Genealogy Chat

On the 1881 census from LDS I have a family living at Exton or Parklers Lodge, Benefield, Northants. How can I find out which one it was and does anyone know it there is and Exton or Parkler Manor house in that area ? My great grandmother was there in 1881 along with a 1 week old baby and a nurse (although baby was classed as daughter to the household. Then in 1890 my grandmother was born at Barnwell lodge in Northants but by 1891 was living with her Mum and grandparents at Newton Bromswold. Did the unmarried expectant Mums get sent away to have their babies then ? Mary

Barnwell Lodge is a one of the big houses in Northants, part of the estate of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. The other places mentioned are also big houses in the area and so your ancestor is likely to have been in service in these areas. I suggest you read up on the Northants area as anyone who has ancestors in this county is likely to be either working for the Spencers, Duke of Buccleugh, and other notable families. If your ancestors were in service they would be living in the houses concerned but on getting married and starting a family then their circumstances would change. If there was any problem where a prominent member of the household fraternised with the servants then the pregnant lady would be sent packing without delay!! Sometimes there was a requirement that the young married people would be asked to leave their place of employment, especially when children came along as the big houses could not accommodate all the married ones with their offspring which were numerous in those days. She could also have left of her own accord. If you have many ancestors in Northants then I suggest you think about joining the FHS for Northants and visiting the excellent Northants Record Office where you will find much info on these places. Reading the estate books will put you in the picture. Failing that try putting the names of the places you mention into a google search. You will be amazed at what comes up. Janet

I'm not convinced there ever was a manor. Looking at a map of the area there are very many places called "Lodge", most of them at the end of a track leading nowhere else. I don't think they were ever gateways to manor houses. "Walking through" the Benefield census from house to house (clicking previous household) starting with the Sharman family in the Grange Yoke Hill Lodge Blackthorne Lodge Springwood Lodge Parklers or Extons Lodge Lyvedon Lodge I would suggest at this point you open another Internet Explorer window on www.streetmap.*co.uk (remove *) Search for "spring wood" and select the one in Northants. Go to the bottom of the map and zoom in (select between the + and - signs). Click the green arrow at the top of the map and you should have the Grange at the top of your map. Just to the left is Yoke Hill and below that is Yoke Hill farm. A bit south from there (you may have to shift the map down) is Blackthorne Lodge. A bit to the right is Spring Wood and down a bit from there is Springwood Lodge. Not far east from there at the end of a track is a house (unnamed) suitable for an AgLab. South a bit from there is Lyvedon Manor (so called). I would suggest that the unnamed house was the home of your ancestors. I hope you can follow this - e-mail me if you can't.

A "lodge" could be at the gate but also a house for an estae worker such as a gamekeeper

Thank you all ! I was actually born in Northamptonshire but haven't lived there for 30 years now and know very little about that particular area where it seems most of my rellies originated from- I 'd always thought they came from Bedfordshire where my Dad was born. I plan to visit Barnwell in August along with other places where my family have lived hence the request about this particular Lodge. Oh well, I know a lot more now than I did and I think it may be worth contacting the FHS. Thanks again .........................Mary

Mary Send me an e-mail an I will send the map to you.

Mary, Well worth joining the fhs for Northants I have joined two now ,Lincs and Leics so much information in the books that they send you I think you pay about £9 per year but you get four books for that, also there is a list of people that are researching in that area, I contacted two from Lincolnshire when I first started, they are related to me.Give it a go Sue

Mary One other point about this area that it was all part of the Rockingham Forest which was at one time back a few centuries was one of the main Royal Forests and so many people were put in charge by the King to look after the Royal Game. From this you get the Lodges where the Keepers of the Royal Game lived. They were not any old Lodge! The whole of Northants is steeped in history which is worth looking into. One of my folk was a manservant around the Benefield area which is not too far from Deene. the seat of the Brudenells. I have not done too much research into Benefield but I have done a lot of research on the Barnwell side as most of my folk were from that side. I also belong to the Northants FHS which I find invaluable and I use the Northants CRO as and when I can as there is so much info there on all these places. Lyvden was part of the Tresham Estate long since disappeared, but the Tresham Family were an important Catholic family back in the 1500's and one Francis Tresham was implicated in the Gunpowder Plot. You can google search this history. Janet

Brilliant stuff - thanks a lot. This certainly helps me know where and what to look for and I'll certainly join the Northants fhs. Didn't realise you could get so much info from it. Thank you all so much. Mary