Combe Grove Manor (pictured here) was the childhood home of Rajah James Brooke, and his sister Emma (mother of Rajah Charles) on their return from India in the early 19th century. Emma would later meet and marry Reverend Francis Charles Johnson of nearby South Stoke Hall; three of their sons would serve their uncle the Rajah in Sarawak - Rajah Muda John, Rajah Charles, and Tuan Bongsu Henry. The house, which has commanding views over the Limpley Stoke Valley, was in those days known as 'The Grove', after which Rajah James named his first home in Sarawak – a touching link between his childhood home and the far-off country with which he fell deeply in love.
3 December 2015
