The Bint family is slightly puzzled about the relationship that Henry Hippisley had with his game-keeper Charles Bint who he had employed until at least 1851. When Charles, who was a 50 year old widower, wrote his will in 1852, he appointed Henry as sole executor and guardian of his two sons Francis aged 15 and Dolphin who was 12. 

Both boys were at some point trained as butchers with Francis later opening his own shop at the Thameside town of Henley and Dolphin indicating that was his trade when migrating to the USA on the E.W Stetson in 1864. 

Dolphin's Cisco descendants recall that he was receiving some sort of allowance from the UK after arriving at Texas and becoming a sheep farmer in the 1870s.

Last Will & Testament of Dolphin's father, Charles Bint 1852

This is the last will and testament of me Charles Bint of Lambourn, Berkshire, Labourer.

I devise and bequeath all the real and personal estate to which I shall be entitled unto Henry Hippisley of Lambourn Place, Berkshire, Esquire, in trust for the benefit of my two sons Francis John and Dolphin William.

I furthermore appoint the said Henry Hippisley to be sole guardian of my two sons above named, as also the sole executor of this my last will and testament, hereby revoking all other testamentary writings. Lastly I desire that my executor do reimburse himself for all expenses which may be incurred in the execution of this my will. In witness hereby I have set my hand this sixth day of September in the year of Our Lord one thousand, eight hundred and fifty two.

Entrance to the Almshouses

The Almshouses

Henry Hippisley, born 1808, was educated at Rugby School and  Exeter College, Oxford. After the death of his mother he inherited an estate at Lambourn and nearby Sparsholt, of 2,013 acres with a gross estimated annual rental of £1,959 and took up residence in Lambourn Place. 

 He married Elizabeth Agnes Nelson (born 1815) the daughter of the Reverend John Nelson, in 1839 at St George, Hanover Square, London, 

The couple had five children, Henry Nelson, born 15th October 1839 in Lambourn; Catherine, born 5th January 1841; Agnes, born 10th May 1845; Eleanor Anne, born 15th July 1848, and Beatrix, born 8th September 1849.

He later became a Justice of the Peace, Deputy Lieutenant and High Sheriff of Berkshire.

In 1843 he rebuilt Lambourn Place in the Elizabethan style. 

On the north side of the church are the Isbury or Estbury Almshouses, founded in 1501 to house 10 poor people, and a free grammar school. The houses were rebuilt by  Henry Hippisley in 1852, in red brick with an embattled entrance-tower and a small cloistered courtyard. The tower is now the home of some local historical archives.

In 1852 the Charity responsible for the Isbury or Estbury almshouses, which adjoined Lambourn Place, paid for their rebuilding. Henry, whose father had previously restored the buildings in 1827, supervised this undertaking. 

However the total cost of the project exceeded the original budget and in order to cover the difference the weekly stipend of the almsmen was reduced to 5s and appointments to vacancies were suspended.

In 1865 an inquiry was held by the Inspector of Charities after a complaint was lodged by the almsmen who accused Henry of poor administration. In February 1866 the case was referred to the Attorney General. On 10th November 1868 the Court established new rules for the administration of the almshouses and placed the buildings under the management of seven trustees, one of whom was Henry. 

According to David Nash Ford's Royal Berkshire History website, Henry  is said to have "spent an infamous life oppressing the locals". In her book "The Haunted South"  Joan Forman says that Henry was "unpopular in the district and was known as a hard man in his dealings with the local people." 

He was said to have taken some of the timber fan-vaulting from the local church, for use in building Lambourn Place. Local inhabitants shook their heads over this sacrilege, prophesying that Henry Hippisley would not prosper. He appears to have been a man of violent and imperious temper, for when a rumour spread that he had killed one of his servant girls and buried her body in the nearby woods it was believed by the locals. 

The Hippisley window at Lambourn Church