The Bakers of Highfields Story

A Journey through time, following the historical path of the Baker and Dod families

The Bakers Home Page Return to the Home Page of the Bakers Family part of the website

The Bakers of Highfields Story The Story of the Dods and Bakers and of Highfields, Fenton House and Hasfield Court. A journey through the history of Cheshire and Staffordshire, an Anglo-Saxon nobleman who retained his lands after the Conquest, pottery at Stoke on Trent, an encounter with Elgar, and the history of an Elizabethan manor house at Audlem

The Bakers of Highfields The family tree of the Bakers of Highfields

The Dod Family The Family Tree of the Dods, predecessors to the Bakers of Highfields

The Bakers of Fenton House and Hasfield Court The Family Tree of the pottery Bakers of Stoke on Trent

The Bellyse Family The Family Tree of the Bellyse Family

The Farndale Story The main part of this website tells the story of the Farndale family from Yorkshire Descendants of Arthur Baker, the story of the Farndale ancestry is told through the main part of this website You can also return to the Farndale website home page

The Hall Family The genealogy of the family of James Hall, linked to the Baker family through marriage to Arthur Baker

A Brief Introduction to the Baker Story

This page is the portal, through which you can experience a family’s journey through time. You will scroll down to the Matrix, through which you can explore the history of the Baker family of Cheshire centred on the town of Audlem, and take a unique journey through the national story. First, some brief introductory guidance will help you on your way.

A Quick Key to the Matrix

The Matrix is your portal to follow the family journey. Before you scroll down further, a few tips to get best use from the Matrix:

When you first visit the Farndale Story, it might help to read the Time Traveller s Handbook before using the Matrix for the first time. When you ve finished reading the Handbook please replace it in the pocket in front of your seat.	I suggest that you start by reading the Prologue, at the top of the matrix. The Numbered Stories in ten Acts take you on the main journey into the past. You re best to read them in the numbered order, starting with the Prologue and then Act 1. However more rebellious readers can travel through time in a more random order if that is what you prefer.	The Local Story Explainers tell of local historical factors, events, and places which influenced our family s story. They provide a little more depth as you visit different eras of time. They reflect the local history of Northumbria, Yorkshire, and the vicinity of the North York Moors.	Further context is provided by the National Story Explainers, which gives a wider perspective to the family and local history.	The Baker Folk are a few of our ancestors waiting to be introduced to you, to further enhance your journey through time.	The Objects and Places take you on a geographical tour, and provide directions if you have the chance to visit the lands where the Farndale Story played out.	All these pages are full of hyperlinks. These will take you to the underlying research if you would like to explore in more depth, or check the source material. [to follow]
After reading the Prologue, scroll down to the early thirteenth century to find Act 1 of the story.		When the light grey boxes appear within the pages of the Baker story, click on the hyperlinked title, to follow the link.	Every member of the Baker family has his or her own webpage.

The Time Traveller s Matrix

Now, you are ready for time travel.

To avoid getting lost in the Matrix, stay oriented by following the Prologue and the Acts and then use the other pages to build more context, and understand the local and national history. If you follow the Baker Story in the order of the numbered Acts, this will take you on a journey which starts in the eighteenth century, when the stories of the Dods and Bakers merged at Highfields. You will then travel back to the age of the Medieval Dods and follow the story of the lands in the vicinity of Audlem through Anglo Saxon and medieval times, before continuing the journey forward from the eighteenth century.

However it’s up to you whether you take a structured journey through the Matrix, or leap backwards and forwards across places in time as takes your fancy.

This page is work in progress and whilst most links are now available, the twelve Acts of the main story remain to be written. I’m currently working on the underlying research and hope to draft the narrative history during 2027.

		The pre-history of Cheshire Archaeology of Cheshire’s deep past	Roman Chester The history of the Romans at Chester and the environs	Anglo-Saxon Cheshire The history of Cheshire during the Anglo-Saxon period	Prologue An overview guide to the Baker Story After reading the Prologue, scroll down several rows to start with Act 1 - The Bakers and Highfields		Sources Primary and Secondary Sources used in research into the Baker Story	Glossary An alphabetical list of words and terms which you might come across during your travels, which are explained here	The Time Traveller s Handbook The Guide to getting the best use of the Matrix for future reference
The Houses of Lancaster and York 1399 to 1485 England during the reigns of Henry IV, Henry V and the Wars of the Roses	Towns	Culture and writing	The Plantagenets 1154 to 1399 England in the Middle Ages	The Normans 1066 to 1154 Domination from northern France	Medieval Cheshire A history of Cheshire in the Middle Ages	The Cheshire Men of Richard II The close association between Richard II and Cheshire	Cheshire Archers The history of the archers of Cheshire	The Welsh Marches The relationship between Cheshire and the Welsh Marches
Sir Anthony Dod c 1390 to c 1470 There is a tradition that he was Knighted by Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt on 25 October 1415, though this is not evidenced Said to be buried in Canterbury	The Dod Family The Family Tree of the Dods Huyton The Anglo-Saxon origin story	Dot of Huyton c 1030 to c 1100 Associated with 20 places in Cheshire before the Conquest in the Domesday Book, particularly within the Hundred of Duddeston. His lands were redistributed after the Conquest, but the family reacquired many of the Duddeston lands when his grandson married the daughter of the Lord of Edge	Edwin of Poulton Lord of Edge c 1045 to c 1120 Edwin, Lord of Edge, was an 11th-century Anglo-Saxon thane or landowner in Cheshire recorded in the Domesday Book around 1066. He unusually retained many of his lands after the Conquest and was particularly associated with the Hundred of Duddeston.	Hova Dod (or Dot) c 1090 to c 1150 Married the daughter and heiress of Edwin, Lord of Edge Hova, son of Cadwgan Dod (or Dot), married the daughter and heiress of the Saxon Lord of Edge during the reign of Henry II, acquiring a portion of the manor of Edge in Malpas The Edge Hall Estates near Malpas was owned by the Wolley Dod family until the 21^st century	Act 2 – The Medieval Dods	Edge Hall The history of Edge in the Middle Ages The Hundred of Dudderstone The region at the heart of the history of the Dods of Huyton and the Lords of Edge The Dods and Wolley Dods of Edge Hall The family tree of the senior branch of the family, established at Edge Hall	Malpas The important settlement of Malpas Beeston Castle and Maiden Castle The High ground of Cheshire which dominates the surrounding plains	Cloverley A history of Cloverley in the Middle Ages Ightfield A History of Ightfield in the Middle Ages	John Dod of Farndon c 1330 to c 1410 Married Johanna, daughter and co-heiress of Ightfield in the reign of Richard II Ancestor of the Dods of Cloverly Hugh or Hugo Dod c 1395 to c 1450 Married Agnes de Cloverley in 1418 Cloverley was an estate the family had owned since the early fifteenth century
The Stuarts 1603 to 1714 Seventeenth century England	The Tudors 1485 to 1603 Sixteenth century England	Tudor Cheshire Cheshire during the Tudor Period	Hugh Chester c 1480 to c 1550 Owned Highefields pasture	William Dod of Lostford c 1505 to c 1575 Younger son Married Anne Chester in 1530 Inherited the Highefields pasture with other lands from Hugh Chester, his father in law	Act 3 – the Sixteenth Century Dods	Highfields The History of Highfields	Audlem The History of Audlem Buerton A short history of Buerton
	The House of Hanover and the Victorian Period 1714 to 1901 Eighteenth and Nineteenth century Britain	Richard Baker 28 May 1676 to 24 May 1749 Married Mary Smith on 9 October 1698 Gilder and button maker and later a Surgeon Stepney, London, then Leominster from 1705-1708	Act 4 – The Merchant Bakers Coventry The home of the Bakers in the mid to late sixteenth century Market Bosworth The home of the Bakers in the early seventeenth century London The home of the Bakers in the later seventeenth century Leominster The home of the Baker family in the early eighteenth century		Act 5 – the Seventeenth Century Dods The Dods of Cloverley and Highfields The family tree of the Dods of Cloverley and Highfields	George Dod of Highfields 1653 to 1727 Barrister at law Married Charity, daughter of John Woodroffe, London and Chalderton, Hants in 1680 Highfields, Audlem	William Dod of Highfields 1577 to about 1655 Married Eleanor, eldest daughter and heiress, daughter of John Gamul of Buerton Hall in 1598 Involved with his brother in law in establishment of Audlem Grammar School Highfields, Audlem	Cheshire and the English Civil War The history of Cheshire during the English Civil War
	The Bakers of Highfields The Family Tree of the Bakers of Highfields		Eighteenth century Architecture Architecture in Eighteenth Century England Bridgnorth A short history of Bridgnorth between 1700 and 1750	Start Here Act 1 – The Bakers and Highfields The Bakers come to Audlem	William Baker 1705 to 1771 Married Elizabeth Eykyn in 1729 and Jane Dod in 1736 The Architect London, Leominster, Highfields, Audlem	Jane Dod of Highfields 1711 to 1783 Only surviving daughter who inherited Highfields on the death of her grandfather in 1727
		Charity (”Chatty”) Baker (“Madame Barrow”) 1739 to 1817 Married Lawrence Barrow, a banker of Chetwynd, Newport on 9 November 1761 No issue Woodlam Estate, Audlem	Richard Dod (“Dick”) Baker (alias Hassall, while architect and surveyor at Leominster) 1743 to 1803 Married Hannah Hassall, daughter of John Hassall of Nantwich Surveyor and Architect Bridgnorth, Shropshire, Stratford upon Avon, Leominster, Highfields, Audlem	Act 6 – The eighteenth Century Bakers of Highfields	Cheshire and the Industrial Revolution A history of Cheshire during the Industrial Revolution
					The Bakers of Fenton House and Hasfield Court The family tree of this line of the Baker family	Act 7 – The eighteenth century Bakers of Fenton House	Stoke on Trent A history of Stoke-on-Trent Pottery Pottery industry in Staffordshire Baker & Bagnall, Bourne & Baker, Baker & Company Limited A History of the Baker Pottery Businesses Fenton House A history of Fenton House Staffordshire and the Industrial Revolution A history of Staffordshire during the Industrial Revolution	William Baker II of Fenton 1744 to 25 November 1784 Married Sarah, daughter of Thomas Bagnall of Fenton, Lord of the Manor of Skelton, Staffordshire in 1767 Pottery William Baker of Fenton, Culvert, Staffordshire. He was Lord of the Manor, a partner with Baker & Bagnall of Fenton, potters	William Baker III of Fenton 1771 to 1833 Married Mary (or Molly) Bourne, daughter of John Bourne in 1794 Lord of the Manor
	Richard Dod Baker 1784 to 12 August 1807 Unmarried Brasenose College, Oxford, October 1801 Commissioned into the 17th Regiment in 1804 (Royal Leicestershire Regiment?) Sailed with his Regiment to India in July 1804 on board the Worcester Died on his way home on 12 August 1806	William Baker The Elder 1787 to 1863 Married Ann Hough of Layton, Cheshire in on 9 August 1813 Justice of the Peace Leominster, Herefordshire, Highfields, Audlem	Act 8 – The nineteenth century Bakers of Highfields	Hannah Mary Baker 1785 (may have been 1776) to 23 August 1851 Eloped with Dr John Bellyse of Audlem and married at Mucklestone Church on 27 September 1808	The Bellyse Family The family tree of the Bellyse Family	William Baker The Younger 1816 to 1876 Married Prudence Cliffe in 1838 and then his cousin, Henrietta Louisa Bellyse (daughter of Dr John Bellyse) in 1849 Justice of the Peace Kynsal House, Audlem until 1863 then Highfields, Audlem	Dr John 'Cockfighting' Bellyse 1738 to 1828 Married Mary Bayley (1747 to 1784) in 1778 Married Sarah Hayward (d 1803) in about 1785 Married Margaret Tremlow (d 1810) after 1803 Married Ann Brown (d 1847) after 1810 Surgeon Known as ‘Cock-fighting’ Bellyse Founder of the Waterloo Cup for coursing The Lymes, Woore Road Woodhouse, Audlem	Dr John Bellyse The Younger MD 1786 to 20 December 1860 Married Hannah Baker (BAK00101) on 27 September 1808 at Mucklestone, Staffordshire A surgeon (July 1828 and 7 June 1841 Dorfold Cottage, Nantwich, Cheshire Sandy Lane, Audlem
						Hasfield Court, Gloucestershire A short history of Hasfield Court	Act 9 – The nineteenth century Bakers of Fenton House and Hasfield Court The Bakers of Fenton and Hasfield The family tree of this branch of the Bakers	Rev Ralph Bourne Baker of Fenton and Hasfield Court 1802 to November 1875 Married Frances, daughter of Rt Rev Singer, Bishop of Meath	William Baker IV of Fenton and Hasfield Court 1800 to 16 August 1865 Pottery and encaustic tile manufacturer, in partnership with Ralph Bourne and John Bourne as Bourne, Baker & Bourne at Fenton (dissolved 1835) – 500 employees He inherited Fenton House from his father in 1833 and purchased the Hasfield Court estate, Glos in 1863 for £42,500. At his death his property passed to his next brother, Rev. Ralph Bourne Baker Unmarried No issue
				The modern period of the House of Saxe Coburg Gotha and the House of Windsor From 1901 Britain in the modern age	The Enigma Variations The association of the Bakers and the Enigma Variations.	Edward Elgar and the Bakers How the Bakers befriended a piano teacher.	William Meath Baker of Hasfield and Fenton 1 November 1857 to 1935 Married Hannah Corbett, daughter of Captain R J Corbett Sheriff of Gloucester 1896 A close friend of the composer, Sir Edward Elgar, and was one of the friends portrayed in Elgar's 'Enigma Variations' of 1899 He inherited Hasfield Court and Fenton House from his father in 1875 and came of age in 1880. After his eldest son joined the Roman Catholic church in 1918 they agreed to break the entail on the estate so that it could be left to his second son	Act 10 – The Twentieth Century Bakers of Fenton House and Hasfield Court	Letitia Jane Dorothea Baker 29 February 1852 to 30 November1930 Married, 28 July 1881 at Hasfield, Richard Baxter Townshend (1846-1923), youngest son of Rev. Chambré Corker Townshend No issue
The Miss Bakers Henrietta (“Poppie”), Charlotte (“Tottie”) and Emily Baker were together known as “the Miss Bakers” and latterly lived together with Dick Baker at the Cedars Henrietta Louisa (“Poppie”) Baker 9 February 1849 to 22 November 1935 Unmarried The Cedars, Audlem Charlotte (“Tottie”) Louisa Baker 29 July 1866 to 1918 Unmarried Emily Jane Baker 7 October 1868 to 1941 Red Cross volunteer, nurse Unmarried The diaries of the three sisters	John (“Jack”) Bellyse Baker 1850 to 1932 Married Richmal Mangnall, daughter of William Mangnall on 23 June 1884 Leased Highfields 1876-1890 Sold Highfields in 1884 during Agricultural Depression and emigrated to New Zealand, where he was a sheep farmer and grazier then returned to England 1890, farm bailey at Hildley, Lancs	Act 11 – The Twentieth century Bakers of Highfields	Arthur Baker 1860 to 29 April 1916 Audlem Married Marianne Hall (daughter of James Hall of Kynsal Lodge) on 16 August 1898 Hillside, Audlem	The Halls The Family Tree of the Hall Family Act 12 – The Halls of Audlem and Newcastle-under-Lyme	Kynsal Lodge A short history of Kynsal Lodge, Audlem Swanbach Villa A short history of Swanbach Villa, Audlem Hillside, Audlem A short history of Hillside, Audlem The Cedars, Audlem A short history of The Cedars, Audlem		Rev. William George Corbett Baker 13 May 1885 to 25 April 1947 Educated at Trinity College, Oxford (MA 1910) Ordained in the Church of England; curate of West Hoe, Plymouth, 1913; converted to Roman Catholicism in 1918 and became a priest at the Brompton Oratory Unmarried	Francis (“Frank”) Ralph Meath Baker of Hasfield 23 June 1886 to 7 June 1940 Married Madeleine Susan Bryan on 12 April 1921 Served in the First World War with the Royal Field Artillery, 1914-16 as a Lieutenant. JP for Gloucestershire. A committee member of the Ledbury Hunt.	Edward John Baker 4 August 1887 to 5 April 1936 Unmarried Yacht designer Served in First World War as a sapper in Royal Engineers, 1914-16 Sussex
	Bellyse Baker 23 June 1886 to 17 November 1947 Married Lilian (“Lily”) Crosland, daughter of Joseph Crosland on 16 June 1913 Royal Field Artillery in WW1 Clerk, Sales Director, cotton manufacturers Repurchased Highfields 1946 New Zealand, Audlem		Margaret (“Peggy”) Louisa Baker 24 February 1901 to 1996 Married Alfred Farndale	The Farndale Story The Story of the Farndale Family The Farndale Lineage The family trees of the Farndale family
	John (“Jack”) Bellyse Baker 29 November 1915 to 2010 Married Josephine May (“Jo”) Henderson, daughter of Joseph Henderson of Wilmslow, Cheshire on 4 October 1952 Author of Highfields, Audlem