Month: June 2021

Jefferson, Harris & Percy, Oh My.

This post contains a guilty secret and an admission of ancient wrongs, since corrected, but whose shadow still lays across the land. If you are British and of a certain age (and, perhaps, of a certain disposition) then you may recognise the person in the above cover image. If you’re none of the above and you do not, it is Lord Percy Percy (played by Tim McInnerny) from television’s Blackadder and is a large clue as to where I am heading …

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Sweet Caroline

I’m back with the Chippenham Holbrows – and more precisely, the section of the family who lived in and around Derry Hill in Wiltshire. Even more precisely, looking at the life of one Caroline Holbrow and the incredible life she must have lived. From humble beginnings in rural Wiltshire, she found herself in some incredible grand houses during the 19th century, and somehow ended her days in quite an intriguing location …

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When Is A Holborow Not A Holborow (Part 2)?

A year ago this week I wrote about a family who appear in records as Holborows but were, in fact, Neals. Long story short – their familial middle name of Holborow had replaced their documented surname of Neal. But whilst researching the origins of a different line of Holborows from the Wiltshire market town of Chippenham I came across a similar conundrum where the Holborow (or rather, Holbrow in this instance) line disappears, only to potentially be replaced. Unless I’m going mad. Which is a distinct possibility around these parts …!

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