In 1841 Frederick Monson died aged only 32. His marriage to Theodosia Monson in
1832 was a disaster and the couple separated 2 years later. As the marriage was childless,
the title and the estates at Gatton and Burton passed to his second cousin, William
Monson who was born in Madras in 1796. Although the family ties were distant, linking
back to the 2nd Baron, William Monson appears to have been well prepared for his
accession to the title as the 6th Lord Monson of Burton. He found the estate in
poor condition and heavily in debt. Gatton Hall was unfinished, Burton hall was
in decay and the tenant farms from which his income was derived, starved of investment.
He had no personal fortune so his immediate plan was to reduce his financial commitments
by letting Gatton Hall (to Lady Warwick) and to refurbish Burton Hall as his family
residence..... in the meantime he move to Florence .... to save money! He installed
David Middleton as his house steward to oversee the repairs and improvements to the
hall and to organise the estate workforce. Middleton was the perfect choice, scrupulously
honest, fair but firm with traders and villagers alike. The tenanted farms Burton,
South Carlton and Croft near Wainfleet were administered by his Land Agent, Willliam
Brown who farmed at South Carlton.
In 1843 Monson appointed his brother-in-law the Reverend Edmund Larken to the Burton
living, worth £420 which with his income from a family inheritance, gave him an annual
income the equivalent of about £100,000 today. Revd Larken and his large family took
up residence in the rectory, situated within the hall grounds. They had 8 children
and could afford to keep 3 servants, a cook, a housemaid and nurserymaid. The Larken
and Monson families were connected through their respective fathers’ service in India
at the turn of the century - Larken (Sen) as a Tea Trader with the East India Company
and, Monson serving with the Indian Army as Colonel of the 76th Regiment of Foot.
The families were united in marriage in 1828 when Eliza Larken (Larken’s younger
sister) married William Monson.
The Revd Larken was an evangelical Christian, a radical intellectual, ambitious,
energetic with a wide circle of contacts within the church and the Lincolnshire gentry.
However his political beliefs would put him at odds with the Establishment and
although he sought preferment to more lucrative and influential church appointments,
he was to remain in Burton as Rector for 53 years until his death in 1895. The
Burton living with only 200 inhabitants was hardly intellectually demanding so his
energies were channelled into many different causes. He was founder of the “Penitent
Females’ Home” in Lincoln which was designed “to reclaim the poor creatures who
walk our streets”; he set up a cooperative mill in Lincoln, and on Sundays he would
often preach 5 sermons - in Burton, at the Penitent Females Home, to the prisoners
in Lincoln prison and to the Lincolnshire Militia. He was President of the Mechanics
Institute in Lincoln founded to provide education for working people, secretary to
the Liberal party in the North Lincolnshire constituency, and political adviser to
William Monson(jun) who was elected MP for Redhill. He was described as a “communist”
by Harvey Gem, Lord Monson’s lawyer, for articles he wrote in “The Leader” (a radical
political newspaper) and Gemm recommended his dismissal as Rector for his views.
Edmund Larken also had connections with the feminist movement funding the publication
of works by George Sand, (Baroness Dudevant) a bisexual French Avant Garde, writer,
described as loud, lewd, shocking, and scandalous, and with Matilda Hays, the translator
of Sand’s works, who later had an affair with Theodosia Monson. To complete the
complex circle, Edmund Larken was chaplain to Lady Theodosia - a difficult assignment
as she was described as a dilettante and an atheist. It is unlikely that either
lady visited the Revd Larken in Burton but it would have raised a few eyebrows.
Both dressed as men from the waist upwards and smoked in public!
A devoted family man with many interests, he must have seemed remote from his parishioners,
except for one activity - his passion for the game of cricket! In 1848, the inaugural
meeting of the Burton Cricket Club was held. Lord Monson was elected President,
Revd Larken secretary, his brother Arthur, treasurer, and committee members included
the Hon William Monson and other local dignitaries. The annual subscription was
set at £1.1s, a practice day was held on a Thursday with lunch costing 2/6d. Larken
was masterful organiser and through his network of contacts, obtained sponsors
and subscriptions from the local gentry and businessmen. A square was prepared
in a field next to the hall at a cost of £16.18s.11d, 2 cricket balls were purchased
at a cost of 14/- and wicket keeping gloves for 12/-. The Club went from strength
to strength and in 1854, the Burton ground hosted a game between a Lincolnshire 22
and an All England XI. The Cricket Club played on the ground for 120 years until
1970 when sadly it disbanded through lack of players. The original scorebooks for
1849 - 1860 are held in the Lincolnshire Archives and they give a fascinating view
of the social lif in Burton in the mid C19. Click here for more details about the
club.
