Exhibition: The History of Walton Hall

Tenants of Walton Hall

During the three decades that Fanny Maria remained at Hurst House, Walton Hall was leased and occupied by individuals charged with overseeing the estate in her absence. The principal tenants during this time were Rev. Henry Roundell in 1864, William Schoolcroft Burton from c.1866 and Ernest Hopcraft from c.1889 to 1892.

 

Reverend Henry Roundell (1824-1864)

Henry Roundell was born in Fringford, Oxfordshire where his father Henry Dawson Roundell was rector of the parish for over forty years. Henry followed his father into the church, taking holy orders after graduating at Christ Church College, Oxford. He was ordained at Exeter in 1849. In 1851 he married Laura Frances Cornish, the daughter of Richard Cornish, described as a Gentleman on their marriage certificate which took place in the bride’s home village of Heavitree on the outskirts of Exeter in Devon on 12 June 1851. That year he was made assistant Curate of Buckingham Parish Church. Following the death of the incumbent vicar in 1853, Henry became vicar of Buckingham, but ill health forced him to retire from the role in 1862. He initially intended to relocate to Devon but was persuaded by his parishioners at Buckingham to remain in the area.

 

Henry, Laura and their three children moved to Walton Hall in 1864. Henry had a lifelong interest in antiquitarian research, giving lectures on the area, improving the standards of the records of Buckinghamshire, and publishing a paper in 1857 titled “Some Account of the Town of Buckinghamshire: A Lecture read before the members of the Buckingham Literary and Scientific Institution on Tuesday 27^th January 1857”. He briefly took on the role of Secretary of the Archaeological Society of Buckinghamshire prior to his death at the age of just 41 years old. On the evening of 22 December 1864 he returned home to Walton Hall feeling exhausted and his health declined rapidly over the next few days. He died at Walton Hall on 26 December 1864.

 

A photograph of Rev. Henry Roundell - kindly provided by Buckingham Parish Church - may be viewed on this page. In his obituary for the Bucks Archaeological Society, Henry  was described as an "...amiable and warm-hearted man". 

 

Henry’s widow Laura remained at Walton Hall after the death of her husband, eventually relocating to Kensington, London sometime in 1866 when the next tenant took his place at the Hall.  

 

William Schoolcroft Burton (1829-1916)

William Schoolcroft Burton was born in Roundhay near Leeds. By 1861 he owned a 205 acre farm in Shadwell, Yorkshire and employed 9 farm workers. William and his family moved to Liscombe Park in Soulbury, Buckinghamshire in the mid-1860s. By November 1866 they were living at Walton Hall being mentioned in the local paper following the accidental death of his groom William Eastmon.

 

William and his wife Mary (née Shaw) had at least eleven children, two of whom died in infancy. Their four youngest children were all born and baptised at Walton including twins John Musgrave and Helen Grace in 1869.

 

In the 1871 census William was described as a Landowner. In 1872 he qualified as a Magistrate for the county of Bedford and in 1877 he was appointed Sheriff of Buckingham. The 1881 census describes him as ‘Justice of the Peace, Beds and Bucks income from landed estates.’ In around 1887 he purchased Childrey Manor in Oxfordshire where the family settled after leaving Walton sometime between then and 1891. They had lived at Walton for over 20 years. William’s son Joshua Schoolcroft Burton remained in Walton and in 1891 was recorded as a farmer living alone in a cottage on the estate. After moving to Bow Brickhill with his older sister Elizabeth Musgrave Burton the siblings later relocated to Newton Abbott in Devon. Neither were married.

 

The University Archive holds a postcard of Walton Hall sent in 1906 to Rev. Thomas Musgrave Burton (1865-1936) who was living in Eastling Rectory in Faversham, Kent. It can be seen on this page. Thomas was another son of William Schoolcroft and Mary Burton. The postcard was sent from his sister Elizabeth Musgrave Burton living at the time in Woolstone, not far from Walton Hall. 

 

By 1901 William Schoolcroft Burton’s situation had changed dramatically. His wife Mary had died aged 65 in 1899 and he had remarried at the age of 71 on 18 January 1901 in Bristol. His second wife Katherine (Kate) Gregory, who was from Paulton in Somerset, was a month short of her 19th birthday! The couple settled in Eastbourne in Sussex. In 1901 William was still described as Justice of the Peace for Beds and Bucks. Ten years later the couple were still living in Eastbourne with their six year old son William Schoolcroft Burton Junior. William Senior died at the age of 87 on 5 March 1916 at his home in Eastbourne.