Home › People › The Lord family
Last modified: 30 October 2026 · Build 1
In 1858 the barrister James Lord bought one of the Five Houses on Bolingbroke Grove and moved his large family in, with six or seven servants. Over the next thirteen years he became one of Battersea’s most colourful developers, before his affairs collapsed in 1871.
Three of his children made names for themselves: Henrietta Frances Lord, the translator of Ibsen; Emily Ward, founder of the Norland nannies; and Walter Frewen Lord, the historian.
These are working notes, added to as the research goes on. The newest findings are in the research log at the foot of the page.
How sure each point is: confirmed in a reliable source; to check stated somewhere but not yet verified; lead an inference, not yet sourced.
Charles Francis James Lord, always “James” (1814–1906), barrister and developer confirmed
married twice; nine children in all confirmed (Survey of London; Keith Bailey)
Henry Hardinge Lord, a son by the earlier marriage; disabled; one of his father’s executors confirmed
Henrietta Frances Lord (1848–1923), feminist, writer, Theosophist and translator of Ibsen confirmed
Emily Mary Jane Lord, later Ward (1850–1930), founder of Norland Place School and the Norland Institute confirmed
Walter Frewen Lord, historical writer confirmed
Sarah Lord, later Milbank, one of her father’s executors confirmed
Others still to identify; three of the nine children died before their father confirmed
Emily was born in Derby, probably to James’s second wife, a Derby magistrate’s daughter. Which of the children were born to which wife is still to be worked out. to check
A rector’s son from Barfreston in Kent, called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1837, and the author of, among much else, a textbook on conveyancing. confirmed
He was long the chairman of the ultra-Protestant Protestant Association, and wrote a lengthy doggerel poem, Sister Theresa, née Ryan, The Abducted Nun (1865). In 1868 he stood as Conservative candidate for East Surrey and was roundly beaten. confirmed
With the surveyor George Todd junior he laid out his Bolingbroke Grove property for building, bought a second estate north of York Road in 1868, and planned a third off Latchmere Road, where the Shaftesbury Park estate later rose. confirmed
By 1870 his local profile was high, as one of the champions fighting to preserve Wandsworth Common. confirmed (Survey of London) What exactly he did for the Common is still to be documented. to check
Then a solicitor connected with his building business absconded to America. Lord was not held to blame, but with debts of at least £42,000 he went into liquidation in the summer of 1871. confirmed
He fought a long Chancery case, Lord v Costeker, to get St John’s Lodge back, and lost in 1875. He never recovered his prosperity, and latterly lived alone in a flat in Brixton. confirmed
In 1882 she published Nora, the first full, faithful English translation of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, with Ibsen’s blessing for the change of title. It remained the standard English text until William Archer’s of 1889. She went on to translate Ghosts. confirmed
A committed Theosophist, she read Ibsen’s plays as dramas of spiritual evolution. With her sister Emily she translated Fröbel’s Mutter- und Kose-Lieder as Mother’s Songs, Games and Stories. confirmed
Born on 13 August 1850 at Parkfield, Derby. confirmed
As a young infant teacher at Notting Hill High School she took up the ideas of Friedrich Fröbel. In 1876 she founded her own school, “Miss Lord’s Kindergarten”, later Norland Place School, and in 1892 the Norland Institute, which trained the famous Norland nannies. confirmed
She married on 17 October 1891, becoming Mrs Ward, and died on 15 June 1930. confirmed
Named by the Survey of London as a historical author. confirmed His dates and books are still to be gathered. to check
30 October 2026 — Page started, drawing together the James Lord, Henrietta Frances Lord and Emily Ward pages and Keith Bailey’s “Lord v Todd” notes.