On the 12 July 1637 Dorothy Parsons (c.1612-1686) was married in Wells, Somerset, to John Eastmont (d.1668), a rich clothier. After their marriage Dorothy and John lived at Greenhill House (now The Green boarding house) in Sherborne, which had been built in the 17th century by the Eastmonts and is now regarded as the best … Read more
Florence Grabham was born on 7 March 1874 in Pontefract, Yorkshire, fourth daughter of Dr Charles Grabham (1838-1891), a surgeon and physician, and Eliza Jane (née Leatham) (1840-1922). On 27 October 1898 Florence was married at St Martin’s Church, Bedford, to Alfred John Drewe (1851-1942), manager of the Wiltshire and Dorset Bank in Cheap Street, … Read more
On 22 May 1686, Lady Jane Noel (1664-1733), daughter of Edward Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough (1641-1689) and Lady Elizabeth Wriothesley (d.1680), married William Digby, 5th Baron Digby (1661-1752), commonly called ‘the good Lord Digby’. They had four sons and eight daughters. Lady Jane died at Sherborne on 10 September 1733, aged 69, and was … Read more
Lady Anne Russell (c.1620-1697), daughter of Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford (1587-1641) and the Hon. Catherine Brydges (d.1657), was married to George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol (1612-1677). They had two sons and two daughters. During the English Civil War, George Digby supported the Royalist cause and in 1642 their home Sherborne Lodge (the … Read more
Ann Hosey was born at Sherborne on 8 November 1721, the youngest child of Elias Hosey (1670-1762), an attorney, and Gertrude (née Goare) (1684-1755). On 30 April 1753 Ann was married in Sherborne Abbey to the Rev. Edward Cotes (1724-1780), son of the Rev. Digby Cotes (1683-1744) of Coleshill, Warwickshire, and grandson of the Hon. … Read more
Harriet Clarke was born in Cheltenham in 1846, the daughter of Joseph Clarke, a tailor, and Maria Clarke. On 10 March 1885 Harriet was appointed headmistress of Lord Digby’s School in Sherborne. The school was then located at Foundation House in Westbury (now the Britannia Inn), but Harriet’s twenty years as headmistress of Lord Digby’s … Read more
Catherine ‘Kitty’ Frances Atkins was born in Scotland on 11 November 1806, the daughter of Charles Atkins, a scene painter. Catherine first met the actor and theatre manager William Charles Macready (1793-1873) in Glasgow when she was 9-years-old when he scolded her for not knowing her lines. They met again in the summer of 1820 … Read more
In the Commonwealth War Grave section of Sherborne Cemetery can be found the only war grave in Sherborne to commemorate a woman who died on service during the Second World War. The grave belongs to Margaret Hayter (1923-1943), and the inscription on her headstone reads: 2069687 CORPORAL M.F. HAYTER WOMEN’S AUXILIARY AIR FORCE 24TH JULY 1943 … Read more
Louisa Barnes was born at 8 Garden Terrace, Harlow, Essex on 16 August 1905, the eldest daughter of John William Barnes (b.1875) and Mary Ann Barnes (née Fielder) (1879-1942). By April 1911 the family were living at Lower Zeals in Wiltshire, where John Barnes was employed as a groom. Their second daughter Olga Mary Barnes … Read more
Georgina Binnie-Clark was born at the Digby Hotel in Sherborne on 24 April 1871, one of seven children born to Arthur Walter Binnie Clark (1834-1913), manager of the Digby Hotel and former valet to George Wingfield Digby (1797-1883), and Maria Louise Clark (née Letheby) (1837-1908). Georgina’s parents were married by licence at Taunton in Somerset … Read more
On 26 April 1736, Hannah Baugh of the parish of St James Westminster was married by licence at St Luke’s Chelsea to printer and widower William Bettinson. In 1737, William Bettinson and George Price (whose name disappears from the record after June 1737) moved to Sherborne and established a printing house (now Bute House) in … Read more
Above the south-west door of the church of St Mary Magdalene at Castleton a stone plaque records the long service of Margaret Barnard to the Earls of Digby, and also her gift of £20 towards the building of the church: ‘Here lieth the Body of MARGARET BARNARD An old faithful servant to ye Earls of … Read more