HAFS Journal Vol 3 No 2 – Nov 1995

Contents:

The Death and Life of Mary (Hungerford) Shaa;

The Will & Codicil of Mary Shaa;

The Ancient Town of Hungerford in Berkshire;

Memorials at Owlpen and Wellow;

The Monument of Robert Lord Hungerford;

Leonard Bruce Hungerford.

Editorial:

This Journal has, unintentionally, a large amount of space devoted to monuments relating to the Hungerford family. The opening article is an abbreviated form of an essay I submitted for a third-year History course last year at the University of Melbourne under the tutelage of Mr Charles Zika. It concerns the memorial to Mary Shaa in the chapel at Farleigh Hungerford Castle, and combines an exploration of her tomb with a reading of her will to understand something of the situation of gentlewomen in Jacobean England.

Mary Shaa left a token sum of money to Salisbury Cathedral in acknowledgment of that church’s function as a burial place for her ancestors. This Journal includes the second of Canon Fletcher’s two lectures given at Salisbury in 1936 on the Hungerford Chantries. Although his article is rather long, it contains many interesting details. Who knows how our family history might have been if the Cathedral had accepted the offer made by John Hungerford and Walter Hungerford to restore the chantry chapel in 1722? Perhaps some Irish Hungerfords might have been returned to Salisbury for burial in later years, as it was this same John Hungerford whose will has been the subject of discussion in earlier Journals.

On a trip to England in July 1994 members Judith and John Fitz-Henry visited several sites of interest to the Hungerford and and Associated Families and upon their return provided us with transcriptions of several monuments which are included in this Journal. The Daunt family at Owlpen has been mentioned in earlier issues, and now the connection between Owlpen in Gloucestershire and the Daunts and Hungerfords of Cork is becoming clearer thanks to the list of Daunt memorials at Owlpen church.

A different kind of remembrance, a memoir, is provided by another member Veronica Hungerford of Queensland,  who tells us about the international career of Leonard or Bruce Hungerford, concert pianist extraordinaire. I found his biography of interest, partly because I own a recording of Beethoven sonatas played by him and re-released on CD, but more so because we share some musical heritage.  Bruce Hungeford was by blood my fourth cousin twice removed, yet musically speaking was my first cousin once removed, for his piano teacher at the Melbourne Conservatorium was my teacher’s teacher!

Tribute is also paid in this issue to EL ‘Jim’ Davis of Hungerford in Berkshire who has encouraged Hungerfords to take an interest in their heritage. The next issue will be something of a surprise, focussing on the early English Hungerfords and taking an unusual format … you will have to wait until May 1996 before you find out exactly what this entails, but I am sure it will be a popular issue!