Ince Cousins

I have added a family tree to the descendants page to show how I am connected to William Ince.  There are a number of cousins, mostly descended from Charles Frederick Ince, some from Edward Bret Ince, who meet up from time to time with our families to view Ince & Mayhew furniture.

Fourteen direct descendants of William Ince went to Burghley in May 2013 and had a really good time being shown round by Jon Culverhouse, the curator.  We were shown the wonderful commodes, collector’s cabinets, urns and pedestals, chairs etc.  I most enjoyed being allowed to sit in an Ince & Mayhew chair.

Last October some of us went to the Lady Lever Gallery in Liverpool, where there is a superb collection of Ince & Mayhew commodes, described in detail by Lucy Wood in her book, Catalogue of Commodes.  After an entertaining tour of the gallery it was a delight to be able to spend time enjoying the workmanship and marvelling at the detail of the marquetry. 

This July we will be heading off to Broadlands in Hampshire, where the 2nd Viscount Palmerston had his country residence.  Ince is mentioned in several of Palmerston’s letters and Lady Palmerston’s inventory of 1797 mentions a ‘Secretary made by Ince’. (Hugh Roberts, Country Life 29 January and 5 February 1981)

It has also been a pleasure to find some cousins descended from Henry Robert Ince, William Ince’s doctor son.  One lives in Worcestershire and helped me with some early research and now several of you in Pennsylvania are following this blog.  It would be lovely to hear from any others.