William and his wife Rachel née Maplesden had no children and the Parsonage passed to his nephew, Thomas Wells (1757-1837), son of his sister Mary. The next owners were Thomas’s two sons: first his elder son with the nice composite name of William Pemble Wells (1788-1850) and, on this son’s death, his younger son and namesake, the Thomas Wells (1796-1888) of the photograph. Thomas’s wife, Elizabeth née Colyer, died only 12 years after they were married and the childless Thomas went on living in the big house in the company of a housekeeper, a cook and a groom for another 30 years. From censuses we learn that the Parsonage was now known as Parsonage Farm, and as such, it passed to Thomas’s nephew, Thomas Stevens (1813-1893), son of his sister Catherine. It was still a large farm in the time of Thomas Stevens and his wife Frances née Pye but, with his death, its days were numbered. Although Emma Jane, Thomas’s third daughter, lived on there until she died in 1953, she had no heirs and the large house suffered the fate that awaited so many grand old buildings. According to the Cobham Conservation Area Statement, published in 1999, all that then remained of the Parsonage was the restored coach-house, now a house, and a fine brick wall at the back of “much the site”. The view above of St Mary Magdalene, taken from near the Parsonage, may not have changed that much over the years. The most striking difference is probably the number of chimneys. The College complex originally consisted of 21 small almshouses round a quadrangle, each one with its own chimney. After an inspection in 1980, the almshouses were closed as they no longer met modern standards. The whole complex was upgraded into 12 self-contained flats heated by a central boiler, so only one chimney was needed. For aesthetic reasons, a number of new chimneys were built, but they are purely cosmetic. The following map, taken from the Cobham Conservation Area Statement, shows the location of the Parsonage in 1895, not long after the photographs were taken when it would have been the home of the Stevens sisters. The Parsonage farm that we know today would seem to be located roughly on the site of the farm designated Pickles on the map.
William and his wife Rachel née Maplesden had no children and the Parsonage passed to his nephew, Thomas Wells (1757-1837), son of his sister Mary. The next owners were Thomas’s two sons: first his elder son with the nice composite name of William Pemble Wells (1788-1850) and, on this son’s death, his younger son and namesake, the Thomas Wells (1796-1888) of the photograph. Thomas’s wife, Elizabeth née Colyer, died only 12 years after they were married and the childless Thomas went on living in the big house in the company of a housekeeper, a cook and a groom for another 30 years. From censuses we learn that the Parsonage was now known as Parsonage Farm, and as such, it passed to Thomas’s nephew, Thomas Stevens (1813-1893), son of his sister Catherine. It was still a large farm in the time of Thomas Stevens and his wife Frances née Pye but, with his death, its days were numbered. Although Emma Jane, Thomas’s third daughter, lived on there until she died in 1953, she had no heirs and the large house suffered the fate that awaited so many grand old buildings. According to the Cobham Conservation Area Statement, published in 1999, all that then remained of the Parsonage was the “much restored coach-house, now a house, and a fine brick wall at the back of the site”. The view above of St Mary Magdalene, taken from near the Parsonage, may not have changed that much over the years. The most striking difference is probably the number of chimneys. The College complex originally consisted of 21 small almshouses round a quadrangle, each one with its own chimney. After an inspection in 1980, the almshouses were closed as they no longer met modern standards. The whole complex was upgraded into 12 self-contained flats heated by a central boiler, so only one chimney was needed. For aesthetic reasons, a number of new chimneys were built, but they are purely cosmetic. The following map, taken from the Cobham Conservation Area Statement, shows the location of the Parsonage in 1895, not long after the photographs were taken when it would have been the home of the Stevens sisters. The Parsonage farm that we know today would seem to be located roughly on the site of the farm designated Pickles on the map.