The posh ones

One day I was contacted by Jeannie and she said she thought we must be related.She was right and as we shared the names on our trees we had found a link.Jeannie said we were both related to the Wilshere family.My ancester on my Dad's mum's side had married Louisa Wilshere.The Wilshere's could trace their ancestry back to RichardII when in 1523 a lease states the Wilshere family first lived at The Frythe,Welwyn.It is with thanks to a Jeffery Knaggs who worked on the estate in 1960-70s.that this information is available for me on the internet and I am thankful to him for having gathered the information together into a readable form.Over the following centuries the estate was handed down from Father to son-many of them being named William(Wilshere.) William Wilshere led the Herts Yeomanry when Napoleon threatened to invade.As Lord of the manor of nearby Great Wymondley, it was his right,at every coronation banquet, to present the sovereign with his first cup of wine.The goblet used at the coronation of GeorgeIV in 1821 has been handed down in the family ever since,but the custom itself has now lapsed.The Wilshere's also financed rebuilding work on St.Mary's Church in Welwyn.In 1881 the occupants of the Frythe were Charles W Wilshere ,his wife Elizabeth Marie(nee Farmer) and their three daughters,Edith E,Everilda F and Alice D Wilshere.The staff consisted of a butler,footman,hall-boy,under-groom,stable boy,housekeeper,cook,kitchen-maid,upper and under laundry-maids,upper,under and third housemaids,a still room maid and a ladies maid.Even more people staffed the lodge,cottages and a brickyard.Now I know why I like being waited on and enjoy what I can of the good life.As well as the Frythe the Wilshere family had seats and/or estates at Biggleswade,Bedfordshire;Shillington,Bedfordshire;Hitchin,Hertfordshire;Ippollitts,Hertfordshire and Welwyn,Hertfordshire.Jeannie had made my day introducing me to my ancesters who were landed proprietors and gentlewomen.I have arrived and it suits me perfectly thank you very much!