History of Wellington Heath

Hope End

The story of Hope End is long and complicated and this summary merely captures a few of the highlights. Peter Garnett’s book "Portrait of Wellington Heath" goes into considerable detail on the families who lived there.

(Images reproduced with the kind permission of Herefordshire Archive and Records Centre & Mr Alan Hoida)

First House

The son of John Pritchard, Basil Pritchard built the first house of Georgian design around 1730 having married into the wealthy Skippe family. His only daughter, Jane who had inherited the estate died in childbirth leaving the estate to her daughter Susanna. Susanna then married Sir Henry Vine-Tempest, an inveterate gambler who in 1791 persuaded his wife to legally transfer the estate to him in order to settle his debts. The house was eventually sold in 1809. Sir Henry died in 1819 and Susanna in 1825.

Second House

Edward Moulton Barrett was a wealthy man owning sugar plantations in Jamaica. He purchased Hope End in 1809 but continued to live in County Durham with his wife, Mary. They had two children, Elizabeth and Edward. He decided to build a palatial mansion in the Turkish style and convert the previous house into stables by removing the upper floor. The gardens were designed by Claudius Loudon, a Scottish landscape architect. Elizabeth Barrett spent 23 years of her life here and the estate became the inspiration for much of her poetry work.

By 1832 Edward had lost much of his fortune, the price of sugar had collapsed, slavery had been abolished, he had spent too much money on the estate and an expensive lawsuit in Jamaica went against him. He was forced to sell Hope End in 1832.

The purchaser was Thomas Heywood, a banker from Salford. He added a considerable amount of land to the estate and was greatly involved in public life. He was the force behind the construction of Christ Church, giving the land for the church and vicarage and contributed to its cost. He also funded the construction and running costs of the new school next to the vicarage. His son, Major Thomas Heywood inherited the estate in 1870 and put it up for sale in 1873.

Third House

Jane Harvey Andrews had married Lt. Charles Archibald Hewitt in 1870. She was the heiress to a substantial fortune and they decided to demolish the Moulton Barrett house and build a substantial Victorian mansion on a nearby hill in 1872.

They were typical products of the high Victorian era and set about improving life in the village. They were heavily involved with the education of the local children and virtually stamped out drunkenness and fighting in the village (Wellington Heath was notorious for the comatose state of its inhabitants through cider drinking). They were large employers in the area and took particular attention to the sick and elderly.

In 1910 there was a large fire which destroyed much of the mansion (see Daily Mirror Report and photo to right). Upon his mother’s death in 1919 Wilfred Hewitt inherited the estate and continued the work of his parents until he died of a stroke in 1946. His younger brother, Cecil James Hewitt inherited the estate and put it up for sale by auction.

Hope End was purchased by Stephen Ballard in 1947. It was in a poor and overgrown state. He demolished the ruined section of the house and renovated the stable block turning it into a hotel. His granddaughter, Patricia and her husband John Hegarty moved in in 1975 and transformed it into a small exclusive country hotel. They retired in 1998 and the house is now a private residence. Its size is approximately one third of the original 1874 mansion.

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