Exhibition: The History of Walton Hall

George King (1821-1884) and his family

Three generations of the King family are buried in Walton church yard, in two small groups in close proximity to each other. George King (1821-1884) was born in Wavendon, the son of a maltster also named George, and his wife Jane. George jnr. married Mary Short (c.1826-1865) in Fenny Stratford in 1844. Mary was from Adstock in Buckinghamshire. By 1851 the couple were living in Simpson with their three children where George was working as an inn keeper. They went on to have a very large family of at least eleven children which included seven sons and four daughters.

 

During the 1850s George changed occupations and became a farmer. By 1861 he and his family were managing and living at Walnut Tree Farm on the Walton estate. The Grade II Listed farmhouse and some of its late sixteenth century outbuildings still exist. A photograph of the farm as it looks today can be viewed on this page. In 1861 George was described as a farmer of 170 acres employing 4 men and 3 boys. Nine children aged between 1 and 15 were recorded at home along with a 17 year old house servant.

 

On Tuesday 28 October 1862 George was credited in an article in the Croydon Weekly Standard newspaper which described an outing for Walton tenants paid for by the then owner of Walton Hall, Fanny Maria Pinfold:

“Walton. A Liberal Treat – On Tuesday last, Miss Pinfold of Walton Hall, kindly invited all her tenants, old and young, to visit the International Exhibition, the whole of the expenses of the day being defrayed by her, including a good dinner, &c., in the building. The excursionists left the village early in the morning, the whole being under the management of Mr. George King, who acted as pioneer to the party. It is needless to say they thoroughly enjoyed the treat thus afforded them and returned highly delighted, fully intending to thank the good lady for her liberality and kindness.”

 

In the Post Office trade directory of Buckinghamshire published in 1864, George King was listed as one of two significant farmers within the parish of Walton, the other being George Hawley.

 

In 1865 George King’s wife Mary died aged only 39 and was buried in Walton churchyard. The following inscriptions are recorded on her gravestone: “We cannot Lord thy purpose see, but all is well that’s done by thee” and “Watch therefore for ye know neither the day or the hour where in the son of man cometh”.

 

In 1871 widower George was still living at Walnut Tree Farm and described as a farmer of 200 acres employing 14 labourers & 4 boys. Seven of his children were recorded with him at the farmhouse as well as a 20 year old general servant.  In 1873 George’s son Thomas King died aged only 19 and was buried at Walton on 30 May 1873 next to his mother Mary King. There is a verse inscribed on the headstone which can no longer be deciphered.  

 

In 1881 George was still farming (presumably at Walnut Tree farm) and three of his children were living with him. At this time, he was described as a farmer of 192 acres employing 3 men and 2 boys. In the 1883 edition of Kelly’s trade directory for Buckinghamshire George was listed and his son George was listed as a junior farmer. George King died on 17 January 1884 aged 64 and was buried beside his wife Mary in Walton churchyard. The headstone no longer exists but the original inscription on his grave, according to Buckinghamshire County Records 1909, was: “A light is from our household gone, A voice we loved is still, A place is vacant in our home, Which we can never fill”

 

A small broken marker stone now stands where George’s headstone once stood with the date 1884 and the remaining initial K. The photograph on this page shows the graves of Thomas King and his mother Mary King with George King's marker stone to the right.  

 

A month after his death an auction of some of George King’s properties was held at The Rose & Crown pub in Fenny Stratford, then owned by his second eldest son John. The properties included 'six capital freehold brick-built and slated cottages with wood barns and large gardens, pleasantly situate in Simpson Road, near the centre of the town of Fenny Stratford, and a valuable piece of garden or building land adjoining thereto.'