Located on the left-hand side as you travel northwards up Churchill Road towards the church, The Firs dates from at least the 18th century. During its history it has been called The Firs and Welton Cottage. Its exterior has elements of Georgian design appropriate to construction at this time, although it may have been built around a smaller older property.
The house was also a small holding with extensive land to the side and rear including paddocks – hence the name of the 20th century road of bungalows: The Paddock.
The property was extensively refurbished by Carl Ponder in the early 2020s and during the work a 1797 George III “Cartwheel” penny was found under a backdoor sill. This iconic large copper coin, measuring 36-37mm and weighing 28.3g was designed by Conrad Heinrich Küchler and struck at the Soho Mint, featuring a distinctive broad raised rim with lettering to prevent stop counterfeiting.
The obverse shows the king facing right wearing a crown of laurels whilst the reverse depicts Britannia seated. Over 8 million of these coins were minted and its equivalent value today would be about £1.63, so it was not a costly item to bury. But nonetheless, it would have been for a reason now long forgotten: perhaps to mark the date of work or possibly as a good luck token to assure wealth in the household.
It also suggests that the house may have been built around this time or may just have been having work done on it!
18th Century
In the late 1700s a George Ringrose lived in this house. He is listed on the Welton Militia List for 1777. At one time he was a prosperous weaver, using the upper floor of the property which let in plenty of light as his workshop.
However, he was declared bankrupt in 1802, at which point he absconded. It seems that he later recovered his wealth as by 1819 he had applied to “inclose a seat at Welton Church”.
To “inclose a seat” in a church meant:
- Building wooden panelling or partitions around a pew — forming a box-like enclosure.
- Creating a private or semi‑private family pew, often for a particular household or landowner.
- Reserving the seat for that family’s use, sometimes with hereditary or customary rights attached.
This practice reflected both social status and local tradition, marking out prominent families within the parish interior.
19th century
The 1851 census records the following people living at The Firs:
- Sarah Ann Hill (nee Munnings) aged 35, born in the Bahamas
- Louisa Arabella Hill aged 11 – her daughter, also born in the Bahamas
- Annie Hill aged 6
- Emily Celestine Hill aged 4 – born in Nassau in the Bahamas
- Edmund Stephen Hill aged 1 month and born in Welton; his baptism is recorded in the Welton baptism records on April 13th, 1851
- George Allinton aged 45, born in Ireland and her brother-in-law, a surgeon in the British Army.
- Also 3 servants
This was the family of Major Stephen John Hill of the British army – very much a career soldier. Stephen John Hill, KCMG, CB was born on 10th June 1809 and was, during his lifetime was governor of, in turn, four British colonial possessions.
He was born in St Lucia and began his colonial service in Africa becoming Governor of The Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1851. In 1854 he moved to become Governor of Sierra Leone, a post he was reappointed to in 1860. In 1863 he took on the Governorship of the Leeward Islands and Antigua and in 1869 he became Governor of Newfoundland, a post he held until 1876.
Stephen Hill was of Irish ancestry but was taken into the Munnings household in the Bahamas following the death of his parents from fever in Honduras. It was through this this that he met and later married Sarah Ann Munnings.
He joined the army on November 10th, 1825, aged just 16. He was promoted to Lieutenant on February 13th, 1828, then Captain on April 15th, 1842. He commanded an expedition eighty miles up the Gambia in 1849 and was active in several attacks against pirates in the area, which was the primary objective of his mission.
Consequently, he was promoted to the brevet rank of Major on February 15th, 1850 – obtaining his majority in September 1851 when he was appointed “Governor and Commander in Chief in and over Her Majesty’s forces and settlements and their dependencies on the Gold Coast.”
Sarah Ann Munnings was the daughter of Chief Justice William Munnings, who came from an old Norfolk family. Her mother was a Bahamian, it was claimed, “of pirate blood” and who had a relative who sailed with the infamous pirate Blackbeard and was killed at sea.
Sarah Ann and Stephen were married in Nassau, by the Rev Strachan in 1830 when he was 21 and she was 14. This was however on her father’s stipulation that they should not “live together” for six years.
They seem to have honoured this as their first child, William, was born in 1836 and christened at St Andrew’s, Surrey in Jamaica. We also know that Rev Strachan was a friend of Rev Daniel Darnell of Welton and his son, William Strachan, was registered as one of Darnell’s pupils at his school in what is now The Stone House, Welton.
Tragically, two months after William was born, Sarah Ann’s parents were drowned at sea by pirates whilst on their way to visit their new grandson. This may explain Stephen’s ruthless pursuit of pirates off the Gold Coast, West Africa later in his life.
At this point in his career Hill was a lieutenant in the West Indies Regiment. The family appear to have moved to London in the late 1830s, living at 57 Baker Street in 1839 and, in 1840s, living at 64 George Street, London.
We know that in addition to Louisa, Annie, Emily and Edmund the couple had at least 2 other children: William (born 1836, who came to Welton), and Mary (born 1841). In total the Hills had nine surviving children.
The Welton connection
It is believed that she came to Welton for several reasons: to recuperate from colonial living and childbirth, as well as to recover from the bereavement following the deaths of at least two of her children. In the late 1840s Stephen Hill was pursuing pirates in West Africa. It is believed that her choice of Welton was in part due to personal association (Rev Strachan) and the proximity of shared acquaintances (Rev Daniel Darnell).
She wanted her son to be educated with other friends and associates from the West Indies and so moved into The Firs, Welton. Her son, William, lodged with Rev Darnell in The Cottage (now the Stone House). Here he is on the 1851 census for the Stone House.
Stephen Hill almost certainly visited her here, as their son Edmund Stephen Hill was born and baptised in Welton.
Hills’ career, his military and political successes, were widely reported in newspapers across the globe including the Worcester Journal, the Birmingham Gazette, the New York Times to name but three! On Oct 2nd 1869 The Morning Post (Canada) reported from the London Gazette of the day before:
“Downing Street, Sept 29 – The Queen has been pleased to appoint Colonel Stephen John Hill C.B. to be Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the island of Newfoundland and its dependencies.”
Sarah Ann’s life however was far from the pomp and circumstance of her husband’s. She may have spent time with him in his posting to Sierra Leone (between 1854-1863) as evidence suggests they both lived at Government House there. However, she returned to England at some point where, tragically, in 1869 she went prematurely senile and died shortly afterwards.
Hill’s life after Sarah
In Newfoundland, Hill supported confederation with Canada and was disappointed when in 1869 the election gave the anti-confederacy the majority in the assembly. This aside he was a popular governor and seems to have re-married on 17th February 1873 to Louisa Gordon and gone on to father yet another child: on March 19th, 1875, in St John’s Newfoundland, the birth was recorded of Florence Inez Hill, her father listed as Governor.
Colonel Sir Stephen Hill retired to London in 1876 where he lived at 72 Sutherland Avenue, Maida Vale. His death on October 20th, 1891, aged 82, was announced in The Times. Probate was granted to his widow, Dame Louisa Gordon Hill of the same address. His personal estate was £184 11S 6d (equivalent: £27- 30K today).
20th Century
In the 20th century The Firs became a modest smallholding without mains water.
Ernest Porter, a dairyman, lived there with his family from at least 1905 into the 1930s. Later owners included Sarah Mills and latterly Mill Ellison.
Thanks to Chris Smith for the abridged copy of an article on Mill Ellison from Welton News and Views, who was a long‑established Weltonian living at The Firs for many years.
Mill, as she preferred to be known, was born Millicent in 1930 in London. Her dad was a policeman there. She first came to Welton when she was evacuated, aged 9. She didn’t stay long the first time though as she was soon sent to join her sister Joan, who had been evacuated to Grantham. However, in about 1954 Mill returned to Welton. During her growing up she didn’t particularly enjoy school and always wanted to work on the land and to be with animals.
She met her first husband, Gordon Whitbread and lived in Great Houghton. Sadly, Gordon was killed in a motorcycle accident when he was on his way to work. At the time their son, Stephen was only two weeks old, having been born prematurely. Life was very hard, but Mill was always a hard worker.
She met her second husband, Jack Ellison in Weedon. He was a plasterer and together they wanted to buy a house and some land of their own. Then one day they learned of The Firs, a smallholding in Churchill Road, Welton being for sale and with the generosity of an acquaintance who loaned them the money to purchase the house and land, they moved in; needless to say they both worked hard and managed quickly to repay the loan.
The house was in quite a state with a dangerous electricity supply and no running water, but they set about improving the house and cultivating the land. They had pigs, sheep and hens. Jack was always busy working on the house. Their land stretched across to where The Paddock housing is now. Although there was a well in the garden most of their water came courtesy of a spring across the road on the land of Mrs Phillips in The Old House. Mrs Phillips supplied water to several others, and had a pond across from Mill’s, where she grew watercress. Most weeks Mrs Phillips would pack up a picnic basket, and she and Mill would spend the day following the hounds.
Mill and Jack had a daughter, Penny. Penny was born just before Christmas, in the midst of Mill getting the chickens and turkeys plucked ready for villagers! Penny was ‘horse and animal mad’ and Mill and Jack built stables for her horses. Stephen, Mill’s first child became a professional photographer for Fleet Street and for many weddings as well as being a car salesman. Sadly, he died in 2018.
Mill has four grandchildren: Garry a local tree surgeon, Phillip who lives in Canada with his family and has a business there too, and Jack and Daisy who both live in Barnard Castle, and who visited their Grandma often. She also has three great grandchildren, Amber, Stella and Jack.
Mill lived at The Firs until 2020. When unable to manage on her own she moved to live with Penny, enjoying Penny’s garden full of flowers, and waving to folks as they passed by. Once she needed more nursing care she moved into Astley Hall on Middlemore, Daventry.
Memories and thoughts of Mill from Weltonians past and present
During all those years, Mill was well known to most Weltonians, young and old. Several of the youngsters were ‘paper boys and girls’ for her. Many folks recall finding her entrance hall stacked with books and goods which she had collected for the Kalli Animal Sanctuary, a charity in Guilsborough which was dear to her heart.
Others remember fondly chatting to Mill as she delivered papers around the village…the papers stacked into the pram she pushed, helping with the weight of the deliveries! Evidently, she used a succession of prams as villagers’ children had grown out of them. Doubtless ‘Silver Cross’ never expected their prams would have a second life in this way! Of course, Mill would usually have one or two of her beloved dogs attached to the pram.
Mill always stopped and had a friendly word…Mill had time for everyone. She also looked after several folks’ greenhouses and gardens whilst they were away…always a very safe pair of hands. When the children came past on their riding lessons she would come out with biscuits for them and polos for the ponies and was fondly referred to as ‘Biccy Mill’.
‘Each morning we’d walk by The Firs and Mill would be setting out her stall of jam for the day… an Honesty Box for the money… all proceeds to charity of course! There was often surplus fruit from her lovely garden too.’
‘How great it was to be able to pick up all sorts of papers and magazines from Mill’s; no trips to Daventry required! In those days it was papers from Mill, milk from Mrs Grainger, sweets and stamps from Val Hamblin’s shop and post office.’
‘I remember that Mill was always mentioned in the pantomime; it was Mill and the papers and Bill and the post! Two of Welton’s most cherished characters.’
‘Mill always had a warm welcome and a glass of sherry ready when Welton’s British Legion members were out collecting for Poppy Day.’
After Mill moved out, the property was bought by the Ponders, who renovated it extensively and lived in it for a while, before selling to the current owner.
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