The Townsend Family were noted benefactors for the two villages, having a direct presence in King’s Newnham for around a century, and a similar time in Church Lawford but also with a presence in the wider local area for many more years, notably in Long Lawford and Clifton Upon Dunsmore, but also in Newbold, Hillmorton and Bilton. Even after the family had left the two villages, various family members still supported local causes. This family line and their presence in the local area for around 400 years is well documented in the Warwick Records Office, and over a century ago the family produced their family tree going back to the 16th century in Easenhall and Cubbington. Details of the immediate generations of the family going back from the Worth Townsend family from King’s Newnham can be found below, and more details of the family line in the local area, including how it goes back 11 generations locally can be found in the separate article here.
Thomas Townsend (1750-1828) was linked with Church Lawford, and Manor Farm in particular following his marriage to Elizabeth Enoch, as the Enoch family were tenants of Manor Farm Church Lawford during the 18th century. His brother William married Mary Enoch, Elizabeth’s sister. Thomas’s son William Samuel Townsend (1792-1829) farmed at Manor Farm in Church Lawford, as did his son also called William Samuel (1827-1887) following a period under the stewardship of John Hands Townsend (1801-1854). The latter WS Townsend, along with his wife and his sister Louisa Hartlett Townsend (1824-1886) donated the clock to the new church in 1872, as confirmed by an inscription on the clock. Louisa Hartlett Townsend was also a benefactor to Long Lawford, having bought the old village school in 1878 and then bequeathing it to the village as a Reading Room and Sunday School. There is a memorial to Louisa and her sister Caroline on the font, which was erected by their friends, at the old St John’s church in Long Lawford.
During the 19th century the various members of the Townsend family performed roles in the village such as Church Warden, Overseer of the Poor or Surveyor as well as supporting various functions.
Another well known part of the family were those based in King’s Newnham for many years, often known as the Worth Townsends. Henry Townsend (1809-1864), married Ann Worth, a daughter of George Worth whose family had resided at Newnham Manor for 300 years. The Worth family traced their lineage back to Devonshire and an old Saxon family who settled there before the Norman Conquest. They lived in King’s Newnham at both the Manor House and Highfields House, and also had links to the Brierly family, well known in King’s Newnham. Henry and Ann had 10 children, although two of the four boys did not reach adulthood. As was the tradition in many families at that time, the children each took their mother’s maiden name as their middle name, so although their family name was strictly speaking just Townsend, they were known as the Worth Townsends. The two remaining brothers both married as can be seen in the charts below, but between their nine children, eight were girls, and although the lone male (Henry William) did marry, he died childless aged 40, so this branch of the Townsend family is not seen beyond the 1960s when Mary Bertha Townsend died (in Rugby). Even on the female side of the family there was just a single marriage into the Gibson family that was based in the south of England, before emigrating to Canada.
As suggested above, the link between the Church Lawford, King’s Newnham, Clifton Upon Dunsmore and Long Lawford families was via three brothers William (1740), Thomas (1750) and John (1754) the sons of Thomas Townsend (1712) from the Long Lawford / Newbold area, who married Frances Hands (1713) the daughter of the vicar of Newbold, as discussed on a separate page here. The Long Lawford and King’s Newnham lines were seen by the family to descend from William, and the Church Lawford line from Thomas, with the Clifton side of the family descended from John. One further link was to Lodge Farm in Church Lawford, which was farmed for a brief period by Long Lawford / Bilton based William Townsend (1806-1855) following the death of William Elkington.
Mary Bertha Townsend was the first child to be baptized in the rebuilt St Peters in 1874, but after her brother died in 1911, she and her sister Maude Greville Townsend moved to live in Rugby, leaving their aunts to remain in King’s Newnham until 1940.
The Worth Townsend sisters not only made many donations to village causes, but were also very active in village life. A notable donation to the villages was the funding for the Reading Room / Church Room in the twentieth century. A history of the family can be found on the County History Website, and there is an extensive family archive at the Warwick Records Office. The obituary of Julia Worth Townsend below also gives in insight into how well regarded the family were in both villages.
As well as the local tenancies, the family owned land in both Clifton upon Dunsmore and Long Lawford – see below for initial details and the separate page for the family structure here.
When William Henry Townsend (1842) died in 1901 his probate statement gives an idea of how the family wealth was devolved.
As well as being major benefactors, the Misses Townsend (Lizzie, Susan, Alice and Julia) contributed to village life in many other ways, from running the Sunday School, playing the Church Organ, or organising and sponsoring the various welfare clubs, such as the coal club or clothing club. When the villages were sold off in 1918, a condition of the sale of Highfields House was that the sisters could remain living there for the rest of their lives.
To get an idea of the family line, the chart below is centred on William Henry Worth Townsend, the first son of the union between the Townsend and the Worth families, with the latter family already being well established in King’s Newnham. It shows his sisters who lived at Highfields House in King’s Newnham for so many years, being known as the “Misses Townsend”.
The second chart below maps the link between the Church Lawford and Kings Newnham branches of the family. Both of the men called William Samuel Townsend farmed at Manor farm in Church Lawford – the younger one donating the new Church Clock to St Peters. alongside his wife and sister. Thomas Townsend had a first wife Elizabeth Enoch, whose family had a long period living at Church Lawford Manor Farm, so this was possibly the introduction of the Townsend family to the village.
Ann Worth (1813-1893) also had a sister Ellen Worth (1811-1864) who married Henry Jenkins Bromfield, a farmer from Dunchurch.
The family home became Highfields House in King’s Newnham, although much time had also been spent at Manor Farm in the village.
The last of the Townsend line in King’s Newnham was Julia Worth Townsend who lived in the village until 1940. Her funeral was recorded in some detail in the Rugby Advertiser.
The picture to the right shows Julia Worth Townsend in King’s Newnham towards the end of the nineteenth century.
Miss Julia left money to the village Reading Room in her will. Her niece Bertha also left money to the village in her will, and when she died in 1967, £1000 was bequeathed to the St Peters’ Benefice via the Diocesean Trustees, and £1000 to the Reading Room. Bequests held in trust from her other local niece Maude assisted during the project to finance the new Village Hall.
Many of the Townsend family are remembered in St Peter’s Church. Windows were dedicated in 1899 to several family members as detailed here. and a further window was dedicated to John Hands Townsend, and tributes to several of the Worth Townsend sisters were on the Reredos dedicated in 1930.
The locally based relatives of one of the last members of the family associated with the two villages – Maude Greville Townsend – highlights the strong local presence of both the Townsend and Worth parts of her ancestry.
In her younger days Maude had drawn a local view of King’s Newnham Village
As mentioned above, reference to the extensive family archive held at the Warwick Records Office is made on the “Our Warwickshire” website – here, including a family picture taken in early 1893 shortly before two of the family members pictured died.
This picture shows three generations of the family, with Ann Worth in the centre, with two of her grandchildren dressed in white – Marjory and Hester – seated on the floor. With the exception of Hester’s future husband, all the family that were alive in 1893 are shown in the tree below.
The full line-up is
Back Row (L-R)
MAUDE GREVILLE TOWNSEND was born in 1875 in King’s Newnham, Warwickshire, England. She died on 14 Mar 1953 in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England .
HENRY WILLIAM WORTH TOWNSEND was born on 11 Mar 1871 in Bilton, Warwickshire, England. He died on 01 Jul 1911.
Mary Townsend (Nee Healy), daughter of Charles Healy and Ann Buck, on 22 May 1870 in Church Lawford, Warwickshire, England. She was born in 1845 in Uppingham, Rutland. She died on 11 Mar 1929.
WILLIAM HENRY WORTH TOWNSEND was born in 1842 in King’s Newnham. He died in 1901.
JOHN HANDS TOWNSEND was born in 1849 in King’s Newnham, Warwickshire, England . He died in 1915 in King’s Newnham, Warwickshire, England .
Adeline Townsend (Nee Costeker) was born in 1852 in Shenfield, Essex, England – Wife of John Hands Townsend. She died on 26 Apr 1940 in Hampshire, England .
ANNIE SARA COSTEKER TOWNSEND was born in 1876 in Battersea, Surrey, England. She died in Jan 1966 in Petersfield, Hampshire, England .
JULIA WORTH TOWNSEND was born in 1853 in King’s Newnham, Warwickshire, England. She died in 1940 in Rugby, Warwickshire, England .
ALICE WORTH TOWNSEND was born in 1852 in King’s Newnham, Warwickshire, England. She died in 1924 in King’s Newnham, Warwickshire, England .
Front Row (L-R)
MARY COSTEKER TOWNSEND was born on 12 Apr 1878 in Oatlands Park, Surrey, England .
MARY BERTHA TOWNSEND was born in 1873 in King’s Newnham, Warwickshire, England. She died on 26 Dec 1966 in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
JOAN ADELINE TOWNSEND was born in 1883 in Hope Under Dinmore, Herefordshire, England. She died on 18 Jun 1975 in Haslemere, Surrey, England .
SUSAN WORTH TOWNSEND was born in 1844 in King’s Newnham, Warwickshire, England. She died on 12 Feb 1926 in Warwickshire, England .
ANN TOWNSEND (NEE WORTH) was born in 1813 in King’s Newnham, Warwickshire, England. She died in 1893 in King’s Newnham, Warwickshire, England. She married Henry Townsend, son of William Townsend and Frances Townsend, on 13 Sep 1836 in Church Lawford, Warwickshire, England. He was born on 02 Jul 1808 in Long Lawford, Warwickshire, England. He died on 15 Dec 1864 in Church Lawford.
MARJORY BRUCE TOWNSEND was born on 21 Sep 1888 in Weybridge, Surrey, England. She died on 16 Apr 1984 in Liss, Hampshire, England .
ELIZABETH WORTH TOWNSEND was born in 1841 in King’s Newnham, Warwickshire, England. She died in Oct 1919 in Rugby, Warwickshire, England .
HESTER WORTH TOWNSEND was born in 1887 in Hope Under Dinmore, Herefordshire, England. She died in Sep 1980 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.
FRANCES ANN TOWNSEND was born in Jul 1837 in Long Lawford, Warwickshire, England. She died on 02 Nov 1893 in Church Lawford, Warwickshire, England .
RUTH CATHARINE TOWNSEND was born on 27 Jul 1881 in Oatlands Park, Surrey, England. She died in Oct 1965 in Petersfield, Hampshire, England .