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Questions to be answered
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1. |
BLENNERHASSETT STREET NAME AT JUBBULPORE - JABALPUR, INDIA
A street in Jubbulpore, a city to the north of Nagpur in the Central Provinces, India (now known as Jabalpur in the state of Madhya Pradesh) was named for a Blennerhassett. This street is located in the Traffic Lanes area, close to the Allahabad bank. Two men of the name were prominent Civil servants in the Central provinces but I do not know for which of them the street was named. They are:
♦ Sir Arthur Blennerhassett, Bart., BA, JP, ICS of London (5th Baronet of Blennerville in Co.Kerry, Ireland) was born in 1871 at Munich, Barvaria, Germany.
He entered the Indian Civil Service 1895, posted to the Central Provinces Commission. Assistant Commissioner from 1908 at Nagpur, Wardha, Saugor, Damoh, Jubbulpore, Raipur, Seoni and Yeotmal, he became Under-Secretary to the Chief Commissioner in Revenue Department; Financial and Revenue Secretary and finally Chief Secretary to the Chief Commissioner, Central Provinces from 22-Oct-1914. He was also JP (magistrate) for the Central Provinces.
"Sir Arthur Blennerhassett Silver Medals" were awarded annually to seven outstanding students at Nagpur University and these were still being awarded in 1938. He died 28-Jan-1915 at Camp Yeotmal (now the town of Yeotmal), Central Provinces and is buried at Tiger Gap Cemetery, Nagpur District. He is said to have been murdered.
♦ William Blennerhassett was born 1845, son of Rev. William Blennerhassett, Vicar of Iwerne Minster, Dorset (of the family of Ballyseedy, Co.Kerry).
Educated at Eton 1858-1860, he joined the "Bengal Civil Service" in 1869. Indian Civil Service Officer "5th Class" in 1873, he rose to be District & Sessions Judge (North West Provinces) 1889; High Court Judge (Central Provinces) 1896; Acting High Court Judge (NW Provinces) 1896 and Judicial Commissioner of Oude, India 1899. Co-author of "Report of the Regular Settlement of the Hardoi District, 1872-77" (published at Allahabad 1880). Most of his life was spent in India but he retired to England as a pensioner on the "Bombay Civil Fund Register".
For which of these two men was the street in Jabalpur named, and when?
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2. |
HASSETT STREET NAMES IN ENGLAND
♦ Hasset Road, Homerton, Hackney, London
♦ Hassett Street, Bedford, Bedfordshire (NOTE: There were Blennerhassetts in Bedfordshire during the 16th century)
♦ Hassett Close, Preston, Lancashire
Why are these three streets in England so named? |
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3. |
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IRISH LIVERY BUTTON WITH BLENNERHASSETT ARMS
For the household livery uniform of which Blennerhassett house were these Brass Livery Buttons made?
The most likely candidate is Ballyseedy House (a.k.a. Ballyseedy Castle) near Tralee in Co.Kerry but could be from elsewhere and I find no evidence either way... |
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4. |
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PLACE OF DEATH & BURIAL of ROSANNA "Rose" ANNIE BLENNERHASSETT 1907
East African (Manicaland, Mashonaland, Rhodesia) pioneer nurse Sister Rose Blennerhassett (Rosanna Annie Blennerhassett, born c1844 France), also known as "Sister Aimee" and "Sister Rose", was co-author of "Adventures in Mashonaland, by two Hospital Nurses, Rose Blennerhassett and Lucy Sleeman".
Rose believed to have died unmarried on 9-Oct-1907, but where?
No record of her death or burial has been found in England or at Kimberley, South Africa. One possibility is Capetown, SA.
Where did Rose die and where is she buried?
With Rose in East Africa were another two nurses:
- Lucy Anna Louise Sleeman b.1865 d.1907, later Lucy Vines (married Charles Granville Vines at Kimberley Dec-1897).
- Beryl Welby, later Beryl Lichfield (married Dr. Lichfield at Umtali 24-Dec-1891) - does a photograph of Beryl Welby exist? |
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Rose Blennerhassett and Lucy Sleeman
in England (1893 newspaper)
where is the original photograph? | |
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6. |
BURIAL PLACE OF Rev. EDWARD TOWNSEND BLENNERHASSETT
Irvine Rowland Blennerhassett (alias "Joe Benson", alias "Irvine Benson") born 1862 London, had an only brother, Rev. Edward Townsend Blennerhassett, left the Anglican clergy c1902 and took up nursing. He served in Royal Army Medical Corps 1907-1911 and again during WWI, signing on 10-Aug-1914 as male nurse for four years with the RAMC Special Reserve.
What became of him after leaving the RAMC c1918, at the end of WWI, is a puzzle... I cannot find his death recorded in England or Wales, so he may have gone abroad after WWI, perhaps to South Africa - it is possible he may be identical with a Rev. Blennerhassett (born c1869) who sailed 16-Feb-1899 from Southampton, England to Mossel Bay, South Africa (half way between Cape Town & Port Elizabeth).
What is known of him:
Rev. Edward Townsend Blennerhassett b.14-Feb-1872 Valentia Island, Co.Kerry; at school 1881; at home (No.4 Pensallt St., Bangor, Carnarvonshire) 1891; Student of Philosophy 1891; educated at University College Durham (L.Th. 1893); Deacon 1895; Curate of St.Andrew's Cardiff 1895-96 (residing 119 Crwys Road, Cardiff 1895); Curate of St.Fagan's Cardiff 1897; Curate of All Saints, Weston, near Bath, Somerset 1897-1900; He is not listed in "Crockford's Clerical Directory" after 1902; Served in Royal Army Medical Corps 1907-1911 (discharged 29-Dec-1911) and again during WWI, signing on 10-Aug-1914 as male nurse for four years with the RAMC Special Reserve.
Where did Rev. Edward Townsend Blennerhassett die and where is he buried?
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7. |
WHO WAS SIR THOMAS BLENNERHASSETT, knighted by King James I in 1603 ?
In 1603, within a three month period, King James I raised funds by conferring knighthoods on 700 landowners, on receipt of payment of £50 from each. Edward Blennerhassett and Thomas Blennerhassett were among those knighted by James on 23-Jul-1603, shortly before his coronation, in the Royal Gardens at the Palace of Whitehall, London. They had responded to a summons made 17-Jul-1603 for all persons that had £40 in lands to come and receive the honour of knighthood. They were two of 300 men dubbed knights on the 23rd & 24th July.
Sir Edward Blennerhassett is known to be Edward Blennerhassett, of:
- Horsford Park, Horning, near Norwich in Co.Norfolk
- Laythes Hall (a.k.a. Hassett's Hall or "Hassetts House") Pockthorpe, Norwich
- Co.Fermanagh, where he was granted lands in 1610.
However, the identity of Sir Thomas Blennerhassett is uncertain. [BLOMEFIELD vol.? p.?] describes the new knight as "...Thomas Blennerhassett who also went to Ireland…" but there are two men of appropriate status who fit this description. My difficulty is, having not seen either man anywhere described as "Sir Thomas". The two candidates are:
a) Capt. Thomas Blennerhassett (b.1549 d.1624/5) of Horsford Park, Norwich, Norfolk and of Castle Hassett (now Crevenish Castle) at Hassettstown (now Ederney) near Kesh, Inniskillen, Co.Fermanagh.
Thomas Blennerhassett was a soldier, a puritan, writer on Ireland and poet who wrote in praise of Queen Elizabeth I. He was also the brother of Sir Edward Blennerhassett here mentioned, one of the two Blennerhassetts knighted on the same day, but when these two brothers are found mentioned together, Edward is usually named "Sir Edward" but Thomas is not named "Sir Thomas".
b) Thomas Blennerhassett of Flimby Hall, Flimby (formerly Flemby), Co.Cumberland, as an Undertaker or Planter in "the plantation of the Province of Munster", received on 24-Aug-1590 (32 Elizabeth I) from Sir Edward Denny, Knt a grant of forfeited FitzGerald lands in Kerry including the Castle, town & lands of Ballycarty and of Ballyseedy. He travelled to Kerry but did not settle there, returning to his home at Flimby. His son Robert Blennerhassett did settle in Kerry, to become ancestor of all the Kerry & Limerick Blennerhassett families.
If you know the identity of this Sir Thomas Blennerhassett please get in touch.
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8. |
MONUMENT at Ballyseedy in Co.Kerry
In an isolated part of Ballyseedy Wood, Co.Kerry, in what was once the desmene of Ballyseedy Castle, stood a stone monument erected in memory of one or more of the Blennerhassett family of Ballyseedy. By the early 1940s the monument had fallen and by 2004 only three worked stones remained, one with an inscription remembering Arthur Blennerhassett of Ballyseedy who died at Bath in 1815. Local tradition tells us that c1944 there were about a dozen such worked stones, several supposedly carrying inscriptions. There is no indication of what the complete monument looked like, other than one of the surviving stones is a pyramid shaped stone suitable as the point of an obelisk.
Does a photograph, drawing or note exist showing the complete monument or other inscriptions?
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9. |
FOUNDATION STONE at Ballyseedy House (a.k.a. Ballyseedy Castle) in Co.Kerry
Above the banqueting hall fireplace of Ballyseedy House (formerly "Elm Grove", now Ballyseede Castle hotel), for centuries the seat of the Blennerhassett family in Co.Kerry, is a foundation stone carrying this inscription. On the keystone of a small arch immediately above the inscribed stone is carved a small but romantic "heart within a heart".
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B R |
S |
T I |
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8 : |
Y :
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1 3 : |
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7 2 |
1 |
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The date 1721 is believed to represent the date of first building the house "Elm Grove" but the meaning of the inscription as a whole is obscure.
If this inscription or the initials B R S T I mean something to you, please get in touch.
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10. |
UNKNOWN COAT-OF-ARMS ON TOWER AT BALLYSEEDY CASTLE, Co.Kerry
This coat-of-arms, a shield with "a chevron reversed between in chief one lozenge and in base three lozenges" is carved on a stone set into the east facing exterior wall of a square tower at the front of Ballyseedy Castle, Co.Kerry. This tower is believed to have been added during the remodelling by Kerry architect James Franklin Fuller in the 1880s.
These arms (also two 1821 stone shields at Ballyseedy) are unusual in having a reversed chevron, pointing down rather than up. They are not the arms of any family the Ballyseedy Blennerhassetts married into. Robert Noel, Lancaster Herald at the College of Arms in London, tells me he can find no trace of these arms and suspects they are imaginary. This part of the 1880s remodelling of the house may have taken place in the absence of the owner, Charles Blennerhassett; it is possible his rough sketch indicating the intended position of the Blennerhassett coat of arms, on what was about to become the new "front" of the house, was interpreted literally by the stone-mason who had no other drawing of the arms as they should be. It certainly is curious that, while no Blennerhassett arms appear at the front of the house, these highly visible but seemingly meaningless arms do appear there. Blennerhassett arms do appear at the rear of the house, very high up.
What is the story behind these arms? Do the Fuller plans for the 1880s remodelling still exist?
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11. |
IDENTITY OF THE 1st WIFE OF Sir Thomas BLENNERHASSETT, Knight, of Frenze, Co.Norfolk
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Jane Le Strange (L'Estrange, L'Strange) first wife of Sir Thomas Blennerhassett, Knight
Sir Thomas Blennerhassett, Knight, of Frenze, Norfolk (b.c1461 d.27-Jun-1531) was Minister (Seneschal, Steward, Principal Household Officer) for the 2nd and 3rd Duke of Norfolk. He married est.c1495, as his first wife, Jane Le Strange probably of the family of Le Strange of Hunstanton (Hunston) Hall, Co.Norfolk (arms "two lions passant"), not Jane Sutton of the family of Sutton, Barons Dudley (arms "a lion rampant") as many sources incorrectly state.
In 1492 Thomas' wife Jane is described as cousin-german to Lady Surrey [SRO HD 1538/297/21 24-Jan-1492]. The term cousin-german derives from cousin-germain, of which the modern definition is 1st or 2nd cousin but in the 15th century meant simply "closely akin".
NOTE: Lady Surrey at that date was Elizabeth Tilney (d.4-Apr-1497) who married 2ndly to Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Surrey (from 1483) and 2nd Duke of Norfolk (from 1514), the employer of Sir Thomas Blennerhassett. Elizabeth was daughter of Sir Frederick Tylney & Elizabeth Cheney, granddaughter of Sir Philip Tilney (b.bef.1437 d.c1453) & Elizabeth Thorp (d.10-Nov-1435, dau. of Edmund Thorp).
Who is Jane Le Strange, where does she fit into the Le Strange of Hunstanton Hall family tree?
How is she related to Elizabeth Howard, nee Tilney, Duchess of Norfolk?
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click on this image to see all the four brass shields of arms at one time a part of this monument |
Jane and her husband were represented by a small brass shield of arms, shown here, part of a monumental brass for Sir Thomas Blennerhassett in the Church of St. Andrew the Apostle at Frenze, Co.Norfolk. This brass shield was one of four formerly surrounding the portrait brass on the tomb, the brass complete at Frenze when described in the 18th century by Francis Blomefield and when drawn by John Sell Cotman in 1816, but the portrait brass and four shields of arms were subsequently stolen. Only the inscription brass survives, presently mounted on the wall of the nave below a modern reproduction of the portrait brass. The four brass shields of arms have not been reproduced.
Who made the replica brass and when? What drawing was used as the model?
The arms are:
Quarterly: 1st Blennerhassett, 2nd Lowdham, 3rd Orton, 4th Kelvedon (for Sir Thomas Blennerhassett)
impaling two lions passant the arms of Le Strange (L'Estrange, L'Strange) of Hunstanton Hall, Co.Norfolk.
A similar brass shield of arms is believed to have been one of four on the tomb of their son, George Blennerhassett, interred in St. Mary's Church, Kenninghall, Norfolk. Both portrait brass and shields were lost by Blomefield's time, but [BLOMEFIELD vol. 1 pp.223-224] gives as a source the earlier [ANSTIS E.26, f.29] who had seen George's portrait brass "with his arms quartered" decorating the tomb. | |
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12. |
WHERE ARE THESE MANUSCRIPTS OF THE ANTIQUARIAN JOHN ANSTIS?
Mss. of John Anstis the elder b.1669 d.1744 (Garter Principal King of Arms, Norfolk Herald, Antiquarian and writer on heraldry) were sold at auction in 1768 and are now widely dispersed. The [BL Manuscripts Dept] has many of his manuscripts, but not all, and as these Ms. have been acquired at different times and from different sources, they are not kept together as a coherent collection but are scattered throughout the Ms. department.
[BLOMEFIELD - "Essay towards a Topographical History of Norfolk" by Francis Blomefield, 1st edition 1739, 2nd edition 10 vols 1805-1809] occasionally refers in footnotes to Mss. once in the possession of Anstis, using what appear to be Anstis' personal library shelfmarks & folio numbers. He records Anstis references to Blennerhassett related inscriptions at Frenze & Kenninghall as A 23 f.222, G 6 f.39, G 48, E 26 ff.23&29 (add page refs) and it would be helpful to locate the original Mss. for these references. As it is not possible to map these references to present day [BL] Ms. numbers, I do knot know if these documents are in the [BL] collection or elsewhere.
Where are these Anstis Mss.?
It appears that [BLOMEFIELD] did not have access to the original Anstis Ms, instead relying on transcripts originally taken by [LE NEVE], who left a mountain of such transcripts on small slips of paper, organized topographically, and [BLOMEFIELD] used these extensively. Many [LE NEVE] transcripts have been lost but there remain sizable collections of these notes among the [FRERE Ms.] in the [NRO] and for these [PAUL RUTLEDGE] has compiled a calendar.
Where are Peter Le Neve's transcripts of these particular Anstis Mss? |
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13. |
WHO IS EDMUND BACON OF HARLESTON (who held Frenze, Norfolk in 1572), thought to be son or perhaps son-in-law of FRANCIS BACON of Hessett, and who was his parents?
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This represents him standing between his 1st wife Elizabeth Cotton and his 2nd wife Mary Blennerhassett of Frenze, Co.Norfolk (daughter of George Blennerhassett of Kenninghall, Co.Norfolk and widow of Thomas Culpepper). The inscription has: |
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Here Lyeth Frances Bacon theird sonne to Edmunde Bacon of hessett
Esquier decessed, whiche first maried Elizabeth daughter to Cotton of
Barton in Suff[olk], and havinge by her an only daughter Elizabeth,
maried to his second wife mary Daughter and heir to George
Blenerhaysett Esquier and by her havinge noe Issue, departed this
lyfe the XIII of December, in the yere of our Lord God . 1580 . |
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The inscription above indicates Francis Bacon had no son by either of his two wives, but Blomefield [History of Norfolk vol.1 Frenze p.141] speaking of the Blennerhassett family (see below), shows Mary Blennerhassett/Culpepper/Bacon granted Frenze in Norfolk to her husband Francis Bacon jointly with his son Edmund Bacon of Harleston for their lives, and that the son Edmund Bacon held Frenze in 1572. |
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This presents us with a puzzle - who was the mother of Edmund Bacon of Harleston?
If not one of Francis Bacon's two wives (Elizabeth Cotton & Mary Blennerhassett), perhaps Edmund was illigitimate? or perhaps he was a son-in-law (a husband of Francis' daughter Elizabeth Bacon)? The term son at that time would sometimes include son-in-law. |
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WHAT IS THE BLOIS (or GOLDSPINK) FAMILY CONNECTION WITH FRENZE HALL, FRENZE, near DISS, Co.NORFOLK ?
At the Norfolk Record Office, Norwich, among "Deeds and papers relating to the Kemp family estate in Frenze, Osmondiston alias Scole, and Diss" is a letter of 1823 from Samuel Goldspink of Pulham St Mary, Co.Norfolk to Sir W. Kemp "Claiming to be related to the Bloise family at Frenze Hall and seeking advice concerning the prospects of his gaining any property" [MC 92/49, 536 x 9].
The author of this letter, Samuel Goldspink (b.29-Jul-1783 Pulham d.?-Mar-1869 Pulham), married 9-Jan-1806 at Pulham to Maria Clarke (b.1782 d.24-Apr-1833 Pulham) and had a son Thomas Goldspink.
Samuel is described as being from a poor family, the youngest of nine children of William Goldspink (b.24-Oct-1734 d.12-Feb-1815 Pulham) who married 13-Dec-1757 at Pulham to Sarah Blois (b.1737 d.25-Aug-1811 Pulham). The nine children of William Goldspink and Sarah Blois were William b.1758, Elizabeth b.1761, John b.1764, Mary b.1770, Benjamin b.1773, Henry b.1775, Thomas & Jonathan (twins) b.1778 and Samuel b.1783.
Further information on the BLOIS connection with Frenze is requested.
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ISABELLA BLENNERHASSETT (nee PRIMROSE) and an OLIVER GOLDSMITH connection
Isabella Primrose (b.c1764/6; daughter of James Primrose of Alverstoke, Hampshire) married in 1781 at Holy Trinity Church, Gosport, near Portsmouth, Hampshire to Lt. James Blennerhassett RN, son and heir of William Blennerhassett of Wigton, Cumberland, England. She died 26-Nov-1809 at Maker, Cornwall (close to Plymouth, Devon).
The Irish newspaper "Clare Journal", "The Gentleman's Magazine" and "The London Review and Literary Journal" each published similar obituaries for Isabella Blennerhassett (nee Primrose) in which is stated that she was "a near relative" of the playwright & poet, Dr. Oliver Goldsmith, and that her mother, the wife of James Primrose of Alverstoke, Hampshire, had been the inspiration and model for the character Mrs. Primrose in his novel "The Vicar of Wakefield".
The novel has three characters named "Mrs Primrose":
1. Deborah, wife of Rev. Dr. Charles Primrose, Vicar of Wakefield
2. Arabella Wilmot, wife of their eldest son Capt. George Primrose
3. Miss Flamborough, wife of their second son Moses Primrose
Nowhere in biographies or studies of Goldsmith is it suggested that the Primrose family, principal characters of his novel "The Vicar of Wakefield", were based on real people named Primrose, perhaps Goldsmith's own relatives. This is worthy of further investigation...
An outline family tree for Oliver Goldsmith is here.
["The Gentleman's Magazine" December 1809 vol.79, part 2, p.1180] and ["The London Review and Literary Journal" December 1809, p.479] tell us:
“Obituary; with anecdotes, of remarkable Persons. DEATHS. Nov. 26. At Maker, in Plymouth, aged 45, Mrs Blennerhassett, a near relative of the celebrated Dr. Oliver Goldsmith, and daughter of Mrs. Primrose, one of the heroines mentioned in The Vicar of Wakefield.”
[Clare Journal, Ireland, Thursday 14-Dec-1809] tells us:
“On Sunday at Maker in England aged 43 years, Mrs Blennerhassett a near relation of the celebrated Dr. GOLDSMITH & daughter of Mrs PRIMROSE, one of the heroines mentioned in the Vicar of Wakefield.”
NOTE: Maker is a village at the extreme S.E. corner of Cornwall, on the English Channel coast, separated from the City of Plymouth in Devon by the stretch of water known as Plymouth Sound. Maker was part of Devon until 1844, when it became part of Cornwall. It contains Maker Heights, also Mount Edgcumbe House, built in the 16th Century and famous since the 18th Century for landscape and gardens.
If you know anything of this interesting non-fictional connection between the Goldsmith-Primrose families, please get in touch...
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16. |
HASSETT & HARPER of Birmingham, "Craftsmen in Silver and Metals"
John "Jack" Blennerhassett founded silversmiths Hassett & Harper "craftsmen in silver and metals", located at Regent Place, Birmingham in Birmingham's famous "Jewellery Quarter".
During World War II Hassett & Harper Ltd supplied contracts from the Ministry of Supply (MOS), the Admiralty and the Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP). They made light steel pressings for ammunition but were also one of several British companies participating in a program of secret war work, producing covert devices containing hidden objects intended to be used by British prisoners-of-war for escape and evasion. Typically these objects were innocent personal domestic items (brushes, combs, razors, shaving and tooth brushes, etc) inside which were hidden helpful devices and supplies, such as miniature compasses, paper maps and foreign currency. These were openly shipped into enemy prisoner-of-war camps, where they were used by British POWs attempting to escape the camps and return home to the UK.
Phil M. Froom of Berkshire is compiling a book about these companies, including Hassett and Harper and those employees who were involved in this work. He is presently (in 2012) seeking information on surviving documents, artifacts and the locations of archives relating to this subject, for inclusion in his book. This work is to be dedicated to the memory, not only of brave airmen and others who died, but to the manufacturers own staff, who in many of whom were killed during the Birmingham Blitz while producing these items to help bring captured servicemen home.
If you have information on Hassett & Harper, or on this subject in general, please get in touch...
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I feel sure there was something else...
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...to be continued |
If you can assist in answering any of these questions, please Contact Us |
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