Charles Groves was a thatcher at Hardington from the 1820s to the 1850s.

Early life in Dorset

Charles was born at Melbury Osmond in about 1778, the son of Richard and Eleanor Groves.

On 9 March 1801, Charles married Jane Ellery at Longbredy. They may have lived at Wynford Eagle in about 1801, at Longbredy 1802-3, and Toller Porcorum from about 1805.

Their daughter, Ann, was born at Wynford Eagle in about 1801.

Jane died in December 1811, and on 23 June 1813, Charles married Ann Laver at Chilfrome.

Charles and Ann had four sons, two of whom probably died in infancy.

Life at Hardington

In the 1820s, Charles moved from Toller Porcorum to Hardington at Lord Ilchester’s instigation to provide Hardington with a thatcher. Lord Ilchester and his estate managers would have known Charles because he was born and raised at Melbury, where Lord Ilchester lived.

Charles’s will refers to four cottages in North Lane, a cottage at Hardington Moor and a field called Warren.[1]

Shortly after the death of his second wife in February 1857, Charles married Jane Chester, a widow whose husband had been transported for fourteen years for theft in 1839.

Charles died in January 1860, aged 83, leaving an estate valued at under £200. Jane Chester died in February 1876, aged 69.

The will of Charles Groves[2]

Charles appointed his son, William, as his sole executor.

He left “Jane Chester otherwise Groves” £10, his effects, four cottages in North Lane, and half the rent from a field called Warren for life.

He left to his three children, William Groves, Charles Groves and Ann Brake, his four cottages in North Lane and half the rent from a field called Warren after the death of Jane Chester, a cottage at Hardington Moor and the residue of his estate.

References

[1] The will of Charles Groves, dated 21 September 1859, proved at Taunton on 7 March 1860.

[2] The will of Charles Groves, dated 21 September 1859, proved at Taunton on 7 March 1860.