Mrs John Greenwood
(1828-1891)
4 June 1863

Volume 10, page 268, sitting number 13,441.

Born on 27 January 1828 at Little Henny in Essex, Louisa Elizabeth Barnardiston was the eldest daughter of Nathaniel Clarke Barnardiston and his wife Sophia née Eyres. She was baptised at Little Hinney on 28 February 1828. presumably a private baptism at home since she was received into the church at Wereham in Norfolk on 23 September later that year.

The family lived at The Ryes, Little Henny, Essex. According to the 1851 census, Nathaniel Clarke Barnardiston was a ‘Landed Proprietor farming 270 acres employing 12 men & 3 boys.’

On 19 February 1852, at St Mary’s in Great Hinney, Louisa married John Greenwood of Swarcliffe Hall near Harrogate in Yorkshire. The marriage produced four sons and a daughter. Between 1853 and 1865 John Greenwood served as the Member of Parliament (Liberal) for the town of Ripon.

John Greenwood died on 21 February 1874, leaving an estate valued at £60,000.

In 1881 Louisa was a widow living at Swarcliffe Hall, now the residence of her son Frederick Barnardiston. The household included ten servants, among them a butler, a footman and a groom.

Louisa Elizabeth Greenwood died, aged 63, at Swarcliffe Hall in Birstwith on 28 May 1891. Her estate was valued at £8162. Her will was proved at Wakefield by her sons Charles Staniforth Greenwood and Hubert John Greenwood.

According to a detailed report on her funeral in the Ripon Observer (4 June 1891): 'Mrs Greenwood was known by her many amiable qualities and exceeding generosity to the poor, and her loss will be keenly felt in the district.' 

[A Silvy portrait of her brother Nathaniel Barnardiston appears on page 42 of this section.]