Vowchurch is a small village located in Herefordshire, in the shadow of the Welsh Black mountains, nestled in Bannau Brycheiniog national park.
The River Dore runs through what is now known as the Golden Valley. This is where the Anglo Saxons pushed the boundaries of Mercia to its Eastern banks. The rivers name, most likely, attributed to confusion by Norman invaders of the Welsh word for water, ‘Dŵr’ with the French word for Gold, ‘D’or’.
Travelling through the area you see name of villages, roads, and homes that speak of its ancient past, Ewyas Harold, Ewyas being a Welsh kingdom. Bagwyllydiart, Llancillo, (possibly Cillo [sic] parish – Tysilio was a saint) Maes-Coed (Forest Field), Cwm Road (Valley Road) and Glyn-Yr- Dŵr (Glen of Water), to name a few. It’s not surprising that Owain Glyndwr’s daughter Alys had chosen to live there some 600 years ago. It makes you wonder if you ever left Wales at all.
Spanning the River Dore is a stone road bridge, built in 1815, which leads to the picturesque St. Bartholomew’s Church. The 16th century wooden bell turret and its external spire, rebuilt in 1871, give the church a unique look. The church has been altered many times since its Norman formation, with additions and restorations made by generations of local Stonemasons, who would have also constructed the stone road bridge. The majority of the gravestones scattered in its graveyard have been eroded by the passage of time, along with the stories of their occupants.
One of the names on many of the graves is Seaborne. The name has a rich history in the village of Vowchurch, dating back at least 250 years. A Matthew Seaborne and his wife Jane are buried within St. Bartholomew’s Church where a stone plaque on the wall marks their burial. Matthew died in 1798 and Jane two years later. I am uncertain why Matthew and Jane Seaborne were honoured with a burial place within the walls of the church. What I do know is Matthew was a Stonemason, and he and Jane are my great times nine grandparents. Matthews descendants through four further generations were born in Vowchurch, living in Vowchurch Common, which is just north up the hill from the village. Each generation of men following the paternal line carried the skill of Stonemasonry, passed down to them as their trade. Over the years each generation would work on the refurbishment of St Bartholomew’s church, including its spire.
225 years after Matthew Seaborne’s death, there have been thousands of descendants of his, all around the world. This has made me all too aware after I carried out a DNA test where the Seaborne line has by far the most connections. The abundance of Seaborne’s connections is partially due to Matthew’s great grandson, John Seaborne. Born in Vowchurch on the 22nd of February 1808, John would father over 20 children, with three successive wives, until he was in his mid-seventies. John’s first wife was Mary Ann Skyrme who died in 1844 from rheumatism, aged 35. His second wife, Lydia Price, my great x 4 grandmother, died aged 32 from tuberculosis. John’s third wife, Hannah Munkley would go on to live to 100 years of age. Even after John Seaborne’s death in 1898, Hannah would adopt a further two children. The adopted children were Edgar Cecil Seaborne and William Seaborne, both of whom died during the First World War and are commemorated with a plaque inside St. Bartholomew’s Church. Edgar would die in the Battle of Ancre on the 13th of November 1916, which was to be the last phase of the Somme campaign that year.
(John Seaborne outside his home on Vowchurch Common)
One of John Seaborne’s children with his second wife, James, would go on to have 32 children. James Seaborne would leave Vowchurch for Wales, living just a few miles away in Hay. There some of his children would work in the Welsh coal fields. One of James’ children is my great, great grandfather, William Seaborne, who would work in different coal mines for almost 60 years. His story can be seen in the following link to our YouTube channel.
In Vowchurch there are unsurprisingly, many parish birth, marriage and death records for Seaborne’s. As the gravestones have weathered or been destroyed over time, the only clearly visible sign of the long history of the Seaborne’s comes in more modern gravestones. The graves of John Seaborne’s youngest son, Isaac has been replaced. Also, that of Isaac’s son Llewelyn Seaborne can be seen next his own. Although the majority of the descendants of Matthew Seaborne, who we started this blog with, left the small village of Vowchurch, some did remain.
The Seaborne’s history in Vowchurch and Herefordshire certainly goes a lot further back in history in this area. There are records of Seaborne’s in the area going hundreds of years earlier than Matthew Seaborne. The family name, in its differing spelling variations, is firmly established as a common family name in Herefordshire for this reason and has a history there going back to the 13th century.
Below is a link to a YouTube video that Irish-Welsh Ancestry have created using images taken during a recent visit to St. Bartholomew’s Church, Vowchurch.
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