Protestant Exiles from France/Book First - Chapter 9 - Section I
Chapter IX.
FAMILIES FOUNDED BY REFUGEES FROM FLANDERS.
I. Bouverie and Pusey.
Side by side with a Dutch Protestant Church there was a Walloon or French Protestant Church at Sandwich in the early years of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. To this French Church there came from Frankfort-on-the-Maine,[1] in 1568, Laurens des Bouveries (born 1542), a master silk-weaver, and his wife (née Barbara Van den Hove, native of Frankfort-on-the-Maine). He (as we are informed at a later date) was a native of St. Gain, in Melantois, i.e., as the moderns express it, of Sainghin, near Lille. No church registers survive; but in his History of Foreign Refugees, Mr Burn has described an account-book “de l’eglise de Sandeuuyt Francoise” from 1568 to 1571, in which Laurens des Bouveryes gets credit for a gift to the poor of twenty shill ings, being the proceeds of a sale of baize [ad cause de bayes p luy vendues ici pour le droiet des pouvres]. In October 1571 he subscribed a shilling for the poor, Jan des Bouveries giving eightpence. This was a calamitous year; the plague had visited Sandwich, and the refugees erected a wooden hospital. Soon afterwards it seems to have been decided by the French congregation to leave Sandwich, its members having been invited to other English towns. Laurens des Bouveries removed to Canterbury, perhaps in 1574, when the mayor and magistrates of that city granted manufacturing and trading privileges to the strangers coming over for refuge, “with like liberty as those of Sandwidge.”
In the surviving French register of Canterbury, which begins with the year 1581, we find him in 1592 as a sponsor at the baptism of Lea, daughter of the pasteur Samuel Le Chevallier; again, in 1594, at the marriage of his daughter Elizabeth (Mrs Maurois), who is described as “native de Zandwish.” On the 26th November of the latter year he, as a widower, married Catherine Pipelart, native of Perone, in Melantois, widow of Michael Castel.
The good refugee had three daughters — Elizabeth (Mrs Maurois), Jeanne (Mrs De la Tombe), and Lea (Mrs De la Fortrie). He had five sons — (1) Edward (of whom presently); (2) Jacob, minister of Heilighorn, in Holland, who married Catherine, daughter of John Lethieullier; he is registered as a godfather (by proxy) at Canterbury in 1621; (3) Valentine (unmarried); (4) Samuel (married); and (5) Jaques (married). [Jaques Desbouveries was a resident in Canterbury in 1618.]
Edward, the founder of the present English family, removed to London; he is officially returned in 161 8 as a resident in Broad Street, thus: “Edward Le Bouuere, born in Canterbury, his parents straungers;” he died in 1625. He was the father of Sir Edward Desbouverie, knight, who was knighted on board a ship 19th March 1684 (1685 new style?). Sir Edward was a wealthy Turkey merchant of London (born 1621, died 1694); he married Anne, daughter of Jacob de la Forterie, of London, merchant, and had seven sons and four daughters. Of the daughters — (1) Jane married John de l’Eau, of London, merchant; (2) Jane, married Sir Philip Boteler, of Teston, Kent, baronet; (3) Mary; and (4) Elizabeth, both died unmarried. The sons were — (1) William, (2), Edward, (3) Jacob, (4) Peter, (5) Daniel, (6) John, and (7) Christopher. Of these, the third (born in 1659) M.P. for Hythe, acquired a considerable estate at Folkestone, and died 2d September 1722; the seventh was Sir Christopher Desbouverie, knight, (born 1671, died 1733), of whom and of his descendants I shall speak in a separate section. Returning to the father of this large family, Sir Edward Desbouverie, knight, I note that he died at his seat at Cheshunt, in Hertfordshire, 2d April 1694.
For several generations each head of this family obtained a step in worldly rank. The above-named Sir Edward was knighted by James II. His eldest son, William (born in 1657), who had been elected Deputy-Governor of the Bank of England on 2d April 1707, was created a baronet 19th February 1714 (n.s.). Sir William was twice married — first, to Mary, daughter of John Edwards, Esq., of London; and secondly, to Anne, only child of David Urry, Esq., of London, and granddaughter of John Urry, of Millplace, in the Isle of Wight. His surviving children were of the second marriage. The first and second sons were successively heads of the family, and his elder daughter Jane was the wife of John Allen Pusey, Esq. of Pusey, in Berkshire; a son (Christopher) and a daughter (Anne) died unmarried. He died in 1717. His monumental tablet is affixed to one of the pillars of the church of St. Catharine Cree, London; it bears the arms of Des Bouverie and thereon an escutcheon-of-pretence of the arms of Urry:—
Near this place lies
interred in a private vault, the body of
SIR WILLIAM DES BOUVERIE,
Bart.; deceased the 19th day of
May 1717. Aged 60.
His eldest son, Sir Edward Des Bouverie, second baronet, was M.P. for Shaftesbury in the two Parliaments of George I. and in the first Parliament of George II. He married, on 8th July 1718, Mary, daughter of John Smith, Esq., of “Beauford-buildings,” parish of St. Clement Danes, formerly one of the Commissioners of Excise; she was the younger sister of Anne, Countess of Clanricarde. Four weeks before his marriage he had paid his fine into the chamber of London to be for ever discharged from serving the office of sheriff. He acquired the estate of Longford, near Salisbury. His lady died on 3d January 1721, without issue, and he himself in 1736, November 21st. He died at Aix, in France, but was buried at Britford, near Salisbury, beside his wife.
The third baronet was the surviving brother, Jacob, who seems to have introduced Bouverie as the spelling of his surname. The family adopted a motto most appropriate to intrepid refugees, Patria cam, carior libertas. Sir Jacob Bouverie was raised to the peerage on 29th June 1747 as Baron Longford and Viscount Folkestone. He died in 1761. [As to Viscount Folkestone and his son, the Earl of Radnor, see my Chapter XI.]
Bouverie of Beachworth and Teston (extinct). Sir Christopher Des Bouverie, knight, born in 1671, was the seventh and youngest brother of Sir William, the first baronet. He was knighted by Queen Anne on 23d June 1713, on presenting an Address from the South Sea Company. He married Elizabeth, daughter, and ultimately sole heir of Ralph Freeman, Esq., of Beachworth, in Surrey. The children of this marriage were two sons and two daughters, who at a very early age became orphans, Lady Des Bouverie dying on 13th December 1727, and Sir Christopher dying at his house in Leicester-Fields, London, on 22d January 1733. As to the children —
(1.) The elder son, Freeman, died in 1734, in early youth.
(2.) The younger son, John, became the head of this branch. He was born in 1721, and when his chief, the first Viscount Folkestone, changed the spelling of the family name, he was known as John Bouverie. His manhood fulfilled the high promise of his youth. He was an accomplished scholar and a popular English gentleman. He spent some years in his travels in Europe and Asia; and developing antiquarian tastes, he amassed considerable collections of medals, gems, and art-treasures. He and his companions, Robert Wood and Henry Dawkins, brought home magnificent inscriptions. As to his last tour, it may be that he lingered too long, for, becoming suddenly indisposed, he died at Smyrna, 8th September 1750, aged 29. In that foreign soil he was buried, and there a monumental pillar attests the admiration and affection felt for him. His sisters became co-heirs of the family estates. (Mr Richard Phelps, a scholar of high reputation, had been his travelling tutor, and probably wrote his epitaph.)
(3.) Anne, wife of John Hervey, Esq., one of the King’s Justices-itinerant, succeeded to the estate of Beachworth in Surrey. She died 1st April 1757.
(4.) Elizabeth (unmarried) obtained the mansion and estate of Teston, near Maidstone, as her share. She died 1st October 1798.
The following is the epitaph on the monument at Smyrna:—
Hospites! quicunque literarum venustiorum aut studiis aut patrocinio cultores estis idonei — quicunque virtutum omnium, quae aut publicae utilitati inserviunt aut vitae privatae decori sunt et ornamento, fautores [estis] probi — huic Marmori adeste, et grato animo memoriam recolite egregii juvenis
JOHANNIS BOUVERIE
qui antiqua et illustri apud Anglos familiâ (de republicâ, de ecclesiâ optimè meritâ, Fidei Reformatae cui nomen dedisse sibi fuit rei avitae direptionem pati, animoso pietatis exemplo, militante)
feliciter oriundus,
nobilitatem, quam a Majorum virtutibus acceperat, suis clariorem reddidit.
Is enim erat
qui bonorum et doctorum omnium lacrymas meretur,
si quid habent laude digni
artium elegantissimarum peritia ab omni affectione longissimè aliena — multifaria eruditio adeò ostentationis expers adeò recondita, ut illius modestia (nisi comitem notissimum habuisset summum animi candorem)
invidiae forsan argueretur.
Dignus certè qui posteris tradatur,
si quid habent honesti amabilis morum simplicitas amaenissimâ urbanitate exornata, prudentia a calliditate abhorrens,
placidissima indoles, inconcussa fortitudo, probitas antiqua.
Eximii animi dotibus dignitatem contulit et gratiam peculiarem
mira corporis venustas,
ut in illo comitas, benevolentia, fides, non pectoris tantùm incolae, at fronti palàm insedisse, intuentibus aspectabiles viderentur.
Europâ pene universâ semel peragratâ,
in patriam regressus non vitia aut ineptias (quod quorundum est peregrinantium) sed linguas, sed artes, sed quicquid erat morum liberalium, secum advexit. Jucundissimis politionum antiquorum studiis praecipuè deditus, numismata, gemmas, et variora id genus χειμήλια, pretiosas veteris Italian reliquias, sumptu amplo sed judicio pari — ingenii elegantissimi futura oblectamenta —
sedulè comparavit.
Eheu! fatale mentis ornandae studium!
quod flentes simul collaudare cogimur!
His enim intentus quum in Asiam trajecisset, Graeciae etiam et AEgypti eruditionum gazas Romanis additurus,
morbo repentino correptus
in ipso itinere
(proh! spes hominum fragiles! proh! nostras delicias breves!)
e vitâ excessit.
The estate of Beachworth[2] had come to him through his mother (née Elizabeth Freeman), and the estate of Teston through his aunt Anne, wife of Sir Philip Boteler, Baronet, of Teston. In Literary Anecdotes he is styled “Mr. Bouverie of Teston.” Both of these estates were eventually possessed by his younger sister Elizabeth, who, although unmarried, was known as Mrs Bouverie of Teston.
The will of Elizabeth Bouverie, of Teston, written entirely in her own hand, was dated 12th October 1786. She was also the proprietrix of the estate of Beachworth, Surrey (to which were united two estates in Kent, namely, Sutton-Vallence and Langley). After the death of her sister, Mrs. Hervey, in 1757, these estates had been inherited successively by that sister’s sons, Stephen and Christopher Hervey, both of whom died without issue. Miss Bouverie, of Teston, divided her estates, in 1786, among four heirs:—
- Betchworth, in Surrey, she left to the Hon. William Henry Bouverie, half-brother of Jacob, second Earl of Radnor.
- Sutton-Vallence, in Kent, she left to the Hon. Bartholomew Bouverie, brother of the above, and half-brother of the same earl.
- Langley, in Kent, she left to the Hon. Philip Pusey, of Pusey, half-brother of William, first Earl of Radnor.
- Teston, in Kent, she left to Sir Charles Middleton, Baronet, and made him her sole executor and residuary legatee.
Although she gave this well-merited testimony of regard to an excellent friend, yet the Bouverie family received substantial notice and benefit. Besides the three estates (named above), it received three legacies thus:— The Earl of Radnor, £100; Hon. Edward Bouverie, senior, of Delapre Abbey, £1000; Hon. Edward Bouverie, junior, nephew of the senior, and youngest brother of William-Henry and Bartholomew, £1000. These main provisions she never varied, although she lived until 1st October 1798, and on the 22nd of that month the Will, with thirteen codicils, was proved by Sir Charles Middleton, of Hertford Street, in the parish of Saint George, Hanover Square, in the county of Middlesex, Baronet, Admiral of the Blue. His task as executor was no sinecure, the legacies and annuities being very numerous. The most interesting were the following:—
£2000 to Dr. Philip Lloyd, Dean of Norwich. (This legacy lapsed by his death, and was changed into an annuity of £300 to his widow, by codicil of 25th June 1790.) There were also several legacies to the clergy upon her estates.
£1000 to Rev. William Cawthorne Unwin. of Stock, Essex. (This legacy lapsed by his death, and was transferred to Mrs. Unwin, his widow, by codicil of 7th March 1787.)
£1000 to Thomas Jones, Esq., of Park Street, Westminster.
£40 a-year to Frances, daughter of the late General Montpesson, and wife of Mr. Oliver, attorney at Manchester (also a legacy of £200, by codicil of 10th April 1790, to her daughter Frances, and £200 to John Oliver, of Beachworth).
£300 to Mrs. Hannah More, of Bristol (April 10, 1790), and ,£100 a-year to Mrs. Hannah More, now or late of Bristol (19th October 1792).
£2000 to William VVilberforce, Esq., of Old Palace Yard (19th October 1792), “requesting him to employ the same in any such benevolent purposes as he shall judge proper.”
Sir Charles Middleton’s wife, daughter, and son-in-law are noticed (10th April 1790):— £500 “to be disposed of by my friend Lady Middleton, in such charities as she shall think proper.” £100 to Gerard Noel Edwards, Esq. £100 to Mrs. Edwards. To Lady Middleton’s kinsman, Samuel Gambier (eldest son of John, deceased), she left £2000 in her will; and in the last-named codicil Captain James Gambier, R.N., received £2000, Rev. James Edward Gambier, Rector of Langley, £300, and Cornish Gambier, Esq., £300.
To public charities she made the following bequests:—
£1000 to St. George’s Hospital, near Hyde Park Corner.
£500 to the Middlesex Hospital.
£500 to the Westminster Infirmary.
500 to the Asylum, near Westminster Bridge.
£500 to St. Luke’s Hospital, near Moorfields, established for the reception of incurable lunatics.
£500 to the Philanthropic Society (10th April 1790).
£100 to the Charity School of St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields (7th June 1797).
*⁎* On 1st May 1805, Sir Charles Middleton, Bart., First Lord of the Admiralty, was raised to the peerage as Baron Barham, of Barham Court and Teston.
Bouverie, of Delapré Abbey, county of Northampton, is the family founded by Hon. Edward Bouverie, M.P. for Salisbury, afterwards for Northampton (who died on 3rd September 1810), second son of Jacob, first Viscount Folkestone. His mother (the Viscount’s first wife) was Mary, only child and heiress of Bartholomew Clarke, Esq., of Delapré Abbey. Mr. Bouverie married, on 30th June 1764, Harriot, daughter of Sir Edward Fawkener, who was for many years ambassador at the Porte. His sons were Edward Bouverie, Esq., of Delapré Abbey (born 25th October 1767, died 14th April 1858); Rev. John Bouverie, Rector of Woolbeding, and Prebendary of Lincoln (born 13th January 1779, died, 9th June 1855), and Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Frederick Bouverie, K.C.B., G.C.M.G., Colonel of the 97th Regiment, and Governor of Malta (born 11th July 1783, died at Woolbeding House, 14th November 1852). This distinguished officer, who wore the Egyptian and Peninsular medals, was the father of Captain Hugh Montolieu Bouverie, who was killed at the battle of Inkerman. The married daughters of the Hon. Edward Bouverie, M.P., were Harriet Elizabeth, Countess of Rosslyn (died in August 1810); Mary Charlotte, Mrs. Maxwell of Carriden (died in 1816); Jane, Lady Vincent (died in 1805); and Diana Juliana, wife of Hon. George Ponsonby, of Woolbeding, Sussex (died 18th July 1808). Edward Bouverie, Esq., of Delapré Abbey, who died in 1858, aged ninety, was succeeded by his son, General Everard William Bouverie (born 1789, died 18th November 1871). Another son, Captain Francis Kenelm Bouverie, of the 62nd Foot (born 7th August 1797), had died in his father’s lifetime (19th September 1837), leaving a son (born 12th July 1836), who became the only surviving male heir of his family, and is the present John Augustus Sheil Bouverie, Esq., of Delapré Abbey, High Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1877. Mr. Bouverie has two sons and five daughters.
Other Bouveries who became landed proprietors. What I have to note here is chiefly in illustration of the will of Miss Bouverie of Teston, as already condensed in this chapter.
Under this will there was founded another family of Bouverie of Betchworth in Surrey. On 5th September 1751, William Bouverie, afterwards the first Earl of Radnor (father by his first wife of the second Earl), married, secondly, a relative of Lady Pleydell, Rebecca, daughter of John Alleyne, Esq., of Barbadoes. Their eldest son, William Henry, was born 30th October 1752, and on 16th August 1777 he married Lady Bridget Douglas, daughter of James, fourteenth Earl of Morton. He sat as a member of the House of Commons for Salisbury and for Downton; he came into possession of Betchworth in 1798, and died 23d August 1806. He had become Hon. William Henry Bouverie, in 1761, on the death of his grandfather, the first Viscount Folkestone. His only son, Charles Henry, born in 1782, died, in 1836, unmarried. His eldest daughter, Elizabeth, became, in 1814, the second wife of George Hay Dawkins Pennant, Esq., of Penrhyn Castle, but had no children; she died in 1859. His younger daughter, Maria Rebecca, was married, on 3d October 1808, to mutability of Animal Types” (London, 1882). The second son of the founder was he celebrated Rev. Dr. Pusey (see Chapter XII.); and the third son is Rev. William Bouverie Pusey, M.A., Rector of Langley, Kent, born 14th May 1810. The crest of he Pusey family is “a cat, passant.”
[For other descendants of the refugee, Des Bouveries, see Chapter XL]