Bedfordshire Archives Service Catalogue
  • Reference
    UN
  • Title
    Unilever Colworth estate, Sharnbrook
  • Admin/biog history
    A Francis Antonie, who was a physician in the 17th century, is noted among the family memoranda (UN62), but the first Antonie to be associated with Bedfordshire is Mark, who bought Colworth in 1715. Mark Antonie married Ann, daughter of Col Richard Beke of Dinton Bucks and his wife Elizabeth Lee, daughter of Thomas Lee. Mark Antonie died in 1720. His widow Ann had a sale at Colworth which gave rise to various lists (UN80-94); she lived till 1753. Mark Antonie was followed by his son John (died 1760; see BS2051-63), who was chief clerk in the court of King’s Bench. An inventory of goods at Colworth at his death is UN184. John had no children, so the next was Mark’s second son, Richard, who had been apprenticed to London linen-drapers, but seems also to have had connections with Jamaica (e.g.UN119). None of the family seem to have added to the estate, but the surviving deeds and estate papers are scanty (besides UN1-61, see BS2022-168). Richard also had no son, and the estate now passed to William Lee, son of Sir William Lee of Totteridge, and grandson of Richard's grandmother's brother Sir Thomas Lee (a few papers of this family are UN286-93). William Lee died in 1778. His son, William (1764-1815) took the name of Antonie (BS2049) in pursuance of the will of Richard Antonie. In 1781 the guardians of William Lee Antonie purchased for him the estate of Medmenham, Little Marlow and at an early age Lee Antonie was chosen the representative burgess of the neighbouring bourough town of Great Marlow. However, he soon turned his attention to his Bedfordshire estate and was a well-known figure in Bedfordshire for about 40 years. He was sheriff 1787-8; Deputy Lieutenant 1790; and (after having previously sat for Marlow) MP for Bedford borough with Samuel Whitbread, 1808-12 (see BS1176-88 and 454). He was an active Major of the Bedford Volunteers. He was also the first Master of the Oakley Hunt (UN and cf.BS2091-138 and 460-3; also B.H.R.S, vol.44). He died at Colworth in September 1815 at the age of 51. A memorial tablet, designed and executed by Flaxman was erected by his heir in the chancel of Sharnbrook church. William Lee Antonie left Colworth, Totteridge, Medmenham, Little Marlow and other lands at Lynn in Norfolk to his nephew, John Fiott, eldest son of his sister Harriet. John Fliott (1783-1866) took the name of Lee (for Lee’s papers, see BS581-607 and AD1734-50). Unfortunately he went through the Antonie papers, cutting out snippets which interested him (Cf.UN119) and throwing much away. John Lee died in 1866, but had already in 1854 sold Colworth to another sportsman, Hollingworth Magniac. The main interest of the collection is in William Lee Antonie and the early years of the Oakley Hunt. On the estate side it is poor, and such Colworth deeds as we have came from another source (BS2022-168) in the main. But the correspondence includes many of William Lee Antonie’s own letters, which a recent owner of Colworth, the late Lord Melchett (Master of Fox Hounds 1935-8) succeeded in getting together. He also secured transcripts of other items of hunting interest, but whence he obtained these is in most cases not known. Buckinghamshire Archives holds papers of the Lee family of Harwell House (reference D-LE) which include some references to the Bedfordshire estate, William Lee Antonie and John Lee (see also Bucks Archives D-X 720).
  • Some transcripts in searchroom; CRT190/84-7
  • Reference
  • Level of description
    fonds
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