Caroline Emily Harding

1851 Census:

Source: HO107/1975 - Ledbury Folio 10 page 13.

54 West Malvern, Worcestershire (may be number of entry, not house)
Caroline Emily Skinner Wife Mar 37 Barrister's wife Monmouthshire, Rockfield
John Edwin Skinner Son 12 Scholar at home Middlesex, London
Caroline Rachel Skinner Dau 10 Scholar at home Middlesex, Hampstead
Florance Skinner Dau 8 Scholar at home Sussex, Brighton
Katherine Louisa Dau 7 Scholar at home Sussex, Hurst?
Maud Elizabeth Skinner Dau 6 Scholar at home Sussex, Brighton
Allan Maclean Skinner Son 5 Scholar at home Sussex, Brighton
Effie Isabella Dau 3 Scholar at home Sussex, Brighton
Harriott E Crottandon Governess 26 Governess Sussex? Hurst
Mary F Curtis Visitor Unm 24 Governess Sussex, Brighton
Clifton H Curtis Visitor Unm 17 Scholar at home Sussex, Brighton
Elizabeth Sampson Serv Unm 22 House servant Gloucester
Hannah Loade Serv Unm 22 House servant Ledbury
Martha Davis Serv Unm 14 House servant Ledbury


1861 Census:

Brocton Villa, Brocton, Staffordshire


Allan Maclean Skinner Head Mar 51 Judge of the Staffordshire County Court Born Middlesex, Chelsea
Caroline E Skinner Wife Mar 48 A Queen Counsel's Wife Born Monmouthshre, Rockfield
John E H Skinner Son Unm 22 Student of Lincoln's Inn Born Middlesex, Hannah Sq (Hanover Sq?)
Anna C Skinner Daughter Unm 20 Spinster Born Middlesex, Hendon
Florence M Skinner Daughter Unm 18 Spinster Born Sussex, Brighton
Katherine L Skinner Daughter Unm 17 Spinster Born Sussex, Hurst
Maud E Skinner Daughter Unm 16 Scholar Born Sussex, Brighton
Euphemia S Skinner Daughter Unm 13 Scholar Born Sussex, Brighton
Matilda A Chaplin Visitor Widow 47 Fundholder and Share Holder Born Middlesex, Chelsea
Clifton N Curtis Visitor Unm 27 Living on an allowance Born Sussex, Brighton
Isabella Gregory Servant Unm 22 Lady's Maid Born Somerset, Weston in Gordano
Mary A Gregory Servant Unm 24 Parlour Maid Born Somerset, Weston in Gordano
Judith Connell Servant Unm 33 Cook Born Isle of Man, Ballaugh
Emma Hawkins Servant Unm 26 House Maid Born Staffordshire, Castle Church
Thomas Bradley Servant Unm 26 Groom Born Staffordshire, Warslow
Marie N Pollert Governess Unm 22 Governess Born Russia, Riga (not British Subject)


1871 Census:
RG10/2189 Braunton, Barnstaple Folio 21 Page 1
Freshwell Cottage, Georgeham, Croyde, Devon

Caroline Emily Skinner Head Married 58 Wife of a CC Judge Born Monmouth, Rockfield
Caroline Rachel Skinner Daughter Unm 31 Born Middlesex, Hampstead
Katherine Louisa Skinner Daughter Unm 27 Born Sussex, Hurst Pierpoint
Walter Holden Steward Son i Law Married 38 Income from dividends Born Warwickshire
Florance Marion Steward Wife of above Married 28 Born Sussex, Brighton
Elizabeth Carrington Nurse Widow 67 Monthly nurse Born Sheffield
Nancy Scriggins Nurse Married 55 Nurse Born Devon, Bishops Tawton
Mary Jane Scriggins Servant Unm 19 House Maid Born Devon, Barnstaple
Mary Mudge Servant Unm 14 Kitchenmaid Born Devon, Ashburton
Eliza Thomas Servant 14 Nursemaid Born Devon, Georgeham
William Read Servant Unm 28 Coachman Born Hants, Hayling Island


1881 Census:

Walland Carey House in Woolfardisworthy Parish, Hartland, Bideford (In St Annes Ecclesiastical District, Bucks Mills)
film 1341452 ref 1873-19-32.
Allan Maclean Skinner Mar 71 QC, JP, Recorder of Windsor, Ret'd Judge of County Courts born Chelsea
Caroline E Skinner, Wife Mar 63 [!] born Rockfield, Monmouth
Caroline R Skinner, Dau Unm 39 born Hendon, M'sex
Clifton Newman Curtis Visitor Unm 47 High Bailiff of Wolverhampton County Court born Brighton, Sussex
Jane Glover, Servant Unm 27 Cook born Hartland, Devon
Mary Rook, Servant Unm 18 Maidservant (Domestic) born Georgham, Devon
Eliza Thomas, Servant Unm 15 Maidservant (Domestic) born Branston, Devon


1891 Census:

RG12/1787 Northam, Bideford Folio 11 Page 16
Abbotsham Court, Abbotsham, Bideford, Barnstaple

Caroline E Skinner Head Widow 78 Living on her own means Born Monmouth, Rockfield
John E H Skinner Son Married 52 Barrister at Law Born London, Piccadilly
Caroline Rachel Skinner Daughter ? 50 Born Middlesex, Hampstead, Hendon
Clifton N Curtis Visitor Single 54? High Bailiff of Wolverhampton Born Sussex, Brighton
Mary Cloke Servant Single 25 Cook - Domestic servant Born Devon, Hartland
?? E Wade Servant Single 29 Housemaid - Domestic servant Born Devon, Bradworthy

From 'The Chaplin and Skinner Families' December 1902 page 86:
NB: Additional detail is given in annotations to copy No 43 of the book owned by Effie Irene Pearce, some or which is added below in double square brackets ie .

THE HARDING FAMILY

>> Harding, the second son of Hardicanute (see Pedigree E), was settled in 1069 by William the Conqueror in Baldwin Street, Bristol. There his son, Robert Fitz Harding, was born. Robert built a stone house on the banks of the Frome; he married Eve, daughter of Sir Estmond and Godiva, sister of the Conqueror. Eve died in this house on 12 March, 1170, leaving five sons and two daughters, among whom Robert had divided his large estates, of which Coaley formed part, and was continuously held by Harding, until sold by John Harding in 1875. It is recorded in Doomsday Book, Gloucester 170 B, that Harding or Hardyng, of Carn and Coaley, was a tenant in capite.

As mentioned on page 65, Mr. Allan Maclean Skinner, Q.C., drew up a pedigree called "The Royal Descent of Mrs. Caroline Emily Skinner," of which an epitome is conained in Pedigree G. This pedigree shows how on the 29th June, 1754 John Harding, a direct descendant of Hardicanute (King of England, 1040-1042) married Catherine Wyndham, 15th in direct descent from King Edward I (1272 to 1307).

On referring to 'Burke's Royal Descents' published in 1864, it will be found that the pedigree (No. 53) of the 'Family of Lewis of Lewisham Green Meadow and the Heath,' is identically the same down to Sir John Wyndham, who died in 1645. Catherine Wyndham was a great-granddaughter of Sir George Wyndham, son of Sir John Wyndham

The arms of the Harding family - three greyhounds courant - were, says Mr Allan Maclean Skinner Q.C., granted in the time of Edward I., to commemorate the rapid and hazardous carrying of intelligence to the king; the greyhound being ever a symbol of speed, and as the old rhyme says a greyhound should be:

Headed lyke a smake,
Necked lyke a drake,
Footed lyke a catte,
Taylled lyke a ratte,
Syded lyke a terne,
And chyned like a herne <<


From Pedigree E - Epitome of the Great Pedigree of the Chaplin and Skinner families' prepared by Alan Maclean Skinner QC in 1863:

Alfred the Great, King of England (871-901)

begat Edward the Elder (901-925) who

begat Edmund (940-946) who

begat Edgar (959-975) who

begat Ethelread the Unready (979-1016) who married in 1002 Emma, daughter of Richard 1, Duke of Normandy. After the death of Ethelread she married in 1017 Canute (1017-1035) and

begat Hardi Canute, King of Denmark and England South of the Thames (1040-1042)

begat through Hardi Canute's second son Harding, Robert Fitz-Harding who married Eve, daughter of Godiva, sister of William the Conqueror and died 12 March 1170, ancestor of the Rev John Harding and his daughter Caroline (see also below).


From Pedigree G - Epitome of the "The Royal descent of Mrs Caroline Emily Skinner" prepared by Alan Maclean Skinner QC (NB For the early part of this pedigree refer to the Heralds' Visitation of Gloucester, 1604, Harleian MS, British Museum, 1543, page 185):

Edward I (1272-1307) by descent 15th from Charlemagne, 13th from King Alfred, 6th from King Malcolm, 6th from William the Conqueror married Margaret, daughter of Philip III of France and grand-daughter of St. Louis and

begat Thomas Plantagenet (5th son) surnamed De Brotherton, Earl of Norfolk, born June 1300, died 1338, Margaret, daughter of John, Duke of Norfolk and Earl Marshal, who was killed at Bosworth Field 22 August 1485. She married Sir John Wyndham of Fellrigg, Norfolkshire, who was beheaded 6 May 1503,

(son of John Harding - descended from Hardi Canute, see above - and of Catherine, daughter of Edward Dorney of Bencombe)

begat John Harding born April 1755 who married in 1777 Frances, daughter and heiress of Thomas Probyn of Rockfield and Tan House, Monmouth. John Harding became Fellow of All Souls College Oxford by right of Founder's kin and died in February 1799. Frances died 1845 aged 90, ,

begat Rev John Harding of Glanogwr, Glamorgan, of Coaley & Bencombe, Gloucester, of Rockfield Monmouth; Rector of Coity & of Coychurch. Born 5 May 1779, died 10 May 1861. He married on 1 September 1808 Anna Maria Willoughby, born 1 September 1776, died in November 1857,

begat Caroline Emily Harding born 22 October 1812, her brothers and sisters.


From 'The Chaplin and Skinner Families' December 1902 pages 69 and 70:

>> Mrs. Caroline Emily Skinner, the wife of Mr. Allan Maclean Skinner, Q.C., was the daughter of the Rev. John Harding, of Coaley and Bencomb, Gloucestershire, and Rockfield, Mon., Rector of Coity and Coychurch, Glamorganshire. She was born on the 22nd October, 1812, at Rockfield, and christened at Dunraven Castle in December, 1814. During the greater part of her childhood she lived in Glamorganshire.
Mrs. Skinner's descent is more particularly referred to on page 86, and in Pedigree G.
On the 20th December, 1837, she married Mr. Allan Maclean Skinner at Bridgend, Glamorganshire. After some twelve years of married life Mrs. Skinner met with a serious carriage accident, which caused such injury that she never walked again, and lived for upwards of fifty years without rising from her bed, except on those occasions when she was lifted unto her carriage. Notwithstanding the state of her health she travelled very considerable distances, and at various times during this long period she lived at Malvern, Weston-super-Mare, Broadstairs, Brockton Lodge Staffordshire, and other places, ultimately settling down on the cliffs of Bideford Bay [at Croyde]. The journeys from place to place were all made by road, and by easy stages. Those who travelled with her still have many stories to tell of these journeys and of the incidents of the road.
During all these years Mrs C. E. Skinner managed her household and superintended the education of her children. She kept up a large correspondence with her children and friends, and at a later date with her grandchildren. Until the time of her death she was anxiously concerned in all their affairs, and other matters of family interest. Such length of years and preservation of all faculties were only rendered possible by the devoted attention and lifelong service of her daughter, Caroline Rachel Skinner, and her adopted son, Clifton Newman Curtis.

Even in the closing years of Mrs. C. E. Skinner's life there were but few matters of importance concerning any of her descendants which were not referred to her for her opinion and advice. Her keen intellect and good memory, which were preserved to the end of her long life, rendered her conversation peculiarly attractive.
The following is an extract from a letter written by her at the age of 78:

"Abbotsham Court, January 3rd, 1891

Dearest Nugent,

Talking of old people, there is an old Miss Maclean, a third cousin of your grandfather's [i.e., of Allan Maclean Skinner QC] who remembers his birth, and holding him in her arms when he was a baby and she was a little girl of ten years old. She is now 90, and her last sister - they both lived at Bideford - was found sitting in her chair dead last week. She was in the room when the picture of your great-grandfather, General Skinner, was painted, which hangs in the dining room downstairs. I remember my great-grandmother, who told me some particulars she remembered of the army of the Pretender coming to Ross, to which place she was riding on a pillion behind her father when she saw the red coats of the rebels, and her father turned round and galloped back to Monmouth, where he lived, calling out, "The rebels are at Ross!" and the church bells rang to call everyone, the yeomanry were called out, and a man and a horse were despatched to summon troops from Bristol, so the rebels were turned back. This was in 1745. This great-grandmother [who was probably Frances, wife of Thomas Probyn, who lived at Monmouth] told me that she remembered her great-grandfather telling her that he had been present as a child at the beheading of Charles I., so that takes you 242 years through three narrators.
My love and best New Year's wishes to your dear father,
From your affectionate
Granny."

Before her death Mrs. C. E. Skinner had seen 54 direct descendants - children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She died at Abbotsham, in Devonshire, on the 12th January, 1901, at the age of 88, and was buried in the churchyard of the parish church three days later. <<


Her daughter Effie wrote a poem for her on her 86th birthday:

"At eighty six the curtain lifts,
And the dawn of far away
Gleams with dim and soften'd ray
The day still comes, the dawn but shifts

So with the lovely face and soul
Of her whose life is perfect whole
Though present future past be dumb
Her virtues live all time to come."


From Calendar of wills at the FRC:

SKINNER, Caroline Emily of Abbotsham Devonshire widow died 12 January 1901 Probate Exeter 26 February to Caroline Rachel Skinner spinster and Clifton Newman Curtis county court high bailiff. Effects £2,881 9s 10d.

Alan Ray-Jones wrote, August 2004:

"I managed to find Abbotsham Court, the last home of Mrs Caroline Emily Skinner. From her room she could see the whole sweep of Bideford Bay. The house on the cliff top (huge, with spacious grounds) has been a hotel, and is now turned into four houses, but whether she owned it or only had a room there, I don't know. Probably the latter, since she was husband-less by then. Before that she lived at Stone House, Abbotsham, but the Post Office in Abbotsham knew no house of that name, so either it is pulled down or the name has changed. I also failed to find her tomb at St Helen's Church, Abbotsham, though she is buried in the churchyard at Abottsham Parish Church".