Famous People

Persons believed to have lived in Kings Sutton
 
 Lady Jane Grey

(Born  12 February 1554) Said to have lived at Grey Court in Kings Sutton for a number years.
Known as the 9 day Queen.  (see Entry in Wikipedia)

Sir John Willes
(Born Circa 1721) Lived at Astrop House and was Member of Parliament for Banbury 1746-1754.
(See Entry in Wikipedia)

Reverend William Lisle Bowles

(Born 24 September 1762, King's Sutton, Northamptonshire, England- Died April 7, 1850). Anglican Cleric, Critic and Poet. (see Entry in Wikipedia)

Robert Kenwrick

(Born in 1629 ) at Stokegreene in Worcestershire and baptized at the church of Bradley, near Worcester, October 18th 1629. He married Elizabeth- surname not known - in his early twenties and they lived at King's Sutton, possibly at the Manor House. His first child, born in 1653, was christened Charles and died at 5 weeks old. It is said that King Charles stayed at the Manor at the time of Edgehill. Perhaps this led to the name of R's first child. He had at least 15 other children: Sarah, Penellopi (sic), Ursula, George, Richard, Robert & Elizabeth (twins), Raphael, Edward, Thomas, Katherine, Elizabeth, William, John and Alexander. He died Oct 6th 1689 and was buried 2 days later in King's Sutton Church. He seems to have been a person of consequence in the village. His name always heads the list of the churchwardens' levy and is the only one who is given 'Esquire'. His successor Richard seems to have been of less consequence. His name on its first appearance in the levy is followed by 'Esq', but a later hand has erased 'Esq' and written 'Mr'.

Robert paid 4/6 a year on the levy and later 9/-. He also rented the as yet unidentified 'church barn' for £1 a year.

The first few baptism entries of his children stand out conspicuously on the pages of the register, and are accorded details not given in humbler births, e.g. the actual time of birth.

The Renwrick family is now only remembered in the village as having been connected with the Lovells. It would be interesting to identify present-day descendants. Notes in pencil on the reverse of a rubbing of the brass in church. On the front, also in pencil, the arms: KING'S SUTTON Northants The arm's (sic) are - Ermine, a lion rampant sable. Crest - On a bundle of arrows in fess or, feathered and headed argent, banded sable, a hawk close of the 2nd, beaked and belled of the first.

Sir William Richmond Brown

(Born 30 May 1784) Lived at Astrop House, Kings Sutton. The Brown Baronetcy, of Richmond Hill in the County Palatine of Lancaster, was created in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom on 24 January 1863 for the merchant and banker William Brown, of Astrop House, Kings Sutton, The baronetcy was conferred in honour of his services to the city of Liverpool.

Sophia Ward

(Born in the village in 1871) baptised September 24 and died here July 1 1946. Her grave is in the village Cemetery. She was the second of 9 children of Thomas Botteril and Annie Ward. He is described as a butler (presumably at either the Manor House or possible Astrop House), and according to Edwin McGinlay, the family lived at 35 Richmond Street. He tells how the painting was given to the Church during Fr Rennie’s period (i.e. 1921-1928) but that it had been given to Miss Ward. However, the pencil inscription on the back, records S Ward as the painter. It once hung above the Lady Altar, but for a number of years until recently, high over the inner south porch. It has been restored in 2003 by Christopher Welby of Haddenham, Bucks and is again a focal point of the Lady Chapel.

                                            
The original is in the National Gallery in London. It is called ‘The Virgin in Prayer' by II Sassoferrato, whose actual name was Giovanni Battista Salvi (1640-50). His soubriquet comes from the area on the east of the Italian peninsula known as The Marches.

The painting shows Mary, palms held loosely together, her eyes almost closed and looking down. Her face is filled with a gentle peace and is joyous and serene. She is a young woman wearing a red, long-sleeved dress with a scooped neck. An inner cuff can be seen at one wrist. Her head is covered with a creamy veil, covering part of her face in shadow, and tightly bound round her shoulders. Over this is a cloak of blue silk. The background is dark, stressing her composure and the colours: red, cream, blue and the light flesh tones. The blue of the original was made from lapis lazuli and suffers from what art experts call 'ultramarine sickness', which is a condition taking away the bloom of the paint tone and which is irremediable. Miss Ward's copy is very good. It is likely that when she painted it, perhaps around 1900, the original would have been varnished. Her blue has a green tinge to it. But she was faithfully reproducing what she was in the Gallery.

Rupert Fowke (village Resident...at the time) attested that Sophie (as apparently she was called here) was known to be an artist. Clearly, no-one paints copies of Old Masters to this standard without a good deal of both skill  and  experience.


Visitors to King's Sutton and Astrop Spa

Anthony Wood
(Born 17 December 1632) Said to have visited Astrop Spa in 1694.  See our ''Times Past'' page.
(see Entry in Wikipedia)

John Radcliffe
(Born 1652) Dr. Ratcliffe, the famous physician from Oxford, was said to have patronised Astrop very warmly. (see Entry in Wikipedia)

Lancelot ''Cability'' Brown
( Born 1716) Responsible for laying out the gardens at Astrop House and Park.
(see Entry in Wikipedia) and also our Times Past Page

Sir George Gilbert Scott
(Born 13th July 1811) Sir George Gilbert Scott was employed to carry out restoration work to the Parish Church in 1866. He added the vestry and organ chamber to the north of the chancel, the door in the south wall of the chancel and added various furnishings.  See Parish Church Page and also
(Entry in Wikipedia)