Thomas Saunders of Beechwood

Admitted to Lincoln's Inn 1652

"The Manor House on the site was used frequently by Henry VIII and later by Edward VI. In 1537, the site was let to Sir John Tregonwell by Henry VIII. Shortly afterwards, however, the king granted it in a letter dated September 30, 1539, to Richard Page and Dame Elizabeth.[3] The property subsequently passed first to George Ferrers, and then in 1628 to Thomas Saunders of Long Marston. In 1698 his great grand-daughter Anne Saunders married Sir Edward Sebright, who belonged to a wealthy Worcestershire family, establishing a family connection for the next two and a half centuries.[4] One of six children, only Anne herself survived childhood. A monument in St Leonard's Church, Flamstead, is a memorial attributed to William Stanton (c.1690) to the early death of her brothers and sisters. Edward Sebright moved from Worcestershire to his bride’s home in Hertfordshire, and set about transforming the Tudor building that he found there."

THE SEAT OF SIR JOHN SAUNDERS SEBRIGHT BART This estate is situated in the parish of Flamsted in the hundred of Dacorum and was anciently called Woodchurch or St Giles in the Wood from a Benedictine nunnery founded here for a prioress and ten nuns by Roger de Toni in the reign of king Stephen The possessions of this priory were subsequently increased by other benefactions and at the suppression of the smaller religious houses in the time of Henry VIII the annual revenue according to Speed was 46 16s Id The manor was then granted to Sir Richard Page Knight whose daughter and heiress marrying Sir Skipwith they afterwards conveyed this estate to Thomas Saunders Esq of Puttenham from whose family it passed in marriage to Sir Edward Sebright third baronet descended from William Sebright of Sebright Hall in the county of Essex and of Blake's Hall in the county of Worcester in the reign of Henry n Sir Edward died in 1702 and was succeeded by Sir Thomas Saunders Sebright from whom it has descended to the present proprietor A great part of the park extends into the adjoining county of Bedford and as its name implies particularly abounds with fine old beech The oak also flourishes here The mansion is modern built about fifty years since in the compartment of the pediment are quarterings of the Sebright family The apartments it contains are both convenient and elegant The library is well furnished and in the collection are all the original papers relating to the priory the manuscript of Humphrey Lloyd together with other valuable documents The present proprietor of Beechwood has devoted much attention to agriculture The farm here contains about 700 acres the buildings and offices belonging to it are remarkably well arranged In the parish church which is dedicated to St Leonard are several memorials of the family of the present and former proprietors of Beechwood At the top of the south aisle is a very elegant marble monument of Thomas Saunders de Beechwood it has six figures viz five on the pedestal and one in the centre of the pavement below all in kneeling postures a banner at top with a red cross There have been two others Four almshouses facing the church were built and endowed by the Saunders family on the front are two portraits in stone defaced They are for two widowers and two widows who have 51 per annum out of lands called Gately Grounds The rectory of Flamsted was granted by lease to the Sebright family from the University of Oxford on condition that they should find a curate to officiate in the church of St Leonard 3 p4

Thomas Saunders1

M, #174867

Last Edited=2 Jun 2008

    Thomas Saunders lived at Beechwood, Flamsted, Hertfordshire, England.1

Child of Thomas Saunders and Ellen Sadleir 1.Anne Saunders+1 b. 27 Apr 1670, d. 25 Dec 1718

Citations 1.[S15] George Edward Cokayne, editor, The Complete Baronetage, 5 volumes (no date (c. 1900); reprint, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1983), volume II, page 4. Hereinafter cited as The Complete Baronetage.

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