Section eight

The Goldsmiths' Company records show that Walter II was apprenticed to his father Walter I in 1778 and that he was turned over to George Jackson a ribbon weaver in 1780. He became a Freeman of the Company in 1785 and was elected to the Livery in 1801 and to be Prime Warden in 1820. In the company records he is shown as a ribbon manufacturer, but in the biographies of his sons Frederic and James it is said that he was a ribbon manufacturer and silk merchant. He had apprentices from 1799 to 1815.

The Parish records of St John Zachary with St Anne & St Agnes in the City of London state that Walter married Susannah Sowley in 1790. She was the daughter of George Sowley a Jamaica Planter and friend of his father; she died in 1843. Her sister Mary married his brother Thomas.

An oil painting of Walter II is now held by M.J.S. Brind a copy is in this section. From his will dated 1803 which is also in this section, it can be seen that funds were tight, but he must have done reasonably well, because his house was in Paternoster Row which is alongside St Paul's Cathedral and it cannot have been 'bad' (the Row was destroyed in the second World War) , and then there were the oil paintings of him and his sons Walter III and James (see next section) , nor would the Goldsmiths Company have had anyone of doubtful means as their leader (Prime Warden) in 1820, but in 1826 he appears to have gone bankrupt - see attached letter from the Company. In Walter's letter to the Company, he said that `due to the unexpected and extraordinary stagnation of trade he could not meet the demands of his creditors to the full extent and had in consequence been under the necessity of making arrangements for a composition which had been accepted'. After his death it is clear from his brother Thomas' and his nephew Charles' wills in the previous section and Walter III's will in this section that his brother and nephew provided financial support for his family, especially his widow, unmarried daughters and 'Walter III's family.

From the Parish registers of St Vedart and St Michael in Foster Lane London, the Goldsmiths' Company archives, Sir Thomas Phillipps' family tree and the Notes on the family produced by General Sir John Brind in 1936, Walter and Susannah are seen as having twelve children. They are shown at the Annex at the end of this section.

The expansion and subsequent diminution of his family is of interest. In spite of the fact that only five of his twelve children had families, there were over forty grandchildren and over eighty great-grandchildren. Owing to the way in which the younger generations have become scattered all over the world, it is impossible to trace the number of later generations. There is a very definite diminution however in Great Britain in the number of his descendants with the surname Brind as there were only nine great-great-grandchildren (five male and four female) on this side of the Atlantic. To these may be added two great-grandchildren, the son and daughter of Paul Brind, who though they belong to the generation above, are really contemporaries.

It is a remarkable fact that between Walter II who was born in 1763 and Roger, the son of Paul, who was born in 1934 (170 years later) there were only two lives - Sir James, born in 1808 and Paul born in 1886.

The six sons were:

Walter III. Apprenticed to his father in 1805 as a ribbon and silk weaver, he became a Freeman of the Company in 1812. In 1815 he married Anne Duffield (d 1863) and moved to Coventry, the baptisms of their children are recorded in the church registers of St Michaels. His family has now died out on the male side and an oil painting of him (copy in this section) was passed to our branch of the family in the 1960s, it is now held by M.J.S. Brind. His will is also in this section. Of his sons Edward is shown in the Goldsmiths Company records as being a wine merchant, a Freeman in 1840 and Livery in 1851, but according to Sir Thomas Phillipps' family tree he may have then emigrated to Australia. Frederick William appears to have inherited his Cousin Charles' wine business in the City (see will in the previous section) , he was a Freeman in 1845 and Livery in 1848. He did the initial research into the family history with Sir Thomas Phillipps (see Author's notes) and his Uncle, General Sir James and Lady Brind attended the wedding of his daughter Marian to the well known artist Randolph Caldecott and signed the Marriage Register.

In the 1881 Census Frederick William was living at the Court Lodge, Chelsfield, Kent, aged 57, with his second wife Julia, aged 44, daughter Julia aged 12, her governess Caroline Pattison, a cook, two parlourmaids and a butler. Frederick's occupation is shown as wine merchant, born Coventry.

In the 1891 Census, his daughter, Marian Caldecott, then a widow, was staying at the Court Lodge. Also at home at that time were her sister Amy - and half brother Frank an architectural assistant, and her half sister Julia, together with her father's nephew Ernest W Brind merchant's clerk, born Lee, Kent, plus a visitor Margaret Braddish and cook, parlourmaid, housemaid and kitchenmaid, with a coachman and his family living in the coach house nearby. (Other Census returns which are of value from 1841 have not been researched for these notes.)

Walter's youngest son Charles was a wine merchant at Lee, Kent and became Freeman in 1847 and Livery in 1855. The sons of Frederick W and Charles were the last of the family to join the Goldsmiths' Company and so our connection with this great City Livery Company lasted 180 years from 1733 to 1913.

William Henry. Apprenticed to his father as a ribbon weaver/ manufacturer in 1806 and became a Freeman in 1813 and Livery 1816. He married Catharine Ormond in 1818 (d 1824) and secondly Jane E Milman in 1836. There was no issue from either of these marriages. In his will (PROB 11/2075) his estate was left to his wife and then to his brother Henry and one of his sisters. His death certificate records his occupation as Commercial Traveller- perhapes he worked with his father and had to find a new job at short notice in I826?

Edward. Apprenticed to his father in 1815 as a silk weaver, in his Cousin Charles' will in the previous section he is shown as being a coal merchant. According to Sir Thomas Phillipps' family tree he died at Florence.

Frederic. joined the Bengal Artillery, East India Company Army and rose to Brigadier. He was one of the first to be killed in the Indian Mutiny in 1857. A biography and two pictures of him appear later in the section along with some notes on his son Frederick.

Henry. Applied for an EIC Cadetship at Addiscombe but failed the Latin part of the entrance examination (1) .According to his death certificate he was a Merchant and died in Florence.

James see next section

Note (1) . British Library. Oriental & India Office Collections L./Mil/9/156 pages 301-307.

THE GOLDSMITHS' COMPANY
Goldsmiths' Hall, Foster Lane, London EC2V 6BN
Telephone: 0171 606 7010 Facsimile: 0171 606 1511

Lt Col D J Brind G/DB/RZ/MT4/M4/001

17 February 1997

Dear Colonel Brind

BRIND FAMILY AND WALTER BRIND (P W 1820)

Thank you for your letter of the 12 February.

The insurance policy number from the Sun Insurance Records at the Guildhall Library was 120397, dated the 19 March 1750 for £200. The volume number was 88 and page number 35:1

Re Walter Brind who was Prime Warden in 1820 he resigned from the Court because he had to make a composition with his creditors. I think that meant that he was bankrupted and in conformity with a bond which he had signed in May 1824 he felt honour bound to resign from the Court and Committees of the Goldsmiths' Company. He did so with great reluctance. We have his manuscript letter, dated 22 May 1826, in the archives (A.III.2) which was written out in full in the Court of Assistants' minutes of the following day (Court Bk 24, pp.346-7) . He was voted an annuity of £100 at a subsequent meeting (ibid, p.354, 29 May 1826) and a letter of thanks was received and recorded on the 27 October 1826 (ibid, p.314) .

According to a letter from his widow, Susanna, he died on the 14 May 1832. She wrote to the Company requesting the last quarterly payment of his annuity, which was granted to her (Ct Bk 26, pp.10-11, 27 July 1832) . At a subsequent meeting she was voted an annuity of £80 (ibid, p.15, 24 October 1832) .

You are most welcome to visit the Library again to follow up this material. Susanna's three daughters are mentioned in her request.

Yours sincerely

David Beasley
Librarian

The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City of London

Will of Walter Brind made July 23, 1803, but there were no witnesses. Walter died in 1832.
I Walter Brind of Paternoster Row being of sound mind and health do hereby declare this my last will and testament. First, I request to be buried in the vault where my child Esther lays in Foster Lane Church. Second, I leave the whole of my property after paying my just and careful debts / to my dear wife for the purpose of supporting herself and children fully relying on her prudent and attention to them and their dutiful behaviour to her as the only means of their future happiness. Walter Brind July 23 1803.

But in case of Mrs Brind's decease I then leave my property to be equally divided between my children who may be alive and I ( ) my brother Thomas Brind will act as trustee for that purpose. My other relations I hope will not be offended as I fear the property I leave will be but small for the purpose before mentioned.

( eared) (Personath) Charles Brind of Devonshire Street, Bishopsgate Street, London, Gentleman and Cook Kemp Bourne of Nelson Terrace, Kingsland Road in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman and made oath that they knew and had been intimately acquainted with Walter Brind formerly of Paternoster Row, London, but late of Guildford in the County of Surrey, deceased, and have frequently seen him write, subscribe his name and thereby came to know and be well acquaintd with his manner and character of handwriting and juxtaposition and have now carefully ( ) and inspected a certain paper (writing) here unto annexed purporting to be and contain the last will and testament of the said deceased and addition thereto the said will beginning thus "I Walter Brind of Paternoster Row" ending thus "as the only means of their future happiness" and thus inscribed and dated "Walter Brind July 23 1803". The said addition being written at the back of the said will and beginning thus "But in the case of Mrs Brind's decease" and ending thus "as I fear the property I leave will be but small for the purpose before mentioned." (They) ( ) ( ) on their oaths ( ) say that they do verily and in their ( ) believe that the said will beginning and ending and subscribed as aforesaid and also the said addition thereto beginning and ending as aforesaid are all of the proper handwriting and description of him the said Walter Brind deceased. Charles Brind On the twenty ninth day of June, 1832, the said Charles Brind was duly sworn to the truth of this Affidavit before me Thomas Blake (Just) ( ) Manley ( ) Notary Public C.K. Bourne on the twenty-ninth day of June, 1832 the said Cook Kemp Bourne was duly sworn to the truth of the Affidavit before me Thomas Blake (Just) ( ) Manley ( ) Notary Public

On 4^th July 1832 Admon with the will annexed of the Goods Chattles, crocks of Walter Brind formerly of Peternoster Row in the City of London, but late of Guildford in the County of Surrey deceased was granted to William Henry Brind one of the natural and lawful children and as such one of the persons interested in the residue of the personal estate and effects of the said deceased having been just sworn duly to administer, there not being an Executor named in the said Will. Susanna Brind widow the Relict and one other of the persons interested in the residue of the personal estate and effects of the said deceased having first renounced the Letters of Admon with the said will annexed of the ( ) of the said deceased.

PROB 11/1802

COVENTRY CITY ARCHIVES: WALTER BRIND

PERSONS/2/1672

Brind, Walter

1818-1827

He was a churchwarden of St. Michael's in 1818, 1819, 1823-25. This ribbon manufacturer was in 1827 a member of the Cappers' Company - see PA184/1/8. Occupied a Fleet St. messuage (BA/D/D/29/1) .
PA55/3/4

Year Lease.
9 Apr 1824

By Peter [II] Seager (described as in 55/3/2) , with Joseph Butterworth (of Coventry, grocer) as his trustee, to John Royle (decribed as in 55/3/2) of a messuage with new erections, on the eastern side of Warwick Lane alias Greyfriars' Lane, together with the remnants of Greyfriars' Church Yard, all bounded on the east by Thomas Ashton's premises and by parts of the aforesaid garden which John Woodcock, Thomas Goodall, Maria Johnson Pickering and Henry Cave have agreed to buy, on part of the west by parts of the garden which Walter Brind and William Young have bought and by premises which P. [II] Seager occupies, on the rest of the west by part of Thomas Parsons' garden, on part of the north by Warwick Lane, on the rest of the north by another part of the garden which T. Parsons owns and by gardens belonging to Widow Lindon, - Brown and William Mason, and on the south by Union Street where the frontage is 74 ft, along with all else conveyed to P. [II] Seager by lease and release dated 7th.-8th. Apr.[, 1824].

Note: Cappers' = Cap Makers Company

There is no mention of him in the Coventry Trades Directory of 1830.

Brigadier Frederic Brind CB 1802-1857

Frederic Brind was the fourth son and eighth child of Walter and Ann. He joined the Bengal Artillery in 1821, and up to the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny in 1857, he had seen much active service and had a far more distinguished military career than his, subsequently, more celebrated younger brother, James.

He saw service in the Gwalior campaign in Central India in 1843, with the 1^st Troop 3rd Brigade Bengal Horse Artillery and as a reward for his services he received Brevet promotion to the rank of Major. He fought throughout the First and Second Sikh wars in '45/6 and '48/9 and was repeatedly mentioned in despatches. He received Brevet promotion to the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel and the CB. An oil painting of him was apparently done in 1825 and an engraved copy of it is held by M.J.S. Brind. A copy of this one is in this section along with a copy of a miniature which is c 1850. The location of the originals is not known.

Brigadier Frederic Brind 1802- K1857 C1825.

In 1837 he married Henrietta Sarah daughter of Major General Sir Robert Sale, the Commander of the "illustrious" garrison of Jellalabad, who was subsequently killed at the battle of Moodkee. Their family is shown at the end of this section.

On the outbreak of the Mutiny in 1857 he was the Brigadier commanding the troops at Sialkot in the Punjab on the border of Kashmir. The following is an extract from page 307 of Major General Stubbs' "History of the Bengal Artillery":

The station of Sialkot had been deprived of its Europeans by the dispatch with the moveable column of Dawes' Troop, Bourchier's Field Battery, and the 52nd Regiment. It had also lost the 35th N.I., but there remained the 4^th N.I. and a wing of the 9^th Light Cavalry. The Brigadier, Colonel Frederic Brind, CB, of the Artillery, remonstrated and begged for 250 to be left, which was refused. Even if Brigadier Brind's faith in the loyalty of the Sepoy had been as great as it is said to have been, it is impossible to acquit Sir John Lawrence of having neglected an ordinary precaution which should have been taken.

On the morning of the 9^th July 1857 the officers discovered when they went out that picquets had been placed to prevent anyone escaping. It was a day filled up with several murders and many hairsbreadth escapes. Among other fatalities, Brigadier Brind mounted his horse and rode forth, but was shot in the back by his orderly; he died the next day and is buried in the cemetery at Sialkot.

In Kaye & Malleson's work on the mutiny Vol II page 471 he is described as being in 1857 "an officer of high repute, lofty stature and large proportions amply endowed with physical and mental vigour".

Eight Europeans (4 military and 4 civilians) were killed at Sialkot.

The following is taken from "Officers of the Bengal Army 1758-1834 Part I by Major V.C.P. Hodson:
BRIND, Frederick. (1802-1857) . Bt. Colonel, C.B. Artillery. b. London 22 Mar 1802. Cadet 1819. Arrived in India Mar 1821. 2nd Lieut 16 Jun 1820. Lieut 1 May 1824. Capt 7 Mar 1838. Major 1 Jan 1848. Lt Col 31 Dec 1854. Bt. Col. 20 Jun 1854. d. Sialkot, 10 July 1857, having been mortally wounded the day before by a mutineer of 9^th L.C.
Son of Walter Brind, of Paternoster Row, London, ribbon manufacturer and silk merchant. Brother of Sir James Brind q.v. m. Karnal, 9 Sep 1837, Henrietta Sarah, dau. of Sir Robert Henry Sale, G.C.B.
Services: Fur. June 1824 till 9 Mar 1828, during which he was employed at Addiscombe from 2 Aug 1826 till 24 Jun 1827. Adjt & Qmr 3rd Bde H.A. Feb 1837 till Apr 1838. Gwalior campaign; Paniar; Capt. comdg. 1^st Troop 3rd Bde H.A. (Bronze star) . First Sikh War; Mudki; Ferozshahr; Sobraon; Bt. Major comdg 1^st Troop 3rd Bde (Medal with 2 clasps) . Second Sikh War; Ramnagar; passage of Chenab; Chilianwala; Gujerat; Bt. Lt Col comdg 2nd Bde H.A. (Medal with 2 clasps) . Appointed Bdr (Brigadier) in Mar 1856 and posted to Sialkot. Was comdg at Sialkot when the mutiny broke out there on 9 July 1857, and was one of the first victims of the outbreak. C.B. 9 June 1849

Refs: De Rhe-Philipe

And from "Punjab, N-W.F.P., Kashmir, Afghaustan.Inscriptions on Tombs or Monuments and Biographical Notes onPersons Mentioned," which is in the British Library.

Brind, Frederick, C.B., Lieutenant-Colonel andBrevet-Colonel (1801-1857) .-Grave at Sialkot, No.706.-Born at Putney, Co. Surrey, in 1801.-Enteredthe Bengal Army in 1819 as a Cadet of Artillery.Sailed from England on the 26^th September 1820 in theH.E.I.C.S. Brilliant, which vessel was wrecked onthe 25th February following off Narsipur, Rajamandri.Arrived at Fort William in March 1821, and was postedin the same month to the 6^th Company 3^d Battalion,Foot Artillery, at Dum-Dum, with which he remaineduntil May 1822. He was then removed to the 3^d Company 3^d Battalion at the same station, with which hecontinued serving there until the following year. In1823-24, during the period of the Burmese incursionsinto Assam, Cachar and Chittagong, he was employedon the eastern and south-eastern frontiers with detachments of golandaz, but the climate of those regionsaffected him so injuriously that he had to return to thePresidency at the end of January 1824, and was afterwards obliged, in the following June, to go home onfurlough. He returned to India in March 1828, andhaving in that month, after various nominal transfersand removals, been posted to the 3^d Company 1^st Battalion, he proceeded to the Upper Provinces and joinedthat company at Karnal in the autumn. In June 1830he was removed to the 3^d Company 2^d Battalion, whichhe joined on its arrival at Karnal in the following November. In September 1831 he was transferred to theHorse Artillery, and after doing duty for two monthswith the 3^d Brigade at Meerut, he was posted in November 1831 to the 1^st Troop, 2^d Brigade, at Karnal.In August 1832 he was transferred to the 4^th Troop,3^d Brigade, at Meerut, and in January 1833 to the 4^thTroop, 2^d Brigade, at Ludhiána, With this troop, in 1836, he was employed for some time on service in theJhind district. In November 1836 he was removed tothe 1^st Troop, 3^d Brigade, and in the following February he was appointed Adjutant and Quarter Masterof the 3^d Brigade,-an appointment which he held, atKarnal and Cawnpore, until his promotion to the rankof Captain in April 1838. After his promotion he wasappointed, May 1838, to the command of the 1^st Company 4^th Battalion, Foot Artillery, at Dum-Dum, andin the following year he officiated for some time asDepy. Principal Commissary of Ordnance. In December 1839 he was removed to the 1^st Company 1^st Battalion at Dum-Dum, and in April 1840 he was reappointed to the Horse Artillery and posted to the 1^st Troop, 3^d Brigade (now "L" Battery, Royal HorseArtillery) , which he joined at Dum-Dum, and thecommand of which he held for nearly eight years. Inthe spring of 1842 he proceeded with this troop toCawnpore, and at the close of the following year hecommanded it in the Gwalior Campaign, including thebattle of Paniar (bronze star, and promoted to the rankof Major by brevet) . On the conclusion of the campaignhe returned with the troop to Gawnpore, whence, in thespring of 1845, he proceeded with it to Ambala. Onthe outbreak of the first Sikh War he went to the frontwith his troop and commanded it throughout the SutlejCampaign of 1845-46, inclusive of the battles of Mudki,Firozshahr and Sobraon (medal and two clasps, andpromoted to 'Lieutenant-Colonel by brevet') . On thetermination of the war he returned with the troop toAmbala, and remained in command of it there untilJanuary 1848, when he vacated on promotion to the

Brigadier Frederic Brind 1802- K1857 C1850.
regimental rank of Major. He was then posted to the 2^d Brigade of Horse Artillery, the head-quarters ofwhich he joined at Ambála, and on the outbreak of thesecond Sikh War he proceeded with it on service andcommanded it throughout the Punjab Campaign of1848-49, including the action of Ramnagar, the passageof the Chenab, and the battles of Chilianwala and Gujrat (medal and two clasps, and created a Companion ofthe Order of the Bath) . On the close of the operationshe returned to Ambála with the 2^d Brigade, and soonafterwards proceeded on leave for six months. In November 1849 he was removed to the 1^st Battalion of FootArtillery at Agra ; in August 1851 to the 6^th Battalion,which he joined on its arrival at Agra in the followingNovember; and in September 1853 back to the 1^st Battalion, which he joined at Jullundur. In June 1854 hewas promoted to the rank of Colonel by brevet, and heafterwards for some time commanded the station ofJullundur. On promotion to the regimental rank ofLieutenant-Colonel, he was re-posted, January 1855, tothe 1^st Battalion, and was again for some time in command at Jullundur. In March 1856 he was appointed a Brigadier on the establishment, and was posted toSialkot. He was commanding at Sialkot when the. mutiny of the Native troops there took place on the 9^th July 1857, and he was one of the first victims ofthe outbreak; he was endeavouring to make his way tothe old Sikh fort when he was intercepted at his owngate by a party of troopers of the 9^th Light Cavalry,one of whom inflicted on him a mortal wound, of whichhe died, in the fort, on the following morning.

706 10th July 1857. FREDERICK BRIND... Sacred to the memory of Brig' F BRIND C. B. Bengal Artillery who was killed in the mutiny at this station 10^th July1857 this monument is erected by his sorrowing family

GRAVES IN CEMETERY BY

FORT, SIALKOT. He was in command of the station at the time of the outbreakof the Mutiny on July 9th, 1857. He was fired upon bysome troopers of the 9th Light Cavalry as, accompanied byother officers, he rode out of the gate of his house, and,badly wounded, made his way to the fort, where he diedthe next day.

An insight into life in the Bengal Horse Artillery and Brigadier Brind's campaigns can be gained from Major General B.P.Hughes book "The Bengal Horse Artillery 1800-1861 (The 'Red Men' - A 19th century Corps d'Elite) .

The National Portrait Gallery has a little drawing of a Captain Brind attributed to William Egley dated 1839. Having inspected it I do not think it is Frederic. His brother James was not a Captain until 1842.

His only son Frederick S.S. was on the strength of the 44^th Native Infantry an EIC Regt from 1858-63. He then served in the 19^th of Foot (Yorkshire Regiment) and later transferred to the 17th Leicestershire Regiment. He retired as a Lt Col and worked for the Corps of Commissionaires, he was also a keen medallist. His campaign experience is shown below:

Indian Mutiny 1857-60. Actions of Huldwaree and Charparah, and affair at Buharee. 2nd Oude campaign Served with the Camel Corps in Bundelcund campaign and was in command of a Field Detachment in clearing the Marawura district of rebels. Wounded at Charpoorah 10 Feb 58. Medal.
Hazara Campaign 1868. As Orderly Officer 1^st Brigade in expedition against the hill tribes of the Black Mountain. Despatches, Lond Gaz, 15 June 69. Medal with clasp.
Operations in Kohat Pass, Apr 1876. As Brigade Major, Feshawar district.
Afghan War 1878-9. With the 1^st Division Peshawar Valley Field Force, and present at action of Futtehabad. Despatches, Lond Gaz 7 Nov 79. Medal; Brev rank of Maj.

Note: The pages on Major General Sir Robert Sale in the Dictionary of National Biography are well worth reading. The volumes are held in the Reference Libraries of most Public Libraries.

Some of the wills recorded at Somerset House.
1891 Jane Brown Brind.
1897 Henrietta Sarah Brind.
1898 Frank Willoughby Brind.
1900 Ann Brind.
1902 Charles Brind.
1908 Frederick William Brind.
1912 Frederick Sale Sowley Brind.
1913 Ernest Walter Brind.
1930 Annie Mary Brind.

THE OWLS OF OLYNN BELFRY

PART 1.

THE old parish church stood as it had done for some hundreds of years, grey and quiet, near to a picturesque house which bore the date

RANDOLPH CALDECOTT
THE CHELSFIELD CONNECTION

Randolph Caldecott was born in Chester in 1846 and died, while on a visit to Florida, in 1886. In his brief lifetime the series of books for children which he illustrated made Caldecott a household name in late Victorian nurseries.

In addition, he exhibited Ills paintings widely, and left behind him a considerable collection of sketches. Many of his letters to friends have also survived, having been treasured by the recipients for their wit and for the drawings with which he adorned them. Many were reproduced in "Yours pictorially", a fascinating book edited by Michael Hutchins and published by Frederick Warne in 1976.

Caldecott was a countryman at heart, and in 1879 he moved out of London to live at Wyboumes, a picturesque house at Kemsing. At that time he was courting Marian Brind, the daughter of Frederick William Brind, a wealthy wine merchant who lived at Chelsfield Court Lodge. Caldecott described the seven miles between die two villages as "nothing to a good horse".

Many years ago the late Col H A Waring - younger son of Arthur Waring of Woodlands, Chelsfield, who wrote the scholarly ms history of Chelsfield just before the Great War - showed me a copy of a rare privately printed volume called "The owls of Olynn Belfry", illustrated by Caldecott and published in 1885 or 1886. The setting for the drawings was clearly Chelsfield Church and Court Lodge, and Col. Waring told me the names of a number of local people whom Caldecott had used as models for the characters in the book. Among them were Herbert Fuller Waring, several members of the Brind family George Brooks the elderly Parish Clerk, and George Luke Brooks (always known as "Bodger" Brooks) his grandson.

Believed to be George Brooks

After Caldecott's early death his widow Marian came to live in Tunbridge Wells, and died there in 1932, being buried in the town cemetery. I have always admired Caldecott - a feeling which, naturally,. was considerably, strengthened by the Chelsfield connection - but until quite recently I had done nothing to look further into this. Last year, however, a letter from Kenn Oultram, the Secretary of the Randolph Caldecott Society, appeared in the Tunbridge Wells Courier, asking if anyone in the area knew anything of Marian Caldecott, and particularly if any photograph of her had survived.

Although I could not help in that way, I wrote to Mr Oultram telling him of my interest in Chelsfield, and giving details of the information I had about "The Owls of Olynn Belfry".

I had assumed the latter would probably be well-known already among experts, but such was not the case, and my notes were published in "The Caldecott Sketch", the newsletter of the Randolph Caldecott Society, and aroused some interest.

Belived to be Marion Brind

I joined the Society and was pleased to be asked to talk to their AGM in September, when I also set up an exhibition illustrating the Chelsfield connection. The members whore I met were a very interesting collection of enthusiasts, and seemed to appreciate both the talk and the exhibition. As this had taken quite a lot of time to assemble, it seemed to me a pity to dismantle it and I therefore asked Simon Finch, the Bromley Local History Librarian, if he might like to put it on show in the Library. This he has kindly agreed to do, from 6 January to 27th January 1997, and I hope that many members of the Bromley Borough Local History Society may be able to see it.

Geoffrey Copus,
17 Oakdale Road,
Tunbridge Wells TN4 8DS

Annex to Section 8

DESCENDENTS OF SONS OF WALTER BRIND II 1763-1832

1. Walter 1791-1834
m. Anne Duffield 1815
Ribbon Manufacturer
Coventry