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Friends of Woking Palace |
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Hoe Place part three |
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Depositions made in 1716 in connection with an inquiry into whether certain estate of James Zouch, deceased, was part of the Royal Manor of Woking and held from the Crown or his own personal property (PRO E134/5George2/Mich1-9) show that the wife of Charles Abel (see previous paragraph) was in fact, the sister of Mrs Katherine Wood (housekeeper to James Zouch SHC 1499/2) who married Richard Bird at Hoe Place in 1709 and to whom James Zouch left the Zouch family property of the Hermitage.
Two of the depositions, by Henry Attfield, yeoman of Windlesham and a servant at Hoe Place for three years prior to the death of James Zouch and John Freeland, husbandman of Woking, appear to disclose underhand dealings by Mr and Mrs Abel immediately following the death of James Zouch. Mrs Abel is said to have come down from London to Hoe Place, where James Zouch had died, in a great hurry and taken back certain “writings” to London and Mr Abel was observed by Henry Attfield and John Freeland burning “writings and papers” in the kitchen at Hoe Place.
According to Manning and Bray, the sequence in which ownership of Hoe Place changed following the death of James Zouch in 1708 was as follows:
Sophia Zouch and her husband conveyed the premises to James Field of Odiham in 1718 purchased by John Walter in 1730 buried St Peter’s 5th May 1736, at that time Lord of the Manor acquired by Lucy Walter, buried St Peter’s 9th December 1743,from her husband John in 1735 in the hands of her two sons Abel and Henry in 1738 Henry had children baptised and buried at St Peter’s between 1743 and 1747 purchased by another son Alleyne in 1761. Alleyne had children baptised and buried at St Peter’s between 1755 and 1763 Marchant Tubbs became the owner in 1763 acquired by Duncan Davidson in March 1770 sold to James Forster, Sergeant at Law in July 1770 passed to his three daughters, Susanna, Harriott and Elizabeth on his death in 1781 purchased by Thomas Colbourn sold to William Cornwallis purchased by Henry Grant in 1789.
Although Manning and Bray say the house was inherited by his niece Sophia, (see above) the daughter of his sister Sophia and that this niece was the wife of John or James Bayes of London, dyer, this account is complicated by the burial of a Sophia Zouch at St Peter’s on 7th of May 1780. This lady left a will dated 12th April 1774 in which she described herself as a spinster. Sophia refers to two of the grandchildren of Richard and Katherine Bird as being her nephew and niece and it is difficult to determine her Zouch ancestry.
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