| Warter...living in an estate village |
WarterD. The Victorian and Edwardian owners of Warter
(continued from previous page)The Formidable Lady Nunburnholme
From the purchase of the Warter Estate by her husband in 1878 until its sale over 50 years later, the village of Warter and the lives of the villagers were dominated by Lady Nunburnholme.
Born in London in 1854 Florence Jane Helen Wellesley was the eldest daughter of Colonel William Henry Charles Wellesley, a nephew of the great Duke of Wellington. She married Charles Wilson in 1871 and they lived at Cottingham, near Hull before moving to Warter Priory in 1878.
George Noble had many stories of Lady Nunburnholme: She was a Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington's family. Warter Priory was full of Duke of Wellington's busts and oil paintings. She used to say "I've got the blood and Mr Wilson has the money." Which he had. … By jove she was a rum un, I'll tell you that, yes, but when she was alright, she was alright, but by jove she was a goer on as we say… She liked entertaining and she was the boss, and it was no good anybody what worked there telling her off, for she would get his notice just after, you know, pack-up … she would nearly clear him off the place straightaway and pay him up… The butler used to say to me dad, and he was there a long time, and knew 'em all. "Bill", he used to say "Devil's abroad, she's on the warpath … she's playing devil with me and everybody else she's come across - if you can find another job, getaway, out of road."
Look at the photograph of Lady Nunburnholme above. Do you think you would have wanted to live in Warter when she ruled the estate? At the end of 'Unit 3' you will be asked to give reasons for or against living in an estate village one hundred years ago.
This is a photograph of George Noble (born 1894) whose memories of Lady Nunburnholme were recorded when he was 85. What year was that?
The Dowager Lady Nunburnholme died in 1932. The Warter estate had by then been sold by her grandson Charles John, 3rd Baron Nunburnholme. It was bought in 1929 by George Vestey who made Warter Priory his home until his death in 1968. Warter was then sold to the 4th Marquis of Normanby and the Guiness Trust. In turn the 5th Marquis of Normanby sold the Warter estate covering 11,910 acres (4,820 hectares) with 63 houses and cottages to a Hull-born businessman Malcolm Healey in 1998, echoing the sale to Charles Wilson of Hull 120 years before.
