Estates

Wootton Estate

Charles Lisle of Wodyton and Moyes Court, the last male descendent of the ancient family of Lisle, died in 1819, unmarried. His only remaining sister Susan Lisle, who married Thomas March-Phillipps, who eventually assumed the arms of Lisle, sold the properties of Wodyton and Moyes Court. The said Susan Lisle had married her cousin. Her husband died in March 1817, and Susan died in 1837 aged 84.

In 1825 Mrs March Phillips (last female de Lisle descendant) put up the Wodyton estate for sale. Robert Holford of Westonbirt, Gloucestershire, purchased the estate. He, by his will dated 1838, left it to his nephew, Robert Stayner Holford M.P., (1808-1892). During the following years much of the estate was gradually disposed of either sold or donated for charitable purposes.

Holford Estate

From 1825 to 1871 Robert Holford, and afterwards his nephew, were paying Church Rate on Underwood. This cannot have been the house of that name which was not built until the end of the century. It was most probably coppice or harvestable woodland, also known as underwood. This is confirmed by the fact from 1871-1883, the date of the last entry, Mr Holford was paying rate on coppices.

Donations of Land for Village Projects

1. 1840 Land to build High Street Methodist Church. 65
2. A field knows s Bridge Mead for the New Road School. 66
3. 1887 Land in Church Road for a Sunday School Room. 67
4. 1887 a meadow west of New Road for a reservoir. 68
5. 1892 A plot of land to extend St Edmund’s churchyard. The land for the Western churchyard was taken out of the Holford Estate in 1927

Land Sales

1. c.1860 land for Woodside House.
2. 1865 Edward Crofton acquired land known as Chapel Corner Copse, Service Berry Copse and Chapel Corner Field, on a 1000 year lease to build Oaklawn.
3. 24th July 1883, Frank Cooper purchased 5 acres of land and built Lisle Court.
4. 10th Jan 1896, two parcels of land, one consisting of about 9 acres, purchased from George Lindsay Holford to build Bodwen, Woodside.

In 1892 R S Holford died. He appointed his wife Mary Anne Holford, his son George Lindsay Holford and his son-in-law The Rt. Hon. Albert Parker, Earl of Morley, as his executors. The estate passed to his son.

Holford House

Built in 1861 as part of the Holford Estate - early information yet to be obtained. In 1883 Henry William Please - builder and undertaker, owned the property Records show that Mrs Please was still there in 1904.

In 1921 it was listed as a Children’s Home (Miss. E. Shalders, matron)14 and at the start of WW2 in 1939 it is known as a girls’ orphanage15 (Miss R E Crates, matron) until 1950, when the Isle of Wight County took control and placed Miss M Murdoch, as matron from 1951 14.

In 1926 Lt. Col. Sir George Lindsay Holford K.C.V.O. died. His nephews Charles Robert 5th Earl Grey (1879-1963) and Guy Holford were the executors of his will.

Sources:
63. Sales particulars 1825, Whp/2060
64. Title Deeds, Oaklawn, Woodside
65 History of High Street Methodist Church
66 Deeds of the New Road School
67 Woot/Pr/1
68 MOH Reports for 1887
69 Church Rate Books for this period
Wootton Millennium Project
14 Kelly’s Directories
15 George Osborne “An Evacuees Story”