TURVEY
[Transcribed and edited information from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland - 1868]
"TURVEY, a parish in the hundred of Willey, county Bedford, 9 miles north east of
Newport Pagnell, its post town, and 4 east of Olney. The village is situated
on the road from Northampton to Bedford, near the river Ouse, which hero
divides the counties of Beds and Bucks. The manufacture of pillow lace is
carried on. The soil consists of gravel and stony clay. There are quarries
of limestone and stone for building. The living is a rectory* in the
diocese of Ely, value £365. The church, dedicated to All Saints, has
recently been enlarged and restored, with the addition of an organ, at an
expense of about £1,000. In the interior are three brasses and tombs of the
Mordaunts. The charities are extensive. There are National and infant
schools, also chapels for the Independents and Wesleyans. Turvey Abbey, the
seat of C. L. Higgins, Esq., who is lord of the manor, is the principal
residence."
[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868]
by Colin Hinson ©2013
- The following Churches have their own websites:
- Church of England
-
The church of All Saints is an edifice of stone, chiefly in the Early English style, with traces of Saxon and Norman
work with Early Decorated and Perpendicular additions, and consists of chancel, with sacristy and organ chamber on the north,
clerestoried nave of five bays; aisles, vestry on the south side of the tower, south porch, and a low embattled western tower,
with short pyramidal Spiro and containing 6 bells and a clock, presented in 1893 by Mr. G.
Sargent, a former parishioner; in 1852-4 the church was much enlarged and decorated under the direction of the late Sir G. G.
Scott R.A. the cost being defrayed by the late Charles Longuet Higgins esq. lord of the manor, who also presented the very fine
organ, at an additional expense of £1,600 : the church was re-opened and consecrated anew, Oct. 10, 1854, by the Bishop of Ely :
the east window and three others in the chancel are stained : the west window was given by William Bartholomew Higgins esq. of Picts'
Hill : at the east end of the south aisle was a chapel of the Virgin; here still remain three Early English sedilia
and a piscina : an arched sepulchral recess in the same chapel contains a fresco, representing the two Marys at the foot of the Cross,
which has been glazed for its better preservation : the carved oak pulpit was the gift of the Rev. W. B. Russell, a former rector, and
the lectern, also of oak, a present from Miss
Gorst, of Preston, Lancashire : the font consists of a square-shaped basin, with sides carved in panels, and a massive rim adorned with
volute ornaments, and resting on four shafts; it is probably Norman, though three of the panels appear to have been chiselled out at a
later period : westward of the south door is a stoup projecting from a recess : two candelabra were givon in 1872 by Miss Baker, the then
lessee of Turvey House : the north chapel, now converted into an
organ chamber, was the burial place of the Mordaunt family, a number of whom are interred in the vaults beneath, including John, Earl of
Peterborough Marshal-General of the Parliamentary forces, who died in 1643, and Charles, Earl of Peterborough and Monmouth K.G. General
of the Marines, who died at Lisbon in 1735 : in the chapel of St. Mary is an altar-tomb of Purbeck marble, with recumbent effigies, to
Sir John Mordaunt kt. who died 11th September, 1506, and Edith
(Latimer), his wife : the effigy of Sir John is in armour, over which is a robe, with the collar of S.S.; that of his lady is in a long
gown and coif; the inscription, now lost, is given in Halstead, and quoted in Harvey's "History of Willey Hundred;" the sides of the tomb
are ornamented with traceried panels inclosing small shields; on the south side of the chancel, in the space between it and the chapel of
St. Mary, is the lofty and magnificent monument of John,
first Lord Mordaunt, son of the preceding, who died in 1562, and Elizabeth Vere, his wife, with recumbent alabaster effigies of both, on
an altar-tomb under a semi-circular arch, on either side of which are projecting pedestals with pilasters and coupled columns supporting
an ornamental frieze and cornice; above this on either side are carytides in turn supporting a plain pediment surmounted by three female
figures; in the space over the cornice is a large quartered shield
with crest and supporters; in the north aisle now stands the fine tomb of John, second Lord Mordaunt, who died in April 1571, and was buried
here on the 16th of May following : it consists of eight stilted columns of the Roman Doric order, supporting a flat canopy, surmounted by a
quartered shield, and formerly had
eagles holding scrolls at the angles : within on separate altar-tombs, are recumbent effigies of Lord Mordaunt and his wives, Eleanor
(Fitz-Lewis) and Joan (Farmer); at the west end of the same aisle is the tomb of Lewis, third Lord Mordaunt who died June 16 1601, moved
hither from the east end of the north chapel
during the restoration; it is a plain altar-tomb raised on two steps, represented in marble as covered with a black pall fringed with white, on which are
affixed inscriptions and shields of arms; at the west end is a huge quartered shield with crest, mantling and supporters: on the floor of St.
Mary's chapel is a small brass to a member of the Moordaunt family with impaled shield, and a scroll inscribed with a couplet in Latin, and
there are two other brasses, one with
the figure of an ecclesiastic, and another with arms and inscription to Alice Chubnoll, wife of Richard Bernard esq. 1606; suspended in the aisle are two
helmets, a sword, gauntlets, collar and spurs : there are other memorials in the church to the Rev. Legh Richmond M.A. the well-known author
of the 'Dairyman's Daughter," rector (1805-27), his sons, Samuel Nugent Legh, 1824; Thomas Henry Wilberforce, 1825, two infants, and others
of his family; the Rev. Erasmus
Middleton, rector (1804-5), Rev. Richard Rands, rector (1669-99), and the families of Higgins, Carter, Clarke-Jervoise &c. : the church was
renewed in 1846, but has since been completely refitted in oak: the communion plate, of silver gilt was presented by Margaret, daughter of
the Hon. Henry Mordaunt in 1788 :
there are 550 sittings : in the churchyard, adjoining the south wall, is a plain altar-tomb to John Richardson, a faithful retainer of the
Mordaunts in the 16th and 17th centuries : a substantial modern lych-gate forms the entrance to the churchyard. The register dates from the year
1629. An earlier book dating from 1606 is now lost.
[Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]
- Non conformist:
- There are Wesleyan and Congregational chapels.
[Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]
- A Cemetery for this parish, one acre in extent, was consecrated July 18th, 1871, and
interments in the old churchyard have since been discontinued, except in cases where
vaults or brick graves had previously existed; the cemetery is under the control of the
parish council. Charities:- John, 2nd Lord Mordaunt, left by will, 8d. weekly to four
poor persons, payable out of land in the hamlet of Eastcoates, in Cardington parish:
Thomas Carter esq. by a nuncupative will in 1731, left £100, now invested in Consols,
the interest for the most necessitous poor to be distributed at Christmas : Dame Anne
Mordaunt left by will, in 1791, £100, the interest to be similarly distributed :
an unknown donor left about an acre of land in Lavendon parish, Bucks, the rent to be
distributed at Christmas among poor widows of this parish: Charles Higgins esq. by will,
in 1792, left £1,000, the interest for the clothing of 20 poor women of Turvey
parish, since reduced by the Charity Commissioners to 17; he also left the interest of
£300 for the support of a Sunday school, provided that the stipend of the master be made
up to £20 yearly, which was done by John Higgins esq. who in 1829 conveyed about 13 acres
of land, called "Ball's Pasture," in trust for this purpose: Miss Ann Maria Higgins, by
will in Nov. 1838, left £700, the interest to be applied to the support of the Sunday school,
and another sum of £700 for providing the poor with coals at Christmas; these two
sums are invested in Consols : Mr. John Robinson left by will in 1835, £50, the interest
to be given to the necessitous widows of Turvey at Christmas : Lieut.-Col. W. B. Higgins
left by will 1879; £150, the interest to be given to the National and Infant schools
in the parish, also £100, the interest to be given to the Working Men's Room in the
parish of Turvey : all these charities, except those which are a charge on land, are now
in the hands of the Charity Commissioners, and the interest is paid by them. A large and
handsome block of buildings close to the railway station, consisting of a
memorial hall and almshouses, was erected and endowed in 1884 by James Barton esq. of London,
for the relief of 20 single or married persons, inhabitants of the parish of Turvey and the
town of Bedford : it is known as the James, Mary and Louisa Barton charity: a service is
held in the hall every Sunday afternoon by arrangement of the Rev. G. F. W. Munby M.A.
rector. Here is a reading room, a working men's room and a museum. The houses and cottages
are nearly all built of native stone, and are unusually neat and capacious. The Three
Fishes inn is an ancient hostelry with projecting gables, and bears the date 1624.
A great flood, on September 26th, 1797, rose about four feet above the roadway, near
the "Three Fishes." Nell's well, in this parish, was restored in 1873, at the cost of
Col. Higgins. Pillow thread lace is made here, though not to so large an extent as
formerly; shoe making is also carried on. The approach to Turvey from Bedford is
through an avenue of trees, nearly a mile in length; at the further extremity of the
village is a bridge of eight arches over the Ouse, facing which, in the water, is a
statue group representing the story of Jonah; the other entrances to the village are
also picturesque. Turvey House, the property of Major William Francis Higgins and now
occupied by George William and Lady Elizabeth Taylor, is a stately mansion of three
stories in the Italian style, built in 1794, by John Higgins sen. esq.; the principal
facade consists of a central portion, relieved by pilasters and flanked by slightly
projecting wings with Corinthian pillars supporting a frieze and projecting cornice,
which runs round the whole structure above the second storey; the upper stage is low,
and finished with a plain parapet: the house is situated in a pleasant pack of 150 acres,
extending to the Ouse. Turvey Abbey, the residence of Mrs. Higgins, widow of Charles
Longuet Higgins esq. J.P. is a long gabled building, to which considerable additions
were made in 1855 and 1860, and is surrounded by a finely wooded park of 100 acres :
in one of the rooms is a chimney piece of the time of Henry VI. and the handsome ,stone
chimney piece in the drawing-room is of the era of James I.; two of the gables bear
the dates 1603 and 1608. Picts' Hill, 1½ miles east of Turvey, the property of
Major Higgins, now (1898) unoccupied, has grounds of 25 acres. Turvey Cottage, a commodious
residence, pleasantly situated on rising ground, overlooking the river Ouse, and the
property of the family of Major W. F. Higgins, is now occupied by Joseph Bishell esq.
Woodside House is a pleasant residence, also the property of Major W. F. Higgins : it
is about three-quarters of a mile from the village of Turvey, and is occupied by John
William Pascoe esq. Holmwood House, at the east end of the village, is occupied by
Miss Platt Higgins : it is the property of H. Longuet Higgins esq. who also owns the
Laws House, occupied by Frededck William Wood esq. Chauntry House is the, residence
of Major William Francis Higgins D.L., J.P. H. Longuet Higgins esq. 6, Park Hill,
Richmond, Surrey, who is lord of the manor, and Major W. F. Higgins are the principal
landowners. The soil is mixed gravel and strong clay; ,sub-soil, clay, gravel and rock.
The land is chiefly arable. The area is 3,977 acres of land and 34 of water; rateable
value, £5,080; the population in 1891 was 882, which includes 57 in the reformatory.
- The Bedfordshire Reformatory, in this parish was founded in 1857 by the exertions of
the late Thomas Charles Higgins esq. of Turvey House, then chairman of quarter sessions
for the county, & was certified on April 9th in that year for 70 boys ; it is now,
with Government aid, self-supporting ; the building consists of a large school room,
dining-room, dormitories & smaller sleeping-rooms for the use of the boys, besides
apartments for the superintendent & matron, assistant matron, schoolmaster &
two labour masters ; the out-buildings include a workshop, tool-shed, bakehouse, dairy
& open shed; the farm buildings comprise a barn, sheds and stables; the land
belonging to the school farm is about 50 acres, to which an additional farm of 75
acre's was added in 1887 : the boys are employed on the farm & are taught all
kinds of agricultural work : they are admitted from Buckinghamshire, Lancashire,
Lincolnshire, Wakefield, Boston, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire, Middlesex & the
borough of Leicester, by agreement; & the managers do not object, upon proper
application, to take in boys from other counties or towns : the institution is under
the management of a committee of visitors; chairman, Maj. W. Francis Higgins, Chauntry
House: there are now (1898) 45 boys, who are maintained & instructed in agricultural
pursuits ; Morris Fisher Cock L.R.C.P. Land medical officer; Rev. William Henry Denison
M.A. hon. sec. ; John Jones, superintendent; Mrs. Jones, matron; Miss Jones, assistant;
John Gardner, schoolmaster ; Ernest Jones, assistant schoolmaster
[Kelly's Directory - Bedfordshire - 1898]
- For information on the
history and families of the village of Turvey containing records for the
family historian including muster lists, some burial records etc., plus interesting details about straw plait, lacemaking etc.
- The BFHS Project in conjunction with Roll of Honour contains the
Turvey Memorial transcription with details of the men found on it.
This page is copyright. Do not copy any part of this page or website other than for personal
use or as given in the conditions of use.
If you have any suggestions for links to other sites that may be useful to other researchers,
please use this User Links page
Web-page generated by "DB2html" data-base extraction software ©Colin Hinson 2015
Nearby places