Caution: Contains minor spoilers

Characters in 1825

Aiden Foster
Sarah Foster’s first husband. Father of Tom, Jack and Mary Foster. Married Sarah Saturday, 28 May 1814, in Christchurch. Swept out to sea during a storm in 1820. Body never recovered.

Albert
A stableboy at the manor.

Alfred
The sour faced butler who works at the manor.

Algernon Oldbutter
Ancestor of Edward Oldbutter. Arranges funerals.

Artemus Weller
Ancestor of Nick Weller. A smuggler. Wears an eye patch and frequents The Dog’s Watch Inn. Murdered by Lemuel Ferryman during an altercation with smugglers on the beach.

Augustus and Emily Duran
Future children of Sarah Foster and Louis Augustus Duran. Charlie Lowe is descended from Augustus Duran.

Catherine Collins
Sarah Foster’s first cousin. The eldest daughter of Osbert Harding. Born in Christchurch, September 2, 1796. Widow of Joseph Collins, who she married at St. Mary, Lambeth, August 27, 1815. Lives in London, and has come to visit Sarah for two weeks in the summer of 1825.

Charles the Wise, Charles the Bald, Charles the Simple and Charles the Fat
Pet geese belonging to Louis Augustus Duran (the Greater). All named after French kings.

Clara
A barmaid in The Dog’s Watch. Soon to become Lemuel Ferryman’s common law wife. Future mother of Marcus Ferryman, ancestor of Ron and Reg Ferryman. Her life is saved by Charlie after she’s overcome by smoke, thereby guaranteeing the birth of future generations of Ferrymans.

Cosette
Monsieur Duran’s elderly cousin who lives in the French countryside. Has never been married and requires constant care as she is mostly deaf, blind in one eye, and largely confined to her bed.

Daniel Robinson Cooper
The son of Louis Augustus Duran (the Lesser) and Eliza Robinson. Will be adopted by Jobey Cooper when he marries Eliza. Catherine Collins saves Daniel from being run over by a stagecoach and because of this, all of his female descendants have Catherine as their middle name. Ancestor of Emmy Cooper.

Ebenezer Harding
Father of Sarah Foster. Eldest brother of Bernard, Darwin, Lyndon and Osbert Harding.

Edgar Ferryman.
Younger brother of Lemuel Ferryman. A tax collector.

Eliza Robinson
Lives in the Poorhouse. Was a scullery maid at the manor but lost her job when she became pregnant with Daniel, the son of Louis Augustus Duran (the Lesser).  Disowned by her parents. Future wife of Jobey Cooper.

Esmerelda
A New Forest Gypsy. Mother of Stefan Cooper. Grandmother of Jobey and Fenella Cooper. Read Sarah Foster’s tea leaves at the Village Fair and predicted she would marry again and have two more children.

Fanny Ferryman
Sister of Lemuel Ferryman. The madam of a highly-sought after house of ill repute in a notorious neighbourhood in Portsmouth.

Fenella Cooper
A New Forest Gypsy. Eldest of five daughters of Stefan Cooper, and sister to Jobey Cooper. Granddaughter of Esmerelda. Has recently agreed to a suitor.

Gaston Duran
Son of Louise Augustus Duran (the Greater) and younger brother of Louis Augustus Duran (the lesser). Lives in France in the family chateau. Has a fondness for stray cats and consumptive orphans.

George King
Older brother of Rose King, who worked as a maid at the manor until she was dismissed. Engages Louis Augustus Duran (the Lesser) in a fistfight in The Dog’s Watch, for the honour of his sister. Friend of John Wallis and Henry Cole. Ancestor of Peter and Natalie King.

Great Uncle Hamish
A relative of Sarah Foster. Lives in a hayloft.

Henry Cole
Former soldier who fought at The Battle of Waterloo, where he lost most of his left arm. Friend of Shaun Deeley, George King and John Wallis. Cheers George King on when he takes on Louis Augustus Duran (the Lesser) in a fight at The Dog’s Watch.

Jack Foster
Middle child of Sarah Foster and her first husband Aiden. Has an outrageous sense of humour.

Jane
A housemaid who works at the manor. Responsible for maintaining Louis Augustus Duran (the Lesser)’s sanitary device invention.

Jobey Cooper
A New Forest Gypsy. Son of Stefan Cooper, brother of Fenella Cooper. Grandson of Esmerelda. Risks being disowned by his family when he marries Eliza Robinson. Plans to adopt Eliza’s son Daniel Robinson as his own.

John Harding
Ancestor of Sarah Foster and Charlie Lowe. A farmer and a gentleman. Originally owned the deed to the Village Green and the vacant plot of land at the end of Poorhouse Lane.

John Wallis
Friend of Shaun Deeley, George King and Henry Cole. Assists George King when he takes on Louis Augustus Duran (the Lesser) in a fight at The Dog’s Watch.

Joseph Collins
Husband of Catherine Collins. A former soldier. Died in 1821, of pneumonia. Brought home a cavalry officer's sword which was given to him as a gift by Richard Sharpe for heroically trying to save the life of an officer at the Battle of Waterloo. Married Catherine on Sunday, the 27th of August, 1815, at St. Mary, Lambeth, London.

Lemuel Ferryman
Proprietor of The Dog’s Watch Inn in 1825. Ancestor of Ron and Reg Ferryman. His father was a butcher and his grandfather an undertaker. His older sister Fanny is the madam of a highly-sought after house of ill repute in a notorious neighbourhood in Portsmouth. His younger brother Edgar is a tax collector. Was witnessed by Charlie Lowe slashing Artemus Weller’s throat on the beach near Stoneford. Lemuel is also the village magistrate.

Louis Augustus Duran (the Greater)
A French count who lives in a chateau in Amiens, France but visits Stoneford every summer. Owns Stoneford Manor. Father of Louis Augustus Duran (the Lesser) and Gaston Duran. Is fond of asparagus and sews all his own buttons.

Louis Augustus Duran (the Lesser)
Lives in Stoneford Manor. Older brother of Gaston Duran. Son of Louis Augustus Duran (the Greater). Obsessed with marrying Sarah Foster, and with inventing the first flushing toilet in Hampshire. Has impregnated a significant number of unfortunate housemaids.

Lucas Adams
One of the four “horsemen of the apocalypse” who frequent The Rose and Crown. A former sailor who spent much of his time AWOL. Is quite possibly a smuggler. A distant cousin of Charlie Lowe, and an ancestor of Morris Adams. 

Marcus Ferryman
Future son of Lemuel Ferryman and his common law wife, Clara. Ancestor of Ron and Reg Ferryman.

Marie-Claire
Shaun Deeley’s favourite horse at the manor.

Martha
A maid who works at the manor. Delivers a gown to Sarah Foster, a gift from Louis Augustus Duran. Replaced Rose King after she was dismissed.

Mary Foster
Youngest child of Sarah Foster and her first husband Aiden. An early women’s rights campaigner. Married Richard Tamworth, the son of Stoneford’s 19th century surgeon. Aged 35, she donned a pair of her husband’s knickerbockers and turned cartwheels on the Village Green, observed by all of her children and most of the villagers.

Mr. Ashe
Sarah’s family’s favourite beekeeper. Supplies honey to Stoneford.

Mr. Haddock
Carpenter who fashioned a bench at the top end of Stoneford Village Green from a fallen Village Oak branch in 1825.

Mr. Marsden
Publican at The Rose and Crown.

Mr. Reader
Stoneford’s Constable. Arrests Shaun Deeley for setting the fire in The Dog’s Watch Inn. Ancestor of Aldous Reader.

Mr. Rigby
A distant relation of Lemuel Ferryman. Renders animal fat on the outskirts of Stoneford to supply candles and soap to the villagers.

Mr. Tamworth
The village surgeon. Father of Richard Tamworth.

Mr. and Mrs. Montagu (of the Bournemouth Montagu’s)
Guests at Monsieur Duran’s Grand Country Ball, along with their unmarried daughter.

Mrs. Dobbs
The cook at Stoneford Manor.

Mrs. Hobson
Reverend Hobson’s wife. Mother of the eight Hobson children, five of whom attend lessons given by Sarah Foster at the Vicarage.

Mrs. Hopkirk
Wife of the vicar who is coming to St. Eligius to replace Reverend Hobson.  Has produced eleven offspring, nine of them surviving infancy.

Ned Rankin
The manor’s gardener. May or may not be a distant ancestor of Hank Marvin. Good friends with Mr. Deeley.

Old John
A retired sailor who lives in the Poorhouse. Spends his days making pictures out of old rope and pieces of wood. Is quite deaf.

Osbert Harding
Father of Catherine Collins. Youngest brother of Ebenezer, Bernard, Darwin and Lyndon Harding.

Reverend Hobson
The vicar of St. Eligius. Husband of Mrs. Hobson, and father of the eight Hobson children, five of whom attend lessons given by Sarah Foster at the Vicarage.

Reverend Hopwood Smailes
Very aged and imaginatively diminished. In charge of Shaun Deeley’s boyhood education.

Rose King
A maid who worked at the manor until she was dismissed. Younger sister of George King. Ancestor of Peter and Natalie King.

Samuel Brown
One of the four “horsemen of the apocalypse” who frequent The Rose and Crown, along with Lucas Adams. A friend of Louis Augustus Duran (the Greater) and of Mr. and Mrs. Montagu (of the Bournemouth Montagu’s).

Sarah Foster
Charlie Lowe’s great grandmother x 6. Born August 16, 1793 in Christchurch. Her father was Ebenezer Harding. Descendant of John Harding, the original owner of the land which became Stoneford Village Green, and a second vacant plot of land at the end of Poorhouse Lane. Widow of Aiden Foster, who she married May 28, 1814. Married Louis Augustus Duran 30 July 1825. Mother of Tom, Jack and Mary Foster, and future mother of Augustus and Emily Duran. Governess to the children of Reverend Hobson.

Shaun Deeley
The groom at Stoneford Manor. Born 1791 in Christchurch. Inherited his position from his father, William, who was the head groom at the manor, but who died after being kicked in the head by a stallion. Accused of setting a suspicious fire in The Dog’s Watch in the early hours of Monday, July 4, 1825. Imprisoned in the town lockup to await trial for arson, a hanging offense.

Stefan Cooper
A New Forest Gypsy. Friend of Louise Augustus Duran (the Greater) and father of Fenella and Jobey Cooper. Son of Esmerelda.

The Very Reverend Hopkirk
The vicar who is coming to St. Eligius to replace Reverend Hobson. Advanced in years.

Tom Foster
Eldest son of Sarah Foster and her first husband Aiden. Fond of horses.



Characters in the Present

Aldous Reader
A descendant of Mr. Reader, the village constable in 1825. One of Reg Ferryman’s contracted workmen.

Aunty Nora
Charlie Lowe's father’s sister.  A teacher who goes on Agatha Christie-like train journeys, carrying all of her clothes in one canvas knapsack.

Bill Allen
Husband of Dr. Wendy Allen. A good friend of Nick’s. A Napoleonic re-enactor friend of Roger Palmer.

Charlotte (Charlie) Duran Lowe
Descended from Augustus Duran, the son of Sarah Foster and Louis Augustus Duran. Her parents have retired to Portugal and her brother and sister live in London. She lives in the cottage that that originally belonged to Sarah Foster. Works at the Stoneford Village Museum as a Historical Guide and Interpreter. Is on the Committee to Save the Village Green and Poorhouse Lane. Widow of Jeff Lowe.

Clive and Rosa Parker
Own the bakery near the Village Green. Their children Jack and Kirsty take part in a barricade to prevent Ron Ferryman’s trucks from driving down Poorhouse Lane.

Dr. Wendy Allen
The on-call psychiatrist at the Royal Memorial Hospital who assesses Catherine’s psychological state. Her husband Bill is a good friend of Nick Weller and Roger Palmer.

Edward Oldbutter
Descendant of Algernon Oldbutter, owner of Oldbutter and Ballcock, funeral directors. With his wife, takes part in a barricade to prevent Ron Ferryman’s trucks from driving down Poorhouse Lane.

Edwin Watts
Proprietor of Antiques Olde and New in the village.

Emmy Cooper
89 years old. Lives alone in a rented flat owned by the Ferryman Brothers in Poorhouse Lane. Can usually be found sitting on the bench at the top end of the Village Green, feeding the pigeons. Has no living relatives. Very muddled, in need of assistance, faces being evicted from her home because she can’t afford a rent increase. Her ancestor Daniel Cooper was one of the best saddlers in Hampshire in the 1800s.

Fiona Weller
Nick Weller’s wife and mother of Naomi. Doesn’t like the English countryside. Prefers their villa in Spain, or shopping in New York.

Fliss
An acute care nurse at Royal Memorial Hospital. Friend of Samantha Palmer.

Gavin
Proprietor of The Village News, the newsagents.

George
Nick’s cat. Named after one of the Beatles.

Gina
Barmaid at The Dog’s Watch.

Hank Marvin
Lead guitarist with The Shadows. Born Brian Robson Rankin. May or may not be a distant descendant of Ned Rankin.

Horace Inkersby
A local farmer who keeps heavy horses.

Jack and Kirsty Parker
Children of Clive and Rosa Parker, who own the bakery near the Village Green. Take part in a barricade to prevent Ron Ferryman’s trucks from driving down Poorhouse Lane.

Jeff Lowe
Charlie Lowe’s husband. Played lead guitar in a Shadows Tribute Band in his spare time. Used to joke that he was distantly related to Hank Marvin, as there was a Rankin somewhere in his family history. Died in an accident when a drunk driver collided with his car. Nick Weller was a passenger in the car and ended up nearly losing a leg.

Josie Griggs
A local councillor Charlie has been in touch with, to try and help Emmy Cooper.

Kenneth
A pilot Emmy Cooper loved who was shot down and killed in World War Two.

Marie-Claire
Horace Inkersby's Clydesdale. Draws the museum’s new sightseeing wagon.

Mike Tidman
An almost retired arborist who has been hired by Stoneford Village Council to look into what’s killing the Village Oak.

Morris Adams
Charlie’s distant cousin. Descendant of Lucas Adams. One of the tree protectors. Once saved a little boy’s life by jumping into a river.

Mr. Abbott
Elderly Stoneford resident who lives over the bakery and believes he’s King George the Third.

Mr. Dobbs
Auctioneer who will conduct The Dog’s Watch Bottle Auction.

Mrs. Oldbutter
Wife of Edward Oldbutter. Has hated Ron Ferryman ever since he bought the house next to theirs and planted giant leylandii along their shared property line. Takes part in a barricade to prevent Ron Ferryman’s trucks from driving down Poorhouse Lane.

Naomi Weller
Nick Weller’s eldest daughter.

Natalie King
The Village Museum’s office manager.

Nick Weller
Charlie Lowe’s physicist cousin and computer guru. Lectures at a London university and spends his summers in Stoneford. Was a passenger in Jeff Lowe’s car when it was struck by a drunk driver. Was seriously injured and nearly lost a leg. Was at school with the Ferryman brothers and PC Kevin Smith. Lives in a converted chapel with a cat named George. Is fond of bright Hawaiian shirts. Nick’s ancestor, Artemus Weller, was a smuggler who was murdered by Lemuel Ferryman.

Nigel
Visits Stoneford Village Museum with his wife. An expert on Fleetwood Mac. Used to be on the radio.

Noah Roberts
A descendant of Gypsy Travellers. Acts as an interpretive guide to the Travellers display at Stoneford Village Museum.

Paddy McDonald
Owns the greengrocers near the Village Green. His family sings at an impromptu concert to save the Village Oak. The family includes his mother Nana, his wife Moira, eight children (Susan is the eldest), and a Jack Russell terrier named Lola.

PC Kevin Smith
Member of the Stoneford Constabulary. Was at school with Nick Weller and the Ferryman Brothers. Colleague of PC Oswald Brown.

PC Oswald Brown
Member of the Stoneford Constabulary. Colleague of PC Kevin Smith.

Peter King
One of the tree protectors. Behind the local campaign to save the hedgehogs. Can trace his ancestry back to George King and his sister Rose, who worked as a maid at the manor.

Reg Ferryman
Owns The Dogs Watch Inn. Believes he owns the title to Stoneford Village Green and the land at the end of Poorhouse Lane. Brother of Ron Ferryman. Descended from Lemuel Ferryman. Was at school with Nick Weller.

Reverend Wolsley
The current Vicar of St. Eligius. Lets the air out of the tires of Ron Ferryman’s bulldozers.

Roger Palmer
Married to Samantha Palmer. A Napoleonic re-enactor.

Ron Ferryman
A property developer who owns the buildings in Poorhouse Lane. Brother of Reg Ferryman. Descended from Lemuel Ferryman. Was at school with Nick Weller. Drives a black BMW. 

Samantha Palmer
Charlie and Nick’s cousin. A district nurse. Married to Roger Palmer, a Napoleonic re-enactor.

Susan McDonald
Eldest of Paddy McDonald’s eight children. Takes part in a barricade to prevent Ron Ferryman’s trucks from driving down Poorhouse Lane.

The Juggler
Dressed as a fool, rides a unicycle through the Village Green. Fond of clackers.

The Shadows
Jeff Lowe’s favourite band. One of their big hits was F.B.I., which is one of Charlie Lowe’s favourite tunes.



Places

Beckford Farm
A flourishing farm in 1825, adjacent to Stoneford Bunny. Rumoured to have a tunnel running down to the beach used for smuggling. In danger of falling into the sea in the present.

Oldbutter and Ballcock
Funeral directors near the Village Green. Founded in the early 1800s by Algernon Oldbutter, ancestor of Edward Oldbutter.

Patricks Coffee Shop
A former coffee shop near the Village Green, now the office of Ron Ferryman. Charlie spent a summer working behind Patricks counter when she was younger.

Royal Memorial Hospital
Six and a half miles from Stoneford along the coast road. Opened by the Queen in the Millennium Year. Provides excellent — if slightly chaotic — emergency care to the village of Stoneford and its surrounding communities.

Stoneford Bunny
An overgrown ravine near the beach. A favourite hiding place of smugglers in 1825 and a nature conservancy in the present.

Stoneford Manor
Located on top of a small hill overlooking the village. The home of Louis Augustus Duran in 1825. Converted into a 3-star Bed and Breakfast in modern times.

Stoneford Village Green
Was once owned by Sarah Foster’s family, but the deed to it was lost by her husband, Aiden, to pay off a gambling debt. Home of the Village Oak. Has an ancient bench at its top end which sits next to a stone bird bath which is a monument to Mrs. Mary Tamworth, a 19th century campaigner for women’s rights.

Stoneford Village Museum
Housed in The Old Vicarage, next to St Eligius Church. This is where Charlie works. Charlie’s office is located in the Vicarage’s original kitchen.

Stoneford Village Oak
Three hundred years old. Stands on The Village Green, and is in danger of dying from systemic poisoning. Was struck by lightning on June 1, 1825. There was a small fire but it was quickly put out by the rain. Some branches were severed, which were fashioned into a bench by a carpenter named Mr. Haddock. The bench still sits at the top end of the Village Green.

The Dog’s Watch
One of two inns in Stoneford. The other is the Rose and Crown (now closed). Owned by Reg Ferryman. Originally owned by Lemuel Ferryman. The pub is Grade II listed. In its cellar is a room which, in 1825, acted as the village lockup. Suffered smoke and fire damage in July 1825 when a suspicious fire broke out on its main floor.

The Rose and Crown
The other inn in Stoneford. Closed in the present due to lack of custom.

Poorhouse Lane (The Poorhouse)
A collection of houses on either side of a short, narrow lane. In 1825, a place which housed Stoneford’s paupers. In the present, where Emmy Cooper lives. The buildings are Grade II listed, and the lane provides the only access to a plot of land the Ferryman Brothers want to develop. The Ferrymans also own all of the buildings in Poorhouse Lane.