Saturday, 9 September 2017

Starting at the beginning ...... again

I have been unable still to locate the final resting place of Lord William Beauchamp Nevill. I have decided to retrace my footsteps and revisit some of the fireplaces I tried. The archivists have all been extremely helpful.
Having extensively searched the Brompton cemetery, I can definitely say he is not buried there.

Lord William Beauchamp Nevill died at 37 Onslow Gardens in Kensington. This was the closest cemetery.

There was a requiem mass held a t the Brompton oratory, however there are no burials there. The archivist father McHardy has been helping me though to revisit this potential lead and has found at least a mention in their records .
 prior to this it was believed all the records had been destroyed in the second world war

Friday, 4 August 2017

The bankruptcy file of a lord

 One of the documents I was privileged to queue with the bankruptcy file of Richard Nevill, brother of Lord William Beauchamp Nevill. he was declared bankrupt in 1926 and all of his creditors had to write a individual claim against his remaining wealth . What is fascinating is that he openly admits in his documents that his bankruptcy was due to overspending and living an extravagant lifestyle. He was still ordering hand embroidered socks and sending gifts to the Palace and other royals


Lord Richard's signature

Thursday, 13 July 2017

national archives at kew

the national archive in  Kew is definitely worth a visit for anyone interested in their own family history or a specific area of history.

I have been able today on my visit to view the 1939 index and locate Lord William Beauchamp Nevill's Widow , Lady Luisa Nevill and find the name of her staff.

the 1939 index is similar to a census and taken at the start of the 2nd world war so everybody could be issued with a national identity card. whereas the census for this period are still closed (and will be for 100 years from date of origin) this is available to the public. normally you have to pay but at Kew it is free. the documents can be printed as well on A3 for only 30p

I also managed to locate some great aunts in Birmingham!

the documents I ordered to view and handle were related to the bankruptcy of Lord William's brother Lord Richard Plantagenet Nevill.
2/3/1922
I have this picture in my collection on my living room wall. He was undertaking diplomatic work in America at the time the picture was taken
It was such a thrill to see his signature and I learned a lot about the circumstances of his bankruptcy. notably that he openly attributed it to "extravagance of living"

Tuesday, 11 July 2017

Famous next door neighbours!

privileged to be researching at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London . Whilst I was researching a number of topics I did however make quite an exciting discovery that Lord William Beauchamp Nevills next door neighbour was in fact a famous historian . William Nevill lived most of his life at 37 Onslow Gardens in Kensington and at number 38 Onslow Gardens there lived the historian William Lecky !

William Edward Hartpole LeckyOM (26 March 1838 – 22 October 1903) was an Irish historian, essayist, and political theorist .  William's major work was an eight-volume History of England during the Eighteenth Century.
 Onslow Gardens in Kensington where Lord William Beauchamp Nevill lived

 down the road at  number 24 lived the Prime Minister Andrew Bonar Law ! prime minister in 1922 ,he lived at 24 Onslow Gardens from 1858 till 1925 .

 One of the things I am now going to look into is the possibility of having a blue plaque put up outside number 37 Onslow Gardens to show the world that Lord William Beauchamp Nevill, prison reformer lived here.

Monday, 10 July 2017

The tablet

 Lord William Beauchamp Neville converted to listen to them in his early 20s . One of the best resources that any catholic research is The tablet. The adverts however show that living a catholic lifestyle meant not giving up certain and earthly pleasures as you can see!

Saturday, 24 June 2017

Searching for Lord Nevill's final resting place

From the very start Of my interest in the life and works of the Victorian prison reformer Lord William Beauchamp Nevill I have always longed to stand at the side of his grave . Little did I realise that over 10 years later that I still would have no idea as to where he is buried . There is a beautiful vote for the Neville family at the local church in Eridge where the family seat Eridge Castle stood . However during his early 20s Lord William Beauchamp Neville converted to the catholic faith so was unable to be buried in this Church of England graveyard.

 I have been to Eridge church and it is a beautiful cranes and peaceful place. The vote is now closed but the Nevill gravestones are above to mark their final resting places . Here lies the remains of both levels father and mother also a number of his siblings and their offSpring.

 




I have searched numerous Catholic burial sites, online sites and archives. Still no clues !

One day this mystery will be solved !

Wednesday, 31 May 2017

Herbert Henry Spender clay

Herbert Henry Spender-Clay was an English soldier and Conservative Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1910 to 1937. 
Born: 1875
Died: 15 February 1937
 Spender clay was the aristocrat whom the Lord William Nevill was involved in the case that sent him to prison for five years penal servitude. He asked spender clay to sign a document which had been covered, informing him that it was related to his sisters divorce and being a personal document would cause his family shame. It was however a loan for thousands which made spender clay liable if Lord William Nevill defaulted, which of course he did . This leading Sam Lewis to take spender clay to court. Which eventually led to Lord William Nevill himself being sentenced to prison and then writing his book on prison reform

 He married the beautiful Pauline Astor a member of the wealthy as the family who went on to buy the elite property next to Buckingham Palace that the Murrieta family owned . The Murrietas were the family that Lord William Beauchamp level married into and the property was where he and his wife Louisa were married in 1897