Berkyn Manor

Berkyn Manor, while slowly and quietly vanishing from this earth, contains generations of stories if one has the patience and imagination to look for them.  In so many ways, it appears as if the owner of the Manor has only stepped away, perhaps to tend to his cattle or maybe gone to town for some reason.

According to the History of Horton and the town of Coinbrook, the original house belonged to Sir John Egerton. Sir John and his elder brother, Thomas, served under the Earl of Essex at the siege of Cadiz in 1597 and both were knighted.  Sir John was elevated to Earl of Bridgewater in 1617.  Historians are unsure as to how Sir John obtained the property in Horton, but when Poet John Milton's family fled London after the plague, they rented Berkyn Manor from him and stayed for about six years.  The chancel of the St. Michael parish church contains the grave of Sara Milton, his mother.

Berkyn Manor was rebuilt in 1848 by Edward Tyrell who was Remembrancer of the City of London.

  Mr. Gyll describes the rebuilt Manor this way,

"The modern residence, approached from the road through very handsome iron gates, to which a lodge is attached of a corresponding character, is of deep red brick, Elizabethan style, with stone insertions, comprising all the indipensables of modern comfort, and constructed with a becoming and judicious taste."

Tyrell purchased the property from the estate of Mr. John Cook in 1848. 

An odd side note, Mr. Gyll describes the poisoning of Mr. Cook's son, John Parsons Cook in 1855.  It wasn't really relevant to the history of the house so I assume that he, like I, was fascinated by the details.  John Parsons Cook was a gambling man and evidently had shares in different racehorses.  One of the horses, Polestar won a large stake at Shrewsbury races.  After this win, Mr. Cook evidently had an anxiety attack of sorts and his friend, Dr. William Palmer prescribed morphine.  Mr. Cook took it under diress, (according to Mr. Gyll, he had a "prophetic" feeling about Dr. Palmer) and suffered strong convulsions and died.  Dr. Palmer was arrested and it was proven that he had purchased strychnine from a local chemist.  It was also revealed that Dr. Palmer had a habit of insuring people and then collecting on their premature deaths.  Mr. Gyll states that some sixteen deaths, including Dr, Palmer's wife and brother, were attributed to him.  See how fascinating this is?  Tug on a little thread and all of these stories unravel and fall into your lap!

Anyway, back to the Berkyn Manor...

baby carriage/pram

the library

I wonder what the last song played was?

various curatives for cattle and sheep

Papers including a baptismal certificate from December 25, 1938 and a 1939 national registration identity card. (As WWI approached, identity cards were issued and contained their address, name, sex, date of birth, marital condition, occupation and whether a member of the armed forces or reserves. Three main reasons were put forward by the government for passing a law requiring registration in September 1939. The first was the major dislocation of the population caused by mobilization and mass evacuation and also the wartime need for complete manpower control and planning in order to maximize the efficiency of the war economy. The second was the likelihood of rationing, actually introduced from January 1940 onward and the third main reason was that the Government needed recent statistics about the population. As the last census had been held in 1931, there was little accurate data on which to base vital planning decisions. 

In 1945, the manor (and 60 acres of land) was purchased by the Rayner family who own it to this day.  The Manor itself is a "destination" dream site for urban explorers.

I guess my biggest question is why.  Why did they abandon the home (with all the history) and the possessions?  And I guess I will have to use my imagination for the answers.