Leonard Edward and Elsie Maud Melbourne were born at the Northgate Estate near St. Weonards, Herefordshire, England. It is likely that both were born in the "manor house", one of several residences on the estate and the location of the family during the 1891 census.
Edward Melbourne, their father, was employed at the time as an estate manager or game keeper for the estate. The estate was owned by a Mr. Capper. At the time that Edward was employed by him, Mr. Capper was not married. The story that Elsie related was that when he married, his wife was not satisfied with Edward and so he was subsequently let go. It is probable that the family always lived in the manor house, with Polly doing the household work.
Edward was apparently a very amiable sort of person and was particularly good at shooting and other manly activities. The double barreled shotgun that Edward took to Canada (and which was given to Edward by Mr. Capper?) is still in the family and is in the possession of his grandson Leslie Scott.
The birth certificates of both Leonard and Elsie indicate that they were born at the estate. They were probably christened at the local church and perhaps Mr. Capper was a godfather. Leonard was born in 1890 and is listed on the 1891 census. Elsie was born in 1893. A local historian was the retired schoolmaster of the school in St. Weonards. He has extensively studied the school records and he indicated to me, in a conversation in the summer of 1998, that he had never seen the name "Melbourne" in the school records. This would indicate that the family probably moved from the estate by about 1895. We have photographs of the family taken about 1900 which show them at the "Old Harrow" Inn in Thames Ditton (a copy of that photo is displayed at the pub to this day).
St. Weonards is located on the A466 about halfway between Hereford and Monmouth (about 8 miles south of Hereford). The village is located on the eastern edge of a valley. From the village, to get to Northgate follow the road going directly west from the center of the village (just by the post office/general store). In the valley, a half mile from the village, and just to the left, is Treago estate (see below). Go past this for another 2-3 miles (taking you up to high ground which overlooks the Wye valley and the Welsh border) and you will arrive in the vicinity of Northgate. Northgate House is located a few hundred yards from the road, to the left. To get to the house you pass through a sheep field on a small track/driveway. The house is below the crest of the hill part way down into the valley.
The area in which the estate is located is the border country between Wales and England. It was disputed territory, between the two countries for many years and evidence of this is seen in many of the place names in the area (for example, many villages in the area have place names which start with "Llan" which is Welsh for "Church"). Elsie was always quite insistent that she was born in England, not Wales!
Northgate House was partially destroyed by fire about 1978. It was refurbished (but is not as large now as it once was) and is now occupied by a musician who has a name as an orchestra conductor. He was not in residence when I visited and walked on the grounds.
The estate was sold during WWII to a Mr. Bowen. His widow was kind enough to provide me with the opportunity to make a copy of an old photograph of the estate. She also kindly drove me to a hilltop nearby her home where we were able to see eight counties. As we drove there we went through a field where she and a hired man had spent the morning cutting thistle that could not be cut by machine (she is of a youngish 70+ age and I gather the hired hand had trouble keeping up with her). The farms that made up the estate are still there but the names have changed slightly over the years. For example, Herrings Court is now Heron Court.
The estate has been split and passed on to the three sons who work the land these days.
This estate is owned and occupied by Sir Richard and Lady Mynors. The family traces its origins back many centuries. Sir Richard is one of the warders of the church and it would be worth visiting him to see if christening records exist for Leonard and Elsie. The estate has "holiday units" -- sort of our equivalent of a motel -- but I believe they are only available on a weekly basis. I visited the estate originally as I thought it was the one where Leonard and Elsie had been born. However a search of the 1891 census record at the library in Hereford indicated the estate of their birth was Northwood.