20260808 Chawton Cottage
For nearly twenty years, Mary Seward nee Duncombe lived with her husband, Bridger, in what became known as Chawton Cottage. Bridger was the bailiff of the large nearby estate. The owner of that estate had let the "cottage" out to the Sewards after two murders had been committed in what was, at the time, a local pub. The Seward's two daughters grew up there.
In 1808, Bridger died and was buried in the graveyard of nearby St Nicholas Church. The landed gentleman had decided to make the cottage available for his mother and sister. However, the mother was loath to take over the cottage until Mrs. Seward was able to be settled somewhere appropriate. It just so happened that the Seward's daughter, Mary, was to be married in a few months. The mother and a sister would be moving in with the newly-weds.
In 1809, the moves were made. A year later, Mrs. Seward also died knowing that her daughters would be well cared for by the young husband. That cousin was actually a distant relative of the Lord of the Manor. Well, the Lord of several manors actually. I wonder if this well-to-do gentleman might have been a model for one of England's greatest and well-loved authors, Jane Austen.
For it was Edward Austen Knight, Jane's third eldest brother, who was the landlord.
And, the elder Mary Seward? Why is she mentioned on this site? Well, it was her nephew, David Duncombe, who sailed with his young family to Australia as a free settler in 1822 on the Minstral. The Duncombes had the patronage of Henry Bathurst, the Third Earl of Bathurst. Cathy's great grandmother was Lucy Duncombe whose son, William George Edwards, was Cathy's grandfather. David Duncombe was Lucy's great grandfather.