Osmotherley Show, Thimbleby Hall and the Barwick Lineage

Among my most popular posts this year is ‘From Barbados to Morrisons—The history of Thimbleby and its owners.’ An observant reader noted that I had overlooked a significant chapter in this chronicle.Today, Thimbleby Hall opened its grounds for the Osmotherley Show, allowing the fell race to Black Hambleton and back. And an opportunity for me to rectify my omission.

The story of Sir John Storey Barwick, a man of Victorian industriousness, is worth attention. Through shipbuilding and coal, he charted his own course, shunning the ostentatious displays of affluence common among his peers. A businessman of modest origin, Barwick embraced a life of subdued accomplishment. Though he briefly engaged in local Liberal politics, he remained aloof from the typical aristocratic pursuits¹Landed families of Britain and Ireland. (427) Barwick of Thimbleby Hall, baronets.https://landedfamilies.blogspot.com/2020/08/427-barwick-of-thimbleby-hall-baronets.html [Accessed 3 Aug 24].

His journey to the ranks of the landed gentry began in 1898 with the acquisition of Thimbleby Hall. This purchase signified a pivotal moment, lifting him from humble beginnings to the echelons of the elite. His elevation was further cemented by a baronetcy in 1912. I read that the estate’s centrepiece, the hall, boasts an architectural style of singular charm. Notably, the central section, once more imposing, underwent alterations between the World Wars, reflecting the residence’s evolving history.

John Barwick’s legacy continued with his son, also Sir John Storey Barwick, then his grandson, Sir Richard Llewellyn Barwick (1916-79), who inherited Thimbleby Hall in 1953. His executors sold the estate in 1981. Sir Richard was married to Valerie Ward, born in 1920, an actress remembered for The Errol Flynn Theatre (1956), Dear Murderer (1947), and Precious Bane (1957), films I confess to being unfamiliar with. Valerie passed away in 1989 at the age of 68. Her daughter, Victoria Barwick, later edited her mother’s memoirs, published as Hard Bargains in 2019.

• 1
  Landed families of Britain and Ireland. (427) Barwick of Thimbleby Hall, baronets.https://landedfamilies.blogspot.com/2020/08/427-barwick-of-thimbleby-hall-baronets.html [Accessed 3 Aug 24]