William Grant of Withern

Born ca. 1811 at Withern, son of Richard Grant, and died there 2 July 1866 aged 56. Buried there 5 July 1866. His will was proved at under £14000, and left half his estate to his wife and half to his daughter. There were also legacies of £19 19s to his groom Griffin Donner, and his foreman John Cumberworth, and to the Rector of Withern for the upkeep of the family graves.

WITHERN. near ALFORD. Important SALE of prime Long-wool SHEEP, Neat CATTLE, and HORSES. To be SOLD by AUCTION, By Henry Winder. On the premises of Mr. WM. GRANT, (who is quitting his farm, held under R.S. Maw, Esq.,) at Withern aforesaid on Tuesday the 24th of September, 1844, 331 SHEEP, 25 BEASTS, and 3 HORSES: viz — 134 tupping ewes, 40 shearling ewes, 4 wethers, 114 he lambs, and 39 she ditto; 3 milch cows, 3 heifers in calf, 13 three-year-old fresh bullocks, 4 two year-old steers, and 2 yearling ditto; six-year-old carthorse, six-year-old harness ditto, and six-year-old hackney mare. The greatest care and attention have been paid to the breeding of the above Stock for the last 40 years; and as Mr. Grant and his late father have long been celebrated as first-rate breeders, no further comment will be neccesary.- Refreshment will be on the table at 11 o’clock and the Sale to commence immediately after. All the valuable KEEPING on the above Farm will be Sold on a future day, of which notice will be given.aStamford Mercury 13 September 1844.

In 1844 he was legatee of land at Thorpe in the Marsh and £1600 by the will of Benjamin Grant of Scamblesby. This seems to have allowed him to own his own farm and give up the rented one, so that in the 1851 census he was listed as ‘Farmer 606 acres employing 30 labourers outdoors, 2 in’, and in 1861 as ‘Farmer occupying 613 acres employing 15 labourers and 7 boys’. On both occasions he was living at the Hall, Withern.

WANTED, Working Foreman, who can Stack and Sow well, go with the Ploughmen, and take the management of a Farm of between 600 and 700 Acres, if required.- Address Mr. W. Grant, Withern, near Alford. None need apply but such as can obtain a good character from their last situation.bStamford Mercury 13 May 1859.

Married at Louth, 28 December 1841, to Maria Lowther. She was born ca. 1819 and died 27 December 1889, aged 71. Buried at Withern. After her husband’s death she resided at Louth, at 182 Eastgate in 1871 (Annuitant and landowner) and 55 Westgate in 1881.

At Louth, on the 28th inst., (by the Rev. J. Badcock, L.L.B.), Mr. William Grant of Withern to Maria only daughter of T. Lowther, Esq., Mayor of Louth.cLincolnshire Chronicle, 31 December 1841.

Issue one daughter:

  1. Anne Grant. Baptised at Withern 21 July 1842, and died 4 July 1899 at the Grand Central Hotel in London, aged 57. Buried at Withern.
    General regret is felt at the sudden and unexpected death of Mrs Pahud, wife of Mr A. A. Pahud, J.P., of the Limes, Westgate, which took place on Tuesday. Mr and Mrs Pahud were staying at the Hotel Grand Central, in London, prior to leaving for their usual vacation on the Continent. The deceased was the only daughter of Mr W. Grant, Withern, who has large estates in the Marshes. Mrs Grant was also a granddaughter of Mr Thos. Lowther, at one time Mayor of Louth.dHull Daily Mail, 6 July 1899

    Married in October 1887 to Auguste Alphonse Pahud. He was Swiss, born in 1849, and was teaching French at Louth Grammar School in 1877. Seems to have been in Glasgow in 1880, and at Cardiff College in 1883. Committed suicide 5 August 1902 at his residence, The Limes, Westgate, Louth. BA from the University of Paris, and a JP for Lindsey from 1894.

    STRANGE DEATH OF A MAGISTRATE —A painful sensation was caused in Louth on Tuesday night when it became generally known that Mr. Auguste Alphonse Pahud, a Lindsey magistrate, had been found dead at his residence, The Limes, Westgate. Mr. Pahud lunched soon after one o’clock, and about three hours afterwards he was discovered hanging from the bedpost by the girdle of his dressing gown quite dead. The deceased went to Louth about 20 years ago as a master of languages at the Grammar School, and subsequently married Miss Annie Grant, a lady of wealth, who died suddenly in a London hotel about three years ago. Since then Mr. Pahud has been subject to fits of depression, and seldom appeared in public. He was fifty five years of age, and leaves no family.— At the inquest on Wednesday evidence was given by Henry Edmond, butler, and Dr. W. J. Bell. It appeared that for some time past the deceased bad been suffering from acute mental depression —this had developed to such an alarming extent during the past few days that arrangements were about to be made for his removal to an asylum. On Tuesday he was seen twice before noon by the doctor, and he was then under the delusion that his coffee had been drugged. He became so excited about this it was only by drinking some himself and promising to have the remainder analysed that the doctor was able to pacify the deceased. Shortly after five o’clock he was found dead in his bedroom, the body hanging from the bedpost by the girdle of his dressing-gown. A wound on the left ankle showed an unsuccessful attempt to open a vein.—A verdict of Suicide during temporary insanity ” was returned. Mr. Pahud, who was Swiss, was born in 1848, and was appointed a justice of the peace for Lindsey in 1894.eLincolnshire Chronicle, 8 August 1902.
    The trustees of the will of the late Mr. A. A. Pahud. J.P., of Louth, have offered to the Governors of the Louth Girls’ Grammar School (providing the terms of the will permit the proposal being legally carried out) the residence called The Limes, West-gate, Louth, formerly occupied by Mr. Pahud on condition that certain scholarships at the school shall not be retained as exclusive for Louth girls.fLincolnshire Chronicle, 18 December 1903.
    SPLENDID GIFT TO LOUTH. A BEAUTIFUL ESTATE ACQUIRED. The Louth Town Council received last night acommunication concerning a munificent gift to Louth, under the will of the late Mr. A. A. Pahud, J.P., of the Limes, Westgate, Louth. Various gifts hare already been made to charitable and religious objects in Louth and Withern, the latter being the birthplace of the late Mrs. Pahud, but the communication received by the Louth Town Council last night concerned the handing over to the borough of Louth by the trustees of the Hubbard’s Valley estate, which is one of the beauty spots of Lincolnshire. The trustees originally felt some little difficulty as to whether the proposed gift came within the terms of the will, and they decided to obtain the opinion of the High Court with the result that the Court held that the trustees had discretionary power to apply a portion of the trust estate for the proposed object. The Hubbard’s Valley estate was accordingly purchased. It contains about 36 acres, and includes the Hubbard’s Valley water corn mill, with garden adjoining, the mill dam, and the valley from the north end right through to the Hallington road, with Fisher’s Hills on the right and Hubbard’s Hills on the left. The approximate cost of the land and improvements will be about £3,000. The rental of the land. mill. &c., from the complete estate as handed over will be between £30 and £40, so that, with judicious management, the upkeep of the estate should not become in any way a burden to the town.gNottingham Evening Post, 12 June 1907
A postcard of Hubbards Hills, posted in 1908

A postcard of Hubbards Hills, posted in 1908

References   [ + ]

a. ↑ Stamford Mercury 13 September 1844.
b. ↑ Stamford Mercury 13 May 1859.
c. ↑ Lincolnshire Chronicle, 31 December 1841.
d. ↑ Hull Daily Mail, 6 July 1899
e. ↑ Lincolnshire Chronicle, 8 August 1902.
f. ↑ Lincolnshire Chronicle, 18 December 1903.
g. ↑ Nottingham Evening Post, 12 June 1907