Individual Details
George Templer
(Abt 1781 - 12 Dec 1843)
TTM = of Stover b.1781 d.1843 Renown Master of Hounds, lover of amateur theatricals who turned Stover into a local centre of Theatre. He built Devon's first railway, with granite tracks and horse drawn wagon trains to bring the stone from his quarries on Hay Tor to the Stover Canal which his father had constructed. He was no businessman and finally lost so much money that he had to sell Stover to the Duke of Somerset. (It is said that the stone from these quarries was used to build the old London Bridge which is now in America)
George Templer matriculated at Oxford 3 April 1800 aged 18 and was further educated at Westminister, London. He inherited Stover House and business assets when his father died in 1813, but he seems not to have been a good businessman. Perhaps he was more interested in leisure pursuits: he is credited with starting the first cricket club in Devon and forming the hunt in Newton Abbot. He was a keen huntsman with his brother Rev. John Templer. He was forced to sell Stover House, Stover Canal and tramway, etc., to Edward Seymore, 11th Duke of Somerset, in 1829. In 1835 he was living in a nearby house called Whitehill. He went abroad for a year or so, returned to Newton Abbot, built a house called Sandford Orleigh, and lived there until his death as the result of a hunting accident in 1843. He was buried in the Templer family vault under Teigngrace Church. [Research by Stephen Coombes of Chudleigh, Devon, 2002]
George, the son of James Templer was a fascinating character. He was a highly educated man, a classical scholar, a poet, a great huntsman, an irresponsible businessman, a spendthrift, and the builder of the granite tramway. George brought life, excitement and disaster to Stover House.
We do not know for sure who or when he married (now known), though it was possibly Charlotte Kennaway 2nd wife in 1835. He had two daughters but no male issue and in his earlier life was at Stover House. He was the last of the Templers there.
He acquired numerous properties, mainly manors during his lifetime. Inheriting Stover House and estate on the death of his father in 1813, he purchased the manors of Ilsington and Notworthy, acquired that of Mayneburgh by exchange for other lands and also owned the manors of Knighton, Knighton Heathfield and Little Bovey (the last named it will henoted being well and truly in Honychurch country).
He also owned claypits in Hennock, Ilsington, Bovey Tracey, Teigngrace and Kingsteignton, which no doubt provided clay for the two potteries at Bovey Tracey, as well as for the Midland potters. In the 1820's the annual export of clay from Teignmouth harbour amounted to some 20,000 tons.
The export trade there in granite increased more rapidly in the 1820?s than that in clay. George, owner of the Haytor quarries, (in 1825 he formed the Devon Haytor Quarries Co.) initiated a tramway linking them to the Stover Canal which his father had built. The actual designer and engineer is not recorded. It is a fantastic feat of engineering; there is nothing comparable in the world. It starts at the granite quarried on Hay Tor and falls almost steadily at one foot in 28 feet for 17 miles to the canal at Ventiford. After leaving the 'points' at the quarry, the transport to Ventiford was powered by gravity. Each 'train' was comprised of three trucks, chain coupled, in charge of one man. This man had chained skids to slow down or stop the train and an iron pole to lever the wheels for restarting. There are mileposts along the route from which signals were given to following 'trains' allowing no 'train' o be less than one mile apart. There were stations at Ventiford, Manaton and at the quarry where horses were changed for back-hauling trucks to the quarry. George was asked to extend his railway to the iron ore mines but could not afford to do this.
The tramway was opened on 16 September 1820 with the greatest party Dartmoor has ever seen taking place. The ladies and gentlemen drove clown from the house to Yarner Gate in great splendor in their elegant carriages. Here they were met by the villagers and tradesmen, and a procession made its way to Hay Tor. This procession was led by one of the famous nailing barges, decked with flowers and streamers, with an ?admiral? standing at the bow. There were acrobats and itinerant minstrels, bands and decorated wagons. At Hay Tor they danced, performed, drank heavily and ate well. The London ?Times? reported the event, poems were written, songs were sung about it. George himself ?in a short and energetic speech? pointed out the advantages which the tramroad offered to the surrounding proprietors, the employment it would find for the mechanic and labourer, and its tendency to increase, in a great degree, the trade of the port of Teignmouth.
Haytor granite was used for important London buildings, including the British Museum, the National Gallery and London Bridge. Presumably this has now found its way to the deserts of Arizona and is part of a growing tourist attraction. The proprietors of the tramway and canal advertised their readiness to despatch goods for a variety of purposes - granite for such things as Copings, Steps, Landings, Columns, Cornices etc. To make the port of Teignmouth more efficient, George constructed a new quay from blocks such as those described in his advertisements. The export of the new commodity, granite, was difficult to transfer from barge to ship at moorings in the harbour hence the need for the new quay. As the estuary almost dries out at low water, facilities were poor. Contemporary prints in the 1820?s now show deep draught vessels alongside being loaded and unloaded by means of a large crane. A public dinner was given at Teignmouth in 1820 in honour of George Templer ?on the completion of the tramway which connected with the gentleman?s canal and railroad?. The diners-consisted of about 100 individuals of the first respectability of the neighbourhood. This celebration may have been slightly premature. Apparently New Quay was ready for use early in 1821, because at the beginning of that year George signed a Memorandum of Agreement with John MacCarthy of Teignmouth by which MacCarthy was allowed to store up to 200 tons of 'patent paving stones' on the quay for a minimum period of one month while awaiting shipment.MacCarthy promised to pay one shilling a ton for the use of the railroad and the same amount for the facilities of the canal, wharves and cranes. One of the cranes referred to in this agreement still stands alongside the overgrown Ventiford basin, an interrogation mark in a remote rural landscape and a fitting memorial to the Templer?s pioneering technology.
George took a lively interest in local affairs and, as Chairman of? the Shaldon Bridge Committee, presented a large block of granite as its foundation stone in 1824. He may also have been partly responsible for the development of the iron ore trade through Teignmouth, and the Hay Tor tramway and the Stover Canal may have been used to bring ore to the New Quay from the opencast workings near the granite quarries, but the evidence on this is conflicting.
The depression in the late 1830's was caused by a variety of factors,some of them peculiar to Teignmouth. George, while equally ready to apply new inventions, was not such a good businessman as his father. His management of the quarry was bad, stones were not correctly cut, orders were not fulfilled, and the stone was being priced out of the market by Portland stone, which was more easily shipped and more easily workable. Largely as a result of his personal extravagance, the Stover estates, canal and tramway were sold in 1829 to the Duke of Somerset and George became the chief Devonshire agent for the company which had been set up with a capital of £200,000, to work the quarries; as such he seems to have been incompetent. Yet in spite of these shortcomings, he represented landowning interests on the Teignmouth Harbour Commission set up in 1836.
George's business weakness combined with competition from Cornish and Scottish quarries adjacent to the sea, caused a drastic reduction of trade, and shipment from Teignmouth virtually ceased by 1840. When the agent for the Duke of Somerset, E.J.Bearne, was questioned by the Select Committee on the Teignmouth Harbour Bill in 1853 he said that no granite had-been carried on the canal recently and that the quarries ceased to work 'about ten years ago'. The closure he referred to may have been a temporary rather than a permanent shut down and there is evidence that the quarries re-opened later, but shipment from Teignmouth did not revive.
George was a great huntsman; some said he was second only to the famous Jack Russell. At the kennels which he built he had two packs of hounds, known as the 'Let 'em Alones', and he bred tame foxes for a sport known as Bug Foxing. The huntsmen and the hounds would gather and, as George emptied the fox from the bag, he would take out his watch, allowing the fox a certain time to run. His hounds were so well trained that they did not follow the fox until they heard the ?click? as he closed his watch. The sport was for the huntsmen to bring back the fox alive. This called for very hard and vigorous riding. When he gave up this pastime in 1826, no doubt because his extravagance was beginning to catch up with him, his pack became the South Devon pack.
He wrote verse. One poem, lines addressed to his old horn, appeared in a book on the Foxhounds of? Devon arid in Elias Tozer's Devonshire sketches about 1873. Another, 'The Attorney', a lengthy one of 28 verses of 14 lines each, also appeared in the same sketches.
George was broken-hearted when he left Stover for the last time. He wrote the following unhappy verses.
Stover, farewell! Still fancy?s hand shall trace
The pleasures past in all their former grace
And I will wear and cherish though we part
The dear remembrance at my heart.
Not as the hare, whom hounds and horn pursue,
In timid constancy I cling to you;-
But, like the bolder chase, resolve, I fly
That where I may not live I may not die.
There are many stories about George Templer. But his irresponsibility, his legal battles and his spending brought ruin to Stover. During his time all the great artists, musicians and performers entertained the visitors to Stover. He brought to the village of Teignbridge an All England Cricket Team to play the village Team and many other extravagances. As lord of the Manor, he was Patron of Teigngrace church.
After selling the Stover estates, George seems to have decided to settle for a family life. This after having sown his wild oats as well as frittering away the family fortune.
He could not keep away from his beloved Stover; in a year or two he built Sandford Orleigh near Newton Abbot where he died.
After his death in 1843, the representation of the family passed to his brother, the Reverend John Templer.
James Templer the builder of Stover House, adopted the motto to his heraldic achievement: NIHIL SINE LABORE (Nothing is achieved without hard work). These three words tell his life story. His son James heeded the motto to his best ability. His grandson George disregarded the motto and lost everything. Their canal, tramway, and a large part of the estate are now overgrown 'with tangled thorns and noisome weed', or have passed into other hands. The Templers came to Stover in 1765 and left in 1829 - sixty four years later.
Ron Lewin - 1983
Justin Templer
Born in 1781 and educated at Westminster, in 1813 at the age of 32 he inherited the Stover estates from his father. With little of his father's business acumen, he left much of the running of the estate to his lawyer whilst he led an extravagant life. He was very keen on fox hunting and was a friend of the famous huntsman, Jack Russell. He even kept his own pack of tame foxes in the underground kennels at Stover. He also enjoyed amateur dramatics, and invited many celebrities to Stover, including Mrs Siddons. He was a fair poet and his talents were much appreciated in his day. Extrovert in character, and cavalier to the point of folly, he was probably typical of many his class and society at the time.
There is a story which illustrates his attitude. Riding the highway one day, he came to a toll gate and requested that it be opened for him to pass. The gate keeper, not unreasonably, requested payment first, but this did not please George Templer who may have felt that someone of his standing should not have to pay tolls. Turning his horse away he rode a short distance back down the road, and then turned and galloped back towards the gate, jumping it, and riding off into the distance to the consternation of the gate keeper. The gate was high, and the risk he took in jumping it was considerable, but that was typical of the man.
His mistress, Ann Wreyford, who was the daughter of a local farmer, bore him 6 children, the first of which was born in 1815, when George was 34, and the last probably about 1826 (there are few records as they were not baptised at this stage). These he treated as legitimate and ensured that they were properly educated, and in due course were directed into good careers or marriages.
George completed the Teigngrace canal which had been started by his father in about 1770, and he also built a 7 mile long railway with granite 'rails' or half grooves cut into granite slabs which steered the wheels of horse drawn wagons. This ran from Haytor on Dartmoor, where there was a granite quarry, to the head of the canal. The railway was completed on 6 August 1820, and in September there was a large party on the Moor to celebrate. To complete the transportation route for the quarried granite he also built a quay at Teignmouth so that it could be loaded on to ships.
The book 'One Hundred Years on Dartmoor' by William Crossing (fourth edition printed in 1901) gives a general outline of the project. (Page35)
"To the Moor belongs the proud position of possessing the first railway constructed in Devon, and to the enterprising and accomplished Mr George Templer, of Stover, is due the honour of projecting and completing it. A granite quarry having been opened close to the rock-piles of Hey Tor, Mr Templer designed a railway from the Stover Canal (made by his father) at Teigngrace to the hill named, for the purpose of conveying the stone to the barges. It was opened in September 1820, the day being celebrated with great rejoicing. Considerable skill was displayed in the planning of the line, the terminus at the quarries being 1,200 feet higher than the starting point at the canal.
In place of ordinary rails blocks of granite, having a half groove cut in them, were laid down, and on these the wagons ran, the wheels being without flanges. Horse-power, of course, was used for drawing them, except where the gradients rendered such unnecessary. From Teigngrace the granite was sent down the canal to Teignmouth where it was shipped. many important structures were built of the Hey Tor granite, among others being the arches of London Bridge. But the undertaking was not long lived. Cornish granite, it was found, could be shipped at less expense, and after a time the Hey Tor quarries were only worked for the supply of stone locally. Later they were deserted, and the railway disused. But a portion of it may still be seen, and remains as a monument to the enterprise of the man who thus boldly assailed the frontier heights of the Moor."
A much more detailed and better account of the Stover Canal and the Granite Tramway was published in 1964 by David & Charles of Dawlish entitled ' The Haytor Granite Tramway and Stover Canal' by M C Ewans, but as this is a complete book on the subject it is too voluminous to reproduce in a family history. There have been other books which touch on the subject, and amongst these are 'The Canals of South West England' and 'The Industrial Archeology of Dartmoor' both published by David& Charles.
In 1820 George was a Lt. Colonel in the South Devon Yeomanry. He founded the South Devon Hunt and, in 1823, the Teignbridge Cricket Club.
There is no record of the final fate of his mistress, but he did have the decency to eventually marry her. This he did on 12 October 1826, not at Teigngrace Church as would have been expected, because he still owned Stover at this time and his uncle was still the Rector of Teigngrace Church, but at St. Botolph's in Bishopsgate in London. He was described in the register as being a 'bachelor of this Parish', and his bride as being 'Anne Wreyford of St. Marylebone, Middlesex.' Interestingly, the witnesses were a James Parlby (a cousin on his grandmother's side?) and Richard Turner. It is quite possible that this was a 'death bed' marriage, i.e. Anne Wreyford was ill, because there is no further mention of her apart from the fact that all her children were all baptised a few days later in the same church. (For some of them this would have been a second or third baptism - see their records for the details!) There does not appear to be any other reason for the marriage other than a fear for the life of Anne, because, after 12 years of co-habitation, George had become impervious to criticism from the rest of the family, especially from his uncle, the Reverend John Templer!
The lack of success of the quarrying business (the competitive Cornish granite was being mined closer to the sea and was therefore cheaper) and his extravagance and life style led him into debt. He was forced to sell Stover House to the Duke of Somerset in 1829, and blamed his lawyer for his problems. He subsequently wrote a poem in which he railed against 'the Scurvy Lawyer'.
After some years absence, he bought Sandford Orleigh, a house close to Stover, but nearer to Newton Abbot. He married on 12 January 1835 Charlotte Elizabeth Kennaway the daughter of Sir John Kennaway, Bart.,of Escott. He is described as a 'widower' in the church register. She bore him a further two children, and after George's death, when her daughters were aged 5 and 2, she sold Sandford Orleigh and moved to 16 Dix's Field, Exeter. She died there on 8 October 1875, and was buried in Teigngrace Church on 12 October 1875.
The executors of George's will, made in February 1835, just after his marriage to Charlotte, were his wife, (Charlotte), and his brother-in law Reverend Richard Buller of Laureath, Cornwall (husband of his sister Anne Sophia ). His estate was divided equally between his wife Charlotte and his children who were named as Amelia Anne, Anna, George, Frederick, Henry, and Caroline Mary. George presumably took the view that any unborn children of his second wife Charlotte would be catered for in her will. The named children were the offspring of Anne Wreyford, and it is unlikely that they were listed in age order, because scanty information we have indicates that George was born only one year after Amelia Anne. When George was writing his will, Amelia Anne would have been 20 (born 1815), George 19 (born 1816), and Henry 11 (born 1824). We can only speculate when the others were born, but a reasonable guess would be Anna in 1818, Caroline Mary in 1821 or 1822, and Frederick in 1826. In fact Frederick's birth might have been the cause of Anne Wreyford's illness, weakening her sufficiently for to die shortly afterwards.
The controversy over George's relationship with Anne Wreyford rumbled on even after her supposed death. The rest of the Templer family never accepted her, nor were they willing to admit her children into the bosom of the Templer family. They were referred to as 'those Templers,' with the disparaging emphasis on the word 'those.' Two of her children were described in some baptismal registers as 'base born', meaning that their father and mother were not married, and one was in fact baptised twice - see their notes for details. However, George went to considerable trouble to have his 'illegitimate' children properly educated and brought up as his own, and in his will he refers to them as 'Amelia Anne TEMPLER', 'Anna TEMPLER', etc., an unusual method of identification as most wills usually give the details of children in the form 'my children Amelia Anne, Anna, etc.' He was probably afraid that if he did not add the name 'Templer' after their christian names, then they would have to take their mother's surname as was the custom for illegitimate children at the time.
There is no doubt that technically, the children were illegitimate, as they all appear to have been born before George's marriage to Anne Wreyford in St. Botolph's. Frances Templer (the eldest daughter of James George John Templer of Lindridge - born 1856) apparently used to describe the children of Charlotte Kennaway and George as 'cousins Gussy and Georgie', but George's earlier children in the derogatory 'those' Templers manner .
The reality was probably simply this. George would have liked to marry Anne Wreyford, but she was a farmer's daughter and he was the local squire. Her father was probably one of his tenants. At that period in history, social class was extremely important, especially to a family like the Templers who had themselves risen from humble origins only two generations previously, and were still trying to become accepted members of the 'Landed Gentry'. George probably felt that he could not therefore marry Anne, so he took her into his home as his mistress. For all practical purposes he treated her as his wife, hence the description of her in 'One Hundred Years on Dartmoor' as 'the Lady of Stover. Equally, he viewed her children as his responsibility and treated them accordingly.
The story of the romance of George and Anne Wreyford is given in this book, an extract of which is reproduced below.
"Occupying a high niche in the valhalla of Dartmoor worthies, the accomplished George Templer, of Stover, commands our admiration. None associated with the district were ever more beloved than was he, and none have left behind them a greater or purer fame. Not only for his enterprise in carrying the railway to the rock-piles of Hey Tor, in the early years of the century, and thus earning for himself the distinction of constructing the first line in Devonshire; nor for his skill as a Master of hounds and daring as a rider on the Moor, will he be remembered, but also for the higher qualities of sincerity of friendship, and kindliness of heart.
His amiability and benevolence of disposition, enlivened by a sparkling wit, made him the charm of society, while his thought for those ina humble station caused him to be regarded as the poor man's friend.George Templer might justly have aspired to the highest of positions,he was a poet of no mean order. His lines on 'The Grave of the Skylark,' a favourite huntress, and his stanzas in memory of his friends Taylor and Russell alone entitle him to rank high among the sons of song in Devon.
The beautiful lady of Stover was not less beloved than her husband. The love story of George Templer is not wanting in the romantic. Passing through Highweek, when returning from hunting, leading his horse by the reign, he heard, when nearing Greenhill Farmhouse, a maiden singing a love song from the opera of 'The Duenna'. It was one he knew well, having sung it himself not long before in the part of Don Carlos,at some amateur theatricals at Stover, and he listened, charmed at the sweetness of the voice. When he reached the gate of the farm it was a case of love at first sight, and in a few weeks it was known that the young squire of Stover was engaged to the beautiful Miss Wreyford.
As his wife she adorned the stately to which he brought her, and the union was a most happy one. Private theatricals were frequently indulged in at Stover, in which members of the family and some of the more intelligent of the servants took part. Mrs Siddons and Mr Kemble, while on a visit there, witnessed the performance of 'Richard III' and 'King Lear', and highly praised the representations.
The venture of George Templer on Dartmoor did not prove remunerative. It might have done so perhaps (for the stone quarried at Hey Tor was of excellent quality) had the management of the undertaking not been left too much to others. The price he had to pay for the shortcomings of those in whom he trusted was a high one. The beautiful domain of Stover that he loved so well he had to dispose of, the purchaser being the Duke of Somerset."
The same book eulogizes on George Templer's hunting skills.
"The eastern part of the Moor is hunted by the South Devon Hounds, their country lying south of the Moreton-road, and extending westward tothe Dart, thus embracing the great ridge of Hameldon, the Widecombe valley, and the range of common land around Hey Tor.
The earliest Master of Hounds of note, hunting this district during the present century, was one who has been spoken of as the favoured and favourite sportsman, anywhere and everywhere, Mr George Templer, of Stover. In conjunction with his friends, Mr Harry Taylor and Mr Russell, it is said that he brought hunting to a state of perfection such as had scarcely ever been attained. So perfect was his mode of tuition that each hound comprehended every inflection of his voice, every noteof his horn and wave of his hand. He exhibited such scientific control over them that sterner discipline was unnecessary to ensure their obedience. Mr Templer also kept a pack of well-bred little beagles, known as the 'Let-'em-alones', immortalised by their master in a poem called 'The Chase', written by him in 1822.
Genial and kind, George Templer was beloved by all with whom he came in contact, but to his sporting friends, to whom he was best known, he especially endeared himself. On Mr Templer giving up keeping of hounds his country was hunted by Sir Walter Carew, to whom he gracefully alludes in some verses addressed to his 'Old Horn', and which were recited by him at a gathering of sportsmen, at Chulmleigh, the Hon. Newton Fellowes being in the chair. His treasured horn, his galant hounds, his steed lying beneath the mountain heather, and his departed friendsin their 'deep and dreamless sleeping', were all remembered in those farewell verses, and when his voiced ceased there was not one in that company of gallant followers of hounds in whose eye the tear drop did not stand."
A complex character indeed!
Justin Templer
Updated 1 January 2000.
As deduced from his will, George had six children out of wedlock. The first two of them were baptised together on 27 December 1816 (Parish Register of Baptisms for Highweek 1816 p.9):
No 69: Admitted Amelia Ann. Born in the parish of Chudleigh May 22 1815. Base born child daughter of Ann Wreyford of Highweek (no profession given) Ceremony performed by C. Bruch, Curate.
No 70: admitted George, Base born son of the above Ann Wreyford of Highweek (no profession given) Ceremony performed by C. Bruch, Curate. Previously baptised in Highweek parish by Rev. John Templer as by this certificate.
So, Ann Wreyford brought two 'base born' children to church to be baptised on the same day, 27 Dec 1816. Amelia Ann's birth date is given. She was already nineteen months when her baptism took place. George, placed second, suggests that he may be younger, possibly by about a year, giving a date of birth in 1816. George's entry, says that he was previously 'baptised in Highweek Parish by Rev John Templer as by this certificate'. Most likely, this baptism had been an emergency one as it was thought that the baby might die and so it was necessary to conduct a quick ceremony at home, undertaken by George's brother, the Reverend John Templer, rector of Teigngrace. This would not have been registered elsewhere. The father is not named but the choice of George for the son is telling, as is the fact that Ann gave no profession, presumably being supported by the father (every other entry on the page has a declared profession for the mother).
Ann herself had been baptised on 29 January 1792 at Teigngrace, the daughter of John & Mary Wreyford, thus making her 23 years old at the time of her first confinement and George nearly ten years older at 32 years..
Passing over the next nine years, and on to 12th October 1826, the date when George eventually married Ann by special license granted by the Archbishop of Canterbury at St Botolph Without Bishopsgate, London. Ann is given as being of St Marylebone parish.
It is believe there is a cogent reason why George felt able to make this commitment to Ann after so many years. The year 1826 had been his Nemesis. He had had to endure the three day, forced auction of Stover at the New London Inn, Exeter, following the calling in of mortgages by Sir John Palmer Acland (the Acland Hood documents at Somerset Record Office show the details, and the outcomes, very well) and even his much loved hounds had to be dispersed in that year. Although George was able to stave off bankruptcy, thanks mainly to a generous loan from Mr John Gould of Gatcombe to pay his creditors, his reputation was in tatters and he knew his days at Stover were numbered. No longer would he have felt bound by the conventions of class and place, which would have precluded the marriage of the Lord of the Manor to the daughter of a (tenant?) farmer. Marriage to Ann was at last a social possibility.
Six weeks after their marriage, on 23 November 1826, George and Ann presented their family at St Mary's, St Marylebone Road, London, where their remaining four children were all baptised together. Their respective birth dates were given as
Anna Templer - 23 November 1817
Frederick Templer - 5 May 1821
Henry Templer - 16 January 1823 and
Caroline Mary Templer - 26 January 1826
Note the surnames now given, of Templer, the oldest being then 9 years and the youngest only 10 months. The family address is given as Clarence Terrace, one of John Nash's recently built Regent's Park Terraces in Marylebone ( c .1820). Perhaps this is where George brought Ann and the children, to lick his wounds while his affairs were settled. Dr Tucker, his attorney, had his office at Lancaster Place, Strand, London, opposite Somerset House and the purchase of Stover by the XI Duke of Somerset was somewhat drawn out, and not completed until 1829.
I find George's life after Stover just as interesting as his life at Stover. I think history has been too quick to judge him. He inherited a large and profitable business empire from his father in 1813 and is generally held to have squandered it. In fact, much of the earlier family fortunes were the product of Government contracts in the Royal Dockyards, contracts which, more or less, had dried up by 1815, when the threat of war and invasion had abated. George did well to diversify into other markets, providing his granite to commercial contracts as opposed to military ones and in this he was successful for many years, often against all odds. He was certainly generous to a fault and gregarious but not, I think, wilfully irresponsible. After leaving Stover he was still a wealthy man. He shows himself to be a loving and committed parent, a most popular individual, a JP and pillar of the community throughout his life. I think he would have intended to engross a codicil to his will, to include his later children with Eliza Kennaway and only his accident and early death in 1843 denied him the opportunity of doing so.
Besides those references given in Justin's biography of George, I would like to point to two other sources, both of which devote a full chapter to the life and times of this colourful man:
"The Outdoor Life of the Revd John Russell - A Memoir" by E.W.L. Davies, 1883, London, Bentley & Son.
"The History of the South Devon Hunt" by Edward J.P. Tozer, published by the author, Teignmouth, 1916.
One point still needs to be clarified regarding George and Ann's relationship; that is the one of residency. I have yet to find positive evidence to suggest that Ann and the children were ever resident at Stover - in fact what evidence there is, suggests the contrary. Despite fullsome accounts of George's life at Stover in the two books above mentioned, (especially in Jack Russell's memoirs covering the years 1815-1826, after which George had to disperse his hounds) there is no mention whatsoever of George having any wife or family.
Rather more, in a Settlement Examination dated 1829 for Highweek Parish at Devon record Office (ref 2565 A/PO 51/76) Elizabeth Tapper, single woman of Ashburton is shown to have "worked for George Templer of Ash Hill in Highweek for seven years" before working "at various places for Ann Reddie of Highweek for three years....." there was only one George Templer in Highweek over those years, so this suggests employment for Elizabeth Tapper between the years 1819 and 1826 and perhaps identifies not only a housemaid for Ann but also a residence for her. Crucially, there is still a public footpath from the front gate of Stover directly to Ash Hill Farm, about one mile distance.
I hope these comments about George's affair with Ann Wreyford may offer something new to the readers.
I have yet to trace fully the subsequent lives of these six children of George and Ann, although I have material regarding all but George; Nor do I have details about the death of Ann herself.
Stuart Drabble 2005 - The author accepts that some of the above is conjecture and requires further research to confirm these details
George Templer matriculated at Oxford 3 April 1800 aged 18 and was further educated at Westminister, London. He inherited Stover House and business assets when his father died in 1813, but he seems not to have been a good businessman. Perhaps he was more interested in leisure pursuits: he is credited with starting the first cricket club in Devon and forming the hunt in Newton Abbot. He was a keen huntsman with his brother Rev. John Templer. He was forced to sell Stover House, Stover Canal and tramway, etc., to Edward Seymore, 11th Duke of Somerset, in 1829. In 1835 he was living in a nearby house called Whitehill. He went abroad for a year or so, returned to Newton Abbot, built a house called Sandford Orleigh, and lived there until his death as the result of a hunting accident in 1843. He was buried in the Templer family vault under Teigngrace Church. [Research by Stephen Coombes of Chudleigh, Devon, 2002]
George, the son of James Templer was a fascinating character. He was a highly educated man, a classical scholar, a poet, a great huntsman, an irresponsible businessman, a spendthrift, and the builder of the granite tramway. George brought life, excitement and disaster to Stover House.
We do not know for sure who or when he married (now known), though it was possibly Charlotte Kennaway 2nd wife in 1835. He had two daughters but no male issue and in his earlier life was at Stover House. He was the last of the Templers there.
He acquired numerous properties, mainly manors during his lifetime. Inheriting Stover House and estate on the death of his father in 1813, he purchased the manors of Ilsington and Notworthy, acquired that of Mayneburgh by exchange for other lands and also owned the manors of Knighton, Knighton Heathfield and Little Bovey (the last named it will henoted being well and truly in Honychurch country).
He also owned claypits in Hennock, Ilsington, Bovey Tracey, Teigngrace and Kingsteignton, which no doubt provided clay for the two potteries at Bovey Tracey, as well as for the Midland potters. In the 1820's the annual export of clay from Teignmouth harbour amounted to some 20,000 tons.
The export trade there in granite increased more rapidly in the 1820?s than that in clay. George, owner of the Haytor quarries, (in 1825 he formed the Devon Haytor Quarries Co.) initiated a tramway linking them to the Stover Canal which his father had built. The actual designer and engineer is not recorded. It is a fantastic feat of engineering; there is nothing comparable in the world. It starts at the granite quarried on Hay Tor and falls almost steadily at one foot in 28 feet for 17 miles to the canal at Ventiford. After leaving the 'points' at the quarry, the transport to Ventiford was powered by gravity. Each 'train' was comprised of three trucks, chain coupled, in charge of one man. This man had chained skids to slow down or stop the train and an iron pole to lever the wheels for restarting. There are mileposts along the route from which signals were given to following 'trains' allowing no 'train' o be less than one mile apart. There were stations at Ventiford, Manaton and at the quarry where horses were changed for back-hauling trucks to the quarry. George was asked to extend his railway to the iron ore mines but could not afford to do this.
The tramway was opened on 16 September 1820 with the greatest party Dartmoor has ever seen taking place. The ladies and gentlemen drove clown from the house to Yarner Gate in great splendor in their elegant carriages. Here they were met by the villagers and tradesmen, and a procession made its way to Hay Tor. This procession was led by one of the famous nailing barges, decked with flowers and streamers, with an ?admiral? standing at the bow. There were acrobats and itinerant minstrels, bands and decorated wagons. At Hay Tor they danced, performed, drank heavily and ate well. The London ?Times? reported the event, poems were written, songs were sung about it. George himself ?in a short and energetic speech? pointed out the advantages which the tramroad offered to the surrounding proprietors, the employment it would find for the mechanic and labourer, and its tendency to increase, in a great degree, the trade of the port of Teignmouth.
Haytor granite was used for important London buildings, including the British Museum, the National Gallery and London Bridge. Presumably this has now found its way to the deserts of Arizona and is part of a growing tourist attraction. The proprietors of the tramway and canal advertised their readiness to despatch goods for a variety of purposes - granite for such things as Copings, Steps, Landings, Columns, Cornices etc. To make the port of Teignmouth more efficient, George constructed a new quay from blocks such as those described in his advertisements. The export of the new commodity, granite, was difficult to transfer from barge to ship at moorings in the harbour hence the need for the new quay. As the estuary almost dries out at low water, facilities were poor. Contemporary prints in the 1820?s now show deep draught vessels alongside being loaded and unloaded by means of a large crane. A public dinner was given at Teignmouth in 1820 in honour of George Templer ?on the completion of the tramway which connected with the gentleman?s canal and railroad?. The diners-consisted of about 100 individuals of the first respectability of the neighbourhood. This celebration may have been slightly premature. Apparently New Quay was ready for use early in 1821, because at the beginning of that year George signed a Memorandum of Agreement with John MacCarthy of Teignmouth by which MacCarthy was allowed to store up to 200 tons of 'patent paving stones' on the quay for a minimum period of one month while awaiting shipment.MacCarthy promised to pay one shilling a ton for the use of the railroad and the same amount for the facilities of the canal, wharves and cranes. One of the cranes referred to in this agreement still stands alongside the overgrown Ventiford basin, an interrogation mark in a remote rural landscape and a fitting memorial to the Templer?s pioneering technology.
George took a lively interest in local affairs and, as Chairman of? the Shaldon Bridge Committee, presented a large block of granite as its foundation stone in 1824. He may also have been partly responsible for the development of the iron ore trade through Teignmouth, and the Hay Tor tramway and the Stover Canal may have been used to bring ore to the New Quay from the opencast workings near the granite quarries, but the evidence on this is conflicting.
The depression in the late 1830's was caused by a variety of factors,some of them peculiar to Teignmouth. George, while equally ready to apply new inventions, was not such a good businessman as his father. His management of the quarry was bad, stones were not correctly cut, orders were not fulfilled, and the stone was being priced out of the market by Portland stone, which was more easily shipped and more easily workable. Largely as a result of his personal extravagance, the Stover estates, canal and tramway were sold in 1829 to the Duke of Somerset and George became the chief Devonshire agent for the company which had been set up with a capital of £200,000, to work the quarries; as such he seems to have been incompetent. Yet in spite of these shortcomings, he represented landowning interests on the Teignmouth Harbour Commission set up in 1836.
George's business weakness combined with competition from Cornish and Scottish quarries adjacent to the sea, caused a drastic reduction of trade, and shipment from Teignmouth virtually ceased by 1840. When the agent for the Duke of Somerset, E.J.Bearne, was questioned by the Select Committee on the Teignmouth Harbour Bill in 1853 he said that no granite had-been carried on the canal recently and that the quarries ceased to work 'about ten years ago'. The closure he referred to may have been a temporary rather than a permanent shut down and there is evidence that the quarries re-opened later, but shipment from Teignmouth did not revive.
George was a great huntsman; some said he was second only to the famous Jack Russell. At the kennels which he built he had two packs of hounds, known as the 'Let 'em Alones', and he bred tame foxes for a sport known as Bug Foxing. The huntsmen and the hounds would gather and, as George emptied the fox from the bag, he would take out his watch, allowing the fox a certain time to run. His hounds were so well trained that they did not follow the fox until they heard the ?click? as he closed his watch. The sport was for the huntsmen to bring back the fox alive. This called for very hard and vigorous riding. When he gave up this pastime in 1826, no doubt because his extravagance was beginning to catch up with him, his pack became the South Devon pack.
He wrote verse. One poem, lines addressed to his old horn, appeared in a book on the Foxhounds of? Devon arid in Elias Tozer's Devonshire sketches about 1873. Another, 'The Attorney', a lengthy one of 28 verses of 14 lines each, also appeared in the same sketches.
George was broken-hearted when he left Stover for the last time. He wrote the following unhappy verses.
Stover, farewell! Still fancy?s hand shall trace
The pleasures past in all their former grace
And I will wear and cherish though we part
The dear remembrance at my heart.
Not as the hare, whom hounds and horn pursue,
In timid constancy I cling to you;-
But, like the bolder chase, resolve, I fly
That where I may not live I may not die.
There are many stories about George Templer. But his irresponsibility, his legal battles and his spending brought ruin to Stover. During his time all the great artists, musicians and performers entertained the visitors to Stover. He brought to the village of Teignbridge an All England Cricket Team to play the village Team and many other extravagances. As lord of the Manor, he was Patron of Teigngrace church.
After selling the Stover estates, George seems to have decided to settle for a family life. This after having sown his wild oats as well as frittering away the family fortune.
He could not keep away from his beloved Stover; in a year or two he built Sandford Orleigh near Newton Abbot where he died.
After his death in 1843, the representation of the family passed to his brother, the Reverend John Templer.
James Templer the builder of Stover House, adopted the motto to his heraldic achievement: NIHIL SINE LABORE (Nothing is achieved without hard work). These three words tell his life story. His son James heeded the motto to his best ability. His grandson George disregarded the motto and lost everything. Their canal, tramway, and a large part of the estate are now overgrown 'with tangled thorns and noisome weed', or have passed into other hands. The Templers came to Stover in 1765 and left in 1829 - sixty four years later.
Ron Lewin - 1983
Justin Templer
Born in 1781 and educated at Westminster, in 1813 at the age of 32 he inherited the Stover estates from his father. With little of his father's business acumen, he left much of the running of the estate to his lawyer whilst he led an extravagant life. He was very keen on fox hunting and was a friend of the famous huntsman, Jack Russell. He even kept his own pack of tame foxes in the underground kennels at Stover. He also enjoyed amateur dramatics, and invited many celebrities to Stover, including Mrs Siddons. He was a fair poet and his talents were much appreciated in his day. Extrovert in character, and cavalier to the point of folly, he was probably typical of many his class and society at the time.
There is a story which illustrates his attitude. Riding the highway one day, he came to a toll gate and requested that it be opened for him to pass. The gate keeper, not unreasonably, requested payment first, but this did not please George Templer who may have felt that someone of his standing should not have to pay tolls. Turning his horse away he rode a short distance back down the road, and then turned and galloped back towards the gate, jumping it, and riding off into the distance to the consternation of the gate keeper. The gate was high, and the risk he took in jumping it was considerable, but that was typical of the man.
His mistress, Ann Wreyford, who was the daughter of a local farmer, bore him 6 children, the first of which was born in 1815, when George was 34, and the last probably about 1826 (there are few records as they were not baptised at this stage). These he treated as legitimate and ensured that they were properly educated, and in due course were directed into good careers or marriages.
George completed the Teigngrace canal which had been started by his father in about 1770, and he also built a 7 mile long railway with granite 'rails' or half grooves cut into granite slabs which steered the wheels of horse drawn wagons. This ran from Haytor on Dartmoor, where there was a granite quarry, to the head of the canal. The railway was completed on 6 August 1820, and in September there was a large party on the Moor to celebrate. To complete the transportation route for the quarried granite he also built a quay at Teignmouth so that it could be loaded on to ships.
The book 'One Hundred Years on Dartmoor' by William Crossing (fourth edition printed in 1901) gives a general outline of the project. (Page35)
"To the Moor belongs the proud position of possessing the first railway constructed in Devon, and to the enterprising and accomplished Mr George Templer, of Stover, is due the honour of projecting and completing it. A granite quarry having been opened close to the rock-piles of Hey Tor, Mr Templer designed a railway from the Stover Canal (made by his father) at Teigngrace to the hill named, for the purpose of conveying the stone to the barges. It was opened in September 1820, the day being celebrated with great rejoicing. Considerable skill was displayed in the planning of the line, the terminus at the quarries being 1,200 feet higher than the starting point at the canal.
In place of ordinary rails blocks of granite, having a half groove cut in them, were laid down, and on these the wagons ran, the wheels being without flanges. Horse-power, of course, was used for drawing them, except where the gradients rendered such unnecessary. From Teigngrace the granite was sent down the canal to Teignmouth where it was shipped. many important structures were built of the Hey Tor granite, among others being the arches of London Bridge. But the undertaking was not long lived. Cornish granite, it was found, could be shipped at less expense, and after a time the Hey Tor quarries were only worked for the supply of stone locally. Later they were deserted, and the railway disused. But a portion of it may still be seen, and remains as a monument to the enterprise of the man who thus boldly assailed the frontier heights of the Moor."
A much more detailed and better account of the Stover Canal and the Granite Tramway was published in 1964 by David & Charles of Dawlish entitled ' The Haytor Granite Tramway and Stover Canal' by M C Ewans, but as this is a complete book on the subject it is too voluminous to reproduce in a family history. There have been other books which touch on the subject, and amongst these are 'The Canals of South West England' and 'The Industrial Archeology of Dartmoor' both published by David& Charles.
In 1820 George was a Lt. Colonel in the South Devon Yeomanry. He founded the South Devon Hunt and, in 1823, the Teignbridge Cricket Club.
There is no record of the final fate of his mistress, but he did have the decency to eventually marry her. This he did on 12 October 1826, not at Teigngrace Church as would have been expected, because he still owned Stover at this time and his uncle was still the Rector of Teigngrace Church, but at St. Botolph's in Bishopsgate in London. He was described in the register as being a 'bachelor of this Parish', and his bride as being 'Anne Wreyford of St. Marylebone, Middlesex.' Interestingly, the witnesses were a James Parlby (a cousin on his grandmother's side?) and Richard Turner. It is quite possible that this was a 'death bed' marriage, i.e. Anne Wreyford was ill, because there is no further mention of her apart from the fact that all her children were all baptised a few days later in the same church. (For some of them this would have been a second or third baptism - see their records for the details!) There does not appear to be any other reason for the marriage other than a fear for the life of Anne, because, after 12 years of co-habitation, George had become impervious to criticism from the rest of the family, especially from his uncle, the Reverend John Templer!
The lack of success of the quarrying business (the competitive Cornish granite was being mined closer to the sea and was therefore cheaper) and his extravagance and life style led him into debt. He was forced to sell Stover House to the Duke of Somerset in 1829, and blamed his lawyer for his problems. He subsequently wrote a poem in which he railed against 'the Scurvy Lawyer'.
After some years absence, he bought Sandford Orleigh, a house close to Stover, but nearer to Newton Abbot. He married on 12 January 1835 Charlotte Elizabeth Kennaway the daughter of Sir John Kennaway, Bart.,of Escott. He is described as a 'widower' in the church register. She bore him a further two children, and after George's death, when her daughters were aged 5 and 2, she sold Sandford Orleigh and moved to 16 Dix's Field, Exeter. She died there on 8 October 1875, and was buried in Teigngrace Church on 12 October 1875.
The executors of George's will, made in February 1835, just after his marriage to Charlotte, were his wife, (Charlotte), and his brother-in law Reverend Richard Buller of Laureath, Cornwall (husband of his sister Anne Sophia ). His estate was divided equally between his wife Charlotte and his children who were named as Amelia Anne, Anna, George, Frederick, Henry, and Caroline Mary. George presumably took the view that any unborn children of his second wife Charlotte would be catered for in her will. The named children were the offspring of Anne Wreyford, and it is unlikely that they were listed in age order, because scanty information we have indicates that George was born only one year after Amelia Anne. When George was writing his will, Amelia Anne would have been 20 (born 1815), George 19 (born 1816), and Henry 11 (born 1824). We can only speculate when the others were born, but a reasonable guess would be Anna in 1818, Caroline Mary in 1821 or 1822, and Frederick in 1826. In fact Frederick's birth might have been the cause of Anne Wreyford's illness, weakening her sufficiently for to die shortly afterwards.
The controversy over George's relationship with Anne Wreyford rumbled on even after her supposed death. The rest of the Templer family never accepted her, nor were they willing to admit her children into the bosom of the Templer family. They were referred to as 'those Templers,' with the disparaging emphasis on the word 'those.' Two of her children were described in some baptismal registers as 'base born', meaning that their father and mother were not married, and one was in fact baptised twice - see their notes for details. However, George went to considerable trouble to have his 'illegitimate' children properly educated and brought up as his own, and in his will he refers to them as 'Amelia Anne TEMPLER', 'Anna TEMPLER', etc., an unusual method of identification as most wills usually give the details of children in the form 'my children Amelia Anne, Anna, etc.' He was probably afraid that if he did not add the name 'Templer' after their christian names, then they would have to take their mother's surname as was the custom for illegitimate children at the time.
There is no doubt that technically, the children were illegitimate, as they all appear to have been born before George's marriage to Anne Wreyford in St. Botolph's. Frances Templer (the eldest daughter of James George John Templer of Lindridge - born 1856) apparently used to describe the children of Charlotte Kennaway and George as 'cousins Gussy and Georgie', but George's earlier children in the derogatory 'those' Templers manner .
The reality was probably simply this. George would have liked to marry Anne Wreyford, but she was a farmer's daughter and he was the local squire. Her father was probably one of his tenants. At that period in history, social class was extremely important, especially to a family like the Templers who had themselves risen from humble origins only two generations previously, and were still trying to become accepted members of the 'Landed Gentry'. George probably felt that he could not therefore marry Anne, so he took her into his home as his mistress. For all practical purposes he treated her as his wife, hence the description of her in 'One Hundred Years on Dartmoor' as 'the Lady of Stover. Equally, he viewed her children as his responsibility and treated them accordingly.
The story of the romance of George and Anne Wreyford is given in this book, an extract of which is reproduced below.
"Occupying a high niche in the valhalla of Dartmoor worthies, the accomplished George Templer, of Stover, commands our admiration. None associated with the district were ever more beloved than was he, and none have left behind them a greater or purer fame. Not only for his enterprise in carrying the railway to the rock-piles of Hey Tor, in the early years of the century, and thus earning for himself the distinction of constructing the first line in Devonshire; nor for his skill as a Master of hounds and daring as a rider on the Moor, will he be remembered, but also for the higher qualities of sincerity of friendship, and kindliness of heart.
His amiability and benevolence of disposition, enlivened by a sparkling wit, made him the charm of society, while his thought for those ina humble station caused him to be regarded as the poor man's friend.George Templer might justly have aspired to the highest of positions,he was a poet of no mean order. His lines on 'The Grave of the Skylark,' a favourite huntress, and his stanzas in memory of his friends Taylor and Russell alone entitle him to rank high among the sons of song in Devon.
The beautiful lady of Stover was not less beloved than her husband. The love story of George Templer is not wanting in the romantic. Passing through Highweek, when returning from hunting, leading his horse by the reign, he heard, when nearing Greenhill Farmhouse, a maiden singing a love song from the opera of 'The Duenna'. It was one he knew well, having sung it himself not long before in the part of Don Carlos,at some amateur theatricals at Stover, and he listened, charmed at the sweetness of the voice. When he reached the gate of the farm it was a case of love at first sight, and in a few weeks it was known that the young squire of Stover was engaged to the beautiful Miss Wreyford.
As his wife she adorned the stately to which he brought her, and the union was a most happy one. Private theatricals were frequently indulged in at Stover, in which members of the family and some of the more intelligent of the servants took part. Mrs Siddons and Mr Kemble, while on a visit there, witnessed the performance of 'Richard III' and 'King Lear', and highly praised the representations.
The venture of George Templer on Dartmoor did not prove remunerative. It might have done so perhaps (for the stone quarried at Hey Tor was of excellent quality) had the management of the undertaking not been left too much to others. The price he had to pay for the shortcomings of those in whom he trusted was a high one. The beautiful domain of Stover that he loved so well he had to dispose of, the purchaser being the Duke of Somerset."
The same book eulogizes on George Templer's hunting skills.
"The eastern part of the Moor is hunted by the South Devon Hounds, their country lying south of the Moreton-road, and extending westward tothe Dart, thus embracing the great ridge of Hameldon, the Widecombe valley, and the range of common land around Hey Tor.
The earliest Master of Hounds of note, hunting this district during the present century, was one who has been spoken of as the favoured and favourite sportsman, anywhere and everywhere, Mr George Templer, of Stover. In conjunction with his friends, Mr Harry Taylor and Mr Russell, it is said that he brought hunting to a state of perfection such as had scarcely ever been attained. So perfect was his mode of tuition that each hound comprehended every inflection of his voice, every noteof his horn and wave of his hand. He exhibited such scientific control over them that sterner discipline was unnecessary to ensure their obedience. Mr Templer also kept a pack of well-bred little beagles, known as the 'Let-'em-alones', immortalised by their master in a poem called 'The Chase', written by him in 1822.
Genial and kind, George Templer was beloved by all with whom he came in contact, but to his sporting friends, to whom he was best known, he especially endeared himself. On Mr Templer giving up keeping of hounds his country was hunted by Sir Walter Carew, to whom he gracefully alludes in some verses addressed to his 'Old Horn', and which were recited by him at a gathering of sportsmen, at Chulmleigh, the Hon. Newton Fellowes being in the chair. His treasured horn, his galant hounds, his steed lying beneath the mountain heather, and his departed friendsin their 'deep and dreamless sleeping', were all remembered in those farewell verses, and when his voiced ceased there was not one in that company of gallant followers of hounds in whose eye the tear drop did not stand."
A complex character indeed!
Justin Templer
Updated 1 January 2000.
As deduced from his will, George had six children out of wedlock. The first two of them were baptised together on 27 December 1816 (Parish Register of Baptisms for Highweek 1816 p.9):
No 69: Admitted Amelia Ann. Born in the parish of Chudleigh May 22 1815. Base born child daughter of Ann Wreyford of Highweek (no profession given) Ceremony performed by C. Bruch, Curate.
No 70: admitted George, Base born son of the above Ann Wreyford of Highweek (no profession given) Ceremony performed by C. Bruch, Curate. Previously baptised in Highweek parish by Rev. John Templer as by this certificate.
So, Ann Wreyford brought two 'base born' children to church to be baptised on the same day, 27 Dec 1816. Amelia Ann's birth date is given. She was already nineteen months when her baptism took place. George, placed second, suggests that he may be younger, possibly by about a year, giving a date of birth in 1816. George's entry, says that he was previously 'baptised in Highweek Parish by Rev John Templer as by this certificate'. Most likely, this baptism had been an emergency one as it was thought that the baby might die and so it was necessary to conduct a quick ceremony at home, undertaken by George's brother, the Reverend John Templer, rector of Teigngrace. This would not have been registered elsewhere. The father is not named but the choice of George for the son is telling, as is the fact that Ann gave no profession, presumably being supported by the father (every other entry on the page has a declared profession for the mother).
Ann herself had been baptised on 29 January 1792 at Teigngrace, the daughter of John & Mary Wreyford, thus making her 23 years old at the time of her first confinement and George nearly ten years older at 32 years..
Passing over the next nine years, and on to 12th October 1826, the date when George eventually married Ann by special license granted by the Archbishop of Canterbury at St Botolph Without Bishopsgate, London. Ann is given as being of St Marylebone parish.
It is believe there is a cogent reason why George felt able to make this commitment to Ann after so many years. The year 1826 had been his Nemesis. He had had to endure the three day, forced auction of Stover at the New London Inn, Exeter, following the calling in of mortgages by Sir John Palmer Acland (the Acland Hood documents at Somerset Record Office show the details, and the outcomes, very well) and even his much loved hounds had to be dispersed in that year. Although George was able to stave off bankruptcy, thanks mainly to a generous loan from Mr John Gould of Gatcombe to pay his creditors, his reputation was in tatters and he knew his days at Stover were numbered. No longer would he have felt bound by the conventions of class and place, which would have precluded the marriage of the Lord of the Manor to the daughter of a (tenant?) farmer. Marriage to Ann was at last a social possibility.
Six weeks after their marriage, on 23 November 1826, George and Ann presented their family at St Mary's, St Marylebone Road, London, where their remaining four children were all baptised together. Their respective birth dates were given as
Anna Templer - 23 November 1817
Frederick Templer - 5 May 1821
Henry Templer - 16 January 1823 and
Caroline Mary Templer - 26 January 1826
Note the surnames now given, of Templer, the oldest being then 9 years and the youngest only 10 months. The family address is given as Clarence Terrace, one of John Nash's recently built Regent's Park Terraces in Marylebone ( c .1820). Perhaps this is where George brought Ann and the children, to lick his wounds while his affairs were settled. Dr Tucker, his attorney, had his office at Lancaster Place, Strand, London, opposite Somerset House and the purchase of Stover by the XI Duke of Somerset was somewhat drawn out, and not completed until 1829.
I find George's life after Stover just as interesting as his life at Stover. I think history has been too quick to judge him. He inherited a large and profitable business empire from his father in 1813 and is generally held to have squandered it. In fact, much of the earlier family fortunes were the product of Government contracts in the Royal Dockyards, contracts which, more or less, had dried up by 1815, when the threat of war and invasion had abated. George did well to diversify into other markets, providing his granite to commercial contracts as opposed to military ones and in this he was successful for many years, often against all odds. He was certainly generous to a fault and gregarious but not, I think, wilfully irresponsible. After leaving Stover he was still a wealthy man. He shows himself to be a loving and committed parent, a most popular individual, a JP and pillar of the community throughout his life. I think he would have intended to engross a codicil to his will, to include his later children with Eliza Kennaway and only his accident and early death in 1843 denied him the opportunity of doing so.
Besides those references given in Justin's biography of George, I would like to point to two other sources, both of which devote a full chapter to the life and times of this colourful man:
"The Outdoor Life of the Revd John Russell - A Memoir" by E.W.L. Davies, 1883, London, Bentley & Son.
"The History of the South Devon Hunt" by Edward J.P. Tozer, published by the author, Teignmouth, 1916.
One point still needs to be clarified regarding George and Ann's relationship; that is the one of residency. I have yet to find positive evidence to suggest that Ann and the children were ever resident at Stover - in fact what evidence there is, suggests the contrary. Despite fullsome accounts of George's life at Stover in the two books above mentioned, (especially in Jack Russell's memoirs covering the years 1815-1826, after which George had to disperse his hounds) there is no mention whatsoever of George having any wife or family.
Rather more, in a Settlement Examination dated 1829 for Highweek Parish at Devon record Office (ref 2565 A/PO 51/76) Elizabeth Tapper, single woman of Ashburton is shown to have "worked for George Templer of Ash Hill in Highweek for seven years" before working "at various places for Ann Reddie of Highweek for three years....." there was only one George Templer in Highweek over those years, so this suggests employment for Elizabeth Tapper between the years 1819 and 1826 and perhaps identifies not only a housemaid for Ann but also a residence for her. Crucially, there is still a public footpath from the front gate of Stover directly to Ash Hill Farm, about one mile distance.
I hope these comments about George's affair with Ann Wreyford may offer something new to the readers.
I have yet to trace fully the subsequent lives of these six children of George and Ann, although I have material regarding all but George; Nor do I have details about the death of Ann herself.
Stuart Drabble 2005 - The author accepts that some of the above is conjecture and requires further research to confirm these details
Events
| Birth | Abt 1781 |  | |||
| Educated | 1797 | Westminster School | |||
| Marriage | 12 Oct 1826 | Bishopsgate, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom - Ann Wreyford | |||
| Marriage | 13 Jan 1835 | Talaton, Devon, England, United Kingdom - Charlotte Elizabeth Kennaway | |||
| Will Dated | 18 Feb 1835 | Recorded in Somerset House | |||
| Residence | 1841 | Age: 59 - Highweek, Devon, England, United Kingdom | |||
| Death | 12 Dec 1843 | Sandford Orleigh House, Newton Abbot, Devon, England, United Kingdom | |||
| Burial | 19 Dec 1843 | Teigngrace, Devon, England, United Kingdom | |||
| Will Proved | 16 Mar 1844 | Executors: Wife Charlotte, Rev Richard Buller of Lanreath, Cornwall. | |
Families
| Spouse | Charlotte Elizabeth Kennaway (1799 - 1875) |
| Child | Georgina Charlotte Gertrude Templer (1837 - 1901) |
| Child | Augusta Noel Templer (1841 - 1913) |
| Spouse | Ann Wreyford (1792 - 1829) |
| Child | Amelia Anne Templer (1815 - 1902) |
| Child | Anna Templer (1817 - 1908) |
| Child | George Templer (1818 - 1869) |
| Child | Frederick J. Templer (1821 - ) |
| Child | Henry A. Templer (1823 - 1851) |
| Child | Caroline Mary Templer (1824 - 1861) |
| Father | James Templer (1748 - 1813) |
| Mother | Mary Buller (1740 - 1829) |
| Sibling | John James Templer ( - 1781) |
| Sibling | Mary Templer (1778 - 1869) |
| Sibling | Anne Sophia Templer (1780 - 1866) |
| Sibling | Frederick Edward Templer (1782 - 1796) |
| Sibling | Commander William Templer RN (1784 - 1805) |
| Sibling | Charles Templer (1786 - 1806) |
| Sibling | Amelia Templer (1787 - 1837) |
| Sibling | Rev John James Templer (1788 - 1869) |
| Sibling | Charlotte Frances Templer (1789 - 1875) |
| Sibling | Francis James Templer (1792 - 1854) |
Notes
Birth
FMP - 1841 Census states that he was born outside of DevonWill Proved
Will dated 18 February 1835 (Somerset House). Approved 16th March 1844. Executors: wife Charlotte Eliza, Rev Richard Buller of Lanreath, Cornwall. Estate equally to be divided between his wife and children Amelia Anne, Anna, George, Frederick,Henry and Caroline Mary. (There is no mention of Georgina or Augusta - presumably he died before changing his will)There are two records of Rev Richard Buller. It is assumed that the executor of his will was the Rev Richard Buller junior.