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Lewis Herbert, the bad steward of Muncaster


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Barbara Newton's book "Ravenglass Through the Ages " (BNFL, 1989) revealed a most intriguing local scandal which explained why, after generations of quiet succession as stewards to the Pennington family, the Herbert family suddenly faded from the Muncaster scene. Lewis Herbert, who succeeded his father as steward at the age of 17 (see here for some of his early work), was found to have been running up debts, and even helping himself to money paid to the Penningtons by hard-working tenants. Barbara's account concluded with his arrest in 1770, subsequent exile to a small cottage in the neighbouring community of Carleton, and death in 1784- but my research into Muncaster manor documents suggested that the truth was a little more complicated.

First, I noticed Lewis Herbert's name on various Muncaster documents up to about 1774- still apparently in some sort of official capacity. In 1772, for example, he witnessed the lease of Muncaster Mill [Whitehaven Record Office, ref. D/Pen/45/Muncaster Mill]; in 1773 another lease, for Whinny Park [WRO D/Pen/45/Whinny Park etc.]; in 1774 he even witnessed the nomination by his old employer Sir Joseph Pennington of Thomas Nicholson as new curate of Muncaster [WRO DRC 10/27]. More remarkably still, a list at Whitehaven Record Office of Pennington family documents relating to their Yorkshire estates (held by Hull University Library) included the records of the steward for the Warter Hall estate near Pocklington, from 1779-83: Mr Ls. Herbertt. There's another very significant document at Whitehaven, but first we must visit the National Archives at Kew, where a large box of miscellaneous documents connected with a Pennington family legal quagmire in the early 19th century [ref. C 104/193] includes a small bundle referring to Mr Herbert's unhappy career.

The most tantalising item in the bundle is a scrawled, undated, unsigned draft letter to Lewis's mother, apparently from Sir Joseph Pennington. This seems to date from about 1770, because its tone is one of reluctant revelation, but it does refer to the young man having been a plague to his employer ever since he "took him in again ", which suggests either that it was written a few years later, or that Lewis had already been sacked at least once before the situation described by Barbara Newton arose. Mr Herbert was, it seems, an extravagant, drunken, gambling liar, for whom his employer had stood bail several times when he had been arrested, and only put up with him because he had great feelings for the Herbert family, which he had of course known over generations. It was, however, necessary to relieve Lewis of steward's and agent's duties because he had been taking money paid by tenants and blaming them for being behind. The big problem was, what to do with him next. Let loose in the wide world, hundreds of pounds in debt to others besides the Penningtons, he would not last very long at all. Neither his mother, nor his sister, married to local gentleman John Wilkinson, ought to risk taking him in as he had apparently proposed, for he might well bleed them dry.

As Barbara Newton indicates, the 1770 court case seems to have been abandoned, and Lewis also had hopes of employment with another Cumbrian landowner, Sir James Lowther. However, on 11 Sep 1771, he wrote this letter from Ravenglass to his old employer:

"Hon'ed Sir
It is through the former connections of Yo'r Hon'rs most Noble ancestors, and the Correspondence of my Forefathers, that I now assume to present this to Yo'r Hon'r In order to acquaint Yo'r Hon'r that since I had the Pleasure of being Employ'd, in Yo'r Hon'rs Service, I have not been in any Business whatsoever, that it was possible to gain anything, for which I'm most heartily Sorry to think of-
I once thought, which I then told to Yo'r Hon'r of Sir James Lowther, being a Friend; But since that, which I'm Sorry for, he has not proved so good as his promises- Yo'r Hon'r most Undoubtedly knows the Obligations I at this time lay under to Yo'r Hon'r which by Yo'r Hon'rs permission, I most humbly hope I may be able in time to retrieve; I most humbly ask Yo'r Hon'rs Pardon for all past Offences, and most humbly Beg, to be once more admitted into Yo'r Hon'rs Favour, and my Constant Study shall be at all times, for the future, to Do every thing that may be thought agreeable to Yo'r Hon'r-
I most humbly Beg Yo'r Hon'r will be Pleased to excuse this Freedom from-
Hon'red Sir
Yo'r most Obed't
humble Servant
Ls. Herbertt "

Other correspondence in the bundle indicates that this approach worked, and Lewis was cautiously welcomed back into the Pennington household- hence the various documents from the next few years, referred to above. I refer to "the Pennington household ", rather than to "Muncaster House " (as the Castle was then known) because we're not quite finished with court cases yet... At the beginning of 1772, another attempt was made to arrest Lewis Herbert- but he wasn't in Cumberland, he was with Sir Joseph in Yorkshire. Being informed of the address of Warter Hall, the law officials tried again a few weeks later in Pocklington, but couldn't find him there either. Finally, somebody helpfully explained to them that Warter Hall was a few miles outside the town, and they got their man (though he was swiftly let out on bail again). The court case seems to have been held at York, over the Trinity and Michaelmas terms of 1772. On 11 November, the judge ruled he would accept a summons by the defendant's lawyers to stay proceedings if the prosecution agreed. After a brief but uncomfortable interlude in which the prosecution tried to bring a second case against Lewis, the lawyers settled down to negotiation, the principal sticking point being, apparently, the prosecution's somewhat creative list of legal costs payable by the defendant. A settlement was more-or-less reached on 5 February 1773. The bundle also contains a memo dated 10 October 1772, indicating that the Herbert estate in Ravenglass had been leased out for a year, in pieces, to various local farmers, presumably to help pay lawyers' fees.

Sir Joseph Pennington arranged for the Lordship of the Manor of Muncaster to pass to his son John during his lifetime, and moved to Warter on a semi-permanent basis. Thus, I think, he was able to keep his friendly enemy Lewis Herbert as close as possible, without too much exposing the fool to the ire of the Muncaster tenants. Assuming that the "Ls. Herbertt " who bcame steward at Warter was our Lewis, it is interesting that he apparently ceased to hold the post in 1783. The Muncaster Manor court records [Whitehaven Record Office D/Pen/252] include, on 8 March 1784, the surrender by Lewis Herbertt, gent., of Warter Hall (via his attorney Robert Gale of Warter) of his estate in Ravenglass to Sir Joseph (subject to a life interest for his mother Isabella Herbert). Further letters in the National Archives bundle, from Muncaster steward Cuthbert Atkinson, indicate that this transaction was kept a secret from most people, performed before just the minimum two witnesses, Jo. Thompson & Abraham Lewthwaite. Atkinson also indicates that even after all this time, Lewis Herbert was still trying to pay his debts. He was owed money by William Walls, and had written to Cuthbert asking that it be paid directly to Sir Joseph. Mr Atkinson's letters also suggest why this request and the estate surrender had been made- in his letter of 6 April he mentions having just heard of the death of "poor Mr. Herbertt " [worryingly, Barbara Newton gives the death date as 20 June]. Presumably Lewis had been ill for some time, and had been making careful preparations for the inevitable.