The Butlers of Inkpen

Just sixty-five miles west of London in the south-west corner of Berkshire, the thirteenth century church of St Michael’s, Inkpen nestles at the foot of the North Wessex Downs. The oldest extant building in the village, it is Grade II* listed, with flint walls and Bath stone dressings, and has a tile hung and lead roofed belfry and tiled main roof. Inside the church are several memorials to members of the Butler family, who for over 150 years made a significant contribution to the life of the parish and the preservation of the fabric of the church.

The story of the Inkpen Butlers begins with Thomas Butler, a retired linen and woollen draper who bought The Priory at Grove, near Wantage, about seventeen miles north of Inkpen. The youngest of his children was Joseph, born in 1692. Thomas was a Presbyterian and Joseph was initially educated at the Dissenting Academy in Gloucester to train for the Presbyterian ministry, but he decided to conform to the Church of England. His father tried to dissuade him but ultimately supported his admission to Oriel College, Oxford. Joseph became an eminent theologian and moral philosopher and was appointed Bishop of Bristol and, in 1750, Bishop of Durham.

Thomas’s eldest son, Robert, born c.1676, followed his father into the drapery business and became very wealthy. His eldest son, also named Thomas, became a successful solicitor and the second, Joseph, was ordained by his uncle, Bishop Butler, who presented him with the living of St Paul’s, Shadwell in East London in 1741. Rev. Joseph of Shadwell married Susannah Hoar in 1747 and they had thirteen children, seven of whom survived to maturity. Thomas and Rev. Joseph had three other brothers who became partners in the family drapery business and one of these, John, bequeathed the many estates and properties he had acquired to his nephews Joseph and Robert, the sons of Rev. Joseph of Shadwell. In addition, Thomas the solicitor had become patron of the advowson of Inkpen in 1779 and it remained in the Butler family until 1933. In his will, proved 3 June 1782, he left his estate to his brothers Rev. Joseph and John.

Kirby House, Inkpen was built in 1771 by James Kirby and, after his death, his widow sold the property to Joseph Butler, eldest son of Rev. Joseph of Shadwell. Two of his brothers took holy orders: Robert became the Rector of Inkpen and John became a Fellow of King’s College, Cambridge. A fourth brother, Thomas, was a Captain in the Royal Navy who perished in the Savanna-la-Mar hurricane in October 1780 off the coast of Jamaica.

Joseph of Kirby House married Catherine Davison and their sons were Joseph, John, George, Robert and Thomas. The eldest of their five sons, John b.1786, was also a Navy Captain. He married Eliza Dobrée, daughter of Captain Daniel Dobrée in 1812 in Guernsey. Their second son, Joseph b.1788, took holy orders and was for a time curate at Inkpen, dying at the  age of 33 years in Kensington. They also had a daughter, Anne, who died at the age of ten in 1800.

Captain John and Eliza Dobrée had thirteen children; three sons and ten daughters. Their eldest son John b.1814 took holy orders and served, first as curate, then as Rector of Inkpen from 1838 until his death in 1895. Another son was Augustus b.1825 who served as a Captain in the Royal Navy. Rev. John hunted with the Craven Hunt for 72 of his 81 years and it is said that, if a meet occurred on a day when he had to take a service, he wore his riding gear beneath his vestments! However, he took his duties seriously and was described as ‘a cleric of the old school, an able preacher who kept to the middle road and refused to take part in the controversies that afflicted the Anglican church in the 19th century’. After a neighbouring cleric, who had been invited to preach on a special occasion, delivered a sermon suggestive of the Oxford Movement, Rev. John declared that he would never again invite a visiting preacher to his pulpit. His nine unmarried sisters ran a Sunday School for the local children. In 1850 he married Maria Ann Cherry, who bore him six children: Harriet b.1851 who became a Sister of Mercy in Wantage, John George who managed the Inkpen farm, Caroline Charlotte became a midwife, Lucy, Ada Louise, and Henry Dobrée Butler b.1860, who succeeded his father as Rector of Inkpen.

Henry had already served as a curate in Swindon, Wiltshire and Shottery near Stratford on Avon when he returned to Inkpen as Rector in 1895 and he soon realised that the church needed complete renovation: the north wall was almost falling down, the bell tower was so unsafe that the bells could not be rung and the gallery blocked light from the west window. A porch was added as a memorial to Rev. John Butler. Much of the funding came from various members of the Butler family, amounting to over £800, with further donations and pledges bringing the amount to £1,400. The renovated church was formally re-opened and re-consecrated on Sunday 28 February 1897. The final costs were £2,588 and all but £44 had been given or promised. The murals, some of which commemorate members of the Butler family, were painted some twenty years later by Ethel King Martin.

Henry continued to serve the parish until his death in 1933. The lychgate at the entrance to the churchyard was built as a memorial to him, made of English oak and local stone and a hipped roof covered with hand-made tiles. The inscription reads:

Remember O Lord the soul of Thy servant Henry Dobrée Butler who faithfully served Thee in this place 1895-1933.

To the Glory of God. Erected by his parishioners and friends in the Rural Deanery of Newbury.