John Hurt

[Editor]

It was interesting to see how much John Hurt wanted to be Irish and saw it as part of his identity. Having Irish blood is definitely seen as a cool now. I really recommend watching the Graham Norton episode.

[James Akers]

[size="6"][font="times new roman"][8|][size="1"][size="3"]During the programme the father of Emma Stafford was "alleged" to be Mr Lord, but he was not identified. Was there any reason for this? If Walter Lord Browne and Emma Stafford were first cousins, then Emma's father would be Walter's mother Harriett's brother (Walter John Lord?, born 06/07/1785 and about two years older than Harriet). I am also puzzled that the programme seemed to accept this as gospel, bearing in mind that even at the age of 23 Emma Stafford said that she did not know where she was born. If she later went with Walter Lord Brown to see a doctor to get confirmation that they could marry, she must have become aware of who her father was, and that knowledge could only have been obtained from Harriett and must have been a great shock. Did the researchers obtain a lot of information which was not shown in the programme? Was John Hurt given all the information that was obtained?
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[Josie]

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Although fascinated by John's family, it was dissappointing to think that the whole programme emphasised on Emma Stafford as to whether she was or was not illegitimate. Too much time spent discounting a myth and not enough finding the facts.

Walter Lord Browne bn 8 April 1829 had a brother Sidney bn 7 April 1826, was any research done on Sidney which may have revealed more clues about their father William Richard Browne. Sidney being a Clergyman.

William Richard Browne married Harriet Catharine Lord on the 3 November 1808. The two boys were not born until 18 years later. Were there other children in between? seems a big gap!

I got confused when John Browne and Mary Johnson were mentioned: who were these people and how did they relate to John's family?

John had a great opportunity to discover more about his past enlisting the help of the BBC but I do not think they did him justice. I would imagine that the majority of viewers are in some way involved with research into their own family trees and would expect more effort being put into the show with regard to the research. I understand that the lady who was asked to undertake the research on behalf of John Hurt was not told who the celebrity was until she came to meet him. Was she given all the info required to do her research?

I love watching the show because everyone has a different past and most have skeletons.

[James Akers]

[:D]I agree with Josie that far too much emphasis was put on Emma Stafford.
Walter Lord Browne was educated at a prestigious school in the Isle of Man for four years which considering that his father was a bankrupt begs the question as to where the money came from. He had opened a school in Market Rasen by 1851 and had his widowed mother living with him then.
Also why the fixation with Ireland, and his claim that he was descended from nobility in Sligo? Coincidently, while at school in IOM there were also two brothers with the surname Browne, Did they come from Ireland and was that the source.
His mother seems to have been from the family of Walter Lord who had Fairfield House school in Tooting, Walter was possibly her father or brother, and may have been the source of the money. However other family trees to be found in the internet mention this school, with strange relationships including one with a Stafford mentioned.
Very interesting programme, but it would be nice to have a follow up programme after even more detailed reaearch.

[FamilyHistoryAddict]

I think most of the WDYTYA programmes are all made to get a fundamental truth across.

How many people have you come across who insist they are descended from someone grand or famous the wrong side of the blanket?! We even have that story in our family! [;)] Grandad was apparently the son of the squire (his mother being in service etc). I think many of these stories are put about to put a respectable gloss on illegitimacy (which carried a stigma).

I got the impression that the story was told in order to prove that John Hurt didn't have aristocratic links!

Most of these family myths (with a few exceptions) are total rubbish and I think the programme was made to get that point across. In other words, do proper research based on facts, not listen to family stories that resemble Chinese Whispers and get distorted over time. I would say the newspaper obituary caused this family myth to take root - see something in black and white and it must be true! (not)! [;)]

People always want to make their family history research grander or more exciting than it really is. [;)] I've found a couple of exciting stories but most people's ancestors were born, worked in the fields, married someone, had kids and then died! [;)] However, and this is what makes the hunt worthwhile - OCCASIONALLY you will find a relative who did something more out of the ordinary; like being transported to Australia - not grand but exciting! I'd sooner have the truth any day - even if it is dull!

John Hurt said of his father at the beginning of the programme that his father dismissed things without talking about them. I suspect John Hurt's father had his feet planted more firmly on the ground than the rest of the Hurt family! [;)]

I still like John Hurt and his acting; but he let his actor's imagination run away with him! He made the mistake of giving too much credence to family stories which are often wide of the mark.

Some people WILL turn up an aristocratic lineage on the wrong side of the blanket; but much fewer incidences of this occur than people hope for!

[Siann]

It was a great pity that the production company who make this programme for the BBC did not encourage John Hurt to trace his Hurt roots. He would have discovered he can trace his Hurt ancestors back to the 1650's to a small picturesque Nottinghamshire village. The earliest traceable ancestor was a William Hurt who married in 1674 - the vicar who officiated at this marriage was William Mompesson (of the 1666 Eyam Plague fame) and William Hurt was his church warden in Nottinghamshire. William Hurt could read and write, was a court constable and church warden and was also the village spokesman between the Lord of the Manor and the people of the village. In 1676, William Hurt paid a fine of £6 on behalf of his neighbour, Edward Wood, who was fined for holding a Quaker meeting. William Hurt has a famous 5 x great grand-daughter - the children's author Enid Blyton -this means that John Hurt and Enid Blyton are 6th cousins once removed.

Sadly, this sort of information does not seem sensational enough and in my opinion, the programme makers are looking for something scandalous such as slave traders, criminals etc. I'm sure John Hurt's spirits would be lifted to know his 6 x great-grandfather, William Hurt, was held in such high esteem by the Lord of the Manor and the people of the little Nottinghamshire village where he lived for 58 years.

Siann Hurt
Co-Ordinator - Hurt One Name Study

[Siann]

In the baptism register, Emma Stafford's father was listed as "Gent". This was totally ignored in the programme. Would this "occupation" explain how her family could afford to send her to boarding school?

Siann

[FamilyHistoryAddict]

Wow Siann, that is fascinating! The villagers of Eyam quarantined themselves to stop the plague spreading. It's a very famous story.

I'm a great fan of Enid Blyton and to be honest, if I was John Hurt, I would be more thrilled to be related to her than any Irish Nobleman! People may sneer about Enid Blyton's books but she brought a lot of happiness to many children and that's a great legacy isn't it?

Siann, I hope you will be able to convey this information to John Hurt - it might cheer him up after his disappointment.

[Siann]

Hi Family History Addict!

All I can say is the programme producers were aware of this........

Siann

[FamilyHistoryAddict]

Hi Siann,

Speaking as a viewer, I would have loved to have seen them find a connection to Enid Blyton. She's well known all over the world and people are probably more familiar with her name than that of the Marquess of Sligo!

Perhaps the [i]Who Do You Think You Are[/i] magazine will feature John Hurt's connection to Enid Blyton and the villagers of Eyam? I hope so anyway. Thank you for letting us know about this. It would have made a marvellous twist to the story at the end wouldn't it? Didn't find an Irish Nobleman but DID find a famous author!