the value of its stone, especially since it appears to be a fire hazard. Every week, I read in the newspaper about manor houses being razed. So many of them were damaged during the war because of their use as barracks, or the costs of maintaining them are so prohibitive that no one can afford them.
It has been a long time since I wrote to you of Mary Garrison because her life was entwined with Charlotte and Anne's, and I was hoping you would be able to visit Kent before I shared with you their strange, but interesting, relationship.
Mary was a friend of Charlotte's younger sister, Maria Ledger. It seems that every time Lucy/Lydia came home to Bennets End, Mary arranged a visit to the parsonage with Maria. When Lucy returned permanently to Bennets End following Waggoner's transfer to Canada, Mary visited Charlotte and never left. You must be asking, why didn't Charlotte or Mr. Chatterton object?
As the wife of the local pastor, Charlotte had manyresponsibilities, including visiting the poor and making food baskets for those who were ailing. In addition to these responsibilities, Charlotte acted as her husband's secretary, copying out his weekly sermons and taking dictation for his correspondence and reports to the bishop. Keep in mind that this was the era when people made their own ink and wrote with quill pens, which required constant repair. Anne, recognizing that Mary's stay was open-ended, encouraged Charlotte to have Mary take over many of the less desirable responsibilities of a minister's wife. This allowed Charlotte the time necessary to educate herself in the politics of the church and to learn what was going on in the church hierarchy.
When Lady Sylvia became ill, sometime around 1805, Anne told Charlotte that it was her intention to sell the estate after her mother's death. This is where Charlotte's political acumen bore fruit. She knew of an opening in Canterbury for a position that suited her husband's talents and requested that Anne ask her mother to write a letter to the bishop bringing Mr. Chatterton to his attention. When Lady Sylvia died in 1806, Mr. Chatterton was faced with a difficult choice. In addition to any bequest from Lady Sylvia, Mr. Chatterton, as rector, received an income from a tithe from every farmer or tradesman in his parish. However, Charlotte recognized that without Lady Sylvia's sponsorship, there was no chance for advancement in the church, but there was a possibility for a promotion if he served on the staff of the Suffragan Archbishop of Canterbury.
It turned out to be the correct move. In 1807, Mr. Chatterton, Charlotte, and Mary moved to Canterbury. They had been living in rooms near the Charter House for fifteen years when Mr. Chatterton died suddenly. With his death, the Garrison estate was entailed away from Charlotte because of her sex, and Charlotte and Mary chose to return to Hertfordshire.
I had been reading this letter aloud to Rob when he stopped me. “How does Beth know all this? She's stopped saying this information came through Aunt Margie. She must be related to the Laceys.” I nodded and continued.
After her mother's death, Anne Desmet moved to Bath. The city was in its heyday at this time, and she leased a house in a neighbourhood near to the famous Royal Crescent. She brought with her the butler and her nurse, Mrs. Jackson, whom Anne was devoted to, and who spent a good portion of her life caring for Anne. We know she attended concerts and assemblies in Bath, escorted by her cousin, Col. Alexander Devereaux (Col. Fitzwilliam). Col. Devereaux was wounded at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, and after his release from the Army, he went to live with Anne in Bath. The colonel died in 1819. Anne lived another three years.
I hope her years in Bath were happy ones. She certainly deserved it. Her life demonstrates that even the wealthy can be miserable if they are not nurtured and loved.
Your friend,
Beth
After finishing the letter, I told Rob about
It has been a long time since I wrote to you of Mary Garrison because her life was entwined with Charlotte and Anne's, and I was hoping you would be able to visit Kent before I shared with you their strange, but interesting, relationship.
Mary was a friend of Charlotte's younger sister, Maria Ledger. It seems that every time Lucy/Lydia came home to Bennets End, Mary arranged a visit to the parsonage with Maria. When Lucy returned permanently to Bennets End following Waggoner's transfer to Canada, Mary visited Charlotte and never left. You must be asking, why didn't Charlotte or Mr. Chatterton object?
As the wife of the local pastor, Charlotte had manyresponsibilities, including visiting the poor and making food baskets for those who were ailing. In addition to these responsibilities, Charlotte acted as her husband's secretary, copying out his weekly sermons and taking dictation for his correspondence and reports to the bishop. Keep in mind that this was the era when people made their own ink and wrote with quill pens, which required constant repair. Anne, recognizing that Mary's stay was open-ended, encouraged Charlotte to have Mary take over many of the less desirable responsibilities of a minister's wife. This allowed Charlotte the time necessary to educate herself in the politics of the church and to learn what was going on in the church hierarchy.
When Lady Sylvia became ill, sometime around 1805, Anne told Charlotte that it was her intention to sell the estate after her mother's death. This is where Charlotte's political acumen bore fruit. She knew of an opening in Canterbury for a position that suited her husband's talents and requested that Anne ask her mother to write a letter to the bishop bringing Mr. Chatterton to his attention. When Lady Sylvia died in 1806, Mr. Chatterton was faced with a difficult choice. In addition to any bequest from Lady Sylvia, Mr. Chatterton, as rector, received an income from a tithe from every farmer or tradesman in his parish. However, Charlotte recognized that without Lady Sylvia's sponsorship, there was no chance for advancement in the church, but there was a possibility for a promotion if he served on the staff of the Suffragan Archbishop of Canterbury.
It turned out to be the correct move. In 1807, Mr. Chatterton, Charlotte, and Mary moved to Canterbury. They had been living in rooms near the Charter House for fifteen years when Mr. Chatterton died suddenly. With his death, the Garrison estate was entailed away from Charlotte because of her sex, and Charlotte and Mary chose to return to Hertfordshire.
I had been reading this letter aloud to Rob when he stopped me. “How does Beth know all this? She's stopped saying this information came through Aunt Margie. She must be related to the Laceys.” I nodded and continued.
After her mother's death, Anne Desmet moved to Bath. The city was in its heyday at this time, and she leased a house in a neighbourhood near to the famous Royal Crescent. She brought with her the butler and her nurse, Mrs. Jackson, whom Anne was devoted to, and who spent a good portion of her life caring for Anne. We know she attended concerts and assemblies in Bath, escorted by her cousin, Col. Alexander Devereaux (Col. Fitzwilliam). Col. Devereaux was wounded at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, and after his release from the Army, he went to live with Anne in Bath. The colonel died in 1819. Anne lived another three years.
I hope her years in Bath were happy ones. She certainly deserved it. Her life demonstrates that even the wealthy can be miserable if they are not nurtured and loved.
Your friend,
Beth
After finishing the letter, I told Rob about
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