CHAPTER VIII

THE EARLY LIFE OF SIR FRANCIS BERNARD

Rev. Francis Bernard presented to the Living of Brightwell-Richard Winlowe -Jane Terry-Death of Rev. F. Bernard-Sir Jonathan Trelawney, Bishop of Winchester-Anthony Alsop-Margery Bernard's Second Marriage-Sir Francis at Westminster-Mr. Alsop's Associates-Sir Francis a Student at Christ Church-Called to the Bar-Lincoln in the Eighteenth Century-Bishop Reynolds-Marriage of Jane Tyringham-Death of Christopher Beresford-The Uncle of Warren Hastings-Warren Hastings' Childhood.

IN 1702, apparently, the year of Queen Anne's accession, Dr. Peter Mews, Bishop of Winchester, presented the Rev. Francis Bernard, Fellow of St. John's, Oxford, to the desirable living of Brightwell, in Berkshire, and then in the diocese of Salisbury.1

Brightwell is situated about two miles from the little town of Wallingford, and lying, as it does, almost between Oxford and Reading, must have been especially convenient to the new rector, if he retained an interest both in his college and his birthplace. The parish, which is small as regards population, has some notable features. It once possessed a castle,' demolished by Henry of Anjou, subsequently King Henry II., after the treaty of Wallingford; the Manor Farm, surrounded by a moat, is supposed to mark the site. A relic of still earlier times is 'Brightwell's Barrow,' a little way out of the village. The parish is probably named from a well, concerning the virtues of which I have no information. An adjoining parish is called Sotwell.

It is, perhaps, not likely, considering the laxity affecting

1 Oxford University Calendar. The diocese (Salisbury) has been ascertained by deeds at Nether Winchendon.

2 The Journey-Book of England (Berkshire), ' Wallingford to Wantage.'

ecclesiastical ideas and arrangements at that period, that Francis Bernard devoted himself exclusively to his new work; indeed, it may have been insufficient to fill his time and engage his whole attention. One of his grandsons, who must have heard the statement from his father, the rector's son, says that he was a very active magistrate in the county'—that is, in Berkshire. This secular function was then in high estimation as an occupation for the clergy, and partly on the reasonable ground that it afforded extended opportunities not only of repressing the lawless, but also of helping the helpless, composing quarrels, and imparting advice. In this vocation the rector, no doubt, found some further scope for his energies.

But since he was a scholar, and had left friends of long standing in Oxford, it is probable that he paid many visits to his old haunts, even if he did not, like his learned predecessor, reside at St. John's during the whole of the winter months. Perhaps it was his attachment to the advantages and amenities of a college Fellow's life which kept him single for many years after he had a comfortable home to share with the lady of his choice, whoever she might be. Had he married on his appointment to Codford, his first living, when he was only thirty-seven, or even on his settlement at Brightwell, when he was still only forty-one, and first provided with a good income from his benefice, it would not have been surprising. But he lived on a bachelor, like his predecessor, until he had attained the age of fifty. How the eventual change came about can only be conjectured.

Richard Winlowe, of Lewknor,2 Oxon, who had married his daughter Mary to John Tyringham, of Nether Winchendon, Bucks, seems to have returned to his home, perhaps after the death of his son-in-law in 1705, perhaps before. His family, as already recorded, had previously been thinned

1 Life of Sir Francis Bernard, by One of his Sons. The son was Thomas, afterwards Sir Thomas Bernard. The date of this biography is 1790.

2 There is a parish of Brightwell in Oxfordshire, close to Lewknor, and this coincidence has sometimes led to confusion.

by bereavement, and now, according to family tradition, trouble of another sort befell the parents. Frances, the youngest child of the house, eloped with a man of low station, and was consequently disinherited by her indignant father. Richard Winlowe died in 1709,1 soon after another daughter, Jane, had been taken from him by death at the age of twenty-nine. Of his family of eight children only four at most remained. These were:

1. Mary, the widow of John Tyringham; and I am not even certain of her survival, having no account of her after her husband's death.

in this

2. Margery, whose history will be related in chapter.

3. Sarah, who in 1709, the year of her father's death, married Moses Terry; he was then resident in Holywell, Oxford, but apparently belonged to a Lincolnshire family.

4. The excluded Frances, whose married name

Hall.

From the dates it seems likely that Francis Bernard's acquaintance with the Winlowes may have been brought about by his knowledge of Mr. Terry in Oxford. Moses Terry was evidently a young man; but there are indications that he was reading with a view to taking holy orders somewhat later than the regular time. In the entry of his marriage, which took place at Lewknor, and in the inscription on his wife's portrait, he is styled 'esquire,' and the dress represented in a portrait believed to be his is not clerical. It is easy to suppose that Margery Winlowe may sometimes have visited her sister in Holywell; moreover, Lewknor was within a possible drive of Brightwell, and there may have been friends of both parties living between the two villages; so that there were no insuperable difficulties to the improvement of the acquaintance. The result was an engagement between the Rector of Brightwell and Margery, second surviving daughter and coheiress of Richard Winlowe and of Jane, then his widow, the bride

This and other particulars of the Winlowe births, deaths and marriages are from the Lewknor registers.

MARRIAGE OF REV. FRANCIS BERNARD

173

groom being fifty, his bride twenty-nine. The entry in the

register is as follows:

Mr. Bernard of Brightwell

in Berks, clerke, and Mrs. Margery Winlow of Lewknor

marryed by lycence

17 August 1711 by
Mr. Stephen Nicol

clerke1

Part of the old rectory of grey stone to which Francis Bernard brought his bride still remains; 2 it is situated between the church and the village, and on the front outer wall is an emblazoned shield surmounted by a mitre. Of the additions to the house in red brick it is unnecessary to say anything; when repairs were needed it seems to have been found that some portion of the original structure was too far gone to be worth any expenditure; possibly also it did not harmonise with the ideas of the age.

3

On the other side of the church is a gentleman's house, with an entrance from the garden into the churchyard, which may have been inhabited by the widow of the Rev. Dr. Edward Bernard, the former rector. The church exists at the present time in a restored condition; it is of moderate size, adapted to the requirements of the parish, and not specially remarkable.

4

In this church Francis, the only child of the Rev. Francis Bernard and Margery his wife, was baptized on July 12, 1712. The exact date of his birth I cannot discover; but baptism was then, as a rule, administered a few days-not more than a week-after birth.

The next entry in this volume of the Brightwell Parish Register is the baptism of Francis Bernard's cousin, Jane Terry, on September 7. A daughter named Sarah had been

Entry in the register at Lewknor Church.

2 These particulars are from observation during a visit of a few hours to Brightwell.

It has been noted in ch. v. that Eleanor Howell is likely to have lived in Brightwell parish before her marriage with Edward Bernard; but the supposition that she dwelt in the house by the church and returned to it in her widowhood is a mere guess, founded on no further evidence.

Register of baptisms in the church of Brightwell, Berks. The entry of Jane Terry's baptism is in the same register.

previously born to Mr. and Mrs. Terry, but had lived a few weeks only. She was baptized and buried at Lewknor. Possibly Mr. Terry had received holy orders before the birth of his second daughter, and he may have been officiating as curate to the Rector of Brightwell, which would account for the baptism at Brightwell. But the entry throws no light on this subject, as it does not style him either Rev., Esquire, or Gentleman.

We may imagine the middle-aged rector gazing with delight on the features of his infant heir, and a little later deeply interested in guiding the child's tottering footsteps, perhaps even engaged in a somewhat premature attempt at explaining the spelling-book-supposing, indeed, that such petty matters were not left to the mother's supervision. More than this it was not permitted him to achieve. The Rector died on December 14, 1715,' within a few days of completing his fifty-fifth year, and was buried with his wife's relations in the parish church of Lewknor. The slab covering his remains was demolished in the so-called. ' restoration' of the said parish church towards the middle of the nineteenth century, but fortunately the inscription has been preserved. It contains, however, nothing beyond the facts already stated, without amplification.

In consequence of this catastrophe it seemed as if the childhood of young Francis Bernard would be spent far away from the green fields and shady lanes of Berkshire; circumstances, however, prolonged for a time his stay in the paternal home.

The Bishop of Winchester of that day was the famous Sir Jonathan Trelawney, one of the seven bishops' committed to the Tower by James II. and the hero of the wellknown Cornish ballad. He was an Christ Church man.

1

old Westminster and

To him Dr. Atterbury, Bishop of

Inscription formerly on the monumental slab at Lewknor.

* Mrs. Glanville, of Wheatfield, Oxon, great-granddaughter of the Rector of Brightwell, obtained a copy of the inscription from the then incumbent, who appeared satisfied with the devastation committed, and even declared jocosely that the dust of the Rev. Francis Bernard had been committed to the winds.