Thomas Pinsent: 1790 – 1804 Mary Snow Pinsent: 1793 – 1890 (Married George Wills, 1832, Abbotskerswell, Devon) William Pinsent: 1797 – 1882 (Farmer & Bookseller; Married Jane Crockwell, Coffinswell, Devon, 1822) John Pinsent: 1799 – 1858 (Farmer; Married Ann Brock, Abbotskerswell, Devon, 1831)
Gilbert Pinsent was the third eldest of John Pinsent and Susanna (née Pooke’s) surviving sons. His birth record seems to be missing but, if his age at death was 77 years as reported, he would have been born in around 1758. He was probably born in Newton Abbot. Both of his parents died in 1772 and Gilbert and his younger brothers (Charles, Samuel and Joseph Pinsent) went to live with their grandparents Thomas Pinsent and Mary (née Gale) at “Pitt Farm” in Hennock.
Gilbert’s grandmother and his grandfather died in 1744 and 1777 respectively; so the brothers were in fact brought up by his son, their uncle, Thomas Pinsent, and his wife, Mary (nee Mudge). They had no children of their own and were probably very pleased to have them around. It is worth noting that Gilbert and William Pinsent (possibly his son?) were called upon to witness the will and codicil of Samuel Mudge, Gent., of Lindridge Hill in Kingsteignton, in 1821 (Inland Revenue Wills: 1821).
Whether Gilbert was formally apprenticed to work at “Pitt” I do not know; but he was certainly brought up to be a farmer seems to have been very successful at it. Gilbert had moved out by the time his uncle, Thomas Pinsent of “Pitt”, died. When he did so, he left £50 apiece to the five “sons of (his brother) John Pinsent.” Gilbert’s younger brother Charles had the good fortune to inherit “Pitt.” His life is described elsewhere.
Gilbert had married Margaret Snow by license in Kingsteignton in 1790 and had three sons; of whom two (William Pinsent and John Pinsent) lived to maturity, married and had children of their own. They also had a daughter, Mary Snow Pinsent who also married.
Map showing Ponswine Farm near Kingsteignton.
Gilbert was a tenant farmer at “Ponswin”, east of Stoney Copse in Kingsteignton from 1797 (if not earlier) to 1824, and paid £1 13/4d in Land Tax annually for the privilege. While there, he was assigned apprentices by the local parish guardians. Some, such as Thomas Carnell (in 1805) and George Joslyn (1818) were for work on the farm at “Ponswin;” however, others, such as James Tapp (1811) and Sally Stephens Towell (1818) were given for nearby by properties at “Lindridge Hill” and “Church Gate Estates.” Gilbert had probably added to his rental holdings (Kingsteignton Apprentice Register: 1775-1823).
Gilbert also apprenticed an eleven-year old girl called Elizabeth Carnell (Thomas Carnell’s sister?) as an apprentice in 1812 and Deborah Cass uses a transcript of the original, signed, indenture in her book “Writing your Family History: A Practical Guide” (Crowood: 2012) to illustrate how these documents were worded – at least in Devon in the early 1800s. It was a two-way commitment. Elizabeth was expected to learn about and help with the housekeeping and husbandry, and Gilbert was to look after her until she reached the age of 21-years or, with his permission, married earlier.
Gilbert and his younger brother Charles (who owned land at “Lower Albrook” – north of the village of Kingsteignton) were contemporaries of Thomas Pinsent (the DEVONPORT draper – see elsewhere) who farmed at “Greenhills” on the southern outskirts of Kingsteignton. They were all men of influence in the district and Gilbert, along with his son (?) William, were called upon to witness the will and codicil of neighbour, Samuel Mudge of “Lindridge” in 1820 (Inland Revenue: Stamp Act Wills: 1820). Gilbert was politically active; that same year he supported the nomination of a Mr. E. P. Bastard for Member of Parliament (Exeter Flying Post: Thursday 16th March 1820).
Gilbert and Margaret’s eldest son, Thomas Pinsent, died young. Their second child, Mary Snow Pinsent, lived and married a widower, George Wills, in Ilsington in 1832. He was an affluent farmer. Their third child, William Pinsent, started out as a farmer but later in life drifted into other less lucrative professions. He died in the Newton Abbot Union Workhouse in 1882. His life, and that of his younger brother John Pinsent – who stuck with farming and took over their father’s farm on his death in 1835 – are also discussed elsewhere.
Map of Abbotskerswell marking the location of “Aller Barton”.
In 1824, Gilbert left “Ponswin” and moved to “Aller Barton”, a farm owned by Rev. G. Baker of South Brent on the eastern boundary of Abbotskerswell parish. “Aller” was valued at £24 16s per annum in Land Tax and Gilbert shared the property with Richard Turner until around 1829, and with William Bickford up until at least 1831 – when the tax records come to an end. While living there, Gilbert also farmed “Lang Bridge” (valued at £1 10s) in the same parish and “Brent” in nearby Kingskerswell (valued at 7s 7d). They too belonged to Rev. Baker. Gilbert also shared “Mudgery Down” and “Catslades”, in Marldon (owned by a Mrs. Easterley) with other farmers from 1826 to 1831. He may have farmed the “Catslades” portion, which was taxed at 13s 9d by himself in 1829. In 1830, Gilbert added “Goldmoors” in Wolborough, owned by Robert Codners, to his holdings at a land tax of £1 7/4d. He was a busy man! However, he had two sons and they, presumably, helped him manage his holdings.
Advertisement for the sale of timber, Exeter Flying Post, February 16, 1826.
The Rev. Baker retained the timber rights for his properties and offered 100 oak, 56 elm and 60 ash trees “of large dimensions” for sale by auction on 23rd February 1826 (Exeter Flying Post: Thursday 16th February 1826). Prospective purchasers were advised to see Mr. Pinsent at “Aller”. Trees were a valuable resource – particularly oaks as they were much prized by the Royal Navy. By that date Gilbert had probably handed the day-to-day running of the farm to his son, John.
Abbotskerswell as photographed from the church tower.
Gilbert was a wealthy farmer at a time when the rural economy in England was in crisis – it was an issue that his brother Joseph Pinsent regularly complained about in the press. Grain prices were low because of cheap imports and farmers were forced to mechanize to reduce costs. Gilbert and his son John, and another farmer named Mr. T. Elliott, were seen to be using threshing machines and they received threatening letters that accused them of putting people out of work.
Newspaper excerpt describing the arson, Hampshire Telegraph, January 3, 1831.
In the event, Gilbert’s farm was spared but Mr. Elliott’s farmhouse, his infrastructure, his barns and threshing machine were burnt down on the 22nd December 1830. Unfortunately for Mr. Elliott, they were not insured. The likely culprits had been seen lurking in the village but there is no indication that anyone was ever caught or convicted (Hampshire Telegraph and Sussex Chronicle: Monday 13th January 1831).
Entry describing Margaret Pinsent’s burial plot.
Gilbert died at “Aller Barton” and was buried in Kingsteignton in November 1835. His son John continued to work the farm and his mother, Gilbert’s widow, Margaret (née Snow) is described as being “independent” in the 1841 Census, so she retained some wealth and standing in the community. She died in Abbotskerswell in December 1843 and was buried in Kingsteignton early in January 1844.
Her son, John surrendered “Aller” back to its owner and “Kelly’s Directory of Devon” suggests that much of it had fallen into the hands of the “Aller Vale Fine Arts Pottery Co.” by 1902. The area had long been known for its clay deposits and that was where the future lay. John moved to “Ware Barton”, a farm in Kingsteignton, in 1847. His life is discussed elsewhere.
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Clara Ellen Pinsent: 1881 – 1942 (Married Frederick Dopson New, 1925, Great Shefford, Berkshire) Mary Eliza Pinsent: 1883 – 1945 (Married Frederick Gotelee, 1916, Newbury, Berkshire) Gilbert Soudon Pinsent: 1889 – xxxx (Married Agnes Mabel Broome, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1914)
Gilbert was the second son of John Pinsent by his wife, Ann (née Brock). He was brought up at “Ware Barton” in Kingsteignton and he helped his elder brother, John Pinsent, and his mother to run the family farm after his father died in 1858. John left to marry in 1865 and his mother died the following year – so it fell to Gilbert to pick up the tenancy. He ran the farm with the help of his two younger brothers James Pinsent and Henry Pinsent until they too took off. Henry married in 1870 and James went out to Australia sometime in the 1870s.
The Pinsents were “nonconformists” and they attended a chapel in Kingsteignton that was largely built through the generosity of a very distant relative from the DEVONPORT branch of the family. Mr. Thomas Pinsent and his sons ran a drapery business in Devonport and a brewery in Newton Abbot and both were well known in South Devon.
Gilbert Pinsent finances a gift for the pastor. Western Times, April 22, 1870.
Gilbert was an active member of the congregation and arranged for a gold watch to be presented to the dissenting minister on Good Friday in 1870 (Western Times: Friday 22nd April 1870). He also treated “six-score children” to a tea at the farm later that summer (Western Times: 19th July 1870). Unfortunately, good deeds are rarely rewarded and the farm was infected by “foot and mouth disease” in the autumn (Totnes Weekly Times: Saturday 8th October 1870). Farm to farm infections were a serious problem before the age of antibiotics. A few years earlier, in August 1866, one of Mr. Pinsent’s employees, Benjamin Burnett, had been convicted at the Petty Sessions for “removing a calf” without the necessary certificates. He was fined 1s (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 24th August 1866). It seems to have been deemed to be a serious offense at the time.
Gilbert Pinsent testifies against two men who had stolen horse hair from his farm. Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, October 20, 1865.
Towards the end of Queen Victoria’s reign, cheap imports from the Continent and elsewhere caused a good deal of suffering among farm works and it is, perhaps, not entirely surprising that a small amount of pilfering went on. Some cases came before the magistrates at the local Petty Sessions. For instance, two Cornish men were charged with theft in Newton Abbot in October 1865 after Mr. Pinsent saw them coming out of the stable with a sack and a quarter-pound of horsehair. They were captured and pleaded guilty (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 20th October 1865). They were at least “foreigners”.
In 1870, two locals were brought up at Newton Petty Sessions for stealing some of Gilbert’s turnips. It led to two weeks in prison for one, Mary Horsham (who was probably the wife of one of Gilbert’s workers) and one week for the other, John Efferd (Western Times: Friday 28th October 1870). They were probably good turnips too, as Mr. Pinsent of Ware had received 1st prize for “the best crop of common turnips” at the “Newton Agricultural and Labourers’ Friend Society” meeting in 1868 and knew how to grow them.
William Horsham changes his plea in the charge of stealing Gilbert Pinsent’s oats.
On another occasion, Gilbert’s brother James Pinsent caught William Horsham stealing oats from the farm – although he claimed he was too drunk to know what he was doing. At the Petty Sessions, he asked James if, “in the 20 years he had worked for him, he had known anything against him? (James) confessed to having heard reports but never – till then having caught him in the act” (Western Times: Thursday 29th December 1870).
The young boy is charged with arson. Western Times, March 16, 1869.
“Ware Barton” seems to have attracted miscreants. In September 1868, Gilbert had thirteen ricks of wheat and two of oats burned down. The fire caused £400 to £500 in damage that was, fortunately for Gilbert, covered by insurance (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 11th September 1868). The two young lads who had been seen running away were later caught, and the elder of the two, aged 9, committed for trial. When the time came, his Lordship managed to convince himself that it must have been an unfortunate accident and the jury returned a verdict of “Not Guilty” (Western Times: Friday 16th March 1869).
An accused poacher is fined for hunting rabbits. Totnes Weekly Times, June 26, 1886.
A few years later (in 1873) Samuel Lang pleaded guilty to stealing apples from Gilbert’s orchard (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 29th August 1873) and in 1876 Thomas Causley was convicted of trespass in pursuit of conies (rabbits) (Western Times: Friday 23rd June 1876. Thomas Lang (a relation of Samuel’s perhaps?) was nabbed for a similar offense – going after rabbits at “Broad Aller” – in March 1881 (Western Times: Wednesday 9th March 1881). Perhaps there was a particular attractive warren on the farm. Even as late as 1886, James Tibbs and two others were charged with using a ferret and nets to try and catch rabbits along a hedge at “Ware Barton” (Western Times: Friday 25th June 1886).
Gilbert Pinsent appears in the 1871 census.
The 1871 Census shows that Gilbert was farming 335 acres with the help of his brother James and his then unmarried sisters Anna, Emma L., Mary I. and Harriet C. Pinsent. The farm also employed six day-labourers and two boys. James had a side-line. He worked for “Lawes”, a firm that distributed guano (bird droppings) and manufactured chemical fertilizers. He was quaintly referred to as being a “manure agent”. At the time of the census (1871), two of Gilbert’s nieces (his brother, John’s daughters Catherine A. and Mary E.) were visiting the farm.
Gilbert and his brother John were well known in the Newton Abbot area, although perhaps not as well known as their brewing counterparts from the DEVONPORT branch, and members of both families attended community events, such as the “Newton Abbot Agricultural and Labourers’ Friend Society” annual meetings. Both families were non-conformist and also attended Chapel services and occasionally wound up on Committees together. When it came to local and national politics, they both seem to have had a preference for the Liberal party. Gilbert was appointed to the committee of a “Parochial Liberal Association” in March 1885 (Totnes Weekly Times: Saturday 14th March 1885). However, he left the area a few years later.
Gilbert and his brother John sometimes picked up a prize or two at the annual meetings of the “Agricultural and Labourers’ Society” and they almost invariably attended the dinners. In 1871, John’s ploughman came in fourth and one of Gilbert’s servants, Ann Howard, received 15s for her twenty-seven years and four months of service to the Pinsent household at Ware (Exeter Flying Post: Wednesday 1st November 1871). Three years later, she was the second-longest serving servant in the district. Another of Gilbert’s “old timers” was found accidentally drowned the following January (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Monday 22nd January 1872). It was surmised that he had wandered from the path as he approached a bridge over the River Lemon.
Gilbert was elected to serve on the “Newton Abbot Board of Guardians” in 1868 (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 2nd April 1869). It oversaw local contracts and was responsible for the management of the Workhouse. It also saw to the distribution of aid and education to paupers. He was on the Board for many years and was still active in 1882 (Western Times: Thursday 20th April 1882). His brother Henry seems to have joined Gilbert on the Board in 1883.
Gilbert married relatively late in life, and this seems to have been a source of amusement to his friends. When Lord Clifford, the Lord of the Manor of Kingsteignton, gave a dinner for his tenants on the occasion of his son’s coming of age, in 1873, Gilbert was asked to respond to the toast to the Ladies. He did so: “Mr. G. Pinsent, in responding, was not altogether hard upon the ladies – perhaps he was rather cowed at the presence of so many. Although he had not as yet entered the blissful state, he would not exclude them from meetings of that sort because he believed their presence would have a tendency to make the men a little more sociable” (Western Times: Tuesday 7th January 1873). He was probably right. Gilbert finally succumbed and married Clara Bridgeman, the daughter of a Torquay grocer. They married at the Congregational Chapel in Newton Abbot, in 1880.
Gilbert was a law-abiding farmer. When a stray, unmarked, white-faced cow wandered onto his land in November 1872, he put an advertisement in the paper (Western Times: Friday 15th November 1872). Presumably it was claimed. He did, however, eventually get on the wrong side of the magistrates now and then. In 1878 the local road surveyor summoned him for not pruning his hedges. Gilbert argued that he had done so, and that he profoundly disagreed with the surveyor as to how high they should be! He claimed they were not a hazard. Regardless, he was ordered to get the overhangs pruned. The surveyor also charged him with obstruction for leaving bundles of brushwood by the side of the road (which presumably gives the lie to his not having cut the hedges) but, as he had given Gilbert no notice of this particular offense, it was dismissed (Western Times: Friday 13th December, 1878). The trials of a Devonshire farmer! Anyone who had been down a Devon lane will know about its deceptive walls and hedges. Gilbert must has smiled when he was asked at the Kingsteington Vestry meeting on Ladyday (25th March) 1885 to serve on a Committee of Surveyors for the repair of roads (Exeter Flying Post; Tuesday 1st April 1885).
Gilbert and Clara appear in the 1881 census.
Gilbert and Clara were still working the farm at “Ware Barton” at the time of the 1881 Census. It was then said to cover 305 acres. James had gone out to Australia by then and Gilbert and his newly acquired wife were running it on their own, with the help of two domestic servants and, presumably, day-labourers. Their daughters, Clara Ellen and Mary Eliza Pinsent were born at “Ware Barton” in 1881 and 1883 respectively.
Map of Froxfield Parish including Scrope Farm.
Gilbert’s brother, John Pinsent left “Roccombe” in Combeinteighhead and moved to “Gambledown Farm”, near Romsey, in Hampshire in 1884 and Gilbert decided to follow in 1887. He moved his family to “Scrope Farm” which is south of the River Kennett near Rudge a larger predominantly open-field farm to the north of what is now the “A4” road west of Froxfield, near Hungerford in Wiltshire. Strangely, the village of Froxfield was where Gilbert’s distant relation (they shared a common great-great-grandfather) Robert John Pinsent (later Sir Robert John Pinsent) married his second wife, Emily Hetty Sabine Homfray in 1872!
The auction is announced for June 29, 1886. Exeter and Plymouth, June 25, 1886.
Rendell and Symons were commissioned to auction off Gilbert’s livestock at “Ware Barton”. It included “36 breeding ewes, 40 ewe and wether hogs, mostly fat; 52 ewe and wether lambs, 5 fat wethers, 1 ram, 1 cow in calf, 2 cows in milk, 7 ditto graziers, 6 two-year-old heifers, 10 2 1/2-year-old grazing steers, 16 18-months-old heifers and steers, 16 yearling ditto, 9 rearing calves, a brown gelding, 6 years old, about 15.1 h.h., very quiet in saddle and harness, with plenty of power, active, and works well on the farm; bay mare, 11 years old, about 15.3 h.h., very fast and quiet in harness, a noted trotter, and splendid worker on the farm” on Tuesday 29th June 1886 (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 25th June 1886). The firm later sold the residual grass on 86 acres for grazing (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 8th October 1886) and disposed of his remaining assets – including a few cows, pigs and chickens, eight ricks of clover and hay and faggots of wood. He also disposed of some household furniture (Western Times: Friday 23rd September 1887. Gilbert and Clara left for Wiltshire a few days later, at Michaelmas (29th September).
Gilbert was up and running and back in business the following year, 1888. He sold some fat ewes for a good price (45s – 48s) in June 1889 (Devizes and Wiltshire Gazette: Thursday 6th June 1889). Gilbert and Clara had a son, Gilbert Soudon Pinsent at “Scrope” shortly thereafter; which might explain why two of his nieces, Catherine A. and Ada Pinsent were living on the farm when the 1891 Census was taken. They were probably there to help Clara with the baby and to assist a resident school governess with the two young girls.
Gilbert Pinsent is pinned beneath a cart. Reading Mercury, March 19, 1892.
The Census records say that Gilbert was a “lame farmer” in 1891 – why I am not sure; however, I do know that he was involved in a painful accident in March the following year. His farm at “Scrope” was near Hungerford and he had the misfortune to be driving a horse and cart into town as a train passed nearby and spooked his horse. It careening down the street and crashed into a wagon-load of coal. after He survived with his bones in tact but he was badly shaken (Reading Mercury: Saturday 19th March 1892).
Perhaps indisposition was why he gave up the farm the following year. It was advertised to let in August 1893: “Scrope Farm, comprising 206 acres arable (including sanfoin), 8 acres pasture, 14 acres wood with house, homestead and 2 cottages with in 4 miles of rail and Hungerford” (North British Agriculturalist: Wednesday 9th August 1893. Gilbert went looking for something more manageable: “Wanted to Rent: A house with 5 or 10 acres of meadowland: Apply to G. Pinsent, Froxfield, Hungerford” (Newbury Weekly News and General Advertiser: Thursday 7th September 1893).
Gilbert is charged for moving a pig. Swindon Advertiser and North Wilts Chronicle, January 13, 1894.
Shortly afterwards, “Mr. Pinsent late of Scrope Farm Bridge” was summoned before Hungerford Petty Sessions for moving a pig across the county line from Wiltshire to “his new farm” in Berkshire without a license. Gilbert claimed ignorance of the offense. He said that he had not sold the pig; it was his and he was just moving it to a new farm. Nevertheless, he was fined 1s with 8s costs! (Swindon Advertiser and North Wilts Chronicle: Saturday 13th January 1894).
Gilbert had moved to “Falkland Farm”, at Wash Common, near Newbury (Kelly’s Directory of Berkshire, 1899), which had been the site of the First Battle of Newbury, in 1643. The farm house is now surrounded by houses but still remains as “Falkland Garth” on Essex Road. While living there, Gilbert and Clara were involved in a wagonette crash that occurred when the main pin holding the shaft gave way as they traveled down Wash Hill into town. Gilbert attempted to check the horse but it careened through the town for quite a distance before it could be stopped. Neither was seriously hurt but Clara had managed to jump clear and received quite a shock (Newbury Weekly News and General Advertiser: Thursday 5th November 1896).
Gilbert, his wife and three children were living at Knapps House, Boxford, in Newbury when the census takers next came around in 1901. He was shortly to retire from farming and was living “on his own account.” Although he was partially crippled by then – possible as a result of his earlier crash, he was still able to drive a carriage and he, unfortunately, did so in May 1903. This time, his horse took fright and bolted in Newbury and he was much shaken by the time it was brought under control near the Town Hall (Marlborough Times: 9th May 1903). Gilbert’s livestock – largely cattle – and his farm implements were sold off by auction in October 1904 (Marlborough Times: 15th October 1904).
Gilbert and Clara had taken on a boarding house on Craven Street, in Newbury, by 1907 (Local Directories) and the census shows they were still there in 1911. Clara and her daughter, Clara Ellen, ran the house, which had ten rooms. The “Miss Pinsent” who helped collect funds for Dr. Bernado’s Homes in Newbury in 1907 (Newbury Weekly News and General Advertiser: Thursday 3rd January 19070 was probably Clara Ellen too; however that could have been her sister. Clara Ellen married a “corn merchant” in Great Shefford, Berkshire, in 1925 and Mary Eliza, her sister, who was a “stationers’ shop assistant” in 1911 married a “master ironmonger” in Newbury in 1916. Gilbert and Clara’s son, Gilbert Soudon Pinsent, seems to have had little interest in farming. He was not at home in 1911 when the census was taken. He went out to Argentina as a young man and may have already done so.
Clara Pinsent dies on December 11, 1932.
Gilbert Pinsent died in Newbury aged 78, in 1918 and was given an impressive funeral service prior to internment at the Old Cemetery in Newbury. The Marlborough Times (17th May 1918) describes the coffin and cortage and reminds us that Mr. Gilbert was a committed non-conformist and held strong Liberal views. The Calendar of Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration shows that his “effects” were valued at £200. In the absence of Gilbert’s son, who was in Buenos Aires, they were granted to his widow, Clara, who went to live with her daughter Clara Ellen and her husband, Frederick Dopson New, on Buckingham Road in Newbury. Clara Ellen received Letters of Administration for her mother after she died in 1932.
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John Pinsent: 1880 – 1925 George Whidborne Pinsent: 1882 – 1883 ✔️
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Francis Wingfield Homfray Pinsent (or “Frank” as he was generally known) was one of Robert John Pinsent’s older sons by his second wife, Emily Hetty Sabine (née Homfray). He was born in St. John’s into an extended family that eventually included five half-siblings: (Lucretia Maude, Louisa Catherine, Robert Hedley, Charles Augustus and Alfred Newman), two sisters (Mabel Louisa Homfray and Beatrice Mary Homfray) and two brothers (Robert John Ferrier Homfray and Guy Homfray).
3 Devon Place, Frank’s childhood home in St. John’s via Heritage Newfoundland & Labrador.
Francis’s father was a Judge on the Supreme Court of Newfoundland in the 1880s. His life is discussed in some detail elsewhere. He was a busy man, in addition to his routine day-to-day legal work, he had to deal with the fall-out from a major collapsed railway construction contract and also figure out the relative rights of French and Newfoundland fishermen along the so-called “French Shore.” In the latter case he found that the French were entitled to catch and process cod – but said they had no right what so ever to interfere with Newfoundlanders’ efforts to fish or acquire bait, and/or catch, process and can lobsters – what ever they might say to the contrary. He laid out his reasoning in an article entitled: “French Fishery Claims in Newfoundland” published in the “Nineteenth Century Magazine” (Nineteenth Century: Vol. 158, April 1890).
Robert John made several visits to England over the years (he gave a talk to the “Royal Colonial Institute” entitled “Newfoundland, our Oldest Colony” in April 1885 (Colonies and India: Friday 17th April 1885) and was a well known and respected advocate for the Colony. Queen Victoria honoured him with a knighthood in 1890.
Frank’s childhood drawing of “A Caribou Stag Startled”.
Francis and his elder brother (another Robert) and their half-brothers were brought up in St. John’s and at the family’s second home at “Woodlands” which was on the Salmonier river, in rural Newfoundland.
They were not just city dwellers. They saw themselves as country boys and Francis wrote and illustrated a short story entitled: “How I shot & Lost My First Stag.” This was at around the time his father died, in 1893. It describes a particularly wet hunting expedition he took with a friend while waiting for his school to reopen – after it burnt down! Unfortunately, a large portion of down-town St. John’s, including its Anglican Cathedral and Commercial Centre had gone up in flames in July 1892.
Frank refers to his disappointment at hitting but failing to fell an impressive-looking stag. I have a hand written copy of the story that may have been intended for his mother – who had stayed on in England after her husband’s death and must have missed St. John’s – or it may have been meant for publication. Either way, it is another example of the family’s love of writing short stories. Frank’s father, (Sir) Robert John Pinsent, wrote about Newfoundland history and described one of his trips around Newfoundland dispensing justice in the out-ports; Lady Pinsent wrote about fishing in “The Field” magazine and his elder brother Robert John Ferrier Homfray Pinsent wrote about a failed logging venture in Quebec for the same magazine. Frank’s son, Robert John Francis Homfray Pinsent, would later write about his fishing exploits. As for me – I write about the family.
In 1893, Sir Robert and Lady Pinsent took some of their children (but not Frank) to England and left them with Emily’s parents in Norfolk while they went on to Rome to see Frank’s eldest half-sister, Lucretia Maude, who was in the process of setting up an English-speaking Benedictine convent. The trip went well – I believe they had an audience with the Pope – but Sir Robert contracted pneumonia shortly after returning to England and he died at Bintry (Bintree) a few days later.
His death created immediate problems for Emily, as most of the family’s assets in Newfoundland were committed to the children of his first marriage – most notably Charles Augustus Maxwell Pinsent – and she was left with two teenage sons (Robert (19) and Frank (18)) in Newfoundland, and a grown up daughter (Mabel (20)) and two younger children, Beatrice (10) and Guy (4) in England to launch on her own. Presumably, it did not help that a large part of St. John’s had recently burnt down and two of the major banks in Newfoundland (including one managed by Sir Robert’s brother Charles Speare Pinsent) were to crash in December 1894. Such assets she had in St. John’s would have been severely reduced in value. Lady Pinsent stayed on in England and took employment as a “House Matron” at Harrow School and then as the “Matron” at Denstone School in Staffordshire. Guy and Beatrice (“Trixie”), who were with her in England, also stayed on. Their lives are discussed elsewhere.
Francis was educated at Bishop Feild (sic) and the Methodist Colleges in St. John’s and also – in part – privately under Reverend T. W. Temple of St. Pierre and Miquelon. Perhaps that was after his school burnt down! He joined the “Newfoundland Department of Agriculture and Mines ” in 1892 (McAlpine’s 1898 Directory, St. John’s). However, he was later (in 1899) to resign his position as 2nd Clerk ($700.00 p.a.) and to move to England to be with his mother, and the rest of his immediate family. This came as a great relief to Lady Pinsent who was well aware that one of her step-sons, Charles, was a heavy drinker and prone to violence. She wrote to the Lucretia Maude (the Lady Abbess in Rome) in November 1899 saying: “I am most glad to have Frank here as I was always in terror for him on account of Charlie, he is little better then a madman now, is quite so when he is drunk & people are terrified if he goes near them. He is very angry with me because I refuse to give him my signature to sell Salmonier, for his own benefit & I feared he would vent his anger on Frank.” Her fears, fortunately, seem to have been overblown as Frank and Charles managed to co-exist fairly amicably. Frank was best-man at Charles’s wedding to Fanny Colley, in Topsail in January 1897 (Evening Telegram: 7th January 1897).
Lady Pinsent’s older son in Newfoundland, Robert John Ferrier Homfray Pinsent did not get on quite so well with Charles. He wrote to his mother in August 1897 describing his meeting with Charles at “Woodlands” – where he had gone to recuperate from a bout of tuberculosis. In his letter, Robert is highly complementary about “Good old Frank” but much less so about Charles. He felt that Charles clearly resented him being there: “… when Frank asked him the other day if I could use his rifle which is out here he refused and requested that I would not even look at it. If Frank himself wanted it, he would lend it to him etc., but to no one else in the world. He also said to Frank that he did not want me to touch one iota on the place – which I think a very unkind & unmanly insinuation to a brother in my place.”
In the autumn of 1897, Robert and his wife Annie, and Robert’s brother Frank went out to Colorado – presumably to get away from the dampness of the Newfoundland winter and to take advantage of its dryer air. The “Massachusetts, U.S. Arriving Passenger and Crew lists, 1820 – 1963 (Ancestry.com)” tell us that they left Hawkesbury in Nova Scotia on 22nd October and arrived in Boston three days later. I image they took the train west from there. When they returned, I am not sure. Sadly, Robert never fully recovered. He died in 1899 and Frank took-off for London shortly thereafter.
Lady Pinsent had, through Monier-Williams family contacts, managed to find Frank a position with the firm of “Messrs. Viquers & Co., Chartered Surveyors, of #4 Frederick’s Place in London”. Having references signed by both the Attorney General and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland may have helped him get the placement.
Lady Pinsent was bored at Denstone. There was none of the social interaction she had so enjoyed at Harrow. She eventually left and moved to London where she bought a flat at #13 Stanley Crescent in Kensington – so as to be with Frank when he arrived from St. John’s. The Electoral Registers show that they both lived there for a few years. Frank passed the “Surveyor’s Institute” Fellowship Examination in 1901 and Lady Pinsent, who still corresponded with friends in Newfoundland arranged for Judge Prowse (the young friend of her husband’s who wrote a “History of Newfoundland” in 1895) to insert the following in a local paper: “Mr. Frank Pinsent: The numerous friends and admirers of the late Sir Robert and Lady Pinsent, will be very pleased to learn that their son, Mr. Frank Pinsent, who used to be in the Surveyor General’s Office, has passed a most creditable examination in London, and is now entitled to become a member of the Council of Surveyors for Great Britain. It was a very stiff examination — like all those held in London — and several members, five and ten years seniors to Frank, were plucked. Miss Trixie Pinsent has also passed with great credit the Senior Local Cambridge Examination, and is now studying for higher honours. D.W.P.” (Evening Telegram: 17th June 1901).
Frank was elected a “Fellow of the Surveyor’s Institute” in 1908 and went on practice with a partner under the banner of “Worthington and Pinsent, Surveyors, of Cannon Street in London.” Presumable, his strength was in land valuation. He was not particularly political; however, he did take time out in 1909 to write a scathing letter to the “Daily Telegraph” describing the detrimental impact that various land-tax changes proposed by Mr. Lloyd-George would have on land values!
An excerpt from correspondence with “Cousin Henrietta”.
While in St. John’s in 1896, Frank had corresponded with a “Cousin Henrietta” (whoever she was) about the origins of the family and its connection to the “Pynsent family.” He had not been able to tell her much about them then, but he doubtless learned more when he connected with a distant cousin, Robert Burton Pynsent when he arrived in London. Robert’s life is described elsewhere. He was, like Frank, a recently returned colonial. His father (Charles Pitt Pynsent) – who had been a friend of Thomas Pynsent of Pitt House and Northam, Westwood Ho! (see elsewhere) had lived in Australia and eventually settled in New Zealand. Robert Burton was back from there to study and practicing law. They doubtless had contacts in common.
Robert Burton married Mary Isobel Addie, in Northaw, in Hertfordshire in 1906 and Frank became one of the two trustees of their Marriage Settlement. The trustees opened an account in Robert’s name and deposited a considerable sum in stocks and bonds. They then arranged for Mary to receive two hundred pounds sterling per annum out of the proceeds. Sadly, the marriage did not last (see elsewhere). The couple divorced – somewhat acrimoniously – in 1916.
Frank’s certificate acknowledging him as a land valuer.
Frank later joined the Civil Service as “District Valuer” for the “Inland Revenue Service” in Plymouth. So, by this round-about route the family returned to its roots. He and Lady Pinsent moved down to Devon, where they were boarding in Plymouth at the time of the 1911 census. They may have been were down there looking for a permanent home while also preparing for Frank’s upcoming wedding. Lady Pinsent’s daughter Trixie moved into the flat in Kensington.
King Edward VIII came to the throne that year (1911) and Lady Pinsent wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office in St. John’s Newfoundland in a vain attempt to get tickets for the coronation out of the Colony’s allocation.
A silhouette of Janet Pinsent painted in 1927.
Frank married Janet Frances, the eldest daughter of Frank Cowtan of Aubrey Road Camden Hill at St. Mary Abbot’s Church in Kensington in April 1911 (London Daily News: 25th April 1911). Her father belonged to “Messrs. Cowtan and Sons Ltd.” – high-class “decorators, upholsterers and cabinet-makers” in Belgrave Square, in London S.W.1. The firm, which had been founded in 1790, was particularly well-known for selling quality wallpaper (London Metropolitan Archives). It was an artistic family. The attached painting of Janet as girl of around fifteen was painted by her sister, Mary Cowtan. Janet was a water colour artist in her own right and her paintings are among my prized possessions.
The Pinsent family (including Lady Pinsent) moved into a house called “Hillsborough” near, but downhill, from the railway station at Horrabridge – a small village on the edge of Dartmoor, approximately 12 miles (19 km.) north of Plymouth. Frank commuted into Plymouth by rail. The name “Hillsborough” was that of his one-time family home in St. John’s. It is also the name given by Mr. Thomas Pynsent (“late of Pitt House” in Hennock), to one of his homes in Westward Ho! in north Devon in the 1860s and 1870s.
Hundreds of young Newfoundlanders signed up for active service at the outbreak of the First World War and an early contingent arrived in Plymouth on the “S.S. Florizel” on 20th October 1914. One of them, Lieutenant Owen William Steele, kept a diary that describes the history of the “(Royal) Newfoundland Regiment” up to its near obliteration at Beaumont Hamel on 1st July 1916 – during the battle of the Somme. He documents the regiment’s activities at Gallipoli, its refurbishment and its later disembarkation in Plymouth. He tells us that: “A Mr. Pinsent introduced himself to the Colour Party as a Nflder”. Evidently Frank had not forgotten his roots. Sadly, Lieutenant Steele was killed going “over the top” at Beaumont Hamel – as, indeed were Privates Stanley Stewart Pinsent of Musgrave Harbour and Stewart Pinsent from Dildo, Newfoundland – two unrelated Pinsents who joined up and arrived in England sometime later. The “Florizel” met with its own tragic end. It sank after striking a reef while on route from St. John’s to Halifax on 23rd February 1918. Fortunately, Jacob Pinsent from Greenspond in Newfoundland, one of the ship’s carpenters, survived. There were, and still are, a lot of Pinsents in Newfoundland!
Francis Wingfield Homfray Pinsent joined the “Sir Francis Drake Lodge” of the Freemasons in Plymouth in February 1915. I am not sure how active he was; however, his uncle Charles Speare Pinsent (who had died in St. John’s the previous year) was a senior member of the order in Newfoundland and he would have doubtless been expected to join. Frank regularly attend “Devon and Cornwall Surveyor’s Institute” functions before, during and after the First World War. He was elected vice-chairman in November 1922 (Western Times: Friday 3rd November 1922) and chairman the following year (Western Times: Friday 2nd November 1923).
Frank was active throughout the “Plymouth Rent Tribunal” discussions held in 1923 (Western Evening Herald: 15th September 1923) and he was not infrequently called upon to estimate or arbitrate on the value of land and property. He can take some credit for the improvement in infrastructure in South Devon. For instance, Frank was involved in the cost-arbitration of 12 acres adjacent to a Torquay beauty sport – the “Bishop’s Walk” – in 1929 (Torquay Times and South Devon Advertiser: Friday 18th January 1929). He was also on hand when Ilsham Marine Drive at Torquay was formally opened (Torquay Times, and South Devon Advertiser: Friday 7th March 1924).
Most of his assessments seem to have been accepted; however, predictably, not everyone agreed with his valuations. For instance, a Mr. Hosking objected to the value he placed on a field near Ashburton needed for building purposes. The owner felt that the valuation did not take into account a significant vein of umber which, he insisted, must put the price up to at least L.2,000. Frank disagreed and the District Council looked to be heading to arbitration (Brixham Western Guardian: Thursday 8th April 1920). Similarly, the owner of the a strip of land needed for road widening at Knowle came up with far higher valuation than Frank and the issue went to arbitration in 1924 (Torquay Times, and South Devon Advertiser: Friday 7th March 1924). On another occasion, he advised the Minister of Health that the owners of the Rockend Estate had significantly overvalued their property (Torbay Express and South Devon Echo: Wednesday 26th October 1927).
After the “Rating and Valuation (Apportionment) Act” of 1928 came into effect, Frank was frequently called upon to pacify local landowners outraged by the classification (industrial, agricultural or freight-transport) given to their properties – which greatly effected that their ability to get Land Tax rebates. In July 1929 there were around 300 complaints before the “Plymouth Assessment Committee”. When these issues went to court, it was Mr. Pinsent who argued the case for the rating authority and the “City Treasurer” who argued for the local authority (Western Morning News: 13th Jul 1929). Some of the tougher cases lingered on into the early-1930s as it was not always clear whether a particular land “usage” met the test for an “industrial-use exemption” (Western Morning News: Friday 25th April 1930). The timber sector was a particular head-ache (Western Morning News: Friday 25th April 1930). Then there were land-use zoning issues to be dealt with … (Western Morning News: Wednesday 9th March 1932).
When it came to land needed for public use, Frank frequently found himself dealing with arbitration panels (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 23rd January 1931). In 1932 the owners of land on Primley Hill in Paignton complained that he had grossly undervalued some land that Paignton Urban District Council needed to widen a road. They insisted on arbitration (Torquay Times and South Devon Advertiser: Friday 6th May 1932). This was just one of Frank’s valuations that was tested.
Sometimes, valuations changed for some reason or other. In January 1936, he wrote to the “Brixham Urban Council” to inform them that the valuation he had given for “Berry Head” (which they hoped to acquire as open space) was no longer operative. Perhaps it had timed out. He would be happy to provide a revised estimate (Exeter and Plymouth Gazette: Friday 10th January 1936). In another case, Frank valued a 4-acres property in a prime location on flat ground near the sea that the Corporation of Torquay wished to make into a public park. The land was owned by the “Devon Rosery and Fruit Tree Co. Ltd.” and it felt that Frank had grossly undervalued it. The company brought in its own arbitrator, from Birmingham (Torquay Times and South Devon Advertiser: Friday 28th February 1936). Presumably the two parties came to an acceptable compromise.
Faded architectural plans for the construction of Higerfield.Frank and little Robin lay the first brick during the construction of Higherfield.Robin, a young boy, runs along the low wall outside his home at Higherfield.Higherfield photographed in 1935.Higherfield.Higherfield photographed in 1983.
It was not all work. Frank and Janet’s only son Robert John Francis Homfray Pinsent was born at “Hillsborough” in 1916 and Frank decided to build a small house above the railway station at Horrabridge. He purchased three fields (approximately 3 acres) on the edge of Roborough Down above the station and built a small house, called “Higherfield ” in 1920. He was still able to commute to his office in the Barclay’s Bank building on Princess Square in Plymouth by rail. The family was, with the notable exception of Lady Pinsent (Emily Hetty Sabine) – who was visiting friends (Elizabeth Julie and Margaret Florence Francis) in Watford – residing at Higherfield by the time the census was taken the following year (1921). Frank, Janet and their son Robert were there with Agnes Marion Macnab, a family friend and companion, and a live-in servant girl, Beatrice Angell. The house had a detached cottage/garage that was inhabited by James Trembeth and his wife. He helped out in the garden and she was the family cook.
There was room for an orchard and a garden – and space in one of the fields for a Dartmoor pony for their son “Robin”. It came 2nd in its class at the Yelverton Horse and Pony Show in July 1924 (Western Morning News: Thursday 17th July 1924).
Frank’s brother Captain Guy Homfray Pinsent, M.C., married a local girl, Ethel Betty Brittan, the daughter of a well-known landscape Artist (Charles E. Brittan) in Sheepstor, near Burrator, in 1923 (Western Morning News: Friday 21st September 1923). Lady Pinsent had died the previous year but Robert Burton Pynsent (“Cousin Bob”) attended the wedding. Guy and “Betty” went out to China with the 1st Battalion North Lancashire Regiment; however, he later resigned his commission and the couple settled in the London area. His life is discussed elsewhere.
Janet and Frank stand outside a doorway, 1929.
Francis and Janet traveled in France and went out to Italy to visit Frank’s half-sister Lucretia Maude in Rome in 1929. She was a “Sister in Religion” and a “Lady Abbess” prior to a dust up with the Roman Catholic authorities in the early 1900s (see elsewhere). Incoming Passenger Lists show them returning from Genoa on a “Netherlands Royal Mail” vessel, the “Christiaan Huygens” – which docked in Southampton on 12th June. In Rome, they discussed the family’s history and Frank wrote up some of his half-sister’s comments about their great grandfather’s brother Joseph Pinsent and his three wives – two of whom had come from the DEVONPORT branch of the family. They also discussed the distribution of family portraits.
Frank and “Cousin Bob” (Robert Burton Pynsent) remained friends and I gather from a letter Bob sent Frank in December 1932 that he had sent his son “Robin” (Robert John Francis Homfray Pinsent) a book on birds. He inquired after Robin’s “strong suits” at school. Robin was at “The King’s School Canterbury” by then (see elsewhere). Frank also corresponded with Edith Mary Radford (née Pinsent) about family matters. She wrote to him in March 1931. Edith was the daughter of Richard Steele Pinsent, the Devonport draper, and was from the DEVONPORT branch of the family (see elsewhere). She and her husband lived in London.
The catalogue for works shown at the Plymouth Arts Club’s 1935 Jubilee Expedition.
Frank attended professional dinners and Frank and Janet both attended annual New Year’s Balls and Summer Receptions and dances sponsored by the “Lord Mayor” of Plymouth (Western Morning News: Wednesday 7th January 1931; Western Morning News Wednesday 8th July 1931 and other dates). They played bridge and tennis and enjoyed their garden.
Janet also painted and two of her works. One entitled “From the Cottage Door” and the other “Denham Bridge” were shown at “Plymouth Arts Club: 1935 Jubilee Exhibition.” The latter is on a wall in my hallway.
A painting of Higherfield by Janet Pinsent, 1934
Janet Frances Pinsent died at “Higherfield” on 14th February 1938 and was buried in the family plot at St. John’s in Horrabridge. Her will was probated with “effects” of £2,744 2s 10d. She owned “Higherfield” and left it to her son – my father.
Ann Pinsent (née Stehrenberger)
Shortly after Janet’s death, Frank Pinsent went out to Buenos Aires to see his sister, Beatrice Mary Pinsent (“Trixie”). It must have been a relatively short trip as he arrived back in Southampton on the “Royal Mail Steamship Lines” vessel “Asturias” on 25th April 1938. While he was there, Frank met Anne Marie Stehrenberger, a friend of Trixie’s who worked for the Swiss Legation in Buenos Aires. I do not know how much Trixie had to do with their subsequent marriage but she returned to England to see her two brothers (Frank and Guy) in July 1838 and Anne Marie came over a few weeks later (U.K. Incoming Passenger Lists: Ancestry.com).
Frank and Anna stroll through Buenos Aries in 1939.
Frank and his son, “Robin” attended the wedding of one of Janet’s cousins, Lieut F. Conway Morgan (R.N.) of “H.M.S. Excellent” (a shore station) to Miss J. E. Cunningham – the daughter of a Rear Admiral – at Bathampton in August 1938 (Western Morning News: 1st August 1938) and they then returned to Devon to prepare for Frank’s wedding to Anne Marie. The couple were married in the Roman Catholic Church in Yelverton (near Horrabridge) later that month. The Wartime Register, compiled in 1939, confirms that they lived at “Higherfield” – which is where their only daughter was born in 1941.
Plymouth destroyed during the Blitz, via @WMNPictures on TwitterPlymouth destroyed during the Blitz, via @WMNPictures on TwitterPlymouth destroyed during the Blitz, via @WMNPictures on Twitter
The Devonport dockyards were heavily bombed during the Second World War and much of Plymouth’s downtown core was flattened. It needed to be rebuilt after the war, which meant that property values had to be assessed and compensation paid before any rebuilding could take place. It was a monumental task and the “Valuation Office” needed as much information as it could get. I gather (from Frank’s daughter) that it bought up all the postcards and photographs of the City it could find so as to see what it had actually looked like before the war! The planning and rebuilding was done in record time and the city was well on its way to being rebuilt by 1952 (The Sphere: 4th October, 1952). Frank had formally retired from the “Valuation Department of the Inland Revenue” at the end of December 1943; however, given the circumstances – he had stayed on in a consultative capacity.
Horrabridge Church, Frank’s burial place.
Francis Wingfield Homfray Pinsent died at “Higherfield” in 1948. In his will (prepared in 1941) he appointed his only son, Robert John Francis Homfray Pinsent, as one of his two executors, and as the guardian of his then “infant” child. He left his wife, Anne Marie (née Stehrenberger) money “and such articles of furniture and plate, and such other articles or effects of domestic or household use or ornament as she shall, within three calendar months from my death, select”. The residue (after payment of just debts etc.) went to his son. Probate was granted in Exeter in July 1948 (England & Wales, National Probate Calendar, 1858-1966).
A letter written by Anne Marie’s daughter, in 1988, [in my possession: RHP] tells me that Robert already owned “Higherfield,” as it had been part of his mother’s estate. It also shows that Anne Marie Pinsent stayed on at “Higherfield” until 1952 and then moved back to her hometown of St. Gallen, in Switzerland. She died there in 1984. Her daughter joined her in Switzerland for part of her education but later returned and settled in England, married and had children of her own. She is still living.
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Frances was the daughter of Charles Augustus Maxwell Pinsent and his wife Fanny. For more information about the family, read the biography of Charles Augustus Maxwell’s father, Robert John.
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