Our Spring Gatherings in 2020 and 2021 had to be cancelled due to Covid-19, so our Secretary, Ralph, has made
a pdf which is a tour round the historical items at St.Edmunds, Fenny Bentley, including the tomb of Thomas and Agnes
and the Beresford stained glass windows. It shows all the historic Beresford items which you would have seen
if the Gathering had taken place. It is an excellent summary of all there is to see at this historic Beresford site.
Copies are still available; email Ralph at beresfordralph930@gmail.com and he will send you a copy.
AUTUMN GATHERING 2019
The Autumn Gathering on 11-13 October 2019 was based at the Ramada Birmingham Hotel, Sutton Coldfield. From here we went by coach to Warwick Castle where we toured the impressive interiors as well as viewing the River Avon from the towers and ramparts and watching an amazing Falconry display on the river bank. In the evening we returned to hold our Annual Dinner.
On the Sunday at our 39th Annual General Meeting, our members received a positive report on the year’s activities including an increase in membership.
SOCIETY VISITS & TOURS: One of the advantages and most popular aspects of membership of the Society are the many family visits which have been arranged to places of interest, often with Beresford connections. In recent years our programme has included The Historic Dockyard at Portsmouth, Warwick Castle; Tissington Hall (Derbyshire); Blenheim Palace (Oxfordshire); Sulgrave Manor (the home of George Washington's ancestors); the London Eye; Curragmore (home of the Marquis of Waterford); All Saints Church at Hoby; the tomb of Godfrey Beresford (1513) at Crich; Gala Dinner and tour of the Palace of Westminster; the City of Chester; Nether Winchendon House; St Paul's Cathedral; the Heritage Motor Centre in Warwickshire; Waterford Crystal tour; Thames river cruise; Chatsworth House; Greenwich World Heritage site; Fenny Bentley (tomb of Thomas and Agnes); historic Stotfold Mill, Herts; Sudbury Hall (Derbyshire); The Black Country Living Museum, Dudley; Middleton Hall,
Staffordshire; Kedleston Hall, Derby; Bedgebury Park, Kilndown, Kent, Bakewell & Haddon Hall, Derbyshire; Hampton Court Castle, nr. Leominster, Herefordshire; the spa town of Buxton, Derbyshire; Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire, The Wedgewood Museum at Stoke on Trent; Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire; National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire; Wrest Park, Bedfordshire; Tissington Hall, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire; Highcliffe Castle, Bournemouth, Dorset; National Tramway Museum, Crich; Hardwick Hall (Derbyshire); Coventry Cathedral, Chatsworth House (Derbyshire)
Society Visits
(hover over thumbnails to enlarge)
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Warwick Castle
Impressive medieval castle overlooking the River Avon developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William the Conqueror in 1068.
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Chatsworth House, Derbyshire
Family Home of the Dukes of Devonshire.
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Coventry Cathedral
Built after the historic cathedral was destroyed in the blitz.
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Hardwick Hall
Hardwick Hall, in Derbyshire: an architecturally significant Elizabethan country house built by Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury.
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Historic Dockyard at Portsmouth
HMS Victory, HMS Warrior, The Mary Rose and the Royal Naval Museum.
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National Tramway Museum at Crich.
A large collection of vintage trams beautifully restored.
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Highcliffe Castle, Bournemouth, Dorset.
Home of Louisa, Marchioness of Waterford.
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Tissington Hall, near Ashbourne, Derbyshire.
Family home of the FitzHerbert family.
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Wrest Park, Bedfordshire
A magnificent house of the 1830s with landscaped gardens (English Heritage).
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The National Memorial Arboretum
150 acres landscaped with over 15,000 trees and containing 300 impressive memorials.
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Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire
The secret code-breaking centre during WWII.
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Wedgewood Museum at Stoke on Trent
…with so many wonderful examples of fine craftsmanship throughout the company’s rich history.
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Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire
The seat of the Duke of Bedford, set in a beautiful deer park, landscaped by Repton.
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Buxton, Derbyshire
The famous spa town of Buxton in the Peak District National Park.
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Hampton Court Castle in Herefordshire
... with its outstanding collection of suits or armour, swords, pikes and other mediaeval weapons.
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Bakewell & Haddon Hall, Derbyshire
The beautiful market town of Bakewell and the 12th century Haddon Hall. One of the finest fortified mediaeval manor houses in the country.
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Bedgebury Park, Kent
The impressive home of Field Marshal Viscount Beresford at Bedgebury,
Kent, where we held our AGM and Annual Dinner, and later visited Kilndown Church.
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Kedleston Hall, nr. Derby
A spectacular Neo-classical mansion framed by extensive
historic parkland. The remarkable interior was designed
by the famous architect John Adam as his first commission. (N.T.)
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Sudbury Hall , Derbyshire
This 17th Century Hall has an imposing staircase and a highly decorated
Long Gallery. It is also the home of the National Trust’s Museum of Childhood. (N.T.)
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Black County Living Museum
We spent the whole day visiting this extensive live museum covering 26 acres.
It recreates the world of the Black Country, its housing and village streets, its pubs, chapels, shops, canals,
coal mines and the first developed steam engine to provide industrial power……. and much more.
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Middleton Hall
This site covers 750 years of history, with outstanding conservation work having taken
place on the Tudor buildings and the Georgian mansion with its elegant double staircase. A fine venue for our AGM.
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St. Edmunds, Fenney Bentley, Derbyshire
... containing the Beresford chapel, the shrouded tomb of Thomas (d.1473) and Agnes Beresford, who had 21 children.
The church contains family stained glass and memorial panels depicting their descendants and coats of arms.
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Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire
A World Heritage Site visited by the Society It was a gift by a grateful nation to John
Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough after his victory at the Battle of Blenheim. Set in 2100 acres of
beautiful parkland, it is the home of the 11th Duke of Marlborough and was the birthplace of Sir Winston
Churchill. Lord William Beresford married the widow of the 8th Duke of Marlborough.
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Tissington Hall, Derbyshire (near Fenny Bentley)
The Jacobean house of the FitzHerbert family, which the
Society has visited twice. Two of the children of Humphrey
Beresford, the 6th son of Thomas and Agnes, married
FitzHerberts
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Sulgrave Manor, Oxfordshire
An interesting visit was made to the ancestral home of the Washingtons in Britain. John Washington c 1635/6 sailed from here
to Virginia in 1656. His son, Lawrence, had a son Augustine who married Mary Ball on 6 March 1730. Their first-born son was
George Washington 22 Feb 1732.
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The Palace of Westminster, London
The Society enjoyed a tour of the Houses of Parliament and held a Gala Dinner on two occasions.
Over the years a number of Beresfords have been elected as Members of Parliament, right up to today.
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Chatsworth House, Derbyshire
Visited in 2007. Its 1000 acre park was landscaped by 'Capability' Brown. The Duke of Devonshire has
Beresford connections through Charles Cotton.
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Westminster Abbey, London
Built around 1045-1065 by King Edward the Confessor who is buried here. King Harold and later William the Conqueror
were crowned in 1066, and the Abbey has seen the coronation of nearly every King and Queen of England since then.
We included a tour during the London section of our last International Gathering.
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Curraghmore House, Portlaw, Waterford, Ireland
The magnificent home of our President, the Marquis of Waterford and his ancestors since 1170. The House,
with its 2,500 acres estate and gardens, was visited by the
Society at all three International Gatherings.
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The London Eye, Westminster
One of the world’s largest observation wheels, with its magnificent views over London,
enjoyed by members during the 3rd Beresford International Gathering.
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Crich Church, Derbyshire
Dates from around 1135 during the Norman era, We visited the table top tomb of Godfrey Beresford showing his incised effigy in plate armour.
Godfrey, who died in 1513, was the son of Aden Beresford, the eldest of the sixteen sons of Thomas and Agnes at Fenny Bentley.
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Greenwich, London
The Old Royal Navy College, with the Queens House in the centre, the Royal Greenwich Observatory (the Greenwich Meridian)
on the distant hill and the National Maritime Museum all form the impressive World Heritage Site,
which we visited during our 3rd International Gathering.
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All Saints Church, Hoby, Leicestershire
One of our AGM weekends was held at Melton Mowbray Leicestershire. During the weekend had a tour of the village of Hoby
and its church, which has many Beresford connections, illustrated in the decorative panels and stained glass.
There were Beresford rectors here continuously for 250 years.
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St Pauls Cathederal, London
Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and built between 1675 and 1710 on the site of the original cathedral, which was
built in 604 AD and destroyed in the Great Fire of London 1666.. We also visited the crypt to see the memorial to
Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, close to Nelson’s tomb.
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River Thames Cruise, London
Returning from Greenwich to Westminster by boat on the River Thames and passing the Tower of London
during the 2007 International Gathering.
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Nether Winchendon House, Buckinghamshire
A Medieval and Tudor manor house, with a 12th Century Great Hall.
We held our AGM in its high vaulted barn before being taken on a conducted tour of this historic house, once owned by Jane Beresford.
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Ashwell & Stotford Mill, Hertfordshire
Our tour of the picturesque village of Ashwell,
its Museum and the14th Century church of St Mary’s was followed by an AGM held in the award-winning
Stotfold Mill in an idyllic setting on the river Ivel.
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Shugborough Hall, Staffordshire
The historic home of the Earls of Lichfield.
The Estate includes the only remaining example of a complete historic estate with its working
farm and powerful waterwheel driving the heavy millsones (N.T.).
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The City of Chester
A weekend was spent in the historic city of Chester,
including walking round the original Roman Walls, and exploring its medieval streets,
the River Dee and its magnificent cathedral.
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