1873 “Domesday” Entry - personal information

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BENCE, Henry Alexander Starkie
Family Historian Individual Narrative
Henry Alexander Starkie BENCE, son of Henry Bence BENCE (1788-1861) and Elizabeth Susannah STARKIE (c. 1796-1862), was born on 15 May 1816 in Thorington, Suffolk. He was baptised on 16 May 1816 in Thorington. On 6 Jul 1844 there was a newspaper report in the Suffolk Chronicle:
SUFFOLK QUARTER SESSIONS.
BECCLES DIVISION.
These sessions commenced on Monday last, before J. Kerridge, Es ..... View full FH text (See notes below)
Birth:15.05.1816 : Thorington, Suffolk
Baptism:16.05.1816 : Thorington, Suffolk
Marriage:22.08.1850 : Marriage licence obtained on 20.08.1850
1841 Census:- : - (n/k)
1851 Census:Norfolk Crescent, Paddington, London : 34, gentleman, living with wife Agnes (23) in the household of his father-in-law John BARCLAY (57, broker) (HO107 Piece 1467 Folio 452 Page 18 Schedule 77)
1861 Census:Thorington Hall, Thorington, Suffolk : 44, farmer of 300 acres enploying 12 men and 14 boys, living with wife Agnes (33), daughters Agnes M (8), Edith M (7) and Ida M (1), governess Mary A MANN (33), and 8 servants (RG09 Piece 1179 Folio 102 Page 1 Schedule 7)
1871 Census:Thorington Hall, Thorington, Suffolk : 54, magistrate, land owner and farmer of 320 acres employing 17 men and 5 boys, living with wife Agnes (43), daughters Agnes Marion (18) and Edith Mabel (17), and 8 servants (RG10 Piece 1768 Folio 112 Page 8 Schedule 10)
1881 Census:13 Portman Street, Marylebone, London : 64, magistrate, living with wife Agnes (53), daughters Edith (26) and Ida (21), and 8 servants (RG11 Piece 145 Folio 76 Page 22 Schedule 603)
Death:30.05.1881 : Thorington, Suffolk : 1881 Q2 Blything Suffolk Vol 4A Page 451
Burial:03.06.1881 at Thorington, Suffolk
Probate:09.08.1881 at Ipswich, Suffolk : BENCE Henry Alexander Starkie Esq. 9 August [1881]. The Will with a Codicil of Henry Alexander Starkie Bence late of Thorington Hall in the Parish of Thorington in the County of Suffolk Esquire who died 30 May 1881 at Thorington Hall was proved at Ipswich by Richard Henry Reeve of 6 Esplanade Lowestoft in the said County Gentleman and Percy Bence Trower of 7 Stanhope-street Sussex-square in the County of Middlesex Esquire the Executors. Personal Estate £11,411 19s. 5d.
Newspaper:Suffolk Chronicle, 6 Jul 1844

SUFFOLK QUARTER SESSIONS.
BECCLES DIVISION.
These sessions commenced on Monday last, before J. Kerridge, Esq., Chairman; J. J. Bedingfield, Esq.; J. L. Bedingfield, Esq.; E. P. Montegu, Esq.; Charles Steward, Esq.; Rev. Dr. Owen, and Rev. Henry Owen.
QUALIFICATIONS OF MAGISTRATES. - John Fisher Costerton, of Yarmouth; Henry Alexander Starkie Bence, Thorington; and the Rev. William Charles Edgell, of Uggeshall.
Newspaper:Suffolk Chronicle, 24 Nov 1866

MANOR COURTS.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the GENERAL COURTS BARON of HENRY ALEXANDER STARKIE BENCE, Esq., for his several Manors aftermentioned, will be held as follows: -
For the Manor of THORINGTON WIMPLES CUM WENHASTON at Thorington Hall, on Friday, the 14th day of December 1866, at Eleven o’clock in the Forenoon; and for the Manors of KELSALE and CARLTON, at the Bell Inn, Kelsale, at One o’clock in the Afternoon of the same day.
And the Tenants of the said several Manors are required to attend the said Courts, and pay their rents and perform their services in respect of the lands and tenements which they hold of the said Manors.
And all persons who may be entitled to be admitted to or to acknowledge tenure for any lands and tenements are also require to attend the said Courts and be admitted tenants to, or acknowledge tenure for the same.
R. H. REEVE,
Steward.
Newspaper:Norfolk News, 10 Feb 1872

THE NEW SHERIFFS.
The following Sheriffs have been appointed by her Majesty in Council for the year 1872: -
SUFFOLK. - Henry Alexander Starkie Bence, of Thorington Hall, Esq.
Newspaper:The Bury and Norwich Post, 7 Jun 1881

DEATH AND FUNERAL OF MR. H. A. S. BENCE.
We regret to announce the death, at the age of 65, of Mr. Henry Alexander Starkie Bence, of Thorington Hall, near Boxford, who died on Monday afternoon after a brief illness. The funeral took place on Friday at the parish church of St. Peter’s, Thorington, which is remarkable for a circular tower of Norman date, and which has been the resting-place of the Bences for many generations. The remains were borne on an open hearse across the park to the church, the mourners and friends following upon foot. On either side of the hearse walked the bearers, labourers on the estate. Following the hearse were Captain E. R. S. Bence, of Melford, brother to the deceased, and Mr. E. Starkie Bence, Mr. Percy Bence Trower, and Mr. F. Morrice, Mr. R. H. Reeve, of Lowestoft, the deceased gentleman's solicitor, and Mr. R. Flick, his agent. The servants at the Hall followed next, and after them the tenants. The cottage tenants on the estate, to the number of nearly 70, also followed. Two daughters of the deceased awaited the arrival of the funeral at the church, and were present at the service in the building and at the grave. The officiating clergy were the Rev. T. S. Hill (Rector) and the Rev. G. Irving-Davies (Rector of Kelsale). The coffin was a handsome panelled one in polished oak with brass furniture; the brass plate upon the lid bore the following words with a cross engraved above them: - “H. A. S. Bence. Born 15th May, 1816. Died 30th May, 1881.”
The Suffolk Chronicle, in a notice of the deceased gentleman, says: - “The deceased succeeded to the Thorington Hall estate about 20 years ago on the decease of his father, the late Col. Bence, and was the bearer of a name long known and honoured in Suffolk. For centuries the name of Bence has been preserved amongst us, and more than once it may be found among the list of representatives whom the county has sent to Parliament. He who last has borne it was a typical country squire. Endowed by nature with a fine physique, he was of a high spirited and jovial disposition, frank and outspoken to a degree approaching bluntness, and yet kindly and gentle beneath a rough exterior. Whilst fond of sport, more especially with his gun, he at the same time took delight in the quiet pursuits which gratify a vigorous and cultured intellect. The science of chemistry was in particular a favourite study with him; for an amateur he was a most competent chemist, and within a few months of his death had undertaken analysis for the benefit of his friends and neighbours and found enjoyment in the work. Mr. Bence was for many years a Magistrate of the county, also a Deputy-Lieutenant and attended the petty sessions for the Blything division. Until within the last few years, when he had retired almost completely from public life, he was a very active Magistrate, and in the administration of justice and the conduct of county business, a keen perception of the merits of any question which came before him guided him to a speedy decision, which decision, when arrived at, was held to with a good deal of tenacity and firmness. As a politician, again, Mr. Bence was no Waverer. He was a Tory staunch and uncompromising, would strike out freely at opponents and ask no quarter, and when opportunity arose he could render service to his paorty by his advocacy of its principles. He could be trusted to make a rattling and spicy speech, and at times past his voice had been heard from the hustings on Ipswich Cornhill. For a few years the deceased gentleman was captain of the Halesworth Volunteer Corps, then know as the 7th Suffolk. In his private life Mr. Bence was generous and kindly to those about him; many of his poorer neighbours will miss in him a benefactor; and his tenantry, some of whom have lived under hime and his father before him, lose a landlord who had shown himself not unwilling to assist them in holding on through hard times.”
Notes:1873 “Domesday” entry - South Lopham, area A.7 R.3 R171 (3.18 hectares), rentable value £7 4s.

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