by Eliza Bichard
Upton Country Park consists of over 100 acres of woodland, shoreline, and parkland. Owned by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, the estate is open to the public year-round and is home to a Tea Room, art gallery, playparks, a walled garden, pétanque court, orienteering, dog training area and Parkrun. During lockdown, the park remained open, however the ‘things to do’ closed. People continue to enjoy the park, but instead of their usual activities, they simply wander around and marvel at the natural beauty of the place, including one feature of it which is rarely open to the public.
Upton House is a Grade II listed late-Georgian Mansion, built by Christopher Spurrier between 1816 and 1818. After spending great expense on the house, he mortgaged it to finance his campaign to become a Member of Parliament. He became MP for Bridport in 1820, but only held the position for six months. Five years later, in financial difficulty and with a strained marriage, he put the house up for auction. It sold to Sir Edward Doughty, formerly Tichborne. The house contents went to pay off his mounting gambling debts (it is said that he wagered and lost his last silver teapot on a maggot race), and he died penniless in 1876.
I could go on and tell the story of all the owners of Upton House (which is available here: uptoncountrypark.com/friends/history/), however, I wanted to focus my research on something a bit different. I came across an individual named Andrew Bogle briefly mentioned on the Upton Country Park website:
‘He [Edward Doughty/Tichborne] brought Andrew Bogle back with him from Jamaica; Andrew married a Poole girl named Elizabeth Young, and she worked at Upton House…’
Andrew Bogle was born in Jamaica in the early 1800s and was enslaved on the Hope Estate, a sugar plantation in St Andrew’s, Jamaica. When he was 25, Bogle was taken to England by the estate manager, Edward Tichborne, who intended to employ the former slave. He became Tichborne’s valet and accompanied him on his European honeymoon, and then lived at Upton House with the family. In 1836, he married another servant in Canford Magna church, a nurse named Elizabeth Young, and they had two sons. Unfortunately, their marriage was short-lived when Elizabeth died in 1845. She was buried in the churchyard in Hamworthy, Poole.
Andrew continued to work for the Tichborne’s until Edward died in 1853. He then retired with a pension from the estate. He remarried and emigrated to Australia with his new wife, Jane Fisher, and his two sons. There he ran a restaurant, and two more sons were born, Henry, in 1846, and a second son who died three weeks after his mother who was lost in childbirth. While abroad, Bogle stayed in contact with the Tichborne’s in England, which is how our story returns closer to home.
When Edward Tichborne died in 1853, his brother James inherited his estates, followed by James’ second son, Alfred, in 1862. James’ first-born son had been lost at sea in 1854. His mother believed he was still alive and expected him to reappear, possibly in Australia, so she advertised in Australian newspapers. In 1866 a man came forward claiming to be the long-lost Roger Tichborne; becoming known as the Tichborne Claimant. Bogle, also in Australia, was asked to confirm whether this man was the true Roger Tichborne, and Bogle claimed that he was. The two of them, with Bogle’s son Henry, sailed back to England. Most of the family believed the man to be an imposter, but his mother and a distant cousin recognised him as the long-lost Roger.
In 1871, the Tichborne Claimant went to court to try and claim the Tichborne Estates. At this time Bogle was the claimant’s butler. Following a trial lasting 188 days with 215 witnesses, the claimant was charged with perjury. Bogle was one of the main witnesses for the defence, denying he had told the claimant inside information about the family. The claimant was sentenced to fourteen years imprisonment, but Bogle was deemed to be an honest man who had been deceived.
Bogle died poor in London in 1877 and was buried in a common grave in St Mary’s Catholic Cemetery. While he only spent a short time down the road in Upton, Andrew Bogle’s story is particularly unique for the time, so deserves our attention. There aren’t many stories of enslaved people that were brought to England to work for English masters before marrying and travelling the world. There is much more online about the Tichborne case, and a film was even made in 1998, but you will struggle to find much mention of Andrew Bogle in other interpretations of the proceedings. It is time we put stories like Bogle’s back into the narrative of British history.
*The Claimant is the bearded man in the lower centre of the picture, facing left. Behind him, partially hidden, is Henry George Bogle, son of Andrew Bogle and the Claimant’s constant companion and assistant during the trial.
About the author
Eliza lives in Poole in Dorset, and currently works at Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum. She has volunteered with the National Trust for 8 years, at properties including Brownsea Island, Corfe Castle and Osterley Park and House. Growing up and travelling the country visiting historic buildings with her architect Dad and teacher Mum inspired Eliza’s love of history from a young age. She is currently spending her lockdown looking after the Russell-Cotes Museum, ensuring it’s ready to welcome visitors again soon, as well as researching her family history, and walking her springer spaniels, Chloe and Clyde.
Housebound Histories 