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Wrington Website: Lyndley Havyatt's Recollections |
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Wrington Website: Lyndley Havyatt's Recollections |
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These reminiscences are collated from contributions elsewhere on the website |
| Lyndley lives in Australia, and in her first message to the Schmoose page she wrote: "I made a visit to Wrington in 1990 to do some family tree research, but being inexperienced in such matters, I discovered just the tip of the iceberg. In summary, my great-grandparents were George and Rachel Parker of Havyatt Farm who lived there from 1840s to 1870s. One of their daughters, Emily Parker, married Harry Spratt from Webbington Farm, Axbridge in 1886 and they emigrated to New Zealand. |
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| My father, Harry Spratt, enlisted in the New Zealand Mounted Rifles and fought at Gallipoli. He was shipped from Gallipoli to England in 1915 to recover from illness and whilst there he visited Havyatt Farm which he knew to be the "family seat". He was so taken with the name that when he returned to New Zealand he changed his name to Havyatt by deed poll. Four of the family members from New Zealand have visited Havyatt Farm since 1988. |
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George, Rachel, Charles and William Thomas Parker are buried in a grave at All Saints' Church under a beautiful beech tree. I didn't find any other family graves there, so presume they are buried elsewhere. Whilst visiting All Saints' church in May 1990, I looked at the register and found that three boys named Spratt had recently been christened there. The rector was not at the church that day, so when I arrived back in Australia two days later, I wrote to him to ask for information about them. I received a reply from him in which he informed me that the boys' grandparents were Gordon and Rosa Spratt of New Zealand ! Yvonne Spratt is their daughter-in-law and they are her three sons. I contacted Gordon and Rosa and visited them in New Zealand in 1992. I have been a friend of the family ever since and have had a close relationship with their eldest daughter Cynthia for 9 years, as we share a strong interest in geneology and she has helped me to gather lots more information about my family. I hope to re-visit Wrington again. [The photographs came in an e-mail dated 19th April, 2002, after Lyndley had seen Olive Mellett's photos
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| The farm is where Dad's mother Emily Parker and all her brothers and sisters were born and where his grandparents George and Rachel Parker lived for about 30 years. | |||||||||||||||||
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| Dad visited Havyatt Farm in 1917 afterbeing shipped from Gallipoli to England to recuperate from an illness contracted in the First World War. | |||||||||||||||||
| Thankyou for the opportunity to contribute to the website! I am hoping that someone may have information regarding any contemporary members of that Parker family as I have failed to trace them so far. Sincerely, Lyndley |
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