| Barham Court | |
|---|---|
 Barham Court. | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Type | House |
| Town or city | Teston |
| Country | United Kingdom |
Barham Court is an English country house in the village of Teston, Kent.
| Barham Court | |
|---|---|
| Barham Court. | |
| | |
| General information | |
| Type | House |
| Town or city | Teston |
| Country | United Kingdom |
Barham Court is an English country house in the village of Teston, Kent.
It was once the home of Reginald Fitz Urse, one of the knights who murdered Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. [1] As a result of that deed, Fitz Urse fled to Ireland and the manor passed into the ownership of his kinsman, Robert de Berham. The de Berham family (now called Barhams) became one of the great families in Kent. [1]
At the end of Elizabeth I's reign, the property passed to Sir Oliver Boteler and his wife, Anne. The Botelers (later spelled Butler) were Royalists and Barham Court was sacked by Cromwell's New Army during the Civil War. William Butler, their son, was imprisoned in London for his support of the Kentish Royalist Petition of 1642, which indirectly led to the Battle of Maidstone 1648. [2]
The last of the Butlers, Sir Philip, was responsible for rebuilding the parish church of St Peter and St Paul and changing the course of the old Tonbridge-Maidstone road, which used to run north of the church and then south of the house on its way to Barming and Maidstone. He had the road moved 'some hundred rods' (say five hundred and fifty yards) to the south. When Edward Hasted visited the house in the 18th century, then owned by the Bouverie family, he described it as the greatest ornament of this part of the county. [1] After that it passed to the Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham [1] and it was the birthplace of his daughter and heir Diana, later Diana Noel, 2nd Baroness Barham. [3]
William Wilberforce was a frequent house guest of the first Lady Barham, who is said to have inspired and supported him in his fight against slavery. He loved the place and once wrote that 'for the charm of softness and elegance I never beheld a superior to Barham Court'. [4]
The house was very badly damaged in a fire in 1932. [1] It was subsequently refurbished by Holloway Brothers. [1] Today the house itself has been converted into offices, with apartments attached. [1]
Roden Berkeley Wriothesley Noel, also known as Noël, was an English poet. He was a Cambridge Apostle.
Baron Lucas is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The second creation is extant and is currently held with the title Lord Dingwall in the Peerage of Scotland.
Earl of Gainsborough is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation ended in extinction when the sixth Earl died without heirs. However, the title was revived in 1841 for a female-line relative.
Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, PC was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a junior officer he saw action during the Seven Years' War. Middleton was given command of a guardship at the Nore, a Royal Navy anchorage in the Thames Estuary, at the start of the American War of Independence, and was subsequently appointed Comptroller of the Navy. He went on to be First Naval Lord and then First Lord of the Admiralty. Middleton also played a crucial role in the abolition of the slave trade.
Sir William Brockman (1595–1654) was an English landowner and military leader. He is best known for his staunch, if unsuccessful, defence of Maidstone in the Royalist cause, during the English Civil War.
Teston /ˈtiːstən/ or /ˈtiːsən/ is a village in the Maidstone District of Kent, England. It is located on the A26 road out of Maidstone, four miles (6.4 km) from the town centre. There is a narrow stone bridge over the River Medway here.
John Middleton, 1st Earl of Middleton was a professional soldier and mercenary from Kincardineshire in Scotland. Beginning his career in the Thirty Years War, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms he fought for the Covenanters and Parliamentarians until 1648, when he switched sides to the Royalists.
The Reverend James Ramsay was a Scottish ship's surgeon, Anglican priest, and leading abolitionist in Great Britain.
Sir Reginald FitzUrse (1145–1173) was one of the four knights who murdered Thomas Becket in 1170. His name is derived from Fitz, the Anglo-Norman French term meaning "son of" and urse meaning a bear, probable the nom de guerre of his ancestor. Although he lived before the true age of heraldry which developed in the early 13th century, his shield bore the cognizance of a bear, which is visible in a contemporary drawing portraying the murder of Becket.
Sir Gerard Noel Noel, 2nd Baronet, of Welham Grove in Leicestershire and Exton Park in Rutland, known as Gerard Edwardes until 1798, was an English Member of Parliament.
Charles Noel Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough, known as Charles Edwardes until 1798, as Charles Noel between 1798 and 1823 and as the Lord Barham between 1823 and 1841, was a British peer and Whig politician.
The Honourable William Middleton Noel, was a British politician.
Charles William Francis Noel, 3rd Earl of Gainsborough DL was a British peer and soldier.
Nicholas Barham was an English lawyer and Member of Parliament.
There have been three baronetcies created for persons with the surname Boteler, all in the Baronetage of England. All three creations are extinct.
The Testonites were an influential group of English abolitionists active in the latter part of the eighteenth century.
Salwarpe is a small village and civil parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England, less than two miles south west of Droitwich, but in open country. The name is also spelled Salwarp, and in the time of John Leland was recorded as Salop. Since 2003, Salwarpe has shared a parish council with Hindlip and Martin Hussingtree.
Diana Noel, 2nd Baroness Barham was a peer, philanthropist and an abolitionist who established schools and churches on the Gower Peninsula.
Gerard Thomas Noel (1782–1851) was a Church of England cleric, known as a hymn writer.
St Peter's and St Paul's is a parish church in Teston, Kent. It is a Grade II* listed building and was rebuilt in 1736 for Sir Philip Boteler of Barham Court.