Does anyone have any information concerning the children of Walter Thornhill and his wife Mary (nee Sydenham) of Melcombe Regis. They were married in Warmwell in 1668 and were the parents of Sir James Thornhill the artist but I would like to know whether they had any other children. Kind regards Maddy Duke

Dear Maddy, I haven't been able to find out if James Thornhill had any siblings, but it appears that his father Walter was at least one of eight. Taken from Dictionary of National Biography - Thornhill James (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Thornhill,_James_(DNB00) 'THORNHILL, Sir JAMES (1675-1734), painter, born in 1675 at Melcombe Regis, Dorset, was son of Walter Thornhill of Wareham, the eighth son of George Thornhill (or Thornhull) of Thornhill and Woolland in the same county. His mother was Mary, eldest daughter of Colonel William Sydenham, governor of Weymouth [q. v.], and niece of the famous physician, Thomas Sydenham [q. v.] His father, having dissipated his estate by extravagance, sent Thornhill as a boy to his great-uncle, Dr. Sydenham, in London, who placed him as pupil with Thomas Highmore [q. v.], the king's serjeant-painter, a Dorsetshire man and relative of the family. Thornhill was very industrious and made great progress in his art, so that he found himself able to travel on the continent and study the works of the Carracci, Nicolas Poussin, and other painters then in high repute. By them he was greatly influenced in his art, and he commenced to form a choice collection of their works.' Regards Vanessa Dorset ----- Original Message ----- From: "Maddy Duke" <maddyduke@btinternet.com> To: <dorset@rootsweb.com> Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2010 9:34 PM Subject: [DOR] Walter Thornhill > Does anyone have any information concerning the children of Walter > Thornhill > and his wife Mary (nee Sydenham) of Melcombe Regis. They were married in > Warmwell in 1668 and were the parents of Sir James Thornhill the artist > but > I would like to know whether they had any other children. > Kind regards > Maddy Duke