John Blagdon

John Blagdon and his wife Laura Neale. Laura Neale married JohnBlagdon in 1819. He was born in 1799 and died 18 September 1853.(Minnoch John Neale). The Red Album contains photos of paintings ofJohn Blagdon and Laura nee Neale; and the personal photograph album ofNathaniel Phillips contains a photo of his wife on a sofa in front ofwhat appears to be the same painting (oil) of John Blagdon which photohas the caption "Katie at the Flat Lewisham April 28 1912". Carolbelieves that she saw these paintings of John Blagdon and Laura at thehouse of her aunt Kay's ex husband in British Columbia in 1976, andshe speculates that these paintings are now lost. The Red Album alsocontains "Miniatures" (of which there may only be one miniature). Onenote on the sheet written by Nathaniel Phillips is that the"watercolour" of John Blagdon (which is not the same as the oilpainting above) is "in the possession of my cousins (the late Dr W. B.Richard or Richards) at Margate".

John got custody of the estate in 1835, and succeeded as lord of themanor on the death of his uncle (we presume the lunatic John) in 1840. John, the lord of the manor, died in 1853 and the manor was sold outof the family in 1863. (Gloucestershire History). Sammis Rootsstates that the sale was by Isabella, widow of John Locke Blagdon(born 1823, died 1859) and her trustees". The Red Album has a numberof photos of Boddington Manor in 1906. It also has a photo of theWhite Swan, an inn at Boddington, with Nathaniel Phillips seated atthe entrance. As at July 2010 this inn is named "The Gloucester OldSpot". There is another inn nearby with the word "Swan" in its name,but Christine Hitchins told us that the correct inn was "TheGloucester Old Spot" and the 1906 photo indeed looks like TheGloucester Old Spot.

A house was registered for Protestant dissenters' worship inBoddington in 1819. A body of nonconformists in Boddington callingitself the Protestant Free Church had a preaching room, owned by JohnBlagdon, in 1851. Services were held in the morning and evening withaverage attendances of 45 and 80 respectively. (GloucestershireHistory). The footnote for this para. Is "H. O. 129/14/345/1/2". Weassume that "H. O." stands for Home Office, but are uncertain.