A Prestigious Abode
The Crawshays of Othorpe House
Othorpe House is situated on the outskirts of the village of Slawston and has been the home to many families over the years. I discovered that one resident in particular, by the name of Edward Crawshay, had an interesting past with links to South Wales and beyond. Edward was born in 1821 at his father’s Rofant Estate in the parish of Worth in Sussex. He was the tenth of twelve children born to Richard Crawshay (1786-1859) and Mary Homfray (1779-1863) of Ottershaw Park, Chertsey in Surrey.
Edward married a Marion Proudfoot (1838-1910) in Toronto, Canada in 1862. They immediately returned to England and settled at Othorpe House. They had two children, Geoffrey Stratford Crawshay (1863-1937) and Sylvia (1866-1930) who died at St Ives, Ringwood in Hampshire unmarried. Geoffrey became a solicitor and married three times but without issue.
It was interesting to note that Edward’s grandfather, William Crawshay (1764-1834), was an Ironmaster. He inherited the Cyfarthfa Ironworks at Merthyr Tydfil and also Cyfarthfa Castle from his father Richard Crawshay (1739-1810), known as both ‘The Great Ironmaster’ and ‘The Tyrant’. William was one of ten known millionaires in Britain in 1799, and Edward Crawshay from Othorpe House was his grandson.
Edward’s Death and Marion’s Later Life
When Edward died in 1869 at Othorpe he was buried in Slawston Churchyard. His widow, Marion, left Othorpe. She then went to live with his sister Clara Smith in Glaston while the farm stock and implements were sold.
According to Edward’s death certificate, a Samuel Russell (born 1841 in Great Easton), of Glooston was the informant; by profession he was a shepherd on the Othorpe Estate.
Marion then moved to Norwich to live with her parents who had relocated from Toronto. Finally, along with her parents and her two children, she moved to Teddington and Richmond on Thames in Middlesex where she died in 1910. Marion never remarried.
Strangely enough, earlier this year Cyfarthfa Castle hit the headlines. A valuable candleholder, worth around £80,000, was stolen during a primary school children’s visit. Luckily the perpetrator was traced to Bagworth in Leicestershire and subsequently jailed. It was described as a brazen theft carried out in broad daylight.
Origins and Legacy of Othorpe House
Incidentally, Othorpe House was formally known as Slawston Lodge and built by James Brudenell. James was the 7th Earl of Cardigan of Deene Park, Corby, as a shooting lodge in about 1840-1850. It is in the Elizabethan style with gables. The Earl gained the rank of Major General in 1854 and he fought in the Crimean War at the Battle of Balaclava where he led the ill-fated ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’.
Othorpe certainly has a chequered history that stretches back over many years. It has been occupied by an array of notable figures – the Crawshays being one of them. I have it on good authority that the Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil is now part of the Cyfarthfa Heritage Area. While Cyfarthfa Castle is today a museum and art gallery.
Glyn Hatfield
