Anne (Annie) Townshend (5D20)

Date of Birth: 1842
Date of Death: 11 Apr 1929
Generation: 6th
Residence: Kensington, London
Father: Reverend Chambre Corker Townsend [5D01]
Mother: Oliver, Eliza Wilmot
Spouse: Unmarried
Issue: None
See Also: Table VD ; Lineage ; Ancestors' Tree ; Descendents' Tree

Notes for Anne Townshend (Annie)

When her father died in 1852, Annie was 14 and her mother, maternal grandparents and aunt, Katherine Townshend [5D06], acted as guardians to her and her siblings until they came of age. Under the terms of her father’s will (1) dated 2 September 1846 she became entitled to an equal share of £2,000 devised to all the children, except her half-brother Horace Payne-Townshend [5D12] who inherited the entire Derry estate.

Annie trained as a nurse at The Foundling Hospital in London. Later she was appointed Matron of the Hospital for Hip Disease in Childhood 17-19 Queen's Square, London and following this was Secretary of the Duke of Westminster’s Organization for Young Girls. When and for how long she was engaged in nursing is not known, but by 1882 she had moved into philanthropic administration and was secretary of the Metropolitan Association for Befriending Young Servants (MABYs). In 1888 she became the first secretary of the Ladies’ Residential Chambers Co and remained involved with the company until 1910. In 1890, when the company was planning a new set of chambers in York Street, Marylebone, it was Annie who was deputed to consult with Thackeray Turner, the architect, over the company’s specifications for the new building.

In 1866 Annie was living at Elm Cottage, Shere, Surrey and it would appear from correspondence (2) that her mother went to live with her for a time. With her brother Richard Baxter Townshend [5D15] and sisters Katherine Corker Townshend [5D17] and Susan Townshend [5D21] she took out a 99 year lease (3) on 12 Ridgway Place, Wimbledon for £1,900 from Sir Edward Creasy on 11 November 1867. It was in the house at Ridgway Place that Susan met her future husband, Brian Houghton Hodgson, when she stayed with their mother, Eliza, who was living there in 1869. Family correspondence shows that Henrietta Townsend [5D10] also visited Eliza in October 1869.

In a letter to his brother George Chambre Wilmot Townshend [5D33], William Pearson Townshend [5D35] wrote from Southsea in 1906 - "There is quite an invasion of Townshends in Southsea; Aunt Bessie is here for the winter, then Aunt Anne and Hugh Morgan are coming down tomorrow for a week, so it will be quite a large gathering at Horace's on Christmas Day". (4)

Annie’s grandfather, Major General Oliver died on 11 January 1854. In his will, dated 25 February 1853 (5), he devised his personal estate to his trustees who were to invest the same and pay the interest to his wife, Marianne, during her lifetime and after her death to his daughter Eliza Townshend (Annie’s mother). After her death the residue was to be divided equally amongst her surviving children share and share alike.

Likewise he devised his real estate in Suffolk and Kerry to his trustees who were to pay the yearly rents to his wife during her lifetime and after her death to Eliza. After her death when the children came of age, or if the daughters married before then, they were to receive their share of the real estate or the rents thereof, or if the real estate was sold they were to receive their share of the principal or the interest of the proceeds.

Annie’s mother died on 17 August 1906 and her share of the Oliver estate amounted to £3,557. In addition, as executrix and sole legatee of Susan Townshend [5D21], she inherited a further £2,431.

Annie was living at 188, Oakwood-court, Kensington, London, when she died. Her will was proved at the Principal Probate Registry on 18 June 1929 by her cousin Caroline Charlotte Townshend [5D31] of 61 Deodar Road, Putney, London SW15 and her nephew George Chambre Wilmot Townshend [5D33] of 49, Ashburton-road, Croydon (6)

(1) Derry Papers 5D01/6. Will of Chambre Corker Townsend dated 2 September 1846 with codicil dated 5 April 1851. Probate 9 Sep 1852.

(2) Llanvapley Papers.

(3) Derry Papers 5D15/1. Agreement for the lease of 12 Ridgway Place, Wimbledon, dated 11 November 1867. Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy was Chief Justice of Ceylon. Richard and his sisters were living with their mother at 6 Rodney Place, Clifton, Bristol at the time.

(4) Derry Papers 5D35/1. Letter dated 22 December 1906 from William P Townshend to George CW Townshend. 'Anne' is this Anne Townshend, 'Bessie' is Eliza Townshend [5D18], , 'Horace' is Horatio Baxter Townshend [5D34] and 'Hugh Morgan' is the son of Alicia Hewitt Townshend [5D48].

(5) Derry Papers OL/8, 8A, 8B, 9, 9A. The wills of Major General Oliver and his wife, Marianne, and the disposal of their estates.

(6) London Gazette 33524 page 5248 dated 9 August 1929.