Exhibition: The History of Walton Hall

Owners of Walton Hall: The Pinfolds 

Dr Charles Pinfold LLD (1677-1754)

Charles was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Pinfold and his wife Elizabeth. The 'Victoria History of the County of Buckinghamshire (1927)' states that he became Provost of Eton. However according to Eton Archives there is no connection between the school and the Pinfold family. Charles did become an Advocate General of the Arches Court of Canterbury. The Arches Court is an ecclesiastical court of the Church of England which covers the Province of Canterbury. The court sits in St Mary-le-Bow in London. At the time of his death he was Commissary of the Dean and Chapter at Westminster and Official of the Archdeaconry of Surrey.

 

In 1705 Charles married Renea Heames. The couple had a large family of at least eleven children including 6 sons – Charles, Thomas, Caesar, William, Joseph and John; and 5 daughters – Renea, Elizabeth, Catherine, Arabella and Ann. Sadly five of their children died in infancy.

 

In 1753 Charles Pinfold made his will. His wife Renea had died that year and so he bequeathed his estates and goods to his surviving six children: Charles, Joseph, Renea, Catherine, Arabella and Ann. Charles, as the eldest son inherited the Walton estate and also, “…all my Books all my Pictures and my Plate” with an additional instruction to permit “…his sisters Arabella and Ann the use of the Pictures and Plate as long as they continue to live together. I leave him likewise all the furniture at Walton”. He bequeathed his son Joseph £20 and added “...whereas I have given Sums of money to both my daughters Renea and Catherine at the time of their respective marriages and as my son Joseph is amply provided for and settled in Business as a Merchant, I do therefore give all the rest and residue of my personal Estate after payment of my debts and funeral expenses to my two unmarried daughters Arabella and Ann to be divided equally between them”.

 

Charles Pinfold died a year after making his will and was buried at Walton on 3 June 1754 alongside his wife. The 1909 Buckinghamshire County Records described their resting place as a ‘Table Tomb with Urn, nearly covered with ivy’ with the following inscription:

“Sacred

to those virtues

which adorn the Scholar,

Gentleman and Christian,

This stone perpetuates the Memory

of Charles Pinfold L.L.D. and Renea his wife

who having lived in great felicity Fifty years

are now united in one grave

They left two sons and four daughters who formed by

their precepts, esteem themselves happy if they follow

the example of such excellent parents

He died 29 May 1754, aged 76. She, 23 June 1753, aged 70.”

 

In January 2022 the Pinfold Tomb was ‘rediscovered’ in St Michael’s churchyard at Walton Hall by the Archive team. It was totally encased in ivy and all traces of the stonework were hidden. The Open University Estates Grounds Team began removing the ivy and revealed the monument beneath in February 2022. The first image on this page shows the tomb in early 2023. The second image shows St Michael's Church photographed in about 1999 with the Pinfold Tomb, as it looked then, situated on the far right. 

 

Three of Charles and Renea Pinfold’s daughters married: Renea to Colonel Francis Leighton in 1746, Catherine to Henry Baingbrigg Buckeridge in 1753, and Arabella to Sir Robert Boyd in 1762. Their son Joseph married Martha Johnson. Their eldest son Charles and youngest daughter Ann died unmarried.