Unidentified country house

[despair]

Perhaps,then,the "man of the cloth" is the Rev. Frederick Hart,father of Augusta.

Regards
Roger

[noytd]

Perhaps,then,the "man of the cloth" is the Rev. Frederick Hart,father of Augusta.

Regards
Roger

I would guess that the clergyman is Arthur Polhill and the other gentleman his brother Cecil Polhill. Before he became a missionary in China he had been brought up to become the clergyman on the family estate. I'm not sure about the women, as Cecil's wife had died in the early 1900s and he never remarried.

[Jool]

Hi Noytd,  I think the current Polhill family at Howbury are your best bet to help unravel the mystery.  You said you have tried to contact them with no response so far through their Facebook page, but have you tried to contact them through the link Yorkslass posted https://pconline.org.uk/#

[noytd]

I will write a letter direct to Howbury. Reading through the books written about Cecil Polhill in modern times all speak highly of the help provided by the family.

[Ruskie]

It has been fascinating to follow is thread. Noytd, please come back and let us know if you uncover anything more. 

[Jool]

I have established a link on my family tree to the Polhill family, and I have now built up a thorough snapshot of the family during Edwardian times. By process of elimination the "mystery woman" is most likely the second wife of Arthur Polhill - Agnes Augusta Hart (1876-1962), the couple having married in 1908. Another clue that leads to this is the baby male in the album from ages 0 to around 3/4. This would fit in with their son Edward Hamilton Polhill (1909-1922). However, I have no photo comparison for Agnes, so for the moment the most likely candidate.

There is a record on Anc****y (original image) for the death of an Edward Hamilton Polhill in China, 23 July 1911, age 22 months, father Arthur Polhill, missionary. 

[Yorkslass]

Another photograph of Arthur Polhill here (4th row down at the end)

I think the lady must be Agnes Augusta, his second wife.
There is an obvious age difference.

The three young men behind are probably his sons by his first wife.

So personally, I don't think Agnes Augusta is the "mystery woman" in the album photos.

http://www.ridley.cam.ac.uk/about/ridley-story/gallery

Yorkslass

[Jool]

Great find Yorkslass!    After looking at that photo I have to agree with you, I don't think Agnes Augusta is the mystery woman, however the 2 young children do look very similar to those in Noytd's photos.

[fred1951]

Yes well found Yorkslass, could two of these boys be in the family photo in front of the Hall, snapshot attached hopefully. it seems they Arthur and first wife Alice had 4 boys Douglas Arthur b 1889, Stanley Frederick b1891 Montague Cecil b 1892 and baby Theodore Robert b 1901 (?) .