There was no Earl of Comberford in Hopwas in the 16th century, but a Regency blockbuster has a fictious Earl of Cumberford

The Earl of Cumberford is a fictional character in the Regency romance novel ‘Contrary Cousins’ (1981) by Judith Harkness

Patrick Comerford

When I was walking around Hopwas in one of my recent treks through the countryside in Staffordshire, I came across a blog posting from 2010 on ‘Tamworth Time Hikes’ in which a blogger, writing about the Woodhouse in Hopwas Wood back in 2010, said the house was ‘probably built on orders of the Marquess of Donegal around 1750 for use as a hunting lodge and retreat, being close to his Fisherwick estate.’

The blogger goes on to claim: ‘Local hearsay reports that there was a site here as far back as 1540, from the wife of the earl of Comberford, I cannot confirm any of this but its [sic] worth investigating.’

Of course, the blogger could never have confirmed any of this. The family of the Marquess of Donegall owned Comberford Hall in the 18th century, and before them the Comberford family owned large tracts of Hopwas, which is west of Comberford, on the road between Lichfield and Tamworth.

But there never was an Earl of Comberford, nor was there a Countess of Comberford who built the Woodhouse in Hopwas in the mid-16th century. Much as the conceited side of my inner personality might delight in the prospect of inheriting such a title, the nearest there ever was to an Earl of Comberford is a fictional character in a blockbuster or ‘chick-lit’ novel by the American romantic fiction writer Judith Harkness.

’A Mapp of Staffordshire with its Hundreds’ by Richard Blome (1715) names Comberford as Cumberford

The spelling ‘Cumberford’ is used on the Comberford family monument erected by Joseph Comerford in the Comberford Chapel in Saint Editha’s Church, Tamworth, in 1725. Ten years earlier, Richard Blome’s ‘A Mapp of Staffordshire with its Hundreds’ (1715) is unusual in tilting Staffordshire, viewing it from south to north on a left-to-right axis. Like many maps of the name, it spells Comberford as ‘Cumberford’. The same spelling was used 20 years before that in Robert Morden’s map, ‘Staffordshire’, for Camden’s Britannia (1695). Reviewers claim Judith Harkness often makes historical errors in her English settings. But, at least in her spelling of this fictitious aristocrat’s title she is not being entirely unhistorical.

The Earl of Cumberford is a fictional character in her Regency romance novel Contrary Cousins (1981), and she portrays him as a pompous English nobleman who detests the American branch of his family. Cumberford hates his American relatives and when his nieces arrive in London, the romantic comedy begins. When the Powell cousins take London society by storm, Cumberford is livid with rage. Lady Pendleton was certain her plan would succeed, for lively Antonia was irresistibly pretty, and Serena merely required the attentions of a first-rate dressmaker and a more confident manner to attract the notice of London’s most eligible bachelors.

But if Lady Pendleton could have foreseen how well her scheme would work and just which lords would soon be courting her charges in earnest, she would never have let Antonia and Serena off the boat from America.

Judith Harkness paints the fashionable world of Regency England, when styles were dictated by Beau Brummel, the Duchess of Devonshire held court, and dandies paraded in their phaetons and four. Groomed by their mothers to capture the hearts of the most eligible bachelors of the day, fashionable young ladies passed the Season in London and at Bath, where they were presented at a string of assemblies and balls in their finery and feathers.

Brimming with period detail, Contrary Cousins was written to appeal to readers who enjoy a good, old-fashioned romantic caper in the tradition of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer.

Judith Harkness is the author of five classic Regency romances: The Montague Scandal, The Admiral’s Daughter, The Determined Bachelor, Contrary Cousins, and Lady Charlotte’s Ruse, all originally published by Signet. She is the co-author of a screenplay, Emma in New York, an updated version of the classic Jane Austen novel set in contemporary Manhattan.

As JH Richardson, Judith Harkness also writes non-fiction on subjects ranging from children with learning and developmental issues to profiles of notable creative artists. She lives in Rhode Island with her husband, Will Taft.

The Woodhouse in Hopwas was also known as Hopwas Hayes Lodge and was built in 1730 by Zachary Babington

As for the Woodhouse in Hopwas, it was also known known as Hopwas Hayes Lodge. It was built in 1730 by Zachary Babington (1690-1745) as part of the Fisherwick estate. It was situated on the highest part of Hopwas Wood.

Zachary Babington was a barrister and was High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1713 and 1724. He was the son of John Babington (High Sheriff in 1702), and was named after his grandfather, the Revd Canon Dr Zachary Babington (1549-1613), Chancellor of Lichfield Cathedral and Master of Saint John’s Hospital. He was distantly related to Anthony Babington, who in 1586 was hung, drawn and quartered on Tower Hill for his role in the Babington Plot to put Mary Queen of Scots, on the English throne.

Although there never was an Earl of Comberford, it is here we find a link with the Comberford family: Zachary’s grandfather, Humphrey Babington, married one of three sisters who jointly became heiresses to the vast Beaumont estates, including Wednesbury:

• Jane or Joan Beaumont, the eldest daughter, married William Babington of Teremore;
• Dorothy Beaumont, the second daughter and co-heir, married Humphrey Comberford of Comberford, Staffordshire;
• Eleanor Beaumont, the youngest daughter, married William Babington’s brother Humphrey Babington of Rothley Temple, Leicestershire.

The grandson of Canon Zachary Babington, the younger Zachary Babington, lived at Curborough Hall, near Lichfield, and later at Whittington Old Hall. His daughter Mary married Theophilus Levett, town clerk of Lichfield, and so the Levett family inherited the Babington estates at Curborough and Packington, including the Woodhouse.

The Woodhouse was altered in the 19th and 20th centuries, but it fell into disrepair and was demolished in 2010.

The Earl of Cumberford is a fictional character in a novel by Judith Harkness