The Warlands of Corfe Mullen

People with the surname Warland can be found from the early 1600s (and possibly earlier) across the area from Corfe Mullen via the Canford Magna and Wimborne areas, to Hampreston. Warland graves can be found in grounds of the church at Canford Magna, St Huberts in Corfe Mullen, and St Luke's in Hampreston confirming the connection with those areas.

1620 - Death of William Warland of Corfe Mullen

Warlands have been connected with Corfe Mullen since at least 1620 in official records.

William Warland, husbandman of Corfe Mullen left the following will dated 15 April 1620. In it he refers to the following individuals:

William Warland's will.

In the name of God, Amen. I William Warland of Corfe Mullen in the county of Dorset husbandman, hath made and ordayned this to be my last will and testament in manner and form followinge. First for my soule that I bequeath into the hands of Jesus Christ my redeemer. And my body I committ into the earth in hope of a joyful resurrection to be buried in fro() of Corfe Mullen aforesaid. And my goods I (thus?) dispose. In primus I give to John Beale () () shillings fewer pence. Item I give to (Jo) () - three shillings fewer pence. Item I give to the rest of the poor of Corfe aforesaid five shillings. Item I give to poor of Greate Canford tenne shillings. Item I give to my sister Alice Harward twentie shillings. Item To Thomas Harward three shillings fewer pence. Item To Henry Harward (three) shillings fewer pence. Item To Katheryne Harward three shillings and fewer pence sonnes and daughter(s) of the aforesaid Alice Harwood. Item to Philippe Pottle and Thomas Pottle my servants a wether lamb apiece. Item to my servant Katherine Bugby three shillings fewer pence. Item - I give to my (sonne) William Warland thirty four pounds. But if the sayde William Warland should happen to dye before he comes of age of one and twenty years, then the sayde thirty four pounds shall () to Joan Warland his sister. And this to be payable when the sayde William Warland shall come of to the age of one and twenty years. Item - I give to Joan Warland my daughter thirty four pounds to be payable when she comes for the age of one and twenty years. But if shee shall happen to take to her an husband then the sayde thirty four pounds shall be payable at the first day of her marriage. If the said Joan Warland shall happen to dye before the age of 21 years if not married that then the sayde thirty four pounds her portion shall () for William Warland her brother. Item - All of the () of my goods, moveable and immoveable I give to Isabell my wife whom I make my sole Executrix of this my last will and testament. Wm Warland his mark. (Prob?) to (Isabelle) Warland (relief?)()()() Robert Paynter and Willaim (Fforde?). () Thos (Browne?) Edmund, Mary, (), Thos (King?) his mark. (Source: http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D901362)

The will raises the question of whether the Warlands of Wimborne and Canford Magna - described below - are related to the William Warland in this will, in particular his son also William Warland.

Note: It is not known how or if the above William Warland and his children are related to the people mentioned below.

1654 - Johan Warland marries in Corfe Mullen

A Johan Warland [sic - Joan?], a widow from Winterborne (believed to be the area between present day Winterborne Kingston and Winterborne Zelston, about 10 - 15 kms west of Corfe Mullen as seen in the map above), married Thomas Church in Corfe Mullen on 11 May 1654. It is not known if there was a Warland presence in Winterborne but it is noteworthy that Johan moved to Corfe Mullen.

Late 1700s - Location of Warlands in the Corfe Mullen area

The 1887 ordnance survey map below shows the approximate location where this line of Warlands farmed in the Corfe Mullen area. Some of them are buried in St Huberts Church, circled in thed.

The area of Corfe Mullen where the Warlands on this page lived and farmed. Other Warlands lived nearer to Canford Magna, to the right of this map

Around 1790 - William and Ann Warland of Corfe Mullen

William Warland (28 October 1765, Canford Magna, Dorset, England - 12 June 1838, Spettisbury, Dorset, England) was the son of William Warland (22 December 1722 - 1 April 1801) and Jane (Jenny) Dunford (? - 14 February 1796) who married in 1760 in Canford Magna.

At some point before 1791 he had moved to Corfe Mullen a few miles to the south-east and farmed in that area. William Warland (recorded as a 'yeoman/farmer' of Corfe Mullen) married Ann Harbin (1769 - 1843)(also of Corfe Mullen) on 17 May 1791 in St Huberts, Corfe Mullen. Witnesses to the wedding were John Warland and Susana Comings.

William and Ann Warland had the following children, many of whom moved to Australia (click on names with links):

All of William and Ann Warland's sons except John and Christopher migrated to Australia - see below.

1813 - Jane Warland marries William Polden

Jane Warland (1792 - 1856), the eldest daughter of William and Ann Warland (nee Harbin), married William Polden (1789 - 12 August 1856 in Poole, UK) on 21 December 1813. They had the following children:

Note: Another Jane Warland of Corfe Mullen married William Thomas Owen, a batchelor of Portsmouth, on 14 April 1814 'with the consent of parents'. It is not yet clear who this Jane was.

1815 - Introduction of the Corn Laws puts pressure on farmers

It is likely that William and Ann Warland and their children were affected (and possibly influenced to migrate) as a result of the introduction of the Corn Laws in 1815. These laws were enacted in the UK in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars left the UK almost in a state of famine. Bread was precious and it was illegal for a baker to sell his loaves until after they had been out of the oven for at least 24 hours. The penalty for defying this law was harsh. Bakers were fined as much as five pounds and court costs. Only well-off farmers and landlords profited from these laws, and they were the ones who would make sure that the price of grain remained as high in good times as it had been in bad. The landlords who wanted to keep prices inflated were the majority in Parliament, and the Corn Laws were not hard to pass. The enactment of the Corn Laws was said to be disastrous for the common worker, and riots broke out in London and other parts of the country. The laws remained in effect until 1846 when they were repealed.

1818 - John Warland marries Ann Marie Stickland

John Warland (1798 - 1865), the son of William and Ann Warland (nee Harbin), married Ann Marie Stickland (1797 - 1855) on 13 August 1818 in Corfe Mullen, Dorset, England. His brother Christopher Warland and Ann Lesly were witnesses to the wedding. Click this link for information about the life of John and Ann Marie Warland.

Ann Marie Stickland may have been related to the Sarah Stickland who married Robert Warland (1761 - 1821), the first son of the maltster, John Warland (1726 - 1794) and Elizabeth Batt (1734 - 1790), in 1783 in St James, Poole.

Before 1821 - Christopher Warland marries Catherine Roberts

Christopher Warland (1800 - 1848) married Catherine Roberts (Surname also noted as Rabbets) and they had the following children:

Christopher and Catherine Warland and family do not appear to be present in the 1841 census. A 'Christopher Warland', aged 45, is probably not the same person. At some point the family entered into the drapery business - see below re the 1851 census.

1823 - William Henry Warland (1795 - 1859) departs for Australia

The connection with Thomas Grove at Fern House in Wiltshire is not yet known but, two years after he arrived in the colony of New South Wales, William Henry Warland wrote the following:

I have been bred to an Agricultural Life and habit of Industry that I am now engaged in the management of an extensive Farming and Grazing concern belonging to a Mr Samuel Hassall of Macquarie Grove, as above, that I am possessed of sufficient capital to enable me fully to carry into effect your Lordship's intentions in granting Lands; and in proof of the veracity of my statements I beg leave to refer Your Lordship to Thomas Grove Esq Fern House (now Ferne House), Wilts near Shenton Dorset and the Rev James Mayor, Wimbourne Dorsetshire.

From the statement above, it would appear that William knew Thomas Grove well enough to use his name as a reference. Was he employed, even briefly, at Grove's property?

In October 1823 at the age of 28, William Henry Warland arrived in the colony of New South Wales on board the Mariner, having accompanied Dr David Reid, a Royal Navy Surgeon from Scotland, out from England to be his superintendent of stock and agricultural concerns.

On 15 February 1827, William Henry Warland wrote to the NSW Land Board requesting a grant of land, stating that he was '... a single man ... bred to Agriculture from my youth, my family having occupied a farm belonging to Sir John Webb in Dorsetshire for upwards of 200 years'. This stated connection with the farm belonging to the Webbs first goes back to possibly the early 1600s when possibly John Warland (abt 1620 - ?), or his son John Warland (1650 - 1730), was farming on that land.

In another document, dated 18 February 1828, and apparently in support of Warland’s letter, Dr Reid stated that the Warlands were '... very extensive farmers, but suffered severely in the late distresses of the agriculturalists ...' - likely a reference to the Corn Laws. Reid described Warland as '... one of the best farmers and judges of livestock in the colony ...'

As his other brothers did not (yet) accompany him, it would almost appear that William Henry Warland gathered enough funds and support to make the journey on his own, with the intention of advising his family if it was worth leaving England.

1823 - James Warland marries Frances Childs

James Warland (1797 - 1875, South Australia), a carpenter, married Frances (Fanny) Childs (1796 - 22 December 1882) on 29 June 1823 at Old Church, Saint Pancras, London, indicating he had moved to London by that time. Frances Childs is believed to have been from Dorset also, but may have already been in London where she met James.

James and Frances had four children in England (Source: English baptism records from www.findmypast.co.uk, England Births & Baptisms 1538-1975):

Note: An Ann Warland, aged 1 and born in 1833, living at John Street, Surrey (Parish Lambeth, St John the Evangelist, Waterloo, Surrey), died in 1834. This is not all that far from St Pancras so it could be the same person. As William had also died, this means that James and Frances Warland had only two children.

1833 - William Henry Warland returns to the UK?

Correspondence dated 23 September 1833 indicated that William Henry Warland may have returned to the UK in this year. It is likely that he suggested migration to his brothers at that time. He returned again in 1841, this time to marry Susannah Clark.

1837/1838 - Brothers James and George Warland migrate to Australia

On 7 June 1837, James Warland, a 29 year old carpenter living at 34 Compton Street, Brunswick Square, with Frances and children (shown as M5.9/F7 - probably Ellen and Henry), applied for free passage to South Australia (Record 1113).

A bit over a year later, on 11 July 1838, James Warland (now recorded as a carpenter and joiner) and his family (listed as children M8.1/F9) living at 8 Yorke Street, (off?) East Commercial Road, Stepney, along with James' brother George Warland(1815 - 1861, South Australia), an unmarried farm servant living at Tollard West, Salisbury, prepared to leave England on the Rajahsthan under the command of Captain Ritchie, with 223 passengers. Their embarkation record noted that their brother 'W.H. Warland L.H.' was somehow linked with their migration agent, E H Mears.

June 1838 - William Warland (born 1765) dies

William Warland (born 1765) died on 12 June 1838 at Spettisbury, Dorset, England, halfway between Blandford Forum and Sturminster Marshall. St Hubert's church at Corfe Mullen has a memorial to William, suggesting that he was away - possibly working as a labourer - from his normal place of residence (in Corfe Mullen), and his body returned there for burial.

1838 - Ellen Warland dies

William and Ann Warland's daughter Ellen or Helen Warland (born 1813) died in 1838 aged 25.

November 1838 - Elizabeth Warland marries William Goobey

Elizabeth Warland (1809 - ?), a spinster of full age, servant of Stetisbury and daughter of (the late) William Warland labourer, married William Goobey, a 'bachelor of full age, labourer at Tarrant Keyneston' and son of Thomas Goobey, labourer, on 20 November 1838. We will see reference to Elizabeth Gooby again later on after the death of her brother in Australia.

December 1838 - Edward Warland (born 1812) migrates to Australia

Edward Warland (1812 - 1897, New South Wales) left England, arriving in Sydney in December 1838 and moving to the same general area of 'New England' as his older brother William Henry Warland.

Mid 1839 - William and Robert Warland migrate to Australia

Brothers William Warland with his wife Alicia (nee Ferris)(1809 - 1867) and their children, and Robert Frederick Warland and his wife Eliza (Hordern)(and some of Eliza's family also), left England for New South Wales in mid 1839. Unlike their brothers already there, William and Robert disembarked in South Australia.

1841 onwards - Ann Warland (nee Harbin) dies - census records commence

William Henry Warland returned to the UK sometime in 1840/1841 and married Susannah Clark (1806 - 1888) in 1841 in Farnham, Surrey. He returned to Australia on 3 March 1842 on board the Royal George which departed England on 28 October 1841.

Possibly around this time, but definitely before 1851, Warland's nephew William Warland (Abt 1822 - 1893) and his niece Emma Ann Warland (born 1827), the children of his brother John Warland (1798 - 1865), and the latter’s husband Mr Alfred Hayle, departed for Australia and lived in the same area of New South Wales (Blandford) as William Henry Warland.

Ann Warland (nee Harbin) appears in the 1841 census for Dorset, aged 70 and 'independent'. She was buried at St Hubert's when she died in 1843.

The Warland link with Corfe Mullen ceased around this point.

1841 - Birth of Edmund Warland

An Edmund Warland, the son of Edward Warland, a painter, and Penelope Shorey on 6 June 1841 in Corfe Mullen. It is not yet known who this is. The family do not appear in the UK 1841 census.

1848 - Christopher Warland dies

William and Ann's son Christopher Warland (born 1800, husband of Catherine) died in 1848. His youngest child Elizabeth was 20 at the time.

1851 census

The 1851 census shows both Catherine Warland and her son John William Warland as drapers, perhaps working together after the death of Christopher in 1848. John's wife Martha and their children Elizabeth and Christopher also appear in the 1841 census.

1861 census

By the time of the 1861 census, John William Warland and family had moved north to Inglesham in Wiltshire where they continued to work as drapers. The 1861 census shows that John's mother Catherine continued to live with them; John and Martha's two children Emily W Warland (aged 5) and Henry Warland (aged 2), are also listed in the same location. Their sons Christopher (born 1849) and John (born 1852) are likely to be the boys of those names recorded as students at Dorchester, aged 11 and 8 respectively. The location of their daughter Elizabeth (born 1847) is not known.

1864 - Elizabeth Gooby institutes a case re her brother's assets in New South Wales

In 1864, following the death of her brother William Henry Warland in New South Wales, Elizabeth Gooby instituted a case in the High Court in the UK (Warland vs Gooby 1864, W., No 161), possibly in an attempt to gain control of some of the proceedings of the sale of the properties.

1865 - Elizabeth Warland marries Frederick Cook

John and Martha Warland's daughter, Elizabeth Warland (born 1847), married Frederick Boulter Cooke in 1865.

Elizabeth's uncle, John Warland, died in 1865.

1871 census

William Henry Warland's wife, Susannah Warland, aged 65, appears in the 1871 census in Hampshire, and again (aged 75 and born in 1806) at Poole, Dorset in the 1881 census. This was probably the same Susannah Warland, who had returned to her birthplace, quite possibly with the Hayles. Susannah died in 1888.

By the time of the 1871 census, John and Martha Warland were still recorded in the Dorset census, along with their children Christopher (now 21), Emily (now 15), Henry (now 12) and Catherine (now 8).

1881 census

The 1881 census appears to be the last that includes Warlands in the Dorset area.

In the 1881 census, Martha Warland, now 59, is recorded at West Boro/Borough, Wimborne, with her daughter Catherine (aged 18) and a servant, Mary Adams. John Warland may be the John W Warland aged 56 from Tollard Royal, Wiltshire, an 'Accountant Valuer Stock Takes', recorded in London.

It is believed that Christopher Warland married Lucy (second name not yet known) around 1875. The 1881 census records only one Christopher Warland (aged 30), a warehouseman living at 30 Beech Street, St Luke, London with a Lucy Warland (aged 24) and two children, Martha Warland (aged 3) and Elizabeth Warland (aged 1).

Emily Warland is recorded in the 1881 cenus as a governess to the Mason family, No 1 Vansittart, Kirkleatham, Yorkshire. Her brother Henry is not obvious in the census.

John William Warland (snr) died in 1884.

1891 census

While there is no record of any Christopher Warland or a Christopher and Lucy Warland in the 1891 census, there is a Charles Warland (aged 52 - sic, he would have been 42), a warehouseman, and a Lucy J Warland (aged 32)(linked with a 'Charles'), a draper, in London with children that match the two in the 1881 census plus additional children born since that date: Martha M Warland (aged 13), Eliza J Warland (aged 11), Fred C Warland (aged 9), Ellen A Warland (aged 7), Bernard H Warland (aged 2), Lucy J Warland (newborn). It is believed that this is the same family.

1901 census

By the time of the 1901 census, Lucy Warland (aged 41) was recorded as a 'machinist shirt' living in Cripplegate, Middlesex, London with her children. Her daughters Martha Warland (aged 22) and Elizabeth (aged 20) are also a 'machinist shirt'. Fred Warland (aged 19) is a commercial clerk. Lucy Warland, aged 10 is recorded. Neither Ellen nor Bernard are obviously recorded.

1911 census

The 1911 census records the children of Christopher/Charles and Lucy Warland in Fulham, London: Maud (probably Martha) Warland (aged 30), Elizabeth Warland (aged 29), Fred Warland (aged 28), Jessie (possibly Ellen) Warland (aged 28), and Lucy Warland, (aged 21).

See also the Australian section of this website.

Page created 2008, updated 19 June 2024. Copyright © Andrew Warland. (andrewwarland(at)gmail.com)