in the dark. But we were little darlings really and looked forward to being tucked up in bed with our teddies and kissed goodnight by the matron (who seemed quite grown up to me but she can't have been more than about 18 - I had been at boarding school from the age of 4). Near the gym were acres and acres of old glasshouses. My pals and I used to spend happy hours throwing stones at these from long range. The crash of breaking glass was very satisfying to a 10 year old. Funnily enough, I was happy here and used to go around the corridors singing at the top of my voice ('Edelweiss' and 'Early one morning' and such stuff); no-one seemed to take any notice. The school had the most fantastic grounds with miles and miles (so it seemed) of rhododendrons where, on a Sunday, the school would be split into two teams; one team would be based at one end of the grounds (near the chapel) and the other team would be based at the other end (near Fonthill Pre-Prep). The objective was to crawl and creep to the enemy base without being seen. Naturally, each side set up defensive ambushes at likely spots with boys armed with great tufts of turf and mud. The invaders would creep forward similarly armed and the most fantastic mud fight would ensue (with reinforcements arriving once battle had been joined). We got absolutely filthy from head to toe. It was a happy little school on the whole. Most of the pupils were English but we had a spattering of exotic foreigners, including Indian and Arab princes and the sons of European aristocrats with outlandish names (Stael-Holstein was one I remember). What on earth their parents made of their 'English education' I hate to think. I was probably the most thrashed boy in history of the school (I also got thrashed for making a very rude noise with the organ pump in the middle of a sermon during Sunday chapel - this was a hand pump manned by the boys on a rota basis) and the only boy in the 1st XI cricket team with a batting average of less than one. I became a serious bird-watcher at this school and we set up a branch of the YOC (Young Ornithologists Club). Early one morning, Chorus: Oh, don't
deceive me, Remember the vows, Chorus Oh Gay is the garland, Chorus Thus sang the poor maiden, Chorus
Fonthill Prep School - the main school room on the first floor. Each boy had his own bit of shelf-space where he could store things (I had a collection of Airfix soldiers). These were quite open and the theory (which seemed to work) was that this would encourage respect for the property of others. The whole school used to sit on the benches round the edge of this room before leading off down to meals (there were fewer than 60 pupils at that time I seem to remember). On one such occasion I put a whole box of drawing pins on the seat of my best friend next to me (just to the right of the fireplace). He promptly came and sat on them just as the headmaster (a renowned thrasher) entered the room. My friend nobly sat in silence with tears streaming down his face until the headmaster had left the room, thus saving me from a severe thrashing. Lessons were also held in this room, with the boys sitting round the table. On one occasion, I was given 6 of the best for spinning a roll of sellotape across this table in the middle of a lesson. Every weekend we had to sit in this room and write dutiful letters to our parents. I always used to write something like 'Dear Mummy and Daddy, I hope you are well. I am well. Please send chocolate cake. Lots of love, Graham.' (My mother made the most fabulous chocolate cakes and the arrival of one of these for my birthday or on some other occasion made me the most popular boy in the school. Personally, I would have preferred to have kept the whole cake to myself but this was not allowed.)
Fonthill Prep School - the gym/theatre. This was the scene of my only foray into the world of theatre when I played Shylock in 'The Merchant of Venice'. I was so bad that the Headmaster got the audience to give me a special round of applause for effort (as opposed to achievement). I remember it well.
Fonthill Prep School - the swimming pool. Green and full of bugs with huge eyes and zillions of legs (also massive jaws or pincers - or both - of course); I became a very fast swimmer.
Extracts from the school Year Book: 1967 Yearbook "Characters of the XI Football" "Milne, Centre-half. Under eleven years old, he had to carry this difficult and exacting position; he was clearly the best man for the job, and is likely to become a very good player." "Characters of the XI Cricket" "G. Milne: He can hit very hard, but has not yet acquired the basic survival kit, so his innings are brief; but he will soon learn and then he will be a formidable forcing bat. He fields well and is developing a leg break." 1966 yearbook "Members of the XV Rugger" "Milne: (Full Back) : Although under 10 and a half, he was quite the best and most reliable tackler in the team. With two more seasons' experience he should become a very good player all round."
Fonthill School rugby and football colours. Recognised as Baron of Mordington by interlocutor of the Court of the Lord Lyon dated 11 Nov 2004 and matriculated arms at the LO 30 October 2007. Changed name from Milne to Senior-Milne by warrant of the Lord Lyon King of Arms dated 20 Dec 2004 as heir male of his mother, Pamela Mary Milne (née Senior), elder daughter and senior heraldic co-heiress of Oliver Nassau Senior. Here is a 'Burke's style' pedigree. Note that the reputed author of the Declaration of Arbroath of 1320, Bernard de Linton, Abbot of Arbroath, began his career in the Church as Minister of Mordington. He would have been appointed to that office by the Baron of Mordington. 'It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for liberty - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.' The Barony of Mordington
For an overview of feudal baronies see here. A more detailed history of the Barony to 1636 is available here. Here is a full list of the Barons of Mordington.
Robert the
Bruce with Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, to whom he
granted the Barony of Mordington - see below. *'The History and Antiquities of North Durham...', Rev. James Raine, London, 1852. The original charter of erection of the feudal or territorial Barony of Mordington (Berwickshire), which is now a personal title as a consequence of the Abolition of Feudal Tenures etc. (Scotland) Act 2000, is lost at a date before 1312 (being the last year in which Thomas Randolph was styled 'Sir Thomas Randolph') to 1329 (when Robert the Bruce died), in which period the Barony was resigned by Sir Henry de Haliburton (a signatory of the Ragman Roll of 1296 as 'tenaunt le Roi du counte de Berewyk') and his spouse Agnes de Morthingtoun (evidently the heiress - and, as a matter of interest, an ancestor of the Queen) to Robert the Bruce for re-grant to Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, who commanded the left wing at the Battle of Bannockburn (1314) and was Regent of Scotland from 1329. It seems likely that the barony was granted to Thomas Randolph after he and Sir James Douglas ('the good Sir James') captured Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1318. A lordship of Mordington, held by the family of that name, is referred to in charters dating from the time of Patrick, 5th Earl of Dunbar (1152-1232), which means that the lordship/barony of Mordington is older than the oldest surviving Scottish peerage, the Earldom of Sutherland, which dates from about 1235 and also older than the oldest surviving English peerage, the barony of de Ros, which dates from 1265. In 1335, on the death of John Randolph, 3rd Earl of Moray (who commanded the first Scottish division at the battle of Halidon Hill, near Berwick-upon-Tweed, in 1333), the Barony passed via an heiress from the Earls of Moray to the Earls of Dunbar or March (from whom I am descended) and then also by marriage (as dowry) to the Douglas family of Dalkeith, later Earls of Morton, and was held by that family from 1372 until 1636, apart from a period of forfeiture between 1581 and 1585 when it was held by the Dukes of Lennox and 1585 to 1588 when it was held by Archibald Douglas, 8th Earl of Angus. In 1634 the lands of Over Mordington were detached from the Barony and granted to Sir James Douglas (second son of William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus), later 1st Lord Mordington (which title became extinct in 1755), and in 1636 the Barony, which then consisted solely of the lands of Nether Mordington (with Edrington House, the manor place of Nether Mordington, as the caput), was granted to Thomas Ramsay (of the family of Ramsay of Edington, near Chirnside, Berwickshire, apparently a branch of the family of Ramsay, Earls of Dalhousie), Minister of the Kirk at Foulden, Berwickshire, and Helen Kellie, his spouse, to be held in free regality ('in libera regalitate'). The Barony was subsequently owned by the families of Douglas of Mordington (1658-1685), Douglas (1685-1773), Douglas Watson (1773-1785), Marshall (1785-1834), Soady (1834-1864), Chirnside (1864-1939), Sutherland (1939-1949), Edwards (1949-1962), Robertson (1962-1975) and Elphinston (1975-1998) until it was acquired jointly by the present owners in 1998 when they purchased Edrington House.
Norham Castle, painted by my great-great-great-grandfather, John Hughes (1790-1857)
Goswick beach looking towards Holy Island. The little dot on the horizon is Lindisfarne Castle, a 6 mile walk along the beach. This beach is a 5 minute drive from Norham.
Goswick beach looking towards Berwick-upon-Tweed. |
= | Annabel Catherine Margaret Horsfield | |||||||||||
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| Denys
Gordon Milne CBE (1926-2000)
Gardener, historian, yachtsman, vintage car enthusiast and lover of all things Scottish.
Westbury. My parents' home in Sussex from 1966 to 2000. DENYS GORDON MILNE, CBE (1982), MA (Oxon), BSc (Oxon), late of Westbury, Old Lane, St. John's, Crowborough, East Sussex (1966-2000), formerly of 46 Beacon Hill, Dormansland, Surrey (1961-66); b 12 Jan 1926 at Lerwick, Shetland Islands; educ Epsom College 1937-44 and Brasenose Coll., Oxford (MA Hons Mod. History) 1947-50, Colonial Service Course 1950-51, Blues in athletics and lacrosse, represented Scotland in discus; Pilot Officer, RAF Regt. 1944-47 (Prize Cadet, Officer Cadet Training Unit No. 24 1946; Adjutant 2700 Lt AA Squadron), Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-45; Asst. District Officer, Colonial Admin. Service, Northern Nigeria 1951-55; British Petroleum Co. 1955-81 (BP, Nigeria and Ghana 1955-61; BP, London 1961-63; Gen. Mngr BP, Nigeria 1963-65; Rgnl Crdntr BP, London 1965-71; Dir. Shell Mex and BP, London 1966-71; Chm. and Man. Dir. BP Southern Oil, Cape Town, South Africa 1971-75; Dep. Chm. BP Oil Ltd, London 1975-76; Man. Dir. and Chief Exec. BP Oil Ltd, London 1976-81); President Inst. of Petroleum 1978-80; Member Scottish Economic Council 1978-81; Trustee Nat. Motor Museum 1979-89; Member Adv. Cttee on Energy Conservation 1980-81; President UK Petroleum Industry Assoc. 1980-81; Dir. Business in the Community 1981-84; Dir. Silkolene Lubricants Plc 1981-91; Dir. Fluor Daniel Ltd 1981-90; Dir. The Weir Group Plc 1983-92; Chm. Horder Centre for Arthritis 1983-96; Member Court of Assistants Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers (Master 1993-94) from 1986; Chm. Council of Epsom College 1990-95; Trustee and Dep. Chm. Centre for South African Studies, York Univ. 1990-95.
My father and mother outside Buckingham Palace on the occasion when he was awarded the CBE in 1982.
Sailing in the Med. The Beloved Physicians - The Milne family and Barnardo's
Kebbaty House, Midmar - one-time home of Dr. Robert Milne (1849-1922), my great-grandfather.
Kebbaty House - the garden (from the tennis court).
Kebbaty House - the stables.
Kebbaty House - the tennis court.
The Grade B listed Kebbaty Mains (or 'Mains of Kebbaty'), Midmar - home of James Milne (1809-1875), father of Robert Milne (1849-1922). The gates shown are those of Kebbaty House. Mains of Kebbaty is listed in 'An Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland' , Volume 3: Highland, Orkney and Grampian. The 2003 sale of Kebbaty Mains was reported in the national press in an article titled 'Lording it up; Grampian country house offers a chance to escape to your very own little world' (Daily Record, 10 June 2003), something that would have amused my great-great-grandfather I think.
Another photo of Kebbaty Mains.
Another photo of Kebbaty Mains.
Descent of Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997) from Alexander Milne of Fyvie, Aberdeenshire (Note that I have not traced a connection between Alexander Milne and my family but I think it is safe to assume that there is a connection at some point; I assume that all Milnes from Aberdeenshire, where the name comes from, are related.) Interestingly, this descent means that Princes William and Harry are 1/256th Milne and therefore have more Milne blood than they do that of the Stuarts, the former royal house of Scotland.
Withyham Church and Vicarage, Withyham, Sussex. My parents' local church where Jamie, our eldest, was Christened. I proposed to Annabel here, on a spot almost behind the tree in the centre of the picture. If you follow the lane going up the hill off to the right you come to the 500 Acre Wood, of Winnie-the-Pooh fame (called the '100 akre wood' in the books). When I was a boy I used to spend whole days wandering in this wood without meeting anyone (apart from a plump little bear of course). On one occasion while out walking in this wood, a friend of my mother, a local farming lady, who knew A. A. Milne (or Christopher Milne or both of them - I can't remember which) pointed to a tree we were standing next to and said 'Did you know that this is Owl's Tree?' Believe it or not, this lady's surname is 'de la Bere'.
Poohsticks
My grandfather, George Milne (1894-1942), bottom left. Date unkown but presumably taken during WW1.
The home of my great-grandmother's family, the Nightingales, in Ecclefechan, Dumfries & Galloway. This is the house where Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) was born. It is now run as a museum by the National Trust for Scotland.
July 2005. The Camel estuary near Rock in Cornwall, where my parents used to take us on family holidays and where I now take my own children.
Rock at sunset.
A rainbow at Rock.
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= | Pamela Mary
Senior
Sister of Anne Barbara Senior. Mrs. Kipling (see below), wife of Rudyard Kipling, was my mother's godmother.
A hidden valley near my mother's home in Kent. My favourite walk. Being near the old Pilgrim's Way to the shrine of Thomas a Becket at Canterbury, one half expects to meet the Wife of Bath and her merry band of pilgrims from Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' jangling down the track. The valley has probably not changed since that time.
The same valley looking back to where the first photo was taken from.
The top of the valley.
The path to the top of the valley. 'Still round the
corner there may wait
A view of the village green at Challock, Kent. This green is about a kilometre long. |
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| Oliver
Nassau Senior (b. 28 Nov 1901 m. 8 Sep
1927 d. 30 Jun 1992)
Farmer and Chartered Surveyor. An only child. He was born at 98 Cheyne Walk, London, once the home of Thomas Carlyle and now owned by the National Trust. It is an interesting fact that my father's family used to live in the house in Ecclefeachan, in Scotland, where Thomas Carlyle was born. This house is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland. OLIVER NASSAU SENIOR, BA (Oxon), ARICS, late of Park Manor, 8 St. Aldhems Road, Branksome Park, Poole, Dorset (1985-92); 12 Minterne Grange, Crichel Mount Rd., Lilliput, Poole, Dorset (1971-1985); Purbeck Cottage, Chaddesley Glen, Poole, Dorset (1959-1971); Ardencote, Alington Rd., Poole, Dorset (1955-59); 24 Northmoor Road, Oxford (1946-1955) (J R R Tolkein lived at 20 Northmoor Road at the time - oddly enough he moved to Poole - 'Woodridings', 19 Lakeside Rd - in 1968); Belmont House, Thame, Oxon (1936-1946); 25 Newton Court, Church St., Kensington (1935-1936); Mill Dene, Eastbourne Road, Seaford, Sussex (1931-1935); Cambridge (1930-1931); Tideways, Bosham, Sussex (Winter 1929); The Bough Farm, Burwash Common, Sussex (1925-1929); b 28 Nov 1901 at 98 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London; educ St. Peter's, Chesterfield Rd., Eastbourne 1912-15; Haileybury 1915-17, Eastbourne College (moved school following bout of double pneumonia) 1917-19; Studied for Responsions for Oxford at a private crammer in Eastbourne 1919-20; Univ. College, Oxford (B.A. Agric.) 1921-24; Farming pupil at Iford (prop. J & H Robinson), nr. Lewes, Sussex (1924-25); Farming in Burwash, Sussex 1925-29; Studied crop husbandry, Cambridge 1930-31; Served articles (ARICS 1933) with Powell & Co., Lewes, Sussex 1931-35; Working independently in London 1935-36; Land Agent for E H Dashwood Esq, Aston Rowant Estate, Oxon 1936-38; Asst. Land Agent, HQ Eastern Command, London 1938-40; Asst. Land Agent, War Dept., Oxford 1940-46; Senior Asst. Land Commissioner, Min. of Ag., Gloucester 1946-48; Asst. Bursar, St. John's College, Oxford 1948-55; President Architecture & Surveying Institute 1934 He is listed in the Marquis de Ruvigny's 'The Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal' (Mortimer Percy Volume, Part I, Page 282). This records my grandfather's royal descent via the Eden family, but a different descent from the one shown under Barbara Hammersley (daughter of Dulcibella Eden) below. Rudyard Kipling He owned the farm next door to 'Batemans', the Kipling's house in Sussex. My grandparents met when my grandfather advertised a puppy for sale in the local paper. My grandmother, who was Kipling's secretary at the time and living at 'Batemans' (now held by the National Trust), arrived at my grandfather's farm to look at the puppy in the Kipling's huge chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce. This car is still going strong and was sold at auction some years ago.
My grandfather, Oliver Nassau Senior (1901-1992), as a young boy.
Belmont House, Thame. My grandparents' home from 1936 to 1946. The house was requisitioned by the Army during the war and they ruined it. My grandparents had to sell the house when it was handed back to them.
Belmont House from the back.
My grandparents, Oliver Senior (1901-1992) and Dorothy Senior, nee Gardner-Smith (1904-1987). I think this is at my parents' wedding in 1953. Poole, Dorset
An aerial view of the entrance of Poole Harbour, the largest natural harbour in Europe, and Sandbanks. Three of my grandparents homes are in this view; Purbeck Cottage (just where the neck of Sandbanks joins the mainland) and Ardencote and Minterne Grange, further left along the shoreline.
The Poole Harbour ferry (which you can also see in the photo above). Going on this is always an adventure.
View of Sandbanks from the area of Evening Hill. This is almost exactly the view from my grandparent's former home at 12 Minterne Grange.
Branksome Chine, about 100m from my grandparent's former home in Chaddesley Glen. I used to play on this beach when I visited my grandparents as a child. The path from Chaddelsey Glen comes down the wooded bank on the left of the picture. |
= | Dorothy
Gardner-Smith (b. 31 May 1904 d. 27 Dec
1987)
Daughter of Herbert Heaton Gardner-Smith (1869-1922) and Annie Elizabeth Gardner-Smith, nee Pierce (1874-1918) Secretary to Rudyard Kipling, author of 'The Jungle Book' etc. Stern (but kind) reprover of naughty grand-children. I have a family tree for the Gardner-Smiths going back to the late eighteenth century. Percival Gardner-Smith (1888-1985)
Fen Ditton Hall, Fen Ditton, nr. Cambridge. Sometime home of Rev. Percival Gardner-Smith (1888-1985), my grandmother's uncle. He was Dean of Jesus College, Cambridge, from 1922 to 1956 and left £225,000 to the college in his will.
The Rev. Percival Gardner-Smith BD (1888-1985)
In the grounds of Fen Ditton Hall with Sophie Gardner-Smith (nee Leeke) (1885-1960), first wife of Rev. Percival Gardner-Smith, in the foreground. Her grandfather, William Leeke ('Waterloo William') (1797-1879), Ensign of the 52nd Light Infantry Regiment (later The Royal Green Jackets), was the youngest British officer at the Battle of Waterloo, where he carried the Regimental Colours.
Herbert Heaton Gardner-Smith (1869-1922) and Annie Elizabeth Gardner-Smith, nee Pierce (1874-1918) with their daughters, Eve (Aunty Paddy) and Dorothy, my grandmother. Photo taken at 'Hartfield', Helensburgh. He was born Herbert Heaton Gardner Smith (i.e. his surname was 'Smith') but adopted the surname Gardner-Smith on 8 October 1901.
Helensburgh. |
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| Walter
Nassau Senior (1850-1933)
Barrister, of 98 Cheyne Walk, London (until 1904); 12 Chichester Terrace, Brighton (until 1912), Branksome, Saffrons Rd, Eastbourne (until 1920) and then 50 St. John's Rd, Eastbourne and also of The Haven, Heatherwood Park Road, Totland, Isle of Wight (until 1924*). An only child. He was born at Donnington Priory, which featured in 'The 39 Steps'. Educated at Rugby and University College, Oxford. Student at Lincoln's Inn in 1871, called to the Bar in 1875. He was an equity draftsmen and conveyancer** who had chambers in Lincoln's Inn at 2 Old Buildings in 1880 and 21 Old Buildings by 1885 (Foster's Men-at-the-Bar lists him at 21 Old Square). From 1890 he does not have a chambers address so presumably ceased to practice. *I suspect that this holiday home had to be sold following the collapse of Cox's & King's in 1923. **Equity draftsmen and conveyancers were a specialist kind of barrister engaged in the technical business of drafting all the complex written proceedings in a court action in Chancery and also drafting legal documents concerned with land and trusts within the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery.
Chichester Terrace, Brighton. This terrace faces directly onto the sea front and beach.
Brighton as it was.
Totland Bay, Isle of Wight, as it was when my grandfather was a boy. See here for further photos. This beach is only a short walk from my great-grandfather's old house 'The Haven'.
A postcard of holidaying in Totland.
Totland Bay, Isle of Wight, from Headon Warren, with Colwell Bay and Fort Albert (on the point) beyond. In the background on the far shore and approximately behind the ship is the Pylewell estate, once seat of Ascanius William Senior (1728-1787) - see below. The tumulus on top of Headon Warren (roughly the spot from which this picture was taken) was my grandfather's favourite place.
The Needles, Isle of Wight (from Alum Bay, I think).
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berks. Home of the Hughes family. Walter Nassau Senior was named after his uncle, Walter Scott Hughes (who died in 1846 at the age of 20 of malaria). Walter Scott Hughes was named after Sir Walter Scott, his godfather and close friend of his grandmother, Mary Anne Watts, who died in 1853, 3 years after Walter Nassau Senior's birth. Walter Scott Hughes was the nearest sibling in age to his sister, Jane, (mother of Walter Nassau Senior) and they were the closest of friends and companions. She was devastated by his death. |
= | Mabel
Barbara ('Barbara') Hammersley
(1864-1943)
Daughter of Hugh Hammersley (1819-1882) and Dulcibella Eden (d. 1903) and first cousin of Gertrude Jekyll, (b. 1804 d. 26 Mar 1876), the famous gardener - see below.
Dulcibella Eden (d. 1903)
Warren House, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, home of Hugh Hammersley and Dulcibella Eden.
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