Captain Hugh Berners RN  1801 – 1891

Hugh Berners joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman in 1814 at the age of 13 . His first ship was H.M.S. Ganymede. For the next sixteen years he served on various ships, attaining a lieutenancy on the Isis  in 1824 and given command of HMS Chameleon, while serving in the Mediterranean. He retired from naval duties, for personal reasons, in 1830. On 28^th January 1842, he was promoted to the rank of Commander on half pay and  finally, the rank of Captain in 1860. Between 1860 and 1886 he lived the life of a private gentleman.

Capt. Hugh had married Julia Alice Ashton in 1832. Their life was rarely settled. They lived in many places across the south of England. In 1837 the family were at Millbrook, Hants. In 1841 they lived in Bedhampton where, in 1842, a son and heir, Charles Hugh Berners was born. By 1846 they were living at Gatcombe House on the Isle of Wight. In 1861, the family were at Landford House, Nr Salisbury. By 1871, they were at 12 Eaton Square, Belgravia, London. Hugh and Julia had six children: Julia (1836), Alice (1839), Juliana (1841), Charles (1842), Edith (1846) and Frederick (1848). Sadly, Frederick Rowley died, aged three, in February 1852 and was buried in St Michael’s vault with his grandfather, Rev. Henry Denny Berners.

Hugh Berners had a lively, practical interest in agriculture. In 1848, he had been admitted as a member of the Royal Agricultural Society of England which was interested in bringing science to agriculture. He became the President of the Suffolk Agriculture Association in 1888. He established ploughing matches in Woolverstone which usually involved the neighbouring parishes of Chelmondiston and Freston. He enlarged the views of the river, widening the vistas. The approach to Woolverstone Hall along the highway was improved by lowering the incline on Freston Hill. 

He added his own layer of development to Woolverstone. There was the “Clergy Rest” (Hamilton House) a small country residence built of red brick and tile hanging with a plaintile roof. Its purpose was quite unique in the county, perhaps the country. The Clergy Rest was to offer accommodation for poor married clergymen from the East of London to enable rest and recuperation. All was found. Hugh Berners provided free food and lodging and all the necessities of a month’s holiday, including rail and cab fares.

He built the “Widows Homes“, to take care of the estates’ elderly residents in comfort and with dignity. The “Reading Room” (Berners Hall), for a short time doubling as a church, took care of the educational and recreational lives of estate workers. Lastly, he enlarged St Michael’s church, being mindful of the spiritual lives of workers on the estate.

Capt. Hugh continued to be kind, generous with his hospitality and unostentatious in his benevolence. His income from the estates was around £40,000 a year.

In the week before Christmas, 1890, Capt. Hugh was taken seriously ill, but he slowly recovered. He wanted to celebrate communion on Easter Sunday in St. Michael’s. 

On March 29^th 1891, he was wheeled into the St Michael’s Church for the Easter communion at 10:30. The church had been decorated by James Sheppard. There were 150 choice plants, mostly a mass of pure white blooms. It must have looked stunning and smelt, literally, divine.

Capt. Hugh  recovered sufficiently to make morning visits around the estate in the company of his coachman, Joseph Brown. On Thursday morning, 30th April, he suffered a massive paralytic stroke. He never recovered and his life slowly ebbed away. He died shortly before 2.00 am on 7^th May, Ascension Day. 

He was buried in St Michael’s churchyard on 12^th  May 1891. The sun shone, the  foliage of beech and oak was unfurling and there was a choir of bird song. Inside the altar rails were two fine groups of arum lilies, spiraea and ferns. White azaleas and ferns adorned the window sills. 

The flag on the tower flew at half-mast. Mourners gathered under the sweeping branches of the sycamores outside the fencing. The deep grave was surrounded  by forget-me-nots and the sides lined with ivy and yew, with blossoms of pheasant-eyed narcissus. 

The funeral procession was led by Capt. Mills and the crew of the Egret. The huge coffin, decked in wreaths, followed on a wheeled bier, flanked by labourers from the estate and followed by Charles Berners and his wife, Mary. The coffin, both the inner and outer shells, were made with oak grown on the estate. A brass plaque recorded:

Capt. Hugh was a kind, generous and benevolent squire and landlord. His one desire was that all on the estate should be happy and comfortable. He continued the development of the village. He improved the living conditions of his tenants and made sure that his farms had all the appliances they needed to make farming as efficient as possible. He made donations to hospitals, convalescent homes, naval charities and private individuals. Shortly before his death he made a huge contribution to the restoration of the chancel in Chelmondiston Church. 

Julia, his wife survived him by only a few months and passed away in April the following year. She is buried in the churchyard with her beloved husband.