The Amyas family has been in and around Deopham for many years. Thomas Amyas is recorded as being something of a rebel at the time of the Bishop’s Visitation in 1597. The present story however starts in Hingham in the eighteenth century.
John Amyas memorial in Hingham church chancel:
Photograph: G. Sankey, May 2023
John and Mary Amyas, brother and sister, lived and died in Hingham. John Amyas was the owner of Hall Farm (now known as Crown Farm) in Deopham, as well as the leaseholder of Church Farm (leased from the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury1).
He also owned a substantial acreage of land and buildings in and around Hingham, not to mention Hardingham as well. In his will, John left the major part of this estate to his sister Mary, with her inheritance passing to his cousin Ann Amyas “who now lives with me”.
(Incidentally, Amyas is pronounced Amy-as, not Am-yas as I’ve been wont to say.)
Mary Amyas memorial in Hingham church chancel:
Photograph: G. Sankey, May 2023
A full copy of the will of John Amyas can be downloaded here:
Before going further, it is necessary to look at the family tree; the John of Hingham discussed above is (1) in the tree below:
The main points of interest in this will for the current story are:-
- The sister of John (1), Mary, was the primary beneficiary.
- John’s cousin, Ann (2) in the tree above, was the second in line.
- Probate shows that Ann (2) was the sole executrix when the will was proved, confirming that she was the prime beneficiary and also confirming that Mary had died before John (1).
- The will refers to “Messuages, Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments in the use and occupation of Thomas Rowing and James Cooper” (i.e. what is now known as Crown Farm).
- The will also refers to lands etc. leased from the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury: i.e. Church Farm.
- Archibald Rowing, who was the occupant of Church Farm, is to receive £10.
- John’s cousin, John Amyas of Beccles, is to receive £50 and his son, John, £10.
- John’s cousin, Frances Amyas of Beccles, is to receive £50.
Following the death of John (1) in 1763, his cousin Ann (2) became the owner of the lands and leasehold in Deopham. Ann died in 1796 and left the Deopham assets to the four Amyas siblings. She also bequeathed an annual payment of £52 to be paid to her brother, William Eaton.
One of the Amyas siblings, John, number (3) in the family tree above, was in the navy and was drowned at sea on July 30th 1803 at the age of 18. This occurred when his ship the Calypso encountered a gale on the way back from the West Indies and was run down by one of the merchant ships that the navy was accompanying.
The Calypso
Following the death of John (3) in 1803, his possessions passed to Bevil Amyas (4) as the next male in line, despite the fact that he had poor mental health. John had died intestate – he had left no will. Bevil would have been aged 17.
Bevil’s father, Rev. John Amyas of Beccles, attempted to establish a distinction between the freehold and leasehold inheritance of his deceased son John, the idea being to allow him to take control of the leasehold property. At the time of John’s death, the leasehold asset was being held in trust until John reached the age of 25. The trust was being managed by the Rev. Bence Bence.
The following year, the Rev. John Amyas of Beccles, wrote his will leaving his assets to his wife Isabella and daughters Florence and Ann Elizabeth, i.e. Bevil’s sisters. Bevil is not mentioned.
In 1810, Bevil’s father died. In that year, an inquisition was held to determine whether Bevil was a lunatic or prone to “lurid intervals”. This inquisition concluded on July 26th that he was a lunatic:
[Nineteen] good and lawful men of the said county of Suffolk who having been sworn and charged upon their Oaths say that the said Bevill Amyas at the time of taking this inquisition is a Lunatic of unsound mind and hath been so for Twenty years last past and upwards so that he is not sufficient for the Government of himself his Messuages Lands Tenements Goods and Chattels, but how and by what means the said Bevill Amyas so became a Lunatic of unsound mind, unless by the visitation of God, the Jurors aforesaid know not.
The Rev. Bence Bence of Beccles was appointed by the High Court of Chancery in August 1810 as the “Committee” of Bevil; he was already the trustee of property left by Ann Amyas to Rev. John Amyas’ children. He describes himself as “a person in whose integrity and care the Deponents [i.e. Isabella and her children] reposed great confidence”. From December 20th 1810 he managed the affairs of Bevil and his two sisters. He represented the interests of the Amyas family through the implementation of the Enclosures Act in Deopham, the outcome of which was clearly to their advantage.
The Rev. Bence Bence came by this curious name because he was christened Bence Sparrow, Bence being his mother’s maiden name. He changed his surname to Bence by deed poll, thereby becoming Bence Bence. It is clear from his will that he was a man of substantial means in his own right – as much businessman as clergyman.
The Survey of the Parish of Deopham in 1815 lists the assets of Bevil Amyas in that year as being:-
- 133 acres of arable land occupied by Garrett Oddin Taylor;
- 35 acres of pasture occupied by Garrett Oddin Taylor;
- 18 acres of arable land occupied by Archibald Rowing;
- 9 acres of pasture occupied by Archibald Rowing.
The Dean and Chapter of Canterbury lands, of which Bevil was the leaseholder, comprised:-
- 65 acres of arable land occupied by Archibald Rowing;
- 12 acres of pasture occupied by Archibald Rowing.
Bevil’s mother, Isabella Wymborly (there are various spellings of her second name!) looked after Bevil following the death of Bevil’s father in 1810. This arrangement continued until Michaelmas 1819. The payments to his mother, from June 11th 1811 until Dec 22nd 1819 amounted to £1,100 for the whole period, relating to the “Person of the said Lunatic for his Maintenance”. These payments are set out on page 8 of the Rev. Bence Bence’s accounts for this period.
In 1819, the Rev. Bence Bence asked the High Court of Chancery to be relieved of his responsibilities for the Amyas affairs:
…your Petitioner is advanced in life being of the age of 73 years and upwards and in declining health on which account he is desirous of being relieved from the duties of his committeeship.
The Rev. Bence Bence lived until 1824. Bevil’s mother, Isabella, lived until 1832 when she died at her home in Stanhope Street, Bath; she was buried in St Mary’s churchyard. It has not been possible so far to determine what happened to Bevil Amyas between 1819 and 1841 – he may have been housed in an institution, or he may have been with his sister in Bath.
Page 2 of the Bence Bence accounts shows that two sources of the Amyas income during this period 1811 – 1819 were from Archibald Rowing for “Land containing 28 acres” (i.e. Church Farm) and from Garrett Oddin Taylor for “a Farm House, double Cottage & 168 acres of Land” (i.e. Hall Farm, now Crown Farm).
A further source of income was a Tontine annuity that had been set up before 1803 (the date that Bevil’s brother died – he is included in the annuity).
The Tontine investment paid a fixed interest to all subscribers (there were 3,979 subscribers in the 1789 Irish scheme which benefited the Amyas siblings). As each of the subscribers died, the remaining survivors received a greater share of the interest until all had died and then the capital reverted to the scheme’s administrators. The Tontine records of the deaths of the four Amyas siblings are here.
The census conducted in 1841 records that Bevil, Frances and a Hannah Gilman were living in 24, Stanhope Street in Bath (their mother’s house).
From 1851 onwards it is clear that Bevil Amyas was living in Bath. The following information has been collected concerning Bevil Amyas and his sister Frances in Bath:-
| Year | Document | Address | Role of Frances | Description of Bevil | Others present | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1851 | Census | 24, Great Stanhope St, Bath | Fundholder | Imbecile | Elizabeth Gaisford, Visitor Eliza Wheeler, Servant Ann Collins, Servant | At the time of the 1851 census, Ann Elizabeth Amyas, sister of Bevil and Frances, was staying with the Gaisford family in Thornbury, Glos. |
| 1861 | Census | 15, New King St, Bath | Fundholder | Fundholder | Mary Ann Vimi, Visitor Mary Campbell, Visitor Fanny Gooland, Servant Emily Carter, Servant | |
| 1871 | Census | 15, New King St, Bath | Housekeeper to her brother | Imbecile | Emily Grant, Servant Catherine Campbell, Visitor | |
| 1875 | Death of Frances | 15, New King St, Bath | – | – | Catherine Maria Campbell | |
| 1876 | Post Office Directory | 15, New King St, Bath | Esquire | Miss C.M. Campbell | ||
| 1876 | Death of Bevil | 15, New King St, Bath | Gentleman | Mary Ann Hayter, present at the death |
It would appear that Maria Campbell continued to look after Bevil following Frances’ death at 15, New King Street since she is listed in the Post Office Directory as being at the same address in the year of Bevil’s death. The death certificate however was witnessed by Mary Ann Hayter who signs with “+ her mark”.
Bevil was buried at Locksbrook Cemetery, Lower Weston, Bath.
15, New King Street, Bath
Image: Google Street View
Heirs of Bevil Amyas were sought, although the following advertisement seems to be the extent of the newspaper quest.
In August 1877 an Escheat2 took place in the Shirehall in Norwich to formalise the arrangements for Bevil’s assets since he had not made a will, nor had he been able to write one. It was concluded that since no heirs had come forward to claim the inheritance, “these estates devolved upon the Crown”.
Shirehall, Norwich
The Escheat lists the land assets of Bevil Amyas as being:
- 28 acres (of which 1 acre was copyhold) in the occupation of Mr. George Millard, farmer at an annual rent of £40;
- 168 acres (of which 21 acres were copyhold) known as Deopham Hall Farm, in the occupation of Mr. Rowan at an annual rent of £240.
In May 1878, Mrs Adelaide Amys (sic) contacted Archibald Rowing at Willow Farm fishing to see if she was entitled to make a claim. He replied the following month referring her to Mr Feltham at Hingham.
James Feltham, a solicitor at Hingham, continued to make attempts to find an heir – presumably in the hope that he would receive some recompense if he made a connection. The Norfolk Record Office holds a bundle of letters to and from Mr Feltham on this matter. For example, in August 1878 he wrote to the vicar of Henstead (where Bevil’s father had once been the vicar) seeking information. None of his efforts seem to have borne fruit.
Deopham Hall Farm continued under the name of “Hall Farm” despite being owned by the Crown until Walter and Helen Allen changed the name to “Crown Farm” in around 1900 – see Michael Allen’s Recollections.
In 1902, long after the above escheat had reverted ownership of Hall Farm to the Crown, the widow of William Woodward Manning claimed that her husband was the heir to Bevil Amyas and that therefore she was entitled to inherit Deopham Hall Farm. Her husband was the third cousin thrice removed of Bevil Amyas. She also claimed for the profits from the time of Bevil’s death up to the present time. The judge, Mr Justice Bingham, declared that the claim was “not made out at all to his satisfaction” and judgement was therefore given in favour of the Crown.
Notes
- As well as his will, the leasehold of lands by John Amyas from the Dean & Chapter of Canterbury is referred to by Francis Blomefield.
- The Wikipedia definition of Escheat is “a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in ‘limbo’ without recognized ownership. “
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 2/7/23 | Quoted and linked to 1810 Inquisition |
| 22/6/23 | Added 1841 census information |
| 21/6/23 | Additional information from Bence Bence petition of 1819 |
| 12/6/23 | Draft published |
Deopham History 