Their original house still stands as a ruin behind Felicity’s Farm Shop, on the border of Chideock and Morcombelake.Using this and other evidence, I have been able to recreate an image of how Wanehouse Farm may have looked when Simeon and Elizabeth lived there with their three sons in 1790. I will be using this, together with other illustrations based on old photographs, maps and paintings, throughout the second part of my talk.

Before I go any further in my Talk, I must answer the question a number of people have asked me about exactly where is Wanehouse Farm in Chideock. It is in fact on its border with Morcombelake. I have circled the buildings today on the first map showing its proximity behind the old Moore`s Bakery and Felicity`s Farm shop. There is a footpath that leads to it at the old Bakery buildings. The remains of the Farmhouse can be made out in the attached photographs. Most of the original Farm is now owned by the National Trust, although the derelict buildings are scheduled to be demolished and accommodation built on it in the future, subject to planning.

I have traced back the site of the Farmhouse and accompanying outbuildings on these maps spanning nearly 200 years. The position of their farmhouse is circled in red on each map.

Chideock is fortunate in having a detailed Tithe Map drawn up in 1841, which can now be seen at the Dorset Record Office in Dorchester. It is very large and I have enlarged the area covered by Wanehouse Farm in that year with the numbers and names of the fields listed at the bottom totaling over 50 acres.

In 1953 The Chideock Estate covering over 1,000 acres was auctioned. Amongst the properties were Cains Farm and Midlands that had at one time been leased by the Fitzherberts. 

The attached map from the auction brochure shows Midland Farm and Cains Farm as well as Wanehouse Farm, all associated with the Fitzherberts and Bullens.

The map accompanying the 1953 Auction is useful as it reveals that the area covered by Wanehouse Farm in green. Little had changed over the years since the earlier 1841 Tithe Map.

To provide an idea of how the Farm may have once looked is this old photograph, kindly lent by a gentleman who once worked there, which I have sharpened and added colour to.

I thought it would be interesting to imagine how Simeon and Elizabeth Bullen would have seen their farm and countryside if they were to walk from it and visit her brother John Fitzherbert living in Chideock in 1790. From my large collection of old postcards, paintings and prints with the addition of colour,  there follows a trip back in time, before the dawn of motoring.

Here we see the village of Morcombelake in the distance

We pass some old cottages at the side of the road in Morcombelake

Simeon and Elizabeth and their dog are seen here at the side of the road looking down on to the village of Morcombelake and their farm.

A horse and cart travelling along the road linking Morcombelake with Chideock, with the coast in the distance.

The village of Chideock can be seen here in the distance.

A picturesque scene Looking down on to Chideock

Simeon and Elizabeth Bullen strolling though the village with St. Giles Church in the distance.

The Warren on the left and the Barn from Manor Farm on the right.

A Blacksmith busy at work in the Old Forge near the site of where the village Hall stands today.

The Clock House is seen here on the left of the picture.

North Lane and St. Giles Church

St. Giles Church

A view  looking down  the Street

The Old Chideock Castle Inn

Another view of the Old Castle Inn

The Old Castle Inn –before it was destroyed and rebuilt after a devastating fire.

A view along the Street

Bridge Cottage is seen here on the left.

Another look  at the village in earlier times.

A view looking down the Street towards the Church.

The George Inn is seen here on the right

A picturesque view of Chideock in more peaceful times.

Another view of  how Ruins Lane may have once looked

Appletrees

Appletrees also known as Bay Tree cottage.

Mill Lane

The Beehive which had once been called the New Inn is seen here on the left.

Seahill cottages

Chimneys

Top of the Street

View from doghouse farm

North Chideock

The Bullens name still survives in the village in a Lane named after them, seen here on the right of Brooks Cottage, leading to Clap`s Mead, which is now the village recreation ground.

Simeon made a success of Wanehouse Farm and, in 1787, leased a much larger 200-acre holding at Laverstock, near Beaminster. Soon after he was able to purchase the neighbouring Combe  and Venn Farm with an additional 56 acres of land.  
In due course, he bought neighbouring farms, eventually extending his estate to over 500 acres. This painting imagines how he and Elizabeth may have appeared in front of Laverstock Farm with their three sons, William, John and Simeon in 1790.

This newspaper article  concerning a dispute over the rent ,provides  useful information relating to Simeon Bullen` s lease of Laverstock Farm in Stoke Abbott from Salisbury Corporation in 1787. He had to pay a premium of £200 and then annual rents of £105 a year. After his death in 1822, the rent had dramatically increased to £350 a year.

When the Old Manor House in Charmouth came up for sale in 1803 on the death of Mr. Davies, it was Simeon Bullen who had the funds to purchase it. By then his eldest son, William had taken over his farms and his youngest, John was making his name as an Attorney in London. The other son, Simeon the younger was still to make his way in life. The slide shows the original advert for the Manor and on the right are details of the Auction held in 1807 for Lord Damer`s 4,000 acre Estate. Simeon was successful in securing Beffersland Farm at Whitchurch Canonicorum with 144 acres of land.

 Again, I have attempted to reveal what Simeon and Elizabeth would have seen as they walked from their home at Chideock to their new one in Charmouth in1803. This would have been their view looking down on to Charmouth.

A view of the beach looking towards Golden Cap.

There was then still a footpath along the cliffs linking Charmouth with Lyme Regis.

This would have been the entrance to the village, past the old Toll House on the left.

The Old Mill is seen here with its Mill Race and stream.

The Old Mill and the Millers Cottage are depicted here.

Here we see the Miller with his assistants.

Simeon and Elizabeth Bullen would have passed over this ancient Bridge as they passed along Charmouth`s main highway - The Street.

The Abbot`s House, then known as the Queens Armes, where Simeon Bullen`s ancestor Bullen Reymes assisted King Charles II in his  unsuccessful attempt to flee to France in 1651.

The ancient George Inn is seen here on the right, with the Queens Armes on the left of this view.

A view looking down the Street to the Bridge, with the Queens Armes on the right.

The building on the left was known as “Streets” and in 1803 was occupied by the Reverend Brian Coombes, the village`s Curate.

A  close up of the junction of Barrs Lane and the Street. This fine thatched building was to be later burnt to the ground in a devastating fire.

A view looking down on to the Street from Stonebarrow Farmhouse. The large field in the centre was known as Pear Close.

The building on the left was for centuries known as Yandover. In 1803 it was owned by Jacob Ridley Kitt who ran a  thriving Sail cloth making business from it and the adjoining buildings. They are now known as Little Lodge and Charmouth Lodge.

Here we see Simeon and Elizabeth Bullen at the gate of their new home, The Manor House. Opposite is the Coach and Horses Inn.

As they carry on up the Street, they would have seen almost opposite their house, the ancient St. Matthew`s Church dating back to the 14th century.

Next to the entrance of the church was the Coach and Horses, a popular Coaching Inn.

This view looking across from the Inn reveals Luttrell House in the distance.

The houses now known as Albury House, Lutrell House and Peria can be seen here on the right.

A view looking down the Street. The Elms dating back to the 16th century is seen in front of the Church.

The old house on the right had earlier been a butchers and was later become an Inn known today as the Royal Oak linking it with King Charles II brief stay in Charmouth in 1651.

In 1803 there was an Almshouse for six aged poor people founded by Anthony Tutchen in 1661 in the gabled building in the centre of this picture.

The white building in the centre now known as the Monks Rest  was originally built by Simeon Bullen soon after he moved to the village.

This group of houses, Omega, Grasmere and Dolphin,  set back from the road were built by John Ridges, who owned a number of houses in the village which he rented out.

This animated view looking down the Street reveals a store in the building known as Portland House. Opposite was the Fountain Inn, now known as Charmouth House.

The large thatched building on the right would have been the ancient Fountain Inn when Simeon Bullen lived in the village.

A view looking down the Street towards the Fountain Inn in the distance.

The Building in the centre with the bow window used to be the Toll house for the Turnpike Trust road that passed through the village. Above it was the Farmhouse for Foxley Farm, whose fields stretched behind it to the coast.

These smartly dressed gentlemen are standing in front of the former New Inn

At the top of the street with its junction with the Axminster Road used to be an ancient Thatched cottage.

A view of the Axminster Road in former times.

A view looking down on to the village from the Old Lyme Hill

Here we see Simeon and Elizabeth Bullen proudly standing in the gateway of their new home. Their family would retain the property for over 100 years until it was sold in 1940.

Soon after buying the Old Manor House in Charmouth, Simeon Bullen purchased a piece of land at the top of the Street and was to build the house now known as Monks Rest. In 1811 he purchased Lower Cookney Farm with 15 acres. Four years later when the Damer Estate was auctioned, he succeeded in buying Beffersland with 144 acres and Long Harris with 30 acres of land. The accompanying map pinpoints his total land holding at the time of his death in 1822.

When Simeon Bullen wrote his Will shortly before his death in 1822, it made for sad reading. It would seem that his eldest son, William, who was running his farms had shortly died before him,as it refers to his wife, expecting their child. He goes on to write that he is offering £5000 to his son, Simeon, if he should return from abroad. This would leave his youngest son, John Bullen and his 17 year old  granddaughter, Elizabeth Fitzherbert Bullen as the main beneficiaries. Simeon the younger, had emigrated to Canada in 1817, without his father knowing and never returned to claim his inheritance, which would have been worth the equivalent to over a million pounds today.

Simeon`s wife, Elizabeth was to die in 1819, aged 82 and he in 1822, aged 75. His youngest son, John, was to inherit most of his substantial Estate, and financed two impressive memorials to his parents in both Charmouth and Chideock Churches. Both memorials highlight that Elizabeth was the daughter of William Fitzherbert of Chideock and incorporate their family coat of arms at the top. 

William Fitzherbert Bullen was born on 8 October 1776 in Chideock, Dorset, the son of Elizabeth and Simeon. In 1803 he married Mary Ann Tatchell on 7 February 1803 at St. Marys Church Kingston in Somerset. In the same year his father, Simeon was to move to Charmouth and he took on his farms at Laverstock and Chideock. His daughter, Elizabeth was born in Laverstock the following year. They were to have four surviving children, John, Elizabeth, Charles and William, before his tragic death in 1822, aged 42, shortly before that of his father, Simeon. This picture depicts his family outside Laverstock Manor, near Beaminster in Dorset.

This memorial to be found today in St. Mary`s Church in Stoke Sub Hamden, near Yeovil in Somerset provides an important record of William Fitzherbert Bullen, son of Simeon Bullen, who was to die in 1822, aged just 42. His widow, Mary was to live a longer life, dying in 1854, aged 70. It was her wealthy uncle, Rev. Christopher Tatchell, who left a fortune to her son on his changing his surname to Tatchell, who is also  mentioned on the memorial as John Tatchell Tatchell Esq. He would later add Bullen to his name on the death of his unmarried uncle, John Bullen in 1852.

Simeon Bullen was born on 25 March 1778, the son of Elizabeth and Simeon. In 1817 he emigrated  to Delaware, Ontario in Canada. He later married Eliza Tiffany on 24 December 1834. They had six children in 16 years. He died on 30 April 1855 in Delaware, Ontario, Canada, having lived a long life of 77 years, and was buried there. Judging from his father Simeon`s Will, they must have fallen out as at the time of his death in 1822, he was unaware where he is son was and if he was still alive.

We turn to Simeon`s most successful son, John Bullen who became a wealthy London Lawyer based at no. 3 New Inn, London. In 1816 he bought the Manor of Marshwood, with 1400 acres from John, Earl  Poulett whose family had owned it since 1585. To finance it he was to borrow most of the money. It was to remain in the family for over 100 years until it was sold in 1917 by Colonel John Bullen.

The original Particulars for the sale of Marshwood Manor by Lord Poulett in 1816.

This Map shows the extent of Marshwood Manor bought at Auction in 1816 by John Bullen.

Here we see John Bullen outside his parents former house, where he was to live until his death in 1852,aged 72.

The Western Gazette reported that “On the 5th February 1840 a large mass was observed by the coastguard floating towards the Charmouth Beach. They thought it was originally the hull of a wreck, but in grounding it was perceived to be a large fish. The preventive men got a rope round it and after an hour it died. It soon attracted a crowd of inhabitants.

As there was a danger of it being carried off by the next tide, the Lord Paramount of the Manor, John Bullen, to whom as a drift from the sea it belonged, directed that it be cut into five parts. This was achieved by a large hand saw with great labour. After three days it was removed into the village and exhibited as a curiosity to visitors from all parts of the country for a week. The money raised, of between twenty and thirty pounds, was given to the prevenative men and others who assisted. The extreme length was forty-four feet and the girth at the widest twenty-one feet. After being exhibited it was bought by a villager. He took the lean off for manure and the fat converted into oil. The bones were then buried in lime and cleaned. The owner then fixed the skeleton and placed it under a long shed for exhibition to the curious”.

 A whalebone gateway was formed by two of the huge lower jawbones forming an arch at the approach to Chideock Manor, still to be seen today. Locally the gateway is known as “the wishbones”. the Manor’s own garden directions say to turn right at “the wishbones” to enter Chideock Manor Gardens.  This painting provides a view of how it may once have  looked.

In the the Gallery of St. Andrews Church is an organ that was installed by cutting away the Minstrel's Gallery (parts of which remain), which was presented by JOHN BULLEN in 1846.

As John Bullen never married or had children, it was his  late brother William`s children who were the main beneficiaries of his Will. He left the Manor of Marshwood to his nephew John Tatchell provided he changes his name to Bullen. Charles Bullen  would have the Manor House and Eliza have his other house in Charmouth, which is now Monks Rest. Extracxts from his Will can be seen on this Slide.

There is an impressive marble memorial in St. Giles Church to John Bullen which records that his remains were deposited in an enclosed vault on the south side of the church near his parents, Simeon and Elizabeth Bullen. Thanks to Lynn and Peter Stapleton, who were able to locate his fine Table Tomb which can now be found in the village Cemetery opposite the Village Hall. Even though John lived in Charmouth, it was to his birthplace in Chideock that he chose to be buried, near his parents.

It was Charles and Mary Bullen who were to be the new owners of  the eatern part of the Manor House in Charmouth. John Bullen left the western end to his great nephew John Bullen Symes, who added Bullen to his name and later became known as Colonel Bullen.

Simeon Bullen  divided the Old Manor House into 2 parts. The 1841 Tithe Map shows it as no. 56. In that year it was his son, John aged 76, a Solicitor lived in part and his nephew Charles Bullen, aged 29 in the other part. Charles and his wife were to live there until his death in 1884. The other maps revel its subdivision to date.

St. Andrews Church opposite the Manor House, has a number of memorials to Charles and Mary Bullen, who lie buried in an impressive marble and stone tomb at the rear of the church. They gave the church its carved Pulpit. On the bottom of which is a brass plaque commemorating their lives in the village. IT records that he was a Captain in the Royal Navy and Justice of the Peace and lived at the Manor House for many years, living to a ripe old age.

William Fitzherbert Bullen emigrated to Delaware in Canada in 1832. He followed his uncle Simeon Bullen, the younger who had left for that country in 1817 and made a success of his life there. William was to marry Anne Norah Mullen in 1833 and never return to England. The photograph at the bottom shows him in old age.

Elizabeth (Eliza) Fitzherbert Bullen was born in 1805 to William and Mary Bullen. She married Jonathan Wyatt Symes in  1838, when she was 33 and he 45 years of age. In 1851 the Census for that year has them living at no. 1 Vane Street in Bath, shown here behind them. Soon after her husband left her and emigrated to Sonora, California in the United States, to join the Gold Rush. She later moved to Charmouth where she lived in a house on the Street, her grandfather had left her, now known as Monks Rest and bought up her 2 children, John Bullen Symes Bullen and Anne Bullen there. 

A number of records of Eliza Fitzherberts life are shown here. They include her marriage certificate and the baptism of their first child, John Bullen Symes in 1839, who would eventually have his name changed to be the wealthy  Colonel John Bullen Lord of the Manor of Catherston. The advert at bottom is the sale of no. 1 Vane Street in 1852, soon after her husband had left her. She returned back to Charmouth where she was to spend the rest of her days until her death in 1881.

Eliza Fitzherbert Bullen is seen with her daughter, Anna outside The house now known as Monks Rest, which was originally built by her grandfather, Simeon Bullen in 1803.

Eliza Fitzherbert was to spend the rest of her days in Charmouth and never remarried. Her grave can be found today at the rear of the Church. Her epitaph reads : In Memory of Eliza Fitzherbert Symes Wife of  J. Wyatt Symes Esq.Who fell asleep January 20th 1881, Aged 76 years. Her husband who had left her 30 years before was to die in the same year in California.

John Tatchell Bullen was the son of William and Mary Bullen. He was born in 1804 at Laverstock Manor, near Beaminster. He was to tragically die in a shooting accident in 1864. He is seen here with his wife, Ann who he married in 1843 and their two children, John and Ann outside Marshwood Manor.  It was his daughter Ann who in 1866 married the wealthy Joseph Gundry of Bridport. Her brother John was to marry Annette Langworthy in 1870. they were to have 2 daughters Ann and Gertrude. On his death in 1910, his Marshwood Estate containing 1,400 acres of land was to pass to his cousin Colonel John Bullen of Catherston.

John Bullen was to leave the bulk of his estate to his eldest nephew, John Tatchell Tatchell, son of William and Mary Bullen. As a result of this he was take the name and Arms of the Bullen family. He was living at Syndling House, near Lyme Regis at the time. He was later to move to Marshwood where he built himself a fine Manor House, which still stands. On the right is the sale of Cattle and Stock soon after the death of John Bullen. He made a number of bequests in his will for various local charities.

Ann, daughter of John Tatchell Bullen was born in 1846 and married the wealthy businessman, Joseph Gundry in 1866. They were to live in the Hyde, just outside Bridport in Dorset.

Blanche Mary Townend Hall (1848–1886 was born in Faversham, Kent, in 1848, the daughter of William Hall (1802–1876), a Justice of the Peace and one of the partners in the famous Hall gunpowder manufacturing business.
The Hall family owned Syndale House at Ospringe, just outside Faversham, and were among the town’s leading industrialists. After the death of their only son in 1885 the estate was inherited by their daughter. Their gunpowder works supplied both commercial and military markets during the nineteenth century.  In 1884 Blanche married Major John Bullen Symes Bullen. The couple had one son, John Fitzherbert Hall Bullen, born in 1886, who tragically died in infancy the following year.  Blanche herself died in March 1886, aged only 37, shortly after her son’s birth.  Paintings and other heirlooms descended through the family.

This photograph shows Catherston Manor in 1880 before it was bought by Colonel John Bullen.

The present Manor House was built in 1887 by Colonel Bullen, but incorporates remains of the older house in the middle of the south side. The late 16th Century stone porch was taken down and re-erected at the east end of the modern front. This photograph shows them in front of the Manor in 1890.

The Colonel as he was known.

The family pose at the entrance to the Manor.

Colonel Bullen in the centre beating the bounds in Charmouth

Opening of the Cricket Pavillion in Charmouth by Mary Francis Bullen in 1911.

This obituary published in the Bridport News provides a detailed account of Colonel Joh Symes Bullen`s Life. After he lost his 1st Wife and son he remarried Frances Perry in 1891 and were to have three children. He went on to be Sheriff of Dorset and lived to be almost 90 and ws buried by his first wife in Faversham in Kent.

Colonel John Bullen`s daughter Mary was to marry William Colfox in 1920 and live at Symondsbury Manor, where they would bring up their four children.

John Symes Bullen, often known locally as “Jack” Bullen was the only son of Colonel John Bullen Symes Bullen (1847–1936) of Catherston Manor, near Charmouth. He was born in 1897 and  served in the British Army and later held the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He married Ann St. John Harris in 1933 and were to have 3 boys and 3 girls. On his father’s death in 1936, he inherited the Catherston estate and continued to manage it as a country landowner. In 1950 he was appointed High Sheriff of Dorset, the same county office his father had held in 1902.  

There follows just a few of the many photographs of the Bullens who were famous in the Horse riding world. Here is Queen Elizabeth II shaking hands with Jane Bullen, who gave the Queen a riding demonstration on 'Juniper', a Dartmoor pony presented for Prince Charles by the Dartmoor Pony Society at the Royal Agricultural Society Show at Windsor Great Park in 1954.

Another photo of Quen Elizabeth with Ann Bullen.

A Parade in front of Catherston Manor.

The Catherston Estate was sold by Auction in 1958. This is the map that went with the particulars.

This slide shows the descent of the family from Richard Bullen to the children of John and Ann Bullen, most of whom are living into old age.

Back in 2017, surviving members of the family had a reunion at Catherston. This photograph was taken at the time of them on the steps of the Manor House. A fitting end to my Talk. I do hope you have found this of interest and now know a little more on the family that was linked with the Fitzherberts of Chideock from 1775.