Through the generations…

Building Falconhurst

Falconhurst was built in the 1850’s by our ancestor, the Hon John Chetwynd Talbot Q.C (1806 - 1852). John Chetwynd Talbot was the fourth of nine sons of the 2nd Earl Talbot of Hensol, and a younger brother of Henry, third Earl Talbot. Despite his aristocratic background, John was not a man of money, but was a brilliant young barrister who made his fortune in London.

John Talbot must have been a remarkable man. He was called to the Bar and became Attorney-General to the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. He could not have enjoyed more than twenty years of lucrative practice, but in that time made enough to enable him to build two churches, a small country estate and build a country house.

Having fallen in love with the beauty of the rolling fields and breath-taking panoramas of the High Weald, he purchased 400 acres of farmland in 1849 with a vision of creating a beautiful country house as a getaway for his family, together with a model Christian community. This was originally listed as ‘VALUABLE FREEHOLD ESTATE’, at Cowden, in Kent ‘comprising about 356 acres of sound pasture, arable, wood, and hop land… oast houses, barns etc.’ The land included several farmsteads at Wickens, Rickwoods, Horseshoe Green, Buckhurst, Hole, Pyle Gate, Brook Farm and Lordsland.

Along with Falconhurst, John and his wife Caroline built Holy Trinity Church, a school and houses for the schoolteachers and workers on the estate. In doing so, John formed a new village and the ecclesiastical parish in Markbeech, carved out of the neighbouring parishes of Cowden and Hever, forever changing the flavour of the community.

John Chetwynd Talbot had already built a church at Tixall in Staffordshire, near the Talbots’ family home in Ingestre, before he built the church at Markbeech. John and Caroline were devoted to the church. Five of Johns’ descendants were ordained, and of these, three were consecrated bishops. There can be no doubt that Markbeech church was a considerable inspiration to them.

Sadly, John Chetwynd Talbot’s life was cut short by tuberculosis, and he died at the young age of 46 before the church or main house were finished. After his death, his widow completed the building works and continued to invest in the estate, building several more cottages in the village plus farm buildings and other cottages elsewhere on the estate, for a time farming some of the land in her own right with a bailiff.

John Talbot & Meriel Lyttleton

John Chetwynd Talbot and Caroline had two children together; John Gilbert Talbot (1835 - 1910) and Edward. John Gilbert Talbot took on Falconhurst after his father’s death in 1852.

John Gilbert Talbot married the Honourable Meriel Lyttleton, daughter of George Lord Lyttleton. Meriel was the eldest of the Lyttleton Dozen, who lived at Hagley Hall, Worcestershire. The Lyttletons were a prominent family with a deep and interesting ancestry. John briefly considered a life in the church but instead became a conservative MP; first for West Kent (1868 – 78), then for Oxford University (1878 – 1910). The University held two seats right up until around 1950. John divided his time between his house in George Street, London, and Falconhurst, where he was a keen supporter of the Falconhurst Fire brigade. John and Meriel had ten children together, and Johnnie was a much loved father. This was perhaps the heyday of life at Falconhurst, well described by Gwendolen Talbot, later Stephenson, in her description of their life at Falconhurst and at their London house.

John’s younger brother Edward became a very important and well-regarded Bishop. Edward married another of the four Lyttleton sisters, and became first warden of Keeble College. He was a rising star, devoted to philanthropy and doing good.

Sir George Talbot & Gertrude Cator

Sir George Talbot (1861 - 1938) - the eldest of the ten - married Gertrude Cator, one of the fourteen children of Albermale Cator - a Norfolk landowning family. George became a lawyer, and went on to become a High Court Judge in 1923, with a distinguished career at the bar. He was highly intellectual, a keen botanist, and loved nature. He went to Winchester College, and subsequently became a Fellow of All Souls at Oxford University. George and Gertrude had three children; John (who tragically died of food poisoning at the age of 22), Mary and Thomas. John’s untimely death meant that the inheritance of Falconhurst passed to his brother, Thomas.

Sir George added further land to the Falconhurst estate, and extended the house at Falconhurst.

One of Sir George’s younger sisters, Dame Meriel Talbot, founded The Women’s Land Army - one of her many achievements during her career in public service.

Thomas Talbot Q.C & Hon Cynthia Guest

Thomas Talbot Q.C. (1904 - 1992) married Hon Cynthia Guest, daughter of Viscount Wimborne.

Tom Talbot went to Winchester College and, like his father and grandfather, became a barrister. He was very talented, but his career never really took off as work was scarce – Britain was entering wartime, and Tom himself was injured at war. After the war, Tom became a parliamentary draughtsman before moving across the road to become a legal adviser in Parliament.

In 1953, Tom and Cynthia took the farm at Horsehoe Green in hand after the Goddard family surrendered their tenancy of the farm, and established a dairy herd of pedigree Friesians. Gradually other tenanted farms on the estate became incorporated into the estate farm, and by 1983 the whole estate was in hand.

Tom was a totally delightful man; father to four children - Meriel, Joanna, Mary & Charles.

Charles Talbot & Nicola Boulton

Charles Talbot (born 1947) was first married to Phyllida McCormick, and secondly to Nicola Bain. Like his forebears, Charles became a barrister, practising at the Chancery Bar, before moving to take over the management of Falconhurst - including the farm - in 1978. By his first wife he has three sons - Richard, Frank and Hugo. By his second marriage, Charles has two further children, George and Henrietta. His wife Nicola has two children by her first marriage - Gemma, and Daniel.