John Knowles.net
Reginald at the crease by the seaside.
Thomas Du Rose Knowles Great Grandfather.
A tradition that ran for a few generations in the family was that the eldest son took the middle name of Du Rose. This was the reflect that two KNOWLES brothers of a previous generation had married two sisters with the surname Du Rose. Durose is a surname that can be traced to Bramshall in North Staffordshire, England, in the 16th Century. A geneological group meets once a year in Bramshall Church Hall. My wife Beryl and I went to one of their conventions - not really my thing! but it proved useful in that we seemed to be part of a small Du Rose branch that had moved to London away from the Staffordshire root.
This page holds images and information on the ancestors and descendents of my father Geoffrey Eric KNOWLES. Any claim to fame here belongs to two of my Grandfather's brothers. Charles William KNOWLES became the Head Gardener at Bagshot Park the home of the Duke of Connaught, Prince Arthur, Queen Victoria's third son. It is now the home of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and his wife the Countess. Charles set out a lot of the features in the Park including the Pinetum that still stands. He wrote a detailed account of his work at Bagshot in Cyril Ward's book 'Royal Gardens.'
Philip Oswin KNOWLES, Charles brother, became the Head Gardener at Friar's Park at Henley on Thames. It was the home of the eccentric Victorian lawyer Sir Frank Crisp who created a fantasy landscape with infinity pools, a mock-up of the Matterhorn and giant grapes and a house with a network of canals with grottoes underneath it. The Park was made famous when George Harrison of Beatles fame bought it - his wife still lives there.
In the photo below he is driving a Fiat car. He took part in early car rallies including one from Lands End to John o'Groats. My grandmother claimed she went with him - but she didn't - he was away quite a lot - if you knew my grandmother you would know why.
Bagshot Park
The Head Gardener's House at Bagshot Park
Sue McMillan by the Lily Pond at Bagshot Park
She is clutching a copy of Royal Gardens by Cyril Ward that has an article on Bagshot plantings by Charles Edward KNOWLES
This is a studio portrait of Reginald Eric KNOWLES our grandfather.
In Census entries and Marriage Certificates etc. he is listed variously with different titles as working in the wholesale butchery trade. The family story is that that he carried large sums of money and had a pistol to provide some level of security while travelling. He died at the age of 40 from pneumonia. He was a Freemason and on his death they paid for our father to attend Clark's College in Walthamstow where he learnt commercial skills from bookeeping to typing.
