Sir Berney Brograve, 1st Baronet (10 October 1726 - 23 February 1797) was the eldest son and heir of Thomas Brograve (1691–1753) of
Great Baddow
Great Baddow is an urban village and civil parish in the Chelmsford borough of Essex, England. It is close to the city of Chelmsford, and, with a population of over 13,000,[Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...]
, and his wife Juliana Berney. He was a descendant of Sir John Brograve (d. 1613),
Attorney-General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
to the
Duchy of Lancaster
The Duchy of Lancaster is the private estate of the British sovereign as Duke of Lancaster. The principal purpose of the estate is to provide a source of independent income to the sovereign. The estate consists of a portfolio of lands, properti ...
. Juliana Berney was descended from
Sir Richard Berney, 1st Baronet of
Parkhall.
Brograve Mill
In 1733 Thomas Brograve purchased the manors of
Waxham
Waxham is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Sea Palling, in the North Norfolk district, in the county of Norfolk, England. It lies on the north-east coast of the county. Buildings in the village include Waxham Hall, the 14t ...
and
Horsey in
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
, and so began the "notorious" Brograve family of Waxham. Initially they lived at
Waxham Hall, which had been built in the 16th Century by the
Wodehouse family
Wodehouse is an English surname and barony.
The baronetcy was created in 1611, the barony in 1797. Since 1866 it has been held by the Earl of Kimberley, the current Baron Wodehouse being John Wodehouse, 5th Earl of Kimberley (born 1951).
His ...
.
Berney and the
Brograve Mill
Brograve Mill is a windpump located on Brograve level in the parish of Sea Palling within the Norfolk Broads National Park, United Kingdom. It can be found at and is approximately 1 mile north of Horsey Mere. The mill is a Grade II listed build ...
(which he built to drain the land at
Brograve Level), where he is said to have hidden from the devil, and he is also reputed to have had a mowing match for his soul with the devil at
Worstead
Worstead is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It lies south of North Walsham, north of Wroxham, and north of Norwich. The village is served by Worstead railway station on the Bittern Line. For the purposes of local ...
.
Family
In 1761 Brograve married Jane, eldest daughter of Edward Hawker of
Great Baddow
Great Baddow is an urban village and civil parish in the Chelmsford borough of Essex, England. It is close to the city of Chelmsford, and, with a population of over 13,000,[Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...]
. They had four children, only two of whom survived, including Ann who married Dr John Rye, the founder of
. After his first wife's death Brograve married secondly, in 1769, Jane Halcott, sole heiress of Matthew Halcott of
Litcham. Most of their eleven children died in infancy, and their son,
George
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...
succeeded as 2nd Baronet in 1797. A granddaughter married
Sir William Beauchamp-Proctor, 3rd Baronet
Admiral Sir William Beauchamp-Proctor, 3rd Baronet (14 October 1781 – 14 March 1861) was an officer in the British Royal Navy, who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
Biography
Beauchamp-Proctor was born at Langley Ha ...
, in whose family the name of Brograve descended as a given name.
Worstead House
Worstead House, designed by
James Wyatt
James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806.
Early life
W ...
for Sir Berney Brograve, was eventually demolished in 1937, "a fine red brick mansion, situated within a noble park of 400 acres, which contains a lake covering 8¼ acres". After building his mansion-house at
Worstead
Worstead is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It lies south of North Walsham, north of Wroxham, and north of Norwich. The village is served by Worstead railway station on the Bittern Line. For the purposes of local ...
he was described as occasionally inhabiting the manor house at Waxham. An account written in 1854 describes the manner in which Brograve lived at Waxham Hall: "He farmed his own land and had about a hundred workmen lodging in his house; these all dined in the great hall together, and Sir Berney every now and then 'knocked down' a bullock for them to live upon".
Berney was created a
baronet
A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...
on 28 July 1791 and died intestate in 1797. His second wife, Lady Jane, died in 1793 at Waxham, followed the next day by the death of their 18-year-old son, Thomas.
According to local legend, like his ancestors, Sir Berney is still around and can be seen on wild and stormy nights galloping between Worstead and Waxham.
['Wild Waxham', Norfolk Historic Buildings Trust. C. Davison & R. Pestell, 2004.
]
Further reading
*
References
* History and Antiquities of the County of Norfolk. Norwich, Armstrong, Mostyn John, 1781.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brograve, Sir Berney
1726 births
1797 deaths
Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain
People from Worstead