Featured Resident

The Reverend Shapleigh Thomas

Shapleigh Thomas, third son of Reverend Milton Thomas III and his wife Geneva Shapleigh grew up in a small town in Kent. One of five children, with two older brothers and two younger sisters, he was always the peacemaker and arbiter. Tall and thin with a shock of dark hair and deep set eyes of brown, Shapleigh would often draw his brow together while studying things most intently. As a child he showed an early interest in nature, collecting his own specimens, labelling and carefully preserving them. Butterflies particularly captivated him as did the local birds. By the age of ten he could identify any bird or butterfly in his environs. Shapleigh was a thoughtful child who spent many an afternoon in the library perusing his father’s books and in time began to add his own books to the shelves.

His father educated him at home with his brothers until he entered Oxford and finally was ordained. Shapleigh knew from a young age he was destined for the church as most second and third sons are, but he was content with his lot. In his teenage years he visited the sick and helped those in need when he was home from school. Patient and determined, his parents doted on him and their loss was great when his orders came and he was sent to a distant county.

The town of Fayrewood in Kent is a lush area with many farms, a bustling high street and a tight knit community of people. Among its residents Shapleigh Thomas had many friends and people would call out greetings wherever he went. Well liked and respected many of the young ladies cast an eye in his direction but he only had eyes for Mary.

The Guilford family, neighbours of the Thomas’, ran the local oast house with the help of their three sons and Mary, their only daughter. Mary could often be found chatting with Shapleigh after church and it became evident to all that one day they would wed. Once Shapleigh was ensconced in Amberleigh’s Rectory and had established himself as church leader and dear friend of the village, he returned to Fayrewood to marry his sweetheart, Mary, and bring her to his home to begin their life together.

Mary and Shapleigh have made their home in the rectory by the church, keeping a few sheep and planting a large kitchen garden. The two of them can often be seen working in the church grounds, pulling weeds and trimming low branches, chatting happily as they toiled. Shapleigh and Mary both have become an integral part of the Amberliegh family, liked and admired by all.

Featured Resident

Eva Broome

Eva Broome and her daughter Fiona are the residents of Comely Lodge West which is traditionally the home of the gamekeeper for Comely Manor. Located at the west entrance to the estate, its shroud of vines soften the grey stone making it appear more of a nest than a house. The latticed windows catch the light of the early afternoon shining like little beacons for the visitors to the manor house. The former Viscount Comely graciously allowed Eva and her daughter to remain there after the death of her husband, Alfred who was gamekeeper for the estate. The new Viscount Comely has extended this courtesy upon inheritance of the title and house which has comforted both Eva and her daughter. For them the lodge is a link with Alf Broome, dearest husband and father.

Eva knew there would never been another for her when her time with Alfred was shortened. Her beloved husband died of a chill 7 years ago and now just Eva and her daughter Fiona remain to tend the garden and look after the chickens. It was difficult at first to get accustomed to the absence of Alfred; the timbre of his voice was one of the things Eva found so beguiling when she first met him and to come into the silence of the house after working in the garden only emphasized that he was no longer part of her world.

A slender woman with gentle brown eyes that personify kindness, Eva is frugal without meanness, even tempered and has a cheerful demeanour. Her caps conceal glorious brunette hair, now with a hint of silver, braided and coiled into perfection. Eva is a tall woman with a regal nose and upright bearing, she and her husband made a striking couple when walking together. Originally from Scotland, she arrived in Amberleigh as a new bride having met her husband Alfred while visiting cousins of her mother’s in the nearby town of Bexford. Theirs was a whirlwind romance; both knew from the start they were destined to marry and no one was surprised when the banns were read in church. They set up house in the gamekeeper’s lodge and made a happy home, all the more content when their daughter Fiona was born.

In the Kitchen is where you can usually find Eva. “There is always a need for a wee bit of cake.” she often says and this makes her popular with the children of the village on May Day when cakes are given out. Her love of baking began at a young age. As a child she spent most of the time at her grandparents’ house as her mother died when she was born. She would help her granny with the baking and soon she was stirring up her own cakes. Granny always said the most important ingredient for any cake is the love you put into it and Eva has carried this pearl of wisdom with her throughout her life. The old copy book that contains her recipes is tattered and splattered but remains her most treasured possession. It was presented to her by her beloved grandmother who wrote inside the front cover “The sweetness you pass on to others will come back to you tenfold.”

A small terrier named Archie is Eva’s constant companion these days and together they walk the garden pulling weeds, trimming shrubs and shooing the chickens away from the vegetables. It is a full life, but the sound of Alfred’s fiddle on a cold winter’s evening is much missed. Fiona, Eva’s daughter helps with the running of the household and together they exist contentedly.