Homestead; A Squabble Over a Money Pile

Recently I wrote about my genealogical connection to Edward III, King of England, and one of the Plantagenet monarchs.  In that post I mentioned how the owner/creator of the site thepeerage.com advised me that my descendancy from the Plantagenets was via the Money family. Whilst researching the Money family more closely, I discovered a story about a 'homestead' of sorts; a stately pile by the name of Homme House (also spelled Hom House). [For the benefit of any non British readers, in the UK stately homes, palaces and grand mansions are often referred to as 'piles'.)

I should make it clear that Homme House is not my homestead, and I make no claim to it, although it is a homestead still held by the Money branch of my family; distant cousins who only have tiny specks of blood in common with me! Tiny specks of blood, and an ancient ancestor by the name of Thomas Kyrle.

Thomas Kyrle was my 13x great grandfather. He was lawyer, money lender, and Minister of Parliament for Chichester in 1571. In 1574 Thomas Kyrle acquired the manor of Much Marcle, a beautiful village in south Herefordshire. This was the estate that was to become known as Hom House (later spelled Homme House.) Thomas Kyrle was not to live for many years after acquiring the property, as he died somewhat abruptly in 1577. A record that may not be attributed to our Thomas Kyrle, reports that a Thomas Kyrle of Herefordshire was murdered in 1577. It's impossible to know whether or not this record refers to my 13x great grandfather, and I have been unable to find any further information about this murder online. He did, however, write his will on the 26th July, and then died just 5 days later, on the 31st July, which suggests that he was unwell, and making arrangements in preparation for the worst outcome.

When Thomas Kyrle died, his eldest son and heir, John Kyrle was only 9 years old. His uncles (Thomas' brothers) Richard and Anthony Kyrlewere appointed as executors, along with the then dean of Westminster, and together they were to hold the land in trust until John came of age. 

John Kyrle, my 12x great grandfather, was born in 1568. He was a justice of the peace and held the office of High Sheriff of Herefordshire not once, but twice! He was created a Baronet, by Charles I in 1627, and was married to Sybil Scudamore, with whom he had two sons and two daughters. His eldest son and heir was Francis Kyrle who was married to Hester Tracy. Sadly Francis died a year before his father, in 1649, leaving his eldest son, another John Kyrle, to inherit his grandfather and namesake's estate. 

Charles I was removed as monarch, when Oliver Cromwell and the Parliamentary forces won the English Civil War. He was executed in 1649.

John Kyrle, my 10x great grandfather, was born in 1619. He was 31 years old when his father died, leaving him the estate of Much Marcle and Hom House. At this time he was already a married man, having married Rebecca Vincent in December 1647, in the parish church of Much Marcle. John Kyrle was a lawyer and Minister of Parliament for Herefordshire in 1688. Both his father, Francis, and grandfather, John, had acted on the side of the Parliamentarians, in the Civil War, and had worked for Cromwell's republic during the years of the commonwealth. John had continued them in some of their work, but this did not hinder his opportunities, as he was knighted in 1660, after which he was known as Sir John Kyrle, 2nd Baronet of Much Marcle.

Sir John Kyrle, and Rebecca his wife had 4 daughters; Vincentia, Hester, Elizabeth, and Sybil. On Sir Johm's death in 1679, and with a dearth of male heirs, it was Vincentia who inhertited the estate of Hom House, and the manor of Much Marcle. Vincentia was my 9x great grandmother, and she was born in October 1651. She married Sir John Ernle in December 1674. Sir John Ernle was a mariner, and son of yet another Sir John Ernle, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1676- 1689, making him one of the longest serving Chancellors in English history. Sir John Ernle  was a captain who served with the Royal Navy in the Third Anglo Dutch War, and was later an MP for Calne in Wiltshire which was a village close to his Whetham estate. Sir John Ernle and Vincentia Kyrle had just two children; Hester Kyrle Ernle (1675-1723), and John Kyrle Ernle (1682- 1725). It was the younger, male heir that inherited both the Whetham and Much Marcle estates. John Kyrle Ernle married Constantia Rolt, while Hester the older sister, married William Washbourne, of Wichenford, Worcestershire. Hester Kyrle Ernle and William Washbourne were my 8x great grandparents, and it is through the Washbourne branch that we make our way back to Edward III.

Constantia Rolt, and her brother Edward, by Jonathon Richardson, c1690.

It would seem that this was the end of my family's connection to Hom House, however this was not to be. John and Constantia Ernle had just one child; a daughter named Constantia Ernle. Constantia Ernle (my first cousin, 9x removed) was born in 1717. She married Thomas Hay esquire, a statesman and 9th earl of Kinnoull, Perth. He was titled Viscount Dupplin. Constantia and Thomas had one child; Thomas John Ernle Hay.

Constantia Kyrle Ernle

Hester Kyrle Ernle and William Washbourne also had just one child; Elizabeth Washbourne. Elizabeth Washbourne was born in 1700, at her father's estate in Pytchely, Northamptonshire. She married Francis Money, of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, in 1723. They had a son named James Money, who was baptized at Wellingborough on 25th September 1724. 

Elizabeth Washbourne

Thomas John Ernle Hay did not survive infancy. He died in 1743, about a year after he was born. Constantia and Thomas did not have any further children, leaving no heir for Hom House through their line. Constantia died just ten years later, in 1753, and so the estate was passed to the son of her cousin, Elizabeth Washbourne (whose mother was Hester Kyrle Ernle). Thus Hom House, and the manor of Much Marcle was to come to James Money. Viscount Dupplin, now known as Lord Kinnoull, Constantia's husband, was apparently unhappy about the inheritance, and objected to the will. A long lawsuit ensued between Lord Kinnoull and James Money, and his family. 

Thomas Hay, 9th Earl of Kinnoull, and Viscount Dupplin

By all accounts the inheritance was finally settled, and the Moneys could finally call Hom House their homestead; an actual Money pile! 

Today Homme House and the manor of Much Marcle is owned by the members of today's generation of the same family. The house, which was not well maintained for a long while, has been refurbished and renovated, and is now a family home and since 2004 has been a popular wedding venue. Homme House is also open for people to book for a stay, sort of like an uber special Airbnb, from what I can tell. Income from this business goes directly back into the maintenance, renovation, and restoration fund for the house, ensuring that it will be standing for many future generations of the family. 

Homme House

#Newell

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https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/0ecfa97a-da31-4f11-ba1f-31a22649202e

https://hommehouse.co.uk/

https://handedon.wordpress.com/2018/06/21/whetham-house-wiltshire-homme-house-herefordshire/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Kyrle-Money

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homme_House

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ernley

https://www.thepeerage.com/

https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/kyrle-sir-john-1617-80

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Much_Marcle

https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1558-1603/member/kyrle-thomas-1577

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ernle_(Royal_Navy_officer)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hay,_9th_Earl_of_Kinnoull