Benjamin Harding (1800 - 1849)

Born 8 Jul 1800 in Westminster, Middlesex, England

Ancestors

Husband of Louisa Nutbeam (Thacker) Drane — married 22 Feb 1840 in St Pancras, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

Died 13 Feb 1849 at age 48 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Benjamin was born in 1800. He was the son of John Harding and Lydia Palmer.

Benjamin Harding III, of Wadhurst Castle, Tunbridge Wells, Kent (which estate he purchased 1838,^[1] appointing the architect E.B. Lamb to remodel and enlarge the Castle), ‘commanding extensive views … a modern erection with four octagon towers’;^{[2] [3]}testator to his uncle Joseph’s will 1843; granted lease of his father’s house at 36 St James’s St; JP Sussex 1844.

He was b. Westminster, 8 July 1800, bapt 2 Aug.

He m. Old Church, St Pancras, 22 Feb 1840 as her 2nd husband, Louisa Nutbeam Thacker, godmother of Maria Louisa Ramé, the novelist ‘Ouida’ (b. Higham, Kentford, Suffolk, c. 1813; d. Torquay, Devon, 1 Nov 1900), widow of George Flamwell Le Neve, of Barrow, surgeon (m. Fornham St Martin, Suffolk, 7 Oct 1834); she m. 3rdly May 1850, Thomas Drane, of Lee Lodge, Lewisham, Surrey, civil engineer (son of her sister-in-law Cecilia Harding), and by him had further issue.

He d. Wadhurst Castle, 13 Feb 1849 (will pr. 16 Mar, PROB 11/2089),^[4] aged 48 (Gentlemen’s Mag.), when the Wadhurst Castle estate was sold.

He left issue one son and two daus.

Wadhurst Castle

Wadhurst Castle, Benjamin Harding, Esq., occupies a conspicuous situation, commanding extensive views over a richly wooded country, the central feature being a long winding valley. The castle is a modern erection with four octagon towers; but it is being enlarged and remodeled under the direction of E. B. Lamb, Esq., and will, when completed, exhibit a specimen of good interior arrangement, correct taste, and excellent workmanship. The park is already well furnished with native oak woods, and will be improved by the addition of pines, firs, cedars, and other evergreens, especially near the castle. There are an excellent kitchen-garden, and some delightful shady and terrace walks; besides a flower-garden, which will be connected with an architectural conservatory entered from the drawing-room. We anticipate at Wadhurst Castle, at no distant period such a collection of ornamental trees and shrubs as will form select arboretum; and there are few places where, from the shape of the grounds and the facilities for walks and drives, an arboretum could be set off to so much advantage. The church of Wadhurst has a spire covered with shingles, which is seen from some parts of the grounds; and within the church are some monuments of cast iron; Sussex, to the middle of the last century, having been the chief seat of the iron manufacture in England. A small nursery has recently been commenced here by Mr. Macdonald, formerly gardener to the Marquess Camden at the Wilderness in Kent.^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1001272
2. ↑ J.C. Loudon, 1842
3. ↑ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=QB4FAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA610&lpg=PA610&dq=wadhurst+castle+++%22benjamin+harding%22&source=bl&ots=nPI9mdnMB2&sig=ACfU3U0hrpYh4F7dwDwZHM-zLJ3NAeyAuQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiqosyYjKnoAhW1mFwKHTlKApAQ6AEwBXoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=wadhurst%20castle%20%20%20%22benjamin%20harding%22&f=false
4. ↑ https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D129824
5. ↑ Gardening tours by J.C. Loudon 1831-1842; Chapter: Brighton and Sussex in 1842

• Nicholas Mander, Borromean Rings: The Genealogy of the Mander Family. Owlpen Press, 2011.

• This is not a primary source and you are invited to improve upon it.