Charles Edwards and Family

1889 – Charles Edwards of New House farm, Cwmdeuddwr married Anne Eliza Jarman from Rhayader. Charles was 22 and Anne was 28. 1891 – Charles was living with his wife, Anne and daughter, Emily, in the Jarman’s house on North Street.George Jarman (who the Edward sisters always called Uncle John) said that in order to set Charles and Anne up with a farm he would match whatever number of cows that John Edwards, Charles’s father, would give them.

 Charles looked around and eventually found a farm called Hamnish Court at Hamnish, near to Leominster in Herefordshire. It was much better farming land than at Cwmdeuddwr. The farm was being sold off by Lord Rodney of Berington Court who was trying to pay off his gambling debts.

1901 – Charles and Annie were living at Hamnish Court with 7 children, including George Evan.

St Dubricius's was the Church used by the Edwards family

Hamnish Court

Hamnish Court in relation to Leominster

1905 – The Edwards family moved from Hamnish Court to a farm called The Luce at Steens Bridge, about 2 miles to the south. It was a rented farm and the Edwards’s were there for about 3 years.

The Luce

1909 – Charles Edwards and family had moved again and were farming at Widgeon Hill farm.Widgeon Hill farm was owned by Earl of Meath, an Irish landowner who owned a large amount of land around Leominster.

Widgeon Hill had been built in 1815.

1825

Widgeon Hill Farm

The Moss family farmed Widgeon Hill but were moving to Eaton Hall near Leominster.

Charles Edwards went into Leominster to see the agent about Widgeon Hill Farm. The agent said “that is strange, we were just talking about you. We are looking for someone who is not afraid of hard work to run Widgeon Hill, and your name was the one that was mentioned”.

The 3 farms were all quite close together

1909 - advertisement

1911 – Charles and Annie were at Widgeon Hill farm and had 7 children including George who was 15.

Charles, Annie and their Family

Charles

Dorothy remembered Charles as being tall, full of life and vitality and very loving. He was a quiet man who was partially deaf. He had a strong personality.  Farming was his greatest interest after which was Horse breaking. He had a lot of riding accidents.  He had a horse (Peter) and gig right up until his death.

Annie

Annie

Dorothy said that Annie was small and neat. She could be snobbish and did not approve of the marriage of her son George to a shepherd’s daughter

Annie

Charles and Annie's Children

Emily Elizabeth

Emily (Milly)

Emily Elizabeth called Milly, went to Llandrindod boarding school. She married Clive Wright an art master at the grammar school in Leominster. They moved to Norwich in the 1920’s and had 7 children.  Bryan, Barbara, Joyce, Elizabeth, Marjorie, Charles and John. They would come back every year to see family.

Olive Annie

Olive

Olive Annie was small and never very strong. She had an operation on her neck as a child. She always lived at home and was very mischievous, for example putting sticks and stones in the letter box.  She would teach naughty rhymes to the Edwards children that could sound like swear words. Olive died in her early 40’s.

1937 - Olive was living at Barons Cross Lodge with her parents when she died at the age of 44.

Olive was buried in Leominster Cemetery in what would become the family grave. Her mother Annie was also buried there as was her father Charles. Later her sister Eunice (Molly) and Molly's husband Charles were also buried there.

Gwladys Jane

Gwladys

Gwladys Jane stayed at home and then married Eustace Price. They lived on Bromyard Downs and then in Shrewsbury and Hereford. Eustace was the manager of a motor sales business in Hereford. They had one son, Robert who had two sons, Russell and Martin.

1922 - Gwladys was married to Eustace Price in Leominster Priory.

1922

Eustace in 1953

1967 - Eustace Price died.

1967 - Robert Price son of Gwladys and Eustace Price died.

Robert Jarman

Robert

Robert Jarman Edwards worked on the farm. One morning in 1916 he got up late and his father, Charles, said “a spell in the army would do you good”. He promptly went into Leominster and enlisted in the Shropshire Yeomanry. He went to France in 1916 where he was transferred to the King's Shropshire Light Infantry.  He was killed at Langemarck, north east of Ypres in 1917.  (See Robert Edwards)

George Evan

George (see George Edwards and Family)

John Charles

John (Jack)

Jack

John Charles (called Jack), also fought in the war in the King's Shropshire Light Infantry. He was wounded in action and it was said that he never really recovered. He farmed Widgeon Hill after his father retired to a smallholding he had bought at Cobnash. Charles moved back later to help him. He married Marjorie Haines and had one son, Robin born in 1934. 

1918 - Jack wrote a letter to the parents of William John Jay explaining the circumstances of their son's death.

1933 - Jack was a good farmer and won prizes for his cattle. 

1936 - Jack sold up his herds of Hereford Cattle and Kerry sheep, due to ill health.

Around this time Jack contemplated becoming a Vicar. A relative of Annie, his mother, had become Bishop of London so he went to talk to him about it. Bishop Winnington Ingram advised him that he was too old to join the Ministry.

Bishop Winnington Ingram

1939 - Jack and Marjorie, with their son Robin, were at Stone House, a smallholding in Docklow, 5 miles east of Leominster. They had moved in 1937. John got a job as a seed merchant. 

Stonehouse, Docklow

1940 - Jack and Family moved to Baron's Cross Farm. His father Charles sold Baron's Court Lodge and moved across the road to Richmond Villas. At the same time Mr T F Walker was selling up at Baron's Cross Farm so John moved to there, to be near to his father.

Baron's Cross Farm

Location of Baron's Cross Farm

1941 - Jack had developed stomach cancer and went into hospital for an operation but the surgeon decided that it had progressed too far. He died soon after on March 19th, 2 months after his father. He was 44 years old.

Jack's grave is very close to the Edwards Family grave in Leominster Cemetery

He is also remembered on the side of that grave.

Also of John Charles, Beloved Son of Charles and Annie Edwards

Died March 19th 1941 Aged 43 Years

(oddly the age is wrong)

Jack's son Robin went to Aberystwyth University. He married a local girl and moved to London where he was first a Teacher and then an Antiques Dealer. 

He was named after his Uncle Robert but they chose Robin instead of Robert as that name was considered bad luck in the Edwards family.

Eunice Mary

Eunice (Molly)

Eunice Mary (called Molly) went to Chester in the first war and worked as nurse. She caught flu in 1919 but survived it. Molly stayed at Widgeon Hill helping her brother Jack. Later, in her 40’s she married Charles Mapp and lived in Leominster.

1946 - Molly married Charles Mapp in Hereford.

Newton, Pierrepont Road, Leominster

Molly and Charles lived at a house called Newton, on Pierrepont Rd, Leominster, half a mile from where Molly's parents had lived at Barons Cross Lodge. 

1963 - Charles Mapp died. He was buried in Leominster Cemetery, in the Edwards family grave. 

Also of Charles Oakley Mapp, Dearly Loved Husband of Eunice Mary (Molly) Mapp, died Feb 2nd 1963

1989 - Eunice Mary Mapp died. She was buried in Leominster Cemetery, in the Edwards family grave. 

Also of Mary (Molly) Mapp wife of Charles Mapp

Died June 11th 1989, aged 89 years

Charles & Annie after Widgeon Hill

Charles Edwards bought a retirement smallholding in Cobnash, about 10 miles from Widgeon Hill. He lived there for a while and then gave it to his son George because he did not like to see his son working for someone else. He then went back to Widgeon Hill to help his son Jack who was farming it on his own.

1928 - Charles and Annie moved to Barron’s Cross Lodge, a house on the outskirts of Leominster. 

Baron's Cross Lodge

Position of Baron's Cross Lodge and Richmond Villas, outside Leominster

1939 - Annie died, after a short illness, at Baron's Cross Lodge. She was 78.

Annie was buried in Leominster Cemetery, in the same grave as her daughter Olive who had died 2 years before. 

1940 - Charles sold up at Baron's Cross Lodge and moved across the road to No.1 Richmond Villas. At the same time his son Jack moved, with his family, from Docklow to Baron's Cross Farm, virtually next door to Richmond Villas.

No.1 Richmond Villas

1941 - Charles died of cancer on the 11th January, 2 months before his youngest son John.