29/07/2010

The Snooke Diaries Preface

The husband of the descendant of William Snooke who transcribed the diaries has put in a two page intro as well as adding family trees at the end. The intro gives these details

29/09/1730 Snooke's birth date
16/01/1799 Date of Snooke's death
Pre-1752 Probably lived at Compton Abdale Rectory (sold to Lord Chedworth in 1768) some 5 or 6 miles west of Bourton.
16/01/1752 Came to live at the Manor House Bourton on the Water at the heart of the village (I understand that the original house was probably built c 1200 and was a residence of the Abbots of Evesham. It was rebuilt in the C16, then again in 1890 by Sir Guy Dawber and most recently in 1919.
He owned several farms in the Bourton area.
15/11/1743 Birth of sister Betsy
24/03/1745 Birth of sister Polly
11/06/1751 First marriage - to Frances Seward (1732-1766)
21/02/1753 Richard Hall of London marries Frances's sister Eleanor Seward (1733-1780) leading to relationship with him
04/06/1767 Snooke remarries - to Anne Snook (b 1742).
They have 5 or 6 daughters. Nancy dies young (07/12/1768-04/04/1773) dying by means of scalding bread and milk. Eliza goes on to marry Dr Nathaniel Stenson (of duct fame).
Descendants remain in the Manor House until 1928.
1768/69 Major changes to Manor House
Portraits exist apparently.
Richard Hall's three children also get mentions - Polly (1754) Patty (1756) and Franky (1757).
1775 - Bengeworth enclosures
Tantalisingly, he mentions that two other diaries are known to exist and are in Canada somewhere. (Apparently these diaries were subsequently lost in flood damage).

2 comments:

Sue Roberts said...

I enjoy reading your blog but felt I must add - You have mixed up the history of 2 houses in Bourton on the Water both of which were known as the "Manor House" The original manor estate of Bourton with its Manor House ( the real Manor House) with its long history back to the Abbots of Evesham is not where William Snooke lived. William Snooke lived in a large house in another part of Bourton which William Snooke himself named "The Manor House". That building still exists today as "The Manor House". The other original Bourton Manor House was pulled down circa 1865 and rebuilt twice the last time in 1919.
Sue Roberts
Chair Bourton on the Water History Society

Gary Brady said...

Thanks for this. I was aware of what you say I think but this note is very useful to have here and clarifies. Thanks.