Welcome to Rootschat Beauchamps,
You must be so thrilled to be the proud owners of such a lovely property.
My 9 x great grandfather, Barnard Turner, originally leased Beauchamps from Sir Edward Atkins in 1669 for one year. Barnard Turner eventually purchased the manor, including lands in Layston, Anstey, Gt Hormead & Wyddial soon thereafter.
Beauchamps remained in the Turner family as the property was part of the marriage settlement when Barnard's daughter, Anne, married Thomas Crouch in c. 1690. (Members of the Crouch family also owned nearby Corneybury and Alswick.)
Barnard Turner, having left Beauchamps to the newlyweds, moved to Little Court in Buntingford when he died in 1696.
Thomas Crouch died at Beauchamps in 1701 and his wife Anne remained there for many years. The property was eventually passed down to one of their children and I believe it was sold out of the family sometime in the 1700's.
Most of the above information is available freely on the 'net but I'm sure that you could find a lot more at the Hertford archives (HALS)
I would certainly be very interested in any further information or old pictures that you may discover about Beauchamps.
Thank you for taking the time to join RootsChat and reply to this thread. I hope you have many years of peace and joy in your new home.
Di
Edit: One of the best historical records I found of the history of Beauchamps is in Sir Henry Chanucy's book "The Historical Antiquities of Hertfordshire with original counties...."
This book is freely available on the 'net and well worth reading.
