Martha Lloyd – Kintbury and Beyond

Who’s who: Local people in the letters of Jane Austen

We have just had two hampers of apples from Kintbury, and the floor of our little garret is almost covered

Letter to Cassandra Austen, October 1808

We have just had two hampers of apples from Kintbury, and the floor of our little garret is almost covered

Letter to Cassandra Austen, October 1808

In her letters, Jane Austen frequently referred to Kintbury and to local people, several of whom became members of her extended family or close friends. In this article we discuss who these people were.

THE CRAVENS

Lord William Craven 1770 1825

Lord Craven has probably other connections and more intimate ones, in that line, than he now has with the Kintbury family.

Letter to Cassandra, 1799

“Eliza has seen Lord Craven at Barton & probably by this time at Kintbury, where he was expected for one day this week. – She found his manners very pleasing – the little flaw of having a mistress now living with him, at Ashdown Park, seems to be the only unpleasing circumstance about him.”

Letter to Cassandra, January 1801

The Barton Jane refers to in this letter is Barton Court, Kintbury. By 1801, when the letter to Cassandra was written, Barton Court was the home of Charles Dundas and his wife Anne.

Lord William Craven was a distinguished military gentleman, served in Flanders and was AD to the King and a favourite of Queen Charlotte. A bit of a rake before his marriage, he kept his mistress, Harriet Wilson, at Ashdown House on the Berkshire Downs. After Harriet, having become tired of him, left, he went on to marry the actress, Louisa Brunton. They lived in Hamstead as a close family and the Countess was renowned for her gracious generosity.

Other members of the extended Craven family had power and influence across the West Berkshire area during the eighteenth century.

THE FAMILY OF CHARLES & ELIZABETH CRAVEN

“Governor” Charles Craven, 1682 – 1754, of Hamstead Marshall had been Governor of Carolina between 1711 and 1716. His wife, Elizabeth, 1698 – 1771, gained a reputation as a socialite and it is alleged that she treated her children badly.

Charles & Elizabeth had one son, John.

Rev’d John Craven 1732 – 1804

My Uncle is quite surprised at hearing from you so often – but as long as we can keep the frequency of our correspondence from Martha’s uncle, we will not fear our own.

Letter to Cassandra, 1799

The Martha referred to here is Jane’s close friend Martha Lloyd. Martha’s uncle was John Craven son of “Governor” Charles Craven & his wife Elizabeth of Hamstead Marshall.

When his widowed mother, Lady Elizabeth Craven, married the besotted Jemmet Raymond she proceeded to marry John to Jemmet’s sister, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was well off, but judged to be weak in intellect. They married in Kintbury in 1756.

Married for 20 years, John and Elizabeth did not have children so one might presume that the marriage was in name only. When Elizabeth died, Barton Court passed to another branch of the Raymond family.

Jane Fowle, nee Craven 1727 – 1798

I am very glad to find from Mary that Mr & Mrs Fowle are pleased with you.

Letter to Cassandra, January 1796

Jane Craven was the second daughter of Charles & Elizabeth Craven of Hamstead Marshall. In 1763 she married Rev’d Thomas Fowle of Kintbury and the couple had three sons: Fulwar Craven, Thomas, William & Charles.

Martha Lloyd, nee Craven 1729 – 1805

James I dare say has been over to Ibthrop ( sic ) by this time to enquire particularly of Mrs Lloyd’s health.

Letter to Cassandra, May 1801

Martha was Charles & Elizabeth Craven’s third daughter.

In 1763 Martha married the Rev’d Noyes Lloyd and the couple had three daughters: Martha, Eliza & Mary, and one son, Charles.

From 1771 until his death in 1789, Rev’d Lloyd was Rector of St Michael’s, Enborne. Sadly, in 1775 there was an outbreak of smallpox in the village and, whilst the girls survived, their brother Charles, aged 7, died.

Following Noyes’ death, his widow along with daughters Martha and Mary, moved to Ibthorpe (“Ibthrop.”)

THE FAMILY OF MARTHA & NOYES LLOYD

Eliza Lloyd 1768 – 1839

(Mrs Fulwar Craven Fowle)

Eliza says she is quite well but she is thinner than when we last saw her and not in very good looks. She cuts her hair too short over her forehead and does not wear her cap far enough upon her head. In spite of these disadvantages, I can still admire her beauty.

Letter to Cassandra, January 1801

Eliza Lloyd was the eldest daughter of Rev’d Noyes Lloyd and his wife, Martha, of Enborne.

In 1788, Eliza Lloyd married her cousin Fulwar Craven Fowle. They had eight children, one of whom died as a baby. The last child, Henry, was born when Eliza was 39. Eliza died in 1839 aged 71 and Fulwar the following year aged 76.

Martha Lloyd 1765 – 1843

(Lady Austen)

She is the friend & Sister under every circumstance’.

Letter to Cassandra, 1808

Martha was the eldest daughter of Rev’d Noyes & Martha Lloyd of Enborne.

Martha had been born in Bishopstone in Wiltshire then moved with her family to Enborne near Kintbury where her father became rector of St Michael’s. On her father’s death, Martha, along with her mother and sister Mary, moved to Ibthorpe where they became frineds with Jane & Cassandra Austen.

Following the death of George Austen in 1805, Martha joined Jane, Cassandra and Mrs Austen at their home in Bath, later moving with them to Southampton and eventually settling in Chawton.

In 1828 Martha married Jane’s brother, Captain Frank Austen RFN. Martha died in 1843 and is buried in Portsdown.

Mary Lloyd 1771 – 1843

(Mrs James Austen)

Mary does not manage matters in such a way as to make me want to lay in myself. She is not tidy enough in her appearance; she has no dressing gown to sit up in; her curtains are all too thin, and things are not in that comfort and style about her which are necessary to make such a situation an enviable one.

Letter to Cassandra, November 1798

Mary was the youngest daughter of the Rev’d Noyes & Martha Lloyd of Enborne.

Unlike Martha, Mary does not seem to have been a great favourite of Jane’s. When James Austen was widowed in 1795 he first turned his attentions to his widowed cousin Eliza. However, she did not return James’ affection and later married his brother Henry. When James married Mary Lloyd in 1797, it is said that she did not forget that she was second choice. Mrs. Austen however, was very pleased with the marriage and said that Mary was the daughter in law that she would have chosen.

Whether great friends or not Mary helped nurse Jane in her last weeks. In her widowhood she lived at Speen with her daughter Caroline. She died in 1843.

THE FOWLE FAMILY of KINTBURY

Rev’d Thomas Fowle 1726 – 1806

I am very glad to find from Mary that Mr & Mrs Fowle are pleased with you.

Letter to Cassandra, January 1796

Rev’d Thomas Fowle became vicar of Kintbury in 1762 when he succeeded his father, also called Thomas, and who had become vicar here in 1741.

In 1763 Thomas married Jane Craven of Hamstead Marshall. Thomas & Jane had four sons: Fulwar Craven, Thomas, William & Charles.

Thomas was succeeded as vicar of Kintbury by his son, Fulwar Craven Fowle in 1789.

THE FAMILY OF JANE (NEE CRAVEN) & REV’D THOMAS FOWLE

Fulwar Craven Fowle 1764 – 1840

“We played at vingt-un, which, as Fulwar was unsuccessful, gave him an opportunity of exposing himself as usual.”

Letter to Cassandra, January 1801

Fulwar Craven Fowle was vicar of Kintbury from 1798 until 1840.

Born in 1764, Fulwar was the eldest son of Thomas & Jane Fowle of Kintbury. He studied at Steventon under Jane Austen’s father, George Austen then went up to Oxford graduating in 1781. In September, 1788, he married his cousin, Eliza Lloyd.

Physically he has been described as rather short and slight with fair hair, very blue eyes and a long nose. In character he was impatient, rather irascible at times and hated losing at games as Jane hinted at in her letters.

When, despite many applications for mercy, Kintbury Swing Rioter William Winterbourne was hanged, Fulwar brought his body back home and had a tomb stone erected to his memory.

Eliza Fowle died in 1839, and the weeks before and after her death appear to be the only times in his long career that Fulwar failed to minister to his flock . On 9th March, 1840, he died in his 76th year. He was, as his memorial testifies, a conscientious and outstanding parish priest in an age when it was not always so.

Tom Fowle 1765 – 1797

“How impertinent you are to write to me about Tom, as if I had no opportunities of hearing from him myself.”

Letter to Cassandra, January 1796.

The second son born to Kintbury’s Thomas & Jane Fowle.

Tom Fowle had been born in 1765, studied at Steventon under George Austen, graduated from Oxford in 1783 and became ordained into the Church of England in 1790.

Tom was a kinsman of William, Lord Craven, and served as his chaplain on the military expedition to the West Indies in 1796, probably to earn money to enable him to marry Cassandra Austen, to whom he had become secretly engaged.

Sadly, he died in the West Indies of a fever, caught after bathing in great heat (according to his family) or possibly of Yellow Fever according to other sources. Yellow Fever was endemic amongst the British troops in the West Indies.

William Fowle 1767 – 1806

“Tell Mary that there were some Carpenters at work in the Inn at Devizes this morning but as I could not be sure of their being Mrs W. Fowle’s relations I did not make myself known to them.”

Letter to Cassandra, May 1799

William Fowle was the third son of Kintbury’s Rev Thomas Fowle & his wife Jane.

Born 1767, he became a physician after being apprenticed to his uncle, Dr. William Fowle. In October, 1791, he graduated in medicine from the University of Leyden.

In 1792 William married Maria Carpenter and went to live in Devizes, her home town. He was admitted to the College of Physicians 25th June, 1795 and went on to join the army as a physician. He saw considerable service in the West Indies and Egypt, dying there in 1801 aged 35.

William had a particular interest in the treatment of diseases, writing a dissertation on Erisyphlas which he dedicated to Charles Dundas, a paper, Experiments with Mercury in the Small Pox, translated from the French in 1793, and A Practical Treatise on the Different Fevers of the West Indies in 1800. This is rather poignant as his brother died there of a fever.

William and Maria had two children, Marriane & Charles, both of whom were baptised in Kintbury. Sadly, Maria and the children were left unprovided for when William died and in 1802 Maria was granted an annual award of £50. This was in consideration of the sufferings of her husband whilst in the Mediterranean and Egypt and his having died in service

Charles Fowle 1770 – 1806

“What a good-for-nothing fellow Charles is to bespeak the stockings – I hope he will be too hot all the rest of his life for it!”

Letter to Cassandra, January 1796

Charles was the youngest son of Kintbury’s Rev Thomas Fowle & his wife Jane.

Born 1770, Charles studied law and in 1800 it was announced that the Honourable Society of Lincolns Inn had been pleased to call Charles Fowle Esq, a Fellow of the Society. In 1799 he married Honoria Townsend in Newbury and later went on to practise law in the town.

During the Napoleonic wars, Charles Dundas asked him to form the Hungerford Pioneers, a group, said his family, comprised of worthy ironmongers and bakers.

It is thought that he had a teasing relationship with Jane. They played tricks and called each other names. Perhaps the silk stockings he was commissioned to buy her came from the Kintbury silk mill.

THE DUNDAS FAMILY OF BARTON COURT

Mrs Anne Dundas

Martha … is to be in town this spring with Mrs Dundas

Letter to Cassandra, January 1809

The Mrs. Dundas referred to here is Anne Dundas, nee Whitley, wife of Charles Dundas, M.P. Anne was the heiress who inherited Barton Court, Kintbury, when Elizabeth Raymond, formerly Craven, died.

Charles Dundas, Baron Amesbury:

Younger son of Thomas Dundas of Fingask, MP for Orkney and Shetland, Charles was born in 1752 and called to the Bar in 1777. As an M.P., it was said that he was ’liberal in politics’ and at one time expected to become Speaker.

Charles came into possession of Barton Court when he married Ann Whitley, member of the Raymond family.

He became a peer on 11th May, 1832 but died two months later of cholera.

Charles Dundas

References & sources:

The letters of Jane Austen Ed Deirdre Le Faye

The Creevy Papers

Greville’s Diary

The Gentleman Magazine

The British Newspaper Archives

The Dundas Papers

The Lloyd family of Enborne…and beyond

On the chancel wall of St Michael & All Angels, Enborne, near Newbury, is a plaque to the memory of a former rector with a rather unusual name.

Nowes ( pronounced “Noise” ) Lloyd had been born in Essex and was baptised on 6^th September 1719. His father was the Rev John Lloyd of Epping and his mother Isabella. Isabella’s maiden name had been Nowes, hence the baby’s rather unusual name.

As a young man, Nowes seems to have taken the traditional route to the priesthood for the time, having graduated with a BA from St John’s College, Oxford in 1742 before being ordained by the Bishop of London at Whitehall on 9th June, 1745. However, his vocation was to take him out of the city and into rural Wiltshire. By 1751, Nowes had become vicar of Bishopstone as well as Rector of the next door parish of Hinton Parva, near Swindon.

St Mary’s church, Bishopstone, Wiltshire

The position of parish priest has never been a lucrative one, and this may be why the Rev Lloyd did not marry until 1763, when he was 43. His bride, ten years her husband’s junior, however, may well have been used to a more affluent lifestyle than the vicarage could offer, since she was Martha Craven, the daughter of the Honourable Charles Craven of Hamstead Marshall, and his wife Elizabeth, Lady Craven.

Martha’s father had been the first Governor of South Carolina in what is now the U.S. Martha’s mother is reputed to have been something of a socialite and a very difficult person, with little time for Martha or her sisters, Mary and Jane. Consequently, Mary left home to make a very unhappy marriage with a horse dealer whilst Martha worked for a time as a seamstress at a school, using a false name to hide her identity before marrying Nowes.

Martha Craven and Nowes Lloyd were married by licence at Bishopstone on 2nd June 1763. I do not know why the marriage was by licence rather than banns; there may have been a very simple reason although I wonder if Martha’s difficult relationship with her mother might have caused the couple to arrange their marriage at short notice thereby requiring a licence rather than banns. We will probably never know.

In the same year that Martha married Nowes, her sister Jane married Rev Thomas Fowle of Kintbury.

Martha and Nowes began their married life at Bishopstone, where four children were born to them. The first child, also Martha, was baptised there on 16th November 1765, to be followed by Elizabeth on June 15th, 1767, Charles on December 21st, 1768 and Mary on May 20th 1771.

The Rev Lloyd’s relationship with what is now the Walbury Beacon Benefice seems to have begun in 1764 when he became Domestic Chaplain to William Craven, 5th Baron Craven of Hamstead Marshall. Baron Craven was, of course, a relative of Martha Lloyd. These were the days when who you knew rather than what you knew could make a really big difference to your life.

St Michael’s & All Angels, Enborne, Berkshire

In 1771, Nowes Lloyd became rector of Enborne whilst retaining his position at the other parishes, even though they were over thirty miles apart. This was not an unusual situation for the time, when it was quite common for a curate to undertake all the duties of the absent priest. Eventually, the Lloyd family moved to Enborne where Martha would be much closer to her sister Jane at Kintbury. Their mother, however, was by now also living in Kintbury, at Barton Court, with her second husband, Jemmet Raymond. We can only wonder what Elizabeth Raymond’s relationship with her daughters was like by this time.

Sadly, there was an outbreak of smallpox in the Enborne area in 1775 and, whilst his sisters survived, Charles Lloyd, then only six, died. He was buried in the churchyard on 13th April of that year. Martha’s mother, meanwhile, had died in 1771. As if to demonstrate the wealth and status of the Raymond family, an elaborate marble memorial was commissioned from the renowned sculptor, Peter Scheemakers, to be placed next to the altar in Kintbury church. A letter written by Nowes Lloyd to his brother-in-law, Rev Thomas Fowle, regarding arrangements with Scheemakers, is still in the church’s possession.

Letter from Rev Nowes Lloyd to Rev Thomas Fowle concerning the Scheermackers monument, Kintbury

You might have seen Elizabeth Raymond, formerly Lady Craven, in Kintbury church. If you happen to be standing in a pew near the front and to the left hand side of the aisle, possibly singing a favourite hymn, and casually turn your head to the left – there, in her current position in the north transept will be Elizabeth, stonily staring back at you as if in disapproval of something, you know not what.

Nowes remained as rector of Enborne until his death on February 3rd, 1789. The previous year, his daughter Elizabeth had married her cousin from Kintbury, Fulwar Craven Fowle. At this time Martha and Mary were still living at home. There was a need to vacate the Enborne rectory but fortunately for Rev Lloyd’s widow and her daughters, a friend of the Fowles offered them his parsonage at Deane. The move to Deane proved to be quite significant for Martha Lloyd in particular as she became a close friend of the vicar’s daughter, later living with her, her sister and their mother in Bath.

Martha’s friend was creative and lively with a keen if sometimes wicked sense of humour. She loved walking, wrote long, detailed letters whenever she was away from her family and friends and, in particular, would entertain them all by reading to them the stories she had spent hours writing. In this way, Martha Lloyd, formerly of Enborne, became one of the first people to read what have become some of the best loved novels in the English language. Martha’s close friend was none other than Jane Austen. In 1797, the link between the Lloyds and the Austens became even stronger when Mary Lloyd became the second wife of the Jane Austen’s widowed brother, James. When Jane Austen, along with her mother and sister Cassandra moved back to their native Hampshire, Martha went with them to share the cottage in Chawton, now the Jane Austen’s House Museum. It says something of the position of women in the early nineteenth century that Martha Lloyd, grand daughter of Lady Craven with her elaborate and expensive monument in Kintbury church, had no home of her own except the one she shared with her friends. But life had another surprise in store for the young woman from Enborne. After Jane Austen’s death in 1817, Martha continued to live in the cottage at Chawton with Cassandra Austen. However, on 24th July 1828, she became Sir Francis Austen’s second wife and therefore, Lady Austen.

Today, the name of Martha Lloyd is well known to Jane Austen fans all over the world. A facsimile of her household book containing the recipes for dishes she cooked at Chawton, has been published and earlier last year saw the publication of Jane Austen’s Best Friend: The Life and Influence of Martha Lloyd by Zoe Wheddon . So, while Janeites (as fans of Jane Austen are known) all over the world think of Martha Lloyd as Jane Austen’s best friend, I will always think of her as the young woman from Enborne.

Many thanks to Alec Morley of Romsey Local History Society https://www.ltvas.org.uk/ for information regarding Nowes Lloyd’s family and also for clarifying for me how to spell and pronounce his unusual first name.

A rebel Revd?

The Reverend John Craven: Not what you’d expect in a priest?

In a letter of 1799, Jane Austen remarks that her friend Martha Lloyd has gone to visit her uncle – Rev John Craven.

John was the son of Governor Craven of Hamstead Park and brother to Martha, Eliza and Jane Craven. He was, therefore, uncle to Fulwar, Tom, Charles and William Craven as well as Martha, Eliza and Mary Lloyd.

Following the death of Governor Craven, John’s mother married the besotted Jemmet Raymond. Next she proceeded to marry her son to Jemmet’s sister, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was well off, but judged to be weak in intellect. They married in Kintbury (one presumes by Thomas Fowle, the groom’s brother in law) in 1756 when John was 24. Elizabeth owned land in Henwick, Thatcham and John at his marriage is described as ‘clerk of Henwick.’

In 1775 John became vicar of Wolverton near Basingstoke. Jemmet (John’s stepfather) had inherited the manor from his mother who had died aged 17 after his birth.

Jane did not do ‘bedroom scenes’, she was not a Jilly Cooper of the 18th century. But if she had been, then John would have provided plenty of copy!

In 1776, aged 44, John became embroiled in a divorce case brought by Mr. Potter Harris of Baughurst.

At the time, John Craven was vicar at Wolverton in Hampshire although he was actually living at Barton Court, near Kintbury. He travelled to Wolverton on a Saturday and stayed at the Potter Harris house to take the church service on Sunday.

The divorce case seems to have been quite sensational. Both a maid and Mrs Potter Harris’s cousin testified that they had seen Rev Craven enter Mrs Potter Harris’s bedroom and heard the sound of bedsprings! Also there was talk of misbehaviours in a coach and the Rev had been seen to put his hands under her skirt…

Mr Potter Harris wanted revenge and the Reverend was fined £3,000.

Despite this, John and Elizabeth Craven were married for over 20 years. There were no children so it may have been a marriage in name only.

When his wife died, Barton Court passed to another branch of the Raymond family.

In May, 1778 the papers reported:

“Last week died at Barton Court, near Newbury, Mrs. Craven, wife of the Rev’d John Craven and only daughter of the late Sir Jemmet Raymond.”

In 1779, John married Catherine Hughes from Letcombe, Berkshire. Catherine is the Mrs. Craven mentioned in Jane Austen’s letters:

Does Martha never hear from Mrs. Craven?

Is Mrs. Craven never at home?

Mrs Craven was, of course, Martha Lloyd’s aunt by marriage.

The Rev John Craven seems to have been rather a ‘rumbustious’ priest because his name appeared again in the local papers, this time in an argument not romantically inspired.

In essence John Craven went to a magistates’ meeting in Wantage and passed comment on something he considered an impropriety. Letters were printed in the Mercury complaining of his behaviour. There followed a meeting at the Alfred’s Head Inn in Wantage where a quarrel broke out as to who had reserved a room. One letter to the paper says:

Did Mr. Watts tell the whole truth? That he did not know that Mr. Craven carried pistols with him on that day to Wantage – Yes Mr. Printer pistols were carried thither.

The Wantage magistrate asked how Mr Craven would react if he came to the Newbury Assizes and passed comment. John Craven replied that he would be glad to drink a bottle with him at Speen. Thereafter the vicar seems to have calmed down.

Eventually John and Catherine moved to Chilton House in Chilton Foliat, Wiltshire. John died in 1804 after an hour’s illness. According to the notice of his death in the newspapers, he had, for many years, been acting magistrate in the counties of Gloucester, Hampshire and Wiltshire.

After her husband’s death, Catherine moved to Speen Hill near Newbury. In April 1839 her obituary read:

At her residence in Speen Hill, at a very advanced age, Mrs. Craven, relict of Revd John Craven and lamented mother of Fulwar Craven esq. The deceased lady was highly respected and esteemed by the gentry in the neighbourhood of Speen and by society in general.

References: The Newspaper Archives, The Letters of Jane Austen. Mrs. Thora Morrish

Penny Fletcher, May 2023