Hendford Manor, sometimes called Hendford Manor House (and not to be confused with Hendford House nearby), appears to have been bought by Edwin Newman around 1834, who used it as the headquarters of his law firm "Newman Paynter & Co". [There is some doubt in my mind because in the 1851 census the house number was 23 Hendford whereas in the 1881 census it was recorded as No 11 Hendford. Did the house numbers change, or did Edwin move house?]

Marion Paynter records that Hendford Manor was "a large Georgian house that he made additions to soon after he bought it. It is now a local authority office, and the fine old stable block is now a museum".

When I visited in October 2001, the house was being used as an architects office, but the museum was still extant and appeared well maintained, though it was closed at the time of my visit (see photo below).

The circumstances drew Edwin Newman to move to Yeovil and set up his house and business in Hendford remains uncertain. Edwin's father Edwin Sandys Newman was rector at Sparkford not far away (see map below), and his wife came from West Coker (also in the area) so it can be deduced that he moved to the nearest large town to establish his business.

There is also uncertainty as to the date Edwin purchased Hendford Manor, but it was sometime between 1833 and 1840 (see Edwin's page for further comments on this)

Interesting to note is the presence of another Newman family in the immediate neighbourhood. The 1851 census shows Edwin and family living at No 23 Hendford, and by the same census another family of Newmans was living 80 Hendford, headed by a Mrs Jane Newman, then 72 years old. With her was her unmarried sister Mary Garland, three nieces and two nephews.  Sandra Beckett of the Newman Name Society has kindly explained to me who these people were: Jane Newman was the widow of John Newman; her maiden name was Garland (as per her unmarried sister Mary). John Birkley (should be spelt Berkley) is the son of William Wakefield Birkley (a merchant captain) and his wife Jane (sister of John Newman). John and Jane Newman were childless and apparently brought up the 3 children of William Wakefield Berkely and Jane. One of these was John Birkley (born 1824) and he married Mary Ann Cogan and they lived in Hendford with their children Mary Jane, William and John, together with Aunt Jane Newman and Aunt Mary Garland. The unanswered question remains however: were these Newmans relations of the Newmans at Hendford Manor?

Hendford Manor seems to have passed to the ownership of Edwin's step-son James Bernard Paynter, who in the 1891 census was recorded as head of the household. I have not yet been able to ascertain how or why the house passed to the Paynter family, since Edwin had 8 adult sons of his own any one of whom might have been expected to have inherited it. Perhaps James simply purchased it from Edwin after his firm ran into financial difficulties in 1880 when the head-clerk ran off with the firm's funds, or perhaps he simply bought it from the family after Edwin's death. I remain curious nevertheless, as to how this link between the Newmans and Somerset was lost.

When he died in 1927, James Bernard left Hendford Manor to his eldest son William, who sold it to Yeovil Town Council in 1935. A plaque is now affixed to the front of the house stating: "Yeovil Town Council - Hendford Manor - c.1750 - built for James Hooper, Lord of Hendford Manor - Millenium 2000 Plaque".

James Bernard was quite an investor in real-estate; in 1889 (by when he was resident in Hendford Manor), he purchased Hendford House (now the Manor Hotel - photo left) across and up the road from Hendford Manor for the princely sum of £4,100 - not a small sum in those days (see copy of contract below).