William Francis Edolph Andrewes Uthwatt (1870-1921)
Were it not for that fact that he had passed away in 1882, the Great Linford estate would have next passed to Edolph Andrewes Uthwatt, which would have made him the fourth son in succession of Henry Uthwatt Uthwatt (1755-1812) to have acquired the keys to the Manor House. Upon Edolph’s death at the age of 77, his brother and then Lord of the Manor, Augustus Uthwatt served notice on Slade’s Girls’ School, who were presently renting the manor house, so as to make way for Edolph’s widow Anna Maria and her son William Francis Edolph Andrewes Uthwatt. It was William who was now next in line to inherit the estate, though not before first having to fight a very public court case against a rival for his inheritance; the story of this can be read in the biography of his father, Augustus Uthwatt.
William was born on April 25th, 1870 at Painswick in Gloucestershire, and was baptised on the 16th of June that year. His father Edolph had been a general practitioner in the college of surgeons. His mother Anna Maria had been born in Rodborough, Gloucestershire, the daughter of Thomas Glasscott and Caroline Augusta Morris.
He was just 15 when he inherited from his uncle Augustus, so presumably executors would have run affairs at the manor until his coming of age, which was reported in the Leighton Buzzard Observer and Linslade Gazette of Tuesday May 5th, 1891. That same year, the census return finds the young squire living at the Manor House, along with his younger brother Gerard Thomas Andrewes Chapman Uthwatt (aged 18) and their widowed mother. He, his brother and mother are described as “living on their own means”, by which is meant that they were supporting themselves on the inheritance and presumably the continuing income of the estate.
A doomed marriage
William was married on January 12th, 1898, to Catherine Jane Bouverie, fourth daughter of John Augustus Sheil Bouverie and his wife Jane Gray. The Bouveries had held the estate of Delepre Park in Northamptonshire, so this union bound another significant landed family with the Uthwatts. Though the marriage took place at Hardingstone, the bells of St. Andrews at Great Linford were rung at intervals during the afternoon, and in the evening, a “smoking concert” was held in the schoolroom.
Catherine Jane Bouverie and William Francis Edolph Andrewes Uthwatt. From Lady's Pictorial - Saturday 22 January 1898. Reproduced with permission of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
By the time of the 1901 census, the newlywed couple can be found in Great Linford Manor House with two sons, two year old William and one year old Amyas. The house also seems to have had something of a renaissance in terms of staffing levels, with 5 servants on hand to see to the family’s needs; a cook, parlour maid, housemaid, nurse and nursery maid.
But by 1911 the Uthwatts were no longer living at the Manor House; instead, it was being rented out to the Mead family, headed by Charles Walter Mead, an American by birth, who seems to have embraced the role of English country squire with some relish. Gerard Uthwatt, William’s brother, was now living at Glebe House on the High Street, but William is harder to locate, with no obvious entry to be found on the 1911 census, though his two sons can be found at boarding school in Woburn Sands. Sadly, the reason for William’s absence is likely the impending collapse of his marriage. A newspaper article carried in the Buckingham Advertiser and Free Press of Saturday October 18th, 1913 is headlined, “Marriage was a mistake”, and in what must have been excruciating detail for the Uthwatts, reveals that the couple had become estranged in 1909 and William had sought a divorce on the grounds that Catherine had committed adultery.
Divorce at this time was a rarity and a costly affair, confined largely to the rich, though it would still have been considered a great scandal. The law also required proof of either violence or adultery, and this particular case it appears very much as if the “proof” of the latter was very carefully orchestrated by Catherine. In a rather poignant letter produced in court, she wrote to her husband.
But by 1911 the Uthwatts were no longer living at the Manor House; instead, it was being rented out to the Mead family, headed by Charles Walter Mead, an American by birth, who seems to have embraced the role of English country squire with some relish. Gerard Uthwatt, William’s brother, was now living at Glebe House on the High Street, but William is harder to locate, with no obvious entry to be found on the 1911 census, though his two sons can be found at boarding school in Woburn Sands. Sadly, the reason for William’s absence is likely the impending collapse of his marriage. A newspaper article carried in the Buckingham Advertiser and Free Press of Saturday October 18th, 1913 is headlined, “Marriage was a mistake”, and in what must have been excruciating detail for the Uthwatts, reveals that the couple had become estranged in 1909 and William had sought a divorce on the grounds that Catherine had committed adultery.
Divorce at this time was a rarity and a costly affair, confined largely to the rich, though it would still have been considered a great scandal. The law also required proof of either violence or adultery, and this particular case it appears very much as if the “proof” of the latter was very carefully orchestrated by Catherine. In a rather poignant letter produced in court, she wrote to her husband.
Dear Billy. As you know, our life has been an impossible one for the last few years, as I expect you realise as well as I do, and I feel that for both our sakes it would better we should be free; and as I cannot do anything, I am going to give you your opportunity, if you like to take it.
I love another who loves me, and we are everything to each other, and if you like to inquire you will find we stayed at the Welbeck Palace Hotel, Welbeck Street, last year, as Mr. and Mrs. Warren. It is useless to ask me to give him up, for I cannot.
I am sorry for any unhappiness I may have caused you, but as you know, we are not suited to each other, and our marriage was a dreadful mistake. Yours, KATE UTHWATT.
The article further reveals that a witness from the hotel was called to prove that Catherine and her beau had stayed there, and a decree nisi was granted to William, with costs, and custody of the children. None of this may have been a surprise to William, and it is entirely possible the entire tryst may have been carefully arranged with the foreknowledge of all parties to provide the evidence demanded of the court.
A new life
William was now renting the Manor House out, and lived himself at Wharf Cottage, just off what is now Marsh Drive. His main business was farming, but it has also been noted that during and after the First World War, he was also running a timber merchant business, with wood cut from the estate. He was clearly committed to the parish and surrounding area. He had been a member of the Newport Pagnell Board of Guardians since 1899 and was chairman of the Great Linford Parish Council. He had also unsuccessfully run for a Buckinghamshire County council seat. Though there is no certainty it came to fruition, in 1905 William requested permission from the council to erect a “wind motor for the purpose of getting a water supply.” The council concurred, observing that the water supply to the village was poor and so this was a laudable endeavour. The 1921 census does not give an address for William other than "Great Linford", but it does record that he is a farmer, and that he is living at "Wharf House" with one servant, a 65 year old woman named Clara Horton.
The Buckinghamshire Otter Hunt and other pursuits
One should probably not be surprised to find that he was active in blood sports, a perennial preoccupation of the landed gentry, and in fact it is reported that on one occasion he went on a big game hunt to South America; it makes one wonder if the mounted head of some exotic beast once graced the dining room of Great Linford Manor House. Closer to home, William’s pre-eminent claim to fame, though in modern terms it is a dubious one, is as founder alongside his brother Gerard of the Bucks Otter Hunt, which was based in the Manor Park grounds.
The Uthwatts would come to be associated with this barbaric sport for over 60 years, though having a large pack of hunting dogs came with its own set of risks, and there was almost a tragedy on May 4th, 1903, when William’s youngest son (about 6 at the time) was attacked by a pack of fox terriers, which in turn attracted the Otter hounds, these dogs also then joining in on the attack on the unfortunate child. If not for the quick actions of Gerard Uthwatt in beating off the dogs, it seems likely the child would have been seriously injured or even mauled to death.
The Uthwatts would come to be associated with this barbaric sport for over 60 years, though having a large pack of hunting dogs came with its own set of risks, and there was almost a tragedy on May 4th, 1903, when William’s youngest son (about 6 at the time) was attacked by a pack of fox terriers, which in turn attracted the Otter hounds, these dogs also then joining in on the attack on the unfortunate child. If not for the quick actions of Gerard Uthwatt in beating off the dogs, it seems likely the child would have been seriously injured or even mauled to death.
The Bucks Otter Hounds. The clothing would suggest circa 1900, so pictured to the fore could be William Francis Edolph Andrewes Uthwatt
William passed away from double pneumonia at Great Linford on July 5th, 1922, having endured a short 2 week illness, but was buried in Stroud, having expressed a desire to be buried near his parents. A memorial service was held at Great Linford. He left an estate worth £51,982 with all his real estate to left to his eldest son William Rupert Edolph Andrewes Uthwatt. The remainder of his personal estate was to be divided between the rest of his children. A tablet was dedicated to William in the church in March 1923, which includes the figure of an Otter.
As the first of several postscripts to this story, William’s brother Gerard Uthwatt had also married into the Bouverie family, to Frederica Gertrude Bouverie. She was a sister to Catherine, whose marriage to William had ended in divorce. No such fate met Gerard and Frederica, and their child Stella would in the fulness of time become the last of the Great Linford Utwatts.
As for Catherine, happily it seems that in 1914 she married her new love, a civil engineer by the name of Astley Paston Friend (the name Warren cited in her letter presumably being a alias), and their marriage endured until his death in 1944. In 1954 she was reported to be resident in South Africa, but passed away in Gloucestershire in 1965.
As for Catherine, happily it seems that in 1914 she married her new love, a civil engineer by the name of Astley Paston Friend (the name Warren cited in her letter presumably being a alias), and their marriage endured until his death in 1944. In 1954 she was reported to be resident in South Africa, but passed away in Gloucestershire in 1965.
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