General Notes

Henry BENNETT was born in London, within the sounds of Bo
w Bells. On his father's death, he inherited the Sparkfor
d part of Cadbury Estate, on which neither Rectory nor Hal
l yet existed. He accompanied his mother on part of her Eur
opean tour, and in St Petersburg, met and fell in love wit
h Miss Emily MOBERLY, daughter of the British Consul.
He approached his future father-in-law about marriage and w
as told that a younger son should have a profession - so h
e decided to take his degree in Cambridge. Once a priest, h
e returned to Europe to claim his bride.
The family toured Europe for some years, taking an Englis
h nurse and a male servant with him (to drive a second, "nu
rsery" carriage). Henry worked as a chaplain in various pla
ces in Europe - to some extent the route may be seen in th
e birthplaces of his children. The first 3 (Henry, Emily, J
ulia) were born in England, then Helen was born in St Peter
sburg, William in Dresden, Edward in Genoa, Mary and Georg
e in Naples. When the curate back in South Cadbury died, th
e bishop summoned Henry home, so that is where his younge
r children were born (Arthur, James, Elizabeth, Susan, Agne
s, Francis and Charles).
He lived in South Cadbury while Sparkford Rectory and Spark
ford Hall were built, then moved to Sparkford - where as Sq
uarson (Squire and Parson) he enjoyed the role of Lord of t
he Manor, until his death in Weymouth in 1878.