THIS IS FINDON — www.findonvillage.com  created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

THE MARGESSON FAMILY OF FINDON PLACE

Copyright Valerie Martin 2003

Two famous manors in England's history — that of Offington and Findon came into the possession of the Margesson family and were kept by them for nearly 250 years. 

The ancestral home of the Margessons, the Manor of Findon, was built over the site of a very early Saxon and Norman construction and had passed through a long succession of owners before the Margessons — and continued to have many owners after them. 

Many social amenities of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century in Findon were due partly to the benefactions of the families of the successive squires of Findon Place. 

It all began in 1872, when the owner of Findon Place, Richard Spencer Hall, sold the Manor of Findon to Lieutenant Colonel William George Margesson who then became Lord of the Manor.    The Lieutenant Colonel had been born in 1821 at Battle in Sussex and was the son of the Reverend William Margesson.  

By the age of twenty the Lieutenant Colonel had joined The Pompadours — the Fifty-sixth Regiment and served with them for twenty-four years. 

The Lieutenant Colonel witnessed the fall of Sebastopol in 1856 and was awarded the Knight of the Legion of Honour and the Turkish Medal.  He retired from the Army on the death of his cousin, William Westbrook Richardson; (another name linked with the village, as he also had at one time owned the Manor at Findon).

Together with his wife, Lucy Matilda (born at Finningley in Yorkshire), the Colonel arrived at Findon Place following the tenancy of the brewer, Henry Willett — who had only been in residency for a few years.  

Two of their daughters had been born in Cowfold prior to moving to Findon, these were Maud Eleanor and Rosamund.  The remaining six children were all born at Findon Place..... some I have managed to find out a little about.    Hugh Somerset was baptised on 29th November 1875.   Anthony Robert was baptised at St. John the Baptist Church on 15th January 1879.

Ierne Lily was the baby of the family, baptised on 16th January 1880.  The spelling of her unusual name is correct and I am told by Richard Somerset Margesson of Toronto (the Colonel's Great Nephew) that it is pronounced "eye er knee".   Ierne Lily was his grandfather's sister.  

Also employed at the Manor at this time was a 37-year-old governess, Louise Hille and a bevy of nine other servants to keep the large house going.

There were also three more sons away at school when Ierne Lily was born.  These were Evelyn aged fifteen years and Wentworth aged eleven years.  Ten-year old Edward Cuninghame Margesson

Other than the fact that the Colonel was the principal landowner in Findon, I am unable to discover much about the Margesson's tenure at Findon Place. The population of the village at this date was around 688.    The other principal landowners were Hugh Wyatt of Cissbury, George Lyall, George Gibson and the Reverend John Goring. 

Richard Somerset Margesson who was Lucy Matilda's Canadian Great Nephew, described her thus —

 "My grandmother was not good looking but all 8 kids were good looking".

In the early 1890s I have discovered that the Colonel's wife procured a painting executed by the Findon artist, Edwin Douglas living at Fox Down on the downland.   I do not know if she commissioned him to paint this for her, or if she just purchased it because she liked it.  The painting was undertaken in 1893 and was entitled —

"Speech is silvern, but silence is golden".

This depicted a bloodhound and a terrier dog.  Perhaps one day it will come to light and I can put it on the website.   (Or it may have ended up hanging in the conspiring George William Mann's tavern — more about that one later)

Continue if you would like to read about Colonel Margesson's Horses.

This is Findon Village — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.