A Memorable Visit to Sheepstor (Part 2)

Let me continue the story ...

We proceeded to the Church of St Leonard, Sheepstor, which is a short drive away.

Here are some photos ...

Fig 1: View of St Leonard's Church from nearby hill

Fig 2: Tower of Church of St Leonard

Fig 3: Inside of the Church of St Leonard

Fig 4a: The visitor book just by the entrance to the Church

(We noted many entries by people from Sarawak)

Fig 4b: This plaque above the entrance, reflects the work of Sir James Brooke

in the restoration of St Leonard's Church. Amazing what 500 Pounds Sterling

can do in  the year 1861 !

Fig 5a: Large wooden panel on the wall with some background on the Brookes

Fig 5b: The first panel was on James Brooke

Fig 5c: The second panel was on Charles Brooke (originally Charles Anthoni Johnson)

Fig 5d: The third panel was on Charles Vyner Brooke

Fig 5e: The fourth panel was on Bertram Brooke (second son of Charles Brooke)

Fig 6: Going towards the cemetery at the back of the Church

Fig 7a: The main Brooke graves

(Leftmost & reddish is that of Sir James Brooke; rightmost & granite is for Sir Charles Brooke;

middle & behind is for Sir Charles Vyner Brooke; middle front is for Bertram Brooke)

Fig 7b: Grave of Sir James Brooke

Fig 7c: Grave of Sir Charles Brooke

Fig 7d: Grave of Sir Charles Vyner Brooke

Fig 7e: Grave of Bertram Brooke

Fig 8: Other Brooke graves near to the Rajahs

Well, those are the main photos from this memorable visit to Sheepstor.

Many thanks to my buddy, James Kuo for showing us the various places.

Additional Information

*  Legendary Dartmoor website

A Memorable Visit to Sheepstor (Part 1)

Earlier this week, while visiting a good friend, James Kuo, in the county of Devon, I had the opportunity to visit  the village of Sheepstor. Many of you probably know the historical significance of Sheepstor. It is where the First White Rajah, Sir James Brooke, retired to, and where all three Rajahs were eventually buried.

Here's a photographic record of the visit ...

Fig 1: Approaching Sheepstor

Fig 2a: Burrator Reservoir

Fig 2b: Burrator Reservoir

Fig 3: Sheepstor starts from here

(L to R: James Kuo, James Yong & my dad Joseph Yong)

Fig 4: At the gate to Burrator House

Fig 5: A lovely stream by path leading to Burrator House

Fig 6a: James Kuo points in the direction of Burrator House

Fig 6b: You can see the house up ahead

Fig 7a: Burrator House where Sir James Brooke lived in his final years

(Apparently his room is on the upper floor, on the right)

 Fig 7b: Burrator House (right side view)

Fig 9: JY and JK at the front of Burrator House

Fig 10: JK and JY in front of the historic sign

Fig 11: Close-up of the sign

This is a photo of Sir James Brooke, probably in his later years ...

Well, after this we proceeded to St Leonard's Church where the Brookes were buried. Photos for that will be shared in Part 2.

Additional Information
*  Genealogy UK & Ireland - Sheepstor

The Adventures of Young James Brooke (Part 2)

Not too long ago, I ordered (from an antique books store in Australia) a book that included the letters of Rajah James Brooke to his lady friend Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts.

It chronicles the most interesting relationship between Rajah Brooke with this lady, who actually gave significant sums of her own money in support of Rajah Brooke's cause in Sarawak. One would think we should have at least a road in Kuching named after her.

Anyway, this book will obviously take pride of place in my Sarawak history book collection. Reading these letters is interesting because it gives me amore direct impression of James Brooke's thoughts and writing style. In the history books that we were taught from in school, it was usually a third person's narrative of the Brooke story. In this book, you get a first-hand insight into the First Rajah (and even before he became Rajah).

For the rest of this posting, let me share some photos of selected pages from the book with you ...

Note the book sitting on my traditional native tablecloth

A close up of the book spine

Title pages of the book

One of the Contents pages

Part of the Introduction chapter

A part of the history e never learnt in school ... which explains much about

why Rajah James Brooke never got married

Hope you enjoyed reading about this little piece of our Sarawak history ...

Some Titles in My Sarawak History Collection

Here are some of the books I have collected over the years ...

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

Will add more in another posting ...

The Adventures of Young James Brooke (Part 1)

Many Sarawakians and friends of Sarawak may know the story of Sarawak under the Brooke family. Even those who didn't pay much attention in class back in their schooldays would vaguely remember being told that it all started in 1839. That was when the English adventurer James Brooke sailed up the Sarawak River and first sighted the rows of attap houses that make up the city now called Kuching. The rest, as they say, is history.

Well, I have often wondered about the story of James Brooke BEFORE that time ... What was he like as a child? Where did he live? What were his parents like? What kind of early education did he receive? What about his social life? Any girlfriends or boyfriends? What about the time he spent in India and England and Burma (where he fought and was wounded) and other parts he spent time in before he came to Sarawak?

I'm talking about the story before the story we all knew. In Hollywood terms, I believe it's known as a prequel. They did it for Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker, Sherlock Holmes, Bruce Lee  ... so why not Mr Brooke? 

So I have started a bit of research on this, and over a series of postings I'd like to share what I have found so far. I'll also need your help. I welcome any new information you have come across on this theme, so that together we may piece together what could be a most interesting story.

Anyway let's begin ...

Childhood in India

James Brooke was born on 29 April 1803 in Secrore, a suburb of Benares in India. He was the second son of English judge (of the High Court of India) Thomas Brooke, and Anna Maria Stuart, who was born in Hertfordshire. She was the illegitimate daughter of Scottish peer Colonel William Stuart, 9th Lord Blantyre, and his mistress Harriott Teasdale.

James Brooke lived in India for the first 12 years of his life. I am still looking for details of his childhood life here, which I reckon would be pretty comfortable given his father's status. I will try to delve into this in more detail in a future posting.

Anyway at age 12, he was sent back to attend school in England. 


James Brooke in School

So it was around 1815 that James Brooke started school at Norwich Grammar School (see map above to locate Norwich).  The school is a very old one and still there, apparently doing quite well. 

This is the school crest. You can find out more about Norwich School by clicking on HERE or THERE..

The school boasts some fine architecture. Below you see the school chapel, which I believe was already there during James Brooke's time.

Norwich School Chapel

Norwich Grammar School is closely associated with Norwich Cathedral

(original construction of which began in 1096, was completed in 1145,

and the final stone spire was erected in 1480)

At the time the headmaster was Mr. Edward Valpy (a brother of the famous Dr. Valpy of Reading).  During Brooke's school days Dr. Samuel Parr, who at one time had been the headmaster, was a frequent visitor at the school.

Among James Brooke's schoolmates was Sir Archdale Wilson, the captor of Delhi in 1857 (link to this SITE for something on their comradeship), and George Borrow, English author of novels and travelogues.

James Brooke was a boy of marked generosity, truthfulness, and courage. Apparently on one occasion he saved the life of a school-fellow who had fallen into the river Wensum.

However the young James obviously didn't like school much. He ended his school life somewhat abruptly by running away.

I can't find any records of exactly how long he stayed at Norwich School but it seems that he did not stay long - perhaps 2 years at most. We do know that at age sixteen, he was appointed a cadet of infantry in Bengal. It is also mentioed in some writings that he was tutored at home in Bath (see later) for a while after he left school.

After Norwich Grammar School, records show that James also attended Honourable East India Company Military School, Addiscombe, Surrey. This was probably the preparatory training required for his intended military career.

James Brooke the Soldier

Brooke joined the army in India on 5 May 1819, as an Ensign to the 2/6th BNI. He transferred to the 18th BNI in 1824, was promoted to Lieutenant in the 6th BNI on 25 August 1821, and to Assistant Commissary-Gen on 1 May 1822.

On the outbreak of the First Burma War (1824-1826), he formed and drilled a body of native volunteer cavalry, which he commanded in a battle at Rangpur in Assam. Unfortunately on that occasion, he was wounded - most documents record the wound was in the lungs, but a few papers mention that a bullet hit him in the private parts (which may explain why he never married). In any case, this incident led to his being invalided home with a wound pension of 70 Sterling Pounds a year. At some point in his military years, he was also awarded the India Medal.

Apparently James Brooke was "struck off" on 13 Dec 1827 (not sure what this term means, but I reckon it suggests he was no longer fit for duty).

After an absence of upwards of four years he returned to India. It was an unsually long voyage, and he was unable to reach Bengal within the prescribed period of five years. He decided to resign from the East India Company's service in 1830, returning to England in the ship in which he had gone out, and visiting, in the course of his voyage, the Straits settlements of Penang, Malacca, and Singapore, China, and Sumatra. During this voyage he seems to have formed the projects which determined his subsequent career.

This is an intriguing period in young James Brooke's life that warrants further research, so I will probably return to it in a future posting.

Widcombe Crescent, Bath

Returning to Bath, where his family resided at No.1 Widcombe Crescent, in the latter part of 1831, James remained in England until 1834

Widcombe Crescent in Bath, Somerset, England is a terrace of fourteen Georgian houses built in 1808 by Thomas Baldwin, and designated a Grade I listed building. 

No. 1 Widcombe Crescent, Bath

We know that in 1834, James Brooke purchased a small brig, and made a voyage to China. I am in search of material on his travels in China, but so far have not been able to find much.

In 1834, his mother Anna Maria died (aged 61), and in the following year his father Thomas Brooke also died (aged 75). James Brooke inherited a fortune of 30,000 Pounds Sterling, purchased a schooner of 142 tons, in which, after a trip to the Mediterranean, he sailed on 16 Dec. 1838 for Borneo. He named his vessel "The Royalist".

[A version of this article appeared in the "Josephians of the Seventies" blog in May 2011]